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Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram |
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107) GovindAya SrI VenkatEsAya nama:
Salutations to Lord VenkatEsa , who is the cowherd
of Brindhaavanam , who comes to the rescue of devotees in distress !
The Govinda nama is the ideal
one to save those in distress, as proved by both Sri Prahlada and Draupati,
who, while issuing an SOS to the Lord, addressed Him as Govinda!.
It is Lord Venkata Govindhan , who as "Koodaarai
vellum seer Govindhan " attracts even those with impenetrably stony
hearts
and makes them head to Thirumala to win them over
with His soundharyam and auspicious attributes .
This Govinda nama is so potent
that it affords liberation even to the worst of offenders and sinners, says
Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar, pointing out that it emancipated even a confirmed offender
like Kshatrabandhu--"
Moyttha val vinayul nindru moondru
ezhutthu udaya peraal
Kattira bandhumandre paraam gati
kandu kondaan"
The Lord may have any number of
names, but the one most popular with the masses is "Govinda!". And
though this is a generic name, so to say, it triggers in us the thought only
of Sri Venkatesa and none other. The cry "Govinda! Govinda!" rents
the air right from the footsteps of the Tirumala Hills and continues to
reverberate in the Seven Hills, coming to a crescendo when the devotees reach
the portals of the Lord's sanctum sanctorum. What is the speciality of this
tirunaamam?
There are numerous interpretations
of the holy word Govinda.
"Gavaam stuti giraam vinda:
Govinda: sa udaahrita:"--One who is the object of innumerable words and
paens of praise from all class of people, mortals and the celestials, is
Govindan. It is not only ordinary people like us who worship the Lord with
words of praise with various motives, but Maharshis of repute and exalted
Devatas too adulate Him, driven by love, affection and devotion.
"Nashtaam Dharaneem poorvam
labdhavaan Govinda:"
Occurring immediately
after the tirunaamam "MahaVaraha:" in the Sahasranaama Stotram, this
Govinda nama is interpreted to
mean One who regained Mother Earth, after She was wrapped up and hidden
away under water by Hiranyaaksha. As is well known, The Lord assumed the form
of a giant boar , destroyed the asura and lifted up the Bhoomi with His
tusk . Thus it is the Varaha Murthy at Tirumala, who is indeed celebrated here
as Govinda.
The third
interpretation of the word "Govinda" is the Lord of Cattle, the
endearing Divine Cowherd the Lord became as Sri Krishna, delighting in the
company of bovine creatures and their
masters. Since the Vaishnava Sampradaya venerates Srinivasa as none other than
Sri Krishna, the name "Govinda" applies to Srinivasa quite well.
A fourth meaning is
that He is the giver of Speech. He is the power because of which all living
creatures , through the medium of speech, convey knowldege mutually to
each other, be it the braying of an ass, the barking of a dog , in the
spirited eloquence of an orator or in the devotional outpouring of the
overwhelmed votary.
Govinda is also the Supreme
Reality who is to be attained, to be known, through the sacred words of the
Veda Vakyaas.
It is this Govinda
naama which provided succour to beleagured Draupati and saved her
modesty from being outraged by Ducchaasana, for it is to Govinda that she
appealed in distress--"Govinda! Pundareekaaksha! Raksha maam
saranaagataam". Sri Pillailokaachaarya goes to the extent of saying
that the Lord's Govinda naama is more powerful than the Lord Himself--"Draupatikku
aapattil pudavai surandadu tirunaamam ire"
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