SRI RANGA SRI VOL.04 / ISSUE # 13 dated 12th February 2003

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SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //

SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anubadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anubadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//

KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /

SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.04 / ISSUE # 13 dated 12th February 2003

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1. GOTRAS AND PRAVARAS – AN OVERVIEW – Part 3

(Anbil Ramaswamy)

Based on the monograph of MahaamahOpaadhyaaya Sri Srivatsaankaachaar Swami,

now Head of Dept. French Indolgical Research Institute, Pondicherry and

“MaharishigaL Charitram” by Mimamsa SirOmaNi Mimamsa Vidvan Mimamsa Kovida,

Ubhaya Mimamsa Saaragjna, Veda Vedanta ChooDaamaNi Sri N.S. Devanathachariar

(referred by Sri Srivatsankachariar Swami).

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2. “SAPTA SARGA PARAYANAM OF SUNDARA KHANDAM” - Part 3

(Anbil Ramaswamy)

A few special points from “Sundara KhaNDam” highlighted in a short speech on

the occasion of PaTTa abhishEkam of Sri “Sita-Rama” on the conclusion of

“Sapta Sarga ParayaNam”

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3. DESIKAMRUTHAM I :

SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SAARAM

UPODGATHA ADHIKAARAM – The Beginning - 9

SRI SADAGOPA IYENGAR SWAMIN (OF COIMBATORE),

“SRIKAARYAM OF THE BOARD OF ADVISORS OF “SRI RANGA SRI”

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4. DESIKAMRUTAM II:

SWAMI DESIKA’S SIMILES “UPAMA” Part 25 (107 and 108)

By Sri Anbil Ramaswamy

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5. FROM MAHABHARATA:

YAKSHA PRASNAM” Part 18: Prasnams 54 and 55

By Sri M.K. Ramaswamy Iyengar Swami, Senior Officer of Govt. of India (Retd)

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Kindly also peruse the following files at the sites indicated:

http://members.tripod.com/~sriramanujar

(Maintained by Sri Madhava Kannan from Singapore) – for

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- and other links.

 

http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati/

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SDDS Volume 1 / Issues 1 to 33

SDDS Volume 2 / Issues 1 to 26

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For “Hinduism Rediscovered”

and other links

 

http://www.srivaishnavam.com

(Maintained by Sri R.M. Venkat from Bahrain) for -

- Dasavatara Stotram meanings

-“Srimad Rahasya Traya Saaram” and other links

in the “Philosophy” section

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1. GOTRAS AND PRAVARAS – AN OVERVIEW – Part 3

(Anbil Ramaswamy)

Based on the monograph of MahaamahOpaadhyaaya Sri Srivatsaankaachaar Swami,

now Head of Dept. French Indolgical Research Institute, Pondicherry and

“MaharishigaL Charitram” by Mimamsa SirOmaNi Mimamsa Vidvan Mimamsa Kovida,

Ubhaya Mimamsa Saaragjna, Veda Vedanta ChooDaamaNi Sri N.S. Devanathachariar -

(referred by Sri Srivatsankachariar Swami)

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CAN WOMEN RECITE THE VEDAS?

A discussion was going on regarding this question for quite sometime.

 

Rig vEda itself is replete with many women “Rishikaas” also known as

“Brahmavaadinis” who not only recited Vedas regularly but perhaps some of

them also taught Vedas to their Sishyas.

 

Sounaka’s Brihad Devata, BrihadaaraNyaka and other Upanishads refer to

several such “Brahmavadinis” like –

Aditi, Agastyasvasaa, Apala, DakshiNaa, GhOsa, Godhaa, IndraaNi,

Indramaataa, Indrasnushaa, Jaritaa, Juhu, Lakshaa, Medha, Nadyah, Nisat,

Oorvasi, PoulOmi, Raatri, Romasaa, Sarasvati, Sachi, Saramaa, Sarparajni,

SikaTa nivaavari, Sooryaa, Sraddhaa, Srih, Upanisat, Vasukrapatni,

Visvavara, Waak, Yami.

 

“Known as Brahmavaadinis, the Rishikas were eligible for “Upanayana”,

“Vedaadhyayana” and “Agni Upaasana”

 

ya tu hareetEnOktam dvividaa: striyO Brahmavaadinya: sadyOvadhwascha/

tatra brahmavaadeenaam upanayanam agneeindanam vEdaadhyayanam svagruhE cha

bikshaarhayEti /SadhyO vadoonaam tu upasthitE vivaaahE katanchid upanayana

maatram kritvaa vivaaha: kaarya: //

Vide: Smriti Chandrika I, p.24; ViramitrOdaya, Samskaara prakaasika, p.402;

 

cf ibid yamOpi –

puraakalpE kumaareeNaam mounjee bandanam ishyatE /

Adhyaapanam cha vEdaanaam saavitree vachanam tatha //

 

Some of the “Rishikas” were Rishipatnis too. It will not be out of place to

mention that the better halves had equal rights with their men in the

performance of yagjnas, for the wife, says the Veda, is half of oneself.

 

“ArdhO vaa esahaatmanO yat patni” (Taittriya Samhita 6.1.8.5; Taittriya

BraahmaNa 3.3.3.5; Jaimaniya BraahmaNa 1.86)

 

The Vedic text “ayagjnO vaa yEsha yO apatneeka:) emphatically says that

there is no Yagjna without a wife.... It was for the performance of

“Dharma”; the duties ordained by the Veda, that the Rishis had led the

householder’s life. “Rishipatnis” had a prominent place in the Society.

VasishTa- Arundati, Agastya-LOpaamudra, Atri-Anasuya, Goutama-Ahalya, and

others are the Rishi couples who are regarded with veneration even today….

 

In BrihadaaraNyaka Uponishad 3.6; 3.8, we see Vachaknavi Gaargi questioning

the Sage Yagjnavalkya. The same Upanishad 2.4; 4.5 mentions MaitrEyi

learning Brahmavidyaa from Yagjnavalkya, her husband. It is interesting to

mention that the Upanishad prescribes a ritual for ensuring the birth of a

daughter endowed with learning. Atah ya ichchEd duhitaa mE paNDitaa

jaayEta,…tiloudanam paachayitvaa…asneeyataam iti”

 

(Authority: “MaharishigaL Charitram” by Mimamsa SirOmaNi Mimamsa Vidvan

Mimamsa Kovida, Ubhaya Mimamsa Saaragjna, Veda Vedanta ChooDaamaNi

Sri N.S. Devanathachariar - Introduction by Sri P.S.Ramanathan).

 

THEN, WHY SHOULD IT BE SAID THAT WOMEN SHOULD NOT RECITE THE VEDAS?

 

This is because these women Riashikas were quintessence of celibacy,

actually practiced the technique and exercise of overcoming their own

inherent feminine biological disabilities connected with menstrual cycles.

They were quite conversant with the requirements of intonation and

pronunciation that often needed drawing sounds deep from the navel. They

were also fully conversant with the rules of grammar peculiar to Sanskrit –

the language through which religion spoke in days of yore. That is why, even

in those days, women who could not master the perfection of the language

preferred to speak in the much easier but not-so-perfect Praakrit.

 

“Apart from grammar, the accent, intonation, articulation and pronunciation

play a vital role in preserving the heritage. They are variously defined as

- Ucha staayi (high pitch) Neecha staayi (low pitch) Madhyama staayi (middle

pitch) Dheergha (elongated) Hrasva (shortened), GaNa (repetition back and

forth) Udaatta (high key), Anudaatta (low key) Swara (tone) etc. so that

even the letter, let alone the words of the mantras and other sacred

literature could not be altered or tampered with at will. It would be

sacrilegious to do so. As for pronunciation, they are governed by rules on -

gutterals, palatals, linguals, retroflex, dentals, labiels, aspirates,

nasals, semivocals, diphtongs, visarga and anuswara which are distinct and

clear so that if anyone of them is misused in the place of the correct one,

it would render the words either meaningless or twisted out of shape“

(Chapter 4 of “Hinduism Rediscovered” by Anbil Ramaswamy)

 

And, Veda Adhyayanam has to be continued like Taila dhaara (flow of oil)

without interruption even for a single day. For the modern women,

uninitiated in this technique and exercise makes it difficult for them to

follow the rules both in letter and spirit.

 

DOES THIS MEAN THAT THERE CAN BE “RISHIS” AMONG MEN IN THE MODERN TIMES?

 

Even in these days, some men might be able to follow these rules of

grammar but there can be no “Rishis” in modern times. The codes of conduct

for “Rishis” were extremely hard and the transgression of the rules was not

only considered a sin but it was also believed that the holy learning would

leave the offender.

 

Apasthamba says that because of this, no Rishis (Mantra DrishTas) are born

amongst the men of later ages.

 

NiyamEshu tapa: sabda: / Tad adikramE vidyaakarma nisravanti /…

Tasmaat RishayOvarEshu na jaayantE niyaMa atikramaat

(Apastamba Dharma Sutra 1.2.5; 1.6)

 

Also, he quotes SvEtakEtu:

“ He who desires to study more, after having settled as a householder, shall

dwell two months in every year, with collected mind, in the house of his

teacher and continue to serve him” Even if in the modern times, one might

have done Veda Adhyayanam in the PaaTasaala tradition, it is hard to find

one following the SvEtakEtu’s dictum mentioned above, which he himself

practiced.

 

Aswalaayana Grihya Sutra 1.8.10-12 states that a “Rishi” can sill be born to

the newly married, if they abstain from saline food and sleep on the ground

for one year –

 

Akshaara lavaNaasinou brahmachaariNaava alankurvaaNaavadha: syaaninou

syaataam /atha oordvam, triraatram dvaadasa raatram / samvatsaram vaa Eka

Rishir jaayatE iti //

 

Haradatta concludes thet there will be none who will

receive the revelation of Mantras in Kaliyuga.

 

WHAT TO DO WHEN ONE DOES NOT KNOW ONE’S GOTRA?

 

If one does not know or forgets one’s GOtra, Dharma texts recommend the

adoption of the GOtra of the great Rishis Jamadagni or Kaasyapa.

 

SvagOtra pravara ajgjnaanE Jamadagnim UpaasrayEt / NirNayasindu

Gotra naase Tu kasyapa:…. Kasyapa gOtrasya Sarva saadhaaraNatvaat /

(Smriti Chandtrika p.398)

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2. “SAPTA SARGA PARAYANAM OF SUNDARA KHANDAM” - Part 3

SIMILES OF VALMIKI

(Anbil Ramaswamy)

A few special points from “Sundara KhaNDam” highlighted in a short speech on

the occasion of PaTTa abhishEkam of Sri “Sita-Rama” on the conclusion of

“Sapta Sarga ParayaNam”

------

Vaalmiki is an Aadikavi also in another respect. Though KaaLidaasa is

credited with the encomium “Upamaa KaaLidaasasya, it was Vaalmiki, the

pioneer, who set the trend for employing similes in literature with

consummate effect, which other poets including KaaLidaasa came to emulate.

Due to space constraints, we may not be able to allude to all his wonderful

similes; we will try to savor a few by way of random sampling. As we are

concerned with Sundara KhaaNDam, we will draw on some of the similes from

this KhaaNdam.

 

1. When AnjanEya started jumping over to cross the Ocean from the

top of the mountain, the trees that got uprooted by his speed followed

him on his path for a while.

This was like dear friends and relatives who accompany one

going on a long journey.

When they could not follow anymore because of the decrease

in their speed and fell into the sea scattering

far and wide their flowery tribute, it looked as if

the friends and relatives were returning home after seeing him off,

with a heavy heart and streaming eyes!.

 

2. The young ladies in RavaNa’s harem lay in deep unconsciousness

with their necklaces and waistbands broken and garments loose.

This looked like mares who having gone through a very long course,

rolled over and over on the ground to throw off their weariness

and fatigue!.

 

3. As AnjanEya traversed the inner apartments of RavaNa,

he saw the burning lamps standing steady and motionless.

This looked like gamblers who lost everything having been

fleeced bare by veterans deeply planning about

wreaking vengeance and recovering their losses!

 

4. The gem studded lamps glowed with a steady radiance as if

they were lovers stealthily gazing on with un-winking eyes at the

ladies of RavaNa since they could not ever dream of doing it,

when RavaNa was awake!.

 

5. In the AsOkavana, AnjanEya saw wild streams rushing down

a slope of rocks. This looked like a girl who was resting on the

lap of her lover, suddenly feeling offended at some of his

off-the-cuff remarks and jumping out from his lap and running away

in a fit of anger.

There were branches of trees on the banks that dipped into the stream,

that prevented the flow of water and made the waters swirl

and return back. This looked like the lass being pacified by her

peers and restrained from her angry course and returning

back to her lover "to make it up with him”!

 

6. The description of Sri Sita’s plight in the AsOkavana

is most heart rending.

Her famished appearance looked like-

(i) Waned fortune

(ii) Fair name besmirched by the leprous fingers of slander

(iii) Vedic hymns losing their value through improper recitation and disuse

(iv) Hopes and desires barren of results

(v) Profits and gains too far below expectations

(vi) The commands of the master defied and set at naught

(vii) The quarters all ablaze at inauspicious moments

(viii) Articles of worship snatched away by unholy hands

(ix) Lovely lotus blackened with the fire of frost

(x) An army widowed of its braves

(xi) Brilliance and glory darkened

(xii) A river running dry bereft of water

(xiii) The sacred fire-place polluted by impure things

(xiv) Mighty flames sunk into ashes

(xv) A lotus pool in which mad elephants worked their will, tore up the

stalks and frightened away the gentle birds

(xvi) The sweet waters of a stream hustled away by the raging flood

(xvii) Tender lotus uprooted and thrown on the ground

(xviii) Fierce heat drinking up the life-waters of bodies of water

(xix) The lordly she elephant driven away from her mate and lashed firmly to

the strong posts and heaving hot sighs of impotent grief

(xx) Success barred by obstacles

(xxi) Earnestness and faith sinking under the crushing blows of ridicule

(xxii) Noble intellect bewildered and befuddled

(xxiii) Fair name blasted by foul blasphemy

(xxiv) A lordly titanic steamer battered on the rough seas and sinking

(xxv) A star that had fallen to the ground at the expiry of its merit.

(xxvi) A VeeNa without the strings

(xxvii) A tender plantain in the grasp of a mighty gale

(xxviii)A she-elephant in the grip of a lion

(xxix) An innocent girl abandoned by her parents in the dark woods in a

famine

(xxx) Learning of one who recites Vedas on "Prathamai thithi"

and many more.

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To Continue: Methods of PaaraayaNam

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3. DESIKAMRUTHAM I:

SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SAARAM

The Beginning - 9

SRI SADAGOPA IYENGAR SWAMIN (OF COIMBATORE),

“SRIKAARYAM OF THE BOARD OF ADVISORS OF “SRI RANGA SRI”

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The Beginning-9

Swami Desikan in the form of a Tamizh pAsuram and a kArikA in Sanskrit

summarizes the UpOdhghAtAdhikAam.

 

"Thiru udan vanda chezhu maNi pOl ThirumAl idayam

maruvidam enna malaradi choodum vagai peru nAm

karuvudan vanda kaduvinai Attril vizhundu ozhugAdu

aruvudan iyndarivAr aruL seyya amaindanarE"

 

Swami Desikan pays generous tribute to the Acharyas, who invoke in us the

realization of our exalted stature as the Lord's own beings, dear to His

heart, and prevent us from being swept away endlessly in the raging river of

Karma. This the Acharyas achieve by imparting to us the uplifting knowledge

of the arttha panchakam. Each word of the aforesaid pasuram has a message to

convey. The beauty of Swami Desikan's compositions is that not a single word

is employed wastefully, each and every one of them being pregnant with

purport.

 

The rightful place of the individual soul is the Lord's heart, similar to

the gem "Kousthubha", which adorns His chest. Being so close to the Lord,

we are entitled to the immeasurable good fortune of adorning our heads with

His lotus feet.

 

The lines "Thiru udan vanda chezhumaNi pOl ThirumAl idayam maru idam" tell

us many things. The "chezhu maNi" or Kousthubham was a product of the ocean

when it was churned by the Devas and asuras seeking amritam. As ThirumagaL

too emerged from the waters at the same time, the Kousthubham is indeed

honored by being born with Piratti. It is thus as dear to the Lord and

occupies a pride of place on the Lord's chest, as does Piratti. We jeevatmas

are as dear to the Lord as is Kousthubham and are entitled to a place in His

heart, as His inalienable sons, servants and slaves. It is therefore our

birthright to adorn our heads with the lotus feet of the Lord, to be of

eternal service to Him.

 

However, the accumulated baggage of Karma that we inherit at birth ("Karu

udan vanda kadu vinai Aru") sweeps us off our feet, making us forget our

real nature. When we are about to be swept away by the swirling waters of

Karma, Acharyas extend us a timely and helping hand and pull us out of the

raging waters through their upadEsam.

 

This upadesam takes the form of instruction in the five great truths-

"arttha panchakam", which are

1) the nature of the Supreme Being ("PrApyasya BrahmaNO roopam"

2) the nature of the individual soul ("PrAptuscha pratyak Atmana:")

3) the strategy to be adopted for Liberation ("prApti upAyam")

4) what is in store for us when we attain Liberation ("Phalam") and

5) what prevents us from adopting a suitable upAya and attaining Moksha

("PrApti virOdhi").

 

Winding up the UpOdhghAtAdhikAram, Swami Desikan refers to the common belief

among votaries of all faiths, that there comes a decisive moment in the

chain of births of every Jeevatma, when its Karma has reached a balance. It

is at this critical stage that the Jeevatma develops a taste for liberation

and distaste for continued suffering in this world. The Lord patiently waits

for such a moment in the life of every individual soul and favors it with

His benevolent and merciful attention.

 

It is this purifying attention and merciful look from the Lord's lotus eyes

("Isvarasya SouhArdam") that make the Jeevatma engage wittingly or

unwittingly in meritorious deeds ("YadricchA Sukritam"),

develop the positive trait of benevolence towards the Lord

and the negative one of not opposing His efforts to emancipate us

 

("Abhimukhyam" and "advEsham") and delighting in the company of the

pure-hearted. These six steps (detailed in "The Beginning-7"),

one leading to the other, inculcate in the Jeeva a yearning for Moksha,

and, by engaging it in Bhakti or Prapatthi, ensure that the soul

overcomes its mundane shackles and ascends to Sri Vaikuntam, to reap

the rich reward of uninterrupted and eternal service to the Lord.

Here is the beautiful kArika, which, along with the Tamizh pasuram

cited above, form a succinct summary of the concepts detailed

in the foregoing chapter-

 

"Karma avidyAdi chakrE prati pursham iha anAdi chithra pravAhE

tat tat kAlE vipakti: bhavati hi vividhA sarva siddhAnta siddhA

tat labdha sva avakAsa Prathama Guru kripA grihyamANa: kadAchit

muktha iysvaryAnta sampat nidhirapi bhavitA kaschit ittham vipaschit"

 

This sloka holds out for every single soul suffering in this samsara, the

hope that it would become eligible for redemption some time or the other, in

this birth or others, in this millennium or another. This is in accordance

with Sri Nammazhwar's dictum that it is the birthright of every inhabitant

of the world to reach Sri Vaikuntam-"Vaikuntam puguvadu maNNavar vidhiyE".

The time of deliverance may differ from one soul to another, but the

destination is assured. It is this generosity and impartiality inherent in

the VisishtAdvaita Sampradaya that distinguishes it from other philosophies,

which speak of a class of people eternally cursed to rot in the mundane

morass, without any hope of redemption now or ever.

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5. FROM MAHABHARATA:

YAKSHA PRASNAM” Part 18: Prasnams 54 and 55

By Sri M.K. Ramaswamy Iyengar Swami, Senior Officer of Govt. of India (Retd)

 

 

54

YAKSHA:

“DHANYAANAA UTHAMAM KIMSVIT?”

“ WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR SECURING WEALTH?”

YUDISHTIRA:

” DHANYAANAAM UTTAMAM DAAKSHYAM”

“ Dexterous ability is what is most essential for securing wealth”

NOTES:

For attaining anything precious, effort is the pre-requisite. Mere “make-do”

effort will not be enough. The effort has to be at the level of excellence

all the time. This excellent effort has to be preserved and it is also to be

honed to further excellence, all the time. For what seems to be a treasure

obtained with the turn of the lever, will neither be a treasure nor will it

be long standing.

A short-cut method can lead only to a short-lived gain.

 

55

YAKSHA:

“DHANAANAAM SYAAT KIM UTTAMAM?”

“WHICH IS THE BEST WEALTH?”

YUDISHTIRA:

”DHANAANAAM UTTAMAM SRUTAM”

“ A SOUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES IS UNDOUBDTEDLY THE BEST WEALTH”

NOTES:

The Taittriya Upanishad has the following passage describing knowledge as

Brahman or the Supreme self.

 

Vigjnaanam brahmEti vyajaanaat /

Vigjnaanaat eva khalu imaani bhootaani jaayantE /

VigjnaanEna jaataani jeevanti /

Vigjnaanamprayatnya abi samvisanti //

(Taittriya Upanishad Chapter III Bhriguvalli Section 5)

 

Knowledge is Brahman. It is by knowledge that all the living beings are

born. And, having been born, they continue their existence for their

allotted span of life only by virtue of knowledge. When they depart after

shedding the earthly coils, they merge into knowledge.

 

It cannot also be denied that knowledge, in its truest sense, can only mean

knowledge of the Supreme.

 

This is how the RigvEda extols knpwledge:

RuchO aksharE paramE vyOman

Yasmin dEvaa adhi visvE nishEdu: /

Yastanna vEda kim Ruchaa arishyati

Ya ith that vidus ta imE samaasatE //

(Rig Veda MaNdala 9 Sukta 164, Mantra 9)

 

The eternal (about whom the Vedic hymns sing) is in the Supreme place. All

the Gods have their being only in the eternal. If this knowledge is not

owned, what use will the memory of the Vedic hymns serve? They indeed are

whole and perfect who have this knowledge or awareness.

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