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AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam (ADS): SlOkam 7

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Sadagopan • May 19, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs of Lord AarAvamudhan of Thirukkudanthai :

AdiyEn will now restart the interrupted Kaimkaryam 
of translating and commenting on the ADS slOkams 
bequeathed to us by the Thirukkudanthai Desikan .

In our tradition , Thirukkudanthai Desikan is considered 
the reincarnation of Swami Desikan , who followed the 
exquisite anubhavam of ThiruppANAzhwAr's AmalanAhipirAn 
and gave us Bhagavadh DhyAna sOpAnam . There are a total of 
thirteen slOkams in ADS and we will enjoy the remaining seven
thru this and the subsequent postings .

Salutation to the Sacred Chest region of Sri AarAvamudhan 
**********************************************************

RamA vAsasthAnam maNivara ruchA bhAsvath anagam
  mahA hArOllAsam nikhila JagadhAdhi prakruthi bhU:
sunaddham soothrENa dhrutha kanaka bhAsvath svavapushA
  sadhA vaksha: chitthE mama lasathu SaarngAkhya dhanusha:

prior to analysing this ADS slOkam focusing on the sacrednes
of the chest region of AarAvamudhan , one has to enjoy 
the source slOkam of Swami Desikan celbrating the beauty
of Sri RanganAthan's chest in Sri Bhagavadh DhyAna sOpAnam 
(Sixth slOkam ):

SrivathsEna prathitha vibhavam Sri padha nyAsa dhanyam
  madhyam bhAhvO; maNi vara ruchA ranjitham RangadhAmna :
sAndhracchAyAm taruNa TuLasI chithrayA VaijaynthyA
  SamthApam mE samayathi dhiya: chandhrikOdhAra Haaram 

Swami Desikan in turn was captivated and inspired
by  the ThiruppANAzhwAr's Tamil Paasuram celebrating 
the glory of the chest of Sri RanganAthan in his 
divya prabhandham , AmalanAdhipirAN (5th Paasuram ):

PaaramAya pazha vinai paRRaRutthu , yennait thann
  vAramAkki vaitthAn vaitthathanRi yennuLL puhunthAn
kOra maatavam seythanan kolaRiyEnarangatthammAn , Thiru
   vAra maarbahthanRO adiyEnai aatkoNDathE 

It will be a great pleasure to compare the original
anubhavam of ThiruppANar , which gave birth to the slOkams
of Swami Desikan and Thirukkudanthai ANDavan .Due to lack of
space , We will foucus on the ADS slOkam only here . 

The prose order & the word by word meaning for this seventh
slOkam of ADS are as follows :

RamA VaasasthAnam = That chest , which is the place of residence 
                    of MahA Lakshmi

maNi Vara ruchA bhAsvath =That region , which is resplendent 
                         with the effulgence of the king of gems,
                         Kousthubham 

anagam = that chest region , which is blemishless

mahaa hArOllAsam = That chest region shining with 
                   the great flower garland (Vana mAlai)

nikhila JagadhAdhi prakruthi bhU: = That region , which is
                                    the place of residence of
                                    moola prakruthi out of which
                                    all the universe evolved 

dhrutha kanaka bhAsvath sva vapushA}
soothrENa sunaddham }= = = = = = = =  That beautiful chest region 
                                      adorned by the sacred thread ,
                                      which shines with the resplendent
                                      hue of molten gold 

sArnghAkhya Dhanusha: Vaksha:= That sacred and beautiful chest of
                               the One , who holds the bow known as 
                               Saarngam 

mama chitthE sadhA lasathu = May that chest of the Lord of Thirukkudanthai
                             shine in my mind forever .

We will now comment in detail on each of the word or 
group of words used by Thirukkudanthai Desikan here :

1.RamA VaasathAnam : MahA lakshmi is enchanted by the beauty of 
Her Lord's chest and chooses to stay there and declares that
she will not leave that place even for a moment ( ahalahillEn
yenRu AlarmEl mangai Uraiyum iRai mArbhu ). The glory of
MahA lakshmi residing at the Lord's chest earns for the Lord
the titles such as "Kudanthai ThirumAl from NammAzhwAr .Kaliyan
went on to recognize the significance of the chest sanctified by 
MahA Lakshmi by addressing the Lord as : Kudanthaip PerumAnai,
vArAr vanamulayAL malar mangai Naayakan ".

BhUthatthAzhwar focused on the ThirumArbhu with his
mangaLAsAsanam : " YengaL PerumAn ImayOr talaimahan nee ,
senkaNN nedumaal ThirumaarbhA ". AzhwAr puts the emphasis 
on " ThirumArbhan " among the many qualifiers about 
the glories of the Lord of Thirukkudanthai . He might have
the red lotus-like eyes , He might be the NedumAll , but 
all of these naamams point to the holy chest of the Lord 
( ThirumArbahn ). There resides and presides MahA Lakshmi
( RamA dEvi)and makes Him auspicious in every way .AzhwAr
seems to suggest that the Lord's SarvEsvarathvam would 
evaporate quickly , if He had not the cause of His 
auspiciousness staying on His chest to confer MangaLathvam .
This morning , Sri Rengaraajan commented on the significance
of the SenkkaNN of AarAvamudhan in his posting.

Even the VedAs comprehend what is the most supreme by
studying the location of the foot marks of MahA Lakshmi
Sri Padha nyAsa dhanyam ) . The very same Vedam declares
therefore confidently :" SradhdAyA dEvO devathvam asnuthE "
( The Lord achieves the status of DEvarAjan because of His
association with SraddhAdEvi/MahA Lakshmi onHis chest ).
That is why , the straight speaking Thirumazhisai stated
unambigously : " Thiruvillat thEvarai thERElmin thEvu ".
He gave us the upadEsam not to approach any God except 
the One with MahA Lakshmi on His chest . Rest of them are 
not capable of granting the parama purushArtham of Moksham .
That AarAvamudhan's chest is the elected place of
residence of MahA Lakshmi of the most beautiful limbs
(KOmaLAngi=KOmaLAmbhAL=KOmaLavalli ).  

(To be Continued )
Daasan Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan