Friday, January 05, 2024

The sloka about Rama, Ramaya Ramabhadraaya etc



The sloka about Rama, Ramaya Ramabhadraaya etc with a lot of explanation is going the rounds especially in social media as if the explanation given therein is very authentic piece from scripture.
I agree, the explanation is great.. And there is nothing to contradict it.. But when people try to pass it on as if it is a Mahamantram, I cannot help giving the following comments
The stotram is
Rama namalu:
Dasaratha calls him Rama.
Kousalya calls him Ramabhadra.
Kaikeyi calls him Ramachandra.
Vasishtha calls him Vedase.
Rishis call him Raghunatha.
Sita calls him Nathan.
People call him Sitapati.
This how the sloka:
Ramaya Ramabhadraya Ramachandraya Vedase
Raghunathaya Nathaya Sitayah pataye namah.
My comments
of course the explanation is nice.. But if someone presumes that this explanation is given in Valmikiramayanam or is given by some ancient sage, he is just mistaken. This is just the glib explanation of some upanyasakara.. The people, the king, the queen, all could have called Rama by any other name too..
And in Ramayanam, it is not a dialogue or address session or drama that is seen. The incidents are just reported.. So, the names, adjectives and epithets are chosen by the poet, Valmiki or whoever that composed the epic. What the character did, or how the characters addressed one another is simply not known..
It would be pertinent to note that Sita and Rama were together in all the Kandams of Ramayana except Kshkinda and Sundarakandam... and therefore it is simply not possible to define any particular word that Sita was using to address Rama..
She has addressed Rama as Rama, and many other names and once she has even abused him as स्त्रियं पुरुष विग्रहं just a woman in the shape of a man..
Ramaya Ramabhadraaya is not the part of any epic or great work.. Even the Ramaraksha stotram alluded to above is of not of much ancestry.. Just a work of a couple of centuries ago at best.. and remember, Ramayanam is more than 5000 years old.

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