minds of women 4

[guest]

Post 4

Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

Continuing the points on the krithi kanulu thaakani, recall the
charaNam 2 again -
mana mOhana aanandha madha chakOra nayanaa
kundharadhana chandhra vadhana sundharaanga thyaagaraaja vinutha

Now to dwell on the address `kundhara dhana'
a. kundhara - means 1. jasmine, 2. name of vishNu, 3. a kind of
grass as per Monier Williams Sanskrit English dictionary.
b. dhana – teeth.
Combing together kundhara dhana is one having teeth like kundha
flowers - jasmine flowers, white in colour, and with red coral like
lips. The colour contrast is very good.

`kundhara:' is a naama in sri vishnu sahasra nama no.814 – one
meaning as given above viz. one like kundha – flower – a flawless
flower.

another is kum = earth, dhara: = supporter or one who bears
combining - One who has the teeth supporting the earth is kundhara
dhana: - he is no one else but the varaaha moorthy who lifted the
earth and having bhoomaa dhEvi on top of that `eyiRRup pal' or `kOdu'
in tamil – dhana in telugu or samskrit.

In bhattar bhaashyam for this naama kundhara: bhattar says one who
grants knowledge on the para thathvam.

That is why I said is it a point of contrast – mana mOhana, chandhra
vadhana and a boar in between – a contrast – oh no – it is a
person `raama sOmavath priya dharsana:' having white teeth like
jasmine flowers in red coral like lips. Now a beauty personification
comes to the mind. Also that `sundhara anga' – beautiful body.

Just to deal with the varaaha a little more – [from vishNu puraaNam]-
Lord Varaaha is glorified in virtually all of the major puraNaas (the
vEdhic histories). In fact, they describe His different descents. In
this kalpa (day of brahma), varaaha appeared twice: The first time He
appeared from brahmaa's nostril with a white (svEtha) complexion. He
saved the Earth after the previous devastation. Hence, He is called
svEtha-varaaha and this kalpa is named after Him - the svEtha-varaaha-
kalpam [just recall sankalpam during amavaasya etc - svEtha-varaaha-
kalpE – vaivasvatha manvantharE etc.].

Sri Vishnu Puranam: Section 1: Chapter 4: Parasara Muni says to
maithrEya: maithrEya! This particular kalpam is called varaaha-
kalpam. Perumal incarnated as a varaaha (wild boar) to reinstate this
universe at the start of this kalpam. At the end of praLayam perumaaL
wakes up from his yOga-nidhra (sleep) and sees the universe submerged
in water. He then decides to dive into the deep waters to lift the
universe. perumaaL who ones took the form of a great fish to save the
vEdhaas from the ocean where the raakshasaas had hid it, perumaaL who
at a later date took the form of a tortoise and stabilized the
manthara mountain while churning the ocean for amritham, that same
perumaaL now takes the form of a wild boar to end the suffering of
bhoomi-piratti.

(Srimad Bhagavatam mentions that Varaha bhagavan emerged from
Brahma's nostril). This Varaham that emerges from Brahma grows to a
galactic size (mahaa-varaaham). A form that is so huge, that compared
to its size the size of the submerged universe looks tiny!

Parasara Muni continues: The body of this Varaaha-moorthi is verily
the vEdhams and the yaagams that are enjoined in the vEdhams. To
reinforce the fact that the universe is sustained by the vEdhams and
the yaagams, Varaha-bhagavan incarnates with a body made of the
vEdhams. This is why varaaha-moorthi is also called "Yagjna-
Varaaham". When the sanakaadi-muni's in the j~nAnA-loka see this
divine form of PerumaaL they eulogize Him thus: "Oh the lotus eyed
one! Oh chief among dhEvaas! Your divine body personifies all the
components of a yaagams. Your four feet are the four vEdhams. Your
two front teeth, protruding out of your mouth, are the "yoopa
sthambham" used in the yaagams. Your reddish long tongue is the
sacred fire and all your remaining teeth that consume
the "purOdhasam" are verily the main yaaga-kundam. The hair that
sticks out of your body are the "dharbha" grass. Proper kaalam (time)
that is so critical in yaagams is maintained by your two eyes. These
represent night and day. Your extended nose is the "srik". You are
thus the "yagjna-purushan".

[Srik is the long wooden ladle like instrument that is used to scoop
ghee and other materials to pour into the yaagam].
A question is raised as below: Q: When perumaaL incarnated as a
varaaham (wild boar) how were the sages in the jnAna-loka able to
identify Him as the aadhi-purushan (the primeval one)? The answer to
this question can be found in way the Sanakaadhi- muni's address
perumaaL: "Abjalochna" (meaning the lotus eyed). Even after perumaaL
camouflaged himself as a wild boar, He was not able to hide his lotus
like eyes. It was these pair of beautiful eyes that gave him away!
Sage Paraasarar also eulogizes varaaha- bhagavaan as "Mahaa-Varaaha
sputa padhma-lochana:".

Parasara continues: MaithrEya! this divine Varaaha-bhagavaan dives
into the ocean to rescue Bhoomi-dhEvi. When piratti sees perumaaL
approaching she too salutes Him as the lotus eyed one: "Namasthe
Pundarikashaha". She goes on to say, "I am created by you, sustained
by you and have you alone as my final refuge. This is why I am called
Maadhavi - the one who belongs to Madhavan. So my dear Lord, please
come and lift me out of this deep waters". When perumaaL hears this,
as if in a manner of accepting Bhoomi-dhEvi's request, He makes
a "gur-gur" type of noise. This, unlike the rough snort of an
ordinary boar, sounds more like the chanting of the sama-vEdham. This
is how sweet and melodious perumaaL's voice is. He then grabs Bhoomi-
dhEvi in between his two massive protruding teeth and kicking the
paathaaLa-lokam by his hind legs raises swiftly to the surface of the
water, like a huge black mountain raising out of the ocean.

So as such the krithi is very great though apparently the lines are
leading elsewhere. Hope you all had enjoyed the krithi very much.

Dhasan
Vasudevan m.g.

[Anujan]

I feel there is a slight distortion in the transliteration of the text. The text should actually read "kunta-radana" in the second line which just means teeth resembling jasmine flower. You can notice similar phrases in so many compositions of the Trinity :

1. "kunta-radanaa kuvalaya-nayanaa" in Syama sastri's Bhairavi swarajati
2. "kunta-radana sanantanaadi-vanditE" in Tyagaraja's Thiruvottiyur pancahartnam "Sundaree ninu varnimpa"