Swamy Desikan’s

Rahasya Padhavee

Annotated Commentary in English By:

Oppiliappan Koil
SrI VaradAchAri SaThakopan
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RAHASYA PADHAVEE

This rahasyam got its name because it provides the knowledge to the three rahasyams
(Thirumanthiram, Dhvayam and Charama SlOkam). The word Padhavee is derived from the
root “padh” meaning to go, to approach, to attain. Padhavee means a road, path or a course. It
also means a position or station in life. In this ChillaRai Rahasyam, we have to stay with the
meaning of Path or Road to reach and travel. It is therefore the path finder to the road of the
three rahasyams.

THE ESSENCE OF THIS RAHASYAM:

Vedanta saastrams elaborate on tatthvam-hitham and purushartam. They do so to assist the
long suffering samsaris to overcome their sorrows and attain sathgathy. Thirumanthiram-

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dhvayam and charama slokam succinctly the three doctrines: tathtvam-hitham and
purushartam.

NIGAMANA PAASURAMS SUMMING UP THE GOAL OF THIS RAHASYAM:

moonRil oru moonRum mooviraNDum munnAnkum
thOnRat-tholayum thuyar
(Meaning): SamsAra dhukkam will be destroyed, when the meanings of the three rahasyams:
Thirumanthiram with three paadhams, dhvayam with six paadhams and Charama slOkam with
12 paadhams become clear.

“ThonRat-thulayum thuyar” is a beautiful combination of words evoking the imagery of

Sunrise (ThOnRum SooryOdhayam) that destroys (Tholayum) the darkness (sorrow/
nescience/thuyar) of samsAric bheethi.

The previous rahasyam was Tatthva Padhavee and this rahasyam is Rahasya Padhavee. Swamy
Desikan connects both Tatthva Padhavee and Rahasya Padhavee in one of the concluding
slOkams of Rahasya Padhavee:

ithi tathva-thrayasya yEshaa rahasya thritasya cha

padhavee VenkatEsEna prathyak praachee pradarSithaa
(Meaning): Sri VenkatEsan (Swamy Desikan) has shown the way (Padhavee) about the three
tatthvams and the three rahasyams for understanding clearly the svaroopam of the Jeevan thru
the two rahasyams: Tathva Padhavee and Rahasya Padhavee. Swamy Desikan says here:

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 “prathyak prAchee yEshA padhavee pradarSithaa”. Prathyak prAchee stands for Aathma
svaroopa Jn~Anam.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RAHASYA PADHAVEE

1. STRUCTURE OF THIRUMANTHIRAM:
The first padham is PraNavam. It condenses very lofty tatthvams. It is made up of A+U+M.
These three letters can also be considered as three padhams.

The letter “A” denotes the Lord, who is never separated from His PirAtti. When we refer to that
Lord, we recognize Him as Jagath KaaraNan and Jagath Rakshakan and as the One, who has
the Vaibhavam of having the Jeevans as His svAbhAvvika sEshan (liege/servant/daasan). This
is the symbolism of the letter “A” (akAram).

On the akAram, the fourth case represented by “Aaya” is ascendant and hidden dative case
refers to the relationship (sambhandham) between the Jeevan and EmperumAn.
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What is that sambhandham?

The sambhandham is the daasathvam of the Jeevan to Iswaran.

The middle padham in the PraNavam is the “U” ( ukAram). This ukAram refers to the unique
sambhandham of the Jeevan to the Lord and Lord alone. The essence of this UkAram is the
Jeevan is Daasan to none but the Lord.

The third Padham of PraNavam is MakAram to the Jeevan, the embodiment of Daasathvam.
When we refer to that Daasathvam, Jeevan is understood as the one protected by the Lord and
is the embodiment of Aanandham and Jn~Anam and as one having Jn~Anam and Aanandham
as his guNams (attributes). The jeevan is comprehended as having atomic size and as being
different from the body and the Indhriyams. The essential meaning of PraNavam is: Jeevan is
solely the servant of Sriman NaaRaYaNan. He has no qualifications to be the daasan of anyone
else.

MEANING OF NAMA: SABDHAM

This is the middle padham of Thirumanthiram. It is made up of two letters: Na and Ma. The
meanings for nama: Padham have been given as a whole or by splitting it into Na and Ma (the
constituent letters). The essence of the: padham is “I am not my Master (SEshi). I have no
power to initiate karma in an independent manner ignoring the Lord.” When the jeevan
identifies himself as the adiyEn for the Lord, it is clear that the Lord makes him the servant of
His servants (BhagavathAs). When we use the full “nama:” sabdham (instead of splitting into

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na and ma), it means SaraNAgathy at the Lord's sacred feet. When we consider the meaning of
Nama: sabdham by splitting na and ma, then, its a prayer “Let no inauspiciousness happen to
me”.
THE THREE MEANINGS FOR NAMA: SABDHAM ARE:
(1) adiyEn is not a servant of anyone except the Lord and is connected to Tatthvam

(2) thru the meaning of SaraNAgathy, hitham is linked

(3) by rejecting inauspiciousness, the link is made to PurushArTam.

THE MEANING OF “NAARAYANAYA”, THE THIRD PAADHAM OF THIRU

MANTHIRAM
This is the third padham of Thiru Manthiram. NaarAyaNa padham to EmperumAn with
PirAtti. Padham can be interpreted in two ways:

(1) Ayanam for the NaarAs

(2) One who has the Naatams as His ayanam

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In the first, Naaram stands for an achEthanam. Ayanam means the abode for them. That leads
to the understanding being the sakala vasthu AadhAran.

In the second definition, the Naaram (chEtana-achEtanam) is His vaasa sthAnam (place of
residence). All the chEtanam and achEtanam are His abode. He is pervasively present
antharyAmi Brahman in all of them.

THE FOURTH CASE REPRESENTED BY “AAYA” OVER NAARAYANA

SABDHAM
This chathurthi vibhakthi denotes the SEshathvam (adimai) of Jeevan (Seshan) to the Lord
(Seshi). This sambhandham of the ChEtanan to the Lord is already covered by PraNavam.
Question may arise about its Punar Ukthi dhOsham. Hence, it is customary to interpret that
the Aaya sabdham as the Kaimkaryam arising from that Seshathvam (being a liege of the
Lord). It is but natural for the servant to perform Kaimkaryam for his Lord and gladden the
heart of the Master.

THE MEANING OF THIRUMANTHIRAM

1) Sriman NaarAyaNan is never ever without His PirAtti.

2) He is the Jagath KaarANan.

3) He is the Jagath Rakshakan.

4) Jeevan is svAbhAvika (intrinsic) adimai to Him. Jeevan will never ever become adimai
to anyone else.

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 5) Jeevan will however be the servant of BhAgavathAs.

6) Jeevan is protected by the Lord.

7) He is of the form of Jn~Anam and Aanandham. They become his guNams.

8) Jeevan is of atomic dimension.

9) Jeevan is different from body and the the indhriyams.

10) Jeevan will never become his own Master.

11) Jeevan has independence to go after his kaaryams. He is totally dependent on his Lord.

12) Prapanna Jeevan performs SaraNAgathy at the feet of his Lord and prays for Moksha
Phalan. His prayer is to serve the Lord and His divine consort at all places, times and
states.

2. THE STRUCTURE AND MEANING OF THE CONSTITUENT VAAKYAMS OF

DHVAYAM AND CHARAMA SLOKAM
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STRUCTURE OF DHVAYAM:
Thirumanthiram summarized the meaning of Tatthvam, Hitham and PurushArTam. Dhvayam
elaborates in greater detail the above three concepts.

DHVAYAM IS MADE UP OF TWO PARTS.

The First part is a separate Vaakyam and focuses on the upAyam of Prapatthi.

The second part is made up of two Vaakyams and elaborates on the Moksha Phalan.

Each of the two parts has 3 padhams.

MEANING OF THE FIRST PART

The First Padham of the first part is “Sreemath (Sreemann) -NaarAyaNa- charaNou”. The
word “SrI” refers to Periya PirAtti, who is sought as refuge by all chEtanams and who has
taken residence at the broad chest of Her Lord. The “Math” portion on Sri sabdham stands to
remind us of state of Sri Devi united with Her Lord without even a second's separation from
Him.

The next Padham, “NaarAyaNa” refers to Vaathsalyam that overlooks trespasses of the
chEtanams and His soulabhyam, which permits Him move with even the lowliest ones. In all
these matters, the NaarAyaNa reminds us of His Swamythvam (Lordship over all) as
SarvEswaran.

The third paadham, “CharaNou” refers to the sacred feet of the Lord is the recourse for

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ujjeevanam of the ChEtanams. “SaraNam Prapadhye” stands for the UpAyam (SaraNam) of
attaining the security of the Lord's feet (PrapadhyE).

It adds up to the recourse less chEtanan, who is incapable of practicing Bhakthi seeking the
sacred feet of the Lord, who is never ever separated from His divine consort and performing
Prapatthi with Mahaa ViswAsam and other angams. This is the integrated meaning of the First
Part of Dhvayam.

THE SECOND PART OF DHVAYAM

“SrimathE NaarAyaNAya nama:” is the second part. The first word, “SrImathE” denotes the
Lord, who is never separated from Periya PirAtti. In the first part of dhvayam (Sriman
NaaraayaNa section), NaarAyaNan stays with Periya PirAtti as UpAyam; the second part,
NaarAyaNan is accepting the Kaimkaryams of chEtanan and stays as the Phalan, while being
in a state of non-separation from His PirAtti.

The NaarAyaNa sabdham in the second part refers to the most Lord of all with the amsams of
auspicious guNams and. The “aaya” rider over the NaarAyaNa sabdham implies Kaimkaryam.

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The meaning of “aaya” is similar as in the first part and it is a prayer for Kaimkaryam.

The final padham, “nama:” splits into na and ma and stands for the destruction of all karmaas
that stood in the way of chEtanan's pursuit of such Kaimkaryams.

THE INTEGRATED MEANING OF DHVAYAM

adiyEn performs SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of Sriman NaarAyaNan for Kaimkarya Sri
through the performance of blemishless, uninterrupted kaimkaryam to the Lord, who is never
separated from His PirAtti.

3. THE STRUCTURE OF CHARAMA SLOKAM

It has been stated earlier that Thirumanthiram and Dhvayam elaborate on the UpAyam of
SaraNAgathy. In Charama slOkam, there is a command to the jeevan by the Lord to perform
that Prapatthi.

The Charama slOkam implies that is the appropriate means to gain Moksham by those who do
not have the time to practice the arduous Bhakthi yOgam.

Charama slOkam does indicate two more things:

(1) It explains well the anushtAnam of SaraNAgathy, which has Vedic PramANam

(2) It that Prapatthi grants the Phalan without being dependent on any other power or agent.

Thiru Manthiram has 3 Padhams;

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 Dhvayam has the double of Thirumanthira Padhams (viz)., six padhams;

Charama slOkam has the double of dhvayam (Viz) 12 padhams.

THE MEANING OF THE FIRST PART OF CHARAMA SLOKAMM
The first part is made up of one complete sentence: “Sarva dharmAn partithyajya MaamEkam
SaraNam vraja”. It commands the chEtanan to perform Prapatthi.

The second cluster is: “aham thvaa sarva paapRpyO MokshayishyAmi” and it explains the
fruits of Prapatthi;

The last cluster is “Maa Sucha:” affirming that the chEtanan has performed the act of
Prapatthi and that he feels free from the burden of his own protection after Prapatthi.

SARVA DHARMAN PARITHYAJYA:

This cluster has two meanings:

(1) The command is to abandon all other dharmams and Prapatthi instead. This means that
Prapatthi does not need any help outside five angams
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(2) It refers to ananya gathithvam of the Chetanan for realizing Moksha phalan except thru
Prapatthi at the Lord's sacred feet.

MAAM EKAM
It refers to the SiddhOpAyan, Sriman NaarAyaNan, who alone has to be sought as because is
the anantha kalyANa guNa poorNan & Dayaa. He is the mukhya upAyam for gaining the
Moksha phalan and does not expect anything beyond the act of Prapatthi.

SARANAM VRAJA
These two words command the chEtanan to perform SaraNAgathy with its five (angams) as
the UpAyam for Moksha Phalan.

THE MEANING OF THE PADHAMS OF THE SECOND HALF

“Aham thvaa sarva paapEpyO mOkshayishyAmi maa Sucha:” is the second half of Charama
slOkam.

Aham: Myself. This word stands for the Lord, the omnipotent, who has accepted the
responsibility of protecting the chEtanan after his prapatthi. Power of prapatthi is
uninterruptable and can not be obstructed by anyone.

thvaa: This word refers to the Chetanan, who has laid the bharam of rakshaNam at the sacred
feet of the Lord and is awaiting Moksha Phalan like the ChAthaka bird waiting for its sole food,
the rain water.

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Sarva PaapEpyO mokshayishyAmi: I will release you (chetanan) of sins that stood in your way
until now to perform nithya kaimkaryams to Me at My Supreme abode.

Maa Sucha: Do not grieve. These two words refer to the agitated and sorrowful state of the
chEtanan before performing Prapatthi and the joyous state that the Prapannan should be in
after Prapatthi (freedom from fears, doubts and worries and in utter faith in our Lord's duty
from here on to take full responsibility for his protection).

THE MATCH BETWEEN THE MEANINGS OF DHVAYAM AND CHARAMA

SLOKAM
When we examine the meanings of the above two rahasyams, we recognize that the meanings
of the first part of the two rahasyams fit very well with each other and the second part of each
rahasyam also echo each other in the meanings. All the three rahasyams, which are our means
for ujjeevanam thus reinforce each other.

SrImathE NigamAntha MahA DesikAya Nama:

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Srimath Azhagiya Singar Thiruvadi,
Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan