He was disheartened by obstacles preventing him from finding a way to cross the sea.
He receives guidance from a local who asks him to visit Uppur Vinayaga temple:
‘You will recognize the temple by the first rays of the sun falling on the deity'
Ram prays to Vinayaka here who had earlier pardoned Surya's sins for attending Daksha's yagna. The temple is called Veyil Ugantha Vinayagar temple.
Uppur = Lavanapuram
As is customary, Ram propitiates Vinayakar before beginning his campaign.
Ram moves south to Devipattinam, to Kadal Adaitha Jagannatha Temple. Here, he examines his horoscope & finds that the planets are not favoring his journey.
He prays to the planets by making sand idols. However, each time Rama set the idols for pooja, the sea would wash them away
Finally, the Sudarshana Chakra in the temple recognised its master.
It came whirring at the sea, forcing it to recede so that Ram could consecrate the idols.
This temple is in Devipattinam & is often confused with the temple in Thirupullani.
After their victory and crowning Vibheeshana as prince, he requests Ram to destroy the bridge.
This is at Dhanushkodi, which literally means "Bow tipping over"
Every inch of Rameswaram & Dhanushkodi island is connected with Ramayana.
In an age where politicians say "I am from Tamilnadu and I do not know who Rama is", it is essential to educate oneself with the geography of this sacred land.
Jai Shri Ram.
Source: 1. In the footsteps of Rama by Vikrant Pande & Neelesh Kulkarni
When things you don't want to happen, happens, how do you respond?
Do you fatalistically blame it on destiny and accept it, or take initiative to overcome it?
What is the guiding principle in the fate vs free will debate?
What did Sri Rama do in such circumstances? (1/8)
In the epic's defining moment, Sri Rama who was about to be crowned as King, was instead sentenced to exile for 14 years.
Lakshmana was outraged by the injustice of this request, but Sri Rama calmly considered the exile as the will of destiny.
Kambar writes - "நதியின் பிழையன்று நறும்புனலின்மை; விதியின் பிழை"
"it is not the fault of river to dry up when rains fail. Similarly, Kaikeyi isn't at fault for fate's doing", says Sri Rama.
Here Lakshmana is for free-will, to not passively accept injustice, and to fight for the kingdom which was Sri Rama's right.
But Sri Rama defers to destiny and accepted the extraordinarily difficult situation that circumstances suddenly placed upon him and agreed to be exiled.
I've read Ponniyin Selvan cover to cover thrice, and this is my biggest takeaway from it.
It was a decision made by the hero Arulmozhi, inspired by his Suryavanshi ancestor Sri Rama. And it has a relevant lesson for all of us to learn in current political climate.
A🧵(1/8)
BG: Arulmozhi is the more popular prince among public, and they wanted him to be king, even when his elder brother was the crown prince.
This popularity constantly unsettles him, as he wants to do the right thing. And he wants to go beyond public opinion and shape it.
He is influenced by 2 tales - the sacrifices of Shiva he hears from priests at Thiruvarur Thyagaraja temple, and Ramayana.
Rama left for the forest at night when citizens were asleep & also informs his charioteer to take it along a circle so that they can't retrace his path.
2. "My dear Anna, shall I compare thee to Thiruvalluvar or to Marcus Aurelius?"
3. "Like Socrates was punished in ancient times, fake cases, imprisonment is the punishment of our times.
When they checked the pulse of A Raja during 2G case, it was normal. Infact it was the investigating officers who were pulsating with a rapid heartbeat!"
Sati was the most forceful issue created by the Evangelical-Utilitarian alliance to validate Brit rule in India.
The missionary-Brit nexus inflated the # of incidents to horrific levels for politics.
Cholas have documented Sati giving a much needed nuance to this topic (1/8)
The colonial term Sati to refer to this practice is incorrect . Sahagamana/anugamana is the right Indic term.
Anugamana was a rare and sporadic practice in ancient Thamizhagam.
Vaanavan Maadhevi (mother of Rajaraja) chose to do it after the passing of Sundara Chola.
There are several conditions for it to be permitted in Chola tradition:
1) the wife must be in perfect physical and mental health 2) it should be purely voluntary without external influences 3) the close family members must request her to reconsider until the final moment
Kadhalikka Neramillai - a lighthearted film on the surface that espouses the Drav question of - "Is marriage really necessary?"
Directed by Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, the film has a puratchi pudhumai pen at its helm, and yes she is not a random girl, but a TamBrahm.
An analysis:
This rom-com has Shriya Chandramohan as its central character - she has a BF, registers her marriage months before the engagement (WHY?), drinks, has premarital fun, doesn't know to wear a saree, smokes after a breakup etc.
In summary, a modern day career-centric, jolly good woman. No issues. But is she a "random" modern day woman? Nope.
In egalitarian EVR land where there are no c@ste surnames, the film portrays her family as TamBrahms with no hesitation whatsoever.
Shriya finds days before her "official" engagement that her legally wedded husband is cheating on her.
So, in a case of role reversal, she drinks, and tries smoking in an attempt to move on, like "men". Her father is sorta cool with it. Her aunt (played by Vinodhini) jokingly hints at having "properly" smoked before.
Just moments before there's a deliberate scene where the aunt calls Shriya's father as "Athimber" (a word used by Ds to m0ck TBs)
But why this depiction of community is necessary? Read on.
An asset can be at risk due to both internal vulnerabilities and external threats.
In this analogy, D is the threat - the bad actor who attacks the system.
The comm's flaws (giving up tradition, embracing liberalism/modernity, poor parenting etc.) are the vulnerabilities.
While no doubt both internal and external risks have to be addressed, is it really the right time to discuss vulnerabilities when the system is under attack?
Some say Ds shouldn't be blamed for a systemic flaw - this is such a self-flagellating view that also underestimates D.