Why is Sundarakandam so important?

Why is Sundarakandam so important?

The scholars of Sanskrit, both oriental and western, place the Sundarakandam of the Aadikavaya (Ramyanam), of Maharshi Valmeeki as an aesthetically sublime piece of literature..

Just as the fourth Act of Shakuntalam is the best in Kalidasa's literature in drama, Sundarakandam has similar place in the realm of Kavyams..

The story content of the piece of literature is simply beautiful..

It describes the discovery of something which was supposes to be lost..

नष्टार्थस्य पुनर्लाभः सुन्दरःपरिकीर्तितः..

Sundaram is acclaimed as the recapture or regaining of what has been lost..

Here Mother Sita is gained back

A messenger in olden days is often denoted as Sundara..

Here Anjaneya is the glorious messenger of Rama.. Similar is the case where, when there was a love quarrel between Lord Nataraja and Sivakama Sundari, Sundaramoothi Nayanar shuttled between them .. holding aloft olive branches..

Sun Dhara.. सुं दरति इति one who removes pain and unhappiness.. is called Sundara.. and the hero of Sundarakandam.

Anjaneya swamy has definitely done that..

In all realms of literary merit, like chandas, vrittam, phonetics, alankaram.. etc this part of Valmikiramayanam is outstandingly beautiful..

In many standard texts on the techniques of literary creation, the couplets from Ramayanam are cited as standard models or reference points..

In description of beauty of terrain, flora, fauna, and natural beauty, the contents of Sundarakandam are of great beauty in the field of literary creations..

In fact, the theory and the standards of treatment of subjects in a Kavyam either in Sanskrit, or even in the classical literatures of Asia and the West, have been set with our Adikavyam as the yardstick..

and genius of creativity is at its peak in Sundarakandam..

So sublime..

The description of the Hilly terrain of South India, the beauty of the Golden city of Lanka, the attractiveness of Pushpaka Vimanam, are all great pieces of literary creation where evocative imagination and acute and sensitive observation can be seen and felt at their peak..

Even the natural hilarity and love for fun which are natural for monkeys is described with elan where the monkeys ransack the forest of honey maintained on behalf of Sugriva, after hearing the glad tidings about Seetha, and the successful mission of Hanuman to Lanka..

Sundarakandam is a self sustaining treatise.. The entire story of Ramayanam upto the adventurous trip of Hanuman to Lanka is covered in this Kandam, though in an abridged manner.

.If Rama is the hero for the other parts of Ramayanam. in Sundarakandam, there is only one hero, Lord Anjaneya..

All the facets of an ideal living being, valour, resourcefulness, strength, oratory, to cite a few such qualities are revealed in its excellent manifestation in Anjaneyaswamy, the hero of Sundarakandam. It is the story of Hanuman the Sundara..

And for the devotees, reading of Sundarakandam bestow on them all that is beautiful and beneficial.

So, Sundarakandam is really Sundaram, beautiful with hardly any parallel in the annals of literature created by man...

sree Ramachandraashtakam

॥श्रीरामचन्द्राष्टकम्॥

सुग्रीवमित्रं परमं पवित्रं सीताकळत्रं नवमेघगात्रम्।

कारुण्यपात्रं शतपत्रनेत्रं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥१

संसारसारं निगमप्रचारं धर्म्मावतारं हृतभूमिभारम्।

सदानिर्व्विकारं सुखसिन्धुसारं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥२

लक्ष्मीविलासं जगतां निवासं भूदेववासं शरदिन्दुहासम्।

लङ्काविनाशं भुवनप्रकाशं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥३

मन्दारमालं वचने रसालं गुणैर्विशालं हृतसप्ततालम्।

क्रव्यादकालं सुरलोकपालं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥४

श्यामाभिरामं नयनाभिरामं गुणाभिरामं वचनाभिरामं।

विश्वप्रणामं कृतभक्तकामं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥५

वेदान्तवेद्यं सकलैश्च मान्यं हृतारिमानं क्रतुषु प्रधानम्।

गजेन्द्रपालं विगताभिमानं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥६

लीलाशरीरं रणरङ्गधीरं विश्वैकवीरं रघुवंशधीरम्।

गंभीरनादं जितसर्व्ववादं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥७

अघेऽतिभीतं सुजने विनीतं तमोविहीनं मनुवंशदीपं।

ताराप्रगीतं व्यसने च मित्रं श्रीरामचन्द्रं सततं नमामि॥८

रामचन्द्राष्टकं पुण्यं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत्।

कोटिजन्मकृतं तस्य पापं सद्यो विनश्यति॥९

॥śrīrāmacandrāṣṭakaṃ॥

sugrīvamitraṃ paramaṃ pavitraṃ sītākaḻatraṃ navameghagātraṃ।

kāruṇyapātraṃ śatapatranetraṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥1

saṃsārasāraṃ nigamapracāraṃ dharmmāvatāraṃ hṛtabhūmibhāraṃ।

sadānirvvikāraṃ sukhasindhusāraṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥2

lakṣmīvilāsaṃ jagatāṃ nivāsaṃ bhūdevavāsaṃ śaradinduhāsaṃ।

laṅkāvināśaṃ bhuvanaprakāśaṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥3

mandāramālaṃ vacane rasālaṃ guṇairviśālaṃ hṛtasaptatālaṃ।

kravyādakālaṃ suralokapālaṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥4

śyāmābhirāmaṃ nayanābhirāmaṃ guṇābhirāmaṃ vacanābhirāmaṃ।

viśvapraṇāmaṃ kṛtabhaktakāmaṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥5

vedāntavedyaṃ sakalaiśca mānyaṃ hṛtārimānaṃ kratuṣu pradhānaṃ।

gajendrapālaṃ vigatābhimānaṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥6

līlāśarīraṃ raṇaraṅgadhīraṃ viśvaikavīraṃ raghuvaṃśadhīraṃ।

gaṃbhīranādaṃ jitasarvvavādaṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥7

aghe'tibhītaṃ sujane vinītaṃ tamovihīnaṃ manuvaṃśadīpaṃ।

tārāpragītaṃ vyasane ca mitraṃ śrīrāmacandraṃ satataṃ namāmi॥8

rāmacandrāṣṭakaṃ puṇyaṃ prātarutthāya yaḥ paṭhet।

koṭijanmakṛtaṃ tasya pāpaṃ sadyo vinaśyati॥9

॥ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രാഷ്ടകം॥

സുഗ്രീവമിത്രം പരമം പവിത്രം സീതാകളത്രം നവമേഘഗാത്രം।

കാരുണ്യപാത്രം ശതപത്രനേത്രം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥1

സംസാരസാരം നിഗമപ്രചാരം ധര്‍മ്മാവതാരം ഹൃതഭൂമിഭാരം।

സദാ നിര്‍വ്വികാരം സുഖസിന്ധുസാരം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥2

ലക്ഷ്മീവിലാസം ജഗതാം നിവാസം ഭൂദേവവാസം ശരദിന്ദുഹാസം।

ലങ്കാവിനാശം ഭുവനപ്രകാശം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥3

മന്ദാരമാലം വചനേ രസാലം ഗുണൈര്വിശാലം ഹൃതസപ്തതാലം।

ക്രവ്യാദകാലം സുരലോകപാലം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥4

ശ്യാമാഭിരാമം നയനാഭിരാമം ഗുണാഭിരാമം വചനാഭിരാമം।

വിശ്വപ്രണാമം കൃതഭക്തകാമം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥5

വേദാന്തവേദ്യം സകലൈശ്ച മാന്യം ഹൃതാരിമാനം ക്രതുഷു പ്രധാനം।

ഗജേന്ദ്രപാലം വിഗതാഭിമാനം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥6

ലീലാശരീരം രണരംഗധീരം വിശ്വൈകവീരം രഘുവംശധീരം।

ഗംഭീരനാദം ജിതസര്‍വ്വവാദം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥7

അഘേഽതിഭീതം സുജനേ വിനീതം തമോവിഹീനം മനുവംശദീപം।

താരാപ്രഗീതം വ്യസനേ ച മിത്രം ശ്രീരാമചന്ദ്രം സതതം നമാമി॥8

രാമചന്ദ്രാഷ്ടകം പുണ്യം പ്രാതരുത്ഥായ യഃ പഠേത്।

കോടിജന്മകൃതം തസ്യ പാപം സദ്യോ വിനശ്യതി॥9

1. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is the friend of Sugriva,

Who is the Supreme being,

Who is immaculately pure,

Who is having Mata Sita as his consort,

Whose body shines with the hue of a fresh black cloud,

Who is the receptacle of boundless compassion,

Who is having beautiful eyes resembling the petals of a lotus

2. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is the quintessential substance of all that exists in this world,

Who is praised in Vedas,

Who is the embodiment of virtue or Dharma ,

Who has taken awy the weighty bulk of evil from the earth,

Who is not subjected to any debilitating emotions,

Who is the essence of our well being in the ocean of worldly existence.

3. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is having the Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi present along with Him wherever He is,

Who is the ultimate refuge and resting place for the whole Universe,

Who is residing on this earth as a God,

Who smiles like the full moon of autumn,

Who annihilated Lanka,

Who is the beaconlight for the whole world,

4. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is wearing a garland made of Mandaara flowers,

Whose words are as sweet and juices of sugarcane or fruits,

Who is very generous by nature, Who uprooted the Seven Sala trees,

Who appeared as god of death himself to demons,

Who is the protector of the world of celestials..

5. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who shines forth in his attractive dark form,

Whose form is a feast to the eyes that see Him,

Who is attracts everyone to Him through His sterling qualities,

Whose words are ever so attractive,

Who is the one before whom the whole worlds surrenders in prostraction, Who fulfills the desires of all His devotees,

6. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is understood through study of Vedanta Philosophy,

Who is respected by all,

Who shatters the boastfulness and arrogance of His enemies,

Who is invoked as the primal deity in Yajnas,

Who is the protector of the elephant king Gajendra,

Who is bereft of pride and is ever so humble

7. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is manifest in human body as if by sport,

Who is fearless in the battlefield,

Who the foremost among the valiant people in the whole world,

Who is the brave progeny of the clan of Raghus,

Whose voice is very commanding,

Who is capable of emerging as victor in all debates and discussions.

8. I offer my pranams with uninterrupted devotion to Lord Ramachandra

Who is very much afraid and careful about committing any sins,

Who is very humble and solicitous to good people,

Who is bereft of any darkness of mind and thought,

Who is the beaconlight of the clan of Manu,

Who is praised by songs by Thaara,

Who is a faithful friend for those in agony.

9. Whosoever recites of reads this octet on Ramachanra, keeping awake early in the morning, will have all his sins incurred over crores of lives removed instantly..

Be the master of yourself first....

भूयो विनयमास्थाय भव नित्यम् जितेन्द्रियः।

कामक्रोधसमुत्थानि त्यजेथा व्यसनानि च॥ ३-४२

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीये रामायणे अयोध्याकाण्डे

bhūyo vinayamāsthāya bhava nityam jitendriyaḥ|

kāmakrodhasamutthāni tyajethā vyasanāni ca|| 3-42

śrīmadvālmīkīye rāmāyaṇe ayodhyākāṇḍe

This is from Ayodhyaakandam, of Ramamyanam.

We hardly find any words of wisdom when there is gala celebrations around.. That is true even in epics.

I tried to cull out couplets from Valmikiramayanam for my posts,, couplets conveying wisdom and conveying messages to be followed for us as beacon lights in our daily lives..

But such advises usually occur on occasions which are somewhat sad and tense..

We hardly find philosophical messages when Rama's birthday, marriage or coronation is celebrated..

But a lost of nuggets do appear when Rama grieves, plans a fight or Hanuman is desperately running around in search of missing Sita.

Perhaps this is true with our lives also.

We tend to be lighthearted to the extent of frivolity when we are happy and celebrating and serious thoughts flood into our mind when the chips are down.

Of course the context of the quote is supposed to be the planning for a very happy occasion..

But as luck would have it the even got disrupted, proving once again the contrasts that do occur in life.

Rama and the other princes are now grown up, and married too. Dasaratha started to think in terms of paving way for his next generation to succeed him in the throne..

In time, he expresses in open court, his desire to bring in Rama to the realm of administration.. The people, citizen and members of the court, are all overjoyed,,

Rama is summoned to the Royal court, and Dasaratha is formally conveying his decision to coronate Rama as the Yuvaraja..

Even here, while addressing Rama, Dasaratha tends to be very philosophic for once..

God knows whether it is a foreboding..

But his advice to Rama on the occasion is worth its weight in gold.

_________________________________________________________

" Rama, my child, you be humble ever and have complete control over your mind and physical organs.

You must abandon and drive away all your sorrows and also your earthly yearnings caused by lust and control your reactions arising out of rage.."

__________________________________________________________

The advice is really sound..

But for a divine soul like Rama, it would appear superfluous..

Rama is always an embodiment of impeccable character and self control..

And of course, plans to appoint Rama as the second in command of the state was derailed through the interference of Kaikeyi the queen,,

Rama had to live in forest for fourteen years, undergo a lot of challenging situations in life.. like the demise of his father, the loss and recapture of Sita and so on..

In fact Rama, when He became the Emperor had seen all that a human being could see in life before he took up the reigns of the State..

And that maybe one reason why he succeeded so well in his administration..

There is nothing in this world to substitute first hand experience..

force of arms v force of penance...

force of arms v force of penance...

धिग्बलम् क्षत्रियबलम् ब्रह्मतेजोबलम् बलम्।

एकेन ब्रह्मदण्डेन सर्वास्त्राणि हतानि मे॥५६-२२

॥श्रीमद्वाल्मीकिरामायणे बालकाण्डे॥

dhigbalam kṣatriyabalam brahmatejobalam balam|

ekena brahmadaṇḍena sarvāstrāṇi hatāni me||56-22

||śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇe bālakāṇḍe||

Rama and Lakshmana are led through a forest by Sage Visvamitra on their way to the place where Visvamitra is conducting a yajana and it is the duty of the princes to protect the sacrifice and to ensure its proper conduct.

They were covering huge distances by foot, and the sage, with a view to keep the boys cheerful was telling them many stories and anecdotes..

This way balakandam in Valmikiramayanam covers many stories including Vishamitras own metamorphosis into a very staunch ascetic from a very ambtious and valorous king.. Visvamitra also recounts many stories,like the birth of the river Ganga, the glory of Uma, the birth of Skanda, and so on..Thus Ramayanam assumes encyclopaedic dimensions at places.

Coming to the sloka quoted above, it comes in the autobiographic narrative of Vishvamitra Himself 

..

Kaushika, Gadheya or Vishvamtira was, in his formative years, a very ambitious and powerful king..

Once in the course of a royal hunt, getting tired and hungry in the recesses of forests, the king and his retinue entered the hermitage of the first among sages, Bhagavan Vasishta.

The hermitage and environs bore a very frugal and poverty ridden look..

But the sage received the king heartily and with all royal honour and entertained him and his soldiers and attendants with all comforts for say and also fed them with food items befitting the royal status of the guest..

The king was puzzled at first, but on subtle observation, came to know that the divine wish yielding cow (Kamadhenu.. called Surabhi and later her daughter Nandini), reared in the precincts of the hermitage was providing all the materials for such heavenly life on earth..

The king was impressed, but then avariciousness took hold of him..

He asked the sage Vasishta to hand over the Divine Cow to him because as the king he alone was entitled such precious treasures.. 

When Vasishta declined to comply and hand over the cow, the king decided to use force to abduct the cow.. 

He started attacking the hermitage will all weapons and missiles possessed by him and his huge army,

Sage Vasishta simply continued with his daily rituals and meditations but placed the Brahmadanda.. the bamboo staff carried by the ascetic as a sign of his exalted state of life.. in front of him, and as the king attacked, all the weapons and the strength of the soldiers were all devoured by the extreme power of penance present in that single bamboo stick

Standing disarmed and humbled in front of the Sage, Visvamitra admits the futility of his armed strength in the presence of the power of mind accumulated through penance and austerities.

" Fie upon the strength of the arms and ammunition possessed by me as a warrior, the real strength is the strength arising out of the divine power gained through penance.. With a single stick called brahmadanda, the whole array of my arms and ammunition are annihilated.."

Shallow thinking on our part may tempt us to imply that this was a fight between a brahmin and a kshatriya.. We have to remember that a brahmana could wield weapons and kshatriya could gain spiritual power through mental conditioning.. and caste or creed has nothing to do with the supreme knowledge.

The legend goes on to describe further that Visvamitra gave up his royal office and took to pencance, austerities and deep studies and became a very great stage, perhaps one of the most important sages of India, who had the fortune to be the discoverer of the one and the only one Gayatri Mantram..

Duty first.....

नृशंसमनृशंसंवा प्रजारक्षणकारणात्।

पातकम् वा सदोषं वा कर्तव्यं रक्षतां सदा॥ 

राज्यभारनियुक्तानामेष धर्मः सनातनः। २५--१८

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकिरामायणे बालकाण्डे 

nṛśaṁsamanṛśaṁsam vā prajārakṣaṇakāraṇāt|

pātakam vā sadoṣam vā kartavyam rakṣatām sadā||

rājyabhāraniyuktānāmeṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ| 25--18 

śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇe bālakāṇḍe 

Ostensibly to protect a Yajna or fire sacrifice being conducted by him, sage Visvaamitra takes the boys Rama and Lakshmana with him to the forest.. 

Various stories and anecdotes are explained to the boys during their sojourn with the sage.. 

In the first lap of their journey into the forest by foot, they enter the forest called Taatakaavanam, where the fierce demoness Tataka was residing.. She was a nightmare to all living beings in the forest as also the inhabitants of the human settlements around the forest.. 

She was extremely cruel and killed and destroyed others without any scruples, but she had terrible strength which could not be matched by others around in any sort of combat.. 

The sage, in the company of Princes Rama and Lakshmana comes face to face with the demoness, and, as usual the massive lady starts her threats and abuses, now directed at the sage and the princes.. 

Vishvamitra without any hesitation instructs Rama to send an arrow at her and finish her off.. 

Rama knows that the task is very easy for him.. But He is in a dilemma because He was facing a woman in combat, and killing a woman was abhorrent for a warrior.. 

Then Visvamitra reminds Rama of His duties as an enforcer of law, a representative of the King who is duty bound to protect his own subject.. 

The above sloka in Valmikiramayanam, Balakandam, comes as an advise and strict instruction by sage Visvamitra to Rama 

" When a duty is cast on a King or his representative in the interest of protection of the Subjects of the Kingdom, such person is bound to act irrespective of the fact whether that act is virtuous or contemptible, whether it is a grave sin in public eye, or whether it is likely to attract a lot of criticism. 

This is the eternal Dharma or rule of conduct for a king who is interested and dutybound to protect the subjects dependent on him' 

Rama followed the instruction and slayed Tatakaa.. and the rest in legend. 

Vishvamitra's advice would sound Machiavellian, but when the defence and protection of the State and the citizens are concerned, all other scruples should be relegated to the background.. 

I think this happens in realpolitik ..irrespective of political systems, and time-frames in history..

dignity while serving others...

dignity while serving others.....

अवज्ञया न दातव्यो कस्यचिल्लीलयापि वा।अवज्ञया कृतं हन्न्याद्दातारं नात्र  संशयः॥
१३-३३ श्रीमद् वाल्मीकि रामायणे बालकाण्डे

avajñayā na dātavyo kasyacillīlayāpi vā|

avajñayā kṛtam hannyāddātāram nātra samśayaḥ||13-33

śrīmad vālmīki rāmāyaṇe bālakāṇḍe

In the first Kandam of Ramayanam.. the Balakaandam, Dasharatha the king of Ayodhya is planning to conduct a Yajna for begetting children.. The preparations are on.. The main minister and aide of the king, Sumantra, is running around meeting the sages, while personally monitoring the effective conduct of the yajna..

As the news of the gala function spreads, people of all classes and status are thronging the capital city..
Arrangement for the stay and the creature comforts of all guest are being arranged under Royal patronage..
As is quite common in the activities of government servant, Sumantra is shrewd in anticipating brash, authoritative and patronizing attitude on the part of the government servants..
He presents the  report of his activities to the great Sage and preceptor Vasishta..
When informed about the preparations for the yajna, 

Sage Vasishta  is issuing strict instruction to his own men:

" The services rendered and gifts given to the honoured guests should not be with disrespectful and derisive attitude.. Nor should there be any lightheartedness or jocular attitude on the part of the employees of the king.

Service rendered and gifts given with derision and lack of respect would kill or annihilate the person who makes the gift.. There is absolutely no doubt about it. "

(the Sanskrit verse quoted above says this)

Here the services are rendered on behalf of the King and the slip on the part of the servants of the state would cause damage to the king himself

A Prime Minister to a king in India, maybe more that five millenniums ago was so dedicated and so conscious of his duties to the State..

Sumantra had to ride the chariot which took away Rama Sita and Lakshmana to the forest later on..the saddest duty he would have performed in his life..

He was also present as the Prime Minister on the occasion of the Coronation of Rama as the Emperor of Ayodhya years later..

the sixteen names of Ganapati

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢

श्री गणपति षोडशनामस्तोत्रम्

सुमुखश्चैकदन्तश्च कपिलो गजकर्ण्णकः।

लम्बोदरस्च विकटो विघ्नराजो विनायकः॥

धूमकेतुर्ग्गणाध्यक्षो फालचन्द्रो गजाननः।

वक्रतुण्डः शूर्प्पकर्णो हेरम्बः स्कन्दपूर्वजः॥

षोडशैतानि नामानि यः पठेत् शृणुयादपि।

विद्यारंभे विवाहे च प्रवेशे निर्ग्गमे तथा।

संग्रामे सर्व्वकार्येषु विघ्नस्तस्य न जायते॥

śrī gaṇapati ṣoḍaśanāmastotram

sumukhaścaikadantaśca kapilo gajakarṇṇakaḥ|

lambodarasca vikaṭo vighnarājo vināyakaḥ||

dhūmaketurggaṇādhyakṣo phālacandro gajānanaḥ|

vakratuṇḍaḥ śūrppakarṇo herambaḥ skandapūrvajaḥ||

ṣoḍaśaitāni nāmāni yaḥ paṭhet śṛṇuyādapi|

ശ്രീ ഗണപതി ഷോഡശനാമസ്തോത്രം

സുമുഖശ്ചൈകദന്തശ്ച കപിലോ ഗജകര്‍ണ്ണകഃ।

ലംബോദരസ്ച വികടോ വിഘ്നരാജോ വിനായകഃ॥

ധൂമകേതുര്‍ഗ്ഗണാധ്യക്ഷോ ഫാലചന്ദ്രോ ഗജാനനഃ।

വക്രതുണ്ഡഃ ശൂര്പ്പകര്‍ണ്ണോ ഹേരംബഃ സ്കന്ദപൂര്‍വജഃ॥

ഷോഡശൈതാനി നാമാനി യഃ പഠേത് ശൃണുയാദപി।

വിദ്യാരംഭേ വിവാഹേ ച പ്രവേശേ നിര്‍ഗ്ഗമേ തഥാ।

സംഗ്രാമേ സര്‍വ്വകാര്യേഷു വിഘ്നസ്തസ്യ ന ജായതേ॥

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐤𝐡𝐚.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐄𝐤𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚…. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐬𝐤 (𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐦)

𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐚.. 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫

𝐆𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐚.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐚… 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲

𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐚… 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬

𝐕𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐚𝐣𝐚.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬.. 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞

𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐚.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐃𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐮… 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠.. 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩.. 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐮 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭.. 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭..

𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐇… 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐚..𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐮 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚.. 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚.

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐇 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

𝐆𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭

𝐕𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚.. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐧𝐚.. 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐚 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐰

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐡𝐚.. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬,, 𝐭𝐡𝐞

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐡𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥.. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

𝐒𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐣𝐚… 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚.. ( 𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐚..)

𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐢 ( 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 ) 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬.. 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦..