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Saturday, November 1, 2008

rAma setu in madhurAvijayam

http://bharatendu.com/2008/10/30/madhuravijaya/

duritaikaparam tuluShkanAtham drutamutkhAya jagat-trayaika-shalyam
pratiropaya rAmasetu madhye vijaya-stambha-shatAni bAhushAlin

O mighty and brave king! Go forth then, and without further delay uproot from my lands this Kingdom of turuShka-s, pain to the three worlds. Go forth my dear Lord, and securing your victory, establish One Hundred Victory Pillars in middle of the famed rAma-setu!

In February 1918, Professor D R Bhandarkar thus remarked in a lecture to the students of Calcutta University: “South India has recently become a land of discoveries. Not many years ago the students of ancient Indian poetics were taken by surprise by the discovery of Bhamaha’s work on Alamkara in Trivandrum. The dramas of Bhasa…for a long time remained hidden from modern eyes until…discovered seven years ago at the same place, viz. Trivandrum. Such was also the case with the Arthasastra of Kautilya, the work looked upon as entirely lost…” [1]

The first decade of the last century was indeed remarkable for re-discoveries of the lost manuscripts of several invaluable saMskR^ita works from the hidden chests of Kerala’s monasteries and private libraries. Among those delightful finds was this poetic yet historic chronicle of early vijayanagara period called madhurA-vijaya or kampArAya-charitam penned none other than by ga~NgAdevI the spouse of prince kampanarAya the son of bukkarAya, the co-founder of that empire. Discovery of this work in first decade of 1900s by Pandit N Ramasvami Sastriar from a traditional library of Trivandrum on a moth-eaten palm-leaf manuscript, sandwiched in a single binding between two unrelated works, remained an overlooked affair - thanks mainly to the luster of the other brilliant simultaneous finds of the category noted by Prof. Bhandarkar.

In later years however, and especially even after the publication of its contents by G Harihara Sastri and V Srinivasa Sastri, madhurA-vijaya remained and till date remains, contemptuously ignored by most of the secularist and marxist historians. And, for a good reason. This work not only falls outside their historiographic template that projects medieval Indian History as a perpetual victory march of Islam over defeatist Hindus, but also comes as a jarring note in their negationist orchestra of whitewashing the record of Islam in India.

We came to look into this source a very important reference it makes to rAma setu, thanks for pointing which go to our friend Shri Harish Duggirala. However, we feel compelled to provide in this note, a literal translation of one portion from this chronicle, where the queen-poetess records an event that triggers the campaign of her husband prince kampana against the Sultan of Madurai, finally resulting in the sealed fate of spread of Islam in south India.

There has been a single manuscript found so far of madhurA-vijaya, spread over sixty-one palm leaves. Several leaves are missing in middle and some towards the end. Besides its value for historical insights, the work is a fine sample of poetry of vaidarbha-school and on footsteps of kAlidAsa’s style as confessed by poetess in its preface. It is divided in nine sarga-s and composed in a variety of meters: anuShtup, upajAti, mAlinI, dr^uta-vilambita, and shikhariNI. The work is also significant that it is one of the earliest medieval poetry found so far from the pen of a woman. Poetess also pays gratitude to the telugu poets of Andhra-desha, indicating probably that the poetess herself belonged to telugu mother-tongue, and also signifying parallel progress in, and equal respect for, the poetry in both the languages. What is most significant however is that poetess never lets her poetic mind get the better of the responsibilities of an honest chronicler, and despite the poetic embellishments she keeps the account historically accurate.

Historical Background

The context of madhurA-vijaya is this. First wave of Jihad into South led by Malik Kafur the eunuch general of Ala-ad-deen Khilji, left dakShiNApatha stunned and in a state of shock by the unforeseen and unprecedented destruction and barbarity. While south was yet to recover from the resulting disarray, within a few years turuShka-s mounted a second wave of Jihad now under Khusaroo Khan, and yet once more after a brief period under Ulugh Khan aka Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The invading marauders left behind a local turuShka government in Madurai which later became a sultanate beginning with Jalal-ud-din Ehsan Shah and passed on to a series of hands, each proving oneself of a greater zeal than his predecessors in uprooting Hindus from the most sacred lands of their culture. It was then that important deities such as that of shrIra~Ngam were removed to the relative safety of tirupati hill shrines - a story well recorded in telugu chronicles. The year was around 1333.

While the banks of sacred tAmraparNI were scenes of such events, a few hundred miles towards its north, the shores of tu~NgabhadrA were to simultaneously witness another phenomenon. By the blessings of bhuvaneshwarI residing on her banks, an independent kingdom is conceived just then, to again raise the standards of Aryakula in face of Jihad and soon become a bulwark against Muhammedan progress in dakShiNApatha. After its first ruler Hariharadeva had stabilized it, the reign of vijayanagara came into the hands of bukkArAya, waters from whose hands were again supplying plenty of nourishment to the tree of dharma. Like a great monarch however, he looked beyond the immediate boundaries of his state, and he decided to go forward and eradicate the remnant of Jihadist imperialism anywhere in the entire region south of kR^iShNA to strategically secure the whole of dakShiNApatha, a policy which indeed eventually resulted in bringing Islamic progress in South India to a complete halt for over two and a half centuries, and protected Hindu culture here from suffering a similar ravishment as it did in the North.

The Southbound March

This is the point from where the poetess-princess begins her narrative in madhurA-vijaya. After providing the prevailing scenario and background, she limits the scope of her chronicle to describing, in a very poetic and sonorous narration of one campaign that was trusted by the Emperor, her father-in-law, into the command of her husband kumAra kampana. The mission of the campaign was to liberate the tamil country of madurai once ruled by mighty pANDya-s and now usurped by Mohammedans, then being ruled by turuShka-s mercenary Kurbat Hasan Kangoo.

Being empowered by the Emperor, kampana amasses his forces and amid the chants of brAhmaNa-s performing dIkShA-s with atharvan mantra-s, public cries of ‘jaya, jaya’, and ladies of city showering akShata, he marches swiftly southwards at the head of a large cavalry. Some draviDa kings would submit to him as vessels, while some others will require some military attention. Finally, having conquered large regions in northern parts of Tamil country, he sets up his headquarter in kA~nchIpuram. Here he would stay for some time slowly encircling the region controlled by Mohammedans, monitoring their movements, and waiting for the right moment to pounce upon Madurai and deliver the final sucker punch. The period is around early 1370s.

Staying in kA~nchIpuram, while prince is discharging his duties of expanding boundaries of vijayanagara and consolidating its control over territories recently won, this period is remembered by the poetess as a romantic honeymoon. The seventh sarga is devoted by her to record the amorous memories of the time spent in the gardens of kA~nchI, swinging in her husband’s arms and tasting the fruits prescribed by the shAstra of third kind. There are several palm-leaves lost in manuscript leaving a lacuna at this point, although going by the theme it is probably not such a disastrous loss of historic information.

Petitioner from madurA

This honeymoon, indeed a distraction from the original mission as it seems to the reader, comes to an abrupt end through the visit of a remarkable visitor. A weird yet impressive lady, apparently a citizen of Madurai, comes to appeal the vijanagara General to quickly save the tamil country from the tyranny of mohammedans and not delay the operation anymore lest nothing worth saving would be left. The event forms the transition from seventh sarga to eighth, and we shall now turn to a literal translation of this heart-rendering appeal:

O King! That city, which was called “madhurapurI” for its sweet beauty, has now become the city of wild animals, making true its older name “vyAghrapurI”, the city of tigers, for humans dwell there no longer. (1) The famed temple of shrI-ra~Ngapattana has fallen to decay, and its structure being reduced to rubble. So much that viShNu who famously slept there in his deep yoga-nidrA, has now literal protection only of the hood of sheSha-nAga who has to be ever cautious from the falling bricks of the debris. (2) How do I describe the condition of the abode of the slayer of gajAsura! In the bygone days after slaying the gajAsura, Lord shiva had taken its skin for his garment. And now being stripped he has gone back to being digambara. Wild elephants have now made the shivali~Nga their plaything, and all but spider-webs are the decorations of his abode. (3) (when such is the state of those famous temples - ) how would other deva-sthAna be any better! Moth have eaten away the once-beautiful wooden structures, the maNDapa-s have developed cracks in which now grass grows, and garbha-gR^iha-s of many others are dilapidated and crumbling. My Lord, my heart is crying as I describe to you the situation of our beloved devatA-kula. (4) Those deva-mandira-s which used to resound with the joyous and pious beats of mR^ida~Nga, today only the echo of fearful howls of jackals can be heard there. (5) That ga~NgA of South, mighty kAverI, which used to earlier flow in proper channels curbed with dams created by our noble rulers of past – she now flows like a vagabond without discipline like her new lords these turuShka-s, her dams being breached beyond repair. (6)

In our agrahAra-s mighty columns of sacred yaj~na smoke used to curl up and reach the skies in mid of sonorous chants of vedic mantra-s. Alas! On this day from those same agrahAra-s emit only the despicable odours of animal meat being roasted by musalmaans, and the vedic chants have been replaced by harsh noises of drunk goons. (7) The gardens of madurA were once famous for its nAlikera-trees. The turuShka-s have chopped down the nAlikera-s and replaced these with terrible iron-shUla-s upon which are adorned the garlands of human skulls to terrify the people. (8) Those our streets which used to once echo with the pleasing sounds from the anklets of our young ladies playfully walking, those are now filled with the noises from iron shackle in which our brAhmaNa-s are these days bound, sounds that pierce into our hearts like iron-thorns. (9) Spiders have taken over all our gopura-s, and the beautiful sculptures of roof decorations now only support their cobwebs. (10)

My Lord, The yards of the houses of nobles earlier used to be awash with the waters perfumed by sandal and camphor. My heart is filled with sorrow, seeing those very verandahs now being cursed by the streams of tears of shackle-bound dvija-s. (11) It is hard to say my King, whether we get more troubled by hearing the ill-ominous noises emitted by owls that now live in our abandoned gardens, or get more perturbed by the Persian language uttered by the pet-parrots from the houses of those musalmans. (12) Earlier during the times of pANDya-s, our ladies used to bathe in tAmraparNI, and her waters used to become white from the sandal-paste of their breasts. But now, my lord, she only wears the colour of red, from the streams of blood flowing into her, from the cows slaughtered all over the country by the sinful occupiers! (13) There is no agriculture left, as Lord Indra being angered has stopped sending rains. Those then, who escape the misery from turuShka hands, prematurely meet yamarAja through starvation. (14)

My King! I am unable to bear the looks of those draviDa ladies who used to be once richly gifted in beauty. Raped by the ravaging turuShka-s, those tender women now have dry lips and warm breaths, and their long undone hair is terrible to look at. I can not describe the dishonour and suffering always painted on their faces, knowing no hope of protection. (15) With Shrotriya-s gone, the veda-s have disappeared. With dharma-kathA gone, character has also departed. With Dharma and puNya-s gone, all nobleness has disappeared. Only in gain seems to be the person of kali, the promoter of vice. (16)

Relating this way all the condition of madhurApurI to kampana, the lady then made to appear a divine sword, and approached the king. This lady petitioner now reveals that she is no other than the presiding devI of madurA. (17)

From 18th to 25th, she would now relate a mythology of the sword of how it originally belonged to shiva, who gave it to the pANDya-s, and by the virtue of which lakshamI always playfully resided in the houses of chola-s and pANDya-s. Now, seeing pANDya-s become unable to wield the mighty sword of shiva any longer, sage agastya has decided to take it away from them and instead invest it into the kShatriya grips of vijayanagara. From 26th to 29th she describes the qualities of this divine sword, and blesses kampana for victory.

My king, this sword being unable to be wielded by other kings even in imagination, is now being invested into your lotus-hands by the providence. (30) Take this and go forth, chop down the heads of turuShka-s of lengthy hair, red eyes and terrible voice. Go, quickly cover the earth with their skulls. (31) Let the rising sun of your bravery diminish the moon-smiles of the drunken women of turuShka-s. (32) This earth is tired of continuously oozing with the sweats of adharma burning from the fires of the ill-deeds of turuShka. Now quickly cool her down by showering over her the blood of these miscreants! (33) My dear King, Go forth then and let this sword of yours help the pishAcha-s and DAkinI-s satisfy their thirsts to fullest from the wine that flows in the veins of those vidharmI tyrants. (34)

duritaikaparam tuluShka-nAtham drutamutkhAya jagat-trayaika-shalyam
pratiropaya rAmasetu madhye vijaya-stambha-shatAni bAhushAlin

O mighty and brave king! Go forth then, and without further delay uproot from my lands this Kingdom of turuShka-s, pain to the three worlds. Go forth my dear Lord, and securing your victory, establish One Hundred Victory Pillars in middle of the famed rAma-setu! (35)

Ten palm-leaves after this are lost, and the next sarga, ninth and the last, describes the rage of the armies of vijayanagara pouring into madurA, resulting in complete rout of mohammedans and effectively liberation of the whole lands of dakShiNApatha.

Notes:
[1] Lectures on the Ancient History of India (D. R. Bhandarkar, Univ. of Calcutta Publication, 1919)

References:
1. madhurAvijayam ga~NgAdevyAvirachitam (Ed. By G. Harihara Sastri & V. Srinivasa Sastri, The Sridhara Power Press Trivandrum, 1924) http://tinyurl.com/5o25xp
2. madurAvijaya mahAkAvyam (Ed. with Hindi Translation by Dr. Sharada Mishra, Shri Sharada Publications, Patrakaranagara Patna, 2001) http://tinyurl.com/5hlk4q

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Friday, October 17, 2008

rAjA bhojadeva and rAma setu

This interesting reference to rAma setu comes from one of those trifling and forgotten episodes, which although insignificant in detail, change the course of history.

One dark night a contingent of armed men, under a crimson flag decorated with golden garuDa, the royal insignia of mAlava country, was swiftly riding on the wild banks of vetrAvatI (betavA) along with a prisoner and an execution-warrant.

Despite being a mighty ruler of mAlava, with boundaries stretching between chambal in north to godAvarI in south, paramAra mu~njadeva was living with a sense of insecurity from a young prince, a nephew of his own and hardly a teenager. This prince, bhoja his name, was quickly gaining many admirers among paNDita-s and Generals alike. Despite inflicted with a terrible brain tumor, he was proving himself to be a rare talent of both shastra and shAstra, hard to say which his better forte was. All the influentials of the kingdom were foreseeing the promise of the chakravartin-crown kissing his brows. Envy and alarm having taken possession of the king’s better judgment, he at last decided to liquidate this potential danger to his throne, and ordered his trusted guards for a secret execution, for which the prince was now stealthily being taken into the woods on the banks of betavA in thick of that night.

The young victim of royal envy was composed to bravely meet his end, and after his prayers to vAgdevI and mahAkAla of ujjayinI, the youth had only one last wish. Once the executioners return back to the capital, they should pass on a message to his king-uncle, which he scribbled upon a cloth in form of a chhanda, his last, and apocryphally, in his own blood:

mAndhAtA sa mahIpatiH kR^ita-yugAla~NkAra-bhUto gataH
seturyena mahodadhau virachitaH kvAsau dashAsyaAntakaH
anyechApi yudhiShThira prabhR^itayo yAtA divaM bhUpate
naikenApi samaM gatA vasumatI manye tvayA yAsyati

{An emperor like mAndhAtA passed who came to grace satya-yuga. Next yuga saw another great who constructed even a setu over ocean to destroy the ten-headed devil, and he too passed. Yet in the next age came yudhiShThira of mighty fame. While all those great monarchs departed in their respective eras, the earth did not accompany any of them. It seems likely O Emperor that she might finally go with you when your own time comes.}

Having scribbled these last lines of his life, bhoja was now ready to meet his death.

