DVAADASHA STHOTHRA

Acharya Madhva composed this set of twelve sthothras on the occasion of the
installation of the Krishna Idol in Udupi.
They are unique in that, like a diamond well cut and polished, they display several
facets in different directions - Devotion, Thathva Jnana, Musical Rhythm, extreme
brevity etc. I
always been fascinated by these and thought that I could share with all of you the
enjoyment that one gets with the recitation of these sthothras with simultaneous
mental association of the profound meanings which they convey. One can imagine
the occasion - Acharya Madhva is meeting for the first time the Krishna Idol
worshipped by Rukmini and made by Vishvakarma, the divine architect; the sea
shore, early in the morning with its cool breezes ;, the composer who is a Sarvajna
and known as Vedasaravith (who knows the essence of the Vedas), and also a
musician Par excellence - who sings the glories of the Lord incessantly in the form of
Ramayana and other exploits ;, the
subject matter of the songs being His beloved Lord, who is
coming to stay in Udupi for the redemption of His devotees.
My idea is to convey the main meanings in simple English, without too much
discussion in depth, of the tenets brought out. Each word or phrase is evocative of
the contents of the great compositions of Acharya Madhva - but as stated else where
-
"Baalasanghamapi bodhayad bhrusham, durniroopavachanam cha pandithaih" - it is
intelligible to even children, while it will be difficult to refute even to learned men. I
will try to follow with my limited understanding the Teeka of Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha (an
ascetic of Pejawara Matha) in explaining the meanings.
There is another story that mentions that the recitation of this sthothra on the
occasion of the Ox carrying Acharya Madhva's library of books dying of poison, at his
behest, enabled it to come back to the living. Since, then, there is a universal
practice to recite at least one of these sthothras at the time of Naivedya not only to
please the Lord, but also to guard against accidental poisoning. Even in these
troubled times, when most of us feel that we have very little time for prayers, it is
well worthwhile to recite at least one of these sthothras - preferably, the THIRD one,
while trying to recall the meanings of what we are reciting.

STHOTHRA 1

VANDE VANDYAM SADAANANDAM VAASUDEVAM NIRANJANAM

INDIRAAPATHIM AADYAADI VARADESHAVARAPRADAM

I offer my salutations always to Krishna, the son of Vasudeva and consort of Lakshmi,
who is always fit for such prostration, who is full of bliss and other auspicious
qualities, and is without any blemish or defect, and is the giver of great boons such
as Moksha to Gods like Brahma, who are themselves known as givers of boons to
others.

Srimadacharya now describes the limbs of the Lord from the feet up.

NAMAAMI NIKHILAADHISHAKIREETAGHRUSHTAPEETHAVATH
HRITTHAMASHAMANERKAABHAM SHRIPATHEH PAADAPANKAJAM

The feet of the Lord of Shri are like the Effulgent Sun in dispelling the darkness of the
mind called Ajnana, and rests on a pedestal which is touched frequently by the
crowns on the heads of the great gods like Brahma and Rudra who are the masters of
the world. (When they prostrate with deep devotion before Him.)

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JAAMBOONADAAMBARAADAARAAM NITHAMBAM CHINTHYAMEESHITHUH
SVARNAMANJEERASAMVEETHAMAAROODHAM JAGADAMBAYAA

The waist of the Lord is covered by a golden cloth and is surrounded by a golden
waistband (Manjeera - Odyaana). Sri Lakshmi is always resting there (she sits on His
lap, with her hands round His waist). Such a waist is to be contemplated. (by those
desiring Mukthi).

UDARAM CHINTHYAMEESHASYA THANUTHVEPYAKHILAM BHARAM

VALITHRAYAANKITHAM NITHYAM UPAGOODHAM SHRIYAIKAYAA

The stomach portion of the Lord looks slim and small, but holds the entire Universe. It
is also covered by the three lines (Vali thrayaa) and is always embraced by Ramaa.
Such a stomach should be contemplated.

The chest of Lord Vishnu, who is all pervading and is the Lord of all, is the abode of
Indira (Lakshmi) and is infinite in space and time, but is still spanned by the two arms
(at either end). Such a chest should be remembered.

SHANKHACHAKRAGADAAPADMADHARAASHCHINTHYAA HARERBHUJAH
PEENAVRUTTHAA JAGADRAKSHAA KEVALODYOGINONISHAM

The four arms of the Lord wear the conch, discus, mace and the lotus and are round
and full. Their main task is to protect the world always. Such arms should always be
remembered.

SANTHATHAM CHINTHAYETHKANTAM BHAASVATHKAUSTHUBHABHAASITHAM

VAIKUTASYAAKHILAA VEDAA UDGEERYANTHE ANISHAM YATHAH
The neck of the Lord of Vaikunta (Naaraayana) is adorned with the brilliant
Kausthubha Mani and is always reciting all the Vedas. Such a neck should always be
contemplated.

SMARETHA YAAMINEENATHA SAHASRAAMITHAKANTHIMATH

BHAVATHAAPAAPANODEEDYAM SHREEPATHEH MUKHAPANKAJAM
The lotus like face of the Lord of Shri is effulgent with such brilliance that it cannot be
equaled even by thousands of full moons. It removes the sorrows of the worldly
bonds and is very suitable for praise. Such a face should be remembered.

POORNANANYASUKHODBHAASI MANDASMITHAMADHEESHITHUH
GOVINDASYA SADAA CHINTHYAM NITHYAANANDAPADAPRADAM
There is a half smile on the face of Govinda (which means main deity described by
the Shruthies) which is capable of giving the greatest gift of the coveted Moksha - the
abode of eternal bliss, which is full and without any comparison. Such a smile should
be contemplated.

SMARAAMI BHAVASANTHAAPAHAANIDAAMRUTHASAAGARAM
POORNAANANDASYA RAMASYA SAANURAAGAAVALOKANAM
I think of the gracious and love-filled look of Sri Rama, who is Himself full of bliss. His
kind look is like the ocean of nectar that can remove all the sorrows and miseries
caused by Samsara.

DHYAAYEDAJASRAMEESHASYA PADMAJAADIPRATHEEKSHITHAM
BHROOBHANGAM PAARAMESHTYADI PADADAAYIVIMUKTHIDAM
The twitching of the eyebrows of the Lord of all can give the highest positions like

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that of Chathurmukha Brahma and even Moksha. Even Brahma and others wait it
upon. Such eyebrows should be contemplated.

SANTHATHAM CHINTHAYENANTHAM ANTHAKAALE VISHESHATHAH

NAIVODAAPURGRUNANTHONTHAM YADGUNAANAAMAJAADAYAH
Brahma and other great gods praise the unique, great and extraordinary auspicious
qualities of the Lord of all who has no end (of the four kinds) and can never reach the
position of having completely described or understood even one of these qualities. I
will contemplate such a Paramaathma always.

NOTES:

This sthothra is an aid to remember the extraordinary qualities of the Lord and also
serves as an Aaapadashira sthothra - describing Him from feet to the Head.

Vasudeva (the prelude to the Krishna Icon being installed shortly) is the fittest entity
to be worshipped as He is Himself without blemish and is the giver of boons to boon
givers themselves. More over, He is the only person who can give Moksha, which
none else can give and gives this supreme blessing even to the others. The
conviction that Krishna is supreme, without blemish and can give us the greatest gift
which we can aspire, will lead to our praying Him rather than any one else and will
also make us disinterested in worldly boons - just as some one who has access to the
emperor will not seek some minor favors from a lesser official. The prayer also
conveys the nature of the true Rju Jiva - absolute certainty in knowledge, devotion to
God Vishnu surpassing all else and being never affected by ignorance (Ajnana). The
sthothra also conveys the following qualities of Vishnu:
1. His Sakala Kalyana Guna paripoornathva
2. His Nirdoshathva
3. His supremacy over all other gods
4. His grace being essential for the removal of primordial ignorance (Ajnana)
5. Being served by His consort Lakshmi - in every manner possible.
6. His infinite auspicious qualities - in number, extent etc. and being without any
limitation of any kind.
7. His reciting the Vedas constantly in the form of Hayagriva.
8. His face with the radiance of thousand moons which will remove the misery of the
world just by contemplation.
9. His totally effortless control over the world - indicated by the twitching of His eye
brows being adequate to confer even the positions of the Creator of the world etc.
10. The necessity to think of Him always, specially when one anticipates his end. This
gives the indication that the last thoughts of a dying person, which can only be
determined by his priorities in life, will have decisive effect on his future
lives.
11. The epithets used for addressing God are also most appropriate - Sreepathi - who
is worshipped by all other gods, Isha - who is the lord of Lakshmi herself, the mother
of all others, Vishnu - being sarvavyapi and Anantha, Hari – who destroys the causes
of our misery and suffering (evil), Vaikunta - who always recites the Vedas, thus
giving continuity to them even at the time of universal dissolution, Govinda - the
main deity extolled by the Vedas, Raama - the one form which gave pleasure even to
the onlookers when they saw Him and who will remove the sorrow and the pain of the
world, Anantha - who is infinite in space, time and qualities and whose extent no one
but Himself knows - as it is said that Lakshmi, His eternal consort who has been with
Him with no break since beginning-less time is yet to complete her understanding of
the extent of His qualities with respect to a nail of His.
Further thinking about the words, phrases used, appellations for God, directions for
action (Vidhi Vakya) etc will perhaps give far more understanding. Thus Dvadasha

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Sthothra flowing from the devotion filled mind of the Sarvajna who founded the
Thathvavada philosophy is inspired, mystical, accurate, and most efficacious in giving
the desired results for those who recite it with understanding and devotion.

DVAADASHA STHOTHRA (2)

After offering his obeisance to Vasudeva (Krishna) Acharya Madhva describes

the great and unique attributes of Sri Hari in the this second sthothra.

SUJANODHADISAMVRUDDHIPOORNACHANDRO GUNARNAVAH
AMANDAANANDASAANDRO NAH PREEYATHAAM INDIRAAPATHIH
The husband of Indira is like a full moon in creating tides in the oceans of the minds
of good people (those who are equipped with Jnana, Bhakthi and Vairagya). He
Himself is an ocean of auspicious qualities. He is made of complete and flawless bliss
and other qualities. May such Hari be pleased with us.

RAMAACHAKOREEVIDHAVE DUSHTADARPODAVAHNAYE
SATHPAANTHAJANAGEHAAYA NAMO NAARAAYANAAYA THE
This Narayana is like the moon which gives happiness to the Chakora bird called
Ramaa, His consort. He is like the fire (in the oceans) which dries up the waters of the
pride of evil persons. When people get tired on the way, they take shelter in a house,
where they get shade, drinking water, food and rest along with being made to feel
welcome. In a similar manner He is the shelter of good persons who need rest from
the sufferings of
Samsaara. I offer my Namskaara to such a Narayana.

CHIDACHIDBHEDAMAKHILAM VIDHAAYAADHAAYA BHUNJATHE

AVYAAKRUTHAGRIHSTHAAYA RAMAAPRANAYINE NAMAH
This world consists of Chith (conscious) and inert entities with differences amongst
them. He creates this world, protects it during its maintenance and destroys it in
Universaldissolution. He is Himself unaffected by all this, though He is like a
householder with this world. (Alternatively, He lives in a house Vaikunta, which is
without any change - vikaara). He has a wife Ramaa, who is His beloved. I offer my
salutations to Him. (Here, the Lord is compared to a Householder)

AMANDAGUNASAAROPI MANDAHAASENA VEEKSHITHAH

NITHYAMINDIRAYAANANDASAANDRO YO NAUMI THAM HARIM
When Indiraa looks at some one with a half smile, he attains the greatest position of
ruling all the three worlds. Hari is also looked always by her with such a half smile,
not to confer boons, but because of her eternal and unmatched love for Him. He is
Himself of the essence of divine bliss and is full of auspicious qualities. I prostrate
before Him.

VASHEEVASHE NA KASYAAPI YO AJITHO VIJITHAAKHILAH

SARVAKARTHAA NA KRIYATHE THAM NAMAAMI RAMAAPATHIM
This Lord of Ramaa is the master of all, but does not have any master Himself. He has
won the entire world, but has never been defeated. He is the creator of the entire
world, but He Himself is not created by any one else. I offer my prostrations to Him.

AGUNAAYA GUNODREKASVAROOPAAYAADIKAARINE
VIDAARITHAARISANGHAAYA VAASUDEVAAYA THE NAMAH
He is free from the effects of the three Gunas constituting Prakruthi (Sathva, Rajas
and Thamas). He is full of auspicious qualities like Jnana, Ananda etc in their
unlimited forms (Udreka). He is the creator of Chathurmukha Brahma, who is the
creator of the world. He has destroyed all enemies – both internal and external to

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Him. I offer my prostrations to Him.

AADIDEVAAYA DEVAANAAM PATHAYE SAADITHARAYE

ANAADYAJNAANAPAARAAYA NAMO VARAVARAAYA THE
He is the God who was present when no one else was there (before creation). He is
the Lord of all the gods. He has destroyed all enemies. He is the destroyer of the
beginning-less Ajnana of the Jivas (when He takes them into His Moksha). He is
greater than the great gods/goddesses like Ramaa, Brahma etc. I offer my
prostrations to Him.

AJAAYA JANAYITHRESYA VIJITHAAKHILADAANAVA

AJAADIPOOJYAPAADAAYA NAMASTHE GARUDADHWAJA
You are not born ever yourself, but create the entire world. You have won over all evil
persons (Daanava). You are worshipped by Chathurmukha Brahma and other gods.
You use the flag emblem of Garuda. I offer my prostrations to you.

INDIRAAMANDASAANDRAAGYAKATAAKSHA PREKSHITHAATHMANE
ASMADISHTAIKAKAARYAAYA POORNAAYA HARAYE NAMAH Indiraa gives her side
glance (of the eyes) - Kataaksha, to you with complete love, devotion and unmatched
quality. You are the most important desirable goal for us. You are complete with
matchless attributes. You destroy the misery of your devotees. I

NOTES

This sthothra is extremely concentrated with many important tenets of Thathvavada.

Each stanza deserves detailed treatment.
I am how ever contenting myself with giving some brief comments
:
In the first, Acharya Madhva conveys the most important purpose of souls taking up
the path of devotion to God - the conferment of bliss to the Sathvik souls who are
also by nature and essence, consisting of bliss. This is not apparent in Samsara,
where Ajnana and Avidya have the effect of concealing both the natures of God and
themselves from the souls. The nature of such souls is compared to the oceans,
which expand and form tides due to the attraction of God, who is like the Moon. The
other point is that God , His "body" and His auspicious qualities are identical and are
seen as different in practical terms by the concept of Vishesha.
The Chakora bird cries for the moon and is very happy when the full moon comes out
with its radiance. Similarly Ramaa (Lakshmi) , who is the Abhimani devatha of
Prakruthi or nature (which is the Upadana karana - material cause - of the world
creation) is rendered happy by the Supreme Being. There is also a hint that it is one
way - Ramaa is the beneficiary and not the donor. The example of wayfarers getting
shelter and rest, is particularly appropriate - God is the refuge of the tired and weak
souls, who have battled life's problems. Every day, He allows the souls to get sleep,
where they rest in His Prajna form and wake up refreshed. Even at the end of
repeated births and deaths, the final resting place of the sathvika souls which is free
from suffering and provides all the features of a "House" is God's abode.
The words Vidhaayaadhaya bhunjathe are very interesting. Vidhaya stands for
Srushti, Aadhaaya for maintenance and Bhunjathe stands for destruction.
The pramanas "Yatho va imaani bhuthaani jaayanthe", "Janmadysya yathah", "Yathah
sarvaani bhuthaani bhavanthyaadiyugaagame yasminscha pralayam yaanthi pureva
yugakshaye" etc convey the meaning intended.
The word Avyaakrutha is also very interesting - It can mean - "not completely known
or understandable", "having no Vikaara or change or transformation". The first refers
to the Supreme Being being beyond words, mind and speech (Yatho vacho

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nivarthanthe apraapya manasaa saha). The Avikara (or not having change) meaning
can apply to God Himself or his abode, Vaikunta. Acharya Madhva has used the
analogy of a Householder here - Gruhastha complete with devoted wife, house and all
enjoyments, but shows how really different God is from the normal persons.
Acharya Madhva has also conveyed that the blessing of Goddess Ramaa is essential
for attaining any worldly objective such as position, wealth etc. Remember Ambhrani
suktha - "Yam kaamaye tham ugram krunomi tham brahmaanam thamrusheem tham
sumedhaam".
This is nicely expressed by the sidelong glance, which she has reserved for her
husband - full of love, understanding, reverence, devotion and total surrender to His
will. A much
lesser half smile would make a soul a Chathurmukha Brahma or Rishi or Rudra etc.
But in the case of the Supreme Being, this not the result - but she herself is totally
immersed in Him.
Else where, Acharya Madhva has described how she takes multitudinous forms along
with her consort for the various purposes of creation, maintenance etc. of the world.
She does her "house work " herself - "Kotikoti bhruthyariralu, haatakaambaraana
seve saatiyillade poornanotadinda sukhisuthihalu". She is all knowing (Sarvajna) with
regard to every thing else, except her consort She is never parted from Him in all
eternity and no body could be closer to Him than herself. This is the Grihasthi that
Acharya Madhva is describing here.
He is free from the effect of the Three Gunas constituting Prakruthi, for the simple
reason that the Abhimani devathaa of Prakruthi (Ramaa) herself is His slave. He is
Poorna and needs nothing else for His own happiness or bliss. His grace is essential
for the souls to get out of the clutches of AnadiAjnana (which is considered to be like
a veil obscuring true knowldege). It is not ignorance, or lack of knowledge. Goddess
Durga, one of the three forms of Sri Lakshmi is the Abhimaani devathaa for Ajnana.
There is also reference to shruthi texts describing that only Narayana existed before
creation along with Lakshmi - who had taken the forms of the primordial ocean, the
peepul leaf and was also sitting at His feet, when he was in the form of a child resting
there. The word Varavara also hints at His being chosen (in the eyes of the world) as
her consort by
Lakshmi , who appeared out of the milk ocean after it was churned by the gods and
demons. It can also interpreted as the donor of the best boon of Moksha amongst all
other gods who give boons.
In the words Asmadishtaikakarayaaya in the last stanza, Acharya Madhva has hinted
at many things. First his own swaroopa or essence, which makes the Supreme Being
as his greatest objective, surpassing Moksha also, unlike most of us who would be
content with the latter. As an Utthamaadhikaari, Acharya Madhva wants his master
more than any other thing in the world. There is also a reference to Karyathaa vada
of Prabhakara
Mimamsakas, who object to the Vedas being interpreted in any other manner than
performance of rituals. Acharya madhva has replied to these arguments in
Vishnuthathvavinirnaya stating that Ishtasadhanatha should be the criterion and not
Karyatha. It is also intended to convey that God inspite of His immense powers and
majesty is also a "slave" of His devotees - "Hoova tharuvara manege hulla tharuva".
He will always do ONLY those things that are desired by His true devotees (like
Srimadacharya).

DVAADASHA STHOTHRA 3

The third sthothra is directed to the devotees and his disciples who are
exhorted to follow the injunctions of the scriptures with understanding and devotion
to attain God's grace. In the brief length of 9 simple looking shlokas, Acharya Madhva
has condensed the Dos and Don’ts of life in a heart touching and convincing manner.

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The rejection of Kaamyakarma (worldly desires) leading to renunciation, performance
of one's prescribed duties without desiring the fruits there of (Nishkaama karma),
recitation of God's sacred name and prayers etc are the means to Moksha. But the
means themselves are powerless without His grace. The concept of
Jaganmithyaathva
(Unreality of the world) is baseless. All these propositions of Thathvavaada have been
covered in this sthothra, leading to the conclusion most cherished of
Srimadaachaarya – Vishnu Sarvotthamathva.

KURU BHUNKSHVA CHA KARMA NIJAM NIYATHAM HARIPAADAVINAMRADHIYAA

SATHATHAM
HARIREVA PARO HARIREVA GURUH HARIREVA JAGATHPITHRUMAATHRUGATHIH

Hari is the Supreme Being, Hari is the father and mother, Hari is the teacher and Hari
alone is the final support for the souls. Therefore, do your prescribed duties always
with reverence to the feet of the Lord. Accept the fruits there of also with the same
submission to His will.
SOME IMMEDIATE COMMENTS ARE NECESSARY HERE:
The Father is the creator as he brings the souls into being as embodied beings. He is
also the mother as He maintains their existence in the world. He is the Gathi or final
destination for the souls after their sojourn in the world. He is the source of all
knowledge as without Him, none of the Indriyas will exist (including the mind). Thus
in the four words, Pithru, Maathru, Guru and Gathih, Acharya Madhva has condensed
the extremely close relationship between the soul and God. The word Kuru brings the
injunction of the Geetha in mind, aptly summed up by Arjuna at the end of 18
chapters - "Nashto mohaha smruthirlabdhaa thvathprasaadaath mayaachyutha,
sthithosmi
gathasandehah karishye vachanam thava". God wants us always to perform our
duties with detachment with the one and only reason that they are His desire and by
doing so, we will please Him.
The word Bunkshva is also very significant - as it sums up the Bhagavatha attitude to
life - Accept gracefully without demur God's dispensation. It is that which made
Bhima accept all the offences against His person and His family by evil ones led by
Duryodhana - Acharya Madhva says in Yamaka Bharatha - "Kshaathram dharmam
svavathaa guruvruthyai keshavaajnayaa cha mam svavathaa,
sarvam sehe manasaa bhimenaishaikamaaninaa hemanasaa"
Bhima accepted all the ill treatment of His enemies as required by Kashathra Dharma
(his code of conduct as a kshathriya), the desire of Lord Krishna and to follow the
directions of his elders like Dharmaraja. This he did when he could have reversed
the entire process by applying his superhuman abilities, for which there was none to
oppose.

NA THATHOSHTYAPARAM JAGATHEEDYATHAMAM PARAMATHPARATHAH

PURUSHOTTHAMATHAH
THADALAM BAHULOKAVICHINTHANAYAA PRAVANAM KURU MAANASAMEESHAPADE
There is no one else in the world of living and inert matter who is more appropriate
for being prayed to. He is superior to the superior beings like Brahma, Rudra etc. He
is also the greatest Purusha or entity ever. Therefore, stop your thinking about
worldly affairs and immerse your mind in contemplation of His lotus feet.

YATHATHOPI HAREH PADASAMSMARANE SAKALAM HYAGHAMAASHU LAYAM

VRAJATHI
SMARATHASTHU VIMUKTHIPADAM PARAMAM SPHUTAMESHYATHI THATH
KIMAPPAKRIYAHE
For those who try to remember the lotus feet of the Lord, all sins are destroyed

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quickly. For those who remember Him constantly and meditate upon Him, attainment
of Mukthi is assured (Sphutam). Therefore, why should any person of sense not do it?

SHRUNUTHAAMALASATHYAVACHAH PARAMAM SHAPATHERITHAMUCCHRITHA BAAHU

YUGAM
NA HAREH PARAMO NA HAREH SADRUSHAH PARAMAH SA THU
SARVACHIDAATHMAGANAATH.
Acharya Madhva says - I take a solemn oath with both my arms raised high. There is
none superior to Hari, there is not even one similar to Hari. He is the greatest
amongst all chethanas.

YADI NAAMA PARO NA BHAVETH SA HARIH KATHAMSYA VASHE

JAGADETHADABHUTH
YADI NAMA NA THASYA VASHE SAKALAM KATHAMEVA THU NITHYASUKHAM NA
BHAVETH
If Hari was not supreme, how did this world continue in His control? If the world is not
in His control, why has it not attained eternal bliss? The Yukthi (logical argument)
here is that any entity that is independent will never be miserable, as it will always
choose happiness. As it is an universal experience that all souls are not eternally
happy, they are dependent. The other logical statement is that the world needs a
Chethana to control it and run it in an orderly fashion and He is the Supreme Being.

NA CHA KARMAVIMAAMALAKAALAGUNAPRABHRUTHEESHAMACHITTHANU THADDHI

YATHAH
CHIDCHITTHANU SARVAMASAU THU HARIRYAMAYAEDITHI VAIDIKAMASTHI
VACHAH
Entities like Karma, Avidya, Doshas, Time, the three Gunas etc cannot attain lordship
of this world as it is well known that they are Jada (Acethana or incapable of
knowledge). Shruthi proclaims that Hari controls the entire world of Chethana and
Jada entities. This is an extension of the previous Yukthi that the world is controlled
by Hari only and not by any of the other entities and its implications are profound and
need to be examined in depth.

VYAVAHAARABHIDAAPI GURORJAGATHAAM NA THU CHITTHAGATHAA SA HI

CHODYAPARAM
BAHAVAH PURUSHAH PURUSHAPRAVARO HARIRITHYAVADATH SVAYAMEVA HARIH
The supreme teacher of all the worlds has Himself taught in reply to a question that
the theory of Vyavaharabheda (worldly difference which is unreal) will give way to
Identity between the soul and the Supreme Being in Moksha is invalid. He has said
that the souls are infinite in number and Hari is Supreme in comparison to all of
them.

CHATHURAANANAPOORVAVIMUKTHAGANAA HARIMETHYA THU POORVAVADEVA

SADAA
NIYATHOCCHAVINEECHATHAYAIVA NIJAAM STHITHIMAAPURITHI SMA PARAM
VACHANAM
The groups of souls in creation headed by Chathurmukha Brahma will attain Hari in
Mukthi and will have eternal differences amongst themselves as before (in
Samsaara). This is well established by valid shruthi texts.

AANANDATEERTHASAMNNAAMANAA POORNAPRAJNAABHIDAAYUJAA
KRUTHAM HARYASHTAKAM BHAKTHYAA PATHATHAH PREEYATHE HARIH
This sthothra with 8 shlokas composed by Poornaprajna also called Aanandatirtha (for
having composed Shasthras leading to Moksha) when recited with devotion will
secure the grace of the Lord Hari.

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NOTES

In the first shloka, Acharya Madhva has concisely stated the basics of life as
per Thathvavada. Not for us is running away from life or abstain from all action in the
hope that the accumulated sins will slowly get used up. Else where, in
Krishnaamruthamahaarnava Acharya Madhva has stated that any person who has
passed Fourteen years will do at least enough Karmas for taking 10 more lives. Thus
there is just no possibility for refraining from Karma and trying to get out of Samsaara
as some schools try to preach. The answer as to how one should get out of the Karma
trap is given in Geetha - Nishkaaama karma. One should perform all prescribed duties
- as stated by Sri Purandara Dasaru - "Eesabeku iddu jaisa beku, hesigeya
samsaaradalli aashe lesha maadadhaange ..". The underlying thought should always
be - God who is the only independent entity is actually performing all the acts and
that I am only doing it at His behest as an act of worship to Him. The fruits of the
actions are entirely for God to give and I will be content with what ever I am given.
My only purpose is to please God and obtain His grace leading to my redemption. For
obtaining this mental state, it is essential to understand from the Shasthras that Hari
is like Father, Mother, Teacher and goal
for all the souls.
With this Anusandhana (mental understanding) you will immediately
understand that there is no use thinking, plotting and worrying about how to achieve
worldly goals. The life given to us with al its precious gifts of sensory organs, Mind,
Intellect etc is not to be wasted away, in pursuing superficial and worthless targets.
The most important goal of the soul - release from bondage - will only be attained by
understanding, thinking, meditating and worshipping God.
Acharya Madhva says in Krishnaamruthamahaarnava: "Archithah samsmruthah
dhyathah kirthithah kathithah shruthah yo dadaathyamruthathvam hi sa maam
rakshathu keshavah" Keshava who is worshipped with prescribed rituals, who is
remembered always, contemplated upon, who is extolled, who is described in groups
of devotees, and who is prayed to, will give Moksha. These are all the actions that
one should do as far as possible.
While Nishkaama karma may take care of future Karma bondage, the enormous load
of past Karmas would still have to be gone through. The next shloka tells us how -
remembering God's names (as in Vishnu Sahasranama) with understanding their
meanings and with greater knowledge (Jnana) and worship, attempting meditation.
Acharya Madhva has assured that even imperfect attempts to do so will be rewarded
by the Almighty. Let me again quote Sri Purandara Vittala _ "Kaliyugadali
harinaamava nenedare kulakotigalu uddharisuvuvo" In the next set of shlokas
Acharya Madhva tells us of His convictions - Hari is the Supreme Being and there is
not even one similar to Him, let alone one who can equal or be better than Him.
While the basis for this conviction in his case would be Prathyaksha (with his intimate
association with the incarnations of the Lord) and Shasthras, for the rest of us, it has
to be Shasthras only. But Acharya Madhva gives us a set of Yukthis (logical
propositions) to convince our enquiring mind ;
1.The world of Chethanas is not blissful, but suffers from misery and sorrow, though
no one would want it. This is an observation that is the primary basis (Hethu) for the
future logical derivation.
2. The misery must be due to dependence on others both for our happiness and
sorrow. Thus, the souls must have another master.
3. The only independent entity which is the inner controller and which pervades all
according to Shasthras is the Supreme Being. Thus He is the person who decides
whether we should be miserable or blissful.
4. Alternative explanations for the misery of the world that it is caused by Pradhaana
(inert Prakruthi), Kaala (time), Karma (results of past actions) etc are all invalid, as

9
what we are looking for is a Chethana, who is controlling the world. The Jada entities
have no will of their own and work as per the desire of the Abhimaani devathaas.
These are themselves under the control of the Supreme being. Thus there is no other
alternative except to take recourse to praying to the true person who is responsible
both for our bondage and for our future release.
The Yukthis should not be considered as adequate to "prove" the existence of
the creator, His control over all else etc. Else where, Acharya Madhva has himself
held that Anumana Pramaana (unsupported by Prathyaksha or Agama) cannot prove
anything. But, the Yukthi convinces us that the interpretation of the Shasthras as per
Thathvavaada is correct and stands the test of reason also.
In the next shloka, Acharya Madhva destroys the argument of Advaitha which
aims at the heart of these propositions. The Advaitha argument is like this: The
differences which we observe in the world between souls and souls and God is
Vyavahaarika, apparently exist in this world only, though they are strictly unreal, as
they will be sublated by true Brahma Jnana, when the realization of the absolute,
Nirdharmaka, Akhanda, Nirvikaara Brahman would be there. Thus Misery, Happiness,
suffering, Samsaara, Mukthi, Supreme Being etc are all creations of Avidya and
unreal. Thus there will be no need for the methods advocated by Thathvavaada for
Mukthi, as what is really needed is Shuddha Brahma Jnana. Acharya Madhva says
that Vedavyasa has not accepted this theory and specifically rejected it in the answer
given to a question in Mahabharatha:
The question and answer run like this -
Q. by Jnamejaya: "Bahavah purushaa brahman uthaaho yeka yeva thu
Kohyathra purushah shreshtah tham bhakthan vakthumarhasi
A. Naithadicchanthi purushamekam kurukulodhvaha
bahunam purushanam hi yathaikaayonirucchyathe
thathaa tham purusham vishvam akhyaasyami etc.
The answer clearly rules out Advaitha and supports Thathvavada.
In the last but one shloka, Acharya Madhva states the principle that the
Thaarathamya or gradation persists even after Mukthi. The recitation of this sthothra
with full appreciation of its profound meaning will lead to God's grace. It is for this
reason, this sthothra is usually recited daily by the devout. There is a wealth of
meaning behind each word and phrase in this sthothra, but due to my limitations and
space constraints, I am concluding at this stage.

