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Sri DEvarAja Panchakam of DhoddyaachArya (MahAchAryA): Part II

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • November 23, 2001 


Dear Sri VaradarAja BhakthAs:

In the second slOkam , DoddhAchAryar celebrates 
the Lord's soundharyam further and pays
particular attention to the lotus hands that 
adorn the abhaya-pradhAna Mudhrai :

mukthAdha pathra yugaLOpaya saamarAnthA:
 vidhyOdhamAna VinathA-tanayAdhirooDam
bhakthAbhaya-pradha karAmbhujam ambhujAksham
 nithyam namAmi Varadham ramaNIya vEsham

(Meaning): Lord VaradarAjan is radiant on the back
of Garudan --the son of Vinathai-- and is flanked on
both sides by the twin sets of white umbrellas and
Kavari deer tail chAmarams(fans). His sacred , lotus-soft
right hand is held in abhaya mudhrA pose assuring all
that He will free them from all their fears  .His beautiful 
lotus-like eyes rain anugraham on all the beholders . adiyEn
salutes always that Sarva MangaLa Moorthy emerging out of
His aasthaanam through the western gOpuram on the third
day of His VaikAsi BrahmOthsavam .AdiyEn enjoys
without let  the most enchanting beauty of the Lord
(RamaNIya Vesham ) seated on the back of GarudAzhwAn
and resting His sacred feet on the broad palms of
His special vaahanam . GarudAzhwAn holds those Thiruvadis 
with reverence and points out to us that they are 
the refuge for all the chEthanams.

Additional comments(V.S): Swamy Desikan prayed for the boon
of enjoying Lord VaradarAjAn during His uthsavam days 
as well as all his days on earth without closing his 
eye lids : 

turaga VIHAGARAAJA syandhana aandhOLikEshu
adhikam adhikam anyAm aathma sObhAm dadhAnam
anavadhika VIBHOOTHIM HasthisailEsvaram ThvAm
anudhinam animEshair lochanair nirvisEyam
--48th slOkam of Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath

Swamy Desikan points out here that the Lord of Hasthigiri 
displays different aspects of His matchless beauty
when He uses the Horse, PakshirAjan , Car , Pallakku 
as His vahanams during His BrahmOthsavam. Swamy says 
that the soundharyam of the Lord is forever enhancing 
as He mounts these individual vaahanams. With His soundharyam
and His VibhUthi ( Isvaryam) accompanying Him during these
occasions , He heightens the aanandhAnubhavam of the bhakthAs ,
who have assembled on the raaja veedhis of Kanchi to have 
His darsana soubhAgyam. Swamy prays : " anavadhika vibhUthim
HasthisailEsvaram ThvAm animEshai: lOchanai: anudhinam
nirvisEyam " ( May adiyen be blessed to enjoy Your
incomparable beauty and Isvaryam every day wihtout 
closing my eyes. He states that he does not want to
take his eyes off from enjoying the beauty of the Lord 
even for a fraction of second .

Swamy AlavanthAr has a similar prayer for 
the uninterrupted enjoyment of the Lord as 
GarudAroodan in one of his SthOthra Rathnam
slOkams :

Daasa: SakhA vaahanam aasanam dhvajO
 yasthE vidhAnam vyajanam Thrayeemaya:
upasthitham tEna purO GaruthmathA
 Thavdangri SamarthakiNAnga sObhinA 

(meaning): When will adiyEn stand before Garudan
the Veda Savaroopi , who serves as Your Daasan ,
Friend , Vaahanam (Transport) , seat , vidhAnam
( umbrella /cover over Your Thirumudi as at
BrindhAvanam , when You played with Gopa KumArans 
in the heat of summer ),fan ( bringing in cool breeze 
through the swift movement of his wings) ? That 
bhAgyasAli, Garudan has the imprint of Your
sacred feet in His palms as He transports You around .
When will adiyEn have the bhAgyam of Your sevai
(Garuda Vaahana sEvai) ? Thus Swamy AlavanthAr
longs for the GarudArooda sEvai just as DoddhAcchAr
Swamy wisged later ?     

Some of the VibhUthis of the Lord in display during 
the Uthsavams are the elephant , horse , Chaamarams ,
umbrellas , flags and other indicators of His status
as the Emperor of the Universe and its beings(royal 
insignias) . DoddhAcchAr Swamy refers to two of 
the VibhUthis in his second slOkam : The two white Umbrellas 
stitched with pearls and the two white chAmarams(Fans) 
made  of the tail hair of a special kind of deer(kavari Maan ).

The color of white pearls reminds one of Suddha Satthvam .
Another inner meaning of white pearls is that they 
are AzhwAr Paasurams that celebrate the Sarva Seshithvam
of the Lord . The sEsha-sEshithva relationship is reminded
here with AzhwAr being sEshan and the Lord being the sEshi.
The paasurams of AzhwAr celebrate this indestructible 
relationship between sEshan and Seshi. The MukthAmaNi 
rasmi ( the radiant lustre of the  rows of Quality 
pearls) is auspicious because of their nirmala prakAsam
reminding one of prathipath chandrakalA (crescent moon on 
prathamai day).Swamy Desikan refers to this in the MukthA
Paddhathi of Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram. 

The pearl-studded white umbrellas serving as protection
from the day's heat also reminds one of AdhisEshan 
stretching His hoods over the Lord's Thirumudi and 
performing his Kaimkaryam ( ThvAm Moorthim BhujangAdhipathE:
pratheema:) . In yet another slOkam of MukthA Paddhathi of
Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahsram  , Swamy Desikan compares
the row of pearls to the rows of Nakshathrams created by
the Lord for future ages .They provide coolness even during
the heat of the day by spreading Satthva GuNam all around.

Lord VaradarAjan is Yeka chakrAdhipathi ruling the Universe.
Hence , the royal insignias like White Umbrellas , White
Chaamarams remind us all of His status as SarvEsvaran. 

While seated on Garudan , He is displaying Abhaya Mudhrai.
He sends out the message : " Maa Sucha: " . He provides
Abhaya PradhAnam with His Hastha Mudhrai. This avyAja-
vathsalan through His paasam ( affection ) for the suffering 
Jeevans sends out a rejuvenating message of hope through His
abhaya mudhrai. Through His abhaya Mudhrai , Lord 
VaradharAjan confers so many boons that it would be 
impossible for us to count them or comprehend them:

azhiyAtha AruLAzhipperumAn seyyum
anthamilA udhavi yellAm aLappAr aarE ?
--UpakAra sangraham of Swamy Desikan 

His udhavi ( help) has no end ( anthamilA udhavi).
Through His abhya-pradhAna mudhrai , Swamy describes
in the Charama SlOkAdhikAram section of ChillaRai
Rahasyam , Saara-Saaram the following doctrine :

" Oh Jeevan! You do not have the power to practise
Moksha UpAyAntharams ( the various means to seek
Moksham ). Perform SaraNAgathi at my feet and seek
my protection . I am SaraNAgatha-VathsalathvAdhi-
visishtan ( Natural affection towards those , who 
seek My protection as SaraNAgathan). I will therefore
protect You as a Prapannan . I will remove all 
obstacles that stand in the way of reaching Me
and make you a kruthArTan (" samastha-prathibhandhaka-
nivrutthi -poorvaka MathprApthiyAlE kruthArTan 
aakuhirEn ").Therefore You do not need to fear 
anything from here on. 

The Lord is SarvalOka SaraNyan . His vaibhavam as
SarvalOka SaraNyan is indicated to all of us 
through His Abhaya Mudrai. His SaraNya Vratha 
VisEsha PrakAsam ( The Lord's vow and its greatness)
is revealed by Him in the famous Srimath RaamAyaNa 
SlOakm:

sakrudhEva PrapannAya TavAsmIthi cha YaachathE
ABHAYAM SarvabhUthEbhyO dadhAmi yEdhath vratham mama
-- Yuddha KaaNDam: 18.33

In his second slOkma of the DeavrAja Panchakam ,
DoddhAcchArya MahA Desikan salutes the GarudArooda 
Sri Varadha Prabhu of "RamaNeeya Vesham" for 
" His Bhaktha abhaya-pradha KarAmbhujam " 
and what that abhaya-pradhAna Mudhrai
signifies for us all .  

Sri VaradharAja ParabrahmaNE Nama:
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan



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