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 # 20 dated 25th February 2008
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. YUDDHA KHAANDAM PART - 10 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 50- SLOKAM 19 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 283 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
20 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)
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1. "YUDDHA KHAANDAM" PART - 9 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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46. A SECOND LANKA DAHANAM
Sugreeva suggested that it was high time that they entered Lanka
with torches to set fire to it and the monkey army immediately
barged into Lanka and consigned it to fire. The fragrance from
scents of burning Sandalwood combined with the noxious odor of burnt
bodies of Raakshasas enveloped the atmosphere with a strange smell.
(75)
47. DEATH OF OTHER RAAKSHASAS
Kumba and Nikumba, sons of KumbakarNa now emerged to fight along
with other Raakshasas like Yoopa-aksha, SONita-aksha, Prajanga and
Kampana but all of them were also decimated by Sugreeva and his army
after a stiff fight. (77) Kara's son Makara-aksha wanted to wreak
vengeance on Rama for killing his father in DaNDakaaraNya. With an
AgnEya Astra, Rama dispatched him to where Kara had gone (76 to 79).
48. INDRAJIT'S TRICK
Hiding from their sight, Indra-jit aimed his arrows at Rama and
LakshmaNa. Rama stopped them midway and vowed to catch Indra-jit
alive or dead wherever he was. (80) Knowing Rama's determination,
Indra-jit returned to Lanka and decided to perform a yaaga
called "Nikumbala Yaaga". If only he completed the Yaaga he would
gain a weapon that would make him invincible. He needed a breathing
time for this. So he used his power of illusion to make Rama and
LakshmaNa to swoon in order to buy some time. He hit upon a weird
idea by which he created a figure with the likeness of Sita, dragged
it by hair, showering blows on it. The figure was shown to cry
aloud "Hey! Ram". Hanumaan pounced on him asking him what harm she
did to deserve this treatment. With a sword drawn out of its sheath,
he created an illusion of cutting Sita's figure-head in the presence
of the monkey army. With blood flowing from its body, the figure
fell dead. He gloated saying that since Sita was no more, all their
efforts had come to naught. (81).
49. NIKUMBILAA YAAGAM
Making sure that it would take long for them to reconcile to the
death (of what they believed was Sita), he proceeded to a wooded
grove called Nikumbilaa away from the sight of others for performing
the Yaagam (82). The Vaanaras went to Rama to inform him of what had
happened and to seek his advice for further action. Rama was
stricken with indescribable grief. LakshmaNa was equally grieved but
he mustered enough courage to tell Rama that there was no place for
Dharma and only Adharma had a field day, that his adherence
to "Pitru Vaakhya par-ipaalanam" that prompted him to come on exile
was not proper and blasted Rama with several arguments in support of
his views. (For example, Dasaratha's promise to crown Rama the next
morning was as much a "Pitru Vaakhyam" as his subsequent
recantation. And, Rama should have fulfilled the earlier order first
before considering the later one. But, finally he cooled down and
begged to be excused for his words born out of his anxiety and love
for Rama. He requested Rama to permit him to prove his prowess in
wiping out the wicked Raakshasas (83).
50. STRATEGY TO KILL INDRAJIT
VibheeshaNa who knew Indra-jit inside out assuaged Rama and
LakshmaNa that what they had seen about Sita was nothing but an
illusion and that Ravana was so lust driven for Sita that he would
never allow the killing of Sita under any circumstances. He
suggested that before Indra-jit could complete his Yaaga he should
be finished and that LakshmaNa was the one who could accomplish
this. If only he could be dragged out even before he started the
Yaaga or at least while it was half-way through, he could be killed
easily. VibheeshaNa knew of the words of Brahma that if anyone were
to intervene during the Yaaga, Indra-jit would get killed by him.
Accompanied by VibheeshaNa, LakshmaNa hid himself at a secret place
on the way to Nikumbilaa and was waiting to attack Indra-jit. Indra-
jit saw VibheeshaNa whom he called a traitor who deserted his
brother at a crucial moment and it was not Dharma for him to have
done so. VibheeshaNa retorted saying that he and his father were the
first offenders in stealthily abducting Sita and deserved
punishment. (87)
A battle royal ensued between Indra-jit and LakshmaNa. (88) The
Charioteer of Indra-jit was the first casualty and the horses shared
the same fate. (89) Next was his chariot. Soon, he returned to Lanka
and came back riding a new chariot (90).
LakshmaNa's Varuna Astram was checkmated by Indra-jit's Roudra
Astram; Indra-jit's AagnEya Astram was broken by LakshmaNa's Surya
Astram; Indra-jit sent "Asura Astram" and LakshmaNa destroyed it
with "MahEswara Astram". Finally, LakshmaNa dispatched the most
powerful "Indra Astram" saying that if Rama was a Dharma Swaroopi,
if he were a real hero, if he were a Sathya-santar, Indra Astram
should hit its target and destroy Indra-jit. The Astram went
straight to its target and cut off the head of Indra-jit along with
the headgear, crown etc which fell on the ground and his armor got
smashed to pieces .(91). Rama embraced LakshmaNa and praised him for
his brave act (92). Ravana lamented on the death of his dear son
saying that instead of the son doing final obsequies for the father,
the father was fated to do it for his son. He swore to really kill
Sita this time and started towards AshOka-vana for that purpose. He
was stopped by one of his ministers called Su-paarsva who advised
Ravana to avoid "Stree hathi" (93).
.
dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
(To be continued)
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2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 50 - SLOKAM 19 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 50, Slokam 19 Part 3,
tiruvAimozhi 1.8, pASuram-s 1..7 to 1.8.10.
pASuram 1.8.7:
koNDAn Ezh viDai uNDAn Ezh vaiyam
taN tAmam Seidu en eN tAn AnAnE.
Ezh viDai koNDAn, Ezh vaiyam uNDAn, taN tAmam Seidu, en eN tAn AnAn.
He who slew the seven bulls for the sake of nappinnai, and swallowed
the seven worlds to protect them from the great deluge, did what I
longed for, and made my mind His abode, treating it as parama padam
itself.
svAmi deSikan describes the gist of this pASuram through the words
sat-citta ananya vRttauen eNNam tAn AnAn - He who makes it His job
to be exactly as the devotee desires. SrI venkaTeSAcArya explains
this as ASrita manoratha sadRSa vyApArattai uDaiyanumAi. BhagavAn
made AzhvAr's mind His dwelling place (taN tAmam Seidu) exactly as
AzhvAr desired (en eN tAn AnAn). He considered AzhvAr's mind the
same as SrI vaikunTham, and made it His resort. Another way to look
at this is that while AzhvAr wanted to be in SrI vaikunTham with
perumAL, He reciprocated by wanting to come to tirunagari and be
with AzhvAr ?sat citta anaya vRttau. AzhvAr wanted to mingle with
emperumAn intimately, and He took over that desire and mingled with
AzhvAr, and performed feats such as killing the seven bulls for the
sake of nappinnai, swallowing the seven worlds, etc., just to
captivate AzhvAr by these acts of His. AzhvAr wanted to reach
parama padam, immerse himself in virajA river, and enjoy Him by
singimg sAma gAnam to Him; bhagavAn reciprocated and wanted to come
to tirunagari, immerse Himself in tAmraparAaNi river, and enjoy
listening to kaNNiNuN SiRuttAmbu and enjoy nammAzhvAr "en eNNam tAn
AnAn "sat-citta ananya vRttau.
pASuram 1.8.8:
AnAn An Ayan mInODu Enamum
tAn AnAn; ennil tAnAya SangE.
An Ayan AnAn mInODu Enamum tAn AnAn; ennil tAn Aya SangE" The same
One who took incarnation as a cowherd, also took incarnations as
matsya (Fish), varAha (Boar) etc. This way, the incarnations He has
taken are countless (Sankham a very large number).
svAmi deSikan describes the gist of this pASuram with the words
?vibhava sama tanau" AnAn An Ayan mInODu Enamum" He whose
incarnations are as unlimited as His greatness. SrI PBA explains
this as: tannuDaiya vibhavangaLukku ellai illAdAp pOlE tan
vigrahangaLukkum ellai illAdavan" Just as there is no limit to His
greatness, there is no limit to His incarnations also. AzhvAr is
enjoying His greatness, exclaiming that He took so many beautiful
incarnations just to make it possible for AzhvAr to enjoy His
greatness (another interpretation for ?ennil tAnAya SangE" it is
because of His great attachment to me that He took all these
different incarnations. Ennil = enniDattil, towards me; tAn Aya =
for Him, naturally; Sangu = attachment).
pASuram 1.8.9:
Sangu cakkaram am kaiyil koNDAn
engum tAnAya nangaL nAthanE.
engum tAnAya nangaL nAthan am kaiyil Sangu cakkaram koNDAn" Our Lord
takes incarnations among all kinds of species, and His prowess is
always part of Him, as evidenced by the Sankha and chakra in His
hands in all these incarnations.
svAmi deSikan describes the bhagavad guNam sung in this pASuram with
the words ?svAyudhArUDha hasteh" He who has the Sankha and cakra in
His hands always ready for the protection of the devotees. SrI UV
brings out the Arjava guNam sung here by pointing out that bhagavAn
has the conch and the cakra in His hands, just because protection is
what the devotees expect from Him" He acts consistent with the
devotees wishes. Ideally, He does not need any weapons for
anything, since He can achieve all that He wants by His mere
sankalpam or wish. SrI UV also points out alternate pATham-s for
svAmi deSikan's description here sva AyudhArUdha haste or ?su-
AyudhArUDha haste" His own weapons in His divine hands, or beautiful
weapons in His divine hands.
pASuram 1.8.10:
nAthan j~nAlam koL pAdan en ammAn
Odam pOl kiLar veda nIranE.
My Lord is the Lord of all nitya sUri-s, as also One whose divine
feet are worshiped by all in this world as well. His infinite
auspicious qualities are sung by all the veda-s that extensively
praise His greatness.
The phrase ?j~nalam koL pAdan in the above pASuram is interpreted as
a reference to bhagavAnâ??s trivikrama incarnation" One whose divine
feet were extended throughout all the three worlds. svAmi deSikan
captures this as the guNam emphasized in this pASuram "nIcocca
grAhya pAde" He whose divine feet extended to the reach of all
without distinction of high and low level beings. Many vyAkhyAna-s
stress the important message from this pASuram as ?One who is sung
in all the veda-s; however, SrI UV points out that svAmi deSikan
selected ?j~nAlam koL pAdan as the primary guNam since it conveys
His Arjava guNam more directly.
In the concluding pASuram of this rtiruvAimozhi" 1.8.11, nammAzhvAr
describes emperumAn as ?nIr purai vaNNan" One who has the complexion
resembling water. SrI PBA comments that the comparison of
bhagavAn's complexion to water does not stop there, but extends to
His guNam of molding Himself to the wishes of His devotees just as
water lends itself to any shape that the container has a reference
to bhagavAn's Arjava guNam that is the subject of this
tiruvAimozhi. SrI PBA gives a comparison of bhagavAn's guNa-s
resembling water through a list of 21 points in his tiruvAimozhi
vyAkhyAnam.
The ten pASuram-s of this tiruvAimozhi thus sing the Arjava guNam of
bhagavAn, supported by the following thoughts in each of the
pASurams of this tiruvAimozhi:
- bhagavAn lends Himself for worship and kainkaryam by nitya
sUri-s such as garuDan as they wish, without any constraint (1.8.1)
- He takes incarnations on His own with all His aiSvaryam
intact and undimished, and moves with the likes of us in His leelA
vibhUti with the same Arjavam as He does in His nitya vibhUti
(without distinction, at our level, in thought, word, and deed)
(1.8.2).
- He has taken the arcA incarnation in triruvenkaTam just to
be accessible to both the samsAri-s like us and to the nitya sUri-s
at the same time (1.8.3)
- He bore the govardhana mountain tirelessly in order to
protect the cows and the cowherds who sought His protection. (1.8.4)
- He mingles with great sincerity with the bodies of those
who surrender to Him (1.8.5)
- He engages the devotee's soul in His kainkaryam by
captivating the devotee through His beautiful incarnations such as
His vAmana incarnation (1.8.6)
- He acts such that He makes His wishes coincide with His
devotee's wishes. (1.8.7).
- He takes countless incarnations among all different
species such as His varAha incarnation, just to be accessible to
all, and to attract everyone to His feet (1.8.8)
- He carries the divine conch and discus in His beautiful
hands in all these incarnations, for protecting His devotees just as
they would want (think Arjavam at the tiruvAimozhi level), and also
to attract them to Him (1.8.9)
- He made His divine feet accessible to all without distinction
of high and low levels of beings in His trivikrama incarnation
(1.8.10).
Regards
dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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