SRI RANGA SRI e-JOURNAL-VOL.09 / ISSUE # 02 dated 29th September 2007

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.09 / ISSUE # 02 dated 29th September 2007

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. KISHKINDHAA KHAANDAM PART - 4 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE

HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)

2. .TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 31 - SLOKAM 15 -PART 3

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

 

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1. " KISHKINDHAA KHAANDAM " PART - 3 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM

(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)

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23. SUGREEVA BEGS PARDON

Meanwhile, Sugreeva also came to LakshmaNa with faltering steps and

pleaded forgiveness. He admitted that ingratitude could never be

excused. He told LakshmaNa that being drunk is a serious crime that

dulls one's capacity to differentiate between one's wife and one's

mother and it was one of the five great crimes (others being murder,

theft, lying, and speaking ill of one's preceptor)

 

Teevinai aindin onraam anriyum tirukku neengaa /

maayaiyin mayangu ginraam mayakkin mEl mayakkum vaithaam

(Kitkindaai PaDalam 650)

 

Further,

Vanjamum kaLavum poyyum mayakkamum marabil koTpum

Tanjam enraarai neekkum tanmaiyum kaLippum taakkum

Kanja mell aNangum teerum kaLLinaal arundinaarai

nanjamum kolvadu allaal naraginai nalgaadu anrE (Kitkindaai PaDalam

655)

 

Meaning

Deceit, thieving, falsehood, ignorance, going against established

traditions, treachery etc will automatically take hold of one who

indulges in binge; Goddess of wealth will desert him. Drinking is a

through ticket to hells. Poison would kill only the body;

Intoxicating drinks would rob one of not only the body but also

one's soul.

 

Tara informed LakshmaNa that Sugreeva had already sent message to

all the chieftains to muster enough soldiers and was actually

waiting to hear their response. LakshmaNa, in his turn begged pardon

of Sugreeva saying that unable to bear the sorrow of Rama, he also

got upset and had spoken harshly. (VR-33-36)

 

{There is an important message here. When a Bhaagavata accuses

another Bhaagavata, it is good manners for both of them to beg the

pardon of the other}

 

24. MONKEY BATTALLION BY NUMBERS

Valmiki gives a " count by numbers " of the strength of the monkey

battalion that assembled for their onward march in search of Sita:

Anjanagiri: 3 Crores; Astigiri: 10 Crores; Kailasa Parvatam: Several

thousand Crores; Plains adjoining Himalayas: Several Crores; Vindya

mountains: Several Crores; Ksheera Samudra forests: Innumerable. (VR

37)

 

Valmiki gives another count by numbers starting from hundreds,

thousands, ten thousands, lakhs, ten lakhs, Crores, arbuda, brinda,

kharva, nikharva, mahaa kharva, sarOja, sankha, samudra, anthra,

madhya, paraardha- each ten times the previous one, they are past

count. (VR 38)

 

Yet another count mentions the names of the chieftains with the

soldiers under their control: Satabali:10,000crores; Tara's father,

SushENa: Several 10000 Crores; Rumai's father Taara: 1000 Crores;

kEsari: several thousands; Gava aksha: 1000 Crores; Dhoomra: 2000

Crores; Panasa: 3 Crores; Neela: 10 Crores; Gavaya: 5 Crores; Dharee

mukha: 1000 Crores; Mainda and Dvivida (Aswini putras):1000 Crores;

Gaja: 3 Crores; Jaambhavaan: 10 Crores; RumaNvaa:100 Crores; Gandha

maadana: 10 lakhs; Angada (Crown prince):1000 lakh Crores; Indra

jaanu: 11 Crores; Rambha: 11600 Crores: Dur mukha: 2 Crores;

Hanumaan: 1000 Crores; NaLa: 100 thousand: Dadhi mukha, Sarabha,

Kumuda, Vahni, Ramha: Each 10 Crores.

 

When all of them assembled in front of where Rama and Sugreeva were,

there was not even space enough for a needle on the ground. The dust

raised by their march covered the whole atmosphere negating all

visibility! (VR 39)

 

25. SEARCHING THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD

Thereupon Sugreeva ordered his generals to go with their battalions

to search for Sita and ordered them to report by one month. He sent

them in all the four directions. The descriptions of the terrains

and territories they went through are really mind-boggling and give

us an insight into the extent of old world geography:

 

EAST: Vinatan to cover up to and beyond Malaysia, Java, Sumatra etc

and oceans like Ikshu, Suraa, Grida (Ghee), islands like Saalmali,

Kusadwipa, Pushkara, mountain peaks like Udayagiri etc. (VR 40)

 

SOUTH: Neelan, AnjanEya, Jaambhavaan, Angada and others to cover

Rivers like Narmada, Godavari, KrishNa vENi, Varadaa, mEkhalaa,

Utkala, and KaavEri, Cities like Aswa vanti, Avanti, Vidarbham,

Risheekam, Maahishakam, Vangam, KaLingam, Kowsikam, DaNDaka araNyam,

Aandram, PuNDram, ChOzha naaDu, PaaNDyam (with KapaaTa puram as its

Capital), kEraLam etc. and finally reaching MahENDra mountain beyond

which there is the sea of 100 yOjanas separating Lanka from the

mainland. (VR 41)

 

WEST: SushENa to cover countries like SouraashTram, Baahlikam,

Surat, Bheemam, Mountains like VaiDooriyam, Chakravaan, and a

kingdom called Praag-jyOtisham where lived an Asura called Naraka

(who was subsequently killed by Sathyabama in a fight in KrisNa

Avataara) beyond which lay the mountain SaavarNi mEru (where lived

Sage mErusaavarNi) (VR 42)

 

NORTH: Satabali to cover up to Himalayas, countries like mlEchcham,

PuLindam, Aara sEnam, Pra sthalam, Bharatam (including cities like

Indra prastam, Hastinaa puram etc), DakshiNa Kuru, Madrakam,

KaambhOjam, Yavanam, Sakam, AaraTTakam, Baahlekam, Risheekam,

Pouravam, DangaNam, Cheenam (China), Parama Cheenam, Neehaaram,

Daratam etc., Kailaasam Mountain, Krouncha Giri, , Mainaaka and

lakes like Vaikhaanasam, Parvatam, Uttara Kuru and LavaNa samudram

(As Raakshasas cannot live in mEru mountain, it was not mentioned)

(VR 43)

26. RAMA HANDS OVER HIS SIGNET RING TO ANJANEYA

Seeing AnjanEya getting ready to start, Rama handed over to him his

signet ring with Rama's name engraved on it for showing it to Sita

to convince her that the messenger was in fact the one sent by Rama.

(VR 44)

 

The battalions started on their quest and looked like locusts and

grasshoppers covering the sky like a blanket. (VR 45)

 

27. SUGREEVA'S KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY

Rama enquired Sugreeva, how he happened to know the locations to

which he ordered the monkey bands to go in search of Sita. Sugreeva

replied that when Vaali gave him a chase to kill him after the

killing of Dundhubhi, he was running in every direction and came to

know about the locations in all the four directions until he reached

the Asramam of Sage Matanga on the advice of AnjanEya who informed

him of the curse on the head of Vaali that if ever Vaali set foot in

the vicinity of the Asramam, his head would get broken to

smithereens. (VR 46)

 

28. RETURN OF THE VANARAS

The " date of expiry " of their voyage period had arrived but the

Vaanaras had no clue about the whereabouts of Sita. Crestfallen, the

groups returned except the one that went southwards. (VR47)

 

The Southern command fared no better. On their way, they met with

Sage KaNDu and later a Raakshasa who challenged them. Angada mistook

the Raakshasa to be Ravana and with his fist dealt a deadly blow and

killed him. Having become totally exhausted, the Vaanaras came upon

a cave that was covered with total darkness and they almost lost

their way. (VR 48)

 

They were fortunate to meet with an old lady who was shining like a

Tapasvi. AnjanEya went near her, offered his obeisance and enquired

about the place (VR49-50)

 

29. SVAYAM PRABHA

The Tapasvi was Svayam Prabha. She narrated her story as

follows: " My name is Svayam Prabha. I am living here to guard this

place on behalf of my friend hEmai. Maya, the divine architect

created a golden city and was living here happily. He gave his

daughter MaNDOdari in marriage to Ravana, the king of Lanka. But, he

was involved with hEmai for which Indra killed him. Brahma gave this

place to hEmai. She has now gone to Brahma lOka. (VR 51-52)

 

(NOTE: Names such as Viswakarma, Maya etc occur frequently in the

Itihaasas. It is believed that these denote to a class of people who

specialized in the kind of work they had expertise. Actually, they

may refer to different persons doing similar works, not necessarily

the one and the same person) (Vide footnotes of CRS Iyengar in his

book)

 

30. IN THE WILDERNESS AGAIN!

The Vaanaras narrated why they were there and sought her help to get

out of the dark cave. She asked them to close their eyes and in an

instant brought them out of the cave.

 

{According to Kamban, AnjanEya asked the Vaanaras to stand behind

him and catch his tail and the rest of them to catch that of the one

before. With the help of shining ear ornament he was wearing, he

slowly led them out of the dark cave. (Pilam pukku PaDalam-841-842)}

 

The Vaanaras were perplexed because the timeframe set for them was

already over. Only if they went back with the tidings of locating

Sita there was some sense in going back; otherwise, they were sure

to be put to death by their strict king Sugreeva.

 

Taaran suggested that they might go back to the cave and live there

happily. Angada seemed to agree. But, AnjanEya was made of a

different mettle. He could not imagine giving up the efforts (VR 53-

54)

 

Angada had lost all hopes and proposed to perform " praayOpavEsam "

(self-immolation by entering fire). The other Vaanaras seconded the

proposal (VR55)

 

31. SAMPAATI

Just at that moment, they spotted an eagle sitting on the rock where

they had intended to undergo the fire ordeal. Sampaati was the

brother of JaTaayu. He was once very powerful and was the King of

birds. Once in an attempt to save his brother from the scorching

Sun, he covered JaTaayu with his wings. The rays of the Sun burnt

Sampati's wings. Learning from the Vaanaras about the death of his

brother, he was struck with grief and performed the final rites for

JaTaayu. (VR 56)

 

Though he had lost his strength, Sampaati had a sharp vision with

which he could see clearly whatever lay at whatever distance. He

could immediately spot out where Sita was incarcerated and told them

that she was in Lanka (VR 57).

 

He told them that Ravana was the son of Visravas and brother of

kubEra and that he was living in Lanka that was 100 yOjanas away

from where they were (VR 58)

 

He also narrated how he happened to see Ravana carrying Sita. The

Maharishi who was there assured him that when the messengers of Rama

came to him, his wings will again grow and he would secure his lost

strength. He blessed the Vaanaras all success in their endeavors and

flew away. And, as directed by Sampaati, the Vaanaras reached the

shores of the ocean dividing the mainland from Lanka (VR 59-63).

 

 

32. A TRIAL OF STRENGTH

Angada wanted to know the relative capacity of the warriors in

crossing over the ocean. Each one spelled out their capacities but

all assessments fell far short of the goal of jumping to Lanka and

return unharmed. Jaambhavaan said that he had lost most of his

strength due to old age. At best, he could jump 90 yOjanas; Angada

told that he could jump over to reach Lanka but was not sure if he

could jump back! (VR 65)

 

33. JAAMBHAVAAN PRAISES ANJANEYA

AnjanEya was keeping mum. Jaambhavaan narrated the story of the

great monkey Chieftain kEsari by name. He had a wife called Anjanai.

Her other name was Punjistalai an Apsaras. She was born to a monkey

called Kunjaran. One day, as she was walking along the top of a

hill, the wind God (Vaayu) saw her and was carried away by her

beauty. He tried to embrace her. She was shocked and demanded an

explanation for his action. He said that he was not intending to

molest her or spoil her modesty but by hugging her, wanted to bless

her with a son who was as strong and wise as himself, one who could

accomplish whatever was impossible for others. " And, you are that

son " he said to AnjanEya. He continued that AnjanEya was the one and

only person who could save the situation and asked him to perform

the feat of jumping over to Lanka. (VR 66)

 

{According to Kamban, Angada dismissed the Vaanaras and ordered them

to reassemble at MahEndra Mountain (Sampaati PaDalam -940)}

 

34. ON TOP OF MAHENDRA MOUNTAIN

On hearing the words of Jaambhavaan, AnjanEya agreed to his proposal

and took a huge form needed for performing the stupendous task

entrusted to him and took a stand on top of the MahEndra Mountain

(VR 67)

 

True to his name " TiruvaDi " , he set his foot firmly down on the tip

of the mountain in an attempt to spring from there into the sky.

 

Poru varu vElai Taavum pundiyaan Bhuvanam taaya

Peru vaDivu uyarnda maayOn mEkku urap peyarnda TaaL pOL

Uru vari vaDivin umbar Onginan uvamaiyaalum

tiruvaDi ennum tanamai yaavarkkum teriya ninraan

(MahEndrap PaDalam 1027)

 

 

dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

 

(To be continued)

 

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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 31 - SLOKAM 15 -PART 3

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 32, Slokam 15 Part 3,

svApadeSam for tiruvAimozhi 1.4 contd.

