ds-6

-NAPS Rao on Dvaita List

dwAdash stOtra - 6

DVAADASHASTHOTHRA - 6

Tradition has it that while Acharya Madhva had composed and recited the previous five sthothras before he actually saw the Idol of Udupi Krishna emerging out of the lump of Gopichandana, the 6 th and onwards sthothras were composed afterwards. Thus, there is a clear reference to Krishna in 3 shlokas in this sthothra which is arranged in the form of extolling the Dashaavathaaras (ten incarnations) of the Lord. The other Avatharas are extolled in 5 other shlokas. The Itrans rendering of the sthothra is first given below :

dEvakinaMdana naMdakumAra vRuMdAvanAMchana gOkulachaMdra |

kaMdaphalAshana suMdararUpa naMditagOkulavaMditapAda || 1||

iMdrasutAvakanaMdana hasta chaMdanacharchita suMdarinAtha |

iMdIvarOdara dalanayana maMdaradhArin gOviMda vaMdE || 2 ||

chaMdrashatAnana kuMdasuhAsa naMdita daivatAnaMda supUrNa |

matsyakarUpa layOda vihArin vEdavinEtRu chaturmukha vaMdya || 3 ||

kUrmasvarUpaka maMdaradhArin lOkavidhAraka dEvavarENya |

sUkararUpaka dAnavashatrO bhUmividhAraka yaj~javarAMga || 4 ||

dEva nRusiMha hiraNyakashatrO sarva bhayAMtaka daivatabaMdhO |

vAmana vAmana mANavavEsha daityavarAMtaka kAraNarUpa || 5 ||

rAma bhRugUdvaha sUrjitadIpte kShatrakulAMtaka shaMbhuvarENya |

rAghava rAghava rAkShasa shatrO mArutivallabha jAnakikAMta || 6 ||

dEvakinaMdana suMdararUpa rukmiNivallabha pAMDavabaMdhO |

daitya vimOhaka nityasukhAde dEvasubOdhaka buddhasvarUpa || 7 ||

duShTakulAMtaka kalkisvarUpa dharmavivardhana mUlayugAde |

nArAyaNAmalakAraNa mUrtE pUrNa guNArNava nityasubodha || 8 ||

AnaMdatIrthamunIMdrakRutA harigAthA pApaharA shubhanitya sukhArthA || 9 ||

I will give first the rendering of the meanings in the order given by Sri Vishvapathi tirtha, who starts with the third shloka describing Mathsyaavathaara.

matsyakarUpa layOda vihArin vEdavinEtRu chaturmukha vaMdya |

kUrmasvarUpaka maMdaradhArin lOkavidhAraka dEvavarENya || 1 ||

I offer my prostrations to Mathsya form of the Lord who sports in the Pralaya ocean and teaches the Vedas and is extolled by Chathurmukha Brahma and to the Kurma form of the Lord, the greatest of gods, who lifted and supported the Mandara mountain, and supports the entire Universe.

Sri Vishvapathi tirtha points out that the use of the word Mathsyaka instead of Mathsya is to show that the Mathysa form is made of bliss - Ka means Sukha or bliss. The same understanding should be applied for the other forms like Kurma etc. In this case, the Ka is added to Swaroopa as Swaroopaka.

sUkararUpaka dAnavashatrO bhUmividhAraka yaj~javarAMga || 4 ||

dEva nRusiMha hiraNyakashatrO sarva bhayAMtaka daivatabaMdhO |

I offer my prostrations to the Varaha form of the Lord (Sookara - Pig) who destroyed Danavas (Hiranyaksha), who lifted up the sunken earth from the ocean with His trunks, and is worshipped by the gods by performing sacrifices. I prostrate also to the Nrusimha form of the Lord, the dearest friend of the gods, who destroyed Hirnayakashipu and saves His devotees from all danger.

The word Shathru which means enemy is used in the sense of destroyer. Sri Vishvapathitirtha explains that the word Yajna is used in the sense of its Abhmani devathas. The word Varanga means the most important components of Yajna - these are Jnana, Bhakthi etc which are essential for the Yajna to yield the best results. The Abhimani devatha concept can be extended to these also - such Bharathi Devi for Bhakthi, Jnana for Mukhya Prana etc. Thus the word Yajnavaranga is used to address the Supreme Being as the one who receives and rewards the Yajnas performed with all its attendant requirements and gives Moksha and other lesser rewards. The word Daivathabandho is used to convey the expression that God is the best relative/friend of the satvika Jivas like the Devas, (Vishnurme paramah suhruth).

vAmana vAmana mANavavEsha daityavarAMtaka kAraNarUpa || 5 ||

rAma bhRugUdvaha sUrjitadIpte kShatrakulAMtaka shaMbhuvarENya |

I prostrate before Vaamana form of the Lord who appeared as a Vatu (young Brahmin boy who has undergone Upanayana and other samskaras), who incarnated for the benefit of the gods, who destroyed (the pride and power of) the great Daithya, Bali and who will be pleased by auspicious devotion and worship. I prostrate also before Parashurama form of the Lord, who is full of effulgence, who glorified the clan of the Bhrugus (by being born in it), who destroyed all kshathriyas on the earth (for their insolence and departure from auspicious practices) and who was worshipped by Shambhu (Shiva). There is another version of the first line end "Kaaranabhutha", with the same meaning.

rAghava rAghava rAkShasa shatrO mArutivallabha jAnakikAMta || 6 ||

dEvakinaMdana suMdararUpa rukmiNivallabha pAMDavabaMdhO |

I offer my prostrations to Raghava form of the Lord (Rama, who was born in the clan of Raghu and hence called Raghava), who is very dear to Maruthi (Hanuman, the son of Vayu and incarnation of Mukhya Prana himself), very dear husband of Janaki (Seetha) and who destroyed all the rakshasas,. I offer my prostrations to Krishna of the most beautiful form, the son of Devaki, lord of Rukmini and the dearest friend of the Pandavas.

dEvakinaMdana naMdakumAra vRuMdAvanAMchana gOkulachaMdra |

kaMdaphalAshana suMdararUpa naMditagOkulavaMditapAda || 1||

iMdrasutAvakanaMdana hasta chaMdanacharchita suMdarinAtha |

iMdIvarOdara dalanayana maMdaradhArin gOviMda vaMdE || 2 ||

chaMdrashatAnana kuMdasuhAsa naMdita daivatAnaMda supUrNa |

Note : Sri Vishvapathirtha has explained that according to Sampradaya (tradition), The shlokas starting from Devakinanadana sundararoopa and ending with Nandithadaivathaanandasupoorna were recited first by Acharya Madhva when he saw the Krishna Idol for the first time on the sea shore. The rest of the sthothra starting from Mathsya avathara and ending with the Phala sthuthi was recited in continuation of this. This corresponds to the Mulakosha (original transcript) also. I have followed the same practice, though during recitation the Krishna sthuthis are grouped together and come in the middle after Raghava sthothra.

Translation : I prostrate to the beautiful son of Devaki, the adopted son of the Nandas, who sported in Vrindavana eating the fruits and roots from the forest and was like the moon in creating tides of happiness for the residents of Gokula who prostrated before Him in bliss.

I prostrate before Govinda, who is full of bliss, who has applied the Chandana paste to his limbs, holds the sword Nandaka, whose eyes are like the midportion of the blue lotus. He holds also the sacred divine Parijatha flower, and saved from bondage 16108 beautful girls and married them and was the saviour of Arjuna, the son of Indra. His jasmine like smiling face is more attractive than hundreds of moons as He is full of bliss which is different from Prakrutha (ordinary) happiness of others. He gives happiness and bliss even to Brahma and other gods.

Sri Vishvapathi tirtha makes many interesting comments : In the first line, the correct form should be Devakeenandana, but it is written as Devakinandana, as this pronunciation is necessary for rhyming. The word Vrindavanaanchana is expalined as one who moves around in the forest which contains women (Vrinda), or one who was worshipped by such women - as in Gopeegeetha of Bhagavatha - "Jayathi thedhikam janmanaa vrajah" etc. The word Kandaphalaashana refers to the eating of fruits etc offered by the Rshis in Gokula. Nandithagokula refers not only to the human beings present in Gokula, but also the groups of Cows, which were given happiness by playing on the flute etc by Krishna. The reference to Indrasuthhavaka refers to the numerous occasions when Krishna looked after and saved Arjuna such as the Naagasthra of Karna, the killing of Jayadratha etc. (Aavaka - saviour). Nandaka is the famous sword of Vishnu - along with Kaumodaki, the Mace, Sarnga (the bow) and Sudarshana (the unique chakra). Mandaradharin refers also to the holding of the Govardhana mountain to save His people.

daitya vimOhaka nityasukhAde dEvasubOdhaka buddhasvarUpa || 7 ||

duShTakulAMtaka kalkisvarUpa dharmavivardhana mUlayugAde |

I offer prostrations to the giver of Mukthi, who took the form of Buddha to delude the wicked Daithyas, but to give true knowledge to the gods. I offer my prostrations to the Kalki form of the Lord which destroys the evil groups completely to usher in Kritha yuga (called Mulayuga, as it the first of the new Chathuryuga) and who will reestablish the rule of Dharma.

nArAyaNAmalakAraNa mUrtE pUrNa guNArNava nityasubodha || 8 ||

I offer my prostrations to the form of Naaraayana (from whom all the ten incarnated forms emerged) who is the pure, defectless and changeless first cause of all creation, who is full of countless auspicious attributes and has eternal knowledge which is complete and extraordinary (as compared to others). Sri Vishvapathitirtha makes the point that the word Amala used to qualify the words karanamoorthe, also shows that the Supreme Being Himself is free from such limitations as birth, death,decay etc.

AnaMdatIrthamunIMdrakRutA harigAthA pApaharA shubhanitya sukhArthA || 9 ||

This sthothra of Sri Hari composed by the Munindra (the great ascetic) Anandatirtha will destroy all sins and has its main fruit as the attainment of eternal Moksha of unmatched bliss without the least taint of sorrow.

Sri Vishvapathitirtha highlights the fact that only the sthothra of Narayana can destroy all sins (without any limitations of kind, numbers, magnitude etc) and can give Mukthi.

I will end this part with the shloka -

"Naamnosthi yavathee shakthih papanirbahanam hareh

thaavath karthum na shaknothi pathakam pathakeejanaah"

The capacity of the sacred name of the Lord Hari to destroy sins is such that even habitual sinners (all put together) can not accumalate sins to an extent greater than that can be destroyed by it. Vishnu is the only one who can grant Mukthi and no other god can give this blessing. Thus the recitation of this great sthothra of Vishnu (Narayana, Hari) will not only destroy all sins which act as barriers for the further accumalation of Jnana and Bhakthi without limit, but will also surely give the final result of Moksha consisting of eternal sorrowless bliss.

NAPSRao