SrI rAmAyaNa thani SlOkam – 20 – ayOdhyA kANdam 42.34 – rAmam mE – Part 2

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

In SrI rAmAyaNa thani SlOkam grantham, periyavAchchAn piLLai has mercifully provided vyAkhyAnam for important SlOkams in SrI rAmAyaNam. He has mercifully given these vyAkhyAnams after listening to the meanings of SrI rAmAyaNam as told by nampiLLai and as per AzhwAr’s thiruvuLLAm (AzhwAr’s pAsurams). We are currently enjoying the vyAkhyAnam for SlOkam – 42.34.

King dhaSaratha loses his consciousness after perumAL leaves for the forest. When his consciousness returns, he speaks the following to kausalyAp pirAtti, “My eyes have gone behind SrI rAma, they have not yet returned. kausalyA dhEvi! Come near me and touch me to show your presence”.

rAmam mE’nugathA dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE I
na thvA paSyAmi kausalyE sAdhu mA pANinA spruSa II

In the previous article, vyAkhyAnam for rAmam mE’nugathA dhrushti was explained. We shall continue the remaining vyAkhyAnam here.

Notes from periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAkhyAnam

Hearing king dhaSaratha say that his eyes have gone behind SrI rAma and have not returned, a question arises (it can be assumed as a question from kausalyAp pirAtti) –

“Why are you worrying about this? Will they (eyes) not return after some time?”

So, king dhaSaratha responds, “Till now, they (eyes) have not returned”.

perumAL will not only remain in the eyes of one at the time of seeing him but even after he moves away from the circle of sight. He continues to attract them and remain in their eyes.

SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 17-14 “athikrAnthEpi rAghavE” (the eyes which have seen SrI rAma do not stop seeing him, even after he moves away from sight)

dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE

King dhaSaratha continues, “Why are my eyes not returning to me? Perhaps, they are afraid that they may have to see kaikEyi. Hence, they have not returned”.

mE dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE

King dhaSaratha continues, “When one is in distress, it is common for their servitors to help them during such times. Now, I am suffering due to separation from SrI rAma, but my eyes (my servitors) are not with me to help”.

mE dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE

When an AthmA leaves the body, even though it has been in that body for a long time, it does not turn back and see the body surrounded by friends and relatives.

chAndhOgya upanishadh 8-12-3 “nOpajanam smarannidham SarIram” (mukhthAthmA does not think about his body that is surrounded by friends and relatives)

King dhaSaratha says, “My eyes, even though they have been with me for a long time, behaved just as the AthmA leaves the body, without a thought that it has resided in the body for many years”.

dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE

King dhaSaratha continues in despair, “Even though no one is able to bring SrI rAma back to ayOdhyA, at the least let my eyes return”.

rAmam anugathA dhrushtir na nivarthathE

Anyone who follows perumAL, for whatever reason it may be, does not return, just as one who goes to paramapadham does not return. As such, king dhaSaratha says, “My eyes have not returned”.

chAndhOgya upanishadh 8-15-1 “na cha punarAvarthathE” (one who goes to paramapadham does not return).

(Assuming kausalyAp pirAtti asks king dhaSaratha)

“Why do you say that your eyes have not returned when I am able to see them on your face?

na thvA paSyAmi – I am not able to see

King daSaratha says, “kausalyA dhEvi! You are not able to understand! What you are seeing is just an organ that is visible externally, but the sense of sight cannot be seen. I do not have it. For this reason, even though you are in front of me, I am not able to see you (na thvA paSyAmi)”.

na thvA paSyAmi

King dhaSaratha says, “If I see you, then I know I have my eyes. Since I don’t see you (na thvA paSyAmi), I understand my eyes are not with me”.

thvA – you

Generally, thvA is used to refer to someone who is nearby or someone who is standing in front of that person.

Here, king dhaSaratha refers to kausalyAp pirAtti as thvA. So, it appears that he is able to see her. If so, why does he say “kausalyA dhEvii! I am not able to see you” – na thvA paSyAmi.

apithuSruNOmi – So, kausalyAp pirAttis asks king dhaSaratha, “can you explain this clearly?”

vachasA gyAtha: svArENOktha: (to know the existence of something by hearing – through words or by tone)

It is commonly said that you can confirm someone’s presence when you hear them talk and through their tone. So, king dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “Since you are talking, I know that you are here. But I cannot see you since my eyes have left me”.

na thvA paSyAmi

King dhaSaratha says, “Since I am not able to see perumAL, I was hoping to at least see you kausalyE!, the one who gave birth to him. Even that has become impossible now”.

rAmam mE’nugathA dhrushti: na thvA paSyAmi

King dhaSaratha cries in despair, “Although eyes are an important organ, I do not have them as they have gone behind SrI rAma. Oh! What can I do? I cannot even see you, though you are standing right in front of me”.

rAmam mE’nugathA dhrushti: na thvA paSyAmi

King dhaSaratha says, “My eyes have become attached to perumAL and hence do not want to be attracted to anything else. That is why, I am not able to see you”. This is as described by AzhwAr in amalanAdhipirAn.

amalanAdhipirAn 10 “aNdar kOn aNi arangan en amudhinaik kaNda kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE” (my eyes which have seen that insatiable emperumAn, who is the leader of nithyasUris, who is lying down in SrIrangam, will not see anything else hereafter).

King dhaSaratha thinks: My eyes are not of any help to me, so let me console myself in some other way (with the help of another organ). Thinking so, he calls out kausalyAp pirAtti’s name for consolation.

Reasons for choosing kausalyAp pirAtti’s name.

No one considers the breeze to be harmful to them, yet, kaikEyip pirAtti vows to end her life if SrI rAma is made the king. On the other hand, kausalyAp pirAtti feels that she cannot survive if SrI rAma went to the forest.

SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 9-59 “Esha mE jIvithasyAnthO rAmO yadhyabhishichyathE” (kaikEyip pirAtti says: I will not continue to live if SrI rAma is coronated).
SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 19-14 “kim puna: prOshithE thAtha dhruvam maraNamEva mE” (kausalyAp pirAtti says: SrI rAma, I am being disrespected while you are here by the other wives, it is needless to say what will happen to me if you are away. Death will definitely fall upon me when you leave).

So, king dhaSaratha says “kausalyA dhEvi! You are incomparable in excellence! You are one who cannot bear to survive SrI rAma’s separation”

kausalyE! – distinguished by giving birth to SrI rAma

SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 48-56 “kausalyA lOka bharthAram sushuvE yam manasvinI” (The one who gave birth to the lord of all universes).

King dhaSaratha cries to kausalyAp pirAtti, “kausalyE! You gave birth to SrI rAma for the protection of all. But now everything has been ruined, I am ruined too!”

kausalyE thvA na paSyAmi – the one who brings relief to me

King dhaSaratha cries to kausalyAp pirAtti, “So far I have been seeing kaikEyi, the one who brought distress to me, but now I want to see you, the one who can give solace to me. But alas! I am not able to see you”.

As king dhaSaratha cried and called out kausalyAp pirAtti’s name in a feeble voice, kausalyAp pirAtti comes forward and holds king dhaSaratha’s frail body and asks in fear “What would you like me to do?”.

sAdhu mA pANinA spruSa

King dhaSaratha says, “Console me by touching with your loving hands (sAdhu mA pANinA spruSa), this will bring comfort to me in sorrow due to separation from SrI rAma”.

pANinA spruSa

King dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “I know that I do not have my sense of sight, since I cannot see you standing in front of me. But I am able to hear you. So, I know my ears have not gone behind SrI rAma. I know my tongue is still there with me since I am able to call your name. I used to smell SrI rAma’s forehead, but now, I do not detect any smell anymore. So I think my sense of smell has gone away from me. kausalyE! Come, hug me and touch me now, I want to know if I still have my sense of touch”.

When trying to detect a theft, one tries to scrutinise everything in hand to identify the missing items in possession. Similarly, king dhaSaratha is trying to analyse all the faculties in his body to see if they are with him, because the one who is born as his son is none other than ‘vanjak kaLvan’ – one who steals (emperumAn).

thiruvAimozhi 10-7-1 “vanjak kaLvan” (one who steals without the knowledge of those from whom he steals).

periya thirumozhi 7-5-9 “ennaimbulanum ezhilum koNdu ingE nerunal ezhundharuLip ponnangalaigaL meliveydhap pOna punidhar” (Yesterday, the virtuous one, he came and then he left, my attractive and beautiful clothes/ornaments began to sag and fall off)

pANinA spruSa – touch me well, nicely

King dhaSaratha says, “I was not instrumental in sending SrI rAma to the forest. Do not think that I was of the same mind as kaikEyi, and am only now outwardly expressing my sorrow. Knowing my natural love for perumAL and that this happened only because I was grasped by ignorance, touch me with heartfelt sympathy”.

pANinA spruSa – touch me with love as before

King dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “During our marriage, you held my hands in delight with agni as witness. Touch me with that same love in your heart”.

pANinA spruSa – touch me slowly with

King dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “Touch me slowly, little by little. If you show all your love at once, I will not be able to bear the sudden overload of affection. So, rather than hugging me, touch me slowly, with your hands”.

sAdhu mA pANinA spruSa

King dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “Your hands have become fragrant by carrying and adorning SrI rAma; touch me with those hands”.

mA spruSa – touch me

It is said that when it is not possible to have a direct connection with the lord, bhagavAn’s presence can be enjoyed through bhAgavathas’ connection. Similarly, king dhaSaratha is aspiring to achieve the feeling of SrI rAma’s touch through kausalyAp pirAtti.

King dhaSaratha says to kausalyAp pirAtti, “Touch me because I can only survive if I am able to feel the touch of SrI rAma, without that I will not be able to survive. kausalyE! The one who gave birth to SrI rAma, I want to be embraced by your hands”.

SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 5-6 “thAm sprushtvA mAmapi spruSa” (SrI rAma says: I am unable to find sIthAp pirAtti. At least let the breeze that has touched her also touch me).

vAhi vAtha yatha: kAnthA thAm spruishtvA mAm api spruSa I thvayi mE gAthra samsparSa: chandhrE dhrushti samAgama: II (Oh, breeze! Flow from the side of my beloved. Touch her and touch me too. It is through you that I can have contact with her limbs. It is through the moon that I can have contact with her eyes).

Similar to this, king dhaSaratha also suffered from separation.

pANinA spruSa

thiruvAimozhi 10-3-5 “aNi migu thAmaraik kaiyai andhO adichchiyOm thalai misai nI aNiyAy!” (you should place your hand, which is like an attractive and well decorated lotus flower, on the head of ours, the servitors; it indicates the desire for wild union. It is tragic that I have to explain my suffering to you!)

Since king dhaSaratha is unable to feel SrI rAma’s touch as described in the above pAsuram, he asks kausalyAp pirAtti to touch him.

[Last pAsuram of amalanAdhipirAn is explained here]

aNdarkOn

emperumAn attracts with his thirumEni such that one is not distracted by material things. He is aNdarkOn (leader of the nithyasUris).

aNdarkOn – one with greatness of being the leader of nithyasUris

He has the greatness of being the natural leader for the nithyasUris who are not affected by any flaws of the material world.

He is the leader for the nithyasUris “yathra pUrvE sAdhyA: santhi dhEvA:” (nithyasUris who are very ancient, who reside in paramapadham)

thiruvAimozhi 2-6-3 “viNNOr paravum thalai magan” (one with greatness, who is eternally glorified by nithyasUris).
thiruvAimozhi 1-1-1 “ayarvaRum amarargaL adhipathi” (master of the nithyasUris who have no defects such as forgetful nature etc).

aNdarkOn

He is the controller for a myriad of nithyasUris, each one of them crowned, with no expectation but only the desire to serve empeumAn.

thiruvAimozhi 10-9-8 “mudiyudai vAnavar” (nithyasUris have similar form with crown, etc., as ISvara).

aNdarkOn

Just like how the dhEvas are for the humans in this world, he is dhEva for the nithyasUris.

thiruvAimozhi 8-1-5 “manisarkkuth thEvar pOlath thEvarkkum dhEvAvO!” (just like dhEvas are desirable for humans et al, you are desirable for dhEvas).

vishNu purANam 1-2-10 “para: parANAm” (He is greater than the nithyasuris who possess many great qualities).

Is he, with such greatness (aNdarkOn), in a lofty place far above, unreachable in paramapadham?

aNiyarangan

No. To dispel such worries, the supreme being with all his greatness and despite being beyond reach in paramapadham, simplified himself to reside in SrIrangam.

aNiyarangan

periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4-10-1 “ arangaththaravaNaip paLLiyAn” (Oh Lord of SrIrangam reclining on a serpent bed)

His reclining posture indicates that he does not intend to move away from that place anytime soon. He came to be in SrIrangam permanently.

SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 111-14 “SEshyE purasthAchchAlAyAm yAvanmE na prasIdhathi” (bharathAzhwAn says: I shall remain lying down in front of SrI rAma’s hermitage until he returns to ayodhyA).

Just like how we strive to attain emperumAn, he does the same for the sake of AthmAs to come to him. Similar to a farmer who spreads a canopy in his field and stays under it to protect his crops, emperumAn’s posture (lying down) indicates his intention to stay close to us in SrIrangam to protect us.

aNiyarangan

What is the difference between identifying emperumAn as aNdarkOn and aNiyarangan?

When he is identified as aNdarkOn, he is known for his controlling nature, his executive commands (to set fire, to burn, etc) for punishments . But when he is identified as aNiyarangan, he is known as the one who comes to become one with AzhwArs (to mingle with them).

thirunedunthANdakam – 25 “punal arangam UrenRu pOyinArE” (AzhwAr says, perumAL came and took all – my beauty, humility, my heart, and my bangles and also made me his servant, after saying – that thiruvarangam that is rich in water resources is my place; he went away). Here, it can be seen that perumAL came to give directions so AzhwAr can come to him.

(Note from kAlakshEpam: There are many instances and pAsurams which reveal how emperumAn longs for the companionship of AzhwArs.

He came to be with the mudhalAzhwArs in thirukkOvalUr dhivya dhESam and gave his divine vision to the three AzhwArs – poigaiyAzhwAr, bhUthathAzhwAr, peyAzhwAr.

When perumbuliyUr adigaL wanted to show the greatness of thirumazhisai AzhwAr, AzhwAr showed the presence of lord in his heart.

nammAzhwAr- thiruvAimozhi 10-8-2 “ pErE uRaiginRa pirAn inRu vandhu pEREn enRu en nenju niRaiyap pugundhAn” (sarvESvaran, who is eternally residing in thiruppEr, came today saying “I will not leave” and entered my heart to make it very complete). It is said that emperumAn’s prApyam (goal) is to reside in AzhwAr’s thiruvuLLam. For that purpose, he first comes to the divya dhEsams (iLam kOyil) and then he goes to garbha graham (AzhwAr’s thiruvuLLam).

kulaSEkara AzhwAr – In many of his pAsurams, he praises and expresses in longing to be with the bhAgavathas. perumAL thirumozhi 2.1 “thEttarum thiRal thEninaith then aranganai …” (emperumAn is such an entity that no one can see him, with one’s own efforts; he gives the strength to enjoy him fully, he is like nectar who constantly resides in SrI rangam)

He appeared in periyAzhwAr’s dream and instructed him to go and establish his supremacy. Then after ANdAL nAchchiyAr was born, he appeared again in his dreams to finalise nAchchiyAr’s marriage with him. That way, we see that he has come together with periyAzhwAr also.

thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr – He took greater effort in serving bhagavAn’s servants than bhagavAn himself. This is called as being in charama parva nishtai (in the ultimate state). Such was his greatness. In fact, thirumAlai prabandham is considered to be like a direct conversation between perumAL and AzhwAr.

thiruppANAzhwAr – perumAL sent lOka sArangamuni to bring AzhwAr to his sannidhi to be with him. In archA form itself AzhwAr was able to mingle with perumAL, similar to ANdAL nAchiyAr.

)

aNiyarangan

How grand is the kOyil – SrIrangam? It is such beautiful that perumAL leaves paramapadham to reside there. For this reason, SrIrangam is referred to as the crown of this material world.

thirumAlai 14 “aNdar kOn amarum sOlai aNi thiruvarangam” (it is the garden where emperumAn, who is the lord of nithyasUris, has taken permanent residence).

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

AzhwAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

periyavAchchAn piLLai thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Source – SrI rAmAyaNa thani SlOkam – 20 – ayOdhyA kANdam 42.34 – rAmam mE – Part 2 Audio Video

adiyEn chithrA rAmAnuja dhAsi

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

Artwork – namperumAL rAmAnuja dhAsan

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