In Indian spiritual traditions, "karunyam" (कारुण्य) or "karuna" (करुणा)
refers to compassion or mercy, encompassing a deep empathy for others'
suffering and a desire to alleviate it. It's a core virtue in religions
like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, often described as active sympathy
and a willingness to help. Karunyam is not just feeling sorry for someone,
but a proactive effort to help and alleviate suffering. Karuna is one of
the four Brahma-viharas (divine abodes), along with love, joy, and
equanimity. It's seen as a crucial element of the path to enlightenment.
Karunyam can be seen in the compassion of deities like Vishnu and Shiva,
and is also associated with the idea of selfless service. Karuna is found
in Sikhism and Jainism, often translated as mercy or compassion,
highlighting the importance of empathy and kindness. Karunyam is not just
about individual actions, but also about creating a world where suffering
is minimized and compassion is widespread. Kāruṇya (कारुण्य) refers to
“compassion”, according to the Aṣṭāvakragītā (5th century BC), an ancient
text on spirituality dealing with Advaita-Vedānta topics.—Accordingly, [as
Aṣṭavakra says to Janaka]: “[...] There is no distinction between pleasure
and pain, man and woman, success and failure for the wise man who looks on
everything as equal. There is no aggression or compassion (kāruṇya), no
pride or humility, [na hiṃsā naiva kāruṇyaṃ nauddhatyaṃ na ca dīnatā] no
wonder or confusion for the man whose days of running about are over.
[...]”.) Karuṇa (करुण) refers to the “pathetic sentiment” and represents
one of the nine kinds of Rasa (“soul of Drama”), according to the
Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, an ancient Sanskrit text which (being encyclopedic
in nature) deals with a variety of cultural topics such as arts,
architecture, music, grammar and astronomy.—Karuṇa i.e., pathos is the
sentiment delineated in the circumstances of sorrow. The
Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa says that it is enacted through frightened limbs,
crying in grief, pale and dry face. This sentiment arises at the death of
the beloved one or lovable friends or because of loss of wealth. In this
context the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa is seen to follow the Nāṭyaśāstra.
According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, pathos arises in loss of desired things as
well as in attainment of unwanted things. Śoka is the sthāyibhāva of
karuṇa-rasa. Kapota i.e., the colour of pigeon is the colour of this
sentiment. Yama is the God of this sentiment. In the
Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, it is said that to project the karuṇa-rasa, the
acting is to be done by frightened limbs, sighs, crying in lamentation,
pale face and drying up of mouth.
While English has only three words, pity, mercy and compassion in the
sense of helping others when in adverse circumstances, Sanskrit has double
that number, anukampa, anukrosa, anugraha, karuna, krpa and daya, which is
a proof, if ever that were needed, of the importance the Indian tradition
attaches to it. Generally these Sanskrit words are taken to be synonymous
with each other but, as is the case with many other synonyms, may not
really be so. Each one of these may represent a shade of the feeling which
in its entirety may be difficult of expression. That is the samadrsti, the
feeling of commonness which propels a person to do all he can, even to risk
his life as in the case of rescuing a person drowning in a river or caught
up in flames in a building on fire or to surrender all he has, even his
hard-earned savings, to render help to others so that they could be saved
and their suffering mitigated. That is daya.
That is how it is defined in the Vayupurana: atmavat sarvabhutesu ya
hitayahitaya cal sama pravartate drstih krtsna hy esa daya smrta111 "The
entire outlook characterized by treating all beings alike whether the good
ones or the bad ones is termed daya."
The Bhavisyapurana defines it as apare bandhuvarge va mitre dvestari va
sada atmavad vartanam yat syat sa daya parikirtita2|| "To treat a stranger
or a relative, or friend or foe, as one's own self is what is called daya."
Apte's Sanskrit-English Dictionary reproduces a stanza; it does not give
its source; which defines daya as yatnad api paraklesam hartum ya hrdi
jayate! iccha bhumisutasrestha sa daya parikirtitall "O Brahmin, the urge
in mind that arises to put an end to someone else's affliction, even at
strain, is called daya." Simply put all these definitions together point to
daya being an urge entailing conscious effort to remove or mitigate the
suffering of others. Daya has, as it emerges from the above, a wider
perspective including in its compass all beings, sarvabhuta, all creatures
and not just a segment of them, say the human beings. Interestingly, it is
only the word daya which goes with the expression sarvabhuta and none of
its so-called synonyms. One does not come across generally the words
sarvabhutakrpa or sarvabhutakaruna. The only expression that comes to one's
notice is sarvabhutanukampa. It is an exercise worth undertaking to divine
the fine shade/s or nuances in the meaning of the Sanskrit words for pity
and mercy or compassion listed above, not easy in the absence of the full
details about their use in literature. But it is worth its while Karuna
even within the constraints of the paucity of information on that score
which only a work like the Sanskrit Dictionary on Historical Principles
currently under preparation in the Deccan College, Pune can provide.
We take up now the words for pity, mercy or compassion listed above
in the alphabetical order. The first is anukampa. Panini uses it in the
sutra anukampayam3 which enjoins the suffix kan in the sense of anukampa
which the commentary Balamanorama explains as daya, the sense the
commentary Tattvabodhini also seems to imply by just quoting the Amara line
krpadayanukampa syat. But from the example putraka, it appears to yield the
sense of endearment, putraka meaning dear son. This sense comes when the
being is an object of loving or tender care. From this it is not difficult
to slide into the sense 'to take pity,' e.g., katham brahmani mam
anukampate, 'Oh! the Brahmin lady is taking pity on me.' or kim
ujjihanajivitam mam anukampase,' why are you taking pity on me who has lost
(hope) of life.' The idea of pity is there but the usage points to that
pity which a senior/superior/mightier extends to the
junior/inferior/weaker. Even when the divine cow Nandini uses the word for
herself: bhaktya gurau mayy anukampaya ca' she seems to accord Dilipa, the
king who is out to exchange himself for her, a higher position. The same is
the shade in the expression bhutanukampa tava cet when Dilipa makes the
proposal for exchange. S Much less in use in literature than anugraha and
krpa is the word anukrosa. Kalidasa uses it in two of his works, the
Abhijnanasakuntala and the Meghaduta, in the former three times and in the
latter once. Of the three times it occurs one is when Dusyanta stricken
with love finds fault with kamadeva for having k no consideration for him,
bhagavan kamadeva na te mayy anukrosah, the second is when Priyamvada
entreats the fiery sage Durvasas who had inflicted the curse on Sakuntala
that Dusyanta in whose thoughts she was immersed would forget her (for the
dereliction in not receiving him (the sage) with due courtesies): kim api
punah sanukrosah krtah, 'was softened a bit'. Anukrosa Apte explains as
'disposed to show pity or sympathy'. He draws attention to the similarity
of derivation of the two words anukrosa and sympathy. Anukrosa comes from
√krus 'to cry' with anu, 'along with' while the latter is derived from
'sym', 'together' and pathos, 'suffering, feeling'. The third time the word
occurs in the work is when Sakuntala ascribes all her misfortunes to a deed
(evil one, of course) of a past birth which made her otherwise
compassionate husband hard-hearted towards her: sanukroso 'py aryaputro
mayi virasah samvrttah. Sanukrosa the commentator Raghavabhatta explains as
sakrpa, implying thereby that both mean the same, krpa here does not go in
its usual meaning of pity or mercy. Normally sympathetic Dusyanta turned
unsympathetic towards Sakuntala when brought to him by the Rsis. In the
Meghaduta the word occurs in the last stanza where the Yaksa concludes the
message which the cloud is to carry out of anukrosa, mayy anukrosabuddhya,
sympathy (Mallinatha's rendering of anukrosa is daya) arising out of the
feeling of friendliness or his being separated from his beloved, sauhardad
va vidhura iti va. Anugraha is not pity or mercy but grace or favour. It
goes with higher station in life or divinities. The uses in literature
testify to this. Kalidasa uses it at least four times in his works, the
first two times in the Raghuvamsa, once in the Kumarasambhava and once in
the Abhijnasakuntala. The first time it occurs in the Raghuvamsa in the
context of the lion overpowering the cow Nandini introducing himself as the
attendant of Siva of the name of Kumbhodara whose back is sanctified by the
favour, anugraha, that the deity extends him by placing His feet on him at
the time of mounting His bull: kailasagauram vrsam aruruksoh
padarpananugrahapatapr- u th) ham, avehi mam kinkaram astamuteh. The second
time it occurs in the context of the father of Sravana inflicting a curse
on Dasaratha for mistakenly killing his young son in that he too would meet
his end through grief for his son which the latter (Dasaratha) takes as a
favour for that would mean that he is going to have a son (till then he had
no progeny): sapo 'py adrstatanayananapadmasobhe sanugraho bhagavata mayi
patito Karuna'yam .
