AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. May 09 Part 3)

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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. May 09 Part 3)

 

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

 

rAma does not have a second word. oka bhANamu oka vacanamu. rAma will not say

something first and then go back on it.

 

'anRtam nokta pUrvam me na ca vakshye kadAcana '|

'rAmo dvir nAbhi bhAshate'|

iti mayaivahyuktam | (SaraNAgati gadyam)

 

bhAshyakArar writes –

 

“Lord ra’nganAtha says – ‘ If you do SaraNAgati, I will protect you for

sure. Hey bhAshyakArar! Do not have any doubt about coming to Me or coming to

vaikuNTham or enjoying equality in mOksham – nissamSayaH sukham Asya. Rest

free of doubt or fear.†rAmAnujar asks Him, “Why are you saying like

this?â€

 

ra’nganAtha says – “I have never lied. I am never going to lie. I do not

have a second word; I have established this even earlierâ€.

 

deSikar conveys the same thing –

 

uktyA dhananjaya vibhIshaNa lakshyayA te

pratyAyya lakshmaNa muneH bhavatA vitIrNam |

SrutvA varam tadanubandha madAvalipte

nityam prasIda bhagavan mayi ranganAtha! ||

(nyAsa tilakam.22)

 

He proclaims to ranganAtha – “You told bhAshyakArar that he should have no

doubt if he does SaraNAgati. That is why I am living without any fear. You

reminded him of Your word to dhananjaya [in kRshNAvatAram]and vibhIshaNa [in

rAmAvatAram] and asked him to rest free without any uncertainty; I have no

concern at all.â€

 

Like that, rAma says - “rAmo dvir nAbhibhAshate – rAma does not have a

second word. So, father should let Me know what I should do. What did he want

to tell Me? Let him say anything he wants to say.â€

 

rAma said, “Mother! Only today, I learned that your thought is not that

goodâ€. Why?

 

na nUnam mayi kaikeyi kincit ASamsase guNam |

yat rAjAnam avocastvam mameSvaratarA sati ||

(ayodhyA.19.24)

This is a wonderful Slokam in rAmAyaNam. rAma called kaikeyi – ‘ammA’

[mother], cittI [stepmother, here]. “What is this? na nUnam mayi kaikeyi

kincit ASamsase guNam | What am I thinking? I have offered My services to you

more than to My own mother, kausalyai. You love Me more. You used to say that

even bharata will not listen to what you say as rAma does.â€

 

Just to get things done, some people will say, “Even my son will not do what a

brother-in-law’s son doesâ€.

 

“You were saying that there is no one that does what is told as rAma does.

You were calling Me the best son. That is how I was visualizing you. In My

mind, daSaratha is My God. You are a greater God for Me. ISvaratarA sati,

ISvaraH daSarathaH, ISvaratarA – kaikeyi! You are above God.â€

 

You all talk about this – is it comparative degree? Big, bigger and biggest.

Like that, ISvaraH, ISvaratarA. I do not know much English. I should speak the

correct English, right? (AcAryar’s humor here). ISvaraH; higher than that is

ISvaratarA; “You, kaikeyi, is ISvaratarA – higher than ISvaraH

daSarathaH.â€

 

“I thought you were characterizing Me as a good person, listening to what is

told. All these days, I thought you were thinking of rAma as the one who acts

as He is told. Now, I understand that you were not thinking about Me like that.

Why?

 

yat rAjAnam avocastvam mameSvaratarA sati ||

 

If you tell Me, “rAma, go to the forestâ€, will I not go?! You are saying

father says so and he is finding it hard to tell Me. Will I not listen to you?

 

yat rAjAnam avocastvam mameSvaratarA sati ||

 

Your thought is, “He will not listen to me, but He will listen to His

father†and you are saying, “Father wants to tell youâ€. I was thinking

all these days that you think of Me as one who listens to you. That is not the

case now. You are saying that father wants to say someting.

 

mannavan paNiyanRAgil, num paNi maRuppanO? en

pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO?

en ini uRudiyappAl? ippaNi talai mEl koNDEn;

min oLir kAnam inRE pOginREn; viDaiyum koNDEn.

