AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. July 06. Part 1)

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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. July 06. Part 1)

 

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)

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

 

 

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SrI:

AcArya rAmAmRtam

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam by SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan

 

It is said that kuSa and lava recited rAmAyaNam in 27 days.

 

rAman is seated in His simhAsanam (throne) at a top level. VasishThar, Rshi-s

and subjects are all seated. The story is proceeding in an interesting manner.

rAmar looked. He did not like to be sitting alone. The throne is on top of

steps bedecked with precious jewels. Everyone was listening to the song very

carefully. rAman looked. Slowly, He came down from the throne and sat on the

first step. No one had noticed. Next, He sat on the second step. No one saw

then also. In the end, He came and sat down on the floor along with the

others. No one knew. They were all listening to the story with that much

interest!

 

sa cApi rAma: parishadgata: SanaI: bubhUshayAsAkta manA babhUva ha || (bAla

kANDam 4.36)

 

He listened to the story with great concentration. vasishThar looked. rAman

was not found in the simhAsanam. Where is He? He is sitting on the floor.

Cakravarti tirumagan said, “See! I got up and came without you all noticing”.

If anyone saw rAman get up, everyone would get up; that is rAja SAstram. rAman

said, “Did you see how I rose and came down without any of you seeing me do

that. See how smart I am”. vasishThar said, “It is not your smartness. The

story is that interesting. The way it was being told was so beautiful; so we

did not see who was coming and sitting by us. Why did You come?” It will be

interesting to enjoy the story only if every one is sitting together. You

sometimes see people noticeably being seated in a special chair. It would not

be enjoyable to sit in a tall place like that and listen. The ones who were

narrating the story [lava and kuSa] were also enjoying reciting the story.

SrImad rAmAyaNam story was listened to in such a special manner. The whole

setting was splendid. What did they say? They started saying rAmAyaNam.

 

sarvApUrvam iyam yeshAm AsIt kRtsnA vasundharA |

prajApatim upAdAya nRpANAm jayaSAlinAm (bAla. 5.1)

 

They start the story. What? If one asks what is the boundary for ikshvAku

clan’s kings, there is no such boundary – sarvA kRtsnA vasundharA iyam yeshAm

AsIt. The whole bhUmi belonged to ikshvAku clan kings.

 

BrahmA created vaivasvata manu. Manu had ikshvAku as son - and so on.

vAlmIki says this at the conclusion of bAla kANDam. He keeps saying who all

belonged to ikshvAku clan, in the kalyANa prakaraNam – the chapter dealing with

the marriage of rAma and sItA. This whole bhUmi belonged totally to ikshvAku

clan.

 

ikshvAkUnAm iyam bhUmi: sa Saila vana kAnanA – rAmar tells vAli (kishkindA

18.6). “Our kingdom is not an ordinary one. It includes all the oceans,

forests, mountains etc”. He is including ‘vanam’ as different from ‘kAnanam’;

we would think they are the same. But, he says Saila vana kAnanA – he says

both. (As used here) vanam has a different meaning. kAnanam has a different

meaning. Vanam ca bhuvanam jalam. (one meaning for the word ‘vanam’ is water).

The whole ocean belongs to them. kAnanam means forest. All the forests

belong to ikshvAku kings. prajApatim upAdAya nRpANAm jayaSAlinAm. Starting

from vaivasvata manu prajApati, these kings have been ruling. What is the main

deSam [principal city] for them?

 

kosalo nAma mudita: sphIto janapato mahAn

nivishTa: sarayUtIre prabhUta dhana dhAnyavAn || (bAla. 5.5)

 

There is only one Slokam for kosala country. Only one Slokam for describing

kosalam.

 

kosalo nAma mudita: sphIto janapato mahAn – it was a big country. No one was

living there with hunger. Everyone was happy. No one had any worries. They

were all experiencing extreme happiness.

 

nivishTa: sarayU tIre – A country will get its beauty only from a river. If

there is no river, the deSam will not be charming. That kosala country was on

the banks of the river sarayU. “nIRillA neRRi pAzh” – we should wear something

in our forehead. At least tirumaN, or vibhUti or at least some black mark. A

blank forehead is a doomed forehead. “ARillA Urukku azhagu pAzh” - a city is

not beautiful if there is no river. There should at least be kUvam river (the

audience laughs). It need not even have water. Even paramapadam has virajA

river.

 

paNDai iruvinayARRIl paDindu

pAram kANAdE ozhugiya nAm bhAkkiyattAl

vaNDamarum malar mAdar minnAi manna

vaiSayanti maNi villAi viLa’nga vAn SEr

koNDal aRuL mazhai pozhiya vadadoppAm

kuLirndu teLindu amudAya viraSaiyARRai

kaNDANugik karuttAlE kaDandumILAk

karai kaNDOr gatiyellAm kadittiTTOmE ! (deSikar’s paramapada SopAnam 17)

 

There is virajA river in paramapadam. PerumAL’s Mercy is gushing out as virajA

nadi. A very amazing river. kaNDANugi – one reaches that virajA river.

karuttALE kaDandu – he crosses that river and reaches the other side.

Paramapadam is on the other side. How does one cross it? Does one need a boat?

Nothing of that kind. manasA atItya – just by thinking, he can go to the other

side. There is a river like that.

 

nivishTa: sarayU tIre – how is that sarayU river? Does it look like how kAvEri

river looks this year? Or, does it look like how pAlARu looks always.

 

How is it? prabhUta dhana dhAnyavAn – wealth and grains are abounding. Wealth

is in abundance, and so are the grains – because of this sarayU river.

 

kosala deSam has only one Slokam. sarayU has only one-fouth Slokam. With

this, kamban wrote a chapter on kosala deSam - nATTup paTalam and a chapter

on the sarayU river - ARRup paTalam. If you ask why, it is because kamban is

writing vyAkyAnam (explanatory notes) for samskRtam in tamizh. samskRt

language is a superb language. You should all realize that. When he is doing

vyAkyAnam for samskRt language, he writes 60 tamizh Slokams for one samskRt

slokam, and 45 tamizh Slokams for one-fourth of a samskRt Slokam). Thus is the

nATTup paTalam and ARRup paTalam. sarayU tIre prabhUta dhana dhAnyavAn – said

vAlmIki. prabhUta dhana dhANya hetu bhUta sarayU tIre ittyartha: - because of

the abundance of water from the sarayU river, the conditions were created for

the all the wealth and grains to be available. kosala kingdom was one filled

with dhanam and dhAnyam – kosalo nAma mudita: sphIto janapado mahAn. In this,

there was the capital – ayodhyA.

 

ayodhyA nAma nagarI tatrAsIt loka viSrutA |

manunA mAnavendreNa yA purI nirmitA svayam || (bAla. 5.6)

 

How beautiful samskRtam sounds! vAlmIki rAmAyaNam automatically means

melodious Slokam-s. “devarum parugac ceidAn” – says kambar. Even devatA-s

will come and listen to these Sloka-s. Even if it is a paurNami (full moon)

day, which is the day on which they consume their amRta, if they get to hear

the rAmAyaNam Sloka-s, they will say, “Today we do not need amRtam”. Such

wonderful Slokams in rAmAyaNam. ayodhyA nAma nagarI – it was called ayodhyA.

It was the capital of kosala deSam.

 

manunA mAnavendreNa yA purI nirmitA svayam | [This town was established by

Manu, a leader among people, by his own free will].

 

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To be continued…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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