Verse 83 of shivAnandalaharI

[Ravi]

jananamR^itiyutaanaaM sevayaa devataanaaM
na bhavati sukhaleshaH saMshayo naasti tatra |
ajanimamR^itaruupaM saambamiishaM bhajante
ya iha paramasaukhyaM te hi dhanyaa labhante || 83||

Worshipping devata-s who are still caught in the cycle of birth and
death will bring no joy and there is no doubt about it. Those who
worship Lord shiva (consort of ambaaL) who is unborn and eternal
are fortunate as they obtain bliss of brahman.

Idea of the verse is one should not worship the limited, but the
unlimited. Lord is unborn and eternal, He is not caught in the claws
of birth and death, hence, He can save the devotee. Depending on
beings who are still under the control of birth and death, is like
depending on someone who does not know how to swim when you are
submerging. From the bottomless pit of samsara sAgara, only the
supreme Lord can save us.

Once a poor farmer went to seek some financial support went to the
house of a rich landlord. When he went the landlord was in prayer
and was requesting the God for wealth and prosperity. After the
prayer, the landlord turned his attention to the poor farmer, but the
farmer remained quiet and started leaving the place. When pressed for
reason, he told, I came to beg from you and but found you are greater
beggar than me, what is point in asking you. I can as well ask the
supreme Lord  to help me.  As in this famous parable, so is the case
with worshipping beings who are caught in trap of birth and death,
what is point in seeking there help for liberation?

In the chapter  "Utility of God" recently posted on the list, a
similar sentiment is expressed.


Aside 1:

It is interesting not that shankara he refers to the Lord as
sAmbamIshaM. There is a nice link to this in saundaryalaharI. A verse
in saundaryalaharI says: Tradition holds that longevity of a man
depends on the chastity of his wife. Normally a pativrata will not
attain the state of vaidavyam (widowhood), where her husband dies
before her.  ambaaL is mahA pativrata, SHE being eternal, Lord shiva
attains that state by that virtue. Another verse in saundarylaharI
states that it because of that, even when the Lord drinks the
deadliest of poisons, nothing happens to him. The eternal nature of
ambaal and HER supreme auspiciousness ( also refer to 967 name
sumangali in shrI lalitA sahsranAmam) indeed protects the Lord.

Note: Ultimately there is no difference between ambaaL and
Ishwara. Sometimes, bhakti bhAvam expresses itself in such nice
sentiments. Also, refer to verse starting with bANatvam in
shivAnandalaharI which describes the relationship of shrIman nArAyaNa
with Lord shiva, by the term bhAryAtvam ( you have become Lord's
wife), shankara clearly brings out the point that ambaaL is not
different from shrIman nArAyaNa. They are one and the same. Indeed,
shrI appayya dIkshita describes Lord shiva, ambaaL and shrIman
nArAyaNa as ratna trayI. Worshipping the supreme Lord in this three
forms brings immense joy to the heart.

AUM namaH shivAya
AUM namo nArAyaNaya
AUM shrImAtre namaH