SWAMI TATTVAVIDANANDA SARASWATI
Excerpts from the book, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stōtram with the commentary Tattva Prakāśikā by Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati, D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 2002
Dakṣiṇāmūrti is an incarnation of Lord Siva. The Lord has many names like Siva, Vishnu etc. The Lord is called Siva because he is maṅgaḷa svarūpa, that is, all auspiciousness. The Lord is also called Vishnu, because of being sarva vyāpaka, all-pervading. The entire universe has got its existence in īśvara. Hence īśvara is called Vishnu.
Dakṣiṇāmūrti is an incarnation of the Lord. Every incarnation has a special purpose. Jīva, the individual, takes birth by virtue of karmas performed in earlier lives. Those karmas of the Jīva that have matured bring forth a life form
for the Jīva; that of a human being or any other life form. In the case of īśvara, the situation is entirely different. Īśvara takes up a life form by his own will (sv®cchā), for accomplishing a special purpose. This purpose is two-fold as described by Bhagavan himself in the Gita (4-8):
For the protection of those who are committed to dharma, for the destruction (conversion) of those who follow adharma, and for the establishment of dharma, I come into being at every age. This dharma is two-fold: Karma (action) and Jñāna (knowledge). It is said:
The entire Veda is the source of dharma (righteous conduct). Sri Sankara says in his introduction to Gita:
That dharma is two fold: righteous activity and withdrawal from it by knowledge. The body of knowledge called the Veda is the repository of dharma. The Veda is broadly divided into two sections. The first section is Karma Kāñḍa, which teaches activity-based dharma. It is also called Pravṛtti dharma. The second portion of the Veda teaches a totally different kind of dharma, called ātma-dharma. It is also called Nivṛtti dharma (withdrawal from activity by the knowledge that Atman is not the agent of actions). Strategic advance into the world is dharma; so also deliberate withdrawal from the world is dharma. On the eleventh day of the lunar cycle, namely, on Ēkādaśi day, fasting is dharma, while on the next day, that is Dvādaśi, taking food early in the morning is dharma.
Dharma is normally taken care of by the society. However, when dharma declines in the society and adharma increases, corrective measures have to be taken. In such a situation Bhagavan comes forth and corrects the imbalance. Correction of the imbalance is also two-fold. In case of Pravṛtti dharma, Bhagavan comes in the form of avatāra, an incarnation and He punishes the wicked and rewards the virtuous. That is what, for example, Lord Rama has done and we have quite a few such avatāra-s like Matsya, Kūrma etc.
This lineage of two-fold dharma started with the originator of the universe, namely Hira ̧yagarbha, and percolated down into the human society through the great kings who were seers and sages in their own right. However, this dharma declined over a long period of time.
Dharma can never be destroyed. It only disappears temporarily. Some people claim that Sanskrit is a dead language. This is not correct. The fact is that the language is not in common use. But even that situation is quickly changing and once again Sanskrit is becoming popular. In the same way, this ātma-dharma also declines in certain times.
On such occasions, Bhagavan appears in a suitable incarnation and makes it prominent through his teachings. The Lord appeared in the incarnation of Sri Krishna and took care of Pravṛtti dharma by killing the wicked persons like Kamsa. He further re-established dharma by way of teaching the Gita to Arjuna. This is why Sri Krishna is called Jagad-guru, the teacher for the entire humanity. There is an interesting difference between the incarnations of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna. The sage Vasishtha teaches to Rama: Tat tvam asi, that (the supreme reality) art thou. But Sri Krishna often proclaims himself thus: Aham Brahmāsmi, I am the Supreme reality of this universe.
Certain avatāra-s like Sri Rama are meant to protect the Pravṛtti dharma exclusively. Certain others like Sri Krishna avatāra protected both Pravṛtti as well as Nivṛtti dharma-s. In the present context, the incarnation of the Lord as Dakṣi ṇāmūrti is meant for safeguarding ātma-dharma exclusively. This avatāra of the Lord is described in the Sūta Saṃhitā of the Skānda Purāṇa. The Skānda Purāṇa is a voluminous treatise, almost as big as the Mahābhārata (one hundred thousand verses). The Sūta Saṃhitā constitutes a moderately big section of that Purāṇa. The sage Sūta is said to have taught many a Purāṇa in the satrayāga-s (elaborate community rituals) performed by the sages of Naimiśa forest during the intervals between various parts of the lengthy ritual. The Sūta SaṬhitā is one such teaching.
In the Vedantic tradition, it is believed that Sri Sankara studied the Sūta Saṃhitā eighteen times before composing the Brahma Sūtra Bhāṣya. This testifies to the greatness of the Sūta Saṃhitā.
Sri Sankara studied the Sūta Saṃhitā eighteen times before he embarked upon his commentary on the Brahma Sūtra-s. This commentary sets out all aspects of Vedanta in clear terms.
I personally feel that Sri Sankara composed the Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stōtram after completing the Brahma Sūtra Bhāṣya. The Sūta Saṃhitā describes the incarnation of Dakṣiṇāmūrti in the following verses:
He has tied down his matted hair. He has adorned his head with the crescent moon. His neck has a blue hue. He is shining brilliantly in the light of the autumnal moon. He is calm and smiling, being established in his own Atman. He holds Ganga on his head. He is all-auspicious and serene. He is adorned with bracelets on the upper arms. He sits comfortably in Vīrāsana, a yogic posture. His sacred thread represents the Vedic knowledge. The ignorance of Atman, of all beings, in the form of the demon Apasmāra, is held under check below his feet. He removes the ignorance of the devotees with the fingers of the hand held in Jñāna mudrā, a specific configuration signifying the essential identity of Jīva and īśvara. His body is half-woman, the woman being his own Supreme power of infinite happiness,
not different from himself. Dharma in the form of a bull is beside him. The sages who live a life of dharma (righteousness) and who are well versed in the Vedic knowledge are all around him. He is sitting under the banyan tree, which stands for the Māyā. He is the repository of all branches of knowledge. He is the Lord of lords, immutable. He relieves the devotees from the clutches of samsāra by giving them knowledge about their own Atman.
This Lord of creation, sustenance and annihilation is known by the name of Dakṣiṇāmūrti. The devotee prays to Him thus: ‘ O Rudra (one who drives away sorrow)! You are facing south. Please protect me ‘. Praying thus, the devotee worshiped the Lord again and again. O sages of severe austerities! The Lord Dakṣi ṇāmūrti, greatest among all the celestials, bestowed upon that Brahmin devotee the knowledge of Atman. O great sages! Many Jīva-s gained liberation from samsāra easily by the grace of Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti.
Apasmāra, the inability of the mind to grasp the higher truths, is metaphorically presented as a demon, who is kept alive but, of course, under the right foot (control) of the Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti. In the Gita, Lord Sri Krishna declares that memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness are all caused by Himself (who is present in the heart of the Jīva as the awareness, Atman).
This apōhana is Apasmāra. Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti shows cinmudrā in His right hand. His is Ardhanārīśvara svarūpa, one half male and the other half female, the latter being none other than His Māyā śakti. There is an ear-ring in the left ear of Dakṣiṇāmūrti, indicating the female nature of the left half. The right half is īśvara, and a snake serves as a ring in the right ear. He is the cause of the universe (and also of its sustenance and dissolution). His seat is under the banyan tree, which stands for His creative faculty, the Māyā śakti. Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara are the four disciples receiving knowledge from Him.
Propitiation Of Guru
It is well known that the configuration of the nine planets has an important bearing on the events in the life of a person. Among these nine planets, Jupiter (the planet Guru) occupies an important place and influences the life of the person in a big way, especially the knowledge-based life of the person. Generally, we propitiate Guru not only when he is in an unfavorable position, but also when one or more of the other planets are unfavorable, since Guru influences the effects of other planets also. The best way to propitiate the planet Guru is to visit the temple of Dakṣiṇāmūrti and recite Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stōtram, since Guru as a planet is related to knowledge in the life of the person, and these verses contain the supreme knowledge presented in the form of an encomium. Thus, recitation of Śrī Dakṣi ṇāmūrti Stōtram is one of the best methods for warding off the ill effects of the planets in general, and of the planet Guru in particular, in one’s life.
