Re: Some questions regarding some of our customs ...
From the Bhakti List Archives
• October 12, 1999
> > 2. There are certain ShriVaishnavas when > > prostrating, perform the act 4 times or in > > multiples of 2. However, there are certain other > > ShriVaishnavas who do it just once (such as the > > people belonging to "thenKalai" <- Please do not > > turn this question into a "kalai" fight). > > What is the significance here ? The moods of each kind of prostration are slightly different, but each in their own way intend to convey the utmost respect. In one method (single prostration), the prostration is ended when the elder to whom the namskAram is being done says "ezhundiRu, pa! (get up, my son!)". The the other (multiple prostration), the prostration is ended when the elder says "pOrum, pOrum, pa! (enough, enough!). Let's examine each. (a) Prostrating only once Those who prostrate only once and stay down until told to get up feel that this is the most respectful way of doing namaskAram. It is thought that here, one is behaving as if he or she is completely at the mercy of the other person, without any independent will. It is also held that a single prostration at the feet of a merciful elder is itself enough to secure all blessings; why prostrate multiply, as if to ask for more? Don't tug on the Lord's heartstrings, don't try to prove that you merit His grace. A single gesture is far more than enough. (b) Prostrating multiple times Those who prostrate again and again feel that this indicates one's perpetual willingness to serve, as well as one's perpetual willingness to be "sesha" of the other. In other words, the mood is "it is not only just for now that I am falling at your feet. Just because I get up once does not mean that my prostration ends. It is perpetual, for ever and ever." The multiple prostration is intended to convey this willingness. Of course, there are arguments between proponents of each kalai as to which form is the more ancient, more traditional form. I won't get into that here. Suffice it to say, however, that each bhAvam finds expression in some form or another in our pUrvAchAryas' works: -- Single Prostration prAyaH prapadane pumsAm paunaH punyam nivArayan | hastaS SrIrangabhartur mAm avyAd abhayamudritaH || "May the right hand of Lord Ranganatha, which, held in the abhaya-mudra pose, promises freedom of fear to all, protect me, as it asks those who have surrendered to Him to not do it again and again." -- Nyasa Tilaka, sloka 2 This is a reference to the pose of Lord Ranganatha in utsava form as Namperumaal. His hand is held up, in abhaya-mudra, and Desika imagines this as saying "Stop! A single prapatti is enough! Don't repeat it!" If we take namaskAram as being equivalent to prapatti, one could take this bhAvam to mean that a single namaskAram is enough. Swami Desikan's son Kumara Varadacharya eloquently writes, putting words in Ranganatha's mouth, "My solemn vow is that upon a single observance of prapatti, I will give everything that is desired. If surrender is done again and again, I have nothing at all to give, and I will become a debtor. So stop!" -- Multiple Prostration nIlAtungastanagiritaTI suptam udbOdhya kRshNaM pArArthyaM svaM SrutiSataSiras siddham adhyApayantI | svOcchishTAyAm sraji nigalitam yA balAtkRtya bhunktE gOdA tasyai nama idam idaM bhUya EvAstu bhUyaH || "... may my repeated namaskArams to Goda forever increase ..." -- Parasara Bhattar's thaniyan to Tiruppaavai The meaning of this is obvious. One may disagree with these interpretations, but let's take them in a positive, non-argumentative spirit. [ As far as I have learnt and read, this distinction is not based on differing conceptions of Lakshmi Thaayaar, as another correspondent has written. ] > > 4. A very fundamental question. Why is it that > > when we go around in a "pradakshinam", we go > > around the sanctum in the direction we do it as > > opposed to doing it the other way ? Does the word > > "dakshin" in the word have any significance ? Yes, the word "dakshiNa" is significant. (The word is not "pradakshaNam", as someone else mentioned.) "dakshina" refers to the right. One circumambulates the Lord's shrine clockwise, keeping the Lord always to the right or "dakshiNa" side. That is why this is known as "pradakshiNam". The exact reason for this is not very clear, but it is generally considered more respectful to move about keeping a revered object to one's right side. This is universal in India -- Buddhists, Jains, as well as all varieties of Hindus observe this practice. aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan Mani
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