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The Lord's Archa Form

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mohan Sagar • November 13, 1996 


Mr. Sadagopan writes:

>MaNavaaLa Maamuni follows the line of thought of Swami Desikan and 
>concludes that among the five states in which the Lord exists 
>( Param, Vyuham, Vibhavam, Archaa and Antaryaami ) , He is
>most readily  accessible  to us as Archaavatharan out of his 
>magnanimous Daya (grace) .

I find the passages in Mumukusupadi (Sutras 139 - 143) that discuss the
Saulabhya of the Archaavatharan particularly inspiring, so I thought it
appropriate to share parts of these:

---begin Mumme's Translation---

The culmination of the Lord's accessibility...is the Archaavathara; here He
takes as His Holy Form an Image, which those who depend on Him find
delightful, and dwells in it continually...Unlike His Supreme and
Evolutionary Forms, which cannot be seen because They are far away, and
unlike His Past Incarnations which cannot be seen because they are remote in
time, the Archaavathara alone remains constantly visible to the eye because
it is continually present...

Our Lord stands with His Divine Weapons, Conch and Discus, borne in His Holy
Hands to show the knowledge and power that are used to accomplish the soul's
salvation.  His Hand is held in a position which says "Do not fear," showing
His affection.  His Head is crowned to show His Lordliness.  His Face and
Smile show His affability.  And, His Holy Feet are planted in the lotus seat
to show His accessibility, such that all may see and resort to Him.  This
posture in which the Lord graciously stands is the savior for us, who have
no other recourse.

---end translation---

Daasanu Daasan,

Mohan