Like a Diamond in the Sky

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Like a Diamond in the Sky

 

 

 

They sparkle like diamonds in the night sky, so many of them glittering

and gleaming, lighting up the nocturnal firmament. Their light is not harsh,

glaring or hot like that of the Solar orb, but a soft, translucent glow that is

at once pleasing and soothing. It is they which contribute considerably to the

so-called magic of the night. They are to be seen in different bewitching

groupings or constellations, shaped variously like a hunter, a scorpion and so

on. Even if you were able to count the sands on the beach, you can't tot up the

number of the twinkling faces in the sky. They may be millions of light years

away, but their influence over our lives is remarkable. It is they which decide

who marries whom and when auspicious things should be done or avoided---in

reckoning a matrimonial match, it is the mutual compatibility of the stars of

the bride and groom-to-be, that is the decisive factor in proceeding with or

discarding the alliance. According to Astrology, the star under which a person

is born is a fair indicator of his character, conduct, fortunes and future.

Though there are innumerable stars dotting the sky, only twenty-seven are

considered significant, as enumerated by the blemishless Shruti. These

nakshatrAs are classified into two groups, DEva nakshatrAs and Yama nakshatrAs,

the ones from KrittikA upto VisAkham forming the first group and the ones from

anUrAdha to BharaNi comprising the Yama nakshatras. Here are a few facts about

these distant deciders of our destinies.

 

 

 

Though the popular enumeration of stars commences with AsvinI, BharaNi

etc., the Veda Purusha puts KrittikA first- " KrittikA: prathamam " . However,

KrittikA is not considered an auspicious star-the Overlord of this Star is the

all-powerful Agni, who,with his immense destructive potential, can burn houses

down in a trice- " grihAn ha dAhukO bhavati " .

 

 

 

Next in line is the hallowed star ROhiNI, made immeasurably holy by the birth

of Sri Krishna under the aphorism. Predictably, PrajApati or the Paramapursha is

the Overlord of this particular star. The Celestials are extremely fond of this

star, presumably due to its association with the glorious Lord- " priyA dEvAnAm " .

 

 

 

Though the Bhagavata Purana is quite categorical that Lord Krishna was born

under this star, Azhwars are a bit equivocal on this. For instance, we have Sri

Periazhwar telling Kannapiran that He was born under Shravana nakshatram- " nee

piranda TiruvONam, indru nee neerAda vENdum " . " Bathe atleast today, as today is

the star under which you were born! " exhorts Sri Periazhwar, coaxing the divine

kid, stinking with the odour of dairy products, to have a bath. We are unable to

dismiss this as oversight, firstly because of the unblemished wisdom the Azhwar

was blessed with and secondly because he reiterates this elsewhere too- " tiNnAr

veNsangu udayAi tirunAL TiruvONam " . " attattin pattAm nAL tOndriya Achuthan " says

he further, confirming the birth of the mischievous brat under the Tiruvonam

star which is the tenth, when counted from Hasta nakshatram. How is this

possible, we wonder. Is it possible for Sri Krishna to be born under two stars,

which would be quite in tune with His other extraordinary exploits, and with the

Shruti dictum, " ayAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE " ?

 

 

 

The truth of the matter is that the Shruti earmarks Tiruvonam as the Lord's

own aphorism- " ShrONA nakshatram Vishnu: dEvatA " . As such, whatever be the

avatara the Lord assumes, and whatever aphorism He is born under, that aphorism

is considered to be but an aspect of Tiruvonam. We see this repeated in the

Thiruppallandu too, where Sri Nrsimha (reputed to have manifested under the star

SwAtI) too is described to have Tiruvonam as His star- " TiruvONa tiruvizhavil

andi ampouzhudil ari uruvAgi ariyai azhittavan " . However, if we were to justify

the Azhwar's assertion that the Lord was born on the tenth day of the Hastham

star, we could count forwards (if we count backwards, the tenth is Tiruvonam)

and arrive at Rohini as the tenth one from Hastham, thus reconciling the

apparent contradiction. The primacy of Tiruvonam is abundantly apparent when we

note that it is the birth star of other avataras too, such as Trivikrama and

Hayagriva. Not only Emperuman, but also Azhwars (Sri Poigayazhwar) and Acharyas

(Swami Desikan and Sri Pillailokacharya) have glorified this nakshatram by their

birth under the same. The Shruti praises this star as the holiest and most

meritorious of all- " PuNyAm " . Sri Periazhwar too adulates this nakshatram, by

pointing out that those born under this aphorism would rule the

earth- " TiruvOnatthAn ulagALum enbArgaLe " .

 

 

 

Another nakshatram that comes in for glorification by Vedas is PunarvasU,

and predictably so, for it is under this star that the Magnificent Monarch of

the Raghuvamsam, the peerless Paragon of Virtues, the repository of all

auspicious attributes, Sri Rama was born. " nakshatrE aditi daivatyE " says Sri

Valmiki, recounting Sri Raghava's birth under this star, the presiding deity of

which is Aditi, famed as the Mother of all Celestials- " aditi: dEva mAtA " .

Predictably, this star is adulated as the support of all worlds- " Visvasya

bhartrI Jagata: pratishttA " .

 

 

 

SwatI, the aphorism of the unparallelled avataram, that of Sri Nrisimha, comes

in for its share of praise too. This nakshatram is prayed to for ensuring

freedom from the torment of one's detractors and for the latter to vanish into

the distance, turned impotent and harmless by the awesome power of the Adbhuta

Kesari ( " dooram asmat satravO yantu bheetA: " ). Sri Nrisimha ensures not only

safety from one's enemies, but bestows upon us all that is auspicious, if prayed

to- " tannakshatram bhooridA astu mahyam " , for He is the personification of

auspiciousness- " Bhadram " . Nitya sUris like Sri VainatEya and Sri Vishnuchitta of

the Azhwar ghOshti, have adorned this aphorism by choosing it as their birth

star.

 

 

 

As against the twenty-seven popular stars, the Shruti enumerates one additional

nakshatram named " Abhijit " ( " abhijit nAma nakshatram, uparishtAt ashAdAnAm,

avastAt shrOnAyai " ), that confers success in all our endeavours and victory in

all battles. This additional nakshatram is placed between UtthrAdam and

Tiruvonam and is supposed to have been the source of inspiration and success for

BrahmA himself.

 

 

 

Though it is tempting to cover in detail the glory of each of these 28 stars,

let us conclude with a mention of the last one in the Vedic order-Bharani. The

Overlord of this star is the dreaded Yamadharmaraja, who keeps meticulous count

of all the sins we commit (which we imagine to be unknown to others) and metes

out just punishment commensurate with the gravity of the offences. The Shruti

extolls his praise as the Lord of the Worlds ( " lOkasya RajA mahatO mahAn hi " ),

what with the power of penalty that he wields over all inhabitants, irrespective

of their social or economic status. It is however interesting to note Yama

himself confessing that though he is all-powerful, his writ runs not over the

devotees of Lord Vishnu- " prabhu: aham anya nriNAm, na VaishnavAnAm " . The

memorable story of AjAmiLa is a case in point. Given his stature and punitive

powers, the Shruti voices a prayer to Yama that he should make our lives easy,

virtuous and fearless, so that we are spared the unwelcome attentions of this

terrifying deity-

 

" sugam na: pantthAm abhayam kriNOtu " .

 

 

 

We also hear of the magnificence of Dhruva, whom the Lord has made an

everlasting star in the eternal firmament, in recognition of his boundless

bhakti manifest at an extremely young age, the guiding star of sailors the world

over before modern day navigational aids were invented. Another star to come in

for Vedic adulation is ArundhatI, held out to be a role model for women to this

day, when no marriage is complete without the newly-wedded couple having the

star pointed out to them- " Saptarshaya: prathamAm KrittikAnAm arundhatI " says

the Shruti.

 

 

 

Stars occupy an extremely significant place in the divine scheme of things,

so much so that they are reputed to be the very form of the Lord

Himself- " nakshatrANi roopam " says the Purusha Sukta. The first ashtaka of the

Yajur Brahmana tells us that one who knows the Paramapurusha as the embodiment

of nakshatras verily knows all that is there to be known in this world and

others- " yO vai nakshatriyam Prajapatim vEda, ubhayOr Enam lOkayOr vidu: " .

Describing Emperuman's various angAs, the ashtaka lays down that Hasta

nakshatram is His hands, ChitrA His head, SwAtI His heart, VisAkham His thighs

and so on.

 

 

 

During TrivikramAvatAra, when the Lord grew from a dimunitive dwarf into a

Colossus spanning the three worlds, the fraternity of stars formed a garland

around His towering headgear. When He grew further, they adorned His forehead as

a glittering ornament. When He continued His vertical journey, the nakshatrAs

formed a sparkling necklace around His beautiful neck, and later, a brilliant

" oddyANam " around His midriff. When the Lord grew further, the stars formed

themselves into adoring anklets around His holy feet. When He outgrew this too,

the stars remained vanquished, knowing not in what form they could perform

kainkaryam to the ever-expanding tirumEni of Trivikrama. This enthralling

imagery is portrayed with perfection by Swami Desikan in Sri DEhalIsa Stuti.

 

 

 

Of the five angAs (tithi, vAram, yOgam, KaraNam and nakshatram), the stars are

the only ones to be bestowed with the honorific prefix, " thiru " . We say

" thirnakshatram " when referring to the birth star of the Lord, Azhwars or

Acharyas. Similar honour is not afforded to the other four angAs-nobody says

" thiru ashtami " or " thiru subha yOgam " , even while referring to auspicious ones.

Nor are the other angAs glorified by the Shruti, which reserves choice words of

appreciation for the stars. And nobody is bothered about under what tithi he was

born in or the Yogam or KaraNam of that day. It is the Stars which rule the

roost, all the way. They twinkle at us from millions of miles afar, shaping our

future, guiding our destinies and forming constant reminders of the Lord and His

magnificence.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Dasan, sadagopan