Sanskrit sayings 5 - Sharing, Humility, Useless people, Pyre and Worry

This is part 5 of the Sanskrit quotes that i liked. Hope you enjoy it.

 1: Giving & Sharing

दानोपभोगरहिता दिवसा यस्य यान्ति वै। 
स लोहकारभस्त्रेव श्वसन्नपि न जीवति॥
Dhaanaubhogarahita divasaa yasya yaanti vai!

Sa lohakaarabhastraiva svasannapi na jeevati!!

Meaning:

The quote very nicely captures “Living is in giving and giving is living”. A person who passes his days without donations and enjoyments is like a blacksmith's bellows, he breathes but does not live.

Topic 2: Humility

भवन्ति नम्रास्तरवः फलोद्गमैः
नवाम्बुभिर्भूरिविलम्बिनो घनाः ।
अनुद्धताः सत्पुरुषाः समृद्धिभिः
स्वभाव एवैषः परोपकारिणाम् ॥
Bhavanti namraastaravaha phalaudhajamaihi

Navaam bhubhirbhuri vilambino ganaaha

Anudhdhatha satpurushaaha samrudhdhibhihi

Svabhaava yevaisha paropakaarimaan!!

Meaning:
On bearing fruits, trees bend (i.e. become humble), 
with new [recently] gathered water, clouds hang very low,
wealthy good men maintain non-arrogant nature,
this is the nature of benevolent persons.

Topic 3: Useless poeple

व्दौ अम्भासी निवेष्टव्यौ गले बदध्वा दृटां शिलां!

धनावान्तामदातारम  दरिद्रम चातपस्विनम !!

Vdau Ambaasi niveshtavyau Gale Bandhvaa dritaam sheelam

Dhanaavaanataam dhaathaaram Daridram chaatapasvinam!!

There are two types of people who should be pushed in deep water with heavy stones tied to their body! One who does not donate despite being rich and the other who does not work hard despite being poor !!

Topic 4: Worry & Pyre

चिन्ता चिता समानाऽस्ति बिन्दुमात्रविशेषतः |
सजीवं दहते चिन्ता निर्जीवं दहते चिता ||

Chinta Chita samaanasti binda maatra visheshita!

Sajeevam dahate chinta nirjeevam dahate chita!

This is a classic quote which talks about similarity between worry and funeral pyre. While worry burns the body alive, the funeral pyre burns the dead body. "Chita" means pyre and "Chinta" means worry and the difference is just an anusvara! So, avoid anxiety.

Topic 5: Always worry about this!

कः कालः कानि मित्रांनी को देशः कौव्ययागमौ

कज्चाहं का चमे शक्ति रीति चिन्त्यं मुहुमुर्हुः!!

Well. While the earlier quote told us not to worry, this quote tells us to worry about few things always. If you are confused at the contradictions. Isn't life all about balancing extremes and contradictions? Instead of using the word "Worry" i would rather use circumspect and contemplate.

How is the time / situation around me? who & how are my friends? what is condition in the country? what are the things for and against me (or what do I have and what I don't have)? who am I? what are my strengths?" one should always worry about these questions. 

Happy reading!

Sanskrit sayings 4 - Women, Help, overindulgence, Tongue and leadership trait

Here we continue to part 4. I shall start with the importance of women in the society and continue this part.

Topic 1: Importance of women

यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यंते रमंते तत्र देवताः।
यत्र तास्तु न पूज्यंते तत्र सर्वाफलक्रियाः॥
Yatra naaryastu poojyante ramnte tatra devataaha

Yatra thaastu na poojyante tatra sarva phalakriyaaha!!

Meaning:
This quote highlights the importance we attached to women in the society. Angels and goddess won’t dwell in a place where women are not worshiped.

Where women are worshiped, goddesses dwell.
Where they are not worshiped, all actions are fruitless.

Topic 2: Remember and repay the help received

प्रथमवयसि पीतं तोयमल्पं स्मरन्त:
शिरसि निहितभारा नारिकेला नराणाम्।
ददति जलमनल्पास्वादमाजीवितान्तं
न हि कृतमुपकारं साधवो विस्मरन्ति॥
Prathamavayasi pitham thoyamalpam smarantham

Shirasi nihithabhaara naarikela naranaam

Dhadhathi jalamanalpasvaadhamaa jeevithaantham

Nahi kritamupakaaram saadhavo vismaranthi

Meaning:

The Coconut trees, remembering the little amount of water they were fed, when they were saplings, carry loads of coconuts on their top and supply humans with very-tasty and sweet water in abundance, for their life-span.

The Wise never forget a help received.

There is an equally beautiful poem in Tamil by Auvaiyaar which I want to quote with a word of caution. Please do not try to find out whether it came in Tamil first or Sanskrit. Both of them are beautiful as languages and had ocean of wisdom with them.

நன்றி ஒருவர்க்குச் செய்தக்கால் அந்நன்றி

என்று தருங்கோல் என வேண்டா - நின்று
தளரா வளர்தெங்கு தாளுண்ட நீரைத்
தலையாலே தான்தருத லால்.

Topic 3: An important trait  of leadership

अमंत्रमक्षरं नास्ति नास्ति मूलमनौषधम्‌।
अयोग्यः पुरुषो नास्ति योजकस्तत्र दुर्लभः॥
Amantram aksharam Naasti, naasti moolam aushadam

Ayogya: purusha naasti yojakasthram durlabha

Meaning:

This is a good quote for parents, teachers and managers esp. the third line, where it says that every individual has a potential and it is up to the leader to make use of them.

There is no letter which doesn't have charm (curative property).

There is no root which doesn't have medicinal property.
There is no man who is not able.
Rare is a person who knows its proper application.

Topic 4: Importance of tip of the tongue

लक्ष्मीर्वसति जिह्वाग्रे।
जिह्वाग्रे मित्रबान्धवा:।
जिह्वाग्रे बन्धनं प्राप्तं
जिह्वाग्रे मरणं ध्रुवम्। 
Lakshmir vasati jihvaagre

Jihvaagre mitrabaandhavaaha

Jihvaagre bandhan praaptham

Jihvaagre maranam Dhruvam

Meaning:

How careful you need to be with the tip of the tongue and the quote ranges from prosperity to death.

Prosperity resides on the tip of the tongue, friends are found there on it. The tip of your tongue has the capacity to arrest you and verily death resides on it for sure.

Topic 5: Overindulgence

अतिदानाद्बलिर्बद्धो ह्यतिमानात् ढुरियोधन:।
विनष्टो रावणो लौल्यादति सर्वत्र वर्जयेत्।
Atidhaanaad balir Bhadhdho hayatimanaat Dhuriyodhanaha!

Vinashto raavano laulyaadhathi sarvatra varjayet!!

Meaning:
Well! This is a gem of a quote which highlights extremes are very bad and we need to be balanced. It is a gem because even excessive charitable nature is to be shunned and it gives an example of King Bali, because of his excessive charitable nature he was killed.

(The demon king) Bali was vanquished due to his excessive charitable nature.
King Duryodhana was humbled for his excessive pride.
(Demon Emperor) Ravana was destroyed due to excessive womanising.
Hence one should shun excessiveness in all things.

So lets meet again in the next blog.

Happy reading!

Sanskrit sayings 3 - Quotes, Beauty, wealth and Destiny

This is part 3 in this series. I am sharing some of the quotes which i liked. Considering the attention span i shall limit to 5 quotes per blog and continue this in the next blog.

1. Topic: On sweetness of Sanskrit quotes

द्राक्षा म्लानमुखी जाता शर्करा चाश्मतां गता
सुभाषितरसं दृष्ट्वा सुधा भीता दिवं गता!!

Draksha mlaanamukhi jaatha, sharkara chaasha mataam jaata

Shubhashita rasam drishtvaa sudha bheetaa divam jaata!!

Meaning:

(The sweetness of Sanskrit quotes are so good that the considered sweeter things in this world ran away at the sight of sweetness of Sanskrit quotes). Looking at the flavor of subhashitas (good Sanskrit quotes), grape turned pale, sugar turned into crystals and amrita [elixir of life] ran away to heaven.

2. Topic: On the inability to share Sanskrit quotes

बोधारो मत्सरग्रस्ताः प्रभवः स्मयदूषिताः। 

अबोधोपहताश्चान्ये जीर्णमङ्गे सुभाषितम्॥

Meaning:

Well! We saw a quote related to sweetness of Sanskrit quotes and this quote is for people who wants to share a good quote but are not doing it for whatever reasons. This person is very anxious that he is unable to share his quote and you yourself read what the reasons are behind it?

Learned men are jealous, master(s) laugh at me.

Other do not understand, thus good quote remains in this old body of mine.

3. Topic: Real beauty of an individual

श्रोत्रं श्रृतेनैव न कुन्डलेन दानेन पाणिर्न तु कंकणेन

विभाति काय: करुणापराणां परोपकारैर्न तु चन्दनेन

Srotram Shrutenau na kundalenam, dhaanena paanirnatu kankanena

Vibhaati kaaya: karunaaparaanaam paropakaarairna chandanena!

Meaning:
We wear multiple ornaments to add beauty to our form. This quote highlights what is adds to the real beauty to a person.

For the kind hearted people, their ear glows by the knowledge & not by the ear ring, their hand glows by the donation by the hand & not by bracelet, their body glows by the selfless deeds done & not by anointment with sandalwood oil.

4. Topic: Real wealth

न चोरहार्यं न च राजहार्यं न भ्रातृभ्राज्यं न च भारकारि।
व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यं विद्याधनं सर्वधनप्रधानम्॥
Na Chorahaaryam na cha raajahaaryam na bhraatur bhraajyam na cha bhaarakaari

Vyaye krite vardhata eva nityam vidyadanam sarva dhana pradhanam.

Meaning:
What is the best of all wealth? Which can’t be taken by a king or thief? Which wealth shall increase upon sharing? This quote gives the answer.

It cannot be stolen by a thief.
It cannot be taken away by a King.
It cannot be divided among brothers.
It does not cause load. It always increases when spent.
The wealth of knowledge is the greatest of all wealth.

5. Topic: Destiny

रात्रिर्गमिष्यति भविष्यति सुप्रभातम्
भास्वानुदेष्यति हसिष्यति पंकजश्रीः। 
इति विचारयति कोषगते द्विरेफे 
हा हंत हंत नलिनीं गज उज्जहार॥
Raatrir gamishyati bhavishyati suprabhaatam

Bhaasvaanudheshyati hasishyati pankajasri

Iti vichaarayati koshagate dvirephe

Ha hantham hantham nalineem gaja ujjahara!!

Meaning:
Night will be over, there will be morning,
The sun will rise, lotus flower will open.
While the bee inside the lotus flower was thinking thus,
The lotus plant was uprooted by an elephant.

I shall continue this in the next part.

Happy reading!

2013: Balancing the extremes

If you are reading this post then we have already called the "Mayan's doomsday bluff" and we are at the threshold of a New Year (2013 and Makara Shankaranti, as the case may be).  

Let me quickly wish you and your family a very happy, prosperous, healthy, fun-filled and peaceful New Year. I am sure some of you have been planning for the next year and I was wondering how the next year is going to be. 

As I looked around, I could only notice many of the nations and companies are either  looking down the economic abyss or staring into the eyes of other nations with an intention to fight for what ever reasons. I have been reading astrological forecasts for the oncoming months which predicts very high degree of civil unrest among citizens, warring nations, loss of peace and harmony, political instability, revolutions forcing government's fall and you can add other unpleasant things to this list. In fact it predicts difficult times from 15-Dec-2012 to till about 1st week of October 2013, with the worst period till 3rd week of Jan 2013.

Well, I had conflicting thoughts and those are very succinctly captured with some famous quotes below: 

Lets start with  Lao Tzu, who said, "Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge. Well its quite easy to reject the forecasts but what we see around us seems to confirm the prediction. In fact i would even ask as to what is so great about astrological forecasts as things are very evident. I fear, the protests in Delhi for the last few days seems to be early signs of what we may witness for much of 2013.

Consider Voltaire who quipped, "It is said that the present is pregnant with the future". As we see the present is pregnant with the seeds of conflict, poor governance, war mongering nations, economic meltdown, arrogant government, angry people, impatient minds and intolerant hearts. Then what 2013 would deliver is not a matter of rocket science / astrological forecast. Isn't? 

In any society conflicts are inherent, congenial, omnipresent and needs tolerance / acceptance and the ability to put up with extreme views. As HH Dalai Lama said, "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher". I believe the ability to balance the extreme positions is a key leadership trait be it in an organization, government or life and it is probably more important in 2013. 

As a wise man said, "Good living is in balancing the extremes" and every change starts with the individual. So, what are an individual's extremes that one needs to balance? If you answer its his head and feet, you are wrong. An individual's extremes are his head and heart. So specifically for 2013, let me wish every one a cool head, a warm heart and an attitude to balance the extremes in life for a good living!.

Here are few lines from a Sanskrit poem called Mangala Prarthana: (meaning given below)

Swasthi prajabhya paripalayantham,

Nyayena margena maheem maheesa,

Gobrahmanebhyo shubhamasthu nithyam,
Loka samastha Sukhino bhavantu.

Kale varshathu parjanya,
Prauthwee sasya shalini,
Deso yam kshobha rahitha,
SAjjana santhu nirbhaya.

Aputhra puthrina santhu,
Puthrina santhu pouthrina,
Adhana sadhana Santhu

Jeevanthu sarada satham.

Sarvathra sukhina santhu,
Sarve santhu niramaya,
Sarve bhadrani pasyanthu,
Ma kaschid dukha bhag bhaveth.

Seasons greetings, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year!

Happy reading!

Meaning:

Let all people live happily,
Let kings rule with justice,
Let cows and Brahmins live happily,
And let all the people of this earth live happily for ever.

Let the monsoon be timely and plentiful,
Let earth be covered with vegetation,
Let the country live without problems,
And let good people never have fear.

Let sonless people have son,
Let people with son have grand sons,
And let people who are poor or rich,
Live and see one hundred autumns.

Let people live with pleasure everywhere,
Let all people live without diseases,
Let every one feel themselves secure,
And let none have at anytime sorrow

Is Delhi the "Rape Capital" of India?

As always the media has been going ballistic (this time rightfully so) on the horrific rape news of a Delhi based doctor who was raped in a moving bus. For those who have an eye for such crimes stats, they would tell you that it is not anything surprising in India.

The statistics tell us that in 2001 one woman / girl is raped every 54 minutes and in 2011 it has worsened to one in 24 minutes. Now this is based on the crimes that are registered and if you have lived in India, you would agree that it is a general tendency not to raise these things in public unless there is a strong trigger. Having been ethics counselor in some reputed concerns, I can tell you the actual cases of sexual abuse and rape crimes should be far higher than what we see.

I saw on TV the police commissioner asking a reporter as to why you called "Delhi - the rape capital of India". We are as intelligent as we are informed and since our Media just shouts without any data, I decided to browse through some statistics and put together  this analysis.

1. The rape statistics of 2011 are as per the Home Ministry.

2. I analysed this against the female population in that state / city. I also analysed it against the size of the state / city.

3. I derived 2 ratios, Ratio of rapes per every 1000 females and Ratio of rapes every 100 Sq km.

Now, I wanted to make it clear that its shame on all the right minded Indians if we are  happy about less rapes in our state and more rapes in the neighbor states. We should be equally ashamed and unhappy about every crime that happens in any part of India.

But the tables show a very clear ranking. Delhi seems to be worse off and is worth calling the rape capital of India when you compare the ratio of rape in every 100 sq km specially. It is startlingly 10 times more than the 2nd ranked state which is Kerala and also more than the sum of all the ratios of other states put together.

Delhi ranks 5th in ratio per 1000 people, but surprisingly Assam leads this ratio across India. MP, WB, UP and Rajasthan seems to be worse off in absolute numbers of rape. I am not fully sure about the rape cases in Haryana.

There were multiple reactions from asking for death penalty to these culprits to emotional debates by our MPs. My thoughts as follows:

Capital Punishment: 

I think we should first hang the people who are already sentenced to death. Its a shame that the 20+yr old death sentences are still pending. What caste, creed, which community how much votes we will lose - every damn thing is a factor when it comes to execute a criminal. As a country we are impotent in executing death sentences. We have seen dengue mosquitoes are more effective than our justice delivery system but how can we depend on them always?

Political will: 
Its not long before the President of India (Mrs. Patil) and the HM (PC) colluded to pardon number of culprits which included child rapists and killers. This has happened in this year only. What do expect from these elected jokers when there is no political will to punish the culprits.

Experts say crime can be controlled effectively with the speed of justice more than the severity of justice. We have to speed up the justice delivery mechanism.

In my opinion nothing works more effectively than CASTRATION for such crimes. This way you disable them without the tool to repeat the crime. And just like the victim will live with a scar, the culprit also should live with one (or rather without one? :)).

I think we should request government to deploy mobile castration centers in specific areas and see the speed at which this menace can be controlled. Many like me would be more than glad to donate rusted scissors for this punishment.

Being a father, husband and brother, I want to see love, admiration, fear and respect in men's eyes and not lust when they see girls / women in this country.

Yours angry-sadly

Happy reading!

PS: Please ignore the word millions in the first table under female population. Its already given in millions. I am too lazy to change this in the picture :)

Surya Vamsa, Ravana's lineage and Srilanka's history!!.. Part 3

Lets look at some aspects which are widely debated:

• Ravana was a brahmin since he was born to a Brahmin Sage but had the qualities of his mother who is a Demon. How can one be a Brahmin and a demon? Though Ravana was born in a Brahmin family he was not a Brahmin by his deeds but was a demon by deeds. One of the important aspects of Hinduism is Karma theory, You shall reap what you sow!, places conduct over creed. So, conduct and deeds determines an individual and hence Ravana was called a demon king and not a Brahmin!.

• Unlike popular belief it should be highlighted that Rama was a Kshatriya and not a Brahmin. When Soorpanaka approaches Rama and asks him to marry her, Lord Rama refuses her and one of the reasons he gives is "I am a human being and it would not be apt to marry a demon pricesss".. வருத்தம் நீங்கு அரக்கர்தம்மில் மானிடர்
       மணத்தல், நங்கை! பொருத்தம் அன்று". Understandably Kshatriya male cannot marry a Brahmin girl as per Manu laws but a Brahmin male can marry a Kshatriya or Vaishya girl.

In Tamil Nadu there are some "rational" species which does not believe in Ramayan or Rama but claim that Ravana was a lower caste and Rama was a Brahmin and the entire story is of oppressive past India had. This along with the next argument needs to be trashed.

The next argument is Ravana was a Tamilian (Dravidian) and Lord Rama was a north Indian (Aryan) and hence Ramayana is all about Aryan supremacy story over Dravidians. The Aryan invasion theory has been comprehensively debunked and the other theory that Aryans migrated from Europe / Russian is also sent to dustbin at the same breath.

The birth place of Ravana is not mentioned in any scriptures as Tamil Nadu or Sri Lanka nor it is said that Ravana's mother tongue is Tamil.  It is popularly believed that Ravana was born in the current day village of Bisrakh, closer to Noida in North India. Geographically Ravana is more north Indian than Lord Rama as Noida is north of Ayodhya :). Please note that he displaced Kubera and captured Lanka.

To my knowledge there were no linguistic divide as we see now between Tamil and Sanskrit. Any Sage or author seems to have mastered both the languages and it was like 2 eyes for them. They did not claim that one eye is superior nor they claimed that the right  eye came from left eye. Those who make those arguments are mentally blind.. Let me give some perceptions about it:

• Sage Agasthiyar who is the head of Tamil Sidha parampara and also the chief disciple of Lord Muruga - the origin of Tamil, was sent to South India by Lord Shiva and he was not a native of South India. Yet he created so many works in Tamil and Sanskrit. The famous AdityaHridayam sloka in Ramayanam where Sage Agasthiya tells the secret to win Ravana is in Sanskrit. The Lalitha Sahasranamam told by Sage Agasthya to Hayagreeva is in Sanskrit. These are couple of examples i can draw.

• Ravana was known for his singing and Veena playing abilities. His valor was unheard of and excelled in many things. He also is attributed for lots of works in Tamil and Slokas in Sanskrit too. Listen to this Shiva Tandava Stotra believed to be composed by Ravan in Sanskrit. Like Mantras, this was also supposed to be sung in one breath. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwMyiDbQrjY You can check out Ravana's breathing rhythm and how he could have sung the entire song in one breath here in this article.. http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/10/breathing-rhythm-of-king-dasarath-lord.html

• Lets look at Poet Kambar. He enjoyed the Valmiki Ramayan in Sanskrit, the Alwar pasurams and then created Kamba Ramayanam. Recollect this,

நாரணன் விளையாட் டெல்லா நாரத முனிவன் சொல்ல

வாரணக் கவிதைசெய்தா னறிந்துவான் மீகியென்பான்

சீரணி சோழநாட்டுத் திருவழுந் தூருவச்சன்

காரணி கொடையான் கம்பன் றமிழினாற் கவிதை செய்தான்.

• Sage Vashishta has created songs in Tamil and of course his works in Sanskrit are very well known.

Now to summarize:

• It really should not bother us whether Rama is a Aryan or Kshatriya or Brahmin and whether Ravana was a Brahmin or Demon or Tamilian. The message is more important than the messenger. That's one of the important aspects of Hinduism.

• As per Vedanta, at one stage Lord Rama or Krishna or for that matter any name or from ceases to be relevant. Hence the message also ceases to be relevant at the highest stage. At the worldly life it is ones choice whether to believe or dismiss these as just stories. But if one argues about facts of the case then we need to depend on what is written by Sages like Valmiki and not draw wrong conclusions.

•  Languages like Tamil and Sanskrit have been there for eons and have flourished as two eyes giving us vision about science, literature, metaphysics, arts and what not. Why should some one claim that one is superior over other? The petty political considerations may not vanish from this earth but it is important that it is countered in the right way with facts and then leave it to the intelligence of the readers.

• I believe no one can claim to protect these languages or heritage. In the cycle of evolution not just languages and civilizations but even demigods come and go. If it serves some petty political purpose to play one-upmanship, then i don't give a damn about it and here I rest my case.

Happy reading!

The article which prompted me to write this article is given below and i thank the individual to encourage me to write this :).

இராவணன்

-----------------

இரா – இரவு.

வண்ணன் – நிறம் பொருந்தியவன்.

இரவு நிறமான கருநிறம் கொண்டவன் என்று பொருள். பெயரிலேயே தமிழன் என்று உணர்ந்தாலும் சில மூடர்களுக்கு இராவணனை தமிழன் என்று உணரமுடியவில்லை.

இராவணன் தமிழன் -

ராவணனைப் பற்றி பேச முற்படுகின்ற போது, முதலில் அவன் இனம் எது வென சொல்லிவிடுதல் நலம். ஒரு வலைப்பதிவர் ராவணணை சிங்கள அரசன் எனச் சொல்லியிருந்தார். இன்னொரு வலைப்பதிவர் ராவணனை பிராமணன் எனச் சொல்லியிருந்தார்.

ஆனால் நான் மதிக்கும் ஜெயமோகன் தனது வலைப்பூவில் காளிவிளை ராஜா’ எழுதிய சீரிய ஆய்வுக்கட்டுரை பற்றி குறிப்படும் போது, விளவங்கோடு வட்டம் மருதங்கோடு பரக்குன்று, அகத்தீஸ்வரம் வட்டம் தெக்குறிச்சி போன்ற ஊர்களில் அதற்கான தடயங்கள் உள்ளன. இங்கெல்லாம் இராவணனை தங்கள் குலமுன்னோராக போற்றும் மரபு சில குடும்பத்தாரிடம் இருந்துவருகிறது… இராவணானால் எழுதப்பட்ட தமிழ்ச் சுவடிகள் சிலவும் இவர்களிடம் இன்றளவும் உள்ளன என்கிறார்.

ஆதாரத்தின் சுருக்கம் –

1.குமரிமாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள நாடார் அல்லது சான்றோர் சாதியினரே ராவணனின் குலத்தவர்.

2. சான்றோர் சாதியில் முந்நூற்றுவர் என்ற பிரிவு உள்ளது.ராவணனின் படைப்பிரிவை முந்நூற்றுவர் என கம்பன் சொல்கிறார். அது இவர்களே.

3. ராவணன் சீதையை சிறைவைத்த இடம் குமரிமாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள மிஞ்சிறை என்ற ஊரே. இது உண்மையில் ராவணப்படையினரான சான்றோர் சாதியால் முன்சிறை என்று சொல்லப்பட்ட இடம்.

4. சான்றோர்கள் கேரளத்தில் ஈழவர் என்று சொல்லப்படுகிறார்கள். அவர்கள் ஈழத்தில் அதாவது ராவணனின் இலங்கையில் இருந்து வந்தவர்கள் என்பதற்கான ஆதாரம் இது.

5.ராவணன் மனைவி மண்டோதரி சான்றோர் குலத்தவள். அவள் அப்பா மயன். இவர் குமரிமாவட்டம் விளவங்கோடு வட்டத்தைச் சார்ந்தவர்

6. இந்த மயன் மாபெரும் பொறியியல் மேதை. ஆகாயவிமானம்[வானூர்தி] போன்றவற்றைக் கண்டுபிடித்தவர். மயனச்சிற்பி என்றும் இவருக்கு பெயர் உண்டு. ஐந்திறம் போன்ற அரிய நூல்களை இவர் எழுதினார்

7. திருவிதாங்கூர் மன்னர்கள் சான்றோர் குலத்தவரே

ஆதாரங்களாக புலவர் குழந்தை எழுதிய ராவண காவியம், அரக்கர் நூல் [ஓலைச்சுவடி] கோயிலூட்டம்மை வழிபாடு -இராவணேசுவரன் பூசை [பதிப்பாசிரியர் சு.செல்வகுமார் 2004] குமரிமாவட்ட எழுத்தாளர்கள் யார் எவர் -மயன் மற்றும் திரு பாஸ்கரன் வைத்தியர் நேர்காணல் ஆகியவை சுட்டப்பட்டுள்ளன.

ராவண காவியம் -

ராவணன் தமிழன் என உறுதி படக் கூறவே ராவண காவியம் இயற்றப்பட்டது. கம்பனின் சொல்வழக்குகளில் மயங்கியதால் தமிழர்கள் பலருக்கும் இக் காவியம் சென்றடையவில்லை. கடவுள் மறுப்பு கொள்கையில் தீவிரமாக இருக்கும் தி.க வினரும் இதை கவணத்தில் கொள்வதில்லை.

இதன் சாராம்சத்தில்…

இரண்டாம் கடல்கோளுக்குப் பின்னர்த் தோன்றிய இலங்கையிலிருந்து தமிழகத்தை ஆண்டு வந்தான். தமிழர் இனத் தலைவனாகிய விச்சிரவாவு. அவன் மனைவி கேகசி. அவர்களுக்கு இராவணன், கும்பகன்னன், பீடணன் என்ற மூன்று ஆண்மக்களும் காமவல்லி என்னும் ஒரு பெண்மகளும் பிறந்தனர். தன் தந்தை விச்சிரவாவுக்குப் பின்னர் இராவணன் தமிழகத்தை ஆண்டான்.

Surya Vamsa, Ravana's lineage and Srilanka's history!!.. Part 2

Now lets look at Ravana's lineage. Much of it is taken from "Uttara Ramayan" where Sage Vishwamitra tells Lord Rama and others about Ravana's lineage.

One of Lord Brahma's sons is Sage Pulasthiyar and his great grandson is Ravana.

Ravana's father Vishravas, had 2 wives, one was Devavarnini whose son is Lord Kubera, the god of wealth.

Long ago, Srilanka was ruled by 3 demon kings Malyavan, Maali and Sumaali. It is told that Lord Vishnu displaced them from throne and they ran for their life. Demon Sumaali's daughter Kaikasi enamored Sage Vishravasa and got 4 kids - Raavanan, Kumbakaranan, Soorpanaka and Vibhishanan.

In Kamba Ramayana, Lord Rama asks Soorpanaka - tell me who are you? and she replies as follows:

பூவிலோன் means Brahma, புதல்வன் means Son, மைந்தன் again means son,  புதல்வி; means daughter..

பூவிலோன் புதல்வன் மைந்தன் 

     புதல்வி; முப்புரங்கள் செற்ற 

சே-வலோன் துணைவன் ஆன செங்கையோன் 

     தங்கை; திக்கின் 

மா எலாம் தொலைத்து, வெள்ளிமலை 

     எடுத்து, உலகம் மூன்றும் 

காவலோன் பின்னை; காமவல்லி ஆம் 

     கன்னி' என்றாள்.

• So Ravanan and Kubera are co-brothers having same father, different mothers.
• Ravana's great grand father (Sage Pulasthiyar) and Lord Rama's first ancestor (Sage Marichi) are brothers. So Lord Rama and Ravana are distant relatives. :).
• Celestial architect Mayan's daughter is Mandodari. Ravana married her, captured Sri lanka and chased out Kubera.
• Mayan was based out of Kumari Kandam aka Lemuria and you can read more about it here.. 

http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/01/mahamuni-mayan-was-father-in-law-of.html

This Mayan and South american Mayan with the famous 2012 calander are the same and you can read about it here... http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/01/time-space-series-part-13-south.html

• Architect Nalan is the son of Mayan and helped Lord Rama to build the bridge to Sri Lanka.
• Lord Rama takes Vibheshana as a brother along with Guha, Sugreevan. You can see that there is no contradiction and they are designed that way.

That's all about lineage and relationships. Lets come to few info bits on Ravana's history:

• Kubera establishes his kingdom at Srilanka (it is said that there was a mountain called  Trikoota then). It is also told that the country is one of the best designed places and looks lovely like heaven.
• Ravana when born was named as Dasagrivan since he had 10 heads and 20 arms.
• After taking boons he started his demonic activities he troubled the entire universe and became a terror to everyone.
• Then comes the well known story, Dasagrivan reached Kailasa and was trying to lift the mountain but Lord Shiva subdued him. In the process Ravana's hand got stuck under the mountain.
• He writhed in pain and his cry was heard in all the 3 worlds. Lord Shiva pardoned him and named him "Ravanan". Ravanan means one who cries loudly, continuously.
• Ravana was making fun of Nandi Deva's looks just before this event and Nandi Deva cursed him that he shall die fighting the ugly creatures of this world - the monkeys! This is why the devas were born in the form of monkeys! This is Curse No. 1.
• Ravana misbehaved a lady called Vedavathi, daughter of Sage Kusathvajar. Unable to stop Ravana's advances she cursed him that she will kill him in her next life and jumped into fire. This is curse no.2. It is believed that she came as Ma Seetha and if you notice Seetha was not born out of pregnancy but she came out of earth when King Janaka was ploughing.
• Ravana fought with Anaranyan, (king No.6 in Surya Vamsa) one of the ancestors of Lord Rama and killed him in the battle field. While dying the king cursed Ravana that one of the sons of my dynasty shall come and kill you. This is curse no.3.
• Lord Kubera's daughter is Ramba. She was forcefully raped by Ravan despite she begging that she is like his daughter. Ramba's husband NalaKoobaran cursed Raavan that his head shall burst into 7 pieces if he tries to rape any lady / woman without her consent. This is curse no.4.
• Finally, during one of the wars Soorpanaka's husband was killed by Ravana and it is told that Soorpoanaka was bent upon bringing ruins upon Ravana. Read the Kambar's words here... 

நீல மா மணி நிற
     நிருதர் வேந்தனை
மூல நாசம் பெற முடிக்கும்
     மொய்ம்பினாள்,
மேலைநாள் உயிரொடும்
     பிறந்து, தான் விளை
காலம் ஓர்ந்து, உடன் உறை கடிய
     நோய் அனாள்,

This is one of my favorite songs. Kambar describes Soorpanaka as "Like the congenital disease which is born along with us, but waits for the right time", the meaning goes that she came as if she was a congenital disease for Ravana and was bent upon uprooting him. The beauty of this song and the depth of the meaning is simply amazing! You can consider this as Curse no.5

So Ravana's future was firmly linked to his past deeds and the same is true for all of us. These 5 curses would partly explain the questions like why Devas came as monkeys, Why Ravana could not force his way with Seetha or just the number of people who were earnestly waiting for his demise!

We will continue in the next part.

Happy reading!