Narayaneeyam. (from my own old e-mail msg's)

Narayaneeyam ---- Essence of Sreemad Bhagavatham!

Narayaneeyam, in 100 Dasakas, is organised into 12 Skandhas. By a straight calaculation, the 100 Dasakas should account for 1000 slokas: but the 65th Dsaka has only 9 slokas (one short), and a few Dasakas have more than 10 slokas --- Dasaka #4 has 15 slokas, Dasaka #8 has 13, #17 has 11, #21 has 12, #22, #23, #27, #36, #42, #57, #60, and #69 have 11 slokas each, #72, #77 and #79 have 12 each, again, #76, #80, #84, #85 and #86 have 11 slokas each, #88 has 12, and, #90, #98 and #100 have 11slokas each. (A totaL of 1034 slokas!). Dasakas are grouped into Skandhas as under:

Skandha 1: (Dasakas 1 to 3)

Skandha 2: (Dasakas 4 to 7)

Skandha 3: (Dasakas 8 to 15)

Skandha 4: (Dasakas 16 to 19)

Skandha 5: (Dasakas 20 and 21)

Skandha 6: (Dasakas 22 and 23)

Skandha 7: (Dasakas 24 and 25)

Skandha 8: (Dasakas 26 to 32)

Skandha 9: (Dasakas 33 to 36)

Skandha 10: (Dasakas 37 to 90)** (The largest Skandha, story of Sree Krishna!)

Skandha 11: (Dasakas 91 to 97)

Skandha 12: (Dasakas 98, 99 and 100)


The contents of each Dasaka are very briefly given below:

D 1: Bhagavat Swaroopa and Mahatmya.

D 2: The beauty of Bhagavat Swaroopa, and, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga as means for Moksha.

D 3: Bhakti Yoga

(Skandha 1 over)

D 4: Yogaabhyasa and Yogasidhi.

D 5: Viraad Purusha: origin.

D 6: Description of Viraad Purusha.

D 7: Penance of Brahma: Vaikundta Darshan and beginning of Creation.

( Skandha 2 over. )

D 8: Second Brahma Kalpa: Pralaya.

D 9: Creation.

D 10: Diversity in Beings -- Srushtibhedaas.

D 11: Sanakaa's visit Vaikundta: Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu are born.

D 12: Varaaha Avatar for retrieval of Bhoo Devi.

D 13: Hiranyaksha's end: Bhoo Devi is retrieved.

D 14: Kardamolpathy: Kapilodbhava.

D 15: Kapilopadesa: Nishkaama-bhakthi, its rewards.

( Skandha 3 over. )

D 16: Naranarayana: Daksha Yaga.

D 17: Story of Dhruva.

D 18: Venan, the arrogant descendant of Dhruva: and, later, Pruthu.

D 19: Story of Prachethass'.

( Skandha 4 over. )

D 20: Story of Rishabhayogeeswara.

D 21: The nine Continents(Bhookhanda's): the Seven Islands(Sea's). Pervasive Grace of the Lord

( Skandha 5 over. )

D 22: Story of Ajamila.

D 23: Penance of Daksha(descendant of Dhruva/Prachetass'): story of Chitrakethu.

( Skandha 6 over. )

D 24: Story of Prahlada.

D 25: Narasimha-avatara: end of Hiranyakasipu.

( Skandha 7 over. )

D 26: Indradyumna: Gajendra-moksha (Rewards of Vishnu-bhakti).

D 27: Churning of the Ocean of Milk: Koorma-avatara.

D 28: Sri Lakshmi emerges from the Ocean: Lakshmi Swayamvara: Amrutha surfaces.

D 29: Mohini form of the Lord: Retrieval of Amrutha from Asura's: Story of Siva and Mohini.

D 30: Vamana-avatara: story of Mahabali.

D 31: The Great Offering of Mahabali: Mahabali is sent to Suthala(neather world).

D 32: Matsya-avatara: Retrieval of Veda's.

( Skandha 8 over. )

D 33: Story of Ambareesha.

D 34: Story of Ramayana (upto Hanumat-sangama).

D 35: Ramayana continued (from Sugreeva-sakhya).

D 36: Story of Parasurama.

( Skandha 9 over. )

(Skandha 10 is the largest Skandha: it is the story of Sree Krishna)

D 37: Story of Sree Krishna begins.

D 38: Sree Krishna Avatara.

D 39: Journey to Gokula.

D 40: Poothana Moksha.

D 41: Krishna, the delightful child.

D 42: Sakataasura Nigraha.

D 43: Thrinaavartha Nigraha.

D 44: Naamakarana Ceremony.

D 45: Pranks of Krishna the naughty child.

D 46: Viswaroopa Darshana for Yasoda.

D 47: Episode of Ulookhala-bandhana.

D 48: Nalakoobara/Manigreeva Moksha.

D 49: Entry into Brindavana.

D 50: Bakasura Nigraha.

D 51: Aghasura Nigraha and Vanabhojana.

D 52: Brahma-garva Samana.

D 53: Dhenukasura Nigraha.

D 54: Kaliya Mardana.

D 55: Kaliya Mardana(contd.)

D 56: Kaliya Mardana/Garva Samana and Moksha.

D 57: Pralambasura Nigraha.

D 58: Gokula is saved from Forest fire/ other adventures.

D 59: Venu-gaana: the melodious Flute of Venugopala.

D 60: Gopika Vastraapaharana.

D 61: Enlightening the Brahmins and Blessing their Ladies.

D 62: Govardhana Yaga.

D 63: Encounter with Devendra: Govardhanodharana.

D 64: Visit to Varuna Loka: Vaikundta Darshana for Gopa's.

D 65: Venu-gaana for Gopikaa's.

D 66: Kula-dharma-upadesa for Gopikaa's. Beginning of Raasakreeda Episode.

D 67: Bhagavan disappears: Distress for Gopikaa's.

D 68: Re-appearance of Bhagavan.

D 69: Raasakreeda.

D 70: Nigraha of Sanghachooda and Arishtasura.

D 71: Nigraha of Kesi and Vyomasura.

D 72: Akroora visits Gokula.

D 73: Bhagavan's journey to Mathurapuri.

D 74: Bhagavan in Mathurapuri.

D 75: Kamsa Nigraha.

D 76: Schooling in Saandeepani's Aashram: Uddhava-dauthya.

D 77: Birth of Upasloka: War with Jarasandha: Muchukunda Moksha.

D 78: Rugmini Swayamvara.

D 79: Rugmini Harana.

D 80: Story of Syamandaka: Satyabhama Parinaya.

D 81: Subhadra Harana: Narakasura Nigraha.

D 82: Baana Yudha: Nruga Moksha.

D 83: Nigraha of Paundraka Vasudeva and Krutya.

D 84: The Pilgrimage: Re-union with Gopa clan.

D 85: Nigraha of Jarasandha and Sisupala.

D 86: Nigraha of Salwa: Mahabharatha Yudha: Bhagavat Geetha.

D 87: Kuchela Upaakhyana.

D 88: Sandana Gopala: Arjuna's visit to Vaikundta.

D 89: Story of Vrukaasura.

D 90: Glory of Maha Vishnu.

( Skandha 10 over. )

D 91: Glory of Bhakti.

D 92: Karma-Bhakti Mix: Nishkama Karma Plus Bhakti-filled Prayers.

D 93: Prapancha-Atma, the Great Guru: Lessons for Man from other Jeevatma's.

D 94: Jnana (Knowledge) and Enlightenment: Jnana-Bhakti Mix.

D 95: Dhyana Yoga: Basis of Bhakti and Mukti through conquest of Sensory functions.

D 96: Jnana, Karma and Bhakti Yoga's: Mukti from Bhakti.

D 97: Power of Bhakti: Story of Markandeya.

( Skandha 11 over )

D 98: Brahmopasana: Bhagavat Swaroopa and Mukti.

D 99: Rewards of bhakti Yoga: Vishnu-Sthuthi as part of Veda-Mantra.

D100:"Kesadipada" View of Bhagawan: Reward of Glorious Bhakti. ("Agre Pasyaami Tejo.....")

( Skandha 12 over )

[[[[[ Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya ]]]]]

"Aartha Vishanna Sidhila-scha Bhitha: Ghoreshu cha Vyadhishu Varthamana:

Sangeerthya Narayana Sabda mathram Vimukta Dukha Sukhino Bhavandu. "
 About Narayaneeyam and the author, Melpathur Sri Narayana Bhattathirippad.

Narayana Bhattapadar was born in Melpattur Illam(in today's Malappuram Dist of Kerala), in 'Kollavarsham (Malayalam year) 735 (1561 AD). His father Sri Mathrudathan was a great scholar and poet: all his three sons had the ideal settings at home for scholarly pursuits and affinity for God and all things spiritual. At the age of 27, Narayana Bhattathiri was afflicted with severe rheumatic problems. He was advised to pray Lord Guruvayurappan for recovery of health. Accordingly, he stayed in Guruvayur temple premises for 100 days in prayer, composing Narayaneeyam and observing a strict routine of disciplined prayer, Bhajan. It is said that he fully recovered from his ailments, as his prayers were answered by the Lord. He went on to contribute to the literary world in a prolific innings of great works in Sanskrit, earning the patronage of Maharaja's of Ambalapuzha, Kochi etc. Melpathur Bhattathiripad died in the year 821 (1647 AD),at the age of 86.

ParAyana Kramam:
Narayaneeyam was composed to a pattern of prayer, seeking at the end of each Dasakam the blessings of Guruvayurappan specifically for recovery of good health. In producing the essence of Maha Bhagavatha Purana in a condensed form, in 12 Skandha's, Bhattathirippad deftly covered all aspects of worldly life, such as love, romance, frustrations, delusions, greed, enmity etc., gradually building up a strong case for Bhakti as the supreme remedy for all ills and the one Guide for the route, Mukti-marga. While Narayaneeyam is read as a prayer, as a heritage story, as a research aid in literature, as an offering to the Lord etc., in various contexts by people in various stages and situations of life, it appears that the best 'parayana krama' would be in regular sequence, starting with the first Dasaka and progressing through the text in sequence. One might choose an epoch of 21 days, beginning with a full moon day, or the first Thursday or Saturday after the full moon, and do 'parayana' at a leisurely pace, completing the 'parayana' before the next full moon, or on the day of the next full moon. (In making this recommendation, the theory of Bio-rhythm has been taken into account: in fact, many of the rituals that we follow after choosing dates for 'serial' activities connected with the rituals, have in them the aspect of Bio-rhythm). For specific prayers, some passages are especially recommended: these special passages could be emphasised in the course of the 'parayana', with repeated reading, as prescribed. ( one example that springs to one's mind, is the passage of "Rogaartho muchyethu rogaath, baddho muchyetha bandhanaath, bhayaan muchyetha bheethasthu........", in Vishnu Sahasranama). After the first 'parayana', subsequent readings could be in any desired sequence to suit specific prayers. 'Parayanam' is also done in Saptaham or Navaham serials, in 7 or 9 days, in regular sequence.



Aayuraarogyasaukhyam
Finally, one interesting point about the very last phrase in the text of Narayaneeyam: "......Kurutham Aayuraarogya Saukhyam". A scholarly commentator points out that the phrase "Aayuraarogyasaukhyam", when converted to digits by a certain well-defined code, recognised and used as such by scholars, derives as a date, corresponding to 17,12,210 --th Kali-samkhya (day of Kaliyuga): the author has thus recorded the date of completion of the composition, Narayaneeyam! The date thus derived, is Vrischikam 28 of year 762 (Dec 11, 1588 AD)---417 years and 48 days ago, to this day (Jan 28, 2006)!


*******************************Shubham********************************

Narayaneeyam! (extracted from e-mail msg's elsewhere!)

“Narayaneeyam in twelve skandha's has a pattern, which perhaps allows piece-meal reading to meet various prayer (or, research, or, other) requirements. the first skandha is an invocation, a prayer, setting out bhagavat swaroopa and maahatmya, in three dasaka's. could be read in any context, as a prayer. the second skandha is a description of ashtaanga-yoga-siddhi, in fourth to seventh dasaka's: origin of maya, early stages of creation, fourteen lokaa's, bondage of living beings with bhagavan, concept of hiranyagarbha, ie. Brahma as the one jeevatma of the three loka's, are some of the great contents in this part of narayaneeyam. Again, one could read, re-read these dasaka's at random. The third skandha, in eight dasaka's deals with brahmolpaththy and a description of the second brahma-kalpa. (the description of deluge herein, may particularly fascinate bible-reading scholars!). When one progresses towards the actual Creation, and, later, the story of hiranyaksha and hiranyakasipu, and then kardama and kapila and when one arrives at kapilopadesa, it is then that one feels the need for reading the text in a proper sequence, sothat the story has a flow! Conceptually, perhaps, the sequence may not be crucial for prayer purposes, as, indeed, "Bhakti is more important than Vibhakti", as raghu-chithappa advises!........... (i realise that i seem to assume a certain licence to go on beyond the frame work of sudha's invitation to comment! so i pause here, until/unless the moderator feels the Group could bear with me, so i could go on to the twelfth skandha in sequence ( twelfth skandha! the Viswa-roopa, the beauty of bhagavat-swaroopa, bhakthi-yoga, and then the finale, the kesadipaada-varnana!) ....pause...OM Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya!...........................................” – Raju Chithappa

The last few days of the year!(excerpt from a msg!)

Radha was given in marriage to Krishna in the presence of Brahma, the priest for the occasion, with decorum befitting the wedding, and 'seeru' and 'sirappu' (gifts and pomp): this was the finale to the Bhajanotsava of four days in the (Brahmana) Samooham Hall this forenoon. It was good to hear of the BrahmaVyvarthaPurana, perhaps,the only Hindu text that talks in some detail of Radha, and describes the wedding in elaborate passages. A version of ancient tales might speak of Krishna (and Radha) as Yadava's, of, perhaps, a Kshatriya clan, in some context, but the wedding was certainly a Brahmana proceeding, with KanyaDanam, MangalyaDharanam and SapthaPadi, and the gothra (lineage) of bride and bridegroom were announced repeatedly, in compliance with procedural requirements: Radha of HaritheGothra descent and Krishna, VasishtaGothra. Elaborate Bhajanotsavam item, the wedding: interesting, fascinating! (Bhajans following 'sampradaya' patterns, are fast becoming major cultural programmes, with fast tempo music in chorus,mesmerising devotee crowds into loud and frencied participation in another form of spiritual development, a kind of BhakthiMovement). Ananya&Agastya are arriving tomorrow: the Bhajan, over today, would have been a novel item for the children! Maybe, they will find a novel entertainment item in the (Jumbo) Circus on show in the city this week! And the elephants and the fireworks (much noisier than July 4 in the US) in two temples nearby later in the week! We (the residents' association)have a new year eve 'party' on Dec 31 evening, as well. Hope you are all doing well. Once again, Season's Greeting from all of us! (and, thank you for the good wishes in the messages received from all of you!) -- lovingly, rj.

Sree Rama and Kerala

There are a few authors, as famous as, or, more famous than their creations (books and characters created by them!), in the history of literature in every language -- unlike Sherlock Homes of Arthur C,doyle and Harry Potter of JKR and such others: among them, are Valmiki (Ramayana) and Thunjath Ezhuthachchan (AddhyaatmaRamayana, in Malayalam literature, re-telling Rama's story on a spiritual plane (addhyatmika consideration -- a shade above the intellectual)). Ezhuthacchan's Ramayana is a holy book to many 'malayalees', and is widely read to a prayer routine in many homes in kerala, particularly in the month of 'Karkataka', the 'difficult' month (Aadi for Tamils: july 15 to aug. 15). SreeRama is a popular deity and puranic hero, and Hanuman is a much worshipped 'God', too, in kerala. There are a few largish Rama temples in kerala, Thriprayar fairly famous among them (on the Guruvayur route from Paravur/Kodungallur). The typical kerala-brahmins, Namboodiri's and Thirumulpadu's, have Devi in various forms and 'moods', and Vishnu and some of His more 'popular' avataars (Rama& Krishna, mainly) for their preferred deities; among the settlers in this God's own land, Iyers are 'shaivaites' technically because their home-pooja is Siva-pooja, and, their major routine chanting is 'rudra'&'chamaka', and, Lord Vinayaka's father is worshipped by Iyers to improve chances of an easy passage to the heavenly abode, when the time comes! (Parameswara has Yama in his control) However, the 'kuladaivam' of many Iyers, is Perumaal, MahaVishnu; and, Rama&Krishna are certainly favourites with the Iyer clan, as well. Quite a few of the Rama temples in kerala 'belong' to the Konganies (Prabhu's, Shenoy's, Naik's et al) who settled in after migrating from the Kongan region of Karnataka, bringing along with them, more Vishnu culture, and some Narasimha cult, too, apart from some rules to worship Vamana God! The cocktail resulting from this bit of "Brahmanical Hinduism" in kerala, is really unique, interesting: apart from the Hinduism from the other Hindu clans native to kerala, with their own concept of Durga (kaali, parvathy, lakshmi, saraswathy etc.) and Muruga and Ayyappa and Hanuman, and the related pooja practices, with Lord Ganapathy, the elephant God providing the common thread, and, perhaps, promoting the love of elephants among malayalees! The number of temple festivals right through the year in most parts of the State, and the money and energy spent on them, might be unparallelled; i, for one, sometimes wonder if the people in this region think all the time so much about the festivals and rituals, that God is forgotten in the midst of all this flambuoyance and festivity! Art forms have been receiving tremendous encouragement from this culture: painting, sculpture and various forms of music and dance the chief beneficiaries! SreeRama's popularity is evident from the attention given to SreeRama by the artist(e)s, the popularity probably due to the simplicity and social appeal in the story of Rama&Seetha.

Thought for the day..1st day of Dec

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. – Thomas Merton
The impetus to gain mastery over one’s mind and senses does not come from a distant deity. It doesn’t come from any monastic rule, or even from one’s spiritual teacher. It comes from deep within yourself. You have had a fleeting glimpse of the shining presence within, and in its bright remembered light, all your flaws and blemishes are thrown into sharp relief. You can’t wait to start removing them. To have the desire to travel deep into consciousness is a sure mark of divine grace. To be no longer content to pick up what is floating on the surface of life, and to want only the pearls at the bottom of the sea, this is grace, welling up from deep inside.
(Compiled from Thoughts by Eknath Easwaran)