Jnanadeva

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

Jnanadeva 

Jnana deva's father Vitoba took sanyas before he begot children and lied to his guru Ramananda who initiated him into sanyas. But when the guru came to know the fact that Vitoba was married and had left his wife to take sanyas leaving her desolate , he told him to go back.. Vitoba obeyed his guru and came back and led family life. Four children were born to Vitoba and his wife Rukmayi . all of whom came to be known as great devotees. MukthaBai a well known devotee was the sister of Jnanadev. 

The brahmins of Alandi , a village near Pune where  they  lived, ostracized Vitoba and his family because he returned from sanyasa nd became a householder. In the end Vitoba and his wife gave up their lives by entering the river as a prayschittha. Even then the Brahmins never relented and refused to perform sacred thread ceremony to Jnanadeva and said that they would not do it without aletter from the Brahmins of Paithan, another village far away from Pune, Jnana deva and his brothers went to Paithan and Jnandeva gave a discourse on advaita to them. They made fun of him and pointed out to a buffalo and told him that if the same self is within him all beings then that buffalo should be able to recite the Vedas. To the surprise of everyone the buffalo started chanting the veda and it is said that it never stopped afterwards!

 

The life of Jnandeva and his siblings is filled with miracles such as the one when on the occasion of the ceremony of their parents no one in the village would give them fire and Jnanadeva told his sister Mukthabai to cook on his back which was transformed into an oven. Jnana deva, also known as Jnanesvar wrote a commentary for Bhagavatgita in Marathi, which is called Jnanesvari and became a reputable work.

Jnanadeva says,

saguNa nirguNa dhonhi vilakshana brahma sanaathana vittalaHaa

pathitha paavana maanasa mohana brahma sanaathana vittalahaa

Dhyeya Dhyaathaa chittha niranjana brahma sanaathana vittalahaa

jnaanadevamhaNe aanandha chithghaNa brahma sanaathana vittalahaa

Vittala is that which appears with attributes and that without attributes, Vittala is that which is pure and that which enchants the heart, Vittal is the object of meditation as well as the one who meditates, He is the bliss absolute and the knowledge absolute.

Choka Mela & Bhakta Sena

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

In the land of abangs, the devotees of Panduranga are a legion. But in this series only the main ones especially the composers of abhang are included. The remaining few devotees of Panduranga are Choka Mela , Bhaktha Sena and Eknath. We shall look in to the life of these and the grace of Panduranga showered on them before ending the series with the life story of Samartha Ramadasa, a devotee of Lord Rama and the guru of Shivaji.

Choka Mela

Choka Mela was born as a harijan and a great devotee of Panduranga. He was not allowed inside the temple and used to stand outside pining for the darsan of the Lord.
 He visualized all the bhagavathas like Jnanadeva and others congregating there singing the praise of Panduranga. He sings,
Vittala vittala gajareem avaDhee dhrumadhrumalee pandaree
Everywhere the chant of 'vittal vittala.' All over Pandaripur the sound of music.
Hotho naamaachaa gajara dhindyaa pathaa kaanchaa bhaara
Nama sankeerthan by various groups of people bearing the flag of devotion on their shoulders.
Nivrtthi jnaanadheva sOpaana apaara vaishnava the jaaNa
All the unparalleled vaishnavas such as Nivrtthi natha, Jnanadeva and Sopana deva,
Harikeerthanaachee dhaaTee the the chOkaa galle meetee
were jumping with joy singing harinama and embracing each other with love.
One day some brahmins saw him and censured him for standing at the temple entrance wishing to see the Lord inside. They said , "if the Lord wants to give you darsan He would have shown Himself to you privately. Just as a dog cannot enter into the kitchen you cannot enter into the temple. You should not have come to the temple in the first place."
Choka said to them,
As the Sun give light to all and makes all the lotuses blossom. Like wise the Lord is everywhere in all  hearts irrespective of caste, creed and learning.  Can you say that He is not in me and that He is only inside the temple. As far as the devotion is concerned the Lord is the same for all. Oh Lord You give me your darsan if and when You will it."
Saying thus he went home. The Lord could not bear to see His devotee going away with sorrow. He went to the house of Choka after the temple was closed and stood in front of him. Choka was overjoyed and prostrated in front of the Lord but he said that eh wanted to see Him inside the temple. Then Panduranga led him by hand and took him inside the temple and was talking to him inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The Brahmins who came to the temple  next morning lisened to the conversation and recognized the voice of Choka and were furious thinking that  somehow he has entered the temple  and gained entrance inside. They asked him how did he enter inside and he said that the Lord took him inside . they could neither believe  nor disbelieve it. But they told him to leave Pandaripur so that this would not happen again and he went to the other side of Chandrbhaga river and lived in a hut there.
But even if the devotee leaves him the Lord would not allow him to do so.Pandurang awent to his hut oneday and asked Choka to give him food. Choka was feeding the Lord under a tree outside his hut and his wife, while  bringing the curd tripped and some drops fell on the pithambar of the Lord. Choka Mela scolded her saying that when the Lord himself has come to their house to eat how could she be careless and spill the curd on His pithambar. At that time a Brahmin priest who was evil minded passed that way and heard these words, and getting angry at what he thought was the audacity of Choka he slapped him on his cheek since he could not see the Lord sitting there. When he went to the temple and stood near Panduranga he was shocked.
Every one shouted ," Look there are curd drops on the peethambar of the Lord and one of his cheeks is swelled up. " The priest alone understood what happened. The Lord has taken the slap on Himself to show His love to His devotee.
( Oh Lord ! how can we ever understand the extent of your love to us ! I could not help crying while writing these lines)
The priest ran to the hut of Choka  and said,
"Oh great soul! The Lord has taken the slap on His cheek and it is swelled up . Only you can cure it " saying this, he dragged Choka to the temple. Choka Mela saw that the Peethambar of the Lord was speckled with curd drops and His cheek swelled up. Shedding profuse tears he went near the Lord and embraced Him. He touched the cheek of the Lord and the swelling disappeared. Then only everyone realized the greatness of bhakthi of ChokaMela.
On seeing the great wonder that was Panduranga without any restriction anymore Choka sang
dhekilaa dhekilaa yogeeyaanchaa raavO
rakhmaa dheveeSaa hO pandareeSaa
I have seen the king of the yogis, the lord of Rukmini, the Lord ofPandari.
gaayee gopaala vathsE vaiNavaanchaameLa
naachathee gopaalavittala chandhE
I have seen the cows and calves,  the bhagavathas and the gopas all dancing in the thought of Gopala Vittala.
chokaamELaa dhedhem vandhithO charaNa
gaalee lotaangaNa mahaadhvaareem
I , Choka mELa also fell at the door of the temple and  worshipped His feet.

Bhaktha Sena
Bhaktha Sena
Sena was a barber and he was a great devotee of Panduranga and used spend most of his time in meditating and worshipping the Lord. The king of that region was a muslim and he sent his servants to call Sena to attend on him as his barber. When they came Sena was not at all awre ogfthem and was immersed in the meditation of the Lord. His family members  were afraid that the king may get angry if Sena did not go to him and knowing that he could not be disturbed at that time told the servants that he was not at home. The servants of the King went away and told the king so. But a man who was jealous of Sena knowing that he was inside the house went and told the king the truth and the king ordered that Sena should be flung in to the sea with hands and legs tied.
Will Panduraga allow His devotees to come to harm? He took the form of Sena and went to the king saying that he had come to attend on him. Can there be any limit to the love the Lord has for His devotees for whom He would not hesitate even to do the job of a barber? The moment He went near , the king felt an indescribable joy and experienced an ecstasy  while he was having haircut and shave. . There was  a pot of oil and the pseudo barber applied it on the head of the  king which removed all his impurities of the mind and the king became peaceful and loving. When he looked into the pot of oil what did he see?
The king saw a beautiful form with crown and kundala  with a face the beauty of which  was unimaginable. He suddenly was seized with  extreme love to the barber which he could not understand. Who can help loving the Lord ?
The king gave him a lot of gold coins told him to wait till he finished his bath because he wanted to enjoy his company for long. But the Lord after putting the coins in the bag of Sena disappeared.
Sena on knowing that the servants of the king came and went away became afraid of punishment. But he put the whole burden on the Lord and thought that whatever is His will let that happen.  Then he went to see the king expecting the worst punishment. But he was in for a surprise. The king came back from his bath and expressed a great joy in seeing Sena and asked him to show the beautiful form which he showed earlier. Sena could not understand. He said,
"Forgive me master , I was engrossed in my worship and was not aware of my surroundings and  could not come when you called ."
 The king said, "Are you mad?  You just came with your bag and attended on me and when you applied oil to my head I saw a beautiful form in the oil vessel. I want to see it again." Then he made the vessl of oil to be brought and asked Sena to show him the form . But there was nothing to be seen. Then Sena asked the king to describe the form. The king said,
"It ahd four arms, a crown on his head, and ear drops  and many ornaments. He wa shaving a disc and a conch on his arms.  His eyes werelarge like lotuses and his face was with a beautiful smile."
Sena could not control his tears and weeping he fell at the feet of the king, who was baffled. The he said, Oh King you are blessed you have seen Panduranga Himself ."
Then Sena cried,
"Oh Lord is there no end to your love? Should you take the form of a barber and cut the hair and shave the king irrespective of the fact that he was of muslim faith and not your devotee? All that in order to protect this worthless servant of yours?"
Sena says,
rakhmaadhevee vara angeekaara kelaa
nivaantha raahilaa senaa naahvee
I understood that I acquired merit because the lord of Rukhmani has accepted me as His devotee and hence I am bold enough to sing on Him.
Then  Sena took his bag and found that it was heavy with gold coins which was the reward to Panduranga for having done the job of a barber! Sena saying that it belonged to the Lord only he spent it on His devotees.
Sena sings,
udhaara thumhee santha maaya baapa krpaavantha
Your devotees Oh Lord are generous and care for us like parents
kevdaa kelaa upakaara  kaaya vaanoomee paamara
How can I describe the good things they have done to me, being a common man.
jadajeevaa uddhaarakelaa maarga dhaaveelaa supantha
They have show me, who was inert like a stone, the right path
senaamhaNE udharaayee hothaa kaamheedhisenaa
I cannot think as to how I can repay their kindness.

Darubhootho Murari

Courtesy: Siva Subramanian Perinkulam

 

 

"A cool breeze is coming, creeping near,
I've realized it's that time of year.

The trees turn a beautiful red, yellow, orange, and brown,
As little leaves fall to the ground.

I stare at the orange sky,
Watching the pinkish clouds float by.

I feel the ever-changing fall breeze,
And the pumpkin pies that bring me to my knees.

But, I gaze out my window before I go to bed,
Watching the majestic, fall sunset"

 

 

 I  too love the fall, the season  between the summer and the winter,  in U.S.A.  The  green leaves of the maple, pine and other trees,slowly turn to yellow ,red, purple and similar other colours and it is a pleasure to watch them in rows, on both  sides of the roads as well as in gardens, forests, lakes  and other places.
It looks, as if the Nature is honouring them with garlands of different colours, for the joy and happiness they spread all around and  as a departing gesture from the bees, birds and butter flies. 
Then, one after the other,the leaves , slowly and steadily fall under it's feet and the mother earth embraces them; they again become a part of her.
The tree,  having lost all its children,stands barren and bereaved,with no birds chirping around or  bees humming ;  the benevolent sky hugs  and embraces it  with snow and sprinkles chilled water into each and every cell of it, making it fit to receive the life-promoting rays of the sun from a far far heaven. The tree wakes up from the meditation, with a new life, developed in the form of leaves all over it's body. Then it is celebration again, of a new life of vibration, growth and vitality, the wind and birds and insects sharing the joy.

Visualising the above seen in my mind's eye,I was sitting in my garden, fully absorbed of the thought  that why we, the human beings are deprived of such a painless casting away of bodies, as the trees do and why she should we die being brutally killed by a bus or a bomb or tortured in the hospital.If one goes by
' vasamsi geernani------', death should be as painless as removing a soiled shirt and wearing a fresh one. But, often it is not so.

Seeing me sitting motionless, Vishnu Namboodiri, who  just entered the house, with a prasadam packet in his hand, remarked' Darubhootho Murari", went inside and kept the packet in my pooja room. For me, there is no fixed time for bathing or eating or sleeping  and  Vishnu knows that I do bath atleast once a day. So,as a matter of routine, while returning from the temple. he brings prasadam everyday and leaves in my pooja room.
I stopped Vishnu while returning  and asked him to explain the remarks he made, while entering. He sat on the lawn ,near me, removed his betel leaf casket, as usual, and narrated the following story:

 Lost in deep thoughts, the student Murari was not attentive in the class one day, and when he failed to answer a question from his teacher, the other students made fun of him with  a remark, ' darubootho Murari"- Murari has become a  tree ( as motionless as the trunk of a tree).
Immediately, he got up, composed and spontaneoulsy recited the following sloka:
                
'Aeka bharya prakrithi- rachala, chanchalcha dwideeya,
Puthro- ananga, thribhuvna jayee, chandrasooryowcha nethram,
Bhoghee sayya, bhavanmudahi, vahanam pannagari,
Smaram,smaram swajnakalham, darubhootho Murari"

" His one wife (Bhoomi), does't move at all, whereas, the other( Lakshmi), is always on the move.;(despite having lost his physical body),the son(Kama) ,conquers the three worlds; sun and moon (with exactly opposite characters ) form  His eys;Vahanam is garuda and  his opponet (Serpent) is the bed;house is (the noisy and turbulent) sea. Thinking about his family quarell,Murari  became a tree."

Later, popularly known as  Murarikavi, he became a great poet and his 'Sreekrishna karnamritham' is considered to excel Kalidasa krithies, in sheer poetic beauty. 

 

I have no such problems, as the Lord has, but I have seen or heard about several men and women who had become "darus" or even stones, due to worries.The foremost, among them are  Ahalya and Appukuttan, the former, wife of Gowthamamaharshi and the second person my neighbour, who got married recently.
"Why, everyone with some attachment to this country, is becoming 'daru' everyday", said Vishnu," watching the way the politicians are leading it to doom".

"Forget about the politicians and politics. We only talk and not even vote. Come back to today's topic", I continued," Ahalya had become a 'daru' much before her husband cursed her and converted  her lovely body  into  a hard stone.She simply could not believe that  the mighty king of devas could stoop to such a low level and steal the honour of  a rishi's wife;,It was nothing less than 'chappatharam' in Pattar's language'"
'What I don't understand is he could  have ordered the agny to burn her or vayu to lift her up physically or yama  simply,"katham karo' , converted  her into another Ramba or Urvashi and enjoyed her dancing," said Vishnu,"and I am surprised that our  vedarishies, gave a predominant place to Inda, above Vishnu, and worshipped him'
'"There is some gulumal there , Namboori," I said," after all, these stories were  not written by a single person, there were several authors spread over several centuries.We don't know which are the original and which the interpolation"

'Like Balivadam?"

"Yes, like Balivadam.I cannot believe Rama prompted the two monkey brothers to fight and killed one of them,hiding behind a tree.He would have said, Seetha or no Seetha but I will never do such a crime .Later, he could have killed the disarmed Ravana, with a single arrow, but he asked his enemy to go back home and come better prepared, the next day.

. "But I can assure you onething: If I get an opportunity to meet that devathipathy, which I am sure is remote, I am not going to spare him, for  commiting such a heinous crime."

 And you will  spare Ahalya's husband?"

'These rishies. who were not in a postion to control their ego and anger, even after performing thapas for several years, are not worth to be called rishies..  You and I are   much better than them . But,  if the story of Indra's commital of the crime is true, then Ahalya would have, on her own, undertaken the penance in the from of a stone, for self purification. Because, hundred gowthama's would be  capable of cursing such a virtuous woman. Afterall, she tops the list of panchakanyas.

 

' If I get an opportunity I myself, would like to become a stone, facing the tortures of the wind and sun and rains, pray for ages and ages and wait for the day when the lotus feet of my Lord will touch my head. What a waiting it was, Vishnu ? Don't you worship Indra just for giving Ahalya that opportunity? otherwise, she would have just passed away, into past,  like any other sannyasini"
'And also for giving an opportunity for Thunchathacharya to make that beautiful garland  of ' Ahalyasthuthy".
.
"O.k. What about your neighbour Appukuttan?," asked Vishu.

'That is a more interesting story", I said. " though he was after a pig tailed, brown eyed beauty, bowing to the wishes of his parents, Appu married Amala, selected by his parents, at the age of 35. I accompanied him to see the girl along with his parents and two  unmarried sisters.Appu's mother Pattumami, praised the beauty of Amla, mentioned that she was distantly related to her and as a kid, had   played with her son, who was 12 years elder. She would not take a  pie as dowry, though  would not reject if her father  gives a  house or a car or whatever he wants to, for  her daughter's comforts and happiness. Amla was  no doubt a beautiful girl, but," she would look more beautiful if the line seperating her dark hairs was shifted slightly towards left  from it's present middle position", suggested mami.  Appukuttan and Amala got married and Amala's father gave much more than what Appu's mother expected as dowry. As suggested by Pattumami, Amla  changed her hair style, from 'nermakidu' to konamakidu'., before entering her in-laws' house.

For the first few weeks, Pattumami treated her newly arrived daughter-in-law kindly but when she found that Appu was leaning more towards his wife, she was afraid that she might lose him permanently in which case, her two daughters will remain unmarried. Under no circumstances, would she allow him to go out of her control, mami decided and started finding fault with Amla, starting slowly with minor complaints such as  coffee was not tasty, the sugar dabba was displaced to the second shelf of the cupboard from the first, and Amala was not calling her ' mother' etc.
"You want me to lie at her face?", Amala asked Appu, when he questioned her about the last complaint 'She is not my mother. right?"
.
Inspite of the fact that Amla is a working girl and returns from the office late sometime, neither mami nor her daughters would extend a helping hand to her in maitaining the kitchen or other  household activities.On the otherhand, she evolved so many  methods to impress on her son that his wife was good for nothing and the entire household activites were carried out by mami and her daughters. Following the behaviour of animals in herd- attacking their prey, they moved cautiously and communicating through eyesignals,surrounded Amala and pounced on her at every opportunity.
Amla tolerated all these and in fact ignored her in laws; but when oneday, Pattumami remarked that ' Kona makudu vandhu kudumbham kuttichorachu", Amla told her,' Look, I changed my hair style only on your suggestion and I am not going to change it again to satisfy you. I have however, one solution for this."

. Without waiting for the response, she walked into the beauty parlour next door, got her hair shortened in such a way that there was no scope to turn the hairs one way or the other.
 Hearing the shouts and counter shouts from his house, consequent to the above action,
Appu became a 'daru'.

I am sure that you would have come across several such instances and in future, if you happen to see such 'darus' or you, yourself become a daru, remember what Murari did. Immediately after 'daru bhutho murari",  he sang 'Santhakaram, bhujagasayanam---", that famous dyanslokam of Bhishmapitamaha.
Inspite of  all  his  family problems, If Vishnu could  maintain his  "santhakaram"  and continue to  sleep on the serpent bed, why not we ?

 ." I am  definitely,not capable of doing it ,"  said  Vishu," of course, that is why He is Mahavishnu and  I ,  just, Vishnu"

Namboodiri picked up his  silver betal  leaf box and  moved out.

Bhakta Janabai

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

Bhaktha Janabai

Jana bai came to Pandaripur with her parents when she was a small girl and seeing panduranga she lost her heart to Him and wished to stay in Pandaripur, She describes Him thus:
Paaya jOdooni vitEvaree
Karatevunee kataavaree
Vittala is standing on the brick with hands on his hips
Roopasaam vale sundhara
Kaanee kundalE makraakaara
How beautiful He is with the fish shaped ear drops
gaLaamaala vyjayanthee
pude gOpaala naachadhee
With vyajyanthee maalaa on His chest and the gopas are dancing in the yard.
garuda sanmukha upaa
mhaNe janee Dhanya Sobhaa
I see Garuda standing with folded hands and it was sheer bliss.
She was so enchanted with Panduranga that she started expressing her joy thus.
Vaikuntee chaa hari thanhaa yaSOdhechyaa gareem
He is the Supreme Lord in vaikunta, in the house of yasodha He is a little boy.
raangathase haa angaNee maathaa jaavaLaachee vENee
He crawls as a little boy in the yard and there is a small plait on His head
Paayeem painjana aaNeevaaLe haadheem navaneethaachE goLE
There is ankle bells on His little feet  and a ball of butter on His little hand.
Dhanya yasOdhaa maaya dhaasee janee vandhee paaya
What penance did Yasodha do , I Janaa worship her feet.
When it was time for her parents to return to their village, Janaa refused to go and wanted to stay in Pandariput itself. No amount of coaxing or scolding could move her.
Namadeva came that way and saw her and asked her why she was argi uing with her parents and crying. Janaa said ,
"My name is Janaa. My parents are here only, Panduranga and Rukmayee. I do not want to leave Pandaripur. " Namdeva told her parents that he will take her to his house and she could help him in the worship of Panduranga and Janaa gleefully went with him.
The other devotees asked Namdeva about the girl. He said that she was the hunchback in Mathura whom Krishna transformed into a beautiful girl. She was born again as Janaa to unite with the Lord in this janma.kl
Janaa was always singing the name of Panduranga.  There was an incident which shows the depth of her bhakthi. She used to prepare cowdung cakes for fuel . Once her neighbor stole some of hers and Janaa found that a few were missing. She accused the neighbor of stealing her cowdung cakes and that lady denied it saying that they were hers. Then Janaa said,
"I can prove that the ones you have are mine. " The lady laughed and said ,
"Is there your name on it?"  Janaa said " No not my name but the name of Vittala. If you put it near your ear you can hear the name of Vittala because when I made them I was chanting His name ."
The lady did not believe this and took one and brought it near her ear. Wonder of wonders! There was a clear chanting of the name of Vittala coming from that . Then she apologized and gave them back after prostrating in front of Janaa.
The story goes that Panduranga used to go to namdeva's house and help Janaa bhai in her chores and also He wrote the songs she composed on Him.
She sang,
thujee naahee kElee sEvaa
dhuhkhavaatE maajE jeevaa
My heart pains when not doing your service.
nashtapaapiNa mee heena
naahee kElE thujE dhayaaLa
You showed mercy on me who sinned in not contemplating on you.
jE jE dhuhkha jaahlE malaa
thE thvaam sO silE vittalaa
You took over my  problems and showered your grace on me.
kshmaakaree dhevaraayaa
dhaasee janee laagE paayaa
I bow down to you forgive all my faults. 

Janaa bai enjoyed the presence of Vittala in Namadeva's house where all the devotees used to assemble. She describes the bhaktah vaathsalya of the Lord thus:
naamadheva keerthan karee premabhare naache paanduranga
Namadeva sang and Panduranga danced with love.
Janaabhaayee  mhaNe dhevaa bOloom abhang
Janabhai said , "Oh Lord will you not sing abhang?"
abhang bolathaam keerthaneem ranga votavaLaa
The song escalated and Rangan danced enchanted
Premaachiyaa chandhEm dheva naachoom laagalaa
He danced wheeling around filled with love
naachathaam dOlathaam dhevaachaa galalaa peethaambar
When he danced round and round His peethambar was slipping.
saavatha hoyee dhevaa aisE bOlE kabeer
Kabeer said " Be at peace, oh Lord" and the Lord acceded.
Ekachi gardhee jaalee chandhrabhaagE vaaLuvantee
maajaa naamadheva maajaa jnaana dheva
All devotees saw this and were overjoyed and Namadeva and Jnanadeva too.
Naamayaachee janee lOLE santhaachE paayeem
janmamaraNa paasuni muktha karee kE vitaabhaayee
Jana also rolled over the dust of the feet of the devotees, crying "Rangaa will you not remove my rebirth and give me mukthi.

Rukmini

Courtesy: Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

 

Bheeshmaka ,the king of Vidharbha thought she was his daughter and his son Rukmi considered her as his sister out of delusion because she is the divine consort of the Lord, the mother of all beings, including Brahma, and birth-less.
Almost the whole chapter has been dedicated to the description of Rukmini, since to Desika, a paramavaishnava, thayar, the divine mother, is more praiseworthy than even the Lord Himself, she being the personification of His mercy.

All the virtues found an ideal abode in her where they will be uncontaminated by faults and her form looked like the combination of the rays of the sun and the moon or of gold and gems, because her lustre was like a lightning.

She grew up more and more beautiful as though wishing to delight Krishna for whom she has taken birth. Her playful activities were non-cognisable except by the subtlest intellects, says Desika, 'adhrsyabhEdhaih athisookshmabhAvAth jajnE jaganmangalathAm dhaDHAnaih.' and they were conferring blessings on the whole world. The celestial damsels showered flowers on her and thus her desire of playing in the dust, as is usual for children, was fulfilled by the pollen of the flowers which fell on her. Desika says that being apAmsula, clean and pure, her wish to play in dust,pAmsu vihAra vAncchA, is satisfied only in this manner.

Rukmini attained her youth which was like the moon free from the clouds, the natural intellect combined with scriptural knowledge and the unerring and fruitful justice. 'niSena chandhrENa ghanavyapAyE,naisargikee buddhiriva SruthEna;phalena sa neethiriva apramAdhA yukthA babhou noothana youvanEna.' She seemed to be a golden lotus that manifested at the time of the appearance of Lakshmi from the milky ocean.

Desika, not satisfied by the objects of comparison for her beauty finds comfort in the thought that comparing something which is inferior only extols the glory of the thing compared. Appayya dikshitha commenting on the line says,
Just as the Brahman is compared with Akasa as in the text 'He is eternal and all pervading like the Akasa,' when there is nothing equal to the subject , even comparing with an inferior object is a merit as it denoted the incomparable nature of the subject.
But Desika continues to describe Rukimini kesadhipadhantham as Narayana bhattadhri described the form of Narasimha, after saying that it defies description, in his Narayaneeyam.

She reached the marriageable age and her mind has gone to Krishna already. When her friends asked her about the bridegroom she had in her mind she bent her head with shyness as though by looking at herself she indicated that the one in her heart is her counterpart.'asoochayan noonam anEna thasyAH svalakshaNam Sourim ananya lakshyam.'
Desika differs from the account of Srimadbhagavatham where it is mentioned that Rukmini sent a letter to Krishna, in the the famous passage, 'SruthvA guNAn bhuvanasundhara,' etc. in as much as he never refers to it at all. His idea may be that as soon as the devotee thinks of the Lord earnestly He makes His appearance Himself because residing in the heart as the real self He need not be told about the wishes of the devotees

According to Srimadbhagavtham,
Rukmini heard about Krishna from travellers and wanted to marry him. But Rukmi , her brother,planned to get her married to Sisupala, the king of Chedhi and cousin of Krishna. Knowing that Rukmini sent an old Brahmin to Dvraka with a message.

Sruthvaa guNaan bhuvansundhara SrNvathaam the
nirdhiSya karNavivaraiH haratho angathaapam
roopam dhrSaam dhrssimathaam akhilaarTha laabham
thvayyachyutha visathi chittham apathrapam me

Oh Achutha, my mind, without trepidation, goes to you, who removes the suffering by entering the heart of those who hear about your merits and whose form seen, gives all benefits to those with eyes.

kaa thvaa mukundha mahathee kulaSeela roopa
vidhyaa vayo dhraviNa DhaamabhiH aathmathulyam
Dheearaa pathim kulavathee na vrNeetha kanyaa
Kale nrsimha naralokamanobhiraamam
Mukundha, the lion among men, which damsel, who is virtuous, meritorious and beautiful, born in good clan, and wise , will not choose you as her husband , who is suitable to her with appearance , learning, youthfulness, prosperity and glorious?

thanme bhavaan khalu vrthaH pathirangajaayaam
aathmaarpithaScha bhavatho athravibho viDhehi
maaveerabhaagam abhimarsathuchaidhya aaraath
gomaayuvath mrgapather balim ambujaaksha

You have been chosen by me as my husband , oh lotus eyed one, and I have offerd myself to you.Therefore Oh dear Lord, accept me as your wife by coming here. Let not Sisupala touch me like the jackal taking what is due to the lion.

She said that her marriage with Sisupala is fixed on the next day and Krishna should come and take her away and marry her according to rakshasa tradition. She also suggested a way by which Krishna can do this without fighting with her relatives. She said that the bride would go to the temple of Gouri the previous day and Krishna should come there and take her away. She ended the message with a warning.

Yasyaanghripankaja rajah snapanam mahaanthaH
vaanChanthi umaapathiriva aathmathamopahatthyai
yarhi ambujaaksha na labheya bhavath prasaadham
jahyaami asoon vrathakrSaan sathajanmabhiH syaath

Oh Lotus eyed one, if I do not abtain your grace the dust of the feet of whom even Siva and others wish to bathe in to wash off their thamas, I will give up my life which is already emaciated with vows so that I will get your grace after even 100 lives.

The words of Rukimini "Let not Sisupala touch me like the jackal taking what is due to the lion, " can be compared to the words of Andal who says, 'vanidai vazum avvanavarkku maraiyavar vELviyi lvaguttha vavai, kAnidai thirivadhOr nari pugundhu kadappadhum mOppadhum Seivadhoppa,'meaning that to give her in marriage to a human being is like the offering consecrated for the devas by the vedic scholars being smelled and carried away by a fox that roams in the forest.
Krishna smiled at this and said,

"Just as Rukminee could not sleep with her mind engrossed on me so too I could not sleep in the night thinking about her."

Rukmini was decorated for the marriage with Sisupala, which was agreed upon by her brother Rukmi, Rukmini was thinking only of Krishna and the other chaste ladies blessed her for the fulfilment of her desire even without knowing her heart. She was taken to the temple of Indra and she prayed to the goddess for the fulfilment of her desire
Her left thigh and left eye throbbed to indicate that Krishna has come and the air was full of the fragrance of Tulasi and she heard the sound of Panchajanya.
Rukmini came out of the temple and saw Krishna. Her glances, says Desika, were like the garlands she placed on him as in svayamvara. It was like one made of lotus, lily and indheevara, a flower coloured indigo, because her eyes resembled all the three. He looked as the personification of the rasas, sringara, veera and adhbutha, the sentiments of love, valour and wonder and at the same time he surpassed all these and shone as something different from all these because he excelled all the rasas.

The friends of Rukmini seeing the couple resembled the celestial damsels because they were looking without batting their eyelids. Krishna was the moon for the chakora birds, meaning her eyes, and she appeared as the dawn for the lotus of his eyes. Chakora is a mythological bird believed to survive by the light of the moon. The lotuses similarly blossom at the arrival of dawn. Hence the comparison.

Krishna came near Rukmini and grasped her hand. Desika poetically describes that his hand looked like a bee desiring for the lotus of her face and her eyes became the bees for his lotus –face. Desika says that this incarnation of Rukmini excelled the others such as Sita in brilliance because she was going to give birth to the god of love himself as Pradhyumna.
The couple, who were bound to each other by their auspicious qualities, gave immense joy to the friends of Rukmini who thought that she was like a lioness being Haripriya, beloved to Lord Hari, (pun on the word hari which means both lion and Krishna) and hence unapproachable by the other kings who were like elephants in front of the lion, 'haripriyAm kesariNeem ivainAm dhurAsadhAm anyanrpadvipendhraih.
As Rama freed Sita from the rakshasas and took her in the pushpaka vimana Krishna carried Rukmini in his chariot in front of all the enemy kings. Desika describes Rukmini traveling with Krishna thus:

Just as the light of the Sun goes with him to the west Rukmini went towards the west to Dvaraka with Krishna who is the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance.
Srimadbhagavtham described the act thus.

Madhava, placing her on the chariot which was like Garuda , disregarding the assembly of kings, went along with Rama and others preceding him, like a lion carrying his prey from among the jackals.
Thus she seemed to proclaim her inseparable state with the Lord. Sita says in Sundarakanda 'ananyA rAghaveNAham bhAskareNa prabha yaThA,' I am inseparable from Rama as the light from the Sun. Lakshmi always accompanies the Lord as the Azvar puts it 'agalakillen enru iraiyum alarmEl mangai urai marbA.'

Sisupala to whom Rukmini was betrothed ran behind the lion of the yadhavas, carrying Rukmini like his lioness, hollering like a jackal and Rukmi, the brother of Rukmini pursued Krishna with the intention of avenging the insult to his friends. But Krishna vanquished him and carried Rukmini off to Dvaraka.

The next episode will depict Rukmini kalyanam as described by deiska in yadhvabhyudhayam .Srimadbhagavatham simply says that Krishna brought Rukmini to Dvaraka and married her and the whole Dvaraka was in festival mood and all celebrated the marriage joyfully, andthen goes on to describe the birth or Pradhyumna. It is left to Desika to describe the marriage and their entry into Dvaraka in full glory.
We shall also see briefly krishna's marriage with Sathyabhama , Jambavati and another five and that will be the end of this series. Desika's Gopaa visati will follow then.

Namdev-Part4

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

They had the darsan of Lord Siva who turned towards them thus, as if to show how much he enjoyed harinamasankeerthan.

 

Then jnanadeva sings,

Saara saara saara vitoba naama thuje saara

Vitoba , your name is the essence of all

mhaNonee SoolapaaNee japadhaahe vaaram vaara

Lord Sankara wearing the trident also chant your name only.

aadhi maDhya anthee nijabeeja Omkaara

It is the source of pranava , pervading the beginning , middle and the end.

Dhruva prahlaadha ambarudshee maanilaa nirdhaara

Your name was extolled by Dhruva,Prahlada,  Amabrisha and others.

Bhukthi mukthi sukhadhaayaka saachaara

It bestows enjoyment as well as the bliss of mukthi

Patheetha ajnaana jeevatharale apaara

It redeems ignorant who have fallen into samsara

dhiva se dhiva se vyrTha jaathaa samsaara

Why revolve around the worldly life in vain

baapa rakumaa dhevivaru vittlaachaa aaDhaara

When there is the supreme purusha Vittala the consort of Rakumayee.?

After this they returned to Pandaripur where there was a great gathering of all the saints like Ghora kumba, Janabhai, Mukthabai and others. Ghora invited them all to his house and they went.

Then the Lord decided to stage a leela to make Namadeva a polished diamond.  Ghora invited the devotees to his house and they all went there. Ghora honoured them and Jnanadeva asked Ghora whether there are any unbaked pots in his house. Ghora understood what he meant and took a stick with which he stirred the clay and tapped everyone on their heads. All kept quite but Namadeva alone protested, when Ghora said "This is the only unbaked pot." All laughed and when Namdeva was offended, Jnanadeva told him that a real enlightened one never cared for the body. Nama deva was hurt and returned to Pandaripur and complained to Panduranga .

He said,

"Oh Lord you have been making me feel all these days that I am dear to you and you would not part with me for anything etc. Was it all a lie? If it was true why did you allow me to be humiliated in presence of other devotees. Is this why you sent me with Jnanadeva?"

Panduranga said, " My dear, they were right. Your bhakthi is perfect and for that reason you are very dear to me. But you have not yet acquired enlightenment which comes only when you shed the attachment to your body and mind. That was why you opposed being tapped  by the rod. "

Namadeva said, " Then could you not grant me that enlightenment? "

The Lord said " No. you have to get it from a guru. Whom you are destined to meet in this life . I myself in my incarnations had to go to a guru without which one's learning does not become complete. You go to Mallikarjuna and seek Visobha who will lead you to enlightenment."

Namadeva went to Mallikarjuna and he saw Visobha there but he was shocked to see that Visobha was lying in the temple with his feet on the sivalinga. Namdeva thought , " How could Panduranga send me to this man who does not even seem to know that it is sacrilege to put one's feet on the image of the Lord?" Then he asked Visobha, " Sir  don't you see that you are doing something wrong by putting up your feet on the Linga"

Visobha replied, My son I am very old and weak. I do not have strength even to move my feet. Why don't you lift them and place them on the ground?" Namadeva tried to do that but found that wherever he moved the feet there appeared a sivalinga under them. Then the ego of Namadeva and he became enlightened to such an extent that when he went back to Pandaripur  he did not even go and visit Panduranga.

Panduranga was surprised at this . He talked to Namadeva  and said,

 " Have you forgotten me Namadeva or angry with me? You never came to see me afte r your return from mallikarjuna?"

Namadeva said, " NO my Lord how can I forget you when I am seeing you everywhere now and inside me also so that I feel Iam not different from you? I do not have to see you only in the temple  now. That is all." Panduranga laughed and said ,

"Now the pot is properly burnt."

Namadeva lived past 80 years of age and wrote more than 2000 abhangs. While his abhangs before this experience were full of yearning the later ones were expressing the inner bliss he enjoyed after his enlightenment

Namdev-Part3

courtesy: Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

 

Jnanadeva heard about Namadeva and came to Pandaripuram. Namadeva was elated to see Jnanadeva, who was also known as Jnanesvar and  wrote a commentary for Bhagavatgita in Marathi, which is called Jnanesvari and became a reputable work. He and his siblings,Nivrtthi deva, Sopana deva and Mukthaabai were all reputed devotees of Panduranga. Nama deva honoured him duly and gave him food . Then Janandeva told Namdeva that he came only to take Namdeva along with him for theertha yathra. Namadeva was shocked at the idea he had to leave Panduranga . He said,

"pandareechaavaasa chandhrabhaage snaana

aaNeeka dharsana vitobhaa che

Living in Pandaripur, to bathe in Chandrabaga river,and to have darsan of Vittala

he chi gado maja janmajanmaantharee

I wish to have this only in all the lives to come,

maagaNem sreehari naaheem thujhe

 the nama of Sree hari on my tongue,

mugeem naama sadhaa santhaanche dharsana

the joy of seeing saintly persons,

janee janaardhana aisaa bhaava

To see all as the Lord only,

naamaamaNe thujhe nithya mahaadhvaaree

to stand at thedoorof His temple

keerthana kajareem sapremaache

singing about Him with love."

Then jnanadeva said that he had not the heart to separate Namadeva from Panduranga but he very much wanted to enjoy the company of him and hence wished to teke him along.  He suggested that they can go to the temple and ask Panduranga' s permission. How much must have been the greatness of the devotees of Panduranga by which they were able to talk to Him in person!

Both went to the temple and jnanadeva expressed his wish to the Lord. Panduranga laughed and said,

 " It is strange that you who has a heart pure as a crystal feel some unrest and wish to go to Theertha yathra! This is like the Moon wishing to get coolness or the Sun wishing for heat!"

Jnanadeva replied,

"Oh Lord what you say may be true because you know me better than myself. But I have started feeling that bhakthi is much more powerful  than jnana to attain your lotus feet and want to share the joy of bhakthi which is in abundance with Namadeva. Please grace me with your permission to take him along."

Then Panduranga turned to Namadeva and said with a smile,

My dear, you may go with Jnanadeva as he is eager to enjoy your company. Wherever you go,  remember me only and return soon."

 Panduranga told Jnanadeva that Namadeva was very dear to Him even more than Rukmini and asked jnanadeva to take good care of him. What kind of love the Lord has for His devotees! This brings to mind the scene when Lakshman was unconscious in battle field Rama said that he could even live without Sita but could not live without Lakshmana.

Namadeva left with Jnanadeva reluctantly, often turning back to see Panduranga and cried out loudly that he had to leave Panduranga. Jnandeva told him that Pandsuranga is all pervading and is everywhere including in the heart . Namadeva replesd that he did not have the jnana to see the Lord without form and for him Panduranga is everything.

He said,

Janmo janmee aamheem bahupuNyakeledhevahaam yaa vittalem krpaakelee

Jamoni samsaareem jaalom dhyaachaadhaasa

Maajaa tho viSvaasa paandurangeem

"Panduranga vittala has enslaved me as a result of merits acquired  in countless janmas. I am His slave  and have staunch faith in Him."

aneka dhaivathaam nethe maaje chittha godagaathaam geetha vitobhaache

"My mind goes only to Vittala without resorting to anyone else."

bharamarasuvaaseem madhaavaree maasee

thaisEm yaa dhevaasee maaje mana

"As a bee goes to a flower and a honey bee falls into honey, my mind goes to Panduranga "

naamaamhaNe maaja pandareese nyaare

hata soni dhyaare vitobaasee

" Let me sing only His name and think only of Him."

Jnandeva marveled at this devotion and asked him how he got it?

Namadeva replied that it was like a father asking a question to his child with the sole purpose of the enjoyment of hearing to speak.

Then jnandeva praised him saying that there has been no devotee superior to him anywhere.

They both went to Hastinapura where many were awaiting them having heard about both.  From there they both went to Kasi where they met Kabir. They proceeded to Gaya, Prayag and came to Marvar where they experienced water scarcity. Feeling thirsty they came across a well the water of which was right at the bottom and there was no rope or vessel to draw water. Jnanadeva went down through his yogic power and drank water and told Namadeva that he would make the water come up using his yogic power. Namadeva said that if God wills it would come up and at that moment water rose to the top and Jnanadeva was astonished at the power of Bhakthi.

Then they went to a place called Naganath where the siva temple was very famous. Namadeva and Jnandeva had the darsan of Lord Siva and started to sing bhajans there. A great crowd gathered around and all were doing namasankeerthan and the priests of the temple could not go in for their daily worship. They shouted at the singers and told them that they could go Pandaripur if they want to sing and dance and Lord Siva would not like them to do it there. The people protested  and the priests edging their way through them told them not to crowd in front but go to the back side of the temple and carry on ther bajans there. Namdeva and Jnanadeva though pained at not being able to have the darsan of Lord Siva from the entrance went to the back in order to make way for the devotees to go in,since they could not stop their namasankeerthan. But  miracle happened. The temple itself turned round and they were happy to have the darsan as they wished.When the priests came out they were surprised to see the bajan going on in front and when they enquired about it they came to know the truth, Their pride quelled they bowed down to the saints and asked to be forgiven for their ignorance.

Namdev-part1,2

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja ramanujam

 

Namadeva lived in 13th Century to whom Jnanadeva, mukthabai, Gorakumba , Kabeer and some others were not only contemporaries  but also they have met as companions in their journey along the path of bhakthi. These great souls showed to the world that  attainment of mukthi is possible through namasankeerthana alone in the era when the country was under the rule of moguls.

 

Janabhai a great devotee sings in one of her abhangs,

 

Vitumaajaa lenkaruvaalaa

Sage lenkuraanchaameLaa

 

Vittal is carrying the burden of His devotees, see around Him always,

 

Eknaath kanthyaavaree

kabeeraath haathdharee

 

Ekanath is on His shoulders,Kabeer is in his hand.

 

pute saale jnaanesvar

maaye mukthaayee sundar

 

On His back is jnanadeva and on His chest there is Mukthaabhai.

 

Ghoraakumbhaa mandeevaree

chokaameLaa barobharee

 

Ghoraakumbha is on His thigh and Choka Mela is  standing near.

 

Bangaabase khadiyevaree

namaa karaanguleedharee

 

Banhaa is on His hips and Namadeva is holding His hand.

 

These are the most important devotees of Panduranga.

 

Namadeva was the son of a tailor Dhamshet. He and his wife Gunabai were great bhakthas of Panduranga and  would eat only after offering the food to Panduranga every day.

One day Dhamshet and his wife were feeling sad. The reason was that they did not have a son. That night Panduranga appeared in the dream of Dhamshet. Panduranga said " Tomorrow you will find an infant in Chadrabhaga river. Take him and bring him up as your son."

Dhamshet went to take bath in the river the next day and what did he see? A big shell was floating on the river and came near him. He took it and opened it because he remembered the dream and a baby will not float on its own but only in a container! He heard the cry of a baby inside and found a baby boy  and gleefully took him home and gave him to his wife. Both of them marveled at the grace of the Lord and brought up the boy, naming him Namdev.

Who was the boy and where did he come from? He was supposed to be Uddhava , the unparalleled devotee  and frind of Krishna, sent by the Lord to spread bhakthi. Namdev grew ingrained in bhakthi

Once Dhamshet had to go away and could not take the food to be offered to Panduranga and his wife told Namdev to take the food . The boy in his all innocenc took the food and offered it to Panduranga . When he placed the food in front of the Lord he called Him to come and eat it. But Panduranga did not come. Namvdev pleaded with Him thus:

Pandarinivasa sakhaa panduranga

Kari angasanga bhakthaaciyaa

Oh Panduranga , who is in Pandaripur, my friend, will you not come and embrace me , your devotee ?

He called again and again but the Lord did not appear. Then he cried with anguish,

Vaaravaara thusa laaja naaheem dhevaa

bolare kesavaa mhanE naamaa

How many times I have called you oh Kesava are you now ashamed in keeping silent . Why don't you talk to me.

Then  moved by his devotion Panduranga came in person and ate all the food!

Namdev went home with empty vesse and told his mother that Panduranga haad eaten the food.

Then the father came home and hearing what Namdev said , he could not believe it not could he suspect the child of telling a lie, seeing his innocent face. The next day the father took him to the temple and again Namdev asked the Lord to come and eat the food. But He did not come. The Lord will not oblige those who are not having staunch faith in Him as the innocent souls  like Namdev.

 But Namdev pleaded again and said " Panduranga if you do not come and eat the food my father will think that I lied yesterday and have eaten the food myself. Fid you not prove the words of your devotees like Prahlada eartlier. Why do you test me like this?"

Then a miracle happened Panduranga came in person and ate the food in the presence of Dhamshet, while Namdev gleefully fed him. After this incident Fhamashet and his wife understood that their son is not an ordinary mortal.

Namdev attained youth and his bhakthi also grew. Along with him.and his parents wanted to get him married. One day Dhamshet went to bed with this thought in mind. He saw Panduranga who said ,  "Go and ask the hand of Rajabhai for Namdev."

Dhamshet woke up baffled and told his wife about the dream. "But," she said, they are the  richest family in Pandaripur and how can we ask their daughter  for our son, whose father is a tailor?"

Dhamshet said, " Nevermind. I will go to their house because Panduranga has told me to go. Rest is in His hands."

Dhamshet went to the house of the father of Rajabhai and told him about the dream and asked the hand of his daughter for Namdev. The man said he wanted 1000 gold coins as kanysulka, thinking that Dhamshet could never give it. Damshet went home disappointed and told Panduranga, " Oh Lord I have acted asper your command . More than this is not in my hands."

But how can anyone go against the will of the Lord? Panduranda wished to teach a lesson to the rich man and in that night Dhamshet and his wife heard a great noise as though somethinghas fallen down . They rushed to see what was the matter and what they beheld was a miracle!

A thousand gold bars have fallen from nowhere into their courtyard! Dhamshet took all of them to the rich man and said, " You asked for 1000 gold coins and I have brought 1000 gold bars. The man could not believe this and asked how Dhamshet acquired those gold bars. When he was told what happened he was awed and realized what a great soul was going to be his son in law, if Panduranga Himself wanted to pay the kanyasulka for him. He said, "Pardon me , you are blessed by the Lord. I will gladly give my daughter without any kanyasulka to your son. She must be fortunate to have such a husband who is the best of devotees." Then Namdev was married to Rajabhai.

Namdev was a good husband and father to his children but he was all the time engrossed in namasankeerthanam and soon they were impoverished. Once he had gone to the temple and his wife was complaining to her neighbor that her husband was not at all taking care of the needs of the family spending all his time in singing  the glory of the Lord.

Namdev could not hear this since he was in the temple but can  the Lord who is everywhere help hearing this accusation about His devotee who was most dear to Him? Has not he said 'ananyaaSchinthayantho maam ye janaaH paryupaasathe theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham?'

"For those people, who think of me without any other thought and persistent in my devotion always , I take care of their welfare."

He cut vegetables in the house of Ghorakumbha, prepared cowdung cakes for Bhaktha Jana, helped in the daily worship for Ramanuja and some others, repaid the loan of Badrachala Ramadas, protected the money given to Thyagaraja by a devotee from the thieves, what ever He did not do for His devotees! It produces horripilation even to mention these acts of love of the Lord and they are countless, starting from early yugas right down to Kaliyuga.

 

A man came to Rajabhai saying that his name was Kesavadas and he was  a great friend of Namdev and came to give him money he owed him. Then he gave a lot of money and went away. She happily spent the money in buying food clothes etc. and Namdev , on returning home was surprised and when he was told about the visit of Kesava das, he said that he never knew anyone with that name. Then he realised that Panduranga Himself came as Kesavadas.

Namadev said " Why should you take so much trouble Oh Lord to redeem my name? " What have I done to deserve this? You seem to have said you owed me all this . It is I who owe you this janma and this bhakthi which without your grace I could not have had." Panduranga smilingly stood on the brick as though saying, my greatest wealth is my devotees and I have to recompense you for your love towards me. Don't you know that for mere two handfuls of flaked rice I gave Kuchela a fortune? You are singing to me doing namasankeerthan in front of me always. Should I not display at least a little of the love I share with you?"

Namdev did not want to keep the money as he thought that it may turn his mind away from his devotion to Panduranga and distributed it among the poor and needy. And he happily started singing the glory of the Lord.

Vittalaasee paahe vittalaasee Dhyaaye

Vittalaasee gaaye sarvakaaLa

Whatever I see is Vittala and whatever I think is Vittala

Vittal is in my song always

Vittala haa vrtthi vittala japaNe

Chittha vittha manasarvakaaLa

Vittala is my work, Vittala comes in japa, Vittala is my wealth and Vittlala is my thought

Sabaahya vittala dhaade ganavata

Vittala is everywere outside  and filled in the clouds

daS diSa apaata vittalachi

Vittala is in all ten directions

naamaamaNe thumheem vital ho ooLa

I say, you become Vittala and

abhanga bajana karee thasaam

do abhang bajan

 

Sita Rama Stotram

Courtesy: Sri.KV.Narayanan

 

Ayodhya pura netharam,

Mithila pura nayikam,

Raghavanam alankaram,

Vaidehanam malankriyam.                                               1

 

Raghoonam kula dheepam cha,

Nimeenam kula dheepikam,

Soorya vamsa samudh bhootham,

Soma vamsa samudh bhavam.                                            2

 

Puthram Dasaradasyapi ,

Puthreem Janaka Bhoopathe,

Vasishtanu mathacharam,

Sathananda mathanugam.                                                     3

 

Kousalya  Garbha sambhootham,

Vedi Garbhoditham swayam,

Pundareeka Visalaksham,

Sphurad indhee varekshanam.                                                4

 

Chandra kanthaananambhojam,

Chandra bhimbo  up mananaam,

Matha mathanga Gamanam,

Matha hamsa vadhoo gathim.                                                  5

 

Chandana ardhra bhuja madhyam,

Kunkumardhraka kucha sthalim,

Chapalankrutha hasthabhjam,

Padmalankrutha panikam.                                                            6

 

Saranagatha goptharam,

Pranipada prasadhikam,

Kala megha nibhakaram,

Kaartha swara sama prabham.                                                        7

 

Divya simhasanaaseenam,

Divya srag vasthra bhooshanaam,

Anukshanam kadakshabhyam,

Anyonya  kshana kamkshinou.                                                      8

 

Anyonya sadrusa kaarou,

Trilokya graha dampathi,

Imou yuvam pranamyaham,

Bajamyadhya krutharthadham.                                                       9

 

Idheeyam ramachandrasya,

Janakyascha viseshatha,

Krutha Hanumatha punya,

Sthuthi sadhyo vimukthidha.                                                          10

 

Anaya sthouthi yad sthuthya,

Ramam Seetham cha bhakthitha,

Thasya thou thanutham preethou,

Sampada sakala aapi.  

Anganaam anganaam

Courtesy: Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

anganaam anganaam anthare maaDhavo
maaDhavam maaDhavam cha anthreNaanganaa
itTham aakalpithe mandale maDhyagaH
sanjagou veNunaa dhevakeenandhanaH

There was a Krishna, maaDhavaH, between, anthare, each gopi, anganaam anganaam, and a gopi between, anthareNa anganaa, each Krishna. In the centre, maDhyagaH, of the circle, mandale, thus formed, ittham aakalpithe, Krishna was playing the flute, sanjagou veNunaa dhevakeenandhanaH..

NEWLY WED

 A newly wed girl was being welcomed at the husband's home in a traditional manner.

She was asked to give a little speech. She addressed as follows: "My dear family members, I thank you for welcoming me in my new home and family", she said "Firstly, with my presence I would not want to create any inconveniences by my being here. I mean that I don't want you all to change your way of life, your routine."

"What do you mean my child?" asked the patriarch of the family.

What I mean dad is: Those who used to wash dishes must carry on washing them. Those who used to do the laundry must carry on doing it. Those who cooked shouldn't stop on my account. Those who used to clean should clean. As for me, I am here just to CONTROL YOUR SON!

Gopalasundari

Courtesy: Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

Gopalasundari

kodhandam masrNam suganDhi viSikham
chakraabja paaSankuSam
haimeem veNulathaam karaischa
dhaDhatham sindoorapunjaaruNam
kandharpaaDhikasundharam smitha mukham
gopaanganaa veshtitham
gopaalam sathatham bhajaami varadham
thrailokyarakshaamaNim

I worship Gopala, the giver of boons,varadham, the protector of three worlds, thrailokyarakshaamaNim, wielding, dhaDhathm, lovely bow, kodhandam masrNam, and fragrant arrows of flowers, suganDhi viSikham, the charka, Sankha, paaSa and ankusa chakraabja paaSankuSam,and graceful golden flute, haimeem veNulathaam, in his hands, karaiScha, who is red like the sindhoor, sindoorapunjaaruNam, more beautiful than the god of love, kandharpaaDhikasundharam, with smiling face, smitha mukham,
and surrounded by the gopis, gopaanganaa veshtitham.

This is the description of Gopalasundhari which is repeated in a subsequent sloka where a more elaborate commentary is given. The word abja denotes shanka and not lotus as it is usually, because the word means 'that which is born from water' which is true for conch as well.The meaning or the word as lotus is by usage, rooDi, rather than etymology.

. kodhandam aikshavam akhandam ishum cha poushpam
chakraabja paasa srNi kaanchana vamsanaaLam
bibraaNam ashtaviDha baahubhiH arkavarNam
Dhyaayeth harim madhanagopa vilaasa vesham

Lord Hari should be meditated upon as Madhanagopala, Dhyaayeth harim madhanagopa vilaasa vesham, wearing in his eight arms, ashtaviDha baahubhiH, the bow of sugarcane, kodhandam aikshavam strong and unbroken,akhandam, the arrow of flowers, ishum cha poushpam, the chakra, shankha, paasa, ankusa and golden flute, chakraabja paasa srNi kaanchana vamsanaaLam, and his hue red like the rising sun,. arkavarNam.

This is the portrait of Krishna as Gopalasundharee which has already been described in the sloka 98. The gopalasundharee manthra gives this description in the dhyana sloka, where Gopala is meditated as Gopalasundharee, who is found in the kalpaka forest in the milky ocean, in a gem studded hall, on sripeeTa, and holds shankha, chakra, bow of sugarcane, ankuSa, paaSa, veena,and flute and shining with a red hue that illumines tha whole world and surrounded and praised by Brahma and others.

Gopalasundharee yanthra is the combined manthra of the ashtaadhaSaaksharee manthra of rajagopaala and the panchadhaSaaksharee of LalithaaparameSvaree and in it both Lalitha and Krishna are meditated as one form.'kadhaachith lalitheSaanee pumroopaa Krishna vigrahaa,' sometimes Sri Lalitha apeears as Krishna.

Krishna's feet

Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

 

நிலத்தில் முளைத்த இரு கமலம் கண்டேன்
இதழ் நுனியில் பவளங்கள் பூத்திருக்க
வளைந்து தாழ்ந்த காம்பில் முத்துக்கள்
அமுதமாம் அருள் பெருகி அதனை சூழ்ந்து
பொய்கையென விரிந்து பரந்ததம்மா
யாது ஈதென காணப் புகுந்தேன் ...
கண்ணனின் பாதக்கமலங்கள் கண்டேன்
முத்துக்களும் பவளங்களும் அவன்
திருவடி சேர்ந்த அடியாரகளம்மா
திருவடியில் நிலை பெற்றன கண்கள்
திருவடியே போதும் ஆனாலும் உன்
திருமுகம் காண விழைகின்றதுள்ளம்

 

Ashtapathi 19 & meaning

courtesy: Smt.Saroja Ramanujam

Ashtapadhi 19

The next day Krishna approaches Radha and speaks softly to pacify her.

Vadhasi yadhi kimchidhapi dhantha ruchi koumudhee harathi dhara thimiram athighoram

sphurathaDhara seeDhave thava vadhana chandhramaa rochayathu lochanachakoram

Radhe, if you speak something your teeth will shine like a moon  and dispel the terrible darkness of fear in my heart, (due to the thought that she has stopped loving him) and may the sweet nectar of your lips flowing from the Moon of your face please the chakora birds which are my eyes.

 

priye chaaruSeele muncha mayi maanam anidhaanam

sapadhi madhanaanalo dhahathi mama maanasam dhehi mukha kamalamaDhpaanam (Dhruva padham)

My beloved , graceful one, give up this indignation without reason. The frie of love is burning my heart quench it with the nectar of your face.( My beloved)

sathyamevaasi yadhi sudhathi mayi kopinee dhehi kharanayana Saraghaatham

ghataya bhuja bandhanam janaya radha khandanam yena vaa bhavathi sukhajaatham (priye)

If you are really angry with me, Oh the one with beautiful teeth, hit me with the arrows of your hand and eyes. Arrest me with your  arms , hurt me with your teeth, Do whatever that will make you happy.( My beloved)

thvamasi mama bhooshaNam thvamasi mama jeevanam thvamasi mama bhavajalaDhirathnam

bhavathu bhavatheeha mayi sathathaam anuroDhinee thathra mama hrdhayam athiyathnam ( priye)

You are my ornament, You are my life and tyouare the gem found from the sea of my existence. May you be always favourably disposed with me. This is the endeavour of my heart.(my beloved)

neelanalinaabhamapi thanvi thava lochanam Dhaarayathi kokanadha roopam

kususmaSara baaNa bhaavena yadhi ranjayasi krshNam idham ethath anuroopam (priye)

Your eyes lustrous like a blue lotue now appears like a red lotus,  with anger.  It would be proper if you colour this dark one with that which will be the arrows of cupid for me.(my beloved)

sphurathu kuchakumbhayorupari maNimanjaree ranjayathu thava hradhayeSam

rasathu raSanaapi thava ghanajaghanamandale ghoshayathu manmaTha nidheSam(priye)

Let the necklace of gems that shines on your chest give pleasure to me , the Lord of your heart. Let your girdle sound on your heavy  hips , proclaiming the command of Cupid.(my beloved)

sThala kamala ganjanam mamahrdhaya ranjanam janitharathirangaparabhaagam

bhaNa masrnavaaNi karavaaNi charaNadhvayam sarasalasath alakthakaraagam (priye)

Oh the soft spoken one,Give me permission to decorate your feet .  that are the lotus on ground thus envied by the Lotus, and which are joy to my heart,and which enhance  the desire, with red footlac .( My beloved)

smaragarala khandanam mama Sirasimandanam dhehi padhapallavam udhaaram

jvalathi mayi dhaaruNo madhankadhanaanalo harathu thadhupaahithavikaaram (priye)

Place  your feoot like a big sprout on my head, to alleviate the effect of the poison due to pangs of love. Let it quench the fearful fire of Cupid that burns in me.

 

ithi chatula chaarupatucharu muravairiNo raaDhikaam aDhi vachanajaatham

jayathi padhmaavathee ramaNa jayadhevakavi bhaarathee bhaNitham athi Saatham (priye)

The poet Jayadeva , the belovedof Padmavathi has related the tender  flattering words spoken by Krishna , the destroyer of Mura. May these sweet words be triumphant.

The anger of Radha in turning Krishna away when he approached her is appeased now when he offered to place her foot on his head. But still she is bashful and Krishna goes and waits for her at the place of their rendezvous. Then goaded by her friend she goes there and unites with him which are realted in the next four ashtapadhis.

The significance behind the scene is that we get angry with the Lord when anything goes against our wishes or when we do not get what we want  blaming Him of having a heart of stone. So when He shows us another way we do not want to look at it always thinking about the one that was closed for us. But He , being full of love for us , never takes no for an answer and tries again and again to make us see His way. Finally when we do we are stricken with remorse and not quite ready to approach Him as a lover and embrace Him. For that we need the sakhi, it may be a guru or our own mind and when we finally accept Him as our beloved all ends in

 

 

dosha pariharashtakam

Courtesy: Sri.PR.Ramachander

Many of us have the habit of finding defect in others without even trying to find our own defects . Sridhara Ayyaval was a living saint of Thiruvisainallur, near Kumbakonam. He had written several prayers . One of them is the Dosha Pariharashtakam. In this prayer the great saint , requests us not to find defects in others . I have posted , the translation of this great prayer in Dosha pariharashtam
In http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2013/06/dosha-pariharashtakam-of-ayyaval.html

I am quoting one sloka of this great prayer in English

"When I keep on thinking about the defects of others,
All those defects , which are collected from other people ,
Would become the bad thing that would dirty my mind,
And so Why should I collect defects from other persons?"

Balakanda of Valmiki ramayana in english

Courtesy: Sri.PR.Ramachander


My dear Friends,
When my friend Sri Lakshmanan of the Celextel Spiritual stores Madras requested me to translate" Valmiki Ramayanam" in to English, I took it is an order from God to me. Ofcourse the tough work that has be put in and my age bothered me a lot. Then I thought that God knows more about than me . I started the job of translation on 22nd May 2013. As on today I have completed the English prose translation of Bala Kandam of the great epic. You can read my translation in
1.Bala Kandam (1-26 sargams)
http://englishvalmikiramayanam.blogspot.in/2013/06/bala-kanda-1-26.html
2.Bala Kandam (27-49)
http://englishvalmikiramayanam.blogspot.in/2013/06/bala-kanda-27-49.html
3.Bala kandam (50-77)
http://englishvalmikiramayanam.blogspot.in/2013/06/bala-kanda-sarga-50-77_24.htm
This is the first time that I am reading Valmiki Ramayanam in Sanskrit. The reading of Bala Kanda gave very many surprises. I am mentioning some of them:-
1.Dasaratha did not intend to do Puthra Kameshti Yaga but did Aswa Medha Yagna for getting a son. Rishyasringa , who conducted the Yaga, later continued and did Puthra Kameshti, which he says occurs in Atharvana Veda.
2. Ganga was the elder sister of Parvathi.
4.Parvathi cursed that the world will become irregular and will not have the same master(several kings).
5.Skanda got the name because he slided down from the womb of Ganga and he got six heads because he wanted to suckle the six Kathika maidens at the same time. He got the name Saravana as he was left in a forest of stick like plants.
6.Ahalya willingly entered in to relation with Indra , in spite of knowing it is him and not her husband. She was not cursed to become a stone but was made invisible and do penance without food or sleep and got Moksha, when she saw Rama entered her hermitage .Indra , by the curse lost his testicles and the Pithrudevathas cut the testicles of Rama and attached it to him.
7.Lakshmana's wife Urmila was the daughter of Janaka
8.None of the women folk of both families seem to have attended , the wedding ceremony of Rama with Sita.
Not being a scholar all these surprised me a lot. Bala Kanda has large number of interesting stories told by Viswamithra to Rama .

SRIVIDYA MANTRA

Courtesy: http://srividyasadhana.com/srividya-mantra/

 

Srividya Mantra

Srividya Sadhana & Siddha Healing Workshop in Bangalore (22nd September 2013) and Chennai (20th October 2013) !!!

Srividya Mantra – King Among Mantras

Mantra is a divine combination of divine syllables or sounds which when chanted with devotion,faith and emotion gravitate the concerned God or Goddess or deity and secure their divine blessings. For divine help one must link with divine forces but majority of humans are unaware of these forces and have no link whatsoever. But when an individual starts chanting Mantra related to a particular deity regularly the gap between him and the concerned divine force steadily decreases. By regular use of Mantra a subtle link is formed and through this one could then obtain any desired boon within the power of the deity.

 Srividya Mantra has over the ages proved to be a wonderful key to success in the lives of hundreds of great Rishis and Yogis. According to ancient texts this Mantra was never created by anyone, rather it was obtained directly from Shiva.

It is this mysterious Mantra that hides within it the power to link a human to his inner bodies. Most people and scholars today associate Srividya Mantra with mental upliftment. But these are just two of its many possibilities. If used properly this Mantra can activate all the inner bodies and also all the Chakras of the Kundalini, thus bestowing psychic and soul powers like telepathy, hypnotism, astral travelling and omniscience on an individual.

Sri Premanandaji attained Siddhi in Srividya Mantra by the Grace of Siddhar Thirumoolar. He initiates the sadhak in Srividya Mantra in graduated steps to experience the ultimate of Srividya.

Srividya mantra is the Mother Tripurasundari's mula mantra (root or core – mantra). Sundari's mantra is the famous Panchadashi or fifteen syllable mantra. It has three sections (kutas), each ending with the mantra Hrim, which mantra by itself can be used to worship Tripura Sundari or Lalita.

KA E I LA HRIM

HA SA KA HA LA HRIM

SA KA LA HRIM 

The above Pachadasi Mantra is derived from the following verse,
KAMOYONIH KAMLA VAJRAPANIR
GUHA HASA MATRISHVABHRAMINDRA
PUNAR GUHA SAKALA MAYEYA CHA
PURUCHCHAIVA VISHVAMATADI VIDDYOM

KAMA (KA), YONI(AYE), KAMLA (EEE), VAJRAPANI INDRA (LA), GUHA (HRING), HASA VARNAS MATRISHVA-VAYU (KA), ABHRA (HA) INDRA (LA), PUNAH GUHA HRING, SAKALA VARNAS AND MAYA HRING

There are many ways to explain this srividya mantra. Whole books have been written on it. Below is a short examination of its syllables Relative to the first of the three sections of the mantra: 

Ka is desire or the creator.
E is Maya or the power of illusion.
I is Vishnu or the Divine ruling power.
La is the power of bliss.
Relative to the second section: 
Ha is space or breath- 
Sa is time.
Ka again is creation.
Ha is breath or spirit renewed in energy. 
La again is bliss.
Relative to the third section:
Sa is time as eternity or totality
Ka is origin and also the unknown. 
La again is bliss.
Hrim repeated three times brings about a triple transformation of our nature.
Srimadded at the end is the crowning glory and realisation

The first set of srividya mantras is the head of the Goddess, the second from her neck to her hips, and the third the region below the hips. The first set relates to Vak, the power of speech the second to Kamaraja, the king of love, and the third to the original Shakti or power of transformation. These three sections also relate to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, to the three Vedas(Rig, Yajur, and Sama).

This version of srividya mantra that begins with Ka is known as kadi vidya. There is another version, which omits some letters and gives letters in a slightly different order

HA SA KA LA HRIM

HA SA KA HA LA HRIM

SA KA LA HRIM

This alternative version commences the srividya mantra with letter Ha and therefore known as "Hadi Vidya".  The former tradition said to have been promulgated by Kama, is ascribed to a line of teachers: Parama-Siva, Durvasa, Hayagriva and Agastya and it is more popular all over the country than the other one. Tantra-raja-antra and Vamakesvara-tantra are its chief authorities. The latter tradition goes back to Lopamudra, wife of Agastya, and was prevalent in Kerala. The main text on which this tradition relies is Tripuropanisat.

There are several other versions of the srividya mantra, depending upon the main import that is sought to be projected. That a group of five versions known as Panca-sundari, was prevalent at one time has been mentioned in some medieval text:

                  1)      Verbal Communication(bhasa)

              HA KA LA SA HRIM KA E LA SA HRIM KA LA SA HA HRIM

2)     Emanantion(Srsti)

             HA SA KA LA HRIM HA LA KA HA SA HRIM SA KA LA HRIM

 3)      Preservation(sthiti)

             HA LA KA SA HRIM KA SA HA LA HRIM KA HA SA LA HRIM

    4)      Absorption (samhrti)

             HA LA KA SA HRIM KA SA HA LA HRIM HA HA KA LA HRIM

                  5)      Indeterminate state(nirakhya)

             LA KA SA HRIM SA HA KA LA HRIM HA SA SA HA KA HRIM

Sodasi-Vidya(16 letter mantra)

The Sodasi  is substantially the same as pancadasi using same letters in the same order, but adding the seed-syllable like SRIM or AIM or KLIM at the end which is regarded as "secret"

           OM  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  SRIM

or      

      OM  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  AIM

or

      OM  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  KLIM

There are also extensions of panchadasi mantra  like

Sapthdasa-vidya(17 letter mantra)

OM  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  SRIM  HAMSA

Astadasa-Vidya(18 letter mantra)

AIM   KA  E  I  LA  HRIM

HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM

SRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM

Siddha Yamala Vidya (21 letter mantra)

KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM   STRIM  AIM  KROUM  KRIM  KLAM HUM

Maha sodasi (28 letter mantra)

OM  SRIM  HRIM  KLIM  AIM  SAU  OM  SRIM  HRIM  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SA KA  LA  HRIM  SAU AIM  KLIM  HRIM  SRIM

Para-vidya (37 Letter mantra)

OM  AIM  KLIM  SAU  KA  E  I  LA  HRIM  SAU  KLIM  AIM

OM  AIM  KLIM  SAU  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  SAU  KLIM  AIM

OM  AIM  KLIM  SAU  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  SAU  KLIM  AIM  OM

In all these instances, the basic  structure is that of panchadasi and care is always taken to group the letters and other seed syllables into three explicit units, with fourth unit either spelt out or implied.

Other Deities Mantra's associated with Srividya

There are many derivative deities  from the Srividya.  The first of them is called Bala-Tripura sundari. She is imagined as young maidenor as a girl of sixteen , the mother goddess in her juvenile condition.

Goddess Bala-Tripura sundari

  Mantra of Bala-Tripura sundari. is,

AIM  KLIM  SAU

Or  

AIM KLIM SAU SAU KLIM AIM

The second divinity is Mantrini (conseller to the mother-goddess). She is also called Shyamala (dark in complexion), and Mathangi(or RajaMathangi, in her capacity to function like the gateway to Srividya).

Goddess Raja shymala or Raja Matangi

Goddess Raja shymala or Raja Matangi mantra takes the following form,

AIM  KLIM  SAU  AIM  HRIM  SHRIM  OM

OR alternatively,

HRIM  SHRIM  KLIM  AIM

OR again

AIM  HRIM  SHRIM  AIM  KLIM  SAU   OM  NAMO  BHAGAVATI  RAJAMATANGESWARI  AIM

She symbolizes the second unit of panchadasi mantra and therefore she hasthis formula form,

HESTRAIM  HA  SA  KA  HA  LA  HRIM  HESTRAUH

The third divinity is Danda-natha(lady commander of the forces of the mother goddess, symbolizing might of srividya). She is also called Varahi (the hog-faced one or the great consumer) who destroys the evil forces that obstruct the devotee's progress and leads ultimately to Srividya.

Goddess Varahi

Goddess Varahi mantra is,

AIM  GLOUM  AIM  OM  NAMO  BHAGAVATI   VARTALI   VARAHI   VARAHAMUKHI

As she represents the third unit of the panchadasi mantra , her formula form is,

HASAIM  SA  KA  LA  HRIM  HASTRAUM

Another divinity associated with srividya is Pratyangira, whose involvement is mainly with magic and sorcery. She is consider as a powerful repellent of the influences generated by witch-craft. In srividya sadhana, she protects the devotee against all odds, and guides him along the path.

Goddess Pratyangira

Goddess Pratyangira mantra is,

HRIM  KSHAM  PRATYNGIRE  KLIM  HRIM  KSHAM  HUM  PHAT  SAU

She is represented by many forms. But has significance is uniformly to drive away the hordes of enemies, sins and evil designs.

NOTE

All Srividya mantras mentioned above should be practiced under the guidance of proper Guru otherwise you will harm your nervous system that can't be cured.

SEARCH FOR A WIFE

SEARCH FOR A WIFE

FISHERMAN Wife wanted, must be able to dig, clean, cook worms and clean fish. Must have own boat with motor. Please send photograph of motorboat.

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The person whom I'm looking for should be strictly -a girl. The girl should be strictly a girl, with evidence to support this view that she is a girl. The girl should be willing to surrender to the service and jurisdiction of My Lord i.e. myself. Any objections would be overruled and will not be sustained. Apply in limited confidence as all liabilities are null and void in the event of failure on our part of any kind whatsoever.

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