The Magnificent Monarch

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

" The Magnificent Monarch "

 

We have seen some kings, and heard of many others. Our history books are full of

monarchs and their machinations. Even to this day, when grandparents tell

bedtime stories to their wards, they prefer to tell stories of kings of yore.

The very mention of a king brings to our mind a majestic figure clad in regal

finery and armour, with glittering headgear, seated on a golden throne, attended

to with deference by ministers and courtiers, an embodiment of power whose

single word can make or mar a person's life. We have heard of good kings and

bad. We know of the merciful Emperor Shipi who gave his own flesh to save a

dove, and of the King Asamanjasa, whose favourite sport was to throw innocent

toddlers into the river and watch them drown. We have read of Emperor Ashoka, a

famed votary of ahimsA, and of Hammurabi of Babylon, with his own brand of cruel

justice. We have read of kings in whose reign fine arts flourished and of

Aurangazeb, who hated music and was a miser of the first order. We have read of

the Pallava King Paramesvaravarman who aided Sri Tirumangai Mannan in his

kainkaryams and put up several towering temples to house the Lord, and also of

Kulotthunga (the II or III) who persecuted Sri Vaishnavas for practicing their

faith, forced Sri Ramanuja into exile and robbed Sri Koorattazhwan of his

vision.

 

Thus there has been any number of kings, good, bad and ugly. Because of his role

and responsibility of maintaining law and order, dispensing justice and ensuring

the prosperity of his subjects, the King was regarded as the personification of

Lord Mahavishnu. The King was indeed the ultimate arbiter in all matters

concerning the State and in discharging his duties, he was aided by ministers

who were experts in economics, jurisprudence and the fine arts.

 

Azhwars too speak of a King, whose role and responsibilities are similar to the

aforesaid monarchs, with the important difference that this King's writ runs

over not a small kingdom or fiefdom, but over the entire Cosmos. While the reign

of other kings is limited by time, this King rules forever. While other kings

can and do err (like the Pandian king who, without due inquiry, put Kovalan to

death) this King never errs and is the fairest Arbiter one can ever find. While

other RajAs demand tribute from their subjects, this King only seeks love and

affection as offerings, and is quite flexible in His requirements-all that you

need to offer is a leaf of Tulasi, any flower of the common garden variety, or

just plain water. The King the Azhwars speak of is the King of all Kings, the

Supreme Emperor, who has none equal to or superior to Him- " RAjAdhi RAja:

sarvEshAm " . He is the Emperor to whom the Shruti bows its proud head- " MahArAjAya

nama: " . The term " Eka ChhatrAdhipati " has been coined to describe only this

Emperor of All. His protective umbrella extends over all universes and all

beings, animate and otherwise.

 

Sri Thirumangai Mannan, while describing the various relationships we have with

the Lord, says " empirAn endhai ennudai chuttram, enakkarasu, ennudai vANAL " .

 

It is clear from this that the multi-faceted bonds which bind us to Emperuman

include those relating to an all-powerful Emperor and His lowly subject.

However, lest the word " arasu " be mistaken to mean any old king, Azhwar hastens

to identify the monarch under reference- " ambinAl arakkar verukkoLa nerukki avar

uyir seguttha em aNNal " . This is none other than the Prince of Ayodhya, who put

paid to the vast army of rAkshasAs with His deadly arrows.

 

The King of Ayodhya draws praise from another Azhwar-

 

" ilangayar kulatthai vAttiya varisilai vAnavar ErE " says Sri Tondaradippodi in

Tiruppalliezucchi, extolling Sri Rama's bravery in annihilating the inhabitants

of Lanka through His prowess with the famed bow Kodhandam. The Mornarch who

performed this rare and remarkable feat is the Emperor not only of Ayodhya and

the whole Cosmos, but of the Celestials too, ( " VAnavar ErE " ).

 

Though several Azhwars have touched on the glory of this King, it is to Sri

Kulasekhara Perumal we must turn, if we need a perfect portrait of this

Magnificent Monarch.

 

The King is expected to set standards for his subjects through exemplary

personal conduct. " YathA RAjA tathA prajA " and " Yat yat Acharati shrEshtta: tat

tat Eva itarO jana:

 

sa yat pramANam kurutE lOka: tat anuvartatE "

 

are pramANAs which emphasize the need for the King's conduct being above board.

By this yardstick, we may confidently assert that Sri Raghava was the only

complete King, whose life was an object lesson on righteous living. His speech,

His action and His thoughts were model ones, unassailable in any forum and by

any right-thinking person at any time. So much so, even His sworn enemies had

only compliments to offer and no words of reproach- " RAmO vigrahavAn dharma: " was

not the statement of any admiring acolyte, but that of MArIchA, who was

tormented by the Rama bANa and ultimately met his end at his Hero's hands.

 

 

What was so special about the reign of Sri Rama?

 

Sri Valmiki narrates the truly golden era of RAma RAjya in the following

immortal slokas-

 

" Prahrushta mudhitO lOka: tushta: pushta: sudhArmika:

 

nirAmayO hi arOgascha dhurbhiksha bhaya varjitha:

 

na putra maraNam kEchit drakshyanti purushA: kvachit

 

nAryascha avidhavA nityam bhavishyanti na samsaya:

 

na cha agnijam bhayam kinchit nApsu majjanti jantava:

 

na vAtajam bhayam kinchit nApi jvarakritam tatA

 

na chApi kshutbhayam tatra na taskarabhayam tatA

 

nagarANi cha rAshtrANi dhana dhAnya ayutAni cha

 

nityam pramuditA: sarvE yathA KritayugE tatA "

 

All citizens of Ayodhya were happy, contented and adquately endowed with all

they could need. They enjoyed robust health and were free from flood or famine.

There was no occasion for an elderly person to suffer bereavement of his

children nor for women to lament the loss of their husbands. This is to say that

no one was snatched away by untimely death. The ladies in Ramarajya were blessed

with permanent auspiciousness. Sri Rama's subjects had no reason to fear

calamities or even minor accidents due to fire, floods, felons, furious winds,

or fever. The whole state and its inhabitants had all they could want of wealth

and health. In short, a more peaceful and prosperous lot would have been hard to

find.

 

Even before King Dasarata could think of anointing Sri RAghava as the Crown

Prince, a delegation of his subjects calls on him to demand the same, telling

the old sovereign clearly that he should make way for his illustrious son who

was endowed with all auspicious and regal qualities-- " bahavO nripa! kalyANa

guNA: putrasya santi tE " .

 

And what were the sterling qualities that His subjects found in Sri Rama, that

made Him an ideal King? Sri Valmiki recounts these with relish. The Prince of

Ayodhya was handsomeness personified, with perfectly proportioned limbs, a broad

chest, arms stretching to His knees, a pleasing complexion, merciful eyes that

were red-lined, long and broad, resembling a just-bloomed lotus, a broad

forehead, a strong and shapely neck, chubby cheeks, a broad, smiling mouth and

an overwhelming beauty that could floor even the most hard-hearted of men, to

say nothing of women. In short, He had all the " SAmudrikA " lakshana features

that characterise a great King.

 

He was unshakeable in courage, and had an infinite fund of patience and

tolerance.His bravery was equal to that of Mahavishnu and His looks as pleasing

as the full moon. He had complete command over Himself and others, was always

pure in body and mind.For all His softness and endearing courtesy, He could be

terrifying as the Cosmic Fire to His enemies and unmatched in war craft. He was

righteousness personified and strict in enforcing right conduct among His

subjects.

 

He would never wait for the other person to speak first, and , despite His

stature, was always the first to initiate conversation, irrespective of the

other person's station in life. When He spoke, His voice was mellifluous and His

words pleasing, courteous and sincere. His demeanour was majestic and His gait

akin to that of a virile ox in its prime. The depth of His learning would put

the Goddess of Learning herself to shame, for He was well-versed in all the

scriptures and was always surrounded by erudite scholars and the good of heart,

who hung on to His every word.

 

Tempting though it is to wax eloquent on Chakkravartthi Tirumagan's qualities,

coming back to the point, He made an ideal King. Not only the citizens of

Ayodhya wept and went off food when He was exiled, but even the trees of

Ayodhya, which were in full bloom, suddenly withered up and perished, unable to

bear even the thought of separation from the Perfect Prince.

 

We are used to hearing about Kings who had a big harem. In fact, it was

considered to be beneath a King's dignity to have less than a dozen wives. We

read of Sri Krishna's jumbo harem consisting of 16000 or more wives. In

comparison, Sri Rama stands out as a monarch who would never even look at a

woman other than His lawfully-wedded wife, for whose sake He underwent untold

trials and tribulations. Impeccable marital fidelity and absolute devotion to

the better half are lessons the world should learn from Sri DAsarathi.

 

A good ruler never deserts his subjects. He shares whatever good fortune he has

with them and stands as one with them through thick and thin. This admirable

quality in Sri Rama comes to the fore when He insists on all His subjects,

including lowly blades of grass, being emancipated, when He relinquished His

mortal coils and left for His celestial abode.

 

We now begin to get a faint glimmer of why Sri Nammazhwar exhorted people to

extoll the praises of only Chakravartthi Tirumagan ( " KarpAr irAma pirAnai allAl

mattrum karparO " ), why Sri Tirumangai Mannan claimed Him with envious

possessiveness as his (Azhwar's) own King ( " enakkarasu " ) , why Sri Andal

reserved for Him the most endearing epithet ( " ManatthukkiniyAn " ), why Sri

Cheralar KOn considered this Model Monarch indelible from memory ( " Thillai nagar

Tiru Chittirakoodam thannuL uraivAnai maravAdha uLlam tanai udayOm " ) and why he

considered the uplifting tale of this Perfect Prince tastier than nectar

( " EmperumAn tan charithai seviyAl kaNNAl paruguvOm innamudham madhiyOm " ) and why

Swami Desikan eulogised Him as " thani Veeran " , " Sarva jana sammAnitha! " and

" RAghava Simha! " .

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan.