AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. September 06. Part 3)

[Guest guest]

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. September 06. Part 3)

 

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 explanatory footnotes by SrI nATTEri svAmi are indicated by “fn” followed

by a number.

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

 

 

=====================================

SrI:

AcArya rAmAmRtam

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam by SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan

 

When bharatan came to citrakUTam, SR’ngiberapuram was on the way. With him

came the whole army. When guhan saw the army, he became angry.

 

sampannAm Sriyam icchan (ayodhyA. 84.5)

 

Guhan thought that bharatan was concerned that rAman will ask for the kingdom

when He returns after 14 years, and that bharatan had come with the army to

fight with rAman so that he does not have to give back the kingdom. Guhan

hence decided that he was going to aim his arrows at bharatan before he could

get to rAman. He thinks: “I will not leave him alone. Just because he comes

with an army, will my arrow not fall on his chest, just by virtue of his being

a kshatriyan? Will the arrow hit him only if another kshatriyan aims the

arrow? I will destroy him. No matter how many people come, I will beat them”.

He was extremely angry. He told his people: “All of you be ready with your

bows. I will first check him out”, and then he came to see bharatan.

 

vaRkalaiyin uDaiyAnai mASaDainda meyyAnai

naRkalai il mati enna nagai izhanda mugattAnai

kal kaniyak kaniginRa tuyarAnai kaNNuRRAn

emperumAn pin piRandAr izhaipparO pizhaippenRAn (kamban 1.13.29)

 

says guhan beautifully.

 

nambiyum en nAyakanai okkinRAn,

ayal ninRAn tambiyaiyum okkinRAn (kamban 2.13.30)

 

guhan notices that bhartan looks like rAman. If he looks at his brother by his

side, he looks similar to iLaiya perumAL. tunbam oru muDivillai – the face is

wallowing in sorrow. It looks like there is no end to their sorrow. I made a

big mistake. If he thinks wrong about me, that will be very sad. Why did my

ability to think go totally astray like this? After all, I am one who eats

meat, and so my intellect went berserk. I said, “rAman’s brother is coming to

fight with rAman”. emperumAn pin piRandAr izhaipparO pizhaippenRAn – will the

one who is born after bhagavAn make any mistakes? Will perumAL be born as an

elder brother to a person who will commit mistakes? I did not think well! I

prepared my troops to fight with his army. Will emperumAn be born as an elder

brother to a person who commits mistakes?

 

“emperumAn pin piRandAr izhaipparO pizhaippenRAn”. In our cases, those who are

born after us will also commit offences to us; those who were born before us

also will commit offences (AcAryar laughs gently).

 

So, will rAman be born as the Son of a dishonest person? [Recall the story

that was left inconclusive in the last write-up, wherein some people were

questioning daSarathan’s integrity in the matter of trying to crown rAman in

the absence of bharatan. We are continuing with that story, after AcAryan has

given us the example where guhan realizes that anyone related to perumAL cannot

have faults such as dishonesty, deceit etc.] Will perumAL be born like that?

He will look for the best in men to choose as His father - “pitaram rocayAmAsa

tadA daSaratham nRpam “ (bAla. 15.32) – these words are going to be uttered

soon. While this is the actual case, some attribute flaws to daSarathan along

the above lines. They say he was not truthful. Is that fair? That is why

vALmIki goes through this description (of his donating the bhUmi to the

vidvAns, their accepting it, and his buying it back with the full money that

the land is worth).

 

daSarathan makes a promise. There are 7 or 8 Slokams there. When we come to

ayodhyA kANDam, I will give the meaning. It is not to be explained just as it

is narrated in the story – we have to understand its special meaning.

daSarathan started this venture [of donating all his kingdom] with great

courage. No one was going to be in a position to question him on why he is

crowning rAman as the next king - Kaikeyi cannot ask; bharatan cannot ask;

Kekaya mahArAjan cannot ask. Why? If he asks – “You had made a promise to give

the kingdom to kaikeyi’s son”, daSarathan can say – “That kingdom that was

promised is gone. This is a different kingdom. The old kingdom – in all the

four directions, has been given away, Sir. The kingdom in all four directions

was given away to the vidvAns in the yAgam. They first accepted the dakshiNai,

and then wanted to give it back. But, they were given the lands through

‘compulsory registration’ [persuasion]. Then I ended up buying back the land

with entirely different property (gold, silver etc); so, this is a different

kingdom. Bharatan can claim only the old kingdom”. Don’t think daSarathar

committed a mistake. The Sloka-s there [in ayodhyA kANDam] should be

explained in a special way. They are in ayodhyA kANDam in a superficial way.

