Soundarya Lahari--Verse 28 [ SrI Samkara-Bhagavatpada ]

[Guest guest]

SudhAm apy AsvAdya pratibhaya-jarA-mrtyu-harinIm

vipadyante visve vidhi-satamakhAdyA divisadah;

KarAlam yet ksvelam kabalitavatah kAla-kalanA

na sambhos tan-mUlam tava janani tAtanka-mahimA

 

O Mother! all the denizens of the celestial regions, such as Vidhi,

Satamakha and others, perish even after drinking nectar, which is

reputed to confer immunity from terrible old age and death. If the

period of life of Sambhu, who has swalloed virulent poison, is beyond

computation, it is all due to the peculiar virtue of Thy TAtanka-s

[ear-ornaments].

 

 

Having given some indication of the fruits attainable by a votary

through Bhakti, devotion, to the Devi, the author sets about in this

stanza describing the marvellous powers exercised by the Devi's

TAtanka-s, through which alone eternal prosperity is vouchsafed to her

devotees.

 

Immunity from terrible old age and death - the apparent incongruity

involved in conceiving of Brahman, Indra and other gods as perishing,

in spite of their having drunk nectar, will vanish if we take into

account the fact that even the Deva-s meet with their dissolution at

the time of the great deluge.

 

Peculiar virtue of Thy TAnaka-s - the word 'TAtanka' is understood by

some as the MAngalya-sUtra, which it is the privilege of all Sumangali-

s, ie women with their husbands still alive, to wear around their

necks. But the correct view is that the TAtanka-s are ear-ornaments

which are the outward symbols of Sumangali-s, who are enjoined not to

forsake their TAtanka-s by any means, as their doing so would amount

to their assuming the outward symbol of widowhood. In this view, the

Devi's TAtanka-s would lose their hold on her ears only when Sambhu

could be overtaken by catastrophe, a contingency which is impossible

as the Devi's TAtanka-s, whereon the very origin, duration and end of

KAla, ie Time, depends. It is on this account that even the most

virulent poison which Sambhu drank had apparently no effect on him. So

wonderful is the influence of the Devi on the longevity of her

husband's life!

 

 

The Ocean of beauty

Saundarya Lahari of SrI Samkara-Bhagavatpada

Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri & T.R. Srinivasa Ayyangar

 

 

Note : For those who have been following this Series, you can follow

the thread in SS website. I've update them all including the yantras

etc. Abirami Andadhi, BhavAnInAmasahasrastutih and Lalitha

Sahasranama too are updated.

 

http://shaktisadhana.50megs.com/Newhomepage/sadhana/Commentaries.html

[Guest guest]

Sorry I could not post the verses since I was hospitalized due to a heat

stroke.Carry on with the posts. I will be up next week and make up for the

delay.

 

NMadasamy <nmadasamy wrote: SudhAm apy AsvAdya

pratibhaya-jarA-mrtyu-harinIm

vipadyante visve vidhi-satamakhAdyA divisadah;

KarAlam yet ksvelam kabalitavatah kAla-kalanA

na sambhos tan-mUlam tava janani tAtanka-mahimA

 

O Mother! all the denizens of the celestial regions, such as Vidhi,

Satamakha and others, perish even after drinking nectar, which is

reputed to confer immunity from terrible old age and death. If the

period of life of Sambhu, who has swalloed virulent poison, is beyond

computation, it is all due to the peculiar virtue of Thy TAtanka-s

[ear-ornaments].

 

Having given some indication of the fruits attainable by a votary

through Bhakti, devotion, to the Devi, the author sets about in this

stanza describing the marvellous powers exercised by the Devi's

TAtanka-s, through which alone eternal prosperity is vouchsafed to her

devotees.

 

Immunity from terrible old age and death - the apparent incongruity

involved in conceiving of Brahman, Indra and other gods as perishing,

in spite of their having drunk nectar, will vanish if we take into

account the fact that even the Deva-s meet with their dissolution at

the time of the great deluge.

 

Peculiar virtue of Thy TAnaka-s - the word 'TAtanka' is understood by

some as the MAngalya-sUtra, which it is the privilege of all Sumangali-

s, ie women with their husbands still alive, to wear around their

necks. But the correct view is that the TAtanka-s are ear-ornaments

which are the outward symbols of Sumangali-s, who are enjoined not to

forsake their TAtanka-s by any means, as their doing so would amount

to their assuming the outward symbol of widowhood. In this view, the

Devi's TAtanka-s would lose their hold on her ears only when Sambhu

could be overtaken by catastrophe, a contingency which is impossible

as the Devi's TAtanka-s, whereon the very origin, duration and end of

KAla, ie Time, depends. It is on this account that even the most

virulent poison which Sambhu drank had apparently no effect on him. So

wonderful is the influence of the Devi on the longevity of her

husband's life!

 

The Ocean of beauty

Saundarya Lahari of SrI Samkara-Bhagavatpada

Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri & T.R. Srinivasa Ayyangar

 

Note : For those who have been following this Series, you can follow

the thread in SS website. I've update them all including the yantras

etc. Abirami Andadhi, BhavAnInAmasahasrastutih and Lalitha

Sahasranama too are updated.

 

http://shaktisadhana.50megs.com/Newhomepage/sadhana/Commentaries.html

 

 

]