You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Dec 2003

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00048 Dec 2003

 
Dec 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Post 2:

Dear Sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

My sincere apologies for a typo error in quoting the page number. It is 743 and 
744 and NOT 763 and 764 as stated. Regarding the matter referred, the chapter 
number etc, there are no errors.  My translation may be poor, for which, please 
excuse me. 

Continuing the topic of "vidhuran thantha kanji uNdathaal vantha mandham" to 
kaNNan, we will see few points on vidhuran, and then move on to my krishNaa's 
"mandham". The main course of the feast is "krishNa and krishNa alone". 
Mentions about "vidhura" here, for us, are side dish. So we should not lose 
track on the main course, by enjoying the side dish only.

KrishNa asserts 'I will take food with vidhura only even though dhuryOdhana 
branded as a person of poor birth. See another slOkam from maha bhaaratham - 

sarvam Etham na bhOkthavyam annam dhushtaabhi sahitham |
kshaththurEkasya bhOkthavyam ithi mE dheeyathE mathi ||

since meaning is assertion, that, I will not eat food with enemies, food from 
enemies, my mind tells take food from a friend and a good man, not much 
elaboration on the slokam is done here. 

KrishNa, since is a sarvagnan, [knower of all] he knows the back ground of 
vidhura's birth also. So he wants to honour vidhura in front of others by 
taking food with him, from him, by staying with him. what is that story behind 
vidhuraa's birth is quite interesting. [perhaps for many readers who are not 
fully conversant with maha bharatham, this may be a new information about 
vidhuran. That is why I added it here in spite of the length of post 
increasing].

I have taken this from site [just to avoid typing, which is not my cup of tea] 
http://www.hindubooks.org/books_by_rajaji/mahabharata/index.htm and chapter on 
vidhura reads as follows: Quote:

The sage mandavya who had acquired strength of mind and knowledge of the 
scriptures, spent his days in penance and the practice of truth. He lived in a 
hermitage in the forests on the outskirts of the city. One day while he was 
immersed in silent contemplation under the shade of a tree outside his hut of 
leaves, a band of robbers fled through the woods with officers of the king in 
hot pursuit. The fugitives entered the ashrama thinking that it would be a 
convenient place to hide themselves in. They placed their booty in a corner and 
hid themselves. The soldiers of the king came to the ashrama tracking their 
footsteps.

The commander of the soldiers asked Mandavya, who was rapt in deep meditation 
in a tone of peremptory command: "Did you see the robbers pass by? Where did 
they go? Reply at once so that we may give chase and capture them". The sage, 
who was absorbed in yoga, remained silent. The commander repeated the question 
insolently. But the sage did not hear anything. In the meantime some of the 
attendants entered the ashrama and discovered the stolen goods lying there. 
They reported this to their commander. All of them went in and found the stolen 
goods and the robbers who were in hiding. The commander thought: "Now I know 
the reason why the brahmana pretended to be a silent sage. He is indeed the 
chief of these robbers. He has inspired this robbery." Then he ordered his 
soldiers to guard the place, went to the king and told him that the sage 
Mandavya had been caught with the stolen goods. 

The king was very angry at the audacity of the chief of the robbers who had put 
on the garb of a brahmana sage, the better to deceive the world. Without 
pausing to verify the facts, he ordered the wicked criminal, as he thought him, 
to be impaled. The commander returned to the hermitage, impaled Mandavya on a 
spear and handed over the stolen things to the king. The virtuous sage, though 
impaled on the spear, did not die. Since he was in yoga when he was impaled he 
remained alive by the power of yoga. Sages who lived in other parts of the 
forest came to his hermitage and asked Mandavya how he came to be in that 
terrible pass. Mandavya replied: "Whom shall I blame? The servants of the king, 
who protect the world, have inflicted this punishment".

The king was surprised and frightened when he heard that the impaled sage was 
still alive and that he was surrounded by the other sages of the forest. He 
hastened to the forest with his attendants and at once ordered the sage to be 
taken down from the spear. Then he prostrated at his feet and prayed humbly to 
be forgiven for the offence unwittingly committed. 

Mandavya was not angry with the king. He went straight to Dharma, the divine 
dispenser of justice, who was seated on his throne, and asked him: "What crime 
have I committed to deserve this torture?" Lord Dharma, who knew the great 
power of the sage, replied in all humility: "O sage, you have tortured birds 
and bees. Are you not aware that all deeds, good or bad, however small, 
inevitably produce their results, good or evil?". Mandavya was surprised at 
this reply of Lord Dharma and asked: "When did I commit this offence?" 

Lord Dharma replied "When you were a child". Mandavya then pronounced a curse 
on Dharma: "This punishment you have decreed is far in excess of the deserts of 
a mistake committed by a child in ignorance. Be born, therefore, as a mortal in 
the world."

Lord Dharma who was thus cursed by the sage Mandavya incarnated as Vidura and 
was born of the servant-maid of Ambalika, the wife of Vichitravirya.

This story is intended to show that Vidura was the incarnation of Dharma. The 
great men of the world regarded Vidura as a mahatma, who was unparalleled in 
his knowledge of dharma, sastras and statesmanship and was totally devoid of 
attachment and anger. Bhishma appointed him, while he was still in his teens, 
as the chief counselor of king Dhritarashtra. Vyasa has it that no one in the 
three worlds could equal Vidura in virtue and knowledge. When Dhritarashtra 
gave his permission for the game of dice, Vidura fell at his feet and protested 
solemnly: "O king and lord, I cannot approve of this action. Strife will set in 
among your sons as a result. Pray, do not allow this". Dhritarashtra also tried 
in manly ways to dissuade his wicked son. He said to him: "Do not proceed with 
this game. Vidura does not approve of it, the wise Vidura, of lofty intellect, 
who is ever intent on our welfare. He says the game is bound to result in a 
fierceness of hate which will consume us and our kingdom." 
Unquote:

This dharma's curse and he having been born as vidhura is quoted by swamy 
desikan in his rahasya thraya saaram, in the continuation of this "vrishaLa 
bhOjanam" point referred in the  previous post [ pl. refer page 744, 745 of UV 
swamy's book]

So krishNa wanted to honour such a vidhura or his "own assistant of the other 
world", who is administering justice, now as a minister instead of the position 
in yama lOkam. [So with this the side dish ends here. Now the main course].  
  
The two lines "vidhuran thantha kanjiyum vELviyar tharum sORum veNNaiyum maNNum 
uNdathaalE mantham" is the charaNam lines of the krithi "innum varak kaaNene" 
in the raagaa yadhukula kaambhodhi by ooththukkadu venkata kavi. Those two 
lines are taken and elaborated.

Now the full krithi - pallavi

innum varak kaaNene - mannan raaja gOpaalan
EnO aRiyEnadi peNNE - enna seigiRaanOdi - innum

Anupallavi:
munnam than thoNdarkkaai munthik kaninthadhellaam 
sonna chol thannOdu thuNaiyaanathOdi - innum

charaNam:
vidhuran thantha kanjiyum vELviyar tharum sORum 
veNNaiyum maNNum uNdathaalE mantham
adhuvum sairandhari kaiyaal chandhaNag gandhangaLum
angam mEl poosina aanandham  - innum

podhuvil sollap pOnaal bOdhaiyum thalaikku Eri
puNNiyath thoNdar paadum pORRiyum kaadhil Eri
nadhi maiyath thadam thEdi naanum kanaak kooRi 
nanRaagath thoonginaanO ennadi sedhi - innum

Perhaps, if you read the krithi once more, you will agree that this krithi can 
basically be attributed to be as aaNdaaL's words, through the mouth of a gopee, 
addressed to her friend inquiring about ranganaathan - that krishNa - not 
turning up as promised. "How this is deduced?" - dear bhakthaas, perhaps you 
have to wait till next post.

Dhasan
 
Vasudevan m.g. 



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/XUWolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list