SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

Meghanada: (In this episode, a brief note on Indrajit and the background of the incarnation of Srirama. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Meghanada was the son born to Ravana from Mandodari, who was the daughter of Mayasura. At the time of his birth, he cried terribly that sounded like thunder. That is why he was named Meghanada, who later acquired the title “Indrajit” as he defeated Indra.

Having explained the prominent demons  and the trouble they created for deities and the universe. Severely tortured and tormented by these demons and their followers, the deities decided to seek relief from Lord Brahma.

Meanwhile, king Dasharatha descended in the Suryavamsha, a dynasty named after Sun. He was able to travel in his chariot without any obstacle or obstruction in east, south, seven nether worlds, the heaven in space and other worlds covering all the ten directions. That is why, he was being called Dasharatha, where Dasha means ten and Ratha means the chariot. Being the overlord of all the seven islands, he was living in Ayodhya. He was highly spirituous and culture-bound.  As he had no children, he summoned Sumantra and other ministers and discussed the matter with them so as to find a solution. He was confident that if he could impress upon ever-beloved of devotees Srihari, nothing was impossible on this earth. Therefore, he instructed his Ministers to make all the arrangements for the performance of Ashwamedha Yajna.  He procured the essential items needed for the performance of Ashwamedha.

He waited for some time to speak to Dasharatha, when he was alone. As soon as he got such an opportunity, Sumanta told Dasharatha: “Oh King, some time ago, I had participated in a meeting of Munis. At that meeting, Sanatkumar had indicated the way for you to beget children. I will now apprise you of that method.          

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Some interesting information is being shared about Kumbhakarna and Vibheeshana in this episode. Please read, comment and share.SDN)

KUMBHAKARNA:  Kumbhakarna did a fierce penance to appease Lord Brahma for thirty-six lakh years. Before doing the penance, he had swallowed seven female Apsaras, ten servants of Devendra and innumerable Rishis and human beings. As his past life was so horrible, the gods and goddesses feared that with the power of a boon, he might swallow all the three worlds. They met Lord Brahma and appealed to him not to grant any boon. Even if a boon were to be given, it should be such that it should not be of any use to him and that it should be in the interest of the universe. Lord Brahma too summoned his consort Goddess Saraswati. He told her to stay on the tongue of Kumbhakarna and make him seek a boon as being mentioned by the deities. Kumbhakarna opened his mouth to seek “NirdEvatwam dEhi”, which would have meant “No deities should be there”. When he was about to spell what he wanted to tell, Goddess Saraswati made his tongue aver “NidrAvatwam dEhi”, which meant “Give me an eternal sleep”. As a result, he had to be asleep always. He was three lakh yojana tall and his physical width was appropriate to his height. He contracted his body to live in Lanka. He slept in a cave that Ravana arranged for him. He married Vidyujjihwa, who was the daughter of one of the daughters of Emperor Bali.

VIBHEESHANA: Vibheeshana did penance for eighteen lakh years by standing on a single leg to appease Lord Sri Hari. Again, he impressed Lord Sri Hari by studying the Vedas for eighteen lakh years by staying beside Lord Sun and keeping his both hands joined above the head. Impressed with his penance, Lord Brahma blessed him by stating “May your faith and interest in Dharma remain unaltered under the most trying situations and your devotion to Lord Sri Hari increase.”  He married Sarama, a daughter of a Gandharva king called Shailusha. Sarama was born on the shores of Manas Sarovar. At the time of her birth, the Sarovar swelled.  Therefore, her mother said “SarO mA” that meant “Oh Sarovar, do not swell” and her name became “SaramA”.      

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Ravana experiences another defeat at the hands of Lord Vayu. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Ravana advanced towards Lord Vayu, the son of Sri Hari to win against him. When he reached Lord Vayu, the latter displayed his three crore forms. He softly punched Ravana with the fist of one of those forms. Unable to bear it, Ravana fell on the ground. He also became aware of the impact of a single punch and started thinking about the possible impact of similar punch from all the three crore forms of Lord Vayu. Unable to imagine what would happen to him if hit by those forms of Lord Vayu, Ravana silently disappeared from the spot.

Thus, despite being put to shame on several occasions by several persons, Ravana was not prepared to learn lessons or alter his activities. He kept on increasing his arrogant acts. All the innumerable women from heaven and divine females he had forcibly brought to the harem were cursing Ravana every moment amidst tears of pain, insult and agony. While the hapless parents were crying, he kept on killing their children in front of their eyes. When a couple was seen together, he would barge into their privacy, separate them and kill one of them. Inducing  the cows with grass, he used to mercilessly massacre those cows as soon as they came near him. He was torturing and agonising all the people with similar acts of pride. He married Mandodari, who was born to Mayasura from an Apsara woman called Hema.

A brief about Kumbhakarna and other brothers of Ravana will be given in the coming editions.     

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 53 AND 54

(In these two Shlokas, the reaction of people to the activities of young Vasudeva has been described. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

VAsudEvamiha VA(a)sudEvatAsatkalAmaBhinananda tam janaha|

VAsudEvamiti VAsudEvasannAmakam viviDhaleelamarBhakam||53||

SUMMARY: The people of Pajaka complimented infant Vasudeva, who was displaying several childish actions and had the same name as Lord Krishna, like they would have complimented Lord Vasudeva Krishna.

It should be realised here that only a very few infant acts of Vasudeva during childhood have been explained in Madhwavijaya. Another important aspect is that there was a rank similarity in the childish activities of Vasudeva and Lord Vasudeva Krishna.

Iti viharati mahyAm ViShNudAsE(a)pi gUDhE

Samajani sujanAnAm chittamAnandapUrNam|

Udayati GhanamAlAleenaBhAnau cha

BhAnau nanu jananayanAbjairlaBhyatE(a)lam vikAsaha||54||

SUMMARY: Although Lord Vayu, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, was secretly roaming about there, the mind of pious and the righteous brimmed with mirth. Is it not true that the eyes of the pious and the Lily blossom together even after the Sun rises after his rays disappear due to clouds?  

What is symbolically stated here is that pious people wake up and lilies blossom much before the Sun rises with the hope that the Sun will rise and infuse life into their lives. The reality that Vasudeva was none other than Lord Vayu had not yet been known to ordinary people, not even the parents of Sri Madhwa. However, several scholarly persons and staunch devotees of Lord Vishnu had become very happy that they would soon be relieved from the lack of knowledge or lack of true knowledge that would pave way for realisation and salvation.

Iti Sreematkavikulatilaka SreemattrivikramapanditAchAryasuta SreemannArAyaNapanditAchArya virachitE SreematsumaDhwavijayE mahAkAvyE AnandAkE Dwiteeyaha Sargaha||

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 51 AND 52

(In these Shlokas, the incident of tamarind seeds has been described. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

LeelAkarENa sa karENa sukOmalEna

BeejAntarANi kila kAnichidAsu tasmai|

SmitwArBhakO(a)BhimataniShkapadE yadA(a)dA-

DAdatta tAni DhanikO bahumAnapUrvam||51||

SUMMARY: Wearing a sweet smile on his face, Vasudeva picked a handful of tamarind seeds in his soft, playing palms and when he offered those seeds as a symbol or token of repayment, the rich man gleefully accepted them.

The tamarind tree from which Vasudeva collected and gave away the seeds to the wealthy man is still there at Pajaka. Descendants of that wealthy man called Kakre Shetty are living in the same place and even for this day, they are said to be quite affluent.

LabDham sutAditi vadan dwijapungavEna

KAlAntarE nijaDhanE pratiditsitE(a)pi|

SAkshAdamAnavanavAkrutitaha sa LEBhE

BeejachChalEna puruShArThamahO vishiShTam||52||

SUMMARY: After the passage of some days, Madhyagehabhatta went to return the money he had borrowed to the rich man, who said “I have already received that money from your son” because symbolically, under the pretext of giving tamarind seeds, boy Vasudeva, who was an incarnation of Lord Vayu, had bestowed upon the rich man the path of salvation. What a surprise!

According to some sources, the tamarind seeds given by Vasudeva transformed into gold coins in the palm of the rich man and therefore, he confessed to have received the payment. According to a few scholars, the incident only transformed the mind of that rich man and instilled in his mind the knowledge that could open the way for him to attain salvation.

There are several incidents of this kind that have been covered in this work of Sri Narayanapanditacharyaru. A few scholars and commentators compare such boyish yet most sensible acts displayed by Vasudeva were reminiscent of the mischievous acts that Lord Krishna, who is also known as Vasudeva, exhibited during his boyhood days.

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 48, 49 AND 50

(Playful childhood days of Madhwa have been further explained in these Shlokas. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

BAlasya bAlaparilambanagOcharam tadvyashwasyatApi

vachanam vanagOcharOktam|

Yat sAyamaikShata janaha shishumAvrajantamEkAbdakam vruShaBhabAlakrutAvalambam||48||

SUMMARY: Even though a cowboy told that he had seen boy Vasudeva roaming about in the forest by catching the tail of the bullock, people around could only believe that information after seeing the one-year-old boy returning home, still holding the tail of the bullock.  

Description of this incident amply shows that Vasudeva was an extraordinary boy with great strength, firm mind and inexplicable courage as he could follow the bullock by catching its tail into the forest as an infant of just one year.

ChintAmaNeendramiva chintitadam daridrO

VijnAnamArgamiva ViShNuparam mumukShuhu|

NaShTam cha nandanamiti swajanO(a)sya labdhwA

NAThasya tasya tamanugramEva mEnE||49||  

SUMMARY: All the people felt, like a mystic bead (Chintamani) that delivers whatever one desires and like a philosopher shows the way for salvation by explaining the devotion towards Lord Vishnu, that it was the grace, empathy and kindness of Lord Anantasana that they could get back Vasudeva.

   

LeelAvasAnasamayE sahasA kadAchid-

AryO(a)munA(a)Bhyavahrutim prati chOdyamAnaha|

ROdDhaiSha nO(a)sti  DhanikO vruShavikrayeeti prOvAcha

NandanamuKhEndumavEkShya mandam||50|| 

SUMMARY: Once, after the completion of some sports, boy Vasudeva suddenly came to his father and called him for having food; but the father looked at the moon-like face of his son and said “This wealthy man had sold his ox and is insisting that without the payment of the price of that ox, I cannot have food.” The father showed the boy a person standing there at that moment.  

MADHWA VIJAYA DWITEEYAHA SARGAHA – SHLOKAS 45, 46 AND 47

(Here are a few more instances of childhood days of Vasudeva at Pajaka. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

PuchChAntamachChamavalambya kadAchidEShaha

prAtarvrajAdvrajata yEva nijarShaBhasya|

PrAyAt priyasya sahasA swajanairadruShTO

nAnAvanEShu charatashcharatastruNAni||45||

SUMMARY: Once, as soon as his beloved ox, which used to roam about in different forests for grazing, set off in early morning, Vasudeva caught its tail and followed it, without the knowledge of his friends and relatives.

Sri Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharyaru in his compilation of Madhwa Vijaya mentions that according to the Scriptures, ox is the symbol of culture and the forest a symbol of Shastras or Scriptures. By catching the tail of his ox and roaming in the forests is like symbolically indicating to humanity that Scriptures should be studied along with following the basic elements and principles of established culture.   

Uttungashrungalasitasya mahiShThamUrtEhe pAdAvrutAvanitalasya suranDhrakasya|

Aashritya tasya shushuBhE(a)vayavaikadEsham bAlO divAkara ivOdayaparvatasya}}46||

SUMMARY: While holding the nine-holed tail of that divinely shaped ox, which was adorned with long horns and was occupying the land with its feet, Vasudeva was dazzling like the young sun taking shelter in the highest tower of Mount Udaya.  

LeelAm karOti nu gruhAntaragO nu bAlaha

kUpAntarE nu patitaha prakrutiswatantraha|

ItTham vichintya sa muhuhu swajanO vimrugya

hantAnavEkShya tanayam hrudi tApamApa||47||

SUMMARY: Relatives and friends of Vasudeva became very anxious after searching for the self-ordained young boy and not finding him anywhere, though initially, they thought that the boy might be playing with them by hiding in a secret place inside the house or might have inadvertently fallen into the well.