Bhakti List Archives

VarALi Pancha Rathnam --Part 4

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • Sun Jan 11 1998 - 17:48:38 PST 


Isvara samvathsaram
Margazhi Maasam , Day 27
" Koodarai Vellum Seer GovindhA " ThiruppAvai Dinam
January 11 , 1998

First CharaNam of VarALi Pancha Rathnam
************************************************

PaalugAru mOmuna SriapAra mahimA 
dhanaru ninnu ( Kana Kana RuchirA )

This charaNam like the pallavi begins with panchama eduppu .
Saint ThyagarAjA experiences the fresh beauty of the youthful
face of Sri RaamA and becomes ecstatic .He describes that 
KumAra-YuvA's face as " paal vadiyum mukham " . Literally , it
translates into a face " dripping with the milk " of Youth . He 
recognizes Sri Ramachandran as the Lord of every kind of
wealth (sampath) . He also comprehends the Lord as the One
with limitless glories . He confesses that his mind is brimming with
aanandham like the waves on a full moon day .

In his Karahara priyA raaga Krithi , " Raama Kothanda Raama
paahi , Raama Pattabhi Raama paahi " , Saint ThyagarAjA begged
the Lord to show him his " paal vadiyum " thirumukha mandalam 
this way : " PaalugAaru mOmujUpa neeku paalumAli kEla Sri " .
He asked here : " Oh Kothanda Raama ! Pattabhi RaamA ! 
Wont You show me Your forever-youthful face and say a word to me? ".
Sri Raamachandran , the Bhakthavatsalan , responded to
His dear  devotee's appeal and showed His "Paal vadiyum " face
filled with sampUrNa nava yauana soundharyam . He also
spoke with His dear devotee , who responded with elation :
" Kana Kana RuchirA Kanaka Vasana Ninnu " . 
Of all the beauty-laden limbs of the Lord , Saint ThyagarAjA 
chose the compassionate face of the Lord on the top of his
list to enjoy . He thanked the Lord for this tEjOmaya darsanam
and saluted Him as the one with ApAra mahimA and Sarva
Sampath . 

Normally , people of the world perform aarAdhanams to 
the nava grahams to banish durdasais and to ring in 
auspicious times . Saint ThyagarAja hinted at the ApAra
mahimaa of Sri Raamachandran in the Revagupthi krithi,
"Graha BalamEmi " , where he pointed out the power of 
the tEjOmaya darsanam of the Lord with apAra MahimA
this way and compared them to the effects of the nine planets :

graha balamEmi tEjomaya vigrahamanu dhyAninchuvAriki 

Here , he pointed out the futility of worshipping the nava
grahams compared to worshipping Sri RaamA's . He said :
" What can the strength of planets do to one , who meditates
upon the effulgent form of the Lord and to the men of discernment 
like ThyagarAjA  , who are steeped in devotion to Sri RaamA , 
whose darsanam destroys the virulent inner enemies like 
KaamA , the five great sins (Pancha MahA paathakams) 
and the evil effects of the nine planets ? " .

This indeed is the apAra mahimA of the darsanam of 
the unmatchable beauty of the KumAra-YuvA , 
Sri Raamachandran celebrated in the first charaNam .

Second CharaNam on SitA Raaghavan 
********************************************

The second charaNa vAkhyams are as follows ;

kala kalamanu mukha kaLa galikina Seetha 
kulukuchu kannulanu chUchu ninnu ( Kana Kana)
 
Saint ThyagarAja Used the "Sri " naamam in
the first charaNam ( Sri ApAra mahima) . That 
immediately drew his attention to Jaanaki maathA
sitting in Eka Peetam in his pujA graham next to Her Lord . 
Saint ThyagarAjA 's  mind immediately wandered to 
an incident during the occasion of svayamvaram 
of SitA dEvi  at the court of King Janaka , when the 
Lord of apAra mahima bent and broke the bow of 
Siva perumAn . The saint   concentrated his devotion on 
the bride groom of Jaanaki ( Jaanaki varuni ) ,
whom he had saluted earlier in the MadhyamAvathi 
rAga Krithi , NagumOmu :

nagumOmu galavAni naa manOharuni
jagamElu suruni Jaanaki varuni
DevAthi dEvuni divya Sundaruni
Sri VaasudEvuni SeethA Raghavuni 

This srungAra mUrthy with dhaiveeka soundharyam
was saluted with a mind full of affection and devotion .
Lord RamachandrA responded to the prEma bhakthi of 
His dear devotee and gave His darsanam with SitA 
piratti seated on the simhAsanam next to Him in the darbAr . 

The saint  visualized the Lord of unforgettable and bewitching 
beauty , who made the heart (ocean) of SitA dEvi rise
with Joy like the pUrNa chandran ( SitA hrudh Jaladhi
Soman ) seated before him with fresh peethAmbaram 
and relished that delectable  experience . This darbaar scene
where the Lord was holding Golu with His consort reminded
him of the darsanam of Chandran and RohiNi dampathi . 
He recognized the Lord , who enchants the mind of Jaanaki
( Jaanaki RamaNan ) as the beautiful parrot residing in 
the tender shoot of marukkozhundhu( fragrant evergreen ) 
cage of Bhakthi of SitA piratti ( BhAmA maruvampu molaka
Bhakthiyanu Panjara pusiluka ) . Out of his great affection 
for SitA piratti , his Mother , Saint Thyagaraja has stated 
elsewhere that Her golden lustre in darbAr was thousand fold
brighter than that of Her Lord Himself  ( Sri ramya-
chitthAlankAra svarUpan ) : 

kanaka salAkunu kEru mOmu SitA kaanthathOnu
Thyagarajanuthudu KoluvaiunnAdE , KothandapANi 

That paramour of beauty , Sri Pattabhi Raaman , has been saluted 
by the Saint as " SarvOnnatha suprakAsan " elsewhere :

Raaghava SarvOnnatha SuprakAsa 
DharaNi SasAnka lochana Jaanakeesa 
NeevErA kuladhanamu , neevErA Jeevanamu 

Oh my Master! You have fulfileld my life today and have given me 
the darsana soubhAgyam of the Svayamvara scene . Your bride-to-be
was standing with the garland in Her hand to wed You . Her cheeks 
were resplendent with the flush of lajjai at the sight of You ,
the Raghuveeran , who would become Her Lord . She wanted
to take in Your beauty , but was shy to look at You directly . 
She pretended as though She was straightening out Her 
bangles on Her hand and under the guise cast Her glances
 at You . 

This beautiful scene at King JanakA's durbar has been 
painted by Kamban , the greatest Tamil poet in this way :

yeivaLai vil YErrathum irutthathum uraitthum
meiviLaivu idatthu mudhal Iyyam viladaluRRAL 
IyaanE ahatthu vadivE alapuRatthum
kai vaLai thirutthupu kadaik kaNNin uNarnthAL 

( Meaning ) ; SitA piratti standing in the svayamvara mantapam
got enchanted with the beauty of Your radiant face and wanted
to have You as Her marriage partner . She got a littleanxious  about
Your successful completion of the assigned task to win Her
hand in marriage  and with a side glance looked at You longingly.
She used the ruse of fixing Her bangles on Her wrists and 
with overpowering modesty  , she cast Her sweet glances at 
You in a prayerful mood so that You would become  victorious. 

Saint ThyagarAjA rememembered this tender scene and cast
his second charaNam in celebration of this famous incident :

kala kalamanukakaLa kalikina Sita 
kulukusu nOra kannalanu joosu ninnu ( Kana Kana ruchirA ) 

Thus Saint ThyagarAjA enjoyed the beauty of the Lord's face,
which became the target of SitA piraatti's eyes at the svayamvara 
darbhAr of Raaja Rishi JanakA .

Sri SeethA samEtha Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE Nama:
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan