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artha panchakam
Swamy Desikan composed HIs Tamil Prabhandham of
Aruttha Panchakam in the meter of KOcchaka KalippA .
It was a condensed Prabhandham with 11 Paasurams like
Adaikkala Patthu.
Swamy Desikan is saluted by Thirukkudanthai Desikan
in His Desiak Sahasram ( 79th NaamA ) as the author of
the auspicous Aruttha Panchakam .
Aruttha Panchakam( arTa Panchakam: Five doctrines )
are the most important ones to comprehend by those , who
wish to gain Moksham .
This Prabhandham is dedicated to Lord VaradarAjan of
Kanchipuram by Swamy Desikan .
Aruttha Panchakam is about Lord VaradarAjan of Kaanchipuram as Meyviratha
Maanmiyam and Adaikkala Patthu .The Prabhandham deals with five topics
(ArTa Panchakam ) that Swamy Desikan will elaborate in SrImadh Rahasya
Thraya Saaram ( Chapter 4) later in His life.
The senior contemproary of Swamy Desikan , Swamy PiLLai LokAcchAr
has written an outstanding MaNipravALa grantham entitled "Aruttha Panchakam "
which has been translated in to English by SrI A . GovindAchArya .This grantham
in original MaNipravALam text and its English translation can be accessed at :
http://www.srivaishnava,org/sva/lokacar/apanca.htm
The Five truths/doctrines (arTa panchakam ) that a Mumukshu (One who desires
Moksham) should know are:
1. The Svaroopam of BhagavAn , who should be enjoyed by us(Paasurams 248-249)
2. The Svaroopam of Jeevan , which enjoys its Lord ( Paasurams 250-251)
3. The obstacles until now that prevents us from gaining BhagavAn( Paasurams 252-253 )
4. The means practised for gaining Moksham: Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam ( 254-255)
5. The chief phalan of Bhagavath anubhavam from one of the two upAyams practised (256-257).
Each of these 5 doctrines are thus explained with two paasurams each. The 11th Paasuram
is the Phala Sruthi ( Paasuram 258) for this Prabhandham.
248 . The Svaroopam of Brahman
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Amalan aviyAtha-sudar aLavillaa-AarAmudham
amala uru guNangaL aNi aayudhangal adiyavarkaL
amala azhiyAtha nahar azhinthu yezhum kaavudan yellAm
Kamalayudan arasALum Karigiri mERk-KaavalanaE .......Paasuram 1
(Meaning): In this karma bhUmi (SamsAra MaNDalam ) , EmperumAn has as
His sport , the distribution of phalans to each JeevAthmA according to its
accumulated karmA . Therefore , this SamsAra MaNDalam is recognized as
the nandhavanam (play ground) , where the Lord engages in such sports .
There is no limit to our Lord's auspicious guNAs .He has both " Svaroopa Niroopaka
VisEshaNams(SNV) " and "Niroopitha Svaroopa VisEshaNams(NSV) among His guNams.
VisEshaNam means a distinguishing feature that sets it apart from others .
Svaroopa NirUpaka visEshaNams are those guNams ( attributes) without which
the Svaroopam ( inherent nature ) of the object can not be explained correctly .
After comprehending the Svaroopam with nirUpaka visEshaNams , we seek out other
attributes as VisEshaNams to reveal the glories of the object under consideration .
These guNams are recognized as "NirUpitha Svaroopa VisEshaNams".
The Svaroopa nirUpaka GuNams of SrIman NaarAyaNan are five in number :
1. Sathyathvam: Invariant nature at all times( "aviyAtha " term in the Paasuram ).
2. Jn~Anathvam: His Jn~Ana SvarUpam never diminishes ( "Sudar" term refers to
this in the Paasuram ) .
3. Ananthathvam: His presence (vyApthi) at all places and times and vasthus
without restrictions of any kind ( The term "aLavillA " in Paasuram refers to this).
4. Aanandhathvam: He exists as the Bliss principle and therefore as Aanandha SvarUpi
( The term "AarAvamudham " in the paasuram refers to this principle linked to
His Svaroopam ) .
5. Amalathvam: His Svaroopam is qualified as Blemishless ( The Term " Amalan"
in the Paasuram refers to this doctrine).
After comprehending the true nature of the Lord's attributes with the above five
SvarUpa NirUpaka VisEshaNams , the other attributes ( NirUpitha SvarUpa
VisEshaNams) reveal the glory of the Lord such as Souseelyam , KaaruNyam ,
Vaathsalyam and others .
This Lord with Svaroopam defined by the five nirUpaka GuNams rules over
His two VibhUthis ( LeelA and Nithya VibhUthis : BhU Lokam and SrI Vaikuntam)
with SrI PerumdEvi PirAtti.
249) All the Vasthus are under the control of BhagavAn's Sankalpam
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uLLa poruL anaitthukkum uruva nilai karumangaL
teLLisaivin vasamAkkit-thihazhnthu uyirAi uRaihinRAn
naLL iruL theertthu adiyavarkku nalam kodukkum ThiruvudanE
VaLLal AruLALar yenum VaaraNa veRppu IRayavanE ----Paasuram 2
(Meaning): This Lord of Atthigiri with His divine consort , PerumdEvi ThAyAr
pervades all objects of His creation as the indweller (antharyAmi Brahman)
and controls with His sankalpam their Svaroopam , Sthithi (existence)
and Pravrutthi ( karmic activiites ). The Lord of Hasthigiri cuts the bonds of
SamsAram for those , who perform SaraNAgathy at His sacred feet
and grants those blessed jeevans MokshAnandham.
250. The description of the Svaroopam of the JeevAthmaa
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BhUtha vudal pulankaL manam pul aavi punthi yenum
yAthum alanAi ilahi yaann yenum inn nuNN aRivAi
chEthananAi adimaiyumAmm yuirkellAm tiNNuyirAi
theethal inRi thihazhum Seer Athtigiri Thirumaal ----3rd Paasuram
(meaning): JeevAthmA is : "ThirumAl , uyirkku uyirAi Thihazhum ".
This states that the Lord is the shining indweller of all JeevAthmAs .
This Body made of pancha bhUthams , the indhriyams , manas ,
PrANa Vaayus , Jn~Anam are distinctly different from JeevAthmA ;
it manifests again and again with the Jn~Anam of " aham /naann/Myself " .
Jeevan is of atomic size and is of JnAnandha svaroopam . Jeevan is different
from sarIram to SarIram. Its svaroopam is that of always being a servant
(adimai) for the Lord .
251. The leelA rasam of the Lord as He witnesses the Jeevan enjoying Karma phalan
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taan adaittha guNam karuvi tamm girisai vazhi ozhukki
oon yedutthu uNDu umizhnthu uzhalum yuirkku yellAm uyirAhi
kaan nadatthi Kamalayudan kaNDuhanthu viLayAdym
tEn yeduttha solaihaL soozh Thiru AtthiyUrAnE......Paasuram 4
(Meaning): Lord VaradarAjan through His sankalpam facilitates the Jeevan
to use the gifts ( GuNams , Indhriyams et al ) given by Him according to
the Jeevan's karmAs.JeevAthma gains a sarIram for experiencing
the phalans arising from its karmAs ; As the jeevan experiences these , it
detests these anubhavams , desires them again and therefore occupies
a new body ; the cycle repeats and the jeevan thus gets tossed around
in the fierce tides of the ocean of SamsAram. PeraruLALan enters inside
these jeevans along with His PirAtti as their indweller and watches the jevans
enjoy their karma phalans . The dhivya dampathis have their leelA rasam
in witnessing the anubhavams of the Jeevans relating to their karmic experiences .
The next two Paasurams (252-253)are about the obstacles to Moksham
(Moksha VirOdhi) that the jevan faces . The doctrine of Moksha VirOdhi
is the third of the five arTa panchakams.
252. Types of MOksha VirOdhi
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uyyum uRavu isayAthE otthavarkkE adimayumAi
poy uruvai tamakku yERRip-pulan koNDa payanE koNDu
iyuRavum aar iruLum al-vazhiyum adainthavarkkE
meyyaruL seythidum ThirumAl vEzha malai MEyavanE---Paasuram: 5
(Meaning): JeevAthmA does not remember its inherent and
inescapable links to SarvEswaran , its Lord and becomes
unfortunately a servant to another bonded jeevan.The Jeevan
does not recall its status as an eternal entity and engages in
trivial pleasures because of not remembering the difference between
it and the perishable sarIram in which it is temporarily housed .
The Jeevan fails to gain AchArya KadAksham and therefore is
full of ajn~Anam ; the jeevan roils now in agony and begins to pursue
inauspicious ways. Our Lord takes pity on such a Jeevan ,
shows it the way to enter into sath sangam and to recieve AchArya
KatAksham . Thereafter , Our Lord awaits the jeevan to qualify for
Moksha Sukham and once the Jeevan has observed Bhakthi or
Prapatthi yOgam , Iswaran grants them freedom from rebirths .
