Sri Ranganatha Paadhuka Sahasram

SrI:

SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Translations & Commentaries by Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari SadagOpan

Introduction: The word PrakeerNa means mixed or miscellaneous. In this section known as PrakeerNa Paddhathi, Swami Desikan combines a number of diverse, auspicious attributes of the Paadhukais. All of these auspicious aspects are proven to unite in to a consistent manner. He goes on to prove that the means for attaining the fruits of observing the injunctions of the SaasthrAs result from the power of the PaadhukAs. He proves that the PaadhukAs are serious objects of worship to attain all blessings in this and the other worlds. PrakeerNa Paddhathi houses 80 verses to praise the diverse, auspicious attributes of the PadhukAs. After the Naadha Paddhathi with 100 verses and the PrabhAva paddhathi with 70 verses, this section with 80 verses is one of the longest chapters of PaadhukA Sahasram.

SlOkam 831 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

May that high-potency Paaduka by virtue of guna, samskara and name, was a great force of assistance to the Lord during His tours, and is praised in that fashion in sacred literature, grant me likewise, a great affluence!

1) UtthamUr Swami' sanubhavam : In the 1st verse, Swami Desikan salutes the wealth, auspicious attributes, actions and naamAs of the PaadhukAs. Just as the injunctions of the VedAs used at the different stages of Vedic ceremonies, just as the material things used used at these rituals such as milk, curd, ghee, annam and Soma juice, just as the GuNAs such as red, white and black (Rajas, SatthvA and Tamas ), just as the ritualistic actions such as spraying of water, aachamaneeyam etc., just as the diverse names for Vedic rituals such as AgnihOthram, Darsa poornam, JyOthishtOmam et al, have been prescribed by the VedAs as routes to obtain the fruits of of one's spiritual endeavours, PaadhukAs of the Lord display such behavior and serve as the means to achieve one's goals. The PaadhukAs have injunctions (rules), wealth (Dravyam), attributes (GuNAs), observances (SamskArAs) and NaamAs similar to the ones described for (ascribed to) the Vedic rituals. The injunctions are given by the Lord as to the movement of the PaadhukAs; the wealth of the PaadhukAs are represented by the dazzling gems adorning it; the guNAs hold together the pearls and the other gems; the valor and color also serves as additional guNAs; the SamskArAs are constituted by the actions of adding sandal paste, bathing in sacred waters, raising of lamps and waving of incense etc. The various names of the PaadhukAs are ShaThAri, SaThakOpan et al. With such divine attributes like the Vedic rituals, RanganAthA's PaadhukAs praised by PaancharAthra AagamAs hold a matchless status. May those

PaadhukAs of Lord RanganAtha serve as means for attaining adiyEn's spiritual goals!

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: When the Lord is ready to go on SanchArams, the KaimakryaparALs smear a light paste of fragrant sandal paste on the Paadhukais, perform Thirumanjanam for them and present it to the Lord. PerumAL adorns them and goes on His journey. May that PaadhukA of many divine attributes grant me Moksham!

3) The key words in this slOkam are "Vidhou PravrutthE" (when the good karmaas mature and are ready to give the desired Phalans). It also means, when PerumAL is about to start (pravrutthE) on His sanchAram (Vidhou). PerumAL begins to bless the Jeevan at that time with SadAchArya Sambhandham to gain Moksham through the anugraham of the SadAchAryAs (Lord's PaadhukAs). When those KarmAs mature to yield as paths to Moksham, the GuNa, SamskAra, Naama saadhanams take place (SrEya: Saadhanam). The GuNa-SamskAra-Naama relating to the PaadhukAs are: GuNam (being soft and light), SamskAram (AbhishEkam after Santhana Kaappu), Naama (names like SaThakOpam, ShaThAri et al). The prayer of Swami Desikan is "Tath Padhathram mE taTA asthu". taTA refers to Moksham as revealed by the Vedic Vidhis.

SlOkam 832 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You, as a damsel, accompany Lord Rangaraja in His bed-room. Your pearls with lustre picture a mild smile on the damsel's face with a little gleaning of the white pearl-like teeth; as You walk, the proverbial musical note is heard; You too have slender middle; You are thin-waisted, so to say. Yes, You are His Queen and go with Him.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan combines the attributes of wealth, Naadham and SannivEsam described in the erarlier paddhathis and salutes the Paadhukais as the favored mistress of Lord RanganAtha residing in His inner chambers. Swami Desikan says: "Oh MaNi PaadhukE! With Your sweet smile arising from Your lovely white pearl assemblies, with Your delectable Naadham emanating from Your movements to represent Your sweet speech, with Your charming slender waist, You alone enter RangarAjA's inner chambers as His favorite Mistress!

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that Lord RanganAtha enters His antha: puram with the PaadhukAs having all subha LakshaNams.

3) Oh MaNI PaadhukE! Thvam yEkA Vaasa gEham visasi (Oh Gem-studded PadhukE! Thou alone enters inside the Ranga VimAnam, the inner chambers of Lord RanganAtha). Your sweet smile originates from your bright white pearls (madhura smitha ramya moukthika SrI:). The decetable nAdham arise from the jingling of the gems inside Your toehold /Kumizhi (Vyanjitha manjuLa praNAdhA). Your waist is slender like a classic, beautiful woman with appropriate aammudhrikA lakshaNams (Tanu-madhyA). You alone enter the Lord's inner chambers with Him defined by all these subha lakshaNams (Thvam yEkA vaasa gEham visasi).

SlOkam 833 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka of the Lord! You evoke a pleasing note. It is perhaps potent veda; it is mantra-like. You move about. It is like the performance of prescribed rituals; You appear to perform a propitiatory act that would quell all the ills of a person once he resorted to You. (Azhvar, with his musical Tamil Veda, his prescription of Saranagati, and his potency helps us to receive the relief of salvation).

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Sangeetham is a ceremony /anubhavam aimed at warding off calamities (asubhams). It is a propitiatory ceremony to chase away all kinds inauspiciousness. Swami Desikan equates the auspicious sounds generated by the Paadhukais during their movement to the ritual of Sangeetham to banish all the calamities experienced by the devotees. He says: "Oh PaadhukE! Through Your many and mellifluent sound patterns generated during Your movements, You serve as a novel Sangeetham to destroy all the calamities faced by Your devotees. You chase away all those calamities through Your powerful and auspicious sound patterns.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Your delectable sound generated during Your sanchAram with the Lord appears like a sangeetha yAgam done with the recital of auspicious Veda manthrams to chase away the sorrows of the Lord's devotees. The inner meaning is that Swamy NammAzhwAr included the essence of Veda Manthrams in His Tamil Paasurams and performed SaraNAgathy at His Lord's Thiruvadi and showed that way as the Moksha UpAyam to the people of the world to banish their samsAric sufferings.

3) Oh Lord's Sacred PaadhukE (Souri PadhAvani)! You perform the new yAgam of Sangeetham to ward off all the inauspiciousness of the suffering SamsAris (Bhavathee aasrithAnAm naveenam akhilOpadhrava saanthikam anuthishtathi). This is for sure (Noonam). You perform this Yaagam with sacred manthrams of Vedam to confer the highest KshEmam (Bhavathee Subha sabdha visEsha samsrithAbhi: anuthisthathi).

SlOkam 834 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka of the Lord! When the Lord taking Trivikrama avatara and scaled all the worlds, you too grew as the foot grew; then the gems on You shone as if a 1000 suns had arisen. That would recall in one's mind the Deluge when infinite suns are said to rise. But that would be for destruction. The world-protecting act of the Lord displays a 1000 suns, as it were, to confer a lustre, a charm, and an auspiciousness on the world. (The 1000 verses of the Azhvar's Thiruvaimozhi would shine like lustrous suns to enlighten our hearts so as to see the right path).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE of Madhusoodhana! When the Lord measured the universe as ThrivikramA, You and Your gems grew in proportion to the size of His growing feet. At that time, Your gems looked like the many Suns seen at the time of universal deluge to hasten the dissolution of the world. There is however one difference from what happened at that time of deluge. Although Your assembly of gems were radiant like the assembly of many Suns, they represented not destruction, but the glorious wealth symbolized by the brilliant rays of many Suns.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that the entire assembly of sins run away to far distances from those, who comprehend the true meanings of Swamy NammAzhwAr's Prabhandha Paasurams.

3) Oh Madhu-Vairi Paadha-rakshE! During the time of the Lord's incarnation as Thrivikraman to measure the Universe (VikramaNE), You grew to the proportion matching Your Lord's growing Thirtuvadi (VikramaNE pravarddhamAnaa). The gems on You grew at the same pace. The radiance emanating from those gigantic assembly of huge gems looked like the collective radiance of the millions of Suns seen in the sky simultaneously at PraLaya Kaalam (MaNibhi: dhivi YugAntha kaalE yugapath bhavathAm dhivAkarANAm). With Your radiance from Your auspicious gems, You did not represent any destrucion (like the milions of Suns at deluge), but stood for the auspicious brilliance (DhivAkarANAm Lakshmeem VidhadhE).

SlOkam 835 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka of the Lord! Siva, the foe to Tripura, comes and bows low. You sit on his head with a good note, the light of different colours radiated by the variety of gems on You presents a panorama of a feather-spread of a peacock. The snakes on Siva, which are his ornaments, get scared, heave a sigh, and attempt to conceal themselves in fear of the peacock vision. (Azhvar's Thiruvaimozhi with its manifold meaning and a vast spread of imaginative picturesque beauty is sure to ward off all snake-like temptations of samsara).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE of the Lord with Garuda in His flag! You have the sweet sound of the peacocks and display an assembly of colorful jewels similar to the peacocks' feathers in their tail. When Rudran comes near You to offer His salutations, the serpents, which are the favorite food of the peacocks, escape from His arms and neck and hide in His matted locks out of fear and heave big sighs (perumUcchu) out of fear.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that all the sins run away from those, who have a clear comprehension of the meanings of the Paasurams of the Prabhandhams of Swamy NammAzhwAr.

3) Oh Garuda-dhvaja PadharakshE! The snakes on the arms and the neck of ThripurasamhAri, Lord Sivan are His alankAra vasthus (Pura-Vairi bhUshaNAni). Lord Sivan adorns You (the Paadhukais) on His head as SirObhUshaNam. When the Snakes see the brilliant light from Your gems resembling the beautiful colors of peacock feathers and hear your pleasant naadham reminding them of the dhvani of Peacocks, they fear for their lives and rush in to the matted locks of their Lord (MaNi mayUkha kalApineem, ManjusvanAm ThvAm dhrushtvA). They heave heavy sighs (poothkAravanthee) and rush to hide inside the mighty matted locks of their Lord (Kapardha sameepE gUDee bhavanthi).

SlOkam 836 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka of Rangaraja! You have pure flawless gold in the centre; there are pearls too. On the border, You have an array of gems, with a variety of colours. With this appearance, You act on us. Mica sheet with a design of moonlike circle, scribing pranava in the centre and the syllable of mantras all around, serves as an amulet to mesmerize people. You act like an amulet on the observers, I suspect, (Azhvars and Acharyas, when paid homage to, will act as mesmerizing influence to grant us salvation). SriMuralidhara Dasan

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh MaNI PaadhukE! At Your middle portion, You are adorned with bright and clear cluster of gold and pearls. At the edges, You are adorned with clusters of beautiful colored gems. The combination of these 2 features make You look like a bewitching YanthrA (geometric pattern of the ManthrA for a DEvathA ) to behold !

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! On You are enmeshed many kinds of beautiful colored gems and pearls. That confers You many hues such as white, red, green, blue et al. Thus You have many charming roopams. Those who see You are unable to disengage from enjoying Your many roopams and get their eyes locked on You. The situation mkaes one wonder whether Your Bhauvitha Roopams are like a Yanthram designed to bring people under Your influence and control.

3) Oh Lord RanganAthA's MaNI PaadhukE! In the middle of Your body, You have bright and pure gold and pearls (MadhyE parisphurita nirmala chandra tArA). At the edges, You have many kinds of colored gems (prAnthEshu rathnanikarENa vichithra-varNA). You bring under Your control the eyes of those, who worship You and makes one wonder whether Your many beautiful roopams are like a Yanthram designed to enchant the worshippers (Chakshur-vaseekaraNa visEsha yanthram) and hold them under Your control.

SlOkam 837 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paadhuka nayika! The Lotus feet of the Lord is Your consort. You enjoy conjugal bliss with him. Are the drops of perspiration seen on You as pearls? Is the horripillation when hairs stand on their ends revealed as rays of light from numerous gems? Is the expression of pleasure with a sort of sigh evident in the note You produce? I picture Your close blissful contact with the Feet in this appropriate manner. (The supreme love-yearning of Parankusa nayaki is transferred to her incarnation, Paaduka. The reward that the Nayaki secured is presented to us in this special manner of poetic imagery).

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Here, Swami Desikan describes the PaadhukAs as the mistress of the Lord displaying all the signs of her passionate union with her Lord. He says: "Oh PaadhukE! RangarAjA's holy feet are Your object of enjoyment as Your nAyakan. You enjoy Your Naayakan through Your union and Your pearls at that time look like droplets of sweat produced by the exertion of union with Your Lord. Your shimmering gems through their varying brilliance appear like the raised hair on Your body due to the intensity of enjoyment of the union with YOu. You generate many sounds through Your varying movements during Your intensity of the anubhavam of the union with Your Naayakan, which reminds one of the various love cries".

2) The inner meaning is that Swamy NammAzhwAr's intense anubhavam of PerumAL is equal to that of a wife, who has intense love for her husband.

3) The Paadhukai is enjoyed by the sacred feet of the Lord of SrIrangam (CharaNAvani! Thvam Ranga-nrupathE: paribhujyamAnA). During that intense enjoyment, You seem to have fine sweat droplets as suggested by the fine pearls on Your body (MukthAphala prakaDitha sramavAri Bindhu:). When one looks at the extended rays emanating from Your many colored gems, one is reminded of Your hairs standing on ends (udhagrai: MaNi amyUkha sathai: uthkaNDakA Thvam). The sweet sounds raised by You during movement in unison with Your Lord reminds one of love cries (Thvam sinjithai: seethkAriNeeva asi).

SlOkam 838 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka of the Lord! The rays of lustre emanating from the gems travel to long distances. They look like Your long-stretched hands. The sound emitted by the gems appears to sound a warning to the on-coming enemies in these terms: 'The Lord, the feller of enemies is on. Get away, You asuras, if You wish to save Your lives!' They flee away in fear. You are, of course full of Daya. (Azhvars and Acharyas warn defiant humanity. The enemies flee away at the very sight).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh Maadhava PaadhukE! You quell the arrogant noises made by the leaders of AsurAs by reaching out through Your long rays in the form of sound announcing that the enemy of the AsurAs is coming towards them. You accomplish this act out of compassion generated in You by SrI Devi and extend Your rays as long hands and through the sound of Your moving gems announce Your Lord's arrival from quite a distance to warn the kings of AsurAs.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! The radiant lustre in the form of Your rays spread over long distances. When the Lord moves about during His sanchArams, the gems inside the Yantrika collide and produce sweet sounds. When one relates to those pleasant sounds, it appears as though You extend Your hands in the form of Your rays and tell the asurAs with compassion and warn the asurAs not to lose their lives by picking a fight with Your all-powerful Lord.

3) Oh Maadhava PadhukE! You have hands extended across long distances (dhUra PrasAritha karA). You have compassion (JanithAnukampA) for all including the AsurAs, who are intent on fighting with Your Lord. Through the sound generated by the gems inside Your YantrikAs (Thvam MaNinAm ninadhai:) announce often to the advancing AsurAs that their enemy (the Lord) is fast approaching them (MaNInAm ninadhai: dhaitya ripu aayAthi ithi asakruth bhruvANA sathi). Through those warnings, You seem to block the asurAs from advancing and losing their lives (abhimukhAn DhaithyAsurAn nivArayasi).

SlOkam 839 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh gold Paaduka! For the Mahalakshmi allegorically conceived of in the effulgent beauty of the Lord's Lotus Feet, You serve as a toy-chariot to ride on. Your rays are abundant; they come in streams; You also have beautiful arrays of gems and peg-like knob for the carriage-pole. The horses are controlled in their pace by means of the goad-chord kept in hand.

(The Lord rides on the chariot (of acharyas) to achieve His goal of reformation of the humans).

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan assembles the gems, Yantrika (toe hold) and the movement of the PaadhukAs to compare them to a moving chariot. He says: "Oh Golden PaadhukE! Your gems have rays, whose brillinace is indestructible. These gems are set in uniform rows and appear like the leather bait attached to the mouth of the horses that pull a chariot. Your measured steps are like the noble steps of high pedigree horses. Your Yantrika serves as the binding pin of the Yokes carried by the horses pulling a chariot. With all these features, You look like a chariot for the resplendent beauty of the Lord's feet used for His travels.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Beautiful gems are enmeshed on Your surface. When one looks at You, the impression that one gets is that of a chariot for the beautiful consort of the Lord (SrI Devi), who is sititng at the sacred feet of Her Lord.

3) Oh Golden PaadhukE (Kaanchana PaadharakshE)! You appear like the chariot for the divine consort of the Lord seated on the Lotus feet of Her Lord to transport Her during Her times of play (Thvam Madhujith padha padhma LakshmyA: kreeDAgathEshu karNeeraTa: asi).

SlOkam 840 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You have a melodious musical note. The green gems on You give a totality of dark green colour, whereas the red stones present a picture of the bent nose called Sarika or parrot. Then it seems You are like a parrot kept in cage, being used for sport by the Lord (revelling in such play), a youthful hero with his sweetheart, Padma.

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: A bird known as sArikA generates sweet sounds. It is green like emerald in color. It has a mouth, which is red in color. Married couples keep them in their houses as pets and raise them for companionship. Swami Desikan states that the PaadhukAs resemble the sArikAs in all of the above attributes and recognizes the PaadhukAs as sArikA birds. He says: "You have a sweet sound from the movement of the gems inside the YanthrikA. With Your emeralds, You have a dark green color. With Your rubies You resemble the mouth region of the sArikA birds. You are held in the cage as an adorable pet by Your Lord and His consorts in their inner chambers. From all these aspects, You remind me of a sArikA bird raised by the divine couple.

2) SA's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When one looks at You, You appear like the green parrot with a red beak. Your green hue comes from the emeralds adorning You. The rubies on You give the red color seen on the beak of a parrot.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You achieve a status equivalent to the female parrot kept by Your Lord in a cage for sporting with His divine consort (Thvam PadhmA vihAra rasikasya Parasya yoona: panjara sArikANAm paryAyathAm bhajasi). The aspects that confer on You the status equivalent to a sArikA bird are: You produce sweet sounds from the gems inside Your YantrikAs (ManjusvanA). You have a dark green body from Your emeralds embedded on You (MarathakOpala mEchaka angee). You have a reddish hue from Your rubies that resemble the red beak of the sArikA bird (sONAsma thuNDa ruchirA).

SlOkam 841 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! With the red stones all around and with the green ones in the inside, the Lord being reflected creates an imagery of the Vatapatra say, the Lord reclining in a banyan leaf, surrounded by the banyan fruits. (see verse 717)

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: In the 717th slOkam, Swami Desikan described the image of the Lord reflected on the PaadhukAs as Vatapatra Saayee or the child lying on a pupil leaf. Here, he takes that analogy further and weaves in the combined image presented by the rubies and the emeralds adorning the PadhukAs. He says: "Oh PaadhukE! Your red rubies surrounded by green emeralds reflect Your Lord as a child resting on the green leaf of a pupil tree demarcated by the rows of red fruits of the pupil tree.

2) SA's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! The imagery of the Green gem stones embedded on you with the red gem stones reminds us of Lord Vatapathra Saayee resting on the Pupil leaf surrounded by the red fruits of the Pupil tree during PraLayam.

3) Oh Protector of the Lord's sacred feet (CharaNa RakshaNi)! The image of the PadhmarAga stones with emeralds on Your surface (sONOpalai: samsrithEshu Tava MaratakEshu chAyA) reminds one of the PrathibimBham of your Lord resting on a green pupil leaf surrounded by the red fruits of the Pupil tree (ChAyAthmanA avaghADa: Souri: abhitha Phala pankthi sObhini VaDapathra madhyE sayithAm aathmAnamEva anvEthi).

SlOkam 842 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! When You were given the sacred bath as part of the coronation, Your form with so many gems emanated rays in such an array that it extended all around to the shores of the ocean, as if a large net were laid over. The Rakshasas fell within Your ray-gamut. Then it was a mere sportive hit to aim arrows to kill the Rakshasas. That Rama achieved.

(The credit goes to the Paaduka in the manner of annihilation of the Rakshasas. Paaduka pattabhisheka achieved, at the very moment, the destruction of all bad elements. The pretext of Rama going and throwing his arrows was only a mere pretext.)

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan describes the wide envelope of the rays emanating from the gems adorning the PaadhukAs as an expansive net to capture the rAkshasAs. He says: "Your wet form after Your sacred bath with their spreading envelope of rays generated by Your gems appear like a vast and round fish net to catch the fish of evil rAkshasAs, the target of Lord RaamachandrA's hunt.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! There was the time, when Your PattAbhishEkam took place. At that time, the limitless radiance from Your gem stones spread far and wide and encircled the world like an extended fish net. In to that net were captured the RaakshasAs, who became fit objects for hunt by Your Lord.

3) Oh PaadhukE (PadhAvani)! After the sacred bath, Your surface is wet still (snapana aardhra Moorthy). The expansive and dense rays from Your gems have spread far and wide all the way from one ocean to the other in this world (snapana aardhara moorthE: Tava spheetham MaNi rasmi jAlam aasAgaram tatham abhUth). Through the envelope of that dense net, Your Lord captures the RaakshasAs and makes them target of His arrows during His hunt for them (Yasya valayEna vivEshithAni yaathUni Raghu-suthasya leelOchitham sakhyam aasan).

SlOkam 843 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! When You were ruling over Ayodhya, the radiations from Your gems could fall on the trees near the city and make them phosphoresce at night. How the trees overnight became transformed into the traditional Mahowshadhis made the people wonder. (The Paaduka and similarly the Azhvars can by their effulgence make any one, whosoever it may be, shine with knowledge).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan refers to special trees in the forest known as MahAushadi. They light up in darkness due to their florescence. He compares the trees around AyOdhyA, which light up like MahAushadi thanks to the power of the red rays of PaadhukAs. He says: "Oh MaNi PaadhukE! During the evening time, after Your sacred bath, Your rubies send out their brilliant red rays. They shine on the trees located on the outskirts of AyOdhyA and make them look like the unsuspected MahAushadi trees. "Until the red rays from the rubies of PaadhukAs fell on them, the trees of AyOdhyA looked like ordinary trees during the onset of night. Once Your red rays fell on them, they took the appearance of the flourescent trees of the forest.

(2) Yerivalli creepers are those, which are found on the slopes of mountains and give out a red fluorescence at dusk. Oh PaadhukE! the lustre from You during the time you reigned over AyOdhyA and protected the citizens spread to the trees near AyOdhya and made them look like Yerivalli creepers at dusk.

3) Oh MaNipAdha RakshE! During the time of your reign as the protector of the Citizens of AyOdhyA (TadhA), the lustre of your rubies was seen falling on the trees near the city of AyOdhya (Tava RathnAmsubhi: samrajyamAna VapushAm SaakEtha-patthana-sameeparuhAm dhrumANAm adarsi). What was the effect? Your red rays lit them up (the trees) and made them glow like Yerivalli creepers at dusk.

SlOkam 844 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! Rama proceeded to the forest; King Dasharatha, to the heavens. All was dark in the State. It was just then that You came to rule over the country Your installation was therefore, the real dawn, the dawn of good times, for the country. (Azhvar and the Tamil Veda were given out when there was complete darkness. So their advent was dawn for the world).

1) UthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When Raama was in exile and King DasaraTaa in heaven, You were coronated. At that time, the red rays from Your rubies spread far and wide. As they spread, they destroyed the darkness (sorrow) of the world and served as the powerful Sun's rays at dawn created by the scions of the race of Emperor Raghu". Swami Desikan states that the sorrow (darkness) of the world increased , when Raama was in exile and DasaraTaa shook off his mortal coils. At that time, the red rays from rubies served as the rays of the rising Sun at dawn and dispelled the existing darkness.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: It was the time when Your Lord went away to the forest. King DasaraTA ascended to Svargam. You became the empress of KosalA kingdom and banished all the darkness and sorrows of the world.

3) Oh PaadhukE! When Your Lord went to observe His vana vaasam (RaamE vanam prayAthE Sathi) and King DasaraTa reached Svargam (DasaraTE cha dhivam prayAthE sathi), You removed the enveloping darkness immediately (Bhavathee sahasA nirdhUtha visva timirA BhabhUva). How did you do that ? You did it by serving as the dawn for the Sun of the valor of the kings of Raghu Vamsamthrough Your spreading rays from Your rubies ( BhUyishta rathna kiraNA RaghUNAm bhUya; prathApa tapanOdhaya PoorvasandhyA BhabhUva).

SlOkam 845 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! Those who have mastered the ocean of Vedic knowledge declare that You are by Yourself a Vidya; an Upaya, an Upasana. This has been delivered to the world by the Lord Himself, who is pleased with one's conduct. The Vidya-sound is heard at every one of Your steps of movement, and it is melodious. (One attains God by this Vidya, that is one attains the Lord by surrendering to the Paaduka)

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: In the previous verse, Swami Desikan described the PaadhukAs as the dispeller of darkness of the night. Here, he describes them as the Upanishadic vidhyA to acquire the experience of a bright day. He says: "Oh PaadhukE! You are the VidhyA that brings the Lord before us. You are worn by Him. You are also raising a melliflous sound during every one of Your steps. Those sounds are like the intonation of the manthrAs associated with the VidhyA to bring Your Lord closer to us with Your help. Through that mantrA and the Bhakthi that You stir in us, You represent the VidhyA to get us closer to Your Lord. You are that Prapatthi VidhyA that helps us to realize our goals of securing MOksham.

2) SrImath Andavn's anubhavam: You are like Vedam and the delectable dhvani arising from the jostling of the gems inside Your YanthrikA (toe holds) remind one of the arrival of the Lord to bless us with Your help.

3) Oh PaadhukA DEvi! You are fit for Your Lord's sanchAram (prathi pAdhana arham). You are recognized as Veda naadham (ThvAm vidhyAm vidhu:). This recogniiton is by those , who have crossed the ocean and reached its other bank (PaarAyaNAgama payOnidhi: pAragA:). Your Lord is delighted by You and the AchAryAs present You to the Lord (preethEna VibhunA prathipAdhaneeyam). At every step of Yours during the transport of Your Lord, You generate sweet sounds (Prathipadha udhitha manjunAdham) and are recognized as veritable Veda Naadham (ThvAm vidhyAm vidhu:).

SlOkam 846 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! When the Lord took the Nrisimha avatara, You took a very appropriate incarnation as His consort. Your pearl-given white radiation constitutes the mane of the Lion. Your diamonds serve as the hard teeth. The avatara was pleasing to devotees. (It enhanced the affluence of Prahlada, the great Bhakta). You have a gold composition, He cleaved Hiranya. To Him, as His consort, you are nearly his feminine replica, very much alike.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: When Swami Desikan thinks about the pearls and gold associated with the PaadhukAs, He is reminded of the Lord's incarnation as NarasimhA .He considers the Paadhukais as MahA Lakshmi, who appears with Her Lord in every one of His incarnations. Here, Swamy considers the PaadhukAs as the Devi of Lord Narasimhan. He says: "Maadhava PadhukE! Your rows of pearls look like the mane of NarasimhA. Your adamantine (vajrA) stones resemble His hard teeth. Your gold looks like the form cleaved by NarasimhA, when He tore apart HiraNyakasipu to protect the innocent PrahlAdha. Through all these resemblences, You remind me of SrI Devi, who always takes an appropriate form to suit that particular incarnation of Her Lord. Oh PaadhukE! You appear to me like the consort of Lord NarasimhA with all the similarities cited".

2) Oh PadhukE! Perals, Diamonds are enmeshed in a base of gold on you. When bhakthAs have your darsanam with all these features, they are delighted. The lustre from Your pearls remind them of the glorious mane as Nara Simham. The hard diamonds remind them of the Lord's incisors. When the Lord looks at You, you appear like MahA Lakshmi, who took the avathAram befitting His Narasimha form.

3) Oh Maadhava PaadharakshE! With the radiance of Your pearls, You remind us of the majestic manes of the lion (MukthAmsubhi: kEsaravathee); with the hard diamond (sTira Vajra) on You reminding of the incisors of Lord NarasimhA, you seem to have taken a form that matches well with that of Your Lord like MahA lakshmi, who takes an appropriate from befitting every one of the avathArams of Her Lord (NaaTasya uchithA Sriya:Moorthy bhavasi).

SlOkam 847 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! Poets praise Your gentle gait, sweet voice, pearl- white wings and Your capacity to keep all the worlds under Your suzerainty. Your being on the lotus (of the Lord's feet) befits Your being a Royal Swan. And the water-birds admire the above traits and acknowledge the swan as their head. You are thus veritably the Royal Swan playing on the lotus.

(Hamsa or swan is a perfect representative of Acharyas. Paaduka is one such Acharya. Indeed Nammazhvar is our 1st Acharya in this world).

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan states here that the PaadhukAs are the pair of swans residing at the lotus feet of the Lord. He points out that the beauty of the walk and the sweet sounds associated with the PaadhukAs make them resemble the swans. Further, both the PaadhukAs and the swans have the freedom to move all around the universe. Both are lauded by the poets. The PaadhukAs are thus recognized as a pair of swans residing at the lotus feet of the Lord. He says: "Oh MaNi PaadhukE! the all knowing water birds see Your rows of pearls and conclude that they are like the feathers of white swans; they hear the sweet sound you make during your movements and conclude that those are sounds raised by white swans. Putting 2 and 2 together, they recognize you as a pair of swans worshipped by all the world and residing at the lotus feet of the Lord".

2) SrImath Andavan anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You generate a very plesant naadham during Your sanchArams. High quality and dazzling white pearls are enmeshed on Your surface. All the world is under Your control. You stand as the Hamsam (female White Swan) for the lotus feet of Your Lord. Just as the Hamsam that does not part with the lotus, You do not part with the sacred feet of Your Lord. This is the assessment of the poets of discriminating intellect.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You show the features of a female Raaja Hamsam (i-e)., red beak and feet as well as white body (Raajahamseem SambhAvayanthi). The poets with sharp intellect (Kavaya:) equate you to the Raaja Hamsam sitting at the lotus feet of Your Lord (ThvAm RangAdhirAja padha pankaja rAja hamseem sambhAvayanthi). What are their reasons to characterize You as a female Raaja Hamsam? Their reasons are: (1) You have a delightful nadai /sanchAram (chathura: prachAram), (2) You generate a delightful sound (manjusvAnam), (3) a radiant white body hue like the high quality pearls (mahitha moukthika pathraLa angeem), (4) You have all (the watery) worlds under Your control (svAdheena sarva-bhuvanAnAm). On adding all these up, they conclude that You are a Raaja Hamsam at Your Lord 's lotus feet.

SlOkam 848 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! With the white lustre of pearls, the sweet melody, the variety of colours generated, You find You are hovered round by female beetles. They could be regarded as Srutis, marked by effulgence, sweetness, array of alphabets etc. To Srutis, the Paaduka becomes another Presiding Deity (Saraswati being one, with white garment, sweet sound, etc).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh Mani PaadharakshE! You are beautiful with the white rays asociated with Your pearls. You have a sweet sound, when You move. You have many hues due to the different colored gems adorning You. With the combination of all the above qualities , You remind me of a flock of bees circling the lotus feet of the Lord. The bees are nothing but the empowering principle behind the VedAs.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh MaNi PaadharakshE! with Your resplendent white pearls, delightful naadham arising from Your movements and the multi-colored gems on You, You remind one of the bee hovering over the lotus flower. Just as the honey bee that never leaves the lotus flower, Oh PaadhukE, You never leave the side of Your Lord's sacred feet even for a moment. You resemble the adhishtAna dEvathai of all the VedAs (i-e) all the VedAs have taken their abode in You. Vandu/Vedam is called DhvrEpam) since the name "Bramaram" for them has 2 "R"s.

3) Oh Gem-studded PaadharakshE! You are beautiful with the lustre of Your pearls (MukthA mayukha ruchirAm); You produce a beautiful naadham, when You move (ManjusvanAm); You have the assembly of colors from black (ornyx) to red (PadhmarAgam) on Your surface (MaNibhi: aahitha varNavargAm) . With all these features, You resemble a female honey bee at the lotus feet of Your Lord (ThvAm Mukundha Padha Padhma madhuvrathee). adiyEn also considers You as the aadhaara dEvathai for the apourushEya Vedams (akruthrima girAm anyAm adhi-dEvathAm manyE).

SlOkam 849 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! The promise that Dasharatha had made to Kaikeyi drove Rama and Sita to the forest. This period of separation You did rightly regard as tainted with great stigma. (It was pradosha period-Trayodasi coexisting with dusk.) You, therefore, chose to be silent, without emitting Your usual melodious sound. (Azhvar's works are to be recited in proximate presence of the Lord).

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: On seeing the Paadhukais, Swami Desikan is reminded of the MahA pradhOsham day, when one has to observe the vow of silence. MahA pradhOsham falls at dusk on ThrayOdasi days. Swami Desikan says: "Oh PaadhukE! By giving the boon to KaikEyi, You have reached the status of MahA pradhOsham (most inauspicious day), when one can not worship the Lord and His consort, since one has to observe a strict vow of silence and immobility. You lose Your sweet sound during those 14 years and observed the vow of silence as a rsult of Your sorrow in not being able to se and serve Your Lord".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Lord Raamachandra granted BharathA's request and You left as a result with Bharathan to AyOdhyA to rule in the name of Your Lord. You left Raamachnadra and for 14 years stayed without sanchAram on the throne of Raghu Kulam. It was like MahA PradhOsham time for You since You stayed at one place without generating Naadham from Your transport of Your Lord. At MahA pradhOsham evening, One has to maintain silence and not engage in visit to Bhagavath SannidhAnam.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! The time You had to stay away from Your Lord and His DEvi due to the boon granted by King DasaraTA to queen KaikEyi was like an extended period of PradhOsham for You (KekayasuthA varadhAna Moolam anireekshya RamAsahAyam PradhOsham). At that difficult PradhOsham time, You observed Mouna Vratham without generating Your normal delightful Naadham associated with Your sanchArams (PradhOsha Kaalam aasAdhya manju-praNAtha-rahithA kimapi mouna vratham avarthaya).

SlOkam 850 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! The vaidoorya gems give a picture of cool ponds. The wind blows; the emerald stones give a green lustre of coolness. At that state of a cool abode, You become an ideal resting resort for us, who have the samsara ordeal of going hither and thither in illusion, nescience, and loss of consciousness.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan says here that the PaadhukAs are like a comfortable resting place known for its cool shade, gentle winds and abundant water supplies.He says: "Oh Lord's PaadhukE! You serve as a resting ground for the people afflicted by the ills of samsAra. Your vaidooryA stones with their clarity serve as a cool brook of water at that resting place. Your emeralds serve as a cool shade there. The DevAs (Maruths) associated with You serve as the cool breeze. At such an exquisitely comfortable resting place provided by You, the suffering human beings scorched by the heat of worldly afflictions find their comfort".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Just as a site with cool water and comforting shade are desirable places of rest for a traveller affected by the severe heat of the summer, Your comforting shade and the coolness associated with the luste of Your gems remove the delusion of Jeevans suffering from the afflictions of SamsAram. They seek You therefore as a preferred place of shelter.

3) Oh Souri PadhAvani! The VaiDUryams enmeshed in You produce coolness like the thrist quenching water (VaiDUrya Ramya salilA). You are celebrated by the DevAs (Marudhbhi: mahithA). The assembly of rays from Your emeralds serve as a comforting shade to rest (marathakOpala rasmi jALai: ChAyavathee). You become the resting station for those, who are afflicted by the bramam of samsAric activities (Thvam asrAntha-mOha padhavee paTikasya janthO: visrAnthi-bhUmiriva asi).

SlOkam 851 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

(Oh Paaduka! The sun who is regarded as the founder of the (Solar) race of the Raghus, could not attenuate the moon-lustre of the face of Mandodari, out of fear, though he did so in the case of the celestial moon in day-time). When once You were given the ceremonial coronation bath, You shone in pristine effulgence from which the sun derived a nourishment and courage and he could enfeeble the splendour of the moon of the face of Mandodari, the wife of Ravana. Your Abhisheka was the event that tolled the death-knell of the Rakshasa.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! The primordial source of the origin of the Kulam of Raghu is Sooryan. At the time of Your coronation bath, You helped Sooryan to regain his energy through the brilliant rays of Your rubies. He became rejuvenated and lost his fear of RaavaNa as an indestructible ogre. This in turn made Soorya dim the lustre on the moon-like face of MaNDOdhari, the principal wife of RaavaNa. (The Sun lends a portion of his lustre to the Moon at night time. During the day time, Sun dims the lustre of the Moon due to its own brilliance. Before the coronation of the PadhukAs, Sooryan was full of fear of RaavaNa and did not dare to diminish the lustre of the Moon-like face of MaNDOdhari. Once the PaadhukA ascended the throne of Raghus, Sooryan got confident that Raama will destroy RaavaNa. Sooryan shed his fears and shone brilliantly and thereby diminished the lustre on MaNDOdhar's face. The imagination of Swami Desikan as a poet par excellence is brought out here).

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Raghu Vamsam is celebrated as Soorya Vansam. The aadhi purushan for that vamsam is Sooryan, whose lustre got enhanced multifold from Your rubies. When Your kaanthi mingled with His Kaanthi, He overcame all fears about RaavaNa and dulled the mukha kaanthi of the Moon-like face of MaNDOdhari (i-e) RaavaNan was dead . MaNDOdhari fell down in the mid day Sun and her face lost its lustre and shrank.

3) Oh the protector of the Lord's Thiruvadi (PadhAvani)! Sooryan is the aadhi purushan/Founder of Raghu Vamsam (Raghu-kshithi-bhujAm aadhya:). That Sooryan got enhancement of His lustre from the rays of Your rubies after Your sacred bath (Tava dheepthai: rasmi jaalai: aapyAyitha: Tapana:). His fears were removed (Bheethi: vyapaneethavAn). Sooryan in the state of freedom from fears about RaavaNan diminished the erstwhile Moon-like facial lustre of MaNDOdhari (ManDODhari vadhana chandramasa: mayUkhAn mandheechakAra).

SlOkam 852 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You are revered over all the worlds. Your sapphire gems render You deep black. Being inherently inseparable from the Lord's Feet, You follow Him in his strolls into the harem, partaking of His happiness through, as His inseparable shadow. You looking like a shadow, from Your colour. You thus become more than an outfit of the Feet; You are the Lord's totality in the form of a shadow.

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan celebrates the blue color of sapphire adorning the PaadhukAs here. He states that the PaadhukAs are like the shadow of RanganAtha. He also states that the PaadhukAs are not only the representative of the Lord's holy feet but also the representative of His whole body. He says: "Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You are celebrated by the entire world for Your brilliant blue rays emanating from Your blue sapphires. You are united like a shadow at the feet of RanganAtha and follow Him through all His roamings in the inner chambers of His palace".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You are always with Your Lord as He pays visit to His inner chambers and returns from there. You accompany Him as His shadow even during such private trips. Your dark bluish-black hue arising from Your sapphires confer on You the quality of His shadow (i-e)., You are below His feet always.

3) Oh MaNI PaadhukE! You are celebrated by the whole world (Thvam Samastha JagathAm MaanyA). Through the pieces of bluish-black sapphire, You resemble the hue of the Lord's Thiruvadi and are seen there (MaNi bhanga neelA Ranga-nrupathE: paadhE nisarga: gaDithA). You enjoy as a ever-present companion the comings and goings of Your Lord inside His inner chambers and His delightful visits there (Thvam antha: purEshu Ranga-nrupathE: laLithAni gathAgathAni anuvarthasE).

SlOkam 853 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You are in a state of closely caressing the Lord's Feet. You are Yourself gold and You have sapphires on You. The 2 suggest the colour of Lakshmi and Bhoomi Devi. Rightly do previleged persons-persons who produce holy works-consider You as an embodiment of Mahalakshmi and Bhoomi Devi, as 2-in-1!

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: SrI Devi is of golden hue; BhU Devi has the bluish-black color of the sapphire. When Swami Desikan reflects on these 2 colors found together in the PaadhukAs, He is reminded of the PaadhukAs as the joint representation of both SrI and BhU Devis. He observes: "Oh PaadhukE! You have taken residence at the lotus feet of Lord RanganAtha and shine with both a golden and bluish lustre through Your gold and sapphires adorning You. Surrounded by Your blue lustre,Your golden body is celebrated by great poets as the combined form of both SrI Devi and BhU Devi".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam:Oh PaadhukE! You are full of gold. On Your gold base, deep blue Sapphires are enmeshed. The mixture of colors make a reddish and bluish-black at the same time. As a result, You have taken the combined appearnace of SrI DEvi (DayA Roopi) and BhU Devi (Saantha / KshamA Roopi).

3) Oh MaNi PadhukE! The fortunate ones think of You (Thvam Sukruthibhi: sambhAvyasE) as the combined form of SrI Devi and BhU Devi (Thvam Sindhu suthA DharaNyO: SaamAnya Moorthiriva sambhAvyasE). Why do these PuNyasaalis think this way of You, who is assoicated with the Lord's lotus-soft Thiruvadi (RangAdhirAja padha pankaja aasrayantheem ThvAm)? It is because of Your golden surface (reminding of MahA Lakshmi) is enmeshed with bluish-black sapphires, the color of BhU Devi(Svayam Thvam Haimee Harineela rathnai: parigathA).

SlOkam 854 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Gold Paaduka! You are being worshipped by the Devas, with flowers, at all times. You verily appear like the Lord's Twin-Feet, Your pearls simulate the foot-nails, Your red gems simulate the tender toes, thus becoming almost like the Foot Duet, You confer, on devotees, all auspicious rewards including the Moksha bliss. Then Your lustre is impressive like the Foot-Duet.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan compares the Lord's feet to the PaadhukAs in this verse and points out many similarities. He says: "Oh Golden PaadhukE! You and Your Lord's feet have the following similarities: both of You are worshipped by the DevAs with flowers. Both of You fulfill the wishes of Your devotees. The tender creeper-like fingers and nails on Your Lord's feet resemble Your gems and pearls. Like Your Lord, You confer all soubhAgyams on Your devotees".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You grant Moksham through Your luster like the Lord's Thiruvadi of PerumAL. The entire assembly of DevAs worship You with sacred flowers. The pearls enmeshed in You remind us of the toe nails of the Lord. The rubies remind us of the tender toes of the Lord's Thiruvadi.

3) Oh Golden PaadhukE (Kaanchana PaadhukE)! You are worshipped always with assembly of sacred flowers (SumanasAm nivahai: ajasram abhyarchithA). Your pearls and rubies (MukthA aruNOpalA) resemble the white nails and tender red toes of Your Lord's lotus feet (nakha anguLi-pallava SrI:). You absorb the features of the Lord's sacred feet through Your pearls and rubies and grant Moksham like Your Lord's celebrated feet known for granting that boon (Thvam Murabhida: charaNa dhvayeeva SrEyaskareem kAnthim samAsrayasi) .

SlOkam 855 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! Well-polished with cloth, You appear lucid in lustre. You get the water-ablution; then sandal-paste application, then decoration with flower-garlands. You start on Your role, whether the Lord goes on a stroll or for a sport. At the appropriate time, You are united with the Feet. The Foot-Duet is Your spouse; You enjoy conjugal pleasure with him. This previlege- of union with the Foot-Duet, a spouse-is not given to any other appurtenance of the Lord, which is all mere ornament.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: In the previous verse, Swami Desikan pointed out the close relationship between the PaadhukAs and the Lord's feet. Here, He describes the PaadhukAs as the mistress, who enjoys along with Her Lord, the pleasures of bathing, decoration with flowers and smearing with scented powders. Oh PaadhukE! You are indeed His dear mistress. No other property of Your Lord achieves Your status. Swami Desikan says: "Oh MaNi PaadhukE! after Your sacred bath, Your servants wipe You dry. They sprinkle on You scented powders. They cover You with garlands containing fresh and beautiful flowers. You set out with Your Lord on His jaunts. This way, You stand out as His dearest mistress. Your status is never achieved by any other jewelery (aabharaNam) of the Lord".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: PerumAL enjoys the companionship of AzhwAr (SaThAri Soori) as His wedded wife. The realtionship of SaThAri to the Lord is even loftier than the relationship of the Lord with His Devi, MahA Lakshmi. In the world, the relationship between an Utthama Purushan and his pathivrathA (Chaste) wife is accorded the highest status. There is nothing that is comparable to that superior relationship.

3) Oh MaNI PaadhukE! You shine beautiful with Your body that has been dried after Your sacred bath (Thvam nirmrushta gaathra ruchirA). You have been the beneficiary of Thirumanjanam (SnAthA) and thereafter You have been adorned with sandal paste and fragrant garlands (anulEpa surabhi: nava mAlya chithrA). Oh PaadhukE! When the time comes for sport (VihAra samayE prApthE sathi), You enjoy a rare and incomparable status of delight through the BhOgam with Your Lord's lotus feet (ananya-labhyam MurArE: PaadhAravindha paribhOgam bhajasE).

SlOkam 856 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! You are a form taken by Adisesha. He himself wished to enjoy your form and melody simultaneously. He was not prepared to bear the time-lag between seeing and hearing, even if it would be trivially small. So he acquired, by Your grace the unusual faculty of hearing through the eyes themselves. His 100s of eyes become, themselves, so many ears as well. He thus became previleged to see and hear You synchronously. (1. The Indian traditional belief is that the serpent has no separate hearing organ except the eyes. It is so named too. 2. Even Nityasooris cherish to worship and hear Azhvar.)

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan focuses on AadhisEsha enjoying the sound and sight of the PaadhukAs with His 2000 eyes. It is generaly believed that eyes of the snake acts as an organ of sight as well as hearing. Swami Desikan states that AadhisEshan is intently experiencing the pleasures of seeing

the beautiful PaadhukAs in movement with His eyes. Swami Desikan observes: "Oh PaadhukE! AadhisEsha can not wait even for one second to enjoy both your beautiful form and the delectable sounds created by You as You move around through the jingling of Your various gems. He wants to take in both Your beauty and Your sunAdhams and uses His 2 1000 eyes to accomplish that goal. As a result, He becomes known for His sense of hearing".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: AadhisEshan has great joy in seeing Your beautiful body and Your naadham as You move. He wanted to enjoy them simultaneously. For ordinary snakes, it is hard to concentrate on both the seeing and hearing at the same time. Therefore, AadhisEshan converted His eyes to be both the seeing organ and the hearing organ so that He can have both the cognitive functions enmeshed in His eyes.

3) Oh PaadhukE (Padhaavani)! AadhisEshan (Pannaga Pathi:) has uncontrollable eagerness in enjoying Your auspciious sounds and Your roopam (Tava naadhE taTA tava SamnivEsE asahyam nirvEsana). He wanted to do away with any time delay between the seeing and the hearing faculites (kramam apAchikeershu:). He empowered His 100s of eyes to seve as the sight and hearign organs (Yai: lOchana sathairEva ThvAm abhiveekshathE thairEva sruthimAn Bhabhoova).

SlOkam 857 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! Siva is at the top of Your devotees. You wish to confer an honour on him. Therefore, You create Yourself in a similarity with one of the 8 aspect-forms of Siva, namely the sun, You resemble the sun in having 1000 rays. You are situated in Vishnupada, that is the Lord's Foot. He travels on Vishnupada, the sky.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan describes here the special blessings conferred by the PaadhukAs as Surya NaarayaNa Moorthy on its prime devotee, MahEswaran. Swamy equates the Paadhuka to the Surya because of both having mobility and possessing 1000s of rays like the Sun God. Swamy says: "Oh PaadhukE! You shine with 1000 rays and move in the skies with Your Lord. At that time, You resemble Surya, who is one of the 8 forms of Maheswara, Your foremost devotee. You bless Maheswara in this manner".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You are like the SarIram for Sooryan, who is the 1st among Your devotees. You possess 1000s of rays from Your gems. You have sanchAram every where due to links to VishNu Padham. Sooryan travels in the VishNu padham (AakAsam).

3) Oh PaadhukE (PaadhAvani)! You are shining with 1000s of rays (Bhavathee sphuDa mayukha sahasra dhrusyA). You have Your SanchArams due to the links to Your Lord's sacred feet (Bhavathee VishNO: padhEna vihitha prachArA). Your foremost devotee is MahEswaran and is bound to You (Bhavathee Thvath bhakthi yanthritha jana praTamasya Sambhu:). You bless MahEswara by accompanying his Soorya Svaroopa SarIram playfully.

SlOkam 858 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! Whatever You achieved in the kingdom or in the forest befits Your post; that is Rama's throne and Rama's foot. In the former, You took care of protection of the land; in the latter, You afforded revival and safe existence to Ahalya, Gowtama's wife. Re-meditating on this aspect again and again, the wives of sages have given their hearts to You and always hold You on their heads and worship You.

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: After describing the blessings conferred on AadhisEsha and MahEswara, Swami Desikan shifts his attention now to the wives of the sages of the forest. He says: "Oh PaadhukE! Your central concern is to protect and help the people, whether You are travelling in the forest with Raama or sitting on the throne in AyOdhyA. In the forest, You blessed Ahalya and transformed her back in to the state of a woman from that of a stone. All the wives of the sages of the forest recall with affection Your help to Ahalya snd prostrate before You daily for Your generous act".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! The wives of Sages of the forest know that (a)You never leave the Lord's sacred feet and (b) Your saving Ahalya, their friend once upon a time. Therefore, they hold You with high reverence on their heads.

3) Oh PadhukE! The wives of the Rishis (Muni-dharmadhArA:) know that You do not leave Your Lord's sacred feet, be it in the forest or at AyOdhyA (rAjyE vanEapi Raghuveera padha uchithAyA:). They think of Your protection of Ahalya (Gouthama vadhU parirakshaNam samsruthya). Recalling both of these glorious deeds, the Rishi pathnis hold You in high reverence and keep You on their heads (samsmruthya, samAhitha dhiyA moordhnA ThvAm bhajanthi).

SlOkam 859 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! Knowledgeable observers, seeing the Lord Ranganatha on You with a 1000 rays emerging from Your gems, and start moving on with a Vedic melody, identify Him with the Supreme God, residing in the centre of the solar globe, along with the Vedic Trinity.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: In this verse, Swami Desikan points out that the sages of the forest enjoy the PaadhukAs as the Soorya MaNDalam (orbit of the Sun God). He says: "Oh PaadhukE! You shine with Your 1000 rays like the Sun's orbit. Your sounds during Your movement resemble the sounds of recitation of the 3 VedAs at dawn, noon, and dusk. Your Lord sits in the center of that orbit as Surya NaarAyaNan and is recognized and saluted by the sages as the Veda Purushan revered by You".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! Lord RanganAtha is with You posesing 1000s of rays and myriad sweet sounds. Those great ones, who worship You with Your Lord think of Lord RanganAtha as the SarvEswaran at the middle of the orbit of the Sun worshipped by Rg, Yajus and Saama Vedams at morning, noon, and evening.

3) Oh Gem-bedecked PaadharakshE (MaNi PaadharakshE)! Lord RanganAtha appears like the Soorya NaarAyaNa Moorthy seated at the center of the Sun's orbit, who is eulogized by the Rg, Yajur and Saama Vedams during prAtha:, MaadhyAhnika and Saayam SandhyAs (Rangapathi: VidhyAsakah: savithru maNDala madhyavarthee aasankyathE). To whom does Lord RanganAtha accompanied by You look like Soorya MaNDala Madhyavarthee (ThvAm aasritha: Thvath sinjithEna saha sumadhyan Rangapathi:)? When the Saastraj~nAs (VidvAns) see You with Your Lord (Sumathibhi: dhrusyAm ThvAm), then they equate Your Lord to Soorya NaarAyaNan at the center of the orbit of the Sun.

SlOkam 860 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! It appears that You announce; in a sweet manner, pleasant to the ear, as an essence of the meaning of the Srutis as well, as a manner of solemn declaration; so touching, as required by the Smritis (that one would touch an auspicious object while swearing on a solemn oath), the Feet of Lord Ranganatha, by Your gem-bedecked hands, that is, the rays from the gems on You, in a manner to quell and convince the heterodox views of the wrong-sighted interpreters of the Veda, to the effect: "This Archa-moorti, Lord Ranganatha, is the Supreme Deity, proclaimed by the ruling authoritative scriptures, and identifiable as the soul of all, having sentients and non-sentients as His manifestations".

(The views to be corrected are: that Brahman has no qualities; that It has no form; that any godhead could be supreme; that Archa-avatara is not real).

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You destroy the false arguments of the demented and prove that Lord NaarAyaNan is the supreme priniciple of the universe. You prove that the Purusha at the center of the Sun's orbit is none other than the eternal RanganAtha. You touch His feet with Your 1000 rays and highlight His eternal and unique role as the creator, protector and destroyer of the universe as pronounced by the VedAs. You proclaim and assert that Hari is the central power that pervades all the sentient and insentient beings. You silence the false scholars about their opinions to the contrary".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! The rays from Your gems fall on the sacred feet of Your Lord. You also generate sweet sounds as You transport Him .When one experiences both of these anubhavams, they think that this scene is evocative of Your dialog with those, who misintrepret the meanings of the VedAs. You seem to be reminding them that Your Lord is the true meaning of all the VedAs and to trust Your Lord always. You appear like taking a vow by

touching Your Lord's Thiruvadi and reminding these mistaken souls about the eternal truth.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You are touching Your Lord's sacred feet with Your 1000s of arms /rays emanting from Your gems (Thvam RathnAsrithai: karai: Hari padham spruthvA). You also have the sweet sounds cherished by the VedAs (Sruthi rasAyana manju-nAdhA). You appear to address at that time the many deluded scholars, who misintrepret the meanings of the Veda manthrams (VedAn prathAritavatha: vividhAn kudhrushteen). You seem to say to them that Lord RanganAtha in front of You is the true meaning of the Veda manthrams (yEthath tatthvam ithi samyak bhOdhayaseeva).

SlOkam 861 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! You are a spontaneous spring of graciousness and You grant bliss to seekers and devotees. Mother earth perhaps performed the Bharanyasa (deposition of one's burden) to You, not being able to bear the heavy sinners of the wrong-sighted class who interpret the scriptures as they like. May be, You were also happy that she bore Your stamp with pleasure. As a consequence, You granted by means of Your rays of various colours, a variety of garments for Bhoomi Devi!

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh RanganAtha PaadhukE! You present BhUmi Devi with new clothes through Your 1000s of colorful rays. She causes happiness to Her devotees. You remove Her burden of carrying the demented scholars with incorrect views on Your Lord's primordial nature and auspicious attributes. You clear the world often of such scholars causing mischief and make Bhumi Devi shed this burden. At those times, You present Her with new and novel dresses woven out of Your myriad colorful rays and honor Her.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When one looks at the spreading of the rays from your gems on Mother Earth, You appear to be presenting to BhUmi Devi a multi-colored vasthram to honor Her for patiently bearing Your w8 and of that Lord positioned on You.

3) Oh Paadhukais protecting the sacred feet of RanganAtha (RangAdhirAja Padha RakshaNi)! You produce joy in those, who are dear to you (praNayinAm Aanandhasoo:). You are blemishless (anagha:) and tranquil (PrasAdhA). When Your w8 is placed on BhUmi, She exhibits firmness and does not show unsteadiness (nija bharE nyasthE sTirathAm bhajanthyA: VasundharAyA:). For Her forbearance and support, You seem to present Her with a multi-colored vasthram in the form of Your many colored rays (VasundharAyA: rathna bhAsA varNAmsukam vitharaseeva).

SlOkam 862 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! You are 3-in-one, having in yourself the sun, the fire, and the moon, the 3 natural sources of light. You emit multicoloured spectrum of light; You purify people and You are made of gold, the 3 features implying the 3 light sources, respectively.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan describes the paadhukAs as the integrated effulgence of the 3 jyOthis (Surya, Agni and Chandra). He says: "Oh PaadhukE! Through the assembly of Your colorful gems, You are recognized as Chithrabhaanu or the multicolored Surya. Through Your glory and purity, You are recognized as the purifying Agni. Through Your golden form, You also become Chandra. You thus become the integrated essence of the above 3 effulgences and remove all darkness in this universe".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: With Your multi-colored rays, You seem to have taken the combined form of Sooryan, Agni and Chandran to remove our ajn~Anam.

3) Oh Lord's PaadhukE! (Souri charaNAvani)! You through the union of many colored rays from Your gems become Sooryan (Thvam rathna visEsha yOgAth chithrabhAnu: asi). Through Your glories, You seem to have attained the status of the sanctifying Agni(Thvam nijEna BhUmnA pAvakathvam paripushyasi). Through Your intrinsic qualities, You appear like Chandran (Svainaiva Chandra roopA asi). In You all the 3 (Sun, Agni and Chandran) seem to have merged in one place to remove our nescience(miLithA tEjasrayeeva na: tama: apahA).

SlOkam 863 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Paaduka! Red like ripe corals, golden in nature, having shining pearls, respectable to all, You remind one of the dusk. There appears a tender streak of moon, the sky is red, stars appear in the sky and people perform homage to the gods, as required, at the dusk. Like the dusk, You also afford relief and peace to men.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Swami Desikan compares the PaadhukAs to the early evening, when the partly red sky is illuminated by the stars and the Moon. He says: "Oh RanganAtha PadhukE! With Your red corals, You become beautiful and are the object of worship by the people. With Your beautiful gold (Chandra) combined with Your shining pearls, You are like the early evening sky decorated by stars and the Moon. In this state, You remove all the sufferings of Your devotees ".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! You remove the taapams of the suffering people like the cool and auspicious sandhyaa kaalam, when the digits of the Moon are united with the stars in the sky. The gold on You is the (golden) Moon and the perals on top of the gold serve as stars in that magical sandhyA kaalam.

3) Oh RangAdhirAja CharaNAvani! You always remove the sufferings of people like the sacred SandhyA kaalam (Thvam SandhyEva sathatham prajAnAm tApathyayam disasi). You are beautiful like the tender shoots of leaves and are youthful (Thvam prouDa pravALa ruchirA). You exist for the exclusive worship of the people of the world (Tvam Bhuvana yEkavandhyA). You resemble SandhyA Kaalam through the union of the beautiful golden base and the white pearls embedded on that base (Ramya chandhrA sambhinna moukthika ruchi:). That union makes You look like the star-studded evening sky at SandhyA kaalam (Thvam thArakithA SandhyEva bhAsathi).

SlOkam 864 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! The Lord's Feet are tender. To suit them, You make earnest care in great love. You enable the Lord to proceed on His tours, on Your well built gem-set surface. You also cause to spread a layer of lotus, white lily and blue water-lily flowers on the Lord's path, by scattering rays of light from Your gems, a red-carpet treatment being thus given.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh Mani PaadhukE! Wishing to make the most tender feet of Your Lord travel in comfort, You affectionately spread the tender petals of lotus, white and blue lillies in His path through Your multicolored rays and announce His arrival with delightful sound of Your jingling gems.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When Lord RanganAtha travels on the streets of His RaajadhAni, You want to protect His soft feet from the ill effects of any rough patch over which You have to transport Him. Therefore, You use the spreading rays from Your colorful gems and line the path with rows and rows of petals from red and blue lotus as well as the white lillies.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You have firm and durable Bhakthi for Your Lord (Thvam sphuDa bhakthi bhandhA). You wish to transport the uniquely mysterious and flower-petal soft feet of the Lord with out any harm to them (RangEswarasya adhbhutha soukumAryou paadhou viharayithum icchasi). What initiative do you take to overcome any shocks or jolts to those soft feet of Your Lord, which are Your charge? Your initative is to spread ahead the petals of red (SarOja) and blue (Uthpala) lotuses and white lillies (Kumudha) in the guise of Your multicolored rays from the gems (Puratha: rathnAmsubhi: SarOja Kumudha Uthpala pathra pankthim praaya: vikirasi).

SlOkam 865 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You take the Lord along to the harem. The rays from the gems spread all around. Your gait releases melody too. These 2 occur frequently; it creates an impression that Cupid's arrows are being rubbed on the touchstone of Your surface in order to captivate the Divine Consorts.

The Paaduka and its melody are the right cause for humans to develop devotion to God. Paaduka being Azhvar, his works have got a major role in creating Bhakti-bhava in men.

1) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When the Lord travels with You generating auspicious naadham and spreading Your beautiful, multi-colored rays, the Devis of the Lord in their inner chambers develop a special passion for their Lord. It is like the end result of Manmathan sharpening His arrows and generating sound and light in that process to afffect the mind set of the Devis.

2) MaNi Padhukais of the Lord of Srirangam are near His inner chambers, where His Devis live (SourE: avarOdhagruhEshu aasannavrutthi:). The Paadhukais have both kaanthi from their gems (aalagna rathna kiraNA) and sweet sounds (manjuswanA). As the PaadhukAs take each step (anupadham) and transports the Lord to His inner chambers, it creates the impression of Manmathan sharpening his arrows to h8en the passion of the Lord's Devis (anupadham Madana bhANa nigarsha sankhAm aapaadhayasi).

SlOkam 866 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Sri: paryApthamoUkthikanaKhA sPhutapadhmarAgA rEKhAvishESharuchirA laLitha prachArA rangaDhirAjapadhayOrmaNipAdhukE! Thvam sAyujyam AshrithavathIva samasthavandhyA

Oh Manipaaduka! Your pearls simulate the nails of the Feet. The red gems on You give an impression of red lotus and are reminiscent of the Lord's Lotus Feet. There are the streaks on You. The gait is exactly the same as that of the Lord's. Thus, the complete identity between You and the Feet are secured. This is Sayujya.

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: In the 854th verse, Swami Desikan compared the PaadhukAs to the feet of the Lord. Here, he takes this comparison one step further. He says: "Oh Mani PaadhukE! RanganAthA's feet have pearly white toe nails; they are red like Your rubies; they contain lines and patterns similar to those seen on You. Therefore, You become equal to the Lord's feet in status because of above similarities and are worshipped by every one. They celebrate Your lovely steps and gait and recognize their equality with Your Lord's feet".

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! There is close similiarity between You and Your Lord's sacred feet. Both of You are eminently worshippable. The pearls on You resemble the Lord's lustrous white nails in Kaanthi. The soft red lotus like feet of Your Lord matches the red hue of Your rubies. Both of You have rekhAs and have beautiful gaits.

3) Oh PaadhukE! You have attained closeness to Your Lord's sacred feet (MaNi PaadhukE! Thvam RangAdhirAja padhayO: Saayujyam aasrithavathee). Where are the points of comparison? The white pearls resemble in hue the shining nails of the Lord's toes (ParyAptha Moukthika NakhA). The red rubies resemble the lotus feet (SphuDa PadhmarAga). Matching beauty in lines (rEkhAs) on both of You like Dhvajam, Vajram et al (rEkhA visEsha ruchirA) are seen. Close symmetry in gaits (laLitha PracharA). Both are worshipped by all (Samastha VandhyA).

SlOkam 867 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Sri: prApthABhiShEkA maNipAdhukE! thvam pradhIptharathnA raGhurAjaDhAnyA: pradhakshiNaprakamaNAdhakarShI: prakAramAgnEyamiva praBhABhi:

Oh Manipaaduka! After the formal coronation, You enjoy a procession on the streets of Ayodhya. The gems emit such an effulgent beam then that it looks like fire. You appear to have made a fire-fortress for the city.

1) UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh MaNi PaadhukE! After Your sacred bath, the lustre of Your rubies become multifold and spread around the boundaries of the city of AyOdhyA and forms a wall of fire to encircle it and protect it.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! When BharathA performed coronation uthsavam for You and took You around the Raaja veedhis of AyOdhyA, the lustre from Your gems created an image of the rays from those gems forming a radiant and encircling wall around the City.

3) Oh MaNi PaadhukE! You have enjoyed Your abhishEkam (prAptha abhishEkA) and are radiant with the lustre from Your gems (pradheeptha rathnA). You were taken around the favourite city of the kings of Raghu lineage(Raghu RaajadhAnyA: PradakshiNa PrakramaNavAnn). At that time, You appeared to create a boundary wall of fire around the City with Your rays (PrabhAbhi: aagnEyam prAkAram akArsheeriva).

SlOkam 868 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Raghava-Paaduka! When You are seated ceremoniously on the throne, the ruby stones from You radiate an array of effulgent beams, which one would regard as the sprouts of the fire of valour, of Bharata, which won the kings, by Your grace of course.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh Raaghava PaadhukE! The red rays of rubies originating from You as You sit on the throne of Raghus appear like the little flames representing the fire of valor of BharathA that defeats the enemies of the kingdom of AyOdhyA ruled by You.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh MaNi PaadhukE! As You sat on the throne of Raghus, the downward spreading red rays from Your rubies gave the impression of BhrathA's valour was sprouting all around that throne.

3) Oh Raagava PaadharakshE! Bharatha is the one, who defeats the opposing kings of the kingdom of AyOdhyA in the name of the Raama Paadhukais NarEndhrAn jEthu: Bharatha:). BharathA's valor is like the tongues of fire (Bharathasya PrathApa Vahni:) reminding one of sprouted germs (PrathApa VahnE: prarOhA iva abhavan).

SlOkam 869 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! The Vedas choose and desire to have, as their husband, the Lord Narayana alone. You help and assist the Lord tying the Mangalya-sootra in the necks of the Vedic damsels. At that moment, You pronounce mantras in sweet voice. This is certain. The Paaduka acts as a priest, so to say. Her service may be likened to that of Azhvar, who, by his works, established that the subject of all Vedas is only the Lord.,

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh MaNi PaadhukE! Through Your auspciious sounds, You serve as the sister of the Lord in performing the ceremony of tying the MangaLa Soothram around the necks of the VedAs taking the form of the brides of RanganAtha. Although, He ties the Maangalya Soothra as the bridegroom, You assist Him as the traditional sister of the groom, who has to assist in tying one of the knots.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam:Oh PaadhukE! Veda s3s desire to have the Lord as their husband. You seem to help the Lord tie the Maangalya soothram on the necks of Veda s3s with Your auspicious rays and sounds.

3) Oh Mani PadharakshE! You generate both auspicious sounds (Bhavathee Subha praNadhA) and multi-colored rays from Your many different kinds of gems (MaNi rasmi Jaalai:). You use Your extended rays to help Your Lord tie the Maangalya Soothram on the necks of Veda S3s, who wish to be married to Your Lord (Vaikuntapathim VarANAm kaNDEshu maNirasmijAlai: mangaLya soothram bhadhnAsi).

SlOkam 870 of SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram

Oh Manipaaduka! You have a variety of colors-various alphabets. Your sound is melodious, Your message is composed of sweet words. Your dictates are beneficial. As such the Devas accept this; they bear the Paaduka on their heads. Azhvar's command embodied in the Paaduka are acceptable to the Devas also.

1)UtthamUr Swami's anubhavam: Oh Mani PaadhukE! With Your enchanting colors of Your gems and the delectable sounds associated with Your diverse movements, You sound like the auspicious VedAs and confer Your blessings on one and all. With all of these attributes, You appear like the document containing Your Lord's commandments, which are worn on the heads of the DevAs with great reverence.

2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE! DevathAs carry You on their head with great respect. You house beautiful symbols and sounds inside You. The DevathAs carry You on their heads as though they are carrying a sheet of instructions containing the commands of Your Lord.

3) Oh PaadhukE! You are filled with different colors (Vichithra VarNA). You generate sounds that are dear to the ears of the VedAs (Sruthi ramyasabdhA). You are the harbinger of the auspicous news about Moksham for the Jeevans (Thvam SrEyaskaree). You are worn on the heads of DevAs like the letter containing the commands of Your Lord (Madhudhvisha: sAsana pathrikEva nAgasadhAm sirObhi: nishEvyasE).