vegāsetu stotram
• TBF
vegā-setu means “the dam for the river vegavati”. This name arises for the Lord in the kshetram called tiru-vehkā since He lies across the river vegavati like a dam. The Lord is also called yathokta-kāri in samskr*t, and its equivalent in tamizh, “Sonna vaṇṇam Seyda perumāḷ”, or “One who did as He was told”. The history behind this is that once tirumaḻiśai āḻvār requested bhagavān to pack up his snake bed and move out of kā~nci because of the local king’s insult to a bhakta. Bhagavān did exactly what He was told. When Bhagavān 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 āḻvār. āḻvār forgave the king, and asked perumāḷ to return back, unfold His snake bed and lie down again in His old place, and bhagavān heeded this request as well, and the kingdom returned to normalcy again. Thus the Lord in this kshetram is fondly called yathokta-kāri.
Like hasti-giri, tiruvehkā is also a svayam-vyakta kshetram. We learned in SrI varadarāja pa~ñcāśat that varadarājap perumāḷ is on a small hill called hasti-giri, and appeared there in response to brahma’s aśva medha yāgam. We may recall from the write-up of the sthala-purāṇa-s of these temples that when sarasvati rushed in the form of vegavati river to obstruct brahma’s yāga prior to its completion, perumāḷ just lied down on His snake bed in the path of the river, and sarasvati subsided and went underground. Thus bhagavān protected brahma’s yāga in this instance, and stayed here in this arcā-mūrti form in response to brahma’s request.
In the short 10 Sloka-s of this stotra, svāmi deśikan points out the following key aspects of bhagavān:
1. He is like a dam that helps the cetana-s in crossing the Ocean of samsāra (eshah setuh gamayitum pāram īshṭe - Slokam 2). This is the vegā-setu aspect of this perumāḷ. In fact, svāmi deśikan refers to bhagavān as vishṇu setuh in Slokam 4, and as jagadeka setuh - The only dam that can help cetana-s, in Slokam 3.
svāmi deśikan emphasizes the aspect of bhagavān being a dam that helps in crossing the ocean of samsāra in other stotra-s as well. Thus in dayā Satakam Slokam 87, he points out that in His rāma 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*shṭa bahu-pātaka praśama hetunā setunā…. In SrI varadarāja pa~ñcāsat, he refers again to the very sight of the dam that was created by Lord rāma being able to lead the cetana-s to cross the ocean of samsāra (Slokam 25 - tam vīkshya setum adhunā’pi śarīravantah sarve shadūrmi bahuḷam jaladhim taranti).
2. He is One who subjugates Himself to His devotees, and does whatever His bhakta-s want Him to do. (bhaktimatām yathoktakārī - Slokam 5; Srita jana para tantram - Slokam 7; śaraṇam upagatānām ādeśa kārī - 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 perumāḷ to tirumaḻiśai āḻvār’s request to role down His snake bed and get out of kā~nci, and later to return back to kā~nci, has already been covered in the previous write-up on the sthalapurāṇam of this kshetram. This is the yathoktakāri aspect of this perumāḷ.
An alternate interpretation for the name ‘yathoktakārī’ is that bhagavān will give moksham to those who have surrendered to Him as He has declared in His rāma and kr*shṇa incarnations.
3. He removes all obstacles that face His devotees. This is illustrated by His protecting brahma’s yāga against the ferocious force of vegavati. (praśamita hayamedha vyāpadam padmayoneh - Slokam 7). Also in Slokam 8 we have Him described as sarva jantoh Samayati paritāpam - One who removes the sorrows of all beings.
4. Surrendering to bhagavān not only ensures moksham at the end of this life, but it quells the unrest caused by the waves of samsāra 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 (samsāra jaladhi kallolān praśamayati - Slokam 3). In Slokam 6, bhagavān is described as “pratyādiśanti prajānām bhava sa~ñcaraṇam - One who puts an end to the wanderings of people in the ocean of samsāra.
5. vegāsetu perumāḷ appeared first, followed by varadan later according to the kshetra purāṇa-s. svāmi deśikan nicely interprets this as Lord first appearing as vegāsetū peru.māḷ in the form of upāyam or the means, and then the same Lord appearing as Lord varadarāja in the form of result (phala) - Slokam 1. Another way he enjoys the vaibhavam of these two arcā-mūrti-s is by crediting vegāsetu perumāḷ as One who removes the obstacles of His devotees (in this case the obstacels to brahma’s yāga), 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, svāmi deśikan points out that worshipping vegāsetu perumāḷ will lead to bhagavān fulfilling the wishes of the devotees, as well as giving moksham in accordance with bhagavān’s own declaration in His rāma and kr*shṇa incarnations.
-dāsan kr*shṇamācāryan