is it not too much to expect?

गन्धः सुवर्णे फलम् इक्षुदण्डे
नाकारि पुष्पं खलु  चन्दनस्य
विद्वान् धनाढ्यश्च नृपः चिरायुः
धातुः पुरा कोपि न बुद्धिदोऽभूत्
gandhaḥ suvarṇe phalam ikṣudaṇḍe
nākāri puṣpaṁ khalu  candanasya
vidvān dhanāḍhyaśca nṛpaḥ cirāyuḥ
dhātuḥ purā kopi na buddhido'bhūt

चाणक्यनीति
cāṇakyanīti
 

Fragrance is not given to Gold.  The sugarcane is never blessed with a fruit.  No beautiful flowers sprout in the sandal tree. The learned person is never endowed with immense riches and a good  king mostly suffers from lack of longevity.. It would seem that the ahma was not properly advised  while creating these.

Chanakya only wonders how some of the things we cherish would become even more delectable if they have some add- ons. It cannot be denied that gold without fragrance or sandalwood without  flower or sugarcan without fruits are great by themselves. It is an ageold  dictum that knowledge and wealth do not go together. (this requires qualification in these days of intellectual rights).  A king has to engage in battles to keep his boundaries in tact and many such battles can be fatal. Political intrigues within also can steal away the life from the king.  The reservations about the king will apply with equal force in respect of governments striving hard for the welfare of the majority of the people. Such goverments are always under constant  threat of lobbies, horsetrading and subversive elements.
--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

तमेव भiन्तम् अनुभान्ति सर्वं

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नैवा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयं अग्निः तमेव भान्तं अनुभान्ति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṁ naivā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yaṁ agniḥ tameva bhantam anubhānti sarvaṁ tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṁ vibhāti upanishad manthra..can be found in quite a number of places
ന തത്ര സൂര്യോ ഭാതി ന ചന്ദ്രതാരകം നൈവാ വിദ്യുതോ ഭാന്തി കുതോയമഗ്നി തമേവ ഭാന്തം അനുഭാന്തി സര്‍വം തസ്യ ഭാസാ സര്‍വമിദം വിഭാതി

In HIS presence the sun cannot shine, nor the moon nor the stars, no lightning can strike, what can the fire do? All the luminous objects appear to be shining by themselves by just reflecting His eternal lustre,

Here we find the zenith of upanishadic thought..There is a supreme being, call it paramatma or godhead, which in omnipotent. Everything emanates from Him. Without Him no other natural force and its manifestation, its static or evolutionary existence can have any meaning. In astrophysics, we may try to draw semblance of comparison with black holes. In thermodynamics the ideal white body and the perfect black body may try to explain this. The electromagnetic spectral frequencies for the various radiations, light, heat, electricity are all decided by Him.

Living in this small speck of His creation, and still insignificant creature of His we are, we arrogate to ourselves all knowledge, wealth and power. What are we to call ourselves?

--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

sky is the limit

महाशय्या पृथ्वी विपुल्मुपधानं भुजलता
वितानं चाऽकाशं व्यजनमनुकूलोयमनिलः
शरत्चन्द्रो दीपो विरतिवनितासङ्गमुदितः
सुखी शान्तः शेते मुनिरनुभूतिर्नृप इव
भर्त्रुहरेः वैरग्यशतकं ९४

mahaśayyā pṛthvī vipulmupadhānaṁ bhujalatā
vitānaṁ cā'kāśaṁ vyajanamanukūloyamanilaḥ
śaratcandro dīpo virativanitāsaṅgamudiutaḥ
sukhī śāntaḥ śete muniranubhūtirnṛpa iva
bhartruhareḥ vairagyaśatakaṁ 94

The comfortable masterbed is the bare earth, the bent arm is the cozy pillow, the upper cover for the bed is the infinite sky, the comfortable fan is the cool breeze, the bedroom lamp is the autumn moon and the companion for sleep is renunciation. perfectly happy and peace with himself, the ascetic sleeps. Can any monarch equal him in this?

The feeling of comfort and happiness is in the mind of the one who thinks about it.  For a king, or for an average human being, we want a comfortable bed witha pillow, bedstead, fan, company in the bed and other comforts, and still we hardly sleep. For a free mind nothing is necessary.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

Fwd: that rogue krishna

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan <kvananthanarayanan@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 23, 2010 at 8:22 PM
Subject: that rogue krishna
To:

That rogue Krishna.

 

There is a very interesting story about the nineteenth ashtapadi  in Jayadeva's   Geetha Govindam

It is in the tenth Sargam, Chathura Chathrubhujam.  The Ashtapadi starts with "Vadasi yadhi kinchidapai .."

 

The devotee poet Jayadeva was spending the morning visualizing the amorous deeds of his Master for ever Krishna.  He has reached a stage in the lyric where the crafty Krishna has managed to mollify Radha's   love laden anger towards him  after somehow persuading her to come to his presence along with her Sakhi.  The girl (Radha) is excited,  full of love for the black scoundrel but is indeed displeased with him for his amorous forays with other girls.  The fellow with the glib tongue to control the entire world with Geetha, finds it indeed very difficult to capture back the endearing mood of Radha.

 Jayadeva is observing the conversation in the screen of his mind. The master lover is pleading with his dearest love, ' Radha please abandon your anger which has originated out of some misunderstanding(?),  please give me a smile to make cool my heart which is being burned by Kamadeva.  If you want to give vent to your anger you attack me with your teeth or nails, you  cause any physical injury to me but do put an end to this anger." Ultimately  it flashes to jayadeva that his master and the rogue, Krishna  is offering to his love that she should place her  beautiful leg which are so beautiful and capable of curing him of the poison inflicted by cupid,  on his head  as if it  is an ornament.( What a rogue! he is ready even to be kicked on the head by Radha to gain her favours..terrible fellow..it will be difficult to see a person like this in  any literature of the world). 

Yes, such words flashed in the mind of Jayadeva   but his pen will not move.  How can he write such a thing about his darling Krishna. For Jayadeva everything else in the world, be it Radha, or himself or anything is  only subservient to Krishna.  How can he digest the idea of a puny  cowherd girl place her legs on the head of His master.  He stopped his writing.  He raked his brain  again again  to compose another padam to substitute this.  But even after many attempts he simply failed to go ahead.

An idea struck  him.  His head would become more clear if had had a bath  and calling  his wife Padmavathi to keep the  palmleaves  and the  pen aside, he went for a bath. 

How could Jayadeva guess that the crafty fellow with four hands ( the world cannot suffer him even with two hands)  was just waiting outside the house and was watching the scene.  The sweet sorcerer  just waited till Jayadeva was away safely  near a stream taking his bath.  He entered the house  in exact disguise of Jayadeva.  The  amazed wife Padmavathi  asked why he had  returned without taking bath ( the fellow is such a consummate actor that even the wife of Jayadeva  could not divine the disguise).  He explained to her that he had forgotten to put on words some flash ideas  which he could not wait till he finished his bath.  He called for the Ashtapadi Script and coolly wrote

'Smara garala ghantanam mama sirasi mandanam dehi padha pallavamudhaaram,

Jwalathi mama daaruno madhanakadhanaanalo harathu tadupaahitha vikaaram,

 Priye  charuseeley…

After finishing writing this,  the false jayadeva said,  I have applied oil on my head now for a long time and a few drops have trickled down to my lashed.  Show the tip of your dress, I want to wipe the  oil away.  Padmavathi obliges lovingly and the impersonator leaves.

In due course, the poet Jayadeva came back from the bath and saw the palmleaves and pen all spread out  and to his utter dismay he saw the words which he had avoided recording for a thousand times were neatly  recorded  in his manuscritpt.  He was enraged.  He demanded Padmavathi how this happened.  She recalled his sudden  return from bath  and the  hurried scribbling and quick departure again for bath.  To indicate his  temporary return and departure, she showed him the spot on her dress where he had wiped his eyes  off to clear the dripping oil.  What they saw there was not  marks of oil drops but the beautiful mark of the Divine eye of Krishna. 

Jayadeva was overwhelmed with remorse.  He was  serving the  vagrant rogue Krishna all the time in his life but it was given to Padmavathi  to have a darshan and conversation with the eternal parabrahmam.

And the  verse penned by the rogue himself is retained in the ashtapadi.  Krishna  has really offered to be kicked by Radha  for his adulterous behavior  and he really got it recorded. 

 

What an impossible rogue he is…  But can any of us help it?  We will go on loving him.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

Fwd: A Hilarious Mail from a frustrated victim of chain mails

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sundar Rangan 

A Hilarious Mail from a frustrated victim of chain mails

I wanted to thank all my friends and family who have forwarded chain letters to me in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and continuing it in 2009 also.......

Because of your kindness:

* I stopped drinking Coca Cola after I found out that it's good for removing toilet stains.

* I stopped going to the movies for fear of sitting on a needle infected with AIDS.

* Forwarded hundreds of mails but still waiting for FREE DESKTOP, LAPTOP, CAMERA, CELLPHONE etc....

* I smell like a wet dog since I stopped using deodorants because they cause cancer...

* I don't leave my car in the parking lot or any other place and sometimes I even have to walk about 7 blocks for fear that someone will drug me with a perfume sample and try to rob me.

* I also stopped answering the phone for fear that they may ask me to dial a stupid number and then I get a phone bill with calls to Uganda, Pakistan, Singapore and Tokyo...

* I also stopped drinking anything out of a Can for fear that I will get sick from the rat faeces and urine.


* I also donated all my savings to the Amy Bruce account. A sick girl that was about to die in the hospital about 7,000 times.... (Poor girl! she's been 7 since 1993...)

* Still open to help somebody from Nigeria who wants to use my account to transfer his uncle's property of $ 100 million. So much trustworthy.
* I have forwarded 35 emails to 400 people hoping that Ericsson or Nokia will send me latest mobile phones but those models are also obsolete now.
* Made some Hundred wishes before forwarding those Ganesh , Tirupathi Balaji pics etc. Now most of those 'Wishes' are already married (to someone else)

NOW IMPORTANT NOTE :

If you do not send this e-mail to at least 11,246 people in the next 10 seconds, a bird will Pee on your head today at 6:30pm.

Nothing has happened till now....................... but who knows. So please forward.

SUNDAR

what is one's due

यद्धात्रा निज-फाल-पट्ट-लिखितं स्तोकं महद्वा धनं
तत् प्राप्नोति मरुस्थलेऽपि नितरां मेरौ ततो नाधिकम्।
तद्धीरो भव वित्तवत्सु कृपणां वृत्तिं वृथा मा कृथाः
कूपे पश्य पयोनिधावपि घटो गृह्णाति तुल्यं जलम्॥४९॥
नीतिशतकं  भर्त्रुहरेः
yaddhātrā nija-phāla-paṭṭa-likhitaṁ stokaṁ mahadvā dhanaṁ
tat prāpnoti marusthale'pi nitarāṁ merau tato nādhikam |
taddhīro bhava vittavatsu kṛpaṇāṁ vṛttiṁ vṛthā mā kṛthāaḥ
kūpe paśya payonidhāvapi ghaṭo gṛhṇāti tulyaṁ jalam ||49||
nītiśatakaṁ  bhartruhareḥ

If the controller of fate, the Brahma has entered in one's account written on the forehead  that the human being is ordained to enjoy a particular quantity of welath whether it is little or copious,  he will get it  whether he is living in a desert or in the summit of mahameru , where gods reside. He will get nothing more or nothing less.  So, we mortals should be very bold in our belief in fate. One need not crib for small favours in front of the arrogant rich.  One should try to understand that if water is to be taken from either a well or from the sea, if it is taken in a pitcher, the quantity will be the same, depending only on the size of the pitcher.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

what is one's due

यद्धात्रा निज-फाल-पट्ट-लिखितं स्तोकं महद्वा धनं
तत् प्राप्नोति मरुस्थलेऽपि नितरां मेरौ ततो नाधिकम्।
तद्धीरो भव वित्तवत्सु कृपणां वृत्तिं वृथा मा कृथाः
कूपे पश्य पयोनिधावपि घटो गृह्णाति तुल्यं जलम्॥४९॥
नीतिशतकं  भर्त्रुहरेः
yaddhātrā nija-phāla-paṭṭa-likhitaṁ stokaṁ mahadvā dhanaṁ
tat prāpnoti marusthale'pi nitarāṁ merau tato nādhikam |
taddhīro bhava vittavatsu kṛpaṇāṁ vṛttiṁ vṛthā mā kṛthāaḥ
kūpe paśya payonidhāvapi ghaṭo gṛhṇāti tulyaṁ jalam ||49||
nītiśatakaṁ  bhartruhareḥ

If the controller of fate, the Brahma has entered in one's account written on the forehead  that the human being is ordained to enjoy a particular quantity of wealth, and whether it is little or copious,  he will get it irrespective of  whether he is living in a desert or is occupying  the summit of Mahameru , where gods reside. He will get nothing more or nothing less.  So, we mortals should be very bold in our belief in fate. One need not crib for small favours in front of the arrogant rich.  One should try to understand that if water is to be taken from either a well or from the sea, if it is taken in a pitcher, the quantity will be the same, depending only on the size of the pitcher.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

कृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"

open your mouth....aah..aah

open your mouth....aah..aah

सुहृदां हितकामानां न करोतीह यो वचः

स कूर्म इव दुर्बुद्धिः काष्टात् भ्रष्टो विनश्यति

suhṛdāṁ hitakāmānāṁ na karotīha yo vacaḥ

sa kūrma iva durbuddhiḥ kāṣṭāt bhraṣṭo vinaśyati

पञ्चतन्त्रं

pañcatantraṁ

     Let us have the full story from panchatantram

The person who, owing to his foolishness, does not pay heed to the adives of his   friends  and wellwishers ,  meets  with the same fate as 

the stupid tortoise who fell from the stick he was holding his teeth with, and died."

In a lake there lived a tortoise namedKambugreeva. 

Two swans, named Sankat and Vikat were his very close friends. Everyday the three would sit by the lake and talk about various devarshiS, maharshis and so on, and when the sun set they would return to their homes. 

After some days, because of lack of rain, the lake slowly started to dry up. 

The tortoisewas very sad and  much worried.

 Seeing him the swans said

 "Friend! This lake has dried up. Now only swampy mud remains. Withoutwater how shall we live? 

This thought is worrying us."

On hearing the swans, the tortoise said -

"Now, due to the lack of water, my survival here too is not possible. Therefore,  you two should think about saving me.
It is said that" –

"In bad times, one should not abandon patience. 

It is quite possible that with patience one can be delivered from the calamity. 

When the boat breaks in the middle of the sea, its owner does and should  not leave patience and hope. 

On the contrary, he thinks of ways to reach the shore."

"In addition, Manu has said" –

"During bad times an intelligent man should make efforts to save his kith and kin from the calamity.  Through sincere efforts, it is possible to keep away trouble."

"You can get a strong rope or a small piece of stick. Search another lake that has plenty of water. I will hold the middle of rope or stick with my teeth, and you can hold the two ends and fly, taking me to the other lake where there is water."

The swans heard what Kambugreeva had to say.

 They said, "Friend we shall  do as you have said. But, while we transport you,   you will have to be silent. If you are not silent you will fall from the stick."

After making  necessary arrangements, the swans were flying. They held the two tips of a sturdy stick and the tortoise clung to its middle, biting it  strongly with his teeth. 
While having the journey by air in this suspended stage,  Kambugreeva could  get a panoramaic view of the town below. 

The people in thetown were astonished and were shouting,

"See! see! the birds are taking a circular object and flying." 

On hearing the people's din below, Kambugreeva opened his mouth and asked,

"Friends! what is this noise ?" 

Even before he could complete the question  he lost grip of his teeth from the stick   fell from the sky  straight into the crowd of people. They  cut him to pieces. The loose-mouthed   tortoise was was obviously done in by his own mouth.

checklist for a blessed life

तृष्णां छिन्धि भज क्षमां जहि मदं पापे रतिं मा कृथाः
सत्यं ब्रूह्यनुयाहि साधु-पदवीं सेवस्व विद्वज्जनं।
मान्यान् मानय विद्विषोऽप्यनुनय प्रच्छादय स्वान् गुणान्
कीर्तिं पालय दुःखिते कुरु दयाम् एतत् सतां चेष्टितम्॥७८॥
नीतिशतकं  भर्तृहरि
tṛṣṇāṁ chindhi bhaja kṣamāṁ jahi madaṁ pāpe ratiṁ mā kṛthāaḥ
satyaṁ brūhyanuyāhi sādhu-padavīṁ sevasva vidvajjanaṁ |
mānyān mānaya vidviṣo'pyanunaya  pracchādaya svān guṇān
kīrtiṁ pālaya duaḥkhite kuru dayām etat satāṁ ceṣṭitam ||78||
nītiśatakaṁ  bhartṛhari

A roadmap for a glorious life thought out with profound insights by the philosopher king,  the one and only Bhartruhari.



give up avariciousness for ever,  
practice patience, 
steer clear of arrogance,
never even think of committing a sin, 
always speak the truth,
follow the path of the great,
 serve with devotion the learned people, 
give utmost respect to the great souls who deserve it , 
may be it your endeavour to reconcile and remove enmities even with violent foes, 
never  try to  project your own name and fame but be it your endeavour to conceal your personal glories which are to be discovered by discerning well wishers,
 be humble,
always strive to safeguard the good reputation you have already earned ,
be kind to one and all who are in distress,...
these are the natural course of action and code of conduct for a blessed life.

even if we are able put to action   a small portion of the contents of this long checklist, our lives will be much better in many respects

തൃഷ്ണാം ഛിന്ധി ഭജ ക്ഷമാം ജഹി മദം പാപേ രതിം മാ കൃഥാഃ

സത്യം ബ്രൂഹ്യനുയാഹി സാധു-പദവീം സേവസ്വ വിദ്വജ്ജനം।

മാന്യാന്‍ മാനയ വിദ്വിഷോഽപ്യനുനയ പ്രച്ഛാദയ സ്വാന്‍ ഗുണാന്‍

കീര്‍തിം പാലയ ദുഃഖിതേ കുരു ദയാം ഏതത് സതാം ചേഷ്ടിതമ്॥൭൮॥

നീതിശതകം ഭര്‍തൃഹരി

നന്മയും സുഖവും നിറഞ്ഞ ഒരു ജീവിതപാതയിലൂടെ മുന്നോട്ടു പോകാന്‍ പിന്തുടരേണ്ട കാര്യങ്ങളുടെ ഒരു മുന്‍ഗണനാ പട്ടിക തന്നെ നമുക്ക് തരികയാണ് ഈ ശ്ലോകത്തിലൂടെ ചിന്തകനായ ഭര്‍തൃഹരി.

ആക്രാന്തവും അത്യാഗ്രഹവും തികച്ചും ഒഴിവാക്കുക.

ക്ഷമാശീലം ജീവിതചര്യ ആക്കുക.

അഹങ്കാരവും തണ്ടും ദൂരെ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുക.

തെറ്റുകളും കുറ്റങ്ങളും പാപകര്‍മ്മങ്ങളും ഒക്കെ ചെയ്യാനുള്ള തോന്നല്‍ വരാതെ സൂക്ഷിക്കുക, അത്തരം ചിന്ത ഉദിച്ചാല്‍ അതിനെ പെട്ടെന്ന് മനസ്സില്‍ നിന്നും പുറത്താക്കുക.

സത്യം മാത്രം പറയുക.

അറിവും തരവും ഉള്ള മഹാന്മാര്‍ സഞ്ചരിച്ച വഴിയിലൂടെ മാത്രം മുന്നോട്ട് നീങ്ങുക.

പഠിപ്പും ജ്ഞാനവും ഉള്ള ആളുകളെ താഴ്മയോടും വിശ്വസ്തതയോടും സേവിക്കുക.

ബഹുമാനം അര്‍ഹിക്കുന്നവര്‍ക്ക് വേണ്ടത്രയോ അതിലധികമോ ബഹുമാനം നല്‍കുക.

ഏറെ ശത്രുതയും പ്രതിഹാരദാഹവും ഒക്കെയായി നടക്കുന്ന വ്യക്തികളോട് പോലും സംഘര്‍ഷം ഒഴിവാക്കി രമ്യതയോടെ ജീവിക്കാനാവട്ടെ നിങ്ങളുടെ ശ്രമം.

സ്വന്തം പേരും പെരുമയും എടുത്തുകാട്ടാനും പൊങ്ങച്ചത്തോടെ അവ പറഞ്ഞു നടക്കാനും ശ്രമിക്കരുത്.

നിങ്ങളുടെ തരവും അറിവും എല്ലാം വിവരവും വിവേകവും ഉള്ള സജ്ജനങ്ങള്‍ കണ്ടറിഞ്ഞ് അവയെ അംഗീകരിക്കുകയും പ്രകീര്‍ത്തിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതാണ് അഭിലഷണീയം, അതുകൊണ്ട് സ്വന്തം നേട്ടങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച്‌ സംസാരിക്കുന്നതില്‍ മിതത്വം പാലിക്കുക.

നേടിയെടുത്ത നല്ല പേര് നഷ്ടപ്പെടാതിരിക്കാന്‍ ഏറെ ജാഗ്രത പുലര്‍ത്തുക.

എപ്പോഴും എളിമയുള്ള ജീവിതശൈലി പിന്തുടരുക

കഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്നവരോട് എപ്പോഴും അനുകമ്പ കാണിക്കുക.

ഇതൊക്കെ ആയിരിക്കണം അനുഗൃഹീതമായ ഒരു ജീവിതം നയിക്കാന്‍ ഉള്ള സ്വാഭാവികമായ ഗുണങ്ങള്‍.

ഈ പട്ടികയില്‍ കാണുന്നതില്‍ നിന്ന് കുറച്ചു കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ എങ്കിലും തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്ത് അവ ജീവിതത്തില്‍ പകര്‍ത്തിയാല്‍ പോലും നമ്മുടെ ജീവിതം ഏറെ തരവും സന്തോഷവും ഒക്കെ ഉള്ളതായി മാറും എന്നതില്‍ ഒരു സംശയവും ഇല്ല.

the five scorchers

कान्ता-वियोगः स्वजनापमानं ऋणस्य शेषं कुनृपस्य सेवा।
दारिद्र्य-भावाद् विमुखं च मित्रं विनाग्निना पञ्च दहन्ति कायम्॥१४॥
चाणक्य नीति दर्पणं  २  १४
kāntā-viyogaḥ svajanāpamānaṁ ṛṇasya śeṣaṁ kunṛpasya sevā |
dāridrya-bhāvād vimukhaṁ ca mitraṁ vināgninā pañca dahanti kāyam ||14||
cāṇakya nīti darpaṇaṁ  2  14
കാന്താവിയോഗ സ്വജനാപമാനം ഋണസ്യ ശേഷം കുന്രിപസ്യ സേവാ
ദാരിദ്ര്യഭാവാത് വിമുഖം ച മിത്രം വിനാഗ്നിനാ പന്‍ച ദഹന്തി കായം
The following five situations in life scorch one's body even without  fire.  (1) Loss of one's wife  (2) Insult from one's own kinsmen (3) the constant nagging of indebtedness (4) service under a wicked king or government (5) the lack of attachment exhibited by a dear friend when one is in poverty.
One usually feels so safe and  secure when his wife is alive and is in constant company either silently or otherwise. But when that companion for lifetime is lost then alone the real pain is felt.  Insult by kinsmen, indebtedness and the unfriendly attitude of the so called friends when one is in penury are usual happenings in one's life but situations are nevertheless most painful. Having a wicked administration to control one is bad and the compulsion to serve under such ruler is worse still...it hangs like a Damocles sword over one's head

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

how to determine the right law

९ युधिष्टिर
      प्रत्यक्षं लोकतः सिद्धम् लोकाश्चागम पूर्वकाः
      शिष्टाचारो बहुविधो ब्रूहि तन् मे पितामह
  १० भीष्म
     धर्मस्य ह्रियमाणस्य बलवद्भिर् दुरात्मभिः
     संस्थायत्नैर् अपि कृता कालेन परिभिद्यते
 ११ अधर्मा धर्मरूपेण तेणैः कूपा इवावृताः
     ततस्तैर् भिद्यते वृत्तम् शृणु चैव युधिष्ठिर
 १२ अवृत्त्या ये च भिन्दन्ति श्रुतत्यागपरायणाः
     धर्मविद्वेषिणो मन्दा इत्युक्तास्ते न सम्शयाः
 १३ अतृप्यन्तस्तु साधूनाम् य एवागम बुद्धयः
     परमित्येव संतुष्टास्तान् उपासस्व च पृच्छ च
 १४ कामार्थौ पृष्ठताः कृत्वा लोभमोहानुसारिणौ
     धर्म इत्येव सम्बुद्धातान् उपासस्व च पृच्छ च
 १५ न तेषाम् भिद्यते वृत्तम् यज्ञस्वाध्यायकर्मभिः
     आचाराः कारणम् चैव धर्मश्चैवत्रयम् पुनः
9 yudhiṣṭira
      pratyakṣaṁ lokataḥ siddham lokāścāgama pūrvakāaḥ
      śiṣṭācāro bahuvidho brūhi tan me pitāmaha
  10 bhīṣma
     dharmasya hriyamāṇasya balavadbhir durātmabhiaḥ
     saṁsthāyatnair api kṛtā kālena paribhidyate
 11 adharmā dharmarūpeṇa teṇaiaḥ kūpā ivāvṛtāaḥ
     tatastair bhidyate vṛttam śṛṇu caiva yudhiṣṭhira
 12 avṛttyā ye ca bhindanti śrutatyāgaparāyaṇāaḥ
     dharmavidveṣiṇo mandā ityuktāste na samśayāḥ
 13 atṛpyantastu sādhūnām ya evāgama buddhayaḥ
     paramityeva saṁtuṣṭāstān upāsasva ca pṛccha ca
 14 kāmārthau pṛṣṭhatāḥ kṛtvā lobhamohānusāriṇau
     dharma ityeva sambuddhātān upāsasva ca pṛccha ca
 15 na teṣām bhidyate vṛttam yajñasvādhyāyakarmabhiaḥ
     ācārāḥ kāraṇam caiva dharmaścaivatrayam punaḥ


MahabharathamYudhistira asks Bheeshma 
'Tell me, O grandsire, which among these (four) is most authoritative, viz., direct perception, inference from observation, the science of Agama or scriptures, and diverse kinds of practices that distinguish the good.'

