Apayya Dikshitar's मौलौ गङ्गा- Simple solution to Heat energy

KaRRathu suttadhum- V

"Though it is reproduced from some other source, worth a find in my blog"

Once upon a time, the great scholar-saint Appayya Dikshitar (अप्पय्य दीक्षित: ) happened to be visiting Chidambaram on the ஆருத்ரா தரிசனம் आर्द्रा दर्शनम् Aardraa darsanam Day. He was at the temple  of Lord Natarajan, known as the Golden Hall कनक सभा, at 5 am and it was pretty cold that day! He was having a wonderful view of the Lord as the priests were doing the अभिषेकम् to Lord Nataraja.  On seeing cold sandal-wood paste being poured on to the idol of Lord Nataraja on that very cold December morning, Sri Appayya Dikshitar instantly composed a verse on the Lord.  

मौलौ गङ्गा शशाङ्कौ करचरणतले शीतलाङ्गा भुजङ्गा:

वामे भागे दयार्द्रा हिमगिरिदुहिता चन्दनम् सर्वगात्रे ।

इत्थम् शीतम् प्रभूतम् तव  कनकसभानाथ सोढुम् क्व शक्ति:

चित्ते निर्वेदतप्ते यदि भवति न ते नित्यवासो मदीये ॥

I shall try to explain the meaning of this verse here. Let me first tell you where I obtained the meaning for this verse.

Many of you may know of His Holiness परमाचार्य श्री श्री चन्द्रशेखरेन्द्र सरस्वति, शङ्कराचार्य of काञ्चि कामकोटि पीठम् (Paramaachaaryaal Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati Swaamigal, who was the Sankaraachaaryaa of Kaanchi Kaamakoti Peetham). He was a परिव्राजक, a traveling-mendicant. He was well known for his scholarship and wisdom. His special talent was in delineating very complex subjects in an extremely lucid manner to the sheer delight of the ordinary listeners.

During 1957-59, His Holiness had been camping in Chennai for the चातुर्मास्य व्रतम्. During that period, he used to give lectures at the local Sanskrit College most evenings. Thousands of men and women attended his lectures and reveled in sheer joy, listening to his sweet voice of erudition! His lectures were later published by Kalaimagal Office. I gathered what I am about to write from one of those old publications. I had purchased these publications in 1960 at a Higginbotham Bookstall in Egmore railway station in Chennai. I cherish these books even today as my treasure!

Paramaachaaryaal had given a talk on the subject of ஆருத்ரா தரிசனம். He began his lecture one evening with the verse I quoted above. What follows is a brief gist of his lecture.

मौलौ means the top of the head.   गङ्गा refers to the river Ganges.  शशाङ्क: means the moon. Appayya Dikshitar observes that Lord Nataraja carries these two items, viz., the Ganges and the Moon on His head. The river Ganges originates at the Himalayan summit. Thus the Ganges water is just ice that has melted and therefore is rather chill. The rays of the moon that He carries are also cool, unlike the rays of the sun. So, Lord Nataraja is already carrying two cold items on His head. He also wears some ornaments. He has भुजङ्गा: i.e., snakes wrapped around His arms, legs and neck. Snakes are शीतलाङ्गा: cold-bodied creatures. In addition to this, He has given the left half His body (वामे भागे) to हिमगिरिदुहिता, the daughter of Himalaya mountains which are the abode of snow. So, one half of His body is occupied by this cool woman! In addition to Her being cold as the daughter of Himagiri, She is also wet. She is दयार्द्रा, drenched and wet with mercy!

There you go! Appayya Dikshitar beholds Lord Nataraja, carrying cold waters of the Ganges, the cool Moon and has cold snakes wrapped around His limbs. He also sees that the Lord is an अर्धनारीश्वर (half-man, half woman), His left half of the body given to the cold daughter of the Himalayas, and who is also दयार्द्रा, wet with mercy! As though all this cold is not sufficient, the unkind priests are pouring cold sandal-wood paste all over Lord Nataraja on a cold December morning!

Appayya Dikshitar wonders: इत्थम् प्रभूतम् शीतम् सोढुम् तव क्व शक्ति:? Where is the power in You, O Lord of the Golden Hall, Nataraja!, to bear all this extreme cold?

He himself provides the answer: मदीये निर्वेदतप्ते चित्ते यदि ते नित्यवास: न भवति “if only You did not permanently reside in my mind which is constantly super-hot due to all sorts of burning worries!” “So, I am now certain”, Appayya Dikshitar muses, “that Lord Nataraja permanently resides in my super-hot mind and therefore is able to withstand this extreme cold!” – Sri Appayya Dikshitar quickly solved an elementary heat-transfer problem! This is indeed a beautiful verse!