SrIvaikuNta Gadhyam

SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
paramapadhanAthan – paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam)
SrI rAmAnuja – SrIrangam
periyavAchchAn piLLai
http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/ 1 http://koyil.org
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
dhivya prabandham – translations project

SrI:
SrImathE satakOpAya nama:
SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:
SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
dhivya prabandhams are the most essential aspect of SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam.

AzhwArs who were blessed by SrIman nArAyaNan’s causeless mercy, sung many
prabandhams in the ancient thamizh language which became to be known as dhivya
prabandham. The importance of dhivya prabandham is greatly highlighted by azhagiya
maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr in AchArya hrudhayam. AchArya hrudhayam fully reveals
the divine heart and emotions of nammAzhwAr. nAyanAr explains that one becomes
established in SrIvaishNava principles by first learning the thiruvAimozhi text, then
understanding the meanings and finally living by the same. Here, thiruvAimozhi is
explained as upalakshaNam (example) for all dhivya prabandhams.
These dhivya prabandhams were greatly appreciated by our AchAryas and especially
SrI rAmAnuja ushered in a new era of our sampradhAyam which fully focussed on
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
understanding the meanings of the dhivya prabandhams and living by it. SrI rAmAnuja’s
1000th birth anniversary is approaching us soon in May 2017. To commemorate this
most glorious and auspicious occasion, we are providing simple translation of the
dhivya prabandhams in our http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org website. These
translations are done fully based on pUrvAchArya vyAkyAnams.
We pray to SrIman nArAyaNan, AzhwArs and AchAryas to guide us in this effort and
make this kainkaryam a successful one which will benefit SrIvaishNavas of different
regions (who are familiar with different languages, etc).
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
Preface
SrI:
SrImathE satakOpAya nama:
SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:
SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
SrIrangaAthan – mUlavar and uthsavar – SrIrangam
SrI rAmAnuja – SrIrangam
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
periyavAchchAn piLLai
After SrIranga gadhyam, bhagavath rAmAnuja continues to recite SrIvaikuNta gadhyam

in glorification of paramapadhanAthan and his divine abode paramapadham
(SrIvaikuNtam) . Let us enjoy this treatise now.
 thaniyan (Invocation)
 pravESam (Introduction)
 chUrNai 1
 Part 1
 Part 2
 Part 3
 chUrNai 2
 chUrNai 3
 Part 1
 Part 2
 Part 3
 Part 4
 chUrNai 4
 chUrNai 5
 chUrNai 6
Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
Source: http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2016/03/srivaikunta-gadhyam/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
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dhurmuki – Adi 27 – visAgam (August 11th, 2016)
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
Topic of Contents
thaniyan .................................................................................................................... 8
pravESam ................................................................................................................ 10
1st chUrNai Part 1 .................................................................................................. 14
1st chUrNai Part 2 .................................................................................................. 21
1st chUrNai Part 3 .................................................................................................. 28
2nd chUrNai ............................................................................................................ 34
3rd chUrNai Part 1 .................................................................................................. 36
3rd chUrNai Part 2 .................................................................................................. 42
3rd chUrNai Part 3 .................................................................................................. 51
3rd chUrNai part 4 .................................................................................................. 57
4th chUrNai ............................................................................................................. 62
5th chUrNai ............................................................................................................. 64
6th chUrNai ............................................................................................................. 66
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
thaniyan
ALavandhAr (yAmunAchAryar) – kAttu mannAr kOyil
yAmunArya sudhAmbhOdhim avagAhya yathAmathi

AdhAya bhakthiyOgAkhyam rathnam sandharSayAmyaham II
Explanatory Notes:
yAmunArya – yAmunAcharya (ALavandhAr, one of the principal preceptors in our

SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam, who was the grandson of nAthamunigaL and the
AchAryar for all 5 AchAryas ofrAmAnujar)
sudhA – nectar
ambhOdhim – in the ocean
avagAhya – take a deep dive
yathAmathi – to the extent that there is knowledge (or intelligence)
AdhAya – to bring
bhakthi – devotion
yOgAkhyam – called (or named) as bhakthi yOgam
rathnam – ruby
sandharSayAmyaham – aham – I; sandharSayAmi – show. I show to you.
Since it says in the end that “I show it to you”, it is possible that bhagavadh SrI
rAmAnujar himself would have compiled this thaniyan. Or it is possible that one of his
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
disciples would have written this, in the way that SrI rAmAnujar himself would have
compiled it.
From where did he get this ruby? It was obtained from the ocean which is the nectar like
bhakthi of yAmunAcharyar (SrI ALavandhAr). He (SrI rAmAnuja) had taken a deep dive
into the ocean of bhakthi of SrI yAmunAchAryar and brought out this ruby which is
called as bhakthi yOgam (devotional attachment). And, he goes to explain this to us to
the extent that he has knowledge about it. This would sound strange coming from such
a great and knowledgeable person like SrI rAmAnuja. Here “yathAmathi” (to the extent
that there is knowledge) would apply to us who have limited knowledge to absorb what
he says.
We are discussing about gadhyathrayam, in which the principal path shown is

SaraNAgathi (surrendering). bhakthiyOgam is meant for capable people (such as rishis
and sages like vAlmiki, vaSishta, suka et al) and not for us. Why is bhakthi yOgam now
being shown to us? SrI vEdhAnthachAryar says in his comment on gadhya thrayam that
here bhakthi yOgam refers to thinking about bhagavAn and not as a path to
reach bhagavAn. The path defined for us is only SaraNAgathi.
Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.
Source:http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2016/03/srivaikunta-gadhyam-
thaniyan/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
pravESam
Let us now look at SrI periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s pravESam (introduction) for SrIvaikuNta
gadhyam.
bhAshyakArar (another name of SrI rAmAnuja which means the author of SrI bhAshyam
which is a detailed commentary for vEdha vyAsa’s brahma sUthram) feels that the
meanings that sprang from his heart should not remain as the shadow of a palm tree
(the shadow of a palm tree would give shelter only to the palm trunk and not to anyone
else) but should be useful to humanity-at-large like the shadow of a kalpakatharu (a
type of tree whose shadow covers a wide area and fulfills the wishes of those who pray
under it). Hence, he acts as a pravarthakar (one who engages in doing something) to
show the path as well as the fruit of attaining the path in SrIvaikuNta gadhyam.
In SaraNAgathi gadhyam he prays to bhagavAn in general (not to any particular form of
bhagavAn) about his wishes. In SrIranga gadhyam, he prays to SrIrangam periya
perumAL who is the epitome of saulabhyam (easy to approach and attain) about his
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
wishes. In SrIvaikuNta gadhyam, he discourses about SrIvaikuNtanAthan (lord of

SrIvaikuNtam) to others.
periyavAchchAn piLLai digresses a bit at this stage to explain why SrI rAmAnuja
emphasised onbhakthi mArgam (path of devotion) to attain bhagavAn in
his SrIbhAshyam whereas he emphasises on SaraNagathi (surrendering) in gadhya
thrayam. When bhagavadh rAmAnuja wrote SrIbhAshyam, there were many branches
of sanAthana dharmam (traditional customs), each with its own followers. There was a
sect which said that there is nothing called as vEdha (the four vEdhas, rig, yajur, sAma
and atharvaNa) and not practicing any dharmam is the path to attain liberation (this sect
is called as chAruvAka matham, a belief of smart talking). There was another sect which
said that dhEvathAntharOpAsanam (worshipping other demi-Gods such as indhra,
chandra, brahmA, Siva et al) is the path to attain liberation. Yet another sect preached
that doing karma (following all the activities mentioned in vEdha), forgetting about God
and demi-Gods, would liberate us (this sect was called as mImAmsaka matham).
Another said thatgyAna (knowledge) is the path to liberation. Another said that the
combination of karma andgyAna is the path. All these people twisted the teachings of
vEdha to suit their own ends. They were called as vEdha bhAhyA (not accepting vEdha)
and vEdha kudhushti (twisting meanings of vEdha). SrI rAmAnuja had to counter these
sects and he said that whatever they were saying was not correct and that bhakthi,
aided by karma and gyAna (devotion supported by deed and knowledge) was the path
to attain mOksham (liberation). He cited reasons and various pramANams (proofs) to
support his arguments. SaraNAgathi has always been cited in vEdha to attain
mOksham. Yet SrI rAmAnuja cited bhakthi yOgam as the path. Why did he do this and
not cite SaraNAgathi itself? We should consider the time (period) when all these were
happening. That was the age when people believed that they had to do something on
their own to attainmOksham. If he had to say that there was no need to do anything and
all that one had to do was to surrender to bhagavAn, no one would have taken his
words since this did not involve doing something which was physical in nature. Hence
he had to point out to one of the two paths mentioned
in vEdha (bhakthi and prapaththi or SaraNAgathi). Once they were convinced that
bhakthi would set them free, they started understanding it better. And, they also found
that it was not easy to practice as it had several conditions (karma and gyAna should be
attained in full prior to practicing bhakthi; all hurdles in the path of bhakthi had to be
removed). Also, it would take many, many births before one could start practicing
bhakthi. And at the last moment, one had to think of bhagavAn. All these posed great
difficulties. It was then that he told them that there was another path available and
mentioned about prapaththi (or SaraNAgathi) in SaraNAgathi gadhyam. This is called
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
as charama upAyam (ultimate path) and is suited for practicing bhakthi, not as a means
for attaining mOksham but for enjoying various qualities of bhagavAn) and for attaining
bhagavAn’s exalted feet and carrying out kainkaryam to him. He mentioned in SrIranga
gadhyam that prapaththi is the prerequisite for carrying out bhakthi; but at the same
time prapaththi does not expect anything else for yielding fruit, it is our svarUpam
(aligns with our nature) and it is easy to perform. Now that clarity has been obtained on
the path to be taken for getting liberated he mentions about the place that one would
reach on getting liberated; the lord, bhagavAn, of the place (SrIvaikuNtanAthan),
experiencing that bhagavAn; and carrying out kainkaryam, born out of that experience.
He does all these so that those who hear this would get interested in carrying out all
these and in the end he also blesses them. He mentions very briefly about the path
(prapaththi) but mentions more expansively about the place (SrIvaikuNtam).
There are 6 chUrNais in SrivaikuNta gadhyam. In the 1st chUrNai, he describes

the svarUpam(basic nature), rUpam (form) and vibhUthi (wealth) of bhagavAn as well
as chEthnan‘s (sentient entity) faults; for such a chEthanan, prapaththi is the only path
to reach bhagavAn who is the repository of all auspicious qualities such
as souSeelya (simplicity personified) etc. In the 2nd chUrNai, he affirms that while
reciting dhvayam once is sufficient to reach bhagavAn, thechEthanan will recite it
everyday to ward off worries and to pass time purposefully. In the 3rd chUrNai, he
mentions about the path that the chEthanan will take on getting liberated (archirAdhi
mArgam or the path of radiance) including crossing the prakruthi boundary (materialistic
realm); the greatness of nithya vibhUthi (SrIvaikuNtam) that he enters; its qualities; the
decorations in that place; the resplendence with which bhagavAn
gives dharSan (audience) there with his consorts (SrIdhEvi, bhUdhEvi and
neeLAdhEvi); the elegance of bhagavAn with all exalted bodily features which are
experienced by his consorts; the beauty of various decorative jewels that adorn
bhagavAn, fitting to a nicety; the weaponry that protect all these; the nithyaSuris and
mukthAthmAs who experience all these, taking various forms, and carrying out
kainkaryam born out of love from that experience; the exalted seating of bhagavAn who
is being served by these nithyAthmAs and mukthAthmAs without any break; the thought
ofchEthanan on seeing all these, wondering when he would get an opportunity to serve
bhagavAn like this, and on attaining SrIvaikuNtam, praying to bhagavAn for granting
him kainkaryam and offering himself to bhagavAn. In the 4th chUrNai, he mentions that
bhagavAn grants chEthananhis wish and chEthanan starts carrying out kainkaryam. In
the 5th chUrNai, he mentions about the chEthanan constantly having dharshan (vision)
of bhagavAn, without batting an eyelid, to compensate for what he had lost all these
years that he had missed. The 6th chUrNai describes how bhagavAn welcomes him,
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
inquires him and blesses him by placing his exalted feet on the head of chEthanan who
exults as a servitor in SrIvaikuNtam.
Let us next see the first chUrNai.
Source:http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2016/03/srivaikunta-gadhyam-
pravesam/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
1st chUrNai Part 1
avathArikai (Introduction)
Starting with svAdhIna thrividha chEthana and ending with nArAyaNam, this chUrNai
describes the superiority of bhagavAn over the svarUpam (basic nature)
of chEthana (sentient) andachEthana (insentient) entities and his qualities aligned to
his svarUpam.
svAdhIna thrividha chEthanAchEthana svarUpa sthithi pravruththi bhEdham,

klESa karmAdhyaSEsha dhOshAsamsprushtam,
svAbhAvikAnavadhikAthiSaya gyAnabhalaiSvarya vIrya Sakthi thEja:prabhruthi
asankhyEya kalyANa guNAgaNougha mahArNavam,
paramapurusham, bhagavantham, nArAyaNam,
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
swAmithvEna guruthvEna suhruthvEna cha

parigruhya aikAnthika (Athyanthika) thathpAdhAmbhujadhvaya paricharyaika
manOratha:,
thathprApthyE cha thathpAdhAmbhujadhvaya prapaththE:
anyanna mE kalpa kOti sahasrENApi sAdhanamasthIthi manvAna:,
thasyaiva bhagavathO nArAyaNasya akhila sathvadhayaika sAgarasya
anAlOchitha guNAguNa akhaNdajanAnukUla amaryAdhaSeelavatha:,
svAbikAnavadhikAthiSaya guNavaththayA (thu)
dhEvathiryangmanushyAdhyakhilajana hrudhayAnandhanasya,
ASritha vAthsalyaika jaladhE:, bhakthajana samSlEshaika bhOgasya,
nithyagyAnakriyaiSvaryAdhi bhOga sAmagrIsamrudhdhasya,
mahAvibhUthE: SrImatha: charaNAravindhayugalam
ananyAthma sanjIvanEna thadhgatha sarvabhAvEna SaraNam anuvrajEth ||
Explanatory Notes
svAdhIna – Unlike chEthana and achEthana entities who are dependent

