Thiruvaheendhrapuram Oushadha Giri MahA Matapa Kaimkaryam : Sri VairAgya Panchakam of Swamy Desikan

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

Swamy Desikans' scholarship due to Sri Hayagrivan's visEsha

anugraham is well established from every one of His Sri Sookthis

be they in Sanskrit or Tamizh or in PrAkrutham .

 

He was not only NigamAntha MahA Desikan , who defeated

soundly Para Matha Vaadhis but he was also revered for His

AchAram , anushtAnam and VairAgyam . Sri VairAgya Panchakam

is a classic example of his disregard for worldly wealth and fame of

any kind . He supported himself and his family via Unchivrutthi

and spurned any form of wealth .

 

Please enjoy the 5 slOkams of Sri VairAgya PanchAsath

and support the construction of the MahA Mantapam

to celebrate the Vaibhavam of Swamy Desikan and His attainment of

Mantra Siddhi at Oushadha Giri . Please send your samarpaNams directly

to Sri Soundararajan Desikan Swamy . His address is at the Web site:

 

http://www.srikainkarya.org

 

May Lord HayagrIvan's blessings be with you all ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

 

 

 

 

 

 

stothrams by acharyans

Acharyan Swamy Desikan

 

 

 

|| Sri Vairaagya Panchakam ||

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acharyan Swamy Desikan

 

Let me invoke the blessings of Sri Oppiliappan through the following Maangalya Sthavam verse to give the clarity of mind to undertake this Task:

SARVESHU KAALESHU SAMASTHA DESESHUASESHA KAARYESHU TATESWARESWARA: ISARVAI: SVAROOPAI: BHAGAVAAN ANAADHIMAANMAMAASTHU MAANGALYA VIVIRUDDHAYEH HARI : II

MEANING: I invoke Hari to bless me and to enhance auspiciousness of all kinds at all times, at all places, and in all endeavours of mine. May that Hari, who appears in all forms and who is without beginning or end enhance my Mangalams .

Swami Desikan and Acharya Ramanuja**********************************

Swami Desikan was an illustrious propounder of Bhagavat Raamnuja Siddhaantham. He followed the way shown by Acharya Ramanuja scrupulously. Swami therefore believed deeply in Acharya"s postulation of a personal God and the means of attaining Moksham with His grace through Bhakti or Prapatti margam. In both the margams, the Lord is recognized as the means and the object of attainment.Moksham is the end result of His grace mediated by Sri Devi.This is the Upasana that he imbibed form Ramanujaa and with the blessings of his Acharya,he led a pious, simple life and subsisted on the minimum needed to sustain himself in service of Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam , Sri Devanatha of Thiruvahindrapuram Sri Varadaraja of Kanchi andLOrd HayagrIvan of Thiruvaheendhrapuram's Oushada Giri .

RaamAnujA's Way

***************

Swami Desikan followed the ancient way which Ramaanuja showed , which was based on the concept that Bhakti (devotion ) results wholly from Viveka (discriminatory knowledge dealing with the true nature of the Lord ), Vimoka (freedom from worldly temptations),Abhayaasa (Practice of Nava Vidha Bhakthis), Kriya( Nandavana and other Kaimkaryams for the Lord ,interpretation of scriptures for the disciples), Kalyaana(auspiciousness/ mangalam = thoughts on the Anantha kalyaana Gunas of Hari ) ,Anavasaada ( absence of weakness = steadfast resolve to worship Hari and Hari alone ) and Anuddharsha (absence of elation over worldly victories = Sthitha Prajna aspect ) . Swami Desikan"s life was a pilgrimage marked with Bhakti for the Divya Dampathis and Kaimkaryam for them that culminated in Saranagathi at their lotus feet. Swami explained in his many granthams about the sacredness of performing Saranagathi for our benefit and salvation .His whole life was one of Vairaagyam (dispassion) and Bhakti (devotion).

Demonstration of Swami's Vairaagyam***********************************

In the early days of his life , Swami was residing at Kanchipuram and was engaged in Anushtaanam and Kalakshepam. His brilliance as an Acharya was well established. He led a simple life .He had a classmate and friend from his student days by the name of Vidyaranya .. Sri Vidyaranya was at that time the Aasthana Vidwaan at he court of the Vijya Nagara King .He was sad to hear that Swami Desikan was poor inspite of his great scholarship. He wanted to help his boyhood friend and wanted to use his influence with the King to secure financial help.Sri Vidyaranya out of affection wrote a nice letter welcoming Swami Desikan to the royal court .Swami saw the letter and sent his response in the form of a single slokam indicating his disinterest to receive the munificence of the king to overcome the poverty that he chose.

Sri Vidyaranya cared a great deal about Swami Desikan and pressed him again to come to the court for royal sambhavanaa. Swami composed this time five verses explaining his resolve to stay away from material wealth and to only go after the imperishable wealth given to him by his ancestors , which is residing on top of Hasthigiri with the name of Sri Varadaraja .Sri Vidyaranya was moved by the Vairaagyam of Swami Desikan and had even greater respect for his friend. Later, Sri Vidyaranya became a Parama Hamsa sanyasi and decorated the Sringeri Sarada Peetam himself.

Sri Vairaagya Panchakam is a work of profound philosophical significance . It consists of five slokas summarizing Swami Desikan's renunciation of material wealth. In these slokas, Venkatesa kavi described the deplorable state of praising another human being for the sake of improving one's financial lot. He refers to the degradation resulting from praising rich men and asserted that he will not stoop to offer his service to such people. He comments on the transitory nature of wealth and presses on the fact that the only imperishable wealth is that ,which was handed to him by his forefathers (the presiding deity of Attigiri revered as Sri Varadarajan ).He demonstrated time and again his disinterest in the accumulation of material wealth . He helped the poor Brahmachari to get wealthy by appealing to Sri Ranganayaki through the composition of his Sri Sthuti. Personally, he was not interested. On one occasion, some of his devoted disciples hid a few gold coins in his Thandulum (rice) presented for the daily Aaradhanam of their Acharya. When Swami Desikan saw the golden coins in the Thandalum, he threw them away and demonstrated his aversion for worldly wealth. He followed the tradition of Kuratthaazhwaan , who threw away the golden drinking vessel that his wife had brought with her on the journey to Srirangam.

Introductory Verse sent first to Sri Vidyaranyaa:*************************************************

This was the verse that he sent as a response to Sri Vidyaaranya to convey the message that he will not come to the court of the king to praise him and gain wealth that way.This is not considered as one of the five slokaas of the Vairaaghya Panchakam.The individual slokas of this Panchakam including the Phala Sruthi are set in five different poetic meters known as Saardhoola Vikriditham, PrithvI , Harinee, Vamsastham and Anushtup.

I will use the Anvaya Kramam(prose order) of the verses to convey the meaning of these terse verses. This way, it will be easier to follow the meaning of these profound Verses.

Verse that started the Panchakam********************************

kshoNeekoNa sata amsa paalana kalaadurvaara garvaanala Kshubhayat Kshudra NarendraChatu rasanaa Dhanyaan na Manyaamahe .

We will not consider those the blessed (lucky ) ones,those who praise with skill the deluded and arrogant kings that rule over a small portion of the earth and are overcome with a sense of power.

DayaaLu: Ya: Asau Puraa Dhaanaa mushti muchehKusela Munayeh Vittedasathaam Dhattehsma DevamSevithum Nicchinumahe .

Once the great merciful Lord (Avyaja Karuna Murthy), gave to the poor Kusela , his boyhood friend indescribable wealth in exchange for the handful of pounded rice given to Him. We are determined to serve only that Lord and no one else.

First slokam of Vairaagya Panchakam***********************************

Silam oudharam analam Bhaadhitum AnalamBhaveth Kim? Prasruthi poorakam SaarasamBhaya: Tarakam Kimu Na: ? Pathi Kaccharampataccharam ayatna malamallakam vibudhaa:Kukshita Mudhaa Kukshita: Bhajanthi hi Ahaha !

Swami Desikan asks a series of questions here regarding the minimum needed to carry on one's life on earth . He observes that even those with discriminatory knowledge serve the rich to appease their needs. He asks : Is not the grain spilled from the harvests sufficient to quell one' s hunger? Would not the volume of water held in one's palm sufficient to quench one's thirst ? Will not the rag obtained along the wayside sufifcient to serve as an effortlessly gained loin cloth? Alas! the scholars offer their salutations to the kings for the sake of filling their stomachs. This and other verses of the Panchakam have phrases with double meanings . For instance , Analam can mean in one context, the fire in the belly known as Jaataraagni ; in another context, it can mean insufficient . the word Kukshitha: seen twice , next to each other means Stomach at one place and kings at the other place. The skill of the poet is abundantly seen even while tackling such a serious theme.

Second Verse of the Panchakam*****************************

The key message here is that " Vaachaa Yaachamaeh na Maheeswaraan " . We will not beg even for a small blade of grass from the kings under any circumstance .

JATARA ANALA: JALATHI KROTA KREEDATHKRUPEETABHAVA PRABHAA PRATIPATAPATU JWAALAA MAALAA AKULA: JWALATHU .

Let the Jataraagni (the fire in the belly ) burn sending up flames equalling that of the intense flames of Vatavaagni that is at the center of the oceans !

VAYAM SAAYAM SAMPPULLA MALLI MADALLIKAAPARIMALA MUCHAA VAACHAA MAHISWARAAN TRUNAMAPINA YAACHAAMAEH .

We shall not ask the great kings for even a speck of dust to reward us with the speech resembling that of the fragrance of the mallika buds that has blossomed in the evening.

Third Verse of the Panchakam****************************

YADH ANJANA AAPAM NIRAPAAYAM DHANANJYASYANDANA BHUSHANAM DHANAM MEH ASTHIDUREESWARA DWARA BAHIR VITARKIKAADURAASIKAAYAI AYAM ANJALI: RACITA:

I have that dark hued , imperishable wealth that sat in front of the chariot of Arjuna and decorated that chariot. While I have that enduring wealth, why would I sit in the outer portion of the little princelings and wait for an opportune time to address them and plead for the granting of perishable wealth from them. I raise my hands in salutation to say No !

Fourth Verse of the Panchakam*****************************

APP INDHANA DHANANJAYA PRASAMADAMDHANAM SARIRA PATANA AVATHI PRABHUNISHEVANA AAPADHANAATH DHANDANAMDHANANJAYA VIVARDHANAM UTHUTA GOVARDHANAMSUMANASAAM SAMAARADHANAM SUSAADHANAMAPAADHANAM DHANAM

Swami Desikan uses the word Dhanam eleven times in this verse to describe what is the Dhanam(wealth ) that one should seek . Rest of them are only for sorrow-causing purposes because of their vanishing nature according to him.That kind of wealth is only good to quell one"s hunger through the act of praising rich people and serving them until the body falls on ground. That is useless compared to the wealth that enhanced the fame of Arjuna in the battle field , lifted the Govardhana giri , makes the mind of good ones filled with joy, serves to yield all types of boons and is imperishable . That then is the true wealth to seek.

Fifth Verse of Panchakam************************

In the final verse , Swami Desikan states that he did not accumulate much wealth in his lifetime; his father did not leave him much of an estate. He however has a possession that is superior to every other kind of wealth. That is the wealth handed to him by his great, great, great, great grandfather, Brahmaa revered as Varadarajan standing vigil on the top of Hasthigiri. This famous verse summarizing the Vairaghyam and Bhakthi of Swami Desikan is as follows:

NAASTHI PITRAARJITHAM KIMCHITHNA MAYA KIMCHITAARJITHAMASTHI MEH HASTHI SAILAAGREHVASTHU PAITHAAMAHAM DHANAM

Here Swami Desikan points out that the wealth that arose from the Agni Kuntam of the Aswamedha sacrifice conducted by Brahma with the name ofPeruraLaaLan is the greatest of the wealth that he has acquired as eternal , everlasting family wealth .He asks why he would go in search of any other kind of wealth under the circumstances. This sloka alone would restore one's perspective as one gets befuddled with the chase after material wealth in a hedonistic fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

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