lakshmaNa 20

[Guest guest]

Post 20

 

 

 

Dear Sri vaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

 

 

In the previous 19 posts, we saw 'lakshmaNa' donning 10 roles. The 10th role

as a great warrior is continuing. Just for recollection the envoy role had 3

parts, the great warrior role had a part in cutting ears and tip of nose of

thaatakaa. Now let us continue the role of the 'great warrior', in the

killing of subhaahu and ambush of maareecha. As already stated towards the

end of the six nights and days period of 'watching' – kaaval kaaththal - the

yagnaas of sages lead by sage visvaamithra, see the instruction of the

commander [raama] to his deputy – our raama anuja.

 

 

 

atha kaalE gathE thasmin shashThE ahani thadhaa aagathE |

 

soumithram abraveedh raamO yaththO bhava samaahitha: || 1-30-7

 

 

 

meaning: While that period of six nights is elapsing and when the sixth day

has come, then Raama said to Soumithri, "be prepared and be on alert".

 

 

 

*Point:* is that the two started counting from the first night when they

started 'doing duty' for the sage - that is why this 'nights and days'

calculation. Also the very first night of duty starting, thaatakaa came and

job finished. So the deputy was kept alert by instruction. But the chief

himself finished the job without seeking any sort of help from the deputy.

While raama dealt with maareecha and subhaahu, lakshmaNa was just an '*

onlooker'*.

 

 

 

[a sidelight - thyaagaraaja has given a beauty of the krithi in 'vaachaama

gOcharamE' in raagam kaikavasi on this 'maanava' missile and maareecha – ref

MGV's article in 2004 – a recollection on the saint on his baguLa panchami –

aaraadhana day]

 

 

 

pa*s*ya lakshmaNa dhurvruththaan raakshasaan pi*s*ithaa*s*anaan |

 

maanava asthra samaadhoothaan anilEna yathaa ghanaan || 1-30-15

 

karishyaami na sandhEhO na uthsahE hanthum eedhru*s*aan |

 

 

 

meaning: raama on seeing maareecha coming said, "LakshmaNa, I am reluctant

to eliminate this kind of ill-behaved and raw flesh eating demon, but no

doubt, he will be puffed out with maanava missile like a gust puffing thick

clouds, you may see," to LakshmaNa.

 

 

 

ithi ukthvaa vachanam raama: chaapE sandhaaya vEgavaan || 1-30-16

 

maanavam parama udhaaram asthram parama bhaasvaram |

 

chikshEpa parama krudhdhO maareecha urasi raaghava: || 1-30-17

 

sa thEna parama asthrENa maanavEna samaahitha: |

 

sampoorNam yOjana *s*atham kshiptha: saagara samplavE || 1-30-18

 

 

 

meaning: Saying so, that agile raama fitted the very benign and highly

radiant arrow 'maanava' on his bow, and taking aim with it at maareecha,

that highly furious Raaghava darted it on the chest of Maareecha. Cleanly

hit with that great missile Maanava, demon maareecha pitched for a hundred

yojana lengths in full, and flung down into an ocean rocking with

tidewaters.

 

 

 

[Maanava means human – since the missile was created by manu – it is maanava

asthram – we are also maanavaas - being descendents of manu]

 

 

 

pa*s*ya lakshmaNa *s*eethEshum maanavam manu samhitham |

 

mOhayithvaa nayathi Enam na cha praaNair vyayujyatha || 1-30-20

 

imaan api vadhishyaami nirghruNaan dhushTa chaariNa: |

 

raakshasaan paapa karmasthaan yajna ghnaan rudhira a*s*anaan || 1-30-21

 

 

 

meaning: LakshmaNa, see the cold arrow belonging to Maanava missile

expounded by Manu, which is taking him away on baffling, but without taking

away his life. But I wish to kill these demons for they are ruthless,

iniquitous, flagitious, ritual-hinderers and blood-drinkers." So said Raama

to LakshmaNa.

 

 

 

ithi ukthvaa lakshmaNam cha a*s*u laaghavam dhar*s*ayan iva |

 

sangruhya sumahath cha asthram aagnEyam raghunandhana: |

 

subaahu urasi chikshEpa sa vidhdha: praapathath bhuvi || 1-30-22

 

 

 

meaning: Thus saying to LakshmaNa, as though to show his swift dexterity,

Raama, the descendent of Raghu dynasty, took up a very powerful missile

called aagnEya asthra, Fire-missile, and darted it on the chest of Subaahu,

by which that demon Subaahu is struck and fell flat on ground.

 

 

 

*s*Eshaan vaayavyam aadhaaya nijaghaana mahaaya*s*aa: |

 

raaghava: paramOdhaarO muneenaam mudham aavahan || 1-30-23

 

 

 

meaning: In order to bring felicity to the sages that great glorious and

supremely generous Raaghava took up the missile of Air-god and hit down the

remaining demons.

 

 

 

*Point:* So lakshmaNa's role in eliminating maareecha, subhaahu and their

associates, at this stage was just an onlooker and he was being informed by

that raamaa at each stage 'hey lakshmaNa see I am doing this, this,' etc.

the great warrior lakshmaNa in his young and first assignment was a partial

successful one - since used by commander raama in a small scale.

 

 

 

Let us move on to the next, which is viraadha vadham while entering the

forest – chithrakootam. Of course we dealt with the same viraadha vadham in

that scavenger role of lakshmaNa, to dig a pit and bury viraadhan. But we

did not see how the fight went on between these two brothers and viraadhan

and what was lakshmaNa's contribution as a warrior in that fight. So let us

see that now.

 

 

 

sa raamam lakshmaNam chaiva seethaam dhrushTvaa cha maithileem || 3-2-8

 

abhya dhaavath susankrudhdhhO prajaa: kaala iva anthaka: |

 

sa kruthvaa bhairavam naadham chaalayan iva mEdhineem || 3-2-9

 

ankEna aadhaaya vaidhEheem apakramya thadhaa abraveeth |

 

 

 

meaning: He, that demon, [viraadhan] on seeing Raama, LakshmaNa and Seethaa

ran towards them very angrily, like the Time, the Eliminator of people. He

shouted a tremulous blare, as though to tremor the earth, and seized

vaidhEhi with his arms and gone afar, and then said this way.

 

[kaala anthaka is yaman – the god of death].

 

 

 

*Comment:* after seizing seethaa, he shouted at raama and lakshmaNa, "who

are you, why are you roaming in a saintly garb, with a beautiful lady" and

all that. He also introduces himself as viraadhan, a demon, and says 'I will

have this woman as my wife and in a fight I will kill you two'.

 

 

 

Perhaps this is the first instance that some body else says 'I will have

seethaa as my wife' and later comes raavaNa. On that raama reacts saying to

lakshmaNa -

 

 

 

pa*s*ya soumya narEndhrasya janakasya aathma sambhavaam |

 

mama bhaaryaam *s*ubha aachaaraam viraadhaankE pravE*s*ithaam || 3-2-17

 

athyantha sukha samvrudhdhhaam raajaputhreem ya*s*asvineem |

 

 

 

meaning: raama to lakshmaNa, "See! Gentle LakshmaNa, see that illustrious

princes Seethaa, the daughter of emperor Janaka, one who is brought up

comfortably in immense comfort, and my auspiciously traditional wife, now

gone into the wretched hands of a demon".

 

 

 

*Point:* the second stage of reaction of raama is a great one, which is also

a forerunner to things to come later. That also shows how and on what

account he weeps so much when raavaNan abducts seethaa. See he says somebody

'touching seethaa' gives me grief, but what happened later is a straight

abduction – not only touching, simply lifting and carrying away, so you can

imagine, with what factor you can multiply his 'sOkham'.

 

 

 

*para spars**aath thu vaidhEhyaa na dhuHkhatharam asthi mE |*

 

pithur vinaa*s*aat soumithrE sva raajya haraNaath thathaa || 3-2-21

 

 

 

meaning: raamaa says, "to me, oh, Soumithri, the grief on account of others

touching Seethaa is more, than my father's demise or grabbing away my

kingdom".

 

 

 

ithi bruvathi kaakuthsthE baashpa *s*Oka pariplutha: |

 

abraveeth lakshmaNa: krudhdhhO rudhdhhO naaga iva *s*vasan || 3-2-22

 

 

 

meaning: When said thus by Raama with flooding tears of lament, LakshmaNa

said this, in his anger hissing like a forestalled snake.

 

 

 

*Point:* see again the tears of raama brought anger in lakshmaNa – so the

near and dear one's tears arouse lakshmaNa to be extremely angry – we saw

instances of tears from

 

· mother kousalyaa,

 

· raama – [presently in viraadhan case],

 

· raama's tears before meeting sugreeva to initiate him into action

in mission 'search seethaa'

 

As stated already it is his 'love' of raama makes him angry like a hissing

snake. That 'aadhi sEshan' lakshmaNa – raamaanuja - shows his swaroopam or

visvaroopam at times?

 

 

 

So lakshmaNa starts comforting raama -

 

anaatha iva bhoothaanaam naatha: thvam vaasava upama: |

 

mayaa prEshyENa kaakuthstha: kim artham parithapyasE || 3-2-23

 

*s*arENa nihathasya adhya mayaa krudhdhEna rakshasa: |

 

viraadhasya gatha asO: hi mahee paasyathi *s*ONitham || 3-2-24

 

 

 

meaning: "Oh, Raama, you being the Indhra like lord of all beings, and while

you are being attended by an adherent like me, what for you worry yourself

like a derelict? He will now be felled with my arrow, as I am enraged at

him, and gone is his life now, and indeed the earth shall drink his blood.

 

 

 

raajya kaamE mama krOdhO bharathE yO babhoova ha |

 

tham viraadhE vimOkshyaami vajree vajram iva achalE ||3-2-25

 

 

 

meaning: lakshmaNa to raama, "Indeed, that anger which was there in me on

Bharatha, when he desired kingdom, that anger I will now release on

Viraadha, as Indhra released his thunderbolt on the mountain.

 

 

 

*Point:* see here lakshmaNa has not missed or forgotten about that anger on

which account they are now in forest, facing such difficult situations. That

anger comes up as words against bharatha – now that he knows father

dha*s*aratha

is dead and gone – so his anger is directed to bharatha, in lakshmaNa's

opinion - the beneficiary –

 

 

 

mama bhuja bala vEga vEgitha: pathathu *s*arO~asya mahaan mahOrasi |

 

vyapanayathu thanO: cha jeevitham pathathu thatha: cha maheem vighoorNitha:

|| 3-2-26

 

 

 

meaning: "Accelerated by my shoulder strength, this ruinous arrow shall fall

on his massive chest, thus life from his body shall decamp, and then he

shall whirlingly fall on to the earth" So said LakshmaNa.

 

 

 

Comment: on hearing lakshmaNa raama felt somewhat omfortable. So he turned

to this viraadha who asked, "who are you two, why you are not telling about

you etc", raama replied to that, and then started shooting 7 nos arrows.

When struck viraadhan left seethaa and rushed towards raama and lakshmaNa.

Both brothers shot arrows, which went in vain, for weapons could not kill

viraadha. So they took the sword and started battering him.

 

 

 

Next viraadha started grabbing the two and carried them away from where

seethaa was left on ground. On that raama said to lakshmaNa 'let him carry

us away'. Seeing that the two are carried away seethaa screamed. Hearing

that screaming, lakshmaNa cut left arm of viraadhan and raama the right arm..

Viraadhan fell on ground and the two brothers treated him with punching by

hands, fists, and pounded him on ground. When raama observed weapons could

not kill him, then said to lakshmaNa, 'let us bury him'. When touched by

feet of raama viraadhan also realized who they were and then suggested to be

buried. So the warrior role ends here for lakshmaNa and scavenger role

begins as per direction of raama. This we have finished allready in post 10..

 

 

 

 

we will continue next topic in next post.

 

 

 

dhasan

 

 

 

 

--

Vasudevan MG