SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(While returning to his Satya Loka from Lanka, along with Indra and other deities, Lord Brahma tells Indra about the origin of Ahalya. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

After getting Lord Indra released by granting the boon sought by Meghanada, Lord Brahma started narrating thus: “When I first began creation, all the subjects were created to look alike. There was no difference between the beings and it became difficult to differentiate among various beings of same species. Therefore, I thought deeply and created Ahalya with each and every organ being most charming and attractive. Hala in Sanskrit means ugly form and the defects arising out of it are summarily called as Halya. Therefore, one who had no such defects, deficiencies that could make her look ugly was named as Ahalya. Then, I started thinking about who should be her husband. At that time, you thought that being the Lord of the Deva Loka, you were the most eligible person to be her husband. Other deities too developed a desire for her. Then, I kept her with Sage Gautama. He protected her for several years. He never developed any lust for her. Recognising his steadfast mind and also the power of his penance, I got her married to Sage Gautama. All deities, who were earlier longing for her, left that desire for her after coming to know about her marriage with Gautama. Yet, you became angry with this arrangement, went to her Ashram in the guise of Gautama and spoiled her, when Gautama was not in the hermitage. Then, Gautama cursed you to get tied and arrested by your enemy and cursed Ahalya to become a stone. Illicit relationship with other women thus began with you and this trend will increase among human beings on earth, henceforth. Half of that sin committed by human beings will come to you. From now on, anyone ascending the throne of Indra, including you, will not be able to continue in that position eternally. Intermittently, the throne of Indra would be usurped by demons. All these were p

ronounced in the curse spelt by Gautama. He went on to say that from then on, several women would be highly charming. Finally, realising that she was not at fault in the episode, Sage Gautama said that with the touch of the feet of Rama, she would get relieved from the curse and she would regain her original form. Oh Lord Devendra, you were overpowered and arrested due to the curse of Gautama. Therefore, perform a sacrifice to appease Lord Vishnu to recover your throne. Your son has not died. He is safe in the sea under the protection of your father-in-law.”
As advised by Lord Brahma, Indra performed Vaishnava Yajna and regained his erstwhile position and status. 

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 42, 43 and 44

 (In these Shlokas, a few instances of the childhood days of Sri Madhwa have been beautifully explained. The description is so good that the picture of Sri Madhwa, the child in the bosom of its beloved parents comes in front of our eyes. Please read, comment and share. SDN) 

Stanyam muhuhu kila dadau jananee gruheetwA kShEmAya tam kila daDhajjanakO jajApa| AnyO janO(a)pi kila lAlayati sma kintu sarvO(a)pi tanmuKhasarasAnOtkaha||42|| SUMMARY: Picking the child, the mother would breastfeed it again and again; the father would pick the child and do the meditation; other neighbours too used to love it and play with it; all in all, everyone was anxiously waiting for their turn to taste the elixir of the soft smiles of that child. DEvAdisadBhiranupAlitayA(a)darENa dEvyA(aa)tmanEva vilasatpadayA nitAntam| AvyaktayA praThamatO vadanE(a)sya vANyA shAleenayEva BhuvanArchitayA vijahrE||43|| SUMMARY: Like the universally revered Saraswati began putting her tiny feet on the ground to move around with shyness while the deities and other virtuous waited anxiously to quaff it with their eyes, the first few broken and stammering words started flowing out of the tiny mouth of child Madhwa for which the deities and other pious people were curiously waiting to hear. “The broken words” in this context used for the first few words spelt by Vasudeva, according to scholars, refers to not only the initial speech but also the initial footsteps. PrAgrinKhaNam swayamaTha sThitimESha chakrE pashchAdgatim parichayEna kila kramENa| Vishwasya chEShTitamahO yadanugrahENa sarvam tadasya pavanasya viDambanam hi||44|| SUMMARY: Child Vasudeva first began crawling with knees, then stood up on his own and slowly, with more practice, started walking independently. These initial activities of this child, who was none other than Lord Vayu from whom the activities of the entire universe happen, were just a display of models for the world. All these descriptions only indicate that the deities, including Lord of Lords Vishnu, act like ordinary human beings to stand as a model for everyone to follow, say scholars.

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(The battle between Ravana and deities, including Indra is narrated here. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

After his atrocity with Rambha, Ravana crossed the Kailash and went to Indra Loka. Indra requested Lord Hari to fight with Ravana and kill him. Lord Sri Hari said: “If I fight with Ravana, I will not stop till I kill him. But, he has a few more years to enjoy the benefits of the boon he has secured from Lord Brahma. Let him enjoy those benefits and exhaust all his positive energy. Let him also commit as many sins as possible in the next few years. Later, I will fight with him and kill him too.”

A fierce battle ensued between Ravana and the army of deities in which Savitra, the eighth Ashta Vasu, killed Sumali, a demon. Meghanada, son of Ravana, was fighting a terrible battle with Jayanta, the son of Lord Indra. At that stage, Jayanta sensed a threat to his life and Shachee Devi was able to grasp the fear that had gripped the mind of Jayanta. She became anxious. Meanwhile, Puloma, a demon and father of Shachee Devi, took away his grandson Jayanta and entered the ocean. The disappearance of Jayanta distressed Devendra and other deities. Enraged Devendra confronted Meghanada. Ravana abruptly came forward and launched a severe war against Devendra. Kumbhakarna was also fighting a fierce battle with deities. As per the instruction of Devendra, the deities were actually trying to catch Ravana alive. At that moment, Ravana was exhausted and exasperating.  His power, spirit, enthusiasm and courage were dwindling, which was noticed by Meghanada. Meghanada took Ravana away and entered the Nikumbhila , employing  the mystic power he had secured recently. With the same mystic power, he arrested Devendra and tied the King of deities to a tree. He told Ravana about the arrest of Indra, without getting seen by his father. The deities became aware of the arrest of Devendra and therefore returned to their abodes. Meghanada took Devendra as a captive to Lanka. Ravana, Kumbhakarna and others too followed Meghanada.

The deities went to Lord Brahma and informed him about the arrest of Indra. Lord Brahma, along with all the deities, went to Lanka, met Ravana, praised him and Meghanada for their bravery. Lord Brahma named Meghanada as “Indrajit” for defeating Lord Indra and asked Ravana to release Indra. The deities also promised to give any boon desired by Meghanada for releasing Indra. Meghanada said that he should not get killed by anybody. Lord Brahma said that such a boon could not be given to anyone in the universe. Then, Meghanada said: “I will be performing a Yajna at Nikumbhila to propitiate Lord Rudra. A horse-driven chariot should come out of the sacrificial fire. No one should be able to kill me once I get into that chariot. If the sacrifice is breached by anyone, then he could only kill me in the war. Everyone secures boons after doing penance. But, I am seeking this boon upon the strength of my war skills.” The deities bestowed the boon and returned to their world, along with Indra.      

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 39, 40 AND 41

(The motherly emotion and passion towards child Madhwa is described in these Shlokas. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

NUnam pipAsuratirOditi hanta bAlO Dhing mAm dayAvirahitAm parakrutyasaktAm|

ItyAkulA gruhamupEtya tadA prasannam pUrNOdaram sutamavaikShata vipraptnee||39||

SUMMARY: Caught in the grip of anxiety and worry that “the child may certainly be crying too hard for milk; down with me for being so cruel for my child and merely getting involved in my work to please others,” the mother ran to her home and seeing the child joyously smiling, she heaved a sigh of relief.

PruShTwAvagamya sakalam cha tataha pravruttam yUnAm cha duhssahamidam shishinOpaBhuktam|

ItTham vichintya tanayAm bahuBhartsyayantyA Bheetam tayOta kupitam manasA(a)nutaptam||40||

SUMMARY: Later, having learnt everything that had transpired from her daughter, she wondered that this small child had consumed the hardest horse gram that even adults would struggle to digest. She again became very thoughtful and scolded her daughter harshly and got worried as to what might happen to the little child; she was benignly perturbed in her mind.  

The fact that the child had eaten the entire horse gram that had been spread for drying up causes worry for the mother. However, the indication is that the child was none other than Bheemasena, who could digest anything.   

ArOgyashAlini purEva tadA(a)pi putrE vismEratAmupajagAm jananyamuShya|

Yasya trilOkajananee viShE(a)pi peetE na vismayamavA samastashaktEhe||41||

SUMMARY: Seeing that the child was as healthy as it was earlier, the mother was terribly astonished. But, its real mother, who is the Mother of all the three Lokas, Goddess Lakshmidevi, was not surprised about the infinite capability of the same child, which had, during the Great Churning, gulped the entire venom that erupted first then.

It is generally believed that the venom that erupted during the Great Churning was drunk or consumed by Lord Rudra. But, the Shrutis and Puranas have clearly mentioned that Lord Vayu took a little quantity of the venom from the container, stirred it in his palm and parted a little part of it to Lord Rudra. Even that little quantity of Venom could not be digested by Lord Rudra. It got settled in his neck after Goddess Parvati pressed the neck to stop the venom from seeping further down the throat. Therefore, the neck of Lord Rudra turned blue and he came to be known as Neelakantha. On the other hand, Lord Vayu gulped the entire quantity of venom and digested without any semblance of trouble or problem.     

                         

SRI RAMACHARITRYA MANJARI

(In the last episode, Ravana had been told by Vibheeshana about the abduction of Kumbheenasi by demon Madhu. Vibheeshana had also hinted that instead of punishing Madhnu, it would be better to make alliance with him and get him married with Kumbheenasi. What was the reaction of Ravana is narrated in this episode. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Ravana  was not prepared for any compromise or alliance with demon Madhu. On the contrary, he was enraged by what Vibheeshana told and he decided to first kill Madhu and then go for another expedition of the world of deities Devaloka. He arrived at Madhupura along with a huge army. Immediately on seeing Ravana, Kumbheenasi surrendered to him, fell at his feet and requested him not kill her husband. Ravana agreed for the sake of Kumbheenasi. He took Madhu along with him for the expedition over Devaloka.

He reached Mount Kailasa. He asked his cavalcade to rest on the mountain where Kubera was residing, climbed the tip of the highest tower in that mountain and was savouring the scenic beauty at night, especially after the Moon appeared in the sky. The milky moonlight, romantic music that was being played by the Kinnaras, the pleasant fragrance of flowers, songs being rendered by the Apsara women, chilly breeze and the enthralling beauty of the surroundings of that mountain were sufficient to arouse lust in the mind of Ravana. At that particular moment, his attention was caught by a very charming Apsara called Rambha treading through his vast army. The numerous jewels she was wearing just enhanced her charm and attraction. Perturbed and aroused by sensuous feeling, he caught Rambha by her hand and proudly described his own bravery, glory and inimitable status. He requested her to become his wife. She said:

“Oh Ravana, most virtuous and great sage Nalakubara is the son of your elder brother Kubera. I am going the place he has indicated by wearing all these jewels and dress. He is waiting for me there. You should not try to spoil the relationship that is going to develop between I and him. As he happens to be your son too, I am your daughter-in-law. You should protect me if someone tries to spoil me. Under these circumstances, it is not right on your part to try to spoil me.” Rambha was indeed shivering when she was replying to Ravana.

Ravana said: “Oh Rambha, the rule that a man should not rape another person’s wife is applicable in places where only such families are living. Being an Apsara, you are just a concubine of all deities. Therefore, principle of monogamy holds no water here. Even Nalakubara has relationship with several prostitutes like you. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in my having sex with you.”  Ravana forcibly raped Rambha, who ran in dismay and misery to Nalakubara and narrated what transpired with Ravana. She begged Nalakubara to pardon her. After hearing Rambha, Nalakubara pronounced a curse to Ravana: “If at all Ravana tries to forcibly enjoy another woman like what he did with Rambha, may his head be shattered into seven pieces.” Ravana came to know about the curse and since then, he never tried to enrage the fidelity of other women. All those women Ravana had dragged from different places and kept in his custody were delighted to hear the curse as Ravana had to abstain from such forcible acts since then.

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 36, 37 AND 38

(In these Shlokas, the exemplary prowess of Bheemasena displayed during Dwapara Yuga has been briefly described. Please read, comment and share. SDN )

MahAgadam chanDaraNam pruThivyAm bArhadraTham mankShu nirasya veeraha|

RAjAnamatyujjwalarAjasUyam chakAra GOvindasundarEndrajABhyAm||36||

SUMMARY: Accompanied by Sri Krishna and Arjuna, valiant Bheema instantly killed son of Bruhadratha, Jarasandha, who was possessing a lethal mace and was capable of battling dreadfully; he (Bheemasena) then got the most dazzling Rajasuya Yajna performed by Dharmaraya.

In this stanza, the leading role that Bheemasena played during the expedition launched by Arjuna as a prelude to Rajasuya Yajna has been clearly stated. The death of Jarasandha and subjugation of powerful Keechaka, Karna and others in the eastern provinces were of paramount importance to succeed in the expedition launched in other directions.

Word BArhadraTha means son of Brahadratha. The name Bruhadratha is self-explanatory as it means ‘a person possessing a giant chariot’. Bruhat means giant or gigantic and Ratha means chariot.      

DuhshAsanEnAkulitAn priyAyAm sUkShmAnarAlAnasitAmshchakEshAn|

JiGhAmsayA vairijanasya steekShNaha sa KriShNasarpAniva sanchikAya||37||

SUMMARY: Enraged by the act of Dusshasana, Bheemasena joined the scattered and shattered but soft, curved and black hair of his wife Draupadi like young black cobras as though he was preparing to kill all the enemies.

The pulling down Draupadi with her hair by Dusshasana at the behest of Duryodhana and Karna exposed the cruelty and jealousy of Duryodhana and his 100 brothers, besides laying the foundation for the 18-day battle of Mahabharata. This has been crisply narrated in this stanza.  

JAjjwalyamAnasya vane vane(a)lam diDhakShataha PArThivasArThamugram|

SattwAni pumsAm BhayadAni nAsham VrukOdarAgnErgurutEjasA(a)puhu||38||        

SUMMARY: The group of wicked kings who were terrorising the pious, virtuous and cultured people was decimated by the brightest and most radiant fire named Vrukodara in each forest exile, like the cruel animals would get destroyed by the blazing wild fire that engulfs plants and trees.

Besides highlighting the fact that every forest exile that Pandavas in general and Bheemasena in particular had to undergo was basically aimed at killing demons like Baka, Hidimba, Kirmeera etc., it is also pertinent to know that the word or another name of Bheemasena, Vrukodara, actually means a great person endowed with a very bright and hot fire called Vruka, which was there in his stomach. The meaning of the word Vrukodata that Bheemasena was possessing as large a stomach as a wolf is totally wrong or at the most a far distant interpretation.

Please stand by to know the meaning of subsequent shlokas of Madhwavijaya. 

SRI RAMACHARITRYA MANJARI

(Ravana learns about the Yajna that Indrajitu was performing and despises the Gods. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

As soon as he returned to Lanka, Ravana went Nikumbhila Garden, where his son Meghanada was performing a Yajna, wearing a deer skin (Krishnajina). When Ravana enquired, the demon priest, Shukracharya, replied: “Oh Ravana,  your son has already performed six sacrifices comprising Agnishtoma, Ashwamedha, Rajasuya, Gomedha and Bahusuvarnaka Vaishnava. He has also performed the seventh one called Maheshwara and has secured some rarest boons from Lord Rudra. He has obtained a chariot that can fly in the sky and reach the desired destiny by merely making up your mind. He has secured a mystic power named Tamasi. If he employs this power during war, none can identify the place from where he is battling. He has obtained two quivers which never get emptied even after drawing any number of arrows from it. The bow he has secured is such that he cannot suffer defeat in any war, once he enters the war field with that bow. Now, your son is just waiting for you to convey this auspicious information.”

On hearing this explanation of Shukracharya, Ravana curtly said: “It is impropriety of Meghanada to have approached my most hated enemies Indra, Vishnu and Rudra.” Ravana gave vent to his ire and dejection over the exploits of Indrajitu and took his son away to his residence.

Later, he summoned all the women he had brought from various corners to his royal apartments with a plan to spoil their fidelity and enjoy. All those women were continuously crying. Vibheeshana, who saw those women in distress, told Ravana: “Oh brother, you have killed the husbands of these women and brought them here by force. You are planning to destroy their chastity. The bad repercussion of your wrong doings has already begun. When you were away on expedition, Meghanada was engaged in the performance of sacrifice, I was doing penance in mid-sea and Kumbhakarna, as usual, was asleep. Kumbheenasi, who is the granddaughter of Malkavan, uncle of our mother, was forcibly kidnapped by demon Madhu, who also killed most powerful ministers as they tried to confront him. As you are trying to spoil the chastity of other women, Kumbeenasi, who is like our own sister, is made to pay the penalty. It is our responsibility to marry off our sister. Since Madhu is a powerful, courageous and brave demon, it is better to excuse him and keep quiet. He is the most suitable groom for her too.”

In the next episode, Ravana’s reaction will be given. Happy reading.