MEANING:
The Horse-faced Lord worshipped as the Lord of Speech (VaagIsan) is indeed the avathAra roopam of Para VaasudEvan of Sri VaikuNtam. He instructs Brahma Devan on the VedAs and is like the unique, morning light (prAtha: SandhyA) to drive away our inner darkness. He is the matchless, sacred collyrium (anjanam) for revelation of the dhivya Jn~Anam. May this subhAsraya ThirumEni of this incarnation of Para VaasudEvan shine with in and before me always!
Swami Desikan touches on the avathAra rahasyam of Sri HayagrIva BhagavAn here since the avathAra rahasya chinthanam (reflections on the Six rahasyams underlying His incarnation) is vital for the successful completion of the Bhakthi or Prapatthi anushtAnam for Moksham without delayed phalan. In His magnum opus, Sri Rahasya Thraya Saaram (Charama SlOkAdhikAram), Swamy Desikan sums up the six rahasyams this way:
avathArasya sathyathvam ajahath svasvabhAvathA
Suddha Satthvamayathvam cha SvEcchAmAthranidhAnathA
Dharma glAnou samudhaya: Saadhu samraksdhANArTathA
Ithi Janma rahasyam yO vEtthi naasya Punarbhaav:
MEANING:
(1) Our Lord’s incarnations (avathArams) are real. (2) They happen without any dimunition in His svabhAvam. (3) These avathArams are constituted by Suddha Satthva Dhravyam. (4) These avathArams happen because of our Lord’s own volition (Sankalpam). (5) These avathArams take place, when there is even the slightest harm to dharmam in His world. (6) The avathArams of the Lord are intended for the protection of His BhakthAs. Those who reflect on these six inner meanings of the reasons behind the Lord’s avathArams do not get rebirth ( na Punarbhava: ).
When Swami Desikan salutes Sri HayagrIva-BhagavAn in the fourth paadham of this slOkam as “VaaghIsAkhyA VaasudEvasya Moorthy:”, He wants us to remember the avathAra Rahasyam of Sri Nru-Turanga HayagrIvan (The avathAram with human body and a horse’s face). This HayagrivAvathAram came about to save Brahma Devan, who had lost the VedAs to two asurAs. Bhagavan incarnated to punish those asurAs (Madhu KaiDapan). Out of His own sankalpam, without the least dimunition in His svAbhAvIka-kalyANa guNams, Para VaasudEvan took on the Suddha Sathva Drvya maya svarUpam of HayagrIvan and came to the rescue of Brahma Devan and helped him continue with his assigned duty of creation (Srushti karmA).
In this avathAram, Para VaasudEvan has the face of a horse (Vaaji Vakthra:). He stays as the Supreme God of Learning and instructs Brahma Devan on the four Vedams that are essential for him to continue his srishti karmAs. Brahma Devan pleaded with the Lord to restore the VedAs from the two asurAs, which the Lord did effortlessly. Swamy Desikan prays for that illustrious avathAra Moorthy (HayagrIvan) to shine always in his mind and in front of him with the words of the third and fourth paadhams of this fourth slOkam:
“VakthrI VedAn Bhaathu mE Vaaji VakthrA VaaghIsAkhyA VaasudEvasya Moorthy:”
Vaikunta Vaasi Sri D.Ramaswamy Iyengar quotes in this context the Upanishadic passage dealing with the extraordinary effect of the darsana soubhAgyam of the Para Brahmam. All the knots of confusion are broken apart and free one to receive and benefit from the full range of Vedic wisdom (True Jn~Anam).
With the fifth slOkam set in the UpajAthi metre, the SthOthram proper is said to start and goes up to slOkam 31 followed by the DhyAna slOkam (32nd SlOkam set in MandhaakrAnthA metre) and concludes with the Phala Sruthi SlOkam (33) set in the AaryA metre.
Earlier, adiyEn indicated that the sthuthi of Lord HayagrIvan starts from this Fifth SlOkam. Here, Swamy Desikan proclaims his Prapatthi to that “VaaghIsAkhyA vaasudevasya murthy:”
Source
To be continued…
