lakshmaNa 42

[Guest guest]

Post 42

 

Dear Sri vaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

 

 

First of all I offer my apologies for this delay in posting next installment.

 

In the previous 41 posts, we saw 'lakshmaNa' donning 11 roles. The study on the 11

th role of the 'minister' or counsel is continuing. LakshmaNa is consoling of raama, when he was weeping since indhrajith killed 'maaya seethaa' in front of raama. This consoling or advising is more or less a 'dharma upadhEsam' to raama. We saw few slOkams of lakshmaNa talking. First let us see the meanings of slokams already seen and then continue with more slokams.

 

s

ubhE varthmani thishTantham thvaam aarya vijithEndhriyam |

anarthhEbhyO na

saknOthi thraathum dhharmO nirarthhaka: || 6-83-14

 

meaning:

lakshmaNa says to raama, 'oh dear my elder brother, being a person having controlled senses and standing in a dharma way, that dharmam is not able to save you from the troubles, that too when you have done that dharmam without anticipating any results for doing it'.

 

Point:

lakshmaNa says, 'hey dear elder, you are the 'vigrahavaan dharma', but somehow it is not able to protect you. That subject you are going to teach [or preach] in your next avathaaram - to do work or your basic dharma without attachment - that you are already 'doing' now, without really 'preaching'".

 

From this we have to understand this as 'raama avathaaram is for doing or living that dharmam, KrishNa avathaaram is for preaching it.

 

 

Perhaps lakshmaNa gets a doubt that this dharmam [or raama, the dharma personified] is not able to protect 'own self'. Only somebody else has to protect that raama or dharmam – may be a person like lakshmaNa? That is why that adage 'dharmO rakshathi rakshitha' – one who protects dharmam, then dharmam protects that person. Perhaps dharma can do only a reciprocation, but not able to protect own self.

Or that is what appears in this talk by lakshmaNa.

Any comments?

 

Further lakshmaNa says dharmam cannot be seen with 'naked eyes' by any living, non-living beings as in next slokam – viz. Dharmam has no form to define – yes it looks like this -

no Roopam?

 

bhoothaanaam sthaavaraaNaam cha jangamaanaam cha dhar

sanam |

yathaa~sthi na thathaa dharmasthEna naasthi ithi mE mathi: || 6-83 -15

 

yathaa Eva sthaavaram vyaktham jangamam cha thathaa vitham |

 

 

meaning: dear elder, I believe there is dharmam. But this has NO figurative capacity to be seen by the living beings, and plants, and animals. Like how these plants can be seen, animals can be seen, in the same way dharmam cannot be seen.

 

 

naayam arthha: thathaa yukthasthvath vidhO na vipadhyathE || 6-83 -16

 

yadhi adhharmO bhavEth bhoothO raavaNO narakam vrajEth |

 

bhavaan

scha dhharma yukthO vai naivam vyasanam aapnuyaath || 6-83 - 17

 

meaning: lakshmaNa contnues, 'on that dharmam, persons like you, who are adherents to such a dharmam, please do not get bogged down. 'if dharmam and adharmam can give results, then

 

§ raavaNan who is doing adharmam must go to hell.

 

 

§ You, the 'dharmam doer' cannot have these troubles.

 

 

Point:

now lakshmaNa comes to ground realities – like a common folk - and wonders saying 'Hey, if dharmam can give fruits now and here, and also it's opposite, then, oh raama, you have to be benefitted and raavaNa has to be punished. But that is not happening, I am not able to see the results'. And in next slokam he says 'both have taken the reciprocal positions'. By that the lecture by lakshmaNa on dharmam continues.

 

thasya cha vyavasanaabhaavaadh vyavasanam cha gathE thvayi |

 

dhharmO bhavathi adharma

scha paraspara virOdhinow || 6-83 - 18

dharmaNO phalabhEdh dhharmam adhharmam cha api adhharmatha: |

 

yadhi adhharmENa yujyEyu: yEshu adhharma: prathishtitha: ||

6-83 - 19

 

meaning: Since you are facing many troubles, I see the dharmam and adharmam have changed positions or places. With dharmam one can get dharmam as fruits. Same is for adharmam. It is definite that adharmis or in whom adharmam resides will get ill effects only.

 

 

Point:

this is just not a simple consoling word to raama. LakshmaNa reflects the 'common human thinking' – a plain present day human thinking – hey I am doing this good work but I am not getting rewarded, whereas that fellow who does all bad things, he is enjoying benefits, how is it possible?

 

Is it vaalmeeki's great kavi chaathuryam

 

or is it lakshmaNa's greatness to analyse the human mind

or is it raama's actions which makes lakshmaNa to think and pour out like this?

Next slokam

 

yadhi dhharmENa yujyEran adhharma ruchayO janaa: |

dhharmENacharathaam dharma: thathaa cha Eshaamphalam bhavEth || 6-83- 20

 

meaning: when people adheres to dharmam then they will not have taste in doing 'adharmam'. For such people the fruits have to be dharmic fruits only [– means straight and good]

 

 

point:

any guess why lakshmaNa says so? For he is so sure that seethaa cannot be killed 'just like that' by indhrajith – that too in front of raama – that is what indhrajith did so easily like cutting a banana fruit - and on account of which all these – raama's sOkham and lakshmaNa's advises or consoling. 'So, oh raama, you are doing dharmam, that too without attachment, as already stated, the fruits of your actions cannot be otherwise – viz. seethaa's death and your separation from her cannot happen'.

 

 

Further another beautiful indication of human behaviour – once a good habit forms in a man – he caanot become bad suddenly - may be at times that 'good' in him becomes clouded – but the basic good shine cannot go. Dear folks now understand why elders advise – always form good habits like doing sandhyaa vandhanam even if it is slightly off the prescribed time.

 

Oh great lakshmaNa – what a great clarity in thinking? – that too at a different and difficult time – 'seethaa having been killed in front of the eyes' – we have seen usually he gets angry when raama is in a bad mood or weeping condition – but here – doing a lot of lecturing that too on dharmam?

 

yasmaath arthhaa vivardhhanthE yEshu adharma: prathishtatha: |

 

klishyanthE dharma seelaa

scha thasmaath Ethou nirarthakou || 6-83 -21

vadhyanthE papa karmaaNO yadhi adhharmENa raaghava |

 

vadhha karma hathO ~dhharma: sa hatha: kam vadhhishyathi || 6-83 –22

 

 

meaning: lakshmaNa continues, 'they meet embarrassment and pushed into worst situations who are greedy and doing adharmam. So these two [the greed and adharmam] are not going to yield good fruits. Dear raaghava [or raama] one who does sin is tortured. How then that dharmam which is away from killer force and destructive ones of action can afflict [you], that too on which person?

 

 

Point

: Is this a question or an answer? In the previous slokam slokam 21, it is conclusively said that adharmam and sins result in punishment. Here in 22 he says that person is tortured, such sinners are punished. Why then question should be asked 'who will be punished for doing dharmam?' Answer is given by same lakshmaNa in next.

 

 

 

atha vaa vihithEna ayam hanyathE hanthi vaa param |

 

vidhhi: aalipyathE thEna na sa paapEna karmaNaa || 6- 83 – 23

 

adhrushta prathikaarENa thu avyakthEna asathaa sathaa |

 

kathaam s

akyam param praapthum dhharmENa arivikars

ana || 6-83 –24

yadhi sath asyaath sathaam mukhya na asath syaath thava kinchana |

 

thvayaa yadh eedhru

s

am praaptham thasmaath sannupapadhyathE || 6-83-25

 

 

meaning: that is dharmam. This, even though gets faded sometimes [or gets clouded], truthfully kills the other

[adharmam]. That dharmam never joins with its opposite. Hey destroyer of foes, a good one, who adheres to dharmam, and such a person not seen so far, how such a person can beget such a bad treatment? Oh great among good, the good deed never fails in fructification. As such you the doer of dharmam can never get a bad thing – even if apparently bad it is in reality not true.

 

 

Point:

raama has not been seen earlier – and cannot be seen later also. True, an avathaaram is unique and happens once only. If repeated then it is not an avathaaram of the lord.

So lakshmaNa gives emphasis on that – you are a special not seen so far and cannot be seen again. 'Can only be realized by evolved souls'.

 

 

 

Some more explanation on the nature of dharmam is also given

 

 

– once done it cannot go waste,

 

 

– it cannot give a bad fruit

 

 

– it never joins with another class – the opposite class,

 

– stands out always

 

 

– may look like got depleted but really does not wane

 

– doer cannot get bad results for good things done even though apparently it may look like bad but in reality not bad etc.

 

 

 

By all these what lakshmaNa wants to indicate to raama is – like that conclusion he gave on seeing that golden deer, that is maareecha and not deer - here also - it is illusion that seethaa is killed. [but so far that has not come out openly].

Since more slokams are there on this dharmam and adharmam, we will continue in next post also.

 

 

Dhasan

 

Vasudevan m.g.

 

 

PS: once again I offer my apologies for this late serving. That is due to certain other commitments.

-- Vasudevan MG