Desikasthothramala- Bagavatdhyaana sopaanam

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5. sampreeNathi prathikalam asou maanasam

me sujaathaa

gambheerathvaath kvachanasamaye gooDanikshipthaviSvaa

naaleekena sphuritha rajasaa veDhaso nirmimaaNaa

 

ramyaavartha dhuthi sahacharee

ranganaaThasya naabhiH

 

The navel of

Lord Ranganatha well-formed, which hid within at times (during pralaya) all the

worlds due to its depth, which creates numerous Brahmas with the pollen splashing

from the lotus on it, which has whirlpools of beauty suited to the rest of the

form, gladdens my heart every moment.

 

 

naabhiH- the navel

 

ranganaaThasya- of Lord Ranganatha

 

sujaathaa - well-formed, sujaathaa means well born, here it

means well formed.

 

gooDanikshipthaviSvaa- which hid all the worlds

, gooDa means secret and nikshiptha means placed. The Lord

placed all the worlds in His stomach at the time of pralaya and His nabhi hides them well because, it was

deep like a sea.

 

kvachanasamaye- at times (pralaya)

 

gambheerathvaath- due to its being deep

 

nirmimaaNaa- which creates

 

veDhaso- Brahmas, after

mahaapralaya when even the existing Brahma

is dissolved and merges into the Lord, a new Brahma is created after the cosmic

night of the Lord, which is described above as pralaya when the nabhi holds

everything inside.

 

sphuritha rajasaa- by flashing pollen, the

pollen which are seen on the lotus

 

naaleekena- from the lotus (on it),

the pollen of the lotus creates the Brahmas, since Brahma comes from the lotus

on the navel.

 

 

ramyaavarthaa which has whirlpools of

beauty, since the navel is described as being deep enough to hide the worlds in

it like the sea that contains all living beings in it and t yet appears clam on

the outside, the circular lines on the navel are imagined to be the whirlpools

of beauty.

 

dhuthi sahacharee-in accordance with the

shining beauty of the rest of the form, the navel appears as beautiful as the

rest of the limbs.

 

sampreeNathi -gladdens

 

maanasam me- my mind.

 

prathikalam – every moment. Desika

says that to think of the navel of the Lord brings immense joy to his mind

every moment.

 

The word naabhiH used as a part of human body is

feminine. When used in the sense of the centre of the wheel it is masculine. Here

the use of the feminine gender and the adjectives put in feminine form

accordingly, presents a picture of a woman of noble birth, sujaathaa, who is having a broad mind, gaambheerathvam, who hides the

imperfections in the house of her husband, gooDanikshiptha viSvaa, (the word visva can be

understood as sarvam , all), who gives birth to many sons during her

childbearing age. veDhasaH may mean many Brahmas, veDhaaH, being the word for

Brahma, or many sons who pursue the vedic path. The pollen of the lotus denotes

her fertility. The word ramyaavartha, means the woman being pleasant and moving with

deliberation,the word aavartha also means deliberation or revolving. She is sahacharee,

a companion to her husband and thus like his nabhi, the centre of all his

activities. This is according to some commentators.

 

By a stretch of imagination this can be applied to

the Divine Mother as well, who is sujaathaa, being born from the Milky ocean, She hides all the

imperfections of Her children, (visvam standing for the while world of

creations to whom She is the mother) from the Lord by Her mercy, She is the mother not only of Brahmas but also of

all beings, multitudes of children, who

are expected to follow the vedic path, and when they fail to do so She becomes

the ramyaavartha, mahaamaaya, who deludes the Lord into believing that they are faultless

and guides Him to show mercy. She is dhyuthi sahacharee, perfect companion for

the Lord in Her glory. She is sitting on a lotus, holding lotuses the pollen of

which showers grace to all. Thus inadvertently this sloka stands as a tribute

to Ranganayaki thayar also. This is not a far fetched imagination as the next

sloka mentions about the chest of the Lord which is said to be purified by Her

stepping into it.