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Musings on Raghuveera Gadhyam-- Part 7(Bala Khaandam)

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • September 30, 1996 


GS  9 : RANNADWARA DHURYA  BHAVYA
DIVYAASTHRA BRUNDHA VANDITHA !

Hail to Thee ! O Raghuveera saluted by the assembly of
sacred and mighty arrows waiting humbly for your command to
invoke them in the yaga known as the battle .

Here the  allusion is to the gift of sacred and powerful 
arrows/missiles  by  sage Viswamitra to Sri Ramachandra 
at the conclusion of the destruction of ogress Tataka by
him . Impressed by the valour of Rama and pleased with 
the destruction of the evil Tatakaa ,  the gratified  Sage 
imparted to Sri Rama the secret knowledge about the 
use of never failing celestial missiles to destroy one's enemies
in the battle fields . The sage also  taught  Sri Rama about the  recall of
these missles once invoked and set in motion against a target ( Bala 
KhAndam --sargas 27&28 ). 

As the Sage recited  the  mantras for the missiles , all of them
appeared before Sri Rama in their shining ethereal forms and 
saluted him humbly  and offered their services . Sri Rama thanked them 
and commanded them to appear in his mind at the time of emergency
to render assistance. SWami Desikan refers to this incident here .

GS 10 : PRANATHA JANA VIMATHA VIMATHANA
DHURLALITHA DHORLALITHA ! JAYA  JAYA ! 

Hail to Theee , O Raghuveera shining with  the fearsome 
shoulders  that engage in the destruction of the enemies 
of those , who seek  refuge at your feet  ! 

Swami pays tribute to the powerful and mighty shoulders
of the Lord engaged in the battle with the enemies of those,
who sought his protection . Swami points out that 
 those shoulders of the Raghuveeran are 
unsurpassable in their beauty and majesty. 

GS 11: THANUTARA VISIKHA VITHAATANA  VIGATITHA
VISARAARU SARAARU TATAKAA TAATAKEYA ! JAYA JAYA !

Hail to Thee ,  O Valorous one who used tiny arrows to
destroy Tatakaa and humiliate her  sons not tormented until
then by anyone .

Here , Swami refers to the killing of Tataka at the command
of Sage Viswamitra and the controlling of the arrogant sons
of hers (Maaricha and Subaahu) and making them powerless 
to interfere with the Yajna of Sage Viswamitra at Siddhaasramam .

GS 12 : JATAKIRANA SAKALADHARA JATILA NATAPATHI 
MAKUTA THATA NATANAPATU VIBHUDASARITH ATHIBHAULA 
MADHUKALANA  LALILATHAPADHA  NALINARAJA UPAMRUDHITHA 
NIJAVRUJINA  JAHADHUPAALA TANURUCHIRA PARAMAMUNI 
VARA YUVATHI NUTHA ! JAYA ! JAYA !

This Gadhya salutation is one of the two long passages in 
Bala Khandam providing  an excellent example of 
the figure of speech known as onomotopoeia , 
where the rhetorical effect resulting from  reciting merges 
with the meaning intended . Words flow from the tongue and mind of 
Swami Desikan as a result of the blessings of Lord Hayagriva ,
his Upasana Murthy . The other  passage of Bala Khandam resonant with
musical sounds is the twentieth Gadhya salutation dealing with
Parasurama Garva Bhangam .

In the twelfth salutation , Swami Desikan visulaizes the 
Lord of Dance, Siva and the dancing waves of fast flowing Ganga
on His matted Jatai ,which is also the home of the crescent moon .
That small piece of moon is known for its cool rays (JATA KIRANA ).
and Siva  is the  SAKALA DHARAN (  wearer of the crescent moon )
on His JATILA  (Matted tresses -Jataa Mudi ) . He is indeed the Lord 
of Dance ( NATA PATHI -Nataraajaa ) . What do we see inside the 
Jataa( MAKUTA THATA )  of this NATAPATHI ?  Swami Desikan
visualizes the VIBHUTHA SARITH ( the celestial Deva Ganga ) there.
What is Her name for Fame ? She carries the sacred dust of the 
Makarantha(pollens)  of the  lotus feet (Charanaaravindham )
of Sriman Narayana and she becomes thus holiest of holy rivers 
as a result of that blessing . The reference here 
is to her origin as a result of Brahma's washing the feet of Trivikrama
with his Kamandalu water at the time of those lotus feet reaching 
Satya Lokam . She removes all the sins of mortals and Devas , who
bathe in her waters . The Lord's Paadha ThuLi is the root cause of her 
sacredness . 

Now , Swami connects the holiness and redeeming quality of 
the Makarandha dust particle originating from the Lord's 
Paadhaambhujam . That speck of dust fell on the stone by
the side of the road , which was Ahalya, the wife of Sage Gowthamaa .
She had been cursed by her husband for her infidelity and 
was condemned to stay as a stone until the dust from 
Sri Rama's feet came in contact with her stone form. 
That holy association with the sacred dust associated with Sri Rama's
feet  transformed her back (JAHAT UPALA TANU )
to her beautiful form (RUCHIRA TANU ) as the beloved
wife of the celebrated sage ( PARAMA MUNI VARA YUVATHI ) . 
Ahalya offered her salutations(YUVATHI NUTA ) to Sarveswaran
standing infront of her as a young prince 
for restoring her  form to that of a  beautiful woman . 
Ahalya Saapa Vimochanam is thus the subject of
this salutation . Srimad Valmiki Ramayanam 
describes that Ahalya was  cursed to be invisible 
due to her misconduct . other sources refer to her 
form as  astone due to the curse.