The Ramcharitmanas 1

by Tulsidas

In the form of prurient stories or discourses on sensual pleasures to attract them.

  That is the reason why they do not come here, but turn away disappointed,

  These unfortunate, lustful crows and storks.

  It is very difficult to reach this lake,

  And no one can come here without Ram’s grace.

  Bad companions are bad roads, difficult and frightening,

  And their words are the tigers, lions and snakes along the way;

  Domestic affairs, the demands of house and hearth, and other such entanglements—

  They are vast and impassable mountains.

  Worldly attachment, lustful desire and arrogance are dense and impenetrable forests,

  And sophistry, wrong reasoning and false doctrine are various raging rivers, frightening and formidable.

  Those who are without the provisions of faith required for the journey,

  Who do not travel in the company of saints and good people,

  And who do not love Raghunath—

  For them, I say, the Manas is inaccessible.

  (38)

  And even if someone, undertaking great hardship, does go to the lake,

  Sleep and shivering fits overcome him as soon as he arrives.

  An intense and disagreeable cold settles upon his heart, leaving him as a thing inanimate,

  And the unfortunate wretch is unable to take a dip in the lake.

  Not having bathed in the lake or drunk its water,

  He returns, full of arrogance,

  And then when someone comes to ask him about his experience,

  He speaks disparagingly of the lake and abuses it.

  But all these obstacles do not stop one

  Whom Ram looks upon with loving favour;

  Such a one bathes in the lake with reverence

  And is not burnt by the triple fires and fierce flames of the three afflictions.

  Men who hold dear Ram’s feet

  Never leave or abandon this lake.

  They who wish to bathe in this lake, my friend,

  Should with diligence keep the company of good men.

  Having contemplated this Manas lake with the mind’s eye,

  The poet’s intellect became clear and profound;

  Bliss and gladness welled up in his heart

  And poured out in a flood of love and joy.

  This glittering stream of elegant poetry flows on,

  Swollen with the waters of Ram’s unblemished glory.

  Sarju is its name, it is the root of all bliss,

  And worldly wisdom and Vedic doctrine are its two pleasing banks.

  This sacred river, daughter of the beautiful Manas lake,

  Uproots and destroys along its course, the small blades of grass and the mighty trees that are the sins, small and big, of the age of Kali.

  Gatherings of the three kinds of listeners41

  Are the towns, villages and cities on the two banks,

  While the assembly of saints is the incomparable city of Avadh,

  The source of all well-being.

  (39)

  Into the divine River Ganga that is devotion to Ram

  Flows the beautiful Sarju that is Ram’s glory and mingles with it;

  The sparkling stream of the great River Sone,

  That is the splendour of Ram and Lakshman in battle, joins it.

  Between the Sarju and the Sone shines the divine Ganga’s stream of devotion,

  Made splendid with detachment and contemplation.

  The triple fires of affliction are frightened away by this triple stream,

  As it flows towards the ocean that is Ram himself.

  With its source in the Manas lake, and flowing into the divine Ganga,

  The Sarju purifies the hearts of those good people who listen to Ram’s story;

  The extraordinary and remarkable tales scattered here and there in his story

  Are like the groves and gardens on each bank of the river.

  The guests at the wedding of Uma and Mahesh,

  Are the countless and diverse creatures dwelling in its waters.

  The joyful celebrations of Raghubar’s birth,

  Are the heart-enchanting beauty of its eddies and waves.

  The childhood exploits of the four brothers,

  Are the abundant and many-coloured lotuses,

  And the virtuous deeds of the king, his queens and his household,

  Are the bees and waterbirds.

  (40)

  The charming story of Sita’s svayamvar, where she chose Ram to be her husband,

  Is the all-pervasive brilliance of this bright and pleasing stream.

  The boats on the river are the many astute and incisive questions asked,

  And the appropriate and discerning answers, the skilful boatmen.

  Upon listening to this story, the discussions that arise amongst the listeners

  Are the companies of travellers along the banks of this graceful river.

  Its strong and powerful current is the wrath of Bhrigunath,xxxvii

  While Ram’s soft and gentle words, its sturdy and well-constructed ghats.

  The joy with which Ram’s wedding and those of his younger brothers was celebrated

  Is the swelling tide bringing good fortune to all.

  Those who rejoice in the telling of Ram’s story and are enraptured upon hearing it

  Bathe with delight in its waters with virtuous hearts.

  The festive preparations for Ram’s anointment as Dasharath’s heir

  Are the crowds that assemble on auspicious, sacred days;

  The scum and water-moss are Kaikeyi’s wilful mind,

  The fruit of which was great misfortune.

  The deeds of Bharat are the prayers and fire-sacrifices

  That destroy and burn away all the wrongs in this world,

  While the accounts of the sins, the evil and the vices of the age of Kali

  Are the filth in the water, and the storks and crows.

  (41)

  This river of Ram’s renown is beautiful in all six seasons,

  Pleasing and exceedingly pure at all times—

  Winter is the wedding of Parvati, daughter of the snowy mountains, to Shiv;

  The season of dew and mist, the glad celebrations at the Lord’s birth;

  The account of the gathering for Ram’s wedding celebrations

  Is the joyous spring, that king of the seasons;

  The intolerable summer is Ram’s departure for the forest,

  And the cruel tale of his wanderings is the searing heat of the sun and the wind.

  The season of rains is his terrible battle with the demons of the night,

  Which was as beneficial to the gods as rain is to the paddy fields,

  And the prosperity and well-being during Ram’s reign, his greatness and gentle bearing

  Are the bright, clear and pleasant days of autumn.

  The singing of the virtues of Sita, that crowning jewel of chaste womanhood,

  Is the matchless purity and clarity of this river’s water,

  And Bharat’s gentle disposition is its pleasing coolness,

  Which is unvarying, unchanging and cannot be described.

  The affectionate manner in which the four brothers

  Look at each other, talk to each other and embrace each other,

  The love between them and the laughter, their happy camaraderie—

  These are the water’s sweetness and fragrance.

  (42)

  My own adoration of him, my reverence and humility,

  Is the lightness of this graceful stream.

  This astonishing water is beneficial even when merely heard,

  Quenching the thirst of longing and cleansing the impurities of the heart.

  This water nourishes true love for Ram

  And washes away all the sins and debilities of the age of Kali.

  It drains away the fatigue of rebirth, makes content contentment itself,

  An
d annihilates evil, sorrow, poverty and vice.

  It destroys lust, anger, arrogance and delusion

  And encourages clear thinking, true knowledge and detachment from this world.

  All sin and sorrow are effaced from the hearts

  Of those who bathe in it or drink this water with reverence—

  Those who have not cleansed their hearts in this water

  Are cowards deceived by the Kaliyug;

  They are as miserable as the thirsty deer that, seeing the sun change land into water,

  Rushes to drink, but finds no water and returns disappointed.

  Thus, enumerating to the best of his intellectual ability,

  The many virtues of this sweet water, immersing his heart in it,

  And meditating upon Bhavani and Shankar,

  This poet will tell his beautiful story.

  (43A)

  Now, placing my heart at Raghupati’s lotus feet

  And receiving his grace,

  I relate the meeting of the two great munis,

  And their auspicious conversation.

  (43B)

  The Muni Bharadvaj lived in Prayag,

  And was greatly devoted to Ram.

  An ascetic, he was the embodiment of self-restraint, contemplation and compassion

  And the most knowledgeable about the path to the Supreme Truth.

  In the month of Magh, when the sun enters Makar,

  Everyone visits Prayag, the first amongst pilgrimage places;

  Gods, Danavas, Kinnaras and multitudes of men,

  All bathe with great reverence in the triveni, the triple stream of the Ganga, the Jamuna and the Sarasvati.

  They worship the lotus feet of Madhav,xxxviii

  And rejoice in the touch of the imperishable banyan tree.

  Bharadvaj’s hermitage is a place holy and pure,

  And so exceedingly pleasant that it delights the hearts of even the greatest sages.

  There gather the rishis and the munis

  Who come to bathe at Prayag,

  And having with gladness taken the ritual dip at break of day,

  They discuss with each other the virtues of Hari.

  They examine the attributes of the Absolute, and discuss the duties and laws of dharma,

  They describe the various systems of philosophy,

  And declare that devotion to the Lord

  Requires both knowledge and detachment.

  (44)

  In this manner they bathe here for the full month of Magh,

  And then return, each to their own ashrams.

  Every year the same joyful gathering takes place,

  And after the ritual Makar bathing, the crowd of sages departs.

  Once, after the full one month of the ritual bathing,

  When all the other munis had returned to their ashrams,

  Bharadvaj clasped the feet of Jagbalik, the wisest muni of all,

  And begged him to remain.

  With great respect he washed his lotus feet,

  And led him to a seat most pure and sacred;

  With great reverence he related the muni’s glorious fame,

  And then addressed him in the most gentle and respectful of tones—

  ‘My master, I am greatly confused,

  And you, in your hands, hold the essence of the Vedas;

  To speak my question aloud makes me afraid and ashamed,

  But if I do not say it, I will lose a great opportunity.

  The saints give this counsel, my lord,

  And the Vedas, the Puranas and the sages declare it as well—

  That true knowledge will not dawn in the heart,

  If one conceals anything from one’s guru.

  (45)

  Keeping this in mind, I reveal my ignorance.

  Dispel it, my master, taking pity on your servant.

  The name of Ram has immeasurable power—

  The saints, the Puranas and the Upanishads all say so.

  Immortal Shambhu chants it continuously,

  The divine Lord Shiv, repository of knowledge and virtue;

  And when the four kinds of living beings in this world

  Die in Kashi, they attain the highest state that is salvation,

  That too, O greatest of the munis, is by the glory of Ram’s name,

  The use of which Shiv in his compassion exhorts.

  So I ask you this, my lord—who is this Ram?

  Explain it to me, O compassionate one, make me understand.

  One Ram is the son of the king of Avadh,

  Whose deeds are renowned in all the world;

  Separated from his wife, he suffered boundless grief,

  Then, growing angry, he killed Ravan in battle.

  My lord, is it this same Ram or another,

  Whose name Tripurari repeats?

  You are the repository of truth, all-wise, omniscient—

  So with your wisdom, reflect upon my question and tell me.

  (46)

  So that my great confusion may be dispelled,

  Relate his story in full, my master.’

  Jagbalik replied with a smile,

  ‘Raghupati’s great majesty is already known to you,

  You are Ram’s devotee in thought, deed and word.

  But I have understood your clever ploy—

  You want to hear the hidden mysteries of Ram’s virtues,

  Which is why you question me as if you are a complete blockhead.

  So listen then, my son, with reverent attention,

  As I relate Ram’s charming story—

  Extreme delusion is the enormous buffalo demon, Mahishasur,

  And the story of Ram is the formidable goddess, Kalika;xxxix

  Ram’s story is like the moonbeams

  Which the saints, like chakors, drink.

  Bhavani once expressed a similar doubt,

  Upon which Mahadev narrated the story in detail.

  I will now relate, to the best of my ability,

  That conversation between Uma and Shambhu,

  And when and why it took place.

  Listen well, O muni, and your sorrows will vanish.

  (47)

  Once, during the Tretayug,xl

  Shambhu went to visit the Rishi Kumbhaj.

  With him went his devoted wife, Sati, who is also Bhavani, mother of the world,

  The rishi honoured him, knowing him to be Akhileshvar, Lord of all Creation.

  The great muni related at length the story of Ram—

  To which Mahesh listened with the greatest delight.

  The rishi then asked him about true devotion to Hari,

  And Shambhu, seeing him to be deserving, replied.

  Reciting and listening to the story of Raghupati’s virtues,

  The lord of Kailash spent several days there.

  Then, taking his leave of the muni,

  He turned towards home with Sati, daughter of Daksh.

  At that very time, Hari, the destroyer of the burdens of the world,

  Had become incarnate in the family of Raghu;

  At his father’s word, he, the Eternal God, had renounced the throne,

  And was wandering as an ascetic in the Dandak forest.

  As he went, Har kept thinking,

  ‘How might I look upon him?

  The Lord has become incarnate in a form unknown to anyone—

  If I visit him, everyone will come to know the form that he has taken.’

  (48A)

  In Shankar’s heart there was great disquiet,

  Though Sati did not see this secret distress.

  He yearned to see the Lord, says Tulsi,

  His heart was afraid, though his eyes were greedy for the sight.

  (48B)

  ‘Ravan was granted the boon of death only at the hands of a man42

  And the Lord wants to make Vidhi’s promise come true—

  But if I do not go, I will regret it forever.’

  Thus, he pondered but found no solution.


  In this manner, Ishxli became lost in thought.

  At that very moment, the ten-headed Ravan

  Took with him the base Marichi,

  Who immediately assumed the false form of a kurang deer.

  Through deceit and subterfuge the fool carried off Vaidehi—xlii

  He did not know the Lord’s great power.

  After killing the deer, Hari returned with his brother—

  Upon seeing his empty hermitage, his eyes filled with tears.

  Raghurai was distracted with grief like a mortal man,

  And the two brothers wandered through the forest, searching for her.

  He, for whom there is no union and no parting,

  Showed the grief of separation from his beloved.

  Very mysterious are Raghupati’s deeds—

  Only the most enlightened understand them;

  Those who are dull of wit and in the grip of illusion,

  Take some other, quite different meaning in their hearts.

  (49)

  It was then that Shambhu saw Ram—

  In his heart arose joy extraordinary,

  And he gazed his fill upon that ocean of grace and beauty.

  Knowing that it was an inappropriate moment, he did not make himself known,

  Instead, saying only, ‘Hail Supreme Spirit, Sachchidanand,43 redeemer of the universe!’

  The destroyer of the heartborn god of love passed by.

  As Shiv with Sati continued on his way,

  He, the abode of compassion, was again and again overcome with joy.

  When Sati saw Shambhu in this state,

  A great doubt arose in her heart—

  ‘Shankar is adored by the whole world, he is Jagadish, lord of the universe,

  Gods, men and munis, all bow their heads to him,

  And yet he saluted this king’s son,

  Hailed him as the Supreme Spirit and the saviour of the world,

  And upon beholding his beauty he has become so enraptured

  That even now he cannot contain the love he feels within his heart.

  The Supreme Spirit, all-pervading, passionless, uncreated,

  Who is unitary, without desire, without duality,

  Which even the Vedas cannot comprehend—

  Can it take on bodily form as a man?

  (50)

  Vishnu, who for the benefit of the gods, takes on human form,