SrI Raama Jayam
Koojantham Raama-RaamEthi madhuram
madhurAksharam
aaruhya kavithA-saakhAm vandhE Vaalmiki
kOkilam
I offer my salutations to that nightingale with the
name of Vaalmiki ,
which climbed on to the branch of poetry and sings
with delectable
music , the sacred name of Raamaa.
Dear Raama BhakthAs:
This is the Third day of PaarAyaNam , when
Sargams16-20 are to be covered .
For slOkams , word by word translation of
the 32 slOkams of the 16th sargam and
meanings , please refer to the following
URL:
From 17-68 ,no English translations of the above
kind are
available now. I will summarize the meanings of
these chapters .
Extensive efforts to provide the slokam by slokam
translation has
to wait for another occasion , since it will take
many months to accomplish
that task .
We will now study selected slOkams from each of
these five Sargams
(16-20) and provide a summary of these sargams
.
Chapter 16: Sorrow of HaUumAn over the sad sight of
SeethA Devi
*******************************************************************************
HanumAn was now convinced that the lady under
the SimsupA tree
was indedd SeethA Devi ( SeethEyam ithyEva
nivishta-buddhi: ) .
He reflected upon the sad truth that kaalagathi can
not be overcome
by anyone including SeethA Devi , even if She was
the divine consort
of the mighty RaamachandrA ( yadhi Seethaapi
dukkhArtthA kaLO
hi DURATHIKRAMA: ). SeethA Devi however was of
single mind about
the unfailing valour
of Her Lord to rescue Her and therefore did not lose hope.
HanumAn begins to reflect on the extraordinary
close match of SeethA
PirAtti with Her husband in conduct , age , youth , anga soundharyam
and all other physical and mental aspects:
tulya-seelA vayO-vrutthAm
tulyApi-jana-lakshaNam
RaaghavOrhathi VaidEheem Tamm
chEyam-asitEkshaNA
---Sundara KaaNDam: 16.5
HanumAn then began to recall the many heroic deeds
performed by
Raaghava Simham for SeethA PirAtti's sake
earlier : Vaali Vadham ,
battle of JanasthAnam , where 14,000 rAkshasAs were
killed ,
Khara-Thrisiras vadham , crowning of
Sugreeva et al .
HanumAn reflects further on the avathAram of
Seethai in the lofty
kingdom of Janaka maharAjA and Her links by
marriage to another
great Kulam ( IshvAku kulam ). HanumAn concludes
that the blessings
of the rulership over all the three worlds would not equal that of
Jaanaki MaathA (
TharailOkya rAjyam sakalam SeethAyaa
nApnuyAth-kalAm ).HanumAn assesses that the deep love of
SeethA as a MahA Pathivrathai for Her husband made Her accept
the suffering of incarceration in LankA .
HanumAn was now convinced that the beautiful lady
suffering
immensely under the pain of sepaeration from Her
husband is
indeed SeethA PirAtti and HanumAn stayed on top of
the SimsupA
tree under which
SeethA PirAtti was found by Him .
Chapter 17: Seeing the Raakshasees surrounding
SeethA Devi
**************************************************************************
This sargam has 31 slOkams and goes in to great
details about
the distorted , ugly and frightening features
of the many Raakshasis
that RaavaNA has ordered to watch over SeethA
PirAtti and
to frighten Her in to submission to marryRaavaNaa
.HanumAn
contrasts the enduring beauty of SeethA PirAtti
even under the most
dire circumstance of incarceration in LankA by the
evil RaavaNaa.
HanumAn offered now His namaskArams to Raamaa
and LakshMaNaa
from AsOka Vanam and was elated over His good
fortune to have
located and seen SeethA PirAtti with His own
eyes :
namaskruthvA Sa Raamasya LakshmaNAya cha
VeeryavAn
SeethA-darsana-samhrushtO HanumAn
samvruthOabhavath
---Sundara KaaNDam: 17.31
HanumAn hid amongst the dense foliage of the
SimsupA tree
to avoid
detection by the Raakshasees guarding SeethA
Devi.
Sargam 18 : Arrival of RaavaNan at AsOka
Vanam
**********************************************************
Sun has set by now. RaavaNaa woke up from his sleep
and
headed for AsOka vanam driven by his desire for
SeethA Devi.
He was surrounded by attendant servants.Sage
Vaalmiki
describes RaavaNan here as "Kaama ParAdheenan
"
( One overcome by Kaamam) and Dhurbuddhi. HanumAn
climbed to a higher branch of the SimsupA tree now
to have
a better look at the RaakshasA king , who was
strutting like
a rogue elephant in rut to come near SeethA
PirAtti.There are
32 slOkams in this sargam.
Sargam 19:Description of SeethA
PirAtti
***************************************************
As SethA saw this evil-minded RaavaNan , She shook
like
a banana tree hit by a cyclone and She
covered Her upper body
with Her folded hands in modesty .In the 23 slOkams
of this sargam ,
Adhi Kavi provides
outstanding similies to describe the sad plight of
SeethA PirAtti as She faced the approaching
RaavaNan. Valmeeki
described SeethA Devi's pitiable plight this
way :
upavAsEna sOkEna dhyAnEna cha bhayEna
cha
pariksheeNAm krusAm dheenAm alpAhArAm
tapOdhanAm
aayachamAnam dukkhArTam prAnjalim
DevathAmiva
bhAvEna Raghu-mukhyasya
dasagreeva-parAbhavam
---Sundara KaaNDam: 19. 21-22
(meaning ):SeethA PirAtti was frail from fasting
;She was overladen
with sorrow and had only water for nourishment and
was doing
penance to be reunited with Her Lord. She was
praying with folded
palms to Her kula dhaivam , Lord RanganAtha for the
destruction of
RaavaNa by the chief of Raghu Vamsam
, SrI Raaamachandran.
Sargam 20 : RaavaNan's appeal
*************************************
This sargam has 36 slOkams . RaavaNan stands now in
front
of the shivering SeethA PirAtti and states that he
desires Her
and asks Her to confer on him the honor of becoming the object of
his affection ( kaamayE ThvAm VisAlAkshi bahu
manyasya mAm priyE).
He asks SeethA PirAtti not to be afraid of him and
observes that it
was not fit for Her to observe vrathams and
undergo hardships instead of
enjoying bhOgams with him . RaavaNan tells SeethA PirAti that Her youth
should not be wasted (Youanam vyathivarthatE ) and that the youth will not
return just as the
water that has flown by in previous years.The evil
rAkshan
says boldly : Oh MaiTili ! Be my wife ( Bhava
MaiTili bhAryA mE). Forget
your delusion about abandoning me ( mOha manam
visarjaya).
Decorate yourself to your heart's desire ( icchayA
kriyathAmadhya
prathikarma tavOtthamam ). Give land and wealth to
anyone you
wish as my wife ( yaTEshtam cha prayaccha Thvam
pruTiveem
vaa dhanAni cha). He utters with boldness the
advantages SeethA
Devi can get by trustign him and pleasing him . He
begs Her
to command him with courage . He offered to place
SeethA DEvi
on top of all his wives including the patta mahishi
, MandhOdhari
herself . He says that Her relatives and
friends will also share
his immeasurable wealth :
lalasva mayi visraBdhA dhrushtamAgnyApayasva
cha
mathprasAdhllalanthyAsccha lalanthAm
BhAndhavAstava
---Sundara KaaNDam: 20.24
After praising himself , RaavaNan now begins to
ridicule
SrI Raamachandran , which was like poison to the
ears of
SeethA PirAtti :
nikshiptha-vijayO RaamO gatha-SrIr-vanagOchara:
vrathee sTaNidala-saayee cha sankE jeevathi vaa na vaa
---Sundara KaaNDam: 20.26
(Meaning): Your husband Raaman is without victory ( Nikshiptha-
Vijayan) . He has no property as a wanderer in the forests .
He observes
aal vrathams and lies odwn on the ground for sleeping ( instead
of
a soft bed) . I am not sure whether he is alive now or not !
na Raamas-tapasA dEvi na BhalEna na vikramai:
na dhanEna mayA tulyas-tEjasA yasasAapi vaa
--Sundara KaaNDam : 20.34
(Meaning ) : Oh Devi ! Your Raaman is not equal to me in tapas , strength
,
valour , material wealth , lustre or reputation ! Please enjoy my
company
and all my wealth , eat , drink and be merry ( piBha vihara ramasva
bhunkshva
bhOgAn).
Commentators observe that RaavaNan's samarpaNam of all
his Isvaryam to SeethA Devi ( however offensive it was ) led to
him
to attain Lord RanganAthA's anugraham for the retention of
all that wealth in the family as long as there is Sun and the Moon
.
Reference here is to RaavaNaa's brother VibhishaNan becoming
the King of LankA through coronation by Lord Raamachandra
after RaavaNA's destruction .
SrI Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE Nama:
Raama Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri
SadagOpan
SrImath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
,
Raama DhAsan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri
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