SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
UnashOdaSavarshO mE rAmO rAjeevalOchana: |
na yuddhayOgyathAmasya paSyAmi saha rAkshasai: ||
periyavAchchAn piLLai after in-depth analysis has written vyAkhyAnam for important SlOkams in SrI rAmAyaNam which is considered as the SaraNAgathi SAsthram. In this series, so far, vyAkhyAnam for bAla kANdam 19.14th SlOkam was explained. One of the significance or speciality of the current SlOkam lies in the interpretations provided for this SlOkam which analyses the age of SrI rAma when he went to the forest with sage viSvAmithra.
King dhaSaratha even after hearing from sage viSwAmithra, vasishta bhagavAn, and other rishis, is not convinced about SrI rAma’s abilities to fight with the asuras. Due to excessive love for his son, king dhaSaratha does not have the desire to send SrI rAma to the forest. This SlOkam is said by king dhaSaratha at that moment to sage viSwAmithra.
word-to-word meaning
rAjeevalOchana: – reddish lotus eyed
mE rAmO – my SrI rAma
UnashOdaSavarshO – less than sixteen years of age
saha rAkshasai: – with rAkshasas
yuddhayOgyathAmasya – ability to fight
na paSyAmi – don’t see (I)
Simple Meaning
King dhaSaratha says, “SrI rAma is lotus eyed, young, and has not even completed sixteen years. I don’t see him as having abilities to fight with the rAkshasas”.
avathArikai (introduction)
krishNa says he will destroy all of the evil forces that come in the way of performing a yAgam. This can be seen in mahAbhAratham udhyOga parva 74-27 “yagyavighnakaram hanyAm” (I will kill the ones who cause hindrance to the performance of yAgam). viSwAmithra bhagavAn, being a rishi is able to know the intentions in emperumAn’s mind. Having understood that it is perumAL’s sankalpam to destroy the asuras who obstruct the performance of yAgam, he requests king dhaSaratha to send SrI rAma with him to the forest.
King dhaSaratha because of fatherly love is not able to see the true identity of SrI rAma (as expressed by nammAzhwAr). nammAzhwAr says in thiruvAimozhi – 1.4.3 “madhiyellAm uL kalangi mayangumAl ennIrE” ( all the knowledge given by emperumAn is lost and she is fully confused). As such king dhaSaratha cannot grasp the greatness of emperumAn as explained by sage viSwAmithra and thus is not inclined to send SrI rAma with sage viSwAmithra.
Notes from periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAkhyAnam
periyavAchchAn piLLai explains in detail the thought processes in king dhaSaratha’s mind and his reasons for refusing to send SrI rAma along with sage viSwAmithra. His explanations are also supported with various pramANams.
UnashOdaSavarsha: – less than sixteen years of age.
King dhaSaratha says that SrI rAma is still an innocent young child who is not strong enough to face the asuras. He also says that SrI rAma has not completed sixteen; so he needs to be under someone’s supervision. The following pramANam references can be found in this regard.
- anargharAghavam 1 “kshIrakaNtaScha rAmabhadhra:” (young one with milk still in the throat).
- manu smrithi “bAla AshOdaSAdhvarshAth paugaNdaSchEthi kIrthyathE” (until sixteen years of age one has to be under a guardian and cannot be asked to handle anything independently).
King dhaSaratha also says that it may not be helpful to take SrI rAma alone. And he volunteers to accompany SrI rAma along with his four divisions of army so that SrI rAma can be under his supervision. Reference for this can be found in Sri rAmayaNam bAla kANdam 20-10 “chathurangasamAyuktham mayA cha sahitham naya” (I can accompany along with my four divisions of army).
UnashOdaSavarsha:
SrI rAmayaNam bAla kANdam 20-7 “bAlO hyakruthavidhyaScha na cha vEththi balAbalam | na chAsthrabalasampannO na cha yudhdhaviSAradha:” (he has not complained sixteen years, has not learnt the knowledge of warfare, does know about the strengths and weaknesses of the army, he has not received any instructions for using weapons through an AchArya, he has no experience being part of an army). Hence king dhaSaratha tells it will not be beneficial to take SrI rAma alone who has not even completed sixteen years. He further gives the following reasons for his discretion – SrI rAma has not mastered the art of using weapons, he does not understand the merits and limitations of the army, he has not even encountered any battlefield experience.
periyavAchchAn piLLai conveys here that king dhaSaratha considers himself to be fortunate for being able to excuse SrI rAma from accompanying sage viSwAmithra on account of his age. (King dhaSaratha would not have been able to put forth such an argument if sage viSwAmithra had come after SrI rAma had completed 16 years.)
UnashOdaSavarsha:
Since SrI rAma’s age is not precisely mentioned here, periyavAchchAn piLLai analyses with the help of pramANams to assess his age. He analyses the words of king dhaSaratha, kausalyAp pirAtti, and sIthAp pirAtti and then comes to a valid conclusion.
Important Note: In the end, periyavAchchAn piLLai determines that SrI rAma was 12 years at the time of marriage to sIthAp pirAtti. That is the real meaning of “UnashOdaSavarsha:”.
king dhaSaratha and sIthAp pirAtti’s words ~ 16 + 12 = 28 years
- ‘Una’ means ‘less than’. Here it refers to less than sixteen. This means that SrI rAma’s age can be either 15 1/2 years or 15 3/4 years. There is a reference in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 33-17 “samA dhvAdhaSa thathrAham rAghavasya nivESanE” (I lived with SrI rAma in his place for twelve years). This is mentioned by sIthAp pirAtti about the number of years she lived in SrI rAma’s abode.
- Based on this, periyavAchchAn piLLai estimates that perumAL’s age should have been 28 years at the time he went into exile. This is calculated as 16 + 12 = 28 years.
- 16 years – ‘UnashOdaSavarsha’ as said by king dhaSaratha at the time of going with sage viSwAmithra to the forest.
- 12 years based on the above statement by sIthAp pirAtti, which equals 28 years.
sIthAp pirAtti’s word’s ~ 25 years
- sIthAp pirAtti tells rAvaNa when he comes to abduct her that SrI rAma was 25 years and she was 18 years when they left for the forest. This reference can be seen in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 47-10 “bharthA mama mahAthEjA vayasA panchavimSaka:”, “ashtAdhaSa hi varshANi mama janmani gaNyathE” (my husband was 25 years when he left for the forest and I was 18 years).
kausalyAp pirAtti’s word’s ~ 17 years
- kausalyA pirAtti says that she waited for seventeen years since SrI rAma’s birth to see him crowned. This reference is found in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 20-45 “dhaSa saptha cha varshANi thava jAthasya puthraka| AsithAni prakAngkshanthyA mayA dhu:khaparikshayam” (my son! it has been (dhaSa saptha –> 10 + 7) seventeen years since your birth, now I am facing this huge hardship).
Based on above pramANams, it can be understood that during pattAbhishEkam announcement by dhaSaratha, as per sIthAp pirAtti’s words SrI rAma was 25 years, and as per kausalyap pirAtti’s words SrI rAma was 17 years, as per dhaSaratha’s words he was 28 years old. periyavAchchAn piLLai has analysed and interpreted these words to arrive at a consensus.
Analysis of 17 years as per kausalya pirAtti’s words.
- The performance of upanayanam is considered as a second birth and for a prince this ceremony is performed at eleven years of age. Reference regarding this is given in Apasthamba sUthram 1-1 1-19 “EkAdhaSEshu rAjanyam” (upanayanam for prince is performed at eleven years of age). If 17 years is considered as years after upanayanam (the second birth), the calculation will be as follows. 17+10=27
- 17 years (number of years after upanayanam)
- 10 years (added for years from birth to upanayanam)
- But periyavAchchAn piLLai explains that it is not very convincing to assume that kausalyap pirAtti would have cautiously considered all these aspects about second birth while expressing her sorrow.
- In this manner, if we subtract 10 years (number of years before upanayanam) from the previous calculation of 28 (16+12). It will result in 18 years. As such, there will be a discrepancy of 17 vs. 18 years. Therefore, it can be seen that calculation based on this assumption results in inconsistency.
Analysis of 25 years as per sIthAp pirAtti’s words.
The words of sIthAp pirAtti are given more significance for two reasons. The first reason is because of the explicit nature. She has precisely mentioned the age to be 25. This is more emphatic unlike the other calculations (16 +12) where derivation is based on the word ‘Una’. This word is rather a common expression. It is conventional to give more significance to something that is said explicitly than generally. The second reason is because of the circumstance in which these words were told. sIthAp pirAtti said these words to rAvaNa when he came disguised as a sannyAsi. This indicates that she must have cautiously used her words out of respect for a sannyAsi. For this reason also, the word “panchavimSaka:” uttered by sIthAp pirAtti has more weightage and cannot be ignored.
Analysis of the word ‘Una’.
This word simply implies ‘less than’ and does not exactly describe a specific number. To understand the exact number the following pramANams are analysed. When rAvANa approached mArIchan for help, mArIchan describes the might of SrI rAma to rAvaNa. He says that even at that young age SrI rAma had the prowess to kill his brother and to submerge him in the ocean. mArIchan during this conversation with rAvaNa, cites a dialogue between sage viSwAmithra and king dhaSaratha. In that dialogue, king dhaSaratha tells sage viSwAmithra that SrI rAma is only twelve years of age and hence has not learnt to master any weapons. This dialogue can be found in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 38-6 “bAlOdhvAdhaSavarshOya makruthAsthraScha rAghava:” (my son rAghavan is twelve years old, young boy who has not learnt to use the weapon). It was also during this time that SrI rAma’s marriage took place with sIthAp pirAtti. So, 12 years ( as quoted by king dhaSaratha) plus 12 years (after marriage as quoted by sIthAp pirAtti) equals 24 years. Therefore, it has to be understood as 24 years completed and entering the 25th year.
Analysis of the word ‘dhaSa saptha cha”.
Previously, “dhaSa saptha cha” was interpreted as 17 years. To reconcile the inconsistency, the word “dhaSa saptha cha” is analysed by periyavAchchAn piLLai as follows. “dhaSa saptha cha” (as said by kausalyAp pirAtti) – is interpreted as dhasa (10)+ saptha (7)+ cha which means one more seven (7) = 24. Therefore, it can be concluded that kausalyAp pirAtti’s words “dhaSa saptha cha” implies 24 and not 17.
On the face of it, the expressions – UnashOdaSavarsha, dhaSa saptha cha and panchavimSaka: appear as a discrepancy. When it is all analysed through the pramANams and put together, it is evident that SrI rAma’s age is 24 years completed, and entering 25.
But still a question may arise as to why king dhaSaratha used the expression ‘UnashOdaSavarsha’, instead of explicitly stating 12 years. In many instances, king dhaSaratha has referred to SrI rAma as 12 years of age. In SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 38-6 “bAlO dhvAdhaSavarshOyam” (boy who is twelve years old), SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam 20-10 “bAlO hyakruthavidhyaScha” (boy has not learnt how to use the weapons), SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam 19-9 “kAkapakshadharam bAlam” (boy whose hair is short/ not fully grown). Therefore, it can be understood that ‘UnashOdaSavarsha’ has been used to emphasise the fact that one becomes eligible to independently take up responsibility only after sixteen years. This is found in manu smrithi “nayuddhayOgyathAmasya paSyAmi” (not fit for combat), “bAla AshOdaSAdh varshAth paugaNtaSchEthi kIrthyathE” (one is considered to be a young boy until sixteen, under a guardianship). Hence, king dhaSaratha tells sage viSwAmithra that he would also accompany SrI rAma along with his army.
Source – ‘SrI rAmAyaNa thani SlOkam’ – 6 – bAla kANdam 20.2 – UnashOdaSa varsha: – Part 1 Audio Video
vyAkhyAnam for the remaining SlOkam will be continued in the next article.
adiyEn chithrA rAmAnuja dhAsi
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