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Mahaa SamprOkshaNam at Sri RanganAthA Temple: Lord RanganAthA 's sannidhi ( The Eighth of 8 Sannidhis: Sannidhi under PraNavAkAra VimAnam ): Final Posting in this series.

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • May 21, 2001 


Dear BhakthAs: This is the week of MahA SamprOkshaNam that
we have been waiting  for the past 14 years. Please attend
if possible this grand event planned with great care and 
attention-to-details by a host of devotees , who have dedicated
innumerable hours to realize this Kaimkaryam for 
the Dhivya dampathis.

In this final posting , adiyEn will pay my tribute to 
Lord RanganAthA . adiyEn will summarize here the large amount of 
literature in the archives of the e-lists and select a few
key slOkams from our PoorvAchAryA's sthuthis.

Pomona Sesha Peetam at the bank of Hudson River
************************************************
Lord RanganAthA  rests under the PraNAvAkruthi VimAnam  
on the banks of Cauvery river at Srirangam . The sacred 
vimAnam rests on the foundation of Sesha Peetam. VibhishaNan
placed the Sriranga VimAnam on top of the Sesha Peetam ,
when Lord ranganAthA decided to stay in the beautiful
island formed by the river Cauvery . Here at Pomona , NY
the Lord rests on another Sesha peetam constructed by His
devotees on the bank of river Hudson . Let us reflect on
the Sacred Sesha Peetam described by Swamy Desikan in His 
Hamsa SandhEsa Kaavyam, which is set in RaamA's words :

theerE tasyA virachitha padham Saadhubhi: sEvyamAnam
  SraddhA-yOgAth vinimitha tanu: Seshapeetam BhajETA:
Yasmin asmath KuladhanatayA Soumya SaakEtabhAja:
  sTAnam bhavyam munibirudhitham SRIMATHO RANGADHAAMNA:

(Meaning): Oh Beautiful Swan! You will see on the banks of 
Chandra PushkaraNI at Srirangam the Sesha Peetam worshipped
by the pious devotees and SadAchAryAs with great faith (SraddhA).
May You bend your body and offer your worship! It is about
this Sesha Peetam that Maharishis predicted that it will 
form the foundation for Sriranga VimAnam of Lord RanganAthA ,
who is our paramparai (kula) dhaivam worshipped 
now at AyOdhyA.

May we offer our own salutation to the Lord of Sri Rangam 
resting on His new Sesha Peetam at Pomona!

Summary of Literature about Sri RanganAtha Sthuthis:
*****************************************************
1.AchArya RaamAnujA's three Gadhyams 

2.Parasara Bhattar's Sri Rangaraaja Sthavam.

One slOkam from here is imporatant for understanding
our total dependence on the Adhi Dhaivam , Sri RanganAthan:

tava bharahamArishi dhArmika:
SaraNamithyapi vaachamudhairiram
ithi sassaakshikayannidhamdhya 
maam kuru Bharam tava Rangadhurandhara 
--SlOkam 2.102 , Sri Rangaraja Sthavam

(meaning): Oh RanganAthA! adiyEn has been made
your responsibility by my dhaarmic AchAryAs. adiyEn has 
also uttered the word Saranam . You must keep these
two factors in mind and make me Your object of protection .

(3) Sri NyAsa Tilakam : Swamy Desikan performed SaraNAgathi
to Sri RanganAthan and explained what Sri RanganAthan,
resting on His bed of Adhi Seshan , does for the Prapannan,
who has sought His refuge:

iha amuthra aphi yEsha praNatha-Jana-chinthAmaNi-giri:
svaparyankE SEVAAM DISATHI PaNiparyanka-rasika:
--32nd slOkam passage of Sri NyAsa Tilakam

(Meaning): Both here in His Leela VibhUthi and in
the other world of Nithya VibhUthi, This Lord of
Srirangam finding pleasure in His Sesha Sayanam ,
remains as the boon granting hill for those who performed 
SaraNAgathi to Him and blesses them with Kaimkarya Sri.

(4) Sri Bhagavath DhyAna SOpAnam of Swamy Desikan:

In this exquisite sthuthi filled with devotion
for Sri RanganAthA modelled after the ilustrious
AmalanAdhipirAn of ThiruppANar , Swamy Desikan's
devotiona for Lord RanganAthA shines forth.In the first 
slOkam , Swamy slautes that great splendour(JyOthi) ,
who is the protector of all those without protection:

antharjyOthi: kimapi YaminAm anj~anam yOgadhrushtE:
  ChinthArathnam Sulabham iha na: siddhi-mOkshAnuroopam
dhInAnAnaaTa vysana-samanam dhaivatham dhaivAthAnAm
  dhivyam chakshu: SruthiparishadhAm dhrusyathE RangamadhyE

(meaning): There  rests at the center of Srirangam a great
object of indescribable luminosity. That object shines in
the heart lotuses of Yogis; it is like coleryum to Jna~nakkaNN;
it is easily approachable on this earth; it grants us the boons of 
pleasure in this world and Moksham in the other world;in this
aspect , it is  like a boon-granting ChinthAmaNi gem ;  
it destroys all sufferings; it is like the divine eye for
the assembly of VedAs; it is the God of all Gods; That 
glorious object ( of our worship) is seen at the center of
Srirangam on the bed of AdhisEshan.

(5) Sri Abheethi Sthavam of Swamy Desikan:

Here , Swamy Desikan salutes " Sakruth praNatha rakshaNa
praTitha samvidha: samvidhan" and asks for the boon of 
the appearance of the many forms of that Sri RanganAthan ,
who has promised in front of the world that He will come
to the rescue of any one , who has sought His protection
even once. 

His prayer (7th SlOkam ) is a moving prayer to the Lord of
Srirangam:

RamA-Dhayitha RanghabhUramaNa KrishNa VishNO HarE
  Thrivikrama JanArdhana Thriyuga NaaTa NaarAyaNa 
ithIva subhadhAni ya: padathi naamadhEyAni tE
  na tasya yamavasyathA Narakapaatha bheethi: Kutha:?

Addressing the Lord of Srirangam with delectable
Naamams , Swamy Desikan points out that any one reciting
the thousand names of the Lord of Srirangam will have
no fear of falling in Narakam and coming under the power
of Yama dharman. 

(6) adiyEn had the bhAgyam of capturing the many tributes
to Lord RanganAthA from Vedam, Upanishads, PurANams, 
Dhivya prabhandhams,NaadhOpAsaka's Krithis and, PoorvAchArya 
Sthuthis in a series of twenty articles during the time frame of
March 29 to May 2, 1998 as a part of the 18 brick Kaimkaryam 
fund raising for  the Pomona Temple , NY . All of these articles
are housed in Bhakthi List archives. adiyEn refers Sri RanganAtha
BhakthAs to those archived postings for details on the anubhavam of 
the AzhwArs and PoorvAchAryAs of SriranganAthan as Chathu-Vedha 
Svaroopan and SakalOpanishad Saaran (essence of all Upanishads). 

This posting is the last in the series saluting the 8 sannidhis
at Sri RanganAthA Temple at Pomona , NY.adiyEn takes leave now.

adiyEn looks forward to meeting number of you at the SriRanganAthA
temple during this weekend and hopes that many of you can
participate and receive the blessings of the dhivya Dampathis.

Your support in every way is needed for the successful 
growth of the temple to serve ALL BHAKTHAAS of Sriman NaarAyaNA
during and after the MahA samprOkshaNam . It is YOUR temple.
Please help the temple to grow as the center of excellence for
offering our worship to the  ord of Lords ,Sri RanganAthan.
Please help to the limits of Your ability with shrama dhAnam
and dhravya DhAnam . May Sri RanganAyaki's anugrahm be 
with You and Your families always!

Sri RanganAthO Jayathi,
Asmath AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,
DaasOham ,Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan 
 


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           - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
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