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Thirteenth SlOkam of SrI DevanAyaka PanchAsath
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TathvAni Yaani chidhachid pravibhAgavanthi
Thrayyanatha vruddha gaNithAni sithAsithAni
dheevyanthi thAnyahIpura-dhAma-NaaTa!
dhivyAsthra-bhUshaNathayA Tava vigrahE-asmin
Expanded meaning:
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Oh Lord of ThiruvahIndhrapuram! The scholars of
VedAntham have counted the subdivisions of
the three tattvams( ChEthanam-AchEthanam-Iswaran)
and recognize 25 categories among them .Some of
these 25 are self-luminous (Svayam PrakAsam).
Others are not ;these are JaDam .This list of
twenty five sub-tattvams is constituted by:
(1-5) the Five BhUthams (Pancha BhUthams)
(6-10) the Five TanmAtrAs
The Five BhUthams and the Five TanmAthrais
are present as VanamAlai , the divine garland of
wild flowers on the Lord's chest.The Five (Pancha)
BhUthams are: AakAsam, Vaayu, Agni ,Appu/Jalam and
Pruthvee. The Five tanmAthrais are: Sabdha, Sparsa,
Roopa, Rasa , Gandha tanmAthrams. These TanmAthrams
as dhravyam are in between the successive BhUthams.
For instance , Rasa tanmAthram originates from Agni
and creates Appu/Jalam as one of the panchabhUthams.
Agni is the Kaaryam and Appu is the KaaraNam for
Rasa Tanmathram.
(11-15) The Five JnAna Indhriyams( Indhriyam is not
the gross limb but is different from the body parts and
is sookshmam(subtle)and help the Jeevan .These
five are : Thvak present in the entire body ,GrANam
in the nose to smell , RasanA in the tongue to taste,
Chakshus in the eyes to see, SrOthram in the ear holes
to hear.
(16-20) the Five karmEndhriyams( Vaak , PaaNi (Hands/Fingers),
Paadham(legs) ,Paayu (Aasana dhvArm)and Upastham (Genitals).
Vaak or speech is the dhravyam present subtly in 8 locations of
the body:Hrudhayam, throat ,bottom of the tongue, cheeks,
Teeth ,lips , inside nose and the head. Vaak results from
the coordiantd action of all these 8 sites .
The above 10 Indhriyams (5 Jn~Ana and 5 karma indhriyams )
are present as ten arrows in the arrow case made up by
Ajn~Anam.
(21) Manas (Disc/Sudarsanam )
(22) AhankArams ( The Saarangam Bow and the Paanchajanyam
Conch); The divine sword of the Lord named Nandhakam represents
Jn~Anam , which is not specifically included in the count
since it is visEshaNam to Jeevan .
(23) MahAn ( KoumEdhakam Gadhai or the divine Mace)
(24) Prakruthi ( SrI Vathsam mole)
(25) Jeevan (KousthubhA gem )
The 26th Tatthvam is Iswaran , who stands in ArchA
form at ThiruvahIndhrapuram as Dhaiva Naayakan ; on His
ThirumEni ,the 25 Tatthva entities are seen as either
special weapons or Unique AabharaNams in the above manner.
Additional Comments:
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Swamy Desikan describes in this slOkam ,
the 25 Tatthvams shining as either weapons or
as Aabharanams . All of them except Jeevan are
subdivisions of achEthanam.
achEthanam itself divides in to Prakruthi ( Thriguna
Dhravyam), Kaalam and Suddha Sathvam, which are not
pertinent to this slOkam.
Prakruthi in turn gives rise to MahAn, AhankAram ,
Manas, five Jn~anEndhriyams , Five KarmEndhriyams ,
Pancha BhUthams and Pancha TanmAthrais .These 24
divisions of achEthanam including Prakruthi and its
24 derivatives along with ChEthanam(Jeevan) constitute
the 25 categories of Tatthvams .
