Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 6

Sloka 56-58:
Having thought thus, the Vedas decided to describe only an infinitesimal part of Lord glories. But when they tried that, they found that this small portion also started expanding into inifinity. The glory of the Lord's toe nail has expanded so much that it resembled the rays of Sun and it filled the entire universe from Patala to Heaven with its effulgence.

Sloka 59:
This glory of the Lord cannot be seen with eyes, heard with ears, told with the tongue and understood by the mind. Thus the Vedas found themselves in a fix and made a futile attempt to describe the Lord's spiritual glory.

Sloka 60-62:
The Vedas then dedicated themselves to describing an infinitesimal part of Lord's glory and praised the Lord in all their capacity. But how can the Vedas do a perfect job when deities like Lakshmi,Brahma and others failed in comprehending the Lord's glory to the fullest extent.

End of Chapter 1 of Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam.

Chapter 2:
----------
Sloka 1:
Devasarma said " Let me describe the eternal beauty of Your lotus feet. Though Iam not qualified enough to do the same , I will still try my best having been inspired by You".

Sloka 2:
"Lord ! Though You have granted your heart as the resting place for MahaLakshmi, having been captivated by the beauty of Your lotus feet she made your feet her eternal abode. "

Sloka 3:
"Lord ! The divine mother after trying desperately to drink the nectar of the beauty of Your lotus feet found Herself shocked because of her inability and then decided to take three forms as she felt that two eyes are not enough to drink the nectar of Your beautiful feet"

Sloak 4:
"The divine mother then took three forms as Lakshmi on the left side, Bhudevi on the right side and occupied a place in front of You as Durga with great excitement. Now she can hopefully use Her six eyes to drink the nectar of Thy lotus feet."

Sloka 5:
"Mother Lakshmi gave up her interest in other things and with a single pointed mind started drinking the nectar of Thy lotus feet with great happiness. Looks like she is not satisfied yet! (As she has not stopped her efforts still)."

Sloka 6:
"Lord! Thou are the most beautiful thing in the Universe! Brahma, who emerged from a lotus that emanated from your navel, has concentrated all his senses in worshipping Thy lotus feet. "

Sloka 7:
"The creator, who could not quench his thirst inspite of drinking the ambrosia of Thy lotus feet day and night with his eight eyes, transformed himself into multiple forms so that he can drink the nectar of Thy lotus feet more."

Sloka 8-9:
"He took the forms of Kaustubha gem(that is worn around Lord's neck), Mount Meru, Vaikuntha, Sweta dweepa, Adisesha and Satya loka etc. to worship you incessantly. (Vaikuntha, Sweta dweepa and Adisesha are called Tridhama's or the three abodes of the Lord.) He also drank the nectar of Thy lotus feet incessantly and didnt get satisfied yet."

Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 5

Sloka 45:
Devasarma said " Lord Venkateswara! You created the creator Brahma from a lotus that emanated from your navel. You are the Lord of the Goddess Sri, who sits on a lotus. You are the Lord of all gods viz. Brahma, Siva, Indra and others. Lord your eyes are as soft and beautiful as full-blown lotuses. You wear a garland of lotuses and wear a lotus,a mudra of protection, Sankha and Chakra in your four hands respectively.

Sloka 46:
"Lord! Your feet and hands are as soft as a lotus flower. You reside in the lotus hearts of all living beings. I pray to your beautiful lotus-like feet to grant me protection".

Sloka 47-48:
"Lord Srinivasa! The power of your lotus feet is incomprehensible even for Maha Lakshmi herself. With your one foot you measured all the three worlds! All the spiritual qualities emanate from the splendour of the nail on your little toe. Because of Her inability to comprehend the infinite spiritual glory of your little nail, which shines like a bright gem, MahaLakshmi, who spends all Her time staring at your lotus feet, finally finds Herself lost in an ocean of astonishment and happiness. Happiness as she savours the spiritual glory of Lord's little nail and astonishment as she finds Herself incapable of describing the Lord's little nail's spritual glory, which cannot be understood even by the eternal Vedas themselves."
[Reference to Vamana incarnation where the Lord measures all the three worlds and receives it as a gift from the great devotee King Bali is made. The sloka indirectly reminds a sadhaka of the importance of meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord. Srimad Bhagavata rightly describes that the splendour that emanates from the Lord's nails removes the darkness of spiritual ignorance when meditated upon by devotees.]

Sloka 49-50:
"At the time of creation, Your spiritual glory was explained by You to the creator Brahma out of Your parental love. He is still engaged in singing Your divine qualities with all His four heads. He has not stopped counting Your divine qualities even today either because he has not finished counting yet as they are so infinite in number or because he derives immense pleasure in doing so."

Sloka 51-52:
"Even the great AdiSesha with His thousands of hoods is not able to comprehend the spiritual glory of Your little toe nail, though he is an expert in expounding the meaning of all Vedas. Even the Vedas in their personified form, when they met together, were incapable of understanding the glory of Your little toe nail and exclaimed as follows."

Sloka 53:
"All the Gods starting from Brahma were given different responsibilities and power by the Supreme Lord at the begining. After that they started enjoying the power that was given to them by the Supreme Lord".

Sloka 54:
" In spite of being extremely powerful, all the Gods were alert and devoted when it comes to worshipping the Lord of Seshachala, the Lord of Mother Ramaa. We, the Vedas, were also installed by Him in our positions so that we can describe His infinite glories. Alas! We failed to do our job though we ourselves are infinite and eternal".

Sloka 55:
" The spiritual glories of the Lord's little toe are infinite in number. Even if all of us, the infinite Vedas, together describe them we can only cover a one part in infinity".
[So infinite is the glory of the Lord's toe nails that even the infinite Vedas find themselves in a critical situation.]

Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 4

Sloka 34:
When Deva Sarma's luck had ripened, his guru Vayu went to his house because of his mercy on the great lady and the children.

Sloka 35:
When Deva Sarma had seen his guru, who had come at the completion of his penance, Deva Sarma got up and greeted Vayu, who is the teacher of all the worlds, with happiness.

Sloka 36:
He fell at the feet of his guru and did a Sashtanga Pranamam to the him and stood with folded palms. Then Lord Vayu started speaking to his disciple in a sweet and pleasant tone.

Sloka 37:
"Go on a pilgrimage to Venkatachala to see the Lord Venkateswara, the husband of Sri. By doing this your wishes will be fulfilled. There is no other way"

Sloka 38:
"With a devoted mind visit Venkatachala and see the Lord, the husband of Sri and who is an ocean of mercy and who grants boons even to Brahma and other deities. Get rid of all your doubts immediately"

Sloka 39:
After being told repeatedly thus by the best of Gods, the Vayu, who is also his guru, Deva Sarma started for the pilgrimage.

Sloka 40-41:
The guru's advice is beneficial for the disciple. A disciple should always follow the words of guru with devotion. There is no power stronger then the guru's command. And the guru's order should not be neglected in any case. Having pondered thus, Deva Sarma started for the hill Seshachala in an enthusiastic mood to see the Lord Venkatanadha.

Sloka 42:
Deva Sarma had the darsanam of the Lord Vishnu, who is known as "One filled with happiness", who resides in the place called "The abode of happiness" and who grants happiness and knowledge to his devotees, in a happy mood.

[
Ananda maya - One filled with happiness.
Ananda Nilaya - The abode of happiness(Name of the sanctum sanctorum in Tirumala).
Ananda Jnanadam - One who grants happiness and knowledge.
]

Sloka 43:
Seeing the Lord Venkateswara, who roams in bliss with His divine sakthis namely Sri and Dhara (Lakshmi and Earth), who smiles at the sight of His devotees due to His infinite love, Deva Sarma paid obeisance to Him with a devoted mind as follows:
[ The smile of Lord Venkatanadha of Tirumala is very famous for its sweetness and captivating power. The author here says that Lord Venkateswara smiles like that as He feels happy when He sees His devotees, who come to get His darsanam.]

Sloka 44:
Deva Sarma said " Obeisances to you Lord who is a treasure of mercy!Obesiances to you Lord who is a treasure of mercy!Obeisances to you Lord who is a treasure of mercy!Obeisances to you Lord who is a treasure of mercy".

Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 3

Sloka 19:
I will now tell you what I have heard from the sage Kapila regarding the activities dearer to Lord Hari. Performing them will give happiness to the sadhaka.

Sloka 20:
Go on a pilgrimage to Venkatachala with a determined mind and see the Lord Vishnu there with a mind filled with devotion and with senses well-controlled.

Sloka 21:
As Lord Hari likes the songs that praise His qualities, devotees should recite various stotrams knowing the divine qualities of the Lord.

Sloka 22:
Lord does not become pleasant with stotras done with out having the knowledge of His Supreme nature. When worshipped with devotion and knowledge, He fulfills the desires of His devotees.

Sloka 23:
Lord's grace does not shower on a person who neither does stotra's nor has Bhakti. I will tell you an ancient story in this regard.

Sloka 24:
Once upon a time there lived a devotee of Vishnu named "Deva Sarma", who was a disciple of the Lord Vayu( The deity that represents air). Listening to the story of the devotee Deva Sarma, who controlled his senses well, generates devotion towards the lotus feet of the Lord.

Sloka 25:
Deva Sarma always engaged himself in thinking about Vishnu and performing penance( Tapam). He followed all the Vedic injunctions strictly, renounced his desires towards material objects and reached a state devoid of attachment or ego.

Sloka 26:
He conquered the six internal enemies and was devoid of any desire[The six enemies are kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya]. Though he suffered from poverty, he did not worry about taking care of his family.

Sloka 27:
His wife, who was desirous of getting rid of poverty, prayed to him everyday to do something to take the family out of trouble.

Sloka 28-29:
She tells him that the children are suffering from hunger and that she is not capable of going to a forest and get some fruits for them. She begged him to save her as there is no one else to protect her and the children.

Sloka 30-31:
She said "The Lord Venkateswara, our family deity, has taken a vow to protect the world. All the saintly people in this world seek protection at His feet. He is the master of all Saranagatas and truly helps them to cross the ocean of samsara. Please go to His feet and pray to the master of Goddess Lakshmi.
[Saranagata is a person, who declares to the Lord that he doesnt know any other refuge other than the Lord. "Anyatha saranam nasti tvameva saranam mama".]

Sloka 32:
"Please show mercy on us kindly and pray to the Lord. When the Lord becomes happy with your prayer, He will definitely improve our living conditions".

Sloka 33:
Even though implored by his wife repeatedly, Deva Sarma did not go to Venkatachala for a long time because of the fear that the journey might become an obstacle to his penance.

narayana smaranam.

Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 2

Sloka 10:
The Lord's name is sweet to hear and it grants all the material desires of the devotees. It also bestows great wealth and Supreme knowledge on the sadhaka. [ It is indeed Iha and Para Saukhya pradam].

Sloka 11:
The hill Venkatachala doesnt have the defects of impurity etc. as the Lord from Vaikuntha himself resides there. Dhyanam on the Lord of Venkatachala grants detachment,devotion,sattva and complete mastery over senses to the devotees.

Sloka 12:
The left overs of food eaten by Lord Vekateswara (prasadam) is indeed a medicine that guarantees protection to the devotees. Partaking it grants safety to the devotees and rejecting it invites opposite results( inauspicious results ). [ This is not applicable to a devotee who is observing a vow of fast]

Sloka 13:
Lord Srinivasa is the creator, protector and destroyer of the three worlds. He is not touched by the three qualities( sattva, rajas and tamas) though He uses them to grant the results of prarabdha to all creatures. He neither has a begining nor has an end . He is the refuge of all sages and cannot be known even through the Vedas. He is indeed the Supreme Soul.

Sloka 14:
Lord Venkateswara with mother "Sri" is worshipped incessantly with great devotion by Brahma, Siva, Adisesha, Garuda and other gods. Truly He is the master of all jivas.

Sloka 15:
Lord Srinivasa is the master and teacher of all moving and non-moving creation. The Supreme Lord, who is an eternal witness to all, is always worshipped through japam, archana, smarana and dhyana by all devas.
[ Japam - recitation of His names.
Archana - Worshipping Him with flowers, fruits, tulasi leaves, delicious food and water.
Smarana - Thinking about His glories.
Dhyana - Concentration on His feet as an object of meditation.]

Sloka 16:
The devotee, who recites the Lord's name with his mind and life breath merged in the Lord, gets spiritual merit far greater than performing innumerable Aswamedha sacrifices, donating many cows and giving many Kanyas as a gift.

Sloka 17:
Gifting gold equal to the size of Mount Meru along with many other equivalent gifts cannot equal a single recitation of Lord's name in spiritual merit. What to speak of His wonderful glory then?

Sloka 18:
The glory of Lord's name was first told by Adisesha to the great sage Kapila. I heard the same from my teacher Kapila himself, who is a great Yogi.

Aditya Purana Antargata Sri Srinivasa Mahatmyam - 1

I will try to post some excerpts from "Aditya Purana" which are related to Sri Venkateswara. Today we will start with the first chapter. Aditya Purana has excellent devotional hymns on Sri Venkateswara, whose purpose is to highlight the glories of the Lord who is the master of Kali Yuga.
Statements in the brackets are comments that may be used to understand the essence of each sloka.
First Chapter
--------------
Sloka 1:
One cannot gain Viveka (discriminatory knowledge) without learning the puranas even if one is an expert in four Vedas and Upanishads.[ The reason being that puranas teach dharmic conduct by taking examples from the lives of great sages]

Sloka 2:
Sage Sounaka said: "Dear Suta! Please kindly expound the glories of Lord Sri Venkateswara, which you have learned by Divine grace. These glories of Lord Venkateswara bestow auspiciousness on the one who expounds and one who listens to them".

Sloka 3:
"Dear Suta! You, who is full of grace and who is learned in all sastras, should tell the story of Sri Venkateswara, which is like nectar to the hearts of deserving devotees."

Sloka 4:
Sage Suta said: "Dear Sages! Listen attentively with a devotional attitude to the auspicious story of Sri Venkateswara that I will explain now in detail as requested by all of you"

Sloka 5:
"There is no place in the whole Universe which is more auspicious than the hill Venkatachala . There is no Archa murti (worshippable form) in all the three times (present,past and future) whose glories are comparable to the Lord of Venkatachala"

Sloka 6:
" Who can describe the wonderful glories of Sri Venkateswara fully?(No one can). The glories of the Lord help the devotees to cross the ocean of Samsara by destroying their sins and by motivating them to perform auspicious deeds."

Sloka 7:
" The story of the Lord Srinivasa is wonderful and is sung by divine sages like Narada and others because of its auspicious nature. Let me sing the pristine and marvellous glories of the Lord which fulfill the desires of the devotees."

Sloka 8:
"The auspiciousness of the hill Seshachala is not seen in other piligrim places. Also the divine glory of the lord residing there is unparalleled."

Sloka 9:
"It is for this very reason that the nectar-like story of Sri Venkateswara is described in all Vedas, Puranas, Itihaasas and Agamas like Bharata."

"The Power of Prarabdha"

The story of Saint Ramadasu who lived in the 17 th century is an epitome of devotional lessons to aspirants. For people, who have not heard of Sri Ramadasu following is a short history. Saint Ramadasu was known in his early years as "Gopanna". He was born in a pious brahmin family in the deccan region of Andhra Pradesh. He was very well known for his devotion to Lord Sri Rama. Due to the influence his maternal uncles had, he joins the administration of King Tanisha(A muslim king) as a Tahsildar, a post well-known for its power. He was initiated into the Rama naama by the great Kabirdas, who also lived at the same time. Ramadas, out of his extra ordinary devotion towards Lord Sri Rama, uses the taxes collected for the people to build a temple for Lord Sri Rama in Bhadrachalam. (This temple is quite famous now and is well known for the Lord's abundant grace on the devotees who visit this place.This is located on the banks of River Godavari.) The king gets to know of Ramadasu's misuse of funds and imprisons him for 12 years. It was told by great sages that Ramadasu had improsioned a parrot in a golden cage for 12 days in his previous birth and has to pay the effects of that karma back. During his stay in prison, Saint Ramadasu had written excellent songs on Lord Rama, whose glories are unparalleled. After a frustrating 12 years in prison, which was totally dark except for a small hole at the top through which food used to be thrown, Saint Ramadasu was released from the prison in a most surprising fashion. One day when the king was asleep, he had a dream in which he sees two princes well-decorated with golden ornaments, crowns and silk clothes and who are wearing bows and arrows in their hands. The king feels astonished by the splendour that emanated from the bodies of these princes. The princes question the King as to why he had to imprison such a great soul as Ramadasu. The king informs them of Ramadasu's misuse of funds and the princes return the king the same money which Ramadasu had spent for Lord SriRama. The dream ends there and the king wakes up and finds the money next to his bed. He finds all the 1 lakh gold coins with a stamp of SriRama on each. He rushes to the prison and releases the Saint at once and restores his old position. Tanisha himself was a great soul in his previous birth and thus gets blessed with the darshan of Lord Sri Rama. He was a classic example of a Yoga Bhrasta(One who fails to follow Yoga till liberation). As rightly told in Bhagavad Gita , he becomes a rich man and even gets the darshan of the Lord in all His Supreme glory.
Now what are the lessons that an aspirant can learn from the story of Saint Ramadasu? The most important is that no one can escape prarabdha. The second lesson is that the bite of the snake called prarabdha can be experienced with less pain if devotion towards the Supreme is cultivated in one's mind. Third , the Lord's will is unchangeable and He definitely rescues His devotees when their devotion becomes ripe. Fourth, patience and steadfast devotion are keys to liberation.
Ramadasu is well-known for his excellent compositions on Lord SriRama. Each song of Ramadasu is filled with the nectar of devotion. Any one who drinks it (sings it rather) are blessed with immortality. One of his songs says that there is nothing that has a better taste than the name of SriRama (Sree Rama nee naamam ento ruchi raa). Another song is an example of the power of divine mother to quicken the process of spiritual evolution. It is in fact understood in the Sri Vaishnavite tradition that a prayer to the Lord might go fruitless but not teh prayer to the Lord's consort. The vedantic meaning of this is that the Lord is a symbol of Brahman with very few attributes and the Divine mother is the Maya that creates turbulence in the peaceful Brahman and prompts it to do creation, sustenance and destruction. Thus symbollically the Lord is useless without His divine consort(His Sakthi). The word "Sri" in Sri Vaishnavism it self signifies the priority of Divine mother Sita over Lord Rama. Sita is like a mother who requests(or forces) the father Sri Rama to fulfill the desires of devotees, His children. Ramadasu also knows this trick and puts applications to mother Sita and requests Her to recommend to Sri Rama. (Nanu brovamani cheppave Sitamma talli). Literally means "Mother Sita! Please tell your husband to save me". He also suggests her favourable times to put his application forward like when the Lord just gets up from bed and is in a pleasant mood.
Ramadasu is also famous for his use of the devotional system of "Ninda Stuti" (Praise Lord by scolding Him). In a song at the peak of his frustration , he accuses Rama of putting him to so much trouble and now keeping quiet as if nothing has happened. He lists the items like various necklaces he has made for Rama , Sita etc and questions Rama if these are gifted to Him by His father Dasaratha or His uncle Janaka. At the end of the song , he requests the Lord to pardon his sin by explaining that the Ninda is only because of the unbearable torture that he is receiving from the prison guards. Even today one can see the prison in which he was put and also the ornaments he donated to the Lord. The marriage ceremony of Sri Rama and Sita on the day of Sri Rama Navami is a feast to the eyes of the devotees. All pains related to the body, mind and soul are reduced to ashes when one withnesses the Sita Rama Kalyana. The devotinal fervour of devotees on that day takes one to Supreme realms and gives a feeling as if one has witnessed the Sita Rama Kalyana in Mithila. Even a rock sheds tears of happiness when it sees the ceremony of Rama tying mangala sutra to Mother Sita. Also the officiating priest states that the purpose of the Supreme Rama's marriage to Sita is only to bestow auspiciousness and provide potection to the three worlds.(In a normal marriage the bride groom says that the marriage is for the fulfillment of his life. )
The gist is simple:
"Catch hold of the feet of Divine mother if you seek the grace of the Divine father".