SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan’s SrImad rAmAyaNa
upanyAsam–translation of AcArya rAmAmRtam as it appeared in the December 2007 issue of SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA..
..
Normally, one would bestow abhayam – protection – with the hand. And
the person will attain auspiciousness. It is not auspicious if one
kicks with the leg. Instead, I saw fear caused by Your Hand [in the
case tATakA vadham], and saw protection offered by Your Foot. What a
great wonder this is! kai vaNNam a’ngu kaNDEn kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn
(Kamban 1.2.24). It has one meaning like this. ayya’ngAr meaning.
(laughter in the audience).
mai vaNNa arakki pOril mazhai vaNNattu annAlE un
kai vaNNam a’ngu kaNDEn kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn
pAshANa nirmita tapodhana dharmadAram (devanAyaka pa’ncAsat 41)
[BhagavAn’s divine feet that created the wife of sage Gautama from the
stone…]
pAntu vaH padmanAbhasya pAdukA keLi pAmsvaH |Let the dusts arising from the PAdukA-s of bhagavAn as He walks
protect all – the same dusts from the PAdukA-s of PadmanAbhan that
created ahalyA from the stone.]
Gautamar came. rAma and lakshmaNa prostrate before the couple
ahalyA-Gautamar. [fn 1] Gautamar is trying to reason out – ” she should
have been created from atoms. How did she come to life? ” He is one
who belonged to tarka matam – the tarka faith – analyzing by logic.
They believe that everything comes from atoms.
tarka matam places importance on atoms. They say that even when one
dies, one should think ‘pIlavaH, pIlavaH, pIlavaH’ (atoms, atoms,
atoms) – one should remember the atoms – which are the cause of the
world according to them. They do not leave the atoms even then.
Gautamar kept thinking – she must have risen from the atoms. rAman
said, “she got created only from the atom!”
What atom? pAdukA keLi pAmsavaH | ahalyAdeha nirmANa paryAya
paramANavaH || from the dust of His foot – she arose from the atom.
kai vaNNam a’ngu kaNDEn kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn
” I saw the significance of Your tiruvaDi here. It can dissolve all the
sins and provide release from all curses. ”
rAman laughed. “What mahaRshi! You think you have you seen it all!
It seems like you have understood the significance of my tiruvaDi!”
mahaRshi said – “I have not known fully yet! kAl vaNNam – ” kAl ” vaNNam
i’ngu kaNDEn – ” I have learned only one-fourth. [kAl in tamizh means
foot and it also means one-fourth]. There is so much more to learn.
Another person who will be born in my lineage later will sing the
greatness of Your tiruvaDi. Watch! ” (svAmi deSikan’s gotram is
ViSvAmitra gotram).
[svAmi deSikan sings perumAL’s tiruvaDi prabhAvam – the greatness of
BhagavAn’s divine feet, in several places:]
svAmi deSikan says in nava maNi mAlai –
oru madiyanbar uLam kavarndana
ulagam aDa’nga vaLarndu aLandana
oru SaDai onRiya ga’ngai tandana
uraga paDa’ngaL ara’ngu koNDana
dharumam uyarndadu idenna ninRana
dharuman irandadu iSaindu SenRana
SakaTam uDaindu kala’nga venRana
tamargaL arundum marundu idenbana
tirumagaL Seyya kara’ngaL onRina
tigazh tuLavu undum maNam kamazhndana
Sezhu maNi koNDa Silambu ila’ngina
Silai tanil a’nRu Or aNa’ngu umizhndana
arumaRai antam amarnda paNbina
ayan muDi tannil amarndu uyarndana
aruL tara eNNi ayindai vandana
aDiyavar meyyar malarp pada’ngaLE (nava maNi mAlai -1)
kai vaNNam a’ngu kaNDEn
kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn
” I learned only one-fourth. svAmi deSikan, who is coming in my vamSam,
will describe well! ”
uDan marudam oDiya oru pOdil tavazhndana
uRi taDavum aLavil uralODu uRRu ninRana
uRu neRi Or dharuman viDu tUdukku ugandana
maRa neRiyar muRiya pirutAnattu vandana
malarmagaL kai varuDa malar pOdil Sivandana
maRu piRavi aRu munivar mAlukku iSaindana
manu muRaiyil varuvadOr vimAnattu uRaindana
aRamuDiaya viSayan amar tEril tigazhndana
aDal uraga paDam maDiya Adik kaDindana
aRu Samayam aRivariya tAnattu amarnadana
aNi kurugai nagar munivar nAvukku amaindana
veRiyuDaiya tuLava malar vIRukku aNindana
vizhukari Or kumaran ena mEvic ciRandana
viral aSurar paDai aDaiya vIyat turandana
viDal ariya periya perumAL meyp pada’ngaLE
(adhikAra sa’ngraham 51))
The greatness of His tiruvaDi is beyond description. kai vaNNam a’ngu
kaNDEn kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn; very powerful tiruvaDi. Not only in
the rAma incarnation, but in the next incarnation – kRshNa incarnation
also.
