AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam : SlOkam 12&13/Conclusion

From the Bhakti List Archives

• May 30, 1999


Dear BhakthAs : Through eleven slOkams , Thirukkudanthai Desikan
prayed to AarAvamudhan to bless him with His sevai and the Lord
responded by entering the heart cavity of the dear devotee and 
took residence there . Tirukkudanthai Desikan enjoyed the ParipUrNa
anubhavam of the Lord reclining on AdhisEshA inside him and responded
to the command of the Lord to eulogize Him further .Thus arose 
the concluding 12th and the 13th slOkams of Sri AparyApthAmrutha 
DhyAna sOpAnam . 

Swami Desikan had a total of 12 slOkams in his Sri Bhagavath 
DhyAna sOpAnam and ThiruppANAzhwAr could not go beyond his
ten paasurams and concluded  AmalanAdhipirAn Sri Sookthi
with the declaratory statement " yenn (AarA )Amudhinaik kaNDa 
kaNNgal maRRonrRinaik kaaNAvE ". Swami Desikan had two more 
slOkams (the 11th and the 12th) after enjoying the Padhathi-
kEsAntha varNanam of the Lord's beauty . Thirukkudanthai Desikan 
followed his earlier path established in Sri Bhagavath 
DhyAna sOpanam that he travelled on four centuries earlier 
and placed at the holy feet of AarAvamudhan two more slOkams
in his AapryApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam (12th and the 13th slOkams ).

In his 11th slOkam of  Sri Bhagavath DhyAna sOpAnam ,
Swami Desikan pointed out that the Lord resting under
PraNavAkruthi VimAnam at Srirangam is residing in his 
heart as well with His PirAttis ( agrE kinchith bhujaga 
sayana: sva aathmanA yEva sann , madhyE Rangam MAMA CHA 
HRUDHAYE VARTHATHE SAAVAROGA: ).

Swami Desikan revealed to us that KasthUri Rangan of 
Srirangam , THE UTHSAVA MOORTHY entered his heart space 
and took permanent residence there . Thirukkudanthai Desikan ,
the incarnation of Swami Desikan , let us know that
Hema Rangan of Thirukkudanthai responded to his prayers 
and took residence in his heart as MOOLAVAR with His
bed of Aadhi Sesahn and His twin consorts .What a symmetry
in thought and anubhavam across centuries ! 

The twelfth slOkam of Thirukkudanthai Desikan
**********************************************

agrE paryApthi heenAmrutham ithi vidhitham 
sundaram svasya roopam
paarsva dhvandhvE cha LakshmI Bhuvamapi 
veekshamANA sva dhrughbhyAm I
SruNvan Srinaabhi Padhma prabhava vidhi mukhAth 
utthitham Veda ghOsham 
SrivaidhikhAkyE hrudhi cha mama sadhA 
SaarngadhanvA samAsthE II

Our Acharyan states here that the Lord reclining under
the Vaidhikha VimAnam at Thirukkudanthai is resting
comfortably now at his heart space as well ( Sri VaidhikhAkyE
ghEhE mama hrudhi cha samAsthe ). This great devotee of 
AarAvamudhan also paints a blissful domestic scene 
as he visualizes the happenings inside his heart space.
In FRONT of him is the "paryApthi heenAmrutha roopam "
( insatiable beauitful roopam )and INSIDE him is 
the same divya roopam with His two dEvis . Hema Rangan
is looking at His twin PirAttis with great affection,
while listening to the auspicious Veda ghOsham originating 
from the lips of His son , Chathurmukha BrahmA seated on 
the divine lotus arising out of His navel .What a 
conjugal , domestic scene that Thirukkudanthai Desikan
paints in his 12th SlOkam ! Swami Desikan decribed a
similar anubhavam at Srirangam earlier as :
 
agrE kinchith Bhujaga sayana: svAthmanaiva aathmana: sann ".

Thirukkudanthai Desikan decribed that experience at Kudanthai
as " agrE paryApthi HeenAmruthamithi vidhitham Sundaram
svasya Roopam ".In the spirit of celebration of the Ubhaya
PradhAna divya dEsam , Swami Desikan visualized the presence
of the Uthsava Moorthy inside his heart at Srirangam 
and Thirukkudanthai Desikan experienced the presence
of the Moolavar at KumbhakONam .

Sriman NaarAyaNan instructed His son about VedAs as
indicated by the Veda manthram : " yO BrahmaaNam vidhathAthi
poorvam yOvai VedAnsccha prahiNOthi tasmai ".He also revealed
the Tamil Vedam to Naathamuni by acquainting him with 
the Tamizh MaRai paasurams (Rks)of NammAzhwAr on Him . Hence,
AarAvamudhan is saluted as " aru maRayai veLippadutthiya AmmAn " .
Thirukkudanthai Desikan experiences this Veda Purushan as
listening to the Saama Veda GhOsham raised by His son 
as though He is checking on the efficacy of His own 
instruction to His star student .

The 13th slOkam of AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam
***************************************************
Srimadh Vaidhika samjnikE dhvishadhAm maanyE vimAnE sphurath
SrimachArngadharasya samsthuthi:iyam GopAla SooryArpithA I
Bhakthim yacchathi SaarngiNi prasrumarAm kaimkarya siddhim tathA
nithyam sampatathAm arOga sukhithaa pUrvam cha sanmangaLam II

This is the Phala sruthi slOkam pointing out that 
those who recite daily the AparyAthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam
about the SaarngarAjan --lauded by the dEvAs as He rests 
under the shade of the Vaidhika VimAnam-- of Thirukkudanthai 
would be blessed with profound bhakthi for the Lord and
magnificient Kaimkarya Sri as well as an auspicious 
life free of illnesses of mind and body .

Swami Desikan concluded with a prayer to Lord RanganathA 
in his final (twelfth) slOkam of Sri Bhagavath DhyAna 
sOpAnam : "Bhakthim ghADAm disathu Bhagavadh DhyAna 
sOpAnam " ( may the recitation of this Bhagavath DhyAna 
sOpAnam confer the boon of firm Bhakthi to the BhagavAn of 
Srirangam) . Thirukkudanthai Desikan went one step further . 
He did not stop with the wishful prayer .He stated clearly 
(based on his own anubhavam )that the recitation of 
AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAna slOkams will result 
in deep devotion to the BhagavAn of Thirukkudanthai
and mahath Kaimkarya Siddhi Isvaryam , aarOgyam and all
other auspiciousness . He reasoned that the Srimathvam and
Vaidhikham associated with the "Kudanthai Thirumaal "
has to confer all these blessings effortlessly .He arrived at
that conclusion from the assurance of the Veda Manthram , 
" Rucha: SaamAni YajUgumshi,Saahi SrI: amruthA sadhAm ". 
This Veda Purushan listening to thre three Vedams (Vaidhika Sri)
and accompanied by Sri Devi (Srimathvam ) has therefore 
to be the veritable , insatibale nectar of all times .

The most illustrious boon that the Lord of Thirukkudanthai
can confer on His bhakthAs is : "DhAsyE svE sthapayEth svAn"
( He will establish His bhakthAs in nithya niravadhya 
Kaimkaryam to Him ). He will confer bodily health to
His BhakthAs to perform this type of Kaimkaryam to Him 
at Thirukkudanthai and other mangaLams as stated by 
the following slOkam on Bhagavath Kaimkarya phalan :

" SareerArOgyam Isvaryam (arthAn cha) BhOgncchai aanushankikAn
  DhadhAthi DhyAyinAm Nithyam apavargha  prathO Hari: "

He gives dhruta sarIram blessed with AarOgyam ,
wealth , bhOgams for those , who meditatae on Him 
without let ( dhruva smruthi)and then crowns all
these boons with the supreme boons of Moksham 
and nithya kaimkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam in the company
of NithyAs , MukthAs , AzhwArs and PurvAchAryAs
and Sri sampradhAya darsana sthApakAs .

Such is the glory of the sOpAnam ( ladder ) for 
the DhyAnam of AparyApthAmrutha Para Brahmam 
constructed lovingly for us by Sri GopAla Suri , who is 
revered as the Thirukkudanthai Desikan , the aparAvathAram
Of Swami Desikan himself .

As the June 30 ,99 samprOkshaNam at Thirukkudanthai
approaches in a month's time , I place these vandhanams
to the lotus feet of Thirukkudanthai Desikan . I thank 
Sri Sampath RengarAjan of Michigan and KumbhakONam
for inviting my attention to this rare Sthuthi by
a great AchAryan and encouraging me to write about
this apoorva grantham .

Sri Munithraya SiddhAntha PadhminyullAsa BhAskara:
GopAla Desika: SrimAn jEjeeyAth Santhatham Bhuvi .

SrimAn venkatanAthArya: kavithArkika KesarI
VedhAnthAchArya VaryOmE SannidhatthAm SadhA Hrudhi 

Sri KomaLavalli SamEtha Sri AparyAptha SwaminE nama:
Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan