Sri.Velukkudi Krishnan's Tele Upanyaasam

From the Bhakti List Archives

• August 28, 2000


Sri Raamajayam
SrimathE GopAla DEsika MahA DEsikAya Namaha

Dear Bhagavathaas,
                  AdiyEn would like to share the joy derived from listening to the past 3 Tele-
Upanyaasam of Sri.Velukkudi Krishnan,

The very tone of how Ishvaaku King Sri.Dasaratha and sage & Brahmarishi Sri.Vishwamitra converse, brings to light,
how a person should talk to another person, convincingly(emphasising the Shaastras, that too without any ego, only hinting not going into known details, without hurting the other person etc).  Well for those who missed this Tele-Upanyaasam, the background for the past three Upanyaasams has been the dialogue between the King and the Sage, in relation to Sage Viswamitra seeking the King Dasaratha's consent for sending Sri.Rama to help him banish the Rakshashas hampering the sacrifices.  The King going by paternal instincts(more than that, his life was Raama), tries to disagree agreeably with Sage.Viswamitra, and the duo debate each other on words/intellect, each one drawn to their objectives & objections.

This Upanyaasam is very valuable, since difficult Sastras are brought to the fore effortlessly by understanding Srimad Raamayanam, which has been made possible to understand by Sri.PVP, and currently reinforced by Sri.Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy.

Example
Question we may have- What is the age when Sri.Rama sent/went for Vanavaasam?
Possibility 1
Is it 17?, since Kausalya says she has been waiting for his Yuvaraja Pattabhishekam for the past 17 years(Dasa Sapthacha), when she discovers the shock of Sri.Rama being banished instead.
Or is it 28, if we consider birth for a person is at Upanayanam, which is 11 for Kshatriya, thereby 17+11=28 for Vanavaasam?
Possibility 2
Is it more than 28?, since Dasaratha debates Sri.Viswamitra by saying his son is not even completed 16(uuna Sodhashaha), to accompany him for guarding the Yajnas hampered by Rakshashas.   Also Seetha mentions 12 years of happy Grihastham before Vanavaasam.  Which means Rama should have completed more than 28 years before Vanavaasam.
Possibility 3
Is it 24?, since Seetha Piraati mentions her marriage and Vanavaasam to the disguised Ravana(as an ascetic), and that tallies to 12+12=24 as the age for Vanavaasam for Sri.Raama and 6=12=18 for Thayaar.

This is where the Vyakyaana Chakravarty, Sri.PVP, analyses the situations and confers his views, which are authentic.  

How does he reason?
Possibility 3 - is considered realistic, since Thayaar is apparently talking to a Sanyaasi, so it is free of any blemishes, so should be correct.  So stating Thayaar is correct(that should always be the case for a Sri Vaishnava too, right, she is our most merciful mother who can never be wrong??), Sri.PVP continues to examine, 
Possibility 1 - Kausalya's words were marked with pain, so cannot be her considering Upanayanam of Sri Raama or the age for something which is meant for an intellectual debate.  But the suffix 'cha' in  Sapthacha should be x2, as later illustrated elsewhere by the Lord himself(Sakrudeva Prapannaya....mithicha...tadhaa yedath Vrutham mamaa). So it should be 10+7x2=24.
As for Possibility 2 - Sage Dasarathaa wanted to mention merely his son is less than 16, and the actual age could be around 11 or so.  Then why should Dasarathaa say his son has not completed 16(In Uuna Shodasaha, Uuna should mean nearly, or just short of), why not just short of 12 or something like that.   Once again Sri.PVP, knowledgeable/expert in Shruthi's & Smruthi's says, deduces that Manu Smruthi, confers the Practical training for a Kshathriya is completed only by 16, and until then they cannot take part in full-time job(like fighting Rakshashas).  AdiyEn cannot help, but admire King Dasarathaa here, for his choice of words and intellect.  King Dasarathaa, wanted to stress this point, but cannot directly do Upadesam to a Brahma Rishi, that he conveys the message indirectly.  

Thus Swamy Velukkudy Krishnan explained this dialogue very interestingly, using Sri.PVP's Vyakyaanam.   

The above is just a sample, for Bhagavathaas to consider participating in this great Upanyaasam.   AdiyEn personally enjoyed and learnt more information, thanks to Sri.Venkatesh Elayavalli, Sri.Mani for coordinating, Sri.V.Krishnan for the making this Upanyaasam happen/rendering, Sri.PVP for the efforts, Sri.Valmiki for his compassion and our Supreme Sriman Naarayanan for his Divya Sankalpam and Kataaksham to make everything happen(From Srimad Ramayanam to AdiyEn listening to this Upanyaasam and writing this article).

Naarayana! Naarayana!

AdiyEn Sri Raamanuja Daasan,

Sudarsana Dasosmi


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