Sloka #1

1. Santa: Sriranga PruthvIsha CharaNatrANasheKharA:
Jayanti BhuvanatrANa padapankaja rENava:

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Great men bear on their heads, with a great relish, the Paaduka of Sri Ranganatha (the Lord's Sataari=Nammazhvar). For this reason, they shine gloriously, the dust from their feet being potent enough to grant protection (and salvation, too) for all the worlds.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

1.PrasthAva PaDdati : PrasthAva means Introductory or Commencement or Prologue . The First paDdathi takes its name as the Introductory chapter . This PaDdati has twenty slOkams .

This PaDdati like all the others start with anushtup meter (first verse ) and ends with AryA meter (last verse) .In between are other poetic meters.

2.The word PaDdati literally stands for foot steps . Swami Desikan conceived this epic poem to recall the auspicious sounds of the 32 foot steps made by the holy sandals of Sri RanganAthA ,which are identical to Swami NammAzhwAr.

3.PrasthAva PaDdati is the first of the 32 steps . The number 32 has significance in our sampradhAyam ( 32 apachArams to be avoided in Bhagavadh AarAdhanam , 32 Brahma VidhyAs , 32 principles of Bhagavath RaamAnuja Darsanam ranging from Prithvi to the Lord ).

4. The Lord of Srirangam is saluted here as "Sriranga PRITHVEESAN" ,the integrated essence of all the 32 VaishNavite principles ( the twenty three starting from PRITHVEE to MAHATH and augmented by the remaining nine : (24)avyaktham/unmanifested, (25)aksharam/ Imperishable ,(26) Tamas ,(27) Kaalam ,(28) nithya vibhUthi (eternal splendor), (29)Dharma BhUtha Jn~Ana dravyam ( wealth of knowledge rooted in righteousnes), (30)Jeevan, (31) MahA Lakshmi and (32)Her divine consort , Sriman NaarAyaNan ) . From PrithvI to Isan are covered thru the salutation " Sriranga PrithvIsan ".

The key words of this slOkam are : "santha: Jayanthi". Santha: means great souls ; Such great souls triumph is the message of Swami Desikan here .

4.Why do they triumph ? They carry on their heads with bhakthi , the divine sandals that protect the sacred feet of Lord RanganaathA , the emperor of the Universe.That is why they triumph.Those divine sandals ( NammAzhwAr) serve as their SirOrathnam .

5.What is the significance of these great souls carrying the Lord's divya PaadhukhAs on their heads ? The very fact that they carry the divine PaadhukhAs empower even the very dust from their feet to sanctify and protect the world from all inauspiciousness .

6.Inner meaning: Those great souls , who celebrate and revere NammAzhwAr attain sadhgathi and at the same time bless others taking refuge in them with Sakala purushArthams .

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

I pay my homage to that great pioneer, Bharata, who was the first example for proclaiming the greatness of the Paaduka of Sri Rama in this world. (My homage is also due to Sri Nathamuni, who was a Bharata to Sri Nammazhvar, as Bharata was to the Raghava Paaduka. And Nathamuni-indeed Ranganathamuni-propagated Azhvar's work by singing with tala and abhinaya, that is with Bhava, Raga,and Tala, which is what the Bharatamuni did for the fine art of dance).

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

(1) The nAmam , "BharathA " is used to denote both BharathAzhwAn , the brother of Sri RaamA as well as Naatha Muni , who is saluted as BharathA in the 25th slOkam of the first chapter of Sankalpa SUryOdhayam , a drama blessed to us by Swami Desikan . Sri Naatha Muni was an expert in Bhaava , Raaga , TaaLams.Hence he is called BharathA .

(2) The illustrious one , who first wore Sri RaamachandrA's divine PaadhukhAs on his head was His brother , Bharathan . He conducted the affairs of the state as the representative of Sri RaamA PaadhukhAs , when lSri RaamA was in exile in the forest for fourteen years. Thus , BharahtA became the first blessed great soul, who dmonstrated the Vaibhavam of the PaadhukhAs of the Lord and spread the message of their glory.

(3) Naathamuni( BharathA )spread the Vaibhavam of NammAzhwAr ( Sri RanganAthA's MaNi PaadhukhAs ) around the world by setting to music and TaaLam and teaching abhinayam of the divine ThiruvAimozhi to the world thru his two nephews .

