Sri Ranganatha PaadhukhA Sahasram --Part 11: SanchAra Paddhathi
From the Bhakti List Archives
• February 6, 1997
Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group : We will focus on some of the 60 verses of the SanchAra Paddhathi of Swami Desikan"s RPS in this posting . After describing the times of the day , when the Lord wears His PadhukhAs ( VaithAlika Paddhathi ) followed by the description of the bliss He experiences by union with them in SringAra Paddhathi , Swami Desikan takes up in this Paddhathi the journeys made by the PadhukhAs to assist its Lord in the execution of His duties during His many incarnations. In the first slokam of this Paddhathi , Swami Desikan points out that even SitA Devi wanted to follow the Vritthi ( livelihood ) of the PaadhukhAs because of its sacredness: agarathasthE gamishyAmi mrudganthi kusakantakAn I ithi SeethApi yadh vritthim iyesha praNamAmi thaam II (Meaning and comments ) : O PadhukhE ! In observance of your kaimkaryam to the Lord, you step on the sharp blades of grass and thorns and protect the Lord's feet from them . It appears as though you say that you will go ahead and remove the obstacles that would have been faced by the Lord during His travel in the rough trails of the forest during RamAvathAram . You stepped on the thorns and sharp blades of grass and crushed them and thereby protected the Lord's lotus-soft feet during His wanderings in the forest . I bow to you , whose occupation of protecting the Lord's feet was desired even by SitA Devi Herself. The reference here is to the scene in AyodhyA , when RamA was about to leave for the forest . He pointed out to SitA the dangers of forest life and asked her to stay behind. Our Janaki MaathA , the PathivrathA SironmaNi answered her Lord and said that she will go ahead of her Lord in the forst so that she can spare her Lord's feet from the sharp blades of Kusa grass . She expressed her desire to step on the sharp grass first and thus soften the path of the Lord and spare Him any discomfort. Through this expression of this wish , she wanted to have the customary noble occupation/kaimkaryam of the PadhukhAs. Swami Desikan says here that he salutes the PadhukhAs known for such noble Kaimkaryam , which SitA Devi herself wanted to emulate. I will jump next to the last slokam of this paddhathi before commenting on other slokams of this chapter : sambhavathu paadarakshE ! satyasuparNAdhirowpavahyagaNa : I yAtrAsu Rangabharthu: prathama parsipandha kaaraNam bhavathi II (Meaning ) : O PadhukhE ! When RanganAthA has to use other means of transportation , you transport Him first , where that transporting agent is and get Him started on His journey. For instance , When RanganAthA has to undetake His journey on the shoulders of GarudA known otherwise as Satyan , SuparNan, Taarkshyan and Vihageswaran , He travels on your back to the place , where GarudA is waiting for Him (vahana Mantapam ) eagerly . Therefore , you are intimately involved partly or fully in providing transportation service to your Lord always . We will now take up selected slokas of this paddhathi to illustrate the beauty of construction , the lofty imagination and the deep bhakthi of Swami Desikan for Sri RanganAthA . In the second slokam Swami Desikan celebrates the gathA gathAni or the coming and goings of the PadhukhAs with RanganAthA during the many festivals at the Srirangam temple . The slokam is as follows : sarada: sathamambha ! paadhukhE ! syAm samaya aahutha pitAmahasthuthAni I maNimantapikAsu Rangabharthu: tvadhadheenAni GATHAAGATHAANI pasyan II (Meaning ) : O Mother paadhukhE ! During the time of the temple festivals , BrahmA and the DevAs unite you with RanganAthA's feet to enable Him to travel to the many gem-bedecked sanctums and offer their worships at these sites in the classical manner established by the sacred texts . May I be blessed by you to see these comings and the goings of RanganAthA on your back for ONE HUNDRED YEARS . In the third slokam , Swami points out the mutual dependence of the Lord and His padhukhAs . VedAs and paancha Raatra aagamAs assert that RanganathA and His consort are not controlled by anyone and yet they are " yathokthakAris " as far as their devotees are concerned and respond to their " commands " out of overflowing affection for them . It appears that they are controlled by their devotees . Swami Desikan points out the similarity of the PadhukhAs with the above attribute of the divine couple in this regard. Swami Desikan says : " O PadhukhE ! Lord's movements are controlled by you ; at the same time , your movements are under His control . He decides where He wants to go and you decide on how to get Him there with every comfort . Both of you are not controlled by anyone else. This relationship between both of you endure forever. Each of you is dependent on the other and yet you are independent of every one else. The inner meaning of this slokam is : The blessings of acquiring a SadhAcharya is through the Lord's grace ; The boon of attaining the Lord is however through the blessings of Aacharya KatAksham . Thus there is a unshakable interdependency between the AchAryA (PadhukhAs ) and the Lord . In the ninth slokam , Swami Desikan says : " O PadhukhE ! RanganAthA's ride on you , the elegant steps that He takes with your help , His bodily movements during these occasions are a delight for one's eyes. There is nothing more pleasurable to watch in this world than that divine sight of RanganAthA's movement ( oyyAra nadai ) . Those who are blessed to witness this blissful scene have the additional dividend of the destruction of their accumulated sins. In the fifth slokam , Swami Desikan states tha the PadhukhAs out of its kindness bring the Lord closer to the people , who do not make an effort to come to the temple. Duirng the festival days , the padhukhAs carry the Lord on its back and bring Him to the raja Veedhis of Srirangam for one and all to see Him and receive His blessings. The inner meaning is that the Lord will come to the place of one , who has been blessed by the Acharya Kataksham . In the fifteenth slokam , Swami points out that those , who have been blessed to witness the sanchAram of the Lord of Srirangam on the back of His padhukhAs will not travel the sorrowful road of repeated birhts and deaths ( na puna: bhajanthE samsAra KaanthAra GATHAGATHAANI ) . In the fourty seventh slokam , NigamAntha MahA Desikan states that the PadhukhAs of the Lord (Acharyas ) transport and bring before human eyes the Supreme Lord , who can not be easiy seen through strict observance of celibacy , penance or studies of the VedAs . His vaibhavam is hardly described by the VedAs. We recognize their valiant attempts to describe Him ; their effort is like trying to understand the immensity of the vast ocean by reflecting upon a small amount of water held in one's palms . Swami Desikan says that the PadhukhAs (AcharyAs ) make it easy for us to see HIm and attain His blessings in this human life of ours . In the fiftieth verse , Swami Desikan appeals to the PadhukhAs to bring the Lord to his side during the last moments of his life on earth , when he will be totally helpless . He says that compassionate act of the most merciful PadhukhAs would cut asunder his bonds of SamsAra and free him from additional births and deaths. This moving slokam is as follows : parisaramupayAthA paadhukhE ! pasya maatha : ! karaNa vilaya kedhAth kaanthiseekE vivekE I Purusham upanayanthee PundareekAksham agrE puna: udhara nivAsa klesa vicchedhanam na: II O Mother PadhukhE ! My sense of discrimination (Vivekam ) would have run away with fear at the time of my anthima kaalam due to the enfeebling of my senses ( KaraNa vilaya KhedhAth vivekE kaanthisOkE ) . At that time , please bring the Parama Purushan to my side on your back and cast your merciful glance on me . That lotus eyed Lord ( PundareekAksham Purusham ) is the one who banishes the ills of SamsArA ( repeated cycles of births and deaths ) and give us the boon of moksham . The inner meaning is that the darsanam(Meditation ) of the Lord and Acharya should be in one's anthima smrithi to reach Parama Padham . Sri RanganAtha MaNi PadhukhE ! Thubhyam Nama: Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
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