Friday, April 27, 2007

Seethakalyanam

Rama weds Sita-SeethA kalyANam



Dasarata was elated to know about the exploits of Rama and about the marriage proposal.He started for Mithila with all his retinue and reached Mithila after travelling for four days.Valmiki says that he ordered his treasures of pearls corals, precious gems and heaps of gold a to be carried in front This deserves to be noted by the parents of the bridegrooms today! Janaka welcomed them with due honour and informed Dasaratha that the wedding will take place the day after their arrival when the yaga will be completed. He said, 'yajnasyAnthE naraSrEshta vivAham rshisammatham, ' indicating that the wedding is of the kind called brAhma, which is done according to the principles laid down by the vedas.



The marriages are of eight kinds according to Manusmrthi. they are, brAhama, daiva, Arsha, prAjApathya , gAndharva, Asura, rAkshasa and paiSAcha.



brAhma - This is done when the boy completes his brahmacharya , that is, gurukula vasa and the parents of the boy approaches the parents of the girl who consent to give their daughter satisfying themselves about the background and education in vedic lore of the boy . No dowry is given and no money transaction involved and the bride is given as kanyadhana to the bridegroom.This is the highest and noblest kind of marriage.



daiva- In this kind of marriage when the girl cannot get a suitable bridegroom the parents, after waiting for a reasonable period, go to yajnasalas to find a priest to marry their daughter,who is decked with ornaments This is considered to be inferior because the girl's parents go on, looking for a suitable match instead of viceversa.



Arsha - A girl is married to a sage after exchanging two cows for the girl.This is because neither the parents of the girl nor the sage could affor a better kind of marriage. This is even inferior to the previous one because of the exchange of cows as the sasthra does not consider any marriage involving money or material transactions as noble.



prAjapathya- similar to brAhma but the parents of the girl go in search of bridegroom unlike the latter.



gAndharva- Similar to the love marriages of today where the girl and boy get married secretly without the consent of the parents. Typical example of this kind is that of Sakuntala and Dushyanyha.



Asura - When the groom is not at all suitable for the bride but gives a lot of wealth and to the bride's parents and get married . it is more or less like buying the girl.



rAkshasa-where the bridegroom fights and carries away the bride and persuads her to marry him, often with the concent of the bride as in the case of Rukmini and Krishna or that of Prthvirakj and Samyuktha of recent times.



pAisacha-The bride is taken against her will and is forced to marry.This was not sanctioned as per the sastras.



The reply of Dasaratha to Janaka was classic.Valmiki calls him vAkyaviDHAm SrEshtah, the best of the speakers. Dasaratha said 'prathigrahO dhAthrvasah Srutham Ethath mayA purA;yaTHA vakshyasi Dharmajna thathkarishyAmahe vayam,' The meaning of the sloka is this: The gift depends on the giver, which is a well known fact and hence Dasaratha agrees to do as Janaka says because he is the dhAthA, the giver of kanyAdhAna while Dasaratha is the one who receives, and therfore has to go according to the wishes of the giver. This idea should also be noted by the parents of the bridegroom nowadays.



Then Vasishta related the glory of ikshvakuvasmsa and Janaka stated the greatness of his vamsa and they agreed on the marriage whcih is like nischayathartha of modern times.



The day of the marriage dawned. Janaka offered to give his daughter UrmiLa to Lakshmana and Visvamithra suggested that the daughters of his brother Kusadvaja, Mandavi and Sruthakirthi may be given in marriage to bharatha and sathrugna to which Janaka agreed with delight. Vasishta was requested by Janaka to conduct the marriage and he did so with Sathanandha and Visvamithra. Valmiki describes in such detail, all the rituals done before and during marriage, that we can learn about them from Ramayana. The muhurtha was set on the day of the star utthara in phalguna , that is , panguni utthiram, which day has become important for so many other reasons since then.



Sita, beautifully adorned, was brought to the marriage hall, and here is one of the places where Valmiki the poet has overtaken Valmiki the sage.



thathasseethAm samAneeya sarvAbharaNa bhooshithAm

padhmAm padhmaviyukthAm vai kESavAnkachyuthAm iva

vidhyuthprabhAm viSAlAksheem snigdhakunchithamoo rDhajAm

hamsAnkithEna kshoumENa kimchith peethEna samvrthAm

vAsithEnOtthareeyEN a surakthEna susamvrthAm ( VR.BK.73.30)



Sita was adorned with all ornaments, wearing red uppercloth which fully covered her and also covered with a veil of silk slightly yellow decorated with swans. She looked like Lakshmi who has left her lotus and slipped from the lap of Vishnu.She shines like lightning and has large eyesbeautiful curly hair.



Kamban describes the arrival of Sita in his own inimitable style.



ponnin oLi poovin veRi sAndhu podhi seetham,

minninezil , annavaL tham mEni oLi mAna

annamum arambaiyarum Ar amizdhum nANa

sittridai nudanga oLir seeradi peyarndhAL



She was shining like gold,with sweet smell of flowers, and cool with the sandal paste, her lutre that of lightening and she put to shame the apsara damsels and the swans with her gait.



The beauty of this verse consisits in the rhythm of the words which is in kanta nadai which when recited even without music sounds like the beautiful walkof Sita. As compared with this the verse in same rhythm is used to describe the gait of surpanakha but the alliteration was such that it portrays the deceitful behaviour of the rakshasi in disguise.We shall see this when we come to that part of the story.(MaduraiTNSes hagopalan explained this in his harikatha on Kambaramayana and also sang the two verses in kanta nadai to the delight of the rasikas which sounded different as suited to the different contexts.)



Janaka placed Sita in front of Rama before fire and said the famous lines which are repeated till today in marriages.



iyam seetha mamasuthA sahaDHarmacharee thava.

pratheeccha chainAm bhadhram thE pANim grhNeeshva pANinA



This sloka is explained by commentators elaborately.



iyam - this Seetha.

1. who is wellknown not only for her beauty but also because of her mode of manifestation. Seetha means the edge of the plough and she was called Seetha because she appeared from the earth when the tip of the plough touched the ground where she was.Being ayonija , not born from the womb she shines with her special atteributes natural to her.

2. She is like lightning and could not be seen with normal eyes and hence see her well.

3. Rama as Narayana has been separated from Seetha, Lakshmi, for long and therefore he would have been seeing her everywhere even when she is not there. Hence he was told that Seetha is here.

4. She also, like Rama, acts like a human being but has taken the incarnation for the sake of Rama only.

5.She has come to Janaka because of much penance in order to be given to Rama in kanyadhana.



Mama suthA - my daughter.Janaka is a rajarshi. and being his daughter is a testimonial for Seetha . This adjective is the predecessor of the next.



sahadharamacharee thava- She will be a fit companion for you in all your pursuits, both yoga and bhoga.For instance Seetha proved to be a sahdharmacharee in showing mercy like Rama , if not more than Rama, who accepted VibheeshaNa who was faultless, while she showed mercy even to those who wronged against her in Asokavana , by saying 'na kaschith nAparAdhyathi, who has not done something wrong ever.' Rama narrated the story of the doves to illustrate his saranagathi dharma and likewise Seetha told Hanuman the story of the bear and the tiger.(VR-YK)



pratheeccha chainAm- Take her . She actually belonged to Rama and hence Janaka says "take her " and not "I give her to you."



bhadhram thE- May you be auspicious by marrying her. It is a mangalASAsanam to ward off evil eyes as the couple are extraordinarily suited to each other.These words occur very often in Valmikiramayana. Being a sage he bestows benediction to the characters and through them to the readers.



pANim grhneeshva pANina- take her by hand. By this Janaka denotes his approval as her father.This also denotes that the marriage is a brAhma one with the consent of the parents.



Janaka gave away Seetha by pouring water purified by manthra in the hand of Rama by way of kanyadhana, saying 'pathivrathA mahAbhAgA chAyA iva anugthA thava.' These words, meaning that she is chaste and fortunate and will follow you like shadow.are indicative of her following Rama to the forest later. She reminds this to Rama and says that she has to go with him as per the orders of the elders.(VR-AK)


Write up by Prof. Saroja Ramanujam

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Choodamani Pradanam

Janaki is in an extremely distressed state and she suspects Hanuman
to be Ravanan himself. She thinks that Ravanan has taken another form
just to cheat her and torment her. But, Hanuman speaks to her sweetly
to gain her trust and when he realised that he has her attention, and
that she has started to believe him, he gives her Shri Rama's ring.
He also tells her that this was given to him by Shri Rama himself.
Here the poet Shri Valmiki tries to capture the state of mind of
Piratti. She takes the ring from him and she is overwhelmed with joy,
and memories of intimate moments with Shri Rama and the relief that
this is the unshakable proof that this is indeed his messenger, and
this had come none too soon either! - and she is overcome by myriad
emotions, all at the same time. She feels as happy as if she was
reunited with Rama himself!

And Shri Periyavachan Pillai says:
It was as if Perumal had come in person and she could see him as if
he was right there. It was as if a dear realtive who had left for a
different country had come back; she just could not take her eyes
off the ring. She was afraid that this was Ravanan, but no! Hanuman
was from her Lord himself! Realising this, she is ecstatic. And she
remembers:
At the time of her weddding, as her father, Janakarajan, gave her
hand to Shri Rama and as He took her hand, she could feel this ring on
His finger as he grasped her hand. It felt hard against the lotus
soft hand of her Lord. But then, it was the beautiful hand that was
ornamental to the ring ? was'nt it? And not the other way round?
Later, when both of them led a happy life in Ayodhya, at times of
"pranayarosham"(PVP"s word) , at a tiem when there is noon to act as a
go-between, Rama and Sita, both of them would want to end the
lovers' tiff, since even this kind of separation was unbearable - but,
who was to speak or act first? And was'nt this the ring that came
to the rescue! Perumal would slip the ring out and let it fall and
she would take it, hand it to Him and say "Look, here is the ring!"
and both of them would be secretley relieved and only too happy that
they had ended their silly lovers' quarrel!
As she gazed at the ring, she could see in her mind's picture, the
hand that wore it and the strong and handsome shoulder that held the
bow; and it was as if the miles and the ocean that lay in between
suddenly melted away ? and she was back with Him in their palace at
Ayodhya, seated on the beautiful bed in their exquisite bedchamber!
And she embraced the ring like she would have her Lord, if the Lord
himself had been there.
And for all the hardship she was undergoing- wasn't she the daughter
of the great king Janaka? This was not a dynasty that was familiar
with sadness! But, still, here she was!
And while she held the ring, it was like she was reunited with her
Lord himself once again!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Rama breaks the Bow

Janaka and others, besides Rama and Lakshmana heard the story of Visvamithra and Janaka praised him.The next day Visvamithra informed Janaka that the princes wished to see the bow of Siva , which Janaka had and fixed as the veeryasulka for the marriage of his daughter Sita. Janaka informed Visvamithra that the bow was given to Devaratha , his forefather by the devas. It belonged to Siva who strung it to attack the devas who supported Daksha when he insulted Siva and pleased by the entreaty by the devas, Siva gave it to Indra.. Sita, janaka said, was found in the place where his plough dug the ground when he ploughed the field for doing yaga and was brought up by him as his daughter. Since she is extraordinary, Janaka decided to give her in marriage to a valiant hero who could string the bow of Siva



When the kings came to seek the hand of Sita Janaka laid down this condition but none of them were able to fulfill it and they got angry and conducted the siege of Mithila for one year, but Janaka was able to defeat them all with the power attained from devas. Janaka ended by saying that if Rama could string the bow he would have Sita as his bride.Visvamithra told Janaka to show the bow to Rama. then Janaka ordered the bow to be broght to the court. Thousands of attendants dragged the cart in which the bow was kept and Janaka said that the bow was worshipped by him and his ancesters and could not be strung even by devas, asuras or others and hence it is impossible to do so for a human being.



Janaka told Visvamithra to show the bow to Rama and Visvamithra said "vathsa rAma DHanuH pasya, Rama my child, see this bow." Rama went near the box in which the bow was kept and opened it and saw the bow and told Visvamithra by way of getting his permission, "idham DHanurvaram samsprSAmeeha pANinA; yathnavAmscha bhavishyAmi thOlanE pooraNEpi vA, I will touch this bow with my hand and then try to move it and string it."



Then after obtaining the permission of the king and the sage, Rama took the bow in his hand with no effort and stood grasping it in the middle.'leelayA cha DHanurmaDHyE jagrAha vachanAth munEH,' as if it is a plaything..He srung the bow and put an arrow in the middle of it and pulled when the bow broke into two. .'ArOpayath sa DHarmAthmA saleelamiva thaDDhanuH;- --thadhbabhanja DHanurmaDHyE naraSreshtO mahAyaSAH,' says Valmiki, implying that it was no wonder because he was a naraSrEshta and mahAyaSAH, not only he was the best among men, being the Lord Himself but also acquired great fame already by his exploits in protecting the yajna of the sage and redeeming Ahalya.



The sound of the bow breaking was so thunderous that except Visvamithra, Janaka and the princes all the rest fainted with fear.'thasya SabdhO mahAn Aseeth nirghAtha samanissvanaH; bhoomikampaScha sumahAn parvathasyEva dheeryathaH, ' The sound was like the crash of thunder, like an earthquake and as though a mountain was splitting..



Kamban describes this episode in his own beautiful words.When the bow was brought the people seeing it commented, 'Sangodu chakkaram tharittha Sengai acchingaEru allanEl idhanai theenduvAn engu uLan oruvan, this bow can be strung only by Lord Narayana, who wears the conch and the disc and who is the mighty lion. ' Seeing Rama the wowen thought that if the king liked this youth he should giive Sita to him in marriage and to stipulate that this young boy should string the bow of Siva is not right, veLLam aNaitthavan villai edutthu ippiLLai mun ittadhu pEdhamai.'



Rama walking towards the bow is described by Kamban as 'mAgamadangalum mAl vidaiyum pon nAgamum nAgamum nANa nadandhAn.' Rama walked in such a way that put to shame the gait of the mighty lion and the bull and the elephant and with his body that disgraced even the golden Meru. He took the bow in his hand as though it was a garland extended by the hand of Sita, 'seethai enum pon choodagavAl vaLai soottida neettum Edu aviz mAlaiidhu ena edutthAn.' No one saw him take the bow and string it because all they saw was that he took the bow and it broke.'kaiyAl edutthadhu kandanar ittradhu kEttAr.



The delight of the people on seeing Rama breaking the bow is described by Kamban as.' They were describing Rama as the son of Dasaratha, one with eyes like lotus 'dhayaradhan pudhalvar enbar, thAmaraikkaNNan enbar, and that he was not a human but the Lord of the milkyocean Himself, 'mAnidan allan enbar,.kayalporu kadaluL vaigum kadavuLE' They praised both Rama and Sita saying that they suited each other. 'nambiyaikkANa nangaikku Ayiram nayanam vEndum,kombinaikkAN um thorum kurisirkumannadhE Am, Sita should have thousand eyes to see the handsome Rama and likewise he too needed the same to seeher beauty.



Janaka pleased with what happened said Sita who would bring fame to the clan of janakas ( all the kings in his clan were called janakas, this one was Seeradvaja Janaka) on getting Rama ,the son of Dasartha as her husband. and also expressed his satisfaction that his promise to give Sita to one who strings the bow of Siva was fulfilled.

janakAnAm kule keerthim Aharishyathi mE sutha;seethA bharthAram AsAdhya ramam daSarathAthmajam; mama sathyA prthijnA cha veeryaSulkEthi kouSika.' Then with the permission of Visvamithra Janaka made arrangements to send messengers to inform Dasaratha about what happened and to bring him for the marriage.


Article by Mrs. Saroja Ramanujam

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Tale of Dove

Sri Rama is generally not regarded as a story-teller of any repute. You are able to picture the ebullient and enthralling Sri Krishna regaling His friends and Gopis with amusing tales, but somehow your imagination baulks at the prospect of the serious, straight-forward and sombre Sri Rama resorting to story-telling. However, Sri Valmiki does portray Sri Rama as telling tales to His friends of the monkey kingdom, not for entertaining them, but for their education and enlightenment. And one such is the Tale of the Dove?the celebrated Kapotha Upaakhyaanam.



Most of the Vaanara veeraas are against admitting Vibhishana into their camp despite his abject surrender at the lotus feet of Sri Raghava. They point out that one who has forsaken his dear brother at a time of crisis would not hesitate to betray his friends anytime. They advance many other arguments against Vibhishana being absorbed into their fold. However, Sri Rama, after affording everyone a patient hearing, comes out with His glorious formulation- - whatever be the shortcomings in the Saranaagata, apparent or latent, and however serious they were, it was His (Rama?s) sworn mission to extend succour and protection to anyone who surrendered. And to buttress His view point, He recounts the Tale of the Dove with telling effect?



?Shrooyate hi kapotena shatru: sharanam aagata:

Architascha yathaa nyaayam svaischa maamsai: nimantrita:?



Here, we may observe that Sri Rama doesn?t recount the story in detail, but tells his listeners ?You have of course heard of the tale of the Dove?. ?Shrooyate hi? says Sri Rama, referring to what must have been a very popular tale. For instance, when referring to the story of the hare and the tortoise, we refer merely to the title of the tale without going into details, for the story is too well-known for recounting. So too, the Tale of the Dove must have been quite famous and commonplace among people, so that Sri Rama had no need to go into details. This is no ordinary old wives? tale, but one capable of destroying all our sins, says the Itihaasa Samucchayam, attributing the story to Bhaargava Rishi, as told to Muchukunda Maharaja. Swami Desikan too has deemed it fit to comment on this tale, in his Abhaya Pradaana Saaram. Well, here is the story which you must definitely have heard before and which Srimad Mukkur Azhagiasingar used to recount with such moving words in his own inimitable fashion.



This happened in Krita Yugam. There was once a cruel man, who had made sadism and torture a way of life. He used to hunt down innocent animals just for the fun of it, incidentally feeding himself on their flesh and selling whatever he could not consume. He was shunned by all his relatives and lived the life of an outcast, intent on his own bestial pursuits. This man was caught one evening in a flood in the woods he lived in, with rains pouring down in sheets and inundating all available land space and the flood waters rising menacingly to neck height. Even at this time of misery, his sharp eyes espied a beautiful female dove on a tree, apparently searching for food for its loved ones. Immediately, he felled the bird with a stone and carried it with him for later use. Drenched to the skin, shivering with cold, terrified of the rising waters and the all-encompassing darkness, he made his way somehow to a small bit of dry land beneath a broad tree on a hillock and took shelter thereunder. In a short while, the rain stopped, the floods receded, the clouds dispersed and the moon and stars peeked out. His body racked by fever and discomfort, hunger gnawing at his insides, the hunter feared he would pass away there and then. At this moment of crisis, it struck to him to appeal to the deities of the woods (Vana Devata) for protection and succour and he did so in desperation, prompted by fear for his life.



The tree under which the man had sheltered happened to be the home of the fallen female dove, whose mate had been anxiously awaiting its return. The male dove atop the tree suffered in pain when it saw its beloved wife in the hunter?s net. The captive dove, however, consoled its husband and pointed out to the priority of protecting the hunter, who had sought their tree home as a refuge. Admiring the thought processes of its wife which were rooted in Dharma despite its being in mortal danger, the male dove flew near the hunter and asked him what he needed. Too cold even to reply, the hunter, through his shivering gestures, indicated that he was extremely cold and in need of warming up. The male dove flew away in search of dry twigs and leaves, found them after considerable difficulty, gathered them near the hunter, flew again to where a camp fire was burning and brought a lighted twig, with which it made a fire. Having relieved the hunter of his numbing cold, the dove asked him what more he needed. The hunter replied that he was being consumed by hunger. The male dove regretted its inability to feed the man who had sought succour from it. Had it been a human being, it would have had the requisite ingredients for cooking a meal for the refugee. Then a thought struck the dove, which realized that the hunter was a meat-eater. Immediately, it circled the fire thrice and fell in it voluntarily, so that its cooked flesh could satisfy the hunter?s hunger.



Put to shame by this extreme sacrifice on the part of a mere bird, the hunter could not bring himself to eat the dove?s flesh. Instantaneously, he gave up all his cruelty and bestiality and turned into a real human being, inspired by the conduct of the principled dove. As a mark of his having turned over a new leaf, he immediately set free the captured female dove, seeking its pardon. The freed dove thanked the hunter?however, too devoted to its mate to survive its death, the female dove too jumped into the fire and gave up its life. Immediately, there materialized from nowhere an air-borne vehicle, fully decorated, in which the male dove was already ensconced. The female dove joined its partner with a divine body and both ascended to heaven as the direct result of the supreme sacrifice they had performed in protecting one who had sought refuge.



This, then, is the Tale of the Dove recounted by Sri Rama to His listeners on the shores of Tiruppullaani, putting an end to the debate on whether or not to admit Vibheeshana to their camp. ?When a mere bird could give up its life for protecting a Sharanaagata, could a Prince of the exalted Ikshvaaku dynasty refuse to provide refuge to one who has surrendered?? enquired Sri Raghava, reiterating that it was His life?s mission to offer succour to Sharanaagataas??Abhayam sarva bhootebhya: dadaami, etat vratam mama?.


sadagopaniyengar@vsnl.net