nidhim

 Ashtakshara mantra, dhvaya mantra and carama sloka are all important to Sri Vaishnavas. But dhvaya has a special place, said Kazhiyur B. Devarajan, in a discourse.

Ashtakshara, also known as Thirumantra, shows us what there is. Carama sloka urges us to act according to prescribed tenets. But dhvaya is the one most suitable for anushtana and anusandhana. Thirumantra is mantra rahasya; carama sloka is vidhi rahasya and dhvaya mantra is anusandhana rahasya. In Thirumantra, the connection with Sri is not openly spoken of. But in dhvaya, it is explicit, both in the poorva bhaga and uttara bhaga. Again in the Thirumantra, the saving feet of the Lord are not clearly elaborated upon. The carama sloka too speaks of surrender to Lord Narayana, but it does not spell out the significance of His feet as our refuge. But in the dhvaya mantra, the word charanau is used, indicating that it is His feet that we should seek.

Kooratazhvan’s Varadaraja stava brings out the meaning of the dhvaya mantra. Kooratazhvan in sloka two of Varadaraja stava, uses the word “nidhim”, meaning wealth, three times. The first time he uses the word, he prefixes it with “Sri”, and says Srinidhim, showing the importance of the Lord’s Consort. Lord Narayana is Her wealth, and She in turn, is the Lord’s wealth. They are the inseparable Divine Couple. The Goddess speaks on our behalf to the Lord. She seeks His daya for us. She draws His attention to our plight. One of the names of Lord Narayana is Sriman. When we say buddhiman or balavaan, it means one who is intelligent and one who has physical strength, respectively. Likewise, when we say Sriman, it means One who has Sri with him. And who but the Lord has Sri with Him always? He is Sriman, for Sri is the permanent resident on His chest.

Often, when we are in distress, we feel completely alone and alienated in this world and assume, wrongly, that there is no one to help us. We cannot be more wrong. God, the one who is the primordial one, is always there for us. He is just one call away. One needs to look no further than Gajendra Moksham to realise that God comes rushing when his bhakta calls for help, said Dhamal Perundevi in a lecture.

In his previous janma, Gajendra was Indhradhyumna, a pious king. When Agastya visited him, Indhradhyumna was meditating on God but the sage, mistaking the same for insult, cursed him to be reborn as an elephant. In the same forest where Gajendra roamed, there resided a gandharva, cursed to be born as a crocodile in a stream. When Gajendra came to the stream, the crocodile quickly grabbed Gajendra’s legs as the only way to reverse the curse.

Reposing full faith in God, Gajendra called out, “ Adi moolame, anadha rakshaka’ (Oh primordial one, protector of the defenceless). So confident was Gajendra of response to his distress call, that he plucked a lotus, to offer it to God, who came rushing on Garuda. Such was the speed of His wish to reach Gajendra that the vahana seemed slow. Getting off from Garuda, He held him with one hand, the Chakra in another, keeping His third free to accept Gajendra’s lotus and the fourth reposing in blessing. Narayna Bhatadri says vayu vegam and mano vegam are the fastest in the world, but God’s karunya (quick response) vegam is unparalleled. He lifted Gajendra’s trunk and said, “Come with Me.” Vedantika Desika says, “Gajendra was dragged by four limbs of the crocodile, but we are dragged in eight different directions by the crocodile called human frailties, save us with Your ashtabhujam prabhatye.” By calling out to Him all the obstacles we face will fade away.

Devotees across the world put aside all other work and observe Vaikunta Ekadasi each year with reverence and fervour as it is the day Vishnu opens the heavenly portals, as it were, for mortals and even devas, said Dhamal Ramakrishnan in a discourse. What is Ekadasi? Ekam signifies one and dasam stands for the numeral ten, totalling eleven. At an equidistant 11 days from new moon day and full moon day, the eleventh day in a month is ekadasi. Every calendar year, we have between 24 and 25 ekadasis, wherein devotees try and observe the ritual of fasting. However, the ekadasi in the month of Margazhi is extremely special as it is the day the Vaikunta vaasal (gate) is thrown open, allowing devotees uninterrupted darshan of Vishnu.

According to Padma Purana, Muran, a demon, had secured invincible powers and was harassing all the saints and devas. Unable to bear his torture, they all seek Siva’s help. However, pointing out that Muran had secured immunity even from Vishnu’s weapons of conch and chakra, He advises them to seek saranagati with Vishnu and gain His help.

Ever ready to help His devotees, Vishnu engages in solo combat with Muran and due to the demon’s boons, the battle goes on for long. Vishnu decides to take a break and seeks refuge in a cave in Badrinath to rest. However, Muran follows Vishnu and when he tries to catch Him unawares, a female form springs up and vanquishes the demon. She is none other than Ekadasi. When Vishnu blesses her, she seeks a boon — whosoever observes ekadasi virat, focuses the mind on god and observes fast, should be granted mukti. Vishnu grants her request, which is why Vaikunta Ekadasi is also known as Moksha Ekadasi.

On this day, devotees should observe smaranam (give up sleep), shravanam (listen to divine discourses) and hear namasankirtan. In many households children play the game of snakes and ladders. The snake signifies ego (if one puffs up with ego, that person will fall hard), while the ladder signifies bhakti.