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Sri DehaLeesa Sthuthi : Part 12 ( Slokmas 16- )

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • Fri Nov 07 1997 - 19:55:38 PST 


Dear Bhakthi Group Members :

We will continue with the 17th to 22nd slokam in this 
posting . In the 17 th slOkam , Swami Desikan refers 
to the Lord's special  blessings to the Mudal AzhwArs.
The slOkam is a s follows :

kreetAparENa bahvathA vihithOparOdhAn
    aarAdhakhAn anuparOdham udhanchayishyan I
thAmrENa paadha nakarENa tathA anda madhyE 
    ghanDApatham kamapi noonam avarthayasthvam II

( Extended Meaning ) : O Lord of ThirukkOvalUr ! You are
always fond of sporting with Your adiyArs. You joined the 
three devotees of Yours at the small space of a DehaLI 
and squeezed them . They experienced You , saw You 
and eulogised with the most exquisite paasurams . You were 
naturally very pleased . You wanted to confer special boons 
on them and decided to create a broad highway for them to
travel without  congestion as in the archirAdhi maargam . 
It appears that the effulgence of the nails of Your uplifted
foot radiated far and wide as though to serve as the broad
raaja maargam for their travel to Your parama padham .

The Lord seemed to make amends for playing games
on His aarAdhakAs by squeezing them tightly at the small
space of a dEhaLI . He decided to create a king's highway
marked by  the red lustre of His toe-nails .

SlOkam 18 :
*************

kaamaavilEpi karuNArNava bindhurEkha:
     kshiptha: svakELi tarasA tava DehaLeesa I
tathsanthathE : ubhayathA vithathim bhajanthyA :
     samsAra dhAva dahanam samayath asEsham II

( extended Meaning ) : O Lord of the DehaLI ! Your daya
is an infinite ocean . It is enough even a small drop from 
that limitless ocean to fall on the chethanA , who is 
sinking  in the quick sand  of perishable worldly 
pleasures . That pitiable state  arises from their 
avivEkham . When the droplet of Your DayA falls on 
the ChEthanA , that expands into the many branches of 
Bhakthi and Prapatthi  as UpAyams . That drop will grow
as the wild fire and burn away the samSaric afflictions of
that chEthanA . Thus a chEthanA spoiled by his overpowering
worldly desires quells the fierce forest -fire of SamsArA . 

Swami Desikan goes out of his way to assure that the Lord's
dayA is available not only to the mudhal AzhwArs , but also to
every one wallowing in  samsArA . The tiniest particle of 
His mercy splits into the two upAyams --Bhakthi and Prapatthi --
and banishes our samsAric afflictions . 

SlOkam 19 :
*************

Swami prays here  for  the Lord's grace to uplift
him from the terror of SamsArA . He reminds the Lord 
( Naathan ) that He is all powerful ( Saarvabhouman ) 
and He should lift him up with His own hands like
the emperor coming to the rescue of a little bird that 
has fallen from its nest . The slOkam with 
its tender appeal is as follows:

neeDOdhaan nipathithasya sukhArbhasya
     thrANEna Naatha viharanniva Saarvabhouma: I
aadhAya GopanagarAdhipathE  svayam maam 
    kreeDA dhayA vyathikarENa  kruthArThaya thvam II

( Extended Meaning ) : O GopanagareesA ! O Lord ! 
When the emperor sees during his travel thru the forest 
a little parrot that fell off from its mother's nest , he  lifts it 
up playfully , restores it to the comfort of its nest  and 
plays with it . He does not think about his superior rank 
at that time . O Prabhu ! Thou should in a similar fashion
lift me up with your own hands imbued with a sense of 
play and mercy and make my life a fruitful one . 

Swami Desikan asks the Lord to lift him up from 
the samsAra BhUmi to which he has fallen in  a
spirit of mercy . He begs for the Lord's daya and 
mercy to come to his rescue and make him realize the 
purpose of being born as a human being (i-e)., to worship
Him and reach His parama padham . 

SlOkam 20 :
*************

In this slOkam . Swami Desikan begs the Lord to
give him a hand so that His consort will be pleased
over His act of dayA . The slOkam is as follows :

leelA sakunthamiva maam svapadhOpalabdhyai
    svairam kshipan dhuritha panjarathO guNastham I
tath thAthrusam kamapi Gopapuree vihArin 
     santhOsham ullaLaya Saagara sambhavAyA : II

Swami says here that the Lord should not rescue him 
out of His dayA for him  , but to please the Lady , who came out
of the milky Ocean and married Him . Swami describes 
his state as one of  extremely limited movement , 
since he is tightly bound by the ropes of the three guNaas . 
He appeals to the Lord to treat him like  He would treat the parrot 
with which He plays and lift him up to parama padham 
after freeing  him from the cage of sins .

Swami has a clever appeal here to the Lord. Please do
not do it for me , but think of the joy of Your consort , when
She witnesses Your act of kindness to me , Her son . She
will be overjoyed at your display of dayA . Please release me 
from the cage of sins and release me out of your  
own sankalpam in  a sportive mood and fill the heart 
of Your consort with joy says Swami Desikan . 

SlOkam 21 :
*************

Swami DEsikan continues to appeal fervently to
rescue from the trammels of samsArA in this and 
the subsequent verses:

vaathUla kalpa vrujina prabhavair madheeyAm 
     vaiyAkuleem vishaya sindhu taranga bhangai : I
dAsOpamardha saha dhurnirasAm tvadhanyai :
     anveekshya gAtam anukampithum arhasi thvam II

( Extended Meaning ) : O Lord , who bore  with the pressure
of your true devotees at a small space ! I am one , who has 
accumulated unlimited sins. Just as the winds of a  cyclone
grows the waves of the ocean to great heights , my bundle of
sins become larger and larger as a result of the enjoyment of 
the worldly pleasures . As a result , my mind is in an agitated
state . Fully knowing that there is no one except You , 
who could banish my fear and restore my tranquility , 
please come to my rescue ! .Taking note of my pitiable state ,
please shower Your nectar of mercy on me and save me !

O Lord ! I am being tossed from here to there and all over 
by  the huge waves of the ocean of stormy samsArA . My state 
is like the dire one described by NammAzhwAr before :

aavArAr thuNai yenru alai neerkkadaluL azhundhum
naavAi pOl pravikkadaluL ninru naan thuLanga 

Sri D.Ramaswami IyengAr's decription of the state 
of Swami Desikan is moving : " You , my Lord , know
very well that except You no one can help me ; no one 
else can dry out the sea , whose waves are tossing me thus . 
See with Your own eyes my desparate plight and come to my 
rescue . Pray extend your intense daya , which includes Grace , 
Mercy , Compassion , Sympathy and such other similar 
sentiments ." 

SlOkam 22 :
*************

yEnasvineemithi sadhA mayi jAyamAnam
     dEhaLyadheesa dhrushathOpi vilApayantheem I
NaathE saamgra sakanE tvayi jAgarUkE 
     kim  thE sahEtha karuNA karuNAmavasthAm II

( Meaning ) : O Lord of ThirukkOvalUr ! My sorrowful state 
characterized by my bundle of sins continues . Even the stones 
will melt , when they take note of my helpless state . All those 
who see me will surely be moved by my sufferings . You are 
the all powerful SarvEsvan . You are witnessing this too ! How
can Your karuNA bear with the continuation of this state of
mine ? Your Daya will surely come to my rescue . When You
are alert to my sufferings , how can Your DayA dEvi stay quite ? 

This slOkam has been recognized by the students of 
Swami Desikan 's works to be one of the most moving
pleas by him to the Lord . He describes his sins as
sadhA mayi jAyamAnam or those which keep growing 
in me . Sri D.R Swami compares the avasthA of Swami
Desikan to that of NammAzhwAr , when he declares ,
" Poyi ninra j~nanamum , pollA ozhukkum 
azhukkudambhum " . NammAzhwAr goes on to describe
his state as one that the Lord alone can comprehend and 
as being impossible to describe ( inninra nErmai )  .

Swami Desikan describes further his state as the one
at which even the stones will lament on sight ( dhrushathOpi
vilApayantheem ) . Sri D.R . Swami recalls NammAzhwAr and 
Kamban 's descriptions in this context .NammAzhwAr declared:
" MarangaLum irangum vahai MaNivaNNa ! Oh ! " > Kamban
described the unimaginable sorrow of Bharathan over the 
despicable deed of his mother and calls BharathA as
" kal kaniya kanihinra thuyarAn " ( One who melts away 
in grief of a magnitude that will make even stones melt ) . 

After this overpowering statement about his state of sorrow ,
Swami Desikan looks up at DehaLeesan and recognizes 
that the Lord is all powerful , most compassionate and
fully aware of his sufferings . He begins to wonder how 
the Lord's  Daya can be held under control . He cries out : 
" Your DayA will certainly not put up with this condition 
of mine " . He is consoled by the thoughts of KurEsa 
under similar straits that made him declare :
tvadh j~nana sakthi karuNAsu satheeshu nEha paapam
parAkramithum arhathi maamakeenAm " . KurEsa 
says here : " My sins should not get the upper hand 
as long as your J~nAnam , sakthi ,and Dayaa are all
in tact and safe " .  KurEsa nudges the Lord and reminds
Him of His capabilities lest He forgot . 

Swami Desikan follows the path of AzhwArs and remembers
that the sakthi alone of the Lord without His karuNA 
will not be of much use in rescuing the suffering ones . 

His SaraNAgatha rakshakthvam can come into full play,
only when His sakthi and DayA ride in tandem . As the supreme
being , it is His duty to protect us and we have no othe rrefuge 
as reminded by AzhwAr : KaLaivAi thunbham kaLaiyAthu
ozhiyAyai kaLaikaNN maRRilEn " 

Swami Desikan  ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam 
Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan