Ashtasloki by Sri Bhattar (with explanation in English)

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PROLOGUE

As asserted by Poigai AzhwAr (mudhal ThiruvandhAdhi - 33), it is of no use to count the

chant of the mantras in the sandhyAvandanam without thinking in the mind of the
qualities of the Supreme Being - for instance His kindness in giving a city to dwell for the
four-faced Brahma in His lotus navel and granting him the Vedas for being propagated.
The spirit of the AzhwAr's statement indicates the important messages of the Vedas viz.
yamEva Esha vrNutE tEna labhya: - He can be reached by only that soul which He
chooses; sa u SrEyAn bhavati jAyamAna: - He gets more renowned by His birth
(avatAram) etc. should reach the world and convince the souls that He is making His own
efforts (without any expectations from them) for their uplift.

The Lord willed that the AzhwArs should bring out the messages of what others would
consider as mantras and do chanting (japa) or offerings in fire (hOma). Even the word
nArAyaNa is interpreted by the AzhwArs. For instance, "nArAyaNan ennai ALi,
narahatthucchErAmal kAkkum thirumAl" (nAnmuhan thiruvandhAdhi verse 14)
interprets the word as possessor of the soul(s) and as remover of the obstacles in reaching
Him. "nAraNan muzhu Ezhulahukkum nAthan.. kAraNam kiriSai karumam ivai"
(thiruvAimozhi 2.7.2) interprets the word as 'narANAm ayanam' - the controller, supporter
and conductor of the material and spiritual world.

The AzhwArs mention about the Thirumanthram (ashtAksharI - referred to as

mantrarAjam by some), dwayam (referred to as mantraratnam by some) and the charama
SlOka indicating their interpretations. These three being hailed as rahasya trayam - the
three precious messages, it can be said, without fear of contradiction, that the AzhwArs
were the first to interpret them as mantras conveying the precious messages 1. SrI
ParASara Bhattar 2 seems to be the first AchArya to put the AzhwArs' impressive and
down-to-earth interpretations of these mantras in simple Sanskrit verses for the benefit of
Sanskrit-knowing people, having noticed that such an attempt was not available in sources
in that language. These verses constitute the ashtaSlOkI which are explained in the
following pages in English.

Salutations to Sri Bhattar:

Sloka:

SrI ParASara bhattArya: SrIrangESa purOhita:

SrIvatsAnka suta: SrImAn SrEyasE mEstu bhUyasE

Meaning:

May Sri ParASara bhattar, son of SrIvatsAnka or KooratthAzhwAn, for whom the prime
concern is the well-being of Lord RanganAtha, be for my great wealth ((of the knowledge
that the Lord is my means and goal).

Introduction:

In the ashtaSlOkI, Sri Bhattar gives us the significance of the three important mantras of
Sri VaishNavism, viz. The Thiru-Mantram or ashtAksharI, the Dwaya-mantram and the
Charama SlOka. This work consists of eight verses.

In the first four SlOkas, Sri Bhattar elaborates the meaning of the Thiru-Mantram or
ashtAksharI, the mantra consisting of eight letters "aum namO nArAyaNAya" comprising
the three words aum, nama: and nArAyaNa.

In the fifth and sixth SlOkas, Sri Bhattar teaches the meaning of the dvaya-mantra, the
mantra consisting of two parts viz. "SrImannArAyaNa CharaNau SaraNam PrapadyE" and
"SrImatE nArAyaNAya nama:"
In the seventh and eighth SlOkas, Sri Bhattar dwells on the message given by Lord
Krishna in the Charama SlOka, the 66th verse in the 18th chapter of SrImad Bhagavad-
Gita.

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Lord SowrirAja at Thirukkannapuram

SLOKA - 1

akArArthO vishNu: jagadudaya rakshA praLaya krt

makArArthO jIva: tadupakaraNam vaishNavamidam

ukArOnanyArham niyamayati sambandhamanayO:

trayI sAra: tryAtmA praNava imamartham samadiSat

Meaning:

The word "aum", considered to be the essence of the three Vedas and consisting of the
three letters "a", "u" and "ma", visualizes the following concept:

Letter "a" stands for Lord Vishnu as the creator, protector and destroyer of the universe.
Letter "ma" stands for the soul as a belonging of Lord Vishnu and as His instrument.
Letter "u" establishes a relationship between the soul and the Lord that the soul belongs
only to the Lord.

Purport:

In this SlOka, Sri Bhattar tells us what the word "aum" signifies.

akArArthO VishNu: jagadudaya rakshA pralaya krt-

The letter "a" stands for the Lord Vishnu, the in-dweller of all, as the creator, protector and
destroyer of the universe, as the Lord Himself says "askharANAm akArOsmi" in gItA
(10.33), which means He is the letter "a" among all letters. The letter 'a' symbolizes the
Lord for it is considered to be the origin of all letters as the Vedas say "akArO vai sarvA
vAk" which means the letter "a" itself is all speech. Protection here means ishta-prApti
and anishta-nivrtti. This means making things desirable for the jeeva available (so that he
can realize the Lord) and removing those which are not required (obstructions in attaining
the Lord).

makArArthO jIva: tadupakaraNam vaishNavamidam -

The letter "ma" stands for the soul, as the belonging of Lord Vishnu and as a tool in His
hands at His disposal for His activities (lIlAs). Here, by using words "tat" and "idam"
which belong to neuter gender, Sri Bhattar indicates that the soul is like a non-sentient
object in the hands of the Lord and hence is completely dependent on Him.

ukArOnanyArham niyamayati sambandhamanayO:-

The letter "u" establishes a relationship between the soul and the Lord that the soul is
meant as a tool only for the Lord and belongs to Him exclusively.

trayI sAra: tryAtmA praNava imamartham samadiSat-

The word "aum", consisting of three letters "a", "u" and "ma", considered as the essence of
the three Vedas, visualizes the above concept.

Scriptures say "aumityEkAksharam" which means "aum" consists of only one letter. This
is in its "samhitAkAram" or undivided form. In its "asamhitAkAram" or divided form,
"aum" consists of the three letters "a", "u" and "ma".
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SLOKA - 2

Mantra brahmaNi madhyamEna namasA pumsa: swarUpam gati:

gamyam SikshitamIkshitEna purata: paschAdapi sthAnata:

svAtantryam nijarakshaNam cha samuchitA vrttiScha nAnyOchitA

tasyaivEti harE: vivichya kathitam svasyApi nArham tata:

Meaning:

The middle word "nama:" in the great mantra "aum nama: nArAyaNAya" teaches the
jeeva his nature, when read along with the first word "aum". When read in its own place, it
teaches the means of liberation for the soul. When read along with the last word
"nArAyaNAya", it teaches the destination of the soul. It is well-thought and conveyed
through this word that independence, protection of the jeeva and engaging in the service
of the Lord are suitable only for the Lord Hari and not for the soul. Therefore the jeeva
does not belong to himself.

Purport:

In this verse, Sri Bhattar teaches the meaning of the word "nama:", the middle word in the
ashtAksharI mahAmantra.

Mantra brahmaNi madhyamEna namasA pumsa: swarUpam gati: gamyam

SikshitamIkshitEna purata: paschAdapi sthAnata:-

The word nama: stands for "na mama" or not mine. This conveys us what the nature of the
soul is, the means of liberation for the soul and its destination.

When read along with the first word of the mantra "aum", nama: indicates the nature of
soul. Here nama: means I (the soul) am not mine. From the meaning of the word "aum"
we understand that I (the soul) am a belonging of the Lord. Thus the word nama:, conveys
the subservience or SEshatva of the soul to the Lord.

The word nama: when read in its own position (sthAnata:), indicates that the soul has no
means of its own for its liberation. Here, since I (the soul) am not mine but a belonging of
somebody else (the Lord), I cannot make my own efforts to reach my Lord. It is for Him
to take me.

The word nama: when read along with the word nArAyaNa which follows it
(paSchAdapi), conveys that the ultimate destination of the soul is Lord nArAyaNa on His
own. Here nama: means that the destination is not mine (the soul's), and the Lord is my
destination not because of my thinking but on His own status as nArAyaNa. The meaning
of the word nArAyaNa is explained in the next verse. Here, it is worth noting Sri
nammazhwAr's statement in ThiruvAimozhi (10.9.9) - "vaikundham puhuvadhu
maNNavar vidhiyE", which means the habitants of the earth are destined to go to
paramapada by God's sankalpa which is "vidhi" or destiny.

svAtantryam nijarakshaNam cha samuchitA vrttiScha nAnyOchitA tasyaivEti harE:

vivichya kathitam svasyApi nArham tata:-

From the above explanation, it is to be understood that the word nama: conveys that
independence, protection of self and service to the Lord, are known to be fit only for Lord
Hari and nobody else. This means the soul is completely dependent on Him and He alone
protects the soul and He alone engages the soul in His service natural to the soul. This is
thought well and conveyed through the word nama:. Therefore, the jeeva does not belong
to himself but only to Sri Hari.

Following Bhattar, later AchAryas call the ashtAksharI - mantrabrahma, as Periya

Thirumantram.

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SLOKA - 3

akArArthAyaiva svamatha mahyam na nivahA:

narANAm nityAnAm ayanamiti nArAyaNa padam

yamAhAsmai kAlam sakalamapi sarvatra sakalA-

svavasthAsvAvissyu: mama sahaja kainkarya vidhaya:

Meaning:

I am meant for Lord Vishnu alone denoted by the letter "a" and not for me. The word
nArAyaNa stands for the Lord as the supporter and conductor of the jeevas in material and
spiritual worlds (lIlA vibhUti and nitya vibhUti). May service to Him, natural to me and
ordained on me, happen at all times, all places and in all states.

Purport:

akArArthAyaiva svamatha mahayam na nivahA: narANAm nityAnAm ayanamiti

nArAyaNa padam-

In the third word of the Thiru-mantra "nArAyaNAya", the word nArAyaNa stands for the
Lord Whose business is to support and conduct the activities of all the jeevas in the
material and spiritual worlds. The suffix "Aya" means I (the soul) am only for the Lord
nArAyaNa, previously indicated by the letter "a" in the word "aum" and hence I am not
for myself. This is indicated by Sri nammAzhwAr in ThiruvAimozhi 2.9.4 as he says
"tanakkEyAha eneikkoLLum IdhE".

asmai kAlam sakalamapi sarvatra sakalAsu avasthAsvAvissyu: mama sahaja kainkarya

vidhaya:-

The suffix "Aya" also involves a prayer to the Lord wishing the service to Him natural to
me (the soul) and ordained on me, to happen at all times, all places and in all states. Here
natural service means the service which does not involve the ego that I am doing it and it
is mine. In "ozhivil kAlamellAm" verse of ThiruvAimozhi (3.3.1), Sri nammAzhwAr
wishes the same service (vazhuvilA adimai). Sri Thirumangai AzhwAr interprets this as a
wish for being serviceable to His devotees or bhAgavata SEshatva as he says
"Thiruvettezhuttrum katru utralum unnadiyArkadimai" in Periya Thirumozhi (8.10.3).
Service to His devotees e.g. Sri RAmAnuja's dAsas is also wished in "nallAr paravum"
verse of irAmAnuSa nUtrandhAdhi (verse 80).

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SLOKA - 4

dEhAsaktAtmabuddhi: yadi bhavati padam sAdhu vidyAt trtIyam

svAtantryAndhO yadi syAt prathamamitara SEshatvadhISchEt dvitIyam

Atma trANOnmukhaSchEt nama iti cha padam bAndhavAbhAsa lOla:

Sabdam nArAyaNAkhyam vishaya chapala dhISchEt chaturthIm prapanna:

Meaning:

A person who considers the Lord to be his means and goal has to know well the following
things:

• The third letter of "aum", "ma" if he considers the body and soul to be one.
• The first letter of "aum", "a", if he is blind with the thought that he is independent.
• The second letter of "aum", "u", if he considers himself to be subservient to
entities other than Lord nArAyaNa.
• The word nama: if he is for protecting himself from worldly bondages 3.
• The word nArAyaNa if he is very much attached to his worldly relatives.
• The suffix "Aya" if he has a lust for material enjoyments.

Purport:

In this verse, Sri Bhattar explains the message conveyed by Thiru-mantra and how it
protects jeevas from various material entanglements and guides them in the proper path by
pointing out attitudes going against the message.

A prapanna, or the person blessed with the knowledge that the supreme Lord is the means
and goal for him has to know the following things well:

dEhasaktAtmabuddhi: yadi bhavati padam sAdhu vidyAt dvitIyam-

If one considers his body and soul to be one and hence whatever good happens to the body
is good for the soul, the letter "ma" in the word "aum" comes to his rescue as it says that
the soul is not his, but only of Lord Vishnu. So it is for the Lord to do any good to the
soul.

svAtantryAndhO yadi syAt prathamam-

If one is blind with the thought that he is independent from the Lord, he has to look at the
letter "a" in aumkAra and learn that he is not independent since it is the Lord who creates,
protects and destroys the universe.

itara SEshatvadhISchEt dvitIyam-

If one thinks of subservience to entities other than SrImannArayaNa, letter "u" tells him
that he is exclusively meant for Lord Vishnu. This is indicated by Sri Thirumanagai
AzhwAr in Periya Thriumozhi (8.10.3) as he says "matrum Or thaivam uLadhennu
iruppArOdu utrilEn..".

Atma trANOnmukhaSchEt nama iti cha padam-

If one is towards protecting himself from the material bondage, he has to look at the word
nama: which tells him that he has no means of his own for his liberation and hence has to
depend on the Lord for the same.

bAndhavAbhAsa lOla: Sabdam nArAyaNAkhyam-

If one has got a lot of attachment with people related to him in this world, the word
nArAyaNa which stands for the supporter and conductor of all jeevas tells him that it is
the Lord who is the Atmabandhu or true relative of the soul. This is indicated in the verse
"koNda peNdir" of nammAzhwAr in ThiruvAimozhi (9.1.1).

vishaya chapala dhISchEt chaturthIm-

If somebody has a lust for material enjoyments, the suffix "Aya" destroys such lust as it
conveys to him that he is meant for Lord nArAyaNa only. This is indicated by Sri
Thirumangai AzhwAr as he says "kUdinEn kUdi ilayavardhammOdu.. nArAyaNa ennum
nAmam" in Periya Thirumozhi (1.1.1)

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Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavati

SLOKA - 5

nEtrtvam nitya yOgam samuchita guNa jAtam tanukhyApanam cha

upAyam kartavyabahAgam tvatha mithuna param prApyamEvam prasiddham

svAmitvam prArthanAm cha prabalataravirOdhi prahANam daSaitAn

mantAram trAyatE chEtyadhigatanigama: shatpadOyam dvikhaNda:

Meaning:

The dwaya mantra, consisting of two parts and six words, which is there in Vedas, protects
the person who thinks of the following ten points contained in it:

1. Goddess lakshmI leading the jeeva to the Lord

2. Her eternal association with Him
3. The auspicious qualities of the Lord
4. His divine form
5. His feet being the means for our liberation
6. Our acceptance of His feet as our means for salvation
7. lakshmI and nArAyaNa being our destination
8. His Lordship
9. Our prayer to Him (wishing service as in Thiru-Mantra)
10. The removal of our ego and possessiveness by Him (in the company of SrI or krpA
4
), which are the most severe enemies to our nature.

Purport:

In this verse, Sri Bhattar tells us what the dwaya mantra, which consists of two parts and
six words, and which is there in Vedas, signifies.

The first part of the mantra is "SrImannArAyaNa charaNau SaraNam prapadyE" and the
second part is "SrImatE nArAyaNaya nama:".

The six words are:

SrImannArAyaNacharaNau
SaraNam
prapadyE
SrImatE
nArAyaNAya
nama:

The first word SrImannArAyaNacharaNau is made up of the words SrImat, nArAyaNa

and charaNau.

The dwaya-mantra conveys us the following 10 points:

1. nEtrtvam:

The word SrI stands for Goddess lakshmI, the personification of His compassion and
concern for the jeevas, as the one who leads us to the Lord. This is because She is
approached by the jeeva for his liberation (SrIyatE iti SrI:) and She in turn represents the
case of the jeeva to the Lord. Note that this description is apt when 'SrI' is just the Lord's
krpA.

2. nityayOgam:

The suffix "mat" to the word SrI means Goddess lakshmI is always in union with the Lord
as the Lord is always merciful. This is indicated by Sri nammAzhwAr in the verse
"ahalahillEn..." in ThiruvAimozhi (6.10.10).

3. samuchita guNa jAtam:

From the word nArAyaNa the qualities of the Lord said to be well-suited to Him are
conveyed. This is because He has to have certain qualities to be nArAyanNa i.e., He has to
have qualities like vAtsalya, sauSIlya etc. for supporting the jeevas and qualities like
gnAna, bala etc. for controlling them.

4. tanukhyApanam:

From the word charaNau the dwaya-mantra shows us the most important part of His
divine form i.e. His feet. Conceptually, feet are important as one cannot move if we catch
hold of one's feet (kAl katti kai viduvitthukkoNda - ThiruvAimozhi nUtrandhAdhi verse
97).

5.upAyam:

By the word SaraNam, the mantra conveys to us that His feet are the means for us to reach
Him.

6. kartavyabhAgam:

From the word prapadyE, we learn it our nature to accept His feet as our means of
liberation.

7. mithuna param prApyam:

From the word SrImatE, in the second part "SrImatE nArAyaNAya nama:", it is conveyed
that our ultimate destination is the divine couple lakshmI and nArAyaNa, i.e., nArAyaNa
with krpA, for otherwise He cannot accept us who are undeserving. To this, Vedas say
"SraddhayA dEvO dEvatvamaSnutE" - which means His Lordship is meaningful only due
to His concern (SraddhA) for the jeevas. Here SraddhA stands for Goddess SrI.

8. svAmitvam:

The word nArAyaNa forming part of "nArAyaNAya" stands for the Lordship of God
Vishnu over the universe, as He is its supporter and conductor.

9. prArthanAm:

The suffix Aya in the word nArAyaNAya involves a prayer to the Lord from our part,
wishing a service without any defect to Him, as conveyed in Thiru-mantra. This is
indicated by Sri nammAzhwAr as he says "vazhuvilA adimai SeyyavENdum" in his
"ozhivil kAlamellAm" verse in ThiruvAimozhi (3.3.1). In the second part, the word
SrImatE is used as the Lord has to be merciful i.e., with lakshmI for fulfilling our wish of
service to Him.

10. prabalataravirOdhi prahANam:

The word nama: which means "not mine" destroys our ego, particularly the thought that I
am the enjoyer of the service and the service I am doing to Him is an object of enjoyment
for me. Such thought is considered to be the most powerful enemy (prabalatara virOdhi)
to our nature.

Whoever understands and thinks of the above ten points conveyed by dwaya, which is a
mantra i.e., which protects the person who thinks over, understands and practises it
(without any action!), is protected.

These ten points are covered by nammAzhwAr's verse(thiruvAimozhi (6.10.10):

ahalahillEn iraiyumenru alarmElmangai urai mArbA

niharil puhazhAi ulaham mUnrudayAi ennai ALwAnE

niharil amarar munikkanangaL virumbum thiruvEngadatthAnE

puhalonrillA adiyEn un adikkIzh amarndhu puhundhEnE

nampillai in his Idu indicates this by the statement: ippAttudhammai dwayattu

padhangalOdokka yojithu thalaikkattak kadavadhu- one should interpret this verse by
matching with the words of dwayam. An incident relating to the elucidation of dwayam by
Sri Bhattar is also mentioned aptly in Idu in this context signalling the influence of the
AzhwAr on Sri Bhattar.

1. alarmEl mangai uraimArbA: krpA which is nothing but SrI lives in His
heart(chest) and leads us to Him.
2. ahalahillEn irayum: SrI is not ready to leave Him even if He would intend to do so.
3. niharil puhazhAi: of all His qualities it is His vAtsalyam which has none to excel.
4. unnadikkIzh: His feet are the important limbs of His divine form for the soul.
5. puhalonrillA...adi: His feet are the only means.
6. amarndhu puhundhEnE: placing oneself mentally incessantly under His feet is the
soul's nature.
7. alarmEl mangai uraimArbA...unnadikkIzh: the Lord is the upEya more because He
is enjoined with SrI, i.e. krpA.
8. ulaham mUnrudayAi ennai ALvAnE niharil amarar munikkanangal virumbum: He
is the Lord of sentient and non-sentient objects of the cosmos.
9. adikkIzh: the case and the word "kIzh" indicates a wish for paNi(or kainkarya) to
the Lord( as also to His devotees) on His ordinance.
10. thiruvEngadatthAnE: the word vEmkadam in Tamil means the annihilation of
difficulties and as interpreted by nammAzhWAr in his verse "inrippOha"
(thiruvAimozhi 9.3.8) as removing iruvinai viz. puNya-pApa - a creation of
ahankAra and mamakAra.

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SLOKA - 6

ISAnAm jagatAm adhISa dayitAm nityAnapAyAm Sriyam

samSrityASrayaNOchitAkhila guNasyAnghrI harErASrayE

ishtOpAyatayA SriyA cha sahitAyAtmESvarAyArthayE

kartum dAsyamaSEshamapratihatam nityam tvaham nirmama:

Meaning:

I take shelter in SrI, the beloved consort of the great Lord of the universe, Who is always
in union with Him. Then I take shelter in the lotus feet of Lord Hari, Who has all suitable
qualities to offer shelter, with the thought that they are my desired means of salvation.
Then I urge my Lord Who is always with SrI, to enable me to do service to Him
incessantly, uninterruptedly and eternally, without any ego and possessiveness.

Purport:

In this verse Sri Bhattar explains the message of dwaya mantra in the form of a statement
by jeeva, as follows:

ISAnAm jagatAm adhISa dayitAm nityAnapAyAm Sriyam samSritya -

I take shelter in Goddess SrI, the beloved consort of the great master of the universe, Who
is always with Him without any separation. Here Sri Bhattar uses the word ISAnAm
which means She is the empress or the ruler of the world. However, by using the word
jagatAm adhISa dayitAm he clarifies that She is the beloved spouse of the great master of
the universe. Since dayitA means one who is qualified for dayA or concern and since Sri
Bhattar says that She is the dayitA of Lord nArAyaNa, it is established that She belongs to
the class of jeevas as She is subservient to Him.

Also Godess SrI is always blemishless (nityAnapAyA) as She never leaves Him.
"ahalahillEn iraiyumenru..." says Sri nammAZhwAr in ThiruvAimozhi (6.10.10). The
Lord is kind as She is always with Him.

ASrayaNOchitAkhila guNasyAnghrI harErASrayE ishtOpAyatayA -

Having taken shelter in goddess lakshmI, I take shelter in the lotus feet of Lord Hari, Who
has all suitable qualities for offering shelter to everyone, with the thought that His lotus
feet are the desirable means for me to attain Him. Here the word ishta or desired is used
for the means since it involves no effort and hence is very easy. The word Hari used here
is important as it means the one (the Lord) who destroys all our sins or obstacles to reach
Him.

SriyA cha sahitAyAtmESvarAyArthayE kartum dAsyam aSEsham apratihatam nityam

tvaham nirmama:-

I urge my master nArAyaNa, who is always with Goddess lakshmI, to engage me in

incessant, uninterrupted and eternal service to Him, without any trace of ego.

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Lord Parthasarathy with His consorts, Thiruvallikkeni

SLOKA - 7

matprAptyarthatayA mayOktamakhilam santyajya dharamam puna:

mAmEkam madavAptayE SaraNamityArtOvasAyam kuru

tvAmEvam vyavasAya yuktamakhilagnAnAdi pUrNOhyaham

matprApti pratibandhakai: virahitam kuryAm Sucham mA krthA:

Meaning:

The Lord says:

Renounce all the paths told by Me to attain Me. Take Me alone in turn as the means for
attaining Me, and be effortless with great interest in the thought that I am your means. To
you with such an effort, I, being complete and perfect in all qualities like gnAna, will
remove all obstacles in My getting you. Do not grieve.

Purport:

In this SlOka SrI Bhattar explains the message of charama SlOka (Bhagavad-Gita 18.66),
by framing it in the Lord's own words.
The Lord says:

matprAptyarthatayA mayOktamakhilam santyajya dharamam puna: mAmEkam

madavAptayE SaraNamityArtOvasAyam kuru-

Renounce all the paths like karma, gnAna, bhakti, previously told by Me to attain Me.
Take Me alone in turn as the means for attaining Me and be effortless with deep interest in
the very thought that I am the only means for you to attain Me. This explains the message
conveyed by Lord in the statement "sarva dharmAn parityajya mAmEkam SaraNam
vraja".

tvAmEvam vyavasAya yuktamakhilagnAnAdi pUrNOhyaham matprApti pratibandhakai:

virahitam kuryAm Sucham mA krthA:-

To you with such an effort on your side (not making any), I, complete in all qualities like
gnAna etc. will make remove all obstacles in My getting you. Do not worry. This explains
the Lord's statement "aham tvA sarva pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA Sucha:"

Here Sri Bhattar specifically mentions the quality of Lord, gnAna or knowledge, to
indicate that the Lord is capable of knowing any effort on our side, if at all we are making
one. Also, by saying that He is complete in all qualities Sri Bhattar conveys that the Lord
will liberate the soul on His own without any effort on the part of the latter, due to His
qualities like vAtsalya, sauSeelya etc.

From this, we understand that the God does not expect any effort from the jeeva and does
not want him to grieve for his inability to reach Him (by jeeva's effort).

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SLOKA - 8

niSchitya tvadadhInatAm mayi sadA karmAdyupAyAn harE!

kartum tyaktumapi prapattumanalam sIdAmi du:khAkula:

Etat gnAnamupEyushO mama puna: sarvAparAdha kshayam

kartAsIti druDOsmi tE tu charamam vAkyam smaran sArathE:

Meaning:
Oh Hari, the charioteer of arjuna ! Being convinced that I am always under Your control, I
am not able to make any effort in the form of karma etc. to reach you, or to submit myself
to You. I am worried that I am not even able to leave all my effort as suggested by You
and have lost confidence. However, since I am blessed with the knowledge of Your
charama SlOka, I am firm that you will make all my faults completely absent.

Purport:

In this SlOka, Sri Bhattar assures us that the Lord is ready to remove all our defects and
take us to Him. This verse is in the form of a statement by the jeeva.

niSchitya tvadadhInatAm mayi sadA karmAdyupAyAn harE kartum tyaktumapi

prapattumanalam sIdAmi du:khAkula:-

By remembering the words of You, the charioteer of arjuna, I understand that I am

completely under Your control. Hence I am not able to make any effort in the form of
Karma, Bhakti, gnAna etc. on my own to reach You or to submit myself to You taking You
as my means to reach You. At the same time, I am worried and have lost confidence, as I
am not even able to leave such efforts.

Etat gnAnamupEyushO mama puna: sarvAparAdha kshayam kartAsIti druDOsmi tE tu

charamam vAkyam smaran sArathE:-

However, since I am blessed with the knowledge of Your charama SlOka which says
"aham tvA sarva pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA Sucha:", I remain firm that You will
make all my faults completely absent, including the offence involving the ego that I have
renounced all my efforts, and take me to You.

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EPILOGUE

Other schools of philosophy (e.g. advaita, dvaita) do not consider the SlOka "sarva
dharmAn.. mA Sucha:" as an important statement of the Lord in Bhagavad-Gita. The
AzhwArs point out its importance in the following verses for instance:

1. anrOdhiya vAkkadhanaikkallAr ulahatthil Edhilaram meignAnamil (nAnmuhan

ThriuvandhAdhi verse 71)
 2. vArthai aribavar .. SEmattai ennittelivutrE (ThiruvAimozhi 7.5.10)
3. Semmaiyudaya... meimaipperuvArthai.. Sadhippar Ar iniyE (nAcchiyAr
thirumozhi 11-10)
4. Or Sol nanriyAhum thunai ... (Periya ThiruvandhAdhi verse 77)

The AchAryas later to rAmAnuja, starting from Sri ParASara bhattar, called this SlOka
charama SlOka or the final message and interpreted it according to nammAzhavAr 5 to
mean the message that the Lord is upAyam and upEyam 6, 7 interpreting "AlanriyAvarO' in
the thiruvAimozhi verse (7.5.10) as equivalent to 'SaraNam vraja' of the SlOka indicating
it as a state of mind and no action.

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REFERENCES

1. AndAL too mentions about SrIrAmacharama SlOkam (nAchiArthirumozhi 10-4)

and SrIvarAha charama-SlOkam (nAchiArthirumozhi 11-3). <
2. He was further inspired by the AzhwArs to interpret the names in the Sri Vishnu
sahasranAmam as revealing qualities of the Lord in his "BhagavadguNa
darpaNam", a prose-commentary. <
3. "vEngadatthuraivArkku nama ennalAmkadamai adhu sumandhArgatkE
......meimEl mutrvanum vEngadangal" - ThiruvAimozhi 3.3.6 <
4. VErimArAdha pUmEliruppAL vinai thIrkumE (thiruvAimozhi 4.5.11). <
5. SaraNamAhum thanathAL adaindhArkellAm maraNamAnAl vaikundham
kodukkum pirAn (ThriuvAimozhi 9.10.5). Here "adaindhArkellAm" is to be
interpreted like "vraja" i.e. taking Him as the means of salvation in the charama
SlOka since the Lord's feet have been described as SaraNam or upAyam and
"kodukkum" indicates this upAyam with "vaikundham" as upEyam. <
6. nerivASal thAnEyAy ninrAnai (mudhal thiruvandhAdhi verse 4). <
7. nallarmAvadhuvum ..... nAraNanEyAvadhu (nAnmuhan thiruvandhAdhi verse
72). <

AzhwAr thiruvadihaLE SaraNam

emberumAnAr thiruvadihaLE SaraNam
Bhattar thriuvadihaLE SaraNam
jIyar thiruvadihaLE SaraNam
( Notes prepared by T.Thiruvengadavan, V.S.M.Vishnu and Smt. Chandra Sampathkumar
based on the teachings of Sriman Embar Rangacharya Swami. )

SrImatE rAmAnujAya nama: