saundaryalaharI - 3 (fwd)

[Ravisankar S. Mayavaram]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 14:51:12 -0330 (NST)
From: Gummuluru Murthy <gmurthy at morgan.ucs.mun.ca>
To: ambaa-l at egroups.com
Subject: [ambaa-l] saundaryalaharI - 3


shrI lalitAyai namah


avidyAnAmantastimiramihiradvIpanagarI
jaDAnAM caitanyastabakamakarandasrutijharI
daridrANAM cintAmaNiguNanikA janmajaladhau
nimagnAnAM damsTrA muraripuvarAhasya bhavatI    3



(from verse 2) O Mother, the speck of dust from Your lotus feet


avidyAnAM:  for the spiritually ignorant
antah timira:  for the darkness called aj~nAna that is inside
mihiradvIpanagarI:  the island city that is at the place of sunrise
jaDAnAM:  for the slow learners (dull-witted)
caitanya:  intelligence
stabaka:  cluster of flowers
makaranda:  honey
sruti jharI:  flowing stream
daridrANAM:  for the people suffering from poverty
cintAmaNi:  the wish-fulfilling diamond
guNanikA:  a string (of gems)
janmajaladhau:  in the ocean of saMsAra of births (and deaths)
nimagnAnAM:  the one deeply immersed (without knowing a way out)
muraripu:  vishNu, the one who killed murA
varAhasya:  (the incarnation of) wild boar
damsTrA:  the tusk
bhavatI:  becomes


O divine Mother, the speck of dust from Your lotus feet:
removes the avidyA of the spiritually ignorant, like the
sunrise removes the darkness; for the dull-witted, (the
dust from Your lotus feet) is like an ever-flowing stream
of honey of clusters of flowers of the kalpaka tree of
consciousness; for the destitute,(the dust from Your lotus
feet) is like the cintAmaNi in bestowing their heart's desire;
and for those deeply immersed in the ocean of saMsAra of births
and deaths,(the dust from Your lotus feet) is like the tusk
of the wild boar incarnation of vishNu.


commentary:

This verse is a continuation of the show of reverence and
adoration of shrI devI's lotus feet, described in verse 2.
In verse 2, the importance of this dust to the Gods (brahma,
vishNu, maheshwara) is brought out. In the present verse,
it is explained how this dust dispels avidyA, jaDatvam,
dAridryam, and attachments to the worldly life for the
mortals.

This verse is a delight for sanskrit lovers with the
alaMkArAs profusely included throughout the text. However,
the discussion here will be confined to the essence which
is devI-stutI.

avidyA: avidyA is lack of knowledge of the supreme. avidyA
envelops the soul and makes humans incapable of knowing the
sameness of Atman and Brahman. It may be construed that
mortals with avidyA include (i) those who indulge in the
rituals of the karma kANDa as the final step, (ii) those
who are under the delusion that the world entirely depends
on brahma, vishNu and maheshwara, while in reality, it hangs
on the mercy of shrI devI whose dependents the three Gods are.

At dawn, the sun seems, to one standing on the sea-shore,
to rise from an island in the middle of the sea. As the
sun rises, darkness is dispelled. In the first line of this
verse, the speck of dust from shrI devI's feet is compared
to the sun. The sun of knowledge dispells the darkness of
ignorance from the mind of the ignorant.

jaDa: the dull-witted; those who cannot distinguish between
what is to be done and what is not to be done.

caitanya: is the power that kindles the mind to know and
understand the real meaning of jeeva. This caitanya is
spoken as a cluster of flowers of the tree of Atmaj~nAna.
The speck of dust (from shrI devI's lotus feet) is a flood
of fragrance emanating from the cluster of flowers of the
kalpaka tree of caitanya.

daridrANAM cintAmaNiguNanikA: Reference is made to cintAmaNi,
the celestial gem, which is capable of satisfying all desires
of its possessor. The speck of dust from shrI devI's feet
grants man's earthly desires and also spiritual aspirations;
i.e., shrI devI is the embodiment of dAna-shaktI.

janmajaladhau nimagnAnAM: nimagnAnAm means fully immersed,
not knowing a way out. janamjaladhau is the ocean of saMsAra
with the associated births and deaths. The human is fully
immersed in this ocean.

muraripu varAhasya daMsTrA: murA is a rAkshasa killed by vishNu
and muraripu refers to vishNu. This context refers to the
incarnation of vishNu as the wild boar. HiraNyAksha, the demon,
stole bhUloka and disappeared with it to pAtALa. vishNu, incarnated
as a wild boar, reached pAtALa, redeemed the bhUloka and rose above
the sea with the bhUloka on his tusk. Thus, the tusk of the wild
boar is considered the saviour to lift something from a deep ocean.
The last line of this verse draws a comparison between the particle
of dust of shrI devI's feet and the tusk of the varAha. The dust
of devI's feet can salvage human beings from the cycle of births
and deaths and lead them to eternal bliss.

This verse is significant in that it shows how worship of shrI devI's
feet will help humans with four types of aflictions: (i) shedding of
the inner darkness of avidyA; (ii) for providing a continuous flow
of consciousness for the dull-witted; (iii) for those who desire
worldly happiness, there is dAridrya nirmUlanam); and, (iv) for
those who are caught in the cycle of births and deaths, how worship
of shrI devI's feet lead to the Knowledge of the Self and to moksha.


Regards
Gummuluru Murthy
------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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