VALMIKI RAMAYANA

 

                                            By Dr. Saroja Ramanujam, M.A.,Ph.D  , siromani

                                        

                                           Balakanda

 

 

 

1-THE BIRTH OF THE EPIC

 

            Valmiki Ramayana, as the name indicates, was written by sage Valmiki. It is called Aadhi kavya because it was the first work in the form of Kavya. Before Valmiki's time even though sloka form existed there was no epic poem as such. In fact the lakshana, definition and characteristics of kavya given by vyasa later, was based only on Ramayana  
            The circumstance connected with the composing of Ramayana by Valmiki is interesting. The story goes that it was Sage Narada who told Valmiki about Rama. It was also Narada who was instrumental in the transformation of Valmiki into a sage from a hunter. .
            Valmiki once asked Narada, who came to see him in his asram, 'NARADHAM PARIPAPRACHCHA VALMIKIRMUNIPUNGAVAM,' that who among men possessed the best qualities and also most valiant .'KONVASMIN SAAMPRADHAAM LOKE GUNAVAAN KASCHA VIRYAVAAN?'
Here the word used for asking is 'paripaprachcha' which means 'to ask' with genuine interest with full faith in the guru. In Gita Krishna tells Arjuna, 'thadvidhdhi pranipaathena pariprasnena sevaya,know the truth by repeated asking with faith and humility.'
            Valmiki lists the qualities of the man he is seeking as gunavan, virtuous, viryavan, powerful, dharmajna, knower of dharma, krthajna, knows how to show gratitude, satyavaakyah, truthful in word, dhrdavrathah, firm in resolve, chaarithrena yukthah, righteous, sarvabhootheshu hithah, benefactor of all beings, vidvan, learned, samarthah, skilful in applying his reasoning, aathmavan, selfcontrolled, jithkrodhah, conquered anger, dhyuthiman, lustrous, anasooyakah, one who never finds fault with others and finally who is the most formidable as a foe whom even devas will fear 'kasya bhibhyathi devascha jaathroshasya samyuge.'
            Narada replied relating him the story of Rama in short. The words of Narada here is known as samkshepa Ramayana reciting which, is supposed to give the same result as in reciting the whole Ramayana

            Valmiki, when he was going to the Thamasa river, saw two krouncha birds happily chirping together and his heart was filled with joy on seeing them At that instant an arrow came and struck the male bird which fell down dead. This pained the sage and seeing the hunter who did this he said,
Maa nishaadha prathishtaam thvam aganmah ssaasvatheessamaah
yathkrounchmithunaadhekam avadheeh kaamamohitham
This means, 'Oh hunter, you will not get peace or rest forever since you have killed one of the two krouncha birds who were in love.'

            The next moment his heart was filled with remorse, being saathvik by nature, and he relented thinking that he had no right to curse the hunter. But to his surprise the words of the curse formed a sloka, the metre and rhythm of which surprised him. To Valmiki in meditation later, appeared Brahma and told him that the whole thing was the leela of the Lord. From his shoka of seeing the bird killed has sprung a sloka. And he said that Valmiki should relate the story of Rama in the same metre and rhythm and gave him the vision to see the events of the life of Rama as though it was happening in front of his eyes Valmiki repeated the sloka to fix his mind on its construction and composed Ramayana. Thus came the great epic Ramayana into being.

            This sloka has been interpreted by the learned acharyas to be the mangalasloka of Ramayana itself. Maa nishaadha means the resort of Lakshmi, that is the Lord Vishnu. 'Maa,' the negative particle being removed and taken in the sense of Lakshmi as she is called 'maa', the words 'maa prathishtaam thvam agamah ' becomes 'prathishtaam thvam agamah, you will be established in the hearts of all for saasvatheessamaah long time to come.'Yath krouncha mithunaadhekam avadheeh kaamamohitham' the gives the meaning, "As you have killed the lustful one of the couple, Ravana and Mandodhari.' The word krouncha also means Rakshasa. Thus the curse itself being the leela of the Lord, became a benediction. Such is the richness of the sanskrit language.

            Valmiki  composed the whole Ramayana, seeing with the divine vision given by Brahma everything  that happened in the life of Rama and when he was contemplating as to whom should he teach this to spread it in the world, the boys Lava and Kusa came and prostrated before him. Valmiki considered their merirs and decided to teach them the epic. They were raajaputrou, princes, dharmajnou , knew dharma, yasasvinou, already gained reputation as well learned, bratharou, brothers and aasramavaasinou, resided there in the asrama and more than anything else svarasampannou, they possessed sweet and resonant voice.

             In olden days all the learning were oral only and the students committed to memory what they have learnt by reciting them every day. The  chanting of the Vedas required a good voice and pronunciation as the  intonation is very important in veda because the wrong accent will change the entire meaning. The mantra ‘indrassatruh,’  pronounced by Tvashta who wanted to create a son to kill Indra by wrong accent  made Indra the killer of vrthrasura instead of vice versa.

            Then the merit of the kavya itself is extolled as ‘seethaayaah charitham mahat’ The word Ramayana means Rama is described by this work, Raamah ashayathe anena, but  it is the great story of Seetha. Ramayana is called ‘sharanaagathi shaastra’ by Vaishnava Acharyas because it tells about the efficacy of surrendering to the Lord.  Raama specifies  in yudhdhakaanda that it is his vow to give surrender to anyone who takes refuge in him even once but he protected only those who surrendered like Kakasura and Vibheeshana. .But Seetha  went one step ahead of him because she gave refuge even to those who oppressed her like the rakshasis in Ashokavana  when Hanuman wanted to kill them after the war, saying the famous and oft quoted words, ‘na kaschit naaparaadhyathi,’ “is there anyone who is faultless?”   That is why the epic is called Seethaayaah charitham mahat   

            Kusa and Lava sang the epic in the presence of the sages and went on singing in all places and reached Ayodhya. All who heard it were very much impressed not only with the richness of the  kavya but also about the skill of the singers.

            The slokas of Ramayana are sweet sounding and render themselves beautifully to music. The  kavya is rich in sentiments, the navarasa. The singers were proficient in music as well as in expression, bhava. Besides they were handsome  with their resemblance to their father Srirama. When they sang in front of Rama he praised them and took them to his yagasala and asked  everybody to hear them.

            Then starts the Ramayana as sung by Kusa and Lava

2-  DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND OF KOSALA AND AYODHYA.

            Valmiki briefly mentions the greatness of  .the line of Ikshvaku and  says that the epic  came into being through the grace of Brahma, and he is only making it known to the world as it contains the three purushaarthas, namely dharma, artha and kama,  which subsequently lead to the fourth, Moksha.  Valmiki then  entreats the listener to hear it with sradhdha, faith and without asooya, cavil.

            Every literary work must satisfy four requisites, namely, vishaya, subject matter, adhikari , to whom it is intended, prayojana, the fruit and sambandha , relevance. Vishaya has been indicated by ‘Ikshvaakoonaam idham theshaam raajnaam vamse mahaathmmanaam mahadhuthpannamaakhyaanam ramayanamithi srutham,.’ this Ramayana, the story of Rama , descendant  of the line of Ikshvaku. Adhikariis the one with sradhdha and without asooya, Prayojana is the four purushaarthas and the sambandha is made specific by the above. 

            Then comes the description of the land of Kosala which is situated  north of Ganga, on the banks of the river Sarayu. It was prosperous and fertile the residents of which were mudhitha. Happy and spheetha, rich. While Valmiki  only hinted at the splendour of Kosala, Kamban has gone into raptures  and dedicated a whole chapter for the description of Kosaladesa and its inhabitants. One of the most beautiful and oft quoted verse of Kamban about Kosala is,

’ thandalai mayilgal aada, thaamarai vilakkam thaanga,

 kondalgal muzavin Enga, kuvlai kan viziththu nOkka,

thenthirai ezini kaatta, thembizi makarayaazin

vandugal inidhu paada, marudham veetrirukkum maadhaO.

’ The type of land was called Marudham, fertile agricultural region, which reigns supreme in Kosala. With plenty of rain one can always hear the thunder of the clouds sounding like the regal trumpet and drum, the peacocks are the court dancers, the lotuses are the carriers of lamps, while the singers are the bees, the kuvalai flowers are the audience and the curtain for the stage is provided by the waves of the Sarayu river. Only a vague description can be provided as the beauty of the poetry can be understood only when it is read in the original Tamil.

            After just one sloka about Kosala Valmiki starts to describe the city of Ayodhya by three slokas. It was constructed by Manu, the father of Ikshvaku.  The city covered the area of twelve yojanas long and three yojanas wide.( A yojana is approximately nine miles.) The streets of Ayodhya  were highways, flanked by trees, strewn with flowers and the city was always cool with enough rains and watered otherwise. The city as described by Valmiki  proves that in ancient India .city civilization was of  a high standard. The houses were inlaid with precious stones and with barns full of food grains always filled with the sweet sound of musical instruments.

            Valmiki describes the people of Ayodhya. They were laghuhasthaah, skilled and dexterous, vishaaradhaah, learned and strong, able to kill wild animals by arrows as well as by hand, ‘hanthaarah nishithaissastraih balaath baahu balairapi.’. But they were also noble and desisted from hitting by mere sound na sabdhavedhyam, even though they could, perhaps learnt their lesson by the experience of Dasaratha who killed a hermit’s son mistaking him to be an elephant by the sound and incurred the curse of his parents. There were no cowards, or orphans or loners in Ayodhya..

            Ayodhya means yodhdhum na shakyaa, invincible. Valmiki indicates the invincibility of the city by saying ‘ dhurgagambheera parikhaam dhurgham anyaih dhuraasadhaam, surrounded by moats deep and difficult to cross over and hence inaccessible to others.

             The description of the prosperity  of the citizens of Ayodhya  by Kamban is interesting. He says,

’kalvaar ilaamaipporul kaavalum illai; yaadhum

 kolvaar ilaamaikkoduppaaargalum illai madho.

ellaarum ellaapperunchelvamum eidhalaale

illaarum illai ;udayaargalum illai maadho.

            Since there were no robbers there was no police. Since there was no one to receive there were no givers. Since all were enjoying all riches there was no one who can be termed as poor nor as rich.

           

 

3.DASARATHA AND  PLAN FOR PROGENY- COUNSEL OF THE DEVAS

 Dasaratha ruled the kingdom from Ayodhya. He was a vedavit, scholar of vedas, loved by his subjects  and so valiant that Devendra sought his help in fighting against the asuras. He was  athiratha, capable of fighting with 10000 rathis, warriors  in chariots. Since he had all people in his control by his good qualities he is called rajarshi.He was equal to Kubera and Indra in riches and power. Thus Valmiki describes  Dasaratha. 'Thaam pureem cha mahaathejaa raajaa dasaratho mahaan shashaasa shamithaamithrah nakshathraaneeva chandramaah. ' He was as pleasing to all as the moon is to the stars.

            Dasaratha, besides his eight ministers , also had sages like Vasishta and Vamadeva to advise him and lived his life accrding to dharma, thus qualifying himself to become the father of Rama , the embodiment of dharma. Dasaratha had everything but one, that is a progeny. He consulted the sages and his ministers and decided to do Asvamedha yaga and the sages and brahmins blessed him that he will get sons through the sacrifice, 'sarvathaa praapsyase puthraan , you will get sons' because a man is not called putravaan having only one son, 'ekaputrah na putravaan.'

            Dasaratha made arrangements for  horse sacrifice, asvamedha, which was, in those days, a grand affair and only chakravarthis could afford to do it. A horse well decorated and laden with riches is sent  to all countries  with an army and whoever reveres it are supposed to accept the sovereignty  of its owner and those who resist its course are conquered. When the preparations were in progress Sumanthra , who was the charioteer and the minister of Dasaratha, told him to call Rsysrnga and make him conduct the sacrifice. Sumanthra said he had known this from the sages who were told by Sanatkumara that Dasaratha will be getting sons through this act.

            Rsyasrnga was a munikumara , the son of Vibhaandaka whom his father brought up with care without any sensual desire touching him. Hence he was a pure soul. The king of Anga, whose land was suffering with draught, was told to bring Rsyasrnga whose padasparsa will bring rain.. He sent young girls to entice him in his father's absence  and he was brought to Angadesa and there was abundant rain. The king gave his daughter Shantha to him in marriage.

            Hearing about Rsyasringa Dasaratha  went himself to Angadesa and requested Rsyasringa to come to Ayodhya. It is said that Shantha was actually the daughter of Dasaratha and was given in adoption to Romapaada, king of Angadesa..Rsyasringa accepted the invitation and came to Ayodhya. Dasaratha performed the Asvamedha yaga with all the rshis and brahmanas and asked Rsyasrnga to perform putrakameshtiyaga for him to get sons and Rsyasrnga agreed..

            The devas who assembled ready to receive the havirbhaga of the sacrifice to be performed, entreated Brahma  to do something to destroy Ravana who was tormenting the world and devas , arrogant with the power of his boons from Brahma that he will be indestructible by devas , gandharvas, yakshas, dhaanavaas and raakshasaaas. Brahma reassured them that he never included human beings in his boon and that fact should be utilised now 

            In the meanwhile the Lord Narayana Himself came there in anticipation of their prayer in His earnestness in dushtanigraha and sishata paripalana.Govindarajar comments beautifully the sloka that mentions the arrival of the Lord which we will see later, along with the lovely verse from Kamban about the same.  

 

5.THE INCARNATION

           

'Ethasmin  anthare vishnuh upayaatho mahaadhyuthih

shankachakragadhaapaanih peethavaasa jagatpathih

vinatheyassamaaruhya bhaskarsthoyadham yatha

            Ethasnin anthare- during that time, which implies that the Lord was waiting for this moment  to fulfil His vow of saadhusamrakshanam, dhushkrthvinaasanam and  dharmasamrkshanam    under the pretext of granting the prayerof the devas for protection from Ravana as well as that of Dasaratha for progeny. The Lord never waits for the prapanna to come to Him but hastens to give refuge by  arriving Himself, with  the same haste  He showed inthe case of Gajendra and Prahladha.  This shows His soulabhya easy accessibility due to His being sarvavyapi.      

            Mahaadhyuthih   means  great brilliance. As Sanjaya says in the Gita when the Lord appeared in His visvarupa that the brilliance of Him would have been equal only if a thousand suns have risen simultaneously,such was the appearance of the Lord to the devas.

            shankachakragadhaapaanih- He appeared with all His divyaayudha in order to reassure devas.

But His brilliance was not fierce like the Sun  at noon but pleasant to look at like the rising Sun, bhaaskarah thoyadham, because he is described as peethavaasa and thapthahaatakakeyurah , wearing His peethambara and adorned with His divyaabharana. 

            Here let us see how Kamban describes the Lord when He appeared before the devas.

karumugil thaamaraikkaadu pootthu, needu  irusudar irupuratthu Endhi,Endhu alartthiruvOdumpoliyaOr sembonkunrinmel varuvapola, kaluzanmel vandhu thonrinaan.  

Kamban in his inimitablestyle describes the Lord thus:

He is of the hue of a dark cloud and His hands,feet and eyes are like lotuses. The shanka and chakra shine like fire on both sides He appeared with .Mahalaksmi   on Garudawho is of golden colour   like a rain bearing cloud on the peak of a golden hill.  Kamban sees thaamaraikkaadu, forest of lotuses on the form of the Lord which is like a karumugil . The picture presented is one of wonder . A golden hill, on the top of which is a dark cloud accompanied by lightening  which is a natural  scenic sllendour but the element of wonder consists in the cloud being endowed with a forest of lotuses, which speaks volumes of the poetic genius of Kamban. The forest of lotuses refers to the hands,feet and the eyes of the Lord being lotus-like as Peyazvar puts it in mudhal thiruvandhdadhi, 'kannum kamalam kamalame kaitthalamum mannalandha paadhamum matravaiye.' 

             when the Lord appeared before the devas they entreated him to manifest Himself as the son of Dasaratha who was doing putrakameshti yaga .' Thasya bhaaryaasu thisrushu hrisri kirthyupamaasu cha vishno putrathvamaagacchakrthvaathmaanam chathurvidham. '   They told Him  about Ravana who was tormenting them all. Since Ravana acquired boon from Brahma that he should not meet his death from any being but humans , the Lord should manifest as a human being.Ravana gave a long list of beings fromwhom he should have ne fear but left out humanas not considering them worthy of mention.

            The Lord promised the devas that he will kill Ravana and instructed them to be born as vanaras. He willed to manifest with His full form with the disc, conch and sesha and hence became the four sons of Dasaratha.Rama was the manifestationof Narayana,while Lakshmana was of sesha,Bharatha and satrugnaof shanka and chakra.

            Kamaban here describes the decision of the Lord to appear fourfold as ''vaLaiyodu thigiriyum vadavaitheedharaviLai tharu kaduvudai virikoL paayalum ilaiyargal ena adi parava Egi naam vaLai madhil ayoddhi varudhum enranan.'    The lrd said that He will appear on earth as the son of Dasaratha  with sankha, chakra, and sesha as His younger brothers.

            In the meanwhile Dasaratha  finished the putrakameshti yaga successfully with the grace of Rsyasringa and a purusha rose from the sacrificial fire and gave Dasaratha  pot of   paayasam, sweet gruel, and instructed him to give it to his wives so that he will get four sons through them. The joy of Dasaratha, who was pining for one son and now got the promise of four , is described by Valmiki as 'babhoova paramapreethah praapya vittham iva adhanah.'   He felt like a poor man who had received a treasure.

            How the paayasam was divided among the three queens ,Kousalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra  is described in detail by Valmiki. Dasaratha gave half of what was in the vessel to Kousalya, she being the pattamahishi.crowned queen, and gave half of what was remaning to Sumitra,as per seniority. Then he gave half of what remained, that is 1/8th   to Kaikeyi and the remaining 1/8th was given to Sumitra again. So Kousalya had  1/2 of the contents, Sumitra had 1/4+1/8 and Kaikeyi1/8.

            According to this it would appear as though  Rama was half Vishnu while Lakshmana1/4th and Bharatha and Satrugna 1/8 each. But Rajaji in his book on Ramayana says that such calculations are meaningless because it is impossible to measure the infinite arithmetically. Sruti tells us that even a fraction of the SupremeBeing is whole and complete by itself.' Om poornamadhfpoornamidham poornaath poornam udachyathe poornasya poornam aadhaaya poornameva avasishyathe.' That is whole;.this is whole;what has come out of the whole is also whole. When the whole is taken out of the whole, the whole still remains whole.

            It sounds mind boggling! Not really .Let us examine this. We know that the Lord is everywhere. Does it mean that He fragments himself and is present  in all beings? No. He is present everywhere in His complete form only..For example it is not possible to cut the AkAsa into parts because it is one whole.But the space inside the pot is seen as ghatAkAsa  while the space outside is mahAkAsa. But both are the same and forms one whole.  Similarly the Brahman being one whole is present everywhere as one.whole..

            Rama was born to Kausalya which   Valmiki describes as ' prodhyamaane jagannaathamsarvaloka namaskrtham kausalyaa ajanayath raamam sarvalakshanasamyutham '   The Lord of the universe, worshipped by all the worlds was born to Kausalya with all the saamudrikaa lakshanaas. Kaikeyi had Bharatha whose birth syar pushya was next to that of Rama, namely punarvasu and Lakshmana was born to Sumithra along with Sathrugna, having aaslesha, which is known as saarpa , of the sarpa as he is seshaamsa.

Dasratha performed the rituals of namakarana, naming ceremony after giving gifts to all. 'jyeshtam raamam mahaathmaanam bharatham kaikayeesutham soumithrim lakshmanam ithi sathrugnam aparam thatha'. The names are explained by Sri Govindaraja swami as follows:'ramanthe gunairasmin ithi raamah,' all love him,ramanthe, who is endowed with his innumerable lovable   qualities,,mahaathmaanam.Therefore he is named Raama...Bharatathawas named so as he was going to bear the burden of the kingdom, 'bharatha ithi raajyasya bharanaath' Lakshmana was lakshmisampannah  possessor of the wealth of service , kaimkarayalakshmi and hence named so. Sathrugna means destroyer of enemies, lnternal and external.. Vasishta who had the knowledge of past, present and future named the princes thus.

            Of the four Raama was extolled as 'theshaam kethuriva sreshto Raamo rathikarafpithuh babhoova bhooyo bhoothaanaam svambhooriva sammmathah.'  He was the kethu, the banner of the clan  and most dear to his fathe and later to he people of Ayodhya. All thefour of them became well versed in the vedas and vedangas and valiant and protective,  kind and wise. Raama was described as sathyaparaakrama, infallible in his adherence to sathya, glorious and loved by all.He was proficient in battle and bowmanship , above all intent on serving his father.

            Raama and Lakshmana were inseparable in eating or playing or in sleep from childn hood.. Valmiki describes Lakshmana as being another life breath, praana, outside the body for Raama, 'bahih praana ivaaparah.' Lakshmana being seshaamsa   naturally inseparable from Purushotthama and follows Him everywhere. Satrugna was to bharatha as lakshmana was to Raama.

            After the birth the proficiency of the princes in the kshathriya dharma is described and the epic  deals next with the plan of their father for their marriage. The chilhood of Raama is skipped in both Valmiki and Kamaban and it was left to Tualsidas and later to Thyagaraja to enjoy Raama as a child. Valmiki now says, ' Atha raajaa dasarathah theshaam dhaarakriyaam prathi chinthayaamaasa dharmaathmaa sopaadhyaayahsabhaandhavah.' Dasartha being dharmaathmaa, started thinking about the marriage of his sons along with his guru and relatives. The word dharmaathmaa implies that he is anxious to get everything done at the right time and age according to the injunctions of  dharmasasthra. As soon as he thought about the marriage Visvamithra, who was going tobe instrumental in that arrived at the gate.

6.Visvamithra arrived

Visvamithra sent word through the gatekeepers  to Dasaratha who came out to welcome him 'PrathyjjagAma thamhrshtO brahmANam iva vAsavah,' asIndra would welcome Brahma.Visvamithra enquired after the welfare of the king and his subjects and that of Vasishta and others. Dasaratha welcomed him saying that he felt immensely pleased like getting nectar, like a thirsty one acquiring water in a desert, like a man without progeny and like one regained lost wealth, to see  the sage at the time when he was thinking of the marriage of his sons.

Kamban describes Visvamithra thus:

'mannuyir adangalum ulagum vEru amaitthu dhEvarodu idam kol nAnmuganaiyum padaippEn eendu enAtthodangiya thuni uru munivan thOnrinAn.'

The sage,  who challenged to create another world and heaven along with Indra and devas and Brahma, appeared there.

Then Dasaratha asked the sage the purpose of his arrival  promising to do what he wanted from him.then Visvamithra who very well knew the possible effect his request is going to have on Dasaratha said that he will tell the king what is in his mind and the word given by the king should be kept."kurushva rAjasArdhoola bhava sathyaprathsrvAh."

Visvamithra then started relating his troubles in performing his yajna which is almost in a finishng stage but two rakshasas Subahu and Mareecha polluted the place of sacrifice by pouring blood and flesh on it. Visvamithra said he could very well destroy them by his yogic power but he will be wasting his penance and also because he has taken a vow of eqquanimity during the performance of sacrifice. Then Visvamithra dropped the bombshell by saying that Dasaratha should send Rama with him to protect the sacrifice.Valmiki through the words of Visvamithra praises Rama as 'rAmamsathyaparAkramam kAkapakshaDHaram Sooram,' Rama is truly invincible, valiantand handsome with his forelocks.

Kamban skips the description of  the details about the obstruction to the yaga and simply makes the sage say that to destroy the two miscreants who obstruct the yaga Dasaratha should send Rama which was to Dasaratha tantamount to asking his own life."nin siruvar nAlvarinum kariya semmal oruvanai thandhidudhi" ena uyir irakum kodumkootrinuLaiyacchonnAn.' He did not even mention Rama by name but said you give me the dark complexioned son of yours which of course left no doubt in the mind  of Dasaratha whom he referred to.Dasaratha , says Kamban, felt like the one who being blind got his sight only to lose it again.'kaNN ilAn pettru izandhAn ena,'

In Valmikiramayana Dasaratha argues with Visvamithra that Rama is a young boy and will not be able to face the rakshasas and the sage tried to convince him by saying that he was there to protect Rama and also that Rama was capable of killing not only these two but all rakshasas.He said that Rama was going to get glory by this and will be benefitted in many ways, of course having in mind the breaking of Sivadhanus and Seetha kalyanam.Then Visvamithra assured Dasaratha that no one else except Rama can kill the asuras and asked him not to be diffident due to attachment towards his son.

Then Visvamithra said 'aham vEdhmi mahAthmAnam rAmam sathyaparAkramam; vasishtOpimahAthEjA yE chEmE thapasi sThithah.' meaning "I  know Rama and his greatness and so does Vasishta and other sages here,".implying that Dasaratha does not have the jnana to understand the true identity of Rama..And Visvamithra asked Dasaratha to send Rama with the permission of Vasishta and others. But Dasaratha was not convinced and argued again saying he himself will come with his army and them on hearing that the rakshasa were sent by Ravana said that it is impossible even for him to fight the forces of Ravana and how wiuld Rama  who was  not even sixteen then do it  and finally concluding his talk by saying that he would not send Rama which angered the sage. Here the poetic skill of Valmiki can be seen in the usage of the word 'rAjeevalochana' with reference to Rama. Visvamithra used the word  in its usual sense of lotus-eyed or perhaps implying that Rama is none other than the lotus-eyed Lord Narayana,  in asking dasaratha to give Rama to him for ten days to protect his yaga, 'dasarAthram hi yajnasya rAmam rajeevalochanam,'  But in refusing to give Rama Dasaratha used the same word, 'oona shOdaSa varsho mE rAmO rAjeevalochanah,' which has deeper signofcance.The lotus closes in the night and similarly being a lad of not even sixteen years Rama will sleep in the night. The rakshsas on the other hand are known to roam around only in the night. So it is not possible for Rama to fight them.

Hearing the refusal of Dasaratha Visvamithra got angry  and said it is unusual for one born in the clan of Raghu to go back on his words after promising to do what the sage wanted and said 'miTHyAprathijnah kAkuthstTHa sukhee bhava sabAnDhavah,' May you live happily thus swerving from your promise along with your relatives, which, said in anger was tantamount to a curse and remembering the history of the sage whole world became afraid. Vasishta intevened and  advised Dasaratha to send Rama reassuring him about the safety of Rama and also extolling the greatness of Visvamithra and reminded Dasaratha of the glory of his own clan in which no one has ever broken his word once given. Then Dasaratha obeyed the command of his guru and agreed to send Rama with Visvamithra. Kamban's Dasaratha never argued in length but immediately said that he will not send Rama and the his refusal., the anger of the sage and the advice of vasishta were all told by Kamban in one verse each.

7.Rama leaves with Visvamithra

Dasaratha called   Rama along with Lakshmana  and Rama followed Visvamithra obeying the command of his father. Valmiki describes the scene thus:'visvAmithram mahAthmAnam thriseershou iva pannagou anujagmathurakshudhrou pithAmahamivASvinou' Visvamithra walked in front and Rama next followed by Lakshmana and they are compared to Asvinidevas following Brahma.With their bow and quiver on either side they looked like three headed serpents.

Kamban describes this scene :

kunram pOnru uyar thOLil kotravil onru thAnginAn ulagam thAnginAn

Rama was carrying his bow on his mountainous shoulders and he is refereed   to as 'ulagam thAnginAn,' the supporter of the world meaning the Lord Narayana or to imply that by wielding the bow he has started on his mission of saving the world being the support of the world.

After they have walked some distanceVisvamithra wanted to instruct the  manthra to ward off hunger and thirst. valmiki says 'rAmEthi madhurAm vAneem visvaAmithrobhyabhAshatha.' Visvamithra called the name of Rama which was sweet to his ears as Thtyagaraja says, 'vararAmanamamane khandasarkara, ramanama is like sugarcandy.' It shows that Visvamithra was savouring the taste of Ramanama on his tongue and relishing it.Then he taught the manthras bala and athibala to Rama which will prevent fatigue, change in physical stature,fever and any trouble from the rakshasas during sleep etc.Not only that, but the whole world will be under his control and he will be unparalleled,  said the rshi,instructing the manthras to Rama. Then Rama instructed them to Lakshmana.Thus they reached the southbank of the river Sarayu and spent the night there.

The next morning Visvamithra woke up Rama with the famous words, 'KousalyasuprajA rama poorvAsanDHyA pravarththE; utthishta naraSArdhoola karthavyam dhaivam Ahnikam, son of kousalya,the morning has dawned. Get up, oh tiger among men, and do your daily rituals.' This sloka is used in temples even today at the time of suprabhatham, especially in Thirumala.Commentators have seen significance in each word of this sloka.

 

KouslyAsupraja- the offspring of Kousalya, Visvamithra calls Rama. This may be to praise kousalya as being  more evolved than Dasaratha, because even after Visvamithra has said 'aham vEdmi mahAthmAnam rAmam sathyaparAkramam,' that he knew the real identity of Rama, Dasaratha was not conviinced and said 'duhkhEnOthpAdhithaschAyam na rAmam nEthum arhasi,' that Rama was born after great penance and Visvamihtra cannot take him away. But Kousalya did not say a word, which presumably Valmiki would have recorded, if she has expressed her concern. This can be seen even when Rama went on exile . Dasaratha could not bear the separation but Kousalya stoically endured it .

Rama- the word denotes attractive form which delights the heart. So Visvamithra on seeing Rama while he is sleeping loses his heart at the beauty of it.

PoorvA sanDHyA pravarthathe-Rama was born to Kousalya like the Sun at the dawn. This time is like dawn, says Visvamithra because as the sun dispels the darkness Rama has started on his avatharakarya, namely to destroy the rakshasas. The great scholars who give discourse on Ramayana say that Visvamithra had the darsan of the Lord Narayana on AdhisEsha in Rama at this time and hence the word poorvAsanDhyA may mean the rising of the awareness of bhagavathsAkshAthkAra of the sage.

UtthishTa --dhaivam Ahnikam- this serves as the reminder for Rama about his task for which he has taken incarnation.*'Visvamithra was always competing with Vasishta and the real puropose in taking Rama along with him must be to enjoy the company of Rama  in the capacity of being a guru like Vasishta and also to outdo Vasishta in settling the marriage of Rama!'*

(*heard in the discourse on Thyagaraja ramayana by MaduraiTNSeshagopalan)

Then they reached the place where the river Sarayu joins with Ganges and went to Kamasrama ,the place, where, in the  previous kalpa, the god of love was burnt by Lord Siva.There were many sages who were doing penance there and they came to know through their yogic perception that Rama has come there with Visvamithra .and foresaw the destruction of Thataka and felt happy. Next morning they crossed the ganges in a boat and reached a fierce uninhabited forest . Rama wanted to know the reason for the place being so and Visvamithra told him that it was a fertile land earlier but has become so due to the demon Thataka. and her son Mareecha.

Thataka was the daughter of Sukethu,a yaksha of good character, and was given a strength equal to 1000 elephants by Brahma. She was married to Sundha who incurred the displeasure of  the sage Agasthya who killed him by his yogic power and Thataka with her son Maricha started to attack the sage who cursed them both to become rakshasas.Then the two of them started killing everyone and destroyed that place which became a terrible forest.Visvamithra told Rama that he had to kill this demon Thataka and Rama said he will do the bidding of the sage whatever it is as it was the command of his father to do so.

8. Thatakavadha and Yagasamrakshana

Rama strung his bow and and all the beings  in the forest trembled on hearing the sound of the bowstring and Thataka became furious and came running towards them. seeing her Rama told Lakshmana that he will vanquishnher bi ut will not kill her because sheis a woman. Thataka advanced twards rama and was stopped by a humkara by  Visvamithra. then she created a big dust storm and became invisible and started throwing stones on them. Rama stopped the shower of stones with his arrows and cut offher arms.Lakshmana cut off her ears and nose. At this moment Visvamithra told Rama not to show mercy on her thinking she is a woman because at the nightfall she will become more powerful and it will be difficult to  kill  her then. Obeying the command of the sage Rama killed her.

The devas became happy on the death of Thataka and entreated Visvamithra to teach Rama the skill of using  all the missiles. They told the sage that there is yet a greater help to be done bu Rama to the devas and he is the right receptacle of all the knowledge of missiles that Visvamithra possessed. Visvamithra gladly undertook the task and instructed Rama about all the divine  missiles. Even while Visvamithra started to chant the manthras belonging to the missiles they came to Rama  of their own accord. The deities of the asthras   presented themselves and told Rama that they are ready to do his bidding and Rama accepted their service. Visvamithra on being requested by Rama taught him the skill of recalling the asthras.  Rama recalled the devatas and asked them to come to him when he thinks of them..

In Ramavathara we find Rama always adhering to dharma even if it is unpleasant  or so it appears to us. Valmiki says 'RamO vigrahavAn dharmah,' Rama is the embodiment of dharma. Here also he followed the sishyadharma and learnt the astras from Visvamithra, inspite of being the Lord of the universe Himself.Of course Rama lived as ahuman being and never showed his divinity but even in Krishnavathara we find Krishna acting according to the position in which he is found, as a son, as a disciple, as a charioteer etc.That is why  Bhishma said 'dharmasya prabhurachyuthah.'

Not only he followed dharma but Rama also made others follow it by instructing them on dharma. He advises Kousalya that her dharma is to be at the side of her husband when she expressed her wish to follow Rama when he went  to the forest on Kaikeyi's bidding.He advised Lakshmana about the dharma of following the order of the king when he wanted to protest against Dasarastha.He advise Bharatha on his duty to govern the kingdom as commanded by their father. He eplained the kshatgriya dharma to Seetha when she questioned his promise to the rshis that he will destroy those who harm them. Only occasion when he was at thr receiving end was when Seetha informed him about the dharma of a wife to accompany her husband when he was going to forest!

Thus they crossed the fierce forest of Thataka and camenear Siddhsrama. Seein g the beautiful place, Rama said to  Visvamithra 'darSaneeyam muniSrEshta manOhara atheeva cha nAnA prakAraih SakunAih valgunAdhAiralamkrtham,'   He wanted to know which was that arractive place abounding in trees, birds and animals and filled with sweet sounds, by which it looked like an asram.Visvamithra started telling Rama about the history of Siddhasrama.

Siddhasrama got its name because the Lord manifested here as Vamana to help the devas regain their power by subduing Mahabali.Also this place was sacred as Lord Vishnu  Himself did thapas here.Visvamitha said that he chose this place for his yajna  for the above reasons. He told Rama that this is the place Rama has to destroy the asuras who create obstacles for the yaga 'adhyaiva purushavyAghra hanthavyA dhushtachAriNah.'.Then the rshis in Siddhasrama hurried there seeing Rama and  Lakshmana with Visvamithra and hailed the sage. Rama and Lakshmana   asked Visvamithra to prepare for the yaga immediately and expressed their wish that the asrama will be again true to its name 'sidDhAsramOyam sidDHassyAth,' by the karyasiddhi of the  fulfilment of the  yaga, and to make true the  words of the sage that the asuras have to be killed here by Rama.

Then the  other rshis told them to protect the thapovanam for six more nights and days when Visvamithra will be under the vow  of silence. Rama and Lakshmana did so for five days and five nights  without sleeping. Then on the sixth day Rama, knowing that the asiuras will come only at the time of finishing the yajna , cautioned Lakshmana to bve careful. The sacrificial fire became very bright signifying the advent of the rakshasaas. At that time the rakshasas Maricha, Subahu and their companions speeded towards the sacrificial altar to pour blood and flesh into it, in order to pollute the yaga. Seeing Ram athey ignored him thinking that he was only a boy. Then Rama sent maaAnavAsthra r towards Maricha which pushed him into the sea which was 100 yOjanas away and he got agitated by it in the middle of the sea. and lost consciousness but did not die as he was needed later for Ravanavadham.Then ubahu was killed by Rama using AgnEyAsthra. All the rest were also killed by Rama and the yajna was completed without further obstacles.Visvamithra said 'krthArTHosmi mahAbAhO krtham guruvachahsthvayA;sidDhAsramam idham sathyam krtham rAma mahAyaSah,' Rama has done the bidding of his guru and Visvamithra also finished his task and the siddhasrama became  true to its name.

Rama and Lakshmana spent the night there and in the morning went to Visvamithra and spoke to him. 'abhivAdhya munSrEshtam jvalantham iva pAvakam;oochathurmaDHurOdhAramvAkyam maDHurbhAshiNou,' says Valmiki. Bowing down to the sage who was shining like the fire , they spoke sweet and resonant words.because they are by nature madhurabhashinou, nice-speaking.They said to him that they were his servants and asked for further instructions.These words of Rama proves the statement 'bhakthikreethO janArdhanah,' the Lord is bought through bhakthi and becomes the servant of His devotees.Kamban says 'kunrupOl guNatthAn kOsalai kurusil "inru yAn seyum paNi enkol " paNi ena uraitthAn.' The off spring of Koiusalya, hence the hill of virtues, asked "what is my duty today,say it" And Visvamithra answered 'periyakAriyam uLa; avai mudippadhupinnar; there is a big task for you but that will come later,' meaning the Ravanavadham. Then Visvamithra as though  wanted to show his gratitude , told Rama about the yaga of Janaka and the bow he has, which no one was able to string and that Janaka promised to give his daughter to the one who can do it.and said to Rama 'thvam chaiva naraSArdhoola sahAsmAbhih gaamishyasi;adhbhutham cha dhanoorathnam thathraikam dhrashtumarhasi,' "You also come with us and you will also see the precious bow." Here the implication is that you will also see the kanyArathnam,Seetha, along with the dhanoorathnam. Then they all started towards Mithila.

Visvamithra told the rshis in Siddhasrama that he was going to Himalayas through Mithila. The rshis followed him for some disrtance along with the animals and birds of Siddashrama which showed that all beings show regard for great sages. Visvamithra walked till the sunset with Rama and Lakshmana and they reached the SOna river.where they stopped for the night.Rama asked Visvamithra about that region which was very fertile and he told them about it.

Ramavathara was  anushtAnapraDHAna, as Rama showed the right conduct to the world by his actions. Here, by accepting the words of Visvamithra to go to Mithila even though he was sent by his father only for the protection of the yaga, he shows that one should always obey the elders.

The region they were staying belonged to Vasu , one of the four sons of Kusa, mAnasaputhra of Brahma, and the forefather of the vamsa of Visvamithra, from whom he got the name Kousika. Visvamithra briefly told Rama about his vamsa and the next day they started to cross the river and go towards north. Here the seemingly innocent question of Rama and the reply of Visvamithra have deeper meaning. Rama asked the sage by which way they will cross the river , meaning at which part of the river they will go across.

The question was 'katharENA paTHA brahman santharishyamahe vayam? "by which path shall we cross"and Rama calls Visvamithra brahman as he was brahmarshi. The answer was 'Esha panTHA mayOddhishtO yEna yAnthim  maharshayah,' "I decide on the path followed by the great sages." This has the implication .'mahAjano yEna ganthah sa panTHA.'        The path followed by the great personages is the one to follow.in order to cross the ocean of samsara

9. Episodes of Bhageeratha and Ahalya

Then they walked for long and reached the Ganges and Rama asked Visvamithra 'thrylOkyam kaTham Akramya gathA nadha nadheepathim,'  about  how the river traversed the three worlds and reached the sea.Visvamithra started to tell the story of Ganga and Bhagheeratha.He told Rama about Himaavan and his two daughters,Ganga and Uma. Himavan gave Ganga to the devas on being requested and she went to heaven. Uma, Dakshayani in her next birth, became the spouse of Lord Siva.

Sagara, the king of Ayodhya was given the boon by the  sage Bhrgu that one of his two wives will get one son who will continue the lineage and the other will get 60000 sons.Of the two, Kesini chose the first and  Sumathi, the other one, chose the second..Asamanjas,  who became mentally deranged,  was born to Kesini and Sumathi had 60000 valiant  sons.Asamanjas was banished from  the country and his son Amsuman, unlike his father, was wise and good.

Sagara performed the asvamedha sacrifice and Indra, who is always wary of anyone doing it as it will give them the power over himself, stole the sacrificial horse and Sagara sent his sons in search of it. They looked all over the earth and not finding the horse dug the earth to reach patala and water filled where they dug and became the seas. That is why the sea  got its name as SAgara.The sons of Sagara went to Patala and found the horse grazing near the sage Kapila and suspecting him to be the thief, they advanced on him shouting and Kapila, disturbed from his penance reduced them all to ashes by his power.

Not finding his sons or the horse  and not being able to complete the sacrifice, Sagara sent his grandson Amsuman  who found the horse and brought it back. He was told by Garuda that the souls of his uncles who were reduced to ashes will attain peace if the river Ganges is brought to Patala to wash the ashes.

Sagara completed the sacrifice but died in grief for the loss of his sons and his inability to bring the Ganges. Amsuman and his son Dileepa were also unable to bring down the Ganges by their Tapas and it was left to Bhagiratha, son of Dileepa to do so.The story of Bhagiratha is an example of persistence.

Bhagiratha pleased Brahma with his thapas and he granted his wish but told him that the earth cannot stand the force of the river and directed him to do thapas on Lord Siva. Bhagiratha did so and Siva agreed to             catch the river in his matted locks but Ganga was arrogant and descended with full force to stagger Siva, who, angered, held the whole river imprisoned in his locks.Then Bhagiratha had to appease Siva once again and he let out the river in seven streams, three of which flowed west and three east and one stream followed Bhagiratha. This was however not the end of the struggle for Bhagiratha because, on the way to patala Ganga flooded the hermitage of the sage Jahnu, who took the whole river in his palm and drank it. Again Bhagiratha had to propitiate the sage , who let it thriough his right ear,  Thus coming out of Jahnu maharshi Ganga acquired the name JAhnavi. Finally Bhageeratha achieved his mission and his forefathers were sanctified by the water of Ganga.Since Bhageeratha was instrumental in bringing Ganga to the earth, she came to be called BhAgirathi. Valmiki says,           

Dhanyam yaSasyam Ayushayam puthryam svargyam atheeva cha

yah sravayathi viprEshu kshatriyEshvithareshu cha

To the one who makes others, whichever varNa they belongs to, hear this episode will get wealth, fame,long life, progeny,life in heaven. etc.

Yah sruNOthi cha kAkuthsTha sarvAn kAmAn avApnuyAth

sarvE papAh praNaSyanthi Ayuh keerthiScha varDhathe

To the one who hears this, life and fame are increased. He attains the fulfilment of all his desires and all his sins are destroyed.

After staying for a day in the city of Visala they all set out for Mithila. They came across a beautiful hermitage on the way whcih was uninhabited. Rama asked Visvamithra about it and the sage told him the story of Ahalya.

The hermitage belonged to sage Gouthama whose wife was Ahalya , who was created with all the beauty in the world by Brahma and Indra and Gouthama wanted to marry her. Brahma stipulatedthat she will be given to one who goes round the three worlds first and Indra started on his Airavatha whileGouthama went round Kamadhenu, who was about to deliver a calf, three times and claimed her hand, saying that it is equivalent to going round the three worlds. Indra could not conquer his desire for her and came to the hermitage in the diguise of Gouthama when Gouthama was away and  enjoyed her company. When Gouthama came while they were together he was enraged and cursed Indra to lose his manhood and Ahalya to live there for 1000 years invisible to all and having only air as her food exposed to heat and rain.When she asked for forgiveness he said she will attain her chastity again when Rama sets foot in the asrama.Then Visvamithra asked Rama to enter the hermitage to free Ahalya friom her curse.

Here it is interesting to note that Valmiki never mentions that Ahalya became a stone. It is found to be so in adhyathma Ramayana however and Kamban also followed the latter version.Then Rama set foot in the hermitage and Ahalya came back to life and offered hospitality to Rama and Gouthama  appeared and  took her back. After their salutations to Ahalya and Gouthama Rama and Lakshmana started for Mithila with Visvamithra.

Valmiki says that Ahalya knew that it was Indra who came in the guise of Gouthama but was vain  enough to enjoy his company, intoxicated with her beauty that attracted even the lord of the devas. But the penance done by her was powerful enought to wash off her sins and the holy feet of the Lord purified the whole hermitage including her.Here we are reminded of the words of Krishna 'api chEth sudhurachAro bajathE mAm ananyabhAk; sadhurEva sa manthavyah,'(BG-9-30)which means that the one who thinks of the Lord incessantly is to be considered as  one with merit even if he was a worst sinner.Ahalya by thinking constantly on Rama's arrival became pure.

Kamban slightly differs in recounting this episode.According to him Ahalya was lying there as a stone. and  when the feet Rama touched the stone she came back to life and Rama asked Visvamithra about her and the sage told him  her story.There is a beautiful verse in Kambaramayana when Visvamithra praises Rama for freeing Ahalya.

ivvaNNam nigazndha vaNNam ini indha ulagukkellam

uyvaNNam anri mattru Or thuyarvaNNam uruvadhu undO

maivaNNatharakki pOril mazaivaNNatthaNNale un

kaivaNNam angu kandEn kAl vaNNam ingu kandEn

" When such things happen with your grace, where can be any suffering in this world any more?Oh lord of dark hue like the clouds , I have seen the power of  your arms in the fight with the she-demon(Thataka), who was black like the night, and the power of your feet here now." Apart from the poetics (the same word being repeated several times etc.) the meaning is more beautiful.Kamban uses the words maivaNNam to denote the dark colour of Thataka and mazai vaNNam to describe the colour of Rama. The rakshasi was frightening like the darkness that implies thamas, and hence the word 'maivaNNam' is used. 'Mai '  stands for blackmagic. Mazai vaNNam on the other hand denotes the mercy of the Lord who is Ardhra, soaked in krpa, like the dark rain-bearing cloud. Kamban's Visvamithra tells Gouthama to accept Ahalya saying 'nenjinAl pizaippu ilALai nee azaitthiduga.' Even though Ahalya did wrong with her body her mind was not tainted, says Visvamithra whereas  Valmiki says 'munivEsham sahasrAksham vijnAya raghunandhana;mathim chakAra dhurmEdha dhEvarajakuthoohalAth.' meaning that Ahalya knew it was Indra in the guise of the sage but still accepted him out of eagerness for Devendra.

Then they proceeded towards Mithila.

10.Rama arrives in Mithila.

When they approached Mithila, Janaka, knowing that Visvamithrahas has come with Rama and Lakshmana, came to honour him along with Sathanandha who was his purohitha. Sahanandha was the son of Ahalya and Gouthama.Valmiki says that  Janaka showed special respect to Vivamithra though there were many equally renowned sages who had come for his yajna. 'rthvijOpi mahAthmAnah thu arghyam Adhaya sathvaram,visvamithrAya dharmENa dhadhuh manthra puraskrtham.' Commentators intrepret this as the glory of Visvamithra was not a little enhanced by the company of Rama, who was going to be the prime performer at the yajna by breaking the bow and marrying Sita.

It is worth digressing a litlle now from Valmiki and enjoy the poetic beauty of Kamban before Janaka offers seat to Visvamithra in his courthall and Sathanandha narrates the story of Visvamithra.Valmiki does not mention Sita earlier, before Janaka tells about her to Rama and others when Visvamithra asks Rama to see the bow, and then the rest of the incidents leading to the wedding follow. It was left to Kamban to describe the entry of Rama into Mithila and the chance encounter of Rama with Sita and their respective reactions towards each other, which forms the most beautiful part of the Balakanda.

The very first verse in the 'mithilaikkAtchippadalam,' when they are nearing the fort of Janaka, is very beautiful.

"mai aru malarin neengi yAn Sey mAthvatthin vandhu

SeyyavaL irundhAL" enru SezumaNikkodigal ennum

kaigalai neetti andhakkadinagar kamalacchengaN

aiyanai "ollai vA" enru azaippadhu pOnradhu ammA

The flags of the fort of Mithila fluttering, looked like hands waving and saying that Sridevi           has come to reside there leaving her abode of lotus due to the penance done by the land and its people and as though calling Rama to come there to claim her hand.

Thn Rama enters the city and  Kamban describes the beauty of Sita who was standing on the balcony of her  palace.            Adorned by gold ornaments she shone like thousand lightning,'sathakOti min sEvikka min arasu ennumpadi ninrAL.'

Rama looked up and she looked down and here comes the famous lines,' kaNNodu kaN iNai kavvi onrai onru uNNavum nilai perAdhu uNarvum onrida aNNalum nOkkinAn; avaLUm nokkinAL.' The eyes of Ram and Sita contacted and He looked at her and she looked at him  as though the eyes were swallowing each other and there was a merger of feelings and the Rama wielding the bow and Sita with her eyes like sword, entered each other's heart, 'varisilai aNNalum vAL-kaNnangaiyum iruvarum mArippukku idhayam eaidhinAr.' Kamban is not satisfied wirth this and goes on further to say, 'karunkadal paLLiyil kalavi neengippOi pirindhavar koodinAl pEsalum vEndumO?' They were the two who were united in the big ocean, meaning the milky ocean, and left it , that is , they are none other than Narayana and Lakshmi, and hence when the two reunite after separation is there any need for conversation? Their hearts communicate louder than words.

 Here, karum kadal is explained as the great sea, that is pArkadal but a more imaginative description of the word was given by Madurai TNSeshagopalan in his harikatha on Kamabaramayanam. He said that the milky ocean which was white sea became karumkadal, black sea because of the pacchaimAmalai pOl mEni of the Lord Narayana who shines like the emarald. The test of the quality of an emarald or blue sapphire  is to put it in  milk which turns black if the gem is of best quality.The Lord who is the soundarya mudrAmani of the hue of emarald (paccha mAmalai)i and sapphire(indraneelamani) has given the dark colour to the ksheerasagara.

Now we go back to the royal court of Janaka where Visvamithra, Rama and Lakshman were seated.accepting the welcome by Janaka, who requested the sage to stay till the end of his yaga..then Janaka  asked Visvamithra about the princes.

This is one if the places where Valmiki the poet overtakes Valmiki the narrator. Janaka says,

imou kumArou badhram the dhEvathulyaparAkramou

gajasimha gathee veerou SArdhoolavrshabhOpamou.

Janaka says that these two boys look valiant like the devas and have the gait of elephant and the lion and  possess tiger-like prowess and strength of the bull.There are four types of gaits  described in the sasthra which are that of an elephant, a lion, a tiger and a bull.The Lord is ascribed with all the four by the devotees and saints who see Him walking like a lion when He comes to protect His devotees, resembles an elephant when He walks leisurely, advances like a tiger towards enemies and walks like bull to show His prowess. Rama is compaed to all the four to denote His glory, implying His divinity

 They have eyes like lotuses, padhmapathravisalAkshou, shine like Asvini devas and resemble celestial beings in human form. They look like the Lord Skandha himself in their splendour shining like the fire,and attracting the eyes and the mind of the onlookers.

prAkASyam kulam asmAkam mAm uddharthum ihAgathou

kaTHam padhbhyAm iha prApthou kimarTHam kasya va munE

varAyudhadharou veerou kasya puthrou mahAmune

bhooshayanthou imam dhEsam chandhrasuryou ivAmbaram

Then Janaka asked Visvmaithra  who they were, saying "whether they have come here to give lustre to my clan or to uplift me .How is it that they have come here by walking(since they seem to be princes) for what purpose  and for  whose sake?"

Here one cannot help remembering the same queston asked by Thyagaraja,'evarikai avatharme,' and asks Rama 'avani ki rammani pilachina maharaju evvado ,' meaning, "for whose sake you have taken the incarnation and who is that great soul who has requested  you to come to earth?"

Visvamithra informed Janaka about Rama and Lakshmana and told him who they were and why they came with the sage and said that they have  come to see the big bow of Janaka. Hearing about all that had happened in the forest Sathanandha asked Visavamithra whether his mother was released from her curse and joined with his father.the words used by him to describe his mother shows that Valmiki  did not  mean that Ahalya was turned into a stone.

api thE muniSArdhoola mama mAthA yaSasvinee

dharSithA rAjaputhrAya thapO dheerGham upAgathA

Sathanandha asked Visvamithra whether his mother was shown by the sage to Rama.He described his mother as yasasvinee, one of fame and thapo dheergham upAgathA, one who had undergone long penance, meaning that she was living like a stone, invisible, without food or water lying on the ground like a stone.Visvamithra  told Sathanandha that Ahalya rejoined her husband like Renuka, mother of Parasurama  whom he killed by the order of his father Jamadagni, rejoined her husband, thereby indicating that the sin had been destroyed in both cases through punishment.

11.The legend of Visvamithra

Sathanandha spoke to Rama 'svAghathamthE naraSrEshata dhishtyA prApthosi raghava,' welcoming him and saying that he has come there by the divine will.Ramavathara was for the sake of dhushtanigraha and sishtaparipalana , punishing the wicked and protecting the good and both functions of the incarnation have started already by killing Thataka and others and redeeming Ahalya.Now for the fulfilment of the main purpose of avathara , that is, Ravanavadha he has come to Mithila to be united with the divine mother.The glance of Sri has already fallen on him to ensure success in all his doings starting from the breaking of the bow ending with Ravanavadha. Without Sri the Lord will not be Srinivasa and lakshmikataksha is as necessary for Him as for other beings.SIta looked at Sugriva and he got his kingdom and she must have looked at Vibheeshana when he travelled through the sky over asokavana to approach Rama  (heard in the harikatha of Madurai TNSeshagopalan),and hence he got the kingdom of Lanka. for the same reason Rama showed Sita the kishkindha and sringiberapura while they were coming back to Ayodhya in the celestial chariot to ensure that the regions will be prosperous.again this was why Sita, while speaking to Ravana in asokavana, never looked at him but placed a blade of grass in between .

Then Sathanandha started relating the story of Visvamithra and his exploits to Rama.He said that Visvamithra was 'achinthyakarmA thapasa brahmarshih athulaprabhah,'  He has achieved through his thapas powers beyond comprehension, becoming  brahmarshi through thapas alone. Rama, said Sathanandha, has been singularly blessed to have Visvamithra as his guru. It is really delightful to see the soulabhya of the L:ord in His incarnations when He acted the role that is expected of Him, as Vedantadesika puts it in Yadhavabhyudhaya,'namyasya namathaH kshudhrAn, varadhasya varArThinah;puthraiH pithrmathaH  kreedA kaTHam thE kEna varnyathE.' He bows down to people who worship Him, requests favours from those whom He bestows His grace and treats His own children as His parents.His leela is thus indescribable!

Visavamithra was the descendent of Brahma  himself and was a king who incurred the wrath of Vasishta, trying to confiscate his celestial cow Kamadhenu and was vanquished by him through his brahmathejas before which all the asthras and sathras Visvamithra got through penance became futile. Then he wanted to become a brahmarshi  like vasisihta to equal him in power and had to undergo great difficulties to accomplish that. Being a kshathriya he had the qualities normal to a king, such as desire, anger and arrogance. He had to conquer each of these undergoing trials and tribulations.

 Visvamithra  went to forest with his wife and did penance and obtained the title of rajarshi from Brahma. But he was not satisfied and wanted to become brahmarshi.and started to do penance again when he took pity on Trisanku, a king of Ikshvaku clan who wished to go to heaven with his physical body and wanted to do a yajna for that purpose.  Visvamithra wasted his power  in creating a heaven for him with stars and all but stopped by the devas who made him to see reason.

Then he started to do penance again  and attained the state of rshi but was tempted by Menaka, a celestial damsel and lived with her for sometime but realised his mistake and continued his penance again at the end of which Brahma gave him the title of maharshi and said since he had not conquered his senses he could not become  brahmarshi.  Not put out by this Visvamithre did  severe penance again  and Indra frightened by it sent Rambha another apsara who was cursed by Visvamithra to become a stone.

 

Thus eventhough he was not tempted by her, having conquered kAma, he found that he had yet to control his anger to become the master of his senses and then contuinued to do very severe penace by which the whole universe was agitated  and Brahma appeared before him and conferred the title of Brahmarshi.  Visvamithra said 'brAhmaNyam yadhi mE prAptham dheergham AyuH thaTHaiva cha;OmkArascha vashatkarO vedhAScha  varayanthu mAm.'  That is, he  asked the boon that the vedas, Omkara and vashatkAra should come to him. This means that he should have the right to do veda adhayayana  and to act as a priest in sacrifices.Further he asked the devas and Brahma to make Vasishta confirm his title of brahamrshi.. Vasishta also  came there and  did like wise.Thus the story of Visvamithra illustrates that anything can be achieved by strenous and persistent effort and also that to attain any eminence there would certainly be obstacles and trials whcih should be conquered. 

 

12.Rama breaks the bow

 

Janaka  and others, besides Rama and Lakshmana heard the story of Visvamithra and Janaka praised him.The next day Visvamithra informed Janaka that the princes wished to see the  bow of Siva , which Janaka had and fixed as the veeryasulka for the marriage of his daughter Sita. Janaka informed Visvamithra that the bow was given to Devaratha , his forefather by the devas. It belonged to Siva who strung it to attack the devas who supported Daksha when he insulted Siva and pleased by the entreaty by the devas, Siva gave it to Indra.. Sita, janaka said, was found in the place where his  plough dug the ground when he ploughed the field for doing yaga and was brought up by him as his daughter. Since she is extraordinary, Janaka decided to give her in marriage to  a valiant hero who could string the bow of Siva

 

When the kings came to seek the hand of Sita Janaka laid down this condition but none of them were able to fulfill it and they got angry and  conducted the siege of Mithila for one year,  but Janaka was able to defeat them all with the power attained from devas. Janaka ended by saying that if Rama could string the bow he would have Sita as his bride.Visvamithra told Janaka to show the bow to Rama. then Janaka ordered the bow to be broght to the court. Thousands of attendants dragged the cart in which the bow was kept and Janaka said that the bow was worshipped by him and his ancesters  and could not be strung  even by devas, asuras or  others  and hence it is impossible to do so for  a  human being.

 

Janaka told Visvamithra to show the bow to Rama and Visvamithra said "vathsa rAma DHanuH pasya, Rama my child, see this bow." Rama went near the box in which the bow was kept and opened it and saw the bow and told Visvamithra by way of getting his permission, "idham DHanurvaram samsprSAmeeha pANinA; yathnavAmscha bhavishyAmi thOlanE pooraNEpi vA, I will touch this bow with my hand and then try to move it and string it."

 

Then after obtaining the permission of the king and the sage, Rama took the bow in his hand with no effort and stood grasping it in the  middle.'leelayA cha DHanurmaDHyE jagrAha vachanAth munEH,' as if it is a plaything..He srung the bow and put an arrow in the middle of it and  pulled when the bow  broke into two. .'ArOpayath sa DHarmAthmA saleelamiva thaDDhanuH;---thadhbabhanja DHanurmaDHyE naraSreshtO mahAyaSAH,' says Valmiki, implying that it was no wonder because he was a naraSrEshta and mahAyaSAH, not only he was the best among men, being the Lord Himself but also acquired   great fame already by his exploits in protecting the  yajna of the sage and redeeming Ahalya.

 

The sound of the bow breaking was so thunderous that except Visvamithra, Janaka and the princes all the rest fainted with fear.'thasya SabdhO mahAn Aseeth  nirghAtha samanissvanaH;bhoomikampaScha sumahAn parvathasyEva dheeryathaH,' The sound was like the crash of thunder, like an earthquake and as though a mountain was splitting..

 

Kamban describes this episode in his own beautiful words.When the bow was brought the people seeing it commented, 'Sangodu chakkaram tharittha Sengai  acchingaEru allanEl idhanai theenduvAn engu uLan oruvan,  this bow can be strung only by  Lord Narayana, who wears the conch and the disc and who is the mighty lion. '  Seeing Rama the wowen thought that if the king  liked this youth he should giive Sita to him in marriage and to stipulate that this young boy should string the bow of Siva is not right, veLLam aNaitthavan villai edutthu ippiLLai mun ittadhu pEdhamai.'

 

Rama walking towards the bow is described by Kamban as 'mAgamadangalum mAl vidaiyum pon nAgamum nAgamum nANa nadandhAn.' Rama walked in such a way that put to shame the gait of the mighty lion and the bull and the elephant and with his body that disgraced even the golden Meru. He took the bow in his hand as though it was a garland extended by the hand of Sita, 'seethai enum pon choodagavAl vaLai soottida neettum Edu aviz  mAlaiidhu ena edutthAn.'  No one saw him take the bow and string it because all they saw was that he took the bow and it broke.'kaiyAl edutthadhu kandanar ittradhu kEttAr.

 

The delight of the people on seeing Rama breaking the bow is described by Kamban as.' They were describing Rama as  the son of Dasaratha, one with eyes like lotus  'dhayaradhan pudhalvar enbar, thAmaraikkaNNan enbar, and that he was not a human but the Lord of the milkyocean Himself, 'mAnidan allan enbar,.kayalporu kadaluL vaigum kadavuLE'  They praised both Rama and Sita saying that they suited each other. 'nambiyaikkANa nangaikku Ayiram nayanam vEndum,kombinaikkANum thorum kurisirkumannadhE Am, Sita should have thousand eyes to see the handsome Rama and likewise he too needed the same to seeher beauty.

 

Janaka pleased with what happened said Sita who would bring fame to the clan of janakas ( all the kings in his clan were called janakas, this one was Seeradvaja Janaka) on getting Rama ,the son of Dasartha as her husband. and also expressed his satisfaction that his promise to give Sita to one who strings the bow of Siva was fulfilled.

janakAnAm kule keerthim Aharishyathi mE sutha;seethA bharthAram AsAdhya ramam daSarathAthmajam; mama sathyA prthijnA cha veeryaSulkEthi kouSika.' Then with the permission of Visvamithra Janaka made arrangements to send messengers to inform Dasaratha about what happened and to bring him for the marriage.

 

13.Rama weds Sita-SeethA kalyANam

 

Dasarata was elated to know about the exploits of Rama and about the marriage proposal.He started for Mithila with all his retinue and reached Mithila after travelling for four days.Valmiki says that he ordered his treasures of pearls corals,  precious gems and heaps of gold a to be carried in front  This deserves to be noted by the parents of the bridegrooms today! Janaka welcomed them with due honour and informed Dasaratha that  the wedding will take place  the day after their arrival when the yaga will be completed. He said, 'yajnasyAnthE naraSrEshta vivAham rshisammatham,'  indicating that the wedding is of the kind called brAhma, which is done according to the principles laid down by the vedas.

 

The marriages are of eight kinds according to Manusmrthi. they are, brAhama, daiva, Arsha, prAjApathya , gAndharva, Asura, rAkshasa and paiSAcha.

 

brAhma - This is done when the boy completes his brahmacharya , that is, gurukula vasa and the parents of the boy approaches the parents of the girl who consent to give their daughter satisfying themselves about the background and education in vedic lore of the boy . No dowry is given and no money transaction involved and the bride is given as  kanyadhana to the bridegroom.This is the highest and noblest kind of marriage.

 

daiva- In this kind of marriage when the girl cannot get a suitable bridegroom the parents, after waiting for a reasonable period, go to yajnasalas to find a priest to marry their daughter,who is decked with ornaments This is considered to be inferior because the girl's parents go on, looking for a suitable match instead of viceversa.

 

Arsha - A girl is married to a sage after exchanging two cows for the girl.This is because neither the parents of the girl nor the sage could affor a better kind of marriage. This is even inferior to the previous one because of the exchange of cows as the sasthra does not consider any marriage involving money or material transactions as noble.

 

prAjapathya- similar to brAhma but the parents of the girl go in search of bridegroom unlike the latter.

 

gAndharva- Similar to the love marriages of today where the girl and boy get married secretly without the consent of the parents. Typical example of this kind is that of Sakuntala and Dushyanyha.

 

Asura - When the groom is not at all suitable for the bride but gives a lot of wealth and to the bride's parents and get married . it is more or less like buying the girl.

 

rAkshasa-where the bridegroom fights and carries away the bride and persuads her to marry him, often with the concent of the bride as in the case of Rukmini and Krishna or that of Prthvirakj  and Samyuktha of recent times.

 

pAisacha-The bride is taken against her will and is forced to marry.This was not sanctioned as per the sastras.

 

The reply of Dasaratha to Janaka was classic.Valmiki calls him vAkyaviDHAm SrEshtah, the best of the speakers. Dasaratha said 'prathigrahO dhAthrvasah Srutham Ethath mayA purA;yaTHA vakshyasi Dharmajna thathkarishyAmahe vayam,' The meaning of the sloka is this: The gift depends on the giver, which is a  well known fact and hence Dasaratha agrees to do as Janaka says because he is the dhAthA, the giver of  kanyAdhAna while Dasaratha is the one who receives, and therfore has to go according to the wishes of the giver. This idea should also be noted  by the parents of the bridegroom nowadays. 

 

Then Vasishta related the glory of  ikshvakuvasmsa and  Janaka  stated the greatness of his vamsa and they agreed on the marriage whcih is like nischayathartha of modern times. 

 

The day of the marriage dawned.   Janaka  offered to give his daughter UrmiLa to Lakshmana and Visvamithra suggested that the daughters of his brother Kusadvaja, Mandavi and Sruthakirthi  may be given in marriage to bharatha and sathrugna to which Janaka agreed with delight. Vasishta was requested by Janaka to conduct the marriage and he did so with  Sathanandha and Visvamithra. Valmiki describes in such detail, all the rituals done before and  during marriage, that we can learn about them from Ramayana.  The muhurtha was set on the day of the star utthara in  phalguna , that is , panguni utthiram, which day has become important for so many other reasons since then.

 

Sita, beautifully adorned, was brought to the marriage hall, and here is one of the places where Valmiki the poet has overtaken Valmiki the sage.

 

thathasseethAm samAneeya sarvAbharaNa bhooshithAm

padhmAm padhmaviyukthAm vai kESavAnkachyuthAm iva

vidhyuthprabhAm viSAlAksheem snigdhakunchithamoorDhajAm

hamsAnkithEna kshoumENa kimchith peethEna samvrthAm

vAsithEnOtthareeyENa surakthEna susamvrthAm          ( VR.BK.73.30)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

Sita  was adorned with all ornaments, wearing red uppercloth which fully  covered her and also covered with a veil of silk slightly yellow decorated with swans. She looked like Lakshmi who has  left her lotus and slipped from the lap of Vishnu.She shines like lightning and has large eyesbeautiful curly hair.

 

Kamban describes the arrival of Sita in his own inimitable style.

 

ponnin oLi poovin veRi sAndhu podhi seetham,

minninezil , annavaL tham mEni oLi mAna

annamum arambaiyarum Ar amizdhum nANa

sittridai nudanga oLir seeradi peyarndhAL

 

She was shining like gold,with sweet smell of flowers, and cool with the sandal paste, her lutre that of lightening and she put to shame the apsara damsels and the swans with her gait.

 

The beauty of this verse consisits in the rhythm of the words which is in kanta nadai which when recited even without  music sounds like the beautiful walkof Sita. As compared with this the verse in same rhythm is used to describe the gait of surpanakha but the alliteration was such that it portrays the deceitful behaviour of the rakshasi in disguise.We shall see this when we come to that part of the story.(MaduraiTNSeshagopalan explained this in his harikatha on Kambaramayana and also sang the two verses in kanta nadai to the delight of the rasikas which sounded different as suited to the different contexts.)

 

Janaka  placed Sita  in front of Rama before fire and said the famous lines which are repeated till today in marriages.

 

iyam seetha mamasuthA sahaDHarmacharee thava.

pratheeccha chainAm bhadhram thE pANim grhNeeshva pANinA

 

This sloka is explained by commentators elaborately.

 

iyam - this Seetha.

1.  who is wellknown not only for her beauty but also because of her mode of manifestation. Seetha means the edge of the plough and she was called Seetha  because she appeared from the earth when the tip of the plough touched the ground where she was.Being ayonija , not born from the womb she shines with her special atteributes natural to her.

2. She is like lightning and could not be seen with normal eyes and hence see her well.

3. Rama as Narayana has been separated from Seetha, Lakshmi, for long and therefore he would have been seeing her everywhere  even when she is not there. Hence he was told that Seetha is here.

4. She  also, like Rama, acts like a human being but has taken the incarnation for the sake of  Rama only.

5.She has come to Janaka because of much penance in order to be given to Rama in kanyadhana.                                         

 

Mama suthA - my daughter.Janaka is a rajarshi. and being his daughter is a testimonial for Seetha . This adjective is the predecessor of the next.

 

sahadharamacharee thava- She will be a fit companion for you in all your pursuits, both yoga and bhoga.For instance Seetha proved to be a sahdharmacharee in showing mercy like Rama , if not more than Rama, who accepted VibheeshaNa who was faultless,  while she showed mercy even to those who wronged against her in Asokavana , by saying 'na kaschith nAparAdhyathi, who has not done something wrong ever.' Rama narrated the story of the doves to illustrate his saranagathi dharma and likewise Seetha told Hanuman the story of the bear and the tiger.(VR-YK)

 

pratheeccha chainAm- Take her . She actually belonged to Rama and hence Janaka says "take her " and not "I give her to you."

 

bhadhram thE- May you be auspicious by marrying her. It is a mangalASAsanam to ward off evil eyes as the couple are extraordinarily suited to each other.These words occur very often in Valmikiramayana. Being a sage he bestows  benediction  to the characters and through them to the readers.

 

pANim grhneeshva  pANina- take her by hand. By this Janaka denotes his approval as her father.This also denotes that the marriage is a brAhma one with the consent of the parents.

 

Janaka gave away Seetha by pouring water  purified by manthra in the hand of Rama by way of kanyadhana, saying 'pathivrathA mahAbhAgA  chAyA iva anugthA thava.' These words, meaning that she is chaste and fortunate and will follow you like shadow.are indicative of her following Rama to the forest later. She reminds this to Rama and says that she has to go with him as per the orders of the elders.(VR-AK)

 

14.Rama on the way to Ayodhya- Parasurama episode