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1-8
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
991. haricharaNasarOjE BhakthiBhAjAm janAnA-
manukaraNavishEShaIrAthmanaIvOpahAsyam
pariNamaya dhayArdhrA pAdhukE! thAdhrusham mAm
BharathapariShadhantharvarthiBhi: prEkshaNIyam
Oh Paaduka! I have been imitating the great devotees of the Lord's
Feet, in the matter of showing Bhakthi, performing duties, speaking
in self-criticism,-all in mere cheating spirit. May You, in Your
grace, transform me into one of the people of true devotion and
sincere humility, so that I can join the band, Bharata-troupe!
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 991
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! adiyEn imitates the acts
of those righteous ones, who are deeply devoted to the Lord's holy
feet. These evolved souls have attained the purpose of their births
through such exemplary devotion to the Lord's lotus feet. I laugh
however at myself over my audacious imitation of the ways of these
devotees of the Lord and feel sinful. Oh PaadhukE! Please make me a
member of this true group of servants of the Lord out of Your immense
compassion for sinners like me.
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: Here, Swamy Desikan develops the
theme that the auspicious glances of BhagavathAs of the Lord are
even more powerful (darsanAdhEva Saadhava:) than that of the Lord
Himself. He prays for the blessings of the Paadhukais to generate
true bhakthi for the BhAgavathAs of the Lord. Swamy
Desikan laments over the lost days, when he pretended to act like a
true devotee of the Lord's BhagavathAs. He prays to the Paadhukais to
join him in the Bharatha GhOshti.
3) Oh PaadhukE! There are the true BhagavathAs of the Lord , who have
the highest level of Bhakthi for the Lord's lotus feet (Oh PaadhukE!
Hari charaNa sarOjE bhakthi bhAjAm Janaa:). I tried to act like them
and became a laughing matter to myself (Bhakthi bhAjam JanAnAm
anukaraNa visEshai: aathmanaiva upahAsyam). Oh most Compassionate
PaadhukE ! You must bless this egotistic and decietful jeevan
(myself) to become the object of glance of the Saadhus, who belong to
the Bharatha GhOshti ( ThAdhrusam maam Thvam dayArshrA Bharatha
Parishath antharvarthibhi: prEkshaNeeyam pariNamaya) ... (V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
992. dhurithamapanayanthI dhUratha: pAdhukE! thvam
dhanujamaThanalIlAm dhEvathAmAnayanthI
anitharasharaNAnAmagrimasyAsya janthO-
ravashakaraNavrutthEragratha: sanniDhEyA:
Oh Paaduka! Please drive out my sin to a long distance away. Please
bring me to the one great Lord, who achieves the quelling of asuras
as mere sport. I am Destitute No.1. All my senses are non-obedient to
me, I have no control over them. Before such a pathetic, suffering
creature that I am, please show the Lord's vision!
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 992
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You are going to banish
my sins by Your presence at the time of my death and bring Your Lord
from a great distance to me and help me, who is standing in the front
row of helpless and with no control over my faculty of senses . Your
Lord said that He will think of His devotees and come to their rescue
at the time of their departure from this world. You are going to
bring Him to me during my last moments on this earth even if adiyEn
is not highly qualified to recieve His blessings.
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that for those
who rely totally on their SadAchAryAs, all enemies for Bhakthi
anubhavam will be chased away through the mere glances of their
SadaachAryAs until their last moments on earth; further , the
visualization of Bhagavan (Bhagavath SaakshAthkAram) will also
result during their last moments here . These are some of the
UpakArams of the SadAchAryAs.
