[RaamaBhakthi] AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. August 08 Part 2)

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Srimathy Kalyani Krishnamachari :

 

It is so delightful to follow the postings of

yours on Srimad RaamAyaNa UpnyAsam of

HH Thirukkudanthai Andavan Swamy from

the year 1972 . These are treasures from

a great UpanyAsakar and revered AchAryan ,

who was a dear friend of my Father . My cousin

is the dharma pathni of one of the sons of

Srimad Andavan from Poorvasramam days .

 

HH Thirukkudanthai Andavan's upakArams

to Ahobila Matam are legendary . His nirvAhams

of Dhivya Prabhandham , Srimad RaamAyaNam

and any topic of His choice are boons and blessings

to the fortunate listeners .

 

Please accept my sincere thanks for the MahOpakAram

that you are doing thru the brilliant translations of

these treasures for posterity .

 

You are dear to ANDAL thru your extensive

commentraies on Her Dhivya Pranhandham of

NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi . May ANDAL's and

AchAryan's paripoorNa blessings be with you

and all members of your Family !

 

NamO SrI RaaghavAya anisam ,

Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

-

" Kalyani Krishnamachari " <kkrishnamachari

<andavan >; ;

<raamabhakthi >; <oppiliappan >

Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:44 PM

[RaamaBhakthi] AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt.

August 08 Part 2)

 

 

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. August 08 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 tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

=====================================

SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan’s SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam

 

gacchhatA mAtula kulaM bharatena tadA'naghaH |

Satrughno nityaSatrughno nItaH prItipuraskRtaH || (ayodhyA. 1.1)

 

This is the first Slokam in ayodhyA kANDam.

 

The king of kekaya (Kaikeyi’s father) told his son, YudhAjit, “I want to see

Bharata; bring himâ€.

 

YudhAjit was bharata’s uncle (Kaikeyi’s brother). He came to ayodhyA.

 

daSaratha extended a very special welcome to the guest. YudhAjit said,

“Grandfather wanted to see bharata and asked me to bring him; that is why I

cameâ€.

 

daSaratha sent Bharata with him happily.

 

gacchhatA mAtula kulaM bharatena tadA'naghaH |

Satrughno nityaSatrughno nItaH prItipuraskRtaH ||

 

This Slokam is very well analyzed in bhagavad vishayam.

 

gacchhatA mAtula kulaM – bharata went to his uncle’s place. When he left,

Satrughna also went with him. Satrughna is always with bharata, just as

lakshmaNa is always with rAma.

 

VAlmIki says that Satrughna has no blemish. anaghaH – one without any sin

(aghaH = pApam); he is sinless.

 

This Slokam is very prominent in SrIvaishNava vyAkhyAnams. SrI vaishNava-s

do very interesting vyAkhyAnam about viSishTAdvaita philosophy. The above

Slokam implies that Satrughna is the one who has no sin, which would suggest

that the other three are not without sin. ‘Those who were in the palace

were all sinners. He is the only one who did not commit any sin.’ What was

the sin committed by the others in the palace?

 

rAma darSana mAtra pApam – Satrughna is the one who does not have the sin of

rAma darSanam. rAma darSanam is the sin! If you say this today, people

will throw stones at you.

 

Why? When one looks at rAma, He will simply attract that person to Him!

Then one cannot do bhAgavata kaimkaryam. SAstram says the goal of life is

to do kaimkaryam to bhAgavata-s.

 

Bharata is a great bhAgavata. rAma will draw away Satrughna from doing

kainkaryam to Bharata. That is His nature.

 

tiritandAgilum devapirAnuDai

kariyakOlat tiruvuruk kANban nAn

periya vaN kurugUr nagar nambikku AL

uriyanAi aDiyEn peRRa nanmaiye.

(kaNNinuN SiruttAmbu – 3)

 

For those who want to attain salvation, both puNyam (virtue) and pApam (sin)

are obstacles and considered pApam or sin. Virtue also is a burden, similar

to sin, since the benefits of the good deeds also have to be enjoyed through

another birth.

 

buddhiyukto jahAtIga ubhe sukRta dushkRte (bhagavad. 2.50) – ‘’A man with

evenness of mind discards here and now, good and evil’.

 

SArnda iru valvinaigaLum Sarittu mAyap paRRaruttu.. ‘Obliterating all the

good and bad deeds that I have accumulated…’

(tiruvAimozhi

1.5.10)

 

aSva iva romANi vidhUya pApam candra iva rAhormukhAt pramucya …(chhAnDogya

upanishad 8.13.1) – ‘Shaking off all the sins like a horse shakes off his

hairs and shedding the body just like the moon gets out of the mouth of

Rahu…

 

It is said that for attaining moksham ( salvation), one has to shed both

puNyam and pApam. Why should one shed the puNyam? Sin must be the one to

be shed. Is puNyam an enemy for going to moksham?

 

Yes. puNyam is an enemy! puNyam leads one to svargam or deva lokam.

Therefore it is an obstacle to attain moksham or salvation.

 

PApam or sin leads to hell or narakam and is an obstacle.to moksham. PuNyam

leads to svargam and prevents one from attaining moksham. What difference

does it make? The result is the same – no moksham.

 

Since puNyam is an obstacle to attaining the most supreme goal of reaching

bhagavAn, it is grouped together with pApam.

 

Like that, kaimkaryam to rAman is grouped with pApam because it is an

obstacle to one’s attaining the goal of service to bhAgavata-s. Since

bhagavad sevai is an obstacle to doing bhAgavata sevai, that is grouped as

pApam. Satrughna is one who does not have that pApam. Satrughna stayed

away from seeing rAman even though he was in the same palace in AyodhyA.

 

The eye is a great indriyam (sense organ). It cannot resist seeing!

SatrughnaH – The conquerer of enemies. Satrughna had won over the eyes!

Who are the enemies? The eye, ear, nose, tongue, tvak (skin) – these sense

organs are our enemies. We are in this samsAram only because we are ruined

by these senses. It is said that one attains greatness only by overcoming

and controlling these senses.

 

In the book “praSnottara mAlikAâ€, a student asks Adi Sankarar, “Who is a

valorous person?†He replies that one who wins over the five senses in the

body is a person of valor. We get ruined only by these senses. Satrughna

won over his eyes and managed to stay without looking at rAma.

 

Satrughno nityaSatrughno nItaH prItipuraskRtaH | - Satrughna who had

conquered the sense organs that are our constant enemies, was taken with

Bharata.

 

Satrughna accompanied bharata right away. Why did he accompany him? Did he

do it thinking, “I have stayed with him all these days. What can I do? It

is my fate! So, let me go with him now?â€

 

No. nItaH prIti puraskRtaH – his love and attachment to Bharata nudged him

forward saying, “go, goâ€; so, he went.

 

daSaratha tells Satrughna – “bharata is leaving today; why don’t you go

tomorrow?! He can leave today early and go and stay in some station; you

can go and join him there. Why do you have to leave today itself? Don’t we

have to check if the star and date are okay for you? bharata and you have

adjacent stars. He was born under pushyam. You were born under Ayilyam.

Don’t we have to see whether the star and date are okay for you? For him,

they are okay. They may not be okay for you. Why do you want to go today?â€

 

Satrughna says, “We do not have to look for star and dateâ€.

 

“Why, aren’t you also a prince? Aren’t you also a son born to a king?

Don’t

I have to look for this date and star for you?â€

 

“It is enough if it was seen for bharata. It doesn’t have to be seen for

meâ€.

 

“How is it enough?â€

 

“When you were checking the star and date for bharata, did you check the

same for his luggage? Did you check the same for his sword? Those things

will accompany him anyway. I am like those things. I will also accompany

him when he goes. I am subservient to him. I am just a thing belonging to

him. So, you do not have to check the star for me.“

 

BhAgavata Seshatvam (subservience to bhAgavatas – perumAL’s devotees) is

being stressed here in this Slokam. This is a very important character for

SrIvaishNava-s. That is how the special vyAkhyAnams explain this Slokam.

Tomorrow, (August 13, 1972), we will explain this and continue with the

story.

 

svasti prajAbhyaH paripAlayantAM

nyAyyena mARgeNa mahIm mahISAH |

go-brAhmaNebhyaH Subham astu nityaM

lokAH samastAH sukhino bhavantu ||

 

mangaLam kosalendrAya mahanIya guNAbdhaye |

cakravarti tanUjAya sArvabhaumAya mangaLam ||

mangaLASAsanaparaiH madAcArya purogamaiH |

sarvaiSca pUrvaiH AcAryaiH satkRtAyAstu mangaLam ||

 

Next day, (August 13, 1972), upanyAsam begins with anusandhAnam of the

following:

 

SrImad vedavatamsa lakshamaNamuneH prAptAgamAnta dvayam

tena SrI raghupungavAnghriygaLe nyastAtma rakshAbharam

SrImad SrInidhi yogivarya karuNA labdhAbja cakrAnganam

vande SAnti virakti pUrNam anagham SrIranganAtham gurum

(tenpiRai

ANDavan tannian)

 

diSantu me sadA tvadIyAH (HayagrIvar)

samasta jananIm vande (tAyAr)

kamapyanavadhim vande (tiruvenkaTamuDaiyAn)

vande tam yaminAm dhurandharam (SrIbhAshyakArar)

pitAmahasyApi pitAmahAya (tirumalainambigaL)

kUjantam (vAlmIki)

anjanAnandanam (tiruvaDi)

anjile onRu peRRAN (tiruvaDi)

kaRpAr rAmapirAnai allAl (tiruvAimozhi)

 

 

gacchhatA mAtula kulaM bharatena tadA'naghaH |

Satrughno nityaSatrughno nItaH prItipuraskRtaH || (ayodhyA. 1.1)

 

payilum SuDaroLi mUrttiyai pangayakkaNNanai

payila iniya nam pARkaDal SErnda paramanai

payilum tiruvuDaiyAr yavarElum avar kaNDIr

payilum piRappiDai tORu emmaiyALum paramarE

(tiruvAimozhi 3.7.1)

 

[AzhvAr declares that he is an eternal servant of the bhAgavata-s – devotees

of emperumAn – in any number of births he will take for that purpose.]

 

vAlmIki writes that because of his love for his brother Bharata, Satrughna

also went with bharata when bharata left for his uncle’s house.

 

mAtula kulaM gacchhatA bharatA, Satrughno nItaH prItipuraskRtaH – Satrughna

was taken to bharata’s uncle’s house by bharata.

 

The kekaya kingYudhAjit is the uncle only for bharata. He is not Satrughna’s

uncle; he is bharata’s mother’s brother. Kaikeyi’s father aSvapati

mahArAja

wanted to see his grandson (bharata). Satrughna is Sumitra’s son.

 

mAtula kulaM gachhatA bharatena - when bharata went to his mother’s family;

nItaH – Satrughna also was taken.

 

Satrughna left at the same time as bharata. With the terms tadA and

anaghaH, Satrugna’s greatness is revealed. tadA means at the same time.

Satrughna AzhvAn was such a great servant of a bhAgavata and a bhAgavata

SeshabhUtan (subservient) that he did not want to check for his star or his

own comforts and left, considering service to bhAgavata the most important

goal.

 

anaghaH – without any blemish; having no faults. If he sees bhagavAn, his

servitude to a bhAgavata will be hindered. Since kaimkaryam to bhagavAn is

so great, he may become very involved with that. So, he is trying not to

look at rAman - he does not have the blemish of hindered bhAgavata

kaimkaryam. That is how the vyAkhyAnam goes. Even when living in the same

palace and the four of them were coming together, he will not look at rAma.

pumsAm dRshTi cittApahAriNam – rAma’s form is such that if anyone looks at

Him, His beauty will draw that person to Him. It is stressed that

servitude to a bhAgavata is considered primary and more important.

Therefore, because looking at bhagavAn will get in the way of doing

bhAgavata kaimkaryam, he won over his eyes and other senses and made his

name, “Satrughnaâ€, meaningful.

 

Satrughna means one who vanquishes or subdues the enemies. It is pointed

out that winning over the inner senses in the body like the eyes, ears,

etc., is more valorous than winning the enemies outside.

 

SatrughnaH nityaSatrughnaH – there are two kinds of enemies – nitya Satrus

and anitya Satrus. Those who are outside the body are called anitya Satrus;

they will be enemies for a few days and then they may become friends.

 

SEmam SenkOn aruLE, SeRuvArum naTpAguvar enRu

Emam peRa vaiyam sollum meyyE, paNDellAm aRaikUy

yAmangaL tORu eri vISum nam kaNNan antaNNam tuzhAit

tAmam punaiya avvADai IdO vandu taNNenRadE.

(tiruvituttam-27)

 

SeRuvArum naTpAguvar – those who are enemies for some time will become

friendly later (at this point, a great scholar is coming to the sabha to

listen to SRImad ANDavan’s upanyAsam; so the topic changes). SvAmi is a

great scholar. He is the resident vidvAn of ahobila mutt. He is very close

to all of us. If he is asked to speak, he can speak for hours together.

Because that will hinder our current program, I have asked him not to speak.

Should I ask him to talk? (audience laughs). AcAryar continues.

 

===========

To be continued …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

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