DEIVATHIN KURAL # 89 (Vol # 5) Dated 28 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 89 (Vol # 5) Dated 28 Nov 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti 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 the middle of page No 536 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that here in 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
376. Siva Rahasyam has been written mainly to emphasise the devotion for Siva. Our AachaaryaaL’s Adwaita Gnaana Marga is not very important for the purpose for which that book has been written. But our AachaaryaaL was as much important for the Bhakti Marga as he was for the Gnaana Marga. He has written many poems soaked in devotion for Easwara, AmbaaL, Ganesha, VishNu, SubrahmaNya, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Govinda, DakshiNa Murthy, Mrutyunjaya, Dwadasa Linga, Ardha Naareeswara, Kaala Bhairava, Tripurasundari, Gowri, Bhavani, Sharada, Meenaakshi, Kamalamba, Hari, Panduranga, Jagannatha, Achyuta, Krishna, Lakshmi Nrusimha, Sri Rama, Hanuman, Kaasi, Ganga, Yamuna, and so on; as an ardent devotee of that particular God or Goddess. Thus he was devoted to each and every God proving that he was a ‘Sakala – Devata – Bhakta – Avatara’, though he was himself an embodiment of Siva and Parama Gnaana Swaroopa! The aim of course was to spoon feed the common man to imbibe the Gnaana, in preparation for which the masses at large have to learn to be devoted. So, he enacted very sincerely how a true devotee should behave, go on Yatra to visit all the holy rivers, temples, do all the Karma Anushtaanaas as required of his Varna and Ashrama and thus demonstrated the ways of being a model devotee to be emulated.
377. In doing so, he wrote the ‘Soundarya Lahari, AnnapoorNa Stuti, Amba Pancharatnam, Ambashtakam, Aanandalahari, Tripura Sundari Veda Paada Stotram, Tripura Sundaryashtakam, Tripura Sundari Maanasa Pooja Stotram, Devi Bhujanga Stotram, Devi Chatush Shashti Upachaara Stotram, Devi Aparaadha KshamaapaNa Stotram, Matruka Pushpamaala Stuti, Mantra Matruka Pushpamaala Stava:, KalyaaNa Vrushti Stava:, Navaratna Maalika, Shyamala Navaratna Maalika Stotram, Sri Lalita Pancharatnam, Gowri Dasakam, Bhavani Bhujangam, Sharada Bhujanga Prayatashtakam, Meenaakshi Pancharatnam, Meenaakshi Stotram, Bramaraambha Ashtakam, Kamalashtakam, Kanakadhaara Stotram, and so on, proving himself to be a highly devoted Bhakta of AmbaaL. He has also done Sri Chakra Pooja and installed the Meru / Sri Chakra in many temples.
378. In the same breath it can also be said that he has been an ardent devotee of VishNu also more than any other Vaishnavite! He has gone around the whole country chanting ‘Bhaja Govindam’ and written the Bhashyam for VishNu Sahasranaama. He has also written many slokas as an equally great devotee of Siva. In the Matams established by him to do Pooja for Chandra Mouleeswara is the main ritual every day. He has been going around wearing the Rudraksha Maala and adorned by the three horizontal lines of Vibhuti all over his body. Various slokas on DakshiNa Murthy, Uma Maheswara Stotram, Dwadasa Linga Stotram, Siva Panjaakshara Nakshatra Maala Stotram, Siva Paadaadikesaanta VarNana Stotram, Siva KesaadiPaadanta VarNana Stotram, Siva Aparaadha KshamaapaNa Stotram, Siva Maanasa Pooja, Siva Ashtakam, Siva NaamaavaLi Ashtakam, Siva Bhujangam, Veda Saara Siva Stotram, and most importantly Siva Aananda Lahari; have all been written by him. Thus he has immensely contributed for the growth of Siva Bhakti that is devotion to Siva, which has rightfully proved as to how well he deserves his rightful earlier inclusion in Siva Rahasyam, like the ‘post paid’ concept prevalent these days!
379. That book Siva Rahasyam tells the life history of Aadi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL from the time he was born in Kaaladi (in Kerala) till he dropped his mortal coil in Kanjipuram (in Tamil Nadu). It lays emphasis on his visit to Kailasa with the physical mortal body, having an audience of Parameswara and receiving the five Spatika Lingams known as Panchalinga made of crystal, with instructions to do Pooja to them with the Bilva Dala, thrice daily. That AachaaryaaL firmly established the principled point of view of Adwaitam, wrote Bhashyas for the Brhma Sutra, Ten selected Upanishad and Bhagawat Gita from the point of view of Adwaitam, caused each every intellectual forum in the country to accept Adwaitam by lectures, discussion and debate; and got famously known as ‘Adwaita Pratishtaapana AachaaryaaL’ as the crowning achievement of his life; is all not very important from the point of view of Siva Rahasyam. His visit to Kailas and receiving of the five crystal Lingams from the hands of Parameswara is what is given more importance!
380. From the point of Siva Rahasyam, Moksham means attainment of oneness with Siva (known as Siva Saayujyam) through devotion to Siva and that is all, period! But our AachaaryaaL was of the view that devotion per se is more important than which God are you devoted to, as all Gods eventually are one and the same. All duads and triads are also one. For example the devotee, act of devotion and the deity to whom you are being devoted to, are all one and the same! But, the very message of Siva Rahasyam is not concerned with Adwaitam and such Siddhaanta. It is mainly interested in praising the greatness of Siva and his devotees. In such a book it would have been quite reasonable if they had not mentioned his name at all. Such being the case, the fact that it was found necessary to include his name not only for being a great devotee of Siva but also for being an Avatara of Siva, speaks volumes as an irrefutable proof of it!
381. Ninth Amsam, 16th Adhyaaya of Siva Rahasyam is all about AachaaryaaL’s life history only. It starts with Parameswara telling AmbaaL that in the Malayala Desa, in a place known as Sasalam aka Kaladi a boy with Easwara’s Amsa was going to be born to an excellent specimen of a brahmin lady – “kerale sasala grame vipra patnyaam mat amsaja I bhavishyati mahadevi sankaraadhyo dvijottama II” Siva is calling AmbaaL as ‘Maha Devi’ that, ‘mat amsa ja’ = with my Amsa (or a fraction of my might) is to be born.
382. In Koorma PuraNa also it is mentioned that Easwara himself was born as our AachaaryaaL:-
“karishyat avataaram svam sankaro neel lohita: I srouta smaarta pratishtaartam bhootaanaam hita kaamyayaa II”, in which Easwara out of his extreme compassion is said to have come down as an Avatara for the well being of the people of the world. He is described as the blue eyed, ‘Neela lohita’. The word ‘Neela’ means blue and ‘lohita’ is red. Siva is normally described as red coloured or of the colour of ‘Spatikam’ which is synonym for crystal, which is colourless and takes the colour of whatever is located near it. In Sanskrit is said to be pure white whereas in Tamil Siva is described as red in colour, ‘pavzham pol meni’ or ‘semmeni ammaan’. This red Siva with AmbaaL on his left side as Ardha Nareeswara or with Vishnu on the left side as Hari Hara Murthy is described as ‘Neela lohita’. In Sandya Vandanam in Upasthana mantra, chanted facing the West, that is the Harihara mantra, he is described as ‘Krishna PingaLa’, in which Krishna stands for dark blue and PingaLa is for the red. In Koorma PuraNa, thus it is the description of Parameswara to be born as Sankara with blue eyes – ‘karishyat avataram svam sankaro neela lohita:”. As his Avatara is meant to bring genuine well being of people at large and to re-establish the ways of the Vedas (sroutam) and Dharma Saastraas (smaartam), it is said, “srouta smaarta pratishtaartam bhootaanaam hita kaamyayaa”.
383. In Linga PuraNa too similarly it is predicted that, ‘In Kali Yuga, when all knowledge and activities in connection with the Vedas, (Veda Vidya and Veda Karmas), will be ridiculed, misused and abused; blue eyed (Neelalohita) Rudra otherwise called Mahadeva will descend as an Avatara known as Sankara, vanquish all the deleterious influences of the Kali Yuga and victoriously return to his permanent abode.’ The exact words quoted are as follow –
“nindanti veda vidyaamcha dvijaa: karmaaNi vai kalou I
kalou rudro Mahadeva; sankaro neela lohita: II
prakaasate pratishtaartam dharmachcha vikrutaakruti: I
etam vipraanishevante enakenopi sankaram II and then,
kali doshaan vinirjitya prayaanti paramam padam II”
384. In ‘Bhavishya Uttara PuraaNam’ which talks about the future mainly says, “Two thousand years after the advent of Kali Yuga, for the specific purpose of the well being of the world, (for the sake of ‘Loka Anugraham’) Sankara will come as an Avatara with four disciples” – “kalyaadow dwi sahasraante loka Anugraha kaamyayaa I chaturbhi: saha sishyaistu sankaro avatarishyati”. The second line in this above sloka is exactly the same as in Vayu Purana as quoted by Abhinava Sankara, who has written the Bhashya for Sri Rudram. What Koorma Purana calls as ‘bhootaanaam hita kaamyaya’ is reworded here as ‘loka Anugraha kaamyaya’!
385. There is a Markandeya PuraNa, which contains the complete history of AmbaaL Lalita, Lalita Sahasranaama and Lalita Upaakhyaanam. A part of that PuraNa is the Maarkandeya Samhita containing 100 Cantos. Further parts of the Cantos are known as Parispanda-s. In the 72nd Canto the 7th and 8th Parispanda-s, describe our Aachaaryaal’s life history.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.