AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. April 06. Part 2)

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SrI:

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrImate SrInivAsa rAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrImate vedAnta rAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrI ra’nganAtha divya maNi pAdukAbhyAm nama:

SrI ra’ngarAmAnuja mahAdeSika divya pAdukAbhyAm nama:

 

AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. April 06. Part 2)

 

Translation of

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam in tamizh by SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan

 

As published in SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA by

SrI U.Ve. nATTEri kiDAmbi rAjagopAlAcAriyAr (Editor of SrI ra’nganAtha

pAdukA)

 

The footnotes are indicated by the letters “fn” followed by a number.

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

 

 

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SrI:

AcArya rAmAmRtam

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam by SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan

 

Among our AcArya-s, there was one by name ALavandAr; he was also called

yAmunAcAryar. There was no one who could compose Slokam-s like him. He has

composed a poetic work titled stotra ratnam; it is a stotram in which he talks

to bhagavAn. It is such a beautiful composition. Someone came to him and

showed two Slokams and asked if any other Slokam can ever be that beautiful.

What are the two Sloka-s?

 

yadayam rathasamkshopAt amsenAmso nipIDita: |

eka: kRtI mada’ngeshu Sesham an’gam bhuvo bhara: ||

 

This is a Slokam composed by kALidAsan in the drama vikramorvaSIyam. There is

a great king called purUravas. A demon kidnapped UrvaSi in devalokam.

devendran did not have the power to kill this demon. He asked King purUravas

for help to destroy that demon and rescue UrvaSi. devendran had to come to

this bhArata dESam to get help in a battle in deva lokam in those days! Now,

we have to go to America to get weapons! purUravas killed that demon; UrvaSi

came and sat in his chariot. He brought her to deva lokam to see indiran. He

came to amarAvatI city. That municipality did not have good road construction.

There were ups and downs. There are municipalities there (in devalokam) too,

and there are ups and downs in the roads there also (slight laughter in the

audience). No one knew purUravas would come back that soon with victory. The

roads were not repaired. They will not fill up with mud and spread it; they

will just bring a huge blower and blow it on the road. There is no need for

dirt-diggers. The deva lokam is suspending in the air. The road was not even;

it had ups and downs. When purUravas came, his chariot went over some uneven

surface and was shaking this way and that way. UrvaSi was sitting by his side;

her shoulder touched his shoulder. Then he says this Slokam,

 

yadayam ratha samkshopAt amsenAmso nipIDita: |

 

When the chariot was traveling over ups and downs on the road, her shoulder

touched this shoulder! In this world, in this body, only this shoulder is

blessed. Sesham an’gam bhuvo bhara: ! - Rest of my body is a burden for the

world. Slokam is good all right. (This person who came to ALavandAr and showed

2 slokams to the latter said) I will tell you the second Slokam – it is

bhavabhUti’s. Will you listen to it?

 

tvat pAda pa’nkaja parigraha dhanya janmA

bhUyAsamityabhiniveSagadarthyamAna: |

bhrAmyan nRmAmsaphaNanAya pareta bhUmau

AkaRNya bhIru ruditAni tava’gatosmi ||

 

bhavabhUti has written a drama called ‘mAlatI mAdhavam’. mAlatI and mAdhavan

love each other and get married. That is all there is to the story. We don’t

have to talk about that any more. When mAdhavan wanted to marry her, he could

not get to marry this girl. In those days, there was a practice. One would go

to the burning ghat (smasAnam) in the night and shout ‘you can take the meat

from my body’. Some ghosts, instead of taking the meat from the body, will ask

what that person wants. Then, this person will ask for a desire to be

fulfilled. In return, this person will give meat from the body. This is found

in the tAmasa sAstram. So, this mAdhavan went to the burning ghat to give meat

from his body in return for a grant of his wish to marry mAlatI.

 

There was a kALi temple in that smasAnam. It was a practice to give nara bali

(killing and offering humans). When mAlatI was in a garden, some people

kidnapped her, made her put on wet clothes, put a garland around her neck and

took a dagger to kill her (to kill her and offer her to kALi). That girl was

crying loudly. This mAdhavan, hearing a girl’s voice, ran towards the

direction in that smasAnam. Immediately, he snatched the dagger from the

killer and since he was a brave king, he used that dagger and killed all those

people and saved mAlatI. He asked her, “mAlatI! You have come to the smasAnam

like this! Why did you come?” She asked him the same question - “Why did you

come in this night?” Now here is the Slokam, which is his response.

 

tvat pAdapa’nkaja parigraha dhanya janmA

bhUyAsamityabhiniveSagadarthyamAna: |

bhrAmyan nRmAmsaphaNanAya pareta bhUmau

AkaRNya bIru ruditAni tava’gatosmi ||

 

He says this Slokam. “Oh girl! I wanted to hold your feet so that my AtmA

will become blessed. Since I could not get that, I came to the smasAnam so that

I can offer naramAmsam (flesh from my body) in return for getting a grant to

marry you. I heard your loud cry and came running here”.

 

tvat pAdapa’nkaja parigraha dhanya janmA!

 

I should hold your lotus like feet and let my AtmA attain its goal.

 

In a marriage, the varan (groom) holds the girl’s feet. ekam ishe vishNus

tvAnvetu – holds the feet, right? (audience laughs). So, he said this Slokam.

