Namaskaram - Introduction and a few thoughts on 'manaththukkiniyAn'

[Guest guest]

My humble namaskaram to all members.

 

My name is Hari Krishnan and I am a columnist in ChennaiOnline.com. I am

writing a daily column on Ramayana, under the caption 'Religion'. I was

informed about this list by a reader madhav.vasudevan and with the

information so kindly provided by him, I joined the group recently. I thank him

sincerely for the information and the moderator for adding me to the list.

 

I am a member of a few mail groups, all of them mostly literary in nature,

though religion is a natural part of it. I find the members of this group

interacting very politely and addressing others with respect in all sincerity.

This is not a familiar scene in many other groups. The mails are scholarly,

informative and interesting.

 

I was tempted to respond to a mail from Sriman Sadagopan Iyengar under the

caption 'manaththukiniyAn.' That was a beautiful exposition. Though I thought

of adding a few words to his excellent interpretation, I restrained myself from

doing so, initially, as I was hesitant. I am encouraged by the free exchange of

information in the group and thought I can share a few thoughts on the verse. I

feel that 'manaththukkiniyAn' should be read along with the words 'sinaththinAl

then ilangaik kOmAnaich chetra' and need elaboration with that background, for

Sri Rama is not known for anger, even in the battlefield. Kamban does not fail

to mention the smile of Sri Rama, in each and every place before Sri Rama takes

the bow in hand.

 

Even Ravana, who was mercifully sent back after the first war, returns to his

palace, sits in isolation and ruminates over the events of the day. The Poet

captures a finer point here, through the mouth of Ravana himself.

 

eRiththa pOr arakkar aavi eNNilA veLLam enja

paRiththa pOthu ennai inthap paripavam muthukil paRRap

poRiththa pOthu annAn anthak kUni kUn pOka uNdai

theRiththa pOthu oththathu anRi sinam uNmai therinthathu illai.

 

--(Kamba Sri Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, KumbakarNan vadhai-p padalam)

 

Ravana says, 'Even when this fellow kills the enormous number of soldiers of my

army in a trice and even when he caused me this agony by stamping an insult on

my back with his arrow, I find that his countenance remains so calm and playful

as it was when he shot clay-tipped arrows on the hunched back of Mantara, as

though to straighten it. **I do not find even a trace of anger in his face!**'

 

There are a few places, though, where Sri Rama's anger knows no bounds. But

such anger does not last long. They can be counted on fingers of one hand, may

be needing one or two more fingers from the other hand. Given this background,

the attribute 'sinaththinAl then ilangaik kOmAnai-ch chetra' (He who slayed

Ravana **out of anger**) must have some deeper significance. I would be happy

and thankful - indeed grateful - to receive your valued interpretations. I

shudder to venture into my own in such a scholarly gathering.

 

I do not find anyone referring to oneself with the pronoun 'I'. Kindly bear

with me and forgive me if I sound a little impolite in my references either to

others or myself, since I am not very familiar with formal addresses that are

used in Vaishnavite groups. I hope to learn from scholars like you all.

 

Namaskaram again.

 

Sincerely,

 

Hari Krishnan.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Dear BhagavatOttamas,

 

Sri Hari Krishnan raises a valuable question.

 

--- Hari Krishnan <harikrishnan wrote:

> 'sinaththinAl then ilangaik kOmAnai-ch chetra' (He

> who slayed Ravana **out of anger**) must have some

> deeper significance.

 

The very same question is asked and answered by the

vyakyadars of Tiruppavai. Would Sri Rama who is as

cool as water get angry? The answer is that He

considers the enemies of His devotees as His own

enemies. Sri Rama got angry when He found that Ravana

had attacked Siriya Tiruvadi, Sri Hanuman. He was

cool when Ravana's arrows struck His body, but He

was angered when Ravana's arrows fell on Sri

Hanuman's body. He had shown the same guNam when He

got angry with Vali and killed him as Sugreeva was

angry with his brother and yet He also cried when

Sugreeva cried for his brother. Sri Krishna also

states to Duryodhana that His enemity to the Pandavas

who are dear to Him is enemity toward Him.

 

The meaning here also is that His anger (purpose)

goes down only when all the things (beings and

non-beings) that stand in the way of His devotees

reaching Him are removed. It is said that Sri

Ranganatha is lying in Srirangam with the vow that

He will not rise till the karmas of all beings are

removed.

 

Azhvar Emperumanar Jeeyar Tiruvadigale Saranam

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

TCA Venkatesan

 

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