minds of women 4

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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 0]

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"