6

DESIKAMRUTHAM I:
?HAMSA SANDESA OF SRI VEDANTA DESIKA? Part 6
Prof. Narasimhacharya, Retd. Professor, Madras University (now a visiting Professor in the Oxford University) EXCLUSIVELY for publication in ?Sri Ranga Sri?. The learned Professor delivered this ?The Sripad Endowment Lecture? on 5th February 2003. (Text of the lecture received from Dr. Miss M.S.Ramesh, IAS)
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The poet takes considerable pride in describing South India. It has several attractions: first and foremost among them is that it is dotted by a number of holy places (sthaanait divyaH). This is another expression for Divya Desas, the divine abodes for Lord VishNu. The south is beautiful with sandal forests (of course, this is a hide out for the most notorious smuggler). The South is also the source of pearls and the mother of gentle breeze because of the location of the Malaya Mountain. But, there is one drawback with the South ? It is the abode of Raakshasas. Rama says that the swan will have to put up with this one trifling demerit and come out to help him, the hapless one:
Sthaanair divyaih upachitaguNam chandana araNya ramyaam
Muktaasutim Malaya marutam maataram dakshiNaasaam /
Asmat preetyai janaka tanayaa jeevitaartham cha gacchan
Ekam rakshaahpadam iti sakhE dOsha lEsam sahEthat//

The swan is asked to keep flying, looking at the beautiful village girls down below on earth and cross the country sides full of forests, mountains and rivers. Rama asks the swan to hear and enjoy the melodious songs sung by girls guarding crops, sitting in the shade of sugarcane plantations. These songs are an admixture of the Telugu and Kannada languages, says Desika:
KarnaaTa aandhra vyatikaravasaat karburE gitibhEdE muhyanteenaam madana kalusham maugdhyam aasvaadayEthah (I.20)

Rama then asks the swan to proceed to the Anjanaadri (Tirumala hills) and have darshan of the Lord there. There is a beautiful description of the mountain range in two verses (VV21, 22). By reason of its being the abode of VishNu, by reason of its supporting the earth, by reason of its [peaks which are full of precious stones and by reason of the small white clouds which appear like the recently cast off sloughs, the devotees consider the mountain to be an embodiment of the primordial serpent, AdisEsha himself.


VishNOr vaasaad avani vahanaat baddha ratnaih sirObhih
SEshah saakshaad ayam iti janaih samyag unneeyamaanah /
Abhrair yukto laghubhir acirOnmukta- nirmOka kalpaih
AgrE bhaavi tadanu nayanE ranjayan anjanaadrih //(21)

The greatness of this mountain is that men who ascend it and the celestials who descend on it from the skies have their sattva guNa heightened, and thus become equal before the Lord?s eyes. They forget their differences and worship the Lord together in groups. We may note that even now, this is the situation obtaining at Tirumala in the divine presence of Lord Sri vEnkatEswara.


Tattraarudhair mahati manujaih svargibhiscaavateernaih
SattvOnmEshaad vyaapagata- mithastaaar atmayaadibhEdaih /
SaadhaaraNyaat phalapariNateh sanghaasO badhyamaanaam
Saktyaa kaamam madhuvijayinah tvarh cha kuryaah saparyaam //

Then comes the description of the SuarNamukhari river (now called Svaramukhi) situated to the south of the Anjanaadri. The river, fancied as a woman devotee, is described as carrying flowers from the adjacent forest trees with her wave-like hands, for the worship of Lord Siva, says the poet. This is an obvious reference to the temple of Lord Siva at SriKaaLahasti:

StOkonmagna sphurita puLinam tvan nivaasEcchayecva
Draksyasyaaraat knaka mukharirh dakshiNaam anjanaadrrEh /
Aasannaanaam vanaviTapinaarh veechihastaihPrasuuna-nyarcahEtOr upharati yaa noonam ardhEndu moulEh / (23)

Rferences like these make it clear that our author Sri Desika is NOT a fanatical SrivaishNava abhorring and avoiding even the mention of the name of gods other than VishNu. Indeed in an earlier verse also (12), reference has been made to Lord Siva. The all-white swan covered by the red pollen of the bandhujiva flowers scattered by wind, is said to resemble the crescent moon on Lord Siva?s head. How can the crescent moon look like the swan, which is rather full and circular in shape? The poet answers that crescent moon looks full because of the pollen of the bandhujiva flowers. For total similarity, the moon should also look red. How could this be possible? Desika says that this is possible because the crescent moon on Siva?s head comes into contact with the red lac painted on Paarvati?s feet.