Sri Lakshmi Sahasram : 17.2

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SrI:

Dear Sri MahA Lakshmi BhakthAs:

 

In the second slOkam of the Naama Vaibhava sthaBakam of

Sri Lakshmi Sahasram , Sri VenkadAdhri Kavi instructs us that

the NaamAs of our Mother are extraordinarily efficent in quenching

the unbearable heat of the Taapams :

 

arNavEndhratanayE athidussahE: dhurnarEndhra-guNa-varNanAtapai:

Aartayaa rasanayA adhya Seethalam keerthayAmi Tava nAma kOmaLam

 

arNavEnhdra tanayE = Oh Daughter of the king of the Oceans !

( the reference here is to the birth of MahA Lakshmi from the Milky

Ocean as the daughter of the Samudhra Raajan during the churning

of the Milky Ocean by the Lord to gain Her as " PeNNamudhu" ).

 

Tava Naama kOmaLam SeethaLam keerthayAmi = adiyEn is now engaged in

the sankeerthanam of Your most beautiful and cool Sahasra naamams .

 

What is the effect of such keerthanam on adiyEn's tongue that has until now been parched by

the singing of the praise of the inauspicious and insignificant kings of this world ? The recitation

of Your cool and beautiful NaamAs has brought immense comfort to my tongue and

has immersed me in the cool and rejuvenating amrutha pravAham of Yours .

 

My tongue until now was experiencing intolerable sufferings ( Aarthi) from the relentless

heat associated with my effort in singing about the nonexistent ( imaginary) attributes of

the inauspicious kings . This attempt at the guNa varNanam of these evil kings

( dhur-narEndhrA guNa varNanam ) for eking out a livelihood was like being baked

in the midday heat of the Sun . The sufferings experienced by adiyEn's tongue

( VarNanAthapai: aarthayA rasanayA ) through abuse of the poetic skills blessed by You

was terrifying . adiyEn was used to invent auspicious and lofty guNams in these haughty ,

wealthy kings and lied through my efforts to praise them . The consequence was terrible

for my tongue . It experienced immense sufferings.

 

By switching now to sing about Your seethaLa , kOmala dhivya nAmams , adiyEn

has brought joy and comfort to my parched tongue ( rasanayA adhya SeethaLam kOmalam

Tava Naamaani keerthayAmi). The Aarthi ( suffering) of my tongue(rasanA ) is now gone.

 

The VairAgyam of Swamy Desikan expressed through His powerful pentad of slOkams

in the Sri Sookthi of VairAgya panchakam under similar circumstances has to be recalled here .

The commentary on Sri VairAgya panchakam can be accessed at the Sundara Simham

Web site in the form of an e-book :

 

http://www.sundrasimham.org/ebooks/ebook14.htm

 

Sri KaNNan Swamy's beautiful Summary in Tamizh of this slOkam is :

 

dhUrttharai puhazhntha tApam

theertthiDa nAvil taNmai

sErtthiDa unn nAmatthaik-

keerthanam paNNUhinrEn

 

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradaachAri Sadagopan