AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. Oct 07 Part 2)

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SrI:

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrImate SrInivAsa rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrImate VedAnta rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrI ra’nganAtha divya maNi pAdukAbhyAm nama:

 

AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. Oct 07 Part 2)

 

English 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

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

SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan’s SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam

 

But KuSanAbhar did not have any son, and he felt very sad about that. He did

penance.

 

putrah te sadRSah putra bhavishyati sudhArmikah | (bAla. 34.3)

[kuSar blessed kuSanAbhar and said that he will get a befitting son who will

abide by dharma].

 

jaj~ne parama dharmishTha: gAdhih ityeva viSrutah || (bAla.34.5)

[After some time, a son by name gAdhi was born to kuSanAbhar, and he was a

supreme follower of righteous conduct].

 

ViSvAmitrar continues: “KuSanAbhar got a son named gAdhi. He is my father

(ViSvAmitrar is telling rAman about his vamSam). I have an elder sister. Her

name is satyavatI. She was given in marriage to RcIkar. It is said that she

has taken the form of the kauSikI river in order to be useful to the people. I

am just telling you my story.”

 

When one knows an AcAryan, the guru paramparai (the lineage of that AcAryan)

must also be learned. “I taught You the mantrams. You may want to know the

guru paramaparai”, and he says about his father.

 

They kept going for a long distance. There was a big river. Looking at that,

rAman asked ViSvAmitrar, “svAmi! What is this river?”

 

“Are You asking about the river? It is SONA river; it is red in color. Water

is running at extremely deep level.”

 

ayam SONah Subha jalah agAdhah pulina maNDita: |

katareNa pathA brahman! santarishyAmahe vayam? || (bAla.35.4)

 

rAman is asking, “MahaRshi! It looks like we cannot cross this river. Do we

have to go to the other bank?”

 

“Yes, we have to go”.

 

“How will you do that? Where do we cross? The path is not obvious. It is

very deep.” One who knows how to take us across the ocean of samsAram to

salvation (to the other bank) does not know how to go to the other bank of the

river. This is in His avatAram!

 

evam uktastu rAmeNa viSvAmitrah abravIt idam |

esha panthA mayoddishTah yena yAnti maharshayah || (bAla. 35.5)

[viSvamitrar says that the path that the other Rshi-s are taking is the path

that they should follow].

 

te gatvA dUram adhvAnam gate’rdha divase tadA |

jAhnavIm saritAm SreshThAm dadRSuh munisevitAm || (bAla.35.6)

 

After they went for a while, viSvAmitrar said, “rAma! Look at that”. It was a

place where the river was not deep, but it was very broad. “Rshi-s are getting

in and walking – the ones with the beards, wearing kRshNAjInam and bark

clothes. I am going to get into the river at that point and cross.”

 

yena yAnti maharshayah – “I will take you along the path the Rshi-s are

taking.” He took them a long way and then got them to the other bank of SONA

river. They kept walking further. It was noon already. These two kids kept

going in the afternoon obediently. [srImad ANDavan humorously says here – they

ask, “What uncle, you keep on going!”]. ViSvAmitrar shows them a river and says

that they will get off on the banks of that river.

 

The river was ga’ngA - a magnificent river. On both the banks, Rshi-s were

seated.

 

jAhnavIm saritAm SreshThAm dadRSuh munisevitAm |

 

nirai niraiyAga neDiyana yUpam

nirantaram ozhukkuviTTu iraNDu

karai purai vELvip pugai kamazh ga’ngai

kaNDam ennum kaDi nagarE (periyAzhvAr 4.7.8)

 

ta’ngaiyai mUkkum tamayanait talaiyum

taDinda em dASarathi pOi

e’ngum tan pugazhA irundu araSANDa

em puruDOttaman irukkai

ga’ngai ga’ngai enRa vAcakattAlE

kaDu vinai kaLaindiDugiRkum

ga’ngaiyin karai mEl kai tozha ninRa

kaNDam ennum kaDi nagarE (periyAzhvAr 4.7.1)

 

aNi malark kuzhalAr arambaiyar tugilum Aramum vAri vandu

 

aNi nIr

maNi kozhindizhinda ga’ngaiyin karai mEl

vadari

AccirAmattuLLAnE

(periya

tirumozhi.1.4.4)

 

jAhnavIm saritAm SreshThAm - among all the rivers, it has the highest place.

kAvEri is called “dakshiNa ga’ngai”, ga’ngai is not called “uttara kAvEri”,

right? Ga’ngai is that great.

 

po’ngu punal ARugaLil bhuvanamellAm

pon kazhalAl aLandavan tan tALAl vanda

ga’ngai enum nadi pOla, kaDalgaL Ezhil

kamalai piRandu avan uganda kaDalE pOla

Sa’ngugaLil avan Endum Sa’ngE pOla

tAril avan taN tuLavat tArE pOla

en’gaL kulapatigaL ivai mElAm enRu

eNNiya nal vArttaigaL nAm iSaiginROmE !

 

says deSikan in amRtAsvAdinI. sarayU is bigger than ga’ngai. A lot of water

flows; but it does not become superior because of that. A lot of water flows

in sindhu river also.

 

po’ngu punal ARugaLil – among all great the rivers that have a spate of water.

bhuvanamellAm pon kazhalAl aLandavan tan tALAl vanda ga’ngai enum nadi pOla –

There is no river comparable to ga’ngai that came through the divine feet of

emperumAn who measured the whole universe with His feet.

 

kaDalgaL Ezhil kamalai piRandu avan uganda kaDalE pOla – lakshmI took birth in

kshIrAbdi – the Milk Ocean, which is where He is reclining. We are not the

only ones who camp in our father-in-law’s house; He is also staying in His

father-in-law’s house. Though there are the seven great sea-s, there is none

comparable to the Milk Ocean where pirATTi took birth, and where He is

reclining.

 

Sa’ngukaLil avan Endum Sa’ngE pOla – There are lots of conches that we get out

of the ocean; but can anything compare to the Conch that He is holding?

 

unnODuDanE oru kaDalil vAzhvArai

innAr inaiyAr enRu eNNuvAr illai kAN

mannAgi ninRa madhusUdan vAi amudam

pannALum uNginRAi pA’ncaSanniyamE (nAcciyAr tirumozhi.7.5)

 

Sa’ngugaLil avan Endum Sa’ngE pOla

tAril avan taN tuLavat tArE pOla –

 

PerumAL may be wearing a thousand garlands; He may be wearing wonderful

garlands in white, red and green colors; and dasAvatAra garlands (in our side,

we have dasAvatAra mAlai [made of flowers of ten colors]; there is only one

avatAram here [only one color of flowers in the garland here]). Even if He is

wearing a daSAvatAra mAlai with ten different colored flowers neatly arranged

and strewn together, an old lady will come and ask specifically for a ‘tulasi

leaf from the tulasi garland’. These colored flowers are of no use to her.

tAril avan taN tuLavat tArE pOla. Just like all these, deSikan says that of all

the divine outpourings in the whole world, AzhvArs’ SrI sUkti-s are superior.

People will not agree if we say that. deSikan says –“e’ngaL kulapatigaL ivai

mElAm enRu eNNiya nal vArttaigaL nAm iSaiginROmE!”

 

jAhnavI – ga’ngai – what is so special about ga’ngai?

 

ga’ngai ga’ngai enRa vAcakattAlE

kaDu vinai kaLaindiDugiRkum

ga’ngaiyin karai mEl kai tozha ninRa ….

 

ga’nge ga’ngeti yo brUyAt yojanAnAm Sataih api – Even if one says the words

“ga’ngA! ga’ngA!” from a hundred miles away, all the sins of that person will

disappear.

 

ga’ngai ga’ngai enRa vAcakattAlE kaDu vinai kaLaindiDugiRkum – One does not

even have to take a bath. It is enough if one utters the word ‘ga’ngai’. It

is that great a river. If you go near, you will even see a lot of old saris,

necklaces etc

 

aNi malark kuzhalAr arambaiyar tugilum Aramum vAri vandu

 

aNi nIr

maNi kozhindizhinda ga’ngaiyin karai mEl

vadari

AccirAmattuLLAnE

(periya

tirumozhi.1.4.4)

 

As the women of deva lokam take their baths in AkASa ga’ngai, their old pearl

necklaces would sometimes get torn off from their necks by the force of the

ga’ngA river; old sari-s will be washed away. You can see in kASi and

haridvAr; have you seen it?

 

In our place, women folk will let their old sari-s float away in the kAveri

river. How long can they keep wearing the same thing? If they keep wearing

the same old sari, they are not getting new saris (AcAryar laughs slightly).

If they leave it in the river, they will get new saris.

 

arambaiyar tugilum Aramum vAri vandu

aNi nIr maNi kozhindizhinda ga’ngaiyin karai mEl

 

nirai niraiyAga neDiyana yUpam

nirantaram ozhukkuviTTu iraNDu

karai purai vELvip pugai kamazh ga’ngai

kaNDam ennum kaDi nagarE

 

That is the specialty of ga’ngai. Rshi-s are doing penance on both the banks.

They are doing yAgam. The place is filled with yUpa stambams (sacrificial

posts). Ga’ngai removes sins at the thought of her name; removes sins by

mantra snAnam; removes sins by even mentally bathing in ga’ngai.

 

tatah snAtvA yathA nyAyam santarpya pitR devatAh (bAla.35.8)

[All the Rshi-s accompanying viSvAmitrar took their baths, made offerings to

the pitR-s and devatA-s, etc., and sat down].

 

It was around 12 noon; they went and took a bath in ga’ngai. rAman asked –

 

bhagavan! Srotum icchAmi ga’ngAm tripathagAm nadIm |

trilokyam katham Akramya gatA nata nadIpatim? || (bAla.35.11)

[i would like to know how the ga’ngA river spreads over three worlds, and how

it reaches the ocean ultimately.]

 

viSvAmitrar said: It comes from deva lokam; it comes to this world; it goes to

pAtALa lokam also. rAmar asked how the river goes to the three worlds.

ViSvAmitrar responds:

 

Sailendro himavAn nAma dhAtUnAm Akaro mahAn |

tasya kanyA dvayam nAma rupeNa apratimam bhuvi || (bAla.35.13)

 

“Look at the Sailendran – himavAn – the himAlaya mountain”.

 

astyuttarasyAm diSi devatAtmA

himAlayo nAma nagAdhirAjah |

purvAparau vArinidI vigAhya

sthitah pRthivyA iva mAnadaNDah || (1.1)

 

says kALidAsan in kumArasambhavam.

 

himavAn – the king of all mountains – is the place where many minerals occur.

 

tasya manoramA nAma patnI himavatah priyA !

 

That mountain wanted to marry – here it refers to the devatA for the mountain.

HimavAn was looking for a girl to marry. manoramA was the daughter of meru

mountain. He married that girl. vAlmIki says here that himavAn – the

mountain, married manoramA, the daughter of meru mountain. He says that even

the mountain wanted to marry a girl from the mountain race! It did not desire

for a different kind! That is why I am saying. If you ask “Why are you

pointing this out?” sumeru duhitA nAma - mountain married a mountain girl.

It looked for jAti (caste).

 

Do you know a story! Time is up. Story is not moving. Only fifteen days. We

have to finish rAmAyaNam before that. Can’t we do after that? There is no

time to stay after that. I have to leave on 12th. If I stay after that, then

I have to stay till September (cAturmAsyam is coming).

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To be continued …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

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