Sreemathey Ramanujaya Namaha

Respected Bhagavtha Bandhus,

This article is the result of a thought,which raised in my mind to make a relation of Numbers and their relation to Swamy Ramanuja‘s charitram/life history

One or the Number 1 occupies the superior position among the numbers & in fact denotes the one and only position or uniqueness

a)Ramanuja is the one and only to be revered with the title “Swamy”

b)Swami Ramanuja was the only acharya to whom the Lord Ranganatha submitted his Vibuthis (Nithya Vibuthi & Leela Vibuthi) through which the power of granting moksham

c) Swamy Ramanuja was the only acharya whom Nammlwar acknowledged and spoke about in Thiruvaimozhi through the verses “Poliga Poliga…………………..”

d)Swamy Ramanuja was the only acharya, whose vigraham came up as “Bavishyat Acharyan” even before Swami Ramanuja was born, and held by all our poorvacharyas in their Thiruvaradhanam(worship)

2)The Number 2:- Among many sishyas (that is 700 yathis(sanyasis) and 12,000 bhagavathas, only 2 were considered as Thandam and Pavitram , that is Mudaliyandan was his Thandam and Koorthalwan was his Pavitram.

3)The Number 3:- Aalavandhar wanted to initiate Swamy Ramanuja for Darsana Nirvaham, but unfortunately Aalavandhar left for parmapadham, without meeting Swami Ramanuja, he had 3 wishes to be fulfilled
represented by his 3 folded fingers & wanted Swamy Ramanuja to fulfill the same, they are

a)To write a commentary for Bramha Sutram by Veda Vyasa according to Bodhaya Vritti from the angle of Visistadwaitha

b)To propagate Sri Nammalwar’s prabandham as Alavandhar had a great desire for Nammalwar

c)To perpetuate the memory of Veda Vyasa and Parasara

and Swami Ramanuja’s vows to fulfill all the 3wishes before the charma thirumeni of Alavandhar & fulfills the same in his life time

4)The Number 4:-The yugas are 4 in number, Adisheshan or Ananthan has taken different avatars in different yugas

“Anantah Prathamam Roopam, Threthaya Lakshmanascha Tathah Dwapare Balabadrascha Kalou Kaschit Bavishyathi”

The meaning of this shloka

In Krith yuga (1st) it is Aadi Seshan the Snake Bed of the Lord
In Treta yuga (2nd) it was Lakshmana, brother of Lord Rama
In Dwapara yuga (3rd) it was Balarama, brother of Sri Krishna
In Kali yuga (4th) it is Swami Ramanuja,

From the above verses it is clear that Swami Ramanuja is the avatharm of Adiseshan

5)The Number 5:- Emperumanaar had 5 acharyas to his credit, earning him the title “Panchacharya Padasrayah”. Swamy learnt

a)from Periya Nambi – panchasamskaram, Rahasyarthams & Gita
b)from Periya Thirumalai Nambi – Sri Ramayanam Viseshartham
c)from Thirukoshtiyoor Nambi – Charma slokam
d)from Thirumalai Aandaan- Bhagawad Vishyam
e)from Thiruvaranga Perumal Arayar – Dravida Ganam

6)The number 6:- In the life story of Swamy Ramanuja, swamy requests Thirukkacchi Nambi to clear certain doubts on truths, where in 6 words were uttered by Lord Varadhar of Kanchi to be communicated to Swami
Ramanuja by Thirukkachi Nambi, they are

a)Ahameva paramtatvam (I am the supreme truth)
b)Darsanam Bhedha eve acha (Sri Vaishnavam is based on thatva thryam – chit,achit & eeswara)
c)Upayesu Prapattissyat (By faith & surrender shall men reach me their salvation)
d)Antima Smriti Varjanam (Thought of me at the time of death is not compulsory)
e)Dehasvasane Mukthisyaat (Release from bondage follows immediately on death of body)
f)Poornacharya Samashraya(Choose Mahapurna as your acharya)

7)The number 7:- Swamy Ramanuja and the Lord of 7 hills Thiruvengadamudayan share a unique bondage

a) It was Swamy Ramanuja who restored the Sangu & Chakra, to the lord of seven hills @ Tirumala, previously when they are given by the lord to the King Thondaiman Chakravarthy. And people started believing the
lord on the hills was Shiva/Skanda/Durga, it is the unmatchable kainkaryam of swamy, that we Sri Vaishnavas have the lord @ Tirumala. today. That is why we sing the Kattiyam of Ramanuja as “Appanukku
Sanghu Aazhi Allitha Perumal”

b)To execute the verses of Nammalwar “Sindhu Poo Magizhum Thiruvengadam”. Swamy Ramanuja sent one of his sishyas Ananthalwan Pillai to establish a Nanadhavanam @ Tirumala, one can even see the
Nandhavanam (garden) today there named “Ramanuja Nandhavanam”, which also holds in it the Thiruvarasu (brindavanam) of Swamy Ananthalwan Pillai.

c)It was Swami who laid down the regulations to be followed in executing kainkaryms to Thiruvengadamudayan like Friday thirumanjanam, (recital of Nacchiyar Thirumozhi during the thirumanjanm) Thomala
Sevai & appointed Peria Kelvi Appan Jeeyar of Tirumala to supervise the same.

d)Even today one can see Swami Ramanuja’s vigraham in Tirumala with Upadesa/Gyana Mudra because Swami here is acharyan to Thiruvengadamudayan himself

8)The number 8:- The mention of number 8, brings to our immediate thought the 8 lettered mantra “Ashtakshari”.(which is made up of Pranavam, Namha & Narayana) the inner meanings of these 3 syllables
denote “Ananyarha Seshatvam” i,e subservience to none, but the lord, “Ananya Sharanathvam” i,e there is no upaya to jeevathama other than the lord Sriman Narayana & “Ananya Bhogyathvam” i,e Jeeva’s kainkaryam
is only for the pleasure of the lord, these are the inner meanings of the “Ashtakshari Mantra”

Swamy Manvala Mamunigal in Yatiraja Vimshati prays to the lotus feet of Swamy Ramanuja, to grant the devotion towards inner meanings of three syllables of the 8 lettered “Ashtakshari Mantra”, not only in
knowing them but also to live/practice according to them. Thus we understand, we require Emperumanaar’s grace to understand Emperumaan.

9) The number 9:- Udayavar blessed us with his great 9 works

a)Vedartha Sangraham (the resume of Vedantha)
b)Shree Bashyam (Commentary on Bramha Sutras)
c)Vedantha Saara ( essence of Vedantha) an appendix to Sri Bashya
d)Vedantha Deepa (the light of Vedantha) another appendix to Sri Bashya
e)Git Bashya (his commentary of Bhagavad Geetha)
f)Nitha Grandham (About day to day activities to be performed by Sri Vaishnavas)
g)Saranagathi Gadyam (A dialogue between Ramanuja Perumal & Piratti where Swami petitions Sri Lakshmi to recommend to the lord to give him grace, both Perumal & Piratti accept Swami’s surrender)

h)Sri Ranga Gadyam (a Prayer of surrender to the feet of Sri Ranganatha)
i)Vaikunta Gadyam (describing in detail Sri Vaikutam & recommending meditating it)

The number 10:- Swamy Ramanuja travelled wide far through the Bharatha Desam propagating Visisthadwaitha siddantham, out of them, the following can be categorized as places of interest with relative to
swami’s charitram

1)Aazhwar Thirnagari (Swami appeared here as Bavishyat Acharyan even before his physical birth in this earth)

2)Thiruvallikeni (The place where the parents of Swamy did penance for his birth, and the Lord Venkata Krishnan/Partha Sarathy himself incarnated as Swamy Ramanuja)

3)Sri Perumbudur (The avathara sthalam of swamy Ramanuja)

4)Madhuranthakam (Spiritual birth/got panchasamskaram from Periya Nambi)

5)Kanchipuram (Swamy entered Sanyasa Ashrama)

6)Sri Rangam (From here Swamy didSri Vaishnava Darsana Nirvaham)

7)Thirukoshtiyoor (Walked 18 times from Sri Rangam to here( approximately 120 kms) to get Charmaslokam & other Rahasyarthas from Thirukottiyoor Nambi )

8)Melkote (Reinstalled Moolavar Thirunarayanan and Utsavar Selva Pillai)

9)Tirumala (Restored the Sangu & chakra to the lord)

10)Thirukurrungudi (became acharya to the lord himself & lord earned the title “Vaishnava Nambi”)

Thus greatness of Swamy Ramanuja cannot be measured, adiyen concludes with the words of Swamy Manavala Mamunigal

“Enai Phol Pizhai Seivar Ivvulagil Undoo?
Unai Phol Porukka Vallar Undoo?
Anaithu Ulagam Vazh Pirandha Ethirja Mamuniva
Yezhaikku Erungai Ene”

Meaning

“Who can commit more mistakes than me?
Who can be merciful than you(no one even in Paramapadham)?
Oh! Ethirja ! your birth was the spiritual upliftment of jeevas in
this universe, please grace on my poor-self (one who is bonded in
samsara)”

Aazhwar Emperumanaar Jeeyar Thiruvadegale Charnam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan
Geetha Vasudevan

EmberumAnAr has 3 most distinguished thirumEnis

The idol in Srirangam is Thanana thirumeni
The idol in Sriperumpudur is Thanugandha Thirumeni
The idol in Thirunarayanapuram is Thamarugandha Thirumeni

(1) thAnAna thirumEni :

The first one, ThAnAna thirumEni, it is the original thirumEni of swAmi EmberumAnAr. One can even see the true nails in His fingers in the sannidhi. This is one of the most distinguished importance of the sannidhi at Srirangam. In Srirangam it is Thanana Thirumeni - he himself is there. Sri Rangam (From here Swamy didSri Vaishnava Darsana Nirvaham)

(2) thAnugandha thirumEni :

Sri Perumbuduru (The avathara sthalam of swamy Ramanuja)

In Sriperumpudur, he is called Thanugandha Thirumeni - Swami Ramanuja himself was pleased to instal his own idol.

(3) thamarugandha thirumEni :

Melkote (Reinstalled Moolavar Thirunarayanan and Utsavar Selva Pillai)

In Thirunarayanapuram, it is Thamarugandha Thirumeni, idol installed to fulfill his devotees desire. Here, he is wearing pavitram With long tuft and safron robes and holding Tridhandam, we can worship him. Srivaishnava ascetics use tridhandam - three sticks bonded together. It symbolises chit, achit and Iswara entities. Every Thiruvadirai star, Abhishekam is performed. It is a sight not to be missed. Swami Ramanuja came to this place when there was danger to him at Srirangam; and lived here for Twelve years. When he was about to return to Srirangam, people here were very much grieved. So, with his blessings the devotees, got an idol sculpted and installed here. Today we are enjoying the lucid explanations given by Swami Ramanuja for Bhagavad Gita.

 

Aazhwar Thirnagari (Swami appeared here as Bavishyat Acharyan even before his physical birth in this earth)

The idol from Sri Nammawar can be called as Thannai unarthiya Thirumeni :

When Nammalwar was about to leave for Paramapatham his disciple Madurakavi Alwar was overwhelmed with grief. (pirivatramai - separation from acharyan). To overcome that Nammalwar asked him to boil the waters of Porunai river (Thamirabarani). On doing so a vigraha appeared but was not resembling Nammalwar. Madurakavi alwar was disappointed and he was asked to keep it aside and repeat the process again. Nammalwar termed that thirumeni as Bavishyat acharya . The second time around the vigraha resembled his acharya Nammalwar. This took place in the Kali beginning and Ramanuja was born 4000 years later (appx). The Nammalwar thirumeni is in Alwar Thirunagari. The Bavishyat acharyan temple is in Alwar Thirunagari but the thirumeni that Madurakavigal got is at present in Thirukoshtiyur.

There as an idol resembling a future avatara purusha with Sri Nammalwar. Sri Nammalwar gave this vigraha to Sri Nada Munikal. This was then given to Sri Uyyakkondar. This idol was passed to Sri Manakkal Nambi who succeeded him. Sri Yamnucharya (Nadamunikal’s grand son) got the sacred idol from Sri Sri Manakkal Nambi. Secret instructions and sacred verses were also passed along with the idol.

Ramanuja at Alwar Thirunagari

 

Tirumala (Restored the Sangu & chakra to the lord)

It was Swamy Ramanuja who restored the Sangu & Chakra, to the lord of seven hills @ Tirumala, previously when they are given by the lord to the King Thondaiman Chakravarthy. And people started believing the lord on the hills was Shiva/Skanda/Durga, it is the unmatchable kainkaryam of swamy, that we Sri Vaishnavas have the lord @ Tirumala. today. That is why we sing the Kattiyam of Ramanuja as “Appanukku Sanghu Aazhi Allitha Perumal”. Even today one can see Swami Ramanuja’s vigraham in Tirumala with instructive posture (Upadesa/Jnana Mudra) because Swami here is acharyan to Thiruvengadamudayan himself.

Ramanuja at Tirumala

 

Thiruvallikeni (The place where the parents of Swamy did penance for his birth, and the Lord Venkata Krishnan/Partha Sarathy himself incarnated as Swamy Ramanuja)

Swamy Ramanuja at Thiruvallikeni

 

Madhuranthakam (Spiritual birth/got panchasamskaram from Periya Nambi)

Ramanuja met with Periya Nambi at Madurantakam , where under the shade of  Vakula tree Periya Nambi performed Pancha Samskara to him.  As he was initiated  into the esoteric of Dvaya Mantra at Madurantakam, the place came to be known as  "Dvayam Vilaindha Tiruppathi" Both returned to Srirangam and did  Kalakshepams on Brahma Sutra etc.  for sometime.  It was at this time that Lord  Ranganatha called him "Nammudaiyavar" (He is ours). Here Swamy Ramanuja wear white clothes. 

Ramanuja along with Periyanambi, Madhurantakam

 

Kanchipuram (Swamy entered Sanyasa Ashrama)

                                                                                                                                               Swamy Ramanuja at Kanchipuram and Kuram

 

Swamy Ramanuja at Tirupati

 

Emberumanar at Narsapuram (Abhinava Bhuthapuri)

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama :

This year Swami Emberumanar avathara utsavam will be celeberated at Sriperumbudhur from 18.04.2012 to 28.04.2012.

Swami Emberumanar utsavam - important events

18.04.12 - Wed - Utsava thodakkam
23.04.12 - Mon - Vellai chathupodi - Kuthirai vaghanam (morning)
Kooresa vijayam sevithal (evening)
25.04.12 - Wed - Thirumanthiraartham
26.04.12 - Thu - Thiruther
27.04.12 - Fri - Satrumurai
28.04.12 - Sat - Kanthapodi utsavam
29.04.2012 to 02.05.2012 - Theppa utsavam

All are requested to participate in THIS utsavams and get emberuman and emberumanar anugrahgham.

Swami Emberumanar Utsava Pathirigai

Jeeyar Educational Trust UK and Living Planet Foundation USA in Association with Nehru Centre (Cultural Wing of Indian High Commission) are celebrating

 Sri Ramanuja Jayanti

Time: 5:30PM to 8PM, 28 April, 2012

Venue: Maharashtra Mandal, 306, Dollis Hill Lane, London NW2 6HH

 

The life of Sri Ramanujar, great philosopher of Srivaishnavism, testifies to Lord Ranganathar's love and compassion to his devotees. What once housed a mandapam was later converted in to the shrine dedicated to Sri Ramanujar. Legend has it that the holy remains of Sri Ramanujar is being preserved here with periodical atoning of ‘kumkumapoo' and ‘patchaikarpuram'. The ritual is performed in the Tamil months of Chithrai and Ayippasi every year and lasts for about six hours.

 

The fact that neither oil (thailakappu) nor water is used for the religious rituals of the idol indicates that only Sri Ramanujar's holy remains is being preserved at the sanctum sanctorum. Sri Ramanujar is in the ‘artha padmasanam' posture, keeping the right leg on the left leg. The left hand is on the right leg and the right hand is in the ‘gnana mudra' form.

 

Sri Ramanujar in his Sriranga Gadhyam, establishes that Srirangam is the right place on earth for the people to get salvation (Booloka Vaikuntam). Legend has it that Sri Ramanujar, during ‘Panguni Uthiram', had obtained the divine sanction for ‘moksham' or liberation from Lord Ranganathar. As the boon would be effective only after his demise, Sri Ramanujar politely asked Lord Ranganathar to show him the place where he should stay and spend the rest of his life till his death, Lord Ranganathar advised him to stay at Srirangam itself. The Acharya also composed two other Gadhyams, Saranagathi Gadhyam and Vaikunta Gadhyam.

 

Sri Ramanujar took every care to ensure proper maintenance of Srirangam temple. It was this great religious leader who established the rituals being followed in Srirangam and all other Srivaishnavite temples. He used to visit the store room and ensure its hygienic maintenance.

Śrīmatē rāmānujāya namaḥ

Śrīmadvaravaramunayē namaḥ

 

STŌTRA RATNAM

 

 

Śrīmannārāyaṇa is the mother and the father of all universe. He continuously reflects on our happiness and good. He instructs us to conduct ourselves in specific ways through the scripture, through His own incarnations and through the divine preceptors. We choose to ignore His prescription for our well being and land up in misery. Unable to comprehend the temporal nature of material benefits and the dangers they come loaded with, human-kind seeks to explore the realms of pleasure and ends up with failure and frustration.

 

Instead of seeking pleasure in falsehood, one must seek pleasure in truth. The scripture instructs that the true nature of the soul is subservience to the Lord. The person who serves should always be interested in the happiness of his Master. The soul should conduct himself in such a way as to please the Lord and His consort, our divine Mother. All goodness perceived in our worlds are derived from Him. They are an infinitesimal aspect of His nature. How could bliss alone be different? Our bliss lies in His and is a derivative of His pleasure.

 

That takes us to the question - how can one please the Lord? The scripture answers this. 'In the Kṛta Yuga, one shall meditate upon the Lord. In the Trētā Yuga, it is best to perform rituals. In the Dvāparya Yuga, one should engage in worship. And in the Kali Yuga, one should sing His praise.' Unlike other methods, singing the praise of Kēśava has no restrictions. Anybody can sing His glory. His glory can be sung anywhere at any point of time. There are no preliminary or concluding procedures to be followed while speaking His praise. The act of singing fills our hearts with devotion and soothes the strains of our material existence. It makes us feel very happy. The most important thing is, the same makes the Lord feels happy as well. He is 'stava priyaḥ', one who loves listening to His praise.

 

It is true that we can all sing His praises ourselves. However, the worth of our words would be extremely limited. Our incoherence and ignorance would reduce our songs of praise to meaningless chatter. Above all, we need to summon the honesty to stand before the Lord, having committed numerous sins thus far, and sing His praise.

 

Such an easy method to please the Lord, yet difficult to string together the right words and gather our conscience! Our ever merciful preceptors noticed this problem of the masses. They were learned seers whose hearts ever brimmed with devotion. The Lord said in the Gītā - ' The gnāni is My soul, he greatly loves Me and I love him as well'. Such gnāni-s are very dear to the Lord. Such gnānis are our preceptors. Their words overflow with their knowledge and their love. They are pure in heart and conduct. These greats have sung numerous praises over the Lord and have mercifully recorded the same for our use. As their words are of the highest quality, they please the Lord very much. In addition, the Lord becomes reminded of them when we sing the praises written by them, and becomes happy. In His eyes, our inglorious past is over-shadowed by the glory of our preceptors. He graces us abundantly.

 

Our preceptors had another reason to write such praises. The study of Vēdas and other scriptures like the Gītā is an extremely complicated and mentally exhausting exercise. It demands great degree of patience, command over language, perseverance and dedication. Besides, such great truths are not easily available to the masses. To relieve us of these struggles, our preceptors hid several esoteric meanings of our tradition inside their hymns. A trained student of the tradition would be able to know and appreciate the real motivation and message hidden beneath their words. The hymns are full of devotion and are very enjoyable. At the same time, they teach us important truths of the Vēdānta. They provide us an easy and enjoyable means of spiritual education.

 

Several preceptors of our tradition have written such works of praise. Svāmi Rāmānuja, Svāmi Kūrēśa, Svāmi Parāśara Bhaṭṭa, Svāmi Vēdānta Dēśika, Svāmi Maṇavāḷa Māmuni, Svāmi Prativādi Bhayankaram Aṇṇa and Svāmi Erumbiyappā deserve special mention for having written several beautiful hymns. However, the precursor to all their works is this work, 'Stōtra ratnam' of Yāmuna Muni. This is the crest jewel of all the words of praise written by our preceptors and hence the name, which means 'Jewel amongst the Praises'.

 

Śrīvaiṣṇavas have the custom of learning the words of Āzhwārs and Ācāryas. Those who are not capable of reciting all four thousand of the hymns of Āzhwārs, recite in the least Tiruppallānḍu and Tiruppāvai. Likewise, those incapable of reciting all of the works of the preceptors, learn at least the Stōtra Ratnam. The greats over several centuries have regarded that the learning of the Tiruppallānḍu, the Tiruppāvai and the Stōtra Ratnam is indispensable to a śrivaishṇava.

 

The Stōtra Ratnam is a work of wonder. It is capable of melting even stone hearts like us. There is no need to describe how much it would delight our merciful Lord. Even chanting the hymns with no clue about the meaning would bring great bliss to the reciter. However, given that our preceptors have chosen these works as a means to our betterment, it is imperative that we learn the meaning. The joy of a person consuming elixir can never be described but only known to another who consumes it. The joy of knowledge is quite similar and is sure to fill us with matchless bliss.

 

 

svādayanniha sarvēśāṃ trayyantārthaṃ sudurgraham

stōtrayāmāsa yōgīndraḥ tam vandē yāmunāhvayam

 

yaḥ yōgīndraḥ - By which greatest of sages,
sudurgraham trayyantārtham - the difficult to grasp purport of the Vēdanta

svādayan - became easily relish-able

iha sarvēśām - to all people of this world

stōtrayāmāsa - as they are revealed through his stotras or hymns,

tam yāmuna āhvayam - to that Yāmuna Muni or Āḷavandār

vandē - I offer my obeisance.

 

I offer my obeisance to the greatest of sages, Yāmuna Muni, whose hymns made the otherwise incomprehensible truths of the Vēdanta enjoyable to all humankind.

 

This invocation to Yāmuna Muni indicates that his hymns are replete with the truths of the Vēdānta. Through the study of his enjoyable hymns, one gets to experience the truth of the Vēdānta. While the original scriptures are inaccessible in their content to laymen and are useful to only scholars at best, the words of Yāmuna Muni dispel the darkness of ignorance to the scholar and the layman alike. Tiruvaraṅgattamudanār calls him 'yatigatkiṛaivan yamunaitturaivan' or 'Yāmunācārya, the Lord of the ascetics'. Such a great master condescended to impart the truth of the scriptures to ordinary people like us out of sheer mercy.

 

namō namō yāmunāya yāmunāya namō namaḥ

namō namō yāmunāya yāmunāya namō namaḥ

 

Obeisances to Yāmuna Muni for once and several fold.

 

1. namō~cintyādbhutākliṣṭa jñāna vairāgya rāśayē

nāthāya munayē~gādha bhagavadbhakti sindhavē

 

acintya adbhuta akliṣṭa jñāna vairāgya rāśayē - To the personification of a variety of attributes like knowledge and detachment, which are unthinkable, wondrous and obtained without difficulty by the causeless mercy of the Lord

agādha bhagavad bhakti sindhavē - to the deep ocean of devotional love

nāthāya munayē - to the sage called Nāthamuni

namaḥ - I offer obeisance.

 

I offer obeisance to Nāthamuni, who is the personification of unthinkable and wondrous attributes of groups of knowledge and detachment, which are obtained effortlessly by the causeless mercy of the Lord and who is akin to a deep ocean of devotional love to Lord Nārāyaṇa.

 

Svāmi Āḷavandār sets the trend for all preceptors to follow by offering at the outset, salutations to the great sages and preceptors of the past, in whose tradition he himself is a part. He offers his salutations to Śrī Raṅganātha Muni, famously known as Nāthamuni. Nāthamuni is the grandfather of Yāmuna Muni and precedes him two stages earlier in the preceptor sequence (with Uyyakkoṇḍār and Maṇakkāl Nambi continuing the tradition interim). The former is thus the physical and spiritual cause of the latter and it is only appropriate that Nāthamuni is saluted first.

 

What is the nature of Nāthamuni? He is an ocean of love for the Lord. One would exclaim with awe that he is a personification of attributes like knowledge and detachment.

(namaḥ) I offer my obeisance. (acintya) It is not possible to think that the knowledge and detachment of Svāmi Nāthamuni are comparable to those of any other. It is not possible to think of them because they are boundless. (adbhuta) As his greatness is unthinkable, only a small fraction of his glory appeals to our meagre intellects. Even that small fraction that is subject to our cognition grips us with awe and wonder. (akliṣṭa) The said glory had been obtained effortlessly. Unlike sages like Parāśara and Vyāsa, who earned their knowledge and the state of detachment through severe penance, Nāthamuni obtained them effortlessly in the manner of Āzhvārs due to the causeless mercy of the Lord. (jñāna vairāgya rāśayē) It appears as if groups or varieties of knowledge and detachment have taken the collective form of Nāthamuni.

When knowledge and detachment are single virtues by themselves, why are they referred as groups? Though knowledge is a virtue by itself, it is not the intended meaning here. The different types of knowledge are those of the Lord's true character, true nature, auspicious attributes, sovereignty and glory. Likewise, detachment is of several types such as those from wealth, relations and other material benefits. These are the groups or varieties of knowledge and detachment described here.

(agādha bhagavad bhakti sindhavē) When it comes to love towards Śrīmannārāyaṇa, Nāthamuni is like an immense ocean. The ocean's depth and expanse is difficult to behold and it remains stable even if it were attempted to destabilize it. Nāthamuni's love for the Lord is similar to that. By different grammatical compounds, it can be understood as either 'Nāthamuni is the ocean of devotional love' or 'Nāthamuni is the repository of an ocean of devotional love'. As Bhakti or devotional love is superior to knowledge and detachment, it is regarded separately by a special description.

(nāthāya munayē) Nāthamuni is a reduced form of Śrī Raṅganātha Muni. (muni) One who reflects on the Lord always.

 

2. tasmai namō madhujidaṅghrisarōjatatva jñānānurāga mahimātiśayāntasīmnē

nāthāya nāthamunayē~tra paratracāpi nityaṃ yadīya caraṇau śaraṇaṃ madīyam

 

madhujit aṅghri sarōja tatva jñāna anurāga mahimātiśaya anta sīmnē - Unto the border line of greatness arising out of true knowledge about and matchless love towards the lotus feet of the Lord,

nāthāya - unto my lord,

tasmai nātha munayē - unto that Nāthamuni,

namaḥ - I submit my salutation.

atra - Here, in this world

paratra ca api - and even in the eternal world of salvation,

yadīya caraṇau - whose divine feet

madīyam śaraṇam - are my refuge

nityam - forever,

tasmai nātha munayē - unto that Nāthamuni,

namaḥ - I submit my salutation.

 

I submit my salutation to Nāthamuni, who is limit of greatness arising due to true knowledge and devotional love regarding the lotus feet of the Lord. Nāthamuni is my Lord. Both in this material world and in the eternal world of salvation, his divine feet are my constant refuge.

 

Svāmi Yāmuna Muni is not satisfied with composing a single verse about Svāmi Nāthamuni. Nāthamuni's unique greatness draws him further and the ācārya composes an additional couple of verses in the experience of his greatness. Nāthamuni's greatness is unparalleled and his contribution to our tradition unmatched. We wouldn't be chanting the hymns of Āzhvārs, which uniquely distinguish our tradition, had it not been for Nāthamuni's efforts. The history of Nāthamuni is full of incidents where he loses himself as well as the rest of world, beholding only Lord Śrīmannārāyaṇa in every movement of the universe. He possessed the ability to directly communicate with the Lord through Yōga. He made elaborate plans to popularize and systematize the rendition of Aruḷicceyal hymns. He also advised his disciples to carefully hand over the spiritual wealth of our tradition to his grandson, Āḷavandār whom he regarded would contribute immensely to our tradition. Hence, Āḷavandār is full of gratitude towards Paramācārya Nāthamuni, who revived the tradition after the age of the Āzhvārs.

 

(madhujit) One who trounced the demon Madhu. Madhujit is the name of Lord Viṣṇu. (aṅghri sarōja) The lotus feet of the Lord. (tatvajñāna) True knowledge. While it is sufficient to say 'true knowledge of the Lord' (madhujit tatvajñāna), it is said 'true knowledge of the lotus feet of the Lord' (madhujit aṅghri sarōja tatvajñāna). This is for a reason. The bosom of the mother is most desirable to a baby. Likewise, His lotus feet are the most desirable to knowers of truth. Nāthamuni's love towards His lotus feet is also intense. To show that there are no equals in comparison for this knowledge and love, and that these attributes are present in their complete forms in the great seer, Yāmuna Muni calls Nāthamuni as (mahimātiśaya anta sīmnē) the border limit of greatness. As Nāthamuni is the upper bound on knowledge and love regarding the Lord, the knowledge and love of others fall well below his greatness and are not comparable.

Now comes a philosophical point - (atra paratra ca api nityam yadīya caraṇau śaraṇaṃ madīyam) Yāmuna Muni says that Nāthamuni is his refuge both in the world and in the world beyond. How is this possible? The word śaraṇam or refuge indicates both upāyam (means) and upēyam (end). In this world, the divine feet of Nāthamuni are the means. In that world, the same divine feet become the end. That is, those divine feet rescue the soul in this world and uplift it to mōkṣa. Upon reaching Śrīvaikuṇṭha, the soul begins to serve and enjoy the same lotus feet. This is the meaning.

Is it possible that the feet of Nāthamuni can be the end? Isn't the ultimate goal, the divine feet of Śrīmannārāyaṇa? Contrary to the premise on which this question is based, in everyday language, when a person leaves for Paramapada, they say, 'He has attained the lotus feet of his ācārya'. It is not only in custom, it is in our spiritual doctrine as well. Svāmi Nammāzhvār asks, 'When would I join the groups of devotees?' in Tiruvāymozhi and Svāmi Kūrēśa says, 'in joining my lords who are Thy devotees' in Śrīvaikuṇṭhastavam, while speaking about the ultimate end of salvation. The world of Śrīvaikuṇṭha is also called 'world of the devotees', according importance to the souls of that world, who are great Śrīvaishṇavas. Salvation is regarded by our elders as the opportunity to ceaselessly serve the devotees of the Lord. Hence, the position, that Nāthamuni's divine feet are the refuge of Yāmuna Muni even after salvation, is a true highlight of our tradition.

 

3. bhūyō namō~parimitācyuta bhaktitatva jñānāmrutābdhi parivāhaśubhair vacōbhiḥ

lōkēvatīrṇa paramārtha samagra bhakti yōgāya nāthamunayē yaminām varāya

 

vacōbhiḥ - By (whose) words

aparimita acyuta bhakti tatvajñāna amrutābdhi parivāha śubhaiḥ - that are refreshing and blissful arising out of the overflow of the boundless ocean of nectar-like true knowledge and Acyuta bhakti (love for Acyuta),

lōkē avatīrṇa paramārtha samagra bhakti - the greatest fruit of pure bhakti has descended to this world,

yōgāya - unto the owner of such bhakti,

yaminām varāya - the best of yōgis,

nāthamunayē - unto Nāthamuni,

bhūyaḥ namaḥ - I offer salutation once again.

 

I salute once again the greatest of yōgis, Nāthamuni whose benign, blissful and sweet words, overflowing from the boundless nectarine ocean of love and knowledge regarding Acyuta, have caused the advent of the supreme benefit of pure and complete bhakti in this world.

 

A person driven by thirst is never satisfied by one helping of water. In fact, each drink heightens his desire for water and he consumes more and more of it with increasing want. Likewise, the experience of the divine preceptor Nāthamuni leads Aḷavandār to continuously enjoy his blissful attributes due to the ever increasing love towards his divine feet. He offers salutations again and experiences the knowledge and devotion of the great preceptor for the third hymn in succession.

 

(yaminām varāya) To the best among yōgis. (nāthamunayē) To Nāthamuni. (bhūyaḥ) again. (namaḥ) obseisance. What is the experience of Svāmi Nāthamuni here? (aparimita acyuta bhakti tatva jñāna amrutābdhi parivāha śubhaiḥ ) This much describes the word vacōbhiḥ. (aparimita) boundless. (acyuta bhakti ) love towards Acyuta. (acyuta tatva jñāna) true knowledge about Acyuta. (amrutābdhi) ocean of nectar. (parivāha) the overflow. (śubhaiḥ) that are benevolent, blissful, refreshing and sweet. (vacōbhiḥ) by such words. That is, 'by sweet and refreshing words which are the overflow of the boundless ocean of nectarine love and knowledge regarding Acyuta'. The origin of the words is not of any other cause but this. They arose because Nāthamuni overflowed with love and knowledge. When lakes reach their holding limit, their channels are opened to let out the excess water lest the lake breach its banks. Likewise, to sustain himself from the overwhelming love and knowledge, these words emanated from Nāthamuni. The similarity stops here. The flood water causes more trouble than use. However, Nāthamuni's words are sweet, refreshing, blissful and benign. They cause good to all human-kind.

 

What is the consequence of these words? (lōkē) In this world. (avatīrṇa ) advent or manifest. (paramārtha samagra) These words qualify bhakti. (paramārtha) supreme benefit. The bhakti spoken here is not employed as means to attain the Lord but is the supreme benefit by itself - svayaṃ prayōjanam. (samagra) The bhakti is pure and complete. (bhakti) devotional love towards the Lord. (yōga) endowed with such bhakti which is of the form meditating constantly on the Lord with love. (yōgāya) to the preceptor who caused the advent of such bhakti in this world or the preceptor who is naturally endowed with such bhakti.

 

4. tatvēna yaścidacidīśvaratatsvabhāva bhōgāpavargatadupāyagatīrudāraḥ

sandarśayan niramimīta purāṇaratnaṃ tasmai namō munivarāya parāśarāya

 

yaḥ udāra: - By which benevolent person,

cit acit īśvara tatsvabhāva bhōga apavarga tadupāya gatīḥ - the sentient souls, the non sentient matter, the Lord, their characteristics, the pleasures of this world, liberation and the means to these pleasures and liberation, that can be adhered by living beings

sandarśayan – were well explained

tatvēna –  truthfully,

niramimīta – and compiled or revealed through

purāṇaratnam – Srī Viṣṇu purāṇa, the gem among the purāṇas,

tasmai – to that

munivarāya – the best of sages,

parāśarāya – to that Parāśara,

namaḥ - my obeisance.

 

I offer my obeisance to the foremost of sages, Parāśara, who truthfully and lucidly revealed the elemental triad of sentient souls, non-sentient matter and the Lord, their respective characteristics, the pleasures of this world, liberation, and the means to attain the above that are worthy of being practiced by the souls through the greatest of purāṇas, The Viṣṇu purāṇa.

 

The last three hymns spoke about the greatness of Nāthamuni. Why switch to Parāśara all of a sudden? This is for two reasons.

1. The spiritual doctrine of Nāthamuni was useful to the world and was well received. However, what is the authenticity of Svāmi Nāthamuni’s words? Yamuna Muni answers that the authenticity of his words stems from the philosophical assertions made by Sage Parāśara in his Viṣṇu purāṇa.

2. The two of them, Nāthamuni and Parāśara are closely related. Both of them are great intellectuals of the spiritual world and share great love for the Lord. Their graceful words are greatly beneficial to the world. The thought of one brings the thought of the other and it is impossible to mention one without talking about the other.

 

(tatvēna) To explain the truth as it is. (ya: ) by whom. The Tatittrīya Araṇyaka says “sa hovāca vyāsaḥ pārāśaryaḥ” – ‘so said Vyāsa, the son of Parāśara’. The scripture, itself, mentions the word of VyAsa. More important is the fact that it qualifies Vyāsa as the son of Parāśara. It is not useful to the scripture to merely identify someone as the son of somebody else. The actual intention is to show that sage Vyāsa comes in the kālakshēpa parampara or system of spiritual instruction of sage Parāśara. Since, Parāśara is an authority of truth, the word of Vyāsa, his son and disciple is also truthful and hence is mentioned by the scripture. This delivers a lethal blow to the people of misconception who quote “mātāmaha purāṇa” and “poutra purāṇa” told by someone’s grandfather and then by his grandson to prove their philosophical points. That Sage Parāśara is an authority celebrated by the scripture itself shows that his composition, The Viṣṇu purāṇa is the final word on truth. Anything that deviates from this truth must be rejected outright. By the word, “ya:”, Yāmuna Muni indicates the scriptural fame of Sage Parāśara.

(cit) the knower, the entity of cognition. Srī Viṣṇu purāṇa (2-13-71): “The soul is pure and without the blemish of actions; he is indestructible; he has no thirst or hunger; he is devoid of the three material traits of benign, passionate and ignorant natures; he is different from matter and superior to it; he has the same form in all beings; he does not grow ever nor fade.”

(acit) that which has no knowledge by itself but is known by others. Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (1-2-20&21): “The non-sentient matter does not regress. It is not dependent on another non-sentient matter for its substratum. It is beyond place and time. It has no deficiencies. It is eternal. It has no elements. It has no form. It possesses the three qualities of benign, passionate and ignorant forms. It is causeless, is unborn and is imperishable. It is the cause of the worlds.”

(īśvara) the one who directs the above, the sovereign master of the sentient and non-sentient entities. Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (6-4-40):  “The Lord is the substratum of all. He is the supreme master. His fame is spoken in the scriptures under the name of Viṣṇu.” Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (1-2-10,12): “He is greater than what is seen as the greatest. He has no superior. He is his own substratum. He is beyond the material degrees of form, shape and name. The intellectuals regard Him by the name Vāsudēva.”

(svabhāva: ) their true characteristics. Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (2-7-29): “O well learned! The soul and matter have the nature of being associated with each other. All such forms are pervaded by the inner soul that is the power of Viṣṇu.”

(bhōga) The material benefits enjoyed by all beings ranging from Brahma to a blade of grass on the basis of their actions. (apavarga) Having realized the misery ingrained in material experiences, one seeks liberation. Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (1-6-38): “The eternal place is of the yogis who want to enjoy their soul in isolation”. Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa (6-5-58&59): “The three fold pains - ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and ādhibhoutika enjoyed by me, going through the stages of foetus, birth and old age, have for their medicine the attainment of the Lord, which is beyond all suffering, and is the supreme and eternal state of bliss.”

(tadupāya gatīḥ ) the means for the above mentioned fruits such as the practice of karma yōga to attain jñāna and thereby obtain experience of the soul or the practice of karma and jñāna yōgas to attain bhakti which is a means to the Lord or the principle of prapatti where the Lord is the means unto Himself.

(udāraḥ ) the most kindly. Which of us begged of Sage Parāśara to teach us these? Or what did we have in us to warrant the revelation of such truths? None! He revealed them out of sheer grace in order to protect us from suffering through our ignorance. He is like the cloud that showers rain on the mountains and the plains alike.

(sandarśayan ) revealed without doubt or confusion. It is as if these truths were brought in front our eyes and shown to us. It is capable of eradicating every misconception and has no room for misinterpretations by itself.

(niramimīta) to compile or construct. While it was thought to be impossible to compile the deep truths of the scripture, sage Parāśara effortlessly taught them and compiled them.

(purāṇaratnam ) the best of the purāṇas. It has all five characteristics of a purāṇa to the fullest extent as mentioned in “sargaśca pratisargaśca … purāṇam pancalakṣaṇam”. (purāṇam) purāpi navam purāṇam – its essence is ever new and delectable; it never wastes off. (ratnam) The gem is small in size but shines brilliantly. The Viṣṇu purāṇa is small in volume but radiates with all the truths of the infinite scriptures. The wealth of the gem protects its owner. The Viṣṇu purāṇa protects its knower through its knowledge. The owner of the gem is respected and popular all over the world. The knower of The Viṣṇu purāṇa is widely respected for his spiritual wealth.

(munivarāya) to the best among sages, or munīnām varaṇīyāya munivarāya – he who is celebrated by other sages is munivara. It is a well documented incident of how Parāśara was celebrated and blessed by even senior sages like Vaśīṣṭha and Pulastya.

(parāśarāya) to the one who destroys the incoherent teachings of detractors through his arrows of truth and establishes the Vēdic discipline, or to the one who conquered his own senses and emerged victorious over the ill-effects of matter.

(tasmai namaḥ) obeisance to this great.

 

 

5. mātā pitā yuvatayastanayā vibhūtiḥ sarvaṃ yadēva niyamēna madanvayānām

ādyasya naḥ kulapatērvakulābhirāmaṃ śrīmattadaṅghriyugaḷaṃ praṇamāmi mūrdhnā

 

mat anvayānām - Of my descendants,

niyamēna - forever,

mātā - mother,

pitā - father,

yuvatayaḥ - wife,

tanayāḥ - children,

vibhūtiḥ - wealth,

sarvam - and everything else,

yad ēva - are which Āzhvār's divine feet,

tat aṅghriyugaḷam - unto those lotus beautiful feet,

vakuḷa abhirāmam - that are decorated by vakuḷa flowers,

śrīmat - and are endowed with the spiritual wealth (śrīvaiṣṇavaśrī),

naḥ ādyasya kulapatēḥ - of foremost and lord of our clan,

praṇamāmi - I bow

mūrdhnā - by the head.

 

Which divine feet of Āzhvār are mother, father, spouse, children, wealth and everything else to me and my descendants, to those beautiful lotus feet of the foremost preceptor and the lord of our clan, that are decorated by vakuḷa flowers and are endowed with śrīvaiṣṇavaśrī, I bow my head.

 

Though the Stōtra Ratnam is originally about the Lord, one can say that this is 'The Hymn of The Stōtra Ratnam'. This hymn is recited by Śrīvaiṣṇavas everyday.

In the previous hymn, the spiritual teachings of Sage Parāśara were spoken. However, this teaching was limited to a few sages. It requires great spiritual qualification to understand the true purport of the teachings. How would dull heads like us who have no such qualification obtain these lofty meanings of the scripture? Yāmuna Muni respectfully salutes the foremost preceptor of the Śrīvaiṣṇava clan, who made available to all the teachings of the scripture.

Besides, talking of Nāthamuni and Parāśara Muni, who are full of love for the Lord, Yāmuna Muni is reminded of the peak of love for Kṛṣṇa, the Kṛṣṇatṛṣṇātatvam, Svāmi Nammāzhvār.

 

(mātā) The mother. The mother undergoes various ritualistic disciplines pleasing the gods to obtain a baby. She then bears the baby for ten months and undergoes various difficulties. She suffers the pain of delivering the baby. She tolerates the saliva and excreta of the baby and nourishes it with love. She tolerates her child's rudeness when he grows up. She does everything that he likes.

(pitā) The father. He is the cause of the baby, alongside the mother and is responsible for giving the physical body. He is always interested in the welfare of his children.

(yuvatayaḥ) The spouse. When the child grows into youth, he forgets his parents and completely turns to his wife, and desires her the most.

(tanayāḥ) the children that he obtains through his wife. They cause him delight in their baby days, protect him in his old age and after death ensure that he does not go to hell.

(vibhūtiḥ) wealth. How can one enjoy the above in poverty? Wealth enhances his experience.

(sarvam) and everything else that has not been said, but are very desirable to him.

(yadēva) are which lotus feet of Āzhvār. The above mentioned are identified with Āzhvār's lotus feet alone. When?

(niyamēna) forever. There is no time discipline for this. It is not that one spends his youth running after material pleasures and turns to Āzhvār only when he thinks he is going to breathe his last. The love of Āzhvār's lotus feet exists forever.

Which are the people endowed with such love?

(mat anvayānām) my descendants. vidyayā janmayā vā - descendants by knowledge or through birth. This includes both physical and spiritual descendants.

(ādyasya) The foremost dispenser of the Vēdic wealth.

(naḥ kulapatēḥ) The women take the name of the family into which they are married. The Vēdics such as brāhmaṇas talk about their ṛṣi gōtra. For prapannas, such identifications are useless. They should only say that they belong to the gōtra of Śaṭakōpa muni. Āzhvār is the lord of their clan.

(vakuḷābhirāmam) the lotus feet of Āzhvār are well decorated with vakuḷa flowers. This shows the enjoyable nature of these feet.

(śrīmat) endowed with the spiritual wealth - śrīvaiṣṇava śrī. It is along the lines of 'antarikṣagataḥ śrīmān', 'sa tu nāgavaraḥ śrīmān' and 'lakṣmaṇō lakṣmisampannaḥ'.

(tadaṅghri yugaḷam) those lotus feet. One can only say 'those' because the auspiciousness and desirable nature of these feet is beyond words.

(yugaḷam) the beauty arising out of the combined pair of lotus feet.

(praṇamāmi) - I bow.

(mūrdhnā praṇamāmi) - the mere utterance of namaḥ is insufficient for the lotus feet of Āzhvār. He puts his head to his feet and worships him respectfully.

 

 

6. yanmūrdhni mē śṛtiśirassu ca bhāti yasminnasmanmanōrathapathassakalassamēti

stōṣyāmi naḥ kuladhanaṃ kuladaivataṃ tatpādāravindamaravindavilōcanasya

 

yat - Which divine feet of the Lord

bhāti - shine

mē mūrdhni - on my head,

śrutiśirassu ca - and on the scriptures,

yasmin - which divine feet

samēti - are the destination

asmanmanōrathapathaḥ sakalaḥ - of all my overflowing love,

naḥ kuladhanam - the wealth of our clan,

naḥ kuladaivatam - the worshipped Lord of our clan,

aravindalōcanasya tat pādāravindam - the lotus feet of the lotus eyes Lord,

stōṣyāmi - I praise

 

I praise the lotus feet of the lotus-eyed Lord that shine on top of my head as well as on the scriptures, which are the destination of all my desires, and which are the wealth and the worshipped lord of our clan.

 

Yāmuni Muni offers this hymn unto the Lord out of gratitude because the Lord in foremost in grace as in 'aṛiyādana aṛivitta attā ! nī ceydana '. He also loves listening to His praise 'vaikundanāgap pugazh'. In addition, singing the praise of the Lord is very desirable to the preceptors. This is the first hymn about the Lord. Yāmuna Muni summarizes the meaning of the remaining hymns and is the essence of the work.

 

(mē mūrdhni) on my head. 1. In this phrase, the ācārya reveals his subservience because of losing himself to the lotus feet of Lord, that are extremely beautiful and auspicious. 2. The brilliance of a lamp is greatest in the dark. Likewise, the complete beauty and radiance of the Lord manifests in the darkness of ignorance(which is my head). Though this meaning would be attributed to the humility of the ācārya, it is an excellent meaning for us because our heads are really summits of ignorance.

Through this the ācārya establishes that the divine feet of the Lord are the means and that the Lord possesses the attribute of being easily accessible which is important to being means. As He has placed His feet on the ācārya's head, it shows that He rescues us as His own benefit. Those established in the discipline of subservience to the Lord wish that His feet rest on their heads. The ācārya reveals that he has attained this great benefit, that is consistent with the true nature of the soul. So, he says these words in celebratory fashion out of gratitude to the Lord.

(śṛtiśirassu ca bhāti) The same divine feet also stand atop the scriptures. This establishes that He is the supreme benefit, supreme being and is supremely auspicious as revealed by the scriptures. By the word 'ca', it is conveyed that being atop the scriptures is secondary to standing atop Yāmuna Muni. He does not stay atop Yāmuni Muni and the scriptures in the same manner. While standing on Āḷavandār's head, He stands with supreme grace and love.

(yasmin asman manōrathapathas sakalas samēti) where all my desires, of this world and otherwise, reach unto.

(naḥ kuladhanam) the wealth of our clan. Wealth protects one in danger and is fit to be enjoyed. Likewise, the Lord is full of auspiciousness and is the eternal desirable fruit. He is the supreme goal. Worldly wealth is of two kinds. One kind must be earned. The other kind is effortlessly inherited. Which kind of wealth is the Lord? Should we put in efforts to attain Him or would He rescue us without expecting our efforts? Yāmuna Muni qualifies the word 'dhanam' with the word 'kula' to show that it is the wealth of the clan. The wealth of the clan is inherited effortlessly. Likewise, the Lord's divine feet are attained without effort.

(kula daivatam) the worshipped Lord of our clan. In the previous phrase, it was shown that His divine feet are the end. Here, it is shown that His feet are the means as well. His divine feet are the refuge.

(tat pādāravindayugaḷam) those beautiful lotus feet

(aravinda lōcanasya) of the lotus-eyed Lord. His lotus eyes arouse love, shower grace and are relished by the eternal beings. While standing on the head of Yāmuna Muni, His lotus eyes look very beautiful as they brim with grace. Or, listening to the stōtra of Yāmuni Muni, the Lord's lotus eyes widen with joy as He is stavapriyaḥ. They captivate Yāmuna Muni and he describes Him thus.

 

7. tattvēna yasya mahimārṇavaśīkarāṇuśśsakyō na mātumapi śarvapitāmahādyaiḥ

kartuṃ tadīyamahimastutimudyatāya mahyam namō~stu kavayē nirapatrapāya

 

yasya - Which Lord's

mahima arṇava śīkara aṇuḥ - a single drop out of His ocean of greatness

śarva pitāmahādyaiḥ api - even by the likes of Śiva and Brahma

tattvēna - as it is

mātum - to determine

na śakyaḥ - is not possible,

tadīya mahima stutim karttum - to praise that Lord

udyatāya - to me, who set about

nirapatrapāya - shamelessly,

kavayē - with the title of 'poet'

mahyam - to me alone,

namaḥ astu - let there be obeisance.

 

While even a drop out of the ocean of greatness of Lord Nārāyaṇa is beyond the words of even the likes of Śiva, Brahma and others, I, a mere human, set about to sing His praise courageously and shamelessly with the title of 'poet'. If ever an obeisance has to be made, it should be made unto me!

 

Yāmuna Muni condemns himself for setting about on this venture of praising the Lord. When the likes of Brahma and Śiva have been standing on the shores of the ocean of the Lord's greatness for all time, how would an ordinary person determine the entire expanse of the ocean and sing its praise? What courage! With this mood, Yāmuna Muni withdraws from the praise he intended to sing, similar to Arjuna withdrawing from war after reaching the battlefield. (Gīta 1-47 - 'visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpam' - Arjuna cast away the bow along with the arrow.)

 

(tattvēna) to know as it is. That is, to know as the Lord's attributes are and to know His true nature and character.

(yasya) The Mātsya Purāṇa says, 'yathā ratnāni jaladhērasankhyēyāni putraka, tathā guṇā hyanantasya asankhyēyō mahātmanaḥ'. 'Dear son! Like the innumerable pearls in an ocean are the infinite attributes of the Lord.'

(mahimārṇava śīkarāṇuḥ) a minuscule drop in the vast ocean of greatness. It is intended to convey the meaning of an extremely small part in the vast expanse of the Lord's greatness and His auspicious traits.

(mātum na śakyaḥ) is not possible to determine. Even the smallest fraction of the Lord's greatness cannot be determined. By whom?

(śarvapitāmahādyairapi) by even the likes of Brahma and Śiva. The Mātsya Purāṇa says, 'ārōgyam bhāskarādicchēt, dhanamicchēt hutāśanāt, īśvarāt jñānamicchēt, mōkṣamicchējjanārdanāt' - 'Desire health from the Sun god, wealth from the Fire god, knowledge from Śiva and liberation from Nārāyaṇa'. The god prescribed for knowledge, Śiva, himself, is incapable of determining a fraction of the Lord's greatness. What to say of others! The teacher of the Vēdas, Brahma is equally incompetent. According to the next hymn, 'sadā stuvantaḥ vēdāḥ' and the 47th hymn 'vidhicivasanakādyaiḥ', it is clear that the intention of the preceptor is to refer to the likes of the Vēda and Sanaka by the word 'ādi'.

(tadīya mahimastutim kartumudyatāya) I set about to describe such greatness. (mahyam namo~stu) obeisance to me. Instead of talking about the subject of praise which is beyond words, one must praise my own courage in setting about to describe this inconceivable expanse of greatness. The preceptor is ridiculing himself. (kavayē) poets have it in them to exceed reality and invent greatness through exaggeration in their songs. In the case of the Lord, even the demi-gods struggle to sing a small portion of His true greatness. I, declaring myself as a poet, set about not only to describe His real greatness but also try to invent some. How foolish of me! (nirapatrapāya) I am a shameless person. I have no shame that the great Lord does not deserve to be praised by my lowly self.

 

8. yadvā śramāvadhi yathamati vāpyaśaktaḥ staumyēvamēva khalu tē~pi sadā stuvantaḥ

vēdāścaturmukhāśca mahārṇavāntaḥ kō majjatōraṇukulācalayōrviśēṣaḥ

 

yadvā - or,

aśaktaḥ - I, the weak

staumi - will praise

śrama avadhi - until I feel fatigued,

yathāmathi vā api - or until I exhaust my knowledge,

sadā - forever

stuvantaḥ - praising

tē vēdāḥ avi - even those Vēdas

caturmukhamukhāśca - and the likes of Brahma

ēvam ēva khalu - praise in the same way,

mahā arṇava antaḥ - inside a great ocean

majjatō - getting immersed

aṇu kulācalayōḥ - between an atom and a mountain

kaḥ viśēṣaḥ - what difference?

 

Or I, the weak, shall praise you until I run out of either strength or knowledge. Even, the Vēdas that praise forever and the likes of Brahma do the same thing. When submerged inside a mighty ocean, what is the difference between an atom and a mountain.

 

It is said,

'matikṣayānnivartantē na gōvinda guṇakṣayāt'.

If one returns from praising Gōvinda, it is because he has run out of spiritual knowledge and not because Gōvinda has run out of auspicious qualities. Āzhvār conveys the same meaning as,

'kāṇumaḷavuñcellum kīrtiyāy'.

Hence, the aforementioned authorities like the Vēda, Brahma, Śiva and Sanaka praise to the limits of their knowledge and strength. They do not complete singing His greatness completely, but sing until their own limitations take over.

Besides, Śrī Viṣṇu Dharmam says,

'sā jihvā yā hariṃ stauti

taccittaṃ yattadarpitam

tāvēva ca karau ślāghyau

yau tatpūjākarau karau'

'That which sings the praise of Hari is the tongue. That which offers itself to the Lord is the mind. That which worships the Lord is the hand.' The true purpose of tongue, mind and hand are attained only by association with spiritual purposes. Otherwise, they are unfit to be called by such names as they have been abused for the wrong ends. Singing the praise of Hari is the natural duty of the tongue.

Further He is 'stavyaḥ stavapriyaḥ'. He, alone, is fit to be praised and He enjoys these praises.

As His greatness is not sung completely by even those with greater knowledge/strength, as the natural duty of every tongue is to sing the praise of Hari and as He alone is fit to be praised which He immensely enjoys, He directs Yāmuna Muni not to withdraw the initial decision to praise. This is similar to His instruction to Arjuna who withdrew from war after deciding to wage it. Like Arjuna saying 'kariṣyē vacanaṃ tava' and engaging in battle, Svāmi Āḷavandār returns to praising Him. This change of mood is spoken in this hymn.

 

(yadvā) Or. This signals the removal of the previous state. The previous position was withdrawal from praising. Now, it is told what would be done and why.

(śramāvadhi yathāmathi vā) until reaching the limits of knowledge or strength.

(aśaktōpi staumi) despite being powerless in every respect, I praise.

(sadā stuvantaḥ vēdāścaturmukhamukhāśca ēvamēva khalu tē~pi) a list of authorities that have the knowledge to distinguish between good and bad, and the strength to adhere to the good while discarding what is bad.

(sadā stuvantaḥ vēdāḥ) the Vēdas praise Him for all time

(caturmukhamukhāśca) the likes of Brahma, Rudra and Sanaka, who have greater longevity than other mortals sing His praise until they run out of their positions. As the Vēda is eternal, it sings forever. The others sing for the duration of their superior positions.

(ēvamēva khalu) even these praises are limited to their respective knowledge and strength. The greatness of Kēśava is completely captured by none of the above. The Vēda Puruṣa says,

'yatō vācō nivartantē aprāpya manasā saha'

The mind and speech return back defeated unable to completely determine the Lord. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa -

'yannāyam bhagavān brahmā jānāti paramam padam

tannatāḥ sma jagaddhāma tava sarvagatācyuta'

'O Acyuta! O Omni-Present! You are the supreme goal. We worship your true nature which is not known even to the most superior of souls, Brahma.'

The Āzhvārs say,

'māmalarān vārcaḍaiyān vallarēyallarē vāzhttu'

'pēcuvār evvaḷavu pēcuvār avvaḷavē'

'valldōr vaṇṇam'

Mahābhārata Mōkṣa-Dharmam -

'tavāntarātmā mama ca yē cānyē dēhisaṃjñitāḥ

sarvēṣāṃ sākṣibhūtō~sau na grāhyaḥ kēnacin kvacit'

'The Lord is the super soul of you (Śiva) and of me (Brahma) as much as He is of others. He is omnipotent and omniscient. He cannot be known to anybody at any time.'

Despite the difference between himself and the likes of Brahma, Yāmuna Muni says that they have in common the limitation of praising Him only to the level of their respective knowledge and strength. This is illustrated by an example.

(mahārṇavāntar majjatōraṇukulācalayōḥ kō viśēṣaḥ) Though there is natural difference between an atom and a mountain, of what consequence is it when they are immersed under a massive ocean?

 

 

9. kiñcaiṣa śaktyatiśayēna na tē~nukampyaḥ stōtāpi tu stutikṛtēna pariśramēṇa

tatra śramastu sulabhō mama mandabuddhērityudyamō~yamucitō mama cābjanētra

 

kiṇca - Further,

ēṣaḥ stōtā - I who praise

śakti atiśayēna - by the greatness of my strength

tē - to You

na anukampyaḥ - not worthy of mercy,

api tu - but

stuti kṛtēna pariśramēṇa - by the fatigue arising out of praising,

anukampyaḥ - I am worthy of mercy,

hē abjanētra! - O lotus eyed!

tatra - being thus

manda buddhēḥ - with dull intellect,

mama tu - to me

śramaḥ - tiredness

sulabhaḥ - is easy,

iti - hence,

mama ca - to me alone

ayam udyamaḥ - this effort

ucitaḥ - is appropriate.

 

Further, if I had to obtain the strength to praise You, I would not become worthy of Your mercy. But, You show Your mercy unto me out of sympathy towards an exhausted person. As I am of dull intellect, I would be exhausted easily while singing Your praise and thereby obtain Your mercy. Therefore, praising You is appropriate to me alone.

 

In the seventh hymn, Yāmuna Muni admonished himself for setting out to praise the Lord. In the last hymn, he showed that there is no difference between himself and the souls of greater power and knowledge owing to the vast expanse of the Lord's greatness. In this hymn, he says that he, alone, is fit to praise the Lord.

By praising the Lord, when would one become the object of His mercy? If it requires that one must praise all His auspicious attributes, then it would never be achieved. However, as the Lord is an ocean of compassion, He would lower Himself out of sympathy. Yāmuna Muni reasons that as his intelligence is extremely small, he would tire off soon, seeing which the Lord would shower His mercy out of sympathy. The likes of Vēdas and Brahma with greater power and knowledge would keep trying continuously, neither completing their praise nor earning His mercy. Hence, Yāmuni Muni shows that he is the fit authority to praise the Lord. 'They may be superior in knowledge and power, but I am superior in the authority to praise' - is the meaning.

 

(kinca) moving from the position that the praise is untenable, to the position of equality with the likes of Brahma, and to a position further still (which is the content of this hymn)

(ēṣa stōtā) I, the person who renders the praise. This is difference between me and the other inhabitants of the material world. I belong to the small category of souls, who are possessed with the knowledge that the sole purpose of the mouth is to praise the Lord. Hence, the praise.

(śaktyatiyaśēna na tē~nukampyaḥ) cannot become the destination of Your mercy by attaining the strength to praise You.

(tē) to You. That is, to You whose greatness has not been understood even by the Vēda that withdrew as 'yatōvācō nivartantē' and is continuously praised by the Nityasūris as 'tadviprāsō vipanyavaḥ'. He would not become overwhelmed with mercy by such efforts. However, if a person who has been lost in materialism for ages, turns to Him and summons his humble self to utter a single word of praise with great difficulty, the Lord is immensely delighted and is overwhelmed with mercy.

(api tu) if His mercy is not earned by the strength of praise, then how else?

(stuti kṛtēna pariśramēṇa) by the tiredness that arises out of exhaustion of the meagre faculties of intelligence, that were summoned out of the love to praise the Lord. This is an excellent way to His sympathy.

(tatra) this being the case, (how would this benefit me?)

(śramastu sulabhō mama) tiredness comes easily to me. The 'tu' shows the extra-ordinary prosperity in getting exhausted.

(manda buddhēḥ) the reason being my dull intelligence.

(iti) as it is so,

(ayamudyamaḥ) my engaging in singing His praise as declared by 'stōṣyāmi' in the sixth hymn,

(ucitō mama ca) is worthy of me alone.

(abjanētra) In Śrī Viṣṇu purāṇa, Prahlāda says,

'dēva! prapannārtihara! prasādam kuru kēśava!

avalōkanadānēna bhūyō mām pālayācyuta!'

'O God! Destroyer of the sorrow of those who take refuge in You! O Kēśava! Grace me. O Acyuta! Save me by gracing me again.'

Āzhvār says, 'un tāmaraikkaṇgaḷāl nōkkāy'. Grace me with Your lotus eyes to complete this praise. His eyes blossomed like lotuses out of happiness in witnessing Yāmuni Muni sing this praise.

 

Āzhwār Emberumānār Jīyar Tiruvaḍikaḷē śaraṇam

 

srirasthu
srimathe Satakopaya nama:
srimathe Ramanujaya nama:
srimathe varavaramunaye nama:

 

Svami Ramanuja's dance on kaliya

 

"Hey Raamaanuja! Hey Jagathtraya GurO! Hey Pundarikaaksha! maam hey gopijananaatha baalaya param jaanaami nathva vinaa" says Mukuntha Maala. In this Krishna is called Ramanuja, Svami Emperumanaar who has the same name as sri krishna can easily be established to have performed his cheshtithams in one way or other, especially the kaliya Narthana chestai.

one leela in Sri Krishna's life is kaliya narthanam, it is like this. kaliya was a 5 headed snake who was spreading poison in one of the madu (ponds) formed off river Yamuna. Sri Krishna danced on the heads of kaliya to demolish the ahankaram/attrocities of kaliya. Svami Vedantha Desika in his yadhavabyuthayam glorifies like this, "vivitha muni janopa jeevya theertha vikamitha sarpagana pareNa pumsa apajata yamuna visuththimakryam samitha bahi: matha samblava trayiiva"(sloka 125). He gave what Svami Ramanuja accomplished as the example for what Sri Krishna did. lets see how. The act of poisonous kaliya making the yamuna river tepid is equated to the followers of other religions, dragged by their crooked knowledge who cook up their own stories making the clear Vedas tepid. The act of Sri Krishna making the waters of yamuna clear is equated to Svami Ramanuja cleaning up the wrong thoughts of others by his sri Sookthis. In the place of Yamuna, Vedas was taken. In the place of kaliya, followers of other religions were taken, and in the place of Sri Krishna, sri Ramanuja was taken. According to "Thooya peru neer yamunai thuraivanai" sri sookthi, Yamuna is ever related to Bagavan sri Krishna, Vedas also are ever related to Bagavan, thus we holding Yamuna and Vedas equal is very appropriate.

kaliya had 5 heads and was spitting poison on all of them. likewise the misrepresenters using 5 different mis statements confuse/spoil the knowedge about brahmam. heres how

1. There is no god. one should not hold someone as a superpower/god
2. There is god, however he can be known only by inference and not by Vedas
3. There is god, he can be known by vedas, however he has no qualities/Gunam nor any form etc
4. There is not a single supreme god, there are many many gods and they are all equal
5. Nothing is true, there is no earth sun moon etc, all are just our figment of our imagination

Thus it is appropriate to hold the followers of crooked know religions as kaliya.

Sri Krishna danced on kaliya thus demolishing kaliya's attrocities and ahankaram. likewise Svami Ramanuja using his Sri Sookthis (vedartha Sangraham, sri bashyam etc) demolished the crooked view religions.

-60 years back in Sri Ramanujan Magazine Sri Kanchi Svami (Vikruthi 10-Jul-1950)