108) Srinivaasaaya SrI VenkatEsaaya
nama:
Salutations to Lord VenkatEsa , who has Mahaa
Lakshmi (SrI Devi) on His chest for ever !
The word "Sri" has six
connotations and refers to Sri Mahalakshmi's manifold roles of being the
refuge of Jeevas, seeking refuge in the Lord on our behalf, listening
patiently to our tales of woe, conveying the same to the Lord with the
exceptional eloquence of advocacy, ridding devotees of their accumulated
baggage of sins and affording them infinite pleasure upto the stage of
performing kainkaryam to the Divine Duo. Since Srinivasa is the
inalienable abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, we have absolutely nothing to fear,
for all the aforesaid funcions of Sri become extremely easy of
performance.
It is extremely siginificant
that this Ashtotthara Shatha naamavali begins with the name "Venkatesaya
nama:" and ends with "Srinivasaya nama:", siginifiying by the former, the
Lord's propensity for destroying all our sins, and by the latter, His
readiness to bestow on us all that we desire and more too, including the
ultimate reward of Celestial Bliss on an eternal basis, demonstrating His
two-fold benevolence of "anishta nivritti" and "ishta praapti".
Sri Venkateswara is the
permanent and pleasurable abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, His inseparable
Consort. He is hence known as "Srinivasa:".
When Sri Mahalakshmi emerged
from the milky ocean being churned by the Devas and asuras for nectar, She
immediately occupied the Lord's broad chest, true to Her promise never to
forsake Him even for a second--"agalakillen irayum endru Alarmel
mangai urai maarba!".The Sahasranama Nirukti sloka too says the same
thing--"nityopagna nivaasatvaat Sreenivaasa: SriyaL: smrita:".
In fact, "Srinivasa:" is the
name of the Parabrahmam, which is identified by the presence of the
Consort Sri. Thus, it is because He is Srinivasa that the Lord can
claim to be the Supreme Being, as the Vedas show the
Paramapurusha to be accompanied by His divine consorts Sri and
Bhoodevi--"Hreescha te Lakshmeescha patnyou" (Purusha
Suktam).
Sri Ramanuja too identifies
Srinivasa to be the Parabrahmam, at the very beginning of his magnum opus,
the Sri Bhaashyam--"Shruti shirasi videepte, Brahmani Srinivase".
In practical terms, how does
this help us? Because He is the permanent abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, who is
the embodiment of all that is auspicious, apart from being the
fountainhead of all mercy, love and compassion, the Lord too can never be
otherwise. Even if he is inclined to be annoyed at us at times for some
insufferable infringement on our part, the Divine Mother intercedes on our
behalf and ensures that we get off lightly. It is She who recommends us to
be pardoned all our sins and our elevation to the exalted world of Sri
Vaikunttam. Thus, if we can at all hope for emancipation, it is
because He is Lord Srinivasa.
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