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SrI:
SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |
vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the 
lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

Dearest Srivaishnavas,
Let us continue to enjoy other sanskrit granthas of Swamy under 2nd and 3rd 
Group

The second group contains three works all ending with the work raksha in 
their titles. Among these, NikshEpa raksha which is written in the saastraic 
lines of reasoning and arguments, has two parts. The first part states the 
prima facie (Poorva paksham) view that the doctrine of self ?surrender is
invalid in as much as its nature, characteristics and difficulties in 
putting it into practice loom large. Besides there is no valid authority in 
its favour.

The author devotes the latter part of the work to the rejection of this view 
and establishes the doctrine on valid grounds. The title nikshEparaksha 
receives justification on the ground that the doctrine of self-surrender 
(saraNagathy) gets well fortified.

Prapatti or SaraNagathi was being observed as a direct means to mOksham, 
even before Ramanuja and Ramanuja gave a reorientation to it in his 
Gadyatrayam. It is known from the jitantE sthOthram, that prapatti is a 
direct and sufficient means to mOksham. Even for the commencement of Bhakti 
yOgam, Prapatti is absolutely essential. It is the grace of the Supreme Most 
compassionate Lord who grants the fruit of any sAdhana as siddOpAyam, while 
Bhakti yOgam and Prapatti is the saadhyOpAyam.

Swamy Sri Vedantha Desikan?s Srimad Rahasyatraya saaram has stood as an 
authority on the religion of SaranAgathy. Desika deals exclusively with 
SaraNagathi in a number of his sthOthras also, such as nyAsa dasakam, 
SaraNagathi Deepika, nyAsa thilakam, Nyasa vimsathi. Aaikkalappatthu, a 
prabandham in Tamil, deals with this doctrine of self-surrender. More than 
all these, Vedantha Desika wrote a work in Sanskrit namely nikshEpa rakshaa 
in defense of prapatti. NikshEpa raksha os one of the finest granthas
written by Swamy Desikan ( says Dr. Sri NS Anantharangachar in his article)

The second work of this kind is Saccharitharaksha, which is divided into 
three parts with the titles:

SudharsanapaanchajanyadhAranavidhi
UrdhvapuNdra dhAraNa vidhi
BhagavannivEdhithOpAyOga vidhi

Of these, the first enjoins the sacrament of a Vaishnava?s having the marks 
of Chakra and Sanghu. The second division stresses the need to wear the 
UrdhvapuNdram (vertical sacred mark) on the forehead with white mud with 
streak of red or yellow ochre in the middle. Third division stresses that
the food prepared for consumption is to be offered to the Lord first and 
then only to be partaken by others in their houses. These three acts mark 
the good conduct of a Vaishnava and Swamy Desikan establishes them with 
saashthra pramANam.

The Paancharaathraraksha is the third work in which Acharya indicates the 
validity of the Paancharaathra Agama. Siddhaantha vyavasthapana, 
Nithyanusanthanasthaapana and Nityavyakhyana are the titles of three 
divisions of this work. This Agama is of four kinds, which are Agama 
siddhaantha, Manthra siddhaantha, tanthra siddhaantha and Tantrantura 
Siddhaantha.  Each is defined and the scope of its application is indicated. 
The second division describes the practice of the daily routine which is
divided into five parts, namely, abhigamana, upAdAna, IjyA, swAdhyAya and 
yoga. The third division is devoted to the exposition of Sri Ramanuja?s 
nithya, a work on the method of worshipping God. The Paancharaathra raksha 
thus establishes tenets of Paancharaathra, which are made well secured in
this work of Vedantha AchArya.

Swamy Desikan starts the Sacharitharaksha which establishes the absolute and 
prime need of Pancha samskaram:

(meaning of 1st sloka): Let us carry the people on our head who bear the 
mark of Sudharsana and Paanchajanya; who wear the UrdhvapuNdra (ThirumaN 
kaappu); who consume only the food offered to the Lord and by virtue of the 
above who are saluted even by NithyasUris.

SruthyA smruthyA purANEna sEthihAsEna jabyathE |
PancharAThrENa viprANAm thapthachakrAdhiDhAraNam ||

Sruthis, Smruthis PurAnAs Ithihasas, ordain that Brahmins should bear 
Sudharsana and Panchajanya marks..

Swamy establishes the thaapa samskara quoting from Brahma samhitha, 
MahOpanidhad of Atharva vEda.

Bear chakra on right shoulder; and shankhu on the left.

dhakshiNe thu bhujE vipra vibhuyAdDhai sudharsanam |
savyE thu sankham vibruyAdhithi brahmavidhO vidhu: ||

An objection on the basis of cruelty can not stand since Utsarga apavada 
rule is valid (for every rule, there is an exception). In mImAmsa, the 
general rule is ?na himsyAth sarvAbhUthAni- has an exception which is 
?agnishOmiyam paSumAlabEtha | Sandilya smruthi says: Cow, Son, and other 
household articles should be stamped with Shanka and Chakra and named with 
Srivaishanava names.

Vasishta smruthi : The chakra chinha (stamp with chakra) has to be done by a 
person to his son (or disciple) at the time of jaata karma or Chowla (after 
third or fourth year to make the child wear shikhA) or at the time of 
upanayanam or sending to the Gurukulam to learn Vedas.

In the conversation among Yama, Arjuna and Lord Krishna, contained in Matsya 
purANA, Krishna says:

?It is rare to come across a person who is devoted and who bears the mark of 
my chakrA. This person does not get into the clutches of Yama (mrithyu) 
which means he does not go to hell.?

Let us talk more about the FAMOUS UrdhvapuNdradhAraNa vidhi (ThirumaN- 
SriChoorNam)
All of us have these doubts as to where the saasthRAs says that one should 
wear Thiruman kappu. Swamy Desikan has beautifully explained it in this 
work.

Vedic authority of Urdhva puNdram dhAraNam is:

GruthOdhvapuNdra: paramESithAram nArAyaNam saankhya yOgAdhi gagyam | jnAthvA
vimuchyEtha nara: samasthai: samsaara paaSairiha chaiva vishNu: ||

MahOpanishad statement above sys: One who wear Urdhva puNdra and meditates 
on lord Sriman Narayanan and realizes Him through his mid gets liberated 
from the bondage of samsaara.

In Paancharaathra samhitha it is said:

yagnO dhAnam thapou hOma: bhOjanam pithru tharpaNam
sarvE bhavanthi viphalaa: Urdhva puNdram vinAkruthA:

Yaga, charity, penance, daily sacrifice, taking food, offering libations of 
water to manes (argyam?)  etc., is all null and viod if one does without 
wearing Urdhva pUndram. Libations means pouring of water in honour of God. 
Manes means spirit of the dead (deceased Father, Mother. Grand father, Grand
mother, Great grand father, Great grand mother et al). pithru tharpaNam 
means offering water with sesame seeds to those twelve Pithru dEvathAs. 
Hence, wearing Urdhva pUndram is essential. The shape of Urdhva pUndra 
should be in the shape of HaripAdakruthi (in the shape of the
Lotus Feet of Sriman Narayanan). In Varaaha pUrAna Lord says:

yEkAnthina: mahAbhAgA: math swarUpa vidha: amalA:
sAntharAlAn prakurvIran puNdrAn *mama padhaa kruthin*

As per Brahmaanandha purAna, in the middle of every Urdhva puNdra, which is 
wide and good looking, Lord Sriman Narayanan stays with His Consort Goddess 
Mahalakshmi. The symbol of Mahalakshmi is Sri choorNam which may be either 
in red or yellow colour. It is also equally important not to wipe off the 
Urdhva puNdram.

Bhagawan NivedithOpayOga vidhi (the third work listed above) which means 
every Srivaishnavan has to eat only the food offered to Lord Sriman 
Narayananin His archA form which may be His aatthu perumAL duly consecrated 
according to the prescribed procedure mentioned in Paancharaartha Saasthra
and worshipped daily, or Saaligraamam at home. In Saaligraama, the Lord is 
ever present and no AvAhanam (consecration) is necessary;

The opening verse in the chapter is

aTha: chakshupmathAm saasthrai: chathuvargAbilAshiNAm |
vishNO: nivEdhE thasyaiva bhOjyEthvam prathipAdhyathE ||

(Meaning) For those who see things through saasthrAs (scriptures) only; ( in 
other words) for those whose conduct, actions and daily routine are strictly 
according to the saasthrAs and for those who are desirous of attaining four 
goals which are dharma, artha, kaama mOksha- the food to eat is that offered
to Lord Vishnu only.

After dealing with the objections to the above mentioned, Swamy Desikan 
overrules the objectsions and refutes the opponents? arguments, quoting 
elaborately from Vedas, Pancharathra Samhithas, Ithihasas, and Saatvika 
PurANas, establishes the above three works which can never be revoked by
anybody. ?na bhUtho; na bhavishyathi:?

Thus, Swamy Desikan in the three chapters, establishes by his beautiful and 
inimitable style and power of arguments based strictly on scriptures, the 
three important customs and rituals of Srivaishnavas which are Pancha 
samskaram, UrdhvapuNdradhAraNam and partaking of the food offered to the 
Lord Sriman Narayanan in archa form.

There is no Srivaishnava sampradayam without these three customs. In this 
connection, a fervent appeal is made to every Srivaishnava to strictly 
adhere to the above customs and eschew any contact or worship of any deities 
other than Lord VishNu. (The above article is based on write up of Sri U Ve 
Anantha Naarasihmachariar Swamin of Srirangam)

To the third group of Saasthra works belong (1) DramidOpanishad Taatparya 
RathnAvaLi and DramidOpanidhad saara. The first work contains 130 verses in 
Sanskrit summarizing the contents of each century of the thousand hymns 
(Tamil) of Nammalwar?s Thiruvaymozhi. The hymns in each century are
summarized in a sloka for each decad. The introductory part covers ten 
slokas and the concluding portion has six slokas. The Acharya speaks in 
support of the use of Tamil language by the AzhwArs to express their 
devotion and expresses his admiration for the Thiruvaymozhi of NammazhwAr.
The other work contains twenty-six slokas offering the essence of the 
Thiruvaymozhi in brief. Both these works are invaluable in as much as the 
composition Thiruvaymozhi of NammAzhwAr is treated as Upanishad in Tamil. 
The former work gives the purpose and the latter the essence of Nammalwar?s
composition.

Eight works are in the form of commentaries in Sanskrit. The Acharya?s 
Sarvaarthasiddhi is the commentary of his own Tattvamuktakalapam. The crisp 
and rather unfamiliar technical expressions in Tattvamuktakalapam should 
have made the Acharya offer his own explanation and interpretations to them 
and explain the contexts.

The second work is TattvatIka, the commentary on the Sri Bhashya. It is 
incomplete and breaks off in the MahasiddhAntha section of the Sri Bhashya. 
The AchArya remarks at the beginning that this commentary is neither too 
brief nor too elaborate. This commentary was written, as the Acharya says,
when the Sri BHASHYA WAS TAUGHT TO HIS PUPILS WHO BELONGED TO THE 28TH SET
FOR THS STUDY OF THIS WORK OF SRI RAMANUJA.

The commentary has an abrupt end. Following the practice of the ancient 
writers, the Acharya includes within his commentary which is written in 
prose, several slokas composed by himself for the sake of clarity.

The third and foruth works are ChathuslOkibhAshya and SthOthrarathnabhAshya, 
which are comementaries on YamunchArya?s ChathuslOki and SthOthrarathna 
respectively. The first mentioned work which is called ramAsthuthi by the 
AchArya at the end of his commentary. The number of slokas which is four has 
suggested the title by which name it is known. SrI is shown on the strength
of evidences, to be ever associated with VishNu. Both are One Brahman having 
the same status. The SthOthrarathnabhAshya is said, by the Acharya, as 
containing the purpose of Dwayamanthra. Prapatti is thus created in this 
work. Both are commentaries are part of Rahsyaraksha, a name indicative of
fortifying the Rahasyas of Vaishnavam.

GithArthasangraha Raksha is the fifth work of the Acharya. It is commentary 
on Yamunacharya?s GithArthasangraham, an epitome of the Bhagavath GitA. 
Yamuna is said to have offered the correct impact of the Bhagavadgita, which 
he received from his AchArya Sri Ramamisra.

The Taatparyachandrika is the sixth work of the Acharya. It is an exhaustive 
commentary on Sri Ramanuja?s GitA bhAshya. In most of the contexts, the 
Acharya anticpates the possible objections which the exponents who are 
opposed to the VisishtAdvaita tenets would raise and refutes them without 
allowing any room for ambiguity. An attempt at maintaining the tents of the 
system as recorded by Sri Ramanuja in his GitabhAshya has not been taken up 
by any Acharya in a successful manner like Vedantha Desika. While commenting 
on the BhAshya on the Charamasloka (BhagavdgIta 18.66), the Acharya tells 
that all misunderstandings and wrong interpretations of the teachings of
Gita are to be set right by following the lines of the writings of Yamuna 
and Ramanuja.

The seventh work is the commentary on the IsAvAsyOpanishad. This Upanishad 
forms the concluding portion of the Vajasaneyasamhitha, which is another 
name for Suklayajursamaveda. The Acharya says that the commentary is written 
by him on this Upanishad to make clear that all the Vedic injunctions found 
in this samhitha are all meant to be of helping the learning of the 
Brahmavidya, though specific results are stated for those injunctions. 
Ultimate reality is the Lord. The vidyas are the means through meditation 
upon them. The Goal is the attainment of Brahman. These are treated as the 
main purpose of the Upanishads.

The AchArya commented on the Vedaarthasamgraha of Ramanuja which is now 
lost.

There are seven works, Swamy wrote in Sanskrit which form part of literature 
gems about which we will discuss in subsequent posts....

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |
Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||

Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the 
teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters

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