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PurvaTapini-ManthraRaja.txt
Sriman Varadarjan has prepared a valuable text
commenting on the meanings of Mantra Raja
,
the most important manthram for the
meditation
of Lord Narasimhan .
Thanks to Sriman Vararajan for sharing it
.
V.Sadagopan
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Sriman NArAyaNAya namaha|
Srimathe RamAnujAya namaha|
Srimathe NigamAnta mahAdeSikAya namaha||
govinda kesava janArdana vAsudeva
viSvesa viSwa madhusUdana viSwarUpa|
sri padmanAba purushotama pushkarAksha
nArAyanAccuta nrusimha namo namaste||
I Introduction
Many of us would be familiar with the mantra rAjA:
'ugram vIram mahAvishNum jwalantam sarvatomukham
nrusimham bIshaNam bhadram mrutyummrutyum namAmyaham'
This mantra rAjA along with the gAyatri mantram (mantra rANi)
and the verses of the rahasyatrayam would provide immense joy
and salvation to the bhaktas. We can say that the mantra rAjA
extols the rAjAtirAjA who incarnated as the mruga rAjA.
The nrusimha pUrva tApini upanishat provides the condensation of
various vedic and upanishatic thinking in just ten words and
explains all the words using short commentaries. Then the upanishat
goes on to explain other things like the main upanishats by
comparing Atma, etc. with Him. This upanishat is considered as a
vaishnava upanishat and forms a basis for bhakti mArgam with
Sri Nrusimha avatAram as the object of worship.
Swami DeSikar won't miss the opportunity to mention this
upanishat in his Sri KAmasikAshTakam. He would say:
tapaNentu agni nayana: tApA napacinotu na:
tApaniya rahasyAnAm sAra: kAmAsikAhari:
Sri KAmaSikA Nrusimhan having three agnis ( tapana, indu, agni )
for his eyes and being a sArArtam of tApini upanishat should remove
our three tApAms( AdyAtmikam, Adiboudikam, Adidaivikam .)
Now we can surmise the meaning of tApini in the name of the upanishat.
Sri Nrusimha is the remover of the tApams. Hence He and this upanishat
extolling him are the tApinis. Since He removes our tApA especially the
first one, He is vaidya nArAyana, the danvantri. This danvantri is
worshipped also as Sri SudarSana according to vaishvana Agamas.
He is SudarSana for another reason too, as explained in the following.
Let us look at the meaning of the words in this mantram in
this article.
Each word in the mantra can be considered to high-light the
importance of a verse in the main portion of the vedas. Hence
you will see in each of the following subsections an explanation
followed by a familiar vedic verse and a concluding phrase
'tasmAdyucAte ...'.
II.1 Meaning of ugram
yasmAt svamahimna sarvAn lokAn sarvAn devAn sarvAnAtmAna: sarvANi
bhutAni udgruhNAti ajasram srujati visrujati vivAsayati udgrAhyate|
stuhi Srutam gartasadam yuvAnam mruganna bIma mupahatnu mugram|
mrudA jaritre simha: stavAno anyante asmin nivapantu senA:
tasmAducyata ugramiti||
Because of his lofty actions He absorbs all worlds, all devas,
all jivas, all bhUthas, and He creates, grows, destroys, and
elevates them to a higher status. Hence it is said that He is ugram.
Nrusimha! even as you are praised by me now, please grant me
endless joy as I live in this life. Let your ganAs be with me
and destroy my enemies.
Here the vedic verse on Sri Rudra is enhanced to portray Sri Nrusimha -
a nice word play revealed to the rishi. The vedic verse describes The Lord
as 'upahatnu mugram' - He is ugram, very hot ( and 'cruel'), in
destroying the enemies. Also see the bhagavad gIta verse 11.20
which mentions Him as ugram.
The taitrIya upanishat brigu valli verse 10.4 would echo His power to
destroy the enemies by saying
tat brahmana: parimara ityupAsita|
paryenam mriyante dvishantas spatna: |
pari ye (a) priyA prAtruvyA:||
We should (also) worship Him as the destroying force. The person doing so
would conquer and destroy all His enemies, haters, and bad persons.
Since He is busy taking of care the dynamic aspects of the universe,
He is portrayed as a highly-charged hot person, ugram. Such busy person
should also be bold. Hence the next word in the mantram.
II.2 Meaning of vIram
yasmAt svamahimnA sarvAn lokAn sarvAn devAn sarvAnAtmana: sarvANi
bhutAni viramati virAmayati ajasram srujati visrujayati vAsayati|
yato vIra: karmaNyo: sudaksho yuktakgrAvA jAyate devakAma:|
tasmAducyate vIramiti||
>From His lofty self mahima He provides rest, creates incessantly,
grows, and absorbs all worlds, all devAs, all jivatmas
and all bhUthas. Hence it is said that He is vIram.
He is a vIrA, creator of all works. He is skilled, mountain-like,
and satisfies the desires of the devAs.
Compare 'vishornukam vIryAni' verses recited at the end of
nArAyana sUktam and in vishnu sUktam with this one.
Also compare how Swamy DeSikar would describe Sri Rama in RaghuvIra gadyam:
'jaya jaya mahA vIra mahA vIra dowreya.'
As Swamy Desikar would point out in Sri dasAvatAra stotram
that the Lord has a lot of weapons and possesses powers
that can never be wasted -
'purAdana praharaNa grAma: ... akunTha mahimA vaikunTha kaNThIrava:'
Thus we can establish He is vIram.
II.3 Meaning of mahAvishNu
ya: sarVan lokAn vyApnoti vyApayati sneho yatha pallapiNda
motaproda manuprAptam vyatishakto vyApyate vyApayate|
yasmAn na jAta: paro anyo asti ya AviveSa bhuvanani viSwA|
prajApati prajayA samvidAna strIni jyotImshi sacate sa shoDaSiti|
tasmAducyate mahavishNumiti||
He makes all worlds manifest. He makes them all manifest themselves.
Just like fat is found through the length and breadth of meat,
he permeates everywhere. Hence it is said He is mahAvishNu
( exists in everything ). Nothing exists or manifests
without him. He exists as viswA through all the bhuthAs.
He is prajapAti. The worship of the jivAs is His worship.
He is in all the three jyotis ( sUrya, chandra, agni ).
He is the master of all the sixteen arts.
The permeation is taken as the reason for Him being known as mahAvishNu.
The permeation is exemplified in a mechanical manner and more beautifully
in taitrIya upanishat Ananda valli verse 6.3. It would say
tat shrushTvA tato anupraviSat|
It creates and then enters what it creates.
It enters its creation because it is the life principle.
The most intrinsic characteristic of all objects is Him.
We wonder how the universe holds up or was created irrespective
of what we immediately observe or even after Nobel-prize
winning discoveries. Who does dictate the precise mass of objects
and who did calculate and put in place the precise forces between
all the possible pairs of all particles in this universe?
The person responsible for this precision design is Him.
The taitrIya upanishat says in Ananda valli 6.3
tatanupraviaSya sacca dyaccAbhavat|
After performing anupravesam He remains as what is explicitly
seen and what is not explicitly seen. He covers all the bases.
Thus He is mahAvishNu.
How does he exist? How do we see Him? As the brilliance
in everything, to begin with.
II.4 Meaning of jwalantham
yasmAt svamahimnA sarvAn lokAn sarVan devAn sarvAnAtmana: sarvAni
bhutAni svatejasA jwalati jwalayati jwAlyate jwAlayate|
savitA prasavitA dIpto dIpayan dIpamAna:|
jwalan jwalitA tapan vitapan santapan
rocano rocamana: Sobana: SobamAna: kalyAna:||
tasmAducyate jwalantamiti||
Because of His self mahima and His self prakaSa
He makes all worlds, devAs, all jIvAs, all bhUtAs shine
and be brilliant. He makes the worlds and makes them multiply.
He shines, and He makes everything shine.
He is brilliance and makes everything brilliant.
He is dIpam, is in the dIpam, and causes the dIpam shine.
He spreads the heat and makes the worlds 'suffer'. He spreads
the rays and makes the rays spread. He is managala swarUpI.
He is the cause of all mangalams. He is the kalyAna purushan
(having happy and auspicious qualities .)
Hence it is said that He is 'jwalantham'.
This mantram emphasizes the bright and visible aspects
of the bhagavAn. The upanishats contain Aditya upasana
and jyoti upasana as madhu vidya. Thus the Lord is jyoti.
So various bright and heat-giving aspects of the Lord are
emphasized through the word jwalantam. Sri Nrusimha is
also combined with Sri SudarSana through the tattvam portrayed
here.
Sri Ramanuja would echo all His auspicious and awe-inspiring
kalyaNa gunAs throughout his bhAsyas. His choiciest phrases
would resonate in many places as follows:
kalyAna gunaganA ...gyAna bala aiswarya vIrya Sakti tejas...
Thus all His radiant qualities provide an inspiring basis for
Sri vaishvana siddAntam through Sri Ramanuja's bold expressions.
The reader should compare Sri rAmAnujA's gadya trayam and
his commentary on the first sutra of brahma sUtram in Sri bhAshyam
with the explanation of vIryam, jwalantham, and bhadram described
in this upanishat. We would find how fervent Sri rAmAnujA was
in emphasizing the auspicious qualities of the Lord.
Besides, in this visible universe we have to meditate on the Sun
or even on the star clusters such as Andromeda gallaxy to realize
Him fully as jwalantam. Thus the chAndogya upanishat preaches
madhu vidya. And that is also one of the reasons for performing
sandyAvandanam or dIpa pUja.
How does he reside and rule the objects that do or even
do not shine? He resides in everything, uses everything
for His purposes.
II.5 Meaning of sarvatomukham
yasmAt anindriyo api sarvata: paSyati sarvata: SruNoti
sarvato gaccati sarvata Adatte sa sarvaga: sarvatastishThati|
yeka: purastAdya idam babhuva yato babhuva bhuvanasya gopA:|
yamadhyeti bhuvanam sAmparAyo namAmi tamaham sarvatomukham|
tasmAducyate sarvato mukhamiti|
He sees and also hears everything and everywhere without indriyAs,
goes everywhere, absorbs everything in Himself, manifests in everything
and is in everything. Hence it is said that He is sarvato mukham.
In the beginning he was the only one. Later He became everything.
Those protecting the worlds originated from Him.
Everything rests in Him finally. I salute He who has faces everywhere.
The concept exhibited here is a very big one indeed. This can be
considered as a condensation of the vaiSvAnara vidya. The universe is
considered as a weird object consisting of the mula purusha
and prAkriti, stars, moons, earths, human beings, and everything
else figuratively glued together through His will and mahima.
Hence the purusha sUktam starts as
sahasra sIrusha pursha: sahasrAksha sahasra pAt:
sa: bhUmim viSvato vritva...
And the nArAyanA sUktam starts as
sahasra sIrusham devam viSwAksham viSwa sambavam
When we see He sees. When we hear He hears. When we breath He breaths.
When we speak He speaks. When we act He acts. He has no indriyas of
His own to exist as a separate being. All our indriyas are His and
whatever action we perform is His action. That is why the bhagavad gIta
preaches selfless actions since we should not think that we are
performing these acts. Whenever we do something, it is His action,
and we are doing it on behalf of Him. That is also why we perform
Atma samarpanam and kArya samarpanam at the end of vedic rituals
and pujas in order to remind ourselves that we are a part of him
and that He guides our actions.
Sri Desika would mention that all our indriyas are used by Him
by saying in Sri kAmasikAstakam verse 5 'svAtina sarvendriya:'
meaning that He uses whatever indriyam ( from us ) as He pleases.
The Bhagavad gIta devotes a whole chapter, adyAyA 11,
to explain this concept of His divine rUpam.
How powerful can he be in sentient objects? He can reside in the Jivas
with as much power as the simham. He does not need any weapons though He
is said to have a panoply of weapons. He proves this in the Nrusimha
avatAram without any weapons other than what is natural to the most
powerful living form that He could take. He needs only the vajra nagam.
Since He is a vaiSvAnara, He exhibited this concept in a small way
by incarnating as the nrusimha avatAram when the situation called
for His magic. Hence the next word in the mantram.
II.6 Meaning of Nrusimham
yasmAt sarveshAm bhUtAnAm vIryatama: SreshTatamaSca simhamo
vIryatama: SreshTatamaSca
tasmAn nrusimha AsIt parameSvaro jagaddhitam vA
etadrUpamaksharam bhavati|
pradatvishNu: stavate vIryAya mrugo na bIma: kucaro girishTa:|
yasyorukshu trishu vikramaNeshvadhi Siyanti bhuvanAni viSwa|
tasmAducyate nrusimhamiti||
Of all beings the lion is the most powerful and loftiest
( considering power and loftiness together ).
So the Lord took the (man-)lion avatAr. This endless rUpam come to
do good to the worlds. Hence it is said that He is Nrusimham.
This mahAvishNu having a lot of vIryam and coming in the mruga
rUpam is not source of fear for the bhaktas. He is instead
worshipped by them. He is the one who exists as one who performs
sanchAram in this world and lives (even) in the mountains.
In His tiruvikrama avatar he covered all the worlds in three steps.
Thus this verse connects the lines from the VishNu sUktam
with the nrusimha tattvam. It interprets the word 'mruga' as lion.
Compare gIta verse 10.30 - 'mrugANAm ca mrugendro(a)ham'.
Also compare a verse from AsIrvadam 'paSavo vIro mruga:.'
In this verse it is said that the bhaktas are not afraid of Him.
This portrays the situation where Sri PrahlAda calms the Lord
after Hiranyakasipu vadam while all the devas watching Him were
shivering with fear after having taken a look at His rUpam.
The Lord even touched the bAlA's head and stroked his hair and
performed AsIrvadam on Him. Thus it is said that there are beings
who are afraid of Him if they happen to be not His pure bhaktas.
Even the nature is said to be 'afraid' of Him and said to follow
His orders. Such a situation is indicated by the next word
in the mantra rAjA.
II.7 Meaning of bIshaNam
yasmAdyasya rUpam drushTva sarve loka: sarvedevA:
sarvANi bhutAni bItyA palAyante svayam yata: kutaccinna bIbheti|
bIshAsmAd vAta: bhavate: bIshodeti sUrya:|
bIshasmAdagniScendraSca mrutyurdhAvati pancama:|
tasmAducyate bIshaNamiti||
His rupAm causing fear in the all the worlds, all devAs, all bhutAs
and making them run with fear, yet He being not being
afraid of anything, He is called bIshanam, one who causes fear.
The air swirls around because it is afraid of Him
(and hence follows His orders); the sUrya is afraid of Him and
does his job out of fear. And even the agni and Indra and as the fifth
enumerated here, the yama, are afraid of Him and do their duties.
This description can also be considered as a commentary on Taitriya
upanishat Ananda valli verse 8.0. This upanishat exhorts that the way
to live without fear is to have Him in our minds all the time.
In one sense this explanation enforces the fact that He rules
all the worlds through His careful design - a design with precision
far beyond our imagination.
He appears in the terrorizing form because he is also vaiSvAnara
and chose to exhibit this tattvam in a small way through this
Nrusimha rUpam. However the bhaktas who know Him and hold Him
dearly in their hearts will have no fear. Per taitrIya upanishat
Ananda valli verse 4.0
Anandam bhrAhmano vidwan na bibheti kadAcaneti.
In general His intention is not to cause fear. His intention is
to do good. He considers all our welfare, because He is vishNu.
To emphasize this fact the next word in the mantra is put in
carefully. This word leads the bakthas feel safe by tell them
that He is looking after our welfare since He is all auspiciousness.
II.8 Meaning of bhadram
yasmAth bhadro bUtva sarvadA bhadram dadAti
rocano rocamAna: Sobana: SobamAna: kalyANa:|
bhadram karNebhi SruNuyAma devA bhadram paSyemAkshabhiryajatrA:|
sthirangaistushTuvAmsastanUbhir-vyasema devahitam yadAyu:|
tasmaducyate bhadramiti||
Since He is all bhadram ( all good things and all mangalam )
and since he provides for all the good things and since he shines
and makes everything shine and since He is Sobana and the cause of
Sobanam in everything and since He is also all auspiciousness
in the the sense of kalyAna guna swaruPi, it is said that He is bhadram.
DevAs! we should hear (that) bhadram with our ears. Oh the worshipped!
we should see that badram with our eyes. With bodies having
healthy angams let us keep worshipping you and live life-long
worshipping you.
This verse says that how to achieve dharma in our lifes -
by hearing, speaking and worshipping the bhadram. This also
amplifies the meaning of the Rig and Atharva veda sAnti mantrAs
by associating the concept of bhadram with Sri Nrusimha nArAyana
himself.
It should also be noted that we perform rakshA bandanam
at the end of sandyAvandanam by saying
visawAni deva savitar duritAni parA suva| yat badram tanma Asuvaha|
Of Savitru (sUrya) devA! Please bless us by removing our sins.
Whatever is bhadram or lofty shall reach us( from all directions )
and bless us.
We do not know what this badram is well ahead of its time.
So we pray in time that we should attain (only) good things
(bhadram) in our lives. The most superior bhadram is Him, since
He makes other bhadrams possible.
The power of this Lord is such that He removes the mruthyu
and apamrutyu of his baktAs as soon as they sincerely think
and worship Him and consider Him as bhadram. Thus He is mrutyu
of mrutyu for His bhaktAs. This concept is indicated by
the next word in the mantra rAjA.
II.9 Meaning of mrutyum-mrutyum
yasmAt svamahimnA svabhktAnAm smruta eva mrutyu-mapamrutyum
ca mArayati|
ya AtmadA paladA yasya viSwa upAsate praviSAm yasya devA:|
yasya ccAyA(a)mrutam yo mrutyummrutyu: kasmai devAya
havishA vidhema|
tasmAducyate mrutyumrutyumiti||
Just by His svamahima he eliminates the mrutyu (death) and
apamrutyu (untimely death) of his baktAs just as soon
as they think about him, and hence it is said that He is
mrutyummrutyum. He provides Atma gyAna. He provides all the
benefits of all gyAna and actions. All devas surrender unto
Him and worship Him. Let us satisfy Him whose shadow itself
is amrutam and who is the mrutyu of mrutyu through
the haviS of our yagAs.
The result of His worship is the liberation and the moksha
that His bhaktAs direly want. This concept is portrayed by
the term mrutyum-mrutyum. Once He endows the Atma gyAna in us,
we can identify our Atma with Him and eternally yearn to unite
with Him and be guaranteed of its prospect, thereby removing
rebirth and putting an end to rebirth which will only
guarantee another visit by the mrtyu.
The fact that not only the baktAs but also the mumukshus and
the devAs and the brahma upAsakAs salute and worship Him is
indicated by the next and the final term of the mantra rAjA.
II.10 Meaning of namAmi
yasmAdyam sarve devA namanti mumukshavo brahmavAdinaSca|
pra nuNam brahmaNaspatir mantram vadatyuktam|
yasminnindovaruNo mitro aryamA devA okAmsi cakrire|
tasmaducyate namAmiti||
All devas, mumukshus, and brahmavAdins salute (worship) Him
suitably using various mantrAs according to their style.
Hence it is said that He is namAmi. Indra, varunA, mithra,
and aryamA dwell in Him only.
It can be considered that this explanation unites
the polythiestic approach of the early vedAs into the
Sri Nrusimha nArAyanA worship by saying that the famous
gods of the early vedAs reside in Him.
III. After Thoughts
The adayAyA concludes by reciting a familiar verse
from the taitrIya upanishat.
ahamasmi pratamajA rutA 3 sya|
pUrvam devebhyo amrutasya nA 3 pAyi|
yo mA dadAti sa idevA mA 3 vA:|
ahamannamanna madanta mA 3 dmi|
aham viSwam bhuvanasya bavA 3 m|
suvarna jyoti: |
ya yevam veda ityupanishat||
It looks like the rishi felt that without food he would not be
around to praise the Lord. Thus he chose to end the adyAyA
by singing about the anna vidya.
Finally a few words about the mantra rAja pada stothram from the
Ahirbudniya samhita. This samhitA seems to extol
nruSimha upansana in the Agamas where Sri Siva worships
Sri Nrusimha as one possessing a superset of ugra swabhAva
and consisting in fact all that can be found in the visible
and invisible amsams of the Lord. The mantra rAja pada stothram
alludes to meaning of words of the mantra rAjA in its own unique
way. However most of its interpretations are in line with the
descriptions in the upanishat and paraphrased in this article.
The website http://www.prapatti.com contains the audio
and text materials on the mantra rAjA pada stothram for our
convenience and enjoyment.
devo na: SubhamAtanotu| yat bhadram tanma Asuva:||
dAsan,
U.Ve. R.T.V. Varadarajan
PS: The transliteration in this article follows closely the
Harvard-Kyoto notation except for minor deviations which
can be deciphered using our native intuition about Sanskrit.
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