SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY’S SRI RAMACHARITRYA MANJARI (ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಘವೆಂದ್ರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿರಚಿತ “ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ಮಂಜರಿ ಅರ್ಥವಿವರಣೆ)

SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY’S SRI RAMACHARITRYA MANJARI

(ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಘವೆಂದ್ರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿರಚಿತ “ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ಮಂಜರಿ ಅರ್ಥವಿವರಣೆ)

Concluding part of Stanza 2

Sri Lakshmi emerged out of the ground as Seetha when King Janaka was plowing the land for performing a Yajna. She became the daughter of Janaka with the sole intention of rejoining her husband Lord Vishnu, who was already born as the son of Dasharatha and had been named as Sri Rama. Can there be any limitation or match for his charm that had charmed Goddess Lakshmi?

He knows everything about the minutest things and subjects in the universe, their past, present and posterity like he knows about the garland she was holding to adore him with after he broke the Shiva Dhanus. Who else has the same quantity and quality of knowledge in this universe, apart from Lord Vishnu? He is the embodiment of all that is ecstasy, bliss and mirth and he is untouched by agony, apathy or sorrow. For a person, who has no stigma of birth or death, decadence, disease, sorrow and who is the epitome of pleasure and pleasantness, welfare and wellbeing, who attaches least significance to physical or mental pleasures by being a wife, can the disease of desire for throne of Ayodhya be a cause of worry? The attributes of Lord Brahma, Rudra, Indra and all other deities are just a reflection, a shadow of what Lord Vishnu possesses. Lord Brahma has imbibed the skills of managing the creation, Lord Rudra the skills of destroying the world, Lord Indra the skills to rule over the heavens, Lord Manmatha the skill to instill sensuousness, Lord Sun to sparkle, Lord Moon to glow, Lord Kubera the eligibility to be the treasurer of heavens, Mother Earth the quality of patience are the alms bestowed upon them by Lord Vishnu. Sage Vasishtha goes on to tell Dasharatha: “Your son is made of infinite qualities such as kindness, grace, melody, courage, bravery, and wisdom and so on. He is therefore called as “Anantakalyanagunaparipoorna”.

After listening to every word spelt by Sage Vasishtha in that royal session, Dasharatha lost himself in ecstasy and declared in that open session that Sri Rama would be his successor and that his coronation as the prince would be organized immediately.

“Purajanamahitaha” is one of the adjectives used by Sri Raghavendra Swamy in this second stanza. Literally, it means that Sri Rama had earned the honor of all citizens of Ayodhya. The news of the coronation of Sri Rama, the gist of what Sage Vasishtha had spoken in the royal session, the affection shown by Dasharatha towards his son Rama and related details instantly spread across the city of Ayodhya. The joy of citizens knew no bounds. Everyone hailed Rama, praised Dasharatha and showered wishes among themselves. In a way, they offered the Nine types of worship to Lord Rama.   

In this adjective Purajanamahitaha, “Pura” means one who is worshipped by the deities who represent different qualities and characters (TattvABhimAnidEvatAs). Therefore, whatever Sage Vasishtha spoke on that occasion was acknowledged by the deities present in every being. The thoughts that arose in the minds of those deities were different. They were delighted to know that the coronation would be halted, Sri Rama would be departing to the forests, Seetha Devi would be stolen by Ravana and Sri Rama would soon be killing Ravana. This was because the desire of all deities was the end of tyranny and terror that Ravana had cast on them. The deities complimented Sage Vasishtha, praised Dasharatha and thanked the citizens of Ayodhya, besides offering worship to Sri Rama.

Sri Raghavendra Swamy beseechs “ME vachOBhihi mahyatAm”. It means “With these words of mine, May Lord Rama be worshipped”.

Initially, Sri Raghavendra Swamy submits that knowledgeable sages like Vasishtha have praised Sri Rama with words like KalyANAnantaDharmaha and so on. The deities representing various attributes and present in every citizen of Ayodhya have rejoiced over the news of the coronation of Sri Rama. “I am incapable of describing or mentioning your attributes. Yet, I have tried my best to recall whatever they have said about you. I am like a musician playing melancholic tunes on the Veena. May those words I have used in Sudha Parimala and other works be like worship that I am offering to you. Like, even if the tune emanating from my Veena may go astray sometimes and the Veena would still tolerate such errors, please, Oh Lord

, accept my words, even if they are erroneous, misspelt and wrongly used, as offer of worship.”

The word “VachOBhihi” is the plural form and Sri Lakshminarayana Upadhyaya views it as an acknowledgement bestowed upon Sri Raghavendra Swamy by Sri Rama. The Lord would tell Sri Raghavendra Swamy “Oh my dear son, you are telling me that you do not know how to praise me. I am impressed with your devotion. I will get innumerable books written by you. I will ensure that each and every word in those books would be pregnant with multiple meanings.”