Raghuveera Gadhyam: Uttara KhAndham--Part 5

[Guest guest]

Dear Rama BhakthAs:

 

I will cover the salutations 91 and 92 in htis posting.

 

GS 91 : sakEtha janapadha jani dhanika tadhitara

janhtujAtha divya gathi dhAna darsitha nitya nisseema

vaibhava ! Jaya ! Jaya !

 

(Meaning ) : Hail to Thee O lord of limitless and eternal glory

who blessed the ENTIRE body of the chetanAs and achetanAs

of your kingdom to attainn the higher world known as Saandhanikam .

 

(Background ) : After the tragedies of the deaprtures of Sita and LakshmaNA ,

Rama decided to go back to Sri VaikunTam to be united with them . His

avathara kaaryam was completed. He crowned Kusa and LavA as the kings

of the Southern and Northern Kosala desam .

 

He decided to take his remaining two brothers as well as the

monkeys and bears that fought with Him in LankhA . He advised

VibhishaNA , HanumAn , JambhavAn, DwividA and MaindA to remain

on earth . He gave His family's aaradhana vigraham to VibishaNA

and asked him to worship the presiding deity of IshvAku kulam

( Aaraadhaya JagannAtham IshvAku Kula daivatham ) .

 

Next , RamA spoke to HanumAn and said : O Best among Monkeys !

As long as the story of my deeds circulate on this earth , so long live

happily on this earth keeping my words in your mind ( MathkathA pracharishyanthi

 

yavallokE hareesvara , thaavadh ramasva supreethO madh vaakyam

anupAlayan ) . HanumAn was very moved by the blessings of

Sri Ramachandra and replied : " As long a sYour divine story

will circulate on this earth , so long shall I stay on this earth

carrying out Your orders ".

 

Rama hten ascended to Sri VaikunTam . Acharya VasishTA

peformed all the rites connected weith the final departure

as enjoined by the sAstrAs . All of Rama"s weapons went in

human forms with Him. The VedAs in the form of BrahmaNAs ,

Gayathi , the OmkArA and the VashatkArA followed RamA . All

the subjects , birds , animals followed Rama to heaven by merely

seeing Him durin gthis occasion . All sthavarA (Stationary forms )

who saw the scion of Raghu , wishing the best of Him followed Him

into heaven known as Saanthaanikam ruled by BrahmA .

Rama entered the divine lustre of Sriman NArAyaNA in

Sri VaikunTam and was reunited with his

Consort and AdiseshA (LakshmaNA ) there .

 

NammAzhwAr celebrates the glory of RamA's mercy in giving

Sadhgathi to all of the sthavara and Jangama of AyodhyA in

a moving verse of ThiruvAimozhi :

 

karpAriramapirAnai allAl maRRum kaRparO

puRpAmudalAppullerembhuhaadhiyonrinRiyE

naRpaalayOddhil vazhum charAcharam muRRavum

naRpaalukkyutthanan naanmuhanAr peRRa nAttuLE

--- Thiruvaimozhi 7.5.1

 

NammAzhwAr wonders about the DayA of RamA in blessing

all the sentient and insentients of AyodhyA to reach the heaven

known as Saanthaanikam at the time of His own departure from

His kingdom . AzhwAr is moved by the compassion of the Lord and also

the significanc eof Bhagavadh Sambandham . He asks in this mood

a rhetorical question: Is there any thing else to study and to learn

except the Rama Tatvam in this world ? He hints that there is nothing

superior than the study and enjoyment of Sri Rama's deeds on this earth

as the son of king DasarathA .

 

GS 92 : bhava tapana taapitha bhaktha jana bhadrArama !

Jaya ! Jaya !

 

(Meaning ) : Hail to Thee O Lord , who serves as an auspicious and

shady grove of flowering trees to the devotees of Yours , who are

scorched by the hot rays of the sun of SamsArA !

 

(Comments ) : The human beings exposed to the scorching rays of

the sun in summer get relief from taking rest in the cool shade of the trees

in a dense grove. Similarly , the devotees of the Lord afflicted by the hot

rays of the htre afflictions associated with their SamsAric life think of

the cool shade of the sacred feet of the Lord as a cool nandavanam

and are freed from their sufferings. The comparison of the thought of the

Lord for Samsaris to a shady grove or a cool pond in summer is frequently

used by AzhwArs and AcharyAs .

 

indeevaradhaLa syAma: pundarikanibhEkshaNa : I

dhrutha kodhanDatooNeerO Rama yeva gathirmama II

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan