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Srimate SrivanSatakopa SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya 
nama:

The Treasure Chest

How nice would it be if one were to find a hidden Treasure Chest buried in 
one's backyard? One comes across reports in the newspapers from time to time, 
telling one of the discovery of pots full of gold or silver coins, relating to 
ancient times, when fields or gardens are dug for something or the other. Thus 
a Treasure Chest is what one would like to find, for attaining instant 
prosperity and affluence. However, there is another type of Chest, which would 
bestow on us not merely material wealth and riches, but also indescribable 
mental bliss and eventual liberation from the mundane morass. Do read on to 
discover this wonderful Chest.

Though this would invite accusations of employing poor puns, the Chest I refer 
to is the upper tirumEni of the Lord. On second thoughts, however, it doesn't 
appear to be such a bad pun, for it is the abode of the most valuable of all 
treasures,viz., Piratti. Thus the Lord's is the Chest that houses the most 
magnificent of Treasures-valuable not only because of Her propensity to grant 
everything that a devotee seeks from Her, but also due to Her penchant for 
interceding on our behalf, whenever the Lord takes stock of our misdeeds. But 
for Her strong recommendations, our innumerable and indescribable 
transgressions would ensure our rotting in hell forever. What better Treasure 
can we aspire for, and in which other Treasure Chest can we find it? 

Which part of the Lord's chest does Piratti occupy? It is the right side, 
categorically says Sri Periazhwar-"nin vala mArbinil vAzhgindra Mangai". 
However, Tiruvenkatamudayan is loathe to leaving the left side of His chest 
bare, and accomodates Bhoodevi too in the space. Piratti illuminates the 
beautiful black chest of the Lord, just as a flash of lightning through a dark 
cumulus, says Sri Peyazhwar-"polindu iruNda kAr vAnil minnE pOl tOndri
Malindu Tiru irunda mArban"

Puns apart, the Lord's chest has been an object of utter fascination for His 
votaries, be they poets, philosophers or devotees. The first and foremost of 
KAvyAs, Srimad Ramayanam, has Sri Valmiki waxing eloquent over the breadth and 
beauty of Sri Rama's chest-

"MahOraskO MahEshvAsO gUdachatru: arindama:"

Chakkravartti Tirumagan's chest was broad and beautiful. The word "MahA" 
prefixed to the word "uraska:" indicates a person with a great chest: here, 
greatness could also be interpreted to mean the presence of Piratti. What 
better greatness could there be than Her glorious attendance?

Not only was Raghava's chest broad, it was fleshy too-not the flabby flesh of 
an idler, but the firm one of a fine warrior-"peena vakshA visAlAksha: 
kambugreevO mahAhanu:". Sri Valmiki never tires of describing the Lord's chest 
and throughout the epic there are any number of mentions of the same. When SitA 
Piratti tests Hanuman's bonafides by asking him to describe Sri Rama's physical 
beauty, Tiruvadi obliges readily and with pleasure. In doing so, he too 
comments on the toughness of Raghava's chest-- "Tristthira:" (He is strong in 
three places-chest, wrists and knees).

If we leave the Vibhava avataras and set our sights on the magnificent 
archhAvatara, we find Sri Tiruppanazhwar losing himself in the beauty of Sri 
Ranganatha's upper torso-"arangatthammAn tiru Ara mArbadu andrO adiyEnai 
AtkoNdadE!". The perfect dresser that He is, the Lord's chest is never bare. It 
is always full of ornaments, whch add to their own brilliance by association 
with His tirumEni. When you consider how fond women are of jewels, it is but 
natural that the Lord is forced to adorn His Consort, and, in the process, His 
own chest, with bewitching jewelry round His neck and on His chest. 

Another adornment to His chest is the brilliant and beautiful "maru" Sri 
Vatsam, which is the presiding deity for the "Prakriti" tatvam. This "maru" too 
finds adulatory mention in several places-for instance, Sri Tondaradipodi 
Azhwar considers it important enough to make it part of the Lord's name, by 
calling Him 
"TirumarumArba!", in an approximate tranlation of the Sanskrit sobriquet, 
"SrIvatsachihna:", which was the given name of Sri Koorattazhwan. Says Sri 
Alavandar, "visAla vakshastthala shObhi lakshaNam", referring to this beautiful 
ensign on Emperuman's broad chest. Swami Desikan expands on this in his 
inimitable words-"ati vishAla bhujAntara shObhamAna prakriti tattva niroopaka 
LakshmI nivAsa SrIVatsa lakshaNam".

What would be the best adornment for a MahAveerA's chest? Innumerable scars 
resulting from battle with mighty foes, of course. These scars shine as 
magnificent medallions, attesting to the wars waged and victories won, all in 
the course of the noble mission of Sharanagata Rakshanam. Swami Desikan says 
that the Lord's broad chest is decorated with such impressive vestiges of His 
encounters with dastardly and demonic forces, adding considerably to the beauty 
bestowed by Piratti, Srivatsam and the VanamAlA. Srivatsam is by nature blue, 
Piratti of a golden hue, the Koustubha Ratnam radiates red rays and the 
VaijayantI hAram is multi-coloured, investing Emperuman's chest with a 
kaleidascope of brilliant colours-
"durdAnta daitya visikha kshata kpatra bhangam
Veerasya tE Vibudha nAyaka! BAhu madhyam
SrIVatsa Koustubha RamA vanamAlikAngam
ChintAnubhooya labhatE charitArtthatAm na:"

The VaijayantI is by itself so beautiful that Swami Desikan devotes a separate 
verse to it, paying tribute to its bewtiching array of colours, its composition 
consisting of a bewildering variety of blooms, its unfading fragrance and the 
exalted company it keeps, of Piratti and the Koustubha MaNi-

"VarNaramENa VibudhEsa! VichitritAngI
SmEra prasUna subhagA VanamAlikEyam
HridyA sugandhi: ajahat KamalA MaNIndrA
NityA tava sphurati moortiriva dvitIyA" 

With all the fragrant garlands of Tiruttuzhai and flowers that He wears, the 
Lord's chest is indeed aromatic and sweet-smelling. And when He embraces 
Piratti, some of the KastUri She wears rubs off on HIm, making His chest more 
perfumed-"SrI stana kastUri vAsanA vAsita urasE!". It is known that during 
their romantic interludes, a husband and wife do not generally preserve the 
decorous interaction that prevails otherwise. We thus have Sri Krishna 
beseeching to Radha (according to the Gita Govinda) to place her lovely feet on 
His head. Similarly, we are told that the Lord's chest too bears vestiges of 
the decorative dye that Piratti wears on Her tiruvadi-"LakshmI charaNa 
lAkshAnga sAkshAt Srivatsa vakshasE!". All that has been said so far about the 
Lord's chest has been summarised by Swami Desikan in a sloka of Bhagavat DhyAna 
sOpAnam-

"SrIVatsEna prathita vibhavam SrIpada nyAsa dhanyam
madhyam bAhvOr maNivara ruchA ranjitam RangadhAmna:
Sandhra cchAyai: taruNa TulasI chitrayA VaijayantyA
SantApam Me samayati diya: chandrikOdAra hAram"

More than a part of His own tirumEni, the Lord's chest serves as a palace 
beyond compare for an illustrious Empress, viz,, Sri Mahalakshmi. What 
principal items do we find in any palace? 1)Pervasive fragrance,2) Festoons of 
pearls and gems hanging all over, 3)bright lighting with the most brilliant of 
lamps, 4)the walls adorned with paintings of various hues, 5)bedsteads made of 
the softest of swan's feathers and the most supple of down and so on. 

We find all these and more characterising the Lord's chest, making it an ideal 
castle for the Consort.

1) First of all, Emperuman's tirumArbu is festooned with any number of 
garlands, made of the most precious of gems and pearls, of the brightest of 
blooms comprising the VaijayantI hAram, the pure white YagyOpavItam lying 
across the black chest like a slash of lightning amidst dark, rainbearing 
clouds, etc. 
2) As to fragrance, there is no dearth of it in the Lord's chest, coated as it 
is always with thick sandalwood paste mixed with perfumed camphor. 
3) This broad and beautiful castle housing Piratti is lit with the brightest of 
lamps, viz., the Koustubha MaNi, emitting the most brilliant of lustre, shining 
like a resplendent Moon, amidst the encircling stars represented by the 
gleaming gems on various garlands. 
4) The scars resulting from the Lord's encounter with the seven deadly bulls 
(which He vanquished to win the hand of Sri Nappinnai) form strange and 
bewitching patterns on His chest, giving the impression of its being decorated 
with beautiful images and works of art. 
5) The numerous garlands of soft and fragrant flowers lying across the Lord's 
chest form an ideal bedstead for Piratti. 
With all this, is it any wonder that Sri Bhattar describes the Lord's tirumArbu 
as a veritable palace for Piratti? Here is the beautiful sloka from Sri 
Rangaraja Stavam-

"Malayaja shasi liptam mAlatI dhAma talpam
sumaNi sara vitAnam Koustubha svasti deepam
danuja vrusha vishANa ullEkha chitram cha LakshmI
lalitha griham upAsE Ranga sarvam sahOra:"

We can safely aver that it is the Lord's chest which serves as the chief 
indicator of His supremacy, for it is Sri Mahalakshmi, residing there 
constantly, who is the defining mark of the Parabrahmam, who identifies the 
Lord to us as the Paramapurusha, distinct and different from other demigods who 
cannot boast of the distinction. This is evident from the following sloka of 
Sri Bhattar-

"VakshastthalyAm Tulasi KamalA Koustubhai: VaijayantI
SarvEsatvam kathayati tarAm RangadhAmna: tat AstAm"

It is impossible to portray fully the breadth and the beauty, the magnificence 
and majesty, the softness and splendour of the Lord's chest, which, readers 
would now agree, is a matchless Treasure Chest indeed. Let us conclude with Sri 
PAN PerumAL's paean of praise to this glorious part of Emperuman's tirumEni-

"BhAramAya pazhavinai pattru arutthu-ennai tan
vAram Akki vaitthAn vaitthadu andri ennuL pugundAn
ghOra mA tavam seidanan kol ariyEn arangattammAn tiru
Ara mArbu adandrO adiyEnai AtkoNdadE"

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan










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