[Advaita-l] मदालसायाः आलोलिका (स्वापिका) (The Lullaby of Queen Madalasa)

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Sreeramji - My PraNams

Beautiful. With your permission I would like post in facebook.

Just curious - is this episode from Yoga vaashiShta? There there is a story that the queen later initiates her husband. We have husband teaching wife as in Maitreyee brahmana. Here it is the other way. 

Hari Om!
Sada

--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 3/2/16, Venkata sriram P via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

 Subject: [Advaita-l] मदालसायाः आलोलिका (स्वापिका) (The Lullaby of Queen Madalasa)
 To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
 Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 2:01 PM
 
 नमस्ते,
 
 In ब्रह्माण्डपुराणं, there
 is a beautiful episode called “
 मदालसोपाख्यानम्” 
 (the Madalasa Upakhyana) that details how a King named
 कुवलयाश्व (ऋतध्वजः)
 [ KuvalayAswa (also Ritadhwaja)] married a great
 ब्रह्मवादिनी   
 who was also the queen by name मदालसा 
 (Madalasa).
 
 The king demonstrates great prowess in order to marry and 
 finally gets the hand of the great queen Madalasa.  The
 couple, 
 in due course of time give birth to 4 sons namely (1)
 Vikranta (विक्रान्त) 
 (2) Subahu (सुबाहु)  (3) Shatrumardana
 (शत्रुमर्दन) (4) Alarka
 (अलर्क),  
 respectively. 
 
 When the first 3 sons were born, the names for them were 
 selected and fixed by King himself. The King chose the 
 names very selectively by considering the meanings and
 assigning those attributes to his sons. For instance, the
 name 
 “Vikranta” meant “One who posses great valour and
 courage; 
 “Subahu” meant “One who posses powerful and beautiful
 hands 
 and shoulders; “Shatrumardana” meant “One who conquers
 his enemies”. 
 
 When King used to select the names, the Queen Madalasa 
 used to laugh at the King’s choosy naming method. 
 Thus, when 
 4th son was born, the King asked Madalasa to select a good 
 name for her son as every time she was laughing at his
 selection of names. 
 Thus, she named her 4th Son as “ALARKA”
 (अलर्क) and chanted the
  benedictory verse “चिरं जीवतु
 धर्मात्मा”” (Long Live by observing
 righteousness). 
 The King was aghast at this name of his 4th son because the
 meaning of the 
 name “Alarka” meant “Mad Dog”. He was dismayed at
 the naming of 
 his beloved 4th son because the names of his first 3 three
 sons 
 were very beautiful and meaningful.  
 
 Meanwhile, at the birth of their every son (first three of
 them), 
 Queen Madalasa used to put them (Vikranta, Subahu,
 Shatrumardana) 
 in cradle and used to sing a Lullaby when they cried. 
 While rocking the cradle, 
 the Queen Madalasa used to sing a Lullaby that was pregnant
 with 
 “vedantic teaching”.  Right from the infancy, she
 induced “Atma Jnana” in
  the form of the Lullaby.  Thus, all the three sons
 became self-realized 
 with the power of their mother’s Lullaby and lost interest
 in ruling the kingdom.  
 Thus, all three retired to forest for performing tapas. 
 
 The Lullaby Song of Queen Madalasa, thus came to be known as
 
 “మదాలస జోలపాట” in Telugu. 
 Thus, it can be concluded that the parents, 
 especially, the mother can influence her child directly. The
 episode of 
 Queen Madalasa stands testimony to the fact that “Mother
 is the First Teacher” 
 at home and every mother should strive to become one like
 Queen Madalasa 
 who had sown the seeds of spiritual knowledge to their
 children right from
 infancy itself in the form of Lullaby every night. 
 
 For the benefit of the readers, I am presenting that Lullaby
 in
 the form of 8 slokas.   
 
 //////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 शुद्धोऽसि रे बाल न
 तेऽस्ति नाम कृतं हि वै
 तत कल्पनयाधुनैव ।
 पञ्चात्मकं देहमिदं न
 तेऽस्ति त्वं वास्य रे
 रोदिषि कस्य हेतोः ॥ (१)
 
 O  Child ! For what reason you are crying? Don’t cry.
 Thou Art ever Pure and 
 Eternal, devoid of Names and Forms. You are the form of
 Bliss, 
 untouched by Sorrow.  You have superimposed the sorrow
 upon yourself
 and owing to ignorance, are wailing.   The
 sorrow arose owing to the
 false identity with body and hence experiencing sorrow which
 is
 the cause of your cry.  Since, Thou Art Existence,
 Knowledge, Bliss 
 Absolute and not the body consisting of 5 elements, 
 where is the point in crying.  All these names and
 forms are ephemeral 
 and are imaginary. .  So, don’t cry.
 
 न वै भवान रोदिति
 विश्वजन्मा
 शब्दोऽयमासाद्य
 महीसमूहम ।
 विकल्प्यमानो
 विविधैर्गुणार्थैः
 गुणाश्च भूताः
 सकलेन्द्रियेषु ॥ (२)
 
 Don’t Cry ! Thou Art Ishwara – the Creator and Lord of
 the Universe.   
 As the creation is a “vikalpa” born out of ignorance, 
 where is the point in wailing and crying?  Hence,
 don’t cry.
 
