You are here: SriPedia - SriRangaSri - Archives - Dec 2003

SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00022 Dec 2003

 
Dec 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

                                     The Right-thinking Rakshasa

                RAkshasAs, as a race, are demoniacal. All one tends to 
associate with them are cruelty, torture and all sorts of murder and mayhem. 
They have always been a clan of marauders, with more brawn than brain and 
making a profession out of opposing the divine dispensation. They are always 
against the Lord and His devotees, always on the look out for opportunities of 
causing harm to the latter, in any and all ways. The very word "RAkshasa" 
brings to our mind a RAvaNA, a HiranyAksha, a Hiranyakasipu and others of their 
ilk.  At the mere mention of the word, our mind's eye picturises a meaty hulk 
with bulging, blood-red eyes, a tangled mane of hair falling over the 
shoulders, long and sharp protruding teeth resembling those of a predator and a 
body which is a veritable moving mountain of flesh, invariably dark in 
complexion, with a terrifying and blood-curdling roar passing for a voice. And, 
somewhat inexplicably, all the pictures of Rakshasas that I have seen, either 
on TV or in films, were with stripes of VibhUti on their foreheads.

               It is easy to conclude from the aforesaid that RakshasAs, 
without exception, were a gang of rogues and murderers, who couldn't bear the 
sight or thought of good things happening. However, when we peruse the VAlmIki 
Ramayana, we find several exceptions to the aforesaid stereotype picture that 
is painted of a RAkshasa. We are told that there were several Rakshasas in 
Lanka who were well-versed in the Vedas and were constantly reciting the 
same-"SvAdhyAya niratAnschaiva yAtudhAnAn dadarsa sa:". The houses of some of 
these worthies were reverberating with the sound of Mantras-"sushrAva japatAm 
tatra mantrAn rakshO grihEshuvai".  Several were engaged in the performance of 
YagyAs and were attired accordingly-"dIkshitAn jatilAn mundAn gO anijAmbara 
vAsasa:" Sri Hanuman is also able to find among the residents of Lanka, those 
with beauty of physique and character-"nananda drishtvA sa cha tAn surUpAn nAnA 
guNAn Atma guNAnuroopAn".     Their wives too impress the Vanara VIrA so much 
with their good hearts that he describes them as "mahAnubhAvA:", "vishuddha 
bhAvA:" etc.  They are also extremely attached to righteous conduct, finds Sri 
Maruti-"dharmaparA:". Many of the inhabitants of Lanka performed appropriate 
hOmAs during amAvAsya, PourNamAsya etc. (like Darsam, PoorNamAsam etc.). These 
Rakshasas were profound patrons of the arts and Lanka was filled with 
bewtitching music emanating from various instruments as also from the sweet 
shAreerams of their women.

Having said enough to establish that RAkshasAs were not entirely beyond 
redemption and that there were indeed exceptions to the general rule of their 
being bad, I should now do justice to the caption of this piece by dwelling on 
a Right-thinking Rakshasa. Readers would invariably except me to write here 
about the most obvious specimen of decency and Dharma that was to be found in 
Lanka-Sri VibhIshaNa. Indeed, it appears difficult to think of anyone else as 
rooted firmly in righteousness as this brother of Ravana, with his fearless 
espousal of the right path despite very real threats to his life and limb and 
his bold decision to leave all his earthly possessions, his princedom and all 
his loved ones, to cross the seas and surrender at the Lord's lotus 
feet-"tyaktvA putrAmscha dArAmshca Raghavam sharaNam gata:".

However, I would not be obliging readers by doing the obvious and writing about 
Vibhishana. The Hero of this piece is quite different. Though it is difficult 
to picturise him as a right-thinking person, he is indeed one, as Sri Valmiki 
demonstrates through his own words. The amount of adulatory references to Sri 
Rama, emanating from this Rakshasa, exceed the tributes paid by many of His 
admirers. Indeed, this worthy uses so many imaginative similies to describe the 
Prince of Ayodhya, that even the Lord's regular devotees would have to hang 
their heads in shame. The encomiums heaped upon the distinguished son of 
Dasarata, emanating from this unusual source, make one wonder as to whether he 
was indeed a Rakshasa, or born in the clan due to some mix-up at BrahmA's 
creative factory. 

"RAmO vigrahavAn dharma: sAdhu: satya parAkrama:"-Sri Rama is indeed 
righteousness personified and is the best of people, with proven prowess. Whom 
do you think is the author of these eloquent words of tribute to the Prince of 
Ayodhya? None other than MArIchA, who is the centerpiece of this article. 

Enraged by the indignity meted out to sister ShoorpanakhA, Ravana seeks the 
help of MarIchA for the abduction of Sri Mythili, to wreak revenge on Sri Rama. 
The elder Rakshasa's elaborate reply and homilies to Ravana have been 
chronicled by Sri Valmiki in considerable detail and each individual word of 
Maricha is worth its weight in gold.

>From Maricha's accounts, it would appear as though he is the fittest person to 
>tell us about Sri Raghava's bravery, prowess in war, tolerance and mercy, of 
>all of which he (Maricha) has been either a target or a beneficiary. In fact, 
>the Prince of Ayodhya's very first encounter with enemies involves Maricha, 
>SubAhu and a host of others, when they arrive in force to create hurdles to 
>Visvamitra's yagyA.  Mistaking the Prince to be a mere toddler playing with a 
>bow and arrow, when Maricha attacks, all that the Lord does is to let loose a 
>single sharp arrow, which not only renders the rakhsasa senseless, but the 
>momentum of which also carries him hundreds of miles afar, flinging him deep 
>into the ocean. Readers must appreciate the strategy behind the RamabANA's 
>sparing this rakshasa, when all the others accompanying him are annihilated. 
>Keeping in mind the important role the rakshasa was to play later on, Sri Rama 
>spares him with a warning shot, so to say.

The Rakshasa has a second encounter with the Prince, when he runs into Sri 
Rama, Lakshmana and Sri Mythily during their initial sojourn in the 
DandakAraNya. Misled again by appearances and failing to recognise in the 
deer-skin-clad Sri Rama the Prince at whose hands he had almost met his 
nemesis, Maricha attacks again, in the form of a deadly deer with lethal horns, 
intent on his habitual pursuit of killing and consuming RishIs and dharmAtmAs. 
Again, the RAmabANa, while putting paid to his equally blood-thirsty 
accomplices, spares Maricha, with a sound thrashing.

Thankful to the Lord for having spared his life twice, Maricha turns over a new 
leaf and leads a life of penance and renunciation, adhering to the right path 
atleast towards the sunset of his life-
"sharENa muktO Ramasya kathanchit prApya jIvitam
iha pravrAjtO yukta: tApasOham samAhita:"

It is at this juncture that Ravana seeks out Maricha, for abetting the 
abduction of Mythili. And Maricha, trying hard to dissuade DasagrIva from the 
foolhardy endeavour, uses the opportunity to sing the praises of Sri Rama in 
delightful detail. He tells the ill-fated Ravana that the one the latter was 
mistaking to be a puny mortal to be easily triumphed over, was in fact a 
warrior of matchless magnificence and peerless prowess. The similes employed by 
Maricha are choice ones, portraying vividly the various and glorious aspects of 
the Prince of Ayodhya.

"Rama is verily the Master of all these worlds, just as Indra is for the 
dEvAs", begins Maricha, recounting the fame of the Prince of Ayodhya. 
"He is verily the Furious Fire ("RAmAgni:"), having unfailing arrows as its 
leaping tongues, fed by the magnificent bow and sceptre, which form the fuel, 
and totally unappraochable to opponents intent on attack."
" Sri Rama is indeed the God of Death personified, with a terrifyingly gaping 
mouth represented by His splendorous bow Kodandam, sharp and lethal arrows 
forming the deadly tongue, weilding a sceptre that verily is a lasso capturing 
resisting victims and spelling death with every action of His".
Maricha uses several beautiful adjectives to describe Sri Ramachandra's glorius 
attributes, uttering each syllable with apparent relish-"MahAveeryam, 
guNOnnatam, MahEndra VaruNOpamam, DharmAtmA., Narasimha:, Padmapatra 
nibhEkshaNa:. SrImAn, BAlachandra:, aklishta karmaNa:," etc.  If the 
complimentary references made by Maricha are strung into a verse, they would 
indeed form a fitting accolade to the illustrious son of Kousalya.

Maricha is also aware of the glory of SitA PirAtti and tells Ravana that one 
who has Her at His side could never be won over, for His glory would be 
immeasurable-"apramEyO hi tat tEjO yasya sA JanakAtmajA". She is like the 
blazing fire, unapproachable by others-"deeptasyEva hutAsanasya Sita 
sumadhyamA". The rakshasa is aware too of the inseparability of the Divine Duo, 
likening Piratti to the brilliance of the Sun, which can never be separated 
from its possessor-"PrabhAm iva Vivasvata:".

Sri Rama is in Maricha's constant contemplation and forms the unvarying subject 
matter of his thoughts, both due to the terror occasioned by the former's 
deadly arrows, as well as the pleasure it affords the Rakshasa to think about 
the splendorous divine form with the matchless attributes. Like the seasoned 
BrahmagnAni, he is able to see the Lord in everything that he sets his eyes on-
"Rama bhootam idam sarvam araNym pratibhAti mE". He sees not one Rama, but 
thousands of Him, filling all directions, the earth and the skies above-
"api Rama sahasrANi bheeta: pasyAmi Ravana!". 
He sees Sri Raghava in every tree and shrub of the forest he lives in-

"VrikshE vrikshE cha pasyAmi cheera krishNAjinAmbaram
girheeta dhanusham Ramam pAsa hastam ivAntakam"

Maricha is blessed to see the Lord not only while awake, but even in his sleep-
"Ramam Eva hi pasyAmi RakshasEsvara!
DrishtvA svapna gatam Ramam udbhavAmi vichEtana:"

So much obsessed is the rakshasa with Sri Rama that all words beginning with 
"Ra" remind him only of the Prince of Ayodhya-
"RakAra AdIni nAmAni Rama trastasya Ravana!
 RatnAni cha rathAschaiva trAsam sanjanayanti mE"

What an exalted state, which every aspiring seeker would covet! To see the Lord 
in anything and everything one sets sight on, to hear the Lord's sonorous and 
stentorian voice in all sounds that fall on one's ears, to have Him inhabit 
one's thoughts constantly and without intermission, in waking and in sleep, to 
have each and every word in the lexicon remind one only of Emperuman, to know 
His prowess in all its glory and to think, breathe, hear and do everything with 
the Lord as constant companion! 

