RE: BaranyAsam

From the Bhakti List Archives

• April 12, 1999


Sri:

Desr Sri Janarthanan,

nyAsam means saraNAgathy or Prapatti. Pra and pat are the roots to make
Prapaatti
(means: To drop down or to take refuge with- to surrender ). Bhara is
Bhaaram - the burden.
BharanyAsam is to surrender one's self and one's bhaaram is to remove your
burden from
your shoulders.Surrendering to the SaraNAgatha vathsalan- Sriya: Pathi
Sriman Narayanan. 
One who had performed prapatti is called prapannan.

Swami Sri Vedantha Desikan has blessed us with many granthams on the
doctrines of NyAsam or
Prapatthi or SaranAgathi. One of the most  sweetest sthuthi on the subject
of nyAsam consisting of
ten verses is nyAsa Dasakam.

Given below is the translation by Sri Sadagopan on nyAsa dasakam (which he
had posted
in the past in bhakti list). Excellence is the word for his translation. It
will answer all your doubts.

Sri NyAsa Dasakam is associated with the Prapatthi that Swami Sri Desikan
performed at the
sacred feet of Kanchi VaradarAjan . The topics covered are : 

(1) The method of performing nyAsam or Bhara SamarpaNam 
(2) the five limbs of nyAsam 
(3) the method of enacting sAthvika thyAgam 
(4) his prayer to the Lord for moksham at the end of his life on His earth 
(5) his prayer for the blessings of service to the Lord during his life on
His earth 
(6) his appeal for the Lord's grace for tolerating any sins committed during
his days as a prapannA . 

aham madhrakshaNabharO madhrakshaNa palam tathA | 
na mama SripathErevEthyAthmAnam nikshipEth bhudha: ||

A viveki ( one with discriminating intellect ) should surrender at the
Lord's feet his AthmA (svarUpa samarpaNam ) , the responsibilities for his
protection ( Bhara samarpaNam ) and the fruits of that protection ( pala
samarpaNam ) . He should perform bhara nyAsam in this manner and understand
that his AthmA ,protection and the fruits of such protection does not belong
to him , but only to Sriman NaarAyaNan. 

nyasyAmakinchana: Sriman anukUlOanyavarjitha: | 
viswasa prArthanApUrvam AthmarakshAbharam thvayi ||

Oh my Master ! Sriman-NaarAyanA ! I surrender at Your lotus feet the total
responsibilities for my protection . I have no other means . I will perform
only the duties that please You ( AnukUlya sankalpam ). I will not
transgress the codes of conduct prescribed by You in Your sAstrAs (
PrAthikUlya varjanam ) . I am totally unfit for pursuit of any paths of
deliverance ; hence I stand before You with utter humility about my
helplessness ( kArpaNyam ) . I have total and enduring faith in Your coming
to my protection ( MahA visvAsam ) and I entrust my protection entirely to
you with this prayerful appeal ( Gopthruva VaraNam ) . Here Swami Sri
Desikan performs prapatthi with its five limbs . 

SwAmI svasEsham svavasam svabharathvEna nirbharam | 
svadhattha svadhiyA svArtham svasmin nyasyathi mAm svayam ||

Srima NaarAyaNan is the supreme Lord of all . As His bonded servant , I am
completely under His control . He blessed me with the knowledge about
Himself out of His own accord. He has accepted me as His responsibility for
protection. He has thus removed all my worries about my protection with that
gift of knowledge. The fruits of my protection belong entirely to Him . He
frees me from any connection to the fruits resulting from His protection out
of His own free will and accepts me . 

In this slOkam , Swami Sri Desikan refers to his performance of Saathvika
thyAgam constituted by its three parts : (1) Karthruva thyAgam (2) mamathA
thyAgam (3) pala thyAgam . 

Sriman abheeshta Varada tvAmasmi saraNam gatha: | 
yEdhaddEhAvasAnE mAm tvadh paadham prApaya svayam ||

Oh my Lord who is always with Your consort ! Oh Master who is hailed as
Varadhan because of Your disposition to grant all the boons that Your
devotees ask for ! I have now performed bhara nyAsam at Your sacred feet .
Please grant me the boon of reaching Sri Vaikuntam at the end of my stay on
this earth and perform nithya kaimkaryam there for You . 

tvacchsEshathvE sthiradhiyam tvath prApthyEka prayOjanam | 
nishiddha kAmyarahitham kuru mAm nithya kinkaram ||

Oh VaradarAjA ! I am a prapannan at Your holy feet. I am firm of thought
about my status as Your servant . That thought will never leave me. My mind
is not seeking any fruits other than the enjoyment of Your limitless
auspicious attributes. Please bless me not to engage in any acts forbidden
by Your sAsthrAs . Please grant me the boon of uninterrupted service to you
, while on Your earth . All of this will not happen without Your dayA .
Please bless me ! 

dEvi bhUshaNa hEthyAdhi jushtasya bhagavamsthava | 
nithyam niraparAdhEshu kaimkaryEshu niyunkshva mAm ||

Oh my Lord ! You are served endearingly by Your beloved consorts. Your
AbharaNams and Ayudhams serve You by association with Your auspicious body .
I am deeply desirous of performing eternal service to You , who is
accompanied by Your dEvis , weapons and AbharaNams . Please therefore bless
me with the duties that are dear to Your heart and accept them . 

mAm madheeyam cha nikilam chEthanAchEthanAthmakam | 
svakaimkaryOpakaraNam Varadha sveekuru svayam ||

Oh Lord VaradarAjA ! Please accept out of the fullness of Your heart, myself
, all that is mine and my kaimkaryam . Please make me an instrument of Your
kaimkaryam and have the services to You done by Yourself through me. In this
effort , please use all that is " mine" ( my wife , my children , my house ,
my garden and all other property ) . I have nothing left to do , nor even
the power to place any thing at Your disposal since they - my Self , my
worldly properties-- are and have been and were already Yours . 

tvadEka rakshyasya mama tvamEva KaruNAkara | 
na pravarthaya pApAni pravrutthAni nivarthaya ||

Oh Lord VaradhA , the ocean of Mercy ! There is no one except You to protect
me. Please grant me the boon not to commit anymore sins . Please also
destroy out of Your limitless compassion all the sins that I have
accumulated so far . 

SlOkam 9 

akruthyAnAm cha karaNam kruthyAnAm varjanam cha mE | 
kshamasva nikhilam dEva PraNathArthihara prabhO ||

Oh VaradarAjA known for destroying the samsAric sufferings of Your dear
devotees! Your power has no limits. You are capable of executing whatever
You desire. I have transgressed the injunctions of Your sAsthrAs; I have
abandoned the karmAs prescribed by You in those sAsthrAs . Please forgive
all of these trespasses of mine and protect me . The power of Your pardon
alone can destroy my sins . 

SrimAn niyatha panchAngam madhrakshaNa bharArpaNam | 
acheekarath svayam svasmin athOhamiha nirbhara : ||

Oh Lord VaradarAjA always in the company of PerundEvi ThAyAr ! YOU have
YOURSELF executed the bhara nyAsam for me at Your sacred feet . You have
completed my prapatthi in its entirety with its five limbs . You have
accepted now the responsibilities for my protection . I am therefore freed
of any worries about my protection and lead my life as a prapannA with peace
and tranquillity . 

kavithArkika simhAya kalyANa guNasAlinE | 
SrimathE VenkatEsAya vEdhAntha guravE nama: ||
    

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Janarthanan Thirunarayanan [SMTP:janarthan@cair.res.in]
> Sent:	Sunday, April 11, 1999 2:02 AM
> To:	bhakti@lists.best.com
> Subject:	BaranyAsam
> 
> My namaskArams to everyone in this list. 
> I have also joined this list to learn about and appreciate Vaishnavism
> better. 
> 	I would like to know about bharanyasam. I request you to help me
> clear
> my mind regarding this.
> 
> Thanking you in advance
> adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan
> Janarthanan. 
>  
> -- 
> ------------------------------------------------
>  JANARTHANAN THIRUNARAYANAN VENKATARAGHAVAN          
>  Scientist, Robotics and Automation Division                           
>  Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems      
>  Raj Bhavan Circle                                   
>  High Grounds                                       
>  Bangalore - 560 001                                
>  INDIA.               Phone no.: 080-2266607.        
> ------------------------------------------------