Bhakti List Archives

Resumption of incomplete postings !

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • Thu Sep 04 1997 - 10:30:15 PDT 


Dear Friends : 

Over the past few days , I have been
somewaht derelict in completing the postings that 
I started and ran off to other subjects or went on travel.
With the Divya Dampathi's blessings , I will start again 
and try to complete a thread before running off to 
a new theme /subject .

Here is the sequence o fpostings that I would like to cover :

1. Sri  dEhaLIsa sthuthi of Swami Desikan
and connection to the three NurrAndhAthis 
of the Mudal AzhwArs 

2.Naama Sankeerthanam & Saint ThyagarAjA

3. Pillai AndhAthi of Sri NainArAchaarya 

4. PrathAna sathakam of Swami Desikan
    from his chillarai Rahasyams .

Sri Murali Rangaswamy did a mahOpakAram to me
by presenting me with a copy of the third part of 
the Chillarai Rahasyams of Swami Desikan 
commented by Sri Ubhaya Vedantha VidwAn ,
Oppiliappan Koil V.N. Srirama DesikAchAr Swamy .
This out of print edition was released by 
H.H. PoundarIkapuram SrimadhAndavan .
THank you Sri Rangaswamy .

It is a great blessing to read this magnificient 
grantham and appreciate the compassion 
of Swami Desikan to take the trouble of 
responding to our doubts on our siddhAntham
thru 100 Questions and answers in PrathAna
sathakam . 

Accompanying the original text of Swami Desikan 
in Mani PravALam  is a clear and beautiful text
by Sri V.N. Srirama DesikachAr Swamy named
RahasyArtha VivaraNam . Without this explanatory 
text , we can not go near the original of Swami
Desikan because of the extraordinary height 
of scholarship of a master aachArya . During 
the troublesome time of being incapacitated by 
cataract and other bodily ailments , Sri V.N.S 
swamy blessed us with the text of the rahasyArtha 
vivaraNam  just as Swami Desikan blessed us
with Rahasya Traya Saaram and Virodha ParihAram,
when he was in his nineties .  

I will spend some time in the future to share with you
the brilliant insights of Swami Desikan on what might be
confusing to us about our siddhAntham and then responding to 
them in the form of Q&A s . If we have a good grasp of these
tenets , we will be very much fortified in our understanding of 
our revered siddhAntham and its unique glory among 
the other branches of VedAntham .

For the sake of completeness , the third part of recently
released chillarai rahasyams with generous support of 
Dr.Murali Rangaswami of Boston , two Sri VaishNavAs
from Muscat/Oman et al covers the following works of
Swami Desikan besides PrathAna Sathakam :

 A . Sri Vedantha Desika Prapatthi
      ( all of the ten slokAs end with the same
        fourth quarter of "VedAntha sUri charaNou
        SaraNam prapathyE " )

B . UpakAra Sangraham 
     ( Subject matter : the limitless help of the Lord 
       to Jivans from time immemorial 
       leading up to the entry into parama padham ) 

C. Saara Sangraham 
     ( The essence of what the Mumukshus
        or those aspiring to Moksham should know )

D. VirOdha ParihAram
     (  The clarification of the doubts on perceived
         inconsistencies in one's clear understanding 
         of the three great Rahasyams of Sri VaishNavAs ) 

E. Muni Vaahana Bhogam
     ( Moving and beautiful commentary on
       ThiruppANAzhwAr's AmalanAdhipirAn ,
        a prabhandham of great interest to 
        our Sri Sampath RengarAjan on which he 
        spoke at the Buffalo meeting of SDDS in 12/96) 
    
F . Sri Hasthigiri MahAthmyam
      ( The description of the incarnation
         of Lord VaradarAjA at the Sathya Vratha
         KshEthram /Kanchipuram ) 

G. Parama Padha sObhaanam
     ( The nine tenets that serve as progressive
        steps to climb the great sthAnam of 
        the coveted Parama Padham /Sri VaikunTam ) 

H. Sri DevAthirAjan Thirumanjanakkattiyam 
      ( This rare piece of recital of the glories 
        of Sri VaradarAjA during His NeerAttam,
        which begins with , " naayinthE  nAyinthE --
        Lakshmi nEthrOthpala Sri ------ " .
        This kattiyam is similar in spirit to
        the Thirumanjanakkatiyam recited by 
        the descendants of Paraasara Bahttar 
        at Srirangam during Lord RanganAthA's 
        Thirumanjanam . Sri SundararAjan of
        Tennessee may have more to say on the 
        SriranganAthA's Kattiyam composed 
        by the precocious son of KurEsa ) .

I. Thirukkacchinambi"s Sri DevarAjAshtakam
   ( there are postings in the archives on this
     moving tribute of Sri KaanchipUrNar ) 

H. Sri VedAntha Desika PraarthnAshtakam
    ( the first slokam appeals to the great 
      ocean of Mercy , Swami Desikan to
      hear the plea of the disciple : " Swamin !
      krupAmbhOrAsinA tvayA vijyApanam 
      srOthavyam " and concludes with the statement
      " bhavathra parathrApi madheeyam saraNam sadhA ) 

I. Sri VedAntha Desika Vigraha DhyAnam 
   ( The sowmya  rUpam of the Guru Saarvabhoumam
      is reflected upon for DhyAnam here ) .

J. Sri VedAntha Desika MangaLAsAsanam 
    ( The creation of the great AchArya son of 
       Swami Desikan and salutes the tightly
       linked AchAryA parampara this way :
      " Sri BhashyakAra: panthAnam aathmanA
         darsitham puna : " ) 

" tasmai VenkatanAthAya mama nAthAya mangaLam

  prApyAya prapakAyAsthu VenkatEsAya MangaLam "

KavithArkika SimhAya kalyANa guNasAlinE I
SrimathE VenkatEsAya VedAntha GuravE nama : II

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan