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प्रत्यङ्मुखं तव गजाचलराज रूपं प्रत्यङ्मुखाश्चिरतरं नयनैर्निपीय ।
आख्यानमाप्तवचसामवितर्कणीयम् आश्चर्यमेतदिति निश्चयमावहन्ते ॥१३॥
T: Oh, Lord of the Elephant Hill, those with their sights turned inward (i.e. spiritual seekers), on beholding Your form here facing west (and inspiring them to turn inward), drink in the glory of Your form and firmly conclude that they are having the inarguable experience of the Supreme Truth which forms the message in the Vedas and is stated to be beyond debate.
Explanation: The word Pratyaṅmukha (प्रत्यङ्मुख) has been used in this stanza with double meaning. The first usage conveys that the Lord Śrī Varadarāja in the Kāñcī shrine is facing west (this is itself unusual as any temple's main deity usually faces east). The second usage states that the earnest seekers coming for His Darshan are Pratyaṅmukha (प्रत्यङ्मुख) or with their eyes turned inward to see the Supreme Truth, i.e. experiencing the Lord residing within. This is stated in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad as follows:
पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भूः तस्मात् पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।
कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्षद् आवृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन् ॥
T: Creation as willed by the Lord turns everyone's senses outward towards external manifestations. No one therefore turns his sights inward to see the indwelling Ātmā. Only that rare, courageous, true devotee, seeking THE eternal bliss, turns his sights inward and witnesses the Pratyagātmā (the Ātmā that dwells within as the true Reality). This is the meaning of this statement in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad.
Thus, the true seekers who come for Darshan of the Lord Śrī Varadarāja in the Kāñcī shrine are
Pratyaṅmukha (प्रत्यङ्मुख) or with their eyes turned inward to see the Supreme Truth. The Vedas hailed as Āptavacana (the term literally means loving, beneficial words) state this wonderful truth.
This factual link dawns spectacularly on the true devotees as they have the Darshan of the Lord Śrī Varadarāja and they declare it in words and actions!
The west-facing image of the Lord Śrī Varadarāja in the Kāñcī shrine, described literally as Pratyaṅmukha (प्रत्यङ्मुख), has to be seen by the devotees only by when they face the east. But indeed, they are Pratyaṅmukha (प्रत्यङ्मुख) as stated before! This literary figure of speech is called Śleṣa (contrast in meanings of the same word) and is used by the poet cleverly to describe the counter-intuitive realisation and the consequent wonderment.
( Pratyaṅg = West, also inward. Parā = East, also outward. You turn your physical eyes towards the east to see inward i.e. westward, in other words!) it.
