Venkatanathanum Thiruvenkadamudayanum - part 11

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/11/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum_15.html?spref=fb

Lord Srinivasa in Narasimhar Alamkaram

 “kaNNan adiyiNai emakku kaattum veRpu” can also be interpreted to denote Lord Narasimha. “Kan” refers to place; since Perumal is present everywhere, He is called as “Kannan”. Prahaladazhwan mentioned to Hiranyakashipu that, Perumal is omnipresent. He said that, ‘engum ulan Kannan’. Perumal took the form of Lord Narasimha and was present in each and every object in order to prove the words uttered by Prahaladazhwan. Perumal’s swaroopam is present everywhere but, His divya mangala Vigraham is not present everywhere. With the intention of proving Prahaladan’s words as true, Perumal took up the divya mangala Vigraha form of Lord Narasimha and was present everywhere in this divine form. The Lord incarnated not to protect Prahladan as, He could have done this task without having to incarnate but, to protect Prahaladan’s words. While the Lord had protected Prahladan from fire, snakes, elephants and poison without incarnating, He incarnated from the pillar because, with firm faith Prahladan told Hiranyakashipu that, the Lord was omnipresent. Thus, to uphold Prahladan’s faith He incarnated the instant Hiranyakashipu’s mace touched the pillar. The Lord’s Narasimhaavataram is glorious because He appeared to uphold the words of a five year old child! He appeared with the face of a lion and not that of any other animal because, Hiranyakashipu threatened to pounce on Prahladan like a lion.

Lord Narasimha appears instantly to help anyone who calls Him during an emergency. Lord Rama revealed Himself as Narasimhan when He informed Sugreevan that, with just the tip of His nails He can destroy the hosts of any beings be they asuras, rakshashas, devas or gandharvas. During other incarnation the Lord has to hold His weapons in His hands while as Narasimhan the weapons never leave His hands!

पिशाचान् दानवान् यक्षान् पृथिव्याम् चैव राक्षसान् ||६-१८-२३

अन्गुलि अग्रेण तान् हन्याम् इच्चन् हरि गण ईश्वर |

"O, Sugreeva, Lord of monkey-troops! If I wish, I can kill those devilish beings, demons, supernatural beings and ogres living on earth with just a tip of my finger" (http://valmikiramayan.net/utf8/yuddha/sarga18/yuddha_18_frame.htm) The name “Kannan” therefore draws our attention to “Nirsimha Garbham”.

The glories of Lord Nirsimha are closely tied with the sthala puranam of Tirumala. During Srinivasa Kalyana Utsavam when Lord Srinivasa wed Padmavathy Thayar, the food prepared by Lord Agni for the wedding was first offered to Lord Narasimha of Ahobilam who came to Tirumala to accept the offering. Archai of Lord Narasimha is consecrated in the North East corner of the temple. This line, “kaNNan adiyiNai emakku kaattum veRpu” reminds us about Lord Narasimha whose Vaibhavam was highlighted during the Srinivasa kalyana Utsavam.

It is playfully mentioned by the devotees that, Lord Rama who was a prince worshipped Lord Ranganatha and obtained vanavasam as the fruit of His worship whereas, Lord Srinivasa who was roaming around in the forests of Tirumala was made the emperor after worshipping the Lord of Ahobilam! Hence, through this line, Swami Vedanta Desikan draws our mind to enjoy the glories of Lord Nirsimha who is often referred to as “Peria Peria Perumal” since He was worshipped by both lord Rama during His vanavasam and by Lord Srinivasa.

Lord Nirsimha is praised as the “saranagatha vatsalan” since He rushed to prove the words of a five year old child. It was to lord Narasimhan that Sri Adi Sankaracharyar prayed when he was in danger. He composed “Karavalampam” when he was in danger and prayed to Lord Narasimhan to save him. The best person to surrender to is Lord Narasimha. People who seek Moksham should worship Lord Narasimha. Lord Srinivasa as Lord Narasimhan is ever ready to protect those who seek refuge under His feet. The divine feet of our lord Narasimhan the Saranagatha vatsalan are revealed by the holy hills to even people like us. Bhishmacharya started the Vishnusahasranamam with Narasimha Avataram by mentioning “Narasimha vabhu Sriman”. He is Sriman because He is always with Sri; therefore, He is Srinivasan. Lord of Tiruvenkatam, stands as Narasimhan to save us from all kinds of danger. 

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/02/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum.html

Venkatanathanum Thiruvenkadamudayanum - part 10

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/11/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum_11.html

Vibhishana Saranagathi

Perumal’s dharmam is accepting our saranagathi. It requires special talent to follow ones dharmam without hurting the feelings of other people. Lord Rama faced this situation in Yudha Kandam of Valmiki Ramayana. Vibhishana approached Lord Rama to surrender but he did not approach the Lord directly but, pleaded with the Vanaras to represent his intentions to the Lord. As Vibhishana had approached the Lord through the Vanaras, the Lord wanted to grant refuge to him through the Vanaras as well. Therefore, He asked the opinion of the Vanara warriors. All of them refused to accept Vibhishana in their fold. Maharaj Sugreevan further added that, as Vibhishana had abandoned his brother Ravana during times of need, he was a bad brother and consequently cannot be trusted to be a good friend. Even though, Lord Rama wanted to convey that, Sugreevan had raised to the position of a king only after he had requested Lord Rama to kill his brother Vali, in order to spare Sugreevan’s feelings, He could not mention this bluntly. The Lord always grants refuge to anyone who approaches Him and He never abandons the people who sought His help. If He hurt Sugreevan’s feelings and as a result if Sugreevan left the company of the Lord, then the Lord would have failed in His duty to never abandon the company of Sugreevan. But, if He followed the advice of Sugreevan, then, He would be unable to accept Vibhishana and hence fail in His solemn vow to grant protection to anyone who approached Him.

The Lord used great tact to overcome this situation.  He told Sugreevan that, not all brothers were good brothers like His brother Bharathan, nor were all sons good son like Himself since He had followed His father’s words and had accepted to live in the forest in exile. He then added that, not all friends were good friend like Sugreevan thereby indicating to Sugreevan that, Sugreevan was a bad brother but a good friend. Similarly Vibhishana might be a bad brother but he could be a good friend. After hearing the Lord’s words Sugreevan immediately changed his opinion and agreed to accept Vibhishana in their fold.

Since on the day, Sri Peria Tirumalai Nambhi finished teaching “Vibhishana Saranagathi” to Swami Ramanujar some visitors from the Pandya country arrived with the archai of Lord Rama along with Ilaya Perumal, Anchaneya Swami, Sugreeva Maharaja and Angadan, Perumal draws our attention to the saranagathi shastram called “Ramayana”.

The above line “kaNNan adiyiNai emakku kaattum veRpu”,thus makes us think about Lord Rama who came to Tirumala so that everyone can attain His divine feet. By coming to Tirumala on the day when swami Ramanujar learnt Vibhishana Saranagathi from his uncle, Perumal draws our attention to the Rama Charama slokam.

सकृद् एव प्रपन्नाय तव अस्मि इति च याचते ||६-१८-३३
अभयम् सर्व भूतेभ्यो ददामि एतद् व्रतम् मम |

sakR^ideva prapannaaya tava asmi iti yaachate

abhayam sarva bhuutebhyaH dadaami etat vratam mama

"The person who seeks refuge in me just once, telling me that, ‘I am yours', I shall give him/her assurance of safety against all types of beings. This is my solemn pledge"

The purport of Varaha Charama Slokam and Rama Charama Slokam is thus emphasized by Lord Srinivasa symbolically through His posture on the Tiruvenkatam Hill.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/11/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum_21.html