Slokam 64

ApaaM patyuH shatruun.h asahana munerdharma nigalaM

kR^ipe kaakasyaikaM hitamiti hinasti sma nayanam.h.

vilIna svaatantryo vR^iShagiri patistvat.h vihR^itibhiH

dishatyevaM devo janita sugatim.h daNDana gatim.h..64

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your sports are mysterious. Through the power of Your sports, Your Lord loses His independence and is totally under Your control. Whatever punishments He metes out to the offending chEthanams end up as good things for them. For instance, when He got angry at the Samudra Raajan for disregarding His request to construct a dam, He was ready to dispatch His fierce arrows to punish him; the king of the Oceans appeared immediately in front of Your Lord and prostrated before Him and begged Your Lord to dispatch the targeted arrows on his enemies. It happened. Thus, the intended punishment meant for the Samudra Raajan ended up as a benevolent thing for him: destruction of his enemies. Another instance was the occasion, when angry ParasurAman confronted You and the arrow aimed by Your Lord at ParasurAman removed all of his puNyams that stood in the way of Him reaching the upper lokams like Svargam. On yet another occasion, the Crow which committed the MahA aparAdham of hurting SeethA PirAtti was punished lightly byremoving one of its eyes by Your Lord’s arrow. Thus Your clever sportly interventions change Your Lord’s intended punishments into benevolent acts. If Your Dayaa was not manifested,how can these punishments turn into acts of benevolence (DaNdana gathi: hitham bhavathy) at the end?

Slokam 65

niShaadaanaaM netaa kapi kula patiH kaapi shabarI

kuchelaH kubjaa saa vraja yuvatayo maalyakR^id.h iti.

amIShaaM nimnatvaM vR^iShagiri paterunnatimapi

prabhuutaiH srotobhiH prasabham.h anukampe samayasi..65

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! When a powerful flood flows, it fills the ground from high to low levels. The higher plateau is washed away and is brought to the same level of a lower plateau. Similarly, Dayaa Devi, You drag powerfully through Your Dayaa PravAham (flow) the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam on top of the hill down to the lowly folks at the bottom of that hill and let both mingle with each other. You made the lowly chief of hunters, Guhan the friend of Your Lord during RaamAvathAram. Later, You made the Lord declare that the king of the monkeys, Sugrivan, was His dearest friend. You made the Lord eat the wild fruits offered by Sabari and made it possible for Her to reach the auspicious gathi (Moksham). During KrishNaavatharam, You made Your Lord mingle affectionately with the penniless KusEla and made him a man filled with riches. In that same avathAram, You made Your Lord transforman old hunch back woman into a beautiful, young girl. You commanded Your Lord to mingle with the untutored girls of AaypAdi (Colony of shepherds) with ease and to their utter delight. You sent Your Lord to the house of the garland maker of Kamsan to bless him. Thus Dayaa Devi, You directed Your Lord forcefully to undertake many missions to come down from lofty heights to the level of a variety of simple folks and mingle with them as their equals. If Your Dayaa pravAhams were not present, It would have been impossible for Your Lord to relate toothers as a Parama Soulabhyan (supremely easy to access). His souseelya guNam becomes established because of You. The key words of this slOkam are: “ameeshAm nimnathvam, Vrushagiri pathE: unnathimapi prabhUthai: srOthObhi: prasabham samayasi” (Through Your forceful floods of Dayaa You level the ground between Your Lofty Lord and the lowly chEthanams that could never have hoped to have access to Your Lord)

Slokam 66

tvayaa dR^iShTastuShTiM bhajati parameShThI nija pade

vahan.h muurtIraShTau viharati mR^iDaanI paribR^iDhaH.

bibharti svaaraajyaM vR^iShashikhari shR^i~Ngaari karuNe

shunaasIro devaasura samara naasIra subhaTaH..66

(MEANING):

Oh DayA DEvi, the divine consort of the ullAsa purushan of ThiruvEnkatam! The highest among the DevAs, Brahma dEvanstays at his exalted office with happiness. What is the reason for that? Oh Dayaa Devi! It is because of Your blessed glances falling on him that he is joyous. How could he have landed his exalted sthAnam but for Your auspicious glances falling on him? MahEswaran, the abhimAnadhaivam for BhUmi, Water, Agni, Vaayu, AakAsam, Moon, Sooryan and YajamAnan spends happily his time sporting with Paarvathy. How does that happen ? It is because of Your auspicious glances falling on MahEswaran that he enjoys these soubhAgyams. Indhran becomes victorius in the war between the dEvAs and theasurAs and rules over his SvargaSaamrAjyam. That bhAgyam of Indhran was realized as a result of Your benevolent katAkshams. Thus all the well known dEvAs enjoy their sthAnams and power solely through Your grace

Slokam 67

daye dugdho danvad.h vyati yuta sudhaa sindhu nayataH

tvad.h aashleShaannityaM janita mR^ita sa~njIvana dashaaH.

svadante daantebhyaH shruti vadana karpuura gulikaaH

viShuNanvantaH shittaM vR^iShashikhari vishvaMbhara guNaaH..67

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! The milky ocean is very sweet. If nectar were to flow as a river, it would taste even sweeter. Nectar has the power to bring dead back to life. Can one describe adequately the loftiness of the union of the river of nectar with the Milky ocean ? ThiruvEnkatamudayAn stands on top of the saptha giri and protects the world there from. All His kalyANa guNams are delectable to enjoy. Your union with the other guNams of His reminds us of the union of nectar river with the milky ocean. You enhance the vaibhavam of the other guNams of the Lord thru Your union. You awaken the chEthanams from their death-like state of coma. You as the Dayaa dEvi of the Lord bless the chEthanams with Jn~Anam and propel them towards Sathgathy. The other guNams of the Lord also get empowered thru union with You to elevate the chEthanams to Sathgathy. By themselves, these other guNams of the Lord have no potential to be beneficial to the chEthanams(Bhaddha Jeevans). Oh Dayaa Devi! These bhagavath guNams reach however a lofty status thru union with You. They gain taste and fragrance. Upanishads derive their fragrance andartha pudshti by praising these guNams of the Lord in their state of union with You. The VairAgya saalis control their indhriyams and enjoy these Bhagavath guNams admixed with You and derive immense pleasure. It is because of Your Vaibhavam that all the other guNams of the Lord (Vrushagiri ViSvambhara guNA:) get elevated.

Slokam 68

jagjjanma sthema pralaya rachanaa keli rasiko
vimuktyeka dvaaraM vighaTita kavaaTaM praNayinaam.h.
iti tvayyaayattaM dvitayam upadhI kR^itya karuNe
vishudhdaanaaM vaachaaM vR^iShashikhari naathaH stuti padam.h..68

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! Your Lord is known for two lofty characteristics: (1) He is the cause for the Creation of the Universe and its beings (2) He has the sole power to grant MokshaSukham. He creates, protects and dissolves this universe as a delectable sport. All these three activities originate from Your Dayaa guNam. Your Lord opens the door of MokshaRaajadhAni for those, who lovingly surrender to Him and acts as the entrance gate to greet the Prapannan there. This glorious act of His is entirely due to Your Dayaa guNam. The blemishless VedAs mainly salute the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam as both the Creator of theUniverse and as the grantor of Moksha Sukham. Both these two distinctions of Your Lord are derived solely from Your power

Slokam 69

kali xobhon.h mIlat.h xiti kaluSha kuula~NkaSha javaiH
anuchchhedair.h etaiH avaTa taTa vaiShamya rahitaiH.
pravaahaiste padmaa sahachara pariShkaariNi kR^ipe
vikalpante.analpaa vR^iSha shikhariNo nirjhara guNaaH..69

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your Lord adorns always Sri Devi on His chest. Inspite of it, His glories are derived from You alone. Knowledgeable elders compare Your flow to the flow of the mountain streams at Thirumalaa. Your floods are superior to the water falls of Thirumalaa although both of You share a lot of commonalities. The waterfalls at Your Lord’s dhivya dEsam flow powerfully breaking both the banks and pushes away all debris and trees. They banish the sins of those, who bathe in them. They flow full stream even in the torrid summer. They never dry up. They flow on hills and dales with equal effectiveness. Oh Dayaa DEvi! Your pravAham touches both the banks and destroy the sins and PuNyams of ChEthanams, whose minds are easily confused by the Kali Purushan’s mischief. Your pravaaham reaches every one effortlessly. Your pravAham does not discriminate between the chEthanams as the lofty and the lowly and mingles with them on an equal footing. Reminded by these unique attributes, the knowledgeable ones say that the mountain streams are like Your pravAhams instead of the other way around. The grandeur of Your Dayaa PravAham becomes self-evident from such statements by VivEkis.

Slokam 70

khilaM cheto vR^itteH kimidamiti vismera bhuvanaM
kR^ipe siMha xmaabhR^it.h kR^ita mukha chamatkaara karaNam.h.
bharanyaasa chchhanna prabala vR^ijina praabhR^ita bhR^itaaM
prati prasthaanaaM te shruti nagara shR^i~NgaaTaka juShaH..70

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! Vedaas are like a big city. Just as all kinds of available for purchase at a big city, all kinds of Phalans (Iswaryam, Kaivalyam and Moksham) and the ways to gain them are shown by the Vedams. Those who wish to gain one or other of these Phalansunder take an upAyam and gain what they desire. In a big city, there are many roads. The junction between the four roads at the center of the city (Four-way junction) is the most important one in the big city. The Upanishath portions are that four way junction for the city of Vedams. Dayaa Devi! Your vaibhavam is eulogized by the Upanishaths. The sinners arrive at Your sacred feet saluted by the Upanishaths for protecting themselves against the wrath of Your Lord generated by their trespasses of Bhagavath Saasthrams. The recognize their helplessness (Aakinchanyam) as sinners with gigantic bundles of sins weighing them down. They are intent on seeking Your protection to save themselves. They cover their sins well with the cloth of BharanyAsam to offer them as NaivEdhyam to You. The moment the sinners take their first step towards You to perform their Prapatthi, You are ready to greet them with great affection. You are won over by the small effort of BharanyAsam on the part of even the worst sinners. You run towards them with great Vaaathsalyam. The knowledgeable ones and the simple folk watch this rush of Yours towards these sinners and wonder whether they are missing some thing. They wonder whether there is some thing out of step with Your thinking. They are stumped over Your response. In addition to these two sets of folks, the Lord of Thirumalaa is also filled with a sense of wonder about Your compassion that drives You to act this way. It is the common procedure in this world to cover offerings to kings and the King of all Kings, the Lord Himself, with a vasthram and hold these offerings on their heads for SamarpaNam. The Lord accepts chithrAnnams presented in this reverential manner. The ChEthanams cover their sins with the vasthram of BharanyAsam in a manner practised in the world so that You will be pleased to accept their offerings as the regular naivEdhyams. You swallow all their paapams with relish in response to the Prapatthi performed by them. Without their Prapatthi, their sins will not be destroyed

Slokam 71

trividha chidachitsattaasthema pravR^itti niyaamikaa
vR^iShagiri vibhorichchhaa saa tvaM parairaparaahataa.
kR^ipaNa bharabhR^it.h ki~NkurvaaNa prabhuuta guNaantaraa
vahasi karuNe vaichaxaNyaM madIxaNa saahase..71

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! There are three kinds of chEthanams (the nithya samsAris, the liberatedones and the nithya Sooris) and achEthanams (Prakruthy, Kaalam and Suddha Sathtvam). The inherent nature (Svaroopam/ Satthaa) of these three kinds of ChEthanams and achEthanams, their sustenance (sthEma) as well as their vyApAram (Pravrutthi) are ordained by You. You are their niyAmikai (Commander). Your sankalpam cannot be interrupted by anyone (Parai: aparAhathaa). Those who recognize their powerlessness to undertake Bhakthi yOgam for Moksham choose Prapatthi yOgam. You take full responsibility to protect those helpless ones performing Prapatthi with full trust in You as their saviour. All the other kalyANa guNams of the Lord consider You as their great queen and serve You with joy (KimkurvANa prabhUtha guNAntharA:). You are ThiruvengadamudayAn’s icchA sakthi. In the form of Dayaa Devi, You do not worry about the fruits of Your action and engage in chasing away the sorrows of the suffering chEthanams. With all these vaibhavams, You engage in a daring act. You overlook my fierce sins and cast Your auspicious glances on adiyEn (math yeekshana saahasE vahasi) and accept my humble prapatthi to save me. This kind of daring act without concern for the consequences cannot be initiated by anyone else. This demonstrates Your unique SaamarTyam (VaichakshaNyam)!

Slokam 72

vR^iShagiri pater.h hR^idhyaa vishvaavataara sahaayinI

xapita nikhilaavadhyaa devi xamaadi niShevitaa.

bhuvana jananI puMsaaM bhogaapavarga vidhaayinI

vitamasi pade vyaktiM nityaaM bibharShi daye svayam.h..72

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! There are a lot of similarities between Yourself and Periya PirAtti (MahA Lakshmi). Periya PirAtti resides on Your Lord’s chest and You reside in the mind of Your Lord. Periya PirAtti accompanies Your Lord in every incarnation of His and helps Him. You also stay with Your Lord in all His incarnations and assist Him. If there is no Dayaa (KaruNaa), there could not be any avathArams. PirAtti removes the sins of ChEthanams. The Paapams of ChEthanams run away from places, where You are present. PirAtti is worshipped in Her role as the Empress of the Lord by Kshamaa (BhUmi DEvi) and others. BhUmi DEvi (Kshamaa) stays under Your suzerainty and follows Your niyamanams. PirAtti is the Mother of the Universe. Oh Dayaa Devi! You serve as the Mother of the Universe also since You are responsible for the creation of the Universe. Periya Piratti confers MangaLams in this world and blesses us with Moksha anugraham in the other world. Oh DayA Devi! You play a similar role in this matter since the chEthanams gain MangaLams in this and the other world with Your power. Periya Piratti stays in Sri Vaikuntam with Her eternal auspicious ThirumEni. Her permanent abode of Srivaikuntam is totally devoid of TamO guNam. Oh Dayaa Devi! You volunteer to reside permanently in the hearts of righteous ones (Saadhus), which are completely free from TamO guNam. Thus there are many similarities between Yourself (Dayaa DEvi) and Periya PirAtti. adiyEn is inclined therefore to think that both of You have the same roopam and are one and the same Devi of the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam.

Slokam 73

svaya mudayinaH sidhdaadhyaa viShkR^itaascha shubhaalayaaH
vividha vibhava vyuuhaa vaasaaH paraM cha padaM vibhoH.
vR^iShagiri mukheSh.h veteSh.h vichchhaavadhi pratilabdhaye
dR^iTa vinihitaa nishreNistvaM daye nija parvabhiH..73

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! Your Lord is resplendent in five forms: (1) as ArchaavathAran at variousDhivya dEsams; Among some of them, He shines in a self-manifested form (Svayam VyakthaKshEthrams such as ThiruvEnkadam); In other dhivya dEsams, He manifests Himself in response to the power of the penance of DevAs or Rishis (Kaanchipuram, Thiruvaheendhrapuram and ThiruviNNagar et al; these KshEthrams are known as Saiddham), Dhaivam and Aarsham. (2) He also appears in Vibhava avathArams such as Matsya-Koorma- Nrusimha-Raama-KrishNAdhi avathArams (3) He also appears in VyUhaavathArams as VaasudEvan-SankarshaNan-Pradhyumnan and Aniruddhan (4) He resides as AntharyAmi Brahman in the heart cavities of the ChEthanams (5) Finally, He stays as Para VaasudEvan in Sri Vaikuntam.Dayaa Devi! All these five manifestations are a direct result of Your anugraham. You serve as the well bound steps of a ladder named Dayaa for Your Lord to descend from His Supreme abode of Sri Vaikuntam and the chEthanams to climb the same ladder to reach Your Lord, the boon granting Kalpaka tree and pick the desired fruits from that divine tree. You are that ladder which facilitates this two way traffic.Your Lord descends through You to manifest Himself in His PanchAvathArams to bless the ChEthanams and be accessible to them. Some blessed chEthanams perform Prapatthi and climb up the ladder of Dayaa to ascend to Parama Padham.

Slokam 74

hitamiti jagad.h dhR^iShTayaa kluptair.h aklupta phalaantaraiH

amati vihitair.h anyair.h dharmaayitaischa yadR^ichchhayaa.

pariNata bahuchchhadmaa padmaa sahaaya daye svayaM

pradishasi nijaabhipretaM naH prashaamyad.h apatrapaa..74

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi of PadhmA SahAyan at ThiruvEnkatam! The ChEthanams accumulate PuNyams in many ways through their karmAs: (1) Buddhi Poorvam / PrAsankikam,(2) abuddhi poorvam / Aanushankikam and (3) Yaadhrucchikam. In the Buddhi Poorva janithaPuNyam, a ChEthanam digs a PushkaraNi, gives away the acquired wealth to BhagavAn and His BhAgavathAs driven either by its own instincts or guided by others (PrAsankikam); in abuddhi poorva punYam case, they perform good deeds without deliberate knowledge about them. Aanushankikam is the case, where the fruits of a kaimkaryam like fan kaimkaryam to a BhAgavathan reaches another Bhaagavathan sitting next to the one for whom the kaimkaryam was intended. The performer of this kaimkaryam is not aware of this auxiliary effect. The third category of PuNyam is accumulated when unintended acts happen at special, auspicious times. For instance, when a fisherman jumps into water in pursuit of his trade at a time without his awareness that it is a Mahaa puNya Kaalam like ardhOdhayam. He had no intention of accumulating puNyam but that puNyam comes his way in an accidental manner. Oh Dayaa Devi! all the above puNyams will not be grand puNyams; they yield some insignificant phalans. Sambhandham with Your glances however leads to grander and everlasting phalans. Those phalans blessed by You make the beneficiaries perform the upAyams like Prapatthi and grants them whatever they seek all the way up to Moksham and ParipoorNa BrahmAnandham. After granting these phalans, your sorrow of not having come to their rescue earlier vanishes.

Slokam 75

atividha shivair.h aishvaryaatma anubhuuthi rasairjanaan.h

ahR^idayam.h iha upachchhandhyaiShaaM asa~Nga dashaarthinii.

tR^iShita janataa tiirthasnaana krama xapitainasaaM

vitarasi daye viitaata~Nkaa vR^iShaadri pateH padam.h..75

(MEANING):

The key words here are: “DayE! (Thvam) Vrushagiri PathE: padham vitharasi” (Oh Dayaa DEvi! You bless the prapannAs with the enjoyment of the sacred feet of Lord VenkatEsa). Dayaa Devi! You grant the grand wealth of Kaivalyam (AathmAvalOkanam or enjoyment of the Aathma svaroopam), which is one grade bigger than the Iswaryam of Brahma, which is turn is one level larger than that of the wealth of MahEswaran (Lord Siva). You do not confer anyone of these categories of wealth as a boon out of full enthusiasm. Why is that so You grant these requested boons half-heartedly ? It is because these Iswaryams are not everlasting (Saasvatham). Moksha SaamrAjyam is the only everlasting Iswaryam. You decide that they roam around the desired pastures for a while and then correct them to seek the everlasting Iswaryam that you can bless them with. You wait for them to lose interest in these fickle Iswaryams and once they recognize the asAram and the temporariness of these perishable Iswaryams, You bless them with the Jn~Anam to destroy their sins of anyadevathA upAsanam and Bhaagavatha apachArams and motivate them to perform Prapatthias Mumukshus (those desiring Moksham). Your hesitancy to grant them Moksham without Prapatthi is now removed and You grant Moksham to these PrapannAs without fear or favor (PakshapAtham and Saasthra Viruddham) The blessed ones become the fortunate ones to perform nithya Kaimkaryam at the holy feet of Your Lord. Oh Dayaa Devi! Who else can render such great assistance (MahOpakAram) except You ?

Slokam 76

vR^iShagiri sudhaa sindhau jantur.h daye nihitastvayaa

bhava bhaya pariitaapachchhityai bhajannaghamarShaNam.h.

muShita kaluSho mukteragresarairabhi puuryate

svayam.h upanataiH svaatmaananda prabhR^ityanu bandhibhiH..76

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! You decided to destroy the many fears of SamsAram (Bhava bhaya pareetApam) and the ensuing sufferings of the Jeevans. For this purpose, You plunge the suffering ChEthanam in the ocean of bliss known as ThiruvEnkatamudayAn at Vrusha Giri (ThvayA Janthu: Vrusha Giri SudhA Sindhou nihitha:). There is a snAnam prescribed in the SaasthrAs named agamarshaNam. When one performs this type of SnAnam in the holy waters, his sins are destroyed thoroughly and the previous tApams are chased away.Similarly, the ChEthanam which was immersed in the blissful ocean of SrinivAsan by You gets its taapams and Paapams removed through the performance of the act of Prapatthi. Oh Dayaa DEvi! You are the one, who performs the Prapatthi for the chEthanam. Until the chEthanam can enjoy the MokshAnandham at the end of its life on earth, You bless the chEthanam to enjoy some viSEsha anubhavams here itself. Two such special anubhavamsare: (1) enjoyment of the Lord, who resides inside as AntharyAmi or indweller and (2)enjoyment of ArchAvathAra Moorthys and performing Kaimkaryams for them. You bless the Prapannan with many other visEsha anubhavams. These anubhavams here are like the retinue that goes ahead of the supreme MokshAnandham. How can one count the limitless upakArams that You perform for the Prapanna Jeevan ? It is impossible.

Slokam 77

anitara juShaam.h antarmuule.apyaaya pariplave

kR^itavid.h anaghaa vichchidhyaiShaaM kR^ipe yama vashyataam.h.

prapadana phala pratyaadesha prasa~Nga vivarjitaM

pratividhim.h upaadhatse saardhaM vR^iShaadri hitaiShiNaa..77

(MEANING):

Oh DayA Devi! when a Prapannan, who never goes near anya dEvathAs (anitharajushAm) commits consciously an apachAram (antharmUlE apAya pariplavE api), You as a kind hearted and blemishless Devi of the Lord makes sure that the Prapatthi performed by him earlier does not become nullified. Out of Your sense of gratefulness for the Prapatthi performed, You (DayA DEvi) protect the chEthanan from falling into the hands of the agents of Yama dharma dEvan and place the ChEthanam instead at the sacred feet of Your Lord on Thirumalai (Yama vaSyathAm vicchidhya, yEshAm VrushAdhri hithaishiNA Saardham prathividhim upAdhathsE). Your Lord wishes for the hitham of all and You join with Him to remove any and all obstacles to Moksham through a PrAyascchittha Prapatthi asParihAram ( VrushAdhri hithaishiNA sArdham prapadhana phala prathyAdEsa prasanga vivarjitham prathividhim upAdathsE). This way, you and Your Lord remove any thing that will negate the phalan of Moksham arising from the prapatthi performed earlier. Oh DayaaDEvi! without this mahOpakAram of Yours, how could the erring chEthanam would have been saved ?

Slokam 78

xaNa vilayinaaM shaastra artthaanaaM phalaaya niveshite

sura pitR^i gaNe nirveshaat.h praagapi pralayaM gate.

adhigata vR^iSha xmaa bhR^in.h naathaam.h akaala vashaMvadaaM

prati bhuvam.h iha vyaachakhyus.h tvaaM kR^ipe nirupaplavaam.h..78

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! You stay together with ThiruvengadamudayAn always; not for a moment are You separated from Him (adhigatha Vrusha kshamAbhruth NaaTA ). You are beyond the measurement by time (akAla vaSamvadhAm). Your activities are not stoppable by any one(nirupaplavAm ThvAm). SaasthrAs aver that karmAs like Yaagam, Homam, DhAnam grant phalans desired by the performer (karthA). When those KarmAs are completed, they lose their ability to exist further to grant additional phalans. They have fulfilled their duties and leave the stage as it were. For continuity, Oh Dayaa Devi, You have appointed dEvAs and Pithru groups (vargams) to bless the karthAs with phalans appropriate for their karmAs. It is possible that the life cycle of the dEvAs and the Pithrus might be ended before they complete their duties to grant the phalans to the karthAs. In that case, there is a vaccum in phalan granting. It is here the Saasthra Jn~Anis point out that You (Dayaa Devi) stand in their place as never failing representative and the gurantor (Prathinidhi and Jaameen) of those phalans for the performance of the Vaidhika karmAs. You are thus the ever present Prathinidhi for the assembly of dEvAs and pithru gaNams during and after PraLayam

Slokam 79

tvad.h upasadanaad.h adya shvo vaa mahaa pralaye api vaa

vitarati nijaM paadaambhojaM vR^iShaachala shekharaH.

tadiha karuNe tattat.h kriiDaa tara~Nga paramparaa

tara tamatayaa juShTaayaaste duratyayataaM viduH..79

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your Lord at ThiruvEnkatam grants Moksham to those who perform Prapatthi to Him either today or tomorrow or during the time of deluge the fruits of thatPrapatthi, which is His pair of lotus feet (KaruNE! Thvath upAsanAth adhya svO vaa mahA praLayE api vaa VrushAchala sEkhara: nijam paadha ambhOjam vitarathi). Performance of nithya, niravadhya kaimkaryam at those sacred feet is Moksham. These prapannAs are recognized by Your Lord as having performed SaraNAgathy to You. He can not disobey You. Therefore He grants Moksham without fail either today, tomorrow or later all the way upto the time of PraLayam. Some PrapannAs desire Moksham as soon as possible ( AarTaPrapannAs); some desire Moksham a little later or at the time, when their body falls down (dhruptha prapannAs). Your Lord, who is under Your control grants Moksham to these different categories of PrapannAs based on their wishes. Oh Dayaa Devi! You are like a huge river with cool waters to quench the samsAric taapams of SamsAris. You bring them under Your control, sport with them like the rhythmic sequence of waves of that river (taranga paramparaa) reaching its two banks so they can offer their worship to You. Some times these waves are big and noisy and at other times they are small and quiet (Taranga ParmaparA tarathamayaa jushDAyA:). The prapannAs recognize the inevitability of being drenched by Your waves of dayaa (durathyayathAm karuNaa lahari)

Slokam 80

praNihita dhiyaaM tvat.h saMpR^ikte vR^iShaadri shikhaamaNau

parasR^imara sudhaa dhaaraakaaraa prasiidati bhaavanaa.

dR^iDhamiti daye dataasvaadaM vimukti valaahakaM

nibhR^ita garuto nidyaayanti sthiraashaya chaatakaaH..80

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your Lord stands on top of Vrusha Giri as its crown jewel (DayE! Thavth samprukthE VrushAdhri SikhAmaNi iva). For those who meditate on Him there (PraNihitha dhiyAm), the waves from that dhyAnam spreads like a flood of nectar ( prasrumarasudhA dhArAkArA bhAvanA praseedhathi). This is for sure (ithi dhruDam). The dark rain bearing cloud (KaaLamEgam) on top of Vrusha Giri accompanied by You functions as a drenching downpour of Moksha Aanandham for the Yogis (ithi datthAsvAdham vimukthivalAhakam). These blessed Yogis (Bhakthi Yoga SaadhakAs) stand immobile and rooted in their dhyAnam and enjoying the Moksha sukham like the resolute chathakA birds enjoying their only food, the beams of the Moon. These Yogis of unwavering minds do not think of any god except You and are tranquil while awaiting the soothing bliss of Moksha Aanandham

Slokam 81

kR^ipe vigatavelayaa kR^ita samagra poShaistvayaa

kali jvalana durgate jagati kaaLa meghaayitam.h.

vR^iSha xiti dharaadiShu sthiti padeShu saanuplavaiH

vR^iShaadripati vigrahair.h vyapagataakhilaa vagrahaiH..81

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Inspired by Your command, the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam manifests Himself as ArchA Moorthys at different dhivya dEsams. Those divine forms of Your Lord are the nourishing rain bearing clouds for the people of this world. For this KaaLa mEgham to drench the world with all soubhAgyams, You are there to remove any obstacles such as Your Lord’s anger over those who violate His injunctions (nigraha sankalpam of Your Lord). You make sure that His anugraha sankalpam is dominant in His archA moorthams. These archa forms of Your Lord are like the KaalamEgams roaming around the hills of ThiruvEnkatam, ThirumAlirumchOlai, Thiruneermalai et al. Just as the rainy season clouds need wind,thunder and lightning as accompaniments, Your Lord incarnates with His nithyasooris like AdhiSeshan, Garudan and VishvaksEnar as well as His five weapons. Similar to the rainy clouds rejuvenate the burnt out sections of fire swept forests, the archA ThirumEnis of Your Lord at the different dhivya dEsams come to the rescue of SamsAris scorched by the fire of Kali Purushan. These suffering samsAris, who had lost their vivEkam due to the merciless attacks of Kali Purushan get rid of the dominating TamO guNam and gain Satthva guNam to engage in Prapatthi anushtAnam for Moksha Siddhi. If one reflects on who is responsible for these blessings to the SamsAris, it becomes obvious that it is You, Dayaa Devi, who is responsible for these boons. Your Lord would not have taken these archAvathArams without the manifestation of Your anukampaa (KaruNai/Dayaa)

Slokam 82

prasuuya vividhaM jagat tadabhi vR^iddhaye tvaM daye

samIxaNa vichintana prabhR^itibhiH svayaM taadhR^ishaiH.

vichitra guNa chitritaaM vividha dhoSha vaideshikiiM

vR^iShaachalapateH tanuM vishasi matsya kuurmaadikaam.h..82

(MEANING):

Oh SrinivAsa KaruNE! Just as You are instrumental in persuading Your Lord to manifest in archaa ThirumEnis, You are also the cause behind His Vibhava avathArams like Mathsya, Koorma, Hamsa et al. You enter into those ThirumEnis and perform the avathAra kaaryams (MathsyaKoormAdhikAm VrushAchala pathE: tanum svayam viSasi). If there were to be no dayaa, there would be no reason for these vibhava avathArams to happen. Oh Dayaa Devi! You bless the jeevAthmAs with indhriyams and sareeram, when they stay in their immobile and helpless state during the PraLayam. Afterwards, You make them enjoy sukham and dukkham according to their Karmaas. Thus, You are the Mother of the universe with its infinite variety of charAcharams. All the sentient beings are Your children. It becomes Your duty to protect them. For this purpose of their rakshaNam, You enter into Your Lord’s VibhavAvathAra ThirumEnis in the suddha satthvamaya form propelled by Your own sankalpam. Just like the Mathsyam, Koormam and Hamsam, You protect Your children thru looking at them, thinking about them and embracing them (Taadhrusai: abhivruddhayE sameekshaNa, vichinthana prabrudhibhi: kaaryENa). The fish is said to protect its little ones through looking at them; the tortoise through thinking about their infants from far way; the swans make sure that little ones gain nourishment through embracing them. Similarly in all these Suddha satthva maya vibhavAvathArams, You invigorate and nourish Your children with Your Dayaa.

Slokam 83

yugaanta samayochitaM bhajati yoga nidraa rasaM

vR^iSha xitibhR^idiishvare viharaNa kramaajjaagrati.

udiirNa chaturarNavii kadana vediniiM mediniim

samud.h dhR^itavatii daye tad.h abhijuShTayaa daMShTrayaa..83

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! The Parama Purushan, ThiruvenkadamudayAn engages in Yoga nidhrA during the time of PraLayam. Then, He is in a state of bliss closing His eyes and enjoying all His Iswaryams; at that time, He also contemplates about creating the world a new for His sport and the ways to turn the newly created brings into righteous paths in His LeelA VibhUthi. During PraLayam, all the four oceans unite and water is everywhere (udheerNa chathurarNavee kadanam) and BhUmi is stuck under one corner of PaathALam (lower world). Knowing the difficulties that BhUmi Devi is experiencing at this time, Oh Dayaa Devi, At this time, propelled by Your compassion, You wish to lift BhUmi Devi from the bottom of the ocean. For this purpose, You command Your Lord to take VaraahaavathAram and bring Her up with the help of His tusk and establish BhUmi Devi in Her wanted sTAnam (DayE! mEdhineem tadhabhijushtayA dhamshtrayA samuddhruthavavathee). The cause behind the VarAha avathAram of the Lord is celebrated in this slOkam

Slokam 84

saTaa paTala bhiiShaNe sarabhasaaTTa haasodbhaTe

spurat.h kR^idhi parisphuTad.h bhR^ikuTike.api vaktre kR^ite.

daye vR^iShagiriishitur.h danuja Dimbha dattastanaa

saroja sadR^ishaa dR^ishaa samuditaakR^itir dR^ishyase..84

(MEANING):

This slOkam salutes Sri NrusimhAvathAram and the role played by Dayaa Devi in this avathAram. During this avathAram, Sri Narasimha BhagavAn jumped out of the pillar in HiraNyan’s sabhaa so that His devotees’ statement will not become false. The Lord’s leonine face looked fearsome with the manes / facial hair assembly (VakthrE saDApaDalabheeshaNE); the ear splitting laughter was fearsome and majestic (sarabhasa attahAsaudhbhaDE); the eye brows were moving violently displaying rage (parisphDath bhrUkuDikEsphurath kruthi). The anger was at the apachArams committed by HiraNya Kasipu towards His BhAgavathaa son. Amidst all this display of anger,the soft lotus like glances of DayA Devi was falling on the child BhAgavathan PrahlAdhan and She was nursing him with Her breast milk and looked joyous. AgaDitha GaDanam (Union of polaropposites) was taking place there. The Lord was filled with rage and was ready to tear HiraNyan apart while Dayaa Devi was showing tender compassion towards Bhaktha PrahlAdhan at the same time. DayA Devi assumed the role of the caring Mother to that child in distress. DayA Devi stayed in the two eyes of Her Lord and displayed anger with one eye and tenderness with the other

Slokam 85

prasakta madhunaa vidhi praNihitaiH saparyodakaiH

samasta duritachchhidaa nigama gandhinaa tvaM daye.

asheSham.h avisheShataH trijagad.h a~njanaadrii shituH

charaacharam.h achiikara sharaNa pa~Ngajena a~Nkitam.h..85

(MEANING):

Here the involvement of Dayaa DEvi in the Vaamana-Thrivikrama avathAram is saluted. Oh Dayaa Devi! You made it possible for every sentient and the insentient ones in the three worlds to be stamped by the lotus feet of the Lord of AnjanAdhri, ThiruvEnkadamudayAn without partiality (DayE! Thvam AnjanAdhri Yeesithu: charaNa pankaja chara acharamaSEsham avisEshatha: angitham yeeSithu:). The contact with the Lord’s sacred feet became possible for every being in the three worlds without discrimination (aSEsham thrijagathaviSEshatha: ankitham). The mark of the Lord’s sacred feet was seen on every one of the sentients and insentients at that time. Swamy Desikan offers His salutation to those world-measuring feet this way: “ Vidhi praNihithai: saparyA udhakai: prasaktha madhunA samastha dhurithacchidhA nigama gandhinA AnjanAdhri YeeSitu: charaNa pankajam”. These lotus soft feet of the Lord of Anjana Giri were washed with poojA theertham from the kamanDalu of BrahmaDevan; they were generating nectar (honey); those sacred feet have the fragrance of the VedAs (Nigama ParimaLam). They resemble the beautiful lotus in softness. The world and its beings bore the mark of those lotus feet of the Lord as VaishNava Chinnam. Oh Dayaa Devi! The world and its beings realized then that they are the Sesham (liege) of YourLord (Sarva Seshi). While using the destruction of the pride of MahA Bali, Oh Dayaa DEvi, You gained the glory of protecting all the beings of the world

Slokam 86

parashvatha tapodana prathana satkrutu upaakR^ita

xitiishvara pashu xarat.h xataja ku~Nkuma sthaasakaiH.

vR^iShaachala dayaalunaa nanu vihartum.h aalipyathaa

nidhaaya hR^idaye daye nihata raxitaanaaM hitam.h..86

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! You commanded ThiruvEnkadamudayAn to incarnate as ParaSuRaaman. There is some thing unique about this avathAram. This avathAram is an AavEsa avathAram, where the Lord entered into the body of a blessed chEthanam. In this avathAram, the Lord destroyed evil kings. ParaSurAman used His axe to destroy these kings. Oh Dayaa Devi! Common folks may wonder as to how You as Dayaa DEvi can put up with these cruelties. This is understood by the knowledgeable ones this way without any conflict : The war that ParaSuRaaman had with the kings is a kin to a Yaagam. The animals sacrificed in that Yaagam were the KshathriyAs, who misbehaved. They died at the hands of ParaSuRaaman and attained veera svargam after their sins were wiped out. Your Lord killed the offending Kings through ParaSuRaaman, cleansed them of all their paapams and enabled them to attain Sathgathy. Oh Dayaa Devi! This is an auspicious act befitting You. He covered You with the saffron paste (the King’s blood) and sported with You. The fight of ParaSuRAman is described as an act of KaaruNyam by the DayALu of ThiruvEnkatam at the behest of Dayaa Devi: “ VrushAchaladayALunA nihatha rakshithAnAm hitham hrudhayE nidhAya viharthum ParaSvaTatapOdhana pratana sath Krathu”. That war to mete out justice is saluted as an ausppicious Yaagam (Sath Krathu)

Slokam 87

kR^ipe kR^ita jagadh hite kR^ipaNa jantu chintaamaNe

ramaa sahacharaM tadaa raghu dhuriiNayantyaa tvayaa.

vyabhajyata saritpatiH sakR^idavexaNaat.h tatxaNaat.h

prakR^iShTa bahu paataka prashama hetunaa setunaa..87

(MEANING):

Here Sri RaamAvathAram is saluted. Oh Dayaa DEvi! You are celebrated for Your impartiality. Without making any discrimination, You shower Your compassion on the lowly and the lofty ones. You are like the ChinthAmaNirathnam that grants all the boons in that You fulfill all the desires of those, who have performed SaraNAgathy at Your sacred feet. When the world suffered from the evil acts of RaavaNan, You commanded Your Lord at ThiruvEnkatam to incarnate with SithA PirAtti as Raamachandran, the son of DaSaraTan of AyOdhyaa. As Raaman, You destroyed RaavaNan and his retinue. The world became happy. The impact of Your avathArakaaryam as Raaman did not stop after the avathAr amended. The fallout from RaamAvathAram lasts even today. You blessed the world with the Raama Sethu, the darsanam of which once destroys all of our sins instantly (sakruth avEkshaNAth tath kshaNAth prakrushta Bahu pAthaka praSama hethu). Oh DayaaDevi! The MahOpakAram of Yours is lasting beyond the time of RaamAvathAram and is blessing everyone with the Raama Sethu darsanam.

Slokam 88

kR^ipe paravatas.h tvayaa vR^iSha giriishituH kriiDitaM

jagadhitaM sheShatas.h tadidam.h ittham.h arthaapyate.

madachchhala parichyuta praNata duShkR^ita prexitaiH

hata prabala daanavair.h haladharasya helaa shataiH..88

(MEANING):

This slOkam celebrates BalarAmAvathAram and sheds light on the links of that avathAram with Dayaa Devi. Oh KrupE! Your Lord is totally under Your influence (ThvayaaParavatha:). You made Him take the avathAram of BalarAman, the elder of KrishNan. BalarAman had a plough as His weapon. He took on the habit of the kings and became accustomed to drinking Madhu. He acted also as one who was under the influence of that Madhu. For consumers of Madhu, things are not recognizable in their true form. That is a defect induced by intoxication.BalarAman used that as an excuse for not reacting to the dhOshams of the devotees. BalarAman in this context was unable to see the MahAparAdhams of even serious offenders like DuryOdhanan. He did kill the arrogant Pilampaasuran, who troubled the world. BalarAman performed many such heroic acts. Those acts including His drinking of Madhu appear to have caused only auspiciousness to the world. The truth here is that any act performed by Your Lord as per Your command ends up ultimately as producing auspiciousness (ThvayaaParavatha: Vrushagiri YeeSihtu: kreetithamaSEshatha: Jagath hitham ithi arTApyathE)

Slokam 89

prabhuuta vibudha dviShad.h bharaNa khinna visvaM

bharaabhara apanayanachchhalaat.h tvam.h avataarya laxmiidharam.h.

niraa kR^itavatii daye nigama saudha diipa sriyaa

vipaschit.h avigiitayaa jagati giitayaa.andhaM tamaH..89

(MEANING):

This slOkam celebrates the MahOpakAram of Dayaa DEvi during KrishNAvathAram. Oh Dayaa Devi! The burden of supporting the powerful foes of DevAs, Viz., asurAs was unbearable for BhUmi Devi and She grieved over this situation (PrabhUtha viBhudhadhvishadh bharaNa khinna ViswambarA ). Oh Dayaa DEvi! You made the sankalpam to lighten the load of BhUmi Devi and for that purpose ordered Your Lord at Thirumalai to take on the avathAram of KrishNa to sport in the shepherd colony

(ViSvambarA bhara apanayanacchalAth Thvam Lakshmidharam avathArya). Through that act of commanding Your Lord to appear as KrishNa, You performed the great UpakAram of the birth of Bhagavath Geethai to chase away the intense darkness of ajn~Anam that surrounded the world. The Geethai serves as the bright lamp, whose lustre originates from the grand mansion of the VedAs (nigama soudha DheepaSriyaa) and is saluted unanimously by the learned ones as the light that banishes the darkness of nescience in this world. The auspicious lamp of Bhagavath Geethai (akaNDa dheepam/ NanthA Thiru ViLakku) and the reassuring CharamaslOkam there in explains the greatness of Prapatthito remove our samsAric sufferings once and for all. Oh Dayaa DEvi! This MahOpakAram was made possible by You!

Slokam 90

vR^iShaadri haya saadinaH prabala dormarut.h pre~NkhitaH

tviShaa spuTa taTid.h guNastvadavaseka saMskaaravaan.h.

kariShyati daye kali prabala gharma nirmuulanaH

punaH kR^ita yugaa~NkuraM bhuvi kR^ipaaNa dhaaraadharaH..90

(MEANING):

This slOkam relates to Kalki avathAram. Swamy Desikan recognizes the Lord of Thirumala as “Haya Saadhina:” and celebrates the sahAyam (assistance) given by Dayaa Devi in this tenth and last avathAram of the Lord. This avathAram takes place at the end of Kali Yugam and ushers in the noble Krutha Yugam, where Dharmam stands firmly on its four legs. Swamy Desikan salutes Dayaa Devi as the cause for this avathAram. At the end of Kali Yugam, only sinners will be populating this earth. At that time, Dayaa Devi commands the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam to manifest as Kalki avathAram to lighten the load of the universe. Kalki BhagavAn rides on a white horse, carries a glittering sword, destroys the sinners left and sets the stage for the onset of the noble Krutha Yugam. The sword that Kalki BhagavAn carries is dipped in dayaa to destroy the evil ones and to pave the way through that act to make them attain sathgathy. The Sword in the hand of Kalki is like a cloud. When that sword associates with Dayaa DEvi, it is like the sword drinking the water of compassion. Kalki BhagavAn’s sword-wielding hand is like a roaring wind that pushes the rain-bearing cloud. When the sword swirls in Kalki BhagavAn’s hands,its radiance falls on all directions. That spreading of the lustre of the sword is like the travel of lightning in all directions. That sword's movements drenches the world with the rain of Dayaa. Those who get killed by the sword of the BhagavAn reach sathgathy and are rid of their sins. Through this act of destructon of the sinners, all the SamsAra tApams are banished. After the sword of the BhagavAn destroys Kali dhOshams, the scene is set for the dawn of the most auspicious Krutha Yugam. Dharmam will thrive then. Oh Dayaa DEvi! You make Lord SrinivAsan take the Kalki avathAram thus and assist Him at the end of this Yugam

Slokam 91

visvopakaaram.h iti naama sadaa duhaanaam.h
adhyaapi devi bhavatiim.h avadhiirayantam.h.
naate niveshaya vR^iShaadri pater daye tvaM
nyasta sva raxaNa bharaM tvayi maaM tvayaiva..91

(MEANING):

In this slOkam, Swamy Desikan prays to Dayaa Devi to forgive his trespasses even after performing Prapatthi to Her and begs Her to overlook them and place him at the sacred feet of Her Lord. Oh Dayaa Devi! So far, You have been blessing adiyEn with all kinds of soubhAgyams corresponding to my requests to You. Knowing this, adiyEn has performed prapatthi at Your feet and left the burden of my protection to You. adiyEn does not have the total independence even if I have performed Prapatthi. You have done the Bhara NyAsam through me and accepted the burden of my protection. Even after that gracious anugraham of Yours, adiyEn does not pay attention to You and think of Your MahOpakAram. adiyEn continues to ignore Bhagavath Saasthrams and that is tantamount to insulting You. OhDayaa DEvi! Please forgive all of these past offenses, prevent me from making future apachArams and place me at the sacred feet of Your Lord, who has incarnated as SrinivAsan at Thirumala ( Thvayi nyastha sva rakshaNa bharam Maam Thvam NaaTE nivEsaya). Here,Swamy Desikan salutes Dayaa DEvi as “ Visva UpakAram sadhA dhuhAnamBhavatheem” (As the DEvi, who helps the Universe always with the milk of Her Dayaa)

Slokam 92

naisargikeNa tarasaa karuNe niyuktaa
nimentare.api mayi te vitatir.h yadi syaat.h.
vismaapayed.h vR^iShagiriisvaram.h api avaaryaa
velaatila~Nghana dasheva mahaam buraasheH..92

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your eagerness to reach Your adiyArs flows like a mighty flood. This is an intrinsic and spontaneous nature of Yours. That speed to respond will make Your Dayaa PravAham a mighty one. This auspicious flood cannot be stopped by anyone and will reach the low lands and high lands with equal ease. AdiyEn is like the hard to reach high land.Even after performing Bhara NyAsam at Your sacred feet, adiyEn commits all kinds of aparAdhams due to the sambhandham with my body. adiyen is full of ego thinking that I am a powerful man. That makes me a hard to access high land that is unfit for the drenching by Your dayaa pravAham. Inspite of these difficulties, Your merciful flood that cannot be stopped by any thing will reach me. That pravAham will remove my aparAdhams by a suitable Praayascchittham and make me pure to enjoy Moksha Sukham. Your Lord standing on top of the ThiruvEnkatam hills will watch the wonder that You perform. He is overwhelmed at the sight of the miracles that You perform like the floods during PraLayam, which reach everywhere (Mahaa ambhurAsE: avAryA vElA adhilanghana daSA iva). How can adiyEn adequately describe the vaibhavam of Yours that astonishes even Your own Lord

Slokam 93

vij~naata shaasana gatir.h vipariita vR^ityaa

vR^itraadibhiH parichitaaM padaviiM bhajaami.

evaM vide vR^iShagiriisha daye mayi tvaM

diine vibhoH shamaya daNDa dharatva liilaam.h..93

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Bhagavath sAsthrams clearly spell out the karmAs to be performed and the karmAs to be rejected. They also elaborate on the punishments meted out to perform KarmAs that are prohibited and for abandonment of the karmAs that should be done without fail. adiyEn does know about these Saasthrams and yet adiyEn travels on a dangerous path that will certainly provoke Your Lord’s anger.adiyEn is following the path of the Lord’s enemies, VrutthAsuran, HiraNyan and SisupAlan. adiyEn is aware that the punishments due to one who deliberately commits apachArams compared to the one who unconsciously trespasses Bhagavath Saasthrams. Your Lord is obligated to punish adiyEn without being impartial. Oh Dayaa DEvi! You must plead for me with Your Lord and save me from being punished (yEvam vidhE dheenE Mayi VibhO: DhaNDadharathvaleelAm Thvam Samaya) although adiyEn deserves those punishments. You must recommend appropriate PrAyascchittha Prapatthiand remove the paapams accumulated from conscious violation of Bhagavaan’s niyamanams. His own SaasthrAs say that one’s paapams acquired from conscious transgressions will be removed by the performance of suitable Praayascchittha Prapatthi.

Slokam 94

maa saahasokti ghana ka~nchuka va~nchitaanyaH

pashyatsu teShu vidadhaamyati saahasaani.

padmaa sahaaya karuNe na ruNatsi kiM tvaM

ghoraM kuli~Nga shakuneriva cheShTitaM me..94

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! adiyEn preaches to others and emphasize to them that they should not engage in terrible acts that are against Bhagavath Saasthrams. After performing upadEsam to the others, adiyEn engages in these shameful acts right in front of them. adiyEn adorns the kavacham of UpadEsam, cheat the others and follow the path opposite to that of my upadEsam. My act is like that of the Kulinga bird, which warns other birds not to engage in dangerous acts and yet what does this bird do? When the lion yawns before sleeping and has its cavernous mouth open wide, the Kulinga bird dashes in and tries to pull out the pieces of meat stuck to the teeth of the lion. Any moment, the bird runs the risk of being killed by the closing mouth of the lion. Oh Dayaa Devi! adiyEn thinks that it is Your duty to prevent me from performing such dangerous acts that I preach against. Why are You watching over my destructive behavior without intervening? You must come to my rescue and send me forward on the righteous path

Slokam 95

vixepam.h arhasi daye vipalaayite.api

vyaajaM vibhaavya vR^iShashaila pater.h vihaaram.h.

svaadhiina satva saraNiH svayamatra jantau

draaghiiyasii dR^iDhataraa guNa vaaguraa tvaM..95

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! You must act as a net to throw at me and catch me and deliver me to the sacred feet of Your Lord, ThiruvEnkadamudayAn. adiyEn is roaming every where enjoying the transient worldly “sukhams” and piling up my sins. In this matter, adiyEn is like a wild animal, which roams uncontrollably. You must bless me so that Satthva GuNam becomes ascendant in me. You alone have the power to stop my destructive modes of behaviour. You should bring Your Lord to places where adiyEn roams by tricking Him to think that He is arriving there for an enjoyable sport. Oh Dayaa DEvi! You must serve as the tight net of a hunter to catch wild birds and animals. You alone are powerful to catch in Your net all big and small animals. You are the One who stands firm to overpower us even if we accumulate huge amounts of sins. Therefore, You must catch me and place me at the sacred feet of Your Lord and make Your Lord happy over the changes that You have created in adiyEn. You must bless me with all the soubhAgyams

Slokam 96

sanatanya maanam.h aparaadhagaNaM vichintya

trasyaami hanta bhavatiiM cha vibhaavayaami.

ahnaaya me vR^iShagiriisha daye jahiimaam.h

aashiiviSha grahaNa keli nibhaam.h avasthaam.h..96

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! adiyEn is frightened about the continued accumulation of huge bundles of my sins as I think about the harm that they are creating for me (samtanyaMAnamaparAdha gaNam vichinthya thrasyAmi). AdiyEn thinks of You at the same time as my saviour (Bhavatheem cha vibhAvayAmi). What a wonder! adiyEn accumulates paapams and follow it up with the performance of PrAyascchittha Prapatthi. This cycle goes on. This is indeed a foolish act. Oh Dayaa Devi! Please chase away quickly these dangerous acts of mine, which are like that of the snake charmer playing with his poisonous snakes (AaSee visha grahaNa kELi nibhAm imAmmE avasTAm ahnAya jahi). The snake charmer plays with his snakes. Some times,they are fast and bite him. He uses antidotes, recovers and resumes his foolish ways. He gets bitten once again and the cycle goes on like my committing trespasses and performing parihArams like PrAyascchittha Prapatthis. This is a dangerous habit. Oh Dayaa Devi! You must save me from these self destructive acts

Slokam 97

autsukya puurvam.h upahR^itya mahaaparaadhaan.h
maataH prasaadayitu michchhati me manastvaam.h.
aalihya taan.h nirava sheShamalabdha tR^iptiH
taamyas.h yaho vR^iShagiriisha dhR^itaa daye tvam.h..97

(MEANING):

Oh Mother Dayaa DEvi! As Your son, adiyEn wants to please You and wants to present You with enjoyable food. adiyEn has only one food to offer You. That is the assembly of sins that adiyen abundantly has. adiyEn brings that huge amount of “food” for Your consumption and You gladly swallow them in a gulp. Your appetite is not quenched. You look as though You do not have enough food and appear famished. Your Lord, the possessor of all Iswaryams is standing next to You and supports You. It is a wonder that You stand hungry inspite of all the food available to You. Clearly, Your capacity to swallow all the sins exceeds the available sins. There is no fear about Your capacity to swallow any amount of sins that Your PrapannAs bring to You Not only do You banish all of our sins at the time of Prapatthi but You remove additional sins through the performance of PrAyascchittha Prapatthi. Moved by the simple upAyam of Prapatthi performed by adiyEn, You consider all the MahOpakArams done by You as insignificant. You continue to think thereafter that You have not done enough for me. Admirable indeed is Your mind set!

Slokam 98

jahyaat.h vR^iShaachala patiH pratighe.api na tvaaM

gharmopatapta iva shiitaLaataam.h udanvaan.h.

saa maamaruntuda bharanyasana anuvR^itti

tadviixaNaiH spR^isha daye tava keli padmaiH..98

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! During the Summer the surface of the sea water will be hot. Even then the natural coolness of the water below will never leave it. Similarly, when PrapannAs deliberately accumulate sins, the Lord of Thirumalai gets angry. You are next to Him and He cannot ever be without You. When He gets angry over the PrapannAs, You (Dayaa DEvi) keep a low profile. Next, You persuade Him to mete out a lighter punishment or encourage a PrAyascchittha Prapatthi to be done by the Prapannan to eliminate the new sins and to remove Your Lord’s anger. Then You resume Your prominent profile. You will not tolerate one thing however (i-e) Prapannan who has already done Prapatthi once for Moksham repeating that upAyam. Oh Dayaa Devi! You must bless me and shower Your KaruNA kadAkshams on adiyEn. You must facilitate Your Lord’s majestic KatAkshams to fall on adiyEn. Those kadAkshams are of a cool nature like the lotus that You hold in a sportive manner in Your hand. You must use Your merciful glances to touch adiyEn’s mind and body to reduce the SamsAric heat that adiyEn suffers from.

Slokam 99

dR^iShTe.api durbala dhiyaM damane.api dR^iptaM

snaatvaa.api dhuulirasikaM bhajane.api bhiimam.h.

baddhvaa gR^ihaaNa vR^iShashaila paterdaye maaM

tvadvaaraNaM svayam.h anugraha shR^i~NgalaabhiH..99

(MEANING):

Oh DEvi of ThiruvEngadamudayAn! Elephants enter some times into a stage of rut and act wildly. It will discard food in that state; it will resist the goadings of the trainers tool (Maavetti/ ankusam) and continue to do what it wants. When the trainer gives it a good bath in the river and keeps it clean, the elephant in rut would throw dust all over itself and become dirty. When the trainer comes near with good food to consume, it will reject the food and try to harm him. The proper way to control this elephant in the fearsome state of rut is to bind it to a pillar with strong iron chains until the state of ill health passes over. Oh Dayaa Devi, adiyEn who performed BharanyAsam to You is like this wild elephant running around in an uncontrollable state. adiyEn comprehends the meanings of Saasthrams and yet do not follow the sadhupadEsams. Even if adiyEn receives punishments for my misconduct, adiyEn does not stay away from repeating them. The old vaasanais do not leave me even if the righteous ones try to correct my undesirable and harmful ways. You must bind me therefore with the chains of Your anugraham, control me, bring me back to my senses and grow my Jn~Anam and Bhakthi

Slokam 100

naataH paraM kimapi me tvayi naathaniiyaM

maatar.h daye mayi kuruShva tathaa prasaadam.h.

baddhaadaro vR^iShagiri praNayii yathaa.asau

muktaanu bhuutim.h iha daasyati me mukundaH..100

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi serving as the Mother of the whole Universe and its beings! adiyEn was immersed in SamsAra BhOgams and had lost my directions. You had compassion for me and blessed me with Jn~Anam. You kindled my desire in securing Moksham. You actuated my Prapatthi at Your sacred feet. adiyEn has no doubt now about Moksham at the end of this life. There is nothing adiyEn needs to do for gaining Moksham. There is only one thing adiyEn needs Youranugraham (i.e)., adiyEn’s longing for the Lord of ThiruvEnkadam should grow forever. You should bless adiyEn to enjoy the MokshAnandham enjoyed by the MukthAs at Sri Vaikuntam right here at Thirumala under His sacred feet. Oh Dayaa Devi! You should stand in the front to make this happen.Only If You decide in favor of this humble request of mine, this wish of mine will get fulfilled. There is nothing else more important for me to seek from You. Please bless adiyEn with this anugraham

Slokam 101

niHsiima vaibhava juShaaM miShataaM guNaanaaM

stotur.h daye vR^iShagiriisha guNeshvariiM tvaam.h.

taireva nuunam.h avashair.h abhinanditaM me

satyaapitaM tava balaa dakuto bhayatvam.h..101

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your Lord has many auspicious guNams such as Jn~Anam, Balam, Veeryam, Sakthi et al. These guNams have limitless Vaibhavams. As adiyEn eulogizes You, those guNams are watching me with open eyes wondering why they are not the object of my adulation. They are nonplussed about adiyEn not focusing on them. adiyEn’s choice to focus my attention on You alone is deliberate. You are the queen of all the other kalyANa guNams of Your Lord ( Thvam GuNa Iswari). They can not ever match the magnitude and quality of Your help. That is why adiyEn praised You alone instead of the other guNams. It is natural for those rejected guNams to get angry at me and for me to be afraid. adiyEn does not however experience any fear from them thanks to Your Balam supporting by me. The true feelings of the other guNams are: “Oh Dayaa GuNam! We recognize You as our Empress. Without You, we cannot be of use to the chEthanams. You are hence our fundamental cause for being We. We understand this reality clearly. Any praise of You is equivalent to watering the root of a plant so that the branches above will be nourished. We recognize devotee’s praise of You as the kaimkaryam for us as well”. Swamy Desikan states that the GuNams other than Dayaa are pleased with his praise of Dayaa Devi, their Empress and congratulate him on his daring initiative. Swamy says that the backing of his position by the other guNams has removed any fear that he might have had

Slokam 102

adhyaapi tad.h vR^iShagiriisha daye bhavatyaam.h

aarambha maatram.h anidam.h prathama stutiinaam.h

sandarshita svapara nirvahaNaa sahethaaH

mandasya saahasam.h ide tvayi vandino me..102

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! VedAs have been engaged in eulogizing You from time immemorial. They have not progressed much however because the magnitude of the task of doing justice to Your limitless Vaibhavam. The VedAs feel overwhelmed and have not moved past from the starting gate in their efforts. While this is so, adiyEn of limited intellect attempted to praise Your unlimited vaibhavam through mere one hundred slOkams. Those who read adiyEn’sDayaa sathakam might be led to believe that Your glories can be successfully covered through a small list of one hundred slOkams. Belief in this possibility would mislead me as well as the readers of this sthuthi. There is nothing more harmful than this false position. Belief in such a position lead us to the summit of our arrogance. adiyEn is anaparAdhi as a result of daring to confine the description of Your Vaibhavam to a paltry assembly of one hundred slOkams. adiYen has thus committed a major aparAdham to You. Out of Your infinite and never failing dayaa, You must intercede with Your Lord and successfully persuade Him to overlook adiyEn’s aparAdhams. adiyEn has now committed aparAdham to You, the most compassionate Devi of the Lord who has helped me in every way. adiyEnhas hence no recourse except praying to you to forgive my transgression. Please shower Your Dayaa on adiyEn and forgive me for my impudence ( Thvayi idham sAhasamsandarsitha svabhara nirvahaNA sahEthA:). Please display Your apaara karuNyam and forgive adiyEn

Slokam 103

praayo daye tvadanu bhaava mahaamburaashau

praachetasa prabhR^itayo.api paraM taTasthaa.

tatraavatiirNam.h atala spR^isham.h aaplutaM maaM

padmaapateH prahasa nochitam.h aadriyethaa..103

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa DEvi! Maharishis like VyAsa, Vaalmiki and others started to praise Your glories in their ithihAsams and PurANams. They recognized that Your Vaibhavam is like a deep ocean. They arrived at the shores of this vast ocean and were afraid to enter into that ocean. They stayed therefore at the shore itself. They gave up after failing in their efforts to praise even a small portion of Your limitless Vaibhavam. It is foolish of adiyEn to attempt to praise You adequately, while the wise Maharishis have given up their efforts convinced that it was a futile attempt. adiyEn plunged into the ocean of Your glories with the goal of touching the floor. Would that be possible? adiyen keeps plunging and rising with no success. adiyEnis exasperated. adiyEn struggles with few words and stumble in my feeble attempts to eulogize You adequately. adiyEn should have stayed on the shores of the ocean of Your vaibhavam following the example set by the wise Maharishis. adiyEn did the opposite and am struggling now with my laughable efforts. adiyEn is not getting anywhere. adiyEn has become the object of laughter of ThiruvEnkatamudayAn and Periya PirAtti. Oh Dayaa Devi! Please support and save adiyEn, who has arrived at this laughable state (PadmA PathE: prahasana uchitham Maam AadhriyEthA:)

Slokam 104

vedaanta deshika pate viniveshya baalaM
devo dayaa shatakam.h etad.h avaadayanmaam.h.
vaihaarikeNa vidhinaa samaye gR^ihiitaM
viiNaa visheShamiva ve~NkaTa shaila naathaH..104

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! I am not qualified to compose this Sri Sookthi of Dayaa Sathakam dealing with the Dayaa GuNam of ThiruvEnkatamudayAn. The responsibility for the creation of this Sri Sookthi truly belongs to Your Lord. He is always interested in engaging in many sports. adiyEn’s good deeds (Sukruthams) had reached a ripened state. Your Lord chose this time to engage in a game involving adiyEn. ThiruvEnkatamudayAn lifted this insignificant child and placed me in the lofty sTAnam of “VedAnthAchAryan”. It became then His duty to make this sportly act into an appropriate one. He made the words of Dayaa Sathakam containing VedAnthic doctrines emanate from adiyEn’s mouth. This Dayaasathakam is a rendering of His using adiyEn as a mere instrument of His. In the worldly parlance, a VeeNA player will create music by stroking the strings of His instrument and delight the rasikAs In this case, there is no basis for saying that VeeNA generated the beautiful music; it is just an instrument in the hands of a skillful VeeNA player. RasikAs will praise only the dexterity of the artist playing the instrument. Therefore all glories for the birth of Sri Dayaa Sathakam truly belong to ThiruvEnkatamudayAn. adiyEn is just an instrument in His hands, while He engages in His many sports. (Swamy Desikan refers here to the honorific title of VedAnthAchAryan that the Lord of Thirumalaa conferred on him. He refers to this recognition of lifting him up to the mighty sTAnam of VeDAnthAchAryan this way:“ Venkatasaila NaaTa Deva: Baalam Maam VedAntha Desika PadhE vinivEsya”. SwamyDesikan states that ThiruvEnkatamudayAn sportfully played on him ( vaihArikENa vidhinaa)as a VaiNikan would play on a VeeNai and created Dayaa Sathakam (samayE gruheetham VeeNA viSesham iva yEthath dayaa sathakam avAdhayath

Slokam 105

anavadhim.h adhikR^itya shrinivaasaanukampaam.h
avitatha viShayatvaat.h visvam.h avriiDayantii.
vividha kushala niivii ve~NkaTesa prasuutaa
stutiriyam.h anavadhyaa shobhate satva bhaajaam.h..105

(MEANING):

Oh Dayaa Devi! Your Lord’s dayaa has no boundaries. This Sri Sookthi of adiyEn is about that limitless karuNai of Your Lord. This sthuthi arose from Your Lord using me as a mere instrument. The topics covered in this Sathakam are one hundred percent true. Nobody needs to bow their heads worrying about its veracity. The Dayaa of the Lord, the object of this Sthuthi also does not need to feel that it is a false attempt on my part. There is no basis for those who read or hear this sthuthi to feel that they are experiencing untruth and feel ashamed over that thought. This SthOthram about the Dayaa of the Lord of Saptha Giri will confer all MangaLams on the reciter and listener. This sthOthram free of blemishes in its words or its meanings is dominant with Satthva guNam (Satthva bhAjAm SObhathE). It shines as a Sthuthi that delights the hearts of the righteous people with sadAchAram and discriminating intellect. {Swamy Desikan salutes this sthuthi that arose from the Lord as“ vividha kuSala neevi anavadhyA iyam sthuthi:” (This blemish free sthOthram is the moolaKaaraNam for different types of auspiciousness)

Slokam 106

shatakam.h idam.h udaaraM samya gabhyasyamaanaan.h

vR^iShagirim.h adhiruhya vyaktam.h aalokayantii.

anitara sharaNaanaam.h aadhiraajye.abhiShi~nchet.h

shamita vimata paxaa shaar~Nga dhanvaanukampaa..106

(MEANING):

This sthOthram is capable of yielding all desired fruits. Those who master the meanings of this sthOthram (idham Sathakam Samyak abhyasyamAnAn) would clearly understand the glories of Prapatthi maargam and perform SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam. Pleased with this upAya anushtAnam, Dayaa DEvi will ascend the hills of ThiruvEnkatam and cast Her benevolent glances on the PrapannAs. She will make sure that all the obstacles that stood in the way of Moksham for these PrapannAs are destroyed by Her Lord holding the bow of Saarngam in His hand. Being the KaruNA Devi, She does not Herself come forward to destroy these obstructing entities but gets Her Lord to take action. Afterwards, Dayaa Devi crowns the leaders in Moksha SaamrAjyam, where ParamaikAnthis not seeking any other upAyam reside (anihtara SaraNAnAm AadhirAjyE abhishinchEth). It appears that Dayaa Devi reached the top of the Lofty hills of ThiruvEnkatam to drench the PrapannAs with Her shower fo KaruNaa from a high position. Swamy Desikan visualizes Dayaa Devi as “SaarngadhanvAnukampaa” staying on top of the Seven hills to drench the PrapannAs with Her downpour of karuNA ( Vrusha girim adhiruhya vyaktham AalOkayanthee)

Slokam 107

visvaanugraha maataraM vyatiShajat.h svargaa pavargaaM sudhaa
sdhriichiimiti ve~NkaTeshvara kavir.h bhaktyaa dayaam.h astuta.
padyaanaam.h yadvidheya bhagavat sa~Nkalpa kalpa dR^imaat.h
jha~njjhaamaaruta dhuuta chuuta nayataH saaMpaatiko.ayaM kramaH..107

(MEANING):

These one hundred slOkas eulogizing ThiruvEngadamudayAn’s Dayaa GuNam arose from His sankalpam and found their outlet through adiyEn. They would therefore be an object of delight for the devotees of the Lord of Saptha Giri. Dayaa Devi is the Mother of the entire universe. Like all Mothers, She seeks the happiness and well being of Her children and has many auspicious items like Svargam and Moksham to disburse to Her children. Therefore, She is very much loved by Her children. VenkatEsa Kavi eulogized this KaruNA Moorthy with one hundred slOkams. Lord SrinivAsan’s sankalpam is like a boon granting Kalpakaa tree. Dayaa Devi is like a powerful wind that blows on the Kalpakaa tree and makes the fruits of the Kalpakaa tree come down from the branches at the same time. The hundred slOkams of Dayaa Sathakam are like these fruits that have descended from the Kalpakaa tree of BhagavAn responding to the power of Dayaa DEvi (iha padhyAnAm yath vidhEyaBhagavath sankalpa janjAmArutha dhUtha chUtha nayatha: SaampAdhika: ayam krama:)

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.