The Depth of Sanatana Dharma - Srirama - Part 3

This is part of a series I have been writing. Here are part 1 and part 2.

In the third part I am actually approaching the topic of the series.

As is well known, the Ramayana was written by Valmiki Maharshi. The epic begins with the sage questioning the divine sage, Narada. From a surface perspective Valmiki asks Narada whether there existed at that point of time a person with sixteen qualities. However, all of these can be interpreted in a different way to apply to the Supreme Lord. Thus, in essence what Valmiki had asked was whether God was present at that time on earth (as an incarnation). This is another example of the flexibility and beauty of the Sanskrit language.

After this, Valmiki comes upon a hunter who slays one out of a pair of birds in the forest. He bursts out in a metrical shloka surprising himself. This is said to be the first human-made shloka because of which Valmiki is honoured as Adikavi (आदिकविः, ఆదికవి) or first poet. It is famously said that the shloka was born out of shoka (sorrow). It goes like this.

मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः |
यत् क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम् ||

mA niShAda pratiShThAm tvamagamah shAshvatIh samAh

yat kraunchamithunAdEkam avadhIh kAmamOhitam

మా నిషాద ప్రతిష్ఠామ్ త్వమగమః శాశ్వతీస్సమాః

యత్ క్రౌఞ్చమిథునాదేకం అవధీః కామమోహితం 

This shloka can be translated as cursing the hunter to not gain fame (or to gain infamy) for eons due to his act of a killing one bird out of a passionate couple. If the first two words are coupled it becomes mAniShAda which means one in whom mA (not the Hindi word), Lakshmi resides. This word is now the sane as Srinivasa, which is another name for Vishnu. From this perspective, the meaning changes completely.  It now praises Rama to have fame for eons as the killer of the passionate (lustful) one out of the (rakshasa) couple (of Ravana and Mandodari).

Now let us come to his name itself. There are many meanings to the name of Rama. I will just talk about 1 or 2.

The name Rama is said to be derived from two letters, each of which is a prANAkSharam (प्राणाक्षरम्, ప్రాణాక్షరం) of two famous mantras, one of Vishnu and one of Shiva. What is this? It is a letter which is like life to that mantra.

Vishnu's mantra is namO nArAyaNAya (नमो नारायणाय​, నమో నారాయణాయ​) and Shiva's is namah shivAya (नमः शिवाय​, నమః శివాయ​). Each mantra means salutation to that particular deity. Rama is derived from ra in the first mantra and ma in the second one. If rA is removed from the first one it becomes "na ayanAya" which means without refuge or direction. If ma is removed from the second one, it becomes na shivAya (or for not the auspicious, or for the inauspicious). Thus the name Rama combines the essence of two great mantras. I will share a few more details in the forthcoming post.

References:

1. Discourses by Sri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma

2. https://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga2/bala_2_frame.htm

Transliteration:

1. https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/sanskrit_devanagari.htm

2. https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/telugu.htm

3. Blogger