His tiruvaDi will not just create women; it will create men too.
pAshANa nirmita tapodhana dharmadAram
bhasmanyupAhita narendra kumara bhAvam
(devanAyaka pa’ncAsat 41)
In rAmAvatAram, He created a woman. In kRshNAvatAram, He created a man
– abhimanyu’s son. Because of abortion, the baby came out like a coal
block. What to do? Everyone said, ‘Throw it in the garbage’.
Immediately, there was a voice from the sky: ‘If a celibate man
touches, the baby will live’. All the brahmacAri’s were asked to come.
Every body had a free pass. Everyone came and touched. Nothing
happened. They got the T.A. and D.A. and left [travel allowance,
Dearness allowance!] (AcAryar and audience laugh)
kRshNan came there. “Aunt! Aunt! I will touch”. Aunt responded:
“What, you?”
shoDasha strI sahasreshu – with 16,000 women
padinARAm Ayiravar dEvimAr paNi Seyya
tuvarai enum adil nAyagarAgi vIRRirunda
maNavALar mannu kOil (periyAzhvAr. 4.9.4)
kRshNa said: ” You don’t have to give me T.A.; but, I will try
touching”. Kunti said: “Okay”.
yadi me brahmacaryam syAt satyam ca vacanam mama |
avyAhatam mamaiSvaryam tena jIvatu bAlakah ||
“If I have celibacy, let this child become alive”; so saying, He
touched the dead child with His foot.
The child woke up and sat like a prince. There was no need to give
any bottled milk to make sure the baby grows. The baby was
astonishingly healthy.
There is this advertisement for amul [milk powder]. There is a baby in
that; this baby was shiny and fat like the advertisement baby {laughter
in the audience; AcAryar also laughs}.
bhasmanyupAhita narendra kumara bhAvam
kuntI praises – “kRshNa! You protected us all from so many dangers.
Now also, You have saved us.”
Thus, it is not that He will create only a woman – ahalyA; He will
create a male child also. That great a tiruvaDi. perumAL is
aghaTitaghaTanA samarthan (He is an adept in doing things that no one
else can do).
Gautamar said, “ Let me do Atithyam – feed you all”. All agreed. He
fed them and the hundred Rshi-s also. Every body ate. The hundred
Rshi-s packed food for the night also (laughter in the audience).
They all left then. mithilobhavane tatra – they went to SatAnandar’s
ASramam.
They stayed there. Janaka mahArAja was doing yAgam. He gave arghyam,
pAdyam etc [water to wash the feet and hands]. SatAnandar asked, “You
have brought these children! Who are they? Why have you come?”
ViSvAmitrar said, “I went there, I went here; I came to Gautamar’s
ASramam; at the touch of rAman’s foot, ahalyai came out of the stone
form”.
“Has my mother been re-united with father! Did my father come! Have
they been re-united! Did they make food for you, and did you eat? ”
(laughter in the audience; AcAryar also laughs)
nAtikrAntam muniSreshTha yat kartavyam kRtam mayA |
sa’ngatA muninA patnI bhArgaveNeva reNukA || (bAla.51.12)
ViSvAmitrar responded: “mahaRshi SatAnanda! I have done everything
that needs to be done. I do not fail in doing anything that needs to
be done”. – yat kartavyam kRtam mayA |
SatAnandar asked, “Did my father and mother get together! Did they
both do aupAsanam? Did they pay their respects to you?”
ViSvAmitrar said, “Yes, they got together. Did aupAsanam. I was brahmA
for the agni sandhAnam. They got together.” How? ” Just as BhArgavar
got united with reNukAdevi. ” That is a different quarrel.
SatAnandar looked at rAma and lakshmaNa. He said, “Do you know what
this ViSvAmitrar is capable of! I will tell You his story” and
narrates the story of ViSvAmitrar.
From tomorrow we will start dhanur bha’ngam – breaking of the bowAfter that is sItA kalyANam. In the meantime, there is something else.
This Ve’nkaTAcAr svAmi wants to say something. I do not know what he
is going to say. I told him, “Go ahead and say. Use the microphone ” .
He wants me to go away. He wants me to go away from here. So, I
agreed and said he can talk after I leave. He will talk for five
minutes; not for a long time. He will say something or ask for
something. Listen to that! I will come to know later. Surely
somebody will come and tell me, right! So, I request you all to stay
for five minutes”.
(The next day, upanyAsam starts with ma’ngaLa Sloka-s)
a’njilE onRu peRRAn a’njilE onRait tAvi
a’njilE onRu ARAga AriyarkkAga Egi
a’njilE onRu peRRa aNa’ngaik kaNDu ayalAnUril
a’njilE onRai vaittAn avan nammai aLittuk kappAn
vaidehI sahitam suradrumatale haime mahAmaNDape
madhye pushpakam Asane maNimaye vIrAsane susthitam |
agre vAcayati prabha’njanasute tattvam munibhyah param
vyAkhyAntam bharatAdibhih parivRtam rAmam bhaje SyAmaLam ||
Sevvari naRkaru neDu’nkaN sItaikkAgi
SinaviDaiyOn SilaiyiRuttu mazhu vALEndi
Vevvari naRcilai vA’ngi venRi koNDu
vEl vEndar pagai taDinda vIran tannai
tevvara’nju neDum puriSai uyarnda pA’ngar
tillai nagar tiruccitra kUDam tannuL
evvarive’ncilait taDakkai irAman tannai
iRai’njuvAr iNaiyaDiyE iRai’njinEnE ! (PerumAL tiru. 10.3)
kulaSekara AzhvAr is enjoying this topic.
nAtikrAntam muniSreshTha! yat kartavyam kRtam mayA |
sa’ngatA muninA patnI bhArgaveNeva reNukA || (bAla.51.12)
SatAnandar is Janaka MahArAja’s priest. Gautamar had been the
ancestral AcAryar for the royal family. When he left for HimAlayas to
do penance, his son, SatAnandar became the priest.
That SatAnandar gave arghyam, pAdyam etc., to ViSvAmitrar and the two
princes.
ViSvAmitrar conveyed to SatAnandar the news of the re-union of his
mother ahalyai with his father Gautamar. ViSvAmitrar said, “ahalyai
and Gautamar are re-united. They both entertained us as guests. We
ate”. Then, SatAnandar told rAma and lakshmaNa, “Do you know the
greatness of ViSvAmitrar? I will tell you”.
===========
fn 1 – It is important to note here the difference between VAlmIki
rAmAyaNam and Kamba rAmAyaNam. Kambar will deviate from the original in
several places.
In Kamba rAmAyaNam, bAla kANDam is 9th chapter – agalikaip paTalam.
When ViSvAmitrar, rAman, and lakshmaNan came to the outskirts of
Mithilai, they saw a black stone on a mound. When rAman’s foot touched
the stone, it became a woman. When rAman enquired with surprise what
happened, ViSvAmitrar narrated her previous infamous story in front of
her and said it was because of the greatness of His feet that she has
regained her original form, and says ” kAl vaNNam i’ngu kaNDEn. ”
Then rAman advises ahalyA: ‘mA tavan aruL uNDAga vazhipaDu” (pray for
getting Gautamar’s blessings); then kamban says – she prostrated at His
feet – “ponnaDi vaNa’ngip pOnAL”. That is, it says – only agalikai
prostrated at His feet; it does not say Gautamar accepted agalikai
again.
In VAlmIki’s rAmAyaNam, the story is: The compassionate rAman Himself
asked why that ASramam was in a dilapidated and dirty state;
ViSvAmitrar told him ahalyai’s story (before she regained her form) and
that only because of Him, she will have release from her curse, and
took Him into the ASramam; she then got release from her curse and
obtained a brilliance that even sura-s and asura-s would not have.
Gautamar came and stood with ahalyai; perumAL and iLaiya perumAL
prostrated before the couple.
na te vAk anRtA kAvye kAcit atra bhavishyati – because of the blessing
of the four-faced brahmA, what VAlmIkI writes will not have anything
untrue in it. What he writes is filled with explicit as well as hidden
instances of BhagavAn’s auspicious qualities, intricacies of varNASrama
dharma-s (the righteous conduct according to the births as kshatriya,
brAhmaNa, etc), as well as subtleties of worldly conduct as will
conduct according to what is prescribed in the veda-s, in abundance and
without any distortion. If we elaborate on them, they will expand into
volumes.
ahalyA has become purified by intense penance while in the form of a
stone, by continuous meditation on rAma nAmam for thousands of years,
to the point that all chaste women mediate on the names of “tArA,
manDodharI, ahalyA, sItA, and draupadI”. ViSvAmitrar, who knew the
intricacies of all dharmams, would not have narrated ahalyA’s old and
infamous story right in front of her to rAman. So, he tells the story
to rAman before he takes Him to the ASramam and gets salvation to her.
This is how VAlmIki’s story goes.
ahalyai’s purity has reached a high level because of her rAma bhakti
and because of the greatness of the touch of rAmAn’s tiruvaDi;
Gautamar, who was well-versed in the intricacies of all the dharmams,
accepts ahalyai the instant she is released from her curse – that is
what VAlmIki says. In VAlmIki rAmAyaNam, there is no advice by rAman
to ahalyA, saying: “Act in such a way as to obtain Gautamar’s
blessings”.
PramANam (SAstric injunction) is: durAcAro’pi sarvASI kRtaghno
nAstikah purA samASrayet Adi devam SraddhayA SaraNam yadi nirdosham
viddhi tam jantum prabhAvAt paramAtmanah ||
BhagavAn Himself immensely respects His bhaktas. The greatness of
rAman’s divine feet is that when a bhaktan attains a higher state by
the touch of His divine feet, he gains the respect of BhagavAn Himself.
That is His kalyANa guNam.
SrI rAman belonged to the kshatriya race. ahalyai was a Brahmin woman.
A Brahman man or woman must not prostrate before a kshatriyan. For a
kshatriyan, the Brahmin caste is something to be worshipped. Even
though she got relieved of her curse by Him, still varNASrama dharma
would require that SrI rAman followed kshatriya dharmam and prostrated
before the couple ahalyA-Gautamar. VAlmIki rAmAyaNam firmly
establishes without fail the age-old dharmams. On a different note,
even those who knew SrI rAman’s true nature well did not ever address
rAman “You are God” till the end of rAvaNa’s destruction. This is
VAlmIki rAmAyaNam.
Kamban was extremely desirous of having everyone praise rAman, saying
“You are sarveSvaran”. So, Kamban’s poems will differ from VAlmIki’s
epic. SrIman nAthamunigaL, a great devotee of rAman, enjoyed Kamban’s
compositions that sang rAman’s divinity openly and without hiding at
every opportunity, and felt that this medium is also necessary for
spreading bhakti among the people. So, in those days when everyone
else was opposing Kamba rAmAyaNam, he accepted it and made SrI
vaishNavas and the tamizh world accept it, and also debuted Kamba
rAmAyaNam in front of SrIra’ngam SrIra’nganAcciyAr. This is a
well-known fact.
ahalyA was an intense devotee of Lord rAma, and had been meditating on
Him and suffering from separation from her husband; rAma is unable to
bear her suffering, and sanctifies her and happily unites her with her
husband. This He does before proceeding for His own wedding to
mithilA. This is a pleasing aspect of SrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNam.
ahalyA deha nirmANa paryAya paramANavaH || (pAdukA. 351)
Sri Sita Rama jeyam..
Leave a Reply