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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:



"Chirai irundavaL Ettram"



Srimad Ramayana has been inspiring us for millions of years and will continue 
to do so forever. Even today, when materialistic machinations rule the roost, 
we find a discourse on some aspect or other of Sri Rama's story being delivered 
somewhere or the other in our sprawling country. Though we have been listening 
to the tale since our childhood, it doesn't seem to bore us, as is attested by 
the audiences still thronging Srimad Ramayana upanyasams everywhere. 



After all, you could summarize the story in a few lines- the tale isn't all 
that complicated, nor does it have innumerable sub-tales branching off the main 
theme, as in Sri Mahabharata. In fact, we do wonder how Sri Valmiki was able to 
spin the limited theme into a magnificent, colourful fabric of 24000 slokas!



Srimad Ramayana could be shortly and succinctly described as the story of the 
brave and righteous Prince of Ayodhya, who was banished to the forest through 
palace intrigue, lost his wife Sita due to the subterfuges of an Asura inflamed 
by desire for the damsel, contracted the friendship of a monkey-king, through 
whose assistance he located his wife and regained her after a valiant battle 
with the abductor.



There is hardly anything more to the tale, which is a fairly straightforward 
one, albeit with a lot of homilies to humanity on righteous conduct and 
sticking to it even in the face of adversity. How then do we explain the 
continuing popularity of the epic, even after millennia have passed since its 
composition? We might see an interesting film or read an absorbing book once, 
perhaps twice, even thrice. After that, the attraction of the book or film 
wanes, till at a particular stage, after enough repetitive perusals, we would 
be prepared to run at the suggestion of another viewing or reading. This is 
perhaps due to the operation of what the economists call The Law of Diminishing 
Marginal Utility, whereby each successive consumption of an item, however much 
we may like it, is likely to bring us progressively less satisfaction, till the 
stage is reached when we won't even want to look at the item anymore, leave 
alone consume it.



The undying popularity of Srimad Ramayana is due to the fact that it is not 
just any old tale, but the story of the Paramapurusha. If the Lord is an 
"ArAvamudam", a nectar whose taste never diminishes and, on the contrary, 
affords an ever-new experience, it stands to reason that His tale too should 
never pall on us, even after any amount of recounting. The lasting morals the 
epic teaches us have not lost their relevance despite the passage of millions 
of years-if anything, they appear all the more applicable in today's context of 
humanity being plagued by distrust and disharmony, hurtling headlong towards 
decisive destruction. 

Though there may be reasons galore for the epic's undiminished appeal, the 
principal among them is that it is the story of Piratti. More than being an 
account of the exploits of Sri Rama, it is the tale of the Divine Bride, who 
spent long years in prison, for our sake. It is the story of a model wife who 
would not forsake her husband's side, whether he was the Prince of Ayodhya or 
an exiled pauper traversing dangerous forests filled with terror. It is the 
story of a young Princess, accustomed to only the most luxurious of life 
styles, and her preparedness to sleep on a bed of grass, wear dresses made of 
tree bark and deer skin, and accept as food only the bland roots and fruits the 
forest had to offer, vis a vis the sumptuous and gourmet dishes She was used 
to-all for the sake of sticking to her husband during testing times. It is the 
story of a madame who was Mercy personified, who forgave readily even those who 
had mortally sinned against her. It is the thrilling fable of a faithful spouse 
who spurned an offer from Sri Hanuman to spirit her away from imprisonment in 
the Ashoka vanam to liberty, preferring to wait for her brave husband to rescue 
her ("MAm nayEt yadi KAkutsttha: tat tasya sadrusam bhavEt") It is also the 
saga of a wronged woman, the purest of pure, who went through an ordeal by fire 
to prove her virtue. It is the legend of a Banished Bride, sent to exile by her 
uncompromisingly righteous husband, based on mere idle gossip by a washerman, 
despite the fact that she was pregnant. In short, it is "SitAyA: Charitam 
Mahat"- the glorious tale of Sri Sita. Summarizing the content of the epic, Sri 
Pillai Lokacharya remarks, "ithAsa shrEshttamAna itthAlE chirai irundavaL Etram 
sollugiradhu".



A small but significant sloka from the epic is quoted below, which gives us a 
fair idea of this Lady's greatness-



"iyam SitA mama sutA sahadharma charee tava

prateeccha cha EnAm bhadram tE pANim grihNeeshva pANinA"



This is the "SitA KalyANa" sloka, whereby Sri Janaka hands over his beloved 
daughter to Sri Rama, with a few words as to the bride's suitability. Each word 
of this sloka has been held by Poorvacharyas to be pregnant with meaning.



"iyam SitA" (This SitA)-Sri Janaka tells His son-in-law-to-be that His bride is 
no ordinary girl, but a delightful damsel of considerable accomplishment. Even 
Her birth was extraordinary-She was not born to human parents after a ten-month 
imprisonment in the mother's womb-She was just found in the Yaga bhoomi when it 
was being leveled -up.

Sri Janaka, who is a GnAni, acclaimed even by the GitAcharya ("KarmENaiva hi 
samsiddhim Astthita JanakAdaya:") knows that Sita is no ordinary mortal, but 
verily the LOkamAtA, come to the world out of Her own free will.. This he 
implies to Sri Rama when handing Her over to His custody.

The words "iyam Sita" further state implicitly that here is a maiden who is the 
repository of all virtues ("nArINAm utttamA vadhU:").

Unlike modern times, the bride and the groom did not have even a glimpse of 
each other till the moment of the wedding.( Kamban's "aNNalum nOkkinAn, avaLum 
nOkkinAl" appears to be more of a poetical embellishment than a statement of 
fact). Thus, in saying "iyam SitA", Sri Janaka seems to tell Rama, "Behold, 
this is the SitA for winning whose hand you underwent the ordeal of lifting the 
Shiva Dhanus. Is She not worth the trouble?".



"Mama sutA"- Sri Janaka proudly tells Sri Rama that Sita is HIS daughter. He 
seems to imply that even if She weren't his daughter by birth, She had been 
found and brought up by him and as such, verily his daughter.



Sri Janaka impliedly tells Sri Rama that all the good qualities in himself 
(Janaka) had been duly imbibed by Sita, and that She was worthy of being called 
his daughter.



Another interpretation is that these words ("My daughter") were uttered by Sri 
Janaka ironically, hinting at the impossibility of the LOkamAta being anybody's 
progeny.



"Sahadharma charI tava"- by these words, the father-in-law conveys to the groom 
that the bride would aid and assist the groom in all his righteous endeavours.

Sri Janaka , who is aware that Sri Rama is righteousness personified ("RAmO 
vigrahavAn Dharma:") assures Him that the bride would in no way be an obstacle 
to the performance of His dhArmic duties, but, on the contrary, extend full 
support in all His efforts aimed at SAdhu paritrANam ( protecting the good) and 
dushkrit vinAsanam ( destruction of evil), in the process reestablishing Dharma 
(Dharma SamstthApanam).

The paramount dharma of the Lord is saving those who apply to Him for 
succour-the SharanAgatAs. The Lord Himself makes this plain-"Etat vratam mama". 
In Ramavatara, the Lord did not have any occasion to respond to Sharanagati 
till His marriage, as Piratti's is an indispensable presence in the process of 
Sharanagata Rakshanam. Sri Janaka appears to tell Sri Rama that He could 
thenceforth embark on His mission of Saving Souls, now that SitA was with Him. 
Just as a person without a wife cannot perform a Yaga, the Lord too requires 
the active participation of His PatnI in emancipating Jeevas.

Looking at it another way, Sri Janaka seems to tell Sri Rama that his daughter 
would support Him (Rama) only in His lawful conduct and not otherwise. 



"PratIccha" "Please accept my daughter in marriage" says the Emperor of Mithila 
to the Prince of Ayodhya. Here too, a tinge of irony is detectable. Having 
uttered the word, Sri Janaka is struck by the realization that he is offering 
to the Lord none other than Piratti Herself, who is the Lord's eternal and 
inseparable companion. The doubt seizes him as to what role he (Janaka) could 
play in Piratti rejoining Her Lord. He finds himself officiously offering to 
the Prince what is His (Rama's) own inalienable property. Sri Janaka's 
predicament appears similar to that of Sri Alavandar, who, after surrendering 
his soul to the Lord, realizes that the soul is not his to surrender-

"Mama nAta yadasti yOsmyaham 

sakalam taddhi tavaiva Madhava!

Niyatastvam iti prabuddha dhee:

AthavA kinnu samarpayAmi tE?"



"Bhadram tE"- Like Sri Periazhwar, Sri Janaka too is afraid that the evil eye 
might befall the Matchless Match, and hastens to invoke all auspiciousness for 
the newly wed couple. The Prince of Ayodhya and the Princess of Mithila make 
such a wonderful pair in every way. In beauty, bewitching behaviour, endearing 
qualities and in all other parameters, they form a Perfect Pair, as could be 
found nowhere. It is this sight that drives Sri Janaka to exclaim "Bhadram tE", 
to ward off the evil eye.



"PANim grihNeeshva"- "Hold Her hand", tells Sri Janaka to Sri Rama. This makes 
it clear that the act of holding hands or "PANi grahaNam" signified the 
consummation of marriage in times of yore, and that the "TirumAngalya dhAraNam" 
or the groom adorning the bride's neck with the mangalasUtra, is of much later 
origin. As if demonstrating this, Sri Kodandaraman of MadhurAntakam is to be 
found in the kalyANa tirukkOlam, with Sri VaidEhI's palm in the firm grasp of 
His own. It is probably based on this custom that Sri Kodai Nacchiar too dreams 
of the Lord wedding Her by grasping Her hand-"Kaitthalam pattra kanA kaNdEn 
tOzhI nAn!". Similarly, while the "PANi grahaNam" has the support and sanction 
of a Veda mantra specifically applicable to the act, it is debatable whether 
the Mangalya dharana mantra ("Mangalyam tantunA anEna mama jeevana 
hEtunA-kanttE badhnAmi subhagE") is indeed a Veda mantra. At least, it doesn't 
appear to be from the Yajur vEda.



The glory of Piratti is so widespread in the great epic, that one would fully 
agree with the author in calling it "SItAyA's Charitam mahat" (The Great Tale 
of SitA). This is also borne out by Chakkravartti Tirumagan's own words on 
several occasions during His separation from Mythili. There is thus little 
doubt that Srimad Ramayanam is out and out a saga of the Lady, rather than of 
the Lord.



Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

Dasan, sadagopan.







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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