Varadarajastava of Appayyadikshita-5

वरदराजस्तवः-५

मातङ्गशैलमणिशृङ्गमहाविमान-

सोपानपर्वचतुरुत्तरविंशतिर्या ।

तामेव तत्त्वविततिं पुरुषो विलन्घ्य

पश्यन् भवन्तमुपयाति भवाब्धिपारम् ॥ ११ ॥

अ:  पुरुषः मातङ्ग-शैल-मणि-शृङ्ग-महा-विमान-सोपान-पर्व-चतुर्-उत्तर-विंशतिः या, ताम् एव  तत्त्व-विततिं विलङ्घ्य भवन्तं पश्यन् भव-अब्धि-पारं उपयाति ।

A person having climbed the twenty four steps of your shrine, which are so to say the twenty four elements, on the elephant hill ( Hastishaila) looks at you and crosses the ocean of cycle of births and deaths.

Notes: Twenty four elements referred to are the Sankhya elements, namely moolaprakrti, mahat,ahamkaara,five tan-matras,five bhutas and eleven senses. Above them is Purusha and above that is Ishvara as per Vedantic thought. The poet says that climbing the 24 steps to the temple is equivalent to ascending the 24 tattvas.

नापारि लब्धुमरविन्दभुवापि साक्षा-

द्यं पूर्वमीश्वर विना हयमेधपुण्यम् ।

अन्यैरनाप्य स कथं तव पुण्यकोटिं

प्राप्यस्त्वदाकृतिविलोकनजः प्रमोदः ॥ १२ ॥

अ: ईश्वर! पूर्वं साक्षात् अरविन्द-भुवा अपि  हयमेध-पुण्यं विना  यं लब्धुं न अपारि, सः त्वत्-आकृति-विलोकनजः प्रमोदः तव पुण्यकोटिम् अनाप्य अन्यैः कथं प्राप्यः ।

Lord! Way back even Brahma was not able to get the pleasure of looking at you without acquiring the fruits of a horse sacrifice.  How can that pleasure of looking at you be obtained by others without  reaching Punyakoti?

Notes:1.  Punyakoti is the innermost tower of Kanchi Varadaraja temple. 2. The reference is to a Puranic  story where Brahma was blessed with the sight of Vishnu while performing Hayamedhaa yajna in Satyavrata Kshetra. 

प्रत्यङ्मुखं तव गजाचलराज रूपं

प्रत्यङ्मुखाश्चिरतरं नयनैर्निपीय ।

अस्थानमाप्तवचसामवितर्कणीय-

माश्चर्यमेतदिति  निश्चयमावहन्ते ॥ १३ ॥

अ: गज-अचल-राज! प्रत्यङ्-मुखाः तव प्रत्यङ्-मुखं रूपं चिरतरं नयनैः निपीय आप्त-वचसाम् अवितर्कणीयम् एतत् आश्चर्यम् इति निश्चयम् आवहन्ते ।

Lord of Hastishaila! Those who have their  sights inwards, namely realized souls, savour for long your west-looking form through their eyes and get convinced that it is indeed strange and beyond logic that they should be blessed with the sight of your form.

Note: The poet plays on the two meanings of “pratyangmukha” and  brings out  an apparent contradiction. How could those who are “pratyangmukha” look at the deity who is also “pratyangmukha”?

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