Thursday, 13 December 2018

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 7 AND 8


(In these stanzas, the past history of Sri Achyuta Preksha, Guru or master of Vasudeva, has been narrated. Scholars have provided deeper interpretation for these stanzas. Please read, comment and share. SDN)


PuraiSha kruShNAkarasidDhashudDhimadvarAnnaBhuktyA kila pAnDavAlayE|
VishOBhitAtmA maDhukrutpravruttimAmshchachAra kAmshchit parivatsarAn mudA||7||

SUMMARY: Earlier, this Achyutapreksha was a nomadic ballad (travelling continuously, begging only to satiate the hunger and singing instantly self-composed devotional songs, who were called as Dasas and their profession was being called as Madhukara. Purandara Dasa, Kanakadasa and other Dasas are the latest examples, who followed this trait) in his previous birth (during Dwaparayuga); for a few years, he was a recipient of food given by Draupadi; by consuming the purest and greatest food Draupadi was personally preparing, he had purified his mind and heart to the fullest possible extent.

In his book of commentaries, Sri Chalari Achar states: ….PUrva janmani yatirEShahaBhikShAcharaNa niyamavAn san DraupadeedattaBhikShAnnaBhOjanEna nirmaleekrutadEhAntahkaraNaha san katipayavarShEShU mudA PAnDavadEshE sanchAram kurvannaBhUditi BhAvaha|
Meaning: In his previous birth, Achyutapreksha was a saint living on alms given in the form of food and while begging, he was consuming the food that Draupadi was providing him with as charity. Having lived on those beggings given by Draupadi, his body and mind had been totally purified and sanctified. He was living in the country of Pandavas for a few years as a nomad.

There are references in Mahabharata, Bhagavata and Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya that Pandavas were donating food to several saints and ascetics.      

Even in the previous stanza, the credentials of Achyutapreksha have been clearly stated. The Chalari Vyakhyan, a book of commentaries, describes Sri Achyutapreksha as follows: “AchyutaprEksha iti DitThAdishabdavat sAnkEtikam nAma tasya na Bhavati| Kintu Achyutasya HarEhe prEkShA jnAnam yasya sa AchyutaprEkSha iti sArThakam nAma tasya yatEriti BhAvaha| AnEna shudDhatwam manOnihrahaha vairAgyam BhagavajnAnam ityEtE sannyAsinO vihitaguNAha asmin AchyutaprEkShE santeeti tasya sannyAsam aDhikArO(a)steeti uktam Bhavati|

He was not Achyutapreksha merely for name’s sake. He had imbibed all the attributes that are essential to be called as Achyutapreksha and that is why he was also being called Achyutaprajna. His name was not just a symbol but it was highly deserving and meaningful. He had secured all the knowledge by truly seeing Sri Hari. He had inculcated rare and valuable attributes such as purity of heart and mind (ShudDhatwam); true control over his mind (manOnigrahaha); occult aversion to worldly pleasures (Vairagya); knowledge of the Lord (BhagavajnAnam) and others that have been prescribed for an ascetic. Therefore, he was the most eligible person to ordain a divine person like Vasudeva, who was an incarnation of Lord Vayu.
The name of Achyutapreksha has been mentioned in Skanda Purana:
SanakAdi mahAyOgisampradAyakarO yatihi|
AchyutaprEkShanAmA(a)sau mAyiBhihi parivEShTitaha||

Achyutapreksha is an ascetic in the lineage of such great saints as Sanaka and others.

ABhUt kushAstrABhyasanam na pAtakam kramAgatAdwipratisAratO yatEhe|
YaThA kushastrADhyasanam muradwiShaha padAmbujE vyADhavarasya garhitam||8||

Later, he had systematically repented for having studied till then the texts of Mysticism (Mayavada), which was not an acceptable or worthy theosophy. Therefore, his reading or practising of unworthy theosophy did not rank as a sin just as a hunter named Jara attract any sin after inadvertently hitting Lord Krishna with an arrow that actually became instrumental for the Lord to conclude his incarnation on Earth since he virtually repented for his mistake.

This stanza signifies that human thoughts are purified by human acts and in turn, they are purified by the food consumed.

The moral of this stanza is that perverted, antagonistic and misleading philosophy should not be studied nor can one abstain from studying them; therefore, what one can do is to study such material but repent for studying them. Reading bad texts paves the way for hell.

The incident related to hunter Jara has been mentioned in Mahabharata, Bhagavata, Harivamsha and Tatparyanirnaya. Sage Bhrugu had committed a serious crime by kicking Lord Vishnu at the navel and as a token of repentence, he was born a hunter named Jara during Dwapara Yuga and ended the tenure of Lord Krishna on Earth. Both Bhrugu and Jara repented for their acts and that is why, their acts were not considered as sins or crimes.  


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