SrI Desika stotra-s - 17. SrI acyuta Satakam.

Introduction

This stotram, like the one we covered last, Sri Devanayaka Panchasat,
is on Devanayaka Perumal of Tiruvahindrapuram.  The word "Satakam "in
the title refers to the 100 sloka-s (actually there are 101 including
the phala Sruti) in the stotram.  The nAma acyuta means He who does not
let His devotees slip - na cyAvayati iti acyutah. 

One special aspect of this stotram is that it is written in the Prakrit 
(/prAkRta/)
language by Swami Desikan.  Prakrit can be considered colloquial
samskr*t, which seems to have been used in day-to-day communication in
the olden days by those who did not use grammatical samsk*t in their
conversations.  In course of time, grammatical rules evolved for
Prakrit as well, and it evolved as a language in its own right.  It
became common for female characters to use Prakrit in works such as
drama etc.  It is characterized by the natural sweetness like the talk
of a child when it is spoken. Swami Desikan's anubhavam of the
sweetness of this language is that it is the childhood language of
goddess sarasvati (Slokam 2).  Srirama Desikacharya Swami observes that
Devanayakap Perumal has the unique distinction that He is the only arcA
mUrti who has  been sung by Swami Desikan in three languages - samskr*t
(Devanayaka pa~ncAsat), Prakrit (acyuta Satakam), and tamizh (mummaNik
kOvai).  

Srirama Desikacharya Swami has included the samskr*t version of the
Sloka-s along with the Prakrit version in his LIFCO publication "SrI
Desika stotra mAlA".  Wherever quotes have been included from acyuta
Satakam in the current write-up, the samskr*t version has been used
because of the greater ignorance of aDiyEn with Prakrit. However, Srirama Desikacharya Swami has made the special point that those who chant
the Slokam should use the Prakrit version. As has been done in the
write-up for the previous sttora-s, instead of giving a literal
translation of the Sloka-s, aDiyEn has presented a summary of the
thoughts that registered in aDiyEn's mind when going through the
meanings of the Sloka-s.

1. AcArya is to be worshipped like bhagavAn Himself.

In nyAsa vimSati we saw that our AcAryan is to be worshipped like
bhagavAn Himself by us (Slokam 2).  Swami Desikan reemphasizes this
concept to us again in the current stotram.  BhagavAn is imparting
knowledge to us to realize Him through the words of our AcArya - He is
seated in their tongue like being seated in a throne and instructing us
through our AcArya (Slokam 5).

2. Swami Desikan's Humility. 

Swami Desikan's humility again reveals itself in this work as in all
other works.  In Slokam 3 he says that his work can be flawed standing
by itself (mama bhAshitam malinam api), but because it sings His praise
it gets sanctified just as the street waters get sanctified when they
mingle with the Ganges river.  In Slokam 4 he refers to his work as
bAliSA mama stutih - my stotram which is likes a child's blabbering.  

3. Need for Purity in Thought, Word and Deed:

Swami Desikan emphasizes the need for purity of thought, word, and deed
for one who is interested in realizing Him.  Those who are not pure in
their thought and action cannot succeed in realizing Him.  BhagavAn
won't stay in a polluted mind even for a moment, just as a hamsa won't
go near muddied water even for a moment (Slokam 6).   He keeps away
from one who is not sincere in his/her devotion - dolAyamAnAn dUram
mu~ncasi (Slokam 7).  Only those who are pure in thought, word and deed
can successfully meditate on Him.  He thus becomes easy to access for
the women of AyarpADi who have staunch devotion to Him - Sraddhita
hr*daya sulabhah (Slokam 7).

4. How Do We Know of the Existence of BhagavAn, Why Should We Worship
Him, Attirbutes of a True Devotee of BhagavAN.

The question of what is the evidence for the existence of bhagavAn has
been raised by many.  The simple answer is provided in Slokam 7 - Agama
mAtra pramANAh - Because the veda-s declare so.  There is no other way
to prove His existence.  We can experience Him, but can't prove His
existence to others through any means other than veda.

We worship Him because He eliminates the feelings of desire, sins,
false knowledge, etc. when we have Him in our thoughts - tr*shA, mala,
mohah kshapitah (Slokam 27). When we worship Him, we won't ever have
the darkness of the night called aj~nAna (teshAm moha triyAmA na khalu
- Slokam 46).  Our mind will not be distracted away from Him by
anything (vikAra jananairapi na vikriyamANAh), and we will become pure
(pAvanAh) and will experience the anubhavam of moksham even in this
world (jIvanmukta sadr*Sah) (Slokam 47).

A true devotee of bhagavAn will lose interest in the pursuit of trivial
and transient pleasures (vishaya rase viraktAh - Slokam 47, svapna
sadr*kshANAm SrINAm na smarati - Slokam 48).  For that matter the
devotee of bhagavAn will not even be interested in positions such as
that of brahma;  he will realize that even these so-called high
positions are impermanent like water bubbles and will come to end
ultimately, and are constantly under the threat of the asura-s.  These
positions are beautiful to look at like water bubbles, but are also
impermanent like the water bubbles, nice to look at like mushrooms but
also tasteless like mushrooms, beautiful to look at like cloud
formations but also transient like them.  The position of these other
gods is like the banana stem, which looks strong but which can't
support anything like a stone pillar can (i.e., they can't even assure
protection to those who seek their protection, except when bhagavAn
gives them that power) (Slokam 49). 

Those who worship bhagavAn with devotion and who acquire true j~nAna of
Him will also acquire the qualities such as sausIlya like Him, and mix
with even those who have not advanced to the knowledge level like
themselves.  They forgive other's mistakes just as bhagavAn forgives
His devotees' sins, and over a period of time they will help the other
cetana-s towards the path of realizing Him (Slokam 50). 

Those who are devoted to bhagavAn will also not have any of the
negative attributes that are acquired by those who do not have clear
thinking and who think of this body as the AtmA, or think that their
soul is independent of  the paramAtmA (51).  Negative qualities such as
mAna madershyA matsara dambhA bhayA amarsha lobha etc., which are
explained later, will not touch them. All the undesirable traits leave
the devotees of bhagavAn, and they shine like stars in a well-lit sky
on a clear cloud-free night (Slokam 54).  

There is no question of yama lokam for His devotee - na khalu yama
vishaye gatih (Slokam 55);  even those who stray from the path of a
prapanna after surrendering to Him get only minor punishment from Him
as prAyaScitta.  So there is no question of one who has done prapatti
to Him going to naraka.  His devotees desist from worldly desires and
enjoyments and thus keep themselves away from yama's wrath (Slokam 56).
  Even though they live in kali yuga, they feel like they are living in
kr*ta yuga (Slokam 52).  They realize that everything - moving and
non-moving - is part of bhagavAn, and so they do not develop any kind
of animosity or hatred towards anyone or anything.  Their only goal in
life is moksha, and they only obsrve sanAtana dharma which assists them
in attaining that goal.  They desist from any attachment to worldly
pleasures since they have realized that these are transient and
impermanent (59).

The worship offered by a paramaikAntin (i.e., one who worships SrIman
nArAyaNa exclusively and who does not perform this worship for any
benefit for himself) is accepted by bhagavAn with a bowed head like one
accepting a pariyaTTam, whereas the worship offered by the likes of
brahma is only accepted at His feet (57).  

5. The effects of not worshipping Him:

Those who do not worship Him always find fault in bhAgavata-s (53),
like faulting the Sun with having a hole in the centre; this kind is
sowing the path for their self-destruction.  Even if they live in kr*ta
yugam, they will feel miserable like those living in kali yugam (52). 
These who are immersed in worldly pleasures will not be able to realize
Him even though He is very near them in His arcA form, just as they sky
is near us but is beyond our grasp (60). 

 These non-devotees who think that their body is the AtmA or it belongs
to them and not to paramAtmA, develop many undesirable traits such as
ahamkAram (mAna - the feeling that they arre superior to others), pride
arising from their wealth, appearance, birth, etc.  (mada), jealousy
(IrshyA), enmity (matsara), hot-headedness (dambha), finding fault with
others (asUyA), fear (bhaya), anger (amarsha), desire to cling to
wealth (lobha), etc. (Slokam 51).

-To be continued.

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan


     SrI Desika stotra-s - 17. acyuta Satakam - Part 2.

6. avatAra rahasyam:

(Slokam 31):  Why did bhagavAn take so many incarnations among us?
Swami Desikan  reminds us of Lord krshNa's declaration in the gItA
(4.8) - partitrANAya sAdhUnAm vinASAya ca durkrtAm, dharma
samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge - through his Slokam 31. 
vipaksha nikshapita - for the destruction of the enemies of His
devotees, samsthApia parama dharmAh - establishment of the best of
dharma-s, and sAdhu paritrANa - for the protection of the good.  Srirama Desikacharya Swami observes that while bhagavAn could have done all
this while being in SrI vaikunTham itself, He really wanted to be with
us in form, and show us how to be a good son, a good husband, a good
friend, etc., and it is His souSIlyam that made Him take all these
incarnations - just for the sake of His devotees.

7. The Importance of worshipping the arcA mUrti in Temples:

The question can be asked - why should we worship the form of bhagavAn
in the temples - the arcA mUrti?  Swami Desikan gives a simple analogy.
 When a treasure is hidden underground, people walk on it without
knowing its location.  There are those who are called siddha-s, who can
provide a dark collerium which can be applied in the eyes and which
will then help identify the location of the treasures.  BhagavAn's true
nature - His divya Atma svarUpam - is not realizable except through His
own Grace, and is like the treasure hidden from our reach.  But if we
keep worshipping the dark arcAmUrti of bhagavAn with devotion
uninterruptedly, this will serve like the dark collerium that will help
in ultimately realizing the divya Atma svarUpam of bhagavAn over time.
(Slokam 45). 

The bhakta-s are so moved by having the sevA of bhagavAn's tirumeni in
temples that they shed tears of joy and their whole body experiences
extreme excitement (kadamba goLa nibha kaNTakAyamAna nijAgnAn - with
mayirk-kuccu - hairs standing erect on the body like budding kadamba
flowers -58).  

8. BhagavAn's tirumeni:

Swami Desikan briefly describes devarAjap Perumal's tirumeni through 10
 Sloka-s (34 to 43) in this stotra. We have seen the similar anubhavam
of Swami Desikan in a few of his stotra-s before e.g., through 11
Sloka-s in SrI bhagavad dhyAna sopAnam and  through 30 Sloka-s in SrI
Devanayaka pancAsat.  

BhagavAn's tiru mukham resembles the moon, His kirITam is like the Sun,
and His beautiful dark hair resembles the darkness of the night.  How
is it possible for the Sun, the moon, and the darkness to co-exist
simultaneously?  Swami Desikan's beautiful anubhavam - bhagavAn is the
aghaTitaghaTanA Saktan - He is One who can make impossible things
happen (Slokam 34). 

BhagavAn's beautiful face far exceeds the beauty of the full moon, and
His eyes resemble the just-blossomed lotus flowers.  Meditating on His
divine face will remove even the sins committed knowingly, and serve as
the prAyaScitta (remedy) for these sins (Slokam 35).  The sight of His
divine shoulders reminds Swami Desikan of the might of these shoulders
under which the different gods including brahma (vidhi pramukha deva
janah) have sought refuge (Slokam 37).  Having the darSanam of
bhagavAn's tiru udaram (belly) reminds Swami Desikan of His saving all
the brahmANDa-s in His stomach during the pralaya.  His navel reminds
him of the creation of brahma in a lotus flower from the nAbhIkamalam
(Slokam 38).  

Looking at bhagavAn's deep red pItAmbaram, Swami Desikan meditates on
bhagavAn's acts of crushing the asura-s madhu and kaiTabha, and the
resulting profuse stream of blood soaking into bhagavAn's pItAmbaram
and thus imparting this deep red color (Slokam 40).  The mekhalA
(waist-band) kindles memories of the great chain that has been put
around bhagavAn the manmathan like a chain around a mad elephant (the
rasam here is that those who meditate on this mekhalA of bhagavAn will
be relieved of the pursuit of  trivial pleasures in this world - Srirama Desikacharya Swami).

In SrI Devanayaka pancAsat Swami Desikan's anubhavam of the darSanam of
bhagavAn's Divine thighs was that they were the death-bed for the cruel
asura-s such as hiraNyakaSipu.  In the current Slokam his anubhavam is
that they are like the strong pillars that support the mansion where
the three worlds are stored (reference to bhagavAn's stomach being the
heavy mansion where all the worlds rest at the time of pralaya) (Slokam
41).     

The darSanam of bhagavAn's Lotus Feet reminds Swami Desikan of the
sacred gangA flowing from His Feet during the time of His trivikrama
incarnation and sanctifying all the three worlds, and their offering
protection to anyone who surrenders to them (Slokam 43).

9. We Always Belong to Him and Are Never Independent:

We have to realize that we are His possession and belonging and are not
independent, and are always subservient to Him who is the Supreme Lord.
 We are like a wooden doll which has been tied by the ropes of the
three guNa-s, sattva, rajas, and tamas, and bhagavAn alone can release
us from this bondage (82).  We came across this same concept in SrI
Devanayaka pancAsat earlier (Slokam 8 - sUtrAnubaddha Sakuni kramatah).

-To be continued.

-dAsan krshNamAcAryan

		SrI Desika stotra-s - 17. SrI acyuta Satakam Part 3.

10. The Life of a prapanna:

The main purpose to which a prapanna should devote his life in this
world is to do two things:  a) to serve Him without any desire for
benefit; and b) to help other cetana-s by guiding them towards
realizing Him. In a sense, this second item is one way of serving Him,
and He keeps the prapanna in this world without taking him right away
to SrIvaikunTham just so the prapanna can devote his time to this
purpose in this world (61). This service of the prapanna serves as the
bridge which the cetana-s can use to cross the ocean of samsAra (62). 

The prapanna is assured of moksham at the end of his/her life.  In the
interim, the prapanna accepts the pains and pleasures in the rest of
this life as an expiation of the accumulated karma-s.  Because of this,
the prapanna does not have any fear of death, and looks at death as a
bosom-friend visiting his home and welcomes death when it arrives,
whole-heartedly (63).

Seeing the aj~nAna or darkness in this world, the prapanna does service
to the Lord and to this world by lighting the torch of brahmaj~nAna and
passing it on to deserving Sishya-s.  When this service is performed by
the prapanna, bhagavAn considers the prapanna's life's objective to
have been accomplished, and takes the prapanna to His abode of
SrIvaikunTham (64).  Here the prapanna joins the goshTi of garuDa,
AdiSesha, and vishvaksena, and has uninterrupted bhagavad-anubhavam
while having all the bhoga-s equivalent to bhagavAn Himself (65).

11. The Greatness of prapatti and prapanna-s:

Bhakti and prapatti are the two means to attain moksham.  Of these,
bhakti yoga requires the j~nAna and the Sakti to perform the j~nAna
yoga and the karma yoga, practicing which alone one will get the
maturity to undertake the bhakti yoga.  Knowing the uncertainty and the
delay associated with this means for attaining moksha, people who
probably had the required j~nAna and Sakti to undertake bhakti mArgam,
still discard this as their preferred means for seeking moksham, and
instead perform prapatti at bhagavAn's Feet and attain moksham without
delay and with certainty (66). 

The veda-s declare that human life-form is subservient to the deva-s,
and is meant to toil to please the deva-s.  But while the human being
who performs prapatti is assured of attaining moksham, the likes of
indra who are superior to the human life-form by their position are
still accumulating karma-phalam and are thus going to go through the
cycle of birth and re-birth.  These deva-s who had this human being as
their servant, all of a sudden come and prostrate in front of this
prapanna and worship him.  The prapanna thus becomes the object of
worship of the deva-s not only after they reach SrIvaikunTham but in
this world as well (67).

12. The a'nga-s of prapatti:

These have been covered a few times before (SaraNAgati dIpikA Slokam
27; nyAsa vimSati 18;  nyAsa daSakam 2, 10; etc.).   The prapanna in
Swami Desikan finds expression in Sloka-s 74 to 84.  He submits to Lord
Devanayaka that he is realizing that all the yAga-s and other kAmya
karma-s that he has undertaken and continues to undertake are powerless
to yield the ultimate benefit, and that His Mercy alone can retrieve
him from the heaps of sins that he is committing all his life (74 to
80).   He submits to the Lord the complete responsibility for his
protection (81).     

13. The Importance of practices such as nAma samkIrtanam:

The most important first step for the darkness in our mind to disappear
and for us to turn to Him for surrender, is bhagavAn's kaTaksham and
anugraham itself (68).  Simple practices such as nAma samkIrtanam
(chanting bhagavAn's name sincerely) will lead to deep-rooted devotion
to Him over time.  These practices will remove the darkness in our
mind, will rejuvenate the soul so that we devote ourselves to His
service,  and with His kaTaksham we will attain moksham.  Thus the nAma
samkIrtanam will serve as the strong root on which the tree of moksham
will grow and rest.   The nectar of nAma samkIrtanam has untold other
benefits (69).

14. The Importance of karma (Actions) Done Without Desire For Fruits:

Swami Desikan has emphasized the essence of karma yoga in Slokam 70, as
described in SrImad bhagavad gItA (2.40 and 6.40).  Any work that is
done with the ultimate benefit dedicated to Him and with no expectation
of benefit from this action, will always lead to ultimate release from
the bondage of samsAra.  It is immaterial how small this effort is, or
how incomplete it is.  There is no sin or other negative effect even if
this act is discontinued in the middle for any reason.   This is
conveyed to us by Lord kr*shNa through Sloka 2.40 in the gItA -
nehAbhikrama nASo'sti pratyavAyo na vidyate   |  svalpamapyasya
dharmasya trAyate mahato bhayAt  ||, and also in Slokam 6.40 - pArtha
naiveha nAmutra vinASastasya vidyate   |  na hi kalyANakRt kaScit
durgatim tAta gacchati  ||.   

15. Swami Desikan on anya-devatA worship:

Swami Desikan reiterates the simple reason why anya-devatA worship is
unnecessary for those who seek any benefit at all in life, and why it
does not make sense for one who is interested in moksha and nothing
else, in Sloka-s 71 and 72.  All the other gods get their power to
bestow their devotee's wishes only by the Grace of SrIman nArAyaNa,
through the power that He bestows on them.  They can smile on their
devotees only if He smiles on them.  Without His Will, they don't have
any power.  And then at best they can bestow some small benefits
compared to the ultimate benefit that He alone can give, viz. moksha. 
This being the case, one can worship bhagavAn directly and get anything
one desires, instead of worshiping all the itara-devatA-s who are in
between Him and us.  

There is an even more important reason why one who is interested in
moksha and nothing else should only worship SrIman nArAyaNa and no one
else.  This has to do with a prapanna not even desiring any of the
benefits that the anya-devatA-s can bestow on them.  So the
anya-devatA-s have nothing to give to the prapanna even if they are
extremely pleased (itara tridaSAh prasannAh kim hitam karishyanti? -
72).  Given that the only benefit that is sought by a prapanna is
moksha and no other benefit, the only logical conclusion is that there
is no other worship except that of SrIman nArAyaNa that makes any
sense. 

There are two gems that we have come across before, where Swami Desikan
has conveyed the same idea, viz. nothing moves without His Will, 
through beautiful rhyming poetry.  These are: 1.  in kAmAsikAshTakam
Slokam 8 - tvayi rakshati rakshakaih kimanyaih , tvayi cArakshati
rakshakaih kimanyaih; and 2. tvayi pravr*tte mama kim prayAsaih,
tvayyapravr*tte mam kim prayAsaih. Similar rhythmic poetry is what we
see in the current Slokam also - aprasAde aprasannAh, tava prasAde
dAsasatya prasannAh (71). 

To be continued...

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

		SrI Desika stotra-s - 17. SrI acyuta Satakam - Part 4.


16. BhagavAn's unlimited guNa-s:

A beautiful, simple, and high-level description of bhagavAn's infinite
kalyAna-guNa-s is given by Swami Desikan through a few Sloka-s in this
stotram.

In the opening Slokam, Swami Desikan showers praise on bhagavAn's
following guNa-s - sthira jyotih, acyutam, dAsAnAm satyam, tridaSAnAm
nAtham - The jyoti that never diminishes, He who will never forsake His
devotees, He who always bestows His devotees' wishes, and He who is the
God of all gods. 

BhagavAn is sarva-guNa-sampannan.  These guNa-s are flawless (nirmala),
countless (vigaNitam na Saknuvanti), and cannot be found in any other
god (ananya sulabhAni).  He is also the limit of perfection for these
guNa-s (Slokam 27).   

Hundreds of upanishad-s (upanishdAm SatAni) describe Him as kshapita
sakala heyam - devoid of any negative attribute of any kind, satya
j~nAna Anandam - He who is not subject to change or mutation,
Omniscient, and Supreme Bliss, and ulla'ngita trividha antam -
unlimited by the three constraints - space, Time, and shape.  Thus He
is not constrained by where He is at any given time and in what form He
exists (Slokam 8).  

Unsupported by anything else He creates everything while He Himself is
not created by anything else. He supports everything while He is not
supported by anything else.  He also destroys everything at the time of
pralaya while He cannot be destroyed by anything else - ananya kriyah
nidhilam karoshi, kenApi na kriyase; sthApayasi na samsthApsyase;
harasi na hriyase (Slokam 9).

He is everywhere and also inside everything that exists, including the
minutest atom.  Even when He is in the tiniest of things, His Power is
in no way diminished, and it is the same Absolute Power that controls
and governs everything.  This is the basis for the declaration in the
veda-s that bhagavAn is present in everything, completely and
absolutely (Slokam 10). 

He is the Creator of everything, He is the Supporter of everything, He
is the Lord of everything, He is the AtmA of everything, and everything
is His Body.  As the AtmA of everything, He causes them to function,
and since everything is His Body, He is the one who is really
functioning also.  The veda-s declare Him as sarvah - Everything
(Slokam 11).

Because He is both the prakRti and the jIva from which everything is
created, He is the material cause of this Universe - upAdAna kAraNa; 
because He is the Creator of everything, He is also the instrumental
cause of everything - nimitta kAraNa.  He is like both the clay that is
used to make the pot and the pot maker that makes the pot.  Everything
that exists e.g., the pot, has two such as causes for their existence,
and these two are never the same.  BhagavAn is the only exception and
wonder who happens to be both the upAdAna kAraNam and nimitta kAraNam
simultaneoulsy for creating a given object or being  (Slokam 12).

While BhagavAn is the common cause for the creation of everything,
still  everything that is created is unique and different from
everything else.  This is not because of any bias or partiality on His
part.   The beings are what they are because of the result of their
karma - which in turn results in a different combination of rAjasic,
sAttvic, and tamo guNa-s in each being, and this results in their being
different from each other (Slokam 13).

BhagavAn is impartial to everyone, and bestows the karma phalam to
everyone impartially.  He never breaks His promise to anyone.  But when
it comes to a devotee who has unconditionally surrendered to Him, then
He becomes the servant of this devotee, and will do whatever it takes
to protect the interests and welfare of the devotee.  This is how He
willingly performed the duty of a chariot-driver to arjuna, and went as
a messenger to the pANDava-s (Slokam 21).  This is also why He broke
His own promise not to take to weapons in the war against the
kaurava-s, viz. just to protect the promise of His devotee bhIshma, and
appeared in the pillar in a very unnatural form of half-man and
half-lion to keep the word of prahlAda. 

17. The Ultimate Knowledge:

There is only one thing that needs to be understood from the study of
all the veda-s and SAstra-s  - that there is nothing comparable to Him
or better than Him, that He is the One who protects everything, and
that He is the Only One to whom we have to surrender in order to attain
relief from all sorrows (Slokam 15).
 
His Greatness is such that even brahma cannot disobey His Will (Slokam
16).  The different gods for whom homa-s are prescribed in the veda-s
are ultimately directed to Him as their antaryAmi.  This is analogous
to the offering in the SrAddha, where a brAhmaNa is given the bhojanam,
but it is meant for the pitR-s (Slokam 17).

BhagavAn is the siddha-upAya, or the means that exists already without
any effort needed on our part, for attaining Him (Slokam 23).  This is
because He is sarva-Saktan, sarvaj~nan, and above all, He is the
parama-kAruNikan.  

Except for Him, no one else can bestow moksham.  Just as even a
thousand suns which are drawn on paper cannot remove darkenss, the
thousands of gods together can't bestow moksham, and only He, out of
His own Mercy, can bestow this on His devotee (Slokam 25).  

18. The Role of pirATTi:

The roles of pirATTi and bhagavAn in bestowing their karuNA on the
devotee-s is nicely explained by Swami Desikan through a simple
example.  Lots of beautiful creepers have grown on the trunk of the
kalpaka vRksham and surround it tightly.  While the kalpaka vRksham
bestows anything the devotee asks for, the creepers provide the cool
and comforting shade for those that sit under it.  Similarly, pirATTi
is seated on the vaksha-sthalam of bhagavAn like the creeper
surrounding the kapaka vRksham and provides the purushakAratvam to the
devotee while bhagavAn bestows all the wishes of the devotee (Slokam
19).

19. A prapanna jIva's Ascend to SrIvaikunTham:

Swami Desikan gives his anubhavam of how a prapanna is taken from this
world to SrIvaikunTham at the end of his life in this world in Sloka-s
82 to 90.  The prapanna is released from the effects of both his good
deeds and bad deeds as a consequence of prapatti (83). Note that the
good karma-s, when not performed with surrendering the benefit or phala
to Him, are as binding of the jIva to this world as the bad karma-s
are.  

At the end of this life, the jIva undergoes severe stress as a result
of the separation of jIva from the body (maraNa vedanai in tamizh), and
bhagavAn who is the antaryAmi in the prapanna is there ready and
waiting to embrace the jIva and comfort and relieve the strain of the
jIva.  There are 101 different worlds to which a jIva can be taken,
depending on the karma-s that have accumulated.  A prapanna's jIva is
not led in any of the 100 paths (nAdi's) that lead to loka-s other than
SrIvaikunTham, but instead through the 101st nADi which is called the
brahma nADi which leads the prapanna to SrIvaikunTham.  This path is
beautifully lit by the Sun's rays, and bhagavAn is anticipating the
arrival of this jIva like a parent looking at a child who is coming
towards him (84).   The prapanna is led in this path by the gods such
as agni, vAyu, sUrya, candra etc.   Each of these escort the jIva of
the prapanna up to the borders or spheres of their influence (85).  The
jIvAtmA then crosses the virajA river, and is bestowed with a divine
body that is of the nature of pure sattva guNa, and no rAjasic or
tAmasic qualities.  This divine body is then decorated with garllands,
beautiful clothes, fragrances, etc. worthy of a servant of bhagavAn in
SrIvaikunTham (86). BhagavAn welcomes and embraces the prapanna to His
heart just as He holds periya pirATTi dear to His heart (87).  This
jIvAtmA then is engaged in nitya kaimkaryam to emperumAn in
SrIvaikunTham just like the nitya sUri-s (89).  There is no rebirth for
this jIvAtmA in the sense of the jIva-s bound by karma;  they will
appear in this world along with bhagavAn whenever He takes an
incarnation, just to serve Him while He is in here, and will return
with Him back to SrIvaikunTham (90).

20. What We Can and Should Do:

Our relief from the eternal bondage of samsAra occurs because of His
samkalpam, and cannot happen without His samkalpam.  What is left for
us is to

-pray to Him for His samkalpam (91), 
-seek His forgiveness for all the apacAram-s that we keep committing
knowingly and unknowingly (92), 
-desist from going after the pleasures of this world and instead seek
His Grace for relief from the bondage of samsAra (93, 94, 96), 
-practice the a'nga-s of prapatti such as desisting from association
with those who are who are non-devotees (whose association is like the
poison that pours out at sight from a venomous serpent) and associating
ourselves with His devotees whose sight and talk are like a shower of
nectar pouring forth at us (95), 
-seek the protection of His Feet which alone will relieve us from all
our sufferings (97),  and
-seek the guidance of an AcArya and perform the Ultimate Surrender or
prapatti to Him (99) with the full faith that He has taken a vow to
protect those who have sought His protection (98) and with the full
realization that we are His belonging and He seeks to accept us and
protect us just as much as we seek His protection (100).  

21. Conclusion:

Thus has this composition with the title of acyuta Satakam been
composed by the kavi tArkika kesari vedAnatAcArya ve'nkatanAtha Swami
Desikan for our benefit (101).  Needless to add that here is another
gem of collections of the fundamentals of the great Visishtadvaita
philosophy summarized in simple form by Swami Desikan for even the
simplest of minds to grasp and understand.  Every one of the stotra-s
that we have gone through so far has been an independent exposition of
the essentials of our great philosophy by Swami Desikan in simple
terms.   He has composed these and given them to us because of his
infinite mercy towards us, and is aimed at our redemption from the
bondage of samsAra, and for uniting us with BhagavAn.  May we benefit
by His Grace.

-dasan kr*shNamAcAryan