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Slokam 36
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Today , adiyEn will cover the Thirty Sixth slOkam
of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan
salutes the glories of ParamaikAnthis and describes how they
spend their lives totally committed to Bhagavath-BhAgavatha
Kaimkaryams:
Sadhbhis-ThvadhEka SaraNair-niyatham sanATA:
sarpAdhiva Thvadh aparAdhishu dhUrayAtha;
dhIrAs-thruNIkrutha Virincha PurandharAdhyA:
kaalam kshipanthi Bhagavan karaNairavandhyai:
--SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 36
Meaning:
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Oh ViLakkoLi PerumALE ! Those ParamaikAnthis ( One who do
not seek anything for themselves from You inclding Moksham )
perform Prapatthi to You with Firmness of heart in Your
rakshakathvam and never waver from their MahA VisvAsam in You.
They consider always as their Masters , the BhaagavathAs , who
have surrendered unto You. When they see some one, who committ
apachAram to You, they quickly remove themselves from their
presence , just like the one , who has seen a poisonous
snake. They consider Brahman , Indran and all other Gods
as worthless blades of grass , since there is nothing that
they seek from them . They dedicate their limbs to the total
service of Bhagavath-BhAgavatha Kaimkaryam and they spend
their days this way.
Additional Comments (V.S):
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Swamy Desikan addresses the ParamaikAnthis as "DheerA: "
in this slOkam. These indeed are true brave ones , who
have sTairyam (Firmness of purpose ) and VairAgyam
(detatchment from the worldly pleasures ).
These DheerAs revere Lord's BhaagavathAs , who have performed
SaraNAgathy at the Lord's sacred feet and are steadfast in
their devotion to Him (TvadEka SaraNA:). Swamy Desikan addresses
these BhaagavathAs as "Sath " or Saadhus or Santha: . The dheerAs
have always the Santha: as their Masters ( DhIrA: Thvadh yEka
saraNai: Sadhbhi: niyatham sanATA: ).
These dheerAs have three lakshaNams:
(1) They run as fast as they can from those , who
committ Bhagavath-BhAgavatha apachAram ( Thvadh
aparAdhishu sarpadhivath dhUra yAthA:). They run
like the one , who has sighted a serpent.
(2)They consider any god , who is subject to the effects
of Karmaa as not worthy of much attention and devote
their worship to that Supreme Lord Sriman NaarAyaNan ,
who has no equal or Superior . When it comes to demi-gods
like Indhran or BrahmA , these ParamaikAnthis consider
them as equal in value to an useless blade of grass
( DhIrA: ThruNIkrutha Virincha-IndhrAdhyA:).
(3)Finally , these DhIrAs dedicate their mind, body
( every limb of their Body ) and speech totally to
Bhagavath-Bhaagavatha-AchArya kaimkaryams.This way ,
they use their Indhriyams fruitfully and spend their
alloted time on earth ( avandhyai: karaNai: kaalam
kshipanthi)." Avandhai:" means purposeful and unwasted.
KulasEkhara AzhwAr's Mukunda MaalA SthOthram ( JihvE
Keerthaya Kesavam--) and Bhaktha PrahlAdhan's UpadEsam
to his class mates (SravaNam Keerthanam--)come to my mind
in this context of purposeful use of one's limbs in service
to the Lord.