your grace please

[Guest guest]

SrI:

Dear Sriman Vasudevan :

 

I am delighted to recieve the first of the postings

on this series on ' Prahalada Bhaktha Vijayam " on this

Revathi avathAra dinam of Periya perumAl dealing with

the DayA Moorthy , Periya Periya perumAL of Ahobilam .

Thank you and all best wishes to every one of the Mewbers of

Oppiliappan and Saranagathy Lists for a Healthy , Happy New Year !

 

Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

 

Post 1

 

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Towards the end of the tamil year thaaraNa, we await the welcome of

the tamil new year. Also our much celebrated raama navami is just

round the corner. But I am not touching all these but going back to

prahlaadha who was the reason for the avathaaram of nrusimha - the

man lion god who is the presiding deity for our sampradhaayam in

ahobila mutt. [i am also a mutt sishyan].

 

Sri thyaagaraaja swamy [sT], the staunch raama bhaktha has written an

opera named `sri prahlaadha bhaktha vijayam [or bhakti vijayam] and

that is the topic for me. It is natural for us to expect that the

poet will deal about prahlaadha suffering at the hands of his father

and nrusimha appearing etc as we already know these from srimadh

bhagavatham. ST deviates so much that prahlaadha pleads, talks, and

sings about raama through this bhaktha vijayam drama.

 

In that opera, a particular krithi dhayaraani in raagam mOhanam

caught my mind and is now being shared with all of you. Our respected

Sri V.Sadagopan in an earlier mail has written that this opera is

a `gadhya padhya' mixture etc [available in bhakti-list 1998 archives]

 

Sri hari wants to check the bhakthi of prahlaadha and asks

Gadhyam-

gouravamani laaghavamani saarekunencheti natatha sannudhikaanE

vaaramu samami natacheti

vaarini neRuka jaala vasudhaasthalilOna

aapaaraadheechukaina sadhaa

bEdhabudhdhinolla thathva anubhavam

pE bhakthi sidhdhayuthamO

yaa bhakthiki kattupadukanathatE nEnuna

 

ivvithambalikina sree hari ni joochi prahlaadhuNtu

thanayanthara anubavampu thelijEyuna thettulanina

 

andharilOpala neevai nandhaarchitha

naathu manasu naLinadhaLaaksha

munthu nerungalEdhaaa sundhara

lOkOpakaara sudhdhulu kakun

 

sree hari says to prahlaadhan - at one time one particular act of

human is considered acceptable. At another same act is being

considered bad. This is natural. But I have not seen elsewhere like

the balanced act of yours, oh prahlaadhaa. I do not accept, even if

it brahma, of a wavering personality. I get bound only to the true

and sincere bhakthi. I, and that bhaktha, are one and same and not

separate.

Prahlaadha replies to hari from his heart, `hey sundhara - lord

beauty personified, you, who has lotus eyes, already my mind is

attached to you and only you. This you also know very well'.

 

Then prahlaadha says `hey, though you said as above, you are not

showing your grace on me'. That asking for the grace is through

Padhyam: - a krithi - in raagam `mOhanam'

 

pallavi

dhayaraanee, dhayaraanee, dhaasarathee raamaa

 

meaning: hey raamaa, lord dhaasarathee, the One, Who is not showing

your mercy on me!

 

charaNam 1

vivarimpa tharamaa raghuveera aanandha `munu raamaa'

 

meaning: The acts done by you, Oh bliss personified, raghu veeraa, am

I competent to explain them?

 

charaNam 2

thalachithE mEnella pulakarinchEnu raama

 

meaning: If I think of your leelaas, Oh raamaa, my entire body

horripillates.

 

charaNam 3

kanugonan aanandhamai kanneeru nindhEnu raamaa

 

meaning: As I found your glory, I became blissful, my eyes are filled

with tears.

 

charaNam 4

charaNa kaugili vELa chelagi mai marachEnu raama

 

meaning: At the time of embracing your feet, I forget myself.

 

charaNam 5

chenthanuNdaga naadhu chinthalu tholagEnu raamaa

 

meaning: The day you were with me, my worries are no more.

 

charaNam 6

aasinchu vELa jagamantha thruNamaayEnu raama

 

meaning: When I wanted something [from you suddenly], entire world

appeared to be a blade of grass.

 

charaNam 7

marma heenula gooDa karmamana naiyyEni

 

meaning: my joining those, who do not understand the secrets of you,

is due to my old bad deeds.

 

charaNam 8

thanakai sree raamavathaaram eththithivO

 

meaning: Whether you incarnated as raama for that person? [one who

has secret karmas as stated above]

 

charaNam 9

naavaNti dhaasula brOva vedhalithivO

 

meaning: Or whether you want to protect people like adiyEn?

 

charaNam 10

moodu moorthulakaadhi moolamu neevE raamaa

 

meaning: The origin of thrimoorthi is You only.

charaNam 11

sree thyaagaraajuni chelikaadu neevE raamaa

meaning: the friend of thyaagaraaja is You only, raamaa!

On this krithi sri sadagopan writes further "40) MOhana Raaga krithi

with 11 charaNams: DayarAni DayarAni DaasaraTE Raama" . The Bhagavad

anubhavam expressed by the bard is exquisite: "When the desire for

You comes up in me, the whole universe looks like a trifle as a blade

of grass" ("aasinchu vELa jagamantha thruNamAyEnu Raama"). Here

SwamigaL begs for the Lord's grace to flow unto him. When that grace

flows, SwamigaL says that his bliss would be indescribable; his whole

body will become thrilled; tears of joy will roll down his eyes; all

my worries will disappear, when You are at my side".

Why I quote these is I have `as usual' some doubts on the lines of

krithi.

1. why ST should put the addressee as raamaa, when he is

actually talking about prahalaadha - it has to be either `naaraayaNa

or nrusimha'. For prahlaadha stands in front of nruhari, when lady

mahalakshmi is also on the lap of the lord. So wherefrom raama came?

To describe about his `munu raamaa'

2. prahlaadha has `gooDa karmam'? - bad deeds, acts which makes

him join those who do not know the lord's secrets. For we know he is

blessed even while he had garbha vaasam in such a way that naaradha,

the guru, came and taught him and his mother at the same time.

3. `thanakai sree raamavathaaram eththithivO' - while hari is

talking with prahlaadha, he says you have taken the raama avathaaram -

which is a humanly avathaaram and not ferocious like nrusimha. Some

mismatch somewhere?

Any comments or help to understand this krithi `in its entirety'

please?

Dhaasan

Vasudevan m.g.