Darsanam

taic[mf
8/14/2009
Published on behalf of Muscat Srivaishnavas

Srimate sri Nigamanta Mahadesikaya nama:

Sarangapani & Komalavalli Thayar – Yanai Vahanam - Tirukudandai

Kulashekara Perumal lived more than a millennium ago.He was a saintly king of Chera
Naadu presently Kerala.He is said to have authored two prabandams – Perumal
Tirumozhi and Mukundamala. Kulashekara Azhwar was the kshatriya king whose kadiya
kadal for Sri Ramachandra murthy came out in form of
Prabhanda outpourings. Mukundamala consists of 40
beautiful verses in praise of Naama Sankeerthanam of
Sriman Naarayana. “This stotram is a celebration of Nama
Siddhaantham, Saranagati, prayer for unceasing
remembrance of the Lord’s holy feet at all times and
places, ParatatvaNirnayam, exhortation to Chetanas to
offer Prapatti at the holy feet of the most merciful Lord,
who has Sri Devi as His inseparable companion. Hence, it
is a summation of all the profound principles of our Sri
sampradayan.” Dr V. Sadagopan.

The stotra starts with a fervent appeal to the Lord to

bless us with all the enjoyments both in Bhoolokam and
in Srivaikuntham. The appeal to Mukunda starts in the
traditional manner appealing to Sri Devi .The appeal is:
Kulasekhara Alwar, Madurantakam "Srivallabheti----Jagannivaasethi Iti Pratipatam Aalipinam
Maam Kuru Our SriVaishnava tradition begins with
salutations to SriDevi as she is the ruler of the chetanas and because of her proximity
to the Lord we route our prayers through her.Thus Azhwar salutes this mata and then
calls the lord as Sri Vallabha. Kulasekhara Azhwar recognizes and describes his Lord
first as Srivallabhan and then associates Him with Thaayar by calling him so.He is Sriya
Pati as he is ever united with SriDevi. That association makes him "Srimathaam Vara:"
or the foremost among the opulent in all worlds.
He then follows the salutation and appeal by describing the Lord as Varada, Dayaapara,
Bhaktha Priya, Bavalundanagovidha, Naagasayana and Jagannivasa.
The mystic saint Kulashekara Azhwar pleads to the Lord to make his mind always
recites his Holy names.

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The second verse in Mukundamala is like a pallandu for the Lord.Jayatu Jayatu ….
Kulasekhara salutes the Lord as: Deva: Devaki Nandana: Krishna: Vrishni Vamsa
Pradeepa: Mega Syaamala:. Komalaanga: Prithvi Bhara Nasa: and Mukunda:.
There are eight Naamas included in this verse. Lord Krishna is saluted as the Son of
Devaki and as the light of Vrishni clan. Vrishnis is said to have descended from the race
of King Yadu. His dark blue complexion reminding one of the clouds of the rainy season
(as Our Svami Desikan in his prabhandam says Kannan karu mugil pol ninru anaithum
kaakindrane), His beautiful divya mangala roopam (Adharahita chaaru
vamsamala, Makuta lambi mayura pincha mala…..)
and His lightening of the burden of the Bhoomi
Piratti through destruction of the wicked during
the Bharatha War are hailed here. Kulasekhara
like Periyazhwaar says, Victory to Thee and may
you thrive forever!After all, all azhwars were eka
kanthargal .They spoke in one voice.

Our Vedas and Upanishads say that Lord

Sriman Narayana is hidden in all chenatas just
like ghee is hidden in milk. The ghee is visible
to the naked eye only after a process of
churning .Same way one should churn one’s
mind to realize and enjoy the divya mangala
roopam of Sriman Narayana in one’s
chit.Kulashekara Perumal too gives us that
advice in one of his verse.

JihvE !keerthaya Kesavam muraripum

chEtO: bhaja Sreedharam
paaNI dvandva! Samarchaya achyutha
Kulasekhara alwar, Madurantakam kathaa: srOtradvaya! Tvam sruNu /
KrishNam lOkaya Lochana dvaya! HarEr gachcha
angriyugam aalayam
Jigra! GraaNa mukunda paada thuLaseem moordhan nama adhOkshajam //
Meaning
- Oh! My tongue! Always recite Kesava’s name.
- Oh! My mind! Always contemplate on Muraari
- Oh! My hands! Always offer worship to Sreedhara
- Oh! My ears! Always listen to the stories of Achyutha
- Oh! My eyes! Always see KrishNa everywhere
- Oh! My nose! Always smell the fragrance of the holy basil at the feet of Mukunda
- Oh! My head! Always bow to Lord Vishnu (adhOkshaja)

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AzhvAr asks his two hands to do archana with tulasi leaves and flower petals. He wants
his hands to do archana to SrIdhara Perumal with perfection appealing - "pANi-
dvandva SrI-dharam samarchaya (samyak arcaya)". He wants his hands to do archana
to Sriya Pati and that is why he chooses the name Sridharan where the Piratti is evident
in the namam. The divya-dampatis are inseparable(Agalaellen neraiyum endru alarmelu
mangai urai maarbha….)or as Svami Desikan in his Sri Sukti says –Eka Sheshitva
yogaat… yuwaam Dampathi Daivatham na.

After the appeal to his hands, SrI KulaSEkhara Azhwar turns his attention to his ears.
He asks them to hear (SrOtradvaya tvam acyuta kathA: SrNu!) stories about Acchutan .
The name Acchutan symbolizes His total resolve to come to prapannas' rescue without
fail.Mukundan or Acchutan both naamas mean Lord who will rescue his Prapannas
come what may. By invoking Acchutan Sri Kulashekara Azhwar wants his ears to hear
the Saranagati Vratam of Perumal.

“SrI KulaSEkharar next calls on his pair of eyes to enjoy the beauty of SrI Ranganaatha
in His avatAra as SrI kRshNa. His appeal is:
"kRshNam lOkaya lOcana-dvaya:" To witness and enjoy the beauty of SrI kRshNa
bhagavAn, he asks his
legs to go to temples
where His archa-
morthys are
enshrined. The AzhvAr
advises his legs as
follows :
"anghriyugma harE:
Alayam gaccha".
AzhvAr then asks his
nose to smell the
sweet perfume of tulasi leaves that
Kulasekahara Alwar and Karunakara perumal, Masi Punarvasu

adorned the holy feet of SrI kRshNa - "hE kRshNa, mukunda-pAda-tulasIm jighra".
Finally, he asks his head to bend and offer its namaskAram-s to Lord Ranganaatha - "hE
mUdhan adhOkshajam nama".VERSE
After praising the incomparable beauty of SrI kRshNa, KulaSEkharAzhvAr now
turns to the holy SrI-kRshNa-mantram. He explains the significance of the mantram and
the many blessings it confers on those who chant it repeatedly.
"SrI-kRshNa-mantram janma-sAphalya-mantram satatam japa" is the AzhvAr's
recommendation. He asks us to recite the kRshNa-mantram which gives meaning and

Darsanam Avani 2009

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fruit to one's life. He explains the reasons for his recommendation since he knows from
his experience that the mantram can offer all the following benefits:
1. Satru chEda Eka mantram : it is the one mantram which will destroy one's enemies.
2. Upanishad vAkhya sampUjya mantram : It is the mantram which has been identified
as the most sacred by the upanishad vAkhyams.
3. SamsAra uttAra mantram : It is the mantram which gets us across the ocean of
samsAra.
4. Samupacita tama: sangha niryANa mantram : It is the mantram which can banish
the deep and dark clouds of ignorance and despair.
5. Sarva aiSvarya Eka mantram : It is the one mantram for attaining all kinds of wealth.
6. Vyasana bhujaga sandashTa santrANa mantram : It is the mantram which acts as a
sure cure for the poisonous bites of serpents known as worldly afflictions.
7. Janma sAphalya mantram : the one mantram, recitation of which makes one's life
worth living and fruitful.
SrI kulaSEkharar therefore asks us to recite constantly the holy mantram known
as SrI-kRshNa-mantram for realizing all of the above benefits.” (Dr.V Sadagopan) Just
like Sri Andal, Nammazhwar and Svami Desikan said Sri Kulashekara Azhwar too
appeals to the bhaddha janmas to wake up from the slumber of maya and do a self
correction. No one can kindle the desire to use the idriyams in our body in a good way
than ourselves. After all aren’t we the master of our idriyams and body. The desire to
uplift can come only if we are in Sat Sangati. Let us hope that one day we too would
take interest in Sri Kulashekara Azhwar’s Arulicheyals and do some introspection.

Vaazhi Ranganatha Perumal

Vaazhi Kulashekara Perumal
Vaazhi Thoopul Perumal
Nanagainallur Venkatesan

Swami Desika Vandana

samaip-tM tona pyaao ivaXauwM
inavaoV dovaaya hyaananaaya .
tt: svayaM svaIkRtvaana\ gauÉya-:
tda=\G`yaupayaa vayamaova Qanyaa:.. 90
`pfEpaT KtiAr vFvilf ;Rnft
!lXfmIhyvt[{kfK Ctftma[ pa^l smafpfpitfT
ta{mf sfvIkaitfTkf eka]fd sfvamiyi[f
tiRvFk^qEy upaymak pbfbiy naEm t[fyafkqf
(pakfySalikqf).
Ecaqigfkp<rmf ! etadfdacfcaaiyaaf

Darsanam Avani 2009

5
 (continued from Part 6)
Swami Desikan describes the first stepping-stone on the way up to 'parama-padam' as
being the most difficult to ascend. Everyone in the world has a problem with it. Even
'kavi-s' and 'tArkika-s' find it daunting; ordinary people find it next to impossible.

"vivEkam" or spiritual wisdom i.e. the power of discrimination, the first among 9 steps,
is said to be the steepest and most difficult to climb. It is difficult because it represents
Man's single most
grievous and
biggest failing in
life. It is a failing
that makes him,
for the most part
in his lifetime,
unable to
differentiate
between:

a) what
is truth
("satyam") and
what is false
("anartham")
b) what
is good ("sat")
and what is evil
("a-sat")
c) what

Mangala Harathi to Swami Desikan and Sri. Madhava Bhattar, Chengalpattu promotes spiritual progress
and what retards it
d) what is the real purpose ('summum-bonum') of human existence on earth
and what merely appears so.

Rare is the person born with innate power of discrimination --'vivEkam'. A Prahlada or
Dhruva are rarities of creation. For the general mass of men true discrimination is never
achieved in life. Even those who attain it to some extent are, however, unable to retain
it constantly unto the end of their lives. It is this lack of "vivEkam" that is the source of
endless "vikAram" (tragedies and infirmities) in Man's life.

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True 'vivEkam' dawns on a man the day he begins to sincerely ask himself questions
like "Who am I?", "Where do I come from?" and "Where am I going?". And, more
importantly, he begins to ask "Who or what is it within me that is constantly nagging
me with these questions?".

True "vivEkam" makes a man also realize that if Joy or 'ananda' is the true purpose of
human existence, then that purpose is
never going to be served by the
evanescence of worldly means. There is a
greater 'ananda' to be attained beyond this
world. Such a Joy transcends all those of
this world (survival, perpetuation, social
proliferation, self-fulfillment or
gratification). It transcends Time and
Space. And such transcendent Bliss
('parama-anandam') is real and worthy of
pursuing.

Very few men in the world want to carry

the conviction of such "vivEkam". Much of
humanity is instead perfectly happy
chasing the little pleasures of this world.
They have no patience for the "Bliss that is
Beyond". (In the famous words of
H.G.Wells, "none of us start life as
philosophers. We become philosophers
sooner or later or else we die before we
become philosophical. The realization of
life's limitation and frustration is the beginning of the wisdom of philosophy... and of
this, that "healthy mind" (of the common man)-- which otherwise takes life as it finds it
and troubles no more about it, by its innate gift for incoherence and piecemeal evasion
and incredulity -- never knows."

********** ************ **********

The story of the great "vivEki", the child Dhruva, is told in the Srimadh BhAgavatham.
Dhruva one day saw his step-brother, little Uttama seated on the lap of their father
King UttAnapAda. The King and his favorite Queen, Surichi, were both fondling the
child. Dhruva, being a little child himself, also wanted to be seated on his father,
UttAnapAda's lap and so went up to the King and asked for the same affection shown
to his step-brother, Uttama. But Queen Surichi, Dhruva's stepmother would have
nothing of it. She shoved Dhruva aside saying, "You shall have a place on neither your
father's lap now nor on his throne later! Now get out!"

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7
Dhruva was thus denied the simple delight every little child in this world longs to
experience. He ran away weeping to his mother, Queen Suniti.

Dhruva's mother, Suniti, was a great 'vivEki' herself. She took Dhruva in her arms and
consoled him saying, "Do not worry, my
child! Go into the forest and begin
worshipping Sriman NarAyana. He will take
you upon His lap... It is the seat that will
give you happiness a thousand times
greater than your father's! Go my child, go
seek the Love of God!".

The child Dhruva took his mother's good

advice and went away to the forest to
perform 'tapas' ... to seek the Joy of the
other world that was infinitely more
rewarding than any in this world.

Dhruva was a true "vivEki"...

********* *********** ***********

With the dawn of "vIvEkam" comes the

first few streaks of bright morning light i.e.
the first few rays of spiritual knowledge.
Man then slowly awakens to a dim but real
awareness of the following:

(a) Who am I? I am not this Body. I am Soul. ('atma-svarUpa-gnyAna')

(b) This body is impermanent but this soul is eternal.
(c) This soul is not mine ("na-mama");
(d) This soul is the lost property of another Great One Who is
"Beyond the Yonder even" ('athyatIshTa-dashAngulam...');
("Isvara-tattva- gnyAnam")
(e) The purpose of existence on earth is to seek and realize such a
Great One and restore this soul to Him, the rightful owner
('Atma-nivEdanam'/'Atma-samarpaNam').
(f) Eternal and undiminished Bliss lies in the union with the Great
One ('parama-purushArtham').

In the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' when Swami Desikan explains all the above concepts it
seems all so facile and self-evident. However, if we deeply reflect on the subject we will
be unable to deny to ourselves that our day-to-day lives are, indeed, in many ways
hopelessly far removed from Desikan's concept of "vivEkam". On the other hand, our
lives would be perfect examples of the very antithesis of the 'vEdAntAchAryA's'
definition of 'vivEkam'.

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8
If we all, however, did become 'vivEki-s' as described in the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam", if
we were to all become Dhruva-s in our own right, then the first "small step" taken by us
would qualify to be a "giant leap for mankind".

Once a man has attained 'vivEkam', he is ready to step onto the next plane on the
stairway viz. "nirvEdam".

(to be continued)

dAsan,
Sudarshan

SrI:
SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |
vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the lion
among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

Who is Vedatha Desika? [Sri Seva Swamy writes:]

Vedanthi among Vedanthins; Vidwan among Vidwans; Poet among poets; Acharya
among Acharyas Devotee among devotees; Rasika among Rasikas Literary genius
among writers avathAra purusha among them; A great Tamilian among Tamilians (who
enjoyed every letter and spirit of Alwars? 4000) Saviour among saviours Most detached
among detached (Parama vairAghi and virakthar) Equal to Rishis; Equal to even Alwars-
in terms of their anubhavams (and the only Acharya to have had naayika bhAvam
identical to Alwars] Utthamar (most virtuous) Sulabhar (easily accessible by one and all-
even today in his archA avathar) Saanthar A MAHAAN..

How can we end this search for the answer for who is Desika?
To refer to books?

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To meditate and ask ourselves and find out from our intellect and jnAnam?
To get flabbergasted from his enormous works and sit in front of awesome granthas..
To keep talking about Swamy and to listen from others about our Acharya
saarvabhouman..

pEsuvaar ? those who talk- how long will they be able to sustain? Till their ability.. but
one can never complete
their quest for an answer as
HE IS ineffable. pEsiRRE
pEsalallaal perumai onRu
uNaral aagaathu..

Swamy Desikan said.. [on

his Tamil prabhandham]:
aruLALarthaameninum
thamakkovvaarE.. We can
read as
?Desikarthaameninum
thamakkovaarE..

Look at the way Swamy

crystal clear mentions the

A portrait describing Swami Desikan composes Sristhuthi and following:

Goddess Mahalakshmi showers golden coins - kanchi
(i) seyyathamizh maalaigaL
theLiyavOdhi theLiyaadha maRainilangaL theLiginROmE.. [By reciting the wonderful
Tamil prabandhams of Alwars ? the Tamil Vedas- we are able to get the [hidden-
unclear] Vedic statements clarified crystal clear]

(ii) maasil manantheLi munivar vagutthathellaam maalugantha Asiriyar vaartthaikku

ovvaa [The clear minded- pure hearted Sages words can never be equal to those of
[our Alwars and ] Acharyas blessed by the Lord Sriman Narayanan. ? reason: Sages
were also blessed by the Lord; but performed Bhakti yOgam- with individual efforts;
Our Acharyas and Alwars realised the doctrine of Saranagathi and our best
qualifications to perform the same with our inabililities (not the Acharyas?) and hence
compassionately for our sake- practised and preached the same- the Prapatti maarga]

(iii) madhurakavi thOnRak kaattum tholvazhiyE nalvazhigaL thuNivaargatkE..[The path

paid by Madhurakavi Alwar- being at the feet of Acharya and surrendering to the lotus
feet of Acharya- with a steadfast unconditional unflinching faith on one?s acharya and
his Lord?s lotus feet- declaring there is no Lord [that we know of] other than the
Acharyan and performing Prapatti at his feet. Take to this correct path realizing its
greatness ? the path laid out by Madhurakavi ]

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(iv) Thamizhpalaandisaiyudan paaduvamE.. [Once we take the path as in (iii) then, in
Paramapadham Swamy Desikan says- we will sing ThiruppallaaNdu enjoying the
Parippoorna Brahmaanubhavam in its entirety]

(v) Ivainaalaayiramum aDiyOngaL vaazhvE.. {These 4000 of Alwars- are our life itself]

(vi) nanRE varuvadhellAm namakku baram onRiladhE [after performance of Saranagthi,

all sins accrued so far for ages? are all burnt to ashes and we get the kaimkarya Sri ?
eternal servitude in this birth and thereafter at Srivaikuntam- no more burden of any
kind]

(vii) ALavandhar adiyOm

padiyOm inialvazhakkE
[having been blessed to be
servants ? disciples of
Alavandhar- Bhagawath
Yamunamuni- and being
blessed with unamibiguous
works of his, we will never
ever read any other stuff
[of other religions] any
more?]

(viii) NaaraNanai
naanmaRaiyaal thaan
kaNdEnE.. [I have seen
Lord Sriya: Pathi Sriman
Narayanan- SarvEshwaran-
the Supreme Lordship- only
based on Vedas- and its
affirmative declaration
about His Parathvam and
the way and the goal being
his Lotus Feet. [based on
saasthra yOnithvaath-
sUthram..]

(ix) Thanthai ena ninRa

Swami Desikan Sannidhi, Tanjai Mamani Koil (under renovation)
thanith thirumaal thaaLil
thalaivaitthOm SATAKOPAN aruLinaalE.. [We are blessed to have the jnAnam and
performed our Saranagathi placing at our heads at the lotus feet of the ONE AND ONLY
GOD Sriman Narayanan ? and that jnAnam has come to us only due to the unparalleled
grace and dayA of SRI NAMMAZHWAR- Sri SatakOpan and his unambiguous
THIRUVAYMOZHI- the Dravida Veda Saagaram]

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(x) pORRi ugapaathum pundhiyil koLvadhum pongupugazh saaRRi vaLarppathu
saRRallavO munnam peRRadhaRkE.. [praising him; enjoying and propagating his
glories; keeping in mind his greatness and his grace on us; spreading his greatness to
the whole world and glorifying his name- doing all that to one?s Acharya is meagre
nothing compared to what HE HAS DONE TO US by initiating with the most esoteric
mantras (Rahasya thrayam); and placing us at the lotus feet of the Lord..

WHERE else can one get such

most clear, crisp statements as
above? Who else can give us
such wonderful unambiguous
statements! It can be only
Thooppul Kula maNi- Thoppul
ThiruvEnkadamudaiyaan. Even
one sloka (or one prabandham)
of Thoopul
Thiruvenkadamudaiyaan is
enough for us to take us to the
SrivaikuNtam- says
Poigai Alwar & Pillailokachariar, Tiruvekkha, Kanchi
PillailOkacharya.

The Lord?s sankalpam for

protecting us- must have been completely fulfilled by this avatar of His in the name of
Vedantha Desikan. jnAnam, bhalam, aishwaryam, veeryam, sakthi and thEjas are the
six opulent qualities for the Lord- Bhagawaan. That asserts his Parathvam.

Sarvagnathvam- omniscience- is known by Tattvamukthakalapam and thereby jnAnam;

in one night and in one jaamam (three hours)- 1008 gems in the name of Padhuka
sahasram- thereby Shakthi; bhalam by demolishing the other religious (non vedic and
avaidhik) doctrines with SatadhUshaNi, Paramatha bhangam, etc.. ; veeryam in
Vishesha vitparishadheshu natha Vidhaktha khoshti samaranganeshu JigheeshathO mE
Kavitarkikendran... and thEjas in vEnkatESAhvayam maha: - Thus we enjoy the
Bhagawathvam in Swamy Vedantha Desikan.

Swamy Desikan says: Achaarya should be worshipped as God if not better and none
else should be considered equal to Acharyan.

Adhyaaseethuranga vakthravilasath jihvaagrasimhaasanaath

Achaaryaamiva dhEvathAm samadhikaam anyaam na manyaamahE..

Why should we feel shy to call our Swamy Bhagawath Nigamantha Desikan. Our
Acharya saarabhouman is the Lord Thiruvenkatamudaiyaan himself who appeared as
the Thuppul Thiruvenkatanathan.. why should we not call him Bhagawadh Nigamantha
Desikan. He is verily Bhagawaan’s avatar.

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svAmi deSikan concludes the nyAsa vimsathi stotra with a gist of how he was led to
prapatti, and how he lives his life as a prapanna after performing prapatti. This
concluding Slokam is included as part of the nitya-anushandhAnam at the end of the
nyAsa daSakam which is recited during the nitya bhagavad-ArAdhanam.

samSArAvarta vega praSamana Subha-dr*k deSika prekshito'ham

samtyakto'nyairupAyair-anucita cariteshvadya SAntAbhisabshih |
niS-Sankhah tatvat-dr*shtyA niravadhika dayam prArthya samrakshakam
tvAm nysya tat-pAda padme varada nija-bharam nir-bharo nir-bhayo'smi ||

"I chose a good AcArya who could instruct me on how to get out of the whirl of
samsAra, and had his divya kaTAksha. Because of the AcArya's teachings, I obtained
the knowledge that could help me analyze and understand the difficulty of bhakti yoga
and the realization that prapatti is the only recourse open to me, which I could perform
easily, and attain the desired
moksham by performing it
once and only once. I learnt
the facts about prapatti and so
had no doubt whatsoever
about its efficacy. I sought
refuge of peraruLALan with
pirATTi as the sole refuge who
could protect me. I
surrendered all responsibility
for my protection at the feet of
peraruLALan and performed
prapatti at His feet. Since I am
now living the life of a
prapanna, I feel completely
relieved of all responsibility for
my self from that point. Since
all my acts from that point on
have been directed to only
kaimkaryam for bhagavAn,
there is nothing more to fear
about any accumulation of
karma. So I continue to lead a
life of nishkAmya kaimkaryam
to bhagavAn while spending
the rest of my life in this world,
and deriving infinite happiness
from it". [translation by Sri N
Krishnamachari]

It may please be noted that though there are two sects (namely Vadakalai and
thenkalai) in srivaishnavam, they are only different on very few subtle issues and both

Darsanam Avani 2009

13
follow strictly AchArya YathirAjar- Bhagavath Ramanuja sampradayam in all respects
with fullest sincerity. In fact, in as much as Sri Bhashyakarar is the common Acharya for
both kalais, Swamy Desikan is the common Sri Bhashya Acharya for both kalais as well
and he comes under Acharya linage under Sribhashya Guruparamparai.

It is our duty to talk in praise of and contemplate on the glories and

greatness of our Acharya. Let us continue to do so every day and every minute.

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |
Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||

Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the teacher of
Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters

This is a Stotra patterned upon a Prabandham (Alvar's work in Tamil). It is in praise of

Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam. Tiruppaan Alvar was vouchsafed a vision of that great
God, and he has sung about what he then saw, in ten verses. Vedanta Desika enjoys
the same Tirumeni (Sacred Body) of the same Sleeping Beauty in the same manner,
i.e., from the Feet to the Head; but the enjoyment here is mental dhyaanam or
contemplation.
Sopaanam means steps --
the several stages from the
Feet to the Head (slokas 2
to 9). Sloka 10 recapitulates
those eight angas (parts of
the body) and incidentally
gives a new meaning to
Ashtaanga-yogam. Sloka 11
refers to the utsava murti --
the Smiling Beauty standing
in front of the Moola-Viraat
reclining on the Adisesha
(Serpent Couch). The last
one of course is the phalasruti.
In all the twelve slokas of the Stotra, there is reference to the mind, chinta, maneeshaa
and so on. Is not dhyaanam a mental process? That the dhyaanam (contemplation) has

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been fruitful is indicated by slokas 1 and 11. What was seen in Rangam in sloka 1 is
said to reside in Desika's heart (11).

This is the third stotram being covered in this series. The intent of this writeup, as in
the previous ones in this sequence, is to give a very broad view of the stotram with the
desire that it will give the motivation to go deeper
into the stotram as the next step.

Sri Desika sings the beauty of Lord

Ranganatha in this stotram. The word
sopAnam means steps, and is probably derived
from sa and upAyana (going near,
approaching). In this stotram, Sri Desika
describes Lord Ranganatha's beauty part by
part starting from His lotus feet all the way up
to His kirItam (The Sacred Crown). He points
out in the concluding sloka that one who is
desirous of yoga or union with the Lord will
find it easy to climb through the steps needed
for this by acquiring the necessary bhakti by
chanting this stotram. This is the reason for
the title 'sopAnam'.
Tiruppanan, Kanchi varadan temple
This stotram follows the example of Sri
Tiruppan Alvar's composition amalanAdipirAn
which is also a similar composition on Lord Ranganatha, except that Alvar's composition
is in Tamil while Sri Desika's composition is in Sanskrit. Both stotrams start with the
description of the Sacred Feet of Lord Ranganatha, and end with the praise of His eyes,
face, kirItam, etc. It is Sri Vaishnava tradition that when we have the darsanam of the
Lord in the temples, we start with viewing His feet first. When the arcaka-s do the
karpUra-Arati, they start with the pAda-sevA, and then gradually give us the sevA all
the way through the sevA of vaksha-sthala Mahalakshmi (Lakshmi residing on the
Lord's chest), up to the sacred facial view and the kirItam of the Lord.

When I read Sri Rama Desikachariar Swami's interpretations on some of the sloka-s in
this stotram, I was reminded of the Alvars who imagine themselves as a friend of the
Lord, or as a mother, or as a consort, etc., when they express their experience
(anubhavam) of Bhagavan in the form of their compositions. In composing the
Bhagavad Dhyana Sopanam, Swami Desikan's mind seems to have been in the state of
a young girl in deep love with Lord Ranganatha. Thus when he describes the Lord's
hands in sloka 7, he describes his mind as a she-elephant which is enjoying a tight
embrace by the Lord's beautifully decorated hands. In sloka 10, where he summarizes
his anubhavam of the Lord, Sri Rama Desikachariar Swami interprets Swami Desikan's
thoughts as that of a young girl who is in love with the Lord and who is having this
great anubhavam of the Lord first by touching His delicate feet with both her hands,

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then gently touching His ankles with devotion, then having the contact (sparSam) of His
Sacred vaksha-sthalam or chest, then enjoying the rapture of touching His beautiful
face, and then losing herself in the beauty of His kirItam.

There are a total of 12 sloka-s in the stotram. The poet in Swami Desikan is evident
throughout the stotra. In the sloka where he describes the Lord's ankles, he points out
that by worshipping those ankles which helped the Lord "go" fast as a messenger to the
Pandavas, we can get rid of the need to "go" in the cycle of birth and death. When

Describing His nabhI-kamalam (lotus navel), Sri Desikan compares it to the deep vortex
formed during the pralaya which can hide the whole Universe in it, and where the
pollen dust from the lotus flowers have settled, leading to new lotus flowers bearing
new brahma-s in each kalpa. It is also like the big vortex formed from the flooding
beauty of the Lord. When he describes the Lord's vaksha-sthalam, he loses himself
totally in Lord Ranganatha's beauty. This vaksha-sthalam is decorated by the beautiful
white Srivatsam mole, blessed naturally by the sacred touch of the lotus feet of
Mahalakshmi since She resides on His vaksha-sthala, and is shining at the same time
red because of the kaustubha gem, green and other different colors because of the

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tulasi and the vaijayanti garlands, and white like the moon because of the white pearl
necklace decorating His chest. His hands are like the parijata tree, only special because
these can give moksha to those who have done prapatti (surrendered) to Him, whereas
the parijata can give only things other than moksha. His face is turned on the side as if
to welcome those who come to Him even from a distance, His smiling lips look like they
are speaking to His devotees, and His eyes look like they are graciously welcoming
those who are coming to Him. While describing His kirItam, Swami Desikan describes
the beautiful locks of hair on which the kirItam rests. These locks of hair are "curled
liked the twisted words from the angry women of the Chola country".

After the description of his anubhava of the Lord in detail, Swami Desikan summarizes
his feelings of the darsanam of the moolavar and utsava-moorti in the penultimate two
sloka-s. The last sloka is the phala-Sruti. This overall organization is similar to what we
saw in the Dasavatara Stotram we visited last week. Just as we had one sloka in the
Dasavatara stotram that summarized the ten incarnations, here we have two sloka-s
that summarize the Lord's beauty. I am
including these two "summary" sloka-s
with their brief meanings.

pAdAmbhojam spRSati bhajate

ranganAthasya janghAm
Uru-dvandve vilagatiSanair
Urdhvam abhyeti nAbhim |
vakshasyAste valati bhujayor-
mAmikeyam manIshA
vaktrAbhikhyAm pibati vahate
vAsanAm mauLi-bandhe ||

My mind dwells on the sacred Lotus Feet of

Lord Ranganatha, then moves to enjoy the
darsana of His ankles, then rests well on
the enjoyment of His majestic thighs,
reaches His nabhI-kamalam, gets set on
the vaksha-sthalam, revolves around His
majestic hands, drinks the nectar of the
darSanam of His beautiful face, and sets
finally on His kirItam.

kAntodArair ayamiha bhujaiH kankaNajyA-kiNAnkaih

lakshmI-dhAmnaH pRthula-parighair lakshitAbhIti-hetiH |
agre kincit bhujaga-Sayanah svAtmanaivAtmanaH san
madhye rangam mama ca hRdaye vartate sAvarodhah ||

This great Lord Ranganatha who is resting on Adi-Sesha, and whose hands are
beautiful, bestow all that is wished for by the devotees, has the imprint of the bangles
as well as the mark of the bow-string left by bearing the bow in the process of carrying

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it for destroying His enemies, look like they are there to protect the vaksha-sthalam
which is the dwelling place of Mahalakshmi, and carry the divine weapons that can drive
away any and all fears that the devotees may be exposed to by their mere darsanam, is
also presenting Himself in the form of His utsava-moorti along with His divine consorts
under the Sriranga-vimaana in the heart of Srirangam as well in my heart.

In the last sloka, the phala-Sruti, the great acharya pleads to the Lord on our behalf to
confer on us eternal and unswerving bhakti to help us "ascend" with ease to the level of
what the great yogi-s accomplish only by intense effort.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

Ranganathan Moolavar in Vennai kappu, Madhya Rangam where swami desikan spent 12
years exile life after malik gafoor’s invation on Sri Ranganatha Temple, Srirangam (near
Sathyakalam)

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 Avani Sravanam was celebrated in Muscat

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