It says that daSarathar calls rAman and asks Him to take up coronation – there

are 7 or 8 Slokams. “Dreams are bad; symptoms are bad; bharatan is also not in

town” - viproshita: ca bharata: (ayodhyA. 4.25) - isn’t it there? (SrImad

ANDavan asks a svAmi who is nearby). It is said that cakravarti says so.

 

There was a svAmi named “bAla vAlmIki”. He used to say rAmAyaNam like vAlmIki.

vAlmIki did not know rAmAyaNam in his young age. Only after he came out of

the puRRu [ant hill], he knew rAmAyaNam. But this svAmi was called ‘bAla

vAlmIki’. His father used to give rAmAyaNam upanyAsam. His grandfather had

done too. His whole family had been doing rAmAyaNam upanyAsam. They will say

that daSarathan said to rAma - “bharatan also is not in town. You take up the

coronation” - viproshita: ca bharata: - the meaning is not like that. It is

very difficult to explain the meanings in some places in rAmAyaNam. How can

bharatan claim the kingdom? This is not that old kingdom. This was bought

from the vidvAns with money. This is different. That is why, vAlmIki wrote

this story [about daSarathan donating away the kingdom to the vidvAns etc.].

 

vapA homam was over. dakshiNai-s were dispersed. aSvamedha yAgam was

completed to everyone’s satisfaction. 15th sargam follows.

 

medhAvI tu tato dhyAtvA sa ki’ncit idam uttaram |

labdha samj~na: tata: tam tu vedaj~na: nRpam abravIt || (bAla. 15.1)

 

ishTim te’ham karishyAmi putrIyAm putra kAraNAt |

atharva Sirasi proktai: mantra: siddhAm vidhAnata: || (bAla. 15.2)

 

See, it says here - atharva Sirasi proktai: -if putrakAmeshTi is done in

yajurvedam and Rgvedam, vasishThar can do that. atharva Siras [fn 1] –

officiated by those who are totally dedicated to the worship of perumAL

exclusively. yAgam must be done only in perumAL’s name. There should be no

reference to any other deity. In this putrakAmeshTi, that is why RSya SR’ngar

is brought. He is the one who does putrakAmeshTi.

 

tato devA: sagandharvA; siddhA: ca paramarshaya: |

bhAga pratigrahArtham vai samavetA: yatAvidhi || (bAla. 15.4)

 

See how he communicates the story! When the yAgam was being done, devatA-s

came to accept havirbhAgam.

 

abruvan loka kartAram brahmANam vacanam mahat (bAla. 15.5)

 

brahmA also came. All the devatA-s assembled in the sky. Then –

 

bhagavan tvat prasAdena rAvaNo nAma rAkshasa: |

sarvAn no bAdhate vIryAt SAsitum tam na Saknuma: || (bAla. 15.6)

 

brahmA came. All the devata-s prostrated before brahmA. “svAmi! We have no

deficiencies as a result of your blessings; through your blessings, we are

being beaten up by rAkshasa-s routinely; what a good boon you gave.” Some

people say things jokingly.

 

Bhagavad gItai was taught (by kaNNan). War was over. dharmaputrar was

coronated. kaNNan went on a walk with arjunan. They went and sat in the

garden. kaNNan asked – “I taught you 700 Slokams! Do you remember anything?”

arjunan says surprisingly,

 

Bhagavan! tvat prasAdena sarvam tat vismRtam mayA |

 

With Your blessings, everything has been forgotten. I don’t remember anything.

 

 

People come to prostrate (before me), right! If I ask, ‘Is the marriage over?

Are the children okay?” the person will say – “Purely because of blessings

from here”. If I ask again “Why, is your wife not well in your home?” that

person will say – “Purely because of blessings from here”. He has come with

the determination that he will say “it is all your blessings”. Without

understanding what I am asking, he just says, “It is all because of your

blessings” (AcAryar laughs; everyone in the audience laughs). Like that,

“Bhagavan! tvat prasAdena sarvam tat vismRtam mayA” – With Your blessings, I

forgot everything” says arjunan. “What is this? I had taught you something

very special and unprecedented!”

 

neRiyellAm eDutturaitta niRai j~nAnattoru mUrti

kiRiyammAn kavarAda kiLaroLiyAl kuRaivilamE “ says nammAzhvAr (4.8).

-------------

[fn 1] tiru ashTAksharam is in atharva Siras. It is considered most appropriate

to have atharva nishTha-s officiating as brahmA in the yAgam; that is why in

the aSvamEdha yAgam, RSya SR’ngar was brahmA. Here, putrakAmeshTi is being

done. It is an ekAgni karma (a yAgam performed with single fire).

------------

 

(End of translation of AcArya rAmAmRtam as it appeared in the September 2006

issue of SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA)

 

To be continued …..