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Raghuveera Gadhyam: Uttara KhAndam: part 2

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • Sat Jan 04 1997 - 20:12:24 PST 


Dear Bhakthas of Raghu Veera : 

Let us commence these postings with the two tributes
of Sage Valmiki to the supreme ruler(Chakravarthi )
Ramachandra. They are :

Tamevam guNasampannam apradhrushya parAkramam I
lokapaalOpamam nAtham akAmayatha medhinee II

(Meaning ) : Earth seeks to have as its master, the aforesaid 
Rama of Unfailing might , and vying with the guardians of the 
quarters , endowed as he is with the above-mentioned virtues.  

aanrusamsyamanukrosa: srutham seelam damassama: I
Raghavam sobhayatyEtE shaDguNA: purushotthamam II

(Meaning ) : Six GuNAs adorn Sri RamachandrA: Protection of those ,
who seek refuge at His holy feet , Compassion , Knowledge of the 
inner meanings of the VedAs ,The uninterrupted and ease of union 
even with those who are no match to Him (Sowlabhyam ) , 
Control of mind and the control of the Karma and JnAna IndriyAs .

Such a celebrated emperor was RamA , who ruled the Earth 
after His return to AyodhyA following his victory over the evil RavaNA .

Gadhya Salutation (GS ) 77 : Haataka giri kataka laDaha paada 
peeta nikata Thata parilutitha nikhila nrupathi kireeta kOti vividha 
maNi gaNa kiraNa nikara neerajitha charaNa rajeeva ! Jaya ! jaya !

(meaning ) : Hail to Thee , O Raghuveera with the Lotus feet ,
which have been illuminated by the Neerajanm (Aaratthi ) of
the beams of resplendent rays emanting out of the gems adorning 
the edges of the crowns of all the kings prostrating themselves 
at the foot of your throne(SimhAsanam ) , which is as broad as 
the foot hills of mount Meru ! Hail to Thee !

Sri Rama is sitting on His imperial throne with His dEvi 
in the darbhAr at the time of His coronation. The vassals of 
the empire have assembled in front of Sri Pattabhi RaamA's 
throne and are offering their ShAshtAnga namaskArams . 
The foot of the throne is broad like the foot hills 
of the lofty Meru-mountain like simhAsanam. The kings  are wearing 
gem-studded crowns during this time of their prostrations before 
their supreme Lord. The rays of light emanating from the mangaLa 
deepams illuminating  the DarbhAr reflect  the lustre of the gems
adorning their  crowned heads  as they lower their limbs on 
ground and lift themselves up. Those reflections arising from the 
interaction of the light beams and the gems of the crowns appear 
like a mangaLa aarathi raised in front of their  newly crowned emperor,
Sri RamachandrA .

The occasion of performance of NeerAjanam (Aaratthi ) is  an
auspicious one to celebrate the supernacy of the Lord during 
His aarAdhanam . Saint Thyagaraja saw this splendid sight 
of the darbhAr of SitAraman during the pattabhishekam at 
AyodhyA with his mental eyes at his pujA graham and joined 
with the assembled kings to conduct Aaratthi to the AkhilAdakoti 
NAyakan in one of his Surutti Krithis :

Pallavi :        Pathiki haarateerE SitA (pathiki )

Anupallavi : Athi mrudhutara satva bhashaNanuki 
                      akhilAndha Naathuniki SitA (Pathiki haarateerE)

CharaNam 1 : bhangaruranghuku bhujanguni pyni 
                          chelanguchunu maragathAngudu merupu
                          theraDguna merayu tana yanganathO palukanga 
                          jUji yupponguju SitA ( Pathiki haarateerE) 

CharaNam 3 : raja vibhAkara raja dharAmara 
                          raja suAja virAjulu chooDaka 
                          rajamAnamagu gAjulu gallana
                          raajitha Thyagaraaja nuthuniki Sri (SitA Pathiki
hArateerE )

Saint ThyagarajA sitting at his pujA graham on the banks of Cauveri 
enjoys the splendor of this sight and is worried  whether any drishti
dhosham will arise and hence he invites all the sumangalis assembled
in front of Sri SitApathi to offer Neerajanam to the Rajaathiraajan . He himself
joins them in this sacred rite . He says : " Let us offer NeerAjanam (Haaratthi
)
to our Lord , the Lord of the Universe , of sweet and mellowed speech , 
when He is seated on the golden-hued Sesha ( Sesha SimhAsanam ) ,
conversing with His consort SitA Devi of radiant beauty . Standing on 
either side (of the throne) , let the(assembled ) ladies with charming
faces and shining ornaments offer the haratthi to the delight of DevAs and
Rishis ."
Sri RamachandrA's position as the supreme ruler of the Universe is
celebrated here with great bhAvam by the bard of ThiruvaiyAru in this Surutti
Raaga krithi .   

GS 78 : divya BhowmAyOdhyAdhi Daivatha ! Jaya ! Jaya !

(Meaning ) : Hail to Thee , O Ubhaya Vibhuthi NaathA ! You rule 
both the AyOdhyAs -- one invincible ( AyOdhya )  known as Sri VaikunTam
and the other one in Kosala Desam on this earth -- with equal ease
and display Your suzerainty . 

Here Swami Desikan celebrates the Mukundha aspect of Sri RamachandrA
in the spirit of Mukunda MAla sthotram . King KulasekharA chose the word 
Mukundha for Sri Kaakuthsa --RanganAthA for the combinatuion of the three 
Aksharams , Mu , Ku and dha . Mu stands for Mukthi and Sri VaikunTanaathan
in invincible Ayodhya (Sri VaikunTam ) known as  Parampadham . That is 
Nitya Vibhoothi . The aksharA  "ku" stands for the invincible capital of Sri
Rama
known as AyOdhyA onnthis  Bhumi , which stands for the LeelA Vibhoothi. The 
literal meaning of AyOdhyA is that which is invincible to enemies .Thus both the
AyOdhyAs --the Nitya and LeelA vibhoothis - are under the Lordship of the 
emperor of emperors , Sri RamachandrA . Thus  He is celebrated and eulogized 
as Ubhaya Vibhoothi nAthan by Swami Desikan through this salutation.

Lokavatthu leelA kaivalyam.... Brahma Sutram 2.1.33

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan