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Slokam 45
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Today , adiyEn will cover the Fourty Fifth slOkam
of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan
reminds the Lord about His SaraNAgatha RakshaNa
Vratham (Vow to protect those , who sought His refuge)
that He declared on the shores of the Ocean (Sethukkarai)
during RaamAvathAram:
Yamm poorvam-aasritha-janEshu BhavAn yaTAvath
dharmam param praNijagou svayam-aanrusamsyam
samsAritha: Thvamasi tasya SaraNya-bhAvAth
NaaTa tvadh-aatthasamayA nanu maadhrusArTam
SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 45
Meaning:
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Oh ViLakkoLi PerumALE ! Your dominant and special
dharmam is to show mercy on Your adiyArs (BhakthAs).
This You declared through Your own words during Your
incarnation as SrI Ramachandran. AdiyEn , Your liege
wish to remind You of that special dharmam of Yours
and pray for Your dayA (compassion ) to offfer me
protection as a SaraNAgathan ( one who has surrendered
unto You ). You stand as the protector for all . Is it n't
that true that Your assurances to come to the rescue of
those , who sought Your protection , intended for the lowly
and helpless ones like adiyEn ? Therefore , You must use
Your firm assurances without fail for me as well .
Additional Comments (V.S):
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Swamy Desikan appeals here to the Sarva-lOka-SaraNyan
and reminds Him of the assurances given a long time ago
during VibhIshaNa SaraNAgathi that took place on
the shores of the ocean near ThiruppullAni dhivya
desam .
After leaving the court of his stubborn brother Raavanan ,
who would not listen to his(VibhIshaNan's) good counsel
to return SitA to SriRaamachandran, VibhishaNan arrived at
the sea shore , where the Lord was camping and sought
the Lord Raamabhadran's protection:
sarvalOka SaraNYAya RaaghavAya MahAthmanE
nivEdhayatha maam kshipram VibhIshaNam-upasTitham
--SrImath RaamAyaNam , Yuddha KaaNDam:17-17
(Meaning): Please let SrI Raaghavan of unlimited
fame as the Protector of the Universe know that
VibhIshaNan has arrived begging His rakshaNam .
Please take me to Him.
VibhIshaNan continues (Yuddha KaaNDam: 19.5-6):
parithyakthA mayA LankA mithrANi cha dhanAni cha
Bhavathgatham mE rAjyam cha jeevitham cha sukhAni cha
(Meaning): Oh Raama PrabhO! I have left LankA ,
my friends, wealth ; From here on , my kingdom,
life, sukham and all are housed in You.
Our Lord grants VibhIshaNan SaraNAgathi and declares
His sworn duty before the world as SaraNAgatha Rakshakan:
MithrabhAvEna SamprAptham na ThyajEyam kaTamchana
--Yuddha KaaNDam: 18.3
( When one approaches Me even in the guise of a friend
and seeks My protection , I will protect him in
every way , even if that act will cause danger to Me).
abhayam sarvabhUthEbhyO dadhAmi yEthath vratham Mama
--Yuddha KaaNDam: 18.34
( For those , who performed Prapathti to me once
and for those , who declared that they are my servants ,
I give them refuge from all dangers and grant them
the assurance of freedom from any fear. This is my
sworn duty.
Swamy Desikan reflects here on the above words of assurance
that SrI Raamachandran gave to the world with VibhIshaNan
as a vyAjam , when he(VibhIshaNan) sought he refuge of
the Lord with the declaration : " Raaghavam SaraNam gatha: ".
Swamy Desikan reminds SrI DhIpa PrakAsan about the words
spoken by Him at the shores of the ocean during the time of
VibhIshaNa SaraNAgathi and states that he (Swamy Desikan)
longs to be the object of the Lord's DayA (aanrusamsya
dharmam) .He reminds the Lord of His duties as SaraNAgatha
Vrathan in this slOkam and QUESTIONS :" Thvamasi SaraNya
bhAvAth Thvath aatthasamayA maadhrusArtam nanu? " ( Oh Lord !
People salute You as the embodiment of all Dharmams.
Since You are the practioner of SaraNAgatha RakshaNa
Vratham/dharmam , I intrepret that all the vows that You
made to practise that dharmam are for the benefit of
suffering chEthanams like adiyEn). Swamy Desikan
presses the Lord in this manner to grant him
the protection in His well known role as
Sarva LOka SaraNyan.
Swamy Desikan ,the greatest among AchAryAs to interpret
the subtle and the grand aspects of saraNAgathi Saasthram
through many of his Sri Sookthis , went on to bless us
with a chillaRai rahasyam revered as "Abaya PradhAna
Saaram " illustrating the many episodes dealing with
SraNAgathi in SrImath RaamAyaNam in general and VibIshaNa
SaraNAgathi in particular..