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!

Surya Vamsa, Ravana's lineage and Srilanka's history!!.. Part 1

Disclaimer: Just compiling my understanding here with a disclaimer that there are minor variations between multiple scriptures but writing here what appealed to me. Shall be open to any suggestion or corrections :)

Praja means people, you would note that the root "Pra" associates with Prana (Life force), Prani(Living being), Pran(Life) etc.

It is said that Brahma created 21 Prajapatis (the count is 17 according to Valmiki Ramayan) and they are responsible for the creation of the entire living beings in this universe. Hence in one way we are all distant relatives as I am going to prove that Ravana and Rama were also relatives :).

Lets consider just the 2 Prajapatis Sage Marichi and Sage Pulastaya among the 17 or 21 as the case may be. Since they are sons of Brahma they are brothers. Sage Marichi's lineage through King Manu and "Ikshavahu" is the Solar dynasty or Surya Vamsa. I am enclosing the list of kings under Surya Vamsa starting from Brahma. Please enlarge the image.

Scriptures say that there were 42 main kings of Surya dynasty ruled for approximately 3 million years. Collating from different sources including Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa i have listed 58 kings in Raghu Vamsa. I still could not find references to Musukundan and Sibi and they are not part of the list, though you may find that they are part of the dynasty as per Kamba Ramayana and the relevant songs are listed below. The duration is Satya and Treta yuga put together - 3024000 years to be precise. You may be interested in this article too.. http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/10/breathing-rhythm-of-king-dasarath-lord.html

• Lord Rama is the 36th King in the list starting from Manu and i wanted to invite the attention to the following:
• We will see later that No.6, King Anaranyan fought with Ravana and lost so there is enmity and past between Rama's ancestors and Ravana.
• No. 14, King Bharath was the famous king of Solar Dynasty and our country is named after him!.. Mera Bharath Mahan!
• No. 20, Bhageerath got river Ganges to earth and hence the river is also known as Bhageerathi.
• No.22, Raghu was the most famous king after Bharath and hence this vamsa is also called as Raghu Vamsa. Name Raghurama means Rama from the Raghu Clan.
• There were few kings after Lord Rama which i am not covering here.

Sage Vishwamitra helped King Thrisangu (No. 8) by creating a separate world for him and the same Sage helped Lord Rama. These Sages lived through the ages and had conquered death.

In the next part we would see the lineage of King Ravana and the relationships.

In Kamba Ramayana, Sage Vishwamitra introduces Lord Rama to King Janaka and he talks about rama's ancestors.. I am producing few songs which I like.

Happy Reading!

On Manu:

ஆதித்தன் குல முதல்வன்

மனுவினை யார் அறியாதார்?

பேதித்த உயிர் அனைத்தும்

பெரும் பசியால் வருந்தாமல்

சோதித் தன் வரி சிலையால்

நில மடந்தை முலை சுரப்பச்

சாதித்த பெருந்தகையும் இவர்

குலத்து ஓர் தராபதி காண். Kambar, Manu through his bow ensured, that mother earth gave enough grains so that none went hungry in his kingdom. We should note that the entire world were under Surya Vamsa for these 3 million years and not just Bharath! On, King Ikshavahu:

‘பிணி அரங்க. வினை அகல.
   பெருங் காலம் தவம் பேணி.-
மணி அரங்கு அம் நெடு முடியாய்!-
   மலர் அயனை வழிபட்டு.
பணி அரங்கப் பெரும் பாயற்
   பரஞ் சுடரை யாம் காண.
அணி அரங்கம் தந்தானை
   அறியாதார் அறியாதார்!

Lord Ranganatha as the deity in form has been given by Lord Brahma to King Ikshavahu for the benefit of mankind. This is the deity in Srirangam today.

ககுத்தன் 723. “தான் தனக்கு வெலற்கு அரிய     ‘தானவரைத் தலை, துமித்து என் வான் தரக்கிற்றி கொல்? ‘என்று     குறை இரப்ப, வரம் கொடுத்து ஆங்கு ஏன்று எடுத்த சிலையினனாய்     இகல்புரிந்த இவர் குலத்து ஓர் தோன்றலைப் பண்டு இந்திரன்காண்     விடை ஏறாய்ச் சுமந்தானும்!‘‘

கடல் கடைந்த காவலன் 724. ‘அரச! அவன் பின்னோரை என்னானும்     அளப்ப அரிதால் : உரை குறுக நிமிர் கீர்த்தி இவர்     குலத்தோன் ஒருவன் காண், நரை திரை மூப்பு இவை மாற்றி,     இந்திரனும் நந்தாமல், குரை கடலை நெடும் வரையால்     கடைந்து அமுது கொடுத்தானும்.

மாந்தாதா 725. ‘கருதல் அரும் பெரும் குணத்தோர்,     இவர் முதலோர் கணக்கு இறந்தோர், திரிபுவனம் முழுது ஆண்டு     சுடர் நேமி செல நின்றோர், பொருது உறைசேர் வேலினாய்!     புலிப் போத்தும் புல்வாயும் ஒரு துறையில் நீர் உண்ண     உலகு ஆண்டோன் உளன் ஒருவன்.

முசுகுந்தன் 726. ‘மறை மன்னும் மணி முடியும்     ஆரமும் வாெளாடு மின்னப், பொறை மன்னு வானவரும் தானவரும்     பொரும் ஒரு நாள், விறல் மன்னர் தொழு கழலாய்!     இவர் குலத்தோன் வில் பிடித்த அறம் என்ன ஒரு தனியே திரிந்து     அமராபதி காத்தான்.

