Desikasthithramala- Bhagavatdhyaansopaanam

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These 12 slokas are about

SriranganaTha of Srirangam. Desika

describes

the Lord from feet to head, paadhaadhikesaantham. The slokas are beautiful and

gives us a feeling of having the darsan of Ranganatha. This work is supposed to

have composed by Desika in appreciation of the Tamil verses of ThiruppaaNaazvar

, titled `amalanaadhipiraan,' where the Azvar expresses his enjoyment in the

darsan of SriRanganatha describing Him

similarly. Sri Desikan lived in Srirangam for long and was given the

tiltle of vedanthacharya by the Lord HImslf and that of Thanthra Svathanthra by

Sri Ranganayaki. (Dr. Sadagopan has given a wonderful commentary on the

background of this work comparing it with that of the Azvar in his introduction

to this work. Refer sundarasimham.org for the ebook no. 75 Bhagavtdhyanasopanam)

 

1.antharjyothiH kimapi yaminaam anjanam

yogadhrshteH

Chinthaarathnam

sulabham iha naH sidDhimokshaanuroopam

 

Dheena anaaTha

vyasana Samanam dhaivatham

dhevathaanaam

 

dhivyam

chakshuH Sruthiparishadhaam dhrSyathe

rangamaDhye

 

 

A

wonderful sight presents itself in Srirangam, which is the inner light of the

yogis, the collyrium that gives the yogic sight, the wish giving gem, the easy

means of attaining happiness in this world and also of moksha, that which

removes the suffering of those who are helpless, the Lord of the devas, the

divine sight for the understanding of the Vedas.

 

Srirangam is one of the three main temples of

worship for Vaishnavas, the other two being, Thirumala and Kanchi. Desika had

composed slokas on all the three, this being on Ranganatha , Dhyaasathakam on

venkatesa and varadaraja panchasath on Varada of Kanchi.

 

The

Lord in reclining posture is the most attractive for all the devotees, probably

because He is manifest in His full glory with Sesha , Sree, bhoo and Neela

devis , Brahma on His navel etc.

Periazvar

says,

 

aravatthamaLiyinOdum

azagiyapaaRkadalOdum

aravindhappaavaiyum thaanum agampadi

vandhu pugundhu

paravaitthirai pala mOdha paLLi koLginRa

piraanai

(Periazvar

Thirumozi5.2.10)

 

in

which he enjoys the Lord who has come along with His Seshasayana, Lakshmi and

the milky ocean and appears in His reclining posture.

 

In

Srirangam between the two rivers, Kaveri and KoLLadam, the Lord has chosen to

appear in the same posture as in the milky ocean, so that all can easily see

Him and get His grace. Desika describes the luminance of the form of Ranganatha

in these verses, saying that the Lord whom the yogis see within their hearts, anthar jyothiH and by whose grace they are able to see the

Supreme Reality as though applying a special collyrium to their eyes, anjanam yogadhrshteH.

 

Even

for devotees like us, He is easily visible and ready to give what we want like

the divine gem Chinthamani, here in this world, iha naH siddhim and unlike

chinthamani he also gives moksha, mokshaanuroopam.

 

He

removes the suffering, vyasanaSamana,

of those who are helpless and have no other resort than Him, dheena anaaTha and He is also the Lord of the

devas, dhaivatham dhevthaanaam.

 

Not

only for the yogis, devas and the devotees but also for those who desire to

learn the Vedas, Sruthi parishadhaam

He is the divine sight, dhivyam chakshuH,

to enable them to understand the import of the Vedas. That is, the comprehension of the Vedas is possible only through His grace.

 

Such

a divine manifestation as Ranganatha is seen in Srirangam.

 

The

temple of Srirangam has seven praakaaras , walls

around, which stand for the seven aavaranas or covering that veils the Supreme

reality to the jeevas. They stand for the five indhriyas, mind and ego. Unless one crosses over the seven coverings he

is not able to see the Supreme Self within.

 

Ranga

means a stage, which is the universe the Lord plays putting on different

costumes for the protection and salvation of His creations. He is in yoga nidra out of which He creates the

Universe of sentient and insentient beings. The Sesha with thousand hoods

stands for the cosmic mind which is ready to do the bidding of the Lord. Brahma

is at His navel to act as the tool of

creation and Sree, Bhoo and Neela devis are present to show mercy on His

creations and to induce Him to overlook the faults of the devotees and grace

them. His left arm is placed under His head unlike the abhaya hastha in the

standing or sitting posture. This may mean that since His right arm is

stretched by His side reaching the place where Sri , Bhoo and Neela devis are

sitting, meaning that if you surrender to the divine mother the grace of the

Lord will automatically follow and hence there is no need to show His

abhayahastha.

 

The

cosmic dance of Nataraja in Chdambaram, where the Lord is also present in the

form of His yoganidra as Govindaraja

denotes that the yoganidra is the prelude to the cosmic dance which results in

creation, sustenance and destruction.