Thuppul PiLLai- 45- Paramaarttha sthuthi- Praise on Supreme

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SrI:

SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the

lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

 

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

Let us continue to enjoy the sthOthra granthas of Swamy Desikan [in

alphabetical order]

Paramaartths sthuthi [praise on the Supreme Subject]

 

Paramaarttha sthuthi is a sthOthra in ten slokas on Lord Vijayaraghavan in

the shrine, Thirupputkuzhi by name. It is very near Kanchipuram. Thirumangai

AzhwAr refers to this Lord by name of pOr eRu in Tamil, pOr- war; yERu- the

best of valorous. Swamy Desikan translates the name used by AzhwAr in

Sanskrit addressing the Lord as raNa pungava, Aahava pungava, and Samara

pungava. raNa, Aahava and Samara are synonymns for the war and pungava means

valorous. The shrine takes its name from the tank there [puL- bird; kuzhi-

tank]. There is a small shrine for jataayu – the eagle – on the eastern bank

of the tank. It is stated that Sri Rama in his archaa incarnation as Vijaya

raghavan, bathed in the Jataayu pushkariNI [jatatu lotus pond] and performed

the funeral obsequies for Jataayu, who did great service {kaimkaryam) to Sri

Rama even at the expense of his own life in his efforts to rescue SitA from

the hands of Ravana. When Jatayu fell down in a helpless mood while Ravana

cut Jayaatyu’s both wings, SitA immediately rushed and passed her soothing

hand over the wounds in his body which was a tremendous relief to Jataayu.

Valmiki uses the words “parishvajya janakaathmajaa- SitA embraced Jataayu

considering that he was her own father Janaka and that she was his

(Jataayu’s) daughter.

 

Accoding to Vaalmeeki Ramayana, this episode takes place in Panchavadi. Sri

Rama , realizing the dedicated service of Jataayu, bathes in GodhAvari and

performs the funeral obsequies to the dead bird as a son would do for his

deceased father. Even Dasaratha the real father of Rama did not have the

fortune of the funeral obsequies being performed by Rama as he was not there

beside Dasaratha, when Dasaratha died. In Vaishnavite parlance, Jataayu is

designated as Periya Udayaar [the greater parent].

 

Having all this in mind, Swamy Desika writes this sthOthra. In Sloka 7, - if

a person turns his face away from the four Purushaartthas [dharma, arttha,

kaama, mOksha], dedicates his life in the service to the Lord, he becomes

the recipient of all fruits. Jataayu the eagle is an example of this.

 

avadheerya chathur vidham pumarttham bhavadharThE viniyuktha jeevitha: san |

labjhathE bavatha: phalaani janthu: nikhilAnyathra nidharsanam jataayu: ||

 

Jataayu lived in Panchavatee looking after the comforts of Sri Rama and Sri

Sita and served them at the cost of his life. He got many benefits which

even great sages rarely obtained. More than he had the warm hug of Sita as a

father in his last moments and him passing away uttering the name of SitA

Ram in his lips and a direct vision of Sri Rama by the physical eyes when

his life ebbed away. He had also the unique distinction of having the

Supreme Lord Himself performing the funeral obsequies.

 

The Jataayu episode and especially his supreme service at the cost of his

life which occurred in ThrEthaa yuga during Rama’s period had left such a

deep impression in the Lord’s mind, that he seems to have been thinking of

it always. He desired to go thorugh it ocne again and that for blessing the

great saints like Thirumangai AzhwAr and the People of the South India in

the distant Kali yuga. So Sri Rama in vibhava incarnation became Sri

Vijayaraghava in archa avatharam; Sri SitA became Kanakavalli Thaayaar; and

GodhAvari became Jataayu PushkariNI; Panchavatee became Thirupputkuzhi; and

Jataayu the eagle. The whole episode was re-enacted and it has been

suggested briefly by Kaliyan- ThirumangaiAzhwAr in his PAsuram and portrayed

by Swamy Desikan [Kaliyan urai kudi koNda karutthudaiyOn- Swamy Desikan].in

this sthOthra Paramaarttha sthuthi.

 

Acharya Swamy Desikan himself has become a father and gives birth to a

daughter namely, the sthuthi [a word in feminine gender- Sanskrit]. Swamy

Desikan writes in his tenth sloka:

 

This charming [ramanayee] daughter [Paramaarttha sthuthi] was born of Sri

Venkatesa, the pure minded Bhaktha, by the grace of the most valorous in the

war [raNa pungava]. She [the sthOthra] is fit to be accepted daily and

treated with kindness [aadaraNeeya bhaavya] by all prapannas [those who have

performed Saranagathi] devoid of jealousy.

 

vimalaasaya vEnkatEsa janma ramaNeeya raNa pungava prasaadhaath |

anasooyubi rAdharENa baavya paramaarttha sthuthiranvaham prapannai: ||

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan

kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |

Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||

 

Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the

teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters

 

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