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 # 21 dated 1st March 2008
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. YUDDHA KHAANDAM PART - 11 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 51- SLOKAM 20 -PART 1
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 284 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
21 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)
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1. "YUDDHA KHAANDAM" PART - 11 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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51. THE PENULTIMATE ROUND
Ravana deputed the remaining few of his close confidants only to
sacrifice them to the arrows of Rama. The widows of slain Raakshasas
wailed and lamented to no end (94 to 96). Ravana set out with the
only chieftains left behind to stand with him still namely, Viroopa-
aksha, MahOdara, Mahaa-paarsva. (96)
Viroopa-aksha shot at Sugreeva with his sharp sword which rendered
Sugreeva unconscious for a while. Recovering soon, Sugreeva hit at
the forehead of Viroopa-aksha with his fist when the Raakshasa was a
little inattentive. This broke his head and he fell dead (97).
It was now the turn of MahOdara to meet with his end. It was again
Sugreeva who offered a fierce fight with him. MahOdra was trying to
extricate his sword that got caught in Sugreeva's shield. Before he
could do this, Sugreeva cut his head (98).
Mahaa-paarsva was aroused at the fall of his comrades only to fall
victim to the fist hit of Angada who hit him right at his heart
where his lifeline was. The heart literally broke and Mahaa-paarsva
also followed his comrades. (99)
52. RAMA ? RAVANA YUDDHAM
Having lost everyone and everything, Ravana had no choice to attempt
a last ditch attempt. He tormented the monkey battalion with
powerful Tamasa Astrams and several other Astras at Rama and
LakshmaNa. Rama sent "Rudra Astra" through his kOdanDa bow but even
it could not break Ravana's coat of arms. There never was a fight
before equal to the Yuddha between Rama and Ravana. Never had
Ravana thought even in a dream that he would face such a mighty foe.
Matchless bowmen, both of them matchless in the mastery of weapons,
matchless too in their knowledge of the secrets of Astras, they
displayed every step and device known to men and Gods. Ravana aimed
several weapons that had warheads resembling lions, tigers,
vultures, eagles, crows, jackals, wolves, five-headed serpents,
snakes, mules, boars, dogs, hens, crocodiles and the like. All of
them were pulverized by Rama's arrows that worked with equal vigor
and force. (100)
Ravana directed "Rudra Astra" against Rama, but, Rama quelled it
with "Gandharva Astra"; Dasaanana shot "Surya Astra" which Rama
destroyed with many arrows. Meanwhile, LakshmaNa hurled seven high
class arrows that severed the head of Ravana's charioteer and broke
Ravana's bow to pieces and felled his horses. Ravana then aimed at
VibheeshaNa his "Sakti". LakshmaNa intervened to save Sugreeva and
smashed it. Now, he directed his powerful "Sakti" against LakshmaNa
himself determined to kill him. Rama saw this and uttered a spell
saying that the weapon should go waste without killing LakshmaNa.
While it failed to kill LakshmaNa, it made him swoon. Rama's wrath
knew no bounds and he rained arrows non stop on Ravana who ran away
from the warfront. (101)
Rama believed that LakshmaNa had given up his life and bewailed his
loss saying "Wives are easy to get anywhere in the world; and so are
other kith and kin. Yet I know no land in the world where such a
brother could be got"
dEsE dEsE kaLatraaNi dEsE dEsE cha bhaandhavaa: /
Tham tu dEsam na pasyaami yatra bhraataa sahOdara:// (102-12, 13)
SushEna comforted Rama saying that there was no danger to the life
of LakshmaNa because his color had not changed, his face was as
bright as ever; his eyes were like lotus petals. These were not the
signs of a person who had died. SushENa asked Hanumaan to go again
to bring the herbs that once brought back to life the dead monkeys.
Hanumaan brought the whole mountain and placed it in front of
SushENa who caused LakshmaNa to smell the scents of the herb.
LakshmaNa woke up as if from sleep. Rama once again embraced
LakshmaNa with affection and told him that if he were to have died,
there was no meaning in his own survival or that of Sita. LakshmaNa
replied that it was not appropriate for Rama to utter so and said
Rama had a duty to coronate VibheeshaNa as the ruler of Lanka by
finishing off Ravana. LakshmaNa requested Rama not to delay fighting
Ravana anymore. (102) The Devas could not bear to see Rama fighting
standing on the ground while Ravana was mounted on his chariot and
then brought Indra's chariot for Rama to ride on. (103) Ravana
hurled his powerful three pronged weapon against Rama. Rama broke it
to pieces with a special weapon sent by Indra through Madali, the
charioteer. It also broke Ravana's chariot and he fell down with
wounds all over his body. He got thoroughly dispirited. The
Charioteer of Ravana slowly moved him from the battlefront back to
Lanka. (105) When Ravana regained his composure, he chided his
charioteer for bringing him dishonor by moving him away in front of
the enemy saying that perhaps he took a bribe from Rama to do this.
The charioteer explained the situation. Ravana asked him to take him
back to the battlefront again. (106)
53. AADITYA HRIDAYAM
Agastya saw Rama steeped in the thought as to how he could defeat
Ravana. He initiated Rama in "Aaditya Hridayam", a prayer to the
ancestor of "Surya-kula", Surya (Sun God) (107)
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In some Ramayana kOsams, this Sargam does not appear nor has been
commented upon by some commentators like uTaari, probably because
this runs repugnant to the Paratvam of Narayana, who is the Lord of
Surya himself. uTaari has a count of only 130 Sargams while with
this Sargam, it would work out to 131 Sargams.
54. BAD OMENS FOR RAVANA (108)
Ravana set out and was greeted with several bad omens that foreboded
his death.
1. Ravana was heading in an anti-clockwise movement (a-pra-
dakshiNam).
2. There was a twister that also was doing the round anti-clock
wise.
3. Eagles were circling and following his chariot.
4. The evening glow of the Sun made Lanka appear as if it was
in flames.
5. Earthquakes everywhere Ravana stepped.
6. Hands prevented from use mysteriously.
7. Sun's rays falling on Ravana's body taking different colors.
8. The wailing of fox in a hoarse voice.
9. Frightful sounds made by Eagles and kites.
10. Strong winds beating at Ravana blinding him with dust.
11. Thunderbolts roared dreadfully.
12. Saarika birds were fighting in groups ceaselessly.
13. The whole atmosphere was dark with dust.
14. Horses shed tears.
55. FIGHT TO THE FINISH
The much expected final moment had arrived. First, Rama brought down
the flag of Ravana from atop his chariot signaling the beginning of
Ravana's end. This angered Ravana to no end. He vowed to fight to
the finish and either kill Rama or be killed by him. The speed with
which the missiles were hurled at each other was such that there
seemed to be a constant and continuous shower of weapons without any
gap completely preventing all visibility (109). The horses, the
frontage of chariots, the frontage of yokes on either side were
dashing with each other and were so close that there was no space
left in between them. The celestials who were watching from above
the great destructive fires darting forth from either side wondered
that - as sky could be compared only with sky, and - the ocean only
with ocean, Rama- Ravana yuddham could be compared only with itself!
56. KSHURAM FINISHES OFF RAVANA'S 101 HEADS!
Rama fired a sharp weapon called "Kshuram" and this cut off Ravana's
heads along with the crowns adorning them. But, Lo! And Behold! In
the place of the cut off heads sprang new heads with new headgears.
Thus, a hundred and one heads were cut off and a similar number of
heads appeared in quick succession. There was no difference either
in shape or color or brilliance or decoration between the old and
the new ones. Rama was perplexed that the same arrows that
devastated Maareecha, Kara, DhooshaNa and others had become
ineffective in the case of Ravana (110). Maadali, the chauffer
suggested politely to Rama that it was high time that he used the
famous Brahma Astram. Rama consecrated his arrow with Brahma Astram
and it pierced the heart of Ravana and entered the earth with his
life and blood and having fulfilled its mission emerged quickly and
returned to its place in Rama's quiver. The whole Raakshasa
battalions were in the grip of great fear and ran scattered from the
battlefield (111).
dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
(To be continued)
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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 51 - SLOKAM 20 -PART 1
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 51- Slokam 20- Part 1
Slokam 20:
paryante [dRshTam] (1.9.1) atke ca dRshTam (1.9.2)
sva-viraha-vidhuram (1.9.3) Dimbhavat pArSva lInam (1.9.4)
citte klRpta praveSam (1.9.5) bhuja Sikhara gatam (1.9.6)
tAlu simhAsanastham (1.9.7) |
cakshur-madhye nivishTam (1.9.8) sthitam alikataTe (1.8.9)
mastake tasthivAmsam (1.9.10)
pratyAhAroktarItyA vibhum anububhuje Atmya bhoga pradAnAt (1.9) ||
sAtmittal - enjoy to the fullest extent; digest completely.
svAmi deSikan describes the message of this tiruvAimozhi as
reflecting bhagavAn's guNam expressed as 'sAtmya bhoga pradAnAt' -
'Because He gives the enjoyment of Himself to His devotee in small
doses at a time such that the devotee completely enjoys, digests,
and assimilates every instance of His revealing Himself' - in other
words, in small steps at a time. In our tradition, it is considered
that bhagavAn does not reveal Himself completely to a devotee all at
once, because such an experience could be unbearable for the devotee
in one dose. This is the explanation given for ANDAL having gone
through great agony and suffering being separated from Him (nAcciyAr
tirumozhi); He reveals Himself to her only in gradual steps, before
She ultimately unites with Him. We will see the ten pASuram-s of
this triruvAimozhi supporting this aspect.
In his introduction to this tiruvAimozhi in his 'bhagavad vishaya
sAram', SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan notes that bhagavan interacts
with AzhvAr in different roles each time: as He would with pirATTi -
His consort, as He would with garuDan - His vehicle, as with
AdiSeshan - His bed, and as with yaSodA - His mother. In each
case, He lets AzhvAr completely digest that experience and enjoy it,
and AzhvAr is describing these different experiences in this
tiruvAimozhi. AzhvAr sang in pASuram 1.8.5 - "poi kalavAdu en mei
kalandAnE" - 'He mingled with my body in actual fact'. In the
current tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr describes the different ways and the
different steps in which bhagavAn mingled with him.
pASuram 1.9.1:
ivaiyum avaiyum uvaiyum ivarum avarum uvarum
yavaiyum yavarum tannuLLE Agiyum Akkiyum kAkkum
avaiyuL tani mudal emmAn kaNNa pirAn en amudam
Suvaiyan tiruvin maNALan ennuDaic cUzhal uLAnE.
KaNNa pirAn who is my Lord, who is like nectar to me, and who is the
Consort of LaksmI, is making His appearance all around me,
displaying all His wealth and greatness without hiding them from me -
He who has swallowed all the sentient and insentient objects of the
whole universe without exception at the time of pralaya, and gives
them all bodies again in His next cycle of creation and protects
them, who is the antaryAmI in everything, and who performs His
creation by being the Material Cause in the creation Himself while
undergoing no change of any kind and without recourse to any other
material cause.
AzhvAr's experience is given in graphic detail, step by step, in
steps that are fully assimilated and digested. First, bhagavAn just
comes in the regions near AzhvAr - not yet too close, but He
appears, along with pirATTi, in the regions surrounding AzhvAr, as
if trying to decide from which side to approach AzhvAr - ennuDai
cUzhalil uLAnE. svAmi deSikan describes this as 'paryante dRshTam' -
He who is making His appearance in the adjoining regions.
SrImad tirukuDandai ANDavan comments that bhagavAn coming around
AzhvAr looking for an entry is like His seeking the friendship of
sugrIvan - the monkey-king, though He is the loka-nAthan
Himself: 'loka nAthah purA bhUtvA sugrIvam nAtham icchati', 'yasya
prasAde sakalAh prasIdeyuh imAh prajAh sa rAmo vAnarendrasya
prasAdam abhikA'nkshate' - rAma whose blessing will make all the
citizens rejoice, is seeking the favor of the monkey-king sugrIvan.
pASuram 1.9.2:
Suzhal pala pala vallAn tollai am kAllattu ulagaik
kEzhal onRAgi iDanda kESavan ennuDai ammAn
vEzha maruppai oSittAn viNNavarkku eNNal ariyAn
Azha neDum kaDal SErndAn avan en arugalilAnE.
avan en arugalilAnE - He who is far, far away is getting closer to
me - He is the same Lord who takes many different incarnations in
the forms of different species with the aim of attracting His
devotees, the same keSavan who took the incarnation as the Great
Boar to retrieve the Earth from below the seas, My own Lord kaNNan,
the same One who broke the tusk of the elephant kuvalayApIDam, One
who is beyond the comprehension of even the deva-s, and One who is
reclining in the Milky Ocean - is getting closer to me after having
shown all His kalyANa guNa-s and His divya ceshTita-s (His wonderful
acts) to me and thus having attracted me to Him.
AzhvAr's anubhavam is that bhagavAn takes different beautiful
incarnations in which He performs many incomprehensible acts - such
as retrieving the Earth from the depth of the ocean, easily breaking
the tusk of the powerful elephant by name kuvalayApIDam, etc., just
to attract the devotees. He shows His infinite kalyANa guNa-s to
AzhvAr and attracts him first, and then gets even closer to AzhvAr.
svAmi deSikan describes AzhvAr's experience in this pASuram through
the words 'atke ca dRshTam' - avan en arugal ilAnE - He is getting
closer to me, after attracting me with his wonderful acts and His
infinite kalyAna guNa-s - after these experiences have been
digested.
(SrI UV gives one interpretation where he uses the pATham 'arugal
il' - il meaning 'dwelling' - One who has His dwelling place closer
to me). Note that the word 'Suzhal' was used in the previous
pASuram to indicate 'surroundings', and in this pASuram it is used
to denote 'incarnations' - taken to 'surround' or attract the
devotee to Him.
Regards
dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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