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; aAEt hr-to/m^ ;
; aT aAEt
hr-to/m^ ;
F f\Bo mEy kzZAEfEfrA\ dE£\ Edfn^ sDAvE£m^ .
stApmpAkzm mtAprm f tv dyAyA, -yAm^ ; 1;
avsFdAEm ydAEt
EBrngZEmdmokso\hsA\ Kl m .
tv sàvsFdAEm ydtkfAsn ntvAngZm^ ; 2;
dv -mr\Et tv y tqA\ -mrto_Ep nAEt
ErEtkFEt
m^ .
klyEs Efv pAhFEtdn^ sFdAMyh\ EkmE
tEmdm^ ; 3;
aAEd[yAGktO mAmtyA
EmàsAvGA(m Et .
aAEt
qm>jys mA\ Ek\b}yA\ tvk{pkpA/mhm^ ; 4;
mdAéZFrh\ tv mEy kzZA\ GVEyt\ EvbonAlm^ .
aAk£\ tAt blAdlEmh m { yEmEt smAEsEt ; 5;
(v\ sv
+o_h\ pnr+o_nFfohmFr(vmEs .
(v\ mEy doqAn^ gZyEs Ek\ kTy tdEt Ek\ dyA n(vAm^ ; 6;
aAEtmAt
tr\ mAmp"s EkEmEt Efv n Ek\ dys .
Etgo=tA dFnAEt
ãEdEt Kl f\s\Et jgEt st-(vAm^ ; 7;
þhrAhr EtvAdF PEZtmdAHy iEt pAElto BvtA .
Efv pAhFEt vdo_h\ fto n Ek\ ?vA\ kT\ n pASy-t ; 8;
frZ\ v}j EfvmAtF
-stv hr EdEt stA\ EgrA_hm^ (vAm^ .
frZ\ gto_E-m pAly KlmEp t vFf p"pAtAmAm^ ; 9;
iEt F FDrv \kV
fAy
kEtq aAEt
hr-to/\ s\pZ
m^ ;
The author of this poem, Shridhara Venkatesa was a great devotee. He took immense delight
in
hanting and singing the names of the Lord. One of the traits of a true devotee is his
on
ern for the welfare of other beings. Krishna mentions ( dyA Bt q)
ompassion to
1
others who are suering, as one of the noble ( {dvF s\pt^) qualities that one should
a
quire to make spiritual progress. Great devotees like Shridhara have their minds rmly
xed in the Lord and so were not unduly worried about themselves. They knew that Lord
will take
are of their welfare. Thus, having been freed from worries about
their own welfare, they show
on
ern about the welfare of other beings.
They are moved by the suerings and sorrows of others. Shri Shankara
harya points out this
quality of the great people in Viveka
hudamani (37). They have themselves obtained God's
gra
e and liberation. They are willing to help others also without any motive whatsoever.
It is in their nature to do good to others. In this they are like the spring season.
Another popular verse from the Subhashita in praise of the hearts of good
people says this with a ni
e example. Normally their hearts are
ompared
to butter sin
e, like the butter they easily melt. But the verse points
out that the
omparison is not
orre
t. The reason is that the butter melts
only when it is exposed to heat. But the hearts of good people melt
when they are exposed to other peoples' suerings. The sanskrit word
for heat is tApa tAp, and it also means distress.
Thus there is a pun on the word tApa.
Keeping the helplessness of the vast number of people who have
hosen to forget the
Lord in their
on
ern for their own well being, great saints and a
haryas like
Shridhara have
omposed short and long pie
es of poems that show us the way to
pray and seek His gra
e. The present pie
e is one su
h poem. This is a short
poem
onsisting of nine verses. Herein the poet identies himself with one
su
h person - a weakling and an ignoramus - and
onsequently is ai
ted
with a variety of sorrows and prays to Lord Shiva to remove the ai
tions.
aAEt
, means distress , ai
tion. Four types of people worship Me, says Krishna in
Gita (BG-7-16). The rst among them and the most
ommon one is the distressed.
tEv
DA Bjt
mA\ jnA, skEtno_j
n . aAto
Ej+AsrTA
TF
+AnF
Brtq
B ;
The Lord wel
omes all of them,
alls them virtuous, and says He will
respond to their prayers.
In this poem Shridhara appeals to the Lord for redressal of his suerings.
These verses are very moving in their appeal. The poem is a pre
ious gem
and the readers would like to add it to the
olle
tion of hymns they re
ite
during their prayer. The translations given are not exa
t, but will
onvey
the meaning of the verses. Brief notes have also been provided. Some verses
from other great a
haryas are also given to show the similarity in their
2
thinking. Happily, some of the names used to address the Lord refer to both
Shiva and Vishnu and so one
an take the verses as appealing to either or both.
; aT aAEt
hr-to/m^ ;
F f\Bo mEy kzZAEfEfrA\ dE£\ Edfn^ sDAvE£m^.
stApmpAkz m mtA prm
f tv dyAyA, -yAm^ ; 1;
Meaning:- O Lord Shambhu! please
ast Your vision that is full of ne
tar
like kindness on me and dispel my suering.
Then only will I understand the truth about Your kind nature.
3
people who are suering from a variety of
auses. As said earlier the
word tAp, means both heat and ai
tion. So, the poet prays to the Lord
to dispel his suerings by
asting His eyes on him. Shiva is the repository
of mer
y,
ompassion. Shiva's sight is
omforting be
ause they are over
owing
with
ompassion. He has many names that allude to His kindness.
Some of them are:- dyA, - dyAfFlo dyA, . SS (155).
kpAEnED, - kpA prd,KþhAZ
QCA, t-yA EnEDEr(yn
n sdA
vt
mAn(vm?t\ BvEt .
tEQCv-y EtþEsm^ \ ah
Eàd\ dys EvmNBvm^ .
n vA aojFyo zdý (vdE-t" iEt . sa (30).
The Navavarnaratnamala mentions that Shiva's eyes are brimming with
ompassion
and as a result are moist. E?là "ZmEtkpyA .
The Lord's vision is also like ne
tar. The word amt\ or \Ne
tar" is used
to refer to anything that is extraordinarily lovely or bene
ial. Ne
tar
is reputed to be the drink of the gods and it
onfers on them freedom from
si
kness and old age. So, it is
onsidered to be great. But it
annot
onfer
immortality. The Gita says that the gods like Indra and Brahma will be
reborn and
ome down to the earth when their quota of merit is expended.
aAb}BvnASlokA, pnrAvEt
no_j
n . BG(8-16)
But the sight from the Lord is in
omparably superior to the ne
tar.
The Lord is reputed to have most auspi
ious eyes as they
an not only
remove sorrows of His devotees, but also
onfer all that is good in
luding
immortality. So He has the name fB "Z, - I"Z\ df
n\ y-y
fB\ fBkr\, mm"ZA\ mo"d\, BogATF
nA\ Bogd\,
sv
sd
h-EvQC
dkArZ\, pAEpnA\ pAvn\, ãdyg}T Ev
QC
dkr\,
sv
km
ZA\ "pZ\, aEvAyA Envt
k\ s fB "Z, . VS(393).
Those eyes
an give liberation to those who seek liberation, worldly
pleasures to those who seek them, destroy the sins of the sinners,
larify
all doubts, remove the knot of ignoran
e in the mind and dissolve the
pile of a
umulated karmas. Shri Lalita also has a name that implies
this meaning. She is known as BvdAvsDAvE£, . Bv,
s\sAr ev dAvo vnvE¡, t-y fAmk(vA(sDAvE£,, pFyqvq
Emv . LS(741). She
is like a shower of ne
tar that puts out the forest re of
y
li
existen
e
(i.e) endless
y
le of rebirth.
The question that arises now is what should one do to make the Lord look at him?
Should one have to try hard and do anything extraordinarily diÆ
ult to get
His favour? NO. It is very easy to please Him. Krishna has said that He a
epts
with delight a leaf, a
ower, a fruit or water oered by a devotee. BG(9-26).
p/\ p p\ Pl\ toy\ yo m
B?(yA þyQCEt .
tdh\ B?(ypãtm[nAEm þytA(mn, ;
A
ordingly Shiva is pleased when He is oered some water or even some grass
(like the pani
grass
onsidered sa
red and t for oering to deities).
This is implied in His name.
4
kAzyEnED, - kAzy\ kpA aE-mEàDFyt iEt kAzyEnED, .
aEtslB-
lk jl, dvA
Ed, tZ-vFkAr Z Bog-mo"þd(vAt^ .
\ dl\ Ek\E
(smAdAy
lk\ jlm v vA .
yo d Enym nAsO t-m
{ d
jg(/y\" - iEt ;
EfvgFtAyAm^ ; \ GEZn kpEd
n" iEt Et, . SS(872).
The devotee Shri Appayya Dikshitar regrets that even after knowing the fa
t
that it is very easy to please the Lord with su
h simple oerings and get
even salvation in return, he failed to worship Him as he was a slave to senses
and
onsequently is hastening towards his downfall.
ak
dýoZþBEtksm { , a
n\ t
EvD
y\
þA=y\ t
n -mrhr Pl\ mo"sAm}A>yl#mF, .
et>jAnàEp Efv Efv &yT
ykAlmA(mn^
aA(mdýohF krZEvvfo BysA_D, ptAEm ; AS(8)
The poet Shridhara a
epts the fa
t that he had
ommitted many sins in the
following verse and totally surrenders to Him saying \I am Yours now."
Note:- It is
lear that one should not
ommit a
ts of sin. But it is in human
nature, an inborn weakness to
ommit sins.
But we have heard of expiatory rites (known as þAyE kmA
EZ).
Can not we resort to them and get rid of our sins? No, say the shastras.
These rites like performing some sa
ri
es, giving alms and gifts to deserving
people, going on pilgrimages et
., are no doubt eÆ
a
ious and will wipe o
the sins. But, they are not
omparable to devotion to the Lord in eÆ
ien
y.
This fa
t is repeatedly stressed in Shri Bhagavatam.
ymAEdEByo
gpT
{ , kAmloBhto mh, .
mkds vyA yTA_(mA_A n fAMyEt ; BH(1-6-36)
EvAtp, þAZEnroDm { /F tFTA
EBq
kv}tdAnj=y
{, .
nA(ytfE\ lBt _trA(mA yTA ãEd-T Bgv(ynt ; BH(12-
3-48).
5
These expiatory rites, while they are
apable of removing some sins,
do not make the mind give up its inherent tenden
ies (
alled vAsanA-s).
The senses will
ontinue to exert their pull, and
onsequently we will,
before long, fall a vi
tim to their wiles. Even wise persons are helpless
as the senses are very powerful. Krishna points out this in Gita.(2-60).
ytto Ep kOt y pzq-y EvpEt, .
iEdýyAEZ þmATFEn hrEt þsB\ mn, ;
The mind is powerfully in
uen
ed by evil tenden
ies inherited from previous
births. So, attempts to restrain or mend its ways will not yield su
ess easily.
sdf\
£t
-v-yA, þkt
+A
nvAnEp .
þkEt\ yAEt BtAEn Eng}h, Ek\ kEr yEt ; BG(3-33).
This is dis
ussed at length in Book six in the story of Ajamila.
The King Parikshit brings up the point giving the example of an elephant.
The elephant goes to a river for a bath. After enjoying a long bath,
it gets out. On going to the bank of the river it will toss
mud all over its body and get dirty again. Similarly, if the the mind is
left to itself, it will go in its old ways.
?vE
Eàvt
t
_BdýAt^ ?vE
Q
rEt t(pn, .
þAyEmto_pAT
\ my kjrsO
vt^ . BG(6-1-10)
Then, is there no way to get rid of our sins? The only way is to tie the
mind to God by developing devotion to Him. The sage Shuka answers this by
narrating the story of Ajamila. A part of the story is a dialogue between the
messengers of the Lord and messengers of Yama. The following verses are
from the explanation given by the former about expiatory rites. The
translation given is not exa
t but gives the meaning of the verses.
{ kAEtk\ tEkt
n _Ep En kt mn, pnDA
vEt
ds(pT
.
t(km
EnhA
rmBF=stA\ hr g
ZAnvAd, Kl svBAvn, ; BH(6-2-12)
The pro
ess of expiation
annot be
onsidered
omplete if one's mind runs
ba
k to its evil ways after it is
ompleted. Be
ause of this reason,
for those who want the eradi
ation of the sto
k of their sins the uttering of
the glory of the Lord is the only remedy sin
e it undoubtedly puries the mind.
g!ZA\
lGnA\
g!EZ
lGEn
.
þAyEAEn pApAnA\ +A(vo?tAEn mhEq
EB, ; BH(6-2-16)
The great sages have pres
ribed arduous and easy pro
esses of expiation for
the
ase of serious and small sins.
{ -tAyGAEn pyt
t tpodAnjpAEdEB, . nADm
j\ tdy\ tdpFfAER^G}s
vyA ; BH(6-2-17)
The pro
esses of expiation, su
h as penan
e,
harity and
hanting of prayers,
do no doubt get rid of the sins. But the vestige in the form of impressions
whi
h is tra
eable to the unrighteous a
ts remains. These impresions
(vAsanA-s vAsnA) too are eradi
ated by devotion to the Lord's feet.
The Narayaneeyam states this su
in
tly as follows. (22-7).
Et-m(<yA\ EvEhtA v}tAdy, pnEt pAp\ n lnEt vAsnAm^ .
ants vA t EnktEt yFEmEt þBo (v(pzqA bBAEqr ;
The austerities like fasting et
., pres
ribed in the s
riptures will destroy
6
sins but not the impressions. But servi
e to the Lord destroys both the
sins and impressions.
Be
ause of this fa
t, saints and a
haryas have sought God's mer
y to over
ome
their problems with their minds. The great a
harya Shri Vedanta Desika in
his Nyasa Dasakam (8) pleads to the Lord and says \You have to forgive my
sins and make them inoperative. And also please make sure I do not again
indulge in su
h sinful a
tivities in future. It is possible for You to do
this as You are all powerful and known to be the reservoir of mer
y."
Thus he shows the way to pray.
(vd
kr"-y mm (vm
v kzZAkr . n þvt
y pApAEn þvAEn Envt
y ;
It is be
ause of this fa
t that Lord is known as Hari - one who removes sins
of those who surrender to Him.
hEr, . hrEt pApAEnEt . SA(96) and VS(359) -
-mEtmA/ Z p\sA\ pAp\ s\sAr\ vA hrtFEt .
also as pApnAfkr, . lOEkkv { Edk-nAmEB, kFEt
t,, tTA lOEkkv{ Edk
{ , -to/
{ -tt,
tTA p
A"rAEdEB, j=t, pEjt umAshAy(vAEd!p Z -mto yAn
n vA
pApnAfkr, . SS(355). Whether His names are uttered or praised by hymns
or remembered by
hanting mantras like the pan
hAkshara or worshipped or
meditaed upon He removes the sins. tvAE-m \I am yours now" These words should at
on
e bring to our mind the famous assuran
e of the Lord, in His in
arnation as Rama,
given when Vibhishana surrendered to Him. Rama pro
laimed (Yuddha Kanda- 18-33):
skdv þpàAy tvA-mFEt
yA
t
. aBy\ sv
Bt
<yo ddAMy
td^ v}t\ mm ;
\I assure se
urity from all beings to him who
omes to me on
e and asks for
prote
tion saying \I am yours." This is my vow."
Shri Appayya Dikshita also says \I am no doubt a sinner, easily yielding to sense
pleasures, always transgressing the s
riptural injun
tions, petty minded, not
having even a tra
e of merit and so on. But now I have surrendered at Your
feet. It is not proper on Your part to ignore me now."
7
and m(y\jy, . m(y, mrZ\ -vB?tAnA\ m(y\ jyEt
-vopAsnyA pErhrtFEt m(y\jy, .
\ ìy\bk\ yjAmh
sgED\ pE£vD
nm^ .
uvA
zkEmv bDnAm(yom
"Fy mAmtAt^" . iEt
\ yE-my?tA qyo dvtA, tm v +A(vA
m(ypAfAECnE" iEt t . SA (71) and SS(123).
Yama being the destroyer of everything is known as kAla. Even Yama is destroyed
by Him and so Shiva is known as kAlakAla.
dv -mr\Et tv y
t
qA\ -mrto_Ep nAEt
ErEt kFEt
m^ .
klyEs Efv pAhFEt dn^ sFdAMyh\ EkmE
tEmdm^ ; 3;
Meaning:- O Lord, I have heard that those who think of You do not get exposed
to suering. I am
rying \Shiva! save me", and still
ontinue to suer.
Is this proper?
Note:- As said earlier, Shiva has the name Hari. The name means that he removes
the sins of even those whose hearts are loaded with evil tenden
ies.
hEr, . \ hErh
rEt pApAEn d£E
{ rEp -mt," iEt .
SS(542). Thus the author should not have been exposed to suering.
How to express the fa
t that \I have surrendered to You and am yours now?"
This is answered by saying that I am
rying and saying \Shiva, save me".
Keeping this idea in the mind, we have the habit of saying the following verse
at the end of our daily puja or prayer
ayTA frZ\ nAE-t (vm v frZ\ mm .
t-mAt^ kAzyBAv
n r" r" mh r ;
'O Lord, Maheshvara! I have no re
ourse other than You.
So, out of mer
y, please prote
t me.'
Note:- An important quali
ation of one who
laims to be the Lord's devotee
is to desist from a
ts prohibited in the s
riptures as wrong and sinful.
The s
riptures were given out by the Lord Himself. So, violating the
s
riptural injun
tions amounts to disobeying His orders and as a result
be
ome a serious oen
e. This being so, how
an one say 'I am a sinner'
and
laim to be a devotee and have surrendered to Him? The author puts forth a
spe
ious explanation to justify his sins of omission and
ommission. We too
would have heard the same statements from some people. They say that God is
behind every a
t and thought of ours. The upanishads and Gita too have some
8
statements that seem to support this view. For example, Krishna said that
dierent kinds of dispositions of beings, su
h as intelligen
e, wisdom,
non-illusion, patien
e, truth, self-restraint,
almness, pleasure, pain,
birth, death, fear,se
urity, inno
en
e, equanimity,
ontentment, austerity,
bene
ien
e, fame, shame all arise from Him, the Lord alone. (BG 10-4,5).