If this is not what Brahma gnAnam is all about, what else could it be! It is an 
entirely different story that all this constant contemplation of the Lord was 
caused in Maricha by his mortal fear of DAsarathi-irrespective of the causative 
factors, we must admit that the rakshasa attained a state which would be 
extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any devotee to even think of, leave 
alone achieve.

There are two entities who claim to know the Lord's glories in all their 
immeasurable extent- the first is the VEda Purusha, who claims with confidence 
to know the Lord for what He is-"VEdAham Etam Purusham mahAntam" says the 
Purusha Sukta. The other is Maharshi Visvamitra, who too employs almost similar 
words to display his close acquaintance with and knowledge of the 
Paramapurusha-"aham vEdmi mahAtmAnam Ramam satya parAkramam". And there is a 
third too, a totally unlikely entity, none other than our Maricha, who says he 
knows Sri Raghava in all His glory-" aham tasya prabhAvagya: na yuddham tEna tE 
kshamam". All these three knowers stand on an equal footing, in that they know 
not the true extent of the Lord's magnificence, but know it to be immeasurable 
and beyond description. 

The dialogue between Maricha and Ravana can rank very well with other 
conversations of scriptural renown as those between Sri Bhishma and Sri 
Yudhistthira (resulting in the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama stotram) and the one the 
latter had with Sri Vidhura-for, all these serve to bring out the many-faceted 
splendour of Emperuman and His auspicious attributes.

 Maricha's monologue covers a lot of ground in social, political and personal 
ethics and is a treat to the discerning reader. Maricha prefaces his long 
sermon to Ravana with the remark that holds good even today-that quite a lot of 
friends and relatives could be found, who tell you only what you want to hear, 
what is pleasing to your ears, irrespective of its being truthful or otherwise. 
On the other hand, there is none to voice bitter truths or hard options, and 
even if there were to be some such honest person, he would find no takers or 
listeners-
"Bahava: purushA RAjan! Satatam priya vAdina:
 apriyasya cha pathyasya vaktA shrOtA cha durlabha:".

One might wonder-if Maricha was indeed a reformed rakshasa, cured of all his 
bestial nature, why should he consent to assuming the form of the golden deer 
and enable the abduction of Piratti by Ravana? Does this not prove that one's 
essential nature never changes, whatever be the lessons life teaches one? Can a 
tiger ever change its stripes? And so on.

The truth of the matter is that Maricha was able to discern the inexorable hand 
of fate pulling him towards his end. He was aware too that if he didn't oblige 
Ravana, it would mean immediate death at the hands of the cruel asurA. He knew 
too that to obey Ravana would mean certain death at the hands of Sri Rama, who 
would definitely not spare him for a third time. So Maricha found that his fate 
was sealed, with death a sure end-product of whichever option he chose. And he 
preferred to die at the hands of one whom he admired most and whom he 
considered a "vigrahavAn Dharma:". He says as much to Ravana too-
"MAm nihatya tu Ramascha na chirAt tvAm vadhishyati
  anEna krita krityOsmi mriyE yat ariNA hata:"

And when, as expected, Sri Rama's arrow pierces his heart, Maricha lets out a 
cry, "HA SItA! HA LakshmaNA!". Whatever be the motive behind these utterances, 
the Rakshasa has the Piratti's tirunAmam on his lips and that of mahA bhAgavata 
Lakshmana, which must have ensured for him a place in the heavens above, though 
Sri Valmiki is silent on this. If the parable of ajAmiLa is any indication and 
it is true that he was taken to the VishnulOka merely for calling out to his 
son Narayana (and not the Paramapurusha Narayana) while on his death bed, it 
would appear that the efficacy of Bhagavan nAma is such as to ensure 
emancipation, irrespective of the intention behind its utterance-as such, 
Maricha too should have attained the good worlds inhabited by meritorious 
mortals.

This is not an eulogy to an unendearing asura, but a tribute to the Lord who is 
able to enthrall and entice even hard-core offenders and die-hard demons like 
Maricha. Inscrutable indeed are the ways of Emperuman, in bringing habitual 
offenders to the path of righteousness-He attracts some through His bewitching 
form, some through His magnificent kalyANa guNAs, some others through His 
prowess. In the case of Maricha, the Lord did it through the very basic human 
emotion of fear, making the asura so terror-stricken as to find the Lord 
anywhere and everywhere, to see Him in every object, while awake as well as 
when asleep.

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan

 
          


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



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/VkWolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Srirangasri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx

 

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
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list