Theme of Thiruppavai

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Krishna Upanishad

 

 

 

 

 

Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;

May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !

May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,

Praising them with our body and limbs steady !

May the glorious Indra bless us !

May the all-knowing Sun bless us !

May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !

May Brihaspati grant us well-being !

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

 

When the sages living in the forest visited Sri Ramachandra who was the incarnation of the ever joyful God and who was extremely pretty, they became surprised and forgetting themselves said, “We want to embrace you, Oh Lord.” The God told them, “When I reincarnate as Lord Krishna, you will be born as Gopis and then you can embrace me.”[Their wish was fulfilled in Krishnavatara.] 1

 

During the time of incarnation of the Lord as Krishna, Gokula became the forest heaven. Those who had done penance earlier became trees in that forest. Characters like miserliness and anger became Asuras. The Kali period which was coming was postponed till the reincarnation period was over. That Hari who was very pretty reincarnated himself as a Gopa Boy. His playful nature (play with the world) was an unknowable secret. Because of that the world was enchanted. Upanishads and portions of Vedas came in the form of 16108 maidens. The "mercy" was born as mother Rohini and the “earth mother” was born as Sathya Bhama. “Humility” was born as Krishna’s friend Sudhama. “Control of senses” was born as Sage Udhawa and “Truth” was born as Sage Akroora. The broken curd pots became to Krishna the ocean of milk so that he can play with it. This reincarnation was meant to destroy his enemies and to protect good people. The sword in the hand of Krishna was the God of destruction, the Maheswara himself. Sage Kasyapa was born as the mortar in Yasodha’s house and The God mother Adithi became the rope which tied Krishna to the mortar. Kali who destroys all enemies was the mace. The bow called Saranga was the illusion of the God. The harvest season of Sarad became the meals in his house. The lotus he held playfully was the seed for the world. Though the world was not different from all these, it appeared as if it was different. Similarly God himself did not have any differences. And the Vaikunta of those people who live in heaven was brought down to the world. The people who have understood this truly would get the result of their good deeds. They would get themselves released from the ties of the body and attain salvation.

 

Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;

May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !

May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,

Praising them with our body and limbs steady !

May the glorious Indra bless us !

May the all-knowing Sun bless us !

May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !

May Brihaspati grant us well-being !

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

 

Here ends the Krishnopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.

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Dvadasha Stothra

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background:

This set of twelve sthothras is perhaps the most popular work of Acharya Madhva, traditionally recited when offering naivedya to the Lord. It is a superb synthesis of pristine devotion, exceptional spiritual wisdom and poetic brilliance, that only an extraordinary intellect could have conceived. It is a feast to the ears and mind when sung with devotion. The stotras basically praise Lord Hari and His different manifestations, while incorporating important tenets of Acharya Madhva’s philosophy. The popular story about the circumstances that led to their composition is as follows:

One morning Acharya Madhva was on the seashore performing his rituals when he saw a ship in distress, wobbling violently in the stormy waters. He waved his upper cloth and calmed the storm. When the grateful captain of the ship offered him the entire contents of the ship, he declined to accept anything except three mounds or lumps of gopichandana that had been used as ballast. With his divine vision, he saw in one of the lumps a beautiful and precious icon of shrI krishna which had originally been worshipped by Rukmini Herself. Soaked in devotion he carried the lumps on his shoulders and walked towards Udupi, composing the dvaadasha stotra on the way.

However, the commentary by Vishvapathi teertha (considered one of the principal commentaries on dvadasha stotra), gives a slightly different version. According to it, Acharya Madhva set out of Udupi with his disciples, composing the dvadasha stotra. He had just finished the fifth adhyaaya when they reached the seashore and the incident related to the saving of the ship happened. When he opened the lump and saw the icon, he was overcome by devotion and composed the sixth to twelfth adhyaayas. That is why the sixth adhyaaya, which describes the dashavataaras starts with the Krishnaavataara and then loops back to the first incarnation (matsya).

Mangalacharana (Invocatory verse):

vande vandyam sadaanandam vaasudevam niranjanam

indirapatimaadyadi varadeshavarapradam (I offer my salutations to Vaasudeva, the Lord of Indira (Lakshmi), who is worthy of such veneration, who is free of all defects and blemishes, who is full of bliss, who gives great boons to other gods, who are themselves known as givers of boons).

Concluding verse:

Ananda chandrikaasyandaka vande

Anandateertha paraananda varada.

(I salute the Lord who showers the moonlight called happiness on devotees, and who blesses Ananda teertha with supreme bliss)

Summary:

The first chapter contains a physical description of the major limbs of the Lord, who is an embodiment of knowledge and bliss. Acharya Madhva provides captivating descriptions, starting from the Lotus feet of the Lord and ending in the enigmatic smile playing on His lips and His merciful eyes, showering benevolence on His devotees. He also reminds us that we should always contemplate on the Lord; only then will we be fortunate enough to remember Him in the last moment before death.

In the second chapter he describes the greatness of the Lord, who is independent and responsible for the creation, sustenance, control and destruction of the world. Comparing devotees to an ocean, Acharya Madhva calls the Lord as the moon who creates leap tides of joy in them. He also compares Him to a temple who provides shelter to devotees who are like pilgrims undertaking pilgrimage. The words “asmadiShTaikakaaryaaya” remind us of the unique bond between the Lord and His greatest devotee. We aspire for different things for the sake of pleasure they provide us, but we desire happiness for its own sake since it is an end objective by itself. Similarly, Acharya Madhva aspires for the Lord, not because of the grace He can bestow, but because He is an end objective by Himself for the Acharya..

The third chapter contains Acharya’s immortal message for mankind “kuru bhunxva cha karma nijam niyatam hari paadavinamradhiya satatam (do your ordained duty and enjoy the fruits of your action, with your mind always fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord)”. We should never forget that He is the greatest and most supreme entity in all of creation. He is our father, mother, preceptor and everything. If we have this mindset then we will never stray in performing our duty, nor will we become unbridled in enjoying the fruits of our actions. For those who are engrossed in worldly pursuits he cautions “tadalam bahu loka vichintanaya, pravaNam kuru maanasamIshapade (enough with worldly thoughts, immerse your mind in the Lord’s feet)”. We should be incessant in our contemplation of the Lord. If this is not possible, we should at least try to remember Him whenever possible. This will destroy all our sins. This is Acharya’s priceless advice to us. We should not waste precious time, immersed in worldly pursuits and forgetting to contemplate on the Lord due to a combination of laziness and indifference. Sri Hari is the sole, independent controller of the world. His over-lordship over all inert matter and souls is always intact and unfettered. We should not think that His sway extends only in bondage and that after getting liberated we become one with Him. This is not true, He remains our Lord even after liberation. Since He is the Lord of the entire universe, everything is under His control, and He has no deficiencies or shortfalls. That is why He is plu-perfect (paripurna) and full of bliss. That is why the vedas and all other scriptures unequivocally declare Him as the Supreme entity, again and again.

In the beginning of the fourth chapter Acharya reiterates that the Lord is an embodiment of knowledge and bliss. We experience real bliss only in deep sleep, whereas the happiness seen during wakefulness is mixed with sorrow and is linked with the pancha-bhUtas (5 primordial elements). However, His bliss is eternal, innate to Him and totally apraakruta (not derived from nature). The entire universe has originated from the Lord’s intellect and contemplation. Is it possible for us to measure the vast intellect that has created this wonderful universe? No, and that is how we can conclude that He is omniscient and that His knowledge is pluperfect. When we examine the huge expanse of the universe, its vast diversity and plurality we begin to get an idea of the immense power and intellect that must have created it. By contemplating on this powerful and auspicious Lord we purify our mind and sensory organs. Our mind is our main weapon in opposing Kali who is always trying to invade and take over our thinking. We should sharpen this sword on the anvil called Shaastras and then use it to defeat Kali and worship the Lord. This is the essence of the fourth chapter.

The fifth chapter describes the different forms of the Lord in a musical, lyrical manner that is very meaningful and in total conformance with shaastras. Acharya has focused on the greatness of Vasudeva and 11 other forms in this chapter.

The sixth chapter describes the 10 incarnations of Lord ViShNu, with special emphasis on Lord Krishna. For reasons earlier, the chapter starts with the Krishna incarnation and then goes back to the Matsya incarnation.

The seventh chapter describes the greatness of the Lord through whose grace the divine mother Sri Lakshmi, the patron deity for nature and the driving force for all the activities in the world, provides sustenance and power to Brahma and other gods in discharging their duties and responsibilities in the functioning of the universe.

