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Sri Sthavam

The Words Sthavam , Sthotram and Stuti originate from the root Sthu to
praise, eulogize, laud, extol, glorify and celebrate.  Sthotram and Stuti
some times are used to praise humans.  Sthavam on the other hand can never
be mistaken for anything other than offering one's humble eulogy to a
deity or Upasana Murthy or a Supreme being. Therefore Kuresa chose the
suffix of Sthavam for his five eulogies known as Athimaanushua Sthavam,
Vaikunta Sthavam, Varadaraja Sthavam , Sundarabahu Sthavam and Sri
Sthavam. Parasara Bhattar followed his father's footsteps and named his
eulogy on Rangaraja as Sri Rangaraja Sthavam.  Parasara Bhattar used the
title of Guna Ratna Khosam for his eulogy of Sri Ranganayaki , since his
father had already used the suffix of Sthavam in his praise of the Consort
of Rangaraja. Swami Desikan used the title of Sri Stuthi to fit as a triad
among his eulogies (Sthutis ) on Sri Devi, Bhu Devi and Godha Devi. 

The illustrious commentators have pointed out that the Acharyas created
their sthavams and sthuthis after completing their other works. They seem
to have kept the subject matter dearest to their heart to the Last. In
this context, Alawandaar composed Chathussloki after blessing us with
Sthotra Ratnam; Kuresa completed his four Stavas first before turning his
attention to Sri Sthavam; Parasara Bhattar blessed us with Rangaraja
Sthavam first before offering his salutations to the Divine Mother through
his Gunaratna Khosam. 

Kuresa followed the tradition of his Purvaacharya , Alawandaar, who was
the trend setter( Prathama Pradarsakar) in transforming the diificult -
to-grasp Ubhaya Vedanta Saaraarthaas (Essence of the Vedanta in the twin
traditions) into easy- to- understand sthotras such as Chatussloki.
Bhattar, and Swami Desikan followed this tradition set by Alawandaar and
Kuresa. 

Kuresa folllows the many thoughts of Alawandaar in his eulogy on Sri Devi.
For instance, Alawandaar says : 

" YASYAAS TEH MAHIMAANAM ATMANA: IVA TVAT vALLABHOBHIH pRABHU: 
NAALAM MAATUM IYATTAYAA NIRAVATHIM NITYAANUKULAM SVATHA: I
TAAM TVAAM DASA ITI PRAPANNA ITI CHA STHOSHYAAMYAHAM NIRBHAYA:
LOKAIKESWARI LOKANATHADAYITEH DHATEH DAYAAM TEH VIDHAN II 

In the first two lines, Alawandaar points out that even the all powerful
Lord does not have the ability to determine the limit of the auspicious
Gunaas of his consort. He says that he is determined to offer his
salutatons to Her limitless glory fearlessly even after knowing about the
inadequacy of the Lord Himself to fathom the immeasurable Kalyana Gunas of
his Consort.  Alawandaar"s defense in undertaking such an impossible task
is that he is approaching the Divine Mother as a Servant (Dasa ) and
Prapanna.  Kuresa echos the same sentiment of Alawandaar through his
statement, " DEVI TVANMAHIMAAVATIR NA HARINAANAAPI TVAYA JYAETEH" Both
conclude that her ASRITHA PAKSHAPAATAM " ( Leniency to those, who seek
refuge in Her) will overlook the insufficiency of the Prapannas , who
launch forth on the impossible task of adequately describing Her
indescribable auspicious attributes.

In his third verse of the Chathussloki, Alawandaar points out that Men and
women will not be able to obtain the boons to enjoy the blessings of this
world, Kaivalyam and Parama Padam WITHOUT the anugraham of the Consort of
the Lotus-eyed Lord. Swami Desikan offers a very fine commentary on the
unique blessings of Sri Devi and how she influences Her Lord without
usurping His power to grant wishes (Pala Pradhana Adhikaratvam). Swami
Desikan explains that She through Her influence turns him away from His
intention to punish (Nigrahonmukan) those , who stray from Saastraas. She
pleads for Her children, who have erred.  When the Lord decides to reward
the Prapannaas(Anugrahonmukhan), She grows his desire (Anuvritti) to bless
the Prapannaas even further .  That is the nature of Her Vaatsalyam and
Purushakaara Quality.  Kuresa follows these thoughts closely in his Sri
Stavam and points out that She never leaves Him even for a moment at any
place , time or state(Sarva Desa Sarva Kaala Sarvaavasthaa ).

The fourth and the final sloka of Chathussloki is a verse with profound
meanings related to Sri Devi"s Kalyana Gunas . It is as follows:

"SAANTHAANANDA MAHAVIBHUTI PARAMAM YATH BRAHMA RUPAM HAREH 
MURTHAM BRAHMA TADHOPIH TATH PRIYATARAM RUPAM YATADHBHUTAM I
YANYANYAANI YATHA SUKHAM VIHARATHO RUPAANI SARVAANI THAANI
AAHUS SVAIRANURUPA VIBHAVAIR KATOPAKUTAANI TEH II

Ramanuja, Kuresa, Bhattar and Swami Desikan incorporated the profound
thoughts enshrined in this immortal verse in their Sri Sookthis. The gist
of this verse in brief is as follows:

The First paadam of the verse praises the Divine features of the
Lord(Divyaatma Svaroopam ). The Second Paadam describes the Mangala
Vigraham of Para Vasudeva. The third Paadam offers its salutation to all
of the Vibhava Roopas taken for the pleasure of the Lord. The final Paadam
comes down with a sweeping and summary statement that in every one of
those states and forms of Her Consort, Periya Piratti is permanaently and
tightly intertwined with Her Lord. . For example , even in the Brahmachari
state of Vamanaavataram, She was present under the deer skin attached to
the Sacred thread of the Lord.  Thus, She is present inseperably from Her
Lord just as the fragrance coexists with the flower, the lustre with the
gem in a state of Ekatvam. 

The fall of 1995 issue of the Journal of Vaishnava studies had an
excellent article by Nancy Ann Nayar on the "other Andaal ", the devoted
wife of Kuresa. She was a role model for Sthri Dharma for Sri Vaishnavite
women of the 12th century. I will include a few points about

Andaal from Nancy Nayar"s article to provide a backdropfor the
observations on Kuresa. 

Nancy Nayar is a brilliant scholar , whose works we might wish to follow.
She is a keen student of Sri Vaishnava Sampradhaaya as practised in the
Southern part of India.I am told that her Book " Poetry asTheology, The
Sri Vaishnava Stotras in the age of Ramanuja" is a "breakthrough work ".
She is currently working on Periyavaachaan Pillan"s commentary on " Stotra
Ratna and Chatusloki " of Alawandaar. Nancy Nayar"s article on Kuresa"s
wife , Andaal is based largely from the material in Guru Paramparaa
Prabhavam, Koil Ozhugu and Prapannamrutam.

*** Kuresa and Andaal"s life at Kuram& Srirangam

The name Kuresa means the Lord of Kuram. A village or better still 
an Agrahaaram twelve miles ot the west of Kanchipuram is known as Kuram.
Kuresa was born there and was a Garbha Srimaan. He was blessed with
Lakshmi Kataksham and Special bhakthi to Sriman Narayana.

Kuresa inherited a lot of fortune and he put his wealth to good use by
supporting " the lame, blind and the destitute." He worshipped Kesava
Perumal, who was the Archaa Murthy of the temple of his Agrahaaram. This
temple was built by the devout Vaishnava King Nandivarma Pallava the
Second . Professor Dennis Hudson of Smith College has published a masterly
study of the intricacies of the Vaikunta Perumal temple built by the same
king in another issue of the Journal of Vaishnavite Studies. Now back to
Kuresa!

