[Advaita-l] An early Advaitian Acharya invokes Bhagavati Saraswati

[V Subrahmanian]

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An early Advaitian Acharya invokes Bhagavati Saraswati
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Shri Prakashtama Yati ji is renowned for his commentary called ‘Vivarana’
on Panchapadika of Shri Padmapadacharya. Hence, he is popularly known as
Vivaranacharya in Advaita-sampradaya. In his Vivarana, he invokes Bhagavati
Saraswati and describes her as the embodiment of Veda and Shastra.
यस्याः प्रसादमवलम्ब्य जगद्गुरूणामप्यस्खलद्बहुगुणाः प्रसरंति वाचः।
सा वेदशास्त्रपरिनिर्मितवन्द्यदेहा भूयात् समग्रवरदैव सरस्वती नः ॥२॥
(पंचपादिका-विवरण)
{जिसकी कृपा का आश्रय लेकर जगद्गुरुओं की भी वाणी बिना स्खलन के (निर्दोष रूप
से) प्रसारित होती हैं। वह वेदशास्त्र से निर्मित वन्दनीय शरीर वाली माता
सरस्वती हमें सभी वरों को देने वाली हों।}
Commenting upon the Vivarana of Shri Prakashatma Yati ji, Shri
Nrusimhashrama Swamiji has authored a work called ‘Bhava-prakashika’. In
the context of the above verse, Nrusimhashrama Swamiji makes an interesting
remark. In the very first verse of Vivarana, the author does the
Mangalacharana of Brahman. As all the ends are achieved by propitiating the
one Brahman alone, why is there a need to offer namaskara to Saraswati?
Answering this question, Nrusimhashrama Swamiji says that the one
Parabrahman bestows various desired fruits as per the ‘Tatkratu-nyaya’(the
upasaka attains the fruits based on the kind of his Upasana). Hence, to
demonstrate this, Brahman itself is being prayed in the form of Saraswati.
यद्यपि एक एव परमेश्वरनमस्कारः सर्वस्मै फलाय पर्याप्तः , तथापि परमेश्वरः
तत्क्रतुन्यायेन कामनानुसारेणैव फलं प्रयच्छतीति दर्शयन् सरस्वत्यादि
रूपापन्नं ब्रह्म प्रार्थयते - यस्या इत्यादिभिः। (भावप्रकाशिका)
[यद्यपि एक ही परमेश्वर को किया गया नमस्कार सभी फलों की प्राप्ति हेतु
पर्य्याप्त है तथापि परमेश्वर तत्क्रतुन्याय से कामना के अनुसार ही फल देते
हैं ऐसा दिखाते हुए सरस्वती इत्यादि रूप में आपन्न (रूप में स्थित) ब्रह्म ही
प्रार्थित हो रहा है- यस्याः इत्यादि श्लोक से।]
This reminds us of the following words of Bhagavatpada:
एक एव तु परमात्मेश्वरस्तैस्तैर्गुणविशेषैर्विशिष्ट उपास्यो यद्यपि भवति,
तथापि यथागुणोपासनमेव फलानि भिद्यन्ते (Brahma Sutra Bhashya 1.1.12)
(Although the one Paramatman, the supreme Self, is to be meditated on as
possessed of those qualities, still the results differ in accordance with
the quality meditated on)
Hence, from the comments of Nrusimhashrama Swamiji, we understand that
Bhagavati Saraswati is verily a manifestation of Para-brahman and was
beheld so by the early Advaitian Acharyas like Prakshatma Yati ji.
Moreover, we see that such an idea is also endorsed by Bhagavatpada
himself. [image: 🙏🏻][image: 🙏🏻][image: 🙏🏻]

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