on bhagavAn and are controlled by him, bhagavAn is completely independent and is
under his own control and nobody else’s. As mentioned in the palaSruthi (hymns listing
the benefits) of vishNu sahasranAmam (1000 names of vishNu), jagadhvaSE
varthathEdham krishNasya sacharAcharam – all the entities in the universe, apart from
himself, are under the control of krishNa.
What are these entities?
thrividha chEthanAchEthana – three types of AthmAs, namely bhadhdha (those who

are still bound to samsAram (materialistic realm)), muktha (those who were
in samsAram earlier but who have now been liberated and are in SrIvaikuNtam)
and nithya (those who have had no connection with samsAram and who have always
been in SrIvaikuNtam). These are the three types of chEthana entities. The three types
of achEthana entities are: prAkrutha, aprAkrutha andkAla rUpa. prAkrutha entities are
those which are composed of achith (insentient) entities which exist
in prakruthi (materialistic realm); aprAkrutha entities are those achith entities which exist
in SrIvaikuNtam (such as lakes, tanks, steps leading to these water bodies, gardens
etc). prAkruthaentities are composed of mixed saththvam (sudhdha sathvam,
rAjasam and thAmasam).aprAkrutha entities are composed of sudhdha saththvam only
(pure good). kAla rUpam is time dimension.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
Are only these six (bhadhdha, muktha, nithya AthmAs and prAkrutha, aprAkrutha and
kAla rUpa achEthana) the dependent entities? For knowing this, we have to consider
their
svarUpa sthithi pravruththi bhEdham – the bhEdham (difference) in

their svarUpa (basic nature), sthithi (life or sustenance) and pravruththi (their
activities). SrI periyavAchchAn piLLai introduces three terms here to explain these three
terms: dharmi svarUpam (basic nature of the entity), dharma svabhAvam (qualities of
the entity) and vyApAram (activities of the entity). Thus bhagavAn has under his control,
the svarUpam, svabhAvam (qualities) and vyApAram (activities) of the
six chEthana and achEthana entities. We shall now look at the bhEdham (difference)
insvarUpam, svabhAvam and vyAparam of these entities.
For chEthana entities, the difference in their svarUpam is caused by difference in levels
of happiness and sadness that they possess. Difference in their svabhAvam is due to
difference in the level of their knowledge, ability to carry out tasks (doing physical
kainkaryam to bhagavAn is a measure of this), their level of enjoyment (one may eat
once in a day while another may eat 4 times a day), longevity (number of years that the
AthmAs live in each birth) etc. Difference inpravruththi (activity) is on account of
difference in knowledge, desire and effort taken in attaining an objective.
For achEthana entities, difference in svarUpam is due to various manifestations such
asprakruthi (primordial matter), mahAn (the great
state), ahankAram (individualisation), thanmAthra(subtle elements) etc. When it comes
to kAlam (time), the difference in svarUpam is on account of various measures of time
such as kalA, kAshtA, muhUrtham etc (these were the units used by our forefathers
centuries ago and are still in use in vaidhIka time measurements; today we have
seconds, minutes, hours, day, week etc). Difference
in svabhAvam for achEthana entities is their being lifeless, constantly changing nature,
being permanent (an achEthana entity will change its form from one to another, but it
can not be destroyed; it exists in some form or another – for example a tree can exist as
a tree, as a furniture, as a stick, as charcoal etc, but it still exists), always existing for the
sake of others (like a fruit or sandalwood paste etc), being composed
ofsAthvic, rAjasic and thAmasic entities. Difference in pravruththi (activity) is its being
the initiator for various actions (for example the body which an AthmA takes when it is
born in samsAram, due to which the AthmA carries out various activities, thus earning
pApa or puNya), being the raw material for fabrication of various articles (wood being
used to make various types of furniture, door, window etc; gold being used to make
different types of jewels; cotton being used to make different types of cloth), its ability to
hide bhagavAn’s svarUpam (just as dust hides the radiance of a gem when it covers the
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
gem, the body of jIvAthmA hides his as well as bhagavAn’s true nature since it is
composed of saththvam, rajas and thamas), its non-radiant nature (it cannot emit any
radiance on its own and when someone looks at it, the person will not get any
knowledge).
One may ask, is it only bhagavAn who controls these chEthana and achEthana entities?
Even the king of a country or the head of a family (in a limited way) has control
over chEthana andachEthana entities. Then what is the difference between bhagavAn
and others?
klESa karmAdhyaSEsha dhOshAsamsprushtam – A king or head of a family is

affected by faults in him (faults such as klESam, karmam etc) whereas bhagavAn is not
affected by faults such as these. There is a pAthanjala sUthram which says “klESa
karma vipAkASayair aparAmsrushta: purushaviSEsha ISwara”. klESa is defined as
“rAgadhvEsha abhinivESA: klESa:“. rAga– desire; dhvEsha – hatred; abhinivESa –
greed. These are called as klESa (suffering). There are two other faults which are
clubbed to these three – avidhya (ignorance) and asmitha (ego) to form pancha
klESa: (five sufferings). bhagavAn is not affected by this klEsa. karma is defined as
activities resulting from and resulting in puNya (good deed or virtue) and pApa (bad
deed or sin).karma does not touch bhagavAn. vipAka is the resultant of
one’s jAthi (species which they belong to), Ayush (life expectancy) and bhOga
(enjoyment or experience). These will be different for different AthmAs. bhagavAn is not
affected by vipAka. ASaya is vAsanA (impressions left in the mind due to repeated
births, which induce certain actions in the jIvAthmA). This is also not applicable to
bhagavAn. Thus bhagavAn is not afflicted with any fault.
Is he just the opposite of all faults? No, he is also the repository of all auspicious
qualities.
svAbhAvikAnavadhikAthiSaya gyAnabhalaiSvaryavIryaSakthithEja: –
svAbhAvika – natural to bhagavAn. He did not get these auspicious qualities by doing
any penance or as a gift from any celestial (demi) god or for any limited period of time.
These qualities are present in bhagavAn as a part of his nature. Are these qualities
limited in their measure?
anavadhika athiSaya– without any limit. Nobody knows the limit of his qualities – not
even he nor his consorts know the limit of his auspicious qualities. periyavAchchAn
piLLai cites certain references here such as yathO vAchO nivarthanthE aprApya
manasA saha (not possible to state either by words or by thoughts), uyarvaRa
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
uyarnalam udayavan evan avan (his greatness is so high that the greatness of those
that we know in this word would appear infinitesimal when compared to bhagavAn –
thiruvAimozhi 1.1.1) to prove that there is no limit to his qualities. What are these
qualities?
gyAna bala aiSvarya vIrya Sakthi thEja: prabhruthi asankhyEya kalyANa guNa
gaNougha
mahArNavam – gyAna – bhagavAn’s ability to see right in front of his eyes all the
events that (a) have occurred, (b) are occurring and (c) will occur, at all places. bala –
ability to bear entire universe on a small part of his body. aiSvarya – ability to control
all chEthana and achEthanaentities and direct their activities. vIrya – when he carries
the universe on himself, he does not show any distortion in his features or does not
sweat. Sakthi – ability to protect all entities with no one to oppose him or cause any
hurdle in his path. thEja: – his radiance is such that his opponents will shiver, just by
hearing his name. Also, thEja: denotes his ability to carry out any activity without any
effort.
Are there only these 6 qualities? No, there are others too…
prabhruthi – starting from this. While there are many qualities, the above-mentioned six
are the primary qualities.
If there are many others, is there any count for these qualities, just as we say
ashtOththara (108) or sahasranAma (1000)?
asankhyEya – countless. If a person were granted the lifetime of brahmA and also the
thousands of tongues that AdhiSEsha has, he can not complete one in 10000 of his
auspicious qualities.
If they are countless, do they also include any dhOsha guNas (faults)? No, he has
only…
kalyANa – auspicious. He has only auspicious qualities and does not have any faults in
him. Neither his auspicious qualities nor his faults can be counted. Since there are
innumerable auspicious qualities, they can not be counted. Since he does not have
even one fault, this also can not counted.
guNagaNougha
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
guNa – type of qualities is such that when one hears them, (s)he will not have to close
(her) his ears. On hearing the qualities, one’s heart will melt. We have seen that his
qualities are countless.
Can these qualities be grouped and counted?
gaNa – bundles. His qualities are innumerable and even if they are bundled into
different groups, they can not be counted. Here, SrI periyavAchchAn piLLai lists a few of
these bundles to describe his qualities.
 First in this list is his swAmithvam (qualities which will confirm that he is
the swAmy or master or owner). To be called a swAmy, he needs to have
qualities such as Souryam (ability to create panic among opponents even if the
opponent’s army is huge),vIryam (ability to annihilate opponents without any
effort), parAkramam (making even the opponents believe that he is their
leader), chAthuryam (smartness/cleverness), sthairyam(standing like a rock in
the face of difficulties), dhairyam (not intimidated by opponents) and so on.
 Next in the list is soulabhyam (simple; easy to access); following qualities are
necessary to be a saulabhyan:
bhavyathai (submissive), krupai (merciful), aparAdhasahathvam (putting up with
faults), klESasahishNuvathvam (putting up with sufferings when it comes to self
and not putting up with sufferings of ASrithars (followers)), vAthsalyam (treating
faults ofASrithars as virtues), prathyupakAra nairapEkshyam (not expecting
anything good in return) and so on.
 The third bundle of qualities in the list is souseelyam (moving easily
with ASrithars, unmindful of differences between self and ASrithars), for which
the following qualities are a must: sva vaibhava gyAnam (knowing well about his
position/status), parakIya hEyAgyAnam (knowledge about the faults of
others), akrithrimathvam (being honest; synergy among thought, speech and
action) and so on.
 The fourth group of qualities comes under the category of vAthsalyam (treating
faults inASrithars as virtues) with following qualities: pakshapAtham (showing
bias towardsASrithars), upakAranairapEkshyam (not expecting anything in
return) and so on.
 The 5th bundle of qualities comes under the term santhOsham (happiness) with
qualities such as priya, mOdha, pramOdha, Anandha (these are different levels
of happiness). Thus, there is no limit to the qualities that bhagavAn possesses.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
Are these qualities shown one at a time?
Ogha – wave. These qualities come like waves continuously and not one at a time.
Where are these waves?
mahArNavam – great ocean. His qualities are like a great ocean and the qualities come
towards his ASrithars like waves from the ocean.
We shall see more of this chUrNai in the next part.
Source:http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2016/03/srivaikunta-gadhyam-1-
part-1/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
1st chUrNai Part 2
We have seen how the auspicious qualities of bhagavAn come as waves from a great
ocean, in the previous part. We shall continue from there.
Who is that entity, having such svarUpa rUpa guNas? He is …
paramapurusham bhagavantham nArAyaNam – He is nArAyaNan. What sort of an

entity is he? He is..
paramapurusham – superior entity. The word “purusha” is common to

both jIvAthmA and ISvaran. In order to point out to the correct entity, the adjective
“parama” has been added topurusha. “parO mA asmAdhithi parama:” – there is no one
superior to him, hence he isparamapurushan.
Is there any name for this most wondrous entity?
bhagavantham – One who has the 6 primary qualities of gyAna bala aiSvarya vIrya
Sakthi thEja:(we have seen the meanings of these terms several times) and who is
responsible for the creation, protection and destruction of universe is called
as bhagavAn. But then, we know of several personalities who are called as bhagavAn
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
such as vyAsa bhagavAn (vyAsa, who wrote the epic, mahAbhAratham and various
other profound works such as brahma sUthram), nAradha bhagavAn, a muni (sage) and
son of brahmA, and several self-styled bhagavAns. The title “bhagavAn” to these people
has been given as a mark of respect and not in real sense of the term. However the
term fits only one entity and not these persons. To make things clear, now he says…
nArAyaNam – He is nArAyaNan, who has no one superior to him, as mentioned in

vEdham (nArAyaNAdhbrahmA jAyathE (brahmA was born out of
nArAyaNa), nArAyaNAdhrudhrO jAyAthE(rudhra was born out of nArAyaNa)).
nArAyaNa is responsible for the creation of brahmA, rudhra et al. He
is paramapurushan, bhagavAn, possessing the 6 primary auspicious qualities (gyAna,
bhala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakthi, thEja:). Usage of the two
terms nArAyaNam andparamapurusham is from purusha sUktham. The
term bhagavAn has been taken from rahasya AmnAyam which says that pavithram
vAsudhEvO bhagavAn, sankarshaNO bhagavAn, pradhyumnO bhagavAn, anirudhdhO
bhagavAn, implying the 6 most auspicious qualities of bhagavAn (sankarshaNan,
pradhyumnan and anirudhdhan are forms of vyUha vAsudhEva (bhagavAn in
thiruppARkadal or kshIrAbdhinAthan). Of them, sankarshaNan is the God for
destruction,pradhyumnan for creation and anirudhdhan for protection and each of these
three Gods takes 2 qualities from the 6 mentioned earlier; sankarshaNan has as major
qualities gyAna and bala,pradhyumnan has aisvarya and vIrya while anirudhdhan has S
akthi and thEjas). Taken together, all these would conclusively affirm that the vEdhams
refer only to nArAyaNan in the beginning, middle and end.
Until now the superiority of the entity that we attain (on surrendering) has been
described. From here, the prayer that SrI rAmAnuja offers for
carrying kainkaryam (service to bhagavAn) is described.
swAmithvEna guruthvEna suhruthvEna cha parigruhya – the larger meanings of the

