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.     

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA STANZAS 15 TO 18

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 15 TO 18

(Parents of Vasudeva are worried over the decision of Vasudeva to embrace sainthood. Their agony has been described in these shlokas. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Sutam yateendrAnucharam virAgiNam nishamya sannyAsanibaddhamAnam|

Suvatsalau rUpyatalAlayasThitam viyOgatAntau pitarau sameeyatuhu||15||

SUMMARY: Hearing the news that their son had renounced everything and that with a firm mind to get ordained into sainthood, he was staying with Achyutapreksha, parents of Vasudeva, who were very much attached to their son, arrived at Rajatapeethapura to see Vasudeva, albeit with a very heart and nostalgia.

VarAshramastE jaratOranAThayOrna jeevatOho syAdayi nandanAvayOho|

SayAchanam vAkyamudeeryatAvidam pareetya putrAya natim vitEnatuhu||16||

SUMMARY: Telling their son “Dear child, it isn’t right on your part to embrace sainthood when your aged and orphaned parents are still alive,” the duo revolved around and prostrated before him.  

Natirna shushrUShujanAya shasyatE natam BhavadBhyAm sPhuTamatra sAmpratam|

AhO viDhAtrA swayamEva dApitA tadaBhyanujnEti jagAda sa praBhuhu||17||

SUMMARY: “What a surprise! It isn’t right for elders to prostrate before young ones. It’s very clear now that you have both saluted me. It means that Lor Sri Hari has himself prompted you to permit me,” Vasudeva told his parents.

Traditionally, elders should never salute youngsters especially parents should not salute their children. However, if the son has become a saint, the father alone can salute the son. With the Madhyageha couple having saluted Vasudeva, it was as good as them having inadvertently agreed to Vasudeva becoming a saint.  

Anuttarajnaha sa tamarThayan punaryateendramAnamya gataha priyAyutaha|

GruhE vasan kalpasamAn kShaNAnnayan sutA

nanEndOranisham tatO(a)smarat||18||

SUMMARY: Unaware of what to reply, Madhyageha requested his son once again to reverse his decision; he (Madhyageha) saluted Achyutapreksha; he went to the house of Achyutapreksha, along with his wife and spent every moment there like a Kalpa, remembering the lotus-like face of his son.

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(Vishwamitra completes the story of how Ganga came to earth and then starts narrating the story of Samudra Manthan under the pretext of making Rama know the background of King Vishala. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

“Immediately after completing the Ashwamedha, King Sagara handed over the kingdom to Amshuman, did penance and attained salvation. Subsequently, Amshuman and his son Dileepa too did penance to invoke Lord Brahma seeking Ganga River and demised. Bhageeratha, son of Dileepa, did severe penance in the name of Brahma, who was impressed with his penance and advised him to do penance in the name of Lord Rudra to wear and withstand the force of Ganga. He followed the instructions of Brahma and Lord Rudra appeared before Bhageeratha. As appealed by him, Lord Rudra wore Ganga. Ganga got into the plait of Lord Rudra and from there she went into the nether world. She soaked the ashes of the children of Sagara. As soon as touching the ashes of Sagara’s children, they got relieved from sins. They also attained salvation.

Oh Ramadeva, how can I ever praise the mystic and divine power of this Ganga as she washed your feet?”

Vishwamitra went on describing the exemplary qualities of Ganga and crossed the river too, along with Rama and Lakshmana. 

While proceeding further after crossing the Ganga, they came close to a city called Vaishali, which was under the protective governance of King Vishala. As soon as hearing that Vishwamitra was about to arrive in his town, King Vishala personally offered a warm welcome to the sage and took him to his palace with reverence. King Vishala felicitated Srirama with devotion. Sage Vishwamitra began narrating the background of King Vishala to Rama: “Oh Ramadeva, when the gods and demons began churning Mount Mandara, which was then used as the churning rod, king of serpents was used like a rope. Due to continuous and forceful churning, Mount Mandara immersed in the ocean. Then, you took the form of a giant tortoise (Kurma Avatar) with a back that was as wide as one Yojana and wore the entire mountain on the back. You also manifested in Vasuki and Mount Mandara to give them the power and strength to bear the pain and fatigue being caused due to the friction and churning. Still, the gods and demons soon got tired. You then assumed two forms to stand on either side of the mountain and you only churned the mountain. Lord Vayu consumed the entire quantity of poison that erupted. Lord Rudra, who swallowed a little bit in the end, without the concentration, lost his consciousness. You showered sympathy on him and saved him. As you continued to churn the mountain, the Moon, five-tusked elephant Airavata, a horse named Uchchaishravas, the tree of Parijata, Apsara women, Mahalakshmi and others came out. In the end, you appeared as Dhanvantari and brought the Kalash containing Elixir or Amrita. Once again, you assumed the form of Mohini and lured the demons. You distributed the elixir among all deities, gods and goddesses. When all the enraged demons launched a fierce war, you killed some of them and the others were killed by the deities. Thus, even though the churning of mountain was undertaken by both gods and demons, the fruits did not go to demons.  

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA - SHLOKAS 12 TO 14

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 12, 13 AND 14

(A platform is created in these stanzas for the holy meeting of Achyutapeksharu with Vasudeva. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

IteedamAdishya vachO vachaswini swakE gurau lOkamaThAnyameeyuShi|

AsEvatAlochya muhurgurOrgiram sa rUpyapeeThAlayamindirAvaram||12||

SUMMARY: After his wise and eloquent Guru advised him in that way and passed away, Achyutapreksha kept on contemplating and pondering over the words or his Guru for a long time and started serving Anantasana, the cosort of Indira, who had settled down in Rajatapeethapura.

It is pertinent to recall the advice of his Guru to Sri Achyutapreksha: “Oh Modest! This unifying principle or the oneness of Atma and Paramatma being imposed by Mysticism or Mayavada on the worship has not been established as true by either my Guru or his ancient Gurus; therefore, to acquire the philosophical knowledge, please believe in Lord Mukunda with compassion and devotion.”

Sri Madhwacharya went on to critically analyse and evaluate the tenets of Mayavada in his works “Mayavada Khandana”, “UpAdiKhandana”, “PrapanchamiThyAtwAnumAna Khandana”, TattvOdyOta”, “ViShNutattvanirNaya”, “AnuvyAKhyAna” and other works.

SuBhaktinA tEna BhaktavatsalO niShEvitastatra param buBhutsunA|

BhaviShyastaha shiShyavarAddhi viddhi mAmiti praviShTaha puruSham tamaBhyaDhAt||13||

SUMMARY: Lord Hari, who loves his devotees, voiced through a person there and told Achyutapreksha, who had made up his mind to know the Paratatva or the Haritava and was serving Sri Hari with occult devotion, “You can learn about me from a disciple who is about to come and meet you.”

Sri Chalari Acharya in his treatise substantiates this point: “Hi Achyutapreksha, madviShayatatvajnAnArTham twayA sEvitO(a)ham parituShTO(a)smi, matprasAdAdEva uttamashiShyO BhavitA, taduktaprakArENaiva mAm jAneehi ityabraveet iti|

PrateekShamANam tamanugraham mudA niShEvamANam punarambujEkShaNam|

SatAm guruhu kAraNamAnuShAkrutiryatim prashAntam tamupAsasAda saha||14||

SUMMARY: Vasudeva, the Master of all the righteous, who had descended on earth in the form of an ordinary human being due to certain circumstances, arrived to meet Achyutapreksha, who had continued to serve Lord Pundareekaksha with a fervent belief that he would one day be blessed with such distinct grace.

The “grace” and “blessings” that Achyutapreksha is stated to be waiting for is the good fortune of securing a disciple of the status that Lord Pundareekaksha had indicated to him through a human voiceover. The distinct “chance” of coming in contact with Lord Vayu was bestowed upon Achyutapreksha by Lord Hari   

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(In this portion, the origin of Ganga and the oceans has been explained by Vishwamitra to Rama. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Sage Vishwamitra continues his narration: “Oh Ramadeva, you assumed the Vamana Avatar and demanded land from Emperor Bali. You lifted your left foot up to measure the land. As the nail of your left toe touched, the Brahmanda cracked and the water which was at the top portion seeped through that crack and washed your feet. That water came to be called as Ganga. Thus, Ganga originated from you during your incarnation as Vamana and later she was born as the daughter of Himavanta. Due to the divine strength of her penance, she was living in the heavens.

Sagara, the king of Ayodhya, had two wives. One was Keshini, who was the daughter of the King of Keshini. The other wife, Sumati, was the daughter of Arishtanemi and sister of Lord Garuda. He served a sage called Aurva atop the hill called Bhruguprasravana for one hundred years with a desire to have a male progeny. Impressed with his service, sage Aurva blessed Keshini with a son, who would be followed by generations, and Sumatidevi with sixty thousand children, who would not have any furtherance of dynasty, in accordance with their respective desires.

Keshinidevi delivered a highly knowledgeable and scholarly son named Asamanja. He pretended like a vandal with an intention of breeding hostility between his parents and other relatives. He used to kill all young children in the town by drowning them in Sarayu River and guffawing in the end as though he had done a grand job. His father tries all means to bring him on the right track. All his efforts proved futile. As soon as he begot another son called Amshuman, Sagara debarred Asamanja. Before leaving the town, Asmanja brought all the children whom he had drowned earlier back to life and sent them to their respective homes. All the people were flabbergasted to see this act of Asamanja and regretted and repented for mistaking him. Meanwhile, Sumatidevi gave birth to very strong sixty thousand children.

King Sagara performed Ashwamedha Yaga. Devendra came there in an abstract form and stole the sacrificial horse. As instructed by King Sagara, his sixty thousand children went in search of the lost horse. They searched for the horse in the entire earth. The horse was not found. On the contrary, oceans erupted from the places where they had dug up. Thus, the seas, which were narrow till then, became very large. That is why the sea is now considered a son of Sagara and the sea is named as Saagara.

Oh Lord Rama! Sons of Sagara reached the nether world, where they saw you sitting in the form of Kapila and pretending to be in deep penance. The sacrificial horse was by your side. Sons of Sagara mistook you to have stolen the horse and rushed towards you to kill you. Then, you opened your eyes and burnt all of them into ashes. There is no wonder that you burnt all those children with your eyes because you can destroy the universe with a mere wish.

As his sixty thousand children did not return for a long time, Sagara sent his other son Amshuman to search for the horse. He also saw the horse by your side as you were sitting in the same posture in the form of Kapila Maharishi. But, he chanted in praise of you. Impressed with his prayers, you asked him to take the horse. You also told him that his uncles had been burnt by you and that they would have salvation once their ashes became wet with Ganga waters. Amshuman brought back the horse and Sagara could complete the Ashwamedha Yaga.             

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA - CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHLOKAS 9 TO 11

SRI MADHWAVIJAYA – CHATURTHAHA SARGAHA SHOLKAS 9, 10 AND 11

(In these stanzas, Achyutapreksha receives guidelines from his Guru, who was on the verge of death. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

VineetamAmnAyashirOvishAradam sadaiva tattwam prabuBhutsuramAdarAt|

GururviditvOpagatAm nijAm mrutim kadAchidUchE tamupahwarE giram||9||

SUMMARY: Achyutapreksha, who was very modest, a scholar in Upanishads and always keen on learning the divine principles, was once called in tranquillity by his mentor, who had come to know that his end was imminent.  

The surprising thing that his mentor told Achyutapreksha is given in the next stanza.

Aham swayam Brahma na kinchidasti matparam vijrumBhEta yadA sPhuTam chitihi|

Iteeha mAyAsamayOpapAditam niranvayam suvrata mA sma vishwaseehi||10||

SUMMARY: “Do not ever subscribe the line of argument of Mayavada (mysticism) that ‘I am myself the Parabrahma’ and that ‘there is nothing equal to me when I am fully matured’, my dear, because such statements or beliefs are in total contrast with what is empirically established, because only you can follow the right path.”

What the Guru of Achyutapreksha says is that there is no base or sense to accept ‘Brahma satyam jaganmiThyam’ because no Scripture ever reflects these thoughts.

YadEtadAtmaikyamupAstichOditam na mE gurOrapyaparOkShatAm gatam|

PurAtanAnAmapi saumya kutrachit tatO Mukundam Bhaja samvidE mudA||11||

SUMMARY: “Oh Modest! The predicament imposed by the mysticism on worship that there exists an inseparable unity between souls or the Atma with Paramatma, has never been experienced by either my mentor or his ancestors. Therefore, to secure the ultimate knowledge, please serve the Lord with affection and devotion.”

The mentor of Achyutapreksha has clearly instructed his disciple that Mayavada or the Mysticism that rejects any distinction between the divine and the devotee is untenable, illogical and inconsistent with the ultimate truth.  

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

SRI RAMACHARITRA MANJARI

(In this episode, birth of Kartikeya has been narrated. In the next episode, birth of Ganga will be explained. Please read, comment and share. SDN)

Lord Rudra, who was the supreme commander of the armed forces of the gods and deities till then, went away to Kailasa to do penance. The post of supreme commander of the celestial armed forces fell vacant. The deities appealed to Lord Brahma to immediately appoint a supreme commander of their army. Lord Brahma told the deities that the semen ejected by Lord Rudra and Uma Devi had been submitted to Ganga, who will deliver a baby boy soon. That boy would be the next supreme commander of the celestial armed forces. Goddess Uma Devi, who became angry with Mother Earth, would not get angry with Ganga for conceiving the semen of Lord Rudra, he said. Fire God, Lord Agni, pushed the spirit of the semen of Lord Rudra, which was lying in the shape of a hill, into the Ganga for two reasons. He had been directed to do so by Lord Brahma. Secondly, he was incapable of carrying or keeping the spirit of semen of Lord Rudra as it was so powerful and hot. The spirit of semen of Rudra let out by Agni Deva started spreading into Ganga River. Even Ganga Devi was unable to bear the heat of that spirit and therefore, she sought the permission of Agni Deva and dropped it by the side of Himalaya Mountain. The semen fell out of the hands of Ganga Devi in the form of Gold. While falling on to the ground, it came in contact with the Holy Grass Darbha and got precipitated into six parts. From those six parts was born a six-faced baby boy. Since he baby boy had six faces, it came to be known as Shanmukha, where Shat or Shashti means six and Mukha means faces. He became the supreme commander of the Gods’ Army or the divine army. Since he grew up with the breast-feeding of six deities, who are together called as Krithika Star, he came to be known as Kartikeya.  Since he was born out of the ejection, which is the meaning of Sanskrit word Skhalana, of semen, he is called as Skanda and by virtue of being the son of Agni Deva, he is called as Agneya.