Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram
Salutations to Lord of Venkatesa , who destroys one's sins just like fire destroys(burns) cotton thrown in to it !
The Manthram for Lord Venkatesa is (Pranavam) " Namo Venkatesaaya " preceded by the Pranavam . This is a eight lettered manthram like the Moola Manthram (Pranavam) Namo Naaraayanaaya . It is a very powerful manthram to worship the Lord of Thiruvenkadam . All the intrepretations to Pranavam, Nama: sabdham and Naaraayanaaya sabdham with its fourth case for the Moola Manthram (Thirumanthiram) is equally applicable to this Venkatesa Ashtaakshari manthram (Vide: SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram of Swamy Desikan ).
There are two intrepretations for the naama , "Venkatam ".
First , " vEm (paapam) kadathi (dahathi) ithi Venkata: " . Since the Lord burns completely all the sins of His devotees , He is called Venkatesan( the Lord of Venkatam).
" agnisthUlamiva-agha yO dadhatyatha dadhAthi cha "
The BhavishyOttara Puraana furnishes the example of a brahmin called Maadhava, who had slipped from being a pious and devout paragon of virtues, to a condemnable existence with all sorts of unbecoming conduct. The moment this Madhava accidentally set foot on the Venkatachala Hills, all the sins residing in his person burnt themselves out and exited from his body with a great noise and flame, proving to the astounded onlookers the efficacy of the Hills and of its presiding deity in destroying accumulated misdeeds, just as the fire annihilates rubbish.
The second definiton is: "
vEmkaarO amrutha bheejam thu
kadam isvaryam uchyathE , amrutha-iswarya sangathvAth
VenkadAdhri ithi " . vEmkaara sabdham denotes nectar
and kadam stands for immeasurable wealth (mahath Iswaryam) .
The union of amrutham (life rejuvenating nectar) with mahath
Iswaryam leads to the VenkatEsa Naamam .
Venkatesa Mahthmya slokams eulogize the Lord of Venkataachalam in many moving ways:
" Sarvaadhaara: Sarva saakshee Sarvotthamasccha Sarvaj~na: Sarva Swami "
He is indeed the basis of all, witness to all events , the loftiest of all, omniscient and Master of all .
One of the slokams visualizes Him as having the lustre of a precious blue stone and housing in His heartland Sri and Bhumi Devis.
Another slokam visualizes the presence of Brahma , Sivan and Devaas in different limbs of His body :
Srinivaasa Ramaa Naatha Thvannaabhyabhje chathurmukham
Venkatesa Mahthmya slokams eulogize the Lord of Venkataachalam in many moving ways:
" Sarvaadhaara: Sarva saakshee Sarvotthamasccha Sarvaj~na: Sarva Swami "
He is indeed the basis of all, witness to all events , the loftiest of all, omniscient and Master of all .
One of the slokams visualizes Him as having the lustre of a precious blue stone and housing in His heartland Sri and Bhumi Devis.
Another slokam visualizes the presence of Brahma , Sivan and Devaas in different limbs of His body :
Srinivaasa Ramaa Naatha Thvannaabhyabhje chathurmukham
Gireesam antha: karaNE angeshvindhraadhi devathaa:
Oh Lakshmi Kaanthaa ! Srinivaasa ! The god Brahma , Your son , resides in a lotus born out of Your navel . The deity Rudra , Your grandson ,resides in Your soul (others view Rudhran occupying the right side of the Lord) . Indhra and other devaas are found in other parts of Your auspicious body (Subha tanu) . You are thus the support for all.
Yet another slokam praises His svaroopam as the embodiment of Dayaa
" Beyond the seven oceans , there is an eighth ocean called Your grace , the endless bliss and happiness. In that ocean of grace, You are immersing the devotees by fulfilling all their desires (i-e)., not only are You granting all the material things that they seek but also grant Mohsha sukham as well to them ." Here the union of the amrutha bheejam and Iswaryam emerge as Venkatesan.
Lord Venkatesaa's beautiful lotus feet ( Athisundara Paadha Padhma yugaLam) have their own mysteries . The right foot is called "Su" symbolizing Jn~Ana Svaroopam and the left is called " var " to represent blissful Aanandha svaroopam . The pair of sacred feet is thus the union of amrutha bheejam (vEmkaaram) and Isvaryam .One has to meditate on both the Paadha Yugalam.
Those sacred feet are the source of Virajaa theerttham , Maana sarovaram waters and Dhanushkoti . Above great and sacred waters are resident at Lord Venkatesan's sacred feet ; from those lotus feet , these sacred waters flow down to earth to yield prosperity ( Iswaryam and nectarine bliss) to all the chethanams on the earth.
Virajaa MaanasasarO DhanushkOti mahaaghahruth
Oh Lakshmi Kaanthaa ! Srinivaasa ! The god Brahma , Your son , resides in a lotus born out of Your navel . The deity Rudra , Your grandson ,resides in Your soul (others view Rudhran occupying the right side of the Lord) . Indhra and other devaas are found in other parts of Your auspicious body (Subha tanu) . You are thus the support for all.
Yet another slokam praises His svaroopam as the embodiment of Dayaa
" Beyond the seven oceans , there is an eighth ocean called Your grace , the endless bliss and happiness. In that ocean of grace, You are immersing the devotees by fulfilling all their desires (i-e)., not only are You granting all the material things that they seek but also grant Mohsha sukham as well to them ." Here the union of the amrutha bheejam and Iswaryam emerge as Venkatesan.
