Tomorrow is sarasvatipuja and also the thirunakshathram of Swami Desikan.

Hence I take this opportunity to post this Hayagreevasthothram by Vedanta Desika for all to get jnana and bhakthi. Hayagriva stotra of Vedanta Desika Meaning and commentary by SarojaRamanujam Vedantadesika has composed many stotras on the Lord and this is the first. He got the upadesa of Hayagreeva mantra from Garuda in thiruvaheendrapuram and he chanted this mantra from the hill top there and the Lord Hayagreeva appeared before him and this stotra was sung in His presence .Hayagreeva is the upasanamurti of Desika and everywhere Desika is found along with Hayagreeva. The Lord Hayagreeva has a face of horse and a body of man and has four arms and in his right hands He holds chakra and jnanamudra and in His left, shanka and a book, supposedly the vedas. Those who worship Hayagreeva will get wisdom and knowledge. Many scholars have written commentaries to the stortras of Desika but as Desika himself has said in his Yadhavabhyudhaya,'amrtham yadhi labhyetha kim na grhyetha maanavaih,' anything about the Lord is sweet no matter whoever tells it even with limited capacity. 1. jnanaanandha mayam dhevam nirmalasphatikaakrthim Aadhaaram sarva idhyaanaam hayagreevam upaasmahe We bow down to the Lord Hayagreeva who is the embodiment of knowledge and bliss whose form is like pure crystal and who is the source of all learning. He is the svarupa of knowledge and bliss. Akhandasacchidaananadasvarupa, that is existence, sat, knowledge, jnana and Ananda, bliss. He is Brahmasvarupa, which has been declared in the upanishads as , satyam, jnanam, anantam and Anandam. He is of nirmala sphatika Akrti, a form like pure white crystal. White stands for suddhasattva and crystal for purity denoting that He is the parabrahamam. he is the adhaara, abode of all learning. Hayagriva means Hayavadana , horse faced. He took the form to instruct the vedas . Horse stands for wisdom among animals. That is why it is used in battle as it knows when the master is in distress and will carry him away from the battlefield.

2. svathassiddham Suddhasphatika maNibhoobhrth prathibhatam sudDhaasadhghreecheebhiH dhyuthibhiH avadhaatha thribhuvanam ananthaiH thrayyanthaiH anuvihitha heshaahalahalam hathaaSeshaavadhyam hayavavadanam eedeemahee mahaH Lord Hayagreeva is svatassiddha, meaning that He originated by Himself as the Purushsookta says, 'ajaayamaano bahudhaa vijaayathe,'one who is never born manifests Himself in various forms. Krishna says in the Gita, 'prakrthim svaam adhishtaaya sambhavaami aatmamaayayaa,'(BG.4-3) I assume matter and create myself through my maya. He is described as suddha sphatika mani bhoobhrthprathibhata.The word bhoobhrth means a mountainbhuvam bhibhrathi ithi, the mountains are supposed to support the earth,bhoo while the verb 'bhr' means 'to bear.' The mountain made of pure crystal is suddha sphatika mani bhoobhrt. The Lord is mentioned as the prathibhata of this mountain. Prathibhata means a challange or rival. Bhata is a warrior and

prathibhata is one on the oppsite side, that is, an opponent or challenger. With His form pure and white as crystal, He makes all the three worlds shine white with His light which is accompanied with the nectar of His grace.. The word sudha means nectar and sadhreechi means 'to accompany.' The light , dhyuthi,of His form is not fierce but soft and pleasing like that of the moon who is also called sudhaamsu, as it showers the nectar of His grace. The word dhyuthi is derived from the verb dhyu to shine. the Sun is called dhyumani. His light render all the worlds white, avadhaatha meaning white or spotless. The sound of His neighing 'halahala,' is followed, anuvihitha, by the Upanishads. The breath of Hayagriva constituted the vedas and the sound that comes from Him is vedagosha.It is said that the Lord took the form of hayagreeva to retrieve the vedas stolen by the demons Madhu and Kaitabha and instructed them to Brahma. He destroys all imperfections, hatha aSesha avadhya, for His devotees. We worship such light, mahah, who is called hayavadana, the Horsefaced Lord. It is interesting to note the extensive vocabulary of Desika which shows his mastery over the language. Here he uses the word eedeemahi, derived from the verb 'eed' to worship. One could attain proficiency in sanskrit by merely studying his works.

3.Samaahaarah saamnaam prathipadham rchaam Dhaama yajushaam layaH prathyoohaanaam laharivithathiH boDhajalaDheH kaThaadharpakshubhyath kaThakakulakolaahalabhavam harathu antharDhvaantham hayavadhanaheshaahalhalravaH The neighing sound of the horse-faced Lord i sthe collection (samaahaara) of all the hymns of Samaveda. It is the synonym of Rkveda and the abode of yajurveda.The word Dhaama means the resort as well as light. As the sound throws light on the purport of the yajurveda it is called Dhama. The Sama veda consists of metrical hymns sung in praise while Rkveda abounds in manthras. The yajurveda is the collection of prose relating to the rituals. The Lord Hayagriva is the samagana which arises only from Him who is the Vaageesa. Praising the Lord by the words which come only due to His grace is like what we say in Tamil, vellappillaiyaraikkilli nivedanamthat is, giving back to Him what came from Himself. His neighing is described as the synonym, prathipadham, of Rk manthras as He is the power behind the manthras. Similarly the purport of the rituals is only to attain Him and hence He is their abode. His neighing sound destroys all the obstacles in the way of learning. The word ooha means to comprehend and prathi +ooha denotes the impedimint to it.Hence His neighing which is nothing but the sabdabrahman destroys all obstacles to knowledge. Not only it clears the intellect but also produces the successive waves of the sea of knowledge, laharivithathi of boDhajalaDhi. The one who is thus blessed with the grace of the Lord Hayagreeva is able to quell the tumult of agitation created by those who are arrogant of speech, to which Desika himself is a witness. kathaa means speech (kathyathe ithi kathaa) and darpa is arrogance through which one gets agitated, kShubhyath. The one who speaks in arrogant manner is the kathaka who creates a great tumultous noise. The sound that comes from the Lord through His devotees is enough to destroy the darkness of ignorance of the people who are deluded by these psuedo wise men. 4. praachee sanDhyaa kaachith antharniSaayaah

prajnaa dhrshteH anajaSreeh apporvaa vakthree vedhaan bhaathu me vaajivakthraa vaageeSaakhyaa vaasudevasya moorthiH May the form of Vasudeva, named VaageeSa, the one with the face of a horse, appear to me, the dawn to the inner darkness and the unique collyrium to the eyes of wisdom. The inner darkness (antharniSaa) is due to ignorance and the fornm of the Lord Hayagreeva , when it shines in the heart, acts as the dawn (praachee sanDhyaa) to kill the darkness of ignorance. Desika prefixes the word sanDhyaa with praachee, eastern, in order to differentiate it from the dusk which appears in the West. The form of the Lord brings a new perception of reality as a colyrium applied to the eyes, to give it a new vision of wisdom. The words vaageeSaakhayaa vaasudhevasayamurthiH, has a reference to the avatara of Hayagreeva , who is none other than the Lord Narayana, that is Paravasudeva, Himself , taken in order to instruct the Vedas to Brhama, (vakthree vedhaan-the speaker of Vedas). That is why He is known as VaageeSa, the Lord of speech. The word, vaajivakthra, means a horse-faced one, vaaji meaning a horse. The first four slokas are invocatory and the actual sthothra,I the form of the praise and prayer starts with the 5th. 5. viuddha vijnaana ghana svaroopam vijnaana viSraaNana baddhadheeksham dhayaanidhim dhehabhrthaam SaraNyam dhevam hayagreevam aham prapadhye I surrender to Lord Hayagreeva, the reservoir of mercy, who is the refuge of all embodied beings and whose nature is that of unalloyed mass of pure knowledge and who has taken the vow of giving out the wisdom to all. Lord Hayagreeva denotes the solid mass of wisdom , pure, viSuddha vijnana Ghana, and divine and He is also, being the treasure house of of mercy, promises that knowledge to all who resort to Him, vijnanaviSraaNanabaddhadheeksham. He is also dayanidhi, His omniscience and omnipotence will be formidable without His daya. The rest of the slokas are addressed to the Lord presumably in front of Him when He made His appearance. 6. apourusheyairapi vaakprapanchaih adyaapi the bhoothim adhrshtapaaraam sthuvannaham mugdha ithi thvayaiva kaaruNyatho naaTha kataakshaneeyah Oh Lord! The Vedas which are not composed by anyone but apourusheya, are not able to describe the boundless glory of Yours even today. I have started to praise You, who cannot be understood even by the Vedas, by being nave and hence I deserve Your merciful glances for the effort to be successful.

Vedas have originated from the Lord as His niSvaasa, exhaling breath and hence they are apourusheya, not man-made. In spite of that the Vedas are not able to describe Him in full. This statement and the declaration of his inability are found in many of Desikas works. For instance in His Yadhavabhyudhaya he says yadekaaikagunapraanthe Sraanthaah nigamavandhinah yaThaavath varNane asya, meaning that the Vedas, as bards, start to sing His glory as such but they become tired even by describing one of His infinitely auspicious qualities. And later in the same kavya he says that even though he is dull-witted he has started to write about the story of Krishna because the people will relish it even when it is told by an incompetent person. It shows the humility of Desika. The Vedas are referred to as vaak prapancha, the world of speech as the veda is called sruti, heard and not written, which includes all the parts of the Vedas, hymns, sthothras and Upanishads. Bhoothi is glory which is adhrshtapaara, of which the paara or the end is not to be seen, adhrshta. Mugdha means a foolish person or a nave one, here the latter agrees more with the context because he says the Lord should cast His merciful glances at him as though to a child trying to do something beyond his capacity. 7. dhaakshinyaramyaa girisasya moorthih dhevee sarojaasanadharmapathnee vyaasadhayo api vyapadhesyavaachah sphuranthi sarve thavasakthileSaih The form of Siva as Dhakshinaamoorthi, the goddess Sarasvati and the sages like Vyasa whose eloquence has been proved, are all only a part of your eminence. In this sloka Desika identifies Hayagreeva with Brahman, of course Narayana of Visishtadvaita in all His forms being synonymous with Brahman, which he elaborates in a later sloka. As such all knowledge originates from Brahman and the known divine forms of knowledge like the Dhakshinamurthi and Sarasvathi form the part of Brahman. Similarly the wisdom of sages like Vyasa also come from the grace of Brahman only, as delared by the Upanishad, yamaivesha vrnuthe thena labhyathe, only the one who is graced by Brahman gets the knowledge of reality. The form of Siva, Girisa, so called as he abides in the Himalayas, (girou Sethe- rests in a mountain) known as Dhakshinamurthi, is referred to as dhaakshiNya ramyaa , the beautiful form in south as he faces north. The word dhakshina also means dexterity or cleverness, that is wisdom. His form is ramya , radiant and hence beautiful. Sarasvathi is the wife, pathnee, of sarojaasana, the four-faced brahma, seated, aasana, on the lotus, sarojam. The word pathnee among the words meaning wife is used to denote the one who takes part in all vedic and dharmik activities of the husband. The prefix dharma added to pathnee gives vehemence to the meaning. If we examine the meaning with respect to Sarasvathi she assists in the dharma of Brahma which is creation by supplying the knowledge required for it. Without her on his tongue, where she is said to reside because she is the goddess of vak,, the creator would not have been able to master the Vedas or carry on his creation according to the Vedas. Vyasa etc. which includes Valmiki and the rest who have established their names as masters of words,

also represent a part of the power of speech from the Lord. 8. mandho abhavishyat niyatham virincho vaachaam nidhe vanchiyhabhaagadheyaH daithyaapaneethaan dayayaive bhooyo api aDhyaapayishyo nigamaan na cheth thvam Brahma would have certainly become dull and would have been robbed of his good fortune if You, the abode of speech, had not retrieved the Vedas from the asuras and taught to him again. Here there is an explicit reference to the purpose of the Hayagreeve avatara. The Vedas were stolen by the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha from Brahma when he was asleep and the Lord retrieved them after killing the asuras and instructed Brahma again. Desika says that if He had not done that Brahma would have been ignorant of the Vedas. The word nigama used to denote has a special significance and it is derived as nigamyathe anena, the verb gam with ni means to attain. The Veda is caklled nigama because by the Vedas the fulfillment of wishes in this world and the next as well as the final salvation, mukthi are attained. Not only Brahma would have been ignorant but he would have cheated of his blessing of having obtained the Vedas from the Lord in the first place. 9. vitarkadolaam vyavaDhooya satthve brhaspathim varthayase yathasthvam tenaiva deva thridaSeSvaraaNaam asprshtadoaalaayitham aadhiraajyam Oh Lord You alone saved Brhaspati , the preceptor of the devas from oscillating in doubt and made his conviction of reality firm and established as a result of which the kingdom of the gods stopped oscillating. As made out in the previous two verses, The Lord in the form of Hayagreeva is responsible for the knowledge of Brahma, Sarasvati etc. and hence he alone could have made Brhaspati for what he was. The name Brhaspati has come to mean wisdom. And his wisdom was acquired through the grace of the Lord. To be able to impart knowledge to others one must have firm conviction. As long as the mind is riddled with doubts wisdom will not arise. The knowledge of reality, brahmajnana alone can resolve all doubts and create enlightenment, as the Upanishad says, by bidhyathe hrdhyagranThih cChidhy anthe sarva samSayaah; ksheeyanthe asya karn maaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare. The obstacle to knowledge is the doubt, the clearance of which is prevented by karma which creates knots in the mind which in their turn prevent understanding. When the brahmasaakshaathkaara, the realization of the truth dawns which happens only with the grace of the Lord. yamevaishavrNuthe thena labhyathe, says the Upanishad, meaning, only who He chooses obtains enlightenment. Hence Desika says the Lord chose to make the mind of Brhaspathi free of oscillations due to misconceptions in order to make the kingdom of the devas firm and free from oscillation, meaning the ups and downs of fortune. He makes Brhaspathi cast off his swing, dolaa, of vitarka, arguments for and against based on misconceptions, and made him firm in his resolve. And the kingdom of the devas was made firm by the advice of Brhaspathi and was no more oscillating , dolaayitham, between good and bad fortunes. Asprshtam means not touched by. The aadhiraajya, th e sovereignty of the devas ,tridhaSeSvara, is untouched by vagaries of fortune. Devas are called thridasaah as they have only three

states of life, namely, childhood, SaiSava, boyhood, koumaara and youth, youvana. 10.agnou samiddhaarchishi sapthathanthoh aathasThivaan manthramayam Sareeram akhandasaarah havishaam pradhaanaih aapyaayanam vyomasadhaam viDhathse Oh Lord ! You manifest Yourself in the altar as the manthras chanted during the performance of yajna while the flame of the sacrificial fire burn bright and accepting the offerings which are rich with essence You give it to the devas . saptathanthoH samiddharchishi agnou the fire, agni, which is burning brilliant, samiddharchish in the sacrificial altar. Saptathanthu means a yajna as it is tanvathe, performed by sapthabhih, the seven chandhas, metrical hymns or by the fire which is known as sapthaarchish or sapthajihvaa, seven tongued, namely,kaalee, karaalee manojavaa, sulohithaa DhoomravarnNaa, sphulinginee, viSvadaasaa. Lord Haygreeva is the embodiment of manthras and as such enables the devas to get their share of the offering through the manthras. Actually the fire itself is the manifestation of the Lord. In Srisuktha it is explained that the invocation of jaathavedas or fire to secure the grace of Lakshmi is actually addressed to the Lord Himself who is invoked in the for of fire. The havis offered in the yajna is akhandasaara, of boundless essence as it secures the fulfillment of wishes by ensuring the cooperation of the devas who only act as the agents of the Lord. Hence it is said that He makes the devas partake the offering thus effecting the fulfilment of the yajna. 11.yanmoolam eedhrk prathibhaathi thatthvam yaa moolam aamnaaya mahaadhrumaaNaam thatthvena jaananthi viSuddhasatthvaah thaam aksharaam aksharamaathrkaam thvaam Thos whose mind is filled with pure satthva know You as the cause of this universe and the root of the tree called Vedas, You being the Pranava, the mother of all letters. His universe consists of all types of beings, sentient and insentient, classified as deva,manshya, thiryang,sthaavara, divine beings, humans, animals and plants. The gross universe originated from the five elements, which were in turn evolved from the subtle elements, thanmathras, born out of the three kinds of ahamkara,satthva,rajas and thamas.The ahankara itself is the evolute of mahat or buddhi the first evolvent of all being the unmanifest prakrthi. These are known as thatthvas. 24 in number, the 25th being purusha or the sentient soul. All this has Brahman as the cause as mentioned in the upanishats, sadheva soumya idham agra aaseeth ekameva advitheeyam, sath, or Brahman was alone in the beginning, one only without a second. Then the Upanishad goes on to say thadhaikshatha bahusyaam prajaayeya , thatthejo asrjatha, it willed to become many and created fire. This implies the creation of akasa and vayu prior to that of fire which was alone mentioned as it is the first manifest form of the elements. Vedanta accepts the thatthvas which are actually the principles of the school of sankhya but upholds the view expressed by the Upanishads that Brahman is the cause of even the unmanifest prkrthi. Hence the Lord, who is the supreme self, Brahman, is the moola or source from whom all this manifest

universe (prthibhaathi sarvam) came and also the root of the tree called Vedas. The metaphor of the tree is seen in Katopanishad oorDhvamoolo avAkshAkhah Esha aSvatthah sanAthanah,(Kat.up.2-3-1) which has also been referred to in the fifiteenth chapter of the Bhagavatgita.(BG.15-1) The tree is said to have branches below as the whole creation is originated from Brahman and proceeds below, that is away from the reality, being the effect of karma causing bondage. The branches represent the whole creation from devas to the lowest forms of life and also the immovables. Its leaves are said to cchandhAmsi or Vedas. All karma that are done with an expectation of fruit are enjoined in the Vedas and they are necessary for the worldly life as the leaves are for the tree. Hence the Vedas are compared to parNas, leaves. One who understands this will desist from doing desire motivated karma which will cause the cycle of births and deaths. Hence it is said that one who knows this tree, knows the Vedas, meaning that he will understand the real nature of the Vedas, the real import of which is only Brahman. Hence the root of Vedas compared to a tree is the Lord. The Pranava is the source of all sound and synonymous with Brahman and hence it is referred to as aksharaa aksharamaathrkaa. This upanishadic declaration of the causation of Brahman is further carried out in he next sloka and hence this and the next contain the whole visishtadvaita in a capsule form. 12.avyaakrthaath vyaakrthavaan asi thvam naamaani roopaaNi cha yaani poorvam Samsanthi theshaam charamaam prathishTaam vaageeSvara thvaam thvadhupaJnavaachah Oh Lord of speech! You become the manifest world from your unmanifest state and give the name and form to everything as before. The Vedas which were instructed by You praise You as the ultimate goal. The term avyaakrtha, meaning unmanifest, refers to the moolakrkrthi, the primordial nature of the sankhayas but what Desika means here is the soolshmacidhacithviSishtabrahman of visistadvaita. That is the Lord before He manifests as the world. Brahman unmanifest is the cause and Brahman manifest is the effect. The Upanishad says, yatho vaa imaani bhaoothaani jaayanthe yena jaathaani jeevanthi yasmin abhisamviSanthi, thath vijijnaasasva thath brahma. The meaning of the pass age is as follows: Know that to be Brahman from whom all these beings emerge, by whom they are sustained, and into which they merge back. So all beings exist in Brahman in subtle state without name and form and after creation they become manifest. The passage quoted in the previous sloka which describes the creation further proceeds with the statement, anenajeeven aaathmanaa anupravSya naamaroope vyaakaravaaNi. The Brahman after creating the universe of sentient and insentient beings, declares I will e nter into everything as its self and give them name and form. This is what Desika denotes by the phrase naamaani roopaaNi cha yaani poorvam. In each kalpa the creation preceeds on a similar pattern as before. The lion is known only as such and the ant is similarly known as such. The names and forms do not change in different kalpa. This is because the Vedas are the same being apourusheya and anaadhi and the creation has its basis on the Vedas.

Brahman entering as the inner self is confirmed by the Upanishadic passages such as yah aathmani thishTan aathmanah antharah yam aathmaa na veda yasya aathmaa sareeram yah aathmaanam antharah yamayathi esha tha aathmmaa antharyaami amrthah thath sathyam sa aathmaa thaththvam asi, This means, the inner immortal self is the one who is inside the individual self, whom the individual self does not know, whose body is the individual self , who controls the individual self from inside, this is the real self and thou art that. Similar description of this inner ruler is found with respect to all elements all luminous bodies, all beings and all organs of the body including mind and intellect and each passage ends with the words 'Esha tha AthmA antharyAmyamrthah' this is the immortal inner self. Therefore the Lord who is the inner self of all is the ultimate import of everything, charama prathshTa. Ramanuja says in his sribhashya that the identity of all beings, sentient and insentient with Brahman can be established only through the sarira sariri bhAva. And as all that is other than Brahman is His sarira the denotation of everything terminates only in Brahman. This is the import of the Vedas, Samsanthi theshaam charamaam prathishTaam vaageesvara thvaam thavdhulpajna vaachah. 13.mugdhendhu nishyandha vilobhaneeyaam moorthim thavaanandhasuDhaaprasoothim vipaSchithaH chethasi bhaavayanthe velaam udhaaraam iva dugDhasinDhoh The wise are meditating on your form which is attractive like the molten crescent moon, which creates a flood of nectarine joy flowing like a giant wave from the milky ocean. After establishingthe brahmathva of the Lord Hayagreeva in the previous two slokas Desika expounds on the brahmanubhava beautifully in the next 5slokas. Mugdha indhu may mean either charming or young moon. The word mugDha is normally used to denote the quality of being nave or innocent. We see Kalidasa using this word to describe the maidens of the asram, ayam aacharathi avinayam mugDhaasu thapasvikanyakaasu, and in ashtapadi the gopis are referred to as mugDhvaDhoo, haririha mugDhavaDhoonichaye. Being like mugDha indhu the form of Hayagriva is vilobhaneeya, attractive. Thus it produces immense joy which is like nectar for the devotees, aanandhasuDhaaprasoothi. The form of the Lord pure white in colour, fills up the mind of the wise who meditate on Him like a giant wave, (tsunami of the sunaami) from the milky ocean, velaam udhaaram iva dugDhasinDhoH. 14.manogatham paSyathi yaH sadhaa thvam maneeshiNaam maansaraajahamsam svayam purobhaava vivaadhabhaajaH kimkurvathe thasya giro yaTharham To the one who always contemplate you, who is like the royal swan in the Manasalake of the heart of the wise, in his mind, the words serve spontaneously competing with each other.

Usage of the word rajahamsa to denote the Lord Hayagreeva is significant as the Haygreeva manthra begins with hamsassoham, ham denoting the inhaling and sa , exhaling of breath which implies the life spirit, that is Brahman. The mind of the wise is the Manasa lake and the Lord sporting there is the Rajahamsa, maneeshiNaam maanasaraajahamsam. One who thinks of Him like this always in his heart has no impediment to his eloquence as the words, giraH, vie with each other svayam purobhaavavivaadhabhaajaH, to serve him, kimkurvathe. 15. api kshaNaarDham kalyanthi ye thvaam aaplaavayantham visadhaiH mayookhaiH vaachaam pravaahaiH anivaarithaiH the mandhaakineem mandhayithum kshamanthe Those who think of you, who plunges them into the white rays of His form, even for half a moment, become capable of slowing down even the force of Ganges with their torrential speech which flows uninterrupted. Those who contemplate the Lord Hayagreeva in their minds, are totally immersed in the white rays emitted by His form which seems to give them the eloquence unceasing with a flow that put the force of Ganges to shame. Desika says it is enough to contemplated on the Lord even for half a moment, kshaNaatrDham, with total concentration which means the devotee gets completely immersed in the Lord. It seems as though the white rays coming from Him, whose form is pure white, symbolic of suddha sattva, completely overpower, aaplaavayantham viSadhaiH mayookhaiH, the devotee, as a result of which he obtains a power of speech the unimpeded force of which, vaacham pravaahaiH anivaarithaiH, exceeds even that of the river Ganges which appears much slower in comparison, mandhaakineem mandhayithum kshamanthe. The word mandhaakinee to denote the river Ganges, besides rhyming with mandhayithum, seems to have special purpose because Ganges is called Mnadhakinee when it flows in the celestial region where it is much slower as compared with the force after reaching the earth. The word mandhaakinee is derived as mandham akithum Seelam asyaaH, meaning , one who is capable of going slow, the verb ak m eaning to go. This is one of the multitudes of examples showing the mastery of words of Desika in fact he stands as the typical example of the meaning of the sloka itself. 16.svaamin bhavadDhyaanasuDhaabhishekaath vahanthi DhanyaaH pulakaanubanDham alakshithe kvaapi nirooDamoolam angeshviva aanadhaThum ankurantham Oh Lord, fortunate ones who are bathed in the nectar of meditation on you, show horripilation due to the joy deep-rooted in some place inside them and which sprouts out through their limbs. Those who are blessed, DhanyaaH, experience the presence of the Lord inside which makes them feel as though they have been bathed in nectar, thvath DhayaanasuDhaabhisheka, The joy of this experience run its roots deep inside, nirooDamoolam, and it sprouts through their limbs, ankeshu ankurantham, in

the form of horripilation, pulakaanubanDham. The word DhanyaaH means blessed ones but it can also mean dhanalabDhaah, or rich, Dhanam here being vidhyaa on account of worshipping Hayagreeva, as it is said vidhyaaDhanam sarvaDhanaath pradhaanam. The Lord Himself is the Dhanam to the devotees, to quote Desika himself, who said asthi me hasthiSailaagre vasthu paithaamaham Dhanam, on being asked to go and approach the king to show his learning. 17.svaamin pratheechaa hrdhayena DhanyaaH thvadDhyaanachandhrodhayavarDhamaanam amaanthm aanandhapayoDhim anthaH payobhiH akshNaam parivaahayanthi Oh Lord, the blessed ones see you inside them by their mind turned inward and their joy becomes boundless like the sea on the rise of moon , that is You. They let the flood of joy out in the form of tears. The blessed ones see the Lord in their heart by turning their minds inward, pratheechaa hrdhayena. His form rises like the moon, and their joy increases manifold like the sea on the moonrise, thavath DhyaanachandhriodhayavarDhamaanam and it overflows and comes out through their eyes in the form of tears, payobhrakshNaam parivaahayanthi. 18.svairaanubhaavah thvadhaDheenabhaavaaH samrdDhveeryaah thvadhanugrheNa vipaSchitho naaTha tharanthi maayaam vaihaarikeem mohanapicChikaam the Men of wisdom who have boundless power, with their mind engrossed in You, acquire even more glory and through Your grace, are able to transcend the maya , which is variegated like peacock feathers. Te maya of the Lord is variegated and powerful under the influence of which all beings are deluded into believing that its effect, that is the world, is real as it appears to be. The world is one of the three reals of Vishishtadvait but not as it appears to us, which is the effect of maya. The sages who possess knowledge of reality are able to see through the delusion with their discerning power increasing by the grace of the Lord. They are thus free from ignorance and have the inner sight to see the reality. To others like us, the world of diversity is like the illusion created by a magician with his peacock feathers by which one sees the colours and pictures where they are not. 19.praangnirmithanaam thapasaam vipaakaah prathyagraniSSreyasa sampadho me sameDhisheeran thava paadha padhme sankalpachimthaamanayaH praNaamaaH May my salutations at your lotus feet, due to the fructification of my austerities done in previous births, and which are like the wish-giving gem, Chintamani, secures me the fortune of salvation, go on increasing. From this sloka onwards Desika yearns for the grace of the Lord, and prays for His blessing by meditating

on His form. The four slokas from this describe the glory of His feet. The praNaamaah .salutations to the feet of the Lord is due to the fruition of the penance done in earlier lives, praangnirmithanaam thapasaam vipaakaah, says Desika as in the expression, avanaruLal avan thaaL vaNangi. May the pranaama gather force and increase forever, sameDhisheeran, which will secure the salvation at every step, prthyagraniSSreyasasampath, because they are like the wish giving gem, sankalpachinthaamaNayaH which gives everything wished for to those who resort to it. The the salutations offered at he feet acquire the power of sankalpachinthamaNi because the lotus feet of Lord Hayagreeve is the real chinthamaNi, is the implication here. The praNammas are the result of the past tapas and they directed towards the feet of the Lord acquire the power to give future results. 20. vilupthamoorDhanyalipikramaaNaam surendhrachoodaapadhalaalithaanaam thvadhanGhriraajeevarajaHkaNaanaam bhooyaan prasaadhaH mayi naaTha bhooyaath May the dust of your lotus feet, which are capable of erasing the lines of fate on ones head, which are found on the crown of Indra and others, bestow abundant blessings on me It is said that the fate of a person is written on his head at the time of birth, moorDhanyalipikrama, due to his past karma. Desika says that the dust of the feet of the Lord on the head of the devotees destroys, viluptha the line of fate. The devas like Indra also wear the dust of His feet on their head, choodaapadhalaalitha, in reverence. Such is the power of the dust of His feet and Desika says may they bestow abundant grace bhooyaan prasaadhaH on Him. The idea of the previous sloka is continued in this as it shows the reason why the pranaamaas have the power of showering blessings. 21.parisphuran noopurachithrabhaanu prakaasanirDhoothathamonushangaam prabhoDharaajeevavibhaathasandhyaam padhadhvyeem the parichinmahe anthaH We gather inside our heart the pair of your feet, the anklets on which are the Sun that dispels the darkness of ignorance and is the dawn that makes the lotus of wisdom blossom. In this sloka we see Desika the poet surfacing and it is a beautiful one. The noopura, anklets on the feet of the Lord shed light, parispuran, as brilliant as the Sun and dispels, nirDhootha, the darkness of the night, thamonushanga, which is the ignorance, the word thamas meaning darkness aswell as ignorance due to thamoguna. The light like the Sun awakens jnana. praboDha, which are the lotuses that blossom in the morning, vibhathasandhyaa. The word sandhya is used both for evening and the dawn and hence Desika uses the word vibhaatha sandhya, vibhaatha meaning morning that is prabhaatha. To the spiritual seekers it is night as long as the ignorance prevails and the morning is when the

knowledge appears. In Gita Krishna says, Jnaanena thu thdhajnaana yeshaam naaSitham aathmanaH Theshaam aadhithyavath jnaanam prakaaSayathi thath param(Bg-5.16) Man is endowed with jnanam which is his real nature. But the jnana is covered by ignorance as the world is covered by darkness. When the knowledge dawns like the Sun the darkness is nowhere to be seen and the light that is natural appears. To the devotees the night is the time before devotion dawns at the heart. When the feet of the Lord is resorted to it brings jnana like the sun and the dawn is only when the devotion dawns in the heart. This is what is described as gathering His feet inside the heart, padhadhvayeem the parichinmahe anthaH 22.manjupraNaadham maNi noopuram the thvathkinkaraalankarNochithaanaam thvayaivakalpaantharapaalithaanaam manjooshikaam vedhagiraam pratheemaH We consider your anklets, that are the fitting ornaments of the head of your servants which are sweetsounding as the caskets that hold the Vedas which are preserved by you from other kalpas. The anklets are praised here as the casket that holds the Vedas. The sound of the anklets, manjupraNaadham maNi noopuram the , are the sound of the Vedas, as Lord Hayagreeva is the personification of the Vedas. Desika says that the Lord has preserved the Vedas from the previous kalpas, kalpaanthara paalithaanaam, and instructs Brahma at the beginning of each kalpa and he preserves it in His noopura and hence the sound of them are the sound of the Vedas. Therefore the noopuras are the casket that holds the Vedas, manjooshikaam vedhagiraam. The devotees wear His feet on their head and hence the noopuras are said to be the ornaments of the servants of the Lord., thvathkinkaraalankaranochithaanaam. 23. samchinthayaami prathibhaa dhaSaasThaan samDhukshayantham samayapradheepaan vijnaankalpadhrumapallavaabham vyaakhyaanamudhraa maDhuram karam the I repeatedly meditate on your sweet hand holding the jnanamudra, shining like the tender shoot of Kalapakatree which kindles the intellect which is like the wick that illuminates the vedic principles. This sloka and the next two describe the hands of Lord Hayagreeva. Samayapradheepa is the tenets of Vedanta compared to the light of the lamp of jnana. The intellect which comprehends the vedantic truths is the wick of the lamp, dhaSaa, which is kindled, samDhukshayantham, by the Lord Himself. As he says in the Gita, dhadhaami budddhiyogam tham, meaning that He gives the wisdom for His devotees to realize the truth. Hence Desika says it is the jnanamudra, vyaakhyaanamudraa, indicative of the knowledge of the truth in the right hand of the Lord Hayagreeva looks as though He is kindling the intellect, prathibhaa, which is like the wick, of the lamp of

wisdom, to make it burn bright. 24. chitthe karomi sphurithaakshamaalam savyetharam naaTha karam thvadheeyam jnaanaamrthodhanchanalampataanaam leelaaghateeyanthram iva ASrithaanaaam I contemplate in my mind your right hand which also holds the akshamaalaa, the garland of beads , which appears to be the machine for drawing water from the well with ease, for the sake of the devotees who desire for the nectar of wisdom. The right hand of Lord Hayagreeva holding the jnanamudra also has the japamala, which goes up and down like the contraption used in drawing water from the wide well in the field by the farmers, which moves up and down to draw the water and pour it on the field continuously. The idea in comparing the hand with the ghateeyanthra is that he Lord seems to be drawing the nectar of jnana and giving it to His devotees. Savyetharam karam means the hand other than the left, savya , that is, the right, which has sphuritha , shining akshmaala, the circle of crystal beads. ASrithaanaam-for the devotees, who are jnaanaamrtha udhanchana lampataaH, desirous of extracting the knowledge which is like nectar. Leelaaghateeyanthram denotes the ease with which the knowledge is provided for the devotees. 25.praboDhasinDhoH aruNaiH prakaaSaih pravaalaalso sanghaatham iva udhvahantham vibhaavaye dheva sapusthakam the vaamam karam dhakshiNam aaSrithaanaam I clearly perceive your left hand which holds the book, with its red hue looking as though it is bringing out the corals from the sea of knowledge and which is kind towards the devotees. Vibhaavaye means clearly perceive. Desika was enjoying the presence of the Lord and describes His appearance. The left hand of Lord Hayagreeva is holding the book signifying knowledge and the palm is red like the collection of corals. Desika carrying the metaphor further says that the ocean from which these corals came was the sea of knowledge. He says that the left hand vamahastha is dhakshiNa , partial or kind to His devotees thus using the pairs of opposites, namely vaama and dhakshina , left and right, to denote the left hand which shows the kavichaathurya. 26. thamaamsibhitthvaa viSadhaiH mayookhaiH sampreenayantham vidhushaH chakoraan niSaamaye thvaam navapundareeke Saradhghanam chandhramiva sphurantham I see You on a white lotus , shining like the moon among the autumn clouds, breaking the darkness by white rays and giving joy to the wise who are like chathaka birds.

The Lord Hayagreeva is visualized by Desika as being seated on a white lotus, navapundareeke, His form is also white like the moon among the autumn clouds, Saradhghanam chandhram iva, which are white and the moon shines even whiter on account of that. The white rays that His form emits, viSadhaiH mayookhaiH, break the darkness of ignorance, thamaamsibhitthvaa, and give rise to jnana and hence the wise are pleased, sampreeNayantham, like the chakora birds, vidhushaschakoraan, with moon light. The Mythological Chakora birds are supposed to feed on moonlight only. So also the wise consider knowledge as their only food which they get from the Lord Hayagreeva. By praying to Him the darkness of ignorance recedes and the light of wisdom dawns. In this sloka Desika describes the whole form of the Lord as seated on a white lotus and Himself being of crystal white hue denoting pure satthva. The wonderful vocabulary of Desika can be seen in his usage of the words which are uncommon and meaningful. Here he uses the verb niSaamaye, meaning, I see. Nisamana means seeing or observing. Also the word niSaamaye, is in-keeping with the general meaning of the verse, removing darkness 27. dhiSanthu me dheva sadhaa thvadheeyaaH dhayaatharangaanucharaaH kataakshaaH Srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem sarasvatheem samSritha kaamaDhenum May Your glances that follow Your mercy, always bestow upon me always the eloquence ,which shower nectar into the ears of men and which is the kamadhenu for the devotees. The glances, kataakshaaH, of the Lord Haygreeva , says Desika, follow the waves of His dhayaa, dhayaatharangaanucharaah, that is, His mercy reaches the devotees even before His glances do. Such is the vatsalya of the Lord that He brooks no delay of even directing His eyes towards the devotees to show mercy but sends it by Will. The glances when fall upon the devotee bestow the eloquence which can be had spontaneously as from the celestial cow Kamadhenu, sarasvatheem samSrithakaamadhenum, which gives whatever one asks for. Such eloquence showers nectar into the ears of the listeners, srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem. 28. viseshavidhpaarishadheshu naaTha vidhagDhagoshteesamsrangaNeshu jigeeshatho me kavithaarkikendhraan jihvaagrasimhaaanam abhyupeyaaH May You occupy the throne at the tip of the tongue of mine, who wish to win over the masters of poetry and debate, in the assembly of learned men and critics, facing the giants of knowledge in the battlefield of wit. Desika entreats the Lord Hayagreeva to get enthroned on the tip of his tongue, jihvaagra simhaasanam abhyupeyaaH, enabling him to come out victoriously in the battles of wit with other learned men and critics.

It should be remembered that the Lord Hayagreeva appeared before Desika while he composed this hymn and as a result of which he emerged as the kavithaarkika kesari and vedanthacharya. So those who wish for eloquence and knowledge should say these two slokas, 27 an 28 of this sthothra before any challenging situation involving wit and speech. Viseshavith is the one who has specialized knowledge on particular subject and their assembly is paarishad. vidhagDhah is the one has gone through the fire of knowledge like gold purified through fire. Goshtee is their assembly. samarangaNa is the battlefield (of wit.) Kavi means not only poets but people with originality and thaarkika is the one who is adept in argument. By kavithaarkikendhra, Desika refers to the masters in both the fields. 29. thvaam chinthayan thvanmayathaam prapannaH thvaam udhgrnan sabdhamayena Dhaamnaa swaamin samaajeshu sameDhisheeya svacChandhavaadhaavaha badDha Soorah May I grow into eminence, unrestricted in the halls of battle of wit, thinking of You, Oh Lord, engrossed in You, whatever sound that comes out of me being Your manifestation. Desika here describes what happens once the Lord occupies his jihvaagrasimhasana. Whatever sound that comes out of him will be the manifestation of Lord Himself, thvaam udhgrNan Sabdhamayena Dhaamna because he will be thinking of the Lord only, thvaam chinthayan, totally engrossed in Him, thvanmayathaam prapannaH as it is expressed in a well known song, Indhavaram tharuvaai. The lines that reflect this ides which every devotee should have in mind are, engengumE un uruvaai minna, eNNangaL veRinRi unai dhinam unna, mangaLanaamam en vaai nidham panna,vaarthaigaL yaavum un vaarthaaiyaai minna. Let me see you everywhere, let my thoughts be of You only, let my tongue say only Your name and let all my words be Yours. Thus ,Desika says, that he should rise to eminence, sameDhisheeya, without restriction in the assembly, samaajeshu, of the learned and should come out victorious in the battle of wit. .svacChandhavaahdaavaha badDha Soorah. 30. naanaaviDhaanaam agathiH kalaanaam na chaapi theerTheshu krthaavathaaraH Dhruvam thava anaaTha parigrahaayaaH Navam navam paathram aham dhayaayaaH Oh Lord, I have not learnt the various sasthras, nor have I plunged in the holy waters or served the holy men. Surely I am the ever-fresh receptacle of your mercy that embraces the helpless. agathiH na gathiH, not the abode of, kalanaam sasthras. TheerTha has the meaning of holy waters as well as holy men.

Parigraha , means embracing . The dhayaa , mercy of he Lord embraces all and the only resort for those who have no other means like acquiring knowledge through the sasthras, undertaking the various rituals like dipping in the holy waters which also means that getting purified by the association of holy men. Hence Desika says that he deserves the mercy of the Lord always, navam navam paathram, since he has not followed any of the disciplines mentioned above. It is inconceivable that Desika the great seer is described as not following any of the means of attaining the Lord, but it is to be understood in the same way as Thyagaraja or the azvars describe themselves as erring or unworthy, which is actually applies for mankind. 31. akampaneeyaani apaneethi bhedhaiH alamkrsheeran hrdhayam madheeyam Sankaakalankaapagamojjvalaani Thathvaani samyanchi thava prasaadhaath Oh Lord, due to Your grace may the truths, unshaken by the diversity of wrong arguments, being brilliant with the removal of all doubts, well adorn my heart. Due to the grace of the Lord Hayagreeva the right knowledge rises in the mind which becomes unshakeable, akampaneeyaani, by the diverse arguments, bhedhaiH, of the opponents. This is because all the doubts vanish with the rising of the true knowledge. The defects in cognition due to doubts, sankaakalanka, are removed, apagamana, and the truth shines, ujjvaa, of its own accord. Desika has mentioned in the beginning that Lord Hayagreeva is brahmasvarupa and he clinched it here by saying that the manifestation of the Lord in the mind is brahmasaakshaathkaara by which alone all the doubts can vanish and right cognition arises as the Upanishad declares, Bhidhyathe hrdhaygranThiH chidhyanthe sarva samsayaaH Ksheeyanthe asya katrmaaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare. On perception of Brahman, all knots of the heart break, all doubts are cut off and all his karma cease. 32. vyaakhyaamudhraam karasarasijaiH pusthakam sankha chakre bibhrath bhinna sphatika ruchire pundareeke nishaNnaH amlaanaSreeh amrtha visadhaiH amSubhiH plaavayan maam aavirbhooyaath anagha mahimaa manase vaagadheeSaH May Lord Hayagreeva manifest in my mind, having the jnanamudra , book, conch and chakra in his lotuslike hands, seated on a beautiful white lotus that looks like a crystal opened, with ever fresh glory, submerging me with white rays of nectar. Lord Hayagreeva is seated on a white lotus that looks like a crystal opened. He is having the jnanamudra, book, shankha and chakra in His four hands. The white rays emitted by Him pervade and submerge the devotee like nectar. Such a manifestation, Desika yearns for, in his mind. Vyaakhyaa mudra is jnanamudra. The white lotus is beautiful, ruchire pundareeke, and with its crystal white petals it presents a picture of a crystal being opened, bhinna sphatika. The glory, anaghamahimaa,

of the Lord is never-fading, amlaanasree , that is, ever fresh. The white rays emanating from Him are the rays of nectar, arthavisadhaih amsubhih, that engulfs the devotee, plaavayan. Thus Desika ends the sthotra with a enchanting portrait of the Lord to be etched in memory of the listeners. 33. vaagarTham sidDhihethoh paTatha hayagreeva samsthuthim bhakthyaa kavithaarkika kesariNaa venkatanaathena virachithaam ethaam Let all read this sthothra of Hayagreeva, which is well-formed praise of the Lord, composed by VenkatanaaTha, who is a lion among the poets and logicians, with devotion for attaining the skill of speech and knowledge.