In the Kumarasambhava it occurs in the context of Kamadeva
approaching Indra and enquiring from him as to why he has been shown the
favour of being remembered: anugraham samsmaranapravrttam. In the
Abhijnasakuntala it occurs in the context of the query of the king to the
friends of Sakuntala about her antecedents to which the friends' response
is that his request is just a favour: anugraha iveyam abhyarthana. The
form anugrahya, to be favoured, is used by Bana in his Kadambari:
kathanenatmanam anugrahyam icchami; na vayam anugrahyah prayo devatanam.
The word most used in Sanskrit literature after daya is krpa which in sense
is almost indistinguishable from the former. When the Lord notices that
Arjuna is totally distraught on seeing his kith and kin ranged against him
in battle he is filled with mercy, krpaya parayavistah.th mercy for the
separated Cakravaka couple: cakravakayoh puro viyukte mithune krpavati. 1he
last of the words for mercy or compassion, karuna, has been defined as:
dinesv artesu bhitesu yacamanesu jivitam! pratikarapara buddhih karunyam
abhidhiyaten "The feeling of helping those who are in misery, pain and
fear and are begging for life is what is called karunya (karuna).
Sarvarthasiddhi defines it as 'to show mercy to the miserable':
dinanugrahabhavah karunyam.\
The karuna resides in the Almighty, the All-powerful who is
nothing but compassion (the Buddhists call it in their context Mahakaruna).
Lord Rama is said to be karunamaya: kakutsthamm karunamayam gunanidhim
viprapriyam. Death is cruel. So it is described karunavimukha, averse to
compassion: karunavimukhena mrtyuna, in Aja's lament at the loss of
Indumati. In the Svapnavasavadatta of Bhasa when Vasavadatta is called upon
to weave a garland for the would-be-co-wife Padmavati, she feels bad and
out comes the remark from her: aho akarunah khalv isvarah, Oh! gods are
unkind (merciless). In the Meghaduta the Yaksa tells the cloud that the
sorry state of affairs of his consort would make the latter nashed tears in
the form of fresh water, for, says he, every one with tender heart (lit.
wet heart) is of the nature of being compassionate: prayah sarvo bhavati
karunavrttir ardrantaratma.
In the Naisadha the golden swan finding himself in the
clutches of the king bemoans his lot, he being the support of his old
mother and the young wife just delivered. How come, says he, O, ( cruel)
fate, kindness/compassion not hold you back (from oppressing him): aho
vidhe tvam karuna runaddhi no. Kindness, sympathy, tender-heartedness,
pity, mercy and compassion are values that go with humaneness. It would be
a cruel world, if these were absent. They are elevating and ennobling. Like
all qualities they are in-born in some and are to be cultivated through the
study of the scriptures and the contact with the good people in others.
There may still be some who may just not be moved by the miseries and cries
for help of others. They have hearts of steel. It is they who permit
themselves the most heinous of crimes. They are perverts, atatayins and
nrsamsas and deserve to be put to death without a second thought:
atatayinam ayantam hanyad evavicarayan. It is fortunate for society that
they form only a small segment of it. Not to be atatayin or nrsamsa is the
supreme virtue, anrsamsyam paro dharmah. Sanskrit literature is full of
statements where the qualities of sympathy , pity, mercy, compassion are
extolled in superlative terms. It has cases where people, holy or ordinary,
high and mighty and lowly and miserable have staked their all to provide
succour to others. The classic cases are those of sage Valmiki and the
Usinara King Sibi. The Ramayana of the former is a saga of the melting of
his heart at the pathetic sight of the female of the Kraunca couple crying
piteously, rurava karunam giram, 27 at the slaying of her companion when in
love sport by a hunter. The ghastly scene of the male bird struggling on
the earth bathed in blood so moved the sage, rses tasya karunyam
samapadyata, 28 that he inflicted a curse on him never to have any respect:
ma nisada pratistam tvam agamah. It was his grief for the bird that had
turned into sloka: sokah slokatvam agatah.
Karuna When the news of the public outcry about Rama taking
delight in the company of Sita who had been forcibly carried in his lap by
Ravana and lodged in the Asokavanika under the demon's guard which could
also mean condoning similar things on the part of their womenfolk by the
citizens reached Rama's ears, he ordered her banishment to another country,
the other side of the river Ganga at a lonely place in the vicinity of the
hermitage of the sage Valmiki who when told by the sons of the Rsis of
their having spotted a beautiful lady crying loudly under the weight of her
grief, went out to her, consoled her, brought her along and placed her in
the care of the hermit ladies living in the periphery of his hermitage
introducing her as the daughter-in-law of his friend Dasaratha and the
daughter of Janaka who had been banished, though without sin, apapa, and
therefore deserving of special attention. It was in his Asrama that Sita
delivered the twins. It was he who arranged for special protection, raksa,
for them from ghosts and goblins, the elder one with the upper part of the
grass, kusa and the younger one with the lower part, lava, of the same duly
sanctified by the mantras which he handed over to the elderly lady ascetics
which they had to rub against the person of the infants who thenceforth
derived their names from them (the upper and lower parts of the grass, kusa
and lava) *(Ramayana, Uttarakanda, 49.66). After he had composed his
Ramayana he taught the same to the twins when grown up a little. Its
recitation by them he put to test in the company of the sages and seers in
the forest who felt ecstatic and showered the young ones with all the
meagre gifts they had with them. It is only after the efficacy of the
recitation had been tested, he asked the young ones to proceed to Ayodhya
along with him where the Asvamedha sacrifice arranged by Rama was in
progress and render the same in between the recess for the rituals to
enable Rama to listen to it in fulfilment of his ultimate objective of
uniting Sita with Rama which he wanted to accomplish by twofold means of
turning public opinion in favour of Sita's acceptability; the total
likeness of the physical appearance of the young ones with their father
would be the proof positive of Sita's purity and the other of Sita*being
alive and could be restored to her consort if everything went well, the
objective in which he eminently succeeded, the objective which had
propelled him to go all the way to Ayodhya, even though uninvited, in spite
of the fact and this really is strangethat all high and the mighty of the
sages of the time had received the invitation and were participating in the
sacrifice and camp in the vicinity of the city under his own arrangements.
On coming to know from the young reciters about the composer of the poem,
Rama invited him and requested him to bring Sita along which he did to make
Sita, as per Rama's wish, pledge her purity in the assembly of the sages
and the other important people. Presenting Sita before Rama and the
congregation Valmiki declares: "I have practised penance for thousands of
years. May I not reap the fruit of it if Sita is touched by sin": a
bahuvrsasasahasrani tapascarya maya krtal nopasniyam phalam tasya dusteyam
yadi MaithiliSS31 This is the sage Valmiki who stakes his tapasya of
thousands of years for the sake of a hapless lady. This is an instance of
compassion unmatched in the annals of the world. An equally unmatched
incident as recorded in the Mahabharata 32 is that of King Sibi who to save
the life of a pigeon taking refuge with him (for fear of a hawk chasing it)
refused to part with it and offered his own self as food for the latter."
'As goes the story Indra and Agni out to test the righteousness of King
Sibi known for it took the form of a hawk and pigeon respectively, the
latter going into the thigh of the king to save itself from the former who
was chasing it. The king assured the pigeon protection and would not let it
go inspite of the cogent pleadings of the hawk. The hawk would not accept
any other creature as a substitute either. It relented only to the extent
of accepting the flesh of the king equal in weight of the pigeon which the
king sliced off from his body and put on the scale. The pigeon weighing
heavier every time he did it, he with all the flesh sliced off climbed on
to the scale himself winning thereby undying fame for his compassion in
rescuing a creature come to him for refuge and an instant place in heven.
Karuna A vast corpus of literature going by the name of
Puranas furnishes a number of instances wherein the qualities of kindness
and compassion are depicted. Since it is not possible to take up all those
instances here for constraints of space, we shall have to confine ourselves
to only a few, the more telling ones among them. The Visnupurana records
the story of the sage Aurva who saved the life of an unborn son of King
Vahu who could not be delivered because of a poisonous substance
administered to his mother by a co-wife out of jealousy. The delivery
postponed indefinitely, the king died seven years after it was due, his
wife still carrying and not able to deliver, resolved to end her life, a
resolve that she was made to give up by the sage. Not only that. The sage
helped her deliver the child and brought it up under his care with the
prescience that he would do good to society. The sage for his efforts was
motivated solely by consideration of welfare of humanity. He had no
personal axe to grind in all this. The Brahmapurana recounts a very
touching story of a pigeon couple of which one, the female one, was caught
by a hunter. As chance would have it, the hunter came to spend the night
under the same tree where the male of the couple was perching. In the night
the female one responded to the chirping of her mate and declined the
former's proposal to free her. She found no fault with the hunter for,
according to her (the female pigeon) he was just following his profession.
She even went a step further. She suggested to her mate that he take the
hunter as guest and offer him food which he did by offering himself as food
to him leaving him stunned and speechless. The same Purana in its end
Chapter recounts the story of a woman Mahi who getting widowed at a very
young age went out to have an experience of the world leaving her young son
in the care of the sage Galava. In the course of her wanderings she turned
into a prostitute. The son when coming of age also went out for the same
purpose. As chance would have it, the mother and the son run into each
other and for a while the son takes the mother as his mistress. When they
come to know over a period of time the identity of each other, they want to
end their life from
which they are prevented by compassionate Galava who leads them to right
path. Of the nine virtues with which the Buddha is credited one is that of
compassionate conduct: itipi so bhagava arcam sammasambaddho
vijjacaranasampanno sugato lakavidu anuttaro purisadammasarathi sattha
devamanussanam buddho bhagaveti, "the exalted one, the accomplished
destroyer of defilements, a Buddha perfected by himself, complete in clear
knowledge and compassionate conduct, supremely good in presence and
destiny, the knower of the world, the incomparable master of men to be
tamed, the teacher of celestials and men, the awakener and the Lord by
skilful means apportioning Dhammas.
"As a matter of fact, it forms the cornerstone of the
Buddhist ethos, Lord Buddha himself epitomizing it in his life which is
clearly borne out by the following incident. A certain Bhikkhu was once
sick with dysentery and lay fouled in his own urine and excrement. As the
Buddha was going the round of the lodgings with disciple Ananda he came to
that Bhikkhu's dwelling. When he saw him lying in the condition he was, he
went up to him and said: "What is your sickness Bhikkhu?" It is dysentery,
Blessed One, said he. "But Bhikkhu, have you no attendant?" "No, Blessed
One." "Why other Bhikkhus do not look after you?" "I am no one to the
Bhikkhus, Lord; that is why they do not look after me." Ananda brought some
water. Both poured it and washed the Bhikkhu, raised him up and put him on
the bed. With this as the occasion and this as the reason the Buddha
summoned the Bhikkhus and asked them: "Bhikkhus, is there a Bhikkhu sick in
a certain dwelling?" "There is, Blessed One.". "What is that Bhikkhuss
illness?" "He has dysentery, Lord." Has he anyone to look after him. If he
has a preceptor, he (the preceptor) as long as he lives, look after him
till his recovery. His teacher, if he has one, do likewise. Or his pupil or
one who has the preceptor or one who has the same teacher. If he has none
of these, the community should look after him. Not to do so is an offence
of wrong doing, for compassion must be voluntary and eternal."
Karuna The following Dhamma talk is also very
important to show the importance and role of compassion in Buddhism. A
certain youth who lived in Savatthi heard a teacher preach Dhamma. He
yielded his heart to the Sanona, went forth to homelessness and after full
admission to the Sangha became known as the Thera Tissa. As time wore on,
an eruption broke out on his body. At first it appeared in the form of
boils no bigger than mustard seeds but as the disease progressed they
assumed successively the size of kidney, beans, chick-peas, jujube stones,
emblyio myrobalans and then beael fruit. Finally they burst open and his
whole body got covered with open sores winning him the nickname Thera
Putigatta (rottenbodied) Tissa. After a time his bones began to
disintegrate and no one was willing to take care of him. His under and
upper robes which were stained with dry blood, looked like fibrous
pancakes. His fellow residents, unable to care for him, cast him out and he
lay on the ground without anyone to look after him. The Buddha took pity on
him. He knew that Bhikkhu Tissa was ripe for Arhantship. He thought to
himself: "That Bhikkhu has been abandoned by his associates; at the present
time he has no other refuge than me." Accordingly he went to the hall where
fire was kept. He washed the boils of the Bhikkhu, placed him on the
brazier, waited in the fire room for the water to boil and when he knew
that it was hot, went and took hold of the end of the bed where the Bhikkhu
was lying. He caused a measure to be brought and sprinkled hot water. Then
he went and taking his stand near Tissa, moistened his body with hot water
and rubbed and bathed it and then changed the robes. With his heart full of
compassion he took his stand at the pillow and said to the Bhikkhu:
"Bhikkhu, consciousness will depart from you, your body will become of no
use." At the conclusion of his teaching Thera Putigatta Tissa attained
Arhantship and passed to Nibbana. The Buddha himself performed his funeral
rites over the body and taking the relics, caused a shrine to be erected.
The following address of Lord Buddha to the Bhikkhus tellingly underscores
the importance that he attached to compassion: "O, Bhikkhus, the secure,
safe path leading to joy has been opened by me, the treacherous path
blocked off. Bhikkhus, whatever may be done out of compassion by a teacher
seeking the welfare of his disciples, that has been done by me out of
compassion for you. So be compassionate and full of love." The compassion
of Lord Buddha extended just for the wellbeing of society has justly been
termed Mahakaruna, 'The Great Compassion.' This is not peculiar to the
Buddha alone. It characterizes the Supreme Entity in the entire Indian
tradition. The Lord is Karunavarunalaya, the ocean of Karuna or
karunavatara. It is through His Karuna that he runs the entire show of the
universe. K Rajaram IRS 25525
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Chittanandam V R <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 25 May 2025 at 12:31
Subject: Fwd: Tamilnayagam - Kamba ramayanam - Rama and Bharata (10)
To:
இராமாயணம் - திருவடி சூட்டு படலம் (10) - அறமும் கருணையும்
*தமிழ்நாயகம் *
அரசை மீண்டும் தரவந்த பரதனை காண்கிறான் இராமன். பரதனின் தவக் கோலமும், அவன்
அழுது சிவந்த கண்களும் இராமனின் மனதை நெகிழ வைக்கிறது. பரதன் இராமனின் காலில்
விழுகிறான். விழுந்த பரதனை தூக்கி தழுவிக் கொள்கிறான் இராமன்..
"பெருமூச்சு விட்டு, கண்களில் இருந்து நீர் அருவியாக பாய்ந்து மார்பில் விழ,
பரதனை கட்டிப் பிடித்துக் கொண்டான் இராமன். அறத்தின் இருப்பிடமான பரதனை,
கருணையின் இருப்பிடமான இராமன் தழுவிக் கொண்டான்".