(4) The key words of this second slOkam are : " BharathAya Param nama: asthu " ( May the salutations of mine be for BharathA ). The qualifiers for this worshipful Bharathan are : " BhakthibhAjAm PrathamOdhAharaNAya BharathAya " . He is the first example among those with devotion for Sri Raagava PaadhukhAs .

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Oh Paaduka Devi! I pay homage to that sage Nammazhvar who also bears your name(Sataari, being absorbed in Ranganatha's feet. I do this at the time of begining your Stothra. For it was he who "saw and delivered" the Veda called Thiruvoymozhi, which is only another form of the original (Sanskrit) Veda and whose verses and words emit the fragrance of the Vakula flowers (dear to the Azhvar).

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes:

(1) The key words of this slOkam are : "hEy PaadhukhE ! tvannAmnam munim BhajE ". Oh Paadhukai ! I salute that Rishi ( NammAzhwAr), who has Your name .

(2) The qualifiers for that Muni are : " Rangabharthu: paadhE nithya PraNihitha dhiyam " ( That AzhwAr , who has focused his meditation on Sri RanganAthA's holy feet always).

"AamnAyAnAm aparAm Prakruthim SamhithAm dhrushtavantham " ( That AzhwAr ,who discovered the other kind of Veda Samhithai in Tamil revered as ThiruvAimozhi ; Vedam Tamizh seytha MaaRan ).

(3) How would one characterize this Tamizh Veda samhithai? The verses of ThiruvAimozhi is intimately mingled with the fragrance of Mahizhampoo ( VakuLa sumana: vAsanAm udhvahantheem ); This Tamizh MaRai of VakuLAbharaNar is constituted by the assembly (sthOmai: ) of words of many hues ( varNa:) laden with the fragrance of the Veda manthrAs.

(4) Swami Desikan points out that the fragrance of the Veda ManthrAs have blended with the fragrance of the VakuLA flowers and have found a home in the divya MaNi PaadhukhAs of Sri RanganAthA .

(5) Swami Desikan addresses NammAzhwAr in this slOkam and states that he is desirous of eulogizing that Muni: " hEy PaadhukhE ! aham thvAm sthOthukAma:". Swami Desikan addresses this prayer to NammAzhwAr ( Lord's MaNi PaadhukhAs) for the conferral of their blessings to complete this sthuthi without vignam .

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Oh Paaduka! May I be endowed with good poetic ability by that sage Valmiki, born of an anthill, (this being regarded as an ear of Mother Earth), who prophetically declared (in his Ramayana) that the yoga-kshema (prosperity) of all worlds is but dependent on you and is at your disposal, and who was indeed the first step in goddess Saraswati (goddess of poetry) setting her foot on this earth (Valmiki being the composer of the very first verse of Sanskrit poetry).

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

(1) In this slOkam ,Swami Desikan prays for the blessings of Adhi Kavi , Sage VaalmIki , who composed the ancient epic poem revered as Sri RaamAyaNam.In the previous verse , Swami Desikan prayed for the anugraham of the Draavida Veda SamhithA drashtA , Swami NammAzhwAr .Here , Swami Desikan prays for Sage VaalmIki's blessings for his composition in Sanskrit dealing with the PaadhukhAs of Sri RanganaathA , the family deity of Sri RamachandrA .Swami Desikan prays for the gift of a Sanskrit composition rich in meaning and beauty .

(2) In this slOkam , Swami Desikan reminds the PaadhukAs of Sri RanganAthA that Sarasvathi Devi entered this earth from Her abode in satyalOkam to bless Sage VaalmIki to initiate him to compose Srimadh RaamAyaNam. Here , Swami Desikan requests the PaadhukhAs of Sri RanganAthA , which also descended from Sri Vaikuntam to take residence in Srirangam and bless him in his efforts to compose PaadhukhA- Sahasram in a manner befitting the blessings conferred by Devi Sarasvathi on Sage VaalmIki . Swami Desikan reminds the divya PaadhukhAs that its glories are great even when its Lord is absent .In this context , he points out that the PaadhukhAs blessed BharathA for fourteen long years ,while separated from its master, Sri RamachandrA .

(3)The prayer of Swami Desikan to Sage VaalmIki is : " VasudhA srOthra janmA Sa: Muni: mE divyam vAcham disathu ".

(4) Swami Desikan states that the divya PaadhukhAs brought Sri RanganAthan from Brahma(Satya) Lokam to AyOddhi;Similary , Sarasvathi Devi followed your example when She descended from Satya Lokam ( Her husband's home )and placed Her first footstep on Sage VaalmIki ( BhArathI yathra prathamam PaadhanyAsam chakrE ).This refers to Sage ValmIki eulogizing the Lord"s (Sri Raama's) PaadhukhAs first in his Adhi Kaavyam .

(5) Swami Desikan pays tribute to Sage VaalmIki as the most learned one , who understood fully that the world's Yoga-KshEmam is under the control of the Lord's (Sri Raama's) PaadhukhAs ( sakala- jagathAm yOgakshEmam tvayi adhInam Jaanan ).Swami prays to that perceptive and scholarly VaalmIki to give him the divya Jn~Anam and the divya Vaak (Sa: Muni: divyAm VaachAm disathu).

(6) Sakala jagathAm yOgakshEmam tvayi adhInam : yOgam means conferral of Isvaryam that one does not have ; KshEmam means the protection of the Isvaryam possessed by one.PaadhukhAs of the Lord have the power to bless one with both Yogam and KshEmam .Sage VaalmIki comprehended fully such power of the Divya- PaadhukhAs and was thus the first one to celebrate the YogakshEmam-empowering feature of the Divya PaadhukhAs .

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

I am going to sing the praise of the Paadukas of Lord Ranganatha which were first sung of by Sage Valmiki and others, being emboldened by the fact that these Paadukas make no distinction between the low and the high, they being pleased to sit on my lowly head as well as on the highly-revered Upanishads without a partiality.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

(1) Hanta!( what a wonder!) : Swami is astonished here by the miracle of the sacred PaadhukhAs of the Lord adorning with out hesitation the heads of the lowly ones and the most sacred Upanishads ( head of the VedAs : veda Siras ).Swami says that the PaadhukhAs do not discriminate (display nirvisEsham or Taaratamyam )between his "lowly " head and that of the lofty VedAs.

(2) Swami Desikan calling himself a "neechan " is in the spirit of naicchAnusandhAnam practised by PoorvAchAryAs and NammAzhwar before :

(a) AaLavandhAr : "asuchim avineetham nirdhayam alajjam maam dhig " ( I am an aparisuddhan, haughty, heartless and shameless . Oh Lord !You should condemn me for my lowly qualities)... SthOthra rathnam : slOkam :47

(b)AalavandhAr :" na dharmanishtOsmi nachAthmavEdhi na BhakthimAn " ( I am not rooted in karma yOgam; I do not possess aathma Jn~Anam ;I am far from being a Bhakthan of Yours and am deficient in the practice of Bhakthi Yogam )--SthOthra rathnam: slOkam: 22

(c) NeesanEn niRaivonRumilEn --NammAzhwAr ( I am indeed a lowly one ; I do not have any perfections to claim ).

(d) nORRA nOnbhilEn , NuNNaRivilEn--NammAzhwAr ( I do not possess the wealth of anushtAnams ; I do not have a sharp intellect to understand and revel in Your glories )

(e) seelamillA siRiyOn--NammAzhwAr ( I am a lowly one with no auspicious attributes to speak of ).

It is in this spirit , Swami Desikan describes himself as a neechan ( neechEpi mama murdhani )...(V.S)

(3) This sacred pair of PaadhukhAs ( Rangapathi: PaadhukhayO: yugam ) have been eulogized (sung about) first by the Aadhi kavi VaalmIki ( PrAchEtha :)and others following him . Swami Desikan states that he will follow their path and sing about the Lord's sacred PaadhukhAs inspite of his unfitness.

(4) The choice of the word "Prathama Upageetham" brings the picture of Saama Vedam in our mind's eyes. The mahimai of the PaadhukhAs of the Lord has been "sung " first by VaalmIki . If Rg VedA deals with knowledge , Saama Vedam focuses on devotion, worship and contemplation in song form that is appropraite for a forest-dwelling sage like VaalmIki . The terms of Uha ghAnam , Uhya GhAnam and AaraNya GhAnam , gramagEya GhAnams cover the song manuals of PoorvArchika and UttarArchika Saamans of Saama vedam . Swami Desikan's choice of " Prathama Upageetham " to describe the eulogy of Sage Vaalmiki fits with the prime status given to the Saama Vedam ( VedAnAm Saama VedhOsmi - Bhagavadh GitA ) and the hoariness of the Lord's PaadhukhAs---(V.S )

(5) SthOshyAmi: Swami declars his intention to praise the Lord's Paadhukhais , which are placed on the heads of the lowly ones and the great ones .Padhukais are not unhappy over this act. They feel happy that they are conferring auspicousnes on one and all .

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

My words of praise by their speaking of the Lord's Paaduka mingle with the holy words of Valmiki, equally and without a distinction. After all, the street-waters falling into the Ganga-stream will have no distinctness from the Yamuna-waters also falling into the Ganga.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

(1) In the 5th (Previous )slOkam , Swami Desikan referred to the NivEsanam ( resting on the head ) of the PaadhukhAs of the Lord and how one becomes sanctified by that affiliation independent of the fact , whether one is low or high in spiritual attainments . Here , Swami explains the power of eulogizing the mahimai of the Mukundha MaNi PaadhukhAs. Swami says that even if he is a "neechan " , his words of praise of the PaadhukhAs will become glorious like Srimadh VaalmIki RaamAyaNam and that eulogy will achieve an equal status with Srimadh- RaamAyaNam of the Adhi Kavi. When one undertakes the paarAyaNam of Srimadh RaamAyaNam , one gains dhrushtAdhrushta (manifest and unmanfest ) sakala PurushArhtams .Swami points out that the sacredness of the subject matter of his sthuthi(PaadhukhAs) will confer on the reciter the same anugrahams that arise from the paarAyanam of Sri VaalmIki RaamAyaNam.

(2)In this context , Swami says :" mama ukthi: ValmIka sambhava girA samathAm dhatthE ". My words dealing with PaadhukhA sthOthram will attain the revered status equal to that of Srimadh RaamAyaNam .

(3)Swami Deasikan gives us an analogy to understand this phenemenon. He points out the abhEdham (non-differnece) of the rain water(rathyOdhakam ) overflowing from a street in to the sacred GangA and the waters of holy YamunA river(YamunA salilam )entering into the same sacred gangA pravAham .People recognize that there is no difference between the two sources of water, once they have entered into the Sacred GangA and consider the amalgamated jalam as Pavithra GangA jalam . The people do not differentiate the water originating from the street as different (lower in status )than that of the YamunA river that expereinced sangamam with the GangA river.

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Splendidly sportful Paaduka Devi! I submit a prayer even at the outset with some fear, of course. May the discerning scholars, competent in seeing the good and the bad in any work, examine this stotra of mine without any feeling of jealousy and with a kindness-tinged heart-that is with a sympathetic (Sahrdaya) approach!

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes :

(1) Swami Desikan addresses the Divya Paadhukhais of the Lord in a spirit of " appOthakku IppOthE solli vaitthEn ". He says : " Oh PaadhukhE ! I am afraid about the consequences of my efforts to compose a sthuthi about You .Therefore , I will request you to hear my appeal even before adiyEn starts on the composition of the sthuthi about You . PandithAs are known generally as dhOsha darsina: . Please bless me so that these discriminating scholars and great souls( santha: )will have compassion on my efforts and listen to my sthuthi without jealousy . May they have dayai on my efforts to sing Your glories ".

(2) Swami Desaikan qualifies these great scholarly souls as : " sadhasathI vyankthum kshamA:, vigatha abhyasUyA: santha:". These great ones can easily differentiate between the Sadh (auspicious ) and the asath (aasuri, inauspicious )tattvams .He appeals to the PaadhukhAs for those scholars to listen to his sthuthi with minds filled with compassion (sadhayayai: Hrudhayai: sthuthim sprusanthu).

(3) "Sprusanthu" means literally to touch some thing (sparsam ). Swami Desikan uses "sprusanthu" to refer to the aspect of coming into contact with his sthuthi about the Sri RanganAtha PaadhukhAs .

(4) Swami Desikan confesses to the divine paadhukhAs of Sri Rangapathi that the task of composing a sthuthi about them is beyond his limits. He says that he is diffident about engaging in such a task. He seeks the PaadhukhAs blessings for the learned scholars to have compassion on his efforts. Swami Desikan hints that he is not concerned with the remarks of the jealous and the nondiscriminating scholars , but only with those of the true and compassionate scholars.

(4) Swami Desikan salutes the Paadhukhais as " Sri Rangapathi Vibhrama PaadhukhAs". Vibrahma means roaming about or sporting about . He points out that the PaadhukhAs are for the pleasure of the Lord to go around on His missions (Bhaktha RakshaNam and Dushta Nigraham ).

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Oh Manipaaduka! Have you not literally forced me to compose this hymn in your praise, even when I was not sincerely inclined? For my contention, Lord Ranganatha is sure to testify, even as you would be good testimony in the matter of (my disinclination to compose in praise of) His lotus feet.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

Notes:

(1) Here Swami Desikan answers the questions on why he engags in composing this celebration of the auspicious qualities of the Sri RanganAtha PaadhukhAs inspite of his concerns about receiving unfavorable criticisms from intemperate scholars . He says: " Oh MaNi PaadhukhE ! even if you know that adiyEn does not have the interest or strength to engage in this impossible effort ,You have commanded me to undertake this activity. Your Lord ,Sri Rangapathi knows fully well my limitations and He alone knows about Your unique glories and the special relationship that You have with Him . Therefore , Sri RanganathAn Himself should reveal Your kalyAna guNams to adiyEn so that adiyEn can succeed in my efforts to pay You rightful homage .

(2) Swami Desikan says to the PaadhukhAi that he composed earlier sthuthis on PerumAL , PirAtti , Sri RaamAnujA and that he did not create any sthuthi on the PaadhukhAs (NammSAzhwAr ).He says:" AdiyEn had asraddhai (disinterst ) in this matter. Now , You are commanding adiyEn to compose a sthuthi about You . AdiyEn is not fit to engage in this effort . Your special relationship with the lotus feet of Sri RanganAthA is known only to Him ( Deva: Rangapathi: iha PRAMAANAM ). He is the sole authority and qualified revealer of this special relationship that you enjoy with His sacred feet . Hence adiyEn requests Him to bless me with this knowledge so that my sthuthi about You will have veracity and authenticity ."

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Oh Manipaaduka! You bear on Your head, the Lord who bears all the worlds. If He is to direct the Supreme Resort to all, You take Him along the pleasing paths. Your greatness is not comprehensible to Brahma and Siva. How are you going to become the object of the poetry of lowly poets?

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

NOTES :

(1) Here, Swami Desikan looks in his mind's eye at the Moolavar of Srirangam with the mark of His mother's rope on His waist as DaamOdhara KrishNan and addresses Him as "KamsAri" in celebration of His KrishNAvathAram .It is generally recognized that the Moolavar at Srirangam represents KrishNAvathAram and the Uthsavar represents RaamAvathAram ...V.S

(2) Swami Desikan states that Lord RanganAthA carries the whole world as "VisvAdhAran" and supports it.Our AchaaryA wonders about the mahimai of the bejewelled Paadhukhai ( maNI Paadhu )of the Lord in this context : " Oh gem-studded Paadhukhais of Sri RanganAthA ! You carry the glorious Lord , who is the holder of all the Universes as VisvAdhAran ;even that Sarva Sakthan is borne by You .Besides that imcomparable act , You transport Him on Your back everywhere as He goes about performing His divine missions .You support Him in every one of His steps .Because of this extraordinary performance of Yours that is beyond the power of BrahmA-RudrAthis , You have become superior to them in rank .Even BrahmA , RudrA and others could not comprehend fully Your superior guNAs and capture them in the form of praises (sthuthis) about You .If even BrahmA and RudrA can not succeed in eulogizing You adequately , How can adiyEn and others , who are mere unskilled poets hope to succeed in our efforts to praise You appropriately ?".

(3) The two key phrases in this slOkam are: (a)" Tamapi tvam YEKAA dhathsE "( Even Him , You carry on Your back all by Yourself ). (b) "Tasya RuchirAm gathim cha disathi " ( Besides carrying Him ,You also give Him beautiful gaits /nadai azhagu and sthAna visEsham ).

(4)Swami concludes this slOkam in a state of awe through the declaration : " Your greatness is beyond the ken of the son and the grandson of Sriman NaarAyaNan . How can we the Kshudra Kavis ( novice poets )attempt to praise You ? Out of Your greatness , You become the object of our sthuthis ".

(5)Sri RanganAthA is the AathmA for the chEthanams and achEthanams of this universe .For that Prabhu , AzhwAr , who is the Jn~Ani becomes the AathmA .PerumAL comes to us because of AzhwAr's anugraham .BrahmA and Sivan long for Isvaryam of different kinds. In contrast , there is nothing desirable as Isvaryam to the AzhwAr except PerumAL . Swami Desikan heaves a big sigh here and says " How can I attempt to praise such a noble AzhwAr Paadhukhais of Sri RanganAthA ) ? Even if PeruumAL coaches me on this subject , I will not be successful in such an impossible effort ".

Swami desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Meaning (translated by Sri. U.Ve. V.N. Vedanta Desikan)

Oh Ranganatha Paaduka! Competent masters, with Sastraic knowledge and fine intellect compose works in Your praise, to whet the ears to listening pleasure. An inferior poet that I am, prattle enormously-but then even that is, according to knowledgeable persons, only due to Your influence.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

NOTES :

(1) Here Swami Desikan addresses the Sri Ranga Kshithi- ramaNa PaadhAvani ( Sri SatAri Soori )and acknowledges that his prattling ,imitative of the great MahAns (santha:), is itself due to the power of Sri SatAri Soori himself .

(2) Swami Desikan describes the Santha: , who eulogized the Divya maNi PaadhukhAs of the Lord of Srirangam as belonging to one of the following two categories: (a)" Srutha:" , those with Saasthra Jn~Anam and Sruthi: ( Learned scholars and experts in VedAs ). (b) " Praj~nA sampath mahitha mahimAna: " , those who have a fine intellect due to BhagavAn's anugraham and celebrated by the world for that sharp intellect for sakala sAsthrArtha grahaNam .Sri PeriyAsramam ANDavans intrepret "Praj~nA " as "svyam Budhdi:" in their tradition.

(3) The above two categories of santha: have composed sthuthis about Sri Divya MaNi PaadhukhAs , which are equal to the Veda manthrams(Gira: ) in sanctity . Those exalted sthuthis ,when they pass through our ear cavity (Sruthi Kuhara: ),they serve as a potent antidote for the Thinavu ( itch )of the ear cavity (inner ear ). The word that Swami Desikan uses for relief of that persistent itch of the inner ear to hear Sri Sooktis on the Divya PaadhukhAs is " KaNDUhara:". The only other place adiyEn has come across in Swami Desikan's Sri Sookthis using the word "kaNDhUya" is in his dasAvathAra SthOthram . There , Swami describes the situation of the "VihAra Kacchapan", who sportively took on the role of the giant tortoise to bear the MandhrA mountain on His back as the matthu for the churnig the milky ocean . His words are " avyAsu: bhuvana thrayeem anibrutham KANDHUYANAI: adhriNA , nidhrANasya Parasya KOORMA VAPUSHO nis:vaasa vaathOrmaya:" . Here Our Lord in His KoormA form is visualized as relieving the itch on His back by scratching against the moving MandhrA mountain resting on His powerful back and falling asleep from the sukham arising from that experience . Swami prays for the exhalations and the inhalations of that slumbering Lord KoormAvathAran to protect the three worlds .

(4) UtthamUr Swamy makes a fine point about the efforts of Santha: , who have praised the mahimai of Divya PaadhukhAs earlier and contrasts it with the effort of Swami Desikan . According to UtthamUr Abhinava Desikan, Swami Desikan seems to say in this slOkam : " Oh RanganAtha- PaadhukhE! There are many learned scholars and experts in VedAs , who take turns to compose poems in praise of You . They understand however that this prattling by me of poor intellect is intended for You and You alone. It is not clear to me whether their praises are for the Lord Himself or for You . I am however very clear that the many prattlings of mine are directed at none other than Your sacred self .