SrI rAmAyaNa thani SlOkam – 10 – ayOdhyA kANdam 1.1 – gachchathA

_{SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:}

avathArikai (introduction)

SathrughnAzhwAn’s pArathanthryam to bharathAzhwAn is depicted here in a manner which is both captivating and enlightening.

[pArathanthryam is a quality by which the servant (one who is owned) is completely dependent on the master (owner)].

gachchathA mAthulakulam bharathEna thadhAnagha: l
SathrughnO nithyaSathrughnO nItha: prIthipuraskrutha: ll

So far in this series we have seen the in-depth meanings/explanations for the SlOkams in bAla kANdam from periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAkhyAnam.

SrI rAma is in ayOdhyA with sIthAp pirAtti and twelve years have passed since his marriage with sIthAp pirAtti. bharathAzhwAn visits his maternal uncle, along with SathrugnAzhwAn in kEkaya dhESam (kingdom ). At this juncture, king dhaSaratha makes a decision to crown SrI rAma.

SathrughnAzhwAn is the son of sumithrAp pirAtti and bharathAzhwAn is the son of kaikEyip pirAtti. sumithrAp pirAtti has two sons and the primary purpose of their birth was to serve – lakshmaNAzhwAn was devoted to serve perumAL and SathrughnAzhwAn was devoted to serve bharathAzhwAn. This SlOkam describes very beautifully the greatness of SathrughnAzhwAn.

Word-by-Word meaning

anagha: – one who is flawless

nithyaSathrughna: – one who has always conquered the senses which are also the enemies

Sathrughna: – one who has been named as Sathrygna since he makes the enemies eat dust (defeats enemies)

prIthipuraskrutha – being propelled by love

thadhA – at that time

mAthulakulam – to maternal uncle’s house

gachchathA – one who was going

bharathEna – by bharatha

nItha: – was taken

Simple Meaning

bharathAzhwAn while going to his maternal uncle’s house, takes SathrughnAzhwAn (one who has no sins and one who destroys all his enemies) along with him.

Notes from periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAkhyAnam

Let us now see the vyAkhyAnam which provides many latent/in-depth meanings to the above SlOkam.

gachchathA – going

gachchathA – refers to the departure/travel of both bharathAzhwAn and SathrughnAzhwAn.
Also, using the word ‘gachchathA’ in present tense indicates that the action is happening continuously and has not completed. This is to convey that SathrughnAzhwAn follows bharathAzhwAn at all times and not just this particular occasion.
He follows bharathAzhwAn wherever he goes and does not seek the permission of his parents or his elder brother. He simply follows him because he cannot endure to live without bharathAzhwAn.

mAthulakulam – maternal uncle’s house

yudhAjith is the brother of kaikEyip pirAtti and is the maternal uncle for bharathAzhwAn. Therefore, it was bharathAzhwAn’s intention to visit his uncle. Even though it was not his uncle’s place, SathrughnAzhwAn went along because he did not want to be separated from bharathAzhwAn.

bharathEna – by bharatha

Why did sage vasishta, the kula guru, name kaikEyip pirAtti’s son as bharatha?

After SrI rAma goes to the forest accompanied by lakshmaNAzhwAn, king dhaSaratha passes away. While SathrughnAzhwAn remained ignorant of everything other than bharathAzhwAn, the responsibility of the kingdom fell upon bharathAzhwAn‘s shoulders. Sage vasishta, who was cognisant of all these events before they happened, named kaikEyip pirAtti’s son as bharatha. ‘bhari’ means to support/ shoulder. Since bharatha considered ruling the kingdom as a burden. he was given that name.
SrISathAnIkan, one of the ministers of king dhaSaratha says, “bharatha ithi rAjyasya bharaNAth” (He is bharatha because he shoulders the burden of ruling the kingdom).

thadhA – at that time

During ancient times, it was customary to determine (using the birth star) an auspicious time (muhUrtham) for travel. In the SlOkam, it is said that SathrughnAzhwAn went with bharathAzhwAn at that time (thadhA). This means that no separate time was fixed for SathrughnAzhwAn’s travel. Both of them are princes and have different birth stars (pushyam – bharathAzhwAn and ASlEsha – SathrughnAzhwAn) but only one time was chosen for bharathAzhwAn, and SathrughnAzhwAn followed him. This is because SathrughnAzhwAn was entirely dependent on bharathAzhwAn, and did not have an identity that was distinct from bharathAzhwAn’s.

If it is concluded that no separate time was fixed for SathrugnAzhwAn’s travel because he was entirely dependent (pArathanthryam) on bharathAzhwAn, it would imply that the word ‘thadhA’ reiterates the same meaning as in ‘gachchathA’. Previously, pArathanthryam of SathrughnAzhwAn was already established by the word ‘gachchathA’. Using two words to convey the same meaning will amount to repetition. This is referred to as ‘punarukthi dhOsham’ (flaw of repetition). Therefore, a question arises as to why the word ‘thadhA’ which reiterates SathrughnAzhwAn’s total dependence on bharathAzhwAn is used.
periyavAchchAn piLLai clarifies that there is no flaw in using both the words, since one word was used to indicate the removal of ‘mamakAra’ [sense of possessiveness] and the other word was used to indicate the removal of ‘ahankAra’ [sense of ego].
- ‘gachchathA’ removes ‘mamakAra’. That is, SathrughnAzhwAn followed bharathAzhwAn’s intention, he did not have a separate intention of his own. ‘thadhA’ removes ‘ahankAra’. That is, SathrughnAzhwAn did not have the ego that ‘I am’ following bharathAzhwAn. Both these qualities – ‘ahankAra’ and ‘mamakAra’ are enemies for servitude. To show that SathrughnAzhwAn does not have both these, two words have been used. Hence, we can understand that the two words do not repeat the same feature and there is no ‘punarukthi dhOsham’ (flaw of repetition) in the SlOkam.

anagha: – one who is flawless, one without sins.

pApam (sin) is something that prevents one from getting what he desires. SathrughnAzhwAn’s main goal is to serve bharathAzhwAn. Therefore, anything that will take SathrughnAzhwAn away from bharathAzhwAn (bhAgavatha bhakthi), including devotion to SrI rAma is considered as an enemy. chAndhOgya upanishath 8-13-1 “ashva iva rOmANi vidhUya pApam” (Just like how a horse shrugs off its hair, he leaves behind all his sins).
One may question, why should engagement with the beauty of the supreme lord be considered as a sin? This can be understood from the following pramANam as spoken by sumithrAp pirAtti. sumithrAp pirAtti tells this to lakshmaNa when he comes to take leave of her to accompany SrI rAma to the forest, SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 40-5 “rAmE pramAdham mA kArshI: puthra prAthari gachchathi” (Oh son! Do not engage yourself in admiring SrI rAma’s beauty while he walks, it is dangerous because being charmed in that beauty, you may make mistakes in serving/protecting him). Here, SrI rAma’s beauty is shown as an enemy that will deter lakshmaNAzhwAn from his kainkaryam (service). Similarly, it is said that SrI rAma’s beauty will deter SathrughnAzhwAn from his kainkaryam to bharathAzhwAn.

Sathrughna:

Sage vasishta names the children – SrI rAma, bharatha, lakshmaNa, and Sathrughna by looking at their facial features and characteristics.
‘rAma’ means one who makes everyone lose themselves by his beauty/ one who brings joy to everyone who sees him. Therefore, after looking at kausalyAp pirAtti’s son, he is named as ‘rAma’.
‘lakshmaNa’ is personification of kainkaryam; he is a repository of kainkaryach chelvam (wealth of servitude). Hence, he is named as ‘lakshmaNa’.
‘bharatha’ means one who shoulders the burden, the burden of ruling the kingdom. Hence he is named as ‘bharatha’.
‘Sathrughna’ means one who will annihilate all the enemies. Since it is evident by his looks that he will make the enemies eat the dust; he is named as ‘Sathrughna’.

nithyaSathrughna:

nithyaSathrughna: ‘nithya’ means always; ‘nithyaSathrughna:’ means one who has conquered the eternal enemy. In the material world, we can see several examples of people being destroyed or threatened by their enemies. But these enemies may come and go for particular reasons or for a particular period. They may not remain as an enemy forever. Unlike the enemies found in the outside world who / which are impermanent, the sense organs are parts of our body and hence remain as eternal enemies as long as there is an association with the physical body. Being constantly pulled by the sense organs in different directions for various sense gratification causes ‘svarUpa nASanam’ (losing/forgetting one’s real identity or nature). The real nature of a jIvAthma is to be in service (kainkaryam). SathrughnAzhwAn is one who has controlled his sense organs – one who has conquered his eternal enemies. Hence he is called as ‘nithyaSathrughna:’.

The extent of SathrughnAzhwAn’s control over his senses is boundless; so much so that his senses do not even get attracted to the beauty of SrI rAma. SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 3-29 ‘pumsAm dhrushtichiththApahAriNam” (SrI rAma attracts even the men’s eyes and hearts). SathrughnAzhwAn is thus engaged in the bhAgavatha kainkaryam incessantly; without even being attracted to SrI rAma. That being said, does this mean that SathrughnAzhwAn does not have any attachment to perumAL?
- Sathrughna neither seeks perumAL out of his desire nor does he feel compelled to seek perumAL due to perumAL’s greatness. His main intent or goal is always to please bharathAzhwAn and bharathAzhwAn’s main goal is to please perumAL. Therefore, in order to please bharathAzhwAn, SathrughnAzhwAn also turns to please perumAL.

nItha: – took along

SathrughnAzhwAn was taken along by bharathAzhwAn similar to how the weapons and accessories are taken along by a king. The analogy here makes a comparison of SathrughnAzhwAn with an inanimate object. As one would take their belongings without seeking permission from the belongings, it is said that bharathAzhwAn took SathrughnAzhwAn along with him. Just like how the properties and characteristics of an object are always present in it (e.g. colour ‘black’ is inherent to a black pot), SathrughnAzhwAn was always inseparable from bharathAzhwAn.

prIthipuraskrutha – being propelled by love

Did SathrughnAzhwAn follow bharathAzhwAn because it was his duty to serve him, as bharathAzhwAn was his elder brother? No, SathrughnAzhwAn followed bharathAzhwAn out of love. He followed bharathAzhwAn just like how lakshmaNAzhwAn followed SrI rAma to the forest so that he could do all types of kainkaryams at all times to perumAL and sIthAp pirAtti – SrI rAmAyaNam ayodhyA kANdam 31-27 “aham sarvam karishyAmi” (I will do all kainkaryams). lakshmaNAzhwAn felt that in ayOdhyA, there were many people to serve SrI rAma and hence he would get only some part of the kainkaryam. Whereas, in the forest there would be plenty of opportunities to serve perumAL and pirAtti all the time (while they are awake , engaged in enjoyment, or asleep). Hence, he wanted to follow SrI rAma to the forest. Similarly, SathrughnAzhwAn wanted to follow bharathAzhwAn to kEkaya dhESam and serve him in all respects.

Just like how an inanimate object will allow its proprietor to use it in any way the owner wishes. jIvAthmA should show his servitorship like an inanimate object and at the same time, since jIvAthmA is a sentient being, should display love and joy in that servitorship.
- nItha: – “achith kalpan” (Being an inanimate object but still displaying feelings of love while performing kainkaryam).
- Being an ‘achith’ refers to being like an insentient being/inanimate object and allowing the supreme lord to control all aspects of his life without questioning. That is, while serving, one is like an achith (inanimate object) and performs all services which please perumAL.
- pArathanthryam – being servitor to perumAL is our svarUpam (real nature)
- prIthipuraskrutha – While being a servitor, displaying joy in the services (kainkaryam).

kulaSEkara AzhwAr describes this state as being a stone “padiyAyk kindandhu” (achith/insentient) but still relishing the beauty of perumAL’s divine mouth “pavaLa vAy kANbEnE”. Being a stone ( achith/ insentient being) but yet displaying joy – showing the ability of perceiving things as a sentient being. This is expressed by kulaSEkara AzhwAr in perumAL thirumozhi 4.9 “padiyAyk kidandhu un pavaLa vAy kANbEnE” (let me be a stepping stone and look at your coral-like divine mouth).

‘anagha:’ ‘nithyaSathrughna:’

“anagha:” “nithyaSathrugna:” – being free of all sins SathrughnAzhwAn is able to withdraw himself from other enjoyments; hence for SathrughnAzhwAn the joy of serving bharathAzhwAn is sweeter than the joy of serving perumAL himself.
‘anagha:’ – one who does not have any sins including the sin of being attracted to SrI rAma’s beauty. “nithyaSathrughna:” – one who has controlled his senses so much that they are not even attracted to SrI rAma’s beauty. When looked at superficially, both these words appear to be conveying the same message. Such repetitions are considered as “punarukthi dhOsham” (flaw of repetition in writing). periyavachchAn piLLai, provides the following explanation as to why it would not come under “punarukthi”.
- “nithyaSathrughna:” means one who has won over his senses. But here it is used to emphasise the boundary or the extremity of victory over senses. Hence, it can be considered more as an adjective.
- periyavAchchAn piLLai also provides another explanation to show that there is no “punarukthi dhOsham”.
- “anagha:” (one without sins) – SathrughnAzhwAn does not even have the sin of SrI rAma bhakthi. SathrughnAzhwAn’s devotion is only to that bharathAzhwAn for whom SrI rAma bhakthi is everything.
- This explanation is based on emperumAnAr’s divine words “SrI SathrughnAzhwAn perumALukku nallanAnapadi, avanai alladhaRiyAdha SrIbharathAzhvAnai alladhu vEronRu aRiyAdhapadiyAnAn” (SrI rAma considers SathrughnAzhwAn to be the best of all or even his favourite because SathrughnAzhwAn doesn’t know anything other than serving that bharathAzhwAn who knows nothing other than SrI rAma).

This clearly shows that perumAL is pleased with those who are engaged in serving his devotees. Therefore, if the goal is bhAgavatha kainkaryam (for such devotees who are devoted to serving bhagavAn’s devotees), it is not a mistake to place emphasis on bhAgavatha kainkaryam before bhagavath kainkaryam. All the vyAkhyAnams (explanations), which were given above about SrI rAma bhakti and SrI rAma’s beauty being an enemy, should also be understood from this perspective – that is, bhAgavatha SEshathvam is the ultimate state of subservience.

AzhwAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

periyavAchchAn piLLai thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

vyAkhyAnam for the next SlOkam will be continued in the next article.

Source – SrI rAmAyaNam thani SlOkam – 10 – ayOdhyA kANdam 1.1 – gachchathA Audio Video

adiyEn chithrA rAmAnuja dhAsi

Proofreading/Curating done by – kOsalEndhra rAmAnuja dhAsan, krishNan rAmAnuja dhAsan

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