ShaThakopaH en

mantra brahmaNi madhyamena namasA pumsa: svarUpam gati: gamyam Sikshitam Ikshitena purata: paScAdapi sthAnata: | svAtantryam nijarakshaNam ca samucitA vrttiSca na anya ucitA tasyaiva iti hare: vivicya kathitam svasyApi nArham tata: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: [The significance of the second word ’namah’ is now described. ’namah’ means surrender (a technique). But if we split it as ’na-mah’, it means ’na mama’ - ’not for me’. It rules out the self totally. A self-abnegation is thus implied]. aum namahI am the property for the Lord; that is my inherent nature. I na mah namahTo perform an upAya, even to surrender, which is so simple, I have no independence. I am not for me. am not competent. He does it through me. I have no claim for achieving it. namahRe: the goal. Service at the Lord’s feet, I do it only for His nArAyaNaayapleasure. Nothing for me. I have nothing to gain even therefrom 14The verse corrects this attitude to Swaroopam, upaya-kartrutvam and upAya- bhoktrutvam. In brief, the individual self has no independence. DR.S.PADMANABHAN’S COMMENTS: The indeclinable “namas” which is the second unit in the sacred mantra (praNava+namO+nArAyaNAya) explains the essential nature of the individual soul. namah which literally means “salutation to”, can be split again into two syllables and is read along with the syllable “m” of the PraNava. Thus we have the clause “m”, “na” and “mah”, which can be interpreted as ma, the Jeeva, na = not, mah = mine (mah is genitive singular of “m”). In other words, it means that the jeeva is not for its own sake. Another interpretation: namah as a single unbroken unit means “salutations” which is the means (upAya) for attaining then take namah together as a single word, we get the expression “namah na mah”. This means that the upAya mentioned above is not for myself, that is, even that is for the sake of the Lord. Finally by construing the two syllables na+mah along with the last word of mantrabrahman, we arrive at the expression nArAyaNAya na mah, which means that even the service which is the very purpose of human existence is for the sake of the Lord and not for anybody else. In other words, the term namah connotes that •the individual is the subject of the Lord; •the means and the goal of salvation are also dependent on the will of the Lord; • even the highest goal of human life, that is, kainkarya, called vrtti is meant for the Lord only; and that • even the upAya is not for the jeeva. 15

salvation. Yet another interpretation: If we split the indeclinable as na+mah andADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS “nama” is the upAyam for overcoming the illusion that the jeevan has that it is an independent entity (svAtantryam). With the understanding that jeevan is totally dependent on the Lord (Iswaran), the jeevan gets rid of his leanings

towards ahankAram (me) and mamakAram (mine). He is an independent Entity There are many meanings for the nama: sabdham: • “salutation to” is one meaning; 16• The jeevan is totally subservient to the Lord with no svatantram of any kind is the second meaning; • the upAyam for Moksham, the goal of the Moksham as Sriman nArAyaNan and the kaimkarya vrtti of the Jeevan is totally controlled by the Lord as its Master is the third meaning; • namah means SaraNAgati. namah is the upAyam for SaraNAgati or samarpaNam of the Jeevan to the Lord in the Yajnam of SaraNAgati. This is yet another meaning of namah sabdham that follows PraNavam in the ashTAkshara mantram. The first and the second pAdam of the second slOkam of ashTa slOki focuses on the madhyama padam of ashTAksharam (namah): “mantra brahmaNi purata: paScAdApi sthAnata:”. The middle portion of Mantra Brahman (ashTAkshari) is “nama:” sabdham, which defines the intrinsic nature (svarUpam), upAyam/means (gati:) and upEyam/goal (gamyam). This pAdam points out the nama: sabdham refers to the jeevan not having any existence outside the Lord as an independent entity and the Lord is the only One who blesses it to have kartrutvam (capacity to engage in action). The phalan-s (fruits) arising from those activities undertaken belong to the Lord as the Master of the Jeevan. The confusion about the Jeevan’s svaroopam as a Seshan, upAya Kartrutvam, upAya bhOktrutvam are cleared in this section of the slOkam. True svarUpa JnAnam that the Jeevan is totally subservient to the Lord and the jeevan has no svAtanryam whatsoever is brought out by this section. 17

madhyamena namasA pumsa: svarUpam gati: gamyam Sikshitham Ikshitena I am subservient to Lord NArAyaNA! 18

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Akarawa›yEv Svmhmw mý< n invha> nra[a< inTyanamynimit naray[pdm!, ymahaSmE kal< sklmip svRÇ sklasu AvSwaSvaiv> Syu> mm shjkE»yRivxy>. akArArthAyaiva svamahamatha mahyam na nivahA: yamAhAsmai kAlam sakalamapi sarvatra sakalAsu avasthAsvAvi: syu: mama sahaja kainkarya vidhaya: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: (What was explained under PraNavam in Verse 1 is elaborated here). “I am purely subservient, in a natural manner, to the one Lord, nArAyaNa, the support for all life. I must perform service intimately at His feet at all times in all possible fashions and in a natural matter-of-duty manner.” COMMENTS BY DR.S.PADMANABHAN: The word nArAyaNa used in the fourth case, nArAyaNAya, is explained in this verse. It is composed of two words nara and ayana, which mean ’the abode of nara-s, that is, the individual souls which are eternal (nitya). The expression namO nArAyaNAya means that “I” (svayam) exist for the sake of “a” namely nArAyaNa and not for my own sake. The dative termination “y” (ya) in the 19

narANAm nityAnAm ayanam iti nArAyaNapadam |expression nArAyaNAya conveys that the service and devotion of the individual soul under all conditions and at all times are meant for the Lord alone. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS After covering the meanings of PraNavam and nama: sabdham in the first and second slOkams, Bhattar deals now with the meanings of nArAyaNa sabdham with the dative case (nArAYaNAya) in this (third) and the next (fourth) slOkam. “nArAyaNAya” is to be split into nAra, ayana and the dative case (Aaya) to get the complete meanings. nArAyaNa padam without its dative case padam is made

up of nAra and ayana padams. We can split in to either one type of samAsam known as (tatpurusha mode of combination/vERRumai PuNarcchi) or Bahuvreehi samAsam (anmozhi thohai). In the Tathpurusha SamAsam (TPS), nArAyaNa can be qualified as “nArANAm ayanam”. nAram signifies the assembly of jeevans. ayanam means upAyam (Means), Phalan (fruits) and AdhAram (substratum or foundation). In this mode of definition (TPS), nArAyaNan is the means, phalan of enjoyment and AdhAram for the cEtanAcEtanams that arose out of Him. In TPS, nArAyaNa manifests as bahir VyApti (external pervasion). He is the ground and support or AdhAram of all the three worlds (VishNu AdhAram yathA caitEt trailOkyam samavastitam). He is the upAya (the means of attainment), upEya (the goal) and AdhAram (the support). TPS defines nArAyaNa as “nArANAm ayanam”, where as another mode of definition called Bahuvreehi samAsam (BVS) qualifies Him as “nArA: ayanam yasya”. In the Bahuvreehi SamAsam (BVS), nArAyaNa is One who has the cEtanAcEtanams as His abode. He has the nArams as His ayanam. He enters in to them and that is linked to His anthar VyApthi (internal pervasion). In the Tathpurusha SamAsam, nArAyaNan is recognized as manifesting His Bahir vyApthi (external pervasion) and is the abode of cEtanAcEtanam. 20One has to remember that nArAyaNa in Bahir or anthar VyApti is not tainted by the defects or deficiencies of cEtanAcEtanams. He is thus distinct and different from the entities of cEtanams and acEtanams. He is the hEya rahita “naran” and the sentient (cEtanams) and the insentient (acEtanams) are inseparably related to Him. nara pervades, controls and supports the cEtanAcEtana prapancham. The dative case (Aaya) when added to nArAyaNa leads to the padam of nArAyaNAya. The Aaya sabdham signifies Kaimkaryam. The prayer here is for eternal loving service (nitya kaimkaryam). Kaimkarya Prapthi is requested here to the divya mithunam. This kaimkaryam includes both Bhagavath and BhAgavatha Kaimkaryam. This kaimkaryam is the phalan of sEshatvam (subservience) of the Jeevan to the Sarva sEshi, the Lord.

21 Intimate special relationship only with nArAyaNa -Thiruvanbil vadivazhagar 22

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dehasKtaTmbuiÏyRid Évit pd< saxu iv*at! t&tIym! SvatNÈyaNxae yid Syat! àwmimtrze;TvxIíet! iÖtIym!, AaTmÇa[aeNmuoíeÚm #it c pd< baNxvaÉaslael> zBd< naray[aOy< iv;ycplxIíet! ctuwI¡ àpÚ>. dehAsakta Atmabuddhi: yadi bhavati padam sAdhu vidyAt trtIyam AtmatrANa unmukhaScEt nama iti ca padam bAndhava AbhAsalOla: Sabdam nArAyaNAkhyam vishayacapaladhIScet caturthIm prapanna: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: A prapanna revolves in his mind the whole of Thirumantra, First, PraNava (a + u

• m). The jIva has a knowledge faculty and has distinction from the physical body. He remembers his subservience to the Lord. implied in ‘a’, since he has no independence and has also no such intimate special relation with any one else, except nArAyANa. Secondly, ’namah’ implies that the soul has no right or duty to ensure his good, because he has entrusted his whole to the Lord. ‘Not mine’ is the duty of my protection; this is the import of ’namah’. Thirdly, ’nArAyANa’ etymologically shows the manner of the Lord supporting all souls. He is the soul to all souls. All souls rest and reside in Him. Naturally, our duty is only towards one such benefactor. The ‘Aaya’ (the 4th case) emphasizes not only that we offer service only to Him but also His pleasure is our only goal. We will remain emotionless even in that act. That is the true 23

svAtantryAndhO yadi syAt prathamam itara SeshatvadhIScet dvitIyam |spirit of a prapanna. He has no ahamkAra from SvAtantrya, upAyakartrutva or from upEyabhogyatva. COMMENTS BY DR.S.PADMANABHAN: For one who has the erroneous attachment towards his body as the Self, ParASara offers the advice that one should constantly contemplate on the third syllable of PraNava, which is “m (ma)”. This would help one to get rid of the mistaken identity that the body is the Self, by enlightening the real nature of the individual soul. If a man becomes blinded by the feeling that he is an independent agent of actions, ignoring the fact that he is always dependent

upon the Lord. ParASara advises him to meditate upon the first sacred sound of the syllable namely “a”. This would put him in the right perspective, pointing out the Supremacy of Lord VishNu. In the case of those who wrongly believe that they are under the control of some other beings inferior to the Lord, ParASara advises them to meditate upon the second syllable “u”. This “u” would bestow upon them a constant awareness of their relationship with the Lord. Still if an aspirant feels that he can take care of his own self (Atma-trANa), independent of the Lord, ParASarA feels that he should concentrate on the expression namah (na+mah), which quickly removes any feeling of individual self- sufficiency. In the case of those who are carried away by worldly relationships and ties of blood, such person should constantly remind themselves of the word nArAyaNa. This as explained earlier, points to the Lord as the ultimate goal of all human endeavour. Lastly, if the aspirant is enslaved by the sensual enjoyments, he should think repeatedly of the connotation of the dative suffix, “ya” which means “for the sake of”. This at once, brings him to the senses and reminds him of the fact that he is “for the sake of Lord nArAyaNa”, and that sensual enjoyment is not the summum bonum of human existence. ParASara wants to drive home the point that the mantrabrahman offers all protection to the erring individual soul provided he cares to recite it everyday. It never fails him and always shows him the correct path by pointing out the 24exact relationship in which he stands with the supreme being. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS Here, Bhattar instructs us about which letter or padam of ashTAksharam one has to meditate upon to overcome the negative impacts of the jeevan being assailed by dehAtma Brahmam, SvAtantrya Brahmam and attraction to devatAntrams.

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net&Tv< inTyyaeg< smuictgu[jat< tnuOyapn< c %pay< ktRVyÉag< Tvw imwunpr< àaPymev< àisÏm!, SvaimTv< àawRna< c àbltrivraeixàha[< dzEtan! mNtar< Çayte ceTyixgtingm>;q!pdae=y< iÖo{f>.

netrtvam nitya yOgam samucita guNajAtam tanukhyApanam ca upAyam kartavyabhAgam tvatha mithunaparam prApyamevam prasiddham | svAmitvam prArthanAm ca prabalatara virOdhi prahANam daSaitAn mantAram trAyate cetyadhigata nigama: shaTpadOyam dvikhaNDa: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: MahAlakshmi, who is ever with the Lord, who will commend a devotee’s case, who will have an overwhelming influence over the Lord (by reason of the love between them) is a great asset to the Prapanna. The Lord has a Charming form and His feet are easily available for us to cling to. We have only to perform Prapatti at His feet. The Couple will secure our service. Our Master, to whom alone we should always render devoted service, is He alone. And we should wipe out the haughtiness arising from assumed independence or from the performance of the upAya or from the pleasure in the upEya attainment - because total surrender and complete self-annihilation are the marks of a true Prapanna from the import of the Mantra and its comprehension by constant contemplation. 26vaikuntadwadasi - (thanks SrI Sridhar) COMMENTARY BY DR.S.PADMANABHAN: The first four verses thus explain the significance of the ashTAkshari mantra which forms the first of the rahasyatraya of the SrivaishNava school. In the fifth verse, ParASara explains the significance of the dvaya mantram: ïImÚaray[cr[aE zr[< àp*e, ïImte naray[ay nm>. SrIman nArAyaNa caranau SaraNam prapadye| SrImatE nArAyaNAya namah || 27

Sri, bhu, neela devigaL with AdhikESava perumal of Sriperumbudur on SrIman nArAyaNa caraNau ! 28This mantra has two parts in it comprising six words. The first term “SrI” which is the name of the consort of Lord nArAyaNa connotes the sense of guidance or leadership (netrutvam). It is Goddess SrI who ushers the devotee unto the Lord, pleads on behalf of the devotee and ultimately secures his deliverance. This function is also known as PurushakAra. The termination matup in Sriman indicates eternal relationship (nitya yoga) subsisting between the Lord and SrI. The term nArAyaNa which literally means “the abode of nara-s” brings out the benevolent qualities of the Lord (samucita guNa jAta) such as compassion and easy accessibility. The word caraNau meaning “feet indicates the graceful figure of the Lord (tanukhyApanam). The word SaraNam meaning “whole hearted surrender” points to the upAya to be employed by the soul for his own salvation. The word prapadyE (I resort to) explains the duty to be the dvaya mantra are thus explained. The second part of the mantra – SrImatE nArAyaNAya namah suggests four more essentials. The word SrImatE stands for the divine couple LakshminArAyaNa who are the masters of all the jeevAs. The term nArAyaNa actually conveys the Lordship and sovereignty of VishNu (svAmitvam). The dative case in the word nArAyaNAya lays stress upon eternal service to be done by the Jeevan to his Master (prArthana). Finally, the word namah indicates the desirability of getting rid of egotism which is a very powerful impediment in setting liberation (virOdhiprahANa). ParASara explains further that this dvaya mantra protects one who repeats it and is part of the Sruti itself. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS Consolidated commentary for slOkams 5 and 6 is given under the sixth slOkam. Both slOkam 5 and 6 deal with the significance and meanings of the dvaya mantram. 29

discharged by the devotee (kartavyabhAga). All the words of the first part of Lakshmi is the inseparable Consort of Lord SrIman nArAyaNA! SrI PrahlAda Varadan and thAyAr - Ahobilam 30

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$zana< jgtamxIzdiyta< inTyanpaya< iïy< s<iïTyaïy[aeictaiolgu[Sya’!ºI hreraïye, #òaepaytya iïya c sihtayaTmeñrayawRye ktu¡ daSymze;màitht< inTy< Tvh< inmRm>. ISAnAm jagatAm adhISadayitAm nitya anapAyAm Sriyam ishTa upAyatayA SriyA ca sahitAyAtma ISvarAyArthaye kartum dAsyam aSesham apratihatam nityam tvaham nirmama: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: Lakshmi is the Sovereign Goddess of all the worlds, as nArAyaNa is the God. She is the inseparable consort. We fall at Her feet to be able to acquire the upAya of the Lord’s feet to surrender unto. May I always perform unostentatious service, without vanity, to the Lord who is full of auspicious qualities! DR.S.PADMANABHAN’S COMMENTS: The sixth verse is specially devoted to a resume of the dvaya mantra treated earlier, with special reference to the role played by Lakshmi as a mediator (purashakAra) between the Lord and the jeevan. Already this concept has been dealt with by the AlwArs and explained by AchAryAs like Yaamuna and 31

samSrityASrayaNa ucita akhila guNasyAnghrI hare: ASraye |RaamAnuja in their StOtra ratnam and Gadya trayam respectively. According to this tradition, ParAsara resorts to SrI first (SrI Prapatti) and then approaches the Lord through Her mediacy. SrI is called the mistress of all the universe (ISAnA), the consort of the Supreme Lord and ever associated with Him. The author also suggests in this context the etymologies of the word SrI as “one who abides in the highest abode” (SrayatE). This incidentally explains the term SrImat forming part of the dvaya mantra. Explaining the word nArAyaNa forming part of the same mantra, ParASara calls Him “One who is the repository of all benevolent qualities”, which makes Him as one who is fit to be resorted to. According to the commentator nArAyaNa Muni, these qualities which draw a devotee are twelve in number such as:

1. Souseelya (Capacity of uniting easily with the layman/PamarA-s),
2. VatsalyA (Parental affection),
3. KaaruNya (Compassion),
4. audArya (generosity),
5. Krutitva (the capacity to fulfil any undertaking),
6. Krtajn~atva (gratefulness),
7. svAmitva (Lordship),
8. Sulabatva (easy accessibility),
9. Sarvajn~atva (omniscience),
10. SarvaSaktitva (Omnipotence),
11. ParipUrNatva (perfect plentitude) and
12. ParamOdAratva (remarkable magnanimity). ParASara declares that he surrenders at the feet of Hari who is thus known as 32the Supreme Benefactor to all humanity. This, in other words, is the path of SaraNAgati as distinguished from that of Bhakti. Explaining the latter portion of the dvaya mantra, ParASara states that he aspires to render dASya (service without any reservation or spatio-temporal condition) to the Lord who is ever associated with SrI, She being a means towards that end. He has thus brought out the meaning of the word namah also, which is the last member of the dvaya mantra. As in the Moolamantra, the word namah here also expresses the desire to remove all the egotism and selfishness (nirmama). The commentator further points out that the method of construing the sentences of this verse according to the old tradition, in which the second part (uttarakhANDa) is understood first, and then the first part (PoorvakhANDa). Here, the significance of dvaya mantra is explained by Bhattar. SwAmy Desikan describes this mantra as a tAntrika mantra. The links of this mantram to Moola Mantram is saluted by a passage in PaancarAtra MahOpanishad: l]mInaray[my< à[vawR àkazk< sTy }ananNdêp< ïIkr< t< nmaMyhm!, jIvNtyaRim[< dev< svaRNtyaRim[< àÉu< AcaRvtar< siÖ:[u< mkar< t< nmaMyhm!. lakshmInArAyaNamayam praNavArtha prakASakam Satya-jn~Anandaroopam SrIkaram tam namAmyaham | jIvantaryAmiNam dEvam sarvAntaryAmiNam prabhum 33

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS arcAvatAram sadvishNum makAram tam namAmyaham || dvayam - SrIrangam Panguni uttara serthi (thanks-SrI Murali bhattar) dvaya mantram is about Lakshmi NarAyaNan and is considered the essence of PanchOpanishad. It is called dvaya because it is constituted by the union of two celebrated mantras from KaThavalli (Sruthi) dealing with upAya and upEya (means and end). It is also considered by some as a dvayam (combination of two) of varaNa and samarpaNa (prayer to the Lord for protection and surrendering oneself to the Lord expressly for His service). dvayam is recognized as the Mantra rAja or the king of mantras. As mentioned earlier, the deep meanings of dvayam are explained in the SaraNAgati gadyam of AchArya RaamAnujA. Sriya: pathitvam of the Lord is celebrated here; PurushakAra prapatti is saluted here right at the beginning of this gadyam. The six meaning of SrI sabdham has been elaborated by SwAmy Desikan based on the deeper meanings presented by SaraNAgati gadyam. The famous passage, “tEnAkAram Sriyam 34jnAtvA jnatavyO bhagavAn Hari:” is a grand summation of the dvaya mantram. The name SrI has been explained as having six derivations that celebrate Her PurushakAratvam, upAyatvam and upEyatvam (SrIyatE/She is sought, SrayatE/she seeks the Lord for the protection of the erring souls, sruNOti/ She listens, SrAvayati/She makes Her Lord listen, SruNAti/She destroys the faults of the ASritAs, and SrINAti/ She fills the world with her virtues). The Lord, Sriya: Pathi has made clear that we perform SaraNAgati to Him and His Divine consort using the dvaya mantram: AnenEv tu mÙe[ SvaTman< miy ini]pet!, anEnaiva tu mantrENa svAtmAnam Mayi nikshipEt | mayi nikshipta-kartavyO kruta-krityO bhavishyati || The Lord says here “By this mantra alone, one should entrust oneself unto Me; having fulfilled the duty of surrendering unto Me, the jeevan will become one who has done what ought to be done”. There can not be a higher praise on the power of the dvaya mantram. dvayam consists of eight words: SrIman, nArAyana, caraNau, SaraNam, PrapadyE, SrImatE, nArAyaNAya, namah. When the words are compounded, it has been suggested that this mantra has six words: SrImannArAyaNacaraNau, SaraNam, prapadyE, SrImatE, nArAyaNAya, namah. PrapatyE is the verb with profound meaning. The rest of the five terms are set in different cases. 35

miy ini]Ý-ktRVyae k«tk«Tyae Éiv:yit. Lord Krishna performed upadesam for His dear sishya, Arjuna 36

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mTàaÞywRtya myae´miol< s<TyJy xm¡ pun> mamek< mdvaÝye zr[imTyataeR=vsay< k…é, Tvamev< Vyvsayyu´miol}anaidpU[aeR ýh< mTàaiÝàitbNxkEivRriht< k…ya¡ zuc< ma k«wa>. mat prAptyarthatayA mayOktam akhilam santyajya dharmam puna: tvAmevam vyavasAya yuktam akhila jnAnAdi pUrNOhyaham matprApti pratibandhakai: virahitam kuryAm Sucam mA krthA: || MEANING BY DR.VNV: The Lord says: With a desire to reach Me, cast off other upAyAs towards this end. Even when performing regular sastraic acts, do not get attached to the fruits. Renounce the rewards. You suffer in an anguish as to how to get over the crisis. Cherish in your heart the well-proven fact that I possess all requisite qualities of jnAna, Power etc., to do what is needed. I will remove all your sins, which are the obstacles for your deliverance. Do not grieve but have full faith in me. DR.S.PADMANABHAN’S COMMENTS: Though not a mantra in the regular sense of the term, the carama slOka is still considered as a rahasya and the sattvika-s impart it as a rahasya only to those 37

mAmekam madavAptaye SaraNam ityArtOvasAyam kuru |who have surrendered to them as disciples. The Carama slOka consists of 12 words. The first half comprising six words enjoins SaraNAgati for one who stands helpless. The second half brings out the human end (PurushArtha is of the form of removal of the impediments, which are undesirable - anishTa). ParASara explains the meaning of the rahasya in the words of the Lord Himself: … “completely relinquishing all dharmas seek Me alone as your refuge with full faith and utter helplessness. Once you are thus determined, I shall release you from all sins. Do not grieve”. Explaining the word pratibandhaka (impediment) the commentator states that both merit (puNya) and demerit (pApa) stand in the way of reaching God and

hence both are to be avoided. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY DR.VS This slOkam deals with the carama slOkam, the third of the three rahasyA-s. This slOkam ordains one to perform SaraNAgati expounded by ashTAkashara and dvya mantrams. Lord KrishNa performed upadEsam for His dear sishyan, Arjuna, when he was totally confused about what to do in the battle field and despaired about his inability to perform the difficult to practice Karma and JnAna yOgams as prerequisites for the observance of Bhakti Yogam for deliverance from the cycles of births and deaths. Our Lord took pity on the plight of His dear friend and sishya and instructed him on the easy to practice, never failing upAyam of Prapatti that has to be done only once to gain Moksha siddhi. Our Lord explained to Arjuna that only those with special JnAnam can practice Bhakthi Yogam and the rest who are unfit should resort to Prapatti at His feet and that He will stand in the place of Karma-JnAna-Bhakthi yOgam and will bless the prapannan with the Phalans sought after in a trice. There are ten words/group of words in the Carama slOkam and each of these words have multiple meanings. Carama slOkam’s ten “words” are: • sarva-dharmAn parityajya 38•maam •yEkam •SaraNam •Vraja •aham •tvaa •sarva pApEpya: •MokshayishyAmi •Maa Suca: The second word, “maam” has four meanings. The third word, “yEkam” has been given six meanings by our PoorvAchAryAs. The most meaningful word group in the Carama slOkam is the last (tenth) one: “Maa Suca:”. Twelve meanings have been given to it. This SaarArtham is revealed by SadAchAryAs to their key sishyAs during the last moments of their lives (carama daSai). The integrated meaning of the Carama slOkam is: “Oh sentient being! Your JnAnam is insignificant. Your power is also limited. You live in this world for a very short time only. You are impatient about gaining Moksham. You do not have the capacity to understand or practice other upAyams like the arduous Bhakti yOgam. It is also known such upAyams like Bhakti yOgam are tardy in yielding the desired phalan. Therefore do not chase after them. I am easy to approach. I have the power to protect all. Therefore adopt me as your means for rakshaNam. Perform the Prapatti unto me with its five angams. Once You do that, you become kruta krutyan. Now it is my turn to protect you and you would 39

The First word group, “sarva dharmAn Parityajya” has six meanings.become very dear to Me for having performed your prapatti. My compassion for you is limitless. With all my unlimited svAtantryam and sankalpa Balam, I will intervene to destroy to their roots all the obstacles that stand in the way of the fruition of Your Prapatti. I will bless you with kaimkaryam for Me and

elevate you to enjoy all bhOgams with Me as an equal. Do not grieve anymore. ‘maa sucha’- SrI Varadar - (thanks SrI SaThakopa tatachar) 40

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iniíTy TvdxInta< miy sda kmaR*upayan! hre ktu¡ TyKtumip àpÄumnl< sIdaim Ê>oak…l>, @tt! }anmupeyu;ae mm punSsvaRprax]y< ktaRsIit †Fae=iSm te tu crm< vaKy< Smrn! sarwe>. niScitya tvadadhInatAm mayi sadA karmAdyupAyAn hare yEtat j~nAnam upeyushO mama puna: sarvAparAdha kshayam kartA sIti druDhOsmi te tu caramam vAkyam smaran sArathE: | MEANING BY DR.VNV: Oh my Lord! Hari, Who wipes off all my sins! I am a mere subservient to you. I am incapable of performing any yOga (like karmayOga) or even abandoning it; why, for that matter, even incapable of performing Prapatti! So it is that I grieve and tremble to think as to what is to befall me. My only consolation is Your words that I recall now - the words You uttered, as the Charioteer, as the Last Testament - I now have implicit faith in You that You will extirpate all my sins serving as my sole refuge. Hence I have no burden, no worry, no grief! COMMENTS BY DR.S.PADMANABHAN: The final verse is in the form of the conviction made by an individual soul before the Lord. This may be explained as follows: “Oh Lord Hari! I am fully convinced of the fact that I am entirely dependent upon Your will, at all times. 41

kartum tyaktumapi prapattumanalam sIdAmi du:khAkula: |As such I am unable either to implement or totally give up several disciplines mentioned by You in the GitA such as those of Karma, Jn~Ana and Bhakti. Even regarding prapatti, I am in the same state of mind and I am helplessly miserable. However I remember the final means (carama upAya) mentioned by You as the Charioteer of Arjuna, and I am fully convinced that You are going to absolve me of all the sins or impediments that stand in the way of my reaching

Your feet. Sthalasayana perumal thiruvadi-thanks Sri Senthil ParASara makes it clear that a real devotee finds it extremely difficult to implement or give up any of the four means of salvation including SaraNAgati. The reason for such a helpless state of mind is the fact that the individual soul has no independence whatsoever to adopt any means, nor does he have any knowledge regarding the suitability of a particular means to his own peculiar condition in life. As such there is no other way for such an ardent devotee than 42to recollect the idea conveyed by the Lord through the carama slOka, and to be fully prepared, without any speck of doubt, to place complete trust in the Lord that he would clear all the impediments that lie in the path of his spiritual progress. This conviction, this trust, relieves him of all undue worries and makes him happy and blissful till he attains his goal. The commentator nArAyaNa Muni notes towards the end that the meanings of the Moola mantra, dvaya mantra and carama slOka are explained through the first, fifth and seventh verses of this hymn respectively. A further point of interest according to some is that ParASara belongs to that of category of prapanna-s who adopt the sadvaAraka prapatti, that is, Prapatti, which is subsidiary to bhakti, and thus differs from those to whom prapatti is the principal factor (angi), called advAraka prapatti. In this final slOkam, the real devotee recalls the meanings of the three rahasyams and laments over his limitations to practice the upAyams for Moksham. This devotee confesses that he is comforted by the assurance given by the Lord to Arjuna thru the carama slOkam and that he has full trust in the Lord’s promise to extirpate all the pApa-puNyams that stand in the way of Moksham. The devotee assures the Lord that he would not grieve anymore about his former helpless state. Thus ends the ashTa slOki on a triumphant note: “druDhOsmi te tu caramam vAkyam smaran sArathE:”