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Sri NaarayaNIyam : the 99th and the 100th Dasakams

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • June 15, 1999 


Some four hundred years ago, a great BhakthA from KeraLA
by the name of Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri composed
a grantham , which is the essence of Srimadh BhAgavatham .
He placed it at the lotus feet of the Lord of GuruvAyUr 
and received the Lord's poorna Sampath .

Srimadh Bhaagavatham or the Holy Book of Bhagavaan houses
3,946 slOkams in Twelve cantos. Sri Bhattadhiri used little 
more than 1,000 verses to condense the essence of Srimadh
BhAgavatham in his grantham ; after his recitation of each slOkam 
in front of the Lord of GuruvAyUr, the Lord nodded His head to indicate 
His approval of the incidents described by His BhakthA in that
slOkam as authentic. The Lord provided AngIkAram to the query of 
Bhattadhiri : " Is that how it happened ? " .He nodded 
thru the movement of His head and indicated it was 
a correct description .This Bhaktha -Bhagavath sambhAshaNai 
is the heart of Sri NaarAyaNIyam .

These 1,000 plus slOkams sanctified by the Lord Himself form 
a great khAvyam on Sri KrishNa Bhakthi contain gems dealing with
the Tattva Thrayam .The most important among the 100 dasakams
of Sri NaarayaNIyam are the last two (99th and the 100th ) 
dasakams (decads). They are related to the 12th canto of 
Srimadh BhAgavatham ,whose theme is the apAsrayam 
(ultimate support )aspect of Sri KrishNA .The 99th Dasakam 
is Veda Saaram and the 100th Dasakam houses the ecstatic 
description of the athi-adhbhutha soundharyam of Sri KrishNan
( GuruvAyUrappan ) as Sri VaikuntanAthan as seen
by Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri inside the garbha graham of 
the Lord of GuruvAyUr . 

The final slOkam of the 100th decad (the 1034th sLokam )
contains the aparAdha KshAmaNam of this KrishNa bhakthan
for any apachArams to the Lord and includes a prayer for 
all devotees reciting Sri NaarAyaNIyam to be blessed
with long life , auspiciousness and perfect health. 
Sri GuruvAyurappan is known as Kaliyuga Varadhan 
and performs miracles every day at GuruvAyUr. 
Sri GuruvAyUrappan has Sriman NaarAyaNa LakshaNam 
in His archA form with His four hands adorning 
the divine disc , conch, a Lotus flower and the Mace.

AdiyEn will summarize the meanings of these 20 slOkams
of the last two decads and comment on them .These are 
the two most auspicious decads and their PaarAyaNam
will confer great blessings leading to ceaseless 
rememberance of the Lord , wherever we happen to be
in His LeelA Vibhuthi .

99th Dasakam : Asking for the boon of Residence in Sri Vaikuntam
*****************************************************************

The First slOkam is the essence ofthe following Rg Veda 
manthrams ( excerpts from the First ashtakam , second adhyAyam , 
24th vargam : Rg Vedam I.154.1 ,4 and 5 )quoted below .
We recognize them as part of the VishNu Sooktha manthrams:

VishNOrnukam veeryANi pravOcham ya: paarthivAni vimamErajAmsi 
yO askabhAyadhuttharam sadhastham vichakramANas trEdhOrugAya:
--Rg Vedam I.154.1

(Meaning ): Intensely I eulogize the mighty deeds of 
the all-pervading Lord , who has created the terrestrial 
bodies , who is lauded earnestly and who upholds the vast
cosmos , distinguished by its three kinds of movement as Agni 
on the earth, Vaayu in the midspace and AdithyA in the sky.

Yasya thripUrNA madhunA padAnyakshIyamANA svadhayA madhanthi
ya u thridhAthu prithvim utha dhyAmEkO dhAdhAra bhuvanAni VisvA
--Rg Vedam : I.154.4

(Meaning ): I glorify the One in whose "imperishable ,
delightful and self-ordained three regions " thrives and 
rejoices the World , and who singly upholds the terrestrial
and the celestial regions  with its three fold elements.

tadhasya priyamapi paathO asyAm narO yathra dEvayavO madhanthi
urukramasya sa hi bandhur itthA VishNO: padhE paramE madhva utsa:
--Rg Vedam I.154.5 

(meaning ): May I be blessed to reside in that enviable
position of His (Sri Vaikuntam ) , where the Godly and virtuous
mukthAs find  delight . In that exalted station of this
all-pervading Lord (VishNu , the sarva vyApi ), there is a 
eternal fountain of felicity and our Lord stays there 
forever as a friend of the earnestly active . This parama padham 
is the highest step of the wide-striding VishNu as Thrivikraman.

Now we can relate these Veda Manthrams to the first slOkam
of the 99th Dasakam , where Sri Bhattadhiri prays for the boon
of Sri Vaikunta Vaasam from the Lord of GuruvAyUr:

VishNOrveeryANi kO vaa kathayathu dharaNE kasccha rENUnmimIthE
yasyavAngri thrayENa thrijaghadhabhimitham mOdhathE poorNa sampath
yOsou visvAni dhatthE priyamiha paramam dhAma tasyAbhiyAyaam
tadhbhakthA yathra mAdhyanthyamrutha rasamarandhathya yathra pravAha:

(Meaning reflecting the essence of the above Rg Veda manthrams):

Oh GuruvAyUrappA ! Who indeed can adequately describe 
the valor and glories of VishNu , whose three steps 
measured the three universes and made them filled with 
the greatest wealth and auspiciousness and who upholds 
the celestial and terrestrial and the in-between regions 
through His parAkramam ?Who can indeed count the number
of dust particles of the Universe accurately ? Such indeed
is the futility of the effort to describe adequately 
the full dimensions of the paraakramam of Yours .
Further , May I be blessed by You to attain Your 
Sri Vaikunta Lokam even in this birth , where Your 
dear devotees reside and where the eternal fountain 
flows with the honey of amrutham .

Sri GuruvAyurappan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan