sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave ’bravit
"The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshavaku."
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa
"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."
sa evayam maya te ’dya
yogah proktah puratanah
bhakto ’si me sakha ceti
rahasyam hy etad uttamam
"That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science."
We will start with the 4th sloka lecured on 14th September, 2007. From hymns in praise of Sri Andal we can know that She married Lord Sri Ranganatha and that She sang on Sri Srinivasa of Thirumala-Thirupathi. We are at the Sri Andal Thirukkalyanotsava Mandapam, also knon as Panguni Utsava mandapam, in Srivilliputhur. In the Tamil month of Panguni [March-April] in the star Uthram, Sri Andal Kalyanam is celebrated here. On the same day, at Srirangam, Sri Namperumal and Sri Ranganayaki Thayar are seated on the same platform and bless the devotees. This is because on a Panguni Uthram day only Sri Sita and Sri Rama were married. In this mandapam only, the Oonjal [ Swing] Utsavam is held for 9 days. Sri Andal wanted to marry Sri Ranganatha and She dreamed this and brought out as 10 hymns in Varanamayiram in Nachiar Thirumozhi. In the ten verses She mentions Her dream of various incidents in a marriage. In the last verse She concludes and says that whoever recites these ten verses, will get married if not already married or if already married will be blessed with children like Perialwar. What else we can pray from the Lord other than begetting a son like Perialwar or a daughter like Sri Andal? That day Sri Andal married Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam and the moment She went near the sanctum sanctorum, She mingled with the Lord and disappeared from mortal eyes. But now the same incidence is celebrated in a grand manner at Srivilliputhur to the delight of all devotees. Sri Andal always sang in praise of Lord Sri Krishna, because unlike our children brought up with milk, Sri Andal was brought up with the stories on Sri Krishna. In the last three slokas, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that 28 Chatur yugas earlier [ one chatur yuga is 4,320,000 years] Sri Krishna taught this to Vyavaswan. This immediately prompts Arjuna to ask for clarification and so comes the 4th sloka:
arjuna uvaca
aparam bhavato janma
param janma vivasvatah
katham etad vijaniyam
tvam adau proktavan iti
"Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?"
Bhavata = your, janma = birth, aparam = is later in time, vivasvatah = vivaswan, the Sun [ he preached to Vaivaswatha Manu], param janma = by time long long ago. Arjuna seeks clarification as how the present Sri Krishna could have preached Vivaswan of the past, some millions of years ago. Tvam = you, Sri Krishna, adau = 28 chatur yug back, proktavan = preached this Karma yoga, katham vijaneeyam = how to believe. It seems to be unbelievable. Even if believable, please explain how to believe? Swami Ramanuja in his Gita Bhashyam, has explained the various possibilities for Arjuna raising this clarification. Logically he proceeds. Arjuna could have raised this question on three possibilities. 1)Arjuna might not be believing in past, present and future births for atman. 2) Even if he believed in past births, how could the person now remember past actions in the past births.3) Even if one could rememeber previous births' actions, Arjuna might be thinking that was possible for great exceptional persons only and not for ordinary people. After all, he might be thinking, that Sri Krishna was his cousin and was like Arjuna only. Swami Ramanuja emphatically proves that all these three could not be the reasons for Arjuna's question. 1) Arjuna is well learned and has good knowledge of Vedas. He is not an ordinary person, lest he would not have been selected by Sri Krishna to preach Gita. So he is not doubtful about past and present births for atman. In fact in the 1st Chapter he has gone on record that if he were to kill people in war, they might dwell in swarga or naraka or in Pithruloka, and so they might fail to offer rituals to their forefathers and would fall down headlong. That shows Arjuna was a believer in Swarga, naraka and Pithru loka and believed in the ritulas prescribed in Vedas. Therefore this doubt was not there in Arjuna. 2) Arjuna was aware of great persons like Jatabharatha, and other puranic characters who were able to remember their past births. So he knows that past births' actions could be recalled by persons. 3) He knows the greatness of Sri Krishna and he is aware of all His super human feats like lifting Govardhana giri and many such actions. If he were not aware of Sri Krishna's greaness he would not have begged Him to advise Arjuna on what to do in the war front. So all these three could not be the reason for Arjuna to raise the question. Swami Ramanuja says that Arjuna knows that Sri Krishna is the domain of all good things and without any defect whatsoever. Sri Krishna says He was born then to preach Vivaswan and now He is born as Sri Krishna. That means like now He had a body then also. Birth means all problems everyone faces and so would have been faced by Sri Krishna then and now. How that could be possible? This is Arjuna's doubt. He believed that every birth comes with a body which undergoes all sufferings and Karma becomes inevitable which could fetch papa and punya. How Sri Krishna could have these? Let us see how Sri Krishna replies.
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