Śrī Stuti VERSE 10
आपन्नार्तिप्रशमनविधौ बद्धदीक्षस्य विष्णोः
आचख्युस्त्वां प्रियसहचरीमैकमत्योऽपपन्नाम् ।
प्रादुर्भावैरपि समतनुः प्राध्वमन्वीयसे त्वं
दूरोत्क्षिप्तैरिव मधुरता दुग्धराशेस्तरङ्गैः ॥ १० ॥
āpannārtipraśamanavidhau baddhadīkṣasya viṣṇoḥ
ācakhyustvāṃ priyasahacarīmaikamatyoऽpapannām ।
prādurbhāvairapi samatanuḥ prādhvamanvīyase tvaṃ
dūrotkṣiptairiva madhuratā dugdharāśestaraṅgaiḥ ॥ 10 ॥
SYNONYMS
āpanna-ārti-praśamana-vidhau: in the act of pacifying the distress of the afflicted | baddha-dīkṣasya viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu, who has taken a vow | ācakhyuḥ: they (the Vedas) have declared | tvāṃ: You | priya-sahacarīm: as the dear companion | aikamatya-upapannām: endowed with unanimity of opinion | prādurbhāvaiḥ api: even in the various incarnations | sama-tanuḥ: having a corresponding form | prādhvam anvīyase tvaṃ: You follow Him appropriately | dūra-utkṣiptaiḥ iva: like (sweetness) carried far | madhuratā: sweetness | dugdha-rāśeḥ taraṅgaiḥ: by the waves of the milky ocean |
TRANSLATION
You are one with Lord Viṣṇu in thought and action. You follow Him in all His manifestations assuming identical forms. This is like sweetness that is inseparably present in the waves of the milky ocean.
PURPORT
Meaning according to Vaikuṇṭa-vāsī Villivalam Nārāyaṇācchār Swāmy : The knowledgeable ones describe You as the dearest friend and co-worker of Emperumān, who has taken a vow to banish the sorrows of those buffeted by the sāṃsāric sorrows. It is because of this assistance to the Lord, You take an appropriate form and accompany Your Lord in every one of His avatārams. In this matter, You are like the waves of the Milky Ocean, which retain their sweetness independent of the distance they travel to reach the shore.
Expanded meaning according to Vaikuṇṭa-vāsī Śrī V. N. Śrīrāma Deśikācchār : Oh Mahā Devī! Your Lord has taken a vow (vrata dīkṣā), (i-e)., to quench the sorrow of anyone, who experiences the sāṃsāric sorrows. For Him, this act is like a yāgam, where a dīkṣā is taken. It is required that one who performs any yajñam has to have his wife (sahadharmacāriṇī) next to him during the performance of that yajñam. As the dearest consort of Your Lord and as One, who has taken the saṅkalpam with Him to remove the sorrows of the cetanams, You contribute immensely to the successful completion of this yajñam. If You were not next to Him, Your Lord could not perform this yajñam. Vedas reveal this tattvam. Your Lord takes on the avatārams of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa et al. At all those times, You accompany Your Lord as Sītā, Rukmiṇī et al. You assist Your Lord to perform His duties of protection (dharma saṃrakṣaṇam). You never ever leave His side. The waves of the Milky Ocean travel a long distance to the shore, where devas stay and pray. Independent of the huge distance these waves travel, the sweetness associated with those waves does not leave them and is always present. Similarly, when Your Lord leaves the distant Śrī Vaikuṇṭham to descend to this karma bhūmi to carry out His missions of any particular avatāram, You take on an appropriate avatāram and assist Him with an identical mind set. The sweetness will not stand disassociated from the Milky Ocean under any circumstance.
Additional Observations on the passages of the 10th ślokam of Śrī Stuti :
1) "Viṣṇuḥ āpanna ārti praśamana vidhau baddha dīkṣaḥ:" Your Lord Viṣṇu has taken a vow to quench the heat of sorrows (praśamana vidhi) for those who experience danger (āpat) which in turn leads to suffering (ārti). His vow is "āpanna ārti praśamanam” (coming to the rescue of those bhaktas, who are in distress due to the dangers to which they are exposed like Gajendra).
2) Viṣṇoḥ tvām aikamatya upapannāṃ priya-sahacarīm ācakhyuḥ: The Vedas reveal that the Lord recognizes You as the dear dharma patnī (fellow observer of dharmam as His divine consort) and as one who has identical views on bhakta rakṣaṇam. “Aikamatya upapannām means” with unison of thought.
3) Tvaṃ dūra utkṣiptā dhugdharāśeḥ taraṅgaiḥ madhuratā iva (asi): Oh Śrī Devī! You are like the persisting sweetness of the waves of the milky Ocean, which started from a very long distance to reach the shore. During all that long passage to the shore, the waves of the milky ocean never got disassociated from their intrinsic sweetness.
4) "Tvaṃ prādurbhāvaiḥ api sama tanuḥ prādhvam anvīyase”: Oh Śrī Devī! You follow Your Lord in all His avatārams with an appropriate form (“bhagavannārāyaṇa abhimata rūpa guṇa vibhava aiśvarya śīlādi anavadhikātiśaya asaṅkhyeya kalyāṇa guṇa gaṇāṃ padmāvanālayāṃ bhagavatīm" in Ācārya Rāmānuja's words).
5) She is anugrahamayī in Her own rights. She is durgati nāśinyai. She is sarvārtti samudra pariśoṣiṇyai (one who dries up the ocean of dukkhams). She is śreyasāṃ nidhi (ocean of all maṅgalams). She is bhava bhaṅga apahāriṇī (destroyer of the bhīti of saṃsāram). She is dṛṣṭādṛṣṭa phala pradā (one who grants seen and unseen boons). She is āśrita mānadā. She and Her Lord share these attributes and hence are of unified thought (aikamatyam).
6) The 24th ślokam of Śrī Lakṣmī Sahasram reveals Śrī Devī's unique contribution for "āpannārti praśamanam” (quenching the sorrows of those in dangerous situations). The meaning of this ślokam as given by Śrī Navālpākkam Kaṇṇan Swāmy is: "Externally, the sound, light, taste, fragrance and similar viṣayams land us in danger. Internally, desire, anger and others expose us to additional dangers. Brahmā and other devatās cannot come to our rescue against these dangers. Perumāḷ can save us but He cannot be accessed by sinners like us through His ārādhanam requiring niyamam. For those of us exposed to many such dangers and suffer, Oh Lakṣmī, You alone are our refuge. Through Your kaṭākṣam (glances) alone, You quench the heat of sāṃsāric sufferings".
Expanded meaning according to Vaikuṇṭa-vāsī Śrī V. N. Śrīrāma Deśikācchār : Oh Mahā Devī! Your Lord has taken a vow (vrata dīkṣā), (i-e)., to quench the sorrow of anyone, who experiences the sāṃsāric sorrows. For Him, this act is like a yāgam, where a dīkṣā is taken. It is required that one who performs any yajñam has to have his wife (sahadharmacāriṇī) next to him during the performance of that yajñam. As the dearest consort of Your Lord and as One, who has taken the saṅkalpam with Him to remove the sorrows of the cetanams, You contribute immensely to the successful completion of this yajñam. If You were not next to Him, Your Lord could not perform this yajñam. Vedas reveal this tattvam. Your Lord takes on the avatārams of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa et al. At all those times, You accompany Your Lord as Sītā, Rukmiṇī et al. You assist Your Lord to perform His duties of protection (dharma saṃrakṣaṇam). You never ever leave His side. The waves of the Milky Ocean travel a long distance to the shore, where devas stay and pray. Independent of the huge distance these waves travel, the sweetness associated with those waves does not leave them and is always present. Similarly, when Your Lord leaves the distant Śrī Vaikuṇṭham to descend to this karma bhūmi to carry out His missions of any particular avatāram, You take on an appropriate avatāram and assist Him with an identical mind set. The sweetness will not stand disassociated from the Milky Ocean under any circumstance.
Additional Observations on the passages of the 10th ślokam of Śrī Stuti :
1) "Viṣṇuḥ āpanna ārti praśamana vidhau baddha dīkṣaḥ:" Your Lord Viṣṇu has taken a vow to quench the heat of sorrows (praśamana vidhi) for those who experience danger (āpat) which in turn leads to suffering (ārti). His vow is "āpanna ārti praśamanam” (coming to the rescue of those bhaktas, who are in distress due to the dangers to which they are exposed like Gajendra).
2) Viṣṇoḥ tvām aikamatya upapannāṃ priya-sahacarīm ācakhyuḥ: The Vedas reveal that the Lord recognizes You as the dear dharma patnī (fellow observer of dharmam as His divine consort) and as one who has identical views on bhakta rakṣaṇam. “Aikamatya upapannām means” with unison of thought.
3) Tvaṃ dūra utkṣiptā dhugdharāśeḥ taraṅgaiḥ madhuratā iva (asi): Oh Śrī Devī! You are like the persisting sweetness of the waves of the milky Ocean, which started from a very long distance to reach the shore. During all that long passage to the shore, the waves of the milky ocean never got disassociated from their intrinsic sweetness.
4) "Tvaṃ prādurbhāvaiḥ api sama tanuḥ prādhvam anvīyase”: Oh Śrī Devī! You follow Your Lord in all His avatārams with an appropriate form (“bhagavannārāyaṇa abhimata rūpa guṇa vibhava aiśvarya śīlādi anavadhikātiśaya asaṅkhyeya kalyāṇa guṇa gaṇāṃ padmāvanālayāṃ bhagavatīm" in Ācārya Rāmānuja's words).
5) She is anugrahamayī in Her own rights. She is durgati nāśinyai. She is sarvārtti samudra pariśoṣiṇyai (one who dries up the ocean of dukkhams). She is śreyasāṃ nidhi (ocean of all maṅgalams). She is bhava bhaṅga apahāriṇī (destroyer of the bhīti of saṃsāram). She is dṛṣṭādṛṣṭa phala pradā (one who grants seen and unseen boons). She is āśrita mānadā. She and Her Lord share these attributes and hence are of unified thought (aikamatyam).
6) The 24th ślokam of Śrī Lakṣmī Sahasram reveals Śrī Devī's unique contribution for "āpannārti praśamanam” (quenching the sorrows of those in dangerous situations). The meaning of this ślokam as given by Śrī Navālpākkam Kaṇṇan Swāmy is: "Externally, the sound, light, taste, fragrance and similar viṣayams land us in danger. Internally, desire, anger and others expose us to additional dangers. Brahmā and other devatās cannot come to our rescue against these dangers. Perumāḷ can save us but He cannot be accessed by sinners like us through His ārādhanam requiring niyamam. For those of us exposed to many such dangers and suffer, Oh Lakṣmī, You alone are our refuge. Through Your kaṭākṣam (glances) alone, You quench the heat of sāṃsāric sufferings".
