SRI RANGA SRI e- Journal - VOL.09 / ISSUE # 11 dated 9nd December 2007

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SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //

SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //

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SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//

KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /

SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.09 / ISSUE # 11 dated 9nd December 2007

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. YUDDHA KHAANDAM PART - 1 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE

HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)

3. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 41- SLOKAM 17 -PART 3

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

 

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ISSUES RELEASED

With this issue, about 274 Regular issues of SRS have been released

so far, apart from numerous " Special Issues " as indicated below:

27 Issues of Vol. 1

15 Issues of Vol. 2

42 Issues of Vol. 3

35 Issues of Vol. 4

28 Issues of Vol. 5

30 Issues of Vol. 6

50 Issues of Vol. 7 and

36 Issues of Vol. 8

11 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)

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2. " YUDDHA KHAANDAM " PART - 1 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM

(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)

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1. INTRODUCTION

In Sundara khaaNDam, the " Purushakaaram " of Mahaalakshmi was

described. This khaaNDam illustrates how a master should reward his

servant who has done far exceeding what was expected of him.

Servants are of 3 kinds:

1. One who not only completes his assignment but also does more

in the interest of the welfare of the master is " Uttaman "

2. One who completes just his assignment with enthusiasm

is " Madhyaman "

3. One who does not carry out his duties assigned is " Adhaman "

Hanumaan belongs to the Uttaman category.

Thinking that he could not compensate for the help rendered by

Hanumaan, Rama embraces him with great affection (1)

 

2. RAMA'S ARMY MARCHES TOWARDS LANKA

With the comforting words of Sugreeva, Rama decided to start on the

march. It was Uttara palguni and the muhoortham was " abhijit " - the

most propitious time for commencing the march of the armies. The

huge monkey army reached the seashore (2-5).

 

3. RAVANA'S DURBAR

Ravana summoned his ministers to deliberate on the action to be

taken in view of the destruction caused by a mere monkey to the

impregnable fortresses of his kingdom. The sycophantic ministers

catalogued his past victories like his humbling the serpent king of

BhOgavati, his vanquishing his brother kubEra from whom he snatched

the Pushpaka Vimaanam, his conquest of Mayan who later befriended

him by offering his daughter MaNDOdari in marriage, his conquest

over Vaasuki, Dakshakan, Sankhan, JaTee and others in Rasaa-tala,

his driving away " Mrtiyu " by stirring the great ocean, and his

destroying Kings like " AnaraNyan " and such other feats. They tried

to instill in him confidence in fighting Rama (7). Prahastan, Dur-

mukhan, Vajra damshTran, Nikumban (son of KumbakarNan), and

Vajrahanu joined the chorus in extolling the victories of Ravana and

provoking his self esteem to a state of frenzy (8)

 

4. VIBHEESHANA'S ADVICE

It was VibheeshaNa who tendered sage advice saying -

- That it was not proper to resort to war with one who adhered

to Dharma especially by those who have spurned the righteous path

carried away by lust, pride and prejudice.

- That it was not proper to underestimate the strength of the

opposing armies that had achieved the impossible by crossing the

vast ocean.

- That when Rama did not do any harm to Ravana, he had

no " cause of action " to fight with him.

- That it was wrong, in the first place, for Ravana to have

abducted Sita and that too in a stealthy manner.

- That this one was enough to ensure total annihilation of

Ravana's side.

- That there were far too numerous bad omens which foreboded

misfortune for the Raakshasa clan. (9and 10)

 

He pleaded for restoring Sita to Rama if they wished to live in

peace and safety.

But, Ravana was determined on his fateful course, dismissed his

advice with contempt and ordered mass conscription of forces of all

able bodied citizens of Lanka, even waking up KumbakarNa who was

fast asleep.

 

5. KUMBAKARNA'S ADVICE

KumbakarNa woke up. He also advised return of Sita to Rama saying

that Ravana should have thought of the consequences before he

embarked on " operation abduction " and it was like " putting the cart

before the horse " . He should thank his stars for not being killed so

far (12). Ravana told him that he was not asking him advice on what

he should have done but on what he should do now. KumbakarNa yielded

to his request and assured that on his behalf, he would go fight

with Rama. (11 and 12)

 

6. MAHAA PAARSVA'S ADVICE

Mahaa-paarsva was another evil minded minister. He encouraged Ravana

to go, grab Sita by force and sexually assault her and that he had

nothing to fear when he and his men were on his side and that he

could think about the consequences later. " Let us cross the bridge

when it comes " , he said. Ravana revealed a secret. Long ago, an

apsaras called " Punjisthalai " was on her way to offer her obeisance

to Brahma. Ravana forced her into submission to his carnal

pleasures. Brahma got enraged at his behavior and cursed him that if

ever he forced any woman against her wishes, his head would be

smashed to smithereens and that was the reason why he could not

force Sita (13)

 

7. VIBHEESHANA AGAIN

VibheeshaNa again stood up and blasted Mahaa-paarsva and others

saying that they were just sycophants trying to please Ravana

without having any genuine interest in his welfare, especially after

knowing of the fate of Kara, DhooshaNa, Trisaras, Viraada, Kabhanda,

Vaali and others. If one were strong and his enemy were weak, one

can go to fight with him; If the enemy was strong and our side weak,

it would be better to make friends with the enemy; And, if both were

of equal strength or weakness, nothing should be done. And, there

was proof that Rama's side was not only strong but was also getting

stronger. (14)

 

8. RAVANA INSULTS AND KICKS OUT VIBHEESHANA

Indra-jit accused VibheeshaNa of cowardice (15). Thus encouraged by

his son, Ravana hurled strong words against VibheeshaNa calling him

a traitor and said it would be more comfortable for him to live with

a sworn enemy than one who acts as a brother and friend but in

reality was a foe like a poisonous snake. " Get out of my sight " he

screamed (16). Valmiki gives a sound advice on the subject.

 

Sulabhaa: purushaa raajan satatam priya vaadina: //

Apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktaa srOtaa cha durlabha: /

" It is easier to come across people who say pleasing words and those

wish to hear such words. But, it is very rare to find people who can

speak out what is good for the hearer, even if it be unpalatable "

(16.-20, 21)

dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

(To be continued)

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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 41 - SLOKAM 17 -PART 3

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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SrImate Ra'ngarAmAnuja MahAdeSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLI - Submission 41, Slokam 17 Part 3,

tiruvAimozhi 1.6, pASuram 1.6.5, 1.6.6.

pASuram 1.6.5:

 

koLgai koLAmai ilAdAn eLgal irAgam ilAdAn

viLgai viLLAmai virumbi uL kalandArkku Or amudE.

 

BhagavAn does not discriminate between different persons when it

comes to His antaranga kainkaryam; He does not have love for one and

lack of love for another; He only distinguishes between those who

seek Him for some benefit and then move away from Him, and those who

seek Him with steadfastness and never move away from Him; He is the

insatiable Nectar to those who seek Him as their only goal.

 

svAmi deSikan describes the sukara bhajanatvam aspect sung in this

pASuram through the words sva vishaya niyateshu AdarAtvirumbi uL

kalandArkku Or amudE. To those who seek Him as their only goal, He

makes Himself available as insatiable Nectar to them. SrImad

tirukkuDanthai ANDavan explains this as tannaip payanAgak karudugiRa

paramaikAntigaLiDam Adaravu uLLavan. He is One who is attached to

those who seek Him as their only benefit, and who do not seek any

other benefit from other deities. SrI UV notes that the more the

devotee is attached to Him, the more He is also attached to them.

For the others who seek trivial pleasures, He bestows those

pleasures to them and then moves away from them.

 

AzhvAr is reflecting bhagavAn's words from the following giTA Slokam

literally in his pASuram:

 

samoham sarva bhUteshu na me dveshyosti na priyah |

ye bhajanti tu mAm bhaktyA mayi te teshu cApyaham || (9.29)

 

I consider all beings equal. There is none hateful or dear to Me.

But those who worship Me with devotion abide in Me, and I do abide

in them. Bhagavad rAmAnuja explains that the meaning is that

bhagavAn does not accept anyone based on considerations such as

birth, race, etc.; the only consideration is if the person has taken

refuge in Him. The sukara bhajanatvam is reflected in His becoming

subservient to the devotee who unequivocally seeks Him.

 

Another bhagavad gIta Slokam that is relevant in this context is:

 

teshAm satata yuktAnAm bhajatAm prIti pUrvakam |

dadAmi buddhi yogam tam yena mAm upayAnti te || (10.10)

 

To those who desire to be constantly united with Me and who worship

Me with immense love, I lovingly grant that mental disposition by

which they come to Me.

 

In this tiruvAimozhi, earlier it has been pointed out that bhagavAn

does not distinguish between the items that ae used for His worship,

as long as they are offered with devotion. In this pASuram, it is

pointed out that bhagavAn does not distinguish between the worship

of people based on birth etc. SrI UV notes that still one should

follow the injunctions of the SAstra-s in performing the worship,

and the meaning here is that bhagavAn accepts all of these offerings

as equal when they are performed with devotion, and according to the

SAstric injunctions.

 

pASuram 1.6.6:

 

amudam amararkku Inda nimir SuDar Azhi neDumAl

amudilum ARRa iniyan nimir tirai nIL kaDalAnE.

 

amararkku amudam Inda nimir SuDar Azhi neDumAl nimir tirai nIL

kaDalAn amudilum ARRa iniyan. He who gave the nectar to the deva-s,

and holds the cakra that glows with shooting flame, is the Supreme

Lord with glory beyond words, and is sweeter than the nectar that

came out of the churning of the broad Milk Ocean with rising waves,

in which He is reclining.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the gist of this pASuram with the words svAdu

bhUmnA Because He is sweet as a result of the abundance of

auspicious qualities (svAdu sweet, pleasant to taste; bhUman a

great quantity, abundance, plenty, large number) bhUmnA rasAnam

gahanAh prayogAh - the term bhUmA is used to denote the depth and

abundance of His auspicious qualities.

 

SrI N. S. ananta rangAcArya translates from SrI ranga rAmAnuja

muni's vyAkhyAnam for the chAndogya Upanishad mantram yo vai bhUmA

tat sukham (7.23.1) He who has plentitude is Infinite Bliss, and

points out that bhUmA means abundance, plentitude. It is of the

form of the celebrity of auspicious qualities. Thus, the phrase

svAdu bhUmnA by svAmi deSikan should be understood as: One who is

sweet because of the abundance of auspicious qualities. There is

nothing sweeter than Him, and His sweetness is beyond measure. If

it is asked why the deva-s asked for just the nectar rather than ask

for Him, it is because they just were not capable of realizing His

greatness

 

 

Regards

dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)

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