vidhuran thantha kanji - post 2

[Guest guest]

Post 2:

 

Dear Sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

My sincere apologies for a typo error in quoting the page number. It is 743 and

744 and NOT 763 and 764 as stated. Regarding the matter referred, the chapter

number etc, there are no errors. My translation may be poor, for which, please

excuse me.

 

Continuing the topic of "vidhuran thantha kanji uNdathaal vantha mandham" to

kaNNan, we will see few points on vidhuran, and then move on to my krishNaa's

"mandham". The main course of the feast is "krishNa and krishNa alone". Mentions

about "vidhura" here, for us, are side dish. So we should not lose track on the

main course, by enjoying the side dish only.

 

KrishNa asserts 'I will take food with vidhura only even though dhuryOdhana

branded as a person of poor birth. See another slOkam from maha bhaaratham -

 

sarvam Etham na bhOkthavyam annam dhushtaabhi sahitham |

kshaththurEkasya bhOkthavyam ithi mE dheeyathE mathi ||

 

since meaning is assertion, that, I will not eat food with enemies, food from

enemies, my mind tells take food from a friend and a good man, not much

elaboration on the slokam is done here.

 

KrishNa, since is a sarvagnan, [knower of all] he knows the back ground of

vidhura's birth also. So he wants to honour vidhura in front of others by taking

food with him, from him, by staying with him. what is that story behind

vidhuraa's birth is quite interesting. [perhaps for many readers who are not

fully conversant with maha bharatham, this may be a new information about

vidhuran. That is why I added it here in spite of the length of post

increasing].

 

I have taken this from site [just to avoid typing, which is not my cup of tea]

http://www.hindubooks.org/books_by_rajaji/mahabharata/index.htm and chapter on

vidhura reads as follows: Quote:

 

The sage mandavya who had acquired strength of mind and knowledge of the

scriptures, spent his days in penance and the practice of truth. He lived in a

hermitage in the forests on the outskirts of the city. One day while he was

immersed in silent contemplation under the shade of a tree outside his hut of

leaves, a band of robbers fled through the woods with officers of the king in

hot pursuit. The fugitives entered the ashrama thinking that it would be a

convenient place to hide themselves in. They placed their booty in a corner and

hid themselves. The soldiers of the king came to the ashrama tracking their

footsteps.

 

The commander of the soldiers asked Mandavya, who was rapt in deep meditation in

a tone of peremptory command: "Did you see the robbers pass by? Where did they

go? Reply at once so that we may give chase and capture them". The sage, who was

absorbed in yoga, remained silent. The commander repeated the question

insolently. But the sage did not hear anything. In the meantime some of the

attendants entered the ashrama and discovered the stolen goods lying there. They

reported this to their commander. All of them went in and found the stolen goods

and the robbers who were in hiding. The commander thought: "Now I know the

reason why the brahmana pretended to be a silent sage. He is indeed the chief of

these robbers. He has inspired this robbery." Then he ordered his soldiers to

guard the place, went to the king and told him that the sage Mandavya had been

caught with the stolen goods.

 

The king was very angry at the audacity of the chief of the robbers who had put

on the garb of a brahmana sage, the better to deceive the world. Without pausing

to verify the facts, he ordered the wicked criminal, as he thought him, to be

impaled. The commander returned to the hermitage, impaled Mandavya on a spear

and handed over the stolen things to the king. The virtuous sage, though impaled

on the spear, did not die. Since he was in yoga when he was impaled he remained

alive by the power of yoga. Sages who lived in other parts of the forest came to

his hermitage and asked Mandavya how he came to be in that terrible pass.

Mandavya replied: "Whom shall I blame? The servants of the king, who protect the

world, have inflicted this punishment".

 

The king was surprised and frightened when he heard that the impaled sage was

still alive and that he was surrounded by the other sages of the forest. He

hastened to the forest with his attendants and at once ordered the sage to be

taken down from the spear. Then he prostrated at his feet and prayed humbly to

be forgiven for the offence unwittingly committed.

 

Mandavya was not angry with the king. He went straight to Dharma, the divine

dispenser of justice, who was seated on his throne, and asked him: "What crime

have I committed to deserve this torture?" Lord Dharma, who knew the great power

of the sage, replied in all humility: "O sage, you have tortured birds and bees.

Are you not aware that all deeds, good or bad, however small, inevitably produce

their results, good or evil?". Mandavya was surprised at this reply of Lord

Dharma and asked: "When did I commit this offence?"

 

Lord Dharma replied "When you were a child". Mandavya then pronounced a curse on

Dharma: "This punishment you have decreed is far in excess of the deserts of a

mistake committed by a child in ignorance. Be born, therefore, as a mortal in

the world."

 

Lord Dharma who was thus cursed by the sage Mandavya incarnated as Vidura and

was born of the servant-maid of Ambalika, the wife of Vichitravirya.

 

This story is intended to show that Vidura was the incarnation of Dharma. The

great men of the world regarded Vidura as a mahatma, who was unparalleled in his

knowledge of dharma, sastras and statesmanship and was totally devoid of

attachment and anger. Bhishma appointed him, while he was still in his teens, as

the chief counselor of king Dhritarashtra. Vyasa has it that no one in the three

worlds could equal Vidura in virtue and knowledge. When Dhritarashtra gave his

permission for the game of dice, Vidura fell at his feet and protested solemnly:

"O king and lord, I cannot approve of this action. Strife will set in among your

sons as a result. Pray, do not allow this". Dhritarashtra also tried in manly

ways to dissuade his wicked son. He said to him: "Do not proceed with this game.

Vidura does not approve of it, the wise Vidura, of lofty intellect, who is ever

intent on our welfare. He says the game is bound to result in a fierceness of

hate which will consume us and our kingdom."

Unquote:

 

This dharma's curse and he having been born as vidhura is quoted by swamy

desikan in his rahasya thraya saaram, in the continuation of this "vrishaLa

bhOjanam" point referred in the previous post [ pl. refer page 744, 745 of UV

swamy's book]

 

So krishNa wanted to honour such a vidhura or his "own assistant of the other

world", who is administering justice, now as a minister instead of the position

in yama lOkam. [so with this the side dish ends here. Now the main course].

 

The two lines "vidhuran thantha kanjiyum vELviyar tharum sORum veNNaiyum maNNum

uNdathaalE mantham" is the charaNam lines of the krithi "innum varak kaaNene" in

the raagaa yadhukula kaambhodhi by ooththukkadu venkata kavi. Those two lines

are taken and elaborated.

 

Now the full krithi - pallavi

 

innum varak kaaNene - mannan raaja gOpaalan

EnO aRiyEnadi peNNE - enna seigiRaanOdi - innum

 

Anupallavi:

munnam than thoNdarkkaai munthik kaninthadhellaam

sonna chol thannOdu thuNaiyaanathOdi - innum

 

charaNam:

vidhuran thantha kanjiyum vELviyar tharum sORum

veNNaiyum maNNum uNdathaalE mantham

adhuvum sairandhari kaiyaal chandhaNag gandhangaLum

angam mEl poosina aanandham - innum

 

podhuvil sollap pOnaal bOdhaiyum thalaikku Eri

puNNiyath thoNdar paadum pORRiyum kaadhil Eri

nadhi maiyath thadam thEdi naanum kanaak kooRi

nanRaagath thoonginaanO ennadi sedhi - innum

 

Perhaps, if you read the krithi once more, you will agree that this krithi can

basically be attributed to be as aaNdaaL's words, through the mouth of a gopee,

addressed to her friend inquiring about ranganaathan - that krishNa - not

turning up as promised. "How this is deduced?" - dear bhakthaas, perhaps you

have to wait till next post.

 

Dhasan

 

Vasudevan m.g.