Hayagreevasthothram by Vedanta Desika
Hayagriva
stotra of Vedanta Desika
Vedantadesika
has composed many stotras on the Lord and this is the first. He got the upadesa
of Hayagreeva mantra from Garuda in thiruvaheendrapuram and he chanted this
mantra from the hill top there and the Lord Hayagreeva appeared before him and
this stotra was sung in His presence.Hayagreeva is the upasanamurti of desika
and everywhere Desika is found along with Hayagreeva. The Lord Hayagreeva has a
face of horse and a body of man and has four arms and in his right hands He
holds chakra and jnanamudra and in His left, shanka and a book, supposedly the
vedas.Those who worship Hayagreeva will get wisdom and
knowledge. Many scholars have written commentries to the stortras of Desika but
as Desika himself ahas said in his Yadhavabhyudhaya,'amrtham yadhi labhyetha kim na grhyetha maanavaih,' anything about the Lord is sweet no matter whoever
tells it even with limited capacity.
1. jnanaanandha mayam dhevam nirmalasphatikaakrthim
Aadhaaram sarva idhyaanaam hayagreevam
upaasmahe
We bow down to the Lord Hayagreeva who is the embodiment
of knowledge and bliss whose form is like pure crystal and who is the source of
all learning. He is the svarupa of knowledge and bliss. Akhandasacchidaananadasvarupa,
that is existence, sat, knowledge, jnana and Ananda, bliss. He is
Brahmasvarupa, which has been declared in the upanishads as ,
satyam, jnanam, anantam and Anandam.
He is of nirmala sphatika Akrti, a form like pure white crystal. White stands
for suddhasattva and crystal for purity denoting that He is the parabrahamam. he is the adhaara, abode of all learning. Hayagriva means Hayavadana , horse faced. He took the form to instruct the vedas . Horse stands for wisdom among animals. That is why
it is used in battle as it knows when the master is in distress and will carry
him away from the battlefield.
2. svathassiddham
Suddhasphatika maNibhoobhrth prathibhatam
sudDhaasadhghreecheebhiH
dhyuthibhiH avadhaatha thribhuvanam
ananthaiH thrayyanthaiH
anuvihitha heshaahalahalam
hathaaSeshaavadhyam
hayavavadanam eedeemahee mahaH
Lord Hayagreeva is svatassiddha, meaning that He
originated by Himself as the Purushsookta says, 'ajaayamaano bahudhaa
vijaayathe,'one who is never born manifests Himself in various forms.
He is described as suddha sphatika mani
bhoobhrthprathibhata.The word bhoobhrth means a mountain-bhuvam bhibhrathi
ithi, the mountains are supposed to support the earth,bhoo
while the verb 'bhr' means 'to bear.' The mountain made of pure crystal is
suddha sphatika mani bhoobhrt. The Lord is mentioned
as the prathibhata of this mountain. Prathibhata means a challange or rival.
Bhata is a warrior and prathibhata is one on the oppsite side, that is, an
opponent or challenger.
With His form pure and white as crystal, He makes all the
three worlds shine white with His light
which is accompanied with the nectar of His grace..
The word sudha means nectar and sadhreechi means 'to
accompany.' The light , dhyuthi,of His form is not
fierce but soft and pleasing like that of the moon who is also called
sudhaamsu, as it showers the nectar of His grace. The word dhyuthi is derived
from the verb dhyu to shine. the Sun is called
dhyumani. His light render all the worlds white,
avadhaatha meaning white or spotless.
The sound of His neighing 'halahala,' is followed,
anuvihitha, by the Upanishads. The breath of Hayagriva constituted the vedas
and the sound that comes from Him is vedagosha.It is said that the Lord took
the form of hayagreeva to retrieve the vedas stolen by the demons Madhu and
Kaitabha and instructed them to Brahma.
He destroys all imperfections, hatha aSesha avadhya, for
His devotees. We worship such light, mahah, who is called hayavadana, the
Horsefaced Lord.
It is interesting to note the extensive vocabulary of
Desika which shows his mastery over the language. Here he uses the word
eedeemahi, derived from the verb 'eed' to worship. One could attain proficiency
in sanskrit by merely studying his works.
3.Samaahaarah saamnaam prathipadham rchaam Dhaama yajushaam
layaH
prathyoohaanaam laharivithathiH boDhajalaDheH
kaThaadharpakshubhyath
kaThakakulakolaahalabhavam
harathu
antharDhvaantham hayavadhanaheshaahalhalravaH
The neighing sound of the horse-faced Lord i sthe
collection (samaahaara) of all the hymns of Samaveda. It is the synonym of
Rkveda and the abode
of yajurveda.The word Dhaama
means the resort as well as light. As the sound throws light on the
purport of the yajurveda it is called Dhama.
The Sama veda consists of
metrical hymns sung in praise while Rkveda abounds in manthras. The yajurveda
is the collection of prose relating to the rituals. The Lord
Hayagriva is the samagana which arises only from Him who
is the Vaageesa. Praising the Lord by the words which come only due to His
grace is like what we say in Tamil, ‘vellappillaiyaraikkilli nivedanam’that is,
giving back to Him what came from Himself.
His neighing is described as the synonym, prathipadham, of
Rk manthras as
He is the power behind the manthras. Similarly the purport of the rituals is
only to attain Him and hence He is their abode.
His neighing sound destroys all the obstacles in the way
of learning. The word ooha means to comprehend and prathi +ooha denotes the
impedimint to it.Hence His neighing which is nothing but the sabdabrahman
destroys all obstacles to knowledge.
Not only it clears the intellect but also produces the
successive waves of the sea of knowledge, laharivithathi of boDhajalaDhi.
The one who is thus blessed with the grace of the Lord
Hayagreeva is able to quell the tumult of agitation created by those who are
arrogant of speech, to which Desika himself is a witness. kathaa
means speech (kathyathe ithi kathaa) and darpa is arrogance through which one
gets agitated, kShubhyath. The one who speaks in arrogant manner is the kathaka
who creates a great tumultous noise. The sound that comes from the Lord through
His devotees is enough to destroy the darkness of ignorance of the people who
are deluded by these psuedo wise men.
4. praachee sanDhyaa kaachith antharniSaayaah
prajnaa dhrshteH anajaSreeh apporvaa
vakthree vedhaan bhaathu me vaajivakthraa
vaageeSaakhyaa vaasudevasya moorthiH
May the form of Vasudeva, named
VaageeSa, the one with the face of a horse, appear to me, the dawn to the inner
darkness and the unique collyrium to the eyes of wisdom.
The inner darkness
(antharniSaa) is due to ignorance and the fornm of the Lord Hayagreeva
, when it shines in the heart, acts as the dawn (praachee sanDhyaa) to
kill the darkness of ignorance. Desika
prefixes the word sanDhyaa with praachee, eastern, in order to differentiate it from the
dusk which appears in the West. The form of the Lord brings a new perception of
reality as a colyrium applied to the eyes, to give it a new vision of wisdom.
The words vaageeSaakhayaa
vaasudhevasayamurthiH, has a reference to the avatara of Hayagreeva , who is
none other than the Lord Narayana, that is Paravasudeva, Himself , taken in
order to instruct the Vedas to Brhama, (vakthree vedhaan-the speaker of Vedas).
That is why He is known as VaageeSa, the Lord of speech. The word, vaajivakthra, means a horse-faced one, vaaji meaning a
horse.
The first four slokas are
invocatory and the actual sthothra,I the form of the praise and prayer starts with the 5th.
5. viuddha vijnaana
vijnaana viSraaNana baddhadheeksham
dhayaanidhim dhehabhrthaam SaraNyam
dhevam hayagreevam aham prapadhye
I surrender to Lord Hayagreeva,
the reservoir of mercy, who is the refuge of all embodied beings and whose
nature is that of unalloyed mass of pure knowledge and who has taken the vow of
giving out the wisdom to all.
Lord Hayagreeva denotes the solid mass of wisdom
, pure, viSuddha vijnana
He is also dayanidhi, His omniscience and
omnipotence will be formidable without His daya.
The rest of the slokas are addressed to the
Lord presumably in front of Him when He made His appearance.
6. apourusheyairapi
vaakprapanchaih
adyaapi the bhoothim adhrshtapaaraam
sthuvannaham mugdha ithi thvayaiva
kaaruNyatho naaTha kataakshaneeyah
Oh Lord! The Vedas which are
not composed by anyone but apourusheya, are not able
to describe the boundless glory of Yours even today. I have started to praise You, who cannot be understood even by the Vedas, by being
naïve and hence I deserve Your merciful glances for the effort to be
successful.
Vedas have originated from the
Lord as His niSvaasa, exhaling breath and hence they are apourusheya, not
man-made. In spite of that the Vedas are not able to describe Him in full. This
statement and the declaration of his inability are found in many of Desika”s
works. For instance in His
Yadhavabhyudhaya he says yadekaaikagunapraanthe Sraanthaah nigamavandhinah
yaThaavath varNane asya,’ meaning that the Vedas, as bards, start to sing His
glory as such but they become tired even by describing one of His infinitely
auspicious qualities. And later in the same kavya he says that even though he
is dull-witted he has started to write about the story of
The Vedas are referred to as
vaak prapancha, the world of speech as the veda is called sruti, heard and not
written, which
includes all the parts of the Vedas, hymns, sthothras and
Upanishads.
Bhoothi is glory which is
adhrshtapaara, of which the paara or the end is not to be seen, adhrshta.
Mugdha means a foolish person or a naïve one, here the latter agrees more with
the context because he says the Lord should cast His merciful glances at
him as though to a child trying to do
something beyond his capacity.
7. dhaakshinyaramyaa
girisasya moorthih
dhevee sarojaasanadharmapathnee
vyaasadhayo api vyapadhesyavaachah
sphuranthi sarve thavasakthileSaih
The form of Siva as
Dhakshinaamoorthi, the goddess Sarasvati and the sages like Vyasa whose
eloquence has been proved, are all only a part of your eminence.
In this sloka
Desika identifies Hayagreeva with Brahman, of course Narayana of Visishtadvaita
in all His forms being synonymous with Brahman, which he elaborates in a later
sloka. As such all
knowledge originates from Brahman and the known divine forms of
knowledge like the Dhakshinamurthi and Sarasvathi form the part of Brahman.
Similarly the wisdom of sages like Vyasa also come from the grace of Brahman
only, as delared by the Upanishad, ‘yamaivesha vrnuthe thena labhyathe,’ only
the one who is graced by Brahman gets the knowledge of reality.
The form of Siva, Girisa, so called as he abides in the
Himalayas, (girou Sethe- rests in a mountain) known as Dhakshinamurthi, is
referred to as dhaakshiNya ramyaa , the beautiful form in south as he faces north. The word dhakshina also means
dexterity or cleverness, that is wisdom. His form is ramya ,
radiant and hence beautiful.
Sarasvathi is the wife, pathnee, of sarojaasana, the
four-faced brahma,
seated, aasana, on the lotus, sarojam. The word pathnee among the
words meaning wife is used to denote the one who takes part in all vedic and dharmik activities of the husband. The prefix
dharma added to
pathnee gives vehemence to the meaning. If we examine the meaning with respect
to Sarasvathi she assists in the dharma of Brahma which is creation by
supplying the knowledge required for it. Without her on his tongue, where she
is said to reside because she is the goddess of vak,,
the creator would not have been able to master the Vedas or carry on his
creation according to the Vedas.
Vyasa etc. which includes Valmiki and the rest who have
established their names as masters of words, also represent a part of the power
of speech from the Lord.
8. mandho abhavishyat niyatham virincho
vaachaam nidhe
vanchiyhabhaagadheyaH
daithyaapaneethaan
dayayaive bhooyo api
aDhyaapayishyo
nigamaan na cheth thvam
Brahma would have certainly become dull and would have
been robbed of his good fortune if You, the abode of
speech, had not retrieved the Vedas from the asuras and taught to him again.
Here there is an explicit reference to the purpose of the
Hayagreeve avatara. The Vedas were stolen by the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha from Brahma
when he was asleep and the Lord retrieved them after killing the asuras and
instructed Brahma again. Desika says that if He had not done that Brahma would have been ignorant
of the Vedas. The word nigama used to
denote has a special significance and it is derived as nigamyathe anena,
the verb gam with ni means ‘to
attain.’ The Veda is caklled nigama because by the Vedas the fulfillment of
wishes in this world and the next as well as the final salvation, mukthi are attained. Not
only Brahma would have been ignorant but he would have cheated of his blessing
of having obtained the Vedas from the Lord in the first place.
9. vitarkadolaam vyavaDhooya
satthve
brhaspathim
varthayase yathasthvam
tenaiva deva
thridaSeSvaraaNaam
asprshtadoaalaayitham
aadhiraajyam
Oh Lord You alone saved Brhaspati ,
the preceptor of the devas from oscillating in doubt and made his conviction of
reality firm and established as a result of which the kingdom of the gods
stopped oscillating.
As made out in the previous two verses, The Lord in the
form of Hayagreeva is responsible for the knowledge of Brahma, Sarasvati etc.
and hence he alone could have made Brhaspati for what he was. The name
Brhaspati has come to mean wisdom. And his wisdom was acquired through the
grace of the Lord. To be able to impart knowledge to others one must have firm
conviction. As long as the mind is riddled with doubts wisdom will not arise.
The knowledge of reality, brahmajnana alone can resolve all doubts and create
enlightenment, as the Upanishad says, by ‘bidhyathe hrdhyagranThih
cChidhyanthe sarva samSayaah; ksheeyanthe asya karn maaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare.’
The obstacle to knowledge is the doubt, the clearance of which is prevented
by karma which creates knots in the mind which in their turn prevent
understanding. When the brahmasaakshaathkaara, the realization of the truth
dawns which happens only with the grace of the Lord. ‘yamevaishavrNuthe
thena labhyathe, says the Upanishad,
meaning, only who He chooses obtains enlightenment.
Hence Desika says the Lord chose to make the mind of
Brhaspathi free of oscillations due to misconceptions in order to make the
kingdom of the devas firm and free from oscillation, meaning the ups and downs
of fortune. He makes Brhaspathi cast off his swing, dolaa, of vitarka,
arguments for and against based on misconceptions, and made him firm in his
resolve. And the kingdom of the devas was made firm by the advice of Brhaspathi
and was no more oscillating , dolaayitham,
between good and bad fortunes. Asprshtam means ‘not touched by.’ The aadhiraajya,
the sovereignty of the devas ,tridhaSeSvara, is
untouched by vagaries of fortune. Devas are called thridasaah as they
have only three states of life, namely, childhood, SaiSava, boyhood, koumaara
and youth, youvana.
10.agnou samiddhaarchishi
sapthathanthoh
aathasThivaan manthramayam Sareeram
akhandasaarah havishaam pradhaanaih
aapyaayanam vyomasadhaam viDhathse
Oh Lord ! You manifest Yourself
in the altar as the manthras chanted
during the performance of yajna while the flame of the sacrificial fire burn
bright and accepting the offerings which are rich with essence You give it to
the devas .
saptathanthoH samiddharchishi agnou – the fire, agni, which is
burning brilliant, samiddharchish in
the sacrificial altar. Saptathanthu means a yajna as it is tanvathe, performed by
sapthabhih, the seven chandhas, metrical hymns or by the fire which is
known as sapthaarchish or sapthajihvaa,
seven tongued, namely,kaalee, karaalee manojavaa, sulohithaa
DhoomravarnNaa, sphulinginee, viSvadaasaa.
Lord Haygreeva is the embodiment of manthras and as such
enables the devas to get their share of the offering
through the manthras. Actually the fire itself is the manifestation of the
Lord. In Srisuktha it is explained that the invocation of jaathavedas or
fire to secure the grace of Lakshmi is actually addressed to the Lord Himself
who is invoked in the for of fire.
The havis offered in the yajna is akhandasaara, of boundless essence as it
secures the fulfillment of wishes by ensuring the cooperation of the devas who
only act as the agents of the Lord. Hence it is said that He makes the devas partake the offering thus effecting the fulfilment
of the yajna.
11.yanmoolam eedhrk prathibhaathi
thatthvam
yaa moolam aamnaaya mahaadhrumaaNaam
thatthvena jaananthi viSuddhasatthvaah
thaam aksharaam aksharamaathrkaam thvaam
Thos whose mind is filled with pure satthva know You as
the cause of this universe
and the root of the tree called Vedas, You being the Pranava, the
mother of all letters.
His universe consists of all types of beings, sentient and
insentient, classified as deva,manshya, thiryang,sthaavara,
divine beings, humans, animals and plants. The gross universe originated from
the five elements, which were in turn evolved from the subtle elements,
thanmathras, born out of the three kinds of ahamkara,satthva,rajas
and thamas.The ahankara itself is the evolute of mahat or buddhi the first
evolvent of all being the unmanifest prakrthi. These are known as thatthvas. 24
in number, the 25th being purusha or the sentient soul. All this has
Brahman as the cause as mentioned in the upanishats, ‘sadheva soumya idham
The metaphor of the tree is seen in Katopanishad ‘oorDhvamoolo avAkshAkhah Esha
aSvatthah sanAthanah,(Kat.up.2-3-1) which has also been referred
to in the fifiteenth chapter of the
Bhagavatgita.(BG.15-1)
The tree is said to have
branches below as the whole creation is originated from Brahman and proceeds
below, that is away from the reality, being the effect of karma causing bondage. The branches represent
the whole creation from devas to the lowest forms of life and also the
immovables. Its leaves are said to cchandhAmsi or Vedas. All karma that are done with an expectation of fruit are enjoined in the
Vedas and they are necessary for the worldly life as the leaves are for the
tree. Hence the Vedas are compared to parNas, leaves. One who
understands this will desist from doing desire motivated karma which will cause
the cycle of births and deaths. Hence it is said that one who knows this tree, knows the Vedas,
meaning that he will understand the real nature of the Vedas, the real import
of which is only Brahman.
Hence the root of Vedas compared
to a tree is the Lord. The Pranava is the source of all sound and synonymous
with Brahman and hence it is referred to as aksharaa aksharamaathrkaa.
This upanishadic
declaration of the causation of
Brahman is further carried out in he next sloka and hence this and the next
contain the whole visishtadvaita in a capsule form.
12.avyaakrthaath
vyaakrthavaan asi thvam
naamaani roopaaNi
cha yaani poorvam
Samsanthi theshaam charamaam prathishTaam
vaageeSvara
thvaam thvadhupaJnavaachah
Oh Lord of speech! You become
the manifest world from your unmanifest state and give the name and form to
everything as before. The Vedas which were instructed by You
praise You as the ultimate goal.
The term avyaakrtha, meaning unmanifest, refers to the moolakrkrthi, the primordial nature of the sankhayas but what
Desika means here is the soolshmacidhacithviSishtabrahman of
visistadvaita. That is the Lord before
He manifests as the world. Brahman unmanifest is the cause and Brahman manifest is the
effect. The Upanishad says, ‘yatho vaa imaani bhaoothaani
jaayanthe yena jaathaani jeevanthi yasmin abhisamviSanthi, thath vijijnaasasva
thath brahma.’ The meaning of the passage is as follows:
Know that to be Brahman from
whom all these beings emerge, by whom they are sustained, and into which they
merge back. So all beings exist in Brahman in subtle state without name and
form and after creation they become manifest.
The passage quoted in the
previous sloka which describes the creation further proceeds with the statement, ‘anenajeeven aaathmanaa anupravSya
naamaroope vyaakaravaaNi.’ The Brahman after creating the universe of
sentient and insentient beings, declares “I will enter into everything as its
self and give them name and form.” This is what Desika denotes by the phrase naamaani roopaaNi cha yaani poorvam.’ In each
kalpa the creation preceeds on a similar pattern as before. The lion is known
only as such and the ant is similarly known as such. The names and forms do not
change in different kalpa. This is because the Vedas are the same being apourusheya and anaadhi and the
creation has its basis on the Vedas.
Brahman entering as the inner
self is confirmed by the Upanishadic passages such as yah aathmani thishTan aathmanah antharah yam ‘aathmaa na veda
yasya aathmaa sareeram yah aathmaanam antharah yamayathi esha tha aathmmaa
antharyaami amrthah thath sathyam sa aathmaa thaththvam asi,’ This means, the inner immortal self is the one who is inside the
individual self, whom the individual self
does not know, whose body is the individual self , who controls the
individual self from inside, this is the
real self and ‘thou art that.’
Similar description
of this inner ruler is found with respect to all elements all luminous bodies,
all beings and all organs of the body including mind and intellect and each
passage ends with the words
'Esha tha AthmA
antharyAmyamrthah' this is the immortal inner self.
Therefore the Lord
who is the inner self of all is the ultimate import of everything, charama
prathshTa. Ramanuja says in his sribhashya that the
identity of all beings, sentient and insentient with Brahman can be established
only through the sarira sariri bhAva. And as all that is other than Brahman is
His sarira the denotation of everything terminates only in Brahman. This is the
import of the Vedas, ‘Samsanthi theshaam charamaam prathishTaam vaageesvara
thvaam thavdhulpajna vaachah.’
13.mugdhendhu
nishyandha vilobhaneeyaam
moorthim thavaanandhasuDhaaprasoothim
vipaSchithaH
chethasi bhaavayanthe
velaam udhaaraam
iva dugDhasinDhoh
The wise are meditating on your
form which is attractive
like the molten crescent moon, which creates a flood of nectarine
joy flowing like a giant wave from the milky ocean.
After establishingthe brahmathva
of the Lord Hayagreeva in the previous two slokas Desika expounds on the
brahmanubhava beautifully in the next 5slokas.
Mugdha indhu
may mean either charming or young moon. The word mugDha is normally used to
denote the quality of being naïve or innocent. We see Kalidasa using this word
to describe the maidens of the asram, ‘ayam aacharathi avinayam mugDhaasu
thapasvikanyakaasu,’ and in ashtapadi the gopis are referred to
as mugDhvaDhoo, ‘haririha mugDhavaDhoonichaye.’ Being
like mugDha
indhu the form of Hayagriva is vilobhaneeya,
attractive. Thus it produces immense joy which is like nectar for the
devotees, aanandhasuDhaaprasoothi. The
form of the Lord pure white in colour, fills up the mind of the wise who
meditate on Him like a giant wave,
(tsunami of the sunaami) from the milky ocean, velaam udhaaram iva
dugDhasinDhoH.
14.manogatham
paSyathi yaH sadhaa thvam
maneeshiNaam
maansaraajahamsam
svayam purobhaava
vivaadhabhaajaH
kimkurvathe
thasya giro yaTharham
To the one who always
contemplate you, who is like the royal swan in the
Manasalake of the heart of the wise, in
his mind, the words serve spontaneously competing with each other.
Usage of the word rajahamsa to
denote the Lord Hayagreeva is significant as the Haygreeva manthra begins with
‘hamsassoham,’ ham denoting the inhaling and sa
, exhaling of breath which implies the life-spirit, that is Brahman.
The mind of the wise is the
Manasa lake and the Lord sporting there is the
Rajahamsa, maneeshiNaam maanasaraajahamsam. One who thinks of Him
like this always in his heart has no impediment to his eloquence as the words, giraH,
vie with each other svayam purobhaavavivaadhabhaajaH, to serve him, kimkurvathe.
15. api kshaNaarDham
kalyanthi ye thvaam
aaplaavayantham
visadhaiH mayookhaiH
vaachaam
pravaahaiH anivaarithaiH the
mandhaakineem
mandhayithum kshamanthe
Those who think of you, who plunges them into the white
rays of His form, even for half a moment, become capable of slowing down even
the force of
Those who contemplate the Lord Hayagreeva in their
minds, are totally immersed in the white
rays emitted by His form which seems to give them the eloquence unceasing with
a flow that put the force of Ganges to shame.
Desika says it is
enough to contemplated on the Lord even for half a moment, kshaNaatrDham,
with total concentration which means the devotee gets completely immersed in the Lord. It seems as though the white
rays coming from Him, whose form is pure white, symbolic of suddha sattva,
completely overpower, aaplaavayantham viSadhaiH mayookhaiH,
the devotee, as a result of which he obtains a power of speech the unimpeded force of
which, vaacham pravaahaiH anivaarithaiH, exceeds even that of the river Ganges which
appears much slower in comparison, mandhaakineem mandhayithum kshamanthe.
The word mandhaakinee to denote the river
16.svaamin bhavadDhyaanasuDhaabhishekaath
vahanthi DhanyaaH pulakaanubanDham
alakshithe kvaapi nirooDamoolam
angeshviva aanadhaThum ankurantham
Oh Lord, fortunate ones who are bathed in the nectar of
meditation on you, show horripilation due to the joy deep-rooted in some place
inside them and which sprouts out through their limbs.
Those who are blessed, DhanyaaH, experience the
presence of the Lord inside which makes them feel as though they have been
bathed in nectar, thvath DhayaanasuDhaabhisheka, The joy of this
experience run its roots deep inside, nirooDamoolam, and it sprouts
through their limbs, ankeshu ankurantham, in the form of
horripilation, pulakaanubanDham.
The word DhanyaaH means blessed ones but it can also mean dhanalabDhaah,
or rich, Dhanam here being vidhyaa on account of worshipping Hayagreeva, as it
is said ‘vidhyaaDhanam sarvaDhanaath pradhaanam.’ The Lord Himself is
the Dhanam to the devotees, to quote Desika himself, who said
‘asthi me
hasthiSailaagre vasthu paithaamaham Dhanam,’ on being asked to go and
approach the king to show his learning.
17.svaamin pratheechaa hrdhayena
DhanyaaH
thvadDhyaanachandhrodhayavarDhamaanam
amaanthm aanandhapayoDhim anthaH
payobhiH akshNaam parivaahayanthi
Oh Lord, the blessed ones see you inside them by their mind
turned inward and their joy becomes boundless like the sea on the rise of moon
, that is You. They let the flood of joy out in the form of tears.
The blessed ones see the Lord in their heart by turning
their minds inward, pratheechaa hrdhayena. His form rises like
the moon, and their joy increases manifold like the sea on the moonrise, thavath
DhyaanachandhriodhayavarDhamaanam and it overflows and comes out through
their eyes in the form of tears, payobhrakshNaam parivaahayanthi.
18.svairaanubhaavah
thvadhaDheenabhaavaaH
samrdDhveeryaah thvadhanugrheNa
vipaSchitho naaTha tharanthi maayaam
vaihaarikeem mohanapicChikaam the
Men of wisdom who have boundless power, with their mind
engrossed in You, acquire even more glory and through Your grace, are able to
transcend the maya , which is variegated like peacock feathers.
Te maya of the Lord is variegated and powerful under the
influence of which all beings are deluded into believing that its effect, that is the world, is
real as it appears to be. The world is one of the three reals of
Vishishtadvait but not as it appears to us, which is the effect of maya. The
sages who possess knowledge of reality are able to see through the delusion
with their discerning
power increasing by the grace of the Lord. They are thus free
from ignorance and have the inner sight to see the reality. To others like us,
the world of diversity is like the illusion created by a magician with his
peacock feathers by which one sees the colours and pictures where they are not.
19.praangnirmithanaam
thapasaam vipaakaah
prathyagraniSSreyasa sampadho me
sameDhisheeran
thava paadha padhme
sankalpachimthaamanayaH
praNaamaaH
May my salutations
at your lotus feet, due to the fructification of my austerities done
in previous births, and which are like
the wish-giving gem, Chintamani, secures me the fortune of salvation, go on increasing.
From this sloka onwards Desika yearns for the grace of the
Lord, and prays for His blessing by meditating on His form. The four slokas
from this describe the glory of His feet.
The praNaamaah
.salutations to the feet of the Lord is due to the fruition of the penance done
in earlier lives, praangnirmithanaam
thapasaam vipaakaah, says Desika as in the
expression, avanaruLal avan thaaL vaNangi. May the pranaama gather force and increase forever, sameDhisheeran, which will secure the salvation at every step, prthyagraniSSreyasasampath, because
they are like the wish giving gem, sankalpachinthaamaNayaH
which gives everything wished for to those who resort to it. The the
salutations offered at he feet acquire the power of sankalpachinthamaNi because
the lotus feet of Lord Hayagreeve is the real chinthamaNi, is the implication
here.
The praNammas are the result of the past tapas and they
directed towards the feet of the Lord acquire the power to give future results.
20. vilupthamoorDhanyalipikramaaNaam
surendhrachoodaapadhalaalithaanaam
thvadhanGhriraajeevarajaHkaNaanaam
bhooyaan prasaadhaH
mayi naaTha bhooyaath
May the dust of your lotus feet, which are capable of
erasing the lines of fate on one’s head, which are found on the crown of Indra and others, bestow
abundant blessings on me
It is said that the fate of a person is written on his
head at the time of birth, moorDhanyalipikrama,
due to his past karma. Desika says that the dust of the feet of the Lord on the
head of the devotees destroys, viluptha
the line of fate. The devas like Indra also wear the
dust of His feet on their head, choodaapadhalaalitha,
in reverence. Such is the power of the dust of His feet and Desika says may
they bestow abundant grace bhooyaan prasaadhaH on Him. The idea of the
previous sloka is continued in this as it shows the reason why the pranaamaas
have the power of showering blessings.
21.parisphuran
noopurachithrabhaanu
prakaasanirDhoothathamonushangaam
prabhoDharaajeevavibhaathasandhyaam
padhadhvyeem the
parichinmahe anthaH
We gather inside our heart the pair of your feet, the
anklets on which are the Sun that dispels the darkness of ignorance and is the dawn that makes the lotus of wisdom blossom.
In this sloka we see Desika the poet surfacing and it is a beautiful one.
The noopura, anklets on the feet of
the Lord shed light, parispuran, as
brilliant as the Sun and dispels, nirDhootha,
the darkness of the night, thamonushanga,
which is the ignorance, the word thamas meaning darkness aswell as ignorance
due to thamoguna. The light like the Sun awakens jnana. praboDha, which are the lotuses
that blossom in the morning, vibhathasandhyaa.
The word sandhya is used both for evening and the dawn and
hence Desika uses the word vibhaatha
sandhya, vibhaatha meaning morning
that is prabhaatha.
To the spiritual seekers it is night as long as the
ignorance prevails and the morning is when the knowledge appears. In Gita
Krishna says,
Jnaanena thu thdhajnaana yeshaam naaSitham aathmanaH
Theshaam
aadhithyavath jnaanam prakaaSayathi thath param(Bg-5.16)
Man is endowed with jnanam which is his real nature. But
the jnana is covered by ignorance as the world is covered by darkness. When the
knowledge dawns like
the Sun the darkness is nowhere to be
seen and the light that is natural appears.
To the devotees the night is the time before devotion dawns
at the heart. When the feet of the Lord is resorted to
it brings jnana like the sun and the dawn is only when the devotion dawns in
the heart. This is what is described as gathering His feet inside the heart, padhadhvayeem the parichinmahe anthaH
22.manjupraNaadham
maNi noopuram the
thvathkinkaraalankarNochithaanaam
thvayaivakalpaantharapaalithaanaam
manjooshikaam
vedhagiraam pratheemaH
We consider your anklets, that are the fitting ornaments
of the head of your
servants which are sweet-sounding as the caskets that hold the
Vedas which are preserved by you from other kalpas.
The anklets are praised here as the casket that holds the
Vedas. The sound of the anklets, manjupraNaadham
maNi noopuram the
, are the sound of the Vedas, as Lord Hayagreeva is the personification
of the Vedas. Desika says that the Lord has preserved the Vedas from the
previous kalpas, kalpaanthara paalithaanaam, and instructs Brahma at
the beginning of each kalpa and he preserves it in His noopura and hence the sound of them
are the sound of the Vedas. Therefore the noopuras are the casket that holds
the Vedas, manjooshikaam vedhagiraam. The devotees wear His feet
on their head and hence the noopuras are said to be the ornaments of the
servants of the Lord., thvathkinkaraalankaranochithaanaam.
23. samchinthayaami prathibhaa dhaSaasThaan
samDhukshayantham
samayapradheepaan
vijnaankalpadhrumapallavaabham
vyaakhyaanamudhraa maDhuram karam the
I repeatedly meditate on your sweet hand holding the jnanamudra, shining like the
tender shoot of Kalapakatree which kindles the intellect which is like the wick
that illuminates the vedic principles.
This sloka and the next two describe the hands of Lord
Hayagreeva.
Samayapradheepa is the tenets of Vedanta compared
to the light of the lamp of jnana. The intellect which comprehends the vedantic
truths is the wick of the lamp, dhaSaa,
which is kindled, samDhukshayantham,
by the Lord Himself. As he says in the Gita, ‘dhadhaami budddhiyogam tham,’ meaning that
He gives the wisdom for His devotees to
realize the truth. Hence Desika says it is the jnanamudra, vyaakhyaanamudraa, indicative of the knowledge of the truth in the
right hand of the Lord Hayagreeva looks as though He is kindling the intellect, prathibhaa, which is like the wick, of the lamp of wisdom, to make it burn bright.
24. chitthe karomi sphurithaakshamaalam
savyetharam
naaTha karam thvadheeyam
jnaanaamrthodhanchanalampataanaam
leelaaghateeyanthram
iva ASrithaanaaam
I contemplate in my mind your right hand which also holds
the akshamaalaa, the garland of beads , which appears to be the machine for drawing water
from the well with ease, for the sake of the devotees who desire for the nectar
of wisdom.
The right hand of Lord Hayagreeva holding the jnanamudra
also has the japamala, which goes up and down like the contraption used in
drawing water from the wide well in the field by the farmers, which moves up
and down to draw the water and pour it
on the field continuously. The idea in comparing the hand with the
ghateeyanthra is that he Lord seems to be drawing the nectar of jnana and giving it to His devotees.
Savyetharam karam means the hand other than the left, savya , that is, the right,
which has sphuritha , shining
akshmaala, the circle of crystal beads.
ASrithaanaam-for the devotees, who are jnaanaamrtha
udhanchana lampataaH, desirous of extracting the knowledge which is like
nectar.
Leelaaghateeyanthram denotes the ease with which the
knowledge is provided for the devotees.
25.praboDhasinDhoH
aruNaiH prakaaSaih
pravaalaalso sanghaatham
iva udhvahantham
vibhaavaye dheva
sapusthakam the
vaamam karam
dhakshiNam aaSrithaanaam
I clearly perceive your left hand which holds the book,
with its red hue looking as though it is bringing out the corals from the sea
of knowledge and which is kind towards the devotees.
Vibhaavaye means clearly perceive. Desika
was enjoying the presence of the Lord and describes His appearance. The left
hand of Lord Hayagreeva is holding the book signifying knowledge and the palm
is red like the
collection of corals. Desika
carrying the metaphor further says that the ocean from which
these corals came was the sea of knowledge.
He says that the left hand vamahastha
is dhakshiNa ,
partial or kind to His devotees thus using the pairs of opposites, namely vaama and dhakshina , left and right, to denote the left hand which shows the
kavichaathurya.
26. thamaamsibhitthvaa viSadhaiH mayookhaiH
sampreenayantham
vidhushaH chakoraan
niSaamaye thvaam
navapundareeke
Saradhghanam chandhramiva sphurantham
I see You on a white lotus ,
shining like the moon among the autumn clouds, breaking the darkness by white
rays and giving joy to the wise who are like chathaka birds.
The Lord Hayagreeva is visualized by Desika as being
seated on a white lotus, navapundareeke,
His form is also white like the moon among the autumn clouds, Saradhghanam chandhram iva, which are
white and the moon shines even whiter on account of that. The white rays that
His form emits, viSadhaiH mayookhaiH, break the darkness of
ignorance, thamaamsibhitthvaa, and
give rise to jnana and hence the wise are pleased, sampreeNayantham, like the chakora birds, vidhushaschakoraan, with moon light.
The Mythological Chakora birds are supposed to feed on
moonlight only. So also the wise consider knowledge as their only food which
they get from the Lord Hayagreeva. By praying to Him the darkness of ignorance
recedes and the light of wisdom dawns.
In this sloka Desika describes the whole form of the Lord
as seated on a white lotus and Himself being of crystal white hue denoting pure satthva.
The wonderful vocabulary of Desika can be seen in his
usage of the words which are uncommon and meaningful. Here he uses the verb niSaamaye, meaning, “I see.” Nisamana means seeing or observing. Also the word ‘niSaamaye,’ is in-keeping with the
general meaning of the verse, ‘removing darkness’
27. dhiSanthu me dheva sadhaa thvadheeyaaH
dhayaatharangaanucharaaH
kataakshaaH
Srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem
sarasvatheem
samSritha kaamaDhenum
May Your glances that follow Your mercy, always bestow
upon me always the eloquence ,which shower nectar into
the ears of men and which is the kamadhenu for the devotees.
The glances, kataakshaaH,
of the Lord Haygreeva , says Desika, follow the waves
of His dhayaa, dhayaatharangaanucharaah,
that is, His mercy reaches the devotees even before His glances do. Such is the
vatsalya of the Lord that He brooks no delay of even directing His eyes towards the
devotees to show mercy but sends it by Will. The glances when fall upon the
devotee bestow the eloquence which can be had spontaneously as from the
celestial cow
Kamadhenu, sarasvatheem
samSrithakaamadhenum, which gives
whatever one asks for. Such eloquence showers nectar into the ears of the
listeners, srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem.
28. viseshavidhpaarishadheshu naaTha
vidhagDhagoshteesamsrangaNeshu
jigeeshatho me
kavithaarkikendhraan
jihvaagrasimhaaanam
abhyupeyaaH
May You occupy the throne at the tip of the tongue of
mine, who wish to win over the masters of poetry and debate, in the assembly of learned
men and critics, facing the giants of
knowledge in the battlefield of wit.
Desika entreats the Lord Hayagreeva to get enthroned on the tip of
his tongue, jihvaagra simhaasanam abhyupeyaaH, enabling him to
come out victoriously in the battles of wit with other learned men and critics.
It should be remembered that the Lord Hayagreeva appeared
before Desika while
he composed this hymn and as a result of which he emerged as the kavithaarkika
kesari and vedanthacharya. So those who wish for eloquence and knowledge should
say these two slokas, 27 an 28 of this sthothra before
any challenging situation involving wit and speech.
Viseshavith is the one who has specialized
knowledge on particular subject and their assembly is paarishad.
vidhagDhah is the one has gone through the fire of knowledge like gold
purified through fire. Goshtee is
their assembly. samarangaNa
is the battlefield (of wit.)
Kavi means not only poets but people
with originality and thaarkika is
the one who is adept in argument. By kavithaarkikendhra,
Desika refers to the masters in both the fields.
29. thvaam chinthayan thvanmayathaam prapannaH
thvaam
udhgrnan sabdhamayena Dhaamnaa
swaamin
samaajeshu sameDhisheeya
svacChandhavaadhaavaha
badDha Soorah
May I grow into eminence, unrestricted in the halls of
battle of wit, thinking of You, Oh Lord, engrossed in You, whatever sound
that comes out of me being Your
manifestation.
Desika here describes what happens once the Lord occupies
his jihvaagrasimhasana. Whatever
sound that comes out of him will be the manifestation of Lord Himself, thvaam udhgrNan Sabdhamayena Dhaamna because he will be thinking of
the Lord only, thvaam chinthayan, totally engrossed in Him, thvanmayathaam prapannaH as it is expressed
in a well known song, ‘Indhavaram tharuvaai.’ The lines that reflect
this ides which every devotee should have in mind are,’ engengumE un uruvaai minna,
eNNangaL veRinRi unai dhinam
Thus ,Desika says, that he should rise to
eminence, sameDhisheeya, without
restriction in the assembly, samaajeshu,
of the learned and should come out
victorious in the battle of wit. .svacChandhavaahdaavaha badDha
Soorah.
30. naanaaviDhaanaam agathiH kalaanaam
na chaapi
theerTheshu krthaavathaaraH
Dhruvam thava anaaTha parigrahaayaaH
Navam navam paathram aham dhayaayaaH
Oh Lord, I have not learnt the various sasthras, nor have
I plunged in the holy waters or served the holy men. Surely I am the ever-fresh
receptacle of your mercy that embraces the helpless.
agathiH –na gathiH, not the abode of, kalanaam
– sasthras.
TheerTha has the meaning of holy waters as
well as holy men.
Parigraha
, means
embracing . The dhayaa , mercy of he Lord embraces all and the only resort for
those who have no other means like acquiring knowledge through the sasthras,
undertaking the various rituals like dipping in the holy waters which also
means that getting purified by the association of holy men. Hence Desika says
that he deserves the mercy of the Lord always, navam navam paathram, since he has not followed any
of the disciplines mentioned above.
It is inconceivable
that Desika the great seer is described as not following any of the means of
attaining the Lord, but it is to be understood in the same way as Thyagaraja or
the azvars describe themselves as erring or unworthy, which is actually applies
for mankind.
31. akampaneeyaani apaneethi bhedhaiH
alamkrsheeran
hrdhayam madheeyam
Sankaakalankaapagamojjvalaani
Thathvaani samyanchi thava prasaadhaath
Oh Lord, due to Your grace may the truths, unshaken by the
diversity of wrong arguments, being brilliant with the removal
of all doubts, well adorn my heart.
Due to the grace of the Lord Hayagreeva the right
knowledge rises in the mind which becomes unshakeable, akampaneeyaani, by the diverse arguments, bhedhaiH, of the opponents. This is because all the doubts vanish
with the rising of the true knowledge. The defects in cognition due to doubts, sankaakalanka, are removed, apagamana, and the truth shines, ujjvaa, of its own accord.
Desika has mentioned in the beginning that Lord Hayagreeva
is brahmasvarupa and he clinched it here by saying that the manifestation of
the Lord in the mind is brahmasaakshaathkaara by which alone all the doubts can
vanish and right cognition arises as the Upanishad declares,
Bhidhyathe hrdhaygranThiH chidhyanthe
sarva samsayaaH
Ksheeyanthe asya katrmaaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare.
On perception of Brahman, all knots of the heart break,
all doubts are cut
off and all his karma cease.
32. vyaakhyaamudhraam karasarasijaiH pusthakam sankha chakre
bibhrath bhinna
sphatika ruchire pundareeke nishaNnaH
amlaanaSreeh
amrtha visadhaiH amSubhiH plaavayan maam
aavirbhooyaath
anagha mahimaa manase vaagadheeSaH
May Lord Hayagreeva manifest in my mind, having the jnanamudra , book, conch and chakra in his lotus-like hands,
seated on a beautiful white lotus that looks like a crystal opened, with ever
fresh glory, submerging me with white rays of nectar.
Lord Hayagreeva is seated on a white lotus that looks like a
crystal opened. He is having the jnanamudra, book, shankha and chakra in His
four hands. The white rays emitted by Him pervade and submerge the devotee like
nectar. Such a manifestation, Desika yearns for, in his mind.
Vyaakhyaa mudra is jnanamudra. The white lotus is
beautiful, ruchire pundareeke, and with its crystal white
petals it presents a picture of a crystal being opened, bhinna sphatika. The
glory, anaghamahimaa, of the Lord is
never-fading, amlaanasree
, that is, ever fresh. The white rays emanating from Him are the rays of
nectar, arthavisadhaih amsubhih, that
engulfs the devotee, plaavayan.
Thus Desika ends the sthotra with a
enchanting portrait of the Lord to be etched in memory of the listeners.
33. vaagarTham sidDhihethoh
paTatha
hayagreeva samsthuthim bhakthyaa
kavithaarkika
kesariNaa venkatanaathena virachithaam ethaam
Let all read this sthothra of Hayagreeva, which is
well-formed praise of the Lord, composed by VenkatanaaTha, who is a lion among
the poets and logicians,
with devotion for attaining the skill of speech and knowledge.