tanna makkaLa kuMda tAne peLuvadakke

mannadi nAchi mahalakShumi

tannAmadiMdali kareyade obbobara
unnata doShagaLaneNisidaLu ||16||
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Another view of the same verse . (verse 16 was posted already)
SriMahalakshmi, being the mother of all the devathas was hesitant to explicitly
state the reasons why she would choose to marry the Lord only. Instead of
listing the names of the different people present there and their most
prominent faults, she lists only the faults without pointing any fingers.
This is a good pointer for all of us. One should avoid blaming people .If at all
faults are gleaned then it should be only to help us avoid making similar
mistakes.
For Mahalakshmi the reason is entirely different. She is nitya avikAralu and
nitya muktalu. She does not need to learn anything from anyone else’s
mistakes. Even then she lists out the defects. Why ? It is because she wants to
highlight the superiority of Lord Vishnu and to recollect His auspicious guNas
which are opposite to these doshas of the people present. Taking every
opportunity to recount the guNas of the Lord is Mahalakshmi’s earnest joy. This
is told by Sri Jagannatha Dasaru in HKS 1.2
Jagadudarana ativimala guNarUpagalanAlochanadi
bharata nigama tatigalatikramisi kriyA visheshagaLa
bhage bhageya nutanava kAnuta mige harushadim pogali higguva
triguNa mANi mahAlakumi saMtais anudinadi
The Lord who keeps the entire creation in His belly during dissolution
has extremely special guNas which if reflected upon with complete surrender
gives bliss to the devotee. Sri Mahalakshmi is the highest devotee of the Lord
and she contemplates on special and astounding glories which are not even
told in the Mahabharata or Vedas. She always finds the recollection to be fresh
and enjoys singing and derives complete satisfaction from this. She is the
controller of the triguNas of prakrithi which cause the universe to function.
Dasaru is seeking Her grace everyday to obtain the peace of mind necessary
for the study and contemplation of the Lord’s auspicious attributes and forms.
Usually when we see a defect in a person, we tend to list out people who
are close to us who don’t have such a defect and feel gratified. Sri Mahalaksmi
is already aware of the presence of infinite auspicious attributes and lack of
any doshas in the Lord. Then why does she need to highlight a defect in some
else andobtain gratification from the knowledge that Her Lord does not have
this dosha. This is because it is what a normal sadhaka knows. To understand a
good thing and recognise it we should clearly something opposite of it. Then
we understand the true import of the goodness.
To ensure that all the sadhakas understand the defectless nature of the
Lord correctly and beyond doubt, Sri Mahalakshmi identifies the dosha of the
people present without naming them, and thereby highlights a corresponding
special attribute of the Lord whom she is going to choose in the swayamwara.
It is a form of justification for the choice she has already made . ( Sri
Vadirajaru has clearly mentioned that she is married already by mentioning the
mangala sutra and kaluMgura in the earlier stanzas).
In general, the mind is elevated if it is fed with positive inputs. It drops down if
fed with negative thoughts. Defects of other people are the most negative
thoughts ever, so the point here is not to highlight the person who has the
defect mentioned, but to highlight the Lord’s glory.

kelavaru taleyUri tapagaidu puNyava

gaLisiddarenU phalavilla
jvalisuva kopadi shApava koDuvaru
laleneyanivaru olisuvare ||17||
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Sri Lakshmi says, “Some people stand on their head and do tapas and
earn a lot of merit. But what is the use of such merit if it is used to curse
others? “ Such kind of people should be shunned by maidens looking for a
suitable match?
Here the term maidens is used and not in singular as it should be if she
was talking about only herself. Then does it imply that she is talking of other
maidens out to seek the hands of suitable bridegrooms ? Thinking a little we
make the comparison that the Lord is the chosen bridegroom of all mukthi
yogya souls and all the souls are the brides. The state of mukthi is seeking the
grace of the all benevolent Lord and it should be sought by all eligible jivas–
male or female.
Many of us have the question? Why should we contemplate on Lord
Vishnu and surrender ourselves to this supreme Lord only. Why not on any
other deity of our choice? For this:
Sri Mahalakshmi is saying that if at all you want to select a person to
surrender to, then select one who has no defects. Offer all your prayers to the
One Supreme Lord who has no defects. In this padya, one of the defects of
many other deities is discussed. Cursing others due to some kind of violation of
their mental, physical or spiritual space. Of what use is to woo such a deity
who could curse you, one fine day?
Doing tapas and earning merit is good only if such merit is used for the
benefit of others and not vice-versa. The Lord is the only person who innately
has all the merit . He has no need to do any tapas yet He creates the world
and gives the prerane to the eligible souls to do the tapas and makes them do
the tapas . He is most tolerant .
A question arises : Has He not cursed anyone? There is an instance where He
curses Jaya and Vijaya ,His doorkeepers to take three births in the bodies of
daityas. Then how can it be called a guNA ? There are many reasons for this :
1. It is not for any selfish reason. Defects arises due to selfish desires. Deeds
done with good of the world, or the good of the virtuous are virtuous deeds
,indeed. He did not curse them because he felt any injustice against Himself
but because it is against His true devotees –Sanakadi rishis
2. He uses them as the instrument to show the entire creation that He will
not tolerate any slight towards His devotees. The Lord shows by example the
special significance of certain tatvas which would be just theory if not enacted
out.
3. He blesses them with great merit after they serve their term. Being with
the daityas and having no control over the wrongdoings but tolerating
everything because it is God’s will is a tapas which was undertaken forcibily by
Jaya and Vijaya. Generally the mukthi yogya swabhava of a soul dictates the
liking to good thoughts, good people and good actions . For such souls of a
high order of yogyathe as Jaya and Vijaya it would have been extremely
punishing to experience the hatred of the Lord sitting in the same body as the
daityas. They tolerate this and earn a lot of merit because they are in tune
with the Lord’s will and are willing to play by His rule.
There is no instance where He curses anyone because of their violation into
His space. He only shows His anger against the people who are against the
mode of good virtues. He did not get angry and curse “Brigu muni who kicked
the chest of the Lord.” The underlying reason of Brigu was pure. He wanted to
establish the supremacy of Lord Vishnu and hence was a true devotee of God.
Far from cursing His devotees,he in fact, helps His devotees overcome the
curses. There is an incident in the Vana parva of Mahabharatha. During the
vanavasa of the Pandavas ,Durvasa came there with his entire retinue of sages
with the intention to partake of a great feast even though he knew that they
were penniless and in the forest. This was connived by Duryodhana who
wanted them to bear the brunt of a curse by Durvasa. Draupadi prayed
intensely to Lord Krishna and He asked Draupadi for some food from the
akshya pAtra (inexhaustible pot of food) and she gave Him just a little of what
was left after lunch. He ate it and made the entire group of sages including
Durvasa experience the feeling of satiety after a sumptuous meal. He saved
the pandavas from the curse of Durvasa. He is always waiting to protect His
devotees . He forgives the faults of His true devotees and makes them
overcome these faults by setting up suitable experiences. Such is the
greatness of the Lord whom , Mahalakshmi is wooing.