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ThiruvahIndhrapuram RathnAngi Kaimkaryam Series 43/Appa! Raama Bhakthi yenthO ?

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • April 12, 2003 


SrI:

Dear  SrI Rama  BhakthAs:

The lingering ruchi of ChithrabhAnu SrI Raama Navami 
celebrations are still with us . In the context of
this celebration of the  Vaibhavam of Lord Raamamchandran  
let us pay  tribute to one of the greatest 
SrI Raama BhakthAs , SrI ThyAgarAja  SwamigaL.
  
Today , we will study the well known krithi of
ThyagarAja SwamigaL set in the beautiful mELa 
rAgam of PanthuvarALi : 

PALLAVI:

" appa! Raamabhakthi yenthO gOpparA ; maa "

How sublime and great is Raama Bhakthi and 
devotion to our beloved Sire(Father) Raama ! 

ANUPALLAVI:

"thrippaDalanu dheercchi kanDi-rEppavalEnu gaachu maa"

The sublimity of this Raama Bhakthi arrests the wanderings
of our mind , banishes all the cares and sufferings 
and protects us just as the eyelids guards the eyes
in an involuntary manner . 

(Thrippadalnu here refers to the mercurial wanderings
of the mind and its immense propensity to be restless).  

CHARANAM 1:

" LakshmI dEvi valachunA ? LakshmaNuNDu goluchunA ?
  sookshma buddhi gala Bharathudu jUchi jUchi sOlasunA? maa "

If this Raama Bhakthi were not to be sublime , would 
LakshmI devi long to join Him in His Raama avathAram as SitA 
PirAtti and descend to this earth to be with Him ?

( the choice of the word "valachunA " embodies 
the deep doctrine of the inseperability of 
MahA laskshmi with Her Lord. She says " ahalahillEn "
and never leaves Him even for a fraction of  a second .
VishNu PurANam salutes their inseperability this way:
"nithyaivEshA JaganmAthA VishNo: SrI: anapAyini") .

If this Raama Bhakthi were not be so sublime . would 
the valiant LakshmaNa serve Him  and gain Kaimkarya SrI?
( aham sarvam karishyAmi jAgratha; svapathasccha tE/ 
I shall do every thing for You , whether you are 
awake or sleeping --LakshmaNA's words requestign permission
to accompany his brother during His vana vAsam).

If this Raama Bhakthi were not to be so elevating and lofty ,
would  the noble BharathAzhwAn endowed with discriminating
intellect wither away at NandhigrAmam awaiting His Lord's return 
in such an enduringly longing manner ?

(In Kamba RaamAyaNam , BharathA's nobility is praised 
as being superior even to that of Lord Raamachandra , 
His elder brother. Kambhan says through DasarAthA's
speech : " Oh My  BharathA! of all the kings and princes 
that have  adorned Raghu Vamsam from times beyond recollection ,
who is there that matches You in purity of heart ? Can even
thousand RaamAs equal Thee ?).Such is the greatness of
Bharathan , who had such profound Raama Bhakthi.   

CHARANAM 2: 

" Sabhari yengili nicchunA? aBhala Svayamprabhaku 
  dhaivam-achala padhavi nicchunA maa "

If the Raama Bhathi were not to be so sublime , would
the old lady , Sabari have tasted and tested the fruits
before offerign the ripest and  sweetest ones to RaamA ?

Could  Lord SivA with the adornment of cresent moon display 
such veneration (mecchunA) for Lord Raamachandran , if He
did not have such abundant Bhkthi for latter ? 

( "Sahasra Naama Tath tulyam RAAMA NAAMA VARAANANE "--
Lord Siva"s upadEsam to His consort , Paarvathi Devi
at the end of SrI VishNu Sahasra NaamaavaLi).
   

(These two incidents relating to Sabari and SvaymprabhA 
in this charaNam are not referred to in Sage VaalmIki's 
aadhi Kaavyam of srImad RaamAyaNam. In Kamba RaamAyanam alone , 
one comes across the story of Sabari testing the ripeness of 
the forest fruits before offering them to Raama is mentioned .  

SvayamprabhA's story appears in Aanandha RaamAyanam.
She meets RaamA during His roamings in the forest in search
of SitA PirAtti , who ws abducted by RaavaNa. SvayamprabhA
shows the way to LankhA , where SitA was imprisoned 
and the thankful Lord blessed her with MOksham ,which is
referred to in the charanam passage as "Dhaivam achala padhavi"). 

CHARANAM 3:

" Kapi vAridhi dhADunA , Kaliki rODa gaDDunA 
  aparAdhI ThyagarAjukAnandhamu hEcchunA? maa "

If his Raama Bhakthi were not so firm and sublime , 
could a monkey by the name of AnjanEyA jumped over 
the vast ocean to land in LankA in search of SitA PirAtti ?

If her Bhakti for the Lord were not so firm  and lofty ,
could  a mere cowherdess by the name of YasOdhA (Kaliki=
besutiful one) bind the Lord to a mortar at Gokulam 
and tie Him down ?( " KaNNInuNN siru ThAmbinAl KattuNNapatta 
Peru Maayan " in Madhura kavi AzhwAr's words ).

If his Bhakthi for the Lord did not get suffused with 
MahA VisvAsam in Him as the Sarva Loka SaraNyan , would 
an aparaadhi ( transgressor of Saasthraic injunctions
of the Lord ) like ThyagarAja  enjoy increasing bliss of 
Bhagavad anubhavam ? Can such a  sinner like ThyagarAja
be the beneficiary of the supreme bliss of enduring
anubhavam of the Lord of AyOddhi ? 

Thus asks and wonders Saint  ThyAgarAja in this beautiful
krithi and reminds us of many BhakthAs of the Lord ranging
from MahA lakshmi , LakshmaNan , Bharathan , Lord SivA , 
Sabhari , SvayamprabhA , HanumAn , YasOdhaa to himself .

NamO namO RaaghavAya anisam 
Namo NamO RaghunATAya sadatham 

SrI Jaanaki SamEtha SrI Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE nama:
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchArI SadagOpan 

P.S: Please participate in the RathnAngi Kaimkaryam
for Lord DevanATan at ThiruvahIndhrapuram. We will
study the ThOdi Raaga krithi , " KaddanavAriki" of
the Raamachaithanya , ThyAgarAja SwamigaL in our
ThiruvahIndhrapuram series of postings . 


  


    



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