maappiLLai and maamanaar

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

 

 

In this world, we have come across many types of `requests' from many

sources and varieties of `help seekers'. These may include people

seeking monetary help, seeking recommendation letters etc. Similarly

even while praying to the supreme lord sriman naaraayaNan, varieties

are available – prayer for health, for money, for success in

examinations, and for success in love as per modern practice etc.

Many a prayers may be for one's own purpose most often, or for the

sake of others sometimes.

 

 

 

In those days, similar prayers and seeking helps were done in the

form of `yagnaas' – offering many a material in fire, so that the

desired `fruit' – `yagna phala' is achieved. Since these yagnaas are

to be done with strict procedural formalities as stated in the

vEdhaas, and with proper manthraas, the braahmaNaas [or the rithviks

as they are called], who were the qualified ones to do these yagnaas,

were regarded highly and also paid highly and handsome. Kings, to get

a success in war, to get rain in their country etc, conducted these

yagnaas at high costs. The aswamEdha is one such yagna, for instance,

is carried out by kings like dhasaratha as per srimadh raamaayaNam,

yudhishtira as per maha bhaaratham.

 

 

 

But have you heard a `son in law' performing a `yagna' for getting

a `son' as the yagna phala for the sake of his `father in law'?

 

– viz. his father in law, since not having a child [other than

the daughter to whom this son in law was married to], wants the son

in law to perform a yagna, on behalf of father in law, so that he

will get a child - [is it a bit confusing?]

 

– or this son in law brahmaNa doing a yagna for getting

a `brother in law' - a `machinan' – as asked by the father in law who

is the king, a kshathriya

 

– to put that in tamil – raajaa aana maamanaarkku aaN

kuzhandhai illai, adhukkaaga braahmaNa maappiLLai oru yagnam paNNina

kadhai kEttu irukkireergaLaa?

 

 

 

May be this question leads to a `high suspense'? No, sirs and madams,

it is all simple. The story is all about our pet and beloved `raama' –

yes – it is all about our pet "mother seethaa's beloved husband

raama", the `dhaasarathee' only.

 

 

 

`Hey, what happened to MGV, he is trying to twist the well known

raamaayaNam' – you may think. Perhaps many may say when did

dhasaratha get a daughter? Is there any evidence in raamaayaNam? Let

us travel slowly to unravel these kind of twists.

 

 

 

King dhasaratha of ayOdhyaa had 350 wives. On this figure of 350, you

may raise a question – hey we have heard dhasaratha had 60000 wives

and you have drastically reduced the number.

 

 

 

To deal that 60000 part of story – Parasuraama who vowed to kill all

kshathriyaas, in particular, the kings, also gave a concession that

when he travels across lands and approaches to kill some king, he

finds that king is a freshly married one, then, raama will not kill

that king. Dhasaratha ruled ayodhyaa for 60000 years for which

adequate references are available from vaalmeeki. So, dhasaratha

married one wife in each year, so that whenever parasuraama comes to

kill him, he appeared as a newly married man to parasuraama and thus

escaped being killed by raama. Vaalmeeki does not cover any such

portion of story in his kaavyam – raamaayaNam – may be some traces

elsewhere. That is that 60000 nos story.

 

 

 

We have a slokam in ayodhyaa kaaNdam on this 350 but not on 60000.

Whether this 350 includes the three patta mahishis – queens -

kousalyaa, sumithraa, and kaikEyee or they form additional three is a

point of debate. Raama is set to leave for forest – king dhasaratha

wants all his wives to assemble in the palace from which raama is set

to take off. Sumanthra the minister fetches all of them to one palace.

 

 

 

sumanthra aanaya mE dhaaraan yE kEchith iha maamakaa: |

 

dhaarai: parivrutha: sarvai: dhrashtum ichchhaami raaghavam || 2-34-10

 

 

 

meaning: Oh, Sumanthra! Call [or bring] all my wives, who are here.

Surrounded by all of them, I want to see the virtuous Raama.

 

 

 

Evam ukthaa: sthriyaa: sarvaa: sumanthrENa nrupa aaj~nayaa |

 

Prachakramu: thath bhavanam bharthu: aaj~naaya saasanam || 2-34-12

 

 

 

meaning: All those women, asked thus by Sumanthra as per the king's

orders, went to his palace, after knowing the instructions of their

husband.

 

 

 

ardha saptha sathaa: thaa: thu pramadhaa: thaamra lOchanaa: |

 

kousalyaam parivaarya atha sanai: jagmur dhruda vrathaa: || 2-34-13

 

 

 

meaning: Encircling Kousalya, three hundred fifty women, steadfast in

their vow (of devotion to their husband), with their eyes reddened,

went there slowly.

 

 

 

Point: So now it is evidently confirmed that dhasaratha had 353 or

350 wives. From the slokam above we can even take that 350 is

exclusive of the three, since it is stated here 350 encircled

kousalya – so naturally kousalya is excluded, so also the other two

queens. Or we can also take it that since it is poetry, the figure of

350 need not be so literally taken [or cannot be interpreted that

way]. Dear readers, is it clear now?

 

 

 

Now let us move on to see about dhasarathaa's daughter – the same

sumanthra, the minister, informs king dhasaratha when the king wants

to beget a son,

 

 

 

rishyasringa: thu jaamaathaa puthraan thava vidhaasyathi |

 

sanathkumaara kathitham Ethaavath vyaahrutham mayaa || 1-9-19

 

 

 

meaning: Sage Risyasringa, son-in-law of Romapaadha, King of Anga,

and as well as to you, if invited to our kingdom, he will bless you

to beget sons, oh! King... so said Sage Sanathkumaara to other sages

and all this is retold by me." [Thus the charioteer and the Minister

Sumantra completed his narration in confidence to King Dhasaratha.]

[1-9-19]

 

 

 

Point: from this it is clear that dhasaratha should have had a

daughter and he did not, really and factually, have a son only. So

the maappillai rishyasringa: did the `puthra kaama ishti' – the yagna

yielding or resulting in a son – on behalf of his maamanaar and thus

got 4 machinans in the form of raama, lakshmaNa, bharatha and

chathrughna.

 

 

 

Morein next post.

 

 

 

Dhasan

 

 

 

Vasudevan m.g.