Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
Mahadesikaya nama:
Made for Each Other
Those who peruse
the matrimonial columns in newspapers and magazines would be familiar with the
phrase, ?A Suitable Bride wanted?. This is what every eligible bachelor
seeks?an ideal soul mate, suited in every way to harmonious matrimony. It is
thus every man?s dream (and every woman?s too) to wed his perfect match in
physique, temperament and demeanour. How blissful would life be, if one is
able to link up with a life partner who is in every way one?s alter ego!
However, this
appears to remain a distant dream, as far as most of the couples are
concerned. Whoever in heaven fixes up these marriages, doesn?t appear to be
very particular about pairing off matching individuals, with the result that
discord and disharmony often (and in some cases, permanently) plague marital
relationships. Right from trivial matters like difference in tastes (whether
in food, dress or reading) to major ones in arriving at decisions in crucial
family matters, lead to
differences cropping up between couples, with the result that their lives,
including those of their children, are affected adversely. While in normal
couples such differences are resolved or at least glossed over with mutual
give and take and tolerance, in many cases they assume irreconcilable
proportions, with disastrous consequences.
The point,
therefore, is that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find
perfectly matched couples.
The Lord is a
model of everything we aspire to be.
We look up to Him for inspiration, guidance and advice because He is
the Perfect Person, a veritable paragon of virtues, the repository of all
auspicious attributes and the antithesis of all that is bad. It is therefore
no surprise to us that He is the Perfect Husband too, a partner every woman
dreams of landing, but alas!
perhaps never does.
However, to be fair to the fairer sex, it is to be recorded that
Piraatti is in every way eminently suitable to the Lord, whether it be in
physical beauty, auspicious attributes or freedom from blemish of any
sort.
Acharyas tell us
that the Divine Consort is a Perfect Match for the Lord in all respects. Says
Sri Ramanuja in the Sharanagati Gadyam, addressing
Piraatti--
?Bhagavan Narayana
abhimata anuroopa svaroopa roopa
guNa vibhava iyshvarya sheelAdi anavadhika asankhyEya kalyANa guNa
gaNAm?.
Though it is
impossible to catalogue the aspects in which Piratti forms the perfect
counterpart for the Lord, it is worthwhile to go into some of them at
least.
1.Roopam?In
physical beauty, Piraati is in every way the Lord?s equal.
If He is a
?PuNdarIka VisAlAksha:? (one with broad, lotus eyes), She too is ?VisAlAkshI?
and ?Mriga sAbAkshI?, and sports broad, beautiful and deer-like
eyes.
If He is portrayed
to be a ?Vidyut Prabha:? (resembling a lightning)
by the DvAdasa
nAma Panjaram, She too is adulated by Sri Valmiki as ?Vidyut
PrabhAm?.
If He is a
?PeetAmbara dhara:? (clothed in bright yellow silk), so is She adorned in
beautiful yellow silk, with swans drawn on it??peetEna hamsAnkitEna kshoumENa
samvritAm??Sri Valmiki.
If He has curly,
jet black hair falling on His forehead (?Mai vaNNa narum kunji?, ?lalAta
paryanta vilambita Alakam? ?kupyat chOLee vachana kutilai: kuntalai: slishtta
moole?) etc., then so does Piratti sport beautiful, black, long and curly
hair??neela kunchita moordhajAm?, ?neela nAghAbhayA vENI?, ?Vakra kEsAntA?,
all of which are from the pen of an admiring Valmiki.
If He is ?SAkshAt
Manmatha Manmatha:??the sole personification of handsomeness, She too is
incredibly and immeasurably beautiful??DEvatAbhi: samA roopE SItA Shreeriva
roopiNI?.
If His complexion
is that of beaten gold (?ApraNakhAt sarva Eva suvarNa:? says the Upanishad),
She too is of the same colour??HiraNyavarNAm HariNIm?, according to the Sri
SUktam.
If the Lord?s
soundaryam is such as to generate infinitely new varieties of bliss every
second, without the experience palling on the viewer despite any length of
time (?appouzhudaikku appozhudu en ArAvamudamE??Sri Nammazhwar), so too is
Piraatti?s beauty capable of providing the onlooker such varied bliss every
second, says Sri Alavanadar?
?sadA
anubhootayApi apoorvavat vismayam AdadhAnayA?.
The Lord is a
veritable forest of lotuses?His eyes, face, hands, feet all resemble the
beautiful flower, says Sri Nammazhwar?
?SentAmarai tadam
kaN senkanivAi senkamalam
sentAmarai adikkaL sempon
tiruvudambE?.
PirAtti is none
the less enamoured with the lotus, being lotus-complexioned, residing in a
lotus, lotus-eyed and holding lotuses in her hands??Padma priyE Padmini padma
hastE padmAlayE padma dalAyatAkshi?.
If the Lord sports
a smiling countenance (?smayamAna mukhAmbuja:?) so does
Piraatti-:?ChArusmitE!? says Ravana, addressing Her.
We could perhaps
go on endlessly, matching each glorious part of the Lord?s tirumEni with that
of His Consort, who matches the specifications down to the minutest
detail.
Having found the
Divine Duo extremely compatible in physical features, we move on to verify
whether the concord extends to their attributes.
From a general
viewpoint, the Lord is renowned as ?PurushOttama:?, the best among men in all
respects. Not to be left behind, Piraatti too elicits the description,
?nAreeNAm uttamA vadhoo:? from Valmiki, who claims the Divine Consort to be
the most excellent person of the female race.
When it comes to
the most important trait (from our view point) of Mercy and compassion, the
Lord?s distinction has been elaborately chronicled in DayA Satakam. He is
supposedly the sole repository and an ocean of Mercy??karuNA varuNAlayam?. Sri
Bhattar says that Sri Mahalakshmi is no less than Her Husband and might have,
in fact, surpassed Him in exhibiting this virtue.
The Lord protects
people only when they seek His protection and refuge??RakshApEkshAm
prateekshatE?. Piraatti, however, extends Her protective umbrella to cover
even those who haven?t sought the same and to the contrary, have caused her
harm, as in the case of the RAkshasIs of AshOka Vanika and the
KAkAsura.
The Lord is the
epitome of generosity and gives everything that He has to the seeker??tamadu
anaitthum avar tamakku vazhangiyum tAm miga viLangum amaivudaya aruLAlar?. The
Divine Mother too is generous to a fault and, even after showering on the
devotee all that he can possibly ask for (and even that he can?t even think of
seeking) feels ashamed that She hasn?t done anything for the poor child??Tvam
lajjasE amba! KOyam udAra bhAva:!? marvels Sri Bhattar at this overwhelming
generosity.
If the Lord?s
bounty knows no bounds, He being the Ishvara with all the sentient beings and
non-sentient objects forming His sole domain, PirAtti too is the possessor of
unlimited aishvaryam, says Sri KoorattAzhwan. So much so, says the Acharya,
that big or small, any bounty attained by anyone in this world, is the result
of a stray glance from the corner of Her broad and benevolent eye. If all the
world is His, He is the indisputable overlord of all that moves and doesn?t
(?tam IsvaANAm paramam MahEsvaram?), She too is the unparalleled Empress of
all worlds??asyEsAnA jagata:?
Granting
Liberation is the Lord?s sole prerogative, say the Shastras??MOksham icchEt
JanArdanAt?. His Consort too can confer the same, says Sri Bhattar-?aishvaryam
akshara gatim paramam padam vA?
If the Lord is
infinite, pervading all living beings and non-living things in all the
universes, PirAtti too is all-pervasive, Vibhu, says the Vishnu
Purana?
?YathA sarvagatO
Vishnu: tathA Eva iyam dvijOttama?.
If He is father to
the whole world, She is the most Merciful Mother, performing a complementary
and supplementary role in the process of raising JeevAtma families??MAtA DEvI
tvamasi BhagavAn VAsudEva: pitA mE? says Swami Desikan, addressing these
perfect parents. She is the Universal Mother??Samasta lOka
JananI?.
Boundless and
blemishless wisdom, (?GnAnam?) which is one of the Lord?s principal
characteristics is present in Piraatti too in the same measure. And in
bestowing the same on devotees too, both the Lord and His Consort are equally
capable. If He is a ?neri ellAm edutturaittha nirai gnAnatthu oru moorthi?,
having enunciated all the guidebooks for good conduct, in the form of Shastras
in general and the Gita in particular, She too is responsible for feeding Her
infants with the milk of unblemished wisdom??Chaitanya stanya
dAyineem?.
One might suppose,
albeit mistakenly, that Balam or Strength, being a masculine trait, must be
the sole preserve of the Lord. However, the episode about Sri Sita lifting the
box containing the Shiva dhanus casually (in the process of retrieving Her
ball which had fallen behind the same) makes us believe that Her strength is
no less, though She doesn?t chose to display the same.
Power is normally
considered to be a masculine preserve. The Lord is reputed to be a ShaktimAn
beyond compare, with nothing beyond His achievment. Indeed, He is said to be
capable of making even the impossible happen, through His ?aghatita ghatana
sAmarthyam?. Piraati too would appear to be none the less endowed with this
trait. She tells Ravana that She Herself is quite capable of reducing him to a
fistful of dust, in a proclamation of Her infinite Shakti.
The Lord is said
to be sweet?to the onlooker?s eyes, ears, mind and other faculties too. The
MadhurAshtakam tells us that everything about the Lord is ?madhuram? or sweet.
Sri Nammazhwar likens Him to honey, sugar candy, sweet milk etc.??enakku tEnE
pale kannalE amudE?. Piratti too
is incredibly sweet, as could be learnt from the Lord?s own words, for, if
anyone could know, He should??madhurA madhurAlApA?.
If the Lord is a
consummate Actor, donning vividly various roles for dushta nigraham and sishta
paripAlanam, His Consort too adopts characters eminently suited to and
complementing His role, says Swami Desikan in Dasavatara Stotram??Yat dharmai:
iha dharmiNI viharatE nAnAkriti: nAyikA?
It is well known
as to how the Lord was dismayed, dejected and saddened beyond measure by the
parting from Sri Mythily, during Ramavatara, with Sri Valmiki faithfully and
elaborately chronicling the depth of emotion Sri Rama exhibited for His
Consort. If such was the love lavished by the Lord on Piraatti, could Her
attachment for Him be any the less? We thus have Sri Nammazhwar telling us
that She is loathe to leaving Him even for a micro-second and, unable to
suffer any sort of parting, resides permanently on the Lord?s broad
chest??agalakillEn irayum endru alarmEl Mangai urai mArba!?
Thus, in respect
of each of the 24 kalyANa guNAs listed by Sri Ramanuja as a sample of divine
traits, we can find that Piraatti stands shoulder to shoulder with Emperuman,
equal and eminently suitable to Him in every respect. In fact, in every
imaginable way, the Lord and His Consort are eminently suited to each
other.
Commenting on the
matchless match of Sri Rama and Sri Vaidehi, Sri Valmiki says,
?Tulya sheela vayO
vrittAm tulya abhijana lakshaNAm
RAghava: arhati
VaidEhIm tam cha iyam asitEkshaNA?
It is fine to say
that in flawless conduct and exalted birth, Sri Mythily equalled Sri Raghava.
However, would it be correct to say that they were of equal age, as it is not
the practice for couples of the same age to wed? Further, there is any amount
of internal evidence in Srimad Ramayana itself to show that Sri Sita was
younger than the Prince of Ayodhya.
Rushing to Sri
Valmiki?s defence, Swami Desikan says in his Stotra Bhashyam that the word
?tulya? in the aforesaid sloka, with regard to age, should be interpreted with
reference to the usual practice of the groom being elder to the bride??atra
vayO lakshaNayO: tulya shabda: ouchityapara:--DampatyO: nyoona adhika
vayaskatvAt?. What is meant here is that the difference in their ages was
neither too small, nor too large, but just right.
However, in
digressing about age, I am missing the second half of the sloka, which really
carries the punch line?viz., Sri Raghava deserved Sri Mythily in every way and
so did She deserve Chakravartthi Tirumagan. They were indeed a pair so
obviously Made for Each Other, where none else would have suited the Glorious
Groom or the Blemishless Bride, but each other.
This Matchless
Match has been the subject of comment by any number of worthies, be they
Azhwars or Acharyas. We thus see Sri Nammazhwar telling the Lord that His
Consort is in every way the most suitable for Him?
?unakku Erkkum
kOla malar PAvai?. That this pasuram occurs in the very last decad of
Tiruvaimozhi indicates this conclusion being indeed the considered opinion of
the Azhwar, after adequate analysis and contemplation.
And when Sri
Bhashyakara tells us that Piraatti is THE suitable bride for the Lord in all
aspect, he only conveys the opinion of his master, Sri Alavandar, who too
comments with wonder on the rare perfection of the divine
match?
?SadA
tavaivOchitayA tava ShriyA?
?Ahu: svai:
anuroopa roopa vibhavai: gAdOpagoodAni tE?
It is perhaps to
remind us of this impeccable and ideal match and to showcase the same as the
ideal for every mortal pair to strive for, that till date, our marriages are
conducted mostly as a re-enactment of the divine wedding, with the groom
regarded verily as Mahavishnu and the bride attired with an ?ANdAL kondai?,
with the recitation of ?VAraNamAyiram? etc. to signify the fruition of the
bride?s dream of attaining a perfect match. With our penchant for copying
others? conduct, (mostly the unsavoury aspects thereof) if only we import into
our marriage even an infinitesimal aspect of the impeccable match between the
Lord and His Consort, marital discord would be banished from the earth,
marriage counsellors would be out of jobs and the word ?Divorce? would lose
its place in the lexicon.
Srimate Sri
LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra
Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan,
sadagopan