The devuru namas by Haridasas are spontaneous recitation during thier daily
life.This must have been sung during his visit to Pandarpur . Sri Purandara Dasaru not only
describes the Lord of Pandarpur,Panduranga vittala, but using the same
verses he explores some of the infinite attributes of the Lord. He does not
stop at this, but gives clues to the sadhana that is required of true
devotees in order to attain him.
iTTige mele niMta namma viTTala tAnu
puTTa pAda oori niMta diTTa tAnu
The great Lord Krishna who was pleased with his devotee punDalika , appeared
before him when his parents where asleep with their head on his lap. As he
did not want to disturb them, he took hold of a brick which was near at hand
and offered it to the Lord as an Asana/seat. The Lord stood on it and became
the Lord Panduranga viTTala, the beloved Lord of Pundalika and many great
Haridasas. The Lord is Nitya trupta. He does not need anything from his
devotees. Yet it is the duty of His devotees to remember Him with love
always for ALL existence is dependent on Him. He is the only independent
entity. The Lord stands on the brick and proves that He is sure to accept
whatever is offered with devotion irrespective of its worldly value. The
fact that He gave his darshan to Pundalika while he was engaged in serving
his parents shows that He can be realised by one who performs the duty in
that lifetime ,without any expectations and with the sole intention to
please the Lord.
The message of the Gita has been proved by the Lord.
Dasaru says, He pressed His tiny feet on the brick and stood firmly , even
though He is the huge, almighty, omnipresent Lord, who encompasses the world
and is so huge that he could measure the entire Brahmanda in two steps. This
ambiguity of the Lord is reffered to as anoraniyan mahatomahiyan . The Lord
resides in the heart of all jeevas as said in the Gita Chapter 15. If we fix
our mind on the feet of the Lord we can see Him standing in all His glory.
toMkada mele kaiya kaTTi bhakutaru baruvadu noDuvanamma
He stands with his hands on His hips which is the ideal position for
observation. There he stands and observes His bhaktas who come to pay thier
obeisance to Him.Dasaru is referring to yet another attribute of the Lord-
Sakshi. VSN. He is the Sakshi or witness to all the deeds of all jeevas and
none can escape His notice.
paMDari puradali iruvanaMte pAMduraMga eMbuvanaMte
chaMdra bAga pita ivanaMte arasi rukmini pati ivanaMte
viTTala is standing in Pandarpur and is known as pAnDuranga.He is the father
of the river chandrabaga and is the husband of the queen Rukmini Devi.
Ganges is the water that springs from His feet during his incarnation as
Vamana/Trivikrama and He is the father of Ganga. Since this river Bhima is
at the feet of Panduranga viTTala , He is the father of this river which is
known chandra bAga in Pandarpur as it takes the shape of a half moon . Lord
Krishna is the same as viTTala and viTTala is the same as Lord Krishna. This
is re-asserted by Dasaru by saying that Panduranga's consort is Rukmini.
kanakadAse ivagillavamma haNada Ase ivagillavamma
nAdabra~hma eMbuvanamma bhakutara vachanake kaadiha namma
The Lord is not pleased by gifts of gold or money. He is called as nAda
braHma . He is pleased by the devotional songs and recitations of His
devotees.
In another devuru nama Prasanna theertharu says
nAda swarada sogasAda dwanigalalli nAda brahma ta kaadu noDutiha
The Lord resides in sound and is the cause for speech .He is waiting for
the words of His devotees.
One who is aware of this whenever he speaks, such a devotee's words
are the words which He will prove true.
kariya kaMbali hoddiha namma haNege nAma hacchihanamma
tulasimAle hAkyAnamma puraMdara viTTalanu ollitAnamma
The Lord covers Himself with a black shawl. He wears a nama on his
forehead.He wears a tulasi mala and is everready to bestow His devotees with
mukthi when they are eligible for it.
The jeeva is bound by two sheaths of ignorance. One is the paramAchadika and
the other is jeevAchadika. The first one prevents the jeeva from seeing the
Lord and the second one obscures the jeeva from seeing his own self. The
jeeva can realize his self only by opening his inner eye which is located in
the middle of the forehead- aGYachakra. When we see the Lord adorned with
the black shawl we have to jerk ourselves out of being complacent with our
existence and strive to discover the purpose of life.When we look at the
Lord and see His forehead decorated with the nAma we have to assert
ourselves in the path which will allow the inner eye which is in the center
of the forehead to open. The tulasi mAla signifies japa and dyAna. When we
see the tulasi mala around his neck we must understand that doing DhyAna of
the Lord is the path to endear ourselves to Him and realize the true purpose
of life.
In another devuru nama Purandara Dasaru says:
kaNNinoLage nOdo hariya oLa
kaNNinndali nOdo mUjagada Dhoreya
See Lord Hari through the inner eye. See the Lord of the three worlds
through the inner eye through DhyAna.