Request for meaning of "Sri Subrahmanya Ashtottara"

History, religion and culture
vgvindan
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Post by vgvindan »

Eka-varNa - dvi-varNa - tri-varNa
According to Tamil Saint Tirumular, the following is the definition of these epithets.

ஓரெழுத்தாலே உலகெங்குந் தானாகி OrezhuttAlE ulagengun tAnAgi
ஈரெழுத்தாலே இசைந்திங் கிருவராய் IrezhuttAlE isaindingiruvarAi
மூவெழுத்தாலே முளைக்கின்ற சோதியை mUvezhuttAlE muLaikkinRa sOdiyai
மாவெழுத்தாலே மயக்கமே உற்றதே (885) mAvezhuttAlE mayakkamE uTradE

Letter A - U - M

By one letter, A, He all worlds became;
By two letters (A and U), He the Two became - Siva and Sakti;
By three letters (A, U, M) He the Light (jnAna) became;
By letter M was Maya ushered in.

From the One Letter mantra, Aum (Pranava), that is nAda, all the worlds devolved.
The two letters A and U became Siva and Sakti, and the letter M became mAyA.
....

(Aum consists of three letters 'A', 'U' and 'M'. But as the three letters are always evoked together as Aum, it is also known as One letter Mantra.
...
Mular treats Aum (instead of natural Hamsa) as the ajapa. In Sanskrit, ordinarily OM is treated as mono-syllable; but as Panini has pointed out, the combination of a and u in this word, as an exception to the general rule, is to be pronounced 'au' a diphthong. This is the general rule in Tamil language.
...
(Translation and notes by Dr B Natarajan)
Last edited by vgvindan on 08 Apr 2008, 20:41, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
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Post by cmlover »

VGV
Beautiful! Thanks!

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

VGV,

That was truly wonderful. Thank you for the info.

PUNARVASU
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Post by PUNARVASU »

I have read somewhere-
'akarO vishNurudhdhistaha ukArasthu maheshwaraha
makArasthu smrthObrahmA praNavasthu thrayAthmakaha'

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

49. Om sumanOharAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who captivates the minds.

kumAra captivates the mind with His charm, like He did to aruNagirinAthar and many other saints. manOhara itself means 'to captivate the mind'. sumanOhara, in this context, probably means 'sumana: harati' or 'One who captivates the minds of the good'.

A simpler interpretation of this nAma could also mean 'Prostrations to the One who is handsome'.

Adi shankara, in his Bhujangam describes both these qualities saying - 'manOhAri dEham' and 'mahat chitta gEham' - the One who has a captivating body and the One who dwells in the hearts of the Great.

This exercise of analyzing skanda's nAmas has definitely increased my devotion and attachment to skanda. I am very thankful to everyone in this forum for contributing and making this such a wonderful experience.
Last edited by karthik76 on 11 Apr 2008, 03:08, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
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Post by cmlover »

We can also analyze as suma +naH + hara = suama iva asmAn AkarShati (he attracts us like the flowers (suma whic alos means the Moon).

There is a common saying 'poo malarnthaal vaNDukku Solli anuppa vENDumaa' (when the flower blooms is it necessary to invite the bees ?). Similarly the devotees flock to the temples of Muruga of their own accord like the bees flocking towards the flower-in-bloom.

Muruga is indeed the divine lotus who bloomed at the SaravaNa tIrthaM!

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

cml,

That is a different perspective to this nAma. Thanks.

50. Om chaturvarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One that is described by FOUR.

skanda is the brahmaN and the praNava that is elaborated in all the four vEdas. shiva has a nAma - OM chaturvEdAya namaH - for the same reason. Adi shankara, in his subrahmaNya BhujangaM praises skanda using the words - 'mahAvAkya gUDham' - 'the secret of the mahAvAkyas' and 'mahAveda BhAvam' - 'the ultimate essence of the vEdas'.

Another way this nAma could be interpreted is -

Prostrations to the One that is experienced in the FOURTH

The fourth state of consciousness - turIya is when the subject that experiences and the object of experience dissolve unto the experience itself - an absolute Oneness with the parabrahmaN. That is how skanda can be experienced.

cmlover
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Post by cmlover »

Again there are innumerable meanings to FOUR some of the important ones you have elucidated. There is also 'caturvarga' (the puruShArtha viz., dharma, artha, kAma and mOkSha) which are availed by praying to the Lord. And again 'caturavasthA' (bAlyaM, kaumAraM, yauvanaM and vArdhakaM), in all these stages of life the Lord protects the devotees.

Taking the meaning of 'catura' as charming this would mean the one of very pleasing colour, an aspect we have discussed in extenso previously.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

All,

My apologies to everyone who has felt the sudden discontinuity in my posting. I have travelled to India right now. The days seem busier although this is "supposed" to be my vacation.

Coincidental with the work we are all doing towards this translation of the skanda nAmas, I was able to procure a 17-hour discourse on skAndam by Sri rAma dIkshitar, son of Sri anantarAma dikshitar's brother. I heard the first 15 minutes of the upanyasam and really liked it. I have convinced myself to put off listening to the rest of it until I'm back in the US.

I will try and find time to continue this thread.

Thanks

cmlover
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Post by cmlover »

As DikShitar said:
subramaNyEna rakShitO tvam

Have a divine time in India and return recharged !

raj-123
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Joined: 24 Dec 2006, 20:36

Post by raj-123 »

karthik76 wrote:All,

Coincidental with the work we are all doing towards this translation of the skanda nAmas, I was able to procure a 17-hour discourse on skAndam by Sri rAma dIkshitar, son of Sri anantarAma dikshitar's brother. I heard the first 15 minutes of the upanyasam and really liked it. I have convinced myself to put off listening to the rest of it until I'm back in the US.

Thanks
Regarding the Upanyasam, do you have as MP3 CDs? I really would like to get a copy too. Is it possible to share them in a server?I have listened to Sri Rama Dikshithar's upanyasams in Sengalipuran and in Kumbakonam areas. (We are originally from Sengalipuram agraharam, relocated to Trivandrum and currrently in bay area.)
Last edited by raj-123 on 29 Apr 2008, 04:15, edited 1 time in total.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

raj-123,

My apologies for the delayed response.

All,

I purchased the skAndam upanyasam CD by Sri rAma dikshitar from an ashramam group. The CD does not have any commercial labels, company names or copyrights written on it and is not available for sale in any stores. So, technically there doesn't seem to be any copyright violation. The ashramam uses the money gathered from their sales of such audio towards their operations and activities. If the authorities and elders in this forum do not see any objection to my sharing the audio, I will be more than happy to do so.

Thanks.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

Karthik,

For the sake of the ASram, you should post details on where these CDs can be bought from, so that interested parties can help the ASram in it's efforts!

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

All,

I bought the CD at Panduranga Bhajanashramam at Govindapuram. Please visit http://www.vittaldas.com for more info.

Thanks.
Last edited by karthik76 on 21 May 2008, 20:15, edited 1 time in total.

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Eagerly Looking forward to meaning 51. Om panchaVarNAya namah : & further down. Request cmlover & karthik76 to continue your commentaries please.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

51. Om panchavarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One that exists as FIVE.

The universe or prapancha around us is the most elaborate and versatile, yet immediately perceivable form of the Lord and His glory. prapancha is so called because it is pra-pancha or "manifestations of the FIVE". Thus ISvara, by His prakRti svarUpa, makes Himself perceivable as manifestations of the pancha bhUtas - pRthvi, ApaH, vAyu, tEjas and AkASa. This is the brahmANDa rUpa of the ISvara.

On a microcosmic level, ISvara manifests as the pancha prANAs - prANa, apANa, vyAna, udAna and samAna that are responsible for every cell in the body and every vibration in the mind to work. Knowledge of the secret of prANas is self realization - so say the upanishads. This is the chEtanA rUpa of the ISvara.

shiva is experienced through contemplation of the pancha-akshara - 'Om namaH shivAya'. This makes shiva the panchavarNa. Hence, this nAma also seems to highlight the oneness of shiva and skanda.
Last edited by karthik76 on 22 May 2008, 21:26, edited 1 time in total.

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Very Nice Interpretation Indeed.

Also shiva is pancha-vaktraja-saDyOJatha,vAmadEva etc. is it Not ??

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

Manjunath,

Thanks. Yes, shiva is pancha vaktraja and hence this nAma can also be interpreted that way. But I have heard sri vAriyAr svAmigaL mention in his skAndam upanyAsam that shiva has a sixth hidden face pointing downwards called the aDHO muKha. shiva revealed this face when He created skanda. This also seems to explain why skanda has six faces while shiva has five and yet They are One.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

karthik76 wrote:But I have heard sri vAriyAr svAmigaL mention in his skAndam upanyAsam that shiva has a sixth hidden face pointing downwards called the aDHO muKha. shiva revealed this face when He created skanda. This also seems to explain why skanda has six faces while shiva has five
http://sangeethamshare.org/ramasundaram ... erumai.mp3

In this program, after the first introductory piece, the announcer (Smt. Sita Rajan?) talks about this point. I just happened to be listening to it as I read this post. What a co-incidence!

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

52. Om prajApatayE nama:

Prostrations to the father/creator

In the general sense, skanda protects the world and hence is called the prajApati. On a more specific level, when skanda imprisoned brahmA for not being able to expound the praNavA to His satisfaction, He took over the role of brahmA and became the prajApati, until shiva intervened and restored brahmA to the task.

53. Om ahaspatayE nama:
(or)
53. Om aharpatayE nama:

Prostrations to the Lord of the day

This nAma seems to have the above two variations and seems to indicate that skanda and sUrya are ONE. This nAma is also applied to shivA. I have a memory of reading somewhere that skanda, in some manner, is one of the 12 adityas. I am unable to recall how or where. Anyone who knows may please contribute.

It is interesting to note that while sUrya is glorified as ahaskara - Maker of the day, shiva and skanda are hailed as ahaspati - Lord of the day.

Further, the mahABhArata mentions vaishampayAna explain to janamEjaya that one of the 108 names of sUrya is - skanda. The Aditya hRdayam supports this saying -

ESha brahmA cha viShNuScha SivaH skandaH prajApatiH - He (Aditya) is brahmA, viShNu, Siva, skanda and prajApati.

I am still looking for a more direct connection between skanda and sUrya.
Last edited by karthik76 on 27 May 2008, 22:58, edited 1 time in total.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

rshankar wrote:In this program, after the first introductory piece, the announcer (Smt. Sita Rajan?) talks about this point. I just happened to be listening to it as I read this post. What a co-incidence!
The murugan thAlAttu is very very pleasing to the ears.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

karthik76 wrote:It is interesting to note that while sUrya is glorified as ahaskara - Maker of the day, shiva and skanda are hailed as ahaspati - Lord of the day.
Further, the mahABhArata mentions vaishampayAna explain to janamEjaya that one of the 108 names of sUrya is - skanda. The Aditya hRdayam supports this saying -
I am still looking for a more direct connection between skanda and sUrya.
Not sure about the connection between skanda and sUriyan, but in this composition by Sri Suddhananda Bharati, SivA is refered to as sUriyan:
meena wrote:2005-07-04 17:29
rAgA:sahAna.Adi tALA. Composer:Suddhananda Bharati

P:varuvAnO vana kuyilE naTarAjan varuvAnO vana kuyilE
A:tiruvOngum tillaiyil cinmaya natam sheyyum dEvAdi dEvan ennuL sEvadi vaittADa
C1:bhangap-paTTuppaTTun pAdattai nADinEn pArinil unaiyanri Or tuNai vErillEn
engE nI irukkirAi enrE nAn kadaravum ingE nAn irukkirEn enrE maraindavan
C2:aruNOdayam pOlE azhagan kuzhagan en Aruyirk-kuyirAna sUriyan pUraNan
karuNai mukham kATTik-kavalaippaDAdE enru kaNNIr tuDaikkumen kaNNAn mukkaNNan
I have heard Smt. NCV and Smt. Gayatri Girish render this in kApI, and the latter sings c2. Since skanda and Siva are the same, maybe, skanda is the same as sUriyan (the 'if a=b, and b=c, then, a=c' concept!)

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

54. Om agnigarBhAya nama:

Prostrations to the One conceived by agni

The fiery seed of Siva was carried by Agni before it was deposited with gangA - hence agnigarBha. Another interpretation of this nAma would be - Prostrations to the One pregnant with fire. This reflects on the energy of subrahmaNya as He was born and as sEnAnI skanda - the war general. This nAma also occurs in the Aditya hRdayam glorifying sUrya as - agnigarBhOditEH putra : - the One pregnant with fire and the son of aditi.

55. Om SamIgarBhAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who was in the womb of the SamI tree.

Agni, unable to contain the energy of the seed of Siva (before depositing the seed with gangA), entered the abdomen of the SamI tree (Prosopis Spicigera, vanni maram in tamil) to save himself. From then on, the SamI vRkSa became the dwelling place of agni. kAlidAsa, in his raGhuvamSam uses this as a simile - SamIm iva aBhyantara lIna pAvakAm - like agni wrapped within the abdomen of the SamI tree. Thus, skanda was in the womb of the SamI vRkSa for some time.

Our vEda brAhmaNas insist on lighting sacrificial fires by rubbing SamI twigs or SamI and aSvatta twigs.

The SamI vRkSa is also considered a form of dEvI - rAma worshipped the SamI vRkSa before returning to ayODhyA after His vanavAsa. This seems to indicate that pArvati took the form of the SamI vrkSa and carried skanda in Her womb for some time. So, pArvati is skandamAtA - not merely by being SivapatnI, but really by motherhood.
Last edited by karthik76 on 29 May 2008, 01:50, edited 1 time in total.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

56. Om vishvarEtasE nama:

Prostrations to the One who is the source of all life.

This can be interpreted as the omnipotent life-force that came from shiva. This nAma also appears in the viShNu sahasranAma as 'vishvarEtA' to mean - the seed from which all else has sprung forth.

57. Om surAriGhnE nama:

Prostration to the destroyer of the enemies (ari) of the dEvas (suras).

skanda was born to vanquish the asura might. This nAma also appears in the viShNu sahasranAma as 'surArihA'.

58. Om haridvarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who is golden yellow (harita) in colour.

I recall the verses from rAmAyaNa that cml quoted in an earlier nAma -

jAtarUpamiti khyAtaM tadAprabh^Riti rAghava |
suvarNaM puruShavyAgra hutAshanasma prabhaM ||

Gold came to be called 'jAtarUpam' due to its contact with skanda's seed.

'harita' also means greenish. This leads us to an alternate meaning of this nAma - Prostrations to the One represented in Green. skanda is mayUravAhana - the mayil or peacock is a unique representation of skanda. The peacock resembles the shape of the OmkAra when it spreads its magnificient plumes into a circle that is premoninantly greenish in colour. The peacock, in this magnificent form, represents the absolute equilibrium state of OmkAra.

http://www.nikonians-images.org/galleri ... k_wrk1.jpg

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

Continuing on -

59. Om shuBhakarAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who bestows auspiciousness.
skanda is the lord of the brAhmaNas - (as shankara puts it - mahIdEva dEva) perhaps for this reason.

60. Om vasumatE nama:

Prostrations to the opulent One.
Prostrations to the One who is the wealth His devotees seek.

The nAma vasu is applied to viSNu in His sahasranAma for similar reasons.

61. Om vatuvEShaBhrtE nama:

Prostrations to the One dressed as a brahmachari boy.

This is skanda as bAladanDAyudhapANI svAmi at pazhanI. When skanda was upset with His parents for having given the pazham (fruit presented by

nArada) to gaNESa and left for pazhanI, Siva calmed Him down with the words 'pazhaM nI' - 'You are the fruit (that devotees seek)'. The vatuvESha of

skanda makes Him easily accessible to devotees. The vatuvESha is also associated with enhanced karuNA to overlook mistakes of devotees.

62. Om pUShNE nama:

Prostrations to the One who nourishes.

This is yet another attribute that connects skanda to Siva and to sUrya. Siva is the lord of puShTi - 'sugandhiM puShTi vardhanam'. sUrya is pUShNA as

He nourishes all creation.

63. Om gaBhastayE nama:

Prostrations to the One brilliant with rays

While the occurance of this nAma in the Aditya hRdayam seems to indicate the Oneness of skanda and sUrya, Adi shankara further glorifies skanda

thus - 'samudyat sahasrArka tulya prakASam' - 'the One brilliant as a thousand suns rising at the same time'.

64. Om gahanAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who is beyond our intellect and reasoning

This nAma also occurs in the vishNu sahasranAma and indicates how the real nature of the parabrahmaN cannot be understood by mere intellect or

reasoning.

65. Om chandravarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who resembles the moon

Here's what shankara has to say on this - 'sadA pUrNabimbA: kalankaiSca hInAstadA tvanmuKhAnAM bruvE skanda sAmyam' - Even if there were six

full blemish-free moons shining on all your sides, can I say they would be any match for your effulgent faces?

66. Om kalAdharAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who bears the chandrakalA

Siva is the chandrakalAdhara and skanda is none other than Siva Himself.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

67. Om mAyAdharAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who bears/wields mAyA

The peacock that accompanies shaNmuKha symbolizes mAyA. As much as it deludes us from realizing the true nature of the brahmaN, it is what helps mature our devotion into a steadfast quest unto the ultimate truth.

68. Om mahAmAyinE nama:

Prostrations to the great enchanter. mahAmAyA is a name for shaktI. This nAma may be a reference to that.

69. Om kaivalyAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who is liberation. Knowledge of skanda is the realization and the absolute truth that the wise seek. It is mOksha.

70. Om shankarAtmajAya nama:

Prostrations to the One born of Shankara.

71. Om vishvayOnayE nama:

Prostrations to the One from whom all the universe has sprung forth. This nAma also appears in the viSNu sahasranAma.

72. Om amEyAtmanE nama:

Prostrations to the One whose intellect is beyond comprehension - the immeasurable One.

73. Om tEjOnidhayE nama:

Prostrations to the effulgent One. The nAma also occurs in the sUrya sahasranAma in glory of Aditya.

74. Om anAmayAya nama:

Prostrations to the One with undiminishing health..

75. Om paramEShTinE nama:

Prostrations to the Supreme One.
Prostrations to the One who understands all creation.
Prostrations to the One who resides in the deep cave of the heart.

brahmA, viShNu and Siva are all glorified by this nAma paramEShTi.

Recall our sandhyAvandanam prayer to the south - oudumbarAya daDhnAya niLAya paramEShTinE.

76. Om parabrahmaNE nama:

Prostrations to the supreme brahmaN.

77. Om vEdagarBhAya nama:

Prostrations to the One impregnated with vedic knowledge.
Prostrations to the One impregnated in the vedas.

78. Om virAtsutAya nama:

Prostrations to the son of virAta (Siva).

79. Om pulindakanyABhartrE nama:

Prostrations to the One who married the pulindesha kanya - vallI.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

pulinda = tribe of hunters, kanyA = maiden

This phrase to denote vaLLi has also been used by Sri OVK. He has also refered to her as rOhishajA (daughter of a deer).

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

rshankar,

Thanks for the elaboration.

I also recall Adi Shankara praising subrahmaNya as 'pulindAtmajA kAnta' in the Bhujangam.
Last edited by karthik76 on 23 Jul 2008, 01:43, edited 1 time in total.

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

karthik76- Thanks for providing further meanings to remaining namas and also for your painstaking efforts.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

80. Om mahAsArasvatavratAya nama:

I am not sure about the meaning of this nAma and how it relates to skanda. I know that the vratam for sarasvatI is on a trayOdaSi. Can anyone help?

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

81. Om AshritAKhiladAtrE nama:

Prostrations to the One who grants everything to those who surrender. What could be a better example for this than His compassion towards sUrapadma?

82. Om chOraGhnAya nama:

Prostrations to the destroyer of thieves. Attachments caused by sense organs (indriyas) are the thieves that deprive the chitta of its focus towards the brahmaN. Meditation on skanda aggravates pragnyA and wears these attachments away.

83. Om rOganAshanAya nama:

Prostrations to the destroyer of diseases. The serpent vAsuki worshipped subrahmaNya to heal himself out of his wounds from churning the ocean in the kUrmAvatAra. Adi Sankara says, in his BhujangaM -

apasmAra kuSTa kSayARSa: pramEha jvarOnmAda gulmAdirOgA mahAnta: |
piSAchAScha sarvE BhavatpatraBhUtiM vilOkya kSaNAt tArakArE dravantE ||

O conquere of tAraka, diseases like epilepsy, leprosy, consumption, lung and veneral diseases, fevers, mental ailments and evil spirits vanish the moment they encounter Your viBhUti on the leaf.

84. Om anantamUrtayE nama:

Prostrations to the endless/limitless One.

85. Om AnandAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who is pure bliss in itself.

86. Om shiKhandIkRtakEtanAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who rests on the peacock.

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

karthik76 - THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR THESE NICE INTERPRETATIONS.

Can U please make padha cHeda for this word " shiKhandIkRtakEtanAya"

How shiKhandIkRta is interpreted as Peacock ??

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

vs_manjunath,

I noticed an error in my transliteration - the word is shiKhandi and not shiKhandI

shiKhandikRtakEtanAya = shiKhandi + kRta kEtana + aya

shiKhanda is the word for feathers and shiKhandi is peacock. shiKhandi can also refer to the one that wears the peacock feather - skanda or kRSNa.

'kRta kEtana' refers to an abode or a resting place

vs_manjunath
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Post by vs_manjunath »

Thanks once again.

karthik76
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Post by karthik76 »

The next three nAmas belong together -

87. Om DambAya nama:
88. Om paramaDambAya nama:
89. Om mahADambAya nama:

Damba can be interpreted as vanity. It can also be interpreted as bubbling enthusiasm and liveliness. So, these nAmas seem to be praising suBrahmaNya's youthfullness and vanity in increasing degrees. These nAmas could have also contributed towards skanda's tamil name 'murugan'.

I request the experts in the forum to throw more light on these nAmas.

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

90. Om vRShAkapayE nama:

Prostrations to the protector of Dharma.
vRSha is Dharma. This nAma also occurs in the viShNu sahasranAma to indicate the varAha avatAra.

Prostrations to vRShAkapi, the rudra.
vRShAkapi is one of the eleven principal rudrAs mentioned in Srimad BhAgavatam. This is again a nAma that indicates skanda's oneness with Siva.

91. Om kAraNOpAttadEhAya nama:

Prostrations to the embodiment of the ultimate cause.
kAraNa = the cause, upAtta dEha = embodiment

92. Om kAraNAtItavigrahAya nama:

Prostrations to the One whom reason cannot surpass, the cause-free absolute.
Adi Sankara conveys the same idea in the suBrahmaNya BhujangaM when he says - 'mahAvAkya gUDaM'.

93. Om anIshvarAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who has no superior.
This nAma also occurs in the Siva sahasranAmam.

94. Om amRtAya nama:

Prostrations to the eternal One.

95. Om prANAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who sustains life as the prANa (the life force)

96. Om prANAyAmaparAyaNAya nama:

Prostrations to the sustainer of all beings devoted to the prANa (the life force).

97. Om viruddhahantrE nama:

Prostrations to the slayer of enemies.

98. Om vIraGhnAya nama:

Prostrations to the destroyer of the valiant (asuras).

The next two nAmas seem to convey similar meanings -

99. Om raktashyAmagaLAya nama:

Prostrations to the One with dark reddish neck.

100. Om shyAmakandharAya nama:

Prostrations to the One with a dark neck.

It is interesting to note how the neck forms an important aspect in the description, in our purANas: sugrIva, kambugrIva, daSagrIva, nIlagrIva, raktashyAmagaLa, shyAmakandhara etc. Maybe the neck itself carries a spiritual significance.

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

101. Om mahatE nama:

Prostrations to the greatest One

102. Om subrahmaNyAya nama:

subrahmaNya can be elaborated as suShTu brahmaNi sthitham praNavam, as I recall cmlover elaborating earlier during our discussions i.e., .the praNavam appropriately seated in the brahmaN.

Prostrations to subrahmaNya

103. Om guhaprItAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who loves to dwell in caves. subrahmaNya is called guhA because he dwells in the hRdaya guha of devotees.

104. Om brahmaNyAya nama:

Prostrations to brahmaNya - the manifestation of the brAhmaN.

105. Om brAhmaNapriyAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who is dear to the brAhmaNas. subrahmaNya is the lord of the brAhmaNas. Recall Adi Sankara saying 'mahIdEva (brAhmaNas) dEvam (Lord)' from the subrahmaNya BhujangaM. kAnchI paramAchArya has also elaborated on this in his discourse (as we have already seen) - http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/ ... slated.htm.

106. Om vEdavEdyAya nama:

Prostrations to the One known through the vEdas.
This nAma is used to glorify rAma in the famous SlOka - 'vEdavEdyE parE pumsi jAte daSaratAtmajE'. It also occurs in the lalitA sahansranAma as 'vEdavEdyA'.

107. Om akshayaPhalapradAya nama:

Prostrations to the bestower of undiminishing fruits. The only akshayaPhalam is mOkSam; everything else is time-bound.

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

108. Om shrI vallI dEvasEnA samEta shrI subrahmaNya svAminE nama:

Prostrations to subrahmaNya svAmi accompanied by vallI and dEvasEnA

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

Can the experts of this forum please take a few minutes and try to elaborate on the following nAmas that I could not throw light upon ?

87. Om DambAya nama:
88. Om paramaDambAya nama:
89. Om mahADambAya nama:
Last edited by karthik76 on 16 Sep 2008, 20:09, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Well done karthik. May the Lord SubramaNya shower his blessings on you!
I was too busy to participate due to domestic commitments, but will go through many of your scholarly interpretations.
The word 'DaMba'primarily means Pride or Pomp. Hence all these epithets collectively refer to Muruga being the Proud one.In fact He has demonstrated His superiorityamong Gods in Beauty, Intelligence, Strength and Valour time and again!

In that connection there is an interesting anecdote in Yoga vAshiShTa which goes as follows. Once when Lord viShNu was visiting kailasa, all present paid obeisance to Him while sanatkumara by himself haughtily kept apart. The angered Narayana cursed him to be born as the shara janma
(and there are references to sanatkumara being incarnated as skandha). sanatkumara also cursed viShNu back that he would be born as a complete human, totally oblivious to the fact of his divinity which was fulfilled in the Rama avataara...

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

cml,

Thank you for the elaboration. The story from yOga vAshiShTa was interesting - presenting a more direct connection between sanatkumAra and skanda.

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

This has been a truly wonderful experience. I thank vs_manjunath for presenting this great opportunity and all members of the forum for their contributions and enthusiasm.

I hope many people benefitted from this. Personally, my Bhakti for skanda has definitely increased due to this exercise.

mayUrAdhi rUDham mahAvAkya gUDam manOhAri dEham mahachchitta gEham |
mahIdEva dEvam mahAvEda BhAvam mahAdEva bAlam BhajE lOkapAlam ||

May skanda protect us all !!!

PUNARVASU
Posts: 2498
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

karthik76,
That was a wonderful attempt by you and pl. take up some other ashtottaram now. We will all benefit.Thanks.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

karthkai kani EnRa kArthikEyan vAzhi!
(The fruit yielded by karthik76 which is Lord kArthikEya be blessed!)
kAkkum kaDaMban kanivuRu kaalkaL vAzhi !
(Always protecting Lord KaDamban's (one who transformed into the kaDamba tree) merciful feet be blessed)
karuNaikkaDal kathirvElan kara^NgaL vAzhi!
(May the hands of Lord kathirvElan (one wielding the dreadful spear but which is a cornucopia for the devotees) the ocean of mercy be blessed)
karuthtinuL enRum uRayum kanthan pEr vAzhi vAzhiyavE!
(May the 108 names of Lord kanthan (the post in which the uncntrolled rampant elephant(Atma or soul)is tied to be curbed for salvation) who always resides in our hearts be always blessed)

vs_manjunath
Posts: 1466
Joined: 29 Sep 2006, 19:37

Post by vs_manjunath »

karthik76, cmlover & others who contributed to this thread- THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. I am really happy that about 12,878 views have been recorded on this thread. I am sure like me many more whould have loved to know the meanings, all of us have got benefiitted. Let Lord kArthikEya bless one and all.
Since karthik76 has already done this exercise for "AnjanEya astOTara", I request him to please share this valuable info to all the rsaikas in a new thread.
Last edited by vs_manjunath on 17 Sep 2008, 21:43, edited 1 time in total.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Karthik,

That was some awesome, and sustained effort on your part! Thank you so very much for your painstaking patience and detailed explanantions!

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

Thanks to everyone whose enthusiasm helped me keep the thread going. From these discussions, I really learnt more than I contributed. I am reminded of an old nItiSlokam I learnt at school -

na chOra hAryaM na cha rAja hAryaM na BhrAtR BhAjyaM na cha BhArakArI |
vyayE krtE vardhatA Eva nityaM vidyA dhanaM sarva dhanAt pradAnaM ||

Neither can the thief steal it away, nor can the king sieze it away; neither can it be coveted by brothers, nor is it a source of burden |
It grows and increases as it is spent; the wealth of knowledge (vidyA) is the supreme among wealths ||

karthik76
Posts: 191
Joined: 23 Mar 2007, 10:02

Post by karthik76 »

vs_manjunath wrote:karthik76, cmlover & others who contributed to this thread- THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. I am really happy that about 12,878 views have been recorded on this thread. I am sure like me many more whould have loved to know the meanings, all of us have got benefiitted. Let Lord kArthikEya bless one and all.
Since karthik76 has already done this exercise for "AnjanEya astOTara", I request him to please share this valuable info to all the rsaikas in a new thread.
vs_manjunath,

I shall start posting on the AnjanEya aShTottara in a separate thread.

vs_manjunath
Posts: 1466
Joined: 29 Sep 2006, 19:37

Post by vs_manjunath »

Can we discuss Kalidasa's KUMARA SAMBHAVAM in this thread ? I request Sanskrit Scholars to provide glimpse of this famous work for the benefit of rasikas.

PUNARVASU
Posts: 2498
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

karthik 76 wrote-
It grows and increases as it is spent; the wealth of knowledge (vidyA) is the supreme among wealths ||
The reverse is also true-the more one keeps it to oneself, the more it dwindles and is finally lost.
We are fortunate that here, there is so much of the knowledge shared.
Thanks once again to all who mkae it possible.

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