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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00005 Apr 2005

 
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Post 3

Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

Continuing on the topic of `minds of women' based on the 
thyaagaraajaa's kriti `kanulu thaakani', the next point raised in 
first post was on the charaNam 1, and it read as below -

ghOra bhoopathini joochi dhaarukaaraNya sathulu 
mEra meeri bhuvini apadhooru galga jEsirE 

Meaning: The ladies of dhaarukaa forest have violated their code of 
conduct and earned bad name, as they saw the fierce king.

The point ? "it is a sort of allegation about some `ladies' to raama. 
This episode is of some ladies getting enchanted by a king in the 
dhaaruka forest and going behind that person ? who happened to be a 
king of that area. Why the author of the krithi should inform raama 
about this? How can he expect raama to comment or give a point on 
this?"  

Is it of any concern to us, raama bhakthaas, and a question also 
arises "why thyaagaraaja included this in the krithi", since it is an 
episode on siva ? siva alluring many rishi pathnis in the dhaaruka 
forest before his cosmic dance or aanandha thaaNdavam. 

Just for information of the bhakthaas on the cosmic dance of siva, 
dhaaruka forest etc, the following are given. Fine ? there are 
different versions of it and we have three here.

One version: Lord VishNu reclining on aadisEsha -the serpent-seat of 
God- was one day in an uncommon mood which both Lakshmi and aadisEsha 
noticed. Asked about it, the Lord started in narrating a long story. 
The previous night he accompanied Lord Siva to the dhaaruka forest to 
test the piety of the rishis there. The two Lords, Siva and VishNu, 
assumed the disguise of a naked beggar, begging for food ? bhikshaa 
atana moorthi- and of a beautiful voluptuous woman ? Mohini- 
respectively. The Rishi wives and the Rishis, in the dhaaruka forest ?
 [near the bEt dhvaaraka in present day Gujarat state] lost their 
senses on seeing this divine pair and went after them. When the 
Rishis discovered who the intruder was, who disturbed the balance of 
their wives, they set up in anger an unholy sacrifice. [see here ? 
rishis did not bother why they went after mohini but more concerned 
about their wives going behind some other]  Out of this they pulled 
one after the other, 
·       a tiger, 
·       a ball of fire, 
·       a serpent 
·       a monster 
and hurled them at Siva. 
Siva peeled off the skin of the tiger and wore it round his waist. He 
caught hold of the ball of fire in his left hand and held it aloft. 
He calmed the serpent and wore it round his neck as an ornament. By 
this time he had begun to dance in joy. So when the rishis set up the 
monster against Siva, he dwarfed the monster, stood on it on one leg 
and continued his dance. VishNu and the others were charmed by this 
aanandha-thaaNdavam = joyous divine dance of the Lord siva. Then 
rishis were blessed and the two Lords disappeared to their places. 
Thus narrated vishNu to lakshmi and sEsha.

Another version: In the forest of dhaaruka dwelt multitudes of 
heretical rishis, followers of the meemaamsa. Thither proceeded siva 
to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful 
woman, and aadi-sEsha. The rishis were at first led to violent 
dispute amongst themselves [because of the beautiful lady 
accompanying siva?], but their anger was soon directed against siva, 
and they endeavoured to destroy Him by means of incantations. A 
fierce tiger was created in sacrificial fires, and rushed upon Him; 
but smiling gently, He seized it and, with the nail of His little 
finger stripped off its skin, and wrapped it about Himself like a 
silken cloth. Undiscouraged by failure, the sages renewed their 
offerings, and produced a monstrous serpent, which, however, siva 
seized and wreathed about His neck like a garland. Then He began to 
dance; but there rushed upon Him at last a monster in the shape of a 
malignant dwarf, Muyalaka -the Apasmaara purusha. Upon him the God 
pressed the tip of His foot, and broke the creature's back, so that 
it writhed upon the ground; and so, His last foe prostrate, siva 
resumed the dance, witnessed by gods and rishis. [see here the rishi 
wives were not in picture having been enchanted whereas first version 
speaks of that and hence not of interest]

Third version: The puranic account of the origin of the cosmic dance 
is slightly different and based more on philosophical truth. The 
rishis of Dhaaruka vanam questioned the relevance of God, arguing 
that since Karma was everything, only action mattered. To remove 
their ajnaanam -ignorance, siva took the form of a most beautiful 
man - sundhara moorthy and came to Dharuka vanam. Enchanted, all the 
women followed him. Lord Vishnu [who accompanied siva as in previous 
version] enticed the rishis as Mohini. The rishis, enraged that they 
had been fooled [since they lost their wives as well fooled by the 
mohini], conducted an Atharva Vedic "homa" to destroy Lord siva. 
First from the homa fire emerged Muyalagan, the demon, called 
apasmara purusha in Sanskrit. The cosmic dance began. Muyalagan was 
trampled underfoot. Then emerged snake, deer, tiger etc. The snakes 
from the fire, which emerged became siva's garlands after the venom 
was removed. A deer with huge antlers was miniaturised and held in 
one hand. The menacing tiger became his waistcloth while the raging 
fire was captured in another hand. The sound of the evil incantations 
became his anklets. Thus transformed, they became beneficial.

Note: 
1.      the matter in brackets is included in above are from my side 
for more clarity. 
2.      Please do not pick up any thread for a fight how you can 
include all this in the srivaishNva lists. 
3.      These paragraphs are added just to establish my point of 
ahalyaa story and nothing more than that.

Now the point of relation to the krithi and ahalyaa: 
a.      from the first version lord vishNu who has now come as raama 
knows about this ? siva enchanting the ladies and as such sage 
visvaamithra asking raama about this is not out of context. Since in 
raamayaNam, this episode is not there we need not add weight to this. 
b.      The word Bhoopathi means the king. Ahalyaa also saw the ghOra 
bhoopathi ? king indhran became ugly after being cursed by her own 
king - viz. her husband sage gouthama [who is a king of enormous 
thapas] ? who is also fierce now, in anger because of her conduct. 
Dhaaruka is a type of wood or species of wood- AaraNya is forest. 
This is also suiting because the aasramam was in forest, then 
deserted when raama saw it was almost a raised stony area. But a 
forest earlier when sage was there. So the charaNam point is NOT out 
of context.
 
As side information, "dhaarukan" is the charioteer of Krishna, the 
charioteer lord - of arjunan- paarthasaarathy. Dhaarukan rode the 
chariot to pradhyumnan son of krishNa during the war he had with 
usha's father etc. [may be to retrieve usha when usha's friend 
chithralekha abducted him from krishna's palace for her friend usha's 
sake].  

The next point in the first post is on charaNam 2 - a description 
about the beauty of raamaa ? and thyaagaraaja praises or describes or 
says - thyaagaraaja vinutha - Is it a sort of appeasement of raama, 
for the poet has raised irrelevant points or questions to raama? Then 
to describe him as "Who attracts the mind and brings happiness", "Who 
has got eyes like the intoxicated chakOra bird", "the big boar roopa 
having protruding teeth", "the moon-faced beautiful Lord" ? a 
combination of contrasting features ? chandra vadhana on one side and 
a ugly boar having protruding teeth on the other.

Just to recall charaNam 2 
mana mOhana aanandha madha chakOra nayanaa 
kundharadana chandhra vadhana sundharaanga thyaagaraajavinutha 
Meaning:
Oh Lord! Who attracts the mind and brings happiness, Who has got eyes 
like the intoxicated chakOra bird, the boar faced having protruding 
teeth, moon-faced beautiful Lord praised by tyAgarAja!

Points: the very word raama means one who steals the heart by his 
beauty. So mana mohana aanandha is very apt description. madha 
chakOra nayanaa is for the intoxicated chakOra bird which feeds 
itself on the rays of moon. So the next word of chandhra vadhana ? 
the moon like face of raama, added to that the eyes ? sun and moon 
are his eyes ? so twice the bird is fed or has the source of 
nourishment. 

But this `kundharadana'- is it apt? ? since the length of post 
increased we will have to see that in next.

Dhasan 
Vasudevan m.g.









azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam
 
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