"Bhishma said, 'While Righteousness is sought to be destroyed by wicked persons possessed of great might, it is capable of being protected for the time being by those that are good exerting themselves to the best of their capabilities  with care and earnestness.

 Such protection, however, may not hold fast  in the long run, for destruction does overtake Righteousness at the end. 

Then, again, Righteousness often proves a mask for covering Unrighteousness, like grass and straw covering the mouth of a deep pit and concealing it from the view.

 Hear, again, O Yudhisthira! In consequence of this, the practices of the good are interfered with and destroyed by the wicked. 

Those persons who are of evil conduct, who discard the Srutis--indeed, those wicked wights who are haters of Righteousness,--destroy that good course of conduct (which could otherwise be set up as a standard). Hence, doubts attach to direct perception, inference, and good conduct.  

Those, therefore, among the good that are possessed of understanding born of (or cleansed by) the scriptures and that are ever contented, are to be regarded as the foremost. Let those that are anxious and deprived of tranquility of soul, approach these.

 Indeed, O Yudhishthira., do thou pay court to them and seek of them the solutions of thy doubt! 

Disregarding both pleasure and wealth which always follow cupidity and awakened into the belief that only Righteousness should be sought, do thou, O Yudhishthira, wait upon and ask those persons (for enlightening thyself). 

The conduct of those persons never goes wrong or meets with destruction, as also their sacrifices and Vedic study and rites

. Indeed, these three, viz., conduct as consisting of overt acts, behaviour in respect of (mental) purity, and the Vedas together constitute Righteousness.'

In the anusaasika parva  these questions are raised by yudhistira to bheeshma,  under the advise of Lord Krishna himself.  The enforcers of law have a tendency to hold on to citations favourable to them and their interests and by passage of time the original fundamental principles get obliterated.  In such situations reference to the original texts and taking the advise of the impartial judges alone is the right way.  Sticking to redundant precedents will often given benefit only to vested interest.  This is relevant as an argument even in a modern court of law.

Fwd: dont be a eunuch

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ananthanarayanan Vaidyanathan <kvananthanarayanan@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 23, 2010 at 8:48 PM
Subject: dont be a eunuch
To: kanfusion blogger <kannan54.karthik@blogger.com>

kanfusion blogger <kannan54.karthik@blogger.com>

Do not be a eunuch ,  Arjuna

                                                                                                                                K.V.ANANTHANARAYANAN

Here my treatement of the subject  requires a digression, I feel.   As we see Arjuna's present state of Impotency and mental breakdown started  when he collapsed on the floor of the chariot telling  his friend, "I do not intend to fight, Govinda" .  The statement comes first and the concocted justifications follow one by one.  

It is for the consideration of the psychiatrists and counsellors of all ages whether the much touted brave warrior Arjuna was  prone to occasional impotency and emotional breakdown all through his life. First , we have to consider his  pedigree for that.  In puranas and Itihasas , creation of complications and resolution of such  catch 22 positions both would be credited to the account of some handy  sage who passed by.  Arjuna's  father Pandu was the most unwanted child for his mother.  After being snatched away from a decent life by Bheeshma, another madcap who would not marry, she was engaged in wedlock with a tuberculosis patient by name Vichitraveerya,  an  apparent  eunuch who could not sire a progeny  in spite of having two beautiful wives and innumerable women in the harem who were all meant for his use as per the day's custom.  He died,  thank God ,  but the old hag Satyavathi who destroyed the Kuru   Race by demanding that Bhishma should not marry ,  was now shedding tears of a crocodile to have some heir to the throne fully knowing that only the childless widows of her deceased son and the eccentric Bhishma were alive and  there was practically no way out.  Then the pundits dusted out some old law books and declared that the widows could beget children through either Bheeshma or a noble Brahmin.. Bheeshma would have nothing of it. So the search was for a noble Brahmin. The noble Brahmin recruited for the job was Vyasa, the Krishnadwaipayana,  the fellow who was impossibly black and ugly, and he sprouted out of the illegitimate affair between Parasara and Satyavathi, who did the act together  in a dweepa or island,  in fog.  Vyasa was duly summoned and  he tried his luck first with Ambika the first wife of his half brother and as she would not open her eyes to see the ugliness of her studbull,  she delvered  Dhritarashta the eternal  blindman.  The next turn was availed by Ambalika, the second wife of Vichitraveerya, and seeing the ugly dwaipayana  she received him with her face and body devoid of any lively colour and the product  was Pandu, the one afflicted with leucoderma.  In time Pandu, married Kunthi and Maadri, but had not  yet tried to have a baby but it is described that Pandu and his two wives  went on rampage in a mountain range where some sage was also doing some business.  Pandu got cursed that his head will bread into thousand pieces if he tried to have any relation with his wives.  Then the wonderful boon received by Kunthi  from Durvasa came in handy.  What a boon!  She could call any celestial being for copulation with a mantra  and she had tried it once already while quite youngs  with the sungod with disastrous effect of delivery a bastard child Karna whom  she stealthily disposed off.  Now, to oblige Pandu(?)  she called the death god  Yama and begat  Yudhitira.  The next to oblige was the wind god and  Bheemasena was the product.  Finally she wooed the most promiscuous of the devas, the Indra himself and he gifted her with Our Arjuna.  By now she might have got bored by her promiscuity and she passed on the mantra to Madri, who achieved a double with the Ashwini  twins  and there stood Nakula  and sahadeva. 

The first question is whether it was the effect of a curse or the natural impotency of Pandu  which led to this situation.  Then we have to admire the chastity of Kunthi who could sleep with anyone  to beget a child.  The character of Indra who never missed a chance to ensnare a female--see the Ahalya episode or the  Damayanthi episode--and one need have no doubts about the credentials of Arjuna either on the paternal side of maternal side.

While growing up into manhood, Arjuna had to suffer another trauma.  He had won Yagnaseni or Draupadi as his wife in a tournament of prowess but with a view not to split the family, the wily hag Kunthi  hatched out the plan that the girl should be shared by all the five brothers taking turns.  This must have been the first major  mental shock to Arjuna  who was already bearing the brunt of illegitimacy of generations.  What right any of the Pandavas or Kauravas has to the Kuru  throne.  The dyanasty has  become a dried stump with Bheeshma.

This diffidence and uncertainty of his credentials always nagged Arjuna.  True, he was very bold and virile on occasions.  He is said to have travelled all over India and sired at least one child through a woman of any race….uppermost to the lowliest.   But there was always the very apparent swing in the psyche. Once he went  to his fathers abode , the heaven on a visit and there one of the paramours of Indra, Urvasi started to cast lustful eyes on him and finally he received an open invitation.  It is described that he declined the offer because the  prostitute in his fathers custody was like a mother to him.  He was cursed to become a eunuch for this, by Urvasi, and  the period of impotency was later on amended and restricted to the period he spent  as the  ajnatavasam . It was during  this period that   Arjuna enacted the role of the eunuch Brihannala teaching dance to Uttarakumari  the Virata  princess   The reality may be that Arjuna experienced the impotency of his race on the face of such a beautiful woman and judging by the nature of Indra and Arjuna neither would have hesitated to share the same woman if they were in normal health.  Maybe it is that Arjuna suffered a bout of impotency during his stay in heaven,  for which he might have even been treated, so that his potency was extended upto the period of ajnatha vasam. 

Even while living as a eunuch in the harem of Virata, may be due to another bout of depression,  Arjuna was triggered into action when the Kauravas attacked the  kingdom  the prince Uttarakumara was incapable of protecting the  Country. 

From the above background it would transpire that Arjuna was  a person susceptible to occasional mood swings  and  unbearable depression coupled with impotency.  This would be evident from the fact that when Dwaraka was attacked by enemies after the demise of Krishna,  Arjuna could only watch in impotency, even unable to lift his celebrated Gandeevam.

It was with such  a person with morbid depression that the Blessed Lord had to content with and drag him  to normalcy  to win  the war.  And the inimitable Krishna achieved it is syle.   For this alone he has to be worshipped for generations as the greatest psychiatrist  history has ever produced.   The methods adopted by him will unravel in subsequent editions.

dont be a eunuch

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

kakka raman and abisravanam

KAKKA RAMAN AND ABHISHRAVANAM


Have you heard about the abhishravanam? At least till about some thirty years ago, in the houses of affluent pattars, when there was ceremonial offering of food to the learned Brahmins on Occasions like Sraadhdham etc., a large number of laukeeka Brahmins will be invited to sit in a separate place within the earshot of the elite purohitas partaking in the ceremonial feast and chant some manthras and sookthas (such manthras were also called abhisravana manthras). The loukeekas whose level of knowledge of the vedic sookthas and chants was big zero ( this includes our hero kakka rama also) would have learnt such chants by just having heard it being uttered repeatedly by many of their professional colleagues and it was an exercise of parrot-like repetition. Besides some poor Brahmins who could not get to chant the verses in spite of all earnest attempts and the new entrants to the profession who were yet to memorize the abracadabra would also sit in the group and either move their lips or just utter some inarticulate words ensuring that the voice was kept so low that others would not know what these people were uttering. The ordinary onlooker's impression will be that the elite scholars were chanting something in deep meditation. Anyway this exercise was carried through because the abhisravana pattar would be also given some dakshina (may be four annas or if they were lucky enough eight annas). If they were extremely lucky, they may be offered a meal also as samaaradhana , after the ceremony. It was the convention that any Brahmin could come and sit in the group even without being invited and he also received the dakshina. So, the crowd in those days could be quite huge and some pompous householders who wanted to show off their devotion in religious matters would use all means at their disposal to restrict the number of abhisravana pattars to keep in control their expenditure by way of dakshina. In some cases the pattar of the house would closely watch the poor Brahmins chanting and with great dexterity, would identify the hapless lipmovers and new entrants and openly insult them and ask them to get out..instead of dakshina the poor soul would be abused with the words like, "Peera pattarey, enna oye, neer pulinguru, pulinguru ennu japikkarathukku omakku naan kaasu tharanamaa? Edatha kaali pannum . (to translate –"you wretched pattar, you are chanting something repeatedly like "pulinguru" [the tamarind seed---please just note, the word is magical, when you repeat the word silently moving your lips there will be very hectic lip movements creating a profound impression on the person who is watching], instead of the manthras and for this have I to pay you money? You immediately get out of here).
Now this is the background of a funny but costly tiff between our hero and a so called prominent grihastha in our agraharam.
The prominenent pattar was a " mookkillaa rajyathey murimookkan rajaavu" ( in the country of people without noses, the solitary man who has a small lump in the place of nose will be honoured as king) of our agraharam. One cannot but be skeptical about his credentials as a devout Brahmin.. the mama had at least on public sambandham (it was a practice among prominent pattars to have affairs—not exactly marriage, with ladies of communities like nairs and ambalavasis in addition to their own submissive mamis) in which he sired quarter of a dozen of nair children in addition to his near a dozen progenies through his Brahmin sahadharmini…and his overtures to greener pastures even in the upper middleaged status of his life had earned him the fame as a local don juan. But he wanted to flaunt his affluence by celebrating religious ceremonies etc., in the most noisy way with the least expenditure. On one such occasion, our Kakka Rama Iyer was the victim of a similar tonguelash as mentioned above, and this was all the more insulting to our hero because the grihastha concerned was a relative of the grama vaadhyar (the village priest) and this incident created some serious loss in our hero's profession for livelihood which included attending such religious ceremonies and receiving the pittance of dakshinas involved. Our hero, by nature is very good-natured but his pride (whatever it is) and his means of livelihood (a still more obscure thing) were affected and he was raring to get even with his tormentor.
Our hero got his opportunity. The vaideekas and loukeekas of almost all the agraharams around kalpathy usually met every day in front of Kshipra ganapathy temple just Opposite the famous muniappan kada(shop) at the ther mutti (the place where the celebrated car(Ratham) of Viswanathaswamy is parked on days other than the three days of the car festival.) and exchanged notes, and the loukeekas would be invariably present because it was here that they were informed about their job opportunities for the succeeding days, whether it was some pooja , sraadhdham, hiranyam, etc. The main vaadhyars chalked out the duty roster for the lesser mortals, and these were ocaasions where they exhibited their superiority and suzerainty over the latter souls. One heartening feature in the whole process is that the noble vaadhyars of those days never demanded a kickback on the daksinas received by junior vaadhyaars or loukeekas, whose cases were referred to by them,
It was on one such day and there was a sraadhdham in the house of the VIP pttar of our agraharam who had become the enemy of our hero. As luck would have it, our grama vadhyar was not present for the summit of the day and snatching the opportunity, our hero spread the hush and anonymous news that there was a sraadhdham at the house of …Iyer and for abhisravanam, the dakshina would be five rupees per head and many vaideekas were specially attending... Remember fiver rupees forty years ago was a very substantial sum.
The Sraadhdham day dawned. By 9 AM one could see a long parade of vaideekas (and also loukeekas) most of them clad in pompous somans and angavastrams , sporting prominent viboothi pattais or pattai namams, making a beeline to the house of the VIP grihastha.. The grama vadhyar who was present in the house and was preparing the day's schedule for the sraaddham and the VIP pattar were both surprised at the flow of such an elite crowd to the household. The professional colleagues of the grama vaadhyar informed him in whispers that they had all come for the abhisravanam and they knew how important it was since the dakshina was five rupees per head. The duo, the VIP pattar and the grama vadhyar were flabbergasted for a moment. A wrong news has been spread. However the fact remained that there was sraadhdham there and there was abhishravanam also. And the scholars who had come were all very learned, and at least to save his face the VIP pattar could not deny the news. The mama had to shell out five rupees each to at least the elite vaideekas, and the number of such persons in Palakkkad at that time was quite substantial.
Kaakka Raman had taken revenge for his disgrace.


Vocabulary
Sraadhddham the annual death ceremony in honour of dead parent. Done every year on the same Tithi(the solar phase) and month of death
Loukeeka Brhahmanan the Brahmin who assists in ceremonies but does not have the complete knowledge of mantras and prayogas as the vadhyar
Dakshina money given as remuneration or gift for participating in religious ceremonies
Samaradhana Group meals
Grihastha One who is living in a house in agraharam, especially the head of the household. Now it can be applied to anyone running a family anywhere in the world
Agraharam In an agraharam the houses are arranged in two straight rows opposite one another and at the farthest end of the street there will be a temple. An aerial look at the formation will give the picture of a garland with the temple at the place of pendant. See the aerial photo attached
Sambandam High caste people like pattars and namboodiris having marital or extra marital relationships with ladies of not so low casted…the ladies will be usually from nairs or ambalavasis. The children born will take the lady's caste/
Sahadharmini ones own house mami (the wife properly married to )
Vaadhyaar The learned person who leads in conducting religious ceremonies
Grama Vaadhyar In good old days a vadhyar was assigned the charge of a whole agraharam in conducting the religious ceremonies. His authority as the Guru was immense. He was virtually a family member of all.
Sekharipuram Agraharam Double street with Lasksminarayanaswamy temple at the left end.

that rogue krishna

That rogue Krishna.

                There is a very interesting story about the nineteenth ashtapadi  in Jayadeva's   Geetha Govindam

                       It is in the tenth Sargam, Chathura Chathrubhujam.  The Ashtapadi starts with "Vadasi yadhi kinchidapai .."

                      The devotee poet Jayadeva was spending the morning visualizing the amorous deeds of his Master for ever, Krishna.  He has reached a stage in the lyric where the crafty Krishna has managed to mollify Radha's   love laden anger towards him  after somehow persuading her to come to his presence along with her Sakhi.  The girl (Radha) is excited,  full of love for the black scoundrel but is indeed displeased with him for his amorous forays with other girls.  The fellow with the glib tongue capable of controlling the entire world with Geetha, finds it indeed very difficult to capture back the endearing mood of Radha.

                        Jayadeva is observing the conversation in the screen of his mind. The master lover Krishna  is pleading with his dearest love, ' Radha please abandon your anger which has originated out of some misunderstanding(?),  please give me a smile to make cool my heart which is being burned by Kamadeva.  If you want to give vent to your anger you attack me with your teeth or nails, you  cause any physical injury to me but do put an end to this anger." 
                   Ultimately  it flashes to Jayadeva that his master and the rogue, Krishna  is suggesting  to his lady  love that she should place  her  beautiful leg which are so beautiful and capable of curing him of the poison inflicted by cupid,  on his head  as if it  is an ornament.( What a rogue! he is ready even to be kicked on the head by Radha to gain her favours..terrible fellow..it will be difficult to see a person like this in  any literature of the world). 

                        Yes, such words flashed in the mind of Jayadeva   but his pen will not move.  How can he write such a thing about his darling Krishna. For Jayadeva everything else in the world, be it Radha, or himself or anything else  is  only subservient to Krishna.  How can he digest the idea of a puny  cowherd girl place her legs on the head of His master.  He stopped his writing.  He raked his brain  again again  to compose another padam(phrase)  to substitute this.  But even after many attempts he simply failed to go ahead.

                           An idea struck  him.  His head would become more clear if had had a bath  and calling  his wife Padmavathi to keep the  palmleaves  and the  pen aside, he went for a bath. 

                             How could Jayadeva guess that the crafty fellow with four hands ( the world cannot suffer him even with two hands)  was just waiting outside the house and was watching the scene.  The sweet sorcerer  just waited till Jayadeva was away safely  near a stream taking his bath.  He entered the house  in exact disguise of Jayadeva.  The  amazed wife Padmavathi  asked why he had  returned without taking bath ( the fellow is such a consummate actor that even the wife of Jayadeva  could not divine the disguise).  He explained to her that he had forgotten to put in words some flash ideas  which he could not wait till he finished his bath.  He called for the Ashtapadi Script and coolly wrote

'Smara garala ghantanam mama sirasi mandanam dehi padha pallavamudhaaram,

Jwalathi mama daaruno madhanakadhanaanalo harathu tadupaahitha vikaaram,

 Priye  charuseeley…

                           After finishing writing this,  the false Jayadeva said,  I have applied oil on my head now for a long time and a few drops have trickled down to my eye-lashes.  Show the tip of your dress, I want to wipe the  oil away.               
Padmavathi obliged lovingly and the impersonator leaves.

                                 In due course, the poet Jayadeva came back from the bath and saw the palm-leaves and pen all spread out  and to his utter dismay he saw the words which he had avoided recording for a thousand times were neatly  penned   in his manuscript.  He was enraged.  He demanded Padmavathi how this had happened.  She recalled his sudden  return from bath  and the  hurried scribbling and quick departure again for bath.  To indicate his  temporary return and departure, she showed him the spot on her dress where he had wiped his eyes  off to clear the dripping oil.  What they saw there was not  marks of oil drops but the beautiful mark of the Divine eye of Krishna. 

                      Jayadeva was overwhelmed with remorse.  He was  serving the  vagrant rogue Krishna all the time in his life but it was given to Padmavathi  to have a darshan and conversation with the eternal Parabrahmam.

                    And the  verse penned by the rogue Himself is retained in the Ashtapadi.  Krishna  has really offered to be kicked by Radha  for his adulterous behavior  and he really got it recorded. 

What an impossible rogue he is…  But can any of us help it?  We will go on loving him.

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan

blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/

kakka ramam and upanyasam

KAKKA RAMA IYER AND UPANYAASAMS

About 40 to 45 years ago it was an annual festive event for lovers of puranas and such divine lores, that some great Scholar from tamilnadu like Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshithar, Manjakkudi Rajagopala Iyer, Santhanagopalachariar, Sivanantha Vijayalakshmi, …the list will be long, would be invited to Palakkad to give discourses on some purana, Itihasam or Bagavath gita and other Vedantic subjects. Usually the venue would be the front of Thiruvangattappan sannadhi at Vadakkanthara, or somewhere near Nurani.

( Nowadays the Brahmana Sabha arranges similar discourses but there is special chairs arranged for persons who pay money and cold frowns reserved for people who just linger around to hear the discourse. )

Old and middle aged mamas and mamis would walk long distances to assemble at the venue of discourse. I was very young, the age range between 9years to 13 years and Sri Raman would take me also along with him to hear the discourses. One reason may be that he is visually impaired and there should be someone to keep his company and the timings usually were from 8-30 in night to the midnight. Somehow, I was a dreamy fellow and I loved to attend such discourses. But Rama Iyer, as a matter of special consideration for my late night vigil and long walks, would purchase for me some" naaranga mittayi" for one and half annas, and hand it over to me with an advice that I should just keep the mittay in my mouth without biting it so that it will dissolve slowly in the mouth and keep me awake during the discourse. Anyway, as far as I am concerned the sweet was gobbled up immediately on receipt. However basically I never felt sleepy and listened and learned the nuances of Ramayanam and Bhagavatham at that age because I attended such discourses. I used to attend the discoursed with keen attention but the hero will doze off within minutes of start of the discourse and usually I would have to wake him up at the close.

The roads we had to negotiate were very unfriendly and negotiating the return path to Sekharipuram, our native village, was a really arduous task. There were no street lights and the way was infested with stray dogs, donkeys, old horses which had lost their utility as cart pullers and added to this various reptiles.

It was true that a lot of mamas and mamis will be walking back to the various villages, but our hero was obviously slow and I was compelled to fall in steps with him.

There was a place called Kuppavandipura where the carts carrying the entire dirt of Palakkad were parked and this place was also the rendezvous of donkeys and street dogs. The place would instill mortal terror in me, a boy of ten years, but the hero was nonchalant, always. From this point we had to take a diversion to our village through a lonely mud track. Usually no one else would be near us as others would have walked home faster. There was one tree called etti maram en route and a Cobra was supposed to be occupying the bottom of the tree. Once a boy from the village was bitten by the reptile during day time recently and he had also passed away. So it was always a nightmare to pass through that terrain even in full day light, then what to say about being there at midnight!.

On one such occasion I was on the brinks of tears of fright, when fortunately an old paatti was also returning after upanyasam along with her two daughters. The threesome had fallen behind their group because it seems one of them had the urge to urinate and so wanted all people to pass on. After achieving their purpose the paatti and the two girls were coming along behind us and the patti was in her vocal best swearing at the two daughters by two unparliamentary words (1)&#####& and (2) #&&&&&&#, and the old woman was repeating these two words like some manthra. So to console me and allay me fears, Our hero told me " enthukku bhayappedanam konthey namma koodey 1)&#####& um (2) #&&&&&&#, irukkaley, pinney antha jagajilly pattiyum, paampu ivalayellam kandal nalu nalakku sekharipuram pakkamey varaathu" ( my child, why should you be afraid, (1) and (2) are keeping company with us along with that witch of a paatti, so if the serpant sees these three it will not come anywhere near Sekharipuram for at least four days

The naranga mittay, kathakaalakshepam and the paatti and daughters are all part of my memories of Sri Raman.

Naranga mittay a sweet solid piece of sugarcandy mixed with lemon flavor—it was so cheap those days that you would get about twenty of them for 10 paise that is one and half anna.

Kakka Raman and Vishnu Pattar Break the law.

Kaakka Rama Iyer had a very close friend by name Ananthakrishna Iyer.. Some say that Ananthakrishna Iyer had been in Ceylon for sometime and there was another school of thought that he was a peon in a British company which did business in slaughtering animals and exporting the flesh. Whatever it may be the man had become very pious when he landed up in our agraharam, but he had no place to live. So Kakka Rama Iyer gracefully volunteered to offer the Iyer number two the privilege of occupying the open thinnai of Kakkai's house as a dwelling place. Ananthankrishna Iyer sported a very huge oordhwapundram (naammam) and the performing of his make up operation was a sight to see. The village urchins would crowd around him while he deftly pasted namakkatti on his palm and drew and big U on his wide forehead, followed by a long red line in the internal bisecting area using thirummannu.. And once the makeup was finished, he looked just like Mahavishnu and hence the village people always called him Vishnu Pattar when he was not present within earshot.

Kakkai and Vishnu were a professional pair. They always went together for partaking in Sraadhams or getting Dakshina or dhaanam on good or bad occasions.

One day they went for Sraadham in Pallipuram village. It was almost five miles from our village. You must remember it was almost 45 years ago and there were not many buses and the Laurel and Hardy could not afford to pay the busfare also. They had to cross an open railway line near palakkad town railway station and they successfully negotiated Lakshman Rekha in the morning during their onward Journey. But while returning after sraadhdham, they again crossed the railway line and was accosted by a railway policeman. The innocent Brahmins did not know that crossing the railway track and making the railway premises as a thoroughfare was a punishable offence. Had they told the policeman that they did not know the law and apologized, he would have left them go. However in their innocent haughtiness, they told him to mind his business and that they were not afraid of any police, especially railway police. The enraged policeman booked a case against them for trespassing and gave a summons directing them to attend the sub-magistrates court one week later and let them go. The poor Brahmins could have given some wrong names and address and got away with it but they were too innocent.

On the day of the great trial the duo, clad in soman and uthareeyam, Mr Vishnu sporting naamam and Mr Raman filling his forehead with three broad white lines of Viboothy, presented themselves in the Court very early in the morning. The magistrate arrived in due course and seeing two Brahmins standing in the courtyard (the magistrate was also an Iyer), said that there was no sraadham or tarpanam being conducted in the court. The Brahmins said they had been booked by railway police and there was a case against them.

Finally the case was called, and R and V presented themselves in the dock. The magistrate asked them whether they had committed any offence for which they stated in unison that they had done nothing but had only crossed the railway line. Even at this stage they were not aware that this was an offence. The magistrate could have let them free had they sought pardon of the court. But they would not do it because they could not dream of any crime being committed by them. Ultimately the Magistrate reluctantly fined them eight anna each.

And once the fine was ordered, the two poor Brahmins could leave the court only after paying the fine and eight anna each was far beyond their capacity to pay. They were pleading with everybody requesting that they be allowed to go. Nothing worked.

Finally the magistrate came to know of it and he did a very wonderful thing. He took a one rupee coin from his own pocket and asked the court clerk to issue the receipt for the fine to Mr Kakkai and Mr Vishnu. May be Vishnu rode the Kaakkai vahanam on that day.

--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।

|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|

Have a nice and happy day

with profound respect and warm regards

K V Ananthanarayanan

blog http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/