The Ultimate Liberator!

For the seekers of knowledge
Can there be a knowledge?
better than
The Knowledge of The Divine, Shri Rama!

The one who liberated
Even the blades of grasses
And all the swarms of ants

Leaving none behind
That ever existed
In the Good City of Ayodhya

And placed them in
An exotic heaven
Created exclusively for them
By the Great Grandshire Brahma!

-Nammazhvaar


Ramayanam is Agriculture
Bhagavatham is Harvest
-Me


The twin-syllable, Rama
When a devotee exalts!
The Birth-Death cycle
It permanently halts

Goodness and Wealth
It everyday brings
Sin and poverty
It cleanses and shrinks

-Kambar


Goodness Honesty Sweetness Simplicity
Gentleness Strength Humility Bravery
Valour Talent Prowess Success
Memory Trustworthiness Heroism Genuinity
Such adorable qualities and so much more
By chanting Rama's name you will score!

-Me

My Lord's Story: Goodness Incarnate

Ramayanam in English poetry.

The Supreme Lord of the Universe was once born on this earth as a Human Being, faced challenges and had His share of pain and pleasure going through both good and bad times like any of us. Like any of us He too, took His turn in laughter and cry.

This humility of The Lord, that makes Him come down to earth and share with us our difficulties to show us a way to handle them is what I admire in Him. This quality of Him, makes me surrender to Him unconditionally and makes me want to sing His Glory on and on and on.

My Lord's Story is an out pour of my devotion that seeps out in gratitude for the pains He took to be a lighthouse for us, to cross the ocean of Samsara.

Links to all the posts have been provided in an order on the right side column.


Thursday, January 12, 2012

Brave Jatayu

Jatayu was sitting on a tree he used to sit usually
Pecking at a fish that he had caught, casually
Suddenly, he heard Mother Sita’s wail very loud
He turned to see Mother Sita on a golden cloud

Jatayu was surprised on seeing the golden object, that could fly
On seeing his daughter-like Sita being abducted, his anger was high
Forcefully holding Her was a man dark, tall, and with ten heads
Jatayu was incensed beyond a limit by Mother Sita’s tear sheds

The man was grasping Mother Sita by Her hair
On seeing that Jatayu's anger was a furious flare
The man showed no mercy to Mother Sita's pleads
Jatayu wanted to wreck the man's heads like weeds

Jatayu saw no shame or mercy in the man's faces that were cruel
To Jatayu's anger, the arrogance exhibited by the man, was a fuel
Wanting to stop the man from getting away, Jatayu took flight
To give courage to wailing Mother Sita, Jatayu picked up a fight

“Stop! You coward! Philanderer and thief!
Wait for Her Husband, for a moment brief
If truly, you have any pride in your valour
Do not behave with a fox’s demeanour

You are that Ravana, king of Lanka! Are you not?
How could you act so stupid, without fore thought?
What you are doing is nothing but suicide
Rama will wreck the island in which you reside

I’ve heard stories about how wicked and stupid you are
Now you demonstrate that by abducting Her, in Your car
First play with Rama and Lakshman the valour game
Win! And then take Her, if You have any shame”

Ravana was keen on escaping and therefore gave no reply
Jatayu was incensed, and some violence, he did apply
He jumped on to Ravana’s chest plunging his claws
And pecked Ravana on all his heads, for his flaws

Ravana was irritated heavily by this unexpected obstacle
He could not proceed further caught by Jatayu’s tentacle
Blood sprouted from Ravana’s heads and eyes
He decided to kill the bird, in his path, that vies

Jatayu by then knocked Ravana’s all ten crowns down
Ravana’s eyes rolled in anger like the crowns that rolled down
Ravana snatched his knife and stabbed Jatayu vehemently
Though hurt very bad, Jatayu put up a fight more ardently

Jatayu clung on to Ravana’s chest and never left
Ravana’s hope of getting away was almost bereft
It was getting late, and Ravana was caught by fear
That Lord Rama and Lakshman would be coming near

He had heard in detail about Lord Rama’s strength
Maricha had explained about it to him, in length
Out of fear and anger, He took a powerful sword
And cut off the left wing off the dutiful bird

Jatayu lost his balance and helplessly fell
Assurance, to crying Sita, he could not tell
He saw, as he fell, Mother Sita with tears stretching Her hand
Heart broken for not being able to help, he hit the land

Jatayu prayed desperately that he must not die
Hoping Lord Rama would come soon, he did lie
Mother Sita’s wailing lay heavily on his heart
Though he knew, he did his best on his part

Lord Rama with Lakshman was walking south
Silence was decorating His ever truthful mouth
Mother Sita was decorating His beautiful mind
Whom He knew not, how He was going to find

As They went, drops of blood on the way, they saw
Dropping down from a tree, it was fresh and raw
They saw a little further, a flag, on which a Veena was drawn
They knew it was a clue to where the abductor was gone

As They walked a little more, They saw a crown
On seeing its white pearls, Lord Rama did frown
“This crown belongs to that wicked and cowardly abductor
Who, to his own people and land, is going to be the destructor”

Leaving the crown behind, they walked further south watching
The sun above was high, and it was to a great extent scorching
On the way, at some distance, They saw a body of a beast lying
When They went close, They saw Their beloved Jatayu was dying

Jatayu had wounds all over his body, shedding profuse blood
He had shed so much blood that the land around him was red
Without one of his wings, his body was looking like an oval jar
He was so weak that his moaning could not be heard from far

When Lord Rama called out to him, he replied weakly
Feeling relieved on seeing The Brothers, he talked meekly
“Rama! Lakshman! Where have You both been?
In protecting Gentle Sita, should You not be keen?”

On seeing the bird struggle, Lord Rama shed tears
He lifted the bird, and on his laps, he placed its rears
“Jatayu! My dear uncle! Who has done this to you?
My father is dead, Sita is lost, and now it is going to be you!”

“Rama! Don’t cry! Be brave and act very fast
I do not have much time left to breathe my last
Ravana, king of Lanka, has abducted Her by force
Having a flying object at hand, the sky way, he chose

But, do not think, She is lost to You for ever
Vindham, the time She was stolen, has some power
In that time if anything is lost, it cannot be lost for long
Realising this, search for Her, and always remain strong

Use Your weapons and wisdom; never become weakened
Make Ravana regret, for this incident to have happened
Promise me that You will win Her back without fail
In my ears echo Your names, She called to no avail”

“I promise, I will!” A crying Lord Rama strongly said
As He was wiping, from Jatayu’s wounds, flowing blood
Lord Rama realised, to protect Mother Sita, Jatayu had fought
Trying to defend Mother Sita, death on himself, Jatayu had brought

After hearing Lord Rama’s promise, Jatayu breathed his last
And attained the highest world, coveted by sages, very fast
The gates of the highest world opened and gave him gap
For, he was a lucky soul who had died on The Lord’s Lap

Lord Rama’s love for Jatayu was already deep
On seeing Jatayu’s loyalty, further love did seep
Lord Rama shed tears of love and regret ceaselessly
Feeling miserable about watching Jatayu die helplessly

After much crying, Lord Rama decided to do the ritual cremation
And offer, to the departed soul, water and sesame as oblation
Lord Rama’s regret, that He could not cremate His father, went
Being able to act like a son for Jatayu; great satisfaction it lent

Lord Rama lifted Jatayu and held him in His Hand
And waited till Lakshman readied the pyre stand
Jatayu’s body on the woods, He gently laid
Showering flowers on it, His homage He paid

He then set fire to it and stood by crying, profuse
And watched the smoke rise into the sky and suffuse
Once the body was burned to ashes, He collected them
Went to a nearby river, and chanting mantras, dissolved them

In offering to Jatayu’s soul, sesame seeds and water He gave
Praying that, the soul from hunger and thirst, it must save
He then chanted mantras for the welfare of the soul
And that made the cremation ritual complete and whole

Thus Jatayu fought bravely and gave up his life for Ram
Like a father, he died, on Lord Rama’s lap that was warm
Jatayu from heaven watched his body, cremated by Ram
Melting and in gratitude saying, “Jai Shri Ram! Jai Jai Shri Ram!!”

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