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Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram |
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108) Srinivaasaaya SrI VenkatEsaaya nama:
Salutations to Lord VenkatEsa , who has Mahaa
Lakshmi (SrI Devi) on His chest for ever !
The word "Sri" has six
connotations and refers to Sri Mahalakshmi's manifold roles of being the
refuge of Jeevas, seeking refuge in the Lord on our behalf, listening
patiently to our tales of woe, conveying the same to the Lord with the
exceptional eloquence of advocacy, ridding devotees of their accumulated
baggage of sins and affording them infinite pleasure upto the stage of
performing kainkaryam to the Divine Duo. Since Srinivasa is the inalienable
abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, we have absolutely nothing to fear, for all the
aforesaid funcions of Sri become extremely easy of performance.
It is extremely siginificant that
this Ashtotthara Shatha naamavali begins with the name "Venkatesaya nama:"
and ends with "Srinivasaya nama:", siginifiying by the former, the
Lord's propensity for destroying all our sins, and by the latter, His
readiness to bestow on us all that we desire and more too, including the
ultimate reward of Celestial Bliss on an eternal basis, demonstrating His
two-fold benevolence of "anishta nivritti" and "ishta praapti".
Sri Venkateswara is the permanent
and pleasurable abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, His inseparable Consort. He is hence
known as "Srinivasa:".
When Sri Mahalakshmi emerged from
the milky ocean being churned by the Devas and asuras for nectar, She
immediately occupied the Lord's broad chest, true to Her promise never to
forsake Him even for a second--"agalakillen irayum endru Alarmel
mangai urai maarba!".The Sahasranama Nirukti sloka too says the same
thing--"nityopagna nivaasatvaat Sreenivaasa: SriyaL: smrita:".
In fact, "Srinivasa:" is
the name of the Parabrahmam, which is identified by the presence of the
Consort Sri. Thus, it is because He is Srinivasa that the Lord can claim
to be the Supreme Being, as the Vedas show the Paramapurusha to be accompanied
by His divine consorts Sri and Bhoodevi--"Hreescha te Lakshmeescha
patnyou" (Purusha Suktam).
Sri Ramanuja too identifies
Srinivasa to be the Parabrahmam, at the very beginning of his magnum opus, the
Sri Bhaashyam--"Shruti shirasi videepte, Brahmani Srinivase".
In practical terms, how does this
help us? Because He is the permanent abode of Sri Mahalakshmi, who is the
embodiment of all that is auspicious, apart from being the fountainhead
of all mercy, love and compassion, the Lord too can never be otherwise. Even
if he is inclined to be annoyed at us at times for some insufferable
infringement on our part, the Divine Mother intercedes on our behalf and
ensures that we get off lightly. It is She who recommends us to be pardoned
all our sins and our elevation to the exalted world of Sri Vaikunttam. Thus,
if we can at all hope for emancipation, it is because the Lord is Srinivasa.
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