INTRODUCTION

This stotram celebrates the auspicious quality (Kalyana Guna) of Mercy (Dayaa) of the Lord of Thiruvenkatam. Of All the Kalyana Gunaas of Venkataadhri Sekhara Vibhu, His Dayaa is the most important one for the uplift of the Chetanaas. The concept of Prapatthi and Thiruvenkatamudayaan’s Dayaa to realize the fruits of that Prapatthi is the subject of Sri Venkatanatha Kavi in this “Satakam”.

The structure of this stotram containing 108 slokas (one for each of the Divya Desa Archaa Murthys of Sriman Narayana perhaps) is extraordinarily impressive even by Swami Desikan’s standards of poetic excellence. Our Acharya has used ten plus different meters to compose the ten groups of slokas, each of which houses “ ten” slokas. The numbers of slokas and their poetic meters are as follows:

1. Slokaas 1-10: Anushtup meter
2. Slokaas 11-20: Aryaa meter
3. Slokaas 21-30: Oupacchandhasikam
4. Slokaas 31-40: Maalini
5. Slokaas 41-50: Mandhaakraanthaa
6. Slokaas 51-60: Nathkutakam
7. Slokaas 61-70: SikariNi
8. Slokaas 71-80: HariNi
9. Slokaas 81-90: Pruthvee
10. Slokaas 91-104: Vasantha Tilakaa
11. Slokaas 105& 106: Maalini again
12. Slokaas 107& 108: Sardhoola Vikriditham

In the tradition of Sri Sriraama DesikAcchAr Swamy, each set of the ten slokas have the essence of the ten Patthus of Thiruvaimozhi of Nammazhwaar.

According to this tradition, every set of ten reveals a particular meaning, which together covers the Ananatha KalyaaNa GuNams of the Lord of Thiruvenkatam. The ten meanings associated with the ten sets of ten slokas have been summarized by Srirama Desikaacchaar Swamy this way:

1. The Lord of Thiruvenkatam is the one, who can give Mokshaanugraham.
2. He comprehends everything and He is capable of carrying out whatever He chooses to do.
3. He destroys the enemies of those, who surrender unto Him and thereby seek His help.
4. He is the means for attaining ALL worthwhile goals.
5. He is the fruit of ALL worthwhile endeavours.
6. He can be reached easily thru the glorious means of Prapatthi.
7. He will rush to the help of the lowest and the highest with same speed, when they appeal to Him sincerely for help.
8. He is the Supreme Principle standing on top of Thiruvenkatam.
9. He is the one, who took the incarnations of Rama and Krishna.
10. He is the one, who can offer the happiness associated with Moksha right here on this earth.

Swami Desikan goes on to describe in detail the Anantha Kalyana Gunaas of Sriman Narayana in his Taatparya RatnaavaLi and Dramidopanishad Saaram. He is thus paying his tribute to Nammazhwaar’s Thiruvaimozhi in all of these three works. We will illustrate the ten essential meanings of Daya Satakam in the subsequent sections as revealed by Srirama Desikaacchaar Swamy in the tradition of his Achaarya, Navaneetham Krishnamaacchaar Swamy of Oppiliappan Koil.

13 Mar 2012

Slokam 108

kaamaM santu mithaH karambita guNaavadyaani padyaani naH
kasyaasmi~nchhatake sadambu katake doSha shR^itiM xaamyati.
niShpratyuuha vR^iShaadri nirjhara jharatkaarachchhale nochchalan.h
dInaalambana divya dampati dayaa kallola kolaahalaH..108

(MEANING):
These slOkams have arisen from the triad: ThiruvEnkatamudayAn, His sankalpam andadiyEn. Some may say that these slOkams will have praiseworthy guNams of the Lord andDayaa Devi that might be mingled with dhOshams (blemishes) due to my association. Let them blame as much as they wish about adiyEn’s dhOshams. There is no loss because of those complaints. These shoutings do not fall on anyone’s ears due to the intervention of Dayaa Devi. She removes any dhOshams in the minds of the righteous ones just as soap nut removes the blemishes in the muddy water and makes it clear again. Dayaa Devi would also not put up with any criticism about this Sthuthi. It is the KaruNaa of Lord SrinivAsa and His divine consort, Mahaa Lakshmi taking the form of Dayaa Devi that serves as the support stick for the chEthanams. At ThiruvEnkatam, there are mighty waterfalls that rush down the mountain sides with loud noises. They are indeed the streams of Dayaa of the dhivya dampathis. The roar of the waterfalls represented by Dayaa Devi make it impossible for anyone to hear the complaints of the critics. Thus Dayaa Devi makes these complaints fruitless and foils them. Just as the flood of Dayaa devi will transport away all the sins, the words of complaints about any blemishes in this sthuthi are propelled away at great speed by the dayaa of the dhivya dampathis. The uninterrupted roar of the descending waterfalls of VrushAdhri drowns out the feeble noise made by the complainers (NishprathyUha VrushAdhri nirjjara jarathkAracchalEna ucchalan dheena Alambana dayaa). The kallOlakOlAhalam (the roar of the descending dayaa pravAham) makes it impossible for the feeble noises (dhOsha Sruthi) made by critics. Thus concludes the KallOla kOlAhalam of the Dayaa Devi descending on us due to the anugraham of Swamy Desikan. May Lord VenkatanAthan’s Dayaa shower all of Her blessings on us!

kavitaarkika siMhaaya kalyaaNa guNa shaaline.
shrImate ve~NkaTeshaaya vedaanta gurave namaH.
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