Dear Rama BhakthAs:
In this posting we will cover salutations from 85 to 90.
GS 85: punarupasthApitha vimAna vara visrANana preeNitha vaisravaNa visrAvitha yasa: prapancha! Jaya! Jaya!
(meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord, whose glorious kalyANa guNAs were eulogized by the joyous and grateful KubErA, when he received back the pushpaka vimAnam from You! Hail to Thee!
(Background):RavaNan had forcibly removed pushpaka Vimanam, the aerial chariot, from KubErA’s house and brought it over to LankhA. When RavaNa was killed by RamA in battle and VibhishaNA was coronated by RamA, VibhishaNA presented to RamA the Pushpaka vimAnam for travel to AyodhyA. When Rama arrived at Ayodhya, he immediately returned the VimAnam to KubErA, its rightful owner. The pleased KubErA sent it back to Rama so that it could be of service to RamA a little longer. RamA used it for a short time and then returned it to KubErA with thanks. KubErA was moved by the magnanimity of RamA and eulogized RamA’s auspicious GuNAs all overthe world. Swami Desikan refers to this incident of Uttara Khaandham in this salutation.
GS 86: PanchatApAnna munikumara sanjeevanAmrutha! Jaya! Jaya!
(meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord, who brought back to life the dead son of the rishi of your kingdom! Hail to Thee!
(background): When RamA was ruling over AyodhyA, there was an untimely death in the family of a Rishi. The young son of the Rishi suddenly died. The sage went to the court of Rama and blamed him for his son’s death and accused RamA of lapse in maintaining the dharmam and connected that lapse to his young son’s untimely death. RamA was disturbed and suspected that something not permitted by SaastrAs was happening. He ascended the Pushpaka VimAnam and toured over his kingdom. He found a man doing severe penance of a kind that was not permitted by saasthrAs in his effort to reach heaven (Svargam) with his body. This man was hanging upside down from a tree and doing his unsanctioned penance and upsetting righteousness. Rama realized that this unrighteous deed led to the untimely death of the son of the sage. RamA cut off the head of the man, who broke the rules sanctioned by SaasthrAs. Immediately, the dead son of the sage came back to life as though he woke out of a deep sleep. Thus RamA was like a nectar in bringing the dead son of the sage back to life through his act of punishment of the one, who strayed from the allowed DharmA in his kingdom.
GS 87: TrEthA yuga pravarthitha kaartha yuga vrutthAntha! Jaya! Jaya!
(Meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord who made the superior dharmA of Krutha Yugam become active in the TrethA yugam in which you lived! Hail to Thee!
(background): There are four Yugams in the cycle of time. DwApara,Krutha, trethA and Kali are the four Yugams. In each of the Yugams, righteousness(Dharma) decreases by a quarter. Alternatively, if DharmA is compared to a cow with four legs, in the first yuga, it isstanding firm on its four legs. In the next yuga, it stands on three legs due to the dimunition of DharmA. In the third Yuga, DharmA stands on two legs and is wobbly. In the final yugA of Kali, the cow of Dharma stands on one leg and is in its worst state of health. When Rama reigned in TrethA yugA, his conductance of the affairs of the state was so exemplary that the health of DharmA resembled that of the Krutha Yugam (Previous Yugam). Adharmam never lifted its ugly head during the Rama Raajyam and it appeared as though the Krutha yuga dharmam was prevailing in Tretha yugam.
GS 88: avikala bhausuvarNa hayamakha sahasra nirvahaNa nirvarthitha nija varNAsrama dharma! Jaya! Jaya!
(Meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord who upheld the sanctioned VarNAsrama dharmas of KshatriyAs through the successful completion of many Asvamedha sacrifices, where huge amounts of gold was given as dakshiNA to the participants.
(Background): The VarNAsrama DharmA of the KshatriyAs require them to conduct Asvamedha Yagam. During this Yagam, huge amounts of gold is given away as presents to officiating priests. RamA performed many such blemishless Asvamedha Yagas. Even if RamA was SrimanNarAyaNA himself, He performed the duties befitting his incarnation as a KshatriyA on this earth. His sarveswarathvam did not require Him to perform any YagAs or YajnAs and yet he behaved in an exemplary fashion to observe the appropriate dharmas sanctioned by SaastrAs. Thus He showed the world the requirement to follow one’s sanctioned DharmAs and came to be known as the embodiment of DharmA.
GS 89: Sarva Karma SamArAdhya! Jaya! jaya!
(Meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord who is the ultimate receiver of ALL the worships of DevAs and Humans! Hail To Thee!
(Background): In this earth and heaven, whatever Yaga or Yajnaor AarAdhanam is performed, the fruit of those efforts ultimately reach Sriman NarAyaNA alone. Whichever God is worshipped, the fruitsof that worship reach Sriman NaaraYaNA in the end, since HE is the antharyAmi of ALL Gods. There is an episode in Bharatham, where ArjunA offers aarAdhanam to Parama Sivan and places flowers on the head of a Siva Lingam. Next morning, ArjunA to his amazement saw the same flowers decorating the lotus feet of KrishNa. AntharyAmi BrahmA tattvam of Lord KrishNaA was understood by ArjunA that day.
GS 90: SanAthana Dharma! Jaya! Jaya!
(Meaning): Hail to Thee O Lord, who is the embodiment of lasting Dharma! Hail to Thee!
(Comments): RamA as the PurNAvathAram of Sriman NArAyaNA celebrated by the following passage of VishNu Sahasra Naamam:
YagnO yagna patir yajvA yagnAngO yagnavAhana:
yagna bhrt yagna krth yagnO yagna bhuk yagna sAdhana:
YagnAnta krth yagna guhyam annam annAdha eva cha
RamA is celebrated as the embodiment of ancient and timeless SanAtana Dharma in this salutation in the spirit of the above sahasra nAmams. Accordingly, He is the sacrifice for those, who do not have the wherewithal to acquire the DharmA to worship him through mantra JapA.
He is the Yagna Pathi in that he gives the fruits of the YagnA performed to please Him. He himself performs the YajnA as stated in MahabharathA at dawn and dusk every day for the purification of those, who are unable to observe the daily rites. He completes YagnA done by the others, when they are defective and hence is known as Yagna Brth. He created the first sacrifice for the well being of the universe and hence is saluted by the Naamam of Yagna Krth. He enjys the offering of the sacrifices and thus becomes the Yagna bhuk. Thus, he is the Yagna Guhyam or the secret of the sacrifice. He through all these atributes becomes the embodiment of SanaathanadharmA and is saluted elsewhere by Swami Desikan as DharmO vigrahavAn.
Sri Ramachandra ParabrahmaNE nama:
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
To be continued…
