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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00093 Mar 2005

 
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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:
 
Dearest Srivaishnavas,
Continuing on the glory of Tirumala Sri Srinivasa
perumAL: 

The Lord of the seven hills has inspired the divine
Azhwars and the great upasakas of Karnatic music to
offer their soul-stirring music as nada naivedyam to
Him. 

The poet-musician, Talapaakam Annamacharya has
composed countless adhyadmika , sringara and upachara
krithis on the Lord. He is considered the amsam of the
sword of the Lord Srinivasa celebrated as Nandakam .
He was a sishya of Sri Adivan Satakopa 
yathi , the founding jeeyar of Ahobila Matam  . In one
of his moving krithis in praise of the Lord's most
sacred  feet ,  " Brahma Kadigina padamu " ,
Annamacharya declared : " These are the feet washed by
Brahma  during Trivikramavatharam in Satya Lokam .
They are verily Brahman , the immortal and universal
truth . These feet fulfilling the heart-felt
desires of parama yogins prove that Thiruvenkatam is
parama padam (Sri Vaikuntam ) " . 

Among the other great Karnatic musicians , Purandara
Dasa , Saint Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshithar and
others of recent times have offeredd their musical
salutations . Purandara Dasa visited Thiruvenkatam
often and has considered himself blessed to have the
darsanam of the Lord here . One time , he accompanied 
Sarasvathi Devi and had the good fortune to see the
Lord breakHis archa samadhi and dance to the Veena
music of the Goddessof learning . He broke forth in a
song set in Thodi ragam this way : 
" Ninna Nodi Dhanya Nadeno Hey Srinivasa ! I am truly
blessed now to have seen You . O Garuda Vahana ! O
Lakshmi Kantha ! O friend of Pandavas ! Please save me
, the sinner , who has wandered from place to place
enjoying transient worldly plesures " . 

Saint Thyagaraja climbed up these hills and prayed to
the Lord for the removal of the screen of arrogance
and delusion  that stood between him and the
obtainment of the blessings of the four purusharthas,
Dharma , Artha , Kama and Moksha . In this Gowlipanthu
raga krithi , the bard pleaded with the Lord to remove
the veil that blinded him from the blessings of
Moksham . In another song set in Madhyamavathi ragam ,
Saint Thyagaraja declared that one needs
millions of eyes to take in the full beauty of Lord
Venkatesa . 

Mutthuswami Deekshithar , a contemprary of Saint
Thyagaraja ,gave us the moving Varali raga krithi,
Seshachala Nayakam bhajeham  .

Acharya Ramanuja 's service to the Lord of Seven
Hills:

Lord Srinivasan of Thrumalai was always in the heart
of this great Acharya , who spent many years with his
uncle,Thirmalai Nambi to learn the esoteric meanings
of Srimadh Ramayanam at this divya desam . He
installed the icons of Rama , Sita , Lakshmana and
Sugriva next to the processional deity (Sri Malayappa
Swami ) in the sanctum sanctorium of the Lord . The
beauty of Sri Rama in tribhanga pose is overwhelming.

In his magnum opus , Sri Bhashyam , Acharya Ramanuja
says : " May my knowledge assume the form of loving
devotion to Lord Srinivasa , who is the supreme
Brahman and who is the shining crown of the Vedas. He
takes the form of Upanishads and engages in the tasks
of creation , sustenance and destruction . He has
taken upon Himself the supreme vow (Deekshaa) of
protecting whoever that seeks His refuge as
Saranagatha " .

Acharya Vedantha Desikan 's tribute to the Dayalu of
Thirumalai

Sri Vedantha Desikan ( AD 1268-1369) is an illustrious
Acharya ,who intrepreted Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja
Siddhantham . He eulogized the Kalyana Guna of the
Lord celebrated as His Daya (mercy/Compassion )
through one hundred verses in his poem known as Daya
Satakam . Swami Desikan says that the most important
Guna of the Lord Srinivasa is His Daya . In this poem
, the concept of one's surrender (saranagathi ) 
to the Lord and the Lord's Daya  stand out as hte two
overarching  themes. 

In Daya Satkam , every set of ten slokas reveals a
particular meaning associated with the divine
attributes of Sri Venkatesa that blossom as His Daya .
These ten divine attributes are : 

(1) His power  to bless us with Moksha or release from
the cycles of Births and Deaths 
(2) His ability to carry out whatever he wills
(3) His power to destroy  the enemies of those , who
surrender unto Him 
(4) His role as the means (upaya) for attaining all
significant goals 
(5) Being the fruit (palam ) of all earnest endeavours

(6) Being attainable without fail through the
Saranagathi route 
(7) Helping the lowest and the highest with equal
haste , when they surrender to Him with sincerity 
(8) Standing as the tower of strength on the top 
of Venkatam hills to bless us as Kali Yuga Varadan (9)
Incarnating as Rama and Krishna to come into easy
reach of His devotees 
and (10) Offering His Moksha Samrajyam right here on
this universe of His . 

The Vaibhavam of Thiruvekatamudayan 

Many Azhwars , kings , nadhopasakas and common folk 
have worshipped Lord Srinivasan of Sapta Giri from
times immemorial and have been blessed with Moksham . 

The Mahima of the Lord of Seven Hills is vast and is
beyond  words. The unique status of those blessed to
have His darsanam at Thirumalai is hinted by
Kulasekhara Azhwar in one of the verses of his poem ,
Mukunda Mala : " For him , who had the darsana
sowbhagyam of  Mukunda Srinivasan , this wide earth is
a small speck , the rolling oceans a water drop , the
raging fires a mere spark , the shoreless
winds a mere breath , the vast sky a pin hole. O Lord!
May Your unbounded Majesty excel ! " .  

[The above is written by Sri Sadagopan swamin of New
york and thanks to him for making use of his great
write up as part of our introduction and avathArikai]

Sri Muralidhar Rangaswami Swamin shares his anubhavam
in his private response in appreciation:

[Thanks a lot for sharing your superb posting on the
Sharanagati Gadyam of Bhashyakarar. The connection to
Lord Srinivasa of Tirumalai was extremely special. As
Swamin is aware, the very mention of adiyen's kula
daivam touches his heart. The Seven Hills themselves
are sacred on account of the fact that the 7 Khandams
of the Vedam transformed themselves into Seven Hills
to respectfull bear the Lotus Feet of Lord Srinivasa.
This is a most poignant illustration of the fact that
the Vedam itself speaks as "Behold the glorious Lord
that is the subject of my tribute!" On account of this
fact, Sri Bhashyakarar refused to ascend the Hill at
first and later did so per instruction from his
maternal uncle Thirumalai Nambhi. Adiyen heartily
welcomes your kaimkaryam of enjoying the Lord of Seven
Hills through the delectable Pasurams of the Azhwars.
]

We would elaborate the anubhavam of AzhwArs vis-a-vis
the Daya sathakam and enjoy them in this series

SrI PadmaavathI samEtha Sri Srinivasa ParabrahmaNE
Namah:
Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo Narayana
dAsan


                
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azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam
 
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