14 hours ago
Rama, the Supreme One
Vedanta Desika was the author of works in Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravala. He wrote Achyuta Satakam in Prakrit. In his Raghuveera Gadyam, Desika offers his salutations to Lord Rama as the effulgent One who destroys the darkness called fear, said T.N. Aravamuda Thathachariar in a discourse. Rama shines because of Sita Devi's constant presence beside Him. He is the One who illuminates Paramapada with His brightness. Desika celebrates Rama as Jayathi in his salutation. Why does he begin with the word 'jayathi'? When Periyazhvar saw Lord Narayana, he was afraid people would cast evil eyes on Him, and that this would harm the Lord. So he sang pallandu verses to ward off the evil eyes.
Likewise, Desika, in this verse uses the word jayathi to ward off evil eyes. The first choornika of the gadyam also says, 'Jaya Jaya Mahaveera.' Thus the prayer for mangalam and a prayer to keep away all inauspiciousness are there right at the beginning of the work. Vedanta Desika's style is such that some passages are difficult to recite, while some are easy, and Desika himself points this out towards the end of the work. He says some passages are kaTora (tough); some are easy (sukumAra). Raghuveera Gadyam has 94 choornikas, of which the first two praise Rama the warrior. The third choornika refers to Rama as Deva, showing that Rama is the Supreme One. The Upanishadic statement is 'divyO deva ekO Narayana,' and Desika reiterates it here by referring to Rama as Deva. The 94 choornikas can be seen in the context of the qualities of Rama as seen in the various kandas of Valmiki Ramayana. Twenty choornikas pertain to Balakanda; seven to Ayodhya Kanda; 14 to Aranyakanda; five to Kishkinda kanda; one to Sundara kanda; 29 to Yuddha kanda; and 18 to Uttara Ramayana.
