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Continued from yesterday’s instalment
 As we were discussing, Bharata reached the other bank of the river and walked towards Bharata with folded hands and at the same time Bharata was doing the same. He was walking towards Guha with folded hands. It is not possible to judge whose respect for the other is greater, though an iota of doubt and curiosity still remained in the mind of Guha. You may recall here that he instructed his men to ‘stay in guard’ before he started. ‘kurippu ellam kaNdu uNarndhu peyargindrEn.’
Let me go there, speak to him, find out what really lies in his heart and come back.
‘kaamingaL.’ Stand guard until then. You do not take it for granted. Stay alert.
Therefore, there is still a speck of doubt in the mind of Guha, triggering a sense of precaution. Even though he had concluded that Bharata’s intentions were pure and clear, his hunter’s sense puts him on the watch and needs verification before accepting what he had theorised. After all, he had much to do with wild animals and their behaviour and such persons do not accept theories - even if it is their own - so easily, when it comes to personal safety and security. What is involved here is the safety and security of his Lord and he could not afford to compromise on that here. When therefore Guha walks towards Bharata, his mind is still working on the possibilities. Then, Bharata, the prince from the Ayodhya family, the person who had the crown of Ayodhya at his disposal, the son of king of kings who was far, far superior to this hunter and boatman did a thing that testifies to his matchless humility and the respect that he had for the persons who had earned the love and affection of Sri
Rama.
As we had discussed earlier while we were speaking about Bharata, this verse has been variedly interpreted and some scholars fiercely argue about the way it should be interpreted. (See:
Touching the feet of
Guha). Even the play on the words that Kamban employed in this verse does not come in the way of a clear and unambiguous understanding. Let us examine the verse in full now. Let us see the direct translation of the verse first.
‘vandhu edhirE thozhudhaanai vaNanginan.’
He paid his obeisance to he who came before him and he fell at his feet.
‘malar irundha andhaNanum thanai vaNangum avanum avan adi veezhndhaan.’ He who is worshipped even by He who is seated on the Lotus (Brahma) fell at his feet.
 These are the first two lines of the verse. It simply states that Bharata went before Guha with folded hands. Guha fell at his feet. And Bharata, who is worshipped even by Brahma himself, fell at the feet of Guha. Several scholars are not able to digest the fact that Bharata could fall at the feet of Guha. ‘Bharata is like Rama and is manifestation of the Lord himself. How can it be accepted that He could fall at the feet of this lowly hunter? It is nothing less than slander against God to think that He could fall at the feet of Guha.’ And then they get into all kinds of rolling forwards and backwards and employ all their pundit’s skills to say that Guha fell at the feet of Bharata and Bharata stood with folded arms before him.
No scholar or no amount of scholastic interpretation can be greater than the Poet and the vision that he had. If the Poet envisions such a scene and presents it to us, we should look for the message behind it rather than arguing on nitty-gritty. And look for evidence to support the conclusion that we arrive at, if not from this verse, from the verse that follows. This verse cannot be studied in isolation, for it is a part of a larger design.
More follows...
Hari Krishnan
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