Evening brings on the rush hour, and traffic chokes the Capital’s roads. At Shree Ma Anandamayee Ashram, though, evening brings on a heightened peace. As dusk turns to darkness a conch shell sounds. “A wonderful instrument,” remarks a guest at the spiritual centre. “It gives the primordial sound Om, or Amin, or Amen.” This is no ordinary visitor speaking of cultures of the world. It is Padmanabhadasa Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the titular ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in present-day Kerala.
The Maharajas may have been commoners ever since Travancore acceded to the Indian Union in 1949, but some traditions remain sacrosanct. The members of the royal family are still named after the star of their birth (in this Maharaja’s case, Uthradom) and held in high social esteem. They also retain their responsibilities of supporting art and culture. It is one such responsibility that has brought the venerable royal to Delhi, where he prefers to lodge at the Ashram rather than a hotel. He has recently come out with a translation of the Thousand Names of Vishnu (Vishnusahasranama) with commentary. The book, “Samarpanam”, published by Konark, was released in New Delhi the other day by eminent scholar and President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Dr. Karan Singh.
Craving peace
The maharajas of Travancore have prefixed ‘Padmanabhadasa’ (Servant of Padmanabha) to their names since the mid-18th Century, when they became regents for Lord Vishnu or Padmanabhaswami, as the deity of the famous temple at Thiruvananthapuram is known.
Today people crave peace but run short of time and discipline when it comes to rituals like chanting a thousand names. “That’s why they don’t get peace,” he says simply. His own family has maintained discipline for generations. “In spite of all turmoil we’ve kept up our heritage. We change but we don’t change beyond a certain limit,” he explains. An example of change without clash is his hobby of photography, through which he has accumulated over 8000 negatives.
“We’ve all been vegetarian. No drink, no smoking, no eggs. And I don’t drink tea or coffee. I am 88 years young!”
“Samarpanam” is a painstaking compilation. Besides a name-by-name translation, it also contains analyses, such as names occurring twice, thrice and four times with different shades of meaning. A highlight is his commentary, with references to the Gita, the Vedas, as also commentaries of Sankaracharya and Sri Parasara. The work also contains an appendix featuring a lesser known Vishnusahasranamam found in the Garuda Purana. “It took me four years to make the book. Because I shouldn’t make a mistake,” says the unassuming scholar.
That Indians are “somewhat derisive” about their own culture today makes him sad. “Trishanku swargam, that’s what we are in today,” he notes, referring to Rishi Vishwamitra’s adamantly created paradise in limbo — neither heaven nor earth. See how many of the discoveries mentioned in our ancient scriptures like air travel, interplanetary communication, were later corroborated by science, he points out. Yet today this phenomenon is being acknowledged. “After acknowledging, they don’t have any information to feed them,” he retorts. However, he adds, “Now it’s a matter of joy that people are taking interest in Indian culture.”
