Katākṣham — The Glance That Liberates

Disguised as a wise mendicant, he stood before the two young men. They were dressed as ascetics, but their very aura proclaimed their royal lineage.

He spoke, determined to find out all about them without revealing anything about himself.

Yet, the very next moment, the truth slipped out.

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“I am Hanuman, minister of the great King Sugriva, and he has sent me to say he wants to have friendship with you.”

Before Rama had even spoken a word, His mere look made Hanuman give up the subterfuge.

This shows us the power of Bhagavat Kataaksham – the gaze of the Lord.

But how does this happen?

The Mundaka Upanishad explains:

भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिश्छिद्यन्ते सर्वसंशयाः ।
क्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन्दृष्टे परावरे ॥ ८ ॥

bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ |
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare ||

“When the Supreme Lord is seen, the knot of the heart is untied, all doubts are cut asunder, and the chain of karma is destroyed.”

In front of those Divine Eyes, what chance did Hanuman stand?

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Nammazhwar knew this secret power of the Lord’s gaze. He begged the Lord repeatedly to bless Him with His darshanam.

Playfully, the Lord chided him, saying “You have so many paapas, how can I bless you?”

Desperate Nammazhwar pleaded, “You don’t have to bless me, at least just come and stand in front of me!”

Not realizing the ploy, the Lord acquiesced and appeared in front of Nammazhwar.

The very next moment, He found Himself pronouncing blessings!

The devotee had tricked the Lord. The obstacles posed by his sins were razed by the Lord’s own gaze! Now that the devotee was purified, the Lord’s blessings flowed spontaneously!

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Have you seen the large, unblinking eyes of Lord Jagannatha at Puri? Those are the eyes that constantly watch over the devotees, not in judgement, but in a continuous shower of compassion. It is said that His eyes are so big because He has opened them very wide to find the tiniest bit of good in us, so that He can bless us. His eyes can see all our faults, and yet, so great is His karuna that it blinds Him to our faults!

The Vedas say the Lord has the Sun and the Moon as His eyes. When He glances on us with the cool Moon-eye, we are blessed. But what if His blazing Sun-eye is triggered by our unending paapakarmas? Won’t He then destroy us as He did Shishupala and Ravana?

To ensure this doesn’t happen, He has created His own ploy.

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In Tirumala, where He stands patiently receiving the never-ending queue of devotees, His eyes are largely hidden beneath the broad Thirumann adorning His forehead. In yet another of His leelas, He the Omniscient Lord, has ensured that He “cannot” see our sins clearly!

Yet again, we are the beneficiaries of His unparalleled compassion.

And if we are fortunate enough to feel His grace, and turn towards Him with love, that too is His doing!

The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata reveals this rahasyam.

जायमानं हि पुरुषं यं पश्येन्मधुसूदनः।
सात्त्विकः स तु विज्ञेयः स वै मोक्षार्थचिन्तकः॥

“JayamAnam hi purusham yam pasyet MadhusUdhana:

SAtvika: sa tu vigyEya: sa vai MokshArttha chintaka:”

“One who receives the glance of Lord Madhusudana at the time of birth, is known to be sattvik and becomes a seeker of moksha.”

Anyone who is a sadhaka, a seeker of the Lord, is so because of the causeless mercy, the nirhetuka Krupa, of the Lord, which He rains down through His glorious eyes.

So, the next time you go to the temple, don’t start reciting from your list of what you want from Him.

Don’t rush to complete the darshan.

Just stand quietly, offer thanks to Him, and pray that He should bless you with His Krupa Kataaksham!

Footnote: I was only halfway through this post, when it was time to visit the Ranganathaswamy temple at Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. Standing in front of Him, it felt as if He was smiling bemusedly and asking,

“Do you think you can really convey the full extent of My kataaksham through mere words?”

Well, dear readers, the answer is for you to say.

Kausalya Supraja Rama

The forest is silent. The eastern sky is tinged with a mild glow as the sun prepares to rise. The rishi sits up and glances at the face of the young prince sleeping near him. He finds himself unable to look away. Moments turn to minutes as he stares, mesmerized, flitting between emotions of love and awe, amazed at his great fortune to behold this beautiful sight.

Perhaps it is the lightening of the skies, or the chirping of the stirring birds, but now, the rishi wakes from his reverie.

Gently, he calls,

“Kausalya supraja Rama, Kausalya supraja Rama….”

And finds himself about to slip into a trance again….

Using the immense power of his tapas, the rishi finally pulls his eyes away and manages to complete what he was trying to say.

“Kausalya supraja Rama poorvaa sandhyaa pravartate,

utthistha narashaardoola, kartavyam daivamaanhikam!”

“O good son of Kausalya, the dawn is approaching in the east. Wake up, O tiger among men, it is time to perform the daily ritual duties!”

This is Brahmarishi Vishwamitra waking up Rama whom he has brought into the forest to protect his yagna.

Vishwamitra marvels at the great fortune of Kausalya who got to bear this divine child. He wonders how much tapas that mother must have done to be able to glance at this radiant face and wake up this dear child every day.

If he recognizes the divine identity of the young prince, why then is the rishi exhorting Him to perform the daily ritualistic duties? What duties does the Supreme Lord have to perform, and why?

The simple answer is – to set an example for us. Humans tend to look up to great people and emulate their actions. Rama is addressed here as “narashaardoola” – tiger among men. That means He is definitely a great man whom the world will hold up as an ideal for centuries to come.

By performing the nitya anushthaana, Rama must set an example for us to follow.

As Krishna aptly explains in the Bhagavad Geeta,

yad yad acarati sresthas, tat tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute, lokas tad anuvartate

Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

- Bhagavad Geeta, 3.21

The acharyas also give another reason for Vishwamitra waking up Rama thus. Perhaps he is saying, “O Rama, You have taken this human form to annihilate the evil asuraas and rakshasaas. Now is the time for You to wake up from Your life as Dasharatha’s son, and begin to take steps to fulfil the promise given to the devaas!”

If we look closely at Vishwamitra’s call, we realize that he’s calling out to Rama alone. Why not Lakshmana? Because he didn’t see Lakshmana at all!

Well, Lakshmana never left Rama’s side, then where was he when Rama was sleeping?

Actually, this is the form that Vishwamitra saw….

Rama sleeping ON Lakshmana ! 

The Lakshmana who was none other than Adishesha!



Look at this beautiful form. Is it any wonder that Vishwamitra was so fascinated?

And once you come out of your reverie of gazing on this divine Lord, perhaps you will want to go back and yourself say those words uttered by Vishwamitra.

“Kausalya supraja Rama poorvaa sandhyaa pravartate,

utthistha narashaardoola, kartavyam daivamaanhikam!”

And just in case you haven’t recognized it yet, and are wondering why this sounds so familiar, it’s probably because you’ve often heard M. S. Subbulakshmi singing it as the first verse of the Venkateshwara Suprabhatam!