Vegasetu Stotram of Swami Desikan

Sri N. Krishnamachari • September 3, 1998

vegÄ�-setu means “the dam for the river vegavati”. This name arises for the Lord in the kshetram called tiru-vehkA since He lies across the river vegavati like a dam. The Lord is also called yathokta-kÄ�ri in samskr*t, and its equivalent in Tamil, “Sonna vaṇṇam Seyda perumÄ�ḷ”, or “One who did as He was told”. The history behind this is that once tirumazhiSai AzhvAr requested bhagavÄ�n to pack up his snake bed and move out of kÄ�~nci because of the local king’s insult to a bhakta. BhagavÄ�n did exactly what He was told. When BhagavÄ�n moved out of the king’s land, there were immediate signs of impending darkness and suffering in the kingdom. The king realized his mistake and begged forgiveness from the Ä�ḻvÄ�r. Ä�ḻvÄ�r forgave the king, and asked perumÄ�ḷ to return back, unfold His snake bed and lie down again in His old place, and bhagavÄ�n heeded this request as well, and the kingdom returned to normalcy again. Thus the Lord in this kshetram is fondly called yathokta-kÄ�ri.

Like hasti-giri, tiruvehkÄ� is also a svayam-vyakta kshetram. We learned in SrI varadarÄ�ja pa~ñcÄ�Å›at that varadarÄ�jap perumÄ�ḷ is on a small hill called hasti-giri, and appeared there in response to brahma’s aÅ›va medha yÄ�gam. We may recall from the write-up of the sthala-purÄ�ṇa-s of these temples that when sarasvati rushed in the form of vegavati river to obstruct brahma’s yÄ�ga prior to its completion, perumÄ�ḷ just lied down on His snake bed in the path of the river, and sarasvati subsided and went underground. Thus bhagavÄ�n protected brahma’s yÄ�ga in this instance, and stayed here in this arcÄ�-mÅ«rti form in response to brahma’s request.

In the short 10 Sloka-s of this stotra, sv�mi deśikan points out the following key aspects of bhagav�n:

1.  Dam

He is like a dam that helps the cetana-s in crossing the Ocean of sams�ra (eshah setuh gamayitum p�ram īshṭe - Slokam 2). This is the veg�-setu aspect of this perum�ḷ. In fact, sv�mi deśikan refers to bhagav�n as vishṇu setuh in Slokam 4, and as jagadeka setuh - The only dam that can help cetana-s, in Slokam 3.

svÄ�mi deÅ›ikan emphasizes the aspect of bhagavÄ�n being a dam that helps in crossing the ocean of samsÄ�ra in other stotra-s as well. Thus in dayÄ� Satakam Slokam 87, he points out that in His rÄ�ma incarnation He created the setu to cross the ocean to get into Lanka, which is in itself a great act of compassion on His part. The very sight of the setu or dam is sufficient to remove all the sins - prakr*shá¹­a bahu-pÄ�taka praÅ›ama hetunÄ� setunÄ�…. In SrI varadarÄ�ja pa~ñcÄ�sat, he refers again to the very sight of the dam that was created by Lord rÄ�ma being able to lead the cetana-s to cross the ocean of samsÄ�ra (Slokam 25 - tam vÄ«kshya setum adhunÄ�’pi Å›arÄ«ravantah sarve shadÅ«rmi bahuḷam jaladhim taranti).

2.  Servant of those who love Him

He is One who subjugates Himself to His devotees, and does whatever His bhakta-s want Him to do. (bhaktimatÄ�m yathoktakÄ�rÄ« - Slokam 5; Srita jana para tantram - Slokam 7; Å›araṇam upagatÄ�nÄ�m Ä�deÅ›a kÄ�rÄ« - One who obeys the orders of those who have surrendered to Him- Slokam 8; bhakta anugantuh - One who follows His devotees - Slokam 6). The response of perumÄ�ḷ to tirumaḻiÅ›ai Ä�ḻvÄ�r’s request to role down His snake bed and get out of kÄ�~nci, and later to return back to kÄ�~nci, has already been covered in the previous write-up on the sthalapurÄ�ṇam of this kshetram. This is the yathoktakÄ�ri aspect of this perumÄ�ḷ.

An alternate interpretation for the name ‘yathoktakÄ�rÄ«’ is that bhagavÄ�n will give moksham to those who have surrendered to Him as He has declared in His rÄ�ma and kr*shṇa incarnations.

3.  Remover of Obstacles

He removes all obstacles that face His devotees. This is illustrated by His protecting brahma’s yÄ�ga against the ferocious force of vegavati. (praÅ›amita hayamedha vyÄ�padam padmayoneh - Slokam 7). Also in Slokam 8 we have Him described as sarva jantoh Samayati paritÄ�pam - One who removes the sorrows of all beings.

4.  Self-Surrender

Surrendering to bhagavÄ�n not only ensures moksham at the end of this life, but it quells the unrest caused by the waves of samsÄ�ra while the cetana still spends the rest of his life in this world. The prapanna leads a life of bliss in this world by dedicating himself completely to the service of the Lord (samsÄ�ra jaladhi kallolÄ�n praÅ›amayati - Slokam 3). In Slokam 6, bhagavÄ�n is described as “pratyÄ�diÅ›anti prajÄ�nÄ�m bhava sa~ñcaraṇam - One who puts an end to the wanderings of people in the ocean of samsÄ�ra.

5.  Relationship to Lord Varada

vegÄ�setu perumÄ�ḷ appeared first, followed by varadan later according to the kshetra purÄ�ṇa-s. svÄ�mi deÅ›ikan nicely interprets this as Lord first appearing as vegÄ�setÅ« peru.mÄ�ḷ in the form of upÄ�yam or the means, and then the same Lord appearing as Lord varadarÄ�ja in the form of result (phala) - Slokam 1. Another way he enjoys the vaibhavam of these two arcÄ�-mÅ«rti-s is by crediting vegÄ�setu perumÄ�ḷ as One who removes the obstacles of His devotees (in this case the obstacels to brahma’s yÄ�ga), so that varada can concentrate on His job of bestowing the devotees’ wishes (e.g., by appearing as a pratyaksham to brahma according to His wishes) - Slokam 8.

In conclusion, svÄ�mi deÅ›ikan points out that worshipping vegÄ�setu perumÄ�ḷ will lead to bhagavÄ�n fulfilling the wishes of the devotees, as well as giving moksham in accordance with bhagavÄ�n’s own declaration in His rÄ�ma and kr*shṇa incarnations.

-d�san kr*shṇam�c�ryan