The two pillars on which this prapatti sAstra proudly stands are
Sri
Ramayana and swami nammAzhvAr's Thiruvaimozhi. Sri Ramayana is
replete with the idea of SaranAgati from beginning to end and only
a
few well-known passages are quoted here.
SitA pirATTi says to the evil Ravana ?
"viditassAhi dharmagnyaha saraNAgatha vathsalAh".
(He, verily knowledgeable and steeped in dharma, is filled with
compassion and consideration for those that surrender onto
him.)
In the kAkAsura episode (sundarakAnDa), the rAmAyaNa says,
"vadhArahamapi kAkustha krupayA paryapAlayan"
(though deserving to be slain (kAkasura), he was saved by Sri
rAma?s
compassion).
Sri Rama says in the VibhIshana SaranAgati episode
"dOshO yadyati tasyasyAt? (Even though the sharaNagatha has
wronged)
It is this dOsAbhOgyatva? (treating faults as something to be
enjoyed)
that our Azhvars revel in extolling. The Lord enjoys the short
comings
of the prapanna, much like the cow licking the dirty secretions on
the
body of the just-born calf. Nothing needs to be said about
Thiruvaimozhi because it propounds dheergha saraNAgati.
It is instructive to note, in passing, that the son of KrimikanTa chOLa
(the
fanatic shaivite chOLa king instrumental in persecution of swami
Ramanuja and Sri Vaishnavas during his time) is reported to have
lamented that his father, foolish to destroy a few Vaishnavas and
Vishnu
temples, did not realize that Sri Vaishnavam would flourish as long
as
Sri Ramayana and Thiruvaimozhi exist.
There are multiple references to prapatti as a superior means in
the
Vedas, Upanishads, ithihAsAs and purANAs:
"tasmAdapivadhyam prapannam na pratiprayaccanti?
(Taittariya UttarA 6-5);
"tasmAn nyAsamEsAm tapasAm atiriktamAhuh; nyAsa
EvAtirEyavat"
(Taittariya UttarA NarAyana 79-10)
"yO brahmANam??..mumukshurvai, sharanamaham prapadyE"
(SvEtAsvatAra) etc.
The JitantAstOtra, which is an adjunct to RgvEda, is a saranagati
stOtra-
"tvamEva Sharanam prApya nistaranti manishinah"
The RsIs led by Brahma say in Ramayana (YuddhakAnda 120th sarga)
"saranyam saranamca tvamAhurdivya mahasAyah: "
The celestial song Bhagavad Gita, a prapatti Sastra, has multiple
references to prapatti, such as,
"mAmEkam saranam vraja"
"mAmAvayE prapadyantE";
Like these, any number of quotations can be quoted from our
scriptures
in support of prapatti as the ultimate, and a fundamentally
superior
means to attain mOksham (liberation)
=================Continued on part 3 ===========
GADYA-TRAYAM OF SWAMI RAMANUJA
Dr. V V Ramanujam, M. A., M. Sc., Ph. D., Editor, YatirAja
pAduka
(With the maNipravALa commentary by vyAkhyAna chakravathi swami
periyaAcchAn piLLai. Serialized with permission from the original
publisher,
Sri Parampara Sabha, Bangalore)