[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] Ramayanaof Valmiki and Kamban

[Guest guest]

HARI AUM

 

It is a BLESSING to taste the 'eixir' of Ramayanam

especially when it is spoon fed. This is called

'LUXURY'. By reading this mail one's grasp of the epic

soars.

 

Thanks a miu Madam.

 

Regards

 

Balagopal

 

NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA

 

 

 

--- sarojram18 <sarojram18 wrote:

 

>

> 2- DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND OF KOSALA AND AYODHYA.

>

> Valmiki briefly mentions the greatness

> of .the line of

> Ikshvaku and says that the epic came into being

> through the grace of

> Brahma, and he is only making it known to the world

> as it contains the

> three purushaarthas, namely dharma, artha and kama,

> which subsequently

> lead to the fourth, Moksha. Valmiki then entreats

> the listener to hear

> it with sradhdha, faith and without asooya, cavil.

>

> Every literary work must satisfy four

> requisites, namely,

> vishaya, subject matter, adhikari , to whom it is

> intended, prayojana,

> the fruit and sambandha , relevance. Vishaya has

> been indicated by

> `Ikshvaakoonaam idham theshaam raajnaam vamse

> mahaathmmanaam

> mahadhuthpannamaakhyaanam ramayanamithi srutham,.'

> this Ramayana,

> the story of Rama , descendant of the line of

> Ikshvaku. Adhikariis the

> one with sradhdha and without asooya, Prayojana is

> the four

> purushaarthas and the sambandha is made specific by

> the above.

>

> Then comes the description of the land

> of Kosala which is

> situated north of Ganga, on the banks of the river

> Sarayu. It was

> prosperous and fertile the residents of which were

> mudhitha. Happy and

> spheetha, rich. While Valmiki only hinted at the

> splendour of Kosala,

> Kamban has gone into raptures and dedicated a whole

> chapter for the

> description of Kosaladesa and its inhabitants. One

> of the most beautiful

> and oft quoted verse of Kamban about Kosala is,

>

> ' thandalai mayilgal aada, thaamarai vilakkam

> thaanga,

>

> kondalgal muzavin Enga, kuvlai kan viziththu

> nOkka,

>

> thenthirai ezini kaatta, thembizi makarayaazin

>

> vandugal inidhu paada, marudham veetrirukkum

> maadhaO.

>

> ' The type of land was called Marudham, fertile

> agricultural region,

> which reigns supreme in Kosala. With plenty of rain

> one can always hear

> the thunder of the clouds sounding like the regal

> trumpet and drum, the

> peacocks are the court dancers, the lotuses are the

> carriers of lamps,

> while the singers are the bees, the kuvalai flowers

> are the audience and

> the curtain for the stage is provided by the waves

> of the Sarayu river.

> Only a vague description can be provided as the

> beauty of the poetry can

> be understood only when it is read in the original

> Tamil.

>

> After just one sloka about Kosala

> Valmiki starts to describe

> the city of Ayodhya by three slokas. It was

> constructed by Manu, the

> father of Ikshvaku. The city covered the area of

> twelve yojanas long

> and three yojanas wide.( A yojana is approximately

> nine miles.) The

> streets of Ayodhya were highways, flanked by trees,

> strewn with flowers

> and the city was always cool with enough rains and

> watered otherwise.

> The city as described by Valmiki proves that in

> ancient India .city

> civilization was of a high standard. The houses

> were inlaid with

> precious stones and with barns full of food grains

> always filled with

> the sweet sound of musical instruments.

>

> Valmiki describes the people of

> Ayodhya. They were

> laghuhasthaah, skilled and dexterous, vishaaradhaah,

> learned and strong,

> able to kill wild animals by arrows as well as by

> hand, `hanthaarah

> nishithaissastraih balaath baahu balairapi.'. But

> they were also

> noble and desisted from hitting by mere sound na

> sabdhavedhyam, even

> though they could, perhaps learnt their lesson by

> the experience of

> Dasaratha who killed a hermit's son mistaking him to

> be an elephant

> by the sound and incurred the curse of his parents.

> There were no

> cowards, or orphans or loners in Ayodhya..

>

> Ayodhya means yodhdhum na shakyaa,

> invincible. Valmiki

> indicates the invincibility of the city by saying `

> dhurgagambheera

> parikhaam dhurgham anyaih dhuraasadhaam, surrounded

> by moats deep and

> difficult to cross over and hence inaccessible to

> others.

>

> The description of the prosperity of

> the citizens of

> Ayodhya by Kamban is interesting. He says,

>

> 'kalvaar ilaamaipporul kaavalum illai; yaadhum

>

> kolvaar ilaamaikkoduppaaargalum illai madho.

>

> ellaarum ellaapperunchelvamum eidhalaale

>

> illaarum illai ;udayaargalum illai maadho.

>

> Since there were no robbers there was

> no police. Since there

> was no one to receive there were no givers. Since

> all were enjoying all

> riches there was no one who can be termed as poor

> nor as rich.

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

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