By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Aranya Kandam 1(Padalam 4)
4. Chadayu kaan Padalam
Chapter on seeing of Jatayu.
(On the way to Panchavati they meet Jatayu, the king of hawks , the son of Aruna and very close friend of Dasaratha. As soon as Jatayu heard that Dasaratha is no more , he wanted to give up his life. And at the request of Rama decided to live and protect them while they are there. They go and start living in a hermitage near Godavari river, In Valmiki Ramayana , Jatayu tells them how all the different type of beings were created in this world. There is also a very detailed description of Dandaka forest in winter in that Ramayana.)
2690. Then they walked several Kadhams.(1.16 km) ,The way was dense with several rivers as well as,Continuous mountain ranges which appeared like relations,They crossed several forests with such mountains ,And then they saw Jatayu , the king of vultures.
2691. Jatayu was like the gold melted in fire ,likeThe Sun rising from Udaya mountain which lights .All the directions of the entire world using .Dense lustrous rays spreading like wings.
2692. Jatayu was like the Mandhara mountain , which Was once established by the devas in the limitless sea of milk,And was the shining moon light sitting on huge ,Black mountain , long , long ago.
2693. With prettiness of black sky fading away , emitting red colour ,From his gem like legs , Jatayu was sitting on the ,Huge blue mountain like a very long chain of corals.
2694. Jatayu was one with a pure heart , was one with ,A great knowledge which consisted of great education ,As well as great boldness , He was personification of truth ,He was extremely sharp and intelligent , was like ,A minister who was like a wise minister in a council,And had a very small eyes which could see great distance.
2695. Jatayu had a sharp nose which was like a goad ,Held by Indra sitting on the small eyed Iravatha ,Which had been sharpened by rubbing it on trees,With which he used to dismember the cruel asuras ,Holding a sword which would be eaten by Yama like a feast,And he himself would the left over after he eats.
2696. That Jatayu was like the sun god who rules over,The nine planets and was shining like a holy wheel,And he had a necklace of nine gems and had a crown,Which shined like Sun atop the top of mount Meru.
2697. Jatayu was like the cluster of fame which cannot be described by words. Was the son of Aruna who comes for destruction of night ,And one who has spent several eons just like a day time which passes quickly.
2698. Seeing Jatayu sitting on a huge mountain and seeing that mountain,Has crashed deep in to the earth unable to bear his weight ,And who appeared as very strong and valorous , those brothers ,Approached and neared him with mind full of doubt.
2699. Those two brothers who were wearing heroic anklets ,Decided that he was an ignorant Asura who had come,There in search of his own death and if he is not an Asura,They suspected he should be the very powerful Garuda .
2700. And that Jatayu , seeing them with huge bows ,And wearing heroic anklets , understood that they,Were not sages who have cut of the two types of Karmas ,And as they were holding bow and having matted hair , He thought that they were devas and had a doubt.
2701. He thought , I often see Indra and other devas ,Lord Vishnu, the boon giver Brahma and Lord Shiva with an axe,Would not hide themselves from me as I see them always.
2702.”I have seen the god of love endowed with prettiness ,And I do not think that God of love is comparable ,These heroes with red eyes like lotus flower petals,And endowed with long arms , with dust ,Attached on their lotus like soft feet.”
2703. And further thinking that , these lads are both having The measure less proper signs of masculinity , and appear ,To have the ability to own the entire world ,And have come along with a lady who is comparable ,To Goddess Lakshmi and further thought ,“I am not able to guess who they are.”
2704. He further thought , They who are like blue and gold,Mountains , have a chest where the Goddess of victory lives ,And those valorous ones look like my friend Dasaratha ,Who was blessed with all rare good qualities.
2705. Then that Jatayu who was thinking various things in his mind,And who was greatly liking those valorous ones with cruel weapons,Asked them “ Oh bull like lads who hold a huge powerful bow, who are you both?Please reply me in a fashion that , That I would understand it clearly .”
2706. When he asked them like that , they who do not speak,Anything but the truth said that they were sons of Dasaratha,Who was ruler of all the earth which is surrounded by the sea,And who was wearing the heroic anklets.
2707. As soon as they told him like that that Jatayu who had,Ocean like joy , came down from that mountain top wanting to hug them,And asked, “ Do both great shoulders of Dasaratha who wears .A scented and big garland , continue to be healthy?”
2708. When Rama said that Dasaratha had attained heaven protecting the oath,That cannot be forgotten , Jatayu became greatly disappointed that ,Dasaratha was no more and just like being sleepy lost his conscience .
2709. Those two who were hugged and lifted by that great one ,Washed his face by their tears and that king of vultures,Who got back his soul that seemed to have gone out ,Became very depressed and rambled as follows.
2710. ”Oh king of kings , Oh enemy of all lies , Oh ornament for truth,Oh Home of fame , your charity that that merits praise ,Your white royal umbrella , your patience to your Karpaga tree,With changed character of not denying charity to any one who asks ,, The moon the lord of stars , the world that is surrounded by the sea ,The great charity that you gave to all those who beg you and me Have all been left alone . Where have you gone?”
2711. “Oh leader , who has a white umbrella which gave ,Nectar like grace and prettiness to all beings to earth,Having the security to the earth surrounded by sea getting stoppedDid you leave the world ,see the friendly heart of me who does not have stability,And I am still alive because I have been born as an animal,Due to sins committed in early births and am not following the Dharma of friendship.”
2712. ”Oh Dasaratha who has a pretty mind without any guilt ,When you like the churner which breaks the curd killed Sambarasura ,Who was giving sorrow to the beings of the world , you said ,Making the world scattered with soft dust and surrounded by the sea that,“You are the body and I am the soul”, and your words will not change ,But with soul lying here , the ignorant Yama has taken the body to the heaven.”
2713. ”Instead of immediately falling in fire and dying , as soon as I heard his death,Making my great fame increase , like the innocent women if I fall on earth and cry,Would that be proper” saying this Jatayu got up from his faint like one who got knowledge,Looking at Rama and Lakshmana told, “oh sons who own ,All the seven worlds , please hear” and then he started talking in sequence.
2714. ”oh young lustrous lads , I am the son of Aruna and have the ability ,To go to all the world that he goes and I am great sweet friend of Dasaratha,Who using his kingship weakened the darkness of enmity from everywhere ,I was born at the time when the devas and others were being created,And I am the younger brother of Sampathi who was the king of vultures.
2715. When Jatayu told this story of his those Rama and Lakshmana ,Who had famous and strong shoulders equal to mountains ,With hands folded in salutation due to their love and sorrow ,Had their lotus like eyes filled with tears and felt like seeing ,Their father , Who had gone to heaven, due to them.
2716. He hugged using his wings , the sweet to hug lads and said,“Oh sons, please perform the after rites for me,Because I find it difficult to sweetly carry this body of mine ,After my friend who along with me was like the same soul in two bodies And if I do not enter the fire now itself and die ,I cannot bear this sorrow of mine forever .
2717. ”You who are capable of protecting us all from danger,And one who would be willing to help us , without desiring,To sacrifice truth , want to die If our leader would die leaving us,Who would be there whom we can request for support.”
2718. ”OH sir, Who never moves away from the laws of Dharma ,Leaving our parents with whom we have never parted ,Leaving the city of Ayodhya with plenty of cool water and prosperity ,When we have come and got out of the sorrow due to meeting you,Would you leave us in this state and embrace death?”
2719. When they told him like this , That Jatayu whose mind was,Disintegrating , looking at those valorous ones standing before him,Said, “If my entering the fire is not agreeable for you,Then, after you reach back Ayodhya I would reach Dasaratha in heaven.”
2720. Then that Jatayu asked them, “If the king has gone to heaven,Why is it that your valorous have come here without protecting your kingdom?What other sad things happened to you? Since my mind is burning ,Without any stability , Please tell about it clearly and in sequence.”
2721. ”Oh heroic ones holding well sharpened lustrous spears,If sorrow has been caused to you by either devas, asuras ,Or the people of serpent world , I would kill them,Get back your kingdom and then give it back to you.”
2722. As soon as the father like Jatayu told them like this ,Rama the husband of Sita, looked at his younger brother ,And he told Jatayu that these happened due to,Their step mother who was a lady and told in detail,Without leaving anything, the sad news,Which was like the huge ocean with limitless sound.
2723. Hearing that Jatayu looking at Rama told ,“Oh greatly charitable one who established ,The truthfulness of your father , obeyed ,The orders of your step mother with respect ,And who helped your brother with wealth of kingdom,Who in the world can do all these except you , who are my father?”
2724. Then Jatayu hugged with love Rama with lotus like eyes ,Smelled his head, and shedding tears and told him,“Oh son You gave me and your father limitless fame ,And so you are one who is really able.”
2725. Again that great Jatayu seeing the fawn like divine Sita wearing bangles,Asked , “oh son of the emperor , please tell me ,Who is this pretty lady with a very lustrous forehead.”
2726. Then Lakshmana who was born after Rama told him,Events staring from killing the Thataka who was like darkness,To the breaking of the bow, Rama’s marriage with Sita ,Reaching of the forest and her sleeping on the grass and completed.
2727. That Jatayu with a shining hair became happy on hearing that ,And asked , “Oh princes who wear garland made of petals of flowers ,You have come away from a prosperous kingdom and all of you,With good qualities along with Sita live happily in this forest. I would protect you.”
2728. Rama who lives in the mind of all beings looking at Jatayu told,“Oh leader , There is a pretty place near the banks of river Godavari,Which flows with sound and has been told by Agasthya as suitable residence ,For us and so we would reach that place and live there.”
2729. Jatayu said, “What that great one told is very good. You please ,Stay near the watering place and do great penance and,So come with me , I will show you that place and made them,Walk comfortably in the shade created by his well spread wings.
2730. After reaching that place as guided by the pure hearted Jatayu,Who is a sinless one and after he left , those two lads ,With very huge bows ready for battle became happy on reaching that garden.
2731. Jatayu who knew well about the greatness of asuras living there ,After deep thought , started guarding his daughter in law with a cloth ,Tied breasts as well as his sons, like a bird protecting its little ones in the nest.
Download PDF (Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 4)
Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 4) – Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 4)
Download PDF: Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 4) in English PDF
Read More :
Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 1)
Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 2)
Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 3)
Kamba Ramayanam: Aranya Kandam 1 (Padalam 4)
About Kavichakravarthy Kamban
Historians place him in the 9th century CE, But surely Kamban belongs to the third great wave of Tamizh literature that started with the Sangam period (dated before the Common Era), followed by the widespread impact of Bhakti literature of the Alwars (vaishnavite saints) & Nayanamars (shaivaite saints). Kamban Authored Ramanaya in Tamil…Known as Kamba Ramayanam..
Kambar has been the milestone for the Tamil scholars that none had reached. He was also known as “Kamba Naatazhvar” at his time. Many Tamil authors from the modern world have written the books on the poet Kamban.
FAQs
Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180–1250) was a medieval Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram, popularly known as Kambaramayanam, the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana.
Valmiki Ramayana and Kamba Ramayanam are two versions of Ramayana written in the Sanskrit and Tamil languages respectively. … Kamba Ramayanam is originally called as Ramavataram. Although Valmiki Ramayana is the original version of the story of Rama, Kamba Ramayana is believed to be based on the work by Valmiki.
The Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki’s Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya.
The book is divided into six chapters, called Kandam in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 123 sections called Padalam (படலம்) in Tamil. These 123 sections contain approximately 12,000 verses of the epic.