சிபி 727. ‘இன் உயிர்க்கும் இன் உயிராய்     இரு நிலம் காத்தார் ‘என்று, பொன் உயிர்க்கும் கழல் வரை ஆம்     போலும் புகழ்கிற்பாம்! மின் உயிர்க்கும் நெடு வேலாய்!     இவர் குலத்தோன் மென் புறவின் மன் உயிர்க்கும் தன் உயிரை     மாறாக வழங்கினனால்.

சாகரர் 728. ‘இடறு ஓட்ட இன நெடிய     வரை உருட்டி இவ் உலகம் திடல் தோட்டம் எனக் கிடந்தது     என விரி தார்த் தவெ் வேந்தர் உடல் தோட்ட நெடு வேலாய்!     இவர் குலத்தோர் உவரி நீர்க் கடல் தோட்டார் எனின், வேறு     ஓர் கட்டுரையும் வேண்டுமோ?

பகீரதன் 729. ‘தூ நின்ற சுடர் வேலோய்!     அனந்தனே சொல்லானேல், யான் இன்று புகழ்ந்து உரைத்தற்கு     எளிதோ? ஏடு அவிழ் கொன்றைப் பூ நின்ற மவுலியையும்     புக்கு அளைந்த புனல் கங்கை, வான் நின்று கொணர்ந்தானும்,     இவர் குலத்து ஓர் மன்னவன் காண்‘

அசுவமேத யாகம் நூறு செய்தவன் 730. ‘கயல் கடல் சூழ் உலகு எல்லாம்     கை நெல்லிக் கனி ஆக்கி, இயற்கை நெறி முறையாலே     இந்திரற்கும் இடர் இயற்றி, முயல் கறை இல் மதிக் குடையாய்!     இவர் குலத்தோன் முன் ஒருவன், செயற்கு அரிய பெரு வேள்வி     ஒரு நூறும் செய்து அமைத்தான்.

ரகு 731. ‘சந்திரனை வென்றானும், உருத்திரனைச்     சாய்த்தானும், துந்து எனும் தானவனைச் சுடு சரத்தால்     துணித்தானும் வந்த குலத்து இடை வந்த ரகு என்பான்,     வரி சிலையால் இந்திரனை வென்று, திசை இரு நான்கும்     செரு வென்றான் ‘

அயன் 732. ‘வில் என்னும் நெடு வரையால்     வேந்து என்னும் கடல் கலக்கி, எல் என்னும் மணி முறுவல்     இந்துமதி எனும் திருவை அல் என்னும் திரு நிறத்த     அரி என்ன, அயன் என்பான் மல் என்னும் திரள் புயத்துக்கு,     அணி என்ன வைத்தானே.

தசரதனும் அவன் திருக்குமாரர்களும் 733. ‘அயன் புதல்வன் தயரதனை     அறியாதார் இல்லை; அவன் பயந்த குலக் குமரர் இவர்     தமை உள்ள பரிசு எல்லாம் நயந்து உரைத்துக் கரை ஏற     நான்முகற்கும் அரிது ஆம்; பல், இயம் துவைத்த கடைத்தலையாய்!     யான் அறிந்தபடி கேளாய்!

Planet Saturn aka Sanischara - the slow mover

Planet Saturn is known in many names across the globe - Kronos in greek, Kevan / Kaivan in Persia and "Sanischara" in India. In some cultures Planet Saturn was considered as one of the chief deities and in India it has been one of the devata in Navagraha!.

The actual Indian name for Saturn is Sanischara which became Saniswara and in short Sani / Shani. Char means move / movement, Chara means mover and Sani means slow and is named based on the definition Śanayē Kramati Saḥ (शनये क्रमति सः), the one who moves slowly. The slowest mover among the 9 Grahas is Saturn as per vedic astrologer and hence this name was given. 

As you are aware Vedic astrology does not consider Pluto, Uranus and Neptune as planets affecting our lives. I shall write the reason behind this later but would like to highlight that the vedic astrologers were very well aware of these planets but did not take it into consideration for ASTROLOGY since they are too weak and far away to affect our lives through their radiation. 

The table above gives approximate distance from Sun, the circumference of the orbit and the speed of travel for 6 major planets. Saturn takes 30 years to complete one revolution at an approximate speed of 9.95 Kms / second. Jupiter takes 12 years to complete one revolution at a speed of 13.27 Kms/second. All readings are approximate.

Since saturn takes 30 years for one full round the sun, so in each house it stays for 2.5 years. So for 12 zodiacs 30 years. Sade Saath / 7.5 years of Sani / ஏழரை நாட்டு சனி refers to transit of Sani in your Rasi (where the moon is at the time of your birth) the previous and next rasi. In short if your Rasi (moon sign and not sun sign) is Virgo then Sani in Leo, Virgo and Libra is the Saade Saath period for you.

You may note that the duration of one day decreases suggesting the planets rotate around their axis faster as they move away from sun and Venus is the only planet whose day is longer than the year. So, you get 12 months in a day in Venus, Yeah 12 salaries in a day for the salaried class and monthly, quarterly, Half yearly and annual sales reviews all in a day :)

You also note that Mars is the closest to Earth in terms of duration of a day and hence this may be one of the reasons as to why NASA is looking for possibility of life support in Mars.

But the point i wanted to highlight is the Indian / Vedic nomenclature contains the very reason as to why something is named so.

Bhoogol means study earth / geography, Bhoo means earth and "Gol" means round / circle suggests that Indians knew that the earth was round ages back.

Brahmaanda means universe, Brahm - Very big and Anda means Egg. So universe is a huge egg suggesting it is elliptical in shape.

Let me conclude that many languages and ancient civilizations are rich and have named things based on a reason or meaning lets be inquisitive to understand the roots / meaning behind a name. 

Happy reading!