nilA nilA Odi vA

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

" nilA nilA Odi vA! "

 

 

 

There would scarcely be anyone, to whom his or her mother wouldn't have

taught the captioned rhyme during infancy. And through generations, this

particular limerick has remained popular, with the mother and child calling to

the Moon in the distant sky to come fast, and while at it, bring along some

fragrant flowers too. The equivalents of this Tamizh ditty are to be found in

other tongues too, with minor changes. The Moon has therefore always been an

object of fascination and fancy, having been pointed out by billions of mothers

to their innumerable children, over the ages. As a silver ball hanging in the

sky, millions of miles above, the Moon has evoked a wide spectrum of feelings in

the inhabitants of the earth, from romance and bliss to sadness and sorrow.

 

 

 

If we try to trace the origins of children being shown the Moon by their

mothers, we find that it was Yasoda who first did it. Sri Periazhwar describes

this effort to bring down the mighty Moon for the little Lord's entertainment,

in all of ten pasurams. " MAmathI viraindu Odi vA " , " AmpulI kadindOdi vA "

" MamathI magizhndu Odi vA " etc. is the refrain in these verses, telling Moon to

hurry up and come down, in response to the Divine Toddler's call. The Moon must

be extremely thankful to Sri Vishnuchitta for having made his name a byword with

mothers and their children, for, they have followed Yasoda's practice ever

since. It is interesting to note Yasoda practically threatening Moon to come

down fast, or else! She tells him that it is no ordinary brat who is beckoning

him, but the very Lord of Thirumala-

 

" vitthakan VEnkata vANan unnai viLikkindra

 

kaitthalam nOvAmE ampulI viaraindu Odi vA "

 

Yasoda wants the Moon to respond with alacrity, so that the Lord's beckoning arm

doesn't ache with repetitive motions. " Don't mistake this toddler to be any

nondescript specimen of humanity: He is verily the Paramapurusha, who feigned

sleep on the banyan leaf, in the swirling waters of the Cosmic deluge.If you

don't come down fast and if He gets annoyed, He can very well seize you and

bring you down with great ignominy! " threatens Yasoda-

 

 

 

" BAlakan endru paribhavam seyyEl-pandoru nAL

 

Alinilai vaLarnda sirukkan avan ivan

 

MEl ezha pAindu piditthu koLLum veguLumEl

 

MAlai madiyAdE MAmadI magizhndu Odi vA "

 

It is indeed a measure of closeness that this planet has with Sri Krishna that

he is offered an " arghyam " on the Sri Jayanthi day.

 

 

 

But why should mothers be enamoured of only the Moon and want it to

 

entertain their offspring, and why not the Sun? The answer is obvious, for the

Sun, though he radiates light and heat, is a ball of fire one would hardly like

to play with, while the Moon ,being cool, pleasant and inviting, looks to be the

ideal playmate for a toddler. And why should the Moon be so cool and pleasing?

The Purusha Sukta has the answer to this- " ChandramA manasO jAta: " -the Moon was

born straight from the Lord's merciful heart, filled with compassion for errant

humanity. As such, the Moon cannot but be pleasing and lovely. After a hard

day's labour, the sight of the full Moon in all its splendour provides us

relaxation and peace of mind. Tranquility enters our embattled soul and restores

a semblance of equanimity to our skewed perspectives. All these enthralling

effects the Moon has are solely due to its origins, viz,, the Lord's merciful

mind. The Shruti tells us further that during every fresh crop of Creation, the

Moon is created too, as it was during earlier episodes of universal

conception- " SooryA Chandramasou dhAtA yathA poorvam akalpayat " . Though the Sun

is mentioned first in this vAkya, the Purusha Sukta gives the order of

precedence to the Moon, by mentioning him ahead of the former.

 

 

 

The Moon has other facets of greatness too. What would you consider a good day

for Bhagavat anubhavam? EkAdasI? DwAdasI? Sri Andal plumps for a full moon day

as the best bet in this regard and calls upon fellow seekers to immerse

themselves in the blissful ocean of Krishnanubhavam on a PourNami- " MArgazhi

thingaL madi nirainda nannALAl " . Her fascination with Chandran makes Her compare

the Lord's eyes to the Moon and the Sun, in that order-

 

" Thingalum Adityanum ezhundAr pOl angaN irandum " . The Sun-like eye dispels the

darkness of ignorance and sin from our hearts, while the Moon-like eye fills us

with boundless bliss, with its shower of mercy.

 

 

 

With all this going for him, is it any wonder that the Moon is the darling of

everyone's heart, firstly due to his pleasing appearance, which is extremely

easy on the eye (unlike the blindingly brilliant Sun) and secondly due to his

capacity to put the mind at ease and fill it with happiness? Is it any wonder

therefore, that Chandran is the apple of poets' eyes? They find the enchanting

silver ball in the sky an ideal and inviting simile for anything or anyone

good-looking and endearing. We thus have the Adikavi Valmiki telling us that Sri

Rama was as beautiful, radiant and lovely as the Moon- " SOmavat priyadarsana: " .

Not only this, Sri Rama is often glorified as " Ramachandra! " , affording the Moon

the distinction of forming a significant suffix to the hallowed name of the

Paramapurusha (despite His having taken birth in the Sun's Dynasty-Soorya

Vamsam). We are told by the prelude to the Vishnu Sahasranama that the Lord's

complexion resembles that of the Moon- " Shashi varNam chaturbhujam " . Swami

Desikan compares the Lord's tirumukha mandalam to the flawless full moon and the

two enchanting eyes to two blooming lotuses- " Chandra mandalam pONdra tirumukham,

adil iraNdu tAmarai pOl kaNgaL " . Considering it unfair to compare the radiance

of Emperuman's luminous face to a single Moon, another vachanam says that it

resembles not one, but a million Moons shining simultaneously, drenching the

entire universe in waves of bliss-

 

 

 

" Visvam AhlAdayan kAntyA poorNa Chandra ayuta tulyayA " .

 

 

 

Sri Parasara Bhattar, an Acharya who was regarded by Sri Ranganatha as His very

own adopted son, calls His mentor a magnificent Moon in the firmament of

Srirangam- " Ranga ChandramA " . Swami Desikan, who is equally attached to

DEvanAthan of TiruvahIndrapuram, tells us that the Lord's face is verily a full

moon, which, with its comfortingly cool beams, drives away all the heat and dust

of Samsara from our souls-

 

" mugdha smitAmruta shubhEna mukha indunA tE

 

sangamya samsaraNa sanjvara shAntayE na: "

 

 

 

If such is the close association of the Lord with the Moon, can it be anything

else with Piratti, with Her preferences being the same as those of Her Consort?

After all, She is complementary to the Lord in everything He looks like, thinks

and does- " Bhagavannarayana abhimata anuroopa svarUpa rUpa " . Hence we find that

the Divine Consort too is extremely close in Her alliance with the Moon.

 

 

 

The Vishnu Purana tells us that when the dEvAs and asurAs churned the Milky

ocean with Mantara Parvatam as the churning rod, Vasuki as the rope and Sri

Mahavishnu Himself, in His KoormAvatAra, as the steadying force on which rested

the gigantic mountain, several auspicous things emerged from the depths of

TiruppArkadal, prior to the Nectar for which the entire exercise was undertaken.

The first to surface was the Divine Cow KamadhEnu, followed by the ParijAta tree

with its overwhelming fragrance and the ApsarAs (mermaids with breath-taking

beauty). Immediately thereafter emerged the Moon, with his soft and snowy beams

and pleasant looks- " tata: sheetAmsu: abhavat " . We now have additional reasons

for the Moon's coolness-his origins in the TiruppArkadal. When the ocean was

churned further, there emerged from its depths a brilliant Goddess, Mahalakshmi,

seated on a blooming lotus and holding another in Her hand.

 

 

 

Thus, both the Moon and SrIdEvi are products of the Milky Ocean. It is thus that

the Lakshmi Ashtottharasatam describes Her as the Sister of Chandra- " Chandra

sahOdarI " . Just as we call Sri Andal " Perumboodoor MAmunikku pin AnAL " , there

is perhaps more reason to say that Sri Mahalakshmi is junior to Chandra, if we

are to go by the order of birth from the PArkadal. It is no wonder that She

inherits the same complexion as that of Her elder brother, as described by the

same stotra- " Chandra varNAm " . What an extremely concordant couple the Divine Duo

is, for while the Lord is " Shasi varNam " , His Consort is " Chandra varNA " . She

also has the same beauty, brilliance and bewitching properties as

Chandra- " Chandra roopA " . She has the same comforting coolness as Her

brother- " indu sheetalAm " . She generates bliss in the minds of Her devotees, as

does the Moon- " AhlAda jananI " . With all this, it is no wonder that the Shruti

calls Her, " ChandrA " .

 

 

 

Lest anyone mistake the Moon to be an adequate comparison for the Lord's looks

and beauty, Sri Periazhwar hastens to dispel the impression, quoting Yasoda to

confirm that however brilliant be his beams, the Moon would hardly equal a

minuscule part of Kutti Krishna's radiance-

 

" suttrum oLi vattam soozhndu parandu engum

 

etthanai seyyilum en magan mukham nEr ovvAi " .

 

 

 

Not only is Chandra a fertile source of similes, his wife ROhiNI is one too. She

is famed for her close, shadow-like adherence to her husband. It is for this

inseparability that she is held out as a model- " Shasinam ROhiNi yathA " . Students

of Astronomy would perhaps be able to confirm whether the relative celestial

position of the two also conforms to this statement.

 

 

 

Talking of similes, if you imagine that the rAkshasIs of Lanka were all unseemly

ogresses, you are in for a surprise, for even the confirmed bachelor Hanuman

finds those in Ravana's harem to be beautiful, with faces resembling the full

moon- " shasi prakAsa vadanA:chAru kuNdala bhooshitA: " . Tiruvadi finds this worth

repetition- " tAsAm ChandrOpamai: vaktrai: shubhai: lalita kuNdalai " .

 

In the chapters of Srimad Ramayana that follow, the Moon graduates, from a mere

model for comparison, into a deity powerful enough to bestow desired boons. Sri

Hanuman, having scoured Lanka and failed to sight SItA Piratti, has a fit of

dejection. Shaking it off as unworthy of a Ramadoota, AnjanEya prays to the

Moon, inter alia, for assistance in locating Mythily-

 

" namOstu Ramaya salakshmaNAya dEvyai cha tasyai JanakAtmajAyai

 

namOstu Rudra Indra Yama anilEbhyO namOstu Chandra arka Marut gaNebhya: "

 

 

 

Sri Vishnu Purana reveals to us a less endearing aspect of ChandrA's character.

Born in the distinguished lineage of atri (the son of BrahmA), ChandrA was

crowned king of all stars, herbs and brahmins. He performed the RAjasooyA Yaga,

acquiring a glorious stature therefrom. There are several examples of people

going berserk when success goes to their heads, and the Moon's is one of them.

Forsaking his wedded wife ROhiNi, he coveted and consorted with TArA, the wife

of dEvaguru Brihaspati, despite being counselled against it by everyone. This

resulted in a battle royal between ChandrA and those opposed to his heinous

conduct. Perhaps due to this atrocious act of his, the Moon was cursed to phases

of waxing and waning, known as the Shukla Paksha and the Krishna Paksha.

 

 

 

The progeny of this unholy communion was " Budha " . Thus was founded the Soma

vamsam or the Dynasty of distinguished rulers and Rishis, with ChandrA as the

founder. A few of the illustrious descendants of the Moon, direct and indirect,

are King PurUravA, Maharshi Jahnu (who drank up the entire waters of the mighty

Ganga in a fit of rage at his ashram being flooded), Maharshi Jamadagni, Sri

ParasurAma, Maharshi Visvamitra etc. The Chandra vamsam can thus boast of a

Bhagavat avatAra, as much as SooryA's lineage can. It is perhaps to acknowledge

this that the Lord, during the Brahmotsavam, rides one night on the Chandra

Prabha, glorifying the Moon with His presence.

 

 

 

Just as most of us in Tamilnadu follow the SouramAnam or the Solar calendar,

based on the months of mEsham, Vrishabham etc., caused by the Sun's entry into

the respective RAsis, there are those too, especially in Andhra Pradesh etc.,

who follow ChAndramAnam or the Lunar Calendar, based on phases of the Moon.

While for those following the Solar Calendar AmAvAsyA is an auspicious day, for

the other group, it is not, perhaps because of the total absence of the Moon on

that day. Another interesting titbit is the prescription of a PrAyaschittam

(atonement) know as " ChAndrAyaNam " , for some sins, which involves taking just

one morsel of food per day on the Shukla Paksha prathamai, gradually increasing

the number of morsels in tune with the waxing phases of the Moon and reducing

the same during the waning phase.

 

 

 

The universal appeal of this inviting planet would be apparent, when we consider

that the Full Moon casts a spell over beasts too, which are supposed to lack the

finer aesthetic feelings that we have. We have heard of wolves trying to emulate

talented singers, on the full moon day, howling away to their hearts' content.

Even inanimate things are influenced by lunar phases, as can be divined from the

behaviour of tides. The magic of the night is considerably enhanced by the moon,

but for which many a budding romance would have perished without attaining

fruition. When one reaches the ripe age of 80, one is said to have seen a

" thousand Moon " s. All these assorted facts attest to the popularity of this

beautiful planet, which might only reflect the Sun's light, but has an alluring

glory, all of its own.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrismha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan