MUSINGS ON RAGHU VEERA GADHYAM --PART 10: AYODHYAA KHAANDAMa

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MALAYA AMAVASYAI DAY, 1996

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AYODHYAA KHAANDAM

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There are 119 chapters in Ayodhyaa Khaandam

of Sri Vaalmiki RaamayaNam .

..

Swami Desikan uses 7 salutaions in his illustrious

Raghu Veera Gadhyam to cover the highlights of this

Khaandam spanning 119 chapters in length..

 

The first Salutation of Raghu Veera Gadhyam covers the

events described by the first 49 of the 119 chapters of

Ayodhya Khandam of Sage Valimiki .

 

Sri Ramachandra has now come home to Ayodhya with his bride .

Happy emperor Dasaratha wants to install Sri Rama as prince regent

and transfer the power of rulership to him .

 

A hunch-backed maid servant of Queen Kaikeyi(Manthara ) hears about the

news of the crowing of Sri Rama and is enraged . She instigates her

mistress Queen Kaikeyi to stop the installation of Rama as

the crown prince . Queen Kaikeyi is fond of Rama and refuses first

to interfere . Manthara labors on and succeds in poisoning the mind of

her mistress . She advises her mistress to ask for two boons that

her husband had promised , but not executed. Manthara eggs on Kaikeyi

to ask the emperor Dasaratha through one boon to banish

Rama to the forest and with the other boon to install Bharatha , her

own son , as the crown prince in place of Rama. Kaikeyi is persuaded

and agrees to press the king for the two boons suggested by Manthara.

 

Now Kaikeyi enters the sulking chamber and waits for her husband

rushing to share with her the happy news of the plans for Rama's

installation as crown prince. She asks her husband to grant her the

two boons that he promised earlier for her support in a difficult battle .

She explains then the nature of those two boons .

 

The emperor is devastated by the request of his queen .

Kaikeyi invokes the presence of Gods as witnesses

and presses the heart broken emperor for the twin boons

of banishment of Rama to the forest for 14 years and

the crowning of her son Bharatha as the prince regent in

Rama's place . The tormented emperor is shocked by the

adamant queen's wish for these cruel boons. He is caught in the

horns of a dharma Sankatam . He can not go back on

his word about granting two boons and yet he can not

envisage the granting of the specific boons requested by

his queen .

 

He falls unconscious at the very thought of separation form

Sri Rama as a result of the boon requested by Kaikeyi .

The heartless Kaikeyi sends for Rama and announces to him

that the boons that she just received from emperor Dasaratha

requires him to be banished to the forest for 14 years.

Rama accepts the command of his mother Kaikeyi

and states that his father's words will not

become false and that he will obey his father's wish .

 

The emperor begs his son Rama to take him captive and ascend

the throne. Rama consoles his father and states that he has no

great desire to ascend the throne and that obeying his father's

command is of the utmost importance to him . The first salutation of

Swami Desikan in the Ayodhya Khandam section of

Raghu Veera Gadhyam refers to that assertion by Rama that

he will not make his father's word false by staying in Ayodhya

and becoming a crown prince . That salutation is as follows :

 

GS 21 : ANRUTA BHAYA MUSHITHA HRUDHAYA PITRU

VACHANA PAALANA PRATHIGYAAVAGYAATHA YOUVA RAAJYA !

JAYA ! JAYA !

 

Hail to Thee , O Raghuveera , who abandoned the position of

crown prince of Ayodhya to fulfill the promise implicit in the boon

of your father, who was fear-stricken over the thought that his

word to Kaikeyi would become a lie !

 

Emperor Dasaratha had no choice. He had to grant his queen

the boons that she demanded. With a broken heart, he had to

order Rama's banishment to the forest to prepare the way for

Bharatha's crowning . He was being tormented by the thought that

his son might refuse to obey that command and make his words

untrue . He was afraid of being called a liar , who made false

promises to his queen. Rama however welcomed his father's

command and immediately promised to honor the boon given

to Kaikeyi. As a result of that promise to his father , Rama

abandoned willingly his legitimate title to the throne of Ishvaakus .

 

GS 22 : NISHADA RAJA SOWHRUDHA SOOCHITA

SOWSEELYA SAGARA ! jAYA ! jAYA !

 

Swami Desikan salutes the Sowseelyam of Sri Ramachandra here.

Sowseelyam is the attribute of a great soul , who mixes with people

lower than him in status with ease . Here, Swami refers to the friendship

that Rama showed to the Guha , the unlettered king of hunters

residing on the frontier of the nation of Kosala .

 

Guha was a simple chieftain , who roamed in the forest

in search of animlas to hunt . Rama was the lord of the Univrse

and Paramaathmaa .Inspite of it , Rama displayed his kalyana

Gunam known as Sowseelyam and became the guest of the hunter

of a much lower status and exchanged oath of friendship . Swami

recalls this meeting between Guha and Rama on the banks of Ganges

and hails Rama as the ocean of Sowseelyam( Valmiki Ramayanam

Sargas 50 to 52) .

 

Hail to Thee! O Raghuveera who through your expression

of friendship to the chieftain of the hunters revealed your

vast ocean-like sowseelya quality and easy accessibilty

by one and all !