Search:
Bhakti List Archives

AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam : SlOkam 9

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • May 23, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs :

In this posting ,adiyEn will summarize the anubhavam
of Thirukkudanthai Desikan as he shifts his attenton
from the enjoyment of the soundharyam and significance of 
the two mighty arms of Sri SaarangapANi of Thirukkudanthai .
The great AchAryan now focuses on the Thirumukha Mandalam
(divine face ) of the Lord of insatiable beauty . 

The Ninth SlOkam 
*****************

mugdham vakthram tuhina kiraNasparddhi laavaNya gEham
  klayAmbhOja praNayi nayanam karna seemAthi langhi I
Oshta dhvandhvam sthitham anupamam kunthaLam SaarngapANE :
  dhrushtvA dhrushtvA bhajathi na cha mE lOchanam trupthi lEsam II

What a beautiful anubhavam of the mukhAravindham of 
the AparyApthAmrutha para brahmam and the incomparable 
soundharyam of the eyes , ears ,lips and the black and
curly tresses of the Lord's kEsa bhAram !

Tender echos of Swami Desikan's 8th slOkam of
Sri Bhagavadh dhyAna sOpAnam are heard here. That
8th slOkam housing deep meanings of the smile 
adorning the face of Sri Ranganaathan is a very
dear one to all of us :

saabhiprAya smitha vikasitham chAru bimbhAdharOshtam
  dukkApAya praNayini janE dhUradattAbhimukhyam I
kaantham vakthram kanaka tilakAlankrutham Rangabirtthu :
  svAnthE gADam mama vilagathi svAgathOdhAra nEthram II

Swami Desikan confessed here that the sweet experience of
of enjoying the beauty of the welcoming eyes , the Kovai
fruit like lips and the meaningful smile of the Lord of 
Srirangam is deeply etched in his heart ( svAnthE gAdam 
mama vilagathi ).

Thirukkudanthai Desikan followed forth and recorded 
that the enjoyment of the beauty of the AparyApthamrutha 
Para Brahmam's mukhAravindham is insatiable and that 
his eyes never say enough even after enjoying 
that incomparable beauty time and again ( dhrushtvA- 
dhrushtvA bhajathi na mE lOchanam trupthi lEsam ). 

Thirukkudanthai starts describing his anubhavam with 
the matchless face( vakthram ) of Lord  SaarngapANi :
"Mugdham vakthram tuhina kiraNa sparddhi laavaNya gEham".
Our AchAryan states that the coolness of the Lord's glances
originating from His face defeats the coolness of 
the rays of the Full Moon . Thirukkudanthai Desikan 
qualifies further the beauty of that face of the Lord 
with two more information points : "LaavaNya gEham and 
Mugdham". He says the Lord's vakthram is the abode
of beauty ( laavaNya gEham ) and that it is most 
delectable (mugdham )to experience .

The samudhAya soundharyam ( integrated beauty ) of 
the face of Lord AarAvamudhan has been celebrated 
extensively by AzhwArs and AchAryAs earlier :

" Soundharyam KudamUkkilE prasiddham ( the beauty of
the Lord is well known at KumbhakONam )".

" kaLai KaNaRRArai urukkum maadhuryam KudamUkkilE
pravahikkum ( That soundharyam of the Lord would melt 
the hearts of BhakthAs as attested by NammAzhwAr
in his first paasuram )".Even AdhisEshan with
his 1,000 tongues can not adequately describe
the soundharyam of his Lord as he gazes from above .

PeriyAzhwAr explained to us that the Lord's beauty
intoxicates the mind of the Ladies (Gopis with the 
faces matching the beauty of the full moon ) :
"madamkoLL madhi muhatthArai maal seyya valla vem
myndhA " . 

NammAzhwAr followed suit and explained his own
experience : " AarAvamudhE adiyEn udalm neerai 
alainthu karaya urukkuhinRa NedumAlE ". 

Such is the beauty of the Lord's face at Thirukkudanthai.

Tirukkudanthai Desikan develops the theme further and 
explains to us the four features of that face of the Lord
which rivetted his attention : (1) KarNa seemAthi langhi 
nayanam (2) KalyAmbhOja Pranayi nayanam (3)anupamam sthitham
Oshta Dhvandhvam and (4) KunthaLam .

In that singularly beautiful face of the Lord are 
housed :

(1) the eyes that extend up to His ears 
(karNa seemAthi langhi ) , which fit with one of 
the SaamudhrikhA lakshaNams of the Lord .

The effect of those eyes extending almost upto His 
ears and adorned by dark , long eye lashes has been 
described by one AzhwAr this way :

" kariyavAhi puDai paranthu miLirnthu sevvariyOdi
neeNDavap periyavAya kaNNkaL " tammai pEthami seythna .   

(2)KalyAmhOja PraNayi nayanam : these welcoming eyes 
(svAgadhOdhAra nEthram ) have a great friendship 
with the just blossoming lotus at aruNOdhayam (dawn ). 
We may wonder why the Lord's eyes express such friendship 
with the just blossoming lotus .It is because the Lotus 
is the flower , which is very dear to His dEvi , 
Sri KomaLavalli ( padhma priyE padmini padma hasthE 
padmAlayE padma daLAyathAkshi ---).At Thirukkudanthai , 
we have the darsana soubhAgyam of the ArchA-mUrthy of 
KomaLavalli as being seated on a huge Lotus flower .

3.anupamam sthitham Oshta dhvandhvam : In that face
of incomparable beauty of the Lord , Thirukkudanthai
Desikan comes across the matchless pair of lips 
(the upper and the lower ) .Swami Desikan decribed 
their beauty at Srirangam as " chAru bimbhAdharOshtam " . 

4.KunthaLam : The curly dark tresses of the Lord's hair 
captivates next the mind of Thirukkudanthai Desikan .
Here , the naamam of Kesavan is being saluted . Kesavan means
the one with the most beautiful hair (kesam ) .NammAzhwAr 
paid His tribute to Sri AarAvamudhan as Kesavan :
yenkEsavan Kudanthaiyenk Kovalan ". 

Thirukkudanthai Desikan conceded that his eyes are 
never satisfied or satiated by the drinking in of
the beauty of the Lord's face , however much they try .
He could not satisfy his thirst for the enjoyment of 
the beauty of the Lord's face .Suvaikka suvaikka thihattAthathu.
That is the nature of the depth of beauty of the Lord's 
Thirumukha Mandalam and fits with the AzhwAr's anubhavam , 
" Taamaraik KaNkaLOdum senkani vAi onRinOdum 
selhinRathen nenjamE ". 

After enjoying with intensity , the avayavams
on the fce of the Lord ,Thirukkudanthai Desikan
lifts up his gaze to the dazzling , bejewelled crown
( divya KirItam ) of Amudhan and describes its
beauty in the next(tenth ) slOkam .

Sri KomaLavalli SamEtha Sri AarAvamudhan ThiruvadigalE SaraNam ,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan