SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Arrival of Srirama at Mithila and the astonishment of King Janaka over the charming stature of Srirama have been described in this episode. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

VidEshanagaram gatwA rAjAdiBhihi krutAm pUjAm sweekrutya:

From the hermitage of sage Gautama, Vishwamitra, Srirama, Lakshmana and other Rishis moved in the north-east direction. Srirama saw from a distance a sprawling Yajna Shala — it is a separate temporary hall set up exclusively for the performance of sacrifice with an altar for installing the sacred fire and with provision for people to watch the performance of the sacrifice — that King Janaka had set up. He could also hear the Vedic hymns that thousands of Brahmins, who had come there from different directions and countries, were reciting aloud. Sriramachandra, who is the Lord of Yajnas, the recipient of offerings made into the Sacrificial Fire, was delighted and sat there in a very sacred and highly purified place.

King Janaka came to know that great Sage Vishwamitra had come along with two rare and divine boys. Accompanied by the priests and preceptors, King Janaka rushed to the place and worshipped sage Vishwamitra. People who had come from different countries, the local women, youth, elderly and children looked at Srirama in utter bewilderment, without winking their eyes even once. In accordance with their individual capacity and status, everyone honoured Srirama, Lakshmana and Vishwamitra with devotion and affection. King Janaka then told Vishwamitra:

“Oh Vishwamitra, I have taken the Deekasha — it is mandatory for performers of the sacrifice to take Deeksha, which, once taken, forbids them from indulging in certain routine activities and warrants adherence to strict celibacy — for twelve days and pledged to complete this sacrifice. I am lucky that you have come at this auspicious hour. I believe that I have secured all the merits of performing this sacrifice just by seeing you.” Seeing Sriramadeva, he spoke with great delight:

“Oh Vishwamitra, who are these boys standing obediently by your side? His body has a celestial blue complexion that is reminiscent of a Gem. His eyes are in light red like the central portion of a lotus. Shoulders are like those of a lion and the chest is wide. His face is like full moon and the navel is deep. His neck has three grains as seen on a Conch and his voice is firm and stoic. His hands are long. He is young and energetic. He walks like a King Elephant and his face is adorned with a pleasant and sweet smile. The entire universe is astonished by seeing him. But, he does not seem to have been amazed by seeing others around him. He is like Manmatha for women and is standing like a servant in front of you. He appears like God of Death for enemies and Lord Hari for Yogis. He is like a spectacle and festivity for everyone’s eyes. His speech is limited but pregnant with meaning. I feel that this Earth does not deserve to be touched by his soft and cool feet that look like fresh buds. Who is he standing obediently with you? Who is the other boy standing beside him and looking almost like his replica in form and characteristics?”  (Vishwamitra’s reply in the next episode.)       

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 26 TO 28

(In these stanzas, the birth of another son to Madhyageha, appeal of Vasudeva to his mother to allow him to become a saint has been explained. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

NishAcharEriva lakShmaNaha purA vrukOdarasyEva surEndranandanaha|

GadO(a)Tha shaurEriva karmakrutpriyaha suBhaktimAn vishwavidO(a)nujO(a)Bhavat||26||

SUMMARY: Like in the past Lakshmana was there for Srirama, Arjuna for Sri Bheema and Gada for Sri Krishna, a very beloved younger brother, who could serve all-knowledgeable Vasudeva with devotion and dedication, was born.

The stanza only conveys that a younger brother was born for Vasudeva.

The adjective “Vishwavit” (Vishwavidaha + anujaha + aBhavat) applies to Srirama, Sri Bheema and Sri Krishna, respectively and the adjectives Karmakrut, priyaha and suBhaktimAn related to Lakshmana, Arjuna and Gada in that order. Gada was born after Sri Krishna to Vasudeva from Rohini. He was a divine being belonging to Chandakas. Sri Madhwacharya clarifies this factor in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya: “Gadashcha nAmatO(a)nujO HarEhe sa ROhiNeesutaha| PurA sa chanDakO gaNO HarErnivEditAshanaha| It means: A brother of Sri Hari named Gada was born to Rohini. Earlier, he (Gada) belonged to Chandaka Gana. It is stated in Purananama Choodamani that Gada was a very brave person and an established warrior, who could wield and use any weapon with both hands, simultaneously. He was one of those survivors among the Pandavas after the Great War.

The great personality of Sri Vishnutirtharu, younger brother of Sri Madhwacharya, has been described later in the Fifteenth Sarga. Sri Madhwacharya ordained Sri Vishnutirtharu into sainthood. In fact, Sri Madhwacharya confirms in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya: “ArjunAdyAha krutE prajAtA haritOShaNAya”. It means that Sri Vishnutirtharu was an incarnation of Arjuna, who was an incarnation of Lord Indra.   

KadAchidApyAlayabudDhirAlayam nivEdayan pAlakamEnamEtayOho|

DruDhaswasanyAsaniShEDhanishchayAm DhavAnumatyEdamuvAcha mAratam||27||

SUMMARY: Sometime later, Sri Vasudeva, who had the remotest, comprehensive and divine knowledge, came to his house, told his parents that the newborn baby boy would take care of them in the future; turning towards his mother, who had decided to strongly oppose the decision of Vasudeva to become a saint, like her husband, and told her…  

Mother of Vasuddeva too had decided to stop him from becoming a saint and that is why he wanted to convince her.

VarAshramAptim mama samvadaswa mAm kadAchidapyamba yadeechChaseekShitum|

YadanyaThA dEshamimam parityajan na jAtu druShTErviShayO BhavAmi vaha||28||

SUMMARY: “Dear Mother, if at all you wish to see me once in a while, later then you allow me to accept sainthood. Otherwise, I will leave this country once for all so that you will never have a chance to see me again.”

By appealing to his Mother in this manner, Vasudeva once again stands as a model to society and he shows that children should respect their parents at all levels. He did not want to show any disrespect for his mother and therefore he appeled to her to permit him to become a saint.

SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY'S SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Ahalya Shapa Vimochana: Sage Vishwamitra concludes the story of Gauthama, Ahalya and Indra. As requested by him, Sri Rama releases Ahalya from the curse. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

In the case of celestial beings with remote knowledge (Aparoksha Jnani), none of the sins can render them punishable and they do not attract painful, incongruous and negative stains or strain. Persons without such remote knowledge or divine power visualise invisible things cannot attain or long for the status of Indra nor can they secure powers to rule the Heavens. Therefore, Indra, who has the governing authority and power to rule the heavens, invariably possesses the remote power and consequently, it can certainly be perceived that no negative or punitive stain was attracted by him because of his sensuous behaviour with Ahalya. Moreover, deities cannot be said to have committed any sin by enraging the chastity of a woman of lower strata of beings. Going by this norm too, Indra did not attract any blot of sin due to his behaviour with Ahalya. Yet, Indra was distressed and worried for the misery that trustworthy Ahalya had to bear for a very long time because of his deed.

It is not right for devotees of Vishnu to hurt other devotees of Lord Hari. Sage Durvasa, an incarnationof Lord Rudra, tried to deceive King Ambareesha, who was in the lower strata compared to Durvasa, and became a victim of unsavoury situation. Similarly, Lord Indra had committed a great sin of offending Sage Gautama and his wife Ahalya, who were both lesser beings compared to him, because the couple was rank devotees of Lord Vishnu. For this reason too, Indra cursed himself and became worried.

Ahalya too had committed the sin by force and therefore, she had not wilfully done anything wrong. Still, being a highly committed and most loyal wife of Gautama, she assumed the form of a stone idol to get rid of some sin she might have committed in her previous births, for getting her chastity disturbed and for creating an atmosphere of distrust in the mind of her husband. But, she did penance in that form of rocky idol to erase all the stains.

Gautama also realised that Indra had not committed any blunder as he was a higher being. He repented for cursing his innocent wife Ahalya and also Indra, in a fit of sheer rage.

Vishwamitra showed Ahalya in the form of a stone to Rama and told him the circumstances that had led Ahalya to such a sorry state. Vishwamitra told Rama: Oh Ramadeva, please look at this Ahalya Devi, who is your devotee, with sympathy and affection. She has not committed any mistake. She has been doing the penance to rid the negative effects of sins of past births. Please relieve her from all sins. Please fill the heart and mind of your dedicated devotee Gauthama with love towards his wife. Kindly clear their misery and grief. Devendra has been worrying for victimising Ahalya and Gauthama for no fault of theirs and for not being able to resolve the ill-effects of his act. He is a committed devotee of yours. He has been defamed because of his act. Bestow upon him the boon of calmness. Restore his mental peace. Gauthama too deserves to recover calmness. Let Devendra worship you with renewed conviction for clearing the curse that Ahalya has been suffering from because of his misdeed. Please save all of them from the ill-effects of their sin,” Vishwamitra appealed to Sri Rama.

Sri Rama listened the entire story, smiled affectionately with a positive mind-set and touched the stone idol that Ahalya had assumed with a toe end. She came out of the stone form, blazing with renewed charm and inexplicable beauty. Gauthama and Ahalya worshipped Rama with great devotion. Thus, after making everyone happy, Vishwamitra, Rama, Lakshmana and other sages proceeded from that place and arrived at Mithila.   

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 23 TO 25

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 23 TO 25

(In the stanza 23, Sri Madhyageha had played all his cards to divert Sri Vasudeva. Madhyageha had told Vasudeva that if he (Vasudeva) were to become a saint, then there would be none to look after them (elderly parents). The words of Sri Madhyageha were not out of context because it is stated in Bhava Prakashika: VrudDhau cha mAtApitarau sADhwee  BhAryA sutaha shishuhu| ApyakAryashatam krutwA BhartavyA manurabraveet|| This means that that Shastras mandate that aged parents, loyal wife and young son should be protected or taken care of even if it needs to commit a hundred sins or crime. However, in these stanzas 23 to 25, Sri Vasudeva convinces his father and secures the permission to become a saint. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

YadA viraktah puruShaha prajAyatE tadaiva sannyAsaviDhihi shrutau shrutaha|

Na sangaheenO(a)pi parivrajAmi vAmaham tu shushrUShumakalpayanniti||23||

SUMMARY: “The Shrutis have declared ‘sainthood is the right move when a person has renounced everything that is worldly’. Although I have become fully averse to worldly pleasures, I will not get ordained into sainthood till I provide you with a caretaker.”

This is the reply of Sri Vasudeva to his father. Sri Vasudeva has established two important facts in this stanza. One is that children should never disobey parens and secondly one should not show disregard to Shrutis, Smrutis and other holy Texts. He also clarifies that in the case of a person destined to serve the Lord, especially when he has renounced worldly pleasures, approval of parents is not mandatory.

Vasudeva, who had the knowledge of present, past and future, indirectly informs his father that he would beget another son soon. That is why, Vasudeva promises to his father that he would not embrace sainthood.  

BahushrutatwAdyadi tatsahE balAnna sA savitree viraham sahEta tE|

Iti dwijEnABhihitE(a)namat sa tam BhavAnanujnAm pradadAtwiti bruvan||24||

SUMMARY: “Being aware of everything, I may somehow bear this agony; but, your mother will certainly not bear the nostalgia that grips her with your departure,” said Madhyageha. Vasudeva just said that he wanted his father’s permission and saluted him.

In this stanza, in his spirited reaction, Madhyageha had indicated that he might or could bear the nostalgia caused by Vasudeva becoming a saint. Therefore, Vasudeva asks Madhygeha to first give his approval and that it was his responsibility to get the approval of his mother.

Vichintya vidwAn sa nirutareekrutastaThA(a)stu mAtA(a)nuvadEdyadeeti tam|

Udeerya kruchChrAdupagamya mandiram priyAsakAshE tamudantamabraveet||25||

As he could not reply, Madhyageha contemplated for a moment and said “I have no objection if your mother concedes,” with great difficulty; he returned home and reported everything to her.

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(In this edition, Vishamitra narrates the story of Gautama cursing Ahalya. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

AhalyAshApam cha vimOchya — VidEhadEsham prati gamanasamayE mArgasTha GautamAshramE IndrakrutaDharShaNAparADhanimittEna patyA GautamEna shaptAm shileekrutAm swadarshanEna mAnuShatAm prAptAm patyA samyOjya|

There is always a constraint on everything, including the positive energy one attracts from good deeds called PuNya. Whenever that constraint is ignored or breached, the salvation becomes a distant proposition. The excessive positive energy acquired through good deeds can be brought to its prescribed limit in two ways: Firstly, one can enjoy all comforts and luxury to have that Punya dissolved or reduced.   Secondly, a large portion of the accumulated Punya can be lost by merely abusing a person of better rank and file or of virtues of higher value or by cursing a more virtuous person.

Of these two ways, the first one warrants the person concerned to take innumerable births to indulge in such acts as spending the Punya little by little by way of doing favour to others, who might not otherwise deserve such gratis. There is another danger in this process because every good act will certainly attract more Punya or positive energy. This will be a chain reaction and therefore, the person concerned may end up taking births after births and thereby getting caught in the spiral of births and deaths. It is almost impossible for anyone to reduce the Punya through the first method.

A large portion of Punya can be burnt almost instantly by cursing or abusing a person of higher value. Therefore, the second mode is most effective in burning the Punya.

Lord Hari is very kind to his devotees and he will make the virtuous lose their Punya by instigating them to curse a better person.

The deities and Rishis, who are all devotees of Lord Hari, will create a situation for the devotees of Lord Hari in the lower string to get cursed by them so that their excess Punya diminishes quickly. Lord Indra, a devotee of Sri Hari wanted to get cursed by Sage Gautama through some disdainful act so that the excess Punya that Sage Gautama had acquired could be destroyed, which would, in fact, be like doing a favour to the sage. Earlier, every deity had been attracted by the charm and beauty of Ahalya and Indra was not an exception. By having intercourse with her under some pretext, Indra thought, he could fulfil his desire and also get cursed from Gautama. He executed his plan to perfection. He went to the hermitage of Sage Gautama when the sage was not there. To hoodwink Ahalya, Indra went in the guise of Gautama. Ahalya had no clue and she was cooperating with Indra, thinking that he was her husband Gautama. However, she could sense some foul play and immediately rejected Indra, who forcibly had intercourse with Ahalya.

The narration of this incident has been slightly altered in Sri Valmeeki Ramayana where it appears as though Ahalya immediately identified Indra and voluntarily and willingly cooperated with him. This version is with the intention of misleading the demons to think wrongly about Ahalya, Indra and sage Gautama. This factor will be clear by going through Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya by Sri Madhwacharya and the commentary provided on it by Sri Vadirajaru.

When Devendra was leaving the hermitage, Sage Gautama was just entering the hermitage. He was enraged after knowing what had transpired and cursed Devendra: “You disguised as myself, cheated my innocent wife and spoiled her character. Genitals are the cause of interest in women and therefore you henceforth be deprived of genitals.” The sage then turned towards his wife and said: “You have spoiled your character and therefore you will assume the form of a stone and spend thousands of years in ashes till Srirama looks at you with empathy. Only then will you get back your original form.”

As a consequence of the curse of Gautama, Indra lost his genitals. He returned to heavens and narrated everything, including the loss of his genitals, to the deities. He also said that his intention behind that act was to relieve Sage Gautama from the excessive Punya he had earned. “I have succeeded in accomplishing the task by making Sage Gautama curse me,” he said. The deities immediately consulted Pitru Devatas or the ancestors who had become divine. Those Divine Ancestors suggested that the genitals of their vehicle, Sheep, be removed and fixed for Indra. The deities did as directed by the Divine Ancestors. From then on, Indra came to be known as Meshavrushana, where Mesha means Sheep.   

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 19 TO 22

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 19 TO 22

(In these stanzas, Sri Madhygeha expresses his wrath, unwillingness over Vasudeva’s  decision to become a saint. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Sa chintayan putramanOraTham shuchA punashchateertvOpagatO mahAnadeem|

YateeshwarAnuvratamAtmanandanam tamaikShata grAmavarE maThAntarE||19||

SUMMARY: Depressed by his son’s longing to embrace sainthood, heart-broken Madhyageha crossed Netravati River, reached the Kutyadi Mutt at a place called Karyuru where his son had gone behind Achyutapreksha and saw him (son) there.

During his sojourn, Achyutapreksha was staying at the Kutyadi Mutt on the banks of Netravati River. Vasudeva had accompanied his Guru.

As per Bhava Prakashika, “Gramavarasya ‘KAryUru” ityapaBhraShTaBhAShA”, which means, Gramavara is another name of Karyuru.

Sri Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya quotes a statement from a commentary rendered by Sri Vijayadhwajeeya Tirtharu: “Prateechee MahAnadee nAmnA NEtrAvatee| VarAha kShEtrAt sahyagirim BhitwA Pashchimasamudram syandamAnA| It is also stated that according to Bhagavata Purana, Netravati River was being called as Mahanadi.  

Na jAtakOpAkulitO DharAsurO mahAtmanAm lanGhanaBheerurapyalam|

Sutasya kaupeenaDhrutau hi sAhasaprashravO mE druDha ityaBhAShata||20||

SUMMARY: Enraged and infuriated Madhyageha, who would never go against the wishes of elders, said in a fit of rage that if his son were to wear pudenda (Kaupeena) and become a saint, he would certainly take a bold step.

“Bold step” or “SAhasaprashravO mE DruDha” means that he (Madhyageha) would either launch indefinite fast or sacrifice his life, if his son were to become a saint.

KShaNEna kaupeenaDharO nijam paTam vidArya hE tAta kuruShwa sAhasam|

IteemamuktwA praBhurabraveet punaha shuBhAntarAyam na BhavAmshcharEditi||21||

Na putra pitrOravanam vinA shuBham vadanti sanatO nanu tau sutau mrutau|

NivartamAnE na hi pAlakO(a)sti nau twayeeti vaktAramamum sutO(a)braveet||22||

SUMMARY: Sri Vasudeva immediately removed the clothe with which he had covered his chest, tore it and wore it as pudenda; he then challenged his father by saying “Alright my  father, let us see what sort of daring act would you take,” and again said “it isn’t proper on your part to obstruct a noble deed.”

Sri Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya is of the view that Sri Vasudeva challenged his father to sacrifice his life only to indicate that he (father) could not sacrifice his life when he (Mukhyaprana in the form of young Vasudeva) was there. No being can sacrifice the Prana or life till as long as Mukhyaprana stays in the body. Once Mukhyaprana exits, the body becomes a corpse.  

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(In this edition, the story of King Vishala concludes. It is interesting to know that King Vishala belonged to the same Ikshwaku dynasty in which Sri Rama had taken birth. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Vishwamitra continues his narration to Sri Rama: “Diti saw with grave concern the horrendous condition her children had reached. She decided to get a son, who could kill Lord Indra as he had got her children killed through you (Lord Vishnu). She obtained the permission of her husband Kashyapa and started worshipping you. Indra came to know about the intentions of Diti and was waiting for Diti to become callous and insane. When Diti inadvertently committed a mistake and became insane, Indra entered her womb and cut the baby there into forty-nine pieces. But they did not die. They started crying and Indra told them “Maa rodee”, which meant “do not cry”. Therefore, they came to be known as Maruts and all of them became the servants of Indra. The moral of this story is that your devotees will always be glorious and your foes will ever be unsuccessful in their life.

There was a noble Apsara called Vishala among the several Apsara women who emerged during the Great Churning. King of this empire, Vishala, was born to Ikshwaku, who is the originator of your dynasty,” said Vishwamitra, concluding the story of Vishala, who also belonged to the same dynasty as Rama.

Vishwamitra was telling similar stories to Rama, Lakshmana and his disciples till arriving at the sub-forest areas that were part of the kingdom of Mithila. It is quite clear from this explanation or substantiation provided by Sri Lakshminarayanachar that Vishwamitra narrated all these stories during his journey from Siddhashram to the country of Videha, where he wanted Rama and Lakshmana to be taken to.