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//
===================================================================
SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 12 dated 30th January 2007
===================================================================
EDITORIAL
Dear Bhaagavatas:
We started with the "Avataarikai" ? "Part 1 of Introduction" to
Srimad Ramayanam in
SRS Vol.8.11 dated 23rd January 2007. Hope you enjoyed the same.
Almost everyone knows the story of the epic though in broad outline,
if not in every detail. Though it makes a good story as well, the
importance of a study of Ramayanam lies in drawing the lessons it
conveys to us through the different characters and different
situations and how far they are relevant to the modern times.
Therefore, our focus will be on the morals conveyed in the various
episodes This would necessitate retelling the story in brief before
proceeding to comment. Hope you will appreciate this approach. In
this Issue, we continue, we continue with Part 2 of the
Introduction.
==========================================================
ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 239 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
12 Issues of Vol. 8 (including this)
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1. SRIMAD RAMAYANAM- INTRODUCTION (CONTINUED) - PART 2
BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY, USA
2. DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 11- Sloka 9:
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO.
3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR- Sri Kulasekara PerumAn-life and
works
BY Sri V. Madhavakkannan ? Singapore
===================================================================
1. SRIMAD RAMAYANAM- INTRODUCTION (CONTINUED) - PART 2
BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY
6. VALMIKI AND NAMMAZHWAR
Nammazhwar in his Tiruvoimozhi 7.5.1 puts a rhetorical
question: "Karpaar Ramanai allaal matrum karparO?" meaning "Will
anyone read anything other than Sri Ramapiraan?"
What is so great about Srimad Ramayanam that we are asked to read
it?
And, what is so great about Valmiki Ramayanam over the others?
ANSWER
Srimad Ramayana is the practical guide for proper conduct as
exemplified by the Lord Himself in his Avataara as Sri Rama. If we
desire to regulate our lives on the right lines, it is to Ramayana
that we should turn to.
It shows not only how one WOULD react to situations but more
importantly also how one SHOULD react. This is very important for us
to regulate our lives by adopting the "SHOULD" part of it and
avoiding the "WOULD" part.
But, why are we addicted to the "would" part of it and seem to shun
the "Should" part?
The reason is not far to seek. Our Scriptures say that all living
beings from the four faced Brahma down to the lowly worm are
governed by a mixture of what is known as TriguNa, the trio of
Sattva (virtue), Rajas (emotion laden action) and Tamas
(sullenness). Just as in democracy, the party that gets a majority
rules the nation (at least for the time being), the preponderance of
any particular guNa at any given point of time, governs one's
thoughts and behavior. And, most of the time, we are slaves to the
Rajas and Tamas and we are emotion driven. This leads us to the way
we react to situations. The Rajas while being the motive force for
all our actions provides a breeding ground for the 6 evils that
plague us namely, kaama, krOda, mOha, lObha, mada, maatsarya which w
have to be vigilant to constantly keep under check
In Ramayana, we find three brothers acting differently.
Vibheeshana with Sattva, Ravana with Rajas and Kumbakarna with
Tamas as the predominant traits. We learn from these characters that
we should strive to augment Sattvaguna, regulate Rajas (because we
cannot totally eliminate it) and avoid Tamas altogether.
7. "RaamaayaNam ethanai RaamaayaNam aDi"
The quality and content of the Aadhikavi, has ignited the
imagination of a galaxy of innumerable poets and writers, throughout
the world and over the ages and in a variety of languages. We are
told that there are at least 50 versions of Ramayana. (For example)
- Aananda Ramayana by Pasaurama
- Adbutha Ramayana, by Valmiki himself
- Adhyaatma Ramayana by Sage Viswamitra
- AgnivEshaya Ramayanam by AgnivESya
- Anargha Raghava of Muraari,
- BhaTTi Kaavya by BhaTTi Kavi
- Champu Ramayana by BhOja
- Hanuman- NaaTaka by Hanuman
- Jaina Ramayanam by Hemachandra
- Kamba RamayaNam in Tamil by Poet Kambar
- Mantra Ramayanam by LakshmaNa Arya
- Prasanna Raghava by JayadEva
- Raghava Nishadeeya by Haradatta Suri
- Raghu Vamsam of KaaLidaasa,
- Ramacharita Maanas in Hindi by TuLasidas
- Ramayana Manjari by KshemEndra
- Sangraha Ramayanam by Narayana PaNDita
- Uttara Rama Charita by Bhavabhooti
- Yoga VaasishTam by Valmiki himself and many others.
It is doubtful if any other work of religious literature enjoyed
such a fascination. (Of course, Bhagavad Gita has been translated in
several languages but perhaps, not so prolific like Ramayana).
There is a song in Tamil detailing the various names of Rama that
asks "Raaman ethanai RaamanaDi" We may perhaps ask
similarly "RaamaayaNam ethanai RaamaayaNam aDi"
8. AADI KAAVYAM
But, what makes Srimad Valmiki Ramayana as special and outstanding
is the fact that it is the first ever epic in Literary world.
It is, therefore, known as "Aadikaavya" and its author Valmiki,
the "Aadikavi". It is the most authentic and authoritative account
of the life story of Sri Rama ? the only true account of every
detail as it happened. In fact, it is the first "Ithi-aasa" Meaning:
(Thus it happened)
9. PURUSHARTAS
SaptastOma stipulates that to qualify as an "Itihaasa" the work
should bring out all the 4 Purushartas (Objectives) of Dharma
(Righteousness), Artha (Wealth), Kaama (Desire) and MOksha
(Liberation). Srimad Ramayanam does this in an exemplary manner.
The secondary objectives of Artha and Kaama have been adroitly
sandwiched between Dharma and MOksha to emphasize that they should
be regulated on Dharmic principles if one wants to attain MOksha
(Salvation).
10. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DO NOT REGULATE SO?
- That Artha is secondary to Dharma is brought out by Sri
Rama's abdication of the throne which was his birthright of
primogeniture.
- That a-dharmic Kaama leads to fall is portrayed in the
events in the lives of Dasaratha, Ravana and Soorpanaka.
- That the one who acquires and expends wealth and enjoys
permitted pleasures of life on Dharmic lines ultimately gains mOKsha
are very vividly illustrated in the various episodes in Srimad
Ramayana.
- The delineation of mOKsha is explained in Uttara KhaaNDam.
What is Dharma? It is defined as "That which sustains". What does it
sustain?
It is the inculcation in our lives such noble traits as obedience to
parents, brotherly love between the siblings, chastity which is
common to both man and woman, reverence to elders and holy men,
compassion that forgives the repentant (vide Kaakaasura incident),
commingling of the mighty Emperor Sri Ram with the lowliest of lowly
(Vide Guha the boatman, Sabari the huntress and VibheeshaNa the
Rakshasa) etc.
11. VEDAS AND ITIHASAS
While Vedas command with "Dos and Don'ts" Itihasas like Ramayana act
as good friends and illustrate by examples, interesting stories and
anecdotes how virtuous people prospered and how the evil ones came
to grief ultimately, so that we can learn how we should emulate
characters like Rama and avoid behaving like Ravana and similar
characters.
Rama's obedience to parents (pitru vaakhya paripaalanam),
Lakshmana's Bhagavad Kainkaryam, Bharata's conviction that there was
no refuge other than Rama and Satrughna's Bhaagavata Kainkaryam are
object lessons for humanity for all time to come.
12. DIFFERENT ROLES
The Lord needed different complementary roles for different purposes
and so he cast himself in different characters:
Rama - Bhagavaan
LakshmaNa -Bhagavad Seshatvam
Bharata - Bhaagavata and
Satrugna - Bhaagavata Seshatvam
Taken together, Rama Avatara was as much a PoorNa Avatara as
Krishnaavataara.
13. RAMAYANAM IS THE EXPOSITION OF THE VEDAS
The Upakrama SlOka says that when the Lord decided on his descent as
Rama, the son of Dasaratha, the Vedas also took descent in the form
of Ramayana.
vEda vdDhyE parE pumsi jaatE dasaraatmajE/
vEda: praachatasaad aseeth saakshaat RaamaayaNaatmanaa//
14. OTHER NAMES OF RAMAYANA:
Besides the name "Ramayana" meaning the story of the exploits of Sri
Rama, it is also called "Sitaayaa: Charitam mahath" (the great story
of Sri Sita). In Tamil, it is described as the "Greatness of the
woman who went to jail" (Sirai irundavaL yEtram).
(cf: Mahabharata is known as "thoodu senravan yETram). It is also
called "Poulastya Vadam' meaning the "Killing of the descendent of
Pulastya". Ravana was that descendent.
15. SITAYANAM
Srimad Andavan, Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam, Srirangam explains
how the middle name relating to Sri Sita is more appropriate than
the other two.
The purpose of Avataras is to protect the virtuous (paritraaNaaya
saadoonaam), destroying the vicious (vinaasaaya cha dushkritaam) and
establishment of Dharma (Dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya).
- Sri Rama protected only those who surrendered to him; Sri
Sita protected even those who tortured her.
- Sri Rama gladdened the hearts of people; Sri Sita gladdened
his heart also.
- But for her acting as the mediatrix in all situations, none
of the souls could have secured any protection from Sri Rama.
- Lava and Kusa sang her praise because it was because of
their father's cruelty to their mother in banishing her that they
lived in her company and were more attached to her than to Sri Rama.
- Sri Sita underwent incarceration in order to procure the
release of celestial nymphs whom Ravana had imprisoned. And, it was
the crux of the whole epic.
==========================================================
2. DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 11- Sloka 9:
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:
tAtparya ratnAvali - Submission 11 - Slokam 9.
Slokam 9:
brute gAthA sahasram mura mathana guNa sthoma garbham munIndrah
pratyekam cAtra gAthAh prathita vibhu guNAh spashTam adhyakshayAmah
|
tatrAsa'nkIrNa tad-daSaka guNa Sata sthApanaucitya yuktAn
aidamparyAvaruddhAn agaNita guNitAn tad-guNAn udgRNImah ||
In the previous Slokam, svAmi deSikan gave us the ten guNa-s that he
has identified as the subject of the ten Sataka-s (groups of 100
pASuram-s). He declares in the current Slokam that in the rest of
his work, tAtparya ratnAvaLi, he will proceed to desribe the 100
guNa-s such as paratvam, that are established in the 100 daSaka-s
(groups of 10 pASuram-s), and the thousand guNa-s thar are described
in the 1000 pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi (note that the thousand
pASuram-s referred to here are those excluding the 100 phala Sruti
pASuram-s). He also notes that the 100 guNa-s are distinct and non-
repetitive. However, when it comes to the thousand guNa-s at the
pASram level, he points out that he chooses the guNa that is most
relevant in the guNa at the daSakam (ten) level taking the context
into consideration; while this may lead to repetition of some guNa-s
at the pASuram level, he points out that the context is what is
significant in choosing the guNam that is significant for the
pASuram.
- munIndrah ? AzhvAr who is the leader among all the sages
- brute ? has sung
- gAthA sahasram ? the thousand pASuram-s
- mura mathana guNa sthoma garbham ? such that they have buried in
them the kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn.
- pratyekam ca atra gathAh prathita vibhu guNAh spashTam
adhyakshayAmah ? We also clearly see these pASuram-s explicitly
singing the praise of bhagavad guNa-s.
- agaNita guNitAn ? These guNa-s are countless
- asa'nkIrNa tat-tad daSaka guNa sthApaucitya yuktAn ? These guNa-s
(will be selected such that they) will be non-repetitive, and will
be chosen such that they explain the guNa-s such as parattvam that
are selected at the daSakam (10) level or the tiruvAimozhi level
- aidamparyAvaruddhAn ? They also will be chosen such that they
stand out naturally for any given pASuram
- tad-guNAn udgRNImah ? We will present these kalyANa guNa-s in the
succeeding Sloka-s.
(The meaning given above for the phrase `agaNita guNitAn' -
countless, represents the interpretation of SrI PBA. SrI UV
interprets the phrase as "guNitAn ? repeated, agaNitam ? should not
be considered relevant"; in other words, even though the same guNa
may repeat iself in more than one pASuram, attention should be paid
to the context in which a guNa is selected for a given pASuram, and
not to the mere fact that the guNa is repeated. In other words, if
the same guna establishes or supports the guNa of paratvam in one
tiruvAimozhi and saulabhyam or sauSIlyam in another, then it should
not be considered as redundancy. Thus, some guNa-s may be repeated
since they establish or support a different guNa at the higher
level. So also, if there are many guNa-s in one pASuram, the
principal guNa that stands out in the context should be the one
chosen, and the others should be understood as supporting this guNa
that is relevant to the context). SrI UV's interpretation conforms
to the interpretation given by SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya.
With this interpretation, note that there is a subtle point made in
the Slokam ? that at the daSakam (group of 10 pASuram-s) level, the
100 guNa-s are a-sa'nkIrNa or `not mixed up', in other words there
is no punarukti at this level. It is only when it comes to the
pASuram level that there is likely to be repetition, and svAmi
deSikan points out that this is not an issue, for the reasons
explained above.
aidamparyam ? refers to the process of selecting the one particular
guNam that a given pASuram stresses, taken in context for the given
daSakam (grouping of ten pASuram-s).
Thus, svAmi deSikan elaborates further on the approach that he is
taking to identify the guNa-s for each daSakam (group of 10 pASuram-
s) and each pASuram, using the great ocean of knowledge that he has
gained from his AcArya-s, and using the analytical skills that he
has been gifted with by His AcAryas' blessings, etc., as he has
described earlier in Slokam 2.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
to continue
=================================================================
3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE OF KULASEKARA PERUMAN
BY SRI V. Madhavakkannan, Singapore
SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all,
Kushyate Yasya NagarE Ranga YAtra Dine Dine
TAmaham ShirasAm VandE RajanAm Kulashekaram.
KumbhE PunarvasuBhavam KeraLE ChoLa PattaNE
Kaustubhamsham DharAdeesham KulashekaramAshrayE
Continuing on AzhwAr life and works series under "MAAL UGANDHA
AASIRIYAR", let us enjoy Sri Kulasekara PerumAn in this journal.
KulasEkarAzhwar was born as a prince to ChEra king Dhidavradhan and
nAdhanAyagi during 8 th century(?) in the month of mAsi and the
nakshatram of punarpoosam(same as that of Lord Rama). The child
looked divine and made everyone who saw it happier and cheerful. The
entire kingdom was in a jubilant mood. The kid was named kulasEkaran
and when he grew he was taught all sAstrAs, epics, arts, Tamil and
Sanskrit and was also given training on fighting, Horse riding,
Elephant riding, etc. In each endeavour, he excelled and came out in
flying colours. When Dhidavradhan became old, kulasEkaram ascended
the throne and since then he was ruling like Lord Sri Rama and
brought in RamaRajyam to his kingdom. People were very happy and
there was rich harvest throughout the year; there were regular rains
and there was only subheeksham. Hence the citizens had great amount
of love and respect for their king kulasEkarA.
Once without knowing kulasEkarA's strengths, the neighbouring kings
(Chola and pAndyA) came to fight and during the battle kulasEkaran
won with no difficulty. Impressed PandyA king gave his daughter to
kulasEkarA for marrying her. kulasEkarA was blessed with a son (whom
he named dhidavradhan) and a daughter ILai.
One night, The Lord wished to divert kulasEkarA's attention to Him
and he appeared as Lord Tirupati Venkatachalapathi in the king's
dream and blessed him. The king was overwhelmed with the Lord's love
and became silent and was only thinking of the Lord at all times. He
became totally like water in Lotus leaf (Water never wets the Lotus
leaf) and was ruling the kingdom without any attachment; He was
spending his time more and more on Thiru vArAdhnam and Bhajans and
listening to stories of Rama and KrishNa. He even started disliking
the battles since he did not like to see more loss of lives in the
battle. He started singing in Tamil and sanskrit with full of love
and Bhakti in praise of the Lord. He spent his most of the time only
on religious activities and attending discourses. Once when the
UpanyAsakar was narrating Rama RavaNa yuddham where the battle was
going on for a long time and RavaNa was giving a tough fight,
kulasEkara was so much attached to the story and it the discourse he
ordered his Army General to immediately organize to send the
soldiers, elephants and horses and the king was also making himself
ready for the battle to give a helping hand to Sri Rama.
The upanyAsakar and all others were totally perplexed and could not
say anything. The upanyAsaker at last came to the king and said" O,
mighty king, We need not go. The Lord Rama has already killed ravaNa
and is on his way back to AyOdhyA for his pattAbhishEkam". That made
the king silent and he came to normal; Such was kulasEkarA's bhakti
for Rama. It is told Lord Rama appeared in his dream that night and
said" kulasEkarA, I am deeply moved by your readiness to offer me
help in the battle. I Since you are having blind affection and live
for me , you did not realize my Strength and parAkramam. We can win
asurAs with no effort; You are acting just like LakshmaNA, who is
also attached to me deeply. From today you will be called kulasEkara
perumAL like ILayaperumAL LakshmaNA. Even today he is reverred as
kulasEkara perumAL. The pAsurams he sang were compiled
under "perumAL thirumozhi". One can see his feeling of deep regret
for not being born during RamA's time in his pAsurams.
As he was getting more and more involved in Bhagavadh Bhakti and
Bhagavadha Bhakti and was spending all his time in such activities,
the ministers were not clear as to how to bring the king back to his
administration. The king had even consecrated a Golden statute of
Sri Rama in the palace where he was spending most of the time with
other pundits and upanyAsakALs. Once during a Ramanavami day (the
birthday of Sri Rama), the king was astonished to see a big nice
Navaratna mAlai which had adorned Sri Rama missing. He was confused
as to how somoen can come inside the palace with so much security
and so many people around. The ministers were asked; One of them
(may be the chief minister) hesitantly stammered to say" May
be ..O .king........one of upanyAsakALs, or
pundits...could..........have.....take...."
He did not even finish his statment. The king was shivering and was
literally shocked to hear that statement as if he has stepped on a
Red hot burnt iron; He could not believe his ears as to how these
minister can even think of these GREAT BHAKTAAS as ones who could
have flicked; "What are you saying? Are you talking about these
adiyArs of Sriman NARAYANA. Are you not ashamed to say that? Is your
tougue still alive? How dare you think them as thieves when their
love is only for th Lord and they consider the Gold and dust the
same; Those UTTHAMARGAL - Do you think they have stolen the
MAALAI? . He did not stop with that. He called somone to bring a pot
wherein he had arranged to place a poisonous snake; Bewildered
ministers obeyed. He showed them the pot with the snake inside. He
said and prayed to the Lord" If the mAlai has been taken by one of
the BhaktALs, let the snake bite me; If not, I will come out
unscathed.". He put his hand inside the pot. The snake NEVER TOUCHED
his hand. The minister came out openly saying "we are very sorry and
we beg your pardon. We are the ones who removed the MALAI and put
the blame on BhaktA so that you will start disliking them and will
concentrate on administrative matters. Please forgive us for this
irresponsible act." KulasEkarA thought silently after listening to
all this and understood the underlining concern of his ministers for
the kingdom and the rule. He immediately decided to bring his son
into the pictute and trained him for some time before he started off
his kshEtrAdanam throughout India singing Lord's Glories and GuNAs.
He visited almost all the temples and he lost his heart for Sri
Rama. He has sung lullabies for Sri Rama as "RaghavanE ThAlElO!". He
has even sung pAsurams on Devaki's misfortune of not able to enjoy
kaNNan's leelA's and " thollai inbam" which yasOdhA was blessed
with. One can greatly be moved by his pAsurams where in he longs for
being born as a step in Tirupathi Lord's temple or a fish in the
Holy pushkaraNi or a seNbhaga tree in Tirupathi(standing in front of
the temple) or a Big stone which can not be removed so easily; He
even wished to be born as a servant holding the Golden Bowl in front
of Sriman nArAyaNan to spit the water after washing, girgling and
cleaning His mouth in the morning. Such was his desire to serve the
Lord ceaslessly and that too from a king!.( One can imagine our
plight with so little(or no) material possessions and for that we
walk with so much pride with even a very little achievement(which
too is possible only with His grace)).
He lived till 67 years and then reached His abode and it is also
told that his daughter ILai followed her father kulasEkara perumAn
and was also blessed with the Lord's ThiruvaruL.
A sample pAsuram to taste the sweetness and longing deaire of AzhwAr
before we conclude this post.
AnAtha selvatthu arambaiyargaL thaRsoozha
vAnALum selvamum; maNNarasum yAn vENdEn |
thEnAr poonchOlai thiruvEngadatthu chunaiyil
meenAi piRakkum vidhiyudaiyOnAvEnE ||
Such a wonderful pAsuram. He says" I do not want to be a king even
if it is to rule this earth and the "vAn lOkam" [Devendra loka]
where there is great wealth, and where there are beautiful damsels
dancing around; I do not wish that; All that I want is to be born as
a mere fish in the pond (PushkaraNi) in Thirupathi (as mentioned
earlier, or a tree standing in front of Thirupathi or a big rock [or
at least as a tall building.. to be in the vicinity of
ThiruvEnkatamudaiyaan.
AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayanan
dAsan
================================================================
=To Continue
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