Adbhuta KEsarI

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

 

 

" Adbhuta KesarI "

 

 

 

Emperuman's avatArAs are innumerable. " ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE " says

the Purusha Sukta, confirming that the Lord, who is beyond birth and death

resulting from Karma, takes birth time and again of His own volition, for the

purpose of protecting the righteous, destroying evil and for re-establishing

Dharma on a firm footing. In the process, He descends to this world of sorrow

and suffering, assuming forms as lowly as those of a fish, turtle, boar, etc.

 

" en nindra yOniyumAi pirandAi imayOr talaivA! " marvels Sri Nammazhwar at the

Lord's infinite mercy which moves Him to adopt such demeaning forms, solely for

our sake. The so-called " DasAvatArAs " are only ten of the numerous forms the

Lord has assumed over the ages- there are quite a few others like the HayagrIva

and Hamsa avatArAs, which too are quite popular.

 

We are thus presented with a wide choice of the Lord's forms to choose

from, for the purpose of meditation and worship. True, we could very well prefer

to fix our thoughts on the Paramapadanathan, the eternal form of the Lord as He

is to be found in Sri Vaikuntam, the one acclaimed by Sri Satakopa as " Adi

amsOdi uru " (the primordial form). However, we would prefer to plump for some

avatArA, which makes the Lord appear much more real, having happened right in

this world of ours, at specific locations which still stand glorious testimony

to the reality of avatArAs. Here, we are confronted by such a bewildering

variety of forms the Lord has assumed from time to time, that we are hard put to

choose one. If we consider the principal ten avatArAs, some would discard the

Matsya, Koorma and VarAha avatArAs as preferred moortthis for worship, in view

of their representing lower life forms. However much we may bring our devotion

to bear, it is difficult to worship a fish, turtle or boar ( " mAnam ilA pandri " ).

 

Some are also uncomfortable with the human avatArAs of the Lord such as those

as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Balarama and Sri Parasurama, as all these are

comparatively inferior avatArAs due to the Lord having undergone a ten-month

imprisonment in the mother's womb, like any other mortal being. Not only that,

He has also subjected Himself to mortality, though of His own volition, in the

process of winding up these avatArAs.

 

 

 

Applying the process of elimination, we arrive at the only avatArA that is free

from the aforesaid defects- the NrsimhAvatAra. Looked at from any angle, this

appears to be the ideal avatArA, evoking in us love, fear and devotion, all at

the same time. It is the avatAra where the Lord displayed all the qualities of

the Supreme Being, in full measure-the " Poorna avatAra " , so to say. It was not

long-drawn like some of the other forms, and was short and sweet. During the

short period of its currency, this avatArA achieved what was accomplished in the

other avatArAs, and much more. It has the distinction of one of the few forms of

Sriman Narayana to be eulogized by the Shruti.

 

 

 

Shall we look at some of the features that make this " Seeriya Singam " matchless

in glory?

 

 

 

1. All the other avatArAs consist of a single life form, either human like

Sri Rama or Sri Krishna, or animal like the Matsya, Koorma and Varaha avatArAs.

Sri Nrsimha was a unique combination of a man and a lion, combining the best

feature of both the races-the ferocity and invincibility of a lion and the

infinite mercy and love only a human being is capable of. Apart from being a

" Seeriya Singam " , He was also an " ALari " (man-lion). Each avatArA might be unique

in its own way, but Sri Nrsimha is a matchless mixture of Man and Beast.

 

2. Major avataras like those of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna were assumed only

upon the specific request of parties affected by asurAs and the like. Sri

Nrisimha's appearance was totally voluntary. Nobody appealed to Him to descend

to the earth for his or her protection; there was no cry of distress. One who

gives upon request is indeed a great man, but greater still is the one who give

unasked, saving the devotee the ignominy of issuing an SOS.

 

3. While most of the other assumed forms of the Lord were premeditated and

planned in advance (we hear of the Lord dispatching various dEvatAs to the world

to be born at strategic locations, before He Himself is born in AyOdhya), that

of the Man-Lion is a totally impromptu avatArA, unrehearsed, unprepared,

prompted by the need of the moment and totally spontaneous.

 

4. Going by the Shruti's dictum, " PrajApati: charati garbhE anta: " " anta:

pravishtam KartAram Etam " ( the Lord dwells in all the beings as the antaryAmI " ),

it is only the NrsimhAvatAra which qualifies as a poorNa avatara, as it is only

in this form that the Lord was present in all beings sentient and otherwise,

ready to leap out from wherever Hiranya would challenge Him to. No one knew

where the asurA would expect Prahlada to demonstrate the omnipresence of

SriHari. This uncertainty prompted the Lord to be present at all places and in

all beings in the form of Nrsimha, so that He could manifest Himself without

delay from wherever He was required to. Swami Desikan confirms this when he

says, " TrilOkyam Etat akhilam Nrsimha garbham " . No other avatara could claim

the distinction of antaryAmitvam in the assumed form, though the Lord is ever

present everywhere.

 

5. The usual motive behind avatArAs is three-fold, as laid down by the

Gitacharya-

 

" ParitthrANAya sadhoonAm, vinAsAya cha dushkritAm, dharma samstthApAnArtthAya "

 

(Protection of the good, destruction of evil and reestablishment of

righteousness). The object behind Nrsimhavatara was indeed unique: though all

the aforesaid three purposes were achieved, Srimad Bhagavatam lists a fourth and

most important motive-that of proving the word of a staunch devotee to be true

( " Satyam vidhAtum nija bhritya bhAshitam " ). It was an avatara taken for the

primary purpose of confirming Prahlada's statement that SriHari existed

everywhere- " ThooNilum iruppAn, thurumbilum iruppAn " .

 

The Lord, though under no obligation to affirm the lad's averment, took all the

trouble to assume an unheard-of form, solely to prove His devotee to be true. It

is this Bhakta vAtsalyam of the Lord, who could not bear to see His votary's

words falsified, that moves us to tears.

 

 

 

 

 

.. 6.Sri Nrsimhavatara is the only avatara where the predominant emotion

displayed by the Lord was anger. One could say that this is hardly a

distinction, anger being one of the base feelings, and prudence lies in its

control rather than exhibition. However, righteous anger, directed at injustice

and inequality is indeed a virtue and its display the bounden duty of every

right-thinking soul. By this standard, the ferocity that Sri Nrisimha brought to

bear on the unrepentant Hiranya was indeed called-for and justified, and by far

exceeds the dimensions of emotion displayed by the Lord in any other avatara

 

 

 

7 In all other avataras, the Lord had to resort to weapons to destroy His

adversaries- the Bow Kodandam as Sri Rama, the Sudarsanam as Sri Krishna, the

axe as Sri Parasurama, and the plough as Sri Balarama. Sri Nrsimhavatara is

unique in that the Lord had no need for any aid from weapons for confronting and

obliterating Hiranya. He tore the asurA apart with His bare nails.

 

8. Sri Rama might have been the perfectly proportioned man, Sri Krishna the

spitting image of Manmatha (the God of Beauty). However, Sri Nrsimha is the

Beautiful One, eulogized as much for His ferocious beauty as for anything

else- " azhagiyAn tAnE, ari uruvan tAnE " says Sri Nammazhwar, paying eloquent

tribute to this Beautiful Beast.

 

9. When it comes to tributes from that impartial and impeccable source, the

Shruti, it is Sri Nrsimha who scores again, for, though other avataras might

have found mention in the Vedas, it is Sri Nrsimhavatara which is accorded pride

of place by being eulogized right at the beginning, in the ShAnti PAthA, in the

mantra beginning with " Bhadram karNEbhi: shruNuyAma DEvA: " . This beautiful

mantra is the ShAnti PatA for Sri Nrsimha TapAnIyA, Prasna, MandUkya,

AtharvashikhA Upanishads, apart from the aruNa prasna of the YajurvEda

AraNyakam.

 

Sri Shankara confirms that the term

" Bhadram " indicates Sri Nrsimha only, in the Mantraraja pada stotram-

 

" SarvOpi yam samAshritya sakalam bhadram asnutE

 

SriyA cha BhadrayA jushta: ya: tam Bhadram namAmyaham "

 

 

 

10. Other avataras of the Lord may be the dispensers of all auspiciousness

(MangaLam), but it is Sri Nrisimha who is mangaLam personified, for He is

" Bhadram " .

 

 

 

11. Sri Nrsimha is truly the " Peria Perumal " , because He was worshipped by

Srinivasa, the Lord of Seven Hills, on the occasion of His wedding with Sri

Padmavathi. While Sri Rama, who worshipped Sri Ranganatha (thus affording Him

the status of " Peria Perumal " ) on the eve of His coronation, lost His Princehood

and was banished to the forests for 14 long years, Srinivasa, who worshipped Sri

Nrsimha, was transformed from being a mere caveman of Thirumala to " Srinivasa "

or the abode of Sri Mahalakshmi (by virtue of His wedding Sri Padmavathi).

 

12. Sri NrikEsari is the only form of the Lord where He sported three eyes.

 

 

 

It is perhaps due to all these glories unique

to this extraordinary avatara that Sri Nrisimha is eulogized by the

KavitArkika KEsarI as " Kaschit adbhuta KesarI "

 

All poetry, all praise, to be worth the name,

should be about Sri Nrsimha, declares Sri Thirumangai Mannan with firm

conviction-

 

" KoodA IraNiyanai koor ugirAl marvidanda

 

OdA adal ariyai umbarAr kOmAnai

 

TOdAr narum tuzhAi mArvanai ArvatthAl

 

PAdAdAr pAttu endrum pAttalla kEttAmE "

 

That Sri Nrisimha is verily the Paramatma

whose eulogy the entire Veda mantras are, is borne out by the tribute

paid by Sri SAyaNAchArya, the author of the famous VEda Bhashya. Before

embarking on his onerous and ambitious project of commenting on the vast Vedic

literature, by dedicating the " MangaLAcharaNam " to this magnificent moortthi,

Sri SAyaNa makes it clear that praying to Sri Nrsimha ensures an auspicious

beginning and unhindered completion of the task on hand. This is reiterated in

his " NayaprakAsikA " by Sri MEghanAdAri Suri-

 

" SmritE sakala kalyANa bhAjanam yatra jAyatE

 

Purusham tam ajam vrajAmi sharaNam Harim "

 

If even ignorant animals pay obeisance to this Lord, ( " PaingaN Anai kombu

kondu patthimayAl, adikkeezh sengaN Ali ittu irainjum SingavEL kundramE " ) should

we not, as enlightened human beings endowed with the wisdom of choice and

preference, make Sri Nrisimha the Lord of our choice and devote our lives to His

kainkaryam?

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan