Ramanavami Spl: Essay series by Sri.Bannanje Govindacharya -1

March 19, 2010

kShIrasAgaravArimadhyamahAhibhOganivAsinaM

nAradAdimunIMdravaMditachArupAdasarOruhaM|

vArijAmalapatralOchanamabdhijAramaNaM vibhuM

nArasimhatanuM hariM praNamAmi dAsharathiM sadA||

kUjaMtaM rAmarAmEti madhuraM madhurAkSharaM

Aruhya kavitAshAkhAM vaMdE vAlmIki kOkilaM||

There are several small characters in the Ramayana that appear for a very short period of time and then disappear. Inspite of being small, their role in the development of the epic is very significant. Their contributions are really big. Here is an essay by pujya Sri. Bannanje Govindacharya exploring the role of few such small characters in the Ramayana.

The Kannada essay “saNNapAtragaLa doDDa koDuge” will be posted in five parts, concluding on Ramanavami, each part throwing light on one such character in the Ramayana.

Here is the first part of the essay that explores the characters of the hunter and the heron who inspire sage Valmiki to author the ‘AdikAvya’.

“kraunchapakShi mattu bETegAra”...a beautiful piece of writing that deals with human thought and imagination...

Thanks to Sri. Kaddi Raghuttamachar and Sri. Dilip Sundar for sharing the article.

Regards,

Dilip

jaya jAnakIkAMta jaya sAdhujanavinuta

jayatu mahimAvaMta jaya bhAgyavaMta

March 23, 2010

rAmAya rAmbhadrAya rAmachandrAya vEdasE

nAthAya raghunAthAya sItAyAH patayE namaH||

Below is the English translation of pujya Sri. Bannanje Govindacharya’s article “saNNapAtragaLa doDDa koDuge” by Dr. P.R. Mukund. The translation of the 1st part: “The heron and the hunter” is also attached to the email.

Heartfelt thanks to Dr. P.R. Mukund.

Regards,

Dilip

Small Roles: Big Impact – Part 1

By pUjya Shri Bannanje Govindacharya

Translated to English by P.R. Mukund

In Ramayana, there are several characters that randomly show up and disappear. Small as they are, they play a great role in the development of Ramayana. Great indeed are their roles in the background of the story of Rama. This article is meant to delve into the depths of a few of these.

The Heron and the Hunter

It is the very death of the heron bird that starts the story of Ramayana. The bird impacts us so much that one wonders if the great sage Valmiki would have even composed Ramayana, but for the bird dying.

So here is the situation: Once, the sage Valmiki goes to the shores of river Tamasa to bathe. There he sees a pair of herons happily chirping and immersed in the company of each other. In the meantime, a hunter shoots the male bird with an arrow, and it falls.

Having witnessed this scene with his own eyes, the sage’s mind turns inwards. There, the hunter yields his place to lord Rama. Gone too was the bird. In its place was the dead Ravana whose lustful heart was pierced by Rama’s arrow.

Good heavens! From here to where? Here is the poor hunter killing helpless birds to fend off his hunger. Where is Rama, the personification of mercy, who killed Ravana, tormenting the whole world? Here is the innocent bird that is enjoying the company of a consenting mate. Where is Ravana, the very personification of evil? But, memories never make sense. You see one thing, and you think of another. A good sight reminds us of something bad; and a bad event reminds us of something good. But, in the end, it all happens for the good.

If the sage had not witnessed this scene, and if the scene did not remind him of Rama, how could the nectar of Ramayana taken shape?

Memories have their own story to tell. Strange how it unfolds itself! The innocent love of these birds reminded Valmilki of the sweet relationship of Sita and Rama. The hunter reminded him of the selfish and evil Ravana who set out to separate this lovely pair.

But, in a moment, the inner scene got transformed. If the hunter’s arrow had missed its mark, and the bird had escaped, the scene would have frozen right there! Oh, no! That is not what happened! The arrow found its mark, the male bird fell, and died rolling around in its blood.

The scene changed in the sage’s mind too. Suddenly, instead of Rama and Sita, he saw Ravana and Mandodari. The male bird fell, just like Ravana. But, just like the saintly Mandodari, why is the female punished? Man commits a sin. And, the woman suffers the consequence. This should be proclaimed to the world. Ramayana has to be written.

But, the opposite happens as well. The woman commits a sin. And, man pays the price. Kaikeyi and Dasharata are prime examples for this. And, so on. The whole Ramayana started unfolding in Valmiki’s mind. And, what is filled inside has to be spilled outside. It is too painful otherwise.

There is a story that Valmiki himself was a hunter once. If true, his past would be the first thing he thought of. Isn’t this how he too made a living? What was natural back then, is disgusting now. Why is this hunter still leading such a life? What a cruel mind; what a sinful life?

Valmiki’s mind turns inwards again, immersed in spirituality. Suddenly, the hunter gets equated to Rama killing Ravana.

Poor guy! It is not the hunter’s fault. It is the God within him that actually killed the bird. And, it is God who is engulfed in my mind making me compose Ramayana, thinks Valmiki. The hunter plays a role, and so do I. And, He is the only director.

There is no such thing as bad in this world. Every bad thing happens for a good reason. Mandodari was saddened because Rama killed Ravana. But, the world rejoiced. The female bird was saddened by the hunter killing her mate. But, the stage was set for Ramayana that would bring immense joy to the world.

Even though it was Valmiki who gave Ramayana to the world, the spark that ignited the fire belongs to the hunter and the bird.

The heron died and took rebirth as Ramayana. There will be a seed of salvation of the world, inside every disaster. Death is the precursor to birth.

How grateful we should be to this bird and the hunter; for making the great epic of Ramayana come out of Valmiki.

*********

On Sat, Mar 20, 2010 at 12:17 AM, Dilip Rathnakar <diliprathnakar wrote:

kShIrasAgaravArimadhyamahAhibhOganivAsinaM

nAradAdimunIMdravaMditachArupAdasarOruhaM|

vArijAmalapatralOchanamabdhijAramaNaM vibhuM

nArasimhatanuM hariM praNamAmi dAsharathiM sadA||

kUjaMtaM rAmarAmEti madhuraM madhurAkSharaM

Aruhya kavitAshAkhAM vaMdE vAlmIki kOkilaM||

There are several small characters in the Ramayana that appear for a very short period of time and then disappear. Inspite of being small, their role in the development of the epic is very significant. Their contributions are really big. Here is an essay by pujya Sri. Bannanje Govindacharya exploring the role of few such small characters in the Ramayana.

The Kannada essay “saNNapAtragaLa doDDa koDuge” will be posted in five parts, concluding on Ramanavami, each part throwing light on one such character in the Ramayana.

Here is the first part of the essay that explores the characters of the hunter and the heron who inspire sage Valmiki to author the ‘AdikAvya’.

“kraunchapakShi mattu bETegAra”...a beautiful piece of writing that deals with human thought and imagination...

Thanks to Sri. Kaddi Raghuttamachar and Sri. Dilip Sundar for sharing the article.

Regards,

Dilip

jaya jAnakIkAMta jaya sAdhujanavinuta

jayatu mahimAvaMta jaya bhAgyavaMta