Swetha Sundaram's Blog, page 13

Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 7

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/?view=flipcard
The guards awoke with a start. ‘Soldier, quickly go see our King and tell him that the eight child is here!’ cried the chief warden. As it was a few miles from the prison to Kamsa’s aprtment, Kamsa had stationed a soldier at every ten feet interval. The first soldier passed the message to the soldier standing ten feet further. Like this the soldiers relayed the message to Kamsa.Within a very short time the guard was back with Kamsa. Devaki and Vasudeva sat in their prison cell trembling with fear. They hoped that Kamsa wouldn’t harm a girl. In came Kamsa and the doors crashed behind him. The baby started to cry louder. Kamsa stood inside the cell looking at the infant. His eyes were red with anger and hate. He seemed to tower over Devaki and her child. His tall and muscular frame against the cell door looked like death himself. The Lord chose midnight specifically to disturb Kamsa’s sleep and to make Kamasa rush to the prison in heavy rain.Devaki looked at her brother and begged, ‘look, we have a girl! Your niece! Please don’t harm her! We can promise her to your son. She is just a little girl. How can a girl harm you?’ Kamsa was taken aback. He didn’t expect a baby girl either; but in a moment he realised this to be a trick played by Lord Vishnu. ‘I don’t have time, give me the child!’ ordered Kamsa.‘This is a female child! How can a girl kill you?’‘This is a trick! I am sure Vishnu is playing a trick on me pretending to be a female child!’Devaki begged kamsa to spare the child. She didn’t want to give this child up. How could she? The child belonged to Yashoda, how could she sacrifice Yashoda’s baby girl to save her son? Devaki hugged the baby tightly and turned away from Kamsa.He snatched the baby from Devaki. Holding the baby by her feet he raised his arms to strike her against the wall. Girl or not, this was the eighth child and he was sure that Vishnu had taken the form of a girl to delude him. Just as he was about to strike her down, her feet slipped from his grip. Instead of falling down, the baby flew up towards the ceiling! Kamsa looked up only to see Goddess Durga instead of the infant! 
 Krishna The Butter Bandit  I have published complete Krishnavataram as a book called "Krishna The Butter Bandit". Please see
https://sites.google.com/site/krishnathebutterbandit/  for further info. The book can be previewed on Amazon.com at
Krishna The Butter Bandit

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Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 6

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/02/srimadh-bagawtham-krishnavataram-part-5.html
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The next instant the shackles of Vasudeva came undone. The prison doors opened automatically. Devaki placed her son in a basket. She lined the basket with her saree and made it comfortable for her son. With a heavy heart, Vasudeva placed the basket on his head and went out of the prison. Through the labyrinths of corridors he walked and all the doors opened automatically. He finally passed through the front door and stepped outside the building. As soon as he stepped out he worried about his son getting drenched in the rain. The next second he saw rain fall everywhere but not a drop fell on him. Looking up he saw the five headed Adi Sesha; the divine cobra was holding his heads as an umbrella. . The rubies in the head of Adi Sesha illuminated the path ahead. Lord Garuda flew behind Vasudeva. The flapping of Garuda’s wings produced sounds of the Vedic Hymns for the Lord’s protection. . The statues of deities in the front yard of houses guided Vasudeva on the right path while the citizens/sentries were submerged in a deep sleep.He soon arrived at the banks of the river Yamuna. He stopped when he arrived at the banks of the river Yamuna. He noticed with apprehension that she was in spate. Yamuna had been waiting eagerly to touch the feet of the Lord. Yamuna’s eagerness was reflected by the raising water level. ‘The river is in spate! There is no sign of a boatman anywhere! How can we cross the river?’ enquired Vasudeva.‘Don’t be afraid, step into the water everything will be fine!’ prompted Lord Krishna.Vasudeva gingerly stepped into the water when a giant wave rushed up and fell on the feet of the Lord. The moment the waters of Yamuna touched the Lord’s feet, Yamuna was satisfied. Her flood waters ebbed and gave way for Vasudeva to pass through safely.The waters Yamuna defied the laws of nature and started to flow from low lying to higher region in order to allow Vasudevar to pass safely. During Ramayana, Ravana called a meeting to discuss how he can retain Sita and yet defeat Lord Rama. Kumbakarnan was unhappy that Ravanan had done such an evil deed. He told Ravana that he could only win if the Yamuna flowed from low lying to higher region. Lord Rama heard about Kumbakarnan’s statement and decided to make his words come true during Krishnavatram.Vasudeva saw Yashoda and the baby girl next to her. With a heavy heart he switched the babies and left for Mathura. Before leaving he turned back and looked at his son who smiled at him. His heart broken in thousands of pieces he left with the baby girl. His only consolation was that his son was safe. He believed that Kamsa wouldn’t harm a baby girl. He reached the prison and as he walked inside each of the doors behind him banged shut. Finally he entered his cell and gave the baby girl to Devaki. As soon as he had done this the cell door banged shut and he was once again shackled. The baby girl taking this to be her cue started to cry loudly. The above incidents show us that if we are in the company of our Lord then we obtain freedom from Samsara but in the presence of Maya, we are shackled. Krishna The Butter BanditI have published complete Krishnavataram as a book called "Krishna The Butter Bandit". Please see
https://sites.google.com/site/krishnathebutterbandit/  for further info. The book can be previewed on Amazon.com at
Krishna The Butter Bandit





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Srimadh Bagawatham

Srimadh Bagawatham Introduction
There are eighteen Puranams. They are classified in to satvik, rajasic and tamasic Puranams.
The Satvika Puranams are as follows.
· Sri Vishnu Puranam
· Srimadh Bagawatham
· Narada Puranam
· Garuda Puranam
· Padma Puranam
· Varaha Puranam
The Rajasic Puranams are as follows.

Brahmanda Puranam
Brahma Vaivrata Puranam
Markandeya Puranam
Bhavishya Puranam
Vamana Puranam
Brahma Puranam

The Tamaic Puranams are as follows.

Matsya Puranam
Kurma Puranam
Agni Puranam
Linga Puranam
Siva Puranam
Skanda Puranam
Vayu Puranam

Satvika Puranams are most authoritative and teach us about God and God realization. The Rajasic Puranams are not very authoritative and the Tamasic the least authoritative. (Ref: http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati/sdd...)
Bagawatha Puranam:
The Bagawatha Puranam is a satvika Puranam which induces the desire in those people who listen/read this Puranam to attain the divine feet of the Lord. This Puranam shows us the way to attain the ultimate truth.
Srimadh Bagawatham is also known as Bhagawath Puranam because it is a narration about our Lord Bagawan and about His devotees. The word Bhagawan in Sanskrit is split in to three syllables as Bha + ga + wan. “Bha” means the absolute owner. This syllable indicates that He has the capability to transform matter to start the process of creation.
The syllable “ga” shows that He is the creator, protector as well as the destroyer of the Universe. Like a gardener who sows seeds and raises a garden, the Lord creates. Like the gardener tending to the plants the Lord protects His creation. Just like the way in which a gardener destroys a garden overgrown with weeds, the Lord destroys His creation only to begin creating a new Universe. When the first two syllables are combined, the word “Bhaga” describes the six qualities He possesses. The six qualities are. Gnanam (knowledge), Balam (strength) He has the Supreme Strength since He bears the entire Universe, Isvaryam (wealth) the Lord is the Supreme Controller who owns everything including ourselves and all the non-living matter. There is not a single item which He does not own. Veeryam He never undergoes any changes. He is full of vitality and the burdens He bears never cause Him to change in anyway. Shakti; He is the most powerful being and He has Tejas; He does not need any external help in order to carry out His functions.
The last syllable “wan” means the one who possesses; as the Lord is the Supreme Proprietor of this entire Universes and He is the only being who has all the above six supreme qualities, He is called as “Bhagawan”. His devotees are called as Bagawathas. Thus the Puranam which illustrates the life history of His devotees and narrates about His incarnations and instructs about the way by which we can attain His divine feet is named as “Bhagawatha Puranam”.
Components of Srimadh Bagawatham:
A puranam has to have the following ten components. Srimadh Bagawatham is known as Bagawatha Puranam as it has all the following ten components.
1. Sargam: Information about how the Lord Creates this Universe by first creating five elements from Prakruthi and by creating Lord Brahma. He then hands over the remaining process to Lord Brahma.
2. Visargam: Creation of mobile and immobile creatures & objects by Lord Brahma.
3. Sthithi: The Lord’s many incarnations taken by Him in order to protect creation.
4. Poshanam: The Lord nourishes His devotees by incarnating to free them from samsara.
5. Uuthi: Even after the Lord incarnates, many people are stuck in samsara because of their past karmas. Uuthi examines the reasons for getting stuck in this vicious cycle of samsara.
6. Manvataram: Information about manvataram.
7. Ishanu Kathai: History about Perumal meeting His devotees.
8. Niroddham: While sleeping jeevatmas are united with the Lord.
9. Mukthi about salvation.
10: Ashrayam: The previous nine help us to understand that; we don’t exist without Him and everything happens per His sankalpam.
Of all the Puranams, Sri Vishnu Puranam and Srimadh Bagawatham are the best. This is because, through these Puranams we learn about the path to reach the Lord and stay close to Him. If we are near Him there is no need to worry. We experience fear only when we move away from Him.

References:
I have used notes from various spiritual lectures listed below as reference for the posts.
Lectures by Sri U.Ve Mukkur Narasimhachar Swamin
1. Bagawatham Sapthaham upanyasam
2. Narsimha Avataram
3. Gajendra Moksham
Lectures by Sri U.Ve V.S Karunakarachar Swamin
1. Bagawatham Sapthaham
2. Krishna Leela upanyasam
3. Gajendra Moksham
4. Rukmini Kalyanam
Lectures by Sri U.Ve Velukkudi Krishnan Swamin
1. Bagawatham Sapthaham
2. Bagawathathil Vazhkai Neri
3. Krishna Leela
4. Choices in Karma Yoga

Lectures by Sri Krishna Premi Anna Swamin
1. Bagawatham Sapthaham
2. Krishna Leela
3. Gajendra Moksham
4. Sudama Charitram
5. Ajamila Charitram
6. Ganga Mahatmyam
It is my intention to make the messages from the above lectures available to everyone in one place.
Apart from the above lectures, I have also incorporated some esoteric meaning from the book “Essays on Indo Aryan Mythology” by Sri Narayan Iyengar published around 1850s. Most of the esoteric meaning like the esoteric meaning of Rukmini Kalyanam are from above lectures.

Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 5

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-4.html
The Lord finally incarnated at midnight when the rain was drizzling outside. This was a unique night when the Sun called Krishna rose at midnight. The divine child started speaking immediately after birth.He incarnated as their son along with His consort Sri Devi Nachiar on His vakshasthalam. Devaki and Vasudeva obtained Goddess Sridevi as their daughter-in-law on the same night! Parents await the birth of their grandchild after their son has been married. Devaki and Vasudeva did not have to wait for on the Lord’s lotus like navel they found His son Brahma sitting on a lotus bloom chanting the Vedas! To describe the child Brahma on the Lord’s navel, Sukacharyar used the word balakam in the slokam “Tam adbhutam Balakam” in Srimad Bagawatam. The word “Ka” is used to denote Brahma. Sukacharyar could have used “Balan” to depict the divine child but he specifically used the word “Balakam” to draw our attention to Lord Brahma present in the navel of the Divine Child. Both the words “bala” as well as “balakam” mean child. The word “balakam” is used in the sloka to let us know about the divine child who appeared with “ka”!As soon as He incarnated, their shackles came undone. ‘Please, let Kamsa not find out that you have arrived. Let not his evil gaze fall on your beautiful form today!’ prayed Devaki afraid that Kamsan might harm the Lord. The Lord smiled at them and narrated about the past lives of Devaki and Vasudeva, ‘As Prisni and Sutapa, you performed severe penance. When I appeared before you and offered you a boon, instead of asking to be freed from the cycles of birth-death and re-birth, you prayed for me to appear as your son. Thus I incarnated as your son Prisnigarbha. Again, when you were born as Aditi and Kashyapa, I incarnated as your son Upendra known as Vamana. Now for the third time I have appeared as your son. I have enabled you to see my divine form so that I can remind you about your previous lives. With constant devotion toward me and the affection you have for me, treating me as your son with love may you both reach my supreme abode.’The Lord continued, ‘I will conceal my divine form as per your wish. You must carry me to the house of Raja Nanda. You must leave me in his house and bring his new born daughter here.’ The Lord had made Devaki request Him to conceal His form so that He could get an opportunity to obey His mother. At the age of 24, Lord Rama obeyed his father’s wishes and left for the forest; but, this divine child obeyed his parents within few minutes of his appearance and concealed his divine form! Lord felt very bad that He had not listened to the words of His mother Kausalya when she urged Him not to go live in the forest. According to the Vedas, if the mother gives instructions which contradicts the instructions given by ones father then that person must choose to obey his/her mother’s words only. Lord Rama was unable to obey the commands of mother Kausalya. As soon as mother Devaki requested Him to hide His divine appearance He did not argue with her. He could have argued that He was capable of destroying Kamsa then and there but instead He appeared instantly as a normal human child. He felt happy that atlast He could obey the words of His mother!

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Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 4

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-3.html

In due course a son was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. The parents felt immense sorrow and were unable to rejoice. Vasudeva took their first born to Kamsa. At times even the cruelest men surprise everyone by displaying compassion; Kamsa was satisfied that Vasudeva had kept his promise. He returned the child to Vasudeva and told him that he wanted only the 8thchild. Vasudeva returned to his home and Devaki embraced her son with joy. She felt that her brother might have had a change of heart. They named their son Kîrtimân. Vasudeva was never at ease since he knew that Kamsa was capable of changing his mind again. Thus six sons were born to Vasudeva and Devaki. They were Kîrtimân, Udgîtha, Parishvanga, Patanga, Kshudrabhrit and Ghrinî.In the meantime Sage Narada paid a visit to Kamsa. The sage was welcomed by Kamsa. After exchanging pleasantries, Sage Narada asked Kamsa, ‘Why have you spared the sons of Devaki? I thought you believed in the prophecy!’‘Of course I believe in the prophecy! But, I have to kill only the eighth child’ ‘I had no idea that you were deluded! How do you plan to tell the children apart? They could easily switch the eighth child with the seventh or the sixth. Being just a year apart, children look alike. How can you be sure that Vishnu will take birth as the eighth child? He might have misled you and may have already been born as one of the 6 sons. Have you heard of “shifting the origin” in Mathematics? Eight from what? The prophecy did not mention if it is the eighth child counted from the first child or the eighth starting from the second and so on. Don’t you see that Narayana might have misled you and may have already been born as one of the 6 sons! Can you be absolutely sure that He will take birth as only the eighth child counted from the first? ’ questioned sage Narada. Sage Narada knew the history of the conditioned souls who had taken birth as Devaki’s six children. In their previous birth they were sage Marici’s sons. Due to a curse they received from Brahma, they were born as the grandsons of Asura Hiranyakashipu. Their father was the Asura Kalanemi. The six grandsons of Hiranyakashipu, abandoned him and went to meditate on Brahma. Hiranyakashipu feeling betrayed by his own grandchildren, in turn cursed them that their father would kill them by crushing their skull. As a result of this curse, Kalanemi was born as Kamsa and his six sons were born as the sons of Devaki. Sage Narada in his effort to uplift all souls urged Kamsa to kill them so as to release the six persons from their curse. The sage also wanted Lord Krishna to incarnate as soon as possible.Kamsa looked dumbstruck. ‘What should I do now?’ he enquired.‘Kill all the six children with your own hands. Don’t leave such important task to others. You never know who might be a spy of Vasudeva. The person you assign to kill the children might let them escape and lie to you that they had been killed. Kill the children with your own hands. Do not trust anyone!’
Thus urged by the Sage, Kamsa killed Vasudevar and Devaki’s six children.Lord Balarama incarnated as the seventh child in Devaki’s womb but Lord Vishnu instructed His maya to relocate Balarama to the womb of Vasudevar’s other wife Rohini. People thought that Devaki miscarried the seventh child. The Lord intentionally transferred balarama in order to confuse Kamsan. Kamsan wasn’t sure if he had to count this pregnancy as the seventh child or not.‘Should the miscarriage be considered as one child or not? Will the next child be the seventh or the eighth?’ he asked them.‘The miscarriage should be counted as ½ a child,’ said one Asura.‘Fool!’ thundered Kamsa. ‘The next child will then be 71/2 and then the one folllowing 81/2! Counting the number of children should be a discrete value not a continuous variable!’‘I would say that this child should not be included in the count,’ said another asura.‘I don’t agree,’ interposed a third. ‘What if it is a ploy to confuse us and the next child is the eigth child!’Thus Kamasa spent his time in profound confusion.Confusing Kamsa was a leela performed by Lord Krishna.Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/02/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-5.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 3

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-2.html
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 Father of all becomes the SonEven though He is the father of everyone since He created all of us including Lord Brhma, He selected Vasudevar as His father and called Vasudevar as “father” after incarnating as Lord Krishna. This is His third leelai.When the Devas approached the Lord for help, it is said that the Lord placed 2 keshams one black & the other white in Devaki’s womb. He stated that the white kesham will be Balarama & the black Himself as Lord Krishna. Kesham is commonly interpreted as hair but in this context Kesham does not mean hair. The Lord is described as a youth and He doesn’t have grey hair. The word “Kam” has many meanings. It means the atma, bliss, Brhmam as well as water. If we examine the meaning of Kam as atma we know that an atma has kniowledge and is always happy. It is Gnanandamayam. The atma’s tejas (aura or radiation or effulgence) is known as Klesham. Thus the Lord placed white radiation in Devaki to become Balarama & Bluish black radiation to become Lord Krishna.Kamsa Exposed King Devakan was the younger brother of King Ugrasenar. Devaki Piratti was the eighth daughter of King Devakan. She married Vasudevar. Her seven sisters had also married Vasudevar. Kamsan was the son of King Ugrasenar. He offered to drive Devaki & Vasudevar’s chariot to their new home. It was during this wedding procession that Kamsa heard the celestial voice declare that Devaki’s eight child will kill Kamsa. What was the need to reveal this information to Kamsa? This was once again the Lord’s leelai to expose the evil minded Kamsa to the people, Devaki & Vasudevar.The moment Kamsa caught hold of Devaki’s hair and was ready to kill her, Vasudevar could have abandoned her since he already had seven wives. Instead Vasudevar stood by Devaki in order to protect her as it is the duty of a husband to protect his wife. Vasudevar did not have any weapons with him and therefore he reasoned with Kamsa. Kamsan is an Asuran and he is impulsive. Yet Kamsan did not kill Devaki immediately but stood listening to the arguments made by Vasudevar. The Lord’s leela made Kamsan pay attention to Vasudevar’s words. Kamsan agreed to spare Devaki and placed the couple together in a mansion. Kamsan could have kept them under arrest at separate location as then he could have prevented the birth of children but instead he placed them together in the same place. This again is the Lord’s leela.Continued On:http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-4.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 2

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/12/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-1.html blogheykrishna.blogspot.com
Why did Lord Krishna choose the lineage of the disobedient Yadu? Yadu the Great!
The Lord chose Yadu’s lineage to show the greatness of Yadu to everyone.When Yayati approached yadu with his request, Yadu discussed with his brothers.‘We all know that our mother has not treated our step mother Sarmishtai well. This world and its wealth is not permannet. By yearning for worldly wealths we will only commit further sins. I feel that we should step down and let Puru to get a chance to accept the kingdom. This is the only way by which we can correct the mistake made by our mother.’Thus Yadu refused in order to give Puru the opportunity to become the king. He sacrificed his rightful hold over the kingdom and he also had to bear all the ill words uttered by his father as well as other people. Thus Yadu performed a supreme sacrifice. To recogonize the greatness of Yadu, the Lord chose to incarnate in Yadu’s lineage.Yadu always donated to the needy. He never refused donation to anyone. If a person sought $500,000 from Yadu, Yadu would grant $2,000,000! Such was the quality of Yadu. Lord Krishna’s father Vasudevar imagined in his mind and donated 10,000 cattle to the Brhmins when the Lord incarnated. We would think that as he was only imagining he could have even donated 2,000,000 cattle. The reason was at that time Vasudevar was in prison; he calculated the present and future value of his property and made a vow to make actual donation when he was released from prison. Likewise, after Kamsa was killed, Vasudevar donated 10,000 cattle. Lord Krishna’ foster father Nanda Gopan was known for his charitable donations as mentioned by Andal Nachiar in her pasuram “Ambarame thannire”. Lord Krishna appreciates people who make charitable donations. This was another reason for choosing the Yadu dynasty.Why incarnate as a cowherd?His second leela was when He chose to be a cowherd. Bhumi Devi approached Lord Brahma in the form of a cow and asked help to ease her burden. Lord Brahma then took her and the Devas to see the Lord. Bhumi Devi is often represented as a cow. From Bhumi we get all the wealth like food, herbs, metals, gems etc. Thus like a cow, Bhumi must be milked. A cow gives its milk to everyone and not just its calf. Like that Bhumi Devi showers her wealth on all her residents. To show us that Lord will help us milk Bhumi, He incarnated as a cowherd. He protected Bhumi by reducing her burden by killling all the evil doers. Bhumi can withstand the population however large in number if all the citizens are righteous but when a large percentage of the population go against the Yuga Dharma, she sufferes from the burden.
Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2014/01/srimadh-bagawatham-krishnavataram-part-3.html

Srimadh Bagawatham - Krishnavataram Part 1

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

Krishnavataram: hediedformygrins.blogspot.com There are many esoteric meanings in Krishnavataram. Lord Krishna performed many divine acts (leelai) during Krishnavataram.The greatness of YaduThe 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. www.indolink.com
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. chandrakantmarwadi.com
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  commons.wikimedia.org

AhalyaIn 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  www.indianetzone.com
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.  http://www.savetemples.org
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