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Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram 

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Nava Thiruppathi Perumal
68) SridharAya SrI VenkatEsAya nama:
 
Salutations to Lord VenkatEsa , who bears SrI Devi on His right chest as His lakshaNam ( mark of His defining identity) !
 
It is this "Sridharatvam" or the distinction of bearing Piraatti, which makes Srinivasa ever-merciful, unmindful of our innumerable peccadilloes, extremely forgiving and compassionate.
 
We find quite a few devatas in the Hindu pantheon, affording exalted positions to their consorts.However, there is none like the Lord of Lords, Narayana, who considers His Consort so precious as to accomodate Her on His right chest. He is known thus as "Sridhara:". In this sense, the Lord is an examplar as to how we ought to treat our better halves.
 
It is this inseparable association with His exalted Consort that confers upon the Lord an unparallelled uniqueness, be it in bounties, prowess, supremacy, splendour or mercy, say Acharyas. Sri Valmiki tells us that it is this Sridharatvam that makes the Lord the Supreme Being that He is--"aprameyo hi tat tejo yasya saa Janakaatmajaa".
 
It is not a one-sided infatuation that the Lord has for Sri Mahalakshmi: She too is determined not to undergo even a second's separation from the Lord and stays put on His broad chest, says Sri Nammazhwar--"agalakillen irayum endru Alarmel Mangai urai marba ! ".  This line proves conclusively that Sridharan is verily Tiruvenkatamudayan, for it is only He who sports His Consorts, not one but two of them, on His broad and beautiful chest.
 
Azhwars make much of Sridhara, with extremely moving eulogies, filled with love and devotion. Here are a few samples--
 
"en Tirumagal ser maarvane!"
"nin vala maarbinil vaazhgindra Mangaiyum pallaandu"
"Tirumaarban" etc.
 
This unique adornment of Sri that the Lord sports on His chest, is the first to catch the eye of any devotee, as Sri Peyaazhwar attests--"Tiru kanden, ponmeni kanden"--so much so that the Lord's innumerable other physical attractions take a backseat.
 
The Lord accomodates His Consort on His chest, so that He could constantly savour the glances from Her beautiful, deer-like eyes, says Sri Nammazhwar--"Maaney nokku madavaalai maarbil vaitthaai Maadhavaa!"
 
Though the Lord is generally said to have broad and beautiful lotus-like eyes, Sri Nammazhwar mentions this as a unique attribute of Sridharan--"Siridharan, seyya taamarai kanninan". His entire complexion in Sridhara roopam is that of a glittering white lotus, says Swami Desikan--"ilangu ven taamarai menian". Instead of the usual conch and discus, this Sridhara moorthi holds in His four hands, four huge swords, intended to slice through our Karmic bonds with ease . Swami Desikan tells us that these four sharp sceptres are meant for choppig away the innumerable fears confront us--"pattayam eerirandaalum bhayam arukkum" ( "Sridharam Pundareekaabham chatushpattasam aashraye") .



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