Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta
Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Famous Five--II
Panchaayudham Further asserting His penchant for
five, the number of weapons the Lord holds in His beautiful hands is again five.
The Panchaayudhaas, as they are known,
serve not only as weapons, but also as adornments. Though five principal weapons
are often mentioned, the number of armaments the Lord sports is innumerable, as
laid down by Sri Ramanuja in the Saranagati Gadyam??Shankha Chakra Gadaa Asi Saarngaadi
asankheya kalyaana divya
aayudha!?. And though His hands are normally four, the Lord makes suitable
adjustments for holding these five weapons! A question arises here?whenever and
wherever we see Him, the Lord always appears holding these weapons, apparently
not putting them down even for a minute. Even seasoned warriors carry arms only
when they go to war or apprehend some danger. No one normally sports a gun night
and day?not even the most hardened of terrorists. This being so, why should the
Lord, who is a peaceable person, be always seen in the company of His arms, so
much so that they appear inseparable from Him? We find the answer to this intriguing
question in the following couplet of Poorvacharyas? ?Paatu pranata rakshaayaam vilambam asahan
iva sadaa Panchaayudhee bibhrat sa na: Sri
Ranganaayaka:? Protection of devotees being His avowed
objective, the Lord is unable to tolerate even a second?s delay in rushing to
their rescue. Like the fire service men who are always fully geared up to
respond to calls for assistance, the Lord too does not want to lay down His arms
even for a second, lest it result in that much delay in mounting the rescue
mission. Further, the very sight of an Emperuman who is always fully armed
provides a great feeling of assurance to devotees that in case of distress,
divine assistance would not be delayed even for a second. We are able to understand the role of
the Chakram, Gada, Sword and Bow in destroying enemies?but how could the
Shankham be of any assistance in this regard? Can a mere conch have the power to
confound enemies? The Bhagavat Gita tells us that the Cosmic Conch Paanchajanyam
is no less deadly when dealing with the Lord?s opponents. The blowing of the
conch results in the emission of a stentorian sound which fills the enemies?
hearts with fear and makes them drop down meekly, with nary a shot fired??Sa ghosho Dhaartaraashtraanaam hridayaani
vyadaarayat?. Five Acts to be dedicated It is again in the Bhagavat Gita that the
Lord tells us to dedicate to Him the following five acts of
ours: 1.
All our actions, in whatever
field and for whatever purpose 2.
All that we eat and
drink 3.
All acts of worship?pooja, homas, yagyas and the
like 4.
All acts of charity and
5.
All acts of penance and
meditation ?Yat karoshi yat asnaasi yat juhoshi dadaasi
yat Yat
tapasyasi Kounteya! Tat kuru madarpanam? Such dedication of action to the Lord
is stipulated so that we do not develop attachment in the fruits for which these
are performed. The Five-hooded Snake If the number of weapons that the Lord
holds is five, so is the number of hoods and mouths of the strange snake that He
lies on and which serves Him in various forms as an umbrella when He travels, a
magnificent throne when He sits, a fabulous footwear protecting the divine feet
when the Lord walks, a boat transporting Him amidst seas, a glowing torch
lighting up His way always and as a soft, spotless and supple bed, when He lies
down in Yoga nidraa.
Who says that Adisesha has only five
heads and hoods? Is he not reputed to sport a thousand (?ina tutti ani phanam aayirangal aarnda
aravarasa perum sodi Anantan?)?
Well, though Sesha does have a thousand heads, he appears to sport just five on
normal occasions, as can be inferred from Sri Nammazhwar?s quip??Iyvaai aravanai mel Aazhi Perumaanaar?
and that of Sri Tirumangai Mannan??Mukkan
naal tol iy vaai aravodu?. Lakshmana, enraged due to the inaction of
Sugreeva in searching for Sri Mythily, resembled a five-headed serpent, says Sri
Valmiki too??Sva tejo visha sanghaata:
panchaasya iva pannaga:? The Five Glorious Gates According to the Cchandogyopanishad, there are five gates
to the Lord?s abode and each of these gates is guarded by a Brahmapurusha of considerable
accomplishment??Te vaa ete pancha Bramapurushaa: svargasya dvaarapaa:? The
Kaataka Prasnam too confirms that Svarga lokam has five entry points??Taa vaa etaa: pancha svargasya lokasya dvaara:?. However, the
guards at these doors differ from those stated in the Upanishad?Kaatakam tells us symbolically that the
first door is guarded by Penance (Tapas), the second by Shraddha, the third by Satyam, the fourth by the Mind and the
last by Charanam.
(In the aforesaid texts, the words Svargam and Moksham have been used interchangeably,
according to commentators). Paancharaatram And we have the Paancharaatram, one of
the two Vaishnava Agamas, dealing with temple architecture, worship, rituals,
etc. And what is the association of these manuals of worship with the Number 5?
Explanations abound and the following are some of them: 1.
Paancharaatram is called so
because it was imparted by the Lord to five deities over a period of five
nights. 2.
As it deals with the Pancha kaala prakriyaa or the functional
division of the day into five parts and what is to be done in each of them, it
is known as Paancharaatram. 3.
Five sages?Saandilya, Aupagaayana, Maunjyaayana,
Kausika and Bharadvaaja?, who
were the incarnations of the five weapons of the Lord, propitiated the Lord, who
imparted to them the divine wisdom of Paancharaatra in five
nights. 4.
