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zrI-mukunda-mAlA - A special hymn, especially for today (nava-varSa)



Advitiya - Wed, 13 Apr 2005 18:48:00 +0530
jihve kIrtaya kezavaM mura-ripuM ceto bhaja zrIdharaM
pANi-dvandva samarcayAcyuta-kathAz zrotra-dvaya tvaM zRNu |
kRSNaM lokaya locana-dvaya harer gacchAGghri-yugmAlayaM
jighra ghrANa mukunda-pAda-tulasIM mUrdhan namAdhokSajam ||


[ Composed by: Kulazekhara, the saintly king.]

O my tongue,
Recite the glory of Keshava
O my mind,
Worship Muraripu
O my hands,
Make devout offerings to Sridhara
O my ears,
Listen to the glorifying deeds of Acyuta
O my eyes,
Look at Krishna’s form
O my feet,
Approach the temple where Hari is worshiped
O my organ of olfaction,
Smell the Tulasi offered at the feet of Mukunda
O my head,
Bow down in reverence to Adhokshaja.
anuraag - Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:42:21 +0530
Enjoy the preceeding sloka also':

VERSE 15

mA drAksham kshINa-puNyAn kshaNamapi bhavatO bhakti-hInAn padAbjE
mA Srausham SrAvya-bandham tava caritam-apAsyAnyad-AkhyAna-jAtam |
mA smArsham mAdhava tvAmapi bhuvana-patE cEtasApahnuvAnAn
mA bhUvam tvat-saparyA-vyatikara-rahitO janma-janmAntarE'pi || 15

In this verse, SrI kulaSEkhara asserts his devotion to SrI ranganaatha and declares aloud his disinterest in those who lead wasted lives by discarding the Lord from their thoughts.

AzhvAr has no use for such detestable souls who do not have bhakti for ranganaatha. He just cannot imagine such empty lives ! He says he cannot live without performing nityArAdhanam to SrI ranganaatha in every one of his lives on this Earth.

He reminds us here of the two principles for which bhAgavata-s are well-known, viz., "Atma-dAsya harE: svAmyam". Here he reminds us that the only way to attain salvation is to remember constantly that one is the servant of the Lord and the Lord is the Supreme Master for all of us. Any belief to the contrary will lead one astray and such thoughts are totally unacceptable to SrI kulaSEkhara.

I will translate word-for-word to enjoy the sentiments expressed by SrI kulaSEkhara AzhvAr:

"hE bhuvana-patE ! bhavata: padAbjE bhakti-hInAn kshINa puNyAn kshaNam api mA drAksham" O Lord of the universe! I will not look even for a second at the unfortunate who do not offer bhakti at Your lotus feet.

"SrAvya-bandham tava caritam apAsya anyat AkhyAna-jAtam mA Srausham" O ranganaatha! I will not hear any prabandham other than those of Your's which are the most delectable for the ears. I will not pay even momentary attention to delightful songs other than those related to you.

"hE mAdhava tvAm apahnuvAnAn cetasA mA smarsha" O mAdhava! I will not think even for a moment about those unfortunate who reject you from their lives.

"janma janmAntarE api tvat saparyA vyatikara rahita: mA bhuvam" In this and other lives I will not be passing my time without performing your daily ArAdhanam. Please bless me with this boon.

In fact, AzhvAr prays to SrI ranganaatha to bless him to be free from all the mishaps he summarized in this verse.

SrI kulaSEkhara AzhvAr's thoughts about rejecting the Godless reminds us of another AzhvAr :

"kaNNamangai nagarALan kazhal sUDi avanai uLLatteNNAda mAniDattai eNNAda pOdellAm iniyavARE"


Here the other AzhvAr echoes kulaSEkhara's thought: Sweet indeed are the times when I do not think of those who eject the Lord of tirukkaNNamangai from their minds.

------------

More explanation of:

VERSE 16

jihvE kIrtaya kESavam mura-ripum cEtO bhaja SrI-dharam
pANi-dvandva samarcayAcyuta-kathA: SrOtra-dvaya tvam SRNu |
kRshNam lOkaya lOcana-dvaya harEr gacchAnghri-yugmAlayam
jighra ghrANa mukunda-pAda-tulasIm mUrdhan namAdhOkshajam || 16


In this verse, kulaSEkharar entreats all his senses - tongue, ears, eyes, legs, nose, head and mind to engage in the service to Lord SrI ranganaatha.

The first appeal goes to SrI kulaSEkharar's tongue - He asks it to praise Lord kESavan. The name kESava has three meanings covering dushTha-nigraham, svAmitvam and saundaryam of SrI ranganaatha. In the aspect of destruction of the unrighteous (dushTha-nigraham) he refers to the Lord slaying an asura by name "kESi" - therefore the name kESava. In the aspect of svAmitvam, kESava stands for SrI ranganaatha being the master of brahma and rudra. In the aspect of saundaryam, kESavan means one with beautiful hair. Through the invocation of the name kESava, SrI kulaSEkhara implies that the kalyANa guNa-s of the Lord are countless and his tongue will not run out of kIrtana-s to sing about Him.

The second appeal of SrI kulaSEkhara - hE "cEta: mura-ripum bhaja!" - goes to his mind. He asks his mind to meditate on the Lord who is the destroyer of an asura by name "muran". By this meditation one will see Him clearly inside oneself, says the AzhvAr. He probably has the following verse from brahma-bindu-upanishad in mind:

"ghutamiva payasi nigUDham bhUtE ca vasati viGYAnam | satatam manthayitavyam manasA manthAnabhUtEna || "

The upanishad verse says that Lord SrIman-nArAyaNa is hidden in all cEtana's hearts like ghee in milk. Just as one churns the milk with a wooden instrument (ie mattu, in tamizh) to release the butter, so should one use one's mind to witness SrIman-nArAyaNa in one's heart.

Then the AzhvAr asks his two hands to do arcana with tulasi leaves and flower petals. He wants his hands to do arcana to SrI-dharan with perfection appealing - "pANi-dvandva SrI-dharam samarcaya (samyak arcaya)". He wants his hands to do arcana not only to nArAyaNa but also to SrI-dEvI by choosing the name, SrI-dhara. The divya-dampatI-s are inseparable.

SrI svAmi dESikan later followed the AzhvAr's thought when he bowed to the divya-dampatI's Eka-SEshitva-yOgam
in his SrI-stuti and declared: "yuvAm dampatI daivatam na:" (ie dampatI yuvAm na: daivatam) SrI dESikan amplified the thought behind SrIdhara: by stating that both mahAlakshmI and nArAyaNa, shining as matchless couple, serve as Supreme and unified God in one inseparable form.

After the appeal to his hands, SrI kulaSEkhara turns his attention to his ears. He asks them to hear (SrOtradvaya tvam acyuta kathA: SRNu !) stories about acyutan. The name acyutan symbolizes His total resolve to come to prapannas' rescue without fail. By invoking acyuta, SrI kulaSEkhara reminds his ears about SaraNAgati-vratam and abhaya-pradhAna-guNam of SrIman-nArAyaNa reclining on Adi-SEsha at SrI-ranga kshEtram.

AzhvAr says to his ears that hearing of the kathA-s of acyutan such as vibhIshaNa-SaraNAgati, kAkAsura-SaraNAgati, draupatI-mAnasamrakshaNam, gajEndra-mOksham, ambarIsha-caritram etc. can only assure one of the secure and delectable experience of tasting the nectar-like SaraNAgata-rakshaNa anubhavam. sAtvata-samhitA echoes AzhvAr's thought as follows: "sankalpAdEva bhagavan tattvatO bhAvitAtmAnAm | vrtAntamakhilam kAlam sEcayatmRtEna tu || " The samhitai verse states that SrI acyutan blesses those who worship Him with the nectar-like experience of association with Him throughout their earthly lives and gives them the refuge of His cool feet by driving away afflictions.

