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SrI:
SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.09 / ISSUE # 11 dated 9nd December 2007
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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. YUDDHA KHAANDAM PART - 1 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
3. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 41- SLOKAM 17 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 274 Regular issues of SRS have been released
so far, apart from numerous "Special Issues" as indicated below:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
36 Issues of Vol. 8
11 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)
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2. "YUDDHA KHAANDAM" PART - 1 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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1. INTRODUCTION
In Sundara khaaNDam, the "Purushakaaram" of Mahaalakshmi was 
described. This khaaNDam illustrates how a master should reward his 
servant who has done far exceeding what was expected of him. 
Servants are of 3 kinds:
1.      One who not only completes his assignment but also does more 
in the interest of the welfare of the master is "Uttaman"
2.      One who completes just his assignment with enthusiasm 
is "Madhyaman"
3.      One who does not carry out his duties assigned is "Adhaman"
Hanumaan belongs to the Uttaman category.
Thinking that he could not compensate for the help rendered by 
Hanumaan, Rama embraces him with great affection (1)

2. RAMA'S ARMY MARCHES TOWARDS LANKA
With the comforting words of Sugreeva, Rama decided to start on the 
march. It was Uttara palguni and the muhoortham was "abhijit"- the 
most propitious time for commencing the march of the armies. The 
huge monkey army reached the seashore (2-5).

3. RAVANA'S DURBAR
Ravana summoned his ministers to deliberate on the action to be 
taken in view of the destruction caused by a mere monkey to the 
impregnable fortresses of his kingdom. The sycophantic ministers 
catalogued his past victories like his humbling the serpent king of 
BhOgavati, his vanquishing his brother kubEra from whom he snatched 
the Pushpaka Vimaanam, his conquest of Mayan who later befriended 
him by offering his daughter MaNDOdari in marriage, his conquest 
over Vaasuki, Dakshakan, Sankhan, JaTee and others in Rasaa-tala, 
his driving away "Mrtiyu" by stirring the great ocean, and his 
destroying Kings like "AnaraNyan" and such other feats. They tried 
to instill in him confidence in fighting Rama (7). Prahastan, Dur-
mukhan, Vajra damshTran, Nikumban (son of KumbakarNan), and 
Vajrahanu joined the chorus in extolling the victories of Ravana and 
provoking his self esteem to a state of frenzy (8) 

4. VIBHEESHANA'S ADVICE
It was VibheeshaNa who tendered sage advice saying -
-       That it was not proper to resort to war with one who adhered 
to Dharma especially by those who have spurned the righteous path 
carried away by lust, pride and prejudice.
-       That it was not proper to underestimate the strength of the 
opposing armies that had achieved the impossible by crossing the 
vast ocean.
-       That when Rama did not do any harm to Ravana, he had 
no "cause of action" to fight with him.
-       That it was wrong, in the first place, for Ravana to have 
abducted Sita and that too in a stealthy manner.
-       That this one was enough to ensure total annihilation of 
Ravana's side.
-       That there were far too numerous bad omens which foreboded 
misfortune for the Raakshasa clan. (9and 10)

He pleaded for restoring Sita to Rama if they wished to live in 
peace and safety.
But, Ravana was determined on his fateful course, dismissed his 
advice with contempt and ordered mass conscription of forces of all 
able bodied citizens of Lanka, even waking up KumbakarNa who was 
fast asleep. 

5. KUMBAKARNA'S ADVICE
KumbakarNa woke up. He also advised return of Sita to Rama saying 
that Ravana should have thought of the consequences before he 
embarked on "operation abduction" and it was like "putting the cart 
before the horse". He should thank his stars for not being killed so 
far (12). Ravana told him that he was not asking him advice on what 
he should have done but on what he should do now. KumbakarNa yielded 
to his request and assured that on his behalf, he would go fight 
with Rama. (11 and 12)

6. MAHAA PAARSVA'S ADVICE
Mahaa-paarsva was another evil minded minister. He encouraged Ravana 
to go, grab Sita by force and sexually assault her and that he had 
nothing to fear when he and his men were on his side and that he 
could think about the consequences later. "Let us cross the bridge 
when it comes", he said. Ravana revealed a secret. Long ago, an 
apsaras called "Punjisthalai" was on her way to offer her obeisance 
to Brahma. Ravana forced her into submission to his carnal 
pleasures. Brahma got enraged at his behavior and cursed him that if 
ever he forced any woman against her wishes, his head would be 
smashed to smithereens and that was the reason why he could not 
force Sita (13)

7. VIBHEESHANA AGAIN
VibheeshaNa again stood up and blasted Mahaa-paarsva and others 
saying that they were just sycophants trying to please Ravana 
without having any genuine interest in his welfare, especially after 
knowing of the fate of Kara, DhooshaNa, Trisaras, Viraada, Kabhanda, 
Vaali and others. If one were strong and his enemy were weak, one 
can go to fight with him; If the enemy was strong and our side weak, 
it would be better to make friends with the enemy; And, if both were 
of equal strength or weakness, nothing should be done. And, there 
was proof that Rama's side was not only strong but was also getting 
stronger. (14)

8. RAVANA INSULTS AND KICKS OUT VIBHEESHANA
Indra-jit accused VibheeshaNa of cowardice (15). Thus encouraged by 
his son, Ravana hurled strong words against VibheeshaNa calling him 
a traitor and said it would be more comfortable for him to live with 
a sworn enemy than one who acts as a brother and friend but in 
reality was a foe like a poisonous snake. "Get out of my sight" he 
screamed (16). Valmiki gives a sound advice on the subject.

Sulabhaa: purushaa raajan satatam priya vaadina: //
Apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktaa srOtaa cha durlabha: / 
"It is easier to come across people who say pleasing words and those 
wish to hear such words. But, it is very rare to find people who can 
speak out what is good for the hearer, even if it be unpalatable" 
(16.-20, 21)
dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
(To be continued)
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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 41 - SLOKAM 17 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate Ra'ngarAmAnuja MahAdeSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLI - Submission 41, Slokam 17 Part 3,
tiruvAimozhi 1.6, pASuram 1.6.5, 1.6.6.
pASuram 1.6.5:
 
koLgai koLAmai ilAdAn eLgal irAgam ilAdAn
viLgai viLLAmai virumbi uL kalandArkku Or amudE.
 
BhagavAn does not discriminate between different persons when it 
comes to His antaranga kainkaryam; He does not have love for one and 
lack of love for another; He only distinguishes between those who 
seek Him for some benefit and then move away from Him, and those who 
seek Him with steadfastness and never move away from Him;  He is the 
insatiable Nectar to those who seek Him as their only goal.
 
svAmi deSikan describes the sukara bhajanatvam aspect sung in this 
pASuram through the words sva vishaya niyateshu AdarAtvirumbi uL 
kalandArkku Or amudE. To those who seek Him as their only goal, He 
makes Himself available as insatiable Nectar to them.  SrImad 
tirukkuDanthai ANDavan explains this as tannaip payanAgak karudugiRa 
paramaikAntigaLiDam Adaravu uLLavan. He is One who is attached to 
those who seek Him as their only benefit, and who do not seek any 
other benefit from other deities.  SrI UV notes that the more the 
devotee is attached to Him, the more He is also attached to them.  
For the others who seek trivial pleasures, He bestows those 
pleasures to them and then moves away from them.  
 
AzhvAr is reflecting bhagavAn's words from the following giTA Slokam 
literally in his pASuram:
 
samoham sarva bhUteshu na me dveshyosti na priyah   |
ye bhajanti tu mAm bhaktyA mayi te teshu cApyaham  ||   (9.29)
 
I consider all beings equal.  There is none hateful or dear to Me.  
But those who worship Me with devotion abide in Me, and I do abide 
in them. Bhagavad rAmAnuja explains that the meaning is that 
bhagavAn does not accept anyone based on considerations such as 
birth, race, etc.; the only consideration is if the person has taken 
refuge in Him.  The sukara bhajanatvam is reflected in His becoming 
subservient to the devotee who unequivocally seeks Him.  
 
Another bhagavad gIta Slokam that is relevant in this context is:
 
teshAm satata yuktAnAm bhajatAm prIti pUrvakam  | 
dadAmi buddhi yogam tam yena mAm upayAnti te  ||  (10.10)
 
To those who desire to be constantly united with Me and who worship 
Me with immense love, I lovingly grant that mental disposition by 
which they come to Me.  
 
In this tiruvAimozhi, earlier it has been pointed out that bhagavAn 
does not distinguish between the items that ae used for His worship, 
as long as they are offered with devotion.  In this pASuram, it is 
pointed out that bhagavAn does not distinguish between the worship 
of people based on birth etc.  SrI UV notes that still one should 
follow the injunctions of the SAstra-s in performing the worship, 
and the meaning here is that bhagavAn accepts all of these offerings 
as equal when they are performed with devotion, and according to the 
SAstric injunctions.  
 
pASuram 1.6.6:
 
amudam amararkku Inda nimir SuDar Azhi neDumAl
amudilum ARRa iniyan nimir tirai nIL kaDalAnE.
 
amararkku amudam Inda nimir SuDar Azhi neDumAl nimir tirai nIL 
kaDalAn amudilum ARRa iniyan. He who gave the nectar to the deva-s, 
and holds the cakra that glows with shooting flame, is the Supreme 
Lord with glory beyond words, and is sweeter than the nectar that 
came out of the churning of the broad Milk Ocean with rising waves, 
in which He is reclining.  
 
svAmi deSikan captures the gist of this pASuram with the words svAdu 
bhUmnA Because He is sweet as a result of the abundance of 
auspicious qualities  (svAdu sweet, pleasant to taste; bhUman a 
great quantity, abundance, plenty, large number)  bhUmnA rasAnam 
gahanAh prayogAh  - the term bhUmA is used to denote the depth and 
abundance of His auspicious qualities. 
 
SrI N. S. ananta rangAcArya translates from SrI ranga rAmAnuja 
muni's vyAkhyAnam for the chAndogya Upanishad mantram yo vai bhUmA 
tat sukham (7.23.1) He who has plentitude is Infinite Bliss, and 
points out that bhUmA means abundance, plentitude.  It is of the 
form of the celebrity of auspicious qualities.  Thus, the phrase 
svAdu bhUmnA by svAmi deSikan should be understood as:  One who is 
sweet because of the abundance of auspicious qualities.  There is 
nothing sweeter than Him, and His sweetness is beyond measure.  If 
it is asked why the deva-s asked for just the nectar rather than ask 
for Him, it is because they just were not capable of realizing His 
greatness
 

Regards
dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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