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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.09 / ISSUE # 21 dated 1st March 2008
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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. YUDDHA KHAANDAM PART - 11 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 51- SLOKAM 20 -PART 1
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 284 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
36 Issues of Vol. 8
21 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)
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1. "YUDDHA KHAANDAM" PART - 11 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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51. THE PENULTIMATE ROUND

Ravana deputed the remaining few of his close confidants only to 
sacrifice them to the arrows of Rama. The widows of slain Raakshasas 
wailed and lamented to no end (94 to 96). Ravana set out with the 
only chieftains left behind to stand with him still namely, Viroopa-
aksha, MahOdara, Mahaa-paarsva. (96)

Viroopa-aksha shot at Sugreeva with his sharp sword which rendered 
Sugreeva unconscious for a while. Recovering soon, Sugreeva hit at 
the forehead of Viroopa-aksha with his fist when the Raakshasa was a 
little inattentive. This broke his head and he fell dead (97).

It was now the turn of MahOdara to meet with his end. It was again 
Sugreeva who offered a fierce fight with him. MahOdra was trying to 
extricate his sword that got caught in Sugreeva's shield. Before he 
could do this, Sugreeva cut his head (98).

Mahaa-paarsva was aroused at the fall of his comrades only to fall 
victim to the fist hit of Angada who hit him right at his heart 
where his lifeline was. The heart literally broke and Mahaa-paarsva 
also followed his comrades. (99)

52. RAMA ? RAVANA YUDDHAM

Having lost everyone and everything, Ravana had no choice to attempt 
a last ditch attempt. He tormented the monkey battalion with 
powerful Tamasa Astrams and several other Astras at Rama and 
LakshmaNa. Rama sent "Rudra Astra" through his kOdanDa bow but even 
it could not break Ravana's coat of arms. There never was a fight 
before equal to the Yuddha between Rama and Ravana.  Never had 
Ravana thought even in a dream that he would face such a mighty foe. 
Matchless bowmen, both of them matchless in the mastery of weapons, 
matchless too in their knowledge of the secrets of Astras, they 
displayed every step and device known to men and Gods. Ravana aimed 
several weapons that had warheads resembling lions, tigers, 
vultures, eagles, crows, jackals, wolves, five-headed serpents, 
snakes, mules, boars, dogs, hens, crocodiles and the like.  All of 
them were pulverized by Rama's arrows that worked with equal vigor 
and force. (100)

Ravana directed "Rudra Astra" against Rama, but, Rama quelled it 
with "Gandharva Astra"; Dasaanana shot "Surya Astra" which Rama 
destroyed with many arrows. Meanwhile, LakshmaNa hurled seven high 
class arrows that severed the head of Ravana's charioteer and broke 
Ravana's bow to pieces and felled his horses. Ravana then aimed at 
VibheeshaNa his "Sakti". LakshmaNa intervened to save Sugreeva and 
smashed it. Now, he directed his powerful "Sakti" against LakshmaNa 
himself determined to kill him. Rama saw this and uttered a spell 
saying that the weapon should go waste without killing LakshmaNa. 
While it failed to kill LakshmaNa, it made him swoon. Rama's wrath 
knew no bounds and he rained arrows non stop on Ravana who ran away 
from the warfront. (101)

Rama believed that LakshmaNa had given up his life and bewailed his 
loss saying "Wives are easy to get anywhere in the world; and so are 
other kith and kin. Yet I know no land in the world where such a 
brother could be got"

dEsE dEsE kaLatraaNi dEsE dEsE cha bhaandhavaa: /
Tham tu dEsam na pasyaami yatra bhraataa sahOdara:// (102-12, 13)

SushEna comforted Rama saying that there was no danger to the life 
of LakshmaNa because his color had not changed, his face was as 
bright as ever; his eyes were like lotus petals. These were not the 
signs of a person who had died. SushENa asked Hanumaan to go again 
to bring the herbs that once brought back to life the dead monkeys. 
Hanumaan brought the whole mountain and placed it in front of 
SushENa who caused LakshmaNa to smell the scents of the herb. 
LakshmaNa woke up as if from sleep. Rama once again embraced 
LakshmaNa with affection and told him that if he were to have died, 
there was no meaning in his own survival or that of Sita. LakshmaNa 
replied that it was not appropriate for Rama to utter so and said 
Rama had a duty to coronate VibheeshaNa as the ruler of Lanka by 
finishing off Ravana. LakshmaNa requested Rama not to delay fighting 
Ravana anymore. (102) The Devas could not bear to see Rama fighting 
standing on the ground while Ravana was mounted on his chariot and 
then brought Indra's chariot for Rama to ride on. (103) Ravana 
hurled his powerful three pronged weapon against Rama. Rama broke it 
to pieces with a special weapon sent by Indra through Madali, the 
charioteer. It also broke Ravana's chariot and he fell down with 
wounds all over his body. He got thoroughly dispirited. The 
Charioteer of Ravana slowly moved him from the battlefront back to 
Lanka. (105) When Ravana regained his composure, he chided his 
charioteer for bringing him dishonor by moving him away in front of 
the enemy saying that perhaps he took a bribe from Rama to do this. 
The charioteer explained the situation. Ravana asked him to take him 
back to the battlefront again. (106)

53. AADITYA HRIDAYAM
Agastya saw Rama steeped in the thought as to how he could defeat 
Ravana. He initiated Rama in "Aaditya Hridayam", a prayer to the 
ancestor of "Surya-kula", Surya (Sun God) (107)

IMPORTANT NOTE: 
In some Ramayana kOsams, this Sargam does not appear nor has been 
commented upon by some commentators like uTaari, probably because 
this runs repugnant to the Paratvam of Narayana, who is the Lord of 
Surya himself. uTaari has a count of only 130 Sargams while with 
this Sargam, it would work out to 131 Sargams.

54. BAD OMENS FOR RAVANA (108)
Ravana set out and was greeted with several bad omens that foreboded 
his death.
1.      Ravana was heading in an anti-clockwise movement (a-pra-
dakshiNam).
2.      There was a twister that also was doing the round anti-clock 
wise.
3.      Eagles were circling and following his chariot. 
4.      The evening glow of the Sun made Lanka appear as if it was 
in flames.
5.      Earthquakes everywhere Ravana stepped.
6.      Hands prevented from use mysteriously.
7.      Sun's rays falling on Ravana's body taking different colors.
8.      The wailing of fox in a hoarse voice.
9.      Frightful sounds made by Eagles and kites.
10.     Strong winds beating at Ravana blinding him with dust.
11.     Thunderbolts roared dreadfully.
12.     Saarika birds were fighting in groups ceaselessly.
13.     The whole atmosphere was dark with dust.
14.     Horses shed tears.

55. FIGHT TO THE FINISH
The much expected final moment had arrived. First, Rama brought down 
the flag of Ravana from atop his chariot signaling the beginning of 
Ravana's end. This angered Ravana to no end. He vowed to fight to 
the finish and either kill Rama or be killed by him. The speed with 
which the missiles were hurled at each other was such that there 
seemed to be a constant and continuous shower of weapons without any 
gap completely preventing all visibility (109). The horses, the 
frontage of chariots, the frontage of yokes on either side were 
dashing with each other and were so close that there was no space 
left in between them. The celestials who were watching from above 
the great destructive fires darting forth from either side wondered 
that - as sky could be compared only with sky, and - the ocean only 
with ocean, Rama- Ravana yuddham could be compared only with itself! 


56. KSHURAM FINISHES OFF RAVANA'S 101 HEADS!
Rama fired a sharp weapon called "Kshuram" and this cut off Ravana's 
heads along with the crowns adorning them. But, Lo! And Behold! In 
the place of the cut off heads sprang new heads with new headgears. 
Thus, a hundred and one heads were cut off and a similar number of 
heads appeared in quick succession. There was no difference either 
in shape or color or brilliance or decoration between the old and 
the new ones. Rama was perplexed that the same arrows that 
devastated Maareecha, Kara, DhooshaNa and others had become 
ineffective in the case of Ravana (110). Maadali, the chauffer 
suggested politely to Rama that it was high time that he used the 
famous Brahma Astram. Rama consecrated his arrow with Brahma Astram 
and it pierced the heart of Ravana and entered the earth with his 
life and blood and having fulfilled its mission emerged quickly and 
returned to its place in Rama's quiver. The whole Raakshasa 
battalions were in the grip of great fear and ran scattered from the 
battlefield (111).

dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
(To be continued)
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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 51 - SLOKAM 20 -PART 1
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 51- Slokam 20- Part 1 
 
Slokam 20:  

paryante [dRshTam] (1.9.1) atke ca dRshTam (1.9.2) 
sva-viraha-vidhuram (1.9.3) Dimbhavat pArSva lInam  (1.9.4)
citte klRpta praveSam (1.9.5)  bhuja Sikhara gatam (1.9.6) 
tAlu simhAsanastham (1.9.7)   |
cakshur-madhye nivishTam (1.9.8) sthitam alikataTe (1.8.9)
mastake tasthivAmsam (1.9.10)
pratyAhAroktarItyA vibhum anububhuje Atmya bhoga pradAnAt (1.9) ||
 
sAtmittal - enjoy to the fullest extent; digest completely.  
 
svAmi deSikan describes the message of this tiruvAimozhi as 
reflecting bhagavAn's guNam  expressed as 'sAtmya bhoga pradAnAt' -
 'Because He gives the enjoyment of Himself to His devotee in small 
doses at a time such that the devotee completely enjoys, digests, 
and assimilates every instance of His revealing Himself' - in other 
words, in small steps at a time.  In our tradition, it is considered 
that bhagavAn does not reveal Himself completely to a devotee all at 
once, because such an experience could be unbearable for the devotee 
in one dose.  This is the explanation given for ANDAL having gone 
through great agony and suffering being separated from Him (nAcciyAr 
tirumozhi);  He reveals Himself to her only in gradual steps, before 
She ultimately unites with Him.  We will see the ten pASuram-s of 
this triruvAimozhi supporting this aspect.
 
In his introduction to this tiruvAimozhi in his 'bhagavad vishaya 
sAram', SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan notes that bhagavan interacts 
with AzhvAr in different roles each time:  as He would with pirATTi -
 His consort, as He would with garuDan - His vehicle, as with 
AdiSeshan - His bed, and as with yaSodA - His mother.   In each 
case, He lets AzhvAr completely digest that experience and enjoy it, 
and AzhvAr is describing these different experiences in this 
tiruvAimozhi.  AzhvAr sang in pASuram 1.8.5 - "poi kalavAdu en mei 
kalandAnE" - 'He mingled with my body in actual fact'.  In the 
current tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr describes the different ways and the 
different steps in which bhagavAn mingled with him.  
 
pASuram 1.9.1:
 
ivaiyum avaiyum uvaiyum ivarum avarum uvarum
yavaiyum yavarum tannuLLE Agiyum Akkiyum kAkkum 
avaiyuL tani mudal emmAn kaNNa pirAn en amudam
Suvaiyan tiruvin maNALan ennuDaic cUzhal uLAnE.
 
KaNNa pirAn who is my Lord, who is like nectar to me, and who is the 
Consort of LaksmI, is making His appearance all around me, 
displaying all His wealth and greatness without hiding them from me -
 He who has swallowed all the sentient and insentient objects of the 
whole universe without exception at the time of pralaya, and gives 
them all bodies again in His next cycle of creation and protects 
them, who is the antaryAmI in everything, and who performs His 
creation by being the Material Cause in the creation Himself while 
undergoing no change of any kind and without recourse to any other 
material cause.
 
AzhvAr's experience is given in graphic detail, step by step, in 
steps that are fully assimilated and digested.  First, bhagavAn just 
comes in the regions near AzhvAr - not yet too close, but He 
appears, along with pirATTi, in the regions surrounding AzhvAr, as 
if trying to decide from which side to approach AzhvAr - ennuDai 
cUzhalil uLAnE.  svAmi deSikan describes this as 'paryante dRshTam' -
 He who is making His appearance in the adjoining regions.  
 
SrImad tirukuDandai ANDavan comments that bhagavAn coming around 
AzhvAr looking for an entry is like His seeking the friendship of 
sugrIvan - the monkey-king, though He is the loka-nAthan 
Himself:  'loka nAthah purA bhUtvA sugrIvam nAtham icchati', 'yasya 
prasAde sakalAh prasIdeyuh imAh prajAh sa rAmo vAnarendrasya 
prasAdam abhikA'nkshate' - rAma whose blessing will make all the 
citizens rejoice, is seeking the favor of the monkey-king sugrIvan.  
 
pASuram 1.9.2:
 
Suzhal pala pala vallAn tollai am kAllattu ulagaik
kEzhal onRAgi iDanda kESavan ennuDai ammAn
vEzha maruppai oSittAn viNNavarkku eNNal ariyAn
Azha neDum kaDal SErndAn avan en arugalilAnE.
 
avan en arugalilAnE - He who is far, far away is getting closer to 
me - He is the same Lord who takes many different incarnations in 
the forms of different species with the aim of attracting His 
devotees, the same keSavan who took the incarnation as the Great 
Boar to retrieve the Earth from below the seas, My own Lord kaNNan, 
the same One who broke the tusk of the elephant kuvalayApIDam, One 
who is  beyond the comprehension of even the deva-s,  and One who is 
reclining in the Milky Ocean - is getting closer to me after having 
shown all His kalyANa guNa-s and His divya ceshTita-s (His wonderful 
acts) to me and thus having attracted me to Him. 
 
AzhvAr's anubhavam is that bhagavAn takes different beautiful 
incarnations in which He performs many incomprehensible acts - such 
as retrieving the Earth from the depth of the ocean, easily breaking 
the tusk of the powerful elephant by name kuvalayApIDam, etc., just 
to attract the devotees.  He shows His infinite  kalyANa guNa-s to 
AzhvAr and attracts him first, and then gets even closer to AzhvAr.  
 
svAmi deSikan describes AzhvAr's experience in this pASuram through 
the words 'atke ca dRshTam' - avan en arugal ilAnE - He is getting 
closer to me, after attracting me with his wonderful acts and His 
infinite kalyAna guNa-s - after these experiences have been 
digested.    

(SrI UV gives one interpretation where he uses the pATham 'arugal 
il' - il meaning 'dwelling' - One who has His dwelling place closer 
to me).  Note that the word 'Suzhal' was used in the previous 
pASuram to indicate 'surroundings', and in this pASuram it is used 
to denote 'incarnations' - taken to 'surround' or attract the 
devotee to Him.

Regards
dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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