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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