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Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram 

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Moolavar Srinivasan , Thirumalai
1) Venkatesaaya Sri Venkatesaaya Nama:
 
Salutations to Lord of Venkatesa , who destroys one's sins
just like fire destroys(burns) cotton thrown in to it !
 
The Manthram for Lord Venkatesa is (Pranavam) " Namo Venkatesaaya "
preceded by the Pranavam  . This is a eight lettered manthram like the Moola
Manthram (Pranavam) Namo Naaraayanaaya . It is a very powerful manthram
to worship the Lord of Thiruvenkadam . All the intrepretations to Pranavam,
Nama: sabdham and Naaraayanaaya sabdham with its fourth case
for the Moola Manthram (Thirumanthiram) is equally applicable to
this Venkatesa Ashtaakshari manthram (Vide: SrImath Rahasya Thraya
Saaram of Swamy  Desikan ) .
 
There are two intrepretations for the naama , "Venkatam " .
 
First , " vEm (paapam) kadathi (dahathi) ithi Venkata: " . Since
the Lord burns completely all the sins of His devotees , He is
called Venkatesan( the Lord of Venkatam)  .
 
" agnisthUlamiva-agha yO dadhatyatha dadhAthi cha "
 
The BhavishyOttara Puraana furnishes the example of a brahmin called Maadhava, who had slipped from being a pious and devout paragon of virtues, to a condemnable existence with all sorts of unbecoming conduct. The moment this Madhava accidentally set foot on the Venkatachala Hills, all the sins residing in his person burnt themselves out and exited from his body with a great noise and flame, proving to the astounded onlookers the efficacy of the Hills and of its presiding deity in destroying accumulated misdeeds, just as the fire annihilates rubbish.
 
The second definiton is:  " vEmkaarO amrutha bheejam thu
kadam isvaryam uchyathE , amrutha-iswarya sangathvAth
VenkadAdhri ithi " . vEmkaara sabdham denotes nectar
and kadam stands for immeasurable wealth (mahath Iswaryam) .
The union of amrutham (life rejuvenating nectar)  with mahath
Iswaryam leads to the VenkatEsa Naamam .  
 
Venkatesa Mahthmya slokams eulogize the Lord of Venkataachalam
in many moving ways:
 
" Sarvaadhaara: Sarva saakshee Sarvotthamasccha
  Sarvaj~na: Sarva Swami "
 
He is indeed the basis of all, witness to all events , the loftiest
of all, omniscient and Master of all .
 
One of the slokams visualizes Him as having the lustre of a precious blue
stone and housing in His heartland  Sri and Bhumi Devis .
 
Another slokam visualizes the presence of Brahma , Sivan and Devaas
in different limbs of His body :
 
Srinivaasa Ramaa Naatha Thvannaabhyabhje chathurmukham
Gireesam antha: karaNE angeshvindhraadhi devathaa:
 
Oh Lakshmi Kaanthaa ! Srinivaasa ! The god Brahma , Your son ,
resides in a lotus born out of Your navel . The deity Rudra , Your grandson ,
resides in Your soul (others view Rudhran occupying the right side
of the Lord) . Indhra and other devaas are found in other parts of
Your auspicious body (Subha tanu) . You are thus the support for all.
 
Yet another slokam praises His svaroopam as the embodiment of Dayaa .
 
" Beyond the seven oceans , there is an eighth ocean called Your grace ,
the endless bliss and happiness. In that ocean of grace, You are immersing
the devotees by fulfilling all their desires (i-e)., not only are You granting all
the material things that they seek but also grant Mohsha sukham as well to them ." 
Here the union of the amrutha bheejam and Iswaryam emerge as Venkatesan .
 
Lord Venkatesaa's beautiful lotus feet   ( Athisundara Paadha Padhma  yugaLam)
have their own mysteries . The right foot is called "Su" symbolizing Jn~Ana
Svaroopam and the left is called  " var " to represent blissful Aanandha svaroopam .
The pair of sacred feet is thus the union of amrutha bheejam (vEmkaaram)
and Isvaryam .One has to meditate on both the Paadha Yugalam .
 
Those sacred feet are the source of Virajaa theerttham , Maana sarovaram waters
and Dhanushkoti . Above great and sacred waters are resident at Lord
Venkatesan's sacred feet ; from those lotus feet , these sacred waters flow down
to earth to yield prosperity ( Iswaryam and nectarine bliss) to all the chethanams
on the earth .
 
Virajaa MaanasasarO DhanushkOti mahaaghahruth
Gangaadhi sarva theertthaani Thvath paadhaabhje vasanthi hi
--Venkatesa Mahaathmyam: 2.38
 
The power of the sacred feet of Lord Venkatesa and the good fortune of
those , who think and write about their glories is saluted by another slokam:
 
Paadha Pankaja Mahaathmyam likhithvaiva sva-hasthatha:
dhaathrunaam Vaishnavaagrebhyo mahaaghoughaadhri bhedhanam
-- Venkatesa Mahaathmyam: 2.48
 
(meaning): The great souls , who have the sacred knowledge of SrI VishNu
tatthvam and  who propagate the grace and beauty of Your blessed feet through
writing about them and by other means  are always liberated from all types of
bondages through Your abundant grace.
 
Of all the gunams of Lord Venkatesan , His Dayaa Gunam is the most
celebrated one. Swamy Desikan has composed hundred slokams to
single out the uniqueness of Lord's Dayaa gunam . This great Achaaryan visualizes
this Dayaa Gunam as a separate Devi (Divine Consort ), Dayaa Devi . Here are
two  excerpts from this Achaaryan's extraordinary sthothram (Dayaa Sathakam):
 
Kamapyanavadhim vandhe karuNaa VaruNaalayam
Vrushasaila tadastaanam svayam vyakthim upaagatham
--Dayaa Sathakam : Slokam 9
 
(meaning): On its own , there is an ocean that has arisen  for
the eternal enjoyment of those , who live near the Thiruvenkatam
hills. The waters of this ocean is Dayaa. This is the unique and
most merciful ocean revered as Thiruvenkatamudayaan. The dimensions
of this most compassionate ocean can not be calibrated by place ,
time or materials( Desam, Kaalam and Vasthu).
 
akinchana nidhim soothim apavarga thrivargayo:
Anjanaadhreesvara dayaam abhishtoumi niranjanaam
--Dayaa Sathakam: Slokam 10
 
(meaning): The dayaa of Anjana Giri's Lord (Venkatesan) is
a  magnificient treasure . One does not need magical colyrium to
locate and enjoy this treasure. Those who wish to benefit from
this treasure do not need to undertake the difficult saadhanaas
like Bhakthi yogam. They can use the means of Prapatthi and
gain any one of the four kinds of Purushaarthams that they desire.
This dayaa of the Lord is blemishless. It spreads to every one
without making any  distinction about their status (high or low),
gender or caste.
 
This first Naama of the Ashtotharam of the Lord of Venkataadhri
( Venkatesaaya Nama: ) from the Varaaha PuraaNam is the same
as the first naama in Brahmaanda Puraana version of Sri Venkatesa
Ashtottharam. Extensive commentary on the Brahmaanda Puranam
naama of Venkatesaaya Nama: is housed in the companion section:
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/oppiliappan/sva
 
 



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