But little did he know that destiny had other plans for him.

Seeing an unnecessary and wasteful end to such a talented prince, a ray of mercy arose in the heart of the commanding officer. At his risk, and in his hope against hope, he decided to put off the execution by a day and leaving bhoja in custody of his men, he rushed to the capital and delivered the message to the King. The King, reading the lines, was so moved that all his envy was washed away now by guilt. When the commander informed him that prince was still safe, he was overjoyed and not only did he himself bring bhoja back, but also declared him the heir in preference over his own sons.

And indeed it would seem destiny had other utility of bhoja when it inspired him to scribble that chhanda on the banks of betavA that night and saved his life. For, it was then that hundreds of miles away on the shores of the Oxus and Syr-Dariya, barbaric hordes of turuShka-s and Usbecs, having recently equipped themselves with the zeal of Islam, were gathering storm to pour down upon the Hindus, for the first time inside India-proper to the east of Indus.

It was bhoja, who had now become the mighty ruler of mAlava when the savage marauders from west and now followers of Quran, marching under the banner of mahamuda of gazna, invaded gujarAta which was on bhoja’s south-western neighborhood and ruled by an enemy prince. When bhoja heard of the sack and desecration of somanAtha, even in the domain of his enemy, he immediately marched with his army and that of his neighbours to punish Mahmud. And chroniclers, both Hindu and Muslim, record that bhoja meted out such harsh retaliation on the returning army of turuShka-s and Usbecs, marching in pursuit of Mahmud all the way upto Indus, destroying entire Muslim enemy that was met on the way and crushing invaders so completely, that never again in his life Mahmud dared to set his eyes to the east of Indus. The complete annihilation befell the branch of forces of Quran that had wandered northwards beyond the banks of Ganga, and this ensured that India was safe from Islamic invasions for almost 150 years to come. No wonder bhaviShya purANa remembers bhoja as the slayer of muhammad, and alludes to prophet appearing to bhoja in dream and giving him his confessions of creating a corrupt dharma.

And that chhanda which bhoja wrote that night mentioning rAma setu, was not to be his last after all. During the long fifty-five years of his reign, despite being always on the battlefield he did compose numerous works varying greatly in nature, spanning across the subjects of philosophy to politics, poetry to civil architecture, and much more.

(The basic story as well as the said chhanda is recored by biographer merutu~Nga in his prabandha-chintAmaNi)

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Ram Sethu not a place of worship: Centre

New Delhi, Oct 14: Giving a new twist to the Sethusamudram project controversy, the government has contended before the Supreme Court that the mythological Rama Setu bridge is not an "essential" and "integral" part of Hindu religion.

"It has not been proved undoubtedly to be the belief of the Hindu community that Lord Rama did not himself break the bridge. Nor has it been established that whatever remains of the Rama Setu as a piece of worship is an essential and integral part of the Hindu religion," the UPA government said in its written submission.

The government stand assumes importance as on the last hearing on July 30 it had assured the court that it was considering the possibility of pushing the project through an alternative alignment to avoid any damage to 'Rama Setu' for which an expert committee has been set up.

However, it persisted with the argument that Rama Setu or Adams Bridge was broken by Lord Rama while returning from Sri Lanka and as such "anything broken could not be worshipped".

It said that the opponents of the project have not proved that Rama Setu forms an "integral" and "essential" part of Hindu religion and has to be protected.

"A religious belief or practise which is not an essential and integral part of the religion is not protected by Article 25 or 26 of the Constitution", the Centre said and quoted various previous judgements of the apex court to drive home its point.

Following the government assurance in July that it was considering an alternative alignment for the project, the Prime Minister Office had set up an expert committee headed by noted scientist R K Pachauri, Director General of Tata Energy Research Institute, to look into the suggestion.

Though no time-frame has been set for the Committee to place its report, the apex court had said that it will consider the findings of the panel before giving its verdict and had allowed the contesting parties to file written submissions if they wished.

In September last year, the Centre had to withdraw its two controversial affidavits questioning the existence of Lord Rama and opposing claims that the Rama Setu was a man-made bridge.

The Centre once again attacked the AIADMK Chief J Jayalalithaa for opposing the project on religious grounds saying that the environmental clearance to the project was given by her government.

It said that Jayalalithaa's change in stand was politically motivated despite the fact that in the 2001 Assembly elections she came to power by promising in the election manifesto that the project would be implemented.

"Now at this point of time to say that the Adams Bridge should not be cut is nothing but a politically motivated submission," the Centre said.

Following the government assurance in July that it was considering an alternative alignment for the project, the Prime Minister Office had set up an expert committee headed by noted scientist R K Pachauri, Director General of Tata Energy Research Institute, to look into the suggestion.

Though no time-frame has been set for the Committee to place its report, the apex court had said that it will consider the findings of the panel before giving its verdict and had allowed the contesting parties to file written submissions if they wished.

In September last year, the Centre had to withdraw its two controversial affidavits questioning the existence of Lord Rama and opposing claims that the Rama Setu was a man-made bridge.

The Centre once again attacked the AIADMK Chief J Jayalalithaa for opposing the project on religious grounds saying that the environmental clearance to the project was given by her government.

It said that Jayalalithaa's change in stand was politically motivated despite the fact that in the 2001 Assembly elections she came to power by promising in the election manifesto that the project would be implemented.

"Now at this point of time to say that the Adams Bridge should not be cut is nothing but a politically motivated submission," the Centre said.

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Friday, August 1, 2008

On Rama Setu in padma purANa

Representing the Union of India in the Supreme Court, Senior Attorney Fali Nariman was reported to have stated the following: “the Padma Purana states Lord Rama broke the bridge after rescuing Sita. And according to the Hindu faith, something that is broken cannot be worshipped” and “This is why nobody has till date declared it a monument.”

This statement prompted us to look into the original sources and examine the claim made by the Union of India. The below note summarizes our findings.

1. padma purANa is one of the eighteen main purANas, a mahApurANa of vaiShNava category, and is listed as second in that list. It is also counted among the six of this list that are considered to be of predominantly sAttvika content (the other five being viShNu, nArada, bhAgavat, garuDa and vArAha). This purANa comprises of fifty-five-thousand shloka-s and is therefore one of the lengthiest. There are four main recensions of this purANa available. The most commonly found is the northern one in devanAgarI, and is widely printed and circulated by several publishers like Geeta Press Gorakhpur etc. The other major recension is from the southern sources, and an 1883 edition of Vishvanath Narayan Mandalika printed from Pune in the Anandashram Sanskrit Series in four volumes represents this recension. Another edition from the southern recensions, primarily from certain karNATaka and Andhra manuscripts is edited by Kshemaraj Srikrishnadas Shreshthin and printed from Mumbai. Finally, another primary recension with quite a lot of differences and of fair antiquity is the eastern recension available in Bengali script. The most complete version of this being the manuscript preserved in the National Library Kolkata, while two other manuscripts are available in the Asiatic Society of Kolkata and these display quite some differences with other recensions and slight differences with each other as well.

2. The arrangement of sections in this purANa itself and their sequencing is a matter of difference between these different recensions. The eastern one has six khaNDa-s in the following order: i) sR^iShTi-khaNDa ii) bhUmi-khaNDa iii) swarga-khaNDa iv) pAtAla-khaNDa v) uttara-khaNDa, and vi) kR^iyA-yoga-sAra. The VN Mandalika edition has a different list and sequence: i) Adima-khaNDa ii) bhUmi-khaNDa iii) bramha-khaNDa iv) pAtAla-khaNDa v) sR^iShTi-khaNDa, and vi) uttara-khaNDa. In the second southern recension the Kshemaraj edition, chapters are similar to the eastern version, but after sR^iShTi and bhUmi khANDa are arranged bramha-khaNDa, pAtAla-khaNDa and uttara-khaNDa omitting as it would seem the swarga-khaNDa. However a closer examination would show that the swarga-khaNDa of one recension is in reality what has been split into two independent khaNDa-s by the others: the Adim-khaNDa and bramha-khaNDa. kR^iyA-yoga-sAra likewise is but an appendix in the uttara-khaNDa as well. With that said, the most common book-arrangement appears to be the one mentioned in the eastern recension minus the kR^iyA-yoga-sAra as a separate book.

3. The dating of padma purANa, like many other scriptures is a matter of debates, but most scholars now agree for this to go back at least as far back as the 4th century of CE. We are of the opinion that it might be dating back ever earlier than this, but as it does not concern us for the present purpose, we shall skip that discussion.

4. We should however mention in the passing that some of the contents of the padma-purANa, interestingly but not surprisingly, have been used as the base matter for some major classical saMskR^ita literature. The primary references used by the legendary kAlidAsa in his works, has been a subject of intense research. Haradatta Sarma has convincingly demonstrated that while composing raghuvaMshaM, kAlidAsa should have relied upon padma purANa more than on vAlmIki’s rAmAyaNa for the itihAsa-content. [1] Likewise, ample research now shows that kAlidAsa should have also had the benefit of referring to this purANa, more than the mahAbhArata, for the skeletal story behind his masterpiece abhij~nAna shAkuntalam.

5. ‘padma purANa’ is also the title of an important jaina saMskR^ita scripture, written by jaina scholar AchArya raviSheNa in the 6-7th century of the CE, adaptation/recension of which are found in prAkR^ita as ‘pauma-chariya’ by vimalasUri and in apabhraMsha tongue as ‘pauma-chariu’ by swayaMbhU. The subject matter of all of these jaina texts is the legend of rAma whom they have revered here as padma. There are some intriguing similarities between rAma’s story in the padma purANa of vyAsa (the one of our focus in this note), and the padma-purANa of jaina recension, including the peculiar coincidences in the flow of the narrative, in spite of the huge differences they display in the specifics. However we shall leave it for future to explore this connection between the jaina and hindu padma-purANa-s further.

6. The story of rAma finds an important coverage in the padma purANa, and occurs in two different books: the sR^iShTi-khaNDa as well as pAtAla-khaNDa. rAma-setu finds narration in both of these books as well. The story is generally the same as in vAlmIki’s rAmAyaNa but differs dramatically in the details. pAtAla khaNDa provides a very unique story about how the vAnara senA crossed the sea and reached the coast of laMkA. In some recensions of the sR^iShTi-khaNDa, rAma is described to be trifurcating the setu on request from vibhIShaNa. The text is generally the same in the referred recensions and editions, ignoring some scribal mistakes, and in one particular devanAgarI recension this mention is missing altogether.

7. pAtAla-khaNDa, contains one hundred and seventeen chapters and among these is a lengthy section titled shiva-rAghava-saMvAda spanning over several chapters and containing a dialog between rAma and mahAdeva. The 116th chapter of this section is known as purAkalpIya-rAmAyaNa-kathanaM and contains jAmbavanta’s narration of the rAmAyaNa’s events. In this section is this strikingly unique description of the enterprise of crossing the sea by the vAnara senA:

{(219) Now, I am going to relate (to you) the efforts (made) towards crossing the sea. (220) Then rAma said, I would worship Lord shaMkara and appeal to him about our predicament, and then we shall do as guided by him. Saying this, he started praying to mahAdeva. (221 is a beautiful hymn containing several names of maheshwara, which rAma uttered to invoke him). (222, 223) mahAdeva then appeared to rAma with all his attributes. (224) rAma saluted mahAdeva with joined palms and prayed to him again in the daNDavata posture. (225) parameshvara then addressed rAma promising him the desired boons. (226) rAma replied to mahAdeva: ‘O shambhu, only give us the means to cross this sea so that we may reach laMkA’. (227) (hearing this,) shambhu then answered: ‘This is my bow ajagavaM. It immediately takes any shape as desired (by its wielder). Take this and climbing through it you can overcome the sea and reach laMkA’. (228- Then intent upon this course, rAma invoked that ajagavaM, (229) and when the bow appeared, rAma worshipped it. (230) Shiva then handed it over to rAma, (231) and rAma threw the bow across the ocean. (232) rAma, lakShamaNa and the entire senA of as numerous vAnara-s as six-parArdha [2] fulfilled their objective (of crossing the ocean) by climbing that bow. (233) Seeing those vAnara-s approaching the shore though the bow, (234) and alarmed by the force of the vAnara-s, a rAkShasa coast-guard by the name of atikAya immediately approached rAvaNa.}

Besides this particularly striking description, there is no further mention of the rAma setu in pAtAla-khaNDa.

8. Earlier in the sR^iShTi-khaNDa, is this another unique mention of rAma setu in the fortieth chapter known as vAmanapratiShThA (in some recension thirty-fifth chapter, and in some missing altogether). The background of the mention is that after winning the war at laMkA and fulfilling his objectives there, rAma is readying to return back to ayodhyA along with his entourage by using the puShpaka vimAna offered by vibhIShaNa. Before departing, rAma has entrusted the rAkShasa kingdom to vibhIShaNa and when insisted by vibhIShaNa, he has given him instructions about conducting the empire and some interesting orders to recover and restore a certain mUrti-s of vaiShnavI and of vAmana which were commissioned earlier by bali the great dAnava emperor. In this context is the following dialog recorded between vibhIShaNa and rAma in the vAmanapratiShThA chaper of the sR^iShTi-khaNDa the first book of the padma-purANa:

{(130) Hearing this from rAghava, vibhIShaNa responded to him. ‘All that you have ordered shall be obediently executed, O rAghava. (131) (However,) O Lord, this sacred setu of yours could be used by all the people of the world to approach (into laMkA) and therefore should be obstructed. (132) What control do I have in this matter O deva, but this is a need of mine.’ Hearing these words uttered by the best rAkShasa, The Scion of Raghu (133) took in his hands the missile kArmukaM, and breached the setu in the middle at two places over a length of ten yojana, (134) therefore dividing it into three parts with a one-yojana gap on the either side. Then approaching the shore-forest, he worshipped mahAdeva the Lord of umA. (135) There he established The Three- Eyed mahAdeva by the name of rAmeshwara. rAma, the Great Prince then prohibited the God sAgara, (136) that the Southern Sea should neither thunder there, nor flow across. Issuing his prohibitions this way, rAma then sent off the God sAgara. From the sky then emitted the following AkAshavANI. (137) Spoke rudra: O rAghava, you have auspiciously established me here. O Brave One, so far as the worlds remain, so far as the earth is intact, (138- till then I shall reside myself at the Setu, O Scion of Raghu! Hearing these nectar-like words uttered by mahAdeva himself, rAghava the Hero then spoke in these intelligent and sweetest words. (rAma humbly salutes devadeva and sings a hymn in his praise which spans over shloka-s 139 to 147. shloka 148 is a comment by sage pulatsya in praise to this hymn. In shloka-s 149-151, rudra speaks again, praising the deeds of rAma.) (152) O raghunandana, to this place created by you whichever man comes and even (merely) glances at it in the sea, (153) (even if) he be an extreme sin-fallen, all their sins would get destroyed, O rAma. The wicked crimes as heinous as brAhmaNa-slaying etc., even these (154) would be released here by mere darshana, no doubt.}

9. In conclusion, we can only say that the statement made by the Attorney in the Hon’ble Supreme Court that according to padma purANa: a) rAma “destroyed” the setu; and b) setu can no more be an object of worship; – are both absolutely inaccurate if not downright false. Very unambiguously, the referred recensions of the padma purANa state that rAma trifurcated the setu for the sake of protecting laMkA, and at the same time he and lord mahAdeva invested spiritual powers into setu as a place of worship forever. Till this word remains, and till the earth is intact – “yAvajjagadidaM, yAvaddharAsthitA” are this purANa-s own exact words. As to “therefore, nobody has declared it a monument”, since the Attorney is referring to padma purANa, in which lord mahAdeva himself has declared it a unique sacred place of worship, releaser of the sin and crime, and abode of his own - this remains and would remain a sacred monument for Hindus; and Union of India can do little about it.

Notes:
[1] Haradatta Sarma, “Padmapurana And Kalidasa”, Calcutta Oriental Series, 1924.

[2] parArdha is the largest measure of count. One parArdha is measured by number of mortal days in the span of 50 bramha-years (and would equal “one hunderd-thousand-billion” according to mahAbhArata).

References:
1. pages (# 1028 and 1029) from the southern recension 1 of the purANa, edited by Vishvanath Narayan Mandalika, Anandashram, 1894, Pune.
2. Scanned pages from the southern recension 2 of the purANa, edited by Khemraj Srikrishna Das Shreshthi, 1867, Sri Venkateshwar Mudranalaya Mumbai.
3. Complete text of sR^iShTi khaNDa of the northern recension, where this reference mentioned in point #8 could not be located: http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/padma_purana_1srishti.pdf

4. Complete text of the pAtAla khaNDa of the northern recension, in which the section mentioned in the point # 7 can be located:
http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/padma_purana_5patala.pdf

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

On rAma setu in padma purANa

Representing the Union of India in the Supreme Court, Senior Attorney Fali Nariman was reported to have stated the following: “the Padma Purana states Lord Rama broke the bridge after rescuing Sita. And according to the Hindu faith, something that is broken cannot be worshipped” and “This is why nobody has till date declared it a monument.”

This statement prompted us to look into the original sources and examine the claim made by the Union of India.

Read On:
http://bharatendu.com/2008/07/30/on-rama-setu-in-padma-purana/

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DMK vs Sethu politics: A divide Cong finds tough to bridge

CNN IBN, New Delhi: It's a divide which the Government is finding difficult to bridge. The DMK is breathing down its neck to fast forward the Sethusamundram project, but the Congress knows that a green signal to the project could mean a difficult political road ahead.

For now, however, it has found a way out. The Government is buying time by setting up a six-member commiittee headed by environmentalist, RK Pachauri to find an alternative alignment as suggested by the Supreme Court.

The committee cannot begin functioning anytime soon and the earliest that it can begin work is in December.

This doesn't suit the DMK, whose chief, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has been repeatedly applying pressure on the Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to find a way out.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has put the Sethusamundram project on hold till the committee submits its report - this after a PIL was submitted raising objections to the alignments at which the work was going on.

In an election year, the Congress is not keen to take any chances. A proposal gven by the Culture Ministry to allow Archaeological Survey of India to survey the disputed area before work begins has been shot down by the Shipping Ministry, with Shipping Minister TR Baalu saying that there is no need for such a survey.

With the NDA accusing the Congress of violating people's faith and the party aware that this could snowball into a controversy in an election year, the Congress is taking pains to make its stand clear.

Congress Spokesperson, Manish Tiwary even stated, "We believe and respect all religions and faiths", to make it clear that the Congress was not partaking in any discrimintation.

The Congress is trying to swim in troubled waters, but is seeing no shore in sight. In this clash between its own interest and DMK pressure, which way will the Government go is something that remains to be seen.

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Fali Nariman LYING about padma purANa!!!

Fali Nariman is lying (or bluffing) in the supreme court on behalf of his DMK-Congress masters. Just completed the reference check in padma mahApurANa, and the lawyer is a liar.

The padma purANa comprises of 55,000 shloka-s arranged into 5 books: sR^iShTi-khaNDa, bhUmi-khaNDa, swarga khaNDa, uttama khaNDa and pAtAla khaNDa. The last book, the pAtAla khaNDa, contains among other subjects, a mysterious version of the story of the 8 viShNu avatAra-s, upto kR^iShNa (not balarAma). The story of rAma is the largest among these (and very interesting - some events are described in a pretty unique way!!!) Chapter 116 of this section, known as shiva-rAghava-saMvAde-purAkalpIya-rAmAyaNa-kathanaM, deals with the events under discussion here. And there are pretty intriguing things described in it - by far the most singularly unique description I have seen of how vAnara-senA crossed the sea - widely differing from the accounts of vAlmIki, mahAbhArata, skanda purANa and other rAmAyaNa-s. While I shall try to fill in more details later about what the purANa says, there is absolutely no mention of the sort of things that the lying lawyer has reported in the Supreme Court attributing to this purANa - having went through these shloka-s as carefully as I could!

To update later with details

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Ram Setu cannot be worshipped, government tells apex court

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the Ram Setu “cannot be worshipped” since it was broken by Lord Ram himself. Central government counsel Fali S. Nariman also told a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan that the government has withdrawn from the court its earlier affidavit that doubted the existence of Lord Ram “in extraneous circumstances”.

“If you want to go strictly by religious scriptures, the Padma Purana has stated that Lord Ram had broken the bridge” while returning from Sri Lanka after killing Ravana and rescuing Sita, Nariman told the bench, which also included Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice J.M. Panchal.

“And (according to Hindu faith) something which is broken cannot be worshipped. It’s also quoted extensively in the Kamban Ramayana (a version of the Hindu epic Ramayana) that Lord Rama had destroyed it,” said Nariman.

