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Raghuveera Gadhyam: KishkindhA khAndam-Part 1

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • November 18, 1996 


DhyAnam:

prAthar bhajAmi RaghunAtha KarAravindham
rakshogaNAya bhayadham varadhanm nijebhya: I
yadh rAjasamsadhi vibhidhya mahesachaapam 
SitA karagrahaNa mangaLamApa sadhya : II

Sri Ramachandra and his brother LakshmaNA left
Sabari's asramam and continued their journey in the 
direction suggested by KabhandhA along the banks of 
PampA lake.The monkey king SugrivA was living on 
the summit of a nearby peak named Rishyamukha 
parvatham with his  ministers . He  was hiding from 
his brother VAli . SugrivA caught sight of the two princes
in the dresses of hermits and got  suspicious . He got 
alarmed over the thought that they might have been agents of 
his brother Vali sent to catch him. His minister HanumAn 
reasoned  with SugrivA and  assured latter that the princes 
could not be the agents of VAli . SugrivA then asked HanumAn 
to meet the two travellers to find out the purpose of their 
visit . 

HanumAn took the disguise of a mendicant and approached 
the brothers. He bowed before them and inquired about them 
and the purpose of their journey to that forest  area. HanumAn
appraised them of SugrivA's plight and advised them that his
master sought the good will of the two princes. Sri Rama was 
very pleased with the diplomatic skills and the speech of HanumAn
proficient  in Vedic diction and spotless Grammar ( VyAkaraNam ).
This is where the first salutation of KishkindhA Khaandham 
of Swami Desikan's Raghu Veera gets its inspiration . 

GS 42 : prabhanjana  tanaya bhAvuka bhAshitha ranjitha hrudhya !
              Jaya ! Jaya ! 

O Lord whose heart was filled with joy over the auspicious 
and adroit conversation of HanumAn , the son of Vaayu 
( prabhanjana) ! Hail to Thee ! Hail to Thee ! 

The conversation of HanumAn was rich in Vedic vocabulary 
and correct in grammar . Sri Rama was very much taken up
by the scholarship and conversational skills of HanumAn that 
soothed and charmed his heart. He praised HanumAn's skills 
as a diplomat and scholar this way :

" O LakshmaNA ! It is only those who have studied Rg Veda with an 
understanding of the meaning of its  Rks as well as Yajur and Sama
Veda can speak like this. HnaumAn has surely studied further the 
entire range of Sanskrit grammar in many ways as indicated by his 
faultless speech . His facial expressions and body movements 
during his conversation are exemplary in that there is nothing 
dissonant or out of place. He utters a remarkably meningful ,
fluent and delightful speech that is pleasing to the mind. He is
indeed a worthy emissary of his king ". 

Rama's words of praise are : 

noonam vyAkaraNam kruthsnam anena bahudhA sruthamI
urastham kantakam vAkyam varthatE madhyama svaram I
ucchArayathi kalyANeem vaacham hrudhaya harshiNIm I

Swami Desikan has these passages of praise by Rama in mind ,
when he  saluted Raghuveeran through his first namaskaraNam
in the KishkindA khAnda section . 

Hanuman is revered as Nava Vyakarana Pandithan.He had 
learned the different versions of grammar from the sun god
as a boy. His musical skills as a VeeNa player arose from 
his adhyayanam of Sama Vedam.    

Saint Thyagaraja in his vasanthavArALi krithi on HanumAn 
named " pAhi Rama dhutha jagath prANa kumAra Maam ",
refers to Hanumaan"s Veda Saastra naipuNyam this way 
in one of the charaNams :

veda sAstra nipuNa varya ! vimala chittha sathatham 
karuNA rasa paripurNa ! kanchanAdhri sama deha! 
parama bhagavatha VarENya ! varadha ! ThyagarAja Nutha !

( O HanumAn ! You are well versed in Vedas and SaastrAs !
You are the best of beings ! Your mind is always pure. Your heart is 
full of compassion. Your body resembles the golden mount meru.
You are the foremost of Rama BhakthAs. You are a giver of 
boons . Please bless me ). 

Sri Mutthuswami Dikshithar's kruthi inviting HanumAn to 
appear in his DhyAnam is full of reference to the vaibhavam 
of HanumAn.This kruthi isset in ragam NAttA and starts majestically:
" PavanAthmaja aagaccha , paripurNa svaccha". In anupallavi ,
Dikshithar salutes HanumAn as " Nava VyAkaraNa nipuNa,
nava vidhAntha: karaNa ". In one of the charaNams , Dikshithar
pays tribute to HanumAn's skills in Kaavyam and NAtakam 
and Vedas this way : " kAvya nAtaka Tosha, Upanishad pada
ghosha , PavanAthmaja aagaccha ". 

Purandara Dasa has praised HanumAn's multifaceted talents
and heroic deeds in krithis set in ragAs nAgasvarALi , Riti GowlA,
sArangA , KalyANi and mohanam. For Purandara Dasa , HanumAn
was a very important deity , since he is considered as the Mukhya
prANan in MAdhva sampradhAyam. Dasar salutes HanumAn 
iin his riti gowlA krithi this way :

" mukhya prANa yenna moola guruvE
rakkasAmdhaka Sri Raamana nija daasa "

" mAyAvAdhigaLE ghetthithu koosu
madhva madavanu uttarisuthu koosu
summene Udipili nimthithu koosu
purandara vitalana puNyatha koosu
(Koosina kaNtirA , mukhya prANaana kanNtirA )
-- SarangA krithi.

Sri Hanumadh Sametha Ranmachandra ara BrahmaNE nama:

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan