Jivanandana of Anandaraya Makhin (Study)
by G. D. Jayalakshmi | 2019 | 58,344 words
This page relates ‘Analysis of Shivabhakti� of the study on the Jivanandana (in English) which is a dramatic play written by Anadaraya Makhin in the 18th century. The Jivanandana praises the excellence of Advaita Vedanta, Ayurveda (medical science) and Dramatic literature as the triple agency for obtaining everlasting bliss.
Analysis of Śbhakti
In the first Act of the play it is made clear by վñԲ Ś, that to do sincere penance and worship of the Lord, ī has to have the basic requirement of ‘dedicated devotion� towards lord Ś. The play-wright has personified the emotion of devotion as Śbhakti.
ī, the king realises that by resorting to that unique and pleasing Bhakti, it would be easy for him to obtain his mental desire of having the vision of the Supreme (I.48):
tāmadvaitā� svarūpeṇa پ� hṛdayaraṣjanīm |
svīkṛtyaha� bhaviṣyāmi prāptākhilamanoratha� ||
In the third Act, ī recapitulates his experience of the vision of the Lord.
For this, he had to at first cleanse his Գٲḥkṇa; when the Գٲḥkṇa got purified then there arose in him the Śbhaktibhāva and this bhakti, pleasing ī’s manas, led the way to have the 岹śԲ of the Lord (III. 21/22; p.159):
śܳپ-ṛt� 첹ṇāṃ 屹� | yāni samayeṣu samanuṣṭhitāni madīyam āntaḥkaraṇamaśodhayan | śodhite ca tasmin bhagavadbhaktirnāma 辱 첹貹 prathamamaṅkuritā | paścādupacitaparicayā ca sā mama hṛdayānuraṣjanī krameṇa bhagavantau 貹śu ṣāt darśitavatī |
ī considers bhakti as Ծٲṇ�, meaning that bhakti is 貹ṣṭ.
ī also feels that in future too, only with her help he would be able to obtain all his desires (p.159):
āgre'pi tasyā eva mahimnā sakalamapyabhilaṣita� pumartha� lapsyāmahe |
As is natural to human beings, ī amidst all his day to day activities loses his connection with Bhakti. In the fourth Act, the playwright makes Bhakti visit him in his private chamber (his manas), along with ṛt and Ś as attendants. It is an appreciable maneouvre on the part of the dramatist to make Bhakti, Ś and ṛt (personifications of the innermost mental attitudes), meet ī in the manas.
Bhakti understands ī’s indifference as caused by Buddhi. She considers ī to be of sahaja-Ծṅg-nirmala-屹, ٲⲹñԲ-nidhi and 貹ś-ṃśa and decides to help him, once again, to turn his mind towards the Lord (IV.19):
satyajṣānanidhi� sadaiva sahajānandasvabhāvo'pyaya�
devo buddhivaśa� ٲ� puramida� trātu� vyavasyatyaho |
āstvetaddhyupayuktamātmakalane tasmānnirastāmaya�
ԾśԳٲ� punarīśatatparamamu� kuryāmabhīṣṭāptaye ||
ī in his turn considers her as the repository of compassion (IV.20):
nirupādhikanissīmakaruṇāmṛtavāridhi� |
徱ṣṭ ṛṣṭ� ī pumarthaghaṭanāpaṭu� ||
Hence, on meeting him, Bhakti advises him to get rid of his enemies with վñԲ’s help, and thereupon promises to help him in getting that Eternal Bliss (IV.24):
nirjitanikhilavipakṣa� nīrujapurasusthamapagatātaṅkam |
āham [پ�] 岵ٲⲹ vidhāsye paramānandābdhimāptakāma� tvām ||
Accordingly, in the seventh Act, վñԲ reminds ī of this promise of Bhakti and advises him to surrender to her; she would definitely pave way for the Divine Grace sought by ī (VII.7; p.436):
bhaktāya kadācidbhavate darśiṣyate 峾� |
iti bhagavatya ⲹ� jātucidāvedita� bhaktyā ||iti kadācit kathāntare devenaiva mā� prati prāguktam | tadidānī� tāmeva ī� پ� hṛdi dṛḍhamavalambya ٲ� 貹śsya 岹śٳ� saṃnidhānānugraha� prārthyatām || tata eva āsādhyarogābhibhava� ܱ� pratibhāti |
This is confirmed by lord Ś as he tells ī that since ī under the guidance of Bhakti has sought Him, He has to be present before ī to enable him to achieve his goal (VII.19):
ānitarasādhāraṇayā bhaktyā jīvasya māmanusmarata� |
sapadi sya ܰ ṃnٲ� saparivāreṇa ||