Ashtottaram 38) OṀ DHANYABHŨMYAI NAMAH

BY Devakinanda Pasupuleti

Ashtottaram 38) OṀ DHANYABHŨMYAI NAMAH

Ashtottaram 38: OṀ (AUM) –DHA-NYA-BHOO-MYAI—NA-MA-HA

ॐ धन्यभूम्यै नमः

(Dhanya: Fortunate, blessed, happy, thankful, glorious, opulent)

Sanskrit word 'Dhanya' generally means great or Personification of Gratitude or Thankful or Lucky or Giver of wealth is of Indian origin.

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Great devotee Sri Ramadās sang many kērtanās (devotional songs) about Lord Rāma. One of the famous ones is- Tāraka mantramu Korina dorikenu, dhanyudanaitini Orannā-meaning- I got the tārakamantram (a mantra that crosses you over the ocean of samsara), and I am blessed. Our mātrubhūmi has blessed so many saints and devotees with Vedāntic and spiritual knowledge. We use the word dhanyavād to thank someone. Ādhyātmikam, jnānam, mantram, yogam, daivikam, upāsanam, bhāvam, yajnam, loukikam; our ancient sages analyzed any situation of our lives from so many angles and imparted that knowledge to us to help us advance spiritually. That is the uniqueness we find in our purāṇās and itihāsās. At the peak of spiritual height, in a state of bliss, a devotee utters –I am blessed (I have attained dhanyata).

It is not an exaggeration in saying that we have done good karma in our previous lives in order to be born as human beings, that too in India and that too as a Hindu. The knowledge of Brahman in the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gīta, Brahma Sūtrās, and Dharma śhāstrās is available to us in order to accomplish the ultimate human pursuit of moksha (total liberation from the cycle of transmigratory existence of birth and death). That's why every Hindu feels that his life has attained that dhanyata.

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God himself incarnated as Lord Shri Krishna on our Bhārata Bhōmi and imparted to us the essence of the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Brahma Sūtrās in the celestial song Bhagavad Gīta. He blessed all of us and the generations to come with spiritual knowledge. He taught humanity Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga, in order to purify our minds, and Jnāna Yoga, in order to burn all our karmas present, past, and accumulated ones in order to attain moksha. In that aspect also, we are blessed (dhanyulam).

Our ancient sages, rishis, and seers performed religious austerities (tapas) in deep, thick forests with very strict and disciplined lifestyles for the welfare of humanity and for our auspiciousness. They heard the –Veda mantras, during their deep meditation and passed those on to us through teaching lineage (guru parampara). Without their kindness, selflessness, Krupa, kāruṇyam, and dākshiṇyam, we wouldn't have been blessed with the vast, infinite, and eternal knowledge of the Vedas.

We can proudly say that our motherland is 'Dhanya Bhūmi'.