SrI:
SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |
vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||
May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the
lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.
Dearest Srivaishnavas,
Let us continue to enjoy the sthOthra granthas of Swamy Desikan [in
alphabetical order]
Paramaartths sthuthi [praise on the Supreme Subject]
Paramaarttha sthuthi is a sthOthra in ten slokas on Lord Vijayaraghavan in
the shrine, Thirupputkuzhi by name. It is very near Kanchipuram. Thirumangai
AzhwAr refers to this Lord by name of pOr eRu in Tamil, pOr- war; yERu- the
best of valorous. Swamy Desikan translates the name used by AzhwAr in
Sanskrit addressing the Lord as raNa pungava, Aahava pungava, and Samara
pungava. raNa, Aahava and Samara are synonymns for the war and pungava means
valorous. The shrine takes its name from the tank there [puL- bird; kuzhi-
tank]. There is a small shrine for jataayu ? the eagle ? on the eastern bank
of the tank. It is stated that Sri Rama in his archaa incarnation as Vijaya
raghavan, bathed in the Jataayu pushkariNI [jatatu lotus pond] and performed
the funeral obsequies for Jataayu, who did great service {kaimkaryam) to Sri
Rama even at the expense of his own life in his efforts to rescue SitA from
the hands of Ravana. When Jatayu fell down in a helpless mood while Ravana
cut Jayaatyu?s both wings, SitA immediately rushed and passed her soothing
hand over the wounds in his body which was a tremendous relief to Jataayu.
Valmiki uses the words ?parishvajya janakaathmajaa- SitA embraced Jataayu
considering that he was her own father Janaka and that she was his
(Jataayu?s) daughter.
Accoding to Vaalmeeki Ramayana, this episode takes place in Panchavadi. Sri
Rama , realizing the dedicated service of Jataayu, bathes in GodhAvari and
performs the funeral obsequies to the dead bird as a son would do for his
deceased father. Even Dasaratha the real father of Rama did not have the
fortune of the funeral obsequies being performed by Rama as he was not there
beside Dasaratha, when Dasaratha died. In Vaishnavite parlance, Jataayu is
designated as Periya Udayaar [the greater parent].
Having all this in mind, Swamy Desika writes this sthOthra. In Sloka 7, - if
a person turns his face away from the four Purushaartthas [dharma, arttha,
kaama, mOksha], dedicates his life in the service to the Lord, he becomes
the recipient of all fruits. Jataayu the eagle is an example of this.
avadheerya chathur vidham pumarttham bhavadharThE viniyuktha jeevitha: san |
labjhathE bavatha: phalaani janthu: nikhilAnyathra nidharsanam jataayu: ||
Jataayu lived in Panchavatee looking after the comforts of Sri Rama and Sri
Sita and served them at the cost of his life. He got many benefits which
even great sages rarely obtained. More than he had the warm hug of Sita as a
father in his last moments and him passing away uttering the name of SitA
Ram in his lips and a direct vision of Sri Rama by the physical eyes when
his life ebbed away. He had also the unique distinction of having the
Supreme Lord Himself performing the funeral obsequies.
The Jataayu episode and especially his supreme service at the cost of his
life which occurred in ThrEthaa yuga during Rama?s period had left such a
deep impression in the Lord?s mind, that he seems to have been thinking of
it always. He desired to go thorugh it ocne again and that for blessing the
great saints like Thirumangai AzhwAr and the People of the South India in
the distant Kali yuga. So Sri Rama in vibhava incarnation became Sri
Vijayaraghava in archa avatharam; Sri SitA became Kanakavalli Thaayaar; and
GodhAvari became Jataayu PushkariNI; Panchavatee became Thirupputkuzhi; and
Jataayu the eagle. The whole episode was re-enacted and it has been
suggested briefly by Kaliyan- ThirumangaiAzhwAr in his PAsuram and portrayed
by Swamy Desikan [Kaliyan urai kudi koNda karutthudaiyOn- Swamy Desikan].in
this sthOthra Paramaarttha sthuthi.
Acharya Swamy Desikan himself has become a father and gives birth to a
daughter namely, the sthuthi [a word in feminine gender- Sanskrit]. Swamy
Desikan writes in his tenth sloka:
This charming [ramanayee] daughter [Paramaarttha sthuthi] was born of Sri
Venkatesa, the pure minded Bhaktha, by the grace of the most valorous in the
war [raNa pungava]. She [the sthOthra] is fit to be accepted daily and
treated with kindness [aadaraNeeya bhaavya] by all prapannas [those who have
performed Saranagathi] devoid of jealousy.
vimalaasaya vEnkatEsa janma ramaNeeya raNa pungava prasaadhaath |
anasooyubi rAdharENa baavya paramaarttha sthuthiranvaham prapannai: ||
Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |
Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||
Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the
teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters
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