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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00010 May 2002

 
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Dear Bhagavatas,

We will continue with Jitante Stotram Avatarikai of the vyakhyanam of 
Periya Vachchan Pillay in this series.

PeriyavAchchAn Pillay 
tiruvadigale sharanam


(A translation of the avataarikai of the Jitante stotra 
vyakhyanam graced by Sri Periya vAchchAn Pillay)


Introduction :- Jitante stotram is a Rigveda khilam meaning an 
infrequented portion. Just as Purushasuktam which propounds the tenets, 
exists in all Sruthis, so all so, this Jitante is proclaimed in the 
scripture and itihAsa purAnAs as a mahamantram and classified as 
confidential on par with tirumantram. This Jitante, being a portion of the 
Apourusheya vedas, it may be questioned as to how it exists in the other 
man-made works like ItihAsa and PurAnas. The answer is :- Khilam is a 
highly infrequented portion. The Sutrakaras have studied vedas with khilam 
portions. They have mentioned and included Jitante as a mantram in ItihAsa 
PurAnas as evidenced by the quotation " Jitanta iti mantreNa " . 


The residents of SwetadwIpa, who have yielded their hearts to the virtues 
of KshIrAbdhi nAtha like His beauty and handsomeness, sing this Jitante 
hymn. It is graded as a stotram as it is dearest to the lord, who is fond 
of praises (stavapriya). This stotram appears in a place hard to access 
even to BrahmA and others. How possibly could it then find a place in 
ItihAsa and PurAnas and become accessible to humans? Here is how :- When 
Narada bhagavan was on his way to Sweta DwIpa to visit and worship 
KshIrAbdhi NAthan, who is the God revealed by this mantram, he saw sages 
Ekata Dvita and Trita doing penance. Narada thought, "how can I hope to 
see the object which even these sages are unable to approach" and 
returned and asked them "What is then appropriate for me to do?". They 
replied, "In this place, the stotram, with which, the residents of Sweta 
dwIpa, praise KshIrAbdhi NAthan has been obtained and learnt by us by 
virtue of our long penances. You may learn it from us and recite it every 
day". Narada learnt this Jitante from them and was on his way , when on a 
mountain called Jayantha, one Kutumbi (sic) , who came to know from Narada 
of the episode of the birth of this stotram from BrahmA, insisted on 
learning it and accepted it from Narada. From then on, it was written (by 
Kutumbi) in ItihaAsa and PurAnas and became available to all devotees of 
the God. 

When we contemplate on the inner meaning of this stotram it appears like 
the commentary on prapatti. Sri Parasara Bhattar has said of this, in a 
muktaka (free) slokam, 


avidyAto deve paribhridhatayA va viditayA
sva bhakter bhUmnA va jagati gatimanyAm aviduShAm
gatir gamyashchAsow haririti jitantAhvaya mano:
rahasyam vyAjahre sa khalu bhagavAn Shaunaka muni:


meaning that the eligible candidates for prapatti are ajnas, sarvajnas and 
bhakti paravashars. ajna is one who does not have jnana and shakti for 
attaining God; sarvajna is one who knows that God can not be measured in 
terms of space, time, and other mundane objects and thus does not put any 
effort to attain God, knowing that God is unattainable by any other means; 
bhakti paravashan is one who although having the necessary jnana nd shakti 
is unable to follow the prescribed rules for attaining God due to 
addiction to bhakti. These three types of persons know of no other means 
except God. For them the target and means of reaching it are both, the 
Lord Himself. This is the actual secret meaning, of the mantram called 
Jitante, which was expounded by that omniscient sage bhagavan Saunaka. 


Atma is an asset and God is its owner. One who is solely the servant of 
the Lord alone can be the adhikari for dvayam. This swami-dasa 
relationship exists since time sans a beginning. Not realising this due to 
a long connection with Nature, and due to Ahankara and Mamakara, the Atma 
usurps the Lord's qualities of swamitva and swatantrya and becomes a 
robber of the soul (Atmaapahaari). The lord seeing the Atmas which are 
under opposition to Him as exemplified by Hiranyakasipu saying 
"paramesvara samjno ajna kimanyo mayyavasthite" and Ravana saying " 
dvidhaa bhajyeyam apyevam na nameyam tu kasyachit", thought that these 
Atmas can not be redeemed with the help of Shaastras; they are addicts to 
sense objects; so let me attract them using their own addiction by showing 
My beauty and other gunas. He first generated their taste for beauty and 
once attracted by beauty He became their means of reaching Himself and 
once they stuck to Him as the Upaaya, He became their prapya. These 
aspects are dealt with in this prabandham of Jitante.


Thus, the first slokam briefly states the target and the mode of reaching 
it. The further slokams elaborate on this aspect as opined by Sri Parasara 
Bhattar in his nirvaham. 


Alternately, the first two slokas describe the prapya and prapaka and the 
further slokams justify the above by describing the Sharanyatva of the 
Lord according to TiruNaraiyur Araiyar's nirvaham. When it is appropriate 
to state first, the Sharanyatva and then describe the prapya and prapaka, 
why is it done in the reverse here? Araiyar opined that this is done in 
the analogy of the first occurence of God's union in "tiruvaaNai ninnaaNai 
" and then followed by separation as "peraavaaNai" in muniye nAnmukane 
decade. 



*********************************
...To be continued with a brief translation of Periyavachchan Pillay'S 
vyakhyanam of the first 14 slokas of prathama jitante stotram to get the 
full implications of the stotram.

Adiyen Dasan
Ramanuja







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