The eighth chapter issues a stirring appeal to devotees to please the Lord who adorns the entire community of gods. According to the Acharya, this is the purpose and meaning of life. In this stotra he has given free reign to his poetic side, giving us a glimpse of his poetic genius and his extraordinary abilities as a composer par excellence. He has managed to achieve an unparalleled combination of pristine devotion, alliteration and superior insight into the greatness of the Lord. He says that the Lord is very distant to the vile, yet very close to the devout. He resides in their hearts and appears during their meditation. Even though He is totally independent and not subject to any limitation, He chooses to be captive to His noble devotees. Great gods like Brahma and Rudra hanker for His grace and undertake service in His name. Even one small glimpse of Him has the ability to totally eradicate mountains of sins and misdeeds. He is the personification of infinite auspicious attributes. There is no reduction in any of His characteristics. He is Achyuta and totally devoid of all defects. He sustains the universe, removes the sorrows of His devotees and the prime cause for all happenings. All actions submitted to Him yield infinite fruit. The Divine mother Sri Lakshmi is constantly performing arati to Him with loving glances from the corner of Her eyes. These are some of the scenarios that the Acharya has painted with his poetic brush.

In the ninth chapter the Acharya describes the ten incarnations of the Lord and seeks submission at his Lotus feet. Some of the extraordinary actions performed by each of the incarnations has been briefly mentioned here. The Lord is capable of shattering the mountain of our ignorance. He is the personification of infinite auspicious attributes and unending bliss.

In the tenth chapter the Acharya pleads before the Lord “O Lord full of mercy and the granter of all desires, please constantly remind me of your glorious exploits”. Since the Acharya’s devotion is constant and his view of the Lord incessant, he is not asking this for himself, he is doing so on our behalf. He has once again described in a very beautiful manner the different parts of the Lord’s body, starting with the feet and ending in His face. His nails shine like bright-red pearls, His ankles are like rainbows, His thighs are comparable to an elephant’s trunk. The lotus containing the Brahmanda, including Brahma, is there in His navel. His stomach contains the entire universe. The Divine mother resides in His chest. How can we describe the greatness of a person who holds the universe in His stomach, Brahma in His navel and Lakshmi in His chest? A rivulet of wisdom flows from His lips. His glance can burn heaps of sins and grant ultimate bliss to devotees. He provides creation and destruction to all living beings and is the boat through which they can cross the ocean called samsaara. Acharya prays to the Lord with utmost devotion “O Lord who can destroy the darkness of ignorance and shower the ambrosia of happiness, I totally surrender to you”.

In the eleventh chapter the Acharya repeatedly salutes the blissful form of the Supreme Lord, the Supreme force in all of creation, who is worshipped by Brahma, Rudra and other gods. This blissful form of the Lord showers devotees with happiness. The Lord who blesses the gods with supreme power and over-lordship, has the ability to satisfy the heartfelt wants of devotees both in this world, as well as the next one. When we forget Him, He becomes distant, but when we constantly remember Him, He comes very close to us. It is our constant devotion that can bring the distant Lord to our proximity.

In the twelfth chapter the Acharya prays to Lord Mukunda as the one who provides immense happiness to Ananda teertha. The Lord showers His devotees with the moonlight called happiness. He sprinkles the nectar of mercy on devotees who serve Him steadfastly in His home.

Thus in twelve stotras, in an unmatched poetic style, using lyrical, rhyming words Acharya Madhva sings the glory of the Lord in a very touching and moving manner. This stotra can be read or recited with unwavering devotion, or set to music and sung along with accompaniments.

The greatness of the dvadasha stotra:

Indra incarnated as an ox and served Acharya by carrying his precious books and listening to his speeches. Acharya, who knew the real character of the ax, announced that it would write commentaries on his works. This was not liked by some misguided people who then cursed the ox to die of snake bite. When this happened, Acharya sanctified some water by reciting the dvaadasha stotra and then sprinkled it on the ox, reviving it. The ox later reincarnated as Sri Jayateertha, also known as Teekakrutpaada, and wrote commentaries on all the major works of the Acharya. This has been documented in the Jayateertha vijaya. Through this incident the Acharya demonstrated the ability of the dvaadasha stotra to counteract strong poisons, giving rise to the tradition of singing the stotra while offering naivedya to the Lord, thus removing any blemishes and shortfalls in its preparation. This power of the stotra can also be gauged by examining its first and last characters. It begins with “vande vandyam ..” and ends “paraananda varada”. Thus the first and last characters are ‘va’ and ‘da’ respectively. From other religious works we know that ‘va’ represents knowledge, wisdom, nectar or ambrosia etc, whereas ‘da’ means ‘that which bestows’. Thus from the first and last characters of the stotra we can easily infer that the stotra bestows wisdom and happiness on those who recite it with devotion, and also resolves all poisons.