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Re: AlavandhAr Thirunakshathram- Adi Utthiraadam- August 3

From the Bhakti List Archives

madhav.vasudevan • August 6, 2001 


Sri:

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

I received this email from our Sri Muralidhar Rangaswamy Swamy whose cross
references and
nuances have always amazed me. I have sought his permission to share this
with everyone.
(yaam peRRa inbam peRuga ivvaiyagam)

Regards
Narayana Narayana
aDiyEn dAsan
==============
Sri:

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

Dearest Sriman Madhavakkannan Swamin,

Thank you very much for blessing adiyen with a nectarine anubhavam of
Swami Alavandar.

Swami Alavandar is a personal favorite of adiyen due to the fact that
he is the only Acharya, who unambiguously stated in the Chatushloki
"tvath dAsa dAsIgaNa:". It takes extraordinary courage of conviction
and clarity of thought to declare that other Devas as well as their
Spouses are slaves of Mahalakshmi Thayar. Also, Swami Alavadar
declares in the Chatushloki that one lifetime is insufficient to
fully comprehend the limitless glories of the 6 meanings associated
with the name Sri "Sri ithyE vachanAma thE Bhagavati brUma kaTham
thvAm vayam"

A most touching contribution of this venerable Acharya is the Siddhi
Trayam declaration, where Swami establishes that among the three
Srivaishnava Rahasyams, the Lord of Seven Hills (Srinivasa) denotes
the Charma Shlokam-the most unambiguous and forthright declaration of
the margam of SharaNagati. Eloquent testimony in support of this fact
can be seen from the posture of the Archa Moorthy standing
majestically on top of the Venkatachalam Hill. This signifies that
for those who bear the emblem of the conch and discus on their
shoulders (Srivaishnavas) and surrender to the Lotus feet of Lord
Srinivasa, the waters of the ocean of Samsara are only hip deep.

Significantly, Swami Desikan, who is known for his careful and
precise usage of words, extols only two Acharyas with the
term "vigAhE". One is Swami nammAzhwar extolled in verse 2 of the
Daya Shatakam (vigAhE theertha bahuLAm sheetalAm gurusantathim) and
the other is Swami Alavandar who is glorified in the yatirajasapthati
verse you cited in your posting.

Again in the Daya Shatakam, Swami Desikan pays tribute to the
greatness of Swami Alavandar in a thundering declaration on the
efficacy of Prapatti in verse 54.
"tvadhudaya thUlikABhiramunA vrushashaIla jushAm sthirachara
shilpinaiva parikalpitha chitradiya:
yatipatiyAmuna prabruthaya; praThayanthi dayE jagati hitam
nananasthvayi BharanyasanAdhaDhikam"

(Lord Srinivasa is a master artisan. Daya Devi is his paintbrush. She
sends us geniuses like Sri Ramanujacharya and Swami Alavandar, who
have established that for the redemption of the entire universe there
is no greater path than that of unconditional total surrender to Your
Lotus Feet.)

Swami Desikan again reminds us of Swami Alavandar's Stothraratnam
tribute "KadhA puna: shankakalpa.." in verse 85 of the Daya Shatakam,
where Swami Desikan blesses us with a brilliant Anubhavam of the
Vamana Avataram.

Thanks again for you outstanding post, which sparked these
reflections in adiyen's (aparadha chakravarthi) mind.

Namo Narayana,

SriMuralidhara Dasan


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