Maintaining that “legal issues cannot be decided on the basis of faith”, Nariman asserted: “We are not destroying any bridge. There is no bridge. We are only building a shipping channel.”

Nariman, counsel for the Setusamudram Shipping Channel Corporation, made these assertions during his argument on a bunch of lawsuits challenging the construction of a shorter shipping channel cutting across Ram Setu or Adam’s Bridge in the Palk Strait, separating India and sdri Lanka. The court began hearing the issue Tuesday.

Seeking to counter arguments of various petitioners based on faith and religion and challenging the construction of the shipping channel, Nariman said, “The best approach to follow is to (ask) whether you are following legal steps.”

“The affidavit (that doubted the existence of Lord Ram) was withdrawn in extraneous circumstances,” Nariman added.

The government resorted to an assertive stance Wednesday, despite the fact that it had on May 8 acceded to a suggestion by the court to explore the possibility of adopting an “alternative alignment” sparing the Ram Setu for building the shipping channel.

In fact, even during Wednesday’s arguments, the bench earlier counselled the government to consider an “alternative alignment” for the shipping channel to avoid all the acrimony, entailing the project.

“If the government approach is that avoiding access to Ram Setu or Adam’s Bridge is not possible, then it’s a different issue. But, if an alternative is available, there is no issue,” observed the bench.

“It’s easy to create an issue. Why create a mammoth issue, if you have an alternative?” the bench remarked, suggesting the government to opt an alternative alignment for the channel, other than the ‘alignment 6′, which goes across the Ram Setu.

After examining various project reports, spanning a period of 150 years, the bench said: “There were nine study reports (for the shipping channel project) before the Independence and six afterwards. All of them avoided Ram Setu. This is the first proposal of the alignment 6 that touches Ram Setu.”

It suggested the government “consider alignment 4 added with some curve as it will be away from the bridge as well as the marine biosphere”.

But Nariman told the bench: “The experts want to avoid curve. They want a straight channel.”

He also informed the court that till the apex court suspended the work on the project last year, the one fourth dredging of the bridge had been completed.

The arguments over the lawsuits will continue Thursday.

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Sethu Hearing : Trust Vote Discussed in Court too

New Delhi, July 22 2008. The Hindu

It has not complied with court directions, says Subramanian Swamy
It’s contempt of court: Jayalalithaa counsel
NEERI clearance came before tsunami: Dandi Swami

New Delhi: The Centre is likely to spell out on Wednesday its stand on the Supreme Court’s suggestion that it explore the possibility of finding an alternative alignment or any other route for the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project without damaging Ramar Sethu and that it consider whether an archaeological study could be conducted to declare Ramar Sethu a national monument.

Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, heading a three-judge Bench, on May 8 asked senior counsel Fali Nariman, appearing for the Centre, to consider an alternative alignment. The suggestion came at the fag end of arguments on behalf of the petitioners. The Bench included Justices R. V. Raveendran and J. M. Panchal. When arguments resumed On Tuesday, Roxna Swamy, wife of Janata Party president and petitioner Subramanian Swamy, said the Centre had not complied with the direction to consider an alternative alignment. Nor was the direction, given by the Madras High Court (before the petitions were shifted to the Supreme Court), that an archaeological study be conducted implemented.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa, said the Centre, not implementing the directions, committed contempt of court. The hearing should not proceed without its complying with the directions. Pointing out that the trust motion was being taken up in Parliament on Tuesday, he wanted the matter adjourned by three weeks. “I am surprised at the Centre’s action in a matter which affects millions of people and the whole nation. The Centre cannot ask for vacating the stay [on demolition of Ramar Sethu] without complying with the directions.”

Justice Balakrishnan told counsel: “I am aware of the oral directions. But how are we concerned with the trust motion? This court is concerned only with a judicial review of an administrative action. We are not concerned with what is happening outside. So many things are happening in this country but we are concerned only with this case.”

Senior counsel M. N. Krishnamani and C.S. Vaidyanathan joined Mr. Venugopal in urging the Centre to give its stand. Justice Raveendran said, “It is an oral direction. If it had been possible, they [Centre] would have said it. They are not positive about it.” After the Bench refused to adjourn the hearing, Krishnan Venugopal, counsel for another petitioner, Dandi Swami, continued his submissions. He said the clearance for the project had been obtained through the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, a Central government agency before the tsunami struck in December 2004. He said that according to experts on tsunami, geomorphologists and mineralogists, implementation of the project would have a disastrous effect on ecology and the environment.

Further arguments will continue on Wednesday.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Sethusamudram comes up in the (no-)Trust Vote debate in the Parliament

Speaking against the Trust Motion, The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani brought up the issue of the Sethusamudram shipping canal project and the government's affidavit in the Supreme Court putting a question mark on the existence of Lord Ram.

At this, the speaker intervened to ask whether or not it was "sub judice".

Advani replied by saying that the government was forced to withdraw the affidavit following countrywide protests.

There is noise all over the house, while Somnath Chatterji said 'please, please', with all the effectiveness of an umbrella in a typhoon.

T R Baalu stood up and wanted to say something. He did not seem to listen to the Speaker, who has in the last few minutes said a dozen times that he will allow Balu to respond when the time comes. Baalu was not audible in what he said.

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