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srI:
SrI sAra sAram â I (35)
--
I â ThirumantrAdhikAram
--
The Significance of ânamahâ (continued)
---
SwAmi Desikan supports the above tenet with a point about the basic
requirement expected of a jIva who is endowed with some intelligence. The basic
requirement is that the jIva should conduct as per the command of the Lord..
This is revealed by SwAmi Desikan in his own words:
âippadi svatantra SwAmi iTTa vazhakkAna thanakku avan naDatthina nal
vazhiyAlE avanaip prasannanAkkip purushArtham peRa vENDukaiyAlE yathAdhikAram
dvayatthilum carama-SlOkatthilum conna vaSeekaraNam ingE artha-siddham.â â
The deep message of the middle word, ânamahâ, in the Tirumantiram,
is that the jIva has to please the Lord by putting into action the advice given
by Him. The advice is âsurrender unto Meâ. The jIva has to abide by the
command of the Lord Who is his Master (Seshi) totally independent without any
restrictions. The jIva has to perform the upAya that is the best one as advised
by the Lord. This has to be done by all according to the qualification and the
status of each. By doing so, the jIva will only earn the pleasure of the Lord
Who is sure to confer the benefit on him. The only way to get the attention of
the Lord is to surrender to Him. This means of surrender is spoken of in the
dvaya mantiram as âcaraNam prapadhyEâ (I surrender) and in the
carama-SlOka, as âmAm Ekam SaraNam vrajaâ (surrender to Me alone). When
the jIva adopts the means of surrender, the Lord is immensely pleased and is
ready to confer the best of the benefits on the
jIva. This is conveyed by the word, ânamahâ of the Tirumantiram.
SwAmi Desikan further points out that this ânamahâ indicates the
surrendering of all the responsibilities of the self to the Lord. This
surrender has to be absolute, as the jIva who performs the prapatti, has to cut
off his own role of protecting himself! In this context SwAmi Desikan gives
some particular instances from the scriptures. We shall study them one by one:
ââSaraNam prati dEvAnAm prAptakAlamamanyataâ
enkiRa iDatthilE damayantI namassai prayOgitthAL enkaiyAlumâ â
Not only through this inner message, but also openly does the word,
ânamahâ indicates âsaraNAgatiâ â surrender. In order to explain this
SwAmi Desikan refers to instances from the great epic, the MahAbhArata. He
quotes a part of a SlOka pertaining to an episode involving DamayantI as
mentioned above. Let us see the whole SlOka and the next one to understand the
full significance:
âsA viniScintya bahudhA vicArya ca punah punah /
SaraNam prati dEvAnAm prAptakAlamamanyata //
vAcA ca manasA caiva namaskAram prayujya sA /
dEvEbhyah prAnjalirbhootvA vEpamAnEdamabravIt //â(AraNya Parva, 48-16)
(She (DamayantI) pondered over different aspects and concluded that the time
had come to seek refuge of the dEvas. So, she did the namaskAram physically and
also with her speech and mind.)
In this context, it is said that DamayantI applied ânamahâ in to
action.
Now, the second instance, as shown by SwAmi Desikan:
âgacchadhvamEnam SaraNam SaraNyam purusharsharbhAhâ enRu upadEsikka
ânamaScakruh janArdanamâ enRu pANDavarkaL namas-saip paNNinArkaL
enkaiyAlum,â â
This is another context in the MahAbhArata mentioning how the pANDavas
adopted prapatti. They did it following the instruction by sage mArkaNDEya.
SwAmi Desikan has quoted only the relevant part of the SlOka as shown in the
text above. However, we shall study the SlOkas in entirety:
âsarvEshAmEva lOkAnAm pitA mAtA ca mAdhavah /
gacchadhvamEnam SaraNam SaraNyam purusharshabhAh //â, (MahAbhArata, AraNya
Parva, 161-55)
(MAdhava is both the father and the mother of all the worlds. Oh, the best of
men, seek refuge under that Saviour by surrendering to Him.)
This was the advice given by the sage, MArkaNDheya, to the PANDavas.
They also acted according to the advice, says the next SlOka, points out SwAmi
Desikan. Here is the SlOka in full:
âEvamuktAsrayah pArthA yamau ca bharatarshabha /
draupadyA sahitAh sarvE namaScakruh janArdanam //â (MahAbhArata, AraNya
Paruva, 161-56)
(When MArkaNDheya gave them this advice, the three sons of Kunti and the twins,
Oh the best of the Bharatas, made namaskAra to JanArdana along with Draupadi.)
Thus, after the advice given by the Sage asking the PANDavas to
surrender to SrI KrishNa, the PANDavas uttered ânamahâ. It becomes clear
that SaraNAgati is the meaning of the word, ânamahâ.
Next, SwAmi Desikan shows another authoritative text to emphasize that
ânamahâ means surrender:
In the MantrarAja-pada stOtra, it is mentioned that by uttering the
word, ânamahâ, one performs the Atma samarpaNam â surrendering of oneâs
Self to the Lord. The relevant Sloka is:
ânamaskArAtmakam yasmai vidhAyAtmanivEdanam /
tyaktaduhkhOkhilAn kAmAn aSnutE tam namAmyaham //â(MantrarAja-pada
stOtram-11)
(I bow to the Lord to whom, having surrendered his self which is what is meant
by ânamaskAraâ, a man gets rid of his suffering and enjoys whatever he
desires.)
SwAmi Desikan points out that the word ânamahâ in the Tirumantiram
has several implied meanings including the SaraNagati which is to be adopted by
us:
âsAdhya-upAya-viSEsha-paramAna yOjanA-viSEshatthAlumâ â
The word ânamahâ has a special significance related to a particular
means to be adopted by us, that is, SaraNAgati. This has been dealt with SwAmi
Desikan in depth in his magnum opus, SrImad RahasyatrayasAram. Here is one such
reference:
ânamas-su Atma-samarpaNa-param ennmiDam,
âsamit-sAdhankAdeenAm yaj~nAnAm nyAsamAtmanah /
namasA yOkarOddEvE sa svadhvara iteeritah //â (ahirbhudhnya Samhita, 37-37)
âââ.. ityAdikaLilum prasiddham.â
Meaning:- That the word, ânamasâ indicates the surrender of self (Atma
samarpaNam) is also well-known from the SlOkas such as: âOf all yaj~nas
which are performed with samit and such like as an aid, the man who has
surrendered his self to the Lord with the word ânamahâ is said to have
performed the best yaj~naâ.
SwAmi Desikan the topic further by saying:
âabhiyktarum ânamah Sabdah pradAnArthah svAhA-Sabda ivEshyatEâ
enkaiyAlumâ â
Even the elders have stated that just as the word, âsvAhAâ
indicates the meaning of pouring the havis into the yaj~na fire, the word,
ânamahâ too indicates the surrendering of self (Atma samarpaNam) to the
Lord.
After giving these authoritative references, SwAmi Desikan concludes:
âintha namah Sabdam thanE than thuvakkaRa sAnga-bharanyAsatthaik
kATTukiRathAkavumAm.â â
This word, ânamahâ automatically indicates without any doubt the
performance of prapatti (Atma samarpaNam) with all its auxiliaries..
(To continue)
dAsan
anbil S.SrInivAsan
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