According to Prapannamrutam, Perundevi Thaayaar, the consort of Lord
Varadaraja of Kanchi temple expressed the desire to Her Lord to meet the
great benefactor , Kuresa.  The Lord sent Thirukkacchi Nambi to fetch
Kuresa . Latter was thrilled to hear about the Lord"s invitation and
proceeded rightaway with Nambi and his wife to Kanchi. As he approached
Kanchi, the whole land surrounding Varadaraja"s temple looked like a land
covered with with Saligraamams. He saw Saligraamams as far as eyes could
see.  Kuresa hesitated to touch that holy land with his feet and returned
home. There he gave away all his wealth and adopted Vanaprasthaasramam
rightaway .  Afterwards, He set foot on a journey to Srirangam with his
wife to meet Ramanuja..  When they passd through a forest tract during
their journey, Andaal expressed her fear of being attacked by thieves .
Kuresa said that there was nothing for them to worry, since they had no
valubles of interest to thieves with them. At that time, Andaal confessed
that she had brought with her a gold cup for use as a drinking vessel from
her former home.Kuresa asked her to give that cup to him and threw that
away into the bush and continued the journey. They arrived safely at
Srirangam.  Ramanuja was ecstatic , when he heard about the arrival of
Kuresa and had him brought to the Mutt. There , Kuresa became the prime
disciple of Ramanuja. The Invocatory verse (Taniyan ) for Kuresa celbrates
the incident of him throwing away the Golden cup this way: " Ponvattil
Tannai Yerinda Puhazhudayon Vaazhiyeh "(May the memory of the one,who
threw away the golden cup live forever).

Nancy Nayar"s article focusses on the model life of the wife of an Acharya
of the twelfth century and describes the incidents in her life as a mother
of Parasara Bhattar and the role she played in the temple affairs at
critical times , after her husband joined the holy feet of Sri Ranganatha.
Since the focus of this article is on Sri Sthavam, I will move on to that
main subject in the next posting.

The Commentary on Sri Sthavam will begin now. I will draw my inspirations
for the Commentary from the Tattva Chintamnai Vyakyaanam of Sri P.B.
Annangacharacchar Swamy published in 1947.

There are 11 slokams in Sri Sthavam of Kuresa. The first five are called
Sthotropodhgaatam or introductory verses that express the author's
disqualifications to engage in praising the most auspicious Sri Devi. Here
Kuresa states that he is acutely aware of his limitations as a poet to
undertake such an impossible task. From verse 6, the actual stotram begins
(Stotraarambham). The ninth and the tenth verses are in the form of his
Prapatti at Her Lotus feet. The eleventh and the final verse of this
Sthavam is a prayer to Her to cast Her benovolent glances on him and
protect him and us as the prapannas seeking refuge in Her.

The Sthavam begins with a prayer to Her(Svasthi Sreer Disadhaat) and
Kuresa prays for her blessings of Vaak Samrutti and Bhakti Samrutti
(Abundance of poetic skills and wealth of Bhakthi ) during the composition
of the sthavam on Her. P.B.Annangraacchaar swamy has constructed the
following imaginary dialog between Maha Lakshmi and the supplicant, Kuresa
:

Kuresa: Svasthi Sreer Disadhaat(Sri Devi ! May thou bless me)

Sri devi: My Child! You asked me to bless you with auspiciousness.  What
would you like? Abundant fame or wealth or progeny or all the three?

Kuresa: O, Mother Divine! I do not want the perishable wealth or progeny
or Fame. I am standing before you to praise your auspicious qualities to
my heart's content.

Sri Devi: Kuresa! You are a great poet. You can go ahead anyway. What kind
of Svasthi needs to be conferred as a boon by me beyond that?

Kuresa: O, My Compassionate Mother! You should not take this attitude.
You should bless me with adequate Saraswati Samrutti to undertake this
task, which is currently beyond my ability ,given the nature of the
loftiness of the subject matter of my sthavam.

Sri Devi: Kuresa! You already have been blessed with that gift. Please ask
me for something else your heart desires. 

Kuresa: Mother! It is true that my tongue utters some words skillfully.  I
do not however have the mellowness and Bhakti to inform my intellect to
engage in this holy task. Pleas egive me that type of Jnanam. 

Sri Devi: Kuresa, My dear child! When you wished to offer eulogy to me,
you obtained then and there such a Jnanam. If you did not have that
Vaatsalyam and a heart steeped in devotion, you would not progress in your
efforts. Therefore, Please ask me for some other boons that interests you.

Kuresa: O, Supreme Mother ! Your blessings have indeed given me a small
measure of Bhakti for You . Please bless me further that it grows into
Para Bhakti, Para Jnanam and Parama Bhakti as experienced by the Mudhal
Aazhwaars at Thirukkovalur. 

Sri Devi: Kuratthaazhwaan! You do not need to worry over this. Those three
that you desire will grow gradually (KrameNa) as in the case of the three
Azhwaars.  Why do you wish to ask for some thing that is going to grow
anyway?

Kuresa: O,Most Merciful Mother! I can not bear to wait for a long time to
experience my Bhakti grow through its different stages to become Parama
Bhakti . I do not have the stregth to go through that waiting period.
Please bless me as I stand before You and make me Your servant (Kinkaran)
and receive in return my most humble services. May Your merciful glances
fall on me and uplift me! That is ALL I wish to ask as the supreme boon
from You !

Sri Devi: Azhwaan! You are so Blessed! I have granted you that boon.

Thus begins the Sri Sthavam.

Verse 1 of SrI Sthavam :
************************* 
 
adiyEn will use the Anvaya Kramam (the prose order of this  verse)
to help appreciate the flow of Kuresa"s thought:

"ASESHA JAGADHAAM SARGA UPSARGA STITHI : SWARGAM DURGATHIM
AAPAVARKINA: PADAM SARVAM CHA KURVAN HARI: YASYAA: MUKAM
VEEKSHYA TADH  INGHITA PARAADHINA: AKILAM VIDATTEH: ANYATA
ASYA DAYAA EIKARASYAAT IYAM KRRETA ASYA RASATHAA NA SYAATH
KALU (SAA) SREE SVASTI DISADHAATAAT "
 
The First slOkam takes this form :
 
SvasthiSrIrdhisathAdh asEsha-jagathAm SargOpsarga-sTithee :
Svargam dhurgthimApavargikapadham sarvam cha kurvan Hari:
YasyA veekshya mukham tadhingithaparAdheenO vidhatthE akhilam
kreeDEyam khalu nAnyaTAasya rasadhA syAdhaikarasyAth Tayaa
 
The consort of Sri Devi (Ranganatha) engages in His acts of creation,
protection and destruction; He blesses Kaivalyaarthins and
Mokshaarthins(Prapannas) with the boons of Svargam and Moksham
respectively.He punishes those , who deviate  from Saastras and sends them
to Naraka. During the performance of these tasks , He is  motivated and
guided by the hints from the facial expressions of Sri Devi, His consort .
If He did not synchronize His activities with the expressions originating
from His Devi"s eye brows and face,His many duties and activities will not
yield Him happiness. He will not feel fulfilled by the performance of
these duties.

May that consort of Sri Ranganatha , who is united with Him at all times,
places and states (Eikarasyam) confer auspiciousness 0n me to undertake
this onerous task. The Eikarasyam concept is an important  theme of
Azhwaars.  This is why Ramanuja chose the Panguni Uttaram day to offer his
Saranagati to the Divine couple, when he saw them physically seated
together (Ekapeetam) on that day at Srirangam temple. Swami Desikan has
dwelled  on this concept in his works; has gone further to underline the
related concept of EKASESHITVAM as one of the central principles of Sri
Vaishnavam as taught by his Poorvaacharyas. He salutes that extraordinary
state of INTERDEPENDENCE of the divine couple in one of his slokas of Sri
Sthuti as follows:

" Vishnu: Tvam cha iti Dwandhvam Anyonya Lakshyam ". O, Sri devi, You and
your husband are bound forever by your love for each other. You are never
far away from each other even for a moment; both of You with Your
limitless, illustrious qualities are a PAIR that can be understood
COMPLETELY  ONLY through each other. That is why You are introduced as
Vishnu Patni and he is known as Sriya: Pathi. That is your extraordinary
state of Interdependence .

Verse 2 of SrI Sthavam :
*************************
hE SrIrdEvi ! SamasthalOkajananeem ThvAm stOthumeehAmahE
yukthAm bhAvaya Bharatheem praguNaya prEmapradhAnam dhiyam
bhakthim bhandhaya nandayAsrithamimam dhAsam janam Thaavakam
lakshyam Lakshmi ! kaDAkshaveechisruthEs tE syAma chAmee vayam
 
Oh  Maha Lakshmi! You are the mother of the entire universe and its
inhabitants. I wish to offer my praise to You. Please grant me the gift of
Vak (Speech ) appropriate for this task! please grow my intellect and
devotion to carry out this undertaking ! May my Bhakti become Parama
Bhakti through Your blessing! Please accept my Kainkaryam  as that coming
from one , who has surrendered at Your Lotus feet. Please make me Joyous
through the acceptance of my Vaachika Kainkaryam ! May we the Prapannas
become the object of the waves of Your most merciful and compassionate
glances! This is the verse for which Sri P.B.Anna offered the imaginary
dialog referred to above.
 
KurEsar addresses Mahaa Lakshmi as "Samastha Loka Janani " and prays : "
amee vayam cha tE katAksha veechi visruthE : lakshyam syAma ". Prayer here
is for the people of the land ( amee) and  for those , who belong to the
Thondar Kulam  (vayam) . AzhwAr prays for the waves of SrI DEvi's glances
to fall on all . 

Verse 3 of SrI Sthavam :
**********************************
sthOthram nAma kimAmananthi kavayO yadhyanyadheeyAn guNAn
anyatra thvasathOadhirOPya phaNithi: , saa tarhi vandhyA Thvayee
samyak sathyaguNAbhivarNanamaTO BhrUyu: , kaTam thAdhrusee
vaag VachaspathinAapi sakhyarachanA ThvathsadhguNAarNO nidhou
 
 
In the previous verse, Kuresa said : "Tvaam Sthothum Yeehaamahe". He
expressed his desire to praise Her . Now he elaborates on the difference
between his Stotra Sabdhaarthams and that of others. He says that the
common poets praise either gunaas that are not there in the subject being
praised or drably describe the limited qualities of their subject . For
instance, a poet may praise a bald man as the one , who has flowing locks
of hair and thus describe some thing that is not there in reality. Some
other common poets describe the qualities correctly , but find that there
is a limited quantity of particulars to describe about their subject.
There is not much to praise.  Kuresa reveals that he is not hampered  by
either of these two difficulties, when he attempts to praise Maha Lakshmi
and Her Kalyana Gunaas.  There is no problem of exaggeration in Her case,
since She has all the Auspicious qualities to  a state of perfection . Her
Kalyana Gunaas are also  so abundant that there is no shortage on the
subject matter to praise. Her Kalyana Gunaas are limitless and there is no
possibility of exhausting them or exaggerating them . Even Hayagreevan ,
the Lord of speech can succeed in describing adequately Your vast sea of
auspicious guNams .

Verse 4 of Sri Sthavam :
************************
yE vaachAm manasAm cha dhurgrahatayA khyAthA guNasthAvakA :
thAnEva prathi sAmBhujihvamudhithA hai mAmikA bhArathee
hAsyam tath thu na manmahE na hi chakOryEkAakhilAm chnadrikAm
naalam pAthumithi pragruhya rasanAmaaseetha sathyAm thrushi
 
Oh Maha Lakshmi! It is impossible to praise adequately Your Kalyana Gunaas
with tongue or mind and do justice to them.  It therefore becomes a
laughable matter, when one atttempts to go about this impossible task. My
effort is likethat of the Chakora bird that does not hold back its  tongue
back and engages itself in drinking gluttonously  ALL  of the cool rays of
the moon as its food , while being fully aware of its limited power to
complete that imposible task. Similarly, I am not holding back in my
effort to praise all of  Your Kalyana Gunaas adequately.

 
Verse 5 of SrI Sthavam :
***************************
kshOdheeyAnapi dhushta Buddhirapi nissnEhOapyaneehOapi tE
keerthim Devi lihannaham na cha BhibhEmyaj~nO na jihrEmi cha
dhuyEth saa thu na thAvathA na hi sunA leeDApi BhageeraTee
dhushyEcchvapi na lajjathE na cha BhibhEthyArthisthu sAmyEcchuna:
 
Oh Maha Lakshmi! I am not ashamed to engage in my praise of You inspite of
my inadequacies and disqualifications. I know that I have neither
exemplary conduct or a sharp intellect informed by Sastra Jnanam. Inspite
of these limitations, my praise of You will not become impure. The
situation is similar to the lowly dog licking the most sacred waters of
Ganga to quench its thirst. The River Ganga is not polluted by the dog"s
act and the dog gets its thirst quenched. Here Kuresa equates the sanctity
of Maha Lakshmi to the holiness of Ganga and himself to the undeserving
dog.

From hereon , the stotram begins in earnest.


Verse 6 of SrI Sthavam:
*****************************
Eiswaryam mahadhEva vAalpmaTavaa dhrusyathE pumsAm hi yath
tallakshmyA: samudheekshaNAth Tava yatha: sArvathrikam vartatE
tEnaitEna na vismayEmahi JagannATOapi NaarAyaNa:
dhanyam manyatha eekshaNAth Tava yatha: svAthmAnamAthmEswara:
 
Oh Ranganayaki! It is said that wealth is of two kinds.  One is that ,
which is experienced here on earth (Eihikam) and the other experienced in
Sri Vaikuntam by Mukthas and Nitya Suris(Aamushmikam).  Both these types
of wealth are enjoyed by a fortunate few as a result of the anugraham of
your merciful glances falling on them.  The beneficial  impact of those
glances do not surprise us one bit !  The reason for our belief is that we
know already that Your Lord ,who is His Own Master ,considers Himself
Kruthaarthan (one , who achieved the purpose of his mission) ,when your
glances fall on Him. Kuresa summarizes the special blessed atatus of
Sriman Narayana this way:

" JAGANNATHA: ATMESWARA: NARAYANOPI
TAVA EEKSHANAATH SVAATMAANAM DHANYAM MANYATEH "

Verse 7of SrI Sthavam :
*****************************
Eiswaryam yadhasEshapumsi yadhidham soundarya-lAvaNyayO:
roopam yasccha hi mangaLam kimapi yallOkE sadhithyuchyatE
tath sarvam ThvadheenamEva yadhata: SrerithyabhEdhEna vaa
yadhvaa SrImadhitheedhrusEna vachasA Devi ! praTAmasnuthE
 
Oh Consort of Ranganatha! Whatever blessings  a Chetana possesses as
Wealth, Beauty ,goodness and auspiciousness in this world , ALL  of these
result from You. It is Your (Lakshmi ) sambhandam that makes them
qualified in the above manner. Some of them become auspicious by SAAKSHAAT
Lakshmi Vachaka Sabdham and the others by Lakshmi VISISHTA  Vaachaka
Sabdham.  Kuresa refers in this verse to two types of auspiciousness thru
association with

SRI SABDHAM. One is " SRIRITI ABHEDHENA PRATAAM ASNUTEH ". By the very
attachment of the Sabdham "SRI" , they attain auspiciousness. Thiru Pathi,
Thiru Mangai, Thiru MaaLikai , Thiru ViLakku, Sri Kuresa  are examples of
the Sakshaath Sabdham. Visishta Vaachaka Sabdhams are  illustrated by
Srimad Bhagavatam,Srimad Ramaayanam , Srimad Anantha Saras et al.

Verse 8 of SrI Sthavam :
******************************* 
Devi ThvanmahimAvathi na: HariNA nApi ThvayA jn~AyathE
yadhyapyEvam aTApi naiva yuvayO: Sarvaj~nathA heeyathE
yannAsthyEva tadhaj~nathAmanuguNaam sarvaj~nathAyA vidhu:
vyOmaAmbhOjam idhantayA kila vidhan bhrAnthOayamithyuchyathE
 
Devi ! Even Your Lord does not comprehend fully the limits of your Kalyana
Gunaas. For that matter, You Yourself do not know the full extent of Your
own auspicious qualities. This lack of awareness does not in any way cause
harm to Your title as SARVAJNAI or as the one, who understands every
aspect of knowledge. The reason for my view is as follows: Some think that
one is a Sarvajnan ,when one possesses knowledge about nonexisting things
(e.g) horn of a hare,  Lotus growing in the sky, mirage in the desert .
One , who prides themselves about  knowledge of those nonreal things would
be at the head of a group of deluded ones. In Your case, however , the
limit to Your Mahima is an unreal thing (i-e), there is no such limit.  It
is understandable therefore that You do not know about   an unreal,
nonexisting thing. Hence , there is no dispute on Your Sarvajnatvam.  Your
"unawareness (Ajnanam)" Is Yataartha Jnanaparaaya Ajnanam and is not a
Sarvatvabanjaka Ajnanam. The essence of this verse is that Maha Lakshmi"s
auspicious qualities do not have any limit (i-e) they are limitless.

Verse 9 & 10 of SrI Sthavam :
*************************************
lOkE vanaspathy Bruhaspaty tAratamyam
yasyA: prasAdha-pariNAmam udhAharanthy
Saa Bharathee Bhagavathee thu yadheeyadhAsee
ThAmm Deva-dEva Mahisheem Sriyam aasrayAma: (9)
 
YasyA: kaDAksha-mrudhu-veekshaNa-dheekshaNEna
sadhya: Samullasitha pallavam ullalaasa
viswam viparyaya samuttha viparyayam prAk
ThAmm DEvadEva mahisheem Sriyam AasrayAma: (10)
 
These two slokas end with the Saranagati statement:" Devadeva Mahishim
SRIYAM Aasrayaama: ". In the ninth verse, Kuresa states that those,who
offer Saranagati at the lotus feet of Maha Lakshmi will be blessed with
great scholarship or Vak Samrutti. Kuresa explains that by pointing out
that the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati is a Kinkari (Servant ) Of Maha
Lakshmi .  Therefore, She will bless the Prapannas of Her Mistress with
her own blessings .  In the tenth  verse , Kuresa refers to a happening at
the time of the Universal Deluge(Pralayam ). At that time , there is no
Lakshmi Kataksham on this world.  Hence, all chetanas and achetanas are
anemic and  famished and are in a state resembling death.When Maha Lakshmi
took pity on the state of the Universe and thought about casting Her
glance at the suffering Universe, that very thought of Her gave new life
to the chetanas and achetanas .  They became invigourated with energy and
strength. Life came back all over. Kuresa sought refuge at Her holy feet ,
which is the embodiment of Compassion.

Verse 11 of SrI Sthavam :
*******************************
YasyA: KaDAksha veekshA-kshaNa-lakshyam lakshithA mahEsA: syu:
SrirangarAja Mahishee Saa mAmapi veekshathAm Lakshmee: (11
 
Kuresa concludes the Sri Sthavam by describing the power of that merciful
glance of Ranganayaki. He begs Her to enrich him by casting Her glance on
him. In this verse, he reveals that even a second's rest of Her glance on
one will result in the acquisition of riches of the kind that have no
comparison . That Eiswaryam blessed by Ranganayaki is not the ordinary
wealth that disappears with time. It is the unalloyed bliss of Moksham and
residence in Sri Vaikuntam as a Muktha Jivan in the company of Divya
Dampathis and the Nitya Suris. Kuresa prays for  the wealth of Kainkarya-
Sampath from Sri Devi in this Sthavam.

Swami Desikan elaborated on the brief prayer of Kuresa in his SRI STHUTI .
There are 25 verses in Swami Desikan"s Sthuti. The first 12 and the last
12 of them pay tribute to Sri Devi"s Kalyana Gunaas and reveal the
Saastric truths about Her YEKASESHITVAM . In the epicenter of this sthuti
, in the 13th verse, Swami Desikan celebrates the Pattabhishekam of  Maha
Lakshmi , when She appeared out of the milky ocean during the time of its
churning and became the consort of Maha Vishnu and thereby gave Him the
title of Sriya: Pathi.

Swami Desikan like Kuresa recognized Her as "Mangalaanaanam Mangalam" and
"Sreyo Murthi: ". He reveals that She is the auspiciousness behind all
auspiciousness and that She is the embodiment of Benevolence . He points
out that in the Yajna of  Prapatti , the Jeevan , the property of the
Divya dampathis has to be presented as Havis to them  in recognition of
their role as YEKASESHIS.  Swami salutes the divine  couple , who are
inseperable this way: " Dampathee Yuvaanam Na: Daivatham ". SWamy  DEsikan
salutes them as equals in the spirit of the Vedas. He adds that the Atman
has to be presented as Havis to both of them to conclude one's Prapatti
and to receive thereafter the fruit of Moksham through that offering to
the Divine Couple. Swami says that the blessed -ones are single- minded
about getting Sevaadhikaaram to the Divine Couple practising yEkaseshitva
Yogam. Such Prapannas according to Swami Desikan treat the other riches of
the world as worthless as the blades of Grass. 

AdiyEn will conclude this posting on Sri Sthavam with the Dhyana Slokam of
the Sri Sthuti of Swami Desikan, who drew his inspiration from the
PoorvAchAryAs .  Here Swami Desikan sums up the Kalyana Gunaas of Maha
Lakshmi in the manner celebrated by Alawandhar in Chatussloki, Ramanuja in
Sriranga Gadhyam, Kuresa in Sri Sthavam and Parasara Bhattar in Guna Ratna
Kosam . The Dhyana Slokam is as follows:

KALYANAANAAM AVIKALA NIDIHI: KAAPI KAARUNYASEEMAA
NITYAAMODHAA NIGAMAVACHASAAM MOWLIMANDAARA MAALAA  I
SAMPAT DIVYAA MADHUVIJAINA: SAMNIDATTAAM SADHAA MEH
SYSHAA DEVI SAKALA BHUVANA PRAARTHANAA  KAMADHENU:  II

Here, Swami Desikan recognizes Maha Lakshmi as the Auspiciousness
(Mangalam ) behind ALL auspicious objects and Tattvaas. He understands Her
as the boundary of Mercy .He sees Her as  a Mandaara garland adorning the
head of the fragrant Veda Mantraas .He salutes Her as the most precious
wealth of the Lord. He points out to us that She is the boon-granting ,
wish-yielding Kamadhenu for all the worlds. Swami Desikan prays that Maha
Lakshmi of such attributes should always reside in his mind. Kuresa prayed
for the glances of Maha Lakshmi to fall on him and thereby sanctify him. 

adiyEn conclude this posting with a prayer to Maha Lakshmi to bless  us
all and enhance our Kaimkarya SrI .
 
SrI KooranATa SrIvathsachinhamisra Virachitha : SrIsthava: SampoorNa: