Panguni Uttiram and Prapatti

Every year we celebrate the Festival Panguni Uttiram Festival. It would of great value to know the significance of this very important festival for Sri Vaishnavas.

Firstly, this is the Avathara Dinam of Sri Mahalakshmi from the Milky Ocean during the churning for nectar, i.e. during Amritha Mathanam. As Sri Maha Vishnu had taken different Avatars from time to time, Sri Mahalakshmi’s Avatharam as part of Amruta Mathanam as mentioned in Puranas, is celebrated today.

Secondly, this is also the day of Establishment of Srirangam Temple, the Srivaishnava Capital. We all know already that Vibheeshana was installed as the King of Sri Lanka by Lord Sri Rama after the demise of his elder brothers. Sometime afterwards, Vibheeshana started for Ayodhya along with the Archa Moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha gifted to him by Lord Sri Rama. When he reached the island of Srirangam between the holy rivers of Cauvery and Kollidam, Vibheeshana performed Pujas to Lord Sri Ranganatha at the island. After the Pooja when he started, the Archa moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha could not be lifted. According to Acharyas, this is a predesigned act of Lord to make Srirangam as His Eternal Abode to bless the Bhaktas. Thus on this day, the Lord Sri Ranganatha had made Srirangam as His permanent Abode, the Bhooloka Vaikuntam. This is the reason that the Bramhotsavam at Sri Rangam takes place in the Tamil month of Panguni and on the concluding day of this Brahmotsavam, Lord Azhagiya manavala Perumal, i.e. Sri Ranganatha is seated on the same throne pedestal as the Goddess Ranganayaki in the Kalyana Mantapam of the Goddess. This Serthi seva is a very rare Darshan occurring only once in a year.

Centuries later, it was on this auspicious Panguni Uthiram Day, Swami Ramanuja, did Saranagathi at the Feet of Divya Dhampathis, Sri Ranga Nachiyar and Lord Sri Ranganatha , when they were together in the Serthi and composed and recited the famous "Gadhya Thrayam", an unparalleled work on SARANAGATHI - Total Surrender. Through this great composition, Acharya Ramanuja showed us the way to perform Saranagathi to the Dhivya Dampathis for gaining Nitya Kainkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam. .

As Lord Ranganatha sat in court with Sri Ranga Nachiar on His divine throne, SrI Ramanuja stood before Them, surrendered himself and all his belongings to the divine and begged that all his earthly sins be pardoned and that he be accepted in the service of the Divine couple. Swami Ramanuja, also out of overwhelming compassion for the humanity en-shackled by this Samsara, poured out his heart to The Divine Couple seeking deliverance to all the Bhaktas. The outcome is this nectar Saranagathi Gadya delivered for the sake of our deliverance. This is in the form of a conversation between Swami Ramanuja and The Divine Couple. The shorter SrIranga Gadyam is an abridged version of Saranagathi gadyam, a personal exposition. The ultimate goal, reward, that is purusharta for every Prapanna, in eternal service in Sri Vaikuntam is contained in SrI Vaikunta Gadyam.

The Divya Dhampathis Blessed Swami Ramanuja and accepted  Swami Ramanuja's Prapatti. Not only this, the Divya Dampathis also Blessed all those who follow the foot steps of Swami Ramanuja with an assurance that all his spiritual protégés would be accorded what was assured to him – Ref: Piratti's assurance “Asthu the, Tayaiva SARVAM Sampathsyathe”.

Thus, the assurance of acceptance was not in isolation to Swami Ramanuja alone, but to all his spiritual progeny who surrender to God and perform Prapatti. It is on behalf of all humanity that Acharya Ramanuja pleaded and we, as His spiritual heirs, can feel assured of the Lord's grace.

Thus the Day of Panguni Uttiram is the Day of Celebration of “Saranagathi / Prapatti” that was performed for us all by our Acharya Sri Ramanuja.

It is indeed a thrilling event, something out of this world, an opportunity afforded to the fortunate few, to watch hundreds of ardent Sri Vaishnava bhAgavathas recite these sacred Gadyas around midnight, in unison at SrI Rangam temple even today on Panguni Uttiram day, an event commemorating the magnificent, compassionate, uplifting vision of swami Ramanuja for all of humanity.

In celebration of the above holy events we celebrate this Grand Festival in every Sri Vaishnava Temples all over the world.

Bhaktas of Mumbai are requested to participate in large numbers on all the three days of this Grand Festival. More especially, let us all make sure we recite Gadya Trayam before the Divya Dampathis and renew our Prapatti request before the Lord.

And those who are desirous of making their contribution towards 108 Kalasa Thirumanjanam, Sri Sooktha Homam, Kalyana Utsavam, Thiruveedi Purappadu or Serthi Sevai, are requested to get in touch with the Temple office for making their Ubhayams.


Having seen the significance of Panguni Uttiram and its relevance to Prapatti, we now can, with advantage, understand what is Prapatti.


First Step to Prapatti:

We all know “Prapatti” is total surrender to God. There are many among us who have already done Prapatti to God through our Acharyas. And beyond that, every time our Acharyas visit our Temple, we see many Bhaktas coming to Acharyas seeking Samashrayanam and Bharasamarpanam for themselves. And on this holy occasion of Panguni Uttiram, which is the day of “Saranagathi” performed for us all by Acharya Sri Ramanuja, it would be very appropriate for us all to know more about this Prapatti.

Prapatti is not a simple subject that can be covered in one column of this small News Letter. The subject needs to be dealt with in its many facets. But as a first step, let us all know about the First step to Prapatti.

Simply stated, the First step to Prapatti is to acquire the Sambandha Gyanam, i.e. the knowledge on the relationship we have with Lord Sriman Narayana.

We had a very interesting write up on Cricket in the last News Letter, which indicated as to how Jeevatma and Paramatma are linked in the game of life on this earth. Here let us have another very interesting story explaining the “Sambandam” between Jeevatma and Paramatma, written by Prakritam Srimad Azhagiyasingar in an article that appeared in June 2006 issue of Sri Nrisimhapriya. Here goes the story.

In the ancient days there was a businessman in a village. He used to travel extensively, even abroad pursuing his business. Once this businessman left his village and went abroad did not return for years.

This businessman had a small child when he left home. In these long years, the child grew up to become a handsome lad, inherited his father’s property and started doing business himself. As the years passed by, once this young man also went abroad pursuing his business.

At one port, the young man purchased huge amount of goods and he approached a cloak room nearby to store his materials. There he found another old man staying with his goods in the cloak room. The young man felt there was not adequate space to accommodate the goods of both the persons. So, the young man tried to push out the old man. But the old man advised that with some adjustment, both can get accommodated. But the young man was not willing and was particular that the old man must quit.

Now in the mean time, there came a third person, who identified both the young man and the old man . He told the young person to recognise his father in the old man. The young man was taken aback in this sudden revelation and fell at the feet of the old man who was all willing to accommodate the young man.

Continuing this story, Srimad Azhagiyasingar comes forward to give names to the father and son in this story.

According to Srimad Azhagiyasingar, the Father was the Paramatma and the son was the Jeevathma. Just like the father and the son having come and stayed under one roof in this story, both the Jeevathma and Paramatma come and stay in a cloak room called our body. Thus our body is a cloak room which offers both the Jeevathma and Paramatma a place for temporary stay.

In the first instance, the Jeevatma has no knowledge that the other resident inside the body is the Paramatma. Even when Paramatma offers to accommodate him inside the cloak room, the Jeevathma refuses to deposit his hard earned materials to the care of Paramatma. Even that the Jeevatma wanted the Paramatma to get out of his way and allow him to have a free space. Now at this stage, the third person enters the scene and he is none other than the Acharya.

It is Acharya who helps the Jeevathma to recognise the Paramatma. The Acharya then tells the Jeevathma that both he and his materials actually belong to the Paramatma and that the Jeevathma has no independent entity in this world without Paramatma and that the Paramatma is the real Owner of all. With these words, the Acharya asks the Jeevatma to surrender to Paramatma and serve Him.

Having been awakened and obtained the “Sambandha Gyanam”, the Jeevathma begs pardon from Paramatma and seeks the continuous company of Paramatma in the remaining years of his life. Now, the Paramatma who was already too willing to accommodate the Jeevathma, was very glad that His son had identified Him with the help of Acharya and embraces the Jeevathma with all the affection and goodwill. Thus the first step to Prapatti is to acquire the “Sambandha Gyanam” between us and the Emperuman.

And then what are the subsequent steps?


The 2nd Step:

In the last issue, we had known the first step to Prapatti, i.e. “Sambandha Gyanam”, i.e.
We know that our father is Lord Sriman Narayan Himself and that we are all his children.
We accept the fact that all that we have in this world belongs to Him and that there is nothing that can be called as our own.

Now, after having acquired this Sambandha Gyanam, we need to proceed to the second step. The Second step to Prapatti is Aanukoolya Sankalpam. This Aanukoolya Sankalpam can be explained thus:

In the first step, we have known our Father and we have the realisation that all that we have belongs to Him. Having realised this, the next step is to obey Him. Obeying Him means, obeying His orders.

Our religion is presently known as Hindu Religion. But that is the real name of our Religion. There was a time when there was no other religion than our religion. But later on may new religions came into being after the name of the person who founded it. They were Buddhism, Christianity, etc. Thus when more religions came into existence, our own religion was identified by a name and that name was Hindu Religion.

Our religion is a way of a life. This way of life was prescribed by the Vedas. Hence the ancient name of our Religion is Vedic Religion. And these Vedas were not written by any human being. They were handed over by Lord Sriman Narayana Himself to Sri Bramha. In these Vedas the Lord Himself has prescribed the way of life we should lead. Thus every person doing Prapatti should understand that the orders of our Father, i.e. the Shaastraas are contained in the Vedas. The Lord says:

Shrutihi Smritihi mamaivaagya; Yasyamullanghya vartate
Agyanacchedi mamadrohi; Madbhakto api vaishnavaha

Meaning, “The Shrutis and Smritis convey my commands and whoever violates them goes against spiritual dictates. Even if he is my devotee, by no means he is a Vaishnava.

Thus obeying the Lord means obeying the Shaastraas. Having understood this, the term Aanukoolya Sankalpam means making a promise that we would conduct our lives in accordance with the Shaastraas. Thus promising to obey the Shaastraas is the second step to Prapatti.

The 3rd Step:

The third step to Prapatti is simple. It is yet another promise by us not to do anything which is prohibited in the Shaastraas. And this is called “Praathikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do what is prohibited by our Father, as revealed in the Shaastraas.

Thus for every one who is desirous of doing Prapatti, the important thing is to know what the Shaastras are all about.

Thus, the right way to get initiated to Prapatti is after [1] undergoing the religious teachings, [2] internalising the principles of our Religion and [3] adopting the religious way of life in day to day living. If this [1], [2] and [3] route is adopted, it would ensure that there is Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam by the Prapanna, i.e. who had done Prapatti.

Here lies the importance of Upanayanam and Samaasrayanam. The Upanayanam initiates the person to Nithya Karmas and Aanhikam, the Daily Discipline. Please refer to the Book on Aanhikam written by HH 45th Azhagiyasingar available in our Mutt. The Samaasrayanam [Sam Aasrayanam, i.e. effective refuge], on the other hand, initiates us to Mantropadesam, Bhagavad Aaradhanam and to the Rahasyas. Both these together make us ready to meet the standards prescribed for Saranagathi, viz. the Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam.

The Shaastras containing the Dos and Don’t’s can be categorized into Saamaanya Saastras and Visesha Shaastras. One may perhaps not be able to master the Visesha Shaastras. But the Samanya Shaastras are very simple and cover the Nitya Karmas which give us the discipline and regularity necessary for spiritual evolution. Similar to the routine exercises like drills and other practices that have nothing to do with war are insisted upon in the Defence Sevices to keep up the fitness of military personnel, in the same way, the Nitya Karmas make us fit for spiritual service. Hence, the minimum Aanukoolya Sankalpam that Prapannas need to do is to do Nithya Karmas like Sandhya Vandanam and Thiru Aaradhanam without fail.



Well, we have so far known the first three steps to Prapatti.

1. The first step was “Sambandha Gyanam” and understanding God as our Father
2. The second step was “Aanukoolya Sankalpam”, i.e. promising to obey the Father
3. The third step was “Praatikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do things prohibited by Father

We also discussed that the dictates of God are contained in Vedas. These were codified as Dharma Shaastraas written by our ancient Sages like Manu, Apasthamba. Gautama and Yagnavalkya. Thus these Dharma Shaastraas prescribe the DO s and DON’T s for all of us to follow. And Lord Krishna, in Bhagavat Gita endorsed these Shaastras by saying “Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam the kaaryaakaarya vyavasthithou”.

In the olden days, in Gurukulas, the Teachers used to teach the students all these Dos and Don’ts and with this learning, people used to adhere to a value based life. And this type of Gurukula Education continued for a long time. All our Purvacharyas were Gifts of this Gurukula system to our Religion. Even when the country suffered at the hands of invaders, while the whole society suffered, still the Gurukula system continued. Our Acharyas like Sri Ramanuja and Sri Vedanta Desika led a value based life even during the peak of invasion, popularly called Kalaapa Kaalam.

But the whole system of education changed with the arrival of British. The Britishers changed our Value Based Education System and replaced it with modern education system. And with the introduction of this modern education system we lost touch with our Shaastraas, and resultantly with Value Based system of Life.

In this background, there is a definite need for us to know what are the Dos and Don’ts prescribed by our sages. We shall try to bring out the Dharma Shaastras, the religious Dos and Don’ts, one by one, from the next issue of this News letter.

And now, let us get on with the subject of Prapatti and let us proceed with the next step i.e. the 4th step to Prapatti.


4th Step to Prapatti—Aakinchanyam

Sri Alavandar in his Stotra Ratnam says:
Na dharma nishtosmi; Na cha aatma vedi; Na bhaktimaan twat charanaravinde
Akinchano ananya gati: sharanya  Tawat paada moolam sharanam prapadye

He says:
I am not good in Karma Yoga; I am not good in Gyana Yoga;  Nor I am good in Bhakti Yoga. Thus having no other means to attaining Lord I surrender myself at your lotus feet in the act of saranagati.

Thus Aakinchanyam is saying, “I am a simple person and I am not good in Karma, Gyana, Bhati Yogas. Not having any other means to attain Lord [Ananya Sadatvam], I perform Prapatti.

Aakinchanyam finds a mention in Tiruvaimozhi also. Swami Nammalwar says :Notra nonbilen; Nunnarivilen”. Sri Bhattar also says in Sri Rangaraja Stavam, “Gyana Kriya Bhajana sampat akinchanoham”, i.e. I am very poor in Gyana, Karma and Bhakti Yogas.

When Acharyas themselves have pleaded Aakinchanyam saying that they are poor in Karma, Gyana and Bhakti Yogas and have opted for Prapatti, we also need plead Aakinchanyam and do Prapatti. 




While discussing Aakinchanyam,  we recalled our inability to pursue the difficult path of Karma yoga. As for Gyana Yoga, we know very well our incompetency to comprehend the correct meanings of the Vedas and perform the Karmas ordained by the Vedas. Thus we recognized that it is not only difficult to practice such Karmas like Pancha Yagnas in these days but also it would be equally impossible to perform them in the future. There we also found ourselves totally insufficient to follow the difficult Bhakthi yoga as an upayam for Moksham.

At a time when we were bewildered as to what could be the easy route for Moksha Anugraham, our Acharyas tell us that there is a simpler route (viz)., the easy to practise Upayam, i.e. Saranagathy at the sacred feet of Sriman Narayana to accomplish the same goal of attaining Moksha. Thus our Acharyas have opened this path of Saranagathi for people like us who suffer total insufficiency, i.e. Aakinchanyam.

5th Step: Maha Viswaasam

Now before we plunge ourselves into the act of Saranagathi, we have to cross the next step to it. This step, the fifth step to Prapatti, is Maha Viswaasam, i.e. an unwavering faith that the Lord endeared by our performance of Prapatthi will overlook all our deficiencies and will protect us without fail. This Maha Viswaasam assures that we are eligible for the bliss of Moksham that is normally gained through giganctic penance i.e. Bhakthi Yogam of great sages. Our Maha Viswaasam should be such that even if our blemishes would normally disqualify us for Moksham, our Prapatthi has equal power to gain the hard-earned Moksham by the adoption of the tough-to-practise Bhakthi yogam .

In fact this Maha Viswaasam should be the power behind us to make Prapatti to the exclusion of Karma, Gyana, Bhkti Yogas. This Maha Viswaasam makes us totally rely on Sriman Narayana’s souseelya gunam. Our Poorvacharyas have explained that Lord’s Souseelya Guna grants the ease of access to Him by one and all, independent of one's status , Thus we become the object of protection by the Sarvaloka Saranyan , who is bound by our Maha Viswaasam
in Him.

In this context, it would be of interest to read about the Maha Viswaasam expressed in Saint Thyagaraja’s Kritis. In his Kritis, Saint Thyagaraja says:

"I have reposed my faith ENTIRELY in You and You alone. ...I have never asked for gold or wealth for me, for I have always cherished You in my mind as my family Treasure ( kula Dhanam ).I meditate on You and have selected You alone as my object of worship . I can not bring myself to approach any others for blessing me and granting me Moksham. The people of the world think that I am a destitute and an orphan because I have no support of men . I am protected by You , the Supreme One. Who else do I need for  protection , when You are protecting me ? I have Maha Visvasam in You and stay in a state of fearlessness. I am proud that there is no one equal or greater than You. Unlike the common folk , who fail to develop faith (viswaasam ) in You due to their ignorance about Your greatness, I have fully understood Your limitless and unparalleled Mahimai . I have accordingly sought refuge in You so that You can take me in Your hand and bless me. I have always firmly believed that You are the friend of the distressed (dhinaas) and have constantly prayed to You. You alone are the God , whom I want to see. WHO IS THERE WHO COULD LIVE WITHOUT YOUR GRACE? I concede that the greatest of happiness consists in seeing You taking residence in my heart cavity."

Here we need also study Sri Vedanta Desika’s Maha Viswasam on Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha from his stotra “Kamasikashtakam”. In verse 8 of this stotra he says:

Tvayi Rakshathi Rakshakai: Kimanyai:   tvayi charakshathi Rakshakai: kimnayai:
Ithi niscchitha dhee: srayami nithyam   Nruhare VegavathI tatasrayam thvam

Here it has also to be noted that a Saranagathy performed without the Maha Viswaasam would not be fruitful. Thus please understand that performing Prapatthi should be with unflinching/unwavering Faith in Him as our Protector at all times .




Sixth Step to Prapatti

The sixth step to Prapatti is known as “Goptrutva Varanam”. Before proceeding with this important step to Prapatti, let us revisit the story of Gajendra Moksham and its analysis written by Dr. V. Sadagopan of USA, a very learned Sishya of Srimad Azhagiyasingar.

In this well known story, the elephant Gajendra went into a pond to gather flowers for the Lord's worship. At that time, his leg was suddenly grasped underwater by a crocodile. The struggle between Gajendra and the crocodile continued for 50 years and beyond. And despite maximum struggle, the elephant could not free itself from the crocodile's mighty teeth. Then he appealed to the Lord to save him. The God immediately arrived at the scene, killed the crocodile and saved Gajendra. This simple story known to us for long time is the classic example of Goptrutva Varanam. How?

The above story tells us that Gajendra was battling the crocodile for over fifty years. During these years, the elephant gained the upper hand at times and the crocodile at other times. This went on and on, at the end of which Gajendra appealed to the Lord for succour and was duly saved.  The question is, why didn't Gajendra seek the Lord's protection earlier? When he could do it at the end of fifty years and after fighting a losing battle, he could have done it pretty early on, avoiding all the pain and wasted effort!

We cannot blame the elephant Gajendra for delaying the Call to Lord, when we are doing the same thing. We labour under the mistaken notion that it is we who protect ourselves. We valiantly battle against our numerous enemies, external and internal, for a lifetime of sixty, seventy and eighty years, without realising, like Gajendra, that we are doomed to failure.

Like us, Gajendra was confident in the early years of the struggle that his own strength will pull him out of trouble. It was only when the concerted effort failed to have any effect, that he realised the impossibility of the situation and decided to appeal to the Lord for saving him. And the moment he performed Saranagati, Emperuman descended from the heavens to save him.

Here is the next aspect of this story. In this story, we are told that during the entire fifty years that he was struggling for his life and limb, the Lord did not act till the animal's cry for protection reached the Lord. Then He rushed in and saved the elephant. The question is if the Lord has boundless affection for His devotees, should He not rush to their aid the moment they are in trouble, rather than waiting for an SOS call from the afflicted person? How can the Lord callously witness all their suffering and then save them at the very end, like the policemen in cinemas who rush in after the hero has successfully battled with the gangsters?

 The answer to this lies in the following Ahirbudhnya Samhita sloka:

"Sarvagyopi hi Visvesa: sada kaarunikopi san;
Samsara tantra vaahitvaat raksha apeksham pratIkshate"

Though infinitely powerful, omniscient and merciful, the Lord, because He had given a freewill to the humans to act as the way they want, He waits for a word, just a word from the devotee, seeking His help and assistance, before rushing to his aid. That the Lord protects only those who apply to Him is further confirmed by a sloka in LakshmI Tantram:

"Aprartthito na gopayet iti tat prartthana mati:
Gopayita bhavet Evam Goptrutva varanam smritam"

The specific request to the Lord to save us, known as "Goptrutva Varanam", is one of the important elements of Saranagati, without which the Lord protects us NOT. This concept is like this. We have Supreme Court, High Court, etc. which exist to protect us from troubles. But they do not come to our rescue on their own, unless we move an application before them. And this Moving of an Application is Goptrutva Varanam in the context of Prapatti. Thus the 6th step to Prapatti is the actual Act of Saranagati before Emperuman,



Sri Andal's Thiruppavai and Prapatti

we had so far covered the Prapatti in six steps. It is to be noted that the previous first five steps are Angams to the sixth step, the actual final act of doing Saranagathi. On this holy occasion of Thiru Aadipooram, in this News letter, we shall see the guidance to Prapatti that Sri Andal gives us in Her Thiruppavai.

We can observe that in most verses of Thiruppavai, Sri Andal goes about the streets of Srivilliputthur to wake up Her friends so that all of them can approach the mansion of Nandagopa [Thiru Koil] where the Lord is engaged in Yoga nidra. The message here is that all the Bhagavathas / Bhaktas should get together and engage themselves in the worship of Lord Sriman Narayana at his Temple. Sri Andal further says that this worship should be in the form of Prapatti. And she further elaborates, thus:

1. Aanukoolya Sankalpam:

Mella Ezhundu - Ari enra Per aravam ullam pugundu - kulinrndu
Get up in the morning, allow God’s name to enter in you, feel divine
Natkale neeradi - Thooyomai vandu
Take Bath, get pure
Kallam thirandu kalandu - Ellarum Pondu
Remove all evil thoughts, Mix with other Bhagavathas; Go together to the temple
Devadi Devanai chenru sevittu
Go and prostrate before the Supreme Lord
Manathukkiniyanai paada vai thirandu - Uttaman Per paadi - Paraman adi paadi
Potri Pugazhndu - Adi Potri; Thiral potri; pugaz potri; Gunam potri
Vaayinal paadi ; Thoomalar Thoovi Thozhudu ; Manatthinal sindithu,
Pray, Sing His praise, Do archana, Meditate on Him
Varuttamum theerndu - Magizhndu
Let go of all your personal worries, Be happy and confident
Aiyamum pichaium andanaiyum kai kaati
Do Charity;

2. Praatikoolya Varjanam

Seyyadana Seyyom
We shall not do anything unbecoming

3. Maha Viswasam:

Naarayanane namakke parai [Moksham] Tharuvan –
Narayanane tharuvan; No other can give

4. Goptrutva Varanam:

Sengan Siruchiride Enmel vizhiyavo ; Kan irandum kondu engal mel nokkudiyel
- Oh Lord, Please bless us with your Kripa Drishti
Engalmel chaapam izhindu - Please remove all our sins
Yam vanda kaariyam aarayndu, aruli - Please consider our prayers, please bless us
Unnai Archithu vandom, parai tharudiyaagil—We had prayed you for Grant of Moksham

5. Visualize Sriman Narayana coming to you:
Seeriyasingam theevzhithu - veri mayirponga eppadum perndudari
moori nimirndu, muzhangi purappatu podaruma pole
Visualize that Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha comes down and blesses you

6. Then do Saranagati and Pray:

Siru kale vandu; unnai sevitthu; un potramarai adiye potrum porul kelai
We came in the morning and prayed at your lotus feet, please know our purpose.
Kutreval engali kollamal pogade - All we request is: Please accept our Kainkaryams
Etraikkum, Ezezhpiravikkum unthannodu utrome yavom
Please bless us to have uninterrupted and permanent relationship with You
Unakke Nam aatcheyvom
We shall serve you and you alone
Matrai nam kamangal matru
Please banish all other desires in us for material objects

Thus Thiruppavai is a simple enactment of Saranagathi with detailed instructions for our benefit by Sri Andal.




In conclusion, let us listen to Sri Vedanta Desika

We all know that Prapatti has to be done through our Acharyas. Therefore, no discussion on Prapatti can be complete without prostrating before our Acharyas and listening to them as to how to do Prapatti. In this context, I bring to the readers of Ahobila Vaani the guidelines of Swamy Vedanta Desika as to How to do Prapatti.

Swamy Desika mentions Prapatti as “Nyasam” and he has written a number of Granthams on Nyasa. The shortest among these is Nyasa Dasakam consisting of only 10 slokas. Let us briefly go through these 10 Slokas and benefit from the advice of Sri Vedanta Desika on How to do Prapatti.

Sloka 7:
Swamin, I realise that all that I have so far considered as mine, are actually Yours. Please therefore accept me, mine and my Kainkaryams with Your full kind heart. I have nothing more to place at your disposal since all are already Yours. ………...[ The 1st step to Prapatti]

Sloka 1:
I surrender myself at the lotus feet of Emperuman. I recognise that I am subservient to Lord. I Surrender the responsibilities for my protection to the Lord. I also surrender whatever benefits that arise because of my existence in this world to the Lord.

Sloka 2:
Swamin, I am incapable of observing any other path for Moksha and therefore I surrender before You. [Aakinchanyam] All I will say is I would perform only those duties that pleases you [Anukulya Sankalpam] and I will not violate the codes of conduct prescribed by you [Pratikulya varjanam]. I have total faith in You [Maha viswasam] and I surrender at Your lotus feet the total responsibilities for my protection with this Prayer [Goptrutva Varanam].

Sloka 3:
Swamin, You have blessed me with the Knowledge that I am now under complete protection of Sriman Narayana and You have relieved me of any worries about my protection. Swamin, You are my Lord. Whatever knowledge I have, whatever I do, whatever result they produce are all Yours and Your acts. [This is Karthrutva thyagam, mamata tyagam and phala tyagam].


Sloka 9:
I had been leading a life of sins so far. I had not been doing the Karmas prescribed for me and had been transgressing the Saastras by doing prohibited acts so far. Swamin, the power of Pardon from You alone can destroy my accumulated sins.

Sloka 8:
Swamin, You are my only protector from now on. Out of your compassion, please destroy all my accumulated sins and guide me not to commit any sin any more.

Sloka 6:
Swamin, all that I want to do from now on is flawless Kainkaryam to You in a manner that would please the Divya Dampathis.

Sloka 5:
Swamin, please guide me from now on that I do not indulge in any act that is against Saastras and also guide me to spend rest of my life doing uninterrupted service to You . Let me give up all those acts that benefit myself. Let my only goal from now on be to attain You.

Sloka 4:
Swamin, I have performed my Bhara Nyasam at Your sacred feet. Please grant me the boon of reaching Sri Vaikuntam at the end of my stay in this world so that I can move over there and do my uninterrupted Nitya Kainkaryam to You daily.

Sloka 10:
Swamin, You have Yourself caused the execution of Bhara Nyasam for me at Your sacred feet. You have now accepted the responsibilities of my protection. I am therefore freed of any worries about my protection. I will therefore lead a life of Prapanna from now onwards with all peace of mind and tranquillity. Relieved of the cycle of Samsara, I will now devote myself to the Bliss of Kainkaryam to the Divya Dampathis.

In Conclusion:

Let us all recite the above “Nyasa Dasakam” written so briefly for us by Sri Vedanta Desika, in our Daily Prayers so that we remind ourselves of the Spirit of Bhara Nyasam daily and live our lives in the same spirit daily.