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Re: Sri Guna Rathna Kosam : Part 54: slOkam 44

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • October 6, 2001 


Dear BhakthAs of Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr:

In this 44th slOkam , Sri Parasara Bhattar elaborates 
on the meaning of one of the ThiruvAimozhi Paasuram passages
of Swamy NammAzhwAr( T.V.M. 10.10.2: " Unn ThirumArvatthu
Maalai Nangai" acording to Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan(VNV) :

AamOdhAdh-adbhuthasaali Youana-dasA vyAkOcham amlAnimath
  SoundaryAmrutha sEka seethaLam-idham laavaNya SoothrArpitham
Sri Rangeswari! kOmaLAnga Sumanas-sandharpaNam Devi! tE
  KaanthOra: pathiyathnam-arhathi kavim dhingmAkaNDAkulam 

(Meaning according to Dr.VNV): As Swamy NammAzhwAr pointed out 
in TVM 10.10.2 , Oh MahA lakshmi! You are a veritable garland
in the chest of the Lord . The flowers of the garland are in 
the just-now-blossoming state , even as You are in the stage of
passing to Youth from Childhood--eternal though , this transition!
The blooming flowers emit a unique fragrance . The flowers will emit 
this permanently , since they know no withering even as you know
no further ageing beyond the conjunction stage between childhood
and Youth .

The flower --garland figured here has a coolness from the sparkling 
of nectar from the beauties of all component organs of Your
physique. These individual beauties --called Soundharyaas --are all 
strung together in a twine, so to say , to give the resultant 
total beauty called Laavanya ; the individual limb beauties 
and the total garland are very sensitive even to touch --why , 
even to a verbal praise (such as my verse in praise)!

This garland --namely Yourself --is a wonderful decoration
to the Lord's chest. But, what have I done in my folly ?
I am a bad sinner, surely this! Fie upon me! Can I harm 
the far-too-sensitive , delicate , flower garland by my verbal 
praise ? What is Your nature ? Your feet can not bear trampling
on the pollen--dust even; Your hands can not bear the toy-flower
itself ; in fact , how could I reconcile to Your playing on
the rough and tough chest of the Lord ? How could I dare 
describe You as a flower-garland on His chest , knowing fully 
well Your extreme sensitiveness ? What a bad poetry this, that 
I have created --not taking into account Your unique nature
properly ? May I be cursed for this ! 

Comments: Sri Paraasara Bhattar takes himself to task for
daring to describe through comparison of Sri RanganAyaki to
a perfectly fitting flower garland on the chest of Her Lord . 
He has second thoughts about the poorness of that similie 
and feels contrite. 

Sri RanganAyaki's dhivya mangaLa Vigraham is described first
as an exquisite flower garland of unmatched fragrance.

" AamOdhAdhbhuthEna adhbhutha Sougandhya:" As a result of 
this dhivya gandham (fragrance) , this garland on the Lord's
chest(Sri RanganAyaki) , it attains an unmatched state of
excellence (adhbhuthasAli)in fragrance . Swamy NammAzhwAr 
celebrates the divine fragrance of the tresses of  MahA Lakshmi
taking residence on the Lord's chest this way: " Unn 
Thiru-mArvatthu Maalai Nangai vaasam sey poonkuzhalAL ".
She is like the most beautiful & fragrant garalnd on the Lord's
chest . She Herself declares that She will not leave that seat 
even for a fraction of a second (ahalahillEn yenRu ). This is
a permanent fragrance , which does not ever diminish (youvana
dasA vyAkOcham) . It is associated with the blossoming of 
Sri RanganAyaki as She lingers eternally between the state of 
a child and a Youth full of femenine charm.Her soundharyam 
has a never fading coolness like an object sprayed with nectar. 

"amlAnam" here stands for a bright object  that is unwithered .
That amlAna Soundharyam ( beauty) is "soundhryAmrutha sEka 
SeethaLam ".Her soundharyam achieves its unfaded peak status
due to the sprinkling of the nectar Her avayava sObhai 
( beauty of the individual limbs being at the top of their youth ). 
Those limbs brimming with beauty are the flowers making
up the garland that is Yourself of exquisite beauty. Those
flowers are strung together in the base string (twine)of Your
LaavaNyam (beauty). Your laavaNyam is like a fast flowing 
stream that flows all over Your limbs (SamudhAya avayava 
sObhai). Strung together by Your laavaNyam , the flowers
(limbs) constitute the most beautiful garland (Yourself)
resting on the Lord's chest.

Sri RangEswari ! This delicate and beautiful garland (Yourself)
is a magnificent and noble alankAram for the chest of Your
Lord . 

What have I done now to this unique garland as a poet ?
I have crushed unintentionally this most delicate
garland by my words stating that this garland is the most
appropriate one for Your Lord's chest . How could that be?
Fie on me for my poverty of imagination! I should have 
known that Your tender feet suffers even from the brushing
with the pollen dust of the lotus on which You are sitting!
Your delicate hands feel the pain of lifting and holding
the lotuses (leelA pushpams) on Your two upper hands! 
How could such a tender and delicate fit as an appropriate
ornament for the hard and strong chest of Your Lord ? 
I am thoroughly mistaken in my comparison of You 
to a soft garland that finds its match on the chest of
Your Lord . I could not adequately express myself due
to my poverty of imagination as a poet daring to describe
Your uniqueness.I deserve condemnation for my poor efforts
to describe Your uniqueness !

Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,
Daasan, Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan  

 


  

                                        



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