Hanuman The Chiranjeevi

It is said that when Sri Rama returned to Paramapada at the end of his avatar, he invited Hanumaan to accompany him. But, Hanumaan politely declined to say that he can neither give up the Sareera embraced by the Lord nor would he be able to witness the Lord in the form of Sri Raama in the Paramapada and preferred to stay back. Sri Raama blessed him with Chiranjeevitvam – eternal life. It is believed that Hanuman attends wherever Pravachanam of Srimad RaamaayaNam is delivered. For this purpose, even to this day, a special low wooden seat (Manai) is provided exclusively for Hanuman in the hall where Srimad RaamayaNa Pravachanam is delivered. Hanumaan is believed to listen the Pravachanam with folded hands and eyes filled with tears of joy.

How Hanuman Saves in Life Threatening Situations?

An important point to note is that in life-threatening situations, Hanumaan is unfailing. This can be seen from three episodes in Srimad RaamaayaNa:

1. In AshOka vana, Sita becomes desperate after 10 months of incarceration with no trace of the Lord coming to her rescue. She decides to commit suicide by hanging from a tree using her sari as a noose. Precisely at that moment, Hanumaan appears to convey her tidings of Sri Raama’s arrival, instilling hope in her that Sri Raama was on his way and ere long her sufferings would come to an end.

2. Again, LakshmaNa and the entire army of Sri Raama were bound by Brahmaastra, Sri Raama laments bitterly thinking that his dear brother and others had died. Jambavaan knew that the only herb that could bring them alive was on the mountain called Sanjeevi and that the only person capable of fetching it was Hanumaan. Taking directions from Jambavaan, Hanumaan flew northwards beyond the Himalayas, Kapilai and Meru mountains and spotted the Sanjeevi mountain. Not wanting to waste time in searching for the herbs, he plucked and lifted the whole Sanjeevi mountain and flew back in time to the battlefield. As he was approaching, the herbal breeze brought them back to life and they woke up as if from deep sleep..

3. Sri Raama had promised to Bharata that he would return to AyOdhya immediately on the completion of the 14 years’ exile. Sri Raama knew that if he put a ‘no show’, at the appointed time, Bharata would commit suicide in a fire ordeal by ‘Praayopavesam’. Precisely as apprehended, Bharata had indeed ignited the fire and was circumambulating as a prelude to his plunging into the fire. Unable to witness the ghastly sight, the citizens of AyOdhya were pathetically screaming. Tension was building up in a crescendo moment by moment. Right then, Hanumaan appeared with the tidings of Sri Raama’s arrival, extinguished the flames with his bare hands. Meanwhile, Sri Raama, LakshmaNa, Sita and his entourage arrived in the Pushpaka Vimaanam and landed (on the helipad?) bringing great relief to one and all.

There are 68 chapters (Sargams) in Sundara KANDam. It is customary to conclude the paarAyaNam with SrI Raama PattAbhishEka Sargam .

Sundara KaaNDam has 2874 slOkams housed in 68 Sargams. With the 121 slOkmas of PattAbhishEka Sargam, the nine days PaarAyaNam of Sundara KaaNDam comes to 2995 slOkams of the set of the total 24,000 slOkmas of SrImath RaamAyaNam of Sage ValmIki (12.48% of the total).

Here is the breakdown by the number of slOkams for the nine days:

Day 1 Sargams 1-5 375 Slokams

Day 2 Sargams 6-15 440 Slokams

Day 3 Sargams 16-20 154 Slokams

Day 4 Sargams 21-26 216 Slokams

Day 5 Sargams 27-33 201 Slokams

Day 6 Sargams 34-40 390 Slokams

Day 7 Sargams 41-52 385 Slokams

Day 8 Sargams 53-60 460 Slokams

Day 9 Sargams 61 to 68 and Sri Rama-PattAbhisheka Sargam 253 Slokams + (121 Pattabhisheka Slokams)

Please pace yourself for Days 1, 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 and 9 , when the slOkams to be recited are more than Three Hundred and Fifty . There are Rama BhakthAs, who complete the recital of the entire Sundara KANDam on one day (SrI Raama Navami day).

Method of Parayanam

There is a sankalpam, aavahanam, upachAram including nivEdhanam at the aarambham stage of PaarAyaNam. There is SrI Raama ashtOttharam for those, who wish to perform archanaai for Lord Raamachandran, which starts with “SrI Raamaaya nama:” and concludes with “Parasmai nama:”. SrI VishNu Sahasra Naamam is also recited before the day’s paarAyaNam .

Phalans and Dosha Pariharams

There are specific descriptions of Phalans to be gained from Sundara KANDa PaarAyaNam in SkAndha PurANam and Vaayu PurANam. Many with the exception of PrapannAs recite specific sargams for relief from Navagraha dasA bhukthi dhOsha parihAram.

Some examples of specific sargams for parihAram are:

For removal of dhAridhriyam (impoverishment), the recital of the Fifty Four slOkams of the 15th Sargam known as the “Seetha Darsanam”, where HanumAn sees SithA PirAtti for the first time during His search at Lankaa.

For overcoming the ill effects of bad dreams, the 27th Sargam is recited during successive three mornings.

For apachArams performed to Lord Raamachandra with or without knowledge, the 38th Sargam is recited, where the most merciful Lord pardons the KaakAsuran, who fell at His sacred feet.

Navagraha Dosha Pariharam for Non-Prapannas

For those, who have surrendered totally to SrIman NaarAyaNa, there is no need to worry about Nava grahams and their ill effects or beneficial effects. BhagavAn is the ruler of them all. They can also recite the specific slOkam in SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram saluting SrI RanganAtha Paadhukais as the remover of navagraha dhOshams. PrapannAs recognize SrIman NaarAyaNa is the ultimate Master of all these grahams.

For others, who are concerned about different dasA bhukthi dhOshams, scholars in SrImadh RaamAyaNa PaarAyaNam have recommended the recitation of the following chapters:

Disturbances in Chandra dasai (5th Sargam+ Sukla Paksha pradhOsha worship of Chandran).

Disturbances in AnkAra dasai /Guru BHukthi (51st Sargam)

Disturbance of Sukra Bhukthi in AnkAraka dasai (53rd Sargam)

Disturbance of Sukra Bhukthi in Raahu dasai, the 65th sargam, where HanumAn presents the hand ring (ChUDAmaNi) to Lord Raamachandra after return from His trip to Lankaa.

Disturbance of Sani Bhukthi in Raahu dasai (47th Sargam).

Severe Guru DasA dhOsha ParihAram (First Sargam and nivEdhanam of parched rice with sugar to Hanuman).

Disturbance of Kethu bhukthi in Guru Dasai (61st and 62nd Sargams)

Disturbances in Sani Bhukthi during Sani Dasai (48th Sargam)

Disturbance in Bhudha Bhukthi in Sani Dasai (54th Sargam)

Disturbance in Sukra BHukthi in Sani Dasai (38th Sargam)

Bhudha DasA dhOsha PaihAram: 35th Sargam

Bhudha dasA+ AnkAraka Bhukthi dhOsham: 27th Sargam, where SithA PirAtti experiences Subha sakunams

Bhudha Dasai+ Kethu BHukthi dhOsham: 14th Sargam

Kethu Dasaai+ Sukra Bhukthi dhOsham: afore-said 65th Sargam

Sukra Dasai+ Sukra bhukthi dhOsham : 36th Sargam during three sandhis

For ladies with Sukra bhukthi dhOsham in Sukra dasai, listening to the 33rd slOkam is recommended with meaning, where the conversation between SithA PirAtti and HanumAn takes place in AshOka Vanam.

There are specific nivEdhanams for Jaanaki SamEtha Raamachandran after recitation of specific Sargam (e-g) sweet rice for nivEdhanam after recital of 36th Sargam. One can however offer fruits, if other preparations are not easy to make. This is the nivEdhana kramam.