AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. March 09 Part 1)

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SrIH

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja MahA deSikAya namaH

SrImate SrInivAsa rAmAnuja MahA deSikAya namaH

SrImate VedAnta rAmAnuja MahA deSikAya namaH

SrI ra’nganAtha divya maNi pAdukAbhyAm namaH

 

AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. March 09 Part 1)

 

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)

 

(Please set your encoding to Unicode UTF-8)

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

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SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan’s SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam

 

After kaikeyi asks for two boons like these, daSaratha cakravartI is shocked.

He sheds profuse tears and swoons. He goes through a terrible time. After a

while, he wakes up and opens his eyes. He takes hold of kaikeyi's legs.

 

“anjalim kurmi kaikeyi (ayodhyA.12-36) - I beseech you. Ask for two other

boons. You have told me several times that you do not like any one other than

rAma and that even bharata is second in line for your love. When the situation

is like that, who put this thought into your mind? Who advised you? You are

asking like this. You said you love rAma and He is more special than bharata.

Leaving all that, you are asking boons like this. What are you asking? Did

anyone advise you? "

 

" No one advised me. I myself thought about it. You have to grant me those

boons.

 

There is no one like this in ikshvAku dynasty. pUrvam satyam pratiSRtya -

everyone in ikshvAku vamsam are truthful, everyone will do what they say. You

granted boons and now you are saying 'No’! You are asking me to change. I

want only those boons. If you do not give me, I will consume poison and die.

visham adhyaiva bhakshyAmi. "

 

anunaya kovidaH - there is a book about appeasing women when they get angry. Do

you all know? daSaratha has read that book umpteen times. He has passed with a

presidency first award.

 

anunaya kovidaH - daSaratha holds her hand and her legs and requests her to

change her boons. anjalim kurmi kaikeyi - When this phrase from rAmAyaNam is

recited, goshTIpuram svAmi (tirukOTTiyUr SrI saumya nArAyaNArya mahAdeSikan)

used to recite a Slokam. Do you remember?

 

vijitya dikcakram asesha maNDalam

varAsanasto varabhUpa vandyaH

gRheshu maitunya sukheshu saktaH

krIDAmRgaH pUrusha ISa Iyate (bhAgavatam.10.51.53)

 

This is the Slokam that mucukunda cakravartI says in SrI bhAgavatam. This king

was lying down and sleeping! Another person by name kAlayavanan woke him up and

his head shattered into pieces! It was all per kRshNa's trick to kill the

latter.

 

That mucukunda cakravartI helped devA-s by driving away asurA-s. indra was very

happy and granted him a boon. mucukunda said, " I want to have a sound sleep in

a cave. I do not want to be disturbed by anyone. I have not slept for a long

time. I want to sleep well. "

 

I also want to ask for that boon (AcAryar's slight laughter is heard).

 

He wanted time to sleep. indra agreed and said, " Sleep well. If someone wakes

you up, when you look at the person, his head will burst and he will die. "

 

kAlayavanan woke up mucukunda cakravartI and because of that, he died.

 

kRshNa showed up. During that seva, cakravartI said this Slokam.

 

What does a king do?

 

vijitya dikcakram asesha maNDalam - he visits all the directions in the whole

world, without leaving any place. Using the strength of his weapons and his own

valor, he wins over the kings of all the fifty six countries and makes them pay

their dues.

 

vijitya dikcakram asesha maNDalam - that victorious king is sitting on a special

throne. He gives an order that all the kings that he conquered must come and

pay respect to him because his birthday was coming [AcAryar's humorous term here

- birthday vartantI!]. All the kings wearing crowns and turbans come and fall on

the ground with their heads at his feet.

 

varAsanasto varabhUpa vandyaH - even that maharaja who had won over so many

kings and made them prostrate to him,

 

gRheshu matunya sukheshu saktaH - gets involved in base sexual desire

 

krIDAmRgaH pUrusha ISa Iyate - and is treated like a krIDAmRgam [pet animal for

play] by the lady of the house.

 

What is krIDAmRgam? You know what that is, right? Some animals will be kept in

the house just for playing.

 

That mRgam! What, do you understand? (SrImad ANDavan has a special laughter).

Why? For the experience of a minor happiness.

 

vijitya dikcakram asesha maNDalam

varAsanasto varabhUpa vandyaH

gRheshu maitunya sukheshu saktaH

krIDAmRgaH pUrusha ISa Iyate

 

I have heard goshTIpuram svAmi say this. He used to say this during this

instance [in rAmAyaNam]. I have heard in SrIrangam kIzha uttara street when he

was doing upanyAsam on SrimadrAmAyaNam. Even a maharAja gets involved with a

lady and becomes a play animal for a woman and listens to her.

 

daSaratha tries his best. kaikeyi refuses to listen saying that so many kings

have done it. " There was a king named alarka; someone came and asked for his

eyes; he gave his eyes because he had agreed to give whatever was asked. An

eagle came and asked Sibi cakravartI for meat. He gave meat from his own body.

Coming in that kind of ikshvAku clan, you agreed to give two boons and said that

I can ask for them any time I want and I had said that I will ask for them when

the time comes, and am now asking you. Now, you are thinking about it. Is this

fair? Is this behavior fit for a king from ikshvAku clan? "

 

daSaratha falls down; he does not know what to say and starts crying. There is

no end to his wailing. It is really sad to see him go through his sorrow.

vAlmIki describes his melancholy in two sargam-s.

 

It is early morning 4:00 AM. vaSishThar finishes his meditations etc and is

waiting for chanting prokshaNam [sprinkling of sacred water] mantrams.

darbham-s [sacred grass] are all spread; kumbams [vessels] are all ready filled

with water. rAma has to be brought in; there is so much to be done! vaSishTha

is all ready.

 

What is rAma doing? He is also ready, looking wonderful, wearing white silk in

His divine paTTAbhisheka style along with sItA, who is serving Him with cAmaram

[fan]. He is seated on a majestic seat.

 

As he usually does, sumantra comes to wake up daSaratha. Flutes must be played,

instruments must be played; the whole lineage of the clan must be read;

donations must be made and only after that the king can be awakened.

 

nisvanam cakravAkAnAm niSamya raghu pungavaH | (kishkindA kANDam)

 

vAlmIki keeps writing. In the palaces, when kings wake up, do they follow what

we do? They will wake up to songs, music from instruments like vINA, flute etc;

singers have to sing; some must state the specialties of the vamsam; only then,

their eyes will open. Otherwise, they will not wake up. Will their eyes open

because a vessel for boiling hot water falls down and makes a noise! (loud

laughter in the audience).

 

nisvanam cakravAkAnAm niSamya raghu pungavaH - vAlmIki writes later lamenting

about how rAma wakes up with the sounds of birds in the morning.

 

sumantra comes to see daSaratha. He recites stotram [in praise of the king].

daSaratha does not enjoy this now. His sorrow is something that cannot be

talked about. He is not able to talk because of his serious dilemma. He asks

sumantra to go and get rAma immediately. sumantra is very happy.

 

He goes very happily thinking, the time is ready for coronation and he is the

one who is going to get rAma; he gets out of the palace. rAma's palace is

about one furlong from this palace. He goes in a horse driven chariot. He goes

to see rAma who is in the inner quarters of His palace. He has to cross seven

entrances guarded by guards holding bamboo staffs. How do they look?

 

tatra kAshAyiNo vRddhAn vetrapANIn svalankRtAn

dadarSa vishThitAn dvAri stryadhyakshAn susamAhitAn (ayodhyA.16.2)

 

tatra kAshAyinaH - These guards are all old. People who were in police force,

got extension after retirement will be appointed as guards. This can be known

from the sAstram for kingdoms of yore. All this can be known from rAmAyaNam.

Why? Should a twenty five year old boy be appointed as a guard for inner

quarters of a palace? That is where ladies will be present, right? kAshAyiNo

vRddhAn - the front door guards are all old people.

 

Who should be appointed for the kitchen, tell me! Can we appoint a person who

eats three times a day and eats fourth time also without being able to digest?

The appointee must be a person who eats only once a day and digests it. If we

appoint a person like bhImasena to guard the kitchen, the goshTi will not get

any prasAdam. It will not come to the leaf [plate]. vAlmIki says this in

rAmAyaNa!

 

madhuvanam was the place where a kind of wine was made for the royal families.

dadhimukhan was appointed a guard for this place. He liked tayir - yoghurt.

sugrIva made him the guard. dadhi is yoghurt. dadhi mukhe yasya saH

dadhimukhaH. If a madhumukha [wine lover] is appointed as a guard for this

place, the wine will not reach sugrIva. ikshvAku clan people appointed the

right people for each job.

 

tatra kAshAyiNaH - everyone is wearing dirty dhotis stained by the street dirt.

kAshAyam does not mean just saffron colored. The dhoti-s are soiled from the

dirt in the streets and have become red. tatra kAshAyiNaH - why? Shouldn't the

servants working in the palace wear good garments? tatra kAshAyiNaH - they do

not take care of their own bodies or turbans and are always engaged in guarding

the palace. They do not worry about their health or the garments. If they keep

washing their dhotis and keep them sparkling, how can they guard the place well?

So, instead of worrying about their own health or the garments, they are deeply

involved in taking care of the palace.

 

When you come to the ASramam in the morning, how much noise do you hear -

washing of clothes with laundry soap and powder! Someone donated the soap! If

washing becomes important, how can one do kaiMkaryam?

 

tatra kAshAyiNo vRddhAn vetrapANIn svalankRtAn |

 

They are not attending to their bodies or washing their dhoti-s and guarding the

place carefully. They are holding staffs in their hands, svAmi! The way they

hold the staff gives an appearance of cakravarti tirumagan holding the bow.

They will be holding the staff just like rAma holds the bow kOdanDam.

 

tatra kAshAyiNo vRddhAn vetrapANIn svalankRtAn |

 

vetrapANIn svalankRtAn - vAlmIki describes the dresses of such kind of people.

svAmi, dress is nice.

 

SUDu malarkkuzhalIr! turATTiyEnai meliya

pADu nal vEdavoli paravait tirai pOl muzhanga

mADuyarndu Omap pugai kamazhum taN tiruvallavAzh

nIDuRaiginRa pirAn kazhal kANDum kol niccalumE (tiruvAi.5.9.3)

 

SUDu malarkkuzhalIr - vyAkhyAnam is done for this Slokam.

 

tatra kAshAyiNo vRddhAn vetrapANIn svalankRtAn - they are wearing dirty clothes

and holding a staff in their hands. They are all well decorated. svalankRtAn -

they are wearing saffron colored dhoti-s, what is with this decoration!

 

This is the decoration for those who do kaiMkaryam - " koiR cAndum kaRpUrap

pugaiyum paDinda parivaTTattaip pArttAl kaimkaryattilE UnRik kiDappargaL enRa

azhagAyirukkum " . Look at arcakA-s in the temple; if they are wearing a pure,

white dhoti in the bottom and a white garment on top and come with all the folds

of the dhoti intact, it means they are NOT doing kaiMkaryam. When arcakA-s who

are always inside to distribute tIrtham, it spills on their dhotis; the temple

kumkum and perumAL's tirumanjana tIrtham etc stain their clothes; the smoke from

the camphor will stain them black. When arcakA-s come out of the temple in this

fashion, that itself is a beauty. If they come out like rich people, it means

they do sevA only when rich people come; they are NOT doing kaiMkaryam.

vyAkhyAnam says, " koil cAndum kaRpUrap pugaiymAna Ana kaRai " [the stains made by

the temple kumkum and smoke from the camphor]. Look at tiruppati. After

tOmAlai sevA is over and

prasAdam is submitted to perumAL, the bhaTTAcAr will come out from the inner

sanctorum. The yellow dhoti stained by the tirumanjana tIrtham and the camphor

smoke will show to us how blessed they are to do kaiMkaryam. If the arcakA-s

come out with a white dhoti, it means they are not doing kaiMkaryam. So, if you

look through the eyes for kaiMkaryam, these guards are svalankRtAn - well

decorated.

 

vetrapANIn svalankRtAn dadarSa vishThitAn dvAri - the guards are standing at the

doors. sumantra is surprised ; he goes past them into rAma’s palace.

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To be continued …..