In a famous paasuram of Tatthva Thraya ChinthanAdhikAram of
SrImad Rahasya Thraya Saaram , Swamy Desikan salutes Lord
DevarAjan ( some times I wonder whether Swamy Desikan
elected to stay at ThiruvahIndhrapuram , Since the name of
the Lord here is DevanATan , which is identical with the
name of His AarAdhana Moorthy, Kaanchi DevarAjan , who has
been saluted as ImayOr Talaivan by Swamy NammAzhwAr).
This famous Tamil Paasuram connecting the 25 Tathtvams
to the specific weapons and AabharaNams is found in
the SrImad Rahasya Thraya Saaram takes the following
form :
Purudan MaNivaramAhap-ponRA moolap-
prakirithi maRuvAha mAnn taNDAhat-
teruL maruL vALL maRaivAha AankArangaL
Saarngam SankhAha manam thikiriyAha
irudeekankaL Irainthum charankaLAha
iru-bhUtha maalai vanamAlayAhak-
GarudanuruvA maRayin poruLAm KaNNan
Karigiri mEl ninRu anaitthum kaakkinRAnE
This beautiful paasuram describes the exact mapping of
the asthram-bhUshaNams with the 25 Tatthvams.
Here the Lord of Kaanchi, who stands on top of
Hasthigiri protecting all His creation is saluted as
the essential meaning of VedAm , which is the body of
Garudan, the Veda Svaroopi ( Garudan uruvAm MaRayin
PoruLAm KaNNan Karigiri mEl ninRu anaitthum kAkkinRAn).
On that Lord's body , the Jeevan shines as Kousthubham
gem ( Purudan maNivaram aaha); the Moola prakruthi
which never experiences any destruction is seen as
SrI Vathsam on the chest of the Lord ( Moolapprakrithi
maRu aaha); the Mahath tatthvam is recognized as
the divine mace ( Maann taNDu aaha);Jn~Anam and
Ajn~Anam appear as the sword Nandhakam and its sheath
respectively (theruL maruL vaaLL maRaivAha ); the three
ahankArams ( Saathvika, Raajasa and Taamasic ahankArams
take the form of the divine bow and Conch of the Lord
(AankArangaL Saarngam SankhuvAha); The ten IndhriyAs
are seen as ten arrows ( irudeekankaL Yeer Iainthum
charankaL aaha); the five BhUthams and the five
tanmAthrais become two strands of the garlands
of forest flowers. Thus all the 25 Tathvams are
seen decorating the Lord as either weapons or
AabharaNams.All these 25 Tathvams except Jeevan
are derived from Prakruthi.
Swamy Desikan packs such deep tatthvams in
the 13th slOkam of SrI DevanAyaka PanchAsath.
From the 14th to the 45th SlOkam of SrI DevanAyaka PanchAsath,
Swamy Desikan is immersed in the enjoyment of the paripoorNa
Soundharyam of Lord DevanAthan from His crown to His toe
nail in the traditional manner known as KesAdhi PaadhAntha
SthOthram. From 46th to 53rd (Final slOkam), Swamy Desikan
salutes the glories of the BhakthAs of SrI Dhaiva Naayakan
(47th SlOkam), performs saraNAgathy (slOkam 48), begs for
the Lord's mercy (slOkam 49 ), reminds the Lord about
His duties to protect him from SamsAric thApams(SlOkams 50& 51),
seeks the boon of nithya vAsam at this dhivya desam (slOkam 52)
and concludes the sthOthram with his mudhrai (slOkam 53).
The poetic geniuus mingled with Swamy Desikan's
matchles bhakthi for the Lord of ThiruvahIndhrapuram
is abundantly seen in the 32 slOkams (SlOkams 14-45 )
devoted to the description of the dhivya soundharyam of
the Lord of this dhivya dEsam for whom we are striving
to present the RathnAngi.
Today , let us enjoy the 14th slOkam of SrI DevanAyaka
PanchAsath which refers to the ParipoorNa Soundharyam of
the Lord and the beauty of His individual limbs
(Prathyanga poorNa sushumA subhagam vapu:).