Varadarajastava of Appayyadikshita-2

वरदराजस्तवः -२

जातो न वेत्ति भगवन्न जनिष्यमाणः

पारं परं परमपूरुष ते महिम्नः ।

तस्य स्तुतौ तव तरङ्गितसाहसिक्यः

किं मादृशो बुधजनस्य भवेन्न हास्यः ॥ २ ॥

अन्वयः : (हे) भगवन् परमपूरुष ! ते महिम्नः परं पारं जातः न वेत्ति, जनिष्यमाणः न (वेत्ति) । तस्य तव स्तुतौ तरङ्गित-साहसिक्यः मादृशः बुध-जनस्य हास्यः न भवेत् किम्?

Lord! Ultimate Being! No one who is born or who will be born knows the ultimate limit of your Glory. In praising you who is so exalted, will a person like me not be laughed at by the wise?

मन्ये निजस्खलनदोषमवर्जनीय-

मन्यस्य मूर्ध्नि विनिवेश्य बहिर्बुभूषुः ।

आविश्य देव रसनानि महाकवीनां

देवी गिरामपि तव स्तवमातनोति ॥ ३ ॥

अन्वयः : देव! गिरां देवी अवर्जनीयं निज-स्खलन-दोषम् अन्यस्य मूर्ध्नि विनिवेश्य बहिः बुभूषुः महाकवीनां रसनानि अपि आविश्य तव स्तवम् आतनोति (इति) मन्ये ।

Lord! The Goddess of speech (Saraswati) praises you by entering even the tongues of great poets wishing to put upon someone else the blame of having committed unavoidable errors.

Note: The poet obliquely conveys that even the best of poets commit errors while praising you.  Even Saraswati, wishing to praise you, tries to put the blame of committing errors which are unavoidable on great poets by entering their tongues!    

नेतस्तथापि तव निर्ममलोकसेव्यां

मूर्तिं मदावलमहीधररत्नभूषाम् ।

वैकुण्ठ वर्णयितुमस्मि धृताभिलाषः

त्वन्नामरूपगुणचिन्तनलाभलोभात् ॥ ४ ॥

अ: नेतः! वैकुण्ठ! तथा अपि त्वत्-नाम-रूप-गुण-चिन्तन-लाभ-लोभात् धृत-अभिलाषः निर्मम-लोक-सेव्याम् मदावल-महीधर-रत्न-भूषां तव मूर्तिं वर्णयितुम् अस्मि ।

O, Leader! Vaikuntha! Even then, I am describing your form which adorns like a gem the elephant-hill (Hasti-shaila) and which can be worshipped only by people who have no pride. I am struck by this desire in order that I may gain by thinking of your name, form and qualities.

Note: “मदावल” is used to denote an elephant by the poet. The word is not listed in standard dictionaries, lexicons.

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Varadarajastava of Appayyadikshita-1

श्री अप्पय्यदीक्षितरचित

वरदराजस्तवः

Varadarajastava is a beautiful hymn to the deity Varadaraja of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu composed by the erudite scholar and poet Appayyadikshita who lived in late 16^th and early 17^th centuries.

Appayyadikshita who is famous for his work Kuvalayananda, a treatise on poetics (Alankarashastra) was a staunch follower  of monism  (Advaita) yet displayed a liberal attitude towards great persons and great works who did not necessarily support Monism. He wrote a commentary on the epic Yadavabhyudayam of Vedantadesika , who was one of the foremost proponents of Qualified Monism (Vishishtadvaita). Although he was a Shaivite (worshipper of Shiva)  he has composed this hymn on Varadaraja, a deity representing Vishnu  which demonstrates his catholicity. Actually, in those days, inter-marriages between worshippers of Shiva and worshippers of Vishnu were not uncommon and it is said that  Appayyadikshita’s father’s mother came from a Srivaishnavite family.

In addition to writing classic treatises on Poetics, Appayadikshita has written several profound works on Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita (dualism). He has also enriched devotional literature by composing several hymns on deities.  

The author has provided his own commentary on this hymn, which helps in understanding the verses as intended by the author.

॥श्रीः॥

॥ वरदराजस्तवः ॥

उद्घाट्य योगकलया हृदयाब्जकोशं

धन्यैश्चिरादपि यथारुचि गृह्यमाणः ।

यः प्रस्फुरत्यविरतं परिपूर्णरूपः

श्रेयः स मे दिशतु शाश्वतिकं मुकुन्दः ॥ १ ॥

अन्वयः : धन्यैः योगकलया हृदय-अब्ज-कोशम् उद्घाट्य चिरात् यथारुचि गृह्यमाणः अपि यः अविरतं परिपूर्णरूपः प्रस्फुरति सः मुकुन्दः शाश्वतिकं श्रेयःमे दिशतु ।

May Mukunda endow me with permanent bliss. Although the blessed savour him as per their taste by opening the bud of lotus-like heart through the art of Yoga, He shines in full splendour uninterruptedly. Notes: 1. The Almighty is said to reside thumb-sized in the heart of a person. Those who have mastered techniques of Yoga are able to access Him and savour Him. Although Yogins have been savouring Him according to their own tastes all the time, He remains undiminished all the time. 2. Mukunda also refers to one of the treasures of Kubera. Use of words कोश (which also means a  treasury) and धन्य ( which can be interpreted to mean a wealthy person) suggests that Mukunda is an inexhaustible treasure although regularly accessed by wealthy persons namely Yogins. 3. The obvious simile is to savouring of the nectar of lotus flower by prying it open.

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