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Thursday, April 2, 2020

Celebrating the birth of Sri Rama ~ Sree Rama Navami 2020


Celebrating the birth of Sri Rama ~ Sree Rama Navami 2020

*  அங்கணெடு மதிள்புடைசூழ் அயோத்தியென்னும்  அணிநகரத்து  
        உலகு அனைத்தும் விளக்கும் சோதி*


பண்ணையும் ஆயமும், திரளும் பாங்கரும்,
கண் அகன் திருநகர் களிப்புக் கைம்மிகுந்து,
எண்ணெயும், களபமும், இழுதும், நானமும்,
சுண்ணமும், தூவினார் - வீதிதோறுமே.

நற்பண்புகள் அனைத்துக்கும் சிகரம் ஸ்ரீராமபிரான்.  அற்புதமான நகரம் திரு அயோத்தி.  தசரத சக்ரவர்த்திக்கு இக்ஷ்வாகு குலத்தனமாம் இராமனும் இலக்குவண பரத சத்ருக்கணனும் பிறந்த  செய்தியை அரசவை காவலர்கள்  யானைமீதேறி முரசறைந்து அறிவித்தனர்.  மக்கள் அளக்கமுடியாத இன்பம் கொண்டனர்.

பெண்கள் கூட்டத்திலும்,  ஆண்கள்  கூட்டத்திலும்    இடமகன்ற அந்த அழகிய அயோத்தி மாநகரத்திலே, களிப்பு உவகை உற்று,  மகிழ்ச்சி மேலிட்டு - ; எண்ணெயும் கலவைச்  சாந்து, வெண்ணெய்  புனுகு   வகைகளையும்;  பரிமளப் பொடி வகைகளையும்;  மக்கள் ஆனந்தத்தில் ஒவ்வொரு வீதியிலும் தூவினார்கள்.  இராஜ்யத்துக்கு அழகு வாரிசுகள்   பிறந்த   மகிழ்ச்சியால்   வீதிதோறும் மக்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியைக் கொண்டாடினர்.  ‘’எண்ணெய்  சுண்ணம் எதிரெதிர்  தூவிட’’  என பெரியாழ்வார் இதனை விவரிக்கிறார்.  .


Today (2nd  Apr 2020 )  is the holy day of Sree Rama Navami – the day on which Lord Sri Ramachandramurthy,  the supreme avatar of Maryada Purush  was born in the blessed land of Ayodhya.  Lord Rama descended on earth for the purpose of upholding righteousness and rewarding virtue.

Sage Valmiki,  -   the most eloquent of men enquired Sri Narada –  ‘Who is there in the World today, endowed with excellent & heroic qualities, versed in all duties of life, truthful, trustworthy, firm in his vows, benevolent,   learned, handsome, patient,   free from envy & when excited to wrath can strike terror  into the hearts of celestial beings ? ~  and

Narada muni acquainted with the past, the present and the future, pleased with the words of the Sage Valmiki, answered him saying:- ‘ Rare indeed are those, endowed with the qualities thou hath  enumerated, yet I can tell thee of such a person, born in the lineage of Ikshwaku, renowned, self-controlled, valourous, illustrious, wise, conversant with ethics, code, slayer of foes, broad shouldered, long armed, eminent in archery, noble head, of mighty prowess – known as Sri Rama. 
इक्ष्वाकुवंशप्रभवो *  रामो नाम जनैः श्रुतः ।
नियतात्मा महावीर्यो  *  द्युतिमान्धृतिमान् वशी ॥

There is only one by name Sri Rama, born in the lineage of Ikshwaku.  He is totally balanced, one in complete control of His words, thoughts and deeds; a man of great valour ~ a person of steadfast character and radiant countenance – Lord Sree Rama


  His country, the Kosala Kingdom was replete with happiness.  The only trouble was that nobody could donate ~ for the simple reason that there were none to seek and beget things from others. People lived in such a perfect harmony that there was no fight and there was no opportunity to display valour ~ the subjects were well educated and lived life full of honour… its capital which had no wars was known as ‘Ayodhya’

कामी वा न कदर्यो वा नृशंसः पुरुषः क्वचित् |
द्रष्टुं शक्यमयोध्यायां नाविद्वान्न च नास्तिकः ||

In that glorious kingdom of Ayodhya – one cannot  see a lustful person,  a miser or a cruel one – as also  nondescripts or non-believers could not be found , for there existed no such persons in the holy land of Dasaratha, to be ruled by Sri Rama.  

The Greatest of Ithihasa purana ‘Sri Ramayanam’  is the undiluted history of the Greatest Person who descended on this Universe, on the banks of river Sarayu, in a prosperous country called ‘Koshala’.  In the immortal Ramayana, there are learning of life ….. For the Universe, Sri Rama and Sita are the Ideal persons.  Sri Rama is all pervading principle of Truth, character, steadfastness, sincerity, valour, skill, correctness, just, compassionate, righteous and more.  
  

Lord Rama in a temple at Bhubaneswar Orissa 

On the day of Sri Rama Navami, there will the purappadu of Sri Rama in Hanumantha vahanam later in the evening.  Mere chanting of His name [Sri Rama Namam] will bring us all good things and prosperity.

श्री राम राम  रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥

                                   Meditate again and again the divine name of Rama  - mind gets absorbed in the divine consciousness of Rama, it is transcendental and is capable of relieving all evils, giving us all prosperity. 


Lord Rama in a temple at Haridwar, Uttarakhand
For this Sri Rama Navami, here are some photos of Sri Ramapiran from various places.   This year amidst Covid-19,  there is no thiruveedhi purappadu and celebrations at temple could be muted but not in the hearts of people, especially, as the Apex Court has recently delivered a verdit paving way for construction of a magnificent temple for the Maryadha Purush at His Janamsthan ..   some facts of the case are also posted here. 
Ayodhya Ammaji mandir Sri Rama

At Thiruvallikkeni, the 9 day long Sree Rama Navami celebrations would conclude with Hanumantha vahana purappadu in the evening.  There are so many famous temples of Sree Rama including Bhadrachalam, Maduranthakam, Kumbakonam, Thiruparayar and more – but at His Janam sthan – at Thiruvayodhya, the birth place was mired into Court cases and .. .. .. for centuries there is no great temple – all those are things of the past as on 9th Nov 2019, the Court paved the way for construction of a grand temple at the very place where Sri Rama was born.

Among the arguments – the one made by Thiru K Parasaran on conferment of legal personality to Ram lalla was an interesting one.  At the outset, it is important to understand that the conferral of legal personality on a Hindu idol is not the conferral of legal personality on divinity itself, which in Hinduism is often understood as the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being defies form and shape, yet its presence is universal. In the law of Hindu endowments and in the present proceedings, it has often been stated that legal personality is conferred on the purpose behind the idol.


History in the form of books, belief and public records of unimpeachable authenticity establish indisputably that there was an ancient Temple of Maharaja Vikramaditya‘s time at Sri Rama Janma Bhumi, Ayodhya. That temple was destroyed partly and an attempt was made to raise a mosque thereat, by the force of arms, by Mir Baqi, a commander of Baber‘s hordes…In 1528 Babar came to Ayodhya and halted there for a week. He destroyed the ancient temple and on its site built a mosque, later known as Babar‘s mosque…

It has a long chequered history of almost 450 years of legal battle.  Relatively recently, in 1950, a suit was instituted before the Civil Judge at Faizabad by a Hindu worshipper, Gopal Singh Visharad seeking a declaration that according to his religion and custom, he is entitled to offer prayers at the main Janmabhumi temple near the idols. The disputed land forms part of the village of Kot Rama Chandra or, as it is otherwise called, Ramkot at Ayodhya, in Pargana Haveli Avadh, of Tehsil Sadar in the District of Faizabad. An old structure of a mosque existed at the site until 6 Dec 1992.  In 1989 a suit was instituted  on behalf of the deity Bhagwan Shri Ram Virajman  and the birth-place of Lord Ram ‘Asthan Shri Ram Janmabhumi’ . The suit is founded on the claim that the law recognizes both the idol and the birth-place as juridical entities. The claim is that the place of birth is sanctified as an object of worship, personifying the divine spirit of Lord Ram. Hence, like the idol (which the law recognises as a juridical entity), the place of birth of the deity is claimed to be a legal person, or as it is described in legal parlance, to possess a juridical status.  A century earlier in Jan 1885, Mahant Raghubar Das, claiming to be the Mahant of Ram Janmasthan instituted a suit   before the Sub-Judge, Faizabad. The relief which he sought was permission to build a temple on the Ramchabutra situated in the outer courtyard, measuring seventeen feet by twenty-one feet. A sketch map was filed with the plaint.

This was not a simple case - wealth of material emerged before the court during the course of the trial. The judgment of Justice Sudhir Agarwal in the High Court copiously tabulates the documentary exhibits of the parties during the course of trial comprising of 533 exhibits  categorized as : (i) Religious texts; (ii) Travelogues; (iii) Gazetteers; (iv) Translations of inscriptions on pillars; (v) Reports of Archaeological excavation; (vi) Photographs prior to demolition; and (vii) Details of artefacts found at the disputed site.

Mr K Parasaran, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiffs in Suit 5 urged that the second plaintiff is a juristic person. He submitted that in Hindu Law the concept of a juridical person is not limited to idols. According to Mr Parasaran, the relevant question is whether prayer is offered to the deity and not the form in which the deity appears. It was contended that ―Asthan Sri Ram Janam Bhoomi is an object of worship and personifies the spirit of the divine. The faith of the devotees regards the land as a deity and prayer is offered to it.

On 9th Nov 2019, came a happy ending for all and more specially for the devouts in the Ayodhya case by the Supreme Court of India.  The Apex Court ordered the disputed land (2.77 acres) to be handed over to a trust (to be created by Government of India) to build the Ram Janmabhoomi (reverred as the birthplace of Hindu deity, Ram) temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land in another place to the Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque.


Now amid social distancing protocols and a nationwide lockdown, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath  recently  participated in an event to shift the idol of infant Lord Ram to a temporary structure in the Ram Janmabhoomi compound in Ayodhya till the construction of a Ram Temple.  The first phase of construction of the grand Ram temple  has commenced, Maryada Purushottam Prabhu sits on a new pedestal from Shri Ram Tripal, ‘Ram lulla’ having arrived to  a temporary structure near Manas Bhawan.  Sooner the construction would begin and we pray that before the next Sree Rama Navami, there would be a new grandiose temple at the Janam Sthan.


I had never been to Ayodhya and now am eagerly looking forward to a trip to the holy land of Ayodhya and worshipping Lord Rama at the very place he was born.

~adiyen Srinivasa dhasan. (S. Sampathkumar)
02.04.2020
PS :  photo of Sri Rama at Ammaji Mandhir, Thiru Ayodhya, also known as Saket – photo credit : MA Madhusudhanan.
Rama's birth; Ayodhya lighting and the new temporary temple - pics from twitter.







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