wordnArAyaNa are explained in these terms. There are four main qualities associated
with the entity nArAyaNa – swAmithva (owner or master), saulabhya (easy to
access), sauseelya (not seeing any difference between self and ASrithars (followers)
and moving in a friendly manner with them) and vAthsalya (treating faults as virtues in
ASrithars). swAmithvEna directly refers to his quality of swAmithvam (he is the
Lord). guruthvEna refers to his quality of saulabhya as he came down from
SrIvaikuNtam to become the first AchAryan (guru or teacher). saulabhyam is associated
with teacher as teacher comes down to the level of student to explain difficult
terms.suhruthvEna refers to sauseelyam as suhruth means a person with a good heart
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
(feels for the difficulties of others) and sauseelyam as a quality means being friendly
with people without looking at the difference in levels (level could be one of wealth or
intellect or practices). The fourth quality vAthsalya is referred to in the term “cha” in the
above mentioned verse. There is another interpretation given by vyAkhyAthA
(commentator) periyavAchchAn piLLai. Initially there were three
terms, paramapurusham, bhagavantham, nArAyaNam. Now there are three
terms, swAmithvEna, guruthvEna, suhruthvEna. He now compares each of the terms in
the first set with each of the terms in the seconod set, in the same order.
Thus paramapurusham is compared
with swAmithvEna, bhagavantham with guruthvEna and nArAyaNam with suhruthvEna.
In purusha sUktham (one of five sUkthams which were mentioned in vEdhams to
glorify SrIman nArAyaNa and his consorts, SrI, bhU and neeLAdhEvi), the
term purusham denotes bhagavAn being a swAmy; thus there is correlation between
the terms paramapurusham and svAmithvEna. In the treatise rahasya
AmnAyam, sankarshaNa is referred to as sankarshaNO bhagavAn (please see the term
nArAyaNam above where this has been explained in detail). Since sankarshaNan
possesses gyAna as prime quality, it is tantamount to saying that he is guru as
only guru teachesgyAna. Since sankarshaNan is called bhagavAn, we can infer that
there is direct correlation between bhagavAn and guru and hence we can see
that guruthvEna is the equivalent of bhagavantham. In nArAyaNa anuvAkam (nArAyaNa
sUktham), it is said “anthar bahiScha thath sarvam vyApya nArAyaNa: sthitha:” which
means that nArAyaNan pervades both inside and outside throughout. Thus he is
antharyAmi (one who resides inside). Since he resides inside the heart (hrudhaya), he
is suhruth. And since he is nArAyaNan, we can say that nArAyaNan is suhruth. Thus we
establish correlation between nArAyaNam and suhruthvEna. The vyAkhyAthA gives a
third interpretation to bring out the equivalents between the two sets of terms. We are
discussing SaraNAgathi (surrendering). swAmithvEna brings the context of sva-
swAmyrelationship (sva means property, the possession and swAmy means Lord, the
possessor).guruthvEna brings out the Sishya-AchArya (student-teacher)
relationship. suhruthvEna refers to friendly relationship as in SaraNam suhruth gathir
nArAyaNa: (from subAlOpanishadh). Hence suhruthvEna corresponds well to
nArAyaNam. Thus we have seen correlation among the two sets of
terms, paramapurusham, bhagavantham, nArAyaNam and swAmithvEna,
guruthvEna,suhruthvEna.
parigruhya – to hold on firmly. Instead of only one person (bhagavadh SrI rAmAnuja)
holding on to him, here the reference is to all the people living in samsAram
(materialistic realm) who are holding firmly onto him. Another interpretation is – holding
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
on to him in all ways (as mentioned in SAsthrAs, as tutored by AchAryas and as

practiced by bhagavAn himself). Once he thought about the swAmithvam of bhagavan,
SrI rAmAnuja thinks about the kainkaryam to be performed to bhagavAn which is the
quality of a servitor.
aikAnthika Athyanthika thath pAdhAmbhuja dhvaya paricharyaika manOratha: –

aikAnthika – with single focus; Athyanthika – without end; thath – that; pAdha – exalted
feet;ambhuja – lotus like; dhvaya – two of them; paricharyA – to carry out
kainkaryam; Eka – only;manOratha – desire of mind.
aikAnthika – EkAntha sambhandhi (only bhagavAn and servitor; no one else). This
word can join with ‘thath‘ or with ‘thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya” or with ‘paricharyai‘. When
it joins with ‘thath‘ (that bhagavAn), i.e. thath aikAnthika, it refers to the close
relationship with bhagavAn, without any cause or reason. If it is taken together with
‘thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya‘, i.e. thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya aikAnthika, it refers to the
deep love that the servitor has towards the exalted feet of the master and this is said to
be in keeping with the svarUpam of the servitor.
thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya – kainkaryam always means carrying out service

to bhagavAn‘s two exalted feet. His feet secrete honey just like the secretion of a lotus
flower. ambhuja (lotus) is brought in as a simile to indicate that the enjoyment for the
servitor will be sweet and desirous.
dhvaya refers to two feet which are the path (means) for reaching bhagavAn. Also,
aspurushArtham (fruit of attaining bhagavAn) it refers to perumAL (bhagavAn)
and pirAtti (his consort) together for whom the kainkaryam is carried out.
paricharyA – charyA – history or carrying out or kainkaryam. Here the meaning to be

considered is kainkaryam. paricharyA – all types of kainkaryam. Another meaning
for paricharyAis to keep circling (whether to have dharSan of bhagavAn or circum-
ambulating thegarbhagruham (sanctum sanctorum) of bhagavAn) repeatedly to do
kainkaryam.
EkamanOratha: – leaving out all the other prayOjanam (benefits of

attaining bhagavAn), focusing only on carrying out kainkaryam to bhagavAn, with
devotion and determination.
thath prApthayE – to attain that manOratham (desire of mind) of doing kainkaryam.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
cha – also. Is there anything else to be attained and along with that, attain kainkaryam
too? Why is he mentioning ‘cha‘ here which would indicate that there is more than
one prApyam (fruit of surrendering)? The vyAkyAthA comes up with a very beautiful
explanation here: What is the meaning of “thath pAdha” in the words “thath
pAdhAmbhujadhvaya paricharyaika manOratha:“? It is nothing but ASrithar (follower).
This is because it is the ASrithar who is bhagavAn‘s exalted feet. Hence SrI
rAmAnuja is praying for doing kainkaryam not only to bhagavAn but also to
hisASrithar or bhAgavathar. This is brought out by thiruppANAzhwAr‘s first pAsuram
“adiyArkku ennai Atpaduththa vimalan” (the faultless bhagavAn engaged me in carrying
out kainkaryam to his ASrithars). Another interpretation given for “cha” is that
bhagavadh SrI rAmAnuja is not only having the desire for carrying out kainkaryam but
he also wants to carry out that kainkaryam. Thus it is one thing to have desire for
kainkaryam and the other thing is to carry out that kainkaryam. Hence the word “cha”
has been added.
Up to now, he has described upEya svarUpam (the true nature of carrying out
kainkaryam to bhagavAn). Now he describes the upAya nishkarsham (the certainty of
the path to reach bhagavAn) and its anushtAna prakAram (the method of carrying out
SaraNAgathi). He divides this into three parts. Starting with thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya
prapaththE: and ending withmanvAna: he ascertains the path to reach bhagavAn. Then,
starting from thasya and ending withcharaNAravindha he describes how the path
(upAyam) will be. Finally, starting with ananyAthma and ending with anuvarajEth he
describes how he surrendered.
thath pAdhambhujadhvaya prapaththE: – thath – that; pAdha – foot; ambhuja – lotus

like;dhvaya – two of them; prapaththE: – hold on to firmly or surrender. Earlier we had
seen these same terms in thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya paricharyaika
manOratha: wherein he had described how the two exalted lotus-like feet were readily
available for carrying out kainkaryam (this is called as upEyam or prApyam – the fruit of
surrendering). Here he says that he is holding on to the two feet as upAyam (path to
reach bhagavAn). This is also referred to by another term,prApakam. Thus we see
that prApyam is also prApakam (both being attained through the two exalted feet of
bhagavAn). This is also confirmed in dhvaya mahAmanthram where, in the first line, we
hold on to SrIman nArAyaNan‘s two feet for reaching him (upAyam or prApakam) and in
the second line, we carry out kainkaryam to SrIman nArAyaNan (to his feet) which
is upEyam orprApyam.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
anyanna mE kalpakOti sahasrENApi sAdhanam asthi ithi manvAna: – anyath –

other; na – not; mE – to me; kalpakOti sahasrENApi – for very long time; sAdhanam –
means (path); asthi – available; ithi – like this; manvAna: – in thought. Roughly
translated this means that: “As far as my thoughts go, there is no means available for
reaching bhagavAn, other than his exalted feet, even if one were to search for such
means for thousands of crores of kapla” (one kalpa is a period in brahmA’s life time,
which is equivalent of 1000 times 43,72,000 years of our time).
anyath – other (means for attaining bhagavAn). The “means” other

than prapaththi (surrender). Included in this list are bhakthi, gyAna, karma etc which are
mentioned in SAsthram. If mentioned in SAsthram, wouldn’t these qualify to be means
for attaining bhagavAn?
na mE asthi – not available for me. These may be adopted as means by those who
have the will power to practice them – rishis, yOgis et al may adopt these means. SrI
rAmAnuja says that he has been born in this samsAram for thousands of times and he
is agyan (ignorant),aSakthan (without any ability. It is true that in all these births, he had
been unable to attain bhagavAn, but in this birth or in the coming births, he would surely
find the means for attaining bhagavAn….
kalpakOti sahasrENApi – Would a cobweb, immersed in water for thousands of days,

ever germinate? In the same way, even if he were to take thousands of crores of births,
he would never be able to find the means other than this, for reaching bhagavAn,
says SrI rAmAnuja.
sAdhanam nAsthi – there is no other means that he could fathom out. Even if he were
to carry out bhakthi at some point of time, the benefit of that would go only towards
wiping out some of the sins that he had committed in earlier births and not for
reaching bhagavAn.
ithi manvAna: – This is affirmed -that it is not possible to find another means to reach
bhagavAn (other than prapaththi or SaraNAgathi) even if he were to go around looking
for such means for thousands and thousands of years.
We shall see the remaining portion of this chUrNai in the next part.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
part-2/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
1st chUrNai Part 3
nammAzhwAr surrendering to SrIranganAtha
Continuing from the previous part, we shall now see how bhagavadh SrI
rAmAnuja describes what upAyam (the “means” for reaching bhagavAn) is (starting
from thasyaiva and ending withcharaNAravindha yugalam) and how In the third and last
part how he surrenders (starting fromananyAthma sanjIvanEna and ending
with anuvrajEth).
thasyaiva bhagavathO nArAyaNasya – thasyaiva – as said; bhagavathO –

bhagavAn;nArAyaNasya – that nArAyaNan. Earlier (in part 2 of this chUrNai), we had
seen the termsbhagavantham nArAyanAm. There, we had seen the qualities of
bhagavAn which were needed for him to be prApyam (be the fruit of surrendering) as
well as the holder of these qualities. Here, the qualities for him to be prApakam (as
means for attaining bhagavAn) and the holder of these qualities are described.
akhilasathva dhayaika sAgarasya – ocean of mercy for all. akhilasathva – considering

all living beings, without any distinction. dhayA – not able to bear the sufferings of
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
others, without expecting anything for self. EkasAgarasya – the waters of dhayA form
an ocean and take refuge only under bhagavAn, and under no one else. Is it that he
(bhagavAn) wishes to confirm that others suffer and then feels sad for them? In other
words, does he look at the extent of suffering of others? No….
anAlOchitha guNa aguNa akhaNda jana anukUla amaryAdha Seelavatha: – he has

a quality, sauSeelya, by which he does not consider the virtues or faults of others. This
quality is unlimited and is shown to all people without any distinction.
anAlOchitha – not examining whether granting refuge to a person (who wishes to

surrender) is advantageous or not.
guNa aguNa – Describes qualities which are desired and not desired among ASrithars
– the qualities can be ignorant or knowledgeable; believer or atheist; righteous or
unjust; humble or immodest.
akhaNda jana – he does not make a distinction among celestial persons, human
beings, animals, plants etc when they approach him as an ASrithar. Here the
word jana does not denote people as we commonly understand but any one who has
a jani (birth) viz. anyone who is living.
anukUla – he guides the ASrithar to go by the correct path and not take difficult paths.
amaryAdha – here maryAdhA means limit. He does not show any limit when showing
his magnanimity to his ASrithars.
Seelavatha: – the quality by which a greater person mingles with lowly persons without
feeling proud at his own greatness or feeling contemptuous at the lowliness of the
others is called asSeela. Seelavatha: denotes that he has this quality for ever. It may be
perfectly acceptable for bhagavAn not to consider the faults or virtues of others. But
wouldn’t the others be afraid to approach him? No…
dhEva thiryak manushya Adhi akhila jana hrudhaya Anandhanasya – Without any
distinction between the wise and the unwise entities, everyone’s heart will melt out of
happiness. What is the basis for such an act? There is a special reason and it is ….
svAbhAvika anavadhika athiSaya guNavaththayA – possessing wondrous quality as

his nature, without any boundary. SrI rAmAnuja has described already so many
qualities of bhagavAn, right from the beginning. What is this new quality that he is now
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
mentioning? The qualities mentioned all along have been qualities of his AthmA
(bhagavAn’s soul). The quality that is being mentioned here is that of
his thirumEni (physical form). His AthmA guNas may or may not attract others, but the
beauty of his physical form is bound to attract everyone. His radiance and delicate
gentleness are the qualities that attract others to him. His beauty attracted even a
demonic woman such as sUrpaNakA. Same goes true for vanadhEvathAs(angels in the
forest) who were attracted to rAma when he entered forest. His beauty appealed not
only to the eyes but also to the hearts of both his devotees and his enemies.
But then, does he not give any special status to his ASrithars (followers)? Or does he
remain same to everyone?
ASritha vAthsalyaika jaladhE: – He has the quality of vAthsalyam (treating faults as

virtues) towards his ASrithars like an ocean. Who is called as an ASrithar? Is it a person
like vashisht or nammAzhwAr? In SrI rAmAyaNam, the rishis (sages) tell SrI
rAmA when he enters forest that he is their king whether he is in ayOdhyA or in forest,
and they are his citizens and hence he has to protect them. Important to note here is
that they are not merely living in the country where he is king, but they accept that he is
the ruler and they are citizens. In a similar way, it is not enough if we live in a dhivya
dhEsam but we need to accept the he is the bhagavAn and he has to protect us. Then
we can be called his ASrithars. Also, anyone who has performed SaraNAgathi once to
him and pirAtti (his consort) is an ASrithar. Included in this category is any person who
offers something to him with bhakthi (devotion) – a leaf, flower, fruit or water. The leaf
need not be thuLasi (basil plant) but even a dried leaf picked up from the street corner,
offered with devotion, is enough, says bhagavAn in bhagavadh gIthai. vAthsalya is the
quality exhibited by a cow that removes all the dirt from the body of its calf at the time
when the calf is born. It does not clean the dirt if the calf comes dirty after 10 or 15 days.
In the same way, bhagavAn removes all our past sins on the day when we carry out
SaraNAgathi. But if we commit pApa (sinful act) even after performing SaraNAgathi and
go to him for forgiving us, he is not going to oblige. Is there any proof that he forgives
the sins when we go to him for taking refuge? Again, in SrI rAmAyaNam,
when vibhIshNa comes to thiruppullANi shore, SrI rAma says that if a person comes to
him with a friendly mind, he will accept him and not let him down, even if the person
comes with faults. Eka jaladhE: – bhagavAn is the only shelter to suchASrithars.
Is it that he only gives to his ASrithars? Isn’t there anything in it for him?
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
bhakthajana samSlEshaika bhOgasya – bhakthajana – those who are his devotees,

who are friendly towards him; samSlEsham – to be together; Eka – only; bhOgasya – fit
for enjoyment.
bhakthajana – bhakthi is carrying out service with affection

(friendliness). bhakthajana is anyone who does this.
samSlEshaika bhOgasya – He enjoys being together with such bakthajana. He can

not withstand separation from them even for a moment. Just
as nammAzhwAr considered thirukkOLUr perumAn as his dhAraka, pOshaka,
bhOgyam (that which is essential for life, for growth and for enjoyment respectively), for
bhagavAN, his A Srithar becomes his dhAraka, pOshaka and bhOgyam.
nithya gyAna kriya aiSvaryAdhi bhOga sAmagrI samrudhdhasya – sAmagri –

implements. In order to enjoy anything, one should have gyNa, kriyA and aiSvaryam as
implements.
gyAna is knowledge about the bhOga vasthu (that which is to be enjoyed), its svarUpa,
rUpa, guNa, chEshtA (activity), prayOjana kAla (when it should be enjoyed).
kriyA is the actual act of enjoying the bhOga vasthu.
aiSvarya – wealth (owning the bhOga vasthu).
sAmagrI is the combination of gyAna, kriya, aiSvarya.
samrudhdhasya – this enjoyment is not something finite or small but huge or plenty.
Even if bhOga vasthu and bhOga sAmagrI are available, wouldn’t one need
a bhOgasthAnam(place to enjoy) in order to enjoy the bhOga vasthu?
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
mahAvibhUthE: – maha – huge; vibhUthE – wealth. Here this refers to his

SrIvaikuNtam which is three times as large as the entire cosmos (thousands and
thousands of aNda katAkam (galaxy)). In order to enjoy the bhOga vasthus, he has a
location which is endless and full of happiness. In such a place where he is going to
enjoy the materials (vasthu), does he enjoy singly, like abrahmachAri (bachelor)?
SrImatha: SrI – mahAlakshmi (his consort); matha: – with. In the river of enjoyment, in
order to see the shore and assist him, he has lakshmi (periya pirAtti, his consort) with
him. If periya pirAtti is not there, does it mean that he can not enjoy the material? In
what way does she assist him?He is known to be avApthasamasthakAman (one who
does not have any unfulfilled desire). Will this term become invalid if she is not there?
To understand this, we should understand what is bhagavAn’s bhOgam (enjoyment). It
is the ujjIvanam (total sustenance) of all jIvAthmAs (all living beings in materialistic
realm, leelA vibhUthi). pirAtti‘s role (or assistance) in this is to be apurushakAra
bhUthai (one who recommends the jIvAthmA to bhagavAn for giving mOksham). Do we
hold on to such a person himself? No…his
charaNAravindha yugalam – two lotus-like feet. His exalted feet are our natural goal to
attain, source of wondrous enjoyment and they take in everyone who approaches them.
Why should we hold on to them?
ananyAthma sanjIvanEna – ananya – without substitute; Athma – soul; sanjIvanEna –

total sustenance. There is no other path available for the sustenance of jIvAthmA.
thath gatha sarva bhAvEna – thath – that; gatha – reach; sarva – all; bhAvEna –
manner. Holding on the two exalted feet in all manner (that they will protect, that they
will provide enjoyment, that they will purify us etc). What is to be done with these
thoughts?
SaraNam anuvrajEth – SaraNam – to surrender; anuvrajEth – to hold on

firmly. jIvAthmA has to hold on to his exalted feet as the path to reach him, with
firmness in mind. It should also be done with the thought that his feet are to be held
firmly, all the time.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
This brings us to the end of 1st chUrNai. Let us move on to the 2nd.
part-3/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
2nd chUrNai
Is it that we have to surrender once to bhagavAn and then forget about it? For getting
the benefit (whether it is attaining mOksham (SrIvaikuNtam) or carrying out kainkaryam
to pirAtti and bhagavAn), it is enough to do surrender once. However, since we continue
to live in thissamsAram (materialistic realm), we need to remind ourselves that we have
surrendered to bhagavAn as the fear of samsAram will continue until we leave it.
This is a one-line chUrNai:
thathaScha prathyaham AthmOjjIvanAya Evam anusmarEth II
Explanatory Note
thathaScha – dhvaya upanishadh says thadhdhvayam sakruthuchchArO bhavathi (this

is dvayam; it is said once). SrI rAma in his charama SlOkam (ultimate SlOkam)
says sakrudhEva prapannAya (surrendering only once). It is enough if it is recited once
as upAyam (the path for reaching bhagavAn). But it demands to be repeated many
times over. What is the limit for this?
prathyaham – prathi – every; ahas – day. It has to be recited every day. Is repeating
this every day being done because of any inadequacy in fulfilment of our effort?
Athma ujjIvanAya – SarIra jIvanam – living in this world for the sake of physical
body. Athma jIvanam – living in this world, doing only good things and not indulging in
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
anything not mentioned in SAsthras. Athma ujjIvanam – leaving this world and attaining
SrivaikuNtam. For this, AthmA has to constantly keep thinking of bhagavAn. In gAruda
purANam, it says that if in a muhUrtham (equivalent of 48 minutes) a person does not
think of vAsudhEvan (SrIman nArAyaNan) even for a moment, it will entail terrible harm,
great danger, utter confusion. In effect, it means total emaciation of the soul. Can this
repetition be done with less effort?
Evam – thus. It should be recited with the same dedication and belief with which it was
recited the first time when the person carried out SaraNAgathi (surrendering).
anusmarEth (prathyaham) – We have seen that we should recite this every day. Is it
enough if we recite once every day? anusmarEth – keep remembering through the day.
Keep remembering without any break as we had seen in SaraNAgathi
gadhyam (dhvayam artha anusandhAnena saha sadhA Evam vakthA – keep repeating
dhvayam knowing its meaning, all the time). It is to be remembered all 365 days, until
we leave this world.
Hence, in order to stick to the path of righteousness and to remind ourselves that we
are living in this dreadful samsAram, we have to keep reciting and thinking about
SaraNAgathi all the time, every day.
We shall now move on to the 3rd chUrNai.
Source: http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2016/04/srivaikunta-gadhyam-2/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
3rd chUrNai Part 1

This chUrNai describes the archirAdhi mArga (the path which starts with archis, light)
through which a jIvAthmA, who has thus surrendered to bhagavAn and gets liberated
from samsAram (materialistic realm) travels and attains SrIvaikuNtam. It also describes
the many-splendoured facets of SrIvaikuNtam. This is a very lengthy chUrNai and we
shall see it in several parts.
chUrNai
chathurdhaSa bhuvanAthmakam aNdam dhaSaguNitha uththarancha

AvaraNasapthakam samastham kArya kAraNa jAtham athIthya varthamAnE,
paramavyOma SabdhAbhidhEyE, brahmAdhInAm vAngmansAgOcharE,
SrImathi vaikuNtE dhivyalOkE, sanaka vidhi SivAdhibhirapi achinthya svabhAva
aiSvaryai:
nithya sidhdhai: ananthai: bhagavath AnukUlyaika bhOgai: dhivya purushai:
mahAthmabhi: ApUrithE,
thEshAmapi iyath parimANam iyath aiSvaryam IdhruSa svabhAvam
ithi parichchEththum ayOgyE,
dhivya AvaraNa Satha sahasrair AvruthE dhivya kalpakatharu
upaSObhithE,dhivyOdhyAna Satha sahasra kOtibhirAvruthE, athipramANE,
dhivya AyathanE kasmimSchith vichithra dhivya rathnamayE dhivyAsthAna maNdapE,
dhivya rathna sthambha Satha sahasra kOtibhirupaSObhithE,
dhivya nAnA rathna krutha sthala vichithrithE,
dhivyAlankAra alankruthE, paritha: pathithai: pathamAnai: pAdhapasthaiScha
nAnA gandha varNai: dhivya pushpai: SObhamAnai:
dhivya pushpa upavanai: upaSObhithE,
sankIrNa pArijAthAdhi kalpadhruma upaSObhithai:,
asankIrNaiScha kaISchith anthastha pushpa rathnAdhi nirmitha
dhivya leela maNdapa Satha sahasrair upaSObhithai:
Explanatory Notes
chathurdhaSa bhuvanAthmakam – chathurdaSa – fourteen; bhuvanam –

world; Athmakam – composed of. There are 7 worlds including bhU: (earth) (bhU;,
bhuva:, suva:, maha:, jana:, thapa: sathyam) which are above, and 7 worlds starting
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
with athala (athala, suthala, vithala, nithala, rasAthala, thalAthala, pAthala) below. What
is it that these 14 worlds constitute?
aNdam – These 14 worlds taken together form an egg-shaped assembly of worlds

calledaNdam (egg). It has an end-to-end spread of 50 crore yOjana (one yOjana is 10
miles or 16 kms in our parlance).
dhaSaguNitha uththarancha AvaraNa sapthakam – dhaSa – ten; guNitha –

times; uththaram– above; cha – also; AvaraNa – wrapper or cover; sapthakam –
collection or aggregate of 7. Around each such egg (aNdam, that we have seen above)
are 7 covers, with each succeeding cover being 10 times bigger than the previous
cover. What are these 7 covers made of? They areprithvi (14 worlds in the
centre), vAri (water), vahni (fire), anila (air or wind), AkASa (open or empty
space), ahankAra (ego, third source of creation), mahAn (great, the 2nd source of
creation) andavyaktham (prakruthi or primordial matter, primary source of creation ).
samastham – all. All the above mentioned entities put together form one aNdam.
SrIvishNu purANam says that there are thousands and ten thousands of such aNdam
and hundreds of crores of such entities.
kArya kAraNa jAtham – effect and causative factors (those that are produced by and
those that produce). For example, avyaktham (prakruthi or primordial matter) that we
have seen above is the causative factor for mahAn. mahAn produces ahankAram which
in turn gives rise to the five elements sky, wind, fire, water and earth. Thus avyaktham
is kAraNam while mahAn is both kAraNam (as it gives rise to ahankAram)
and kAryam (as it came from avyaktham).
athIthya – crossing. The liberated jIvAthmA crosses all these entities. The crossing is
done once and he does not come back to samsAram. In bhagavadh
gIthA, krishNa says that the AthmA who reaches upto sathya lOkam (brahmA‘s world)
returns to samsAram. But the AthmA who has spent all
his karma (both pApa and puNya, sin and virtue) crosses sathya lOkam too and does
not return to samsAram. What sort of a place does such an AthmA reach?
parama – superior. That which does not have anything higher than itself.
vyOma SabdhAbhidhEyE – vyOma – sky or ether; Sabdha – word; abhidhEyE –

expressed as. The AthmA crosses all the earlier mentioned worlds and reaches the
entity that is called as parama vyOma (superior sky). Unlike karmabhUmi (earth, the
place where we take a physical form in line with our karma to get rid of prArabdha
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
karma) this place does not limit our knowledge, but clears our thoughts. Is this place
limited?
brahmA AdhInAm vAngmanasa agOcharE – Unlike simple people such as ourselves

who have limited knowledge and power, this place is beyond the reach of highly
knowledgeable people such as brahmA, Siva and other celestial beings. It is beyond
their speech and thought. Does this place have a name?
SrImathi vaikuNtE dhivyalOkE – it is called as SrIvaikuNtam.

Unlike karmabhUmi where there are impediments while carrying our kainkaryam, this is
permanent and free from any hurdle.
Srimathi here refers to kainkaryam. vaikuNtE – there is no shortage

for gyAna (knowledge) andSakthi (energy or strength) here as there is no concealment
of these by karmA. dhivyalOkE – not mAnushalOkam (world inhabited by human
beings). Different from it. dhivya also means aprAkrutha (not prAkrutha, not composed
of sathva/rajas/thamas, but only Sudhdha sathva). Having mentioned about the place,
the next few words describe about the people who are in it.
sanaka vidhi Sivadhibhir achinthya svabhAva aiSvaryai: – sanaka – one of the

four mAnasa puthrars of brahmA (the four sons created by brahmA through his
thoughts); vidhi – brahmA; Siva– rudhran; Adhibi – many other celestial entities, starting
from these; achinthya – beyond their thoughts; svabhAva – as its nature; aiSvaryai: –
having plenty of wealth. Even highly knowledgeable persons such as brahmA, Siva,
sanaka and others can not fathom about the glory and type of persons who are
inhabiting SrivaikuNtam and the wealth of SrIvaikuNtam.
nithya sidhdhai: – unlike mukthAthmAs who are devoted to bhagavAn, only from the
time that they reach SrIvaikuNtam after being liberated, the inhabitants
of SrIvaikuNtam (nithyasUris) have been there always and have been permanently
carrying out kainkaryam to bhagavAn.
ananthai: – The nithyasUris are not limited in number. They are countless.
bhagavath AnukUlya bhOgai: – their only purpose is to act the way bhagavAn wants
them to; i.e. not acting independently. They are enjoyed by bhagavAn the way he likes
and they enjoy his auspicious qualities.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
dhivya purushai: – divine people. aprAkrutha (composed of only sudhdha sathva, pure
good) people.
mahAthmabhi: – great people. Their greatness is such that bhagavAn will not tolerate if
they are separated from him.
ApUrithE – filled up. SrivaikuNtam is filled up with such people. It is not that only a
fewnithyasUris are there.
thEshAmapi – even they. Their svabhAvam (nature) is such that others such
as brahmA, Siva et al can not think or talk about them and their greatness or about
SrIvaikuNtam. Are suchnithyasUris able to give details about SrIvaikuNtam that they
inhabit?
iyath parimANam – these are its dimensions
iyath aiSvaryam – this is the value of its wealth
IdhruSa svabhAvam – this is its nature or type
ithi parichchEththum ayOgyE – even these nithyasUris do not have the ability to
define these characteristics of SrIvaikuNtam.
dhivya AvaraNa Satha sahasra AvruthE – dhivya – aprAkrutha (pure

good); AvaraNa – cover (like a compound wall); Satha – hundreds; sahasra –
thousands; AvruthE – filled with. SrIvaikuNtam has hundreds of thousands of
compounds walls which, unlike what we see in leelA vinbhUthi (our materialistic realm),
are made of pure good entity (sudhdha sathvam). Who has the courage to wage a war
against him? Why then should there be so many compound walls in SrIvaikuNtam? The
answer to this is that it is like the capital of a country. Here bhagavAn is the king of the
country. Hence it should have all the qualifications of a capital. Thus there are many
compound walls. Moreover the inhabitants of this country worry about the safety of their
king even at places where such fear is misplaced (similar to periyAzhwAr singing
pallANdu pallANdu on emperumAn) and this leads to the roles getting reversed. Thus
the protector is protected (nithyasUris protect bhagavAn). To fulfill this role, compound
walls have been constructed. Will the place be one of granting protection only, without
anything for enjoyment?
dhivya kalpakatharu upaSObhithE – dhivya – aprAkrutha (sudhdha sathva); kalpaka

tharu – a tree which fulfills the wishes of those who wish for something while standing
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
under it;upaSObhithE – adorned with. Unlike the kalpakatharu in

lowly swargam (heaven, ruled by indhra) which is prAkrutha tree,
the kalpakatharu in SrivaikuNtam is dhivya or aprAkrutham. Thekalpakatharu in
SrIvaikuNtam is not just one tree but it is a grove or garden of such trees. This is a
source of enjoyment there.
dhivya udhyAna Satha sahasra kOtibhi: AvruthE – dhivya – divine; udhyAna –

garden; Satha – hundred; sahasra – thousand; kOtibhi: – crore; AvruthE – filled with.
There are hundreds of thousands of crores of gardens
in SrivaikuNtam for SrIvaikuNtanAthan (emperumAn orbhagavAn) and nAchimArs (his
consorts) for spending their time in an enjoyable way.
athipramANE – beyond measure. It is not possible to define its length and breadth.
dhivya AyathanE – divine temple; SrivaikuNtam itself is like a divine temple whose
dimensions are beyond measurement.
kasmimSchith – at some place, which is beyond our thought or imagination or grasp.
vichithra rathnamayE – vichithra – of many types; rathnamayE – full of gems.
dhivya AshthAna maNdapE – dhivya – divine; AsthAna – assembly; maNdapa – hall.

Here the reference is to the court which bhagavAn holds in SrIvaikuNtam when he
gives dharshan(audience) to all nithyasUris and mukthAthmAs.
dhivya rathna sthambha Satha sahasra kOtibhi: upaSObithE –

the maNdapam (hall) is adorned with hundreds of thousands of pillars (sthamba)made
of ruby and such gems.
dhivya nAnA rathna krutha sthala vichithrithE – the sthala (floor) is made of different
types of divine, wonderful rubies.
dhivya alankAra alankruthE – the roof of the hall, the screen held in front
of emperumAn(bhagavAn) and his pirAttis (consorts) etc have been decorated in an
artful way.
paritha: pathithai: – paritha – surround; pathitha – fallen. Surrounding the mandapam

(bhagavAn‘s court-hall) are plants and trees from which flowers have fallen on to the
ground.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
pathamAnai: – flowers are just dropping from the plants and trees.
pAdhapasthaiScha – flowers that are also (still) on the plants and trees. Thus we have
flowers that have dropped, that are dropping and that are still blooming. This may be
confusing but we should understand that there is no factor called kAla (time) in
SrivaikuNtam and hence all these events take place simultaneously for the enjoyment of
its inhabitants and bhagavAn and his pirAttis.
nAnA gandha varNai: – nAnA – different; gandha – smell; varNa – colour. These
flowers are of different scents and colours.
dhivya pushpa SObhamAnai: – dhivya – divine; pushpa – flowers; SObhamAna –

adorned with. The hall is adorned with various types of flowers having different smells
(scents) and different hues of colours.
dhivya pushpa upavanai: upaSObhithE – the place is adorned with such orchards
and gardens.
sankIrNa pArijAtha Adhi kalpadhruma upaSObhithai: – sankIrNa – mixed. Adorned

with trees such as pArijAtham (a type of tree that gives rise to sweet smelling flower
(night-flowering coral jasmine)), sandalwood, harichandanam (type of sandal tree)
mixed with kalpaka trees.
asankIrNaiScha kaiSchith – also adorned with stand-alone trees (trees that are not
mixed with other types).
anthastha pushpa rathna Adhi nirmitha dhivya leelA maNdapa Satha sahaasra
upaSObhiththai: – inside the groves, there are different types of maNdapams (halls)
such aspushpa maNdapa (flower hall), rathna maNdapa (ruby hall) and which are
present in hundreds of thousands of numbers for the divine play of bhagavAn and his
consorts.
We shall continue from where we left in the next part of this chUrNai.
part-1/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
3rd chUrNai Part 2
In this part, we shall look at the meanings of the following, which forms part of chUrNai
3
sarvadhA anubhUyamAnairabi apUrvavath

AScharyam Avahadhbhi: krIdASailaSatha
sahasrair alankruthai:, kaiSchin nArAyaNa dhivyaleelA asAdhAraNai:,
kaiSchith padhmavanAlayA dhivyaleelA asAdhAraNai:,
sAdhAraNaischa kaiSchith Suka SArikA mayUra kOkilAdhibhi:, kOmalakUjithai:, Akulai:
dhivyOdhyAna Satha sahasrairAvruthE, maNimukthA pravAlakrutha sOpAnai:
dhivyAmala – amrutha rasOdhakai: dhivyANdajavarai: athiramaNIya dharSanai:
athimanOhara madhura svarai: Akulai:
anthastha mukthAmaya dhivya krIdA sthAna upaSObhithai:,
dhivya saugandhika vApI Satha sahasrai: dhivya rAjahamsAvalee virAjithai: AvruthE,
nirasthAthiSaya Anandhaika rasathayA cha
AnanthyAchcha pravishtAn unmAdhayadhbhi: krIdOdhdhESai: virajithE,
thathra thathra krutha dhivya pushpa paryanka upaSObhithE,
nAnA pushpa Asava AsvAdha maththa brungAvaleebhi:
udhgeeyamAna dhivya gAndharvENa ApUrithE,
chandhanAgaru karpUra dhivya pushpa avagAhi mandha anilAsEvyamAnE,
madhyE (dhivya) pushpa sanchaya vichithrithE,
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
mahathi dhivya yOga paryankE anantha bhOgini,

SrImath vaikuNta aiSvaryAdhi dhivyalOkam Athma kAnthyA viSvam ApyAyayanthyA,
SEsha SEshASana Adhi sarva parijanam bhagavatha:
thath thath avasthOchitha paricharyAyAm AgyApayanthyA, Seela rUpa
guNa vilAsAdhibhi: Athma anurUpaya, SriyA saha Asinam,
prathyagra unmeelitha saraSija sadhruSa nayana yugalam,
svachcha neela jImUtha sankASam, athyujjvala bItha vAsasam,
svayA prabhayA athinirmalayA athiSIthalayA svachchayA mANikyAbhayA
kruthsnam jagath bhAsayantham, achinthya dhivyAdhbhutha nithya yauvana
svabhAva lAvaNyamaya – amrutha sAgaram
athisaukumAryAth Ishath prasvinnavath AlakshyamANa
lalAtapalaka dhivyAlakAvalee virAjitham,
prabhudhdha muktha ambhuja chArulOchanam, savibhrama bhrUlatham
ujjvalAdharam,
Suchismitham, kOmala gaNdam, unnasam,
udhagrapInAmsa vilambi kuNdala alakAvalee bandhura kambu kandharam,
priyAvathamsa uthpala karNabhUshaNa
SlathAlakAbandha vimardha Samsibhi: chathurbhI:
AjAnu vilabibhi: bhujai: virAjitham, athikOmala dhivyarEkhAlankrutha
AthAmra karathalam, dhivyAnguleeyaka virAjitham,
athikOmala nakAvalee virAjitham, athirakthAnguleebhi: alankrutham,
thathkshaNOnmileetha puNdarIka sadhruSa charaNayugalam
sarvadhA anubhUyamAnairabi apUrvavath AScharyam Avahadhbhi: – sarvadhA –

always;anubhUyamAnairabi – even if experienced; apUrvavath –
incomparable; AScharyam – wondrous; Even if these are experienced on a daily basis,
the novelty in them is incomparable. The happiness derived out of each moment is
different from the previous moment.
krIdASailaSatha sahasrair alankruthai: – krIdA – for playing; Saila –

mountains; Satha – hundreds; sahasrair – thousands; alankruthai: – decorated. There
are hundreds and thousands of mountains for indulgence.
kaiSchin nArAyaNa dhivya leelA asAdhAraNai: – kaiSchith –

some; nArAyaNa dhivya leelA – for the pastime of nArAyaNa; asAdhAraNai: – special.
There are some special orchards which are exclusively for the use of nArAyaNa.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
kaiSchith padhmavanAlayA dhivyaleelA asAdhAraNai: – padhmavanAlayA – one

who has lotus orchards as dwelling place (SrI mahAlakshmi). Similarly there are
exclusive orchards for the pastime of SrI mahAlakshmi.
sAdhAraNaischa kaiSchith – There are some orchards which are common to

bothmahAlakshmi and nArAyaNa.
Suka SArikA mayUra kOkilAdhibhi: – Suka – parrots; SArika – a sub-species of

parrots; mayUra– peacocks; kOkila – cuckoo; Adhibhi: – many others such as swans
etc. There are many species of birds in these orchards.
kOmalakUjithai:, Akulai: – kOmala – sweet; kUjithai – cooing (making

sounds); Akulai: filled with. The entire place is filled with the sweet calls and cooing of
these birds.
dhivyOdhyAna Satha sahasrairAvruthE – dhivya – divine; udhyAna – gardens; Satha

sahasrai: – hundreds and thousands; AvruthE – surrounded. The ponds and lakes are
surrounded by hundreds of thousands of divine gardens
maNimukthA pravAlakrutha sOpAnai: – maNi mukthA pravAla – ruby, pearl,

coral; krutha – made of; sOpAnai: – steps to tank or lake or river. Inside the gardens
and orchards are tanks/lakes with steps made of gems such as ruby, pearl, coral etc.
dhivyAmala amrutha rasOdhakai: – dhivya – aprAkrutha (divine); amala – without

any fault;amrutha – nectar like; rasOdhakai: – taste of water body. The divine water
bodies inside the orchards have the taste of faultless nectar.
dhivyANdaja varai: – dhivya – divine; aNdaja – born from egg (birds); varai: – different
species. Around the water bodies are trees which have many species of divine birds.
athi ramaNiya dharSanai: – athi – very; ramaNIya – pleasant; dharSanai: – to see.

These birds are very pleasant to look at.
athi manOhara madhura svarai: Akulai: – athi – very; manOhara –

enchanting; madhura – mellifluous; svarai: – voice or sound. Akulai: – filled with. Their
voices are very enchanting and honey-like and the place is filled with such birds.
anthastha mukthAmaya dhivya krIdAsthAna upaSObhithai: – anthastha –

inside;mukthAmaya – made of pearls; dhivya – divine; krIdAsthAna – locations for
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
playing; upaSObhithai:– adorned with. Inside the orchards are places which are made
of pearls.
dhivya saugandhika vApi Satha sahasrai: – dhivya – divine; saugandhika – sweet

smelling (white or blue lily); vApi – lake ; Satha sahasrai: – hundreds of thousands of.
There are hundreds of thousands of lakes or ponds with sweet smelling divine flowers.
dhivya rAjahmasa Avalee virAjithai: AvruthE – dhivya – divine; rAjahamsa – royal

swan; Avalee– row of; virajithai: – adorned; AvruthE – surrounded with. The ponds are
beautified by the flock of sudhdha sathva, royal swans.
nirasthAthiSaya Anandhaika rasathayA cha – incomparable, wondrous, joyful

pleasure
ananthyAchcha – unlimited
pravishtAn unmAdhayathbhi: – pravishtAn – one who entered; unmAdhayatha –

mad. Making those who enter such places (orchards, lakes etc), go mad (make them
excited, losing their senses)
krIdOdhdhESai: virAjithE – krIda – play; dhESai: – location; virAjithE – adorned.

Adorned with such locations for playing
thathra thathra krutha dhivya pushpa paryanka upaSObhithE – thathra thathra –

here and there; krutha – carried out; dhivya – divine; pushpa – flower; paryanka –
bed; upaSObhithE – adorned. Decorated with aprAkrutha (divine) flowery beds, here
and there.
nAnA pushpa Asava AsvAdha maththa brunga Avaleebhi: udhgeeyamAna dhivya

gAndharvENa ApUrithE – nAnA – different types; pushpa – flowers; Asava – nectar
(honey) of flowers; AsvAdha – drink; maththa – drunken (overjoyed); brunga – bee or
wasp; Avalee– a collection of wasps; udhgeeyamAna – singing (humming); dhivya –
divine; gAndharvENa – like divine singers; ApUrithE – filled with. Wasps drink nectar
dropping from different types of flowers and in an over-joyous mood sing
like gandharvas (celestial singers) and the entire place is filled with their music.
chandhana agaru karpUra dhivya pushpa avagAhi mandha anila sEvyamAnE –

chandhana– sandal; agaru – kind of sweet smelling grass; karpUra – camphor; dhivya
pushpa – divine flowers; avagAhi – immersed; mandha – gentle; anila –
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
breeze; sEvyamAnE – worshipped. Gentle breeze wades through different types of

sweet smelling materials (such as sandalwood, agaru (a kind of grass), camphor and
divine flowers) and worships…
madhyE pushpa sanchaya vichithrithE – madhyE – in the centre; pushpa sanchaya –

cluster of loose flowers; vichithrithE – like an art work.
mahathi dhivya yOga paryankE – mahathi – huge; dhivya – divine; yOga –

total; paryankE – on the bed.
anantha bhOgini – anantha – thivananthAzhvAn (AdhiSEshan, 1000 hooded serpent)

bhOgini – serpent.
Till now, SrI rAmAnuja has described various parts of SrIvaikuNtam, starting with
hundreds of thousands of lakes, ponds, tanks, how these are decorated with steps
made of precious stones such as ruby, sapphire, pearl, coral etc, different types of trees
that surround these lakes, the types of flowers that grow on the orchards, the pillars in
the garden studded with precious stones, the floor made with precious stones, the bees
and wasps that drink the nectar from the flowers, the gentle breeze that wades through
several sweet smelling substances, how in the midst of all these, on a serpent bed,
bedecked with flowery arrangement – emperumAn, along with his consorts, is giving
audience to his ASrithars, as described below.
SrImath vaikuNta aiSvaryAdhi dhivyalOkam – SrImath – filled with kainkarya SrI

(servingbhagavAn) , vaikuNta – SrIvaikuNtam (nithya vibhUthi) aiSvarya –
wealth; Adhi – starting with this;dhivyalOkam – divine realm. in the divine realm called
SrImath vaikuNtam, with all its wealth
Athma kAnthyA – Athma – self (refers to pirAtti here); kAnthyA – radiance. With her
radiance
viSvam ApyAyayanthyA – viSvam – entire realm; ApyAyayanthyA – relaxed; gladden.

Keeping the entire realm in a relaxed, peaceful state
SEsha SEshASana Adhi sarva parijanam – Sesha – AdhiSEshan; SEshASana –

vishvaksEnar(head of emperumAn’s army); Adhi – and many others following
them; sarva – all; parijanam – servitors.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
bhagavatha: thath thadhavasthOchitha paricharyAyAm AgyApayanthyA –

bhagavatha: – for bhagavAn; thath thath avastha uchitha – appropriate to various
states; paricharyAyAm – for carrying out service; AgyA payanthyA -issue order. pirAtti
appoints all the servitors for carrying out appropriate kainkaryam (service)
to emperumAn (bhagavAn) in various states
Seela rUpa guNa vilAsAdhibhi: Athma anurUpayA – she is appropriate to

emperumAn in herAthma guNa (qualities of her AthmA, soul) as well as in her rUpa
guNa (qualities of her physical form)
SrIya saha Asinam – seated with such a SrI (pirAtti) by his side (even though reference
is only to SrIdhEvi, we have to infer that bhUdhEvi and neeLAdhEvi, his other consorts
are also indicated here)
prathyagra unmeelitha saraSija sadhruSa nayana ugalam – prathyagra – just

then;unmeelitha – blossomed; saraSija – born in pond (lotus); sadhruSa –
equivalent; nayana – eye;ugalam – two. bhagavAn‘s two divine eyes are like lotus
flowers which have just blossomed.
svachcha neela jImUtha sankASam – svachcha – clear; neela – bluish

black; jImUtha – cloud;sankASam – appearance. His appearance is like the dark
clouds.
athyujjvala pIthavAsasam – athi – very; ujjvala – bright/luminous; pItha –

yellow; vAsasam – clothed in. He is dressed in an extremely bright
yellow vasthram (clothe).
svayA prabhayA – svayam – self; prabhayA – radiant. He emits from his form, a
brilliant radiance.
athinirmalayA – athi -very; nirmalayA – without any dOsham (fault). He is absolutely

faultless.
athiSeethalayA – athi – very; SeethalayA – cold. He is very gentle and calm.
mANikyAbhayA – mAnikka – ruby; bhayA – radiance. He has brilliance like ruby.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
kruthsnam jagath bhAsayantham – kruthsnam – without leaving out

anything; jagath – world;bhAsayantham – illuminate. bhagavAn illuminates the entire
world with the radiance from his physical form.
achinthya dhivya adhbhutha – achinthya – beyond thoughts; dhivya –

aprAkrutha (divine);adhbhutha – wonderful. His form is beyond one’s imagination, it is
divine and wonderful.
nithya yauvana svabhAva lAvaNyamaya amrutha sAgaram – nithya – without any

time-limit (always); yauvana – youthful (he is always 16 years old, irrespective of the
number of years that have passed. He is that young, always); svabhAva – as his
nature; lAvaNyamaya – full of beauty, taken as a whole (as opposed
to soundharyam which means beauty of specific feature such as nose or eyes or face
etc), amrutha -nectar, sAgaram – ocean.
SrI rAmAnuja now describes bhagavAn‘s physical features.
athisaukumAryAth Ishath prasvinnavath AlakshyamANa lalAta palaka dhivya

alakAvalee virAjitham – athi – very; saukumAryath – delicate (thin); Ishath – a little
bit; prasvinnavath – spread out ; AlakshayamAna – visible; lalAta – forehead; palaka –
flat part; dhivya – divine;alakAvalee – bundle of curled lock; virAjitham –
adorned. bhagavAn‘s curled lock are soft, thin, a little spread out, and come upto the flat
surface of his forehead.
prabhudhdha mukthAmbhuja chArulOchanam – prabhudhdha –

blossomed; muktha – fresh;ambhuja – lotus; chAru – pleasant; lOchanam – divine eyes.
He is extremely happy on seeing hisASrithars due to which his eyes blossom like a
lotus. Lotus is taken here as a simile. However, unlike the eyes, lotus (i) is not broad, (ii)
does not secrete love and friendliness, (iii) does not blossom on seeing ASrithars, (iv)
does not steal the hearts of those who come to havedharshan (vision) of it.
savibhrama bhrUlatham – savibhrama – knit; bhrUlatham – arched eye-brows. His

eye brows are like the curved sugar-cane bow of manmathan (most handsome person).
ujjvalAdharam – ujjvala – luminous; adharam – lips. Lips are like coral and are bright.
Suchismitham – Suchi – pure; smitham – smile. There is no falseness in his smile. He

is genuinely happy on seeing his ASrithars and it shows in his smile.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
kOmala gaNdam – kOmala – pleasing; gaNdam – cheeks. His cheeks attract

the ASritharstowards them with their beauty and well rounded nature.
unnasam – long (prominent) nose; like kaRpaga creeper (a type of plant) which grows
only in celestial worlds.
udhagra pIna amsa vilambi kuNdala alakAvalee bandhura kambukandharam –

udhagra – tall; pIna – large; amSa – shoulder; vilambi – hanging; kuNdala – ear-
ring; alaka – curled lock;Avalee – bundle; bandhura – charming ; kambu – three lines or
marks in the neck; kandharam -neck. Earlier SrI rAmAnuja had mentioned about the
curly lock on his forehead. Now he describes bhagavAn‘s neck. The neck goes well with
his shoulders. His curled locks hang upto the neck, which has three lines, signifying the
identity of purushOththaman (highest among all AthmAs). His ear rings are also adding
beauty to his neck.
priyAvathamsa uthpala karNabhUshaNa – priyAvatha – beautiful; amsa –

shoulder; uthpala – like a water lily; karNa – for the ears; bhUshaNa – ornament. The
ornaments for the ears are coming upto the shoulder. One wonders whether they are
ornaments for the ears or for the shoulder or for the locks which also fall on to the
shoulder.
SlathAlakAbandha vimardha Samsibhi: chathurbhI: AjAnu vilambibhi: bhujai:

virAjitham– Thus the four shoulders on which the ear rings hang loosely, extend upto
the knee (as an extension through the arms) and adorn emperumAn.
athikOmala dhivyarEkhAlankrutha AthAmra karathalam – athikOmala – very

beautiful;dhivya rekhA – divine lines; alankrutha – decorated with; AthAmra – several
others starting from this; karathalam – palm. bhagavAn‘s palms are decorated with
special marks such as lotus, conch (Sankam), disc (SudharSana chakram) etc.
dhivyAnguleeyaka virAjitham – dhivya – divine; anguleeyaka – rings on fingers;

virAjitham – adorned. His fingers are adorned with divine rings.
athikOmala nakAvalee virAjitham – athikOmala – very beautiful; nakAvalee – row of

nails;virAjitham – adorned with. It is said that chandran (moon) took 20 forms and
presented himself as nails on the fingers and toes of bhagavAn to carry out kainkaryam.
athirakthAnguleebhi: alankrutham – athi – very; raktha – reddish; anguleebhi: –

fingers;alankrutham – decorated with. His divine fingers are deep reddish in colour.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
thathkshaNOnmileetha puNdarIka sadhruSa charaNa yugalam– thath –

that; kshaNa – moment; unmeelitha – blossomed; puNdarIka – lotus; sadhruSa –
equivalent; charaNa – divine feet; yugalam – two. His divine feet are like lotus that has
just blossomed.
Until now, SrI rAmAnuja has described various angams (physical features)
of bhagavAn. Next he describes the ornaments and weapons that decorate his physical
form. We shall see these and the remainder of this chUrNai in the next part.
part-2/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
3rd chUrNai Part 3
In the previous part we had seen how the jIvAthmA, who has been liberated from
samsAram (materialistic realm) enters SrIvaikuNtam and views the grace and splendour
of the place, the central maNdapam (hall) in which on the bed of AdhiSEshan (thousand
hooded serpent), bhagavaAn gives audience with his consorts. We had seen the minute
details of SrIvaikuNtanAthan’s (lord of SrIvaikuNtam) features. SrI rAmAnuja now starts
describing the ornaments and weapons that adorn bhagavAn and ends with how the
jIvAthmA gets to have dharSan of bhagavAn and offers himself to bhagavAn. First let us
go through that part of the chUrNai which we will be seeing here:
athimanOhara kirIta makuta chUdAvathamsa

makarakuNdala graivEyaka hAra kEyUra kataka SrIvathsa
kausthubha mukthAdhAma udharabandhana pIthAmbara kAnchIguNa nUpurAdhdibhi:
athyantha sukhasparSai: dhivya gandhai: bhUshaNai: bhUshitham,
SrImathya vaijayanthyA vanamAlayA virAjitham,
Sanka chakra gadhAsi SArngAdhi dhivyAyudhai: sEvyamAnam,
svasankalpa mAthrAvakluptha jagaj janma sthithi dhvamsAdhikE
SrImathi vishvaksEnE nyastha samsthAthmaiSvaryam,
vainathEyAdhibhi: svabhAvatho nirastha samastha sAmsArika svabhAvai:
bhagavath parichryAkaraNa yOgyai: bhagavath paricharyaika bhOgai: nithya sidhdhai:
ananthai: yathAyOgam sEvyamAnam,
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
Athma bhOgEna anusamhitha parAdhikAla dhivyAmala kOmalAvalOkanEna viSvam

AhlAdhayantham,
Ishadh unmeelitha mukhAmbhuja adhara vinirgathEna dhivyAnanAravindha,
SObhA janakEna dhivya gAmbhIrya audhArya saundharya mAdhuryAdhi
anavadhika guNagaNa vibhUshithEna athimanOhara
dhivya bhAvagarbhEna dhivya leelAlApAmruthEna
akhila jana hrudhayAntharANi ApUrayantham,
bhagavantham nArAyaNam dhyAna yOgEna dhrushtvA,
thathO bhagavatha: nithya svAmyam Athmana: nithya dhAsyam cha yathAvasthitham
anusandhAya
Explanatory Note:
athimanOhara kirIta makuta – athi – very; manOhara – captivating the heart; kirIta –
the round ornament worn over the head; makuta – the long crown worn
over kirItam. The head gears that bhagavAn wears are capable of capturing the hearts
of those who happen to have their dharshan (view).
chUdA avathamsa – chUdA – a pendant worn on the head, coming upto the top of the
forehead. avathamsa – worn on the top portion of the ears.
makara kuNdala – makara – fish; kuNdala – ear drops.
graivEyaka – ornament worn around the neck (neck-band, does not come below the
neck).
hAra – chains which hang upto the stomach or further below.
kEyUra – bracelet worn on the upper arm (armlet)
kataka – bracelet worn on the wrist.
SrIvathsa – the captivating mole on the chest
kausthubha – the ornament adorning his chest, representing all jIvAthmAs
mukthAdhAma – pearl necklace
udhara bandhana – waist band around his stomach
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
pIthAmbara – gold laced, silk vEshti (clothe worn around the waist, covering the lower
part of his divine form)
kAnchIguNa – a golden cord worn around the waist.
nUpura – anklet
Adhibhi: – many other such ornaments which have not been stated
athyantha sukha Sparsai: – athyantha – without an end; sukha –

comfortable; Sparsai – touch. With so many ornaments on his divine form, will they not
cause him discomfort or irritation? No, on the other hand, they would be like touching
him with flowers, so soft they would be. These ornaments are nithyasUris. Will they
cause him any discomfort?
dhivyagandhai – dhivya – aprAkrutha (divine); gandhai: – smell. They are ornaments

only, but even they would emit a sweet fragrance.
bhUshaNair bhUshitham – bhUshaNair – with such ornaments; bhUshitham –

decorated. He is adorned with such divine ornaments.
SrImathyA vaijayanthyA vanamAlayA virAjitham – SrImathya –

beautiful; vaijayanthyA vanamAlayA – an ornamental garland made with 5 stones which
is an identity for SrIman nArAyaNan similar to his conch, discus, AdhiSEshan
paryankam (serpent bed) etc; virAjitham – adorned.
Sanka chakra gadhASi SArngAdhi dhivyAyudhai: sEvyamAnam – Sanka – conch

(pAnchajanyam); chakra – discus (sudharSan); gadhA – mace (kaumOdhaki); aSi –
sword (kadgam);SArnga – bow; Adhi – various weapons like these. dhivya –
divine; Ayudhai: – weapons;sEvyamAnam – worshipped by. Why should he have
weapons in SrIvaikuNtam where no enemy can ever approach? It is perfectly
understandable if he has these weapons in our bhUlOkam(earth) as people like rAvaNa,
kumbhakarNa, SiSupAla et al keep coming. But why there? Two reasons are given –
one is that they are also there as ornaments to decorate him. The other reason is that
his ASrithars there (such as AzhwArs) are always worried that something terrible would
happen to him even at a place such as SrIvaikuNtam. Hence to pacify them he wears
these.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
After describing bhagavAn‘s ornaments and armaments, SrI rAmAnuja now turns to
nithyasUris (those who dwell permanently in SrIvaikuNtam, carrying out endless service
to bhagavAn).
sankalpamAthrAvakluptha jagaj janma sthithi dhvamsAdhikE – sankalpa –

will; mAthra – only; avakluptha – administered; jagaj – universe; janma –
creation; sthithi – protection; dhvamsa– destruction. Possessing to a high degree the
ability to create plant, animal, human species in the world merely at his will. Who is this
nithyasUri?
SrImathi vishvaksEnE – SrImathi – with kainkarya as wealth; vishvaksEnE – to SrI

vishvaksEnar, who is the head of bhagavAn‘s army.
nyastha samastha Athma aiSvaryam – nyastha – placed; samastha – all; Athma

aiSvaryam – controlling all AthmAs. bhagavAn has given the role of creating, protecting
and destroying all worlds to his principal nithyasUri, vishvaksEnar.
vainathEyAdhibhi: – Starting with vainathEya (garuda, bhagavAn‘s vehicle), included

in this list are bhagavAn’s bodyguards and chieftains. There are guards for protecting
entrance to SrIvaikuNtam in each of the 4 directions. There are also armies in all
directions and for each of these units there are heads (chieftains).
svabhAvatha: nirastha samastha sAmsArika svabhAvai: – svabhAvatha: – as their

nature;nirastha – removed; samastha – all; sAmsArika – of samsAris (those who dwell
in bhUlOkam, earth); svabhAvai: – their basic traits and nature. These nithyasUris do
not have any connection with the nature of jIvAthmAs who dwell in materialistic
realm, samsAram.
bhagavath paricharyA karaNa yOgyai: – bhagavath – bhagavAn‘s; paricharyA –

kainkaryam;karaNa – to carry out; yOgyai: – have the capability. These nithyasUris
have the right and capability to carry out kainkaryam to bhagavAn always.
bhagavath paricharyaika bhOgai: – bhagavath – bhagavAn‘s; paricharya –

kainkaryam; Eka bhOgai: – only sustenance. These nithyasUris have only kainkaryam
to bhagavAn as their sustenance.
nithya sidhdhai: – they are always present.
ananthai: – endless – there is no count to their numbers.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
yathA yOgam sEvayamAnam – yatha – whatever; yOgam – kainkaryam that the

nithyasUris have been blessed with; sEvyamAnam – worshipped by. bhagavAn is
worshipped by these nithyasUris who are blessed with appropriate kainkaryam each
day.
Athma bhOgEna anusamhitha parAdhikAla dhivya amala kOmala avalOkanEna –

Athma – self; bhOgEna – enjoyment; anusamhitha – protect; parAdhikAla – for
ever; dhivya – divine; amala– pure; kOmala – beautiful; avalOkanEna – graceful
glance. bhagavAn enjoys these kainkaryams from nithyasUris, for his own enjoyment.
He looks at with divine, faultless, divine eyes. Looks at whom?
viSvam AhlAdhayantham – viSvam – entire world, with all its living

entities. AhlAdhayantham – making them happy and comfortable.
Ishadh unmeelitha mukhAmbuja adhara vinirgathEna – Isadh – a little bit;

unmeelitha – just blossomed; mukha – face; ambuja – lotus; adhara –
lips; vinirgathEAna – coming out from . Starting with this, until akhilajana
hrudhAyAntharAni Apurayantham, SrI rAmAnuja describes the sweetness in the words
and the beautiful way that bhagavAn speaks. Here he says that his lips are parted just a
little, like a just blossoming lotus, and out of these opened lips come out the sweet
words.
dhivya Anana aravindha SObhAjanakEna – dhivya – divine; Anana –

mouth; aravindha – lotus;SObhA – splendour; janakEna – producing; His divine words
have the effect of producing an effect which is like adding an ornament to his lotus-like
lips.
dhivya gAmbhIrya audhArya mAdhurya Adhi anavadhika guNa gaNa

vibhUshithEna –dhivya – divine; gAmbhIrya – depth; audhArya –
generous; mAdhurya – sweet (honey-like); Adhi – similar qualities; anavadhika –
countless; guNa – qualities; gaNa – cluster of; vibhUshithEna – decorated. His divine
words are decorated with qualities such as being deep (like thunderous sound),
generous (giving lot of meanings to whatever he says), sweet etc which are all divine.
athi manOhara dhivya bhAvagarbhENa – athi – very; manOhara – captivating the

minds of listeners; dhivya – divine; bhAvagarbhENa – emotional content. His divine
words are capable of captivating minds with their emotional (having lot of meanings)
content.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
dhivya leelA AlApa amruthEna – dhivya – divine; leelA – elegance; AlApa – sweet
words;amruthEna – like nectar. His divine elegant words are sweet and full of nectar.
akhila jana hrudhya antharAnya apUrayantham – akhila – all; jana – living

species; hrudhaya– hearts; antharAnya – inner space; apUrayantham – filled with. He
fills up the inner spaces in the hearts of all living beings with his sweet words.
bhagavantham nArAyaNam – bhagavantham – one who has all auspicious qualities,

which are opposite of all faults; nArAyaNam – the personification of such an
entitiy, SrIman nArAyaNan.
dhyAna yOgEna dhrushtvA – dhyAna yOgEna – through meditation; dhrushtvA –

able to see. The jIvAthmA who has got liberated and reached SrIvaikuNtam is able to
have dharshan (vision) of bhagavAn through meditation. This is called as mAnasa
sAkshAthkAram (ability to see through the mind). Normally, this mAnasa
sAkshAthkAram is acquired by a person who reaches bhagavAn through bhakthi
yOgam (devotional path), which is a very tough path to wade through. The same effect
is reached by a prapannan (one who carries out prapaththi or SaraNAgathi). This is the
end result of repeatedly thinking about bhagavAn every day (we had seen this in the
2nd chUrNai, prathyaham Athma ujjIvanAya Evam anusmarEth).
bhagavatha: nithya swAmyam Athmana: nithya dhAsyam cha yathA avasthitham

anusandhAya – bhagavatha: – bhagavAn; nithya – always; swAmyam –
master; Athmana: –jIvAthmA; nithya dhAsyam – always servant; cha – and; yathA –
whatever; avasthitham – situation or position. anushandhAya – to repeat. Once the true
positions of the two entities (bhagavAn and jIvAthmA) are realised (that he is swAmy or
owner and jIvAthmA is dhAsan or servant or owned), mind immediately starts desiring
for kainkaryam.
We shall now see the remaining portion of this chUrNai in part 4.
part-3/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
3rd chUrNai part 4
In this final part of 3rd chUrNai, we shall see how

the jIvAthmA approaches bhagavAn and submits himself unto him.
kadhAham bhagavantham nArAyaNam, mama kula nAtham, mama kula dhaivatham,

mama kula dhanam, mama bhOgyam, mama mAtharam,
mama pitharam, mama sarvam, sAkshAthkaravANi chakshushA:
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhAmbujadhvayam SirasA dhArayishyAmi;
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhAmbujadhvaya paricharyA karaNa yOgya:
(thadhEka bhOga:) thathpAdhau paricharishyAmi;
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhambujadhvaya
paricharyASayA nirastha samsthEthara bhOgASa: apagatha samastha
sAmsArika svabhAva: thathpAdhAmbujadhvayam pravEkshyAmi;
kadhAmAm bhagavAn svakIyayA athiSIthalayA dhruSA
avalOkya snigdha gambhIra madhurayA girA paricharyAyAm
agyApayishyathi ithi bhagavath paricharyAyAm ASAm
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
varthdhayithvA thayaiva ASayA thathprasAdhOpabrumhithayA

bhagavantham upEthya dhUrAdhEva bhagavantham SEshabhOgE
SrIyA sahAsInam vainathEyAdhibhi sEvyamAnam
‘samastha parivArAya SrImathE nArAyaNAya nama:’
ithi praNamya uththAya uththAya, puna: puna: praNamya, athyantha sAdhvasa
vinayAvanathO bhUthvA, bhagavathpArishadha gaNanAyakai:
dhvArapAlai: krupayA snEha garbhayA dhruSA
avalOkitha: samyak abhivandhithai: thairEva anumathObhUthvA
bhagavantham upEthya SrImathA mUlamanthrENa
‘bhagavan! mAmaikAnthikAthyanthika paricharyA karaNaya parigruhNIshva’
ithi yAchamAna: praNamya AthmAnam bhagavathE nivEdhayEth II
Explanatory Note:
kadhA – when. He starts getting tensed for carrying out kainkaryam.
aham – I, who has no other path and who has attained bhagavAn and who is now
feeling tensed about the fruit of attaining bhagavAn (i.e. who is delirious for carrying out
kainkaryam)
bhagavantham nArAyaNam – he is so great and adiyEn is so small that adiyEn is

unable to stay quiet after realising his auspicious and supreme qualities
mama nAtham – he is my Lord and master
mama kula dhaivatham – he is the prime worshipable deity for my family (here the
term family refers to the group of ASrithars i.e. SrIvaishNavas).
mama kula dhanam – he is the protector for my family. Just as money is viewed as
offering protection, here bhagavAn is the greatest protector in times both good and bad
for his ASrithars.
mama bhOgyam – He is the source of my enjoyment
mama mAtharam – He bears me and does good for me.
mama pitharam – he is the cause for my existence as well as one who does what is
correct for me.
mama sarvam – he is everything to me. He is whatever that has not been stated.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
sAkshAth karavANi chakshushA? – when will I see him? It was only a few sentences
back he had said that he has seen him (dhyAna yOgEna dhrushtvA – seen him through
mind). Now he is longing to see him. Is there anything contradictory here? SrI
rAmAnuja says that he wants to see him with his eyes (chakshushA) for ever (sadhA
paSyanthi).
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhAmbuja dvayam SirasA dhArayishyAmi? – kadhA –

when; aham– I; bhagavath – bhagavAn‘s; pAdha – exalted feet; ambuja – lotus-
like; dhvayam – two of them;SirasA – through my head; dhArayishyAmi – will bear him.
When will I bear his exalted feet on my head, asks SrI rAmAnuja.
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya paricharyA karaNa yOgya: (thadhEka

bhOga:)thathpAdhau paricharishyAmi – kadhAham – when I; bhagavath
pAdhAmbujadvaya –bhagavAn‘s two lotus-like exalted feet; paricharyA karaNa
yOgya: – be eligible to carry out kainkaryam; thadhEka bhOga – only that
enjoyment; thath pAdhau – those exalted feet;paricharishyAmi – will get to do
kainkaryam? First he wanted to take bhagavAn’s exalted feet on his head. Now he
wants to know when he will be able to carry out kainkaryam to them.
kadhAham bhagavath pAdhambujadhvaya paricharyASayA nirastha

samsthEthara bhOgASa: apagatha samastha sAmsArika svabhAva:
thathpAdhAmbujadhvayam pravEkshyAmi – kadhAham – when I; bhagavath
pAdhAmbujadhvaya – bhagavAn‘s two lotus like exalted feet; paricharya –
kainkaryam; ASayA – desire; nirastha – reject; samastha – all; ithara –
other; bhOgASa: – desire in enjoyment; apagatha – gone; samastha – all; sAmsArika
svabhAva: – the manner of dwellers of earth (samsAris); thathpAdhAmbujadhvayam –
those two exalted lotus like feet; pravEkshyAmi – will attain? He is now wondering
when he will get to attain the exalted feet. What type of feet are they? They are such
that the desire in him to carry out kainkaryam to those two exalted feet of bhagavAn
makes him to reject the desire in all the other enjoyments which are sought after
by samsAris (dwellers in materialistic realm) as their nature.
kadhAmAm bhagavAn svakIyayA athiSIthalayA dhruSA avalOkya snigdha

gambhIra
madhurayA girA paricharyAyAm agyApayishyathi– kadhA – when; mAm –
me; bhagavAn –bhagavAn; svakIyayA – his own; athiSIthalayA – very cool (calm and
gentle); dhruSa – eye;avalOkya – to look; snigdha – gentle; gambhIra –
deep; madhurayA girA – mellifluous voice;paricharyAyAm – to do
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
kainkaryam; AgyApayishyathi – will order? When will bhagavAn, with his merciful, cool
eyes glance at me and in his thunderous, sweet voice order me to carry out kainkaryam
to him?
ithi bhagavath paricharyAyAm ASAm varthdhayithvA – ithi – like this; bhagavath –

bhagavAn‘s; paricharyAyAm – to carry out kainkaryam; ASAm –
desire; varthdhayithvA – to make it grow. He is praying to bhagavAn to make the desire
to carry out kainkaryam to him to grow more and more.
thayaiva ASayA thath prasAdha upabrumhithayA bhagavantham upEthya –

thayaiva – with that; ASayA – desire; thath prasAdha – with bhagavAn‘s
grace; upaburmhithayA – bring pushed;bhagavantham – bhagavAn; upEthya – near.
With the desire (to carry out kainkaryam to bhagavAn) pushing him, with bhagavAn’s
loving grace, he nears bhagavAn.
dhUrAdhEva bhagavantham SEshabhOgE SrIyA saha AsInam vainathEyAdhibhi

sEvyamAnam – dhUrAdhEva – from a distance; bhagavantham –
bhagavAn; SEshabhOgE – sitting on AdhiSEshan (serpent bed), SrIyA –
mahAlakshmi (it is inferred that bhUdhEvi and neelAdhEvi are also there); saha –
with; AsInam – sitting by the side; vainathEya – garudan; Adhibhi – and
others;sEvyamAnam – worshipped by. From a distance, he sees bhagavAn, sitting on
the 1000 hooded serpent bed, with SrI, bhU and neelA dhEvis, surrounded by
nithyasUris such as vainathEyan and others, worshipping them.
samastha parivArAya SrImathE nArAyaNAya nama: ithi praNamya uththAya

uththAya, puna: puna: praNamya – samastha – all; parivArAyA – surrounded by
ASrithars; SrimAthE – with SrI mahAlakshmi; nArAyaNAya nama: – salutations to
nArAyaNan; ithi – saying this; praNamya – prostrating; uththAya uththAya puna: puna:
praNamya– standing at the place where the head touched earlier and prostrating again,
standing up again at the place where the head touched earlier and prostrating again
(doing this repeatedly till he reached bhagavAn). From a distance he sees bhagavAn
surrounded by ASrithars. He offers salutation to bhagavAn along with his consorts and
prostrates himself repeatedly till he reaches bhagavAn.
athyantha sAdhvasa vinayAvanathO bhUthvA bhagavathpArishadha

gaNanAyakai: dhvArapAlai: krupayA snEha garbhayA dhruSA avalOkitha: –
athyantha – without an end;sAdhvasa – timidly; vinaya – with humility; avanathO –
head bowed; bhUthva – being; bhagavath –bhagavAn‘s; pArishadha –
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
attendants; gaNanAyakai: – his chieftains; dhvArapAlai: – his guards at the entrance

