SrI Raama Jayam
vEdavEdhyE ParE pumsi jAthE DasaraTAthmajE
vEda: PrAchEthasAseedh SaakshAth
RaamAyaNAthmanA
Dear Raama BhakthAs:
This is the second day of PaarAyaNam , when Sargams
6-15 are to be covered .
For slOkams , word by word translation of the 440
slOkams of these sargams and
meanings , please refer to the following
URL:
The titles of these 10 chapters are
:
1. Chapter 6 : RaavaNa Gruha PravEsa:/ Entry inside
the Palace
2. Chapter 7 : Pushpaka Darsanam/HanumAn sees the
Pushpaka VimAnam
3. Chapter 8 : Pushpaka Darsanam /sight
of the Pushpakam
4. Chapter 9 : Pushpaka VarNanam/The description of
the VimAnam
5. Chapter 10: MandhOdhari Darsanam/Inner
chambers: seeing MandhOdhari
6. Chapter 11: Paana BhUmi
vichaya: /Continuation of search in drinking halls
7. Chapter 12: HanUmadh VishAdha: /HanUmAn's
dukkham
8. Chapter 13: HanUmadh NirvEdha:/HanUmAn's dejection
9. Chapter 14: AshOka VanAnvEshaNam/Search in
AshOka vanam
10. Chapter 15: SEETHAA DARSANAM /Seeing SeethA
PirAtti
We will now study selected slOkams from each of the
ten Sargams :
Chapter 6: Arrival at RaavaNA's palace
**********************************************
SarvEshAm samathikramya bhavanAni
samanthatha:
aasasAdhATa LAKSHMEEVAAN rakshasEndhra
nivEsanam
---Sundara KaaNDam : 6.27
After search inside the houses of the many
sons and servants of
RaavaNan , HanUmAn with LakshmI sampath arrived at
RaavaNan's
palace.
Chapter 7: The sight of
Pushpaka VimAnam
****************************************************
PushpAhvayam nAma virAjamAnam
rathna-prabhAbhisccha vivardhamAnam
vEsmOttamAnaamapi chOcchamAnam
MahA Kapis-tatra mahA-vimAnam
---Sundara KaaNDam: 7.11
(Meaning): The great monkey , HanumAn saw there (
inside the palace of
RaavaNa) the splendid VimAnam with the name
of Pushpakam .
It glittered with mulitcolored precious
gems and was taller than
many mansions . It was famous for its power
to travel in the sky .
It was embedded with MahA Lakshmee's image
(Bhimbham):
niyujyamAnAsthu gajA: suhasthA: skEsaraascchOthpala
pathra-hasthA:
BhabhUva Devi cha kruthA suhasthA LakshmIstaTA
Padhmini Padhma-hasthA
---Sundara KaaNDam: 7.14
(Meaning): The consecrated image of MahA Lakshmi
holding lotuses
on Her hand was found on that auspicious VimAnam .
The beautiful-
armed MahA Lakshmi's image was seen with
elephants holding
NeelOthpala flowers filled with stamens in their
hands (trunks) ;
some of them were
seen in the posture of performing AbhishEkam
for Her with water from the lotus pond at which She was
residing .
Sargam 8 and 9 : Description of Pushpaka VimAnam
***************************************************************
The VimAnam was at the center of RaavaNA's palace
.
The third slOkam salutes the beauty of this divine vimAnam:
na Tatra kimchinna krutham
prayathnathO
na tatra kimchinna mahArharathnavath
na tE visEshA niyathA :
surEshvapi
na tatra kimchinna mahA-visEshavath
--Sundara KaaNDam: 8.3
(Meaning) : There was nothing in that VimAnam that
did not
have precious effort behind it .There was no gem
there that was not
of high quality . Even the VimAnams of
DevAs did not have those
luxuries. There was nothing to match the auspicious
attributes of
the Pushpaka VimAnam.
That VimAnam was made for BrahmA by ViswakarmA
in
DevalOkam . It was acquired by KubhEran through the
power of
His penance (tapas). RaavaNan , the brother of
KubhEran seized
it by the power of his parAkramam
(valour).
Sargam 10: MandhOdhari Darsanam
*******************************************
Inside the Pushpaka VimAnam , HanUmAn saw the many
wives of
RaavaNan . Chief among them was Queen MandhOdhari ,
the Raaja
Mahishi of RaavaNan. She was resting with her lord
on a gem-adorned
bed with a white umbrella .HanUmAn got near the bed
and sat on
the steps leading to the bed , where RaavaNa
was sleeping without
a worry. Next to him , HanUmAn saw an
youthful and beautiful woman
and mistook her for a second for SeethA Devi. He
got elated momentarily
thinking that he had found SeehA Devi and
quickly corrected this impossible
thought . HanUmAn knew that SeethA is a MahA
Pathivrathai and would not
be seen anywhere near another man except Her
husband. HanUmAn quickly
relized that the beautiful woman next to RaavaNan
was his empress ,
Queen MandhOdhari .
Sargam 11: Search in the drinking halls of
RaavaNa
*************************************************************
HanUmAn swa all objects of enjoyment ( bhOgya
Vasthus)
all around him in RavaNNA's palace drinking halls
and eating
places. He saw food and wine in golden
and silver vessels.
He saw everything in
the harem of RaavaNa except SeethA PirAtti:
yEvam sarvam asEshENa RaavaNAntha:puram
kapi:
dhadharsa sumahAtEjA na dhadharsa cha Jaanakeem
---Sundara KaaNDam: 11.34
HanUmAn , the BrahmAchAri , was happy that the
sight of all
these women of inner chambers of RaavaNa did not
affect
the tranquility of His mind . He reasoned
out:
manO hi hEthu: sarvEshAm indhriyANAm
pravarthanE
subhAsubhaasvavasthAsu taccha mE
suvyavasthiTam
---Sundara KaaNDam: 11.40
(Meaning): One's mind (Manas) is the reason
behind engagement in
PuNya and Paapa Kaaryams . My mind is
totally unagitated and
is not affected one way or the other by these
sights seen at the harem
of RaavaNan .
12. HanumAn"s sorrow: HanUmath
VishAdham
***********************************************************
This is a short sargam with 25
slOkams.HanUmAn began
to imagine the many things that could have
happened to SeethA Devi
at the hands of the evil rAkshasaas and
rAkshasees of LankA.
He was dejected with the thought that he had
searched everywhere
in the palace and could not yet find
SeethA PirAtti . He felt that all His
effort was in vain :
dhrushtam antha:puram sarvam dhrushtA
RaavaNayOshitha:
na SeethA dhrusyathE saadhvee vruTA jAthO mama
srama:
--Sundara KaaNDam : 12.3
HanUmAn reasoned that he had left not even four
inches of space
in the palace unsearched ( chathuruangulamAthrOpi
nAvakAsa:
sa VidhyathE ). HanUman tried to cheer up over that
thought
and tried to cheer Himself up for additional
searches elsewhere :
karOthi saphalam janthO: karma yath-tatth karOthi
sa:
tasmAdh-anirvEdha-krutham yathnam chEshtEham
utthamam
--Sundara KaaNDam: 12.11
(Meaning) : The joyous effort ( uthsAham filled
karmaanushtAnam)
of the people is behind the success in
accomplishing things .It is
uthsAham that propells people to perform their
assigned deeds .
HanUmAn's sadness over His lack of success would
not leave Him
that easily. The next sargam also deals with the
agitated state of
mind of HanUmAn .
13. The Sorrow of HanUmAn :
HanUmannirvEdham
***********************************************************
HanUmAn said to Himself: The knig of eagles ,
SampAdhi
said that SeethA Devi is incarcerated in RaavaNA's
house.
My search to locate Her there has not been
successful. Has She
fallen out of the VimAnam as RaavaNan transported
Her to LankA ?
Has RaavaNan eaten Her up ? Did the evil ladies of
RaavaNA's court
eaten Her as their meal? May be She does not live
anymore !
He began to worry about this sad news , if it were
to be true, on
Raama , LakshmaNa and on Sugreeva. HanUmAn
concluded
that He can not return to KishkindhA with bad news
.He thought
about taking His own life , if He failed in His
extensive efforts .
HanUmAn's agitated state of mind and His new
resolve to search
afresh for SeethA Devi elsewhere in LankA are
described by
the Addhi Kavi in two slOkams of this
sargam:
ithi chinthAm samApanna: SeethAmanOdhigamya
thAm
dhyAna-sOka pareethAthmA chinthayAmAsa
Vaanara:
Yaavath SeethAm hi pasyAmi Raama-pathneem
yasasvineem
thAvadhEthAm pureem LankAm vichinOmi puna:
puna:
---Sundara KaaNDam: 13.51 and 52
With sorrow over His lack of success in finding
SeethA Devi ,
HanUmAn was overcome with despondency and dejection.
He vowed not to give up His search in LankA for SeethA PirAtti ,
the renowned consort of Lord Raamachandra .
14.Search in AsOka Vanam
***********************************
HanUmAn now jumped away from the inner chambers of
the palace of
RaavaNa and landed in AsOka Vanam , a dense
forest known for its
multifarious fauna and exquisite flora.Adhi
Kavi's descriptions of the unique
beauty of AsOka Vanam ( the private garden of RaavaNan) are a delight
to take in. Since there were thousands of AsOka
trees in this sport garden of
RaavaNan , it was called AsOka Vanam.
HanUmAn looked intensely over all areas of this
AsOka Vanam . He came to
the conclusion that SeethA PirAtti will surely come
to the river flowing through
AsOka Vanam for Her anushtAnam , if She were to be
alive :
Yadhi jeevathi Saa dEvee
taarAdhipa-nibhAnanA
aagamishyathi Saa avasyam imAm Siva-jalAm
nadheem
--Sundara KaaNDam: 14.50
HanUmAn compares the beauty of the face of SeethA
PirAtti here
to that of the full Moon . Siva Jalam means
parisuddha nadhi.
15. Darsanam of SeethA PirAtti in the AsOka
Vanam
**************************************************************
HanUmAn sat on a tall SimsupA tree and looked all
around
for any clue that will reveal the presence of
SeethA PirAtti there.
Slowly , HanUmAn's eyes settled on a temple like
structure in
the middle , which was known as ChaithyaprAsAdham.
Near there,
HanUmAn saw a group of Raakshasis and in their
middle a noble
lady , who was frail from fasting and sighing very
often . She had no
jewelery . Her eyes were full of tears .She was
like a tender female deer
surrounded by fierce hunting dogs ( Raakshasees) .
The words of Adhi Kavi
to describe the suffering Jaanaki MaathA in AsOka
Vanam are most moving:
Malina samveethAm = with dirty
vasthrams
UpavAsa krusA = frail looking from lack of eating
Dheena= helpless and frightened
analankArAm= without any jewelery or
decorations
VipadhmAmiva Padhmineem= like a lotus pond devoid
of lotuses
vreeDithAm = repentent over Her harsh words
to LakshmaNan
tapasvineem= one engaged in tapas to reunite with
Her husband
grahENAngArakENEva peeDithAmiva rOhiNeem = like the
star
RohiNee affected by AngAraka graham
asru poorNa mukheem= with eyes filled with
tears
nithyam dukkha ParAyaNAm= subjected daily to
sorrow
HanumAn used logic to conclude from the above signs
that the sorrow-stricken noble lady in front of Him
was
none other than SeethA PirAtti , the dear consort
of His Lord
Raamachandran.
HanUmAn thus saw SeethA PirAtti and his mind raced immediately to the lotus feet of
his Lord across the ocean , who had sent Him
to LankA to find His dear dharma pathnee .HanUmAn was thankful over
His bhAgyam to find Her .
SrI Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE Nama:
Raama Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri
SadagOpan
SrImath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
,
Raama DhAsan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri
SadagOpan
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