marakada vallIm

kumar_iyer · Post by **kumar_iyer** » 21 Jul 2007, 11:30

Hi,

Could anyone of you tell me; to which diety is the kRiti "marakada vallIm" (kAmbHOjI/ dIkshithaR) dedicated?
I guess it is dEvI (madana janakAdi dEva pAlinIm - protector of devas like mahA visHNu).
But in that case, in the samsHTi charaNam, we see a reference of the birth of harihara putRa: "hari hRidayAvEshinIm mOhinIm, harihara putRa jananIm naLinIm". What does this lore have to do with dEvI?

Regards,
Kumar.

kumar_iyer · Post by **kumar_iyer** » 21 Jul 2007, 11:45

Oh the damage is already done!
I had intended to post this under "Sahitya and Identification requests".
Now that I cannot move this thread to another section, the rasikAs may please forgive this novice

meena · Post by **meena** » 21 Jul 2007, 23:21

Marakatavalli Amman @ Virinchipuram

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 23 Jul 2007, 12:46

Does maragata/marakata vallIm together mean the "best of emeralds"? From some source I can't recall, "valli" means a "creeper" or "eminent."

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 24 Jul 2007, 06:24

KMRASIKA,
I understand your confusion:
as marakatavallI - pArvatI is decribed as having an emerald-hued complexion, just as sivA is golden-hued (ponnAr mEniyan) except for his neck which is blue (nIlakanTham/nIlakanThan). Although, as (himagiri tanayE) hEmalatE, umA is also ponnAr mEniyAL...
gowrI I thought was gowra varNI (white/pale complexioned). kAlI as the name implies is black as the night. So, looks like we have the entire Raman spectrum!
There are so many descriptions, it is indeed tough to pin this down!

On the other hand, lakshmi is always described as navarattinam pOl mEni uDaiyAL.

Ravi

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 24 Jul 2007, 06:34

'creeper' seems to be apt here. marakata valli can mean dark, shining like emerald, delicately wrought vine (of a goddess). I do not know if valli also means a woman in sanskrit. In tamizh it does...

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 24 Jul 2007, 07:11

there are two schools of worship; one is 'markata' and the other is 'marjara'. in the former the devotee has to cling to God like how the sibling is clinging to the mother monkey. the poet must have indicated that markatavalli is Mother Goddess who will help those who have sustained faith!

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 24 Jul 2007, 15:09

Thank you all for your input. chalanata's post really was insightful as I never thought of that intrepretation.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 24 Jul 2007, 16:43

chalanata wrote:there are two schools of worship; one is 'markata' and the other is 'marjara'. in the former the devotee has to cling to God like how the sibling is clinging to the mother monkey. the poet must have indicated that markatavalli is Mother Goddess who will help those who have sustained faith!

O no! Chalanata , dont be misled by english spellings. You are talking of 2 entirely different things- markaTa(monkey) and marakata-emerald. markaTavalli in marakatavallli! Please!!!

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 24 Jul 2007, 22:38

DRS,
I never imagined I can be so exasperating; don't worry. I realised my mistake much later. in any case the word is normally pronounced as 'maragatha' and not as 'marakkatta'. i'm very amused by your annoyance! sorry!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Jul 2007, 02:35

maruttuvarin poyk kOpamum, maRRavar tan uLak kaNippum:)
(The psychiatrist's playful ire and the other's introspective excursions).

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Jul 2007, 03:03

With meticulous people around, let me hasten to change it to 'introspective evaluation' (though 'excursions' expresses the same idea)!

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 31 Jul 2007, 21:03

arasi,
did you edit your post? i remember to have seen 'malicious' and find it having been replaced with 'meticulous' or am i imagining?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Aug 2007, 07:45

chalanata,
You know of my technical 'expertise'. This is one of the posts where I haven't made any corrections, as you can see. I don't have a clue as to how to delete the 'last edited by' bit, had I edited my post!
If you don't mind my saying it, I would like your imagination to take a deroute and create more good verses which you are capable of...

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 01 Aug 2007, 08:03

After having gone through the kRti and some discussions in other forums on the kRti of MD, I am of the opinion that 'marakata valli' refers to lakShmI - There are atleast three Divya Desam Temples where Devi is called marakata valli. Also, it is doubtful whether 'virinchipuram' referred is indeed near Madurai.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Aug 2007, 08:47

Govindan,
Thanks for the post. As you say, there are several maragata vallis! I went searching too, and found four!

