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Slokam 33
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Today , adiyEn will cover the Thirty third slOkam
of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan
refers to the dear devotees of SrI DhIpa PrakAsan
who strictly observe the varNAsram Dharmams and
gladden the heart of the Lord of ThirutthaNkA
through aarAdhanams done following the rules
laid out in the Lord's saasthrAs :
VarNasramAdhi niyatha krama soothra bhaddhA
BhakthyA yaTArha vinivEsitha pathra pushpA
maalEva kaala-vihithaa hrudhayangama ThvAm
aamOdhayathyanuparAga dhiyAm saparyA
--SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 33
Meaning:
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Oh ViLakkoLi PerumALE ! The dearest BhaagavathAs of Yours
reject the phalans from their kaimkaryams , disassociate
themselves from material gains and devote their lives to perform
AarAdhanam for You . During their worships , these virakthAs
do not violate the ancient rules of VarNAsrama dharmams,
which define the duties of VarNAs like Brahmin , KshathriyAs,
VaisyAs and SUdrAs and the Aasramams like Brahmachari ,
Grahasthan , Vaanaprasthan and SanyAsi. They follow
the dirctions of their particular Soothram like Aapasthambham,
BhOdhAyanam et al in the performance of worship to You .
They gather and present ThuLasi and fragrant Flowers according
to their abilities. They perform the PanchakAla prakriyAs
set by the AchAryas in their nithya granthams. Their strict
adherence to the rules set by Your SaasthrAs pleases Your
heart and enchants the minds of others. Their poojAs please
You like the fragrant VanamAlai that adorns Your chest.That
VanamAlai is made up of different wild flowers of exquisite
fragrance and is bound together with the binding threads from
plants. In that garland , there are specific places for the sacred
basil (ThuLasi) and the different flowers held together by
the threads to produce the most asthetic appearance. When it is
adorned by You , this garland acquires additional special fragrance
because You are Sarvagandhan.Just as that fragrant garland
pleases You , the aarAdhanam performed by Your devotees
in the saasthraic manner pleases You immensely.
Additional Comments (V.S):
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The worship of the ParamaikAnthis following strictly
the rules of VarNAsrama dharmam is referred to here
(" VarNa-aasramadhi niyatha krama soothra " bhaddhEnA
krutha "SaparyA ThvAm AamOdhayathi" ). That worship
by the devotees without any other desires about seeking
worldly pleasures pleases Your heart ("anuparAga DhiyA:
SaparyA ThvAm AamOdhayathi)" .That worship by these BhakthAs,
who are solely devoted to You is like a garland strung
together with uniquely positioned fragrant flowers and
ThuLasi leaves enchants Your heart just like the wild
flower garland (Vyjaynthi VanamAlai) adorning Your chest
(YaTArha vinivEsitha Pathra Pushpa MaalA iva ThvAm
aamOdhayathi). Their aarAdhanam is done with pure
Bhakthi and at the prescribed times of the day and
that endears them to You and You become very happy
with them ( BhakthyA kaala vihithA saparyA ThvAM
Tava MaalA iva aamOdhayathi). This aarAdhanam/upacharams
done by these virakthAs (paramaikAnthis) enchants Your
heart ( AnuparAga dhiyAm hrudayangamaa saparyA ThvAm
Tava MaalA iva aamOdhayathi).
Using the analogy of the multi-colored and uniquely
fragrant garland adorned by the Lord with pleasure ,
Swamy Desikan points out that the blemishless aaraadhanam
performed by the ones disassociated from worldly pleasures
are accepted with joy by the Lord. Those aarAdhanams (SaparyA)
are endearing to the Lord of ThirutthaNkA because , they have
the following unique features about them:
1) VarNAsramAdhi niyatha Krama soothra bhaddam : It is
strung together with the threads defined by the SaasthrAs
of the Lord .
2) BhakthyA (krutham SaparyA ): These aarAdhanams are performed
with great Bhakthi .
3) Kaala VihithA saparyA : They are conducted at the times
designated by the Nithya granthams and the Lord's Saasthrams.
4) HrudayangamA SaparyA : They are enchanting because of
the hrudhaya bhAvam of these paramaikAnthis with no interest
in the fruits of their aarAdhanams . They perform Phala ThyAgam
at the end of the AarAdhanam .
The pleasure that the Lord gets from such aarAdhanam by
these MahAthmAs is equal to the pleasure that He enjoys
from the fragrance of the Vana Maalai adorning His chest.
In the previous slOkam , Swamy Desikan focussed on
the aarAdhanam done with one of the two VaishNava aagamams
by the fortunate ones ( dhanyA: ThvAm preethya PaancharAthrika-
nayEna , aTa vaa VaikhAnasa PaTA cha samarchayantha: dhinAni
Phalavantha: nayanthi). Here Swamy Desikan referred to
the joy derived by the worshippers of the Lord either
through PaancharAthra or VaikhAnasa Aagamams.The emphasis
was on the performer of the AarAdhanam and His joyous
state of mind . In the 33rd slOkam , Swamy Desikan
shifts his attention to the Lord , who is the recipient of
that properly conducted aarAdhanam and states that such
an aarAdhanam pleases the Lord immensely and He accepts
that aarAdhanam with great joy.