desire 11

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava

perunthagaiyeer,

 

We saw in the previous post, how

vaalmeeki introduced raama's beauty, in grandeur, in comparison with the 'ugly

personified' soorpaNakhaa, glorifying all the time the mismatch in love, she

had on raama ¨C that 'porundhaak kaadhal'.

 

Now we will see how vaalmeeki

introduces the next 'desire laden' or 'kaama mohitha' character ayOmukhi ¨C this

time she has set the eye on lakshmaNa.

 

Dear readers, please do not

forget lakshmaNa is in no way less in beauty to raama, raama being 'indheevara

syaamam', and lakshmaNa being 'golden' colour - he gets a epithet description

as 'sasi nibha aanana' from vaalmeeki.

 

 

The incident: When seethaa

has been abducted both the brothers started searching for seethaa - passed over

every area in the janasthaana and panchavatee forest ¨C continued searching her

into that Krouncha forest. After meeting jataayu and learning about abduction

of seethaa by raavaNa, and before meeting kabhandhan, the brothers raama and

lakshmaNa, pass over a horrendous forest in between Krouncha forest and

Mathanga hermitage [where bothraama and lakshmaNa meet sabari, as also advised

by kabhandhan].

 

"This forest is overspread with

various thicketed and impassable trees, and over-sprawled by numerous gigantic predators

and vulturine birds, and on scrutinising such a forest everywhere, there they

saw a cave in a mountain, which is an abyss, equal to infernal region, and ever

enshrouded by gloom" ¨C these are the descriptions as available in the text

about the nature of that forest and a cave in that forest.

 

aasaadhya cha nara vyaaghrou

dharyaa: thasyaa avidhooratha: |

dhadharsa thu mahaa roopaam

rakshaseem vikrutha aananaam || 3-69-11

 

Meaning: On getting at

that cave those manly-tigers have seen a demoness nearby that cave, who is

massive in shape and misshaped in her face.

 

bhayadhaam alpa saththvaanaam bheebhathsaam roudhra dharsanaam |

lambOdhareem theekshNa dhamshTraam karaaleem parusha thvacham || 3-69-12

 

bhakshayantheem mrugaan bheemaan vikaTaam muktha moordhajaam |

avaikshathaam thu thou thathra bhraatharou Raama lakshmaNou || 3-69-13

 

Meaning: Both the

brothers, Rama and Lakshmana, saw the demoness there, who is

¨D

an inducer of horror to the dunder-headed dullards,

¨D

traumatic in her acts

¨D

truculent [showing or suggesting a disposition to be

violently destructive without scruple or restraint] in her appearance,

¨D

pot-bellied,

¨D

pierce-fanged,

¨D

over-blown,

¨D

pachydermatous, [like an elephant]

¨D

head hair shaggy,

¨D

body shape lumpy-bumpy,

¨D

and she is going on eating massive beasts.

 

Point: why all these

description is 'to raise a precursor' on her instantaneous love on lakshmaNa.

 

saa samaasaadhya thou veerou

vrajantham bhraathu: agratha: |

Ehi ramsyaavahe ithi ukthvaa

samaalambatha LakshmaNam || 3-69-14

 

Meaning: Drawing nigh of

those valorous brothers who are journeying on their way, that demoness clung

onto Lakshmana saying, " come... let's romance... " when LakshmaNa is

going ahead of his elder brother.

 

Point: LakshmaNa is going

in front of raama, more with a duty bound mind and certainly not in a romantic

mood. As a 'pilot' or a 'security officer' he is walking ahead and checking

routes for king Raama to follow, as it is all dense forest as described above.

 

uvaacha cha Enam vachanam soumithreem upaguhya saa |

aham thu ayOmukhee naama laabha: thE thvam asi priya: || 3-69-15

 

naatha parvatha dhurgEshu nadheenaam pulinEshu cha |

aayu: chiram idham veera thvam mayaa saha ramsyasE || 3-69-16

 

Meaning: Closeting

Soumithri in her embrace she told him this sentence, " I am Ayomukhi, by my

name... you won me by your heroic personality, by that way, none can win me

over... thus, you alone are my lover... oh, hero, oh, my husband... you will

romance with me on mountain tops, in rivers, and on sandy isles, till the end

of this life... " So is the love prattle of that demoness Ayomukhi.

 

Point: see in case of

soorpaNakhaa, it was only an 'asking' raama for a romance, then he directed to

ask lakshmaNa and then lakshmaNa again sent her back to raama saying I am a

servant and have no independency in taking a decision etc.

 

Whereas here ayOmukhi

straightaway embraced him, calling him 'oh my husband' - so in her opinion a

raakshasa type marriage is already over ¨C take possession of a fellow by

physical power and say 'hey you are my husband, come on let us enjoy'. See the

extent of play of the 'desire' ¨C 'kaama mOhitha' lady on lakshmaNa. See the

result of that 'porundhaak kaadhal' again --

 

 

Evam uktha: thu kupitha: khaDgam udhdhhruthya LakshmaNa: |

karNa naasa sthanam thasyaa nichakarthaa arisoodhana: || 3-69-17

 

Meaning: When said thus,

that enemy-suppressor LakshmaNa became furious, and upraising his sword, he

sheared off her nose, one ear, and one of her breasts.

 

karNa naase nikR^itte tu visvaram vinanaada saa |

yathaa aagatam pradudraava raakshasii ghora darshanaa || 3-69-18

 

Meaning: When her nose and

ear are cut off that demoness of hideous mien shrieked

in a high voice, and she rushed off, as she had rushed in at LakshmaNa.

 

So the love came to 'an end' as it came 'up' so

fast.

 

Why such instances are described in raamaayaNam by

vaalmeeki ¨C if one analyses - will realise that opportunities may come to stray

away ¨C let it be an ugly person like soorpaNakhaa and ayOmukhi or a beauty

personified like seethaa in case of raavaNa. And one has to be steadfast in his

principles - koLgaigaL ¨C even if it pertains to 'kaamam' 'desire' - should not

be carried away by such 'presented'

opportunities.

 

We will continue more on desire.

Dhasan

Vasudevan MG