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SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.05 / ISSUE # 04 dated 30th   October 2003
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IMPORTANT POLICY STATEMENT:
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EDITORIAL:
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. GOTRAS AND PRAVARAS ? AN OVERVIEW ?PART 13
THE GLORY OF GOUTAMA GOTRAM ? 5
(Anbil Ramaswamy)
(Based on Monograph of MahaamahOpaadhyaaya Sri Srivatsaankaachaar Swami, now 
Head of Dept. French Indolgical Research Institute, Pondicherry and  
?MaharishigaL Charitram? by Mimamsa SirOmaNi Mimamsa Vidvan Mimamsa Kovida, 
Ubhaya Mimamsa Saaragjna, Veda Vedanta ChooDaamaNi Sri N.S. Devanathachariar 
(referred by Sri Srivatsankachariar Swami)
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2.  DESIKAMRUTHAM
SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SARAM
THE FIVE FUNDAMENTALS- 4.
By Sri Sadagopa Iyengar Swamin (of Coimbatore)
?Srikaaryam? of the Board of Advisors of ?Sri Ranga Sri?
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3. FROM MAHABHARATA: YAKSHA PRASNAM?
Part 30: Prasnams 84 and 85
By Sri M.K. Ramaswamy Iyengar Swami,
Senior Officer of Govt. of India.
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122 Regular issues have been released, so far (besides several Special 
Issues) -
-       27 Issues of Vol. 1
-       15 Issues of Vol. 2
-       42 Issues of Vol. 3
-       35 Issues of Vol. 4 &
-       03 Issue of Vol. 5
These issues have been archived for public view at -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/srirangasri by Sri Diwakar Kannan.
We strongly urge you to kindly peruse the "Regular Issues" archived in the 
?Files? Section and view the Contents at ?srsindex.html? (Not the individual 
postings allowed encouraging "Reader participation"). We are sure that you 
will be convinced of the quality of the contents.

IF you are satisfied with the quality and contents of
?Sri Ranga Sri?:
Tell your friends to join by sending an email to ?
"SriRangaSri-Subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

IF not:
Tell us, as to how we may improve.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
Editor & Publisher
?Sri Ranga Sri?
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1. GOTRAS AND PRAVARAS ? AN OVERVIEW ?PART 13
THE GLORY OF GOUTAMA GOTRAM ? 5
(Anbil Ramaswamy)
(Based on Monograph of MahaamahOpaadhyaaya Sri Srivatsaankaachaar Swami, now 
Head of Dept. French Indolgical Research Institute, Pondicherry and  
?MaharishigaL Charitram? by Mimamsa SirOmaNi Mimamsa Vidvan Mimamsa Kovida, 
Ubhaya Mimamsa Saaragjna, Veda Vedanta ChooDaamaNi Sri N.S. Devanathachariar 
(referred by Sri Srivatsankachariar Swami)
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KRIPACHARIAR:
This is the name of a great hero whom we encounter in Mahaabhaarata. He and 
his nephew, Aswathaama are regarded as one of the seven eternal beings 
?Chiram jeevis?. One of the sons of Goutama was Saradwaan, a great Tapasvi. 
He had two progenies, a son and a daughter. The son was ?Kripa? who became 
known later on as ?Kripaachaarya?- one of the preceptors of PaaNDavas and 
Kouravas. Sardwaan?s daughter Kripee married the famous DrONaachaarya and 
begot Aswathaama. Thus, whole generations of famous heroes were born in the 
Goutama GOtram.

EKADAN, DVIDAN AND TRIDAN
A trio of brothers was also born in Goutama GOtram. They were known as 
Ekadan, Dvidan And Tridan. All of them were equally great Tapasvis. After 
their father?s time, they enjoyed royal patronage. But, out of the three, it 
was Tridan who commanded greater respect than the other two.

Tridan wanted to do a ?SOma Yaaga?. The brothers gathered cows, money etc 
needed for the Yaaga under the leadership of Tridan. Ekadan and Dvidan were 
jealous of Tridan?s popularity and were biding for the right time to wreak 
vengeance on him and planned to carry away the cows and the booty. Tridan 
was leading and the others were following him.

They traversed long distances in the search for the provisions for the Yaaga 
and at the time of late night one day, they reached vicinity of the river 
Saraswati, The brothers who followed deliberately slowed their pace and 
Tridan was far ahead of them. He was shocked to see suddenly a fox face to 
face howling at him threateningly. In his predicament, he slipped and fell 
into a deep well (Paazhum kiNau). He called his brothers aloud for long for 
help. But, they coolly walked away without coming to his rescue, thinking 
that if he were to die, it was good for them. And, if he happened to get out 
of the well alive, he would in any case be able to gather the materials 
again due to his popularity.

Tridan was not afraid of death. He knew death was inevitable. His concern 
was different. After having prepared everything, to die without performing 
the Yaaga, without drinking the sacrificial Soma juice was not acceptable to 
him. Suddenly, he ogled a creeper hanging inside the wall of the well. 
Luckily, it was the Soma creeper that he was searching for. He took what 
little water was in the dry well, crushed the Soma creeper, and took out the 
juice. Mentally conjuring up the ?YaagavEdhi? and ?TrEtaagnis? he started 
reciting loudly the appropriate Veda mantras. His voice reached the Heavens. 
Indra came down to the well site with the band of celestials and accepted 
the ?SOma rasa?. He ordered the nearby Saraswati river waters to swell. The 
surging waters lifted up Tridan and he came out unscathed. He got a boon 
from the Devas that anyone taking bath in the waters of this well should 
reap the benefits of performing Soma Yaaga. Such was the glory of Trida 
Goutama. When he came to know of the treachery of his brothers, he cursed 
them to be born as monkeys and bears. But, this is a different story.

GOUTAMI:
Goutami is the name of a Brahmin lady. It is not known whether she was the 
wife, sister or daughter of one born in the Goutama GOTram. In accordance 
with the tradition of this Vamsam, she is known by the Gotra Pravartakar of 
this GOtram. Mahaabhaarata takes a significant turn on account of her life.  
Anusaasana Parva commences with a reference to her.

The great KurukshEtra war was over. Bheeshma Pitaamaha was lying on the bed 
of arrows awaiting the now famous as ?Bheeshma Ekaadasi?. YudishTira was 
pestering him with lot of questions and clarifications and Bheeshma was 
answering him about Dharma with utmost patience. The great Chapter of 
?Saanthi Parva? was coming to a close. YudishTira could not avoid thinking 
of the events in the war in which the heroic acts of the warriors on the one 
hand as well as the treachery and deceit ruthlessly adopted with the 
blessings of Lord KrishNa Himself on the other - were passing in his mind 
like an endless procession of remembrance (yaadOn ki bhaaraat?). Totally 
confused, YudishTira asked Bheeshma why even after listening to the Saanthi 
Parva, his mind was still agitated. It was then that Bheeshma narrated the 
anecdote connected with Goutami.

A poisonous snake bit the only son of Goutami and caused his instant death. 
A hunter by name, Arjunagan saw this and caught the snake, tied it tightly 
with ropes and dropped it in front of Goutami and asked her how she wished 
the snake to be killed whether by burning or by cutting it into pieces.

Goutami would not have it killed saying that killing it would not bring her 
son back but would result in their rotting in hell endlessly. Here is her 
SlOkam:
Hatvaa cha yEnamruta: syaad ayam mE jeevati asmin kOtyaya: syaad ayam tE
AsyOtsargE praaNa yuktasya jantO: mrityOr lOkam kO nu gachEd anantam
Because, as one belonging to the Goutama Vamsa, she knew the subtleties of 
Dharma, she would not be a party to the killing.

When the hunter insisted on meting out capital punishment to the snake for 
the crime of murdering the young boy, she replied that it was because the 
life period of her son had come to a close that he had died and that the 
snake was not to blame. The snake suddenly started to talk in the tongue of 
humans and said: ?Oh! Hunter! I am not at fault. I was ordered by the Lord 
of death to bite the boy. I have nothing to gain by killing the boy?

KOnvarjunaga! DOsha atra vidyatE mayi baalisa/
Aswatantram hi maam mrityu vivasam yadasoosutath //
Tasyaayam vachanaadhashTO na kOPEna na kaamyayaa/
Tasya tatbi kilbisham lubda! VidyatE yadi kilbisham //
(MB 13.1.35, 36)

The dispute between the hunter and the snake went on unabated. Lord of death 
appeared before them and said; ? Neither the snake nor myself is responsible 
for the boy?s death. I am also bound by the inexorable laws of Dharma and 
none of us act on one?s own volition? His SlOKam is:

Nahi aham, naapi ayam mrityu: naayam lubdhaka pannaga: /
Kilbishee jantu maraNE na vayam hi prayOjakaa: //
AkarOd yad ayam karma tannOrjunaka chOdakam /
Vinaasa hEtur nanyOsya vidhyatE ayam svakarmaNaa //
(MB 13.1.70 & 71)

The purport of the slOkam is that it is the inevitable result of the boy?s 
own actions ?Karma? that was responsible for his death and none else could 
be blamed. The Lord of death, otherwise known as ?Dharma devata? explained 
clearly the action- reaction phenomenon that worked inexorably in everyone?s 
life.

Goutami who already was clear in her mind became clearer still and 
experienced great mental peace. She consoled herself saying:
? Neither Yama, nor the snake was at fault. He died because he was destined 
to die at the specific moment in a specific manner. I have also committed 
sins to deserve this trauma. So, every one of you may go to your respective 
abodes after releasing the snake? Here is her slOkam:

naiva kaalO na bhujagO na mrityu: iha kaaraNam /
sva karmabhir Ayam baala: kaalEna nidhanam gata: //
mayaa cha that kritam karma yEna ayam mE mritah sutah /
yaa tu kaalas tathaa mrityu: muncha arjunaka! Pannagam //
(MB 13.1.78 & 79)

Thus, Bheeshma gave the example of a mother who never became despondent in 
the face of the death of her dear son, to show that all that happened in the 
war were exactly in response to the karma of the respective characters. 
Listening to this profound truth, YudishTira felt great relief and attained 
peace of mind.

Iti yEtad vachanam srutvaa babhoova vigata jvarah /
YudishTirO mahaa tEja: paprachEdam cha Dharmavith //
(MB 13/1/83)

Male or female, every one of the descendents of Goutama GOtram were reputed 
for strict rectitude in conduct and perfect comprehension of the philosophy 
underlying such rectitude. Though each may have had a personal name, they 
took pride in calling themselves after the gOtra pravartaka, the great 
Goutama Maharishi.
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2. DESIKAMRUTHAM
SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SARAM
THE FIVE FUNDAMENTALS- 4.
By Sri Sadagopa Iyengar Swamin (of Coimbatore)
?Srikaaryam? of the Board of Advisors of ?Sri Ranga Sri?
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Of the five crucial concepts which everyone aspiring for emancipation must 
grasp, we have so far been looking at the first and foremost, viz., the 
Paramatma, His always being accompanied by His inseparable Consort, the 
total absence of any blemishes in Him, His being the sole repository of all 
auspicious attributes which defy enumeration, etc.

All these make the Paramapurusha eminently adorable, worthy of being 
attained and served with love and affection. However, to form the object of 
our adoration and kainkaryam, He must have a form. It is extremely 
difficult, if not impossible, to adore and perform kainkaryam to an abstract 
Parabrahmam which has no form, figure or shape. Try as we might, we would 
find it unfeasible even to concentrate on a formless entity, however exalted 
it be, leave alone indulge in our aspirations for performing loving service. 
Hence the Lord, in His infinite mercy, presents Himself in the most 
magnificent of forms, to enable our worship and adulation.

If we accept that the Lord too has a body like us, with hands, feet, face 
etc., would we not be laying Him open to the gradual degeneration and decay 
that all bodies and forms are subject to? Does He too, then, look young and 
bewitching in youth, mature and moderate in middle age, senile and 
unappealing in old age etc.? Does His skin shine with the glow of youth and 
later turn dry, scaly and shrunken in tune with the passing of seasons? Do 
His faculties too gradually lose their efficacy with the advance of age, 
making Him as susceptible to deafness, myopia and arthritis as we are?

The Scripture tells us that though the Lord does sport a form, it is an 
unimaginably divine one, not subject to growth or decay as in human beings. 
It is always the same, unimaginably splendorous, brilliant, beautiful beyond 
conception and capable of enthralling anyone who can even casually think of 
it for a second. That Emperuman's divya mangala vigraham is unchanging and 
forever gorgeous is brought out by the prelude to the Vishnu Sahasranama 
Stotram-"sadA Eka roopa roopAya VishNavE sarva jishNavE".

This tirumEni is eternal and imperishable, unlike its human counterparts, 
says the PAncharatra-
"nitya siddhE tat AkArE tat paratvE cha Poushkara!?

Though He might sport body parts just like we mortals, there is an ocean of 
difference between His magnificent form and our own frail ones, with 
absolutely no comparison between the two. His tiurmEni is magnificent, while 
ours can hardly qualify for the description. Even the most handsome of men 
and the most beautiful of women loses his or her good looks after some time, 
with the advance of age, whereas the Lord's bewitching beauty is permanent, 
unchanging and beyond the grasp of Time's tentacles. His form and ours are 
as different as chalk and cheese. Emperuman's tirumeni is huge beyond 
imagination, compared to our own puny statures. All this is brought out by 
the Vishnu Purana sloka - "tat visvaroopa vairoopyam roopam anyat HarE: 
mahat".

Another important difference between our form and the Lord's relates to the 
matter of choice in assuming a particular body and the causative factors 
therefor. It is well known that we have absolutely no choice as to what 
birth we take, whether as an ant, an elephant, a dog, a tree or an inanimate 
object or as a human being, as our births are totally dictated by our 
crushing baggage of good and bad deeds collectively known as Karma. We have 
no say in what we are born as, as our Karma decides the same for us. The 
Lord, on the other hand, is born at will as what He wants to, of His own 
free volition. Be it a fish, a boar, a turtle, a man-lion, a dwarf or the 
most perfect of monarchs, the tiurmEni the Lord assumes is out of His own 
free choice, untainted by any constraints -"icchA griheeta abhimatOru dEha:" 
says the Vishnu Purana, highlighting the vast difference between our 
Karma-caused bodies and the divine ones of Emperuman.

Acharyas opt for another endearing interpretation of this beautiful sloka, 
taking it to mean that the Lord takes whatever form His devotees wish for 
Him - here the word "icchA" is interpreted not as the Lord's own desire, but 
that of His devotees. This reading is based on the Azhwar's assertion, 
"tamar ugandadu evvuruvam, avvuruvam tAnE", underlining the Lord's penchant 
for assuming forms that please His votaries. The word "abhimata" denotes 
that whatever form the devotees would like to see Him in, is extremely dear 
to Him. Alternatively, "abhimata" may also be taken to denote the ardent 
wish of the votary to see the Lord in a particular form. All this boils down 
to the fact that while the Lord indeed possesses a tiurmEni, it is assumed 
of His own volition or to fulfill the wishes of bhaktAs, and not out of any 
compulsion caused by the KArmic bondage.

If it is indeed true that the Lord has a body, then how does one reconcile 
this with the assertion in the Shruti that He has no hands or legs, no 
avayavAs- ("apANi pAda:? "na tasya kAryam karaNam cha vidyatE" etc.)? When 
the ultimate in scriptures denies Him a form, how can we assert otherwise? 
And what about the JitantA sloka, "na tE roopam na cha AkArO nAyudhAni na 
cha Aspadam", which emphatically tells us that He has no form, no defining 
physical characteristics, no weapons like the Shankha, Chakra etc.-in short, 
negating the very notion of a Lord with a physique and with all attendant 
paraphernalia?

Swami Desikan answers this with a quote from the Shanti Parva of 
Mahabharata, an epic which serves us well in the correct interpretation of 
Veda vAkyAs-

"tadEva KrishnO dAsArha: SrImAn SrIvatsa lakshaNa:
na bhoota sangha samstthAna: dEhOsya ParamAtmana:"

What this tells us is - The Lord's tirumEni, unlike ours, is not made up of 
the five basic physical elements (earth, air, fire, water and the 
atmosphere). It is divine in its composition and unsusceptible to the normal 
changes every human body undergoes. Thus, when the Shruti denies the 
existence of hands or legs in the Parabrahmam, what it really rules out is 
the existence of a frail and fragile physique, comprised of the aforesaid 
elements and subject to decay and decline. The Varaha Purana too confirms 
that the Lord's tirumEni is comprised not of flesh, blood and bones, but of 
a material of His own fashioning, undying, un-decaying, unchanging and 
utterly and unimaginably beautiful-

"na tasya prAkritA moorti: mAmsa mEdOsti sambhavA".
Here too, what is ruled out is not the possibility of the ParamAtma having a 
sharIram, only that of His possessing one that is mundane and mortal.

Having established the existence of the Divine form, Swami Desikan proceeds 
to catalogue its characteristics.

Emperuman's divya mangala vigraham is endowed with four handsome hands. Any 
numbers of pramANAs are there for the Lord possessing four hands. In fact, 
the Taittiriyopanisad tells us that during the Varahavatara, the Lord 
sported a hundred hands - "uddhrutAsi VarAhENa krishNEna sata bAhunA". 
However, whether it is the epics, purANAs or the Tamizh Marai, all of them 
are unanimous about the Lord having four hands. Here is a sloka from 
Mahabharata, attesting to this and to the Lord's form being extremely 
special and entirely different from our own-

"bhujai: chaturbhi: samupEtam Etat roopam visishtam divi samstthitam cha"

The Lord's tirumEni is something beyond the mundane confines and the 
darkness of ignorance and evil, and is adorned with the Divine Discus, the 
Cosmic Conch and the Magnificent Mace. This is how MandOdari, Ravana's 
enlightened wife, perceives Sri Rama-

"Tamasa: paramO dhAtA Shankha Chakra GadAdhara:"

>From all the above, it would be abundantly clear that Emperuman's divya 
mangala vigraham is delightfully divine, with none of the frailties or 
fragility of mortal coils. It is bewitchingly beautiful, totally devoid of 
blemish and assumed at will, not out of any compulsion. Ipso facto, this 
divine form forms the object of universal adulation and adoration. It is 
thus that we should think of the Paramapurusha, whenever we do think of Him, 
which, alas, is not often.

However, we come across vividly varied descriptions of the Lord's tirumEni, 
in various parts of the Scripture. At one place, He is reported to sport 
four arms and at others, two, sometimes, eight. He is to be found standing, 
sitting, reclining and in a variety of other postures. Apart from the discus 
and the conch, some of His forms are adorned with the Mace, while some 
others hold a lotus or bow and arrow. How do we account for such divergence, 
if Emperuman is one and the same?

The answer to this query is to be found in the PAncharAtra SamhitAs like Sri 
LakshmI Tantram, Sri SAtvata SamhitA etc. These works, carrying the full 
authority of the Shruti, tell us that the Lord is to be found in five forms.

The first and foremost is the Para vAsudEva, the Lord as He reigns 
resplendently at Sri Vaikuntam, under the canopy of and seated on the nAga 
paryankam or the snake-bed, with His Divine Consorts, with four beautiful 
arms - two holding the Discus and the Conch, one on His knee and the other 
placed on AdisEsha, with one leg slightly bent in an endearing posture, 
dazzling like a thousand Suns shining simultaneously and lending his 
brilliance to His innumerable adornments like the Kireetam, Makara Kundalam, 
VaijayantI HAram, the Koustubha MaNi et al. This is the Lord's form that the 
Celestials can't prise their eyes from and drink in without blinking, for 
fear of losing that second of blissful experience - "sadA pasyanti sooraya:? 
The beauty of this divya mangala vigraham is beyond description, with Sri 
Alavandar and Sri Ramanuja attempting vivid portrayals, but giving up 
midway, in their Stotra Ratnam and Sri Vaikunta Gadyam respectively.

The second of the Lord's forms is the VyUha vigraha, where He divides 
Himself functionally into VyUha VAsudEva, in apparent slumber ("uranguvAn 
pOl yOgu puNarnda oLi maNi vaNNan") on the snake bed amidst the Milky Ocean 
("pArkadal sErnda Paraman"), PradyumnA, aniruddhA and SankarshaNa.

The Lord is born time and again in this mundane world of ours, for 
protecting the good, destroying the evil and for reestablishing Dharma on a 
firm footing, whenever it is endangered-
"yadA yadA hi dharmasya glAni: bhavati BhArata!
AbhyuttAnam adharmasya tadAtmAnam srijAmyaham".

These visits of the Lord to the earth, for emancipating mankind, are 
popularly known as "avatArAs" and represent the play of His infinite mercy, 
concerned at the plight of suffering humanity. Sri Nammazhwar is moved 
beyond measure by the Lord's soulabhyam in being born as one among the 
mortals, in assuming varied forms, as warranted by the occasion, as a lowly 
fish, boar or turtle - "uyiraLippAn ennindra yOniyumAi pirandAi imayOr 
talaivA!?

Though Emperuman's avataras are innumerable, ten are highlighted as the 
principal ones - "dasadhA nirvartayan bhoomikAm". This is not to undermine 
the importance of the other forms the Lord has chosen to assume, such as 
HayagrIva, Hamsa etc. In the Rama and Krishna avataras, Emperuman underwent 
the ultimate indignity that the Supreme Being can be put to - that of Garbha 
vAsam or the ten-month sojourn in a mother's womb - all for our sake. While 
the Para and VyUha forms of the Lord are totally inaccessible to us, we are 
still able to talk about, identify with and draw inspiration from His 
avatarAs, despite their having taken place in other YugAs, millions of years 
ago. Till this moment, the tales of Nrisimha, Rama and Krishna continue to 
enthrall us and will to do so for generations to come.

The fourth of Emperuman's forms is that of the antaryAmi, the one in which 
He resides in all our hearts, no larger than one's thumb, privy to all our 
thoughts and deeds, however clandestine they be. "ManatthuLLAn mAkadal neer 
uLLAn" says Azhwar, wondering at the Lord's soulabhyam in residing in this 
mortal coil of ours, full of blood, filth and refuse. It is the Lord who 
resides in the exalted Srivaikuntam, the one who has the sprawling 
TiruppArkadal as His abode, who also resides willingly in our bodies, as the 
"HArda". "uLLatthE urayum MAlai uLLuvAn uNarvu ondru illA kaLLatthEn" says 
Sri Tondaradippodi, telling us that this form of the Lord, though it is 
within us and perhaps nearer to us than all other forms of His, is difficult 
to discern, but for the most accomplished of YOgIs.

The fifth and the most accessible to us mortals is the arcchAvatAra, the 
form in which the Lord resides in various divyadEsams and other sannidhIs, 
contracting His form to make His abode in vigrahAs made of metal, clay, wood 
and any other material His devotee lovingly fashions for Him. It is only 
this tirumEni of the Lord that can be the object of adulation, veneration, 
admiration and worship for us, for He waits patiently for us at these 
temples, happy to see us whenever we go. He even saves us the trouble of 
visiting Him at the sannidhi, through His frequent outings on the flimsiest 
of pretexts like the Pancha parvAs, tirunakshatrams of Azhwars and Acharyas 
and so on, when He comes right down to our doorstep, as part of the 
"tiruveedi purappAdu". The Lord's penchant for going in search of His 
devotees, even in the arcchAvatAra, has earned Him the sobriquet "VeediyAra 
varuvAn" from Sri Andal.

It is this form of the Lord that has evoked feelings of great depth and 
resulted in inspired outpourings by Azhwars and Acharyas. Sri Tirumangai 
Mannan considers the arcchAvatAra so superior to the other forms of 
Emperuman that he prefers the same to so-called emancipation and serving the 
Paramapurusha in person- "ErAr muyal vittu kakkai pin pOvadE". Comparing the 
arcchavatAra to readily available and delicious flesh of a rabbit and the 
ParavAsudEva at Srivaikuntam to the flesh of a yet-to-be-caught crow, which 
is anyway of mediocre taste, Sri Kalian wonders why anyone would prefer the 
latter to the former.

The same partiality for the arcchAmUrthy is voiced by Swami Desikan, when he 
prefers an eyeful of the endearing and enthralling form of Sri Varadaraja, 
to permanent residence in Srivaikuntam, with its unimaginably glorious 
benefits: he is so firm on this point, that he is prepared to swear to it- 
"Saytam shapE VAraNa saila nAtha! Vaikunata vAsEpi na mE abhilAsha:" No one 
in our great Bharata Varsha can say truthfully that a divyadesam or a 
Bhagavat sannidhi is too far for him to visit - such is the affinity 
Emperuman has for us, that He ensures that He is always accessible, 
geographically and in other senses, to seeking devotees. The 106 divyadesams 
on this earth which the Azhwars have sanctified with their nectarine verses 
and the innumerable other abodes the Lord has chosen for permanent 
residence, reflect His anxiety that none should fail to find the right path, 
merely for want of His proximity.

We can thus conclude that of all divine forms, the arcchAvatara is perhaps 
the best, the most accessible to common people like us, the most amenable to 
adulation and adornment with the choicest of flowers, dresses and ornaments 
which we may select for Him and, for all this, none the less effective or 
powerful than His other forms, be they the Paramapurusha, the VyUha 
MUrthies, the Vibhava avatArAs or the antaryAmI.
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3. FROM MAHABHARATA: YAKSHA PRASNAM?
Part 30: Prasnams 82 and 83
By Sri M.K. Ramaswamy Iyengar Swami,
Senior Officer of Govt. of India.
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PRASNAM 82
YAKSHA:
? SRAADDHASYA KAALAM AAKHYAAHI??
?WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME FOR SRADDHA??
YUDISHTIRA:
? SRADDHASYA BRAAHMANA: KAALA:?
?THE BRAHMIN IS THE ONE WHO SETS THE TIME FOR SRAADDHA?

NOTES:
Here ?Sraaddha? does not necessarily and exclusively mean the rites 
performed to honor the departed ancestors. YudishTira has answered in reply 
to an earlier question (# 76) about Sraaddha, that it ought to be performed 
with the help of a learned Vedic scholar.

Here ?Sraaddha? could refer to an act to be done with concentration and 
dedication. YudishTira has shrewdly noticed the possibility of the dual 
meaning or interpretation for the word and recalled as well that he has 
answered a question earlier about rites due to the ancestors. Therefore, he 
deliberately chooses to reply with a dual meaning. If the word is 
interpreted as the rites for the departed ancestors, then the reply could 
convey that such rites cannot get going unless a good learned Brahmin 
scholar. is along   to officiate.

However, if the word is interpreted as a display of concentration, 
seriousness and dedication, then what YudishTira means to convey is that a 
Brahmin is one who has become aware of the self, the Brahmam and as such he 
is a wise and far seeing person. Whenever one meets such a person, that 
opportunity should not be passed up but utilized to soak in some valuable 
lessons. ?Sraddhavaan labhatE jnaanam tatpara: samyatEndriya: ?
(BG Ch 4.39)

The man of Sraddha, the devoted, the master of his senses obtains knowledge. 
How does he do that? He recognizes a spiritually evolved person as soon as 
he sets his eye on him. He then approaches him with humility and seeks 
clarifications for his doubts or an affirmation or a renewed affirmation of 
what he has absorbed and what he believes to be true.

No greater example of such a person with great Sraddha exists than 
YudishTiara himself. Though he was soaked in wisdom, he approached with 
great humility, Bheeshma who was lying on a bed of arrows with an eagerness 
to learn even more.
Vineetavadupaagamya tastou sandarsanEgratah (Santi Parva Ch.55.18)

He approached Bheeshma with great humility and stood before him respectfully 
in the line of his vision
Athaasya padam jagraaha Bheeshmacha abhinananda thum (ibid SlOka19)
He touched with reverence the feet of Bheeshma and expressed his 
salutations.

A serious attitude to learn more, to imbibe more, has to be purified and 
enhanced through humility.

Lord KrishNa advises Arjuna:
Tad viddhi praNipaatEna pariprasnEna sEvayaa/
UpadEkshyanti tE jnaanam jnaaninah tatva darsinah // (BG Ch. 4.34)
By prostrating, by asking questions so that the truth can be better grasped 
and understood, by serving the revered teacher, you must seek enlightenment. 
The wise will impart to you what they have come to know.
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PRASNAM 83:
YAKSHA:
? TAPAH KIM LAKSHANAM PROKTAM??
?WHAT TRULY CONSTITUTES PENANCE??
YUDISHTIRA:
? TAPAH SVA DHARMA VARTITVAM?
? PENANCE CONSISTS IN OBSERVANCE OF ONE?S OWN DHARMA?

NOTES:
In the ordinary sense, the word ?penance? implies an act of foregoing and 
observing several austerities in a rigid manner. Thus penance brings to 
mind, going without food, sleep, eschewing communication, standing for a 
length of time on one leg and so on. YudishTira?s reply clarifies that it is 
not proper to hold that adherence to such rigors would alone constitute true 
penance. It does not mean that there is no value in such practices. But, 
such practices do not ensure any special reward. According to YudishTira, it 
is quite sufficient for a person to stay in his line of duty or calling and 
complete all the tasks required of him in that calling.

Why should this be regarded as propitious, virtuous and fruit yielding? 
Because, there is little else that a person can do. So, it seems! A peculiar 
law is seen to hold the sway. It operates evenly, justly and uniformly on 
every one. It also obeys implicitly an ordinance, which it has imposed upon 
itself.

The essence of the law is:
PraaptavyaanEva paapnOti gantavyaanEva gachchati /
LabdhavyaanEva labhatE duhkhaani cha sukhaani cha //
(Valmiki Ramayanam VII.55.16-17)

A person receives or obtains only those things that he is destined to 
receive or obtain. He goes only in those directions or to the places he is 
destined or pre-ordained to go. This is true not only of happy good tidings 
or events but also of those that cause grief.

A wise person who notes this phenomenon reflects and comes to the conclusion
?bhaataani sarvaaNi vidhirniyungktE?.
The arbiter of destiny so wields that every living being does exactly as 
determined by him.
?na karmaNaa aapnOti anavaapyam artham?

Whatever be the effort a person may put in, he ultimately gets what is 
apportioned as due to him, he does not get what has not been set as ?Not for 
him?. Therefore, such a wise person who realizes these decides

?Yathaa niyuktOsmi tathaa charaami?
Let me do as ordained. Let me go in the path that has been designated as my 
path.

Who should get what and when remains a well-kept secret. The creator has 
kept this knowledge away from beings deliberately because such knowledge 
would only cause vexation and grief and induces the person to commit more 
transgressions and accumulate more sins.

In the Rama Rajyam, everyone was happy and contented.
?sarvam muditamEva aaseet? Why?
BraahmaNaah KshatriyaaH vaisyaah sudraa lObha vivarjitaah /
Sva karmasu pravrtantE tushTaah svairEva karmabhih //
(VR VI.128.104)
All those in the four orders remained involved in their respective tasks and 
duties. They were happy and went about without any trace of greed or 
jealousy.

The attitude of remaining within one?s own calling and discharging one?s 
obligations in that calling ensures an excellent sense of well being. This 
attitude does not come naturally. It has to be cultivated. That is why 
YudishTira refers to it as penance.
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