Chaturmasya jnAnArjane saraNi - Madhwa Vijaya (a Gist in English) by sixteen Eminent scholars - Sarga 3

July 31, 2009

|| Sri Rama Krishna VedavyAsAya namaha ||

|| Sri Hanuma Bheema Madha MunibhyO namaha ||

namaste all,

Here comes the third installment in this series.

You can check the previous ones at the urls below:

Sarga 1 -

http://groups. / group/MadhwaYuva Parishat/ message/9729

/message/6616

Sarga 2 -

MadhwaYuvaParishat/message/9811

||shrI hari vAyu gurubhyO namaH ||

Madhwa Vijaya (a Gist in English) by sixteen Eminent scholars

Sarga 3 by Sri M Rama Rao, Kumbokonam

Book edited by Srimushnam V Nagaraja Rao

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF SRI MADHWA

In the previous Sarga, the poet narrated the Bala Leela (the childhood-sports) of Sri Vasudeva in a manner touching the hearts of pious men. The poet now describes the memorable boyhood of Vasudeva & his Gurukula vAsa. The gist of this Sarga is given by Sri

Vishnu theertha in his â€œMEYA SANGRAHA MALIKAâ€ (à¤®à¥‡à¤¯-à¤¸à¤‚à¤—à¥à¤°à¤¹-à¤®à¤¾à¤²à¤¿à¤•à¤¾)

sUpanItaH suvidhinA svapitrA.adhItavAn.h dvijAt.h |

bahUn.h vedAn.h xaNenaiva tR^itIye kathitaM tvidam.h ||

In essence, the verse means that the third sarga contains the story of how Vasudevaâ€™s upanayana was celebrated as per Shastric principles by his father & how the boy (entrusted to a learned Brahmin) learnt all the Vedas very quickly & without any effort.

To enjoy & experience the thrill of the original text, one would do well just to hear the Parayana of the opening shlokas of this chapter the like of which are innumerable in this Maha Kavya. Leaving aside the inner literary beauties, the very metre (Vritta) in which these verses are set is enough to kindle finer emotions in any intelligent reader. The chapter begins with the narration of an interesting incident.

Once the Madhya Geha Dampatis, along with their four yearold charming son Vasudeva, started on a joyful journey to attend a wedding of the relative (Verse 1). Amidst the noisy festivities couple with the influx & efflux of kith & kin, Vasudeva strayed away from the marriage- house quite unnoticed by anyone. Maybe, that he destined tot ake the Holy Order (Sanyasa), had little to get interested in a marriage function. (verses 2, 3)

He went straight to a Vishnu temple in a wood nearby known as Kuda Ooru Kan by local name & worshipped Sri Ramaapati. Then he proceeded to a Siva temple in a place called Tale Kude in Sivalli Village & worshipped the indwelling (antaryami) Lord Sri Hari. There from the child reached Udupi & paid his homage to Sri Padmanabha the Lord in the Eastern temple. After seeing Sri Padmanabha, young Vasudeva with his charming face & beautiful eyes caused a unique pleasure in the minds of onlookers just as the

Sun would do to the Lotus. This verse 6 describes how child Vasudeva prostrated before the Lord Hari & how he caused surprise even to the learned men à¤à¥‚à¤¸à¥à¤°à¤®à¤£à¥à¤¡à¤²à¥ˆà¤ƒ

suhaya medha gaNAti shayalavo harinamaskR^itayaH sukR^itA imAH |

iti surairapi bhUsuramaNDalaiH sa manamatsa savismaya mIxitaH || 6 ||

The on looking learned Brahmins observed the unknown child with great surprise as he bowed at the feet of the Lord with profound bhakthi & in a perfect manner. A single Namaskara offered to Lord with perfection produces results greater than the results of many Aswa Medha Yagnas.

A PROPER NAMASKARA TO LORD

A proper namaskara comprises eight steps & when it is done in the correct way, it is productive of immense benefits. The following words of the wise are noteworthy:-

urasA shirasA dR^iShTya manasA vachasA tathA |

padbhyAM karAbhyAM jAnubhyAM praNAmo.aShTA~Nga IritaH ||

â€œThe correct performance of prostration of Lord is eight fold. The chest, the head, the eyes, the feet, the hands, the knees should touch the ground. The mind must think of the attributes of the Lord & we must do prayers by speech (indicative of complete surrender with senses controlled).â€

Srimad Acharya in â€œkR^iShNAmR^ita Maharnavaâ€ says:

eko.api kR^iShNasya kR^itaH praNAmo dashAshva medhAvabhR^itena tulyaH |

dashAshvamedhI punareti janma kR^iShNa praNAmI na punarbhavAya ||

â€œEven a single prostration (performed with perfection) to Sri Krishna is equal to the successful completion (Ava Bhrita snana) of ten Aswa Medha yagnyas. The performer of these yagnas nevertheless attains rebirth, but by a perfect prostration to Sri Krishna, he will not be reborn (i.e. he will eventually attain Moksha or Liberation from the wheel of Samsara). Sri Madhva is one who incessantly worships the Lord face to face in his heart at all times & he need not go to temples for worship. Yet, if he went & worshipped the Lord in Temple, it was only to set an example to all of us. (verse 7 )

THE MISSING BOY FOUND OUT

Coming back to the story, Vasudeva after worshipping the Lord in the Eastern temple at Udupi was proceeding towards the Western temple.

In the meantime, when the parents in the marriage house suddenly realized that their darling was missing, their anxiety rendered them almost lifeless. The news spread in the entire village from mouth to mouth that the charming boy from Pajakashetra was missing. Naturally, a vigorous search was carried out everywhere in the houses, in the streets & on the wayside roads. At last on a clue got from a passerby on the road, the poor father rushed to Udupi & to his immeasurable joy spotted his darling as he was prostrating to the Lord in the Western temple. He felt as if he got yield to its possessor all the desires like the philosopherâ€™s stone).

The fear ridden father anxiously enquired of his son as to who guided him during his long & lonely journey (Verses 8-11) à¤¸à¥à¤µà¤œà¤¨à¤¤à¤¾ à¤°à¤¹à¤¿à¤¤à¤¸à¥à¤¯ à¤¤à¥

à¤•à¥‹à¤½à¤¤à¥à¤° à¤¤à¥‡ à¤¸à¤¹à¤šà¤°à¥‹à¤½à¤°à¥à¤à¤• à¤§à¥€à¤°à¥à¤˜à¤¤à¤®à¥‡ à¤ªà¤¥à¤¿? Vasudeva with all the innocence of a child, replied smilingly that the Lord in one temple accompanied him to another in succession.

But Madhya Gehaâ€™s conviction was that Lord Sri Hari & the Mother Sri Lakshmi the indwelling Goddess (Antharyami) in Chandika of Vimanagiri alone must have protected Vasudeva in the lonely & fearful forest infested with wild animals.

17

His heart flowed in gratitude to them for having restored him back his beloved son (Verses 15-17)

AKSHARA ABHYASA & THE PURANA INCIDENT

Akshara Abhyasa (introducing the child to the alphabet) is an important domestic function in any cultured family. In three verse (18-20) the poet gives a very interesting narration of Vasudevaâ€™s Akshara Abhyasa. On an auspicious day, the enthusiastic father Madhya Geha initiated his son to the alphabet. The boyâ€™s response was splendidly wonderful. He repeated & re wrote the letters with perfect accents & accuracy even on the very first day & everybody was amazed. Next day, when the same letters were repeated, Vasudeva got bored & questioned his father why he was insisting to write the letters that he had learnt already. à¤²à¤¿à¤–à¤¿à¤¤à¤®à¥‡à¤µ à¤ªà¥à¤¨à¤°à¥à¤²à¤¿à¤–à¤¿à¤¤à¤‚ à¤•à¥à¤¤à¤ƒ (verses 19). Overwhelmed with joy, Madhya Geha discovered that his son was an Eka Santa Grahi & decided to teach him in a secluded place, away from on lookers to avoid any possible Drishti Dosha. ( verses 18-20)

Vasudeva even as a small boy, gave a hidden hint to the world through an interesting incident in village Neyampalli, that he was born on earth for a great GnyAna Karya. It so happened that once Vasudeva had accompanied his mother to the said village to attend a marriage of their relative. After the celebrations, a prominent puranic of Madinaya family was addressing the audience which included Vasudeva & his mother. Sitting on the lap of his mother, young Vasudeva was attentively following the discourse (verses 21, 22).

At one stage, Vasudeva felt that the discourse was proceeding in an erroneous direction & this made him uneasy in his seat. The poor mother, not realizing his mental agitation, innocently pressed him on his shoulders & warned him with a hush to keep quiet. But Vasudeva was convinced that an important passage in the purana was being misinterpreted by the Puranic knowingly or unknowingly & decided that he could no longer remain a playful child. He politely interrupted with an announcement that the learned Puranicâ€™s interpretation ran counter to the views of Sri Veda Vyasa & Suka. Instantaneously all the eyes turned on the tiny interrupter. They could neither ignore the boy nor allow the puranic to

continue further, because the point raised was by no means an insignificant one. Someone in the audience insisted that Vasudeva himself should offer the appropriate meaning.

To the utter surprise & astonishment of the entire audience, boy Vasudeva in his sweet child language gave a completely different & convincing interpretation & won universal approval & admiration. The gifted mother shed tears of job. Returning home, Vasudeva narrated the whole incident to his father & enquired with all eagerness as to who was right; whether he or the puranic. Complimenting his son for having given a correct import, Madhya Gehaâ€™s heart went to Lord Ananteshwara whose special blessings was the secret reason for his son shining in wisdom (verses 23- 27).

Vasudeva did not spare even his own father who was a foremost scholar among the Puranics. Once during a discourse, his father passed on without explaining the meaning of the word â€œLikuchaâ€ while he was describing the various kinds of trees. Boy Vasudeva, attentive that he was politely pointed out the omission but it fell on deaf ears. When the audience was eager to know its meaning & pressed for it, Vasudeva gave the meaning & was admired by all. (verses 28-30).

UPANYANA AND GURUKULA VASA

When Vasudeva came of age for Upanayana, the joyful father celebrated the function on an auspicious day & in an auspicious hour with high ritual solemnity. The poet presenting a beautiful pen picture of the function says that it was not only attended by a wide circle of friends & relatives but was also witnessed by gods & goddesses from the heavens above. â€œThe celestial beingsâ€ says the poem, â€œwere amused to observe that to one who was verily the instructor of the whole world, instruction was being given to worship the Fire & the Guru to observe the vow of celibacy & codes of conduct to study the Vedas & allied literature.â€ (à¤ªà¤°à¤¿à¤šà¤°à¤¾à¤—à¥à¤¨ â€¦â€¦.. à¤•à¥ƒà¤¤à¤¸à¤¾à¤•à¥à¤·à¤¿à¤à¤¿à¤ƒ verse 35)

Setting an example of an ideal & true Brahmachari, Vasudeva dutifully followed the Upadesha & was admirably regular in his Sandhya Agnikarya & other religious duties. The parents were immensely happy about their son & were proud of him (Verses 31- 37).

Once an asura who was causing fear & damage to all in the form of a terrible serpent, approachaed Vasudeva to kill him. But Vasudeva quickly crushed him under his beautiful toe (Verses 38-40).

Devatas like Sesha, Garuda, Indra, Agni etcâ€¦ are all the bhakthas of Vayudeva who is the Super most among them. While he is being adored & worshipped in Deva loka as a respectable Guru, the same Vayudeva in human form as Vasudeva on earth, prostrated at the feet of a human Guru (totam thillaya by name). He studied all the Vedas under this guru in company with other students. Behaving like any normal student, Vasudeva mingled with his classmates & participated in all sorts of games & plays. He excelled others in running race, long jump, high jomp, swimming etcâ€¦ â€œNo wonderâ€ exclaims the poet, â€œwas he not the same Hanuman of Tretayuga & Bheema of Dwapara yuga who scored victories everywhere be it a

battlefield, mock fighting, wrestling, weight lifting or any demonstrative field of physical strength & power? (Verses 41 â€“ 48)

In the Guru Kula, the learned Guru often observed that Vasudeva never used to repeat the old lessons but never remained in a cheerful & carefree mood. He mistook that Vasudeva honestly told the venerable guru that it bored him to repeat a passage that was learnt already.

If you have learnt all that was taught, recite the passages so far taughtâ€ roared the angry guru, expecting that the boy would blink.

Oh ! to the utter surprise of the whole gurukula, Vasudeva gave a splendid demonstration of his erudition by chanting with perfect accents & swara not only the portions that were taught but also portions yet to be taught. (Verses 49-52).

IDEAL GURU DAKSHINA

Vasudeva & his intimate friend, once went to the nearby woods. In the midst of the forest when they were alone, the friend suddenly developed an acute & unbearable torturing headache, a disease of periodical occurrence in his case. Vasudeva cured the disease in an instant & gave him a permanent relief by a single puff of breath blown through the patientâ€™s ears. It is said that this friend was no other than the son of his Guru (Verse 53).

At the close of his Vedic studies, Vasudeva offered Guru Dhakshine to his Guru in the form of a confidential upadesa on the edifying ideas & ideals of Aitareya Upanishads (a section of the Veda named after Mahidasa; one among the countless manifestation of Lord Vishnu). This supreme knowledge infused in the Guru an unlimited spirit of bhakthi leading to the eternal Bliss â€“ Moksha. Thus, Vasudeva completing the term of his Guru Kula Vasa, took leave of his preceptor & returned home. (verse 54- 56).

The third Sarga concludes with the narration as to how Vasudeva felt the Divine call to put down the wrong preaching & to restore true knowledge of Vishnu Sarvottamatva to the needy & deserving pious souls.

The incidents set forth in this chapter common to many households & the poet feels quite at home stating these to us to make them life like. The childhood & the hoyhood scenes in the Avataras of God & His deputies carry great significant.

In the first place, they are like those of mankind & yet serve as an ideal example to be followed by others. Secondly, they are intended to draw the devotees nearer to the Acharya. More than once, the poet emphasizes the importance of constantly remembering the Supreme Lord even during our household activities. This is an easy way to approach the Lord & his messengers. May we, therefore, often recall in our minds the Leelas of the Acharya & thereby draw ourselves progressively nearer to him.

bharatIramaNA mukhyapraNAntargata shrI kR^iShNArpanamastu

Picture Courtesy: Sri Srinivasa Vaidya Acharya, Hyd.

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