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sadagopaniyengar • May 5, 2003 


                          
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                      Madhavan
 

          The Lord has innumerable names. One might say that all the names of all beings, sentient and non-sentient, refer only to the Lord, because He is their inner-dweller. Just as the name "Gopalan" refers not to the body, but to the Jeevatma inhabiting that sharIram, so too all names of all Jeevatmas refer only to the Lord, who is the antaryAmi of all. Thus the names of the Lord are countless. However, of these, a thousand have been culled out by Maharshis ("Rishibhi: parigItAni") as reflecting one or other aspect of His immeasurable glory and strung into a magnificent stOtra, the Vishnu Sahasranamam. The glory of this work is beyond measure. For any work to be significant, it must have three merits-the narrator or author must be a person of distinction, the listener or audience must be equally meritorious and thirdly, the subject matter should be commendable. The Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram scores on all these counts. The raconteur was the distinguished BhIshmAchArya, the personification of rectitude, d

 

      The Lord may have a thousand names or more: however, we have to choose one for convenience of constant recitation and meditation. The name so chosen must be short and sweet, not something long-winded or tongue twisting like "PraNatArtiharavaradan". It also has to be extremely significant in purport and capable of bestowing on us all that is auspicious. We are not talking here about mantras-the ashtAkshara, the dwAdasAkshara or the shadakshara, (respectively eulogizing Narayana, Vasudeva and Vishnu) but a name for casual and constant recitation and meditation. It must be popular too, and not something little known and little used. It must have the stamp of approval of Azhwars, those ultimate arbiters of Bhagavat guNa anubhavam. It must also satisfy one of the prime criteria extremely significant for prapannAs like us-it must incorporate the Lord's inseparable connection with Piratti.

 

    This appears to be a tall order, for, while each nama is intended to portray a particular aspect of Emperuman's glory, to find a tirunAmam which conforms to all the aforesaid criteria would appear difficult. Difficult, but not impossible, for we do stumble upon such a tirunamam- "MAdhava:". Anybody would agree that the name selected is indeed short, comprising of just two syllables. It is sweet too and sits comfortably on the tongue, not necessitating verbal gymnastics in pronunciation. It is one of the most popular names of the Lord, judging by how many of our contemporaries carry the name. Azhwars, as we shall shortly see, are extremely enamoured with this tirunAmam and use it whenever the occasion permits. And the chief purport of the name is to depict the inseparable connection of the Lord with His Divine Consort-the Nirukti slOka for the MAdhava nAmam reads, "Shriya: shraddhAdi nAmnyAscha pati: MAdhava ishyatE". "MA" refers to Sri Mahalakshmi and "Dhava:" to Her Consort and thus the name literally m

 

The MAdhava nama is thus superior even to the three principal names (Narayana, Vasudeva and Vishnu) referred to above, around which the three major mantras have been woven, because none of these names explicitly indicates Piratti. Even in the ashtAkshara, there is only a cryptic indication thereof, as part of the Pranavam.

 

This (the explicit indication of the Piratti connection) is all right, but of what practical significance is it to us?

 

The significance of Shri or the Divine Consort is immeasurable in our Sampradaya. Whenever we think of the Lord, we are supposed to think of Him as being with His inseparable Companion. If the Lord is like a father to us, She is the Divine Mother-"mAtA dEvI tvamasi BhagavAn VAsudEva: pitA mE". When we surrender ourselves, when we perform Prapatti, we are supposed to do it at the lotus feet of the Divine Couple-the Sharanya Dampati.  Sri Lakshmana, while performing Sharanagati at the feet of Sri Rama and Sri Mythily for a specific purpose, indicates this to us-

 

"Sa bhrAtu: charaNou gAdam nipeedya Raghunandana:

 SitAm uvAcha atiyasA RAghavam cha mahAvratam"

 

 And, when we get to perform Kainkaryam or service, as the long-cherished goal of our being, we should do it as much to ThAyAr as to the Lord. Here too, we look to Lakshmana for guidance, for it he who seeks to perform service to the Divine Duo-

 

"BhavAnstu saha VaidEhyA giri sAnushu ramsyatE

 aham sarvam karishyAmi, jAgrata: svapatascha tE"

 

 The Lord is not pleased at being singled out for adulation or attachment, as was proved in the case of ShoorpanakhA, who developed a fatal fascination for Sri Raghava, to the exclusion of Sri Mythily. Nor is Piratti enamoured of attentions from admirers who leave out the Lord, Ravana and KAkAsura being examples therefor.

 

 Piratti also adopts the role of the sympathetic intermediary, when we perform Prapatti. She tells the Lord, who is angered by our countless infringements, major and minor, that there is none in this world who does not err-"na kaschit nAparAdhyati". As such, She pleads with Him for forgiving us our sins, as behoves the Universal Father. Thus, but for the invaluable intermediary role of Piratti, there is no hope of our escaping commensurate punishment for our transgressions, which would effectively ensure our rotting in hell or worse for all time to come. It is She who recommends tolerance and forbearance to the Lord, chiding Him for being rule-bound and ensures our liberation from Samsara and entitlement to eternal bliss in SriVAikuntam.

 

When Piratti's role is such a crucial one, should not the Lord's tirunAmam we choose for constant consideration reflect Her association with Him? Viewed in this light, we find that the MAdhava nAma is perhaps the best of the Lord's monikers. Azhwars, especially Sri Nammazhwar, appears to be in perfect agreement with this line of thought, as would be evident from an analysis of the following pasuram.

 

Though there is any number of pasurams highlighting the MAdhava nama, the under mentioned merits some detailed consideration-

 

"MAdhavan endru endru Oda valleerEl,

 teedu ondrum adayA  Edam sArAvE"

 

Sri Nammazhwar declares that if only we recite the MAdhava nama, all our sins would vanish and during the rest of our sojourn in this world, we would remain untouched by misdeeds and their malignant consequences. There are several beautiful gems of thought hidden in this short pasuram.

 

"MAdhavan "- Since the context is one of sins being forgiven, the association of Piratti is indispensable, as She is the PurushakAram who recommends to the Lord our absolution from the innumerable grave and gross misdemeanours. Hence the use here of the MAdhava nAma, indicating the eternal presence of Piratti and Her inseparability from the Lord.

 

"MAdhavan endru endru Oda"- While exhorting us to recite the MAdhava nama, Azhwar could have merely said "MAdhavan endru Oda". The repetition of the word "endru" is extremely significant, obviously telling us to meditate on the "LakshmI Sambandham" or association with Piratti, twice. This is perhaps indicative of the Dvaya Mantra's purport that we should perform Prapatti at the lotus feet of the Lord accompanied by ShrI as also carry out kainkaryam to them both. The replication of the word "endru" is perhaps intended to remind us of the two vAkyAs constituting the Dvaya mantra and their two-fold prescription.

 

"Oda valleerEl"- The word "Oda" refers to the imbibing from an Acharya, repeating after him that which is being taught. This is the way in which Vedas and Divya Prabandas are supposed to be learnt. The greatness of the MAdhava namam is such that it too is to be absorbed in a similar way, through a Guru, says Sri Nammazhwar. An interesting alternate interpretation offered by the erudite commentators is-even if you don't take recourse to this tirunAmam by yourself out of ruchi, at least repeat it when someone prompts you to.

 

"Teedu ondrum adayA, Edam sArAvE"- The presence of Piratti in this tirunAmam is so potent that it destroys all sins amassed so far, prior to performance of Prapatti, and even those which are accidentally acquired, after Sharanagati. Though "Teedu" and "Edam" are synonymous, the use of these words in juxtaposition is to denote the ones contracted before and after Prapatti. This is as in Sri Andal's sreesookti, "POya pizhayum pugu taruvAn nindranavum teeyinil doosAgum"

 

There are other pasurams too highlighting the MAdhava namam. Wherever the context is one of performing Prapatti or of sins being destroyed, Azhwar appeals to MAdhavan, which is extremely significant, considering the availability of any number of other names of the Lord. Here are a few instances, for a sample-

 

"KadivAr teeya vinaigaL, nodiyArum aLavai kaN

 kodiyAvadu puL uyarttha, vadivAr MAdhavanArE"

( If you need your sins to be destroyed in a trice, it is MAdhava you must approach).

 

"MAnEy nOkki madavALai mArbil vaitthAi MAdhava!

KoonE chidaya uNdai vil niratthil teritthAi GovindA!

VAnOr sOdi MaNivaNNA! MadhusUdA nee aruLAi un

 TEnE malarum tiruppAdam sErumAru vinayEnE"

(Oh Lord Madhava who has the inseparable Piratti on His chest! Do bless me such that I perform Sharanagati at your lotus feet!)

 

Those who keep the Madhava nama as their constant companion would conquer Samsara and the endless cycle of births and deaths, assures Azhwar-

"MAdhavan pAl SatakOpan, teedu avam indri uraittha

 Edamil Ayiratthu ippatthu, OdavallAr piravArE"

 

Wherever the question of destruction of sins and Sharanagati are involved, it is only Madhavan who comes to the Azhwar's lips-

"MAdhavan endru adE koNdu...teedu avam kedukkum amudam"

 

And even at other places, where the Madhava nama is not specifically mentioned by Azhwar, it is there by implication, as the association with Piratti indicates, in the following pasurams-

 

"agalakillEn irayum endru alar mEl mangai urai MArba!

.un adikkEzh amarndu pugundEnE"

 

"tarumavarum payanAya TirumagaLAr tani kELvan

  perumai udaya PirAnAr irumai vinai kadivArE"

 

"paNdai nALAlE nin tiruvaruLum PankayattAl tiruvaruLum koNdu"

 

It is also significant that Azhwar confers an exclusive honour on Madhavan, which he doesn't on other Emperumans. He calls this Lord "SrI Madhavan". This honour is all the more conspicuous, as it is conferred in a context where the names of the other Emperumans are also mentioned, without any honorific-

 

"MAl, ari, Kesavan, NAraNan, SeeMAdhavan, Govindan, Vaikunthan endru endru

Olamida ennai paNNi vittittu ondrum uruvam suvadum kAttAn

Ela malar kuzhal annaimeerkAL!ennudai tOzhiarkAL en seigEn

KAlam pala chendrum kANbadu ANai ungaLOdu engaL idai illayE"

 

It is thus clear that the MAdhava nAma is extremely dear to Sri Nammazhwar's heart. A bit more of research would definitely disclose that it is so with the other Azhwars too. Let us conclude with Swami Desikan's tribute to MAdhava Perumal, in his "Panniru TirunAmam"-

 

"MAdhava nAmamum vAn gadai nAngu maNi niramum

 Odu muraippadi Endi uratthilum mElum algi

 POdalar mAdudan pundiyil anbAl pugundu aLikkum

 Dootanum nAthanum Aya tol atti giri chudarE"

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        



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