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Padhuka Sahasram Index - Introduction

Introduction


Swamy NammAzhwAr is recognized and revered in our tradition 
as the Paadhukais of Lord RanganAthan(SrIman NaarAyaNan) of
BhUlOka Vaikuntam (SrIrangam). 

Swamy Desikan composed in one Yaamam of a night(< 3 hours) 
at SrIrangam , 1008 slOkams saluting the Vaibhavam of 
Swamy NammazhwAr as the Paadha Rakshais /PaadhukAs
of Lord RanganAthan.

The Birth of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram (SRPS)
**************************************************** 
These 1008 verses were composed as a response for 
a challenge from a jealous SrI VaishNava AchArya 
as to who can compose 1008 slOkams on a divine subject 
during the course of a night . The jealous challenger
chose to compose his 1008 on the Lotus feet of Lord
RanganAthan. Swamy Desikan accepted this challenge and
elected to compose his 1008 slOkmas on the glories 
and significance of the sandals (Paahdukais)that protect 
the Lord's Thiuvadi during His varied sanchArams.

In less than 3 hours , Swamy Desikan completed his task of
creating the 1008 verses on the subject of his choice. 
The contestant was able to compose a mere 300 slOkams 
during the same time. 

As the day broke , the judges declared Swamy Desikan as 
the winner in the contest that Swamy Desikan did not 
seek. We are indeed the beneficiaries of this contest ,
since Swamy Desikan's SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahsram 
(1008 SlOkams) contain deep doctrines of SrI VaishNavam
in the format of eulogy to Lord RanganAthan's Paadhukai.

The Relevance of SRPS
**********************
At this time of the Lord's Thiru Adhyayana Uthsavam 
reaching its climax in Swamy NammAzhwAr's Moksham ,
it is appropriate to celebrate the SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA
Sahasram , which is largely about Swamy NammAzhwAr's
ThiruvAimozhi and other Prabhandhams .

The 32 Paddhathis of SRPS & AgrimaNi MaalA SthOthram
******************************************************
The 1008 slOkams are housed in 32 Paddhathis or chapters.
Always , the first slOakm of each Paddhathi is set up in
the Anushtup Metre. When these first slOkams of the 32 individual
chapters (Paddhathis) are recited every day , it confers
Sarva mangaLams (all auspiciousness) on the reciter . 
This assembly of the 32 first slOkams is known as SrI PaadhukA 
Sahasra AgramaNi MaalA sthothram. 

adiyEn will share the meanings of these 32 slOkams 
so the bhakthAs can appreciate and enjoy the meanings
of these anushtup slOkams positioned at the head of
each of the following 32 chapters of SrI RanganAtha 
PaadhukA Sahasram :

1.PrasthAva Paddhathi(P--) 2. SamAkhyA Paddhathi
3.PrabhAva P--( 4) SamarpaNa P-- (5)PrathiprasTAna P--
6.AdhikAra Parigraha P--(7) AbhishEka P--(8)NiyAtanA P--
9.VaithALika P--(10)SrungAra P--(11)SanchAra P--
12.Pushpa P--(13)ParAga P-- (14)Naadha P--
15.Rathna SaamAnya P--(16)Bahurathna P--
17.PadhmarAga Paddhathi (18)MukthA P--
19.Marataka P--(20)Indraneela P--
21.BhimBha-PrathBhimBha P--(22)Kaanchana P--
23. SEsha P--(24) DhvandhvaP--(25)SannivEsa P--
26.YanthrikA P--(27)REkhA P--(28)SubhAshithA P--
29.PrakeerNa P--(30)Chithra P--(31)NirvEdha P--
32. Phala Paddhathi.


SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram has 32 Paddhathis or
chapters. At the beginning of each of the Paddhathis ,
Swamy composed a slOkam in the simple but beautiful
anushtup metre to set the tone for the individual paddhathis.
These 32 slOkams are strung together in a garalnd recognized as 
SrI PaadhukA-Sahasra Agra MaNi Maala . The recitation of these 
32 slOkams with dhyAnam of Swamy NammAzhwAr , the Paadhukai of
Lord RanganAthA will confer sakala soubhAgyams to the reciter.

adiyEn will give the title of the Paddhathi and provide 
the short meanings for the slOkams on this sacred Nrusimha 
Jayanthi day of SvabhAnu Chitthirai month. Please refer to 
the ongoing series of postings in the Oppiliappan List 
for additional details on these slOkams .The translations follow 
mostly the VyAkyAnam of SrI U.Ve. Vaikunta Vaasi UtthamUr Swamy .

1. PrasthAva Paddhathi 

Santha: SrIranga-PruTveesa CharanathrANa sEkharA:
Jayanthi Bhuvana-thrANa padhapankaja-rENava:

The dust from the feet of those great ones who carry 
with joy the Paadhukais of Lord RanganAtha as 
the decoration for their heads protects all 
the worlds and their beings. These fortunate ones 
are superior to all the others.The inner meaning is 
that such bhAgyasAlis , who celebrate NammAzhwAr
(SatAri Soori) not only attain a superior status(gathi)
but bless all the others with supreme goals (Parama
PurushArtham).

2. SamAkhyA Paddhathi
*********************** 
VandhE VishNu-padhAsaktham tamrishim tAmm cha PaadhukAm
yaTArTA SaThajith-samj~nA macchittha vijayAdhyayO:

adiyEn salutes both the sage whose mind was deeply
attached to the Lord's feet and the Paadukais 
that are firmly associated with the Lord's ThiruvadikaL. 
Both bear the name of SaThAri . They are appropriately
called SaThAri, the conqueror of SaTha Vaayu
(Swamy NammAazhwAr) and the Paadhukai of the Lord ,
the conqueror of a SaThan (dushtan with Aasuric tendencies)
like me. 

3. PrabhAva Paddhathi
**********************

VandhE Tadh-RanganATasya mAnyam paadhukAyOryugam
unnathAnAmavanathi: nathAnAm yathra chOnnathi:

adiyEn bows before the twin Paadhukais (of the Lord 
of SrIrangam) which transforms the tall( haughty one)
to become small (humble)and the humble become tall ( glorious).
Swamy Desikan means that those who stand tall with their
display of ego are reduced in rank and are humbled by 
the powerful Paadhukais. Similarly, those humble ones
worshipping the Padhukais with fervour are elevated to
a higher status and become beneficiaries of the Lord"s
paramAnugraham. Even SrI RanganAtha Himself becomes taller,
when He adorns the Padhukais and becomes shorter, when He
steps down from them.

4. SamarpaNa Paddhathi
************************

BhajAma: PaadhukE yAbhyAm BharathasyAkrajastadhA
prAya: prathi-prayANAya prAsTAnikamakalpayath

We meditate on the Lord's Paadhukais.At the time of 
His journey to the forest to fulfill the vow made to
His father, Raama seems to have observed ParasthAnam 
through sending of His Paadhukais to AyOdhyA with Bharathan
in anticipation of His return there some fourteen years later.
(The practise of parasthAnam is observed by a person,
who can not start his journey on an auspicious time. 
He sends one or more of his property ahead of time 
at a subha muhUrtham to assure safe journey later).

5. PrathiprasTAna Paddhathi
****************************

prasasthE Raama-paadhAbhyAm paadhukE paryupAsmahE
aanrusamsyam yayOrAseeth aasrithEshvanavagraham

We meditate on the Lord's Paadhukais , whose protection of 
those seeking their refuge is absolute and unquestioned. 
They are unfailing in their power to bless their devotees. 
In this regard, they are slightly superior to the Lord's 
sacred feet themselves . This is evident from the fact that 
BharathA got the anugraham of RaamA's feet only after 
fourteen years , while His PaadhukAs offered their
protection unceasingly. 

6. AdhikAra Parigraha Paddhathi
********************************

adhIshDE PaadhukA saa mE YasyA: SaakEtha-vaasibhi:
anvaya-vyathirEkhAbhyAm anvameeyatha vaibhavam

Swamy Desikan is celebrated as KavithArkika Simham
or the lion among poets and logicians. In this verse, 
he uses the logic known as anvayam ( natural orders of
words in a sentence) and vyathirEkam ( dissimilarity) 
to establish the greatness of the Paadhukais. Swamy Desikan
states that the very same paadhukAs , whose glory was inferred
by the citizens as both anvayam and VyathirEkam are also 
his supreme goddess. When the Paadukais were in AyOdhya
(before Vana Vaasam), the city had mahOthsavam(anvayam).
When it left for the forest with the Lord , the sorrow 
at AyOdhya was unberable (vyathirEkam).When Lord completed
His vana Vaasam and reentered AyOdhyA , then the spirit of
MahOthsavam (anvyam) returned to AyOdhyA. 

7. AbhishEka Paddhathi
************************
pAhi na: PaadhukE YasyA: vidhArayannabhishEchanam
abhishEchanikam bhANDam chakrE Raama: pradakshiNam

Oh PaadhukE! Raama did not want to have coronation bath
for Himself , but He wanted You to have that auspicious 
bath. Therefore , He made a prathakshiNam of all the material
assembled for His coronation bath on Your behalf . Oh PaadhukE! 
May Thou who is held in the highest esteem by Your Lord 
protect us !

8. NiryAtanA Paddhathi
************************

abhishOthsavath Tasmath YasyA niyAtanOthsavath
athyarichyatha ThAmm vandhE BhavyAm Bharatha DevathAm

adiyEn bows before the Paadhukais --the object of worship
of Bharatha-- whose reunion with the Lord's feet was even
more worthy of celebration than its coronation festival.
Here, Swamy Desikan begins to celebrate the union of 
the Paadhukais with the Lord's holy feet as a great 
festival. He hints that the Paadhukais were longing for
such a union to resume its traditional role of transporting
the Lord.

9. VaithALika Paddhathi
***********************
NamsthE PaadhukE! pumsAm samsArArNava-sEthavE
yadhArOhasya vEdAnthA: vandhi-VaithALikA: svayam

Oh PaadhukE! You are the bridge to cross the Ocean of
SamsAra (worldly ills).adiyEn's salutation are to You 
for serving as such and helping the suffering populace.
The Upanishads themselves assume the form of court singers /
eulogists to announce the different times and divisions of
the day and night for Your Lord to adorn You for 
the performance of His duties. They serve as reminders of 
the time and occasion for RanganAtha to travel on You 
to protect His devotees and punish their enemies.

10. SrungAra Paddhathi
***********************

SourE: srungAra-chEshtAnAm prasoothim PaadhukAm bhajE
yAmEsha brungthE suddhAnthAth poorvam pascchAdhapi Prabhu:

We meditate on the PaadhukA Devi , whom RanganAtha
enjoys through union before and after His visits to 
the inner chambers of His consorts. The same PaadhukA Devi 
is the root cause of His erotic plays with His consorts.
( Swamy Desikan suggests that RanganAtha as the Master 
takes the role of DakshiNan, anukoolan et al to enjoy 
PaadhukA Devi, while She takes on the role of vallabhA ,
VaasakA , SajjikA et al).In erotic play (SrungAram) ,
the Master and the Mistress take on different roles
to enhance the enjoyment of their union. Swamy Desikan 
states here that the inspiration for the Lord's various
erotic plays with His consorts originate from His playful
involvement with PaadhukA Devi. 

11. SanchAra Paddhathi
***********************
agratasthE gamishyAmi mrudhnanthI kusa-kaNDakAn 
ithi SeethApi yadhvrutthim iyEsha praNamAmi ThAmm

Oh PaadhukE! In Your kaimkaryam for the Lord , You step on
sharp grass and thorns and thereby protect the Lord's soft
feet from them. It appears as though You say that You will
go ahead and remove the obstacles that confront the Lord's feet 
during His travels in the forest. You step on the thorns and
crush the sharp blades of grass to protect Your Lord's tender feet. 
Oh PaadhukE! I bow before You , whose occupation of protecting 
the Lord's feet was desired by SitA Devi Herself . 

12. Pushpa Paddhathi
********************
SourE: sanchAra-kAlEshu pushpavrushtirdhivaschyuthA
paryavasyathi yathraiva prapadhyE ThAm padhAvaneem

adiyEn seeks the refuge of the holy PaadhukAs of Lord
RanganAtha , which recieve the showers of flowers during
the times of the Lord's travels. (The DevAs and humans
shower flowers on RanganAtha as a mark of their homage
to Him. After touching the upper limbs of the Lord , 
those flowers come to rst at His holy feet , where 
the PaadhukAs are situated. It appears therefore that 
the showers of flowers were indeed for the PaadhukAs.
The end stage of the worship of BhagavAn has been identified 
as the worship of His BhAgavathAsin GitA. Lord welcomes that 
final step. PaadhukA archanA resembles the BhAgavatha archanA).

13. ParAgaPaddhathi
********************
pAnthu va: PadhmanAbhasya PaadhukA-kElipAmsava:
AhalyA dEha nirmANa paryAya paramANava:

The Paraga means the pollen of a flower or a speck of
dust.Swamy Desikan composed thirty slOkams to celebrate
the mystery and holiness of the specks of dust associated
with the Lord's Paadhukais.

May the specks of dust associated with PadmanAbhA's feet 
protect us! They were the ones responsible for reconstructing 
AhalyA's body back in to her original form as the wife of Sage
Gautama from its erstwhile status as a lifeless stone.
(She was thus released from the curse of her husband
to be turned in to a stone for her misbehavior and 
that transformation was realized through the power of 
the dust from the Lord's PaadhukAs). 

14. Naadha paddhathi
*********************
SrutheenAm BhUshaNAnAm tE SankE RangEndra PaadhukE
miTa: sangarsha-sanjAtham raja: kimpi sinjitham

(Swamy Desikan composed one hundred verses to celebrate
the uniqueness of the holy Naadham generated by 
the PaadhukAs during the Lord's sanchAram). 

In this slOkam Swamy Desikan says: " Oh RanganAtha
PaadhukE! When I hear Your melodious sounds, I conclude
that it is generated by the vigorous rubbing together 
of the VedAs , which serve as Your jewelery. During their
efforts to compete with each other to praise You , they 
seem to generate the notes that form the melody associated
with Your movement.(Lord RanganAthA's PaadhukAs have many 
gems and jewels as decorative objects . Swamy Desikan
equates them to the branches of the four VrdAs). 

15. RathnasAmAnya Paddhathi
*****************************
udharchishastE RangEndra-padhAvani! bahirmaNIn 
antharmaNiravam sruthvA manyE rOmAnchithAkrutheen

(In this paddhathi consisting of 50 sLOkams, Swamy Desikan 
dwells on the Vaibhavam of the many multi-hued gems that 
decorate the external surfaces of the Paadhukais. In this
Paddhathi, Sawmy Desikan did not elaborate on the color
of the gems on PaadhukAs but focussed only on their brillance). 

Here , Swamy Desikan says: " Oh RanganAtha PaadhukE! 
The gems adorning Your exterior hear the sweet music 
inside your body and attain a state of horripilation .
It appears as though the hair of the exterior gems
stand on their ends due to amazement. 

16. Bahurathna Paddhathi
*************************
mukha BaahUrupAdhEbhyO varNAn srushtavatha: prabhO:
prapadhyE PaadhukAm rathnai: vyaktha-varna vyavasTithim

(In this paddhathi containing 50 slOkams , Swamy Desikan 
describes the many colorful gems that adorn the Paadhukais of 
the Lord of SrIrangam).

Oh PaadhukE! As celebrated in the Purusha SookthA , Your Lord's
face ,hands , thighs and feet created the four categories of
people. adiyEn surrenders at Your feet, which reflect the lustre 
of the gem-like limbs of the Lord on the different portions of 
Your body.