PREFACE OR INTRODUCTION – Bhaskara Kumar

Transliteration Logics/Norms/Rules

It is with divine and blissful pleasure we are presenting this commentary for Sreemadh Bhaagawatha Puraanam. Certainly, no commentary can be complete and perfect as the subject is purely transcendental and the commentary is by a layman with no Aathma Saakshaathkaaram or Transcendental Realization.

Before we start reading, please be clear that the English transliteration of the Samskritham Slokams or Sanskrit Stanzas are phonetical basis and hence can be different from other transliteration One might have come across. Firstly, let me mention that as English language is not phonetical, meaning what we read is not what we write, whereas Sanskrit is; and therefore, there can be misreading of what is transliterated unless the reader is familiar with the logic used. The logic and norms used in this transliteration is to read it with correct pronunciation. It is practically impossible to provide the entire logic used but the following list would certainly be helpful to read it properly.

‘a’ is used for ‘अ’ and ‘aa’ is for ‘आ’
‘i’ is used for ‘इ’ whereas ‘ee’ is used for ‘ई’
‘u’ is used for ‘उ’ and ‘oo’ is for ‘ऊ’
‘ri’ is used for ‘ऋ’
‘il’ is used for ‘ऌ’
‘e’ is used for both long and short ‘ए’
‘ai’ is used for ‘ऎ’
‘o’ for short ‘ओ’ and ‘oa’ for long ‘ओ’
‘ou’ is used for ‘औ’
‘am’ for ‘अं’
‘ah’ for ‘अः’
‘k’ for ‘क्’, ‘ka’ for ‘क’, ‘kaa’ for ‘का’, ‘ki’ for ‘कि’, ‘kee’ for ‘की’, ‘ku’ for ‘कु’, ‘koo’ for ‘कू’, ‘ke’ for both long and short ‘के’, ‘ko’ for both long and short ‘को’, ‘kau’ for ‘कौ’, ‘kam’ for ‘कं’, and ‘kah’ for ‘कः’
‘kh’ for ‘ख्’, ‘kha’ for ‘ख’ …. and so on as above
‘g’ for ‘ग्’, ‘ga’ for ‘ग’ …. and so on …
‘gh’ for ‘घ्’, ‘gha’ for ‘घ’ and so on …
‘ng’ for ‘ङ्’, ‘nga’ for ‘ङ्’, and so on …
‘ch’ for ‘च्’, ‘cha’ for ‘च’, and so on…
‘cch’ for ‘छ्’, ‘ccha’ for ‘छ’, and so on….
‘j’ for ‘ज्’, ‘ja’ for ‘ज’, and so on…
‘jh’ for ‘झ्’, ‘jha’ for ‘झ’, and so on…
‘nj’ for ‘ञ्’, ‘nja’ for ‘ञ’, and so on…
‘t’ for ‘ ‘, ‘‘ta’ for ‘ढ’, and so on….
‘tt’ for ‘ ‘, ‘tta’ for ‘ठ’, and so on….
‘n’ for ‘ ‘, ‘na’ for ‘ण’, and so on….
‘th’ for ‘त्’, ‘tha’ for ‘त’, and so on…. (Initially I have used ‘t’ for ‘त्’
‘tth’ for ‘थ्’, ‘ttha’ for ‘थ’, and so on….
‘n’ for ‘न्’, ‘na’ for ‘न’, and so on….
‘p’ for ‘प्’, ‘pa’ for ‘प’, and so on….
‘ph’ for ‘फ्’, ‘pha’ for ‘फ’, and so on….
‘b’ for ‘ब्’, ‘ba’ for ‘ब’, and so on….
‘bh’ for ‘भ्’, ‘bha’ for ‘भ’, and so on….
‘m’ for ‘म्’, ‘ma’ for ‘म’, and so on…
‘y’ for ‘य्’, ‘ya’ for ‘य’, and so on….
‘r’ for ‘र्’, ‘ra’ for ‘र’, and so on….
‘l’ for ‘ल्’, ‘la’ for ‘ल’, and so on….
‘v’ for ‘व्’, ‘va’ for ‘व’, and so on….
‘s’ for ‘श्’, ‘sa’ for ‘श’, and so on…
‘sh’ for ‘ ‘, ‘sha’ for ‘ष’, and so on….
‘s’ for ‘स्’, ‘sa’ for ‘स’, and so on….
Note: For both ‘श्’ and ‘स्’ the same ‘s’ is used and therefore please refer back to original Sanskrit Sloka to read it correctly.
‘h’ for ‘ह्’, ‘ha’ for ‘ह’, and so on….
‘l’ for ‘ ‘, ‘la’ for ‘ळ ‘, and so on…
‘ksh’ for ‘क्ष्’, ‘ksha’ for ‘क्ष’, and so on….

There are exceptions to the rule. Say, for example, the transliteration for ‘गंग’ is correctly pronounced as ‘गेंग’ and according to the above rule it should be transliterated as ‘gemga’ but I was advised – especially by Bhargavan Pillai – that it is universally accepted spelling or transliteration for ‘गेंग’ is ‘ganga’. Therefore, please be guided by the combination of Sanskrit Stanza and the corresponding transliteration.

Exceptions:

There are many exceptions between the versions I used to copy the Sanskrit Slokaas and for the transliteration. Some of the exceptions I am noting it here just for reference and to avoid any confusion. For example:

The Sanskrit version used to copy the Slokaas has no punctuations other than the Coma = ‘।‘, after each line of the Sloka and Full Stop = ‘॥‘, after the last line. (For two line Slokaas at the end of Second line and four line Slokaas at the end of the fourth line. This is just to show the Sloka continues and Sloka ends, not as a real punctuation mark.) Some combined words in Sanskrit version are split in transliteration version and vice versa. As there is no difference in meaning this is not an issue.

Canto = Ca.

Chapter = Ch.

Stanza = St.

Line = Li.

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 2 Li. 4: शुश्रूषुभिस्तत्क्षणात् = Sushrooshubhisthath kshanaath [Sanskrit version words combined and Transliteration words are split.]

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 4 Li. 1: ऋषयः शौनकादयः = rishayasSounakaadhayah [Sanskrit version words split and Transliteration words are combined. Here, the visarga ‘:’ is replaced by ‘s’ as the next letter was ‘s’ and that is the Sanddhi or Connection rule.]

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 9 Li. 2: श्रेयस्तन्नः शंसितुमर्हसि = sreyasthannassamsithumarhasi [ Here again the same rule of visarga ‘:” and ‘s” as above.]

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 10 Li 1: प्रायेणाल्पायुषः सभ्य = Praayenaalpayushassabhya [Here again the same rule of visarga ‘:” and ‘s” as above.]

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 10 Li 2: मन्दाः सुमन्दमतयो = Mandhaassumandhamathayo [Here again the same rule of visarga ‘:” and ‘s” as above.]

Ca. 1 Ch. 1 St. 10 Li 2: मन्दभाग्या ह्युपद्रुताः = mandhabhagyaahyupadhruthaah [Here other than the words are combined together, there is no changes or additions or deletions of letter/s.]

There are innumerous such cases. It can be red either combined or split as these are not affecting the meaning, but it is better to be read with split words to make the meaning clear.

INTRODUCTION

We started writing about Bhaagawatham as answers to the questions asked by Pankaj Patel as he wanted to know the import and inner philosophical meanings of the dialogue Jeta Bharatha had with Raahugena and then continued about Vrithra Bhakthi and then why Akroora was not punished while he took Syemanthaka to Kaasi without letting Krishna and others know about it, and so on. Thus, continuing he once asked about the steadfast devotion of Udhddhava. That led me/us to start writing this commentary from the very beginning with inclusion of Bhaagawatha Maahaathmyam. Formally, we started writing this on January 05, 2014. Though there were breaks when I was away in travelling, we tried to continue smoothly. Pankaj, Gopikochattan, Bhargavan, and others were the encouraging factor for continuation of this writing. It is very amateurish.

[I have given a brief summary how I started writing Sreemadh Bhaagawatham at the beginning of Canto 5 Chapter 10 as it was most contextual and appropriate.]

[Pankaj & Minal – his wife – and a group of another Nineteen of us had Once-in-a-lifetime trip to Kailas. We were together for a total of Twenty-One days. As I told the story of Raamaayana to the group on the first day of the trip, some members of the group wanted me to narrate the story of Sree Krishna also. They understood that it would take more time and were willing to devote at least a couple of hours every day for the rest of the trip. Especially, Pankaj, Minal – though she did not make any comments – Subhash and a few others took interest to listen to the stories. So, for the next Twenty days we spent at least two/three hours every day to complete the story. We were so satisfied that before the completion of the trip we were able to complete the story of Sreemadh Bhaagawatham in a reasonable way answering most of the questions asked by the audience. Pankaj made a request to me to explain his doubts and confusions in Bhaagawatha after returning to America. That’s how we started this effort as mentioned earlier.]

Gopikochaattan promptly made all corrections needed for the transliteration of Sanskrit Versus. Bhargavan was so meticulous with the spelling, grammar, logics of the stories, etc. and made all corrections and provided needed suggestions/recommendations from time to time. Sree, my nephew, has even started posting it into online:

http://www.bhaskarakumar.com/

which he created and developed by himself and engaged one of his staff members to take care of it as and when he gets time. Dr. Dheeraj prompted me to post it in Face Book, which I am doing it occasionally. “This will be great forum to post your E mail letter also, (I used to email each chapter after completion to a group of forty members,). As it is easier for friends, well-wishers, seekers to make comments. You can change the privacy settings to friends of friends or public if you want to enlarge the scope of who can give feedback. All the best on this great venture!” Dr. Ashalatha, wife of Dr. Dheeraj, told me that as their son is interested in reading this, she may endorse a copy to him as well. I am seeing an average about One Hundred readership in Face Book. Unni was the first to make a comment: “Awesome Kochachan go for it and wish you the best on this endeavor.” Rita Krishna: “Great effort sir… ”

I have to mention that when I started posting it in Face Book (January 2016) after a few months One Mr. Ghosh from West Bengal liked and posted “Om Namo Bhagawate Vasudevaya.” I requested him to post some comments/suggestions/recommendation. His response was “Whatever and however we write about Krishna do not need any comments/suggestions/recommendation. Just read it with devotion.” It is so TRUE.

Whoever, I talked about it encouraged me to endorse a copy to them. Sudhi and Seema mentioned that it would be great for the younger generation, and he also wanted to endorse a copy to him. When Vinaya Raj and Sulatha asked for a copy their daughters Sukanya and Soorya also wanted to receive copies. Dr. Asok Kumar and Bina also gracefully encouraged me with necessary inspiration. Kichu or Krishnakumar Menon, husband of Rekha, the second daughter of Annan – N.M. Nair who is Thanki’s eldest brother, also was very encouraging. What a great encouragement he gave it to me as he was so humble when I asked him to send me his comments/suggestions/recommendations. Chaithanya or Sreekutty also wanted to read it. On the condition that her education will not be affected by it I have been endorsing a copy to her also. She was also a true inspiration and encouragement even if it was towards the end. Sudhir and Usha also shown interest in reading as Sudhi is good reader of Malayalam classics and novels. When I talked to Hari Raghavan about the project, he also wanted and endorsed a copy regularly.

It is beyond words the encouragements I received from each and every one of you.

Least but not last is my family. Once when we talked about it with Dr. Krishnaraj Urs, he asked about the family support. I told him that without full support from my family, I could not have thought of this project and continued writing. My wife, Thanky/Prasanna was fully supportive as she never bothered or disturbed me while I am engaged in reading or writing, which most of the time I was. My son, Anand, and his wife, Anita, and daughter Asha and her husband, Ashlesh were all morally supporting me. A couple of time we had some interesting discussion about the principle of non-duality and about the fourth stage, about the Illusory universe and Absolute Truth. Without their full and whole-hearted support, I would not have been able to complete it. Also, I consider myself as so blessed as I complete this project we have two additions to our family, Anya and Avya – our beloved grand granddaughters – Twin daughters of Ashlesh and Asha.

First of all, please pardon me as this would be extensive to establish a point how our family background at childhood helped us to develop interest in such mythological and scriptural matters. Let me give a little bit of background about my interest in Bhaagawatham. My father, Balakrishna Pillai, settled down to our home at Punnakklualm, Karunagappally, Kerala at the beginning of 1950’s after his retirement. In our village at that time Bhaagawatham recital was more common than Raamaayanam recital. My Mother’s place at Mattom North, Mavelikara, Kerala also Bhaagawatham recital was more popular and Raamaayanam recital was not common. This trend I noticed only for about thirty forty years and later on Raamaayanam recital also became equally or more popular.

My father used to read daily in the evening/night Bhagawath Geetha, Jnjaana Vaasishttam, and Sreemadh Bhaagawatham. My mother, Bhargavi Amma, used to read Raamaayanam also. We kid, my sisters and I, also used to read Raamaayanam and Bhaagawatham after worshipping with recital of some Keerththanaas. Mother and Father used to correct us. Even from age of Seven I started reading without knowing any meaning. My mother always used to say that I was like a green express bus [at that time the green express bus never used to stop at our place] as I never used to stop with full stop or without any attention to any of the punctuation marks. But she also complemented that I did not make many mistakes. I took both as a complement and continued until I came to know how important it is to convey meaning properly reading with punctuation marks.

My father used to explain the meanings of some of the portions like Prehlaadha Charitham, Prehlaadha Sthuthi, Gejendhra Moksham, Ajaamila Moksham, Kunthee Sthuthi, etc. of Bhaagawatham and Baalakaakhyaayikopaakhyaanam, Bhoosundopaakhyaanam, etc. of Jnjaana Vaasishtta especially when my Ammumma – maternal grandmother -, Kutty Amma, is home. My maternal grandfather, Kesava Pillai, was also scholarly personality in Bhagawath Geetha and Bhaagawatham. He has a good company of a few friends/relatives/neighbors who all used to discuss mostly of Mhaabhaaratham Stories in the daytime.

When Achan used to explain the meanings, I used to listen to them even when I was studying. Thus, I developed an interest in mythological stories from the very childhood. I was also lucky to attend Sree Neelakantta Theerthttha Paadha Samaaddhi Peettom School (SNTSPS) for middle school classes, i.e., 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades where Sanskrit was compulsory and was the First Language. SreeRaamOdhantham (Story of Sree Raama,) ReghuVamsaCharitham (Story of dynasty of Reghu or Solar Dynasty,) SaakunthalOpaakhyaanam (Story of Sakunthala) by Kaalidhaasa [meaning not exactly that of Mahaabhaaratha but of Abhijnjaana Saakunthalam,) Prehlaadha Charitham, etc. were in our syllabus. During my threeyear studies, I was the outstanding student of Sanskrit in that school. Thus, I was able to gain some basic academical knowledge of Sanskrit.

When I was in the 7^th` grade, we started reading Bhaagawatham by Thunjath Ramanujan Ezhuththachcchan which was the popular book in Kerala at that time on a monthly basis. [I actually started reading Bhaagawatham from my 5^th year when I was able to read letters continuously in Malayalam.] From that time onwards it was on the first Sunday of the Malayalam month and continued till today. In the beginning for a few years, it was like a small festival. A few learned Readers used to participate, and our relatives and a few neighbors also used to attend and listen the reading. First couple of years it was not by any professional readers but later on One or Two professional readers also started joining the team. I was also allowed to read, especially, when others were going for break-fast, lunch, evening tea, etc. I have to mention here that this Bhagawatham translation by Muzhangottuvila Krishna Pillai is harder to read than the Kilippaattu Style written by Ezhuththachcchan, which is the most popular one in Kerala even now. But One of the professional readers, a Swamy by name Raghavaanandha Swaamikal – known as Sooranaadan Swami as he was from Sooranadu – was excellent in reading this book as well.

Our house is near to Sree Neelakantta Theerthttha Paadha Samaaddhi Peettom Aasramam. – Achcchan’s original house, Meenaththeril, was the nearest house of Aasramam -. The Chief Trustee of that Aasramam at that time was Vidhyananda Theerthttha Paadha Swaamikal. He was a scholar with expertise in Bhaagawatham Moolam or Original in Sanskrit. The Malayalam version we used to read was the most popular One but has its own limitations. Vidhyananda Swaamikal was in Vaazhoor which was the main Aasramam. But he used to visit occasionally and stay in Puthiyakavu for a few days or a couple of months. Whenever he was there on the first Sunday of Malayalam month, he would definitely attend our Bhagawatham recital and explain the meanings.

It was during this time, 1954, Muzhangottuvila Krishnapillai wrote a Malayalam Translation of Bhaagawatham Moolam. But it was not getting much attention. Muzhangottuvila was a Disciple and the Writer [it is clerical position whose assignment would be only writing – normally the chief disciple would be the Writer] of Pannisseri Nanu Pillai, who was great scholar in Sanskrit. Originally, Pannisseri had the idea of writing a Malayalam translation from Bhaagawatham Moolam. He came out with a smaller version but wanted to publish a word-by-word translation later. He passed away before he could complete the task.

I have to add some more details about Pannisseri, otherwise I will be doing injustice to his valuable contributions to our Malayalam language. He was the First One, the only One, to wrote BhadhraKaaleeVijayam Aattakkattha. In Kaalee Kshethraas or Temples of Bhadhra Kaali traditionally used to have only ‘Thottanpaattu’ which passed from word of mouth and not supposed to be in writing. The faith and belief were that nothing regarding ‘Thottanpaattu’ praising the glories of Bhadhrakaali is supposed to be in writing. There is a local saying:

“Olappuraththenne kettalle

Kannaalippillarkku enne koduckalle,”

Colloquial meaning

“Do not write down or do not make it as any written document or record,

Not to be sung by street boys or has to be sung only by authorized traditional professionals,”

Pannisseri wrote this against the existing tradition and custom. [There is rumor that he passed away relatively earlier because of this violation.]

This Thottanpaattu is a mandatory singing by the professionals either daily, in some temples, or necessarily during the festival times in Kaalee temple.

Another unique work of Pannisseri was Nizhalkuttu or Nizhalkkuththu Aattakkattha. Nizhalkkuththu means shadow fighting or fighting by shadows or killing by stabbing the shadow. This particular episode is not there in Original Mahaabhaaratham [even though it is regarding Kauravaas and Paandavaas] but extremely popular regionally in South India. Aattakkattha is also an exclusive classical dance-drama performance of Kerala. The stories are taken from Ithihaasaas and Puraanaas. In Mahaabhaaratha Ddhritharaashtra calls a Kanika to give advice about doing some Aabhichaara or Sorcery or Witchcraft to destroy Paandavaas. Of course, Kanika advised Ddhritharaashtra it is Ddharmma to destroy the enemies by whatever means practical. We know that Dhuryoddhana asked Purochana to construct the Wax-house or Lacquer house to kill Paandavaas.

Here, in Nizhalkkuththu there is Bharatha Malaya, a Tribal of the Hills or Mountains, to perform Aabhichaara. Of course, he kills Paandavaas without their knowledge as was stabbing only their shadows. [In Raamaayana we can read the story of Hanuman was caught by his shadow and prevented him from going forward by Cchaayagrehani or Simhika, but Hanuman killed her by kicking with his legs.] But when his wife, Malayaththi, came to know about it she killed their own only son and requested Kunthi and Krishna to pardon her husband because it was only Dhuryoddhana who asked to do it and he was forced to do it as it was command from the King. The presentation is so excellent that everyone would love to watch it. [Normally, Katthakali can be enjoyed by an elite group but this One because of its dramatic presentation everyone likes.]

I would request and recommend accessing the following sites and other relevant sites to know more about Nizhalkuttu and about the Scholarly Pannisseri Nanu Pillai.

http://mahabharata-resources.org/nizhalkuttu/nizhalkuttu.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pannisseri_Nanu_Pillai

https://peoplepill.com/people/pannisseri-nanu-pillai

Subsequently, Muzhangottuila took up the task and completed the work. Vidhyananda Swamikal was extremely helpful in properly reviewing and completing this magnificent task. Though Pannisseri was a family-man he was a disciple of Chattampi Swaamikal. Chattampi Swaamikal had a few Grihastthaasrama disciples and Pannisseri was the chief and scholarly among them. The three major disciples of Chattampi Swaamikal, of Sanyaasa discipline, were Narayana Guru, Neelakantta Theerthtthapaadha, and Theerthtthapaadha Paramahamsa. Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal was the prime disciple of Theerthtthapaadha Paramahamsa. Thus, indirectly Vidhyananda Swaamikal was a disciple of Pannisseri also.

Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal suggested to my father that we should try to popularize the Bhaagawatham by Muzhangottuvila as it is more inclusive and authentic translation of the Moolam. Thus, we started reading the Bhaagawatham by Muzhangottuvila for our monthly recital. [During that period, monthly recital of Bhaagawatham was not very common and certainly there was none in our village.] Though there was some reservation by some of the professional readers, the Aachaarya or the Master Reader was in favor of reading this book, and also there was no option for them as we did not start it with any professional readers, and we would have continued it.

