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The Bird of Pray-2

From the Bhakti List Archives

sadagopaniyengar • October 23, 2002 


              
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedana Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

                   The Bird Of Pray-2
 

       It is no small measure of the PakshirAjA's greatness that he has a Gayatri mantra devoted to him. The MahAnArAyaNOpanishad extols his praise thus-

"Tat PurushAya vidmahE SuvarNa pakshAya dheemahi

  TannO Garuda: prachOdayAt"

The Shruti enjoins upon us to meditate upon Garuda, with his golden wings that radiate power and beauty. To those who contemplate him thus, the Great Bird bestows all things auspicious and leads them on to liberation through adoption of a suitable strategy therefor.

 Sri Garutman, in tune with his primacy in Paramapadam, enjoys a ringside view of the Lord, not available to other nitya sUrIs. Sri SudarsanAzhwan and Sri Panchajanyazhwan adorn the Lord's two upraised arms. Hence their perspective does not afford them such a good view of the Lord and His beauty. Sri AdisEsha too suffers from a similar handicap of location. It is to Sri Garuda that the pleasure of the full frontal view of Emperuman is afforded, due to his unique position right in front of the Lord. Sri Alavandar attests to this in the Stotra Ratnam-"upastthitam tEna purO GarutmatA" He is thus practically eye-ball-to-eye-ball with Paramapurusha, and receives the full force of the beneficial Bhagavat KatAksham. We can easily infer the Great Bird's importance, from the fact that he is afforded a "pavilion pass" in Paramapadam.

  Sri Garutman shares with Sri Sudarsana the honour of being the only devotee of the Lord to have whole stotras dedicated exclusively to his praise, while other nityasuris are mentioned only in passing. Swami Desikan's Sri Garuda Panchasat and Sri Garuda Dandakam are indeed beautiful compositions, giving a comprehensive account of the Super Bird's greatness, his heroic exploits in obtaining Amritam against all odds, his victorious battle with the venomous serpents, his Veda-svaroopatvam, etc. Similarly, the small but beautiful stotra of Sri DoddayAchAr Swami of ChOlasimhapuram brings graphically before our eyes the regal splendour of the Garudotsavam at Kanchi.

Unable to perform mangalasasanam of the Lord's Garudotsavam one year, Sri DoddayAcharyA, residing at ChOLaSimhapuram, composed a stotram in five slOKAs, seeing the utsavam, in all its splendour, in his mind's eye.

Immediately, Sri DevAdirAjA deserted Kancheepuram briefly and appeared before the AchAryA , resplendant in his GarudavAhanam. This itihyam is commemorated to this day, when Sri TEpperumAL pauses for a few minutes at the western Gopura vAsal, ostensibly to bestow His divya darsanam to His devotee at ChOlasimhapuram. This GopuravAsal sevai is known as "DoddayAchar Sevai",when Sri Varadan's tirumEni is lit up by the glow from a huge ball of camphor.

 The Garuda at Kanchi is a huge figure, with palms outstretched to carry the Lord's lotus feet, one knee bent in a flying posture, and, as evident to those who observe closely, with a benign tirumukham adorned by a beatific smile, reflecting his ecstasy brought about by such close association with the Lord's tirumEni. Sri Garuda's hands are outstretched, as if showing off to us the extremely precious tiruvadi of the Lord, the tiruvadis that are known only to the Upanishads, the tiruvadis that are adorned with the kireetAs of Brahma, Rudra and Indra bent in devotion. Here is Sri DoddayAchAryA's mangalasasanam of Sri TArkshyA-

 "Yat vEda mouLi gaNa vEdyam avEdyam anyai:

  Yat Brahma Rudra SuranAyaka mouLi vandyam.

  Tat PadmanAbha pada padma yugam manushya sEvyam

  Bhavadbhi: iti darsayateeva TArkshya:"


It is also significant to note that Sri Periazhwar's fear (of the evil eye befalling the Lord) was occasioned by the magnificent sight of Emperuman ensconced on Sri Garutman. The combined beauty and splendour of the Lord and His glorious servant was too much for the Azhwar's eyes, prompting a hasty benediction in the form of the TiruppallANdu.

 

  We have heard of the Lord rushing to the aid of devotees in distress. Have you ever come across a case of the devotee saving Emperuman from dire straits? Our valiant Garutman did. You would have observed in the episode from Srimad Ramayana recounted above that the PakshirAjA rushed to the rescue of Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana, who were immobilised by the nAgAstra of Indrajit. And unlike the Lord, who comes to our aid only when specifically appealed to ("RakshApEkshAm pratIkshatE") Sri VainatEya stormed in uninvited, as soon as he knew that the Princes of Ayodhya were in trouble, and set the brothers free of the serpentine coils shackling them. In the process, Sri Garuda also demonstrated his superiority over his fellow nityasUri Sri Adisesha (whose avatAra Sri Lakshmana was).

 

Sri Garutman's greatness would fill volumes and is immeasurable even for divine intellects, and much more so for people with faulty faculties like adiyen. All that has been said above is only with the intention of displaying the tip of the huge iceberg that lies submerged.

 

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

Dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

   



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