DEIVATHIN KURAL # 209 (Vol #3) Dated 09 April 2010.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 209 (Vol #3) Dated 09 April 2010.

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page 980 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com constantly updated.)

GREATNESS OF SIVA’S NAME & HIS GRACE

1. If Siva’s name is extolled in Siva Purana-s, Aagama-s, Tevaaram-s and such Saivite oriented scriptures, it is only to be expected and nothing special. But, when Vaishnavite scriptures do so, then it is something to be noted. Similarly, if an ardent devotee of Vishnu talks about the power of Siva’s Grace, then it is to be given serious attention! Siva’s Grace and His Name have plenty of the above two attributes.
2. Bhagawatam came into being with the purpose of establishing the superlative importance of Vishnu’s exploits, power and message. In the middle of Bhagawatam is the story of Dakshayani. In it through Her words, the value of the Name of Siva, has been explained by the author Suka Acharyal. He is Brhma Swaroopam, known as Sukabrhmam. His words have special value as the all knowing repository of knowledge in almost all the Purana-s. Then, the one extolling the values of the Name of Siva is Dakshayani Herself, the wife of Siva! Then, it is worth the while to note the context in which she praises the Siva Nama!
3. She came there because, it was Her Father who was conducting a great Yaaga. She came uninvited. She was Dakshayani, a name derived from the fact that she was Daksha Prajapathi’s daughter. Actually Her name was Sati. That was previous to Her being born as Himavan’s daughter named Parvathy. Parameswara Her husband told Her, “It is better not to go there, as you are uninvited!” Without listening to Her husband’s advice, She came there, because of Her being Daksha Prajapathi’s daughter.
4. Parameswara lived the life of a recluse, neither respecting nor disrespecting others! Daksha was one of the Brhma Putra-s as a Prajapathi, who is a head of people’s clans. He always had much pride of office, authority and position. He always looked forward to people extending him much respect. People also did so. Siva was a different type of being, who did not display much of respect for Daksha or anyone else for that matter. Somehow, obedient to Brhma’s words Daksha got the marriage of his daughter done and sent her to Kailasa. The father daughter relationship was cut off since then. It was Her nostalgia for her childhood home and relatives that was possibly the cause of her coming uninvited, despite Her husband’s advice, not to go! Having invited 330 millions of Devata-s, Daksha did not invite his daughter and son-in-law that is Siva!
5. Having arrived, once She saw all the invited guests, the fact of Her Husband Siva not being invited, hurt Her the most! This maha pativrata (woman who is truly faithful to her wedded husband) was completely shattered. The recurrent thought in Her mind was one of repentance for having committed the mistake of visiting. Then, not only that Her Father did not welcome Her, he started talking ill of his son-in-law! She could just not control her sorrow or anger!
6. She thought, “Should I go away from here? If so, go where? Should I go to Kailas, my Husband’s place? There can be no better place than that for a wife! O K. Then why don’t you go there? If, by chance if, He were to say, ‘Despite my warning, you have gone there and earned fat lot of disrespect! Now, why do you come here?’, then what will I do? Is this the thought? No, no. He is the very embodiment of Love. He is compassion personified. He will not ask such questions. It is my mind that will raise these questions and accuse me.
7. One more thing. In future when He is playing around with me, even if He inadvertently happens to call me ‘Dakshayani’, that is enough! Do I need any more punishment? It is a name that I have inherited for being the daughter of someone who talks ill of Siva. There is no bigger punishment than to continue to carry the burden of that name! Better than this is to give up this body, which is due to him, who is Anti-Siva! Let this body be destroyed. I thought of where to go. Now I have the answer. Let us leave this body and go back to Siva and merge in Him without a second!”
8. ‘Near the Yagna Kundam (dug out place for the purpose of lighting the fire of oblation), She sat with these thoughts and got herself sublimated’, says the Bhagawatam. Other Siva Aagamaa-s and Puraanaa-s, talk of her jumping into the Yagna Kundam and immolating Herself. Before such self immolation, in Bhagawatam, there is a description of what she told Her Father Daksha, in praise of Her Husband Siva! This is the ‘Siva Nama Mahima’, that I have mentioned in the title for to-days talk.
9. As it is, because it is Mother Ambal’s statement, it has much value. The occasion when these words were spoken, further adds to the value. Then it is not a Saivite text, but a Vaishnavite scripture! So the speech gains in value successively till it reaches the highest pinnacle of Glory and Value!
10. In the olden days, if someone immolated themselves on the pier in which her husband’s body was burnt, the saree (cloth) worn by them would remain untouched by the fire, in pristine form. People used to recover the cloth and preserve it in the pooja room of their homes, as the thing to be venerated. For generations, such a cloth has been handed over as a valuable thing to be bequeathed. If that is the value given to a piece of cloth, think of the value of the words of the Mother who was about to immolate her body, in a state of intense faith and loyalty to Her Husband!
11. Though, here Ambal is not doing ‘saha gamanam’ that is, (‘giving up her body on the pier of her husband’s cremation’), such an act came to be known as ‘Suttee’! Her actual name was ‘Sati’. The act of self immolation, on the pier of one’s husband, was called ‘Suttee’ in the spelling as given by British of the Raj! The couple are rhymingly known as Sati-Pati. Thus the word Sati has become synonymous for an ideal wife. Our Aachaaryal says in Soundarya Lahari sloka 96, “...sati sateenaam acharame...”, meaning ‘ Sati, the foremost among all wives who are devoted to their husbands’. Such a Lady to have sacrificed Her life is great! The words She spoke at that time are just too great!
12. Now I am going to quote Her statement, which is the sloka occurring at Bhagawatham 4.4.14. “yat dwayaksharam nama gireritam nrunam sakrut prasangaat agham aasu hanti tat I pavitra keertim tam alankya saasanam bhavaan aho dweshti sivam sivetara: II” The last word is, ‘sivetara: = siva +itara:’, means something other than Siva, something like say, Non-Siva! Ambal is ticking off Her father Daksha, in the subtlest manner. With due respect as though She is saying, ‘Bhavaan’! As he stands on formalities, She is addressing him respectfully, while berating him as ‘non-Siva’!
13. Siva is a synonym for everything auspicious, benign, gracious, lovely, good, salutary, prosperous, kind and friendly. This is what is said in ‘amara kosa’ which is the Sanskrit dictionary: “sva: sreyasam, sivam, bhadram, kalyanam, mangalam, subham”. If, somebody is non-siva, then He is the opposite of all the above qualities!
14. Appayya Dikshidar has written a grantha named ‘parimala ‘. Someone who had his objections to that, wrote a critique of that article. On hearing about that, it seems, Appayya Dikshidar caught hold of his nose tightly. ‘Parimala’ means sweet smelling. An article against that must smell bad, is it not so? Ambal who detested Her very name Dakshayani, as it is derived from her father’s name, renames Her father as ‘sivetara’ or non-siva!
15. She says, “Aho! = Oh! God! You are such an Anti-Siva Sivetara! Siva is so faultlessly famous( pavitra keerthi ). All the Deva-s do His bidding ( alankya saasanam ). You are the only exception!” These are the later part of the sloka. In the earlier part, She says, “this two syllable name Siva’ ( yat dwayaksharam naama ), if uttered by humans, ( nrunaam eeritam ), even if uttered accidentally in passing ( sakrut prasangaat ), removes sins that very second ( agham aasu hanti )!”
16. The point to understand is that, we do not even have to say it as the five syllable ‘ pancha aktchari ’ with a ‘Ohm’ as a prefix and then with a ‘nama:’ as a suffix, making it ‘ om-si-vaya-na-ma: ’ How is it to be uttered? Any rules about it? No! No breath control. No bathing and cleansing procedures. You do not even have to concentrate your mind on Siva and meditate and do any such thing. Even if you happen to utter His name, without intending to do so, just in passing, as part of two different words, one ending in the syllable ‘si’ and the other starting with the syllable ‘va’; good enough; it is as good as chanting His Name!
17. Then what happens? Then all your sins are no more! When you by chance happen to take His name, ‘agham’ = all demerits of Paapa, ‘aasu’ = that very second, ‘hanti’ = is destroyed. It is enough to just say those two syllables, ‘si va’ and ‘you are done!’ As a statement of the highest truth, Suka Aacharyal confirms that Ambal has said so, just before sacrificing Her Life. Thiru Mandiram by Thiru Moolar also confirms that, those who are corrupt will not be saying it, “...siva siva engilar theevinaiyaaLar...”.

(We will continue from what Thiru Moolar said!)

Sambhomahadeva.