Post 9
Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,
We are studying sage vaalmeeki's 'andha raama soundharyam' in conjunction with
kamban, basing that on the krithi by poet aruNaachala kavi, wherein we have
hanumaan's description of raamaa's physical features. That too, the highlight
is, the lotus failing in comparison to raamaa's beauty. Now let us see kamban
in soorpanakaip padalam wherein she sees, admires raama's beauty and becomes
romantic immediately. See the words - iv azhagan - this person of beauty.
adhigam ninRu oLirum iv azhagan vaaL mugam
podhi avizhth thaamaraip poovai oppadhO?
kadhir madhi - aam enin, kalaigaL thEyum, am
madhi enin madhikkum Or maru uNdu ennumaal. - 17 soorppanakaip padalam
meaning: oh, this beautiful person's sword like face shines more in still, can
it be compared to the blossoming lotus? No. Can it be to the bright, rays
emitting moon? If we have to say yes, then the moon has deterioration over
period - also it has a blemish. So that also fails.
Point: straight away the poet says lotus fails. Also we have already seen in
kamban's hanuman describing the face is more to the lotus in post 5. That
verse alone
aNNal than thiru mugam kamalam, aam enin
kaNNinukku uvamai vERu yaadhu kaatugEn?
thaN madhi, aam ena uraikkath thakkadhO?
veN madhi polindhu, adhu melindhu thEyumaal - 51 urukkaattup padalam
Also another point - Is it that the azhagan is so bright as a whole? or the
face alone? adhigam ninRu oLirum iv azhagan - or his face 'oLirum vaaL mugam'
of this 'azhagan'. 'ninRu oLirum' - generally it is said the steady flame of a
light - 'aadaatha chuddar of a lamp - viLakku - is more a beauty than a wavery
bright one.
Now another verse in same soorpanakaip padalam from kamban -
thaaL uyarth thaamaraidh dhaLangaL thammodum
kEL uyar naattaththug giriyin thORRaththaan
thOLodu thOL selath thodarndhu nOkkuRin
neeLiya alla kaN nediya maarbu enbaaL - 16 - soorpanakaip padalam
meaning: raamaa stands like a hill on the ground like the lotus raises the
heads above the level of water through its stalk. If I look continuously from
one side shoulder to other side, it strikes - is it the long eyes? or the broad
chest?
Point: In tamil the word 'thaaL' is the feet, also the stalk or stem. So it
becomes more doubtful, when the poet uses 'thaamaraidh dhaLangaL thammodum
uyarth thaaL' -whether he places the feet high above the lotus petals, with
such lotus petal feet raamaa looks handsome like a hill standing.
or
he wants to compare raamaa's standing tall like a hill, is looking like the
blossoming lotus standing on a stalk heads above the water.
Similarly when we look from right to left on raama, is it the long eyes which
strikes the onlooker or the broad chest? Doubt arises. Oh what a great verse.
Enjoy raamaa's soundharyam through kamban's great tamil.
Now let us see a krithi of thyaagaraaja - krithi 'laavaNya raama' - in the
raaga 'poorNa shadjam'. This raaga is 'rudhra priyaa' for sri dhikshithar [of
the music trinity].
The selection of raaga either in the name of 'rudhra riya or poorNa shadjam' is
again a very apt selection.
'Sivan', or 'rudhran' is always chanting the raama naamam with a liking, with a
taste in it, priyam in uttering - which he vouched to his wife paarvathi - one
raamaa naamam as equivalent to 1000 naamaas of sri vishNu [which we recite
daily as part of the phalasruthi slOkams of sri vishNu sahasra naamam].
sri raama raama raama ithi ramE raamE manOramE |
sahasra naama thath thulyam raama naama vara aananE ||
So the raagaa here is 'rudhra priyaa' singing about raamaa. Even if we consider
the name 'poorna shadjam' then also it is very apt - the shadjam in music is
'sa'. VEdhaas proclaim the supreme lord as 'rasO vai sa:'. That sa: is raama
and the rasam is poorNam - full of raama rasam - raama rasa poorNam - poorna
shadjam - that is what is available to us through this raagam.
The krithi highlights raama's beauty - 'andha raama soundharyam'. Now the
krithi -
laavaNya raamaa raagam: poorna shadjam or rudrapriya
20 natabhairavi janyam taaLam: roopakam
pallavi
laavaNya raama kannulaara joodavE athi - laavaNya
meaning: please see me with all your eyes - oh extremely beautiful raama.
anupallavi
sree vanitha chiththa kumudha seethakara sathaananyaja - laavaNya
meaning: your beauty is the moon, capable of making the mind lily of your lady
'sree' to blossom, that beauty of 100 cupids in one.
charaNam
nee manasu, nee sogasu, nee dhinusu vErE
thaamasa maata dheivamEla thyaagaraajanutha dhivya - laavaNya
meaning: Your heart, your grandeur, your type is something very different than
these lowly other gods? Thyaagaraaja says so.
Summary: please see me with all your eyes - oh, extremely beautiful raama!! Oh,
raamaa, your beauty is the moon, capable of making the mind lily of your lady
'sree' [maha lakshmi] to blossom, that beauty of 100 cupids in one - [the cupid
being born off the face]. Your heart, your grandeur, your type is something
very different? [meaning - these lowly gods cannot come to your level or near
you in comparison]. This thyaagaraaja says so.
Such is the raama soundharyam making everybody sing in one-way or other. Enjoy
that beauty - raama soundharyam - which makes the lotus to fail
Dhasan
Vasudevan m.g.
PS: with this I conclude this series 'lotus failed'. Thanks for your patience.
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