AcArya rAmAMRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. Dec. 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. Dec. 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

 

6.lakshmaNa still cries. sumitrA asks him why he is crying.

 

He says, “Will a man listen to his wife and ask (a son) to go to the

forest?†Listening to kaikeyi, a woman, father has asked his dear, special

son to go to the forest. Everyone is sitting and watching. Will there be a

father like this in this world? He is sending Him, listening to his wife. Is

this normal?â€

 

sumitrA , “Do not talk like that, lakshmaNa!

All men are like that. They will realize it only when it hits them as a

personal experience.

 

rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi – You are saying that daSaratha is listening to his

wife; your elder brother, rAma, is also like that.

 

daSarathaM viddhi – bhAryAvacanaM kAriNaM daSarathaM viddhi – rAma is also

going to listen to His wife; you will realize this tomorrow. Because she says

so, He is going to run after a deer. rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi

 

mAn anRu kELagiri (?) rAghava rAkshaso'yam

En enRu kELu vacanaM mama kIra vANI

mArIcaninRu dayitAm avaloptum iccan

vEDikkayAga vibhine viLaiyADuRANDi (maNipravALa cADu)

 

lakshmaNa says, 'That is a rAkshasa. It is not a deer. I have never seen a

golden deer like this'.

 

sItA says, 'Brother-in -aw does not know anything. Let him be. Let him do what

he came for. You go and get that deer'.

 

rAma says, “Okay†and asks lakshmaNa to guard and leaves.

 

rAma is also one who listens to His wife.

 

svasti SrIH diSatAt aSesha jagatAM sargopasarsthitIH

svargaM durgatim ApavargikapadaM sarvaM ca kurvan hariH |

yasyA vIkshya mukhaM tatingita parAdhIno vidhatte'khilam

krIDeyaM khalu nAnyathA'sya rasadA syAt aikarasyAttayA ||

 

says kUrattAzhvAn in SrIstavam-1. Whether giving heaven, or wealth or brahma

post to a person, sarveSvaran, paramAtmA, SrIman nArAyaNan, looks to His right

and asks if He can give and mother, who is on His right side, agrees.

tatingita parAdhIno vidhatte'kilam – says kUrattAzhvAn. PerumAL seeks out for

her thought before doing anything.

 

rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi – rAma is also one who will listen to His wife.

lakshamAna cries when sumitrA says that rAma is also one who listens to His

wife.

 

sumitrA asks him the reason for his tears.

 

lakshmaNa – Will there be a woman like her? So many people have swooned. So

many are in tears. Will a lady mercilessly ask for a wicked boon when so many

people and her husband are weeping? Will a woman order her husband? I have

never seen anything like this in the world. Will there be a woman born like her

and say, “If rAma does not go to the forest, I will consume poison and die�

 

sumitrA says - “lakshmaNa! All girls are like that. mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm

– think of sItA as mother kaikeyi.

 

kaikeyi said, “If you do not grant me my boon, I will drink poison or jump

into fire or fall into the ocean†and forces her husband. Will there be a

wife who forces her husband?

 

You are thinking of sItA as your god; she is also like that.

 

She is going to force her husband, “You have to go for sure. Bring this deer;

it would be nice for You to sit on the skin of the deer. It would look striking

to see Your dark-blue-cloud-hued tirumEni on top of the golden colored deer

skin. If You bring the deer alive, we can take to our city; if folks ask what

we brought from the forest, we can show this deer. If You cannot get the deer

alive, just bring the body anyway; You have to definitely goâ€.

 

She will also be adamant (like kaikeyi).

 

Will she say she will take poison? Yes, she will. You just watch tomorrow.

 

She is going to tell you, “rAma is in trouble. He cried out, 'hA sIte!

lakshmaNa!'; if you do not go (and help Him), I will take poison or fall into

the oceanâ€. She is also like all other women.

 

rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm |

ayodhyAm aTavIM viddhi gaccha! tAta yathAsukham ||

 

Think of rAma as father daSaratha and sitA as mother. Think of the forest where

rAma is, as ayodhyA. Go with a calm mind. gaccha tAta! yathAsukham.

 

I gave you five or six meanings for this Slokam. There are many more

interpretations. You can look for them in vyAkhyAnam-s. I just gave a sample.

There is no need to enumerate everything! It will become 'dry' if we keep

talking about the same thing, right?

 

rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm |

ayodhyAm aTavIM viddhi gaccha! tAta yathAsukham ||

 

7. rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi, mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm -

think of rAma as daSaratha, who drove his chariot in ten directions, went up to

the heaven, vanquished SambAsuran and helped indra; like him, rAma is also a

great soldier – rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi. Think of sItA – 'mAM viddhi' – a

soldier's wife, like me. Think of her as a wife who feels happy at her

husband's valor.

 

taM dRshTvA SatruhantAraM maharshINAM sukhAvaham |

babhUva hRshTA, vaidehI bhartAraM parishasvaje || (AraNya.38.40)

 

sItA is one who delights in her husband's victory. She will not be afraid to go

into the forest. ayodhyAM aTavIM viddhi gaccha tAta yathAsukham – think of

this ayodhyA as the forest.

 

You are saying you are leaving this city. If rAma is not here, it is going to

become like a forest with tigers and bears. So, you leave this place as happy as

possible.

 

8.rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi mAM viddhi janakAtmajAM - think of rAma as daSaratha,

how? Just as how daSaratha cannot bear separation from rAma and would cry his

heart out, rAma will not bear it if you do not go with Him.

 

daSarathaH yatA putra viyogena nitarAM dAmyati |

evaM bhavat viyogena rAmaH atIva duHkaM prApnuyAt ||

 

rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi – rAma will not bear separation from you, just like

daSaratha.

 

mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm – think of janakAtmajA as mother kausalyA. Just as

how kausalyA will suffer from separation from son, sitA will also suffer from

separation from you. ayodhyAm aTavIM viddhi – ayodhyA will suffer like a

forest. So, think of ayodhyA as a forest. gaccha tAta yathA sukham. Do not

despair.

 

9.lakshamaNa says – muttaNNA [elder brother] is being deprived of the kingdom;

it is very upsetting to the mind.

sumitrA says – 'rAmaM daSarathaM viddhi – like daSaratha, rAma will also

become a king after fourteen years.

 

mAM viddhi janakAtmajAm – sitA will also become a queen.

She is now going to the forest, but, rest assured, just as I am the queen, the

divya dampati-s will get a coronation and she will become a queen.

 

ayodhyAM aTavIM viddhi – ayodhyA will become decorated with flowers like in a

forest.

 

 

There will be floral decorations everywhere and coronation will be done for

rAma. So, do not feel sad. gaccha tAta! yathA sukham. Go happy.

 

In their vyAkhyAnam-s for this Slokam, pUrvAcArya-s have given seventeen

interpretations.

 

It will feel dry if I keep saying the same thing; so, I should show it in a

subtle way. Even halvA must not be eaten in excess.

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(End of translation of AcArya rAmAMRtam as it appeared in the December 2009

issue of SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA)

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To be continued …..