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Thula kaveri vaibhavam -1

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M.N.Ramanuja • November 14, 2002 


Thula Kaveri vaibhavam-1

                         Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:
                  Sri Parasara bhattar tiruvadigale sharanam

                 Sri parashara bhattarya: srirangesha purohita:
             Srivatsankasuta: sriman shreyase me(a)stu bhuyase.

     20** kAverIm avagAhiShIya bhagavad bhogAntarAyI bhavat
          karma klesha phalAshaya prashamanodvelAkula srotasam;
          jantOs samsarato (a)rchirAdi saraNi vyAsanga bhangAya yA
          loke(a)smin virajeva vEllita jalA srIrangam Alingati *

                                                               
                                              (SriRangarajaStavam -SRRS)

Meaning::-- --yA-- who (kaveri). -- samsarata: janto: -- of the living 
being in the cycle of births and deaths. --archirAdi saraNi vyAsanga  
bhangAya-- to prevent the fatigue of travelling in archirAdi route. -- 
asmin loke--  in this world. --vEllita jalA-- having turbulent waters. 
--virajA iva-- like virajA river. -- srirangam Alingati-- embraces 
Srirangam as it were. --tAm-- her. --bhagavad bhoga antarAyI bhavat-- 
which are hindrances to the enjoyment of God. --karma-- actions resulting 
in punya and papa. --klesha-- hardships like ignorance. --phala-- the 
fruits of actions. --Ashaya-- the traces of desires or vAsanai. -- 
prashamana--to eliminate. --udvela-- overflowing the banks. --amala-- pure 
and crystal clear. --srotasam-- having a current of water. --kaverIm--  
the river kaveri. --avagAhiShIya-- I shall plunge with pleasure. 

     Vyakhyana:::-- The preceding 19 slokams are like the preface to the 
SRRS. Bhattar composed this stavam while returning from Thirukkottiyur.  
Hence, in the order of seeing places on the way, Bhattar describes Kaveri 
in the following five slokams. In this slokam, Bhattar says that he will 
plunge to his content in Kaveri. Whereever it be that srivaishnavas, have 
their daily ablutions, it is a traditional rule to recite these five 
slokams and do so. 

  Bhattar says in this slokam, that the VirajA river that is flowing on 
the way to paramapadam  herself, incarnated as Kaveri and for the benefit 
of all people, is circumnavigating around Srirangam periya koil. Why 
should VirajA, leave her place and come here?  Well, without bathing in 
VirajA there is no entry into paramapadam. After, traversing through 
ArchirAdi mArgam, the people become fatigued and in that state, they have 
to bathe in virajA. Bhattar says, that virajA being broadminded, decided 
to avoid their fatigue and provide an effortless virajAsnAnam to all 
samsAris here and so became Kaveri. Thus, it is indicated that the route 
to the temple (Srirangam periyaKoil) is the ArchirAdi route, the Koil 
itself is paramapadam, and Sriranganathan Himself is paravAsudevan 
reflecting the slokam "kaverI virajA seyam vaikuntham ranga mandiram; sa 
vAsudevo rangesha: pratyakSham paramam padam". Bhattar says that all the 
qualities of virajA are present in kaveri undiminished, through the 
phrases "bhagavad bhogAntarAyI bhavat" etc. Kaveri's waters can eliminate 
the twin actions (punya and papa) that are hindrance to the eternal 
service  to God, the difficulties like ignorance, the fruits of actions, 
and vAsanai (trace desire) that instigate people to involve in actions 
over and over again. 

contd....
Dasan 
Ramanuja





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