AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. December 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. December 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)

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

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

During kRshNAvatAram also, He was in devaki’s womb for 12 months. AzhvAr says:

 

panniru ti’ngaL vayiRRil koNDa appA’nginAl

en iLam ko’ngai amudamUTTi eDuttu yAn

ponnaDi nOvap pulariyE kAnil kanRin pin

en iLam Si’ngattaip pOkkinEn ellE pAvamE

(periyAzhvAr. tiru. 3-2-8)

 

yasodai is crying – the kid wants to go to the forest. She sends him to graze

the cows. nandagopar says, “Pack food for him quickly. Let him go and graze

the cows. What is the use if he is born in the cowherd clan and he does not

graze the cows”. yasodai says “Alas! Should I send this child to the forest!”

 

kuDaiyum Seruppum koDAdE dAmOdaranai nAn

uDaiyum kaDiyana Urndu vemparalgaLuDai

kaDiya ve’nkAniDai kAlaDi nOvak kanRin pin

koDiyEn en piLLaiyaip pOkkinEn ellE pAvamE

(periyAzhvAr. tiru. 3.2.9)

 

Shouldn’t we give the kid an umbrella for grazing cows? Shouldn’t we give him

sandals? The term ‘Seruppu’ is beautifully used for pAdarakshai only in

AzhvAr’s pAsuram; you cannot see this anywhere else.

 

kuDaiyum Seruppum koDAdE dAmOdaranai nAn

uDaiyum kaDiyana Urndu vemparalgaL uDai

 

It is a big forest. There are lots of small stones (on the ground). They are

tearing the soles of the feet. I sent Him to the forest to make His tiruvaDi

(divine feet) hurt. “ellE pAvam!” – look what my pAvam – sin – is! says

yasodai. “What, umbrella and sandals?” - nandagopan asks: “Umbrella and

sandals for grazing the cows? Do you realize how much they will cost?”

Nowadays, everyone is wearing. They cost a lot. They say there are no sandals

for less than sixty five rupees. “What uncle? It costs so much? This much

money for sandals?”

 

“kuDaiyum Seruppum koDAdE dAdOdaranai nAn” A friend is asking yaSodA why she

is crying. yasodai says, “panniru ti’ngaL vayiRRil koNDa appA’nginAl” – I

carried Him in my womb for twelve months. So, I know the child’s difficulty.

Men folk will not know. What does it mean for them? They do not know the

hardships. It is twelve months.

 

panniru ti’ngaL vayiRRil koNDa appA’nginAl

en iLam ko’ngai amudamUTTi eDuttu yAn

ponnaDi nOvap pulariyE kAnil kanRin pin

en iLam Si’ngattaip pOkkinEn ellE pAvamE

(periyAzh. tiru. 3.2.8)

 

periyAzhvAr shows here that perumAL did garbha vAsam for 12 months. Those ten

songs will be very nice.

 

For the question, “Shouldn’t he know how to earn a livelihood? Shouldn’t he

know how to graze cows? How can he make a living?” yasodai says – “My kid does

not have to know how to make a living. He will survive even if each family

takes him for one day. What is needed for my kid to live? People come in a

queue to take him to their home. He does not stay in the home at all”. Only

rAman stays in His home. He is the eldest son, fit for coronation. He has a

lot of guards; He does not go here or there. daSarathar won’t send Him. In

tiruvAippADi, folks come in a queue and take him. The child will come back to

our home in the night. That is what she says there.

 

“ambaramE taNNIrE SORE aRam Seyyum

emperumAn nandagOpAlA ezhundirAi! “

 

Whether I say tiruppAvai in mArgazhi month or not, wouldn’t it be useful if I

quote this place! (AcAryar laughs slightly)

 

“We are asking nandagopAlan. We are asking for kRshNa for our vratam. Did I

come to the door of a miser? Am I standing at the door of a miser who does not

give even a quarter? We are standing at the door of nandagopAlan, who is

“ambaramE aRam Seyyum, taNNIrE aRam Seyyum, SORE aRam Seyyum” – he who gives

cloths for wearing, water for drinking to quench the thirst, and food for

quenching the hunger - We are not at the entrance of a miser’s place”. Who is

a miser? It seems to be daSarathan. We are going to see – someone is going to

ask for rAman after He is twelve years old – and daSarathan says no!

nandagopalan is not like that. He will send his son (kRshNa) to everyone’s

house. So if He goes to one house each day, he will eat there and come. Are

you asking how this is possible? yasodai responds: “This is how my son has

been growing up all along”.

 

paRRu ma’njal pUSi pAvaimAroDu pADiyil

ciRRil cidaittu e’ngum tImai Seydu tiriyAmE

SuRRut tULiyuDai vEDar kAniDai kanRin pin

eRRukku en piLLaiyaip pOkkinEn ellE pAvamE?

 

In those days, turmeric used to be applied for all children. Not just for

girls; it was for boys too. Till they were one or two years old, turmeric was

applied on the whole body. If turmeric is applied, boils or rashes will not

come. “paRRu manjal pUSi” – girls also used to apply turmeric. In those days,

suma’ngali womenfolk (who have their husbands living), used to be offered

turmeric. When they take bath in the cAveri river, they will rub it on a rock,

and apply that turmeric on their bodies. There are two different kinds of

turmeric – one will stain and one will not. Women folk will chide their

husbands – why did you buy this turmeric that does not stain? You cannot hear

that chiding in these days. These gopi women would have been presented with

turmeric. They would come to the yamuna river for taking bath. kRshNan will

come and stand there. He will say – find out if that turmeric stains or not;

rub it against a stone and see. A gopi will say – why should I rub it against a

stone? kRshNan is here; we can rub it against His back. If they rub it

against a stone, that will become a waste; so, she will do it against His back.

He grew just by everyone rubbing the turmeric against His back. Just as He

grew with the turmeric that was rubbed against His back to sample if it is

staining or not, He can grow up by being fed one day in each house. kRshNan

grew with just the sampled turmeric on His back. When a tooth powder comes

new in the market, some will pass their life just by using samples of that

(everyone laughs). He will say – ‘give me a sample’ and pass his life with

samples themselves. Thus, for a child who grew with sampled turmeric only, is

there a need to know how to graze the cows for the sake of a livelihood?

yaSodai cries loudly for having sent kaNNan to the forest for grazing the cows.

“panniru ti’ngaL vayiRRil koNDa – she bore Him for 12 months and gave birth to

kaNNan.

 

Since the parama purushan (Supreme Person) had to be born as a human being, and

since He had to spend a total of 12 months in the human stomach, instead of

living in both the man’s and the woman’s stomach, the parama purushan chose to

live in only one place for the full 12 months – ‘tata: ca dvAdase mAse” –

rAman stayed in the divine mother’s womb for 12 months.

 

“caitre nAvamike tithau” – The Lord was born in cittirai month navami (ninth

day). First month (in tamizh calendar) is cittirai. He took incarnation in

the first month. First God. He is the Adidevan (First Lord) for the whole

universe. He showed this to the universe through sOcanA vRtti (exposition

through indications).

 

He was born on the navami day in Sukla paksham (waxing of the moon). What is

the reason? [This indicates that] There is no God above Him. –

 

tam ISvarANAm paramam maheSvaram,

tam daivatAnAm paramam ca daivatam

 

tam viSvasyAtmeSvaram

SASvatam Sivam acyutam

 

kOyil koL deyvam ellAm tozha vaikuntam

kOyil koNDa kuDak kUtta ammAnE !

 

daivatam daivatAnAm divyam cakshu:

Sruti parishadAm dRSyate ra’ngamadhye.

 

He is the Lord above all the lords. There is no God above Him. How so? There

is no [independent] number above 9. Think one, two…. Then when you come to

10, you have to place 1 and a 0. For 12, you have to place 2 (by the 1). Is

there an [independent] number above 9? So, there is no tatvam above rAman.

There is an adhikaraNam (section) called parAdhikaraNam in the 3rd chapter of

SrIbhAshyam (3.2.7). There it is shown bhagavAn is Supreme above all. “esha

setur vidharaNa: eshAm lokAnAm asambhedAya” (bRhadAraNyaka. 4.4.22) – He is the

bridge or setu and the supports of all these worlds so that they are not mixed

with one another, but remain distinct from one another. Thus, by being born on

the navami day, He showed by sUcanA vritti that He is above all. There is no

one above Him.

 

There is another thing – it is said “navami is SUnya tithi” – it is of no use

for anything. No one will do anything on that day. No one should undertake

travel on that day. navami tithi should be totally avoided. A girl got married

into some family. The bridegroom also came to stay in her house. He did not

get a job. He said – What can I do? I will stay in your house till I get a

job, svAmi; what can I do? The girl’s father kept him and fed him. In some

kshetrams, it is said if you donate one rupee, you will get puNyam of donating

two rupees. In divya kshetrams like kA’ncipuram, if one makes a donation, it

will be equivalent to making twice the amount of donation. The father says –

“svAmi, I did one dAnam – kanyA dAnam (giving a girl in marriage). Now two

people are eating in my house (the whole audience laughs). What you said has

come true. My son-in-law is eating in my house. He says if he gets a job, he

will go. He says if he gets a government job, he will go. So, I got him a

job”.

 

He [the son-in-law] said he would leave immediately. That day was navami. The

government had given living quarters for him. He said he will take his wife

also. I told him “you stayed all these days. Do not go on navami day! Leave

tomorrow”. He said, “I will not stay even for half a second; all these days, I

felt like I was on fire - on a thorn”. Everyday, one and a quarter paDi (a

measure) of rice was being consumed. He says he felt like he was on a thorn!

(laughter in the audience). He said he wanted to leave. “Hey! navami is not

helpful. Do not go”. “No, I will go”. He left in a bullock cart and went for

10 miles. Then he had to walk for some distance. Only then, he would enter

the state where he would join for job. There was no car those days. One had

to walk. When he walked, a big crowd went with him to accompany. He took his

wife and walked carrying a package on his head. She was walking with him.

Women folk are called ‘abalai’ (helpless). I was staying in a house in Egmore.

There was a train at 12 o’clock to go to Cuddalore. It was raining. The

house owners went to the station. The wife held the umbrella. The husband

said “If you hold the umbrella, don’t I need it?”. The wife said – “Carry the

trunk [suitcase] on your head; it will serve as an umbrella” (there is laughter

in the whole audience).

 

When that son-in-law was taking his wife in that crowd, a rowdy man held her

hand and puller her. That son-in-law asked him why he did that. That rowdy

said that she was his wife. The husband got mad and started fighting with him.

He said, “She is my wife”; the rowdy said, “She is my wife”. So, both started

to fight.

 

He went to the king and told him, “svAmi! This is my wife. I got a government

job. That is why I have come. She is my wife. How come such unfair things

happen under your rule?”. That rowdy countered that she was his wife. The

minister said, “Ask the girl. She will know. Whoever she claims is her

husband, we can give her to him.” They asked the girl, “Who is your husband,

this man or that man?” She said, “This one looks like my husband; that one

also looks like my husband”! What to do now? The minister was very smart. He

said, “Okay, both of you stay here”. He ordered for a vessel filled with water

and said, “Whoever enters this water is her husband; let me see who does it”.

He kept guards to watch them for the night. It was 11 in the night. One guy

left. Only one stayed behind. Next day, the king came. Only the son-in-law

was left. The king gave the girl to him. He asked the minister about two

people being there the previous day. The minister said, “Nothing svAmi. This

man left for travel on navami day; there were 40 nAzhigai-s (a measure of time)

left. navami purushan came and created an illusion. When navami left, he also

left. This man did not listen to his father-in-law’s words. That is why he was

going through all this difficulty.”

 

navami is that kind of a tithi. The devatai for that tithi did penance saying,

“Everyone is avoiding me”, and prayed to perumAL.

 

perumAL said, “I will make sure everyone praises you” and took the incarnation

on the navami day. caitre nAvamike tithau. ashTamI tithi is also like that;

that too -kRshNAshTamI. The devatai of that tithi also did penance. “I will

make everyone praise you. Not like rAmAvatAram; instead, I will make everyone

hold you in esteem with bhakshaNams – savories” (laughter in the audience).

 

tithi: ashThamI yad avatAra vaibhavAt

prathamA tithi: trijagatAm ajAyata |

maNipAduke tam upanIya vIthikA-

svatithI karoshi tad-ananya cakshushAm ||

(pAdukA. 317)

 

says deSikar in pAdukA sahasram. ashTamI tithi became prathamai (prathamA - in

the sense of ‘the most important day’) because He was born in ashTamI tithi.

It became a first rate tithi. SvAmi deSikan further continues: “Oh Mother

pAdukA devI! bhagavAn who made the ashTamI tithi into a prathamA tithi [and

thus had two tithi-s]– You have now made Him an atithi – One Who has no tithi,

or One who has become an object for every one’s eyes by your bringing Him in

procession on the streets, or One who has left one place (the temple) and come

to another place (the streets)”. He says in pAdukAsahasram, “You brought

perumAL to the front of every house where everyone can see Him!” “hE pAdukE!

You made perumAL an atithi! Everyone is able to see Him in his house front”!

 

“caitre nAvamike tithau”. Next, “nakshatre aditi daivatye” - in the star

associated with the deity by name aditi - the punarvasu star. Every star has

a devatai. aditi is the devatai for punarvasu. She is the mother of

devendran, sUryan and other devatA-s. She is the mother of all the deva-s.

The meaning is that rAman is the Creator for all deva-s. It means rAman

protects all deva-s, that is, the good people, like His child.

 

This meaning is revealed by sUcanA vritti (exposition through indication).

========

To be continued …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

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