 भूतानि भूतोपरि
 दुर्बलानि वृद्धिं
 समायान्ति तथेह पुंसाम
 ।
 अन्नाम्बुदानादिभिरेककस्य
 न तेऽस्ति वृद्धिर्न च
 तेऽस्ति हानिः ॥ (३)
 
 Just as the gross elements with combination among
 themselves,
 is subjected to increase (वृद्धि) and decrease
 (क्षय), 
 similarly, this body, made of gross elements, too, is 
 subjected to change and decay.  The Inner Self (Atman)
 is 
 beyond these attributes, untouched.  And, Thou Art
 That.  
 Hence, don’t cry.
 
 त्वं कञ्चुके सज्यमानो
 निजेस्मिन्नस्मिंश्च
 देहे मूढतां न व्रजेथाः
 ।
 शुभाशुभैः
 कर्मभिर्देहमेनं
 मदाभिमूढैः
 कञ्चुकेऽस्मिन्पिनद्धः
 ॥ (४)
 
 Thou, having worn this armor called “body”, becoming
 deluded, 
 are identifying with it.  Thou Art the Witness but out
 of ignorance 
 and under the influence of “I-ness” and “My-ness”
 are 
 trapped in the meshes of samsAra.  
 Hence, don’t cry.
 
 तातेति
 किञ्चित्तनयेति
 किञ्चित अम्बेति
 किञ्चिदपितेति
 किञ्चित ।
 तवेति किञ्चिन्न ममेति
 किञ्चिद्भौतेषु सर्वं
 मुहुरालयेथाः ॥ (५)
 
 By getting entangled in the mesh of Ignorance called
 samsAra,
 this “body” is identified sometimes with father,
 sometimes with son, 
 sometimes with mother, sometimes with brother, sometimes as
 a 
 relative, as a friend as a foe etc. in several births down
 the line. 
 All these are due to false identity of attachment with the 
 body owing to Ignorance.  This ignorance is due to
 non-awareness 
 of the identity with the Supreme Innermost Self which is of
 the form of Bliss.
 
 दुःखञ्च दुःखोपशमं
 शमाय भोगाय जानाति
 विमूढचेताः ।
 तान्येव दुःखानि पुनः
 सुखानि जानाति
 विद्वानविमूढचेताः ॥
 (६)
 
 In order to do away with sorrows, the ignorant fool runs
 after 
 momentary pleasures.  The intelligent, having endowed
 with 
 power of discrimination, would strive to do away with 
 both pleasures and pains.  For him, just as pain is an
 obstruction, 
 so as the pleasure.  Such a person is called
 “vidvAn”.  
 Thou Art That.  Hence, don’t cry.
 
 सहोत्थितं
 दर्शनमक्षियुग्मं
 अत्युज्ज्वलं
 तत्कलुषं वसायाः ।
 कुचोऽति पीनं पिशितं
 घनं तत्स्थानं ततः
 किन्नरकं न योषित ॥ (७)
 
 Upon careful observation of the anatomy of a woman, one
 comes
 to the conclusion that it is made up of flesh.  Not
 knowing this,
 the deluded men run after them and thus, thus, end up in 
 getting entangled in pain and  cycle of birth and
 death.
 
 यानं क्षितौ यानगतं च
 देहं देहेऽपिचान्यः
 पुरुषो निविष्टः ।
 ममत्वमथ्याॅन्न तथा
 यथा स्वे
 देहेऽतिमात्रं च न
 मूढतैषा ॥ (८)
 
 On this earth, take birth several bodies endowed
 upAdhis.  
 These are subjected to change (called yAna) (यान).
 But, there is a 
 Supreme Self called “Purusha” who is seated inside the
 body
 who is Eternal and Witness.  Thou Art That, O
 Child!  Don’t identify 
 yourself with the yAna but Thou Art that Supreme
 Purusha.  
 Hence, don’t cry.
 
 Note: समानेप्यभिमानविषये
 देहे एव दृढं अभिमानं
 कुर्वन्नति मूढ इत्याह
 यानं इति 
 (ie., the Jiva abhimana is called yAna)
 
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 Thus, everyday, the Queen Madalasa used to sing the above
 Lullaby.  
 In no time, her first 3 children namely (1) Vikranta
 (विक्रान्त) (2) Subahu
 (सुबाहु)  
 (3) Shatrumardana (शत्रुमर्दन) got
 vairAgya, left the kingdom and 
 went to forest for performing severe penance. 
 
 Hence, the King Kuvalayaswa got annoyed and tell his 
 queen not make the 4th son Alarka (अलर्क)  a
 virakta.  
 Accordingly, Alarka was initiated into pravrutti-mArga by
 his mother madAlasa. 
 Later, with the grace of jagatguru dattAtrEya, the 4th one
 also gets the 
 brahma-jnAna.
 
 Dedicating this mail to all those glorious mothers.
 
 सस्नेहम्
 श्रीराम 
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