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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00023 Nov 1995

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 In this stotram, Swami Desikan covers the FOLLOWING topics to illustrate the
glory , power and status of Garuda as one of the foremost Nitya Sooris serving
Sriman Narayana in Sri Vaikuntam:       

1.Vedas praising Garuda Bhagavan.
2.Garuda"s service to Sriman Narayana as His Vehicle and Flag
3.His matrimonial status with his two wives(Rudrai and Sukeerthi)
4.His adornment of great serpents as his jewellery on his limbs
5.His heroic deed in bringing nectar from Indra Loka
6.His other heroic deeds in battles on behalf of his Lord
7.His splendour as the Amsa(aspect) of Para Vasudeva(i-e) his Sankarshana
swaroopam
8.His manifestion in five individual forms
9.His conferral of Vedhanta Vidya to his aspiring devotees(i-e) his status as
Acharya
10.The worship of him by learned scholars and saints
11.His power as the Garuda Mantra Moorthy
12.His power to bless one with the 4 Purusharthas (goals ) of Life
13.His incarnation as Garuda as a result of the prayers of the Vaalakilya sages
14.His power to bless on e with the True knowledge or Brahma Vidya

It is generally believed that the recitation of this Dhandakam daily would
protect one from the harms caused by poisonous aimals such as snakes, scorpions
et al.

Poetic Structure of this Dhandakam
-----------------------------------------------------
In sanskrit poetry , each of the 4 Paadas of a sloka can have 26 letters.If the
letters of each Paadas increase to 27,30,33,36(other multiples of 3 beyond 27),
then this slokam is recognized as a Dhandakam. The 3 lettered unit is known as a
Gana. Thus a 27 lettered Paada will have 9 Ganas.There is generally no
restriction on the length of the Paada in a Dhandakam.Swami Desikan chose Paadas
with 36 Ganas or 108=(32X4 )letters for the four Paadas of Garuda Dhandakam.

The poetic genius of Swami Desikan is abundantly evident in this
Composition.The Paadas of this Dhandakam parsed by its 144 Ganas make
intricate swoops in the air and make sharp turns like the high soaring Pakshi
Raja(Garuda). The grammar of the flight movement of this Dhandakam is defined by
Naganas and Raganas.At the beginning of each Paada,the first two Ganas are made
up of Naganas and the remaining 34 are made up of Raganas. Naganas are those
Ganas ot triads of Aksharas/Syllables,which are laghu in character; Raganas are
those, where the middle Akshara is Laghu and the remaining two are Guru. The
genius of Swami Desikan as a poet is revealed from the study of this Dhandakam,
where he scrupulously adheres to the rules of the Dhandakam construction ,
including the nuances of meter and Ganas constituting them.

METERS
-------------
THE FIRST SLOKA (Nama: Pannaganaddhaya) IS SET IN THE VEDIC METER KNOWN AS
ANUSHTUB WITH 32 SYLLABLES.THE LAST SLOKA (VICHITRA SIDDHA:) IS ALSO SET IN THE
SAME METER.THE SLOKA PRIOR TO THE LAST ONE IS SET IN AARYA VRITTHAM.THE REMAINIG
SLOKA FORMS THE BODY OF THE DHANDAKAM WITH ITS FOUR PAADAS AND EACH OF THE
PAADAS CONTAINING 36 GANAS. 


SRI GARUDA DHANDAKAM
*********************************
*

Srimathe Nigamantha Maha Desikaaya Nama:
Sriman Venkatanaatharya: kavithaarkika Kesaree I
Vedanthaacharya Varyome Sannidhattaam sadha Hrudhi
II

Sloka 1
-----------
Nama: pannaganaddhaaya vaikunta vasavardhineh I
Srutisindhu Sudhotpaadamandaraaya Garutmathe II

My salutations to Garuda with the beautiful wings.His limbs are adorned by the
mighty serpents, that he has conquered in battle. They are his jewellery. He
does all the intimate kainkaryas to his Lord and is His Antharanga Daasa. Garuda
is devoted always to the Lord and His services. He is adept like the Mandara
mountain in churning the milky ocean of Vedas and to bring out the Brahma
Vidyas. We can get the benefits of these Brahma Vidyas by offering our worship
to him. My salutations are to him.

Dhandakam: Paada 1
--------------------------------
Garudamakhila Veda Needhadhirootam Dwishad Peetanothkantithaakunta
vaikuntapeetikrta skandhameedhe Svaneedhaa gatipreetha Rudraa Sukeerthi
sthanaabhogakatopakuta sphuratkantakavraata veda vyataavepamaana
dwijihavaadhikalpa vishpaaryamaana spataavatikaa ratna rochischataa raaji
neerajitham kaanti kallolinee raajitam I

Garuda Bhagavan has designed the Vedas as his cage and uses that cage as his
seat. (This suggests that the Vedas sing his praise). His Lord Sriman Narayana
is bent upon destroying the Enemies of His devotees.No one can stop Sriman
Narayana in these endeavours. When He sets about to destroy the enemies of His
devotees, he uses the shoulders of Garuda as his transport. When Garuda
transports his Lord on His missions, his wives-Rudrai and Sukeerthi-- miss his
absence from home. When the Lord"s mission is successfully concluded, Garuda
returns to his wives and they embrace him intimately with affection . In that
ecstatic state, the hairs on the body of Garuda become stiff like thorns.This
in turn hurts the serpents, which are covering his body.The serpents are
overcome with fear and they raise their hoods. On those occasions, the ratnas
positioned on their hoods radiate their brilliant red rays. That splendorous
group of red rays appear at that time as the mangala Aaratthi to Garuda and he
sparkles in that flood of red light. 

Dhandakam: Paada 2
***************************
Jaya Garuda Suparna Darveekaraahaara Devaadhipaahaarahaarin diwowkaspati
Kshipta Dambholi Dhaaraa kinaakalpa Kalpaantha Vatoola Kalpodhayaanalpa
Veerayithoodhyacchamatkaara Daityaari Jaitra Dhwajaarohanirdhaaritotkarsha
Sankarshanaatman Garutmun Marutpanchakaadheesa Satyaatimurthe na Kascchit samas
te namaste punaste nama: II 

O Garuda Bhagavan! You have been named Suparna, because of the beauty of your
wings. Serpents of immense size serve as your food. You brought Nectar - the
food of the Devas- from Indra Loka to release your mother from the bonds of
servitude. Indra got angry at you during that time and threw his Vajra weapon
at you . The sharp edge of that powerful weapon caused wounds on your wings and
rest of the body . the welts from those wounds look today as pieces of jewelery
on your body and attest to your heroic deed in defeating Indra. Your other
heroic deeds stand out like the mighty winds that sweep the universe during the
time of the great deluge. You are sitting on the flag of your Lord , which
denotes His victory over His enemies and from your position on the flag of your
Lord, we are able to infer your glories. You have incarnated as Sankarshana
among the four Vyuha Murthys of Sriman Narayana , which are Vasudeva,
Sankarshana, Pradhumna and , Aniruddha. You have divided yourself into five
forms-- Satyar, Suparnar,Garudar, Taarkshyar and Vihageswarar-- and matched
those five forms with the five Vayus(Praanan, Apaanan, Samaanan,Udaanan and
Vyaanan) and shine thereafter as a supreme Devan. O Lord with the most
exquisitely beautiful golden Wings! There is none , who is equal to you.I offer
my salutations to you first and then again repeat my salutations.

V.Sadagopan

P.S: the remaining Paadas& the rest of the Dhandakam will be covered in the next
posting. 




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