AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. March 07 Part 3)

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SrI:

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrImate SrInivAsa rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrImate vedAnta rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya nama:

SrI ra’nganAtha divya maNi pAdukAbhyAm nama:

 

AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. March 07 Part 3)

 

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)

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

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

guruvin vAcakam koNDa koRRavan

tiruvin keLvanai koNarmin SenRu ena

‘varuga’ enRanan ennalODum, vandu

arugu SArndanan aRivin umbarAn

 

writes the tamizh poet kambar beautifully.

 

What happened as a result of AcAryan’s advice? Did he understand any better?

Did it result in a conversion of his mind to send his son? When some

acArya-s give advice, the state of the mind will be the same how it was before

a person listened to that advice. If I advise, that is the way it will be.

(SrImad ANDavan humorously asks a svAmi who is closeby) - What svAmi! I have

to ask you only. Isn’t that right? (There is laughter in the audience).

 

A person did kAlakshepam with a svAmi. He did not understand the meaning of a

Slokam no matter how long he listened.

 

avikArAya SuddhAya nityAya paramAtmane |

sadaika rUpa rUpAya vishNave sarva jishNave || (vishNu sahasra nAmam)

 

is the Slokam. svAmi said bhagavad svarUpam will be the same always! How can

it be the same? He kept repeatedly asking the svAmi how bhagavad svarUpam can

be the same always. svAmi said, ‘Okay, I will tell you tomorrow in such a

way that you will understandâ€. sadaika rUpa rUpAya – no matter how many

times I teach you, you do not understand! The same way, perumAL is also the

same (everyone laughs).

 

vasishThar did upadeSam to daSarathar. Did daSarathar realize anything? The

poet writes – “guruvin vAcakam koNDa koRRavanâ€. Even though he is a

tamizh poet, he is a blessed poet; he has God’s blessings; so, instead of

saying ‘vasishTha vAcakam’, he says, “guruvin vAcakam koNDa koRRavanâ€.

He knows samskRtam. Those adept in samskRtam have done vyAkhyAnam for tamizh

prabandhams; that is how tamizh language has been made rich. They have revealed

so much meaning in their writings.

 

guruvin vAcakam koNDa – daSaratha cakravarti who listened to AcAryan’s

words – the poet uses the term ‘guru’. He did not use the term

‘vasishThar’. In other places, he uses the term ‘vasiTTan’. To show

that his aj~nAnam vanished when he listened to the advice, the poet makes use

of the term ‘guru’.

 

‘gu’ SabdastvandakArah syAt ‘ru’ Sabdas-tannirodhaka: |

antakAra nirodhitvAt guru: ityabhidhIyate ||

 

What is the meaning of the word ‘guru’? ‘gu’ denotes darkness,

ajn~Anam, antakAram – the darkness that is ignorance. ‘ru’ means

tannirodhaka: - removes it, destroys it. guru is one who drives away that

darkness.

 

Since the darkness of ignorance is expelled, ‘guru: ityabhidhIyate’ –

daSarathan thought his son is not even sixteen, if he is sent, how will he do

battle with rAkshasa-s.

“na yuddha yogyatAm asya paSyAmi saha rAkshasai:†(bAla. 20.2)

The guru expelled daSarathan’s ignorance that his son did not have the skills

to fight with rAkshasa-s. He removed daSarathan’s ignorance in thinking that

rAman is just his son, just his belonging.

 

What did daSarathan say immediately (after hearing his guru’s words)? He

should have said, ‘Bring rAman, bring lakshmaNanâ€, right? Instead, he

said:

 

tiruvin kELvanaik koNarmin

 

“sumantra, bring lakshmI patiâ€. aLavil vi’njai – he understood that to

mean ‘lakshmI’. So, instead of saying, ’bring my son’, he said,

“tiruvin kELvanaik koNarminâ€, “Bring lakshmI patiâ€.

 

When rAman came, He said – ‘varuga enRanan’ – “comeâ€.

 

“varuga enRanan ennalODum vandu arugu SArndanan†– as soon as he said,

‘varuga’, immediately, rAman came. He came on the utterance of the word

‘varuga’. This is sahokti ala’nkAra: - it is very beautiful in

samskRtam. The same is true of tamizh here. He came as soon as the word

‘varuga’ was uttered. varuga is not ‘vinai muRRu’ (not a finite verb).

It can continue as either ‘varuga vENDum’ (do come) or ‘varuga vENDAm’

(don’t come). kambar says that bhagavAn arrived right away, and if

daSarathan says – â€You came even before I said the word after ‘varuga’.

I was going to say, ‘varuga vENDAm’â€, then perumAL would have said:

“Yes, I came only to goâ€.

 

The meaning conveyed here is that He arrived with such saulabhyam (ease of

access). rAman has so much compassion in blessing His devotees. He will rush

forward to the forefront to do that. He came at the utterance of the word

‘varuga’. That is the meaning behind the words “varuga enRanan ennalODum

vandu†– do you understand? He has so much hastiness to bless His

bhaktas.

 

A poet says – there was a son-in-law in a house. He never left the house

after the marriage. Six months passed by; nine months passed by. The girl’s

brother (brother-in-law) felt uncomfortable. He told his father, “What is

this, father! Son-in-law keeps eating here!†“What can we do, son! He is

not just someone. I have to feed himâ€. One year passed. One and a half

years passed. The son said: “What, father, son-on-law is not leavingâ€.

Father said, “I also told him. He is not leavingâ€. Brother-in-law got very

provoked. He said, “If he does not leave by tomorrow, I will give him

‘galtA’ (kick him out)â€. The term ‘galtA’ comes from ‘gala

hastikA’; in samskRtam, it means placing the hand on the neck and pushing a

person out. That has transformed into ‘galtA’ in tamizh. That son-in-law

did not leave till next evening. The brother-in-law placed his hand on the

son-in-law’s neck and forced him out till the end of the street. He came

back to his father and said that he has sent the son-in-law out and he will not

come back, and they have to send the daughter to his house.

 

After fifteen minutes, that son-in-law came back. Brother-in-law asked him,

“I kicked you out. Why did you come back?†Son-in-law said, “You called

me. So, I came.†“When did I call?†“You called me using symbolic

gestureâ€. “When did I use sign to call you?†The son-in-law says to the

brother-in-law that he had kept his hand on the former’s neck and pushed him;

but, he pulled his hand back and took it away, that is equivalent to saying

‘vA’ (come)! (the whole audience laughs).

 

rAman is One who is that easy to access. ‘varuga enRanan ennalODum vandu’;

he is just as easy as that son-in-law to be attained. paramAtmA is so simple.

He is so easy like that son-in-law who felt that removing the hand that pushed

him out was the same as a sign for inviting him back. He has so much

compassion.

 

The next song is –

vanda nambiyait tambi tannODum

mundai nAnmaRai munikkuk kATTi –nal

tandai nI, tanit tAyum nI! ivarkku

endai ! tandanen ! iyainda Seyga ! enRAn !

 

daSarathar gave perumAL to viSvAmitrar and said, ‘You are the father, mother

everything for this boy. You do not even have to return Him; iyainda Seyga!â€

He gave Him happily saying, “You can do whatever you want; you can use Him in

any wayâ€.

 

dadau kuSika putrAya suprItena antarAtmanA | (bAla. 22.3)

 

AcAryar vasishThar’s words carried that much weight with daSarathan. He had

so much respect for his AcAryan’s words.

 

What did viSvAmitrar do immediately? He said, ‘bye’ and started walking

very fast with the two boys. He did not even look back. vAlmIki says

beautifully, “aSvinau iva brahmANam’ (bAla.22.8). rAman and lakshmaNan

were walking behind the Rshi elegantly like aSvinI devata-s going behind

brahmA; they were shining so brilliantly. They were wearing ambaRAt tUNIram

(arrow-holder or quiver which is hung on the shoulder). They were carrying

their wonderful bows on their beautiful shoulders and walking with elegance.

In deva lokam, aSvinI devatA-s are the most beautiful. They were walking with

so much charm. They gathered a bunch of arrows and placed them in the quiver

and were carrying the bow.

 

venRi vAL puDai vaSittu meymmai pOl

enRum tEyvuRAt tUNi yAttu, iru

kunRam pONru uyar tOLil, koRRavil

onRu tA’nginAn – ulagam tA’nginAn

 

writes the tamizh poet beautifully.

 

koRRavil onRu tA’nginAn – ulagam tA’nginAn. paramAtmA who is the

Protector of all the worlds, paramAtmA who is sung as One who is protecting all

the Universes -

 

dyau: sa candrArka nakshatrA kham diSo bhU: mahodadhi: |

vAsudevasya vIryeNa vidhRtAni mahAtmana: || (vishNu sahasra nAmam)

 

koRRa vil tA’nginAn – carried the bow thus on His shoulder. What kind of

shoulder? ‘kunRam pOnRu uyarnda tOLil’. How is it? It is huge like a

mountain. How will a kshatriya’s shoulder be?

 

AyatASca suvRttASca bAhava: parighopamA: |

sarva bhUshaNa bhUshArhA : kimartham na vibhUshitA : || (kishkindA.3.14)

 

The two shoulders look like two huge mountains standing.

 

kulaiyArnda pazhukkAyum paSum kAyum pALai muttum

talaiyArnda iLam kamugin taDam SOlai tirunaRaiyUr

malaiyArnda kOlam SEr maNi mADam miga manni

nilaiyAra ninRAn tan nIL kazhalE aDai ne’njE! (periya tirumozhi 6.9.8)

 

kunRam pONru uyar tOLil, koRRavil onRu tA’nginAn – ulagam tA’nginAn.

paramAtmA, who is bearing the world - SrI rAghavan who is bearing all the

worlds, wore the bow on His shoulder. On the other shoulder, He tied the

quiver to hold the arrows. What kind of a quiver is that? “enRum tEyvuRAt

tUNi yAttu†– svAmi! If arrows are taken out of it, it will keep growing!

It will never decrease in numbers. It is that kind of arrow holder. It is

called tUNIra:; rAman and lakshmaNan walked behind the sage beautifully,

wearing that quiver as well.

 

viSvAmitra mahaRshi is walking very fast. It is said that Rshi-s and

brAhmaNa-s walk very fast. ‘kundina naDaiyinar, kuDai onRu Endinar’. They

walk with ‘kundina naDai’ – they will not keep the whole foot on the

ground; why? There may be some cloth or thread or something else. It may

touch the body. They are all particular about AcAram (purity). So, they will

walk with a watching face down in sarpa gati (like a snake). When he was going

like that, the two boys were walking behind him. What did he do when he was

going thus?

 

adhyardha yojanam gatvA sarayvA dakshiNe tate |

rAmeti madhurAm vANIm viSvAmitro’bhyabhAshata || (bAla.22.10)

 

vAlmIki bhagavAn is very happy because a sweet word is coming out of

viSvAmitrar’s mouth! What is surprising here is that viSvAmitrar is known to

be a person who becomes easily angry; will an angry person have a sweet word?

viSvAmitrar spoke a sweet word. How did sweetness occur in his word? It is

not that his talk became sweet. But, because there is sweetness in the name

‘rAma’; so, vAlmIki says viSvAmitra’s word was sweet. vAlmIki thinks

further – “Why should I talk about him? Why should I say he spoke sweetly?

I made 24,000 Slokams; how great are those? Why? It is sweet only because it

is all about rAmanâ€.

 

kUjantam rAma rAmeti madhuram madhurAksharam |

Aruhya kavitA SAkhAm vande vAlmIki kokilam ||

 

rAmeti madhuram madhurAksharam – if the work is about rAman, it is bound to

be sweet. If the work is about kRshNan, it is bound to be like bhAgavatam. If

one just recites a Slokam in bhAgavatam, he can be given sambhAvanai. He does

not have to say the meaning. [There are Sloka-s where] The First line will have

18 letters and second line will have 24 letters. In addition, they will all be

difficult phrases. That is the way bhAgavatam is. Since the word ‘rAma:’

is sweet, rAmeti madhurAm vANIm, viSvAmitr`obhyabhAshata, viSvAmitrar spoke.

How is that? madhurAm vANIm viSvAmitr`obhyabhAshata –

 

He called the sweet name ‘rAma:’ after he walked for fifteen miles. AyatA

daSa ca dve ca yojanAni, trINi vistIrNA – ayodhyA city is 12 yojanA-s long

and three yojanA-s broad (so he has said in the 5th sargam – Slokam 7); after

that is sarayU river; he reached the banks of the sarayU river, and then he

called the name of rAma – madhurAm vANIm viSvAmitr`obhyabhAshata.

 

Many people say: He went all the way up to the SarayU river bank! He did not

talk to these boys all along during that long walk! Why? Couldn’t he have

talked to them in between? “Hey boys, we will travel safely. I will take

you without any difficulty. Don't think ‘forest’ means it is difficult.

There will be many good facilities. The wives of the Rshi-s will be very kind

to you. They will express kindness more than your mother. They will give food

three times of the day. They will even mix the food with their hand before

serving the food on the leaf (it is SrImad ANDavan’s humorous tiru uLLam

that the boys will not even have to go through the difficulty of mixing the

food; since it will be pre-mixed with their own hands by the Rshi-patni-s

before being served)â€. Could he not say something like this? It is indeed

a uniquely pleasant feeling to not talk for fifteen miles and keep chanting the

rAmAyaNa Slokam ‘adhyardha yojanam gatvA sarayvA: dakshiNe taTe……’

(AcAryar has a happy, sweet laugh).

 

adhyardha yojanam gatvA sarayvA: dakshiNe taTe |

rAmeti madhurAm vANIm viSvAmitro’bhyabhAshata ||

 

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

 

To be continued …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

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