Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
"Yours Obediently"
There are any number of stotras, extolling the Lord's praise. All bhaktas, from
the impartial Vedapurusha to the Adikavi Valmiki to the venerated present day
Acharyas, have considered it their sacred duty to compose peaens of praise on
the Lord, in prosaic or verse form. These are outpourings of uncontrollable
devotion, which makes the devotee burst into verse spontaneously, with
absolutely no prompting from anyone. There comes a stage in devotion when the
bhakta, unable to contain the sublime and exalting experience of bhagavat
anubhavam, simply has to find an outlet for his overwhelming attachment, and
waxes eloquent in prose or poetry in an effort to share his ecstatical
experiences.
Though there are innumerable Stotras, there is one particular stuti which is
extremely popular, has been touted to be a panacea for all ills physical and
spiritual, held out as a sure means for achieving all desires secular and
religious and recited the world over by all those who believe in Emperuman,
without denominational differences. Such is the popularity of this stotra that
even today, when religious teaching and learning have fallen to an
unprecedented nadir, competitions are conducted among children to encourage
learning and propogation of this beautiful stotra. Admittedly, this stotra is
rather long, but is all the more enjoyable for it. We are told that the Lord's
auspicious attributes are innumerable, but if we want to find a stotra
enumerating as many of them as humanly possible, we have only to turn to this
giant among stotras.
The Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra is indeed a masterly compendium of the glorious
names of the Lord, each of which stands for a particular kalyana guna. If one
single tirunama of the Lord, viz., the Govinda nama, could save distressed
Droupati from certain humiliation in front of the entire regal court of
Hastinapuram, we can imagine what sincere utterance of the thousand and eight
names of the Lord, enumerated in the Sahasranama stotra can do for us. "Kalou
sankeertaya Kesavam" says the Scripture, laying down that what can be achieved
by elaborate Yagyas involving huge expenditure of money, energy and
concentration, what is possible of fruition through charity of huge proportions
etc. in other Yugas, is possible in this Kali Yuga, through the mere chanting
of Emperuman's exalted names. Considered in this light, there appears to be
hardly a parallel to the Vishnu Sahasranama stotra in any parameter. This
stotra has the added merit of being a part of the elaborate Epic Sri
Mahabharata, placing it on par with the other great guidebook of human conduct,
the Bhagavat Gita.
Often the beauty and popularity of a particular work is judged by the number of
commentaries it is able to attract, which is evidence of the undying patronage
the work is able to garner, even after the passing away of its author. The
large number of commentaries on the Bhagavat Gita and the Brahma Sutras is a
case in point. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra too can boast of numerous
elaborations, the principal ones being the ones by Sri Sankaracharya and Sri
Parasara Bhattar.
Of these, the latter incorporates interesting, enlightening and spiritually
moving purports for each of the thousand namas, providing a great and glorious
mirror which attempts to capture the various facets of the Lord's auspicious
attributes.
It is no wonder that it is aptly named "Bhagavat Guna Darpanam"(A mirror of
Emperuman's exalted virtues). A perusal of this commentary would afford us not
only the true meaning of each of the Lord's names under discussion, but also
the distilled essence of the Visishtadvaita Sampradaya, the outpourings of
Azhwars and of their commentators and the quintessence of the Lord's message in
the Srimad Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavat Gita. So vast is the ambit of Sri
Bhattar's coverage in his commentary that we wonder whether it is humanly
possible for anyone to assemble such an array of concepts, quotes and comments
in a single place. Sri Bhattar's matchless brilliance and devotion are on
evidence in every single syllable of his magnum opus. While the other
commentaries on the Sahasranama (a reference to Sahasranama automatically means
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, although there are any number of such compilations on
other deities too) are no doubt precious and valuable, Sri Bhattar's is
indubitably a glittering gem, unmatched in splendour and lustre. It serves as
an invaluable enhancement to the Stotra, making it a pleasure of rare
proportions to peruse.
Though Sri Bhattar's commentary stands head and shoulders above others' in
respect of each and every nama of the Sahasranama Stotra, it would be
interesting to take up a sample of one name and enjoy the inimitable insights
Sri Bhattar provides.
"VijitAtmA vidhEyAtmA satkeerti: cchinna samsaya:
udeerNa: sarvata: chakshu: aneesa: sAsvata: stthira:"
Our research is confined to the second tirunama in the aforesaid couplet, viz.,
"VidhEyAtmA".
Commentators other than Sri Bhattar have construed a negative vowel "A" ahead
of VidhEyAtmA and taken it to read "avidhEyAtmA", meaning someone who cannot be
dictated to by anybody, who is not bound to listen to anyone, one beyond any
sort of fetter or binding on his actions. This is indeed a beautiful tirunamam
and portrays eloquently the irrepressible nature of the Lord, who is the
Supreme Entity, with none to account to and none to tell Him what to do and
when. It is He who tells everyone, through Shastras, how they ought to conduct
themselves ("agal gyAlattavar ariya neriyellAm edutthu uraittha nirai gnAnatthu
oru moortthi"). He is not bound by any rules, for He HImself is the maker of
the rules. He is verily the uncontrollable wild elephant ("madha hastinam"), in
whose path none can stand with impunity. None can question His actions, for He
is the "nirankusa svatantran". This appears therefore to be an apt purport of
the word "avidhEyAtmA".
The unique thought processes of Sri Bhattar and the influence of Aruliccheyal
make him put forward an entirely different, in fact diametrically opposite,
definition of the tirunamam. And it also speaks of his fearless attitude, his
moral courage in voicing an opinion that is contrary to established and
long-standing tenets. And his pedigree, (being the son of the venerated
Koorattazhwan, having received tutelage from none other than the great
Bhashyakara and his disciple Sri EmbAr and having been the adopted son of Sri
Ranganatha Himself) shines through in his interpretation of the word
"VidhEyAtmA". Unlike others, Sri Bhattar takes the tirunamam as it is, without
adding or subtracting to it to suit his convenience and arrives at exactly the
opposite purport to that advanced by other distinguished commentators.
Sri Bhattar takes "VidhEyAtmA" to mean one who is bound by the dictates of
others, making the Lord a humble soul indeed. We are astonished at this strange
definition-the Lord, and obeying others! How can that be, we ask, for it is
indeed contrary to His status as the Supreme Being and militates against the
very notion of a Celestial Emperor, the Lord of all He surveys. If the Lord
Himself is to be subordinated to somebody else's will, then whom indeed can we
consider independent?
Though He is the Supreme Being, beyond anybody's command or instruction, the
Lord, by His sweet nature, makes Himself subject to the will of others who love
Him beyond measure. We must understand that He does this out of His own sweet
will and not out of any necessity for the same, marking an important difference
with others who have to be obedient out of the compulsions of an avocation or
otherwise.
There are three classes of people to whose tunes the Lord dances, whatever be
His own opinion in the matter.
Sri Koorattazhwan says that the Lord is indeed a subordinate soul, a
"VidhEyAtmA", awaiting the approval of His Divine Consort for each and every
action of His, whether it be Creation, Protection or Destruction. He fashions
His functions upon the likes and dislikes of His beloved PatnI, (expressed not
even explicitly but through the expression in Her eyes or a movement of Her
brows) carefully eschewing what is not to Her taste.
"YasyA: veekshya mukham tat ingita parAdheena: vidhattE akhilam" says Sri
Azhwan in his Sristavam, laying down that the Lord always looks to Sri's
tirumukham for a signal of approval for all His actions. He is thus a "PatnI
parAdhIna:"
One more class of people who are able to make the omnipotent Lord dance to
their tunes is the arcchakAs, those in charge of His worship at various
temples. The Lord is so compliant where this group of people is concerned, that
He gets up when they give Him a wake-up call, bathes when He is told to, wears
whatever the arcchaka offers Him for the day, be it a priceless and glittering
PIthAmbaram or a mere loin cloth, meekly subjects Himself to such adornments
and alankAram as the bhattar deems fit, dons only those ornaments offered by
the arcchaka, consumes obediently the day's diet, whether it be a sumptuous
feast with the nine tastes or mere cooked rice without any seasoning and goes
to sleep compliantly when the arcchaka shuts the doors to the Sannidhi. This is
why He is said to be an "archaka parAdhIna:".
The third class of persons whom the Lord feels Himself bound to obey are His
unflinching devotees, who are able to make Him dance to their tunes. When His
bhaktas call upon Him to do something, He obliges with alacrity and willing
compliance. The following sloka highlights this trait-
"iha gaccha, iha tishtta, idam bhunkshva, iti pranatai: sadA
yOgyam vidhAtum yat roopam VidhEyAtmA sa keertita:"
"Come here, don't stir out of this place, eat this" etc. are some of the
commands He receives from His beloved and caring devotees, with which he
complies implicitly. As Sri Krishna, He allowed Himself to be tied to the
grindstone by His mother, apparently tearful with fear and self-pity. He waited
hand and foot upon His Acharya Santipini, to set an example of a disciple's
conduct towards his guru. He obeyed the dictates of Arjuna implicitly as a
compliant charioteer, druing the Kurukshetra war. He and His brother stood
obediently before Viswamitra during the Ramavatara, with all humility, willing
to carry out the errands of the Maharshi ("kinkarou samupastthitou"). He ate
with as much relish the humble fare of jungle fruits offered by Sri Sabhari, as
He accepted the rich feast from Bharadvaja Mahrshi. And His obedience to His
parents was indeed legendary, unheard of before or after.
When Sri Vidura, in his boundless bliss at the Lord calling on his (Vidura's)
humble residence, paying scant attention to what he was doing, offered a bunch
of banana skins to the Lord, throwing away the fruits, Sri Krishna accepted the
skins and ate them contentedly. To prove the words of a mere infant, He
manifested Himself from a stone pillar in the form a magnificent man-lion,
unseen or unheard of before. To oblige Indra, another devotee, the Lord begged,
(an occupation He had never had to resort to earlier) from Mahabali. In answer
to the prayer of deities affected by Ravana, He endured an unprecedented and
painful separation from His Consort, who had never forsaken Him for even a
second ("agalakillEn irayum endru alarmEl mangai urai mArba!"). It is all these
and other innumerable instances of His subjecting Himself to the dicatates of
His devotees, that have earned Him the sobriquet, "Bhakta parAdhIna:"
When the Lord is subject to the whims and fancies of all these people, can we
really call Him the Undisputed Master ("Nirankusa Iswara:" as Sri Nadadur Ammal
puts it) and attribute to Him the ultimate in independence? We can, for it is
out of His infinite Soulabhyam, overwhelming Mercy and boundless love and
affection for us and others that He makes Himself amenable to the dictates of
devotees. Simply because the elephant obeys its mahout, it doesn't lose any of
its greatness-it remains as powerful, strong and independent as ever and
submits to the mahout's directions only out of a love for him. While on others
the character of subjection may sit as a stigma, it adds to the greatness of
the Lord and makes Him the more venerable for that. He is thus greater as a
"VidhEyAtmA" than as a "avidhEyAtmA"
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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