saranagati deepika

You are here: SriPedia - ebooks - Vedanta Desikan - Saranagati Deepika
Slokam 49
*********

Today , adiyEn will cover the Fourty Ninth slOkam 
of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan
reminds the Lord that he deserves to be saved by
Him , since he has performed Prapatthi already: 

aasthAM prpatthir-iha Desika-saakshikA mE
siddhA tadhukthir-anagA Thvad-avEkshitha-arTA
nyasthasya poorva-nipuNais-Thvayi nanvidhAnIm
poorNE Mukundha punaruktha upAya yEsha: 

SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 49

Meaning: 
********
Oh MukundhA! You are looking at me and asking
why adiyEn is appealing to You to destroy my
sins and thus save me . You are asking me further ,
whether adiyEn has surrenderd totally at Your 
Thiruvadi by adopting one of the three methods of
Prapatthi (viz)., Sva-nishtai or Ukthi nishtai or
AchArya nishtai. adiyEn's answer is in the form of
a question to You : Is it n't so that Sva-nishtai is 
used as an upAyam (means)by those ,who have learnt 
the way of performing it from their AchAryAs correctly 
and have the Jn~Anam and Sakthi to complete such 
a demanding kind of Prapathti ? Let that be ! 

For those , who are not endowed with such paripoorNa 
Jn~Anam and Sakthi , they repeat the Prapatthi vaakyams 
that the AchAryA utters . They become fulfilled with 
the anushtAnam of this kind of Prapatthi known as 
Ukthi nishtai.

This Ukthi nishtai shines as blemishless means 
to gain mOksham with the guidance of the benovolent
SadAchAryan. Even if adiyEn does not understand
fully the meanings of the manthrams recited by 
the AchAryan as the essence of Prapathti , You ,My Lord 
certainly understand them and relate to them . Since 
adiyEn's poorvAchAryALs have placed me as Your 
refuge , adiyEn has chosen AchArya nishtai as
UpAyam .The other two equally effective Prapathti
maargams (Sva-nishtai and Ukthi Nishtai) are
now superflous/redundant to me. Your SaasthrAs 
declare that one should perform prapatthi only once.
adiyEn can therefore choose only one of the three 
types of Prapatthi.adiyEn has performed AchArya Nishtai.
Therefore You must come to my rescue since adiyEn 
has completed my Prapatthi with the grace of my AchAryan. 
( Swamy Desikan draws a careful line here between 
the three different kinds of Prapatthi without extolling 
one as being superior to the other ; He takes pain 
to point out that all the three yield the same fruit of 
Moksham .He points out that one can do only kind of 
prapatthi and therefore other two prapatthis become 
superfluous ). 

Additional Comments 
********************
In the previous slOkam , Swamy Desikan addressed 
the Lord as SaraNAgatha Vathsalan and begged Him 
to use His matchless and magnificent sakthi (Power)
to destroy his limitless sins. In this slOkam , he
talks about the three kinds of Prapatthi and that
he has performed one of the three kinds of Prapatthi
prescribed by SaasthrAs and begs the Lord to save him 
from samsAric afflictions and grant him Moksham . 
He deliberately addresses the Lord here as "Mukundhan " 
or the Moksham-granting Lord . 

SVA-NISHTAI
************
Swamy Desikan starts this slOkam with reference to
Svanishtai : " Iha ( in the matter of destroying my 
sins), Desika SaakshikA prapatthi aasthAm ( let 
Sva-nishtai realized from SadAchArya UpadEsam be !).
It is not for every one , since it demands complete
and clear Jn~Anam about the relation between angi
(Bhara samarpaNam /Prapatthi) and its five limbs(angaas )
of Prapatthi(Aanukoolya Sankalpam, PrAthikoola 
varjanam , MahA visvAsam , KaarpaNyam , gOpthruva
varaNam). All the five angAs should be present in
equal measure for the Prapatthi to be successful. 
If anyone of them are missing , then Prappathi
will fail. One perfoms Svanishtai and achieves
the fruits of SaraNAgathi only after gaining clear 
grasp of the Angi-angaa relationship and places the 
soul at the feet of the Lord.This is known as 
SaangAnushtAna Sva-nishtai. 

UKTHI NISHTAI
**************
The second upAyam (means for performing Prapatthi)
is Ukthi nishtai.This is for one , who does not
have the kind of sharp intellect and tapas needed
to perform Sva-nishtai. Ukthi nishtai is blemishless.
It is based on the utterance of the sacred words by 
a SadAchAryan and the Mumukshu ( One who desires Moksham)
repeating after his/her SadAchAryan. 

The Mumukshus , who do not possess special Jn~Anam
about aanukoola sankalpam ( the vow to do only those
acts that please the Lord)place their total faith in 
the Lord's power to protect them , when asked for such 
protection , perform UKTHI NISHTAI by repeating 
the prapatthi manthrams uttered by their AchAryan .
This Nishtai like the other two Nishtais seeks Moksham 
at the end of one's life and blemishless kaimkaryam to 
SrIman NaarAyaNan , one's AchAryan and the Lord's
BhagavathAs during the remaining days of life on earth.

In this slOkam , Swamy Desikan refers to Ukthi Nishtai
this way: " Thvath avEkshitha arTA: anagA tath Ukthi:
SiddhA " ( For some , Ukthi Nishtai encompassing 
the blemishless prapatthi manthrams recited by SadAchAryan 
and whose meanings are fully familiar to You are the UpAyam/
Means for the realization of the fruits of Prapathti.adiyEn
may not understand the full meanings of these manthrams , but
You do.)

ACHAARYA NISHTAI
****************
Swamy Desikan says here tha the adopted AchArya Nishtai:
" Thvayi Poorva-nipuNai: nyastha: ". adiyEn has adopted
AchArya Nishtai as a result of my poorvAchAryALs placing 
adiyEn at Your sacred feet .That AchAryan of adiyEn , who
blessed me with rahasyArTams has included me in the prapatthi
that he did on my behalf.Svaroopa , Bhara,Phala SamarpaNams
has been done on behalf of adiyEn by my SadAchAryan , Swamy 
AppuLLAr. 

Now that adiyEn has observed AchArya Nishtai , Sva Nishtai and
Ulthi Nishtai become unnecessary . Why? adiyEn can perform
prapatthi only once according to Your saasthrAs.They become
like punarukthi (redundant) now( idhAim yEsha: upAya: 
punuruktha nanu?).

ACHAARYAA'S AS SAAKSHI
***********************
AchAryA's anugraham and DayA is present in every one
of these three nishtais. Following slOkams from
KurEsar and ParAsara Bhattar quoted in the AdhikAri-
vibhAgAdhikAram of SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram 
are pertinent here:

paapIyasOapi saraNAgathi sabdhabhAjO
nOpEkshaNam mama TavOchithamIsvarasya
Thvadh Jn~Ana-sakthi-KaruNAsu satheeshu
naiva paapam parAkramithum arhathi mAmakInAm

--athimAnusha Sthavam: SlOkam 61

(meaning): It is not appropriate for You in Your
role as Isvaran to reject adiyEn, who uttered 
the word of SaraNAgathi even if adiyEn is a mighty
sinner.When Your Jn~Anam , Sakthi and KaruNA
guNams are there, my paapams would have no effect.
( This slOkam could be connected to Ukthi Nishtai).

saraNa-varaNa Vaagiyam yOdhithA 
na bhavathi vatha saa-api dhee-poorvikA
ithi yadhi dayaneeyathA mayyahO Varadha!
Tava BhavEtthatata: prANim 

(Meaning): Oh Varadha PrabhO! The saraNAgathi 
Vaakyams uttered by adiyEn has not arisen from
knowledge-based utterance (buddhi-poorvakam).
Alas ! Please take heed of this deficency 
and yet have compassion for me so that adiyEn
will be rescued from SasAram and gain Moksham.
( This slOkam can be connected with Ukthi Nishtai).

---SrI VaradharAja Sthavam: SlOkam 84

yaTAsi yAvanasi yOasi yadhguNa:
Kareesa! yaadhrugvibhavO yadhingitha:
taTAvidham ThvAhamabhktha-dhurgraham 
prapatthee-vaachaiva neerIkshithum vruNE

--SrI VaradarAja Sthavam: SlOkam 92

(Meaning): adiyEn desires to visualize You,
who has great Vaibhavam and who is out of reach 
for those without Bhakthi ;adiyen desires
to visualize You through the utterance of 
prapatthi Vaakyams .( This SlOkam may be 
connectable to Sva-Nishtai).

Tava BharOhamakArishi dhArmikai:
SaraNamithyapi vAchamudairiram
ithi SASAAKSHIKANNIDHAM adhya maam
kuru bharam Tava Ranga-dhurandhara

--SrI rangarAja Sthavam: 2-102

(Meaning): Oh RanganATA ! adiyEn has been placed
at Your sacred feet for protection by the noble
and righteous AchAryAs of Yours.adiyEn has also
uttered the word "SaraNam ".You must accept
the responsibility for my protection bearing 
these two factors as witnesses for this request.
( The reference here could be to either Sva-nishtai
or AchArya Nishtai).

Some of the today AchAryAs follow the Ukthi Nishtai.
This is the case with SrI Sannidhi (asmath AchArya
Paramparai of AhObila Matam ). Some others follow 
AchArya Nishtai ( Srirangam Andavan and PoundarIkapuram
Andavan Aasrama Yathis) . Sva-nishtai is hardly 
followed . One must recognize that anyone of the three
nishtais observed properly will yield exactly the same
Phalan (Moksham ) and should not consider one nishtai
superior to the other. It is all based on the qualifications
of the adhikAri , who seeks Moksham. There are times in
which the Same AchAryan will choose AchArya Nishtai over 
Ukthi nishtai due to uniqueness of the circumstances. 
AchAryan may be far away and a person may be nearing
the last moments of life. It would be impossible for 
the mumukshu to travel to the side of the AchAryan 
to utter the Prapatthi Vaakyams recited by the AchAryan. 
In such cases , the AchAryan on prayerful request by
relatives performs AchArya Nishtai to enable the soul 
to gain Moksha Siddhi. Also in the case of children ,
who may not be able to repeat after the AchAryan 
(as in Ukthi nishtai) , the compassionate AchAryan 
performs AchArya Nishtai to protect the jeevan
inside the body of that child. 

This 49th slOkma of SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai
is thus a powerful one containing the essence of 
the elaborations of the thoughts found in chapters 
7, 8 and 9 of SrImath Rajasya Thraya Saaram .