navami.

 There is a way of studying Ramayana with reverence and with the adoration of the great qualities of Sri Rama. The manifold excellences of His character had its influence on the lives of people in the past and will do so in the ages to come. 

Sage Narada is reverentially called by poet Valmiki as Tapaswadhyaya and Tapaswi. Swadhyaya refers to having learnt the Vedas and Tapaswi denotes having undergone great penance. The poet asked the sage who among the heroes of this world is the highest in virtue and wisdom. The poet listed about sixteen qualities. 1. good characteristics, 2. valour, 3. astute follower of the prescribed rituals, 4. righteousness, 5. benevolence and gratitude, 6. not uttering lies, 7. ever speaking the truth, 8. steadfastness in fulfilling the resolves taken, 9. self-realisation, 10. conqueror of anger, and being without 11. passion, 12. jealousy, 13. calumny, 14. having wisdom and intelligence, 15. statesmanship with moral conduct and 16. fortunes. Sage Narada unhestitatingly replied that it is Sri Rama who possessed all these qualities. Sage Narada had blessed the poet with about 100 slokas titled “Sankshepa Ramayanam”. The poet later developed and expanded it to 24,000 slokas.

 In the almanac, usually ‘maranayoga’ — a time not considered auspicious — will be tagged with the 27 stars rotating everyday. But the star Punarvasu, on which Lord Rama was born, has no ‘maranayoga’, said Sengalipuram Sri Kannamani Dikshitar in a discourse. The star Punarvasu is split as Puna:vasu, which implies that the lost wealth will be retrieved.

The ninth day of a lunar fortnight is called Navami. It is not considered a good one. But to glorify it, He had chosen to be born on Navami.

Lord Narayana is all pervasive. He has countless auspicious qualities. He has no inauspicious qualities. The Upanishad gives an analogy to show He remains untouched by karma, said Kazhiyur B. Devarajan, in a discourse. There is a tree, with two birds on it. One bird keeps eating the ripe fruits in the tree, while the other does not eat anything. But the bird that eats fruits keeps getting thinner and thinner, while the bird that does not eat looks healthy and glowing. The tree should be taken to be the equivalent of our life on earth. The jivatma, which takes birth on this earth, has to experience the fruits of its acts in previous births. And it keeps on taking different births, until it attains moksha. But Paramatma has no such connection to karma. His form does not change. His svabhava does not change. Sloka fifteen of Kooratazhvan’s Varadaraja Stava is of particular significance, for it shows us Iswara tattva as established by Visishtadvaita philosophy. Six qualities are characteristic of the Supreme One — jnana, sakthi, bala, aiswarya, veerya and tejas. From these six main qualities came all the other auspicious qualities of the Lord.

For each of the main six qualities, Kooratazhvan has an adjective. His jnana is prakrushtam vijnanam — unequalled jnana, which is beyond compare. He has atulam balam — strength that surpasses that of anyone. Akhilam aiswaryam — the entire Universe is His. Vimaryadam veeryam — His valour is limitless. Paramaa sakthi — He is the power behind the functioning of the Universe. Param teja — His effulgence is unmatched. No human being has comparable qualities. In his Varadaraja Panchasat, Vedanta Desika says that even the Sun’s lustre seems insignificant besides the lustre of Lord Varadaraja of Kanchi.