Desika Sahasranama

Index

balya vaibhavangal

stotrArambhaH (Beginning of the Sahasra Naamams)

shrImannigamAnta mahA deshika - divyasahasranAmAvaLiH

1) praNavam VenkaTesha-kRipAlabdha-anantArya-svapna-chintitAya namaH .

Glory be to that Desikan , who incarnated as a result of 
the matchless mercy of Lord Of Thirumalai , when the Lord 
gave the boon to AnanathArya in his dream.

( AnanathArya of ThUppul was the father of Swami Desikan.
Lord of the Seven Hills appeared in the dream of AnanthArya
and promised him a sath-puthran .The Lord blessed AnanthArya
with His own sannidhi hand bell. AnanthArya realized from 
that dream that a great AchAryan was going to be born as his son.
adiyEn's salutations to that Desikan! ). 


(2)praNavam totArambAgarbha-sUryasaMkhyAbdAvAsa-bhAsurAya namaH .

Salutations to the AchAryan , who resided in his mother's
womb (garbha Vaasam) for 12 years . Swamy Desikan's mother's
name was ThOthArambhA. 

( Swamy Desikan had 12 years of Garbha Vaasam like Brahma Rishi 
ParAsara , who also established the Supermacy of SrIman
NaarAyaNan earlier . Both are superior sages , who comprehended 
and elaborated on the Tatthvam of SrIman NaarAyaNan as
the Supreme Being . Both of them established that there is
none , who is equal or superior to SrIman NaarAyaNan). 

3)praNavam madhusUdanarangesha-sAkUtekShita-janmakAya namaH .

Salutations to that Desikan, who was blessed even at birth
with the auspicious glances of RanganAthan , who is hailed as
Madhusoodhanan !

(Right at birth , the saabhiprAya KatAksham / purposeful
glance of the auspicious Lord of SrIrangam fell on Swamy 
Desikan and elevated him to become the AchArya Saarvabhouman.
Those who recieve the Madhusoodhana-RanganAtha KatAksham
at birth are rid of RajO and TamO guNams and become filled
with Satthva GuNam that propels them to focus on Moksha upAyam 
according to a slOkam of MahA BhAratham:

"JaayamAnam hi Purusham yam pasyEth Madhusoodhaana:
Saathvika: sa thu vij~nyEa: sa vai mOkshArTa-chinthaka:") 

(4)praNavam nabhasya-shravaNa-shrIsha-tIrtha-vAsara-janmavate namaH .

Salutations to the One, who was born on Lord SrinivAsan's 
ThIrthOthsavam day (PurattAsi SravaNam)!

( Swamy Desikan incarnated on the day when VishNu Nakshathram
of SravaNam was ascendant in BhAdrapadha Maasam /PurattAsi.
VishNu is the devathai/presiding deity for SravaNa nakshathram ).

(5)praNavam dIpaprakAsha-nikaTa-sadmAvirbhAva-bhAsurAya namaH .

Salutations to the AchAryan , who incarnated in the house 
next to Lord DhIpa PrakAsan's sannidhi at ThirutthaNkA
Dhivya dEsam!

(when we combine the 4th and the 5th names and recite , 
it becomes clear that it is indeed ThiruvEngadamudayAn , 
who incarnated as Swamy Desikan at ThirutthaNkA.
The paasuram of Kaliyan (10.1.2) and Swamy NammAzhwAr's 
Thiruviruttha Paasuram(26) hint at the avathAram of 
Swamy Desikan . Kaliyan's Pauram is:

ponnai maamaNiyai aNiyArnthathOr minnai
Venkatatthu uchciyil kaNDu pOy
yennaiaaLudaya Isanai EmpirAn Tannai
yaam senRu kANDum TaNkAvilE..Periya Thirumozhi:10.1.2 

Here , Kaliyan connects the darsana soubhAgyam of 
ThiruvEngadamudayAn first on top of the seven hills
and then at ThirutthaNkA, the avathAra sthalam of
Swamy Desikan (VenkatEsa avathAran). 

(6)praNavam shrIsha-ghaNTAvatAratva-jnApakAneka-yuktimate namaH .

Salutations to that AchAryan , whose incarnation as 
the divine hand bell of ThiruvEngadamudayAn is indicated
through many evidences !

( Swamy Desikan himself has revealed to us that he is 
the avathAram of the bell of the Lord of Seven hills 
in the Sankalpa SooryOdhayam verse: " vidhrAsinI".

Further attestations are from the dream of AnanthArya ,
who gave the Lord's bell to ThOthArambhA . In that dream , 
ThOthArambhA swallowed the bell and the garbha vaasam started 
thereafter.

The day after the dream of Anantha Soori, the archakAs at
the Sannidhi of the Lord of Thirumalai missed the bell used
in AarAdhanam. Lord Srinivasan instructed through the Jeeyar
that the bell has been given to ThOthArambhA for the incarnation
of Swamy Desikan and the Lord instructed that the hand bell
should not be used in his sannidhi from then on.Even today, 
the two big bells in the front maNDapam are used during
AarAdhanam for Lord SrInivAsan at Thirumalai.

Thirukkudanthai Desikan was inspired to compose this naamam
based on the fact that Swamy Desikan as VishNu GhaNtAvathAran
chased away the disputations of scholars of other darsanams 
just like the Lord's bell chases away asurAs.The quotaion is:
" viyan kalaikaL moytthidu naavin muzhakkodu vaadhiyar 
moolamaRak-kaitthavan". The gambhIra sound emanating from 
the tongue of Swamy Desikan drove away the Vaaddhis ; that
is compared to the peelings of the Lord's bell that chases away
the asurAs ). 

(7)praNavam puNDarIkAkShAkhya-yajva-pautrAya namaH .

Salutations to Swamy Desikan , who incarnated as
the grand son of PuNdarIka YajvA(One who performed Yaj~nams)!

(Swamy Desikan describes himself as :PouthrO
vidhathamakavithE PuNDarIkAksha SoorE: here Thirukkudanthai
Desikan hints that Swamy Desikan had no abrAhmaNya dhOsham since 
the previous generations of his had perfromed agni aadhAnam
thru performance of many Yaj~nams).

(8)praNavam anantArya-putrakAya namaH .

Salutations to that AchAryan , who incarnated as the son
of AnanthArya of ThUppul!

( Swamy Desikan has described himself as 
" naanA siddhAntha nIthisrama vimala dhiyO:
AnanthasurEs-tanooja:" . He recalls that he 
is the son of Ananatha Soori, who was clear headed about
Tatthva Jn~Anam through his study of SidhdAntha NyAyams).

(9)praNavam AtreyavAdihaMsAmbuvAhArya-bhaginIsutAya namaH .

Salutations to that AchAryan ,who was the nephew of
ApuLLAr of AathrEya Kulam !

( ApuLLar was the maternal uncle of Swamy Desikan
and hailed from the lineage of Sage Athri.He was a great
VishNu BhakthA and AchAryan in his own right. He was
known as "Vaadhi-hamsAmbhu-vAhar" or the rain bearing 
clouds to the Swans.Latter run away in fear , when they see 
the rain clouds. When the rain stops , they hasten to
partake the water that accumulates from the rain for nourishment. 
Similarly , the disputants run away from AppuLLAr
and afterwards rejuvenate themselves from the upadesams 
of AppuLLAr ).

10)praNavam svasva-kAla-anantaguru-kRita-jAtakriyAdikAya namaH .

(Meaning): Salutations to the Acharyan , who recieved 
Jaathakarma and other samskArams at the prescribed age from 
his father, Ananatha Soori! 

(Commnets):There are 40 samskArams defined by the kalpa soothrAs
for one who is born in this world.The first seven are done by 
the parents and the most of the others are done by 
the individual. The first of these SamskArams after birth
is JaathakaramA. This is done soon after the birth of 
the child .The tongue of the child is touched three times 
with ghee to the accompaniment of appropriate Veda ManthrAs 
seeking protection from inauspiciousness with prayers for 
long life (Veda PrAyam ).Gifts are given away during 
this occasion. 

11)praNavam anantArya kRita shrImadvenkaTeshAbhidhAnakAya namaH .

(Meaning):Salutations to the Acharyan , who was given 
the name of "SrI VenkatEsan" by his father, Anantha Soori!

(Commnets):NaamakaraNam is a samskAram that is performed on 
the 11th day after birth. This is the second of the samskArams 
done by the parents for the newly born child . Swamy Desikan is 
the incarnation of the sacred hand bell of Lord VenkatEsan of 
Thirumalai. He was also born on the PurattAsi SraVaNam day , 
which is the birth day of Lord VenkatEsan .Hence Ananatha Soori 
chose the appropriate name of "Venkatesan " for his son.
There is a saying : "Kalou VenkatanAyaka: " to indicate
that Lord VenkatEsan is the powerful medicine for destroying
the samsAric ills in Kali Yugam . Swamy Desikan , as 
the avathAram of VenkatEsan of Thirumalai removed our 
samsAric ills through his UpadEsams and SrI Sookthis
as celebrated by his son ( KumAra VaradAchAr ):" maNN
mEl ninRa nOykaL tavirtthananE " ( He cured all the ills
of samsAram ). 

12)praNavam varadAchArya-rAmAnujArya ubhaya kRipekShitAya namaH .

(Meaning):Salutations to the Acharyan , who was blessed 
to recieve the merciful glances (krupA katAksham ) of 
both VaradAcchAr (NadAthUr AmmAL ) and RaamAnujAcchAr(AppuLLAr)!

(Commnets): Swamy Desikan joined his maternal uncle , 
AppuLLaar to prostrate before the KaalakshEpa GhOshti of
NadAthur AmmAL (grandson of the nephew of AchArya
RaamAnujA ) on the west prAkAram of Lord VaradarAjA.
Swamy Desikan was just five years old at that time. The child's
dhivya tEjas attracted the attention of all the attendants
of the GhOshti including the great NadAthUr AmmAL. He blessed
the child to become an illustrious sampradhAya pravarthakar 
and asked AppuLLAr to be the achAryan to instruct the child
in VedAntha Saasthrams and SaamAnya Saasthrams. Thus Swamy
Desikan was blessed to recieve the paripoorNa anugraham
of both NadAthUr AmmAl and his disciple , AppuLLAr.Swamy
Desikan refers to this anugraham in one of the slOkams of
adhikaraNa SaarAvaLi.One can witness the place where this 
happening occured even today on the Hasthigiri.

13)praNavam vishvAmitrAnvaya-abdhIndave namaH .

(Meaning):Salutations to the AchAryan , who served as 
the Moon for the ocean of ViswAmithra kulam !

The Moon that rises from the Ocean is the cause for
the rising of that ocean. Similarly , Swamy Desikan 
was born in the ViswAmithra gOthram and enriched
the fame of that kulam.Sage ViswAmithra had the power 
based on penance to create Indhran and Svargam. Swamy
Desikan as the most distinguished descendant of this vamsam
was able to accomplish extraordinary things due to his
mastery (PaaNDithyam )of Tarkam and other related
vidhyAs.The moon that arises from the ocean gladdens 
the hearts of the world and its beings. Similarly ,
Swamy Desikan arose from ViswAmithra Kulam and 
conferred immense auspiciousness on the world. 

14)praNavam jagatpuNya mahAphalAya namaH .

(Meaning): Salutations to that AchAryan , who is
the magnificent fruit of all the ausoicous deeds 
(PuNyams ) of this world !

(Comments):Swamy Desikan's avathAram was for fortifying 
the Veda maargam and protect Prapatthi as an upAyam for
Moksha anugraham.It is our blessed fortune that 
Swamy incarnated to guide us in following the Vedic
way and to recieve the blessings of Nithya Kaimkaryam
to SrIman NaarAyaNan at SrI Vaikuntam through the performance of 
prapatthi at the sacred feet of a SadAchAryan.

Swamy Desikan saluted AchArya RaamAnuja in his 
YathirAja Sapthathi as " Thri-jagath PuNya PhaLam ". 
Swamy Desikan's own avathAram resulted also from the integrated
puNyams of the world. He was the fruit of that collective
puNyam. He established the importance of many ancient
samskArams like Pancha MahA Yaj~nams for a grahsthan.
This fits with the observation : "parasparam bhAvayantha:
srEya: param avApsyatha" ( Parama SrEyas resulted to the entire 
world and Vaidhika SrI grew as a result of the Pancha MahA
Yaj~nAnushtAnam and other Vaidhika karmAs ). The DevAs ,
the humans and all chEthanams benefitted from these observances
of the sadAchAram and anushtAnam recommended by Swamy Desikan.
That became the Jagath PuNya MahA Phalam. 

