The Drupta Paddhati of Vedanta Desika’s Subhashita Nivi deals with the ways of a proud man, said M.K. Srinivasan, in a discourse. A man may have the same name as a great man. Does he, therefore, automatically become great? Desika uses the words chAga, mandUka and rAsabhaih, to drive home the point. ChAga means goat. Another word for goat in Sanskrit is aja, which also means Brahma. So, if a goat and Brahma share the same name, does it make a goat equal to Brahma? Manduka means a frog, but it also stands for Vishnu. Does this make a frog equal to Vishnu? Likewise, rAsabhaih means a donkey, but it also means Siva. So, is a donkey equal to Siva? A man who prides himself on having the same name as great men, but himself has no intrinsic merit, has nothing but arrogance. If a mediocre man has the same name as a great one, it does not take away the greatness of those with whom he shares the name. There are some who take pride in residing in places where great men reside. Swans reside in lotus flowers. But so does Brahma. But a swan is not equal to Brahma. Crocodiles reside in water. So does Vishnu. Can we therefore conclude that crocodiles are equal to Vishnu? Peacocks dance on hills. But does this mean they are equal to Siva, who resides in hills? Here again Desika resorts to words that can mean two different things, to emphasise the point. ANdaja means Brahma, but it can also mean bird, which come from aNda (egg). Desika uses the word Janardhana, which is one of Vishnu’s names. But Janardhana also means crocodiles that destroy people (jana). Siva, who lives in hills, is Neelakanta, because He has a blue hued neck. The neck of a peacock too is blue in colour. Similarities in name, or in dwelling places do not confer greatness on swans, crocodiles or peacocks.
