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Second (dvitIya) jitanta stotram (1-4)

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M.N.Ramanuja • February 14, 2003 


Dear Bhagavatas,

We may continue with the second Jitantastotram, which seems to have 
inspired as a guide and model many of our purvacharyas in composing  their 
stotrams  and stavams. Adiyen has given brief meanings and indicated the 
location of some of its echos in some acharyakritis. This has 40 slokas in 
all and we hope to cover it in about 8 postings.

Sri: SrImate  RAmAnujAya Nama: 

DvitIyajitantA stotram  (1-4)

**jitante pundarIkAkSha pUrNaShAdguNya vigraha / 
**parAnanda parabrahman namaste paramAtmane // 1 // 

Meaning::-- --jitante-- You have conquered (our souls). --pundarIkAkSha-- 
Oh lotus-eyed. --pUrNa ShADguNya vigraha-- Your person is made up of the 
entire set of Six qualities. --parAnanda-- Your bliss is beyond 
measurement. --parabrahman-- Oh supercosmic entity. --namas te-- 
Prostrations to You.  --paramatmane-- to the supersoul. 

Notes:: As before, the lord is addressed as pundarIkAkSha, the lotus eyed 
one for which He is called 'kannan' by means of which He captivates all 
souls. Unlike sankarshana, pradyumna and aniruddha, in whom  only pairs of 
qualities that make up a bhagavan dominate, vasudeva is replete with all 
the six qualities that entitle him to be called bhagavan. 

*jnAnam balam vipulam Ishana vIrya shakti tejAmsi cha triyuga 
bhUyamupAgatAni ; pUrNAni ShaT cha parigruhya bhavamschaturdhA - bhaktam 
janam tvam anujagrahiThAnurAgAt ;* This sloka of KurattAlvan from 
AtimAnuShastava tells that God divided Himself into four persons,  in whom 
knowledge and power, governance and valour, energy and effulgence and all 
these six gunas respectively are predominant, for the sake of devotees in 
the various worlds. Sri Parasara bhattar graced in Uttara satakam of Sri 
Rangarajastavam (39) that Lord Rangaraja incarnated in the four vyuhas or 
shells with four forms respectively. Of them, one who is replete  with the 
six gunas is enjoyed by the muktas as ParavAsudeva; with the domination of 
gunas of knowledge accompanied by power, in SankarshaNa, He destroys the 
creation and produces  the scriptures; with governance and valour 
qualities dominating in Pradyumna, He carries out creation and establishes 
dharma; and with the pair, energy and effulgence dominating in Aniruddha, 
He protects the creation and preaches  philosophy. 

His bliss is unmeasurable and infinite. In order to get a taste of the 
immensity of His bliss, the vedas started by quantifying step by step the 
bliss enjoyed by an ideal orthodox man, the manushya gandharvas, 
devagandharvas, the pitrus, the gods by birth and the gods by deeds, the 
gods, Indra, Brihaspati, Prajapati as one hundred times more in each step 
and ultimately imagined the bliss of the lord. Then veda said '' yato 
vAcho nivartante aprApya manasA saha. Anandam brahmaNo vidvan na bibheti 
kutascha neti ", being unable to precisely define the quantity of  Ananda, 
which is one of the ananta kalyana gunas of the lord. Thus, he is 
parAnanda, having superbliss. 


**namaste pItavasana nama: kaTakadhAriNe / 
**namo nIlAlakAbaddhaveNIsundaravigraha // 2 //

Meaning::-- --namaste-- prostrations to You. --pItavasana-- wearing yellow 
robes. --nama: kaTakadhAriNe-- bowing to You decked with the thick wrist 
ring. --namo  nIlAlakAbaddha veNI sundaravigraha-- bowing to You with 
enthralling beauty enriched by the bluish curly hairs matted into a long 
plait.

Notes::-- The personal attributes of the lord like, physical beauty, 
dress, ornaments eulogised here have caught the imagination and inspired 
many a purvacharyas as explicite in their works. Sri Alavandar in 
Stotraratnam has repeatedly mentioned about the curly hairs in slokas 33, 
34 and 35 of Stotraratnam, *shlathAlakAbandha vimarda shamsibhi:*, 
*kundalAlakAvaLI bandhura kambukandharam* , *lalATaparyanta 
vilambitAlakam*. Swamy Ramanujar in SrivaikunThagadyam exclaimed about the 
ornaments and other effects in *hAra keyura kaTaka srivatsa kaustubha 
muktAdamodarabandhana pItAmbara ..* , *atyujjvala pItavAsasam*, 
*lalATaphalaka divyAlakAvalI virAjitam*, *kundalAlakAvalI bandhura 
kambukandharam*, *karNabhUShaNa shlathAlakAbandha vimarda shamsibhi:* 
where the word "alakA" denotes the curly hairs dangling on the forehead 
and the sides. This sloka and the subsequent slokas have launched many 
many echos in our purvacharya kritis. In particular, this entire second 
Jitanta stotram has been a model for many great religious poets in 
sanskrit and tamil, to compose their prayers. 

**sphuradvalayakeyUra nUpurAngadabhUShaNAY: /
**shobhanAYrbhUShitAkAra kalyANaguNarAshaye // 3 // 

Meaning::-- --sphurat valaya keyUra nupura angada bhUShaNai:-- by the 
scintillating and dazzling ornaments like bangles, armlets, anklets and 
forearm rings. --shobhanai:-- which are auspicious and beautifying. 
--bhUShitAkAra kalyANa guNa rAshaye-- Your person is bedecked  and You are 
a treasure house of  auspicious benevolent qualities.  

**karuNApUrNahrudaya shankhachakragadAdhara / 
**amrutAnandapUrNAbhyAM lochanAbhyAM vilokaya //4// 

Meaning::-- --karuNA pUrNa hrudaya-- Oh lord whose heart is overflowing 
with mercy. shankha chakra gadAdhara-- bearing the conch, the discus and 
the mace. --vilokaya-- cast a glance at (me). lochanAbhyAm-- with both the 
eyes. --amrutAnanda pUrNAbhyAm-- which are inundated with nectar and 
bliss. 

Notes::  The Lord's heart is filled with mercy when He looks at the jIva  
immersed in sorrow *jIve du:khAkule viShNo: krupA kApi upajAyate*. When 
jIvas are locked helplessly in an endless cycle of samsAra, God melts with 
sympathy and provides them with sense organs and executive organs and 
scriptures as lamps to find exit from the samsara. But it is another 
matter that they misuse them for personal ends and continue to be stuck in 
the quagmire of samsara.
Why does god always carry all weapons as if always on a warfooting? Sri 
Parasara bhattar has an answer in *pAtu praNata rakShAyAm vilambam 
asahanniva; sadA panchAyudhIm bibhrat sa na: sri ranga nAyaka:* He never 
brooks delay in protecting His devotees and so always carrys the weapons 
on hand to avoid searching for them when necessary. 
Why should god look at me? Alavandar, Swamy Ramanujar and Kurattalvan 
among others have pleaded with the lord to cast merciful nectarine 
blissful glances at them in no uncertain terms. It is said that *jAyamAnam 
hi puruSham yam pashyet madhusudana: ; vaishnavassa tu vijneya: sa vai 
mokShArtha chintaka: * that person whom Madhusudana glances at the time of 
being born, is identified as a vaishnava and he alone will contemplate on 
moksha as purushartha. Obviously I was not seen by the lord when being 
born; hence atleast now look at me so that I may become a vaishnava. In 
Stotraratnam *aviveka ghanAndha dinkmukhe bahudhA santata du:kha varShiNi; 
bhagavan bhava durdine patha:skhalitam mAm avalokayA achyuta*. In 
Gadyatrayam *Atmabhogena anusamhita parAdikAla divyAmalakomalAvalokanena 
vishvam AhlAdayantam*, *tato bhagavatA svayameva AtmasamjIvanena 
avalokanena avalokya sasmitam AhUya ..dhyAtvA..*. Sri Kurattalvan graced 
with almost the same words as in this Jitanta slokam in Panchastavam as 
*praschotat premasArAmrutarasa ... vanagirinilayo vIkShatAm IkShaNAbhyAm* 
(sundarabAhustava - 44) *yannAbhavAma bhavadIya kaTAkShalakSham...* since 
we had not become the target of Your kaTAksham we are still wandering in 
this grand canyon of samsara. In varadarajastava (99) *imam janam hanta 
kadAbhishekshyate tvadakShi nadyor varada shramApahA .. ..vIkShaNa 
vIchisantati:* when will this person be rained down by a refreshing series 
of glances from the river of Your eyes, coming like waves, oh varada. 
*dAsastaveti varadAsmi tavekShaNIya:* I am to be looked at as Your servant 
through the Guruparampara sambandham.        

contd....

Adiyen
Ramanuja dasan



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