Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Like a Diamond in the Sky
They sparkle like diamonds in the night sky, so many of them glittering and
gleaming, lighting up the nocturnal firmament. Their light is not harsh,
glaring or hot like that of the Solar orb, but a soft, translucent glow that is
at once pleasing and soothing. It is they which contribute considerably to the
so-called magic of the night. They are to be seen in different bewitching
groupings or constellations, shaped variously like a hunter, a scorpion and so
on. Even if you were able to count the sands on the beach, you can't tot up the
number of the twinkling faces in the sky. They may be millions of light years
away, but their influence over our lives is remarkable. It is they which decide
who marries whom and when auspicious things should be done or avoided---in
reckoning a matrimonial match, it is the mutual compatibility of the stars of
the bride and groom-to-be, that is the decisive factor in proceeding with or
discarding the alliance. According to Astrology, the star under which a person
is born is a fair indicator of his character, conduct, fortunes and future.
Though there are innumerable stars dotting the sky, only twenty-seven are
considered significant, as enumerated by the blemishless Shruti. These
nakshatrAs are classified into two groups, DEva nakshatrAs and Yama nakshatrAs,
the ones from KrittikA upto VisAkham forming the first group and the ones from
anUrAdha to BharaNi comprising the Yama nakshatras. Here are a few facts about
these distant deciders of our destinies.
Though the popular enumeration of stars commences with AsvinI, BharaNi etc.,
the Veda Purusha puts KrittikA first-"KrittikA: prathamam". However, KrittikA
is not considered an auspicious star-the Overlord of this Star is the
all-powerful Agni, who,with his immense destructive potential, can burn houses
down in a trice-"grihAn ha dAhukO bhavati".
Next in line is the hallowed star ROhiNI, made immeasurably holy by the birth
of Sri Krishna under the aphorism. Predictably, PrajApati or the Paramapursha
is the Overlord of this particular star. The Celestials are extremely fond of
this star, presumably due to its association with the glorious Lord-"priyA
dEvAnAm".
Though the Bhagavata Purana is quite categorical that Lord Krishna was born
under this star, Azhwars are a bit equivocal on this. For instance, we have Sri
Periazhwar telling Kannapiran that He was born under Shravana nakshatram-" nee
piranda TiruvONam, indru nee neerAda vENdum". "Bathe atleast today, as today is
the star under which you were born!" exhorts Sri Periazhwar, coaxing the divine
kid, stinking with the odour of dairy products, to have a bath. We are unable
to dismiss this as oversight, firstly because of the unblemished wisdom the
Azhwar was blessed with and secondly because he reiterates this elsewhere too-"
tiNnAr veNsangu udayAi tirunAL TiruvONam". "attattin pattAm nAL tOndriya
Achuthan" says he further, confirming the birth of the mischievous brat under
the Tiruvonam star which is the tenth, when counted from Hasta nakshatram. How
is this possible, we wonder. Is it possible for Sri Krishna to be born under
two stars, which would be quite in tune with His other extraordinary exploits,
and with the Shruti dictum, "ayAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE"?
The truth of the matter is that the Shruti earmarks Tiruvonam as the Lord's own
aphorism-"ShrONA nakshatram Vishnu: dEvatA". As such, whatever be the avatara
the Lord assumes, and whatever aphorism He is born under, that aphorism is
considered to be but an aspect of Tiruvonam. We see this repeated in the
Thiruppallandu too, where Sri Nrsimha (reputed to have manifested under the
star SwAtI) too is described to have Tiruvonam as His star-"TiruvONa
tiruvizhavil andi ampouzhudil ari uruvAgi ariyai azhittavan". However, if we
were to justify the Azhwar's assertion that the Lord was born on the tenth day
of the Hastham star, we could count forwards (if we count backwards, the tenth
is Tiruvonam) and arrive at Rohini as the tenth one from Hastham, thus
reconciling the apparent contradiction. The primacy of Tiruvonam is abundantly
apparent when we note that it is the birth star of other avataras too, such as
Trivikrama and Hayagriva. Not only Emperuman, but also Azhwars (Sri
Poigayazhwar) and Acharyas (Swami Desikan and Sri Pillailokacharya) have
glorified this nakshatram by their birth under the same. The Shruti praises
this star as the holiest and most meritorious of all-"PuNyAm". Sri Periazhwar
too adulates this nakshatram, by pointing out that those born under this
aphorism would rule the earth-"TiruvOnatthAn ulagALum enbArgaLe".
Another nakshatram that comes in for glorification by Vedas is PunarvasU, and
predictably so, for it is under this star that the Magnificent Monarch of the
Raghuvamsam, the peerless Paragon of Virtues, the repository of all auspicious
attributes, Sri Rama was born. "nakshatrE aditi daivatyE" says Sri Valmiki,
recounting Sri Raghava's birth under this star, the presiding deity of which is
Aditi, famed as the Mother of all Celestials-" aditi: dEva mAtA". Predictably,
this star is adulated as the support of all worlds-"Visvasya bhartrI Jagata:
pratishttA".
SwatI, the aphorism of the unparallelled avataram, that of Sri Nrisimha, comes
in for its share of praise too. This nakshatram is prayed to for ensuring
freedom from the torment of one's detractors and for the latter to vanish into
the distance, turned impotent and harmless by the awesome power of the Adbhuta
Kesari ("dooram asmat satravO yantu bheetA:"). Sri Nrisimha ensures not only
safety from one's enemies, but bestows upon us all that is auspicious, if
prayed to-"tannakshatram bhooridA astu mahyam", for He is the personification
of auspiciousness-"Bhadram". Nitya sUris like Sri VainatEya and Sri
Vishnuchitta of the Azhwar ghOshti, have adorned this aphorism by choosing it
as their birth star.
As against the twenty-seven popular stars, the Shruti enumerates one additional
nakshatram named "Abhijit" ("abhijit nAma nakshatram, uparishtAt ashAdAnAm,
avastAt shrOnAyai"), that confers success in all our endeavours and victory in
all battles. This additional nakshatram is placed between UtthrAdam and
Tiruvonam and is supposed to have been the source of inspiration and success
for BrahmA himself.
Though it is tempting to cover in detail the glory of each of these 28 stars,
let us conclude with a mention of the last one in the Vedic order-Bharani. The
Overlord of this star is the dreaded Yamadharmaraja, who keeps meticulous count
of all the sins we commit (which we imagine to be unknown to others) and metes
out just punishment commensurate with the gravity of the offences. The Shruti
extolls his praise as the Lord of the Worlds ("lOkasya RajA mahatO mahAn hi"),
what with the power of penalty that he wields over all inhabitants,
irrespective of their social or economic status. It is however interesting to
note Yama himself confessing that though he is all-powerful, his writ runs not
over the devotees of Lord Vishnu-"prabhu: aham anya nriNAm, na VaishnavAnAm".
The memorable story of AjAmiLa is a case in point. Given his stature and
punitive powers, the Shruti voices a prayer to Yama that he should make our
lives easy, virtuous and fearless, so that we are spared the unwelcome
attentions of this terrifying deity-
"sugam na: pantthAm abhayam kriNOtu".
We also hear of the magnificence of Dhruva, whom the Lord has made an
everlasting star in the eternal firmament, in recognition of his boundless
bhakti manifest at an extremely young age, the guiding star of sailors the
world over before modern day navigational aids were invented. Another star to
come in for Vedic adulation is ArundhatI, held out to be a role model for women
to this day, when no marriage is complete without the newly-wedded couple
having the star pointed out to them-" Saptarshaya: prathamAm KrittikAnAm
arundhatI" says the Shruti.
Stars occupy an extremely significant place in the divine scheme of things, so
much so that they are reputed to be the very form of the Lord
Himself-"nakshatrANi roopam" says the Purusha Sukta. The first ashtaka of the
Yajur Brahmana tells us that one who knows the Paramapurusha as the embodiment
of nakshatras verily knows all that is there to be known in this world and
others-"yO vai nakshatriyam Prajapatim vEda, ubhayOr Enam lOkayOr vidu:".
Describing Emperuman's various angAs, the ashtaka lays down that Hasta
nakshatram is His hands, ChitrA His head, SwAtI His heart, VisAkham His thighs
and so on.
During TrivikramAvatAra, when the Lord grew from a dimunitive dwarf into a
Colossus spanning the three worlds, the fraternity of stars formed a garland
around His towering headgear. When He grew further, they adorned His forehead
as a glittering ornament. When He continued His vertical journey, the
nakshatrAs formed a sparkling necklace around His beautiful neck, and later, a
brilliant "oddyANam" around His midriff. When the Lord grew further, the stars
formed themselves into adoring anklets around His holy feet. When He outgrew
this too, the stars remained vanquished, knowing not in what form they could
perform kainkaryam to the ever-expanding tirumEni of Trivikrama. This
enthralling imagery is portrayed with perfection by Swami Desikan in Sri
DEhalIsa Stuti.
Of the five angAs (tithi, vAram, yOgam, KaraNam and nakshatram), the stars are
the only ones to be bestowed with the honorific prefix, "thiru". We say
"thirnakshatram" when referring to the birth star of the Lord, Azhwars or
Acharyas. Similar honour is not afforded to the other four angAs-nobody says
"thiru ashtami" or "thiru subha yOgam", even while referring to auspicious
ones. Nor are the other angAs glorified by the Shruti, which reserves choice
words of appreciation for the stars. And nobody is bothered about under what
tithi he was born in or the Yogam or KaraNam of that day. It is the Stars which
rule the roost, all the way. They twinkle at us from millions of miles afar,
shaping our future, guiding our destinies and forming constant reminders of the
Lord and His magnificence.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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