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Stotras of Vedanta Desika
by Sri D. Ramaswamy Ayyangar
Page 15
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22. Dasavatara Stotram
The "Birthless Being" (Paramatma) is born in this world again and
again. Only, those births are all "divyam" (divine) as said in
the Bhagavad Gita. The Lord is born out of His own sweet will and
pleasure (not by compelling karma as in our case). Avataras are
sport or leela to Him; to us they are His acts of grace or
daya to redeem us. The avataras are many, but ten out of
them have been marked out as Dasavatara, and enjoyed specially
by the Alvars and Acharyas. This Stotram is about those ten
avataras, and hence the name Dasavatara.
The opening sloka refers to all the world being a stage
-- not in the Shakespearean sense of a stage in which mortal man
is the actor as several parts, but in a quite different sense,
viz., that the Lord dons several parts and acts thereon in the
company of His Consort, Lakshmi, who dons the appropriate female
part on each occasion. The first word is "devah" and refers to
the Sporting Lord, and the last word is naayika, referring to the
Consort donning "anuguNaan bhaavaan" appropriate lady-part. The
prayer is made that the Two of them may confer all auspiciousness
on us.
The next ten slokas deal with the ten avataras in order.
Each is a pen-picture of one situation in the particular
avatara. The sea suddenly becomes full of lotuses, when the Lord
as Matsya (Fish) casts His eyes everywhere in its waters while
searching for the Vedas. As Kurma, (Tortoise) the Lord bears the
Mandara mountain on His back and at the same time enjoys a
dolotsavam (swinging festival) along with Lakshmi, as Their
Paryanka (couch) is moved this side and that by the surging and
retreating waves of the ocean. And so on.
Sloka 12 gives a list of the foregoing ten avataras with a crisp
one-word adjective for each avatara which correctly indicates
the chief point of that avatara. The last sloka (phalasruti)
refers to this stotram as "jaganmangalam" (welfare of all the
worlds), a rare herb obtainable from the ocean and capable of
bestowing learning, devotion, health and fame on those who evince
a desire to recite it.
I have heard it said that great Acharyas have prescribed
a paaraayanam of this stotram as a panacea for ills attributable
to evil-aspecting of stars and planets.
More Details -
Devanagari Text
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Mani Varadarajan
Last modified: Tue Apr 6 16:45:07 PDT
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