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Sri GuNa Rathna Kosam : Slokam 8--> Part XVII

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Sadagopan • November 19, 2000 


Sri RanganAyakai Nama:

Dear BhakthAs : 

adiyEn will cover the 8th slOkam in this posting.

SlOkam 8:
******** 
anagrAthAvadhyam bahuguNa pareeNAhi manaso
  dhuhAnam souhArdham parichitamivATApi gahanam
padhAnAm soubhrAthraadh animisha nishEvyam sravaNayO:
  thvamEva Srirmahyam bahumukhaya VaaNee Vilasitham

Meaning by Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan
***********************************

Oh Goddess MahA Lakshmi! This work should have not
even a trace of defect. It should have abubdance of
many virtues; it should by its felicity , become dear 
to the hearts of listeners; it should be friendly in 
the intimacy of acquaintance and at the same time , 
be of yet-unfathomed depths of literary merit; it should 
also have a perceptible concord between words used--
so that this sport of the literary muse would be 
appreciated by the listeners with an alert and
attentive listening faculty that I would call 
the analogue of winkless eyes to imply uninterruped
attention . May You Yourself open up to multitudes
of vistas to my poetic power!

Additional Observations(AdiyEn):
**********************************

In this slOkam , ParAsara Bhattar prays for the boon of
SarvathO-mukha paaNDithyam from Sri RanganAyaki to
compose an unassiled ( anAgrAthA) sthOthram on Her 
without any dhOshams (avadhyam).

He wants the SthOthram to be delectable to the ears
of the listeners with the usage of words , which are
in common parlance. He wants the slOkams not to
have any viparItha arthams ( apArthams) and to have
the proper flow without the dhOsham of Prakrama Bhangam 
(haphazard structure).

Besides the freedom from the above dhOshams , Bhattar
prays to Sri RanganAyaki to realize a sthOthram on Her ,
which is marked by clarity, sabdha as well as artha
alankArams . He prays further for deep VedAnthic
thoughts to illustrate the scriptural authority for
Sri Tatthvam.Bhattar prays for the boon of combination of 
Padhams in a mutually enriching manner that would make 
the listeners enjoy the beauty of the SlOkams like
one is taking in the beauty  without winking one's eyes.
The ears would be engaged in such an effort .

Bhattar asks Sri RanganAyaki to enhance his 
Vaak-VilAsam multifold (mahyam bahumukhaya VaaNi
Vilasitham) . He reminds Her that he is following 
the dictum of Sage ParAsarA,his name sake and 
the author of VishNu purANam , that "ArthO VishNu :
Iyam VaaNI". That authoritative revelation points 
that Vaak DEvathai ( The Commander and controller of
Speech) is MahA Lakshmi and not Sarsavathi. Indeed 
Sarasvathi gets Her power as Vaak dEvi from MahA Lakshmi.
Therefore ,ParAsara Bhattar prays to Sri RanganAyaki for 
the boon of auspicious Speech that will lead to divine 
poetry .

First, the auspicious glances of Sri RanganAyaki
falls on ParAsara Bhattar and the choice expressions 
rich in aptness and excellence follow in the form 
of dhOsham-free poetry. Happy blend of words 
(SaubhrAtraa) and Saarsavatha Vaak flow like
a torrent due to the grace of Sri RanganAyaki.

Dr.S.PadmanAbhan points out that ParAsara Bhattar
is a MahA Kavi in that "His words are familiar to 
the readers , but assume the magnanimous dimensions and 
unfathomable depths , once a critical mind tries to
understand the full significance of these words
( paricitamivathApi gahanam).There should be among the words , 
a close affinity and cohesion ( PadAnAm saubhrAtram).
This may be called sayA or pAka , which consists in
judicious juxtaposition of words in such a way that
the words do not allow any substitution or change. 
The total effect of such a composition will be that 
it is sweet to hear again and again (animishanishEvyam
SravaNayO:).The expression "bhauguNa parINAhi" 
also suggests that according to ParAsara Bhattar
a good poem should also have the guNAs such as
PrasAda (clarity of word and meaning) ,Ojas 
( the power to stimulate the mind of the listener),
SamatA (balanced Expressions ), SusabdhA ( refined
words and expressions), SabdhAlankArAs (Figures of
Speech), ArthAlankArAs ( upamaa/comparsions , UthprEkshA/
poetic fancy and RupakA/metaphor )and appropriate metres ".

ParAsara Bhattar sought and obtained the blessings 
of Sri RanganAyaki to become a  MahA Kavi adorned 
with the above lakshanams.

Srimath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE Saranam,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan   
  


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