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SrI:
SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 27 dated 2nd June 2007
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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. "AYODHYA KHAANDAM" PART -3 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 23 - SLOKAM 13 -PART 4
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 254 Regular issues of SRS have been released
so far, apart from numerous "Special Issues" as indicated below:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
27 Issues of Vol. 8 (including this)
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1. "AYODHYA KHAANDAM" PART - 3 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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31. GUHA'S RAMA BHAKTI - STORY OF THYAGARAJA (SIDE STORY) 
H.H. narrates the following story to illustrate the depth of Guha's 
Bhakti to Rama.
Once, a family of pilgrims had to spend a night in a far off 
village. It was midnight and it was pouring heavily. Only a few days 
before, there was a robbery in the village and none of the villagers 
dared to offer them any place to rest. They spotted a nearby temple 
but the heavy doors were under deadbolt. One man tried to jump over 
the tall wall to find out if there was any space for accommodating 
the women and children in the group. But, there was no sign of his 
coming back. The next morning, the priest came and opened the main 
door. 

They narrated to him the incident. At long last, when someone peeped 
into a well that was precisely where the man had jumped into, they 
found his body there. They pleaded with the priest to save the man. 
But, he said that in a short while a great Bhakta would be coming 
and that they could request him to do the needful. The Bhakta did 
come. When the wife of the man prostrated before the Bhakta, he 
blessed her "Long live your married life" "Dheergha Sumangali 
Bhava". When they told him that the man was suspected to have died, 
he said "It is Rama who blessed through me and Rama would save him". 
He sang the kriti "nannu paalimpa" in Mohana Raagam. Lo and behold! 
The man believed to have died got up as if waking up from sleep. The 
Bhakta was none other than Saint Thyagaraja. Guha's Bhakti was like 
that. No wonder, Rama had a soft corner in his heart for Guha. He 
told Guha "Earlier we were just four brothers. Now, with you, we 
have become five" 

Munbu uLem oru naalvEm; muDivu uLadu ena
Anbu uLa, ini naam Ore aivargaL aanOm (Guha-617)

Guha brought the milk of banyan tree (gel like liquid) as ordered by 
Rama for shaping up his hairs like what the Sages sported on their 
heads. Needless to say, that LakshmaNa followed suit.

32. SUMANTRA RETURNS TO AYODHYA
Though Sumantra wanted to accompany Rama and sought his permission 
to do so, Rama advised him to go back to AyOdhya saying that only if 
he returned to AyOdhya, mother KaikEyi would believe that Rama had 
actually gone to the forest. Rama told him: "If people accuse you 
for having been instrumental in taking Rama to forest, tell them 
that you would yourself bring me back after the 14 years of sojourn 
in the forest".

33. CROSSING RIVER GANGA- GUHA WASHES RAMA'S FEET (SIDE STORY) 
Before they got into the boat brought for crossing River Ganga the 
next morning, Guha washed Rama's feet (Paada prakshalanam) Do you 
know why? H.H answers: Guha knew how a stone became a woman when 
Rama stepped "upon" it. By Rama's stepping "into" his boat, it might 
get transformed into a woman. So, he hastened to wash his feet clean!

34. CROSSING RIVER KALINDEE
Stepping out of the boat after crossing Ganga, after some distance, 
they had to cross another River, KaaLindee. LakshmaNa prepared a 
big 'barge' with pieces of timber fastened together, covered with a 
kind of grass and spread over with dry bamboo canes. Thereafter, the 
valiant Lakshmana made for Seetha a comfortable seat, after chopping 
branches of reeds and branches of rose apple tree [naaval maram in 
tamil].LakshmaNa fixed tall upright poles and mats for masts to "go 
with the wind". It is popularly believed that LakshmaNa swam 
alongside the boat carrying the divine couple. Both Aapasthamba and 
Manu prohibit crossing a river by swimming (literally beating the 
waters with hands) or by a boat suspected to be leaky. 
Varjayet baahubhyaam cha nadee teeraNam 
naavam cha saamsayi keem na baahubhyaam nadeem tarEth
There is no evidence for this in either Valmiki or Kamban that he 
ever did that.

35. VALMIKI ASRAMAM
They arrived at the hermitage of Sage Valmiki. There LakshmaNa built 
a custom designed "ParNasaalai" with all facilities for a 
comfortable stay of the divine couple.  It was so professionally 
built that Rama asked LakshmaNa how and when he learned the art.
Enru sindittu iLaiyavar  paarthu iru, Kunru  pOlak kuvaviya thOLinaai
Enru katranai nee idu pOle enraan Tunru taamarai kaNN pani 
sOrginraan ((Chitrakoota 778)

36. DASARATHA'S LAMENT- Cf. KULASEKARA AZHWAR
Six days had passed by since Rama left AyOdhya. Valmiki then takes 
us to AyOdhya to show what happened there after Rama's exit. What 
else can one expect except a pall of gloom with heart rending sorrow 
enveloping the ruler and the ruled? When Sumantra arrived, he could 
see the desolate Dasaratha bewailing his plight of separation from 
Rama. He reminded himself how Rama was so dutiful to him that he 
agreed to the wedding only after the proposal was approved by his 
father and that the separation was like a dagger-stab at his heart. 
{Bhagavatas may remember that the lament of Dasaratha has been 
poignantly described by KulasEkara Azhwar in his "PerumaaL 
Tirumozhi"} 


37. KOUSALYA TAUNTS DASARATHA
Dasaratha asked Sumantra if he could take him back to DanDakaaraNya 
to meet with Rama. Kousalya taunted Dasaratha saying that even if 
Rama were to return after 14 years, he would not like to take over 
the reins. She asks: "Will a strong tiger ever taste the flesh of an 
animal killed and tainted with the spittle of a fox?" Naturally, 
Dasaratha had no answer for this. He folded his palms (anjali) to 
beg Kousalya to pardon him. Kousalya knew that a wife who is so 
entreated by her husband will come to eternal grief. So, she 
immediately stopped him from begging her. (Remember that when 
Dasaratha fell at the feet of KaikEyi earlier, she was stubborn) 
Kousalya's wrath now turned to KaikEyi. She asked KaikEyi "Do you 
think you have earned a Kingdom? What you have earned is just widow-
hood, since the King will not live any longer. This is solely due to 
your conspiracy". She vowed that she and the other wives of 
Dasaratha would enter the funeral pyre in the event of Dasaratha's 
death.

38. REQUITAL OF DASARATHA'S PAST SIN (A MAIN STORY) **
Dasaratha narrated to Kousalya how he was facing retribution for a 
sin that he had committed earlier in his life. "When I was just an 
adolescent, I learned the art of "Sabda vEdanam" (locating merely by 
tracing its sound of an animal that was not visible). On a fateful 
night as I was in a forest area, I heard a sound that looked like 
that of an animal drinking water at a pond. I shot an arrow at the 
location. Soon I heard a human voice crying in the agony of death. 
When I got near, I was shocked to see that it was not an animal but 
a young boy who was hit by my arrow and was about to die. He told me 
that he had come to the pond to collect water in a pot to quench the 
thirst of his blind parents who were waiting for him a few yards 
away under a tree. The boy asked me to pull out the arrow. I did so 
and the boy died instantly. I took the pot filled with water to his 
parents, narrated the unfortunate, unexpected incident. They wanted 
me to take them to the place where the boy's dead body was lying. 
There, they also cast away their mortal coils but not before laying 
a curse on me that I would also die due to pangs of separation from 
my son (PutrasOkam), even as they did. I did not realize the gravity 
of the curse then. On the other hand, I felt happy that their curse 
was a blessing in disguise in that after all I would be blessed with 
a son! Now, I am reaping the consequence of my misdeed"

The lesson is that whether we remember or not, one cannot escape 
experiencing the consequences of one's past "karma". But, knowing 
this fully well, what do we do? 
The following slOka answers: 
puNyasya phalam ichchanti, puNyam na kurvanti maanavaa: /
Paapasya phalam na ichchanti, paapam kurvanti yathnata: //
People desire to reap the fruits of puNya (meritorious deeds) but do 
not do any acts that would fetch them the same; On the other hand, 
they do not want to experience the consequences of sins Paapa (sin) 
but commit sins with enormous effort" We enjoy or suffer the effect 
of our good or bad actions, whether we like it or not!

39. THE KING IS DEAD; CAN WE SAY "LONG LIVE THE KING"?
His Majesty died at dead of night. Unfortunately, even though he had 
four sons a a result of performing numerous intense Yaagas, not one 
of them was near his bedside at the time of his death! AyOdhya 
became a kingdom without a king! The King's body was put in 
a "Thailak-kopparai"- (A wide mouthed large brass vessel) containing 
preservative oils waiting for the return of Bharata. VasishTa sent 
messengers to summon urgently Bharata and Satrughna to AyOdhya 
cautioning them not to reveal the news of the demise of the King and 
the exile of Rama and LakshmaNa.

40. BHARATA'S DREAMS
Valmiki now takes us to kEkaya kingdom where Bharata and Satrughna 
were enjoying their vacation. Valmiki catalogues about 15 dreams 
that Bharata had that night. When the emissaries conveyed the 
message from VasishTa, they took leave of the King instantly and 
started on their journey. They traveled for several days and reached 
AyOdhya. They found the city in a shambles and were afraid that some 
mishap had befallen, though they could not divine what it could be! 

41. BHARATA- KAIKEYI SAMVAADAM
Dasaratha was not found in his chambers or in KaikEyi's, his usual 
resort. When inquired, KaikEyi conveyed the news by saying that the 
King had reached the final resting place to which all living beings 
are destined to reach. When asked where Rama was, she replied that 
the King had sent him on exile to live in the forest for 14 years 
and that Dasaratha desired that Bharata should rule the kingdom in 
Rama's place. He asked what crime Rama had committed to deserve such 
punishment. When Bharata came to know that it was at her behest that 
Rama was exiled, he flew into uncontrollable rage. He scolded 
KaikEyi saying "So, you wanted to rule making me a scapegoat? No 
wonder that you seem to have inherited the evil traits of your 
mother who was driven out of the Kingdom for her misdeeds". He 
spared her life not because she was his mother but he was scared 
that Rama may not approve of killing her. However, he left her and 
proceeded to Kousalya's place. 

42. BHARATA PRATIGNAI
The first reaction of Kousalya on seeing him was one of accusing him 
of complicity in his mother's designs. Bharata was beside with grief 
on hearing her accusations. He tried to convince her that he had 
nothing to do with his mother's plans. To prove his point, he went 
on listing over 50 heinous sins that cast a soul in terrible hells 
and that he would go to those hells if he had any hand in his 
mother's deal. Valmiki cautions us through Bharata's Pratignai what 
we SHOULD avoid to regulate our own lives on Dharmic lines. (Vide 
Introduction to this series on "would" and "should") We give below a 
few of them. He swears- 

"If my heart ever hankered in the least after this kingdom and 
turned traitor to Rama, let all the lessons learned at the feet of 
Gurus go futile. 

May I go the way of him who-

1.      lends himself as a tool to the wicked and the sinful
2.      excretes urine and ordure facing the Sun
3.      kicks at a sleeping cow
4.      sweats his workmen and cheats them of their lawful wages
5.      deals treacherously with a righteous king who treats his 
subjects like his sons
6.      collects public money but swindles them by using for 
personal use
7.      promises sacrificial fees to holy men but later denies it 
with haughtiness
8.      turns his back and flees from the battlefield
9.      consumes food without first offering to Bhagavaan
10.     reviles his Guru and dishonors elders
11.     betrays the confidence placed in him especially by his 
friends
12.     is ungrateful and does not  render back the kindness done to 
him
13.     is devoid of all sense of shame and decency
14.     commits suicide, patricide, matricide, fratricide etc
15.     is selfish ignoring his kith, kin and servants who languish 
in penury
16.     is disqualified from performance of Vedic rites
17.     is suffering the curse of barrenness
18.     slays women, children and old men
19.     abandons his servants and retainers to a miserable and cruel 
fate
20.     sells food and articles like red cotton, honey, meat and iron
21.     kills an enemy who has surrendered
22.     is a madman clad in a single piece of cloth, begging from 
door to door
23.     is a slave to passions and is drowned in sensual enjoyments 
like wine, women and dice
24.     avoids the path of Dharma and stays with zeal in the path of 
Adharma
25.     showers gifts on the unworthy
26.     sleeps in the twilights
27.     sets fire to habited houses and of defiling the bed etc
28.     does not perform Nitya and naimittika karmas like 
Sandhyavandanam, Sraddham etc
29.     speaks harsh and unpleasant words and is unclean
30.     acts as spy and an informer
31.     puts away a dutiful wife who seeks to beget a lawful son, in 
due season
32.     deserts his lawfully married wife and goes after other's 
wives
33.     starves to death his wife, children and dependents
34.     adulterates or poisons food or drinks
35.     is an Atheist who spoils or prevents the worship of 
Bhagavaan and Bhaktas 
36.     Does not offer water to one who is thirsty and begs for the 
same
37.     milks  the cow dry with the expectant calf by its side
38.     while umpiring between disputants, instructs one of them how 
to overcome his opponent
Kousalya was moved by his sincere pleadings and convinced herself 
that he was blemish-less.


(To Continue with Ayodya kaaNdam)
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2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 23 - SLOKAM 13 -PART 4
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH. 
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 23 - Slokam 13 Part 4, tiruvAimozhi 
1.3 contd. 

? pASuram 1.3.7: 
onRu ena, pala ena aRivarum vaDivinuL ninRa 
nanRezhil nAraNan nAnmugan aran ennum ivarai 
onRa num manattu vaittu, uLLi, num iru paSai aRuttu 
nanRena nalam Seivadu avaniDai nammuDai nALE. 

onRu ena, pala ena, aRivu aru vaDivinuL ninRa nanRu ezhil nAraNan, 
nAnmugan, aran ennum ivarai num manattu onRa vaittu, uLLi, num iru 
paSai aRuttu, nammuDai nAL avaniDai nanRu ena nalam Seivadu -
 "Oh,You souls! These three forms ? nArAyaNan, the four-faced 
brahmA, and rudra all have divine forms that are disntinguished; 
(with superficial analysis) it is difficult to figure out whether 
these forms all have one soul controlling them, or whether they each 
have different souls, etc. You should thoroughly analyze their 
complete attributes in your mind based on all available pramANa-s, 
analyse and understand them completely, completely remove any 
attachment to the two who are inferior out of the three, and then 
completely dedicate your devotion to the One Supreme Deity within 
your lifetime, without any delay, realizing that this is the best 
thing for you. 

svAmi deSikan identifies the guNa of emphasis in this pASuram 
through the phrase sva-ruci vitaraNAt ? Because He bestows the 
desire in Him. One meaning for the word vitaraNa is gift, donation. 
Because bhagavAn is sulabhan, once we start meditating on Him with 
devotion, He takes care of removing any confusion in our mind about 
who the Supreme Deity is, and creates the desire in our mind to be 
totally devoted to Him. All one needs to do is start with an 
unbiased mind on the three forms, and then deeply analyse all the 
scriptural evidence, the guNa-s of the three mUrti-s, etc., and He 
will take care of creating the desire in us for exclusive devotion 
to Him, by removing all our confusion. This is how the likes of 
mArkaNDeya, ghaNTa karNa, etc. realized the supremacy of SrIman 
nArAyaNa over the other two. 

A more detailed write-up for this pASuram can be found in the 
anaubhavam for this pASuram in the series ?"tri-mUrti in 
tiruvAimozhi". 

? pASuram 1.3.8: 
nALum ninRu aDu pazhamai am koDu vinai uDanE 
mALum; Or kuRaiu illai; mananagam malamaRak kazhuvi 
nALum nam tiruvuDai aDigaL tam nalam kazhal vaNa'ngi 
mALum Or iDattilum vaNakkoDu mALvadu valamE. 

mananagam malam aRak kazhuvi, nam tiruvuDai nam aDigaL tam nalam 
kazhal vaNa'ngi, nALum ninRu, nama pazhamai am koDu vinai uDanE 
mALum; nALum Or kuRaivu illai; mALum Or iDattilum vaNakkoDu mALvadu 
valamE. ? By removing all other desires from our mind completely, 
and meditating on the Lotus feet of our Lord who is ever associated 
with our Divine Mother mahA lakshmI, all our eternal and huge sins 
will be immediately destroyed, and all our desires will be 
fulfilled; even when our soul leaves the body, it is best to die 
having surrendered thus to Him, over the path of bhakti yoga. 

svAmi deSikan captures the essence of the pASuram as `sarva kAla 
ASrayatvAt' ? mALum Or iDattilum vaNakkoDu mALvadu valamE ? He who 
can be surrendered to at any time in this birth, even including at 
the time of death, with complete redemption from all the sins 
accumulated over uncountable prior births). AzhvAr points out that 
bhagavAn is such a sulabhan that He will accept our surrender at any 
time, and redeem us from all our accumulated sins over countless 
births ? uDanE mALum, tIyinil tUSAgum, and we need not be worried 
that we have such huge sins accumulated to our credit. SrImad 
tirukkuDanthai ANDavan refers us to the following: 

- " meru madara mAtro'pi rASih pApasya karmaNah keSavam vaidyam 
AsAdya durvyAdhiriva naSyati" (vishNu dharmam 69.110) - One might 
have accumulated sins the size the meru mountain; however if he 
worships keSava, the sins disappear just as the worst diseases 
disappear when treated by a good vaidya or doctor. 
- na vAsudeva bhaktAnAm aSubham vidyate kvacit (vishNu sahasra 
nAmam ? phala Sruti) - Nothing inauspicious ever occurs to the 
devotees of vAsudeva.
 
SrI UV quotes the upanishad text: "iha ced avedIt atha satyamasti na 
cedihAvedIt mahatI vinashTih:" (keno. 2.5) ? If one has realized 
(Brahman) in this birth itself, then he becomes worthy of having 
existed. If one has not realized, then it is a great loss. 
Every single word that AzhvAr has chosen is full of significance: 
mananam malamaRak kazhuvi ? leaving behind all attachments to anya 
devatA-s completely; Or kuRaivu illai ? There is nothing that is 
left to be desired or accomplished; mALum Or iDattilum ? SaraNAgati 
at His Lotus feet can be performed even at the time of death, and He 
will offer His protection; tiruvuDai nam aDigaL ? bhagavAn is to be 
worshipped together with SrI or mahA lakshmi; 

uDanE mALum ? You don't have to wait for another birth after 
surrendering to Him; nalam kazhal ? His Lotus feet will never fail 
anyone who has surrendered to Him once. These are the guNa-s of 
emperumAn that make Him a sulabhan (recall the guNa identified by 
svAmi deSikan at the daSakam level). 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan 
(To be continued)
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