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PradhAna sathakam : part 10 for SaraNAgathi Journal

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Sadagopan • February 2, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs : Sri Srinivasan of Denver asked 
an important question and number of fellow BhakthAs 
have responded by now. In this context ,I am attaching a posting 
that is waiting for release in a future issue of the SaraNAgathi
Journal inview of the importance of the meanings of 
the different sections of the Charama SlOkam and their
relative importances. I do not mind this pre-release 
of my article for shedding additional light on this
ongoing discussions . This subject is so important 
that it needs to be shared widely beyond the SaraNAgathi
Journal alone .That is my reasoning to make an 
exception of pre-release .BTW, I invite you all,
who are not subscribing to the saraNAgathi Journal
to become members in my role as the Editor of that Journal.

The Charama slOkam blessed to us by  the Lord using
Arjuna as a vyAjam and passed onto us as upadEsam by 
our AchAryAs for our upliftment can indeed be recited
without qualms about the First Person based sensitivity .
The Charama slOkam received as upadEsam from 
the AchAryA is equivalent to receiving that upadesam
directly (as Arjuna did)from the Lord , since AchAryA 
is considerd equivalent to the Lord ( AchAryasthu Hari: 
SaakshAth in AchArya Nishtai adopted by Madhura Kavi 
thru his declaration ,"dhEvu MaRRaRiyEn" ). 

In VirOdha parikhAram , Swami Desikan compares 
the relative status of the three "Rahasyams ".
That comparison & conflict resolution (Virodha
ParihAram )is very pertinent to this discussion .
He points out that Thiru Manthiram and Dhvayam
are given as UpadEsam directly into one's ear 
by the AchAryA so that the sishyan alone receives
the initation .This is an injunction of the SaasthrAs
befitting the status of the two ( AshtAksharam and Dhvayam )
as Rahasya manthrams .Swami Desikan proceeds next
to evaluate the status of Charama SlOkam as 
the third rahasyam . Here is the line of reasoning  
developed by him :

Srimath RaamAyaNam and MahA Bhaaratham are two IthihAsAs
and they can be recited to one and all as long as one 
recites them , while keeping a Brahmin in front . The Charama
slOkam is at the end of MahA Bhaaratham and thus can be
recited aloud in front of all as per the above line of reasoning .
Swami Desikan then asks the question as to why the Charama
slOkam is joined with AshtAksharam and Dhvayam 
and is recognized as the third rahasyam .

Swami Desikan's answer is as follows : 
There is a difference between the first 
pair of rahasyam and the Charama slOkam .
The sabdhams and the meanings of the AshtAksharam
and Dhvyam are not to be spoken loud or given
away to one and all except thru upadEsam from an
AchAryan befitting their status as Rahasyams .
The TEXT of the Charama slOkam can however be 
recited in public ;but , the MEANINGS of the charama slOkam  
are to be treated as Rahasyam .Thus the charama slOkam
attains the status of  a Rahasyam , because of 
the sacredness of its meanings .Together , these 
three Rahasyams are indispensable for a Mumukshu 
( one desirous of gainig Moksham )and therefore 
are revered highly by us as the Three Rahasyams. 

The text of a future publication by mself intended 
for SaraNAgathi journal is included below .
Here , it is not the meanings that are covered , 
but the relative importance of the different
sections of the Charama slOkam by Swami Desikan .
For the fuller meanings of the Charama slOkam as a
Rahasyam , one has to be blessed to receive it in 
the form of a KaalakshEpam with a SadhAchAryA on 
Srimadh Rahasya Thraya Saaram (29th Chapter of RTS :
Charama slOkAdhikhAram ).
   

The PraadhAnyams among the sections of Charama SlOkam (45-47)
************************************************************

45/100 : The charama slOkam is made up of three
constituent parts : (1) sarva dharmAn parithyajya
maamEkam saraNam vraja (20 aham thvaa sarva paapEpyO 
mokshayishyAmi (3) maa sucha :

The first portion instructs one to perform SaraNAgathi .
The second portion focuses on the phalan arising from
such a performance .The third portion describes the status
of being care-free and blissful as a result of the performance
of SaraNAgathi.The second and third portions of the Charama
slOkam arose as a response to the question , "why should we
perform SaraNAgathi " as commanded by the First portion 
of the charama slOkam .Hence ,THE FIRST PORTION OF
THE CHARAMA SLOKAM IS PRADHAANAM .The first portion 
is recognized as pUrva Vaakyam since the second and
the third portions are responses to the first portion 
and hence are known as utthara vaakhyams.Swami Desikan
points out that the Purva Vaakhyam is pradhAnam 
over the utthara Vaakhyams.

46/100 : The second portion of the charama slOkam 
focuses on the phalan resulting from performing
SaraNAgathi .It houses our Lord's promise to 
free us from all karmAs that stand in the  way of
Moksham as obstacles (prathibhandhaka nivrutthi ).
When these obstacles are chased away , it is but 
natural to gain Moksham (svatha: prAptham ),
which is nothing but gaining Sri VaikuntanAthan 
( Swami laabham ). Hence ,the fruit (phalan ) of 
the realization of the Lord of Srivaikuntam  
as a result of the removal of obstacles is pradhAnam 
(svatha : prAptha Swami laabham ).

47/100 :In GithOpanishad , Our Lord has spoken 
thrice to remove the sorrow of ArjunA .His sOkha-
nivrthaka vaakhyams aimed at comforting 
His friend and Sishyan , ArjunA , are found 
in the second , sixteenth and the eighteenth 
chapters of GithA .

47.1: Second Chapter : Arjuna is ovewhelmed with 
the sorrow over the thought of killing his AchAryAs 
and relatives in the battle field to gain the kingdom .
This type of sorrow does not belong to a Kshathriyan
and his dharmam .Our Lord explained to ArjunA that 
his sorrow was totally inappropriate and instructed 
ArjunA about the nature of the body and the self. Our
Lord pointed out that the Self is eternal and is not
dependent on the body for its existence ,nor is it
subjected to destruction on the death of the insentient
body . The Lord said " You grieve for those , who should 
not be grieved for. yet , you speak words of wisdom . 
The wise grieve neither for the dead or for the living 
( Naanu sOchanthi panDithA : )".Swami Desikan comments
that Lord removed the asthAna snEhAdhi nibhandhana sOkham
of ArjunA in the second chapter .

47.2: Sixteenth Chapter(anadhikArathva sankhA nibhandhana 
sOkha Nivarthanam ): In the fifth slOkam of the 16th chapter,
our Lord comforted ArjunA by explaining the differences 
between the divine and the demonical destinies( sura and asura 
sampath )and points out that Arjuna is born to divine
destiny and as  such he has nothing  to grieve :

dhaivU sampadh vimOkshAya nibhandhayAsuri mathA
maa sucha: sampadham dhaivIm abhijAthOsi PaaNdava 

When Arjuna was sorrow stricken over the fear that
he possessed aasuri sampath , our Lord removed his
sorrow by pointing out that he (Arjunaa) had a divine 
destiny and is fit to gain Moksham and thus removed 
his anaadhikArathva sankhA .

47.3: Eighteenth Chapter(viLamBhitha -phala-kruchra-
saadhya-upAya-upadEsa janitha sOkha Nivarthanam ):
Our Lord instructed ArjunA on the Bhakthi Yogam 
that yields its phalan after a long and ardous 
practise . ArjunA was sorrow-stricken over the thought
of his unfitness to undertake this difficult 
Bhakthi Yogam . When the Lord recognized 
the dejection of ArjunA , out of His limitless
compassion blessed ArjunA with the easy-to-perform 
Prapatthi yogam and wiped away ArjunA's sOkham
once and for all . 

Swami Desikan takes into account the three instances ,
where Our Lord came to the rescue of the sorrowing
Arjuna to remove his dukkham .Swami Desikan concludes 
that , AMOMG THE THREE UPADESAMS FOR SORROW REMOVAL ,  
THE ONE HOUSED IN THE  18th CHAPTER IS PRADHAANAM . 
He explains that the first two upadesams housed in 
the 2nd and the 16th chapters are not of much use to 
the suffering samsAris and the third upadEsam is 
the most useful for ALL chEthanAs and hence attainds 
the status of PrAdhAnyam .

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan