॥ Slokam 81 ॥
kR^ipe vigatavelayaa kR^ita samagra poShaistvayaa
kali jvalana durgate jagati kaaLa meghaayitam.h.
vR^iSha xiti dharaadiShu sthiti padeShu saanuplavaiH
vR^iShaadripati vigrahair.h vyapagataakhilaa vagrahaiH ॥ 81 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh Dayaa Devi! Inspired by Your command, the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam manifests Himself as ArchA Moorthys at different dhivya dEsams. Those divine forms of Your Lord are the nourishing rain bearing clouds for the people of this world. For this KaaLa mEgham to drench the world with all soubhAgyams, You are there to remove any obstacles such as Your Lord’s anger over those who violate His injunctions (nigraha sankalpam of Your Lord). You make sure that His anugraha sankalpam is dominant in His archA moorthams. These archa forms of Your Lord are like the KaalamEgams roaming around the hills of ThiruvEnkatam, ThirumAlirumchOlai, Thiruneermalai et al. Just as the rainy season clouds need wind, thunder and lightning as accompaniments, Your Lord incarnates with His nithyasooris like AdhiSeshan, Garudan and VishvaksEnar as well as His five weapons. Similar to the rainy clouds rejuvenate the burnt out sections of fire swept forests, the archA ThirumEnis of Your Lord at the different dhivya dEsams come to the rescue of SamsAris scorched by the fire of Kali Purushan. This suffering samsAris, who had lost their vivEkam due to the merciless attacks of Kali Purushan get rid of the dominating TamO guNam and gain Satthva guNam to engage in Prapatthi anushtAnam for Moksha Siddhi. If one reflects on who is responsible for these blessings to the SamsAris, it becomes obvious that it is You, Dayaa Devi, who is responsible for these boons. Your Lord would not have taken these archAvathArams without the manifestation of Your anukampaa (KaruNai/Dayaa).
॥ Slokam 82 ॥
prasuuya vividhaM jagat tadabhi vR^iddhaye tvaM daye
samIxaNa vichintana prabhR^itibhiH svayaM taadhR^ishaiH.
vichitra guNa chitritaaM vividha dhoSha vaideshikiiM
vR^iShaachalapateH tanuM vishasi matsya kuurmaadikaam.h ॥ 82 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh SrinivAsa KaruNE! Just as You are instrumental in persuading Your Lord to manifest in archaa ThirumEnis, You are also the cause behind His Vibhava avathArams like Mathsya, Koorma, Hamsa et al. You enter into those ThirumEnis and perform the avathAra kaaryams (Mathsya KoormAdhikAm VrushAchala pathE: tanum svayam viSasi). If there were to be no dayaa, there would be no reason for these vibhava avathArams to happen. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You bless the jeevAthmAs with indhriyams and sareeram, when they stay in their immobile and helpless state during the PraLayam. Afterwards, You make them enjoy sukham and dukkham according to their Karmaas. Thus, You are the Mother of the universe with its infinite variety of charAcharams. All the sentient beings are Your children. It becomes Your duty to protect them. For this purpose of their rakshaNam, You enter into Your Lord’s VibhavAvathAra ThirumEnis in the suddha satthvamaya form propelled by Your own sankalpam. Just like the Mathsyam, Koormam and Hamsam, You protect Your children thru looking at them, thinking about them and embracing them (Taadhrusai: abhivruddhayE sameekshaNa, vichinthana prabrudhibhi: kaaryENa). The fish is said to protect its little ones by looking at them; the tortoise through thinking about their infants from far way; the swans make sure that little ones gain nourishment by embracing them. Similarly in all these Suddha satthva maya vibhavAvathArams, You invigorate and nourish Your children with Your Dayaa.
॥ Slokam 83 ॥
yugaanta samayochitaM bhajati yoga nidraa rasaM
vR^iSha xitibhR^idiishvare viharaNa kramaajjaagrati.
udiirNa chaturarNavii kadana vediniiM mediniim
samud.h dhR^itavatii daye tad.h abhijuShTayaa daMShTrayaa ॥ 83 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! The Parama Purushan, ThiruvenkadamudayAn engages in Yoga nidhrA during the time of PraLayam. Then, He is in a state of bliss closing His eyes and enjoying all His Iswaryams; at that time, He also contemplates creating the world anew for His sport and the ways to turn the newly created brings into righteous paths in His Leela VibhUthi. During PraLayam, all four oceans unite and water is everywhere (udheerNa chathurarNavee kadanam) and BhUmi is stuck under one corner of PaathALam (lower world). Knowing the difficulties that BhUmi Devi is experiencing at this time, Oh Dayaa Devi, At this time, propelled by Your compassion, You wish to lift BhUmi Devi from the bottom of the ocean. For this purpose, You command Your Lord to take Varaaha avathAram and bring Her up with the help of His tusk and establish BhUmi Devi in Her wonted sTAnam (DayE! mEdhineem tadhabhijushtayA dhamshtrayA samuddhruthavavathee). The cause behind the VarAha avathAram of the Lord is celebrated in this slokam.
