शुक्लाम्बरधरम् विष्णुम्
शशिवर्णम् चतुर्भुजम्।
प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत् सर्व
विघ्नोपशान्तये॥
श्रीगुरुभ्योनमः
दिव्यम् तव कायम् दिव्यम् तव वस्त्रे।
दिव्यानि तवाम्ब स्वर्णाभरणानि॥
(उमासहस्रम् -3.23)
In Soundarya lahari 34th sloka शरीरम् त्वम् शम्भोः Sankara Bhagavatpaada
अनवद्याङ्गी says Amma is Shambhu's body and vice versa since they exchange their roles with ease. Since Amma's ornaments are indicative of the chaitanya sakti/consciousness, these two namas together indicate the Paramatma and His inseparable consciousness.
Pranams to Amma with blemishless/faultless perfect
limbs. The perfect limbs referred to
here are the best feminine features according to samudrika sastra.
This nama describing
the limbs corresponds to the gross form of Amma.
अस्ति जायते वर्धते विपरिणमते अपक्षीयते
विनश्यतीति षड्विकार वदेत् स्थूलशरीरम्| (तत्त्वबोध-3.1)
This gross body is due to the
result of the satkarma in order to experience the pleasure-pain kind of duals
and is a tool for attaining liberation.
Existence (asti), birth (jaayati), growth (vardhati),
transformation (viparinita), decay (vinasyati) are the six
maladies associated with the gross body.
This nama indicates
that the gross form taken by Amma to shower grace on Her
devotees, is devoid of any faults/vikaras.
Hidden meaning
Through the namas that
we have attempted to understand so far, we have learnt the biune creation
process.
It is said in the following Paingalopanishad mantra
that, Paramatma made the creation, found it to be inert and He activated
it by entering into it. This indicates that whatever is manifested in this
creation by Paramatma is filled with Paramatma.
अणुस्थनि तानि तेन विना स्पन्दितुम् चेष्टितुम् वा न शेकुः|
तानि चेतनी कर्तुम् सो अकामयता|
ब्रह्माण्डानि, ब्रह्मरन्ध्राणि समस्त
व्यष्टि मस्तकानि विदार्य तदेव अनुप्राविशत्|
तदा जडान्यपि तानिचेतनवत् स्वस्वकर्माणि
चक्रि रे|
(पैङ्गलोपनिषद् -1.6)
As an article made with mud
has mud in it, all pervasive, so is the creation, made of the Supreme
Consciousness, filled with Consciousness.
This nama anavadyangi,
refers to the Supreme Consciousness in the immense vast creation, in accordance
with the following Yajurveda sukta (40.8), anavadya (blemishless)
which refers to the Paramatma.
सः परिअगात् –
Pervading everywhere, He (Paramatma) who is
शुक्रम् – brightness
filled
अकायम् – incorporeal
अव्रणम् – blemishless
अस्नाविरम् – free
from all bondages
शुद्धम् – pure
अपापवेद्धम् – sinless
कविः – filled with
knowledge
मनीषी – inciting
the minds of all creatures
परिभूः- all
pervasive
स्वयम्भूः- manifests
by own Self
शाश्वतीभ्यः –
by being eternal
वि अधधात् –
He manifested
अर्थात् – all
the materials
यथातथ्यतः – as
it is
समाभ्यः – for
the sake of creation/creatures
The limbs (anga) of the Cosmic form
of Amma are nothing but the entire creation, starting from a tiny
insect to Brahma. So, anavadya-anga here refers to the Paramatma
who entered into the creation to provide the primordial vital life force.
सर्वाभरणभूषिता
Pranams to Amma
who is bedecked with all kinds of ornaments.
According to Kaalika Purana, Parasurama
Kalpa Sutram and possibly others, Amma’s ornaments are more than
forty in number. But Vagdevatas
in this Sahasranama stotram, described only nine ornaments. Let us try to understand the secret behind this.
यावद्ब्रह्म विशिष्टम् तावति वाक् (ऋग्वेदम्
– 10.114.08)
We have learnt that the creation was inert,
prior to the Paramatma entering it. While the Vagdevatas
indicated the blemishless Paramatma in the nama anavadyangi, the resultant
all pervasive Consciousness in the creation (in the form of vak), is
alluded to, in the nama sarvabharanabhushita.
ऋचः-अक्षरे-परमे-व्योमन्-यस्मिन्-देवाः-अधि-विश्वे-नीषेदुः-यः-तत्-न-वेद-किम्-ऋचा-करुष्यति-य़े-इत्-तत्-विदुः-ते-इमे-समासते| (ऋग्वेदम्
1.164.38)
Imperishable Vedas borne by the
Celestial sky are the seats of all the dieties.
आ समन्तात् भ्रियते आभरणम् (अमरकोशम्)
that
which is borne completely is known as an ornament/aabharana.
In the context of the Cosmic gross form of
Amma, the Vedangas are the ornaments referred to, in this nama.
Before bringing about a correspondence
between Amma’s ornaments (that we have seen so far), to the Vedas,
let us understand the six important limbs of Vedas.
शिक्षेत्यादि श्रुतेरङ्गम् (अमरकोशम्) Siksha etc.,
are the limbs of Vedas.
शिक्षा व्यकरणम् छन्दो निरुक्तम् ज्योतिषम्
तथा कल्पश्चेति षडङ्गानि वेदस्याहुर्मनीषिणः
शिक्षा – अकारादीनाम् वर्णानाम् स्थानप्रयत्न
बोधिकया अनया शिक्ष्यते वर्णादिरिति शिक्षा
This branch of Vedas pertains to the
study of the letters, their pronunciation, tonal quality and time measure for
appropriate utterance.
व्याकरणम् – विशेषेण आक्रियन्ते उत्पाद्यन्ते
शब्दा अनेनेति व्याकरणम्
The study of roots of the words, synonyms,
antonyms, tenses etc., is Vyakaranam/Grammar. This is an important aspect of the Vedas.
The most important reference for Vedic grammar is known to be Siva sutra.
छन्दस् – छन्दसाम् पद्यानाम् शास्त्रम्
छन्दः
Most Vedic mantras are stated in
four lines (paadams), though there do exist mantras with 2, 3 or
5 lines too. Chandas refers to the number of letters in a paadam. Derived from the root chad, Chandas
means to envelope. So, Chandas is
spread all over the Vedas. Vedic chanting without
the knowledge of Rushi, Devata and Chandas is useless.
निरुक्तम् – वर्णागमो विर्णव पर्ययश्चेत्यादिनीश्चयेनोक्तम्
निरुक्तम्
Elucidation of the Kasyapa prajapati’s
Vedic glossary (Mahabharata Santhi Parvam 342.86,87) by Yaskacharya
is known as Niruktam, a popular reference for Vedic words. It is not only a detailed dictionary but also
contains the etymology of the words.
ज्योतिषम् - ग्रहनक्षत्राणामुदयास्तमादि
प्रतिपादकम् ज्योतिषम्
द्योतते प्रकाशते तत् ज्य़ोतिः Jyotishyam,
derived from the root duti, is the science of stars and planets. Calculations pertaining to the location of
various planets and their influence on performance of Vedic rituals, are
carried out in this branch of Vedas. Since Jyothisham is used to
calculate auspicious time for conducting any Vedic ritual, it is also
called kaala-vidhaana-sastra.
कल्पम् – कल्पते प्रभवति यागादिक्रियायामिति
कल्पः
कल्पे विधि क्रमौ (अमरकोश्) Another
important limb of Vedas is Kalpa, which provides us with the step
by step procedure and rules of any Vedic ritual.
For the benefit of mankind, our Rushis bestowed us with four different
types of Kalpa sutras. Srauta
sutras are yajna/Vedic Sacrifice related sutras and Gruhya
sutras lay down rules for householders’ domestic rituals. Dharma sutras
guide us to conduct a disciplined, principled and virtuous life. Finally, Sulba sutras deal with the measurements/calculations
related to time and space.
Vagdevatas seem
to be indicating these six limbs of Vedas in the namas describing
Vedamaata Amma’s ornaments.
छन्दः पादौ तु वेदस्य हस्तौ कल्पोऽथ पठ्यते।
ज्योतिषामयनम् चक्षु निरुक्तम् श्रोत्रमुच्यते॥
शिक्षा घ्राणम् तु वेदस्य मुखम् व्याकरणम्
स्मृतम्।
तस्मात् साङ्गमधीत्यैव ब्र्हमलोके महीयते॥
(पाणिनी शिक्षा – 41,42)
Upanishads are like crown to the Vedamata.
कुरुविन्द-मणि-श्रेणि-कनत्-कोटीर-मण्डिता
Amma’s
crown - Upanishads
शिक्षा घ्राणम् तु वेदस्य – The
breathing organ of Vedas is Siksha. Amma’s nose ornament
(nosering) represents the Vedanga, Siksha.
तारकान्ति-तिरस्कारि-नासाभरण-भासुरा -
Nosering
– Siksha
निरुक्तम् श्रोत्रम् – The
organs of hearing, the ears, of the Vedamata are Niruktam. So,
Amma’s nama describing earstuds is pointing to the Niruktam.
ताटङ्क-युगळीभूत-तपनोडुप-मण्डला – ताटङ्कम्
- Niruktam/Dictionary
Panini described the most important limb
of Vedas, Vyakarana (Grammar) to be the mouth of the Vedamata (मुखम्
व्याकरणम्).
कर्पूरवीटिकामोद-समाकर्षद्दिगन्तरा – कर्पूरवीटिक
–
Vyakaranam.
The author of the fundamental scripture
for Vyakarana, Siva Sutra, is known to be none other than Lord
Siva himself. Siva sutras contain
three parts, Sivopaaya, Saktopaaya and Anavopaaya.
कामेश-बद्ध-माङ्गल्य-सूत्र-शोभित-कन्धरा
–मङ्गल सूत्रम् –Vyakrana sutras.
हस्तौ कल्पः – Kalpa,
the Vedic limb that instructs us with the details of sacrificial
rituals, refers to the angada and keyura, hand ornaments of the Vedamata.
Hands are the organs for doing things. So, Vagdevatas referred the ornaments adorned on hands to Kalpa,
which details the sacrificial rituals.
कनकाङ्गद-केयुर-कमनीय-भुजान्विता –अङ्गद,
केयुर -Kalpam
By performing the Vedic rituals as
ordained in the Vedanga Kalpa, human beings ever drowned in the wordly
worries (chinta) are showered with Amma’s grace and are
granted with the mukta-phala (Salvation).
रत्नग्रैवेय-चिन्ताक्लोल-मुक्ताफ़लान्विता
-
Pearl
(mukta-phala) chain with chintaku pendant – Kalpa sutras
As we learn about distant objects through
our eyes, the Vedanga, astrology/Jyothisha, helps us to understand
the position of distant celestial planets and constellations. Hence, Panini in the above verse, describes Jyothisha
to be the eye of the Vedamata.
Let us understand the ornament that is representative of this Vedanga.
Jyothisha’s
main purpose is to fix an auspicious time for the successful conduct of a Vedic
sacrifice. The sacrificial altar, where a sacrifice/Yajna is carried out,
is known as Yajna vedika. We have
seen in the nama रत्नकिङ्किणिका-रम्य-रशना-दाम-भूषिता
that, Amma’s waistline resembles that of a yajna vedika.
One may infer that the Vagdevatas
are suggesting that the waistband tied to the sacrificial-altar-shaped waist of
Amma indicates the Jyothisha branch of the Vedas.
रत्नकिङ्किणिका-रम्य-रशना-दाम-भूषिता
–Waist band/Kati sutra –Jyothisha
छन्दः पादौ – Chandas
is the feet of the Vedamata
The anklets on Amma’s feet
are indicative of the Chandas.
शिञ्जानमणि-मन्जीर-मण्डित-श्रीपदाम्बुजा
–
anklets – Chandas.
Thus, all the ornaments that Vagdevatas
described in the saguna rupa varnana are symbolic of the Consciousness
filled limbs of the Vedamata.
Like Paramatma and Consciousness,
Amma’s limbs/angas and ornaments/abharanas are
inseparable.
May the lustre from the oranaments
decorating all the limbs of Amma, completely eradicate the inner
darkness that I have accrued due to my intellectual poverty.
श्रीमात्रेनमः
