pachai maamalai pol mene

Monday, November 18, 2013

a prayer to the Surpeme commander of Gods..Subrahmanya




कल्याणं दधतुं कटाक्षलवतः भक्ताय हत्वा रिपून्
कल्याणाचल कार्मुकस्य तनुजं कारुण्यपादोनिधिं

कल्याणाकृतिमव्ययम् गिरिसुता प्रेमास्पदम् पावनं

कल्याणाय भजेऽनुजं गणपते गणपते श्रीदेवसेनापतिं॥ ॥

kalyāṇaṁ dadhatuṁ kaṭākṣalavataḥ bhaktāya hatvā ripūn

kalyāṇācala kārmukasya tanujaṁ kāruṇyapādonidhiṁ
kalyāṇākṛtimavyayam girisutā premāspadam pāvanaṁ
kalyāṇāya bhaje'nujaṁ gaṇapate śrīdevasenāpatiṁ||
भक्ताय कल्याणं दधतुं कटाक्षलवतः रिपून् हत्वा तिष्टन्तं,
कल्याणाचल कार्मुकस्य तनुजं,
कारुण्यपादोनिधिं,कल्याणाकृतिमव्ययम्,
गिरिसुता प्रेमास्पदम्,
पावनं,
गणपते अनुजं
श्रीदेवसेनापतिं
कल्याणाय अहं भजे.
That one stands gloriously after annihilating all the enemies for the welfare of his devotee through the slightest movement of an eyelash. He is born of the body of the Lord Shiva who made mahameru the becutiful mountain as his bow during the fight against tripura. He is the one from whose holy feet flows the river of compassion. He is the one who is having the most auspicious and attractive form. He is without any destruction. He is the eternal source and subject of affection for that daughter of Himavan, the ambika. He is the one who makes all things sacred. He is the beloved brother of Vigneswara and He is the supreme commander of the Army of Gods and also the beloved husband of Mata Devasena. For the welfare of all I worship that great warrior.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

A Lesson in turning black into white

A Lesson in turning black into white



A tenali rama story

Like every rich man, His Majesty was utterly conscious about his youthful looks, during public appearances. ( Indeed it was a stupendous task  to maintain it when one is past his fifties).. The role played by the royal barber in furthering this cause was not at all insignificant. Every day he had to spend not less than an hour in the royal ante-room in the Royal Company, putting to best use all the razors, scissors, shampoos and cosmetics. 


The purpose was two-fold. The Royal countenance should be eminently presentable to the court. Secondly, the issue concerned the personal well-being of the barber.


 His skill in wielding the razors and scissors was more than adequate and if at all there was any slight shortcoming, the same would have been compensated by the gift of the gab that naturally came to the barber. On the whole, the artistic efforts of the barber kept the Royal countenance in bright shape and he was in the good books of His Royal Majesty.


It so happened that when the barber presented himself for duty one fine morning, the Royal sleep of sweet dreams was not yet concluded although the Sun was not tactful enough not to raise and announce that at least one hour has gone ahead in the day.


Out of respect and partly out of fear, the barber did not venture to stop the Royal snore.. 


But he has to perform his barborial duties. Duty came first and all other things second..

With the stealthy gait that can come only to a cat or a barber, the specialist stole into the Royal bedroom armed with all his weapons and paraphernalia and noiselessly and without disturbing the Regal sleep, a supreme artistic performance of cutting, shaving, dyeing and manicuring was performed to perfection.. 

The artist waited outside for his subject of act to wake up and see and feel the results.

Even the king could not sleep and dream for ever. The sun rose up in the firmament and the heat of the day started seeping 
into the royal bedchamber. The king woke up and tried to scratch his chin. Instead of the day-long white stub, he could feel a very pleasant softness on his chin. He stood  up and looked up in the mirror, and he found a very trim face in the reflection.. Cleanly shaven chin, with dyed and greased moustache.. 
His happiness knew no bounds. 

The Royal eyes fell on the barber crouching outside. The sudden realization of the work of art by the barber and sincere appreciation for such dedicated labour oozed out like a cool spring from the Royal  heart.
 He called the barber and showered him with praises. 

“ Ask whatever you want, and it shall be granted” came the Royal statement.
The barber was, in fact, just waiting for such a day to come. 

Although he could not deny the fact that he was being fed and looked after very well, he never did have the social status enjoyed by the priests and the soldiers. And despite being an expert in wielding arms like the razor and the scissors, he did not have the bravery to become a soldier. So, his supreme desire in life was to become a Brahmin. He had seen Priests and gurus moving around in gusto in the Royal court, doing nothing other than arguing with one another and vying with each other in partaking in feasts at the Royal Palace and the places of the nobles, and they were  even being paid for in cash and kind for just doing the favour of depleting the contents of the kitchens of the rich households. 

So, without batting an eyelid, the barber made the request that he wanted to become a Brahmin. 

The king could find nothing much amiss in such a request. When pleased, the Royal mind is ever prepared to grant any bounties to anyone he likes.

The presiding priest of the Palace and a council of learned Brahmins were summoned, and although they could not fully digest the idea of a barber being inducted into their midst as a practicing official, they did not have the guts to say anything that would displease the king. In addition, the priests could foresee a lot of financial and gastronomical benefits in conducting a huge yajna for the conversion of the barber to the fold of Brahmins..

A very elaborate ritual, involving a lot of presents and feasts to the Brahmins was prescribed. It was decided that the barber would be bathed in thousand pitchers of water from Ganges, Kaveri and Godavari on a day of auspicious muhurtam and then the priest would adorn him with the holy thread and declare him to be a Brahmin..

The court jester Tenali Rama also heard about this. He knew very well that the priests would go to any extent to please the king and extort presents and favours.. He also knew that the king was very adamant once his mind was set on doing something and any amount of good advice would be of no avail. He was acutely conscious of the fact that the king was committing an utterly foolish act which would make him look like an idiot in the eyes of his own subjects as also in the circle of kings and nobles of the period. 

Nothing sensible could be done to drive home some good sense in the mind of the king. 

The ceremony for conversion of the royal barber into brahminhood was announced with a lot of pomp and publicity. A huge shamiana was erected, and kunds(sacrificial fireplaces) were erected for havans. The  entire Royal court was summoned to witness the proceedings.. Dances and pageants were arranged.

The auspicious day came. The barber was summoned to the presences of the Royal priests, was given ablution and was adorned in rich dresses. The anointing ceremony was to start. Nadaswararam was being played.

Meanwhile, Rama, had also his own small function arranged. He had got another shamiana erected in a place not far off from the site where the conversion ceremony  of the royal barber was being consecrated. There were a few priests  availabe for Rama also ( priests would go anywhere, provided they were offered sufficient presents and food) and some pots of water were also arranged. A street dog of black skin was tied to a post erected  in the middle of the shamiana. When the muhurtam was starting at the Royal Shamiana, Rama started pouring water from one pot after another on the body of the black dog to the accompaniment of chanting of mantras by the priests, and started rubbing and scratching on the body of the dog with a broken piece of coconut shell with very rough edge. As the rubbing progressed, the dog was bleeding and was yelping in pain. And as and when more water was poured and the body was rubbed deeper, the agony became impossible for the dog, and it was howling in a near death stupour. The moaning of the dog became so loud that the Royal assemblage could hear it even above the music of nadaswaram. 

The king was disturbed and royal emissaries came to enquire about the cause of disturbance. Rama was accused of tormenting a poor animal. 
However, he pleaded, “ Tell His Majesty that I am performing a sacred yajna.. My dog is having black skin. As is known to all, black is an inauspicious colour. So I wanted to turn the colour of the dog to white. So I am  bathing the dog in holy waters and rubbing its back with due ritualisti ceremonies. I am confident that after a few baths, and sufficient number of scrubs, the dog’s colour will change to white”

The king’s emissaries laughed hilariously.
 They taunted.. “ What a fool you are, Ramalinga.. How can you change the colour of the dog by washing it and rubbing and scratching it with coconut shells? The colour will never change. The dog may either die of bleeding or it can turn violent and bite you..We thought you were a very wise man!”

Rama replied. “ Maybe you are right. I was also thinking like that till a few days ago. But then His Majesty in His superior wisdom has decided that he could make his barber into a Brahmin by bathing him with thousand pots of water. Therefore I was also confident that I could achieve the transformation of my pet dog”

The news reached the king.. And sense dawned upon the Royal brain, albeit belatedly.

Friday, November 08, 2013

Dhruva sooktham..The Vedic Dream ... who should be our king.


Dhruva sooktham


Rigvedam Mandalam 10 sooktham 173 

आ त्वाहार्षमन्तरेधि ध्रुवस्तिष्ठाविचाचलिः ।विशस्त्वा सर्वा वाञ्छन्तु मा त्वद्राष्ट्रमधि भ्रशत् ॥१॥ इहैवैधि माप च्योष्ठाः पर्वत इवाविचाचलिः । इन्द्र इवेह ध्रुवस्तिष्ठेह राष्ट्रमु धारय ॥२॥ इममिन्द्रो अदीधरद्ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषा । तस्मै सोमो अधि ब्रवत्तस्मा उ ब्रह्मणस्पतिः ॥३॥ ध्रुवा द्यौर्ध्रुवा पृथिवी ध्रुवासः पर्वता इमे । ध्रुवं विश्वमिदं जगद्ध्रुवो राजा विशामयम् ॥४॥ ध्रुवं ते राजा वरुणो ध्रुवं देवो बृहस्पतिः । ध्रुवं त इन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च राष्ट्रं धारयतां ध्रुवम् ॥५॥ ध्रुवं ध्रुवेण हविषाभि सोमं मृशामसि । अथो त इन्द्रः केवलीर्विशो बलिहृतस्करत् ॥६॥

Ā tvāhārṣamantarēdhi dhruvastiṣṭhāvicācaliḥ.
Viśastvā sarvā vāñchantu mā tvadrāṣṭramadhi bhraśat.1.
Ihaivaidhi māpa cyōṣṭhāḥ parvata ivāvicācaliḥ.
Indra ivēha dhruvastiṣṭhēha rāṣṭramu dhāraya.2.
Imamindrō adīdharad'dhruvaṁ dhruvēṇa haviṣā.
Tasmai sōmō adhi bravattasmā u brahmaṇaspatiḥ.3.
Dhruvā dyaurdhruvā pr̥thivī dhruvāsaḥ parvatā imē.
Dhruvaṁ viśvamidaṁ jagad'dhruvō rājā viśāmayam.4.
Dhruvaṁ tē rājā varuṇō dhruvaṁ dēvō br̥haspatiḥ.
Dhruvaṁ ta indraścāgniśca rāṣṭraṁ dhārayatāṁ dhruvam.5.
Dhruvaṁ dhruvēṇa haviṣābhi sōmaṁ mr̥śāmasi.

Athō ta indraḥ kēvalīrviśō balihr̥taskarat.6.

Dhruva sooktham.. Rigvedam Mandalam 10 sooktham 173 

This rigvedic Manthram comes as a benediction to the King of the land and also reflects the hopes expectations of the subjects ... a veritable Magna Carta of Vedic Wisdom.. 
1. Oh king, we have been blessed to have you as the rule of this nation. Keeping that in mind, become the true protector of all of us. May you be unflinching, unshakable and always stable and correct in all your activities and may you have your reign of righteousness on us, your subjects. May your conduct be in such that all of us, your subjects, would always yearn that you should be our king and may we adore you for ever. May we always desire, “let this king be our ruler for ever”. May this kingdom be in your eternal possession and may it never be taken away or be lost to you. May you never face any dethronement or suffer from any destabilization, and may you never lose the deep affection and goodwill of your subjects. 

2. Oh King, may you remain for ever the ruler of this kingdom. May there be no loss of status for you at any time. May there never be any deviation from the righteous path for you. May you remain faithful, determined and unshakable in your virtues—just like a mountain. May you rule over his kingdom with so much stability and welfare just as Indra rules over the heavenly kingdom. May you rule over your kingdom just like heaven. May you discharge you duties without deviating in any way from the path of righteousness. 

3. May you, our anointed king, be protected by Indra with eternal stability. May Soma protect you the king so anointed. May all of us, your subjects, talk possessively of you as if you are their most coveted possession. May Brahmanaspathi, the protector of all manthras which bind nature, protect you for our sake 
4. May the skies be unshakable and of even nature under your reign. May the earth be unshakable and evenly ever-yielding bounties alone during your reign. May all the mountains around here stay unshakable in shape and quality while you reign. May the peaceful and undisturbed state of the entire universe remain so during your righteous reign. And thus, you the king of ours be the undisputed, unconquered and unshakable leader of all of us. 

5. Oh King, may Lord Varuna keep your kingdom stable and undisturbed during your reign. May the ever bountiful Lord Brihaspathi keep your kingdom stable and peaceful during your reign. May the two most powerful gods Indra and Agni keep your kingdom stable and peaceful during your reign. 

6. May we offer our sincere and supreme oblations by way of cooked rice and ghee with unwavering care and devotion to Indra and the Gods. May be offer Soma juice with utmost care and devotion to the Gods led by Indra. May Indra and other Gods, having received our humble and devoted offerings, grant us supreme benefits and protection. 

(it is free translation.. generally following the Sayana Bhashyam)