Nija jyEshta shukla chaturdashi is the aaradhana of the great saint and haridasa Shri Sripadarajaru. Shri Sripadarajaru is an incarnation of Dhruva. In the Srimad Bhagavatham , Dhruva gets upadesha from Saint Narada to perform contemplation of the Supreme Lord. He does so and is rewarded with the darshan of the Lord himself. There is no better person to explain the means to an end than one who has followed that /means/path and reached his destination.

Shri Sripadarajaru in his devuru nama ikko noDu raMganAthana putTa pAdava is exhorting the devotees to look at the feet of the Lord in their mind's eye. He is saying in the first stanza that he can see the feet of the Lord . The question arises “Where did he see?” The answer is “ ikko” ikko means here. When one says here it means it is just nearby and it is obvious that Dasaru is referring to the rUpa which he can see as he performs dyAna and sings . He is describing the pAda in the first charnam and in the next two charanams is hinting at how one should contemplate the lotus feet. It is by visualization of the feet by description and visualization by thinking of the glorious leelas of this lotus feet of the Lord as described in the various epics and puranas,

This devuru nama is a perfect tool for helping the devotee in contemplation of the Lord's lotus feet. If one asks ,”What is the reason to contemplate on the Lord's feet.” To that ,Srimad Bhagavatham has an answer. Sage Suka says ,

vichakshaNA yachchaRaNOpasAdanAtsaMgam vyudasthOntarAtmanaH

viMdati hi brihatgatim.h gataklamAstasmai subhadrashravase naMO namaH ll

Sage Shuka narrates the importance of the contemplation of the feet of the Lord. He says,”Those who contemplate and worship His lotus feet forgo their attachment to the worldly and other worldly things(swarga) and with renunciation born of it attain the knowledge of Lord Hari and ripe devotion that releases them from the sorrow of samsara. Repeated protrations to this Paramatman of chaste repute.”

Also in the Srimad Bhagavatham Sage Kavi potrays the benefits of contemplation of the lotus feet of the Paramatman to King Janaka.

BhaktiH pare sve anubhavO viraktirayatra chaitSha trika ekakALaH

prapadyamAnasya yathAshanataH syustuShtiH puShtiH kshudapAyo anugAsam ll

He says, “ To the eligible engaged in deep contemplation of the Lord in the enjoined way , devotion, knowledge and vairgya ie detachment from me and mine , these three things always grow simulaneously just as every morsel of food we take in simulataneously relieves hunger and brings satisfaction.”

All seekers look for these very things ie devotion, knowledge and vairagya, so the means to this is shown to us in the Bhagavatham. Since all of us may not be able to read the bhagavatham on a regular basis or understand its full impact ,Sripadarajaru has portrayed the means of contemplation in kannada.

One can find the answers to the following questions in this devuru nama.

1. What should a sadhaka contemplate on? Answered in the pallavi

2. Can you describe the object of contemplation? Answerd in the first charanam.

3. How do we continue the contemplation once we have described it? Answered in the second and third charanams.

ikko noDu raMganAthana puTTa pAdava

sikkite SrilakShmIpatiya divya pAdava

 Dasasau exclaims ,”sikkithe” means “I have found!” ........” I have found the little pada of Sri Lakshmi pathi. “ From this one verse it is clear that Dasaru has found something precious which he had been searching for, for a long time. It gives the sadhaka confidence to know that when he/she searches for the Lord, he/she is sure to find Him. This resonates with the verse from the BG where Lord Krishna says,

“bahunaam janmanAm aMte jNanavAn mAM prampadyaMte” . “After taking many births the sadhaka becomes a jNani and is able to secure My grace.”

Dasaru is conveying the message that one should begin searching only then one can find Him . The time of finding is immaterial, the zeal for the action of searching is what is all important. The Brahmasutras also say ,”Om athAH tO braHmajigNyasa Om” meaning every one's bounden duty is to begin his/her quest for the truth of the Supreme Brahman.

He is describing the Lord as Lakshmi's pathi. This attribute conveys that the Lord is the most superior. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth . The Lord is above this. Lakshmi is the abhimani of the Vedas . Dasaru says that he can see the beautiful pAda that is hidden in the Vedas .In the BG Chapter 15, the Lord says “ vEdAnAm ahamEva vEdyam” meaning that all letters, words in the Vedas describe Him. Every sound refers to the Lord and His infinte attributes. This is one of the unique contributions of Sri Madhvacharya.(sarva shabda vAchaya) .Divya means radiance/luminous. A luminous thing glows on its own and does not require external light to reveal itself. Similarly the Lord who has the form of jNana and Ananda is full of radiance and will reveal Himself on His own when the devotee is eligible.

shaMKu chakra gadA padma aMkita pAdava

aMkusha kulisha dhwajArekhe aMkita pAdava

paMkaja nayana hrudayadalli naliva pAdava

saMkaTaharaNa veMkaTeshana divya pAdava (ikko)

 Dasaru says,” That pada is decorated with the shaMku , chakra, gada and padma , aMkusha , kulisha , dwaja and rekha .”

Each of these decorations of the feet of the Lord represent His soveriegnity on all aspects of jivas, jaDas , creation, bondage and mukthi which is the experience of one's own swarupa ananda. (Essence of a jiva's own nature is referred to as swarupa). Let us look at the possible attributes of each symbol. There will be many other ways of interpreting each symbol on the Lord's feet.

shaMku (Mahalakshmi the presiding diety of Vedas) – knowledge ,

chakra – The power to destroy adharma –shakthi ,

gada- the valour to maintain independence and control- prabha,

dwaja – the flag is the symbol of the ruler in power- aishwarya- omnipotence,

rekha- tejas, The rays ot the sun shine bright and brilliant, tejas is brilliance.

padma- ananda, Looking at the beautiful lotus brings joy to one and all so it symbolysis happiness.

aMkusha- bondage of the souls is caused by the Lord,

kulIsha -vajrAyudha thunderbolt- the power to crush the enemy instantaneously .

Now, all these decorations do not play any part in making the Lord's feet radiant. The Lord is known by the name 'Soundarya” He is the personification of beauty.

The presence of the Lord exists in these weapons and ornaments to show their special privelege. For example:

In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord says ,”AyudhAnAmahaM vajraM “ meaning this weapon of Indra called as vajrAyudha is famed for its precision because of the special presence of the Lord with the name “Vajra” in it.

In the first charanam , Sripadarajaru is giving us a clue on meditation.

When we visualize the Lord's radiant feet in our mind's eye,during contemplation the mind should have the suitable thoughts describing the lotus feet of the Lord. First by physical description , then by analysing the infinite attributes of the Lord using the physical description.

The eightfold control of the Lord on the world, creation, susestanance, control, destruction, jnana , ajNana , banda and moksha are His exclusive privelege.

He says that Mahalakshmi who has beautiful eyes like the lotus petals is always seeing the beautiful feet of the Lord as He dances in her heart. The mere thought of this glorious feet of the Lord removes all distress by destroying the sins that are the root cause of distress. Such is the radiant feet of the Lord that is seen by SripAdarajaru.

Consider :saMkaTaharaNa veMkateshana

veMkatEsha means one who destroys sins

saMkaTaharANa – Lord Venkatesha is the one who removes distress. Distress if cause by the accumulated sins. Venkatesha destroys this accumulated sins thereby freeing the soul of distress. One should understand that distress caused by prarabhda karma will have to be experienced but the Lord makes the experience as pleasant as possible for His devotees by letting them remember Him all through their experience.

Sripathi viTTala in his devuru nama refers to venkAtesha in a similar way ,”venkaTesha bhava saMkaTa parihariso “

He says,”Oh Lord Vekatesha, please remove this distress that I am going through...”

In the second charanam Sripadarajaru is giving more information on the beautiful feet of the Lord to aid the devotee in his contemplation.

lalane lakShmi aMgadalli naliva pAdava

jalajAnana aBIShTavella salisuva pAdava

mallara gelidu kaMsAsurana koMda pAdava

baliya meTTi BAgIratiya paDeda pAdava (ikko)

The consort of the Lord is in proximity of the Lord at all times and is continuously contemplating on His glorious attributes at all times. Mahalakshmi is the abhimani of Prakrithi and the trigunas(satva, rajas, tamas) which cause the world system to work. The Lord exists as the antaryami(inner controller)for all liviing beings , jadas(inanimate) by giving them their form, state and life as per their eligibility. Dasaru could be referring to this sarvAntaryAmi aspect of the Lord when he refers to the Lord dancing in the different limbs of Mahalakshmi devi. He is the fulfiller of every wish of Mahalakshmi devi , implying that He is the inner motivator for the performance of all actions in the world.

JalajAnana – the one born from the lotus – Brahma – After Brahma came into existence , he prayed to the Lord asking Him about what he should do. Then the Lord said ,'ThaditapaH', 'ThaditapaH' . The Lord asked him to meditate. Brahma's wish was fulfilled because he sought direction and he got it. After that there are many instances in the puranas where Brahma went to the Lord for help with creation. Again his wishes were fulfilled. Whenever there was adharma in the world, Brahma has sought the help of Vishnu and Lord Vishnu has incarnated to maintain the balance of creation.

One of his incarnations is Krishna. In this avatar Lord Krishna uses His powerful limbs to vanquish the wrestlers hired by Kamsa to kill Krishna. He also wrestles against Kamsa and kills Him. At this point it is relevant to recall other leelas of the Lord 's lotus feet. Example: kalingamardana,shakatasura vada .

Next Sripadarajaru refers to His incarnation as Vamana where He stamps on the head of Bali ,His devotee. The above was stamping on the daityas but this is stamping on His great devotee. He does this to show that where there is pride there true knowledge and devotion cannot exist. Being the most benevelent He wanted Bali to acquire all the traits required of a devotee and so vanquished his pride. At the same instance He revealed His magnificient huge form called Trivikrama by conquering the heavens with one step, the earth and all below with another and the third step was on Bali's head. This magnificient , extensive frame of the Lord caused a small crack in the BrahmAnda from where the Ganges fell to the earth. Now the feet that are the origin of the Ganges are the very same feet that Sripadarajaru describes as what he saw in his mind's eye. The purity of the Ganges and its power to purify others lies in the fact that it has the Lord's feet as the origin and flows touching it. It is no wonder that the Ganges purifies a person who takes a bath in it. It is noteworthy that mere taking a bath without having the proper thoughts of its significance will not have the same effect.

baMDeya bAleya mADida uddh aMDa pAdava

baMDiliddaa shakaTAsurana oddha pAdava

aMDaja hanuma bhujadoluppuva divya pAdava

kaMDevu nAvu raMgaviTTalana divya pAdava (ikko)

In Ramavatar , Rama and Lakshmana were taken by Vishwamitra to kill the asuras who were preventing him from performing yaGnas. On completion of this task they were taken by Vishwamitra to Sage Gowtama's deserted asharama where He touched a stone with His feet and the stone turned into a rishi patni -ahalya shaapa vimochana.

In Krishnaavatar, He was but a small baby the whole group of vrajvasis had gone for a mEla. After sometime, Yashoda madeLord Krishna a bed under a cart and lay Him down for a nap. But Lord Krishna was aware that the cart was not an ordinary cart but a rakshasa by name Shakatasura. He kicked the cart with His tiny feet and killed Him after a fight where the asura assumed the shape of a wheel and rose upinto the sky taking Krishna with him.

AMDaja – born from an egg, Lord Hanuman who is to be the future Brahma.The term aMdaja being associated with Hanuma clearly indicates that Sripadarajaru wanted to state the jeevotamatva of Hanuman. In the Sri Rama Charita of Srimad Anandatheertha the following is described. Hanuman received the boon of “Future Brahma” from Lord Rama due to his selfless service . What is the kind of service that Hanuman offered? He carried the Lord on His shoulders .When he was asked to introduce himself he introduced himself as 'dAsOham kOsalEndrasya”( I am the dasa of Lord Rama ). He had the privelege of letting the beautiful radiant feet of the Lord adorn his shoulders. The Sundara KaMda of Ramayana describes in all glory the services rendered. At the end of after the kingdom was restored to Rama, Lord Rama spoke to all those present. He said, “I shall bestow moksha on all of you, but for Hanuman who is the most exemplary devotee I have a special position. He shall be the future Brahma and be my sahabhoga. He shall enjoy bliss even as He is obeying my commands as the inner controller of all beings. “ Such was the desert that Lord Hanuman received by his steadfast devotion. Sripadarajaru is now describing the Lord's radiant feet as that which was beffitting the shoulders of Hanuma.

All human beings have different capabilities . So with the grace of the Lord, mukya prAna devuru Sri Vayu and Guru's of our linearge like Sri Sripadarajaru,Sri Vyasarajaru, Sri Vadirajaru, Sri Raghavendraru, we can try to emulate the steps shown by Sripadarajaru in pleasing the Lord by constant contemplation with this song which can serve as a powerful aid.

Sri KrishnArpanamastu