[Advaita-l] Sivaanandalahari - 49

[Anbu sivam2]

*Sivaanandalahari - 49

*आनन्दामृत-पूरिता हरपदांभोजालवालोध्यता
स्थैर्योपघ्न-मुपेत्य भक्तिलतिका शाखोपशाखान्विता ।
उच्छै-र्मानस-कायमान-पटली-माक्रम्य निष्कल्मषा
नित्याभीष्ट-फलप्रदा भवतु मे सत्कर्म-संवर्धिता ॥ ४९ ॥



AnandAmRuta-pUritA harapadAMbhojAlavAlodhyatA
sthairyopaghna-mupetya bhaktilatikA SAkhopaSAkhAnvitA |
uchChai-rmAnasa-kAyamAna-paTalI-mAkramya niShkalmaShA
nityAbhIShTa-phalapradA bhavatu me satkarma-saMvardhitA || 49 ||



Let the creeper of bhakti, which is watered by the bliss of nectar, growing
at the lotus feet of Shiva, clinging firmly on to the branches of firm
determination, giving out branches and sub branches spreading over the shed
of mind and growing with out any blemish with the good deeds, give me the
fruit of Mukti or salvation dear to my mind.

*Commentary

*aanandhaamruthapoorithaa = filled with the delightful amrutha jalam;
harapadhaambhOjaalavaalOdhyathaa = shooting from the lotuses of the feet of
ParamEswara;
sthairyOpagnam = the staff that is permanent;
upEdhya = holding to it;
saakOpasaakaanvidhaa = having big and small branches;
ucchairmaanasakaayamaanapataleem = the superior lattice of the mind;
aakramya = occupying;
nishkalmasha = devoid of dhOsham;
sathkarmasamvardhithaa = growing rapidly due to past puNyas;
bhakthilathika = the creeper called bhakthi;
mE = to me;
nithyaabheeshtapalapradhaa = that which is permanent and that gives the
abheeshta mOksham;
bhavathu = may it happen.

In this stanza AachaaryaaL describes sivabhakthi as a creeper.  It should be
known that the root and base of this creeper called Sivabhakthi is
saakshaath Lord of mahaakailash Sri Saambhasiva's paadhaabjam only.  This
root is soaked in the Sivaanandhajalam and so it remains so luscious!  This
creeper growing in the sivaanandhajalam slowly creeps up holding on to the
kombu (pragnya) that there is no greater god than ParamEswara.  At this time
this creeper called sivabhakthi spreads on to the many branches, each one of
which do different thing such as listening to the divya charithram of
ParamEswara, singing ecstatic songs on the names of Paramasiva, meditating
on the beginningless leelamangalam of ParamEswara, bowing to Him in
aathmaprEma and so on.  This way it spreads far and wide.  Moreover, as said
in sootha samhitha,

sivaprasaadhEna vinaa na siddhi: sivaprasaadhEna vinaana mukthi:

with firm conviction that for all sorts of srEyas it is important to have
the prasaadham of ParamEswara this sivabhakthi creeper is spreading on the
lattice called the mind.  In this, because of poorva puNya, the creeper is
devoid of all the dhOshas such as being diseased, dwarfed etc.  So
BhagavathpaadhaaL prays that this creeper should yield nithya abeeshta
mOksha palan.

Now let us understand the thathwam behind describing the mind as the lattice
on which the bhakthi as the creeper is spreading.  AachaaryaaL says:
"ucchairmaanasakaayamaanapataleem".
>From this we understand that the creeper (bhakthi) is one but the lattice
(mind) is many!  This is to denote the changing nature of the mind.
Howsoever many the mind appears by its changing nature, it still has to be
of superior guNa otherwise bhakthi may not spread on it.

Also, the creeper being one in the end yields nithya abeeshta mOkshapalan as
given in the Veda as 'ayamaathmaa brahma', 'pragyaanam brahma',
'thattwamasi', and 'aham brahmaasmi'. Besides, in sruthi, smrithi and
ithihaasa-puraaNas proclaim that the mind as sarvotthama that has understood
the essence of scriptures lie in saakshaath mahaamahimasaalini Sri
Saambasiva only.  That is why the lattice (mind) is described as most
superior.

Thus the import of this slOka is that this bhakthi (creeper) has to grow
into jeeva-brahma aikyam in order to qualify itself as yielding endless
aanandha.

Whosoever sings this stanza and do namaskaaram will surely enjoy Paramasiva
as his own aathmaswaroopam.

Aum Nama Sivaaya.