॥ Slokam 84 ॥
saTaa paTala bhiiShaNe sarabhasaaTTa haasodbhaTe
spurat.h kR^idhi parisphuTad.h bhR^ikuTike.api vaktre kR^ite.
daye vR^iShagiriishitur.h danuja Dimbha dattastanaa
saroja sadR^ishaa dR^ishaa samuditaakR^itir dR^ishyase ॥ 84 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
This slokam salutes Sri NrusimhAvathAram and the role played by Dayaa Devi in this avathAram. During this avathAram, Sri Narasimha BhagavAn jumped out of the pillar in HiraNyan’s sabhaa so that His devotees’ statement will not become false. The Lord’s leonine face looked fearsome with the manes / facial hair assembly (VakthrE saDApaDala bheeshaNE); the ear splitting laughter was fearsome and majestic (sarabhasa attahAsa udhbhaDE); the eyebrows were moving violently displaying rage (parisphDath bhrUkuDikE sphurath kruthi). The anger was at the apachArams committed by HiraNya Kasipu towards His BhAgavathaa son. Amidst all this display of anger, the soft lotus like glances of Daya Devi were falling on the child BhAgavathan PrahlAdhan and She was nursing him with Her breast milk and looked joyous. AgaDitha GaDanam (Union of polar opposites) was taking place there. The Lord was filled with rage and was ready to tear HiraNyan apart while Dayaa Devi was showing tender compassion towards Bhakta PrahlAdhan at the same time. Daya Devi assumed the role of the caring Mother to that child in distress. Daya Devi stayed in the two eyes of Her Lord and displayed anger with one eye and tenderness with the other.
॥ Slokam 85 ॥
prasakta madhunaa vidhi praNihitaiH saparyodakaiH
samasta duritachchhidaa nigama gandhinaa tvaM daye.
asheSham.h avisheShataH trijagad.h a~njanaadrii shituH
charaacharam.h achiikara sharaNa pa~Ngajena a~Nkitam.h ॥ 85 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Here the involvement of Dayaa Devi in the Vaamana-Thrivikrama avathAram is saluted. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You made it possible for every sentient and the insentient ones in the three worlds to be stamped by the lotus feet of the Lord of AnjanAdhri, ThiruvEnkadamudayAn without partiality (DayE! Thvam AnjanAdhri Yeesithu: charaNa pankaja chara acharam aSEsham avisEshatha: angitham yeeSithu:). Contact with the Lord’s sacred feet became possible for every being in the three worlds without discrimination (aSEsham thrijagath aviSEshatha: ankitham). The mark of the Lord’s sacred feet was seen on every one of the sentients and insentient at that time. Swamy Desikan offers His salutation to those world measuring feet this way: “Vidhi praNihithai: saparyA udhakai: prasaktha madhunA samastha dhurithacchidhA nigama gandhinA AnjanAdhri YeeSitu: charaNa pankajam”. These lotus soft feet of the Lord of Anjana Giri were washed with poojA theertham from the kamanDalu of Brahma Devan; they were generating nectar (honey); those sacred feet have the fragrance of the Vedas (Nigama ParimaLam). They resemble the beautiful lotus in softness. The world and its beings bore the mark of those lotus feet of the Lord as Vaishnava Chinnam. Oh, Dayaa Devi! The world and its beings realized then that they are the Sesham (liege) of Your Lord (Sarva Seshi). While using the destruction of the pride of MahA Bali, Oh Dayaa DEvi, You gained the glory of protecting all the beings of the world.
॥ Slokam 86 ॥
parashvatha tapodana prathana satkrutu upaakR^ita
xitiishvara pashu xarat.h xataja ku~Nkuma sthaasakaiH.
vR^iShaachala dayaalunaa nanu vihartum.h aalipyathaa
nidhaaya hR^idaye daye nihata raxitaanaaM hitam.h ॥ 86 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! You commanded ThiruvEnkadamudayAn to incarnate as ParaSu Raman. There is something unique about this avathAram. This avathAram is an AavEsa avathAram, where the Lord entered into the body of a blessed chEthanam. In this avathAram, the Lord destroyed evil kings. ParaSurAman used His axe to destroy these kings. Oh, Dayaa Devi! Common folks may wonder how You as Dayaa Devi can put up with these cruelties. This is understood by the knowledgeable ones this way without any conflict: The war that ParaSu Raaman had with the kings is akin to a Yaagam. The animals sacrificed in that Yaagam were the KshathriyAs, who misbehaved. They died at the hands of ParaSu Raaman and attained veera svargam after their sins were wiped out. Your Lord killed the offending Kings through ParaSu Raaman, cleansed them of all their paapams and enabled them to attain Sathgathy Oh Dayaa Devi! This is an auspicious act befitting You. He covered You with the saffron paste (the King’s blood) and sported with You. The fight of ParaSu RAman is described as an act of KaaruNyam by the DayALu of ThiruvEnkatam at the behest of Dayaa Devi: “VrushAchala dayALunA nihatha rakshithAnAm hitham hrudhayE nidhAya viharthum ParaSvaTa tapOdhana pratana sath Krathu”. That war to mete out justice is saluted as an auspicious Yaagam (Sath Krathu).
॥ Slokam 87 ॥
kR^ipe kR^ita jagadh hite kR^ipaNa jantu chintaamaNe
ramaa sahacharaM tadaa raghu dhuriiNayantyaa tvayaa.
vyabhajyata saritpatiH sakR^idavexaNaat.h tatxaNaat.h
prakR^iShTa bahu paataka prashama hetunaa setunaa ॥ 87 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Here Sri RaamAvathAram is saluted. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You are celebrated for Your impartiality. Without making any discrimination, You shower Your compassion on the lowly and the lofty ones. You are like the ChinthAmaNi rathnam that grants all the boons in that You fulfill all the desires of those, who have performed SaraNAgathy at Your sacred feet. When the world suffered from the evil acts of RaavaNan, You commanded Your Lord at ThiruvEnkatam to incarnate with SithA PirAtti as Raamachandran, the son of DaSaraTan of Ayodhya. As Raman, You destroyed RaavaNan and his retinue. The world became happy. The impact of Your avathAra kaaryam as Raaman did not stop after the avathAram ended. The fallout from RaamAvathAram lasts even today. You blessed the world with the Raama Sethu, the darsanam of which once destroys all of our sins instantly (sakruth avEkshaNAth tath kshaNAth prakrushta Bahu pAthaka praSama hethu). Oh Dayaa Devi! The MahOpakAram of Yours is lasting beyond the time of RaamAvathAram and is blessing everyone with the Raama Sethu darsanam.
॥ Slokam 88 ॥
kR^ipe paravatas.h tvayaa vR^iSha giriishituH kriiDitaM
jagadhitaM sheShatas.h tadidam.h ittham.h arthaapyate.
madachchhala parichyuta praNata duShkR^ita prexitaiH
hata prabala daanavair.h haladharasya helaa shataiH ॥ 88 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
This slokam celebrates BalarAmAvathAram and sheds light on the links of that avathAram with Dayaa Devi. Oh KrupE! Your Lord is totally under Your influence (Thvayaa Paravatha:). You made Him take the avathAram of Balarama, the elder of KrishNan. BalarAman had a plow as His weapon. He took on the habit of the kings and became accustomed to drinking Madhu. He acted also as one who was under the influence of that Madhu. For consumers of Madhu, things are not recognizable in their true form. That is a defect induced by intoxication. BalarAman used that as an excuse for not reacting to the dhOshams of the devotees. Balarama in this context was unable to see the MahAparAdhams of even serious offenders like DuryOdhanan. He did kill the arrogant Pilampaasuran, who troubled the world. Balarama performed many such heroic acts. Those acts including His drinking of Madhu appear to have caused only auspiciousness to the world. The truth here is that any act performed by Your Lord as per Your command ends up ultimately as producing auspiciousness (Thvayaa Paravatha: Vrushagiri YeeSihtu: kreetitham aSEshatha: Jagath hitham ithi arTApyathE).
॥ Slokam 89 ॥
prabhuuta vibudha dviShad.h bharaNa khinna visvaMbharaa
bhara apanayanachchhalaat.h tvam.h avataarya laxmiidharam.h.
niraa kR^itavatii daye nigama saudha diipa sriyaa
vipaschit.h avigiitayaa jagati giitayaa.andhaM tamaH ॥ 89 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
This slokam celebrates the MahOpakAram of Dayaa Devi during KrishNAvathAram. Oh, Dayaa Devi! The burden of supporting the powerful foes of DevAs, Viz., asurAs was unbearable for BhUmi Devi and She grieved over this situation (PrabhUtha viBhudha dhvishadh bharaNa khinna ViswambarA). Oh, Dayaa Devi! You made the sankalpam to lighten the load of BhUmi Devi and for that purpose ordered Your Lord at Thirumalai to take on the avathAram of KrishNa to sport in the shepherd colony (ViSvambarA bhara apanayana cchalAth Thvam Lakshmidharam avathArya). Through that act of commanding Your Lord to appear as Krishna, You performed the great UpakAram of the birth of Bhagavath Geetha to chase away the intense darkness of ajn~Anam that surrounded the world. The Geetha serves as the bright lamp, whose luster originates from the grand mansion of the Vedas (nigama soudha Dheepa Sriyaa) and is saluted unanimously by the learned ones as the light that banishes the darkness of nescience in this world. The auspicious lamp of Bhagavath Geetha (akaNDa dheepam/ NanthA Thiru ViLakku) and the reassuring Charama slokam therein explains the greatness of Prapatthi to remove our samsAric sufferings once and for all. Oh Dayaa Devi! This MahOpakAram was made possible by You!
॥ Slokam 90 ॥
vR^iShaadri haya saadinaH prabala dormarut.h pre~NkhitaH
tviShaa spuTa taTid.h guNastvadavaseka saMskaaravaan.h.
kariShyati daye kali prabala gharma nirmuulanaH
punaH kR^ita yugaa~NkuraM bhuvi kR^ipaaNa dhaaraadharaH ॥ 90 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
This slokam relates to Kalki avathAram. Swamy Desikan recognizes the Lord of Thirumala as “Haya Saadhina:” and celebrates the sahAyam (assistance) given by Dayaa Devi in this tenth and last avathAram of the Lord. This avathAram takes place at the end of Kali Yugam and ushers in the noble Krutha Yugam, where Dharmam stands firmly on its four legs. Swamy Desikan salutes Dayaa Devi as the cause for this avathAram.
At the end of Kali Yugam, only sinners will be populating this earth. At that time, Dayaa Devi commands the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam to manifest as Kalki avathAran to lighten the load of the universe. Kalki Bhagavan rides on a white horse, carries a glittering sword, destroys the sinners left and sets the stage for the onset of the noble Krutha Yugam. The sword that Kalki Bhagavan carries is dipped in dayaa to destroy the evil ones and to pave the way through that act to make them attain sathgathy. The Sword in the hand of Kalki is like a cloud. When that sword associates with Dayaa Devi, it is like the sword drinking the water of compassion. Kalki Bhagavan’s sword-wielding hand is like a roaring wind that pushes the rain-bearing cloud. When the sword swirls in Kalki Bhagavan’s hands, its radiance falls on all directions. That spreading of the luster of the sword is like the travel of lightning in all directions. That sword‘s movements drenches the world with the rain of Dayaa. Those who get killed by the sword of the Bhagavan reach sathgathy and are rid of their sins. Through this act of destructon of the sinners, all the SamsAra tApams are banished. After the sword of the Bhagavan destroys Kali dhOshams, the scene is set for the dawn of the most auspicious Krutha Yugam. Dharmam will thrive then. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You make Lord Srinivasan take the Kalki avathAram thus and assist Him at the end of this Yugam.
॥ Slokam 91 ॥
visvopakaaram.h iti naama sadaa duhaanaam.h
adhyaapi devi bhavatiim.h avadhiirayantam.h.
naate niveshaya vR^iShaadri pater daye tvaM
nyasta sva raxaNa bharaM tvayi maaM tvayaiva ॥ 91 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
In this slokam, Swamy Desikan prays to Dayaa Devi to forgive his trespasses even after performing Prapatthi to Her and begs Her to overlook them and place him at the sacred feet of Her Lord. Oh Dayaa Devi! So far, You have been blessing adiyEn with all kinds of soubhAgyams corresponding to my requests to You. Knowing this, adiyEn has performed prapatthi at Your feet and left the burden of my protection to You. adiyEn does not have the total independence even if I have performed Prapatthi. You have done the Bhara NyAsam through me and accepted the burden of my protection. Even after that gracious anugraham of Yours, adiyEn does not pay attention to You and think of Your MahOpakAram. adiyEn continues to ignore Bhagavath Saasthrams and that is tantamount to insulting You. Oh Dayaa DEvi! Please forgive all of these past offenses, prevent me from making future apachArams and place me at the sacred feet of Your Lord, who has incarnated as Srinivasan at Thirumala (Thvayi nyastha sva rakshaNa bharam Maam Thvam NaaTE nivEsaya). Here, Swamy Desikan salutes Dayaa DEvi as “Visva UpakAram sadhA dhuhAnam Bhavatheem” (As the Devi, who helps the Universe always with the milk of Her Dayaa).
॥ Slokam 92 ॥
naisargikeNa tarasaa karuNe niyuktaa
nimentare.api mayi te vitatir.h yadi syaat.h.
vismaapayed.h vR^iShagiriisvaram.h api avaaryaa
velaatila~Nghana dasheva mahaam buraasheH ॥ 92 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh Dayaa Devi! Your eagerness to reach Your adiyArs flows like a mighty flood. This is an intrinsic and spontaneous nature of Yours. That speed to respond will make Your Dayaa PravAham a mighty one. This auspicious flood can not be stopped by anyone and will reach the low lands and high lands with equal ease. AdiyEn is like the hard to reach highland. Even after performing Bhara NyAsam at Your sacred feet, adiyEn commits all kinds of aparAdhams due to the sambhandham with my body. adiyen is full of ego thinking that I am a powerful man. That makes me a hard to access high land that is unfit for the drenching by Your dayaa pravAham. Inspite of these difficulties, Your merciful flood that can not be stopped by anything will reach me. That pravAham will remove my aparAdhams by a suitable Praayascchittham and make me pure to enjoy Moksha Sukham. Your Lord standing on top of the ThiruvEnkatam hills will watch the wonder that You perform. He is overwhelmed at the sight of the miracles that You perform like the floods during PraLayam, which reach everywhere (Mahaa ambhurAsE: avAryA vElA adhilanghana daSA iva). How can adiyEn adequately describe the vaibhavam of Yours that astonishes even Your own Lord?
॥ Slokam 93 ॥
vij~naata shaasana gatir.h vipariita vR^ityaa
vR^itraadibhiH parichitaaM padaviiM bhajaami.
evaM vide vR^iShagiriisha daye mayi tvaM
diine vibhoH shamaya daNDa dharatva liilaam.h ॥ 93 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! Bhagavath sAsthrams clearly spell out the karmAs to be performed and the karmAs to be rejected. They also elaborate on the punishments meted out to perform KarmAs that are prohibited and for abandonment of the karmAs that should be done without fail. adiyEn does know about these Saasthrams and yet adiyEn travels on a dangerous path that will certainly provoke Your Lord’s anger. adiyEn is following the path of the Lord’s enemies, VrutthAsuran, HiraNyan and SisupAlan. adiyEn is aware that the punishments due to one who deliberately commits apachArams compared to the one who unconsciously trespasses Bhagavath Saasthrams. Your Lord is obligated to punish adiyEn without being impartial. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You must plead for me with Your Lord and save me from being punished (yEvam vidhE dheenE Mayi VibhO: DhaNDadharathva leelAm Thvam Samaya) although adiyEn deserves those punishments. You must recommend appropriate PrAyascchittha Prapatthi and remove the paapams accumulated from conscious violation of Bhagavaan’s niyamanams. His own SaasthrAs say that one’s paapams acquired from conscious transgressions will be removed by the performance of suitable Praayascchittha Prapatthi.
॥ Slokam 94 ॥
maa saahasokti ghana ka~nchuka va~nchitaanyaH
pashyatsu teShu vidadhaamyati saahasaani.
padmaa sahaaya karuNe na ruNatsi kiM tvaM
ghoraM kuli~Nga shakuneriva cheShTitaM me ॥ 94 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! adiyEn preaches to others and emphasize to them that they should not engage in terrible acts that are against Bhagavath Saasthrams. After performing upadEsam to the others, adiyEn engages in these shameful acts right in front of them. adiyEn adorns the kavacham of UpadEsam, cheats the others and follows the path opposite to that of my upadEsam. My act is like that of the Kulinga bird, which warns other birds not to engage in dangerous acts and yet what does this bird do? When the lion yawns before sleeping and has its cavernous mouth open wide, the Kulinga bird dashes in and tries to pull out the pieces of meat stuck to the teeth of the lion. At any moment, the bird runs the risk of being killed by the closing mouth of the lion. Oh, Dayaa Devi! adiyEn thinks that it is Your duty to prevent me from performing such dangerous acts that I preach against. Why are You watching over my destructive behavior without intervening? You must come to my rescue and send me forward on the righteous path.
॥ Slokam 95 ॥
vixepam.h arhasi daye vipalaayite.api
vyaajaM vibhaavya vR^iShashaila pater.h vihaaram.h.
svaadhiina satva saraNiH svayamatra jantau
draaghiiyasii dR^iDhataraa guNa vaaguraa tvaM ॥ 95 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! You must act as a net to throw at me and catch me and deliver me to the sacred feet of Your Lord, ThiruvEnkadamudayAn. adiyEn is roaming everywhere enjoying the transient worldly “sukhams” and piling up my sins. In this matter, adiyEn is like a wild animal, which roams uncontrollably. You must bless me so that Satthva GuNam becomes ascendant in me. You alone have the power to stop my destructive modes of behavior. You should bring Your Lord to places where adiyEn roams by tricking Him to think that He is arriving there for an enjoyable sport. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You must serve as the tight net of a hunter to catch wild birds and animals. You alone are powerful to catch in Your net all big and small animals. You are the One who stands firm to overpower us even if we accumulate huge amounts of sins. Therefore, You must catch me and place me at the sacred feet of Your Lord and make Your Lord happy over the changes that You have created in adiyEn. You must bless me with all the soubhAgyams.
॥ Slokam 96 ॥
sanatanya maanam.h aparaadhagaNaM vichintya
trasyaami hanta bhavatiiM cha vibhaavayaami.
ahnaaya me vR^iShagiriisha daye jahiimaam.h
aashiiviSha grahaNa keli nibhaam.h avasthaam.h ॥ 96 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! adiyEn is frightened about the continued accumulation of huge bundles of my sins as I think about the harm that they are creating for me (samtanyaMAnam aparAdha gaNam vichinthya thrasyAmi). AdiyEn thinks of You at the same time as my savior (Bhavatheem cha vibhAvayAmi). What a wonder! adiyEn accumulates paapams and follows it up with the performance of PrAyascchittha Prapatthi. This cycle goes on. This is indeed a foolish act. Oh, Dayaa Devi! Please chase away quickly these dangerous acts of mine, which are like that of the snake charmer playing with his poisonous snakes (AaSee visha grahaNa Keli nibhAm imAm mE avasTAm ahnAya jahi). The snake charmer plays with his snakes. Sometimes, they are fast and bite him. He uses antidotes, recovers and resumes his foolish ways. He gets bitten once again and the cycle goes on like my committing trespasses and performing parihArams like PrAyascchittha Prapatthis. This is a dangerous habit. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You must save me from these self destructive acts.
॥ Slokam 97 ॥
autsukya puurvam.h upahR^itya mahaaparaadhaan.h
maataH prasaadayitu michchhati me manastvaam.h.
aalihya taan.h nirava sheShamalabdha tR^iptiH
taamyas.h yaho vR^iShagiriisha dhR^itaa daye tvam.h ॥ 97 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh Mother Dayaa DEvi! As Your son, adiyEn wants to please You and wants to present You with enjoyable food. adiyEn has only one food to offer You. That is the assembly of sins that adiyen abundantly has. adiyEn brings that huge amount of “food” for Your consumption and You gladly swallow them in a gulp. Your appetite is not quenched. You look as though You do not have enough food and appear famished. Your Lord, the possessor of all Iswaryams is standing next to You and supports You. It is a wonder that You stand hungry in spite of all the food available to You. Clearly, Your capacity to swallow all the sins exceeds the available sins. There is no fear about Your capacity to swallow any amount of sins that Your PrapannAs bring to You Not only do You banish all of our sins at the time of Prapatthi but You remove additional sins through the performance of PrAyascchittha Prapatthi. Moved by the simple upAyam of Prapatthi performed by adiyEn, You consider all the MahOpakArams done by You as insignificant. You continue to think thereafter that You have not done enough for me. Admirable indeed is Your mindset!
॥ Slokam 98 ॥
jahyaat.h vR^iShaachala patiH pratighe.api na tvaaM
gharmopatapta iva shiitaLaataam.h udanvaan.h.
saa maamaruntuda bharanyasana anuvR^itti
tadviixaNaiH spR^isha daye tava keli padmaiH ॥ 98 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! During the Summer the surface of the seawater will be hot. Even then the natural coolness of the water below will never leave it. Similarly, when PrapannAs deliberately accumulate sins, the Lord of Thirumalai gets angry. You are next to Him and He can not ever be without You. When He gets angry over the PrapannAs, You (Dayaa DEvi) keep a low profile. Next, You persuade Him to mete out a lighter punishment or encourage a PrAyascchittha Prapatthi to be done by the Prapannan to eliminate the new sins and to remove Your Lord’s anger. Then You resume Your prominent profile. You will not tolerate one thing, however (i-e) Prapannan who has already done Prapatthi once for Moksham repeating that upAyam. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You must bless me and shower Your KaruNA kadAkshams on adiyEn. You must facilitate Your Lord’s majestic KatAkshams to fall on adiyEn. Those kadAkshams are of a cool nature like the lotus that You hold in a sportive manner in Your hand. You must use Your merciful glances to touch adiyEn’s mind and body to reduce the SamsAric heat that adiyEn suffers from.
॥ Slokam 99 ॥
dR^iShTe.api durbala dhiyaM damane.api dR^iptaM
snaatvaa.api dhuulirasikaM bhajane.api bhiimam.h.
baddhvaa gR^ihaaNa vR^iShashaila paterdaye maaM
tvadvaaraNaM svayam.h anugraha shR^i~NgalaabhiH ॥ 99 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh DEvi of ThiruvEngadamudayAn! Elephants enter sometimes into a stage of rut and act wildly. It will discard food in that state; it will resist the goadings of the trainers tool (Maavetti/ ankusam) and continue to do what it wants. When the trainer gives it a good bath in the river and keeps it clean, the elephant in rut would throw dust all over itself and become dirty. When the trainer comes near with good food to consume, it will reject the food and try to harm him. The proper way to control this elephant in its fearsome state of rut is to bind it to a pillar with strong iron chains until the state of ill health passes over. Oh Dayaa Devi, adiyEn who performed BharanyAsam to You is like this wild elephant running around in an uncontrollable state. adiyEn comprehends the meanings of Saasthrams and yet do not follow the sadhupadEsams. Even if adiyEn receives punishments for my misconduct, adiyEn does not stay away from repeating them. The old vaasanais do not leave me even if the righteous ones try to correct my undesirable and harmful ways. You must bind me therefore with the chains of Your anugraham, control me, bring me back to my senses and grow my Jn~Anam and Bhakti.
॥ Slokam 100 ॥
naataH paraM kimapi me tvayi naathaniiyaM
maatar.h daye mayi kuruShva tathaa prasaadam.h.
baddhaadaro vR^iShagiri praNayii yathaa.asau
muktaanu bhuutim.h iha daasyati me mukundaH ॥ 100 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi serving as the Mother of the whole Universe and its beings! adiyEn was immersed in SamsAra BhOgams and had lost my directions. You had compassion for me and blessed me with Jn~Anam. You kindled my desire in securing Moksham. You actuated my Prapatthi at Your sacred feet. adiyEn has no doubt now about Moksham at the end of this life. There are nothing adiyEn needs to do for gaining Moksham. There is only one thing adiyEn needs Your anugraham (i.e)., adiyEn’s longing for the Lord of ThiruvEnkadam should grow forever. You should bless adiyEn to enjoy the MokshAnandham enjoyed by the MukthAs at Sri Vaikuntam right here at Thirumala under His sacred feet. Oh, Dayaa Devi! You should stand in the front to make this happen. Only If You decide in favor of this humble request of mine, this wish of mine will get fulfilled. There is nothing else more important for me to seek from You. Please bless adiyEn with this anugraham.
COMMENTARY::
Swamy Desikan is requesting for the blessings of Sarva Desa, sarva kaala, sarva avasthOchitha, sarva vidha kaimkaryams to the Lord of Thirumala catalyzed by Dayaa Devi. In the spirit of Swamy NammAzhwAr’s famous paasuram of “Ozhivil Kaalamellam”. Swamy Desikan wishes to follow the footsteps of Swamy NammAzhwAr and stay close to the Thiruvadis of Lord Srinivasan and serve Him in a blemishless manner for all the times to come without interruption. The Lord of ThiruvEnkatam makes Himself available to us in His SubhAsrayam form, which is both auspicious and within reach of meditation and enjoyment. He becomes available to us in this easy manner because of His Dayaa Devi’s intercession. Hence Swamy Desikan prays to bless him with the boon of nithya Kaimkaryam at Thirumala for the rest of his days here.
॥ Slokam 101 ॥
niHsiima vaibhava juShaaM miShataaM guNaanaaM
stotur.h daye vR^iShagiriisha guNeshvariiM tvaam.h.
taireva nuunam.h avashair.h abhinanditaM me
satyaapitaM tava balaa dakuto bhayatvam.h ॥ 101 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! Your Lord has many auspicious guNams such as Jn~Anam, Balam, Veeryam, Sakthi et al. These guNams have limitless Vaibhavams. As adiyEn eulogizes You, those guNams are watching me with open eyes wondering why they are not the object of my adulation. They are nonplussed about adiyEn not focusing on them. adiyEn’s choice to focus my attention on You alone is deliberate. You are the queen of all the other kalyANa guNams of Your Lord (Thvam GuNa Iswari). They can not ever match the magnitude and quality of Your help. That is why adiyEn praised You alone instead of the other guNams. It is natural for those rejected guNams to get angry at me and for me to be afraid. adiyEn does not however experience any fear from them thanks to Your Balam supporting by me. The true feelings of the other guNams are: “Oh Dayaa GuNam! We recognize You as our Empress. Without You, we can not be of use to the chEthanams. You are hence our fundamental cause for being We. We understand this reality clearly. Any praise of You is equivalent to watering the root of a plant so that the branches above will be nourished. We recognize devotee’s praise of You as the kaimkaryam for us as well”. Swamy Desikan states that the GuNams other than Dayaa is pleased with his praise of Dayaa Devi, their Empress and congratulate him on his daring initiative. Swamy says that the backing of his position by the other guNams has removed any fear that he might have had.
॥ Slokam 102 ॥
adhyaapi tad.h vR^iShagiriisha daye bhavatyaam.h
aarambha maatram.h anidam.h prathama stutiinaam.h
sandarshita svapara nirvahaNaa sahethaaH
mandasya saahasam.h ide tvayi vandino me ॥ 102 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! VedAs have been engaged in eulogizing You from time immemorial. They have not progressed much however because of the magnitude of the task of doing justice to Your limitless Vaibhavam. The Vedas feel overwhelmed and have not moved past from the starting gate in their efforts. While this is so, adiyEn of limited intellect attempted to praise Your unlimited vaibhavam through mere one hundred slokas. Those who read adiyEn’s Dayaa sathakam might be led to believe that Your glories can be successfully covered through a small list of one hundred slokas. Belief in this possibility would mislead me as well as the readers of this sthuthi. There is nothing more harmful than this false position. Belief in such a position leads us to the summit of our arrogance. adiyEn is an aparAdhi as a result of daring to confine the description of Your Vaibhavam to a paltry assembly of one hundred slokas. adiYen has thus committed a major aparAdham to You. Out of Your infinite and never failing dayaa, You must intercede with Your Lord and successfully persuade Him to overlook adiyEn’s aparAdhams. adiyEn has now committed aparAdham to You, the most compassionate Devi of the Lord who has helped me in every way. adiyEn has hence no recourse except praying to you to forgive my transgression. Please shower Your Dayaa on adiyEn and forgive me for my impudence (Thvayi idham sAhasam sandarsitha svabhara nirvahaNA sahEthA:). Please display Your apaara karuNyam and forgive adiyEn. “
॥ Slokam 103 ॥
praayo daye tvadanu bhaava mahaamburaashau
praachetasa prabhR^itayo.api paraM taTasthaa.
tatraavatiirNam.h atala spR^isham.h aaplutaM maaM
padmaapateH prahasa nochitam.h aadriyethaa ॥ 103 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! Maharishis like Vyasa, Valmiki and others started to praise Your glories in their ithihAsams and PurANams. They recognized that Your Vaibhavam is like a deep ocean. They arrived at the shores of this vast ocean and were afraid to enter that ocean. They stayed therefore at the shore itself. They gave up after failing in their efforts to praise even a small portion of Your limitless Vaibhavam. It is foolish of adiyEn to attempt to praise You adequately, while the wise Maharishis have given up their efforts convinced that it was a futile attempt. adiyEn plunged into the ocean of Your glories with the goal of touching the floor. Would that be possible? adiyen keeps plunging and rising with no success. adiyEn is exasperated. adiyEn struggles with few words and stumble in my feeble attempts to eulogize You adequately. adiyEn should have stayed on the shores of the ocean of Your vaibhavam following the example set by the wise Maharishis. adiyEn did the opposite and am struggling now with my laughable efforts. adiyEn is not getting anywhere. adiyEn has become the object of laughter of ThiruvEnkatamudayAn and Periya PirAtti. Oh, Dayaa Devi! Please support and save adiyEn, who has arrived at this laughable state (Padma Pathe: prahasana uchitham Maam AadhriyEthA:).
॥ Slokam 104 ॥
vedaanta deshika pate viniveshya baalaM
devo dayaa shatakam.h etad.h avaadayanmaam.h.
vaihaarikeNa vidhinaa samaye gR^ihiitaM
viiNaa visheShamiva ve~NkaTa shaila naathaH ॥ 104 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! I am not qualified to compose this Sri Sookthi of Dayaa Sathakam dealing with the Dayaa GuNam of ThiruvEnkatamudayAn. The responsibility for the creation of this Sri Sookthi truly belongs to Your Lord. He is always interested in engaging in many sports. adiyEn’s good deeds (Sukruthams) had reached a ripened state. Your Lord chose this time to engage in a game involving adiyEn. ThiruvEnkatamudayAn lifted this insignificant child and placed me in the lofty sTAnam of “VedAnthAchAryan”. It became then His duty to make this sporty act into an appropriate one. He made the words of Dayaa Sathakam containing VedAnthic doctrines emanate from adiyEn’s mouth. This Dayaa sathakam is a rendering of His using adiyEn as a mere instrument of His. In the worldly parlance, a VeeNA player will create music by stroking the strings of His instrument and delight the rasikAs In this case, there is no basis for saying that VeeNA generated the beautiful music; it is just an instrument in the hands of a skillful VeeNA player. RasikAs will praise only the dexterity of the artist playing the instrument. Therefore all glories for the birth of Sri Dayaa Sathakam truly belong to ThiruvEnkatamudayAn. adiyEn is just an instrument in His hands, while He engages in His many sports. (Swamy Desikan refers here to the honorific title of VedAnthAchAryan that the Lord of Thirumalaa conferred on him. He refers to this recognition of lifting him up to the mighty sTAnam of VeDAnthAchAryan this way: “Venkatasaila NaaTa Deva: Baalam Maam VedAntha Desika PadhE vinivEsya”. Swamy Desikan states that ThiruvEnkatamudayAn sportfully played on him (vaihArikENa vidhinaa) as a VaiNikan would play on a VeeNai and created Dayaa Sathakam (samayE gruheetham VeeNA viSesham iva yEthath dayaa sathakam avAdhayath).
॥ Slokam 105 ॥
anavadhim.h adhikR^itya shrinivaasaanukampaam.h
avitatha viShayatvaat.h visvam.h avriiDayantii.
vividha kushala niivii ve~NkaTesa prasuutaa
stutiriyam.h anavadhyaa shobhate satva bhaajaam.h ॥ 105 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
Oh, Dayaa Devi! Your Lord’s dayaa has no boundaries. This Sri Sookthi of adiyEn is about that limitless karuNai of Your Lord. This sthuthi arose from Your Lord using me as a mere instrument. The topics covered in this Sathakam are one hundred percent true. Nobody needs to bow their head worrying about its veracity. The Dayaa of the Lord, the object of this Sthuthi also does not need to feel that it is a false attempt on my part. There is no basis for those who read or hear this sthuthi to feel that they are experiencing untruth and feel ashamed over that thought. This SthOthram about the Dayaa of the Lord of Saptha Giri will confer all MangaLams on the reciter and listener. This sthOthram free of blemishes in its words or its meanings is dominant with Satthva guNam (Satthva bhAjAm SObhathE). It shines as a Sthuthi that delights the hearts of the righteous people with sadAchAram and discriminating intellect. {Swamy Desikan salutes this sthuthi that arose from the Lord as “vividha kuSala neevi anavadhyA iyam sthuthi:” (This blemish free sthOthram is the moola KaaraNam for different types of auspiciousness)}.
॥ Slokam 106 ॥
shatakam.h idam.h udaaraM samya gabhyasyamaanaan.h
vR^iShagirim.h adhiruhya vyaktam.h aalokayantii.
anitara sharaNaanaam.h aadhiraajye.abhiShi~nchet.h
shamita vimata paxaa shaar~Nga dhanvaanukampaa ॥ 106 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
This sthOthram is capable of yielding all desired fruits. Those who master the meanings of this sthOthram (idham Sathakam Samyak abhyasyamAnAn) would clearly understand the glories of Prapatthi maargam and perform SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam. Pleased with this upAya anushtAnam, Dayaa Devi will ascend the hills of ThiruvEnkatam and cast Her benevolent glances on the PrapannAs. She will make sure that all the obstacles that stood in the way of Moksham for these PrapannAs are destroyed by Her Lord holding the bow of Saarngam in His hand. Being the KaruNA Devi, She does not Herself come forward to destroy these obstructing entities but gets Her Lord to take action. Afterward, Dayaa Devi crowns the leaders in Moksha SaamrAjyam, where ParamaikAnthis not seeking any other upAyam reside (anihtara SaraNAnAm AadhirAjyE abhishinchEth). It appears that Dayaa Devi reached the top of the Lofty hills of ThiruvEnkatam to drench the PrapannAs with Her shower of KaruNaa from a high position. Swamy Desikan visualizes Dayaa Devi as “SaarngadhanvAnukampaa” staying on top of the Seven hills to drench the PrapannAs with Her downpour of karuNA (Vrusha girim adhiruhya vyaktham AalOkayanthee).
॥ Slokam 107 ॥
visvaanugraha maataraM vyatiShajat.h svargaa pavargaaM sudhaa
sdhriichiimiti ve~NkaTeshvara kavir.h bhaktyaa dayaam.h astuta.
padyaanaam.h yadvidheya bhagavat sa~Nkalpa kalpa dR^imaat.h
jha~njjhaamaaruta dhuuta chuuta nayataH saaMpaatiko.ayaM kramaH ॥ 107 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
These one hundred slokas eulogizing ThiruvEngadamudayAn’s Dayaa GuNam arose from His sankalpam and found their outlet through adiyEn. They would therefore be an object of delight for the devotees of the Lord of Saptha Giri. Dayaa Devi is the Mother of the entire universe. Like all Mothers, She seeks the happiness and well-being of Her children and has many auspicious items like Svargam and Moksham to disburse to Her children. Therefore, She is very much loved by Her children. VenkatEsa Kavi eulogized this KaruNA Moorthy with one hundred slokams. Lord SrinivAsan’s sankalpam is like a boon granting Kalpakaa tree. Dayaa Devi is like a powerful wind that blows on the Kalpakaa tree and makes the fruits of the Kalpakaa tree come down from the branches at the same time. A hundred slokas of Dayaa Sathakam are like these fruits that have descended from the Kalpakaa tree of Bhagavan responding to the power of Dayaa Devi (iha padhyAnAm yath vidhEya Bhagavath Sankalpa janjAmArutha dhUtha chUtha nayatha: SaampAdhika: ayam krama:).
॥ Slokam 108 ॥
kaamaM santu mithaH karambita guNaavadyaani padyaani naH
kasyaasmi~nchhatake sadambu katake doSha shR^itiM xaamyati.
niShpratyuuha vR^iShaadri nirjhara jharatkaarachchhale nochchalan.h
dInaalambana divya dampati dayaa kallola kolaahalaH ॥ 108 ॥
॥ Meaning ॥
These slokams have arisen from the triad: ThiruvEnkatamudayAn, His sankalpam and adiyEn. Some may say that these slokas will have praiseworthy guNams of the Lord and Dayaa Devi that might be mingled with dhOshams (blemishes) due to my association. Let them blame as much as they wish about adiyEn’s dhOshams. There is no loss because of those complaints. These shoutings do not fall on anyone’s ears due to the intervention of Dayaa Devi. She removes any dhOshams in the minds of the righteous ones just as soap nut removes the blemishes in the muddy water and makes it clear again. Dayaa Devi would also not put up with any criticism about this Sthuthi. It is the KaruNaa of Lord SrinivAsa and His divine consort, Mahaa Lakshmi taking the form of Dayaa Devi that serves as the support stick for the chEthanams. At ThiruvEnkatam, there are mighty waterfalls that rush down the mountain sides with loud noises. They are indeed the streams of Dayaa of the dhivya dampathis. The roar of the waterfalls represented by Dayaa Devi make it impossible for anyone to hear the complaints of the critics. Thus Dayaa Devi makes these complaints fruitless and foils them. Just as the flood of Dayaa Devi will transport away all the sins, the words of complaints about any blemishes in this sthuthi are propelled away at great speed by the dayaa of the dhivya dampathis. The uninterrupted roar of the descending waterfalls of VrushAdhri drowns out the feeble noise made by the complainers (NishprathyUha VrushAdhri nirjjara jarathkAracchalEna ucchalan dheena Alambana dayaa). The kallOla kOlAhalam (the roar of the descending dayaa pravAham) makes it impossible for the feeble noises (dhOsha Sruthi) made by critics.
Thus concludes the KallOla kOlAhalam of the Dayaa Devi descending on us due to the anugraham of Swamy Desikan. May Lord VenkatanAthan’s Dayaa shower all of Her blessings on us!
kavitaarkika siMhaaya kalyaaNa guNa shaaline.
shrImate ve~NkaTeshaaya vedaanta gurave namaH.
Daasan,
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan