The fourth Day of Navaham of Sundara KaaNDam ( April 7): Sargams 21-26 ( 216 slOkams)

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Raama BhakthAs :

 

In today's PaarAyaNam , the contents covered are:

 

Sargam 21: RaavaNa NirAkaraNam/Sita " s categorical

rejection of RaavaNA's daring appeal

Sargam 22: avadhividhAnam / Setting a time limit

by RaavaNan

Sargam 23: RaakshasI prEraNam/The prodding of

SeethA by the RaakshasIs to consider

RaavaNA's appeal

Sargam 24: RaakshasI tarjanam /RaakshasI's threats

Sargam 25: SeethA nirvEda:/SeethA's sorrow

Sargam 26: PrANathyAga Niscchaya:/SeethA's decision

to take Her life .

 

Selected key slOkams for the Fourth day are :

 

thruNamantharatha: kruthvA prathyuvAcha SuchismithA

**Sargam 21.2

 

(meaning): SithA overtaken by sorrow on hearing

the inauspicious words of RaavaNA cried , trembled,

meditated on Her Consort and replied to RaavaNA

after placing a blade of grass between Herself

and the offending RaavaNan .

 

(Comments): This symbolic placement of a blade of

grass between Herself and RaavaNan are for

number of reasons as explained by commentators :

 

(1) She could not speak with a para purushan

directly because of Her pathivrathA dharmam.

 

(2) She placed the blade of grass between

Herself and RaavaNan to indicate that She

considered RaavaNan and his wealth worthless

as a thrumpu (blade of grass).

 

(3) She considered Her own life worthless under

the circumstances of being separated from

Her Lord.

 

In the next slOkam , SitA pirAtti reminded the evil

RaavaNan that She should be treated like a worshipful

Mother by him :

 

nivarthaya manO(*) mattha: svajanE(*) kriyathAm mana:(*)

na maam prArthayithum yuktham Susiddhamiva paapakruth

Sundara KaaNdam: 21.3

 

(Meaning ): Oh RavaNA! Please turn your mind away

from me and direct it to your own wifeand kins.Your appeal

to me is like the dushtan, who performs paapa karmA

and prays for the blessings of Brahma lOkam at

the same time .

 

Here our Jaanaki MaathA uses the word Manam twice(*)

in the first line of the slOkam ( manO , mana:)

 

She suggests to RavaNA to turn around the word

" mana: " ; under that transformation " mana: " will

become " nama: " . As merciful lOka MaathA , She instructs

the deluded RaavaNan with sadhupadEsam and reminds

Him that She has to be linked to the " nama: " sabdham

and spirit .She also hints to him that he should

prostrate before Her as his Mother through namaskAra-

kriyA .She also reminds him as to what would happen if

he persists on his evil course and asks him not to accumulate

MahA-paapams through appealing to Her to become his chief

queen ;She reminded the ayOgyan that She is

the dharma pathni of Raaghava Simham and that he should

think of what happened to his " svajanam(*)like Kharan,

dhUshaNan at janasthAnam earlier .

 

RaavaNan was mindless and began to come close to

SeethA , who reprimanded him to stay away from Her.

SeethA cried out and asked : " Are there no righteous

ones in LankA to turn RaavaNA from his evil ways

( iha santhO na vaa santhi sathO vaa naanuvarthasE)? " .

 

She reminded RaavaNA that She is inseparable from

Raamachandran , just as the lustre of Sooryan is

inseperable from Sooryan ( ananyA RaaghavENAham

BhaaskarENa prabhA yathA: 21.15).At the very beginning

slOkam of Sri Raghu Veera Gadhyam , Swamy Desikan

reminds us of these revealing words of SeethA

with his own paraphrase of these powerful words

relating to the yEkasEshithvam doctrine :

 

" prabhAvAn SeethayA DevyA Parama vyOma Bhaaskara: "

 

The most merciful JaganmAthA advises RaavaNA

to save himself, his city and the citizens

by befriending Raamchandran. She does not suggest

to RaavaNan to perform SaraNAgathi , since he will

not receive it well and hence , She suggested that

RaavaNA befriend Her Lord ( tEna maithrI bhavathu

tE yathi jeevithum icchasi: 21.20 ).She reminded

RaavaNA about his cowardly act of stealing Her

while Her husband and brother-in-law were away.

She reminded RaavaNA that his time of destruction

was nearing and that he was not going to escape

from RaamA's wrath and arrows even if he (RaavaNA)

sought protection at the high altitudes of KailAsam

or at the depths of VaruNa's abode .

 

RaavaNA did not listen to the counsel of

SeethA and threatened her further by

asking his servants to persuade SeethA to

accept his proposal . SeethA reminded RaavaNA

that She could have reduced him to ashes with

the power of Her penanace as a pathivrathai ,

but chose not to because of lack of permission

from Her Lord :

 

asmdEsAtthu Raamasya tapascchaanupaalanAth

na thvAM kurmi dasagrIva BHASMA BHASMAARHATEJASAA

Sargam 22.20

 

After threatening lOkamAthA , the evil and unrepentant

RaavaNA returned to his palace.The jailors of SithA pirAtti

insulted her thereafter and praised the worthiness of their

Lord as the supreme match for her hand .These words fell

on the ears of the pathivrathA sirOnmaNi as naarAsam .

Her eyes were filled with tears(nEthrAbhyAm asrupUrNAbhyAM

idham vachanam abraveeth) and rejected their counsel totally.

 

She gave sadhupadEsam to the RaakshasIs also :

 

dhInO vaa raajyahInO vaa yO mE BHARTTHA SA mE GURU:

tamm NITHYAM ANURAKTHAASMI yaThA Sooryam SuvarcchalA

Sargam 24.9

 

(Meaning ): Whether I am low in spirit and helpless,

whether my husband is devoid of wealth and kingdom,

my husband , Sri Raamachandran is my object of adoration

and worship. I have surrendered to Him with the greatest

of affection , just as Suvarchalai relates to Soorya mUrthy.

 

SeethA PirAtti reminds them that Her total dependence

on Her Lord is identical to the path followed by

other pathivrathA SirOnmaNis , who followed their

husbands without question during their times of

difficulties. She referred to the pairs:

 

IndhrANi and Indhran, Arundhathi and Vasishtar,

RohiNi and Chandran, LobhAmudrai and Agasthyar ,

Sukanyaa and Shyavanar , Saavithri and SathyavAn ,

Srimathi and Kapilar , Dhamayanthi and SoudhAsan ,

kEsini nad Sagaran et al.

 

The cruel and tamO-guNam filled RaakshasIs did

not benefit from the upadEsam of our lOkamAthA

and responded with their counter counsel:

 

kim tE RaamENa VaidEhi krupaNEna gathAyushA

yEthadhuktham cha mE vaakyam yadhi thvam na karishyasi

asmin muhUrthE sarvAsthvAm bakshayayishyAmahE vayam

Sargam: 24.26

 

(Meaning): Oh VaidEhi! What is the use of your

doting upon Raaman , who is a human being with

limited life? If you do not listen to our counsel

and marry our Lord , we all will consume You

as our food. After being threatened by the evil

raakshasIs in this manner , SeethA PirAtti

realized Her helpless and undefended state

and began to lose Her courage and cried.

She decided to take Her life :

 

jeevithum thyakthum icchAmi sOkEna mahathA vruthA

raakshasIbhisccha rakshyanthyA RaamO naasAdhyathE mayA

Sargam 25.19

 

(meaning): Overcome by unbearable sorrow , I am

determined to commit aathma hatthi. With the raakshasIs

as jailors, I am unable to be near my PrANa nAthan.

(She seems to hint here that She would have entered

the ocean in the absence of Her jailors and walked

across the ocean to the side of her Lord).

 

SrEyO mE jeevithAnmarthum vihInAya mahAthmana:

RaamAdhaklishtachArithrAccUrAcchathru nibarhaNAth

Sargam: 26.45

 

(Meaning): She considered that death is better

than being separated from Her Lord , who is

the supreme among heros, who is the nightmare for

His enemies , who is the embodiment of

righteous conduct and who is a MahAthmA .

 

At the end of the 26th sargam, SeethA PirAtti

salutes all the great ones , who are not affected

by the dhvandhvams such as priyam and apriyam :

 

priyAnna sambhavEtu dh:khamapriyaadadhikam bhayam

thAbhyAM hi yE viyujyantE NAASTHESHAAM MAHAATHMANAAM

Sargam 26.50

 

(meaning ): Does n't attachment produce sorrow?

( does not separation from people dear cause

sorrow?).Doesn't loathable objects cause fear?

Hence I bow to those mahAthmAs , who are above

priyams and apriyams ( through this namaskArams,

SeethA PirAtti hints about the soubhAgyams that

are imminent through the dreams of Thrijadai ).

 

Sri SeethA SamEtha Raamachandra parabrahmaNE Nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan