The Ramayana - Valmiki Ramayana

Ravana's women

2012-02-17T23:29:00.000-08:00

It is mentioned in some scriptures that when Hanuman went to Lanka in search of Sita, he saw many women, most of them Ravana’s wives in palace’s ‘antahpur’ (a dwelling deep inside the palace for women only). Hanuman had observed that most of them were happy and satiated.

Ravana had married Mandodari who was the daughter of ‘Maya Rakhasha’. Though, Mandodari happens to be the main and important character in Ravana’s life, there were definitely other women - some wives, some concubines, some lived willingly with him and some were forced to submit to his lust. One did not expect this from a person of Ravana’s stature, what with his immense knowledge of scriptures and his intelligence which was far above others of his time. He was known to force women outside his palace. In fact, on one occasion when Sita implored that she was ‘Parstri’ (somebody else’s woman) and it was a sin on Ravana’s part to set his evil eyes on her, Ravana had said: “I am a king and it is a king’s prerogative to enjoy ‘parstris’,”.

Ravana did not believe in limits or restrictions as far as his sexual activities were concerned. As a result of which he was cursed many times by his victims. According to one version, he was cursed at least eighteen times. Most prominent of these curses was, when Ravana forced himself upon ‘Vedvati’ and ‘Rambha’ turn by turn. They cursed him that ‘henceforth if he used force on an unwilling woman, he would die instantly.’ This curse may be one reason why he did not force Sita into submission.

Now about Sita- perhaps it was not entirely because Ravana wanted revenge for his sister ‘Shurpanakha that Ravana kidnapped Sita. More likely- Shurpanakha, after Ram and Lakshman cut off her nose and ears- went to her mighty brother, fully knowing his weakness for pretty women, described Sita in such vivid terms that Ravana wanted to possess her (Sita) at any cost, even at the risk of his own life. But again, probably conscious of Vedvati and Rambha’s curse that he restrained himself while dealing with Sita and tried to woo her instead of forcing himself on her.

Ravana -The breaking of the Veena string

2012-02-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

It is quite a surprise that Ravana was a good poet and an exponent of music. Normally, persons with negative traits, such as Ravana had, lack finer instincts and do not have inclination for fine arts and music. These activities are for mild and sensitive persons. But Ravana, in contrast to his bearings, had these hobbies.

Being a staunch ‘Shiv bhakta’ (devotee of Shiva), he had created ‘Shiv Tandava’ (dance of Shiva) which is even practiced today. There is an interesting incident in an ancient scripture which shows Ravana’s devotion to music and poetry. Once, Ravana and his wife Mandodari were on a pilgrimage. Both were deep in meditation through music and dance. Ravana was playing the ‘Veena’ (an ancient Indian instrument) and Mandodari was practicing dance on Ravana’s music. All of a sudden, a string on the ‘Veena’ broke. So worried was Ravana that this accident would distract Mandodari’s meditative and devotional dance that he cut a vain from his hand, attached it to the ‘Veena’ to replace the broken string and continued to play the instrument. Mandodari never came to know of this and continued her dance blissfully. Such was Ravana’s devotion to whatever he did. Be it battle, be it administration, be it learning, be it worship or art. Such diverse interests and activities are rare, even in scriptures.

This is also a fact that after taking over Lanka from Kubera, Ravana made it prosperous. That is why it was called ‘Sone ki Lanka’ (City of gold). It is said that every household had gold worth a fortune. And because of this prosperity, his subjects were involved in hobbies like music and sculpture.

Srawan Kumar

2012-01-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

There is an incident in Valmiki Ramayan, that of Srawan kumar, which is thought provoking. During that time too, that is, the time of this epic, caste system was in existence. And of course, hunting of animals was not a sin but a ‘game.’

Once king Dashratha, Rama’s father, went into forest for the game of hunting deer. After roaming around fruitlessly he went deep inside the jungle, got separated from his troop and reached the bank of river ‘Sarayu.’ It was quite dark and the king was tired too. So he decided to rest under a tree for a while. Just then he heard a sound of water being drawn from another side of the river. King Dashratha thought it was a deer having his fill. The king was an expert marksman and could aim even at the sound of an object. Though it was pitch dark he aimed at the sound and released his arrow. He heard a scream of a wounded man. He realized his folly, ran to the spot and found a young boy lying in the pool of blood.

The king was taken aback and immensely regretted his act. He asked the boy who he was and tried to seek his apology. The boy, dying, said: “O king, I am Srawan, a rishi kumar (son of a sage). I am the only child of my blind parents. We are very poor, we maintain ourselves on fruits of this forest. I was taking my blind parents on a pilgrimage in two caskets balanced on my shoulders. We have no enemies, O king, why did you kill me? Now what will happen to my parents, who will look after them?”

Dasharath’s sorrow knew no bounds that he had fatally injured an innocent, more so a muni kumar, a Brahmin, and lamented in front of the boy and asked for his forgiveness. Whereupon Srawan told him: “Hey Rajan, I am born of ‘Vaishya and Kshudra’ parents. So I am not a Brahmin and there is no question of ‘Brahma hatya’ (killing of a Brahmin) on your part. Your act was not intentional. I forgive you. Look after my parents.” And he died. (The king was later cursed by Srawan’s parents, more details in later articles).

This proves that even in Ram Rajya (Ram’s reign), caste system was rigid. Brahma hatya was different from killing an ordinary soul of another lower caste. Interestingly, Srawan’s act of giving solace to the king and forgiving him was an act of a Brahmin, even though he was not one by birth.

Ravana's Lanka

2012-01-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

Here in India, there are a few places where Ravana is worshipped. In the rest of the country, he is a symbol of all that is bad and evil. As such Ravana’s effigy is burnt every year on Dashera, the day on which Sri Ram killed him, as a symbol of Good winning over Evil.

But there is one country, Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) where Ravana is held in high esteem and worshipped throughout the state. Today’s Sri Lanka, a small island, is supposed to be the old Lanka which belonged to Ravana. One prominent Sri Lankan researcher (Mr. Kariella) has made an in-depth study of today’s Sri Lanka in connection with old Lanka and has declared that there are considerable evidences and similarities to believe in the story. He has also written a book of his historical research to prove his point.

There are quite a few places in Sri Lanka which are supposed to be the remnants of the old Lanka, that is, Ravana’s Lanka. For example there is a fall in a small town named Ella which is known as Ravana Dhodh (fall) from time immemorial. Throughout the country, there are many old temples dedicated to Hanuman, Sri Ram and Sita. They are all worshipped there but it is Ravana who is considered a great ruler and held in high esteem. Strangely, there is no temple solely dedicated to Ravana. The place where Sita was kept in captivity is a popular spot known as Ravana goda. There is also a cave on the top of a mountain which is known as ‘Ravana gufa' (Ravana’s cave). There may be other spots devoted to Ramayana and Ravana which we are not aware of. So Ravana and other characters connected with Ramayana are symbolically present throughout Sri Lanka. What is more, there is a modern resort named after the great ruler-‘Ravana resort’.

P.S.: I have also heard of a musical instrument called ‘Ravan haththa’. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about it. But the very fact that Ravana’s name is attached to it signifies some importance.

Ravana's undoing

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of this series in Ramayana, we take characters and incidents ad hoc that is, in no particular order. In this page we will take the incident which was the beginning of Ravan’s downfall.

It is of common knowledge that Ravana was highly educated, intelligent and a great devotee of lord Shiva. Being a Brahmin by birth, it was natural for him to study scriptures and know all mantras and stutis (prayers). After he finished his formal education, he started a tapa (meditation)) to please his beloved deity, Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is also known as Bholenath (the innocent one) and as such it is very easy to please him. But somehow in the case of Ravana it was not so easy. Now, Ravana being Ravana, continued to meditate to please his Lord for years on end. It is also said that Ma Parvati (Shiva’s consort) was instrumental in delaying The Lord’s blessings to Ravana. Parvati insisted that the Lord should check Ravana’s perseverance. But finally after years and years of Ravana’s meditation, the Lord could contain himself no more and blessed Ravana that he (Ravana)could not be killed by a demon or an animal or a devta (God), not even Mrityudev (God of death).

Out of ego and over confidence, Ravana tried to shake Mount Kailash, the very mountain that Lord Shiva was meditating on. He tried his strength against his own mentor. This disturbed Shiva’s concentration. When he learnt that it was Ravana’s deed, he pressed his toe on the side of the mountain which Ravana was trying to lift and shake. Ravana’s hand was pressed under the mountain and try as he may could not take it out. At last Ravana realized his mistake, understood the limitations of his strength against his mentor and decided to please Lord Shiva and started to meditate all over again. It took him years of meditation to please the Lord but finally Shiva relented and released his hand. It appears that this act of going against his Lord immediately after receiving the boon was the beginning of his undoing.

Ramayana - The Mumbai connection

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

As we already know, there are many legends and stories connected with the epic ‘Ramayana’. Very few people outside Mumbai know that there is one place right here in Mumbai which has its connection with the great epic. The place is our very own Walkeshwar and the legendary Banganga Lake.

Legend has it that when Ravana kidnapped Sita, Sri Ram was inconsolable for awhile. Lakshman, Ram’s younger brother gave him solace and the two of them set about the task of finding Sita. Their wandering brought them to the place where Walkeshwar is now. The place was a thick jungle then. Only Rishis (sages) and Brahmins ventured there for meditation and penance. Among them Gautam Rishi had his Ashram there which was quite secluded from others. When the two brothers reached there, they stayed there for awhile in service of the Rishi. Gautam Rishi was very pleased with the two brothers, particularly with Ram for his polite and humble nature. A few days later, the Rishi asked them the purpose of their visit where upon Ram told his story and asked for his guidance and assistance. Gautam Rishi, already impressed with Ram, suggested that Ram should appease Lord Shiva and for that he would need a ‘Shivlinga’. Lakshman was sent to Kashi the same evening to bring ‘Shivlinga’. After a few days the Rishi observed that the wait for Lakshman’s return was painful for Ram and he was getting restless.

