AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. June 09 Part 2)

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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. June 09 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)

 

(Please set your encoding to Unicode UTF-8)

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

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SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan’s SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam

 

How is kausalyai?

 

sA kshoumavasanA hRshTA nityaM vrataparAyaNA |

agniM juhoti sma tadA mantravat kRtamangaLA || (ayodhyA.20.15)

 

kausalyai is wearing white silk sari and with great austerity, she is performing

homams etc for the good of her son. Everyday, she will be doing some vratam or

the other – like sahasranAma homam, sudarSana homam etc.

 

In my place, someone wanted to do saharanAma homam. They asked how much it

would cost. They were told it would be five hundred rupees. So, they got ready

and requested everyone to come the next day. Everyone took down their address.

The family that wanted to the homam had bought a thousand sahasranAmam books.

What for?

 

They said, ‘Isn’t this called sahasranAma homam? Isn’t this supposed to

be placed in the homam?â€(Laughter in the audience). Poor ones, they did not

know! (AcAryar also laughs). The process was explained to them – sahasranAma

homam means saying the nAma and doing homam, not placing the book into the

homam. When they asked what they can do with the books they bought, I told them

that there was going to be a deSikar utsavam that night and they can donate all

the thousand books to people assembled there.

 

sahasranAma homam is done for fame; sudarSana homam, navagraha homam etc are all

done [for other purposes].

 

vAlmIki says about kausalyai - nityaM vrataparAyaNA – she will always be doing

some vratam or the other and presenting donations to brAhamaNa-s.

 

agniM juhoti sma tadA mantravat kRtamangaLA || kausalyai is doing homam.

 

rAma comes to His mother. She asks Him to sit on a golden seat saying He is

going to be coronated.

 

prasthito daNDakAraNyam AprashTum upacakrame |

 

gamishye daNDakAraNyaM kimanenAsanena me |

vishTarAsana yogyo hi kAlo’yaM samupAgataH || (ayodhyA.20.26,28)

 

rAma says – “why golden seat for Me, mother? Only darbha (sacred kuSa

grass) seat will be appropriate for Me. I must be sitting on a seat made of

darbha, not golden seat. I am leaving for daNDakAraNyam.

 

vishTarAsana yogyo hi kAlo’yaM samupAgataH ||

 

gamishye daNDakAraNyaM kimanenAsanena me |

 

What is this seat for?â€

 

kausalyai said, “I was just thinking why one who is going to have coronation

is coming like this.

 

kuzhaikkinRa kavari inRi, koRRa veN kuDaiyum inRi

izhaikkinRa vidi mun sella dharumam pin irangi Ega

(kamban.ayodhyA.nagAr nIngu-1)

 

kuzhaikkinRa kavari inRi – Kings are served with white cAmaram. You did not

have that. Normally, white royal umbrella would be held over the heads of the

kings; You did not have that. I was thinking why my son was coming without all

that. Who else has come?â€

 

“No one else but lakshmaNaâ€.

 

When high level officials come, some will walk before them showing the path. It

is not that the official cannot see; it is just for honor.

 

If he rides in a car, there will be four or five cars in the front, and four or

five in the back. This is customary.

 

kausalyai says - “I was wondering why there was no one in the front and in the

back.â€

 

rAma says – 'Mother, two more are coming; You do not knowâ€. Who are the two

people?

 

izhaikkinRa vidi mun sella dharumam pin irangi Ega

 

Fate is leading the way; it is fate that is taking Him to the forest. What is

'fate'? That is the what one is destined to have – talai ezhuttu ['fate' as

written by brahma on an individual's head]. That fate is going in the front.

rAma tells kausalyai – 'I am walking behind that fate'. Who is coming behind

Him?

 

dharumam pin irangi Ega – dharmam (virtue) is crying and following Him.

 

dharmam is crying - “Everyone will get mad at Me tomorrow. They will say –

if one follows 'Virtue', one may have to go to forest like this. Those who do

defy dharmam live well. Only the virtuous ones suffer from hunger without food.

People will be upset with 'dharmam'. Only because rAma was following dharmam,

He got into this kind of situation. If He had defied 'virtue' and had said, 'I

will not go to the forest', people would not be upset with me'.

 

kambar says - “izhaikkinRa vidi mun sella dharumam pin irangi Egaâ€.

 

gamishye daNDakAraNyam, kimanenAsanena me?

 

“Why golden seat for Me? From now on, it is seat made of darbha for Meâ€.

 

“What?â€

 

“I am not going to be coronated. It is going to be done for bharata.

 

Mother! kaikeyi has asked for boons. So, I am going to the daNDakAraNyam

forest. I came to take My leave of youâ€.

 

sA nikRtteva sAlasya yashTiH paraSunA vane |

papAta sahasA devI! devateva divaHscyutA ||

tAm aduHkhOcitAM dRshTvA patitAM kadalImiva | (ayodhyA.20.32,33)

 

kausalyai falls down like a banana tree falling in the front of a storm. Banana

tree does not have deep roots. It is enough if it is shaken a little for it to

fall down. kausalyai sheds profuse tears and says, “Why are you saying like

this, son?

 

I am 'ekaputra; - I have only one son. What will I do? sumitrai has at least

the other son. She can live by looking at him. I have only one son. Whom

will I look at and live? What will I do?

 

ekaputrA vinA rAmam notsahe jIvituM kshaNam |

 

How can I live after sending You like this? It would have been better if You

were not born.â€

 

eka evahi vandhyAyAH Soko bhavati mAnasaH |

aprajAsmIti santApaH na hyanyaH putra vidyate || (ayodhyA.20.37)

 

vAlmIki writes a wonderful Slokam here.

 

eka evahi vandhyAyAH SokaH – vandhyai – those who do not have any child,

have only one sorrow – that they have none. They have no other sorrow; they

will not display their mental worry. mAnasaH SokaH – what a great Slokam by

vAlmIki!

 

eka evahi vandhyAyAH Soko bhavati mAnasaH – the sorrow is in the mind. They

will not express it in words. If someone asks them – 'don't you have a

child?' - they will respond saying – 'Are those having children living well?

Are they are good? It is fine not to have any.' mAnasaH Sokam – the mental

agony will be there. There is only one sorrow - aprajAsmIti santApaH – that

is they do not have a child. na hyanyaH putra vidyate – besides this

sadness, they do not have any other sorrow. Those having children have so many

sorrows.

 

When the child leaves the mother, she will say – 'After having grown and

getting married, you are leaving me; how will I feel?' There is so much sorrow.

Those who do not have a child have only one sorrow. Those who do have will have

worries like – this child has to live long; the child must not be affected by

small pox or anything; must not be afflicted by fever; the child has to study

well and get first class mark; has to earn Presidency rank. What if the child

gets AdiSeshan mark [= zero! AcAryan implies the curling of snakes into a

circle!]!

 

The son has to live well; has to get married well; the bride must be one who

does not bring death to him. So many worries.

 

“eka evahi vandhyAyAH SokaH - You are going to the forest. How can I live?

I do not like this. I shall come with You. Did Your father ask You to go to

the forest? He is saying kaikeyi says so. I, Your mother, am saying – 'no'.

 

mAtRdevo bhava! pitRdevo bhava! AcArya devo bhava! atithi devo bhava! - says

vedam [taittirIya.1.11]. Do not go to the forest because I, Your mother is

saying so. Let bharata take the kingdom. Respect Your mother's words.â€

 

What she says is true. What would rAma say?

 

What will we do in that situation? We will say - 'â€Mother is saying not to

go. Father is saying, 'go'. Both of you compromise and let me know. I will be

sitting here.â€

 

rAma says - “Mother, I have to do what you say; I have to do what father says

also. He told me first. So, I am doing now what he said. Fourteen years will

be over very soon. I will go and come back. Do not worry. You please stay

here.â€

 

kausalyai says - “I do not like this at all. How can I live? nUnaM vivatsAH

kRtAH – I do not how many cows and calves I must have separated. I am now

suffering from separation from my son. vivatsAH bahvyaH kRtAH – I have

separated several cows and calves. That is why this sorrow has come. I cannot

live here.â€

 

lakshmaNa thinks that it is time for him to talk now.

 

na rocate mamApyetat Arye yat rAghavo vanam |

tyaktvA rAjyaSriyaM gacchet striyAH vAkyavaSaM gataH || (ayodhyA.21.2)

 

“Why should this rAma go to the forest? I don't understand. Why should He

leave this kingdom and go?

 

If the answer is 'because father said so', it is okay to listen to father's

words if he is stable. striyAH vAkyavaSaM gataH - should one listen to his

words when he utters them listening to a woman's words? I do not think this is

right.

 

viparItaH ca vRddhaH ca vishayaiH ca pradharshitaH |

nRpaH kimiva na bhrUyAt codyamAnaH samanmathaH || (ayodhyA.21.3)

 

He is 60,000 years old. He is old. viparItaH – He has no brains now.

viparItaH ca – He is not knowing what is justice and what is injustice.

vRddhaH ca - He is 60,000 years old and he is still after a woman. vishayaiH

ca – he is still interested in sensual enjoyments. nRpaH kimiva na bhrUyAt

codyamAnaH samanmathaH – He is 60,000 years old, his son is going to be

coronated tomorrow. Instead of looking into arrangements for the coronation,

why is he going to kaikeyi's palace in the night? “samanmathaH†(possessed

by passion) [AcAryar uses the word 'Sani' here, implying that lakshmaNa calls

his father, 'Sani'; 'Sani' refers to the planet saturn; it is customary to call

a person 'Sani' if that person causes distress].

 

How can lakshmaNa chide his father like this? For fourteen years, lakshmaNa

did not write to his wife even once. He is not an ordinary person. He was

away from his wife; did he send any news to his wife?

 

bharata came [later] to call rAma back to the kingdom. Did he ask his mother to

take care of his wife?

 

Ordinary sons would take off from their mother – 'Mother, I am taking leave;

take care of my wife'; he will go to the front of the house, come back and say

- 'I am leaving; she may think something wrong; take care of her' etc; he goes

to the railway station and then comes back again.

 

Did lakshmaNa utter a word? Even in citrakUTa mountain, did he send any word to

his wife? He is one who does not even think about his wife.

 

viparItaH ca vRddhaH ca vishayaiH ca pradharshitaH |

nRpaH kimiva na bhrUyAt codyamAnaH samanmathaH ||

 

“Father has been hit by manmatha's arrows.

 

devakalpamRjuM dAntaM ripUNAmapi vatsalam |

avekshamANaH ko dharmaM tyajet putram akAraNAt || (ayodhyA.21.7)

 

If he had thought there is something like 'virtue', would he have asked his son

to go to the forest? Did he even think that there is something called dharmam?

 

devakalpamRjuM dAntaM ripUNAmapi vatsalam |

 

This is our rAmAyaNam.

 

“devakalpam – how is rAma? He is equivalent to God. Rjum – Even though

He is sarveSvaran, He is acting like a human being and respecting His father.

“

 

baddhAnjali puTAH hRshTAH nama ityeva vAdinaH |

 

lakshmaNa is saying this with a burning sensation in his stomach.

 

“baddhAnjali puTAH hRshTAH nama ityeva vAdinaH |

 

That paramAtmA whom all the nitya sUri-s and muktAtmA-s worship saying, 'namaH,

namaH', has left all His honor and with great calmness, is respecting father,

mother, this doomed kaikeyi etc like a human being. SAntam – He has a calm

composure. devakalpamRjuM dAntaM ripUNAmapi vatsalam | He has compassion even

towards His foes. He is concerned about the welfare of even His enemies.

avekshamANaH ko dharmaM tyajet putram akAraNAt || “

 

lakshmaNa is very perturbed. He says, “If father had paid attention to

dharmam, would he have asked this son to go?â€

 

There is something to remember in vAlmIki rAmAyaNam. Whenever perumAL's guNam

needs to be narrated, vAlmIki will deliver that only through a person, who can

be trusted the most. He will only say the words as spoken by the most

appropriate character.

 

There is one guNam of perumAL - jitendrian; it means one who has conquered the

senses. When this characteristic trait needs to be elaborated , who but ladies

will be the most appropriate to say this? sItA says this and tArai says this.

 

When a wife is asked, “Is your husband a good person?†she will say -

“When he is in town, he comes home before sunset – before 5 pm. I do not

know how he is when he goes to the camp. I do not know how he is when he goes to

other places.†There are instances like this in the world.

 

Later, in daNDakAraNyam [AraNya.9.3], sItA says, “There are three faults that

people have. 1. Lying, 2. coveting other person's wife, 3. vinA vairam ca

roudratA. You do not have the first two faults. “ The third one – killing

rAkshasa-s without any cause – normally, sItA would not have accepted that

fault in rAma. But, she accepts it and calls Him 'jitendria' [AraNya.9.8].

 

His wife is calling Him jitendriyan. There will be some wives who say that

their husbands will come to them at sunset. There are people like that. So,

vAlmIki makes another woman call rAma 'jitendriyan'. tArai also says that.

 

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

SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA)

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To be continued …..