Guest guest Posted September 1, 2002 Report Share Posted September 1, 2002 > --- kalaivani retnavellu <Kalaivani4krishna wrote: > > i've got a question regarding godhavari. > > when sriraman asked godhavari about the abduction of sita pirati, > > it was > silent due to fear of ravana. so why do we still include > it in the> punya > nathi list? '..narmata sindhu kaveri godhavari > saraswati..' > > > > pls explain. > > > Dear Madam, > > Sri.Rajagopal ("adiyaen") has already answered your question by > quoting from the great 'mahAn' Sri.Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachari's > book. > > The following additional information may also be of use to you: > > The river Godavari too like the River Yamuna can be said to have > had "bhagavath-tiruvadi-sparsha-sambandham". It is very probable that on their southward journey from the forests of Dandakaranya to Lanka, Rama and Lakshmana waded through heer waters to cross the river Godavari at some point or the other. Hence, the waters of Godavari ought to have caressed the 'tiruvadi' (Sacred Feet) of God and it is for this reason that it can be safely said that yes, the Godavari failed in her duty to Rama but she was was not in any way > irredeemably sullied by it. > > After Peria-AzhwAr named his daughter ANdal as 'gOdA', the > River Godavari was redeemed for a sin of omission she had in a > moment of momentary weakness committed in Rama's times. Thereafter, the> river Godavari however attained a status equal to that of other > sacred rivers like the Ganges. > > A popular verse goes as follows: > > gangE cha yamunE chaiva gOdAvari sarasvati > narmadE sindhoo kAvEri jalE'smin sannidham kuru > > "O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Indus and Kaveri! > O ye rivers, may your pure and sacred waters appear before me, I > pray > thee!" > > Svami Desikan in his celebrated 'gOda-stuti" had a special place > reserved for Godavari too, comparing the sweet and gentle nature of > ANdAL to this great and immemorial river > > "shONa'dharEpi kuchayOrapi tunghabhadra > vAchAm pravAhanivahE'pi sarasvati tvam > aprAkrutai-rapi rasair-viraja svabhAvath > gOda'pi dEvi kamiturnanu narmadAsi I (Verse 6 "gOda-stuti") > > "My child GodA! Your lips are red as the waters of the Sone; your > breasts heave like the lofty Tungabhadra; your speech is sweet as > the rippling streams of the Sarasvati; your demeanour is as virginal as> the Viraja; and as Ranga's Consort you are like the beloved Narmada... and your fair name, O Goda, is fairer than the Godavari herself!" > > (At this point adiyane cannot help tearfullly remembering my late > beloved mother --Mani Perundevi otherwise well-known as Mani > Krishnaswami -- who many years ago rendered the 29 stanzas of > goda-stuthi in a heart-warming 'raga-mAlikA' which to this day is > cherished by all Carnatic music lovers and sri-sampradaya > followers) > > So, the Godavari is not to be belittled in any way just because she > committed an error in the Ramayana. She was pardoned by the Lord > and soon regained her glory that shines even to this day! > > We must note that in the Vedic religion the waters of all rivers in > the world are to be revered by us since they are the most precious > gifts of God to us. The Mahanarayana Upanishad of the Taittiriya > Aranyaka has a wonderful verse attesting to this in the form of a > prayer called the "aghamarshanisUkta": > > "yath pruthivvyAgUm raj: svamAntarikshE virOdasI > imAgUm-stadh-aapO varUNa: punAthvaghamarshan: " > > "May the waters of these rivers and Varuna, their presiding deity, > the destroyer of sins, purify me of all my sins done in both the > worlds viz. in this world and the other"! > > River-waters are benevolent agents of God. They wash sins clean off > our souls and make us fit to be offered unto God. The Godavari is > probably the most benevolent since, she having once sinned too > against Lord Rama, and having been redeemed, she empathises with we > sinners to a far greater degree than other rivers like Ganga or > Yamuna who are absolutely sinless! Only a redeemed sinner knows how > to redeem another sinner. And so we as sinners can look without > hesitation to the kindly mother Godavari to receive us into her > embrace (And pls. also note that in Hindi the word "gOdh" means "lap", a loving mother's lap that one would longs to warmly embrace). > > Regards. > dAsan, > Sudarshan Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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