 

AlavandAr saw that. AhA! The sentiment or essence (of the Slokam) was good

like that of grape juice. bhAgam (parts or pAdams) were beautiful. Sayyai (the

syllables lining up smoothly ) was good. But, it did not convey any message of

any significance; so it was useless. He said, “essence, sayyai – everything is

good”.

 

tvat pAdapa’nkaja parigraha dhanya janmA!

 

If one goes to a temple and says these same words to perumAL, He will give even

moksham! Shouldn’t a Slokam have vishaya vailakshaNyam – some significant

message? Will anybody do pArAyaNam of this bhavabhUti’s Slokam in the morning?

(Let us go back to our original Slokam of vAlmIki and look at it again).

 

mAnishAda pratishThAm tvam agama: SASvatI: samA: |

yat krau’nca mithunAt ekam avadhI: kAma mohitam || (1.2.15) [fn1]

 

You killed rAvaNan who loved mandOdari! rAma! You should live well.

lakshmANa! You should live well. ‘mA’ means laskhmI; lakshamaNan also is

endowed with lakshmI - wealth ‘lakshmaNo laskhmi sampanna: “ kai’nkarya

lakshmI – the wealth of eternal service to Lord rAma There is no end to this

aiSvaryam. It is a permanent one. No one can take this laskhmI.

 

“ataskara karagrAhyam arAjaka vaSamvadam |

adAyAta vibhAgArham dhanam Arjet ca susthiram || “ says deSikan.

 

Earn money that a thief does not steal - ataskara karagrAhyam. Earn wealth

that does not come under Estate duty – arAjaka vaSamvadam. Earn wealth that

will not be divided by blood relatives - adAyAta vibhAgArham; that wealth is

the wealth of jn~Anam – the wealth called knowledge.

 

This ‘mAnishAda’ Slokam can be applied to all the four - rAman, bharatan,

lakshmaNan and Satrughnan.

 

“Okay, Slokam is good; let me do snAnam” – so thinking, vAlmIki took his bath.

He changed from wet dhoti to dry garment and deer-skin and came back to his

ASramam. When one bathes in a river, one should not come back with wet cloth.

One should take a dry cloth also. That is what one should wear after bathing.

Those are all old customs. Only one day, one can come back with wet clothes.

None of these are practiced these days. Who goes to the river to take bath?

 

vAlmIki said, “Sishya, come”; Sishyan followed him with vessel filled with

water.

 

“kalaSam pUrNam AdAya pRshThato’nujagAma ha |“

 

AcAryan went first. Sishyan went behind with water in vessel. AhA! How great

is guru-Sishya bhAvam! Sishyan came behind bearing the vessel with water.

There is a sAstrArtham (a Sastric injunction) hidden in that. The tIrtha

kalaSam (the vessel with water) should not be hanging below the waist. If one

does that, the water should not be used. It can be used just for washing the

feet.

We can also look at this phrase as “kalaSam pUrNam pRshThata: AdAya” – The

governor said the first day – ‘jAte daSarathAtmaje’ should be looked at as

daSarathAtmaje jAte. Here also pRshThata: can be changed. The Sishyan carried

the water vessel on his back and went behind the AcAryan.

 

vAlmIki kept thinking as he was walking (back to his ASramam). “What an

extraordinary Slokam!” “pAda baddha: akshara sama:” - it is so beautiful. He

went back to the ASramam and completed his anushThAnams. Then, surprisingly, a

devata came to visit him. Who is that? It was none other than the four-faced

brahmA. brahma devan with his four faces had actually come. vAlmIki said

‘svAgatam’ and presented arghyam, pAdyam and AcamanIyam.

 

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fn 1: (KK): aDiyEn is unable to give a good translation for this footnote

because of the grammatical intricacies involved. The tamizh text by SrI

nATTEri svAmi is given first, followed by aDiyEn’s best understanding of the

footnote:

 

Original footnote in tamizh:

 

mA nishAda! enRu pratishEdham uLLadAl agama: enbadil ‘a’ lopam vandu gama: enRu

maTTum Slokattil vara vENDi irukka agama: enRE uLLadE, adai viSEsha Arshap

prayOgam enRu Silar nirvahippar. “tvam agama: - enbadai tu ama! ASrIka!

daridranE, mA prathishThAm gama: enRu nirvahittAl sariyAi viDum enRu Srimad

ANDavan SrI ra’ngarAmAnuja mahA dESikan oru sandarppattil aruLic ceydAyiRRu.

 

aDiyEn’s best understanding:

 

‘mA nishAda’ is in the form of an injunction when it is interpreted as

addressed to the hunter. In this context, the word ‘gamah’ would have been

more appropriate than the word ‘agamah’. Some explain that this is usage by a

Rshi. On one occasion, our AcAryan SrImad ANDavan SrI ra’nga rAmAnuja mahA

deSikan gave the following anubhavam that takes away the problem - The phrase

‘tvamagama:’ can be looked at as “tu + ama + gamah” , and then the meaning is

(tu ama – Oh you wretched thing! SASvatIh samAh pratishThAm mA gamah - you

won’t get to have a long life”. Thus, we have gamah in the Slokam, instead of

‘agamah’.

 

 

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To be continued………