Swetha Sundaram's Blog, page 9

Venkatanathanum Thiruvenkadamudayanum - part 2

Continued From : http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/09/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum.html



kaNNan adiyiNai emakku kaattum veRpu *kaduvinaiyar iruvinaiyum kadiyum veRpu *thiNNamidhu veedenna thihazhum veRpu *theLindha perum theerththangaL seRindha veRpu *puNNiyaththin puhal idhena pugazhum veRpu *ponnulahil bOgamellaam puNarkkum veRpu *viNNavarum maNNavarum virumbum veRpu *vEnkata veRpena viLangum vEdha veRpE. Swami Desikan’s Tribute To Pei Azhwar and Thirumahizai Piran
In the above pasuram on Tiruvenkatam, Swami eulogizes the holy hills as the divine mountain which reveals to us the thiruvadi of Lord Srinivasa. The word ‘verpu” means mountain in the Tamil language. Although the most commonly used word for mountain in Tamil is “Kunram”, Swami Desikan has purposefully used the word “verpu”. Swami Desikan was inspired by Sri Pei Azhwar who used this very word in moondram thiruvandhadhi. Azhwar held a special place in Swami Desikan’s heart. The following pasuram is dedicated by Swami Desikan to Mudhal Azhwars. In this pasuram, he addresses Sri Poigai Azhwar as “punitha” ; “the one who is pure”, Sri Bhutat Azhwar as “vende” meaning “the emperor” but, he specifically refers to Sri Pei Azhwar as “Deve” meaning “divine being”. 
Pei Azhwar captured the heart of Swami Desikan because, he was the first Azhwar to sing in Nayika Bhavam in the 69th pasuram of moondram thiruvandhadhi. He set the trend for the other Azhwars to sing in Nayika Bhavam.
 

In the above pasuram, Azhwar sings as the Nayaki’s mother who comments that, the moment her daughter hears someone utter the word “mountain”, she immediately starts to sing the praise of Tiruvenkatam. Thirumahizai Piran, the disciple of Sri Pei Azhwar, also used the word “verpu” in the 40th pasuram of Naanmugan thiruvandhadhi while singing about the glories of Tiruvenkatam.

 

Thus, inspired by both Pei Azhwar and Thirumazhisai Azhwar, Swami Vedanta Desikan has also used the word “verpu” in his pasuram on Tiruvenkatam. By using this particular word, Swami Desikan has made us to recall the Vaibhavam of Sri Pei Azhwar and Sri Thirumahizai Piran.
To Be ContinuedContinued On:
 


 

Venkatanathanum Thiruvenkadamudayanum - Part 1

Introduction
The holy hills of Tirumala have been eulogized in the Vedas as the divine hills capable of burning our sins. The hills are sacred because, Perumal Himself is considered to be the Tiruvenkatam hills. Thirumoolar in his padigam, “Venkadanathanai -Vedantha koothanai” acknowledges the fact that, Perumal Himself is the holy hills of Tirumala as well as the great acharyan Swami Vedanta Desikan who playfully taught Vedanta to even the common people. Swami Vedanta Desikan named as Venkatanathan by his parents, is the incarnation of the divine bell “ganta” of Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala. It is impossible to not think about Swami Vedanta Desikan while focusing our mind on Lord Srinivasa and vice versa as, they are but one and the same. 
Swami Desikar kannan kolam - ThiruvaheendrapuramSwami Desikan has written many Sri Sukthis and prabandhams in both Sanskrit and Tamil. Each word composed by swami Desikan when analyzed, yield a variety of meaning which help us to understand our SrI Vaishnava philosophy with great ease. Not only are the Sri Sukthis rich with philosophical explanations but, the beauty of the composition focused on the description of the auspicious qualities of the lord, makes them enjoyable. In this essay, we will analyze just one line from a pasuram composed by Swami Desikan in order to see how Swami Desikan experienced Dasavataram of Lord Narayanan in Tiruvenkatam. 
To Be Continued
Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/09/venkatanathanum-thiruvenkadamudayanum_19.html

In Pursuit Of Happiness Part 1

The one thing every living being has in common with each other is that, everyone is in search of happiness. The definition of happiness varies according to the needs of each person. For the same person too, happiness or what they consider to be bliss, varies with each moment in time.
Every deed we do in this world is with the intent of gaining the perfect state of perpetual happiness. Some chase money in the hopes that immense wealth will confer upon them unlimited bliss. We surround ourselves with luxurious items for the same reason. Others focus on their family and friends for, what more can a person want than being surrounded by loved ones ? And then, there are those people for whom being healthy is the mantra for attaining happiness. The fourth category of people would advocate having it all; health, love and wealth as the supreme formula to gain happiness. Thus, we spend every moment of our lives, in the pursuit of happiness. But, is there such a thing called perpetual bliss?
Can a wealthy person, experience everlasting happiness? A person may be wealthy, but, wealth alone cannot confer a calm state of mind which is needed to experience happiness. Their homes may resemble paradise, but, they are bogged down by numerous worries. From taxes to investments to business meetings , there probably is not a single moment left for them to savour the things which they cherish the most. Also, what is the use of unending wealth if the person is sick or lacks the warmth offered by a loving family? The truth is , no one on Earth can ever experience such a state of perpetual bliss. We may be blessed with a good life, but, we do face at least small distress on a regular basis. The day the C-Train broke down in the tunnel, the day we couldn’t find a seat on the train, the moment when the computer crashed, causing all unsaved data to be lost, we are swamped on all sides by mosquitoes on our evening walk, the day when we were bitten by a wasp… or the constant worry we face about the economy which affects our livelihood, and so the list goes on. Above all, there is our basic fear of death. We know very well that we are mortals and our time on Earth must come to an end one day.
Our enjoyments are also limited by time. For how long can we continue to savour the taste of that perfect scoop of double chocolate ice cream? For how long can we continue to listen to our favourite music album over and over again? After a while, it is natural for us to get tired of doing the things we cherished the most. We are hence forced to return to our initial question. Is there such a thing called perpetual bliss?
The ancient Hindu texts called the Vedas do define perpetual bliss. The portion of the Upanishadic text called Anandavalli describes the perfect level of happiness which can be achieved by a person. To define everlasting happiness, the Anandavalli describes the level of joy experienced by each type of being. There are many types of beings who reside in this Universe as we will shortly see. The Upanishad starts by defining the perfect state of joy a human being can experience. This is taken as the base and the level of delight felt by other types of beings are expressed in terms of human joy.
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Kenopanishad Part 5

 Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/02/kenopanishad-part-4.html
http://anudinam.org/2014/07/26/thirumaliruncholai-sri-kallazhagar-aadi-brahmothsava-patrikai/Why did Parvati Devi come to explain about the Lord and not Goddess Sri Devi?  ‘Uma’ refers to Goddess Lakshmi as well as Parvati. The Upanishad says ‘Uma’ came. It is taken as Goddess Parvati because Goddess Lakshmi is always present with the Lord and was there even when He appeared as Yakshan; hence, her words would not be taken as being impartial. All the Devas praised Devendran since he was the only one who was able to learn about the identity of the Yakshan.
Conclusion:
Brahmam is like a flash of lightening. It appears and disappears in a flash. He is like mind; never at one place.
The Brahmam is called a ‘Vanam’. Thirumalirumcholai Azhagar is called as ‘vanam’ and the hill is known as ‘Vanachalam’. The word ‘Vanam’ means desired by all. Anyone who meditates upon Brahmam as ‘vanam’ will be loved by all. 


After the acharyan concluded his lecture, the disciple wished to learn about the secret teachings.The acharyan confirmed the instructions provided so far are part of the secret teachings. The acharyan further agreed to teach the disciple on the way to retain the knowledge provided by the instruction.
‘To practice devotion, i.e. bakthi Yoga, you have to sit on a tripod. The study of the Vedas along with all its angas form one leg of the tripod; control of ones senses and the performances of duties prescribed by the shastra are the other two legs. The tripod has to be placed on level ground to provide stable support. The level ground is speaking the truth and being truthful. If Bakthi yoga is practiced by sitting on this tripod, emancipation can be attained.’Anyone who learns this Upanishad attains the Supreme Swarka Lokam which is called Sri Vaikuntham full of unlimited bliss and will get the opportunity to perform eternal service to lord Sriman Narayana.
Concluded
Reference:This series is based on the notes adiyen took after listening to the discourse in Tamil on Kenopanishad by Sri U.Ve.Karunakarachariar Swamin. This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil please refer to the following link to listen to the original discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wBXKT9cCQoI have done my best to take notes with due diligence; any error(s) in the series is because of my mistake only. I apologize in advance for any errors that I have made while writing this series

Kenopanishad Part 4

Continued From:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/02/kenopanishad-part-3.html
The acharyan narrated an anecdote to explain the grace of the Lord and His supremacy. ‘Once, the Devas defeated the Asuras in a war. The Devas celebrated their victory.
‘Look at how we made the Asuras run for their lives!’ they exclaimed. ‘They did not dare to face our power!’The Lord realized that the Devas had given rise to false ego (ahamkaram). He felt bad for them and wanted to teach them a lesson as, false ego causes down fall. Out of compassion, to protect the Devas, He took a giant form and stood in the form of a Yakshan blocking their path.The Devas were returning to their homes when they saw the huge Yakshan. The moment they saw Him, they were overcome with fear.‘Who do you think that person is?’ they asked each other. ‘We shouldn’t celebrate till we make sure that this person is not an Asuran who has come to avenge the defeat of his friends.’‘Agni,’ called their chief Devendran. ‘Please go over to that huge person and find out who he is.’Agni started towards the place where the Yakshan was standing as tall as a huge mountain.  As Agni neared the Yakshan he started to feel scared. He couldn’t bring the courage to interrogate the Yakshan. The Yakshan understood Agni’s fear and to start the conversation rolling, He asked Agni, ‘who are you?’‘I am Agni’, replied Agni with trepidation. ‘I have the power to burn anything.’‘Really? Can you burn this blade of grass?’‘Sure!’ answered Agni looking at that insignificant blade of grass. He then used his power to reduce the grass to ashes, but in spite of his efforts the grass remained green.Accepting defeat Agni returned to his companions. ‘I was unable to find any information about Him. He asked me to burn a blade of grass, but affected by some magic, I couldn’t reduce it to ashes!’‘Vayu,’ called Devendran. ‘You are the strongest amongst us. Find out about the Yakshan for us.’Vayu now approached the Yakshan. As before the Yakshan asked, ‘who are you?’‘I am Vayu and I can blow anything!’‘Can you blow this blade of grass?’Vayu looked at the tiny blade of grass. He blew with all his strength, but was unable to even move the grass by a few millimetres. Vayu accepted defeat and returned to his companions. ‘I myself will go and gather information’, said Devendran. As Devendran approached the Yakshan, the Yakshan vanished from their view!We would wonder why the Lord as Yakshan did not test Devendran. The reason was because, Devendran is the leader of the Devas. The Lord appointed Devendran as the ruler of the Devas and it would be a bad management technique to humiliate the leader in front of his followers.‘Where did this person go?’ murmured Devendran as he searched for the Yakshan. At that moment he saw Parvati Devi approach him. Parvati Devi is the epitome of Brahma Vidhya. Devendran paid his obeisance to Parvati Devi and inquired about the Yakshan.‘Para Brahmam came in the form of a Yakshan to teach you a lesson’, said Parvati Devi. ‘You had mistook His victory as your victory. It was because of His sankalpam that you could defeat the Asuras. You did not understand this and mistakenly believed that you had defeated the Asuras because of your powers! It is the Lord who gives you your powers.’The Devas immediately understood their error. They glorified the Lord for coming to them in the form of a Yakshan to help them understand their mistake,’ the acharyan concluded the narration.Why did Parvati Devi come to explain about the Lord and not Goddess Sri Devi? Reference:This series is based on the notes adiyen took after listening to the discourse in Tamil on Kenopanishad by Sri U.Ve.Karunakarachariar Swamin. This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil please refer to the following link to listen to the original discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wBXKT9cCQoI have done my best to take notes with due diligence; any error(s) in the series is because of my mistake only. I apologize in advance for any errors that I have made while writing this series

Kenopanishad Part 3

 Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/01/kenopanishad-part-2.html


In the second part the acharyan continued his lecture and said that, ‘if you think you know everything about Brahmam then also you have learnt very little about Brahmam.  Like a journey which never ends , the research into understanding Brahmam is a never ending process. ‘To this the disciple confirmed that he has understood in the last two words of the above slokam by saying, ‘manye vidhitam.’Except the last two words, the rest of the slokam is by the acharyan. This is evident because, the acharyan asks if the student has understood by asking ‘manyase’ which is in 2nd person. To this the student’s reply is given in first person as ‘I have understood’ which is shown by the word ‘manye’.The one who knows Brahmam as ‘only this’ doesn’t know Brahmam but, the one who realizes that he can’t know everything about Brahmam attains Brahmam.The above statement gives rise to a doubt. How is very little knowledge about Brahmam sufficient to attain Moksham?The above statement seems equivalent to passing an examination by writing answers to only one question. The above statement is true because the Supreme Lord is like a liberal examiner and He grants us moksham out of compassion even when we don’t know everything.There are 32 Brahma Vidhyas. To practice Bakthi Yoga at least one of the Brahma Vidhya must be practiced. Each Brahma Vidhya requires the contemplation of the Lord’s six main attributes along with an attribute specifically mentioned by that Brahma Vidhya. For example, the Sandilya Vidhya instructs the worshipper to see everything as Brahman. As the person practicing this Brahma Vidhya sees Brahmam as the antaryami of all, he shouldn’t have any quarrel with anyone. Every kind of fragrance should be visualized as emanating from Brahmam, every deed should be visualized as being done by Brahmam and this Brahmam should be understood to have Sri Vaikuntham as His abode. Along with above qualities the worshipper should also meditate upon the following basic six qualities of Brahmam.The practitioner of Brahma Vidhya knows that, Brahmam is Satyam because, it neither grows nor decays. Our body is not satyam since it undergoes changes. Brahmam is full of bliss anandham.Brahmam is full of countless numbers of auspicious attributes and is free from negative qualities. This is known as amalatvam.Brahmam is knowledgeable. Brahmam is the Lord of Sri.The nithyasuris and mukthatmas also have qualities like anandam, gnanam, satyam, amalatvam etc, but these qualities exist in them because the Lord has blessed them with these qualities.Constant meditation upon the qualities of Brahmam without a break in concentration should be like the steady flowing stream of oil. Such meditation will grant emancipation.As Bakthi Yoga, which has been described above is very hard to follow, it is sufficient to practice prapatti. The main thing to know is that Lord Sriman Narayanan is our only saviour. We should lead a carefree life by serving the Lord and by not going after dharmam, artham and kamam. By being truthful and performing our prescribed duties, we can attain Him.The Lord is the means as well as the end. He is the one who makes us victorious. While people find it easy to blame the Lord when they are defeated, no one thanks the Lord when they are victorious. To illustrate this, following story is narrated by the Upanishad.Reference:This series is based on the notes adiyen took after listening to the discourse in Tamil on Kenopanishad by Sri U.Ve.Karunakarachariar Swamin. This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil please refer to the following link to listen to the original discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wBXKT9cCQoI have done my best to take notes with due diligence; any error(s) in the series is because of my mistake only. I apologize in advance for any errors that I have made while writing this series
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Kenopanishad Part 2

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2015/01/kenopanishad-part-1.html


The acharyan states in the above manthram that he doesn’t know about the Supreme Being. He further adds that, he doesn’t even know how to explain why or how he doesn’t know about the Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Being is different from all that which is known as well as unknown, but, the one who controls the senses is the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Being is not the one worshipped by the world as the Supreme Lord. The above statements have been misinterpreted by many. Some said that, since the Supreme Brahman is not an object of knowledge, there is no God or Supreme Being. Some others said that since the Supreme Being is not that which is being worshipped by the world, don’t look for Brahmam externally, but, look within oneself and know that I/You are Brahman. Sri Rangaramanuja Muni known as the Upanishad Bashyakarar provided the perfect explanation. The above Upanishadic statement says that, Brahmam cannot be controlled by our senses, but, our senses are under Brahmam’s control. Also, the Upanishdad cautions us to not limit Brahmam to a form that is being worshipped as it cannot be limited to a single form. Anyone who says this here is Brahmam does not know anything about Brahmam.Reference:This series is based on the notes adiyen took after listening to the discourse in Tamil on Kenopanishad by Sri U.Ve.Karunakarachariar Swamin. This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil please refer to the following link to listen to the original discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wBXKT9cCQoI have done my best to take notes with due diligence; any error(s) in the series is because of my mistake only. I apologize in advance for any errors that I have made while writing this series
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Kenopanishad Part 1

Kenopanishad Introduction:

The Kenopanishad Upanishad is called so because it begins with the word “Kena”. This Upanishad is one of the dasopanishad. The translation of the following manthram from Rig Veda provides the summary of the Kenopanishad. The meaning of the following manthram will help us to understand this Upanishad properly.



Gaayanthi twa gayathrinau rchadyarkamarkina: IBrahmaanastwa shathakrata udwamshamiva yaemirae IIThe verbatim meaning of the first verse in the above manthram is, “Oh Indra! Those who know Sama vedam sing your praise; those who know Rig vedam worship you; those who know Yajur vedam and have performed 100 yagams praise you and all these people make you magnificent with their praise.”There are two commentaries for the Vedas. These commentaries are rendered by Bhatta Bhaskarar and Sayanachar. The above hymn is directed towards Indran. Both scholars agree that “Indran” referred by the hymn is Lord Narayanan. Indra refers to a person who is wealthy and there is none who is wealthier than Sriyapathi Lord Sriman Narayanan. Thus, the above verse refers to the Supreme Brahmam, Lord Sriman Narayanan as Indran.Bhatta Bhaskarar said that, the word ‘wamsham’ in general refers to lineage and also to bamboo shoot. He said that in the above verse, wamsham refers to bamboo shoot. The word “wamsham” is used in the above hymn to indicate that, the Lord’s glory grows like a bamboo shoot when we eulogize Him. Sayanachar explained the above manthram by stating that, the Lord’s glory is uplifted like the growth of a good lineage. The explanations provided by both scholars are not very convincing as, how can any one of us be capable of increasing the glory of the Supreme Lord? The actual meaning of the word ‘wamsham’ is given by Swami Vedanta Desikan in ‘Varadaraja Panchasat’. 
Swami Desikan says that, he doesn’t know how to praise the Supreme Lord. Swami compares his knowledge to that of the insignificant light emitted by a glow worm. Hence, he asks the Lord to bless him with the knowledge as well as words needed to sing the praise of the Lord. Swami states that, the Lord created every one of us to serve Him. Thus, if He doesn’t give us the ability needed to serve Him, the purpose of creating us is not met. Swami says that the Lord produced music by playing the flute. The flute by itself does not have the capacity to produce music like that, we don’t have the capacity to serve the Lord; the Lord has to play us like the flute to give us the capabilities required to serve Him.With the help of the above explanation by Swami Vedanta Desikan, we can translate the above vedic verse as, “those who know Sama vedam sing your praise; those who know Rig vedam worship you; those who know Yajur vedam and have performed 100 yagams praise you and they do so because, you made them praise you by playing them like the flute.”Swami Vedanta Desikan requests the Lord Ranganatha to play him like the conch. He asks Lord Srinivasa to play him like the veena and he prays to Lord Varadaraja to play him like the flute.Let us keep in mind the explanation provided by Swami Vedanta Desikan while studying Kenopanishad.
Mannargudi Rajagopala Perumal Mohini Alankaram
Kenopanishad Question 1: Kenopanishad is in the form of question and answer. The answer to the first question asked by the disciple to his guru is provided in the above paragraphs. The disciple asked four questions in the first manthram as shown below.
By whom is the mind urged to flow towards the object of its desire? At whose bidding does the chief prana proceed to do its function? Who incites people to utter words? By whom is the eye and ear directed to see and hear?

The acharyan answered the disciple’s query. He said that, “the ear, mind, prana, speech and eye are directed by the one who is ear of ear, mind of mind, speech of speech, prana of prana, and eye of eye. By knowing Him as the Supreme Being and being devoted to Him we can attain emancipation by traveling via the archiradhi marga.There is someone who controls the sense organs by giving them power but, He cannot be perceived by the senses. He cannot be known by ears, eyes, speech or mind. He controls all but He cannot be controlled; if you understand this, and then stay devoted to Him, you will achieve emancipation.”This Upanishad explains what is meant by “can’t be known”. 
We will continue with the acharyan’s reply in the next post.
Reference:This series is based on the notes I took after listening to the discourse in Tamil on Kenopanishad by Sri U.Ve.Karunakarachariar Swamin. This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil please refer to the following link to listen to the original discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wBXKT9cCQoI have done my best to take notes with due diligence; any error(s) in the series is because of my mistake only. I apologize in advance for any errors that I have made while writing this series .
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Srimadh Bagawatham - Janamejaya’s Snake Sacrifice.

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/12/srimadh-bagawatham-description-of.html



Janamejaya’s Snake Sacrifice.Parikshit son Janamejayan came to know about the curse which killed his father. ‘The curse specifically stated that my father was to be bitten by Takshakan not die due to the bite. When this is the case, why didn’t anyone try to revive my father?’ asked King Janamejayan.‘There was one Brahmana who tried to appear by your father’s side so that he can cure Takshakan’s bite but Takshakan met this Brahman en-route, bribed him with gold and prevented the Brahmana from coming to your father’s aide.’‘How cruel! It was very spiteful of Takshakan. Because of Takshakan’s spite, I had to suffer without a father. Such mean minded and cruel personalities should be removed from earth. Help me perform an abhijara yagnam to kill all snakes!’Thus the Brahmins helped Janamejaya perform the snake sacrifice in which thousands of snakes were burnt alive. Takshakan was afraid for his life. He rushed to Swarka Lokam and sought the protection of Devendra. ‘Have all the snakes including Takshakan been burnt?’ asked Janamejayan.‘Takshakan is nowhere to be found. It looks like he is under the protection of Devendra.’‘If Devendra will not release Takshakan to us, throw both Devendra and Takshakan in to the fire!’ said Janamejayan.Devendran immediately pushed Takshakan to fall down into the sacrificial fire in order to save himself from being burnt by Janamejayan.At that moment a young Brahmachari rishi called Astikar appeared. Astika’s  father was Jaratkaru an old sage. Jaratkaru decided to spend the rest of his life as a Brahmachari without getting married. One day he saw his deceased ancestors hanging upside down over a pit. ‘Why are you hanging upside down over this pit?’ he asked them.‘We can be freed if you got married and had a son.’‘I promise to marry if the girl has the same name as me.’Jaratkaru searched far and wide but did not find any girl named as Jaratkaru.Vasuki the serpent king came to know about the sage’s vow. He had a sister named Jaratkaru. Vasuki approached the sage and offered the hand of his sister Jaratkaru in marriage.Vasuki had heard a prophecy that his sister Jaratkaru would marry a sage and their son would prevent the impending sarpa-bali yagnam.After a few days sage Jaratkaru decided to leave his wife.‘You are leaving me now, is there any prospect of progeny?’ she asked him to which he replied ‘there is; asti’ in Sanskrit.Thus, the boy was named Astika. Astika praised the sacrifice and sought a boon from Janamejayan. All the other rishis at Janamejayan’s sacrifice, requested the king to grant boon to Astikar. Astikar asked Janamejayan to stop the sacrifice and save Takshakan. As Janamejayan had promised to grant any boon to astikar, he stopped the sacrifice and thus Takshakan was saved. As many rishis had gathered at the sacrificial ground, Janamejayan requested Sage Vaisampayanar to narrate the Mahabharata.Esoteric Interpretation:  Per Sri Narayan Aiyyangar in his book , "The Essays on Indo Aryan Mythology", snakes represent evil tendencies. Janamejaya's killing the snakes means his killing the evil tendencies. Sage Jaratkaru means old poet i.e, an enlightened soul. His wife Jaratkaru is the Brahma Vidhya or faith. They get Paramatma as their son Astika. The son is named Astika because of the belief of the Sage in the Lord’s existence. Once Janamejaya has killed evil tendencies, the son Astika appears before Janamejaya. Takshaka as we have seen in the esoteric explanation of Parikshit’s curse is Moksham or final death. Thus Takshaka saved represents liberation granted to Janamejaya.Thus, Srimadh Bagawatha Sapthaham begins with curse of Parikshit and ends with the sarpa-bali yagam of Janamejayan!Concluded