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Re: Desika, nyaasa tilakam

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • June 19, 1998 


Dear Sri Mani Varadarajan :

The slokam of interest to you is the 30th
slOkam of Sri Nyaasa Tilakm , which shines as 
the Tilakm on the forehead of Sri RanganathA .

In this prapatthi grantham , Swami Desikan elaborates 
thru 32 slokams , what he covered succinctly
in Nyasasa Dasakam and Nyaasa Vimsathi.

In the 29th slOkam , Swami Desikan declared his 
determination not to approach any other "Gods " ,
while Sri RanganathA was there to protect him .
He said " tvayi sathi --paimitha desa kaala 
paladhAn paladhAkruthikAn Vidhi Siva pramukAn 
katham adhikurmahE ? " He declared his disinterest
this way : While You stay there at Srirangam as 
the embodiment of KaruNA for SaraNAgathAs , why 
would we run after other "god " as Brahmaa ,
SivA etal for their limited blessings ? You are the One ,
who empowers them even those limited blessings
circumscribed by time and desam .Hence , We will 
perfrom SaraNAgathi at Your sacred feet ALONE to gain 
the permanent sukham of Moksham . 

In the 30th slOkam , Swami Desikan comes out with
his request for the boon of Moksham :

Om ithi abhyupagamya Ranga NrupathE 
  ananyOchithAm sEshathAm 
SvAtanthra aadhi mayeem apOhya mahatheem
  aadhyAma vidhyA sthithim I
nithyAsankhya viseema bhUthi guNayO :
  yaayaamanayAsatha : 
sEvA sampadham IndirEsa yuvayO:
  eikAnthi aathyanthikeem II

The salutations  are for the IndirEsan
( the Lord of MahA Lakshmi ) and then to 
the King of Srirangam ( Ranga Nrupathi ) .

Both are saluted as " Nithya asankhya viseema
bhUthi gunayO : YuavayO : " (i-e) the couple 
with the everlasting  and limitless auspiciousness
and benovolent attributes . 

The boons sought from these divya dampathis are :

1 . Boon of everlasting servitude (sEshathvAm 
BASED NITHYA KAIMKARYAM )to the Lord and Periya Piraatti ,
which does not become appropriate for anyone else 
( ananya uchithAm sEshathAm ).It does not 
fit with anyone else .

2. Their granting of the above request 
and acceptance of his saraNAgathi 
( Om ithi abhyupagamya ) with the 
statement : Let that become so !
Swami requests the divya dampathis
to say , let it be so ! Please say that " We are accepting
your BharanyAsam . It is our duty to
protect you " .

3. Removal of the great aj~nAnam of long standing
nature that made Swami Desikan think that 
he is an independent entity before( svAthantrya aadhi
mayeem aadhyAm mahatheem avidhyA sthithim apOhya ) 

4. The exact prayer for the Boon is :" eikAnthika 
aathyanthikeem sEvA sampadham anAyasatha: yayAm " .
I seek the nithya kaimkarya Sri that belongs to 
You both alone , which I wish to gain without
parama prayAsam ( anAyaasatha: ) . Because of Your 
Omnipotence and the apAra KaruNA , I will realize 
effortlessly the boon of nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam
at Sri Vaikuntum to serve You both .This is 
the MahA VisvAsam aspect of the SaraNAgathi .

I am the adiyEn to both of You .I do not belong to
no one else . I have fully understood now this 
dependence on You both as Your sEshan ( sEshathva
JN~Anam ) .The ahankAram (Me) and the mamakAram
( mine) are gone  now and I have broken thru with
Your grace ,the dark cloud that surrounded me for 
the longest of times , which made me think that I am an 
independent entity .There is no limit to your vibhUthis and 
KalyANa guNAs .They shine forth eternally .To such an 
illustrious Divya Dampathis , I long to offer my 
service without let in Your permanent abode of Sri Vaikuntam
effortlessly . May Thou accept my prayer and say " be it so "
and grant me the boon dearest to me as Your sEsha bhUthan .

The 31st slOkma is an elaboration of this prayer
to the divya dampathis and the 32nd and concluding 
slOkam of NyAsa Tilakam is a pala sruthi that states
that those who recite NyAsa Tilakam will be blessed with
Kainkaryam here on Earth at Srirangam and as well as
at Sri Vaikuntam at the end of their mortal lives .

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan        

   


At 04:41 PM 6/18/98 -0700, you wrote:
>
>Dear Members,
>
>Can someone explain the meaning of Sri Vedanta Desika's
>sloka from Nyasa Tilakam starting with "'Om' ity abhyupagamya..."?
>
>Mani
>
>