Q. In the four Divya Prabhandas, Thiruppallandu, Thirumalai, Kanninusiruthambu and Amalanadhipiran how are the supreme faculties of emburuman broadly

Nalayira Divya prabhandhas are considered as a canonical text and source for spiritual authority for the Visistadvaita philosophy.

Tremendous effort is required to unravel the meanings hidden in the revelations of the eternal truth in the Upanishads by the vedic seers. Acaryas and preceptors have tried to interpret and simplify these revelations to be accessible to the common folk. But the alwars have scored as preceptors because their hymns in Tamil convey their direct experience of the Supreme being. Who is extrolled in the Vedas as the eternal truth. Each alwars personal experience of God shows that the Lord is accessiblethrough sincere and humble devotion.

Perialzwar sensitized us to the lords infinite mercy and compassion when he spontaneously sang Thirupallandu to the Lord, wishing Him longevity and protection against evil. He inculcated a unique bhava of loving care for him who is in truth the protector.

Andal taught the truth about the enduring relationship between every jivatma and the Lord that continues unbroken through many births. One can meditate on this bond of master and servant that exists between the Lord and us and finally reach Him.

Kulashekar alzwar taught by example the value of vairagya (ability to renounce worldly objects even when one is in the midst of it)

Thirumalzhisai alzwar affirmed the truth of the almighty and the need to remain focused on Him without distractions.

Thondaradipudi alzwar stressed the path of worshipping Gods devotees and taught lesson of humility without which it is impossible to realize god.

Thiruppanalzwars involvement in the Lords beauty in His archa form is inspirational.

Thirumangai alzwar instilled the practice of visiting the lord in the many temples as a means to realize Him.

Poigai alzwar demonstrated that the Lord is the essence of the Vedas.( also known as Sarayogi incarnation of Panchajanya)
Pudatt or Bhutayogi was Kumodaki.

Peyazhwar extrolled the power of uttering the Lords name and he revealed the truth of the Lords consort Goddess Lakshmi.or Bharantayogi was Nandaka.

Nammazhwar propogated the principle of surrender as the means and end of attaining liberation.

Madhurakavi alzwar taught the essence of Acharya bhakti.

Thiruppallandu consists of 12 verses. It occupies a unique position in the Srivaisnava literature. The Hymn is sung at the commencement of all important functions in temples and homes. In fact it is recited every day at least once. In just 12 verses it explains the true nature of the soul. In the first two verses of this hymn the alzwar seeks the well being of the Lord. In the next three verses he calls those who are keen to reach the Lord, those who are desirous of realizing their own self and those who are after material wealth. The next three verses contain the description of the invitees joining the alzwar in singing the Lords praise. In the following three verses the alzwar sings pallandu with them. The last verse carries the phalasruti.

The Lord is described as blue sapphire like colour, beautiful glittering extremely tender and simple. He fights with the wrestle with rugged shoulders and rock like body. Very unusual in sight. The beautiful feet of the Lord are reddish in colour, offering a contrast to the cloud like complexion of his body. Mahalakshmi’s beauty and radiance enhancing that of the lord, just as a jewel and its brilliance or the flower and its fragrance, so too the lord and his consort can never be separated.

Not being content with singing the pallandu by himself he beackons every one to join him in the mangala shasana. The sincere desire to join is the only qualification required.

The lord is Svatah pure by himself sasvatam sivam auspicious at all times.

Even though he resides in and out of animate and inanimate substances. He is not affected by their nature. His grace alone can grant liberation to the soul in this world.

The Thirumalai of sri tondaradippodi alzwar.

The Thirumalai is the sacred garland of 45 songs offered to Lord Ranganatha by Sri Tondaradippodi alzwar. He says he has no other desire except tasting the sweet names of the Lord. Oh! Lord Achutha possessing a huge emrald mountain like body rosy lips of precious corals hue and reddish lotus like eyes. Lord Ranganatha lying on the serpant like couch with his broad chest permanently forming a seat for goddess sri mountain like frame of emerald hue. Broad shoulders eyes resembling pure red lotuses rosy lips, coral like mouth, extraordinary glorious and long crowns, how could any one move away from seeing such a beautiful Lord. The sain poet who is ever at the service of offering Tulasi garlands has sung in praise of the Lord.

The Kanninunsiruttambu.

The Kanninunsiruttambu, composed by Madhurakavi Alzwar is a prabhandham of 11 verses and is included in the 1^st 1000 of the four thousand. In this work Madhurakavi gives full expression to his deep devotion towards his master nammalwar. While all other alwars have sung about the Supreme lord, Madhura kavi alzwar has sung only about his preceptor. With the grace of god sathakopan gave us thousand songs called Thiruvaimozlhi 1102 verses. Madhurakavi says it is equivalent to reciting the Vedas. He says nammalwar who is so full of concern for the suffering humanity has devouted all his thousand and odd songs to explain the method of surrender to god.

Madhurakavi is a great vedic scholar himself and has studied the Vedas under great scholars. He is much senior in age to satakopan, but hs has found that the Thiruvaimolzhi sung in simple Tamil by sathakopan is much more easier to follow. This realization has made Madhurakavi seek total refuge under Satakopan. One of the most important actions of a good preceptor is to correct the faults in his disciples and make them useful for service to the Lord. This is an arduous task calling for compassion patience and a genuine interest in their welfare, but such preceptors are rare. Satakakopan madurakavi says is one such. Madhurakavi has shown the way to the entire humanity that surrender to the preceptor and approaching God through him is the sweetest way to liberation.

The Amalanadipiran of Tirruppan alwar.

Amalanadipiran is a hymn of ten verses sung by Tiruppan alwar. Tiruppan alwar was musically inclined and from a very young age used to sing the praise of God. He was taken to the presence of the Lord on the shoulders of Lokasaranga Muni. It is said that when the alwar was bought before the idol of the Lord he was overwhelmed with exstasy and started feasting his eyes on the Lords feet and gradually moved his sight towards the Lords face.( This is how one should look at the lord when we visit holy places and temples) Looking at each limb of the lord and breaking into a melodious song in praise of that limb. Finally when he looks at the entire form of the Lord he cries out. Having experienced this nectar my eyes shall not see anything else. At that moment he was absorbed into the Lords idol and was seen no more.

The holy lotus feet of the Lord who is free from blemishes who is the primordial God, who has enabled me to serve his devotees, who is the Lord of the eternally free souls who resides on the venkata hills surrounded by fragrant groves who is immaculate ever pure and sacred who is the Lord of heaven and who is the benevolent Lord Rabganatha of Srirangam giri with long ramparts have entered my eyes by themselves.

We get to see the lords power to grant liberation. His creating protecting and destroying the universe. His compassion to elevate people without partiality, His independent nature. His lordship and administration of sri vaikunta and its inhabitants, His forginving nature. His affability. His worthiness to be worshipped. His concern for his devootees. The bliss one gets in his company and the ready ness with which he grants the power to every one to enjoy the bliss.

The supreme lord has the power to remove all the sins of a person, accumulated during several births and make him pure. The alwar wonders how he could become the recipient of so much grace from the Lord. Perhaps he has done some outstanding deeds to merit his attention. The words “kora matavam seydanan’ also mean the Lord himself has taken so much effort to enter my heart. He means that God made the muni bring tirupanaalwar to him to shower the grace of his darshan.

The Lord has entered the alwars heart fully driving away the other gods residing there. He says the Lords ability to eradicate all past sins. He pervades the world both inside and outside. He takes all effort to bring the devotees closer to him. The inseperability of goddess Sri from him. Service to him includes service to goddess sri as well.

The Lords conch and disc represent the pranava mantra and knowledge that dispels ignorance. They are for emancipation for the human souls.

The alwar says that he has lost his mind on seeing the wondrously bright eyes of the Lord which are brimming with compassion towards him.

The Lord is often compared to the rain clouds which are black in colour. For he showers compassion on his devotees, like the clouds which give cool rain. The colour of the supreme lord is also deep dark blue, which sometimes appears as black. This prabandha is unique in the way it exclusively relates the total devotion of the alwar to the supreme lord and how he enjoyed the god experience. May be there are no suitable words to explain the feelings of the alwar on seeing the Lord who had sent forth for him to come into the temple.

Q.Give a detailed account of how according to visistadvaita philosophy it is established that Sriman narayana alone is the paratattvam (supreme tattva

The beauty of visistadvaita lies in its conception of a Godhead of attributes or gunas, whose playground is the entire universe from whom all the animate and inanimate emanate and in whom all merge ultimately. This goes as a compromise between absolute monism of Adi sankara and the distinctive separation of deva and jiva of anandatirtha the famous madhavacharya.

Another important aspect is that if sankara advaita preaches salvation through discard of vices and worldly aspects and realization of the Godhead through introspection. The visistadvaita accepts the social obligation of Jiva as Dehin and teaches the way to be away from the phenomenal world but to live within it, by surrendering the fruits of action at the feet of that supreme bliss manifested in the form of SRIMAN NARAYANA.

The fundamental doctrines of the Visistadvaita philosophy as declared by all the Upanishads is …

1. Narayana the consort of Sri is our Lord, who has all beings and things as His body.

2. He gives Moksha or release from bondage.

3. He is the object of blissful enjoyment for those who have attained moksha.

Sri Nathamuni is regarded as the first acharya of the visistadvaita philosophy. As per the instructions of Nathamuni, Sri manakkal Nambi, his grand disciple imparted spiritual knowledge and instructions to sri Yamuna who then became an ascetic and set about preaching the philosophy of visistadvaita where ever he went.

Sri Yamuna has composed eight works. These works in essence explain that

1. Sriman Narayana is the supreme being.

2. He possesses a divine form and innumerable auspicious qualities.

3. The agamas should be regarded equal to the Vedas.

4. Sri the consort of Sriman Narayana is eternally associated with Him equally powerful and together with Her Lord protects the universe.

By the time Sri nathamuni came the pasurams of the Azhwars had all been forgotten and almost lost to the world. He had unearthed a couple of decads and had organized them. Sri Nathamuni set the Divya prabhandha to the devangani style of music. He emphasized that a recital of the pasurams was as important to a vaishnava mumukshu as a study of the Vedas.

Two disciples of Sri nathamuni sri Uyyakondar and Sri Manakkal nimbi carried on the tradition of their acarya when they were managing the affairs of the temple. They succeeded in bringing Sri Alavandar into their fold and made him the devotee of sri Ranganatha. Sri Alavandar was instrumental in bringing Sri Ramanuja from Kanchipuram to Sri Rangam. There are so many stories and instances connected with Sri Ramanujas life. He was the first to explain the philosophy and visistadvaita is the name given to the philosophy of Sri ramanuja. It means Visistasya advaita or oneness, uniqueness or non duality of the supreme Lord. Here the qualification is the body the sarira. The entire universe consisting of living beings (cit) and inanimate (acit) is the body which qualifies lord Vishnu. He is visista also advaita hence the name Visistadvaita meaning qualified non dualism.

The Vedas are a compendium of all information regarding nature, God, practices and percepts. But the peculiarity of the Vedas is that all information are not found in one place. As a result the interpretations of the vedic statements by different saints and scholars has not been uniform, leading to conflict and different meaning. The advaita school of thought as represented by Sri Sankara gives prominence to abheda srutis or oneness of the Jiva or Jivatman with paramatman.

The dvaita school as systematized by Sri Madhava, gives importance to Bheda sruthi or statements indicating that the jivatma and paramatman are totally different and can never be the same. Sri ramanuja sought to establish a common ground between these two extreme views by using ghataka sruti and to bring out cohesiveness of the various statements. Just as the body and the soul act as one and are in unison, though they are totally different. The body being the vehicle of the soul. Even so the soul (jiva) itself is the vehicle of paramatman who abides in the soul and pervades it within and without. Just as the body is subordinate to the Jiva (soul) the Jiva is subordinate to the supreme paramatman. All the three Jiva, sarira (body) and Isvara are thus inseperable. There are three pramanas (valid means of knowledge) accepted in the visistadvaita philosophy. They are Pratyaksa (perception) anumana (inference) and sabda (verbal testimony)

Pratyaksa or perceptual knowledge is got through the five senses of sight, hearing, smell taste and touch, besides the mind. Anumana or inference is the means of knowledge based on previous perceptions like fire is inferred to exist even without seeing it, when we see the smoke emanating from it. The third instrument of valid knowledge is sabda which means verbal testimony. Gained from trustworthy utterances. Sabda pramana comprises pf Srutis, smritis of Parasara, manu Yagnyavalkya, narada etc., ithihasas Ramayana, mahabaratha and Puranas Vishnu, varaha, bhagvata and the like. The divya prabhandham of the alwars, the agamas pancaratra and vaikhanasa teach the method of worshiping the Lord in iconic form (arcavatara) installed in temples and shrines.

A Vaisnava is one who believes that Lord Vishnu is the supreme Lord of the universe and that He the Iswara dwells within the Jiva (cit) and totally pervades matter (acit) and is the protector supporter and creator of the entire universe. Visistadvaita philosophy holds that bhakti yoga and prapathi or saranagati total surrender are the two methods of attaining salvation. i.e. liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. Bhakti yoga is developed through the twin disciplines of Karma yoga and jnana yoga. A person who wants to adopt Bhakti yoga to attain moksha should first of all do his duties without any attachment to the fruits thereof (karma yoga) develop real knowledge about the soul being different from the body.(janana yoga) and then immerse himself in unalloyed love and service to the supreme Brahman. Sri Ramanuja says Bhakti yoga involves training ones mind and intellect towards pure, continuous unalloyed love of god. Constant contemplation is the very essence of bhakti. Bhakti can be cultivated through seven steps called sadhana saptaka. Viveka, Vimoka, Abhyasa, Kriya, Kalyana, anavasada, and anuddharsa.

In comparison saranagati or prapathi or whole hearted surrender is by far easier and can be adopted by one and all without any distinction of caste creed or sex. It can be adopted at any time and at any place. Saranagathi is only a kind of mental attitude towards God. A wise man offers the soul to god by deciding that God alone is responsible of protecting him. One has to resolve to do acts favourable to god, avoidance of acts that are not to Gods liking. Firm unshaken faith that God alone will save and request the god for protection, thus the soul reaches god. We thus confer that the whole universe is the playground of the godhead. SRIMAN NARAYANA. And he controls shristi and stabalises sthithi and runs samsara. He is also the one who grants salvation. Every thing is his will. This whole thing is maya and so continuous cycle of creating maintaining and granting moksha takes place by the will of the God. The supreme Sriman narayana.

We hence have to do deeds to please him. We have to wait patiently for our time to come.

Give a detailed description of the stotras rendered by the devas as presented in the sarga of Yadavabyudya?

Yadhavaabhyudhaya is the story of Krishna Avathaara retold by Vedanta Desika with a beautiful poetic flavor steeped in Bhakthi.

Swamy Desika has written devotional hymns on all the archaavathaas – the deities of all the vaishnavite shrines but none of the forms of Lord Narayana seems to be more dear to him as His incarnation as Lord Krishna.

Yadhavaabhyudhaya is an epic which seems to be an elongated version of Gopala Vimsathi (another work in 20 verses by the same author.) Both these works start with the same verse, Both are rich in poetic skill and intellectual excellence.

Vasudeva was the refuge of the good as Lord Vishnu is for the world’ sea is for gems and sun is for light.

This implies that he was the sole resort of the good as the earth was burden with unrighteous kings for whose destruction the Lord descended in the form of Krishna. Even though born of a royal family Vasudeva was intent on attaining mukthi and was not interested in the worldly possessions and became content with whatever came to him of its own accord. Vasudeva got married to Devaki (the cousin sister of Kamsa) whom he loved very much, but Kamsa hearing the aerial declaration that the eighth son of Devaki will be his killer. Kamsa thus put them both in prison.

In the mean while the devas were approached by Bhoodevi who entreated them to relieve her of her burden of adharma perpetuated by the unrighteous kings, who oppressed her like giant mountains.then they all approached Lord Narayana along with Brahma and with Bhoodevi in front and started praying to Him.

The devas praised the Lord thus;

1. He is thrivedimadhya dheeptha, shines on the three Vedas because He is vedavedya, known through the Vedas.

2. He is Thridhaama, having three abodes namely Vaikunta, which is his Paramapadha Supreme abode, the milky ocean and the surya mandala, disc of the sun, He is described in the Upanishad as Suryamandala Madhya varthi.

3. He has five weapons Panchatrethayah, Shankha Chakra Gasdha sharanga and Khadga, the conch disc mace bow and sword respectively.

4. He is Baahyaanthara havirbhuja takes the external offerings in the uajna and also internal in the form of self which is offered in devotion and He as varadha bestows His grace.

5. His power is independent ananya adheena mahima and unlimited whereas that of other gods are in his control paraadheena vaibhava and hence limited. Devas beseech Him to protect them as he is dhayaa dheena vihara, overwhelmed with mercy as shown in the choice of the acts like his killing Ravana. The poetic skill in the work can be seen in the words used namely ananyaa dheena, svaadheena and dhayadheena.

6. The lord is the ocean of mercy dhayaambhudhi in which his gunas jnana, bala, aisvarya, shakthi, tejas and virya are the ratnas gems and the waves are His vyuhas and vibhavas. The six attributes, knowledge, might, sovereignty, power, glory and valiance are called bhagas and hence the name bhagvan. The vyuhas are His manifestations as vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradhyumna and Anirudhdha and the Vibhavas are His incarnations. These are metaphorically described as the waves while the gunas are the precious gems which are said to be in the ocean.

7. The glory of the Lord cannot be ascertained from the Vedas even because they are His creation and they are compared to the travelers who even after travelling from morning till evening are unable to reach the destination, namely to describe Him.

8. He puts on different costumes and comes down as incarnations like an actor and he acts according to the role he assumes. This amuses the Wise who see him act like a subordinate a supplicant and obedient son to his own children and dependents. He is the one who apportions the result of Karmas to the individuals and it is all his leela which watches the seeds of karma so that it brings forth the sprouts of results, karmaphala Desika says that this is true with all beings. Brahmaadhisthamba paryantham, from the four faced brahma down to the blade of grass as every thing is His creation only.

9. He shines in the hearts of the pure in his full splendor and like the chintamani fulfills all their wishes. Chintamani is a precious gem which is supposed to grant all wishes of the possessor.

10. To those who have become fatigued by travelling in the desert of samsara the devotion of the Lord serves as a welcome river. Flowing with the nectar of His mercy in which they plunge and enjoy its coolness.

11. He is the boat that helps those who are caught in the whirlpool of sin to cross over to the other side.

12. He is unparalleled, limitless and the cause of the universe. Himself uncaused. He is denoted by Pranava the essence of Vedas and the raft of rescue from the sea of samsara. Those who seek refuge in Him alone, depend only on Him for their redemption and do not adopt any other means except devotion to Him. Like the chataka bird which lives only on rain drops. Not seeking any other source of water.

13. Like the sun that wakes up from sleep the Lord wakes up the jivas from sleep of ignorance. Hence the devas entreated him to dispel their calamity like the sun destroys the darkness because kamsa and others have risen like comets to create disturbances in the world.

Thus entreated by the devas Bhagwan appeared before them out of mercy. Desika here gives a beautiful description of the Lord.

The devas saw him reclined on the couch of Adisesha, like a rain bearing cloud, dark in hue on a white cloud of autumn. Adisesha is supposed to be white in colour and sitting on him the Lord presented a picture of a dark cloud on the top of a white cloud, which is a rare occurrence. This simile is an indication of the wonder the devas experienced on seeing the Lord before them.

The Lord was accompanied by Sridevi with lotus in her hand implying His aisvarya, the mastery over the universe. The epithet Lakshmipathi denotes the supreme power combined with mercy of the Lord. He was adorned with ornaments which were Sukumara, slender and not heavy sukhasparsa soft of touch on His body and not rough like sweet smelling flowers suganshibhih prasoonaih iva and well suited to his gunas, the infinitely auspicious qualities. His form is a garden of his gunas and the ornaments are like the flowers in the garden. Every part of the body vying with each other in beauty excelled that of his ornaments and stole the hearts of all beings. The ornaments were beautified by him. The weapons he was wielding namely the disc bow mace etc were proclaiming his natural qualities like valour, power, and so on and seemed to forecast the victory of the devas. With his form created by himself. He shone like a sapphire rising out of the sea of his own splendor.

Along with the Lord came Garuda, who is the embodiment of Vedas. Srutiroopa and covered with the fragrance of the feet of the Lord. Being his carrier signifying the impending war with the asuras. The Vedas call garuda “Suparno asi garutman triurththe sirah” garuda with powerful wings has veda as his head.

The Lord thus presented a picture of a sun who never sets, a moon who never wanes and an ocean of nectar which has no bounds to devas. He was shining in His glory which excelled the Sun, was source of joy in His cool mercy, which never diminishes and he was like everlasting nectar to the devas in showering his grace. By seeing him thus the eyes of the devas became fruitful and the Lord reassured themwith his abhayahasta showing His hand in a gesture of protection and by his smile that destroys evil by the mere sight of it.

Devas thus appeal to the lord.

The devas started to tell the Lord that rakshasas whowere extinguished previously by Him like moths by the fire, have come back to earth in the form of kshathriyas and the earth is suffering by their misdeeds and if the Lord does not intervene the earth will be submerged into the sea not being able to bear their weight.

They pray to him to direct His merciful glances towards them the glances of the Lord are prabhadha subhaga attractive. He just being awakened from his yoga nidra smera accompanied with his charming smile prasanna pleasing sheethala cooling with love and they are like the waves of the sea of his mercy drpakpdhanava dhoormibhih.

Imagining the Lord thus is enough to send a devotee to ecstasy. With these words the devas concluded their entreaty asking the Lord to forgive them for their impudence in informing Him the reason of their approaching him as though he did not know every thing, being the antharyami indweller of all.

Then Bhoodevi bowded down to Him who was vowed to protect His dependents along with the devas and informed Him of her plight. Desika describes her as being beautiful like the maya of the lord. The earth assuming the form of an exemplary damsel. Vanithaarath narupini. Of slender waist and large eyes thanumadhyaa visaalakshi, is compared to the enchanting maya of the Lord.

The whole universe constituted of the five elements is the product of prakrthi known as the maya of the lord.

The Lord replied to them in a voice that echoed the sound of His Panchajanya. He re assured them by saying that those who follow His command will never come to harm.

The Lord then promised that he will descend to earth as an incarnation to lessen the burden of the earth by destroying the evil kshathriyas and will establish dharma. He asked them to take birth as kings to partake the result of his deeds. So saying the Lord awaited the right time to enter the garba of devaki. To be born as Krishna. Thus the one in whom the entire world resided came to reside in devaki.

Q.Write in your own words about the manner in which the Swamy explains the words; Sarva Dharman Parityajya…………. Ma Sucha in Sara Sara Charma Sloka.

Ans: Sarvadharman Parityajya Mam Ekam Saranam Vraja

Aham Tva Sarva Papebhyo Mokshayishyami Masuchaha.

This is the noblest of all slokas in the Bhagvad Gita. To Ramanuja this is the final verse (Charma Sloka) of the whole Gita. These are the final verses of Lord Krishna to Arjuna. In the eighteenth chapter this is the sixty sixth verse of the Gita. The Bhagvad Gita can be called the universal scripture. The implied meaning of the sloka according to Ramanuja is that if an aspirant has no capacity to perform sadhanas like Karmayoga, Jnanayoga, bhaktiyoga etc., he can perform this alternative Sadhana through Charma Sloka. The first part of the sloka states “Having given up all dharmas or rites unintentionally surrender to the Lord alone” Further the first sentence explains the thing that has to be done by the doer of saranagathi. The second part assures “I will release you from all sins and give moksha don’t despair or grieve”. Thus in the second sentence the things that the lord will do for the doer of saranagathi is explained. It is obvious that the 1^st part of the verse shows that the Lord only as upaya or the means to be adopted and the later part explains the fruits of saranagathi.

In ‘Rahasya trayasara’ Vedanta Desika vividly says about charma sloka as “Your knowledge is limited, your ability is insignificant, your life is short, and you are also impatient of delay, therefore do not go about seeking other upayas which you cannot fully understand which you cannot easily adopt and which can bear fruit only after much delay. Realise that I who am easy to access to all who am the savior of all the worlds and who am endowed with the attributes essential for a savior, am the only upaya and perform the surrender of the responsibility of protecting yourself to me with its five angas. When you have adopted this upaya, you will have done what you ought to do, you will become my ward and be extremely dear to me. Supremely compassionate and gracious independent and omnipotent. I will myself by my mere will and without any other aid and for the fulfillment of my own purpose free you from the manifold endless and unsurmountabe groups of obstacles without leaving any trace of them. I will enable you to have enjoyment similar to mine alone since you will enjoy myself and all that belongs to me. I will find delight in making you render all forms of service in all places at all times and in all places at all times and in all circumstances services which will be of the nature of the overflow of the full and perfect enjoyment of myself you have absolute no cause for grief. The first sentence of the sloka contains six words (Sarvadharman, parityajya, mam, ekam, saranam, vraja.) and the second sentence contains five words (ahamtva, sarvapapebyo, mokshayisyami, ma, sucha) both comprise 32 alphabets.

Sarva dharman.

The general meaning of the word dharman is ‘the way ’ or ‘means of attaining an object the way or means are shown in the shastra. The word dharman (inn plural number) indicates the varied nature of the ways or means all which includes the sayings in sruti, smrithi etc. as Karma yoga, janana yoga, bhakti yoga, anatara rahasya jananam, purushotama vidya, desavasam, tirunama sankeerthana tiruvilakkuerikkai, thirumalai edukkai etc. are the things to be done un intentionally. It is suggestive of the angas or limbs of dharma which are referred to by the word “all” but ‘Sarva’ could also be interpreted to mean the opposite of one i.e. Anga dharmas . another meaning of the word Dharma is the absence of qualities like nitya and kamya karmas. The dharma without these qualities would refer to other upasanas or meditation with accessories like Dhara vidya, Sandilya vidhya etc. for attaining liberation. Thus according to Visistadvaita “sarva Dharman’ refers to Upasana or certain vidyas but not the duties pertaining to social life.

Pillai Lokacharya also underlines that the word dharma here refers only to the Mokshaphala sadhana. In a sutra commenting on the sutra, Manavala Mamuni stresses that here Moksha phala sadhana means that it contains bhagavat prapti with a view to change the wavering mind of Arjuna who considered his duty of war as adharma the Lord Krishna says it is as “Dharma "

Parityajya

The word Parityajya means ‘having given up’ or ‘renunciation’ which implies that saranagati does not require other sadhanas. This gives rise to the question how can the aspirant know his ability to renounce all sadhanas. Desire develops bondage and renunciation is advocated, though it is not easy to adopt or practice perfectly. The syllable pari in parityajya means extreme dislike or aversion. According to rahasya traya sara of Vedanta desika aversion in every form means being without the improper desire to perform what is impossible for a man with the thought “ Though I cannot adopt the upaya in full perfection. I will do it to the best of my ability. When that also is too difficult to perform I will adopt in the place of the prescribed angas something less difficult or the upaya which will produce the prescribed upayas. Ramanuja has said in his Saranagathi Gadya thus. “ I see no means of crossing the sea of samsara in all the eternity of time which lies before me” when one desires to adopt any easy sadhana rather than difficult ones like Karma, Janana and bhakti etc. In such a predicament “give up all dharmas” is an advice to an aspirant who has renounced all other sadhanas (all Dharmas) which are unsuitable for practice. In such circumstances alone one can adopt saranagati. This only goes to prove that saranagathy does not need any other sadhana along with it.

Pillai Lokacharya classifies the word Parityajya under three aspects tyaga Laypu and upasarga. Tyaga means not mearly giving up the dharmas but it menas that one has the constant mind in giving up other upayas also as a mean, like thinking of the brass as silver or thinking of a particular route which is wrong and that one has to go through another route. Manavala mamuni adds that one has to feel for his ignorance of following other means for moksha though he is the one who desires that Lord is the means for bhagavat prapti. The syllable layup means that it stresses the giving up of other upayas and surrender unto the Lord who is the only means to attain Moksha just like the sastras which prescribe that one has to take food only after bath. Likewise one has to practice saranagathi after giving up all other sadhanas.

In conclusion it can be summarized thus vidhi or imperative presupposes the renunciation of all dharmas. To put it differently and more simply the dharmas that are required for all the other vidhyas are not necessary for saranagathy. For instance: shaving off ones head, residing in holy places where bhagwan is residing, wearing the holy thread. In other words saranagathy does not prescribe the renunciation of any dharma. Saranagathy can be practiced only when one is fully aware of the relationship between Jivatman and Paramatma.

Mam

Pilai Lokacharya lucidly expresses the word “MAM” Mam means the Lord Narayana who is all protector who responds to bhaktas prayers disregarding their mistakes and who is the asylum the constant protector even when ‘Sri’ as the mediator intercedes to help the jiva for unison. Further the word Mam dispels the other stages of the lord i.e. Para, Vyuha, and other devas like agni, indra, and so on. Since Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to vanquish all dharmas and surrender to Him as He is the real Dharma (Sakshat Dharma). Pillai Lokachar says that this word Mam directly focuses on the attributes of the Lord. i.e. vatsalya swamitra, souseelya and soulabhya. He brings out the dramatic contrast within the image of Lord Krishna who is both the charioteer sitting on the chariot with his legs dangling over the edge. His hands holding the rein and a whip and his hair all awry with the dust of the battle field and at the same time He is the supreme Lord who declares that He is the ultimate refuge of all men.

Vedanta Desika in his Rahasyatraya sara defines by quoting Harivamsa sloka that Mam means that the Lord is the savior. Lord Narayana who has the ocean milk as his abode has now come to the city of Madhura leaving his serpant bed Adishesha. He also elicits that it means the Lords inseperable qualities like Sousilya seshi, His being the Lord of Sri. His being Narayana, omniscience , omnipotence etc. Each quality is enumerated by quotations from Bhagwat Gita, Lakshmi Tantra, Vishnu Purana, Amanusha Stava and so on.

Ekam

The syllable “Mam” in singular offers the same meaning of ekam. Ekam implies the meaning of negation of the nature of the upaya in choosing sharanagati as understood in the word ‘vraja’ according to Vedanta Desikar the word ekam represents the fact that the lord is the ultimate goal of the Jiva and he is at the same time the upaya for attaining that goal. He is comparable to the Kalpaka tree that has the power of granting all wishes. The usage of the word Eka after the word Mam shows the underlying unity in the ultimate goal of attainment and the means for that attainment. The Bhagavatam expresses the same idea in these words. “ By all sadhanas seek the protection from me alone whom am the inner self of all beings. You will then have no fear of any kind.” Those who seek me alone as their refuge will overcome the insurmountable maya.

Saranam.

The word saranam has several meanings such as upaya , abode, protector, taking refuge in and total surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. Here it means Upaya only as it has to add with the meaning of Sarva – Kama. This was the prayer that was being taught to Arjuna by Lord Krishna. It is applicable to all. Sri Ramanuja has mentioned it in his Saranagathi gadya thus: “O thou who art the savior of all beings in the world ignoring the differences that may exist among those that seek thee.” Sage Valmiki said

“ The great and the eminent rishis say that thou art the refuge and the savior of those that have sort thy protection” these prove beyond doubt that the almighty is the only savior for all jiva. The most essential requisite while taking refuge in Him is that one should not entertain the idea of any other than Lord Narayana.

Vraja

Vraja means choose or take to. It is comparable to prapadye of dvaya mantra because it also enjoys self surrender. In prapadye the first person I is used because only a meditation of a man who performs saranagathi, where as in the word vraja of charma sloka the second person You is used, because it is addressed to Arjuna by Lord Krishna. It is the mind to choose the right path through mind this is called Janana Visesham. This janana Vishesham is also attained by the grace of the lord as pointed out by Nammalwar.

“Aduvum avanadhu Innarule.”

Thus, leading to the intriguing question whether the aspirant has the option of surrendering or not because the very soul is bestowed with a ‘free will” so saranagathi is definitely an act of choice, an exercise of free will when it becomes convinced of the jivas utter helplessness and feels the necessity of attaining the life goal. i.e. Moksha. Does possession of the free will lead the jiva to choose the path of liberation. However the right conduct is to seek refuge in Lord because man is helpless. The discerning power must actuate the free will to discriminate between what duties have to be performed and what ought not to be performed.

The second part of the charma sloka Bhagwan is said to be the savior who eagerly awaits the opportunity to protect and confront the aspirant for this the aspirant must perform sharanagathi with whole hearted faith in God.

Aham

Aham or I is the only source capable of doing the impossible and relieving the evil effects of ones sins.

Pillai Lokachar vividly describes the attributes of Lord Krishna in the word Aham. i.e. the Lord who is the all knower (Sarvjana) all valour (Sarva shakti) praptam chief (seshi) having given the meaning for aham by quoting gods Attributes Lokacharya further states its usage in the present context as comented by Mamuni. Mamuni states that when the Lord wanted to help the aspirant by eradicating his sins and accomplishing his wishes, He realizes Arjuna's earlier stage and further adds what he wants to do with this when the utility of sarvajanatva and sarvasaksitva of Lord is known. For the action of his is only for His sake by benefiting by himself as he is seshi – the relation of Lord. Mamuni includes the attributes of Poorthi (avaptasamastaka matvam) along with these qualities.

Arjuna feels that Lord Krishna distinguished himself as a charioteer for his sake and to clear his fear, emphasises His attributes in the word ‘Aham” he underlines that Lords servitude as charioteer is also his supreme act.
Tva

Tva refers to the acquisition of the discerning ability to comprehend the nature of the three ultimate tattvas namely cit, acit, and iswara. Tva refers to Arjuna's soul which does not know what to do and also has no valour to do what he wants to do. And also has no right to do what he wants to safeguard and who approached Him as the means. Elaborating the sutra Manavala Mamuni says that even one has knowledge to do what he wants and one has valour to act what he thinks, but he has no right to execute it and one who has redeemed all dharmas and approached Him as the mean. Such is the nature of the soul as enlightened in this word.

Sarva Papebhyo ( free from all sins) for eliciting the inner thoughts. Pillai Lokachar has given three sutras for the word sarva Papebhyo. Manavala mamuni classified it into three words as follows; Papam, its multitude and sarvam all combined sarva papebhyo. Here sins are categorized into two aspects. 1) the obstacle for desire (Istavirodhi) and the cause for the evils (Anishta hetu) here Mamuni means that since this sloka speaks about Moksha, ‘papam denotes the obstacle for desire. i.e. the obstacle for the experience of divinity. It is necessary for the aspirant to renounce all evil deeds that lead to adharma, artha and kama which are sinful and not capable of giving joy or bliss. The sins are as follows; ignorance (Avidya) past impressions (karma vasana) taste (ruchi) and matter (prakruti) are the evil deeds that have to be shunned and they are characterized by the word Papebhyo.

Manavala mamuni describes the word sarva denoting the aspirant who performs duties un knowingly that accumulating sins and who performs daily rituals with fearfulness etc. according to sruti and smriti the evil deeds must be avoided if one wants to attain Moksha.

Mokshayishyami.

Mokshayisyami means that the Lord will grant liberation from sinful life. Further Pillai Lokacharya says that in the phrase Mokshayishyami the tense ishyami means that neither the Lord will try for it nor the aspirant need pray for eradication of sins, as the aspirant has surrendered to god they will automatically leave him due to fear and not known where they have gone.

Vedanta desika opines that the word (Mokshayishyami coveys the meaning I will grant the liberation or moksha from this mundane world at the time when you want it. Liberation means release or freedom from the bondage of samsara. This liberation is possible only if the individual Jiva adopts sadhana

Masuchaha

Masuchaha means do not feel sad or do not despair. According to sruti God will never forsake one who has taken refuge in Him. Once the sadhana is performed by the individual which in fact is not difficult, is capable of removing all the obstacles and is having the power to grant the desired goal i.e.Moksha. Hence truly there is no need to grieve or despair.

It is obvious that the mantra Charma sloka is the source of maintenance, nourishment and enjoyment of jiva and also the cause for Moksha.

This mantra focuses on Saranagathi as an easy sadhana for attaining Moksha. Thus charma sloka has a significant place in Srivaishnavism.

It is said that there are two more charma slokas i.e. varaha charma sloka and rama charma sloka.

During Varaha avatara the varaha murthy preached two slokas vakyh Dvaya to Bhumi piratti which speaks the easy way of doing sharanagati when one is in a calm state of mind, health and action prays god and when unable to sustain ones health at the end of life the Lord will think of him and take him away to his abode.

In Rama avatara also Rama preached charma sloka to Vibhishana when he wants to surrender before him by saying even one who pretends himself as a friend and surrenders Himself. He will take him away to His abode (Vaikunta)

Q. Give the details as presented in Siriya Thirumadal describing reasons for the sickness experienced by the Parakala nayaki and also the remedies pr

Among the six prabhandhams of Thirumangai alwar the two well known as Siriya and Periya Thirumadals are unique for the display of “Nayaka Naayaki Bhavam”.

The mystic love that Alwar feels for Sriman Narayana breakforth in torrents. The alwar in the role of Parakala nayaki feels rejected by her lord and threatens to embarrass her naayakan in public by riding on a madalm to make her love and humiliation public.

According to “Sangam “ Tamil tradition Madal Oordhal a madal erudhal is performed by man smitten by a woman. Roughly transalated this would mean “riding a palmyra Stem.’

Love in ancient Tamil tradition falls into two large divisions, Kalavu and Karpu. In Kalaavu love is at first sight. But on some occasions this love will be one sided called Kaikkilai. In such cases the affected person will try to convey the love through his / her friends. If the love is still not accepted, the male usually takes recourse to the madal Erudhal. The male or thalivan wants to publicise that he was denied by his lady love. He makes a harse panai olai (Palm leaves) and draws or paints his lovers picture on a cloth and hangs it as a flag on the horse and wears tattered clothes, and erukkam poo maalai and spreads ash all over his body. His friends will then carry him around in alankolam and along the way the love sick man will cry out to the public about the merciless female and her family who denied him, in the hope that the woman would at least now agree to marry him.

Here Thirumangai alwar portrayed himself as parakaala Nayaki a female performing madal oordhal as an expression of intense and insatiable love for the Lord. He threatens the Lord that if he will not present his darshan to him he will do madal erudhal. As parakala naayaki the course taken is.

1. Madal is a fanatic appeal to God to come down from his transcendental kingdom to accept the purest flower of love offering (kaama Pushpam)

2. It is what the individual soul can not but do.

3. It is the final act of throwing away all pride and vanity.

4. It is a non violent resistence. This is to be held as an extreme step. It is the state in which love is all absorbing and the only refuge.

5. Madal is used in a spiritual way for a spiritual goal and as an anga to saranagathi or self surrender.

6. The madals are the dramatization of the acute psychosis set up by Thirumangai’s faith in absolute self surrender to the Lord.

7. Bridal mysticism and the mental process behind it elaborated by the madals is one which transforms and transports the mystics to a supra physical plane. Love of God is like love of a woman for a purusha…. Here for purushotthama.

Siriya thirumadal consists of 155 lines of exquisite poetry. The Taniyan for siriya Thirumaadal composed by poet kamban.

MuLLicchezhumalaro tArAn mulai mathiyam koLLikkennuLLam kothiyAmE… VaLLal

ThiruvaLan Sirkkaliyan kAkaliyai Vetti maruvAlan tanthAn Madal.

The generous Thirumangai Alwar of infinite auspicious gunas adoring the sharp sword and the MuLLi flower garland has blessed us with the SiRiya Thirumadal and has cut asunder the darkness of Nescience of Kali yugam with his sword. This great alwar has blessed me with SiRiya madal to quench all the taapams caused by all objects such as rising moon burning me as fire.- as a result of my separation from the Lord.

Gods assurance to the soul that loves Him alone and to whom the soul has totally dedicated itself, is of greatest spiritual value to the soul, and it is on this truth of God’s word, as prophasised in the Mahabaratha that the madals revolve.

The alwar thus seeks gods intervention not being able to bear the separation from his only aim in life to reach and serve God.

Give an account of the unique features of Emperuman’s paduka as rendered by Swami Desikan in Samakya Paddhati and Prabhava Paddhati.

Sri Nigamantha Maha Vedanta desikan is the author of Paduka Sahasram which runs into 1008 verses. The verses seem to flow as majestically as the ganges from the Himalayas amidst beauty and holy environment. Swami desikan is said to have composed these 1008 verses in a single night. This great feat called for mastery in imaginative versification of the highest order. Although Paduka Sahasram speaks of multifaceted quality of Ranganatha Padukas. It is generally acknowledged that he had not eulogized sri Nammalwar and hence he was happy to compose the string of verses on him also known as satagopan. Also the Lord was so greatly pleased with Nammalwar’s thiruvaimozhi that he desired and inspired swamy desikan to return his gratitude to the alwar in the form of Paduka sahasram.

It is a poetic creation of the highest order. The main theme centers round the sandals of Sri Rama which were given to Bharatha by the Lord himself. It is classified into what is known as Paddatis. It is said to be swamy desikans contribution to sri Namazhwar who is gods holy feet personified, and also known as Shataree. It is in the style of Maha Kavya, It has prapathi or Sharanagathy abject surrender to god as its central theme. Although the verses appear easy to understand, the scholars find lofty vedantic meanings in them. Amongst the various poetic creations “Kavya Nataka alankara” granthas are considered to be the best and poetry is at the center of such creations. Kavyas themselves are classified as either those which can be seen or those which can be heard. Further there are few gradations to kavyas according to merit and the best is know as utthama. Amongst utthaama kavyas the ones with superlative quality. Utthamotthama are a rare class and Paduka sahasram belongs to this class.

Paduka sahasram revels in varied and beautiful descriptions of paduka with the help of figures of speech alliterations puns galore used to describe the glory and grandeur of Padukas shapes, sounds produced during Lords walk and ornamentation. Swamy desikan followed a unique method of classifying the contents of this Mahakavya. Previously authors used to divide them into sargas, sthabakas or kandas. He divided them into what are known as Paddatis. Paddati means route or path. It is a significant classification in that each path refers to the course the sandals of the lord chooses to take.

Paduka sahasram is a monumental work of poetic genius an extraordinary gold mine of prodigious literary expressions and philosophic thoughts standing alongside the epic Ramayana itself. It shows swami desikans rare command over Sanskrit language as evidenced by magic creations of metre and melody, euphony and elegance, assonance and alliteration to a perfect combination of sublimity and subtlety. It is a unique blend of enchanting poetic beauty and a fountainhead of the loftiest of Tatvas propounded by the great masters of Srivaishnava Siddhanta. Paduka Sahasram has 32 paddatis and in this classification he is understood to have thought about 32 brahma Vidyas which are said to be the various means of getting to his lotus feet. As the study of any one vidya is sufficient to reach our ultimate goal His Thiruvadi. Is it to expect that our understanding of even one paddati is sufficient to get to our goal. The first 14 paddatis are considered to be the first half and the remaining 18 are the second half.

The mahakavya starts with wishing victory to bhagvathas and ends with the same wish. The first two paddatis Prasthaavana and Samaakya contain Bharata revealing to the world the greatness of padukas and details of Nammalzwar acquiring the name of Paduka himself being known as satagopan. The Prabhava Paddati expresses the greatness of Paduka / Kavyam owing its origin to Ramayana. Swami Desikan discusses in the 32 paddatis the comparative benefits of bhakti and prapathi (abject Surrender) and shows that compared to bhakti prapathi is the easier course. Further in regard to Prapatthi itself, that to padukas rather than to the Lord is still simpler. Padukas are shown to have the Soulabhya ability Aashritavatsalatva (divine kindness towards prapannas) i.e. those who have done prapatthi.

Samaakya Paddati’s meaning a “Name” the paddati says that for our sake Nammalwar became the soul of padukas. Further since the fourth varna originated from Gods feet Nammalvar chose that varna for his birth as it were there is a stress on bhagvatha kainkaryam as being more important than service to god.Nammalvar being the 7^th dassa in the order there is a prayer to Nammazhwar in this paddati and there is a mention of adisesha being another roopa of Paduka.

Prabhaava; Padukas unlimited power and extra ordinary greatness is described I this paddati and it owes its origin to Ramayana through Bharatha. The poet is swami desikan says that if the entire land became paper and the seven seas the ink and narrator none other than god himself. Only then the greatness of Paduka can be fully described. If any one has done kainkaryam to paduka even for a short while the devatas stand in queue to do kainkaryam to him. At the time of ones death what are known as athivahika ganas will show hospitality.

Q Explain in your own words how the three aspects namely Sabdam, pratyaksham and anumanam are described in Yateendra mata deepika.

Pramana is the cause of valid knowledge. The definition of pramana is one which makes known what is not already known. These pramanas are three: Pratyaksha (perception) anumana inference) and sabdha (verbal testimony) what we understand directly by our senses like what we see with our eyes or what we hear with our ear this is called pratyaksha. Inference or logic (Anumana) that is by seeing or understanding a thing we logically infer something else. Although it is not actually seen by us. For eg. If we see smoke coming we infer there is fire. So this is called one of the sources of knowledge (anumana). sabdha or sound, we accept the Vedas, smrithis itihasas, puranas as authority (so long as they do not contradict the Vedas) It is from these that the various systems of philosophy are developed by logical deductions and arguments.

What we need to know is; The awareness of an object not in the form of oneness but with a bifurcation of subject and object has an important metaphysical significance. For in the highest state of God realization, when the consciousness in its expanded state is directed upon God, the individual is not merged in the supreme but becomes aware of the supreme. But there is a process of unity in so far as the usual barriers between conscious self and God are annulled. The liberated individual realizes that he is a mode of the divine. Since conscious self is aware of oneness with god, there cannot be any absolute unity in which the individuality is lost.