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 # 07 dated 11th November 2007
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. SUNDARA KHAANDAM PART - 5 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 37 - SLOKAM 16 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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ISSUES RELEASED
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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
07 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)
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1. "SUNDHARA KHAANDAM" PART - 5 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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34. DO YOU KNOW THAT SRI RAMA WAS A MEAT EATER?
While describing to Sri Sita how Sri Rama became indifferent to all
mundane pleasures because of his pangs of separation from her,
Hanumaan says that Sri Rama had given up consuming meat and
ingesting liquor, that he was so engrossed in thoughts of her that
he does not even chase away mosquitoes and other flying and creeping
insects tormenting his body.
Na maamsam raaghavO bhunktE na cha api Madhu sEvatE /
Naiva damsaan na masakaan na keeTaan na
sareesorusaan /
RaaghavO apa nayEt gaatraath tvad gatEna anthar aatmanaa //
(Sargam 36. 41-42)
COMMENT:
Hunting, eating meat and drinking liquor were allowed for the
Kshatriyas. Hanumaan points to how Sri Rama had given up all these
little pleasures in life. He goes one step further and graphically
describes how he was unmindful of his body that he took no effort
even to chase away the insects biting his body. (VR 36)
35. HANUMAAN OFFERS TO LIFT SITA ON HIS SHOULDERS TOTAKE HER TO
RAMA
Unable to bear the sorrow of Sita, Hanumaan offered to lift her up
on his shoulders and take her to Rama. To prove that he could do so,
he took "Viswaroopam" and showed it to her. Sita declined saying
that it would not be proper for her to voluntarily get on the
shoulder of a male and that when Ravana took her away, she was alone
and helpless and she was taken away forcibly and she could not
resist; Secondly, it would do little credit to Rama whose duty it
was to come and rescue her. (VR 37). Kamban adds one more reason for
the inappropriateness of Hanumaan's proposal: "If the canine like
Ravana took me by deceit, should you also wish to repeat such a
dastardly
act?"
Anriyum piridu uLLadu onru aariyan/
venri venchilaimaasuNum vEru ini
nanri enbvadu en vanjitha naaigaLin/
ninRa vanjanai neeyum ninaithiiyO (SooLaamaNi 618)
36. IT IS NO MATTER TO CROW ABOUT!
Sita narrated that when she and Rama were in privacy, Rama was
reclining on her lap and dozing. A cunning crow (who was Jayantha,
son of Indra) dared to peck at her breasts repeatedly so hard that
blood oozed out and a drop of it fell on Rama. Rudely awakened by
this, Rama tried to chase the crow away. But, it would not budge.
Rama was infuriated at its temerity. Having no weapons in his hands
at that moment, he pulled out a "pull" (blade of grass) and invoking
the Brahma Astra mantra threw it at the crow. The crow ran around
all the three worlds. Not only none came to his rescue including his
father for fear of rousing Rama's wrath but they also turned him out
mercilessly. Finally, the crow exhausted, fell at the feet of Rama.
Rama took it as an act of surrender (SaraNaagathi) and spared his
life but not before punishing him by plucking one of his eyes for
his misdeed so that he would not repeat the misdemeanor. That is
why, it is said, that crows seem to have only one eye to this day.
And, among birds, the crow is considered a despicable one
(ChaNDaaLan). She asked Hanumaan to remind Rama of this incident.
Sa pitraa cha pari thyakta: surai: sarvair maharshibhi: /
threen lOkaan saam parikramya tamEva saraNam gata: // (VR 38-33-34)
Vada arham api kaakutstha: kripayaa parya paalayat/ (ibid 35)
Valmiki uses the word "Kaakutstha:" instead of Rama in this context.
Swami Desika in his "Dasaavataara StOtram" describes Rama
as "karuNaa kaaktstha" Why? (VR 38)
VishNU puRaaNam (IV.2) gives the answer:
37. PURANJAYA (SIDE STORY)
Once, when Puranjaya the grandson of Ikshvaaku, was ruling AyOdhya,
there was a war as usual between DEvas and Asuras and the DEvas
requested Puranjaya to help them. He accepted if only DEvEndra
agreed to serve as his vehicle. DEvEndra took the form of a bull
with a huge hump and Puranjaya sat on it and fought with and
defeated the Asuras. That is why; he came to be known as "Kakuth"
meaning "hump" + `stha" meaning "seated". As Rama was a descendent
of this kakutstha lineage, he is known as "kaakutstha". People
usually tend to forget the help received. Rama, on the other hand
would remember even the slightest help rendered not only to himself
but even to any of his ancestors. It is remembering the help of
DEvEndra in providing the hump for seating Puranjaya that Rama
spared the life of Jayantha, the son of DEvEndra.
Hanumaan consoled Sita saying that Rama would ere long be there with
the vast monkey army and would decimate Ravana with his sons,
ministers and all who owe allegiance to him and retrieve her. (VR 39)
38. CHOODAAMANI
As he was preparing to leave, Sita gave him her crest jewel that she
had preserved with great care saying that she felt like seeing Rama
whenever she looked at it. (VR 40)
39. DESTRUCTION OF ASHOKA GROVE
Having successfully met with Sita, Hanumaan wished to demonstrate
his valor to instill terror in the hearts of the Raakshasa which in
diplomacy is the starting point towards victory. He destroyed the
Asoka grove. The Raakshasis who were in a trance woke up. Though
they had earlier seen Hanumaan they ignored him. But, now they
became curious to know who he was and why he was there talking to
Sita. (VR 41)
40. DO YOU KNOW THAT ON AN OCCASION SRI SITA UTTERED A LIE?
When questioned as to who the monkey was, Sita bluntly denied all
knowledge of who it was. She says that she was also equally baffled
at the sight of the monkey whom she thought to be another Raakshasa
who had taken that form. She cleverly turns the table on the
Raakshasi guards saying that they alone would know better because
only a reptile would recognize the feet of another reptile! Sri
Sita's words:
Rakshasaam bheema roopaaNaam vigjnaanE mama kaa gathih /
Yooyam Eva abhi jaaneeta yO ayam yadaa karishyati //
AhirEva ahE paadaan vijaanaati na samsaya: /
vEdmi raakshasam Eva yEnam kaama roopiNam aagatam //
(Sargam 42. 9 and 10)
41. WHEN IS A LIE NOT A LIE?
This is a basic question that has been answered in the Mahabharata:
A lie is deemed harmless when it is uttered in the following
circumstances
(i) at the time of marriage.
(ii) at the time of conjugal union.
(iii) at the time when life is in danger.
(iv) at the time when one's entire possessions are at risk and
(v) at the time of saving the life of a friend.
vivaaha kale rathi samprayOgE praaNa thyayE sarva dhana apahaarE /
mitrasya cha arthEpi anrutam vadEyu: pancha aahu: apaatakaani //
(KarNa parva 69)
Hanuman's life would have been endangered if she had revealed the
truth.
Hence, her reply to the Raakshasis cannot be deemed a lie in the
context in which it was made. Leaving AshOka vana, Hanumaan
proceeded to destroy the balconies of the warriors.
TIRUVALLUVAR confirms: Truth is that which does not cause harm to
others:
"vaaimai enappaDuvadu yaadu enin/ yaadonrum teemai ilaada solal"
(KuraL)
42. JAMBUMAALI, MANTRI KUMARAS, AKSHAYAN KILLED (VR 43 and 44)
Jambumaali, son of Prahasta, one of Ravana's ministers was sent with
a huge force to face Hanumaan. Standing tall on the archway of the
ramparts, Hanumaan explained to them why he was there and why he was
destroying their properties. Hanumaan routed the entire battalion
including Jambumaali (VR 44). Ravana sent the seven sons of
ministers and when they were worsted (VR 45), he sent the five
Chieftains called Viroopa-akshan, Yoopa-akshaN, Durdharan, Prahastan
and Baasa-karNan who had never seen any defeat before. But, they
were no match to Hanumaan's power and all of them were decimated.
(VR 46). On hearing of the defeat of his chieftains, Ravana sent his
son, Akshaya kumaaran who fared no better than those who met
Hanumaan earlier.
dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
(To be continued)
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2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 37 - SLOKAM 16 -PART 3
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 37, Slokam 16 part 3,
tiruvAimozhi 1.5, Part 3, pASuram-s 1.5.6, 1.5.7.
pASuram 1.5.6:
vinaiyEn vinai tIr marundAnAi! viNNOr talaivA! kESavA!
manai SEr Ayar kula mudalE! mA mAyanE! mAdhavA!
SinaiyEi tazhaiya marAmara'ngaL Ezhum eidAi SirIdharA!
inaiyAi! inaiya peyarinAi! enRu naivan aDiyanE.
Even though I am afflicted with the disease of trying to keep away
from You, You are turning out to be the medicine that cures that
disease! Oh Slayer of kESi! You were a part of all the cowherd
families, and You were their Leader as well! You are the Great mAyan
who hid Your Supremacy from all of them! When sugrIvan doubted Your
valor, You aimed Your arrow and pierced the seven huge trees with
dense leaves and branches with one arrow! You who are attached very
much to periya pirATTi! You have infinite such kalyANa guNa-s
(auspicious attributes), and infinite nAma-s that describe these
kalyANa guNa-s! I am Your eternal servant who is moved to the
utmost just by thinking about Your sauSIlyam!
svAmi deSikan captures the sauSIlya guNam of bhagavAn sung in this
pASuram as "gopAdyApteh" (gopAdi Apteh) ? a friend of the cowherds
etc. ? viNNOr talaivA! manai SEr Ayar kula mudalE! ? He is the
Supreme Lord of all the gods, and at the same time, He is an
integral part of all the households of all the cowherds, and their
Leader too. Look at how AzhvAr simultaneously refers to His
Supremacy ? viNNOr talivA!, and immediately in the next word, brings
out His coming down as `manai SEr Ayar kula mudalE!', thus vividly
bringing out His sauSIlyam. AzhvAr points to another case of His
sauSIlyam in this pASuram as well ? His friendship with sugrIvan,
the king of the monkeys, by referring to the incident of bhagavAn
piercing the seven trees to `convince' sugrIvan that He is truly
sugrIvan's friend who will protect him - SinaiyEi tazhaiya
marAmara'ngaL Ezhum eidAi SirIdharA.
It is very moving to go through SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan's
thoughts summarizing this pASuram in his bhagavad vishaya sAram,
where he portrays AzhvAr repeatedly alternating between bhagavAn's
paratvam and sauSIlyam in this pASuram: "The Lord of nitya sUri-s!
(viNNOr talaivA!); One who created brahmA and Siva! (keSavA!); Even
so, One who became part and parcel of every household in AyarpADi!
(Ayar manai SEr); One who became the Leader of the cowherds! (Ayar
kula mudalE!); One who performed great wonders, such as letting
Yourself be tied to a mortar by a woman even though You are
paramaAtman Yourself (mA mAyanE!); The Consort of lakshmI!
(mAdhavA!); One who instills confidence in those who are unsure of
Your nature of protection, and then protecting them! (sauSIlyam -
SinaiyEi tazhaiya marAmara'ngaL Ezhum eidAi); One who pierced seven
huge trees that were so densely grown that one could not even
identify the individual tree stems, all with a single arrow in one
shot (valor - SinaiyEi tazhaiya marAmara'ngaL Ezhum eidAi); One who
is endowed with vIra SrI (SirIdharA!); One who is endowed with
infinite kalyANa guNa-s! (inaiyAi!); One who is known by infinite
nAma-s representing the infinite kalyANa gunA-s! (inaiya
peyarinAi!).
SrI PBA explains svAmi deSikan's words ? `gopAdyApteh' as "iDak-kai
valak-kai aRiyAda iDaiyargaLODum kalandu pazhagubavan" - suggesting
bhagavAn's sauSIlya guNam of moving at their level with the cowherds
who can't even distinguish between their right hand and their left
hand.
The reference to svAmi deSikan's Slokam from dayA Satakam
(nishAdAnAm? - dayA Satakam 65) that we saw in the pASuram 1.5.1 is
appropriate as further explanation for the current pASuram as well.
Please refer to the earlier write-up for the significance.
pASuram 1.5.7:
aDiyEn SiRiya j~nAnattan aRidalArkkum ariyAnai
kaDi SEr taNNam tuzhAik kaNNi punaindAn tannaik kaNNanai
SeDiyAr Akkai aDiyArai Serdal tIkkum tirumAlai
aDiyEn kANbAn alaRRuvan idanin mikkOr ayarvu uNDE?
Arkkum aRidal ariyAnai, kaDi SEr taNNam tuzhAi kaNNi punaindAn
tannai, kaNNanai, SeDiyAr Akkai aDiyAraic cErdal tIrkkum tirumAlai,
aDiyEn SiRiya j~nAnattan kANbAn alaRRuvan; idanin mikka ayarvu
uNDE? ? I, lower than the lowest, am crying to see the Lord who is
beyond the reach of even the likes of brahmA, rudra etc., wears the
beautiful and fragrant soothing tirut tuzhAi garland, helps remove
the association with the sinful bodies for those who have sought the
liberation from repeated birth and dealth, and is always inseparably
associated with SrI. Is there anything more ignorant than this
desire of mine to attain this Supreme Being (who is unattaible even
by the most realized beings)?
svAmi deSikan captures the aspect of bhagavAn's sauSIlya guNam
reflected in this pASuram through the words `aSesha IkshaNa
vishayatayA', which is generally explained as "Because He is the
Object to be seen (realized) by all". At the outset, with this
meaning, bhagavAn's sauSIlya guNam is not conveyed explicitly. SrI
UV notes, and we can infer this from the high-level meaning of this
pASuram given in the previous paragraph, that if anything, AzhvAr
praises bhagavAn's Supremacy, and feels that he is at too low a
level to even think of attaining bhagavAn. So, SrI UV notes that we
have to `infer' the reference to bhagavAn's sauSIlya guNam sung in
this pASuram, (since it is not directly evident). He says that the
sauSIlya guNam is inferred by the realization that on the one hand,
His supremacy is such that AzhvAr feels that he is at too low a
level to even think of attaining Him (aDiyEn kANbAn alaRRuvan idanin
mikkOr ayarvu uNDE), but then bhagavAn's sauSIlyam is such that He
brings Himself down to the low level so that AzhvAr can still
approach Him (Arkkum aRidal ariyAnai aDiyEn kANban alaRRuvan).
SrI ve'nkaTESAcArya's brief interpretation of svAmi deSikan's
words `aSesha IkshaNa vishayatayA' ? `ellArkkun kANa vENDum vishayam
AgaiyAlum ? Because He is the goal of attainment of everyone - does
not provide an easier understanding of the sauSIlya guNam that is to
be conveyed.
SrI PBA's explanation is ? `aDiyEn kANbAn alaRRuvan' - `nISanAna
nAnum uTpaDa ellArum kANak kUDiyavan ? He who can be realized by
all, including me who is the lowliest among the lowly beings'.
While this will support the sauSIlya guNam, this thought is not
directly reflected in the pASuram, as SrI UV points out.
In the pASuram, there is reference to bhagavAn as `kaNNan'. SrImad
tirukkuDanthai ANDavan explains `kaNNan' as `One who was a sulabhan
for the gopa-s and the gopi-s ? the cowherds and the
cowherdesses". The word `kaNNan' has the literal meaning "One who
has eyes" as given in the dictionary. When applied to bhagavAn,
this word should be meditated as "One with eyes that are full of
compassion; One who removes the sins of all on whom His eyes fall".
The reference to the name of emperumAn as `kaNNan' by AzhvAr in this
pASuram certainly reflects His sauSIlya guNam. If we take the
meaning for svAmi deSikan's phrase `aSesha IkshaNa vishayatayA'
as "One for whom everything without exception is the object of His
kaTAksham", then the sausIlya guNam is evident. I hasten to point
out that this is purely my own effort to explain the sauSIlya guNam
sung by AzhvAr and identified by svAmi deSikan in this pASuram.
dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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