15)praNavam anantArya-AchArya-ratna-kRitopanayana-samskRitaye namaH .

(Meaning): Salutations to that AchAryan , who recieved 
the sacred rites (samskAram) of Upanayanam from the AchArya 
SrEshtar , Ananatha Soori !

(Comments): One who performs BrahmOpadEsam and instructs 
the BrahmachAri in the VedAs is recognized as the AchAryan.
This is smruthi vachanam.Anantha Soori thus became the AchAryan
for his son , VenkatEsan. Upanayanam follows the SamskArAs of
GarbhAdhAnam , Pumsavana , Simantha ,Jathakarma ,NaamakaraNa ,
Anna prAsana (a t Six months), ChauLa ( First cutting of 
hair to form Sikhai). After Upanayanam ,Pancha SamskAram
under a SadAchAryan takes place for a VaishNavan. After
that the child enters Gurukulam and follows the Veda VrathAs 
known as PrAjApathya . At the conclusion of the Veda adhyayanam , 
avabrutha snAnam is performed , guru dakshiNai is given and 
the bachelor returns home and is ready for entering married
life (GrahasthAsramam).

(16)(PraNavam) VaadhihamsAmbhuvAhArya-krutha-taapadhi- samskruthayE nama:

Salutations to the AchAryan , who recieved Pancha samskArams
from Swamy AppuLLAr! 

One recieves during the time of SamAsrayaNam the following
five samskArams: (1)Taapa SamskAram:being imprinted with 
the divine disc and conch of SrIman NaarAyaNa on the shoulders 
(2)PuNDra SamskAram: Iniitation into the adorning of 
the twelve Urdhva PuNDrams (ThirumaNN and SrI ChoorNam) 
on the designated sections of the upper torso with mantrams 
to wear them (3)Recieving dAsa nAmam from the AchAryan 
(RaamAnuja Daasan)(4)UpadEsams on Manthra Thrayams(AshtAksharam , 
Dhvyam and Charama slOkam )and (5)Yaagam/IjyA :instrcutions on 
how to perform Bhagavadh AarAdhanam daily .It is pancha samskAram 
that marks the beginning of one's life as a SrI VaishNavan.
The beginning of one's true life is linked to Pancha SamskAram.

SrImaan KaraLaapAkkam Anantha PadhmanAbhaan (SrI Anand )of
Chennai has written a comprehensive and scholarly article on
Pancha SamskArams that is archived at :

http://www.ahobilamutt.org/samas.html

This is a very important posting that every SrI VaishNava
or an aspirant to lead the SrI VaishNavA way of life can
benefit from.

(17)(PraNavam) adhItha-saanga-sasiraskAkruthrima- SarasvathayE nama:

Salutations to the AchAryan , who studied (performed
adhyayanam) of the Vedaas with its six limbs and siras
(Upanishads)!

"akruthrimA Sarasvathi" means apourushEya Vedam , one
which has not been created (krutham) by anyone. 
It is eternal and timeless .It is the Lord's breath. 
The authority of the VedAs is hence supreme and final. 

The VedAs celebrate the Supreme Self (Brahman) as 
the First cause of creation , sustenance and 
the dissolution of the Universe as well as the source of 
dhivya Jn~Anam ( JanmAdhyasaya yatha: and Saasthra yOnithvAth:
Brahma SoothrAs I.1.2-3).The VedAs are Sruthis and not
SaasthrAs.Sruthi has the flexibility to and of potentiality
becoming moulded into a SaasthrA ; VedAs are not SaasthrAs
by themselves as we understand SaasthrAs to be " a set of
systematized knowledge with a set of scientific terminology".
Thus the Sruthi has the capability of becoming the source
of a SaasthrA , but by itself is not a SaasthrA.

The acceptance of the authority of Vedams makes 
a darsanam ( system of philosophy) Vaidhikam/Aasthikam. 
Others are Naasthikam (ChArvakam , Buddhism and
Jainism). The vedic doctrines are further elaborated 
by the text of Upanishads (Veda Siras) and in the six systems 
of philosophy that Bhagavad RaamAnujA and Swamy Desikan mastered:
(1) the VaisEshikA of KaNAda (2)NyAya of Gouthama
(3)SaamkhyA of Kapilaa (4)YogA of Pathanjali(5)Poorva-
MemAmsA of Jaimini and (6)Uttara MeemAmsa of BaadarAyaNa 
VyAsa.

A clear comprehension of the VedAs is gained by
the study of the Six VedAngAs (limbs of VedAs)
or UpavEdAs(sub-vEdAs):(1)SeekshA/orthography/phonetics) 
(2)VyAkaraNA /The grammar)(3)Chandas/prosody 
(4) JyOthisham /astronomy (5) Kalpam ( the system
of rituals and ceremonies ) and (6) niruktha/nighantu:
lexicon and unique meaning of Vedic words.

The content of the VedAs come under the three
categories: Jn~Ana /Knowledge portion ,
KarmA/the code of action , UpAsanA or spiritual
realization through the proximity of the Supreme Self.
Yajus SamhithA deals with karma KaaNdam ;Rg SamhithA
covers spiritual knowledge; Saama samhithA deals 
with prayers abnd chants.

Our Swamy Desikan mastered all the Veda SamhithAs with 
angams and hence is known as Thrayyantha Guru ,
VedAnthAchAryan and NigamAntha MahA Desikan .
This 17th Naama celebrates Swamy Desikan's mastery 
of the VedAs with its six ancillaries and Upanishads. 

(18)(PraNavam) VaadhihamsAmbhuvAhArya- samprApthaakhila-sAsthradhiyE nama:

Salutations to the AchAryan , who recieved
Sakala-Saasthra Jn~Anam from His AachAryan ,
AthrEya RaamAnuja (Swamy AppuLLAr)!

Swamy Desikan salutes His Aacharyan for His
MahOpakAram this way: " Vishvak-bhEdha vidhyA-sthithi
padha-vishaya sTEya Bhootham" ( One who established
clearly the correct positions/siddhAntham in many
areas of divine Knowledge like an impartial judge). 
Swamy Desikan's own son, KumAra VaradAcchAr 
refers to his Father/AchAryan recieving all
Veda-Saasthra Jn~Anam fully from his Uncle , 
Swamy AppuLLAr ( MaathulAth Saklaa: kalaa: ).

(19)(PraNavam) KaNAta-tanthra PaarINaaya nama:

Salutations to that AchAryan , who is a Master of
the VaisEshikA philosophy associated with KaNAdha
Maharishi!

Swamy Desikan himself has said: " paryAptham paryasaisham
KaNacharanagathAm" ( I have acquainted myself with
VaisEshikam to the extent that was required ).Swamy Desikan 
was modest here. He was an authority on VaisEshika-NyAya
system of phiolosophy and criticized its deficencies
soundly in his master piece, SarvArTa Siddhi .The NyAya-
VaisEshika systems are close to one another and are generally
treated as one . VisishtAdhvaithins object to them as
asat-kaarya vaadam . The NyAya-VaisEshikAs accept
the authority of the VedAs but place their emphasis
on inference (anumAna) over verbal comprehension (sabdha).
For instance , they attempt to prove the existence of
the Supreme Being as the creator of the world by inference. 
For VisishtAdhvathins following Bhagavadh Raamunaja 
SiddhAntham ,the Supreme (inviolable)authority of VedAs is
fundamental ( SruthEshu sabdha moolathvAth-Brahma 
SoothrA:2.1.27).We depend entirely on the VedAs.
If there are any confusions in the intrepretations
of Vedic Texts, we seek the help of Smruthis, IthihAsAs
and Saathvika PurANAs , which help us obtain the true
meaning of Vedic statements. Swamy Desikan has criticized
extensively the VaisEshikA-NyAyA doctrines and established 
the soundness of VisishtAdhvathin's views.The details on
the points of difference can be obtained from the monumental
Ph.D dissertation of SrImaan V.N.SeshAdhryAcharya Swamy of 
Oppiliappan Koil entitled "SarvArTa Siddhi of SrI VedAntha
DesikA" ( a commentary of Swamy Desikan on the verse-work ,
Tatthva Muktha KalApa). 


vAzhi vyAkhyAmuddirak kai !!!
vedAnthasUri charaNau sharaNam prapadye !!!
SrI LakshmI HayagrIva ParabrahmaNE nama:
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan