Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 1

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-ramayanam-part-6.html

Krishnavataram:

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There are many esoteric meanings in Krishnavataram. Lord Krishna performed many divine acts (leelai) during Krishnavataram.

The greatness of Yadu

The Lord’s first leelai was when He chose to incarnate in the lineage of Yadu the son of Yayati and Devayani.

Devayani was the daughter of Sukracharyar the preceptor of the Asuras. She with her father lived in the kingdom of an Asura king. The King treated Sukracharyar with respect. The king had a beautiful daughter called Sarmishtai. Devayani grew up in the company of Sarmishtai and her friends. Devayani did not fit in to the group as she felt that Sarmishtai held a superior position in their group since she was the princess. One day the girls went for a swim. After returning to the river bank, Sarmishtai wore Devayani’s clothes by mistake. As Devayani was secretly holding a grudge against Sarmishtai, she exploded and yelled at sarmishtai, ‘don’t you have any sense? How dare you take my clothes? You may be the princee but it does not give you a right to take those things which belong to others!’

Sarmishtai felt very angry when she heard Devayani’s words.

‘I took your clothes in error. Even if I had intentionally taken your clothes its not a mistake for afterall it was purchased by your father with the salary paid by my father!’

Sarmishtai did not stop with her arguments but pushed Devayani in to a deep well and left to the palace with her friends.

Devayani called for help and King Yayati who was passing through that area heard her cry. He found her inside the well and helped her out by grabbing her arm.

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Devayani saw the handsome king. She wished to become a queen to teach Sarmishtai a lesson. She said to yayati, ‘you have grasped my arm and as I am an unmarried girl, you have to accept me as your wife!’

‘I only grabbed your arm to help you out of the well. I can’t wed every girl I help. I don’t even know anything about you.’

‘I am the daughter of Sukracharyar; my name is Devayani.’

‘If you are Sukracharyar’s daughter you are a Brahmin. It is prohibited by shastras for a Kshatriya man to marry a Brhamin girl though a Kshatriya woman could marry a Brhamin man. I can’t go against the shastras in order to marry you.’

At that moment Sukracharyar came looking for Devayani. Sukracharyar spoiled Devayani by letting her have what ever she wished to have. Devayani complained to her father and informed him that she had to marry the king.

‘What you say about the shastras prohibiting a kshatriya man from marrying a Brahmin girl is correct but I can use my powers to make sure that you are not affected by any sins but if you disappoint my daughter, you will have to face my wrath!’

Yayati did not wish to be cursed by Sukracharyar. He agreed to wed Devayani. The Asura King gave many gifts since his preceptor’s daughter was getting married. Devayani made an extraordinary request to the king.

‘Along with all these gifts, I wish to take your daughter Sarmishtai as my personal maid servant!’

The Asura King acceded to Devayani’s request because of his repect for Sukracharyar.

Sukracharyar was worried. He knew that Sarmishtai was beautiful and knew how to conduct herself regally. Over time Yayati could fall in love with the fashionable Sarmishtai and Devayani would be upset. He therefore called Yayati aside and warned him, ‘If you are ever unfaithful to my daughter, you will have to face my wrath!’

Devayani and Yayati lived happily and had four sons. The eldest son was named Yadu. One day Yayati went on a hunting trip and Sarmishtai accompanied him. Yayati fell in love with Sarmishtai and secretly married her. They had four sons and the eldest son was called as Puru.

After a few years Devayani came across Sarmishtai’s sons and realized that they resembled Yayati. She soon found out the truth and rushed to her father and complained to him.

Sukracharyar was seething with anger. ‘May Yayati turn into a decrepit old man!’ he cursed.

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Yayati heard about this curse. He went to Sukracharyar.

‘Your curse will only make matters worse for your daughter since she has to live with an old man,’ said Yayati. ‘Please reverse your curse.’

‘Alas! I do not have powers to reverse a curse but if any of your sons are willing to exchange their youth for your old age, you will become youthful again.’

Yayati said, ‘I must warn you; I will give my kingdom only to my son who relieves me of my old age. Do you have any concerns?’

‘There are four types of sons,’ said Sukracharya. ‘The first type is the best son for he knows automatically his parents wish and fulfills it. The second type of son can find out about their parent’s wish from their body language and then makes it come true. The third type will fullfill wishes when parents ask him to do so. The fourth is the lowest as he is disobedient. I agree with you that the kingdom shouldn’t be given to the disobedient son.’

Yayati first approached Devayani’s son Yadu. As Yadu refused, the other sons of Devayani refused as well.

Next Yayati approached Puru who readily exchanged his youth with his father. Thus Yayati crowned Puru and cursed Yadu that he should never wear a crown or be treated as a royal personage.

Why did Lord Krishna choose the lineage of the disobedient Yadu? 

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-2.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Ramayanam Part 6

Cntinued From:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-ramayanam-part-5.html

 

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Ahalya

In Balakanda there is a narration about Sage Gautama and his wife Ahalya. Ahalya was a beautiful woman who was coveted by Indra. He approached Ahalya in the form of Sage Gautama and loved her. When the sage came to know about this, he cursed Ahalya to become invisible till the time when Lord Rama’s foot dust fall on her. Even though Ahalya is seen to have betrayed Sage Gautama, she is listed as one of the pathivrathas. This story is thus a Vedantic riddle.

The name Gautama means one who has many cows. A cow represents Supreme Knowledge and hence indicates that Sage Gautama had the right kind of knowledge which is knowledge about the Supreme Self.

His wife Ahalya is his faith in God. The name Ahalya means “she who merges in day”. Day is caused by the rising Sun. Spiritualy the rising Sun signifies the Supreme Brahman. Sage Gautama’s bakthi to obtain the Supreme Brahman is so great that the Lord accepts Sage Gautama’s faith. The Lord resides in the heart of every living being. To show that the Antaryami has accepted Sage Gautama’s faith, the Lord is shown to arrive in the form of Sage Gautama. The name Indra is used to represent only the Lord as the Supreme Ruler. The Sage cursed Ahalya to become invisible and Indra to lose his manliness. Indra is hence called as “Meshavrishana”. The word “Mesha” means shower and “Vrishana” means immortality. Thus Sage Gautama praised the Supreme Brahman by calling him as the one who showers immortality. Ahalya is made invisible. It could be taken as to mean that she lost her embodied state which is actually a boon and not a curse. The name Ahalya could also be split into two syllables as A-halya. Halya refers to ploughed land and ahalya means the land which has not been ploughed. The unploughed land is the forest where the Sage performs his meditation. As we have seen earlier, the forest represents the mind. Ahalya is now made as the invisible spirit of the forest i.e the faith in the sage’s mind. When the sage succeeds with his meditation, he obtains the Supreme Brahman in his mind. This is shown by the arrival of Lord Rama. The Sage worships Lord Rama with faith. Ahalya the spirit of the forest or the faith in the sage’s mind is shown to become visible and together Sage Gautama and Ahalya worship Lord Rama.

References: Essays on Indo-Aryan Mythology by Narayan Aiyyangar 

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-1.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Ramayanam Part 5

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-ramayanam-part-4.html

 

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Many people question Sri Rama’s conduct when He left Sita Devi in the ashram of Valmiki Maharishi. It would appear that Sri Rama abandoned His chaste wife who was pregnant with twins.

Ramayana is actual historical record. The epic was written by sage Valmiki when Sri Rama was still the emperor of Ayodhya. Lord Brahma visited sage Valmiki and instructed him to write the epic. Sri Rama left Sita Devi at sage Valmiki’s ashram only after sage Valmiki had received the instruction from Lord Brahma.  This is a crucial clue which will help us unlock the esoteric meaning of Sri Rama’s actions.

Sri Rama is Lord Vishnu. He is the Supreme Self. He is Brahmam. (Brahmam is different from Brahma; Brahmam is Paramatma Sriman Narayanan the Supreme Self whereas Brahma is a post and the duties of this post is carried out by a jeeva atma. There are millions of Brahmas each responsible for one of the millions of Universes in existence. After the Universes are absorbed by Paramatma and He again creates anew, He assigns the post of Brahma to some other jeeva atma.) The wife of Brahmam is Brahma-Vidhya. She is the Supreme Knowledge and She leads us to Brahmam. She is never separated from Brahmam but He shares her with us. Without her help we can never reach Him. Sri Rama is Brahmam and Sita Devi is Brahma-Vidhya.  He sent Sita Devi to sage Valmiki’s ashram because He bestowed Brahma-Vidhya or Supreme Knowledge on sage Valmiki. Ramayana is about the Supreme Self. The epic imparts the knowledge required to reach the lotus feet of Sri Rama. Sage Valmiki could have only written this epic if he had been blessed with the Supreme Knowledge. Hence, Sri Rama sent Sita Devi to the sage’s ashram so that the divine grace of Brahma-Vidhya may bless the sage with the ability to write the great epic.

The twin sons of Rama borne by Sita Devi are Rama’s fame. Only Brahma-Vidhya can bring forth the fame of Brahmam! The reason for two sons instead of one might be to amplify Sri Rama’s fame. The sons are named as Kusa and Lava by sage Valmiki. In Sanskrit Kusilava refers to musicians who sing odes. By breaking the word Kusilava into two syllables we get Kusa and Lava. Kusa and Lava are Kusilavas; they are musicians who sing Ramayana. 

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Sri Rama is also known as “Punyasloka”. The name Punyasloka is one of the many names of Lord Vishnu.  Sri Rama reveals Himself to be “Punyasloka” by making His fame take birth in the mind of a great sage in the form of an epic. This is the reason the twins are brought up in the hermitage of sage Valmiki.

Sita Devi’s role came to an end after she had brought forth Her husband’s fame. Her disappearance into the earth indicates that She became one with Sri Rama. She is never separated from Him and from the instant she disappeared into the Earth, Sri Rama and Sita Devi existed as one, as Srinivasa. In fact, Sita Piratti is said to follow Lord Rama in to the Sarayu River during the ascent to Sri Vaikuntham described in Ramayana Uttara kanda.

The fact that Goddess Sri Devi who is Brahma-Vidhya is never separated from Lord Vishnu is also explained as the Star Rohini vanishing into the golden rays of the Sun. The star Rohini is Brahma-Vidhya, the golden rays of the Sun is earth and the Sun himself is Lord Vishnu. This is similar to Sita Devi entering into earth to be one with Sri Rama.

agalak-illEn iRaiyum enRu* alarmEl mangai uRai-maarpaa,*
nigaril pugazhaay! ulagam-oonRu udaiyaay!* ennai aaLvaanE,*
nigaril amarar muni-kaNangaL  virumpum* thiruvENGkadaththaanE,*
pugal onR-illaa adiyEn* un-adi-keezh amarndhu pugundhEnE.

The above Divya Prabandham Pasuraam by Sri Nammazhwar praises Lord Vishnu as one who is never separated from Goddess Sri Devi. She is forever present in His chest cavity. He is Srinivasa, the place where goddess Sri Devi always exists. Thus Sita Devi did not disappear into the Earth but She went home to Her rightful place of existing in His Vakshashthalam, chest cavity after She had completed the task of bringing forth Sri Rama’s fame so that every one of us can easily reach His lotus feet. Thus Sri Rama ruled for 10,000 more years as Srinivasa. 

References: Essays on Indo-Aryan Mythology by Narayan Aiyyangar 

Continued On:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-ramayanam-part-6.html