Dabbling in Divinity

Shri Ramajayam !!! Shri Gurubhyo Namah !! Sarga 1 - Hanuman Crossing the Ocean.  5-1-1 (Book 5, Sarga 1 Shloka 1) ततो रावणनीतायाः सीतायाः शत्रुकर्शनः |  इयेष पदमन्वेष्टुं चारणाचरिते पथि || tato rāvaṇanītāyāḥ sītāyāḥ śatrukarśanaḥ |  iyeṣa padamanveṣṭuṃ cāraṇācarite pathi || ravana nitayah - taken away by ravana, sitayaha - Sita. shatrukarshana - destroyer of enemies, iyesha - to desire padham - the place anveshan - search chaarana - celestials charithe pathi - path they walk.  After that [sic] Hanuman wanted to travel in the skies to look for Sita who was taken away by Ravana.   5-1-2 दुष्करं निष्प्रतिद्वन्द्वं चिकीर्षन् कर्म वानरः |  समुदग्रशिरोग्रीवो गवांपतिरिवाबभौ || duṣkaraṃ niṣpratidvandvaṃ cikīrṣan karma vānaraḥ |  samudagraśirogrīvo gavāṃpatirivābabhau || dushkaram - impossible task nis-pratidvandvam - without-obstacle/opposition cikirshna karma - to perform vanarah - the monkey samudagra - raised shiro - head grivo - neck, gavampati (gau +...

!!!!Shri Ramajayam!!!! Recently I have started to learn the Sundarakaandam (sundara khaand) sanskrit version through a Guru along with a few of my friends. It's an epic journey and will take me years to even understand. As I work my way through this masterpiece I have decided to try and at least decipher some of the meanings of the shlokas to get a better sense of what I am learning to chant.  Sundarakaandam has a special place for me since I have seen and heard my paati read it during my childhood days. It is worthy to note that my maternal grandmother Kamala paati was the one who told me the story of ramayana when I was merely 3 or 4 yrs old. She had a knack of story telling that made it really enjoyable and she used to tell me these stories while putting me to sleep. It is unfortunate that none of my kids' grandparents have kept up with this. One day in (not so far off) future when I become a grandma I hope I get the opportunity to share Indian mythological stories with my g...