The Rishi suggested that Ram should make a ‘Shivlinga’ from the sand available at the shore of the sea and get on with his job. Ram did just that. Sand is called ‘balu’ or ‘walu’. Since the Linga was made of walu, it came to be known as ‘Walukeshwar’ and during course of time both the Linga and the area nearby became ‘Walkeshwar’. The Linga which Lakshman brought from Kashi was installed on an adjacent slot and it was known as ‘Lakhmaneshwar’. When foreigners invaded the place later, the original sand Linga was destroyed. The present Linga, which is now there is the one which Lakshman brought from Kashi, so the legend goes.

In order to install the Linga and for other rituals, they needed water, Lakshman hit the earth deep with his bow and arrow (some say Ram did it) and water came out from Patal (deep inside earth) and formed a lake. The lake came to be known as Patalganga and still later Banganga as it was Lashman’s ‘Ban’( bow and arrow) which had formed it. Even to this day there is a stream which flows throughout the year, nothing less than a miracle. So the legend goes.

Source:Gujarat Samachar: 23^rd Nov. 2011.

The birth of Ravana

2011-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Since time immemorial, as far back as you can remember, mighty importance has been given to ‘Sandhyakaal’, that is, evening time when the sun sets and the moon rises. In other words, meeting time of the sun and the moon, a little dark and a little fading light which is ‘Godhuli’ (when cows return home). It is a pious time and people light Diyas (earthen pots) and engage themselves in ‘Sandhya puja’ (evening prayer) with pure mind and good thoughts forgetting all traumas of the day for a while. It gives solace to the mind.

At such a pious time when everyone was deep in prayer with total Bhakti (devotion) in their minds and nothing but God Almighty in their thoughts, Kekasi, already married to Rishi Visrava, approached Visrava’s Ashram and wished for their copulation with intention to bear their child.
Now it was customary at that time for Rishis to fulfill any demands made at that pious time of Godhuli by any person. Following that tradition, Visrava who could not reject or even overlook Kekasi’s request, accepted her demand and satisfied her.

But immediately after that, he warned Kekasi: “Hey Devi (godess), this action of ours at this time of Godhuli is against religion and is prohibited. But I am bound with our Rishi parampara (tradition) and could not refuse or disappoint you. The deed is done and it is bound to have its consequences. The child conceived today will have few good but more adverse virtues which will overshadow his good ones.”

Thus Ravana was born. Ravana was the eldest of Ketaki’s four off springs. He was known as ‘Dashanana.’ Dashanana means ten heads. That again means one who is egoistic and proud of his genius, wealth and immense strength, the one who scares others, becomes dangerous for others as well as himself. Such a person has tremendous faith in his own strength, can take any risk in life, even risk to his own life in order to fullfill his desires. Such a man was Ravana, who once even dared ‘Yama’ (god of death) for a combat.

Who was Ravana?

2011-11-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

Who was Ravana?

When we think of Ravana, we think of a giant figure of great height, bearing ten heads, each sporting a big mustache and a cruel face, horrible to look at, with ego and cruelty in his being. These are all legends to simplify the tale and make the story interesting. But who was Ravana really? Was he a Rakshasha (demon) or an ordinary human?

Ravana, by birth was a Brahmin and by action, Asura. It seems all beings were born as Aryas and later, divided into humans, Gods, Asuras, Yakshas, Daityas, Vanar (monkey) etc. and all could speak. Ram was human and Sita used to call him ‘Arya putra’, Ravana was a rakhasha but Mandodari too called him ‘Arya putra’, and so did Taramati to her husband Vali who was a Vanar.

Ravana was son of Rishi Visrava who in turn was son of Rishi Pulastya. Pulastya was again the son of Lord Brahma. So it can be concluded that Ravana was a great grandson of God Brahma, as such, incarnation of God.

Rishi Visrava had another wife. Her name was Devranini. She had a son named Kuber. So Kuber was Ravana’s step brother. Kuber used to work for Lord Indra as his finance minister. Though Kuber, was a Yaksha, he worked for Indra (a God) and Indra trusted him enough to make him his finance minister. And Ravana, though a Brahmin by birth, is burnt every year as a symbol of a demon because of his deeds.

Ravana’s father-in-law Sumali, was a Rakshasha. Kekasi, Sumali’s daughter was married to Visrava Rishi and Ravana was born to her. So Ravana, though Brahmin, had elements of Asura too because of his mother Kekasi. This is one aspect of Ravana’s birth..

Sri Ram’s darshan

2011-11-11T02:51:00.000-08:00

The ghost was thoughtful for a while. Finally he appeared to come to some decision and said with folded hands:”O great soul, Ram bhakta Hanuman can help you in this matter.”

Tulsidas asked: “But where can I find Sri Hanuman?”

Ghost: “You won’t have to go anywhere. Hanumanji comes here every day to listen to your Ram katha. He comes here in disguise . He arrives first in your sermon and leaves only after every one has left. He comes in the garb of one suffering from leprosy so nobody comes near him. He sits alone in a secluded corner. You catch hold of him at an opportune time and if you insist he will guide you to Sri Ram.”

Tulsidas followed the ghost’s instructions and soon found an opportune moment when Hanumanji was alone. He put his request before him. Hanumanji told him to go to Chitrakut in order to fulfill his wishes. Now Tulsidas could not hold himself any longer. He instantly set out for Chitrakut. He was so eager for Sri Ram’s darshan (appearance) that he kept weeping throughout his journey from Kashi to Chitrakut. He kept walking without rest and reached Chitrakut.

Once there, he settled on Ramghat (bank) of river Mandakini and kept chanting Ramnam (Ram’s name). He was now so excited with anticipation that he kept weeping and imploring both Sri Ram and Hanumanji to bless him with Sri Ram’s darshan.

Finally one moonless night, Sri Ram appeared before Tulsidas and asked him to put some sandal paste on his forehead. But Tulsidas was so overwhelmed by Sri Ram’s darshan that he kept weeping, lost his senses and fainted. Finally Sri Ram blessed Tulsidas, put Sandal (Chandan) paste on Tulsidas’s forehead as well as his own and disappeared.

Tulsidas-Encounter with Pret Atma of Banyan tree

2011-11-10T02:26:00.000-08:00

In the morning when Ratnavali’s brother came to know that Tulsidas had come to his place and had left without meeting anyone, he thought that Tulsidas was displeased with something and went after him to find him and bring him back. He could not find Tulsidas in spite of his best efforts and returned disappointed and dejected.

When her brother returned without any news of her husband, Ratnavali regretted having spurned her husband and fell unconscious. After remaining sick for awhile, she left for her heavenly abode.

After leaving Ratnavali and her house, Tulsidas went straight to Kashi. Here the first thing he did was to abandon what few worldly belongings he had and became a sadhu (holy man). Here too, he started his sermon on the story of Ram and Ramayana with his usual fervent style and without any care in the world and soon became popular.

Tulsidas used to go to jungle very early in the morning to answer nature’s call. He used to squat under one particular Pipal (Banyan) tree every day. When finished with his core, he had the habit of emptying the remaining water under the tree.

Now it so happened that there was a Prêt Atma (Ghost)) living in that tree. That ghost used to satisfy his thirst with the excess water Tulsidas used to pour under the tree. After many days the ghost realized that Tulsidas was no ordinary soul but a holy man. One day he appeared in front of Tulsidas and requested him to seek any boon in return for the water he had served and promised to fulfill his desire.

Initially Tulsidas refused to ask for anything saying he used to throw remaining water without any intention of serving anybody and as such he had no right to demand anything in return. But the ghost would not take no for an answer.

Finally Tulsidas relented and said: “If you want to give me something, I want Maryada purushottam Sri Ram to appear (give darshan) before me.”

The story of Tulsidas - Part 4

2011-03-22T04:33:00.000-07:00

A shock was waiting for him in his birth place, Rajapur. There was no building where his father’s house once stood, only debris and remnants. He enquired about his father and other relatives staying in the house. The main priest of the temple informed him that when a messenger from Chuniya’s mother came from Haripur years back and requested Atmaram Dube to accept his child back and when Dube refused to take any responsibility, one sage cursed Dube that soon he and his family would be destroyed and that there would be no one left in his generation. The curse came true and no one was left in his family. Tulsidas performed all last rites of his father and other relatives.

Tulsidas now had no place to stay. He took shelter in the temple. After a while people of Rajapur realized that this was no ordinary soul and were highly impressed with his knowledge and simplicity. They pleaded with Tulsidas to stay in the town and constructed a small house for him to stay in. Here Tulsidas started his sermon and told Ram Katha (Ram’s story) to the people of the town on daily basis. He always acknowledged that this was Valmiki’s Ramayana and that he was just repeating the story for his own pleasure and satisfaction. Soon he became popular for his style of sermon and his deep knowledge of scriptures. His popularity spread to other towns and people started to flock in to listen to him. He obliged them and they were never disappointed.

Here destiny took a turn. By this time Tulsidas began to be known as Sant Tulsidas (sage). His popularity spread far and wide. Amongst his regular listeners was a Brahmin from a nearby town who was very much impressed with Sant Tulsidas’s knowledge and his devotion to Ram. Himself a Karmakandi (ritualistic), he wanted his beautiful daughter to be married to a Brahmin sage and thought that if he gives his daughter to Tulsidas in marriage, she would be happy for life. So one day the Brahmin met Tulsidas and requested him to accept his daughter, Ratnavali, as his wife. Tulsidas refused flatly saying he had no intention to marry. The Brahmin, now adamant, started fast until death if Tulsidas didn’t accept his offer. Ultimately, fellow villagers and well wishers intervened and Tulsidas accepted beautiful Ratnavali, as his wedded wife.

The story of Tulsidas - Part 3

2011-03-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

After a while both, Guru and the disciple went on pilgrimage of Avadhpuri. On the way to Avadhpuri they visited many beautiful places, rivers, forests etc. and met several sages and gained knowledge from them. Both of them spent most of their time in dhyana (meditation), japa (repeating God’s name), tapa (penance) and swadhyaya (study). During that time Narhariji decided that it was time to obey Lord Shiva’s bidding and teach Ramcharit Manas to Tulsidas. He started to narrate the story of Ram to Tulsidas, based on Valmiki’s Ramayana. He explained every action of Ram with justification and meaning which Tulsidas absorbed with keen interest and attention.

A few months later both of them visited Kashi (Banaras). It was here that they came into contact with Sanatanji of Kashi who was highly impressed with Tulsidas, his keen observation and grasp of everything related to dharma (religion). Sanatanji Maharaj requested Narhariji to leave Tulsidas with him. Narhariji agreed and left Tulsidas in the care of Sanatanji Maharaj. Here Tulsidas studied Ved (ancient Indian scripture), dharma (religion), Kartavya (duty) etc. under watchful eyes of Sanatanji Maharaj with fitting dedication. He stayed in Kashi for fifteen years and completed his studies.

Later, he remembered his birth place and requested his mentor to allow him to go to Rajapur. Sanatanji Maharaj, knowing Tulsidas had to achieve much more, conceded and gave his permission with heavy heart. Tulsidas started his journey and reached Rajapur in due time.

Here many people question why did Tulsidas remember and opted to visit Rajapur and not Haripur. After all, he had spent most of his childhood in Haripur whereas he should have had little or no memory of Rajapur. It was in Haripur that he had some pleasant years in the care of Chuniya, his mother’s faithful maid. Of course, he had suffered a lot after Chuniya’s untimely death, but still, an unknown lady (Parvati) had taken care of him in Haripur. However, his destiny took him to Rajapur. Different scholars have different opinions in this matter.

The story of Tulsidas - Part 2

2011-02-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Narhariji, intrigued by the dream, decided to travel to Haripur and obey Shivji’s order. So he went to Haripur, found the child, learned more about the child from the local people and named him ‘Rambolo’ for the time being as the child had uttered ‘Ram’ at the time of his birth. He took the child, Rambolo to Ayodhya with permission of the local people of Haripur. In Ayodhya, he gave the child the thread ceremony (yagnopaveet) in presence of other Brahmins. The year was Samvat 1561 and the day was Maha Sud 5th, a Friday. The Brahmins and other people of Ayodhya present in the ceremony were surprised when Rambolo narrated ‘Gayatri Mantra’ (the most powerful chant in Hindu ideology) without being taught. They were, including Narhariji, convinced that this was no ordinary soul.

They stayed in Ayodhya for about a year on ‘Hanuman Timba’. Narhari Swami performed five ceremonies (sanskaras) according to Hindu Vaishnav rights and gave Diksha of ‘Ram Mantra’ to Rambolo. Now Rambolo started to learn different aspects of religion from his Guru (teacher). Such was his grasp and memory that the Guru had to teach different lessons and Mantras only once for Rambolo to remember them. It was rare that the Guru had to repeat anything to him. Apart from this, Rambolo spent most of his time in serving and taking care of his Guru.

It is mentioned earlier and Sri Morari Bapu has also said in his sermons that Rambolo had uttered the word ‘Ram’ at the time of his birth and that is why Narhariji named him Rambolo. But now, Rambolo chanted ‘Ram nam’ day and night along with studying religion and scriptures. He had tremendous faith in Gayatri Mantra. Gradually, he adopted a new name and came to be known as ‘Tulsidas’.

Once when Tulsidas was in service of his Guruji, massaging his feet, when he told the story of his life right from his birth, how he was abandoned by his father and how his mother’s faithful maid took care of him and everything that happened thereafter till Narhariji sought him. Guruji was highly moved by his life story and blessed him again and again.

Interpreting Ramayana - The story of Tulsidas - Part 1

2011-01-19T03:45:00.000-08:00

It is common knowledge that Ramayana (Sri Ramcharit Manas) was written by Goswami Tulsidas about four hundred years back. Normally, while reading or hearing Ramayana, Tulsidas’s name is mentioned as the writer or creator of the epic and we continue with the story and characters of Sri Ram, Sita, Laxman, Hanuman etc. After the original one, Valmiki’s Ramayana, from which Tulsidas has taken his text and simplified it, this is the most popular epic in India. Who was this Tulsidas? Where was he from? What was his background?

The name Goswami Tulsidas is a household name throughout our country and elsewhere as a creator of Sri Ramcharit Manas. This great soul was born in a small town named Rajapur on the banks of Yamuna near Prayag. It is believed that Tulsidas was in his mother’s womb for twelve months. His father was a respected person named Atmaram Dube, himself a scholar of Indian scriptures. His mother’s name was Hulsi and she was a simple, devoted housewife.

A maid by the name of Chuniya, who helped Hulsi in giving birth to this child, revealed later that the child (Tulsidas) did not cry at all after his birth. Instead he uttered the word “RAM”. He was born like a grown up child of five and had all thirty two teeth in his mouth. When the maid Chuniya informed Atmaram about the child’s birth and other unusual details, Atmaram was happy and sad all at once. He could not decide whether to rejoice or worry. He gathered his friends, relatives and well wishers for guidance but nobody could explain this extra ordinary phenomenon or could give him any kind of solace. Days passed but Dube could not make up his mind about the child. The child was almost ignored except for his mother and the maid.

One day Hulsi, Tulsidas’s mother called her maid Chuniya and told her that she had a premonition that her time had come to leave this earth and she was extremely worried about the child. She was not sure how other people in the household would treat the child after her departure. Hulsi gave some small fortune to Chuniya and requested her to leave Rajapur with the child before others woke up. She said that she trusted Chuniya would take good care of the child as the child was born in her hands. Chuniya assured her and left Rajapur overnight.

Soon after this incident Hulsi left for her heavenly abode one fine early morning (bramha muhurt).

This maid, Chuniya traveled overnight and took the child Tulsidas to her in-laws place in Haripur. Chuniya’s mother-in-law, a generous woman that she was, allowed Chuniya to keep the child with her and look after him. The child began to grow under the maid’s care. When Tulsidas was four or five, the maid suddenly died. Her mother-in-law, an old woman now, had no particular attachment with the child and had allowed the child to stay there only out of generosity and also because Chuniya had been given enough wealth for the job. She now sent a message to the child’s father, Atmaram Dubey, about Chuniya’s demise and requested him to take the child back to Rajapur. Atmaram, in turn, returned a message with the same messenger that he had nothing to do with the unfortunate child, that he was the cause of his wife’s untimely death and that he didn’t care whether the child lived or died.

Tulsidas continued to stay in Haripur but now there was no one to look after him. He went from door to door for food and his condition was pathetic. Parvati, (Lord Shiva’s consort), Ma Parvati as she is called, got very upset with the child’s condition. She made a practice of taking form of an ordinary woman, came down to earth and feed the child. People were surprised because they had never seen this woman around earlier. No body knew who she was, where she stayed or where she came from. Ma Parvati continued with this practice because the child had uttered Ram’s name at the time of birth. This devotee of Ram was Parvati’s favorite.

A couple of years passed like this. Now Lord Shiva decided to make some permanent arrangement for the child’s maintenance and future. During this time there was a saint named Narhariji who stayed at a place called ‘Ram Shailya.’ Lord Shiva came into Narhari’s dream and suggested that he (Narhari) travel to Haripur, find the child, bring him to Ram Shailya with him and narrate the full story of Sri Ramcharit manas to him. And this child, at appropriate time would spread Sri Ram’s name and message far and wide.

Source: Shri Ramcharit manas,
Jalaram Jyot Prakashan.

Spritual 'Yog'

2011-01-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

Ram was about to leave Ayodhya to live in exile in jungle for fourteen years. Kaikeyi had asked Dasharath in one of her two wishes that Ram go in exile (vanavasa) for fourteen years. The question is why did Kaikeyi ask for fourteen years in exile for Ram? Why not fifteen, why not ten or twelve for that matter. Why specific fourteen years and what is it’s significance? Back then, in Ram’s time, that is ‘Tretayuga’, an average life span of a man was considered to be that of a hundred years, give and take a few years. The entire life was divided into seven parts which, if calculated, came to a little over fourteen years a part. These parts or divisions were called ‘yog’ then. One ‘yog’ can be translated as one period or one stage of life. There were different functions to be performed in every ‘yog’. Every stage of life was lived according to defined rules. Of course, they were not rigid about stated fourteen years per stage, lines sometimes differed according to circumstances.

1st yog: Contrary to popular belief that a child was sent to Guru’s Ashram (abode) to study at an early age of eight or nine, one school of thought believes that a child stayed with parents for the first thirteen-fourteen years of his life, that is, first yog. During this period, when he was seven-eight, Guru came to his house to give him initial knowledge and for them (Guru and shishya) to get acquainted so that when the time came for shishya to go and live with his Guru, both were well acquainted with each other.

2nd yog: At an age of about fourteen a child went to his Guru’s Ashram, boarded and studied there, be it science (vignan), maths (ganit), politics (rajniti), economics (arthashashtra), war strategies (yudhaniti) and religion (dharma) etc. A child studied there for eight to ten years depending upon his grasp and power to absorb his Guru’s teachings. He remained there for another four –five years to serve his Guru and his family in exchange for the knowledge gained, till he was about twenty eight and till his Guru permitted him to go.

3rd yog: In this period a child, now grown into a man, returned to his parents and immediately got married with his parents’ find and started his ‘grihasthashram’. In this period, the man was fully involved with his family life, business life (vanijya) or service life (nokri) as the case may be, till he was forty two to forty five years of age. Here he also extended his family.

4th yog: Here, in middle forties, while still involved with family and work, man started to think about more involvement in meditation (dhyana) and prayers (prarthana) then earlier. He mentally prepared himself to leave everything to his children at the end of this yog, that is, around fifty eight years of age.

5th yog: Now he retired from active life, leaving everything and all to his off springs. He spent more and more time in meditation, charities and social activities.

6th yog: At this stage, past sixties and in early seventies, he left everything behind and went to stay in jungle (vana), lived in a hand built Kutir (mud house), mainting a very pure and simple life and few needs. Even if he stayed with his family, he stayed detached (alipta) to everything and every happening around him and spent most of his time remembering and worshiping God, preparing for the final journey.

7th yog: Now, in mid eighties, if he was still alive, he definitely went to stay in solitude, stopped intake of food and took Samadhi at an appropriate time.

Laxman's dilemma

2010-12-28T21:59:00.001-08:00

After Ravana was killed, Ram, and Laxman were talking of all that had happened and taking stock of the situation.

Ram: said to Laxman “I am very displeased with you. You disobeyed me. I did not expect this from you.”

Laxman to Ram: “What did I do? What are you talking about? I cannot imagine disobeying you even in my dreams.”

Ram: “I had specifically told you to take care of Sita and not to leave her alone even for a moment, did I not? But you betrayed my trust and see what happened. Sita had to go through a lot, see what we all went through. Brother Jatayu was killed trying to save Sita. There was destruction on both sides. It is sad that so many people lost their lives. If you had obeyed me, none of this would have happened. I am not happy with you.”

Laxman: “I was in dharma sankat. I had two orders to follow. One from you and another from Ma Sita. You ordered me not to leave Ma Sita and Ma Sita ordered me to go and save you. Both orders were contradictory. There was no way I could follow both. If I obey you, I disobey Ma Sita and if I obey her, I disobey you. I was in a real dilemma. Then I thought that in our shastras (scriptures), mother comes first. You will forgive me for this, but no body says RamSita, people say SitaRam. Mother first. ‘Matru devo bhava’ first and then ‘Pitru devo bhava’. Parents are called ‘matpita’ and not ‘pitamata’. Here too mother comes first and I consider Sita my mother. Her order came first by virtue of her being my mother. So I obeyed her against my wishes, even at the cost of bringing upon myself your wrath...”

Ravana's ego

2010-12-20T00:54:00.000-08:00

According to some views, at one stage in his life, Ravana became so powerful and egoistic that he felt he could defeat his benefactor Lord Shiva himself. With that intention he reached Mount Kailash, Shiva’s abode. He became so blind in his ego that he inserted his toes beneath the mountain with the intention of overturning the mountain from its base. Shiva was mighty displeased with Ravana’s misdeeds and put pressure on the mountain top with his foot. Ravana’s toes were stuck under the mountain. He suffered tremendous pain and could not free his toe. Ravana realized his mistake, started penance to please Shiva and continued his japas for years till Shiva was pleased and released his grip and pressure on the mountain. Shiva again blessed Ravana, gave him unique weapons and after that Ravana became a Shivabhakta for life.

Ravana gave kingdom of Patallok to his brother, Ahiravana. Since Kuber had earlier criticized Ravana for his greed and cruelty, he imprisoned Kuber and other gods, so much so that even the Sun god obeyed Ravana.

Ravana had two more brothers-Vibhishana and Kumbhkarna and a sister Surpanakha. Amongst them, Vibhishana was a devotee of Sri Ram. When Ravana kidnapped Sita, Vibhishana tried his best to change Ravana’s mind and for Ravana to compromise with Ram and release Sita with honor. Vibhishana was declared a traitor and thrown out of the kingdom. Vibhishana asked for Ram’s shelter and got it. The rest is history.

Ravana, it is well known, was a great devotee of Shiva. He did penance for hundreds of years to appease Shiva and in turn got Shiva’s blessings that he could not be killed or defeated by gods, rakshasas or yakshas. Nara (man) and vanara (monkey) were not included in those blessings. As a result, Rama, in the form of man, killed Ravana with the help of vanaras.

Ravana was a scholar of all four Vedas. According to one opinion he took great interest in astrology and knew quite a lot about it. He probably knew that Ram was actually God Vishnu in the form of Man. After kidnapping Sita, he kept her in Ashok vatika instead of his palace because fairy Rambha had cursed Ravana on one occasion saying that if ever Ravana forced himself upon any woman, his head would separate from his body instantly. So Ravana knew of his imminent death and wished that if he was to die, better to die at the hands of Lord Vishnu and attain Moksha.

Even to this day, one can see Ravana’s Anarya culture’s influence in many parts of our country. Tamil Nadu for one boasts of more than three hundred temples dedicated to Ravana. People worship Ravana. in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, there is an idol of Ravana which is three meters in height. In one village Patalkot in Chhindwada where natives believe that they are decedents of Ravana. It is said that Ravana went to Patallok to worship Shiva form this place, hence it is known as Patalkot even today.

Knowledge from a dying Ravana

2010-12-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

Ravana was dying and Laxman was sitting near Ravana’s feet attaining knowledge. Initially, Laxman was not very keen on learning wisdom from Ravana. He sat there only because Ram wanted him to and he could not disobey his elder brother. But as Ravana’s sermon progressed, Laxman realized that he was listening to the most knowledgeable person if ever there was one and was all attention. He also understood why Ram was insistent and had new respect for Ravana.

When Ravana’s oration was near complete, Laxman realized that Ravana had tears in his eyes and was dejected. Ravana, being Ravana, could not cry like an ordinary soul, but Laxman saw that there was turmoil in his heart.

Whereupon Laxman said: “Hey Dashanan, what is the matter, what is troubling a wise person like you? You have vast, unparallelled knowledge on every subject. Even Sri Ram, himself a treasure of knowledge, accepts this. You have answers and solutions to all questions, so why these tears?”

Ravana said: “I know I have great knowledge and wisdom. I have toiled for years to attain these. But I did not realize the importance of my own wisdom, whereas others, like Ram did. That is why he insisted that you listen to my sermon. I taught you, I imparted my knowledge to you but I myself did not follow the rules of moral (niti) in my own life. I also taught you to put your good thoughts into action immediately and dwell upon thoughts for a few days, which are against common opinion. Look, what I did in my own life. I wanted to convert salt sea water to sweet water for the good of mankind during my life time. I know I could have done it. It would have taken a few years but I could have achieved that task. I lazed out and now my time has run out. But in the case of Sita, I acted instantly whereas I should have waited for a few days. When my sister informed me about a beautiful woman Sita, I immediately made plans and kidnapped her. As a result, all my near and dear ones are dead and there is no one to weep for me on my death. Laxman, my great knowledge and wisdom did not benefit me, but I hope they are useful to you.”

Ram's fourteen years of exile

2010-12-03T04:27:00.000-08:00

Sri Ram was about to leave Avadh (Ayodhya) to live in exile in jungles for fourteen years. The entire town of Avadh was in gloom and turmoil. Kaikeyi had asked for two wishes (boons) from king Dasharatha. First, she demanded that her son Bharat, be given the throne of Avadh. Dasharatha has no problem with that. He readily agreed. Second, Kaikeyi demanded that Ram goes in exile (vanavasa) for fourteen years. Dasharatha was a broken man.

The question is, and an interesting one at that, why did Kaikeyi ask for fourteen years of exile for Ram? Why not fifteen, why not ten or twelve for that matter? Why fourteen? There are interesting explanations and interpretations about these fourteen years:

An average life span of a man was considered to be of a hundred years at that time. The entire life was divided into seven parts which came to a little over fourteen years a part. One part of these fourteen years was called one ‘YOG’ then. One yog can loosely be translated as one ‘period’ or one ‘stage’. There were different functions to be performed at every yog or stage of life. Some knowledgeable say, that Kaikeyi may have decided to spoil one yog of Ram out of his seven.
Note: We will see about different functions of these seven yogs in spiritual column soon.

According to Kamb Ramayana, when Sri Ram decided to participate in Sita’s swayamvar and when Sita came to know about Ram’s participation, she took a vow addressing God Shiva: “O Shivji, this Dhanush (bow) belongs to you and I know it is unbreakable. But, if you allow Sri Ram to break it, I will be able to marry him. I take this vow to remain in exile with Ram for fourteen years and spend the entire time in your devotion.” So Shiva manipulated Manthara and Kaikeyi’s minds and made them speak those terrible words.

One more opinion: When Ram was to ascend the throne, Ravana had only fourteen years of life left. Since Ravana was destined to die at Ram’s hand, God put those thoughts in Manthara’s mind. God also needed that much time to plot and create circumstances for Ram to kill Ravana.

One more version: When Manthara was trying to brainwash Kaikeyi, she lied to Kaikeyi saying that the entire Ayodhya knew about Ram’s ascendance to throne for the past fourteen days except Kaikeyi. The entire town was celebrating the occasion and that Kaikeyi was kept in dark on purpose. That day was fifteenth day, the day Ram was to take the throne and Dasharatha and others had kept Kaikeyi in dark so that she did not have time to think and object. So Kaikeyi decided to darken fourteen years of Ram’s life against fourteen days of her darkness.

Thus, several episodes of the Ramanaya are interpreted differently by different people.

Ravana's history

2010-11-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

Some opine that Ravana was an evil character. That is the reason why he is burnt or his effigy is burnt on the day of Dashera. The process is symbolic of ‘Satya’ (truth) defeats ‘Asatya’ (that which is not true). One meaning of Ravana, according to some is ‘one who thunders’ or ‘one who has thunderous voice.’ Ravana is also known as ‘Dashanana.’ It is said that when he laughed, even mountains on earth vibrated. While one school of thought believes that his ten heads represent his extraordinary knowledge which was ten times more then the most knowledgeable, others think they indicate ten vices or evils in him. They were- ‘ahankar’ (ego), ‘krodh’ (anger), ‘alasya’ (laze), ‘lobh’ (greed), ‘kam’ (lust), ‘chori’ (loot or theft), ‘hinsa’ (violence), ‘moh’ (attachment), ‘mud’ ( fat), ‘chheh’ or ‘droh’ (cheat). Thus, different people have different interpretations about his ten heads.

As the story goes, Ravana was born in a Brahmin family, his father being a ‘rishi’. As a child Ravana was bright, strong and intelligent. He had very good memory. His father, rishi ‘Visrava’ had taught him Vedas, Shastras and mantras. But Ravana’s mother was from a family of rakshasas or daityas. Her name was Kaikashi. Kaikashi’s father was a king of rakshasas whose name was Sumali. So Ravana’s father was Visrava rishi where as mother was a queen of daityas Kaikashi and as a result Ravana inherited virtues and habits of both, rishis and daityas. Though a rakshasi, Kaikashi followed Aryas’ beliefs and habits.
In those times, that is, Tretayuga, there were two factions, Aryas and Anaryas. Aryas followed certain rules, social laws and norms, believed in worship, fast, were vegetarians and stayed within framework of a society. Those who did not follow these rules, who believed in free life, consumed liquor (somras), ate meat. and lead lawless lives were called Anaryas. Kaikashi’s father Sumali and his family were Anaryas, but Kaikashi herself followed Arya habits. Visrava rishi, Ravana’s father, married her because of her good virtues in spite of the fact that she was a born rakshasi.
Ravana was the eldest son of Kaikashi. His father Visrava wanted him to be the greatest scholar on earth. He did attain great knowledge, was expert in shastras (scriptures) and was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he was more under the influence of his maternal grand father Sumali, an Asura.
Kuber was alsoVisrava’s son and Ravana’s step brother. The city of Lanka was created by Vishvakarma for Kuber. It was a splendid city of gold. When complete, Visrava gifted the city over to Kuber. This angered Sumali and he instigated Ravana to capture the throne of Lanka. Initially, Ravana was hesitant but ultimately gave in to his maternal grand father’s demands and challenged Kuber into a combat. Visrava, knowing Ravana could not be defeated because of Shiva’s boon, advised Kubera to hand over the kingdom of Lanka to Ravana and thus Ravana became the king of Lanka. As per this belief, Lanka originally belonged to Kuber. Ravana, on his part, further improved the city with palaces, gardens, and beautiful roads. He also extended his empire capturing, Kushdweep, Malaydweep and Agandweep etc. Almost all kings and kingdoms around the sea paid protection tax to Ravana and so he was called ‘Rakshak’ (protector). Later, his Anarya instincs began to get better of him. He had made up his mind to capture all three worlds- Prithvilok, Patallok and Swarglok and from there on he was called ‘Rakshas’ (devil) instead of ‘Rakshak’ or protector.

Ram’s hesitation

2010-11-17T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have read about this conversation between Ram and Ravana after Ram crossed the sea to Lanka with the help of his monkey warriors, in some obscure magazine which interested me. Contrary to popular belief that after reaching Lanka, Ram and Lakshman in particular, had verbal war with Ravana, challenged each other to prove their might, the exchange of words between the two sides was rather unchallenging, if not polite, for both sides knew what or who the other was. And I believe it is more likely.

The first thing Ram did upon reaching Lanka, was to settle his army for war and immediately set upon the task of cooling Laxman down with his words of wisdom on war. Laxman was not prepared to wait for strategic decisions and planning, was eager to have it out with Ravana as Ravana had dared to kidnap the woman whom Laxman worshipped as his own mother. Ram, aware that Laxman was nowhere near Ravana’s cunning and skills, asked him (Laxman) to tackle others and leave Ravana to him as it was now a personal matter between him and Ravana. Ravana too was in the battle field with his army. Since war was imminent, both sides knew there was no point in challenging and daring each other.
Ravana: “Hey Ram, I bow my head to your courage that you managed to cross the ocean and reach here. Now, what are you waiting for? I will let you have the first strike.”
Ram: “I am a Khatriya (warrior). Though you are in the wrong and a culprit, I will give you first opportunity to strike. You will not have another.”
Ravana threw his arrow which Ram easily avoided. His next was intercepted and destroyed by Ram’s. Now was the time for Ram to strike. Still he hesitated.
Ravana: “Hey Dashrathputra, I know you are brave. I fail to understand the reason of your hesitation.”
Ram: “O Lankapati, war is inevitable. The result of this war too is known. I am thinking about this sea of human army.”
Ravana: “What about it? How can I set your mind at rest?”
Ram: “Hey Dashanan, the enmity is between you and me. Thousands of people on both sides will be killed.”
Ravana: “So? It happens in war.”
Ram: “It could have been avoided. Only if you had listened to Vibhishana and Hanuman, we could have avoided this massive destruction.”
Ravana: “O great soul, this is not a combat, this is war. I wonder that a man with your wisdom is having such weak thoughts.”
Ram: “It is not that, O master of knowledge, I too was wondering what prompted a wise and knowledgeable person like you to commit such a heinous crime, knowing the out come?”
Ravana: “Hey Ram, the deed is done. It cannot be undone. I have made my first move. It is now your dharma (duty) to fight.”
Ram: “Yes Lankeshwar, you are right. Fight I shall. But it is so unbecoming of you. Moreover, I was thinking about men in your army. They will perish without any fault of theirs.”
Ravana: “They are warriors. It is their job to fight. It is their destiny.”
Ram: “True. But I dislike unnecessary destruction.”
Ravana: “Ram, you forget they are Rakshshas (demons).”
Ram: “So?”
Ravana: “Hey Purushottam, it is their destiny. I will let you know something you don’t probably know. Have you ever seen or even heard of a Rakshasha dying a natural death? Or dying of an old age? Rakshasas get killed by Manushyas, human beings. Even gods like Indra cannot kill us. Only men from Prithvilok can. All Rakshasas ever born get killed by men. We are cursed, it is our destiny. I am a Rakshasa and so are they. So stop worrying about them, I prey, carry on with your dharma and fight. You and I are only following what is written in our fate.”
And war does happen. Ravana is killed with all his relatives. But that is another story.

Interpreting Ramayana - Vibhishana’s betrayal

2010-11-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

It is said that it was only because of Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, who guided Ram and his army to a weaker section of the Lanka fort that Ram was able to penetrate into Lanka. One conversation between Sri Ram and Ravana in the battle field in this regard is as follows:.

Ravana: “O great soul, I have a question that I am unable to answer for myself. Soon the war will start. It is predestined that only one of us will survive this war.”

Ram: “Ravana, you are a learned Brahmin and the fame of your wisdom has spread far and wide. What further can I do for you?”

Ravana: “Hey Ram, I have a moral question. I want to know it’s answer according to our Shastras (scriptures) and Dharma (religion).”

Ram: “O Shiv bhakta, your knowledge in this regard is far greater then me and with blessings of Lord Shiva, your wisdom is unparalleled.”

Ravana: “I am uncertain between moral ethic and dharma. I need your guidance.”

Ram: “I will help you if I can.”

Ravana; “It is about Vibhishana. I want you to hand over Vibhishana to me so that I can give appropriate punishment to him for his betrayal before the battle starts.”

Ram: “That I cannot do. I have given him shelter. It is not only my duty but also my dharma to protect him.”

Ravana: “Vibhishana is a traitor and it is my dharma to punish him.”

Ram: “He is on the side of Satya (truth). He did what he felt right.”

Ravana: “O Vishnu avatar, that of course, is your point of view. For me and my countrymen, he is a traitor.”

Ram: “In that case, either both of us are right or both of us are wrong.”

Now here in Ravana’s reply lies his greatness. His sermon shows how widely knowledgeable he was and how he could do Chintan (meditation) on every issue from all different angles.

Ravana: “Hey Veer Purushottam, I dare not say what you suggest is wrong. And yet, TRUTH, according to my knowledge, is but one. Either Vibhishan is right or he is wrong. He cannot be both. He cannot be punished and rewarded for the same single act. According to you Vibhishana has sided with truth. My Shastra says he is a traitor, not because he sided with you. If he had fought this battle alongside you, I would have accepted that fact as truth. I would have even admired him for his courage to stand by what he believed in. But, O Ayodhyanaresh, my Shastra, my ethics say that the greatest sin on this universe is betraying trust. I repeat, there is no sin greater then betraying and breaking one’s trust, not even my sin of abducting your beautiful wife. Vibhishan is my brother. I trusted him with a state secret, that secret on which my entire county’s safety and lives of thousands of people depends. I trusted him with the weak spot in my fort because in case of emergency, that is the place he and a trusted few others should protect. Instead, he gave away my secret to you and the existence of my entire kingdom is at stake. This is the truth, a stark truth. If Vibhishan had disclosed some of my personal secrets and thereby staked my life, I would have still accepted it. But this is the betrayal of the nation. I once again say, O savior, that if he had fought against me face to face, I would have been proud, but not this. A holder of a secret entrusted to him should die and take that secret to his grave, irrespective of circumstances facing him. Even an enemy entrusted with a secret should respect its sanctity and that is Shastra. I would prefer an open enemy any day than a traitor brother like Vibhishana.”

It is said that Ram, even after much deliberation, could not reply to Ravana and suggested him to act on his own judgment.

Lord Shiva's reincarnation as Ram

2010-08-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

There is this one story behind Rama’s birth, amongst others. Once, Lord Shiva (Shankar) was resting in his abode on Mount Kailash. Two watchmen (dwarpals), by the names of Jay and Vijay were in attendance at the entrance of the Lord’s abode. Two Rishis who were passing through the mountain came there to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva. They thought it would be impolite to pass by the Lord’s home and not pay their obeisance to him. As was the custom then, Mahatmas (Rishis, saints) were free to come and go where they liked. Nobody stopped them. But Jay and Vijay did. As the two saints tried to enter the door, the dwarpals stopped them. The saints got angry: “How dare you? We are Mahatmas. We have come to pay our respects to the Lord Shiva and he can never refuse to meet us.”

The dwarpals bowed to them, but were adamant: “Bhagwan is in rest. We cannot allow you to go in. We humbly request you to wait and when the Lord is awake, we will take you in. Meanwhile we are at your service.”
The saints got angry, lost their temper and cursed: “You have insulted Mahatmas. May you both become rakshashas (devils) this instant.” and the next instant the dwarpals turned into devils. The dwarpals told the saints that they were just doing their duty and to have mercy on them. But the Rishis said that done was done. Words and arrows cannot be recalled. Hearing the ruckus, Lord Shiva came out of the abode and wanted to know what the commotion was about.
After hearing both sides the Lord said: “The dwarpals were only doing what they were told to do. But I agree that they should not have stopped you. They should learn to differentiate between an ordinary man and the Rishis and Mahatmas. However, you too should have used some constraint. But now we cannot undo your curse, it will go against Prakriti (nature). I request you to have mercy on them and do something about it.”
The Rishis recognized the threat behind Shivji’s request and said: “They will have to take at least three births as Rakshashas and in all these three births they will have to fight you (Shiva), and you will have to kill them. After that they will be free and turn into humans.” Thus, in their first birth Jai-Vijay became devils Hiranakshya and Hiranyakashyapu. To kill them the Lord took two forms, one Varah and another Narsinh. The same Jai-Vijay, were Ravana and Kumbhkarna in Tretayug and Lord Shiva took the form of Ram. Last, they were Dantvakra and Shishupal in Dwaparyug and the Lord came to the earth as Krishna to kill them and free them of the curse.

Parvati's mistake

2010-08-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

Lord Shiva’s consort, Parvati, daughter of Mount Himalaya and Maina was Daksha’s daughter in her previous Avatar (birth). In that birth too she was Shiva’s wife. During that life, once both of them, Shiva and Parvati, went to Agatsya Muni’s Ashram (abode) to listen to the Muni’s sermon. In the course of the sermon, Agatsya Muni talked about Ram and his virtues and compared him to Brahma. When they were returning from the sermon to their home on Kailash peak by air route (aakash marg), they saw Ram in totally disheveled condition roaming about in jungle calling after Sita. Sri Ram looked lost and forlorn, not anywhere near what Agatsya Muni had described him to be.

It so happened that it was the time when Ravana had abducted Sita. Ram still did not know about Sita’s whereabouts and both Ram and Laxman were trying to find her. Ram, sad and weeping, was asking every living and non-living beings if they knew something about Sita. He was asking trees, flowers, animals, leaves, stones or whatever came in his way, if they had seen Sita. Nobody had, so none could help him.

Upon seeing him from high above, Lord Shiva bowed his head and paid his obeisance to Ram. Shiva felt sorry for him but knew it was Ram’s Lila, that is, Ram was playing his part he was supposed to play, that of a lost and torn husband. But Parvati thought otherwise and was not impressed. She thought Ram being Ram, God’s own form, weeping and mourning like an ordinary mortal on earth, didn’t suit him. People were exaggerating in paying their obeisance to Ram. He didn’t look that great right then. She didn’t feel it necessary to follow Siva and bow to Ram.

So thinking, she decided to test Ram’s character. She took form of Sita. Shiva was not happy and warned Parvati against this foolish action. But Parvati did not listen. She went down to earth and confronted Ram on earth in the guise of Sita against Shiva’s wishes. Shiva didn’t stop her. (Equal rights for women even then?).

Ram instantly recognized her and asked: “Mother, who are you, what are you doing all alone in this terrible jungle? Do you know anything about Sita and why did you have to take Sita’s form? What can I do for you?” And he touched Parvati’s feet. A sure sign that he was not fooled.

Parvati realized her mistake but the deed was done. She was repentant. Shiva did not forgive her. He did not accept her upon her return from the earth and abandoned her. Parvati, on her part submitted herself to fire in her father Daksha’s Yagna only after making sure that she would join Shiva in her next Avatar.

Lord Shiva's narration of the Ramayana

2010-07-24T02:10:00.000-07:00

It is known and universally accepted that Ramayana was written by Valmiki originally. That is the reason why we have titled this blog ‘Valmiki Ramayana’. But we have sourced material for these episodes from other sources as well, like, orations, translations, opinions, critics, legends, interpretations as well as books like Punit Ramayana, Bichitra Ramayana, Tulsidas’s Ramcharit Manasa etc. etc. Words of mouth play a big part in such epics. You go to any town or village, more often than not, you will find some sight connected with this epic and a new story to go with it. It is said that even the great Hanuman wrote a few incidents of Ramayana with his nails on large stones. The stories are endless.

One such legend goes like this: call it opinion, call it legend, call it belief or call it interpretation, whatever, but it is the opinion of some students of Ramayana that the original (Adi kavi) creator or narrator of this great epic is God Shiva himself. Lord Shiva created and narrated Ramayana, but did not write it. Once Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati were seated on mount Kailash. The Lord, as was his wont, was in deep meditation. Parvati was bored. Nothing interesting was happening on earth (prithvilok) and in heaven (swarglok) to warrant her attention. So when the Lord opened his eyes, Parvati requested him to tell her one story to kill time. After some initial hesitation, Shiva agreed. Parvati requested that the story should be long. Shiva put one condition that Sati (Parvati) could not sleep till the end of the story. Sati, in turn, put her own condition that the story should be interesting enough for her to keep awake for long hours.

So, Shiva started to create and narrate the story of Rama and Sita. The characters and incidents were entirely created by Shiva from his imagination. The story lasted for days on end and it was so interesting that Parvati never blinked. Parvati was so impressed by this mammoth tale that later she insisted that she wanted to see the story enacted live and for the Lord to create real characters on Prithvilok so that they can see them perform from their abode on mount Kailash. And so it was. Lord Shiva himself was so obsessed with his own story that he transferred the same in the mind of Muni Yagnavalkya and often listened to the same story from the Muni. The orator became the listener of his own epic. Yagnavalkya Muni repeated the story to worthy people down the line. Finally, Valmiki wrote the epic, titled it Ramayana, adding and omitting a few incidents here and there. Still later of course many people wrote Ramayana according to their own interpretations to suit the time they were written in.

Sita's Dilemma

2010-07-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

There are little known or not known incidents in Ramayana as mentioned in the beginning of this series. This one is not known, to me at least. One of my neighbors went to Bodh Gaya to perform his father’s shradha (rites). After the shradh ceremony was over, the Pundit (the priest performing puja ) asked my friend and his wife to immerse the flowers and ashes in the near by river. Only there was no river. Or let us say river was there but dry. There was sand on the entire river bed. When questioned, the priest told my friend to either dip his hands a couple of feet inside the sand or just to leave the flowers and ashes on the sand, that they would sink eventually when the sand shifts and that there was water flowing beneath the sand. My friend is curious by nature. He questioned the priest as to why the rituals were performed on that particular riverbed if it was dry. They could very well be performed else where. The priest said that the river was not dry, it was cursed. Intrigued, my friend’s wife wanted to know the details.

The priest turned out to be a good Samaritan. He said he was busy that day but seeing their curiosity, he would fetch his son who was quite knowledgeable in history. His son, Sukumar by name, turned out to be a scholar. He had done his masters in English, German and Sanskrit. Presently, he was doing research on Indian scriptures. Impressed, that they were interested in details of the history, he obliged. The tale he narrated goes thus: When Sri Rama, in exile, was passing through this place (now Bodh Gaya), he came to know about his father, king Dasharath’s sudden death and decided to perform his father’s last rites there itself. In those days the river flowed in full swing but the place was not inhabited. Fortunately, Rama found one aged Brahmin meditating under a tree. The Brahmin agreed to help Rama to perform Dasharatha’s last rites. But for that he needed some basic things like thread, ghee, fruits, flowers and some leaves. Laxman, meanwhile was left behind to collect some eatables and other essentials and would take some time reaching there. Rama decided to leave Sita in the care of the old Brahmin and leave for the nearby town to collect essentials for the rites. He instructed Sita and the Brahmin to wait for Laxman there itself and left.

Soon after Rama left, Dsharatha’s soul visited Sita and said that the time for his Mukti (freedom, Moksha) was moving. If his last rites were not performed within a stipulated time (ghadi), his soul would not get free. Sita expressed her helplessness saying, the last rites are performed by a son and she was a woman. Moreover she had nothing to perform the rites with and that Rama had gone to procure the things required. Whereupon Dashsratha said that he himself orders her to perform rites and the Brahmin would help her in rituals using river water and Tulsi leaves in place of other essentials and to hurry and get on with the task. The Brahmin agreed. Sita could not disobey her father- in-law and performed his last rites.

When Rama returned with the required things, Sita told him about what had happened in his absence and that she had performed his father’s last rites on his behalf. Rama was not convinced saying that only the eldest son’s rituals are accepted, leave alone a woman’s. Sita was hurt and she asked Rama to enquire with the Brahmin who had helped her. Rama turned to the Brahmin. The Brahmin now thought: “As it is Rama is suspicious, when he does not trust Sita, why would he trust a poor Brahmin? Why I should be the one to further displease him?” So thinking he denied having helped Sita in performing Dasharatha’s last rites. Sita was enraged. She cursed: “You will always be a beggar. Though you are superior by birth, you will always extend your hands for help from others for generations to come.”

Sita now requested Rama to enquire with River Goddess as the river had given her pure water to be used in the rites. The river thought: “Rama is not convinced. This wise and learned Brahmin too denied having performed the rites. There must be some reason behind it.” The river denied having given any water. Sita cursed: “I can dry you out. But in that case people will suffer without water. I curse you will flow, but flow beneath sand around here where you have lied. People won’t be able to see you. Your upper bed will remain dry.” To this day the river bed is dry.

Sita turned to Tulsi: “I have performed rites with your leaves. You are pious. At least you tell Rama what happened.” Tulsi too thought that when all others deny why she should be the one to risk Rama’s wrath. She too denied having helped. Sita was badly hurt: “Tulsi, you too? I call you mother Tulsi. I can easily finish your existence. But you have medicinal properties which benefit people. So I curse you. You will be worshipped, but you will never be able to enter anybody’s home. You will always remain outside.” To this day Tulsi remains outside the entrance.

Finally exhausted and utterly sad, Sita turned to the big, old Banyan tree: “O great tree, though I have not taken any help from you, you are witness to everything that happened here. If you don’t vouch for me, I will have to give up my life here and now.”

The Banyan tree thought: “I am old and about to die. I have no reason to lie. If she gives up her life as she said she would, I will have sinned. If it helps Sita, I should speak the truth.” It did.

Sita blessed the Baniyan: “O dada (grandfather), you shall not die. You shall have long life of hundreds of years. People will worship you and respect you for all times to come, specially women, because you have saved a woman’s honor.”

To this day Banyan tree is worshiped by women on several occasions throughout the year.

India Counts

Bharat’s love for Rama

2010-07-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

While writing the epic of Ramanaya, Tulsidas, after paying obeisance to various gods and goddesses, bows his head to Bharat first, not to Rama, not to Sita, not to Laxman, around whom the entire tale of Ramanaya is woven. Among humans he pays obeisance to Bharat. He says: “vandau pratham Bharat ke charana.” All others come later in his list. One wonders why?

When Bharat returned to Ayodhya, and learned about his mother, Kaikeyi’s betrayal towards king Dasharatha and Rama, he was thoroughly displeased with her. Bharat refused to accept the throne and declared that he didn’t want anything to do with his mother and did not want to see her face ever again. Ignoring everyone’s pleas in the palace, Bharat, set out to find Rama, Sita and Laxman along with a few like minded citizens and a little army. He intended to request, cajole, force, whatever it took, to bring Rama , Sita and Laxman back to Ayodhya and for Rama to accept the throne and look after the kingdom.

Bharat found Rama, touched his feet, embraced both his brothers and expressed his desire that the trio should return with him. He also made it clear that he was not happy with his mother, was not a party to her scheme, and begged for Rama's forgiveness. Upon which Rama told him that he (Rama) bore no grudge against Kaikeyi. Like Kaushalya, kaikeyi too was his mother and it was his solemn duty to obey his mother’s wishes and follow her orders. That he had no misgivings for Bharat’s love for all of them. Bharat could not be consoled, refused to budge and insisted that if Rama did not return, he would remain with them in exile. Ultimately, Rama had to order Bharat to return to Ayodhya, take care of the kingdom and most important of all, forgive Kaikeyi. It was their destiny and Kaikeyi was only the means.

Bharat was heart-broken but had to abide by Rama’s order. He agreed on one condition. That he would not be the king, won’t sit on the throne, would take Rama’s Khadau (wooden footwear), put them on the throne and would look after the kingdom on Rama’s behalf, a mere proxy.

Here lies the truth. Bharat is not paid obeisance first, that is, even before Rama, Sita and Laxman because he sacrificed the kingdom, or because he insisted to remain with Rama in exile leaving behind his own family. Any well brought up prince of that time would do that for his brother, father or any loved one. He is paid obeisance because he forgave Kaikeyi on Rama’s say so. It is a fact that it is not difficult to forgive others, sometimes out of compulsion, sometimes because of our inability to do anything about it. But it is very difficult to forget wrong done by our own because it hurts our inner being, because we least expect such betrayal from them, such as Kaikeyi’s. It took immense strength of character for Bharat to forgive his mother. BUT HIS LOVE AND DEVOTION FOR RAMA WAS MORE THEN HIS HATE FOR KAIKEYI. There lies his greatness.

Urmila’s character

2010-06-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

There is one character in Ramayana who has not been given her due importance. This character is that of Urmila, Laxman’s wife. One version says that Urmila’s character is so great, her sacrifice so supreme that no amount of description or praise can justify it. When Sita went into exile along with Rama, faced innumerable hardships, had to conceive in the most difficult circumstances, at least she was in the company of her husband, Lord Rama, and had unending help from her brother-in-law, Laxman., who looked upon her as his mother. Urmila, on her part wanted to accompany her husband, but remained back in Ayodhya to look after Laxman’s ageing parents on his bidding. Laxman also explained that if he took her (Urmila) along, he would not be able to give undivided attention and service to Sri Rama and Ma Sita. Urmila suffered in silence for fourteen long years, never complained about her loneliness or anything else for that matter.

There is a little tale I heard somewhere, but is not in many versions of the epic which tells us how great her dedication to Rama, Sita, Laxman and Laxman’s purpose was. While in exile, Laxman had taken a vow to keep awake through out the exile period of fourteen years in order to better serve and protect Sri Rama and Ma Sita. Days, weeks, months and years passed. After a while, the goddess of Sleep became aware of Laxman’s penance. Pleased with his unwavering dedication and attention to Rama and Sita, she appeared in front of Laxman. She said that she was impressed by his sense of devotion to his purpose and was there to bless Laxman so that he would not get tired by those sleepless nights. Laxman responded by saying that he could never get tired of serving his Lord and his Mother. To accept her blessings for the purpose she mentioned, would amount to self doubt. And Laxman begged the goddess’ forgiveness.

The goddess of sleep was silent and thoughtful for a while. Finally, she said: “Now that I am here, I cannot go away without giving you some kind of boon. Ask for anything.”

Laxman folded his hands and replied: “Devi, I am here under protection (chhatrachhaya) of my Lord Sri Rama and Mother Sita. In Ayodhya, Urmila is fighting a lone battle looking after my parents. So please visit her and bless her so that she does not suffer.” So great was Laxman’s dedication Sri Rama and Sita that he remembered Urmila for the first time in years.

The goddess was pleased and promised Laxman that she would fulfill his wish. She visited Ayodhya, met Urmila and told her about her visit to Laxman and about Laxman’s wish for the goddess to bless her. Urmila’s reply was a typical one that only Urmila could give: “Hey Devi, I am honored. But, I am not tired. I can not get tired of looking after my near and dear ones. Moreover, it was my husband’s wish that I stay back and it is my solemn duty to obey him. Again, he had not compelled me. He had merely stated his wish. I am happy. Still, if you want to fulfill my wish and bless me, please see to it that Laxman doesn’t remember me even once during rest of the remaining exile period, otherwise he will worry about me and that will hinder his dedication to Sri Rama and Ma Sita, which I do not want. So remove me from his memory till then so that he can concentrate and serve them without his mind wavering.”

How can any description justify Urmila’s character? Suffice to say that even Valmiki has mentioned that Urmila’s sacrifice was unparalleled. That says it all.

Interpretation of Tulsidas

2010-06-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

From time immemorial, when we begin any work, say for example, sending invites for occasions like marriage, opening of a new office, starting a new project and even starting a new day, we remember Lord Ganesha first (Om Sri Ganeshay Namaha) and then start whatever the work or occasion. It is an accepted norm. Even gods are believed to start their Yagna or Havana after remembering Lord Ganesha.

Goswami Tulsidas had deviated from this norm while beginning his 'Ram Charit Manasa'. In the first stanza of Ram Charita Manasa itself, he has bowed to the Lord Ganesha and Godess Saraswati (goddess of learning), in the same breath saying 'Vande Vani Vinayako'. This was not the norm then. From beginning of time (adikal), 'Om Sri Ganeshay Namaha' was the norm. Why did Tulsidas do so? Why did he deviate from the norm while describing Sri Rama's character?

Tulsidas believed Rama to be a perfect or a complete man (Purna Purusha) and Rama's character to be a perfect character. Before Tulsidas, many people have written Ramayana, Valmiki being the first. Tulsidas wrote Ram Charit Manasa for his own satisfaction, to fulfill his own desire to further perfect Rama's character. At the same time, he wanted the story to spread far and wide. He also believed that every man should know and follow Rama's beliefs and actions for one's own well being. But, his prime desire was to satisfy his own urge, so he says.

Sri Morari Bapu explains or interprets this phenomenon of using Ganesha and Saraswati's name in the same breath as thus: Lord Ganesha had knowledge whereas Goddess Saraswati had words or language. If Tulsidas pays obeisance to Lord Ganesha alone, Ganesha can silently transfer his knowledge to Tulsidas. But in order to express and spread that knowledge one needs words, speech and power of expression. Only Saraswati could provide the medium of language and expression. Hence, Tulsidas pays his obeisance to both in the same line in the beginning of Ram Charit Manasa.

Explaining this further, Morari Bapu has given an excellent example from a more recent time. Everybody knows about Sri Rama Krishana Paramhansa and everybody knows that Swami Vivekananda was a devotee, rather a great devotee of Sri Rama Krishana. Sri Rama Krishana himself was a devotee (bhakta) of Goddess Kali (Ma Kali, as the goddess is usually addressed in Bengal). He was totally involved in Kali worship. It is widely believed, even today, that Rama Krishna was in contact with the Goddess, often talked to her and was guided by her. Being the top disciple of Rama Krishna, Vivekananda gained whatever knowledge he had about the philosophy and principles of life from him. He blindly followed Rama Krishana's teachings.

But, Rama Krishana was a simple man and not a good orator. So it was Swami Vivekananda, who was a good orator spread Rama Krishana's teachings, his philosophy and beliefs far and wide. Whenever you think of Rama Krishana, Vivekananda's name is bound to crop up in mind and vice versa. They are inseparable. Knowledge and expression. Ganesha and Saraswati.

This explains Tulsidas's "Vande Vani Vinayako".

The Ramayana - Sita haran episode 4

2010-06-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

Ultimately, Ravana heard about Lord Rama and his exile (vanavasa). Through his trusted spies (guptachars), he found out everything about Sri Rama and his background and instinctively knew Rama was the man. Now the question was how to convince Rama to kill him so that he (Ravana) could gain Moksha. Sri Rama would not agree to that. In that case, Sri Rama’s followers and devotees would queue up to gain Mokha in that same manner. And that would mean interfering with the destiny of the people. So that was out of question.

Again, Rama would not kill him for any ordinary offense or crime since brave men are always forgiving. (kshama virasya bhushanam). And Rama was brave. Ravana had to give enough reason to Rama to kill him. So he planned, changed his form and kidnapped Sita. Except for that one incident, He never again attempted to touch Sita. He had no intention to. In fact, Ravana had kept her in Ashok Vatika (garden) and had arranged an elderly and kind caretaker (dasi) to be with her all the time. Though he had threatened Sita on several occasions, he never intended to harm her. Had he wanted, he could have easily kept Sita in one of his many secluded palaces. Instead he chose to keep her in the open.

When Sri Hanumana visited Lanka, he located Sita in Ashok Vatika, introduced himself to her as Sri Rama’s humble servant and devotee (Ram Bhakt). He then got himself arrested and be presented in front of Ravana. Here too, when questioned, Hanuman introduced himself as Sri Rama’s servant and messenger and advised Ravana to release Sita or be prepared for war with Sri Rama. Ravana refused intentionally, insulted Hanumana knowing fully well that Rama had no option but to attack Lanka. War was inevitable. Now it was a matter of honor. Ram had to follow his kshatriya dharma, kill Ravana, win and retrieve his wife Sita and her honor. After Ravana’s refusal to Rama’s messenger Hanuman, all doors for negotiations were closed. Ravana knew it. Rama knew it.

Thus Ravana invited his own death, compelled or tricked Rama to kill him in order to attain Moksha. Attain he did.

The Ramayana - Sita haran episode 3

2010-06-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ravana was not arrogant or foolish enough not to understand implications of what the sage had said. He immediately fell at the feet of the sage and begged to be shown the path to freedom from rebirths (Moksha).

The sage said: “If a man who is all perfect (manushyatam) kills (vadha) you, you will get Moksha.”

Ravana: “But how will I know such a man? What are his characteristics? Where can I find him? And above all why would he kill me?”

The sage said: “An ordinary man cannot kill you. A perfect man is the one who is better than you in his virtues and deeds. You will find him very humble. Such a man is Purushottam or Parampurush. You will have to find him yourself and you will also have to find a way to make him kill you.” I can not tell you anything more. You will have to work it out for yourself and not confide in any body else.”

So saying the sage took Ravana’s leave and went on his way after blessing him. Now Ravana started to think about what the sage had said. He lost interest in every thing and was disturbed. He realized that all this prosperity and possessions were meaningless and futile if he was to be born again like any ordinary mortal. His wife, Mandodari noticed the change and asked the reason. But Ravana could not confide in her. He was now determined to attain Moksha. He set about the task of finding a Prampurusha that the sage had suggested but could not find anyone for quite some time.

The Ramayana - Sita haran episode 2

2010-06-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

This interpretation of Ravana’s act and his character was given to me a few years back by one very senior retired civil engineer who, after retirement, took an academic interest in Ramayana and made it his business to read and interpret all known and unknown versions of the Ramayana that he could lay his hands on. Here is how it goes.

Amongst all his virtues, Ravana had one negative trait. And what is more, he was aware of it. He was a little arrogant. Otherwise, he had a prosperous kingdom and he looked after his subjects well. Once, a great and well known sage visited Lanka. (The civil engineer had mentioned this sage’s name but unfortunately, I am unable to recall it). This sage had learnt about Ravana’s knowledge and wisdom and wanted to meet Ravana and discuss some aspects of politics (rajniti) and religion (dharma). After making him comfortable, Ravana asked the sage what he could do for him. The sage replied that he wanted to discuss philosophy of politics and religion with him. Ravana agreed and they had marathon discussions on these subjects and several other subjects to the satisfaction of the sage, and lasting several days. All through this, the sage was a state guest, Ravana took good care of him and was humble in his behaviour. Still, the wise sage detected a faint smell of arrogance in him.

Finally, while parting, Ravana requested the sage with folded hands to give him some advice and add something to his knowledge. Whereupon the sage replied:

“O king, you yourself are a great mine of knowledge and virtues. You are a great Shiv Bhakta and blessed by Lord Shiva himself. You look after your kingdom well and you citizens are happy. What can I suggest you? Still, let me tell you this. Listen carefully. In this birth you are a king and ajeya. But you are not immortal. Death will come upon you. You are not free of this unending cycle of births and rebirths. You may be a king in your next birth. You may be not. You may be a tree or an animal or something else. But you will not be free of this cycle and not attain Moksha.

The Ramayana - Sita haran episode 1

2010-06-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

Again, Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva (Shiv bhakta). He had pleased Lord Shiva by his tough and severe penance over years and had received the Lord’s blessings. He was almost undefeatable (ajeya), and could not be killed easily by Man, God or Demon (manushya, devta, rakshasha).

Ravana was not a womanizer or a lecherous person. On the contrary, nowhere in the different versions of Ramayana is he shown to have any interest in women other than his wife Mandodari. Being a king and a person of endless resources (sone ki Lanka), he could have had his pick of beautiful women, but he didn’t. He was a good king and his subjects were prosperous and happy. He is shown to have good rapport with his wife and often said to have taken her advice.

Also, Ravana could change his form at will. This is an art of deceit and he was a master in it. But, to be fair to him, except for that one incident, where he changed his form and became a Brahmin (bhikshu) to kidnap Sita, he is not known to have used this power anywhere else in the epic. Another point - Ravana could have forced Sita into submission any time he wanted to, but he did not.

Why then, such a person as Ravana with such wisdom, strength and character stooped so low as to kidnap Lord Rama’s wife Sita and invite the latter’s wrath? He almost invited his own destruction. What did he gain? And thereby hangs a tale.

Valmiki Ramayana

2010-06-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Valmiki Ramayana is one of our two ancient epics, the other being Mahabharata. After Valmiki, several others like Tulsidas, and down to Morari Bapu in recent times and others in between the two, wrote Ramayana. Each of them had their own understanding, narration and interpretation of this great epic. While the main incidents are more or less the same in all these versions, there are quite a few lesser known or unknown incidents which sometimes appear in translations or verbal narrations and discourses given by speakers and saints. Every time you read or hear the story, some new incident or a new meaning crops up. It is a never ending and ever changing story.

Take for instance, the incident of Sita’s kidnapping (Sita Haran) by Ravana. While Ravana is projected as an all evil person, actually, it is not so. In fact, Ravana is worshipped in some parts of our country and elsewhere in the world and even has temples built and dedicated to him. It is a known and accepted fact that he was very wise and learned (Maha Pandit)..His symbolic ten heads represent his knowledge and wisdom, that is, he was ten times wiser then the most wise persons of that time. Why, even Lord Rama acknowledged him as far as knowledge was concerned. For, when Ravana was dying, Ram requested him to impart knowledge and wisdom to Laxman and asked Laxman to sit at Ravana’s feet. (Guru Devo Bhava). Though Ram himself was very learned, he was humble enough to accept Ravana’s superiority.