FROM DESK OF Dr. SADAGOPACHARIAR SWAMIGAL

[Guest guest]

OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VISHVAKSENAYA NAMAH:

 

FROM DESK OF

Dr. SADAGOPACHARIAR SWAMIGAL

 

II Saint ThyagarAja's Gowlai Pancharathnam II

Lord SrI Raama

 

Saint Thyagaraja SawmigaL was a parama VaishNavA. He was a Rama chaithanyar par excellence. Every living moment of his life was infused with the thought of his Ishta daivam. From the time he woke up Sri RamA with SuprabhAtham to the time he lulled Him to sleep at night, our sadhguru was engaged in NadhOpAsanA.

During the course of this nadhOpaasanA , Saint ThyagarAja celebrated the glory of the Lord , saluted His naama mahimai , His rUpa mahimai , argued with Him about His "indifference " , blamed his own inadequacies that stood in the way of the Lord's grace , expressed his visvAsam in the Lord as the saraNAgatha rakshakan , saluted the parama bhakthAs of the Lord such as PrahlAdhA , NaaradhA , HanUmAn and begged the Lord to bless him with mithya kaimkarya Sri. All of these emerged as hundreds of krithis set in beautiful rAgAs and TaaLAs. The most distinguished among them are the Gana Raaga Pancharathna krithis.

I will cover the Gowlai raaga pancha rathnam , which has his nirvEdam and naicchAnusandhAnam as the sanchAri bhAvam. Nirvedam is the mood of dejection or despondency over the thought of not receiving the Lord's anugraham fast enough. NaicchAnusandhAnam or aathma garhaNam is the act of self-depreciation and recounting of one's shortcomings that interfere with the speedy progress of the SaadhanA to achieve the Lord's blessings.

Our Sadhguru chose the upAngha raagam , GowLai known for the beauty of its unique rishabha and nishAdha svarams to celebrate the unique soundharyam of Sri RamachandrA. The mood of the Saint was that of of despair over his limitations that resulted in imperfect bhakthi. He begged the Lord in that mood to forgive him for his aparAdhams and embrace him as His devotee inspite of his shortcomings. This mood of nirvEdam is experienced often by the great devotees of the Lord. For example , AlavandhAr cries out in despair in one of his slokams of SthOthra rathnam this way:

na nindhitham karma tadhasthi lOkhE sahasrasO yann na mayA vyathAyi IsOham vibhAkAvasarE Mukhundha kranthAmi sampradhyagathis tavAgrE II

(Meaning): O MukhundhA ! There is not a deed that I have left undone, which has been prohibied by sAsthrAs and sishtAs (righteous ones). I have engaged in such deeds tens of thousands of times. Rich with the unbearable burden of paapa raasis, I stand before you screaming in despair and fear about them bearing their fruits. I stand before you in that helpless state.

Swami Desikan has condemned himself in number of his sthOthrams about his many trespasses. At one conversation with the Lord , Swami described himself as the emperor of trespasses (AparAdha chakravarthi); In another occasion ,he described himself to Lord DevanAthA of thiruvaheendrapuram as " Aj~nana vaaridhi " ( the ocean of aj~nanam ) , apAya dhurandharam ( the one , who occupies the front row of sinners ), agynaa vibhanjanam ( trespasser general of the saastraic commands ) and akinchana saarvabhoumam ( the first among the meek and helpless ).

In paadhukhA sahasram , in NirvEdha paddhathi , Swami cries out , " DheenAksharANi na sruNOshi ". The words of mine in my state of great sorrow are pitiable. Inspite of that , O PaadhukhE , You do not come to my rescue. This is only because of my great sins. In another slOkam of PaadhukhA sahasram , Swami again condemns himself and depreciates his unfit state and laments over it:

vividha vishaya chinthAsanthathAbhi: chiram maamjanitha kalushamittham Devi ! durvAsanAbhi:

(Meaning): O PaadhukhA Devi ! Engaged without let in the enjoyment of evanescent indriya sukhams , my thoughts are forever steeped in acts prohibited by sAsthrAs and are thus overloaded with paapa raasis. Thou, who are the antithesis of my state should banish the durvAsanAs and make me fragrant with Bhagavadh chinthanA and offer me salvation.

Saint ThyagarAjA engaged in such aathma garhaNa moods and composed krithis condemning his deficiencies. Some examples of them are:

" Yetula BhrOthuvO teliya , ekAntha RaamayAA " in chakravAka raagam , where he calls with affection Sri RaamA and wonders as to how He is going to save him with his despicable record of sins. He recalls that he has been wandering around doing wicked deeds in association with wicked people.

In "PrArabhdha mittuNdagA" in raagam SvarAvarALi , Our sadhguru laments : " When my own past karmas are like this , O merciful one , there is no purpose in blaming others. "

In " Toli janmamuna " krithi in Bilahari raagam , Sadhguru says "I have known the sins I had committed in my previous births. I have known also their results. They are as clear as the fruit in the palm of my hand."

In " Edula ghApAduthuvO ? " set in the raagam Ahiri , he asks RaamA , " How are you going to protect me , who had got himself enmeshed deeply in samsArA , who has been going about declaring that there is no one equal to me ----"

The krithi in Raagam Gowlai is the supreme example of this mood of self-depreciation and despondency over the thought that the Lord may fail to come to his rescue. We will find many parallels to Swami Desikan's moods in this krithi.

I shall cover the deep thoughts relevant to SaraNAgathi and Aakinchanyam embedded in the Gowlai pancharathnam of Sri Thyaga Brahmam in the subsequent postings.

In the last posting, mention was made of the mental state of self-depreciation of Saint Thyagaraja and that it was a state similar to that experienced by Swami Desikan and AlavandhAr.

Great bhakthAs of the Lord express their own inadequacies and worry about their state of preparedness. They are very critical of themselves, when they do not have dhruva smruthi or the unceasing rememberance of the Lord's kalyANa guNAs or His thirumEni. They chastise themselves over the lapses as away to pull themselves together. Actually, these great achAryAs and parama bhakthAs have nothing to worry, but they think of us and undergo these experiences to help us. They cry out loud also because they have zero tolerance with themselves on their lapses in their sAdhanAs.

Such statements of theirs are worth pondering. Their humility and doubts about their inadequacies are very illuminative. For instance, we can learn a lot from the statements of Swami Desikan. Let us reflect on few of these statements of Swami Desikan.

At one time, Swami Desikan declared:

jAnAn AnAdhi vihithAn aparAdha varghAn ISwamin bhayAth kimapi vakthum aham na saktha: II

(Meaning): SarvEsvarA ! I have no heart even to praise You in my state bent over backward with the weight of the bundle of sins that I have collectd from eons. The fear about my own pitiable status makes my tongue tied.

Elsewhere, Swami described his dangerous state this way:

samthanyamAnam aparAdha gaNam vichinthya trasyAmi hantha bhavatheem cha vibhAvayAmi

(extended meaning): I am fearful about my future , when I reflect on the continued piling up of my sins. At the same time, I am meditating on You too ! How Peculiar is this state !

Swami goes on to describe this peculiar state. He says: This weird state of mine is like the one who holds a poisonous snake in his hand and is playing with it ( aasi visha grahaNa kELinAmiva ). I have now got the title of Aparadha Chakravarthi because of the piling up of these sins. You should protect me from this dangerous state like the mother , who takes the crying infant in her hand and breast feeds it:

Achyutha vishaYAkrAntham bhavArNava varthabrami nimajjantham IJananee sthanandhayamiva maamuddrudhya sEvasva pathyam II

In the above passage, Swami also describes the danger which he was facing as equal to the swimmer, who was going to be plunged into the whirlpool present in the ocean of SamsAric anithya sukhams.

He counts himself as one , who chased the worldly (evanescent) pleasures and forgot to think about the Lord and introduces himself as " adharma pravaNAnAm agra skandha pravruttham , agatamAna vipratheesAram maam ). He described himself as the one occupying the front row of unrighteous ones, who chases after the trivial pleasures and forgets that the human birth is a rarity and that he missed out on serving the Lord . He describes himself further as the one , who had no compassion and patience for the other creatures of the Lord , who cohabit His universe.

This type of self-condemnation and recognition of the Lord at the same time as the embodiment of all the kalyANa guNams is the expression of the sanchAri bhAvam known as Athma GarhaNam and naicchAnusandhAnam.

Saint Thyagaraja was in such a mental state, when he composed the Gowlai raaga pancharathnam starting with the pallavi of " dhuDukku gala nannE dhora koDuku brOchurA yenthO "

The pallavi begins with the lower Rishabham to reflect the agitated state of the Saint's mind. With utter despair , the Saint asks " Which chakravathy thirumahan is going to protect me , the emperor of all trespasses ? ". He hints that Sri Ramachandra , the precious son of Emperor DasarathA alone can save him and no other Gods or demi-Gods are empowered to undertake this onerous and impossible task.

The words " Dhora koDuku " means dhorai mahan or the son of the emperor or high personage. Saint Thyagaraja has Sri Ramachandra Murthy in mind with this address. His moving appeal reminds one of Sri Kulasekhara AzhwAr's Mukundha Maalai slOkam:

sathvam praseedha Bhagavan KurumayyanAthE VishNO ! krupAm parama kAruNika: kila tvam IsamsAra sAgara nimagnamanantha dheenam uddharthumarhasi HarE ! PurushOtthamOsi II

( anvayam ) :hEh Bhagavn ! VishNO ! sathvam anAthE mayikrupaam kuru , praseedha ! hEh HarE ! anantha tvam paramakAruNika: kila? samsAra nimagnam dheenam uddharthum arhasi , PurushOtthama: asi .

(Meaning): O Lord ! You are VishNU , who pervades every where as declared by the VedAs. You should look at me , the helpless one , the orphan with compassion and concern and protect me. I am sinking slowly in the deep waters of SamsArA and do not know how to save myself. You, the most meciful one should take pity on me and give Your hand and lift me out of my misery .You are the one , who can not be defined by time, place and vasthu nirNayam as Your name Hari suggests. You are the supreme one as understood from Your name, PurushOtthaman. Hence, please banish my sorrows and save me.

The above prayer and appeal is based on aathma garhaNam and has the two elements of SaraNAgathi built into it. These two angAs of saraNAgathi are KaarpaNyam and Gopthruva VaraNam.

Saint ThyagarAjA wailed here out of fear not knowing which powerful son of the king ( dhora koDuku ) would come to his rescue. His sufferings caused by the afflictions of samsAram made him cry out for protection to Sri Ramachandra Murthy.

In the next posting, I will cover the anupallavi vAkhyam: "kaDu dhurvishayAkrushtai-gaDiya gaDiyaku ninDAru (dhuDuku gala)"

vadhathu vadhathu VaaNI RamaramEthi nithyamjapathu japathu chitham Raama pAdhAravindham Inamathu namathu dEham santhatham Ramachandramna bhavathu mama pApam janma janmAntharEshu II

I will continue with the Anupallavi of this Krithi now. The Anupallavis is:

kaDu durvishayAkrushDai -gaDiyaku ninDAru( duDuku gala )

Anupallavi also begins with Rishbha Svara PrAdhAnyam.

In the Anupallavi , Sadhguru Swami explained his pitiable state, which has arisen from his servitude to many earthly pleasures and his sensory attractions to them. He cried out loud about which Dorai Mahan is going to come to his rescue.

He says here that he is suffering every minute from the pull of vishaya sukhams and he laments that he does not know the identity of that powerful prince, who is going to pull him out of his misery. He indicated indirectly that Sri Ramachandran , the son of the emperor Dasarathan is the only one , who can surely save him. His mahA visvAsam in Sri Rama coming to his rescue inspite of the many trespasses reminds one of the beautiful SthOthra Rathna SlOkam of ALavandhAr:

Raghuvara yadhabhUthsthvam tAdrusO vAyasasya praNatha ithi dayALur yaccha chaithyasya KrishNa : IprathibhavamaparAttUrmuktha sAyujyathObhu :vadha kimapadhamAgastasya thEsthi kshaamAyA : II

( Anvaya Kramam ) : Oh , Raghuvara ! tvam thAdhrusa : vAyasasya praNatha:itth dayALu : yath abhU : muktha ! KrishNa , Prathibhavam aparAtthu : chaithyasaya sAyujyatha: ApUcchayath , tasya thE kshamAyA : apadham kim asthi vadha !

(Meaning): Oh , Raghu kula sreshta Swamin ! You were profoundly merciful to the mahAparAdhi , the crow , who committed the most unpardonable offense against your pirAtti for the simple reason that it fell at your feet. You took pity on it and protected it from your own unfailing arrow. Oh , KrishNA of nirdhOsha svarUpam (kuraivu onrumillatha GovindhA!) Out of Your incomparable dayA, You forgave SisupAlan and blessed him with sAyujyam , although he spent his life in every one of his janmAs hating You and offending You ! For the DayA-mUrthi like You , who blessed even these mahA pApis , is there an offnese or trespass that is beyond Your kashamA (patience and forgiving)

? Therefore I conclude that You are the only one , who can come to my rescue and forgive me and lift me out of my miseries.

CharaNa Vaakhyams of Gowlai Pancharathnam: General Comments***********************************************************

This krithi has 10 charaNams like the Nattai Pancharathnam. Through these charaNams , Sadhguru performs SaraNAgathi or Prapatthi at the sacred feet of Sri Ramachandra. Earlier, we have understood that the word SaraNAgathi is made up of the two words, SaraNam and Agathi as per NadAthUr ammAL's definition. Here saraNam means upAyam and Agathi means arrival . SaraNAgathi is therefore the end of the search for upAyam, when the jeevan comes to the conclusion that the Lord and the Lord alone is the upAyam for its salvation. Jeevan reaches the maturity based on the clear realization that there are no other upAyams to save it from samsAric calamities except the Lord. Then ,

it surrenders the responsibilites for its protection , the fruits of that protection and its svarUpam to the Lord and becomes free of concerns about its salvation .The jeevan thus recognizes the limitless power of the Lord as unmatchable and sets at the feet of the Lord its aathma rakshaNam and becomes a true prapannA.

Among the five angAs of SaraNAgathi prescribed by the SaasthrAs, Sadhguru focussed on KaarPaNyam anf Gopthruva VaraNam in the ten charaNams of this Gowlai pancha rathnam.

Sri ThyagarAja Swami followed the thought line of Swami Desikan, when he performed his saraNAgathi. That slOkam of Swami Desikan is as follows:

karthavyamithyanukalam kalayAmyakruthyam Swamin akruthyamithi kruthyamapi thyajAmi Ianyadh vyathikramaNa jAthamanathamartha--sthAnE dhayA bhavathu thE mayi Saarvabhoumi II

(Meaning): Oh , Raghava Swamin ! I am engaged in the performance of acts that are prohibited by sAsthrAs all the time as though these are permitted by sAsthrAs .This I do with glee and relish ! I reject those that are prescribed as if they are not recommended. I have now collected bundles of sins as a result of these wanton acts of mine. I am in a terrible state of suffering. I do not know the way for my salvation. At this time of great sorrow of mine , May Your limitless dayA become the upAyam and bear fruit and save me !

Our Sadhguru followed the words of Sri RamA , when he declared at the side of the ocean that He will unfailingly protect anyone, who performed prapatthi to Him even once and asked for His protection (sakruth praNatha rakshaNa prathitha samvidha : samvidha:). That was His public vow on the shores of sEthu as VeerarAghavan. Sadhguru took Him upon His words offering hope and protection.

Saint ThyagarAja"s prayer reminds one of many passages from Swami Desikan's sthOthrams dealing with his performance of Prapatthi. Sadhguru followed the route of Sri VaishNava AchAryAs and appealed to Sri Ramachandran:

Oh Lord , who declared that it is Your chief vow (Vratham) to come to the rescue of those , who sought Your protection even once !

I have peformed many karmAs without stopping to think about their effects one way or the other and as a result have accumulated enormous bundles of sins ( atharkitha hitha , ahitha krama visEsham ). Please bless me to become free of the performance of vipareetha kaaryams (Samitha prathikUla vrutthim maam kuru). Please bless me to attain unity of the three karaNAs ( thought , speech and body ) in performing kaimkaryam to You ( Kaimkarya labdha karaNa thraya sAmarasyam ) .Please make me totally rooted in You so that I will not be distracted by any others ( tvadanya vimukam ) for my protection or adoration ( ananya bhakthi ).

Oh RamachandrA ! You are known for your unbounded affection for those , who has performed saraNAgathi at Your lotus feet. There is nothing that is beyond your reach and sankalpam. You can in one small fraction of a second destroy the multiple crores of sins (brahmAnda sathakOti gaNAnanthAn , yeka kshaNE viparivarthya vilajjamAnAn) , if you desire to bless the SaraNAgathan. I pray to You to come to my rescue as the Dorai mahan. Thus prayed Saint ThyagarAja in his ten charaNams of the Gowlai pancharathnam.

In the first charaNam , Saint ThyagarAja followed the traditional route of SaraNAgathi , which starts with MahA Lakshmi . Approaching the Lord through His dear consort is the ancient Sri VaishNava sampradhAyam. Approaching the sakala lOka maathA for intercession with Her Lord , saint ThyagarajA performed his prapatthi.

The sAhithya Vaakhyams of the first of the ten charaNams of GowLai pancharathnam are:

Sree VanithA hrudh kumudhAbhjaAvAngh maanasa gochara ( duDuku kala nannE )

In the first of the ten charaNams, Saint ThyagarAjA hails Sri Ramachandran as " Thiruvukkum ThiruvAhiya selvan " in the manner of Thirumangai Mannan.

He salutes SithA pirAtti as MahA Lakshmi and hails Sri RamA as the Chandran that makes the Kumudha pushpam ( a type of Alli pushpam that blossoms at night ) of SithA's heart blossom with joy.

The charaNa vAkhyams are as follows:

Sree VanithA hrudh kumudhaabhja vAnghmAnasa Gochara ( Duduku gala nannE )

Sree VanithA is the Srimathi, MahA Lakshmi . Her heart kumudham blososms at the sight of the chandran of Sri RamA .

The Saint appeals for the protection of Sri Ramachandran in this first charaNam this way:

Oh ChandrA that makes the heart lilly of MahA Lakshmi ( SithA dEvi ) blososm with joy ! You are beyond the power of speech and mind as the VedAs have declared ( VaachamA-gocharan ). " YathO vaachA nivarthanthE, aprApya manasa saha " is how the siras of Vedam declares about You. Who else is there besides You to save me ? You must therefore come to my rescue and put my fears at rest.

In the first charaNam , the Saint follows ancient practise of Sri VaishNavAs in performing SaraNAgathi. When they observe prapatthi this way , they become blessed with the lOka maathA's vaathsalyam and Vallabhyam . They know that She as the most compassionate mother and will come to their rescue and intercede with Her Lord regarding them, who are frightened to approach Him.

Out of Her limitless affection for Her erring children, She intercedes and acts as a mediatrix with Her consort and succeeds in persuading Him to forgive the errant ones. She has sambhandham , vyApthi and Isvaryam ( AakAra trayam ) and uses them all to advantage in Her mission to help the PrapannAs. She uses Her selvAkku effectively. Thus the first upAyam to get the Lord's anugraham is MahA Lakshmi's aruL.

Parasara Muni in his VishNu PurANam has recognized Mahaa Lakshmi as the Lord's omnipresent mangaLam (pervasive/vyApthi) and as the Parabrahma SvarUpiNi known for Her Vaathsalyam (affection for Her vatsalAs/dear ones), Vallabhyam (Sri Vallabhai with the power to make things happen) and Purusha-kAram ( power of effective sipaarisu/intercession).

NadAthUr ammAL has described in few slOkams of Prapanna Paarijaatham all these three unique attributes of Sri Devi :

aparAdhaika sakthAnAm anarhANAm chiram nruNAm IBharthrurAsryaNE pUrvam svayam PurushakArathAm II

vAllabhyEna anuthishtantheem vatsalyAdhyupabrhamiNAm IupAya samayE Bharthu: J~nAna sakthyAdhi vardhineem II

mukthAnAm bhoga vrudhyartham sowndharyAdhi vivardhineem IAakAra thraya sampannAm aravindha nivAsineem IIasEsha Jagadheesithreem vandEh Varadha vallabhAm II

Here, NadAthUr ammAL points out that MahA Lakshmi secures Mukthi (Moksham) for the chEthanAs from Her consort by enhancing Her Lord's J~nAnam and anugraham at the time of prapatthi by Her children. Her prAdhAnyam and essential role is saluted here. Saint ThyagarAjA as a parama VaishNavA was deeply aware of this central doctrine and followed the traditional practise by offering His prapatthi through MahA Lakshmi (Sri VanithA).

What NadAthUr ammAL observed is an echo of Sri RamAnujA's SaraNAgathi on that memorable Panguni Uttharam day, when MahA Lakshmi (Sri RanganAyaki) was sititng together on yEka peetam with Her Lord , Sri RanganaathA at Srirangam. Acharya RaamAnujA grasped the significance of the special occasion and offered his SaraNAgathi starting with MahA Lakshmi (Sri RangadhAmEswari) thru the first choorNikai of Sri Ranga Gadhyam:

" Bhagavan NaarAyaNa abhimatha anurUpa svarUpa rUpa guNa vibhava eisvarya seela aadhi anavadhika adhisaya asankyEya kalyANa guNa gaNAm padma-vana aalayAm Bhagavatheem Sriyam dEveem nithyAnapAyineem niravadhyAm deva deva dhivya-mahisheem AKHILA JAGANMAATHARAM ASMAN-MAATHARAM ASARANYA SARANYAAM ANANYA-SARANA:SARANAM AHAM PRAPADHYE ".

Acharya RaamAnujA declares that he has no other recourse/refuge (asaraNya:) and is seeking the protection of the lOka mAthA , while performing His prapatthi (saraNam prapadhyE .

Our AchAryAs often remind us that MahA Lakshmi"s greatness is not understood fully, even by Her Lord . According to AlavandhAr,

yasyAs thE mahimAnam aathmana iva tvadh VallabhOpi prabhu:naalam maathum iyatthayA niravdhim nithyAnukUlam savatha: -- ChathusslOki :SlOkam 2 portion

Sri kUrEsa in his Sree Sthavam acknowledges this inability of the Lord to comprehend fully the limits of the sarva kalyANa guNAs of His consort:

dEvi tvannmahimAvadhir na HariNA naapi tvayA j~nayathE

Speaking of Her kalyANa guNAs being outside the powers of description by mind and speech , Sri kUratthAzhwAn says in another slOkam of his Sree Sthavam :

" yE vAchAm manasaam cha dhurgrahatayA khyAthA guNAs taavakA : "

In the very first slOkam of Sree sthavam , kUrEsA acknowledges the power of Sree dEVi over her Lord :

yasyA veekshya mukham tadhingitha parAdheenO vidhatthE akhilam

(meaning): The Lord glances at the beautiful face of MahA Lakshmi and reads the intricate signs associated with the knitting of Her brows and follows the commands implied there and engages in the acts of the creation and protection of the world. He is understood as Her ingitha (samg~yai/hints/body language) parAdheenan ( subservient one ).

Swami Desikan refers to Sree Devi's PurushakAram in one of the slOkams of GodhA sthuthi this way:

aardhrAparAdhini janEpya abhirakshaNArthamRangesvarasya RamayA vinivEdhyamAnE

Swami Desikan states that She does viNNappam to Her Lord on behalf of the aparAdhis like us to seek our protection from her Lord .

Hence, Swami Desiakn performed his saraNAgathi to Her in the very first slOkam of Sree Sthuthi:

prahtyakshAnusravika mahima prArthaneenAm prajAnAmSrEyOmUrthim Sriyam asaraNa: tvAm SaraNyam prapadhyE

This prapatthi vaakhyams are an echo of Acharya RaamAnujA's saraNAgathi housed in the first chUrNikA of SaraNAgathi gadhyam that we will refer to later in this posting.

Swami Desikan states in the seventh slOkam of Sree sthuthi that the divya dampathis play an intricate game of chess ( dhyUtha Vritthi ) between themselves and are sensitive to each other's point of view and as such are to be approached as a united entity (yEka sEshithva yOgam) for SaraNAgathi purposes. Following this thought, Swami declares , " yuvAm Dampathi Daivatham na: " . Both of You as the Husband and Wife are our daivatham.

Their unity of thought in following each other in helping those in distress is saluted again by Swami Desikan this way in Sree sthuthi

aapannArthi prasamana vidhou bhaddha deekshasya VishNO : aachakhyusthvAm priya sahachareemeiykamathyOpapannAm

In the 18th slOkam of Sree sthuthi, Swami Desikan addresses the Loka mAthA as VishNu kaanthE and reveals that the prapannAs (vimala manasA:) totally depend on Her dayA , vAthsalyam , vallabhyam and PurushakAramto get the mokshAnugraham from her Lord .

As a result of Her krupA and PurushakAram, the dhanyAs leave their body and reach Sri Vaikuntam via the ArchirAdhi maargam according to Swami Desikan :

yasmin yeeshannamitha sirasO yApayithvA sareeram varthishyanthE vithamasi padhE VaasudEvasya dhanyA :

(Meaning): The puNyasAlis prostrate at Your lotus feet and these blessed souls leave their physical bodies , attain suddha sathva sareeram and join the residence of Your Lord and Yourself ( Sri vaikuntam ) , which is devoid of prakruthi sambhandham .

The parama VaishNava , Saint ThyagarAjA read Srimadh RaamAyaNam and Srimadh Bhagavatham daily and was fully familiar with the above central doctrines of Sri VaishNava SaraNAgathi and performed the sampradhAyic prapatthi starting with the self-surrender at Sree VanithA's sacred feet .

The second charaNam of this pancharathnam is as follows:

sakala bhoothamulyanthu nee vaiyunDaga madhilEkha pOyina ( duDuku gala )

This charaNam is a tribute to Sri Ramachandra as antharyAmi Brahman .

The Lord is the inner controller or antharyAmi , one of the five forms of the supreme being . The other forms of His are Para , Vyuha , Vibhava and archA .

From the study of SubAlOpanishad , antharyAmi-brAhmaNam section in BrhadAraNyakOpanishad and Sad-cidyA section in ChAndOgya Upanishad , we come to the understanding that just as the Jeevan has an atomic sized body of its own , there is Lord , who pervades the body of that jeevan as its soul (antharyAmi) and controls and supports it. Thus antharyAmi Brahman is understood as the soul of souls (jeevans).

Just as the soul (jeevAthmaa) is pristine and free from imperfections and defects associated with the changes in body as it changes from childhood to youth to old age , the inner soul (antharAthmA), the supreme Brahman is free of the paapams and puNyams acquired by the jeevAthmA arising from its karmAs . The earth is karma-bhUmi and the jeevan with its body on this earth reaps the fruits of its deeds, while the antharyAmi Brahman is untouched by the jeevan's deeds.

As antharyAmi, the Lord prevails in the heart lotuses of ALL the sentients , which He rules. In this context, the Upanishad declares: "He has entered into the heart and rules the jeevans, Himself being their inner soul ". This form of the Lord is seen only by Yogis through DhyAna Yogam. He has thus anthar-vyApthi as well as bahir vyApthi (pervasive presence with in and outside ALL of His creations (sentienrs and insentients). " Anthar bahisccha tath sarvam VyApya NaarAyaNa: sthitha: " says another Upanishad. Therefore, He is not circumscribed or limited by other things ( vasthu paricchEda rahithan ). He is not A or B or C or D , but He is A,B, C, D etc .

Anyone, who does not understand His presence in other creations of His and is disrespectful to the others has a lamentable life on this earth.

The antharyAmi form of the Lord , inspite of the fact that it is so close to us in our own hearts, is inaccessible to all but the Yogis , who train themselves through meditation to enjoy Him in that form. The others neither pay attention to the Lord within nor do they recognize the antharyAmi brahmam in other sentients.

Saint ThyagarAja laments over his misspent life , where he did not have the vivEkam to revere the presence of the Lord as sarva charAchara bhUthan and thus lead a Godly life. He says in this charaNam: " Oh Lord ! You are the indweller of all the jeevans , BrahmA , IndrA , devathAs. I did not comprehend this supreme and central truth and went about my ways of hurting and cheating people and collecting my heavy bundle of sins. "Sakala bhUthamula yanthu nee vai yuNDaka madhi lEkha pOyina". That discriminating knowledge I did not possess due to my dushkarmAs. Which Dorai mahan is going to come to my rescue now, except You ?

Swami Desikan's salutation to Sri VaradarAjA of Kanchi as " Sarva charAchara Athman and Sarvam " is the basis of such a feeling by BhakthAs during their sadhanAs to gain the grace of the Lord . Swami Desikan's meaningful slOkam provides then the basis for Saint TyagarAjA's feelings of nirvEdham. Swami Desikan addresses the antharyAmi Brahmam as follows:

BrahmEthi Sankara itheendhra ithi svarADithi aathmEthi SARVAMITHI SARVA CHARAACHARAATHMAN IHastheesa sarva vachasaAm avasAna seemAm tvAm SARVA KAARANAM USANTHI anapAya vaacha :II

Saint ThyagarajA's words " Sakala bhUthamula yanthu nee " is a strong echo of Swami Desikan "s " Sarva CharAcharAthman ".

The need for BhUtha dayai based on the j~nAnam that the Lord is the SarvAntharyAmi is the subject of this second charaNam of Saint ThyagarAjA.

In the spirit of NammAzhwAr 's naicchAnusnadhAnam expressed in his Thiruvaimozhi ( nORRa nOnbilEn , nuNNaRivilEn ), saint Thyagaraja depreceated himself in the third charaNam . He also referred to wasting his time with vithandA vivAthams and not spending his time in naama japam and sankeerthanam.

In the fourth charaNam , he states that he has been avaracious about accumulating wealth and running after other people's riches. He condemns himself for insulting others through hot words in the struggle to get other people's wealth and hurting their feelings in the process. He concludes that no one except the dorai mahan, Sri Ramachandra as DasarathAthmajan, could come to his rescue and save him from his calamities

The CharaNa vaakhyams are as follows:

para dhanamula koraku nOrula madhini karaka baliki kaDupu nimpa dhirighi natti ( DuDuku gala )

Elsewhere in hi Ahiri raaga krithi , " Yetula kaapAtuthuvO " , Our Sadhguru has explained how he had lowered himself before others by praising the lowly for the sole purpose of gaining access to their wealth and debasing himself this way :

anu dhinamu taara tanaya varghAdhulu paalanamu sEyudakoRaku dhanamula kalikina manujula pokaDi yaarjinjinapaikamula joosi dhanaku sarilEdhini bhiguvuna thirigana nannE ( Yetula kApAtuthuvO )

Here , the Saint states that he was engaged in praising the wealthy for the sake of supporting his wife and children and running around thinking that there is no one equal to him in smartness and hurting other's feelings with his aggressive manners. He says that he saw the futility of his ways finally and performed SaraNAgathi at the Lord's feet ( nimnE charaNu jOcchithigAni ) and requested protection. In the same spirit of regret over lowering himself by serving the wealthy for his livelihood and wasting his life's days by not engaging in Iswara BhajanAmrutha paanam , he asks for forgivance and begs for protection.

This prayer and longing for the rescue by the Lord has been expressed many times by our Saint with all of us in mind, because, he did not have all these defects. In the punnagavarALi uthsava sampradhAya krithi, he addresses KalyANa Sundara Raaman in a similar spirit: " dina dinamu taaramu korakai Raama dhanikula kaasithi nee varagu, paahi KalyANa Sundara Raama maam ". In this saraNAgathi also, he refers to his running hither and thither chasing the wealthy to earn his livelihood daily and debasing himself by praising them falsely for excellence that they did not have, all for the sake of acquisition of material comforts.

This sentiment is just the opposite of the mood he was in, when he questioned about the comfort guaranteed by material wealth in comparison to the great aanandham acquired by offering selfless service to the Lord . In that KalyANi krithi, he asked , " idhi chAla sukhamA? Ramuni sannidhi sEva sukhamA ?". He rejected the wealth offered by the maharAjA of Tanjore with parama vairAghyam followig the lead established by Swami Desikan, when he rejected the offer of the minister of Vijaya Nagaram king.

He addressed the Lord , who showered him the wealth of Bhagavadh anubhavam as " Srikara " in his ranjani krithi and declared that the Lord is his entire wealth , crops and sarva sampath (Dhana dhAnya Dhaivamu neevaiuntaka). He expressed this way his artha kaama karshaNa chinhtanA, just as Swami Desikan stated earlier that all of his wealth is standing on top of the Hasthigiri and that he needed nothing beyond that wealth.

In his yamunA kalyANi krithi starting with the pallavi, " NaarAyaNa Hari NaarAyaNa Hari " , he records his ananya bhakthi for Sri RaamA and his vairAghyam once again this way:

nasvaramulaina dhanAsvamulanu nE visvasincha bhUthEsvara Hari Hari kOti sulagani saadi lEni balkupOti osaki mummadiki vEtanu ( NaarayaNa Hari )

Here, he firmly announces to Sri RaamA that he has discarded the perishable wealth and other accoutrements of power such as vaahanams (horses , elephants , carriages) as useless for paragathi and has also vowed not to use his speech for praising the kOteesvarAs for gaining wealth.

Thus, our Saint ThyagarAjA , who discarded the material wealth and service to the rich as useless things , spoke in the spirit of the fourth charaNam of Gowlai krithi at many krithis. This, he did with the thought of us, who are engaged in adapting ourselves to the undeserving ones and choosing that path over the devotion to the SarvEsvaran and chasing after wealth in a vainglorious manner.

Fifth CharaNam dhanamadhini bhuvini sowkhyamu jeevanamE yanuchusahdA dhinamulu gaDipE ( DuDuku Gala )

Saint ThyagarAjA started the first three charaNams of this Gowlai pancharathnam with the Rishabha svara yeduppu. In the fourth charaNam, he shifted to Panchama yeduppu. In this fifth charaNam, He gave prominence to the NishAdha svara yeduppu. Nishadham of Gowlai is uniquely endowed to convey the mood of helplessness and plea for help by the helpless ( aakinchanyam & KaarpaNyam ). This fifth charaNam starts off with the svara combination , " Ni pa Ma pa ni ".

His plea for help in a state of hopelessness is very similar to AzhwAr's cry to the Lord to rescue him quickly:

aavi dihaikka iyvar kumaikkum siRRinbhampaaviyEnaippala nee kAtti paduppAyO ?thAvi vaiyamm konda tatanthAmaraikatkEkoovikkoLLum kaalam innam kuruhAthO ?

NammAzhwar asks here: " O my Master ! You created a predisposition in me towards the perishable sukhams and made me immersed in the alpa sukham of enjoying those evanascent sukhams. You made me confused by making me wonder whether these perishable sukhams might be the lasting ones afterall ! You have turned my head away with this delusion and made it difficult for me to be engaged in your naama sankeerthanam, aarAdahnai and kaimkaryam. O Lord , who pervades the universe to illustrate Your soverignity ! Please remove this delusion that You have caused and let me perform SaraNAgathi at Your sacred feet and shorten the time on this earth so that I can reach those

paadhAravindhams without any further delay.

In this spirit , Saint ThyagarAjA states in the fifth charaNam that he spent his time under the delusion that the sensory pleasures are the lasting ones and wasting the days of his life away. He states in the spirit of Swami Desikan ( nimnE vimOha jaladhou nipathAmi bhUya : ) that he mixes up the alpa sukhams associated with sensory pleasures with those which are lasting ( nithya kaimkaryam to the Lord ) and has fallen into the bottomless waters of nescience. Saint ThyagarAja begs the Lord to take pity on him and come to his rescue promptly.

AzhwAr AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNamSri Ramachandra ParabrahmanE Nama:Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

From the sixth to the ninth, the charaNams are longer and reach a crescendo in terms of its poignancy and rich meanings.

Sixth CharaNam teliyani naDa viDa kshthrulu vanithalu svavasa mowDakupadEsimchi , santhasilli svaralayampu lerumgakanu seelAthmudai subhakthulaku samaanamanu ( DuDuku gala nannE dora koDuku )

In this charaNam , Sadhguru swamigaL refers to three items:

1. His hard , unfeeling heart 2. His life as a pOli bhagavathar to impress others with his bhakthi ti deceive them 3. His existence without awareness of the sanctity of svaram , tALam and musical marmams

First , he confesses to Sri RamA that he had led a life devoid of compassion to others' sufferings. He begs for forgivance for having been indifferent to the sufferings of others. His nirvEdham over this deficiency reminds one of the naicchAnusandhAnam of the great AchArya, Sri ALavandhAr , where he describes himself as:" asuchim , avineetham, nirdhayam, alajjam, maam digh ". He describes himself as impure (in thoughts), immodest, harsh, and shameless over his performance of acts that are prohibited by sAsthrAs. He acknowledges that he deserves to be condemend by one and all.

Our Sadhguru confesses that he is hard hearted and does not have the j~nAnam & good conduct that arises out of a true understanding of Svaram, Raagam and TaaLam. It is interestig to relate to this statement of our Sadhguru, who mastered the master treatise on music known as SvarArNavam presented to him by his guru , Sage NaaradA. He still felt that he had not reached a full understanding of the mysteries of NaadhOpaasanA that would ultimately lead to his siddhi. That is the type of modesty that one should cultivate regarding one's "scholarship".

We will digress now to focus on his celebration of the approach of the Lord through NaadhOpAsanA. He invited one and all to come and acquire sarva sowbhAgyam by worshipping the Lord through NadhOpaasanA with the utmost reverence for Svaram and Layam in one of His Reethigowlai krithis ( Bhaaga sEvimchi sakala bhAgyamOndhudhAmu rArE ).

He explained further the sanctity of NaadhOpAsanA in his Sri Raaga krithi this way:

naadhasvaramanu navarathnapu vEdhikapaisakala leelA vinOdhuni paramAthmuni Sri Raamunipaadhamulanu , ThyagarAja hrudh bhUshaNuni ,naama kusumamulachE pUjimchE nara janmamE manasA

Here he explains that the fruit of gaining birth as a human being is achieved, when one seats Sri RaamA on a navarathna simhAsanam made up of svarams originating from praNava nAdham and then worshipping Him with the flowers of His divya NaamAs.

In his SaaLaka Bhairavi krithi , " Sangeetha Saasthra j~namu sArUpya soukhatamE " , he revealed that the precision of intellect developed from a correct undrstanding of Sangeetha sAsthra J~nanam will lead to one of the four types of Moksham known as SaarUpyam.

Finally, in his sankarAbharaNa krithi , " Svara rAga sudhArasayutha Bhakthi svargApavargamurA " , he declared that the Bhakthi mingled with svara and Raaga J~nanam is equivalent to Svargam and Moksham.

Saint ThyagarAjA , who is the greatest connoisseur of Sangeetha Saashram had us in mind , when he chastised himself as the hard hearted and unfeeling one , deficient in the understanding of the fine points of raagam , svaram and thALam. Even a samsaari can attain mOksham according to our Saint, if he or she practised naama sankeerthanam with full control over raagam , svaram and layam ( samsArulaithE nEmayaa --SavEri krithi ). He condemend himself to set an example for us. This is the ancient tradition of AchAryAs to help us cultivate humility and perseverance.

Finally, he focuses on the pOli bhagavathars in this sixth charaNam. He refers to himself as having lived as naDan, ViDan and Kshudhran. NaDan means a dancer or an actor; viDan means a buffon or a voluptiary sensualist. Kshudran means adhaman or a small, mean man, who overpowers women with his clever talk and gets his way and thus is engaged in durAchArams. Sadhguru swami compares himself to these three characters and laments for the dorai mahan , who can rescue him from this pitiable state. He implies that Sri Ramachandra, the son of the emperor DasarathA alone is the only one with the power to pull him out of his misery.

Seventh CharaNamdhrushtiki sArambhagu lalanA sadhanArbhaga sEnAmitha dhanAdhulanu dEva dEva ! nEra nammithini ghAkanu padhAbhja bhajnambhumarachina ( DuDuku gala )

(Meaning); dEvAthi dEva! RaamachandrA! I believed that beautiful women, house, fields and other property are lasting wealth and became deluded; I strayed away from worshipping Your sacred feet and have descended into the depth of miseries. Who is going to come to the rescue of myself , who is a treasure house of all durguNAs ? Which dorai mahan is going to rescue me?

Sri Sadhguru SwamigaL's cry into the night reminds one of the bhyAg raaga krithi of Purandara Daasa: "yAkE mUkanAthyO manuja, yAke mUrkanAth ". Here, Daasar has upadEsam for those cruel men, who mindlessly chase perishable sukhams and skip the worship of the eternal Lord , who blesses one with lasting mOksha sukham.

Saint ThyagarAjA equated his status to such a mUrkA and pleaded for rescue by Sri RaamA. He says that he forgot to heed the advise of Adhi SankarA's Bhaja Govindham slOkam, where the AchArya warns men not to be intoxicated by the female body's beauty and advises them to remember that they are " mamsavasAthi vikAram ". Sadhguru says that he let his mind wander over the anga soundharyam of the ladies and missed out on the incomparable and pristine beauty of the Lord known for His sarvAnga soundharyam that is insatiable to experience as AarAvamudhu (AparyApthAmrutham). Sadhguru had again us in mind, when he chastises himself over his "derelict conduct".

Purandara Daasar is even more explicit in his panthuvarALi krithi "Nampa thiru ee dEha nithya valla". He says "ambhujAkshana bhajisi sukhiyAku manujA , yelu raktha maamsakaLamElE sarmatha hOthikE voLaga malamUthrAdhi krimikaLiravu halavu vyAdhiyapeetu pancha bhUthanAdu baluhu dEhavanecchi ketapEtA manujA ". Daasar mercilessly gives here an accurate description of our corporeal state seeking pleasures at the expense of seeking the grace of the Lord through His aarAdhanam and nAma sankeerthanam.

Saint ThyagarAjA points out that the chasing of the fast disappearing youth, physical beauty and material wealth/selvam (selvOM , selvOm) as lasting entities and abandoning the dhyanam of the Lord's anga soundharyam ( a la ThiruppANa nAthan-- Saalampana yOgam ) or anantha kalyANa guNAs ( nirAlampana yOgam ) is a great durbhaagyam in the rarest of lives as a human being (arithu arithu maanida piRavi arithu). Saint ThyagarAjA counts himself as one of those unfortunate ones and begs for the Dorai mahan to come to his rescue in a hurry.

AzhwAr AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam Sri SeethA LakshmaNa Hanumath samEtha Sri Raamachandra parabrahmaNE Nama:Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

In this concluding posting, I will cover the three remaining charaNams of the GowLai Pancharathnam of Sadhguru ThyagarAja SwamigaL.

Eighth CharaNam chakkani mukha kamalamphunu sadhA naa madhilO smaraNa lEkanE dhurmadhAndha janalu kOri partithApamulachE dagili nOgili dhurvishaya dhurAsalanu rOyalEkhE sathathamaparAdhinai chapala chitthuDaina ( DuDuku Gala NannE )

This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu. In this long charaNam, we hear again the echo of Swami Desikan's nirvEdham: asprusha chinthaa padham AbhirUpyam. Here Swami Desikan states that the Lord's paripUrNa soundharyam is beyond access by the mind for full grasp. Saint ThyagarAjA says in this vein: " O RamachandrA ! I failed to meditate on the lotus like , beautiful face of yours and joined the bad company of " kOkka saasthra vidhula Nara ( experts in kAma sAsthrA ) and abandoned the company of " bhakthi sAsthra vidhula nara " ( experts in bhakthi sAsthram ) . I have thus lost the sathsangham of BhagavathAs of Yours. I did not understand the pain arising from

attachment to to young and beautiful women ( kaadhal seythu iLayavar kalavi tharum vEdanai vinyathu veruvuthalAm as Thirumangai pointed out in his Oppiliappan paasuram ) and fell at their feet for favors. I did not pay attention to You and therefore ended up in garbha vAsam and other dukkhams as the AzhwAr described earlier ( iRandhEnetthanaiyum athanAl idumpai kuzhiyil piRanthEtthEyeyyatthozhinthEn ). I am debilitatd from all these dhurvishayAnuchAram and am dejected over my terrible lot. Which dorai mahan is going to extend his strong hand to rescue me? Here, Saint ThyagarAjA expressed his temptations for the enjoyment of the forbidden fruits and his proclivity to committ multitudes of apachArams. He crowned himself as an aparAdha chakravarthi with a fickle mind bent down by the thought over these apachArams. He asked another Chakravarhti's son for rescue. He hinted that only Sri RamachandrA, the son of Dasaratha Chakravarthi alone could rescue him

from the whirlpool of loka sukhams that is about to take him under. He described his sordid state of seeking the company of adhamAs and his practice of begging for favors from them with a petty mind and demeaning himself. One of the passages with similar melancholic thoughts from Swami Desikan's conversations with the Lord is: " karmamaya dharma taptham sukha mrugha trushNAbhi: kAbhiraNyanArdhram ". Elsewhere, Swami Desikan described his state as "NirAkarma nithya upataptham" (scorched always by the fruits of performing asAsthraic deeds). Sadhguru SwamigaL in a similar vein pointed out that he is being scorched by the heat of high summer and that he was longing to take a dip into the cool waters of the sacred pond of Lord's feet .

Saitn ThyagarAjA's suffering and the poignant description of his helpless state is similar to the conversation that NammAzhwAr had with the Lord :

thazhuval pakkam nOkki nANI kavizhndurippantozhuvanEnai yunathALL sErum vahayE soozh kandAi

Here NammAzhwAr describes his durdasai. O Lord , I stand before You with a bent head because of the shame that has encircled me from acquiring the bundles of sins from durAchAra anushtaanams. I am weighted down by them. You are the PurushOtthaman and I am the lowest of the lowly (adhamaadhaman). I stand before you with a supreme yearning to attain the sowbhaghyam of merging with Your lotus feet . Please bless me, the meek and helpless one and grant me this boon ! In a similar spirit of AthmagarhaNam and naichyAnusandhAnam, Saint ThyagarAjA cried out to Sri RamachandrA on the banks of river Cauveri.

Ninth CharaNam maanava thanu dhurlabhamanuchu nEmchi parmAnandha mOdhalEka madha matsara kaama lObha mOhamulaku dAsudai mOsabhOthigAka modhaDi kulajaDaguchu bhuvani Kshudhrula panalu salpuchunu yumDinagAka , narAdhamulu gOrisAraheena mathamulanu sAdhimpa dhArumAru ( DuDuku gala)

This long charaNam reminds us of two famous slOkams of AchArya ALavandhAr's sthOthra rathnam, where he condemns himself for his sinful conduct and his performance of SaraNAgathi at the feet of the Sarva Loka saraNyan.

The first slOkam is the one which starts with the paadham," JanithvAham vamsE mahathi ---" ; the second slOkam starts with the first paadham , " AmaryAdha: Kshudhra:chalamathi: asUyA parsava bhU : " .

The anvaya kramam for the first slOkam is as follows:

SaraNatha! aham jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm sucheenAmyukthAnAm guNa purusha tatva sthithi vidhAm nisargAthyEva , tvath charaNa kamala yEkAntha manasAm mahathi vamsE janithvA , PaapAthmA tamasi adha : adha: nimajjAmi

( meaning ) : O Lord , who always shows the righteous path ! I am born of the renowned vamsam of sottai kulam of Natha Muni , who is the peak of sadAchaaram and rectitude. My predecessors are true comprehendors of tatthva trayam (their svarUpams and sbvabhAvams) and by natural disposition rooted in Your Lotus feet . Even with all this marking me as a branch of this sacred AchArya vamsa Vruksham, I am remaining steadfastly as a PaapAthmA and am floundering in the darkness surrounding me and sinking in the bottomless ocean of SamsAram.

Our Saint ThyagarAjA identifies himself like AlavandhAr in this charaNam as born in a renowned vamsam (mothadi kula juDakusu). This is the echo of " janithvAham vamsE mahathi jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm ." Even after hailing from such a uttama kulam, saint ThyagarAjA condemns himself for having wasted his days by not conquering arrogance, jealousy , desire , miserly trait , and infatuation with worldly things. He says that he has wasted the life as a human being that is so rare to be born in . He says : " I did not take great joy over the good fortune of being born as a human being with opportunity to engage in Bhagavadh ArAdhanam and Naama sankeerthanam. Instead, I

became the servant of despicable traits such as arrogance et al ( Manava tanu dhurlabhamanusu nemchi paramAnandha mondalakE )". He admits that he engaged in the activities normally chosen by wicked men and ended up begging for his livelihood at he doorsteps of the proud and rich. He also confesses that he went after many meaningless religions and the anushtAnams recommended by them and accumulated bundles of sins. He asks wiht great sense of agitation as to which dorai mahan is going to save him from his pitiable state.

This soul cry of Saint ThyagarAjA is a direct echo of another of AlavandhAr's slokams housed in SthOthra Rathnam:

amaryAdha: Kshudra: chalamadhi: asUyAprasavabhU:kruthagnO dhurmAni smara paravasO vanchanapara: Inrusamsa: pApishta: kathamahamithO dukkajaladhE :apArAth uttheerNa: tava paricharEyam charanayO : II

AlavandhAr describes himself as the one who has crossed the bounds of established rules (amaryAdha:), Kshudran (proclivity to engage in trivial pursuits), chalamadhi: (unsteady , fickle mind), asUyA: prasava bhU: (the birth place of jealousy) , kruthagana: (Ungrateful one, who forgets the help rendered by others), dhurmAnee (one with ill feelings towards fellow human beings), smara paravasa: (one who has fallen in the net of desire and impulses), vanchanapara: (skilled at cheating others), nrusamsa: (engaged in violent acts) and paapishta: (mahA paapi). Saint ThyagarAja describes himself in this spirit with his statement, " kshudrulapanulu salpachuunuyumDinigaka

narAdhamlanu kOri sAraheena madhamlanusAdhimpa tArumaaru ". He says: "I followed paashandi mathams with no substance (saara heenam), associated with the lowliest people not known for their spiritual acheivements and wasted my days. O Dasaratha RaamA ! O Dorai mahan! You must rescue me from my lowly lot".

Tenth charaNamsathulakai konnALLsthikai sathlakai konnALLu dhanathatulakai dhirigithi nayya , ThyagarAjApthayituvamDi ( DuDuku gala nannE )

This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu ( pa pa pamA ga ma ri sa ).

Here our Saint asks as to which dorai mahan is going to save him, who spent part of his life for the women , part of his life for accumulating wealth and running hither and thither for that purpose single mindedly and wasting the noble purpose of life. Then he hints that Sri Ramachandran alone can rescue from his miserable lot in this wastedlife of his.

O Lord ! Did you not declare in one of your incarnations: " na mE bhaktha: praNasyathi ". VaraguNa RaajAthi Raaja Raama ! Great AchAryAs have described You as " sritha jana samrakshakan " (one who unfailingly rescues

 

those , who seek refuge in You) and as " bheemam nithyam bhavajala nidhou majjathAm mAnavAnAm pOthapAthri bhavithri " (the boat for those to save themselves , when they are about to sink in the deep and stormy waters of samsAram).

They have also described You assuringly as " SarANAgatha praNaya bhanga bheethO bhavaan " ( one who is afraid to turn down the plea of one who seks your refuge ). Further, they describe You as " vimuktha EkadhwAram vikatitha kavAtam praNayinAm " ( the entrance gate that is open at the temple of Moksham ). I am emboldened to approach You , the KaruNA Saarvabhouman inspite of my lowly status as aparAtha chakravarthi.

I am offering my saraNAgathi in the spirit of Achaaryaa AlavandhAr:

na dharmanishtOsmi nchAthma vEdheena bhakthimAn tvaccharaNAravindhE !akinchanaOnyagathi: SaraNya ! tvadh paadhamUlam SaraNam prapadhyE II

O SarvarakshakA ! I have no accomplishments to speak of in terms of AchAram or anushtAnam or scholarship! I do not practise bhakthi yOgam at Your lotus feet! I am without any capital. I have no other recourse to speak of. Hence, I have concluded that You and You alone are my sarvam and am seeking refuge at the cool shade of Your sacred feet . I am reminding myself about the vAkhyams of AzhwAr: " EmperumAn adiallAl SaraN ninaipilum pirithu illai yenakkE ". pOdalar nedumudi puNNiyanE ! RaamA ! Please establish me in the path of performing kaimkaryam for You alone and thus save me from the miserable life as a samsAri. Please bless me with Your darsanam and engage me to

be Your servant. I am helpless. Please come to my rescue.

Thus, Saint ThyagarAja addressed the son of emperor DasarathA as abhirAma GuNAkara Daasarathi and performed SaraNAgathi in the paddathi of GOpthruva VaraNam in his Gowlai Pancha Rathnam , while steeped in the mood of athma GarhaNam and NirvEdham.

Sumukham suhrudham sulabham sugadham svajanam cha sukAyam amOgasaram IapahAya RaghUdhvaham anyamahamna kathanchana kanchana jAthu bhajE II

Sadhguru ThayagarAja SwamigaL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNamAzhwAr AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNamOppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

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