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SrI:

Dear AasthikAs :

I am delighted to forward a note from
Sriman Muralidhar Rangaswamy , 
a Saama Vedhin himself on the first posting 
on Deva-Rishi-Pithru TarpaNam .

I welcome his insightful inputs 
and I ams ure you will enjoy them
as well .

V.Sadagopan
Moderator 

Sri:
 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Sriman Sadagopan Swamin,

 

Thanks a lot for your wonderful kaimkaryam in summarizing the significance of 
the Deva-Rishi-Pithru TarpaNams pertaining to the Sama Veda Upakarma. As you 
rightly noted, the first tarpaNam is for Agni in keeping with the Vedic dictum- 
agniravama: viShNu: parama:

 

Paramapadavasi Mahavidwan U.Ve. Sri Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar Swamin 
beautifully expounds on the importance of agni karyam in his Srimad Bhgavatam 
upanyasam as "The term agni means agram nayathIthyagni:, i.e., that which 
elevates us from our present state to a higher state is known as agni. How is 
this related to emperumAn? The answer lies in the Narayana Sooktam rk "thasya 
madhyE mahAnagnir vishvAkshir vishvaThOmuKha:" and the vedic salutation in 
Ghanam form agnEr mahAn mahAn agnEr agnEr mahan. The term mahan denotes one who 
is not deficient in any respect and therefore, the Vedic tributes are 
unmistakably directed to Lord Narayana alone and none else. The Rg Veda Mantram 
agnEnaya supathArAyE asmAn vishvAni dhEva vayunAni vidvAn 
yuyOdhyasmajjurANamEna: BhUyiShtAnthE nama ukthim viDhEma glorifies Lord 
Narayana in the form of Agni. This is also the concluding mantram of the 
Isavasya Upanishad, which majestically highlights the loftiness of Lord 
Narayana in the process of SharaNagati. SushtupathA supathA  means the right 
path. The opening part of this mantram declares: Oh Agni! You who elevates us 
from our present state to an exalted state know everything about everything in 
the universe (jathAni sarvANi vethIthi jAthavEdha: and vEthIthi vidvan)! I am 
incapable of discerning the right path from the incorrect path. My pile of sins 
precludes me from realizing this. Therefore, please lead me on the correct path 
by destroying my sin pile and elevate me. For this great upakAram of yours I 
who am rooted in penury can offer nothing in return except repeatedly 
submitting with folded hands the vedic salutation nama:"

 

Elsewhere Sri Mukkur Swamin notes: "Swami Desikan comments on the significance 
of the salutation nama: in Srimad RahasyatrayasAram as thAram pUrvam 
thadhanuhrudhayam, which summarizes the import of nama: as the performance of 
sharaNagati. A second meaning of nama: is also provided by Swami Desikan as "na 
mama", i.e., not mine-who then does this belong to? The atma is irrevocably the 
property of EmperumAn, at whose feet it is being rightfully restored. 
Consequently, bereft of ahamkaram and mamakaram (the sense of I and my), the 
jivatma places everything sentient and insentient at its disposal for the sole 
purpose of performing Kaimkaryam to Lord Narayana." 

 

Sri Mukkur Swamin continued:

"Another important vedic prayer for agni is anEthEjasvin thejasvithvam 
dhEvEShuBhUyasthEjasvantham mA Ayushvantham varchasvantham manuShyEShu kuru, 
which means Oh Agni! Just as you are resplendent, luster-filled, and possessed 
of great strength among the dhEvas so too please bless me to be filled with 
radiance, strength and long life among mortals. Reciting this prayer , one must 
perform agni karyam. This agni arises from Samidh samidhBi: indhathaithi 
sAmiDhEni. Vedam has mantrams including sAmiDhEni in clusters of 15, 17 etc 
panchadhasha sAmiDhEniranvA: sapthadhasha sAmiDhEniranvA:, ekavigamshathigam 
sAmiDhEniranvA:" Sri Swamin rendered an agni upasana mantram in Ghanam form 
(which takes nearly 15 minutes to render, extremely complicated with sandhis 
and is the passage of choice for examiners when students of the Vedam appear 
for Ghana parikshai)."

 

Focussing on agni itself a little more helps illustrate the connection to Lord 
Narayana. The first aksharam of agni is "a". This is also the opening aksharam 
of PraNavam, which unambiguously declares the supremacy of Lord Narayana. Next, 
it is extremely auspicious. The fact that the Rg samhita and Sama samhita 
commence with "a" bear eloquent testimony to this fact. Also, it is the 
aksharam with which all Vedic renditions begin and that which is the subject of 
enquiry by all Vedanta (the concluding portion of the Vedas or the Upanishads) 
"yadhvEdhAthO svaraprOkthO vedhAnthEcha prathiShTithoU"  Not to be outdone, the 
Brahma Sutras too commence with "athAthO brahma jignyAsA" (May we begin our 
enquiry of Brahman). The Bhakti sUtras of Narada too recognize the importance 
of "a" in the opening salutation "anirvachanIyam Bhakthi svarUpam". Also "a" is 
that aksharam of the Devanagari alphabet without which no consonant can exist. 
In a like fashion nothing in the universe exists without the support of 
Paramatma (anthar bahischa thath sarvam vyApya nArAyaNasthitha:) . Lord KrishNa 
too declares his fondness for the aksharam "a" in the Bhagavadgita salutation 
"aksharANAm akArOsmi" (among the aksharas I denote "a"). Keeping these facts in 
mind, Tiruppan Azhwar commences his amalaNAdhipirAn with the aksharam "a". 
Swami nammAzhwar commences his SharaNagati to the Lord of the Seven Hills with 
the aksharam "a" in the famous ahalaillEn pasuram. Sri Bhashyakarar follows the 
lead of the Azhwars by commencing the SriBhashyam with the salutation "aKhila 
Bhuvana janma" further emphasizing the connection of the aksharam "a" to Lord 
Narayana. Finally, Swami Desikan commences four of his sotrams with the 
aksharam "a" (Bhagavadh DhyAna Sopanam, nyAsa dashakam, aBhIthi sthavam, and 
Garuda panchashath) as well as his munivahana Bhogam commentary with the 
aksharam "a" in keeping with the lead of the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Brahma 
sUthras, Azhwar Prabandham, and Sri Bhashyam. Therefore, the connection to Lord 
Narayana comes through with amazing clarity in the opening aksharam of agni 
itself. 

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: malolan_net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:malolan_net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Dr. Sadagopan
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 11:03 PM
To: Ramanujamission@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Rajeev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Ponnappan; Sgt; 
SG.AZhgiyasingar_satabhishekam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Swami; DS; acharya2005
Cc: vaideekam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Saama Veda Upaakarmaa : DEva --Rishi-- Pithru TarpaNams : PART I

 

SrI:

Dear Vaidhikaas & AnushtAthaas :

Yesterday , the Saama Vedins completed their 
Upaakarmaa .One of the highlights of their 
Upaakarmaa is the most comprehensive 
Deva Rishi Pithru TarpaNam for AdhyAyOthsarjana
Karmaa . It will take almost three hours to observe
Saama Upaakarmaa , where bulk of the time is
spent on performing the many TarpaNams .

Saama Veda TARPAnAMS
********************************

There are 264 Deva Rishi TarpaNams and 12 Pithru
TarpaNam for those who do not have living parents .

We discharge our debts to Devaas by performing 
Yaj~nams . They recieve Havis in these Yaagams 
and are satisfied with us . 

For the Rishis , we absolve ourselves of our debts 
by adhyayanam of Vedams .That VEda adhyayanam
pleases them and they bless us as MantradhrashtAs .

We discharge our debts to Pithrus with male progeny 
to please them through tarpaNams and Sraardhams .

Saama Veda Upaakarmaa is comprehensive to cover 
TarpaNams for all the three categories (Deva, Rishi 
and Pithrus) of supernal beings to whom we owe 
the three kinds of debts . 

Saama Vedam Highlights & The First TarpaNam to Agni
*********************************************************************
Before we describe the details on the Unique TarpaNams
in Saama Upaakarmaa , let us briefly summarize some
basic facts about Saama Vedam :

1. It is considered as " the earliest divine Music of ecstasy " .

2. Saama Veda has 1875 Saamans ( verses put into musical
chants . These Saamans are divided into PurvArchika ,
UttarArchika , MahaanAmni-Archika and AraNya . 

3. Agni , Indra , VishNu and other DevAs are invoked 
in Saama Vedam . The Deva TarpaNams are to these 
DEvaas and the very First TarpaNam is to Agni .

The First of the 1875 Saamans Saaman is an invitation 
(invocation) for Agni to come and be seated :

Agna Aa yAhi veethayE gruNAnO havyadhAtayE
ni hOtaa satsi Barhishi -- Saaman 1 , Rg Vedam VI.16.10

(meaning): Having been eulogized by us , Come Oh adorable
Supreme Being to confer Your blessings on this dedicated
worshipper with prosperity . Oh Generous One ! May Thou 
be seated in our innermost chamber of the heart ( specially
decorated chair) ! Be our hOta ( the preist of our invocation) 
and be seated in this elegantly decorated chair that has been
specially created for You .

Similar to the Saama Vedam starting with salutations to Agni
( the Deva PurOhitha) , the First Rg Veda mantram also starts 
with the eulogy to Agni :

AgnimeeDE purOhitham Yajn~yasya dEvamruthvijam
hOthAram rathnadhAthamam 

(Meaning) We salute the most adorable Lord (Agni) , 
the supreme priest of cosmic activities , the divine 
Lord , " who works through the eternal laws , and who
feeds and sustains all that is divine and luminous".

The salutations and the prayers for protection to Agni Devan 
are many in Saama Vedam :

" mithramiva priyam sthushE " -- Passage from the 5th Saaman
(Meaning): Agni is dear to me as a close friend and 
hence I adore Him .

The passage in the 47th Saaman salutes Agni as 
" Gaathuvitthama: " ( Knower of all of Our Paths ,
Sarvaj~nan) .

The 61st Saaman seeks Agni's protection from every
amangaLam and adresses Him as our Lord of the House 
(Gruha Pathi) ,our invoker (hOthru) and protector(pOthru):

ThavamagnE Gruhapathistavagum hOthAnO adhvarE
Thvam pOthaa visvavaara prachEthaa yakshi yAsi 
cha vaaryam---61st Saaman

(meaning) : " Oh Fire -divine , You are the head of 
the Family (Gruhapathi) , You are the invoker of
our benovolent actions( hOthaa) ; Oh Lord of all 
boons !You are the preserver and all knowing .
May You convey the oblations to other bounties
and also enjoy Yourself ".

The above are examples of Saamans from 
the AagnEya ( Belonging to Agni) KaanDa of 
PurvArchika Saamans .

Such a reverence to Agni as a Deva is displayed as 
the First of the 81 Deva TarpaNams among the 264
TarpaNams is for AGNI devan in the adhyAya
uthsarjana Karmaa (Saama Upaakarmaa) :

" Agni: thrupyathu "

TarpaNam for Indra (7th of the 264 TarpaNams) 
*********************************************************
We will continue with the tarpaNam for Indra ,
another celebrated deva in Saama Vedam .
It is the 7th in order of TarpaNams after
the TarpaNams for (2) Brahma ( the Creator
ordained by Bhagavaan) ,(3) Soma: ( Chandran
and Soma Rasam) , (4) Siva: , (5)PrajApathi: ,
and (6) Savithaa . 

The 7th TarpaNam following that of Savithaa
is for Indhran among the Devaas:

" Indhra: thrupyathu" . 

The Saamans 115 to 585 are dedicated to Indra
as the Supreme Reality and this section is known
therfore as " Aindra Parvaa". The antharyAmi Brahman
inside Indra , the Satha Krathu ( the performer of hundred
Yaj~nAs ) is addressed here. 

( To Be continued)

NamO Veda Purushaaya ,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





 
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