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RANGASWAMY • April 11, 1997 


			 Garuda Dandakam Continued

Nama Idha Mahajat Saparyaaya Paryaaya Niryaata Pakshaanilaasppalanodhvela
Pathoti Veechi chapetaahataagaadha paatala Bhankara sankrutta nagendra 
peedasrunee bhava bhasvannakasrenaye chandatundaya nrtyat bhujanga bhruve 
vajriNe dhamshtrayaatubyam Adhyaatmavidyaa vidheyaa vidheyaa bhavat 
dhasyamaapaadhayetadhayetaasccha meh I

O Garuda Bhagavan! Great scholars offer their constant eulogy to you.
During flight, your wings generate mighty winds  that stir up  
all the oceans and make them overflow their boundaries.  
The waves that rise and fall from those powerful winds reach down to the 
netherworld (Patala) and the effect is like  a violent blow given by the palm 
of one's hand. A fearsome sound heard as "Bham" (closest description of 
Bhankara) resonates around the world at that time. The powerful elephants
guarding the quarters (Ashta Dik PAlakas) are shaken up by this thunderous 
sound of "Bham" and run to attack you,  the generator of that  sound. Your
sharp nails acting as the elephant goad attack those angry elephants of the 
quarters and easily rout them. Your mighty beak instills fear in the minds of 
your enemies. The squinting of your brows looks like the movement of the hood 
of a cobra. Your cannines resemble Indra's Vajra and strikes terror in the 
hearts of your enemies.   

I salute you of such unbounded glory! I seek your blessings so that Brahma
Vidyas are readily possessed  by me! Please bless me  out of your infinite
compassion so that I can have the good fortune to offer kainkaryam to you .

Manuranugata Pakshivaktra spurattharakas taavakaschitrabhanupriyaa
sekharastthrayathaam nastrivargaapavarga prasuthi: paravyoma dhaman
valadweshidharpjjvalat vaalakilya Pratigynaavatheerna sthiraam tatvabuddhim
paraam bhaktidhenum jaganmoolakandhe Mukundhe 
mahaanandadhogdhreem dhatitaa mudaakaamaheenamaheenaanthaka II

O Garuda Bhagavan residing permanently in Sri Vaikuntam! (Here the reference 
is to the Vishnu Sooktam Salutation: Tad VishNoh Paramam Padam..)
Recitation of your mantram confers the four fold PurushArthas (Dharma,
Artha, Kama, Moksha). Your Mantram consisting of 5 syllables, begins with 
Pranavam as its first syllable and ends with the syllable associated with the 
wife of Agni. May the mantram of that structure protect us! (Srimans 
Rengarajan and Sadagopan are extremely knowledgable in the Prayogam of this 
Mantram. I request them to post their insights from their AtmArtha Anubhavam 
of Pakshi Rajan).

Once, Indra became extremely arrogant over
his powers and insulted the sages with the name of Valakilyas. The sages  got
angry and cursed Indra that Indra's arrogance be destroyed by an
incarnation of Sankarshana (Garuda) at a future time. You were born as a result 
of the Valakilyas' curse that the mighty arrogance of Indra be destroyed by
you and you fulfilled their vow. You serve as Yama for mighty serpents that 
challenged  you. Please bless me  with the intellect to distinguish between 
true (superior) and false (inferior) knowledge.

Your Lord is the fundamental and principal cause of all the universes. 
(Observe the connection here with the Narayana Upanishad Salutation: 
NarayaNe PravartantE I NarayaNe Praleeyante II) Please bless me to have the 
cow representing the limitless devotion to your Lord, so that It can yield 
for me its delectable milk. (The genius of Swami Desikan is evident here 
for in a short salutation he brilliantly captures the essence of two 
beautiful Shlokas, i.e., one from the Dhyana Shlokam of the Bhagavad Gita: 
ParthO Vatsa Sudhir Bhokta Dughdam Geetamrutamahat and another from Sri 
Bhashyakara's Ranganatha Gadyam: Asrita Vatsalyaika Mahodadhe)

May that  devotion of mine be free from the distractions of the 
insignificant and evanescent pleasures of life. (This salutation can be 
viewed in the context of the Rahasya Traya Sara message, where Swami Desikan 
dwells at length on the significance of the Ashtakshara Mantram in terms of 
Tatva Hita and PurushArtha) I beseech you to confer on  me the boon of 
possessing such  a superior devotion to your Lord and True Knowledge about Him!

Shuttrhimshatganacharanoh Nara paripaati naveena Ghumbhagana: I
Vishnurathadhandakoyam Vikatayathu vipaksha Vahini Vyuham II

Recitation of this Garuda Dhandakam, destroys the formations of the enemies, 
who have assembled to do battle with us and scatter them to the winds.

Vichitra siddhidada: Soyam Venkatesa Vipascchitaa I
Garudadhwajathoshaaya Ghito Garudadhandaka: II

This Garuda Dhandakam was composed and sung by the Vidwan known as
Venkatesa to please the Lord, who has Garuda on his flagstaff.  The recitation
of this Garuda Dhandakam will confer on the recantor multifold blessings and
fulfill their heartfelt wishes of every kind (Chintita Manoratha PrApti).

Kavithaarkikasimhaaya  Kalyanagunasaalineh I
Srimathe Venkatesaaya Vedanthaguraveh nama: II

Pakshi Rajan Tiruvadigale SharaNam,

Muralidhar Rangaswamy