3) Oh PaadhukE ! For adiyEn, You serve as the enemy of all obstacles
that stand in the way of practising Bhakthi yOgam and Bhakthi
anubhavam in this earth. (PaadhukE ! Thvam dhuritham dhooratha:
apanayanthee). Oh PaadhukE ! May Thou be present before me (
SannidhEyA: ) with Your Lord , who sports in destroying Bhagavath
anubhava virOdhis during my last moments ( asya jantho:
agratha:, dhanuja maTana leelA DevathAm aanayanthee sannidhEyA:).
adiyEn is in the front end of all who have no recourse except You and
I have no success in controlling my Indhriyams ( anithasaraNAnAm
agrimasya , avasa karaNa-vrutthE; asya JanthO: purasthAth DEvathAm
aanayanthee sannidhEyA: )...(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
993. charamanigamagIthE sapthathanthoU samApthE
nijasadhanasamIpE prApyiShyan vihAram
jvalanamiva BhavathyO: samyagArOpayEnmAm
praThamavaraNavashya: pAdhukE! RanganATha:
Oh Twin-Paaduka! When I first uttered the appeal to the Lord, "You
will please act as my protector", in Prapatti, the Lord Ranganatha
became won over by me. When my life ends, a yajna He was performing
by utilizing me in His services through the whole post-prapatti
period becomes completed. Hence, He will have to place the Fire
(that is my jeevatma) in His sandals, Yourselves, (a replica of
Arani wood) to place me in His Abode. May He do it!
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 993
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: In the previous verse, Swamy Desikan
described the approaching of the Paadhukais during his last moments
on this earth. Here, he describes how they take him to the Supreme
abode of the Lord. He says: " Oh PaadhukE! RanganAtha empathizes
with Your role as my protector and at the time of my death, He acts
as the priest at the Yaagams known as adhvaryu to bring me over to
His sanctum in SrI Vaikuntam. He brings me over as an adhvaryu
priest would bring the sacred fire from the place of the sacred
ritual and unite it with the sacred fire at home at the conclusion
of such Yag~nams. He places me as the Agni between You both (the
Paadhukais) serving as the fire producing sticks".
At the end of the SomaYaagAs, the Master of the Yaaga (YajamAna)
requests the adhvaryu priest to bring the sacred Agni of the Yaaga
back to his house to unite it with the Agni at home used for
sacrificial rites of the house. RanganAtha acts here as the adhvaryu
priest and brings the aathmA of Swamy Desikan (Agni) to His sanctum
out of respect for the PaadhukAs' role as the protector. He places
that Agni between the two Paadhukais serving as the two aaraNi
Kattai (fire generating sticks ) used for kindling the fire.
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: Lord RanganAthA at he end of the
life of PrapannAs in His leelA VIbhUthi removes His property (the
aathmA inside my physical body) and places it in Your hand for
assistance in its travel to His permanent abode. That act of the
Lord is equivalent to the Adhvaryu priest being given the
responsibility for transporting the DhAryAgni from the Yaaga SaalA
to be united with the Gaarhapathya Agni for use in the daily
(Nithya, naimmitthika ) Karamas at the end of the avabrutha snAnam
relating to the completion of the Soma Yaagam by the YajamAnan.
The DhAryAgni is invoked in the two special fire kindling
sticks /araNi KattaikaL ( Utthara araNi and athara araNi). That
Parama purushArTam (Not only being protected in LeelA VIbhUthi but
also being transportred to SrI Vaikuntam with the guidance of
AadhivAhikAs ) is going to come my way through Your benovolence. The
Lord is going to entrust His property (my aathmA) to You.
3) Oh PaadhukE ! adiyEn is PraTama varaNa vasyan ( SaraNAgathan ,
who has been inducted in to the nYAsa yajnam at the outset itself).
Lord RanganAthan is the adhvaryu in that NyAsa Yaj~nam. He grants me
permanent residence at His SrI Vaikuntam at the end of my life as
a Prapannan here as revealed in the Upanishads ( RanganATa :
Charama nigama geethE sapthatanthou samApthE sathi , nija sadhana
sameepE vihAram prApayishyan) . During that occasion , He is going to
entrust adiyEn's aathmA , His property , to You like the adhvaryu
priest entrusts Yaaga Kunta Agni to the two araNikkattaikaL for
transport to home for link with the household agni ( Maam
jwalanamiva BhavathyO: samyak aarOpayEth) ... (V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
994. punarudharanivAsacChEdhanam sahyasinDhO:
pulinamaDhivasEyam puNyamAbrahmalABhAth
pariNamathi sharIrE pAdhukE! yathra pumsAm
thvamasi nigamagIthA shAshvatham moULirathnam
Oh Paaduka! May I ever be enabled to live on the sands of Kaveri, a
pure and beautiful place! For, You will bless us by being a head-
ornament to us. You are the praise-theme for the Vedas. Your contact
with us is sure to cut off our links with the continuously revolving
Samsara.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 994
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: In the previous verse, Swamy
Desikan expressed the wish that his soul join the Paadhukais for
its journey to the Supreme Abode of the Lord. Here, he prays for
his subtle (Sookshma) body to be crowned with the PaadhukAs until it
reaches the Parama Padham of the Lord. He says: "Oh PaadhukE ! At
Srirangam on the banks of Cauvery, my earthly body will fall and the
subtle body will join You. At that time, You who is celebrated by
the VedAs will become my crown jewel. That auspicious event
will destroy future births for me. May I stay with You at the banks
of Cauvery in my earthly life until I reach the Lord's abode
following my dEhAvasAnam ?
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: In the previous slOkam , Swamy
Desikan dwelt on the happenings at the end of his life on earth as a
Prapannan. Through this ( 994th) and two subsequent slOkams ( 995
and 996th), Swamy Desikan dwells on the aanandhaanubhavam as a
Prapannan right here on earth at Srirangam in a manner developed by
him in the 989th and the 990th SlOkams. He praises the glories of
life at Srirangam worshipping Lord RanganAtha.
Swamy Says: "Oh PaadhukE! Your place of residence, SrIrangam, is the
most sacred dhivya dEsam located on the banks of the holy Cauvery
river. It removes all sins that lead to the sufferings in SamsAram.
For those, who are blessed to live here, You rest on their heads
form birth to the last moments as SirObhUshaNam. Is there a Parama
PurushArTam bigger than birth and residence at the dhivya dEsam of
SrIrangam? adiyEn's prayer is to enjoy You without interruption
(vichyuthi) at Srirangam from the moment of birth to the last moment
as a Prapannan. Please grant me that boon !
3) Samicheena Saasthrams states that dhivya dEsa Vaasam and
death( PrAkrutha sareera viyOgam ) in a dhivya dEsam in
the manner of "aabrahma lAbhAth adhivasEyam "(/ living from birth
onwards at Dhivya dEsam) will lead to Moksha PrApthi.
Oh PaadhukE! The dhivya Desam where You reside besides Cauvery dunes
is sacred ( Paavanam) to remove punar janmam ( Puna: udhara-nivAsa
chEdhanam SahyasindhO: puLinam ). This is the sandy island between
the two cauverys , Srirangam . May I be blessed to live here until I
reach Parama padham ( aabrahmalAbhAth adhivasEyam ). In these sandy
dunes, the prapannAs have the bhAgyam of adorning You celebrated by
the VedAs on their heads as aabharaNam during their different stages
of life as an infant, youth, adult old man and upto the last moment
of their lives (Yathra SrirangE, pumsAm sareerE pariNamathy sathy ,
NigamageethA Thvam Saasvatham mouLi-rathnam asi)....(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
995. bahuviDhapuruShArThagrAmasImAntharEvAm
haricharaNasarOjanyAsaDhanyAmananya:
BharathasamayasiDdhAm pAdhukE! BhavayamsthvAm
Shathamiha sharadhasthE shrAvayEyam samruDdhim
May I ever live-may be hundreds of years-in this Srirangam, singing
Your praise, ever meditating on You without any other thought,
realizing that this cult of Bharata is most potent, this worship
being regarded as the ultimate in the human goals. Your continuous
contact with the Lord's Feet being the cause of such elevated status.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan(V.S):
SlOkam 995
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukA DEvi! There is nothing
more to obtain besides You .Even then , from the example set by
Bharatha, I realize that you can not be seperated form the Lord's
feet. Therefore, I want to sing about Your glories throughout
the earth during my alloted life span of one hundred years. I will
spread the story of your glory among the people of Srirangam among
the villages and cities around and among the rest of the earth
through the verses of SrI RanganAtha PadhukA Sahasram.
