DEIVATHIN KURAL #193 (Vol #4) Dated 22 May 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #193 (Vol #4) Dated 22 May 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para on page number 1,089 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
ERUMAI STUTI – IN APPRECIATION OF A BUFFALO
65. That stuti is available even now. Containing 100 slokas, it is known as ‘Mahisha Sadakam’. Any queen has a name as ‘Mahishi’ in our languages while the king is not known as ‘Mahisha’. Otherwise the meaning of the word ‘Mahisha’ is simply the buffalo. ‘Mahi’ means the earth and ‘Mahi + Eesha’ or ‘Mahi + Pathi’ would mean the ruler of the land. Kutty Kavi started writing poems on the Buffalo / the King. We do not know as to whether he intended to write 100 or a thousand songs but, as he wrote he kept sending them to the King.
66. In short the subject matter of the songs was, instead of being subservient to a King who is keeping good for nothing characters in ones royal assembly, listening to them for advices and nodding one’s head every time; it is better to be subservient to a buffalo which helps in tilling the land for agriculture. So these slokas are devotional songs addressed to the Buffalo! Amongst them let me explain the meaning of just two songs.
67. “The learned pundit Sridhara is selling his knowledge. Ambu Deekshidar who has learnt ‘Shad – Darshanam’ is finding it difficult to make ends meet. Even the famous Kutty Kavi has gone to sleep at the door steps of wealthy shop keepers tired of waiting for their attention. All this has happened due to not being in the good books of Mahisheswar the Buffalo God!” This is the meaning of one sloka.
68. In another sloka he says, “My Dear Buffalo, why are you troubling yourself tilling the land, day and night? You could join the people in the King’s Court these days and enjoy life comfortably. You do not have to feel bad unnecessarily that you are not brainy or not educated. Compared with the people who are now in the King’s Court, you are as good as the sage Bruhaspathi, the Guru of all Devas!” As he kept sending the slokas to the King who was after all a good natured chap, the King realized his mistakes and started correcting them.
69. Instead of standing too much on formalities, Pratapa Simha went to the Kutty Kavi and promised to get rid of all the selfish dullards from amongst his ministerial staff. Kutty Kavi was happy about the action taken by him in improving the situation in the administration. With that he put a full stop to his critical poems of satire, happily. By that time there were 100 slokas and so he named them ‘Mahisha Sadakam’ and called it quits. You may wonder as to why those poems should be preserved when they have served their purpose! That Sadakam is a living proof that a poet has the power to control and correct a King who rules over a country! So he kept them for use if and when required as a note of caution for future generation of Kings! We have to take note of the fact that the King also did not confiscate and destroy or proscribe the poems. Thus a poet’s courage was beneficial for the welfare of a whole nation!
70. Kutty Kavi’s great grandson was also of the same name. Name in Tamil is ‘Peyar’ and since the grandson is given the grand father’s name, the child with the same ‘peyar’ used to be known as ‘peyaran’! This particular Vanchyeswara had a suffix as ‘Yajwa’ as someone who had done the ‘Soma Yagna’. Like his great grandfather this great grandson also had a vast knowledge base, fluent expression and courage. As he was almost a copy of his great grandfather, he came to be known as ‘Kutty Saastriyaar’!
71. He first exhibited his courage of convictions not to a king but to another scholar of high standing. At that time he was only 18 years of age. In Bengal there is an island known as ‘Nava Dweep’ or Naadia, where they specialise in ‘Tarka Saastra’ of Logic and Reasoning governing Oration and Debate. One learned scholar from Naadia came to Thiruvidai Maruthoor and conducted a debate in the presence of Amarasimha Maharaja. Since there was no one to match him, the whole gathering was speechless with awe! Then the small Kutty Saastriyaar mumbled something in a low tone. The Pundit from Bengal did not consider the mumbling worthy of a response from him. This was too much of an insult for Kutty Saastriyaar, who started roaring like a Lion! He started discussing the subject under 64 different headings as Vaada and Prati Vaada (as arguments and counter arguments). At the end of his presentation, the Bengali Pundit was so aghast that he could not even mumble, let alone raise his voice! Thus Kutty Saastriyaar saved the honour for whole of the society of Pundits of Tamil Land!
72. Now let me tell you the story of how Kutty Saastriyaar saved his own name and reputation by putting it all in stake with the Saraboji Maharaja! Kutty Saastriyaar by then was not young anymore but old. Saraboji Maharaja was ruling from Tanjore. Everyday his messenger will go to Orathanaadu on horse and collect the ‘Akshadai Prasadam’ from the Brahmins settled by the Maharaja there and bring the prasadam back to the King. Having put it on his head only he would partake of his morning food. Among those Brahmins Kutty Saastriyaar was also one.
73. He would do his Nitya Karma Anushtaana without any hurry at a leisured pace. Just because the Kings rep was there, he would not hurry. Slowly deliberately he would complete all his actions. Thus on many occasions the Kings rep would be delayed and his food in the bargain was also delayed. Once Saraboji Maharaja happened to have come for receiving the Prasadams himself and commented, “Why Saastri! Anushtaanam seems to go at a very slow pace?”
74. Saraboji was a very respectable man. He had done much for Arts and Religion. Saraswathy Mahal Library is a huge collection of ancient literature of all varieties on each and every subject you can think of, accumulated from every part of the Earth far and wide. That one evidence is good enough to prove Saraboji Maharaja’s yeomen contribution to Indian Literature, Arts and Crafts! But Kings as a lot generally go off their mouth at a tangent often! So he happened to comment on Saastriyaar’s so called tardiness in doing his Nitya Karma Anushtaana.
75. That was good enough to needle our Kutty Saastriyaar, well advanced in age, at the time of this incident. He felt extremely bad that for the sake of a King, a Brahmin has to set aside or hurry up the duties to be performed and mantras to be chanted as ordained in the Vedas and Saastraas! Is it correct to relax these rules and regulations, just so as to accommodate every whims and fancies of these rulers? Are they not treating us like servants on their pay, despite making a big show of waiting for Akshadai that we send as Prasadams at the end of our rituals? To be so subservient is just pathetic, to say the least, he thought!
76. That night, he vacated the house and left the town and reached Thiruvaiyaaru beyond mid-night with his wife. He prostrated at the feet of AmbaaL Dharma Samvardhani, crying and complaining that there was a dire threat for the conduct of his Swadharma! He did not stop at that. In the next few days, he with his wife went away to a distant place in the State of Maharashtra.
77. Kutty Saastriyaar had to face untold difficulties and finally got a place under the patronage of Srimanta Pajirao Peshwa and became a Vidwan in his Royal Assembly. The Peshwa was the Chief Minister in the State of Maharashtra. He had much authority and power and Srimanta was his official Title. Learned Pundits of those days will leave ill behaved and uncouth leaders and shift their loyalties to such, who would give due importance and benign support in honour of their erudition and knowledge. Thus he became very close to that Srimanta.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.