GITA 10.5

GITA 10.5

SRI ANDAL

Neelathungasthanagirithati mutpotya trushnam

parartyam svam srutisiras siddhimadyapayantim

svocchishtayam srajanigalitham yabalatkrutya bungte

godha thasmai namaidhamitam bhuyaevastu bhuya:

This sloka was composed by Swami Parashara Bhattar in praise of Sri Andal. She excels even the Alwars by Her poems and was born in the month of Aadi, Pooram star [today 4th August 2008, is Her Tirunakshatram]. In the Kshetrams of Tirunangur, She graces in a separate sannidhi only in Arimeya Vinnagaram. In the 6th pasuram of Tiruppavai [புள்ளும் சிலம்பின காண்], She says we should slowly get up from bed and chant the Divine name of Hari, like great sages and Yogis ('வெள்ளத்தரவில் துயில் அமர்ந்த வித்தினை உள்ளத்துக் கொண்டு முனிவர்களும் யோகிகளும் மெள்ள எழுந்து அரி என்ற பேரரவம்'). We should desire what Sri Andal and Sri Krishna desired. Sri Andal imagined Herself to be one among those who were present in Sri Krishna Avatar. Though She was born in Sri Villiputtur, She forgot that and considered as one living in Gokulam! Her Tiruppavai was dedicated to Sri Kudamaadukootthan, that is Sri Krishna. He was a Cowherd [ஆயன் ]and Sri Andal considered Herself as Cowherd woman [ஆய்ச்சி]. So, Tiruppavai is a Cowherd Woman sang in praise of a Cowherd! In the Tirunangur Kshetrams, the Lord graces as Sri Krishna in Three Divyadesams: In Parthanpalli, He appears as Sri Parthasarathy. In Tirukkavalampadi, He appears as Sri Krishna. And, in Arimeya Vinnagaram, He is Sri Kudamadukootthan. It is possible that the Lord Sri Krishna in Parthanpalli and in Tirukkavalampadi, could be quite old. But the Lord in Arimeya Vinnagaram is the naughty Child Sri Krishna. Sri Andal also was a very small girl and so it is possible that She liked the Lord here, in this Kshetram, and so is residing in a separate sannidhi, in this Kshetram only! She has repeated the name Hari in Her Tiruppavai and Hari is the name of this Kshetram also. Tirumangai Alwar in his Periya Tirumozhi (Pasurams 3.10.8 & 9), while singing about this Kshetram, lists all the pranks of the Lord as Sri Krishna. He is the One, Who stole butter, Who swallowed curd, sucked the breast of the Demon Poothana and Who danced with pots. We understand from these pasurams that Sri Krishna is the Lord and He is appearing as Sri Kudamadukootthan. As He grew older, He preached Gita, as Sri Parthasarathy.

 We are now studying the Chapter 10. We see two aspects of Sri Krishna: One, as a Preacher; and the other is His behaviour. Are we to follow what He practised or what He preached? It is difficult to follow what all He did, like stealing butter, getting tied, being beaten, telling lies and much more. But His preachings are all sweet. Whatever He practised as Sri Rama, He is preaching as Sri Krishna. So preachings are more important in Sri Krishna avatar, while we have to follow the practices of Sri Rama. Sri Krishna is preaching us to follow the qualities of Sri Rama. We have a mixture of good and bad qualities. These are all the variants of our mind. These are exhibits of our mind at various times and situations. Twenty such qualities are told in two slokas 4th and 5th, and the Lord says all these qualities are created by Him. He calls as pravruthi - activation and nivurthy - inactivation. Action and inaction, both are as per His command. Our good qualities and unwanted temperaments are in His domain. In sloka 4, the Lord listed 13 qualities. Now sloka 5:

ahimsa samata tustis
tapo danam yaso ’yasah
bhavanti bhava bhutanam
matta eva prithag-vidhah

"nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone."

The Lord says that all these mind variations are because of Him. Prithak vidah = different types of, bhava = behaviour of, Bhutanam = all living beings, matta eva = by Me [Sri Krishna] alone, bhavanti = happen. That is, all the various behaviours of all living beings are all at His command. Nammalwar says that standing, sitting, lying down or inaction - everything is in His control. We will see the Seven qualities listed in this sloka. Ahimsa = exact opposite of Himsa. It means not being responsible for others' misery. Being responsible for others' plight is Himsa. Why Swami Ramanuja interprets ahimsa like this? We will see that shortly. Samata = showing equal attitude to receipts by us and by others. Tusti = showing satisfaction with every living being, without any partiality. Tapa = reducing our comforts and bearing discomforts. Whatever Shastras say to endure discomforts. Dhanam = donating the liked ones and which are owned by us, to others. Yasa = fame of good character, ayasa = fame of bad character. All these [20] qualities are happening because of the Lord. Why should He tell this? Because Bhakti also happens because of the Lord alone. Normally, we think it is because of our actions and efforts, we get all these 20 qualities listed. Sri Krishna refutes that thinking. These qualities are activated in us by His control; and, similarly, Bhakti also is in His control. So we should have devotion in Him to get Bhakti. We will see the explanation of these Seven qualities. Ahimsa does not mean simply avoiding injury to others. A surgeon causes certain injuries to us to solve some ailments. It is not himsa, as the suffering is for a temporary period to get us durable happiness. Parents sometimes beat the children to correct. Those actions can not be called himsa. Samata means impartial and same attitude, whether we receive something or same things are received by others. Whether we lose or others lose, we should be either neutral or show the same sorrow. Tusti means dispassionate regard and love for all. Sage Parashara says in Sri Vishnu Puranam, that a Sri Vaishnava has equal attitude to all; he has none as dear or unwanted. Tapa means undergoing discomforts as prescribed in Shastras. We may be uncomfortable when affected by a disease, but that is not tapa. Remaining without food on Ekadasi is tapa. Sages perform tapas like this. DhAnam means not simple gifting away. The property we gift should be dear to us and it should be owned by us. Then only it is dhAnam. Giving away our unwanted things or gifting other's possessions are not dhAnam. We will now take leave of this Kshetram. 

                                                                                                            (continued)

GITA 10.4

GITA 10.4

We are in Arimeya Vinnagaram, in the sannidhi of Sri Kudamadukootthan. The Lord here had arrived from Gokulam, where He used to dance with pots. Tirimangai Alwar has praised the Lord of this Kshetram in 3.10, in Ten verses. In the First pasuram, he describes that the Lord is gracing with Tirumagal and Manmagal [திருமகள், மண்மகள்].

UTSAVAR SRI KUDAMADU KOOTTHAN

 Accordingly here we can see Sri Sridevi as Sri Amrutaghata valli Nachiyar and on the left side Sri Andal as Sri Bhoodevi.  Two separate sannidhis are there. In the Eleven Tirunangur Divya desams, only here Sri Andal has separate sannidhi. In the Two separate sannidhis Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhudevi [Sri Andal] are gracing the devotees. It seems, before the birth of Sri Krishna, Nandagopa was the most skilled in dancing with pots. It is juggling with many pots in the two hands. This is called Kudamaduthal [குடமாடுதல்]. When Sri Krishna used to dance with pots, people would be seeing with wonder. They will be so much awe stricken, that even after Sri Krsihna had left the stage, spectators would still be watching the stage! Alwar imagines himself to be a girl and says that 'she' was called by 'her' friends to watch a show of pot dance by Sri Krishna. This is described in Siriya Thirumadal [சிறிய திருமடல்]. 'She' went with 'her' friends. Even after the dance was over and all spectators had left the hall, 'she' was still there, having lost the mind to Sri Krishna! It seems while dancing, the dancer has to beat small drums tied to the waist. After the birth of Sri Krishna, He was considered as the best in this skill. Moolavar is a large One and seated. Right foot is on a pot. It is the Amrut Kalash we saw in the sthala Purana. Utsavar is standing with right palm showing protection and holding the mace in the left hand. Smiling face with eyes showering mercy, the Lord is gracing the devotees. Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhudevi are on the sides. Sri Thayar is Sri Amruthaghatavalli Nachiyar [ஸ்ரீ அம்ருத கட வல்லி நாச்சியார்].

MOOLAVAR SRI AMRUTHAGHATAVALLI THAYAR

 She is having the amrutham, meaning She is the One, showing the Lord, the Amrut. The churning of the milky ocean was supposed for the benefit of Devas. But actually, it was for a Selfish reason of discovering Sri Mahalakshmi. So, She is the Amrut of Amrut!

 With the blessings of this Divine Couple we will see the 4th sloka:

buddhir jnanam asammohah

ksama satyam damah samah

sukham duhkham bhavo ’bhavo

bhayam cabhayam eva ca

"Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness."

From this sloka 4 to sloka 11, Sri Krishna tells so many things to arouse Bhakti in the listener. He tells of the various qualities which arise in us. The state of mind and its aberrations are all told here and the Lord says that everything is under His control and every happening is at His command. In sloka 4, He mentions certain qualities and in sloka 5, some more qualities are mentioned. At the end of sloka 5, He would declare that all these qualities are His creation. So, only the qualities are listed is sloka 4. What are the various qualities occur in us? Buddhi = intelligence or analytical mind [to decide on the course of any action we contemplate], jnanam = knowledge [that is attained after analysing using buddhi], asammoha = confusion less clarity,
kshama = patience [quality exhibited when we are likely to get angry], it is something like a preventive quality to avoid anger. If there are reasons to get angry, at that time we should show patience and consider that the circumstance for anger was created by past karma of ourselves or the doer. This is a great quality if we can avoid anger when there are sufficient reasons to get angry. Provoked to get angry is not a quality, but bearing the provocation with a smile is a quality and that is kshama. Satyam = satyam bhuta hitam proktam, mindful of the welfare of all living beings. So it is not the simple meaning of truth, but that which benefits everyone. When someone is chasing a cow to kill, protecting the cow by uttering lie also is Satyam. Dama = control of our external sense organs like eyes, nose, etc. Sama = control of the mind- more difficult than other sense organs. Sukham = those which are favourable to atman, dhukham = those which are unfavourable to the atman. This is not the same as happiness and sorrow, but reasons for them. Bhava = happiness due to those favourable to atman and abhava = sorrow due to those unfavourable to atman. Bhayam = fear of getting something we do not want, abhayam = confident of not getting what we do not want. The Lord has listed 13 qualities in this sloka. The Lord is going to say in the next sloka that these and some more listed in sloka 5 are all His creations.

                                                                                                     (continued)

GITA 10.3

GITA 10.3

TIRU ARIMEYA VINNAGARAM TEMPLE

 We are in the  Kshetram Arimeya Vinnagaram. Ari is the Tamil equivalent of Hari, in Sanskrit, and which the means snatching. The Lord snatches the minds of His devotees, He snatches the papa of His devotees. The Lord here is Sri Kudamadu Kootthan [ஸ்ரீ குடமாடு கூத்தன்]. This is one of the Eleven Tirunangur Kshetrams. This is another Vinnagaram, we are seeing. Ari meya vinnagaram means, Sri Hari is always present in vinnagaram. Swami Koorathalwan in his Athimanushastvam says that the Lord dramatically concealed Himself from the eyes of Nityasuris and Muktatmas and came to this world as Sri Krishna. In the pasuram 'choottu nan malaigal thooyanavendhi..' [சூட்டு நன் மாலைகள் தூயனவேந்தி] of Tiruviruttham [திரு விருத்தம்] by Nammalwar [in Tiruvaradhanam it is chanted during Tirumanjanam], the Lord by a magic disappeared from Vaikuntam, when the devotees were doing dhooba harathi [தூப ஹாரத்தி] [burning incense materials to create smoke with fragrance], and appeared as Sri Krishna and completed the Avatar and returned before the dhooba harathi was over! Corresponding to this pasuram, we are seeing the same Lord, who was earlier in Vaikunta Vinnagaram as Sri Vaikuntanatha, now appearing as Sri Krishna in Arimeya Vinnagaram. In Sanskrit the Lord is called Sri Ghata Nartaka Bhagavan. Though, as Sri Krishna, the Lord had danced with pots, according to the sthala purana, the Lord here danced with a pot. Long ago, Kashyapa prajapati had two wives Kadru and Vinata. All serpents and cobras were Kadru's children; while Garuda was the son of Vinata. Once Kadru and Vinata were engaged in an argument. Vinata maintained that the divine horse Uchairavas was fully white, while Kadru argued that its tail was black. Since Vinata was right, Kadru wanted to win the argument by crook and so black serpents in her children went and twisted themselves on the tail of the horse and from a distance the horse appeared to have black tail. As per the promise made in the argument the loser was to work as slave to the winner; and so Vinata worked as slave of Kadru. Once Kadru told Vinata that if she wanted to be freed from the slavery, she should ask her son Garuda to bring the Amrut kalash [pot containing nectar] and give to Kadru. Accordingly Garuda brought the pot and when Vinata was about to give it to Kadru, the Lord suddenly appeared and snatching the pot He started dancing. Therefore, He is Sri Kudamaadu Kootthan or Sri Ghata Nartaka Bhagavan. Moolavar is appearing with one foot on a pot and appearing to dance.

SRI KUDAMADU KOOTTHAN

 Sri Hari is Sri Krishna.

 yesha Narayana sriman ksheerarnavaniketana:

nagnanagaparyanka mudruchya papato mathuram purim.Sriman

man Narayana was born as Sri Krishna and remained in Mathura. All Alwars and Sri Andal have praised that Sri Krishna snatches away our papa. Sri Krishna tells in Gita sloka 'sarvadharman parityachha....', that He would drive away all our sins. Such a Sri Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 10, that He is going to reveal all His greatness and He will drive away the papa of anyone who understands His noble and great qualities. In this sloka the Lord tells that such a person is relieved of all papa. It is said that as soon as we get up from bed in the morning, we have to chant the name hari:, seven times. This would snatch the papa done till then and the papa likely to be done in future. In Srimad Ramayana, Hanuman is deputed to search for Sri Sita. Hanuman locates Her in Ashoka garden. He hides himself behind a tree branch and observes. Sri Sita is surrounded by Rakshasis [female demons]. Early morning they all see the monkey - Hanuman, and cry hari, hari. In Sanskrit hari also means monkey, and in that meaning they all cried. But Valmiki satirically asks who taught these evil persons to chant Sri Hari's name [hari nama sankeerthanam]. Now sloka 3:

yo mam ajam anadim ca
vetti loka-maheshvaram
asammudhah sa martyesu
sarva-papaih pramucyate

"He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginningless, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds—he only, undeluded among men, is freed from all sins."

Ya = he, who, mam = I [Sri Krishna] am, ajan = without birth or birthless, vetti = understands, anadhi= never born, loka maheswara = regards as the God of entire Universe. He who understands the Lord of the entire Universe as never born, such a person is, martyeshu = among men, asamooda= not confused or not a fool. Because he is not regarding Sri Hari as equal to anyone else. For him, Sri Hari is unique and all others are below Him and worshiping Him. He has no doubts. To consider the Lord as equal to anyone else is foolish; and this person is devoid of this foolishness. Because he has understood Sri Hari is never born and so has no beginning. Sarva papaihi pramuchyate = [such a person] is relieved of all sins. We can now see the essence of this sloka. To get relieved of all sins there are two ways. One is to repent for every sin committed and perform repenting rites or prayaschittha. No one knows how long and in how many births this could be completed. Also, we may not know which prayaschittha is for which sin. The other alternative is to cling to Sri Hari. For that we should have the true knowledge about Him. Then only, we will surrender unto Him. We may be wondering, how, when our papas are not eliminated by our efforts or even by others like lord Brahma, Sri Hari alone could remove them? We should have the firm belief that Sri Hari is Unique and that He is capable of clearing all our papa. By the first part of the sloka, we understand that Sri Hari is without equals as He is without an origin and birthless. One may wonder how we regard Him as birhless, when He was born as Sri Krishna? This had been answered earlier also. The Lord is not born out of karma, like all of us. He takes a birth out of His will. Excepting Him, all others are born out of past karma, be they Rishis or other gods or even lord Brahma. Lord Brahma got his position by meditating on the Lord for many thousands of years. So lord Brahma has a birth, an origin and an end. The Lord does not experience the effects of birth, we all have. Muktatman also are not born. Are they indicated by the word ajan? No, because they had births till they attained Moksham and from then onwards they will have no births. The Lord is anadhim ajan, never born. OK, what about Nityasuris like Adisesha or Garuda? True, they were never born; but they are not Loka Maheswara. The Lord is the Leader of all worlds and Sri Vaikuntam. He appoints even those who are popularly addressed as Iswara, as He is Maheswara. This clear understanding is necessary, to surrender to Him and then all sins are destroyed.

GITA 10.2

GITA 10.2

MOOLAVAR SRI VAIKUNTANATHAN

The Lord of Sri Vaikuntam is far away and it is not that easy to see and worship Him. But He is kind enough to grace everyone and is available easily at this Kshetram, Vaikunta Vinnagaram [வைகுந்தவிண்ணகரம்]. In the pasuram 'vangamadhu' [வங்கமது Periya Tirumozhi- 3.9.2], Tirumangai Alwar says, that sages and Devas went to Tirupparkkadal [Milk ocean] and prayed the Lord, after offering flowers, that He should grace them as He was their Leader. Accepting their prayers the Lord is pleasing gracefully at this Kshetram. In this Kshetram, He is seated on Adisesha, whose hoods are like an umbrella over the head of the Lord. Right leg is folded and right foot is placed on the serpent, while the left leg is folded. The Right hand is placed on the folded right knee and left hand is placed on the left lap. On His right is Sri Sridevi, and Sri Bhudevi is to His left. Seated beyond Sri Bhudevi is Sri Vaikuntavalli Nachiyar.

What we see here is described in Gita, Chapter 10, slokas 1 and 2, we are to see today. First sloka 1:

sri-bhagavan uvaca
bhuya eva maha-baho
shrinu me paramam vacah
yat te ’ham priyamanaya
vaksyami hita-kamyaya

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Listen again, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Because you are My dear friend, for your benefit I shall speak to you further, giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained."

Sri Krishna addresses Arjuna as maha baho = Arjuna with great arms. Why does He describe Arjuna as great armed? Swami Vedanta Desika in his Tatparya Chandrika explains. Sri Krishna is going to explain the Chapter 10, because Arjuna is dear to Him. In spite of listening to the greatness of the Lord, Arjuna did not develop any jealousy. He never envied the Lord. In fact, he was listening with love and affection. If this lecture were made to an asura or wicked person, he would develop jealousy and tried to come to kill the Lord. So Arjuna is priyamanaya = dear to the Lord. With such large hands, Arjuna has been conquering enemies, but that is not a wonder. He has conquered jealousy for the Lord. So he is priyamanayo mahabaho. So, bhuya eva = again this topic [of the greatness of the Lord], me = about Me [Sri Krishna], paramam vacha = most superior words [Bhakti yoga], hita kamyaya = for Arjuna's benefit [as he has to foster Bhakti yoga], shrinu = [so] listen carefully. Aham vakshyami = I [Sri Krishna] am going to tell [Arjuna]. The Lord is going to tell Arjuna, hita or righteous path, of those superior words about the Lord, ie. Bhakti yoga, so that Bhakti grows in him. Arjuna is wondering. In Chapter 2, He told about Atman. He told about Atman darshan in Chapters 3,4,5 and 6. This way He told about Atman sakshatkaram. Thereafter, He described Bhakti yoga as a means to have Bhagavatsakshatkaram. This was described in Chapters 7, 8 and 9. So, Arjuna was told about gyana on Atman, karma yoga, gyana yoga and Bhakti yoga. All have been covered and so Arjuna thought the preaching was over. But here Sri Krishna is again starting something and alerts Arjuna to be attentive. Arjuna never requested to preach again. Then why does the Lord start again? The Lord has so much confidence in Arjuna that he would listen. This is the greatness of our Acharyas and Alwars. They do not need any gifts for their preaching, but  they want our attention alone. It also shows the great regard the Lord had for Arjuna. That is why even when Arjuna is not asking for more advice, the Lord spontaneously lectures further. Now sloka 2:

na me viduh sura-ganah
prabhavam na maharsayah
aham adir hi devanam
maharsinam ca sarvasah

"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages."

Here the Lord says He is not accessible to anyone. Why should He tell about His inaccessibility, while preaching Bhakti yoga? Excepting Bhakti, by no other means, He can be accessed. It is the only way to reach Him. Bhakti alone will bind Him. Even Vedas declare that they could not understand the Lord. The Lord also does not know Himself fully. But a simple devotee is able to understand Him. A great scholar might not be able to grasp the Lord. But a devotee, though ignorant of Vedas, might understand the Lord and get the rewards. So, says Alwar. Sura gana= groups of Devas, like Sanaka, Sanatkumara, Indra, Chandra, Brahma, Narada, etc., na me vidhu = may not know Me [Sri Krishna], prabhavan na maharishi = [Sri Krishna's] greatness [is not realised by] great sages also. Maharishi like Vasishta, Vamadeva, Jabali, Viswamitra, Gautama, Bharadwaja or Valmiki or Veda Vyasa, have not known His greatness. Devanam = to Devas, Maharishinam ca = and to great sages, aham adi = I [Sri Krishna] am the Cause, sarva sa = by every means. He is the Cause of all the Devas' and great sages' origin, state, prayers and everything. Therefore, they can never understand Him. Arjuna gets a doubt. It is OK that He is the Cause of all. But it is difficult to understand that and therefore, they are unable to understand Him. What is the connection between He being the Cause of them and they are unable to realise Him? Because their power is granted by the Lord and is limited. With limited gyana and power, how can they understand the infinite and unlimited God? Effects can not understand the cause. Present in this Universe or Prakruti mandala, can they attempt to understand the Lord of Sri Vaikuntam? Lord Brahma says that he or lord Shiva or other gods, or sages, do not know where Sri Vaikuntam is. He is beyond the grasp of everyone. None has seen that Vaikuntam nor the Lord of Vaikuntam. Upanishads say that they can never describe the Lord. Only the real devotee understands. Therefore, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that He is going to tell about Bhakti yoga and he should listen to carefully. We will now take leave of this Kshetram.

                                                                         (continued)

GITA 10.1

GITA 10.1

Vaikuntethupareloke sriya sardyamjagatpati:

Astevishnuraachintyatma baktai hibhagavatasa:

This sloka describes how the Lord is in Vaikuntam. Along with Sri Sridevi, Sri Bhudevi and Sri Neeladevi, the Lord is seated on the serpent Anantha and served by Nityasuris like Garuda and Vishvaksena and countless Muktatma. This is called Sri Vaikuntam, which means the knowledge never diminishes. Knowledge or gyana is always bountiful. Our Universe is Leela vibhuti [playing property] of the Lord and is considered as wanting in Gyana. But Sri Vaikuntam is flourishing with knowledge and there is no darkness, old age, death, birth nor any disease. We will on some day, from somewhere and by somehow, reach that. Alwar says that everyone born in this Universe will surely reach Vaikuntam one day. But that day is unknown. Now, those eager to visit can get consolation by visiting certain Vinnagaram [Tamil for Vaikuntam or Sri Vishnu Nagar or Nagar in the sky] among the 108 Divyadesams. We saw earlier Thiruvinnagaram or Sri Oppiliyappan koil. We also saw Kazhi Sri Rama Vinnagaram or Sirkazhi, where we worshipped Sri Thadala Perumal or Sri Trivikrama Narayana Perumal. We are now to worship Sri Vaikunta Nathan in Vaikunta Vinnagaram, in Tirunangur Kshetrams. Why should this be named Vaikunta Vinnagar? The Lord here is gracing as He is seen in Vaikuntam.

VAIKUNTA VINNAGARAM TEMPLE

 We enter the temple and notice the large open air Mandapam. We go round and find palm grove and gardens. We see the Vimanam - Ananta satya varghata vimanam.

ANANTASATYA VIMANAM

 Ananta Satya – infinite truth. Truth is changeless and permanent. This Universe is always changing. It gets destroyed and created. But Vaikuntam is neither destroyed nor created. So, it is called Nityamandalam or permenent region. Nityam and satyam mean the same. This vimanam is, therefore, nurturing the everlasting truth. We will pray the Vimanam to bless us Satya. There is a sthala puranam [temple history]. There lived a King Svethaketu. He belonged to the Ikshvaku Dynasty of Sri Rama. Once he wanted to worship Sri Vaikunta Natha and went to the Vishnu Loka. There are two Vaikuntams. The Main is beyond Viraja river. The other, Karya Vaikuntam [akin to branch office] is on our side of Viraja river. This place can be accessed by even Devas. But the Main Vaikuntam can never be reached by all and those who reach there will never return. But Svetaketu could not find the Lord in Karya Vaikuntam and was very much discouraged. His agony was multiplied by hunger and thirst. He was returning and met sage Narada. He asked the sage the reason why he could not see the Lord there and why he was affected by hunger and thirst. Narada replied that the King did not do his righteous duties properly and so Sri Vaikunta Natha was invisible to the King. Narada advised that the King could go to Gajaranya, and worship the Lord of this Kshetram [Vaikunta Vinnagaram], after bathing in the pond there and meditating on the Lord. Svetaketu did accordingly and the Lord appeared as Sri Vaikunta Natha. Similarly, the Lord appeared to Uparicharavasu and Udhanka.

 We are to see Chapter 10. In this it is told that the Lord, as Sri Vaikunta Natha, can not be accessed that easily. But we are fortunate to have the Darshan of the Lord in this Kshetram. We will first see Swami Alavandar's Gitartha Sangraha sloka corresponding to this Chapter.

svakaly¯an.a gun.¯anantya kr. tsna sv¯adh¯ınat¯amatih.

 bhaktyutpatti vivr. ddhyarth¯a vist¯ırn.¯a da´samodit¯a  [14

Swami Alavandar also known as Swami Yamunacharya, has condensed the essence of each chapter of Gita in one sloka of his Gitartha Sangraha. Dasamo visthirna = explained in the Tenth Chapter. Which has been explained? Bhakti utpatti = for the originated devotion, vivrudyarta = to grow, sva = Self [Sri Krishna's], kalyana guna = auspicious qualities, anantya = infinite nature, svadhinata = in the control and domain of the Lord, krtsna = everything in this Universe without exception, mathi = knowledge. Bhakti begins and grows by these knowledge of two things about the Lord: One, His infinite auspicious qualities and the other, His command and control over everything in this Universe, without exception. These are explained in Chapter 10. The Lord has spoken in detail about Bhakti, in Chapters 7, 8 and 9. If we want to start that Bhakti or to foster that Bhakti, what are we to do? First we have to listen to His greatness. Once listened, we will get unshakable faith and Bhakti in Him. His auspicious qualities are infinite. Each quality is boundless. Every time we see these qualities, they will appear as fresh and make us awe-stricken. Then, we think of His power of control over everything in this Universe. Therefore, Tenth Chapter deals with His abundant auspicious qualities and total control of everything. Tirumangai Alwar has praised the Lord of this Kshetram (Periya Tirumozhi- 3.9). He saw the Lord as Sri Narasimha, Who killed Hiranyakasipu, as Sri Krishna, Who protected from lashing rains by lifting the hill as umbrella and as Sri Rama, Who killed Ravana and rescued Sri Sita.

                                                                      (continued)

GITA 9.37

GITA 9.37

SRI THAYAR SANNIDHI

THAYAR SRI PURUSHOTTAMA NAYAKI

Sri Thayar of this Kshetram is Sri Purushotthama Nayaki. She is more benevolent than the Lord. The Lord granted asylum to Jatayu, Kakasura and Vibheeshana, no doubt. But that was after they sought. Sri Thayar has been more merciful. After the war was over and Ravana was slain, Hanuman came to Sri Sita to convey the happy ending. At that time he wanted to crush to death all those Rakshasis, who were surrounding and threatening Sri Sita. Though they never even approached Sri Sita for protection, She, spontaneously on Her own merciful quality, did not permit Hanuman from doing any harm to them. That is why She is the purushakara. That is, She recommends to the Lord to accept the saranagathi of devotees. She makes the Lord listen to their prayers. In Mahabharatha, the war was over after 18 days and Pandavas were returning to their palaces and Sri Krishna was to move to Dwaraka. At that time He saw Mahatma Udhanka, still meditating. Sri Krishna appeared before him and told the war was over. What war, Udhanka asked. The war between Pandavas and Kauravas, Sri Krishna told. Why were they fighting, again asked Udhanka. Sri Krishna told that Kauravas sinned against Pandavas. Udhanka again asked why they sinned. Sri Krishna told that because in the previous birth, Kauravas committed sins. Udhanka, insisted why they did sins in the previous births. Sri Krishna knew that Udhanka was trying to trap Him and so He said that He was proceeding to Dwaraka. Udhanka said that he knew that his questions could not be answered and he knew that Pandavas had the blessings of the Lord, while Kauravas did not have. But he requested that the Lord should bless him also with the Viswaroopam, He exhibited to Arjuna. Sri Krishna accepted his request and showed him the Viswaroopam. 
Alwar in the last pasuram of this Kshetram says that by worshiping the Lord here, he redeemed himself [உய்ந்தவன் ஆலியன்Periya Tirumozhi- 4.2.10]. He uses the words அண்ணல், சேவடி and உய்ந்து. First word annal indicates tatva [तत्त्व ], second word sevadi demotes hita [हित ] and the last word uyndhu points to purushartham [पुरुशार्थम]. Tatva is the entity, which we have to attain. Hitam shows us the means and purushartha is the final reward we get. Thus by seeking the Divine feet of the Lord, we can redeem ourselves. Gita tells us this concept in 700 slokas, while Alwar tells this in a single pasuram!
Parvati requests lord Shiva to tell her the greatness of Chapter 9 and lord Shiva told her what he heard Sri Narayana telling Sri MahaLakshmi. On the banks of river Narmada there was a town Vagheeshmati and in it lived a noble brahmin, Madhava, who, true to the words in Karma kanda of Vedas, was performing yagnas. Once he desired to reach swarga or heavens and so he wanted to perform a yagna. He brought a goat to be sacrificed in the holy fire. At that time the goat spoke to Madhava and asked the logic of killing it to enable Madhava to reach heaven. Surprised at goat speaking, he requested the goat to advise him. The goat commented he was wasting his learning in pursuing yagna to go to swarga. The goat further said that in its earlier birth it was also a brahmin doing yagna and once tried to sacrifice a goat and that goat cursed that he should be born as goat and experience the same sufferings. The goat was born first as a monkey and to its sorrow, the wife in its earlier birth as brahmin, teased the monkey. Then it was born as a dog and then a horse and now a goat. Surprised at this Madhava asked how he could get rid of these sufferings. Goat narrated a story. In Kurukshetra there lived a brahmin, who wanted to donate gifts during eclipse as in shastras. He prepared an idol of Kalanemi in gold and tried to gift to another. The idol told the brahmin not to do, because if he did, two persons would emerge and kill him. Undaunted by this, the Brahmin made the gift and two persons one male and another female emerged and tried to kill the Brahmin. The Brahmin simply murmured something and the two persons fell down dead. It was known that the Brahmin simply chanted the Chapter 9 and its effect was that he could not be killed. Understanding the greatness of Chapter 9, Madhavan recited the same and attained better levels. With this Chapter 9 ends.

                                                                                                (continued)

GITA 9.36

GITA 9.36

Swami Ramanuja says that since Brahman is Most superior, He is Purushottama. We are now in Sri Purushottama sannidhi. 

UTSAVAR SRI PURUSHOTTAMAN

 That is why the Lord proudly mentions Himself as Purushottama! Tirumangai Alwar praises the Lord in the pasuram "induvar sadaiyeesanai.. (இந்துவார் சடையீசனை ...Periya Tirumozhi-4.2.9). The Lord is with Four Arms. Lord Shiva's father is lord Brahma, whose Father is Sriman Narayana and so He becomes Sri Purushottaman! He is the Root Cause of all and everything.  

After worshipping Sri Purushottama, we will come to the last, 35th sloka of Chapter 9:

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat-parayanah

"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."

After completing this, we would have finished half of the 18 Chapters of Gita. Out of the total 700 slokas, we are nearing 400 slokas and so sloka-wise we are ahead of 50%. Balance number is smaller. We have studied very important topics so far. Today's [25th July 2008] lecture also is about Bhakti yoga. In the remaining Chapters, the Lord is to reveal very astonishing concepts. He is going to show His Viswaroopam and explain Who He is. We have to, therefore, continue with same interest further study of Gita. By this last sloka of this Chapter, the Lord prescribes Bhakti yoga. In this sloka, the Lord tells about Himself as 'I', 'My' and 'Mine' six times. He has so much Greatness and so He proudly tells about Himself. Should He boast Himself so much? Swami Ramanuja in his commentary says because He is Purushotthama, He prescribes Bhakti to all, by such repetitions. Aptly we have also come to this sannidhi of Sri Purushotthama. Tirumangai Alwar has praised the Lord as Sri Rama, Who lived in Ayodhya. Earlier it was told that the Lord in the Eleven Divya desams here had arrived from various other Kshetrams. In this Vanpurushotthamam Kshetram, the Lord had arrived from Ayodhya. Perialwar in one pasuram, "vadathisai mathurai salakkiraamam (வடதிசை  சாளக்கிராமம்....Periyalwar Tirumozhi-9), says that Mathura, Salagram, Vaikuntam, Dwaraka, Ayodhya and Badri are all the living places of Sri Purushotthama. Perhaps, because of this, the Lord has arrived here. Sri Rama is considered as the best and so He is Uttama among Purusha and so Sri Purushottama. Among purusha, there are some very low, some ordinary and some excellent. Swami Periyavacchanpillai has done this categorisation. Lowest category is the person who wants to live himself even at the cost of others. The better category is he, who wants to live and let others live. The highest category is that person who wants others to live even at the cost of himself. Such a person is Purushotthaman. Here Purusha does not denote men but Jeevatman. Our heart is considered as Puram or dwelling place. Since atman resides there, Jeevatman is called Purusha. Sri Andal also calls Him as Ongi ulagalanda Uttaman [ஓங்கி உலகளந்த உத்தமன்..]. Thus the father and his Daughter call the Lord as Sri Purushottama. Sri Rama went to forest relinquishing Kingdom, so that His father's promise was kept up. In North India, the Lord Sri Rama is addressed as Maryada Purushottam Ram, because He followed and kept up the conventions and law of the land. So it is necessary that we have to worship Sri Purushottama here. Alwar worshipped the Lord here and was mesmerised by His beauty. Showing abhayam by his right palm and keeping the left arm on His lap, the Lord graces along with His Two Consorts. Alwar says that lord Shiva was created by lord Brahma, who was created by the Lord in His navel. The Lord is the Cause of all and so Sri Purushotthama. Man mana bhava = have the mind in Me [Sri Krishna], mad bhakta = love, or perform Bhakti in, Me [Sri Krishna], mad yaji = perform Aradhana or pooja to Me [Sri Krishna], mam namaskuru = prostrate to Me [Sri Krishna], by doing like this, mam evaishyasi = attain Me [Sri Krishna] alone, evam = thus, atmanam = [Arjuna's] mind, yuktva = is practiced, mat parayana = I [Sri Krishna] am the objective or purushartha or destination. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that by practising Arjuna's mind to think of the Lord, by loving the Lord, by performing Aradhana and pooja to the Lord, by worshiping and prostrating to the Lord alone, Arjuna will attain Him. Swami Ramanuja says that all these actions could be done only if He deserved, but He is Sri Purushotthama and so, we have to do these. If we weigh the qualities of the Lord on one side and all other things on the other, we find His qualities are incomparable. He is the Commander and we are just servants to execute His orders. There is absolutely no blemish in His qualities, while we can never find anyone with such perfect qualities. He is the Only One capable of granting most superior Vaikuntam. His beauty has no comparables. Thus there is a wide gulf between Him and the best among ourselves. Thus in every aspect, He is superior and so Sri Purushotthama. Then, Who else we can think of? Once we think of Him and His qualities, we love Him; then worship Him and perform pooja to Him. Four types of pooja services we can do: 1) Aupacharikam [ஔபசாரிகம்] - we honour Him with thiruvandhikkappu [திருவந்திக் காப்பு] with camphor lit flame, etc. 2) Samparthikam [ஸாம்பர்திகம்]- presenting flowers, garlands, sandalwood paste, etc. 3) Sandhrhrushtikam [சாந்த்ருஷ்டிகம்] - showing mirror, lamp,etc., and 4) Aapyavaharikam [ஆப்யஹவகாரிகம்] - presenting food and other eatables.

                                                                                                       (continued)