Thuppul PiLLai- 52-Varadaraaja Panchaasath- Fifty verses on Lord Varadaraja

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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]

Sri Varadaraja-Pancasat -The fifty on Lord Varadaraja

 

Varadaraja Pancasat is a stotra in fifty (+one) verses on Bhagavan Sri

Varadaraja, who is on the Elephant Hill(hastigiri) in Kanchi. Hastigiri

Mahatmya states that the Lord is self-manifest (Svayam-vyakta) and not

installed by any being, divine or human The tradition is that Sri

Varadaraja appeared with His Consort Lakshmi as Blue fire of Brahma, when

the latter performed a horse-sacrifice at Kanchi.

 

The stotra begins with an introduction in six slokas in which Sri Desika

describes the greatness of the Lord and prays that the Lord out of His

innate Mercy should bless him with knowledge and ability to compose the

Stotra.

 

Slokas seven to fifteen describe the doctrines of Sri Vaishnava Theology

as revealed by the scriptures and mention specially four qualities of the

Lord that He is the Cause of the Universe, the Inner Soul of all things that

are His body, that all words signify Him and that He is the Supreme goal of

Attainment.

 

Sloka sixteen to thirty deal with the five forms of the Lord-1.para,

the Supreme Lord in the Transcendental world, (16-18); 2.Vyooha (emanation)

as Vasudeva Sankarshana and others (19); 3.Inner Ruler.(Antaryami (20-21):

4. Vibhava (incarnation as Rama and Krishna, Varaha and Nrisimha, (22-26),

and 5. Arca (Idol)(27-30). Sri Desika has a great personal attachment to

this Lord, Varadaraja and he surrenders himself at the Lord’s feet.

 

Several slokas from thirty-one onwards are devoted to the ideal life to

be led by a Prapanna(Refugee) in the post-Prapatti period. Sloka forty-three

to forty-nine present the loving and devoted life of the Alwars which should

be our ideal.

 

In Sloka forty-three Sri Desika describes that life in this world itself

is Salvation provided four of his conditions are satisfied (43)viz.(1) O

Lord! If Thou will bestow Thy favour on me. If Thou will keep me near Thee;

(3) if my mind will be exclusively devoted to Thee: and finally (4) if Thou

will put me the Company of Thy ardent devotees. Sri Desika goes to the

extent of declaring with a solemen vow that he will have no desire for a

journey to and life in Vaikunta if he is blessed with the enjoyment here of

the unmatched form of Sri Varadaraja which is beyond thought and word.(49).

 

All the slokas in this Stotra are highly enjoyable I shall satisfy by

giving a few examples. Sri Desika says that the Alwars, in spite of their

knowledge and devotion, have not sung a decad on Varadaraja, because they

became spell-bound when they thought of the unmatched beauty and qualities

of Sri Varadaraja. (3) Sri Varadaraja is an expert actor who has acted in

the stage of the world in the form of various characters as Rama, Krishna

and others (9).

 

In order to prove the truth of the words of young Prahlada to his father

that God is everywhere, the Lord got into everyone of all the objects in the

three worlds. Excepting that one pillar in the palce of Hiranyakasipu which

gave birth to Lord Narasimha, all other objects are still pregnant with Him

(22).

 

The desire of Sri Desika to enjoy the beauty of Sri Varadaraja in

different forms is so great that he longs to see the Lord everyday riding

the horse or the Garuda, the chariot or the palanquin as He goes about

during the Brahmotsava(48).

 

Sri Desika concludes by saying that the Lord is really a Kalpaka-tree on

the Elephant-Hill which grants all fruits to those who take to the Stotra

(51).

 

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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