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The Sleeping Beauty

From the Bhakti List Archives

sadagopaniyengar • November 23, 2002 


 
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahaadesikaya Nama:

 

            The Sleeping Beauty
 

      The Lord possesses innumerable auspicious attributes, which are unique to Him and are not found in other dEvatAs. His Paratvam, nityatvam, nirmalatvam, anAditvam, antaryAmitvam, ananta kalyANa gunakatvam, the ability to grant liberation, etc. are but a few of the aforesaid attributes, which no other deity can boast of. His physical features too are beyond compare, for He is unimaginably handsome, with perfectly proportioned limbs and with an overwhelming beauty which floors even His archrivals.

    In His arcchAvatAra too, where He resides in countless temples for our benefit, His tirumEni is unique, with the distinguishing towering headgear, Piratti adorning His chest, Sudarsana and Panchajanya ever ready on the two upraised hands for protection of the good and destruction of evil, Srivatsam, et al.

 

   In addition to all the aforesaid features, Emperuman is unique in His posture too. The Lord's postures in His arcchAvatAra are manifold-He is to be found standing at many temples and sitting at a few. However, the posture He would appear to like the most is that of reclining. To adiyen's limited knowledge, there is no other deity who adopts the sleeping posture. To appreciate how well He likes this posture, we only have to remember the numerous divya desams where the Lord is to be found in a reclining posture. To name but a few, we have, first and foremost, the holiest of holies, Sri Rangam, acclaimed as the Bhooloka Vaikuntam or Paradise on earth, Tirukkudandai, Pullabhootangudi, Adanur, Kapistalam, Tiruppulingudi, Karambanur, Tiruneermalai, Tiruvanantapuram, etc.-the list is long.

  This penchant for the horizontal posture is not confined to the arcchAvatAra. Even the ParamapatanAtan is said to be reclining on the snake bed, according to the KoushItaki Upanishad, which describes the Paryanka Vidya as a tool to Liberation.

 In the VyuhAvatAra too, the Lord reclines on the Sesha in the Milky Ocean (KshIrAbdi). 

 And all of us have heard of the Lord's primordial form, the BAla Mukunda , a lovable infant lying on His back on a banyan leaf on the swirling cosmic waters, with all the universes safe in His little stomach, busy chewing the big toe of His little foot . Here is a moving description from Sri Tirumazhisai Piran-

"VAnagamum maNnagamum verpum Ezh kadalgaLum

  pOnagam seidu Alilai tuyindra PundarIkanE!"

To look at the Divine Toddler, one would hardly imagine that all the worlds, oceans and mountains find a place in His tiny tummy. And as if this sumptuous meal is not enough, He keeps chewing His toe in hunger! Another wonderful thing is that the little banyan leaf is able to accommodate the Lord, whose form is endless.

 Struck by the incongruity of the Parabrahmam lying on a little leaf, Sri PoigaiAzhwar poses a clever question to the Lord-

"BAlan tanadu uruvAy Ezhulagu unDu

 Alilayin mEl andru nee vaLarnda mey enbar-Al andru

 Velai neer uLLadO viNnadO maNNado

 SOlai soozh kundru edutthAi sollu"

When the entire universe has been overrun by cosmic floods and no flora or fauna exist, where did the leaf, (and the tree to which it belonged) on which you were asleep, come from? Was it from the earth, which has already been swallowed up by the cascading waters, or is it from a strange tree, which can grow in the sky without support for its roots, or did it grow up magically from the swirling ocean? This question of Azhwar's does not elicit a satisfactory response from the Lord.

 

The blue-green Lord asleep on the Milky white Ocean resembles a giant Green Stone or Jade embedded on the side of a snowy mountain, says Azhwar-"Varai mEl maragatam pOla tirai mEl kidandAn".

 

Azhwar is envious of the great good fortune of the sea waters, for they are in constant touch with the Lord's tirumEni-

"Malum karum kadalE en nOtrAi-vayyagam undu

Alinilai tuyindra AzhiyAn- kola 

KarumEni sengaNMAl kanpadayuL-endrum 

TirumEni nee teenda petru". 

 

 When we come to think of it, the Lord does indeed choose the best of environs for His siesta. The peaceful Milky Ocean laps gently at His feet singing a rhythmic lullaby ("kadal Odam kAl alaippa kaN vaLarum sengaN adalOda vaNNar"), a sweet-smelling breeze blows, providing comfort to the body and mind, the bed provided by Adisesha is softer than any known variety ("uraga mellaNayAn"), and the Divine Consorts press His feet gently with their supple palms. With all these soporifics, is it any wonder that the Lord adopts a reclining posture most of the time?

 

However, we do wonder whether it is at all an appropriate pose for the Lord of the Universe to adopt. When the head of a small family is so weighed down by worries that sleep eludes him, how can Emperuman, with the mind-boggling responsibility of having to innumerable universes, afford to sleep?

 Sri Peyazhwar tries to fathom the reasons for the Lord's supine posture-

"andru ivvulagam aLanda asavE kol?" enquires Azhwar, wondering whether the Lord is overcome by fatigue due to the strain of measuring all these worlds and the ones above with His feet, during TrivikramAvatAra. 

Or could it be the strain of churning up the ocean for bringing out nectar ("asaindu kadainda varutthamO")?

 

Sri Nammazhwar too poses such a rhetorical question to the Lord, querying Him as to the reasons for His apparent tiredness-

"KodiyAr mAda KOLuragatthum PuLingudiyum 

  MadiAdhu indrE nee tuyil mEvi magizhndadhu tAn

  adiAr allal tavirttha asavO andrEl ip

  padithAn neeNdu tAviya asavO, paNiyAyE"

"You were after all a young boy during Vamanavatara. Still, your holy feet had to traverse the entire universe and the heavens too. Has this been so much of a strain on you that You had to lie down to rest? Or are You fatigued by attending to frequent calls for succour from distressed devotees?" enquires Azhwar , seeking the reason for the Lord's supine posture. 

Sri Tirumazhisaipian too enquires of the recumbent Lord of Tirukkudandai whether His slumber is due to the debilitating battle with HiranyAksha and rescuing Mother Earth from the depths of the ocean, as the Varahamurthy-

"nadanda kAlgaL nondavO nadunga gyAlam EnamAi

  idanda mei kulungavO "

A more modern poet, expanding on the Azhwar's theme, adduces a variety of possible reasons for Emperuman's kidandha tirukkOlam. Could it be due to the strain of covering innumerable miles on foot during the vanavAsa as Sri Rama? Or is it due to running after the elusive MArIcha, who, in a bid to isolate Sri Mythily, dragged Sri Rama quite far from His Ashrama in hot chase? Is the Lord tired from carrying out the stupendous task of bridging the ocean to reach Lanka? Or has the terrible battle against Ravana and other RakshasAs taken its toll on Emperuman's energy? Or is the sacking of Lanka responsible for this?  The Krishnavatara has been no less strenuous. As a mere toddler, Krishna pulled a heavy grindstone after Him, and brought down two tall trees by passing between them. Would it be due to the valiant effort He had to display in Krishnavatara as the charioteer to Arjuna, shielding the Pandava from certain death many a time and in the process sustaining injuries Himself? Or is it due to the constant roam

 

Sri Nammazhwar denies that the Lord's apparent slumber is due to any of the aforesaid reasons. In fact he even denies that the Lord is sleeping. According to the Azhwar, the Lord merely appears to sleep, with His beautiful eyes half-closed, concentrating all the time on ways and means to emancipate errant humanity, devising newer methods of affording delight to true devotees, etc.  These are the Azhwar's worthy words-:" uranguvAn pOl yOgu puNarnda oLi maNivaNNan KaNNan".

 

 There are some who can sleep through a noisy thunderstorm and no amount of din can wake them up. In contrast, there are others who wake up at a mere whisper. The Lord appears to belong to the latter category, for, appeals from devotees for assistance never fail to galvanize Him into immediate action. Further, He is prepared to forsake slumber at a mere word from a devotee.

 It is common knowledge how the Lord YatOktakAri  of TiruvekhA at Kanchipuram rolled up His snaky bed and accompanied Sri Tirumazhisaipiran, at the latter's command. The Azhwar's disciple Kanikannan was slighted by the then King of Kanchi, and Azhwar decided to leave the kingdom of the errant ruler, and while going, also issued packing orders to the Lord. ("Kanikannan pOgirAn, kAmaru poom Kacchi Manivanna...neeyum un painnAga pAi suruttikkoL"). Preferring the Azhwar's company to a comfortable bed, the Lord just upped and left, plunging the kingdom in darkness and chaos. When the repentant King assuaged the Azhwar's feelings through appropriate remedial action, Azhwar returned to Kanchi and advised Emperuman too to resume His beauty sleep ("nAnum pOkkozhindEn...neeyum un painnAga pAi viritthukkoL") and the Lord obliged with alacrity. This Emperuman came to be known from that day as "Sonna vaNNam seida Perumal" or the Lord who did as He was told. 

It is noteworthy that the same Azhwar commands Sri ArAvamudan of Tirukkudandai to wake up from His slumber and reply to his (Azhwar's) queries-"kidandavAru ezhundirundu pEsu vazhi KEsanE").

 

It is not merely the Lord who is fond of a sleeping posture: His devotees too seem to prefer His Kidanda tirukkOlam, if the popularity of Srirangam and similar divyadesams is anything to go by. Not only have all the Azhwars sung paeans of praise on this Emperuman, but all Acharyas have also preferred to spend their entire lives in the service of Rangaraja.  Sri Ramanuja, in perhaps his only stotra on a divyadesa Emperuman, waxes eloquent in Seshasayee's praise, in the Sriranga Gadyam, while Sri Bhattar goes to the extent of praying for even a lowly life as that of a dog in the streets of Srirangam ("RatyAsunAm anyatamO bhavEyam"). 

Sri Bhattar finds himself overwhelmed by the Sleeping Beauty of Srirangam ("nidrA mudrAbiramam"), and so does Swami Desikan, as is evident from the vivid portrayal in Sri Bhagavat DhyAna SOpAnam. 

Though it is indeed tempting to continue, adiyen stops here for fear of transforming readers too into Sleeping Beauties.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

Dasan, sadagopan.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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