I have to mention here how influential it was for me the Avathaarika or Introduction of this book by Sree Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal. The whole introduction is so helpful and beneficial but as an example I will quote here his comparison of the first Sloka of Moolam and its translation by Thunjaththu Ezhuththacchan:

Moolam:

Jenmaadhysya yaathonvayaadhitharathachaarthttheshvabhijnjah svaraat

Thene Brahmahridhaa ya aadhikayaye muhyanthi yel Soorayah

Thejo vaarimridhaam Yetthaa vinimayo yethra thrisarggoamrishaa

Ddhaamnaa svena sadhaa nirasthakuhakam sathyam param Dheemahi.

Translation by Thunjaththu Ezhuththacchan:

Sarvvajnjanaayi sarvvajegathkaarananaayi

Sarvvabhoothangalkkellam jnjaanadhasvaroopanaay

Aparichcchinnamaayi Paramaanandhamaaya

Paramaathmaavuthanne ddhyaanikkayvarename

Meaning:

I offer my salutation and prostration to Paramaathma or The Supreme Soul and The Absolute Truth Who is Sarvvajnja or Omniscient and Who is Sarvva Jegath Kaarana or The cause of creation, maintenance, and annihilation of all the worlds of the universe and all its entities and elements and One Who is Jnjaana Swaroopa or The Embodied Form of all knowledge and Provider of all knowledge for all entities and elements and Who is Aparichcchinna or Unlimited and Infinite and One Who is Paramaanandha or Embodied Form of Supreme Blissful Happiness.

According to Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal it is only a summary or an epitome of the Moolam or Original Sanskrit verse.

Muzhangottuvila:

Anvayavyethirekamurarku nokkumpole-

Thonninaaliprepanjcham thonni, ninnotungunnu

Mannaadhibhoothangalil boddharoopamaay vyapi-

Chchanyabhbhaasyamallathe yaathonnu sobhikkunnu,

Brahmaavinnaamnyaayangal visadham thonnichchathum

Sammohamaakkoottarkkumunmishippikkunnathum

Unmayundagni, vellam, mriththuthottavaykkennu,-

Munmayillavaykkennum bhinnamaay thonnippathum

Sveeyamaamanupaakhyathejassumoolamennum

Maayayaam thimiraththeththuraththiyirippathum

Yaatho,nnaapparamaarthtthasathyavasthuvebbhava-

Yaathanayakaluvaan ddhyaanikkayvarename.

Meaning:

I offer my salutations, prayers, prostrations, and obeisance to Lord Vaasudeva Sri Krishna Bhagawan who is the son of Vasudevar and Devakidevi. I sincerely, respectfully, and devotionally pray that I should be able to meditate upon and worship Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan always in order to remove all distresses and pains I am inflicted upon due to and from the entanglement of this material world. When we study thoroughly by analyzing and synthesizing meticulously every minute aspect to see how the material world of this universe was originally created, sustained and maintained as it exists today and then finally getting destroyed; we can and will conclude that Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the Absolute Truth and Primeval cause of the creation, sustenance and final destruction of this material world and of this manifested universe and of all other manifested universes. [The belief and the fact are that there are innumerable other universes, planets and stars.] Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the cause and of the existence of all the five great elements starting from Earth. [The five elements are: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.] Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is inside and outside of all the five elements and Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the brilliance and splendor of all the five elements. Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the essence of all the five elements. Other than Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan there is nothing else either within or outside the five elements. Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the one who initiated and provided with all the information and knowledge of the Vedas to Brahmadeva. Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the one who creates the illusion and enticement to the gods of heaven as well as to rishis or seers and sages. Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the one who creates the illusory confusion whether the five elements like fire, water, earth, etc. are either real or unreal even for the gods of heaven and the godly sages and other scholars and rishis or mendicants. Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan is the one who removes or wipes out or eliminates the darkness or the ignorance or the confusion of the existence or non-existence of these five elements. I offer my respectful and devotional salutations, prayers, worship, obeisance and prostrations to that Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan who is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all the creations in order to remove and or to eliminate completely all my distresses and pains from the entrapment of this material world. I pray that I may have the opportunity to meditate upon and worship that Absolute Truth which is Lord Vaasudheva Sri Krishna Bhagawan who is the son of Vasudhevar and Devakeedhevi. [Here the concept is that Lord Sri Krishna Bhagawan or Lord Maha Vishnu is one and the same as we know that Lord Sri Maha Vishnu is the one who created the universes and Brahmadheva.]

Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal says that this translation is very extensive and inclusive. Especially, for the term Thrisarggoamrisha – this Sanskrit term can be divided in two different ways: 1) Thrisarggah + Mrisha and 2) Thrisargga + Amrisha [both are correct and that is the beauty and richness of Sanskrit] and Muzhangottuvila has properly translated that properly and correctly by saying: He makes the Dhevaas including Brahmadheva, and other learned scholars get confused whether the Five Great Element and Universe created by it are real or unreal the ‘illusory confusion’ or Sathya Mithtthyaa Boddham. Similarly, Muzhangottuvila has taken all out effort to analyze term by term and bring out all and proper meaning of Moola.

This is only One example I have quoted. He has given many other illustrations. Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal says that such analytical and critical review makes One step above Ezhuththachcchan. But at another place Swaamiji has mentioned: just by using the word Paramaathma in the fourth line Ezhuththachcchan has brought out all the meanings. Paramaathma is inclusive of everything. There is nothing more to be added. No translation can ever be anything better than that because of using that term appropriately. There are a few more instances like that.

This Introduction by Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal made me to think deeply, analytically, and critically and study again and again and of course to accept all meanings possible. Thus, this introduction by Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal was most influential and inspirational for me.

Another person I have to mention at this stage is M.A. Kulkarni – Madhav Anand Kulkarni, who we used to call as MAK -. He was my colleague at Indian Bank, Andheri. We used to spend a lot of time together. Initially we started playing cards like Rummy, Flash, etc. He, being, a Postgraduate of IIT Bombay, he wanted to do more analysis in Flash. There is a common belief/saying that when there is a bullet or 2 Aces that hand is to lose. Of thousands of rounds we have seen over 300 bullets of which more than 70% of the time it was proved correct. We got bored in card games and analysis and started talking about some subjects of common interest. One day it so happened that he asked me whether I have read Bhagawath Geetha. I told ‘yes.’ I was really ignorant that I thought Bhagawath Geetha is only in Malayalam, and he is being a Maharashtrian with some Kannada background how he knows Geetha.

I have read Geetha but not deeply. In fact, I, at that time, never even knew that it was a part of Mahaa Bhaaratham. As my discussion was not satisfactory, without indicating that I am very ignorant of Geetha, he asked which commentary I have read. I told; I never knew more than One commentary for Geetha. He told me in order to discuss about Geetha I must read at least a few commentaries analytically and then for a better understanding I should read the entire Mahaabhaaratha. He suggested that I have to read Srimad BhagawadGeetha-Rahasya or Karmma-Yoga-Sastra by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He said that it may not be easily available, but we can try and took me to a Book Store in Princes Street, Mumbai where they advertise “If it is in print – We will get it for you.” As expected, it was not available, but we registered for one copy. He asked me to buy The Bhagavad Gita by Annie Besant, Talks on the Gita by Vinoba Bhave, and The Bhagavad Gita by M.K. Gandhi as a preparation to read Geetha-Rahasya by Tilak.

He also explained to me why a student of Gita must read thoroughly Mahaabhaaratha by explaining the meaning of the first Sloka of Gita. He was asking why on the tenth day of the battle after the fall of Bheeshma, Ddhritharaashtra should ask the question what did Kauravaas and Paandavaas do in the Kurukshethra battlefield, that too even after Sanjaya briefed to him what happened in the previous ten days? To get an answer or to make any sense of the question One should read at least the beginning of Bheeshma Parvva, Chapter 1 or the least from the beginning of Bhagawath Geethaa Parvva – Chapter 13 of Bheeshma Parvva-, whereas Gita starts at Chapter 25 of the same Parvva. He insisted that One who wish to study Gita in-depth and exhaustively and understand it fully he should read the entire Mahaabhaaratha with full concentration. Later on, when I read the General Introduction to Bhagawad Geeta by Swami Chinmayananda: ‘…Geeta is an intrinsic part of the entire Mahabharata and the classic would have been a hotch-potch story, without pith and dignity, if Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta was not in it—-and the Geeta would have been a mere philosopher’s riddle-poem without the Mahabharata background. The story and the poem together are an organic whole; each devoid of the other would be ineffectual and empty.”

It is truly MAK who made me to be analytical and critical and made me to read Mahaabhaaratha, which I consider as the greatest achievement of my life.

Thus, MAK is another important inspirational influence for me by being my Guide and Master. My salutation to you, MAK.

V.K. Sivaraman Nair, my maternal uncle, also made it a point to attend the Recital when he comes on vacation as he was deeply interested in Mythologies and Vedhaanthaas. At One time when Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal and Muzhangottuvila were present, he suggested to add Original Sanskrit Slokaas also so that the Author of the Book can get some financial support from the Ministry of Education as Ministry of Education was campaigning to propagate Sanskrit learning all over India. That was also one of the major reasons how this book came out in this form with One side Sanskrit Slokaas and Malayalam Translations on the other side. V.K. Vasudhevan Nair, my younger uncle, who arranged my postgraduate education in Bombay also encouraged me to read Bhagawatham as he wanted to read it in Bombay occasionally.

As mentioned earlier I was reading this Bhaagawatham not only for our monthly recitals but on a daily basis until 1964. But as I went to college I had to discontinue. By beginning of 1990’s our monthly reading continued but due to some inconvenience we had to arrange it at the Aasramam – Sri Neelakanta Theerthapada Ashramam – but continued to with the presence of our family members.

After my father passed away on 18^th November 1994, my mother, V.K. Bhargavi Amma, told me that though we continued to arrange the reading at Aasramam, our family members were unable to attend at times. So, she asked me to take over the monthly reading. I whole heartedly agreed and took the book with Sanskrit and Malayalam here and continued to read it every first Sunday of the Malayalam month. Thus, I am trying to keep up the tradition. Though, there are breaks in some months, I have been continuing the recital for the last quarter century plus. Rather than just a formal reading, I paid more attention and started reading more analytically. This Second edition is with an all-inclusive Introduction by Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal which gave me a lot of logical ideas how to read this book. My indebtedness to Sri. Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal is nothing less than that to Sri. Muzhangottuvila Krishna Pillai Appuppan/Sir, which I am continuing even now though my attention is getting diverted in studying Kannasa Raamaayanam.

My Kochchachan, P. Madhavan Pillai, also regularly attended all monthly recitals. I remember some of the interesting conversations/discussions he used to have with Vidhyananda Theerthapada Swamikal, especially, about Paathaala and about space research, etc. As earth is spherical, for Indians Paathaala can be or is America. Though at that time I did not understand what they are talking about and how does it make sense, later on I was able to figure out the logic behind that. A lot of writings were in the News Papers about Sputnik 1 and Russia’s advancement in Space Research Program. They were comparing it with Thripura, the three flying cities occupied by Asura Thripura and killed by Siva. Also, they were comparing it with Praagjyothisha Palace of Bhauma or Narakaasura because the city was protected by various sources of mystic energy. Two of his friends, Janardhanan Pillai – more regularly – and Bhaskaran – occasionally -, also used to attend and participate in monthly recital. I think Bhasi, Bhaskara Kumar – son of Kochchachan got interest from him and he is also reviewing these commentaries as he is also in the distribution list.

I had visited Muzhangottuvila, the house of Muzhangottuvila Krishna Pillai, a few times regarding this Bhaagawatham. His paternal grandson Mohanan Pillai, who is The Secretary and CEO of Pain & Palliative Care Trust Kollam, was my classmate in High School and a close friend. We sometimes talk about this Bhaagawatham and need to popularize it in Kerala. Recently they started reading the postings in Face Book. His wife Rajalekshmi is reading the Malayalam version at home.

When I started posting this in Face Book, may be because of Muzhangottuvila name, his youngest grandson known by name Muzhangottuvila Gopalakrishna Pillai immediately noticed it and liked the posting. It is his son Dr. Krishna Prasad G took initiative and printed another edition in 2021. I am again so gratified that before completion of my project I got the opportunity to see another edition of this book which was pending for half a century got published. Hope this will reach more Malayalees or Keralites in due course of time.

I have to apologize that I might have omitted out a few of the relevant personalities who might have influenced me in taking interest in reading this book.

As of June 28^th, 2023, I was also able to copy the Sanskrit Slokaas above the transliteration. This is certainly a great achievement as the confusion of convderting the transliteration to greater extent is resolved, of course with the limitation of those can read Sankrit.

I have also included the logic, not all inclusive, used for transliteration in the introduction.

Thus, I am concluding this project with the blessings of Yedhooththama Uththamasloka Vaasudheva Sree Krishna Bhagawaan Who is the Incarnation of The Supreme Soul Lord Sree Vaasudheva Sree Mahaa Vishnu Bhagawaan and with my devotional obeisance and prostration at His Lotus Feet.

Om Shree Krishnaaya Param Brahmane Namah!

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudhevaayah!

Phone: + 1 373 38 87

Transliteration Logics/Norms/Rules