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Yes, Prime Minister

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sadagopan iyengar • April 7, 2002 


Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
Mahadesikaya Nama:
                                    Yes, Prime
Minister
               
               Everybody agrees that Lord Sriman
Narayana is the Supreme Power, at whose will and
pleasure this universe and the animate and inanimate
beings inhabiting it subsist. He doesnÂ’t have anybody
to report to nor does He have to carry out anybodyÂ’s
orders (“oppAr mikkArai ilai Aya mAmAyan”). However,
it would be surprising to note that even this Supreme
Emperuman listens with care to the words of somebody,
and approves of them without any disagreement
whatsoever. All proposals put up to Him by this
somebody are approved in toto, with nary a correction,
however insignificant. The Lord just says,
 “Yes, Prime Minister”, and puts His seal of approval
to whatever is conveyed to Him. Who is this somebody,
who wields such power over the Lord that every word of
his is “vEda vAkku” to Emperuman? And why does the
Lord feel the compulsion to honour this gentlemanÂ’s
dictates without demur?
We can find the answer to these questions in Sri
AlavandarÂ’s
StotraRatnam=
“Tvadeeya bhukta ujjhita sEsha bhOjinA
   tvayA nisrishta Atma bharENa yed yathA
  priyENa SenApatinA nyavEdi tat
  TathA anujAnantam udAra veekshaNai:”

Sri VishvaksEnar is the EmperumanÂ’s Prime Minister
(“Vaikunta Sachiva:”), Commander-in-Chief and Lord
Protector, all rolled into one. We know only too well
how difficult it is to manage our own households,
small units that they are;
just imagine how complex it would be to administer a
country, a continent, a world, a universe? And how
indescribably intricate it must be to be the Chief
Administrator of a whole set of Universes and the
Cosmos?
 The Lord is able to carry out this difficult task
only because of the invaluable assistance rendered by
Sri Vishvaksena, in whom He reposes total faith.
While all of us are used to transferring our burdens
to the Lord (through Saranagati), our Lord too
unburdens Himself to Sri Vishvaksena, by investing him
with all His property and the entire responsibility of
administering the BrahmAndAs (“Sreemati VishvaksEnE
nyasta samasta Atma ishvaryam”). Such is the absolute
confidence reposed by Sri Vaikuntanatha in His
Commander-in-Chief that whatever the latter proposes,
the former accepts without a word of disagreement.

The greatness of Sri Vishvaksena can be understood
from the fact that it is he who is worshipped (even
before the Lord is) at the commencement of every
ritual, for the unhindered completion of the task
taken up. 
“nirvignEna pari samAptyarttham Adou Vishvaksena
Aradhanam karishyE”- we begin every vaidika karma with
a prayer to this nitya suri.
Some Sri Vaishnavites confuse Sri Vishvaksena with
Pillayar, the Elephant-headed demigod. Even in some
Vishnu temples, we see the strange spectacle of
Pillayar at the entrance, with the sobriquet 
“Tumbikkai Azhwar”.
The Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram clarifies the
position-
“ Yasya dvirada vaktrAdyA: pArishadyA: parassatham
   Vignam nignanti satatam, Vishvaksenam tam AshrayE”
“I seek refuge in Sri Vishvaksena, who clears all
hurdles at all times, and whose council consists of
hundreds of members like the elephant-faced GajAnana”
says the prelude to the Vishnu sahasranamam. It is
clear from this that GajAnanA is a parivAra dEvata of
the Lord, and is no way connected with Pillayar, who
is said to be the son of Rudra, and is held in high
esteem by non-SriVaishnavites as a facilitator.
Sri Vishvaksena is also glorified as “SEshAsanA”, or
one who partakes of the leftovers of the LordÂ’s meal,
a unique honour that does not seem to have been
bestowed on any other occupant of Sri Vaikuntam. And
as pointed out above, he is the principal officer of
the Lord, as evidenced by the Saranagati Gadya phrase,
“SeshAsana …..pramukha”.

Swami Desikan showers special praise on this nitya
suri, in Sri Daya Satakam-
“anEka vigna samanam aneekEswaram AshrayE
  sreemata: karuNAmbOdhou sikshA srOta ivOtthitam”
Confirming the capability of Sri Vishvaksena to ward
off all obstacles and his status as the LordÂ’s
Commander-in Chief, Swami Desikan describes him as a
canal branching off the ocean of mercy that is
Emperuman. The LordÂ’s karuNA takes several forms: even
when He chooses to punish someone, it is also a form
of anugraham (“nigraha anugraham” as it is called).
When He decides to chastise someone, He has it carried
out through Sri Vishvaksena. However, one must not
jump to the conclusion that this nitya suri is the
LordÂ’s executioner with little else to do-
we must also remember that he clears all obstacles in
the way of the good deeds we contemplate. This is the
purport if we take the word “siksha” in the aforesaid
sloka to mean punishment.  However, “siksha” could
also refer to instruction, in which case Sri
Vishvaksena acts as
the conduit for the LordÂ’s words of wisdom.

Thus Sri Vishvaksena has been accorded the unique
privilege of a place in the Guruparampara, which other
nitya suris like Sri Adisesha or Sri Garutman do not
enjoy.
After Emperuman and Piratti, it is Sri Vishvaksena who
adorns the liineage of Acharyas. It was he who passed
on the divine lamp of knowledge to Sri Nammazhwar”,
who in turn spread the same the world over through the
Tiruvaimozhi. If we hail Sri Nammazhwar as “mayarvara
madi nalam aruLa petra Azhwar”, it is Sri Vishvaksena
who made this possible. Thus it is this NityaSuri who
acts as the link and line of communication between the
Acharyas who are residents of SriVaikuntam and
Acharyas located in the mundane world, ensuring
uninterrupted propagation of the Sampradaya.

In another fitting tribute to Sri Vishvaksena, Swami
Desikan says in Sri Yatiraja Saptati,
 “VandE Vaikunta sEnAnyam dEvam SootravatI sakham
  yat vEtra shikara: spande visvam Etat vyavastthitam”
Two other attributes of Sri Vishvaksena are brought
out by this sloka-
He is the beloved husband of Sri Sootravati. This is
unique to Sri Vishavaksena, an honour not extended to
other nitya suris like Sri Adisesha or Sri GarutmAn,
both of whom do not appear to be assisted by their
consorts, in the LordÂ’s service. 
 Further, he wields a golden cane, studded with
diamonds. The whole world hangs upon the end of this
cane, and looks to it for guidance, as would an
orchestra to the cane of the conductor. So powerful is
this Commander-in-Chief of the Lord that the slightest
movement of the cane could sway whole worlds this way
or that. However, unlike in the case of most
plenipotentiaries, absolute power does not influence
the just administration of Sri Vishvaksena.

A noteworthy feature is that only undisputed Kings
holding sway over large kingdoms are entitled to hold
a cane in their hands, and by this token, Emperuman is
said to hold one-(“SengOl udaya Tiruvaranga
SelvanAr”-Sri Andal, “Ettra Ezhulagum tanikkOl sella
veevil seer                      Attral mikku Alum
ammAn”_-Sri Nammazhwar)

It is a mark of Sri VishvaksenaÂ’s importance in Sri
Vaikuntam that he too has the authority to wield a
cane, on par with the Lord. It is another measure of
this senior officialÂ’s greatness that before any
tiruveedi purappAdu of Emperuman takes place, Sri
Vishvaksena precedes Him to check whether the LordÂ’s
path is hurdle-free and fit for His passage.
Though all nitya suris are endowed with poorNa gnAnam,
Sri Vishvaksena has the distinction of deriving his
knowledge, especially the Dvaya Mantra, directly from
the Lord Himself. This is clear from the Vishvaksena
Samhita, one of the principal SamhitAs of Sri
PanchrAtra AgamA.

            The greatness of this nitya suri is such
that however much one might write, it would be
probably be a grossly inadequate depiction. With his
blessings, adiyen would like to continue this piece
some time later.

        Srimate Sri LakshhmiNrsimha divya paduka
sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra
Mahadesikaya Nama:
        ----dasan,sadagopan.


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