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Re: Upendra: Request for Information from Sri MadhavakkaNNan

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Madhavakkannan • June 27, 1998 


SrI:

Dear Sriman U Ve SadagOpan,

Thanks very much. That was a beautiful narration on Upendra avataaram. Your
presence in this group is a REAL asset to us. By Divya Damapti's Grace, we
should continue to ger blessed by your such information on our dearest
sweetest Emperumaan Sriman Narayanan.

Ram Ram

Regards

NarayanadAsan Madhavakkannan
----------
> From: Sadagopan 
> To: bhakti@lists.best.com
> Subject: Upendra: Request for Information from Sri MadhavakkaNNan
> Date: Sunday, June 28, 1998 6:17 AM
> 
> Dear BhakthAs :
> 
> The least that I can do is to respond with
> alacrity to the request of Sriman MadhavakkaNNan 
> to whom we are indebted for the MahOpakAram of
> making Swamy NammaazhwAr's Thiruvaimozhi available
> to us in such an eminently absorbable fashion .
> It is like glucose to the brain . Hence , It is my 
> pleasure to respond to his request for Information on 
> Upendran among the avathArams of Sriman NaarAyaNA .
> 
> The references are in Srimadh Bhagavatham, Srimadh RaamAyaNam
> Srimadh NaarayaNeeyam and ThirupullANi Divya Desa
> Sthala PurANam :
> 
> 1. Srimadh Bhagavatham ( chapter 2.5: The Creation of the Universe)
> 2. Srimadh Bhagavatham:( chapter 8.23 : Bali goes to Suthala lokam)
> 3.         "           ( Ch.10.3: Birth Of Sri KrishNA )
> 4.         "           ( Ch.10.6: The destruction of PuthanA )
> 5.         "           ( Ch.10.34: Sankhya YogA )
> 6. Srimadh RaamAyaNam : Uttara KhAndam --7th Sargam 
>    dealing with the Lord's fight as UpendrA with Maali ,
>    MaalyavAn and SumAli , the ancestors of RavaNA .
> 
> Upendra is the Younger brother Of Indra . This avathAram 
> is after NarasimhAvathAram according to RaamAyaNam .The use
> of Sudarsanam by BhagavAn to cut off the head of the offending
> Maali and the routing of his Companions of the Raakshasan ,
> SumAli nad Maalyavaan by Upendran on the back of 
> Garudan during the battle is described 
> in great detail in the 7th sargam of Uttara KhANdham by 
> the Adhi Kavi , VaalmIki . Sudarsanam took bath in the chakra
> pushkaraNIi at ThirupullANi to remove the dhosham of killing
> these RaakshasAs , who had originated originally from 
> the line of Rishis .
> 
> Srimadh Bhaagavatham & Upendran
> ******************************** 
> 
> The Lord himself being born inside the prison
> of KamsA addresses His parents Devaki and VasudEvA 
> and reveals to them His antecedent births  including 
> the one where He was born as the son of Kasyapa PrajApathi and 
> Aditi Devi . The Lord tells VasudEvA and Devaki that 
> they were His parents ( Kasyapa and Aditi ) during 
> His avathAram as Upendra , the younger brother Of Indran :
> 
> tayOrvAm punrEvAhamadithyAmAsa KasyapAth 
> UpEndra ithi vikhyAthO VamanathvAccha Vaamana :
> 
> (Meaning ) : O VasudEvA and Devaki ! Again , it was I , 
> who was born as your son in your embodiment as Kasyapa 
> Prajapathi and Adithi ( in my previous avathAram ) .
> I was given the well known name of UpEndrA and also
> VaamanA because of my shortness of stature .
> 
> In the next verse , the Lord reveals that He 
> has chosen them as parents for the third time 
> in response to their prayers ( The First avathAram
> was Prisnigarbhan ; the second was UpEndran and 
> the third avathAram was that of KrishNA ) . 
> 
> UpEndrA as a Rkshakan  is referred to 
> in the 6th chapter of Dasama skandham dealing 
> with the destruction of PuthanA by the Bala KrishNan .
> The people of Gokulam are very disturbed about the 
> attack by the Raakshasi PuthanA and recite a marvellous
> VishNu Kavacha Manthram for the protection of every
> limbs of the Lord from above and below and from every
> direction to ward off future dangers from BhutAs , PrEtAs ,
> PisaachAs , YakshAs , RaakshasAs and all kinds of apasmArams .
> UpEndrA is one of the anga RakshaNa mUrthys in this
> kavacham : 
> 
> -- kONEshu sankha urugAya uparyu UPENDRA :
> ThArkshya: kshithou Haladhara : Purusha: samanthAth 
> IndriyANi HrishIkEsa: prANAn NAARAAYANO avathu---
> 
> (meaning ): May UrugAya with Conch protect You 
> (KuttikkaNNan ) from the corners , UPENDRA from above ,
> TaarkshyA from the ground , and the plough-weaponed One from
> all sides . May HrishikEsA protect Your senses and May 
> NaarAyaNA protect Your prANAs . 
> 
> RaamAyaNam's decscription Of the Lord's destruction of the RaakshasAs
> *********************************************************************
> In the uttara KhAndham , In the first few chapters , 
> Sage AgasthyA explains to Lord RamachandrA the ancestors of 
> the Raakshasan , RaavaNan , whom the Lord had destroyed
> at LankhA for his offenses against His divine SitA piraatti .
> 
> At the battle of UpendrA with Maali , SumAli and MaalyavAn ,
> Maali's head was cut off by UpEndran ( VaasavAnujan ) 
> and the other two ran off from the battle field 
> and run to LankhA , their capital first and then 
> escape to the netherworld to escape the fury of 
> the Lord .This incident is referred to by NammAzhwAr in 
> the Thiruvaimozhi Paasuram 7.6.8 ( aaLiyai kaaNpariyAi ):
> 
> " Oh Lord ! I must reach You and overcome all 
> the obstacles that stand in my way . If You 
> will it so , these obstacles will be banished in 
> one subsection of a second. Yes, I do remember 
> how you fought with the powerful RaakshsAs , 
> Maali , MaalyavAn and SumAli , who were the 
> ancestors of RavaNA . You killed Maali with Your
> Disc and the others ran away in fear. You mounted
> Your Vaahanam , Garudan , and fought them and destroyed 
> their entire entourage . These pitiable fellows 
> fled like the jackals , when they see the king
> of the forest;they ran away like the horses , when
> they encounter a lion or a YaaLi . You left piles of 
> RakshasA corpses in the battle field .Oh Lord ! Please
> slay the demons in me like arrogance and ego , which
> interfere with my joining You . Oh Lord ! HOw I long 
> to join You and see You with my very eyes before long ! 
> 
> The Episode after the battle with Upendran
> *******************************************
> 
> After centuries of hiding , Sumaali left PaathALam
> and returned to earth in the guise of a Human being 
> with his beautiful daughter , Kaikasi and was intent on 
> her being married to Sage Visrava , the son of Pulasthya 
> prajApathi , a direct descendant of BrahmA .Kaikasi
> approached the Sage at the time , when he was performing
> AgnihOthram .She did not realize that it was an inauspicious 
> time to approach a sage and ask him to bless her by
> accepting her as his wife . The sage explained to her 
> that the interruption to his AgnihOthram and her request
> to marry her would result in the birth of RakshasAs 
> given to cruel deeds instead of pious sages . The father,
> SumAli was upset and prayed to the sage to mitigate 
> the inauspicious news . The Sage agreed and said 
> that there will be three sons and the last of the three
> sons born of his union with Kaikasi would be pious and 
> the other two will be cruel RakshasAs . Thus RaavaNA ,
> KumbhakarNA and VibhishaNA were born . The purpose
> of RaamAvathAram was established .
> 
> In between RaamAvathAram and UpendrAvathAram ,
> VaamanAvatharam took place . Here , the Lord 
> ( UpEndra Vaamanan ) humbled MahA Bali ,the 
> grandson of PrahLAdhA and the great grandson of 
> HiraNya Kasipu . During NarasimhAvathAram ,
> The Lord had promised PrahlAdhA that He will not
> kill any descendant of PrahlAdhA .That is why ,
> Kapata VaamanAvathAram was taken to deprive
> MahA Bali of his saamrAjyam and TrivikramA 
> placed His foot on MahA Bali's head as the third 
> step and sent him down to the netherworld .
> 
> UpEndra Vaamanan was born during a SravaNa DwAdasi 
> as son to Kasyapa PrajApathi and Adithi . Indraa
> and DevAs were born from their union . Kasyapa 
> PrajApathi had another wife by name Tithi . Out of
> that union were born AsurAs . They quarreled as 
> Cousins and the story of all the AvathArams of 
> Sriman NaarAyaNA from Mathsya , Koorma ,VarahA , 
> Narasimha , VaamAna , Raama , KrishNa avathArams 
> are threaded into the quarrels of the AsurAs and 
> the DevAs and the Lord's Dharma SamsthApanam . 
> 
> That is the Story of Upendra Vaamanan and His links 
> to Lord KrishNA and Lord RaamA . 
> 
> Subhamasthu ,
> Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan    
> 
> 
>