February 19,2013.Day 97. Srimad Valmiki Ramayan - The First Epic Poem Of India. (Continued)

Book I : Bala Kanda - Book Of Youthful Majesties 

Chapter [Sarga] 2 (Continued)

ततः करुण वेदित्वात् अधर्मो अयम् इति द्विजः |
निशांय रुदतीम् क्रौन्चीम् इदम् वचनम् अब्रैइत् || १-२-१४

14. tataH = then; dvijaH = sage Valmiki; rudatiim krounchiim nishaamya = wailing, female bird, on seeing; karuNa veditvaat = compassion, haunting him; ayam adharmaH iti = this is, unjust, thus thinking, thus apperceiving; idam vacanam abraiit = this, sentence, said, uttered.

Then on seeing the wailing female krounchi bird, compassion haunting him and apperceiving the killing of male bird as unjust, the sage uttered this sentence... [1-2-14]

मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठाम्त्व | मगमः शाश्वतीः समाः |
यत् क्रौङ्च मिथुनात् एक | मवधीः काम मोहितम् || १-२-१५

15. ama = oh, ill-fate one; niSaada = oh, hunter; tvam = you; yat = by which reason; krau~Ncha mithunaat = of krouncha, couple; ekam = one;kaama mohitam = in lustful, indulged in; avadhiiH = killed; [tat = by that reason]; shaashvatiiH = ever lasting; samaaH = ages to come; pratiSThaam tu= reputation, but; maa gamaH = don't, get.

"Oh! Ill-fated Hunter, by which reason you have killed one male bird of the couple, when it is in its lustful passion, thereby you will get an ever-lasting reputation for ages to come..." [1-2-15]

'No fame be thine for endless time, /Because, base outcast, of thy crime, Whose cruel hand was fain to slay / One of this gentle pair at play!' Griffith.

 'For endless years to come, O Hunter, never shall thy soul find peace /' Romesh C. Dutt.

All of these are just dictionary meanings. Whether a tribal hunter gets infamy or ignominy, it does not matter much, unlike a nobleman getting some disrepute or discredit. Then the word in the verse niSaada should have other meanings than just a tribal hunter.

This is a celebrated stanza of Sanskrit literature, and controversial too, in deciphering its meaning. We are told that this is the first verse of human origin with metrical rules and grammar. Earlier to this, only Vedic stanzas were available with their complicated compositional rules. This is the verse where this epic, Ramayana is said to have triggered off.

In one way the separation of compound tvamagama is like this tu, ama, gamaH. Then the parsing is:

ama niSaada= oh, ill fated, hunter; tvam= you; yat= by which reason; krau~Ncha mithunaat = of krouncha, couple; ekam= one; kaama mohitam= lust, indulged in; a-vadhiiH= you killed; [tat= by that reason]; shaashvatiiH= ever lasting; samaaH= ages to come; pratiSThaam tu= reputation, but; maa gamaH= don't, get.

This verse has many comports of which a few are given hereunder:

This verse is taken as ma~NgalaacaraNa to Ramayana, for any epic has to have ma~Ngala aadiini; ma~Ngala madhyaani; ma~Ngala antaani   A good pious beginning, pious middle and pious ending.

Because this verse has the letter maa at its start and maa is lakShmii vaacaka in Sanskrit. It is aadi varNaH The first letter  loka maataa maa ramaa ma~Ngala devataa thus amara kosha says for Goddess Lakshmi.

maa= Goddess Lakshmi; niShaada= Oh! Vishnu [ for Goddess Lakshmi resides in the heart of Vishnu - niShadiiti asmin iti niShaada ]; yat = by which act;krounca midhunaat = the couple of demons, namely Ravana and Mandodari; kaama mohitam= that impassioned one and stole Seetha; ekam= that one, Ravana;avadhii= you killed; by that act of yours;  shashvatiisamaa= everlasting for ages; pratiShTaam= divine sanctity; tvam agama= you, get.

"Oh, the abode of Goddess Lakshmi, namely oh, Vishnu, by which act of your killing one male demon named Ravana, who in his passion abducted Seetha, and thus you eradicated the vice from the earth, for that you get an everlasting divine sanctity, as Rama, for ages to come."

2] Next niSaada is attributable to Ravana, because he is the one who tortures others for his benefit. itaraam saadayati piiDayati iti niSaada thus: Oh! Ravana;krounch midhunaat= from the couple, say Rama and Seetha, who are flying from forest to forest like nest-less birds; ekam= one is, Seetha is; avadhii =you almost killed her by your torture of abducting her; pratiSTaam= your glory in Lanka, at its zenith, as per the kindness of Brahma; ma agama= never get, hereafter. But this declination is not held right, for it is like a curse, shaapa, and no epic starts with a curse.

3] Next, this verse is said holding Rama in the perspective. Sage Narada gave the details of the legend to Sage Valmiki because Brahma ordered that the legend of Rama is to be recorded. But Ramayana is full of pathos, karuNa shoka rasa prathaana. If it is to be penned the writer too shall have heart that can outpour that mood. So when Valmiki is at the river banks, Rama, say Vishnu, came in the guise of a tribal, as with other mythological episodes like kiraataarjuniiya etc., to test the capability of Valmiki in narrating pathos, and killed one bird. Valmiki reacted immediately and Vishnu's test is complete. But in exciting the mood of such holy sage, Vishnu / Rama gets a curse like separation from wife, as below.

nishaada= oh, tribal: Rama to Valmiki / Vishnu to mythology; for your killing one bird of the couple, to the misery of the female one; shaashvatii = as long as you live on this earth; samaaH pratiSTaam= togetherness, with your wife; ma agama= do not get.

Oh! Rama, as long as you are on earth, you do not get the love of being together with your wife, because you killed one from the bird couple... and you have to live with your wife departed [to Lanka,] come again, and then departed [to forests.]

But this is differed statement, since Vishnu does not require any personal testing of the capabilities of the writer of Ramayana. Brahma will look after such literary things.

4] The generally accepted meaning of this verse is this. Any epic's gist is to be said at the start or, at its commencement --- kaavya artha suucanam kascin aadyaam eva niruupyate---  Thus, the above verse included the meaning of whole of the epic, Ramayana.

i] maa niSaada= Goddess Lakshmi and Vishnu. Their marriage in their incarnations as Rama and Seetha, and Ramayana depicts this in Bala Kanda.

ii] pratiSTaam tvam agama= renown, you get, by following your father's orders you have repaired to forests, without any political upheaval, thus get an everlasting renown as an obliging son Ayodhya Kanda.

iii] shashavatii samaa= by dwelling in forest and eradicating demons and helping the saints and sages thus, you achieve an everlasting praise Aranaya Kanda.

iv] krounchayoH= from the [atrocious] couple; k-- krunca gati kauTilyaa alpii bhaavayoH; the atrocious Vali, and Tara couple; ekam kaama mohitam = one, passion, filled, i.e., Vali; avadhii= you killed, you killed Vali Kishkindha Kanda.

v] krouncha mithunaat= from the couple of lovely passionate birds here Rama and Seetha; niSaada that ruffian Ravana, kaama mohitam lustfully, ekam one [i.e., Seetha]; avadhii = almost killed, i.e., her residing in Lanka is as good as death Sundara Kanda.

vi] krouncha mithunaat = from the atrocious, couple Ravana and Mandodari; ekam avadhii one Ravana, you killed Yuddha Kanda.

vii] kaama mohitam= by desire, fascinated [ kama also means a longing, desire, let alone lusting]; Seetha is fascinated by her desire to see sage's wives in uttara Ramayana and thus she is sent to forests through Lakshmana. Hence seventh canto, uttara Ramayana is also suggested.