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Sri D.Ramaswamy Iyengar"s Thiruppavai Andhathi

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • February 13, 1997 


Dear Sri Bagirath : It is so wonderful to read 
the Bhagavadh Anubhavam of " Sri D.R.SwamigaL".
It was infact thrilling to experience how he connected
the meaning of the first lines /words of AndAL's Thiruppavai 
 to form a cogent message . His Bahkthi
for AzhwAr's AruliccheyalgaL and Swami Desikan's
Sri Sookthis as well as Lord VaradarAjA of Kanchipuram 
are legendary. He was a great friend /
patron of Oppiliappan Koil Sri Vangipuram Navaneetham 
Srirama DesikAchAr Swamy . I think I must have met
him during his visits to Oppiliappan Koil as a small boy.

I have a copy of Sri D.R.SwamigaL's Nyasa Tilakam 
published in 1980 with its outstanding commentary. 
I will post excerpts from it at a later date to share with 
our members the excellent insights that he shared with us. 
Going thru my library , I also came across Sri D.R.SwamigaL's 
translation and commentaries on Dehaleesa Sthuthi and 
Achyutha sathakam and Nyasa Dasakam . These are treasures 
and are in English for the benefit of all of us . Even transcribing 
the origianl text of NyAsa Dasaakm might be very useful for 
those , who wish to benefit from this magnificient ten verses 
covering the essence of Prapatthi .

To quote Sri D.R. SwamigaL , " NyAsa DasakA is the shortest 
of the above mentioned ( NyAsa DasakA , NyAsa Vimsathi ,
NyAsa Tilakam , SaraNAgathi DeepikA , Abhaya PradhAna Saaram ,
Nikshepa RakshA and Adaikkalappatthu ). As the name itself
indicates , it is a work of ten slokAs about NyAsA ,which is considered 
by several as one of the Brahma VidyAs. The contribution of Vedanta 
Desika is the postulation of NyAsa as a perfect scientific system ,which
can be adopted by one and  all irrespective of caste, creed ,colour or 
proficiency in the relam of Jnana or knowledge . The system thus 
promulgated by  Vedana Desika is not a new one , for it is founded 
on the upanishads , the intutive  experiences of the Alwars 
and the sastraic expositions of  the AcharyAs like Alavandar 
and Bhagavad-Ramanuja . They had all left it to Desika to systematize
and doctrinise prapatthi as a MokshOpAyA , or a direct means of 
attaining MokshA . The earlier AcharyAs had not so categorically 
formulated the theory or practice of Prapatthi .

One can see the several details about Prapatthi , its nature ,
the qualifications , the modus operandi and so on in the several
works of Vedantha DesikA . They are seen stated very briefly and 
crisply in NyAsa DasakA . Evidently , the great AcharyA , whose 
compassion towards humanity knew no bounds , must have given 
to us this NyAsa DasakA of ten slokAs with the idea that every day
we should read or recite these slokAs , imbibe the spirit underlying 
them and enjoy the spiritual exhilaration flowing form a contemplation
of their meaning and significance ". This translation and commentary 
was completed by Sri D.R.SwamigaL in 1965 on Panguni Uttaram day 
made famous by Acharya RamAnujA's saraNAgathi to the Divya Dampathis
at Srirangam celebrated through his SaraNAgathi Gadhyam . 

Beautiful indeed are the translations and commentaries of Sri D.R. SwamigaL
of many other works of Swami Desikan referred to earlier. 
The thoughts of Swami Desikan are profound . Sri D.R.SwamigaL
and Sri Srirama DesikAchAr brought these thoughts out in perfect
pitch in English and Tamil respectively. 

I will conclude this posting with another example of a translation/
commentary of a slokam from Achyutha Satakam (Verse 81 )
by Sri D.R.SwamigaL ::

kohma kim karaNeeyam 
pariharaNeeyamapi kimithi jaanAsi sarvam I
saknoshi cha  taddhitham mama 
tridheswara ! kurushva nija hrudhaya nikshiptham II

(Translation ) : O DevanAthA  ! Who am I ? What has to be done ?
What have to be avoided ? Thou knowest them all ; and Thou hast
the power to do them . Therefore please do that which is calculated
for my welfare and which  Thou hast in Thy mind .

With His scholarship of the Naalayira Divya Prabhandham  
and other Sri VaishNavA literature,
Sri D.R.SwamigaL brings out the Periya ThiruvadAdhi paasuram of 
NammAzhwAr and links it to the thoughts expressed by the section
of JitantE sthothram: 

yadh hitam mama DevEsa ! tadh AgjyApaya Madhava ! "

The NammazhwAr's periya  Thiruvandhadhi Paasuram 
forming the basis for the thoughts of Swami Desikan 
in Achyutha Satakam is   :

IvaianrE nalla ivaianrE theeya
ivaienrivai arivanElum --ivai yellaam 
yennAl adaippu neekoNAthu IraiyavanE
yennAl seyarpAlathEn --- Periya Thiruvandhadhi : Paasuram 3 

(Meaning ) : " I know What all are good and what(are) bad. But , I am 
unable to adopt the former and renounce the latter. My Lord !  
What can I do ? In respect of such one O Lord ! You know best 
what to do , Pray do what is calculated for my ultimate welfare ".

In this context , I am reminded of Swami Desikan"s genius 
in taking the Bhagavadh Anubhavam of NammazhwAr in
Thiruvaimozhi and converting it with his own embellishment 
in to chaste Sanskrit and bringing out that experience for our 
benefit. A case in point is the Nadha Paddhathi 
Slokas of Sri Ranganaatha PaadhukhA Saharam where  
the Naadham associated with the sanchAram of the MaNI
PaadhukhAs are equated by Swami Desikan as being 
identical to  the sound of NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaimozhi .
It is generally conceded that the100 slokAs of Naadha 
Paddhathi of Sri Rangatha PaadhukhA Sahasram 
are the distillation of the essence of the ten decads 
of Thiruvaimozhi of NammaazhwAr. 

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan