GowLai pancharathnam : CharaNams 8,9& 10--Conclusion
From the Bhakti List Archives
• November 16, 1997
Dear Members of the Bhakthi Group : In this concluding posting , I will cover the three remaining charaNams of the GowLai Pancharathnam of Sadhguru ThyagarAja SwamigaL . Eighth CharaNam ********************* chakkani mukha kamalamphunu sadhA naa madhilO smaraNa lEkanE dhurmadhAndha janalu kOri partithApamulachE dagili nOgili dhurvishaya dhurAsalanu rOyalEkhE sathathamaparAdhinai chapala chitthuDaina ( DuDuku Gala NannE ) This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu . In this long charaNam , we hear again the echo of Swami Desikan's nirvEdham : asprusha chinthaa padham AbhirUpyam . Here Swami Desikan states that the Lord's paripUrNa soundharyam is beyond access by the mind for full grasp . Saint ThyagarAjA says in this vein : " O RamachandrA ! I failed to meditate on the lotus like , beautiful face of yours and joined the bad company of " kOkka saasthra vidhula Nara ( experts in kAma sAsthrA ) and abandoned the company of " bhakthi sAsthra vidhula nara " ( experts in bhakthi sAsthram ) . I have thus lost the sathsangham of BhagavathAs of Yours . I did not understand the pain arising from attachment to to young and beautiful women ( kaadhal seythu iLayavar kalavi tharum vEdanai vinyathu veruvuthalAm as Thirumangai pointed out in his Oppiliappan paasuram ) and fell at their feet for favors . I did not pay attention to You and therefore ended up in garbha vAsam and other dukkhams as the AzhwAr described earlier ( iRandhEnetthanaiyum athanAl idumpai kuzhiyil piRanthEtthEyeyyatthozhinthEn ) . I am debilitatd from all these dhurvishayAnuchAram and am dejected over my terrible lot . Which dorai mahan is going to extend his strong hand to rescue me ? Here , Saint ThyagarAjA expressed his temptations for the enjoyment of the forbidden fruits and his proclivity to committ multitudes of apachArams . He crowned himself as an aparAdha chakravarthi with a fickle mind bent down by the thought over these apachArams . He asked another Chakravarhti's son for rescue . He hinted that only Sri RamachandrA , the son of Dasaratha Chakravarthi alone could rescue him from the whirlpool of loka sukhams that is about to take him under . He described his sordid state of seeking the company of adhamAs and his practise of begging for favors from them with a petty mind and demeaning himself . One of the passages with similar melancholic thoughts from Swami Desikan's conversations with the Lord is : " karmamaya dharma taptham sukha mrugha trushNAbhi: kAbhiraNyanArdhram " . Elsewhere , Swami Desikan described his state as " NirAkarma nithya upataptham " ( scorched always by the fruits of performing asAsthraic deeds ) . Sadhguru SwamigaL in a similar vein poited out that he is being scorched by the heat of high summer and that he was longing to take a dip into the cool waters of the sacred pond of Lord's feet . Saitn ThyagarAjA's suffering and the poignant describtion of his helpless state is similar to the conversation that NammAzhwAr had with the Lord : thazhuval pakkam nOkki nANI kavizhndurippan tozhuvanEnai yunathALL sErum vahayE soozh kandAi Here NammAzhwAr describes his durdasai . O Lord , I stand before You with a bent head because of the shame that has encircled me from acquiring the bundles of sins from durAchAra anushtaanams . I am weighted down by them . You are the PurushOtthaman and I am the lowest of the lowly (adhamaadhaman ) . I stand before you with a supreme yearning to attain the sowbhaghyam of merging with Your lotus feet . Please bless me , the meek and helpless one and grant me this boon ! In a similar spirit of AthmagarhaNam and naichyAnusandhAnam , Saint ThyagarAjA cried out to Sri RamachandrA on the banks of river Cauveri . Ninth CharaNam ******************* maanava thanu dhurlabhamanuchu nEmchi parmAnandha mOdhalEka madha matsara kaama lObha mOhamulaku dAsudai mOsabhOthigAka modhaDi kulajaDaguchu bhuvani Kshudhrula panalu salpuchunu yumDinagAka , narAdhamulu gOrisAraheena mathamulanu sAdhimpa dhArumAru ( DuDuku gala) This long charaNam reminds us of two famous slOkams of AchArya ALavandhAr's sthOthra rathnam , where he condemns himself for his sinful conduct and his performance of SaraNAgathi at the feet of the Sarva Loka saraNyan . The first slOkam is the one which starts with the paadham, " JanithvAham vamsE mahathi ---" ; the second slOkam starts with the first paadham , " AmaryAdha: Kshudhra: chalamathi : asUyA parsava bhU : " . The anvaya kramam for the first slOkam is as follows : SaraNatha! aham jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm sucheenAm yukthAnAm guNa purusha tatva sthithi vidhAm nisargAth yEva , tvath charaNa kamala yEkAntha manasAm mahathi vamsE janithvA , PaapAthmA tamasi adha : adha: nimajjAmi ( meaning ) : O Lord , who always shows the righteous path ! I am born of the renowned vamsam of sottai kulam of Natha Muni , who is the peak of sadAchaaram and rectitude. My predecessors are true comprehendors of tatthva trayam ( their svarUpams and sbvabhAvams ) and by natural disposition rooted in Your Lotus feet . Even with all this marking me as a branch of this sacred AchArya vamsa Vruksham , I am remaining steadfastly as a PaapAthmA and am floundering in the darkness surrounding me and sinking in the bottomless ocean of SamsAram . Our Saint ThyagarAjA identifies himself like AlavandhAr in this charaNam as born in a renowned vamsam ( mothadi kula juDakusu ) . This is the echo of " janithvAham vamsE mahathi jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm ." Even after hailing from such a uttama kulam , saint ThyagarAjA condemns himself for having wasted his days by not conquering arrogance , jealousy , desire , miserly trait , and infatuation with worldly things . He says that he has wasted the life as a human being that is so rare to be born in . He says : " I did not take great joy over the good fortune of being born as a human being with opportunity to engage in Bhagavadh ArAdhanam and Naama sankeerthanam . Instead , I became the servant of despicable traits such as arrogance et al ( Manava tanu dhurlabhamanusu nemchi paramAnandha mondalakE )" . He admits that he engaged in the activities normally chosen by wicked men and ended up begging for his livelihood at he doorsteps of the proud and rich . He also confesses that he went after many meaningless religions and the anushtAnams recommended by them and accumulated bundles of sins . He asks wiht great sense of agitation as to which dorai mahan is going to save him from his pitiable state . This soul cry of Saint ThyagarAjA is a direct echo of another of AlavandhAr's slokams housed in SthOthra Rathnam : amaryAdha: Kshudra: chalamadhi: asUyAprasavabhU: kruthagnO dhurmAni smara paravasO vanchanapara: I nrusamsa: pApishta: kathamahamithO dukkajaladhE : apArAth uttheerNa: tava paricharEyam charanayO : II AlavandhAr describes himself as the one who has crossed the bounds of established rules (amaryAdha: ) , Kshudran ( proclivity to engage in trivial pursuits ) , chalamadhi: ( unsteady , fickle mind ) , asUyA: prasava bhU : ( the birth place of jealousy ) , kruthagana: ( Ungrateful one , who forgets the help rendered by others ) , dhurmAnee ( one with ill feelings towards fellow human beings ) , smara paravasa : ( one who has fallen in the net of desire and impulses) , vanchanapara: ( skilled at cheating others ) , nrusamsa: ( engaged in violent acts ) and paapishta: ( mahA paapi ) . Saint ThyagarAja describes himself in this spirit with his statement , " kshudrulapanulu salpachuunuyumDinigaka narAdhamlanu kOri sAraheena madhamlanusAdhimpa tArumaaru " . He says : " I followed paashandi mathams with no substance (saara heenam ), associated with the lowliest people not known for their spiritual acheivements and wasted my days . O Dasaratha RaamA ! O Dorai mahan! You must rescue me from my lowly lot " . Tenth charaNam ******************* sathulakai konnALLsthikai sathlakai konnALLu dhanathatulakai dhirigithi nayya , ThyagarAjAptha yituvamDi ( DuDuku gala nannE ) This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu ( pa pa pamA ga ma ri sa ) . Here our Saint asks as to which dorai mahan is going to save him , who spent part of his life for the women , part of his life for accumulating wealth and running hither and thither for that purpose single mindedly and wasting the noble purpose of life . Then he hints that Sri Ramachandran alone can rescue from his miserable lot in this wastedlife of his . O Lord ! Did you not declare in one of your incarnations : " na mE bhaktha: praNasyathi " . VaraguNa RaajAthi Raaja Raama ! Great AchAryAs have described You as " sritha jana samrakshakan " ( one who unfailingly rescues those , who seek refuge in You ) and as " bheemam nithyam bhavajala nidhou majjathAm mAnavAnAm pOthapAthri bhavithri " ( the boat for those to save themselves , when they are about to sink in the deep and stormy waters of samsAram ) . They have also described You assuringly as " SarANAgatha praNaya bhanga bheethO bhavaan " ( one who is afraid to turn down the plea of one who seks your refuge ) . Further , they describe You as " vimuktha EkadhwAram vikatitha kavAtam praNayinAm " ( the entrance gate that is open at the temple of Moksham ) . I am emboldened to approach You , the KaruNA Saarvabhouman inspite of my lowly status as aparAtha chakravarthi . I am offering my saraNAgathi in the spirit of Achaaryaa AlavandhAr : na dharmanishtOsmi nchAthma vEdhee na bhakthimAn tvaccharaNAravindhE ! akinchanaOnyagathi : SaraNya ! tvadh paadhamUlam SaraNam prapadhyE II O SarvarakshakA ! I have no accomplishments to speak of in terms of AchAram or anushtAnam or scholarship ! I do not practise bhakthi yOgam at Your lotus feet ! I am without any capital . I have no other recourse to speak of .Hence , I have concluded that You and You alone are my sarvam and am seeking refuge at the cool shade of Your sacred feet . I am reminding myself about the vAkhyams of AzhwAr : " EmperumAn adiallAl SaraN ninaipilum pirithu illai yenakkE " . pOdalar nedumudi puNNiyanE ! RaamA ! Please establish me in the path of performing kaimkaryam for You alone and thus save me from the miserable life as a samsAri . Please bless me with Your darsanam and engage me to be Your servant . I am helpless. Please come to my rescue . Thus , Saint ThyagarAja addressed the son of emperor DasarathA as abhirAma GuNAkara Daasarathi and performed SaraNAgathi in the paddathi of GOpthruva VaraNam in his Gowlai Pancha Rathnam , while steeped in the mood of athma GarhaNam and NirvEdham . Sumukham suhrudham sulabham sugadham svajanam cha sukAyam amOgasaram I apahAya RaghUdhvaham anyamaham na kathanchana kanchana jAthu bhajE II Sadhguru ThayagarAja SwamigaL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam AzhwAr AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
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