umaa sahasram

[Guest guest]

I had come across this fascinating story about Ramana Maharshi and

Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni sometime ago. It is the story of how Uma Sahasram

(1000 verses on the Goddess Uma) was composed by Ganapati Muni. Since Sri

Raviji has kindly given the url, I would like to give the whole story here.

Perhaps this is from M.P. Pandit's book. I would like to join in with the

opinion expressed by Sri Frankji, that the Sage of Aruanachala, Bhagwan

Ramana has no equals. Who else can teach with unerring simplicity and give

directly the experience of the Heart? No doubt, there are many teachers. But

when the Sun It Self shines on a clear day in the middle of the afternoon,

who will desire to read by candle lights.

 

Love

Harsha

 

BEGIN QUOTE:

 

Another work of great repute is Uma sahasram. This was composed

by Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, who 'named' a brahmana swami called

Venkataramanan as Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. A great exponent of

mantra, tantra, he was so adept in Sanskrit that He could compose

hundreds of verses extempore. One day, He decided to compose 1000

verses and announced to his devotees in various parts of the country

that this poem would be dedicated on a certain Friday in the Shrine of

Sri UMA in the great Temple of Sri Arunachaleswara.

 

At about 8 p.m. on the evening before the dedication day, after

supper, Sri Kavyakanta told Bhagavan that he had composed only 700

verses. Sri Maharshi sat silent and in deep meditation like the silent

Lord Dakshinamurthy. The eager disciples watched in tense admiration

the sweet flow of divine music in Sanskrit verse as it came from the

lips of the great and magnetic personality of Sri Kavyakanta. He stood

there delivering the verses in an unbroken stream while disciples

eagerly gathered the words and wrote them down.

 

The 'Sahasram' was finished in several metres - Madalekha, Pramanika,

Upajati, Aryagiti, etc. Then Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi opened His

eyes and asked, "Nayana, has all I said been taken down?'' From Sri

Ganapati Muni came the ready reply and grateful response: "Bhagavan,

all that Bhagavan inspired in me has been taken down!''

 

It is noteworthy that whereas Sri Kavyakanta revised the first 700

verses of this monumental work some six times; he did not revise any

of the last 300. This being Sri Bhagavan's own utterance, there was no

need to polish them.'These 300 verses are to be considered as Sri

Bhagavan's unique contribution to Sanskrit poetry on the Divine

Mother.

 

The 'Uma Sahasram' is different from other compositions in that it is

pasyanti vak, i.e., revealed by the Divine Mother in Her own words.

 

The Sanskrit bhashya by Kapali Sastri is available. So is the english

translation of certain verses by M.P.Pandit and published by Ganesh

publishers, Madras in 1983.