lotus failed 6

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Post 6

 

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

We are studying sage vaalmeeki's `andha raama soundharyam' in

conjunction with kamban, basing that on the krithi by poet

aruNaachala kavi, wherein we have hanumaan's description of raamaa's

physical features. Let us take the next slOkam. [we have seen 8th

slokam, now it is 15. In between 9 to 14 slokams are describing the

guNaas - hence not taken up]

 

vipulaamsO mahaabaahu: kambugreeva: subha aanana

goodajathru: su thaamra akshO raamO dhEvi janai: srutha: || 5-35-15

 

vipula amsa: - with raised shoulders

mahaa baahu: - long arms

kambu greeva: - neck like a conch

subha aanana - beautiful face

gooda jathru: - shoulder bones covered with muscles

suthaamra aksha - with red eyes

raama - raama

dhEvi - dhEvi

janai: - by the people

srutha: - decsribed.

 

Meaning: DhEvi! raama has raised shoulders, long arms, neck looking

like a conch, beautiful face, shoulder bones covered with muscles and

has red eyes as described by people.

 

Point: In baala kaaNdam first sargam itself, same description

of `vipula amsa:, mahaa baahu:, kambu greeva:, gooda jathru:'

appeared. Same description is here in sundhara kaaNdam also. Perhaps

these are the words that best describe raamaa than others. Hence sage

vaalmeeki repeats even at the cost of accusation on `repetition' from

grammarians and critics of literature.

[Re post 3 – just slOkams alone are given here].

"vipulaamsO mahaa baahu: kambu greevO mahaa hanu: || 1-1-9

 

mahaa uraskO mahEshvaasO gooDa jathru: arindhama: |

aajaanu baahu: susiraa: sulalaata: suvikrama: || 1-1-10

 

Now let us see what kamban has to say on the long arms – mahaa baahu.

Oh, a beauty of description, the language and a very high comparison.

 

needuRu keezhth thisai ninRa yaanaiyin

kOdu uRu karam enach chiRidhu kooRalaam

thOdu uRu malar enach churumbu chuRRu aRaath

thaaL thodu thadakkai vERu uvamai saalumE? – 47 urukkaattu padalam

 

meaning: the east direction supporter's ivory - that elephant's

ivory – the dhEvEndhraa's white elephant iraavatham's long ivory -

kOdu – dhantham - can come somewhere near for a comparison with

raamaa's long hands. The long hands touch those feet – which feet are

always surrounded by bees thinking those feet as flower petals and

flower. What else can I have for comparison?

[Here kOdu is yaanai dhantham, not a line. Similarly thOdu is a petal

of flower and not the earring or earstud].

 

Point: here kamban uses the dhisai yaanai dhantham for hands. But

aruNachalak kavi uses same dhisai yaanai thudhikkai for thodai –

thighs. See

`thiraNda perum thodai iraNdukkum ettu dhisai yaanaiyin thudhikkaiyum

thOrkkumE'

 

So poets in common use same bases for comparison, of different parts

of raamaa's physical features. The material for comparison is same

but parts compared are different. So that way raamaa's feautures suit

different poet's imaginations differently.

 

Now let us take hanumaan's next description to seethaa:

 

dhundhubhi svana nirgOsha: snigdha varNa: prathaapavaan

sama samavibhaktha anga: varNam syaamam samaasritha: || 5-35-16

 

dhundhubhi svana: nirgOsha: - voice like a dhundhubhi

snigdha varNa: - colour like flowing water

prathaaapavaan - famous

sama - with correct height and limbs

sama vibhaktha anga: - with proportionate limbs

varNam - colour

syaamam - dark

samaasrïtha: - has

 

meaning: Raama has a voice like a dhundhubhi, [a sound emanating from

a drum – majestic sound – such a masculine voice] has colour like

flowing water, is famous, is of correct height with proportionate

limbs and is dark in colour.

 

Point: see here that `flowing water' idea is used by aruNaachalak

kavi for raamaa's chest - pudhu malaiyinil vizhum pon aruviyaippOlum

bhoo maNi maarbinil puraLum

 

Only a small anvayam is to be done.

malaiyinil vizhum pudhu aruvi pon pOlum

– the fresh water while flowing will have a natural muddy colour -

snigdha varNa:

 

eLLa nilaththu indhra neelaththu ezhundha kozhundhu maragadhaththin

viLLaa muzhu maa nizharp pizhambum vENda vENdum mEniyadhO?

thaLLaa Odhi kObaththaik kouva vandhu saarndhathuvum

koLLaa vaLLal thiru mookkiRku uvamai pinnum kuNippu aamO?

54 urukkaattup padalam

 

here see a mix of colours.

eLLaa nilaththu – the ground which is not scarified or furrowed

indhra neelaththu ezhundha kozhundhu maragadhaththin – appearing as a

dark blue colour – from such a ground a sprout comes up – that is

appearing dark green in colour – such a mEni of raamaa.

viLLaa muzhu maa nizharp pizhambum – what came as a sprout is an

aamram sprout – a mango sprout. The mango leaf when tender changes

its colour so fast from light red, then slight yellow, then light

green, then dark green again dark yellow when ripe and finally falls

out.

 

Or same can be said for a sun rising in east – eLLaa nilam – kadal –

which cannot be done with by a man - first a deep red, then slowly

changing from deep red to a bright yellow in a blue sky – when yellow

is mixed with blue the colour coming out is green – maragadhaththin

nizhal - such a mEni.

 

Oh, in that beauty of a description, I am lost and not able to go

further. So let us continue in next. Enjoy that raamaa's beauty, the

poems grandeur and poet's imagination and above all raamaa's beauty,

which is the base for all these.

 

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.