The Fifth Delight
Shri Raghavendra Gurusarvabhauma
31. Triveni Sangama
Youth blossomed in Venkatanatha! At the tender age of seventeen or eighteen, Venkatanatha's body radiated with youthful energy. His form was extraordinary—his golden-hued skin glowed, his physique was well-built and sculpted through exercise and yoga, his broad chest, lotus-like eyes, sharp nose, and full, coral-like lips added to his divine appearance. His teeth shone brighter than moonlight, his forehead was expansive, his shoulders resembled mountain peaks, his long arms exuded strength, and his radiant smile reflected his intellect and brilliance. Altogether, he appeared as if the very essence of divine beauty had descended upon the earth—a new Manmatha (God of Love) in human form!
The grandeur of Sri Venkatanatha’s beauty is vividly described in verses 16 to 36 of Sri Raghavendra Vijaya.
The goddess Saraswati, the queen of all knowledge and wisdom, resided within Venkatanatha, and thus, his mastery over learning and arts flourished. Due to the presence of Brahma, his face radiated divine brilliance. As Saraswati took residence on his tongue, eloquence and intelligence manifested in their highest forms. Moreover, Lord Narayana, the father of both Brahma and Manmatha, specially resided within Venkatanatha.
Seeing Brahma already established in Venkatanatha, Manmatha grew envious. "I am the one who rightfully deserves to reside in Venkatanatha, for he was born through the union of his parents, fulfilling my worldly play," he thought. But his elder brother Brahma had taken residence before him. Unable to bear this, Manmatha resolved, "I too shall reside in Venkatanatha, along with my consort Rati!"
Thus, Manmatha, along with Rati, took abode in Venkatanatha, whose divine beauty now shone even more brilliantly as he stepped into youth.
Venkatanatha’s two eyes were long and graceful like fish. The noble ones speculated, “Venkatanatha is exceptionally adept at absorbing knowledge. Already, Brahma, accompanied by Saraswati, resides in his speech. Both of them are dear to me. In the past, I assumed the form of a fish twice (Matsya Avatar). Now, I shall simultaneously impart Vedic and supreme scriptures to both Brahma and Venkatanatha.”
With this thought, Sri Narayana took the form of two fish—manifesting as Venkatanatha’s eyes!
In the grand stage of youth, Venkatanatha’s charming, radiant cheeks were adorned with soft, delicate baby hairs, enhancing the beauty of his lotus-like face. Poets often compare a handsome face to the moon, but in Venkatanatha’s case, this comparison falls short. The moon has a single dark blemish, whereas Venkatanatha’s cheeks gleamed with rows of fine, tender hairs, resembling a celestial glow. Thus, those who beheld him felt that the poetic analogy of the moon was inadequate.
The brilliance extending on both sides of his mustache was captivating, as if two dazzling chains stretched across his face. His mustache shimmered like polished iron chains, and his mouth resembled a golden vessel. Within that golden vessel resided the world-renowned treasure of Madhva’s scriptures and wisdom. Observers felt as though this golden vessel, filled with the wealth of sacred knowledge, was securely bound by the two radiant chains of his mustache.
When Brahma created Venkatanatha, he invested all his divine artistry to make his face as resplendent as the moon. To achieve this, he fashioned Venkatanatha’s crescent-shaped forehead from one half of the moon—retaining its unblemished portion. The other half, marked by dark lunar spots, was transformed into his eyebrows, which appeared like a beautiful black tilaka.
According to the scriptures, Sattva guna (purity) is represented by white, Rajo guna (passion) by red, and Tamo guna (inertia) by black. Poets describe red eyes and lips as signs of unparalleled beauty, and in Venkatanatha, both his eyes and lips were naturally red. However, poets offer a unique and intriguing explanation for this phenomenon.
The red Rajo guna (the quality of passion) once attempted to enter Venkatanatha’s pure mind. However, unable to withstand the intense heat of his spiritual austerities, it failed to penetrate his consciousness. Instead, out of desperation and greed, it chose to take refuge in his eyes and lips, waiting for an opportunity to enter his mind. Thus, those who beheld Venkatanatha believed that his radiant red eyes and lips were a result of this lingering presence.
Venkatanatha’s mouth appeared like a royal palace, his tongue like a swan-feathered couch, and his teeth like a string of pearls. Observers imagined that within this golden palace of his mouth, on the swan-feathered couch of his tongue, the goddess of wisdom, Sri Saraswati, lay resting in divine tranquility. The row of pearls adorning her neck was none other than Venkatanatha’s shining teeth.
Some scholars contemplated, “Venkatanatha is destined to become a supreme ascetic (Paramahamsa), a master of all scriptures, and the harbinger of an unbroken lineage of victory. In the future, I will have to ceaselessly dance on his tongue, for there will be no rest for me. Until then, let me rest in the swan-feathered couch of his tongue!” Thus, it was believed that Goddess Saraswati herself had taken refuge in Venkatanatha’s tongue.
As the crowning jewel of Kannada heritage, Venkatanatha’s ears were exceptionally beautiful, with round and elegantly formed openings. Devotees revered his ears, likening them to the sacred Bīja Akṣaras (seed syllables) of the Shri Lakshmi Mantra. The learned Dravida Bhūsuras (wise sages of the Dravidian lands) honored him and poetically described his ears as resembling the divine sounds of Shri Kara and Omkara in the Dravidian language. Meanwhile, the Telugu and Tamil scholars, each in their pride, proclaimed that Venkatanatha’s ears reflected the sacred phonetics of their respective languages, imagining a deep spiritual connection with him.
In the ocean of Venkatanatha’s luminous face, the mighty Manmatha (the god of love) played joyfully with his consort Rati, just as an elephant raises its trunk while frolicking in the water. In this metaphor, Venkatanatha’s two arched eyebrows shone like the raised trunk of that celestial elephant.
His mind, pure and brimming with divine Sattva guna (the quality of goodness), was likened to a sacred temple for Lord Lakshmipati, Sri Narayana. The poets beautifully conveyed that Venkatanatha’s thoughts were ever immersed in the supreme Lord, making his mind a divine sanctuary of unwavering devotion.
Venkatanatha’s heart was vast—like an ocean. It radiated with divine grandeur, resembling the celestial abode of Sri Hari, where he resides with Goddess Lakshmi in the Kshira Sagara (Ocean of Milk). His mind itself was like an inner sanctum (Antahpura), and just as a palace requires a grand entrance, locks, and chains to secure its doors, so too did Venkatanatha’s divine heart. His expansive heart served as the entrance, the fine hairs on his chest formed the chains, and his two well-defined pectorals acted as the locks. Within this sacred chamber, Sri Lakshmipati (Lord Vishnu) resided in bliss.
The radiance of Venkatanatha’s nose shone like the sacred Ganga River, while his forehead gleamed like the vast ocean. The space between his eyebrows marked the confluence of these two divine waters—the Gangā-Samudra Sangama. In this auspicious region, a perfectly round spiral mark was visible, symbolizing the sacred whirlpool of this celestial confluence. His eyebrows stood on either side of this whirlpool like the riverbanks distinguishing the Ganga from the ocean. Thus, Venkatanatha’s nose, forehead, and eyebrows glowed with divine brilliance.
Sri Hari is the ultimate refuge for infinite divine virtues and pervades all realms of existence. Venkatanatha, desiring to realize this supreme deity within his heart, expanded his consciousness in devotion. To facilitate this divine realization, his heart naturally grew vast and radiant, serving as the perfect sanctum for the Lord.
Venkatanatha’s face shone with the beauty of a fully blossomed lotus. Some poets, struck by his divine charm, likened his neck to the stem of a lotus. Others, mesmerized by his unparalleled radiance, compared his face to a luminous mirror, and his neck to the handle of that celestial mirror.
Brahma, knowing that Venkatanatha was dear to Sri Hari and destined for greatness, resolved, "He shall become the protector of the virtuous across the three worlds. To declare this to the universe, I shall inscribe three lines on his abdomen, symbolizing his role as the guardian of the three realms." Thus, the three natural folds (Trivali) on Venkatanatha’s stomach shone as a mark of this divine ordination.
His throat gleamed like a conch (Shankha), and there was a profound reason for this sacred resemblance. The conch had once resided in the ocean and had suffered numerous hardships—it endured the scorching underwater fires, the forceful blows of Rama’s bridge-building efforts, the exhaustion of Agastya drinking the ocean dry, and the violent churning of the sea by the Devas and Asuras. Having faced such relentless suffering, the conch, weary of its trials, sought a refuge where it would never again be tormented.
In its search for a safe and peaceful abode, it discovered Venkatanatha’s throat and joyfully declared, "This is my true sanctuary!" With great reverence, it took residence in his throat, shining there eternally as a symbol of purity and divine protection.
Venkatanatha’s two eyes gleamed red like fully bloomed lotuses. When Brahmadeva shaped his hands, he contemplated, “If I were to make his hands like tender mango shoots, as poets often describe, it would be unbefitting for one constantly engaged in acts of giving and knowledge-sharing! How could Venkatanatha’s hands withstand such a delicate form? No, I shall not shape his hands like tender mango shoots! Instead, I shall make them like lotuses.”
The lotus always resides in water and remains connected to it at all times. By shaping Venkatanatha’s hands like lotuses, Brahmadeva ensured that, no matter how many acts of charity and generosity he performed, his hands would remain unaffected, ever-pure, and ever-glorious. Thus, people believed that his hands shone beautifully, soft and red like lotuses.
Venkatanatha possessed an exceedingly charming, soft, and divine form. When creating his feet, Brahmadeva thought, “If I make his feet hard and rough, he will have to walk everywhere on foot. I cannot bear to see him endure such hardship! Instead, he should travel in palanquins, chariots, and royal seats. Therefore, I shall make his feet soft and tender.”
Thus, Venkatanatha’s feet were exceptionally delicate, a mark of divine grace.
In this way, Venkatanatha radiated beauty, grace, and youthful charm, mesmerizing the world with his divine presence. The sacred Ganga of Vedic knowledge—including the Vedas, Vedanta, Grammar, Mimamsa, Literature, and Music—merged within him, along with the hidden Saraswati River of noble virtues and refined elegance. As a result, he stood as a Triveni Sangama—a confluence of divine wisdom, supreme virtue, and unmatched beauty.
He grew to the highest intellectual and spiritual peaks, reaching the exalted heights of Mount Meru. Scholars, students, relatives, and all virtuous beings revered him with boundless love, admiration, and respect.