DVAADASHA STHOTHRA 4

Acharya Madhva continues his sthothra describing the unique and unmatched
qualities of the Supreme Being along with exhortation to the aspirant to start on the
path of Sadhana and devotion without any delay. In the present rendering, I have
made use of the Itrans rendering of the original sent to me by Shrisha Rao. But I have
given the more readable normal version to take care of pronunciation problems just
below.

nijapUrNasukhAmitabodhatanuH parashaktirana.ntaguNaH paramaH |

ajarAmaraNaH sakalArtiharaH kamalApatirID.hyatamo.avatu naH ||
1||
NIJAPOORNASUKHAAMITHABODHATHANUH PARASHAKTHIRANANTHAGUNAH
PARAMAH
AJARAAMARANAH SAKALAARTHIHARAH KAMALAAPATHIREEDYATHAMO AVATHU
NAH
He has His essential nature and body consisting of Bliss and Knowledge etc which are
unique to Him and different from those in any body else (Vilakshana). His strength is
beyond compare in quality and quantity. He is full of other infinite auspicious

10
attributes. He is the greatest. He has no aging or death. He removes completely
sorrow and misery from His devotees. He is the best amongst all those worthy of
being prayed to. Such a God, who is also the Lord of Kamalaa may take care of us.

yadasuptigato.api hariH sukhavAn.h sukharUpiNamAhurato nigamAH |

sumatiprabhavaM jagadasya yataH parabodhatanuM cha tataH khapatim.h ||2||
YADASUPTHIGATHOPI HARISSUKHAVAAN SUKHAROOPINAMAAHURATHO NIGAMAAH
SVAMATHIPRABHAVAM JAGADASYA YATHAH PARABODHATHANUM CHA THATHAH
KHAPATHIM
Hari never sleeps, but He is always full of Bliss. Therefore, the Vedas have called Him
as being of the essence of Bliss. His desire that the world should be born created the
world. He has been called as the essence of extraordinary Jnana and the controller of
all sensory organs (Indriyas)

bahuchitrajagat.h bahudhAkaraNAtparashaktirana.ntaguNaH paramaH |

sukharUpamamushhyapadaM paramaM smaratastu bhavishhyatitatsatatam.h ||3||
BAHUCHITHRAJAGATHBAHUDHAAKARANAAATH PARASHAKTHIRANANTHAGUNAH
PARAMAH
SUKHAROOPAMAMUSHYA PADAM PARAMAM SMARATHASTHU BHAVISHYATHI THATH
SATHATHAM
God creates the world of so many wonders making use of many instruments or
materials. Therefore, He has extraordinary and incomparable abilities (Parashakthi).
For the same reason, He is also full of all auspicious qualities and is the Greatest
person. Only those who meditate on His great Swaroopa consisting of Bliss (which is
entirely different and superior to that of the others) will attain His abode of bliss.

smaraNe hi pareshiturasya vibhormalinAni manAMsi kutaH karaNam.h |

vimalaM hi padaM paramaM svarataM taruNArkasavarNamajasya hareH || 4||
SMARANE HI PARESHITHURASYA VIBHORMALINAANI MANAAMSI KUTHAH KARANAM
VIMALAM HI PADAM PARAMAM SVARATHAM THARUNARKASAVARNAMAJASYA HAREH
Hari's Swaroopa is pure (without evil or other impurities), without Vikara or change
due to birth, aging, death etc., supreme, self fulfilled with bliss and of the colour of
and brighter than the rising Sun. When one meditates on Him, the mind and Indriyas
(sensory organs) will automatically get purified. (How can they remain impure ?)

vimalaiH shrutishANanishAtatamaiH sumano.asibhirAshu nihatya dR^iDham.h |

balinaM nijavairiNamAtmatamobhidamIshamana.ntamupAsva harim.h || 5||
VIMALAIH SHRUTHISHAANANISHAATHATHAMAIH SUMANOSIBHIRAASHU
NIHATHYA DHRUDHAM
BALINAM NIJAVAIRINAM AATHAMATHAMO BHIDAMEESHAMANANTHAMUPASVA HARIM
This is addressed to the devotee:
Oh. Devotee, use with bravery the swords of pure knowledge and understanding
which are sharpened by being engaged against the grindstones of the Vedas
(Shasthras) to cut through the powerful enemy of Ajnana covering over your own
swaroopa giving rise to evil such as Kama etc. Worship the eternal Lord Hari who is
the Lord of all.

sa hi vishvasR^ijo vibhushaMbhupura.ndara sUryamukhAnaparAnamarAn.h |

sR^ijatID.hyatamo.avati ha.nti nijaM padamApayati praNatAN sudhiyA || 6||
SA HI VISHVASRUJO VIBHUSHAMBHUPURANDARASURYAMUKHAN APARAAN
AMARAAN
SRUJATHEEDYATHAMOVATHI HANTHI NIJAM PADAMAAPAYATHI PRANATHAAN SUDHIYAA
He creates, protects and destroys the gods who are themselves known as creators of
the world like Brahma, Shiva, Indra, Surya and others. Those who worship Him with
devotion are taken to His own abode (Mukthi). (This is done in every Kalpa).

11
paramo.api rameshiturasya samo na hi kashchidabhUnna bhavishhyati cha |
kvachidadyatano.api na pUrNasadAgaNiteD.hyaguNAnubhavaikatanoH || 7||
PARAMOPI RAMESHITHURASYA SAMO NA HI KASCHITHABHUNNA BHAVISHYATHI
CHA
KVACHIDADYATHANOPI NA POORNASADAAGANITHEDYAGUNANUBHAVAIKA THANOH
Hari the Lord of Ramaa has His swaroopa of auspicious qualities like Bliss, Jnana etc
each of which is complete, matchless and infinite. There was never any person who
was superior or equal to Him in the past. Such a person is not there at present and
will not be there in future.

iti devavarasya hareH stavanaM kR^itavAn.h muniruttamamAdarataH |

sukhatIrthapadAbhihitaH paThatastadidaM bhavati dhruvamuchchasukham.h || 8||
ITHIDEVAVARASYA HARESTHAVANAM KRUTHAVAAN MUNIRUTTHAMAMAADARATHAH
SUKHATIRTHAPADAABHIHITAH PATATHAH THADIDAM BHAVATHI
DHRUVAMUCCHASUKHAM
In this manner, the Muni known as Ananda Tirtha composed this sthothra of Hari as a
means of destroying Ajnana. Who ever, therefore recites this will without any doubt
secure the pure bliss of Mukthi

NOTES

One does not know how to describe the act of condensation of Thathvas in this Gem
of a sthothra by Acharya Madhva. It is virtually a ocean of milk out of which many a
gem of rays pure and serene can be taken out, but perhaps these gems are
inexhaustible. I have two limitations - my own comprehension and poor knowledge,
but I will try to do justice to this sthothra within my limitations: In the first shloka
Acharya Madhva brings out many important facets of the Swaroopa of Hari. He is
Bliss incarnate and Power incarnate. His bliss is totally different from that of the Jivas
- it is entirely His own (Nija), not needing the blessings of any one else to enjoy it,
unlike even His own consort Lakshmi. Unlike the Jivas it is never occluded by external
agents like Ajnana, it is not subject to temporary deprivation or diminution and it is
also totally unmixed with sorrow. It is infinite in comparison to those of the Jivas
which may vary from one to the other, but are finite. His Shakthi or power is also
similar. It is infinite in strength and can do just about any thing He likes. As Sri
Vadiraja says in his sthothra - "Karthum, Akarthum , Anyatha Karthum" - He can do it
as any other doer, He can undo it, and He can also do it any other way. The shruthi
text "Paraasya shakthih vividhaiva shruyathe" - It is totally different in nature like that
of other Karthas or doers as it has no limitation of any kind. For instance, there is a
text which says - "Icchaa mathram Prabhoh srushtih" - the entire creation, protection,
maintenance etc of the universe is just His desire to do so. In His case there are no
different stages like Iccha (desire), Prayathna (effort), karma (action) and result
(Phala). All are simultaneous and effortless. Others have to use some finite part or all
of their abilities to do or achieve some thing, but God does it just by deciding to do it.
The example of these two qualities of Bliss and Power or Capacity is to be taken as
illustrative of His other qualities also. His auspicious qualities are infinite in number
and extent of each quality. The word Limitation is the one word that does not exist in
relation to God. The text "Mayyananthagune ananthavigrahe" illustrates this aspect.
His knowledge is infinite in extent, depth and quality. He just knows things exactly as
they are, all there is to know for others and more and knows them always without
having to do research or study or even observation. He is always aware of every
thing that happens or does not happen, because He Himself is the prime mover.
Phenomena happen because of His will, He does not have to study them to deduce
laws or results. Such a person who must be the ideal of any thinking Sathvika soul
and who responds to the devotees needs by being Sakalaarthiharah - removing all

12
manner of sorrow or distress and who gives Moksha must be the fittest person to
worship - Eedyathamah. His infinite auspicious qualities are extolled by the infinite
Vedas - both by words, phrases, sentences or even letters and sounds. His qualities
are such that they can not be fully described even by the infinite Vedas. His own
consort Lakshmi has never been able to completely understand Him even in a little
bit. ALL THESE IDEAS AND PROBABLY MORE ARE CONVEYED BY ACHARYA MADHVA IN
THE FIRST SHLOKA ITSELF.
In the second shloka, Acharya Madhva explains some of the attributes further. A
Sathvika Jiva experiences bliss when he sleeps (in the arms of the Prajna form of the
Lord). God experiences His bliss always, even when awake. He is called Sukharoopi or
having the form made of bliss itself by the Vedas. All His qualities of Sukha or
strength etc are not different from each other, though it appears to be different to
others. This is explained by the concept of Vishesha, which I cannot go into here. He
created the world just by His will. He has used entities like Prakruthi, Souls etc in
doing so. But unlike normal doers, who can make a pot, but can not make mud out of
which the pot is made - God can make it either way. The Prakruthi or nature in her
fine (sookshma) form (controlled by Goddess Lakshmi) is made to enlarge itself into
the world of materials and energy, names and forms etc by the will of God Himself.
Even their existence is at the will of the Lord. Though the soul is eternal and
beginningless, he is so, because Lord wills him to be so. He gives all the capacities
and attributes of each entity participating in the creation - "Pranasya Pranah,
Chakshushaksha chakshuh shrothrasya shrothram manaso manah vachoh vacham" -
This refers to the control of the Abhimani devathas of all these entities being under
the control of God. Acharya Madhva has quoted else where, a shloka "Dravyam
karma cha kaalasccha svabhaavo jiva yeva cha yadanugrahathah santhi na santhi
yadupekshayaa" to show that all entities owe even their existence to Him, though
they are themselves beginningless like the Jivas and were not created by Him. In the
next, Acharya Madhva asks that when one tries to remember God like this, how can
any evil stay in the mind. His form should therefore be contemplated constantly by
recollecting as many of His auspicious qualities as possible. This is a sure panacea for
purifying one self. A very important first step of a Sadhaka or an spirant to Moksha is
conveyed - he should think of God with His auspicious qualities which will purify his
mind and remove obscuring matter like the Arishadvarga (kama, krodha etc), Ajnana
(which acts as veil to God knowledge). He now addresses the devotee thus - use the
sharp instruments given to you by God - Manas or the mind. Sharpen it well by using
the shruthies as the grinding stone. (This simile is particularly appropriate, as
constant engagement in study of the shruthies which need critical interpretation with
the help of Suthras etc. is perhaps one of the most intellectually stimulating exercises
known.) By studying shruthies we remove the obscuring dirt of ignorance , wrong
knowledge, from the mind. Conviction about the nature of God etc which follows as a
consequence will further make the mind disinterested about the mundane things of
the world that do not really matter and thus reduce chances of our getting caught in
the toils of the six famous enemies of the mind - Arishadvarga. The real enemy
according to Acharya Madhva is Ajnana and the attendant evils which should be
destroyed by the sharpened sword of intellect (Viveka) which tells us what is
important and what is not. This will lead to single minded devotion to God who should
be worshipped always. For such a person, all his actions are worship of God. The next
shloka explains that as He is the creator of the world including revered deities like
Brahma, Rudra, Indra etc. who are approached for boons by other lesser souls, He
protects them and destroys them in Dissolution, He is the most appropriate person to
be worshipped. He is the giver of Moksha to His devoted servants. The next shloka
points out that there is none like Him ever - in the past, present or future. It is so
because He is the only one with all auspicious qualities as described earlier. Acharya
Madhva says in the last shloka that he has composed this sthothra of Hari as an aid
to destroy Ajnana with great devotion to the Lord. He asserts that for those who

13
recite this shloka with understanding and conviction of its meanings there is no doubt
what ever that they will secure Moksha.
THERE ARE SOME NAMES WHICH ACHARYA MADHVA HAS CALLED HIMSELF WITH IN
DIFFERENT STHOTHRAS. HERE HE USES THE NAME SUKHA TIRTHA WHICH IS
EQUIVALENT TO ANANDA TIRTHA , WHICH SEEMS PARTICULARLY APPROPRIATE AS HE
HAS DELINEATED THE STEPS OF SADHANA FOR APPROACHING MOKSHA (PARAMA
SUKHA).

vaadasha sthothra Part 5 A

"Vaasudevaaparimeya sudhaman . etc.

PART 5A

DVAADASHA STHOTHRA 5

After having fumbled through a vain attempt of trying to reflect accurately in

English, the wealth of meanings of the sthothras composed by Acharya Madhva, I feel
particularly diffident when I attempt to write the same for this Sthothra. This is
because here we sense not only the conviction, devotion and intense love for the
Supreme Being seen earlier, but a veritable mine of gold and precious jewels of
Thathvavada which is inexhaustible and likely to give even more valuable jewels with
greater effort at seeking them out. Though it is rather foolish on my part to effect any
comparison with the great Sri Jayatirtha, I feel like saying (I think that I can perhaps
say with far more justice and accuracy than he did - at least in the part relating to my
ignorance and obvious disabilties) - what he says in Anuvyakhyana -
"Srimadaanandatirtharyasanmanassaraseebhuvi
anuvyakhyaananaline chanchareekathi me manah"
"Na shabdaabdhau gaadhaah na cha nigamacharchaasu chathuraa
na cha nyaaye praudhaa na cha vidithavedyaa api vayam
param shrimathpoornapramathigurukaarunyasaranim
prapannaa manyaah smah kimapi cha vadanthopi mahathaam"
TRANSLATED AS:
My mind is like a bee which flits around the lake of the great and crystal clear mind
of Srimadaanandatirtha revealed in the lotus of Anuvyakhyana ( read here -
Dvadasha sthothra) We have not seen the depth of Vyakarana shashthra (grammar),
and are not clever in the discussion on the Vedas. We are not accomplished in Nyaya
shashthra and we do not know what ever is to be known. But we have the gracious
and kind blessings of Srimad Poornapramathi (Acharya Madhva) - What ever we say
is not our own, but based on what Sarvajnacharya has said. Hence we will be
accepted by the learned persons.

Sri Raghavendra says in Parimala that this is for showing his own Vinaya (modesty). If
Sri Jayatirtha who was a redoubtable scholar felt like this, what should be our
feelings?

In this sthothra you seen Madhva as a poet, visionary, Vedic Seer and devotee
in full flow - composing words, sentences and expressing many thoughts and ideas
with a maximum economy of words. To interpret these one would need a mastery of
Sanskrit grammar (for us it remains a mystery), knowledge of the Shasthras and
above all a sense of identification with the mind of the great devotee at the time. He
had already described the Apaadamasthaka glory of the Lord, He had also covered
the main Prameyas (propositions) of Thathvavada, and He had also exhorted the
devotees to follow him in the path to Moksha. Here he seems to take off, as it were
,on his own and uses words and expressions which would be difficult for the ordinary
scholar to even to begin to comprehend.

14
 One remembers here that Acharya Madhva has been described as:
"devathaa svasulabhaa prathibhaa the " - Your knowledge is rarely to be found even
in gods.
"Prachuraantharapravachanam phaniradupashushruvaan sa sanakaadimunih
gagane alpadrushtavapurathra janaisthvaritham nileenaruchiraapa param"
The great Shesha himself along with Sanaka and other Munis came to listen to the
exposition of Madhva Bhashya. The people saw them as a light in the sky. (The story
is that though it was a totally moonless night, the people on the ground thought that
a moon was there in the sky, which vanished after a while. Acharya Madhva himself
explained the real reason for the light later on.)
"Mahaanandatirthasya ye bhashya bhaavam
manovaagbhiraavarthayanthe svashakthyaa
suradyaa naranthaa mukundaprasaadaath imam mokshamethe bhajanthe sadethi"
The gods and men (and all persons in between) who understand the meaning of the
great Brahma Suthra Bhashya of Mahaananda Tirtha to the limit of their capacity
(and worship the Supreme being accordingly) will receive the grace of the Lord and
attain Moksha.
All this goes to show that the compositions of Acharya Madhva are not just
meant for us, but for more evolved persons like the gods and demigods also. It may
be therefore no wonder, if we do not obtain the FULL grasp of his teachings. There is
also the obvious necessity to keep at it till we try to get our fill - to the limits of our
capacity. Let me first extract the Itrans rendering of the sthothra in full.

vAsudevAparimeyasudhAman.h shuddhasadodita su.ndarikA.nta |

dharAdharadharaNa vedhuradhartaH saudhR^itidIdhitivedhR^ividhAtaH || 1||

adhikaba.ndhaM ra.ndhaya bodhA chchhindhividhAnaM

ba.ndhuramaddhA |
keshava keshava shAsaka va.nde pAshadharArchita shUravaresha || 2||

nArAyaNa amala kAraNa va.nde kAraNakAraNa pUrNa vareNya

|mAdhava mAdhava sAdhaka va.nde bAdhaka bodhaka shuddha samAdhe || 3||

govi.nda govi.nda pura.ndara va.nde ska.nda suna.ndana vandita pAda |

vishhNo sR^ijishhNo grasishhNo viva.nde kR^ishhNa sadushhNa vadhishhNo
sadhR^ishhNo || 4||

madhusUdana dAnavasAdana va.nde daivatamodana vedita pAda |trivikrama

nishhkrama vikrama va.nde sukrama sa.nkramahu.nkR^itavaktra ||5||
vAmana vAmana bhAmana va.nde sAmana sImana shAmana sAno |
shrIdhara shrIdhara shaMdhara va.nde bhUdhara vArdhara ka.ndharadhArin.h|| 6||

hR^ishhIkesha sukesha paresha viva.nde sharaNesha kalesha balesha sukhesha

|padmanAbha shubhodbhava va.nde saMbhR^italokabharAbhara bhUre || 7||

dAmodara dUratarA.ntara va.nde dAritapAragapAra parasmAt.h || 8||

Ana.ndasutIrtha munI.ndrakR^itA harigItiriyaM paramAdarataH |

paralokavilokana sUryanibhA haribhakti vivardhana shauNDatamA || 9||

I am following the commentary of Sri Vishvapathi tirtha (as I have understood

it) in writing the meanings.

VAASUDEVAAPARIMEYASUDHAMAN SHUDDHASADODITHA SUNDARIKANTHA

DHARAADHARADHAARINAVEDHURADHARTHAH

15
SAUDHRUTHIDEEDHITHIVEDHRUVIDHATHAH ADHIKABANDHAM RANDHAYA
BODHAACCHINDHI VIDHANAM BANDHURAMADDHAA

The commentary has considered the above lines as the first shloka (unlike what is
normally printed which includes the lines "Adhikabandham. Etc" in a separate shloka
as part of the second.

The simple meaning usually given is: The Supreme Being is being addressed as -
Vasudeva (son of vasudeva), Achinthya (beyond thought and mind), one who has
superlative effulgence, who is free from all defects, who is worshipped as the
greatest and most superior being by good souls, Lord of Lakshmi, one who raised the
Govardhana mountain to shelter his people, the destroyer of the wicked Asuras, One
who saves the world and its souls, one who gives knowledge to Satthvika jivas who
deserve it, the parent of Chathurmukha (for the first two lines only). In the next line
prayers are made to rend the veil of Avidya and destroy completely the bonds of
samsaara, by giving Aparoksha Jnana.

Now let us see what Sri Vishvapathi tirtha intreprets it as:

This sthothra is meant to offer our prayers to Keshava and the twelve forms of the
Lord. As the Vasudeva form is the one which gives Moksha finally to the Jivas, it is
mentioned first. [The following line from Mahabharatha Thathparya Nirnaya of
Acharya Madhva says this - "Ittham vichinthya paramah sa thu Vaasudevanaamaa
babhuva nijamukthipadapradaathaa" - The Supreme Being desirous of conferring
Mukthi to the deserving souls took the form of Vasudeva first.]
The word vasudeva has also been given other meanings - Va stands for
Gamanasheelathva - being mobile, Suh is the creator of the world, Deva being one
who has the properties of Kreeda - sport, Dyuthi - effulgence, sthuthi - being an
object of praise, vijigeeshaa - being a victor and others. The combination of the three
Va, su and Deva would define many properties of the Lord. He is also Vaasu - as He is
an Acchaadaka of the world being immanent everywhere. Deva is again interpreted
as before. He is also Vaasu as He is the refuge of all creatures in sleep - (Vaasanaath
vasudevosi). Vaasu also signifies Balaroopa (strength), Asu (being the Prana or life
force of every other person). Va also stands for Sarvapravarthakathva - being the
inner controller of all other entities. There is a text - "Balaadasuthvaath
dathruthovarthanaacha tham vasudevam pravadanthi santhah"
The name Vasudeva also means the son of vasudeva, the Yadava, but one would
think that Acharya Madhva at this moment of getting the idol of Lord Krishna for
Prathishtaa would have taken into account the multiple meanings given above and
others which could be deuced if one knows how!. The next two words Aparimeya
Sudhaaman are combined to derive the first meaning - The Lord has his abode in
Vaikunta, Shwetah dvipa and Ananthaasana whose great qualities are impossible to
grasp. For instance, Vaikunta can hold infinite muktha souls without running into
problems of infrastructure and urbanisation ! Its beauty, effulgence, bliss etc and
even all its wonders are never fully grasped even by its own inhabitants, as these
three abodes are also forms of the great Mahalakshmi herself who has infinite
attributes. The words can also be split into two - the first Aparimeya meaning beyond
the reach of Tharka or logic. And Sudhaman meaning the owner of excellent abodes.
Shuddha is translated as one having a pure form - the english word Pure is used both
for "without impurity" or Pavithra (rendered holy). Sadoditha means known or
knowable by Good people properly. It can also mean Good people remember Him
always.
Sundari refers to Lakshmi - who is the most beautiful woman in the Universe, being
Herself the creator of beautiful things. Her dear one is Kantha - also hinting at their
unique Aprakrutha love for each other.
Dharaadhara dhaarina can be interpreted in several ways - Dharaadhara as a

16
separate word - one who took Earth herself as his burden in Varahaavathaara.
Dharaarinah means mountains like Meru, which are believed to support the earth
(Dharaa) herself. Vedhura means one who destroys by His fire emanating from His
mouth Dhaarinah in Pralaya. Dharthaa means one who supports them (and the earth)
as Kurma. It can also refer to supporting Govardhana Mountain in his Krishnavathara.
Sri Vishvapathi also comments that the Patha - Dharaadharadhaarana is not reflected
in the original copies (presumably Hrishikesha Tirtha version) and rejects it as
Apapaatha.
Saudhruthideedhithi means having effulgence always. This is used as an adjective to
refer to great gods headed by Rudra. Their Vedhru (creator) is Brahma and his creator
(Vidhaathaa) is the Supreme Being. Alternatively, Saudhruthi can also be interpreted
as having superlative bliss or knowledge or courage.. Deedhithi is effulgence and one
who has these qualities in an extraordinary manner is Brahma. The Supreme Being is
the creator of Brahma himself.
All the expressions above - Vasudeva, Aparimeya, Sudhaman, Shuddha, Sadoditha,
Sundarikantha, Dharaadhara, Dharinavedhuradharthah,
Saudhruthideedhithivedhruvidhathah are thus used to address the Supreme Being by
recalling His great qualities. Now follows the prayer part. Addhaa - means properly or
in this case fully. Bandham is the bondage of Samsaara and Randhaya means
destroy. There are two versions of the word spelled here as Vidhaanam - Pidhaanam.
Both are accepted and commented upon. Vidhaanam means the Kamyakarma being
done by us desiring fruits of our actions based on our likes and dislikes. Acharya
Madhva prays - Vidhaanam chindhi - destroy root and branch. If it is read as
Pidhaanam Bandhuram is having the characteristic of creating bondage. Pidhaana is
translated as Ajnana which covers the swaroopa of ourselves and the Lord. Thus
Acharya Madhva prays - destroy the Ajnana which perpetuates us in bondage and
causes us to remain attached to worldly things which are transitory and worthless,
causing us to keep on performing actions leading to perpetual bondage. All these
meanings are supported by quotes and grammatical rules for interpretation, which
cannot be reproduced in full. But it is clear that the simple translation given earlier is
grossly inadequate. Even if the meanings are given with Padaccheda etc in the
conventional way, unless one reads and tries to undertsand the Bhashya - preferably
with a qualified teacher, there is a good likelihood of missing or misunderstanding
siginificant portions. Of course, English is grossly inadequate as it does not even have
equivalent words and concepts thus leading to verbosity and lack of precision.

KESHAVAKESHAVASHAASAKA VANDE PAASHADHARAARCHITHA SHOORAVARESHA.

Superficially, one might think that the repetition of the word Keshava twice is either
for poetry or rhyme.. The simple meaning is that the Lord is addressed as Keshava
(which can be interpreted as the greatest, and controller of all), the master of
Chathurmukha Brahma and other gods who are known to have great stature, one
who has been worshipped by Varuna (Paashadhara), my salutations to you. The
following meanings have been attributed to the word Keshava occuring in Vishnu
sahasra naama -
1. He has hair which is extraordinarily great. God's hair is also of the essence of bliss
and is of His own essence and not made of external entities. Thus it is capable of
wondrous deeds - for instance, a black hair which took form as Krishna and a white
hair which pervaded the Avathara of Shesha - Balarama.
2. He made His black and white hair take the form of Krishna and Rama.
3. He appeared as Krishna with his black hair.
4. He killed Asuras like Kamsa etc with His black hair.
5. He killed a Daithya called keshi. "Keshi vadhaath keshavah"
6. He made Daksha Prajapathi to perform Yajna and Rudra to destroy it.
7. He is the master of Chathurmukha Brahma and is of the nature of knowledge

17
(Jnana)
8. He makes Chathurmukha and Rudra to perform their duties.
9. He creates Chathurmukha Brahma and Rudra
10. He gives Jnana and Bala to Brahma and Rudra
11. He is resident in Brahma and Iswara with his Vibhuthi rupa.
12. He has Chathurmukha as His son and Rudra as His grandson.
13. He has the rays of Sun, Moon and Agni as His keshas.
14. His swaroopa is Bala and Ananda (strength and bliss). He is the Lord of all and is
of the eseence of Jnana
Kam is Bala and Ananda and Isha is lordship. Vah means Jnanaroopathva. -
Bruhadaranyaka Upanishath Bhashya.
15. He is the Lord of Mukhya Prana and Surya and is of the essence of strength.
16. He controls the dieities who are Abhimani for water (Jala).
The Jalaabhimaani devathas are Chathurmukha Brahma, Shesha, Garuda and Rudra
in addition to the well known Varuna.
17. He is the lord of Sukha or bliss. He knows all.
"Kam sukham, sukhasya ishah" , "Vaathi sarvam avagacchatheethi vah -
keshashchaasau vaashcha"
18. He gives Jnana, Sukha and Bala (knowledge, bliss and strength) to Chathurmukha
and Mukhya Prana. 19. He gives the greatest Sukha or Moksha bliss to the deserving.

Looking at Vishvapatheeya teeka, it has already been pointed out that the intention is
to offer our prostrations to the 12 forms pf the Lord beginning with Keshava. Why
Vasudeva was mentioned first has already been commented earlier. He has also
given some other meanings of the word which are not covered by any of the above:
He stays blissfully in the ocean of universal disssolution. Lords of great authority like
Brahma and Rudra are themselves very lowly when compared to Him and those who
are not His devotees are flung into eternal ***.
After addressing such Keshava, with multiple meanings, He is also called
Shaasaka - the just ruler who punishes the wicked. The word can also be interpreted
to mean one who gives bliss or happiness to the Good.. Paashadhara has two
meanings- Varuna as well as the cowherds of Vrindavan. Both have worshiped him in
His Krishnavathara. Shooravaresha means the lord of all the greatest Heroes (Shoora)
of the world. Shooravara can also mean Jnana, Bhakthi etc as they remove the sorrow
of the Samsara. The Lord is the person to whom all Jnana, Bhakthi etc are directed to.

NAARAAYANAAMALAKAARANA VANDE KAARANAKAARANA POORNA VARENYA

The Lord is again being addressed - You are Jagathkaarana - the cause for the
creation and existence of the world, You are the cause of others known as causes ,
like Parkruthi etc , You are full of infinite auspicious attributes, Your are the greatest of
all. I offer my salutations to you. The word Naarayana has many meanings, one of
which is that it also a straight appellation of the Supreme Being, unlike Brahma, Shiva
and others where the name is used for both the Supreme Being and the diety.
In Vishvapatheeya teeka, after Keshava comes Narayana - in the normal order.
For this word he has given 17 meanings, with the statement that it can be interpreted
with many more or infinitely more meanings - "Ananthaarthako ayam shabdah".
Before considering these meanings, let us look at the other words in the sthothra.
Amalakaarana - He is a Nimittha Karana (like the potter for making the pot) and
hence is free from defects like Vikara (transformation) etc , which would be the case
if He were an Upadana karana (like Mud for the pot). Thus creating the world has no
implications of any sort for Him. Amalakah - means those who have renounced desire
and all worldly attachments, like Sanaka Rshi etc. He is the Arana or protector for
such persons.
Amalam kam can also mean those who are not touched by misery or sorrow -
Mukthas. He is the Aashraya or location for them also. Kaaranakaarana - He is the

18
cause of causes, as He gives the ability or capacity for Pradhana (nature in a loose
sense) to perform its functions. He is also the protector of Brahma (Kaaranaka) and
His feet are the source of the holy Bhagirathi or Ganga.
Poornavarenya - Lakshmi and Sathvika Jivas can also be called
as Poornas as they are complete with their own auspicious qualities. He is the
greatest of the Poornas like these. The word can be split into Poorna - being full of
auspicious qualities, and Varenya - He is approached for Mukthi) by devotees
(Varaniya), or He is the greatest Varenya.

Now let us look at the meanings of the word Narayana: To save space and time, I will
mention briefly the basis without giving the derivation of the words like dhathus etc.
NARAYANA
1. He is the locus of all auspicious qualities (Naraas, which are opposite to Araas or
defects)
2. He does not have any Araas - or defects.
3. He is the protector and support of Naras - human beings
4. He is the abode of the Mukthas or liberated souls - so called as they are free from
all defects like misery etc. - Naaras.
5. He stays in the heart of all human beings - Naaram
6. He makes the Indriyas of Naras (Called naaraani) function.
7. His abodes like Vaikunta, Ananthaasana and Shvetha dwipa are free from defects -
Araas.
8. The world itself is called Naara, as it is the abode of men. He is the Aashraya of the
world.
9. Mukhya Prana is also called Nara, Naaraayana is the supreme abode of all those
who belong to Mukhya Prana (Naarah)
10. Shesha ia also called Nara. As Narayana has Shesha as his bed (ayana) He is
called Narayana.
11. Arjuna was an incarnation of Nara form of the Lord. Naara are those who were
Arjuna's persons. As Krishna supported them (Ayana) He is Narayana.
12. Nara being Arjuna, His location Indraprastha was a destination (ayana) for
frequent visits by the Lord - hence He is called Narayana.
13. Nara being Arjuna, who was given special teaching (jnana is ayana) by the Lord
also gives a means to call the latter as Narayana.
14. Nara being Arjuna was assisted (nayathi) to perform Rajasuya etc and other good
deeds (Aya) and hence Narayana.
15. Nara being Arjuna, Pandavas were given the benefits of the sacred sacrifice
(Nayathi). Hence, the giver is Narayana.
16. The world itself being related to Nara - human beings, the one who does all the
eight fold activities such as creation, maintenance, destruction etc. is Narayana.
In the same manner, Sri Vishvapathi tirtha suggests that Anantha (infinite) meanings
could be derived for the word Narayana.

MAADAHAVA MAADHAVA SAADHAKA VANDE BAADHAKABODHAKA

SHUDDHASAMAADHE

The Supreme Being is addressed as Madhava, giver of all desires, destroyer of the
wicked, giver of Jnana, lord of Laskhmi, my prostrations to you.

Vishvapatheeya commentary:
Maadhava is one who is born in the family lineage of Madhu and is also the husband
of Maa - Lakshmi. Saadhaka is one who grants the desires of His devotees. Baadhaka
is one who destroys the aspirations of the evil ones. Bodhaka is one who has given
the world the nectar of Jnana in His Kapila, Vyasa etc forms. It can also be interpreted
as Jnanaananda swaroopa (Bodhashcha kamcha) Shuddhasamaadhe - Samadhi is

19
used in the normally understood sense as a development of intense Thapas -
meditation to the exclusion of all external cognitions. Shuddha is Nirdosha or perfect
without blemish. This refers to God performing penance like others as an example for
His devotees. It can also be interpreted as the source from which all suffering due to
past sins would be removed - Sri Vishvapathi quotes - "Kruthepaape anuthaapo vai
yasya pumsah prajaayathe , praayashchittham thu thasyoktham harisamsmaranam
param" - This quote from Krishnamrutha Maharnava says that when one gets true
penitence for past sins due to suffering, one has to remember intensely Hari, the
Supreme Being to redeem oneself.

GOVINDA GOVINDA PURANDARA VANDE SKANDASUNANDANAVANDITHA PAADA

He is addressed as Govinda, who is extolled by the Vedas, whose feet are prostrated
to by Shanmukha and Sunandana and who destroys the Linga deha of the souls
before giving them Moksha and offered our prostrations. Vishvapatheeya
commentary - Govinda is the diety that is reached (understood) by the Lakshanas
(specific qualities) defined in the Vedas. He is also the one who protected cows in His
incarnation as Krishna. After the incident of Govardhana mountain being carried on
His little finger to protect the entire community from vicious rain and winds produced
by Indra, the latter performed Abhisheka (sacrificial consecration) of the Lord as
Govinda. Purandara - is one who destroys the last vestige of Samsara bondage -
Linga deha which is like the rice husk to the swaroopa of the Jiva - at the time of
Moksha. He is also one who destroyed the cities of the evil ones like Jarasandha,
Saalva etc. Skanda is Rudra's son, while Sunandana is one of the Rshis usually called
as Sanakaadi Rshi.

VISHNOH SRAJISHNOH GRASISHNOH VIVANDE KRISHNA SADUSHNAVADHISHNO

SUDHRUSHNO

After starting with Vasudeva, Acharya Madhva has so far offered his prayers to
Keshava, Narayana, Madhava and Govinda. He now takes up Vishnu, to be followed
by Madhusudana, Thrivikrama, Vamana, Shridhara, Hrisheekesha, Padmanaabha,
Daamodara,. Other forms left out are Samkarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha,
Purushotthama, Adhokshaja, Narasimha, Achyutha, Janardana, Upendra and Hari and
Krishna. The forms of Narasimha, Achhyutha and Krishna are covered in the sthuthis
of the ten Avatharas of Vishnu, which follow.
Simple translation - One who pervades the entire universe , Creator, destroyer of the
worlds, son of vasudeva, destroyer of evil persons who cause misery to the Good,
and one establishes the path of righteousness in the world. I offer my prostrations.
The word Vishnu has been commented upon in the notes on Vishnusahasranama at
length. The relevant portion is copied here.
Vishnu:
General: Vishnu is a special word which occurs in RgVeda I-154-1 "Vishnornu kam
veeryani pravocham … thredhorugayah" - It is translated thus: What person, , be he
even one with the genius to count up the dust particles of the earth, can reckon up
the unimaginable glories of the All pervading Vishnu, universally hymned, who holds
aloft the Heaven of Heavens and who bestrode (the whole cosmos) in three paces.
This meaning refers to the Rudha nama of Vishnu, who has taken different
incarnations including that of the Thrivikrama and who is adored as the inner
controller of all and is full of auspicious attributes.
But there are three references in Vishnu sahasranama to this name.
Vishnu following the name Vishva (the first name).
258 th name following the word Vrishabha.
657 th name following the word Anirdeshyavapuh.
As mentioned earlier, these are not repetitions, but different words which will be

20
interpreted in different ways. For convenience all the meanings will be given together
here.
1. HE IS POSSESSED OF SPECIAL POWERS (BALA), ABILITY TO CONTROL OTHERS
(PRERAKATHVA), AND IMMANENCE (SARVA VYAPTHI) AS HIS NATURAL ESSENCE
ITSELF.
The specific meanings that convey this special quality of Vishnu and which is based
on the Yaugikartha or the word itself is stated in Aithereya Upanishad and its Bhashya
by Acharya Madhva. The letter Vi is known as Upasarga which is added to the letters
Na and Sha which constitute the name of Vishnu. Na stands for Bala or capacity and
Sha stands for Aathma - being the constant inner controller of all from Ramaa,
Chathurmukha Brahma and other jivas. He has the immanence and capacity without
any limitation of time or place.
This secret meaning of the name Vishnu was taught by Mahidasa an
incarnation of Vishnu Himself in Aithereya Upanishad. Rshis such as Hrasva
Mandukeya and others have also stated that they study the entire Vedic literature
with this interpretation and meaning. Kavasheya Rshis have said that the meditation
on Vishnu and His name is superior to other studies or Homas etc. As all Vedas are
commentaries on Vishnu, any studies done without this understanding is wasteful.
All these are contained in Aithereya Upanishad.
THE FOLLOWING FURTHER MEANINGS ARE GIVEN IN THE NEXT WORD VISHNU
APPEARING AS 258 TH.
2. HE IS ALL PERVADING - "Sarvam veveshti vyapnotheethi Vishnuh"
3. HE ENTERS IN TO ALL ENTITIES. "Sarvam vishatheethi Vishnuh"
4. HE ACTIVATES ALL ENTITIES LIKE PRITHVI AND THEIR ABHIMANI DEVATHAS.
Viyanthi gacchanthi anena ithi Vishnuh.
5. HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY LUSTROUS. Vethi shobhathe ithi Vishnuh.
6. CREATES OBJECTS WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO DESTRUCTION. Naashahseela
padarthanam janmadi vashti icchatheethi Vishnuh.
7. ONE WHO HAS MEAUSRED ALL THE WORLDS IN HIS THREE STEPS. Vethi kramathe
ithi Vishnuh.
The shloka 314-42,43 of Moksha Dharma parva of Mahabharatha has summed
up all these meanings of the word Vishnu. While commenting on Geetha "Adithyanam
aham Vishnuh", Acharya Madhva has also shown that all these qualities are those
which distinguish Vishnu amongst the Adithyas.
8. CREATOR OF THE WORLD Vethi jagath prajanayatheethi Vishnuh
9. THROWS THE WICKED INTO ***. Vethi dushtan asyatheethi vishnuh.
10. HE "EATS" ALL DURING UNIVERSAL DISSOLUTION (PRALAYA) Vethi pralaye
khadathi ithi Vishnuh.
11. HE DESTROYED THE POISON OF KALIYA SNAKE. Kaaliya nagasya visham
nudathhethi Vishnuh
12. HE GIVES SPECIAL BOONS TO DEVOTEES. Vishehshena sanothi bhakthanam
abheeshtam
13. HE IS UNMOVEABLE AND STEADY Vigathah snuh prasravanaa yasmath ithi.
14. REPOISTORY OF COUNTLESS AUSPICIOUS QUALITIES. Vishanthi kalyanagunah
asminnithi Vishnuh "Brihathvath Vishnuruchhyathe" - Mahabharatha Udyoga parva.
THE FOLLOWING FURTHER MEANINGS ARE GIVEN IN THE NEXT WORD VISHNU
APPEARING AS 657 TH.
15. HE HAS AS HIS ESSENTIAL NATURE UNIQUE INNER CONTROLLERSHIP AND BLISS.
"Sha pranathvam, Nan sukham
16. HE IS ADDRESSED BY ALL NAMES AS THEIR MAIN PURPORT. "Vishanthi
prathipadakathaya sakalanamani asminnithi Vishnuh.
17. HE PERVADES YONI (reproductive organ) Vishnuryonih kalpayathu
18. HE IS PRAISED IN GOOD SHASHTHRAS THAT HE IS INNER CONTROLLER AND
OMNI[PRESENT. "Vede Ramayane chaiva purane bharathe thatha , Adau anthe cha
madhye cha Vishnuh sarvathra geeyathe" - Harivamsha

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19. HE IS CALLED VISHNU AS HE TRANSCENDS THE THREE VEDAS, TIMES, GUNAS,
LVING AND NONLIVING PRAKRUTHI ETC. "Vethi athikramathe ….. "
20. HE HAS BLESSED THATHVABHIMANI DEVATHAS WITH SPECIAL POWERS TO
PERVADE, CONTROL AND ACTIVATE. "Vishishtah shah pranathvam aathathathvam
nah balam thathvabhimanidevathanam yasmath … "
21. HE ACTIVATES THE FLOW OF WATER OF THE RIVERS.
"Visham nadeejalam nudathi prerayatheethi Vishnuh.
22. HE BLESSES THE FLOW OF RIVER WATERS AND SUCH OTHER THINGS.
"Vishehshena snuh nadyaadeenam prasravanam yasmath sah vishnuh
23. HE BLESSES THE OUTPURING OF DEVOTION IN HIS DEVOTEES. "Visheshena snuh
bhakthanam bhaktheh prasravanam yasmath sah vishnuh
24. HE IS UNIQUE, OF THE NATURE OF ESSENCE, BLISS AND THE GREATEST OF ALL.
"Vishishtathvath , Sarabhuathathvath, Sukharoopathvath, Uthkrushtathvath Vishnuh"
Sri Vishvapathi tirtha does not give a separate comment on this word as perhaps he
has considered that enough has been said by Acharya Madhva , when he said
"Brahma shabdah Vishnaveva" in Suthra Bhashya.
Srajishnu - One who has the nature of being a creator. "Devasyaisha svabahavoyam
aapthakamasya kaaa spruhaa" says Sri Vadiraja in Yukthimallika quoting shruthi
texts. God does not perform His myriad functions for fulfillment of any need, under
compulsion from others or for any other cause except that He does it like an
Unmattha (one who is intoxicated) with bliss would dance and sing freely without any
apparent purpose. His capacity for action and achievement is such "Icchaamaathram
prabhoh shrustih". Unlike the rest of us, where desire, effort, action and result follow
one another without any certainty of the next step being always realised. In God's
case , His desire and result are at the same time. This is because not only He is
totally and truly independent Himself, but all desires and actions of others are
themselves being initiated, controlled and executed by Him and He determines the
results thereof also. Grasishnu - One who "eats" the world during dissolution. Krishna
- One with Shyama varna (black colour). He is also with eternal bliss
Sadushnavadhishno - Sathaam ushnaah (those who cause suffering to good people).
He is their vadhishnu - who has the nature of killing them.
Sudhrushno - Sushtu dharthum sheelam asya - one who is able to support and
maintain in a good manner. Vishnu is Dharma samsthaapaka - as He supports the
good people against the wicked.
All these names are used to address the Supreme being and we should infer that we
are offering prostrations (Vande) from the previous shloka.

MADHUSUDANA DAANAVASAADANA VANDE DAIVATHAMODANA VEDITHAPAADA.

We are again addressing and prostrating before God - Madhusudana - killer of Madhu,
Daanavasaadana - killer of Daanavas (evil ones), Daivathamoditha (one who gives
bliss and enjoyment to the Devas or gods, Vedithapaada - one whose feet are
realised and seen during contemplation by devotees. Sri Vishvapatheeya:
Daanavasaadana in addition to the usual meaning as the killer of Daanavas, the sons
of Danu , a wife of Kashyapa Rshi, new meanings are added. Daanam is the
Madagandha or the liquid given out by elephants in heat. Daanava is an elephant as
it does that. Thus the allusion of killing of elephant referred to here is to
Kuvalayapeeda by Krishna. Another meaning is that Daana is Yajnas in which Havis
Daanasaa (offering) is given which is received and eaten by the Supreme being -
Daanavasaadana. One more is Daah are the good people (who give gifts to others to
help them), Such people are Anavasaadana - given bliss and are not given any
suffering. It can also be interpreted as removing the sufferings of the good people
always.
Daivathamodana - He gives bliss or happiness to the Devas or gods He eats
(destroys) - odanam - the Ajnana and Thamas of the Devas who are His devotees -
belonging to Him (Deva). Another meaning can be Daivathama means the greatest of

22
the dieties and Udana is Udakam nayathi - serves or Udana - Uthkrushtacheshtaka -
the greatest energiser of the Universe.
Vedithapaada - Bhakthaanaam prathibodhithau padau - whose feet are meditated
and realised by devotees. Veditha is also
Sakalavedaprathipaadya - one who is extolled by all the Vedas. This is explained by
the shruthi - "Vedah paadam swaroopam yasya vaa nadyah syandanthe". Vedas are
like the rivers which emanate from His feet.
Madhusudana - Madhunamaka daithyam soodayathi - kills Madhu daithya. Madhu can
also be used to represent all the good and exquisite tasty food items in the world.
Suda is the cook or one who makes these emerge from the primitive form. Thus God
is the Supreme cook who provides the prepared food for His own consumption and in
a secondary manner to all living creatures. In addition to these, The word
Madhusudana appears as the 76 th name in Vishnusahasranaama (not yet posted).
These are the additional meanings:
He "destroys" the worldly objects of pleasure that come in the way of undivided
meditation for His devotees. He gives bliss to the good souls who have Jnana and
Karma. He destroys the bliss that is beyond the appropriate worth of the soul.
Note: Madhu was a daithya - son of Dithi one of the wives of Kashyapa Rshi, who was
killed by the Lord in the form of Narayana. It is said that the daithya was so pleased
with the fighting qualities of the opponent that he offered to give him any boon.
Narayana asked that the giver should die from His hand, This boon was granted.!. It
is clarified that the above drama was played at by the Lord just to confuse the wicked
- who have to be made to think that they can win over all including the Supreme
being.

THRIVIKRAMA NISHKRAMAVIKRAMA VANDE SUKRAMA

SAMKARAMAHUNKRUTHAVAKTHRA
Thrivikrama is addressed and prostrated to - He wears a ferocious face in Dissolution
with a Humkaara, He establishes the supremacy of righteous conduct - (Dharma
samsthaapana), He is the most powerful person, He is beyond the bondage of
Samsaara and karma etc., and He has occupied all the space in the earth, heavens
and the nether worlds in His form as Thrivikrama.
Nishkrama is one who has no bondage of Karma - vidhi- nishedha etc. Vikrama is one
of the greatest Shakthi - Athishakthithah. It can also mean one who lays down and
enforces the code of behaviour (Dharma) for the benefit of the world
(Lokasamgraha). Sukrama is one who has special and excellent Krama (order or form)
- like the Vyuharoopas Vasudeva etc. Samkrama is Pralaya or dissolution, when Sri
Hari wears a Humkrutha vakthra - a ferocious face with a frown. In addition to the
three feet of the Lord pervading all the Universe including His own abodes like
Shvethadvipa etc., Sri Vishvapathi tirtha gives another meaning - that He is extolled
(Prathipadya) by the three vedas - Rk, Yajus, and Saama.
This word Thrivikrama occurs as the 530th word in Vishnusahasranaama. It will be
dealt with in that context. But, in addition to the meanings already given above, the
following meanings will be of interest.
He transcends the three vedas, three kalas (past, present and future), three gunas
(Satthva, Rajas, and Thamas), three classes of chethanas (devas, Daanavas, and
men), three classes of entities (Chethana, Achethana and mixed of both). In addition
He is omnipresent in all the three times and His own abodes. The word is not just
referring to the well known Thrivikrama form described in connection with Bali
Upakhyana, but to all the features of the Lord which are beyond limits applicable to
all others.
This part has also become a little long and hence I will include a third instalment for
the remaining parts of the sthothra.

23
DVAADASHASTHOTHRA - 5 C

VAAMANA VAAMANABHAAMANA VANDE SAAMANA SEEMANA SHAAMANA SAANO

I offer my prostrations to you - Vaamana, who gives devotion, bliss, Jnana and
wellbeing. You are extolled by the Sama veda and establesh the path of Dharma in
the world. Sri Vishvapathi has commented as follows:
"Vaamau valgupratheepau cha" - the dhathu Vaama indicates doing good as well
harm. Vaamana gives all the best things in the world and next to His devotees who
are Good people, while He destroys the wicked who hate Him. The word Vaamana
appears as the 156 th word in Vishnu sahasra naama. A simple list of its meanings
there is also added here. 1. The incarnation of Vaamana which removed Bali from the
position of Indra as a small Brahmin Vatu (brahmachaari), and which was the
precursor to the great Thrivikarama incarnation.
2. He brought out the great qualities of Bali such as total commitment to truth and
devotion to God.
3. One who is very light and small (Hrasva)
4. One who sends the evil ones who hate the Good into Andhathamas or other
eternal hells.
5. He gives appropriate results to the crooked (Vakra).
6. He gives beauty of the body and mind to His devotees
7. He gives transcendental beauty and other good qualties to His devotees who have
seen Him in Aparoksha.
8. He is the inner controller of beautiful women. - Chandogya Upanishath
9. He controls Shiva by a form inside him bearing the same name.
10. He controls Kaama - the God of sexual love
11. He gives beautiful things to the deserving.
12. He gives beauty or crookedness.
13. He gives bliss by His own effulgence to those who see Him.
14. He is fit to be worshipped by all gods.
15. He gives out the Vedas (as Hayagriva)
16. He controls clouds ( rainfall etc)
17. He is of the nature of bliss, Jnana and is fit to be worshipped by all.
The name Vaamana appear in the following Upanishaths and other sacred literature -
Chandogya, Kaathaka, Bhagavatha. Others are Yaugikarthas (meaning derived from
the root words in the word vaamana depending on the context).

Bhaamana is one who gives Jnana and the accomanying effulgence in His devotees.
He also makes His enemies very angry. Saamana is one who is the inner controller of
all living creatures.
He is also attained through the knowledge and music of Saamaveda.
Seemana - is one who prescribes and ensures the observance of Seema - or Dharma..
Shaamana is one gives His devotees Shama or removal of sorrow, anger etc or gives
peace of mind. He also reveals Himself to His devotees.
Saanu is one who supports every thing - who is the bedrock and underpinning of the
Universe.

SRIDHARA SRIDHARASHAMDHARA VANDE BHOODHARA VAARDHARA

KANDHARADHAARIN
The Sridhara form of the Lord is addressed. This name describes as to how Lakshmi is
in dwelling on the breast of the Lord always. You are the support of the Mukthas, You
support the ocean of Dissolution, the earth itself (Koorma roopa), one who has the
essence of bliss as His nature. I offer my prostrations to thee.
Vishvapatheeya commentary:
Sridhara is not only one who has His consort on His breast, but also wears unique and
special effulgence. Shamdhara is one who wears bliss (has a body made of

24
auspicious
qualties).
Bhoodhara is one who supports the earth in His Kurma or Varaha or Samkarshana
forms. He is also the giver of their desires to dieties like Chandra etc. He sports in the
mountains like Meru which support the world.
Vaardhara is one who supports the limitless waters of the dissolution, oceans,
Ksheera samudra.
Kamdharadhaarin - is one supports those who wear bliss (kam) - Mukthas. He also
supports clouds which give water (kam). Laskhmi is also Kamdhara as she supports
Brahma (Kam) in her stomach, as Prakruthi). He wears Lakshmi herself on His breast.
Kamdharadhaarin also means one who has delicate moulded neck like a conch - a
sign of beauty. He is also one who supports the lotus which supports Brahma when he
is created out of the primordial ocean after dissolution.
The name Sridhara appears as the 610 th in Vishnusahasranama also. The following
meanings have been given there:
He has the Shri roopa of Lakshmi on His lap.
He has her form on His breast (Sridhah) and sports with Himself (rah).
He has Lakshmi on himself and gives her bliss.
He makes Lakshmi take the form of Bhu and support all living creatures.
He gives bliss to the dieties who control the senses.
He embraces the two forms of Lakshmi - Shree and Dharaa.
He is also the Maasaniyaamaka of Shravana masa.

HRISHIKESHA SUKESHA PARESHA VIVANDE SHARANESHA KALESHA BALESHA

SUKHESHA.
The name Hrishikesha (Hrisheeka - Indriya) of the form of the Lord concerned
indicates that He is the controller of all the senses and mind of all living creatures. He
is addressed and offered prostrations again and again. He is also the giver and
controller of bliss, Jnana and meditation, one who protects those deities themselves
known as our protectors (like Brahma etc), the greatest of the great, one who rests in
Ksheera samudra,
Sukesha is one who has very good hair. The meanings of the word Keshava which can
also be interpreted as one with special hair - which has been covered under this
name in Vishnushasranama. This is not being repeated here.
Kesha is also Kashcha Eeshashcha - Brahma and Rudra. The Lord has these as His
son and grandson. He is also the enjoyer of unalloyed bliss always with no taint of
sorrow - sukhaika bhokthaa..
Paresha - He is the Lord (Isha) of Para - those who are themselves great and out of
the ordinary like Brahma and Shiva. Sharanesha - He is the Lord of those who take
refuge in Him or ask for His help, like the 108 wives in Krishnavathara. Sharana can
also be interpreted as Vedas, as they are the means for bliss. Sharanesha is one who
is the refuge or purport of the Vedas.
Kalesha - Kalaa can mean swaropamsha like the ten incarnations of Vishnu - Mathsya
etc or Bhinnamsha, where Jivas are referred to. Kalesha is one who has made His
swaroopamshas visible or is the supreme Lord of His Bhinnamshas, like Brahma,
Rudra etc. Kam leshah - also means one such that those who are different from Him
like Shree, Brahma etc have little bliss (Lesha) in comparison. He is also one in whose
comparison all Jivas headed by Brahma are insignificant in worth - Lesha. He is also
one who has mastered the 64 kalaas - or Vidyas, which are considered to be great
achievements.
Balesha - is the controller of Bala or strength (for all), valour, Jnana (Mananaroopa
jnana). The last meaning is obtained from the shruthi - "Naayamaathmaa
balaheenena labhyah" - where Bala is interpreted as Manana or concentrated
thinking of the Jnana obtained by Shravana etc. He is the Lord of yadava army (Bala
isha), is the Lord of bala or Balabhadra (Balaraama), or Mukhyapraana.

25
Sukhesha is the Lord of all happimess or pleasure - both in Samsara or Mukthi. He is
also the Lord of Avyakruthaakaasha. He is also the inner controller of the senses.
The name Hrisheekesha also appears as the 47 th in Vishnushasranaama and the
meanings given there tally with the
ones given above and hence not repeated.

PADMANAABHA SHUBHODHBHAVA VANDE SAMBHRUTHALOKABHARAABHARA

BHOORE
He is the giver of auspicious gifts to all, the protector of even the protectors of the
world like Brahma, Indra etc, Poorna or perfect person with no shortcomimg or
defects, Padmanaabha or the diety with the Lotus emerging out of the navel (from
where Brahma emerged). We offer our prostrations to you.
Padmanaabha is the 48 th, 200 th and 347 th name in Vishnushasranaama. These
will be commented in that context. But the important meanings are:
1. One whose navel supports the Lotus in which Chathurmukha or the world itself
rests. This form is the Moola roopa out of which others like Mathsya and other
incarnations emerge at the appropriate times.
2. One whose navel is beautiful like the Lotus.
3. One whose effulgence resembles and exceeds that of the Sun, who is called
Padmana, as the latter causes the lotus flowers to bloom.
4. He gives effulgence to Sun also.
5. He has goddess Lakshmi at His feet and incarnated as the son of the king Naabhi
(Vrishabha form).
6. He is attained by His devotees and punishes the wicked. He is unaffected by
Ajnana.
7. He is the greatest amongst all dieties described in the Vedas.
8. He is reached by the devotees desirous of Mukthi and removes their Samsaara
bondage.
9. He destroys every body including Chathurmukha Brahma at the end of the
prescribed period in kalpas.
Shubhodbhava is one who gives all the auspicious things to His devotees. (Smrithe
sakalakalyaanabhaajanam yathra jaayathe purushasthamajam nithyam vrajaami
sharanam harim". It can also be interpreted as the one in whom there is a complete
manifestation of all auspicious qualities always. He removes the Mukthi yogya Jivas
(Shubhah) from the abyss of Samsaara. He incarnates to save the good people from
suffering caused by evil.
Sambhruthalokabharaabhara - He takes the responsibility of supporting the
existence, development and achievements of infinite Jivas of all categories. He
supports the fourteen worlds (Bhu, Bhuva etc) which are full of infinite numbers of
souls in creation. He also supports this enormous work as if He is carrying a sesame
seed. The word can also be split into Sambhruthalokabhara and Abhara one who
supports all.
Bhure - is one who takes many forms for His own purposes. Sri Vishvapathi tirtha has
also given another meaning to Padmanabha different from the ones given earlier.
Padmaa is Lakshmi. She is Naabhaa - Na aabhaa bhavathi - is far greater than her
also. He is also not only the refuge for all the worlds in His all pervasive froms, but
also in the heart of each and every creature -
Sakalajivahridayakamalasthithethararoopee.

DAAMODARA DOORATHARAANTHARA VANDE DAARITHAPAARAGAPAARA

PARASMAATH
He is enormously greater in all respects as His auspicious qualities and actions are
infinite compared to all other chethanas, He is the refuge of the mukthas who have
crossed the ocean of samsaara by the use of Jnana, He has kept all the fourteen
worlds in His stomach. I offer my prostrations to Him. The name Daamodara appears

26
as the 368 th name in Vishnusahasra naama. The following meanings have been
given to the word Daamodara:
1. He has all the worlds in His stomach. (Daama is loka or world)
2. He was tied around His waist by a string by Yashoda. (Krishna).
3. He blesses persons with control over senses to achieve great things
4. He gives His Aparoksha Jnana to the Devas who have control over the senses.
5. He is attained only by those who have control over senses.
6. He gives Bliss and happiness to the Jivas who control their senses.
7. He sports with the Jivas who have controlled their senses.
8. He gives special blessings to those Jivas who give good Daana - offerings to others
who deserve them.
9. He is pleased by simple offerings like even water by His devotees who have control
over the senses.
10. He sports in the ocean waters during dissolution.
11. He punishes the Wicked and gives knowledge about Himself to the Good.
Sri Vishvapathi tirtha has given another meaning also - during Pralaya or dissolution,
He destroys all including Brahma, Rudra and other great dieties.
Dooratharaanthara - He is doorathara (extremely distant) to the wicked persons
though He is Anthara (inside) their heart also. He is also outside Brahmaanda and
inside it - "Antharbahishcha thathsarvam vyapya naaraayanassthithah". He is also
very distant from the Jivas (dooratharam antharam) by virtue of His infinite
auspicious qualities and actions.
Daarithapaaragapaara - Mukthas have crossed the ocean of Samsaara and He is their
shore or journey's end. Paaraga is also the wicked persons like Duryodhana. Bhishma,
Drona etc supported them and tried to protect them.(paaragapaa). Their own sins or
defects were destroyed (Daarithaa) by God and they were saved. parasmaath - He is
beyond all chethanas including Laskhmi etc.

AANANDATIRTHAMUNINDRAKRITHAA HARIGEETHIRIYAM PARAMAADARATHAH

PARALOKAVILOKANASURYANIBHAA HARIBHAKTHIVIVARDHANASHAUNDATHAMAA.
This poem on Hari was composed by the great Muni Anandatirtha with great
devotion. It is like the Sun in showing the Paraloka or Mukthi loka of the Supreme
Being. It is excellent for creating tidal waves of devotion about Hari in the devotees.

When I had commenced my translation and explanation of this sthothra, I had felt
incompetent to do justice to the wealth of Jnana that is contained in it. What ever I
have been able to write here is my understanding of the commentary by Sri
Vishvapathi tirtha and the meanings of the words which appear in
Vishnusahasranama. This comparitively crude way of assembling some available
information and presenting it as a whole does not possess the insights required to try
to follow the mind of the master as he sang this poem for His dearest Lord and
Master. But his Phalasthuthi at the end clearly brings out the two most important
results which a devotee will get by reciting this with devotion - Tidal waves of
devotion towards the Almighty followed eventually by the illumination of the path to
Vaikunta, His abode. The three sthuthis 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th have been given specific
Phala sthuthis of the grace of the Divine Being, Great bliss and maturing of devotion
leading to actual Mukthi. Apart from the poetic features like using rhyming words and
phrases, Acharya Madhva has condensed enormous amount of knowledge of the
features of the Lord's incarnations, leading to the eventual understanding of His
Gunapoornathva and Doshadoorathva.

DVAADASHASTHOTHRA - 6

Tradition has it that while Acharya Madhva had composed and recited the previous

27
five sthothras before he actually saw the Idol of Udupi Krishna emerging out of the
lump of Gopichandana, the 6 th and onwards sthothras were composed afterwards.
Thus, there is a clear reference to Krishna in 3 shlokas in this sthothra which is
arranged in the form of extolling the Dashaavathaaras (ten incarnations) of the Lord.
The other Avatharas are extolled in 5 other shlokas. The Itrans rendering of the
sthothra is first given below:

devakina.ndana na.ndakumAra vR^i.ndAvanAJNchana gokulacha.ndra |

ka.ndaphalAshana su.ndararUpa na.nditagokulava.nditapAda || 1||

i.ndrasutAvaka na.ndakahasta cha.ndanacharchita su.ndarinAtha |

i.ndIvarodara daLanayana ma.ndaradhArin.h govi.nda va.nde || 2||

cha.ndrashatAnana ku.ndasuhAsa na.nditadaivatAna.ndasupUrNa |

matsyakarUpa layodavihArin.h vedavinetra chaturmukha va.ndya || 3||

kUrmasvarUpaka ma.ndaradhArin.h lokavidhAraka devavareNya |

sUkararUpaka dAnavashatro bhUmividhAraka yaGYavarAN^ga || 4||

deva nR^isimha hiraNyakashatro sarva bhayA.ntaka daivataba.ndho |

vAmana vAmana mANavaveshha daityavarA.ntaka kAraNarUpa || 5||

rAma bhR^igUdvaha sUrjitadIpte xatrakulA.ntaka shaMbhuvareNya |

rAghava rAghava rAxasa shatro mArutivallabha jAnakikA.nta || 6||

devakina.ndana su.ndararUpa rukmiNivallabha pANDavaba.ndho |

daityavimohaka nityasukhAde devasubodhaka buddhasvarUpa || 7||

dushhTakulA.ntaka kalkisvarUpa dharmavivardhana mUlayugAde |

nArAyaNAmalakAraNamUrte pUrNaguNArNava nityasubodha || 8||

AnandatIrthamunIndrakR^itA harigAthA pApaharA shubhanityasukhArthA || 9||

I will give first the rendering of the meanings in the order given by Sri Vishvapathi
tirtha, who starts with the third shloka describing Mathsyaavathaara.

1. MATHSYAKAROOPA LAYODA VIHARIN VEDAVINETHRA CHATHURMUKHAVANDYA

KOORMASWAROOPAKA MANDARADHAARIN LOKAVIDHAARAKA DEVAVARENYA

I offer my prostrations to Mathsya form of the Lord who sports in the Pralaya ocean
and teaches the Vedas and is extolled by Chathurmukha Brahma and to the Kurma
form of the Lord, the greatest of gods, who lifted and supported the Mandara
mountain, and supports the entire Universe.
Sri Vishvapathi tirtha points out that the use of the word Mathsyaka instead of
Mathsya is to show that the Mathysa form is made of bliss - Ka means Sukha or bliss.
The same understanding should be applied for the other forms like Kurma etc. In this
case, the Ka is added to Swaroopa as Swaroopaka.

2. SOOKARAROOPAKA DAANAVASHATHRO BHOOMIVIDHAARAKA YAJNAVARAANGA

DEVA NRUSIMHA HIRANYAKASHATHRO SARVABHAYAANTHAKA DAIVATHABANDHO

I offer my prostrations to the Varaha form of the Lord (Sookara - Pig) who destroyed
Danavas (Hiranyaksha), who lifted up the sunken earth from the ocean with His
trunks, and is worshipped by the gods by performing sacrifices. I prostrate also to the
Nrusimha form of the Lord, the dearest friend of the gods, who destroyed

28
Hirnayakashipu and saves His devotees from all danger.
The word Shathru, which means enemy is used in the sense of destroyer. Sri
Vishvapathitirtha explains that the word Yajna is used in the sense of its Abhmani
devathas. The word Varanga means the most important components of Yajna - these
are Jnana, Bhakthi etc which are essential for the Yajna to yield the best results. The
Abhimani devatha concept can be extended to these also - such Bharathi Devi for
Bhakthi, Jnana for Mukhya Prana etc. Thus the word Yajnavaranga is used to address
the Supreme Being as the one who receives and rewards the Yajnas performed with
all its attendant requirements and gives Moksha and other lesser rewards. The word
Daivathabandho is used to convey the expression that God is the best relative/friend
of the satvika Jivas like the Devas, (Vishnurme paramah suhruth).

3. VAAMANAVAAMANA MAANAVAVESHA DAITHYAVARAANTHAKA KAARANAROPA

RAAMABHRUGOODVAHA SOORJITHADEEPTHE KSHATHRAKULAANTHAKA
SHAMBHUVARENYA.

I prostrate before Vaamana form of the Lord who appeared as a Vatu (young Brahmin
boy who has undergone Upanayana and other samskaras), who incarnated for the
benefit of the gods, who destroyed (the pride and power of) the great Daithya, Bali
and who will be pleased by auspicious devotion and worship. I prostrate also before
Parashurama form of the Lord, who is full of effulgence, who glorified the clan of the
Bhrugus (by being born in it), who destroyed all kshathriyas on the earth (for their
insolence and departure from auspicious practices) and who was worshipped by
Shambhu (Shiva). There is another version of the first line end "Kaaranabhutha", with
the same meaning.

4. RAAGHAVARAAGHAVA RAAKSHASASHATHRO MAARUTHIVALLABHA

JAANAKIKAANTHA
DEVAKINANADANA SUNDARAROOPA RUKMINIVALLABHA PAANDAVABANDHO
I offer my prostrations to Raghava form of the Lord (Rama, who was born in the clan
of Raghu and hence called Raghava), who is very dear to Maruthi (Hanuman, the son
of Vayu and incarnation of Mukhya Prana himself), very dear husband of Janaki
(Seetha) and who destroyed all the rakshasas,. I offer my prostrations to Krishna of
the most beautiful form, the son of Devaki, lord of Rukmini and the dearest friend of
the Pandavas.

5. DEVAKINANDANANANDAKUMAARA VRINDAAVANAACHANGOKULACHANDRA
KANDAPHALAASHANASUNDARAROOPA NANDITHAGOKULAVANDITHAPAADA
6. INDRASUTHAAVAKANANDAKAHASTHA CHANDANACHARCHITHA
SUNDARINAATHA
INDEEVARODARADALANAYANA MANDARADHAARIN GOVINDA VANDE
7. CHANDRASHATHAANANA KUNDASUHAASA
NANDITHADAIVATHAANANDASUPOORNA

Note: Sri Vishvapathirtha has explained that according to Sampradaya (tradition),

The shlokas starting from Devakinanadana sundararoopa and ending with
Nandithadaivathaanandasupoorna were recited first by Acharya Madhva when he saw
the Krishna Idol for the first time on the sea shore. The rest of the sthothra starting
from Mathsya avathara and ending with the Phala sthuthi was recited in continuation
of this. This corresponds to the Mulakosha (original transcript) also. I have followed
the same practice, though during recitation the Krishna sthuthis are grouped
together and come in the middle after Raghava sthothra.

Translation: I prostrate to the beautiful son of Devaki, the adopted son of the Nandas,
who sported in Vrindavana eating the fruits and roots from the forest and was like the

29
moon in creating tides of happiness for the residents of Gokula who prostrated before
Him in bliss. I prostrate before Govinda, who is full of bliss, who has applied the
Chandana paste to his limbs, holds the sword Nandaka, whose eyes are like the
midportion of the blue lotus. He holds also the sacred divine Parijatha flower, and
saved from bondage 16108 beautful girls and married them and was the saviour of
Arjuna, the son of Indra. His jasmine like smiling face is more attractive than
hundreds of moons as He is full of bliss which is different from Prakrutha (ordinary)
happiness of others. He gives happiness and bliss even to Brahma and other gods.

Sri Vishvapathi tirtha makes many interesting comments: In the first line, the correct
form should be Devakeenandana, but it is written as Devakinandana, as this
pronunciation is necessary for rhyming. The word Vrindavanaanchana is expalined as
one who moves around in the forest which contains women (Vrinda), or one who was
worshipped by such women - as in Gopeegeetha of Bhagavatha - "Jayathi thedhikam
janmanaa vrajah" etc. The word Kandaphalaashana refers to the eating of fruits etc
offered by the Rshis in Gokula. Nandithagokula refers not only to the human beings
present in Gokula, but also the groups of Cows, which were given happiness by
playing on the flute etc by Krishna. The reference to Indrasuthhavaka refers to the
numerous occasions when Krishna looked after and saved Arjuna such as the
Naagasthra of Karna, the killing of Jayadratha etc. (Aavaka - saviour). Nandaka is the
famous sword of Vishnu - along with Kaumodaki, the Mace, Sarnga (the bow) and
Sudarshana (the unique chakra). Mandaradharin refers also to the holding of the
Govardhana mountain to save His people.

Daithyavimohaka nithyasukhaade devasubhodhaka buddhaswaroopa

Dushtakulaanthaka kalkiswaroopa dharmavivardhana moolayugade
I offer prostrations to the giver of Mukthi, who took the form of Buddha to delude the
wicked Daithyas, but to give true knowledge to the gods. I offer my prostrations to
the Kalki form of the Lord which destroys the evil groups completely to usher in Kritha
yuga (called Mulayuga, as it the first of the new Chathuryuga) and who will
reestablish the rule of Dharma.

Naaraayanaamalakaaranamoorthe poornagunaranava nithyasubhodha

I offer my prostrations to the form of Naaraayana (from whom all the ten incarnated
forms emerged) who is the pure, defectless and changeless first cause of all creation,
who is full of countless auspicious attributes and has eternal knowledge which is
complete and extraordinary (as compared to others). Sri Vishvapathitirtha makes the
point that the word Amala used to qualify the words karanamoorthe, also shows that
the Supreme Being Himself is free from such limitations as birth, death, decay etc.

Aanandatirthamunindrakruthaa harigaathaa paapaharaa shubhanithyasukhaarthaa

This sthothra of Sri Hari composed by the Munindra (the great ascetic) Anandatirtha
will destroy all sins and has its main fruit as the attainment of eternal Moksha of
unmatched bliss without the least taint of sorrow.
Sri Vishvapathitirtha highlights the fact that only the sthothra of Narayana can
destroy all sins (without any limitations of kind, numbers, magnitude etc) and can
give Mukthi.
I will end this part with the shloka -
"Naamnosthi yavathee shakthih papanirbahanam hareh
thaavath karthum na shaknothi pathakam pathakeejanaah"
The capacity of the sacred name of the Lord Hari to destroy sins is such that even
habitual sinners (all put together) cannot accumulate sins to an extent greater than
that can be destroyed by it. Vishnu is the only one who can grant Mukthi and no other
god can give this blessing. Thus the recitation of this great sthothra of Vishnu
(Narayana, Hari) will not only destroy all sins which act as barriers for the further

30
accumalation of Jnana and Bhakthi without limit, but will also surely give the final
result of Moksha consisting of eternal sorrowless bliss.

Encl:
DVAADASHASTHOTHRA - 7A

vishvasthitipraLayasargamahAvibhUti vR^ittiprakAshaniyamAvR^iti ba.ndhamoxAH |

yasyA apAN^galavamAtrata UrjitA sA shrIH yatkaTAxabalavatyajitaM namAmi
|| 1||

brahmeshashakraravidharmashashAN^kapUrva gIrvANasa.ntatiriyaM
yadapAN^galesham.h |
Ashritya vishvavijayam visrujathyachi.ntyA shrIH yatkaTAxabalavatyajitaM namAmi ||
2||

dharmArthakAmasumatiprachayAdyasheshhasanmaN^galaM vidadhate
yadapAN^galesham.h |
Ashritya tatpraNatasatpraNatA apIDyA shrIH yatkaTAxabalavati ajitaM namAmi
|| 3||

shhaDvarganigrahanirastasamastadoshhA dhyAya.nti vishhNumR^ishhayo

yadapAN^galesham.h |
Ashritya yAnapi sametya na yAti duHkhaM shrIH yatkaTAxabalavati ajitaM namAmi
|| 4||

sheshhAhivairishivashakramanupradhAna chitrorukarmarachanaM
yadapAN^galesham.h |
Ashritya vishvamakhilaM vidadhAti dhAtA shrIH yatkaTAxabalavati
ajitaM namAmi || 5||

shakrogradIdhitihimAkarasUryasUnu pUrvaM nihatya nikhilaM yadapAN^galesham.h |

Ashritya nR^ityati shivaH prakaTorushaktiH shrIH yatkaTAxa balavati ajitaM namAmi
|| 6||

tatpAdapaN^kajamahAsanatAmavApa sharvAdiva.ndyacharaNo
yadapAN^galesham.h|
Ashritya nAgapatiH anyasurairdurApAM shrIH yatkaTAxabalavati ajitaM namAmi
|| 7||

nAgArirugrabalapaurushha Apa vishhNuvAhatvamuttamajavo yadapAN^galesham.h|

Ashritya shakramukhadevagaNaiH achintyaM shrIH yatkaTAxa
balavati ajitaM namAmi || 8||

Ana.ndatIrthamunisanmukhapa.nkajotthaM sAxAdramAharimanaH priyaM

uttamArtham.h |
bhaktyA paThati ajitamAtmani sannidhAya yaH stotrametabhiyAti tayorabhIshhTam.h
|| 9||

This Lakshmi sthothra composed by Acharya Madhva is very important for

several reasons.
1. It brings out the unsurpassed superiority of Lakshmi over all other souls in a clear
and unambiguous manner. The knowledge of Tharathamya (Gradation) is essential to
earn the grace of God and achive liberation.
2. Acharya Madhva has shown that inspite of her unsrpassed powers and greatness,

31
Laskhmi should never be extolled seperately - but should always be extolled with her
consort.
3. Even when speaking about the greatness of Lakshmi, one should never forget that
even she is totally dependant on the Supreme Being. In fact, her unmatched powers
by which she can "Yam kaamaye tham ugram karomi, tham brahmaanam, tham
sumedhaam" (Ambhrani Suktha) - I can make any one whom I desire into Rudra,
Brahma or one with great wisdom - are derived form the Lord. She is always in total
harmony with the Lord carrying out His wish in creation, destruction, maintenance of
the world etc with single-minded devotion.
4. Acharya Madhva says that her grace is essential for acquiring Jnana and securing
Moksha, destroying the primordial ignorance which inhibits our realizing God's and
our own Swaroopa. A little sidelong glance from her eyes is enough to carry out all
the activities of the world carried out by the great gods like Brahma, Shiva, Indra,
Garuda, Shesha etc. In his Phalasthuthi Acharya Madhva says that this sthothra has
extremely appropriate meanings and will secure all desires of the devotees who
recite it with devotion to Lakshmi and the Supreme being in the form of Ajitha.

Let us now go into the detailed meanings of the 9 shlokas.

1. Vishvasthithipralayasargamahaavibhoothi
vritthiprakaashaniyamaavruthibandhamokshah
Yasyaa apaangalavamaathratha oorjithaa saa shreeh
Yath kataakshabalavathyajitham namaami
The Goddess Shree (Lakshmi) causes with a sidelong glance of her eyes, the
maintenance, destruction, creation, exhibition of great powers (such as Anima), life,
knowledge, control, bondage in Samsara (due to Ajnana), and release (Moksha) of the
entire world. Such great capacity in her which is greater than that of others like
Brahma etc.is due to the kind look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my
prostrations to Him Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha explains the significance of the words
Apangalavamaathratha - Athra nethranthavaachinaa apangashabdena kataksho
lakshyathe - Here, Apanga means the side tips of the eyes. Lava means very little
and Lavamathra - therefore means a
very small look from the tip of her eyes. Kataksha also means
Apanga - or the tips of the eyes. The entire process of creation, destruction,
exhibition of special greatness and powers in the created Jivas, their bondage,
release etc is done with such a little effort of Sri Lakshmi as the brief little side long
glance from the tips of her eyes. She is therefore immeasurably greater than all the
created Jivas including the great Brahma and Rudra etc. The Supreme Being in His
form called Ajitha is so much greater than her, that His kind look at His consort gives
her the enormous powers. This description brings out not only the greatness of Shree
Devi, but also that of the Supreme Being graphically. Sri Madhva has also shown here
that Shree should never be worshipped in isolation for favours , but always with her
husband. Her grace is essential not only for the worldly benfits, but also for the
destruction of the primordial Ajnana (which she herself in her form as Durga is the
Abhimani devathaa), acquisition of correct Jnana (for which she is the Abhimani
devathaa as Shree) and the securing of the grace of the Supreme Being to obtain
Mukthi.
I am making a slight deviation from Dvadasha Sthothra to bring out the
extraordinary greatness of Lakshmi Devi - from other sources. This will help us to
understand the following shlokas better.
Lakshmi is described by two main Vedic sukthas - Ambhrani and Shree sukthas. The
contents of these sukthas can be summarised as under -
Ambhrani:
Acharya Madhva has quoted Paingi shruthi in his Brihadaranyaka Bhashya -
"Shreerbhoordurgaambhraneehreeshcha Mahalakshmeeshcha Dakshina" - being the

32
names of Lakshmi. This is also explained in Harikathamruthasara -
"Gunathrayagalamaani Shree kumbhini mahaaadurgaa ambhranee rukmini sathya
shanthi krithi jaya maayaa mahalakumi
janakajaa kamalaalayaa dakshineyu padmaa thrilokeswari anumahatthinoliddu
upamaarahithalenisuvalu." - Brihattharathamya sandhi - 4.
Sayana in his Bhashya had written that Ambhrani was the daughter of a Rshi called
Ambhrana and had extolled herself. This is laughable as the so called Rshi's daughter
had described herself as greater than Brahma, Rudra, being their creator etc. An
Apaurusheya shruthi which is part of Rg Veda - being the 125 th Sooktha of the tenth
Mandala - can not be debased in this manner. Acharya Madhva has given the
authority of Paingi shruthi to show that Ambhrani is the name of Lakshmi. Sri Vadiraja
has given a Niruktha quote - "Ambhrani vaagaathmaanam thushtaava" and has
shown that the word means Am bhibharthi nayathi cha - She supports and takes to
their destination (various souls).
This suktha is summarised as follows:
"Mahalakshmi is the primary cause for the creation, maintenance and demise of
various gods like Brahma, Rudra etc. She gives them their powers and position. She
controls all activities of the world, being the Abhimani devatha for Prakruthi and gives
food, wealth, and all wordly possessions. She destroys the famous destroyer Rudra
(who had removed the fifth head of Brahma) in the Universal dissolution. She has the
capacity even to give Moksha. But her consort Narayana who dwells in the sea is the
source of all her powers as He gives her the capacity and she is dependent on Him.
There is none greater than Him. The Suktha also informs of the togetherness of
Lakshmi and Narayana which is never ever broken. She is His greatest devotee and
has never been subjected to bondage as all other souls are - being Nithya Mukta. The
first shloka of Dvadasha Sthothra neatly sums up the information about the
relationship between the Supreme Being and His consort given in Ambhrani suktha.
Those who perform the ritual of Devara Puja, would have recited the following
shlokas:
"Utthapthojvalakanchanena rachitham .
maanikyojvaladeepa deepthivilasallakshmeevilaasaaspadam"
The sacred, divine and efuulgent shrine (mantapa) in which the Lord resides is itself
the product of Mahalakshmi's devotion to her consort. Similarly when we perform
Abhisheka to the Lord, we say "Shushrooshaam shri hareh Lakshmeeh snanam
kaarayathi prabhoh" - Mahalakshmi will always perform all the serviecs to the Lord
including His bath etc. When offering Naivedya we say - Ramaabrahmadibhih devaih
niyamena samarpitham Bhakthaanugrahakaamena sveekarthavyam thvayaa hare"
The Naivedya is to be considered as offered not by us, but by Laskhmi assisted by
Brahma etc. The food is actually properly placed (Pariveshathi) by Lakshmi herself.
One is reminded of the Devara Naama –
Yenu dhanyalo Lakumi yentha maanyalo, Saanuraagadinda Hariya thaane seve
maaduthihalu" - where Sri Puranadara daasaru says that - "Koti koti bhruthyariralu
haatakaambaraana seve satiyillade maadi poornagunalu sukhisuthihalu".
The following specific references are made for the offer of worship to God, which
involve Lakshmi -
Ramaaroopashwethadveepaaya namah (similarly Anathaasana and Vaikunta are also
forms of Ramaa.)
Ramaaroopaa mahaadivyarathnamantapaaya namah
Ramaaroopakandanaalasahitha padmaaya namah
Devavaamakone sathvaabhimaaninyai shriyai namah
Dakshinakone rajobhimaninyai bhoomyai namah
Devaprushtakone upabarhanaroopayai thamobhimaaninyai durgaayai namah
Thadupari Ramaaroopa chithraasanaaya namah"
Thus it will be seen that Mahalakshmi is actually performing the worship while using
the small contribution from the souls - in the same manner as a mother will lead her

33
child to offer Namasthe to elders.
Shri Harikathaamruthasara has this to say about the powers of Mahaalakshmi -

GUNATHAARATHAMYA SANDHI
"Paramapurushana roopagunavanu
sarasi kaambalu pravahadandadi
nirupamalu nirdushtasukhasampoornalenisuvalu harige dhaamathrayavenisi
aabharana vasanaayudhagalaagi iddu arigalane samharisuvalu aksharalenisikondu"
"Eethagimthaananthagunadali shree tharuni thaa kadimeyenipalu
neetha mukthalu nirvikaaree thrigunavarjithalu dhauthapaapa virinchi pavanara
maatheyenipa mahaalakumi vikhyaathalaagihalella kaaladi shruthipuraanadolu".

AROHANA THARATHAMYA SANDHI

"Shree mukundana mahile lakumi
Mahaamahimegenembe brahmeshamarendrara shrishti sthithi layagaisi avaravara
dhaamagala kalpisi koduvalajaraamaranalaagiddu sarva swaami mama
guruvendupaasane maalpalacchyuthana"

For those who do not know kannada, the meaning is briefly - Mahaalakshmi is equal
to the Supreme Being in respect of Vyapthi or pervasion in space and time (Desha
and Kaala). She takes infinite forms to match the infinite forms of Hari and is able to
visualise the infinite auspicious qualities of her consort as a flood continuously. Thus
she is able to appreciate the qualities of the Supreme Being more than any one else
and thus is called Nirupama - matchless. She has no doshas or defects and is always
full of bliss. There is no change - increase or decrease of bliss in her case. She is
never bound in Samsara, as she herself binds all other souls in Samsara being the
Abhimani of Thrigunaathmaka Prakruthi. She has taken the forms of all the abodes of
the Lord, His ornaments, weapons and clothes. As Sudarshana Chakra Abhimani
devatha, her form as Goddess Durga destroys evil persons how ever mighty they be.
She does not suffer destruction of her forms ever and in her case, birth means
Pradurbhava like her husband. Inspite of all these attributes Mahalakshmi is inferior
from Hari by infinities of auspicious qualities. But the next souls in Tharathamya or
Gradation, Brahma and Vayu are inferior to her by a factor of a crore for similar
qualities and by infinite qualities of the type which do not even exist in them.
Mahalakashmi carries out according to God's will the creation, maintenance
and destruction of all souls in Samsara. She gives the position and powers of Brahma,
Shiva and Indra etc. She herself is changeless and always worships her consort as the
master of every one, and her Guru (teacher).
Another important aspect of her personality is that she is the Abhimani
devatha of Shruthi and Smrithis. Thus all sacred God knowledge is obtained only with
her blessings, through a swaroopa Guru etc. Though the infinite Vedas proclaim God's
auspicious qualities, they also describe her qualities in a secondary way. But inspite
of her being associated with God fully from beginningless time and her unmatched
capacity and devotion, she has not been able to understand even a small fraction of
His infinite nature. This is usually described as her being lost in contemplation of all
the auspicious qualities of the tip of His nail - and not having completed it.
The remaining sthothras composed by Acharya Madhva amplify and state her
superlative qualities - while offering his prayers to Ajitha form of the Lord, due to
whose blessings, Mahalakshmi has such capabilities.

DVAADASHA STHOTHRA 7 B
(Contd from previous instalment)

Brahmesha shakra ravi dharma shashaanka

poorvageervaanasanthathiriyam yadapaangalesham

34
Ashrithya vishvavijayam visrujathyachinthyaa
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (2)

Brahma, Rudra, Indra, Surya, Yama, Chandra and other gods who have the capability
to produce correct Jnana by their speech and who cause in many ways the welfare of
the world themselves depend on the side long glance of the eyes of Goddess
Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her which is beyond thought.is itself due to the kind
look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to Him

Dharmaarthakaamasumathiprachayaadyasheshasanmangalam
Vidadhathe yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya thathpranathasathpranathaa apeedyaah
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (3)

The good people of the world desire development of Dharma, Artha, Kaama and
Jnana. They obtain all such auspicious results by worshipping gods headed by
Brahma, Indra etc. These gods themselves depend on the side long glance of the
eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her is itself due to the kind look of
Ajitha, the praiseworthy Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to Him.

Shadvarganigrahanirasthasamasthadoshaa dhyaayanthi
vishnumrushayo yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya yaanapi samethya na yaathi duhkham
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (4)

The great Rishis also remove sorrow afflicting those who seek their help by prayer.
They themselves have won over the six enemies such as Kaama and have become
pure without any defects of the body or mind. They meditate on Vishnu with full
concentration. All these achievements of the Rishis themselves depend on the
sidelong glance of the eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her is itself
due to the kind look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to Him.

Sheshaahivairishivashakramanupradhaana
Chithrorukarmarachanam Yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya vishvamakhilam vidadhaathi dhaathaa
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (5)

Chathurmukha Brahma creates the extremely complex world where Shesha, Garuda,
Rudra, Indra, Svaayambhuva Manu and other gods and great souls etc perform their
wondrous deeds. The unique capacity of Chathurmikha Brahma and other gods itself
depends on the sidelong glance of the eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity
in her is itself due to the kind look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my
prostrations to Him.

Shakrogra deedhithi himaakara suryasoonu

poorvam nihathya nikhilam yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya nruthyathi shivah prakatorushakthih
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (6)

The great Rudra exhibits enormous strengths during universal dissolution while
annihilating the world including such powerful gods as Indra, Surya, Chandra and
Yama. He performs the great Thaandava dance after this. He himself depends on the
side long glance of the eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her is itself
due to the kind look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to Him.

35
Thathpaadapankajamahaasanathaamavaapa
Sharvaadivandyacharano yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya naagapathiranyasurairduraapaam
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (7)

The great Shesha attained the coveted position of being the bed of the Supreme
Being, where His feet rest, and which is unattainable by other gods. Shesha is himself
worshipped by other gods including Rudra. Such achievements themselves depend
on the side long glance of the eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her is
itself due to the kind look of Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to
Him.

Naagaarirugrabalapaurusha aapa vishnor

Vaahathvamutthamajavo yadapaangalesham
Aashrithya shakramukhadevaganairachinthyam
Shreeryath katakshabalavathyajitham namaami (8)

The great Garuda (enemy of the Snakes) has tremendous strength and valour. His
speed is phenomenal and he obtained the position of being the vehicle of Vishnu, the
Supreme being. Such attainments are beyond imagination even for the gods headed
by Indra, but have been achieved by him by depending on the side long glance of the
eyes of Goddess Lakshmi. Such great capacity in her is itself due to the kind look of
Ajitha, the Supreme Being. I offer my prostrations to Him.

Aanandatheerthamunisanmukhapankajottham
Saakshathramaaharimanah priyamutthamaartham
Bhakthyaa pathathyajithamaathmani sannidhaaya
Yassthothramethadabhiyaathi thayorabheeshtam (9)

The beautiful lotus like face of Aananda Theertha, the good ascetic, has recited this
sthothra. It has excellent meanings that will please the great couple Ramaa and Hari.
A devotee who recites this sthothra while keeping the form of Hari called Ajitha,
steadfastly in his heart will get what ever he desires due to the blessings of both of
them.

Concluding remarks:
Any body who has any familiarity with the style of Acharya Madva's compositions
would note a few special features about this sthothra. 1. The Phala shruthi (No. 9) is
very significant. The sthothra has been described by the author himself as
Utthamaarthaa - with excellent meanings. The manner of getting the grace of
Lakshmi is also indicated - the divine couple should always be prayed together with
her consort, the Supreme being being enshrined in one's heart. Such a prayer will
certainly get the devotee all his aspirations - including the more mundane ones like
wealth etc. The usual disadvantage of wealth that it obscures God in our minds and
on the other hand brings in evil thoughts, deeds and attachment leading to bondage
in Samsara will also be over come only when it is clearly understod that even
Goddess Ramaa, the giver of all worldly prosperity is entirely dependent on the
Supreme being and nothing is done without His will.
2. The other important feature of this sthothra is to clearly define the importance of
Vishnu Sarvotthamathva and Tharathamya or gradation of the gods. Thus prayers to
other dieties should never be offered without a simultaneous appreciation of their
gradation with their superior and inferior souls and the total all encompassing
dependence on Lakshmi and the Supreme Being. The point is also forcefully made
that all the attainments of different gods,. ascetics like Rishis etc are entirely due to
the grace of Goddess Lakshmi and her consort.

36
3. A careful reading of the sthothra also conveys another imporatant point that the
differences between gods themselves are very large, though in comparison to
Lakshmi or the Supreme Being the difference may appear small. Thus, the power of
Garuda is some thing which is beyond the imagination of Indra and lesser gods. The
power of Rudra at the time he destroys the universe in dissolution is such that lesser
gods who are feared like Indra, Surya, and even the god of death Yama are
insginificant before him. The Harikathamruthasara explains this very well. Thus, Sri
Jagannathadasaru has composed the following Sandhis specialy dealing with this
subject.
i. Guna Thaarathamya
ii. Aarohana Thaarathamya
iii. Avarohana Thaarathamya
iv. Anukramanikaa Thaarathamya
v. Brihath Thaarathamya
vi. Anu Thaarathamya
vii. Daithya Thaarathamya
The emphasis on the knowledge of a devotee of God in this regard is based on the
proposition that that the knowldege of Bheda or difference is incomplete without
knowing how - Bhedo Jiva ganaah Hareh anucharaah , Neechocchabhaavam gathah -
in the words ascribed to Sri Vyasaraja. Acharya Madhva in his Bhashya on
Chaandogya has quoted:
"Naamaadi maaruthaantheshu deveshvebhyascha bhedathah
Upaasithah Harih mukthim dadyaath naasthyathra samshayah" - ithi
Sattthathve and

"Thaarathamya parijnaanaath theshu dhyaathah vimukthidah

preethim na chaanyathaa yaayaath ithi shasthrasya nirnayah"
- ithi Thathvaviveke.
"Thaarathamya parijnaanath anutthaanam thamo vrajeth" - ithi
Mahabharatha Thathparya nirnaye
The most important message that Acharya Madhva has given here is that
whenever any one other than Sri Hari is to be worshipped or prostrated to, it must
always be as a subordinate diety to the Lord - with due consciousness of His
uniqueness and infinite superiority. After Him, Lakshmi, though a dependent soul, has
certain unique charactersitics which makes her completely different from all other
souls - being non-atomic in size, pervading in space and time just as the Supreme
Being does, never being subject to the effects of Ajnana or misery/bondage etc. She
is also His greatest devotee and is so close to Him that they can never seperated.
She is thus given so much independence and capacity that all other souls are totally
subservient to her. The central theme of Thaarathamya should always be in our
minds whenever she is worshipped. It goes without saying that she should never be
worshipped for small favours like wealth etc. but for such things like Jnana (she is the
Abhimaani devathaa of shruthies), destruction of Ajnana/ Avidya (In her Durga form,
she is the Asbhimaani devathaa of Thamoguna) and above all for the grace of her
Lord with whom she should ever dwell in our hearts. This is one of the Utthamaarthas
which Acharya Madhva has said in this shloka.

DVADASHA STHOTHRA 8 A

Acharya Madhva goes lyrical from this sthothra onwards

indicating his own intense devotional state. The third line "Preenayaamo vaasudevam
devathaamandalaakhandamandanam" is repeated athe end of each shloka. The very
tenor and manner of singing this sthothra enables concentration of one's mind totally
on Vaasudeva, whose attributes are extolled in various ways. In so doing Acharya

37
Madhva is teaching us how to meditate on the Supreme Being - not just on a name or
form, but as being full of ausicious qualities each of which should be brought into our
mind and understood to the extent of our capacity..

va.nditAsheshhava.ndyoruvR^i.ndArakaM
cha.ndanAcharchitodArapInAMsakam.h|
i.ndirAchaJNchalApAN^ganIrAjitaM
ma.ndaroddhArivR^ittodbhujAbhoginam.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||1||

sR^ishhTisaMhAralIlAvilAsAtataM
pushhTashhADguNyasadvigrahollAsinam.h |
dushhTanishsheshhasaMhArakarmodyataM
hR^ishhTapushhTAnushishhTaprajAsaMshrayam.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||2||

unnataprArthitAsheshhasaMsAdhakaM
sannatAlaukikAna.ndadashrIpadam.h |
bhinnakarmAshayaprANisaMprerakaM tanna kiM neti vidvatsu
mImAmsitham.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||3||

vipramukhyaiH sadA vedavAdonmukhaiH supratApaiH

xitIsheshvaraishchArchitam.h |
apratarkyorusaMvidguNaM nirmalaM saprakAshAjarAna.ndarUpaM
param.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||4||

atyayo yena kenApi na kvApi hi pratyayo yadguNeshhottamAnAM

paraH |
satyasaN^kalpa eko vareNyo vashI matyanUnaiH sadA vedavAdoditaH
|
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||5||

pashyatAM duHkhasa.ntAnanirmUlanaM dR^ishyatAM

dR^ishyatAmityajeshArthitam.h |
nashyatAM dUragaM sarvadApyAtmagaM pashyatAM svechchayA
sajjaneshhvAgatam.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||6||

agrajaM yaH sasarjAjamagryAkR^itiM vigraho yasya sarve guNA eva

hi |
ugra Adyo.api yasyAtyajAgryAtmajaH sadgR^ihItaH sadA yaH paraM
daivatam.h|
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||7||

achyuto yo guNairnityamevAkhilaiH prachyuto.asheshhadoshhaiH

sadA pUrtitaH|

38
uchyate sarvavedoruvAdairajaH svarchito brahmarudrendrapUrvaiH
sadA |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||8||

dhAryate yena vishvaM sadAjAdikaM vAryate.asheshhaduHkhaM

nijadhyAyinAm.h|
pAryate sarvamanyairnayatpAryate kAryate chAkhilaM sarvabhUtaiH
sadA |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||9||

sarvapApAni yatsaMsmR^iteH saN^xayaM sarvadA yAnti bhaktyA

vishuddhAtmanAm.h |
sharvagurvAdigIrvANa saMsthAnadaH kurvate karma yatprItaye
sajjanAH |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||10||

axayaM karma yasmin.h pare svarpitaM praxayaM yAnti duHkhAni

yannAmataH |
axaro yo.ajaraH sarvadaivAmR^itaH kuxigaM yasya vishvaM
sadAjAdikam.h |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||11||

na.nditIrthorusannAmino na.ndinaH sa.ndadhAnAH sadAna.ndadeve

matim.h |
ma.ndahAsAruNA pAN^gadattonnatiM va.nditAsheshhadevAdivR^i.ndaM
sadA |
prINayAmo vAsudevaM devatAmaNDalAkhaNDamaNDanaM prINayAmo
vAsudevam.h ||12||

I will give the meanings for each of the above shlokas. As the Stothra itself is long
and also has enormous depth of meanings, I have split it into parts. The first Part will
have the meanings of the first shloka only.

Vandithaasheshavandyoruvrindaarakam
chandanaacharchithodaara peenamsakam
Indiraachanchalaapaanganeeraajitham
mandaroddhaarivritthodbhujaabhoginam
Preenayaamo vaasudevam devathaamandalaakhandamandanam.

The condensed meaning of this shloka is as follows:

We will try to please Hari who is worshipped by the gods who themselves are
worshipped by the world. His shoulders are applied with the paste of Chandana
(Sandal paste) and are superlative, strong and well rounded. He is offered Arathi in
the form of the quick sidelong glance with the eye of His consort, Goddess Ramaa.
His incomparable arms are themselves made of bliss and have lifted the Mandara
muntain with ease (when it sank during the churning of the milky ocean). He is the
greatest jewel in the assembly of gods headed by Brahma Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha
elaborates:
In this sthothra, it is being depicted that getting the grace of God by pleasing Him is
the ONLY way by which one secures ALL the Purusharthas - objectives in the world,
including the worldly ones.

39
The reference to the Aarathi by the Kataksha veekshana of Indira - refers to her
constant sidelong glance at her consort with her eyes full of love and devotion for
Him. Mandara can refer either to the mountain or Mandeshu ramanthah - those who
are immersed in trivial pleasures of the world. Such people are also lifted out of the
ocean of worldly misery by Him. Another meaning for Mandara is Mandaan ramayathi
- one which gives pleasure to the animals like cows which lack intelligence - thus
giving the meaning of Govardhana mountain. Lord Krishna lifted the Govardhana
mountain.
Udhbhuja is Uthkrishta Bhuja - superlative shoulders. Aabhoga is Prayathna or effort.
Aabhoga can also mean full of bliss. Akhanda mandanam is samagra alankaara
bhutham - being the crowning jewel of all (in this case, the groups of gods - Devathaa
mandala).
This shloka brings out the main points:
1. The Supreme Being is to be worshipped along with Goddess Ramaa and the gods
and goddesses who are His entourage. His unlimited strength and capacity and
superiority over all must be constantly remembered.
2. His forms are made of bliss.
3. He is always worshipped by His consort Indira with unmatched love and devotion.
As Indira is the Abhimani Devatha in her different forms - of bondage in Samsara,
Thathvajnana leading to redemption, worldly wealth and happiness and the bliss
associated with the inner most self, worshipping her consort in this manner is the
best way of securing all objectives in the world - like wealth etc and also to secure
redemption and release from Avidya or Ajnana.
4. Worshipping other gods and goddesses should always be done with the conviction
that they are not independent, but are performing their duties as per the desire of Sri
Hari.
5. The grace of Sri Hari is the only means for being lifted out of the morass of worldly
misery.

The next shloka is:

"Srushtisamhaaraleelaavilaasaathatham
pushtashadgunyasadvigrahollasinam
dushtanihsheshasamhaarakarmodyatham
hrushtapashtaanushishtaprajaasamshrayam
Preenayaamo ... mandanam"
The eightfold actions regarding the world - Creation, Destruction etc are in the
nature of sport without any need to be fulfilled for Him. His sacred Aprakrutha body is
made of infinite auspicious qualities such as Aishwarya. He is always engaged in the
complete destruction of the wicked. He protects always those who accept willingly
what ever they are given by Him, and are complete with Jnana, Bhakthi and Vairagya
according to their own Swaroopa.
The word Shadgunya refers to the six qualities Aishwarya, Veerya, Yashas, shree,
Jnana and Vijnana. These stand for power, strength, reputation, wealth, knowledge
and special knowledge about the Supreme being. These qualities are present in
varying degrees in gods and great persons, but are present in infinite measure in the
Supreme Being Himself. By Upalakshana (extension of understanding) they refer to
all the infinite auspicious qualities of God.

"Unnathapraarthithaasheshasamsaadhakam
sannathaalaukikaanandadashreepadam
bhinnakarmaashayapraanisamprerakam
thanna kinnethi vidvathsu meemaamsitham
Preenayaamo . "
He fulfills all desires of those devotees (like Dhruva) who are of very high caliber.
(Unlike others who could give only some desires, the Supreme Being can grant ALL

40
prayers both in this world and next as well as complete liberation to aspirants
depending on their worth and sincerity).
His auspicious feet (feet which are worshipped by Shree devi also) can give bliss
which is totally not of this world, which consists of the Swaroopa of the Jiva himself.
This is again unique for the Supreme being.
He is the inner controller par excellence for all creatures who have different desires,
actions and minds. He controls not only the good and wise devotees, but also the
ignorant, evil haters of Himself.
Wise men debate amongst themselves about Him - He is not that, not this etc. It is
not any thing that can be defined etc. Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha says regarding the last -
"Vedarthavicharakushaleshu Thad Brahma na, Kim naasthi, Kim
asthyeva, Naastheethi yath thanna". Acharya Madhva indicates that even those well
versed in the Vedas are unable to define Him fully and debate amongst themselves
about His nature.
"Vipramukhyaih sadaavedavadonmukhaih
suprathaapaih kshitheesheshwaraih charchitham
apratharkyorusamvidgunam nirmalam
suprakaashaajaraanandaroopam param
preenayaamo . "
Great Brahmanas who are always immersed in discussion and understanding of the
Vedas such as vashishta , as well as great emperors who have shown their valor in
battle like Priyavratha always worship Him. His auspicious qualities are so numerous
and each of them is so exquisite that it is not possible to grasp them in their entirety.
He is of the form of Pure Bliss and knowledge etc. and is entirely free from all Vikaras
(modifications) such as age etc. He is free from all defects and is greater than the
greatest entities in the world. Here Acharya Madhva is explaining the message of the
Geetha in the first line - "Svavihithavruthyaa bhakthyaa bhagavadaraadhanameva
paramo dharmah" - Performing one's ordained duties according to the prescribed
Varnashrama Dharma with devotion to the Supreme being with the underlying
conviction that one is worshipping Him in this manner is the quality of the greatest
souls of any Varna. In the second line, he is describing the incomprehensibility of the
Lord to the greatest of His devotees by virtue of the infinititude of His qualities - with
regard to the numbers, the extent and depth and the uniqueness of their nature
compared to others. Thus His bliss is not only infinite in extent, it is also unique in
many ways not being dependent on any one else's grace, never suffering any growth
or diminution and which itself is associated with other qualities which is
incomprehensible to us. Our understanding of happiness, bliss etc should only be
considered as an illustration and not as a standard of comparison, just like a
glowworm can be compared to the Sun, but it would be meaningless to try to
describe the Sun's effulgence in terms of the Glowworm's winking light.

Part 8 D (final part)

"Pashyathaam dukhasanthaananirmoolanam
drishyathaam drishyathaam ithyajeshaarchitham
nashyathaam dooragam sarvadaapyathmagam
vashyathaam svecchayaa sajjaneshvaagatham
Preenayaamo . "
He destroys the sorrow and bondage of those who see Him (Aparoksha Jnanis). He is
worshipped by Brahma, Ishwara and other Gods so that they can see Him again and
again. Though He is present every where and in all, He is never seen by souls whose
nature is Thamas and who are headed for destruction. But for good people, He
becomes their own, by His own desire. Sri Vishvapathi tirtha has given some
important comments on this shloka. The word Pashyathaam refers to those who "see"
God - Aparoksha Jnani. Dukhasanthaananirmoolanam - refers to the complete

41
removal of the source of all sorrow - Samsaara, which is beginningless in the form of
a flood - though the waters do flow away, they are replaced by other new waters and
it is thus endless and indestructible, unless God chooses to remove the bondage of
Samsaara. Other Deities may save one from misery or sorrow in a limited manner - in
specific cases or for limited periods. God is the only one who can remove the very
root of sorrow - bondage to Samsaara, which has as its Abhimani Devathaa - Sri
Durgaa, who is under the Supreme Being always and carries out His wishes. The
repetition of the word Drishyathaam indicates the eagerness of even Brahma
(Chathurmukha) and Rudra to see Him again and again. Though He is immanent in
Asuras also, who have the Swaroopa or essence of Mithyaajnaana (incorrect
knowledge) and misery, He is far away from their cognition. They can only follow
their own nature leading to further false knowledge, misery etc till they attain Eternal
***, where they will suffer their own Swaroopa Dukha or endless sorrow, which is in
their own nature. This is called Destruction or Naasha. The same Supreme Being, who
is also immanent in Good people in their hearts, becomes their servant, as He did for
the Pandavas, on His own will. His becoming their servant is no indication of His
inadequacy, as He does so, due to His own unfettered will. In such cases, the
devotees also would have attained the correct understanding of the concept of
Dattha Svaathanthrya - Naaham karthaa, Harih Karthaah attained by the Paandavaas
(as is evident in studying Mahabharatha).

"Agrajam yah sasarjaajamagryaakruthim

vigraho yasya sarve gunah yeva hi
ugra aadyopi yasyaathmajaagryaathamajah
sadgruheethah sadaa yah param daivatham
preenayaamo . "
He created Chathurmukha Brahma who is first born (in creation) - Agrajam. Brahma is
described as having Agryaakruthi - a body made of Mahatthathva, which is the first
created Jada entity being responsible for all succeeding creation like Ahamkara
Thathva etc. He is also called Aja as He was created by the Supreme Being directly
out of the lotus emerging from His navel. The Supreme Being has as His body infinite
auspicious qualities like Jnana, Aananda (bliss) etc. The participle Hi is used to
indicate that this is well known, as is established by various Pramanas -
"Jnaanandadayo deho vishnoh" . Ugra or Rudra who is known to have been born
before Indra etc and hence is first born (Aadyopi) is himself the first son of the son -
son of Chathurmukha Brahma (Aathmajaagryaathmajah). He is always known as
Param devatham or greatest amongst all gods - the God of gods, by the wise and
good people.

"Achyutho yo gunairnithyamevaakhilaihi
prachyutho asheshadoshaih sadaa poorthithah
ucchyathe sarvavedoruvaadairajah
svarchyathe brahmarudrendrapoorvaih sadaa
preenayaamo . "

Note: there is a small difference in the word Svarchyathe appearing in Sri Vishvapathi
Teeka and Svarchitho, which has appeared in print in some books. There is no
difference in meaning and the latter seems to rhyme better.

He is Aja, not having a beginning at any time. He is never parted from His infinite
auspicious qualities. Because He is Poorna or Poorthitha (being fulfilled always with
all desires), He is always totally free from all defects. He is described by all Vedas and
Sadagamas. He is worshipped by Brahma, Rudra and Indra etc with great devotion
always. Sri Vishvapathi Teertha points out that the word Dosha includes even
Asvaathanthrya or dependence on others (which is present in all other souls).

42
As He is Poorthitha or completely fulfilled always, He does not have any deficiency
leading to defects. The word Vedoruvaadaih - refers to the very large numbers of
statements (Uravo - Bahavo vaadah - vaakyaani) in the Vedas. He is also known only
by the Vedas - "Nendriyaani naanumaanam vedo hyevainam vedayanthi" - Neither
the senses nor logic can give us His knowledge, only the Vedas teach us about Him.
The Geetha also says - "Vedaishcha sarvaihrahameva vedyah" - I am known only by
study of all the Vedas.

"Dhaaryathe yena vishvam sadaajaadikam

vaaryathe asheshadukham nijadhyaayinaam
paaryathe sarvamanyairna yath paaryathe
kaaryathe chaakhilam sarvabhuthaih sadaa
preenayaamo . "
He supports the entire universe headed by Chathurmukha Brahma always. He
removes all the sorrows of those remember (meditate on) Him. He can do acts which
can not be done by any body else. He is immanent in all creatures and makes them
perform actions which are appropriate for each.
The word Dharyathe does not mean inactive support like Space allowing entities to
exist in it, but means ensuring the prescribed observance of all limitations of all the
entities in it. Nijadhyaayinam means those who meditate on His form and qualities.
Paaryathe refers to samaapyathe or being completed by others like Brahma etc. The
reference to His making all other souls perform all their prescribed actions, includes
even those by Brahma, creation, Rudra - destruction etc.

"Sarvapaapaani yathsamsrutheh samkshayam

sarvadaa yaanthi bhakthyaa vishuddhathmanaam
sharvagurvaadigeervaanasamsthaanadah
kurvathe karma yath preethaye sajjanaaah
preenayaamo . "

The good people with purified souls who have understood the auspicious qualities of
the Supreme Being remember Him always with devotion and thus have all their sins
destroyed. He gives appropriate positions to Brahma, Rudra (Sharva), Brihaspathi etc.
The good people of the world perform their duties without desire for the fruits of their
actions, with the sole aim that He should be pleased thereby. The complete
destruction of sins which inhibit attainment of Moksha will only come due to the
grace of God secured by constant remembrance and meditation on Him with
devotion based on full understanding of His great auspicious qualities (to the extent
of one's capacity). This process results in purification of the soul, by removing
extraneous effects of the Three Gunas and removal of the different kinds of bondage
due to identification of the soul with the body, mind etc. The words SharvaGuru can
be interpreted as Shiva and Brihaspathi or Sharvaguru - the teacher of Sharva -
Brahma. The path of Nishkama Karma yoga of the Geetha is also indicated as the
correct means of getting the grace of God.

"Akshayam karma yasminpare svarpitham

Prakshayam yaanthi dukhaani yannamathah
Aksharo yo'jarah sarvadaivaamruthah
Kukshigam yasya vishvam sadaajaadikam
Preenayaamo . "

Those prescribed Nithya (diurnal) and Naimitthika (Occasional) actions which are
carried out only with the view of pleasing the Supreme Being will give infinite fruits.
(The same actions when done with other objectives will give limited results - like
Swarga, wealth etc.). When His name is remembered with devotion, sorrows get

43
destroyed completely. He is without any destruction (Akshara), without oldage
(dimunition of capacity) and always free from bondage. The entire Universe is always
inside His stomach.
Apart from the destruction of sins and purification of the soul from extraneous
binding agents achieved by devotion, performance of actions with the sole objective
of pleasing God there by, have a large multiplier effect on the results of the good
actions performed with devotion. This demonstrates that the Karma which is Jada
results in good or bad results only with the will of the Lord and the extent of these
results is not automatic , but is dependent on His grace. Even simple actions
performed with great devotion (Shabari, comes to one's mind) secure great results,
while far more difficult actions like Yajnas etc. celebrated without the same degree of
devotion may result in unimportant fruits like Swarga etc. The final determinent is not
the action itself, but the Anusandhana behind it.

"Nanditheerthorusannamino nandinah
sandadhaanah sadaananadadeve mathim
mandahaasaarunaapaangadatthonnathim
nandithaasheshadevaadivrindam sadaa
preenayaamo . "

We, having the good and appropriate name Nanditheertha (AnandaTheertha) and
being full of happiness and having the mind entirely devoted always on God known
by the name of Ananda (bliss) offer our prayers, and worship etc to Vasudeva who
emancipates His devotees with His sidelong glance of the eyes which are slightly red
and gives bliss to all good people such as Gods and Rishis. A devotee would sense
and share slightly in the bliss emanating from the very words of Sage Ananda Thirtha
(who has used that name here) and who has simply stated the fact of his own bliss
resulting from the prayers to the Supreme Being. One wonders if he really was
dancing when he said so - One is reminded of the words of Saint Vadiraja describing
Acharya Madhva - in a shloka included in the Sthothra called Madhvamuni
Prathaapaashtaka.
"Kvachith prabhum sthauthi sameekshathe kvachith
kvachith smaran nruthyathi gaayathi kvachith
kvachith tham aaraadhayatheeshvaram kvachith
namathi ayam madhvamunih prathaapavaan"
Some times he offers prayers extolling the Supreme Being, some times He
"sees" Him (in meditation), some times he remembers Him and starts singing and
dancing , some times he worships Him and offers his prostrations to Him. Such is the
great Madhva Muni. No wonder He is identical with Hanuman, the great devotee of
Rama, who sang out his heart in devotion to his master. No wonder also that His
followers have been always great devotees of the Lord.

While writing about Sthothra 8, it was said that Acharya Madhva goes lyrical from this
sthothra onwards indicating his own intense devotional state. In this sthothra, The
second line "Shubhathamakathaashaya paramasadoditha jagadekakaarana Raama
ramaaramana" is repeated at the end of each shloka. The very tenor and manner of
singing and repetition of this line enables concentration of one's mind totally on the
request coming at the end of the first line - "bhava mama sharanam". In this sthothra
Acharya Madhva is extolling the Dashaavathaara of Vishnu .
While understanding this sthothra, it will be necessary to try to understand
the mind of the Supreme Devotee - Jivotthama - Acharya Madhva to the extent
possible. For this purpose, let us remember the texts of Anuvyakhyana - "Ghoshaah
sarve'pi vedashscha sarve vedashcha yathpadam indram mithram yamindram cha
prathamam samkruthisthathaa naamadhaah sarvadevaanaam yeka ithyaadikaa

44
shruthih pramanam uktha vishaye".
In the Bhashya on the Brahma Suthra "Thatthu Samanvayath", Acharya Madhva has
stated that all the Vedas have as their main purport, the description of the Supreme
Being - Vishnu. Subsequently, he has shown in the Bhashya and Anuvyakhyana, as
demonstrated by detailed analysis by Sri Teekacharya that all the words occurring in
the Vedas - including those which are commonly understood as referring to other
entities or gods such as Jyothi, Indra, Akasha etc refer to the Supreme Being as their
main meaning. Acharya Madhva has given a detailed picture of how such words
would simultaneously refer to other entities and the Supreme Being - while our usage
may be essentially due to common acceptance, the reference to the Supreme Being
is by derivation of the word roots. But this understanding is beyond the capacity of
most of the souls, and only Chathurmukha Brahma has the capacity to fully
understand the purport of the Vedas in this manner. There are also other Vedic texts
whch show that all other sounds in nature like the roaring of the Sea, the rolling of
thunder etc. also denote God. Acharya Madhva can explain this, because he himself
is fit to attain the position of Brahma. The same sense is conveyed by the words of
Praathahsamkalpagadya of Sri Raghavendra Swamiji - "Laukika Vaidika bheda bhinna
varnaathmaka dhvanyaathmak asheshashabdaartha rigaadisarva vedaartha . " - that
God is described by all words, letters, sounds of all types in the Vedas or others in the
world.
Thus, when Acharya Madhva describes His master in Dvaadasha Sthothra, in
addition to the conventional meanings attached to the words out of which sentence
meanings are derived by us with the help of Teekas, one would expect an infinity of
meanings being stated - most of which will be beyond our comprehension either in
their derivation or even if derived, in our understanding. Out of the infinite qualities
of the Supreme Being, our comprehension is also strictly limited to a few, which we
can grasp by their similarity to the inferior worldly examples, but which would be as
different from them as a Sun is from a candle. An example is the statement often
made - Kotisuryaprakasha. Even if one were unable to grasp and understand the
exact and complete entity, our knowing that, what we can understand is only a
glimpse of the tip of the iceberg, when we try to grasp the qualities of the Supreme
Being (which are understood to a far greater degree by superior souls) would itself
give us a greater degree of devotion and reverence. It is for this reason that the
sthothras and devaranaamas composed by great devotees and Aparoksha Jnanis
have special sanctity and capacity to take us to the Supreme Being as they are the
result of deep, exact and comprehensive knowledge and direct cognition (Sakshi
Prathyakasha).
With this thought, let us look at the meanings of the sthothra No. 9. First, the
sthothra as a whole is stated:

atimatatamogirisamitivibhedana pitAmahabhUtida guNagaNanilaya |

shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 1||

vidhibhavamukhasurasatatasuva.nditaramAmanUvallabha bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 2||

agaNitaguNagaNamayasharIra he vigataguNetara bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 3||

aparimitasukhanidhivimalasudeha he vigata sukhetara bhava mama

45
sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 4||

prachalitalayajalaviharaNa shAshvatasukhamayamIna he bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 5||

suraditijasubalaviruLitama.ndaradhara vara kUrma he bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 6||

sagirivaradharAtaLavaha susUkaraparamavibodha he bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 7||

atibaladitisuta hR^idaya vibhedana jayanR^ihare.amala bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 8||

balimukhaditisutavijayavinAshana jagadavanAjita bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa || 9||

avijitakunR^ipatisamitivikhaNDana ramAvara vIrapa bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||10||

kharataranishicharadahana parAmR^ita raghuvara mAnada bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||11||

sulalitatanuvara varada mahAbala yaduvara pArthapa bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||12||

ditisutavimohana vimalavibodhana paraguNabuddha he bhava mama

sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||13||

kalimalahutavaha subhaga mahotsava sharaNada kalkIsha he bhava

mama sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||14||

akhilajanivilaya parasukhakAraNa parapurushhottama bhava mama

46
sharaNam.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||15||

iti tava nutivarasatataraterbhava susharaNamurusukhatIrthamuneH

bhagavan.h |
shubhatama kathAshaya paramasadodita jagadekakAraNa
rAmaramAramaNa ||16||

*******************************************************

Athimatha thamogirisamithivibhedana pithaamahabhoothida

gunagananilaya
Shubhathamakathaashya parama sadoditha jagadekakaarana raama
Ramaaramana |

The first line addresses the Supreme Bieng by giving His qualities.
He is Athimatha as He is worshipped by the Jnanis fully or He is well known only by
Yogis. It can also be interpreted as meaning that He can not be known completely by
any one.
He is the destroyer (vibhedana) of the groups (samithi) of mountains of primordial
ignorance - Thamogiri
He gives the Aiswarya or all capacity, powers, wealth etc. to Chathurmukha Brahma.
(Bhuthi - sampath)
He is the repository of infinite auspicious qualities like Jnana, Ananda etc. (The word
Nilaya shows that He is the source from which others get some little parts of those
qualities).
He is also the subject of enquiry (kathaashaya) which is the most sacred
(shubhathama) leading to redemption from Samsara (the most auspicious result
attainable). The word Shubhathamakathashaya can also be split a
Shubhathamakatha, and Aaashaya, to give the meanings that He is the most
auspicious entity in the world and discussion about Him gives the most auspicious
result, while Aashaya means Aashraya - one who supports every thing and every one.
Parama - Sarvotthama - the greatest entity in the world.
Sadoditha - Sadaaprakaashana - one who is always of the essence of pure knowledge
or effulgence.
Jagadekakaarana - the most important and primary cause of the world.
Raama - Aathmaaraama - One who enjoys Himself, One who is of the
nature of pure infinite bliss. Sri Vishvapathi gives a quote from Paadmapurana -
"Ramanthe yogino yathra sathyanandachidaathmani ithi Raamapadenaaithath param
brahmaabhideeyathe" _ the word Rama also denotes that He is one of the essence of
Sath, Chith and Aananda in whom the yogis revel in bliss in their meditation.
Ramaaramana - Lord of Lakshmi or Ramaa.
Bhava mama sharanam occurs in the next stanza and should be added here to
indicate the purpose of addressing and describing the Lord thus. - This means - Be
my shelter or protector.
Though all these could be summed up in a pargraph, it is better to note the myriad
meanings which convey the Lord's qualities, when we recite the shlokas and pray
that He may redeem us.

DVADASHA STHOTHRA 9b
(continued from 9 a)
Vidhibhavamukhasurasathathasuvanditha ramaamanovallabha Bhava mama
sharanam
Shubhathama .

47
You are worshipped with great diligence and concentration by the gods headed by
Brahma (vidhi), Ishwara (bhava). You are the dearest object of the mind of Sri Ramaa
Devi. Please be my protector -

Aganithagunaganamayasharira he vigathagunethara Bhava mama sharanam

Shubhathama .
You have your body composed of infinite groups of auspicous qualities like bliss. You
are completely free (vigatha) of defects and shortcomings (gunethara).
Please be my protector -
(While discussing the infinity of the auspicious qualties of the Supreme Being, one is
reminded of the following shloka of Sri Hari Kathamruthasara).
"ondugunadolananthagunagalu
onduroopadolihavu lokado-
londuroopadi dharisi thadgathapadarthadolahorage
bandaladavoliddu bahupesa
rinda karesutha poornajnaanaa
nandamaya paripari vihaarava maadi maadisuva" - Vyapthi Sandhi 31
Which explains the Bhagavatha shloka "Mayyananthagune ananthe ." and the Geetha
shloka - "Ihaikastham jagathsarvam"
The qualities of the Supreme Being are Apraakrutha - not made of ordinary worldly
stuff. Thus, His bliss (Ananda) is not just pure bliss, but also has in it other qualities
like knowledge, beauty etc, in the same manner as his limbs are not performing only
some functions like ours. His beauty is not one that lies in the eyes of the beholder
alone - but has a number of other qualities as its constituents. The groupings of His
qualities themselves are infinite and each of them is infinite in magnitude, though we
can hardly understand concepts like Infinite beauty, kindness etc. For instance, it is
well known that the concept of beauty depends very much on the species - it is
difficult to conceive of a beautiful Pig or Tortoise for us. But, the form of the Lord in
Varahavathara or Kurmaavathaara would be as beautiful to us as the form of
Hayagriva, or Rama and Krishna who were in human forms. Being of the essence of
the Supreme Being Himself, they have no intrinsic difference between themselves,
but can be distinguished for our understanding as different qualities due to the
Vishesha - just like the whiteness of cloth is non-different from it, but can be cognized
as a quality of the cloth.

Aparimithasukhanidhivimalasudeha he vigathasukhethara Bhavamama sharanam

You are an unlimited ocean of bliss. Your body is pure and exquisite. You are
completely free from sorrow. Please be my own protector -
Unlike all other souls, God alone is never afflicted by dukha or sorrow (called
sukhethara). [This applies to His consort Lakshmi too]. But, He is the only one who
has infinite bliss always.

"prachalithalayajalaviharana shaashvathasukhamayameena he bhava mama

sharanam"
Acharya Madhva is extolling the Mathsya form of the Lord. You are sporting in the
primordial ocean of dissolution (pralayajala) which is being disturbed by violent
winds. You are full of bliss (sukhamaya), unchanged and undisturbed. (shashvatha).
This shloka reminds one of the Upanishath - "Yeko naraayana aaseeth, na brahmaa
na cha shankarah" "Vaasudeva idamagra aaseeth"

"Suradithijasubalavilulitha mandaradharavara koorma he bhava mama sharanam"

When the Ksheerasamudra was being churned by the Devas and Asuras with great
strength, the Mandara mountain used as churn was sinking into the sea. You lifted
and supported it on your back as Kurma. [This demonstrates that only Lord Narayana
could do it as the combined might of all the Gods and asuras who were acting in

48
concert for a specific purpose was unable to prevent it.)

"Sagirivaradharaathalavaha susookara parama vibodha he bhava mama sharanam"

In your Varaha form you took upon your horns the entire earth with its huge
mountains. You are of the nature of Jnana itself.

"Athibaladithisuthahrudayavibhedana jaya nruhare amala bhava mama sharanam"

You tore into the heart of Hiranya Kashipu of immense strength and valour. You are
absolutely pure and victorious. Note: Hiranya kashipu's strength was not only natural
to him, but was added to by the boons secured by him from Brahma. Thus only
Nrusimha form of Vishnu could destroy him. The reference to purity and victory is
also siginificant. Nrusimha is imvoked by Acharya Madhva himself in Kathaa
Lakshana -
"Nrusimhamakhilaajnaanathimiraashishiradyuthim
sampranamya pravakshyaami kathaalakshanamanjasaa"
Nrusimha is like the Effulgent Sun in destroying the darkness of primordial ignorance.
"Narasimho akhilaajnaanamathadhvaanthadivaakarah
jayathyamithasajjnaanasukhashakthipayonidhih"
Lord Narasima is the Sun destroying the Ajnana Matha - Maya Vada, which considers
that all except the Chaithanya is superposed and unreal.
He is to be remembered always to get out of the coils of Ajnana or Mithyajnana. The
word Amala suggests this. The word "jaya" suggests the shloka from Yamaka
Bharatha of Acharya Madhva -
"Yadanigrahi poornathvaath bhimah sarvaanareenanahi poornathvaath
adahadbaahubalena krodhaagnaavaahithaannijaahubalena"
Bhima, the great devotee of God and emancipator of the good people, remembered
the Narasinha form of the Supreme being with Manyu Suktha and offered all his
enemies in his sacrificial fire of anger. Even the destruction of his enemies was done
as an offering to Lord Narasimha.

"Balimukhadithisuthavijayavinaashana jagadavanaajitha bhava mama sharanam"

You destroyed the victory of the Asuras headed by Bali (over the gods). You are the
protector of the entire universe (Jagadavana), You are never defeated yourself
(Ajitha). This refers to the Vaamana form of the Lord.

"Avijithakunrupathisamithivikhanadana ramaavara veerapa bhava mama sharanam "

You destroyed completely the entire groups of evil Kshathriya kings who could not be
defeated by any others. You are the Lord of Lakshmi. You protect the good heroic
persons like Bheeshma, (though they were also Kshathriyas).

"Kharatharanishicharadahana paraamrutha raghuvara maanada bhava mama

sharanam "
You destroyed the hated cruel Asuras like Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Khara. Your are
called Para, as you are superior to and different from all else. You are Amrutha as you
have never had any form of destruction or dimunition. You are Maanada as you give
Jnana to the devotees headed by Hanumaan.

"Sulalithathanuvara varada mahaabala yaduvara paarthapa bhava mama sharanam "

You have an exquisite, delicate and beautiful body (Sulalitha Thanu). You are Varada
because you gave bons to your devotees like Akrura, Kubja etc. You are also called
Varada, as you destroyed great Asuras like Naraka (Varaan asurashreshtaan
narakaadeen dyathi). You are the greatest of the Yadu race. You have immense and
immeasurable strength (Mahaabala). You protected the sons of Kunthi or Pruthaa. You
protected Arjuna specially in the Mahabharatha war.

49
"Dithisuthamohana vimalavibodhana paragunabuddha he bhava mama sharanam ".
You deceived the sons of Dithi or Daithyas - Dithisuthamohana. But you taught gods
headed by Brahma the correct truth with no flaws - vimalasubodhaka. You increase
the true knowledge of the good people. Your are Paraguna, as you have qualities
which are superior to all others. Buddhaavathaara is being addressed.

"Kalimalahuthavaha subhaga mahothsava sharanada kalkeesha he bhava mama

sharanam "
You burn away the evil impurities supported by Kali that vitiate the mind and lead
peaople astray from the path of virtue . You are Subhaga, as you are a beautiful
person. When you are seen, people will get tremedous joy of the mind - Mahothsava.
You protect and give shelter to the virtuous who ask for help. Kalki avathaara is being
addressed.
"Akhilajanivilaya parasukhakaarana parapurushotthama bhava mama sharanam "
You are the cause for the creation and destruction of the world. You give the Innate
bliss to the Muktha Jivas according to their worth. You are Para or completely
endowed needing none else for your existence, bliss or capacity etc. You are the
greatest Purusha - Purushotthama, being superior to both the Kshara and Akshara
entities constituting the Universe.

"Ithi thava nuthivarasathatharatherbhava susharanamuru

sukhatheerthamunerbhagavan"
In this manner, Ananda Tirtha is always engaged in extolling you with this great
sthothra. Bhagavan, who is full of auspicious qualities, please protect me always.

Sthothra No. 10.

Introduction:
In this sthothra, there is a common second line praying that the Supreme Being who
is the abode of infinite kindness should remind us of His own glorious stories -
"Karunaapoornavaraprada charitham jnaapaya me the". There is an immense depth
of philosophical truths compressed in this apparently simple statement. Before
commencing the individual shloka translation, I would like to elaborate on this as far
as I can understand. The expression from Upanishads "Yamevaisha vrunuthe thena
labhyah thasyaisha aathmaa vivrunuthe thanoom svaam" can be recalled. This
Supreme Being is essentially one who is beyond the senses and the mind. Logic will
fall far short in grasping him, being nothing but a mental faculty. He is unlike any
thing that the world knows or is. He is infinitely more complex than even
extrasensory objects that we can dimly grasp with the mind like the concept of sin
and merit etc. He is beyond creation, being the creator Himself. He does not have to
be guided by the rules of the world, as He makes them Himself. He is beyond
Prakruthi or nature, which includes all that is known and unknown to science and the
mind. How can He be ever be the subject of understanding of a human mind with its
limitations of intellect, time, knowledge, ability to grasp non-sensory entities etc.
Even simple common sense should tell us that He is essentially unknowable,
uncognisable, ununderstandable and ungraspable by us. Apart from the fact that His
qualities are not like those of the worldly type which we can understand, there is also
the problem of magnitudes and infinities. He can do things, undo things, He uses
things and need not use them at all. Time is in His control, Space is all pervaded by
Him. He is also beyond them, being the creator of ALL entities. He pervades them all
and is found in their innermost core and it is He who is responsible for their very
existence, continued existence, qualities, actions and in the case of souls, their
knowledge (jnana), desire (Icchaa), attempt at action (Prayathna). Kriyaa ( action)
and results (Phala). " Dravyam karma cha kaalascha swabahavo jiva yeva cha,

50
yadanugrahathah santhi, na santhi yadupekshayaa" is a favorite quote of Acharya
Madhva. He needs nothing, not even the companionship of Lakshmi, His eternal
consort. There is nothing that He has to attain, He is not dependent on any thing or
any one in respect of any thing. There is none even remotely like Him. He has never
been bound, afflicted by sorrow or pleasure. He has always had His way and will
always do so. He is the final decider of all events, though He is a very fair and
scrupulous one. No soul ever means any thing to Him other than the relationship
which is totally one sided - He being the Benefactor and the soul being the
beneficiary. He does not have to create - Devasyaisha Swabhaavoyam
aapthakamasya kaa spruhaa" - This is only His nature, what can one who has all His
desires fulfilled ever want?
His capacity is infinite and not limited in any manner - Icchaa mathram prabhoh
srushtih. He just wills it and it happens. He is not only a Sarvajna, but the extent and
quality of His knowledge about all entities and events in all time is unmatched,
instantaneous, not needing any aids like memory, mind and means. In Pramana
Lakshana, Acharya Madhva defines Pramana as - Yathartham pramaanam - the
means or knowledge (pramaa) which is as it is. While describing Isha Jnana, or the
knowledge of the Lord, is Anadi Nithya, beginningless and eternal and Svathanthra -
independent of any other. He is also the only one who knows all about Himself, while
Lakshmi who knows more about Him than any other soul, in creation or Mukthi still
knows very little. Thus, Sumadhvavijaya (seventh canto) says - "Na ramaapi
padaanguleelasannakhadhooraajadananthasadgunam ganayeth
ganayanthyanaaratham paramaan kosya paro gunaan vadeth". (The context is the
description of Veda Vyasa, when Acharya Madhwa sees Him in Badarkashrama). This
is translated as - Even Ramaa, who next to God has the greatest ability to grasp and
know and is His eternal consort, even when continuously enumerating the auspicious
qualities of the tip of the finger nail of His little finger from beginningless time
continuously will not be able to complete it till eternity. This should never be taken as
poetic license to describe the extraordinary qualities of the Lord as compared to the
souls and is thus an exaggeration. It is simply and literally true. When one grasps
this, what are the chances of any soul which is far more limited in time, abilities, and
gets diverted quite easily into the pleasures of the world even when born in human
species, can ever understand God?. An Advaithin takes the easy way out of the
problem by saying that God is unknowable even to the slightest extent as He is
Nirdharmaka - without any attributes. The so called attributes described by the Vedas
like Sath, Chith, Ananda, Ananthathva etc are also explained away virtually as
meaningless entities - thus Ananda or bliss becomes - not being unblissful. Let us
leave out these mental contortions, which eventually lead to the proposition that
even devotion to God is possible only in the Vyavaharika world and is a creature of
Ajnana and Avidya, which vanishes in the absolute stage. His glory is thus Mithya, His
creation is unreal and even we do not really exist.
The concept that there is gradation even in the capacity to knowledge
dependent on the Jiva Swaroopa is not fully appreciated. Thus all of us are apt to
assume that we can understand provided we are educated or all the facts are placed
before us. This is generally true for all worldly affairs, though we do note that there
are differences even there - with some people having a quicker or clearer grasp and
greater facility usually developed in specific areas like Mathematics, music or
abstract thinking on concepts like Law etc. Acharya Madhva explains in
Anuvyakhyana that the knowledge of the Supreme Being is:
"Asheshoruvisheshaanaam athispashtathayaa drushih
nithyamekaprakaaraa cha Naaraayanamathih paraa
sooryaprabhaavaadakhilam bhaasayanthee nirantharaa
nirlepaa veethadoshaa cha nithyamevaavikaarinee"
His Jnana is not Janya or created by any other means including the three Gunas. This
is true of all Jnana of Muktha Jivas also. But, that of the Supreme Being is extremely

51
clear in all respects which cognises all the infinite subjects related to it at the same
time, which sees all other subjects and all their meanings at the same time. It is at
the same time free of all disrtortions like likes and dislikes, incomplete observation or
any distortions introduced due to the obesrver etc. An example may make this
concept clear: - Our knowledge of a table or a pot is limited to the narrow band width
of information received through our senses, our capacity to simultaneously cognise a
large number of observations and bounded by time - at least to the extent of the
existence of our own consciousness and even our commitment to know or not to
know depending on our interest. God would know all the constituents of matter and
energy which appears to us as a physical object, their history in infinite time and
space etc. Such knowledge is also possessed by Goddess Lakshmi, who incidentally
would also know all about the infinite souls. One is reminded of the famous Geetha
shloka: "Na thvevaaham jaathu naasam na thvam neme janaadhipaah Na chaiva na
bhavishyaamah sarve vayamathah param". There was no time when all the kings for
whom Arjuna was grieving were not there, nor would there be in future, the soul
being eternal and indestructible. But all of them know not this, but Krishna knows it.
But the knowledge (jnana) of Narayana is further special as compared to Lakshmi
Jnana - It is like seeing things in the light of the sun with no areas of darkness left and
it also knows itself in full, as Lakshmi Jnana is incapable of knowing God. It has also
the unique characteristic of being totally independent of the means, not needing any
of the entities of creation like the mind and the senses nor the use of help of any one.
Even Lakshmi Jnana is dependent on His will. Such Jnana is the essence of His own
person, infinite, complete with nothing left out and totally as it is To sum up, He is
knowable by us to the extent that Shruthis tell us and the soul has the capacity and
time to do so. The shruthise themselves are infinite in number and fail to describe
him fully - Yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapya manasaa saha". He is unknowable in
His entirety even in Infinite time by the gretaest of all souls ever - Ramaa herself. He
has to be known by each one of us - as only true knowledge about Him up to the limit
of capacity of the soul will lead to His aparoksha which will secure His grace and final
redemption from the travails of Samsara. Acharya Madhva is very clear on this -
"Thasmath virakthah san jnanameva samaashrayeth" - One should develop
resignation from the affairs of the world and take the only path of securing true
Jnana. This reflects the very first suthra of the Brahma suthra - Athaatho Brahma
Jijnaasaa, where Atha indicates the previous qualification of Viraktha etc. and Athah
indicates the purpose of securing God's grace and Mukthi thereby.
To fully appreciate the importance of the path of securing Jnana let us look at
Harikathamruthasara - Kalpa sadhana sandhi, which indicates the syllabus for an
ordinary Human being to secure Mukthi:
The original shlokas "Heenakarmagalinda .. Nantharadi", "Hatthu janmagalalli ….
Tharuvaaya", "Moorujanmagalalli .. sukhisuvaru" may be seen in the books. The sum
total of them is:
After having gone through myriad lives in different species, most of which are unfit
for securing knowledge, one gets the life of a human being, which God has specially
designed for this purpose. He should get the knowledge of Hari Sarvotthamathva and
with the devotion born out of this knowledge will go through a thousand lives as a
human being to perform all prescribed duties to secure purity of mind, resignation
from the affairs of the world and increasing knowledge about God. Such knowledge
will also include the devotion to His Gurus who teach him and thus the knowledge of
Vayu Jivotthamathva. He then has a course of ten lives where he understands the
Supreme Being with regard to His qualities, through the sudy of the Vedas full time.
In three lives there after, the soul loves God more than all worldly objects and other
persons with whom he is associated like wife, childern etc. Such complete devotion
leads to Aparoksha of the Supreme Being. Each one of us can easily place himself in
this schedule and it will be a brave one indeed, who thinks that he has really made
use of his being born as a human being - that too as a Vaishnava. "Manushyaanaam

52
sahasreshu kashchith yathathi siddhaye""- Only one amongst thousands of men will
try to secure redemption. The securing of life as a human being is itself very rare and
difficult, and being a VAISHNAVA in such a life is even more rare. Hence, one could
easily understand the need to use all the time possible to study and understand the
Supreme Being. Thus, even the attempt to understand Him starts only with his intial
grace, which is based on the soul's sathvika nature and its innate love for Him. But
why should one try to understand and know God? I will cover this subject in the next
part. NAPSRao

Sthothra No. 10.

Introduction:
In this sthothra, there is a common second line praying that the Supreme Being who
is the abode of infinite kindness should remind us of His own glorious stories -
"Karunaapoornavaraprada charitham jnaapaya me the". There is an immense depth
of philosophical truths compressed in this apparently simple statement. Before
commencing the individual shloka translation, I would like to elaborate on this as far
as I can understand. The expression from Upanishads "Yamevaisha vrunuthe thena
labhyah thasyaisha aathmaa vivrunuthe thanoom svaam" can be recalled. This
Supreme Being is essentially one who is beyond the senses and the mind. Logic will
fall far short in grasping him, being nothing but a mental faculty. He is unlike any
thing that the world knows or is. He is infinitely more complex than even
extrasensory objects that we can dimly grasp with the mind like the concept of sin
and merit etc. He is beyond creation, being the creator Himself. He does not have to
be guided by the rules of the world, as He makes them Himself. He is beyond
Prakruthi or nature, which includes all that is known and unknown to science and the
mind. How can He be ever be the subject of understanding of a human mind with its
limitations of intellect, time, knowledge, ability to grasp non-sensory entities etc.
Even simple common sense should tell us that He is essentially unknowable,
uncognisable, ununderstandable and ungraspable by us. Apart from the fact that His
qualities are not like those of the worldly type which we can understand, there is also
the problem of magnitudes and infinities. He can do things, undo things, He uses
things and need not use them at all. Time is in His control, Space is all pervaded by
Him. He is also beyond them, being the creator of ALL entities. He pervades them all
and is found in their innermost core and it is He who is responsible for their very
existence, continued existence, qualities, actions and in the case of souls, their
knowledge (jnana), desire (Icchaa), attempt at action (Prayathna). Kriyaa ( action)
and results (Phala). " Dravyam karma cha kaalascha swabahavo jiva yeva cha,
yadanugrahathah santhi, na santhi yadupekshayaa" is a favourite quote of Acharya
Madhva. He needs nothing, not even the companionship of Lakshmi, His eternal
consort. There is nothing that He has to attain, He is not dependent on any thing or
any one in respect of any thing. There is none even remotely like Him. He has never
been bound, afflicted by sorrow or pleasure. He has always had His way and will
always do so. He is the final decider of all events, though He is a very fair and
scrupulous one. No soul ever means any thing to Him other than the relationship
which is totally one sided - He being the Benefactor and the soul being the
beneficiary. He does not have to create - Devasyaisha Swabhaavoyam
aapthakamasya kaa spruhaa" - This is only His nature, what can one who has all His
desires fulfilled ever want?
His capacity is infinite and not limited in any manner - Icchaa mathram prabhoh
srushtih. He just wills it and it happens. He is not only a Sarvajna, but the extent and
quality of His knowledge about all entities and events in all time is unmatched,
instantaneous, not needing any aids like memory, mind and means. In Pramana
Lakshana, Acharya Madhva defines Pramana as - Yathartham pramaanam - the
means or knowledge (pramaa) which is as it is. While describing Isha Jnana, or the

53
knowledge of the Lord, is Anadi Nithya, beginningless and eternal and Svathanthra -
independent of any other. He is also the only one who knows all about Himself, while
Lakshmi who knows more about Him than any other soul, in creation or Mukthi still
knows very little.
Thus, Sumadhvavijaya (seventh canto) says - "Na ramaapi
padaanguleelasannakhadhooraajadananthasadgunam
ganayeth ganayanthyanaaratham paramaan kosya paro gunaan vadeth". (The
context is the description of Veda Vyasa, when Acharya Madhwa sees Him in
Badarkashrama). This is translated as - Even Ramaa, who next to God has the
greatest ability to grasp and know and is His eternal consort, even when continuously
enumerating the auspicious qualities of the tip of the finger nail of His little finger
from beginningless time continuously will not be able to complete it till eternity. This
should never be taken as poetic license to describe the extraordinary qualities of the
Lord as compared to the souls and is thus an exaggeration. It is simply and literally
true. When one grasps this, what are the chances of any soul which is far more
limited in time, abilities, and gets diverted quite easily into the pleasures of the world
even when born in human species, can ever understand God?. An Advaithin takes the
easy way out of the problem by saying that God is unknowable even to the slightest
extent as He is Nirdharmaka - without any attributes. The so called attributes
described by the Vedas like Sath, Chith, Ananda, Ananthathva etc are also explained
away virtually as meaningless entities - thus Ananda or bliss becomes - not being
unblissful. Let us leave out these mental contortions, which eventually lead to the
proposition that even devotion to God is possible only in the Vyavaharika world and is
a creature of Ajnana and Avidya, which vanishes in the absolute stage. His glory is
thus Mithya, His creation is unreal and even we do not really exist.
The concept that there is gradation even in the capacity to
knowledge dependent on the Jiva Swaroopa is not fully appreciated. Thus all of us are
apt to assume that we can understand provided we are educated or all the facts are
placed before us. This is generally true for all worldly affairs, though we do note that
there are differences even there - with some people having a quicker or clearer grasp
and greater facility usually developed in specific areas like Mathematics, music or
abstract thinking on concepts like Law etc. Acharya Madhva explains in
Anuvyakhyana that the knowledge of the Supreme Being is:
"Asheshoruvisheshaanaam athispashtathayaa drushih
nithyamekaprakaaraa cha Naaraayanamathih paraa
sooryaprabhaavaadakhilam bhaasayanthee nirantharaa
nirlepaa veethadoshaa cha nithyamevaavikaarinee"
His Jnana is not Janya or created by any other means including the three Gunas. This
is true of all Jnana of Muktha Jivas also. But, that of the Supreme Being is extremely
clear in all respects which cognises all the infinite subjects related to it at the same
time, which sees all other subjects and all their meanings at the same time. It is at
the same time free of all disrtortions like likes and dislikes, incomplete observation or
any distortions introduced due to the obesrver etc. An example may make this
concept clear: - Our knowledge of a table or a pot is limited to the narrow band width
of information received through our senses, our capacity to simultaneously cognise a
large number of observations and bounded by time - at least to the extent of the
existence of our own consciousness and even our commitment to know or not to
know depending on our interest. God would know all the constituents of matter and
energy which appears to us as a physical object, their history in infinite time and
space etc. Such knowledge is also possessed by Goddess Lakshmi, who incidentally
would also know all about the infinite souls. One is reminded of the famous Geetha
shloka: "Na thvevaaham jaathu naasam na thvam neme janaadhipaah Na chaiva na
bhavishyaamah sarve vayamathah param". There was no time when all the kings for
whom Arjuna was grieving were not there, nor would there be in future, the soul
being eternal and indestructible. But all of them know not this, but Krishna knows it.

54
But the knowledge (jnana) of Narayana is further special as compared to Lakshmi
Jnana - It is like seeing things in the light of the sun with no areas of darkness left and
it also knows itself in full, as Lakshmi Jnana is incapable of knowing God. It has also
the unique characteristic of being totally independent of the means, not needing any
of the entities of creation like the mind and the senses nor the use of help of any one.
Even Lakshmi Jnana is dependent on His will. Such Jnana is the essence of His own
person, infinite, complete with nothing left out and totally as it is
To sum up, He is knowable by us to the extent that Shruthis tell us and the soul has
the capacity and time to do so. The shruthise themselves are infinite in number and
fail to describe him fully - Yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapya manasaa saha". He is
unknowable in His entirety even in Infinite time by the gretaest of all souls ever -
Ramaa herself. He has to be known by each one of us - as only true knowledge about
Him up to the limit of capacity of the soul will lead to His aparoksha which will secure
His grace and final redemption from the travails of Samsara. Acharya Madhva is very
clear on this - "Thasmath virakthah san jnanameva samaashrayeth" - One should
develop resignation from the affairs of the world and take the only path of securing
true Jnana. This reflects the very first suthra of the Brahma suthra - Athaatho Brahma
Jijnaasaa, where Atha indicates the previous qualification of Viraktha etc. and Athah
indicates the purpose of securing God's grace and Mukthi thereby.
To fully appreciate the importance of the path of securing Jnana let us look at
Harikathamruthasara - Kalpa sadhana sandhi, which indicates the syllabus for an
ordinary Human being to secure Mukthi:
The original shlokas "Heenakarmagalinda .. Nantharadi", "Hatthu janmagalalli ….
Tharuvaaya", "Moorujanmagalalli .. sukhisuvaru" may be seen in the books. The sum
total of them is:
After having gone through myriad lives in different species,
most of which are unfit for securing knowledge, one gets the life of a human being,
which God has specially designed for this purpose. He should get the knowledge of
Hari Sarvotthamathva and with the devotion born out of this knowledge will go
through a thousand lives as a human being to perform all prescribed duties to secure
purity of mind, resignation from the affairs of the world and increasing knowledge
about God. Such knowledge will also include the devotion to His Gurus who teach him
and thus the knowledge of Vayu Jivotthamathva. He then has a course of ten lives
where he understands the Supreme Being with regard to His qualities, through the
sudy of the Vedas full time. In three lives there after, the soul loves God more than all
worldly objects and other persons with whom he is associated like wife, childern etc.
Such complete devotion leads to Aparoksha of the Supreme Being. Each one of us
can easily place himself in this schedule and it will be a brave one indeed, who thinks
that he has really made use of his being born as a human being - that too as a
Vaishnava. "Manushyaanaam sahasreshu kashchith yathathi siddhaye""- Only one
amongst thousands of men will try to secure redemption. The securing of life as a
human being is itself very rare and difficult, and being a VAISHNAVA in such a life is
even more rare. Hence, one could easily understand the need to use all the time
possible to study and understand the Supreme Being. Thus, even the attempt to
understand Him starts only with his intial grace, which is based on the soul's sathvika
nature and its innate love for Him. But why should one try to understand and know
God? I will cover this subject in the next part.

PART 10-2
Introduction (contd)
We have seen how the Supreme Being forms the most interesting and even
tantalising subject to be known and understood. No research, study or investigation
can be ever more essential, difficult, time consuming and productive than this. Sri
Jagannatha Dasa in Harikathamruthasara explains this in his shloka: "Shravana

55
manakaanandaveevudu". Listening to the recital of the auspicious stories of the Lord
of Lakshmi, who is the redeemer of the world gives happiness, removes the sorrows
of the world, gives different means of enjoyment in this world and the next.
Therefore, all Brahmanas should listen to them day after day with absorbing interest
and pleasure. The Bhagavatha says:
"Shrunvathaam svakathaam Krishnah punyashravanakeerthanah
hrudyanthastho hyabhadraani vidhunothi suhruth sathaam"
Mukunda, the giver of ultimate liberation from the worldly bondage is completely free
from any defect -, as it is such defects in us that result in bondage. If any such
defects appear to be there, it is meant for the delusion of the wicked. The wise ones
should not be deceived by them.
"Saankethyam paarihaasyam vaa sthobham helanameva vaa
vaikuntanaamagrahanam asheshaaghaharam viduh"
Even if the name of God is remembered without understanding (only as a token), in
fun or even in derision it will still result in destruction of sins. When one does it with
understanding, as in listening to Harikatha, how much more effective it would be? If it
has to render us pure (Paavana) it has to be related to Pavana - Acharya Madhva. We
should study all the Shasthras in the illumination provided by Acharya Madhva. Sri
Jagannatha dasa has summarised the following shlokas from Bhagavatha in his
simple statement - Shravana
Manakaanandaveevudu.
"Nivrutthatharshairupageeyamaanaath
bhavaushadaath shrothramanobhiraamaath
ka utthamashlokagunaanuvaadaath
pumaan virajjetha vinaa pashughnaath"
"Shukamukhadamruthadravasamyutham"
"Yathshrunvathaam rasajnaanaam svaadu svaadu pade pade"
"Thadeva shashvanmanaso mahothsavam
yadutthamashlokayasho anu geeyathe"
These shlokas describe in graphic language the indescribable bliss that one gets
when listening to Harikathaa like tasting Nectar and leading to deathlessness. It is
not only sweet, but is also the medicine from worldly ills - Bhavaushada. The stories
recount the infinite auspicious qualities of the Supreme Being, which are already
described in the Vedas.
"Vedaksharaani yaavanthi pathithaani dvijaathibhih thaavanthi Harinaamani .. "
If Shravana (listening with devotion) itself can do all this, what would Dhyana
(meditation with total application of the conscious mind) do? The Bhagavatha says
that the bliss secured thereby is even greater than the one in Moksha.
"Yaa nirvruthisthanubhruthaam thava paadapadma
dhyaanaath bhavajjanakathaashravanena vaa syaath
saa brahmani svamahimanyapi naatha maa bhooth
kim nvanthakaasi lulithaath pathathaam vimaanaath" - ( 4 - 10
- 10 ) "Jnaanam yadaa prathinivruttha gunormichakram aathmaprasaada ubhayathra
guneshvasangah" - ( 2 - 3 - 12 )
Harikathaa shravana and Dhyana purifies the mind by removing it's impurities and
rendering it clean and clear like placid waters of a lake unlike the worldly stories
which muddy the mind and make it opaque.
Each of us would like endless pleasure and no pain or suffering. It is obvious that
such a state does not exist in this world, because pleasure is always preceded by
pain (in securing the means for pleasure), accompanied by it during its existence
(due to our lack of control on all factors) and is certainly followed by it - usually with
very long term effects. The short but sweet pleasure which all strive for, is loaded
with suffering of orders of magnitude higher as a part of the package. But there will
hardly be any one who will forego the chance of securing it, some times at any cost
to others and even to himself. We have two basic alternatives to it - The charvaka

56
one of "seeing is believing" - when we strive for maximising the pleasure for
ourselves or the alternative of trying to understand that the transitoriness and
admixture of pleasure and pain, which is invariably found makes it not acceptable to
the thinking individual unless it is tempered by some value system which suprevenes
over it. Even those who do not accept the concept of God laying down laws for Man
kind, accept that some rational system based on humanity , greatest good to the
greatest number, "Fairness to one and all", etc is essential in human society.
But the concept of Asthikas or believers is that the moral laws are laid down
by God Himself for the welfare of Mankind - Ex. The Ten commandments of the
Christians. The system followed by vedic schools is that these are laid down by
Smrithis - which are themselves based on Shruthi Pramanas. The laws are there not
only for ensuring an orderly development of society leading to peace and stability,
but also - more important - for the evolurion of the individual himself into a better
person. Thus, all the rules regarding fasting, rituals, worship, sacrifice etc are for the
main purpose of purifying the mind of impurities likely to mislead - called Ari
Shadvarga - the well known Kaama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada and Maathsarya. But
a well honed instrument needs to be used - thus the mind is to be used to cognise
God - not directly which is impossible, but to clearly understand His Lakshanas --
defining parameters. Acharya Madhva invariably repeats in almost every invocatory
verse of his compositions the main Lakshanas - being full of all auspicious qualities
and being totally devoid of all infirmities or defects. Such a statement, while it has
been fully understood by him would only be just words for us. How do we understand
the full significance of these expressions? Here we come to the significance of Hari
Katha. These illustrate the auspicious qualities of the Lord in a manner which our
minds can understand and appreciate. In His incarnations, the Lord takes the forms of
human beings, animals etc , but does wondrous deeds. His behaviour is exemplary.
He is the ideal son, husband, brother, master and friend. His stories leave such a
deep impact on contemporary society that they are recalled for centuries and aeons
later as ideals to be striven for. His manner of neutralising the boons given to evil
persons and destroy them is recalled with pleasure and gratitude by the weaker
persons who suffer the depredations of evil. His glory is dsecribed in great detail, in
the form of sthothras by His devotees, description of His beauty or strength, His
kindness to the weak, His wealth and His nobility. While all these show an
extraordinary being, reading more deeply into the texts will also suggest a superiority
which is immeasurably greater from human standards. It is obvious that we will know
about God, what ever he chooses to reveal Himself to us and to the extent of our own
capacity. Now let us look at some shlokas of Mahabharatha thathparya Nirnaya in this
context:
"Panchathmakah .. bahoopamobhooth" - Chap 1 , No. 10 The Supreme Being having
the five fundamental forms for the Creation, Destruction, Liberation etc of the souls
(Narayana, Vasudeva, Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Samkarshana) took twelve forms
(Keshava, Narayana etc), 10 forms (Mathsya etc) and then took a hundred forms
(Narayana etc), a thousand forms (Vishva etc as in Sahasra nama), a very large
number for forms (Para etc) and infinite forms (Ajitha etc). He is completely One
though having many forms, with all the forms having the complete infinite attributes
of the main form.
"Nirdosha poorna gunavigraha . vivarjithaathmaa" - No 11.
His body is non material and consists only of pure defectless auspicious qualities like
knowledge and bliss, He is totally independent, His limbs are also made of such
qualities only. There is no difference in any form with any other form. "Sarvajna
Ishwarathamah . kasya chesham" - No. 12
He is all knowing. He is the controller of all others including those who control others
like Brahma and Rudra, He has infinite capacities. His strength, knowledge, bliss etc
are His own and part of His essential being and hence never suffer any change, and
the entire world excluding Him (inclusive of Lakshmi, Brahma and others) can not do

57
any thing without Him. Thus the entire world is always fully in His control.
"Avathareshu yathkinchith . na hi kvachith" - No. 37
In his incarnations Sri Hari shows some behaviour like an ordinary human being. This
is meant for producing Mithya Jnana in asuras. He has absolutely no defect in any
incarnation. "Aprameyoniyojyashcha . keedanakairiva" - Chap. 2 - No. 76
He is unknowable in full by any one. He is never controlled to the slightest extent by
any one else. He can do any thing He pleases and has total control over all else. But
just as boys play with sport objects like *** etc. He plays with the world by engaging
in creation etc.
"Vasudevasutho naayam . jamadagnithah" - Chap 2 - No 78
This Lord is not the son of Vasudeva. He never spent any time in the womb of any
body. He was not born of Dasharatha or Jamadagni.
"Ishannapi hi deveshah . keenasha iva durbalah" - Chap 2 - No 81
Though He is the Supreme Lord Himself, He acts like a weak human being ,
peforming actions like being the charioteer of Arjuna, offering respects to lesser
persons like Balarama etc. "Naathmaanam veda . asuramohinee" - Chap 2 No. 82
Actions like His searching for Seetha, being bound by Indrajith etc are for deluding
the evil persons.
"Muhyathe shasthrapaathena . thadviduh suraah" Chap 2 - No 83/4
His body is cut by weapons, bleeds and He becomes unconscious. He asks other
what to do, as if He does not know. He leaves behind His body. All these delude
Asuras, while the gods understand the truth.
"RaamaRaama mahaabaaho maayaa the suduruaasadaa
vaadasaadada kiloke paadaaveva thavaasajeth" - Krishnamrutha Maharnava - No 70
Oh. Raama, Raama, the Great and beautiful one, Your greatness is not attainable by
any one else (even in understanding it). You are the limit of all discussions (on
Vedantha). Who is there, who can even understand the superiority of your feet.
"Unnathaprarthithaa . thanna kinnethi vidvathsu meemamsitham"
Dvaadasha Sthothra - No 8
Wise men debate amongst themselves about Him - He is not that, not this etc. It is
not any thing that can be defined etc. Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha says regarding the last -
"Vedarthavicharakushaleshu Thad Brahma na, Kim naasthi, Kim asthyeva,
Naastheethi yath thanna". Acharya Madhva indicates that even those well versed in
the Vedas are unable to define Him fully and debate amongst themselves about His
nature.
All these quotes show that even the study of the Hari Katha is difficult - one
should not imagine that it is like watching a serial in TV or reading a book. The entire
objective being the understanding of the superlative nature of the Lord of all, the
study has to be in depth with proper guidance and efforts consciously made to
remove all doubts and disparities. A simple instance is the picture that a poet gets of
a scene in nature as compared to a casual glance by one of us. The Artist or poet has
the initial gift of looking at things differently and the habit formed after such practice,
which makes his view far more exact, with many unsuspected dimensions being
brought out. The word Shravana is also normally understood to mean listening to the
Shasthras or Puranas, as a means of passing time in preference to other means.
While it is good so far as it goes, the listening will have to be with the mind immersed
in the subject with a view to assimilate the real content of the story - which is the
illustration of some of the qualities of the Supreme Being. It is the casual approach,
coupled with a simplistic faith in superficial knowledge or concept of Punya gained
etc which may lead to horrendous errors like - believing that Shishupala went to
Moksha by hating Sri Hari. Thus, here again, it is essential to have God's own blessing
that the quality of our listening, contemplation etc is high and not just the quantity.
The path to Moksha is clearly defined in Thathvavada.
"Yo veda nihitham guhaayaam parame vyoman
soshnuthe sarvaan kaamaan saha brahmanaa vipashchithaa"

58
Who so ever "sees" (Aparoksha) Narayana who resides in the Heart lotus, he will
attain Parabrahman and enjoy all pleasures along with Him.
"Yadaa pashyah pashyathe rukmavarnam
karthaarameesham purusham brahmayonim
thadaa vidvaan punyapaape vidhooya
niranjanah paramam saamyam upaithi"
He who sees (by Aparoksha) the golden form of the Supreme Being who is the Master
of all, creator of the world and has all auspicious attributes, will get rid of all sins and
merit, be freed from Avidya (Ajnana) and will obtain equality to the best possible
extent (to him) with the Supreme Being (such as being freed from sorrow, obtaining
eternal bliss, attaining his desires instantly etc)
"Thathpreethyaiva cha Mokshah praapyah thenaiva naanyathaa"
Moksha is attained only by the grace of the Supreme Being (Vishnu)
"Tharathamyam thatho jneyam sarvocchathvam haresthathaa
yethadvinaa na kasyaapi vimukthih syath kathanchana" _
Mahabharatha Thathparya Nirnaya _ Chapt 1 . No 81.
One should understand Tharathamya or gradation and that Sri Hari is the greatest.
Without this Jnana, there is no Mukthi in any other way.
"Panchabhedaan cha vijnaaya vishnoh svaabhedameva cha
nirdoshathvam gunodrekam jnaathvaa mukthirna chaanyathaa"
One should understand the five differences, total non-difference between the
incarnations of Vishnu from Himself, His limbs from Himself, His being free
completely from all defects and shortcomings and His being full of infinite auspicious
qualities. Only with this knowledge, will one secure Mukthi and not otherwise.
"Maahaathmyajnaanapoorvasthu sudhrudhah sarvathodhikah
sneho bhakthirithi prokthah thayaa mukthirna chaanyathaa"
Devotion is Love which is based on clear understanding of the greatness of the
Supreme Being, which is unshakeable and is more powerful than all other
attachments to worldly objects. Only such Devotion leads to Mukthi - none else.
"Thamevam vidvaanamrutha iha bhavathi"
Only by knowing Him as Sahasra Sheersha etc will one be free from bondage and
death.
"Alodhya sarvashaasthraani vichaarya cha punah punah
idamekam sunishpannam dhyeyo naaraayanassadaa"
After studying all the Shasthras and deeply and repeatedly analysing them, it is
concluded that Narayana should always be meditated upon.
From these and many other Pramanas, it is clear that any one who aspires for
redemption from the sorrows of the world must try to study authoritative scriptures to
know as much about the Supreme Being as he can. While the highest class of Rju
Jivas such as Brahma and Vayu could study the infinite Vedas and understand the
infinite qualities stated by them, other souls specially humans would have to know
Him as Sath, Chith, Ananda and Aathman. This means that He is the very basis for
our existence, He is responsible for our attributes of a Chethana (like Jnana, Iccha
etc), He is of the nature of Bliss and other auspicious qualities and He is the inner
controller of all, including ourselves also. In conclusion, let me briefly explain the
siginificance of the words:
"Karunaapoorna varaprada charitham jnaapaya me the"
Karunaapoorna - refers to the specific quality of the Supreme Being, due to which He
gives so much to all the Jivas, without getting any thing in return. Without that
quality, we would never be able to know about God. By Lakshana (generalising) it
also states that God is full of all auspicious attributes. Varaprada - He is the true boon
giver to all including evil and good persons, as He is immanent in all others including
Lakshmi, Brahma etc. He also gives the greatest of the boons, which no one else can
give and that is redemption itself.
Charitham - Every auspicous text and Shasthra is nothing but the description of the

59
Supreme Being. The qualities mentioned in the Vedas are elaborated with stories in
Puranas.
Jnaapaya: He is the one to give us knowledge, just as He is the one who has caused
Ignorance to cover our and God's real swaroopa. It is only His grace that finally
removes the veils leading us to Aparoksha,
I feel that a Sarvajna like Acharya Madhva would have hardly used even
simple words like these, without simultaneously imputing enormous meanings into
them. What I have written above is perhaps only a little of what he means. I would
only like to repeat that his words are always: Baalasanghamapi bodhayadbrusham,
durniroopavachanam cha pandithai - His words will convey meaning even to children,
but their full meaning will not be understood even by scholars. I think the very first
halting step in our growing up, is to know that we can not know Acharya Madhva's
composition in full without his blessings, and we can not know God ever.

Dvaadasha sthothra No. 10

After the some what long introduction, I will give the detailed translation and
comments on the Sthothra No. 10.
First let me give the shlokas in Itrans. There are one or two corrections in the shlokas
as compared to the versions available in the Archives. These were errors which have
been corrected..

ava naH shrIpatirapratiradhikeshAdibhavAde |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 1||

surava.ndyAdhipa sadvarabharitAsheshhaguNAlam.h |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 2||

sakaladhvA.ntavinAshaka paramAna.ndasudhAho |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 3||

trijagatpota sadArjitasharaNAshApatidhAto |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 4||

triguNAtItavidhAraka parito dehi subhaktim.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 5||

sharaNaM kAraNabhAvana bhava me tAta sadA.alam.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 6||

maraNaprANada pAlaka jagadIshAva subhaktim.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 7||

taruNAdityasavarNakacharaNAbjAmala kIrte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 8||

salilaprotthasarAgakamaNivarNochchanakhAde |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 9||

khajatUNInibhapAvanavarajaN^ghAmitashakte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 10||

ibhahastaprabhashobhanaparamorustharamAle |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 11||

60
asanotphullasupushhpakasamavarNAvaraNA.nte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 12||

shatamododbhavasu.ndara varapadmotthitanAbhe |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 13||

jagadAgUhakapallavasamakuxe sharaNAde |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 14||

jagadaMbAmalasu.ndaragR^ihavaxovara yogin.h |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 15||

ditijA.ntaprada chakradharagadAyugvarabAho |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 16||

paramaGYAnamahAnidhivadana shrIramaNe.ndo |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 17||

nikhilAghaughavinAshana parasaukhyapradadR^ishhTe |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 18||

paramAna.ndasutIrthamunirAjo harigAthAm.h |
kR^itavAnnityasupUrNakaparamAna.ndapadaishhi.h || 19||

ava naH shrIpatirapratiradhikeshAdibhavAde |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 1||

The Lord is addressed as: Protector of all (Avana - based on the dhathu Ava
rakshana), One without any peer or similar person (Aprathi), Greatest one (Adhika),
One who causes the creation etc of all such as Isha (rudra) - Ishaadi bhava (birth or
development) aade - cause or primary agent, The Lord of Shree (Lakshmi), ocean of
kindness (karunaapoorna), Giver of all boons including Moksha (varaprada), make me
understand your great qualities or stories.

[Aprathi - na vidyathe prathih prathinibhah prathinidhirvaa yasya sah]

Sri Vishvapathi also comments that the prayer may appear unnecessary in the case
of Acharya Madhva - but should be considered as applicable to his disciples or for
greater depth and clarity for himself.

The interesting thing in this shloka is that all the adjectives used for the Supreme
Being justify the prayer in the end. He is the protector at such a fundamental level -
being responsible for the very existence of the soul, his faculties and all his desires
and achievements that without His grace, prayer to any one else is useless. He is also
the Lord of Shree, who is Abhimaani devathaa of the three Gunas which binds one to
Samsara and only with His grace such bondage is removed by her. He is the primal
cause of all to whom the other lesser persons pray - like Isha. He overrides their
boons at His will. Thus he destroys evil forces (which usually go to Ishwara for their
boons) which try to prevent or harm Sathvika souls from following the correct path.
The significance of Karunaapoorna and Varaprada has already been explained earlier
in the introduction.

surava.ndyAdhipa sadvarabharitAsheshhaguNAlam.h |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 2||

61
 The Lord is addressed . He is Suravandya - worshipped by the gods, Adhipa - the
supreme lord, Sadvara - one who gives boons to the good people, the Mukthas or
redeemed souls, or who gives only good boons which lead to further development of
devotion etc leading to Mukthi (unlike the boons given by Brahma and Rudra etc
which many times lead to their destruction). He is also the lord (adhipa) of
suravandya (Chathurmukha Brahma). He also has all auspicious qualities (ashesha
guna) and each of them is Alam - Samyak = complete and perfect. Thus, He has such
qualities as beauty, bliss etc each of which is superlative and unlimited in itself, but
such qualities themselves are infinite in number. Some additional comments appear
to be needed here:
Harikathamruthasara says -
"ondu gunadolananthagunagalu
onduroopadolihavu lokadolonduroopadi dharisi
thadgathapadarthadolahorage , baandaladavoliddu bahupesarinda
karesutha poornajnaanandamaya paripariviharava maadi maadisuva"
Each of the qualities of the Supreme Being contains in itself
other auspicious qualities. Similarly, each form of His also contains infinite forms. He
is compared to space (akaasha) which contains all the universe in it and which is both
inside and outside all objects in it. He is called by numerous names and His essence
of auspicious qualities like Jnana and Ananda etc are the same every where. The
concept is that each quality, say Bliss, itself contains others like Jnana, Shakthi etc in
it. This has to be understood in the context of Vishesha (Bheda Prathinidhi), by which
there is no difference between the forms, limbs and qualities of the Supreme Being as
conveyed by the Veda text - "Neha naanaasthi kinchana". There is no limitation like
His "seeing" with His eyes, or "hearing" with His ears. It is explained in Bhagavatha
that one black hair on the moola roopa which took the form of Lord Krishna
performed such extraordinary deeds. There should also be no concept that the
incarnated form has only some attrbutes of the Moola form - as there is no difference
between them. It is the divine will as explained by the concept of vishesha that we
see them as different forms or different qualities - while He is one with His body being
constituted with infinite auspicious qualities. Its is apparent that Acharya Madhva has
summed up all this with the expression - Asheshagunaalam here.

PART 10.4

sakaladhvA.ntavinAshaka paramAna.ndasudhAho |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 3||

He is the destroyer of all darkness in the form of primoridal

ignorance for the good people. He is also the giver of the unworldly bliss. He is the
very embodiment of extraordinary qualities. (Aho - Aashcharya). The philosophical
propostions that this shloka conveys are very important. Vishnu is the only redeemer
of the jivas from Samsara, which is due to bondage due to the three Gunas, whose
Abhimani devathaa is Lakshmi. As her power is also delegated by God, He is the
primary agent for the bondage of the Jivas due to Ajnana. It is in this context that
Acharya Madhva has interpreted the word Janmadyasya, in bhAshya on the second
Brahma suthra as -
"Brahmano lakshanamaaha - "srushti sthithi samhara niyama jnana
ajnana bandha mokshayathah". The unique characteristic of Brahman who is Jijnasya
is that He is responsible for creation, maintenance (status quo), destruction, control,
knowledge, ignorance, bondage and redemption. Acharya Madhva is also defining the
status of Moksha - which is Paramananda - exquisite bliss, which is revealed as the
essence of the Jiva (mukthi yogya), when the obscuring veils of Ajnana on his own
swaroopa and on that of the Bimba form of the Lord pertaining to the Jiva are
removed by the Supreme Being.

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trijagatpota sadArjitasharaNAshApatidhAto |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 4||

He is the boatman for ferrying the souls of all the three worlds across the
ocean of samsara. (plava iva sathaam samsaarasaagarottharaka. He is always
worshipped by devoteees. (Sadaarchithacharana). He is the support or protector for
Ashapathi - the consort of Aasha (Saraswathi) - Chathurmukha Brahma.
This shloka is a beautiful illustration of Acharya Madhva being called a Veda Rishi.
Chandogya Upanishath - 9 Adhyaya and 14 & 15 th Khandas are reproduced:
"Ashaa vaava smaraadbhuyasyaasheddho vai smaro manthraanadheethe karmaani
kuruthe .. "
"Praano vaa aashaayaa bhuyaanyatha vaa araa naabhau samarpithaa yevamasmin
praane sarvam samarpitham .. "
Saraswathi (consort of Brahma) and Bharathi (consort of Mukhya prana) are called
Asha as they are of the nature of bliss. They give the knowledge by which Aparoskha
of the Supreme Being is obtained. The Upanishath says that they are superior to
Garuda, Shesha and Rudra (who are controlling the intellect and memory). Mukhya
Prana is superior to Asha herself as he is the final teacher of Thathvas to all the souls.
It is his presence that makes all auspicious and desirable objects like parents,
brothers and sisters, teachers etc have those qualities, as without him, they do not
have any longer those features which made them dear, lovable, auspicious and so
on.. Acharya Madhva is reminding us, that he is addressing here - one who is superior
to even Prana and Brahma, called sathya in the Upanishath. The worship of the
Supreme Being in the Adhishtana of Mukhya Prana is prescribed by the Upanishath
itself in the third Adhyaya for securing Moksha. Thus even a simple sounding
Ashapathidhaatho sums up and reflects the entire Chandogya Upanishath.

triguNAtItavidhAraka parito dehi subhaktim.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 5||

He is beyond the three Gunas (Sathva, Rajas and Thamas) which are controlled by
Lakshmi, in her three forms Sree, Bhu and Durga. He supports the entire world
(Parithah - samanthaath, vi - visheshena , dharaka). He is the giver of the auspicious
devotion which leads to Mukthi - (Mahathmya jnana poorvaka sudrudha sneharoopa)
to one who has understood His auspicious qualities up to the capacity of the soul and
is hence immersed in love for Him and which is unaffected by other worldly
disturbance and which is far greater than all attachments to other worldly objects
and persons.

sharaNaM kAraNabhAvana bhava me tAta sadA.alam.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 6||

Karana and Bhavana are names used to address the Supreme Being. Karana is the
independent primal cause for every thing and every one. One could recollect - "Thena
vina thrunamapi na chalathi" in this regard. Bhavana has many meanings -
"Svathmaanam yogibhih anusandhaayapathi (bhavayathi)" - One who is the subject
of Aparoksha by Yogis.
"Bhaavayathi sathaam praapayathi sarvam" - One gives every thing to the good
people.
"Bhaavayathi dhyaayathi bhakthaanaam yogakshemam" - One who looks after the
welfare of the good people.
"Bhaavayathi paalayathi jagadithi" - He protects the world.
"Kaaranabhaavana - mahadaadi kaaranaani bhaavayathi -
jagathsarjanasamarthaan karothi" - He makes the secondary causes like Mahatha

63
Thathva etc get energised and act to produce the world.
The word Thaatha is used as an affectionate name for his father. Acharya Madhva is
requesting the Supreme Being to be his refuge (sharanam) and protect him always
(sadaa) well (alam). The propositions of Sarva Karthruthva, the final refuge of all
aspirants are indicated here. The word Thaatha conveys a personal relationship with
God which is but natural for all great devotees, and also hints at the Rjuthva of
Acharya Madhva.

maraNaprANada pAlaka jagadIshAva subhaktim.h |

karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 7||

He gives both death and life to the souls. He protects all at all times. He is the Lord of
all entities in the world. I request you to give me auspicious devotion towards you
and protect me from enemies (Ava) - like arishadvarga. The Anishta from which we
should request God to protect us is that which makes us forget Him or hate Him,
which leads us away from the path to redemption.

taruNAdityasavarNakacharaNAbjAmala kIrte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 8||

God is addressed. Your feet are red like the glow of the rising Sun. Your fame is
spread all over and is flawless. >From this shloka onwards Acharya Madhva is
describing the limbs and features of the Lord, whom he is meditating and seeing in
Aparoksha. He has started with the feet of the Lord, as is traditionally done for such
meditation. Reference to the feet along with their flawless fame - reminds one of the
great events where the feet are associated - such as redeeming Ahalya in Rama
incarnation, bursting the shell of Brahmanda as Thrivikrama, when Chathurmukha
Brahma washed the great feet, which became the river Ganga flowing in heavens
and earth etc.

salilaprotthasarAgakamaNivarNochchanakhAde |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 9||

The adjectives used here can be interpreted in different ways. "salilaprottha" - born
out of water - lotus or Nilothpala (blue lotus like flower. Saragaka - having the same
colour as lotus or blue flower. Manivarna - being red like the bead or Padmaragamani.
God's nails Nakha - are Uccha - special and vastly superior, not being made of
physical entities, but consisting in essence of auspicious qualities like Jnana, Ananda
etc. The complete word Salilaprottha . to ucchanakahade" can be interpreted as
referring to the red lotus and red bead whch is used to indicate the colour of the nails
on the Lord's toes. Alternatively, the first word can be interpreted to refer to the blue
Nilothpala, when the adjective applies to the entire body of the Lord. The reference is
to the tips of the nails indicated by Ade - Nakhade.
Acharya Madhva is continuing his contemplation of the Lord's feet - the underside of
the feet being red like the rising Sun, while the tips of the nails on the toes are also
red lke the Padmaragamani, while the feet itself - as the rest of the body - is blue.

PART 10.5

Contd from previous posting

khajatUNInibhapAvanavarajaN^ghAmitashakte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 10||

Khe - Akashe jathah khaja or Indradhanush. The receptacle for the arrows is Thunee.

64
Acharya Madhva is extolling the part of the legs below the knee of the Lord. They are
like and have the radiance of the quiver and the Indradhanush. They are themselves
pure (pavana) and have immense strength (Amitha shakthi). Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha
gives another meaning also - Khaja - He makes His appearance in space for giving
boons to His devotees (Khaja). Khaja can also mean one who is born out of the mind
and senses -
Manolakshanendriyaajaathah - Kama or Manmatha. The Lord's lower limbs are like
the quiver for the flower arrows of Manmatha.
After having described His feet, the next higher part of the Lord's body - the legs
below the knee are described as being of the shape of a divine quiver for flower
arrows of the Love God, Manmatha. They are also radiant like the IndraDhanush in
the sky (Rain bow), they are extremely pure and purify others and they are
immensely strong.
ibhahastaprabhashobhanaparamorustharamAle |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 11||

His thighs are like the trunk of an elephant in shape. The effulgence and beauty of
His thighs has captivated Ramaa, His consort (she sits on His Lap), like a Bee
attracted to a bright object.
Ibha = elephant, hastha = trunk. Prabhaa - effulgence, shobhana - beautiful, parama
- immensely superior , urustha - located in the thigh region, Ramaa - His consort, ale -
like a bee. Another meaning is also suggested by Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha - elephants
have the liquid of their being in heat (Madajala) pouring down their trunks, which
attracts bees by its smell. Similarly, Ramaa is also attracted by His thighs and sits
there.
"Karikaraasakthamadagandhalubdhabhringasya karikaropamorusthitha
ramaayaashcha upamaanaupameyabhavo yukthah"

asanotphullasupushhpakasamavarNAvaraNA.nte |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 12||

Acharya Madhva next describes the wiast/hip portion of the Supreme Being. This is
covered by a golden coloured cloth (Aavaranaanthe). The colour of the dress is
similar to that of the beautiful golden yellow colours of the perfect blooming flowers
of Asana. This flower is called variously Asana, Bandooka or Honne in Kannada. As
appropriate, only the cloth covering this part is described. (uthphulla - blooming, ante
- waist portion).

shatamododbhavasu.ndara varapadmotthitanAbhe |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 13||

He describes the navel of the Lord. His Navel has the divine Lotus coming out of it,
which is beautiful and exquisite. This lotus is the origin of Chathurmukha Brahma,
who creates the world and is called Shathamoda - he has a hundred types of bliss or
great bliss as compared to other Mukthas - Shatha being interpreted as a very large
number. C. Brahma has the names of Shathamoda, Rajah, Murthy, Sathyakah and
Hamsavaahanah. This manner of creation of the entire world has also the allegorical
significance - to show that it does not need the cooperation of any one else, but is
entirely under the control of the Supreme Being. The well known creator amongst the
Thrimurthies - Brahma himself is created by the Supreme Lord, in this manner,
leaving no manner of doubt about the primal cause of the Creation.

jagadAgUhakapallavasamakuxe sharaNAde |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 14||

65
Acharya Madhva describes the stomach portion of the Lord. It covers the entire
Universe in universal dissolution. (The Universe which is visible after creation is
placed in his stomach and becomes invisible in Pralaya.- Jagadaagoohaka). But the
stomach (instead of being a huge and monstrous object), is like a tender leaf. He is
the divine origin and protects all those who are themselves called the refuges or
supports of the world - like Chathurmukha Brahma, Shesha etc.

jagadaMbAmalasu.ndaragR^ihavaxovara yogin.h |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 15||

His chest is next described. It is the perfectly beautiful and

blemishless residence of Ramaa, the Universal mother. He is the greatest Yogi -
Yogeswara. Ramaa, the Abhimani devatha of Prakruthi, which is the transformatory
cause (like mud for a pot) in the creation of the Universe resides in his breast. This is
also an indication that He is not a product of the causes which produce the Universe,
like the Thirgunas etc, but that He is beyond them She is given an honoured place
right near the heart of the Supreme Being also showing their close relationship and
her dependence on Him even for staying.

ditijA.ntaprada chakradaragadAyugvarabAho |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 16||

His arms are described. These exquisite limbs (four in number) hold in them the
Chakra (the great Sudarshana, for which there is no opponent), dara or the conch
(Panchajanya), Gadaa (Kaumodaki) and destroy all daithyas (dithijaanthaprada). The
limbs are a symbol of the quality of protection of the good people and destruction of
the wicked by the Supreme Being. The Geetha shloka - "Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya
glaanirbhavathi bharatha, abhyutthanam adharmsya thadaathmaanam
srujaamyaham" can be remembered.

paramaGYAnamahAnidhivadana shrIramaNe.ndo |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 17||

Acharya Madhva next extols the face of the Lord. His face is
the infinite abode of the greatest Jnana (leading to the great bliss of Mukthi unalloyed
with sorrow) - Paramajnanamahanidhivadana. He is also the Indu or moon which
gives great pleasure to Shree Devi - Shree ramana Indu. An alternative meaning
given by Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha is that He is the Lord of Shree - Shriramana and his
face is like the full moon. The most significant point conveyed here is that the face of
Sri Hari is the source of all auspicious Jnana - the Vedas and Smrithis leading to
redemption - in his forms as Hayagriva - udgeeryanthe anisham yathah. At the
beginning of each Kalpa, Chathurmukha Brahma is reimparted all the knowledge of
the eternal Vedas which are always present in the mind of the Lord. As Vedavyasa, He
has classified the Vedas and created the Suthras, Ithihasa and Puranas containing all
Jnana.

nikhilAghaughavinAshana parasaukhyapradadR^ishhTe |
karuNApUrNavarapradacharitaM GYApaya me te || 18||

His kind glance at the devotee is next described. It is capable of destroying in one
time the infinite binding karmas - specially the sins and give the matchless bliss of
Mukthi. This shloka also contains some important tenets from the Shashthras and
needs further elaboration. As the Jiva is Anadi or without beginning, he carries a
burden of Karma always which increases with time continuously. In Krishnamrutha
Maharnava, Acharya Madhva quotes this text:

66
"Jivamshchathurdashaadoordhwam purusho nimishena thu
sthreevaapyanoonadashakam deham maanushamaarjathe"
"Chathurdashordhwajeevee thu samsarashchaadivarjithah
avidithvaa param devam mokshashaa kaa mahaamune"
Any one who has crossed the age of 14 years will be accumalating Karma which is
adequate for tens of lives, every instant of their life. The Samsara is beginningless.
Therefore how can one aspire for Moksha without understanding God. There are some
schools of thought which hold that Karma has to be reduced only by suffering it. This
applies both to Punya and Paapa. But, with the rate of accumalation being far larger
than its reduction due to suffering its fruits, there is just no way for the ever
increasing burden to be ever reduced, let alone destroyed totally, which is essential
for attaining Moksha. It is also not correct as the Mimasakas and others hold that the
jada Karma can cause action and give results by itself. Only a Chethana can do so.
Thus, only the Supreme Being can by His grace, rid us of its malefic effects. This is
the reason why we say in Pooja every day - "Aayathabhyaam vishaalaabhyaam
sheethalaabhyaam kripanidhe, karunaarasapoornabhyaam lochanaabhyaam
vilokaya" - Pls look at me with your eyes which are big, deep, cool and dripping with
kindness towards me (your devotee). The kind glance of the Lord siginifies alleviation
from suffering, destruction of sins and removal of the veil of ignorance which causes
us to go after the trivialities of life, instead of using it for the attainment of His grace.
The kind glance and the gentle smile at the puny effrorts of His devotees are God's
ways of rewarding him with His greatest gifts. It is but proper that Acharya Madhva
has, in this sthothra, where he has described the limbs of the Lord ends up in that
part which is seen last by the devotee and which confers on him the desired goal of
redemption.

paramAna.ndasutIrthamunirAjo harigAthAm.h |
kR^itavAnnityasupUrNakaparamAna.ndapadaishhi.h || 19||

Acharya Madhva is signing his name to this sthothra by indicating the name given by
his Guru - Ananda Tirtha. The two parts of the name Ananda and Tirtha are qualified
as Paramaananda and Suthirtha. There by, Acharya is conveying that he is not just
saying that it is his composition, but intends to say much more. It is clear that he is
not in the habit of calling himself by superlatives on account of his own sense of
importance - as he has used names such as Ananda Tirtha (3 rd, 7th , 11th , 12th ),
Poorna Prajna ( 3rd ), Sukha Tirtha (4th, 6th ) , Ananda Suthirtha ( 5th ), Nandi Tirtha (
8th ) , Urusukhatirtha (9th ). The adjectives Parama, Uru etc are used to indicate that
Ananda in his name is to be interpreted in a yaugika manner - as the superior bliss
that is part of the swaroopa of a Mukthi yogya Jiva. The word Tirtha means Shasthras
that give such a gift as its result. "Parama uthkrushtah aanandah swaroopanandah
yasmaath thadrusham suthirtham sacchaasthram yasya thaadrushah" - In Sri
Vishvapathi Tirtha's words. He is also a Muniraja - king of ascetics. He has composed
this Harigatha - or prayer to Sri Hari as a gatha or Katha or poem. Sri Vishvapathi
Tirtha gives another meaning also - Paramaananda is the Supreme Being in the
incarnation of Badarayana, being of the essence of infinite bliss. Shobanam tirtham
guruh yasya sah chaasau - one who has Badarayana as His Guru. The objective of
this composition is stated in the second line - Nithya supoornaka paramaananda pada
- eternal, complete, matchless blissful state which is Mukthi. If one interprets this line
as applicable to a great devotee like Acharya Madhva, it could also be interpreted to
mean as adjectives of the Supreme being Himself - Nithya, Supoorna, Paramaanada,
whose Pada or feet are being sought as the reward of this prayer. One recollects the
Bhagavatha texts which convey that an Yekantha Bhaktha does not even seek
Mukthi, but would look for complete Padaseva of the Lord as his eternal goal. There
are many other thoughts that could be developed arising out of the words of Acharya
Madhva, but enough for the present context.

67
This sthothra and the next, emphasise the attribute Ananda or Bliss of the Supreme
Being - as he is source-giver of all bliss of all souls (the infinite souls already in
Mukthi, and the infinite ones who will follow them in future. He is thus called Ananda -
the very personification of Bliss itself - eternal, complete, matchless and flawless,
without a trace of sorrow. unlike earlier stothras, where the different incarnations of
the Supreme Being are mentioned, here the emphasis is on the Redeeming form of
Vishnu which is worshipped by all great gods themselves. There is an implied
reference to the first Brahma
suthra - Om AthAthO BrahmajijnAsA - where the word Athah (the second) is
interpreted as Hethvartha - indicating the reason for one to carry out Brahma JijnAsA.
While different Acharyas have interpreted the meaning of this simple word
differently, Acharya Madhva has interpreted it as the attainment of the state of Bliss
and being freed from the sorrows of samsara. He quotes:
"Thamevam vidvAnamrutha iva bhavathi" - only be knowing Him, will one obtain
Mukthi in this world.(Upanishad)
"Priyohi jnAninOthvartham aham sacha mama priyah" - I am dearest to the learned
person and he is dearest to me.(Geetha)
"Yamevaisha vrunuthe thEna labhyah" - He is attained only by him (soul) whom He
chooses. (Upanishad)
"AthmA vA arE drastavyah shrOthavyah manthavyO nidhidhyAsithavyah" - He should
be the object of listening, contemplated, meditated and finally "seen".(Upanishad)
Thus the attainment of Mukthi, which is of the nature of complete freedom from
obscuring beginningless Ajnana, realisation up the limits of one's capacity of the true
nature of the Supreme Being, himself and the fundamental relationship between each
other, which is one of Giver and Taker, Independent and totally dependent etc.,
unfettered and eternal enjoyment of Bliss which constitutes the soul's own nature,
being freed from the external envelopes of the three Gunas which are truly
responsible for bondage in Samsara, which should be the objective of all, can only be
achieved by the grace of the Supreme Being, Narayana. An important element of this
is the worship of the Supreme Being by His four attributes - Sath, Chith, Aathma and
Ananda. The repeated use of Ananda in this shloka is a directive to the devotee to
contantly remember Him by these attributes - specially Ananda or Bliss, also
simultaneously reminding him of the fact that He is the only giver of Bliss, which is
the only goal worth going to the Supreme Being for and the soul itself is of the nature
of Bliss, which is obscured in Samsara.
One is also reminded of the shloka in Sumadhvavijaya -
"AnandarUpasya parasya pAthradhI
AnandasandAyisushAsthrakruthsa yath
AnadathIrthethipadam gurUditham
babhUva thasyAthyanurUparUpakam?
Simple translation - Sri Achyutha Prajna named his new disciple AnandatIrtha. the
latter was always having his mind fixed on the Supreme Being of the nature of bliss,
and has composed the Shasthra (Tatvavada) which gives Ananda or bliss, to the
seeker. One is also tempted to conclude that the very use of the words Ananda - in
each shloka to describe the Supreme being, followed by the last shloka where he has
used his name Ananda TIrtha, with the appelation Muni attached is indicative as very
brief paraphrasing of the shloka in Sumadhvavijaya. The Phala shruthi in the last
shloka confirms this view, as he says, that the devotee (who is totally immersed in
God) and recites this stothra will attain Mukthi of the nature of innate Bliss.
A few comments may be in order here. One should always go to a person who
is in a position to give gifts of the kind one seeks. Bliss can only be given one who is
Himself full of unlimited bliss, rather than one, who is provided with limited stocks of

68
it or who himself has to get it from another. Except a few die-hards who want to limit
Mukthi to a negative connotation of freedom from sorrow or freedom from all feelings
(both bliss and sorrow), one should like to have unlimited bliss after working hard for
it to secure Mukthi. Similarly one should approach the person responsible for one's
bondage for freedom, rather than an underling, who can at best pass on the request
of the prisoner. The Vedas proclaim from housetops that Vishnu alone is the giver of
Mukthi and none other. Similarly when one approaches the emperor one does not
waste such a chance by asking for a small impermanent favour, but should ask for
some thing lasting, appropriate for oneself and which enables him to please the
emperor always in future. Thus, any shasthra which would be worth persuing would
show us the way to permanent freedom from the travails of samsara. Bliss up the
limit of one's capacity and a true devotional relationship with the Supreme Being,
based on the fundamental realities of the essence of the entities. This is Tatvavada.

The aptness of worshipping the Lord named Ananda for obtaining final redemption
from Samsara, which is also of the form of Ananda (bliss) in the manner taught by
Ananda Tirtha was briefly discussed in the first part. Before going into the meanings
of the stanzas, I would like to mention a few more interesting facets of this stothra.
Though the name Ananda mentioned here as referring to the Supreme Being is
actually symbolic of His countless, beginningless, eternal, and matchless auspicious
qualities, it is really very appropriate to worship Him through the one quality -
Ananda (bliss), which becomes most significant to the souls. For instance, when
discussing the creation of the world of matter and the souls, a question is raised by
Acharya Madhva in Anuvyakhyana (as explained in Nyaya Sudha)when explaining the
meaning of the Suthra - Aum Na praypjanavathvAth. This question is fundamental
and has to answered by any one postulating a theory of Creation by a Creator. Does
God have any benefit out of such creation or not?. If He secures some benefit from it,
obviously He lacks it before and hence is Apoorna or incomplete without it. If He gets
no benefit from such creation, it is clear that He is doing an aimless act, which can
not be accepted from a Sarvajna. Hence, it will have to be concluded that He is not
the Creator at all. Upanishad passages extol Him as Ananda, Niranishta and Parama -
being of the form of Bliss, who is free from all sorrow and blemish and is Supreme.
The Suthra Na prayojanavathvAth answers the question - God does not secure any
benefit from all these activities for HIMSELF. "Lokavatthu LIlAkaivalyam" answers the
point as to why He does some thing which is basically useless inspite of His being
Independent, All knowing and Supreme. God carries out all these acts - like Creation,
Sustenance and Destruction etc as a Sport, in the same manner as an Intoxicated
person dances and moves his limbs etc wantonly. Narayana samhitha explains thus -
Hari does not have any benefit from Creation etc , but does it only as an expression
of His unbounded, matchless Bliss (Ananda), in the same manner as an Intoxicated
person dances. As even the Mukthas who have secured His grace obtain all that they
want or desire just by desiring it, the Supreme Being who gives them Mukthi,
obviously can not ever need anything for which He has to perform any actions.
Acharya Madhva explains further that it is the Svabhava (Innate nature) of the
Supreme Being to perform these actions.
There is an interesting passage in MAndUkya Upanishad which Madhva quotes
in Anuvyakhyana:
"VibhUthim prasavam thvanyE manyanthE srushtichinthakAh
svapnamAyAsarUpEthi srushtiranyairvikalpithA
icchAmAthram prabhOh srushtirithi srushtau vinischithah
kAlAth prasUthim bhUthAnAm manyanthe kAlachinthakAh
bhogartham srushtirithyanyE krIdArthamithi chAparE
devasyaisha svabhAvOyam ApthakAmasya kA spruhEthi"
Simplified transaltion:

69
Those who think about creation hold that Creation is the modification of Brahman
Himself as the world (of matter and souls). Some imagine that Creation is like a that
of a Dream projection or magic. Some think that Creation is born of Time. Those who
know the position correctly hold that Creation is due to the Will of the Lord. Some
think that Creation is for the purpose of enjoyment of God. Others think that it for
sport. How ever, it is due to the very nature of God to create, as He has already all
His desires fulfilled.
While it is true that He has no desire of His own to be fulfilled, it is also true that in
the infinite mercy and love that God really has for the souls, who are totally
depnedent on Him, he engages is the activities of Creation etc for their benefit.
It would thus be seen that the quality of Infinite Bliss in the
Supreme Being also necessitates His total independence from every one, every thing
and every need. This quality which is His essence itself, expresses itself in the
manner of redeeming all the souls depending on Him, by giving them all
opportunities of securing Jnana, Bhakthi etc, finally leading to emancipation. Thus
God performs the extremely massive and complex actions involved in Creation etc of
the world out of the fullness of His Bliss for the benefit of the souls. Thus when
Acharya Madhva asks us in Anubhashya - "SacchidAnanda AthmEthi mAnushaih" - to
understand the Supreme being as Athman (inner controller), Sath (Creator and the
most Real of all the Reals), Ananda (bliss) and Chith (only of the essence of Chethana
and being totally free from the actions of jada entities - such as Sathva, Rajas and
Thamas) - He would be expecting us to understand the implications of the four words,
as explaining His nature. It is therefore very pertinent that an aspirant for Mukthi,
who has seen beyond the worldly pleasures, which are transient, combined with
misery and sorrow and which usually lead to further bondage, must worship the
Supreme Being as the very embodiment or ocean of true Bliss, which he seeks.

In the earlier parts, the aptness of Ananda Tirtha extolling the Ananda form of the
Supreme Being by a sthothra which when recited with full understanding of the
meanings gives Ananda in Mukthi was briefly described. Also, the meaning of the
word Ananda when applied as a name of the Supreme Being was briefly discussed.
Before getting into the actual verses themselves, it is necessary to go into the nature
of Ananda in Mukthi as well as the difference in Ananda or Bliss between the
Supreme Being and the souls as determined by Ananda Tirtha.. There are usually
three expressive words in english language to describe the mental states agreeable
to us - Pleasure, Happiness and Bliss. Some times they are used interchangeably. My
intention here is not to discuss their derivation or usage practices of the words.
Broadly, the word pleasure is used to describe the agreeable sensations obtained
through the senses, Happiness is considered as a state of mind and Bliss is
considered as a state of the deepest portions of the mind or Spirit.
Pleasure requires the meeting of the objects, the appropriate sense in fit condition,
and their coming together in a fashion leading to the feelings originated in the body
by it, giving us a sense of agreeableness of the experience in the mind. The
limitations of pleasure as a source of continued agreeable experience are well known
as arising out of its nature - the inescapable necessity of the object, Law of
diminishing returns, Satiety and needs of variety, invariable accompaniment with
some pain, before, during and after the experience, limitations of the senses
themselves etc. The hidden penalty that Nature imposes such as concomitant
bondage of the mind and body to the object of pleasure (Abhimana) leading to
suffering and pain when separated from it, transient nature of the experience,
inaccurate estimation of the merits of the pleasure-object when the mind is clouded
in its judgement when efforts are made to obtain it leading to misery and even
hatred towards the same object later etc are not realised by superficial thinking. It is
a fact that all of us are built in a such a way as to strive for pleasure always, and it is
a great thing involving excellent self-control if we can stop our minds to go after it,

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even when it is really not in our interest to do so. All these thoughts are well
expressed by Krishna when he says in the Geetha - "YathathO hyapi kaunthEya
purushasya vipashchithah indriyAni pramatheeni haranthi prasabham manah" - 2.60
The overpowering and turbulent senses forcibly carry away the mind of even the wise
man striving hard (to control them).
"IndriyAnAm hi charathAm yanmanO anu vidheeyathE
thadasya harathi prajnAm vayurnAvamivambhasi" - 2.67
When the mind goes after the senses that wander amongst objects, his proper
understanding and conclusions are lost, like a ship being carried away in the seas by
a wind.
"IndriyasyendriyasArthE rAgadveshau vyavasthithau
thayOna vashamAgacchEth thau hyasya paripanthinau" - 3.35
In respect of the specific object of each sense, likes and dislikes necessarily rise up.
Let no one come under their sway, as they are surely his enemies.
" YE hi samsparshajA bhogA dukhayOnaya yEva thE
Adyanthavanthah kaunthEya na thEshu ramathE budhaH" - 5.22
When pleasures result from the contact of senses, they are only sources of misery.
They have a beginning and an end. No wise man delights in them. Happiness on the
other hand is usually considered as a state of the mind, which is thus a product of an
internal sense of validity, acceptability, values etc along with an agreeable state of
external environment. The senses may not be involved directly, though the mind will
get disturbed from its equanimity by disagreeable sensations. Happiness of the mind
necessitates some achievement of internal goals such as success in competition,
power or position, fraternal feelings and companionship with agreeable persons etc.
A little thought will show that even here, to the extent that our feeling of Happiness is
dependent on externals which are not in our control, the possibility of misery can not
be ruled out. Further many of the causes of Happiness have in-built limiting or
destroying features - as one gets jaded quickly and looks for more such or other
means for being happy. But unlike the purely body-limited type of sensual pleasures,
Happiness is more refined and can be sublimated by training and practice into higher
selfless goals, not likely to lead to misery and sorrow. Bliss is considered to be the
deepest spiritual experience where one is virtually free from the effects of
environment and externals and the cause is considered as pertaining to the deepest
core of the personality. Now let us look at the description of Bliss in the Geetha-

"SarvakarmAni manasA sanyasthAsthe sukham vashee

navadvArE purE dEhE naiva kurvannakArayan" 5.13

The soul, who is the dweller in the body with nine doors, who dedicates all his actions
to God and having control over the senses remains happy, neither acting himself nor
causing others to act. (as he understands that God is the Doer and not himself).
"bAhyasparshEshvasakthAthmA vindanthyAthmani yathsukham
sa brahmayOgayukthAthmA sukhamakshayamashnuthE" 5.21
He whose mind is unattached to the external objects with which the senses come into
contact like a sannyasi and feels internal joy in himself, will secure imperishable bliss
with his mind devoted to meditation of Brahman.
"yOnthah sukhOantharArAmasthathAntharjyothireva yah
sa yOgee brahmanirvAnam brahmabhutho adhigacchathi" 5.24
He who enjoys happiness within (which is manifested when the torments of desire,
anger etc are eradicated), whose pleasures all lie within himself, and to whom God
has revealed His splendid form, is a Yogi and goes to Brahman who has no material
body, being totally devoted to Him.
"YathrOparamathE chittham niruddham yOgasEvayA
yathra chaivAthmanAthmanam pashyannAthmani thushyathi"
With the practice of Yoga and mind arrested withdrawing itself from external objects

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and activities, the Yogi sees the Lord through his mind and rejoices. 6.20
"SukhamAthyanthikam yatthathbuddhigrAhyam atheendriyam
vEtthi yathra na chaivAyam sthithaschalathi thathvathah" 6.21
That state in which he finds supreme bliss, which is realised directly by the self and is
beyond ordinary sense experience and where his mind is not disturbed or diverted
from the divine form.
These quotes are illustrative and not exhaustive.
It can therefore be concluded that Ananda being described here is not sensual or
mental, but is one of the Spirit. Its is centered on the realisation of the Supreme
Being in himself as his AathmA (inner controller), source of innumerable auspicious
qualities and his greatest benefactor. All others pleasures and sources of mental
happiness are rejected as they are like the glowworm in front of the Sun.
Now let us look at what the Taittirya Upanishad described as the Ananda of the
Supreme Being and Muktha souls.
In 2.7, the shruthi says: "KO hyEvyAnyAth kah prAnyAth yadEsha
Akasha AnandO na syAth". - If Vishnu is not full of infinite bliss (Ananda Paripoorna),
Who else (other than Vishnu) could create, control and activate the world?
Acharya Madhva/Sri Jayatirtha explain the text thus: If one has to strive and perform
actions, one has to have one of the following four reasons - i. When he is full of Bliss
(happiness, pleasure) - as when he dances, ii. When afflicted with great sorrow -
when he cries uncontrollably - In these cases, the reactions are not identified as
productive of any benefit, but are spontaneous reactions to the bliss/sorrow. iii. To
secure freedom from sorrow, iv. To secure happiness, pleasure etc. - In such cases,
there is a directed effort at getting what one wants and getting rid of what he does
not want. In the case of the Supreme Being, the two reasons (ii. And iii. do not exist,
as being a Sarva Shaktha/Karthru (All powerful/All Doer), He is never going to be
afflicted with sorrow. Similarly, He does not have the last reason, as He is the only
Doer and Independent entity in the world and thus can not secure any thing that He
does not have already. This leaves only the first reason, that He acts out of His
Infinite and matchless Bliss, in the same manner as an intoxicated person dances
with sheer happiness. Considering the immense magnitude of the creation,
maintenance etc of the Universe, it is clear that the Supreme Being with His infinite
capacities must also have Infinite Bliss to match. The very existence of the world and
activities of living beings etc is thus proof that God is full of Infinite Bliss. Unlike the
bliss of all others including Lakshmi, His Bliss is untramelled by any one else. Lakshmi
bliss is superior to all others as she is Nithya-muktha and has never been subject to
ignorance which acts as a veil on her true essence, like all other souls. In the
manthras 2- (17-28), the Upanishad describes the gradation of Bliss (Ananda) in the
liberated souls. In the present context, it is not appropriate to go into this subject -
but the nature of the bliss is also described, which will be mentioned here:
The lowest level of Bliss mentioned in the Upanishad is that of
the World-emperor, who is Shrothriya (one who has realised the full results of study of
scriptures and has become Muktha) and akAmahatha (one who has no desires to
fulfill - as he has attained all his desires). Such a person who owns the entire earth
with all its gifts of wealth, who has no abnormalities, who is all powerful etc is
considered to have ONE unit of Bliss. The gradation of bliss given thereafter in the
Upanishad is - Manushya-gandharva, Deva-gandharva, Chira-Pithrus, AjAnaja-
devatha, Karma-deva, Thathvika-devatha, Daksha, Indra, Rudra, Brahma
(Chathurmukha). Each succeding one has 100 times (Shatha) the bliss of the prvious
class. The actual enjoyment may be even 1000 or infinite times more because in
addition to the bliss being quantitatively more by a hundred times, it is Sphuta
(clearer and more enjoyable) by the possessor. An example is given here of the Sun
in comparison to an equally big fire (the context is that of brilliance). Each person has
clearer appreciation of their essence (Swaroopa) of Jnana, Devotion to Vishnu,
Strength etc. Desires in the Muktha souls are not external to them due to the action

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of the three gunas etc as in samsara, but are in the nature of their essence itself.
Thus all their desires are instantly attained. The gradation of Bliss is to be understood
as indicative of the infinite bliss of the Supreme Being and of the great bliss of
superior souls who have their attributes far greater than us. The bliss of good
Manusha souls inferior to that of manushya-emperors is to be considered as a
hundredth in the same manner.
The Bliss of the Mukthas is therefore to be understood as being of the essence of the
soul itself and is attained always. All their desires are realised instantly due to the
ever-present grace of the Almighty. Being totally free from the effects of the three
gunas, it is unmixed with sorrow in the least and is dependent on no one else except
God. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also upholds and supports the same concepts of
Taratamya or gradation of the Muktha souls. It also makes the point that God denies
no request of the Muktha souls and their combined bliss is like a drop in the ocean of
Bliss that Sri Hari is. Though their swaroopa is intrinsically one of knowledge and
bliss, their actual enjoyment of bliss is with the will of the Supreme Being even in
Moksha. All these pramanas indicate the mental perspective one should have when
he worships God as Ananda with a correct understanding of His nature, whereby he
secures the state of complete bliss, up to the limits of his innate capacity.
There is one more aspect of understanding the use of the word Ananda in this
context. The Muktha souls have a body made of pure Chethana, which is of their
essence and their enjoyment of bliss is compared to the enjoyment which one has in
dreams, where even though there is no awareness of his body, he still experiences
pleasure etc. But, at his own will, he can also take a body made of pure sathva guna,
which is then used as a means for enjoyment. But just like a lamp uses the oil in it
leaving out all others like wick, impurities etc, his enjoyment will be pure and
unaffected by the entry of Sathva guna and will on no account have any sorrow
mixed with it. He will never have to submit as in Samsara to the control of inferior
souls, but will be part of a natural order of gradation, where he will offer his respects
to superior souls who had helped him in his Sadhana period. Chapter 11 of
Sumadhvavijaya also describes poetically the bliss of Mukthas living in the glorious
Vaikunta Loka, where worldly pleasures like Love are also enjoyed without any
admixture of sorrow or baseness. There is no prescription of duties or controls on the
Mukthas, but some of them may continue to do many of the Pre-Mukthi activities like
worship, Yajnas etc in the fullness of their bliss. They may adore the majesty of God
and worship Him in a thousand ways. Some of them may go all round the world, even
in Lokas which are resided by souls awaiting liberation. Mukthi is thus complete self-
expression, self-manifestation and self-realisation. Some of the Mukthas enjoy their
bliss through the limbs of God Himself.

Though the introduction to this sthothra was rather long, I have felt that it is fully
justified as it is important to have the mental background of the nature of the
Supreme Being being termed Ananda here and the Phala sthuthi in the end which
indicates that the final fruit of this sthothra is the Swaroopa-ananda of Mukthi. Now
let us go into each sthothra shloka -

udIrNamajaraM divyaM amR^itasya.ndyadhIshituH |

Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 1||
I offer my prostrations with great devotion to the feet (or Swaroopa) of Sri Hari, the
Supreme Being, who is the master of the Universe, whose essence is of the nature of
Bliss, which is respectfully prostrated to by Gods headed by Brahma (Chathurmukha),
Indra etc. His form is the greatest (superlative in all respects), indestructible, and
beyond the constraints imposed by nature and It sprinkles the divine nectar of Bliss
of the Moksha (on souls which attain liberation).

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sarvavedapadodgItaM i.ndirAvAsamuttamam.h |
Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 2||
I offer .. Indra etc. His form (Ananda) is extolled as the
most superior by all the Vedas, superior to all else and is the place where
Mahalaskhmi resides.

sarvadevAdidevasya vidAritamahattamaH |
Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 3||
I offer .. Indra etc. He is the primal cause of all the Gods (being their creator and
inner controller) and He destroys the primordial sin (Ajnana), which is otherwise
impossible to overcome.

udAramAdarAnnityaM ani.ndyaM su.ndarIpateH |

Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 4||
I offer .. Indra etc. He is the Lord of Mahalakshmi, the personification of beauty
(Sundari). He is eternal (Nithya) being unchanged in any manner in space, time or
qualities. He is beyond reproach. He is the greatest.

i.ndIvarodaranibhaM supUrNaM vAdimohanam.h |

Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 5||
I offer .. Indra etc. He is of the colour of the interior of the Blue Lotus (Nilothpala), He
is full of auspicious qualities and He gives Mithya Jnana (wrong knowledge) to evil
persons (who argue for untrue philosophical systems). (The souls get knowledge only
with the will and pleasure of the Inner controller, God, through the Tatvabhimani
devathas according to their innate worth and past deeds. Thus our getting true
knowledge is also by the grace of God).

dAtR^isarvAmaraishvaryavimuktyAderaho param.h |
Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 6||
I offer .. Indra etc. He is the greatest and the giver of all Aishwarya (all attributes of
enjoyment like wealth, power, etc) and final release from Samsara and all such gifts
to all the gods. The poet exclaims Aho! - what a wonder, at this. (Though only
Aishwarya and Vimukthi are specfically mentioned here all other attributes and gifts
to the souls such as their very existence, creation, knowledge, devotion and
liberation etc are exclusively by God). The exclamation is indicative of admiration and
devotion.

dUrAddurataraM yattu tadevAntikamantikAt.h |

Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 7||
I offer .. Indra etc. His Feet (Swaroopa) are farther than the most far off object to
those who are not His devotees, but they are the nearer than the most near object to
His devotees. (He is attainable only by His own will - Yenam mochayami - I will
redeem this one, and only devotion is the means for attaining His lotus feet).

pUrNasarvaguNairkArNamanAdya.ntaM sureshituH |
Anan.dasya padaM vande brahmendrAdi abhiva.nditam.h || 8||
I offer .. Indra etc. He is complete (lacking nothing in all respects). He is the main
repository of all auspicious qualities like Jnana, Ananda etc, He is the Lord of all gods
and is without beginning or end. Sri Vishvapathi Tirtha shows that the words
Sarvagunaikarnam - can be interpreted to mean the only main repository, or ocean of
all auspicious qualities.

Ana.ndatIrthamuninA harerAna.ndarUpiNaH |
kR^itaM stotramidaM puNyaM paThannAna.ndamApnuyAt.h || 9||
The devotee who recites this auspicious sthothra of Sri Hari, who is Himself of the

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nature of Bliss, composed by Ananda Tirtha Muni will attain Mukthi, which is an
expression of innate Bliss of his own self.

This is the smallest and with apparently few adjectives used to describe the Supreme
Being. The comment of Sri Visvapathi Tirtha also contents itself by giving word
meanings. But he makes a significant observation - "IdAneem
srimadAnandatheerthAchArya varyah gOvindAnugrahah svasmin varthathe ithi
darshayan" - Here, Srimadanandatirtha showing that he has the blessings of Govinda
- etc. Before giving the individual meanings, perhaps we may notice one feature here.
In the previous sthothra (11 th) we have seen that there is a phala sthuthi at the end
promising Moksha - Ananda for those devotees who have recited the same with
devotion to the Ananda form of the Supreme Being, who is Bliss incarnate. This
sthothra also starts from the same word and ends with the same word. One can
conjecture the great Bliss of a Jeevotthama like Acharya Madhva, who has recited
with great devotional fervour the entire Dvadasha sthothra (11 sections) and who has
virtually attained Jivanmukthi. It is therefore not surprising that he repeats again the
blissful state he is in derived from that ocean of bliss he is in passionate love with
and which he has extolled so well earlier. A shloka from Sumadhvavijaya may be
recalled –
"Amithapramathim shruhteeshwarah parirebhe parigruhya tham drutham
pranayaamruthapoornamanasah smithavakthrah pariphullalochanah"

The Supreme Being (Veda Vyasa form) who is the Lord of the Vedas, and with His
mind full of love towards His devotee (approaching Him) embraced Acharya Madhva
of unlimited knowledge holding him close with eyes opened in joy and with a smile on
His face.
God always reciprocates our feelings towards Him, returning what ever we offer
multiplied greatly. That is why He said - "Mama pranaah hi paandavaah". It is not
surprising that He would return a superlative love for His devotee Acharya Madhva,
who has demonstrated his great love for Him by his actions, compositions and
thoughts. It is Madhva who wrote - "Sannamaami, preyaso me,. " and such evocative
words. Unlike most of us, God was an ever present reality to him, of whom he was
aware all the time and whom he did not lose any opportunity to worship or extol.
Such a person would always be in a state of bliss due to his proximity with the
Supreme Being - which is best expressed by the Sumadhvavijaya shloka - (Madhva
says to Lord Narayana - May your blessings be always on me in the form of the nectar
of continuous worship to you. I can not get such a bliss which is the most superior
one in all the three worlds.
If one notes that it is Madhva singing mellifluously his twelfth sthothra, it is possible
to appreciate a little of what he says (Leshathah).
Now let us take up the individual shlokas -

Ana.ndamukunda aravindanayana |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 1||
The second line which is common to all shlokas is addressing the Supreme Being as
the one who gives ParAnanda - Bliss of Mukthi to me, Ananda Tirtha. The meaning of
the first line is only given against each shloka. The Lord is addressed here as Ananda
- Abode of Bliss, Mukunda - giver of Mukthi, and Aravindanayana
- One with Lotus eyes.

su.ndarIma.ndiragovi.nda vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 2||
The meaning of the first line is - Sundarimandira - abode of Mahalakshmi, the most
beautiful woman in the universe, Govinda - Krishna, the upholder of the Vedas, the
protector of cows, vedas and the good people of the world.

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chandrasurendrasuvandita vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 3||
You are offered prostration with great devotion by Chandra and Indra, the lord of
gods.
.
chandrakama.ndirana.ndaka vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 4||
You are wearing peacock feathers with the shape of the moon on your head and you
are always perfect with bliss.

vR^i.ndArakavR^i.ndasuva.ndita vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 5||
You are worshipped with great devotion by the groups of gods headed by Brahma etc.

ma.ndArasUnasucharchita vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 6||
You are worshipped with (divine) Parijatha flowers.

in.dirA.ana.ndaka su.ndara vande |

Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 7||
You are the giver of bliss to Indira (your consort) and you are exquisite in your beauty.

ma.ndirasya.ndanasya.ndaka vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 8||
You shower your blessings in the form of Bliss on those who
perform service in your mansions (in Vaikunta). [Only the most superior souls headed
by Chathurmukha Brahma etc would be able to have this great opportunity of serving
the Supreme Being in bringing water etc in His own house.

Ana.ndachandrikAsya.ndaka vande |
Ana.ndatIrtha parAna.ndavarada || 9||
Your blessings are like the exquisite moon light showering Bliss on all the Muktha
souls. (Just as Moonlight gives peace, tranquility and happiness to those on whom it
falls, God's blessings give Bliss totally free from sorrow and travails of the samsara
and with the ability to get any desire instantly gratified. Note the shlokas 4 & 5 do not
appear in the commentary of Sri Vishvapathitirtha.
This completes the Twelfth sthothra.

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