You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Nov 2004

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00113 Nov 2004

 
Nov 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Post 7

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer, 

We saw in post 6 of this bow's story, the bow was broken by sri raama. While 
sage vaalmeekee says raama lifted that bow so easily - aarOpayath sa 
dharmaathmaa sa leelam iva thath dhanu: 1-67-16 see kamban - he says 60000 
people carried it. Of course vaalmeekee stated 5000 people dragged the 8 
wheeled cart carrying the bow in 1-67-4. Whereas kamban says 60000 people 
carried the bow in dhaNdu - big size round wooden logs - similar what we use in 
temples to carry the vaahanams during uthsavams.

uRuvali yaanaiyai oththa mEniyar
seRi mayirk kal enath thiraNda thOLinar
aRubadhinaayirar aLavu il aaRRalar 
thaLi maduththu idaiyidai dhandil thaankinar 

- 3 kaarmugap padalam baala kaaNdam kamba raamaayaNam.

Once the bow was brought to the place where raama janaka and visvaamithra were 
there, see the description of kamban which vaalmeekee described as 'vathsa 
raama dhanu: pasya' -

ninaindha muni pagarndha elaam neRi unni aRivanum than
punaindha sadai mudi thuLakki pOr ERRin mugam paarththaan
vanaindhanaiya thirumEni vaLLalum am maathavaththOn 
ninaindha elaam ninaindhu andha nedunchilaiyai nOkkinaan - 25 - ibid

That sage visvaamithra saw raama - realizing the import of that look on him by 
the sage, raama also saw the big bow. 

Here two points on the description of raama by kamban are worth a little more 
elaboration.
        a.      "punaindha sadai mudi thuLakki pOr ERRin mugam paarththaan" - 
raama is described as 'pOr Eru' - the 'warring bull' used - even at that less 
than 16 age raama had the unique physique to be described as 'pOr Eru' - just 
recollect king dhasaratha said 'my son raama is not yet 16' before sending 
raama along with sage visvaamithra.
        b.      "vanaindhanaiya thirumEni vaLLalum andha nedunchilaiyai 
nOkkinaan" - this vanaindhanaiya - means picturesque - vanaidhal is to draw - 
vanaindhanaiya thirumEni - raama's body was like a picture drawn by a skilled 
artist - this same description is vavailable in other places also - like vaali 
when he starts addressing raama says 'Oviyaththil ezhudha oNNaa uruvaththOi', 
in another place as 'Oviya uruva' when vaali calls himself as 'naayEn'.    

After having a good look at the bow - he neared the bow to lift. At that stage 
see the reaction of others - a beautiful description by kamban - not found in 
vaalmeeki.
  
pozhindha nei aagudhi vaai vazhi pongi 
ezhundha kozhunkanal enna ezhundhaan 
azhindhahdu vil ena viNNavar aarththaar
mozhindhanar aasigaL muppagai venRaar - 26 -ibid

Like the fire how it rises, when the ghee spilling from the oblatory spoon 
reaches it, raama rose. Immediately the dhEvaas made exulting noise, having 
assembled in the sky. The sages, who have won the enemies within and outside 
and everywhere, blessed raamaa, for his success. 

Ok. The dhEvaas in the sky exulted. But what is the reaction of people in the 
hall? See kamban

vaLLal maNaththai magizhndhanan enRaal
koL ena munbu koduppadhai allaal
veLLam aNaiththavan villai eduththu ip
piLLai mun ittadhu pEdhaimai enbaar - 30 ibid.

oh, no, it is silly to have placed the bow, in front of  this young boy - the 
bow of one who embraced the floods - ganges - pointing to sivan who received 
ganges in his matted hairlocks. 

This slokam "leelayaa sa dhanur madhyE jagraaha vachanaath munE:" || 1-67-15 is 
given by kamban as

aadaga maal varai annadhu thannai 
thEda arumaamaNi seethai enum pon 
soodaga vaal vaLai soottida neettum
Edu avizh maalai idhu enna eduththaan - 33 ibid

Raama lifted the bow [from the box] as though it is a garland for seethaa - to 
be placed as a maNa maalai - he lifted the bow so lightly and easily - Edu 
avizh maalai - removed the leaf covering the garland.