9
to be worthy of Your gra
e and hen
e took the wrong path. I am just a wret
hed
person. You should thrust Your gra
e on me and save me.
Note:- After putting forth the plausible argument, the author immediately
feels remorseful and prays to the Lord to save him.
Why should the poet
all himself a dull witted person?
The word \dullard" or md, has a spe
ial meaning in the
vedanti
parlan
e. It is used to refer to one who la
ks dis
rimination and does
not have the wisdom to make the right
hoi
e when several options are open
to him. For example, when a
hild is asked to
hoose between a big
olorful
baloon and a hundred rupees note, it will go for the baloon only. This is
be
ause the baloon appears
olorful and it
an derive joy by playing with the
baloon. The
hild, being immature
annot understand the value of the
urren
y
note. Similarly, our s
riptures present two options to us. One is the path
that provides for material benets that
an provide worldly enjoyment. The
other is the path that shows the way to benedi
tion or blessedness that
an give
lasting happiness. But the latter being not visible and immediately available,
most opt for the rst path that seems to give happiness here while living.
The s
riptures say that su
h people are immature and la
k deep wisdom. This is
be
ause the happiness one
an get in this world is short lived. They will
ome
to an end some day. And they are not unmixed with sorrow. So, they
annot be
termed as real joy. Whereas the path that leads to God assures lasting pea
e and
happiness though the results may not be evident here and now. Be
ause of these
reasons people who have not studied the s
riptures deeply and la
k full faith
in what they say, stay away from the superior path shown by them. Yama, the
god of death, says this to his student Na
hiketas in Kathopanishad. (1-2-2).
y þy mn ym t-tO s\prF(y EvEvnE?t DFr, .
yo Eh DFro_EB þyso vZFt
þyo mdo yog"
mAt^ vZFt
;
How do su
h \dull witted" people spend their time? Shri Bhagavata says that they
slog in pursuit of wealth, se
urity et
. But these things so earned
annot
assure happiness or se
urity. So, the text terms the eort spent in sear
h
of money and su
h material gains as \frivolous pursuits" and
alls these
people as \unfortunate ones." They work hard during the day and by the end
of the day they are totally exhausted. So, they drop o to sleep. Thus their
lives are frittered away in sleep by night and in frivolous pursuits by day.
They miss the very goal of life. BH(1-16-9)
md-y mdþ+-y vyo mdAyq-y
.
EndýyA E yt
n?t\ EdvA
&yT
km
EB, .
God is the power behind the mind as said earlier. But He had also given us
s
riptures to guide our
ondu
t. They
learly state what
onstitutes the right
deed and what a
ts are prohibited and so to be given up. One who wants to grow
spiritually and seek the Lord's gra
e should use his dis
retion and take the
right path. Krishna says this to Arjuna and points out that if one still takes
to negle
t the s
riptural injun
tions under the impulse of desire or greed he
will not attain happiness in this world nor the higher worlds. BG-(16-23,24).
10
y, fA-/EvEDm(s>y vt
t
kAmkArt, . n s EsEmvA=noEt n sK\ n prA\ gEtm^ ;
t-mAQCA-/\ þmAZ\ t
kAyA
kAy
-&yvE-TtO . +A(vA fA-/EvDAno?t\ km
kt
EmhAh
Es ;
The sages have also said this in their Smriti texts. Sage Yagnavalkya had said
in his work thus -
EvEht-yAnn¤AnAt^ EnEdt-y
s
vnAt^ . aEng}hAQ
EdýyAZA\ nr, ptnmQCEt ;
By failing to do the pres
ribed duties,
by doing deeds that are prohibited by the s
riptures and by not having
ontrol
over the senses one seeks his fall. Keeping this in mind, Shri Vedanta Desika
admits his failings and prays to the Lord. (Nyasa Dasakam. 9). He says -
ak(yAnA\
krZ\ k(yAnA\ vj
n\
m
. "m-v EnEKl\ dv þZtAEt
hr þBo ;
You, the Lord known to be the one who removes the suerings of the devotees
who surrender to You, have to pardon me for
ommitting the a
ts prohibited by
the s
riptures and failure to perform those a
ts that are pres
ribed by the
s
riptures. Shri Appayya Dikshitar also appeals to the Lord to ex
use his
transgressions that he had made knowingly. He is going about without shame
or fear of the
onsequen
es of su
h transgressions. And he says he had
done so in his previous births also. He wonders how he
an get away from his
innumerable problems without Lord's gra
e.(AS-11).
uSl¿^yA+AmXpEtklA
X t Evv
(y?tA
Ar, pfvdDnA m?tl>jrAEm .
ev\ nAnAEvDBvtEtþA=tdFGA
prAD,
?l
fA\BoED\ kTmhmt
(v(þsAdAr
ym^ ;
Mind is known as one of the organs like the eyes and ears. The word mind is
used to refer to the intelle
t, memory and the
apa
ity to re
olle
t also
a
ording to the
ontext. Only, it being invisible is
alled an inner organ
and it leads the external organs to a
t a
ording to its di
tates. Be
ause our
mind is s
attered in many dire
tions due to our atta
hments and vi
issitudes
in our lives it is restless. It is diÆ
ult to
ontrol and fo
us it on a
spe
i
obje
t like God. Even the great warrior Arjuna had a
epted this fa
t
and said that the mind is indeed restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate.
Therefore it is virtually impossible to restrain it. It is as diÆ
ult
as restraining the wind.
11
quality of life in the ensuing births. On the other hand, we
an do all of
them. Using the free will we may dis
ard
ourses that are not bene
ial to us
and
hoose the path that appears right to us. Thus, God has blessed us with
a powerful organ with whi
h we
an a
hieve great goals. The greatest goal,
said in our s
riptures is moksha or liberation from
y
li
existen
e.
This
an be attained by humans only. To help us to a
hieve this obje
tive,
the kindly God has also given us s
riptures whi
h talk in detail about the way
to attain the goal. Sin
e all of us
annot be expe
ted to read and understand
the texts, He has also sent us great saints who are willing to guide us.
We are only required to heed their advi
e, get hold of the mind and
hannelise
it towards God. It is admittedly a diÆ
ult task. The task is
omparable to
apturing a wild elephant and taming it. The elephant is a very strong animal.
But, on
e it is tamed, it
an be trained to do very diÆ
ult jobs.
Our mind is like the wild elephant - diÆ
ult to train. If we try hard and
tame it and train it to do our bidding it
an lead us to liberation itself.
So the upanishad says:
mn ev mn yAZA\ kArZ\ bDmo"yo, . bDAy EvqyAs?t\ m?t\ EnEv
qy\ -mtm^ ;
Mind is the
ause for both bondage and liberation. Atta
hed to the obje
ts it
be
omes the
ause for bondage. Freed of atta
hments it be
omes sour
e of
freedom. It is in our power to realise the wrong deeds we
ommit. We have to
stay away from su
h a
ts in future.
12
obtained by one without strength of mind. He should have his goal
learly in
mind and work for it with determination.
nAymA(mA blhFn n l<y, . MU (3-2-4) and again in Kathopanishad (1-3-24).
Yama says that the Supreme Being is not obtained by one who has not abandoned
evil
ondu
t, whose is not
alm, who has not subdued his senses and mind,
though the person be endowed with sharp intelle
t.
nAEvrto dErtAàAfAto nAsmAEht, . nAfAtmnso vAEp þ+An
n
{ nmA=nyAt^ ;
So, it is very ne
essary to get
ontrol over it and turn it to the other
dire
tion, namely the spiritual path.
The poet said that his mind is still not fully established in the Lord's feet.
So he still has a long way to travel before he
an
all himself a devotee. We
should remember here that the author Shridhara is saying this as our representative.
þhrAhr
Et vAdF PEZtmdAHy iEt pAElto BvtA.
Efv pAhFEt vdo_h\ fto n Ek\ (vA\ kT\ n pASy-t
; 8;
Meaning:- I have heard a story that You blessed a da
oit leader be
ause he
was unwittingly repeating Your name \Hara" whenever he said
prahara þhr to mean \beat him up", and aahara aAhr
to mean \kill him". I am wittingly uttering Your name \Shiva" and saying
\save me".Am I not dependant on You? Do I not desreve to be prote
ted by You?
13
Note:- Even when uttered
asually or unwittingly, the Lord's names purify.
They are so powerful. This is said in Shivagita. This says that even if
one utters His name as an ex
lamation in surprise, or in fear or distress
like hunger, he is puried and gets the highest goal.
aAy
vA By
fok
"t vA mm nAm y, .
&yAj
n vA -mr -t s yAEt prmA\ gEtm^ ;
A similar statement is seen in Shri Bhagavatam also.
sA\k(y\ pAErhA-y\ vA -toB\ hlnm
v vA .
{vkW-nAm-g}hZ\ af qAGhr\ Evd, ;
Lord's names utterd as a gesture or in joke or in the midst of a song or
even out of disrespe
t washes away all sins.
yTAgd\ vFy
tmm=y?t\ ydQCyA .
ajAnto_=yA(mgZ\ kyA
m/o_=ydãt, ; BH(6-2-14,19)
Just as a potent medi
ine will
ertainly produ
e its salutary ee
t even
when taken by one who is unaware of its eÆ
ien
y, though by
han
e,
so does the Lord's name reveal its eÆ
a
y even when it is uttered by
someone without being aware of its power. Dakshayani put this for
efully
to her father Daksha when he insulted Shiva in a sa
ri
e
ondu
ted by him.
He did not invite Shiva and His wife Dakshayani. Her father added insult to
the injury by not making any oering to Shiva, her husband. She was
greatly outraged by all this and in her reply said the two letters ( Efv)
SIVA uttered by one even
asually in the
ourse of a
onversation will
remove the sins qui
kly.
yd^ y"r\ nAm Egr
Ert\ nZA\ skt^-þs½AdGmAs hEt tt^ .
pEv/kFEt
\ tml¿^yfAsn\ BvAnho E£ Efv\ Efv tr, ; BH(4-4-14).
Note:- Surrender to the Lord is the only way for one who wants to walk the
new way of life that will free one from sorrows. In parti
ular this is
suited to one who does not have great deal of s
holarship and had not lead
a dis
iplined life. The poet says this in Sharada bhujanga stotram thus.
n m/\ n y/\ n vA -to/rFEt\ EvjAn _Mb v?t\
m,KrFEtm^ .
(vd\EG}þZm}o n pA/\ f
, -yAEdEt (vA\ þp
tv
{ v þsAdAt^ ;
He says \I do not know mantram, tantram, the manner of praisng You and not
even how to express my distress. One who prostrates at Your feet will not
suer any more. Knowing this I surrender to You by Your gra
e only".
Krishna says that even if a person had lived an evil life, but had de
ided
to turn a new leaf and worships Him, the Lord
onsiders su
h a person to
14
be a righteous one and saves him. BG(9-30,31).
Krishna assures that one who turns to Him and be
omes devoted to Him
will not perish. In a similar situation, Shri Vedanta Desika surrenders
to the Lord a
epting his weaknesses.
a+AnvAErEDmpAyDrDr\ mA\
aA+AEvBjnmEk
nsAv
BOmm^ .
Evdn^ BvAn^ EvbDnAT sm-tv dF
Ek\ nAm pA/mpr\ mnt
kpAyA, ; Devanayaka Pan
hashat.(49).
The poet says \O Lord! You are omnis
ient. I am an o
ean of ignoran
e.
I am the rst among sinners. I have broken all Your mandates regarding the
Do's and Dont's. I have no virtue to
laim or take to the path of devotion
or surrender. Thus I am the most indigent person. Thus I am the one who
needs Your mer
y most. Why then are You looking for another person to
show Your mer
y?" It is seen that in these verses the poet repeatedly says
he is a weakling, sinner et
. Obviously su
h statements do not sound ni
e.
They sound like
ringing and whining. Should one keep on making su
h
statements before God who is said to be kind and mer
iful? All of us do
make mistakes. Sometimes su
h mistakes are made knowingly and often
unknowingly also. But no one likes to think of them, not to speak of
admitting them before someone else. It is not in one's nature to
onfess
one's serious sins to another person. Our ego stands in the way of doing so.
In the normal
ase any person has no means of knowing other person's
mistakes unless he witnesses the a
t. A
riminal has to
onfess his
rimes
to a judge when
onfronted with strong eviden
es. If he denies the
harges
or tries to evade them by telling lies et
., he will get into more trouble.
On the other hand if he
onfesses and pleads for mer
y explaining he was
for
ed to
ommit the
rime under for
e of
ir
umstan
es, the judge may
onsider his
ase with sympathy. He may let the oender o with the
minimum penalty. But in our
ase, many of our sins might have been
ommitted in priva
y with no one seeing them. Sins are
ommitted not
only by way of bodily a
tions but by words and thoughts also. The question,
then, is why not keep quiet without talking about them? The answer is
that we may be able to hide our mistakes from other people, but not from
God who sees all and knows all, in
luding our innermost thoughts. Aptly
He is known as the Great Witness or sAkShI.
sA"F - sA"Ad&yvDAn n -v!pboD n I"t p[yEt sv
EmEt sA"F . VS(15).
So, there is no question of hiding anything from Him. But, if we are
15
devoted to Him and sin
erely repent our past mistakes He may take a lenient
view and rid us of the sins that pollute our minds. Krishna tells that just
as the blazing re burns the faggots put into it to ashes qui
kly, devotion
to Him destroys the sins of a devotee. BH(11-14-19).
yTAE`n, ssmAE
, kro(y{ DA\Es B-msAt^ .
tTA mEqyA BE?t, uv { nA\Es k(-nf, ;
Be
ause of this reason God gets the name
pApnAfn, - kFEt
t, pEjto yAt, -mt, pAprAEf\
nAfyn^ pApnAfn, . VS(992). Whether by
hanting of His names, or
worshipped or meditated upon He destroys the heaps of sins of His devotee.
And also
pEv/, - pAvn,: prm-t pmAn^ yAto d£, kFEt
t,
t, pEjt, -mt, þZt, s svA
n^ pApAn^ umlytFEt ;
p krmh\ pEv/mh EmEt Et, ; SS(90).
Fully knowing this, great devotees have repeatedly prayed to Lord to
forgive their sins. They say that they have been unable to resist the
pull of senses and fallen a prey to petty desires, anger, lust, greed et
.,
and have
ommitted many mistakes. They have now realised that they
annot
win over these powerful enemies with their volition and have
ome to the
Lord as the nal re
ourse. So, it is now in
umbent on Him to res
ue them
who are now full of repentan
e.
iEt F FDrv
\kV
fAy
kEtq aAEt
hr-to/\ s\pZ
m^ ;
16
Artiharastotra
O Lord Shambhu! please
ast Your vision that is full of ne
tar like
kindness on me and dispel my suering. Then only will I
understand the truth about Your kind nature. 1
O Lord, I am suering as the
onsequen
e of numerous sins
ommitted by me. But, I am yours now. So, if I am suering
in this manner it does not behoove Your greatness. 2
O Lord, I have heard that those who think of You do not get
exposed to suering. I am
rying \Shiva! save me", and
still
ontinue to suer. Is this proper? 3
You are my inner Self. This being so, it is
lear that it is by
Your indu
ement only I
ommitted various sins and as the result
am now suering. What
an I say in this matter? I deserve to
be the re
epient of Your gra
e. 4
I am a dullard, and the foremost one at that. I have not known how
to be worthy of Your gra
e and hen
e took the wrong path. I am just
a wret
hed person. You should thrust Your gra
e on me and save me. 5
I
onfess I am an ignoramus and a weakling. In
ontrast, You are
omnis
ient and omnipotent. Be
ause of Your omnis
ien
e You are
aware of my faults. What shall I say? Does not Your
ompassion
prod You to overlook my faults? 6
I depend on You. Still why do You ignore me? Cannot You show
some mer
y towards me? The saintly people say that You take
are of those who depend upon You and remove the distress of
those who are destitute and helpless. 7
I have heard a story that You blessed a da
oit leader be
ause he
was unwittingly repeating Your name \Hara" whenever he said prahara
to mean \beat him up", and aahara to mean \kill him". I am
wittingly uttering Your name \Shiva" and saying \save me". Am I
not dependant on You? Do I not desreve to be prote
ted by You? 8
I have heard noble people say \surrender to Shiva. He will remove
your distress". Having faith in those words I surrender to You.
I admit I am a mean person. Will not You save me atleast to make
their statement true? 9
Thus ends the Artiharastotram
omposed by Shridhara Venkatesha.
17
LIFE OF SRIDHARA VENKATESA
18
from His matted hair as he did on an earlier o
asion for Bhagiratha.
Water started
owing out of the well in his house and
ooded the
streets of the village. The villagers got s
ared and prayed to Ayyaval
to forgive them and stop the
ood that was threatening the village. He
a
ordingly prayed again to stop the
ooding and requested her to appear
in the well every year on that day. Even now people
o
k to that pla
e
every year on that day and take bath in the waters of the well in the
belief that Ganga is present in the well on that day. Ayyaval had
omposed a number of works some of whi
h are not yet been printed and
some not available. Some of his works are listed below. (1) Bhagavannama
Bhushanam. (2) Akhyashashti. (3) Daya satakam. (4) Matrubhutasatakam. (5)
Stuti paddhati. (6) Shivabhakthikalpalata. (7) Shivabhakta lakshanam. (8)
Taravali stotram. (9) Artihara stotram. (10) Kuliresvarashtakam. (11)
Jambhunathashtakam. (12) Doshapariharashtakam. (13) Krishnadwadasha
manjari. (14) A
hyutashtakam. (15) Dola navarathnamala. (16)
Padamanimanjari - a sanskrit di
tionary. (17) Shahajiraja
haritam.
19