SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 34 TO 36

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 34 TO 36

(In these stanzas, the extraordinary knowledge of Sri Poornaprajna about sainthood has been described. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

NirangarAgam muKharAgavarhitam viBhUShaNam viShTapaBhUShaNAyitam|

Amum DhrutAShADhamavEkSya mEnirE swaBhAvashOBhA(a)nupamEti jantavaha||34||

SUMMARY: The people saw Sri Poornaprajna, who, without applying the sandal paste, nor chewing the betel leaf, arecanut and others to make the face appear red, nor using any other cosmetics, but simply holding the sacred club and shining with special radiation that would light up prominently the entire universe, and thought that his inherent, inborn radiation are unmatched and unparalleled.

Sri Poornaprajna, an incarnation of Lord Vayu, was naturally charming and there was no need for him to use any external things or cosmetics to enhance the charm. He is the most charming person and he is incomparable.

BhujangaBhUtEshavihangapAdikaihi pravandita sAvasarapateekShaNaihi|

NanAma sO(a)yam gurupUrvakAnyateenahO maheeyO mahatAm viDambanam||35||

SUMMARY: Sri Poornaprajna, who is saluted by Shesha, Rudra, Garuda and other demi-gods after waiting for the right time to do so, now saluted Achyutapreksha and other ascetics. How distinct and great is it the mockery that great people often exhibit to make the world emulate?

The word mockery in this context should not be mistaken in the normal sense of the term. What Sri Poornaprajna did on this occasion by saluting Achyutapreksha, who, compared to Lord Rudra, Shesha and Garuda, is of lesser rank and file, Sri Poornaprajna showed to the mortal world the way to honour a Guru and the need to do so.  

VarAshramAchAravishEShashikShaNam viDhitsurasyAcharitam nishAmayan|

VishEShashikShAm swayamApya DheeraDheeryateeshwarO vismayamAyatAntarAm||36||

SUMMARY: Sri Achyutapreksha, who tried to preach the nuances and norms of perfect sainthood to Sri Poornaprajna, noticed several unknown and rare practices that the latter adopted and followed and learnt several aspects of sainthood from him. In his heart of hearts, Sri Achyutapreksha was surprised at the level of knowledge and dedication of Sri Poornaprajna.

Thinking that Sri Poornaprajna was just a new entrant into sainthood, Sri Achyutapreksha began teaching him the tenets of sainthood. On the contrary, he was surprised to know several unknown aspects of real sainthood that Sri Poornaprajna began following. It looked as though Sri Poornaprajna was the personification of all knowledge. Poorna means complete and Prajna means expert knowledge. Sri Achyutapreksha was naturally astonished at the depth of knowledge of Sri Poornaprajna, which was indeed infinite, inexplicable, incomparable and out of the mortal world.

SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY'S SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(In this episode, the Shiva Dhanus has been described by King Janaka. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

The expression in this first stanza of Sri Raghavendra Swamy’s Sri Charitra Manjari, which reads: “RAjAdiBhihi krutAm pUjAm sweekrutya”, means that Sri Shatananda, King Janaka and all others honoured and worshipped Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana and sage Sri Vishwamitra, an ardent devotee of Sri Hari by praising them and other methods of worship, in accordance with the rank and file; Sri Rama received them all with grace and compassion. Securing their permission, King Janaka returned to the place he had designated for the Holy Sacrifice (Yajna Shala). Next morning, he sent an invitation and on their arrival, offered a very pompous, rich and enchanting welcome to Vishwamitra, Sri Rama and Lakshmana to the Yajna Shala.

The expression “BhanktwA ShivaDhanuhu”, which is substantiated with “SeethAswayamvarArTham Rudram prati tapaha krutwA JanakEnalabDham ‘ya idam Dhanuhu pUrayEt tasmai imam kanyAm pradAsyAm” means he (Sri Rama) set an arrow on the string of the bow, which King Janaka had secured from Lord after propitiating him with a long penance for the sake of holding the Swayamavara, a royal way of allowing a princess to choose her fiancé from among the willing and eligible princes,  and had promised ‘to marry his daughter Seetha to anyone who would join the two ends of the bow by tying the string’, and in the process Sri Rama broke it.    

King Janaka said: “Oh Vishwamitra, I had no children and therefore decided to perform a sacrifice. I had to plough the land for ensuring that in about 10-15 ft. depth, hair, skeleton and other insane or unholy items are not lying under the ground. At that time, a baby girl was found at the tip of the yoke and therefore she was named as Seetha. I was as happy as a poor man finding a huge treasure. She grew up very quickly like the stain on the surface of Moon. That caused me a worry and I did not want to marry her off with an undeserving person. I was trying to find a way to choose a perfect groom for her.

In the past, Daksha did not give offerings in a sacrifice to Lord Rudra. Enraged by this insult, Lord Rudra cut the organs of deities who had ‘accepted’ the offerings made by Daksha. The deities then appealed to Lord Rudra and sought his blessings. Impressed with their prayers, Lord Rudra pardoned them and restored the severed organs. This is the reason Lord Rudra is known as “Kshipravaraprasada” or one who quickly gets pleased and grants boons.

Devarata, the originator of our dynasty and elder brother of Nimi impressed Lord Rudra with a long drawn penance. Pleased with his penance, Lord Rudra presented Devarata with his bow. Neither he nor any other person in our dynasty has been able to lift that bow till now. Just as none other than Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Varaha cannot lift the Earth, this bow cannot be lifted by anyone except Lord Rudra. We are worshipping this bow as a manifestation of Lord Rudra. The bow has been kept in a metal box with eight iron wheels by Lord Rudra. The bow cannot be moved without moving the box in which it has been kept. The box can only be moved from one place to another by five thousand strong and well-built soldiers, with great effort. This is what Lord Rudra has bestowed a boon upon it. I move the bow from one place to another on the strength of that boon. (Rest of the story in next episode as it is a bit long. SDN)

   

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 31 TO 33

(In these stanzas, Vasudeva becomes a saint and gets renamed as Poornaprajna. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

KriyAkalApam sakalam sa kAlavidviDhAnamArgENa viDhAya kEvalam|

SadA prasannasya HarEhe prasattayE muhuhu samastanyasanam samaBhyaDhAt||31||

SUMMARY: Vasudeva, who knew the austerities that are to be followed from time to time, was completing them in accordance with the specified and prescribed ethos and began surrendering everything again and again to Lord Hari, who was always pleased with him and had bestowed upon him the choicest grace.

Apart from the routine austerities like Sandhyavandana, puja etc., at the time of getting ordained into sainthood, a person needs to perform some special and exclusive ceremonies like ceremonies performed after death called JeevashrAddha.

In his own work “Pranavakalpa”, Sri Madhwacharya has explained the procedures to be followed at the time of accepting sainthood.

AnantamAtrAndamudAharanti yam trimAtrapUrvam praNavOchchayam buDhAha|

TadA(a)BhavadBhAvichaturmuKhAkrutirjapADhikAree yatirasya sUchitaha||32||

SUMMARY: Vasudeva, who is the prospective Brahma, transformed into an ascetic, secured the authority to meditate the paradigm “Pranavamantra” that the Pandits or Jnanis say to begin the meditation from three Matras and go on till infinite Matras and in multiple ways.

Matra means letters and therefore three matras means three letters.

The paradigm “Omkara” appears to be a single syllable from outside. If one ponders over it a little, it can be understood that it consists of three letters A, U and Ma. On further analyses, it can be realised that it consists of five more letters corresponding to base note called Nada, dot or Bindu, promulgation or GhOsha, calmness or Shanta and serenity or Atishanta. Thus it becomes a word of eight letters. For persons of higher spiritual strata, it contains more letters.

According to Scriptures, only Yatis or saints, who have got ordained into sainthood as per the prescribed norms, are authorised to do meditation of the paradigm. All are not permitted to meditate the paradigm of the three-letter form. Rujus like Sri Vadirajaru can meditate the paradigm in multiple forms of infinite syllables that have infinite meaning. Sri Madhwacharya will be the next Brahma. Brahma is a portfolio, according to Scriptures.   

GuNAnurUpOnnati pUrNabODha ityamuShya nAma dwijavrundavanditam|

UdAharadBhUriyashA hi kEvalam na matravarNaha sa cha mantravarNakaha||33||

SUMMARY: Vasudeva was named by the assemblage of Brahmins as Poornaprajna, a synonym of “comprehensive spiritual knowledge”, which was reiterated and conferred upon by Achyutapreksha, a popular Guru, who was known for teaching the Mantras.

Poornaprajna, the name that Sri Achyutapreksha conferred on Vasudeva at the time of ordaining him into sainthood, was a sacred name that finds mention in BalitthA Sukta in Rig Veda as: Dashapramatim janayanta yOShaNaha where Dash means complete, Pramatim means knowledgable and therefore Dashapramitm means completely knowledgable, which is beyond the worldly, verbatim explanation.  

SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY'S SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Some more details about the roots of Vishwamitra are mentioned in this episode by Royal priest Shatananda. Please read, comment and share. SDN) 

Distinctly clever and eloquent Vishwamitra replied to King Janaka, who had openly enquired about the antecedents of Sri Rama with a pure interest and sane wish: “Oh King! He is none other than Lord Hari, who has taken the incarnation as a super human to accomplish a task for the deities. Born as son of Emperor Dasharatha, he has been making everyone happy with his good virtues and character. That is why, he has made the name “Rama” christened by his father as most sensible and meaningful. Boy standing next to him is his younger brother named Lakshmana, who matches Rama in all aspects of virtue, quality and character. I brought these two brothers from Ayodhya to Siddhashram. Sri Rama killed the demons quite gamely and protected the sacrifice I was performing from getting spoiled. Greatest of all archers in the universe, Sri Rama has come here to see the Great Bow in your possession. As he can put test all archers and identify the best like the grinding stone that tests gold for purity, I wish he be your son-in-law. Just the King of cosmic ocean of milk attained glory by marrying his daughter Goddess Lakshmi to Vishnu you too can achieve greatness and glory by marrying your daughter to the Supreme Human.”

Royal priest of King Janaka and son of Gautama and Ahalya, Shatananda heard these words of Vishwamitra, turned towards Sri Rama and said: “Oh Ramadeva! Jagannatha! I welcome you and your brother. You have bestowed kindness and saved my mother. I and my parents are grateful to you. This entire universe has been complimented by your incarnation. The fact that you have followed  Vishwamitra from behind like his disciple has made him great and glorious.

A Rishi called Sri Rucheeka approached the king of Gadhi and asked him to marry his daughter Satyavati with him. Gadhi said that if the Rishi could give him a thousand horses with their bodies appearing like Sun and having one of the ears in white, he would give Satyavati in marriage with the Rishi. Rucheeka requested Lord Varuna to provide him with such horses, gave them to Gadhi and married his daughter Satyavati. Both Satyavati and her mother, who did not have a son, requested the Rishi to bless them with sons. Sri Rucheeka gave a cup of ghee to each of them separately by chanting different hymns and went to have a bath. Then Satyavati and her mother exchanged the cups of ghee between themselves and consumed it. As a result, Vishwamitra was born as a Kshatriya, who should have become a Brahma Rishi by birth, to the mother of Satyavati. This Vishwamitra achieved the status of Brahma Rishi by doing penance. The complete grace that you have blessed him with is now evident by the fact that you are now walking behind him like his disciple. There can be no greater surprise to your kindness than this instance.”

Sri Rama looked at Vishwamitra and pretended as though he was surprised to hear the revelation of Shatananda. Did the same Rama not pretended to have been astonished after hearing different stories from Vishwamitra? It was only to make the demons believe that Rama was not aware of all these stories and was actually surprised to hear them from Vishwamitra and Shatananda. Darkness can never block the Sun, who is self-luminous. Similarly, omniscient Rama cannot imagined to be unaware of anything that happens in any corner of this Brahmanda.      

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 29 AND 30

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 29 and 30

(In these two stanzas, Vasudeva secures the permission of his mother to become a saint. The manner in which he became a saint will be explained in the next and bynext stanzas to be furnished in the next episode. Please Read, Comment and Share. SDN)

Iti bruvANE tanayE kadAchidapyadarshanam tasya mrutErnidarshanam|

Vichintya paryAkulitA chikeerShitam sutasya kruchChrAnnyaruNanna sA shuBhA||29||

SUMMARY: With the son telling that way, she thought that if he were not to be seen at all, it is as good as not having him alive, the pious mother of Vasudeva controlled her grief with great difficulty and abstained from restricting her son have his own way.

Sri Chalari Achar substantiates this point: “SA mAtA pUrvOktam putravAkyam shrutwA BheetA satee jeevataha putrasya adarshanam maraNatulyamEva matwA duhKhAn sutABheeShTasya niShEDham na chakArEti BhAvaha|

Meaning: Hearing the sentence stated by her son earlier, that mother was alarmed as she thought that out of sight was nothing short of being dead and therefore, somehow controlled her sorrow and did not raise any objection for fulfilling his desire.

AThOpagamyaiSha gurum jagadguruhu prasadya tam dEvavaraprasAditaha|

SadA samastAshramaBhAk surEshwarO vishEShataha KhalwaBhajadwarAshramam||30||

SUMMARY: Subsequently, Sri Vasudeva, the Guru of the entire universe who is respected by Rudra and other deities too, went to the place where his Guru Sri Achyutapreksha was staying; he made his Guru happy; being always an ardent follower of all the norms of different phases or Ashram of life and a distinguished supreme deity, then accepted the sainthood in a special manner.

According to Hindu philosophy, there are four phases of life, which are denoted as Ashram or a period of life that prescribes certain mandatory norms to adhere to for human beings. They are called as Balya, Brahmacharya, Gruhastha and Vruddhapya or Vanaprastha. Deities in general strictly adhere to the norms of all these phases and they are considered as custodians of such phases of life. Since Vasudeva is an incarnation of Lord Vayu, who is the supreme deity, next only to Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, it needs no confession or concurrence that he adheres to the norms of each phase of life. He is a distinct deity who can follow the norms of a saint without getting ordained into sainthood. He accepted sainthood to enhance the value of sainthood.

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Arrival of Srirama at Mithila and the astonishment of King Janaka over the charming stature of Srirama have been described in this episode. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

VidEshanagaram gatwA rAjAdiBhihi krutAm pUjAm sweekrutya:

From the hermitage of sage Gautama, Vishwamitra, Srirama, Lakshmana and other Rishis moved in the north-east direction. Srirama saw from a distance a sprawling Yajna Shala — it is a separate temporary hall set up exclusively for the performance of sacrifice with an altar for installing the sacred fire and with provision for people to watch the performance of the sacrifice — that King Janaka had set up. He could also hear the Vedic hymns that thousands of Brahmins, who had come there from different directions and countries, were reciting aloud. Sriramachandra, who is the Lord of Yajnas, the recipient of offerings made into the Sacrificial Fire, was delighted and sat there in a very sacred and highly purified place.

King Janaka came to know that great Sage Vishwamitra had come along with two rare and divine boys. Accompanied by the priests and preceptors, King Janaka rushed to the place and worshipped sage Vishwamitra. People who had come from different countries, the local women, youth, elderly and children looked at Srirama in utter bewilderment, without winking their eyes even once. In accordance with their individual capacity and status, everyone honoured Srirama, Lakshmana and Vishwamitra with devotion and affection. King Janaka then told Vishwamitra:

“Oh Vishwamitra, I have taken the Deekasha — it is mandatory for performers of the sacrifice to take Deeksha, which, once taken, forbids them from indulging in certain routine activities and warrants adherence to strict celibacy — for twelve days and pledged to complete this sacrifice. I am lucky that you have come at this auspicious hour. I believe that I have secured all the merits of performing this sacrifice just by seeing you.” Seeing Sriramadeva, he spoke with great delight:

“Oh Vishwamitra, who are these boys standing obediently by your side? His body has a celestial blue complexion that is reminiscent of a Gem. His eyes are in light red like the central portion of a lotus. Shoulders are like those of a lion and the chest is wide. His face is like full moon and the navel is deep. His neck has three grains as seen on a Conch and his voice is firm and stoic. His hands are long. He is young and energetic. He walks like a King Elephant and his face is adorned with a pleasant and sweet smile. The entire universe is astonished by seeing him. But, he does not seem to have been amazed by seeing others around him. He is like Manmatha for women and is standing like a servant in front of you. He appears like God of Death for enemies and Lord Hari for Yogis. He is like a spectacle and festivity for everyone’s eyes. His speech is limited but pregnant with meaning. I feel that this Earth does not deserve to be touched by his soft and cool feet that look like fresh buds. Who is he standing obediently with you? Who is the other boy standing beside him and looking almost like his replica in form and characteristics?”  (Vishwamitra’s reply in the next episode.)