 

svApadeSam for tiruvAimozhi 1.4.5: " nalgittAn kAttaruLi " pASuram:

 

In this pASuram, AzhvAr sends the magnanimous little crane as a

messenger. The crane is described in the pASuram with the

words " malgu nIrp punal paDappai irai tEr vaN SiRu kurugE! " .

paDappai refers to the gardens. The beautiful and magnanimous

little crane is being described as one that is searching for

the `appropriate' food for its little ones in the clean and clear

waters running flawlessly in the gardens. The inner meaning is that

the AcAryan very meticulously searches the available pramANa-s and

chooses the ones that are appropriate for each given Sishya, and

generously and selflessly imparts instructions to the disciple that

are appropriate for the level of the disciple, and give the disciple

the correct interpretation of the SAstra-s as well the enjoyment of

bhagavad anubhavam.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the inner meaning conveyed in this pASuram

through the phrase " sva-AhAra udAra SilAn " – AcArya-s who are

magnanimous in presentimg to the Sishya-s the level of detail

appropriate for the disciple, with supports from authentic works

etc. SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya gives a more elaborate interpretation for

this AcArya guNam than for any other guNam described so far in all

the previous Sloka-s. His interpretation is: uNNum SORu, parugu

nIr, tinnum veRRilai, ellAm kaNNan enkiRa paDiyE vaN tuvaraip

perumAnaiyE dhAraka poshaka bhogyamAga anubhavittu ta'ngaLuDaiya

nishThaiyai ASrita jana'ngaLukkum vazhan'ngikkoNDirukkiRa

mahAtmAkkaLAna AcAryarkaLai samRddhamAi salila pravAha madhyattil

SuddhamAna AhArattait tEDi adai svAnubandhikaLukkum vazha'ngik koNDu

udAra'ngaLai irukkiRa sArasa'ngaLAga sambhAvittu aruLinAr –

AcAraya's are ones for whom kaNNan alone is the food, water, and all

else that sustains them, grows them, and gives them all the joy that

they derive; the great AcArya-s impart this disciplined way of life

to those who seek their guidance. svAmi deSikan compares the

magnanimity of these AcArya-s to the generous little cranes that

selflessly look for good and pure food for their young ones in the

nicely flowing pure waters and generously share it with all their

dear ones.

 

SrI PBA gives the explanation – " kuTTikaLukku uNavu tEDit taruginRa

kurugukaL pOlE SishyarkaLukku SAstrArtha'ngaLaiyum bhagavad

anubhava'ngaLaiyum koDuppavargaL – AcArya-s who give the proper

interpretation of SAstra-s and bring the experience of perumAL to

their disciples, just like the cranes that select good and

appropriate food for their young ones and feed them.

 

svApadeSam for pASuram 1.4.6: " aruLAda nIr aruLi avar Avi tuvarA

mun " pASuram: In this pASuram, AzhvAr sends the `Azhi vari vaNDu' –

the merrily circling bee that has the marks of circles (cakra) on

its body as his messenger. svAmi deSikan captures the AcAya guNam

reflected in this pASuram through the phrase " tanu-dhRta bhagavan

lakshmaNah " – AcArya-s who bear the marks of bhagavAn – the

Sa'nkha and cakra marks on their divine body. SrI UV gives the

meanings: Azhi – cakra, vari – Sa'nkham. Thus, `Azhi vari vaNDu',

in svApadeSam, refers to AcAryan who bears the marks of Sa'nkha and

cakra on his tirumEni. The other marks such as the Urdhva puNDram,

the tulasI garland, the lotus bead garland, etc. are all to be

understood.

 

One meaning for the word `lakshmaNa' is `having marks, possessed of

good or auspicious marks' according to the samskRt dictionary by

Apte. This is the meaning in which the term `tanu-dhRta bhagavad

lakshmaNah' is used here by svAmi deSikan. SrI UV notes that there

is an alternate pATham – tanu dhRata bhagavad lakshaNAn " – which

essentially gives the same meaning. The interpretation is same as

given above – AcAryan bears the marks of bhagavAn such as the

Sa'nkha and cakra, the UrdhvapuNDram etc., and this compares to the

beautiful marks on the body of the vaNDu. Azhi also means depth

(ocean), gAmbhIryam, etc. Azhi vaNDu in svApadeSam refers to

AcAryan's depth of knowledge, depth of anushThAnam or rigorous

practice of the SAstra-s, etc. of the AcAryan as well.

 

The analogy between the `vaNDu' and AcAryan is extended further in

pUrvAcAryas' anubhavam. `vanDu' has six legs. When `vaNDu' is

interpreted as a reference to AcAryan, the `six legs' are

interpreted in several ways:

 

- The most direct comparison of the six-legged bee to a `man

of wisdom' (AcAryan) is found in SrImad bhAgavatam:

 

aNubhyaSca mahadbhyaSca SAstrebhyah kuSalo narah |

sarvatah sAram AdadyAt pushpebhya iva shaTpadah || (bhAga.

11.8.10).

 

" Just as a bee (shaTpada) gathers honey from small and big flowers,

a wise man (kuSalo narah, a reference to AcAryan in our context)

extracts knowledge of good essence from all sources including the

minor as well as the major SAstra-s (and imparts it to the disciple

who seeks guidance from him) " .

 

-AcArya-s are firmly established in the dvaya mantra, which can be

looked at as consisting of six phrases that bring out its meaning –

SrIman nArAyaNa caranau, SaraNam, prapadye, SrImate, nArAyaNAya,

namah. AcArya-s live their lives firmly established in the dvaya

mantra, and impart this SaraNAgati mantra to the disciple who seeks

it, and show the path for moksham at the end of this birth.

 

-AcArya-s are firmly established in the six aspects of SaraNAgati,

as declared in ahirbudhnya samhitA – 37.28. They are rigorous

practioners of all the six aspects of SaraNAgati, and in addition,

out of their infinite mercy, they guide the devotees in the path of

surrender selflessly.

 

AnukUlyasya sa'nkalpam prAtikUyasya varjanam |

rakshishyati iti viSvAsah goptRtva varaNam tathA ||

Atma nikshepa kArpaNye shad-vidhA SaraNAgatih |

 

(bhara samarpaNam involves surrendering the responsibility for our

protection to the Lord by observing the following five a'nga-s of

prapatti: performing only those acts that will be pleasing to the

Lord (AnukUlya sa'nkalpam), desisting from any act that will be

displeasing to Him (prAtikUlya varjanam), recognizing that one is

incapable of observing any other means for prapatti and with

humility surrendering to Him (kArpaNyam), having the firm faith that

He will definitely protect us (mahA viSvAsam), and praying to Him

with this firm faith to protect us (goptRtva varaNam).

 

-AcArya-s are ones who rigorously practice the six actions

prescribed for brAhmaNa-s – yajanam, yAjanam, adhyayana, adhyApana,

dAna and pratigraha (the act of performing sacrifice, the act of

leading in conduct of sacrifice, study of the veda-s, teaching and

instructing of the veda-s, giving dAnam to others, and receiving or

accepting alms that are offered).

 

yajanam yAjanam dAnam viSishTaSca pratigrahah |

adhyApanam ca adhyayanam viprakarma prakIrtitam ||

 

-AcArya-s are ones who strictly observe the following six activities

prescribed for a brAhmaNa:

 

snAnam sandhyAjapo homo devatAnAm ca pUjanam |

Atithyam vaiSvadevam ca shat karmANi dine dine |

jAti mAtropajIvI tu viprah syAt brAhmaNa bruvah ||

 

According to our ancient religious scripture, these six actions are

prescribed for discharging the three types of obligations relating

to gods, ancestors and society.

 

-In AcArya hRdayam, the comparison is made that just as a bee will

not consume anything other than sweet and delicious honey, the

AcAryan will also turn his interest only on bhagavad vishayam that

sings His sweet and magnanimous glory. SrI PBA gives this analogy

in his explanation of the svApadeSam for pASuram 1.4.6. SrI PBA

also gives reference to ALavandAr's stotra ratnam (27), that

expresses the same thought:

 

tavAmRtasyandini pAda pa'nkaje niveSitAtmA katham anyat icchati |

sthite aravinde makaranda nirbhare madhuvrato na ikshrakam hi

vIkshate ||

 

ALavandAr declares that with his soul having tasted the nectar of

bhagavAn's Lotus Feet, it will not be interested in anything else,

just as a bee that has the delicious nerctar from a lotus flower wll

not go anywhere near a scorched thistle flower. In our current

context, AcAryan is one who is firmly fixed on bhagavAn's Lotus

Feet, analogous to the bee that is fixed on the honey-bearing lotus

flower

 

 

dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued)

 

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