(kamban.kaikEyi SUzhcci.114)

 

Mother! You told me something! If it is the king’s order, will I refuse

yours? The king does not even have to tell me. paNi – denotes ‘word’.

mannavan paNiyanRAgil – If not for the king’s word, you could have told Me.

num paNi maRuppanO! Will I ever go over your word? You talked about him. Even

if father does not say that, I will honor your word. I will do what you say.â€

 

This is the way the phrase must be split -

 

mannavan paNiyanRu – the king would not have wanted to say this word to Me.

He loves Me very much.

 

Agil – but, this is your word. I will go to the forest. I will not refuse.

 

“But, you have not known about Me and your son. Why?

 

en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO!

 

You asked for the kingdom for bharata. If bharata gets the kingdom, isn’t

that Mine also?

 

en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO!

 

The wealth acquired by bharata, who was born after Me, is Mine, right!â€

 

rAmAyaNam is where you can find saubhrAtram [good, ideal brotherhood]. You can

learn how brothers should behave. You can even say that rAmAyaNam story is to

show the quality 'saubhrAtram'. It shows the ideal behavior for brothers. If

someone gives something to rAma and says, “rAma, this is solely for You, do

not give it to Your brother; You should keep it for Yourselfâ€, He would say,

â€Then, I will throw that object in fireâ€.

 

bhasma tat kurutAm SikI (ayodhyA.97.8) [“Let anything I could enjoy without

my brothers burn to ashes by fireâ€] vAlmIki is going to say this later. Even

in ayodhyA kANDam, he shows that rAmAyaNam is where you learn about saubhrAtram.

 

There are two brothers. They do upanyAsam on rAmAyaNam in a wondrous way. Two

thousand or three thousand people listen to them. The fame of these two brothers

have spread even to the high court level. But, what they say is rAmAyaNam. If

you look at their saubhrAtram, we can say we do not have that kind of virtue.

 

en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO!

 

Beautiful song.

 

“mannavan paNiyanRu; Agil num paNi maRuppanO

 

en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn…. The wealth earned by my younger brother is

Mine. My thinking is – what my brother gets is Mine also. You do not know

that.

 

You have not understood bharata also.â€

 

What is bharata’s character? We are going to know after he comes [ to

ayodhyA]. What is his character?

 

“en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO! Interchange the words to say -

aDiyanEn peRRadanRO en pinnavan peRRa selvam – if you ask bharata, he will say

– whatever wealth my elder brother got, is my wealth also. How does His mind

work? He is a fascinating character.

 

en pinnavan peRRa selvam aDiyanEn peRRadanRO!

 

aDiyanEn peRRadanRO en pinnavan peRRa selvam

 

So, you said, ‘father said so’. You could have told Me yourself!

 

I promise you. I bow to this word of Yours. min oLir kAnam inRE pOginREn

viDaiyum koNDEn. I will go to the forest this instant. So, do not worry. I

will go now.

 

But, you are saying father is afraid; why should he be?

 

aham hi sItAm rAjyam ca prANAn ishTAn dhanAni ca |

hRshTaH bhrAtre svayam dadyAm bharatAya apracoditaH ||

(ayodhyA.19.7)

 

Mother! Do not mistake Me. I will consent to anything you say. If you say I

should not have the kingdom, I will forgo that. If you say, “You should give

Your life; only then my son will protect me; give Your lifeâ€, I will part with

My life too. I will relinquish everything I love. I will give away all My own

wealth to bharata. How will I do that? I will not give with a reservation.

hRshTaH bhrAtre svayam dadyAm – hRshTaH – it will be a genuine offering from

Me. No one has to tell Me. bharatAya apracoditaH - bharatAya bhrAtre hRshTaH

svayam dadyAm – I will part with pleasure; it means nothing to Me. Kingdom,

things that I love, My life or, ishTAn prANAn dhanAni ca – some people will

hate their own life; when they are faced with difficulties in life, they take

their own lives by falling in front of a running train. But, normally, life is

something to be loved. Even in such a situation, I will renounce My life. I

will let go of My

wealth. I will yield the kingdom to bharata. I do not need anyone to tell Me.

No need to ask Me. I will heartily do that on My own. By my very nature, I am

a giver. You did not understand My innate tendency.â€

 

rAma did not stop with all this; He added an extra word.

 

aham hi sItAm rAjyam ca prANAn ishTAn dadAni ca |

hRshTaH bhrAtre svayam dadyAm bharatAya apracoditaH ||

 

He says - I will give sItA. I will give the kingdom, the lovable life, wealth

etc to bharata; No one needs to tell Me. I will give them Myself etc etc.

This is all okay. But, is it right to say ‘sItA’?

 

I asked that svAmi [a scholar in the audience] a few minutes back, who

proficient in rAmAyaNam - Can He give sItA? Isn’t He an expert in dharma

SAstram? Can sItA be given?

 

He gave me an interpretation.

 

“I will give sItA†is supposed to mean – “I will give her to bharata for

serving himâ€. This cannot be given a wrong meaning. That svAmi said the way

to understand this statement is - “I will give her as a cook, as a maid to do

work. I do not have any sexual desire. I do not need to be with My wife. I

will gift her as a servant.†That sounds logical, right? No other meaning

can be given for this.

 

I have another interpretation.

 

aham hi sItAm rAjyam ca prANAn ishTAn dadAni ca |

hRshTaH bhrAtre svayam dadyAm bharatAya apracoditaH ||

 

rAma says, “I will give the kingdom, My life and wealth. I will leave for the

forest today itself.â€

 

Now, what is the meaning for “I will give the kingdom� What does

coronation mean? In the phalaSruti, it says, bhUmi patitvam IyAt, right?

paTTAbhishekam means becoming the husband for bhUmidevi. It is marriage with

bhUmidevi. eka pAta stithAm bhUmim – another Slokam says – You do

paTTAbhishekam with bhUmi. PaTTAbhishekam is wedding the bhUmi. Kings are

called ‘bhUpati’-s – lords of the earth. daSaratha had told rAma that he

is going to do coronation for Him the next day in pushya yogam. That means it

is His marriage with bhUdevi the next day.

 

rAma continues His talk with kaikeyi - “Father has told me that I will marry

bhUdevi tomorrow, with the ascendance of pushya star. What are you asking

before that? You want it for your son. You are asking for bhUdevi before it has

been given to Me. Right after dhanur bhangam [the breaking of the bow], you

all – the three mothers-in-law – came to mithilA! When the three of you

came, you would have looked at the brides. Mothers-in-law would normally look at

the brides at least on that day; nobody would perform marriage without seeing.

At that time, you would have seen sItA, UrmiLA, mANDavi and SrutakIrti; when

doing that, if you had told Me – among the four girls, sItA looks the

prettiest; I want her for my son,

 

aham hi sItAm rAjyam ca prANAn ishTAn dadAni ca |

hRshTaH bhrAtre svayam dadyAm bharatAya apracoditaH ||

 

You are asking that you son must be married to bhUmi right before the marriage

is to take place for Me. At the time it was decided that sItA was to be given

in marriage to Me, if you had asked that sItA must be given to your son since

you thought she was the prettier one of all the brides, I would have thought –

“I am not yet married, only dhanur bhangam has been done. So, let bharata

have sItAâ€, and given her. That is My nature†- if this interpretation is

given, then it seems appropriate. (“AhA!†- there is a distinct

exclamation from the audience. It must have been the voice of the svAmi that

AcAryan mentioned). That is what I think.

 

You can keep what that iyer said! You can keep what this iyer (AcAryar is

implying himself) is saying! (a loud laughter in the audience).

 

So, it is all right now – one should explain meanings without conflict with

SAstram. One should not say anything that opposes what SAstram says.

 

Thus, rAma starts leaving for the forest.

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(End of translation of AcArya rAmAmRtam as it appeared in the May 2009 issue of

SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA)

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To be continued …..