Sri Rama Navami : two requests from Fellow Members.

From the Bhakti List Archives

• March 28, 1996


Dear Members of the Prapatti Group ;
On this Sri Rama Navami Day, I am 
delighted to respond to the two requests from
Srimans Vijay Srinivasan and Srinivasan Iyengar of 
Sunnyvale related to Sri Ramachandra. I hope they do not
mind my referring to their requests on the net . I am
deeply honored to respond to their requests and will
attempt to answer. It appeared that the subject matter might be
of general interest to all members and hence I will
respond to their requests as  a public posting .

A. Sri Vijay Srinivasan"s requests
1. He wished to have a set of Paurams on Sri Rama
for recitation at the Forthcoming Rama Navami/Panguni 
Uttram day celebrations at the Buffalo temple .
2." Pasurams on Lord"s Paryankaasanam (Similar to
Kadhiravan--) for gently waking up from His Yoga Nidhraa."

B. Sri Srinivasan"srequest
A comparison of the Anubhavam of Kulasekhara
and Kambha Nattazhwaar of Chakravarthi Thirumagan .
He correctly pointed out that it was a monumental 
task and said: " But today is Sri Rama Navami day  and
I could not help making this request to You."

Once again , I am deeply touched and I will take it as the 
divine wish to dwell on these subjects and do my best 
to cover the topics, even if it will be an inadequate approach. .

Regarding the Pasurams on Ramachandra, Any  picking
of  TEN has to reflect one's own personal selection. Here is a list 
of mine. I will use the order of 4000 divya Prabhandham in selecting the 
ten verses :

1. Decad 3.10 verse 8 of Periyazhwaar:
This verse begins with "Maitthahumaamalarkkuzhalaai
 Vaidevi ViNNappam" and ends with " Ittahaiyaan AdaiyaaLam 
Eethavan Kai Modhirameh ". This whole decade  is related
to the 36th chapter of Srimad Valmiki Ramayanam 
(anguleeyaka Pradhaanam ). in the Pasurams of this 
decad, Azhwaar describes the conversation that 
Hanumaan had with Sita Piratti in Ashoka Vanam,
when he consoled her with Rama Charitam and 
at the end proved that he wasindeed  the messenger of 
Sri Rama asked by Sri rama to convey his message.
Hanuman describes the  episodes known only to Sita 
Devi and Her Consort as revealed to him by Sri Rama
to gain Her trust that he was a true Rama Dhootha .
At the end of this conversation, Hanuman gives to
Sita the Kanayaazhi and says:

VAANAROHAM MAHABHAAGHO DHUTOH RAMASYA DEEMATHA:
RAMA NAAMANGITHAM CHEDHAM PASYA DEVYANGULEEYAKAM

O Lady of great fortune! I am the monkey coming to you as
the messenger of the wise Rama> Please see this finger ring
inscribed with his Name inside.

Periyaazhwaar(3.10.8) follows this thought of  the above  verse and says:
Lord Sugreeva sent on behalf of his friend Sri Rama powerful
monkeys to search for you in all directions. He chose me especially out 
of his affection and sent me southward to Lankha . At  that time,
your Lord placed trust in me that I could accomplish the task .
He recalled the various joys you had together and gave me 
his Finger ring to give it to you. All I know were revealed by
 the Lord himself, when he relived the days of your life together
before you were abducted by vile Ravana .In the next pasuram,
Azhwaar describes the Joyous state of Sita Devi , who received 
the personal jewelery of her Lord and put it on Her head out of 
reverence for Him. She felt reunited temporarily with Her Lord 
and blessed Hanuman for his service.

2. Kanapuratthu Kaakutthan"s Taalaatu of Kulasekhara.

The whole decad 8 of PerumaaL thirumozhi
of Azhwaar is a tender lullaby  to Sri Rama 
as a baby . He takes the role of Kowsalai
to perform this service.The experience of 
Kulasekhara as Kowsalai is similar to the 
blissful experience of Periyazhwaar, when he became 
Yasodha to enjoy the Bala Kreeta of Krishna.
Verse 8.3 is an excellent one in the tallattu series.
It begins with " Kongumali KaumkuzhalaaL --- "
Tenderly, he addresses, "EnghaL Kulatthin
Innamudeh Raghavaneh Taleloh ". 

3. Tillai Thirucchitrakootam Pasurams of 
Kulasekhara (PerumaL Thirumozhi Decad 10 )
are nothing but Sampoorna Ramayanam.One can
dwell on them and stop there. 	In my book on 
Tillai Thiruchitrakootam, I have covered them .
Pasuram 10.1 is  avery good one to include 
in the count.
4.Thiruvellore Pasuram of Thirumangai on
Sri Veeraraghavan : Pasuram 2.2.2 of Periya
Thirumozhi.It deals  with Veeram aspect of 
Veera Raghavan destroying Ravana .It deals 
with the Yuddha Khandam .
5.Thiru Nandipura Vinnagaram Pasuram:
Periya Thirumozhi -5.10.6 .It deals with
the Aranya Khandam episode.
6.The entire decad of Periya Thirumozhi
(10.2 ) deals with Chakravarthi Thirumahan.
the pasuram 10.2.10 is an excellent summary of 
Thirumangai"s Rama Bhakthi (Pala Sruthi Pasuram ).
7. Nammazhwaar"s Thiruvaimozhi:4.2.8
The mother of Parankusa Nayaki refers  to 
her daughter"sdevotion to Sri Rama.
8.The famous verse "Karpaar Ramapiranai
Allal-- " is a must to include.
Thiruvaimozhi 7.5.1 Uttara Khandam
incidents are celebrated here.
9.AandaaL's nacchiyaar Thirumozhi : 5.3
Kuil Pattu. AndaaL begs her Nightingale to 
sing for the arrival of Veeraraghavan.
10. Thiruvallikeni Pasuram of Thirumangai:
2.3.8 .Here Thirumangai Sees Ramachandra 
in Thiruvallikeni. 
11. Alternatively, You can 
consider the SaaLagramam Pasurum1.5.1
Aranya, Kishkinda, Yuddha Khandam covered here
in this verse .
Thus a choice can be made of 10 from the above list
 to celebrate Sri Ramachandra and Seetha Piratti. 

Regarding the second Question on Paryangasanam
and request for getting up from Yoga Nidra , I would 
suggest Nammazhwaar"s
Thiruppulingudi pasurams.Here
Azhwaar begs the Lord in Yoga Nidra to
wake up and asks Him to cast His
lotus eyes on him, the ancient servant of His.
The verse is 9.2.1
He appeals in the same vein in additional pasurams of 
this decad.
On Sri Srinivasan"s request , I will send a separate  mail.
Sri Ramachandra Parabrahmaneh Nama:

Oppiliappan koil Varadachari sadagopan