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xvi) The Aragiyas from Nāthamuni to Rāmānuja 99 authority of the Pañcarātra literature, which is supposed to be the canon of the Srīvaisnavas. The Stotra-ratnam, Catuḥ-śloki and Gītārtha-samgraha were all commented upon by various persons, but the most important of the commentaries is that of Venkațanāthał. The Stotra-ratnam consists of sixty-five verses in which Yamuna describes the beauty of the Lord Krsna, as set forth in the Purāņas, and confesses to Him the deep affliction of all his sins and guilt, frailties and vices, and asks for forgiveness of them. He also describes the greatness of the Lord as transcendent and surpassing the greatness of all other deities, as the supreme controller and upholder of the universe. He narrates his own complete surrender to Him and entire dependence on His mercy. If the mercy and grace of the Lord be so great, there is none so deserving of mercy in his wretchedness as a sinner. If the sinner is not saved, the mercy of the Lord becomes meaningless. The Lord requires the sinner in order to realize Himself as the all-merciful. Yāmuna further describes how his mind, forsaking everything else, is deeply attracted to the Lord; and the sense of his supreme helplessness and absolute abnegation. The devotee cannot bear any delay in his communion with God, and is extremely impatient to meet Him; it is galling to him that God should heap happiness after happiness on him and thus keep him away. The fundamental burden of the hymns is an expression of the doctrine of prapatti; this has been very clearly brought out in the commentary of Venkațanātha. It is said that it was after reading these hymns that Rāmānuja became so deeply attracted to Yāmuna. The Catuh-ślokī consists of only four verses in praise of Sri or Lakşmīļ.
In the Gītārtha-samgraha Yamuna says that the means to the
1 The commentary on the Catuḥ-śloki by Venkaçanātha is called Rahasyarakṣā, and the commentary on the Stotra-ratnam goes also by the same name. The commentary on the Gitārtha-samgraha, by Venkatanātha, is called Gitārthasamgraha-raksā.
2 Two specimen verses may be quoted from the Stotra-ratnam: na dharma-miştho'smi na că' tma-vedi na bhaktimams tvac-caranā-ravinde a-kiñcano nā'nya-gatiś śaranya tvat-pāda-mülam saranam frapadye.
$1. 22. na ninditam karma tad asti loke sahasraso yan na mayā vyadhāyi so'ham vipākā-vasare mukunda
krandāmi sampraty a-gatis tavägre. Śl. 23. 3 Venkatanātha, in his commentary on the Catuḥ-śloki, discusses the position of Lakşmi according to the Vaisnava tradition. Lakşmi is regarded as a being
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