Aranya Kandam

Translation into English from Thunjathu Ezhuthachan's Malayalam translation of Adhyathma Ramayanam

By P.R.Ramachander

Aranya Kanda is the story of Ramayana, when Rama, Sita and Lakshmana enter the deep forest It starts with the salvation of Virada a Rakshasa, Sara Bhanga a saint, meeting with sages to find out problems, going to hermitage of Sutheeshna who is a disciple of Agasthya, visiting hermitage of Agasthya and taking from him, the Kodanda bow left by Indra, the great prayer of Agasthya, going and settling down in Panchavati where he meets Jatayu, clearing the philosophical doubts of Lakshmana(Rama Gita), meeting and teasing Soorpanaka the sister of Ravana, cutting off her nose, ears and breats by Lakshmana when she tries to harm Sita, Killing of Khara, Dhooshana and Trisiras and their army of 14000 people in one and half hours, Soorpanaka’s complaint to Ravana suggesting him to kidnap Sita, his visit to Maricha, Rama telling the real Sita to hide in fire and replace herself with a Maya Sita, Rama running to catch the golden deer, the false alam given by Maricha, the kidnapping of Sita, Fight of Jatayu with Rama, Jatayu’s defeat, Rama doing funeral rites to Jatayu and granting him salvation, The prayer of Jatayu, Rama’s giving salvation to Khabanda,Khabanda’s great prayer, Rama’s meeting with Sabari who gives him hints as to how to proceed further.

Oh girl, oh parrot which is at the top, Who is with good character, who has, Attractive character, without hesitation please tell, However much we hear the sports of the great God, Who resembles the blue rich cloud,, who is pure, who is without stains, Who has eyes like the petal of blue lotus, who is Narayana, Who is served by Lord Shiva, who does not have defects, Who is forever and divine, Who takes forms according to time and place, who is personification of mercy, Who is an expert in looking after and who is the divine soul, It will never be sufficient, especially the story of Rama, Which is the summary path to salvation, which is the essence, Which is very learned and which is known to you well, And so please tell it without saying it, And hearing that, that great bird told.

One who has an eye on forehead, Lord Shiva, Lord of all beings, The god who wears the cool crescent moon, the divine among divines, Told to the daughter of the mountain, Oh lady hear, Oh Parvathi who loves her devotees, The divine soul called Rama, the form of joy, The one who enjoys his own soul, one who cannot be split, Who has several forms, Who does not have any stain, Who is always pretty after living happily for a day, In the hermitage of Athri along with the sage.

Maharanya pravesam

Entry in to the great forest

After getting up at the dawn and performing daily rituals, And after saluting the sage, they started their great journey, “Oh son of the mind of Brahma,,Please bless us to go to Dandakaranya forest which is pretty without any troubles, Oh great among learned men,Oh treasure of mercy, Oh treasure of penance Please show us the proper road to reach there, Send with us some of your disciples.”

Hearing these words of Rama that great sage, Became very happy and immediately told, “You please show the proper path to all, Now who is ever there to show you the right path, But to you who is imitating this world, Let there not be problem, my disciples will show you the way, And he told his disciples, you please walk first,” And that sage also followed them to a great distance, And then Rama turned back and told the saint, “ Where is your honoured self coming? And for us, your disciples are there to show the way, Hearing that, that saint blessed them,and slowly and slowly, Went and reached his hermitage and sat there,

After that they walked for some more little distance, And in front of them they saw the great Ganges river, And at that time Rama asked those disciples, “What are the methods available to cross this river”., And hearing this they told, “What is the problem, king, Understand that we have very good boats, And speedily we will make you cross the river, And so do not worry, we do have, The knowledge to row the boat and cross the river”, And without any hesitation they helped them to cross the river, And Sri Rama became pleased and told those sagely lads, “You can go back” and they went back, Saluted the feet of the sage and informed him of news of Rama.

Rama, sita and the son of Sumithra, Entered the great horrible forest, Which was filled with the sound of Cricket, And various animals like lion, tiger, porcupine, Which did not have sun light and was, Served by the horrible Rakshasa people, And seeing this Sri Rama told.

Hey Lakshmana, always see well on all four sides, For the bad Rakshasas are very fond of food. You have to also keep the bow ready to shoot, And have in your hand one good arrow ready to use. First you have to walk, followed by Sita, And behind both of you I will walk to protect you both, Which is similar to the great illusion walking in between, The soul of the body and the great divine soul. Sita should walk in between both of us, And if this is done there is no reason to fear,.

After telling this and following the suggestion, When the greatest man walked armed with a bow, After passing about three miles, On their front they could see a lotus pond, Which had water plants, lily, red flowering plant, And shining with Opened blue lotus flowers, And they drank water there and for taking rest, They sat below the shade of a big tree.

Viradha Vadham

Killing of Viradha

At that time they saw coming towards them, A very tall great being with horrifying sound, It was uprooting trees and had a mouth, Which was like a horrifying and shining cave, Had a very terrible looking red eyes, With a trident kept loosely on its left shoulder, And it was eating the raw meat of wild, Beings such as the very big, Panthers, lions, bison, wild pigs, elephants, And men which were crying and jumping, And that being was wailing and shouting.

Sri Rama got up, along with the arrow and bow, And told Lakshmana the following, Did you see, a horrifying Rakshasa, Is walking towards us swiftly. Be prepared along with arrow placed on the bow, Stand firm with a firm mind, Oh lad, Oh Wife, Oh lass, Oh Sita, do not be afraid, I would mange it in some manner.

After telling this he stood there without moving, And that great Rakshasa came near to him, That cruel one shouted as if the eight directions, Will break and like the sound of thunder, And his vision showered burning embers, And with great anger he told as if the world will break, “Alas you both are standing in this dense forest, Which has large number of wild animals, Without any fear along with arrow, bow and quiver, And wearing matted hair, you have put the guise of sages, And along with you, there is a very pretty lady, And so oh children you have got lot of inner strength.

“Please tell me how you are travelling, Without a trace of fear in this very wild forest.” Hearing the words of Rakshasa immediately, The lord of the Ikkshuvaku clan told am after a smile, “ My name is Rama, she is my wife and, This fair eyed one is called Sita devi, He is Lakshmana and he is my brother, We have entered the forest as per the wish of my father, We have come here to punish the Rakshasas, And save the three worlds from them.”

Hearing the words Rama he exulted and shouted, And opening his mouth and uprooting a Sala tree and holding it, That Rakshasa told with great anger to Rama, “Have you not heard the powerful Viradha, I understood that you are but a fool, As you are only one in the three worlds who is not knowing me. All the sages have left this place, To a far off place, due to their fear of me. If you are having any desire to live, Leave this gem of a lady and your weapons here, And run away from here, otherwise, I would satiate my ebbing hunger by eating you,” When after telling this, he was seen, As moving near to Mythili(Sita) and then Raghava, Cut off his hands by the sword that Rakshasa became angry and With an open mouth when he approached near, Rama cut of his legs, Using the arrows and again when with great anger, He neared him, he cut off his head.

His blood spread on the ground and, With happiness of the mind, Sita caressed Rama, And the Apsara maidens started dancing, And devas started playing the Dundhubhi drums loudly, And at that time a blessed form was seen to rise, From the inside of Virada and was seen in the sky.

Wearing golden ornaments, with luster of the Sun, With pretty body, with clean silk cloths, he saluted, Raghava, one who destroys sorrows of those who pray, One who is merciful, one who has the face like moon, One who destroys cycle of death and birth, one who destroys fear, The consort of Lakshmi,one who is black like the petals of blue lotus, Whose feet is worshipped Indra and the hoards of devas, One who is pretty, young, lives in mind of good people, Ramachandra, one who is pretty every second in the world, And also saluted by falling on the ground and with, Great happiness of the mind started praying him.

Hey Sri Rama, Hey Rama, I am a Vidhyadhra, Hey merciful one, Lord of Lakshmi, Lord of the earth, By the curse of the great sage Durvasa, I became a proud Rakshasa, And by the greatness of your honourable self, I became detached and also got salvation, oh my lord.

My mind should think with devotion, Your pair of feet with great devotion, By my voice I should be able to sing your names, By my hands I should be able to offer flowers at your feet, By my ears I should be able to hear your stories, By my eyes I should be able to see statues of Rama, By my head I should be able to bow and salute you, And I should become a servant to your true devotees.

“Salutations to god, salutations to the form of wisdom, Salutations to Rama, salutations and salutations to him whom souls like, Salutations to Rama, salutations to god who is ever pretty to Sita, Salutations to Rama, salutations to god who always bewitches the world, Please bless me to go back to the world of devas, Oh God of gods, I will request for one more thing, Let not your great goddess of illusion push me in to ignorance, Oh lotus eyed one, I always salute you.” Being requested like this that God Rama, Said let it be like that and gave him boons, “I cannot be seen by one who is detached, And when you get devotion, you will get detachment.” That Vidhyadhara took leave from Rama, Went to the deva loka for fulfilling his wishes, And to the man who tells this story and prays, Sins would be removed and he can get salvation.

Sarabhanga mandhira pravesam

Entering the house of Sarabhanga

Then Rama, Lakshmana and Sita, Entered in to the auspicious home of Sarabhanga. Seeing the real, real god in flesh and bones, That great sage worshipped him with great devotion, And offered him roots and ripened fruits, And with great happiness Sarabhanga told. I have been waiting for several number of days, With a desire to see you along with Sita. With straight thoughts by doing long penance, I have earned lot of blessings and I am giving, All those to you, who is born as a man, And due to this I have merited to get salvation, For several years now I have been waiting, To give all the blessings that I have earned to you, And decided not to die before that takes place, And today becoming detached I am attaining salvation.

That king of Yoga, Sarabhanga who is a saint, Bowed before the feet of Rama, the God of yoga, “I have been always and endlessly thinking, About the lord of the universe who is, Living within all moving and non moving beings, Who is Rama, black like the leaves of durva plant, Who is lotus eyed, who wears tree’s bark, And has a matted hair like a crown and holds a bow, Served by Lakshmana and who is with his wife Janaki, Who is delightfully pretty and a gem of mercy.

Removing his sorrow, in the presence of, Sita and Rama he burnt his body, And that great sage reached the place of Brahma, The entire sky was filled by aero planes, And all the devas rained flowers over there, And Indra saluted his lotus like feet, And seeing the saintly form of Sita and Lakshmana, The son of Kausalya became happy, And spending some time over there, The Indra and other devas went away.

Muni mandala samagamam

The meeting with groups of sages.

Those groups of sages who lived in, Dandakaranya hearing the arrival of Rama, Who is born in the clan of the sun god, Who is the lord of the universe, And the lotus eyed one, came to see him. Rama, Lakshmana and sita saluted them, Falling on the floor and, Those sages blessed all of them, And they were drowned in great happiness and told.

We already know about the principle behind you, You who normally lie down on the bed of the king of snakes, And you were born in the clan of the Sun god, Due to the request of Lord Brahma, For reducing the burden of goddess earth, And Lakshmana is Adhi sesha, Sita is Goddess Lakshmi, Bharatha and Shatrugna are the wheel and the conch, And we also know about the coronation and its problems, For removing our sorrow very quickly, You along with Sita and Lakshmana should visit, To see the hermitages of the various sages in the forest, And we request you to come along with us, Because seeing it, you will have mercy in your mind.

With those great sages who told like this, They went and saw hermitages of various saints, And at that time they saw hill like heaps of, Skulls, bones and seeing that Rama asked, “Why are men’s heads and collection of bones, Here? What is the reason for that ?

Hearing those words told the sages, “Please hear us Rama, It is due to the Rakshasas, Mercilessly killing and eating the good saints, This state has taken place and it has spread all over, lord., And hearing this news that best among men, Who has a mind filled with mercy told like this, “I will kill the most cruel Rakshasa people, Completely and then all the sages, Can do what they like and live here doing penance, And also happily carry out the fire sacrifices.”

The real hero thus took an oath, And stayed in hermitages of various sages Being worshipped by them daily, Along with Sita the daughter of earth, And along with his brother with, Great happiness arising out of the company, And thus thirteen years were over.

Sutheeshnasrama pravesam

Entering the hermitage of sage Sutheeshna.

The very famous hermitage of Sutheeshna which is very pretty, Which is filled with important sages and their disciples, Which is filled with all that is good, which is matchless, Where happiness wonderfully rises in all seasons, Where all type of trees as well as plants are filled up, And which contains all sort of god animals, birds and snakes.

Hearing that Rama along with his brother and Sita devi, Has come the great sage who is the disciple, Of Agasthya who was born out of a pot and who pleased him, And who is an expert in doing penance using name of “Rama”, Went with all arrangements and took Rama along with him, And worshipped him with water for washing his feet and for drinking, And with devotion, eyes filled with tears and a tottering voice, Told Rama who was one who loves his devotees, “Due to the instruction of my teacher, I always chant your name without break,

When I am falling in the “blind well” of son, wife, wealth and house, And getting tied there and getting sunk there, your honoured self, Should get me out of there by the use of, Your graceful affectionate and merciful look on a devotee, And Oh treasure of mercy, you should save me. As this body a mixture created of urine, flesh, fat, As far as I know is extremely dirty and debasing, And please help me to cut off the affection for it, And live within me always.,

Though you are the only one who lives, Within all the beings of this world, To those people who like to chant your name Your consort the goddess of illusion will not tie them, But those people who are not interested in chanting your name, Are tied by illusion by your goddess of illusion, As you are one who is interested in rewarding the service to you, And Oh God, you are like the wish giving tree, salutations.

For doing destruction, creation and upkeep of this universe, Using the characters of the illusion who attracts the world, You who has the form of divine wisdom, Take the forms of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, And exist in those forms for people bound by illusion. Like the sun who appears in very many different forms, In this world in the very many water bodies, How can I understand your correct form and pray you, Oh treasure of mercy.

Due to the strength of the penance that I did, Your lotus like feet which does not have a second, came before me, Though you are pure and have the form of divine wisdom, You shower your grace on those good souls who chant your name. Though your form is beyond the ambit of action, And is spread everywhere and is the divine Brahmam, Due to your own illusion and your divine play, It has appeared before me in the form of a man, Prettier than billions of the forms of god of love, And attractive, having an eye filled with mercy, Wearing a insurmountable bow and arrow, Sweet to think about,wearing a dress of the hide of a deer, Along with Sita, with lotus like feet worshipped by Lakshmana, With body of the blue colour of the rich cloud, Pretty, greatly peaceful, endowed with endless qualities, Pretty every moment, pretty to the soul, full of nectar like joy, And I request you to live in my mind always, I should be chanting your names with mature devotion, And I do not need any other boon, salutations.

To the sage who saluted and praised him, Along with a smile Sri Rama told, “Oh sage I am able to see in you, A clean mind which meditates on me daily, To those devotees who always surrender to me, And meditate on my name without any wants, And are satisfied within themselves, I can be easily seen by them by mere thought.”

The prayer composed by you is liked by me and Specially those lucky good men who read it, Would be blessed with devotion and would get divine knowledge, There is no doubt whatsoever to it. Oh great sage, You because of your service to me, Would attain my presence after death, I have a wish to meet your teacher sage Agasthya, For seeing and saluting him, what can I do for it, I have a great desire to live there for some time, And so I have decided to go there next.

Hearing these words of Rama, Sutheeshna told, Let you be joyful, for getting that thought, Tomorrow I will come along with you and show you the way, Please live here without any problems, I have not been able to see my guru for quite some time, We will go there with joy and properly see him.” Like that they happily they spent the night, Got up early morning, did salutations to the dawn, And speedily and along with the friendly sage, Sita and Lakshmana, walking slowly, Rama reached near the hermitage of Agasthya in the afternoon. Then the disciple of Agasthya treated them with hospitality, And they took food in the forest there and, They all sat there pleasantly talking with each other.

Agasthya Sandarsanam

Seeing of Agasthya.

When the Sun rose up after, offering water in prayer, They walking slowly and slowly in the forest path, And reached a forest blessed with all types,Of fruits, flowers, Trees, climbers and which had different types of animals, Made extremely pretty by the sound of various birds, And full of animals which were not born as enemies of each other, Filled with the chanting of Vedas by young people, Who were happy and rich and were the sons of sages, Filled with great sages who belong to the clan of Brahma sages, Filled with homes which were living happily together, And crowded with innumerable and endless great scholars.

More and more it is seen the great men knowing Brhamam used to tell, That even the land of Brahma is not equal to it. Seeing all these wonders one by one, They reached a comfortable place just outside the hermitage. After taking rest for some time Rama, Told the very famous Sutheeshna as follows, “Sir, you please now go and tell sage Agasthya, That I have come here along with Sita and Lakshmana, And we are at the entrance of the forest, near the hermitage.” Hearing what was said by Rama, the sage Sutheesna, Saying that it is my great luck and went happily, To the house of his great teacher with joy, Saluted the great teacher Agasthya, Who was a great sage, whose penance was the devotion of Rama, Who was interested in explaining the meaning of the word, “Rama” to his disciples, And that great sage with great humility and great devotion. Saluted sage Agasthya by falling on the floor.

Oh sea of mercy, Rama the son of Dasaratha, Along with his brother and his wife, Have already come and are standing outside, For saluting your lotus like feet with devotion.” Though he already knew about it in his mind, That Sage born out of the pot without telling that told, “Happiness to the lord of Raghu clan, speedily bring, Rama who is in my heart, who is the God who likes his devotees, Whom I have been waiting for a long time to see, Whom I have been always praying, meditating on his form, And chanting Rama, Rama which is the Rama chant, And who is pretty, black like a cloud and having pretty eyes.”

Telling this the sage got up very quickly, And that expert in Vedas with a mind, Full of devotion along with great sages, And along with a collection of disciples, Went there and after seeing face of Ramachandra told, “Let you be joyful, permanently and always, This is indeed an unplanned meet between us, This great guest whom I like, has come, Accidentally due to the acme of my luck, It is not that this time is fruitful, But my penance also is fruitful, Oh lord of the universe.”

After seeing Agasthya, Rama himself, His younger brother and Sita along with nervousness, Saluted him with devotion and when they saluted him on the floor, Sage Agasthya quickly took them and made them to stand, And also hugged Rama tightly along with great joy, And touched Lakshmana who is the incarnation, Of Adhisessha the great snake and shed tears of joy, And that great sage who was having a very wet eyes, Caught Rama with one hand along with very great joy, The lotus like hand of Rama and lead him inside the hermitage, And once they went inside, that sage with a joyful soul, Offered water to wash his feet and also drinking water, As well offered him Madhuparka worshipped him, And to the lord who was seated comfortably, He offered food collected from the forest, And that blessed sage told Rama in private.

Agasthya Sthuthi

The prayer of Agasthya

I have been waiting here to see you for a long time, You addressing the Devas and Lord Brahma, In the banks of the ocean of milk told, “I would reduce the burden of the earth, By killing the horrible Ravana,” and, Oh Lord who sits on lotus, god of all, treasure of mercy, On that same day itself I came and started living here, For seeing the body of joy personified, Along with sages as well as a hoard of my disciples, And daily I will meditate on your lotus feet and stay here.

Before the creation of the world, you were alone and joyful, You are the cause of the world and free from choices, And because your illusion was serving you, You made her your strength called the great illusion of nature, And she covered you, who had no characteristics, And makes you appear with different characteristics, And without hesitation the philosophers tell about you, That you are the divine entity that cannot be explained by Upanishads.

That Goddess of illusion is called the root of nature, And those above illusion call her “domestic life”, Amd learned people call her non- knowledge, And thus the goddess is called by several names, And that from the illusion which has been churned by you, It is told was born the great philosophy.

Due to your saying, from the great philosophy, Arose again what is called egoism, And this great philosophy, egoism and domestic world, Are described by those who know Vedas well as three, Viz pious, regal and base, characters And understand that these three things, have become subject to a study.

From the base quality came sound, touch, form, taste and smell, And from them the five boothas ether, wind, fire, water and earth came, From the regal quality were born the sense organs, And from the pious quality came the mind and the gods which were shining, And from all these came the body which is the connecting link, And from that collection of forms which are spread everywhere, Came out the Godly form(virat Purusha), this is what I hear.

It is that Virat Purusha who became, The crowded moving and not moving worlds, And devas, men and asuras and very many, Immobile beings came fully from them, It is depending on your illusory nature, That Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came, And for creation Brahma born out of the belly, Depended fully on the regal qualities, And Lord Vishnu did the job of upkeep using pious qualities, And Lord Shiva using the base qualities destroyed.

The three division of activities came from the brain, And daily they were divided as wakefulness, dream and sleep, And you the divine spirit was the witness to these all, And are you not Oh lord enclosed in yourself, one who is forever, And one who takes various forms, When you decided to undertake creation, Then with joy you accepted the services of illusion, And due to that you appeared as if you had several characters, And your great illusion did come in two different forms.

Due to the difference between knowledge and illusion, The knowledge came, say those who are not attached, And the only difference is that those people who live as the slaves of illusion, Are termed as those who are busy with acts for an aim, And those who understand the words of philosophy, And have devotion to your feet are termed as knowledgeable, And those under the control of illusion continue as perennial family men, And this is being permanently told by philosophers.

Those people who are interested only in gaining knowledge, Are termed as those who are free forever, say the philosophers, And to those devotees who are practicing meditation of your name, The clean gain of knowledge would automatically happen, And to other fools the knowledge will never come Even if they are born hundred thousand times, So those who are blessed with devotion to you, Are not those who get salvation alone, And to all those who do not have the nectar of your devotion, Even in their dreams they will not get salvation.

Oh Rama, Oh lord of Raghu clan, Oh lord who has only wisdom, Oh Ramana, Oh Rama who is the soul, oh ocean of nectar of mercy, Why should I keep on telling like this, Oh king, if we think there is very little to tell as the meaning, The learned people who have mastered Vedas, Are telling that the company of good people is the cause of salvation, And the good people are those who have a balanced mind, And they teach the science of soul to the devotees, They are without jealousy and desire, They are your devotees and are the people who have killed all desires, They look at things that they like and do not like in the same way, They are those who have come out of attachments, They are those who perform actions without attachment, They have a contended mind and would be only interested in Brahmam, They are the ones who are interested only in good things, And daily for doing Yoga they practice Ahimsa and truth and Also practice absolute control of their senses, They also know how to control passion and anger and control sense organs, And when you get company of good people who are like this, Your mind would get interested in hearing the stories of God, And by hearing stories about you, their devotion will increase, And when their devotion increases, they will know scientific thought, And by knowledge of scientific thought and divine knowledge, they will get salvation, And all that is to be known should be learned from a Guru, And Oh Rama, oh treasure of mercy, because of this,I should always have, Great devotion to you as well as love towards you.

My mind should always be completely filled, With devotion to your lotus like feet and on your devotees, Today my birth has assumed a good meaning, Today the fire sacrifices done by me assumed a good meaning, Today all the penance that I did assumed good meaning, Today my eyes have assumed a good meaning, Along with Sita, please always live in my mind, Oh consort of Sita, Oh lord of universe, Oh son of Dasaratha.

“While I am walking, While I am sitting or lying down, In a place, while I am eating and not only that, When I am engaged in various activities, Your form should always come in mind, Oh ocean of mercy, “ After praying like this with great devotion, sage Agasthya, Gave Rama the bow which has been deposited by Indra with him, As well as arrows and quivers as well as sword, And after drowning in joy again told.

“Ok king without further delay the clan of Rakshasas, Who have become a great burden to earth, Should be completely destroyed by you, Because you who are the real Lord Vishnu along with your illusion, Have taken birth as a man to kill the Rakshasas About five miles from here, there is a sacred place called Panchavati, Which is in the banks of river Gowthami, You please build a good heritage there, And live the rest of your period there with Sita, And living there you have to quickly, Complete all the jobs of devas’ Saying this the sage bid farewell to Rama,

Hearing the good words of Agasthya, which was, A concise meaningful prayer, and was blessed, With philosophical thoughts, the honourable Rama, Kept the bow, arrow and quiver there, And saluted the lotus like feet of Agasthya, And he was sent on his journey along with, The son of Sumithra as well as the adorable Sita.

Jatayu Sangamam

Meeting with Jatayu

Seeing the good Bird Jatayu who was old, Rama thought that it was a peak blocking his way, And was completely bewildered and, With increasing anger told the son of Sumithra.

“Oh friend, Did you not see a great Rakshasa, Who is the eater of sages lying there? Give me the bow and do not get afraid, I would kill him without much delay.”

Hearing what was told by Rama to Lakshmana, That great bird became scared and told, “I am not a killer, please know that at young age, I am an extremely close friend of your father. I will do only things liked by you to you, And I am not to be killed, for I am Jatayu, your devotee.” Hearing this The lord with great love, Hugged him and gave him his blessings, “ If so please live in a place near to my residence, And by any reason there will not be sorrow to you, Alas, alas I had doubts about you, Please live with me as one who helps me.

Panchavati pravesa

Entry in to Panchavati

After telling this he went to live in Panchavati, Along with Sita and Lakshmana. Lakshmana built a pretty hermitage there, And made a bed using leaves and flowers. Rama the great man was living with Sita, To the north of the divine river Ganga. In the forest full of Banana jack and mango trees, Which was completely empty of people, Which was completely safe, Rama entertained his wife, And lived there as he was wont to live in the city of Ayodhya. Daily Lakshmana would bring fruits as well as roots, With great love and armed with bow and arrow, Would stand around with devotion for their safety.

Keeping Sita In between them all the three of them, They Would go to the Gowthami river, take bath and do water offerings, And while coming Lakshmana would bring water to drink, And when they were living like this for some time.

Lakshmanopadesam (also called as Rama Gita)

Teaching to Lakshmana

One day Lakshmana alone with God Rama, Saluting his feet told with great humility.

“Please tell me about the way to salvation, In such a way that the ignorance of this devotee goes away, Please tell me about the signs of divine wisdom, scientific knowledge, Devotion and detachment so that my mind would be happy, For in this earth there is no one except you, Who can tell me with authority about this.”

Hearing this Sri Rama with a rising sensation of joy, Told Lakshmana in a proper manner. Please hear this teaching which is a great secret, As you hear your confusion about changes will vanish, First I will tell you about the form of illusion, And later I would tell you about consequences of divine wisdom, And later I will tell you about wisdom with scientific thought, And I will also tell you how to understand the form of the soul, And when you understand the concept of the divine soul, The fear about illusion would go away from you.

The belief in all the three worlds that, The parts of the body which are not the soul, Are the soul is most definitely because of illusion, And because of this the life becomes related to the body, And further there is the concept of “wrong understanding” and “the hiding screen”, Which are the two forms of illusion, you understand this Lakshmana, And the first among these makes the world appear as true, Along with the very many gross and micro differences, And it is spread as the form of negative wisdom, Which is spread from the body to the Brahmam, And is the reason for the problems such as great desire.

The learning which has the form of divine wisdom, Which is the second one, is the cause for getting joy, And the world is being imagined as a part of the divine soul. It is the illusion that makes world appear to be true, Similar to one seeing a serpent in a piece of rope, But if we properly think nothing of these is there. All that which are seen or heard and, Imagined which is in the mind by man, Are like a dream, if you properly think about it, Throw away this disturbance and do not have wrong understanding.

The root of the tree of birth and domestic life is the body. And due to that arises the relation between son and the wife, And that body is only a collection of the five elements, And if we think about the relation with the body is the greatness of illusion, And if we think correctly, the ten organs (five mental and five physical), The pride, the intelligence,mind, brain and the basic traits, Together is being termed as the body. This body has another name, “ field”(temple?), And the one which is from all this is the soul, And definitely the divine soul is stable and one without properties, And Oh Lakshmana, please hear from me about that, Which helps us to understand the form of the soul.

If we think about the soul of the being and the divine soul, Please understand that they are only alternate words, They do not have any difference and both are same, And those who tell that there is difference are ignorant people, Forsaking egoism, pride, causing sorrow to others, Wrong thoughts, passion and anger completely from the mind, Living with contentment always, tolerating jibes from other sources, With tolerance, throw away the comparison with others, Daily having devotion to god., serving one’s guru, Doing real cleanliness of our mind and body, Without discontinuing hospitality to others, Depending only on truth, becoming personification of joy, Controlling the mind, the body and the words, Never thinking in the mind body pleasures, Thinking about birth death and old age, Without pride in the mind, with equal treatment of others, With a mind firmly placed in me, who is the universal soul, With always engaged in chanting the name of Rama, Rama With no particular attachment to son and the wife, Without particular attachment to anything, With always having same emotions to get things which we like or dislike, And with contentment we should live in a lonely, clean place.

We should never live with vulgar people, We have to live alone with interest in getting divine wisdom, And read and understand the meaning of words of philosophy, And dedicate all priestly rituals to the soul, Then divine wisdom will get firm in our mind, And there would not be any confusion in the mind.

Now here about what is the soul, It is not me, nor my body, nor my soul, Nor my wisdom, nor my pride, nor my mind, And is something about all these, And is very different from the measure less divine soul, I who am pure, not comprehensible and who knows all Am standing here is the divine soul, And your soul using your assets can understand, Me by use of divine wisdom by trials for, Wisdom is certainly the thing that shows me.

Divine wisdom comes through scientific enquiry, And so it leads you to the conclusion, That I am that, which is the complete soul, One with divine joy, one who is within all beings, And one who cannot be understood as this or that.

One who is alone, one who does not have two, One who is divine, one who does not change, one who is everywhere, The God of Yoga, one who was not born, One who carries everything, One who does not carry anything, One who can be recognized by perennial true wisdom, One who is the soul of Brahmam, one who is separate, From the instruments like intelligence, One who is pervaded by illusion, One who can be understood by divine knowledge, One who can be understood by yogis who have merged their soul, When the knowledge churned out from wisdom of Gurus and Sasthras, Which tells about the unity of the soul and the divine soul reaches you, Then the basic primeval knowledge that is within you merges, With the action and cause and becomes one with the Divine soul, And this state of merging is known as salvation, And that which stands out of this merger is the soul only.

The form of salvation which is a divine joy, Exists along with divine wisdom, scientific enquiry and detachment, It can be only told as such because there are, None in the world who can understand or tell about it. Please hear, salvation is very difficult to attain by those who do not have devotion to me, And definitely salvation will come through devotion to me, When it is dark at night, even if you have eyes, You will not be able to see and need a light for it, And like this, people cannot know the straight path to salvation, And can see it only if they have devotion to Rama.

Always the soul of a devotee shines well, And please hear from me the reason for devotion, The daily interaction with my devotees, And serving my devotes with tender emotion, And observing penances like Ekadasi, Which are to be again and again observed without sorrow, And Worship or salutation or meditation or service, Or Giving good food to those Brahmins who worship the fire, Or reading and or hearing my stories, Or praising me by telling my good names, And those people who do all these things, Will have incomparable devotion towards me. If devotion increases there is no need for any other thing, For they are best among the good people. To those having devotion, though, they would go through, Divine wisdom scientific temper and detachment, They would also attain salvation, The way to salvation in answer to your question, You would get it through me, understand this. What I told should not be told to others and is also a secret, And it should not be told to any one except my devotees. Though a devotee does not ask this, It has been told because of my faith in him, To that man who reads this daily with devotion, faith and interest, The lack of wisdom will completely go away from him, And to the king of Yogis who are blessed with devotion, Salvation will definitely be within their reach.

Soorpanakha Agamanam

Coming of Soorpanakha.

After telling like this to Lakshmana, In the very pretty Panchavati, situated In great forest in the banks of river Gowthami, One pretty Rakshasi traveler, living in Janasthana, Who can take any form she likes. Saw the footprint of a feet in which, There were marks of lotus, flag, Vajraudha, Goad and seeing the prettiness of that feet, Entered the hermitage of Rama out of curiosity.

Seeing Lord Rama who was shining like one thousand suns Who belonged to the clan of Sun, who destroys karma as well as sin, Who is divine, valorous man, bewitcher of mind, Who is full of illusion, Who is equal to the moon, Who is Madhava and who is the killer of Madhu, Living happily with Janaki, she was afflicted by the arrow of god of love, And took the form of a pretty lady and raining a pretty smile, Slowly told the consort of Goddess Lakshmi, “Sir, who are you? Please tell me whose son you are? What is the reason for you for coming here? What is the reason for the matted hair and dressing with bark? Why have you dressed yourself as a sage? I would tell the truth about me to you earlier, Since you would definitely ask about it to me latter, I am the sister of the Rakshasa king Ravana, My name being Soorpanakha and I can assume any form that I want, I am living in Janasthana near my brothers Khara, dhooshana and Trisara, And since I am not able to understand who you are, Oh, treasure of mercy please tell me all the truth.

“Pretty lady please hear, I am the son of, Dasaratha the king of Ayodhya, my name is Rama, She is my wife and she is Sita the daughter of Janaka, Blessed one, This is Lakshmana my brother, Oh Pretty lady, what can I do for you? Without hesitation tell me the thoughts of your mind.,” Once she heard this that Rakshasi told, “You have to come with me and make love to me, I do not have sufficient strength to go away from you, Without hesitation you should get married to me.” Looking at Sita with a broad smile, That human hero told that lady, “I am dressed as a sage and move about, In different forests all the time. She who is Janaki is my wedded wife, And when I think about it I should not forsake her for any reason, The sorrow caused by a co wife is very troublesome, And You would not be able to bear that pain.” Lakshmana is my brother, he is pretty and steals the mind, And you by all means is comparable to goddess Lakshmi, And oh mind stealer, it is definite that you both match well, And the desire will increase for you more, if it is him, He is good natured, and has is suitable match to you, And so without any delay go and tell him.” As soon as she heard this, she went near Lakshmana, And requested him to become her husband.

To her who proposed to him, he laughingly replied, “I will tell you the truth about myself, Rama is a king and I am but his slave, Blessed one, you are not suitable to become a slave, You go and tell Rama who is the lord of the universe, About your family and their clannish habits, As soon as hears them he would accept you,” Hearing this that sister of Ravana, Again approached Sri Rama and told, “You please marry me, due to that, You will never have any problems whatsoever, King, We will wander over hills, forests and villages, And wandering like that enjoy all pleasures together.” Hearing these words, Rama replied to her, “If there is one man, there should be, Some lady to look after him well, And I have someone to do that now, And he also needs a woman and is in the job, Of searching for her and he has found you, And just as he desires god has sent one, And so without wasting time, Go and hold his hand immediately.” Hearing the words of Raghava, that sister of Ravana, Went again to the other lad and requested and he replied “Do not tell something for nothing to me, Understand that I do not have any desire to you, Please go and tell this to king Rama.”

Again hearing that she went near Rama, And with desire requested him several times, And due to non fulfillment of her passion, And getting angry due to her great love, That Rakshasi got very tired and gave up her, Form of illusion and she made her body, Like a mountain of black stone with horrible teeth, And with madness when she went to catch Sita, And When Rama was trying to stop her with worry, That boy jumped speedily went near her, Took out his sword and cut of her ears, nose and breasts, And when he cut off those she shouted and wailed, And that sound echoed all over the world, Like a river flowing in four or five streams, Jumping out of a very deep blue mountain, Blood started flowing from her and that Rakshasi, Who was like a dark night started walking fast. And that Lord of lords told that, Ravana would come here now.

Khara vadam

Killing of Khara

In front of the Khara who was a Rakshasa noble, When she fell like a mountain loosing his wings, And seeing his true sister crying, That Khara told,” please tell me, About who has entered the mouth of death, So fast, Please tell me, as fast as possible.”

Puffed and puffed up and shaking with anger. With a broken voice, with great desire and with fear, she told, “ Both of them are men and sons of Dasaratha, They are having good character and great fame, And they are called Rama and Lakshmana, And they have a lover and she is called Sita, Due to the orders of the elder one, The younger one cut off my breasts and other organs using a sword, You being valorous, go and kill them, And give me their blood so that, I can quench my thirst, I have got a desire now to eat their uncooked flesh and drink their blood, Please know that.” As soon as he heard this Khara told with anger, We have to kill those bad mannered worst men, And give them as food to my sister, For that speedily fourteen of you go, And you please go along with them, And show them to these men, So that these people, Will kill all of them without any hesitation.

Along with her he sent fourteen, Rakshasas who were extremely powerful, Armed with weapons like, trident, thorn mace, Steel pestle,Sword, bow, arrows and sling, And they were furious and shouted loudly, And when they reached prepared for the battle, And with great enmity all the fourteen of them, Sent all the weapons by surrounding Rama.

That Rama who was greater than the greatest, Born in the clan of Sun God, when the arrows, Sent by the enemies came towards him, Sent arrows against each of them and cut them, And also killed all the enemies one by one, Seeing that Soorpanakha was scared and ran, And with flowing tears, she went and fell, Before Khara and started shouting at him, He asked, “Please tell me where the fourteen people, Whom I sent along with you have gone?”

“ At the time when we reached there, Rama using his arrows, Send all of them to the southern side, so that they will never come back.” Told Soorpanakha and hearing that, due to the great anger, Khara told, “Let all the fourteen thousand Rakshasas come out, Let Dhooshana and my brother Trishirass also come.” And as soon as that horrible khara told like that, The very valorous Trishiras and the army started to the battle, The valorous Dhooshana as well as Khara started walking, For doing the battle with great courage. As soon as the great and deafening sound of the Rakshasa army was heard, Rama told his brother Lakshmana, “ What is that sound which makes the universe shiver? Possibly it is created by the Rakshasa army that is coming to fight with us, There would be a very terrible war now, With courage you have to do one thing, You should take Sita in to a cave, And guard her without any fear. I would be sufficient to kill all these in a war, Do not have any doubt about it in your mind, And so he ordered and said that he has nothing to add. But “Please protect Sita with extremely pretty hair.” Saying so be it, Lakshmana took Goddess Lakshmi, Saluted Rama and entered in to a cave with her.

Taking his bow and arrow Rama dressed himself, For the battle and was ready with great joy, And at that time all the Rakshasas, All together sent their weapons at him.

They threw trees and big stones speedily, On the body of the lotus eyed one, Immediately Rama sent arrows and cut them all, And also sent rain of arrows at the Rakshasas, And killed the Rakshasa army which had Come near him with the highly stimulated arrows, And then their powerful commander- in- chief Dhooshana, Came to fight with Rama, who is equal to Lord Shiva. And sent very many arrows and Rama easily, Made all of them in to dust by his arrows, And he sent four arrows and killed, All his four horses along with their driver.

When he cut his bow and cut off his ensign, Dhooshana with great anger jumped on the floor, And later holding the very powerful discuss, Made of hundred measures of steel, he came, And Rama cut off his hand and dashed him, With the same discuss broke his head, And Dhooshana entered the city of God of death.

When Dhooshana fell, the hroic Trisirass, With great anger sent three arrows at Rama, Rama cut those three and sent another three, Trisrass sent three arrows and cut those three arrows, Then Rama sent hundred arrows at Trisirass, He cut them and sent thousand arrows at Rama, Rama cut those thousand and the king sent ten thousand arrows at him, And that hero cut them all.

Using an arrow with a crescent shaped tip, Rama cut off his three heads and plated ball with them, And at that time Khara riding on a chariot shining like sun, Came over there and twanged his bow, And showered several arrows at Rama., And he cut them off one by one by his arrows, And by the arrows of Rama as well as those of Khara, The entire sky and earth was covered from proper vision, Khara then cut off the horrible bow of Rama, And sending arrows at his wrist Khara, Wounded the body of Rama and cut it in various places, The Good people, sages and devas, With great sorrow said alas, alas and, Wished and prayed for victory to Rama. With great fear the sages and devas repeated the same.

Then immediately that bow which was deposited, Earlier by Indra with sage Agasthya, Wonder of wonders was seen in the hand of Rama. When he was holding that chief bow of Lord Vishnu, Ramachandra filled all the directions with the power of Vishnu. He then cut the bow and armour of Khara, And his ear studs, necklaces as well as his crown in half a second, He killed his driver of the chariot, horses and powdered his chariot, And when the primeval lord was approaching him, Khara got in to another chariot immediately, And Rama destroyed that also with his arrows. And again Khara took a mace and neared Rama, Rama made that in to pieces by his arrows, Then Khara with great anger got in to another chariot, And started sending arrows at Rama. Rama sent the the terrible arrow of fire, And his effort was stopped by arrow of Varuna by Khara, Then he send arrow of Khubera which was, Stopped by arrow of Indra by Rama, And seeing that his arrow was stopped by the king, That Rakshasa hero send the arrow of Niryathi, And when that was stopped by arrow of Yama by the valorous Rama, He sent the arrow of wind which was stopped by arrow of Indra by Rama, Then that Rakshasa hero sent arrow of Gandharwa which was, Made peaceful by the arrow of Gowhyaka by Rama, And with great anger he sent the arrow of Aasuras, And this was stopped by the auspicious arrow of Gods by Rama, And then Khara sent the very sharp arrow of Isheeka, Which was destroyed by the arrow of Vishnu by Rama, And that arrow killed the driver of the chariot of Khara as well as the horses, And seeing that his chariot also was made in to powder, The Commander of the Rakshasa approached Rama, Very angrily holding a trident and when he came near, Rama sent the arrow of Indra deiva, And that lord of the earth cut off the head of Khara.

That head fell in the northern gate of the city of Lanka, And after that that arrow went back to the quiver of Rama, Seeing that head all the Rakshasa of Lanka, With stupid look started discussing with each other.

Seeing the death of the chiefs Khara, Dhooshana and Trisirass, As well as the fourteen thousand other asuras, Within one and half hours by the valour of Rama, The sister of Ravana fell on the earth. The dead fourteen thousand Rakshasa, Assumed an auspicious form at that time, And getting wisdom from Rama, Mentally went round Rama and saluted him. And with great joy started praising Rama several times.

Salutations to your lotus like feet, Oh Rama, Oh God who is attractive to all the world, One who destroys all sins, one who fulfills desires of those who worship him, Oh God of all, Oh ocean of mercy, Oh Lord of Raghu clan, Let our mind get entertained in you, Oh consort of Lakshmi, The saints meditate daily on your lotus like feet, And remove their sorrow of birth and death, Once we did penance to the great god, Made him happy and when he came before us, We requested, “Remove the restlessness of differentiation, And you please become an axe which cuts the root of domestic life” To the great God and due to that That great God told us.

“Now you go and be born as Rakshasas, I would be born as Rama in the earth, And I will kill you, who are in the body of Rakshasas, And on that day give you salvation, there is no doubt about it” So said Lord Parameswara on that day and because of that, It is definite that you who are the lord of Raghu clan in Parameswara, And so please teach us divine knowledge and give us salvation, Oh Lord who is the form of real divine joy.” And at that time when they requested him like this, Lord Rama, Sporting a slow smile, with great joy told, “To the body, the senses, mind, soul and pride, The witness is the divine God, Above the differing states of wakefulness and dream, Is the witness who is the only true divine joy called the divine Brahmam, It stands as a witness to the ever changing states like childhood, youth etc, And above time difference like morning noon and evening. The great God is the soul of the divine Brahmam, And once you meditate on that you will get salvation.”

After teaching them like this, and granting them salvation, The god of gods, the cause of the universe, the son of Dasaratha, Raghava after killing fourteen thousand Rakshasas, In one and half hours And Lakshmana along with Sita, Came there and saluted him and seeing the wounded body of her husband, With eyes raining tears the daughter of Videha slowly and slowly, Caressed the wounds so that the pains would get reduced, And also slowly made even the scars disappear.

Seeing the Rakshasa heroes lying dead, Lakshmana in his heart, became really surprised, And the Lord of lords at that time told, “Ravana will come now” and then he, Soon sent Lakshmana by telling him, You go and tell all the sages, About the war that we fought and the death, Of Khara, Dhooshana and Trisira along with other fourteen thousand. You please tell this to them and come back.” And after the destroyer of the sins told like this and sent Lakshmana,, Lakshmana went and told the sages, About the news of the death oh Khara.

The sages were convinced that the time, Of the enemies of men would come to an end eventually, And after great thought together they made, Things that would be antidote for the magic of Rakshasas, For all the three a ring, a hair brooch and an armour And gave it to Lakshmana and bid him farewell, Lalkshmana brought all the three and kept them, At the feet of Rama and saluted him with devotion, That lotus eyed one took the ring for himself and wore it, Gave the hair brooch to Sita and gave the armour, And asked him to wear it,

Soorpanakha vilapam

The crying of Soorpanakha

The sister of Ravana cried and then afterwards, Went to go and complain to Ravana, And Soorpanakha who was like a mountain of black stone, Fell before the king of Rakshasa and complained. To his sister who did not have nose, ear and breasts, And was full of blood, he told, “Why dear, Tell me the truth, What is the reason for this disfigurement ?

Is it Indra, Yama, Varuna or Khubera, Whoever has done this bad thing, I will subdue him, Please tell the truth” and at that time she told, “ You are a great fool, drunkard who never get satisfied by drinks, One who is under control of women, greatly adamant, and what do you know? Why are they calling you king, unnecessarily? Do you not get any news from your spies? Are you not always lying down serving women? Have you not heard that Khara, Dhooshana and Trisirass, Along with fourteen thousand people have died? Rama sending his arrows beat and killed them, Within a period of one and half hours, Bad if we think?

Hearing that the ten faced one asked, “Please tell me who is this Rama, What is the reason for his killing, I will give him to the God of death now.” The sister then told Ravana, “Lord of the Rakshasa clan, please hear the truth, One day I was happily wandering in Janasthana, And when I was travelling from there, Through the forest, I reached the bank of Gowthami river, And when I was happily staring at Panchavati, I saw Rama on whom the world depends in a hermitage, Along with matted hair and dressed in wooden bark, And also shining carrying his bow and arrows, He was in the garb of a sage along with his wedded wife, And with his younger brother Lakshmana, And at that time I went near them.’

If one sees the lady who is living with Rama, There are no other ladies in the world like her, And even among ladies of Deva, Gandarwa, naga and men, One cannot see one like her, one cannot hear also. Even the wife of Indra and other lady celestial dancers, Would hide themselves with shyness, if they see her, And for seeing even for god of love, she is a goddess, And would say that the man who marries her, Would be the lord of earth and now there is no problem for that, And deciding that she is suitable to become your wife, I tried to bring her with me.

Lakshmana with great anger then cut my nose, Ears and breasts then as per the orders of Rama, I went and told about what happened to Khara, And he along with big army of Rakshasas, With great fury fought with Rama, Who completely destroyed them within one and half hours, That Rama if he is displeased would make the universe in to ash in a second, And when we think of his valour, it is greatly wonderful.

If that Janaki who has fish like eyes becomes, Your wife now, you will get the great success in life, If you make efforts to quickly make her, Near yourself it would be really great, Oh enemy of devas, all your abilities, Would increase if you start living with her. You do not have sufficient ability to fight Rama, For even Lord Shiva would not be able to fight with him, So using some trick you attract those boys, And then you can bring the pretty bodied one.

After hearing the words of his sister like this, With kind words he consoled her and speedily, He went to his private room of sleep, Due to thoughts in his mind, he did not get sleep, “As far as I think this is wonder of wonders, How can a mere man within one and half hours, Kill the powerful Rakshasa lord Khara, And his two brothers who were expert in war, Along with fourteen thousand members of an army. It is definite that Rama is not a human being, The lotus eyed god who loves his devotees, Who is the god who grants salvation and Mukunda who is loved by his devotees, Due to the prayer of Brahma which was done earlier, Has been born as human being in the earth, in the clan of Raghu, And if he comes prepared to kill me, I can go to Vaikunta and look after that place, Otherwise I can live here ruling the Rakshasa kingdom, When I think there is no reason for a worry as of now, And I need not have any hesitation, To fight with Rama who blesses with auspiciousness.

After thinking like this and taking a decision, that lord of Rakshasas, Along with philosophical thought, became divinely happy, Once I know that Rama is really Lord Narayana, That lord of Rakshasas remembered the old story, “With a mind that hates him, you can easily reach Rama, And just by devotion he would not be happy with you.”

Ravana Maricha Samvadam

The discussion between Ravana and Maricha

By this type of thought, the night got over, And the wonderful sun came at the top of sky, And that enemy of all devas got in to the chariot, And speedily reached the hermitage of Maricha On the other shore of the sea, That ten faced one with all seriousness.

Becoming silent wearing matted hair and cloth made of bark, Meditating on Rama the soul of joy in his mind, Keeping on Chanting Rama, Rama and assuming Samadhi, And living with great happiness was Maricha, Seeing Ravana who is one who troubles the world, And who has come to see him on a social visit, Got up suddenly and nervously, Embraced Ravana on his chest with tears of joy, And The ten necked one worshipped Maricha according to rules, And after meeting with each other’s mind, Maricha asked.

“Why this visit all alone, by seeing you, It appears that you have some worry in mind, Tell me if it is not secret for, Among your well wishers I am also one of the first, If it is just and does not involve any bad acts, I do not have any problem to do it without magic.”

Hearing the words of Maricha Ravana told, “when I have problem, there is none for me like you, Dasaratha the king of the city of Saketha, Is the king of the world and he has, Two sons called Rama and Lakshmana, And at present Rama and Lakshmana, Along with a gem of a very pretty lady, Are living in the dandakaranya forest, They forcefully cut the nose, ear and breasts, Of my sister and hearing this when Khara and others, Went along with an army of fourteen thousand people, Rama stood alone and fought with them singly, And within one and half hour he killed all of them. I want to bring here immediately his wife Janaki, And you please assume the form of a golden deer, In the forest and attract that lady sita.

And you should lead Rama and Lakshmana to a distance, So that I would take away that lady from there, If you help me like this, there is no doubt, That my wish would be fulfilled.

Hearing the words of the ten headed one, Maricha thought with fear for a while and told, “Who advised you this which will destroy your roots, And whoever told you this is definitely your enemy, He is your enemy who is waiting for an opportunity, To completely destroy you, I will tell you what is good for you, if you hear me, This is definitely not good for you and everything else is, For due to the great fear of this Ramachandra, I have forsaken gems, kingdom chariots and so on, And as soon as I hear his name I am terribly scared, And so you better look after the clan of Rakshasas.

The divine soul Narayana himself is Rama, I came to know of the truth of that, please hear, From what the great sages like Narada told me, I happen to hear several such news, Lord who is son of Pulasththya, Once when Lord Brahma prayed the Lord, Who has lotus like eyes told him with affection, “What is needed of me, please tell”, and hearing that, The creator thought and told, Treasure of mercy, Your honoured self should assume the human form, And kill the ten headed one without hesitation.. And the lord told him “let it be like that, For bringing auspiciousness to all sages and devas.”

Rama is not man but the real Lord Vishnu, Understand this and serve him with devotion, If at all you go, go to your city and live there comfortably, And daily serve that man who is illusion, For he is greatly merciful, The lord of the universe, Lover of his devotees, one who should be sung about, the god and the lord.”

Hearing the words of Maricha, Ravana told, “What you told is true as you are a pure soul. The God Narayana is divine, the divine soul, And he had promised Brahma, the God born out of lotus, That he would be born as a man and would kill me, And since he is a God who is bound by truth, Will anything happen contrary to what he said? Your wisdom is good and I never thought it would be like that, Whatever may be, I will never go down to any one, And I have to go and bring Sita here, Great man get up, go as a golden deer, And remove Rama and Lakshmana from there, And I that time I will bring her here in my chariot, And afterwards you can comfortably live as before, And suppose you tell no to this once more, You would definitely become food to my sword.”

Hearing this Maricha thought, “Death by a weapon of a bad man is not good, For I would definitely go to hell and lie there, But I would become free by accumulation of good deeds, If I die by an arrow of Rama” thinking like that, He became happy and told, let us start, “Oh king of Rakshasa, If you order me, Then Sri Rama would look after me, salutations.” Telling like this he took the form of a, Golden deer with peculiar shape.”

At That time Ravana got in to his chariot, The God of love also got into his chariot at the same time, And Thinking in his mind the very pretty and lovely Sita, The ten headed one became blind. Maricha became a very pretty golden deer, With pretty dots, both eyes made of silver, Along with a blue stone and happily, He showed several sports and plays, went inside the forest, And latter ran fast from there, jumped with a spring, Went far away and looked like one in love, And when he was travelling like this near hermitage of Rama, Sita with a full moon face became attracted and surprised.

The son of the Raghu clan understanding the activities of Ravana, Told the Goddess when they were alone, Hear me my wife, The Lord of the Rakshasas will come hear to kidnap you, In the form of a beggar, Oh daughter of Janaka, So you have to do one thing, Without hesitating for that, You should leave the Sita of illusion in the hermitage, And you have to live hiding yourself in fire, Oh blessed one,after Ravana is killed we will meet.”

You have to be in the fire for one year, One who is depended by all the universe, Oh Sita, Oh darling, from protecting dhara, Sita as soon as she heard what Rama said, Made the very pretty Sita of illusion, To live in the hermitage, and she who is illusion of Vishnu, Went and sat in the middle of a fire.

Maricha Nigraham

Killing of Maricha.

Seeinng the golden deer made by magic, That Sita of illusion told Ramachandra, “Husband, Are you not seeing a golden deer, Which is wonder of wonders, It is covered with gems, It does not seem to have any fear as it comes very near us, It looks like that it is tamed and it would, Be a great pleasure playing with it, Let us call it, possibly it may come, Go and without delay catch and bring it, Do not hesitate my husband, Oh lord of universe.

Hearing the words of Sita, Sri Rama told, His brother, “ you have to properly guard, Sita so that she does not get any fear, For Rakshasas are everywhere in the forest,” Saying this, he took his bow and arrows, And that Lord of the universe went to catch the deer, When he reaches near, it will run away fast, And when he feels it is difficult to approach, slowly and slowly, It would come near him and when he tries to catch, With energy it would jump and run away, And went on taking him to far away distance, Rama lost the desire to catch it as it had great speed, And took an arrow, and sent it aimed at the deer, And when the golden deer fell on the ground, It assumed the form of a big mountain like Rakshasa, And Rama remembered Lakshmana’s words, That this is definitely Maricha, And when Maricha fell on the ground after being hit by an arrow, With terrible pain The poor one cried, “Ha, Ha, Lakshmana, my brother, brother, Ha, ha This is the strength of fate, My treasure of mercy,”

Hearing the voice of pain, Sita told Lakshmana, “Hey son of Sumithra, you go there without delay, Did you not hear the cries of your elder brother, Go without hesitation, Oh Lakshmana and save him Before the powerful Rakshasas kill him, Alas if the Rakshasa heroes are killing him now.”

Hearing that Lakshmana told Sita, “Do not be sad lady, You please hear my words, It is Maricha who came here as the golden deer, He is a great thief and it is he who did cry, If blindly I hear that and go there, You can be easily kidnapped, This is the trick of Ravana to do that, And you have told without knowing this, not only that, Please know that there is no body, Living on earth who can win over Rama, My elder brother will never cry in pain, Know that this is the magic of Rakshasas, If the lord of the universe gets angry, within half a second, He is capable of destroying the entire world, know this, Oh Lady how can a sound of agony, Come out from the lotus face of such a Rama.”

Hearing that shedding copious tears, Sita, Along with the sorrow and anger that grew in her mind, At that time,addressing Lakshmana told, “It is better that you are also in the clan of Rakshasas, Oh bad soul, in your mind you are aiming at destruction of your brother, How is it that I did not think about it ? Bharatha who desires the destruction of his brother, For fulfilling his desire, has sent you, And that is why you came with us, for If Rama dies, You can secretly take me and go back home, Please understand that you will never get me, And that I would be taking away my life today, And you who are desirous of stealing a wife, Has not been understood by Rama as you are his brother, On the oath of Rama’s feet, I will never even touch, Any other Man except Rama. “

Hearing these type of words, Lakshmana, Immediately shut both his ears and again told her, “Destruction is very near you and unfortunately, Even if I want, I will not be in a position stop it, Oh angry woman, what made you tell this type of words? All over all directions ladies have a hard heart, Oh Gods of the forest, please look after, The wife of a prince of Manu’s clan, properly,” Thus he entrusted Sita to the Gods of forest, And started walking to see his elder briother.

Sita Apaharanam

The theft of Sita.

Seeing the chance Ravana, took birth, In this world as a love blind man, Kept tuft, wore wooden bark, and as a Sanyasi, Entered the hermitage and stood there.. Seeing that Rakshasa who had dressed as a beggar, Immediately that Sita of illusion became very humble, Saluted and worshipped him and with devotion offered fruits and roots, Uttered some words of hospitality and further said, “Please eat these roots and fruits, And spend some time, Oh treasure of penance, My husband will come back now and will do all your wishes, And put an end to your hunger and thirst, And so sir, please do take some rest.”

After hearing this enjoyable and happy words from her, Immediately that one in the garb of a beggar, Asked her, very smilingly, “Lotus eyed one., Lady with a very pretty body, who are you? Pure one, please tell, who is your husband? Why are you who is lady living here alone, In this forest frequented by Rakshasas, And other cruel beings as well as wild animals? I do not find any armed man to guard you, If You tell me all the truth about you, I also will tell you all the truth about me”

Hearing that, the daughter of earth said, “One of the great kings is the lord of Ayodhya, And he is known as the tireless king Dasaratha, And his first son is the great hero Rama, And along with me who is his wife and also daughter of Janaka, And the very blessed younger brother called Lakshmana, And we three due to the order of the father, Have come here, the Dandaka forest to do penance. We have to be here for a period of fourteen years, And we are waiting it to be over, this is the truth, I do not know who you are, and why, Have you come here, Please tell me the truth.

Then please hear, oh lady with auspicious character, Oh young one, Oh Lady with lotus like eyes in whom the god of love with five arrows lives, I am the Rakshasa king who is the son of sage Pulasthya, Is there any one in the three worlds who does not know me? Oh pure one I started suffering from great passion because of you, And for that you have to come along with me, To Lanka which is prettier than the place of devas, And world’s prettiest, I would become your slave there,.

What is the use of Rama who has put on the garb of a sage, Please do not live in this forest with great suffering, You please accept me who has surrendered to you, Oh lady who carries red colour, Enjoy the great pleasures.

Hearing the words of Ravana, becoming greatly scared, With complete change of her mood, Sita told slowly, “Now the death has approached very near you, Can you tell like this to Sri Rama along, With his brother Lakshmana. Soon they will come, My husband the is the king called Ramachandra, Can a rabbit touch the wife of a lion? Hey bad soul, do not tell bad words like this, Because of this, your chest would be, Split by the arrows of Rama and you would fall on the ground.

Hearing these words of Sita, Ravana got, Huge anger which was ebbing out, And at that time when he lost himself, He showed his real form which was, Like a great mountain, with ten faces, Twenty great hands, resembling a black mountain, And seeing him like that the forest gods got scared.

Carrying Sita and placing her on the chariot, That ten headed one speedily travelled through the sky, “Ha, Ha, Raghava, Oh Rama, Oh Lakshmana, Oh ocean of mercy, Oh Lord of my soul, Please save me who is greatly scared.” This cry of Sita was heard by the king of the birds, And immediately Jatayu got up and reached there and told, “Stop, stop, Hey foolish soul, where are you going, Stealing the wife of my Lord, Like a fox trying to steal the great pure offering, Using chants from the place of fire offering.”

On the way with very great intelligence, That king of birds, like a great mountain, With in built wings and with enemity, With great anger went near and started the battle, And the world also shook, by the wind from his wings, And even the mountains started shaking.

He powdered the arrows of Ravana by the nails of his feet, And his face was greatly wounded and he became depressed, And with his sharp beak he destroyed the chariot, And within half a second he killed and felled the horses, And hit Ravana by his very sharp wings, The Lord of the Rakshasas was upset.

My journey has been stopped and my fame also has come to an end, Thinking and worrying like that, that king of Rakshasa, Left the daughter of earth on floor, and suddenly recollecting, Took and shook his sword called Chandrahasa and easily, When he cut off the wings of that king of the birds, Being not able to do anything that bird king fell on the earth. Then that lord of the Rakshasa took the goddess Lakshmi, And with a wounded pride started travelling towards the south, In another chariot and proceeded very fast. Realising that there is no other friend to save her, With tears flowing drop by drop from her eyes, Janaki who was a lady with a pretty hair, gave a boon “Let not your soul depart till you see my husband, And tell him all the news” to the king of birds, And leaving the earth, went through the sky.

Alas, Oh Rama, Oh Lord of the universe, Oh treasure of mercy, Why did you forsake me, my husband, Oh lord, This lord of Rakshasa is taking me away, Alas, there is no one to protect me, alas, Oh Lakshmana, Did I not tell demeaning words to you, Please protect me, Oh brother in law, Oh treasure of mercy.

Oh Rama, Oh Rama, Oh bewitcher of soul. Oh bewitcher of the world, Oh Rama, This time even the goddess earth was not there with me, Oh darling, please save me, Oh lord of universe, Before the king of Rakshasa eats me away, Come quickly and please look after me, Oh good minded one, Oh great ocean of good, Oh lord.

When she was crying like that, with a worry, That Rama may return early, that Rakshasa, Was going at the speed of mind, and at that time, On the edge of the lord of mountains Sita saw five monkeys, And immediately she removed the collection of her ornaments, Tied them with half portion of her shoulder cloth, And thinking that, it would be seen by Rama, Put that bundle down and that, Exuberant Rakshasa did not know about it then.

After crossing the sea, going speedily to his city, In the middle of his private quarters, in a forest of Asoka trees, In a clean earth, below the shade of a Simsupa tree, Ordering some friendly Rakshasis, Please look after her daily, Ravana reached, His house and lived there. Iruul in Malayalam (iron wood)

The better than the best that Goddess Janaki devi, Observing a life of Pathivruthya lived at that time, With her hair and cloth very unclean, With head bent, with a mind full of sorrow, Chanting always the name of Rama, In the middle of very many Rakshasa ladies, Suffering the problems due to snow, cold, sun and wind, Without taking any food and she lived in Lanka, With great deal of suffering and sorrow Who in the world does not have a sorrow, In this world, which never goes away.

Seethanveshanam

The search for Sita

Rama after attempting to trace and investigate the deer of illusion, And after killing the The Rakshasa Maricha Who can take any form that he likes, Started to walk speedily towards his hermitage, And when that foundation of Vedas Rama, After travelling some distance saw from afar, The coming of his brother and that Rama, Started thinking as to what he should do.

Lakshmana does not know any truth, And so it is only proper to deceive him also, The Lord of the Rakshasas has only taken the Sita of illusion, Wound any body be able to get Goddess Lakshmi? The real Sita is within the fire, And if Lakshmana knows this, other aspects will not work, And so I will also become sad like the ordinary people, And I can speedily start the search for the lady with collyrium eyes, And reach the country of the Lord of Rakshasas, And once there, I can kill Ravana with his entire clan, And putting the blame on truth, I can get Sita back from the fire, And taking her, I can go to Ayodhya, And then with never fading Dharma I can rule the country, I can for some time live on this earth.

Due to the prayer of Lord Brahma, I took birth in the clan of the sun god, And there is no doubt that those devotees, Who read or hear the history, And greatness of me as the man of illusion, Through the path of devotion, Without any great effort would get salvation, And so I will deceive him and make him sad, And like an ordinary man, Deciding like this, He told his younger brother, “Who is there to help Sita in the hermitage?”

“Why did you come here, why did you forsake, Janaki alone there ? Rakshasas may take her away, They may kill her and eat her too, To those cruel castes, there is nothing If we properly think, that which should not be done?” Hearing the words of elder brother, Lakshmana stood near, And again and again saluted him, with great sorrow, And with broken voice, and shedding copious tears, Told about the hard words told by the Goddess, “Ho,ho Lalkshmana, please save me son of Sumithra, Ho, ho The Rakshasa will kill me now.” Hearing such wailings from the Rakshasas, That feeble one told that is your voice And with greatly pitiable manner cried, And told me to go immediately and save you.

“This is not my brother’s voice, Do not get confused, what I say is true, This is definitely the magical voice of the Rakshasa, Please wait for quarter of a second, I told her, And hearing that she again told me, Several things and at present, I feel bad to tell all those before you, And with great sorrow, closing my ears, Thinking of the gods and praying them to look after her, I took leave so that I can salute your sacred fet.”

“Inspite of that, you did a mistake Lakshmana, How can you have doubt, when you here bad words, For, do you not know that, that the man who thinks The words of ladies are true, is a fool. I do not know whether she has been taken away by Rakshasas, Or whether they have eaten her.” Thinking like this he searched for her, At all places in side the hermitage and, When she was not found. Rama became worried, And assuming sorrow, he wailed and cried, That innocent one, one attractive to all souls, One who does not have any characters, And one who is extremely happy within himself.

“Ho, Ho my wife, Sita, Ho, ho, Maithili, wife, Ho ho Goddess Janaki, Ho ho, the goddess of my soul, Are you hiding somewhere to attract me, Oh blessed one Please come out without hesitation, Telling like this, he walked over the forests, Enquired and getting worried and when he, Was not able to find her and becoming broken, “Gods of forests, did you see her The sita who has eyes like lotus flower, Please tell the truth, Oh groups of deer, Did you see her, The doe eyed daughter of Janaka, please tell me the truth, Oh groups of birds, did you see her, The wide eyed one, please tell me the truth, Oh groups of trees, did you see her, The lotus eyed one, please tell me the truth, Like this telling so many things, sorrow increasing that much, He went on searching everywhere, but could not find her.

The God of all who sees everywhere, the one who knows everything, The one who is the soul of all, The one who is the universal cause, One who is many, one who does not move, one who is complete, One who is pure, one who does not have a form, one who does not have pride, One who is forever, one who is divine and limitless, one whose soul is divine joy, One who is all over universe, assuming the illusory human form became sad, That causal man to satisfy idiotic beings who do not understand, That those having divine knowledge would not feel in their mind, Differences between pleasure and sorrow as they do not have wisdom.

Jatayu gathi

The fate of Jatayu.

When God Rama was searching like this, In the forest he saw a dismembered and broken chariot, Along with weapons and bow and arrows, And this they could see near by in the middle of their way. Then Rama told Lakshmana as follows, “Lad please see a chariot which is broken, Possibly when one Rakshasa was taking pretty Sita, He must have fought with another Rakshasa, And the chariot which got broken then is lying her We do not know whether they killed or ate her.”

After a walk of a little distance, after telling this They saw a horrible form lying there which was fearful, “Do you not see a Rakshasa who is, Lying there contended after eating Janaki? I would kill him soon, give me my bows and arrows.” And when he heard this, that king of birds, Who was lying there became scared and told, “I am not a killer, I am a slave who is your devotee, And I am specially a great friend of your father, And I am a friendly bird called Jatayu.”

When the bad Ravana was taking away your wife, Through the sky, I became aware of it, Immediately I went and stopped him and fought with him, When I dashed his chariot and broke his bow, He cut me by his sword called Chandrahasa, And I fell down on the earth with great pain, And I got a boon from that Goddess Lakshmi, That I should not die till I meet with you Oh treasure of mercy please see me, And let your holy feet live in mind forever.

That Lord hearing these types word from Jatayu, With mind filled with mercy sat near him, And patted all over his body with his holy hands, And Ramachandra with tear filled eyes due to his sorrow, Told,” Please tell the entire story of my wife” And hearing this Jatayu told, “The Lord of Rakshasas Ravana took the lady, To the southern direction, please know that. I do not have strength to tell due to the death struggle, And Please bless me so that good will come to me.”

When you are seeing me, I got, The good chance of cutting off all attachments and dying, And this chance came to me because of my being, Able to get your grace, Oh holy person, Oh best among men, Oh treasure of mercy, You are the real Maha Vishnu, The divine joyful soul, divine soul, A man because of illusion, And you should always live inside me, And your body is dark black and attractive every second, And because I was able to see you at the time of my death, I would cut off all attachments and would definitely attain salvation. You who have made me your slave with love from a friend, Please use your hands which are like the flowers of Bandhuka, Oh lover of friends, slowly touch and pat me, so that, I would be able to join your lotus like feet.

The husband of Lakshmi hearing that, patted him, Slowly and slowly so that he will get full divine joy of the soul, And at that time Jatayu breathed his last, And he fell on the earth, that blessing of Raghu clan, Shed tears and becoming emotional due to love of his devotee, That lotus eyed one took the head of the king of birds, Who was a friend of his father and kept it on his lap, And told his brother for the sake of after death rites.

“You have to make a good funeral pyre using fallen wood, Without delay for the ritual of cremation by fire.” Hearing that Lakshmana built a funeral pyre, Immediately after taking bath, Rama completed, The cremation, again took bath, finished, The rituals associated with cremation, Then killed a deer in the forest and offered, A piece of its meat and water kept on the grass, And prayed that he should get a blessed life as mane.

Let all birds eat all this offerings and be happy, Let the king of birds be satisfied because of that, And that body of mercy, the lotus eyed one, enemy of Madhu, Told that Please attain salvation. At that time Jatayu appeared like shining like sun, and, Having a divine form,, riding on a air plane, And taking a form with conch, wheel mace and lotus flower, And dressed in the yellow silk, being worshipped, By the servants of Lord Vishnu, being praised by sages, And with a great shine which spread in all directions And with ready body, he raised his hands and saluted Rama, And with great devotion prayed to him.

Jatayu Sthuthi

Prayer of Jatayu

I always salute that Rama who blesses, Who has countless good qualities, who is first, who is non decaying, who in unfathomable, Who is the root of the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world, Who is divine. Who is divine joy and the divine soul.

I always salute that Rama, who has a pretty hand, Who throws esteemed vision and purifies the devas, Whose happy stay with the pretty Lakshmi is not limited, Who is black and shines in a tufted crown and holds a bow and arrow.

I always salute that Rama, who is served by Groups of devas, Who has the form which is prettiest in the world, Who shines like one hundred suns, who is like, The root of the wish giving tree of devas to those who surrender to him.

I always salute that Rama, who is the human form of Vishnu, Whose name is the fire that eats away the forest of birth and death, Who is the God to Lord Brahma as well as Lord Shiva, And who is the one who kills billions of Asura lords.

I always salute that Rama, who destroys sins, Who destroys those caught in the net of sins, Who has a form of the god, who keeps away the fear of sins, Who is the divine one served by sages, And who is the daily boat that helps us cross the sea of life.

I always salute that Rama, who is like the gem of devas, Who lives in the lotus heart of Shiva and Parvathi, Who lifts the lord of the mountains, who is served by Indra, And whose divine feet is worshipped both by devas and asuras.

I always salute that Rama, who is full of divine joy, Who is one who does not desire the wealth and wife of others, Who is extremely happy due to good character of people, Who is always interested in doing good to others.

I always salute Rama, who is the consort of daughter of earth, Who has smiling pretty face which is like a fully open lotus flower, Who can be seen by Vedas, who has a body like a dark lotus, Who has pretty eyes like a white lotus, and is the blessing to clan of Raghus.

I always salute Rama. who is the greatest and divine among divines, Who like the Sun living in every water pot, Lives in all moving and non moving beings, Who is the complete soul, who does not have a second and is non decaying and lonely.

I always salute that Rama, who is the pretty one to the daughter of earth, Who by taking the forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Divides characteristics in to three, who shines alone, Who is being prayed by thirty saints, Who is not clear and who is not born.

I always salute that Rama, who is detached and pretty to all souls, Who has a body like hundred billion gods of love, Who does not have birth or death, Who is fully divine, who occupies the whole world, Who is pure, who is the basis of duties according to Dharma, and is the basis of water.

Hearing this prayer, Ramachandra became happy, And sweetly told that king of birds, “Let good happen to you, please go safely to land of Vishnu, He who writes, reads and hears this prayer, If he is devoted, he would come to my presence, Oh king of birds, If he has great devotion like you.

The great bird who heard these words of Rama, It seems became one with Vishnu, He also attained the state where Brahma worshipped his feet, Like any other person telling the pure name of Rama.

Kabandha Gathi

The way to death world of Khadamba,

Afterwards Rama along with the son of Sumithra, With sorrow reached inside the forest, and Enquired in all directions but not finding Sita, With diminished courage, when they were travelling in the forest, They saw a huge being who had the form of a Rakshasa, And then immediately Rama told,

“He has face on the chest, and hands a yojana (two miles) long, He does not have eyes and other organs, what type of being is this? Lakshmana, did you see, As we see there is lot of fear, He will now eat, both of us, know about this. He is neither a bird nor animal, wonder of wonders, He has face on the chest, he does not have legs or head, Before this being eats us both, I am not finding a way to save ourselves, As we are both in the middle of his hands, Oh lad, Whatever that Brahma thinks, that will happen.”

After Rama told like this, Without any worry Lakshmana told, “What is the need for worry like this, Let each of us cut one hand each of his,” And immediately Rama cut his right hand, And Lakshmana cut his left hand, That valorous Rakshasa became wonderstuck, And with fear asked Rama and Lakshmana, “Before this, there was no one in the world, Strong enough to cut my hands, Who are you two who are wonderful people, I assume that you both are very good people, What is the reason for coming in this forest, Be pleased to tell me the truth.

After hearing these words of Khabanda, That best among men smiled and immediately answered, “Hear, I am the eldest son of Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya, My name is Rama,he is my brother and his name is Lakshmana, There is one lady called Sita, who is my wife, We had both gone to hunt and at that time, A great magician, a rakshasa stole her away, And when we were searching for her in forests after foress, We saw you, and with great and horrifying speed, We came in between your hands, And for saving our lives, I cut your hands, Who are you who has a very horrifying form, Please tell directly” and when Rama asked like this, Kabhandha replied with a very pleased soul, “If you are indeed Sri Rama, I have become blessed and if you are, In front of me I have been lucky to see you.”

I am a holy and divine Gandharwa, and becoming, Proud of my beauty and youth, when I was travelling, Stealing the courage of pretty women, And when I was pretty and playfully walking, I saw Ashta vakra and made fun of him, And that sage became very angry and cursed me, “Let you become a Rakshasa,” And later when he got calmed down, He gave me a blessing to end my curse. “The real God Narayana who can grant salvation, In the Tretha age would be born to Dasaratha, And when he cuts away your hands, You would be able to get rid of this curse.”

When I who have become a Rakshasa due to the curse of a sage, Was walking with pain one day, the Devendra One day rushed towards me with anger, And he cut off my head with the Vajrayudha, But my death did not come due to Vajrayudha, Due to a boon given to me by Brahma.

Due to the fact that I cannot be killed, For carrying out my activities to live, Devendra, Made my head in to my stomach, And after my head and legs were transferred to my belly, He also extended my hands to two miles distance, For satisfying my hunger, as per orders of Indra, I eat whatever food that I get within the reach of my hands, Oh better than the best, Oh Lord of Raghu clan, Oh treasure of mercy, If you light a fire and burn my body in it, I would tell you the method to search for your wife.”

Lakhsmana dug the earth, put fuel in it, And lit the fire in it and when body of, Kabanda was burnt in it, from that body, Rose a divine form which was similar to god of love, Wearing all sorts of ornaments and he, With devotion went round Sri Rama and With devotion saluted him by falling on the floor, Three hundred times, saluted him again by hands, And that honorable Gandarwa became very happy, And started praying him using very pretty words.

Kabandha Sthuthi

Prayer of Kabanda

Though I am the one who does not know, Your philosophy in spite of my thinking, I feel like praying your honourable self, What a wish due to permanent blindness? You are the divine brahmam without beginning or end, And we have to realize it in our soul and live, The darkness should go away joy should rise up, And after detachment, you should grant me salvation.

Not clear, extremely difficult to see is your form, And when it is seen in a clear form different from the corpus and micro forms, As a form of wisdom which is one, you realise all other forms are without soul, Since it is difficult to see and is the not the soul, How can the ignorant people understand it as some thing different from mind, And realize that the divine joy is one which never fades

The soul is the mixture of brain and the feeling of the soul And the divine power is only a witness to the activities of brain, And the Brahmam without any sensations, which has filled the entire world, Is thought as the subject less world by the ignorant due to illusion, But that insinuated shine of the micro body is nothing but the Hiranya Garbha, And that is the macro man which is extremely huge, And this has become the matter of thought to the great yogis, For within it any one can see all the universe.

Whether it is past, present or future, Great sages are able to see it all as a part of the macro entity, Of the Brahmnda Kosa of the Virat Purusha. The fourteen worlds are a part of him who is occupying every where, And are the body parts of the famous virat Purusha who is yourself, The Patala is the underneath of the feet, Mahatala are the heels, Oh Lord your ankle is the Rasathala, Thalathala is your pretty knee, Oh Lord of Raghu clan, Suthala are your thighs, Vimalamatala, Is the front of your hip, Mahithala is your navel, The chest of Raghu Nadha is the place of devas, Mahar loka is your neck, please know this, That the jana loka is your face.

Your forehead is the Tapoloka and above that, Is the Sathyaloka which is the residence of Brahma, Which is your head, Oh greatest among men, Oh lord of universe, Oh Lord who is only truth, Your hair is the collection of clouds, The guardians of directions like Indra are your arms, Directions are your ears, Asvini kumaras are your nose, Your mouth is the fire, Your eyes are the Sun God, And greatly wonderful, moon is your mind, Time are your eye brows, goddess Saraswathi is your brain, The reason for anger is pride and that is Rudra, All your words are meters, teeth are Yama the god of death, The rows of stars are your row of teeth, Your smile is the great Maya(illusion) that attracts, Creation which is your habit is your invitation by the corner of the eye

Dharma is your front side and Adharma is your back side, Enthusiasm and depression are days and nights to you, The seven seas are the parts of your abdomen, All the rivers are your nerves, mountains are your bones, Trees and medicinal herbs are the hairs of your body, Lord Shiva is your heart, The success is your semen, Oh great king, the simple power of divine wisdom, Is the macro form of yours which is called Virat Purusha, And he who daily meditates you in the morning will get salvation, For there is no other thing in the world except you, And I always think of this form of yours and salute it, Let the form of yours which is more important, Than this should always appear before me.

I am searching for a place in mind to install, The god who was born in the clan of the Sun god, Who has Saintly form, and is consort of earth, having a form of peace, Holding bow in his hands, decorated with matted hair and wooden bark, Who searches for Janaki along with Lakshmana, Who is a Great human being, sweet to the mind and equal to God of love, Salutations and salutations to him.

The all knowing one, the great god, Lord Shiva, the Mahadeva, Sarva, the non decaying one along with Goddess Parvathi, Meditating on your name is living in Benares, And always living there, they daily tell for the sake of salvation, To those people who are interested in salvation, The Tharaka manthra of “Rama, Rama” so that they will know, The essence Of God as a result of that teaching, And that Lord Shiva lives there always.

You are the divine soul and the greatest god, And Lord Shiva knowing this does this, How can fools understand your principle, For it is covered by the darkness of great illusion, Salutation and salutation to great god and Ramabhadra, Salutation and salutation to Ramachandra, the witness of the world, Please save me lord of universe, Please save me treasure of mercy, Let your goddess of great illusion does not bewilder me, Oh God with lotus like eyes, My salutations always to you.

To the Gandharwa who told like this and prayed to him, That God who was a man with good qualities told, “By your prayer and great devotion I have become happy, Oh great Gandharwa, Please attain my world, Which is a primeval position where great yogis want to go, And go there with great joy due to my grace, Not only that I also want to bless again, Those devotees who are going to chant this prayer, That without any doubt they will get salvation, And to you my devotee, there is no downward trend.”

After getting such a boon that great Gandharwa, And after saluting told like this with aim to bring auspiciousness, “ In front of you in the forest is the hermitage of Matanga, There now lives Sabari who is a lady sage, And she is pure, due to great devotion to your lotus feet, And she spends all her time thinking about you and has got rid of attachments, If you go and see her she will tell you the story, Which will lead to the finding of Sita Devi.”

Sabryasrama pravesam

Entering in to hermitage of Sabari.

After the disappearance of Gandharwa after this talk, Rama and Lakshmana were pleased, Went through the very thick horrifying forest slowly, And entered the very pretty hermitage of Sabari, That lady saint who was a devotee got up with excitement, And washed both the lotus feet of Rama, And with eyes full of tears of joy, she, Offered seat, water for drinking and washing, And gave him fruits and roots for his food.

After accepting the worship, very happily, Those lotus eyed ones who were the sons of the king, And they were saluted with devotion and she told, “Due to my past good deeds I am indeed blessed today, The great saints who were my teachers, Lived for thousand years worshipping you, And at that time I was nursing them with care, And later they reached the world of Brahma.”

They told me, “Do not ever feel sorry, Blessed one, you continue to live here daily, The divine one who sleeps on a snake, The great male, the divine soul, Has taken an incarnation to kill the Rakshasas, Now to take care of us as well as the Dharma, And that pure one has come to Chithrakoota, That Rama would come here and you, Breath your last after seeing him. If you do so you will also get salvation definitely.” It has exactly happened that way, For the words of Guru are the truth.

Waiting and waiting for your arrival, I was living here meditating always on you, Even for the great sages who were my gurus, There was no chance to see your feet and salute it. I am an ignorant fool, born in a very low caste, And I am sure I do not merit this.

Your form is not the subject of words and mind, And my being able to see it is due to great luck, Oh treasure of mercy, this lowly mind, Does not even know how to salute your holy feet.

Hearing that Sri Rama told Sabari, “Without sorrow, please hear what I say, It is not either man or woman nor the state of life, That is the reason for praying to me in the three worlds, Except for devotion, there is no other reason for it, And for getting salvation also there is no other way, Acts such as bathing in sacred waters, penance, charity or learning of Vedas Or temples, starving, fire sacrifices and such acts, Would not make any one able to see me, Except devotion to me, except which there are no methods.

I will tell you in brief the material path of devotion, Oh holy one, please hear, for getting salvation, The most important thing is company of good people, The second thing is telling and hearing of my story, Third one is singing of good qualities and the fourth, In interpretation of my words, the fifth one is, Serving the great teachers who are born out of me, The sixth one is doing good deeds and worshipping, Me without break following all rituals and methods, Seventh is practicing my chant and eighth, Oh lady of auspicious character, you have to hear and understand, Is to see me in everything and having great respect to my devotees, And also detachment and understanding that all souls are myself, And ninth is thinking about my philosophy oh lady,’ And basis of having a pure mind is the faith in primeval god.

This is the proper methods of devotion, nine in number Oh good one, If we think who has devotion daily, Whether it is for birds and animals or foolish, Ladies or men, when the real devotion comes to them, Oh Lady, they would start understanding my philosophy, And once they become an expert in this, they will get salvation, Oh great lady of penance, among these man is blessed, And so the reason for salvation is definitely devotion, Oh Devoted lady who is dear to the gods and sages.

Due to your devotion you were able to see me, And oh lady sage, your salvation also is very near, If you know, the path that Sita has taken, please tell me, Who has taken the very pretty Sita who is dear to me ? Sabari after hearing the words of Rama,. Told as follows so that their worry would be lessened, “Your glorious self knows everything as you are know all, And in spite of that for satisfying the world you are asking me, Since you have asked, I have to tell. Sita is living with great sorrow in Lanka, And please know that she has been taken there by the ten necked one, And I have seen the daughter of the lotus by my divine sight, Suppose you travel to some distance slightly to the south, You would be able to see the Pamba lake and in front of it, You would be able to see the Rishya mooka mountains, And there lives a monkey noble called Sugreeva, Along with his four ministers. He is the son of the Sun, And he is living there being scared of Bali, For Bali cannot go there being afraid of a sage’s curse, As time progresses, you please kill him.

You enter into a treaty with Sugreeva, and if you do, All your sorrows will get over and your job will succeed. And so let me enter in to the fire and merge with, Your lotus like feet and this is beginning, Please wait for a little time and by that time, I have to cut off this tie which is an illusion, Oh treasure of mercy, And saying like this with devotion, she gave up her body, And at that time Sabari got salvation.

If that God who loves his devotes showers his grace, Salvation would reach every one, though they belong to a low caste. If the lotus eyed one is happy with any being, There is nothing which is difficult to achieve for them, Salvation can be got through devotion to Rama, Daily serve the holy lotus like feet of Rama, Throw away the rituals using mantra, tantra and dhyana, And following the teaching of the Guru daily, Meditate on Rama and always chant the name of Rama, Hear and tell the stories of Rama, Worship the devotees of Rama, And when we know that all over the world only Rama is there, You can get merged with Rama, So always chant “Rama, Rama”, Oh pretty woman, oh gentle lady, Oh Parvathi, oh lotus eyed one.

Like this when Lord Shiva told the story of Rama, To Parvathi, Parvathi became completely ruled by devotion to Rama, And fixed her mind there and merged with the devotion, And the parrot also became greatly joyous, And told, “Let there be victory to lord Shiva,”

Ithi Adhyathma Ramayane Uma Maheswara samvadhe, Aaranya Kandam samaptham. Thus ends the chapter on forests which occurs amidst, the discussion between Shiva and Parvathi in Adyathma Ramayana.

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Krishna Maheshwari

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