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: The descriptions/salutations of the
PaadhukAs in this slOkam can be intrepreted either with focus on the
BhUmi or the SadAchAryAs. The commonality is that the samrutthi (
Iswaryam/Prosperity ) of a floursihing nation and the vaibhavam of
the auspicious PaadhukAs. Swamy Desikan prays here to the
Paadhukais to be blessed with long and happy life as a PaadhukA
sEvakan at Srirangam worshipping the Paadhukais and singing about
the glories of the Paadhukais. Swamy Desikan wants all the others
to have the same aanandha anubhavam that he has in enjoying the
Paadhukais and for that purpose, he wants to stay at Srirangam for a
long time and sing about the unique glories of the Paadhukais.
3) Oh PaadhukE ! May I be fortunate to live at Srirangam for many
years meditating on You and propagating Your limitless glories
revealed in Bharatha SiddhAntham (Bharatha samaya siddhAm ThvAm
ananya: iha tE samruddhi, satham saradha: srAvayEyam )! What are
three of these Samruddhis or auspicious features ? They are: (a) The
Paadhukais are the limits of the four kinds of PurushArTams (
Dharma, arTa, Kaamam and Moksham) and their subdivisions (Bahuvidha
PurushArTa grAma seema antharEkhAm), (b) Blessings to have the
association with the lotus feet of the Lord (Hari CharaNa sarOja
nyAsa dhanyAm), (c) establishment by Bharathan that the AarAdhanam
of the Lord's Paadhukais are as sacred as that performed for the
Lord Himself ( Bharatha samaya siddhAm ThvAm bhAvayan tE samruddhim
srAvayEyam) ....(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
996. thilakayasi shirO mE shoUripAdhAvani! Thvam
Bhajasi manasi nithyam BhUmikAm BhavanAKhyAm
Vachasi cha vaIBhavaI:svaIrvyakthimitTham prayAthA
Thadhiha pariNatham mE thAdhrusham BhAgaDhEyam
Oh Paaduka of the Lord! You sit on my head, even as an ornament to
be cherished. You are in my heart, by my constant meditation,
through which I envision You. You havenow established a contact with
my tongue through this work in Your praise. I have thus secured a
great privilege to hover around You in all three ways-physical,
mental or verbal.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 996
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Lord's PaadhukE! You adorn my
head. You are forever enshrined in my heart. You sanctify my speech
with recitation of Your glories. You are thus worshipped by me at
the three levels: Bodily ( KaayikA ), mental ( Maanasa) and speech (
VaachikA ). As a result of this total devotion to You, I have
attained a status here at Srirangam equal to that of BharathA ,
Valmiki and the eternal residents of Srivaikuntam.
2) SrImath Andaban's anubhavam: Here Swamy Desikan celebrates his
good fortune conferred on him by the Padhukais to enjoy them with
his thrikaraNams(Body, mind and speech). This was realized through
the Prapatthi to Your Lord that You motivated. These auspicious
samruddhis resulted from that powerful poorNa prapatthi engineed by
You.
3) Oh Souri PaadhAvani ! You are adorning my head ( mE sira:
tilakayasi). You achieve a distinct and permanent presence in my
mind (mE manasi nithyam bhAvanAkhyAm bhUmikAm bhajasi). You shine in
my walk through these thousand slOkams celebrating You ( mE vachasi
cha svai: vibhavai: ittham vyakthim prayAthA asi). Thus in the
matter of Yourself , my prapatthi has been fulfilled in a trimodal
way (tath iha mE thAdhrusam bhAgadhEyam pariNatham)...(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
997 ajaniShi chiramAdhoU hantha dhEhEndhriyAdhi-
sthadhanu thadhaDhikassannIshvarOham baBhUva
aTha Bhagavatha evABhUvamarThAdhidhAnIm
thava punarahamAsam pAdhukE Dhanyajanma
Oh Paaduka! At first, I lived for a long time in total disregard of
the Atma, imagining that I have to please my body only. Then I
learnt and realized that I had a soul different from the physical
body but that too did not give the correct status for me, since I
assumed an independence of will and action, negating the all-
controlling Lord. Then by an accident, I realized that my soul is
for the service and pleasure of the Lord. That marked my reformation
into a treatment of my soul as the Lord's, that is Seshatva, a great
blessing indeed!
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 997
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: From early times , I regret that I
did not become Your servant. In the beginning , I thought that the
body, faculty of senses, mind and knowledge snared me and held me in
their grips. During those times, I thought that I was the body or
the faculty of senses or the mind. After spending a long
time in this fashion, I recognized that they are not the Aathma and
that became clear in my thinking. Then I thought that I was
independent aathmA ( Jeevan), who is equal to the Lord and suffered
from wrong identification ( like HiraNyakasipu). Finally, I realized
that I am the unconditional servant of SrIman Narayana alone. Now I
recognize that service to the Lord's BhagavathAs is greater than
even the direct service to the Lord Himself. Hence, I have become
Your ( PaadhukA's) servant. I have reached the highest status as a
result of being Your servant ( PaadhukA sEvakan).
2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Here, Swamy Desikan thinks about
the bhAgyam conferred by the Paadhukais on him with utter
gratefulness. He compares his earlier sad lot and how the Paadhukais
changed all that and becomes intensely grateful.
Swamy Desikan muses aloud : "Oh PaadhukE ! When I think of all
the anugrahms that have come my way thanks to Your benovelence,
I can not but feel grateful. I used to consider my Sareeram as the
aathmA and sought solely the nurture of my body. I led an animal
edition of human existence and entered many yonis as bird , beast
and insect. I spent aeons without knowing an iota of Bhagavath
Saasthrams. When I think of those terribly wasted days, my heart
pounds with grief. Finally due to some ancient good fortune
(sukritha lEsam ), Bhagavath kaDAksham fell on me and I entered
human janmAs and developed the knowledge that the AathmA is
different than the body in which it resides and that seeking the
four purushArTams through Vedic karmAs is the right thing to do.
Bhagaavth KatAksham led to SadAchArya sambhandham and Tatthva
Jn~Anam. I became SeshabhUthan to the Lord and sought Your refuge.
Bhagavath Seshathvam pushed me further to its limit, BhAgavatha
Seshathvam.My life became fruitful (Saphalam ). I recognized that
there is nothing loftier than Kaimkaryam to You for gaining all
PurushArTams. Grand indeed is the power of Your anugraham ! ".
3) Oh PaadhukE ! For a long time, I stayed in a state of total
ignorance about my svaroopam and had SareerAthma Bramam as well as
Svatantrathma Bramam and was lost(aham chiram dEha indhriya aadhi:
svaroopam ithi mathvA ajanishi . Hantha ! ). Later due to the
JaayamAna KatAksham of Your Lord , I was blessed with SadAchArya
Sambhandham and VedAntha Jn~Anam form the AchAryan ; I understood
that the Lord is the karthA of KarmAs and is the Jn~Ana Svaroopi ,
who is the Master/ Sarva Swamy (Tadhanu tadhikassan Isvara:
BhabhUva). I developed clear Jn~Anam about my svaroopam as Daasa
BhUthan for the ParamAthma ( DaasabhUthA: svathassarvE hyAthmana:
ParamAthmana:). I became the property of the Lord (Bhagavatha yEva
abhUvam). From there ( Bhagavath sEshathvam ), I reached the
boundary of that state and have arrived now at BhAgavatha
sEshathvam, which transformed me to become your intimate sEsha
bhUthan (idhAnim puna: arTAth Tava aasam . I am truly blessed (
aham dhanya Janmaa aasam )....(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
998. thvayyAyatthoU Bhagavathi shilABhasmanO: prANadhAnA
dhAsthrIbAlam praThithaviBhavoU pAdhapadhmoU murArE:
thAmEvAham shirasi nihithAmadhya pashyAmi dhEvA-
dhAthmADhArAm janani! BhavathImAthmalABhaprasUthim
Oh Goddess Paaduka Mother! Even a child or womenfolk would know of
Your achievements in that You helped revivification of a stone or
burnt log of wood. My assigning them to Your credit cannot be
questioned by anybody. The Feet depend on You. While You are
Yourself the basis for Yourself, the feet depend on You. It is You
which inculcated the right spirit of the seld as subordinate to You.
And I feel honoured by Your being placed on my head.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 998
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Worshipful Mother! the Stone at
the roadside became AhalyA, the wife of Sage Gouthama. The piece of
charcoal became King Parikshith. People say that these
transformations took place through the intervention of Your Lord's
holy feet. Those sacred feet are accomodated by You and supported by
You. Oh PaadhukE! Unlike the Lord's feet, You do not need any
support base and are responsible for the jeevan to attain its
svaroopa Jn~Anam. I consider myself fortunate in adorning You on my
head inview of the great vaibhavam that you are associated with.(
Swamy Desikan bases this verse on what is known as Kaimudhika
NyAyam according to which PaadhukAs can be understood as giving new
life to the jeevans at the end of their earthly life inside the
body).
2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam:In this slOkam, Swamy Desikan
points out that the auspiciousness arising from being the servant of
the Lord's Paadhukais is unsurpassed in its vaibhavam and it is
something that is not easy to gain. It is indeed the Vaathsalya
guNam of the Paadhukais that makes it possible and not any planned
striving(prayathnam) on our part. It is PadhukA's motherly
affection for us and your their anugraha paramparais that lead upto
this Parama srEyas.
3) Oh Mother PaadhukE ( Bhagavthee Janani)! Your Lord's lotus feet
have the glories of blessing AhalyA, who was staying as a stone
(SilA) due to her husband's curse; those sacred feet saved the
embryo ParIkshith from apANDava asthram and transformed him form a
cinder block to a living infant (m basmAnO: PrANa dhAnAth); those
same sacred feet destroyed MurAsuran. Such feet with all these
vaibhavams are under Your control (MurArE: Paadha Padhmou
ThvayyAyatthou). Your Lord is the antharAthmA for all the world (
aathmAdharAm) and You are the bearer of that ParamAthmA. You are
worshipped by all the world ( SarvalOka Poojyai ); You have unique
and matchless vaibhavam ( nirathisaya prabhAvasaali ). You are the
cause for the Moksha sukham for the jeevans (Thvam aathma-lAbha
prasUthi). It is only through good fortune I am having You now on my
head without any special prayathnam ( aham dhaivAth sirasi nihithAm
adhya pasyAmi)...(V.S)
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
999. kaThankAram lakshmIkarakamalayOgyam nijapadham
nidhaDhyAdhrangEsha: kulishakaTinEsminmanasi na:
na chEdhEvam maDhyE vishathi dhayayA dhEvi! BhavathI
nijAkrAnthikshuNNasmarasharashiKhAkaNtakathathi:
Oh Paaduka Devi! The hearts of people have been subject to the
arrows of Cupid, which continue to remain as thorns therein. Had You
not first entered and pulverized these thorns, by Your grace, how
can one expect Lord Ranganatha to step in into these hearts, with
His Feet so very delicate as to be caressed very carefully by the
hands of Mahalakshmi.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan ( V.S):
SlOkam 999
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh DEvi! If You through Your steps
do not pulverize the tips of the thorns of the arrows of Manmatha
and prepare my heart as a soft spot fit for housing the tender ,
lotus feet of Your Lord, How could He (SrI RanganAtha) place His
soft feet on my adamantine hard heart?
2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: In this slOkam, Swamy Desikan
describes the fruits of worshipping the Lord's Paadhukais. Oh
victorious PaadhukE resting in my mind after defeating that mind,
which roamed fiercely chasing all material and sensory pleasuers! Oh
PaadhukE with that Vijya SrI! You pulverized all the fierce thorns
present in my mind through Your fervent sanchArams there and made it
a safe and soft place for Your Lord to reside. If You had not done
that, there was no chance for the Lord to enter my dangerous mind.
Thanks to Your help, both of You have settled down in my mind. The
inner meaning is that the intimate association with SadAchAryAs and
the auspicious benefits of their upadEsa anugrahams produce vivEkam
in us, cleanses our minds and results in Bhagavath dhyAnam and
anubhavam .
3) Oh Devi PaadhukE! My mind (manas) is dense with sharp thorn-like
features resembling the adamantaine weapon (kulisakaDini
/vajrAyudham). It is a place that is not most comfortable to enter (
dushpravEsam). Lord RanganAtha's sacred feet are soft like the
lotus petals and are easily bruised even from pressings by the soft
hands of His divine consort , SrI RanganAyaki ( Lakshmi
karatala yOgyam ). In to that hard and lowly place of my mind, the
Lord enters and places His Thiruvadi and feels comfortable. How is
that possible? (kaTankAram RanganATa : nija padham nidhadhyAth ). It
is only because of Your valour to enter my mind and with your
intense crushing of those sharp thorn-like entities and pulverizing
them through many sanchArams over them (Bhavathee nija aakrAnthy
kshuNNa Smara sara sikhA kaNDaka tathi: ). Out of Your compassion
for me, You get in between the Lord's tender feet and the field of
crushed thorns(manas) so that He does not feel those sharp objects (
dayayA yEvam madhyE visathi)...(V.S).
Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:
1000. krIdAloUlyam kimapi samayE pAdhukE! varjayanthI
nirvEsham svam dhishasi BhavathInAThayO: shrIDharaNyO:
mAmapyEvam janaya maDhujithpAdhayOrantharangam
rangam yAsoU janayasi guNaIrBhArathInruttharangam
Oh Paaduka! You are wont to concede the opportunity, to the consorts
Sri and Bhoomi, who feel they are subservient to You, of privately
serving the Lord's Feet, by subjugating Your own desire to serve the
Lord, say in a stroll, to their longing. I am Your subservient. You
ought to grant me too, the opportunity of privately rendering
service to those Holy Feet! You will do it, I know. You have enabled
me to complete this work and become the instrument of making this
Ranga a stage for Saraswati to dance in delight on hearing this
work.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):
SlOkam 1000
1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: When Swamy Desikan began to compose
the thousandth verse, Sarasvathy Devi was happy to know that the
poet (SrI VenkatEsan) had completed his pledge to create one
thousand verses in a single night in praise of the Paadhukais of the
Lord. The aasthika janams of Srirangam assembled in front of Lord
RanganAtha also appalauded his (Swamy Desikan's) extraordinary
success. Swamy Desikan was also very pleased and grateful that such
an effort was concluded and sought a boon of closeness to the holy
feet of the Lord and sing about their glories. He says: "Oh PadhukE!
When Lord RanganAtha wants to give His DEvis the pleasure of
pressing His feet, You cast aside Your desire to roam outside
carrying Your Lord's Thiruvadis. You defer those duties in favor of
the Lord's consorts. Similarly, May Thou bless me to become close to
Your Lord's Thiruvadis ! Your powers are such that You have made
Srirangam, the dance theatre for Sarasvathy DEvi".
2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Swamy Desikan has now reached the
stage of completion of the 1000 slOkams to eulogize the vaibhavam of
the Paadhukais (Sankalpitha sahasram sampoorNam) .He has been
blessed with Bhagavath prApthi through the upAyam of PaadhukA
prApthi. He is joyous and concludes the Kaavyam from the subject
matter point of view. The remaining 8 slOkams are epilogues .
The inner meaning of this thousandth slOkam is to instruct us that
the SadAchAryAs of the Lord are dearer to the Lord even more than
His divine consorts. Those SadAchAryAs are celebrated as well by the
Divine consorts of the Lord. SadAchAryyAs are capable of blessing
their sishyAs with Bhagavathanubhavam similar to the one that they
enjoy. Swamy Desikan hints that AchArya Saayujyam is better than
Bhagavath Saayujyam. The glories of such AchAryAs fill all the
world.
Swamy Desikan asks a rhetorical question in this concluding
slOkam: Oh Paadhuke! What else do I need here, now that You have
blessed me to enjoy SrI RanganAthan with my body, speech and mind
and prepared me to be fit to perform kaimkaryams for Him ? There
seems to be one more thing that You can bless me with so that I can
become complete (PoorNan). You are known for Your total devotion to
Your Lord and for Your assembly of auspicious aathma guNams tuned to
serve Your Lord without interruption . Recognizing these splendid
set of attributes, even the Devis of the Lord pay their respects to
You. They recognize that Bhagavath anubhava roopa PurushArTam is
also under Your control. They are thankful to You for stopping the
Lord's sanchAram and returning Him to His inner chambers
for union with them ( the Devis). Thus You confer the bhOgam of the
Lord's lotus feet for the Devis instead of monopolizing them by
going on long sanchArams with Your and Their Lord. My prayer to You
is to bless me further with the Bhagavath PadhAravindha anubhava
bhOgam just like You facilitated such anubhavams for the Lord's
divine consorts. You may ask how I came to know of Your generosity
to share the Lord's divine feet with His dear consorts. Oh PaadhukE!
Your vaibhavam is so well known (lOka prasiddham) in this world
through the joyous efforts of Saraswathi Devi to bless the poets to
sing about Your vaibhavam through their SrI Sookthis. Therefore,
Your generosity, KaaruNyam and othe subha guNams are no
secret to the people of the world. Therefore, You must bless me with
the additional boon of the closest presence(Parama saamyam ) to
You. That enjoyment would even be greater in my estimate to what
adiyEn will enjoy in the Muktha dasai (Bhagavath Saamyam ). Thus ,
Swamy Desikan concludes this Sankalpitha Sahasram (SrI RanganAtha
PaadhukA Sahasram) with the statement that the ultimate enjoyment of
PaadhukAnubhavam is the Lord adorning His Paadhukais ( Swamy
NammAzhwAr) at SrIrangam, the BhUlOka Vaikuntam . Here at Srirangam,
the Paadukai blesses aasrithALs with the sacred feet of the Lord,
which is its Sarvaswam ( Sarva savadhAnam gift ).
3) Oh PaadhukE ! On special occasions , You stop Your delectable
sanchArams with Your Lord and bring the Lord back to His antha:
puram so that His devis can enjoy the same pleasure that You enjoy
through Bhagavath Padha parcicharaNa sukham ( samayE kimapi
kreeDAloulyam varjayanthee sathi, Bhavathee NaaTayO: SrIdharaNyO:
svam nirvEsam disasi). May I request You to confer the boon of
qualifications for such antharanga kaimkaryams to Your Lord's
Thiruvadi? (yEvam maamapi Madhujith paadhayO: antharangam janaya).
You of such sarvasvAdhanam glory and auspicious guNams have made
Sriranga KshEthram, the dancing stage for Saraswathi Devi ( Yaasou
Rangam GuNai: BhArathee nruttha rangam janayasi)...(V.S).