sthOthra rathnam – 57

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

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Introduction

In the previous pAsuram, ALavandhAr meditated upon the ultimate state of SEshathvam (servitude) which is thadhIya SEshathvam (servitude towards bhagavAn‘s devotees).  Here, he highlights his aversion towards those which are outside SEshathvam and prays to emperumAn “Kindly eliminate them”.

na dhEham na prANAnna cha sukhamaSEShbhilashitham
na chAthmAnam nAnyath kimapi thava SEshathvavibhavAth |
bahirbhUtham nAtham! kshaNamapi sahE yAthu SathadhA
vinASam thathsathyam madhumadhana! vigyApanamidham ||

Word by word meaning

nAtha! – Oh my lord!
thava SEshathva vibhavAth bahirbhUtham – outside the wealth of being surrendered to you
dhEham – body
kshaNam api na sahE – will not tolerate even for a moment;
prANAn – (in the same manner) vital airs
na sahE – will not tolerate even for a moment;
aSEsha abhilashitham sukham cha na sahE – will not tolerate those pleasures which are desired by everyone;
AthmAnam cha na sahE –  will not tolerate even my own AthmA (self) which is devoid of servitude;
SathadhA vinASAm yAthu – let (all these aspects which are devoid of servitude) disappear.
madhumadhana! – Oh my lord who killed madhu (the demon)!
thath sathyam – this is the truth;
idham vigyApanam – this is (my) request.

Simple Translation

Oh my lord! Anything outside the wealth of being surrendered to you, I will not tolerate even for a moment my body, vital airs, those pleasures which are desired by everyone and my own AthmA (self) which are devoid of servitude; let (all these aspects which are devoid of servitude) disappear. Oh my lord who killed madhu (the demon)! this is the truth; this is (my) request.

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

  • na dhEham – If my body which instigates ego, is outside the servitude towards your highness, I do not need it.
  • na prANAn – The vital airs which sustain the body etc, if they are outside the servitude, I do not need them.
  • na cha sukham – We pamper our body and the vital airs, in seeking happiness. Even that happiness is not needed. sukha can also indicate mOksha sukha (joy of liberation) [which is acquired by forcing emperumAn to bestow the same].
  • aSEshAbhilashitham sukham – The happiness which is desired by all. All entities starting with dhEvas (celestial beings) desire for happiness.

When “sukham” is explained separately, subsequently, it is read as “aSEshAbhilashitham nAnyath kimapi“.

  • nAnyath kimapi – Whatever other aspects such as children, friends, wife etc.
  • na chAthmAnamAthmA which is the ASraya (substratum) for all of the aforementioned aspects. That which has gyAthruthva (knowledge), karthruthva (ability to carry out a deed) and bhOkthruthva (ability to enjoy).
  • thava SEshathva vibhavAth bahirbhUtham – Those which are outside the greatness of servitude towards the apt lord. This implies that, when all of these are used in service of lord, all of these are acceptable.
  • nAtha – The inevitable relationship (master/servant – bhagavAn/AthmA) which highlights that everything outside the servitude towards bhagavAn is undesirable.
  • kshaNamapi na sahE – I cannot tolerate it even for a moment just as sandalwood paste, flowers etc are undesirable for a loving wife who is in separation from her husband; thiruvAimozhi 4.8 decad – “mARALan kavarAdha maNimAmai kuRaivilamE” (the beautiful bodily complexion which is not accepted by emperumAn is not useful), “uyirinAl kuRaivalamE” (no use of this AthmA). SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 31.5 lakhsmaNa says “na dhEvalOkAkramaNam …” (When in separation from you (SrI rAma), I will not desire for the life of nithyasUris in paramapadham, kaivalyam (self-enjoyment) and all worldly pleasures) – this is said to be iLaiya perumAL’s (lakshmaNa) “ERALum iRaiyOn” (thiruvAimozhi 4.8 where nammAzhwAr highlights the same principle explained in this SlOkam).
  • yAthu sathadhA vinASam – They should completely disappear. Even though these, which are outside the servitude, are undesirable, ridding of these is the duty of ISvara. [Similarly] Though those which are useful to serve are desirable, bestowing them is the duty of ISvara [there shall be no self-effort in any of these].
  • thath sathyam – When emperumAn says “I have not heard anything like this from any one in this material realm; can this be true?”, ALavandhAr says “It is not just spoken from my mouth without the involvement of my heart; it is the truth”.
  • madhumadhana – If I speak lies in your august presence, let me also suffer the fate of madhu who was untruthful towards you. Also explained as, ALavandhAr saying “Just as you destroyed madhu, you have to kindly eliminate those aspects which are outside the servitude towards you”.
  • idham vigyApanam that sathyam – Even though there may be some shortcomings in my desire for the ultimate goal, there is no falsity in the aversion for the hurdles.

In the next article we will enjoy the next SlOkam.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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