Hari Bhakti Sudha (http://bhagavatas.blogspot.com http://bhagavatas.blogspot.com))
by a random well-wisher of bhAgavatas
Volume I
June 28, 2010
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Contents 1. Contents ............................... .............................................. .............................. .............................. .............................. ................. .. 2 2. Dedication.............. Dedication............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. ................. .. 3 3. Lord Narayana - The Supreme Transcendental and Immanent Lord (Paratvam, Antaryamitvam) .............................. ............................................. .............................. .................. ... 7 4. Lord Hari - the Creator, Sustainer, and Dissolver of the universe (Jagatkaranatvam) ............................... .............................................. .............................. ............................. .............. 12 5. Shri Ramanujacharya: Ramanujacharya: The marvelous marvelous miracles of of Lord Madhava Madhava ...... 18 6. The Lord of Guruvayur, Narayaneeyam, and Cosmic Manifestation Manifestation ... 24 7. Periya Vachan Pillai: The Lord is accessible and friendly to His creatures (Saulabhyam, Saushilyam)...................................... Saushilyam)................................................ .......... 30 8. Thousand Names of of the Divine Lord: Might or Modesty? Modesty? ................... ................... 37 9. Generosity (Audaryam) (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 1 ........ 44 10. Generosity (Audaryam) (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 2 ........ 48 11. Sri Ramanujacharya's Saranagati Gadyam: Dimensions of Lord Hari's Benevolence .............................. ............................................. .............................. .............................. ......................... .......... 51 12. Generosity in Vishnu Sahasranama Sahasranama Bhashyas - Part 1 ...................... ...................... 55 13. Generosity in Vishnu Sahasranama Sahasranama Bhashyas - Part 2 ...................... ...................... 58 14. The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana -- Part 1: The Lord Extolled by the Vedas .............................. ............................................. .............................. .............................. ......................... .......... 60 15. The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana -- Part 2: Unequalled and Unsurpassed Supremacy ............................... .............................................. .............................. ..................... ...... 66 16. The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana: Part 3 -- From the Narayaneeyam .............................. ............................................. .............................. .............................. ...................... ....... 70 17. The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana: Part 4 -- More from the Narayaneeyam .............................. ............................................. .............................. .............................. ...................... ....... 74
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Dedication Prostrations to Vashishta, Shakti, Parashara, Vyasa, and Shuka, and to Valmiki, Narada, and so many other great sages who, with their yogic effort, saw the Divine Light in All His Glory and gave gave Him to the the world out out of pure pure compassio compassion n for all beings beings.. Glory be to all the Alvars who explained to us hidden meanings in the Divine Scriptures. Glory be to Kamban who gave the Nectar from Ayodhya in the banks of Cauvery. Glory be to the Haridasas, Tyagaraja, Annamacharya, Purandaradasa, Jayadeva, Mirabai, Tukaram, Namdev, Tulasidas, Kabir, and others who excelled in His Devotion. I salute the parama bhAgavatas Paramashiva and Parvati, who constantly take delight in the Nectar of chanting the Glories of Lord Ramachandra. Humble prostrations to the great Shankara Bhagavatpada, Bhagavad Ra manujacharya, Shri Madhvacharya, Shri Lokacharya and Shri Venkatanatharya, Vadirajatirtha, Sri Vallabha, Sri Nimbarka, and all the other Acharyas who dedicated themselves to the cause of the path of Vedic Dharma in the world.
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I bow to Garuda, Shesha, and Vishvaksena who delight in attending to the Supreme Lord for ever. Glory be to the Son of the Wind who likes being seated next to whoever reads as much as a line from the Magnificent Epic about the Scion of the Raghu dynasty. I take refuge in the ocean of compassion, the Queen of the Waters, Lakshmi who dwells in the Srivatsa mark of the Divine Lord, so that I may deserve His Grace. Let us adore Highest Light dwelling beyond the material universe - who is known in the Timeless Scriptures as Shriman Narayana and Vasudeva, who is the first to enter into the cosmos as the Lord of the Milky Mil ky Ocean, dividing Himself into the First Four and many more, who sports with His creation as the son of Nanda, who dwells in the middle of the Solar Orb, golden-hued, with eyes like just-bloomed lotuses, residing in the cavity of the heart with a form as brilliant as a streak of lightning in amid dark-blue clouds, possessed of a thousand heads, hands, and feet, projecting Himself in every direction, who is reclining in the Islet surrounded by the Two Rivers and standing on top of the Hill of the Great Earth-bearing Serpant, who delights His devotees with His Magnificent Form, bearing the Divine Conch, Discus, Mace, and Lotus, wearing the Vaijayanti garland, the Kaustubha jewel, the Kasturi Tilaka mark on His forehead, bedecked in Yellow Garbs, with a Lotus springing from His navel that bears the grandsire of all beings. Wisdom, Strength, Lordship, Valor, Power, and Splendor belong to Him! Let us adore Him again, again, and again!!!
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Dear Bhagavatas from all over the world, Humble prostrations to all of you. This is my modest attempt at taking ing baby steps towards getting a glimpse of the glories of the Lord, as told in the writings of great compassionate Acharyas across all sampradayas. I want to make this effort quite different. There are many blogs that discuss poetrystyle verses ( prabhanda) written by the Acharyas of yore. Online resources explaining wordord-to to-w -wor ord d and and inn inner mean meanin ings gs of the the devo devoti tion onal al outp outpou ourrings ings of Tyaga yagarraja, aja, Diks Dikshi hita tar, r, Pura Purand ndar arad adas asa, a, Bh Bhad adra rach chal ala a Ramda Ramdas, s, Anna Annama mach char arya ya,, Mira Mirabh bhai ai,, Tuka Tukara ram, m, and and othe others rs grea greatt composers are aplenty. What I would like to do here is to explore how various great comm ommenta entato torrs, star tarting ting fro from Adi Adi Sanka ankarrach acharya arya,, have ave expl explai aine ned d the the glor glorie ies s of Hari ari in thei theirr elaborate commentaries otherwise dealing with serious polemical discussions.
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Since I am familiar more with Advaitic writings due to my background, I will start with the great works of Adi Shankaracharya and his early and contemporary follo llowers, sticking to bhak bhakti ti-r -rel elat ated ed disc discus ussi sion ons. s. Disc Discus ussi sion ons s will will only only be on Bh Bhak akti ti and and Sa Sagu guna na Upas Upasan ana a alon alone. e. No way way does does this this impl imply y that that I will will not not quot quote e from from othe otherr Dvai Dvaita ta/V /Vis ishi hish shta tadv dvai aita ta scho school ols s of thou though ghtt in future. From time to time, I may also post my own independent thoughts. Humbly yours, Prahladadasa
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Lord Narayana - The Supreme Transcendental and Immanent Lord (Paratvam, Antaryamitvam) May we contemplate on the Supreme Lord Vasudeva so that we may begin this journey without hurdles.
As we promised in the last post, we are now ready to embark on a journey filled with enjoyment of the Lord's Glories. What I am going to write in this series is from whatever sense I have ave made, with my tiny brain, of this great tradition of San f Sanatan atana a Dharma Dharma.. I am just a novice in these matters. All the faults belong to me, and whatever litt ittle good comes out of my writing belongs to the great teachers and preach achers who I have been fortunate enough to listen to. to. Cont Contem empl plat atio ion n on the the Lor Lord's d's Divi Divin ne Attr Attrib ibut utes es and and enjo enjoyi ying ng the the sam same with with fell fellow ow devo evotees tees is one of the best ways of serving Him, and gives immense bliss to the everyone. Two of His prim primar ary y attr attrib ibut ute es are: are: His Lor Lordlin dlines ess s and and His His Accesi cesibi bili lity ty.. Ever veryone yone is fami famili liar ar with ith the the Divine Names of the Supreme Lord of the Universe - the Vedas describe Him as Narayana, Vish ishnu, Vasudeva, and Hari. We all all are familiar with His Divine ine Incarnations, Divine ine Form, and His Divine Sportive Acts. All these prove that He is quite ite accessible to His devotees. In orde orderr to under nders stan tand and and appr apprec ecia iate te this this fully ully,, one fir first need needs s to unde unders rsta tand nd His Lord Lordli lin ness ess in a proper manner. Let us then investigate: How then, is He intimately related to His creation? How is He to be contemplated ted as the Supreme Lord? We shall now see how one of the great Acharyas of the sanatana dharma, Shri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada answers this questions for us.
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Bhagavatpada Acharya says in his benedictory verse for the introductory chapter to the Bhagavad Gita:
nArAyaNaH paro'vyaktAd aNDam avyakta-sambhavam | aNDasyAntas tv ime lokAH sapta-dvIpA ca medinI || Narayana is beyond the seed of material existance. From this seed, the cosmos comes to exist. Within the bounds of this cosmic egg are the seven worlds and this earth.
[nArAy nArAyaNa aNaH H - The The Supr Suprem eme e Lord Lord,, par paraH aH - is beyo beyond nd,, avya avyakt ktAd Ad - the the prim primor ordi dial al matt matter er know known n as avyakta or mUlaprakRti ( mUlaprakRti (avyakta litera literally lly means means "the "the undeve undevelop loped" ed")). aNDam - the the cosm cosmic ic egg egg from from whic which h the the enti entirre mater ateria iall creat reatio ion n eman emanat ate es, avyakt avyakta-s a-samb ambhav havam am - is born from this this prim primor ordi dial al natu nature re,, anda andasy sya a - of this cosmic egg, antaH antaH - with within in the the boun bounds ds,, tu - verily, ime lokAH - thes these e worl worlds ds,, sapt saptaa-dv dvIp IpA A - the the seven even isla islan nds (acc accordi ording ng to puranic to puranic literature of Hindu induis ism m, the the ear earthly thly regio egions ns in the the univ univer erse se are are class lassif ifie ied d into into seve even isla island nds s), ca - and, medi medinI nI - the the ear earth in whic hich we live live (belo belon nging ging to the the solar olar syste ystem m of the the Milk Milky y Way, Way, acc accordi ording ng to modern science).] In this this intr introd odu uctory tory ver verse, se, the the AcArya says ays that the Supreme Lord Narayana is beyond the mate materi rial al univ univer erse se cons consis isti ting ng of the the prim primor ordi dial al matt matter er know known n as avyakta or mUla-prakRti, and that it is the mUla mUla prak prakRt Rti i tthat gives rise to the Cosmic Egg, within the bounds of which mate materi rial al exis existe tenc nce e belo belong ngin ing g to the the cate catego gory ry of effe effect cts s is conf confin ined ed to. to. I will try to explain the concepts and terminology in creation are further in next paragraph, which may be skipped for those who are not curious about the same. From puranic literature, it is well-known that the first thing in the realm of effects to be created by Lord Narayana is the avyakta principle. Subject to the Lord's control and as per His volition (sa"nkalpa), sa"nkalpa), the avyakta princ inciple then evolves into mahAn, then to aha"nkAra, aha"nkAra, followed by the five subtle elements or tanmAtras (sabd sabda, a, spar sparsh sha, a, rUpa rUpa,, rasa rasa,, and gand gandha ha - soun sound, d, touc touch, h, sigh sight, t, tast taste, e, and and smel smelll resp respec ecti tive vely ly)) and and the the five five gros gross s elem elemen ents ts or pancabhUtas or pancabhUtas (akAs akAsha ha,, vAyu vAyu,, agni agni,, Apa, Apa, and p and pRt Rthv hvII - ethe ether, r, wind wind,, fire fire,, wate water, r, and and eart earth) h).. The Lord Lord then then per perfor forms pancIkaraNa, ms pancIkaraNa, the the proc rocess ess of inte interm rmix ixin ing g the the fiv five gros gross s eleme lement nts s for for creation to proceed. From this, the principle iples s of five sensory organs ans and five motor organs ans arise. The Lord then forms a body known as Hiranyagarbha, which is then taken up by one of the the sever everal al baddh baddha a jIva jIvas s or souls that are to be born in the world of samsAra samsAra (existence in the realm of effects) selec lected by the Lord based on their karma or acti action ons. s. This This jIva jIva taking up the name and form known as Hiranyagarbha is non none but but Lord Lord Brahm rahma, a, who who then then pro proceed ceeds s to create further bodies base ased on the Lord's instructions. The jIvas are then assigned to different bodies by the Supreme Lord Narayana himself, again based on their past karma. From the above, it is clear lear that Supreme Lord Naraya ayana is different from creation, which is in the category of effects (known in Sanskrit as kAry kArya a vast vastu u). In other words, the Lord is the kAraNa (cause) and the entire universe is His kArya (eff (effec ect) t).. Shan Shanka kara rach char arya ya has has also also
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explain explained ed elsewh elsewhere ere (BSBh. (BSBh. IV.iv.19 IV.iv.19--20 20)) in his commentary to the Brahma Sutras, that the Highest Lord is not confined in any way to this mundane universe: "Moreover,
according to scripture, there is also an eternal form of the highest Lord which does not abide in
effects", and "Scripture
and Smri Smri ti ti both declare that the highest light does not abide within effected things ".
In the previous section in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya, he says that the liberated soul is reab eabsorb sorbed ed into into the the worl world d of Parab arabrrahma ahman n Nara Naraya yan na, and and als also that that it is the the pur purest, est, High Highes estt Place of Vishnu ( paramapada, paramapada, vaikuNTha, vaikuNTha, or brahmaloka) brahmaloka), which is beyond the realm of effects. Another aspect of His lor lordlin liness is tha that though He exist ists beyond the material universe, He simul imulta tane neo ously usly exis exists ts as the the manif anifes estt univ nivers erse in two two ways ays: (1) with ith the the enti entirre cosmo osmos s is His body body,, and and (2) as the the inne innerr-co cont ntrrolle ollerr of ever every y part partic icle le and and ever every y bein being/ g/cr crea eatu turre. This This is part part of his divine pastime, and in no way compromises his Lordliness. Mundaka Upanishad 2-1-4 says:
The indwelling Self ( Atman ( Atman)) of all is surely He of whom the heaven is the head, the moon and sun are the two eyes, the directions are the two ears, the revealed Vedas are the speech, air is the vital force, the whole Universe is the heart, and (It is He) from whose two feet emerged the earth.
In the the pen penulti ultima mate te sente entenc nce e of the the comm ommenta entarry to the the same ame ver verse, Bhaga hagava vatp tpad ada a Achar chary ya says: "this
dEva, (known as) Vishnu or Ananta, is the dEva, first to have a body in this universe, and has all the three worlds as his body. He is the inner-dweller of all elements. "
We will explore the concept of inner-dweller (antaryAmi/antarAtmA antaryAmi/antarAtmA)) in a little while. It is worth compari aring the statement made by Bhagavatpada Acharya to that of his immediat iate disciple Totaka akacharya, who further adds the follo llowing lines in the last verse of his work shrutisArasamuddharaNa.. This famous verse is now recited by everyone who chants Vish shrutisArasamuddharaNa ishnu Saha Sa hasr sran anam ama, a, in the the dhyAnam secti ectio on jus just befo beforre "shAntA shAntAkAr kAram am bhujag bhujaga a shaya shayanam nam"", even though it does not belong to the original Sahasranama text in the Mahabharata: bhUH pAdau yasya khaM codaramasuranilaH candra sUryau ca netre karNAvAshAH shiro dyaurmukhamapi dahano yasya vAstavyamabdhiH | antaHstaM yasya vishvam suranarakhagagobhogigandharv suranarakhagagobhogigandharvadaityaiH adaityaiH citraM raMramyate tam tribhuvanavapuSaM viSNumIsham namAmi ||
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(shrutisArasamuddharaNa, (shrutisArasamuddharaNa, 179) "I bow down to Lord Visnu (Vishnu), whose body comprises the three worlds. His feet are the earth, the cavity of His belly is space, his vital breath is the wind, and His eyes are the sun and the moon. His ears are the directions, His head is the heaven, His face is the fire, and His bladder is the ocean. Within Him this universe delights with its variety of gods (divinities created by Supreme Lord), human beings, birds, cows, snakes, celestial beings, and demons. To that Visnu I offer my salutations."
The above principle that the Lord has the material universe as (one of) His body (ies), or in other words, that He is the supersoul of all of His creation, is known as sharIra-sharIri bhAva in vishiSTAdvaita veda vedan nta scho school ol of Bh Bhag agav avad ad Rama Ramanu nuja jac char harya. ya. In this this schoo chool, l, the the Lor Lord is aptl aptly y calle alled d "ubhaya-vibh ubhaya-vibhUti Uti nAtha nAtha", mean meanin ing g both both the the mate materi rial al univ univer erse se (liilA liilA vibhUt vibhUti i ) and and His own own tran transc scen ende dent ntal al realm ealm (nitya nitya vibhUt vibhUti i a.k.a. a.k.a. vaikunTam or paramapadam or paramapadam)) are His bodies. The Vedas further affirm that the Lord entered into his creation as the inner-controller of all as he created. The name Vishnu is significant here since it means "all-pervading". Henc ence, Lor Lord Nara Naray yana, ana, havi havin ng crea create ted d the the mater ateria iall univ univer ers se, ente enterred into into eac each and and ever every y particle of creati ation as the antaryAmin, antaryAmin, whic hich menas enas inn inner-c er-con ontr trol olle lerr. This This is conf confir irme med d by Shan Shanka kara rach char arya ya in his his comm commen enta tary ry to the the antary antaryAmi Ami brAhma brAhmaNa Na sect sectio ion n (Cha (Chapt pter er 3, Sect Sectio ion n 7) of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where he says:
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"Such is the Lord, who controls from within, known as Narayana, who dwells from within the earth and controlls it, whom the earth-deity (prithvI) does not know. He is also the inner-controller of everyone, Brihadaranyaka yaka Upanishad Upanishad including you, myself, and all beings." (Brihadaran
Bhashya 3.7.3)
Sureshvarach achary arya, anothe ther disciple of Adi Shankaracharya (as attested by himself in his works), confirms this further in the antary antaryAmi Ami brAhma brAhmaNa Na section of his vArtika (metrical exposition) on Bhagavatpadacharya's commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: "Krishna Dwaipayana (Veda Vyasa), desiring welfare for all creatures, has repeated this time and again: Lord Narayana is beyond the avyakta, the cosmic egg is born from it. Salutations to Lord Narayana, the innerdweller of all the dEvatas (divinities created by the Lord). It is to Him that th at th thee Na Nara raya yana na ch chan antts in th thee Ve Veda dass ar aree ad addr dres esssed to to." ."
(Brih Brihad adar aran anya yaka ka Bh Bhas ashy hyav avar arti tika ka,, Vers Verses es 39-4 39-42 2 expo expoun undi ding ng Section 3.7 ) Ananda Anandagir girii or Anandaj~nAna or Anandaj~nAna,, a medi mediev eval al adva advait itic ic scho schola larr and and a disciple of shuddhAnanda, shuddhAnanda, wrote a Tiika (gloss) on the vArttika. vArttika. To the above, he says: "The author of the vArtika says that the glory of the Supreme Lord Narayana is evident not only from the purANic the purANic and and Agamic Agamic te text xts, s, bu butt al also so in th thee Ve Veda dass ." Anan Ananda dagi giri ri then then
quotes the first verse in the Nara arayana Sukta of Taitt ittiriya Aranyaka (Section ion 10.11) to his support. The Achary aryas of yore have thus praised the Lord as the Supreme Trans anscendental (beyond mate materi rial al exis existe tenc nce) e) as well well as Imma Immane nent nt (who (who perv pervad ades es and and cont contro rols ls ever everyt ythi hing ng)) God. God. Such Such is his greatness, as understood in the Vedantic texts.
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Lord Hari - the Creator, Sustainer, and Dissolver of the universe (Jagatkaranatvam) In the last post, post, we started exploring how the great Acharyas of the Vedantic traditions have described the glory of the Supreme Lord N arayana. We saw that Adi Sankara and other Acharyas have described Him as both 1. Transcen Transcendental dental i.e., i.e., beyond beyond the realm of the material material universe universe comprisi comprising ng the five elements. 2. Immanent Immanent i.e., pervade pervades s in and controls controls all of His creation, creation, as the inner-s inner-soul oul (antaryAmi ), ), and hence is praised by the Vedas as the one who has all the three worlds as His body. Let us now proceed to explain further the relationship between Lord Hari and his creation, the material universe. The Vedantic Bhakti traditions praise Him as the creator, sustainer, and dissolver of the entire universe. Let us examine this aspect, like we did last time, from the works and quotations of Acharyas.
The great philosopher of the dvaita tradition (dualistic school of Vedanta), Srimad Madhvacharya (madhvAcArya, also known as Anandatiirtha as Anandatiirtha or pUrNapraj pUrNapraj~na ~na AcArya AcArya)) writes in his commentary to the Brahma Sutra (I-i-2) that Hari, described in the Veda as Brahman, is the first great cause of the world. Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada Acharya also says in the introductory chapter of the Gita Bhashya: " AdikartA nArAyaNAkhyo vishNuH" , meaning "the first creator, Vishnu who is known as Narayana". For now, let us return to the nectar, in the form of the following scriptural quotations, offered by Srimad Madhvacharya in I-i-2 of Brahma Sutra Bhashya:
"The person - from whom the origin, subsistence, and dissolution, order, enlightenment, the cover of gloom, bondage, and liberation proceed - that Primordial Lord is none other than Lord Hari."
(Skanda Purana)
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"To Him is (our) obeisance made, in whose abdomen has grown up the lotus, the prop of the worlds, as referred to in the Sruti (Vedas): 'In the navel, of the Unborn' - unto Him the glorious Vishnu who is the cause of all the states of the world and the sole author of the universe"
(Skanda Purana)
"In the navel of the Unborn, that thing is set on which all the worlds stand."
(Rig Veda X-lxxxii-6)
"He who is our immediate progenitor and father, who is the maker and who is cognizant of all the worlds and the things abiding therein."
(Rig Veda X-lxxxii-3)
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We next take a look at Shankara Bhagavatpada Acharya's elaborate commentary on the Brahma Sutras, where he quotes the following passages in his explanation to the sUtra IIi-1:: i-1
"Hear thence this short statement: The ancient Narayana is all this; he produces the creation at the due time, and at the time of re-absorption he consumes it again." (Brahmanda Purana I.174)
"I am the origin and the place of reabsorption of the whole world."
(says Lord Narayana as Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, VII.6)
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"From Him spring all bodies; He is the primary cause, He is eternal, He is unchangeable"
(Apastamba Dharma Sutra, I.8.23.2)
Kambar, respectfully and quite aptly known in Tamil Vaishnavite circles as "kambanATTAzhvAr ", ", starts his bhakti -laden -laden poetic work rAmAvatAram (now popularly known as Kamba Ramayanam), the medieval Tamil version of the original Ramayana written down by Valmiki, with the following prayer:
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உலக யவ வ த உள ஆக
ulagam yAvaiyum tAm uLa Akkalum
ந ல ல பத நக நஙகல ங கல
nilai peRuttalum niikkalum nI"ngalA
அல இல இல வளய உடய உடய அவ
alagu ilA viLaiyATTu uDaiyAr avar
தலவ அனவக சர நங ஙகள கள.
talaivar annavarkkE caraN nA"ngaLE.
The above prayer translates into English as: "We only surrender to that One who is the Lord (of all), and whose timeless, unlimited divine play involves the creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the entire universe."
For the pleasure of the readers, I have attempted to translate the following two similar invocatory verses found in the major works of two Acharyas of the Advaitic tradition: (1) Srimad Rama Tirtha, a medieval advaitic scholar, also began one of his philosophical works with a similar tribute to the Lord's avatAra as Rama:
praNamya rAmAbhidaM AtmadhIpadaM jagat prasUti-sthiti samyamAyanam (Invocatory verse of upadesasAhasri of upadesasAhasri padayojanikA) padayojanikA)
My translation: "Salutations to the One known as Rama, who is the object of cognition for the soul, the abode of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the universe." (2) Nyaya Makaranda, Makaranda, a work by a 11th/12th-century scholar scholar named Anandabodha, commences with a similar prayer to the Lord:
yadbhAsA nikhilaM yadbhAsA nikhilaM vibhAt vibhAtii viSa viSayo yo yo na svayaM svayaM jyotiSAM jyotiSAM | yasya AhuH bhuvanodbha bhuvanodbhavasthitilayAn vasthitilayAn liilAmayAn sUrayaH ||
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yaM cAgocaramAmananti manasAM vAcAM ca vishvAtmane | tasmai shuddhasukhAdvitIyavapushe shashvannamo viSNave ||
My translation: "That splendor by which the entire material universe, which by itself is devoid of any luminosity, shines - to the one whose oblations - who creates, sustains, and dissolves the universe sportingly - who is beyond the imagination of (even) the greatest of sages and devas - to that Vishnu who is the Supersoul for the entire universe - to that immaculate Vishnu who is without an equal t o Him, we offer our salutations." All of the above hymns hymns have have their basis in the the vedic mantras mantras such such as Taittiriya Taittiriya Upanishad, Upanishad, which says that Brahman creates, sustains, and dissolves this entire universe:
"Try to know that Brahman, from whom all a ll beings are born ; in whom, they are sustained ; into whom they enter after dissolution."
(Taittiriya Upanishad III-i-1) Thus, we should meditate on Lord Narayana, the Supreme Parabrahman as the one who creates, sustains, and dissolves the entire universe. Being totally self-contented and having no craving for any achievement, He performs this threefold action as a mere play of His (liilA in Sanskrit). Such is His might and power!
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Shri Ramanujacharya: The marvelous miracles of Lord Madhava Bhagavad Ramanujacharya (rAmAnuja-AcArya (rAmAnuja-AcArya , 1017 A.D.-1137 A.D.) was the great proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy in the eleventh century. His service to the cause of Vedic sanAtana dharma (eternal religion of the Vedic scriptures) is one of the most unparalleled. He was also a great proponent of the Bhakti movement, and a social reformer par excellence. The tradition propounded by this great Acharya continues to li ve on today as the Srivaishnava (shrIvaiSNava (shrIvaiSNava)) tradition, many of whose followers have their roots in South India. Let us prostrate and salute this great savior of the eternal Vedic religion with the following sloka (verse) composed by his direct disciple shrIvatsA"nka (in Tamil: kUrattAlvAn): kUrattAlvAn):
yo nityaM acyuta-padAmbuja-yugma-rukma vyAmohatas tad itarANi tRNAya mene | asmad guror bhagavato 'sya dayaika-sindhoH rAmAnujasya caraNau sharaNam prapadye ||
English English translation translation (thanks(thanks- http://srir http://sriramanu amanujar.t jar.tripod ripod.com .com/): /): " I take refuge at the feet of our guru Bhagavaan Ramanuja, that ocean of mercy who, infatuated with the gold-like, lotus feet of the Lord, considered all else as mere blades of grass." grass."
Ramanujacharya's image in a Temple Srimad Ramanujacharya has produced a remarkable commentary on the Bhagavad Gita for the benefit of this world. Before him, his grand-guru Yamunacharya (Sanskrit: yAmunAcArya , Tamil: ALavandAr Tamil: ALavandAr ) produced a terse metrical exposition on the essence of
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the Bhagavad Gita, dedicating one verse to each chapter of the Gita, known as gItArtha sa"ngraH. Sri Vedanta Desika Acharya (a.k.a ve"nkaTanAtha), ve"nkaTanAtha), who lived a little more than a century after Sri Ramanuja, has produced an elaborate sub-commentary known as tAtparya candrika, candrika, upholding the spiritual lineage.
We will now look at how the great acharya of the Srivaishnava tradition, Sri Ramanuja, has attested to the Lord's attributes of Transcendence ( paratvam), paratvam), Immanence (antaryAmitvam), antaryAmitvam), and Creator-hood ( jagatkAraNatvam) jagatkAraNatvam) that we saw in the second and the third posts using Sri Ramanujacharya's commentary to the Bhagavad Gita. Thankfully, there is a good English translation of the same available on the web, and I am depending on the same [1]. Elaborating on verse 5 of Chapter 9 in the Gita, Sri Ramanujacharya writes: "Lord Hari says: 'I do not support the beings as a jug or any kind of vessel supports the water contained in them. How then are the beings contained in Me? By My will. Behold My divine Yoga power, namely, My wonderful divine modes, unique to Me alone and having no comparison elsewhere'. What are these modes? 'I am the upholder of all beings and yet I am not in them --- My will sustains all beings.' The meaning is, 'I am the supporter of all beings, and yet I derive no help for Myself whatever from them. My will alone projects, sustains and controls all beings.' " (Ramanuja's bhagavad-gItA-bhASya bhagavad-gItA-bhASya,, 9.5) The Acharya then says that the Lord is now going to give an illustration to show how all beings depend on His will for their being and acts. To the next verse in the Gita, Sri Ramanuja writes: "The knowers of the Veda declare thus: 'The origin of clouds, the waters of the ocean remaining within bounds, the phases of the moon, the strong movements of the gale, the flash of lightning and the movements of the sun --- all these are marvelous manifestations of the power of Vishnu.' The meaning is that they are all the marvelous miracles which are unique to Vishnu." (Ramanuja's bhagavad-gItA-bhASya bhagavad-gItA-bhASya,, 9.6) He proceeds thus in his commentary to the next verse: "All the mobile and immobile entities enter into the primordial matter owned by Lord Krishna at the end of a cycle, namely at the end of Brahma's life in accordance with the Lord's will." (Ramanuja's bhagavad-gItAbhagavad-gItA-bhASya, bhASya, 9.7) and then,
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"Lord Hari, operating His Prakrti (primordial matter), with its wonderfully variegated potency, develops it eightfold and send forth this fourfold aggregate of beings: the devas devas,, animals, men and inanimate things, time after time." (Ramanuja's bhagavad-gItA-bhASya bhagavad-gItA-bhASya,, 9.8) We turn to the natural question - How does our dear Lord Hari work these great miracles without physical effort? Before we investigate, let us learn a little bit more about Sri Ramanujacharya's glorious school. The Divya Prabandha (divya ( divya prabandha) prabandha) is an anthology of 4000 devotional hymns on Lord Hari in Tamil, written by South Indian saints known as Azhwars (pronounced as AlvArs as AlvArs in our transliteration scheme). Traditionally, the lifetimes of these saints are said to have spanned several thousand years BC till somewhere around the 7th/8th Centuries AD. The works of these twelve poets, rich in devotion, philosophical depth, and universal brotherhood concepts, are celebrated as "Dravida Vedam (drAviDa ( drAviDa vedam)" vedam)" by great scholars of Sri Ramanujacharya's tradition. This is indeed no exaggeration and hence is not to be taken lightly, as the Divya Prabandha works do indeed get into the depths of the philosophy and theology of the Vedas, albeit in poetic Tamil. However, unlike the Sanskrit Vedas, the Divya Prabandhas do not require very strict regulations on chanting, and in fact, can be learned by anyone irrespective of caste, creed, gender, etc.
An illustration of the lives of ten of the twelve Azhwars The very first successors and disciples of Sri Ramanujacharya include the following Acharyas in the following order: (1) Sri Embar (a.k.a. G ovinda Bhattar), the cousin of Sri Ramanujacharya; (2) Sri Parasara Bhattar, the disciple of Sri Embar and the son of Sri
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Kurattalvan; (3) Sri Nanjeeyar, disciple of Sri Bhattar, and (4) Sri Nampillai, disciple of Sri Nanjeeyar. Sri Nampillai wrote a commentary (known as nampiLLai iiDu in Tamil) on "Thiruvaimozhi (tiru-vAy-moli (tiru-vAy-moli )", )", a work of Saint Nammalwar that belongs to the Divya Prabandha.
Acharya Nanjeeyar Sri Nampillai's guru and Sri Parasara Bhattar's disciple, Sri Nanjeeyar, is initially said to have been an advaitin known as mAdhavAcArya, mAdhavAcArya, and eventually became the disciple of Sri Parasara Bhattar owing to the latter's brilliant exposition of "Thirunedum-Thandakam" (tiru(tiruneDum-tANDakam) neDum-tANDakam) which also belongs to the 4000 Divya Prabandha and is composed by one of the AlvAr the AlvAr saints saints known as "Thirumangai Azhwar" (tiruma"ngai ( tiruma"ngai AlvAr ). ). ThirunedumThandakam is a very beautiful composition that combines both "masculine" philosophical exposition and "feminine" devotional adoration in a balanced manner, in one single work. It combines both Vedantic descriptions of Lord Hari as well as the adoration of His form, as he resides in sacred shrines located all over India. In one verse, Saint Tirumangai Azhwar says:
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indirarkkum piramaRkkum mudalvan-tannai irunilamkAl tInIrviN pUtam aintAy, cen-tiRatta tamizhOsai vaDa-soll-Agit ticai nAnkumAyt ti"nkaL ~nAyiRAgi, antarattiltEvarkkum aRiyal AgAandaNanai, andaNar mATTu andi-vaittamandirattai, mandirattAl maRavAdu enRum vAzhutiyEl vAzhalAm maDa ne~njE!
(Thirunedum-Thandakam (Thirunedum-Thandakam 4, Divya Prabandha 2055) The above verse means: "Hey you foolish mind! If you want to live, live chanting the name of the Lord using the sacred eight-lettered mantra ending with 'namo ' namo nArAyaNAya' nArAyaNAya' - the name of the Lord who is (1) The Lord to even great devatas such as the four-faced Brahma and Indra, (2) Who is the inner controller and inner-dweller (antaryAmin ( antaryAmin)) for everything made of the five elements - earth, water, fire, wind, and space, (3) Who pervades all directions, the sun and the moon, (4) Who is very hard to comprehend even for the great devas from Brahma, Indra, etc. (5) Who is praised by the Sanskrit Upanishads and the Tamil Divya Prabandha, (5) Who is the Lord known through the wealth of the learned scholars - the Vedas." Thus, Thirumangai Azhwar is confirming the doctrine of the Lord Narayana being the antaryAmi or antaryAmi or the inner-soul and inner-controller of everything in the universe, the Lord of all, and is known through the Vedas and Tamil Divya Prabandha texts. Since the last post, we have discussed about the marvelous miracles of Lord Madhava (another name of the Supreme Lord Hari).With His unlimited unfathomable power, He creates, sustains, and dissolves the entire universe consisting of all beings. This shows that we are entirely dependent on Him a nd should thank Him for our existence, prosperity, and enjoyment in this life and the next.
Bibliography
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[1] English Translation of Ramanuja's Gita Bhashya, Dr. S. Sankaranarayanan. (Thanks: Gita Supersite 2.0) 2.0) [2] Sudarshanam Editor Sri Puttur Krishnaswami Iyengar's book, "Thirunedum-Thandaka Vivaranam" ( தநதடக வவரண), Thanks: http://www.marans http://www.maransdog.org dog.org
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The Lord of Guruvayur, Narayaneeyam, and Cosmic Manifestation Guruvayur is a sacred pilgrimage center in the state of Kerala in South India. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Lord Krishna here. According to the traditional history of this temple, this is the spot where Lord Siva is said to have instructed the Rudra Gita, a song that glorifies Sriman Narayana -- the Lord of even great Lords like Brahma, Siva, and Indra. The deity of this temple is said to have been in possession of Lord Krishna during His stay in Dwaraka, which he then gave to a disciple named Uddhava before voluntarily disappearing from this world after fulfilling the mission of His avatar. But since a deluge followed the ascent of Lord Krishna back to His spiritual realm, the idol had to be eventually salvaged by Brihaspati (bRhaspati (bRhaspati , also known as guru) guru), the devata in charge of the planet Jupiter, with the help of his disciple Vayu (vAyu ( vAyu)) who is in charge of the one of the elements of nature- the wind. Ultimately, they were guided by Lord Siva, and hence it was installed at the present location - Guruvayur. The name Guruvayur comes from the combination guru + vAyu (the devatas who installed the deity of Lord Krishna) and the word oor which oor which means "place" in the South Indian languages Malayalam and Tamil. Here, the deity form of Lord Krishna is known affectionately as guruvAyUrappan - the Lord of Guruvayur.
Little Lord Krishna, the deity of Guruvayur Bhagav Bhag avat ata a Pura Purana na (srImad bhAgavata purANa, purANa, srImad bhAgavatam, or simply bhAgavatam) bhAgavatam) is a divine revelation compiled by Sri Veda Vyasa Maharishi, consisting of 18,000 verses. The book extols devotion to Supreme Lord Hari, and is praised by both
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scholars and the lay as "the essence of all Vedic literature". Sri Narayana Bhattathiri (nArAyaNa bhaTTatiri ) was a great devotee of Lord Krishna who belonged to the 16th Century. He identified with the Advaita school of Vedanta. When he was once inflicted with a severe illness Sri Bhattathiri prayed to the Lord of Guruvayur. The devotional outpourings came in the form of a 1000-verse summary of the contents of the Bhagavata Purana, known as "Narayaneeyam" (nArAyaNIyam (nArAyaNIyam). ).
Lord Krishna's abode in Guruvayur, Kerala In the last several posts, we have been dealing with the subject of the threefold acts of creation, sustenance, and destruction by Lord Narayana. We shall now wind up this discussion with relevant verses from Narayaneeyam which summarize the Lord's threefold activity. Let us now look at the following slokasvyakta-avyaktam-idaM na ki~ncit-abhavat prAk prAkRta-prakSaye mAyAy mA yAyAM AM guNa guNa-sA -sAmya mya-r -rudd uddhaha-vik vikRta Rtau u tvayi tvayi-Ag -AgatA atAyAM yAM lay layam am | no mRtyuH-ca tat-AmRtaM ca sama-bhUnnohno na rAtreH sthitiH tatra-ek tatr a-ekaH-t aH-tvamvam-ashi ashiSyat SyathAH hAH kila para para-Ana -Anandanda-prak prakAsha Asha-Atm -AtmanA anA || (Narayaneeyam, 5:1) Translation: "When the earlier great deluge occurred, the world was nonexistent and mAyA (the primordial seed of material existence) was merged in Thy (Lord Krishna's) Supreme Form indiscernible in any way. There was no life or death and no day or night. Only Thy brilliant form of Supreme Bliss existed." existed." In a previous post, post , we saw that, according to Vedic Sanatana Dharma, the universe is created, sustained, and re-absorbed by Lord Hari. This entire process is repeated in a cyclical manner. At the end of each cycle, there is a period known as mahApraLaya ("great deluge") when the entire material universe exists without name and form in a subtle, indescribable manner. In another post, post, we saw that this indescribable matter is described as "avyakta" avyakta" in the Vedic scriptures. The Narayaneeyam verse that we just saw above confirms these scriptural statements. It describes the dissolved state of the material universe during this great deluge, before the universe was created by Lord Hari as it exists today.
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Lord Manu, the author of Manu-Smriti also confirms that the material universe existed in a very subtle, indiscernible form during the cosmic night: This (universe) existed in the shape of Darkness, unperceived, destitute of distinctive marks, unattainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly immersed, as it were, in deep sleep. (Manu Smriti, I.5) Manu Bhagavan then proceeds to describe the brilliance of the Lord as He shone during the great deluge, in the manner agreed a greed by the above Narayaneeyam verse: He who can be perceived by the internal organ (alone), who is subtle, indiscernible, and eternal, who contains all created beings and is inconceivable, shone forth of his own (will). (Manu Smriti, I.7) One may ask thus-- "When it is i s said in scripture that 'the universe did not exist', does it mean that the Lord created everything out of nothing"? Not at all, says Sri Narayana Bhattathiri in the next verse: kAlaH kAla H karma guNAHguNAH-ca ca jIvaniva jIvanivahA hA vishvaM vishvaM ca kAry kArye e vibho! cilliilAratimeyuSi tvayi tadA nirliinatAmAyayuH | teSAM na-eva vadanti-asatvamayi bhOH-shakti-AtmanA no ce cett ki kiM M ga gaga gana na-p -pra rasU sUna na-s -sad adRs RshA hAM M bh bhUy Uyo o bh bhav avet et-s -sam ambh bhav avaH aH || (Narayaneeyam, 5:2) Translation: "Oh Lord ! At that point of time everything in the Universe viz. Kala (time), Karma (action), Guna (mood), the Jivathmas (individual souls ) all lay merged in Thy supreme form. But they were never nonexistent or imaginary like flowers of the sky. They were ensconced in Thee and re-emerged after the deluge." deluge." For how long did this state last, and how did creation begin? Narayana Bhattathiri answers this for us thus: evam-ca dvi-parArdha-kAla-vigatAvIkSAM sisRkSAtmikAM bibhrANe tv tvayi cu cukSubhe tr tribhuvanIbhAvAya mA mAyA sv svayam | mAyAtaH khalu kAla-shaktiH-akhila-adRSTaM svabhAvo-api ca prAd pr Adurb urbhUy hUya a guNA guNAn n vikAsy vikAsya a vidad vidadhuH huH-t -tasy asyAH AH sahA sahAyaya-kri kriyAm yAm || (Narayaneeyam, 5:3) Translation: This state lasted for one hundred Brahma-years. Then with the desire for creation Thou activated the mAyA (primordial matter) with a single glance and the evolution of the three worlds began. From the mAyA came "kAla-shakti "kAla-shakti ", ", the hidden resultant karmA (the balance of good and bad deeds committed in the past) of individual souls and their svabhAvas their svabhAvas (inborn dispositions). From these
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evolved the guNas the guNas (qualities/natures) and helped mAyA to manifest as the universe. Hence, Sri Bhattathiri says that all the cosmic forces that maintain orderliness and justice in the universe were activated by Lord Vishnu by a single glance of his eyes. One hundred Brahma-years is the lifetime of one Brahma (four-faced deva), deva), and is approximately equal to 310 Trillion human years. In the past, innumerable Brahmas have lived through their full tenures, and more will continue to do so. Fifty Brahma-years is known as a parArdha in Vedic cosmology. In other words, after the lifetime of every Brahma, the universe enters into another cosmic deluge lasting for 100 Brahma-years, but actually there is no Brahma during this time. The next verse (5:4) of the Narayaneeyam describes Supreme Lord Narayana as the witness to the entire process of creation, and that he is not enveloped by mAyA, mAyA, the cause of delusion and suffering in the material universe. Everything in this universe is ordained by the Lord, according to the principles of dharma of dharma (justice) and karma (past good/bad deeds). Under the Lord's ordinance, primordial matter then evolved into the principle known as mahAn, mahAn, then into aha"nkAra (ego-principle). (ego-principle). The ego-principle further got divided into the three modes: sAttvika (goodness), rAjasa (passion), and tAmasa (ignorance). From the tAmasa ego-principle, the principles behind the five modes of perception ( tanmAtra-s) tanmAtra-s) -sabda, sparsha, rUpa, rasa, and gandha (sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell), as well as the five material elements -- space, wind, fire, water, and earth, came into existance one after the other in an interleaved manner. This creation is described in the following Narayaneeyam verse: shabdAd vyoma tataH sasarjitha vibho! sparshaM tato mArutam tasm ta smAd Ad rU rUpa pama mato to ma maho ho-a -ath thaH aH-c -ca a ra rasa saM M to toya yaM M ca ga gand ndha haM M ma mahI hIm m | evam mAdhava! pUrva-pUrva-kalanAd-AdyAdadharmAnvitaM bhUtagrAmamimaM tv tvayeva bh bhagavan! pr prAkAshayaH-tAmasAt || (Narayaneeyam, 5:8) Translation: "From sound ( sabda ) Thou created the space ( AkAsha ). From that came touch sabda) AkAsha). ( sparsha sparsha); ); from which air (vAyu (vAyu) ) was born; from that came the visual form (rUpa ); from visual form came fire (agni (agni ); ); from fire came taste (rasa (rasa); ); then came rUpa); water ( Apa Apa) ) from taste; from water came smell ( gandha gandha) ) and from smell earth ( prithvI ) was formed. Thus Oh Lord Madhava ! Thou caused the group of elements to manifest from tamasa egoism with each one of them having the qualities of those created prior to them and hence all of them being interconnected."
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In the Causal Ocean, the Supreme Lord first f irst separates the qualities of the material elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) by His glance. Thanks: www.glimpseofkrishna.com www.glimpseofkrishna.com.. Copyrighted image and caption reproduced reproduced with permission of the artist Smt. Madhavapriya Devi
The above creation process by Lord Vishnu is known as samaSTi sRSTi or sRSTi or "aggregate creation" in English. The samaSTi sRSTi process sRSTi process continues further until four-faced Brahma deva is created by the Supreme Lord Narayana from the Divine Lotus springing from His navel. After that, the Lord ordains Brahma to be the agent for the next stage in creation known as vyaSTi sRSTi or sRSTi or "individual creation". It is then that Lord Brahma, under the instructio instructions ns of the Lord, Lord, proceeds proceeds to create create other other beings beings -- from devas, devas, gandharvas, gandharvas, angels, elves, demons, men, animals, down to plants, and further down to simplest single-cell organisms. We close the discussion of Lord Hari's relation to the cosmos and His creation, which we have been running for weeks, with the following excellent summary given by Sri Adi Shankaracharya in his introductory chapter to his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita: " sa Adi-kartA nArAyaNAkhyo viSNUH... sa ca bhagavAn jnAna-aishvarya-shaktijnAna-aishvarya-shaktibala-vIrya-tejobhiH sadA sampannas triguNAtmikAm vaiSNavIm svAm mAyAm mUla-prakRtim vashIkrtya, ajo-avyayo bhUtAnAm Ishvaro nitya-shuddha-buddhamukta svabhAvaH " (Adi Sankara's Introduction to Bhagavad Gita) Translation: "Lord Vishnu (all-pervading), known as Narayana, is the primordial creator... The Lord, possessed of infinite knowledge, supremacy, power, strength, might, and vigor, controls the mAyA -- belonging to Him as Vishnu -- the primordial matter that is the first cause composed of the three natures (goodness, passion, and ignorance). The Lord is unborn and indestructible, and is by nature Eternal, Pure, Intelligent, and Free." So far, we have explored the greatness and supremacy ( paratva) paratva) of the Lord. Starting with
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the next post, we will start exploring his other great aspect, namely His compassion and accessibility (saulabhya (saulabhya)) to all of His creatures.
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Periya Vachan Pillai: The Lord is accessible and friendly to His creatures (Saulabhyam, Saushilyam) In the last several posts, we have seen about the immense potency and glory of the Supreme God, Narayana. His greatness is clearly evident from the fact that He is (1) The Supreme Cause and Creator who dwells both within and beyond the realm of the created universes. (2) The ultimate controller who has at His mercy every being from Lord Brahma to a blade of grass. This can make one wonder: can we, the powerless beings inhabiting a tiny planet in this universe ever approach Him with love, knowing His greatness? If the Lord be compared to the sun, are we not like fireflies? What would happen to a firefly if it approaches the sun? Won't it get burned to ashes? In response to the above, our timeless Vedic Sanatana Dharma and our Acharyas say the following: The truth is that Lord Vasudeva is very merciful, compassionate, and gentle to His creatures, if we approach Him with true devotional reverence and love. He cares for each one of us like a mother is concerned with the well-being of every child of hers. In order that He is approachable to us, He takes various pleasing forms that facilitate reverential worship and adoration on our part. He i s not like the blazing sun to His devotees, though He is omnipotent. He appears in this world in the form of adorable avatAr -s -s like Rama and Krishna, to bless His devotees. Even for those like us, who did not have the good fortune to live in those ancient times when we could see the Lord in the t he form of Rama and Krishna directly, He takes various forms as arcA-mUrtis (temple deities) -- forms such as Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam, Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, Lord Jagannath of Puri, Lord of Udupi, Lord of Dwaraka etc. His quality of being easily accessible in those forms to His creatures is known as saulabhyam, and His willingness to manifest Himself "as one among us" is known as saushIlyam. saushIlyam. In a previous post, post , we discussed about Azhwars and their works -- the ancient Tamil poetsaints who rendered the hard-to-understand Sanskrit Vedas in simple Tamil as the Divya Prabandha. Sri Periya Vachan Pillai ( periya-vAccAn-piLLai ) is a great Acharya who belonged to the Ramanuja school. His greatest gift to humanity are his commentaries on the Divya Prabandha, the Tamil Veda. Since we are going to begin this new chapter on the Lord's saulabhyam and saushIlyam, saushIlyam, we begin with the following invocation to Acharya Periya Vachan Pillai: shriimatkRSNasamAhvAya namo yAmunasUnave yatkaTAkSaikalakSyANAM sUlpaH shriidharaH sadA Translation: "Salutations to Sri Periya Vachan Pillai, the son of yAmuna of yAmuna,, and to whose followers (those who are the target of his grace), Lord Sridhara is easily obtained." Swami Nammazhwar is one of the greatest among Azhwars. He is counted as the fifth of the twelve Azhwars. Another appellation of him in Tamil goes as "vEdam " vEdam tamizh seyda mARan" mARan " (the one who translated the Vedas in Tamil). This is because Nammazhwar's four works, tiruviruttam, tiruviruttam, tiruvAsiriyam, tiruvAsiriyam, periya-tiruvandAdi , and tiruvAimozhi are tiruvAimozhi are compared to the four Vedas -- Rig, Yajur, Atharva, and Sama. All these four works are hymnal in nature, and have the nature of overwhelming the
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sincere reader with emotional outpourings of bhakti of bhakti (devotion) (devotion) and love for the Lord, while at the same time explaining complex philosophical concepts. Nammazhwar was also a great devotee of the Lord, and showed particular involvement in the Lord's avatAr as avatAr as Krishna. He has said in his works: "for me, Lord Krishna alone is food, water, and everything" ("uNNum (" uNNum sORu, parugum nIr, tinnum veRRilai ellAm kaNNan"). kaNNan"). Swami Ramanujacharya's Srivaishnava tradition, to this day, revere Swami Nammazhwar as "kRSNa-tRSNA-tattvam kRSNa-tRSNA-tattvam", ", which means one who always had " tRSNA" tRSNA" (thirst) for "kRSNa " kRSNa"" (Lord Krishna). Sri U. Ve. Velukkudi Krishnan Swami, Swami , a great modern-day orator who gives discourses on Vedic Vedi c Sanatana Sanatana Dharma says thus in his Tamil discourse on "Eight and Nine [1] types of Devotion" -"If one were asked to draw a picture of Lord Krishna, one knows how to do it. However, if one were asked to draw a picture of Krishna Bhakti (Devotion to Lord Krishna) how would one do it? The answer is very simple -- draw a picture of Nammazhwar, for he is not just a person with devotion, he is devotion personified."
A portrait of Krishna Bhakti
The Lord's avatar as Krishna is best-known for His approachability and gentleness, as He sported with the common village folk during His time as a child growing up in Gokul and Nandagram. It is therefore appropriate that our first look at the Lord's saulabhyam and saushIlyam should be from the words of none other than Nammazhwar. After contemplating on the lotus feet of the Azhwar, let us have a look at the following Thiruvaimozhi verse:
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"பட யயவ
"pattuDai aDiyavarkku eLiyavan "pattuDai piRargaLukku ariya
கள களயவ யவ பரரக க க க ய
vittagan malarmagan virumbum nam arumperal aDigaL
வ தக தக மலமக வ ந ந அபற லக
mattaRu kaDaiveNNey kaLavinil uraliDai AppuNDu
மதகடவண களவ களவன ரட ய
ettiRam uralinODu iNaindirundu Engiya eLivE." eLivE."
எத எதற ரன ரன ணத ணத தஙக தஙகய எள எளவ வ." (Thiruvaimozhi 1.3.1)
Translation: "He (the Lord) is easily accessible to those who are devoted to Him, (but) is virtually inaccessible to others who are not devoted. He is truly amazing. He is is liked by Mother Lakshmi who has the lotus as her birth-place, and is very hard to reach. Yet it is the same Lord who let himself be punished for stealing butter, by letting Himself be tied to a mortar. Moreover, He stayed tied to the mortar as if helpless. He is indeed easy to approach and attainable for His servants!" We have to understand the above verse from Acharya Periya Vachan Pillai's own words. The Acharya has written a very elaborate commentary on Nammazhwar's Thiruvaimozhi, known as irupattinAlAyirap-paDi irupattinAlAyirap-paDi in in the maNipravALa style of Tamil. Tamil. Going through through Periya Periya Vachan Pillai's commentary to the verse quoted above (Thiruvaimozhi (Thiruvaimozhi 1.3.1) is a great pleasure pleasure for [2] the devotee. Let us simply follow and analyze the following extracts from the same:
த ப ச சௗலயத லயத உபதச உபதசகக ககக அவத அவத அவ தரஙக ரரஙகள ஙகள ள அசத அசததவ தவ, "தப த தடங ட ஙக ன உபதசத மற கணவத தரத நவந நவந தச த சௗௗய சௗௗ சௗௗ யரதல யரதல தம மகப கப அக அகற." Gist: "Having forgotten that he took up the subject of the Lord's avatars to illustrate his gentle and approachable nature, Swami Nammazhwar immerses himself in the Lord's divine sportive act involving the stealing of butter, during his avatar as Krishna."
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Lord Krishna's avatar is well-known to the world. The Lord blessed Devaki and Vasudeva by being born as their son inside the prison of the city of Mathura. He was the darling of His foster parents Yashodha and Nandagopa. He spent His childhood as a mischievous lad and mingled with common village folk. Lord Krishna used to steal butter and curd stored in the houses of cowherd folk, and the womenfolk used to complain to Yashodha about His mischief. Once Yashodha was extremely fed-up with all the complaints and decided to tie up Lord Krishna to a mortar (grinding stone) as a punishment for His mischief. The Lord has performed many miraculous deeds as a child, but also let Himself be chastised by His foster parents for His mischief. However, there is no doubt that the village folk, in their hearts, used to love every part of their experience with little Krishna. Though He is the omnipotent creator and Lord of the entire Cosmos, He disguised Himself to bless the village folk in whose eyes He was just an adorable child. Let us continue further with what Nammazhwar is saying in the Thiruvaimozhi verse: "The Lord is easily accessible to those who are devoted to Him." Does that mean only to those who worship Him by meditation, chanting, etc? Nay, says Periya Vachan Pillai:
பத சதத சதத இங பரபய பரபயத த கள கள ச சகரத க ரத; பத பதபரமம பரமமன "பத அவஷம அவ அ வஷம ஷமர ரத ர த த ச சகற க ற. தத தர ரர கஙக கங க ஙக க ம மக மகற உட ) இம ணரகர ணரகரணமகயல ல ( உட இம இ மர ரத ர ரத த த கனக கனக கன க உடமய உட உ டமய மயக க க ச ச கற க ற. 'வள ஞ ஞ ச ய ய' எ இஙக பகவதபவ பவ பவர ரர அயவ அவக அவகக ந னத னத பகவதப பகவதபர ரயதல ல. ( அயவ ) - இ பகவதப பகவதபர ரயத ல ல. ஆய லச வ வலயக க." Gist: "Nammazhwar is not using the term 'devotion' in the sense of ritual worship and deep heartfelt reverence/adoration. reverence/adoration. In this context, context, the simple act of resolving to not be antagonistic to the Lord is being meant. That simple resolution alone is the first step towards reaching sublime devotion. This is said in order to highlight that the Lord graces with compassion even people who are in the lowest strata. Thus, 'devotion' here means being full of non-animosity to the Lord." Sri Periya Vachan Pillai then goes on: "The Lord offers Himself and nothing else, as a gift to those who are thus friendly f riendly to Him. Did He not speak to the monkey-king Sugriva, thus: 'Oh Sugriva! Of what use is rescuing Sita, if you suffer the slightest harm because of this quest of mine?' and showed His willingness to even abandon His beloved consort Lakshmi, who is ever at His service, for that monkey-king who was His acquaintance only for a few days? Did He not serve as a lowly messenger to the five Pandavas? Did He not serve as a lowly charioteer to Arjuna?" Arjuna?" Does this mean that the Lord offers Himself as a servant to even those who are antagonistic to Him such as Ravana, Kamsa, etc? Not at all, says the Acharya: "In dealing with Ravana etc., He does not let Himself be humbled." The Acharya then proceeds to say:
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தக ) வ மயந மயநய ய. யச யச ய சத த த பயன பயனய கற இக இகற இப இபல ல "( வ தக யமள யமளஜ ஜன ன ன அனப அனபபவன பவனயன ய னய க க." Gist: "He is astonishing. Even as he was bound by Yashodha, He showed to Yamala and a nd Arjuna that He cannot be overpowered." The Acharya, Sri Periya Vachan Pillai, recalls here an amazing incident involving little Lord Krishna. We saw above that Lord Krishna let Himself be punished by mother Yashodha for mischief. He was thus tied to a kind of grinding stone. Lord Krishna then slowly dragged the mortar along and went out of the residence of Nandagopa. He went in between two trees (named "Yamala" and "Arjuna") and the mortar got stuck in the gap. With great force, He continued to drag the mortar snapping up and uprooting the two trees. The Lord did this willingly, in order to redeem Nalakuvara and Manigriva who were cursed into taking the two trees as their bodily forms. Nalakuvara and Manigriva were the sons of Kubera who were cursed into this pitiable state by none other than sage Narada. The sage had also promised that the Supreme Lord alone will be able to relieve them from this plight. Fully aware of this, Lord Krishna uprooted the two trees with the mortar tied to His waist. Having thus been liberated by the Lord Himself, and fully aware that He alone was that little Krishna, they offered their obeisances to Him and returned to t heir abode. Thus the little Krishna showed that He was both (1) accessible and gentle to those like Yashodha who love Him, as well as (2) He has supreme transcendental miraculous powers that is capable of redeeming a nyone from any sin. It is none other than Him who can display these two apparently contradictory facets in one go! Thus He is truly amazing and astonishing, says Sri Periya Vachan Pillai. The Acharya then says: "The Azhwar is saying that the Lord is none other than the beloved of Mother Lakshmi who is praised in the Vedas as 'the Queen to all beings'. This shows His unparalleled greatness, and He shines with lordliness and compassion. Having thus described His glory, Sri Nammazhwar then tries to explain His gentleness and approachability by starting with His Krishna avatar, but ends up recollecting, enjoying, and swooning in the Lord's divine playful act of stealing butter." He details this further:
அவதஸ தஸம த தஸம ஸமத மதக தக தக கம ம ம தன ம தன ஒ றட றட, அ நக நக ந "அவ கடவமயல ல களவ களவலய லயழ , அ அ தலகடபற தலகடபற தல த லக கட ட பற பறத த, வய ய கயத கயதக அகப, க, அ ந ந லய லய ச ச கற க ற" Gist:
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"This Lord, who does not have anything unfulfilled, who is complete and content by His divine nature as the Lord of all, the owner of the entire universe, does something diametrically opposite to it in this divine pastime. He gets into the business of stealing freshly-churned butter. Not only that, He (deliberately) pathetically fails in this act and gets caught caught red-handed. He then then lets himself be tied with a rope and beaten up by Yashodha. This state of the Lord is described (by the Azhwar)." The revered Acharya Sri Periya Vachan Pillai explains further. The gist I provide in English should be self-explanatory:
உரல உர லன ன ண ணநதந ணநத நத ந ) உர வ "(உரலன "(உரலன வ த வ வட த த அச அசதய தய த ய தன த தன னய தப தப (எஙக எஙகயவள யவள ) ) இத தன களன கன கன ப ப க கம மட ட த த அழத அழ அழ த தடங ட டஙம ஙம ம! அவ "வவ" எற எற ஏற ஏறட ட வன வன இழ இழயவ யவடம டமடத த பயப ந . (எள எள ) ) ச சௗ ௗலய லய. (எத எதறம றம ) (எள (எத இதனப! " यत यतोो व यतोो वाा ााच चोोि नवत ि नवतर त ते र "े எ வத மட பரவத எலக எ எ ல லக கணல ண ல; இத ச சௗ ௗலய லய தர லய தர கணவணதயதத தத! எக எக ற." Gist: "Nammazhwar says that the Lord remained tied to the mortar in such a manner that, if the mortar had a life of its own, it would weep being unable to see the Purest One letting Himself be called a 'thief' and be punished like this! He was obedient to Yashodha, and (act as if He) was trembled by her command. What to say of this great act that shows His approachable nature! The Vedic scriptures say thus ab about out His lordly potency: 'Failing to reach Him, speech and thought turn [3] back' . It may even be possible to find a limit to His omnipotence, but it is certainly impossible to find a limit to His approachability and friendliness!" Let us again offer our obeisances to the lotus feet of Nammazhwar, Sri Periya Vachan Pillai, and Supreme Lord Krishna. (to be continued ) Tailpiece: In addition to providing immense pleasure and awe to devotees, the sportive pastimes of Lord Krishna - His residence in the community of cowherds and His butter-stealing act, also convey a deep philosophical meaning. This is confirmed by the Vedas themselves. The Brahmabindu Upanishad (a.k.a. Amritabindu Upanishad) has been quoted by Sri Adi Shankara and other great great Acharyas of the past. At the end of this Upanishad, we find the [4] following statement : 19. Of the cows of different colors, milk is of one color only. The wise man regards essential nature of the individual soul unto the milk, and the different beings as the cows.
20. Quite concealed in all beings dwells the Supreme Lord in His essential nature, as butter in milk; ever churn, O aspirant, with the mind as the churning rod!
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21. With the churning rope of knowledge, one should see the Supreme Lord, just like fire is churned with a wooden rod. 'My Supersoul is that indivisible, immutable, and tranquil Brahman', so it is said.
22. In Whom reside all beings, and Who resides in all beings by virtue of His being the giver of grace to all – My Supersoul is that vAsudeva vAsudeva,, the Supreme Being. It may be recalled that "Vasudeva (vAsudeva (vAsudeva)" )" is one of the names of Lord Krishna. It is then clear that "stealing the butter" conveys the idea that we, the individual souls, belong to the Lord and are His property. The Lord Himself will come and rescue our souls from the mire of materialistic life, like He stole the butter from the pots. Acknowledgements: • http://ac http://acharya harya.org/ .org/ for providin providing g the invocatory invocatory verse on Sri Periya Periya Vachan Vachan Pillai. • http://ww http://www.mar w.maransdo ansdog.com g.com// and Sri Vaishnava Vaishnava Sri Sri for the free download download of Thiruvaimozhi and its various commentaries. • Humanity Humanity is permanentl permanently y indebted indebted to two great Vedic Vedic Srivaishnav Srivaishnava a scholars scholars of the twentieth century: Puttur Sri U. Ve. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, and Kanchi Sri P. B. Annangaracharya Swamy. I used only their Tamil commentaries, available for free download here here.. • We are also also indebted indebted to Sri U. Ve. Ve. Velukkudi Velukkudi Krishnan Krishnan Swami Swami for his his wonderfu wonderfull discourses on Bhakti and Sanatana Dharma that he has been giving in various branches of the media (TV, Internet, the Music Store, etc.). This article is greatly inspired by Swami's discourse on Bhakti. Notes: [1] This quote is from Sri U. Ve. Velukkudi Krishnan Swami's Tamil discourse titled "Ashta Vidha Bhakti - Nava Vidha Bhakti" series in his "Bhakti" audio CD. The mp3 audio CD can be purchased from here or here here.. [2] The transcription given here is different from that of the original document downloadable for free here here,, as the latter uses Tamil Grantha characters not available in universal fonts. [3] Taittiriya Upanishad, II.iv.1 [4] Translation courtesy: Sri Vishnu Chitta Vijayam, Vijayam , Sri U. Ve. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, Vol. 1 Part 2. The verses quoted from the Brahmabindu (Amritabindu) Upanishad can be found here.. here
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Thousand Names of the Divine Lord: Might or Modesty? Acharya Sri Adi Sankara's service to the cause of preserving Vedic Sanatana Dharma from the onslaught of Buddhism, Jainism, and atheism ( cArvAka philosophy) is unparalleled. He wrote commentaries on the Vedantic philosophical canon ( prastAna traya) traya ) consisting of Upanishads, the Brahma-Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Acharya Shri Adi Shankara with his disciples During his time, Sri Adi Sankara is also said to have written a commentary on Sri Vishnu Sahasranama (shrI (shrI viSNu sahasranAma), sahasranAma ), the thousand Divine Names of Supreme Lord Vishnu. The Thousand Divine Names occur as part of the great epic (known as itihAsa) itihAsa) Mahabharata. The epic describes the great war between five princes, known as Pandavas, and their evil cousins known as the Kauravas. It happened during the time that Lord Vishnu came down to the earth as Krishna avatAr , and hence contains a lot of stories about Him. The elderly Prince Bhishma, who was the beloved of the Pandavas and their great preceptor, fell in battle and was ensnared into a bed of arrows. In that state, he instructed Yudhishtra and the other Pandavas on various aspects of morality and ethics. Finally, he instructed the Pandavas that the greatest dharma (ethical way of action) is to chant the divine names of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. Thus, the Divine Names of Lord Vishnu were instructed to the Pandavas, in the presence of Lord Vishnu Himself in the form of Krishna. The names detail about various avatArs that the Lord undertook as well as describe His distinguishing Divine Qualities.
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Preceptor Bhishma on a bed of arrows instructing the Pandavas as Lord Krishna looks over Sri Adi Sankaras' lucid commentary is perhaps the earliest availa ble exposition on the Divine Names. This work has been referred to by Sri Narayana Bhattathiri, the composer of Narayaneeyam, a 16th century scholar of the Advaita Vedanta school. We also have a gloss on Sri Sankara's explanations of the names by a late (15th/16th century) commentator known as Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati (tAraka ( tAraka brahmAnanda sarasvati ). ). Another important commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama commentary came from Srimad Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school of Vedanta philosophy. This work, coming down as a great gift to us, was the contribution of none other than Sri Parasara Bhattar [1] and is titled " bhagavadguNa-darpaNa", guNa-darpaNa", which means "The Mirror of the Divine Qualiti es of the Supreme Lord". In this work, Sri Bhattar has also made at least a couple of references to Sri Adi Sankarar's commentary on the Divine Names. Sri Parashara Bhattar was the son of Sri kUrattAlvAn -- a senior disciple of Sri Ramanujacharya himself. Sri Bhattar's Acharya (Guru/Teacher) was Sri Embar ( embAr ) a.k.a. Govinda Bhatta (govinda (govinda bhaTTa) bhaTTa) -- the maternal cousin of Sri Ramanujacharya. Let us then salute Sri Parasara Bhattar with the following invocation and then proceed with the topic of our discussion: shr s hrI I parA parAsh shar ara a bhaT bhaTTA TAry ryaH aH shr shrii ra"n ra"nge gesh sha a puro purohi hita taH H
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shrIvat shr IvatsA"n sA"nka ka sutaH sutaH shrI shrImAn mAn shre shreyase yase me-a me-astu stu bhUya bhUyase se
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Translation: "May Sri Parasara Bhattar, the son of shrI of shrI shrIvatsA"nka (a.k.a. kUresha or kUrattAlvAn), kUrattAlvAn), who has superior wealth of knowledge, and serving as the PurOhithar for Lord RanganAtha bless me with all auspiciousness!"
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Acharya Shri Parasara Bhattar I came across an interesting article that compares the two great commentaries to the Divine Names by Adi Shankara and Sri Bhattar here here.. The source for the article seems to be a commentary in Tamil of the Divine Names by the great Srivaishnava scholar of the 20th Century, Sri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya (PBA) Swami. Sri PBA Swamy observes that Sri Shankara's explanations are mostly in light of the might, valor, glory, immaculateness, omnipotence, etc. which constitute the Divine Quality known as " paratvam". paratvam". Sri Bhattar's explanations, however, mostly elaborate on the Lord's saulabhyam and saushIlyam. saushIlyam. In the last article, article, we dealt with the Lord's Divine Quality of being accessible (saulabhyam (saulabhyam)) and readiness to act and mingle with us as though he is one among us (saushIlyam (saushIlyam). ). The article I came across then proceeds to list a few instances where the commentators Shri Shankara and Shri Bhattar focus on one of t hese two contrasting aspects each. In this post, I endeavor to point out and elaborate on a few more such instances not covered in that article. (Credit goes to ahobilavalli.org [2-5] for hosting the clear and easy-to-understand meanings of the Divine Names a long with the explanations given by Shri Shankara and Shri Bhattar which made my task easy.)
(1) Parigraha (In Adi Shankara's enumeration, this is name #420, in Parasara Bhattar's ordering, this is #421): #421) : This name occurs in the following verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama: Rtu tuH H su suda dars rsha han naH kA kAla laH H pa par rameS eST ThI par arig igra rah haH ugra ug raH H sa saMv Mvat atsa saro ro da dakS kSo o vi vish shrA rAmo mo vi vish shva vada dakS kSiN iNaH aH
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Shri Adi Shankara's explanation of this name goes as: " sharaNArthib sharaNArthibhiH hiH parito gRhyate sarvagatatvA sarvagatatvAt, t, parito j~nyAyate iti vA, patra puSpAdikaM bhaktairarpitaM bhaktairarpitaM parigRhNatI parigRhNatIti ti vA parigrahaH " There are three meanings that Sri Shankara gives. The first meaning that Adi Shankara Acharya gives is: "One who is approached on all sides by His devotees (those who
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surrender to Him)." Obviously, this is an explanation given in light of the Lord's Might, Power, and Glory. One is almost reminded of Sri Andal's (one of the Twelve Azhwars) work in Tamil (which is again part of the Divya Prabandha) known as Tiruppavai (tiruppAvai ( tiruppAvai ) where she says: a"nkaN mA ~nyAlattu arasar abhimAna bha"ngamAy vandu nin paLLik kaTTiR kIzhE sa"ngam iruppAr pOl vandu talai peydom Translation: "Just as those kings from all over the world who you defeated in war came to the leg of Thy Divine Couch and surrendered to Thee with their egos destroyed, we have now come here to take refuge in Thee, with our heads bowing down in modesty." The other two explanations given by Sri Shankara to the name Parigraha are: "One who can be reached in many different ways" and "One who gets many offerings from His devotees, such as flower, fruits, leaves, etc." The explanation given by Shri Parasara Bhattar a re again very different. This Acharya says: "atra tatra ca parito grahaH asya iti parigrahaH. svasambandhi paurajAna-padatat-sambandhinAm taddevatA tadArAma tarudUrvadeH api parama pada prApaNAt" Sri Bhattar interprets the preceding few names to this one as to do with the Lord's avatar as Rama, and the name "Parigraha" to Bhattar is the last one that has to do with Rama in this set. Hence, he interprets the name as: "Here, there, and everywhere, He accepts all. When Lord Rama went back to Vaikuntam, the paramapadam the paramapadam (paradise) of Him as Lord Vishnu, after the purpose of His avatAr avatAr was was completed, He took with Him every resident of the city of Ayodhya including, plants, trees, etc." The Lord in His avatar as Sri Sri Ramachandr Ramachandra, a, though though born and and raised as a Prince Prince till till the age of 24 in the palace of King Dasaratha, mingled with everyone affably during His exile to the woods. That includes the tribal chief Guha, the huntress Sabari, the vulture-king Jatayu, the monkeyking Sugriva, etc. This and the very fact that He granted liberation to everyone, including the lowest forms of life, who belonged to Ayodhya means that the Lord is indeed full of saulabhyam and saushIlyam. saushIlyam.
(2) Kumuda (AS# 807, PB# 813) : This name occurs in the following verse of the Sahasranama: kumudaH kundaraH kundaH parjanyaH pavano(a)nilaH amRtAMsho(a)mRtavapuH sar sarvaj~nyaH sar sarvatomukhaH
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The explanation given by Shri Shankara is: "kuM dharaNIM bhArAvataraNaM kurvan modayatIti kumudaH " meaning, "One who gladdens the earth by relieving it of its burdens (i.e., evil forces)". forces)". The explanation given by Shri Bhattar is: "kau prakRtimaNDala evataissaha modata iti
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kumudaH " meaning, "One who likes to come down to this mundane material world to enjoy the company of His devotees" devotees".. In other words, the Lord's accessibility is evident from the fact that He even likes to leave aside a side His supreme abode which is free from all ills, to come down to this world where evil and amorality rules, just to enjoy the company of His devotees!
Mother Earth approached in the form of a cow the celestials, and finally Lord Narayana, supplicating to have the burden of evil relieved.
The Lord likes to come down to the material world to enjoy the company of His devotees.
Thanks: www.glimpseofkrishna.com www.glimpseofkrishna.com.. Copyrighted images reproduced reproduced with permission of the artist Smt. Madhavapriya Devi
The rest of the Divine Names we are going to see in this post occur in the following verse of the Sahasranama: sulab sul abha haH H su suvr vrat ataH aH si sidd ddha haH H sha shatr truj ujic icch chat atru rutA tApa pana naH H nyagro nya grodho dhodum dumbar baro(a o(a)sh )shvat vat cAN cANUrA UrAndh ndhrara-niS niSUda UdanaH naH
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(3) Nyagrodha-udumbara (AS# 822 & 823, PB# 827): Shri Adi Shankara interprets the above as two names: a. The first explanation he gives for "Nyagrodha" as: "nyak arvAk rohati sarveSAM upari vyartata iti nyagrodhaH ", meaning "One who, being primordial, is above all". The Acharya also provides an alternate explanation to the same name as " sarvANi bhUtAni nyakkRtya nijamAyAM vRNoti niruNaddhIti vA" vA " meaning, "He who controls all beings by veiling Himself with His Maya power". power". b. For "Udumbara", Sri Shankara gives two explanations. The first one is: "ambarAdudgataH kAraNatveneti udumbaraH " meaning, "He transcends the Ether,
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Himself being its cause." The second interpretation is: "URk annam, tena tadAtmanA vishvam poSayan udumbaraH " which translates to: "He that nourishes the universe in the shape of (or being the pervader/inner soul of) food etc." Shri Shankara then quotes the Veda (taittirIya (taittirIya brAhmaNa, brAhmaNa, 1.3.8 and 1.2.7), which says "Udumbara means food" in support of this interpretation. Sri Bhattar gives the following explanations for the parts "Nyagrodha" and "Udumbara", then combines them to interpret "Nyagrodha-Udumbara" as a single name: a. "Nyagrodha" - "kRtAnjalIbh kRtAnjalIbhI I rudhyate svaprasAdaur-mukhyena vyavasthApyate iti " meaning, "One who is controlled by His devotees by means of their folded hands".. In other words, the Lord is so benevolent to His devotees that His heart melts hands" when He sees His devotees approach Him with folded hands. Sri Bhattar then quotes the following verse from Vishnu Dharmottara (33.105): a~njaliH paramA mudrA kSipram devaprasAdinI (The devaprasAdinI (The sight of hands joined in supplication immediately pleases the Lord). b. "Udumbara" - " sarvaguNaiH udgataM ambaraM paraM dhAma tadupalakSitA lakSmI parijanAdayosyeti udumbaraH " meaning, "He Who has as the Supreme Abode, the paradise Shri Vaikuntam, is Udumbarah. This abode is Supreme because it has Lakshmi, and it rises above all other things by its magnificent qualities". Shri Bhattar then combines the above parts into one name with the following comment: "atyucchRta sevyaH api atyanta-nIcAnAM api anuvartana sAdhyaH " meaning, "Though He is sought after by the great residents of His Supreme Abode, He is within easy reach of the lowest of people (as He does not demand much to be pleased)."
(4) Sulabha Sulabha (AS# 817, 817, PB# 823): 823): This is at least one instance where both the revered commentators converge on the saulabhyam aspect of the Lord. I guess this is because the name does not lend itself to any other explanation. Again, they give great enjoyment for the devotee: Shri Shankara explains the name as " patra-puSpa-AdibhiH bhaktimAtra-samarpitaiH sukhena labhyata iti sulabhaH " meaning, "One who is easily attained by simple offerings such as a leaf and a flower". flower". He then quotes a verse from the Mahabharata in support of this: patreSu puSpeSu phaleSu toyeSvkrItalabhyeSu sadaiva satsu |
bhaktyekalabhye puruSe purANe muktyai kathaM na kriyate prayatnaH || Translation: "How can one fail to work for emancipation, when the ancient Purusha is capable of being attained by devotion alone, worshipping Him with offerings of leaf, flower, fruit, and water, which are always obtainable without much cost?" The explanation given by Shri Bhattar is: "anarghaHanarghaH-api api mUlya bhAsena svIkartuM
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"Even n though though He is pricel priceless, ess, He is is attained attained for a small small price price" ". sakhyaH " meaning, "Eve Sri Bhattar then quotes an instance in the Lord's pastimes as Krishna -- During Lord Krishna's time on this earth, a lady with severely deformed face who makes sandal paste offered Him some of the same a nd made Him visit her humble dwelling by seizing His garbs and saying: "Come to my house!" Conclusion: While elaborating on the Divine Names (Sahasranama), Shri Adi Shankaracharya emphasizes the omnipotence, omniscience, omniscience, might and other qualities of the Lord related to His greatness, whereas Shri Bhattar dwells on the Lord's affability. In the last two posts, we got to clearly understand the qualities of saulabhyam of saulabhyam (approachability) and saushIlyam (accessibility) of the Lord. Both are indispensable to our Lord. The CEO of a big corporation may have a lot of influence, power, and might, but is not really accessible to employees in the lowest strata of his organization. Your pet kitten at home may be easily accessed and approached, but it cannot save you from evil forces and calamities. As He combines these two aspects as part of His personality, our Lord is indeed unique! This makes devotion to Him possible even for people with very little means. Thus, He is quite benevolent and kind to us, even though He is the Lord of the entire cosmos. From the next post onwards, we shall start on the next major Divine Quality, namely His magnanimity, known as audAryam. audAryam. REFERENCES: [1] http://www.ibiblio.or http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/acharyans/ac g/sadagopan/acharyans/ac10.htm 10.htm [2] http://www.ahobilavalli.or http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_ g/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol1.pdf vol1.pdf [3] http://www.ahobilavalli.or http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_ g/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol2.pdf vol2.pdf [4] http://www.ahobilavalli.or http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_ g/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol3.pdf vol3.pdf [5] http://www.ahobilavalli.or http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_ g/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol4.pdf vol4.pdf [6] http://www.ahobilavalli.or http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_ g/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol5.pdf vol5.pdf
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Generosity (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 1 Our Supreme Lord of the Universe, who is known as Sriman Narayana, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Vishnu, and by a thousand other names, possesses several divine auspicious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). We dealt a little bit about His Paratvam (Lordliness), Saulabhyam (Accessibility), and Saushilyam (Friendliness) till now. In the next few posts, we shall experience Lord's quality of being generous (audAryam ( audAryam or magnanimity) The Supreme Lord Narayana, after creating us, does not simply watch us suffer in this imperfect world where evils such as greed, animosity, disease, and natural calamities are abound. In contrast, the Lord provides everything He is capable of, by directly taking up the act of protecting His creation. Let us briefly review His threefold activity to understand His act of protection better: We saw in a previous post that the Lord creates all the material elements, and then Lord Brahma is born from the divine lotus that springs from His navel. In support of this, Sri Adi Sankara, while commenting upon the words of Arjuna, says the following: Lord Krishna is the one who is the cause of even Brahma, known as Hiranyagarbha, hence He is called the Primordial Creator [" ["yato brahmaNo hiraNyagarbhasyApi Adi kartA kAraNaM atas ta smAd Adi-kartre"" Gita Bhashya , 11.37 ]. Adi-kartre ]. He is called Adi called Adi deva (Primal God) since He creates the universe; He is called the purANa the purANa puruSa (Primordial Person) since even as He dwells within all of us, He has always existed since time immemorial; He is the abode of all creatures at the time of mahApralaya of mahApralaya or universal dissolution ["tvam [" tvam Adi-devo jagataH sraSTRtvAt , puruSaH purI shayanAt, purANas cirantanaH, tvam evAsya vishvasya paraM prakRSTam nidhAnam nidhIyate(a)smin jagat sarvam mahApralayAdau iti " Gita Bhashya , 11.38], and that He is the 'Great-grand sire' of all since He is the father of even four-faced Brahma who is popularly known as 'Grand sire' [" pitAmahasyApi pitA prapitAmahaH ; brahmaNo(a)pi pitAmahaH iti arthaH ", ", Gita Bhashya, 11.39] Lord Brahma takes over the task of further creation under the instructions of our Supreme Lord. It is the Supreme Lord Vasudeva Himself who indirectly creates beings and destroys them by being the inner-controller of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. But He directly takes up the act of sustenance for Himself. Thus, the popular conception of Lord Brahma as the creator, Lord Vishnu as the protector, and Lord Siva as the destroyer is reconciled with the Vedic and scholarly statement that it is indeed only Lord Narayana who performs the threefold act of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the entire universe, as we discussed before in another post. post. This is exactly the explanation given by Sri Sankara in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya: "rajoguNaM samAshritya viri~ncirUpeNa bhUtAni karotIti bhUtakRt | tamOguNamAsthAya tamOguNam AsthAya sa rudrAtmanA bhUtAni kRtanti kRNoti hinastIti vA bhUtakRt | sattvaguNamadhiSThAya sattvaguNamadhiSThAya bhUtAni bibharti dhArayati poSayatIti vA bhUtabhRt " (Sri Sankara's Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya, Names #4 and #5) Translation: "Through the mode of rajas of rajas (activity/passion) in the form of Brahma, He creates beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt. Or, using the mode of tamas of tamas (ignorance/darkness) (ignorance/darknes s) in the body of Rudra (Siva), He destroys beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt . Taking up the mode of sattva of sattva (goodness/stability) He (directly) supports and protects all beings and hence He is known as bhUtabhRt ". ".
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Sri Sankara says later in the same text, while commenting on the divine name "subhujaH " subhujaH " (#265), which means "beautiful-armed", that the Lord's arms are indeed beautiful as they protect the universe ("shobhanA (" shobhanA bhujAH jagadrakSAkarA asyeti subhujaH "). Thus, the act of resolving to protect His creatures itself is a sign of his magnanimity. It is appropriate to ask thus: What is that greatest, priceless gift that the Lord can give that serves as a best example of this ever-benevolent nature of Him? In my opinion, His greatest gift to us is twofold: First, the Lord gives Himself to His devotees by being accessible to us through His avatars. Secondly, He gives another priceless gift -- the scriptures, known as shAstra-s shAstra-s that teach us dharma and adharma (good and evil) that provide the way for wellbeing and prosperity, as well as the way to serve Him best. A very nice summary of these two aspects of His generosity has been given to us by the great teacher, Acharya Sri Adi Sankara. Let us then turn to Sri Adi Sankara's introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. The story of Lord Krishna's birth, according to Sri Sankara: Right after the invocatory verse ("nArAyaNaH (" nArAyaNaH paro-avyaktAt ") ") that we saw in a previous post,, the Acharya proceeds with his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita as follows: post
" sa bhagavAn sRSTvedaM jagat... dvividho hi vedokto dharmaH pravRtti-lakSaNo nivRtti-lakSaNashca jagataH sthiti-kAraNam | prANinAM sAkSAd abhyudayaniH-shreyasa-hetur abhyudayaniH-shreyasa-hetur yaH sa dharmo brAhmaNAdyair brAhmaNA dyair varNibhir Ashramibhish ca shreyo(a)rthibhir anuSThIyamAnaH |" |" Translation: "The Lord (Bhagavan) created the universe and wishing to secure order in His created universe, taught the paths of involving in works and renunciation. It is this two-fold Vedic path of works and renunciation that is responsible for the protection of the universe. This Vedic path, which secures prosperity and well-being for all creatures, was practiced by men of all classes and orders in life who sought welfare, starting with Brahmanas (knowers of Brahman or Supreme Lord)." The Lord's magnanimity is evident from the above. Further still, Sri Sankara says that the Lord Himself patiently and generously teaches the Vedic dharma t o human beings again when we lose track of it out of our own folly:
"dIrgheNa kAlena anuSThAtRRNAM kAmodbhavAd dhIyamAna-viveka j~nAna-hetukena adharmeNa abhiyUyamAne dharme, pravardhamAne ca adharme, jagataH sthitiM paripAlayiSuH sa Adi kartA nArAyaNAkhyo viSNur bhaumasya brahmaNo brAhmaNatvasya cAbhirakSaNArthaM devakyAM vasudevAd aMshena kRSNaH sambabhUva |" Translation: "As time progressed, the evil of lust overpowered the practitioners they gradually lost the faculty of discrimination (between good and bad), leading to i rreligion overpowering religion. It was then that the Primordial Creator, Lord Vishnu known as Narayana, wishing to maintain order in the universe, incarnated Himself as Krishna, begotten by devakI and devakI and vasudeva, vasudeva, for the preservation of the Vedic path."
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Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva to protect the world and the Vedic Dharma Sri Sankara then says that the Lord is ever possessed with the six qualities of wisdom, supremacy, power, strength, might, and vigor (sa ( sa ca bhagavAn j~nAna-aishvarya-shaktibala-vIrya-tejobhiH sampannaH ) and is ever the unborn (ajaH-avyayaH ( ajaH-avyayaH ) Lord of Beings (bhUtAnAm IshvaraH ) who is Eternal, Pure, Intelligent and Free (nitya-shuddha-buddha( nitya-shuddha-buddhamukta svabhAvaH ). ). The Acharya then says that even though our Lord Narayana has nothing to achieve and has no selfish interest, with the sole intention of helping His creatures, He taught Arjuna, who was plunged in grief and delusion, the two-fold Vedic religion: " svaprayojana abhAve(a)pi bhUtAnujighRkSayA bhUtAnujighRkSayA vaidikaM hi dharmadvayaM arjunAya shoka-moha-mahodadhau nimagnAya upadidesha "
It is only those like us, whose life is imperfect and lacking, will have something more that he/she is yet to achieve and hence we are driven by that desire to act for our own selfish ends. Being the eternally-perfect Supreme Lord of the cosmos, He has no wants and desires and thus has no compulsion to act. Even then, He performs His divine deeds to benefit us, generously giving us more than what we deserve.
Tailpiece: The appellation "Eternal, Pure, Intelligent, and Free" (nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta ( nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta)) is often used by Sri Sankara in his commentaries and refer to the Supreme Lord, who is a lso known as Parabrahman and Paramatman. He employs them in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya
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at least at two places (I.i.1 and II.i.14), in his commentaries to the Upanishads (eg., Brihadaranyaka I.iv.7), and in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya while explaining the name "Paramatma" (kArya (kArya kAraNa vilakSaNo nitya-shuddha-buddha-m nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta ukta svabhAvaH ). ).
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Generosity (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 2 In this post, we continue with our discussion of the Lord's generosity as discussed in Sri Sankara's Bhagavad Gita commentary. Let us continue to experience and enjoy more such instances. In Gita 5.29, Sri Sankara says:
"suhRdaM sarva-bhUtA sarva-bhUtAnAM nAM sarva-prANInAm sarva-prANInAm pratyupakAra-nirapekSatayA pratyupakAra-nirapekSatayA upakAriNaM sarva bhUtAnAM hRdayeshAM sarva-karma-phalAdyakSaM sarva pratyaya-sAkSiNaM mAM nArAyaNaM" ( Adi Adi Sankara's Gita Commentary, 5.29) 5.29 ) Translation: "(The Lord says): 'I, Lord Narayana, am friendly to all, doing good to all creatures without expecting anything in return. I dwell in the hearts of all beings, being witness to their actions and disbursing their fruits accordingly.'" In 9.18, Sri Sankara explains: "gatiH "gat iH ka karm rmaa-ph phal alam am,, bh bhar artA tA po poSa SatA tA,, pr prab abhu huH H sv svAm AmI, I, sA sAkS kSI I pr prAN ANin inAM AM kRtAkRta kRtA kRtasya, sya, nivA nivAso so yasm yasmin in prANino prANino nivas nivasanti, anti, shar sharaNaM aNaM ArtA ArtAnAM nAM,, prapann prapannAnAM AnAM Artihara Art iharaH H | suhRt prat pratyupa yupakAra kAra-ana -anapekS pekSaH aH sann upak upakArI ArI " (Gita Commentary, 9.18) Translation: "Hari (Krishna/Vishnu) is the goal - the fruit of karma; He is the nourisher; He is the Lord, the witness of the actions of all beings, the abode wherein all beings dwell. He is the shelter for the distressed, and relieves those who surrender to Him of their suffering. He is the friend, since He helps all creatures without expecting a selfish reward." Again, the Acharya explains: "tapAmyhaM Adityo bhUtvA kaishcit rashmibhir ulbaNaiH | aham varSaM kaishcid "tapAmyhaM rashmibhir utsRjAmi | utsRjya punar nigRhNAmi kaishcid rashmibhir aSTabhir mAsaiH punar utsRjAmi prAvRSi |" (Gita Bhashya, 9.19) 9.19) Translation: "(Lord Hari says): 'By means of the sun's rays, I provide warmth to the earth, send forth rain, take it back during eight months, and again send it forth during the rainy season.'"
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Lord Sriman Narayana, always intent on helping His creatures, pours forth grace in the form of rain. (Painting on the wall of Sri Oppiliappan Temple, near Kumbakonam, TN, India) (Courtesy of Sri Oppiliappan K Sadagopan. Reproduced with permission from http://thiruppavai.etemples.net/ )
In the last discussion, discussion, we saw that Sri Sankara refers to the "Lord ( bhagavAn) bhagavAn) Narayana as the one who acts out of no interest of His own, but with the sole intention of helping His creatures." In the commentaries commentaries to two verses discussed above (5.29, 9.18), we see that Acharya Sri Sankara has re-emphasized this, saying that the Lord does good to all without selfishly expecting anything in return from us ( pratyupakAra anapekSa upakAri ). ). The Lord cures His devotees' suffering by relieving them of their distress. Further, the point highlighted in the above commentary is that the entire cosmos is sustained simply by the divine grace and generosity of the Lord -- by His act of sustenance (5.29, 9.19). To sum up, Sri Sri Sankarachar Sankaracharya ya says that the generosit generosity y of Lord Hari (Vishnu (Vishnu), ), who is the Supreme Lord of the Universe revealed in the Vedas, is spontaneous. This is because, being all-perfect, He lacks nothing and has no special selfish interest of His own. (Concluded ) NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEME ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: NTS: [1] Thanks: Internet Archive, Archive, Google Books, Books, Gita Supersite 2.0, 2.0, Gaudiya Granthamandira [2] Full download of Sri Sankaracharya's Gita Bhashya translated to English by Alladi Mahadeva Sastri: http://www.archive.org/details/bhagavadgitawith00maharich [3] Gita Supersite 2.0: Unicode text of eleven commentaries to the Bhagavad Gita viewable online: http://202.3.77.102/acquia/?q=node/20
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[4] Adi Sankaracharya's Gita Bhashya in original sanskrit from Gaudiya Granthamandira site, contains the original Sanskrit text of the introductory chapter not found in Gita Supersite 2.0: http://granthamandira.com/download.php?file=bhagavad-gita_-_sankarabhasya.doc
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Sri Ramanujacharya's Saranagati Gadyam: Dimensions of Lord H ari's Benevolence Bhagav Bhag avad ad Raman Ramanuj ujac acha hary rya a (AD (AD 1017 1017-1 -113 137) 7),, the the grea greatt scho scholar lar,, phil philos osop ophe her, r, soci social al refo reform rmer er,, and reviver of Vaishnavism in Tamil Nadu has written a total of nine works, all in Sanskrit. Sri Rama Ramanu nujjacha acharrya foc focused used on the the doctr octrin ine e of surr surren end der to Lor Lord Nar Narayan ayana a as per per the the Vedic edic texts, as a means to reach Him and be in His eternal service. It is said that this Acharya went went to Srir Sriran anga gam m and and plea pleade ded d with with Lord Lord Rang Rangan anat atha ha (nam (name e of Lord Lord Va Vasu sude deva va at Srir Sriran anga gam) m) to offer this supreme fruit of liberation cum eternal service to Him in the spiritual world to tho those who who take take ref refuge uge under nder him (Ram (Raman anuj ujac ach harya arya)) duri durin ng the the Acha Acharrya's ya's time time and and for for ever ever afte afterr that that.. Sri Ram Ramanuj anujac acha hary rya a hims himsel elff wrot wrote e dow down, in pros prosai aic c sty style, le, the the mann manner er in whic hich he surr surren ende dere red d to Lord Lord Rang Rangan anat atha ha,, in thre three e diff differ eren entt text texts: s: Sarana Saranagat gathi hi Gadyam Gadyam,, Sriran Sriranga ga Gady Gadyam am,, and and Vaik aikunta nta Gady Gadyam am.. These three texts expound on the finer points of the doct doctri rine ne of surr surren ende der. r. Toge Togeth ther er,, they they are are know known n as the the "Gad "Gadya ya Tray Trayam am ( gadya gadya trayam trayam)" )" , which means "The Prosaic Trilogy". Trilogy".
Lord as Ranganatha (main deity, known as periyaperumAL as periyaperumAL in Tamil) and namperumAL (utsava deity) in Srirangam
In the Saranagathi Gadyam, Bhagavad Ramanujacharya pleads with Sri Narayana by enumerating the latter's divine attributes. The divine attribute of audArya (Generosity, Bene Be nevo vole lenc nce, e, or Ma Magn gnan anim imit ity y in Engl Englis ish) h),, whic which h is the the curr curren entt subj subjec ectt matt matter er for for us, us, has has been been invoked by Sri Ramanujacharya in two key places. We are going to understand these two ins instanc tances es with ith the the help help of exta extan nt comme ommen ntari taries es writt ritten en by late laterr Acha Acharryas yas of the the Rama Raman nuja uja tradition.
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Bhagavad Ramanujacharya Two commentaries to the Gadya Trayam are available today. The first one is authored by Sri Su Suda dars rsan ana a Sur urii -- the author of the celebrated Sruta Prakashika, a sub-commentary on the Sri Bhashya of Bhagavad Ramanuja Acharya. It is written in Sanskrit. The other comm ommenta entarry is by Sri Pe Peri riya ya Va Vac cha han n Pil illa laii, the celebrated commentator of the entire 4000 Divya Prabandhas, written in chaste Mani anipravala ala (maNipravALa) maNipravALa) style (a style of writing that that comb combin ine es both both Sans anskrit krit and and Tamil amil)). The The two two comme ommen ntari taries es expl explai ain n the the div divine ine attr attrib ibut ute e of benevolence by exploring its mani anifoldness and detail ailing its dimension ions. It is ind indeed an enj enjoyme oymen nt to read read the the comm commen enta tari ries es of thes these e two two gre great Achary haryas as at thes these e two two ins instan tances ces of interest to us. (1) The first instance of "audArya " audArya": ": Here, Sri Sudarsana Bhattar gives three definitions for this divine attribute of the Lord: A. While giving generously, the Lord does not think that He is giving to some stranger. He thinks thus: "This person who has come to me is verily my own son. So he has the right to obtain and enjoy all these from me."
B. The Lord does not maintain accounts of what was given and how much was given by Him. He just gives.
C. Even though He gives everything graciously, He is not satisfied if He doesn't give more. (Sri Sudarsana Bhattar cites the instance of Draupadi here). Sri Periya Vachan Pillai says: "aa aas shr hrit itar aruD uDai aiya ya ap apE EkS kSit itan anga gaLa Laii tAnE tAnE ir iran andu du ko koD Duk ukka kai i ", mean meanin ing: g: "(th "(the e natu ature of) of) gran granti ting ng what what His His dev devotee otees s want, ant, with with merc mercy y and and comp ompass assion. ion."" This Acharya cites here the following three verses from scriptures:
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A. Yajur Veda, Khata Shakha, 7-5-36: "ya AtmadA balad adA AH ", meani aning: "The Supreme Person (The Lord) who grants even Himself as well as all the means to enjoy Him."
B. Ramayana (Ayodhya Khanda 16.27): Not only does He give Himself in the manner explained above, but He even greets and pleases those who came to Him before giving. Poet Valmiki Bhagavan says thus in this citation: "atha madhya mad hyamama-kakS kakSyAy yAyAM. AM...s ..same ametya tya pra pratin tinand andyac yaca a", meaning -- "Then, that Prince, the Best of men, met His friends in the middle chamber. He saw all the peop people le who who came came ther there e to beho behold ld Him, Him, appr approa oach ched ed near nearer er to them them,, gree greete ted d them them and mounted the excellent chariot."
C. Gita Gita 7.18 7.18:: "ud udAr ArAs As sa sarv rva a ev evai aite te j~ j~nA nAnI nI tv tvAt Atma maiv iva a me ma mata tam m". In this verse, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He considers the man of wisdom ( j~nAnI ) to be veril erily y His suppor pporte ter. r. Thus, hus, Lord ord Kris Krishn hna a is so gene generrous ous that that He cele celeb brate rates s thos those e who come to Him for some benefit as "ones who gives support and strength to Him"!
(2) Second instance of "audArya " audArya": ": Acha Achary rya a Sri Sri Suda Sudars rsan ana a Bh Bhat atta tarr writ writes es "as "as expl explai aine ned d befo before re"" here here,, but but Sri Sri Peri Periya ya Va Vach chan an Pill Pillai ai opts to give an additional dimension of the Lord's generosity. This Acharya says ays that when the the Lor Lord gran grants ts what His devo devote tees es des desire, ire, He condu onduc cts Hims Himsel elff as if some ome des desire ire of His His own own is met! met! Even ven thou though gh He is of infi infini nite te gene generrosit osity y and and does oes ever everyt yth hing ing for for the the dev devotee otees, s, He feels eels within Himself thus: "I have not done enough for my children". Sri Peri Periya ya Vacha achan n Pilla illaii cite cites s her here the the Ma Maha habh bhar arat ata a ver verse (Udy Udyogaoga-P Parv arva, 47-22 7-22:: "govindeti yadAkranda yadAk randat...h t...hRdayA RdayAnnA nnA pasar pasarppati ppati ") which says that Lord Sri Krishna constant antly recalls the incident when Draupadi called Him for help, as if He still has not fulfilled led her wish, even though He did save Draupadi from being disgraced. He still recalls her call for help even after the Pandavas won the great war against the Kauravas and got back their kingdom. The The Acha Achary rya a also also quot quotes es Namm Nammaz azhw hwar ar's 's Peri Periya ya Thir Thiruv uvan anda dadi di ( periya periya tiruvandAd tiruvandAdi i ), verse 53, which says: "Oh Lord, You are are constantly under the thought abo about what you will ill do next for your devotees" ("unnaDiyArkku (" unnaDiyArkku enseyvEnenRE irutti nI "). ").
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Lord Krishna protects the honor of Draupadi Thus hus, grea greatt Achary haryas as,, incl inclu udin ding Sri Adi Sanka ankarrach achary arya as we saw in the the last two post posts, s, have have elab elabor orate ated d on Supr Suprem eme e Lord Lord Nara Naraya yana na's 's gene genero rosi sity ty and and magn magnan anim imit ity y in many many diff differ eren entt ways ways,, for us to contemplate upon. We will continue further in the next post.
NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: [1] Thanks- http://www.maransdog.org/ for providing freely downloadable books on the works of Srivaishnava Purvacharyas. [2] Humble prostrations to Sri Puttur Krishnaswamy Iyengar (Sri Sudarsanam Swamy) for the voluminous books published for the benefit of al l mankind. I found this kind Swamin's Gadyatraya Bhashyam book (containing Sri Sudarsana Bhattar's and Sri Periya Vachan Pillai's commentaries) immensely helpful in writing this article. The book can be downloaded here.. here [3] The genesis of the idea for this article was a google search on " ஔதய" that resulted in stumbling upon this beautiful blog posting in Tamil. Tamil. Many thanks to the author of this blog! [4] Valmiki Ramayana translations on the web: http://valmiki.iitk.ac.in http://valmiki.iitk.ac.in,, http://www.valmikiramayan.net/ [5] A version of the Mahabharata verse quoted in the article can be found in the form of verse 21 on this page. page.
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Generosity in Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashyas - Part 1 In the following two posts, we will wind up our discussion of Generosity as one of the Divine Attributes of the Lord Narayana. This time, let us sit back and enjoy the following divine names as explained in the viSNu-sahasranAma-bhASya viSNu-sahasranAma-bhASya-s -s (commentaries to the Chapter on the 1000 divine names of the Lord in the mahAbhArata epic) of Sri Adi Sankaracharya and Sri Parasara Bhatta. The arrangement of names differ slightly in the commentaries of the two Acharyas, and hence I will indicate two numbers for each name. The label "AS#" indicates 'according to Sri Sankaracharya', and "PB#" means 'according to Sri Parasara Bhatta'. I will provide the English translations for each name, plus the original Sanskrit commentaries wherever possible. I believe that the explanations given by the Acharyas are quite clear and explain various aspects of the Lord's generosity. Hence, I will not venture to elaborate them further. I have pointed out the source material at the end of this post.
[AS# 48, PB# 47] hRSIkeshaH: One of the explanations given by Sri Adi Sankara for this name is: "yasya vA sUrya rUpasya candrarUpasya jagat-prItikarA hRSTAH keshA rashmyaH saH hRSIkeshaH |" meaning, "He who, in the form of the sun and the moon, delights the earth with His rays." The Acharya then provides a verse from the Veda that supports this interpretation (Krishna (Krishna Yajurveda, Taittiriya Samhita, 4.6.3.h) and the following verse from the Mokshadharma (mokSadharma ( mokSadharma)) section of the Mahabharata [1-2]:
sUryA-candramasoH shashvadaMshubhiH kesha-saMj~nitaiH | bodhayan svApayaMshcaiva jagat-uttiSThate pRthak | bodhanAt svApanAccaiva jagato harSaNaM bhavet || agnISoma-kRtairebhiH karmabhiH pANDunandana! | hRSIkesho(a)hamIshAno varado lokabhAvanaH ||
Translation: "The sun and moon through their rays (known as kesha in Sanskrit) always uphold the world as it were by awaking it and causing it to sleep. By such awaking and causing causing to sleep, sleep, the world world is delighted delighted (Sanskrit (Sanskrit:: harSa). harSa). It is in consequence of these acts of the fire (sun) and Soma (moon) who uphold the universe that I have come to be called by the name of hRSIkesha, of hRSIkesha, O son of Pandu! Indeed, I am the boon-giver, the Lord, the sustainer of the universe." In relation with this explanation, we have also seen similar statements by Sri Sankara in his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita verse 9.19 in a previous post on this page.
[AS# 64, PB# 64] ma^ngalaM paraM: Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada Acharya connects the term " param" param" (supreme), which he explains as " paraM sarvabhUtebhya utkRSTaM brahma" brahma "
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(Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Brahman on account of His supremacy over all beings), with the term "ma^ngalaM "ma^ngalaM " which he explains in two ways: (1) Supreme beneficence, beneficence, as explained by the following verse, verse, says Sri Sankara:
"ashubhAni nirAcaSTe tanoti shubhasantit shubhasantitaM aM | smRtimAtreNa yat puMsAM brahma tadma^ngalaM vidhuH ||"
Translation: "That Brahman is known as beneficence which wards off all evils and brings on a series of benefits to men on being merely remembered by them." (2) kalyANarUpAdvA ma^ngalam (or, due to His attractive appearance, He is known as ma^ngalam) ma^ngalam). Hence,the explanation given by Sri Sankara is "Supremely beneficient/attractive". [AS# 257, PB# 258] vRSabhaH: Sri Sankaracarya explains, "varSatyeSa " varSatyeSa bhaktebhyaH kAmAn iti vRSabhaH ", ", meaning "The showerer of desired objects on His devotees". [AS# 298, PB# 299] kAmapradaH: According to Adi Sankara, this name is to be explained as "bhaktAnAM "bhaktAnAM kAmAn prakarSeNa dadAtIti kAmapradaH ", ", meaning "He who fulfills all the desires of His devotees". Sri Bhattar explains the name as " svakAmebhyaH kSudrakAmeshca yatArhaM kAmyaM pradAti ", ", meaning "One who fulfills everything: He grants Himself to those who long for Him. He also grants wishes of those who long for trivial, lowly fruits (i.e., materialists)." Sri Bhattar then quotes the Veda (Katha Upanishad verse 2.2.13), which says "eko-bahUnAM " eko-bahUnAM yo vidadhAti kAmAn", kAmAn ", meaning "The Supreme being, though One, dispenses desired objects to many". [AS# 330, PB# 332] varadaH: One explanation that Sri Sankara adopts for this name is "abhimatAn varAn dadAti varadaH ", ", meaning "The granter of boons of the objects desired". [AS# 350, PB# 352] mahArddhiH: Sri Bhattar explains this name as follows: tad-yogakSema-kSama nissIma-vibhUtiH ("Lord nissIma-vibhUtiH ("Lord Vishnu is known as mahArddhiH as mahArddhiH as He has boundless riches which can bring about prosperity and security to His devotees"). [AS# 460, PB# 461] suhRt: Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada explains "suhRt " suhRt " as "Friend", exactly in the same manner as he did in Gita Bhashya 5.29 - " pratyupakAra-nirapekSatayAupakAritvAt suhRt ", ", meaning "He is a true Friend as He confers benefits without desiring anything in return". Sri Bhattar explains more vividly: " nupakAriNi api 'kiM asya bhavishyati? kiM karavANi' iti SubhASamsi SobhanahRdayatvam su-hRtvam. su-hRtvam su-hRtvam"" which means, "friendliness is that quality of a benevolent person who wishes good even for those who have not helped him i n any way, and who, being apprehensive of any evil that may befall them, always thinks 'How shall I help them?'". Note the similarity with Sri Periya Vachan Pillai's comment on "audArya "audArya"" in the Saranagati Gadyam Ga dyam of Sri Ramanujacharya. (to be continued) REFERENCES
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[1] English version of the quote can be found at page 164 here here.. [2] Sanskrit version of the quote: http://www.sac http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ red-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs12330.htm mbs/mbs12330.htm [3] A comparison of Sri Bhattar's and Sri Sankara's commentaries to the Vishnu Sahasranama can be read here in five parts. [4] Sanskrit commentary and English translation of Sri Sankara's commentary are adopted from the book titled "Visnusahasranama "Visnusahasranama - with the Bhasya of Sri Samkaracarya, translated into English in light of Sri Samkara's Bhasya" Bhasya" by R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, published by Adyar Library and Research centre (1980 edition).
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Generosity in Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashyas - Part 2 This post is a continuation of the previous post. post. It analyzes further instances of the Lord's generosity or audAryam explained in the commentaries to Vishnu Sahasranama by Sri Adi Sankaracharya and Sri Parasara Bhatta. [AS# 557, PB# 562] mahAmanaH: Sri Parasara Bhattar explains this name as follows: "teSu agAdhodAravismRta manAH " which means "one who has a deep, generous, and broad mind (towards His devotees)." [AS# 570, PB# 575] draviNapradaH: Sri Sankara explains this as "draviNaM " draviNaM vA~nchitaM bhaktebhyaH pradAtIti " (One who bestows the objects desired by His devotees to them). Sri Bhattar's explanation goes as " samagraM shAstra-tad-artha-rUpa draviNaM pradAtIti ", ", meaning "One who bestows the wealth i n the form of shAstras of shAstras (scriptures, lit. instructive books)." Here, we should recall similar statements by Sri Sankara in the introduction to his commentary on the Gita where the Acharya explains similarly that Lord Vishnu (Hari), the Supreme Lord of the Universe, came down to the earth in the form of Krishna, the son of Devaki and Vasudeva, to expound on the Vedic religion for the benefit of all Humans, out of His concern for our well-being. Continuing with his explanation of the Divine Name in the current discussion, Sri Bhattar asks us to recall the dhyAna shloka (invocatory verse) on sage Vyasa (who is none other than our Lord Sriman N arayana's avatar):
vahnvai vAmahastena sarvashAstrArthasaMcayam dakS da kSiN iNen ena a ca sh shAs Astr trAr Arth thAn AnAd Adis isha haMs Mshc hca a yathA yathAst sthi hitA tAn n
| ||
Translation: Vyasa holds in his left hand the collection of all the shAstra-s shAstra-s and their purport, and propounds by his right hand (the upadesha mudrA, i.e., hand-gesture indicating scriptural advice) the true import of all the shAstra-s. shAstra-s. [AS# 605, PB# 612] shrIdaH: Sri Sankara says, "shrIyaM " shrIyaM dadAti bhaktAnAmiti shrIdaH " - One who grants (dadAti ( dadAti ) wealth (shrIH (shrIH ) to His devotees is known as shrIdaH . [AS# 609, PB# 616] shrIvibhAvanaH: Sri Sankara says that this name indicates the Lord's fairness in His act of distributing different kinds of wealth to all beings in accordance with their past karma-s karma-s (karmAnurUpeNa (karmAnurUpeNa vividhAH shrIyaH sarvabhUtAnAM vibhAvayatIti shrIvibhAvanaH ). ).
[AS# 611, PB# 618] shrIkaraH: Sri Sankara's commentary here is "smaratAM " smaratAM stuvatAM arcayatAM ca bhaktAnAM shriyaM karotIti shrIkaraH " (One who makes those who meditate on, praise, and worship Him with flowers - His devotees - prosperous). [AS# 693/694, PB# 698/699] vasupradaH: This name occurs twice consecutively in the Vishnu Sahasranama hymn. Hence, two explanations are given by both the Acharyas. Sri Sankara: "vasu dhanaM prakarSeNa dadAti da dAti sAkSAt-dhanAdhyakSo(a)yaM, sAkSAt-dhanAdhyakSo(a)yaM, itarastu tatprasAdAt
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dhanAdhyakSa iti ". ". To put this in English - It is noted that as per the Vedas, it is possible for one to please the celestial being (devata (devata)) Kubera and obtain wealth from him as a result. Sri Sankara says that even Kubera is able to bestow wealth only on account of Lord Vasudeva's grace. "vasu prakRSTaM mokSAkhyaM phalaM bhaktebhyaH pradAtIti dvitIyo vasupradaH ". ". Sri Sankara explains the second instance of the same name as "One who bestows the greatest wealth - that of salvation or liberation from rebirth - to His devotees". He then quotes a verse from the Veda (Brihadaranyaka ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad , 3.9.28) which says - 'It is Brahman, who is wisdom and bliss, the final goal of the giver of wealth.' Sri Bhattar gives the following vivid explanations for the same name: " paramanidhiM AtmAnaM devakI-vasudevAbhyAM putratvena pradAtIti ", ", meaning "He who bestowed the greatest wealth - in the form of Himself - on Vasudeva and Devaki, by being born as their son. (The name of the person who fathered Lord Krishna during His pastime on the earth was 'Vasudeva', pronounced vasudeva, vasudeva, as opposed to vAdueva, vAdueva, the name of the Lord Himself. See transliteration scheme here for a pronunciation guide.) For the second instance, Sri Bhattar explains as: "He who brought glory and fame (vasu ( vasu - kIrti ) to Devaki and Vasudeva. He brought them fame by choosing them as His parents during His pastime as Krishna". [AS# 744, PB# 750] ghRtAshIH: Sri Bhattar comments on this name thus: " ghRtaM sacenaM svaguNaiH jagadApyAyanaM ". ". This is one of the two explanations given by this Acharya at this place. He says that the Lord sprinkles prosperity on the world and makes it prosperous by means of His benevolent qualities. [AS# 808, PB# 814] kundaraH: Sri Sankara explains - "kunda-puSpa-tulyAni " kunda-puSpa-tulyAni shuddhAni phalAni rAti dadAti " which means "He who gives ( ra) ra) rewards as agreeable and pure as white jasmine (kunda (kunda)) flowers." [AS# 936, PB# 936] caturashraH: Sri Sankara says that the Lord is known as "caturashraH " since He is fair to everyone (nyAyasamavetaH ( nyAyasamavetaH ). ). Sri Sankara then says that this is justified since the Lord distributes rewards in a ccordance with the merits men have accumulated through their own past actions ( pumsAM karmAnurUpaM phalaM prayacchatIti ). ). In the last several posts, we got to experience the joy of contemplating on the Lord's Divine nature of being benevolent, graceful, and generous to His creatures. This post winds up the discussion that we started here here.. In the next post, we will start a new chapter in our journey filled with glimpses of various facets of the Divine Lord of the Vedas, Sriman Narayana. REFERENCES - Kindly consult previous post. post .
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The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana -- Part 1: The Lord Extolled by the Vedas The Veda, which forms the basis of sanAtana of sanAtana dharma (The Eternal Religion), is believed by all Astikaall Astika-s s (people who accept the authority of the Veda) to be unauthored (apauruSeya ( apauruSeya). ). It contains eternal truths which are not authored by anyone, human or even divine. All the great Acharyas of the different philosophical schools in sanAtana dharma concur on this one fact. Classified as Rg, yajuH, sAma, and atharva, atharva, and containing four sections (samhita ( samhita-s -s , brAhmaNa-s brAhmaNa-s , AraNyaka-s AraNyaka -s , and authentic upaniSad -s), -s), all portions of the Veda are taken to be authentic in their entirety by all major philosophical schools, including advaita, vishiSTAdvaita, dvaita, and other schools of Vedanta. The Veda has been passed down from time immemorial, solely by the mode of rigorous study through listening, repeating, and chanting.
Students in a traditional Vedic school Our great Lord Narayana is known as "vedAnta-vedya "vedAnta-vedya pratipAdyaH " which means "The Lord who is known from the eternal Vedic texts". Hari, one of the names of Lord Narayana, is uttered along with the divine praNava divine praNava (the syllable "Om"), at the beginning and end of Vedic chants thus: "|| hariH om ||". This was mentioned by Kambar (kambanATTAlvAr ( kambanATTAlvAr in in Tamil), the Tamil poet who sang Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana in beautiful Tamil, in the following invocatory verse at the beginning of his work:
ஆத அத அ அ எ என ன ய வ வ "ஆத ஓத ஓத ன அல அல இலன உளன வத எபன மநற மநற நமய ப த த அல பற பறல ல ப இல இல "
Translation: Those great souls, who are devoid of selfish i nterests and therefore neutral, who chant the timeless and immeasurable Veda, beginning a nd ending it with "hariH " hariH om", om",
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do not put their faith in anything other than the tender feet of the One (i.e., Lord Vishnu or Narayana) who Himself is the truest way (to the highest human end, i.e., liberation) and is an ocean of auspicious qualities.
Let us enjoy the following passages from the commentaries of Sri Adi Sankara and other pUrvAcArya-s pUrvAcArya-s in his disciplic succession that confirm that it is none but Lord Narayana (known by various names such as Vishnu, vAsudeva, vAsudeva, and Hari) alone who is to be known from the study of the Veda. We first take a look at the commentary to the Bhagavad Gita verse 15.15 and the commentaries to it:
sarvasya ca-ahaM hRdi sanniviSTo mattaH smRtirj~nAnamapohanaM ca | vedaishca sarvairahameva vedyo vedantakRtvedantakRt-vedavit-eva vedavit-eva ca-aham ||
(Bhagavad Gita 15.15) In the above verse, Lord Narayana, i n his Krishna form, teaches the following to Arjuna: "I am seated in the hearts of all beings. Memory, knowledge, as well as their loss come from Me. I alone am to be known from from all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of Vedanta Vedanta as well as its knower." Sri Sankaracarya explains Lord Krishna's words here thus: "(Lord Krishna says): 'I am the Supreme Soul, the Paramatman to be known from all the Vedas. I alone am the originator of the Vedantic traditions, and it is I who know the Vedic teachings.' Thus, the majesty of the Lord, the Bhagavan who is known as 'Narayana' by name, are stated": vedaisca sarvairahameva paramAtmA vedyaH veditavyaH | vedantakRt vedAntArtha sampradAyakRt ityarthaH | vedavit vedArthavit eva ca aham | bhagavataH Ishvarasya nArAyaNAkhyasya vibhUtisaMkSepaH uktaH . Sri Anandagiri who wrote "glosses" (Tiika ( Tiika)) to many of Sri Adi Sankara's works explains here that the statement of the Lord in the current verse removes any doubt that may linger li nger in one's mind as to whether the Supreme Brahman extolled in the Vedas is different from Bhagavan Narayana: "vedavedyaM parambrahma bhagavato(a)nyAditi sha^nkAM vArayati -- vedairiti ". Indeed, Sri Sankaracarya says in his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita thus:
"It (the Bhagavad Gita) expounds specially the nature of the Supreme Being and the Truth known as vAsudeva, vAsudeva, the Parabrahman, who forms the subject of the discourse": discourse": paramArtha paramArthatattvaM ca vAsudevAkhyaM parabrahma-abhideya-bhutaM parabrahma-abhideya-bhutaM visheSataH abhivyaj~nayad vishiSTa-prayojanavishiSTa-prayojana-sambandhasambandhaabhideyavad gItA-shAstraM (Introductory Chapter, Sri Sankara's bhagavadgItAbhASya). bhagavadgItAbhASya ).
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"(Lord Krishna says) 'I, the Supreme Parabrahman known by name as vAsudeva, vAsudeva, am the source source of the whole whole world. From Me alone evolves the whole universe in all its changes, including existence and dissolution, action, effect, and enjoyment'": ahaM paraM brahma vAsudevAkhyaM sarvasya jagataH prabhava utpattiH | matta eva sthiti-nAsha-kriyA sthiti-nAsha-kriyA-phalopabhoga-lakSaNaM -phalopabhoga-lakSaNaM vikriyArUpaM sarvaM jagat pravartate | (Sri Sankara's commentary to Bhagavad Gita, 10.8)
Moreover, in his commentary to the Kathopanisad verse 1.3.9, 1.3.9 , Sri Sankara says: "The statement here that 'He obtains The Supreme Abode of Vishnu' refers to entering the Supreme Abode and State of the all-pervading Brahman, the Supreme Soul, known by name as 'vAsudeva 'vAsudeva'' ": tadviSNor vyApanashIlasya brahmaNaH paramAtmano vAsudevAkhyasya vAsudevAkhyasy a paramaM prakRSTaM padam sthAnam satattvaM-iti-etad asAvApnoti. Echoing all the above points, Sri Anandagiri writes in his gloss to Sri Sankara's commentary (15.15) that Parabrahman cannot refer to anyone other than Bhagavan Sri vAsudeva -"vedavedyaM parambrahma bhagavato(a)nyAditi sha^nkAM vArayati -- vedairiti ". ".
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The Lord as Sri Parthasarathy Perumal deity in the temple of Triplicane (Chennai, TN, India) - He is in His battlefield attire, ready to serve His devotee, Arjuna Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati, in his magnum-opus "gUDhArthadIpika " gUDhArthadIpika"" (a glorious, independent commentary to the Bhagavad Gita) explains here (15.15) that even though the Vedas contain hymns to Indra and other devas, devas, it is still only Bhagavan vAsudeva alone is to be known from the Vedas as He is the in-dwelling supersoul of all: "vedaishca sarvaihindrAdi-devatA-prakAshaih-api indrAdi-devatA-prakAs haih-api ahameva vedyaH, sarvAtmatvAt ". Sri Sarasvati then explains that Vedic passages such as --
"They call Agni as Indra, Mitra, and Varuna; they also say that He is the divine Garutman of beautiful wings. The sages speak of Him, who is one, in many ways; they call Him Agni, Yama, mAtarishvan." mAtarishvan."
( Atharva Atharva Veda, 9.10.28) 9.10.28 ) and "... "... for He is all the devas" devas" (Brihadaranyaka (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.6) 1.4.6) are to be understood in that way. As if to reiterate all these, Sri Sankara explains as follows, in the Vishnusahasranama Bhashya:
"shabdasahaH" (# 912): He (Vishnu) is known as "shabdasahaH" as He is the one who alone is proclaimed by all the Vedas unanimously: sarve vedastAtparyeNa tameva vadantIti shabdasahaH
"kathitaH" (# 848): vedAdibhir-ayameka eva paratvena kathita kathita iti kathitaH | sarvairvedaiH kathita iti vA kathitaH | "sarve vedA yatpadamAmananti", "vedaishca sarvairahameva vedyaH", "vede rAmAyaNe puNye bhArate bharatarSabhaH! adau madye tathA cAnte viSNuH sarvatra gIyate" iti shruti-smRtyAdi-vacanebhyaH | Translation: He (Vishnu) is known as kathitaH since kathitaH since He alone is declared as supreme by the Veda and Vedic texts; or He who is described by all the Vedas. The following statements from the shruti (Vedas) shruti (Vedas) and smRtis confirm this: "All the Vedas describe His status.." (Kathopanishad ( Kathopanishad 1.2.15), 1.2.15), "I alone am to be known from all the Vedas" (Bhagavad ( Bhagavad Gita 15.15), "Vishnu is sung everywhere at the beginning, middle, and end of the Vedas, the holy rAmAyaNa and the mahAbhArata, mahAbhArata, O Best of the lineage of Bharata!" (Harivamsa ( Harivamsa,, 3.132.95). [Sri Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati, in his gloss on Sri Sankara's Vishnusahasranama
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Bhashya, has explained some finer points in the above explanations.]
Govinda ("govindaH" , #539): The word "go " go"" can be taken to mean "speech/words", and hence "govindaH " govindaH " is one who is known through the "words", i.e., the words of the Vedanta. The Vishnutilaka text says, "You are known as Govinda as you are a re to be known through scriptural texts": gobhiH vANIbhiH vedyata iti vedAntavAkyairiti vA govindaH | 'gobhireva yato vedyo govindaH samudAhRta' iti viSNutilake | The Lord is known only through the timeless Vedic statements. He cannot be known by experimentation and logical inference, as He is beyond what we can perceive. Moreover, the Vedic statements are unaothored. Any compromise on any of these points would lead to cyclic logic. This is also highlighted by Sri Sankara's explanation to the divine name "Govinda". Sri Amalananda Sarasvati was another Acharya who commented on Sri Sankara's works. In his work "vedAnta " vedAnta kalpataru" kalpataru" (a gloss on the "Bhamati", which is a subcommentary to Sri Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras), he explains this while refuting the views of Saivas, Pasupatas, and Vaiseshikas (in Sutra 2.2.37) by saluting Sri Hari thus:
"tat-sukha-advaitabodha-AtmsvabhAva haraye namaH | vedAntaika pramANAya kutarkANAM abhUmaye ||" || "
Translation: "Salutations to Lord Hari, who is blissful, who is without a second, who is pure and transcendental by nature, who is inferred from the texts of the Vedanta alone, and who cannot be understood by those who rely solely on pointless argumentative means." Yet another point relevant to this discussion: In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Sri Krishna says: "I am the sacred syllable Om (known as Pranava)in all the Vedas". (Bhagavad-Gita 7.8). Here Sri Sankara adds "In Me (Lord Krishna), who am that Pranava, all the Vedas are woven" (tasmin (tasmin praNavabhute mayi sarve vedAH protAH ). ). Closely related to this Gita verse are the following divine names occurring in the Vishnu Sahasranama:
"mantraH " (#280) Sri Sankara explains in his commentary that the Lord is called "mantraH " mantraH ", ", which means "the sacred chant", as He exists as the Rg, yajuH, and sAma Vedas (RgyajussAma-lakSaNaH (RgyajussAma-lakSaNaH mantraH ). ). Moreover Moreover,, He is the the one reveale revealed d in those those sacred sacred chants chants (mantra-bodhyatvAt-vA mantraH ) - this is the the second explanation given by Sri Sankara.
" praNavaH " (#957) Sri Sankara explains this name as: "praNavo nAma paramAtmano vAcaka oMkAra tatabheda-upacAreNa-ayaM praNavaH" meaning, praNavaH" meaning, "The Supreme syllable 'Om', the Pranava,
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denotes the Paramatman, the Supreme Soul. He is hence said to be verily the Pranava itself." Thus, it is indeed Lord Narayana who is the object of all Vedic knowledge and meditation. (to be continued ) REFERENCES: [1] Free online viewer/downloads of (a) the Sanskrit original and English translations of of Sri Sankara's Bhagavad-Gita commentary, and (b) Sanskrit texts of Sri Anandagiri's and Sri Madhusudana Saraswati's commentaries for the same: see under this article. article. [2] Sanskrit commentary and English translation of Sri Sankara's commentary are adopted from the book titled "Visnusahasranama "Visnusahasranama - with the Bhasya of Sri Samkaracarya, translated into English in light of Sri Samkara's Bhasya" Bhasya" by R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, published by Adyar Library and Research centre (1980 edition). [3] English translation of Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati's "Gudhartha " Gudhartha Dipika" Dipika" commentary to the Bhagavad-Gita can be bought online at this Amazon.com link. link . [4] Relevant page from Sri Amalananda Sarasvati's Kalpataru can be viewed here. here.
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The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana -- Part 2: Unequalled and Unsurpassed Supremacy Long before the advent of great Acharyas, ancient India had a glorious time during which Vedic knowledge had spread far and wide, owing to the unparalleled efforts of great sages such as Valmiki, Vasishta, Shakti, Parashara, Vyasa, and Shuka who propounded that knowledge among the masses through the Smritis, Itihasas, and Puranas. Their reach extended from East to West, and from North to South, all over the great nation of India. No wonder then that the Vedic conception of Lord Sri Hari as the "Supreme revealed in the Vedas" (வத தவ) found its way into secular Tamil literature of the ancient times. The following invocatory verse of the literary work " naRRiNai " (நறண) bears testimony to this:
மந லஞ லஞ சவ யக க ந ந வளநர பளவ உக யக வ ம ம யக க த சக சக யக க பஙகத பஙகத மத மதயம யம டக ணக இயற எல எல பய பயறக றக தடக றக தடக தடகய வத தவ எப த தற வளஙகய த க ய ய ன ன Translation: "Having the earth for His tender reddish feet, wearing as cloth the oceans that contain pure water and resonating conch-shells, having the space for His body, having the directions as His hands, having the sun and the moon for His eyes, enveloping everything as His very body, He -- the One who bears the discus (Lord Vishnu) is praised as the foremost of all divinities in the Vedas."
Clearly, the author of the invocatory verse in naRRiNai is naRRiNai is familiar with Vedic concepts, as he praises Lord Vishnu, following the manner of Mundaka-Upanishad, Purusha-Suktam, Narayana-Suktam, etc. (See this post). post). More such references to the Lord Vishnu as the "essence of the Vedas" are available in the work called " paripADal ". ".
In the last post, post, we saw that Acharyas such as Sri Sankara clearly expounded this ancient Vedic wisdom alone, and did not deliberately invent anything on their own.
We now continue our discussion of the supreme glory of Lord Na rayana as explained by our Acharyas. We explain the verses where our Acharyas have shown that the glory of Lord Narayana cannot be compared with those of the other devas, devas, and that He is the one who rules all of them.
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The devas, devas, headed by Lord Brahma revere Lord Narayana Thanks: www.glimpseofkrishna.com www.glimpseofkrishna.com.. Copyrighted image and caption reproduced reproduced with permission of the artist Smt. Madhavapriya Devi
'None is equal or greater to Lord Narayana': When Lord Krishna expounded to Arjuna the Vedic philosophy by revealing the Bhagavad Gita, He showed His Supreme Universal Form to Arjuna. Awed at that stunning magnified form, Arjuna praised Krishna thus, in the following Bhagavad Gita verse. Let us read the a part of one such verse (11.43) and then Sri Sankara's and Sri Anandagiri's explanations to the same. na tvat samo(a)sti, abhi adhika kuto-anyo loka-trayo-api, apratima prabhAva?
(Bhagavad Gita, 11.43) 11.43) [There is none who is equal to you, and when that is the t he case, how even can there be a ny who is superior to You in any of three worlds, Oh Lord, who is of unrivaled power?] Sri Sankara's explanation reflects the Acharya's opinion that the above mode of praise is not at all exaggerated. The Bhagavatpada-Acharya explains thus: "na "na hi IshvaradvayaM saMbhavati, anekeshvaratve vyavahAra-anupatteH " [Translation [Translation:: For there there cannot be two Supreme Gods, if so, the world as it exists now will not be able to function properly]. Sri Anandagi Anandagiri ri confirms confirms this further further at at the same same place: place: "IshvarAntaraM tulyaM bhavishyatiityAsha^nkyAha -- 'na 'na hi' iti | iti | Ishv Ishvarabhe arabhede de praty pratyekaM ekaM svAt svAtantry antryAt-ta At-tadaikama daikamatye tye hetvabhAvAt-nAnAmatitve hetvabhAvAt-nAnA matitve ca ekasya sisRkSAyAM anyasya saMjihIRSAMsa-bhavAt vyavahAralopada-yuktaM-IshvaranAnAtvaM-ityarthaH " [Translation: The following presents itself as a doubt: can there ever be two Supreme Supreme Gods? The Acharya Acharya answers: Surely Surely no. If there be several independent Supreme Gods, then their decisions will be independent, as there is no guarantee that they will be of one mind. The effort of one Supreme God in one
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direction will be neutralized by the effort of the other in the opposite direction. Then the world could not exist as it does now.] 'Lord Vishnu, the ruler of all other deva-s': deva-s': Commenting on Gita verse 10.2, Sri Sankara explains: na me viduH na jAnanti suragaNAH brahmAdayaH | kiM te na viduH? mama prabhavaM prabhAvaM prabhushakti-atishayam, athavA prabhavaM prabhavanaM utpattiM | na-api mahaRSayaH bhRgvAdayaH viduH | kasmAt te na viduriti-ucyate -- aham AdiH kAraNaM hi yasmAt devAnAm mahaRSINAM ca sarvashaH sarvaprakAraiH
["(Lord Krishna says) 'neither the devas -- Brahma and others-- know; -what do they not know? My majesty, abundance of lordly power-or, derived in the sense of 'coming into being', it means origin. Nor even the great sages, Bhrgu, Marici, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha. Vasistha. This is because I am the Supreme Supreme Primordial Cause of all, including the devas and the sages.'"] This is re-emphasized by the Acharya in his commentary to G ita verse 10.12 (Arjuna's words): paraM brahma paramAtmA paraM dhAma paraM tejaH pavitraM pAvanaM paramaM prakRSTaM bhavAn ! puruSaM shAshvatam nityaM divyaM divi bhavaM AdidevaM sarvadevAnAm Adau bhavam ajam vibhum vibhavanashIlam | ishvaram
[ (Arjuna says) 'Oh Lord! You are the Supreme Brahman -- the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Light, and the Supreme Sanctifier. You are the eternal divine Person, the Primal deva since you preceded all the devas by time time.. You are birthless, omnipresent, and capable of assuming many forms.] Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati, in Gudhartha Dipika, offers a very interesting explanation for a verse not very far (10.14) from from the above above verse. Here, Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati Sarasvati says that Arjuna's addressing Krishna by one of His special Divine Names, "Kesava (keshava ( keshava)" )" has a deep purpose: He says that the name "Kesava" is apt here since Arjuna is referring to Sri Krishna's supremacy -tacca-sarvaj~natvAt tvaM jAnasIti -- keshau brahmarudrau sarveshAvapi-anukampya sarveshAvapi-anukampyatayA tayA vAti-avagac vAti-avagacchatIti chatIti vyutpattim-A vyutpattim-Ashritya shritya niratishaya-aishvarya-pratipAdakena keshava-padena sUcitam | ato yaduktam 'na me viduH suragaNAH prabhavaM na mahaRSayaH' ityAdi tattatheva -- hi yasmAt he bhagavan samagra-aishvaryAdi sampanna! te tava vyaktiM prabhAvaM j~nAnAtishayashAlino(a)p j~nAnAtishayashAlino(a)pii devA na viduH na-api dAnavA, na mahaRSaya ityapi draSTavyam |
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['And You know that since you are omniscient.' - this is indicated by the word keshava, keshava, by which is suggestive of 'unsurpassed ' unsurpassed sovereignty', according to the following derivative sense sense of the word: 'He who looks upon Ka and Isha, i.e., Brahma Brahma and Rudra, as fit for compassio compassion, n, even though though they are are great lords lords (compared to other devas and human beings).' Hence, what was said in 'Neither the deva-s deva-s nor the great sages know My Lordliness.' (10.2) is truly so. For, Oh Lord who art endowed with Sovereignty etc. in their entirety, neither the deva-s deva-s nor the demons, or even the great Ri shis, comprehend your glory.] - Madhusudana Sarasvati, Gudhartha Dipika, 10.14 One may wonder whether all the a bove statements by Arjuna, and by Acharyas like Sri Sankara, Anandagiri, Madhusudana Sarasvati are merely exaggerations for the sake of praising Lord Krishna. This doubt can be safely answered in the negative, as Sri Sankara himself says thus in his Brahma Sutra Bhashya (I.ii.17) where the Acharya is involved in serious polemical discussion, where he establishes the identity of 'the person in the eye' described in the Vedanta: tathApi AtmatvaM tAvanna sambhavati, parAgrUpatvAt | amRtatvAdayo(a)pi na saMbhavanti utpatti-pralaya-shravaNAt | amaratvamapi devAnAM cirakAlAvasthAna-apekSam | aishvaryamapi parameshvara-Ayattam, na svabhAvikam; 'bhIshAsmAd-vAtaH pavate, bhISodeti sUryaH | bhISAsmAd-agniH-candraH-ca mRtyuH-dhAvati pa~ncamaH' iti mantravarNAt | tasmAt parameshvara eva-ayamakSisthAnaH akSisthAna H pratyetavyaH | [Inner-self-hood cannot be ascribed to the sun ( Aditya), Aditya), on account of his externality. Immortality, also cannot be predicated of him, as Scripture speaks of his origin and his dissolution. For the so-called deathlessness of the deva-s deva-s only means their comparatively long existence. And their lordly power also also is based on the highest Lord Lord and does not naturally belong to them; as the mantra declares, 'From terror of it (Brahman) the wind blows, from terror the sun rises; from terror of it Agni a nd Indra, yea, Death runs as the fifth.'—Hence the person in the eye must be viewed as the highest Lord only.] - Sri Sankara, Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Bhashya , 1.2.7 Thus, the Acharyas have discussed at great length, the greatness and sovereignty of Lord Hari as per the Vedas. REFERENCES [1] For the naRRiNai and naRRiNai and other Sangam and post-Sangam Tamil works, see here or here here.. (Flash player and font download required for first li nk; first link contains several commentaries by ancient and modern Tamil commentators). [2] References for Bhagavad Gita commentaries etc. are as given in this post. post. [3] Brahma Sutra Bhashya: See here and English translation here here..
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The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana: Part 3 -- From the Narayaneeyam
In a previous post, we have learned a little bit about the Narayaneeyam, a devotional work by Sri Narayana Bhattathiri, a 16th Century Keralite scholar. The following verses firmly establish Sri Bhattathiri's conviction that Lord Narayana is the Supreme One: Narayaneeyam, 82-9:
muhustAvacchakraM varuNamajayo nandaharaNe yamaM bAlAnItau davadahana pAne(a)nila sakham | vidhiM vatsasteye girishamiha bANasya samare vibho vishvotkarSI tadayamavatAro tadayamavatAro jayati te ||
[Thy repeated victories over Indra, over Varuna (when Nandagopa was kidnapped by him while bathing), over Yama (by reclaiming from him the son of Thy preceptor, Sandeepani),
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over Agni (by Thy devouring the wild forest fire), over Brahma (when he stole the calves) and over Siva here in the battle with Bana, O Lord, amply prove that this avatAra of Thine as Krishna surpasses all other avatAra-s avatAra-s and is most superior.] Narayaneeyam, 90-1:
vRka bhRgu muni mohinyambarIShaadi mohinyambarIShaadi vRtteSu ayi tava hi mahattvaM sarvasharvAdi jaitram | sthitamiha paramAtman niSkalArvAgabhinnaM kimapi tadavabhAtaM taddhi rUpaM tavaiva ||
[O Supreme Being ! From the episodes of Vrikasura, Sage Bhrigu, the Mohini incarnation, King Ambarisha and others, it is here firmly established that Thy glory is superior to, and transcends, that of Siva and all other deva-s. deva-s. Thou art none other than the Nishkala Supreme Brahman, as also all the Sakala forms, and art that Indefinable One who doth shine as the essence of all.] Sri Madhusudana Saraswati expounds on this further in his Gudhartha Dipika, in his commentary to verse 7-24 of the Bhagavad Gita:
"nanu janma-kAle(a janma-kAle(a)pi )pi sarva-yogi-d sarva-yogi-dhyeyaM hyeyaM ṇṭ hasthaM-aishvarameva shrIvaikuṇṭ shrIvaiku hasthaM-aishvarameva rUpaM-AvirbhAvitavati saMprati ca shrIvatsa-kaustubha-vanamAlA-kirITakuNDalAdi-divya-upakaraNashAlini kambu-kamalakaumodakI-cakra-varadhAri-caturbhuje shrImadvainateyavAhane vainateyavAha ne nikhila-suranikhila-sura-loka-saMpA loka-saMpAditaditarAjarAjeshvara-abhiSekA rAjarAjeshva ra-abhiSekAdi-mahAvaibh di-mahAvaibhave ave sarva-surAsu sarva-surAsurara jetari vividha-divyaliilA-vilAsashIle sarvaavatArashiromaNau sAkSAd-vaikuNTha-nAyake nikhilalokaduHkha-nistArAya duHkha-nistA rAya bhuvamavat bhuvamavatIrNe IrNe viri~nci-prapa~n viri~nci-prapa~ncacaasaMbhavi-niratishaya-saundaryasAra-sarvasvamUrtau bAlaliilA-vimohita-vidhAtari bAlaliilA-vimohita -vidhAtari taraNikiraNojjvalavyapItAmbare nirupamashyAmasundare karadIkRta-pArijAtArtha-parAjita-purandare bANayuddhavijita-shashA^nkashekhare vijita-shashA^ nkashekhare samasta-su samasta-surAsura-vijayirAsura-vijayi-narakanaraka prabhRti-mahAdaiteya-prakara-prANa-paryanta-sarva svahAriNi shrIdAmAdi-parama-ra^nka-mahAvaibhava-kAriNi SoDasha-sahasra-divya-rUpadhAriNya-parimeya guNagarimaNi mahAmahimani nArada-mArkraNDeyAdimahAmunigaNastute mahAmuniga Nastute tvayi katham-a katham-avivekino(a)pi vivekino(a)pi manuSyabuddhir-jIvabuddhir-veti ?"
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[Well, with regard to you who even at the time of Your birth had manifested that Divine Form itself which exists in the holy Vaikuntha, and which is an object of meditation for the yogis, and who at present possesses charming adorations such as the Srivatsa, the Kaustubha, a garland of flowers etc. reaching up to the feet, a crown, earrings, etc., who have four hands holding a conch, a lotus, the (mace called) Kaumodaki and an excellent discus, who have the graceful Vainateya (Garuda) as your carrier, who are possessed possessed of the great glory of having been coronated as the Supreme King of kings by the entire heavenly world, who have conquered all the devas (celestial beings) and asuras (demons), who like to remain engaged in various divine sports, who are the crest-jewel of all avatAra-s, avatAra-s, who are none other than the Lord of Vaikuntha, who have descended on the earth to help all people get rid of their sorrows, who are the embodiment of all that constitutes the essence of the unsurpassable beauty that is not to be found in the creation of Brahma, who outwitted Brahma by the the divine sport of your childhood, childhood, who wear a dazzling yellow garment as bright as the rays of the sun, who are incomparably dark and charming, who defeated Indra to make him offer offer the Parijata tree as a tribute, who defeated Siva while fighting Bana, who took away everything including the lives of mighty demons such as Naraka and others who had defeated all the devas and asuras, asuras, who made an extremely poor person like Sudama greatly opulent, who had assumed sixteen thousand divine forms, who are endowed with virtues the excellence of which is immeasurable, who are possessed of great fame, and who are prayed to by the great sages such as Narada, Markandeya and others, how can even the non-discriminating persons have the idea that You are a human being or a jiva a jiva?] ?]
In another place, Sri Narayana Bhattathiri cites the incident where the devas and asuras were churning the ocean seeking the amRta (elixir), with the aid of none other than Lord Vishnu. Lakshmi, the eternal companion of the Lord in His Vaikuntha abode, manifested herself as one of the by-products during the course of churning. She examined all the onlookers one by one, and finally chose our Lord Sri Hari as her husband. Sri Bhattathiri says thus: Narayaneeyam, 28-7:
girishadruhiNAdi sarvadevAn guNabhAjo(a)pyavimukta girishadruhiNAdi doSaleshAn | avamRshya sadaiva sarvaramye nihitaa tvayyanayA(a)p tvayyanayA(a)pi i divyamAlA ||
[Knowing that all the others such as Brahma and Siva, though virtuous were still not blemishless, she offered the divine garland to Thee, who art the eternal embodiment of perfection and charm.]
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It is worth noting here that in Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya, Sri Sankara explains the name "shrIpatiH "shrIpatiH " as follows: "amRtamathane " amRtamathane sarvAn sura-asurAdIn vihAya shrIrenaM patitvena varayAmAseti shrIpatiH " [He who was chosen by Laksmi after she rejected all the other devas and asuras during the churning of the cosmic ocean for nectar]. Sri Bhattathiri further confirms this doctrine in the following verse belonging to the section describing the deliverence of the elephant Gajendra: Narayaneeyam, 26-8:
shrRtvaa stotraM nirguNasthaM samastaM brahmeshAdyairnAhamityap brahmeshAdya irnAhamityaprayAte rayAte | sarvAtmA tvaM bhUri kAruNya vegAt tArkshyArUDhaH prekSitobhUH purastAt ||
[On hearing the entire hymn, describing the impersonal nature of the Universal Being, Brahma, Siva and others, knowing that it did not refer to them, did not come there. But Thou, who art all knowing, manifested before him, seated on Garuda, impelled by Thy flow of mercy.] Hence, our Acharyas have repeatedly emphasized the point that the glory of Lord Narayana surpasses that of the other devas such as Brahma, Siva, Indra, and others.
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The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana: Part 4 -- More from the Narayaneeyam
Little Krishna of Guruvayur The Keralite scholar Sri Narayana Bhatta of the 16th/17th Century, in his devotion-laden work Narayaneeyam, conveys more about the nature of the highest Paramatma, Sriman Narayana, in the last two verses of the first decad. I will try to summarize the meanings and provide English translations of key portions from the old commentary by Desa Mangala Variar. Verse 1-9: kAruNyAt-kAmam-anyaM dadati khalu pare svaatmadastvaM visheSAdaishvaryAdi-Ishate(a)nye aishvaryAdi-I shate(a)nye jagati parajane svAtmano(a)p svAtmano(a)pi-Ishvarastva i-Ishvarastvam m | tvaiyyuccairAramanti pratipadamadhure chetanAH sphItabhAgyAstvaM chAtmArAma evetyatulaguNagaNa-AdhAra shaure namaste || [Oh Shauri! Thou art omnipotent and the embodiment of all virtue and hence Thou hath the unique power to grant supreme bliss to Thy devotees instead of only desired objects, in
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contrast to other deva-s. deva-s. Those who realize this truth are blessed at every step they take towards Thee. Oh Lord Krishna! I pray to Thee for such a blessing.] Commentary: kAruNyAditi | pare brahmAda brahmAdayaH yaH | kAruNyAd bhaktavatsalatayA bhaktavatsalatayA | anyaM mokSavyatiriktaM kAmaM varaM dadAti | tvaM visheSAd vishiSTAd brahmAdyatishayitAt kAruNyAt svAtmadaH svAtmAnaM svarUpaM mokSamapi dadAsItyarthaH | ki~nca, anye brahmAdayaH aishvaryAd jagati asmin prapa~nce parajane svavyatirikteSu sthiracareSvena Ishate nigrahItumanugrahItuM vA shaktA bhavanti | tvaM tu svAtmanaH svarUpasya brahmaNo(a)pIshvaraH ... he shaure! shrI-kRSNa ! te tubhyaM namaH namaskaromi-ityarthaH || [O Shauri! O Krishna! I offer my salutations to Thee! Brahma and others, out of compassion for their devotees, grant to them all sorts of blessings that they wish for, other than final liberation. Since you are special -- being superior to deva-s deva-s such as Brahma, being extremely merciful -- being such, you grant Yourself -- Your own Supreme Station that is free from the cycle of births and deaths -- to Thy devotees. Moreover, Brahma and others are only lords of this visible universe consisting of plants, animals, and human beings. You however, by nature, are the Lord of even Brahma and others. It is only Thyself that is equal to Thee.] This is another reason why the greatness of Lord Hari surpasses other devas, devas, as He alone is the one who grants liberation, while the other deva-s deva-s are only able to grant material benefits. The ancient Tamil work paripADal work paripADal says says thus about Vishnu: "Unless the One who wears a garland of fragrant Tulsi leaves (Vishnu) grants libeation, it is extremely hard to reach the same" (ந இண ழய நக அலத ஏத எளத ப றக).
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Lord Vishnu is ever consorted by Lakshmi Verse 1-10: aishvaryaM sha^nkarAdi-IshvaraviniyamanaM vishvatejoharANAM tejassanhArii vIryaM vimalamapi yasho nispRhaish copagItam | tejassanhAr angAsa^ngA sadA shrIrakhilavidasi shrIrakhilavidasi na kvApi te sa^ngavArtA tadvAtAgAravAsin murahara bhagavacchabda-mukhya-Ashrayo(a)si || [Oh Lord Murari ! Ordainer of even great lords such as Shiva and others! Who excels all in splendor! Your famous pastimes are sought after and sung about even by great yogis. Lakshmi, who is the goddess of all riches, likes to reside in your chest always. Thou art the embodiment of all the six divine qualities of greatness viz., Sri (prosperity), Jnana (knowledge), Vairagya (detachment), Aishwarya (sovereignty), Veerya (valour) and Yashas (fame) and hence the word Bhagavath is t he most befitting attribution to Thee, who art the resident of the Guruvayur temple.] Commentary: aishvaryamiti | he vAtAgAravAsin! murahara! te tvaishvaryaM aishvaryamiti sha^nkarAdInAmIshvarANAM viniyamanaM tattadadhikArapravartakam | ki^nca, tava vIryaM vishveSAM sarveSAM tejaH parAkramaM harantIti vishvatejoharAH shrIsha^nkarAdayaH, teSAM tejaH prabhAvaM saMhartuM shIlamasyeti tathA | vakSyati ca 'muhustAvacchakraM 'muhustAva cchakraM'' (10.82. 9) ityAdi | tava yasho(a)pi vimalaM pApashodhakam | nispRhair-muktair-apyupagItaM, tvaccaritAkRSTacetastayA taishvarNitamityarthaH | shrIshca sadA a^ngAsa^ngA tava vakSaHsthalamAshrityaivAste vakSaHsthalamAshrityaivAste | akhilavidasIti | akhilaM svAtmAnaM svamAyAM tatkAryaM ca vittItyakhilavidasi tvaM | anye tvAM tattvato na jAnantIti bhAvaH | kvApi viSaye | te sa^ngasya vArtApi kathApi na shrUyata ityarthaH | tat tasmAt, yasmAdaishvaryayashaH shrIvIryaj~nAnasa^ngatAnAM
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bhagavacchabdavAcyAnAM tvayyatishayena vRttistasmAdityarthaH | bhagavacchabdasya mukhyAshrayo vAcyArtho bhavasi, anyeSu bhagavacchabdasya bhagavacc habdasya lAkSaNikI vRttirityarthaH || [O Divine Resident of Guruvayur! Slayer of the demon Mura! Thy sovereignty includes being the Lord of, the controller of, the one who gives orders to -- even Shankara (Shiva) and others! Moreover, Thy prowess is better than those of Shiva who is of very great potence himself. It is also said by Sri Narayana Bhattathiri elsewhere that the Lord's prowess is better than those of Brahma, Siva, Indra, Varuna, and Yama (82-9). Your glory is also blemishless -- listening to the same removes the listener's sins. Even those who have conquered their senses, and those who have attained liberation sing Thy glory, having all their senses irresistably drawn towards hearing Thy Divine Pastimes. Even Lakshmi (Shri), who is the Goddess of all riches likes to reside in your chest for ever, not wanting to be separate from Thou even for a moment. You are the one who is possessed of all knowledge of the entire cosmos and its beings. Others do not know these fully. From this, it is clear that since Thou alone art the One possessed of unlimited Sovereignty, Glory, Wealth, Prowess, and Wisdom, the term 'Bhagavan' denotes Thee primarily. Thou alone naturally possess the title of 'Bhagavan' by Thy own nature. With regard to the others, it is only an acquired title.] REFERENCES: [1] Complete Narayaneeyam online [2] Narayaneeyam of Narayana Bhatta, with the commentary, Bhaktapriya, of Desamangala Varya. Edited by T. Ganapati Sastri, Travancore Government Press, 1912.
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