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)