At tiruttaNkA consort of dIpap prakASan
tiruppuTkuzhi ,, ,, ,, vijaya rAgavan
tiruvaTTARu ,, ,, ,, Adi kESavan
tiruveLLiyanguDi ,, ,, ,, kOla villi rAman

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 01 Aug 2007, 09:43

Oh My! I was thinking markata valli is @Virinchipuram on Madras-Bengaloor road - Just now figured out that temple is a shiva temple, and this composition is not for the deity there.

-Ramakriya

jayachAmarAja · Post by **jayachAmarAja** » 01 Aug 2007, 09:54

I am cutting and pasting some related notes by Shri Aravind Krishna, who (in my opinion) is a very scholarly person.

==================================================
â€˜marakatavallIm manasaasmaraamiâ€™ is a small krithi of dIkshitar dedicated to Sri marakatavalli of â€˜virinchi puramâ€™. This town is near kanchiipuram. The deity there is â€˜maargasahaayeshvara swamiâ€™ and his consort is â€˜marakatavalliâ€™.

After mohini avataara mahavishNu united with shivaa in his left half. As you stated devi and viShNu are one and the same. In this temple maragatavalli is the mohini rUpam of viShNu. To enforce their identity there is no devi shrine in this temple. â€˜marakatavalliâ€™ the mohini form of vishNu is the consort of shivaa here. DIkshitar sang in praise of this deity,

marakatavallIm manasA smarAmi madanajanakAdi devapAlinIm
harahR^idayAveshinIm mohinIm harihara putra jananIm naLinIm
krUra daityAdi bR^inda marddinIm guruguhAdi nuta vahnivAsinIm

Devi in the form of vishNu is â€˜hari hara putra jananiâ€™ and
â€˜harahR^idayAveshniâ€™.
================================================

Here is the link to Dikshitar's kriti on mArgasahAyESvara

http://www.medieval.org/music/world/car ... varam.html

This composition also finds mention in the article on the Kshetra kritis of MD in carnatica, where it says
==============================================

On viri~ncapuram temple, we have the songs â€œmArgasahAyEshvaramâ€

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 01 Aug 2007, 12:02

jayachAmarAja,
Thanks for the information. This is indeed very convincing; explanations given elsehwere and in other forums were all very contradictory.

Is this the temple which is referred in your quotation?
http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sp/spt_v_karapuram.htm

btw What is the significance of 'vahni vAsini' referred in the kRti?

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 01 Aug 2007, 12:36

vgvindan sir

there is a reference in the Lalita sahasranama. could it be something related?

Vahni Mandala Vasini : She Who Resides In The Disc Of Fire

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 01 Aug 2007, 17:16

ig,
'vahni mandala vAsini' - the meaning given by You is what generally known.

However, 'vahni mandala' is stated to be situated in maNipura - third chakra in Kundalini yOga; vishNu is stated to be the resident deity of this chakra. Please refer to http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/kundalini_power.htm for complete information.
From that point of view, 'vahni vAsini' referred in the kRti of MD, may mean this aspect specifically.

Suffice it to say that those who believe in the unity of Siva-Vishnu would consider this temple of unique significance.

PS : In the said website referred, there is a reference to types of musical notes associated with Kundalini yOga.
ni - dha - pa - ma - ga - ri - in that order from mUlAdhAra to sahasrAra
sa - ri - ga - ma - pa - dha - -do-

Can someone throw more light on this?

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 01 Aug 2007, 18:18

vg, let me check with a srividya upasaka whom i know. the person is back this weekend i think. that might give some idea.

jayachAmarAja · Post by **jayachAmarAja** » 02 Aug 2007, 00:52

However, 'vahni mandala' is stated to be situated in maNipura - third chakra in Kundalini yOga; vishNu is stated to be the resident deity of this chakra.

Thank you sir for that explanation. The temple you pointed out in the link is indeed the one referred to. I am also looking forward to what 'ignoramus' will have to say.

About the information posted, I am simply doing a cut and paste. While not directly relevant to this discussion, I am posting below notes for one of my favourite compositions by Shri Aravind Krishna. The purpose is to share some of the pure joy that I have obtained by reading his notes. BTW, there was a fantastic rendition of this song by Sanjay Subrahmanyam in an old(er) recording of his for Dr.VVS' Guruguhanjali. He had sung several gems including kumArasvAminam in that concert.
============================================================================
---------------------------------------------
GYAnaprasUnAmbikA - KALAhasti
---------------------------------------------

shrutiinaaM muurdhaano dadhati tava yau shekharatayaa
mamaapyetau maataH shirasi dayayaa dhehi caraNau .
yayoH paadyaM paathaH pashupatijaTaajuuTataTinii
yayorlaakShaalakShmiiraruNaharicuuDaamaNiruciH ..

Oh Mother! The water that cleansed your feet adorn the head of pashupati, hari solidifies the saffron paste that decorated you feet and carefully holds it in his chest as chUdAmaNi. O Mother ! Please place thy feet that serve as the diadem for the Vedas on my head.

Devi's lotus feet adore the lock of Vedas ' shrutiinaaM muurdhaano dadhati'. In sahasranaama she is celebrated as sarvopanishhad.h udghushhTA and in trishati as sarva vedAnta tAtparya bhUmiH.

The reason for her being held in such high reverence is that she is GYAnAmbika, she is pure knowledge that dawns in the dark sky of illusion dispelling ignorance. With immense compassion she takes the responsibility of making her children know the reality. A celebrated upaniShad 'kena upaniShad' cites an interesting incident that would advocate this statement.

brahma ha devebhyo vijigye tasya ha brahmaNo vijaye devaa amahiiyanta .. 1..

Brahman obtained the victory for the Devas. The Devas became elated by the victory of Brahman, and they thought, this victory is ours and this greatness is ours.

ta aikshantaasmaakamevaayaM vijayo.asmaakamevaayaM mahimeti .
taddhaishhaaM vijaGYau tebhyo ha praadurbabhuuva tanna vyajaanatakimidaM
yakshamiti .. 2..

Brahman perceived this and appeared to them, But they did not know it. They said, 'What sprite (yaksha) is this ?'

te.agnimabruvaJNjaataveda etadvijaaniihi
kimidaM yakshamiti tatheti .. 3..

They said to agni 'O! JAtavedas, find out what sprite this is.' 'Yes,' he said.

tadabhyadravattamabhyavadatko.asiityagnirvaa
ahamasmiityabraviijjaatavedaa vaa ahamasmiiti .. 4..

He ran toward it. Brahman asked him: 'Who are you?'. He replied: 'I am Agni, I am JAtavedas.'

tasmi{m+}stvayi kiM viiryamityapiida{m+} sarvaM
daheyaM yadidaM pR^ithivyaamiti .. 5..

Brahman said: 'What power is in you?' agni replied: 'I could burn whatever is on earth.'

tasmai tR^iNaM nidadhaavetaddaheti .tadupapreyaaya sarvajavena tanna shashaaka dagdhuM sa tata evanivavR^ite naitadashakaM viGYaatuM yadetadyakshamiti .. 6..

Brahman put a straw before him, saying: 'Burn this.' He went towards it with all his might, but he could not burn it. He returned thence and said: 'I could not find out what sprite this is.'

atha vaayumabruvanvaayavetadvijaaniihi kimetadyakshamiti tatheti .. 7..

Then they said to vAyu 'O! vAyu, find out what sprite this is.' 'Yes,'he said.

tadabhyadravattamabhyavadatko.asiiti vaayurvaa
ahamasmiityabraviinmaatarishvaa vaa ahamasmiiti .. 8..

He ran toward it, and Brahman said to him: 'Who are you?' He replied: 'I am vAyu, I am mAtarishvAn.'

tasmi.Nstvayi kiM viiryamityapiida.N sarvamaadadiiya yadidaM pR^ithivyaamiti ... 9..

Brahman said: 'What power is in you?' vAyu replied: 'I could take up any thing on earth.'

tasmai tR^iNaM nidadhaavetadaadatsvetitadupapreyaaya sarvajavena tanna shashaakaadatuM sa tata evanivavR^ite naitadashakaM viGYaatuM yadetadyakshamiti .. 10..

Brahman put a straw before him, saying: 'Take it up.' He went towards it with all his might, but he could not take it up. He returned thence and said: 'I could not find out what sprite this is.'

athendramabruvanmaghavannetadvijaaniihi kimetadyakshamiti tatheti
tadabhyadravattasmaattirodadhe .. 11..

Then they said to Indra: 'O maghavan, find out what sprite this is.' He went towards it, but it disappeared from before him.

sa tasminnevaakaashe striyamaajagaama bahushobhamaanaamumaa.NhaimavatiiM
taa.Nhovaacha kimetadyakshamiti .. 12..

Then in the same space he saw a woman, highly adorned: it was Uma, the daughter of himavAn. He asked her: 'Who is that sprite?'

saa brahmeti hovaacha brahmaNo vaa etadvijaye mahiiyadhvamititato haiva
vidaaJNchakaara brahmeti .. 1..

She replied: 'It is Brahman. It is through the victory of Brahman that you have thus become great.' After that he knew that it was Brahman.

It was this praNavaswarUpiNI (umA) who revealed herself to indrA and enlightened him stays as GYAnaprasUnAmbikA at kALahasti even today.

KALahasti is situated in the border of Tamil nadu and Anadrapadesh. It's one of the pancha bhUta kshetras where shiva is worshipped as air, one the basic elements of creation.

The temple complex of Sri GYAnaprasUnAmbikA sameta Sri KALahastIshwara swami is a huge one. BAlA, pAtALa gaNapati, pancha mukha linga, sahasra linga are some of the unique shrines in this temple. Devi is seen in a standing posture bearing a niilotpala pushpa. This temple is also noted for rAhu and ketu, the two nodal planets. ketu is 'GYAnakArakA', 'one who bestow knowledge'. The placement of ketu is quite important in a horoscope for mokSha sampat. Ketu is said to have got the status of GYAnakArakA by the grace of Sri GYAnaprasUnAmbikA.

This shrine is celebrated as 'dakShiNa kailAsa', 'the kailASh of the south' the hill near the temple is as celestial as mount kailaSh. H.H.Sri Chandrashekarendra saraswati swami once did giripradakshiNam here, its said that followers were unable to keep up with swami's speed in the hot sun and had to wrap there foot with cloths and cushion to complete the pradakshhiNa were as swamigaL was quite comfortable even with out his pAdukA.

The shrine of GYAnaprasUnAmbikA was the first devi shrine visited by Diikshitar after he started composing due the grace of guha swami at ThiruttaNi. He chooses raaga kalyaaNi to sing the praise of GYAnaprasUnA. Diikshitar has composed nine beautiful compositions on devi in the rAga kalyANi in connection with the nine AvaraNa's of Sri yantra. They are,

GYAnaprasUnAmbike mAmava jagadambike
kamalAmbAM bhajare re mAnasa
kAmAkSIM kalyANIM bhajehaM bhaje
bhajare re citta bAlAmbikAM
shivakAmeshvarIM cintayehaM shRHNgAra rasa sampUrNakarIM
abhayAmbA jagadambA rakSatu
brahmavidyAmbike shrI shvetAranyeshanAyike
shrI maN^gaLAmbike shrI vAnchIsha nAyike
shrI madhurAmbike shrI shive avAva

The kriti dedicated to GYAnaprasUnAmbikA is a samashti charaNa krithi, means it does not have an anupallavi. samashti charaNa krithis are unique to dikshitar. The lack of anupallavi is not felt due to the presence of madyamakaala verses.

Pallavi

GYanaprasUnAmbike mAmava jagadambike

Samashti charaNam

dInajanAvanasha.mkari devitripurasundari
dinakara chandra teja prakAshakari shubhakari
guruguha janani kALAhastIsha manollAsini

GyanaprasUnAmbike mAmava - O Devi capable of delivering (prasUnA) knowledge (GYAnA) please protect me (mAm ava).

Sahasranaama celebrates GYAnaprasUnAmbikA with a number of nAmAs.

GYAnadA -She who gives knowledge of the self.
GYAna mudrA - She who is in the form of the GYAna mudrA or the sign of ultimate consciousness.
aGYAna dhvAnta dIpikA -She who is the luminous lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.
GYAna vigrahA -She who is the embodiment of knowledge.
GYAna gamyA -She who is to be attained through the yoga of knowledge
GYAna GYeya svarUpiNI - She who is both knowledge and the known.
praGYAna ghanarupiNI -She who is pure condensed knowledge.

The ultimate can be attained by knowledge alone. skAndapurANa beautifully says 'anantamamR^ita.m para.m GYAnaikena tallabhyam.' - The bliss the indestructible, the ultimate can be reached only by knowledge.

The desired object here is Atma GYAna which quietens all woes arising from samsAra, 'yadGYAtvA na punar moham evam yAsyasi' 'by knowing which you will not have this delusion again' -BG(4.35) that akaNdAkAraGYAnA - knowledge of the infinite unitary brahman. Devi as GYAnaprasUnA grants this knowledge of brahman who is non different from self, giving an end to all afflicting woes of samsAra.

One question may arise, if the real self 'Atman' which a jIvan is really is then how come some one can give some thing or make 'Atman' a desired object. Shankara beautifully takes up this argument and dismisses while dealing with the nAmA 'kAmitArthadA'. In the state of samsAra or vyAvahArika prapancha Atman has his bliss masked. Hence he appears to be in a state of not having it. He desires 'let me have eternal bliss'. But this bliss is already there, only masked by limitations. She dispels those limitations, resulting in the illuminating experience of bliss. In this way she gives the desired object and becomes a prasUnA.

jagadambike mAmava - Mother of the entire cosmos, Please protect me

Devi is 'aneka koTi brahmANDa jananI' She is the creator of several koTi brahmaNdas. 'Abrahma kITa jananI' Mother of the lowest insect till the ultimate brahma. She is celebrated a 'lakshhakoTyaNda nAyikA' in trishati, since samsaara is without a beginning, these andAs belong to past, present and future are of infinite number. They are hinraNyagarba or virAT in their integral form and vishva and taijasa in their collective and individual form of limitations. They are all her as many limitations or upAdhIs. When she becomes sopAdhikA or with limitations, she is Ishvara in integral form, or jIva in individual form. Each of her two forms has three kinds of upAdhIs, sthUla (grass), sukshma (subtle) and kAraNa (casual). Ishvara is known by names of vaishvAnara, hiraNyagarba and mAyAvi in these three kinds of upAdhis respectively. Similarly jIvan is termed as vishva, taijasa and praGYa. All the gross perceptible cosmos is virAt. She is the jagat with
upAdhIs and hence she is jagadambA.

She is the creator of this jagat. She is also this jagat. This can be inferred by the resultant act, because she as a creator is not different from it. This jagat which is in her, only manifests her reality, being one with her, just as a blanket is apprehended as something resulting from yarn and identified with it. In vedanta (tarka) five steps 'panchAvayava vakya' are used to infer 'anumAna' the position that jagat is not different from brahman, enunciation (pratiGYA) reason (hetu) illustration (udhAharaNa) deductive elucidation (upanaya) and conclusion (nigamana).

When a pot is made, the potter is the nimitta or the efficient cause and clay is upAdAna or materialistic cause. But when referring her as â€˜jagadanbAâ€™ dIkshitar means ParadevatA is both the material and effective cause of this universe.

Sri Shankara explains this
â€˜bahyakAraNam anapekshya UrNanAbhyAdidR^iShTAntatva pradarshanena chetanasya abinnanimittopAdAnapradarShanoktiHâ€™
Like a spider that creates a web out of its own body without the help of any outside agent, She is the inseparable, effective and materialistic cause of jagatâ€™.

There are three theories regarding brahman as the materialistic cause of this jagat. pariNama â€“ change of state, brahman becoming jagat just as milk
becomes curd. Arambha â€“ change of form, giving birth to a new form like threads becoming a cloth. As brahman is with out limit or form these, two theories are dismissed. The third is acetana â€“ by a non-conscious cause. This can also be dismissed as brahman is pure awareness and there is no place for an acetana kAraNa. Thus achetana, pariNama and Aramba vAdAs are dismissed and vivarta vAda is accepted that explains brahman as one to appear as jagat due to Ishwara mAyA. As this illusion can be over come only by GYAna, diikshitar address the shudha GYAna prasUnA as jagadamba to remind her that she is the Ishwari who has to dispel ignorance that leads to the perception of this jagat as different from herself.

>From bhakti point of view there is a specific reason for dIkshitar to address GYAnaprasUnAmbikA as 'jagadambA',

aparAdhashata.m kR^itvA jagadambeti choccharet .
ya.m gati.m samavApnoti na tA.m brahmAdayaH surAH ..

O! devi, Even if one commits innumerable misdeeds but cries out 'jagadambA', you free him from all transgression and lead him to the state that is not even obtained by brahma or indra.

dInajanAvana sha.mkari mAmava - Recognizing you as the refuge to all destitute and the embodiment of auspicious, I have come to you, Please protect me.

Diikshitar cites a specific reason and asks devi to guard him. ' O devi you are known as dInajanAvani and sha.mkari, if you are not going to be my refuge then what is the difference between an ordinary devatA and
you.

Sri Shankara in his Anandalahari cries out,

kR^ipApAN^gAlokaM vitara tarasA sAdhucharite
na te yuktopekshA mayi sharaNadIkshAmupagate .
na chedishhTaM dadyAdanupadamaho kalpalatikA
visheshhaH sAmAnyaiH kathamitaravallIparikaraiH ..

O! devi I have surrendered at your feet, You are to bestow your rejuvenating glance of grace on me. What is the difference between a normal shrub and a kalpakA creeper if it is not going to immediately fulfill one's desideratum?

Even ShyAma shasrti express a similar mood, 'kAruNya mUrti yani kAntamagu pEru koNTitivi', who bear attractive titles like 'kAruNya mUrti', if you are to retain them, you have to protect me. (pAlinchu kAmakshI pAvanI).

>From vedantic point of view to bestow auspicious to all dInajanAâ€™s she assumes a form and appears as a beautiful lady bearing a nIlotpala pushpa, Sri bagavatpAdA explains the reason for this,

â€˜bhaktAnugrAhakavigrahavattAm vinA devatAyAH buddhAvanA rUpeNa saguNopasanam anupapadyamAnam ataH mantra prakAshitadevAH vigraHa vantaH angikartavyAH iti paratiShThApitamâ€™

If the deity does not posses to bless their devotees they will be beyond the mental grasp and upAsanam becomes impossible. Hence it is established that gods illuminated by mantrAs have imagesâ€™.

The next phrase is,
Dinakara chandra teja prakAsha kari - You illuminate sUrya chandra and agnI.

Devi is 'bhAnu maNDala madhyasthA' or the one who abides at the center of the sun's disc. 'AdityAntar gatam yachcha jyotishhaam', The great light that is in the center of the sun is the heart of all creation, it is the source of all life and energy to us in this planet. Devi dwells in the sun's disk as the cause of its effulgence to illuminate and conduct this universe. Even for meditation it is recommended to visualize her in the sun's disk. Especially during sandyAvandanam.

sUryamaNDala madhyasthA.m devI.m tripurasundarIm.
pAshAN^kusha dhanurbANAn dhArayantIm shivAm bhaje ..

She is the cause of the conventional sun to be illumined. Dinakara or one who makes every day â€˜dinam karotiâ€™ illuminates the jagat to enable life possible. â€˜sa yashchAyam puruShe yashAsAvAditye sa ekahaâ€™ the one who is in the parama puruShA and in the sun are one and the sameâ€™ â€“(Tai.U 10-4) Hence she is dinakara prakAshakari.

Devi resides in the center of the orb of the moon and illuminates it 'chandramaNDala madhyagA'. She is also to be meditated on the moon's disk on paurNami,
'paurNamAsyA.m candrabimbe dhyAtvA shri lalitAmbikA.m' In sahasraara padma she is in the form of a moon shedding her effulgence.

Chandra is manas. â€˜chandaramA manasojAtaHâ€™. chandra prakAshA is the nectar that enlivens supreme devoted men with the state of identity with her by conferring on them, the state of sat chidAnanda. With these in mind
Dikshitar salutes her as 'chandra prakAsha kari'.

GYAnAmbA is also saluted as 'vahni maNDala vAsinI' or the one who resides in the effulgence of fire and illuminates it. Fire represents all forms of physical energy. She is the power behind such energy. It's very appropriate to salute GYAnaprasUnAmbikA as 'teja prakAshakari' as she herself manifested from the pit fire of consciousness 'chidagni', 'chidagni kuNda sa.mbUtA'.
Fire represents the power of consciousness, upanishad says 'sokAmayata' and she manifested as the will to create.

SR^iuti says â€˜uddIpte agnau juhotiâ€™ â€˜offered in to the flaming fireâ€™. â€˜AhavanIye juhotiâ€™ â€˜offered in to AhavanIya fireâ€™. Its paradevatA who resides in this AhavanIya as the unseen power and accepts the vedic injunctions and grants the desired, hence she is teja prakAshakari.

Agni or Teja represents nArAyaNa. 'nArAyaNa paro jyotiH', chandra represent brahma and surya - rudra, devi is the GYAnashakti who acts as the power of the trumUrtI's to create, sustain and destroy this universe.

giirdevateti garuDa dhvaja sundariiti
shaakambariiti shashishekhara vallabheti .
sR^ishhTi sthiti pralaya kelishhu sa.nsthitaa yaa
tasyai namas tribhuvanaikagurostaruNyai ..

Diikshitar uses the powerful salutation ' dinakara chandra teja prakAsha kari' to salute GYAnAmbA, or tribhuvanaika gurostaruNI who sports as brahma vishNu and rudra.

Shubhakari - granter of auspicious.

ParadevatA is pure bliss. Nil distinction is made between her form and the state of her existence, which is pure awareness. She is the source of the happiness of a jIvan as she her self is Ananda rUpiNI.

â€˜esatyaivAnandasyAnyAni bhUtAni mAtrAm upajIvantiâ€™ (Br.U 6.2.32) â€“ â€˜Other creations live by enjoying a particle of this blissâ€™.

shuba is Ananda,pramoda, moda and priya â€“ bliss, ecstasy, pleasure and dear. Seeing a desired object, engenders attraction or love for it, if it is obtained it gives pleasure and if it is enjoyed ecstasy and the totality of all these three is named bliss. JIva is the enjoyer and she is the one who grants them and hence she is shubakari.

â€˜ashubAni nirAkaShTe tanoti shubasantatim, smR^itimAtreNa yatpumsAm brahmaâ€™
- By mere remembrance, brahman destroys inauspicious and grants all auspicious.

â€˜AtinikR^iShtAnAm tiryagAdInAm siddhim muktiyogayatAhetujGYAnAdisampattim
dadAriâ€™ â€“ Even to the meanest animals she grants fulfillment in the form of a wealth of knowledge and other agencies which lead them to liberation.

Shubhakari is the 682 nAmA in sahasranAmA, the greatest good is the realization of the ultimate and she as GYAnaprasUnAmbikA grants that, hence Shubhakari.

devi tripurasundari - Queen of triads,
When referring to GYAnaprasUnA tripura means dhyAna dhyAtR^i and dhyeya respectively. She shines in the form of meditation meditator and meditated.

guruguha janani - Mother of my guru guha

A competent guru must guide the sAdakA in realization. Through intense devotion divine mother herself acts as the great guru and guides her children. Mantra, Guru and the deity that is meditated upon are all the same. KALidAsA beautifully remarks,

Dayamaana diirgha nayanaaM deshakaruupeNa darshitaabhyudayaam.h .
vaamakuchanihitaviiNaaM varadaaM sa.ngiitamaatR^ikaaM vande ..

â€˜I salute the lady of divine music, O! devi with wide eyes filled with immense compassion you, the lady holding vINA appear in the form my guruâ€™.

Shankara remarks, 'gurupadiShTamantradevatAtmakatayA puruShArthAn prApayati', She confers the desired object of life in the form of the deity of the mantra initiated by the Guru.

In similar lines Dikshitar salutes devi as, â€˜sAdujanArAdita sadguru kaTAksha mUle, deShika pradarshita cidrUpiNI, AchArya shiShyAnugraha kalanA..â€™ in other places.
dIkshitar was in brahmAnubhUti and had Ishwara sakshAtkAra just a couple of days before at tirutaNi and hence refers GYAnAmbA as his Guru residing in hR^idaya guhAkAshA enabling a jIvan in Atmic bliss.

kALAhastIshamanollAsini -You delight KalahastIsha the lord of kalahasti

GYAnaprasUnA has endeared herself to Ishwara and is greatly revered by Ishwara.
â€˜sachinmayaH shivaH sAkShAt tasyAnandamayI shivAâ€™ â€“ ParadevatA is the Ananda of shivA who is chinmayaswarUpI. She being Ananda rUpA acts as the bliss of Ishwara of kALahasti and hence she is kALahastIsha manollAsini.

The word â€˜Ishaâ€™ not only signifies Ishwara the lord but also jIva limited by antaHkaraNa. She is the presiding deity and manollasini for both of them denoted by the term â€˜tatâ€™ and â€˜tvamâ€™ respectively in the â€˜tattvamasiâ€™ statement, but the words â€˜tatâ€™ and â€˜tvamâ€™ being taken with out there
respective attributes as omniscience and the like and the ignorance and the like. When the two limitations are discarded on examination of the import of â€˜tattvamasiâ€™ she manifests, shining as the basic, unchanging consciousness,
the underlining unity.

Thus dIkshitar does a quite deep upanishhada kIrtanA to devi GYAnaprasUnAmbA and pleads for her grace for Atmic realization.

sAmarasya nidarshinI KAmakaLA pradarshinI .
nAamarUpa vimarshinI brahmamaya prakAshinI ..

...lekhani daNdarUpoham lekho.api sayevahi..
Aravind

I am sorry about the gap in presenting the series addressing devi shrines sung by dIshitar. I was extremely blessed to receive a great wealth of hand written manuscripts of Dr. V Sadagopan explaining in depth some group kritIs of dIkshitar on devi. I would be presenting them in this dikshitar series starting from abayAmbA aShtakam dedicated to Sri abhayAmbA of mAyUram. My
understanding of vedanta is limited and any corrections in the above article are most welcome.
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ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 02 Aug 2007, 06:28

hi jcr, i shall try and see what i get as an explanation. my only worry is (sorry to say this), i find ritual practitioners engaged with no major understanding of the ritual. as usual the fundamentals might have got clouded over. and it becomes a sort of repeated duty(of course with due devotion). but i am going to try anyway. have you seen a tamil commentary on the lalita sahasranama brought out by a very senior lady in chennai? seems a voluminous work, with lot of effort. will try and check that out first.

srinidhi · Post by **srinidhi** » 26 Nov 2008, 18:48

So, finally , on which devi is this kriti ? Also, at Perur, the devi (ambal) is called Maragata Valli, consort of Patteeshwarar.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 27 Nov 2008, 08:48

drshrikaanth wrote: O no! Chalanata , dont be misled by english spellings. You are talking of 2 entirely different things- markaTa(monkey) and marakata-emerald. markaTavalli in marakatavallli! Please!!!

Well, this is how Smt. Prema Rangarajan got connected with Manakkal Rangarajan on another thread.

This is also how some Indians went around claiming that Mitch Kapor, the designer of the Lotus spreadsheet program, was an Indian, confusing the Middle European Jew with some Punjabi Kapoor!

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 27 Nov 2008, 10:02

jayachAmarAja wrote:

GYAnaprasUnAmbikA - KALAhasti

The shrine of GYAnaprasUnAmbikA was the first devi shrine visited by Diikshitar after he started composing due the grace of guha swami at ThiruttaNi. He chooses raaga kalyaaNi to sing the praise of GYAnaprasUnA. Diikshitar has composed nine beautiful compositions on devi in the rAga kalyANi in connection with the nine AvaraNa's of Sri yantra. They are,

GYAnaprasUnAmbike mAmava jagadambike
kamalAmbAM bhajare re mAnasa
kAmAkSIM kalyANIM bhajehaM bhaje
bhajare re citta bAlAmbikAM
shivakAmeshvarIM cintayehaM shRHNgAra rasa sampUrNakarIM
abhayAmbA jagadambA rakSatu
brahmavidyAmbike shrI shvetAranyeshanAyike
shrI maN^gaLAmbike shrI vAnchIsha nAyike
shrI madhurAmbike shrI shive avAva

Really! This is news to me as it is to the vast number of readers of rasikas.org and music rasikas!

The Kamalamba Navavarana kritis celebrate the nine avaranas of the Sri Chakra. Each kriti pertains to one avarana and has references to the chakra, chakreswari, sakthis, yoginis, etc., associated with that avarana.

There exists one other kriti in Arabhi beginning "Akhilandeswari" which contains references to all nine chakras but even that is not considered a Navavarana kriti.

jayachAmarAja wrote:

The kriti dedicated to GYAnaprasUnAmbikA is a samashti charaNa krithi, means it does not have an anupallavi. samashti charaNa krithis are unique to dikshitar. The lack of anupallavi is not felt due to the presence of madyamakaala verses.

Pallavi

GYanaprasUnAmbike mAmava jagadambike

Samashti charaNam

dInajanAvanasha.mkari devitripurasundari
dinakara chandra teja prakAshakari shubhakari
guruguha janani kALAhastIsha manollAsini

There is not ONE word in this kriti that has any reference to any aspect of the Sri Chakra yantra.

On what basis do you call this and some randomly chosen kritis as the Navavarana kritis?