பாடல்
அயாவுயிர்த்து, அழு கண் நீர் அருவி மார்பிடை,
உயாவுற திருஉளம் உருக, புல்லினான்--
நியாயம் அத்தனைக்கும் ஓர் நிலயம் ஆயினான்--
தயா முதல் அறத்தினைத் தழீஇயது என்னவே.
பொருள்: தளர்ந்து மீண்டும் உயிர் பெற்று அழுகின்ற கண் நீர் அருவி போல மார்பில்
விழ வருத்தம் உற மனம் உருக அணைத்துக் கொண்டான். நியாயம் அனைத்திற்கும்
ஒரு இருப்பிடம் ஆயினான்
கருணையில் முதல்வனான இராமன் அறத்தின் உருவேயான பரதனைத் தழுவிக் கொண்டான்.
(புல்லினான் = அணைத்துக்கொண்டான்)
அரசை ஏற்றுக் கொள்வது அறம் அல்ல என்று உறுதியாக நம்பினான் பரதன். பரதனுக்குத்
தெரிந்த அறம் இராமனுக்குத் தெரியாதா ? அறம் அல்லாத ஒன்றை இராமன் செய்வானா ?
பரதன் சொல்வது சரி என்று படுகிறது. அப்படி என்றால் இராமன் செய்தது சரி அல்ல
என்று ஆகும். யார் வழியைப் பின் பற்றுவது என்ற குழப்பம் படிப்பவர்களுக்கு
ஏற்படும்.
கம்பர் அதை சரி செய்கிறார்.
பரதன் அறத்தின் வழி நின்றான். ஆனால், இராமன் கருணையின் வழி நின்றான். கருணையே
வடிவாக இருந்தான். கருணையின் பிறப்பிடம் இராமன் என்று கம்பன்
காட்டுகிறான். பரதனும், இராமனும் ஒருவரை ஒருவர் தழுவிக் கொண்டு இருந்தது
அறமும் கருணையும் ஒன்றை ஒன்று தழுவிக் கொண்டிருந்தது போல இருந்ததாம்.
அறம் உயர்ந்ததுதான். கருணை அதையும்விட உயர்ந்தது. கருணைக்கு அறம் , அறம்
அல்லாதது என்றெல்லாம் தெரியாது. இவற்றை எல்லாம் கடந்தது கருணை.
ஒரு தாய் பிள்ளையை கடிந்து வைக்கிறாள் அல்லது அடிக்கிறாள். திட்டுவதும்
அடிப்பதும் அறமா என்றால் இல்லைதான். ஆனால், அவள் செய்வது அளவு கடந்த காதலால்.
குழந்தையின் மேல் உள்ள கருணையால்.
தருதுயரம் தடாயேலுன் சரணல்லால் சரணில்லை
விரைகுழுவு மலர்ப்பொழில்சூழ் விற்றுவக்கோட் டம்மானே
அரிசினத்தால் ஈன்றதாய் அகற்றிடினும் மற்றவள்தன்
அருள்நினைந்தே யழும்குழவி அதுவே போன்றிருந்தேனே
என்பார் குலசேகர ஆழ்வார்.
தாய் அடித்தாலும் அவளின் அருளை நினைத்தே அழும் குழந்தை போல அழுதேன் என்கிறார்.
அறம் என்பது என்ன என்று படித்து அறிந்து கொள்ளலாம். அது பற்றி விவாதிக்கலாம்.
சரியா தவறா ஆராயலாம்.
கருணை என்பது விவாதத்துக்கு அப்பாற்பட்டது. விளக்க முடியாதது.
இராமனின் செயல்கள் கருணையில் இருந்தது பிறந்தவை என்று புரிந்து கொண்டால் ,
அவனின் பல செயல்களை நாம் நீதி, நேர்மை, ஞாயம் என்ற பூத கண்ணாடி கொண்டு
பார்க்காமல் இருப்போம்.
*தமிழ்நாயகம் *
*********************************
*சித்தானந்தம்*
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