August 2017 archive

Sa satya vachanāccaiva dharmapāśena saṃyataḥ

Vivāsayāmāsa sutaṃ rāmam daśarathaḥ priyam.

Meaning- With the intent that truthfulness should rule, King Dasharatha was tied down by the noose called dharma (righteousness). With a heavy heart he sent his dearest son Rama into exile.

Dasharatha, who was aghast on hearing these cruel words from Kaikeyi’s mouth, trembled profusely and lost consciousness. There were no words to describe his agony. He regained his consciousness a little while later and wept piteously, “O cruel woman of wicked conduct. Do you seek to annihilate my family? What harm has Rama done to you? Rama has always loved you more than his own mother. Yet you are being unjust to him. O demoness! he always serves you first and only then attends to his own mother. You too cannot live even for a moment without him. You would always leave your own son and choose to carry Rama when he was little. Now why are you behaving in this manner? Who has taught you all this? Who has fed you all this? What a fool am I! I brought a poisonous snake and was lovingly feeding it all these years and now I have brought about my own self-destruction”.

After this outburst, Dasharatha pleaded with her in many more ways. He said, “I beg of you, my dearest wife. Choose any other boon apart from this. I plead you. I will grant you any other desire apart from this one. If you persist, Bharata will be made the king of this land. But please do not abandon Rama. I cannot imagine sending him away to the forest for so long. I cannot even live for a moment without seeing him”.

Dasharatha thus begged of her. He even touched her feet and prayed. The more he pleaded, the more defiant Kaikeyi was. She kicked him with her feet. Fiercely and ruthlessly she said, “O valiant king. Earlier, you had given me the choice of boons and had promised to fulfill them when I sought.  Now, a little while earlier, you have taken an oath as well. Having done so, now you seek to go back on your promise. You are grieving now because you have to fulfill your promise. How can you be called truthful? You are a disgrace to the clan of Ikshvaaku. What dharma is it to break one’s promise?

Let me warn you- if you go against your promise and appoint Rama as the king, then I shall consume poison then and there in your presence. How can I bear to see Koushalya being called Raaja-maata (queen mother)? If not now, then when else will I get that title? O king, I had pinned great hopes on Bharata. I want to see Rama leaving for the forest. Only that will give me peace. I will not accept any other boon in its place”.

Dasharatha felt as if he was struck by a thunderbolt. In great agony, he lay weeping. Such was his pain that he could not even move his lips or open his eyes. After a while, with great difficulty, he said, “Kaikeyi, I cannot live without Rama. Lakshmana cannot remain separated from Rama even for a little while. Rama and Lakshmana are one soul in two bodies.

Lakshmana loves Rama more dearly than either you or I do. If Lakshmana is pained, then naturally Sumitra, his mother, will grieve. Through this desire of yours, you are causing grief to each and every one of us. Please re-think. The entire kingdom will be rendered sorrowful. They will say that for the sake of a woman the king has deserted his own son and sent him away to the forests. What do you know of Rama? The moment he hears that he has to leave for the forests, he will do so. He will not even wait to find the reason behind this decision. How I wish Rama would go against my decision”.

‘Kaikeyi, you are hell-bent upon tormenting me. Do you know that the entire kingdom will become chaotic with Rama’s absence? Whom will Bharata rule? Kaikeyi, you are a goddess. Kindly shower your blessings upon me. Grant my wish. Let Rama remain here itself. I will once again hold your feet.” Dasharatha tried to hold on to her feet, but then before he could reach her feet, he sank and fell down like an ailing man.

The whole night Kaikeyi adamantly continued to torment and pierce him with harsh words. She preached about adherence to truthfulness. She continued, “O King! All of you from the Ikshvaaku dynasty are said to be eternally truthful. You take great pride in this. You are all extremely righteous. How can you now go against it?’

Dasharatha wriggled in pain upon hearing these words. The rope called dharma and the vow called truthfulness bound him tightly. In anguish he lay down, agitated, helpless and pale. He choked. People despair when they fail to have a darshan of Rama. Then what would be the feelings of a father who was being forced to send away his son into the forests?

Om Seeta Ramabhayaam namaha.

Yourājyena saṃyoktuṃ aicchatprītyā mahīpatiḥ

Tasyābhiṣeka-sambhārān dŗṣṭtvābhāryā tha Kaikekī.

Poorvaṃ dattavarā devī vara mena mayācata

Vivāsanaṃ ca rāmasya bharatasyābhiṣecanaṃ. 

Meaning- Kaikeyi, one of the wives of Dasharatha, noticed the arrangements for the coronation ceremony of Rama. She reminded Dasharatha of the two boons he had earlier promised her. She sought that Rama should be sent into exile and Bharata be crowned as the king.

After hearing the words of the assembled ministers, Dasharatha sought that the arrangements for the coronation ceremony should forthwith begin. Upon the request of the king, Maharishis Vashistha and Vamadeva asked the officers to arrange in the sacred fire-house, the floral garlands, golden pots, honey, ghee (clarified butter) and various other auspicious items essential for completing the coronation procedure. Suitable seating arrangements were being made for everyone who attended the function. The palace as well as the entire city was to be decorated in a befitting manner. The officers set off to duly complete all the tasks allotted to them for the coronation function that was to be held early next morning.

Dasharatha now called minister Sumantra and asked him to fetch Rama to the assembly, in a chariot. As directed by the king, Sumantra went and brought Rama. Upon arriving into the courtroom, Rama paid his respectful obeisances to all those assembled there. Dasharatha smilingly said, “Rama, the citizens cherish that you should be appointed as their crown-prince. You should from now on, understand their mind and rule accordingly in a righteous manner”.

This news was immediately carried to Mother Koushalya, who in uncontrollable delight, gifted cows, gold and other precious stones to all those who brought her this good news. The entire city of Ayodhya rejoiced.

The loud cheering of the people and the resonance created by the rejoicing people fell into the ears of Manthara, one of the maids of Queen Kaikeyi. She quickly went up to the terrace and witnessed the happenings. She understood the reason behind the merriment of the people. She was saddened. In uncontrollable grief, quickly she alighted the stairs and ran to Kaikeyi with this news.

She had not even completed the sentence, when in total happiness, Kaikeyi took off her jewel and placed it in Manthara’s hand. After all, Kaikeyi loved Rama dearly. She was so gladdened by this news. Kaikeyi said to Manthara, ‘Raame vaa bharate vaaham vishesham nopalakshaye’. Which means, “I do not see any difference between Bharata and Rama. That is why, I am very happy that Rama is being appointed as the crown prince”.

Manthara in great anger threw away the ornament that Kaikeyi had given her and in great distress spoke unholy words and poisoned the mind of Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi’s mind, fully poisoned, now yielded to the words of Manthara. Kaikeyi now began to worry about her future as well as for the future of her son Bharata. She feared that she would be reduced into an attendant for Queen Koushalya, whose son Rama would be the future king. Due to this fear, she now sought Manthara’s advice.

The cunning Manthara said, “Please recollect that long back the King had given you two boons. It is time to seek them. As the first boon, you ask for Rama to be exiled for 14 years.  The second boon should be that Bharata should be crowned as the king of this land”.

Kaikeyi, whose mind was now totally poisoned, loved both these ideas. Immediately she wore soiled clothes, threw away her jewellery and went into the shoka gruha (house of wrath/sorrow). She pretended to be in deep sorrow. Manthara was thrilled that her plans were about to succeed.

Dasharatha arrived at Kaikeyi’s palace to inform her of the auspicious developments. He was puzzled at not finding her in her chambers. When he heard that she was in the shoka gruha, he was shaken up and tormented.  He sat in the shoka gruha and wiped away her tears. In various ways he tried to console her- “What is bothering you, dear? Tell me. Who has disrespected you? Tell me what you desire. I promise to fulfill all that you seek. I take an oath on Rama, who is the most dear to me, that I shall fulfill your desire”.

At this, Kaikeyi said harshly, “O King, do you remember that earlier you have promised me two boons? Please recollect your promise and fulfill those two boons now. I seek that Rama should go into exile for 14 years. This is the first boon. Bharata should be crowned the king. This is the second boon. A few minutes earlier you have taken an oath that you would fulfill my wishes. To fulfill the promise is now your duty. After all, people of Ikshvaaku dynasty are known to abide by their promises. Only he who abides by his promise is entitled to the luxuries of this world and the next.”

Om Seeta ramabhyaam namaha.

Jyeṣṭtaṃśreṣṭha-guṇairyuktaṃ priyaṃ daśarathassutam

Prakŗtīnām hitairyuktaṃ prakŗti priyakāmyayā

Meaning- With a view that all citizens of Ayodhya should benefit, King Dasharatha sought to appoint Rama, his eldest born, who was an embodiment of all virtues, who at all times sought the welfare of his citizens and who was very dear to him, as the crown-prince.

With his abundant good traits, Rama was just like a garden replete with every variety of flower and fruit trees, each of which is completely laden with fruits ready for consumption. A person entering the garden can choose any fruit or flower based on his desire/need. Such garden has the capacity to satiate the hunger of all the beings in totality and thus is useful to the society. Likewise, Rama possessed every good trait, each in a permanent and completely ripened state, and thus was truly useful to everyone.

There is another speciality here. Similar to the Kalyana gunas (16 auspicious traits) of Paramatma, Rama has in Him every auspicious trait. As fragrance naturally exists in a flower, all the good and auspicious traits existed inherently in Rama.

A tree bears flowers or fruits purely with the intention of serving others (paropakara).  Likewise, the good traits in Rama were purely for the benefit of others. Every person who sought shelter in Him, benefited from Him.

Due to the prowess and might possessed by Rama, He became innately capable of protecting all citizens of the land. Such a person is truly deserving of being crowned the king. Such a person has in him the capacity to handle the responsibilities and the pressures of a ruler.

Amongst the 4 sons of Dasharatha, Rama was the eldest. Added to this, all the traits required for handling the responsibilities of kingship existed within him. He was a master in the Kshatriya techniques of sama, dana, bheda and danda (these were the 4 prevalent ways of dealing with opponents). In addition, he was well versed in the knowledge of Sandhi, Vigraha, Yaana, Asana, Dvaidhibhava and Samashraya. (These can be commonly understood to mean 6 techniques of foreign policy). Just as there are 8 fold steps in yoga (ashtanga yoga), there are 6 techniques that are essential for safeguarding the kingdom. Only a ruler had a complete knowledge of these techniques.

Dasharatha was aware of the depth of knowledge and expertise possessed by Rama. Therefore, he was inclined towards appointing him as the crown prince. With this idea in mind, he sought to find out the opinion of the citizens. Dasharatha was greatly pleased to know that the citizens held Rama in high esteem and that they loved him very dearly. He also understood that Rama in turn loved his people very deeply. There was not even one person in the entire kingdom who disliked Rama. In fact, they were eagerly awaiting the day when Rama would begin to rule. This news brought great happiness to Dasharatha.

To fulfill the desires of the citizens is the responsibility of the king. Nevertheless, to be appointed a ruler, just obtaining the appreciation of the citizens is in itself inadequate. One should have earned the appreciation of even the ministers. Only then can the person be truly eligible for the post.

Rama’s speciality was that the persons surrounding him appeared like Him. It means that all the persons who mingled with him absorbed his good traits. This was the speciality of Rama Rajya. It is said that any person who entered his kingdom automatically acquired good traits. Here, in this instance, the ministers themselves were praying that Rama should be appointed as the king.

Rama was ignorant of all these developments. He had never craved to be appointed as the king of the land. In his eyes, His position remained the same whether he was appointed a king or not.

Only he who entertains desires is affected by its outcome. Such a person grieves when his desire is unfulfilled. To one who is unattached and who has no desires, how can there be grief due to non-fulfillment of desires? 

One day, seated in his court, Dasharatha expressed his desire and sought the opinion of all the ministers. The ministers were overjoyed upon hearing these words from the King and unanimously and happily they gave their consent. They praised Rama profusely.

Om Seeta Ramabhyaam namaha.

Rama, the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu, calmly he heard all that was said so far.  He replied, “I have heard a lot about you in the past. For no apparent reason you are demeaning and insulting me and are asking me to prove my prowess as though I am timid and incapable to handle the bow. Never mind. See for yourself my power and might”.

Saying so, Rama forcefully seized the bow as well as the arrows from Parashurama. Effortlessly he bent the bow and tied its string. He positioned the arrow in the readied bow and in a firm voice, challenged Paraśurama, “O Bhargava Rama, you are a Brahmin by birth. Moreover, you are a relative of Vishwamitra. Hence I do not seek to destroy you with my arrows. Yet, at the same time, the arrow that has once been fixed to the string has to be released. Hence let me know, what should I destroy? Should I take away the speed of your movement (motility) or shall I eliminate those unparalleled realms of heavens that you have earned due to the power of your penance?  I leave the choice to you”.

At that minute, all the worlds became insentient. Silence prevailed everywhere. In astonishment, the celestials seated in heaven were witnessing the event. Parashurama lost his sheen and his vitality. In fact, he trembled profusely. He politely said, “Rama, it is already getting dark. I have to reach my residence Mahendragiri immediately. Hence do not take away the speed of my movement. If you desire, you can take away all my punya lokas (unparalleled realms of heaven) that I have earned through penance”.

The next second Rama let out his arrow and did so accordingly. Parashurama circumambulated around Rama and left for Mahendragiri.

The darkness disappeared. The surroundings were once again rendered calm and peaceful. The Devatas glorified Rama in many ways.  Rama handed over that bow and arrows to Lord Varuna and paid obeisance to all the great sages there. Everyone was pleased and they praised Rama in many ways.

The marriage party reached Ayodhya. All the citizens welcomed them joyously. There were celebrations in the city. The queen mothers Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra warmly welcomed their daughters-in-law and took them into their respective palaces. In addition, they also gave away many items in charity to the Brahmins.

After some days, Dasharatha called Bharata and said, “Your grandfather wants to see you. Go with your maternal uncle Yudhaajit, who has come to take you. Your grandfather will be pleased”. Bharata took Shatrughna along with him when he left for his grandfather’s house.

Rama and Lakshmana remained in Ayodhya serving their father. In accordance with the wishes of his father, Rama occupied himself in the matters pertaining to the welfare of the kingdom. He redressed the grievances of the citizens.

Rama and Sita were living harmoniously. With Sita by his side, Rama was glowing like Maha Vishnu who glows radiantly when Goddess Lakshmi is by his side.

With this, the Bala Kanda of Ramayana comes to an end.

Om Seeta Ramabhyaam namaha.  Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama

The marriage party was calmly proceeding towards Ayodhya. The trees and the woods were all unruffled and peaceful. There was great merriment in the hearts of everyone. From here begin the plays (leelas) of Rama.

All of a sudden, many evil omens became visible. The birds began to shriek horrendously. Normally, when the deer are grazing peacefully in the forest and if suddenly a wild animal were to approach the precincts, the birds begin to chirp loudly and differently. Whether they do so to warn the deer or out of fear is unknown but what is known is that suddenly a disturbance is caused in the otherwise peaceful surroundings. In the similar manner, the sudden frightful shrieking of the birds brought about a grave apprehension in the minds of all.

To add to this, sudden powerful and strong winds that had the capacity to shake up the entire earth began to blow. Huge trees came crashing down to earth.  A huge screen of dust covered everything. The next instant darkness enveloped the earth. Unable to withstand this fury of nature, Dasaratha’s entire army was scattered. Almost everyone swooned. Barring the great sages, the 4 brothers and their father everyone else was nervous. Unable to even move, they were helplessly standing.

Why were ill omens being heard at an auspicious hour? They had left Mithila at an auspicious hour and the newly weds were still in their marriage attire. Could it be that some demons were coming to attack them, they wondered.

All of a sudden, from that impenetrable darkness, a bright illumination like the pralaya kalagni (the huge fire at the time of dissolution) was visible. A person as huge as the Mount Kailasa was approaching them. He had large curly locks. From his shoulders a huge axe was hanging. The arrows in his hand were glittering like lightening. He was holding an enormous bow. He was none other than Parashurama!

Seeing him, the sages were dismayed. ‘O God, why did he arrive at such auspicious time’ they thought. To be quiet was meaningless at that point of time. It would not solve the problem on hand. Hence all the sages reverentially worshipped him.

Parashurama however behaved as if they were nonexistent. His gaze was entirely focused on Dasharatha’s son Rama. Addressing Rama, he shouted, “Rama, I have heard a lot about your prowess. I have come here solely to see you. I have with me a mighty bow that belonged to my father, Sage Jamadagni. If you can hold my bow and string it, only then I shall accept your greatness. I seek to combat with you.”

Dasharatha was totally perturbed. Joining his hands, he appealed to Parashurama in various ways, trying to secure the safety of his son, but it was of no avail. Parashurama was undaunted and without even caring for the pleas of the emperor, he continued to address Rama, and said, “Rama, the bow that you broke and this bow that I hold are equally mighty. Vishwakarma created both of them. Of the two bows, one was given to Shiva for the destruction of the demon Tripurasura. The second bow was handed over to Lord Vishnu. That which you broke was Shiva’s bow. That which I hold is Vishnu’s bow.

This mighty bow was given to my ancestor Sage Ruchika. Thereafter my father the revered Sage Jamadagni had it in his possession. He was a great sage. Kartaviryarjuna mercilessly killed my revered father. In uncontrollable anger, I went around the globe and killed all kshatriyas (warrior clan). I conquered the entire earth. Thereafter I gifted away this entire earth to Maharishi Kashyapa.

While I was seated in Mountain Mahendra in penance, I came to know of you. I heard that you had broken the Shiva’s bow. If you are a true Kshatriya (warrior), take this bow and string it. Come and battle with me”. Parashurama thus commanded Rama.

Om Seeta Ramaabhyaam namaha.