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Raghu Veera Gadhyam--Aaranya Khaandam: Part 3

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • November 16, 1996 


DhyAnam :

dandakAranyavAsAya kandithaamarasatrave I
Janakee prANanAthaya sadhaa RamAya mangaLam II

Dear Bhakthaas of Raghu NandanA :

In the remaining four salutations relating to AaraNya 
KhAndam, Swami Desikan covers mAricha vadham ,
JatAyu samskaram (final rites) , Kabhandha vadham 
and Sabhari Moksham. Thereafter, he moves on to
salute the incidents of KishkindhA khAndam . I will cover 
two  of the four salutations in this posting.

GS 38 : mAricha mAyA mruga charma parikarmitha
nirbhara dharbhAstharaNa ! Jaya! Jaya ! 

O Lord whose darbhAsanam is decorated by  the skin of 
the deceitful mArichA , who appeared before You as a 
beautiful deer ! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!

RavanA ws intent on kidnapping Sita by deceit and hence
commanded mAricha to take the form of a beautiful deer
and to prance in front of Sita's parNasAlaa  at Panchavati .
Sita dEvi was charmed by the golden  deer and begged 
her husband to catch it and present it to her for use as a pet .
Rama followed the " deer " and killed it and brought back its
skin. He  returned to the parNasAla and put that deer skin
(KrishNAjinam ) under the darbhaasanam for His  daily
anushtAnam. That Aasanam got beautified by that deer skin. 

GS 39 : vikrama yasO lAbha vikreetha jeevitha grudhrarAja
deha didhakshaa lakshita bhakthajana daakshiNya ! 
Jaya! Jaya !  

O DayALu who demonstrated your special attachment to 
Your devotees through Your act of performing the 
final rites for the mortally wounded eagle king JatAyu , 
who put his life on line to fight the evil RavaNA and to 
foil RavaNA's attempt to get away with the kidnapping of 
SitA dEvi . 

(Background ) :Maricha gets killed by the arrow of Sri Rama. 
While Rama was away on pursuit of Maricha , the golden deer , 
RavaNa arrives at the parNasala of Rama in the guise of 
an ascetic. Sita invites him to accept her hospitality. She 
tells the  visitor about Her husband and the reason
for their visit to the forest . RavaNa now takes his real form
and expresses his desire to make Sita his chief queen in 
Lankhaa. Sita is shocked by the audacity of the insolent 
and deceitful  Visitor . She  reproaches RavaNa for 
his unrighteous thought .

RavaNa  gets angry at her harsh words and forcibly  
kidnaps her and places her in his celestial car and begins 
his travel to his kingdom . The heart broken Sita wails and 
calls all the animals and plants of the forest to tell her consort
that she is being borne away by the evil RavaNa and for him to come 
to her rescue. As she was being carried away , Sita catches sight of
the eagle king Jataayu perched on a tree. She addresses JatAyu 
and begs him to report her abduction by RavaNa and to ask her husband 
to hurry and rescue her. Jataayu , the friend of Dasaratha engages 
RavaNa in a fierce battle to deter him form taking Sita away. 
JatAyu is mortally wounded in that ferocious battle and lies half dead 
on ground. Soon, Rama searching for his missing consort 
arrives on the scene and  learns from JatAyu about the events
that transpired . JatAyu had hung to his life until he could see
Rama and brief him on the terrible events that happened. At the 
end of his narration, JatAyu  dies. Rama was overcome with inconsolable 
sorrow over the heroic fight of JatAyu . He performed the final
rites to the dead eagle king , which even his own father Dasaratha
was not priveleged to receive. Swami Desikan salutes the Bhaktha 
Daakshinyam (Partiality for the Bhakthaas) by Rama . 

The first slokam of Swami Desikan's  Parmaartha sthuthi salutes
Vijayaraaghava PeruMaaL of Thirupputkuzhi divya desam as 
" Srimadh grudhra sarastheera PaarijAtham ". The sthala puraaNam 
states that Rama and LakshmaNaa conducted the anthima Kriyaas 
for Jataayu at Thirupputkuzhi ( Thiru=sacred ; Putkuzhi= hole in the 
ground dug for the bird , Jataayu ) . The site of cremation is recognized
today as Jataayu PushkaraNi ( Grudhra saras ) . Swami Desikan 
salutes the valor of Vijaya Raaghavan of Thiruputtkuzhi by
addressing Him affectionately as Aahava Pungan, RaNa Punghan
( the supreme hero in the battles ). That RaNa pungavan recognizes 
the valour shown by jatAyu and responds to it by performing the 
final rites and giving Moksham to JatAyu asa token of his gratitude.

"saraNaagatha rakshaNa vrathi maam 
na vihaathum RaNapungavaarhasi tvam "
-- ParamArtha Sthuthi : slokam 8 

( O Lord of unmatched  valor in Your battles! 
O Lord who has taken the vow of protecting Your 
SaraNaagathaas ! it is not appropriate for you to
forsake me ). 

Sri Raamam nisaachara vinaasakaram vandEh 

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan