Pade pade.

 To a man whose understanding is firmly and properly fixed on (a knowledge of) his essential

nature, on the upaya adopted by him, viz prapatti and on the ultimate aim of life (Purushartha)

a recognition that he is steadily fixed in this state gives more delight even than his 

approaching moksha. For by the might of this knowledge, he is able, with a disciplined mind,

to close up the chasms lying before him (as obstacles) which are deep and hard to fill and

which are as immense as the sky.

"ittham vichintyah sarvatra bhAva santi padE padE

kavi tArkika simhasya kAvyEshu lalitEshvapi"

(In the verses of this lion among poets there are

beauties and sentiments of immeasureable beauty, at

every turn of phrase -- however simple they appear to

be... and these are to be fathomed after deep study!)

The meaning of this great 'yadAvAbhyudaya' would have

been totally lost to posterity but for the commentary

.. that an Advaitin scholar

called Appayya Dikshita wrote.

"Vanja Para Samayam Mattra Vandhon Vazhiye

Mannu Pughaz Bhoothooran Manamuhappon Vazhiye

Kanja Thirumangai Ughakka Vandhon Vazhiye

Kaliyanurai Kudi Konda Karuththudayon Vazhiye

Senjol Tamil Maraigal Thelindhu Uraippon Vazhiye

Thirumalai Mal Thirumaniyay Sirakka Vandhon Vazhiye

Thanja Parakadhiyay Thantharulvon Vazhiye

Than Tamil Thoopul Thiruvenkadavan Vazhiye!!!

Nanilamum Than Vaala; Naan maraigal Thaam Vaala

Maanagaril Maaran Marai Vaazha

Gyaniyargal Senniani Ser Thoopul Vedantha Desikane

Innum Oru Nootrandirum!!!

Vazhiyani Thoopul varum Vedathasiriyan

Vazhiyavan Paadhara Vindha Malargal

Vazhiyavan Kodhila Thal Malarai Kondadi Kondirukkum

Theethilla Nallor Thiral!"

The meaning of the Tamil Verses are as following:

"May Your grace live long; for you have changed many unrighteous paths to the righteous path

May Your grace live long; for you have lived a life as pleasing to Sri Ramanujacharya

May Your grace live long; for you have given joy for great men with your service

May Your grace live long; for you have been an embodiment of the words of Thirumangai Alwar

May Your grace live long; for you have presented the Tamil Vedas the Divya Prabandams very clearly

May Your grace live long; for you have proved your incarnation of being the Divine bell of the Lord of Seven Hills

May Your grace live long; for you are blessing us with the path of Salvation

May Your grace live long; for you are the Lord of Seven Hills whom came to elaborate the Tamil Verses"

"May our Swami Desikan live for one more century, for the well-being of the Worlds ( The Earth, the worlds above Earth,

the worlds below Earth and the Eternal world), for the well-being of Vedas, for the sacred text of Nammalvar's

Thiruvaimozhi to present glorious in sacred Sri Rangam; Oh Swami Vedanta Desika, the dusts from your holy feet

are being worn by the great Gyanis to get betterment in their Spiritual life; May You live one more century for our sake!"

"May Your grace live long; the grace of Swami Desikan who was born in Thoopul, who has no equivalent in knowledge; who is our greatest Philosopher; Long live His Lotus Feet! Long live the sacred men who are divine and pious always meditating and

celebrating the grace of this Aacharya and who are staying away from all sorts of evil deeds and who are always surronded with

the good and sacred deeds!"

The life of an illustrious Advaitin admirer of

Desikan, Sri Appayya Dikshitar. I am deeply grateful

for the kind gesture of Sri Parthasarathy. I dedicate

this posting to the doyen.

Appayya Dikshitar was born in a village called

Adayappalam near Kanchipuram. His lineage was an

interesting one.

His grandfather was a scholar named Vakshasthala

Ganapati of Bharadhwaja 'gOtra'. He had two wives of

which the second was Totadri Amba, the daughter of

RangarAjadhvari who belonged to family of one

VaikuntachArya. This appears to have been a very

unusual "mixed marriage" between Vaishnava and SmArta

families in those days! Appayya Dikshita himself is

reported to have confirmed this.

Two sons, RangarAjadhvari (again) and Achan Dikshita

were born of this alliance. Appaya Dikshita was born

to the first one. Achan Dikshita's grandson was the

reputed Nilakanta Dikshitar of later years.

Appayya Dikshitar's father RangarAjadhvari was the

author of many Advaita works. He passed away when his

son was only 9 years old. But Appayya Dikshitar even

by that tender age had learnt and mastered all that

his father had taught him by way of Veda, vEdAnga,

vyAkarana and traditional arts and sciences. Appayya

Dikshita's mastery over chandas, nirukta and jyotisha

is said to be easily evident in his works, the

"nakshatra vAdavalli" and "prAkrita manidIpa".

Appayya DIkshita was deeply Advaitic in outlook. He

was also a staunch Siva bhakta. In 2 highly

controversial works Dikshita attempted to prove that

the heroes of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were

incarnations of Siva, the supreme Lord of the

Saivites. Though these works stired the proverbial

hornet's nest even in those days, scholars even today

admit that a reading of these classics of Appayya

Dikshita speak volumes about his originality and

mastery over the 2 "itihAsAs".

Although Dikshita lived for a long time in Chidambaram

(the Vatican of Saivism in those days), and served in

the temple of Lord Nataraja there by composing many

works in praise of Siva, it did not stop him from also

composing works in praise of Lord Vishnu. Two works

are known today -- "Sri Krishna DhyAna paddathi" and

"Varadarajastava". Diskhita was an indomitable

intellectual.

Even amongst the Advaitins, Appayya Dikshita was a bit

of a maverick and a stormy petrel. His interpretation

of Advaitic 'mImAmsa' and 'alankAra' were entirely

original and for this he had to face loud and bitter

criticism from other Advaitic pandits of the times

like Khandadeva, Somanatha and Venkatadhvari. Appayya

Dikshita's brand of Vedanta also came under attack

from the famous Sri Rangaramanuja muni, the Vaishnava

commentator on the Upanishads.

In spite of all these severe critics, everyone who was

acquainted with Dikshita's works, whether Advaitin or

Vaishnava, held no two opinions about his many-sided

scholarship and sincerity of purpose. They considered

him to be a 'sarva-tantra-svantatra', a master of all

arts and sciences, much in the mould of Vedanta Desika

on whose work Dikshita was later to write a

commentary. SriVaishnavas of those times, especially,

had no hesitation whatsoever in proclaiming that even

a scholar belonging to their own 'sampradAya' could

not have written a better commentary on Swami

Venkatanathan's classic Sanskrit opera

"yAdavAbhyudaya".

Appayya Dikshita happened to be the poet-laureate

('asthana-vidwan') at the royal court of Chinna Timma,

who was the local ruler of Vellore between 1574 and

1585. The King Chinna Timma came from a lineage of

royal kings of the Raja dynasty and they were great

patrons of literature. Some of the kings like Chinna

Timma also adopted Vaishnavas as personal mentors or

'sadAchAryAs'. It is this Vaishnava connection of his

forbears which probably had made this king familiar

with Desikan's 'yAdavAbhyudaya'. Chinna Timma was

desirous of having someone write a detailed commentary

on this 'mahA kAvya' of Desikan and felt his

poet-laureate Appayya Dikshita was the best suited to

undertake it. It is said the king performed a

"kanakAbhishEkam" on Dikshita for having successfully

completed the royal commission.

The 'yAdavAbhyudaya' is a Sanksrit opera of 24

'sargas' or cantos. It is an equal of KalidAsa's

magnificent works like Raghuvamsha or Meghasandesham.

Swami Desikan himself considered it to be his best

poetic work when he attested:

"gauda vaidarbha panchala malakaram sarasvatim

yasya nityam prasamsanti santah

saurabhavedinah"

(The cognoscenti who realize the true value of

perfumery, extol the poetic muse of Desika who wears a

garland woven out of Gauda, Vaidarbha and Panchala

'riti').

It is common among SriVaishnavas to hail the 'stOtra'

of YamunAchArya as "stOtra-ratna" and Desikan's

'yAdavAbhyudaya' as "kAvya-ratna". This operatic

magnum-opus traces the life of Krishna from his days

in Gokulam right upto His ascent unto Heaven at the

end of His avataric sojourn on earth. Scholars to this

day have never ceased marvelling at the breath-taking

beauty of Sanskrit poetry that brims over in this

'kAvya'. Dikshita in his own times, having lost

himself in the enchanting poetry of Desikan, is said

to have declared:

"ittham vichintyah sarvatra bhAva santi padE padE

kavi tArkika simhasya kAvyEshu lalitEshvapi"

(In the verses of this lion among poets there are

beauties and sentiments of immeasureable beauty, at

every turn of phrase -- however simple they appear to

be... and these are to be fathomed after deep study!)

Sri T.S.Parthasarathy writes: "Desika's original along

with Dikshita's commentary has recently been edited

and published by Abhinava Desika Sri Uttamur

Viraraghvacharya swami on behalf of the Ubhaya Vedanta

Granthamala of Madras. The original and the commentary

by two intellectual giants of two different times are

literary treasures deserving to be cherished and

preserved forever".

The meaning of this great 'yadAvAbhyudaya' would have

been totally lost to posterity but for the commentary

... believe it or not... that an Advaitin scholar

called Appayya Dikshita wrote on it! 

Fourty Ninth SlOkam (Prayer for the Lord's Mercy)

*************************************************

ajn~Ana vaaridhim apAya-dhurandharam mAmm

ajn~A-vibhanjanam akinjana-saarvabhoumam

vindhan BhavAn ViBhudhanATa SamasthavEdhi

kim nAma pAthram aparam manuthE krupAyA:

General Meaning:

*****************

Oh Dhaiva NaayakA! I am the central abode of ajn~Anam.

I stand in the front row of all sinners. I regularly

trespass Your commands enshrined in Your sAsthrams.

I do not have any capital for gaining sadhgathi.

adiyEn stands before You with all these deficiencies

and consider myself an appropriate fit to recieve Your

compassion. Why would You even think of anyone more fit

than this aparAdhi to be the object of Your anukampA?

Therefore , You should take pity on me and bless 

adiyEn with Your abundant KaruNai.

Additional Comments:

*********************

Swamy Desikan thinks of all of us and expresses his

nirvEdam (sorrow over his deficencies )and aakinchanyam 

( being without any spiritual wealth whatsoever)

on our behalf. Swamy Desikan is sarva Saathvika GuNa 

Saarvabhouman and the Lord knows that Swamy Desikan had 

none of the deficiencies that he is accusing himself of having .

Yet, Swamy Desikan as a ParamAchAryan seeking our welfare

showed us the way of approaching the Lord and performing

SaraNAgathy before Him. He assumes on himself the sufferings

of the SamsAris (kaama krOdhAthi KOlAhalam ruining

their lives) and reaches nirvEdha prAchuryam ( the height

of despondency over the sufferings of us ,the Bhaddha jeevans)

and appeals to the Lord :

1)I am the ocean of aj~nAnam (Aj~nAna Vaaridhi)

2)I am in the front row of the sinners(ApAya dhurandharam )

3)I am the Trespasser of Your commands(Aj~nA vibhanjanam)

4)I the leader of those without any spiritual wealth

( akinchana Saarvabhouman).

As Seshi (Swamy) , who knows every thing ( Samastha Vedhi),

You have acquired me as Your Seshan , who has gained Svaroopa 

Jn~Anam to perform SaraNAgathy. Swamy Desikan has performed 

MokshArTa SaraNaagathy and has thvarai (a sense of urgency )

to perform nithya kaimkaryam to the Lord there. Swamy Desikan

wishes to develop ruchi for Parama PurushArTam thru

the SaraNAgathy performed at the sacred feet 

of Lord DEvanAthan.

Swamy Desikan challenges the Lord to find one , who is

more deserving of His KaaruNyam and rakshaNam than himself

based on the combination of aj~nAnam , accumulated sins from

repeated trespasses of the Lord's commands. Swamy asks the Lord:

Why would You as a Samastha Vedhi (sarvaJ~nan) need any one else 

to rescue , who is more deserving than me for being the object of 

Your compassion (BhavAn krupayA aparam pAthram kim nAma 

manuthE?).In the next slOkam , Swamy Desikan presses

his case further as the one to be saved by the Lord .

SlOkam 50: (Importance of Protection by the Lord)

************************************************

PrahlAdha Gokula GajEndhra ParikshidhAdhyA:

thrAthas-ThvayA nanu vipatthishu thAdhruseeshu

saravm tadEkam aparam mama rakshaNam tE

santhOlyathAm Thridasa Naayaka kim garIya: 

General Meaning

****************

Oh Dhaiva NaayakA! Once You took NrusimhAvathAram

to come to the rescue of Your child devotee , PrahlAdhan ,

when his cruel father exposed to him to many dangers.

You protected then that dhaanava sisu. During KrishNAvathAram ,

You protected the cattle and the people of Gokulam from

the wrath of Indhran, who sent hail storms and stone rains 

on the defenseless people of Gokulam for not worshipping 

him as before. You rushed to the lotus pond to free 

GajEndran from the the terrible teeth of the crocodile

and protected that srEshta Bhakthan.During KrishNAvathAram 

once again , You responded to the saraNAgathy appeal of

Uttharai to save her embryo from being destroyed by 

the angry AsvatthAman , who sent the apANDavAsthram 

to eliminate even the last trace of PaaNDava vamsam.

Thus You have performed many mighty deeds of SaraNAgatha

RakshaNam. Now, Oh Lord Dhaiva NaayakA ! adiyEn

has a request to You. Please place all of the above

deeds of rescue of Your BhakthAs on one scale of

a balance;next, place the deed of rescuing this 

MahA aparAdhi, who is bent on breaking Your SaastEic 

commands on the other scale of the same balance.

When you examine as to which scale stays below, 

You will find the act of rescuing me will stay 

down . From that test , You will be convinced 

that offering protection to me is of utmost priority

and importance to You. 

Additional Comments:

********************

Oh Dhaiva NaayakA! Please think about Your raksaNam

of PrahlAdhan during your NrusaimhAvathAram ,

Your rescue of GopAs and Gopis from IndhrA's anger as

Govardhana Girdharan, protection of the Lord of

elephants from the cruel jaws of the crocodile as

Gajendhra Varadhan, saving of Child Parikshith 

in Uttharai's womb. When they faced dire dangers , 

You came to their rescue in a trice ( PrahlAdha 

aadhyA: thAdhrudheesushu vipatthishu ThvayA thrAthA:).

Oh Lord ! Please place the weight of ALL those mighty 

rakshaNams on one scale of a balance and place the act

of RakshaNam of adiyEn on the other scale. Please

evaluate for Yourself, which is the bigger of the two

rakshaNams (Tath sarvam tE yEkam mama rakshaNam aparam).

Oh Lord! You will find that the scale of the balance 

carrying my rakshaNam will outweigh the other scale .

Please see it Yourslf as to which act is more heavy

( Thridasa Naayaka! kim gariya: ithi santhOlyathAm).

NamO SrI DevanAthAya,

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan 

P.S: May the powerful prayers and appeals of 

Swamy Desikan for becoming the beneficiary of

the compassion of Lord Dhaiva Naayakan and 

to protect him thereafter inspire you all to take part

in the RathnAngi Kaimakryam for Him and recieve

His eternal blessings !

772. sAkshAthpadham maDhuBhidha: prathipAdhayanthyoU

mAnOpapatthiniyathE maNipAdhukE dhvE

anyOnyasangathivashAdhupapannacharyA

mAjnyAm shruthismruthimayImavaDhArayAmi

The twin-Paadukas are exactly equivalent to the Lord's commandments 

[which enlighten us on the Lord's Swaroopa (nature) which are 

recognized as the right authority on the basis of scriptural 

authority and logical conclusion, and which guide us on the right 

dutiful conduct in respect of dharmic behavior. The Paadukas together 

show us the Feet of the Lord, nay, even the Abode of the Lord. They 

are established as valuable treasure by scriptural and logical 

authority and they together conduct the Lord in His course of action 

and moment.

One is Sruti; the other is smriti-the two Paadukas thus constitute 

our guide in action.

SlOkam 772:

1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: In the previous slOkam,

Swamy Desikan compared the Paadhukais to the two vibhUthis

of the Lord. The support for those two VibhUthis arise from

Sruthis and Smruthis , which are created as a rsult of

the Lord's commands. In this slOkam , Swamy Desikan 

compares the two Paadhukais to to Sruthi(VedAs) and 

Smruthis( code of laws established by the Lord). He says:

" Oh PadhukAis! You bring the Lord's feet directly 

to us for worship; You accompany the Lord and fit 

His feet in a perfect manner and thus truly belong to Him. 

You take the matching steps with each of Your PaadhukAs , 

when He moves around ". The above three steps are known as

Paadha PratipAdhanam(sequential steps), MaanOpapaddhi 

Niyamanam and AnyOnya Sangathi vaasam . These three 

attributes also fit the Srutis and Smrutis. They reveal

directly the Lord's holy feet to the righteous persons.

They belong to the Lord(MaanOpapaddhhi niyamanam) and

they go in unified steps like the PaadhukAs(anyOnya 

sangathi vAsam). In view of these close similarities , 

Swamy Desikan states that the two PaadhukAs are 

the manifestations of Srutis and Smrutis.

2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh Paadhukais! When we have

your darsanam , You both remind adiyEn of Sruthi(Vedam) and

Smruthi. They do not separate from each other.You both do not

separate from each other in Your kaimkaryam to the Lord.

The topics covered by Vedams and Smruthis are totally 

compatible with the PramANams and Yukthis. VedAs and Smruthis 

are BhagavAn's commands.Therefore no one should transgress

them . 

3)The PaadhukAs bring the Paadhams of the Lord directly

before the people( Madhubhidha: padham saakshAth 

prathipAdayanthyou).The PaadhukAs measure closely to

the feet of the Lord( Maana) and fit them well( Upapatthi).

They are of the form of Sruthii and Snruthi (Sruthi-smruthi

mayam). adiyEn considers them as being equivalent to the Lord's

command ( Madhubhida: aj~nAm avadhArayAmi). These pair of 

Paadhukais of the Lord through their companionship

(anyOnya sangathivasAth) are a perfect fit ( upapanna)

for ideal sanchAram ( Upapanna charyAm) and are of

the form of both Sruthi and Smruthi( Sruth-Smruthimayam)..(V.S)