lotus failed -9

[Guest guest]

Post 9

 

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. That too, the highlight

is, the lotus failing in comparison to raamaa's beauty. Now let us see kamban in

soorpanakaip padalam wherein she sees, admires raama's beauty and becomes

romantic immediately. See the words - iv azhagan - this person of beauty.

 

adhigam ninRu oLirum iv azhagan vaaL mugam

podhi avizhth thaamaraip poovai oppadhO?

kadhir madhi - aam enin, kalaigaL thEyum, am

madhi enin madhikkum Or maru uNdu ennumaal. - 17 soorppanakaip padalam

 

meaning: oh, this beautiful person's sword like face shines more in still, can

it be compared to the blossoming lotus? No. Can it be to the bright, rays

emitting moon? If we have to say yes, then the moon has deterioration over

period - also it has a blemish. So that also fails.

 

Point: straight away the poet says lotus fails. Also we have already seen in

kamban's hanuman describing the face is more to the lotus in post 5. That verse

alone

 

aNNal than thiru mugam kamalam, aam enin

kaNNinukku uvamai vERu yaadhu kaatugEn?

thaN madhi, aam ena uraikkath thakkadhO?

veN madhi polindhu, adhu melindhu thEyumaal - 51 urukkaattup padalam

 

Also another point - Is it that the azhagan is so bright as a whole? or the face

alone? adhigam ninRu oLirum iv azhagan - or his face 'oLirum vaaL mugam' of

this 'azhagan'. 'ninRu oLirum' - generally it is said the steady flame of a

light - 'aadaatha chuddar of a lamp - viLakku - is more a beauty than a wavery

bright one.

 

Now another verse in same soorpanakaip padalam from kamban -

 

thaaL uyarth thaamaraidh dhaLangaL thammodum

kEL uyar naattaththug giriyin thORRaththaan

thOLodu thOL selath thodarndhu nOkkuRin

neeLiya alla kaN nediya maarbu enbaaL - 16 - soorpanakaip padalam

 

meaning: raamaa stands like a hill on the ground like the lotus raises the heads

above the level of water through its stalk. If I look continuously from one side

shoulder to other side, it strikes - is it the long eyes? or the broad chest?

 

Point: In tamil the word 'thaaL' is the feet, also the stalk or stem. So it

becomes more doubtful, when the poet uses 'thaamaraidh dhaLangaL thammodum

uyarth thaaL' -whether he places the feet high above the lotus petals, with such

lotus petal feet raamaa looks handsome like a hill standing.

or

he wants to compare raamaa's standing tall like a hill, is looking like the

blossoming lotus standing on a stalk heads above the water.

 

Similarly when we look from right to left on raama, is it the long eyes which

strikes the onlooker or the broad chest? Doubt arises. Oh what a great verse.

Enjoy raamaa's soundharyam through kamban's great tamil.

 

Now let us see a krithi of thyaagaraaja - krithi 'laavaNya raama' - in the raaga

'poorNa shadjam'. This raaga is 'rudhra priyaa' for sri dhikshithar [of the

music trinity].

 

The selection of raaga either in the name of 'rudhra riya or poorNa shadjam' is

again a very apt selection.

'Sivan', or 'rudhran' is always chanting the raama naamam with a liking, with a

taste in it, priyam in uttering - which he vouched to his wife paarvathi - one

raamaa naamam as equivalent to 1000 naamaas of sri vishNu [which we recite daily

as part of the phalasruthi slOkams of sri vishNu sahasra naamam].

 

sri raama raama raama ithi ramE raamE manOramE |

sahasra naama thath thulyam raama naama vara aananE ||

 

So the raagaa here is 'rudhra priyaa' singing about raamaa. Even if we consider

the name 'poorna shadjam' then also it is very apt - the shadjam in music is

'sa'. VEdhaas proclaim the supreme lord as 'rasO vai sa:'. That sa: is raama and

the rasam is poorNam - full of raama rasam - raama rasa poorNam - poorna shadjam

- that is what is available to us through this raagam.

 

The krithi highlights raama's beauty - 'andha raama soundharyam'. Now the krithi

-

laavaNya raamaa raagam: poorna shadjam or rudrapriya

20 natabhairavi janyam taaLam: roopakam

 

pallavi

laavaNya raama kannulaara joodavE athi - laavaNya

 

meaning: please see me with all your eyes - oh extremely beautiful raama.

 

anupallavi

sree vanitha chiththa kumudha seethakara sathaananyaja - laavaNya

 

meaning: your beauty is the moon, capable of making the mind lily of your lady

'sree' to blossom, that beauty of 100 cupids in one.

 

charaNam

nee manasu, nee sogasu, nee dhinusu vErE

thaamasa maata dheivamEla thyaagaraajanutha dhivya - laavaNya

 

meaning: Your heart, your grandeur, your type is something very different than

these lowly other gods? Thyaagaraaja says so.

 

Summary: please see me with all your eyes - oh, extremely beautiful raama!! Oh,

raamaa, your beauty is the moon, capable of making the mind lily of your lady

'sree' [maha lakshmi] to blossom, that beauty of 100 cupids in one - [the cupid

being born off the face]. Your heart, your grandeur, your type is something very

different? [meaning - these lowly gods cannot come to your level or near you in

comparison]. This thyaagaraaja says so.

 

Such is the raama soundharyam making everybody sing in one-way or other. Enjoy

that beauty - raama soundharyam - which makes the lotus to fail

 

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.

 

PS: with this I conclude this series 'lotus failed'. Thanks for your patience.

 

 

 

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