These three lines of the slokam of vaalmeekee is given as two verses [the above 
one and below] by kamban - viz. 33, 34. 
aarOpayath sa dharmaathmaa sa leelam iva thath dhanu: || 1-67-16
aarOpayithvaa mourveem cha poorayaamaasa veeryavaan |
thath babhanja dhanur madhyE narasrEshtO mahaayasaa: || 1-67-17

thaduththu imaiyaamal irundhavar thaaLil
maduththadhum naaN nudhi vaiththadhum nOkkaar
kaduppinil yaarum aRindhilar kaiyaal 
eduththadhu kaNdanar iRRadhu kEttaar - 34 ibid

The people assembled there [including sage visvaamithra, king janaka, king's 
guru sadhaanandha, other people in the hall et al] did not wink their eyes in 
surprise [for raama having lifted the bow]. In spite of not winking the eyes, 
they did not see how quick raama lifted the bow with his hands, how he stringed 
the naaN in the bow etc, but heard the noise of the bow breaking. 

Janaka was first surprised when he heard, then, that his daughter seethaa 
pushed the bow with her left hand so easily. Now he finds raama lifting it so 
easily - like 'Edu avizh maalai ena eduththaan'. These two show the match 
between raama and seethaa. [Just recall the matchless matches of sadagopan 
iyengar swamy earlier]. 

Also please note the bow is broken in the middle, not at either end, but at 
handgrip [vaalmeekee]. This shows the power of his handgrip and of his palm.

Again this line "eduththadhu kaNdanar iRRadhu kEttaar" is a very popular line 
often referred and heard in lectures of raamaayaNam. Ok dear bhakthaas- upto 
this we read the bow's story. 

But is there any standard or technical specification for the bow? That is given 
as a comment in valmikiramayan.net site as below. [I mentioned in my earlier 
post as valimikiramayan.net, which is a mistake, and pardon me for that typo] 

Specs: a. A bow has a definite height and it is a measure of length, from the 
ages even up to the age of Kautilya. The bow's height is the height of the 
archer plus one measure of his head's height, as the upper end has to tower the 
archer's head. [Monier Williams Sanskrit English dictionary also corroborates 
this point] 

b. Kautilya gave many accounts for weights and measures, in his 'Artha 
Shaastra' [Ref:: Penguin re-publication]. Four aratni-s cubits are one dhanu, a 
bow-length. One aratni is 18 inches. Thus a bow-length is 6 feet or just above, 
taking the standard height of an archer as six-foot and or a little above. 

c. If that being so, this siva's bow's height must be placed more than the 
human measure of 6 feet, for dhEvaas are supposed to be more gigantic than 
ordinary human beings. Then it must be something like 8 to 10 feet or more. As 
per description of raama available elsewhere in raamaayaNam, 'raama is not a 
crane-legged boy, as his physique is sad to be of 'medium' size. Then how come 
a boy of, say of 4, 41/2 feet, could catch the upper end of 8-10 feet bow and 
to bend it...' is the objection raised generally. 

d. An archer has to stand the bow on ground, clutch its lower end under his big 
toe, and with one hand, he has to bend it. While with the other hand, he 
catches the bowstring to string the top end or other end. He is not supposed to 
handle it horizontally like a holdall or a briefcase.

e. To overcome this objection, it is said that the poet vaalmeekee has used the 
adjective 'mahaathmaa' to raama, 'an unfathomable one with an equally 
unfathomable soul'. The minute he touched the bow, it became a spongy stick and 
it listened to him and bent as he wished. 

f. Other way round also, raama is an ambidextrous archer and visvaamithra had 
furthered his skill in archery by giving to raamaa's possession, some divine 
missiles. Hence, his dexterity is now multiplied and he can handle any divine 
or human bow 'effortlessly'.

MGV: Thus, though vaalmeekee and kamban vary in presenting the handling of bow 
by people who brought it to the hall, how raama handled the bow, the bow's 
story of siva regarding its creation, how it came to janaka's ancestors, are 
not varied between them. 

Now that this siva's bow is broken, that part A of the bow's story. 
We have to take up the part B - the vishNu bow's story. 
That we will see in next post.

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/XUWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/

<*> 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