By Nirooshitha Sethuram

The last of Lord Vishnu’s avatars that have already taken place are the eighth, Balarama (the powerful one) and the ninth, Krishna (the one with dark complexion).  His avatar that will come in the future is Kalki.

As Rama Avatar, Adhishesha incarnated as Lakshmana, the younger brother of Rama.  He obeyed Rama and spent his entire life to serving him.  Lord Vishnu wanted to return the favor in His next incarnation: to honor Adhishesha’s devotion he made him be one of his Avatars while also making him his elder brother.  Therefore, Balarama Avatar was at the same time of the Krishna Avatar, Krishna being the younger brother of Balarama,

Krishna always obeyed Balarama; Balarama protected Krishna at all costs.  Unlike Krishna, Balarama was fair complexioned.  Otherwise they looked alike in many aspects.  Both these avatars of Lord Vishnu will be written in the same story, which is part of the great epic Mahabharata.

What is the Mahabharata?

The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world.  It consists of numerous branches of stories, with hundreds of characters shaping the story line.  With over 100,000 slokas (a couplet), meaning 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages, it has around 1.8 million total words.  It is about ten times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined, nearly four times the length of the Ramayana.

In the Indian tradition Mahabharata is sometimes called the fifth Veda, after the well-known four, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.  In the Mahabharata, unlike Rama in the Ramayana, Krishna uses some of his divine powers to get things done, steering the way through the evil he is trying to overcome.

Through all of Lord Vishnu’s avatars, there is a progression in where good and evil reside.  In the first few avatars, they were far apart in different worlds. Then in Vamana and Parashurama Avatars, they came into the same world.  In Rama Avatar they came to the same area in the planet.  In Krishna Avatar. Good and evil came into the same family.

Now, we are in Kali Yuga, with good and evil residing in the same person.  The yugas (ages) have progressed, from Satya Yuga to Treta Yuga, to Dvapara Yuga and now to Kali Yuga.  In this cosmic timeline, the state of affairs has degraded from all good to mostly evil.  With this progression, who can predict what Lord Vishnu will have to do and what powers he will have to use in his final avatar, Kalki?

The Mahabharata is divided into 18 sections or books, with many sub-stories supporting the main story line.  The main story line revolves around two groups of cousins, the Kaurava and the Panḍava princes, and the war between them, the Kurukshetra War.

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the Bhagavad Gita was given to the world by Krishna as a teaching to Arjuna, one of the Pandava cousins in the war.  The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important texts of ancient India.  The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis of Hindu ideas about dharma, theistic bhakti and the yogic paths to liberation or self-realization.  It talks about four paths to spirituality: karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and jnana yoga.

Known as the “Father of the India,” Mahatma Gandhi referred to the Bhagavad Gita as his “spiritual dictionary.”  He used it as a guide in leading the Liberation Movement of India, helping gain independence from the British without a war, through upholding ahimsa (non-harming).

While Krishna and Balarama are the third set of cousins in the Mahabharata, Krishna is the center of all the drama that takes place.  He directs everything to perfection, teaching humans about what evil can bring about in the world.  In contrast to Rama Avatar, where Lord Vishnu as Rama shows the world how a person should live, in Krishna Avatar he shows how people should not live.

Vyasa (often called Veda Vyasa) is the author of this great epic.  He is credited with classifying the Vedas, writing the eighteen Puranas, writing the Yoga Bhasya (a commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras), and composing the Mahabharata, among other things.

It is mentioned in the first section of The Mahabharata, that Lord Ganesha wrote down the text as Veda Vyasa dictated it.  As per the legend, Vyasa wanted to compose the Mahabharata.  For this he needed a very intelligent person to write it down.  So he prayed to Lord Brahma to help him find such a person.  Brahma said that the only one capable of handling such a task would be none other than Lord Ganesha.  Vyasa prayed to Lord Ganesha, requesting him to help.

With a smile, Lord Ganesha agreed to Vyasa’s request but under one condition.  Ganesha will not stop writing once he starts the work and, if at any point Vyasa lags, then Ganesha would stop writing and Vyasa would need to find someone else.  Vyasa agreed to the condition and made one of his own.  He requested that Lord Ganesha needs to understand each sloka before writing it down.  This bought Vyasa some time to in order compose the following sloka.

The writing of the Mahabharata began; Lord Ganesha was writing and Vyasa was dictating.  Halfway through, Lord Ganesha’s pen broke.  As he had given his word that he would not stop writing, he broke off one of his tusks in order to continue writing.  This is one of the many legends regarding Lord Ganesha’s one broken tusk.

Vyasa, son of Rishi Parasara, gave the Mahabharata to his son, Sukha Muni and his other disciples.  The sage Narada gave this knowledge to the devas, and Sukar gave it to the gandharvas, yakshas and the rakshasas.  Sage Vaisampayana gave this knowledge to the earthlings at a great yaj~na performed by Janamejaya, the great grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna.  This knowledge was also shared by Suthar to all the rishis lived in the Naimisaranya forest.  This is how the Mahabharata reached our modern times.

We are concentrating on Krishna’s and Balarama’s life story, with the Mahabharata in the background.  In other words, if focused on the Mahabharata as the story, the start and progress of the story line would be different.  Yet the entire plot will be covered.

We will start with Krishna’s and Balarama’s birth, their growth, the Krishna leelas (mischiefs), their young age, Radha and Krishna, Kamsa’s (Krishna’s uncle’s) end, entering into adulthood, Balarama’s wedding and Krishna and Rukmini.  Then we will move on to the Pandava and Kaurava brothers’ ancestors, Pandavas’ and Kauravas’ birth, their growth, the conflict between these cousins, the dice game, Pandava brothers’ twelve years of exile and year incognito, the peace talks, the Bhagavadgita and Kurukshetra War.  Also we will covering Jaya and Vijaya’s liberation from their curse, due to their third human birth as Shishupala and Dantavakra, enemies of Krishna Avatar.

Balarama is usually depicted in blue garments, wearing bracelets and armlets.  His weapons are the plow (hala) and the mace (gadaa).  His hair is tied in a topknot, showing his strength, the reason for his name.

Krishna is often depicted wearing a peacock feather on his wreath/crown.  Playing the flute, he is usually shown standing with one leg bent in front of the other.  He is sometimes shown with cows or calves, which symbolizes the divine herdsman, herding the souls.

The story begins in the next installment.

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Sita is living in Valmiki’s forest Ashram while Lord Rama, her husband, is performing the Ashvamedha yaj~na to benefit his kingdom and all the people in it.

The yajna horse wandered around the land unchallenged, ending up near Valmiki’s ashram on its way back to Ayodhya.  Lava and Kusha found out about Rama’s horse from their friends, so they caught the horse and tied it to a tree nearby, specifically so their mother would not know about it.  Lava stayed to guard the horse with a few friends while Kusha went to get the flowers for his mother’s puja.

Shatrugna and his army followed the horse, arriving at the Ashram.  The guards at the front of the group were surprised to see the horse held captive by acetic children.  They thought the kids were playing a joke, advised them not to interfere in royal business and went towards the horse to untie it.  An arrow from Lava’s bow landed right in front of the guard’s feet.  The guards fought back, but were defeated in a minute.  They ran to Shatrugna.

Shatrugna came over and found Lava and his friends.  Shatrugna  was amazed that an ascetic child defeated the guards.  Thinking the guards had been fooled, Shatrugna politely asked the children to release the horse.  However, they were very serious about the matter and refused to do so.  Not knowing the powers they had received from their Guru Valmiki, Shatrugna challenged them to a battle for the horse.  He and the rest of the Ayodhya army were defeated instantly by Lava.

The news about Shatrugna’s defeat reached the palace, as well as the fact that Shatrugna, the army and the horse were in captivity.  Lakshmana rounded up the rest of their troops and went there.  He also found these lovely little boys, Lava leading them, and thought that Shatrugna must have made some mistake to end up in the fate he was.

Thinking that these were just ascetic children, not knowing how Valmiki trained them for battle, Lakshmana started talking to them, asking them to release the horse and his brother Shatrugna.

When Lava realized it was Lakshmana speaking, he condemned Lakshmana for leaving a pregnant woman (Sita) in the forest without any help.  As usual, everyone knows Lakshmana is very short tempered.  Thus, the peace talks didn’t last long.  The battle between Lava and Lakshmana began.  Lava fought bravely and bound all the troops Lakshmana brought.

Unable to withstand Lava’s skill, Lakshmana used his “Nagastra” (arrow of the cobra) to tie him up.  Lakshmana carried Lava to the chariot, preparing to liberate the horse, Shatrugna and the army.  The other children escaped, taking the news to Kusha, who was just returning from gathering flowers for Sita.  Kusha immediately jumped in front of Lakshmana. stopping him from liberating the horse.  He demanded that Lakshmana free Lava.

Lakshmana advised Kusha not to make the same mistake his brother had made by confronting him.  Kusha invited him to a battle to settle the matter.  The fight was intense.  It was a desperate situation, needing to free his brother, so Kusha used one of the special arrows given by his Guru Valmiki, by which he was able to defeat Lakshmana.  Then Kusha unbound Lava and imprisoned Lakshmana.  Then the twins sent one of warriors to inform Rama what had transpired.

The messenger came to Rama with the news.  Rama was astonished that two ascetic children had defeated the mighty Ramarajya troops, and especially his brothers.  He decided to go in person.  As usual, accompanied by Hanuman, Rama arrived and found the two ascetic children were those who sang the Ramayana at the palace.  Like his brothers, Rama tried to make peace by talking to them.  They were not ready to listen, decisively refusing to release the horse.  They called Rama out for a battle, saying he had no right to do the yaj~na without his wife Sita.

Watching all this, Hanuman took on his gargantuan form, saying they would have to go through him first to get to Rama.  Knowing it is impossible to win a battle with Hanuman, Lava and Kusha said that it would be very easy and whispered to their friends to start the repetition of “Sri Rama.”  All the other children started dancing and singing “Sri Rama.”  In an instant, Hanuman came back to his normal form and started dancing and singing with the children.  The children slowly moved towards the Ashram, Hanuman following them, dancing and chanting.  Rama was amazed to see this happen, realizing the children were no simple matter.  Yet he had no other option, so he resolved to fight with them.  The fight began, Rama battling Lava and Kusha.

The children and Hanuman reached the ashram.  Mesmerized, Hanuman came back to his senses, finding himself in Valmiki’s Ashram.  Hearing the chanting of Mata Lalitha Devi’s mantra by a very familiar voice, he jumped up in joy, recognizing it as Sita’s.  He ran into the puja, fell down at Sita’s feet, and shouted, “I found Sita Devi again, I found Sita Devi again…”

All the ascetics, who had been with Sita all these years, we astonished.  Everyone fell at Sita’s feet.  Suddenly Hanuman realized this was the area where he left Sita years ago, when the young sages found her.  Putting everything together, it occurred to him that the twin children must be none other than Sita’s.

Hanuman trembled, thinking of the fight that was happening between father and sons.  He explained what had happened in the past few days, between Rama’s yaj~na horse and the twins.  He also told her about the battles that had taken place and the one now taking place.  Sita was in the middle of a puja that should be uninterrupted, but realized the gravity of the situation.  Even though the other ascetics tried to stop her, she ran out, asking Mata Lalitha Devi for forgiveness for the interruption in the puja.

Sita and Hanuman came to the battleground, seeing that Rama, as a last resort, had taken the “Ramaastra” in his hand to shoot it towards the twins.  Sita shouted, “Stop!”  Hearing the voice of Sita, Rama dropped his bow and arrow, looking at her and saying, “That is my Sita’s voice…”

Sita grabbed both Lava and Kusha, sobbing, “How could you take up arms against your father?  It is all my fault!”  Lava and Kusha were stunned by their mother’s words, and quietly asked, “Are you Rama’s Sita Devi?”  Sita nodded her head and hugged them both.

When she released them, Lava and Kusha fell on Rama’s feet, “Forgive us father!  We have committed a crime by taking up arms against you, not knowing that you are our father.  Please forgive us!”  Rama said, “The crime was mine, banishing my beloved Sita from Ayodhya and being separated from her all this while, missing my children’s youth years.”  He hugged both Lava and Kusha.  Looking at the father and sons united, Sita was so happy.  Rama asked Sita to come to Ayodhya with him.

Refusing, she said she cannot come to Ayodhya again.  Bidding farewell, she called upon her mother, Mother Earth, to take her into her arms if Sita is pure in her heart and has not lost her chastity.  As soon as she uttered those words, the earth split open.  Up came Mother Earth, took Sita in her arms and disappeared into the split earth.  Unable to do anything to stop Sita, Rama, the twins and Hanuman cried their eyes out.

Everyone returned to Ayodhya with a very heavy heart.  Rama conducted the Ashvamedha Yaj~na with Sita’s statue at his side, as planned.  Lava and Kusha helped their father with the yaj~na.  Slowly, by the Ashvamedha Yaj~na effects, Ayodhya started flourishing again.  Now that the kingdom was getting back to its glory days, Rama started thinking about giving the kingdom’s rule to the children, both his and his brothers’.

One day while he was thinking about his plan, a guard announced that a sage was waiting to see him.  Immediately, Rama ordered the guard to show him in.  The sage came in and Rama offered him a seat.  The sage said, with a little hesitation, you need to know who I am before you offer me a seat.  Rama replied that whoever who visits, even if it is a foe, the first order of business is to extend hospitality.

After the greetings, the sage said that Lord Brahma sent him, and that they need to have a private meeting, with no one disturbing them.  Immediately, Rama called upon Lakshmana to make sure no one disturbed them, to guard the door at all cost.  As usual, taking Rama’s command, Lakshmana stood guard at the door.

Inside, the sage revealed his true identity as Yama-Dharma-Raja, the God of Dharma in charge of ending lives (God of Death).  He continued that he had been instructed by Brahma to give prior notice to avatars such as Rama about their return time approaching.  He also pointed out that Shri Lakshmi Devi, who was with Rama as Sita in this world, had already returned to Vaikuntha, and that Rama needed to send Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna before his own return.

Outside, Lakshmana was guarding.  The great sage Durvasa, son of Atiri, arrived, wanting to meet Rama to discuss an urgent matter.  Lakshmana tried his best to calm him and have him wait, but Durvasa became very agitated.  Knowing Durvasa to be both short tempered and powerful, Lakshmana knocked on the door hesitantly.  He knew he was disobeying Rama’s order for the first time ever, but it was to evade sage Durvasa’s curse that would destroy Rama’s whole lineage.

The discussion between Rama and Yama-Dharma-Raja was coming to an end.  Knowing that Lakshmana would not knock without a pressing need, Rama opened the door.  Meanwhile Yama-Dharma-Raja again disguised himself as the sage who had entered earlier.

Lakshmana explained the reason he disturbed them, due to the visit of sage Durvasa.  Thanking the sage (Yama-Dharma-Raja), Rama extended his hospitality to sage Durvasa.  After sage Durvasa left, Rama sat down to consider how he could free himself from the Ayodhya kingdom.  Sita had already gone.  He didn’t need any other reason to complete his mission as avatar.

Rama came up with a plan to divide the country and give it to all 8 children, his and his brothers’, before leaving the earth.  Rama called Lakshmana in and revealed the visit by Yama-Dharma-Raja.  He explained that Lakshmana must go Vaikuntha before himself.  Lakshmana jumped up, saying that the one thing guaranteed is that all who are born in this world have an exit day.  He said that he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long in Vaikuntha for Rama to arrive.

As Rama’s plan was being set in motion, the world around seemed to react.  Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra died one after the other, in very short intervals.  All four brothers felt sad and starting talking about mothers.  Lakshmana said he needed to clear the air, since people talked ill about Kaikeyi’s actions in the past.  He said, “Our mother Kaikeyi’s actions, in sending our brother Rama to the forest, was to keep her husband Dasaratha’s promise to her own father Ashwapati.  Ashwapati’s grandson must be the heir to the throne.  Everyone has misunderstood her actions erroneously.”

Rama was happy that this fact, which he already knew, had been brought to light by Lakshmana for the world to know.  After this, Lakshmana said his goodbyes to everyone.  He went to the Sarayu River, dipped himself in the water and saw Indra come in his flying chariot to take him to Vaikuntha.  Rama was devastated that Lakshmana was not with him anymore.

Dividing the country up and naming the rulers for each portion happened very quickly after.  The news about Lakshmana’s departure and Rama’s planned departure spread like wildfire.  The citizens of Ayodhya were there with Hanuman, who obviously never released Rama from his sight.  Rama says that he will not take Hanuman with him.  Instead Rama commanded Hanuman to be on earth as a chiranjivi (immortal), continuing to repeat Rama’s name.  With tears in his eyes, the never disobeying Hanuman accepted Rama’s command, looking at Rama dipping in the Sarayu River to go to Vaikuntha.  The children and Hanuman remained with a very heavy heart.

Sarayu River – Ayodhya (today)

It is said that Hanuman lives on this earth eternally.  He will be at any and every place where the name “Rama” is spoken, even only once.  If you are in trouble, all you need do is call out Rama’s name once and Hanuman will be there to take care of you.  Jay Shri Ram!

Om Namah Shivaya

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Sita, abandoned by her husband Ram, found love and support from Valmiki and his disciples in the Ashram.  Especially the female ascetics took special care of her, as she was pregnant.

After a few months, Sita gave birth to twin boys.  Valmiki blessed them, naming them Lava and Kusha.  Lava, the youngest, was like his mother Sita in features, complexion and mannerisms, fair and gentle.  Kusha had his father’s features, complexion and mannerisms, dark and kind.

They were brought up by the guidance and teachings of Valmiki, their beloved Guru.  Valmiki taught them everything they needed to learn including the Vedas, martial arts, and war tactics.  But especially, he taught them the “Ramayana,” the story of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, a poem he composed.  They learned to recite the Ramayana, accompanied by a musical instrument called the “veena.”

Lava and Kusha enjoyed singing the Ramayana, but without knowing that they were singing about their own parents’ story, as Valmiki had promised Sita that he would not reveal her identity to anyone, which included Lava and Kusha.  Valmiki also taught them special astras (energetic weapons), to be used only in unavoidable situations.  The twins were great in their studies as well as in combat training.

Meantime in Ayodhya, the wives of Rama’s three brothers (Mandavi, Urmila and Shrutakirti) also gave birth to two children each.  Lakshmana and Urmila had Angada and Chandraketu.  Bharata and Mandavi had Thaksh and Pushkal.  Shatrugna and Shrutakirti had Subahu and Shatrughati.

As much as these events were to be celebrated, somehow things were not the same in Ayodhya ever since Sita was sent away.  Rama couldn’t be himself without his beloved wife Sita.  Rama’s state affected all in Ayodhya Kingdom.  Rama didn’t have the heart to see the people and help their lives as a king.  Ayodhya started to dim in its glory.  The royal mothers were very worried.  Vasishtha, Rama’s Guru wasn’t pleased with what was happening either.  He needed to do something to restore the glory and happiness back to Rama-Rajyam (Rama’s Kingdom), Ayodhya.

At Valmiki’s Ashram, Lava and Kusha were preparing for their journey to Ayodhya.  They were going to fulfill their Guru Valmiki’s command to recite the Ramayana there.  They went to their mother to get her blessings.  Sita blessed them and told them to meet Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and to get his blessings before coming back to the Ashram.  The twins were very excited to have a chance to meet Rama and Sita in Ayodhya.

They started their journey towards Ayodhya by singing the story of Rama along their way in all the villages and cities.  They were instructed by Valmiki to introduce themselves as his disciples, which they did proudly.  People in thousands gathered to see the twins recite the Ramayana.

The news about two young children reciting Rama’s story reached the palace grounds.  The queen mother, Kaushalya requested her guards to invite these children to perform in front of her and the rest of the royalty.  The twins were very happy that they had a greater chance of meeting Rama and Sita at the palace.

When the children arrived at the assembly, their looks and divine presence mesmerized everyone.  When they started singing, the audience was in awe about their talent and their devotion to the King Rama.  Rama himself heard them singing and rushed there to hear them.  The minute he saw them, he felt something in his heart.

After the twins finished reciting the Ramayana, he inquired about the composer of this beautiful poem, and asked the children who they were.  They answered that they were disciples of Maharishi Valmiki, who composed the poem and taught it to them.  Rama felt some sort of happiness after a very long time.  He wanted to reward them with jewels and pearls.  They refused to accept any gifts and only wanted to see the queen, Sita, as they were so eager to meet her.  Without a word, Rama turned and went into his chamber, his head bent down in sorrow.

The twins worried that they said something to hurt Rama.  They asked Kaushalya, “Did we say something wrong, to hurt our hero, King Rama?”  With a heavy heart and eyes full of tears, the queen mother broke the news that Sita been sent away.  The children were very disappointed to hear about Rama renouncing his wife in order to fulfill his duty as a king to his constituents.  They were too small to understand the sacrifice that Rama had made.  They were angry, to a level of hating Rama, for him making such harsh decision.  They went back to the Ashram convinced not to sing Rama’s story anymore, as they felt betrayed by Rama due to his actions towards Sita.

Sita was waiting at the Ashram, eager to ask the twins about Rama.  But she saw their disappointment and anger in their faces.  She asked them about Rama’s well-being.  The twins answered with disgust that he was doing fine.  Then she asked why they were annoyed and angry.  Thus Sita came to know about what had happened at the palace.

She advised her children not to be angry, explaining that Rama has to follow his dharma as a king, fulfilling the laws of the land.  The children were not ready to accept her argument, also saying they were worried about what would have happened to Sita in the forest.  They also told her their decision not to sing Ramayana any more.  Sita was devastated to hear the children feeling such hatred towards Rama, as she was expecting the exact opposite from them after they met him.

Whatever Sita said didn’t appease the children.  Finally, Sita said that she would not speak to them ever again if they don’t sing the praise of Rama.  Without any other way, half-heartedly, the children agreed to continue to sing the Ramayana, for the sake of their mother’s happiness.

In Ayodhya, poverty and depression was on the increase.  Drought was taking hold.  Food shortage was becoming a big issue and, the never-before heard word in Rama-Rajyam, crime was staring to take root.  Maharishi Vasishtha, Guru of Rama, had to do something to get Ayodhya out of the desperate situation it was in.

After a lot of thought, consulting with the queen mother and Rama’s brothers, he decided to ask Rama to perform a ceremony named “Ashvamedha,” for the benefit of the kingdom.  In an Ashvamedha yaj~na, a horse with the king’s flag was sent on a tour through all the lands, to return to the yaj~na if no one opposed it or imprisoned it.  If it was imprisoned, the king will have to free it by peace or force.

Hearing this from his Guru, Rama was puzzled because a king without a queen cannot perform this yaj~na.  The only way to perform this mighty yaj~na would be for Rama to remarry.  When this was suggested, Rama became unusually angry and outright rejected the plan.  He told everyone that he is a follower of the ‘eka-patni-vrata’ (vow of loyalty to one wife), that his love for Sita was only for her and cannot be shared with anyone else.  Rama was a living example of righteousness.  He said he couldn’t even dream of being with another woman.

Vasishtha suggested they make a golden statue of Sita, to have next to Rama while conducting the yaj~na.  Rama agreed, only to fulfill his duty as a king.  The citizens of Ayodhya brought all the gold they had, to be used for the statue of Sita, saying that the state of the land was their fault to begin with.

This was the first time they were able to see Rama after Sita was sent away.  They were so happy to see their king.  The statue was made and the yaj~na begun.  Rama’s brother Shatrugna led Ayodhya’s army, following behind the horse, chosen especially for the tour of the land, carrying Ayodhya’s flag.

The news of Rama’s Ashvamedha Yaj~na reached Valmiki’s Ashram.  Sita was devastated to hear the news, as she knew a king had to have his wife in order to perform such a ritual.  She fainted, as she couldn’t bear the thoughts of Rama with another queen.

Rishi Valmiki knew what was happening with Sita and went to her rescue.  While she was unconscious, he was able to transmit his meditative energy, to lift Sita out of her physical body on a trip to Rama’s chamber in Ayodhya.  Sita saw the devasted Rama treating her golden statue as her, pouring his heart out to the statue.

This made Sita even sadder, but at the same time relieved that her husband’s love for her had not diminished.  Seeing her husband’s devotion towards her, even after he had renounced her, brought peace to Sita.  She travelled back to the Ashram, reentered her physical body and thanked Valmiki for the revelation.

She was filled with remorse and shame that she doubted her beloved husband, so she wanted to do reparation for her action.  As suggested by Rishi Valmiki, Sita decided to do a puja for Mata Lalita Devi, to be done uninterrupted for ten days.  For the puja she needed one thousand lotus flowers.  Lava and Kusha promised to bring them to her.

Guru Valmiki had an important event to attend and left the ashram for a few days.  Sita started her puja and immersed herself in the worship of Mata Lalita Devi.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

After Rama’s crowning, his Ayodhya kingdom was flourishing.  Some time passed with the citizens in unbounded joy.  One day, as Rama was doing his routine checks on his citizens by going in disguise from street to street, he overheard a conversation that concerned him.  A husband and wife were arguing.  The wife had been away from home for some time and had just returned home to be with her husband.  He was refusing to accept her back, since she had been away from him for a long time, as he was doubting her chastity.  Thus, the husband was shouting at her, “Do you think that I am Rama, King of Ayodhya, accepting his wife after her being away for so long, staying under the custody of a stranger?”

Rama felt as if his heart was pierced by an arrow.  He thought, “All this time, I have been living by the law of righteousness but I have not realized about what my citizens thought about my actions.  I need to understand my citizens’ feelings in order to be able to rule the country well, with laws that fit everyone!”  His heart was filled with sorrow as he returned to the palace, thinking he failed on his duties.

Being a democratic ruler, he decided to banish his pregnant wife Sita from Ayodhya, though it was with unbearable pain.  He asked Lakshmana to take Sita to the forest, there to inform her of his decision.  No matter how much Lakshmana tried to present a case against Rama’s decision, it didn’t work.  Lakshmana found that he was hurting his brother more, for he was already in unbearable sorrow with what he had ordered.

Taking his brother’s orders, Lakshmana left to fulfill this duty.  With a very heavy heart he took Sita to a nearby forest and told her that Rama had ordered him to leave her in the forest, giving all the details.  At his first explanation, Sita cried out, “How can Rama do this to his pregnant wife, who proved her chastity in Lankapuri!”  Then, coming to terms with what was happening, she decided to abide by her husband’s wishes and said farewell to her beloved brother-in-law.

Unable to bear what he was doing, Lakshmana sought Hanuman and let him know what had transpired.  Without a word, Hanuman just leapt up to fly in the direction where Lakshmana had abandoned Sita.  Nothing was the same after this: the Ayodhya kingdom was in darkness, as was Rama, who preferred to be alone with his thoughts of his beloved Sita.

In the meantime, after a long search Hanuman found Sita, but he kept himself hidden since he had not gotten any orders from Rama to help her.  But he promised himself that he will not let any harm come to Sita.  Sita roamed in the woods for hours and days, sobbing in grief.  Hanuman silently followed her around with no direct way to help her, leaving fruits on her way for Sita to eat.  In her state of mind, she only nibbled on them and continued to wander aimlessly through the woods.

Sita was very tired and sat down to rest a bit.  Some young sages-in-training walked by her and stopped in surprise when they saw her.  They wanted to know who she was.  Not wanting to reveal who she really was, Sita said that she is a pregnant woman seeking shelter.  They started hurrying back from the way they had come, saying they were going to bring help.  Taken by her divine beauty and her sorrowful state, the young sages went back to the ashram and told their Guru Valmiki about what they saw.

Who is Valmiki?

There once lived a hunter named Ratnakara, a thief and ruthless man.  He killed harmless birds and gentle animals for food, robbing anyone and everyone who passed through the forest in which he lived.

One day he came across the Saptarishis, the seven great sages of all times.  He decided to rob them as well.  He stopped them, threatening them with his weapons, demanding all the wealth they possessed.  The sages explained that they had surrendered themselves to God and didn’t own any wealth.

They then asked him why he was stealing?  Ratnakara explained that he had to support his family, so he chose robbery as the means.  The sages asked him whether his family would partake of the sin that came from what he does for his livelihood.  Ratnakara answered without a doubt, “Yes!”  But the sages asked him to go get the answer from his family, promising to wait for his answers.

The hunter went straight to his wife and asked whether she is willing to share his sins.  Even though she was benefiting from his sinful life, she refused to share the sins.  Hoping that at least his children would partake of the sins with him, he was heartbroken by hearing the same answer from his children.  In disbelief at what he had heard, he returned back to the sages with a heavy heart.

Ratnakara threw himself at their feet, asking to redeem his soul.  The sages blessed him and gave him a mantra.  He couldn’t remember and say the holy name of “Rama,” so they gave him the mantra “ma-ra,” meaning “kill,” but which is an inverted version of “Rama.”  He was asked to repeat the mantra without interruption until they returned.  Ratnakara sat in a meditative pose, reciting the mantra for years.  An anthill formed around him, ultimately covering him fully.

After many years, the seven rishis returned and brought him out of his great tapas (austerities).  He came out a person different in every aspect.  The rishis blessed him as one of the great rishis, naming him “Valmiki” since he came out of “valmik” (anthill).  With the rishis’ blessings and with his spiritual energy and knowingness, he earned the respect of everyone from everywhere.

Once he was visited by Maharishi Narada.  Valmiki welcomed Narada with great respect.  Narada blessed Valmiki and they started conversing about great beings living by righteousness.  Valmiki asked Narada to name the most perfect being, who is living a dharmic life.  Narada immediately named Rama, the King of Ayodhya.  Narada started telling the wonderful story of Rama, which fascinated Valmiki.  Valmiki was very grateful to hear the story of Rama, and continued to repeat it in his mind all the time as though he were hearing it afresh.

One day Valmiki was on his way to have a bath in the Tamasa River, attended by one of his disciples.  He saw two birds on a branch of a tree, courting and cooing together.  Mesmerized by the birds’ love for each other, Valmiki stood there watching them.  As he was admiring them, a hunter killed one of the birds; the other one was devastated and in deep sorrow.

In his grief, Valmiki cursed the hunter for being so cruel.  The Sanskrit words he uttered spontaneously, because of his grief (shoka), came out in verse form, with melody and rhythm.  This was the first “shloka” (Sanskrit stanza) ever.  At that very moment, Lord Brahma, the lord of creation, appeared in front of him and requested Valmiki to write the story of Rama as narrated by Narada.  Brahma blessed him to write what he knew and that the unknown would be given to him.

With that blessing, Valmiki sat in a meditative pose and the story started unfolding in front of him as though he was witnessing the whole thing all over again.  Valmiki started writing the first epic of all times, “Ramayana” in stanza form.  After finishing writing the Ramayana, he started reading it to the public at large.  The crowd was spellbound by the story.

Back to the main story…

A little while later, the young sages returned with their Guru, Rishi Valmiki.  As soon as the Rishi saw Sita, through his spiritual insight, he knew who she was.  He introduced himself as Valmiki and invited Sita to his hermitage, greeting her with utmost respect, offered her help, assured her of his guidance and protection.

Not revealing Sita’s true identity to anyone, Valmiki asked everyone at the ashram to treat her with all the love they had.  Sita, abandoned by her husband, found love and support from Valmiki and his disciples.  Especially the female ascetics took special care of her, as she was pregnant.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

As soon as the bridge was built, Rama commanded the army to move across the sea to Lankapuri.  The troops crossed the sea, reached Lankapuri and made camp at the shore.  Ravana sent two spies to gather information about the army.  They turned themselves into monkeys and roamed around the camp.  Vibhishana identified them as rakshasas and started punishing them.  Rama intervened and released them, instructing them to carry the message about the strong and aggressive army to Ravana.  When the two spies returned, they described the monkey army and its strength, but it still didn’t change Ravana’s mind.  The mandate was sent to Ravana’s commanders to roundup the troops for battle.

As Ravana’s troops were getting ready for the war, Ravana played one of his tricks on Sita, to persuade her to marry him as a last try.  He brought the severed head of a person resembling Rama, saying Sita’s husband is dead and that the only way left for her now is to marry him.  At first Sita fell, trembling, on the ground.  When she regained consciousness, she asked Ravana to behead her so she can join her husband.  At that moment a messenger arrived, bringing Ravana word from the chief of his army.  Ravana left in haste and the head of Rama disappeared, revealing to Sita that it was a yet another trick by Ravana.

Ravana left Sita at the news that Rama had reached Suvela Mountain.  Rama and others went to the top of Suvela Mountain, from where they could see the city of Lankapuri.  Ravana stood there, above a gateway to the city.  Seeing him, Sugreeva sprung into action, leaping on top of Ravana.  They dueled for a long time.  Finally, after reducing Ravana to exhaustion, Sugreeva stole his crown and came back to Rama.

Rama wanted to give a chance for Ravana to make peace so he sent Angada as a messenger.   At the palace, Ravana asked Angada who he is.  Angada replied, “I have seen you once before, when I was a baby.  One day, when my father was doing his daily pujas to all the eight directions, you followed him around due to curiosity.  Annoyed by your constant interruptions, with one blow he brought you down and tied you up in his tail so he could finish his pujas.  Afterward, forgetting that you were helplessly tied to his tail, he visited me at my crib side.  To stop my crying, he shook his tail and realized you were tied to it like a toy.  Looking at this, I stopped crying, amused by your pathetic state.  I am sure you remember my mighty father, Vali, with whose power I stand here, his son Angada.”

Embarrassed by this, Ravana replied, “I will die before making peace with my enemy.”  Angada tried his best to convince Ravana to settle it all in a peaceful manner, but Ravana was firm about going battle instead of conceding defeat.  Angada then firmly planted his foot on the ground, challenging anyone in Ravana’s court to uproot his foot.  If they could, Rama would admit defeat and return home.

All the mighty Rakshasa commanders, including the mighty Meghanada (Ravana’s son, also called Indrajit) tried their best to uproot Angada’s foot but none succeeded.  Angada warned Ravana, that this was his last chance to save himself and his kingdom.  Ravana ordered him seized, but Angada jumped to the ceiling and escaped.  Angada returned to Rama, giving him Ravana’s refusal to make peace.

So, the inevitable war began.  Ravana led his army himself on the first day of battle.  The battle was fierce, but at the end of the day Ravana’s army was destroyed and Ravana stood in the middle without his chariot or his weapons.  Rama said to Ravana, “It is not right to kill someone who has no weapons to defend himself.  I give you time, to think.  Go back today and come tomorrow if you still feel that you must go to war.”  The disgraced Ravana returned home.  Even after his defeat, he didn’t give up on his lust and greed.

The next day Kumbhakarna was awake, disturbed from his six months of sleep, with diminished powers.  He had been informed what had happened and tried his best to bring his brother Ravana to his senses, but was not successful.  Even after Ravana’s ill words against him, Kumbhakarna decided to fight for his brother, for family’s sake, unlike his other brother, Vibhishana.  Yet Kumbhakarna knew he was not on the side of righteousness.  He gathered the troops and marched to war on the second day.

Kumbhakarna did his best, but with his diminished ability and strength, was in no way a match for Rama.  By the end of the day, Rama killed Kumbhakarna, freeing the gatekeeper Vijaya from his second life on earth, leaving only one more to go before he reaches the gates of Vaikuntha again.  Over the next couple of days, Ravana’s younger sons went to battle, encountering the same result as their uncle.

Ravana went into unbearable pain due the demise of his brother and sons.  Seeing his father’s grief, the powerful Meghanada, Ravana’s eldest son, went into battle.  Meghanada had a lot of astras (energetic weapons) from boons he’d received due to his long austerities and worship.  He fought valiantly for days.  He first bound everyone on the enemy’s side with his Naga-astra (cobra astra), making all of them faint.  Garuda (Lord Vishnu’s eagle mount) came in to break the bindings.

Meghanada then wounded Lakshmana with one of his arrows.  Hanuman flew off and brought the physician Sushena to cure him.  Then Meghanada used his Brahma-astra (Brahma’s astra) to disable everyone except Hanuman, who flew to the Himalayas to bring back the hill with the “Sanjeevani” herb to cure everyone.  Having failed to defeat Rama’s monkey army with his astras, Meghanada went into a secret place to perform a yaj~na to get more powers.  Finding out about this, Vibhishana helped Rama to find Meghanada.  Lakshmana battled with him, killing Meghanada after a fierce fight.

Ravana lost his senses when he heard that his eldest son had perished.  Yet, even after all this, Ravana didn’t want to concede defeat.  He gathered all the Asuras who were alive and led them into battle.  At first he was fighting with ferocity, annihilating the monkey army by firing arrows with his twenty hands.  Using magic, he replicated himself, confusing the monkey army.  Ravana seemed to be unconquerable; though Rama cut off one of his heads several times, another took its place as soon as one head rolled off.

With the battle seeming like it would go on forever, Vibhishana revealed the secret that Ravana’s nectar of life was stored in his navel.   At the end of the war’s eighteenth day, Rama killed Ravana by firing arrows at his navel, his heads and his hands at the same time.  Thus, Jaya finished his second birth on earth, joining his brother Vijaya.

Vibhishana went into unbearable grief due to his brother’s death, and performed all the last rights for his brother.  Ravana’s wife Mandodari sacrificed herself on the funeral pyre.

Rama crowned Vibhishana as the King of Lankapuri.  Then Vibhishana released Sita from the palace’s forest garden, Asoka Vatika.  According to Rama’s request, Sita took the test of fire to prove her chastity to the world.  Then Rama performed a penance at Setu Beach, a ceremony to Lord Shiva, for being the cause of countless lives lost in the war.

Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman started their voyage to Ayodhya, just as the fourteen-year exile was nearing its end.  On the way back, they stopped at Kishkinda and the sage Bharadwaja’s hermitage.  Rama’s brother Bharata received Rama with the greatest joy.  Ayodhya was exuberant due to the return of their beloved Rama.  Vasishta and the other priests crowned Rama as King of Ayodhya. Rama ruled Ayodhya in a righteousness manner, a golden time period called “Rama Rajya.”

Spying on God

By Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Rama returned to Ayodhya one day early, before the 14 years was complete.  He refused to enter until his vow was complete, so he and all his party camped outside the city walls.  The sage Narada came for the great events along with many others who were awaiting the auspicious morning.

In the wee hours, well before the sunrise, Narada began to wonder, “Who does Rama worship? Maybe I can go spy on him!”  Creeping quietly through the dark campground, Narada positioned himself outside Rama’s tent.  He saw the flickering light of a flame and heard soft chanting and a bell, so he peeked through a slit in the canvas.  Ah!  Rama was worshipping Shiva!  Narada thought, “This proves it; Shiva must be the highest God!

But then Narada thought again, for Shiva was there in the camp as well, incarnated as Hanuman.  Creeping through the dark, Narada approached Hanuman’s tent.  Again he saw flickering light and heard soft chanting.  Peeking through the flap, Narada saw Hanuman worshipping Vishnu, who had incarnated as Rama!

Thus Narada, the great devotee, was confused.  Who is the highest God?  Vishnu has incarnated as Rama, and is worshipping Shiva, but Shiva has incarnated as Hanuman and is worshipping Rama.  The answer is found in the greatest mystery of all — there is only One.  That One is found within.

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Hearing that Sita had been seen in Lankapuri, Hanuman took on his gargantuan form and made a colossal leap across the sea.  Landing on the island, he contracted himself to his usual form.

He couldn’t believe his eyes, Lankapuri was such a beautiful place with lush green mountains and valleys.  The houses were all decorated with jewels and pearls; the people were very joyful, enjoying themselves with singing and dancing.  He arrived at dusk and started moving inland, looking for the grove seen by the eagle Sampaathi.

Immediately, Hanuman encountered Lankini, a huge rakshasi (Demoness) who was the guardian of Lankapuri.  She refused to let Hanuman enter.  Hanuman knocked her to the ground with his left hand.  She accepted her defeat and let him go inland.

Hanuman searched everywhere for Sita: the castles, every house, every garden, even searching for her in Ravana’s private chamber, but was unable to find her.  He felt hopeless, and sat on a compound wall muttering the mantra, “Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram….”

Then he saw a lady in the faint moonlight, under a simsupa tree in the middle of the grove compound.  The lady was in dirty clothes, hanging her head down with unbearable sorrow.  She was surrounded by rakshasis.

Hanuman knew he had found Sita and jumped up in joy.  Immediately realizing he needed to lay low until he met Sita, he suppressed his joy and looked for an opportunity to greet her.  He got in the top of a tree close to Sita and waited impatiently.  While waiting, he heard all the rakshasis, except one, harassing Sita to get married to Ravana.  But one rakshasi was very polite to Sita, not allowing anyone to harm her in any way.

When all the rakshasis fell asleep, Hanuman crawled towards Sita.  He reached Sita and said that he is a messenger from Rama.  At first Sita refused to believe him, as Ravana had tried to get to her by taking different forms and she assumed this is again one of Ravana’s tricks.  But later, Hanuman gives her Rama’s signet ring as proof, again uttering “Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram….”  This cleared Sita’s doubt, and with tears in her eyes, she inquired of her husband’s wellbeing.

Hearing that Rama is in deep worry and lost in thought all the time made her even more depressed.  Hanuman jumped down and said he could destroy Lankapuri and take her back with him at once.  Sita disapproved of the idea, saying that Rama should be the one to come and rescue her from Ravana.  She also added that she will keep herself alive only for one more month, so Rama should come and rescue her within that month.

Hanuman bowed to Sita and worshipped her, vowing that Rama will be in Lankapuri soon to take her back.  Sita blessed Hanuman and gave him her Chudamani (jewelry for the hair/head) to give to Rama.

Being the mischievous monkey that Hanuman is, he decided to show Ravana what will be coming his way soon if he doesn’t release Sita.  Hanuman began by destroying the fine parks and gardens, hoping that the guards would capture him and take him to Ravana.  After several other people tried, Ravana’s son Indrajit himself came to capture  him, which Hanuman allowed.  He was taken to the palace for questioning by the king, exactly what Hanuman had wanted.

Brought to Ravana, Hanuman was made to stand in front of him with his hands and legs tied up.  As soon as he saw Ravana, Hanuman freed himself and grew his tail to a length where he could make a throne for himself and sat on it as an equal to Ravana.  Ravana was very upset about the “monkey’s” behavior.

Hanuman said, “I am Hanuman, a messenger from Rama!”  Obviously that led to an altercation between Ravana and Hanuman.  Hanuman tried to persuade Ravana to release Sita, which obviously didn’t succeed.  At the end, Ravana gave a verdict —the punishment for destroying the fine parks and gardens is death.

One of Ravana’s brothers, Vibhishana, intervened to stop the verdict, saying it is against the law to kill a messenger.  Therefore Ravana decided to humiliate Hanuman and ordered that his monkey tail be set on fire and that he be thrown out of Lankapuri.

As soon as his tail was set on fire, Hanuman jumped up to do what a monkey does, jumping from pillar to pillar, structure to structure, tree to tree, burning the whole city of Lankapuri.  Then, with a world of joy, Hanuman reassumed his gargantuan form and lept across the sea to the southern beach where his search party awaited.  Hanuman told everyone the wonderful news about meeting Sita in Lankapuri and the rest of the encounter with Ravana.  Angada, Hanuman and the southerly crew returned to Kishkindha.

As soon as Hanuman saw Rama, he cried “I saw Mata Sita!” He immediately gave the chudamani to Rama.  Rama took the chudamani in his hands and immediately burst into tears.  The thought of Sita being so helpless and suffering broke his heart even more.  With great haste, everyone got ready to go to Lankapuri.  The vanara (monkey) army was mobilized in no time.

Rama, Lakshmana, Sugreeva and the army, with Hanuman, reached the southern tip of the land.  Now the hurdle was to cross the sea between India and Lankapuri.  Flabbergasted, but not losing heart, they discussed options.  They decided to build a bridge (Setubandhanam).  The architect monkey Nala, son of the master builder Vishvakarman, was given the task.

The news reached Ravana that an army of vanaras was in the southern tip of India.  He called his war council to discuss the matter.  Everyone in the council took it easy because it was only two humans (considered less powerful than themselves, the rakshasas) and the army itself consisted of monkeys.  All the counselors, including his relatives, gave speeches urging Ravana to fight, assured the victory would be easy.

The only person who voiced concern was Vibhishana, who said that it was foolish of anyone to underestimate their enemy, gauging only by their looks, without doing proper investigation.  He also reminded them that the brothers Rama & Lakshmana had already killed Ravana’s brothers Khara and Dushana, plus his uncle Maricha, in addition to other well-known figures from the rakshasas.  Vibhishana also pointed out that Rama had done nothing to Ravana, whereas Ravana had cowardly abducted Rama’s wife while she was unprotected; therefore Ravana does not have the righteousness grounds in the war in hand.

Vibhishana pleaded with his brother to return Sita to Rama, even to beg for his pardon.  He reminded Ravana that all the wealth and power he enjoyed was received from Lord Shiva, by being his ardent devotee, and it was tainted by his act.  He must do the right to undo the wrong.  Vibhishana offered to take Sita to Rama and seek his forgiveness on behalf of Ravana.

Hearing this enraged Ravana.  He accused Vibhishana of envy, ill-will and being the worst enemy of the king.  Feeling deeply offended by his brother’s words Vibhishana renounced Ravana, saying he cannot support an unrighteous person even it was his own brother.  Ravana banished Vibhishana from Lankapuri, calling him a coward, sparing his life only because he was his brother.  Ravana then continued to discuss the strategy for the upcoming war with the council.

As the first order of action, needing assistance from his other brother, Ravana directs his guards to wake Kumbhakarna.  Kumbhakarna slept six months of every year, due to a twist in his tongue when he requested a boon from Brahma after doing austerities.  He requested “Nidraasana,” the seat of sleep, instead of “Indraasana,” the seat of Indra (Lord of Heaven).  Thus he sleeps six months, then eats anything he sees for the other six months of the year, before going back sleep.  Though he was an intelligent, unchallenged warrior, Kumbhakarna lost most of his ability and strength if disturbed or woken from his six months of sleep.

Vibhishana fled Lankapuri with four of his close ministers who agreed with him.  They reached Rama’s camp at the southern tip of India, requesting to see Rama so they could ask for refuge from Ravana.  Before seeing Vibhishana, Rama discussed the matter with his council,.  Everyone opposed Vibhishana’s request, saying that he was born to the same mother as Ravana, Khara, Dushana and Surpanaka, therefore he must be the same type of person.  They added that he comes from the line of Maricha, therefore he cannot be trusted.

Then Hanuman requested permission from Rama to speak.  He described that when he was searching all the houses in Lankapuri, he always found liquor, but at Vibhishana’s he found only rose water for pujas.  He continued, saying that the reason Sita is still alive is because Vibhishana’s daughter, Trijada, who took after her father, sits near Sita all the time, not letting any rakshasis harm her.

Hanuman also mentioned that Vibhishana is the one who spoke against the capital punishment for a messenger when Ravana announced his verdict.  After hearing everyone’s opinion, Rama announced that it is the duty of a human to give refuge to anyone who seeks it.  Rama accepted Vibhishana.

The opposers were finally convinced when Vibhishana aided Rama in appealing to Samudraraja (or Sethusamudram, the Sea of the Bridge), the ocean itself, who had not given any headway to the building of the bridge under Nala’s leadership.  Even the squirrels helped the vanara army in building the bridge.  The task took five days to complete with rocks and trees, after Samudraraja had subsided.

As soon as the bridge was built, Rama commanded the army to move across the sea to Lankapuri.  The port that they left named after this event as “Setu Shore.”  The troops crossed the sea, reached Lankapuri and made camp at the shore.

Ravana sent two spies to gather information about the army.  They turned themselves into monkeys and roamed around the camp.  Vibhishana identified them as rakshasas and started punishing them.  Rama intervened and released them, instructing them to carry the message about the strong and aggressive army to Ravana.

Ravana called his war council again.  Ravana’s grandfather, Sumali, recommended releasing Sita and making peace as the best option for the rakshasas.  Many in the council turned this down.  Ravana showed his anger against his grandfather.  When the two spies returned, they described the monkey army and its strength, but it still didn’t change Ravana’s mind.  The mandate was sent to Ravana’s commanders to roundup the troops for battle.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Sita had been kidnapped.  Searching for her, Rama and Lakshmana came across a great strong monkey, who introduced himself as Hanuman.

Who is Hanuman?

Many stories are told about the great ones!  So it is with Hanuman.  One story tells that Hanuman was the incarnation of Lord Shiva, coming to help Lord Vishnu in his Rama avatar.

Hanuman is also called the son of Vayu, the Wind God.  This is what gave him the ability to fly and to take on different forms.  Hanuman was born to Anjana and Kesari.  Anjana had prayed diligently to Lord Shiva, asking him to take birth as her son.  Thus the great and mighty Hanuman came into being.

The mischievous Hanuman, when he was young, swallowed the sun, which he released only after the Devas had prayed to him.  Hanuman began using his supernatural powers in a mischievous way.  One day he pranked a meditating sage.  In a fury, the sage cursed Hanuman to forget his powers temporarily.  Later, when he became an adult, the curse lifted and Hanuman remembered all of his godlike powers.

When Rama found him, Hanuman was living near Mount Rishyamukha with Sugreeva.  Sugreeva was hiding from his brother Vali, the king of the vanaras (monkeys).  Seeing Rama & Lakshmana, Sugreeva misunderstood them to be allies of his brother, coming to harm him.  Sugreeva sent Hanuman, his friend and minister to go find out about them.

Hanuman introduced himself to Rama and Lakshmana who shared their devastating story with Hanuman.  Hearing this, Hanuman’s heart was filled with love, respect and devotion towards Rama.  After he listened to the story of the kidnapping, Hanuman told about Sugreeva, who was in a similar predicament, being in exile in the forest.

Vali and Sugreeva were very close and loving brothers.  Vali was king of Kishkindha, the vanara kingdom; Tara was his wife.  A demon named Maayaavi came to Kishkindha, challenging Vali for a fight.  Vali accepted, but Maayaavi ran into the jungle and inside his deep cave so he could have the upper hand.  The brothers followed him through the jungle.  Though Sugreeva tried to stop Vali, Vali entered the cave, telling Sugreeva to wait outside.  Many days went by but Vali didn’t return.  Sugreeva didn’t leave his post.

Suddenly one day Sugreeva heard Maayaavi’s roar.  Then a stream of blood gushed out of the cave, followed by another roar.  Sugreeva thought it was Maayaavi’s cry of triumph and that Vali had been killed.  Sugreeva thought for a while and decided to block the entrance of the cave with a huge boulder, in order to stop Maayaavi from coming out and attacking Kishkindha.  He returned home with a heavy heart, not talking to anyone for days.

However, inside the cave, Vali had killed Maayaavi.  Eagerly coming out to see Sugreeva, Vali found the entrance blocked by a boulder.  He thought that Sugreeva betrayed him for the throne.  There was no way out of the cave but Vali continued trying to push the boulder aside.

Back in the kingdom, Sugreeva continued to be silent.  Hanuman was one of the nobles at the court as well as a dear friend.  He approached Sugreeva, insisting that the throne must not remain vacant.  As Vali’s brother, Sugreeva should take Vali’s place.  With great hesitation, and after a lot of thought, Sugreeva agreed.  He ascended the throne for the sake of his people.  Hanuman served him well as his minister.

Time passed.  One day, Vali succeeded in pushing the boulder a little so he could scrape through a small opening.  He arrived at the palace a few days later.  While Sugreeva was delighted to see his beloved brother alive, Vali was not in a mood for loving reunions.  He furiously accused his brother of being a hypocrite who trapped him in the cave.  He was not willing to listen to Sugreeva or anyone.

Vali banished Sugreeva from Kishkindha.  When Sugreeva’s wife, Ruma, attempted to go with him, Vali claimed her to be his property and would not let her go.  Hanuman somehow managed to join Sugreeva and both of them left Kishkindha.  They reached the Rishyamukha Mountains, where Sugreeva was safe, since Vali could not go there due to a curse from Rishi Matanga.

Hanuman finished Sugreeva’s story.  He thought Rama and Lakshmana would be able to help Sugreeva free his wife, so he invited them to meet Sugreeva.  They accepted the invitation, so Hanuman took his gargantuan form, picked up Rama and Lakshmana and flew through the woods to Sugreeva’s hiding place.  There, Rama promised to help Sugreeva to retrieve his wife, Ruma.  In return, Sugreeva promised to help Rama find Sita and help him in every way.

In a duel, Vali gained half his opponent’s strength, thus no one was able to beat Vali in direct combat.  Knowing his brother’s strength, Sugreeva doubted that Rama could win.  After a few tests, which Rama passed with ease, Sugreeva started to believe in Rama.  Hanuman became an ardent admirer of Rama, very loyal to him, not letting Rama out of his sight.

They decided it was time to free Ruma.  The plan was for Sugreeva to challenge Vali, then Rama was to kill Vali while he and Sugreeva were in combat.  Sugreeva went to Kishkindha, followed by Rama.  As planned, Sugreeva challenged his brother.  The duel was fierce.  Rama was unable to get a clear shot at Vali because both brothers looked very much the same.

Unable to defeat Vali, Sugreeva retreated to Rishyamukha Mountains.  They decided that Sugreeva would wear a garland so that Rama could identify Vali.  Through some spies, Vali’s wife Tara found out that Sugreeva had the support of a prince from the North.  She tried to stop Vali from going to the duel when Sugreeva challenged him again.  Vali disregarded his wife and went to the fight.  This time, though Vali had the upper hand, Rama was able to distinguish Vali from Sugreeva, and kill him with his arrow, shot from behind a tree.

With his last few breaths, Vali asked Rama to defend his action of killing someone who was not in combat with him.  Rama explained that it is the duty of a king to uphold justice, and that Vali should have listened to his brother without prior judgment and treated him as his son.  Rama also pointed out his worst mistake of keeping Ruma, Sugreeva’s wife with him.  Because Vali had wronged Sugreeva, Rama had done justice.

Vali was full of remorse when he heard Rama’s words, and requested Sugreeva and Rama both to pardon his actions.  He also requested them not to vest his sins on his wife and his son Angada, but to look after them.  With a heavy heart, Sugreeva told his brother that all he had wanted from him was his love and nothing more.  Vali blessed Sugreeva and died.

After doing the last rites for his brother, Sugreeva ascended the throne.  He crowned Vali’s son Angada as the crown prince.  However, Sugreeva soon forgot his promise to Rama, spending his time in enjoying his regained status.  The clever former ape queen Tara and Hanuman calmly intervened to prevent an enraged Lakshmana from destroying the ape citadel.  They made Sugreeva understand his duty and honor his pledge.

Sugreeva then sent search parties in all four directions, but they returned without success from the north, east and west.  Under the leadership of Angada and Hanuman, the southern search party reached the southern tip of the great land and sat on the south shore, depressed.  Angada said, “We have tried our best, but we have failed miserably.  I, as the leader of the party, am not prepared to go back to Kishkindha empty handed.  In fact I would like to kill myself here and equal myself to Jatayu the king of eagles who had sacrificed his life in service to Rama.”

Everyone in the search party was talking about the failed end of their search, when someone called to them from behind, “Friends!”  Everyone turned to see an eagle slowly walking towards them.  The eagle said, “Friends, I heard my brother Jatayu’s name come up in your conversation.  May I know how you came to know of my Jatayu?”  Angada told the eagle about Sita’s kidnapping.

The bird continued, “My name is Sampaathi.  We eagles are bestowed with very keen eyesight.  We are capable of pinpointing things at great distance.  I have seen Sita in a grove in Lankapuri.”  Uttering these words, Sampaathi, flew away.

Hearing this, Hanuman without wasting a second, took on his gargantuan form and made a colossal leap across the sea to Lankapuri.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Rama left the forest of Chitrakoot, visiting other ashrams, meeting many sages and getting their blessings.  He also helped them by killing the rakshasas harassing them, as this was a time when demonic forces were strongly affecting the earth and her residents.  Agastya was one of the great sages Rama visited, who gave the great gift of Vishnu’s bow and arrows.

Agastya suggested that Panchavati would be an ideal place for Rama’s further stay in the Dandakaranya forest.  Thus, Rama settled in Panchavati.  On the way there, Rama met Jatayu, the king of birds.  Jatayu was so happy to meet Rama!  Jatayu promised to guard all three of them from the sky.

A rakshasi named Shurpanaka occupied Dandakaranya forest along with her brothers Khara and Dushana.  One day, Shurpanaka happened upon Rama’s hermitage.  Seeing this handsome man, she wanted to get married to him.  She changed herself into a beautiful young woman and made an advance towards Rama.  Rama refused her, saying he was married, and sent her to check with Lakshmana (for some amusement).  “Not a bad replacement,” she thought and approached Lakshmana.  Short-tempered as always, he stared at her and told her to keep away from him.

Knowing Lakshmana was not going to work out, Shurpanaka decided to harm Sita, as she was the cause for Rama’s refusal.  Shurpanaka charged towards Sita.  Lakshmana, with one swing of his sword, cut off Shurpanaka’s nose.  Shurpanaka ran to her two brothers for help; they came to Rama’s hermitage to fight him.  Rama and Lakshmana killed both the brothers with ease.  Seeing this, Shurpanaka went screaming to her beloved brother Ravana in Lankapuri (Shree Lanka).

Who is Ravana?  Ravana was the son of the great sage Vishrava (or Vesamuni), whose father was the sage Pulastya, one of the great sages of all time, son of Brahma.  Ravana’s mother was and Kaikeshi, whose father was Sumali (or Sumalaya), king of the Asuras.  Kaikesi’s brothers, Maaricha and Subahu, were Ravana’s uncles.  Ravana had six brothers:  Kubera, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Ahiravan, as well as Khara and Dushan, whom Rama had just killed.  His older sister was Kumbhini; his younger sister was Shurpanaka.

Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna are the second incarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu.  Ravana married Mandodari, the daughter of Mayasura, and they had seven sons, Meghnaada (the most powerful one, also known as Indrajit), Atikaya, Akshayakumara, Devantaka, Narantaka, Trishira and Prahastha.

Ravana was a great scholar, having learned all four Vedas.  He was also a great musician, playing the veena (a stringed instrument), as well as a great singer from which he got the name Ravana, which means “of the terrifying roar.”  He had ten heads and twenty arms.  Above all, Ravana was known as the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva.   Ravana composed the hymn known as the Shiva Tandava Stotra.

Ravana had performed intense penance to Brahma for several years.  When Brahma appeared before him, Ravana requested immortality.  Brahma refused.  Then Ravana asked for invulnerability from gods, heavenly spirits, other asuras, serpents and wild beasts.  Thinking he was stronger than any mortal human being, he didn’t ask protection from humans.  Brahma granted his wish.

Being a great devotee of Lord Shiva, Ravana then went to see Lord Shiva at Mt.  Kailasa.  Nandi refused to let Ravana in, since Lord Shiva had asked not to be disturbed.  To show Nandi his love for Shiva, Ravana attempted to uproot and move Mt.  Kailasa.

Lord Shiva, to get rid of Ravana’s arrogance, pressed his little toe on Kailasa, pinning Ravana under the mountain.  Realizing he had made Lord Shiva angry, Ravana plucked off one of his heads, one of his hands and some of his nerves to create a makeshift veena, playing it to pacify him.  After listening to Ravana’s music for a long time, Lord Shiva released him from bondage.  Pleased with his resilience and devotion, Shiva gave him a divine sword called Chandrahas, warning if Ravana used it for any unjust deeds, it would return to Lord Shiva and Ravana’s days will be numbered.

Let’s return to the story.  Shurpanaka fled to Ravana, screaming that Lakshmana had cut off her nose and that she wants revenge.  Seeing his younger sister in distress, Ravana roared, ready for war.  His sister stopped him, saying she had learned that Rama and Lakshmana were very powerful; she recommended they get revenge in a different way.  She went on to talk about Sita, emphasizing her beauty and how she should be married to Ravana, as well as suggesting that he kidnap her.  Shurpanaka’s devastation, her persuasion towards revenge and the beauty of Sita excited Ravana’s lust and poisoned his mind.  Thus the plot was proposed and planned.

Ravana’s uncle Maaricha had the ability to change his form.  Becoming a beautiful, golden deer, he roamed near Rama’s hermitage to catch Sita’s attention.  Captivated by the beauty of the deer, wanting to pet it, Sita requested that Rama catch it for her.  Rama went to catch the deer but it led Rama far away.  A bit annoyed by the deer’s evasive techniques, sensing something was not right; Rama shot an arrow at the deer.  The arrow hit Maaricha, but before dying, he shouted out, in Rama’s voice, “Oh Lakshmana! Lakshmana!”

Sita heard this scream.  Worried about Rama’s safety, even afraid for his life, Sita requested Lakshmana to aid his brother.  Lakshmana did not believe the cry was Rama’s, so he refused to go, as Rama’s order had been to stay and guard Sita.  After Sita’s forceful persuasion and insisting behavior, Lakshmana agreed to go search of Rama.  Before leaving, he drew a circle around the hermitage to guard it with mantra, casting a spell that prevented anyone from entering that boundary.

Ravana saw that the coast was clear.  Making use of this opportunity, he disguised himself as an ascetic and came to the hermitage asking for food.  As a good housewife never refuses to give food to an ascetic, the unsuspecting Sita stepped out of Lakshmana’s circle to offer the food, since the ascetic was unable to come into the circle.

At that moment, Ravana turned into himself.  He took Sita along with the earth she was standing on, as he was unable to get close to her due to her chastity and her devotion to Rama.  He put the dug-up earth with Sita on it into his flying chariot, “Pushpaka Vimana,” and flew towards Lankapuri.  As she was being carried away, Sita cried for help and began dropping her jewelry pieces, one-by-one.

Hearing Sita’s cry, Jatayu, the king of birds, confronted Ravana.  Though Jatayu did his best, he was no match for the mighty Ravana.  Ravana cut off one of Jatayu’s wings; mortally wounded Jatayu fell to the ground.  Ravana continued south to reach Lankapuri, and imprisoned Sita in his garden, Ashokavana, guarded by rakshasas.

Meanwhile, Lakshmana found Rama with the dead deer.  Figuring there was some conspiracy in what happened, the brothers rushed back to the hermitage.  They found only strewn rice and the other food Sita had been offering to the ascetic.  Sita was missing.

They began a vigorous search, going about the forest to find her.  They came across ornaments she had dropped one-by-one.  They continued in the direction the ornaments were found.  They found Jatayu.  He’d been saving his last breath to inform Rama that Sita had been abducted in a flying chariot going south.  Rama put Jatayu on his lap with great sorrow; Jatayu died in Rama’s hands.  Rama performed the last rites for Jatayu and continued south.  Rama forged onward, with a broken heart and tears in his eyes shouting, calling “Sita, Sita, Sita…” asking anyone they encountered if they had seen Sita.

Goddess Parvati was sitting next to Lord Shiva on Mt.  Kailasa.  She asked, “My Lord Shiva, has Lord Vishnu forgotten who he is?  Why is he searching for Sita like this?”  Lord Shiva replied, “Why don’t you find out?”  So Goddess Parvati changed herself into an elderly woman and came before Rama.  Rama saw the old woman, and immediately said, “Devi Parvati, please accept my pranams.  How is Lord Shiva?”  Astonished, Goddess Parvati greeted Rama and returned to Kailasa.

Lord Shiva explained, “You are who you are, but when you take the form of a human being, you will have to abide by the rules of human nature, which means you forget your own divine nature.”  Lord Shiva continued, “I have not helped Lord Vishnu in his past incarnations.  I need to help him in this one.”  Goddess Parvati agreed.

After meeting Goddess Parvati, Rama continued his search as though nothing had happened.  During the search, Rama came across a demon named Kabandha who tried to swallow both the brothers.  They fought and killed him.  With his last breath, he thanked them, saying that he had been waiting for them to release him from a curse that made him demoniacal.  He advised the brothers to visit Shabari, an old ascetic living in the nearby forest.

Delighted by their visit, Shabari greeted them with respect and served them food.  Especially she served Rama, offering rare fruits that could be very sweet but were sometimes sour.  To be sure she offered only the best, she first tasted each one to insure that it was ripe and tasty.  Rama was pleased by her intention and loving care, so he whole-heartedly accepted each of the fruits.

She directed them to go to Mount Mathanga.  After blessing her with liberation, Rama traveled to Mount Mathanga, searching for Sita.  Near Mount Mathanga, they come across a great strong monkey, who introduced himself as Hanuman.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Rama and his new wife, Sita, along with the other newlyweds, traveled to their capital city of Ayodhya.  On their return, the whole kingdom joyfully welcomed Rama and his three brothers, all with their new wives, with great devotion and respect.  Ayodhya was flourishing more than ever, after the arrival of the princes with their consorts.

A few years passed, and there was a message from Ashwapati, Kaikeyi’s father.  He wanted his grandson Bharata to stay with him in the Kekeya kingdom for some time, as his health was not good.  Dasharatha and Kaikeyi immediately sent Bharata and his wife Mandavi there to help.  Ashwapati was very happy to have his grandson with him in his last days.  Thus, Bharata extended his stay in his grandfather’s Kekeya kingdom.

After a few more years passed, the aging King Dasaratha wanted to name the Crown Prince.  He decided to crown his son Rama at the Pattabishekham ceremony at the earliest possibility.  He assembled his ministers and all the elders to announce his decision.  All of them liked and agreed to Rama as Crown Prince.  Dasaratha felt that his time was running out, so he planned the Pattabishekham for the following day, especially since the next auspicious day was a few months away.

Manthara, a close personal maid of the Queen Kaikeyi, was secretly listening to this conversation and was not happy.  She remembered that Rama, as a young boy, accidentally struck her with a mud ball; she was still angry about it.  She ran to Kaikeyi with the news of Rama’s Pattabishekham on the next day.  Kaikeyi leapt out of her chair with great joy and gave Manthara the gold necklace she was wearing as a gift for bearing the happy news.

Manthara threw the necklace to the ground, asking Kaikeyi why she was so happy, “Is it because your own son, Bharatha, is not getting the crown?”  Kaikeyi replied, “No.  Rama is like a son to me; my son Rama is going to ascend the throne!”  Manthara sat with Kaikeyi and told her negative things that might happen if Rama was crowned, slowly poisoning her mind.  Manthara warned that Queen Kaushalya would be the Queen Mother, while Kaikeyi herself would be under her.  Sita, as Janaka’s daughter, might influence Rama to conquer the Kekeya kingdom, especially because Janaka and Ashwapati were not in good terms.

By the end, Kaikeyi had been convinced that her son Bharata should be the next king of Ayodhya.  But she didn’t know how to stop Rama’s Pattabishekham.  She knew her husband would not change his mind as he loved Rama so much.  Manthara slowly reminded Kaikeyi about the two boons that Dasaratha had granted her, urging her to finally use them: the first one for the Pattabishekham to be done to Bharata, the second one to send Rama into exile for fourteen years, because Bharata would not be able to serve as their real king due to the people’s great love for Rama.  Manthara also plotted with Kaikeyi about how to act when Dasaratha came to give her the news.

While Manthara was poisoning Kaikeyi’s mind, the news of Rama’s Pattabishekham spread like wildfire.  The whole of Ayodhya was singing and dancing in joy.  The people were decorating the whole kingdom in preparation for the Pattabishekham.

The king brought the news to Kaushalya and her son Rama.  Though Rama agreed to become Crown Prince, he was unhappy that Bharata was absent, so he asked for the Pattabishekham to be postponed.  Dasaratha refused, saying it needed to happen the next day.

Then Dasaratha came to Kaikeyi, thinking Kaikeyi would be the happiest of all since she was the closest to Rama.  Dasaratha was in a very happy and joyful mode when he entered Kaikeyi’s palace, but found Kaikeyi lying on the floor.  Her jewelry was thrown all around, her hair undone and she was miserably clothed like a poor person.  Manthara had been a great tutor.   Shocked, Dasaratha sat next to where Kaikeyi was lying and asked what had happened.  Was she ill; should he call for a doctor?  Liftin her head slowly, Kaikeyi said she was not ill and there was no need for a doctor.

Dasaratha helped her to a nearby chair and asked why she had such a dreadful look in her eyes.  Kaikeyi said she wanted her son, Bharata, to become the next king, and that Rama should be sent into exile for fourteen years.  This was the greatest shock of his life for Dasaratha.  He fell to his knees, asking Kaikeyi to reconsider her requests, remembering that Dasaratha had a special place in his heart for Kaikeyi.

Kaikeyi’s mind had been poisoned by Manthara so much that she said these are not simply requests.  These are the boons that she had postponed from earlier, so Dasaratha had no choice but to give them to her.  Dasaratha fell to the floor with a very heavy heart.  He spent the whole night trying to pursue Kaikeyi to change her mind, but she didn’t budge an inch.  As nothing could be done, Dasaratha agreed to her request and fainted on the floor.  While this was going on in Kaikeyi’s palace, the rest of Ayodhya was getting ready for Rama’s Pattabishekham the next day.

The next morning, the ministers came to fetch Dasaratha, but Kaikeyi refused to allow them to enter.  She asked them to send Rama to her palace so his father could speak to him.  She was thinking that Rama would throw a tantrum when he heard the new decisions, so Kaikeyi prepared herself to be strong.  Rama came at once, obedient as always.

With a stern voice, Kaikeyi told Rama that, on her request, his father had ordered him into exile for fourteen years, and that Bharata would be installed in the Pattabishekham ceremony right away.  To Kaikeyi’s astonishment, without the least change smile, Rama told Kaikeyi “Oh, dear Mother!  I will go to the forest immediately.  You could have sent me a message to go to the forest and I would have done it wholeheartedly, simply because it is my dear loving mother’s wish.  I thank you for giving me this opportunity to be with the sages who are rooted in dharma.  Please inform my father that I am taking leave.”

He returned to his residence to prepare for the exile.  Upon telling Sita that he must go, and that she should stay in the palace until he returns, she outright refused.  She started getting ready to join him, saying, “Where Rama is, is the Ayodhya for me!”  Lakshmana found out what had happened.  Always short tempered, he was enraged, so Rama had help him bring his temper down.  Lakshmana would never part from Rama, so he joined Rama as his brother and personal attendant.  Rama, Sita and Lakshmana said their goodbyes to their mothers and started their journey by foot to the forest.

The news of Rama’s exile spread like wildfire.  The people of Ayodhya were following Rama to the forest, saying they had no reason to remain in the kingdom without Rama.  No matter how much convincing Rama tried to do, it didn’t work, so he let them follow him to the forest.

When everyone fell asleep that night, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana sneaked deeper into the forest.  He asked the Chief Minister Sumantra to take everyone back to Ayodhya.  The next morning, with Rama missing, they returned to Ayodhya with a heavy heart, as commanded by Sumantra.

Meanwhile in Ayodhya, Dasaratha came to his senses after fainting the previous night, but found Rama gone.  He told Kaikeyi that she got her boons at the price of her husband’s life, and will live as a widow for the rest of her life.  He went into unbearable grief, suffering from the separation from Rama.  Not able to bear his son’s departure, remembering the curse from his early years, Dasaratha died with the same fate as that of Shravan’s blind parents.

Immediately Bharata was sent for.  Learning what led to such a catastrophe in the family, due to his own mother’s greed, Bharata looked at his mother severely, uttering very harsh words, “O!  Enemy of mine, in the guise of my mother!  You should enter the cremation fire or disappear into the Dandaka forest.  No other fate befits you.  I am no longer your son; neither are you my mother!  I can’t imagine, of all people, that you who loved Rama the most, can exile my dearest loving brother to the forest.  I will go to him, beg his forgiveness and bring him back with me to Ayodhya.  Or else I will join him in his path.  Do not ever come in my presence again, my demon-personified mother!”  Hearing these words, Kaikeyi realized the atrocity she had caused by her actions.

Bharata performed the funeral rites of his father.  As always, followed by his brother Shatrugna, Bharata gathered a large company of soldiers, preceptors, elders and the leaders of Ayodhya.  They went to the forest to search for Rama.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana walked to the banks of the holy river Ganga.  There, Rama met Guha, the leader of the boatmen, who cordially served them well.  Rama, Sita and Lakshmana stayed one night with Guha, then got his help to reach the other bank of Ganga.  Extremely pleased with Guha, Rama declared he had gained a brother, so there are now five brothers in total.  Guha was overjoyed by Rama’s words, yet he had to goodbye.  Rama, Sita and Lakshmana walked slowly through the jungle, enjoying its splendor, to reach Sage Bharadwaja’s hermitage near Chitrakoot.  Invited by Sage Bharadwaja, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana decided to stay in Chitrakoot for a while.  Lakshmana made a beautiful hut for them; they started their life in exile.

After a long and hard search, and with the help of Guha, Bharata and his entourage came to Sage Bharadwaja’s hermitage.  Bharadwaja first advised Bharata not to get emotional, telling him that what happened was not caused by a single human being, but was fulfilling a Divine Purpose.

Sage Bharadwaja then helped Bharata to find Rama.  Bharata rushed towards Rama’s hermitage.  The short tempered Lakshmana thought Bharata was there to fight Rama, and leapt up with his bow and arrow, ready to fight.  Lakshmana had to be pacified by Rama once again.

Bharata reached Rama and fell at his feet, not able to speak a word due to sobbing uncontrollably.  Bharata was wearing the same ascetic’s rags as Rama had adopted.  At once, Rama helped Bharata to rise/  Embracing Bharata, Rama asked why he was in such attire, since he was the King of Ayodhya.  Rama went on asking about their father and their mothers.

In the midst of sobs, Bharata broke the news that their father was gone.  At this, Rama lost his steadiness, then slowly regained his composure after a few minutes.  Then Bharata pled his case, begging for forgiveness for what his mother had done, and begging Rama to return to Ayodhya in order to rule the kingdom.  Rama replied that he had given his word and could only return only after fourteen years.

After a lot of hesitation and pushback, Bharata agreed to be the guardian of the kingdom, as the representative of Rama, until Rama’s return.  He set the condition that, if Rama is even a day late at the end of the fourteenth year, Bharata would take his own life.

He requested Rama’s sandals, so he could place them on the throne so that he doesn’t deviate from dharma.  Agreeing, Rama gave his sandals to Bharata.  Bharata carried them on his head all the way back to Ayodhya.  He ruled the kingdom as a guardian and representative, but not living in the palace.  He lived and ruled from a place called Nandigram, located in the outskirts of the city of Ayodhya.  More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

We return to Lord Ram’s story, seeing he and his three brothers growing quickly.  Rama and Lakshmana were inseparable, as were Bharata and Shatrugna.  The pairs did everything together: eating, playing and studying together.  They were well-educated, both in the Vedic lore as well as a king’s martial arts.  Sage Vasishtha, Dasharatha’s kula (clan) Guru taught them everything they needed in life and to rule the kingdom well, when their time would come, after their father.  Soon they grew into young men.

It was time for them to be married.  Dasharatha had begun talking with Sage Vasishtha about their readiness to marry when Sage Vishvamitra visited.  The king respectfully welcomed Vishvamitra with all formalities, asking what grace brought him to the palace.  Sage Vishvamitra explained that his sacred yaj~nas (fire ceremonies), performed for the happiness and prosperity of the world, were frequently disturbed by rakshasas (forest spirits).  He asked Dasharatha’s to send Rama to protect Vishvamitra’s forest ashram.

Feeling protective towards his children, especially Rama, Dasharatha begged Sage Vishvamitra to let Rama be.  Instead Dasharatha himself would come to protect the ashram.  But Sage Vishvamitra knew who Rama really was, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.  The sage refused Dasharatha’s offer, even saying he doubted Dasharatha’s promise to protect the sages in his kingdom.  Sage Vasishtha convinced Dasharatha to send Rama.  As always, a package deal, Lakshmana joined Rama on the adventure.   On the way to the forest, Vishvamitra taught Rama and Lakshmana several mantras of warfare, including incantations and astras (energetic weapons).

On reaching the hermitage, Vishvamitra instructed the princes to safeguard the yaj~na from rakshasas trying to disturb the proceedings.  A rakshasi named Tataka was the first to try.  In the fierce battle between Tataka and Rama, following the advice of Vishvamitra, Rama killed her, though it was against kshatriya (warrior) principles to kill a woman.  Next Subahu was killed by Rama.  The third was Maaricha, whom Rama dropped in the sea near Sri Lanka by using an astra arrow.  Vishvamitra successfully completed his yaj~na, very happy that Rama and Lakshmana helped him in this effort for the world’s benefit.

Vishvamitra then took the boys to a few places, describing the importance and history of each.  During their walk through the forest, Rama stopped and placed his foot on a small rock, to everyone’s astonishment, the rock turned into a beautiful woman.  She bowed to Rama and introduced herself as Ahalya, thanking him for lifting the curse placed upon her by her husband, Rishi Gautama.  A daughter of Lord Brahma, Ahalya was cursed due to an unfortunate incident involving Indra’s (the King of Devas) lust for Ahalya.  Ahalya, now freed from the curse, became even more purified by the touch of Rama’s foot, and returned to the heavens.

Continuing onward, Sage Vishvamitra, Rama and Lakshmana arrived in the kingdom of Mithila.  They found out that a big event was happening soon, a svayamvara — a contest to win the princess Sita’s hand in marriage.  She was the daughter of King Janaka, of the Videha dynasty, a great philosopher-king.  His capital city, Janakpuri, was a dominant political and cultural center as well as a hub for the sages, including Janaka’s Guru, Yaj~navalkya.

Who is Sita?  King Janaka, like Dasharatha, didn’t have any children.  He constantly prayed to Lord Shiva for a child.  One day, as he was getting the ground plowed and prepared for a yaj~na, he unearthed a golden casket.  In the casket he found a beautiful baby girl.  He took the baby as a gift from the Gods, naming her Sita, meaning “from the furrow.”  Sita is therefore known as the child of Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth’s child).  She was an incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi, coming to assist Lord Rama with his task on earth.

Sita was brought up as the adopted daughter of Janaka and his wife Sunaina, raised as a princess of Mithila.  Sita is also called “Janaki” (beloved by her adopted father), “Vaidehi” (a princess of the Videha dynasty) and “Maithili” (a princess of the Mithila Kingdom).

Sage Vishvamitra took the boys to watch the svayamvara.  Walking by the palace, Rama looked up and saw a beautiful girl in one of the balconies.  She too saw him.  Their eyes met; dare we call it “love at first sight?”  Yet they must proceed to the svayamvara.

Whomever could lift Pinaka (Lord Shiva’s bow), string it and shoot an arrow from it, would win Sita’s hand in marriage.  Many princes of great strength and valor were present at the svayamvara.  One by one, each tried but failed miserably.  Not one was able even to lift the bow, let alone launch an arrow.  Then, in the midst of high protests, some of them got together to try lifting it, but couldn’t budge the bow even an inch.  All the princes told Janaka that his challenge was too hard and that his daughter would die unmarried.  Though heartbroken, Janaka couldn’t change the rules of the svayamvara once they were established.

When all the others gave up, Sage Vishvamitra winked at Rama to go to the stage and launch the arrow.  Rama went near Shiva’s bow, bowed to it and worshiped it, praying to Lord Shiva for his blessings.  To everyone’s astonishment, Rama then lifted the bow with just one hand, strung it and shot an arrow from it.  It made the bow break in half with a thundering sound, heard by everyone in all the corners of the earth!

Sita came out with a garland and placed it on Rama’s neck.  Rama was delighted to find the girl he had seen on the balcony, now garlanding him.  On her part, Sita was pleased to be garlanding the handsome man she had seen from her balcony.

King Janaka sent a messenger to inform King Dasharatha about the svayamvara and, with due respects, to propose the marriage of Sita to Rama.  It was also decided that the three brothers of Rama would marry the sister and cousins of Sita:  Sita’s cousin Mandavi to marry Bharatha, Sita’s younger sister Urmila to marry Lakshmana, and Sita’s other cousin Shrutakirti to marry Satruguna.  The weddings were performed in Janakapuri with great gaiety and splendor, befitting the kings of both kingdoms.  The four brothers with their wives started back to Ayodhya with their parents.

The thundering sound from the breaking of Shiva’s bow, Pinaka, had reached all the corners of the earth.  It also reached the ears of Parashurama, another incarnation of Vishnu, who was meditating atop the Mahendra Mountains.  He knew what that sound was; he had given Pinaka to King Janaka!  Parashurama was enraged.  He called a challenge out to Rama.  Everyone was terrified, as they knew who Parashurama was.

Rama proved to be equal to Parashurama in all the weapons.  Parashurama got suspicious, so he asked Rama to string Sharanga (Lord Vishnu’s bow).  Rama did it in the blink of an eye.  The warrior-sage Parashurama realized he was looking at his own subsequent reincarnation.  He gave Sharanga to Rama and blessed Sita, then retired for his meditations on Mount Mahendra.

The wedding party continued to Ayodhya.  On their return, the whole kingdom joyfully welcomed the new couples with great devotion and respect.  Ayodhya was flourishing more than ever, after the arrival of the princes with their consorts.  More to come…