In this rItigowLa kriti, sathguru narrates the highlights of the entire rAmAyaNam in the caraNam. This kriti is very much akin to the first sarga (canto) of the vAlmIkirAmAyaNam.
pallavi
baDalika dIra pavvalincavE (baDalika)
బడలిక తీరా పవ్వళించవే (బడలిక)
meaning: (O Lord rAma) please be relieved of your fatigue and rest…
note: dIra = tIra; the word dIra for looking up meaning should tIra (which is fulfilling). ta becomes da when in the middle of the sentence as per this telugu grammar rule (gasadavAdeSa sandhi). This paper deals with more telugu vyAkaraNam.
anupallavi
saDalani duritamulunu tegakOsi sArvabhauma sAkEtarAma (baDalika)
సడలని దురితములును తెగకోసి సార్వభౌమ సాకేతరామ (బడలిక)
meaning: having vanquished the obstinate sins, oh sovereign Lord (please be relieved of your fatigue and rest)
caranam
pankAjAsanuni paritApamu gani pankajAptakula pativai velasi
పంకజాసనుని పరితాపము గని పంకజాప్తకుల పతివై వెలసి
meaning: responding to the misery of the lord brahma (seated on a lotus), You took birth as the Lord of the solar line.
jinkanu vadhiyinchi manku rAvaNuni madamu naNaci
జింకను వధియించి మంకు రావణుని మదమునణచి
meaning: having killed the deer (mAricha) and subdued the pride of the obstinate rAvaNa.
nishkaLankuDagu vibhishaNuniki bangAru lankanOsagi
నిష్కళంకుడగు విభీషణునికి బంగారు లంకనొసగి
meaning: having blessed the blemishless vibhIshaNa with the golden lanka
surula brOcina nishkaLanka! tyAgarAja nuta… (baDalika)
సురుల బ్రోచిన నిష్కళంక! త్యాగరాజ నుత (బడలిక …)
meaning: thus you blessed the gods, oh blemishless Lord praised by thyAgarAja. (please be relieved of your fatigue and rest… )
Context in SrIrAmayaNam
sathguru sang the gist of SrIrAmayaNam in this one krithi! The kriti relates to both the physical and spiritual aspects of the epic. In most of the kritis which have the pallavi – anupallavi – caranam(s) format, sathguru makes a statement in the pallavi, defines the context in the anupallavi and exemplifies the concept in the caranam(s). This kriti is no different. Interestingly the kriti begins in a lullaby mode.
maharshi vAlmIki also sings the entire rAmayaNam in the first canto. Listen it here. This canto highlights why vAlmIki is hailed as an all time great. Apart from the language and similes, his presentation style is also impeccable. He begins the epic by presenting an excellent executive summary!!
sathguru is praying the Lord to rest and relieve His fatigue in the pallavi! Clearly, sathguru feels for the rigorous earthly career of Lord rAmA in which He overcame many an obstacle for the sake of humanity and is imploring Him to rest. He prays to the sovereign Lord who overcame many an obstacle during His earthly sojourn as rAma for the sake of humanity and hence is imploring Him to relive His fatigue by taking rest, possibly in thyAgarAjA’s heart. In the caranam He is detailing the obstacles overcame by the Lord.
Lord brahma was contemplating the downfall of demon rAvaNa upon hearing from the gods about the way he is tormenting life on earth. It then stuck to Him that rAvaNa didn’t ask for invincibility from humans in his quest for immortality!! He prayed to the Lord vishNu to assume human form. This is detailed in the 15th canto of the valmiki rAmAyaNam. You could listen to that here.
sathguru has a wonderful usage for lord of solar line:
pankajAptakulapati = pankaja(lotus)+Apta(protector)+kula(lineage)+pati(lord)
To be able to use such a combination of words in a kriti is pure genius!! He then quickly moves to ayOdhya, araNya and yudhha kAnDams to indicate going to forest with the lotus eyed sIta, the killing of mArIca in form of the deer and vanquishing the obstinate rAvaNa respectively. This is followed by the coronation of vibhIshaNa as the emperor of the golden lanka. This is how, he says, lord rAma redeemed the gods from being tormented by rAvaNa.
The similarity between this kriti and the 1st canto is not so much about the content but about the manner of covering the entire epic in one go.
Deeper meaning from an AdhyAtma perspective
Anupallavi: saDalani durithamulani tegakOsi , sArvabhouma, sAketha rAma
The word saDalani means, that which doesn’t loosen easily. durithamulu are the negative tendencies in us which are not conducive to our happiness and peace of mind. There could be such tendencies in us, sometimes very subtle, that have hardened over time. So their grip is tight and not easily removable. The reference is to aspects of life got ingrained with repeated usage viz.
- not understanding the scheme of life itself
- believing in personal doership
- thinking our happiness lies in getting more pleasure in life
- feeling guilty when we think we failed or should not have done one way
- blaming others when we see the same with others
- swell with pride when we get some results go our way and say, ” look what I have done!! ”
- lost in worry of past and anxiety for future and developing great attachment to outcomes, irrespective of not being able to control them.
These are fundamental durithamulu.
So who should remove these? Only grace can do it. So, swAmivAru says, HE cuts the duritamulu, because HE is the author of the show. sArvabhauma here refers to not being an emperor in regular sense, but one who has absolute control on every aspect of creation. sAketha rAma refers to the dweller of the Spiritual Heart.
The net import is that, we who do not have the control on what happens through us (though it might look like we have frtee will), are not capable of cutting the duritamulu that got accumulated in the system over time, and so HE cuts it HIMSELF, when the time comes. This is the descent of Grace.
Pallavi: baDalika tIra pavvaLimpave
Now having cut the duritamulu off what remains for the so called individual jIva is only happiness and peace of mind. baDalika here refers to the confusion borne out of duritamu – that I feel I am doing something. So when the kartrutvam(personal doership) is given up , the feeling of apparent tiredness is removed in the jIva and what remains is Peace and when peace descends, the heart of the individual is the ideal resting place for the Lord so HE reclines and rejoices.
Till now in pallavi and anupallavi, therefore, swAmivaru says that, there are such negative tendencies that stop in the jIva experiencing the true bliss of the Lord reclining in It’s heart. When, due to Grace HE cuts these tendencies, this happiness is felt again.
The story of every jIva going through this act of resurrection is called rAmAyaNam.
Therefore, in the caranam, Sri swAmivaru explains in the language of rAmAyaNam, the way this duritam is cut and HE re-establishes the peace in the mind( World)
caranam: 1st line pankAjasanuni paritApamu gani, pankajApta kula pativai velasi
Having seen the worry of brahma (because rAvana’s actions were becoming a nightmare to the three worlds), HE chose to take human birth to rid the worlds of this calamity. HE chose to take birth in the Solar Dynasty. This is mythological narrative.
The AdhyAtma rAmAyanam says that, when the very existence (brahma) is threatened and had enough of the suffering of life, the lord choses to create the seed of positivism that takes birth in the mind. It is invincible and not like any positive thought. It is jnAnankuram, the sapling that has come out of the seed of wisdom. Since Sun is the signification for Jnana, it is said that Lord takes birth in ravi kulam (pankajApta kulapathi).
caranam: 2nd line: pankAjakshitho vanamuna kEgi, jinkanu vadhiyinchi
The mythological narrative: Having gone to the forest along with the Lotus eyed one (mother sIta), and HE killed the deer (mArIca).
The Adhyatma Ramayanam (AR) Dristi: Before, removing the biggest duritamu, called Personal Doership (Ravana), many more small duritamulu (about 14000 of them) have to be removed and some noble tendencies of the past (rishIs) have to safeguarded. So HE chooses to enter the forest of Thinking Mind (mAnasa vanacharavara sancAramu nilipi….)
The entrance means, for a sAdhaka, in the struggle of daily life, in the incessant thinking patterns and suffering, the Lord’s support will be seen and more wisdom starts slowly being shed on various aspects, which were not clear before. Since when the Lord comes in, darkness has to move out and in the light, truth is seen as truth. jinka or deer signifies capalatvam or chanchalatvam – fickleness. So that is killed. To say, when jnAna comes in due to grace, not only one can see happenings in life, clearly as they are, but also , fickle mindedness goes away and stability comes in.
caranam: 3rd line: manku rAvaNuni madamaNachi, nissanku vibhIshaNuniki bangaru lankanosagi
Mythological Narrative: Comes the turn of rAvaNa, the main guy and his arrogance and ego has been quelled. Having done this, the brother vibhIshaNa, who has never doubted the veracity of divinity, has been made the king.
AR insight: Now comes the turn of the actual feat to be achieved for which divinity has taken birth in human heart as Wisdom. So the Ego that thought that it has been doing everything and achieving is now questioned and wisdom efficiently convinces that, there was never any control for the jIva on the developments in life. jIva realizes that it was and is always the Divine that pulled all strings.
Having realised, the fundamental error in humans (rAvaNa = sense of personal doership) is removed. However, the game called Life goes on. So Lanka has to be still ruled by someone. So he installs vibhIshaNa (viswAsam) or faith in the impersonal-self being the will behind every happening) and gets back to HIS ayOdhya (the unthinkable and invisible location of divinity in humans – placeless place)
caraNam: 4th line: surala brOcina nishkaLanka tyAgaraja hrudayamuna, badalika tIra, pavvalinchave
Mythlogical narrative: once rAvaNa was killed, the dEvAs were free and happy. Now they could move about with joy. Since there were no more asurAs, the world was more or less nishkaLanka, blemishless. tyAgarAja, after experiencing this ramAyaNam in his heart, his heart has therefore become blemsihless. So please rest in this heart O lord.
AR insight: When the negative tendencies do not accumulate anymore because of the realization that IT IS ALL HIS DOING (Sivuni Ajna lEnidhe Cheemaina Kuttadhu), the jIva, lives with great Joy, unmixed with any blemish or negativity. And in such a eart, the Lord rests – meaning there is constant Peace and Joy.
Summary: All of us seek only this final state of Peace and Joy in heart, whatever might be the language we use to come here. So, the apparently different paths that each of us are adopting, seems to be different, but each is a rAmAyaNam. Just that, the AdhyAtmika rAmAyaNam has to be given more importance than the bhautika rAmAyaNam. When we do that, I am sure all of us, with HIS grace, would come over our baDalika (the suffering of life) and truly enjoy the bliss of Lord resting in our Spiritual heart.
Coming up next is the kriti – mOhana rAma, which describes how the various gods and demigods descended on to the earth to serve the Lord SrIrAma.
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 