ThiruvahIndhrapuram RathnAngi Kaimkaryam Series 43/Appa! Raama Bhakthi yenthO ?

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear SrI Rama BhakthAs:

 

The lingering ruchi of ChithrabhAnu SrI Raama Navami

celebrations are still with us . In the context of

this celebration of the Vaibhavam of Lord Raamamchandran

let us pay tribute to one of the greatest

SrI Raama BhakthAs , SrI ThyAgarAja SwamigaL.

 

Today , we will study the well known krithi of

ThyagarAja SwamigaL set in the beautiful mELa

rAgam of PanthuvarALi :

 

PALLAVI:

 

" appa! Raamabhakthi yenthO gOpparA ; maa "

 

How sublime and great is Raama Bhakthi and

devotion to our beloved Sire(Father) Raama !

 

ANUPALLAVI:

 

" thrippaDalanu dheercchi kanDi-rEppavalEnu gaachu maa "

 

The sublimity of this Raama Bhakthi arrests the wanderings

of our mind , banishes all the cares and sufferings

and protects us just as the eyelids guards the eyes

in an involuntary manner .

 

(Thrippadalnu here refers to the mercurial wanderings

of the mind and its immense propensity to be restless).

 

CHARANAM 1:

 

" LakshmI dEvi valachunA ? LakshmaNuNDu goluchunA ?

sookshma buddhi gala Bharathudu jUchi jUchi sOlasunA? maa "

 

If this Raama Bhakthi were not to be sublime , would

LakshmI devi long to join Him in His Raama avathAram as SitA

PirAtti and descend to this earth to be with Him ?

 

( the choice of the word " valachunA " embodies

the deep doctrine of the inseperability of

MahA laskshmi with Her Lord. She says " ahalahillEn "

and never leaves Him even for a fraction of a second .

VishNu PurANam salutes their inseperability this way:

" nithyaivEshA JaganmAthA VishNo: SrI: anapAyini " ) .

 

If this Raama Bhakthi were not be so sublime . would

the valiant LakshmaNa serve Him and gain Kaimkarya SrI?

( aham sarvam karishyAmi jAgratha; svapathasccha tE/

I shall do every thing for You , whether you are

awake or sleeping --LakshmaNA's words requestign permission

to accompany his brother during His vana vAsam).

 

If this Raama Bhakthi were not to be so elevating and lofty ,

would the noble BharathAzhwAn endowed with discriminating

intellect wither away at NandhigrAmam awaiting His Lord's return

in such an enduringly longing manner ?

 

(In Kamba RaamAyaNam , BharathA's nobility is praised

as being superior even to that of Lord Raamachandra ,

His elder brother. Kambhan says through DasarAthA's

speech : " Oh My BharathA! of all the kings and princes

that have adorned Raghu Vamsam from times beyond recollection ,

who is there that matches You in purity of heart ? Can even

thousand RaamAs equal Thee ?).Such is the greatness of

Bharathan , who had such profound Raama Bhakthi.

 

CHARANAM 2:

 

" Sabhari yengili nicchunA? aBhala Svayamprabhaku

dhaivam-achala padhavi nicchunA maa "

 

If the Raama Bhathi were not to be so sublime , would

the old lady , Sabari have tasted and tested the fruits

before offerign the ripest and sweetest ones to RaamA ?

 

Could Lord SivA with the adornment of cresent moon display

such veneration (mecchunA) for Lord Raamachandran , if He

did not have such abundant Bhkthi for latter ?

 

( " Sahasra Naama Tath tulyam RAAMA NAAMA VARAANANE " --

Lord Siva " s upadEsam to His consort , Paarvathi Devi

at the end of SrI VishNu Sahasra NaamaavaLi).

 

 

(These two incidents relating to Sabari and SvaymprabhA

in this charaNam are not referred to in Sage VaalmIki's

aadhi Kaavyam of srImad RaamAyaNam. In Kamba RaamAyanam alone ,

one comes across the story of Sabari testing the ripeness of

the forest fruits before offering them to Raama is mentioned .

 

SvayamprabhA's story appears in Aanandha RaamAyanam.

She meets RaamA during His roamings in the forest in search

of SitA PirAtti , who ws abducted by RaavaNa. SvayamprabhA

shows the way to LankhA , where SitA was imprisoned

and the thankful Lord blessed her with MOksham ,which is

referred to in the charanam passage as " Dhaivam achala padhavi " ).

 

CHARANAM 3:

 

" Kapi vAridhi dhADunA , Kaliki rODa gaDDunA

aparAdhI ThyagarAjukAnandhamu hEcchunA? maa "

 

If his Raama Bhakthi were not so firm and sublime ,

could a monkey by the name of AnjanEyA jumped over

the vast ocean to land in LankA in search of SitA PirAtti ?

 

If her Bhakti for the Lord were not so firm and lofty ,

could a mere cowherdess by the name of YasOdhA (Kaliki=

besutiful one) bind the Lord to a mortar at Gokulam

and tie Him down ?( " KaNNInuNN siru ThAmbinAl KattuNNapatta

Peru Maayan " in Madhura kavi AzhwAr's words ).

 

If his Bhakthi for the Lord did not get suffused with

MahA VisvAsam in Him as the Sarva Loka SaraNyan , would

an aparaadhi ( transgressor of Saasthraic injunctions

of the Lord ) like ThyagarAja enjoy increasing bliss of

Bhagavad anubhavam ? Can such a sinner like ThyagarAja

be the beneficiary of the supreme bliss of enduring

anubhavam of the Lord of AyOddhi ?

 

Thus asks and wonders Saint ThyAgarAja in this beautiful

krithi and reminds us of many BhakthAs of the Lord ranging

from MahA lakshmi , LakshmaNan , Bharathan , Lord SivA ,

Sabhari , SvayamprabhA , HanumAn , YasOdhaa to himself .

 

NamO namO RaaghavAya anisam

Namo NamO RaghunATAya sadatham

 

SrI Jaanaki SamEtha SrI Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchArI SadagOpan

 

P.S: Please participate in the RathnAngi Kaimkaryam

for Lord DevanATan at ThiruvahIndhrapuram. We will

study the ThOdi Raaga krithi , " KaddanavAriki " of

the Raamachaithanya , ThyAgarAja SwamigaL in our

ThiruvahIndhrapuram series of postings .