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Sri Dikshithar"s salutation to Sri Pattaabhiraaman: Part 1

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • April 17, 1997 


Dear Rama Bhakthaas :

On the second day of celebration of Sri Raama Navami ,
let us reflect on the pallavi of the Krithi in MaNiranghu named 
" Maamava Pattabhiraama ". This is not one of the Sri Raamaashtaka 
krithis of Sri Dikshithar . All in all , this illustrious composer 
has blessed us with fourteen other krithis on Sri Ramachandran :

1. Raamachandram bhavayaami -- Vasanthaa raagam
2.Ramachandra bhaktham bhaja maanasa--Hejajji( Gayakapriyaa)
3.Ramachandraath anyam na jaanE--Danyaasi raagam
4. Ramachandraaya NamasthE --Thodi raagam
5. RamachandrENa samrakshithOham --Maanji raagam
6. Sri RamachandrO rakshathu maam-- Sri Ranjani raagam
7.Sri Ramachandrasya DaasOham --Dharmavathi raagam
8. RaamE Bharatha Paalitha rajyam arpayaami --Jyothi raagam
    ( JyothisvarupiNi raagam in the other sampradhaayam )
9. Rama Rama kalikalusha viraama --Raamakali raagam
10 . Maamava Raghuveera -- Maahuri raagam
11. Sri Raamam -- NaarayaNa Gowlai ragam
12. Kodhanda Raamam  anisam bhajaami--Kokilaaravam
       ( Raagam Kokila priyaa in the other samparadhaayam ) 
13 . Santhaana Raamaswaminam -- HindoLavasantham
14 . KshthijaaramaNam chintayE Sri Raamam --Devagandhaari 

Few miles away from Thiruvaarur , the seat of residence of 
Dikshithar , Saint Thyagaraajaa was constructing hundreds 
and hundreds of Krithis on Sri Raama at Thiruvaiyaaru  
on the bank of cauveri river and was offering his
naadha naivedyam . Sri Dikshithar did not perhaps want to be 
left behind in his adoration of Sri Raamaa and chose a handful 
of exquisite krithis set in some apoorva raagaas and laid them
at the lotus feet of the Lord of Jaanaki . One of his fifteen Sri Raama
krithis is "Maamava Pattaabhiraama "   in raaga maNiranghu .
This raagam is a derivative (janya raagam ) of the MeLakartha
Karaharapriyaa ( Hariharapriyaa in old times ) . 

MaNiranghu is a upaanga rakthi raagam that belongs to 
the Veda chakram . The saahitya Vaakhyams of this krithi
are as follows :

Pallavi :       Maamava Pattaabhiraama jaya maaruthi sannutha 
                     naama Raama 

Anupallavi : KomaLatara pallava padha kOdhanda Raama
                     Gana syaamaLa vigrahaabhja nayana sampoorNa
                     kaama Raghuraama kalyaaNa naama Raama 

CharaNam : chatra chaamara karadhrutha Bharatha LakshmaNa
                       Satrugna VibheeshaNa Sugreeva pramukhaadhi sevitha
                       Adhri Vasishtaathyanugraha paathra Dasaratha putra
                       maNirangavalyaalankrutha Navaratna maNtapE vichithra
                       maNimaya simhaasanE Seethayaa saha samsthitha 
                       sucharithra parama pavithra guru Guha  mitra pankaja
mitra
                       vamsa sudhaambhudhi chandra medhini paala Ramachandra
                       ( Maamava Pattabhiraama ) 

***Meaning and comments on the pallavi of the Krithi : 
The anvaya kramam of the pallavi is :Jaya  Maaruthi sannutha 
naama Raama , Pattaabhiraama maamava . Here , Dikshithar 
offers SaraNAgathi to Sri Raama and asks for 
the Lord's protection . 

The occasion he chooses is the time of darbaar , where the just-
crowned Raaman is seated on the throne as Pattabhiraaman 
(the Silaabheram/moolavar at KumbakoNam Raman Koil ) .
Sri Raama is ready to grant the requested prayers 
of attendees of the darbaar during the occasion of 
His coronation cermonies and Dikshithar chooses
this auspicious and formal occasion . What does he see in 
the Darbaar ? He witnesses the victorious Hanumaan 
(Jaya Maaruthi ) celebrating the name of his Lord 
through the recitation of His taaraka naamam 
( Jaya Maaruthi saanutha naama ) . One of the 
108 naamaas of Sri Ramaa is " Om saraNathraaNa-
tatparaaya nama : " He is celebrated for protecting those, 
who sought refuge in Him. The erudite Dikshithar asked hence 
" Maamava Pattabhiraama " for protection for that reason .  

Dikshithar's specific reference to Sri Raamaa  as Maaruthi 
sannuthan in palavi of this krithi is because of the taaraka manthra
japam that Anjaneyan does  besides performing the archana through 
the Sri Raama ashtotthra satha naamaavaLi . As the supreme 
Raama bhakthan , Anjaneyan understands the meaning of Raamaa 
as " RamayathE ithi Raama : " . He understands fully well that 
Sri Ramachandran is the one, who produced immeasurable 
happiness to the world through His anantha kalyaaNa gunams . 
Hence , Maaruthi is engaged in performing archanaa to his lord 
starting from the FIRST naamaa of Sri Rama AshtOttharam . 

I will digress here to focus specifically on the first ten naamaas
of Sri Raama ashtotthra naamaavaLi in response to 
Sri Devi Kumaar's request .The first naama in 
the naamavaLi is :

Om Sri Raamaaya nama :

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME RAAMA
******************************************

Raama sabdham is made up of two letters , Raa and ma . 
When one utters the first letter " RAA " , all the paapams 
leave from one's face. When one follows up with the letter "MA" , 
the door of one's mind closes firmly so that none of the paapams 
can reenter one's mind . The slokam corresponding to this 
intrepretation of Raama sabdham is as follows :

raa sabdhOcchaara maatrENa mukhaan niryaathi paathakaa: I
puna: pravesa bheethyaa cha makaarasthu kavaatavath II 

The immortal poet Kambhan , who gave us the Kambha 
Raamaayanam intrepreted the benefits accruing from
Rama Naama Japam this way :

nanmayium selvamum naaLum nalhumE 
tinmayium paavamum sidahinthu tEyumE 
senmamum maraNamum inri theerumE
inmayE iraama yenru iraNdu yezhutthinaal

(meaning ) : When one utters the namam of the Lord
consisting of the two words Raa and ma , one is blessed 
to be the recipient of all auspiciousness and wealth in the
present life (janmam ) . When one utters the Raama naamam 
once more , all the duraacharams ( theeya nadatthai ) and 
the bad karmaas ( theeya VinaigaL ) leave one forever. 
One is freed from the cycles of births and deaths and 
becomes blessed with Moksham and lives in the Rama 
Bhakthi samraajyam . 

Hanumaan went on to perform archanaas to Sri Raama 
with the rest of the 107 naamaas :

Second naamam : Om  Ramabhadraaya Nama: 

Bhadram is a Vedic word . It means happiness , good fortune, 
welfare , blessing and prosperity. Raamaa is every one of those
four blessings and more. When one salutes with the second 
naamaa of the 108 naamaas , we invoke the Vedic blessings
of Sri Raamaa . Some of these Vedic blessings from 
Rg Vedam are :

BHADRAM karNEbhi: srunyaama : -- Rg Vedam(RV) 1.89.8
BHADRAM tE agnE sahasin --RV 4.11.1
BHADRAM nO api vaataya manO --   RV 10. 20.1
BHADRAM BHADRAM na aa bharE --  RV 8.93. 28
BHADRAM mana : krNushva -- RV 19. 20
BHADRAM vai varam vruNuthE --RV 10. 164.2
BHADRAMITHAM rusamaa agnE --RV 5. 30. 12
BHADRAMIDHBHADRAA kruNavath --RV 7. 96. 3

The first Rk (1.89.8 ) is a famous invocation by 
the achaarya : " O learned people , may we with 
our ears listen to what is beneficial . O persons ,
worthy of sacred deeds , may we see with our eyes 
that which is beneficial . May we, engaged in your praise,
enjoy with firm limbs and sound bodies , a full term
of life (veda praayam )  dedicated to the Lord ." 

The BHADRAM  referred to here is nothing but 
" RAAMABHADRAM "  or the supreme auspiciousness
known as Sri Raamaa signified by the second 
AshtOttharam of the Lord of Ayodhyaa . This is the same
auspiciousnes referred to by Taittiriya BrahmaNam :
" Sakalm BhadramasnuthE " . Sri Raamaa is the 
" Sakalam Bhadram " .   

Hanumaan continued with the third naamaarchanam:

" OM RAAMACHANDRAAYA NAMA : " 

The reference to Sri Raama as Chandraa is because of 
His power to cool the world like the nourishing rays of the Moon .
Hanumaan himself describes the CHANDRATHVAM of 
Sri Raama this way in Sundara Khaandam to Sitaa dEvi :

aadhitya iva tejasvi LOKAKAANTHA : SASEE YATHAA 
--- Sundara Khaandam 34. 28 

This loka kaanthan is Sri Rama CHANDRAN . 

Hanumaan 's 4th salutaion is  :

Om saasvathaaya Nama : 

The akshara Parabrahmathvam of Sri Raama 
is invoked here . He is understood as the undecaying , 
everlasting ucchishta Brahmam  .

5th naama : Om raajeeva lochanaaya nama: ( the one  with eyes
reminding us of the beauty of the just blossomed red lotus ) .

6th naamaa: Om SrimathE nama: ( the reference here is to 
the mantra raajam known as Dhvayam . Sri Raamaanujaa's 
saraNaagathi gadhyam elaborates on the meaning of Dhvayam .
In Vaikunta Gadhyam(choorNikai 4 )  , Raamaanujaa specifically 
refers to the "SrimathE " aspect of the Lord :

seela -rupa -guNa -vilaasaadhibhiraathmaanurupayaa 
SRIYAA SAHAASEENAM --Bhagavantham NaarAyaNam 
dhyana yogEna dhrushtvaa --

The othe rreference to "SrimathE " of the uttara bhagam
of Dhvaya manthram is as follows :

vaikuntE thu parE lokE Sriyaa saardham jagdhpathi : 

Both references describe  the Lord as the one seated in 
Sri Vaikuntam with His consort matching Him in every
aspect . The use of "SrimathE " as the fifth Raama naamaM
implies the " sambhandha guNa vibhoothyaadhi 
paripoorNaanubhabhava siddhi " according to 
Swami Desikan in his Rahasya Traya Saaram . 
By invoking this naamam , the saraNAgathan 
attains a status : anaga : akhilam svabhogam 
prathibhoga sesham bhunkthE " according to 
Swami Desikan . The saraNAgathan becomes free
of all blemishes  . He enjoys(bhunkthE) all blessings 
coming his way ( svabhogam )as the residue of 
the Lord's bhogam/enjoyment ( prathibhogasesham )  .

The SEVENTH  Raama naamam of the Rama Ashtothram is :

Om Raajendhraaya nama : 

He is saluted as the Lord of Kings 
( Chakravarthi or emperor ) .

The 8th naama is :

Om Raghu pungavaaya nama:

Swami Desikan's Paramaartha sthuthi on 
Sri Vijayaraaghavan of Thirupputkuzhi describes
in detail the Pungavathvam of Sri Raama .
In this sthothram on the victorious Raghuveeran
(Vijaya Raaghavan ) , Swami salutes Him as 
RANA PUNGHAVAN , AAHAVA BHUNGAVAN , 
SAMARA PUNGHAVAN following the tradition 
of Thirumangai Aazhwaar , who hailed this archaa
murthy of Thirupputkuzhi as " pOreRu " . Pungavan 
means supremely capable of winning battles . 
the Vijayaraaghavathvam and the Veeraraghavathvam of 
the Lord of Thiru YevuLL  are  thus celebrated here .
Hanumaan was an eye witness to the unmatched valor 
of His  Lord in the battle field . 

9th Ashtotthra naama :

Om Jaanaki Vallabhaaya nama: 

Jaanaki Vallabhan means one who is the beloved
of Jaanaki . One can also refer to the vallabhyam 
of Jaanaki , who through Her purushakaaram 
pleads for us with Her Lord. Saint Thyagaraaja 
goes one step further and states that Jaanaki maathaa 
made it possible for Sri Raama to earn the title
of " RaavaNAri " . She Herself could have burnt 
RavaNA to ashes with a hoomkaaram , but She
chose not to and left it to Her consort to destroy
RaavaNA ( Kaambhoji krithi --Maa Jaanaki ) and
thus become known as "RavaNAri " .    
       
10th asttothra naamam :

Om jaithraaya nama : 

The word Jaithra means victorious , successful .
In Raghuvamsam KaaLidaasa says in this context  :
" Danurjaithram Raghurdadhou ".
Jaithra: also means the Victor or conqueror .
The essence  of Raghuveera Gadhyam of 
Swami Desikan is about this Jaithran . 

Many of the other naamaas of Raama Ashttothra
naamaavaLi celebrate this Jaithra aspect of Sri Raama
celebrated in the seven khaandams of 
Srimadh RaamaayaNam :

Om Vaali pramathanaaya Nama : ( 16th naamam )
Om KaradvamsinE nama : ( 24th naamam )
Om Viraadha vadha pandithaaya nama: ( 25th naamam ) 
Om harakodhandakandanaaya nama: ( 27th naamam )
Om sapthasaala prabhEthrE nama : ( 28th naamam ) 
Om dasagreeva sirOharaaya Nama: ( 29th naamam )
Om Jaamadhagnya mahaadarpadalanaaya nama: ( 30th )
Om Tatakaanthakaaya nama: (31st)
Om DhushaNa trisirOhanthrE nama: ( 35th )
Om Jayantha thraaNa varadaaya Nama: (53rd) 
Om mayaa MaarichahanthrE nama: ( 57th )
Om mahaa bhujaaya nama: ( 59th )
Om sethukruthE nama: ( 83rd)
Om jithavaaraasayE nama: ( 84th ) 
Om sooraaya Nama: ( 89th ) 

In the pallavi section of his Krithi , Dikshithar
referred to Maaruthi sannutha Raaman and 
sought that Raghuveeran's protection with 
the prayer : " maamava Pattabhiraamaa jaya
Maaruthi sannutha naama Raama " . 

Raamaaya Ramabhadraaya Ramachandraaya vedasE I
RaghunaathAya naathAya SeethAyA: pathayE nama: II

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan