Swami Desikan Sannidhi, Nachiyar Koil

Published on behalf of Srivaishnavas, Muscat

7/15/2009
Among all the different methods of worshipping the Lord, the glorious form of
worshipping is praying to the Archamoorthy at different koils. We mortals can actually
have a vision of the Lord in full greatness. We do not need any divya chakshu to see
him. We need no assistance from any quarters to enjoy Him to the fullest. Our
anubhavam depends of the degree of enjoyment we have had after the darshan. The
more we know of the Divya Desam, the stories attached to that place and the Lord’s
arrival at this particular place, the more we feel we are closer to Him .But many a time
we start thinking about the Archa Tirumeni as not having the fullest kalyana gunas as a
Vaikunda nathan would have. It is only our shortsight and our lack of comprehending
the greatness of the Tirumeni in the koil. We should understand that the Tirumeni in
the koils are no different from the Tirumeni in SriVaikundam or Thirupaarkadal. The
glory of the Lord does not decrease in anyway after He has descended in the
Bhoolokam.

Archa Tirumeni of the Lord is

classified into five different
kshetras.

Swayam Vyaktam---Lord
descends to this Bhoolokam
of his own volition without
any association of any one
else. In other words, He
descends on this land
without any one calling for
Janakavalli & Karunakaran, Madurantakam
help.

Saidham—Siddha purushas
worshipped the Lord and
there by installed Him there.

Aarsham—Lord is installed by great Rishis and regularly worshipped by them before

they departed.

Divyam—Installed by the Devas and worshipped by them

Maanusham— installed by human beings.

Darsanam – Adi 2009

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The great simplicity and ease with which Archa Tirumeni can be worshipped, gives us
the pride to be a Bhaktan. While the Lord can be worshipped as Para Rupa, Vyuha
Rupa, Antaryaami Rupa or Avatara Rupa, but nothing can equal the Archa Rupa. In this
form He is literally Bhakta Paradeenan. If the temple Bhattar wishes to adorn Him with
what ever alankaram he wishes, He is accepting it without a murmur. He purposely
looses his independence so that Bhaktas can come closer to Him and worship Him the
way they want to. He is like Kannan who allowed Yashoda to tie Him up for all His
mischief. On the other hand the Para Rupa and the Vyuha Rupa are beyond the reach
of us. No one has seen those Rupams of the Lord. Moreover Avatara Rupa had taken
place long ago which again is beyond our knowledge to comprehend. Antara yami Rupa
of the Lord is difficult to meditate as it requires a yoga nishtai a training which is hard
and time consuming. The Archa Rupam is easily accessible and simple. It gives equal
spiritual exhilaration and experience as any one of the others forms would give. All the
prime gunas of the Lord which are six in number (Gnana, Bala ,Aishwarya Veerya,
Tejas, Shakti) are present even in the Archa Rupam.

Further more worship to the Archa Rupam

form of the Lord is easy as He is described
as Soulabhyan, Sowsheelyan and
Vaatsalyan. The very fact that He has
descended on this Bhoolokam shows his
Sowsheelya guna (the mighty Lord
befriending mere mortals) Soulabhyan
(mere erring humans can approach him
without any fear) and Vaatsalyam (the
motherly affection of seeing doshams in
humans as gunas and not minding the
doshas). These Kalyana gunas of the Lord
comes only when Our Thaayar is with Him.
No wonder all Archa Tirumenis are with
these kalyana gunas as Our Thaayar always
stays with Him (agala illen iraiyum endru
alarmel mangai urai marba). This aspect of
the Lord should nudge us to go closer to Him.
No wonder the devout bhaktas go to koils with Saathivika Ahankaram as they have Our
Thaayar to their side. Lord alone is Dandadharan (wielding the punishment stick) and
He takes into notice even our smallest mistakes. It is Our Thaayar who pleads on our
behalf and diffuses the punishment. Through His Archa rupam and His Subhaasryam
(Subha + Aasrayam = that which is auspicious and is also within the reach of
meditation) He is present as Tiruvenkatamudayan. The bhaktas and their soaring
numbers are a proof that Archa Rupam is our only recourse to Moksham.
Darsanam – Adi 2009
3
It comes as no surprise when Our Aacharyan Svami Desikan declares that he has no
desire to go to Sri Vaikundam as he is able to enjoy the Divya Mangala Rupam of
Athithigiri Perumal (Vaikuntha vaase na abhilaasha – Varadaraja Panchashat) here in
this Bhoolokam.

Vaazhi Tiruvenkatamudayan
Vaazhi Thoopul kullathe Arase
Vaazhi Vedanta Desikane
Nangainallur Venkatesan

Sri 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).

(continued from Part 5)

In the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam', Swami Desikan put forward a Vedantic thesis in a very

scientific and modern way. It is a thesis that shows Man a pathway to personal
development from lower to the highest state of existence and experience. It is a
"vEdAnta-mArga" which shows us how to enrich our lives in an easy-to-follow 9-step
program.

The 9-step program begins at the first stepping-stone as surely as it ends with the last.
There are no alternate routes on this journey --- just as there are none on a stairway.

Darsanam – Adi 2009

4
The "parama-pada-sOpAnam" is a journey which leads only one way: upwards, straight
from the low plains of worldly experience towards "paramapada", the very summit of
human experience in the kingdom of God.

Swami Desikan described 9 "steps" or 'parianka-s' which a man aspiring to reach the
pinnacle of Joy in 'parama-padam' must have to tread:
1) vivekam 2) nirvedam 3) virakti 4) bheeti 5) prasAda-hetu 6) utkramanam
7) archirAdri 8) divya-desa-prApti 9) prApti

The first 4 steps from 'vivEkam' to 'bheethi' are collectively termed by Swami Desikan as
"adhikAra-parva". These deal with the the various processes by which a man acquires
the requisite "adhikAra", or qualifications or eligibility, that will enable him to proceed
along the pathway to the next 5 steps.

The stepping-stone described as "prasAdana-hetu", next, is termed by Swami Desikan

as "UpAya-parva". It is the program that deals with the various "practical means" a
qualified spiritual aspirant employs in order to get ahead further on the journey to
'parama-padam'.

The last 4 stepping-stones viz. "ut-kramaNam", "archirAdi", "divya-dEsa-prApti" and

"prApti" are all collectively put together by Swami Desikan in one program called
"phala-parvA". It deals with the
aftermath of the journey man
has already undertaken along
the path of the first step through
the 5th 'parianka'.

It is interesting to note that out

of the 9 steps above, a man is
expected to take the trouble to
scale only the first 5. Steps #6
to #9 are easily traversed by an
aspirant with the aid and Grace
of God himself. While a little of
strenuous effort is required of
Man to climb onto Step #5, none is required thereafter. The Lord Himself assumes the
burden and responsibility of "lifting" the soul of man from Step #6 through Step #9.
The first 5 'parianka-s' in the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' are thus so many steps on a
stairway; but the last 4 may be said to be a bit like a modern escalator. One merely
needs to step on it to be conveyed forward effortlessly.

Darsanam – Adi 2009

5
While Steps #1 to #5 are trodden with the physical body of the aspirant, the journey
through Steps #6 to #9 is believed to be undertaken without the physical body i.e.
Man's spirit alone undertakes this leg of the journey.

While sometimes one can attempt to hop-step & jump over ordinary stairways in order
to accelerate one's way up, it is not possible to do so on Swami Desikan's 'parama-
pada-sOpAnam'. Here one has to scale the height in proper "krama" (methodically) and
there are no short-cuts or slip-throughs. You cannot arrive at any given stepping-stone
without first having landed on the immediately preceding one.

(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,

It is well known that Swamy Desikan is an incarnate of the Lord Thirumalai Srinivasan-
ThiruvEnkatamudaiyaan?s GhaNTa- the divine Bell of the Thirumala sannidhi. The
divine incarnate of the Lord’s sanctum sanctorum divine Bell rings again and again
composing 120 works? It is not an ordinary bell which is kept in sannidhis. This was the
Bell used by chauthurmukha brahmA when he was performing ArAddhanam to the
Lord. So divine was it and thus the works unparalleled. Thirumalaimaal ThirumaNiyaay
siRakka vandhOn vaazhiyE..

However, Sri Nainacharya declares in PiLLai anthAthi:

Darsanam – Adi 2009

6
 anRu ivvulaginaiaakki arum poruL nool viritthu
ninRu than neeL pugazh vENkatamaamalai mEvippinnum
venRi pugazh THIRUVENKATANATHAN enRum Guruvaay
ninRu nigazhndhu maN mEl ninRa nOygaL thavirtthananE?

In times of yore, that day- The Lord Bhagawaan- had created the worlds; Then, He
taught the essence of Vedas as GitAchAryan [declaring the essence of gitA in the last
chapter as rahasyam- the doctrine of Saranagathi]; Then, He stands resplendently on
the Thirumala mountain as Srinivasan- to the delight of everyone; [similar to the farmer
who wants his field to be watered well and nurtured to a large extent and be saved- the
Lord stand here ensuring the avatars of Acharyas to teach Saranagathi doctrine-
showing his Hand towards His lotus feet. In spite of His standing, sending various
Acharyas, teaching the doctrine of Saranagathi and following the same as well in their
lives, the Lord did not get much response from the masses. So, in order to ensure the
people take the right path as declared in saashthars and get saved, He Himself came as
an Acharya in this Kaliyuga in his own name- Venkata Nathan- and alleviated all our
diseases existing on the earth by reinforcing and concretising the then existing
Saranagathi maargam from the times of AzhwArs.

Thus with Vedantha Desika avatars, the Lord

willed to let everyone realize the greatness
of Saranagathi and be saved from the
samsaaric ocean of births and deaths.
There is no barrier for any jeevathma as
long as that jeevan performs Saranagathi
at the lotus feet of the Lord. Hence,
Vedantha Desika avatar becomes the
greatest avatar made by
Venkatamudaiyaan Himself.

Also Lord Sri Hayagrivan shows Himself

Lakshmi Hayagrivan, Parakalamutt, Toopul

with the vyAkhyAmudrA in one hand, and

the book (or leaves) on the other; Desika archA avatars also have this same form,
proving that Lord Hayavadhanan has taken anupravESa avatar in this mahAchAryan.
Even in DevaperumAL Sannidhi [in Kanchi] EmeprumAnAr Sri Ramanujacharya also
shows Himself with upadEsa mudrA [or vyAkhyA mudrA]. Swamy Desikan mentions the
same in YathirAja sapthathi as well: [Ramanuja with His jnAna mudrA - the resplendent
nails dispel the darkness in his heart..]

Swamy Desikan is addressed is as Bhagawaan by Sri PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram aNNan

Swamy : yammEnE vishNO avathAram- [in Vaibhava prakAsikA]..

Darsanam – Adi 2009

7
Sri NainAchryar also says: [in his Desika mangalaasaasanam]

vEnkatESAvathArO(S)yam thadhgaNTAmSOThavaa bhavEth |

yatheendhrAm SO(S)thavEthyEvam vitharkyAyAsthu mangaLam ||
May all auspiciousness be with Sri Vedantha Desika about whom different views were
held that he was an incarnation of Lord Venkatesa or he was His divine gantA (Bell) or
the divine incarnate of Acharya Ramanuja Himself.

Dindima Kavi (in 14th century) who was a junior contemporary of Vedanta Desika pays
tribute to Swamy’s greatness as follows:

There was confusion all around as a result of turbid nature of Kaliyuga; the Vedas were
in great distress; (because of misinterpretation); wise saying of the seers were
completely ignored; there was an unholy intermixture of all castes; and quite in
consonance with this sorry state, all sacred
epics and puranas lost their validity; the
maayaavaada was in all glee; and the
school of nihilism (soonya vada) was
having undisputed acceptance by all. It
was at this critical juncture that Sri
Vedanta Desika came into this world as
an incarnation of the great rining divine
bell of VishNu for the establishment of
Dharma and its protection. He shines
all victorious.

vEdhE sancAthakEthE………… vishNu

gaNTAvathaara:

PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram Annan (1300

to 1400 CE) was a junior contemporary
of Vedantha Desika and also a disciple
of Sri Nainacharya (son of Vedantha
Desika). He gives a nutshell about
Swamy in his Sapthapathi
Rathnamaalika- which we will see when we
enjoy Swamy’s life.

Vedas and saasthras declare that EmperumAn has the five Dhivya rUpams, namely,
Param, vyUham, vibahavm, archai and Hardham [or antharyami roopam]. The vibhava,
archA avathAra roopam is grander than Param- as opined by scholars and Azhwars.
[yErAr muyal vittu kaakkai pin pOvadhEn..] Avatars have solwseelyam, sowlbahyam

Darsanam – Adi 2009

8
guNam to the fullest extent and thus facilitates becoming grander and more enjoyable.
AzhwArs were also deemed as abhinava dasAavathAr. The Lord dwells in the greatest
NithyasUri, muktha jeevathmAs when they take AzhwAr AchArya avathars thus making
their births as well deemed avathArs of the Lord so- to say. PoorvAchAryas call this
avathars as ―anupravESa avathars‖.

Swamy Desikan himself says at the end of his magnum

opus Srimath Rahasyathraya saram ―veLLai parimukar
dEsikarAy viragAl aDiyOm uLLatthu yezhudhiyadhu
Olaiittu yezhudhinam yam udhaRkku yen‖.. [The white
horse faced- Lord Hayagrivan had written in our heart;
and [I] only wrote what He had written inside ? merely
reproducing what is written inside.. In the line of
Acharyas, Nathamuni, Yamuna, Ramanuja, through
upadEsam, they had written also [the lineage that starts
from the Lord Himself- as PrathamAchAryan]. What they
wrote inside my heart- aDiyEn wrote on the leaves; Thus
Acharya avathar is Hayavadhanan’s (Lord Hayagrivan’s]
anupravESa avathar himself.

Sriya: Pathi Sarveswaran found that His message

rendered for the benefit of humanity, in His incarnations
as Sri VarAha and Sri RAma did not get well publicized.
So, He reiterated the same more elaborately in His
incarnation as Sri KrishNa under the pretext of advising
Arjuna, explaining clearly the difficulties involved in other
means like Karma, JnAna and BhaktiyOgas and rounding
it up with the grand finale that Prapatti which he had
earlier instructed was THE BEST means for humanity to reach Him. To reinforce this
message, He appeared as ThiruvEnkatamudaiyAn.

Despite the message being so loud and clear, people were found ignorant of the full
import thereof. So, He deputed Srimad NAthamuni, Srimad YAmuna muni and Sri
RamAnuja muni to expound the content of the SAstras through SribhAshya,
GitAbhAshya etc. as also the means to practice (anushTAnam) Prapatti through
"SaraNAgathi Gadhyam". During the days of UDaiyavar, the message did sink deep into
the minds of people as seen in the affirmation- "SrI RamAnuja DivyAjnA prathivAsaram
ujjwalA, dighantha vyApinee bhooyAth sA hi lOka hithaishiNee". Therefore, the doctrine
came to be known as "Sri RAmAnuja Darsanam".

But, due to the mushrooming of votaries of heretic religions frantically trying to spread
their faith, due to our Scriptures lying scattered in different works without being
Darsanam – Adi 2009
9
uniformly codified and also due to the loss of the works of Sri NAthamuni hailed as the
crest jewel of SAstras (Grantha rathnam), ordinary folk were misled by the spurious
arguments of charlatans.

Feeling that if this were allowed to corrupt people anymore, the whole world would
come to a naught, "Thirumalai
ThiruvEnkaTamuDaiyAn" Himself, out
of infinite compassion came down as
"Thooppul ThiruvEnkaTamuDaiyAn"
[As also addressed reventially by Sri
Piilailokacharya]. For over 100 years,
as Thoopul Desika, He revealed in
Himself the aspects of IlayaperumAL
of RAmAvatara, BalarAma of
KrishNAvatAra, and "Apara Hayagriva"-
all in one.

He spent his whole life in giving

kAlakshEpams in SriBhAshya,
GitAbhAshya, proving the hollowness
of the arguments of opponents in
Swami Desikan kalakshepa goshti – Sathyamangalam
lively debates, creating works on our
Darsanam for the benefit of posterity, writing commentaries on Bhagavad RAmanuja's
BhAshyams, erecting impregnable fortresses to protect our SiddhAntam from alien
creeds through works.

[The above is compiled from extracts of Articles written (1) by Sri U Ve Navalpakkam
Varadhachar Swamin in Thiruvaheendrapuram release souvenir and (2) by Sri U Ve
Abhinavadesika Uttamur Swami-Courtesy: "Seva Malar" 1957. Translation: Anbil
Ramaswamy]

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

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.

Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
Madhavakkannan

Darsanam – Adi 2009

10
This stotra and the four stotras that follow are in praise of the Deities adorning five
shrines in or about Kanchipuram. All of them except Saranagati Deepika are very short
ones. Two of them, this and No. 11, are ashtakams (eight slokas).

The name Ashtabhujam is the Sanskrit for

Attapuyakaram by which name Peyalwar and
Tirumangai Alvar have referred to the Lord of this
shrine. The word means one with 8 hands. In
sloka 10 Vedanta Desika attributes the doubling of
the Lord's hands (from four to eight) to the Lord's
hurry and eagerness to afford protection to those
who have sought refuge in Him. May that Lord be
pleased to receive this stuti of eight slokas
composed by me -- is the idea contained in the
same sloka.

The first sloka prays for help preferred promptly

as in the case of Gajendra. I am in the same plight
-- nay, in a worse one because Gajendra was
assailed by one crocodile, while I am assailed by several. The reference to the Gajendra
episode here is based on Peyalvar's verse 99 of his Prabandham.

This stotra it is stated will be of help to those who have performed prapatti and become
prapannas, and also to those who desire to become prapannas (9). The "tvara" of the
Lord to protect those in distress, i.e., the avidity and the hurry finds mention in the first
and last slokas.

"ashTa bhuja" means "eight hands". This stotra is about Bhagavan in His form with
eight divya-bhuja-s in the divya kshetram called Attabuya karam. This divya kshetram
and its sthala purana have been covered briefly earlier. The title for the stotra is that
given by Swami Desikan himself, and is included in the phala-Sruti sloka following the
eight sloka-s in praise of this Perumaal.

In this stotram, Swami Desikan reminds us of Bhagavan's aiSvarya, sauSIlya, moksha-

pradatva, etc., and urges us to resort to Him and no one else as the sure way to attain
moksha. This is another stotram in which he conveys the basics of complete self-

Darsanam – Adi 2009

11
surrender (prapatti) and its efficacy in very crisp terms in the short span of eight sloka-s
(excluding the two phala-Sruti sloka-s).

In the first sloka, Swami Desikan compares our lives to one being attacked and torn
apart by our senses and dragged towards them on all sides as if by vicious crocodiles,
and invokes Bhagavan's mercy and protection just as in the case of Gajendra when

Ashtabhujam Perumal, Kanchi

attacked by the crocodile.

In the second sloka, he points out the need for us to realize our always being His
dependent, and recognize our lack of independence from Him. As we may recall, this is
one of the anga-s of prapatti -- kArpaNya. When we observe the anga-s of prapatti,
Bhagavan gives us the desire to seek His feet single-mindedly as the next step in
attaining Him.
Darsanam – Adi 2009
12
In the third sloka, Sri Desikan praises Bhagavan's guna of sauSIlyam or His greatness of
mixing with even the lowliest of beings with ease. We all can recall His greeting Kucela
with all the intimacy that one can imagine, doing paada-pujA for him with Mahalakshmi
holding the pot of water, and then sprinkling the water from the paada-puja on His
head and that of Mahalakshmi. If Bhagavan reveals His divine divya mangala vigraha or
form to us right in the beginning, it just will prevent us from approaching Him in sheer
awe of the greatness of this form. Recall the
reaction of Arjuna, one who lived with
Bhagavan as a close friend throughout his
life, when the viraat-svarupa was revealed to
Him for a brief moment. In order to make it
easy on us to approach Him, He presents
Himself to us in forms where we can
approach Him at our level, and hides His
greatness from us for our benefit in the
beginning. His arca-rupa, iconic form, in
temples -- in this stotram the Ashtabhuja
Perumaal -- is an example of this. Then as
we get used to Him, He reveals His true
form to us.
Ashtabhujam Perumal temple entrance

In sloka-s 4 to 7 Swami Desikan emphasizes

the importance of prapatti. He reiterates that Sriman Narayana is the only one who can
bestow the ultimate that can be asked for -- moksham, and all the other devata-s can
bestow only lesser fruits. Those who have realized this truth do not resort to the
worship of anya devata-s, but perform prapatti at the feet of Bhagavan and devote the
rest of their life to His kainkaryam. Also, He is the only one who can protect us, and if
He does not want to protect us, no other devata can protect us (bhayam kutah syAt
tvayi sAnukampe, rakshA kutah syAt tvayi jAtaroshe). This again is one more reason for
prapatti at the feet of Lord Narayana alone. None of the efforts that we may undertake,
such as worshipping the anya devata-s, will be of any use if He does not offer His
protection. If He decides to protect us, with Periya Piratti (Mahalakshmi) standing in
support of us by His side constantly, it does not matter what other efforts we undertake
(tvayi pravRtte mama kim prayAsaih, tvayyapravRtte mama kim prayAsaih). Thus He is
the only upAya, and there is no other upAya for moksha.

As Sri Desikan has pointed out in several other stotra-s, he points out again in this
stotra the relative difficulty of undertaking bhakti-yoga for attaining moksha and getting
it to completion in this lifetime. He strongly recommends that prapatti-mArga is the
path to choose for us who cannot observe the stringent requirements of the bhakti-
yoga (He obviously considers himself in this category; so we know where we stand!).
Darsanam – Adi 2009
13
Once a prapanna has done prapatti, moksham is guaranteed at the end of this life, and
the prapanna spends the rest of his life in great bliss by performing selfless kainkaryam
at the feet of Bhagavan. The life of a prapanna after prapatti is described in detail in
Nyasa Tilakam etc. In sloka 8 of this stotra Swami Desikan briefly restates this.

In sloka 6, Swami Desikan makes reference to another of the tenets of Sri Vaishnava
sampradaya, viz. the purushakAratvam (mediation) of Piratti, and refers to Bhagavan as
kamalA-sahAya (One who is aided by Periya Piratti) in the context of His protection of
the prapanna-s.

Swami Desikan's intent in composing

this stotram is two-fold: it is to induce
the desire for prapatti in those who
have not yet resorted to this path
(prapitsUnAm rasAyanam), and to help
as the sustenance of the trust in the
greatness of prapatti for those who
have already done prapatti (prapanna
jana pAtheyam). Thus it is his desire
that those of us who understand the
principles laid down here about prapatti
will develop the mahA viSvAsam that is
a requirement (anga) for prapatti. It is
for the good of this world that this
stotra on Ashtabhuja Kara Perumaal
outlining the greatness and importance
of prapatti has been composed by
Venkatesa Kavi. Let us all get one step
Astabhujam temple gopuram
closer to understanding the
significance, ease, and efficacy of
prapatti as a result of the knowledge that Swami Desikan has imparted to us through
this stotra.

I read Srimaan Sadagopan's response to my note on Sri Desika's stotra-s, and was
overjoyed to find so many new things on Sri Ashtabhuja Perumaal and the kshetram
that I was not aware of. I know Srimaan Sadagopan is very busy with many
kainkaryams, but my humble request to him is that he should continue to add his
comments on all the future articles as I present my brief summary. I also found out that
he has already written detailed commentaries on all the Desika stotra-s long back but
has not published them. I have requested him before to publish them or give me the
copy, and would like to take the opportunity through this mail once more to request

Darsanam – Adi 2009

14
him to arrange to share his writings through this or other forum as soon as he can find
the time.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

Sri Sadagopan's Comments

Whenever Swami Desikan travelled to Sri Varadaraja's temple for his mangalasasanam
from his home in Tuppul, he had to pass via the
Ashtabhujan and Yathokthakari temples. The
Lord of Ashtabujam made sure that He
received from His bhakta a stotram. Thus
arose Srimad Ashtabhuja ashtakam that you
have commented upon so well.

During this trip of mine to Kanchi divya

desams, I missed offering my salutations to
the Lord of Ashtabhujam, since I was
waylaid by the beauty of Yathoktakari.

Seva Swami suggests that Swami Desikan

followed the path of Tirumangai Mannan,
who wondered about the Lord here and His
urgency to meet him with eight hands
instead of the normal four hands. In each of
the eight hands, he holds a different weapon or flower (discus, conch, lotus, sword,
kedayam, bow, arrow, and gada). He is ready to battle and chase away the virodhis
that stand in the way of His bhaktas wishing to perform prapatti to Him. Swami Desikan
suggests that the Lord was anxious and hence doubled His set of hands to grant
protection to the Saranagata quickly . Here the name of the holy tank is Gajendra
Pushkarani and He is "pratyaksham" to Gajendran and is thus Gajendra Varadan.
Hence, Swami Desikan salutes Ashtabhuja Perumaal as "gajendra raksha! tvaritam
bhavantham" and as "satAm Aptam".

As in the case of the Lord, who rushed from Sri Vaikuntha in a great hurry to the side of
the lotus pond where His bhakta Gajendra was screaming aloud "AdimUla! mE
rakshasva", Parakala Nayaki (Tirumangai Alvar) feels that the Adi-Kesava Perumaal of
Ashta Bhujam rushed to her side with double set of four hands in great haste for
protection.

In his beautiful paasurams, Kaliyan as Parakala Nayaki states that she did not fully
comprehend the identity of the One who rushed to her side, and that the Lord then
Darsanam – Adi 2009
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replied that He is the One who blesses the prapanna-s with His eight arms (ashta
bhujAn karOti) and came for union with Parakala Nayaki who pined for Him. Kaliyan
describes this wonderful conversation to his mother and friends thru ten beautiful
paasurams. Swami Desikan follows the path shown by Parakala Nayaki.

Kaliyan wonders "ivar aar kol?" (Who could this One be?) and the Lord repiled "atta
bhuya karatthEn yenRaar" (I am the Lord of the
divya desam of Ashta Bhujam).

Kaliyan wonders aloud eight times :

1. ari uru aam ivar aar kol? (Narasimha rUpi)

2. anthaNar pOnRu ivar aar kol? (Vaamana rUpi)
3. ambhutham pOnRu ivar aar kol? (with the hue
of a dark cloud)
4. anchudar pOnRu ivar aar kol? (ancient jyoti )
5. alaikkadal pOnRu ivar aar kol? (with the bluish
hue of the ocean)
6. azhagiyathaam ivar aar kol? (the One with
beateous form
7. meham -- pOnRivar aar kol? (Once again the
bluish hue of a cloud)
8. en aavi oppaar ivar aar kol? (One who is the
soul of my soul)

The Lord answers, "It is me, the Lord of Ashta

Bhujam, that has rushed to your side" and delights
Parakala Nayaki with that revelation. The Lord says "I am the AttabhuyakaratthEn".
Swami Desikan used the name chosen by the Lord Himself in His dialog with Parakala
Nayaki to give the name of "Srimad Ashtabhuja Stuti" to this eulogy.

There are ten slokas in this stotra. One for each of the eight arms; the rest are phala
sruti. In the very first sloka, Swami Desikan performs Saranagati with the prayer:
"ashtabhujam prapadye". Swami concludes in one of the two phala sruthi slokas that
this stotra on the Lord of Ashtabhujam is

prapanna jana pAtheyam, prapitsUnAm rasAyanam, sreyase jagatAm etat SrImad

ashTa bhujAshTakam.

The "SrImad" aspect of Kamala-sahayan is brought out here and is described as the
tasty food for one on the jiva's journey via the archiraadi maargam (path of light) and

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16
the powerful medicine for those who desire to perform prapatti. This stuti is considered
as the most auspicious (SrImad) for the world of prapannas.

Daasan,
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan

in short:

 Woke early before husband

 Brushing then washing face, fore arms, legs.
 Turn towards East and take a tumbler of water and take in little water at the
end of each of the following namaas 'Achyudha', 'Anandha', 'Govindha'. It is
called achamanam, do it twice.
 Say 7 times as "Hari:"
 By reciting the known Divya prabanda pasurams in order from Thiruppallandu
start the works like cleaning / washing the floors etc.
 Just sprinkle some (turmeric mixed) water in the head
and take bath through the rest of the body in ordinary
days and include head bath in special days like Ekadasi
etc.
 Do the Ashtakshara japam by heart while snanam
 Wear colour saree (avoid pure black and white) then
wash the mouth.
 Now Achamanam twice
 Draw Thiruman like semi circle between the eye brows
and draw Srichurnam on the middle of it like a straight
line with broad base and sharp end like a fire blow.
 Do clean the kitchen, Pooja room, vessels etc.
 Draw beautiful 'kolams' wherever necessary and suitable.
 Light deepams at Pooja room; stotras can be uttered.
 Take care of the snanams and dressing of children and bring them to pooja
room,
 to let them utter little slokas and prayer for their protection from all evils for that
day.

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17
Then at kitchen;
 Clean the stoves start cooking facing East or North
 Payasam should be done only on visesha days
 The rice should be washed four times (for perumal
aaradhanam)
 Wash your hands if happened to touch your body or
any ugly surface
 Do all helps to huspands to perform the aardhanam
like, placing pushpam to all pictures,
 getting water, Tulasi purification, flowers seperation,
sandal mixing, lighting lamps, oiling, lighting inscent
sticks, Kolams, placing foods, betal nut, fruits etc.
 Serve food to husband and children with care and
affection. Avoid irritations while eating.
 Take your food after doing achanam twice. After food
after washing hands once.
 Clean the floor where the food taken with 'Gomayam'
(cow dung).
 Give Thamboolam to husband and take yourself also on not restricted days.

Evening:
 Light lamps at pooja room before getting dark.
 Do pranams to the elders (maamiyar, maamanar) immediately after lighting
lamps and get their blessings.
 Recite known slokas, stotras.
 Everyday all preparations can be
shown (nivedhanam) to perumal
before distributing it.
 Male / female all should take in any
food with the 'Govinda' nama.
 Back side door should be closed and
the Entrance door should be kept
open for few minutes at the junction
of day and night.
 All food preparation should follow the previous guidelines always.

Dasan,
N.V. Srinivasan

Darsanam – Adi 2009

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