Search:
Bhakti List Archives

" Naama KusumamulachE" Krithi in Majestic SrI Raagam : ThiruvahIndhrapuram RathnAngi kaimkaryam Postings: Part 47

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • April 16, 2003 


Rameshr@aol.com SrI:

Dear BhakthAs of  SrI Raamachandra! 

Today , we will enjoy the moving krithi of Saint 
ThyagarAjA on Raama Paadha Sevanaa Bhakti , which is 
one of the nine kinds of Bahkthi (nava vidha Bhakthis)
saluted by Bhaktha prahladha : (1) Sravanam (2) Keerthanam 
(3) Smaranam (4)PaadhasEvanam (5)Archanam (6)Vandhanam 
(7)Sakhyam (8)DhAsyam and (9)Aathma NivEdhanam .

One may wonder whether this krithi should be classified under
Archanam or Paadha Sevanam mode of Bhakthi. Professor Sambamoorthy
has classified this krithi under Paadha Sevanam . others have
grouped this krithi under Archana mode , which can be 
KaayikA ( with the limbs )or MaanasIka (with the mind).

Lord Raamachandra was Jagath PraTama MangaLam for 
ThyagarAja  SwamigaL . His mood and penchant for 
worshipping Raamabhadran alone is echoed by 
a SrI Venkatesa SthOthra SlOkam , where the poet
sees Lord VenkatEsa as SrI Raamachandran 
( SrI VenkatarAghavan):

Sumukham Suhrudham Sulabham Sukhadam
  svanujam cha sukAyam amOgasAram
apahAya RaghUdhvaham anyamaham
  na Katanchana kanchana jAthu bhajE

(Meaning): At no time and in no way , adiyEn will 
worship any one except Raama, the elevator of the vamsam
of King Raghu. This Lord of mine has an enchanting face ,
a compassionate heart for His devotees, easily attainable 
by one and all and has celebrated brothers . He has
dhivya gAthram ( most beautiful/divine body)and His
arrows never fail.

SwamigaL worshipped His dearest Raaman through Kaayika and 
MaanasIka Pooja . He built a navarathna maNi MaNTapam
in his house for Raaman and Family and celebrated
9 days of SrI Raama Navami uthsavam every year
and worshipped his Lord with freshly  blossomed 
flowers and TuLasi leaves.

There were times , when SwamigaL engaged in MaanasIka
Pooja , which he describes in ReethigouLa Krithi:
"ParipAlaya ParipAlaya ParipAlaya RaghunATA "
with 12 charaNams. The meaning of this Maanasa
Pooja or Bhaava PoojA krithi has been summarized by
Dr.Raghavan this way:

" My body is Your favorite abode (pooja graham) ;
my steadfast mind , Your golden throne ; my meditation
of Your beautiful feet is the GangA water; my  attachment
is Your beautiful dress; my praise of Your glory  is
the sandal fragrance ; my rememberance and recital 
of Your name is the full blown lotus for You ;the fruits of
all my past misdeeds is the incense to be burnt before You;
my devotion to Your feet is the all-day lamp to You 
(nandhA ViLakku); the very fruit of this kind of 
superior worship that I do is the food-offering to You;
the lasting bliss that I derive is the paan (TaambhUlam) 
for You; my  darsanam of You is the waving of the dheepam
before You."

Such is the depth of SwamigaL's MaansIka Archana. 
He has offered his 8 aathma GuNAs as flowers at
the sacred feet of Raamachandran . He has offered 
Mallikai, Jaathi, Sambhangi and Lotus flowers in
a Kaayika sense at the redeeming feet of His Master,
Lord RaghunAthan. SwamigaL was a garbha BhAgavathA 
like PrahlAdhA and has been immersed in the archanam 
and Paadha sEvanam of the Lord from conception onward 
until his dEha vyOham. 

The Naama Kusumamulache krithi is a gem of a MaanasIka 
AarAdhana Krithi of RamachandrA's Paadham .It can also 
be considered as a Maanasa sambhOdhana Krithi , where SwamigaL
addresses his mind and offers counsel.He points out to
the mind that sreshta (superior) nara janmam (life as
a human being) is the one , where the human being
spends his life in worshipping the Lord with flower
offerings accompanied by the recitation of some of His
thousand names :

AbhirAma-GuNAkara DaasaraTE 
 JagadhEka Dhanurdhara ! dheeramathE !
TagunAyaka ! Raama! ramesa ! VibhO!
 varadhO Bhava dEva! DyAjaladhE!    

How tall that  flower offering should be is indicated by
another slOkam heard on the top of the Seven Hills:

aanUpurArpitha sujAta sugandhi pushpa
saurabhya saurabha-saurabha-karau sama-sannivEsaou
Soumyou sadAnubhavanEapi navAnubhAvyou
SrI VenkatEsa Charanou SaraNam prapadhyE
--SrI venkatesa Prapatthi: SlOkam 3 

(meaning) :  adiyEn  seeks refuge at Lord VenkatEsA's
sacred feet , which add fragrance to the scent of the sweet 
smelling flowers offered resting  upto the handsome anklets ,
which are well placed from the ashtOtthara and sahasra 
nAmArchanais of the day . This sevai of the Lord's Thiruvadi 
decorated with the heap of flowers upto His anklets 
is the most  enjoyable that looks newer and newer
as one enjoys that sevai. 

adiyEn will continue with the salutations
to the SrI Raaga Krithi of ThyagarAja SwamigaL
that instructs on the mahimai of Naama KusumAnjali 
at Lord Raamachandran's sacred feet.

SrI DevanAtha parabrahmaNE Nama:
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri sadagOpan 
 
     




--------------------------------------------------------------
           - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
To Post a message, send it to:   bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com
Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list
Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/
 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/