(loosely, door-keepers); krupayA snEha garbhayA – with grace and
friendliness;dhruSA – with their eyes; avalOkitha – viewed by. As he approaches
bhagavAn by repeatedly prostrating in front of bhagavAn and takes a few steps with
humility, head bowed, the nithyasUris near bhagavAn (his attendants, his chieftains and
the guards at the entrance) look at him with grace and friendliness.
samyak abhivandhithai: thairEva anumatha; bhUthvA bhagavantham upEthya

SrImathA mUlamanthrENa ‘bhagavan! mAm aikAnthikAthyanthika paricharyA
karaNaya parigruhNIshva;’ ithi yAchamAna: praNamya AthmAnam bhagavathE
nivEdhayEth – samyak – very well; abhivandhithai: – saluted respectfully; thairEva –
only with their; anumatha:bhUthva – permission; bhagavantham – bhagavAn; upEthya –
nearing; SrImathA mUlamanthrENa – reciting thirumanthram; bhagavAn – hE (oh)
bhagavAn!; mAm – me; aikAnthika – with single focus; Athyanthika – till the
end; paricharyA – to carry out kainkaryam; karaNaya – as an implement for
kainkaryam; praigruhNIshva: – accept; ithi – like this; yAchamAna: –
praying;praNamya – prostrating; AthmAnam – self; bhagavathE – to
bhagavAn; nivEdhayEth – offers. The jIvAthmA now takes permission from bhagavAn’s
ASrithars and reciting thirumantham, approaches bhagavAn and beseeches him to
accept him as an implement for carrying out kainkaryam (could be as a lamp or as a
vessel used in thiruvArAdhanam or any such implement) till the end. So saying, he
prostrates himself before bhagavAn and offers himself to bhagavAn.
This brings us to the end of 3rd chUrNai. We shall now move on to the 4th chUrNai.
part-4/
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
4th chUrNai
After the jIvAthmA offers himself to bhagavAn and prays for kainkaryam, bhagavAn
accepts his prayer and grants him kainkaryam. Let us look at the chUrNai:
thathO bhagavathA svayamEva AthmasanjIvanEna

(amaryAdha Seelavatha athiprEmAnvithEna) avalOkanEna avalOkya,
sarvadhESa sarvakAla sarvAvasthOchitha
athyantha SEshabhAvAya svIkrutha: anugyAthaScha athyantha
sAdhvasa vinayAvanatha: kinkurvANa: kruthAnjaliputa:
bhagavantham upAsItha II
Explanatory Notes
thatha: bhagavatha: svayam Eva – thatha: – after that; bhagavatha: –

by bhagavAn; svayam Eva– by himself. After jIvAthmA has offered himself, bhagavAn
by himself, as requested by jIvAthmA.
AthmasanjIvanEna amaryAdha Seelavatha athiprEmAnvithEna – Athma

sanjIvanEna – for AthmA’s superior sustenance; amaryAdha – without any
limit; Seelavatha – with his auspicious qualities; athiprEmAnvithEna – with lot of love
and affection. For the sake of AthmA’s sustenance,bhagavAn, out of his unlimited
auspicious qualities, and with plenty of love towards jIvAthmA.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
avalOkanEna avalOkya – avalOkanEna – through his eyes; avalOkya – having

seen. bhagavAnwith love in his eyes glances at the jIvAthmA and blesses him.
sarvadhESa sarvakAla sarva avashtha uchitha athyantha SEsha bhAvAya –

sarvadhESa – in all places; sarvakAla – at all times; sarva avastha uchitha – in all
states, appropriately; athyantha – without an end; SEsha bhAvAya – in the state of
carrying out kainkaryam. bhagavAn blesses him to carry out kainkaryam in all places
(whether he is in the maNdapam or in the garden or at the pond etc), at all times
(morning or afternoon or evening or night), in all states (whether he is sitting or standing
or walking or any other such state), appropriate to that place/time/state, without any end
and always with the emotional state of doing kainkaryam.
svIkrutha: anugyAthaScha – svIkrutha: – approved; anugyAthaScha – allowing.

bhagavAn first approves the jIvAthmA for carrying out kainkaryam and then permits
him to do kainkaryam.
athyantha sAdhvasa vinayAvanatha: – athyantha – without an end; sAdhvasa – with

humility;vinayAvanatha: – bending down with modesty. On hearing from bhagavAn that
he can do kainkaryam, the jIvAthmA with all humility, with head bowed in modesty, asks
bhagavAn…
kim kurvANa: krutha anjaliputa: – kim – what; kurvANa: – should I do? krutha –
done; anjali puta: joined palms (in salutation). He asks bhagavAn as to what he should
do, with joined palms.
bhagavantham upASItha – bhagavantham – bhagavAn; upASItha – worshipped. So

saying,jIvAthmA worships bhagavAn.
We shall next see the 5th chUrNai.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
5th chUrNai
With the love born out of experiencing bhagavAn, the jIvAthmA, now feeling extremely
happy, will always have dharSan (having bhagavAn as his focus) without interest in any
other thing.
thathaScha anubhUyamAna bhAvaviSEsha: nirathiSaya prIthyA anyath

kinchith karththum dhrashtum smarthum aSaktha: punarapi
SEshabhAvamEva yAchamAna: bhagavanthamEva avichchinna
srOthorUpENa avalOkanEna avalOkayan AsItha II
Explanatory Notes
thathaScha – After that (after being approved and allowed by bhagavAn to carry out
kainkaryam);
anubhUyamAna bhAva viSEsha: – anubhUyamAna – being experienced; bhAva –

state; viSEsha: – special. The jIvAthmA experiences bhgavAn’s auspicious qualities.
nirathiSaya prIthyA – nirathiSaya – nothing more wondrous than this; prIthyA – with
love. After experiencing the auspicious qualities of bhagavAn, he feels that there can be
nothing more wondrous than this, and with overflowing love….
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
anyath kinchith karthum dhrashtum smarthum aSaktha: – anyath – anything

else; kinchith– even a little bit; karthum – to do; dhrashtum – to see; smarthum – to
think; aSaktha: – not capable. He is so overflowing with love after
experiencing bhagavAn that he is incapable of doing or seeing or thinking, even a little
bit, of anything other than bhagavAn.
punarapi SEshabhAvamEva yAchamAna: – punarapi – again; SEshabhAvamEva –

in the state of carrying out kainkaryam; yAchamAna: – requests and prays to bhagavAn.
He has been granted kainkaryam by bhagavAn. Still, he is worried that this should last
for ever and out of that worry, he prays repeatedly to bhagavAn that it should last for
ever.
bhagavanthamEva – of SrIvaikuNtanAthan (bhagavAn).
avichchinna srOtha: rUpENa; avalOkanEna – avichchinna – without any

interruption; srOtha – continuous flow (like a river); rUpENa – form; avalOkanEna –
looking at. He looks at bhagavAn continuously, without any distraction.
avalOkayan AsItha – avalOkayan – look at; Asitha – let him for ever. Let
the jIvAthmA keep looking at bhagavAn continuously without any interruption.
We shall now see the last chUrNai of this gadhyam in the next part.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
6th chUrNai
This chUrNai states that the jIvAthmA, after being blessed by bhagavAn, will always
remain as king in the kingdom of kainkaryam and will stay in happiness for ever. Let us
look at the chUrNai:
thathO bhagavathA svayamEva AthmasanjIvanEna

avalOkanEna avalOkya, sasmithamAhUya,
samastha klESApaham nirathiSaya sukhAvaham AthmIyam
SrImath pAdhAravindha yugalam Sirasikrutham dhyAthvA,
amrutha sAgarAnthar nimagna sarvAvayava: sukhamAsItha II
Explanatory Note
thatha: bhagavatha: svayam Eva AthmasanjIvanEna – thatha: – after

that; bhagavatha: – by bhagavAn; svayam Eva – by himself; Athma sanjIvanEna – for
AthmA’s superior sustenance.
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
avalOkanEna avalOkya – avalOkanEna – through his eyes; avalOkya – having

seen. bhagavAnwith love in his eyes looks at the jIvAthmA and blesses him.
sasmitham AhUya – sasmitham – with a smile; AhUya – beckoning. bhagavAn smiles

at the jIvAthmA (the jIvAthmA was all along thinking that he is Isvaran and now he
understands that he is a servitor; bhagavAn knows this and smiles at him for the
awareness that has dawned on him)
samastha klESa apaham nirathiSaya sukhAvaham – samastha – all; klESam –

troubles;apaham – removing; nirathiSaya – most wondrous; sukhAvaham –
pleasant. bhagavAn‘s smile removes all the troubles of samsAram that
the jIvAthmA had suffered earlier and creates a feeling of pleasantness in him.
AthmIyam SrImath pAda aravaindha yugalam – AthmIyam – self

(bhagavAn‘s); SrImath – most enjoyable; pAdha – exalted feet; aravindha – lotus-
like; yugalam – two. The jIvAthmA takes the two exalted, most enjoyable feet of
bhagavAn and …
Sirasikrutham dhyAthvA – Sirasikrutham – keeping on the head; dhyAthvA –

meditating. The jIvAthmA meditates that he is taking the two exalted feet
of bhagavAn on his head.
amrutha sAgar anthar nimagna – amrutha – nectar; sAgar – ocean; anthar – deep
inside;nimagna – immersed. Taking the exalted feet of bhagavAn on his head makes
the jIvAthmA feel that he has immersed himself deeply in the ocean of bhagavAn’s
auspicious qualities, and without any fear of coming out, enjoys the experience.
sarva avayava: sukham AsItha – sarva – all; avayava: – parts; sukham –

happy; AsItha – lives for ever. The jIvAthmA lives with such happiness for ever in
SrIvaikuNtam, doing all kainkaryam tobhagavAn.
periyavAchchAn piLLai summarises what bhagavadh SrI rAmAnujar had said in

gadhyathrayam in a few lines now:
jIvAthmA realises that pArathanthriyam (dependence on bhagavAn) is his svarUpam

(basic nature). In line with that, he carries out SaraNAgathi to bhagavAn as the path for
attaining bhagavAn. Then he leaves the prAkrutha maNdalam (materialistic realm) and
reaches aprAkrutha maNdalam (SrIvaikuNtam). There he gets to
have dharshan (audience) with bhagavAn who is worshipped constantly by the entire
SrIvaikuNta gadhyam
assemblage of nithyasUris (those who live permanently in SrIvaikuNtam, without any

connection with materialistic realm, our samsAram). Then he prays for carrying out
kainkaryam to bhagavAn and is granted kainkaryam. For ever after that, he stays
happily in SrIvaikuNtam, never to return to samsAram.
With this, we come to the end of SrIvaikuNta gadhyam (as a corollary, to the end of
gadhya thrayam).
swAmy SrI rAmAnujar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

parama kArunNIkar periyavAchchAn piLLai thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
viSadhavAk SikhAmaNi maNavALa mAmunigaL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
kAnchi perundhEvith thAyAr dhEvapperumAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
dhivyadhampathi periya pirAttiyAr periya perumAL thiruvadigaLE Saranam

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paramapadhanAthan – paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam)

SrI rAmAnuja – SrIrangam

dhivya prabandham – translations project

dhivya prabandhams are the most essential aspect of SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

on behalf of http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org team

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org

SrIrangaAthan – mUlavar and uthsavar – SrIrangam

SrI rAmAnuja – SrIrangam

After SrIranga gadhyam, bhagavath rAmAnuja continues to recite SrIvaikuNta gadhyam

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

Web: http://koyil.org, http://ponnadi.blogspot.com, http://granthams.koyil.org ,

dhurmuki – Adi 27 – visAgam (August 11th, 2016)

ALavandhAr (yAmunAchAryar) – kAttu mannAr kOyil

yAmunArya sudhAmbhOdhim avagAhya yathAmathi

yAmunArya – yAmunAcharya (ALavandhAr, one of the principal preceptors in our

We are discussing about gadhyathrayam, in which the principal path shown is

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

wishes. In SrIvaikuNta gadhyam, he discourses about SrIvaikuNtanAthan (lord of

There are 6 chUrNais in SrivaikuNta gadhyam. In the 1st chUrNai, he describes

Let us next see the first chUrNai.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

1st chUrNai Part 1

svAdhIna thrividha chEthanAchEthana svarUpa sthithi pravruththi bhEdham,

swAmithvEna guruthvEna suhruthvEna cha

svAdhIna – Unlike chEthana and achEthana entities who are dependent

What are these entities?

thrividha chEthanAchEthana – three types of AthmAs, namely bhadhdha (those who

svarUpa sthithi pravruththi bhEdham – the bhEdham (difference) in

klESa karmAdhyaSEsha dhOshAsamsprushtam – A king or head of a family is

Can these qualities be grouped and counted?

Are these qualities shown one at a time?

We shall see more of this chUrNai in the next part.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

1st chUrNai Part 2

Who is that entity, having such svarUpa rUpa guNas? He is …

paramapurusham bhagavantham nArAyaNam – He is nArAyaNan. What sort of an

paramapurusham – superior entity. The word “purusha” is common to

Is there any name for this most wondrous entity?

nArAyaNam – He is nArAyaNan, who has no one superior to him, as mentioned in

swAmithvEna guruthvEna suhruthvEna cha parigruhya – the larger meanings of the

on to him in all ways (as mentioned in SAsthrAs, as tutored by AchAryas and as

aikAnthika Athyanthika thath pAdhAmbhuja dhvaya paricharyaika manOratha: –

thath pAdhAmbhujadhvaya – kainkaryam always means carrying out service

paricharyA – charyA – history or carrying out or kainkaryam. Here the meaning to be

EkamanOratha: – leaving out all the other prayOjanam (benefits of

thath prApthayE – to attain that manOratham (desire of mind) of doing kainkaryam.

thath pAdhambhujadhvaya prapaththE: – thath – that; pAdha – foot; ambhuja – lotus

anyanna mE kalpakOti sahasrENApi sAdhanam asthi ithi manvAna: – anyath –

anyath – other (means for attaining bhagavAn). The “means” other

kalpakOti sahasrENApi – Would a cobweb, immersed in water for thousands of days,

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

1st chUrNai Part 3

nammAzhwAr surrendering to SrIranganAtha

thasyaiva bhagavathO nArAyaNasya – thasyaiva – as said; bhagavathO –

akhilasathva dhayaika sAgarasya – ocean of mercy for all. akhilasathva – considering

anAlOchitha guNa aguNa akhaNda jana anukUla amaryAdha Seelavatha: – he has