minds of women 3

[Guest guest]

Post 3

 

Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Continuing on the topic of `minds of women' based on the

thyaagaraajaa's kriti `kanulu thaakani', the next point raised in

first post was on the charaNam 1, and it read as below -

 

ghOra bhoopathini joochi dhaarukaaraNya sathulu

mEra meeri bhuvini apadhooru galga jEsirE

 

Meaning: The ladies of dhaarukaa forest have violated their code of

conduct and earned bad name, as they saw the fierce king.

 

The point – "it is a sort of allegation about some `ladies' to raama.

This episode is of some ladies getting enchanted by a king in the

dhaaruka forest and going behind that person – who happened to be a

king of that area. Why the author of the krithi should inform raama

about this? How can he expect raama to comment or give a point on

this?"

 

Is it of any concern to us, raama bhakthaas, and a question also

arises "why thyaagaraaja included this in the krithi", since it is an

episode on siva – siva alluring many rishi pathnis in the dhaaruka

forest before his cosmic dance or aanandha thaaNdavam.

 

Just for information of the bhakthaas on the cosmic dance of siva,

dhaaruka forest etc, the following are given. Fine – there are

different versions of it and we have three here.

 

One version: Lord VishNu reclining on aadisEsha -the serpent-seat of

God- was one day in an uncommon mood which both Lakshmi and aadisEsha

noticed. Asked about it, the Lord started in narrating a long story.

The previous night he accompanied Lord Siva to the dhaaruka forest to

test the piety of the rishis there. The two Lords, Siva and VishNu,

assumed the disguise of a naked beggar, begging for food – bhikshaa

atana moorthi- and of a beautiful voluptuous woman – Mohini-

respectively. The Rishi wives and the Rishis, in the dhaaruka forest –

[near the bEt dhvaaraka in present day Gujarat state] lost their

senses on seeing this divine pair and went after them. When the

Rishis discovered who the intruder was, who disturbed the balance of

their wives, they set up in anger an unholy sacrifice. [see here –

rishis did not bother why they went after mohini but more concerned

about their wives going behind some other] Out of this they pulled

one after the other,

· a tiger,

· a ball of fire,

· a serpent

· a monster

and hurled them at Siva.

Siva peeled off the skin of the tiger and wore it round his waist. He

caught hold of the ball of fire in his left hand and held it aloft.

He calmed the serpent and wore it round his neck as an ornament. By

this time he had begun to dance in joy. So when the rishis set up the

monster against Siva, he dwarfed the monster, stood on it on one leg

and continued his dance. VishNu and the others were charmed by this

aanandha-thaaNdavam = joyous divine dance of the Lord siva. Then

rishis were blessed and the two Lords disappeared to their places.

Thus narrated vishNu to lakshmi and sEsha.

 

Another version: In the forest of dhaaruka dwelt multitudes of

heretical rishis, followers of the meemaamsa. Thither proceeded siva

to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful

woman, and aadi-sEsha. The rishis were at first led to violent

dispute amongst themselves [because of the beautiful lady

accompanying siva?], but their anger was soon directed against siva,

and they endeavoured to destroy Him by means of incantations. A

fierce tiger was created in sacrificial fires, and rushed upon Him;

but smiling gently, He seized it and, with the nail of His little

finger stripped off its skin, and wrapped it about Himself like a

silken cloth. Undiscouraged by failure, the sages renewed their

offerings, and produced a monstrous serpent, which, however, siva

seized and wreathed about His neck like a garland. Then He began to

dance; but there rushed upon Him at last a monster in the shape of a

malignant dwarf, Muyalaka -the Apasmaara purusha. Upon him the God

pressed the tip of His foot, and broke the creature's back, so that

it writhed upon the ground; and so, His last foe prostrate, siva

resumed the dance, witnessed by gods and rishis. [see here the rishi

wives were not in picture having been enchanted whereas first version

speaks of that and hence not of interest]

 

Third version: The puranic account of the origin of the cosmic dance

is slightly different and based more on philosophical truth. The

rishis of Dhaaruka vanam questioned the relevance of God, arguing

that since Karma was everything, only action mattered. To remove

their ajnaanam -ignorance, siva took the form of a most beautiful

man - sundhara moorthy and came to Dharuka vanam. Enchanted, all the

women followed him. Lord Vishnu [who accompanied siva as in previous

version] enticed the rishis as Mohini. The rishis, enraged that they

had been fooled [since they lost their wives as well fooled by the

mohini], conducted an Atharva Vedic "homa" to destroy Lord siva.

First from the homa fire emerged Muyalagan, the demon, called

apasmara purusha in Sanskrit. The cosmic dance began. Muyalagan was

trampled underfoot. Then emerged snake, deer, tiger etc. The snakes

from the fire, which emerged became siva's garlands after the venom

was removed. A deer with huge antlers was miniaturised and held in

one hand. The menacing tiger became his waistcloth while the raging

fire was captured in another hand. The sound of the evil incantations

became his anklets. Thus transformed, they became beneficial.

 

Note:

1. the matter in brackets is included in above are from my side

for more clarity.

2. Please do not pick up any thread for a fight how you can

include all this in the srivaishNva lists.

3. These paragraphs are added just to establish my point of

ahalyaa story and nothing more than that.

 

Now the point of relation to the krithi and ahalyaa:

a. from the first version lord vishNu who has now come as raama

knows about this – siva enchanting the ladies and as such sage

visvaamithra asking raama about this is not out of context. Since in

raamayaNam, this episode is not there we need not add weight to this.

b. The word Bhoopathi means the king. Ahalyaa also saw the ghOra

bhoopathi – king indhran became ugly after being cursed by her own

king - viz. her husband sage gouthama [who is a king of enormous

thapas] – who is also fierce now, in anger because of her conduct.

Dhaaruka is a type of wood or species of wood- AaraNya is forest.

This is also suiting because the aasramam was in forest, then

deserted when raama saw it was almost a raised stony area. But a

forest earlier when sage was there. So the charaNam point is NOT out

of context.

 

As side information, "dhaarukan" is the charioteer of Krishna, the

charioteer lord - of arjunan- paarthasaarathy. Dhaarukan rode the

chariot to pradhyumnan son of krishNa during the war he had with

usha's father etc. [may be to retrieve usha when usha's friend

chithralekha abducted him from krishna's palace for her friend usha's

sake].

 

The next point in the first post is on charaNam 2 - a description

about the beauty of raamaa – and thyaagaraaja praises or describes or

says - thyaagaraaja vinutha - Is it a sort of appeasement of raama,

for the poet has raised irrelevant points or questions to raama? Then

to describe him as "Who attracts the mind and brings happiness", "Who

has got eyes like the intoxicated chakOra bird", "the big boar roopa

having protruding teeth", "the moon-faced beautiful Lord" – a

combination of contrasting features – chandra vadhana on one side and

a ugly boar having protruding teeth on the other.

 

Just to recall charaNam 2

mana mOhana aanandha madha chakOra nayanaa

kundharadana chandhra vadhana sundharaanga thyaagaraajavinutha

Meaning:

Oh Lord! Who attracts the mind and brings happiness, Who has got eyes

like the intoxicated chakOra bird, the boar faced having protruding

teeth, moon-faced beautiful Lord praised by tyAgarAja!

 

Points: the very word raama means one who steals the heart by his

beauty. So mana mohana aanandha is very apt description. madha

chakOra nayanaa is for the intoxicated chakOra bird which feeds

itself on the rays of moon. So the next word of chandhra vadhana –

the moon like face of raama, added to that the eyes – sun and moon

are his eyes – so twice the bird is fed or has the source of

nourishment.

 

But this `kundharadana'- is it apt? – since the length of post

increased we will have to see that in next.

 

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.