SrI kulaSEkharar next calls on his pair of eyes to enjoy the beauty of SrI ranganaatha in His avatAra as SrI kRshNa. His appeal is "kRshNam lOkaya lOcana-dvaya:"

To witness and enjoy the beauty of SrI kRshNa bhagavAn, he asks his legs to go to temples where His arca-mUtIs are enshrined. The AzhvAr advises his legs as follows : "anghriyugma harE: Alayam gaccha".

AzhvAr then asks his nose to smell the sweet perfume of tulasi leaves that adorned the holy feet of SrI kRshNa - "hE kRshNa, mukunda-pAda-tulasIm jighra".

Finally, he asks his head to bend and offer its namaskAram-s to Lord ranganaatha - "hE mUdhan adhOkshajam nama".

*** SrI kRshNArpaNamastu! ***

source: http://home.comcast.net/~ayyamkk/MukundaMala/index.htm
Advitiya - Sun, 17 Apr 2005 20:49:22 +0530
That's just beautiful, anuraagji!

I appreciate very much for giving this link. All these verses make beautiful offerings to Shri Krishna and they are sung in such sweet melodies. Thanks again.
anuraag - Sun, 17 Apr 2005 21:10:07 +0530
I am glad you liked them. They are simply gems of Sanskrit devotional poetry, very, very ancient too! smile.gif His language style and expertise reminds me of Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada, Sri Bilva Mangala Thakura, and Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati. blink.gif
I remember having quoted some resembling verses before some where on this thread.
It is my devotional hobby to follow closely these Rasik Saint's literary style and expressive skills of Divine Love. wink.gif

mukunda! mUrdhnO praNipatya yAcE
bhavantam EkAntam iyantam artham |
avismRtis tvac-caraNAravindE

bhavE bhavE mE'stu bhavat-prasAdAt || 3

.....................

bhAvE bhAvE hRdaya-bhavEna bhAvayEyam bhavantam || 4
anuraag - Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:17:38 +0530
QUOTE(Advitiya @ Apr 13 2005, 01:18 PM)
jihve kIrtaya kezavaM mura-ripuM ceto bhaja zrIdharaM
pANi-dvandva samarcayAcyuta-kathAz zrotra-dvaya tvaM zRNu |
kRSNaM lokaya locana-dvaya harer gacchAGghri-yugmAlayaM
jighra ghrANa mukunda-pAda-tulasIM mUrdhan namAdhokSajam ||


[ Composed by: Kulazekhara, the saintly king.]

O my tongue,
Recite the glory of Keshava
O my mind,
Worship Muraripu
O my hands,
Make devout offerings to Sridhara
O my ears,
Listen to the glorifying deeds of Acyuta
O my eyes,
Look at Krishna’s form
O my feet,
Approach the temple where Hari is worshiped
O my organ of olfaction,
Smell the Tulasi offered at the feet of Mukunda
O my head,
Bow down in reverence to Adhokshaja.




Do all devotees desire and pray alike! rolleyes.gif

vANI guNAnukathane zravaNau kathAyAM
hastau ca karmasu manas tava pAdayor naH,
smRtyAM ziras tava nivAsa jagat praNAme
dRSTiH satAM darzane 'stu bhavat tanUnAm


Srimad Bhagavatam 10.10.38

..When child Krishna releases the twin sons of Kubera from the curse of being two Arjuna trees by uprooting them and restoring the young men to their original form, the twins ask for a boon from the Lord ---

"O Lord, please grant us that our tongues may always be engaged
in singing Your praises and glories, our ears in hearing them,
our hands in doing Your service, our minds in the contemplation of Your holy feet,
our heads in prostrating to the entire world which is Your dwelling and
our eyes in the vision of the holy persons who are Your embodiments."

Another Rasik Saint also declares in Radha Sudhanidhi: biggrin.gif

rAdhA nAma sudhA rasaM rasayituM jihvAstu me vihvalA
pAdau tat padakAGkitAsu carataM vRndATavi vIthiSu
satkarmaiva karaH karotu hRdayam tasyAh padaM dhyAyatAt
tad bhAvotsavataH paraM bhavatu me tat prANa nAthe ratiH