253. The Result of of SamsAra Bhandham from Karma Bandham
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vidhai muLayin nyAyatthAl adi illA vinai adaivE
sathai udala nAlvahaikkum saraNamaLIppAn yenat-thihazndhu
padhavi aRiyAthu pazham pAzhil uzhalhinRArkku
sithaivu ill aruL tarum Thiru AtthinaharAnE ----Paasuram : 6
(Meaning): PeraruLALa PerumAL , who protects and blesses
all JeevarAsis takes pity on the suffering Jeevans, who are being
tossed about in the fierce sea of SamsAram ; in this karma bhUmi ,
the Lord shows them the redeeming way and grants them freedom
from being born again with a body ( sarIram) made of pancha bhUthams
and in any one of the four kinds of bodies(Deva SarIram , Manushya SarIram ,
Thiryak SarIram and SthAvara SarIram ) . Pazham Paazh here
refers to the the timeless samsAra MaNDalam , where the Jeevans
reside . PeraruLALan showers the suffering Jeevans . His dayA
for the fit jeevans leads to the enjoyment of Moksha Sulham.
Vidhai MuLai NyAyam here refers to BhIjAnkura NyAyam . The sprout of a plant
(MuLai) arises from the seed ( Vithai) . That seed did not arise from no where . It
arose from an earlier mulai .There comes a doubt as to which originated first :
is it the seed or the plant ? The root cause in this question/debate is hard
to settle on . This is BheejAnkura NyAyam . In a similar way , It is hard to
decide on whether Sariram came first to enjoy the karmAs or the KarmAs
led to the appearance of Sariram to experience the karmAs . In view of
the difficulties in establishing which came first , PoorvALs stated that
both Karmas and Sariram are timeless and ancient ( anAdhi) .
Naalvahai udal in this Paasuram refers to the four kinds of body
in to which a jeevan enters to experience its karmas: (1) The body of
DEvAs (2) The body of humans /Manushya Sariram (3) Animal or Bird
Sariram ( Thiryak Sariram ) and (4) Tree or stone et al , which are
immobile ( SthAvara Sariram).VinaikaL are experienced through
the Sariram by the Jeevans taking one or the other form of Sariram .
Next , we will cover the five slOkams dealing with the two UpAyams
to gain Moksha Sukham , the bliss of Moksham itself and the Phala
slOkam of the ArTa Panchaka Prabhnadham .
254. THe UpAyams of Bhakthi & Prapatthi: Elaboration on Bhakthi yOgam
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yama niyama aasanangaL iyal aavi pulanadakkam
tamathu aRiyum dhAraNaikaL tArai aRA ninaivu ozhukkam
samam udaya samAdhi nalam sAthippArkku ilakku aahum
amarar thozhum Atthigiri ambhyutthAL AaramudhE----(7)
Here Swamy Desikan salutes the Lord of Hasthi Giri as
" Amarar Thozhum Atthigiri AmbhuyatthAL Aar amudhu " .
The Lord of Atthigiri is visualized as the One worshipped by
the DevAs and as the delectable nectar for PerumdEvi ThAyAr.
The Lord of Kaanchi is recognized as the One , who cuts asunder
the bonds of SamsAram for those , who practise Bhakthi yOgam
with its eight angams . For these saadhakAs , PeraruLALan
frees them from SamsAric bonds ( PuNyam and Paapam ) and
blesses them with MOksham .
The eight angams of Bhakthi yOgam are:
(1) Yamam ( ahimsai , Sathyam , Non stealing , control of Kaamam et al)
(2) Niyamam ( Parisuddhi , Satisfaction with what one has , performance of
vratham/tapas , efforts at VedAntha Paricchayam , Saathvika ThyAgam )
(3) Aasanam ( Yogic poistures like PadhmAsanam)
(4) PrANAyAmam ( Control of Breath)
(5) PrathyAhAram ( Control of senses & Turning them away
from the worldly sukhams and temptations)
(6) DhAraNai( Imprint of BhagavAn's ThirumEni in one's mind)
(7) DhyAnam ( uninterrupted meditation of the Lord)
(8) SamAdhi ( reaching a state of anubhavam through dhyAnam ,
wherein the Saadhakan feels that he is seeing the Lord directly).
One uses Bhakthi yOgam or Prapatthi yOgam as upAyam to
gain MOksha Siddhi. In this Paasuram , the focus is on Bhakthi
yOgam .
255. Elaboration on Prapatthi
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puhal ulahil illAthu ponnaruL kaNDu uRRavaRkkum
ahalahilA anbarkkum anRE TannaruL kodutthup-
pahalathanAl pazham kangul vidivikkum PankayatthAL
ahalahilEn yenRu uRayum Atthigiri aruL muhilE ----(8)
Here the Lord of Atthigiri is saluted as the One , who is never
ever seperated from His PirAtti ( PankayatthAL ahalahilEn
yenRu uRayum Atthigiri AruLALan ). He is recognized as
the dark rainy season cloud that pours down the showers
of KaruNai on those , who perform Prapatthi unto Him after
the anushtAnam of PurushakAra Prapatthi at the sacred feet of
PerumdEvi ThAyAr.PurushakAra Prapatthi is performed first
to SrI Devi ( PerumdEvi ThAyAr here) before the anushtAnam
of Prapatthi at the sacred feet of the Lord . We need the intercession
of our ThAyAr for gaining success in our Prapatthi to Her Lord.
One practises Dhruptha or Aarta Prapatthi at the feet of
the Lord to gain Moksha siddhi . Dhruptha Prapatthi is the form of
SaraNAgathy , where one experiences karma phalan until
the end of one's days and gains moksham at the end . Aarta
Prapatthi is the form of SaraNAgathy , which is performed by one
with the intense desire to gain MOksham right away without waiting
patiently until the end of one's alloted life span.
256. Elaboration of Moksha Svaroopam
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iru vilangu vidutthu iruntha siRai vidutthOr naadiyinAl
karu nilankaL kadakkum vazhi kAvalarAl kadatthuvitthup-
perunilam kaNDu uyir uNarnthu piriyAmal aruL seyyum
uru nalam koNDu uRum ThiruvOdu uyar AtthigiriyAnE----(9)
PerumdEvi ThAyAr has roopam and kalyANa guNams befitting
Her Lord and stays together with Him as Bliss principle.
Our Lord VaradarAjan bearing such illustrious glories through
association (sambhandham) with His PirAtti commands HIs aadhivAhikAs
to lead the Jeevan that performed SaraNAgathy at His sacred
feet after liberating that Jeevan from the body via moordhanya Naadi .
That jeevan crosses the archirAdhi mArgam and comprehends
its true savroopam with the anugraham of the Lord and arrives at
Sri Vaikuntam to perform eternal kaimkaryam to the Lord there.
The Lord blesses the liberated jeevan to stay with Him
as His servitor for all times to come and never to return
to the Karma BhUmi .
The PuNyams and Paapams bind the Bhaddha Jeevan
before SaraNAgathy.After the enactment of SaraNAgathy ,
the jeevan is liberated from the shackles of Paapam & PuNyam .
PuNyam is considered a golden bond and Paapam as
an iron handcuff and legcuff .They are both shattered as a result of
the performance of SaraNAgathy at the Lord's sacreed feet .
257.Gaining of Sarva Kaimkaryam during MokshAnubhavam
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Tamm ThirumAthudanE thAmm tani arasAy uRaihinRa
antham ilA pEr inbatthil adiyavarOdu yemai sErtthu
munthi izhanthana yellAm muhizhhikka tanthu aatkoLLum
antham ilA aruLAzhi Atthigirit-ThirumAlE ----(10)
PeraruLALan enjoying the company of His divine consort ,
PerumdEvi ThAyAr rules over SrI Vaikuntam eternally
and stands as the very embodiment of Aanandham.
Lord VaradarAjan as SrI Vaikunta NaaTan unites the Muktha
Jeevan with nithya Sooris and other Muktha Jeevan , blesses
this Jeevan to perform nithya Kaimkaryam to Him and His divine
consort .The divine couple enables the liberated jeevan to perform
all the Kaimkaryams that it could not perform until then due to
karma bandham(sambhandham) .
Lord VaradarAjan is saluted endearingly here as " AnthamilA AruLAzhi
Atthigiri ThirumAL" , who as the eternal divinity with His sacred consort
( ThirumAthudanE ) rules over SrI Vaikuntam as the unique Chakravarhti
( Tani arasAi uRaihinRa anthamil pEr inbham ) of that land of infinite bliss .
258. Phala Sruthi
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Ayan paNiyum Atthigiri AruLALar adiyiNai mEl
nayankaL seRi Kacchi nagar nAnnmaRayOr nallaruLAl
payankaL ivai anaitthum yenap-paNDuraitthAr padi uraittha
viyan kalaikaL yeerainthum vEdhiyarkku iniyanavE ---(11)
This prabhandham was created in tune with the upadEsams of
PoorvAchAryAs and has been realized with the anugraham of
Parama BhAgavathAs , who have the good fortune of enjoying
the dhivya soundharyam and KalyANa guNams of Lord VaradarAjan ,
who presides over Atthigiri . When the reciters of aruttha Panchaka
Paasurams examine the meanings of them , their resulting
phalan is understood as the paasurams themselves pregnant with
the deepest of meanings. .Only MahAns with familiarity of the meanings
of Vedams can relate to them and enjoy the sweetnes of the meanings of
these Paasurams.
SrI NaarAyaNa YathIndhra MahA DesikAya Nama:
Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
Spelling: artha aruttha pancakam panchakam