Artha Panchakam

Swami Deshikan is considered to be an incarnation of the divine bell of Sri Venkateshwara Swami of Tirumalai. Swami Deshikan was born here in Tooppul to Sri Anantha Suri and Devī Totaramba. By birth, Swami Deshikan was named Veṅkaṭanātha. When Swami Deshikan was just five years of age, he was taken by his maternal uncle, Kidambi Appular, to attend a discourse by Nadadhoor Ammal, a revered Sri Vaishṇava Scholar at the time.

As soon as Nadadhoor Ammal saw Veṅkaṭanātha, he saw a divine radiance in the child and stopped the lecture that he was delivering to hug the child affectionately. After this, when Nadadhoor Ammal said that he had forgotten where he had finished his discourse, Veṅkaṭanātha reminded him as to where he had stopped his lecture. This act astonished the crowd as they had never seen a five-year-old boy comprehend the deep intricacies of philosophical knowledge that was being discussed.

It was then that Nadadhoor Ammal predicted and blessed Veṅkaṭanātha that he, in the future, would become the torch-bearer to spread Sri Vaishṇavism everywhere.

At each place, he composed many different works in languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Manipravala (a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil) that revealed his ingenuity creativity, logic, linguistic expertise, devotional fervor, and erudite scholarship.

Some of his greatest works include:

1) Hayagrīva Stotram

2) Sudarshana Ashtakam

3) Pādukā Sahasram

4) Abhītistavam

5) Achyuta Shatakam

6) Dayā Shatakam

7) Haṃsa Sandesham

8) Sri Stuti

9) Yādavābhyudayam

10) Kamasikashatakam

The Artha Panchakam, composed by Swami Deshikan, is a set of 11 Pāsurams dedicated to Sri Varadaraja Perumāl of Kanchipuram. The 11 Pāsurams are assigned to two of each of the five doctrines or truths of the Artha Panchakam.

The five doctrines discussed are as follows:

The Svarūpam of Parabrahman.

The Svarūpam of the jeevaathma.

The obstacles that prevent us from reaching Paramapadam

The means to moksham: Bhakti and Prapatti

The supreme goal of Bhagavat Anubhavam

Now, we will examine each of the 11 Pāsurams and understand their meaning.