The Paancharaatra system
provides a philosophical basis for the five forms of the Lord, viz., Param, Vyooham, Vibhavam, Antaryaami and
Arccha. Pancha Kaala
Prakriyaa Incidentally, the five duties enjoined on us during
various parts of the day, collectively known as the Pancha Kaala Prakriyaa,
are: a)
Abhigamanam: After finishing the morning duties, we should go to
the Perumal Sannidhi at home, offer the Lord flowers and fruits, recite the
Sriranga Gadyam and perform Saranagati at His lotus feet with the Dvaya Mantram,
for the unhindered performance of the day?s service to the
Lord. b) Upaadaanam:
This refers to the collection of materials required for the Lord?s worship, like
Tulasi, darbham, samit, flowers, provisions required for
the Lord?s breakfast, etc. c)
Ijyaa: This
is the time for the elaborate worship of Emperuman through Tiruvaaraadhanam, with Mantraasanam, Snaanaasanam, Alankaaraasanam, Bhojyaasanam, Punar Mantraasanam and Paryankaasanam. d) Swaadhyaayam: After partaking of Bhagavat prasaadam, we should perform japam of
mantras like the Dvaadasaaksharam,
engage in paaraayanam of Srimad
Ramayanam and other scriptures. After that, till the evening is the time for
attending to domestic duties. e)
Yogam: This
is the time for sleep. However, before the goddess of sleep embraces us, we
should mentally recite the Vaikuntta
Gadyam, Bhagavat Dhyaana Sopaanam, etc., all of
which enable us to focus our thoughts on the extremely beautiful form and
features of the Lord. With His magnificent form etched in our mind, with
thoughts of His auspicious attributes regaling our intellect, we should slowly
drift off to sleep. We talked about collection of flowers,
Tulasi, etc. for the Lord?s worship. There are again five ways of gathering these, each one
of them successively less desirable than the following
one? 1.
Ideally, the flowers, fruits
and Tulasi leaves used for Tiruvaaraadhanam should be grown by us in our own
garden, with our own effort. We may remember the kainkaryams of Sri
Periyaazhwar, Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar, et al, in this
regard. 2.
Not everyone is blessed with
the conveniences required for the above method. In such a case, we can gather
these from gardens, public places or forests where they have grown by
themselves. 3.
Next in the order of
acceptability are those we buy from the vendors or market. Since there is no
guarantee of purity in respect of bought items, offering these to the Lord ranks
rather low on the list. 4.
Sometimes others bring us
flowers, fruits, etc. from their gardens. Though these can be used for worship,
they can never equal those grown by us. Shastras tell us that the fruits of
worship with items obtained from others would really reach only the
latter. 5.
The last on the list is items
which we seek and obtain from others. These are to be used only if nothing else
is available. Here is a slokam from Tulasi Maahaatmyam, which lays down the
order of acceptability of flowers and fruits? ?Sva prayatna kreetam shastam, madhyamam
vanyam uchyate Adhamam tu kraya kreetam yaachitam tu
adhamaadhamam? This is not to dishearten those using
flowers, etc. (in Tiruvaaraadhanam) which are bought, but only to point out the
desirability of using flowers grown through our own effort, which are that much
dearer to the Lord?s heart. If what is described above represents
the functional division of the day into five parts, there is one more
chronological division, which is found in the Dharma
Shaastras? 1.
Praata:
kaalam 2.
Sangava
Kaalam 3.
Madhyaahnam 4.
Aparaahnam
and 5.
Saayamkaalam Pancha Samskaaram If the Lord has such great affinity for
Five, we find that the means to attain Him are also based on this magic
numeral 5. Every Sri Vaishnava is supposed, upon
Upanayanam, to pay obeisance to an Acharya and undergo the following five
processes, which are cumulatively known as Pancha
Samskaaram; 1.
Taapam: The
Acharya imprints on the shoulders of the sishya the signs of the divine discus
and the cosmic conch, purifying him physically and cleansing him of sin. Those
who do not undergo this process can not attain the Lord, says the Taittireeya Aaranyakam??Atapta tanoo: na tadaamo
asnute?. 2.
Pundram:
With the twelve names of Emperuman, the Acharya adorns the sishya?s body at
twelve places with oordhva pundram
(Tiruman and Sreechoornam). 3.
Mantropadesam: The three esoteric formulations (or the Rahasya Trayam) viz., Ashtaaksharam, Dvayam and Charamaslokam, are imparted to the
ardent disciple at this juncture, representing the greatest treasure that can
ever be acquired by anyone. 4.
Naamakaranam: Whatever name the disciple was known by till this
ritual, he becomes thereafter a ?Raamanuja Daasa?, becoming an
adherent of the great and glorious tradition that has Sri Ramanuja as its
fountainhead, proudly carrying the appellation of a sworn servant of Ramanuja
and of his followers. 5.
Yagyam: The
Acharya then instructs the sishya in the worship of Sriman Narayana, through the
process known as ?Tiru
Aaraadhanam?. These five processes represent a giant
leap in the life of a Srivaishnava, transforming him from a mere nobody into a
blessed Bhaagavata, his life thenceforth dedicated to the ceaseless service of
the Lord and His devotees. Hence, for ascending to the pinnacle of
And when we think of ritualistic worship of the Lord in the form of Tiruvaaraadhanam (forming the fifth item of Pancha Samskaaram), we find, to our total lack of surprise, that five vessels are used in the same, popularly known as Pancha Paatram?meant for offering the Lord Arghyam, Paadyam, Aachamaneeyam, Snaaneeyam/Paaneeyam and Sarvaarttha Toyam.
To be
Continued--
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