Lord Venkatesaa's beautiful lotus feet ( Athisundara Paadha Padhma yugaLam) have their own mysteries . The right foot is called "Su" symbolizing Jn~Ana Svaroopam and the left is called " var " to represent blissful Aanandha svaroopam . The pair of sacred feet is thus the union of amrutha bheejam (vEmkaaram) and Isvaryam .One has to meditate on both the Paadha Yugalam.
Those sacred feet are the source of Virajaa theerttham , Maana sarovaram waters and Dhanushkoti . Above great and sacred waters are resident at Lord Venkatesan's sacred feet ; from those lotus feet , these sacred waters flow down to earth to yield prosperity ( Iswaryam and nectarine bliss) to all the chethanams on the earth.
Virajaa MaanasasarO DhanushkOti mahaaghahruth
Gangaadhi sarva theertthaani Thvath paadhaabhje vasanthi hi
--Venkatesa Mahaathmyam: 2.38
The power of the sacred feet of Lord Venkatesa and the good fortune of those , who think and write about their glories is saluted by another slokam:
Paadha Pankaja Mahaathmyam likhithvaiva sva-hasthatha:
dhaathrunaam Vaishnavaagrebhyo mahaaghoughaadhri bhedhanam -- Venkatesa Mahaathmyam: 2.48
(meaning): The great souls , who have the sacred knowledge of SrI VishNu tatthvam and who propagate the grace and beauty of Your blessed feet through writing about them and by other means are always liberated from all types of bondages through Your abundant grace.
Of all the gunams of Lord Venkatesan , His Dayaa Gunam is the most celebrated one. Swamy Desikan has composed hundred slokams to single out the uniqueness of Lord's Dayaa gunam . This great Achaaryan visualizes this Dayaa Gunam as a separate Devi (Divine Consort ), Dayaa Devi . Here are two excerpts from this Achaaryan's extraordinary sthothram (Dayaa Sathakam): Kamapyanavadhim vandhe karuNaa VaruNaalayam Vrushasaila tadastaanam svayam vyakthim upaagatham --Dayaa Sathakam : Slokam 9 (meaning): On its own , there is an ocean that has arisen for the eternal enjoyment of those , who live near the Thiruvenkatam hills. The waters of this ocean is Dayaa. This is the unique and most merciful ocean revered as Thiruvenkatamudayaan. The dimensions of this most compassionate ocean can not be calibrated by place , time or materials( Desam, Kaalam and Vasthu).
akinchana nidhim soothim apavarga thrivargayo:
The power of the sacred feet of Lord Venkatesa and the good fortune of those , who think and write about their glories is saluted by another slokam:
Paadha Pankaja Mahaathmyam likhithvaiva sva-hasthatha:
dhaathrunaam Vaishnavaagrebhyo mahaaghoughaadhri bhedhanam -- Venkatesa Mahaathmyam: 2.48
(meaning): The great souls , who have the sacred knowledge of SrI VishNu tatthvam and who propagate the grace and beauty of Your blessed feet through writing about them and by other means are always liberated from all types of bondages through Your abundant grace.
Of all the gunams of Lord Venkatesan , His Dayaa Gunam is the most celebrated one. Swamy Desikan has composed hundred slokams to single out the uniqueness of Lord's Dayaa gunam . This great Achaaryan visualizes this Dayaa Gunam as a separate Devi (Divine Consort ), Dayaa Devi . Here are two excerpts from this Achaaryan's extraordinary sthothram (Dayaa Sathakam): Kamapyanavadhim vandhe karuNaa VaruNaalayam Vrushasaila tadastaanam svayam vyakthim upaagatham --Dayaa Sathakam : Slokam 9 (meaning): On its own , there is an ocean that has arisen for the eternal enjoyment of those , who live near the Thiruvenkatam hills. The waters of this ocean is Dayaa. This is the unique and most merciful ocean revered as Thiruvenkatamudayaan. The dimensions of this most compassionate ocean can not be calibrated by place , time or materials( Desam, Kaalam and Vasthu).
akinchana nidhim soothim apavarga thrivargayo:
Anjanaadhreesvara dayaam abhishtoumi niranjanaam --Dayaa Sathakam: Slokam 10
(meaning): The dayaa of Anjana Giri's Lord (Venkatesan) is a magnificient treasure . One does not need magical colyrium to locate and enjoy this treasure. Those who wish to benefit from this treasure do not need to undertake the difficult saadhanaas like Bhakthi yogam. They can use the means of Prapatthi and gain any one of the four kinds of Purushaarthams that they desire. This dayaa of the Lord is blemishless. It spreads to every one without making any distinction about their status (high or low), gender or caste.
This first Naama of the Ashtotharam of the Lord of Venkataadhri ( Venkatesaaya Nama: ) from the Varaaha PuraaNam is the same as the first naama in Brahmaanda Puraana version of Sri Venkatesa Ashtottharam. Extensive commentary on the Brahmaanda Puranam naama of Venkatesaaya Nama: is housed in the companion section:
(meaning): The dayaa of Anjana Giri's Lord (Venkatesan) is a magnificient treasure . One does not need magical colyrium to locate and enjoy this treasure. Those who wish to benefit from this treasure do not need to undertake the difficult saadhanaas like Bhakthi yogam. They can use the means of Prapatthi and gain any one of the four kinds of Purushaarthams that they desire. This dayaa of the Lord is blemishless. It spreads to every one without making any distinction about their status (high or low), gender or caste.
This first Naama of the Ashtotharam of the Lord of Venkataadhri ( Venkatesaaya Nama: ) from the Varaaha PuraaNam is the same as the first naama in Brahmaanda Puraana version of Sri Venkatesa Ashtottharam. Extensive commentary on the Brahmaanda Puranam naama of Venkatesaaya Nama: is housed in the companion section:
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