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Sri RanganAtha PadhukhA Sahsram (RPS ) : part 14.1(Nadha Paddhathi )

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • February 11, 1997 


Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :

In the last slokam (verse 5 )of the previous  posting , we heard 
the KamalA Nupura manju sinjithAnAm  PrathisallabhAm 
( the responses of the anklet  bells of Ranganayaki as She 
rushed forward to meet Her husband as He approached 
the inner chambers with the mellifluent sounds 
raised by His  PaadhukhAs ) . SallAbham is friendly conversation . 
Prathi SallAbham is the resonse to that  conversation . 

Verse 6 

Swami Desikan says here that the MaNi PaadhukhAs of 
the Lord are ecstatic about their lot and as a result seems 
to engage in Sama GhAnam . He says : " O MaNi PaadhukhE ! 
You have received the great bliss through Your attachment to
the lotus feet of Lord RanganAthA . You seem to indicate 
through Your ecstasy  Your great joy. Your NaadhA resembles 
at this time the Sama GHAnam  known as " AhammannAdha" 
section of the Taittiriya Upanishad . AhamannAdha means I enjoy
Brahman . PadhukhA thus seem to declare its supreme 
bliss through the sounds of Sama GhAnam , Aham Annadha : .

Verse 7 

Here Swami Desikan points out that the NaadhA arising from 
the happy PadhukhAs are like an Arishta Saanthi mantram . 
He says : " O PadhukhE ! Having reached the lotus feet of Your
Lord , You are meditating on them . The NaadhA arising from 
Your movements during these occsions appear like the rare 
incantations (MantrAs ) aimed at the destruction of Your listeners'
sorrows  " .

Verse 8

Here Swami Desikan states that the svarupa VisEsham of 
the Lord could not be desacribed adequately by the VedAs
and yet those attributes are well described by the Naadham 
associated with the PaadhukhAs (NammAzhwAr"s Thiruvaimozhi ).

He says : " O MaNi padhukhE ! VedAs are unable to describe the divine 
qualities of the Lotus feet of Your Lord . The glories of the Paadha Kamalam 
are so profound and beyond description that the VedAs fail in their  
attempts to characterize them as of this kind or that kind. Where the VedAs
have failed , it appears that You are successful in defining  the auspicious 
qualities of the Lord"s Aravindha CharaNam  through the  sweet sounds
emanating from You ( Thiruvaimozhi ) ". 

Verse 9 : 

Here Swami Desikan describes the experience of the Rishis
who have practised YogA . He says : " O MaNi PaadhukhE ! 
with single-minded concentration , Yogis meditate on You 
and You alone ; thereafter , they  hear Your NaadhA , which is 
equivalent to OmkAram (OmkAra Tulyam ) . " 

Swami Desikan points out that the Yogis reflect on the PraNavA 
sound , since it is associated with the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs, 
which in turn is in a state of union with the Lord's sacred feet . 
When they hear the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs through such meditations , 
they know that the PaadhukhAs and the Lord are near by . Thus the reflection 
on the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs , the equivalent of PraNavam , 
brings the Yogis close to the Lord ( Bhagavadh Saameepyam ) .

Verse 10 .

Madhuram MaNi PaadhukhE ! pravrutthE 
bhavathi rangapathErvihAra kaalE I
abhayArthanayA samabhupethAn
avisamvAdhayatheeva manjunAdhai : II

(meaning ) : O RanganAthA's bejewelled PaadhukhE !
When You travel with Your Lord , You seem to indicate 
through Your NaadhA Your consent to protect those , who 
approach You closely and seek Your refuge. You assure 
them freedom from any fear through your sweet sounds .

When the Lord travels on the main streets of Srirangam on the 
back of the PaadhukhAs , the devotees of the Lord beg Him to
grant them desired boons . At that time , your Naadham seems 
to tell them that you agree to grant them thier desired wishes. 
You seem to say , "So Be It ". 

Sri RanganAtha MaNI PaadhukhE ! Thubhyam NamO nama:
Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam 
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan