The Ramcharitmanas 2
Page 29
His eyes filling with tears, Raghurai replied,
‘Sire, you have attained salvation through your actions.
There is nothing in this world that is unattainable
For those in whose hearts abides the good of others.
Giving up your body, sire, enter into my realm—
What more can I give you, who have fulfilled all your desires?
But sire, reaching there, do not tell my father
About Sita’s abduction.
If I am indeed Ram, Dashanan himself
With all his clan, will go there and tell him of it.’
(31)
Jatayu gave up his vulture’s body and took on Hari’s form,
Adorned with jewels and attired in yellow robes of matchless splendour,
With dark-hued body, and four mighty arms,
And his eyes full of tears, he sang this song of praise.
Glory to Ram, of incomparable beauty,
Formless, embodied, the true impeller of all the gunas,
The ornament of the earth,
Whose fierce arrows cut to pieces Dashashish’s dreadful arms.
With his body dark as a raincloud, his lotus face,
And large, lotus eyes,
I unceasingly worship Ram, the compassionate,
The long-armed one, who destroys the fear of rebirth.
Of immeasurable strength, without beginning, unborn, the one,
Without form, imperceptible, transcending the senses,
But attainable through the songs of the Vedas, the remover of dualities,
The sum of all wisdom, upholder of the earth,
And bestower of joy upon the countless saints and devotees
Who repeat the mantra of Ram’s name—
I unceasingly worship Ram, who loves and is loved by those free from desire,
And holds in contempt lust and the multitude of other sins.
He whom the Vedas praise as free from delusion, the Absolute,
The all-pervading brahm, passionless, unborn,
To whom the munis attain through infinite contemplation, spiritual knowledge,
And the practice of detachment and rigorous penance and self-discipline—
That accumulation of compassion and beauty has become manifest
To captivate and enchant all creation, animate and inanimate.
He is the bee in the lotus of my heart, and his limbs are radiant
With the beauty of countless gods of love.
He who is at once inaccessible and accessible, inherently pure,
Partial and impartial, and always calm and tranquil,
Whom the ascetics perceive only with great and tireless effort
Upon subduing their minds and senses—
That Ram, who dwells in Ramaa’s heart,
Who is the lord of the three worlds and ever subject to his devotees,
May he reside in my heart, he, whose pure renown
Destroys the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Asking for the boon of uninterrupted devotion,
The vulture ascended to Hari’s realm.
Ram, with his own hands, performed
His last rites in the proper manner.
(32)
Exceedingly soft-hearted and compassionate to the humble,
Raghunath, who is gracious even to the undeserving,
Bestowed upon a vulture, an impure, flesh-eating bird,
That state of salvation which ascetics desire.
Listen, Uma, unfortunate are those
Who abandon Hari and become attached to worldly pleasures.
The two brothers once again set off in search of Sita,
Noticing how the forest grew thicker as they went.
That forest was dense with creepers and trees,
And home to many birds, deer, elephants and lions.
Along the way they killed the Rakshasa Kabandh,
Who related the full story of his curse.
‘Rishi Durvasa had cursed me,
But now, upon seeing the Lord’s feet, my sin has been wiped out.’11
‘Listen, Gandharva, I tell you this—
I do not like those who are hostile to Brahmans.
He who, abandoning deceit, in thought, word and deed
Serves these gods upon earth,
Makes subject to himself, along with me, Viranchi, Shiv
And all the other gods.
(33)
Whether he curse or beat or hurl abuse,
A Brahman is worthy of worship—so declare the saints.
A Brahman must be revered, though devoid of goodness and virtue,
But a Shudra never, though learned and wise and possessing every virtue.’
So saying, the Lord explained to him his own doctrine
And was pleased to see his love for his feet.
The Gandharva bowed his head at Raghupati’s lotus feet
And rose into the sky, having regained his own form.
The generous Ram, having given him back his Gandharva form,
Turned his feet towards Sabari’s hermitage.
When Sabari saw that Ram had come to her home,
She remembered Muni Matanga’s words and rejoiced.12
With lotus eyes, long arms,
Crowns of matted hair upon their heads, upon their breasts garlands of wildflowers,
One dark-complexioned, the other fair, were the two handsome brothers.
Sabari fell and clung to their feet
Immersed in love, she could not speak,
And again and again bowed her head at their lotus feet.
Reverently, she took some water and washed their feet,
And then conducted them to handsome seats.
She brought and gave to Ram the most
Delicious tubers, roots and fruits.
The Lord ate them with love,
Praising them again and again.
(34)
With folded hands, she came and stood before him,
And as she gazed upon the Lord, her love grew even greater.
‘In what manner shall I sing your praises?
I am of mean descent and very stupid
The lowest of the low, low even amongst women,
And even amongst the lowest of women, O destroyer of evil, I am most dull-witted.’
Said Raghupati, ‘Listen to me, respected lady,
I acknowledge only the kinship of devotion.
Though endowed with caste and class, lineage, religion, rank,
Wealth, power, connections, virtue and ability,
A man without devotion is like a raincloud without water.
I will now explain to you the nine forms of bhakti,
Listen carefully and hold what I say in your mind.
The first form of bhakti is the company of holy men,
The second is love for the stories and legends about me.
Serving the guru’s lotus feet
Without arrogance is the third,
While the fourth form of bhakti is singing
My praises without guile or deceit.
(35)
Repeating the mantra of my name and unshakeable faith in me
Is the fifth form of bhakti, revealed in the Vedas;
The sixth is self-restraint, good conduct, renunciation of the many demands of the world,
And unceasing pursuit of the dharma of the good;
The seventh is seeing the whole world equally full of me
And regarding the saints as being more than me;
The eighth is being content with whatever one receives
And not finding fault in others even in dream;
And the ninth is simplicity and honesty towards all,
Implicit faith in me, and no matter the circumstance, to be neither jubilant nor sad.
Whoever—whether man or woman, animate or inanimate—
Practises even one of these nine forms of devotion,
Is exceedingly dear to me, respected lady,
/> And all these forms of bhakti are unshakeably present in you.
The ultimate state, difficult even for ascetics to attain,
Has today become easily attainable for you.
The fruit, most incomparable, of beholding me
Is that the soul attains its own natural form.
But, dear lady, if you have any tidings of Janak’s daughter,
That most graceful one, tell me all that you know.’
‘Go to the Pampa Lake, Raghurai,
And there make friends with Sugriv—
He will tell you all, divine Lord Raghubir.
You, of steadfast mind, know everything, yet you ask me!’
Again and again she bowed her head at the Lord’s feet,
And lovingly told him her whole story.
After relating her whole story, she gazed upon the Lord’s countenance
And took his lotus feet into her heart.
Abandoning her body in yogic fire,
She became absorbed in Hari’s state, from which there is no return.
Men, your varied activities, your sins, your many creeds—
These give rise to sorrow, abandon them,
And with true faith be devoted to Ram’s feet—
So says Tulsidas.
The divine one who bestowed salvation even upon
A woman without caste, and of low and sinful birth—
O foolish heart, do you seek bliss
By forgetting such a Lord?
(36)
Ram left that forest and they continued on their way,
Two lions amongst men, of matchless strength.
The Lord, lamenting like a grief-stricken lover separated from his beloved,
Related many stories and discoursed on many things.
‘Lakshman, look at the splendour of the forest,
Whose heart will not be moved to look upon it?
The birds and deer, all with their mates,
Seem to reproach and mock me.
When, seeing me, the stags would run away,
The does say, “You have nothing to fear,
So enjoy yourselves, you who are born of deer,
For it is a golden deer that he comes searching for!”
The elephants keep the she-elephants close to them
As though instructing me.
The Shastras, however well studied, must be read again and again,
And a king, however well served, must never be considered under one’s sway.
And though you keep your wife in your heart,
A young woman, like the Shastras and the king, is never under one’s control.
Look, dear brother, how beautiful spring is,
Yet to me, without my beloved, it is frightful.
Thinking that I am distracted with the grief of separation,
And powerless and completely alone,
Madan, with the forest, the honeybees, and the birds
All at once, is attacking me.
(37A)
But his spy, the wind, has seen that I am with my brother,
And taking heed of his report,
The mind-born god of love
Has halted his legions and made camp.
(37B)
The tangled creepers entwined around enormous trees
Seem like the tents and pavilions that he has spread,
While the palms and plantain trees are his noble flags and pennants—
Looking upon these, only the most resolute can resist their beauty.
The many trees blooming with flowers of various kinds,
Are like archers arrayed in livery of many kinds.
Magnificent trees stand resplendent here and there,
Like army commanders severally encamped.
The sweet-voiced kokil’s call is the trumpeting of his fierce war-elephants,
While cranes and coucals are his camels and mules.
Peacocks, chakors and parrots are his noble war-horses,
All pigeons and swans, his Arab steeds,
And quails and partridges his troops of foot soldiers—
Love’s legions are beyond description.
The mountain peaks are his war chariots, waterfalls his war drums,
And chataks the minstrels singing his praises.
The humming honeybees are his bugles and clarinets,
While soft, cool and fragrant breezes blow as his ambassadors.
His fourfold army with him,
He roams around challenging all to battle.
Lakshman, only those who remain steadfast upon beholding Kamdev’s host
Are respected in this world.
Love has one great strength, and that is woman—
The one who can escape her is indeed a mighty warrior!
Dear brother, there are three mighty evils—
Love, anger and greed.
They disturb the hearts of even the wisest munis
In the twinkling of an eye.
(38A)
Greed’s might lies in desire and pride,
Love’s strength is woman alone,
While anger’s power is rough speech—
So the great munis have declared upon reflection.’
(38B)
Transcending the three gunas, and lord of all creation, moving and unmoving,
Ram pervades the inner hearts of all, Uma.
But he displayed the misery of a lover
And strengthened dispassion in the hearts of the resolute.
Anger, love, greed, pride and delusion,
May be got rid of only by Ram’s favour.
He who has the favour of that divine performer,
Never gets lost in his illusion.
Uma, I speak from my own experience—
The worship of Hari is real, and all the world only a dream.
The Lord then went to the shore of that deep
And lovely lake called Pampa.
Its water was as pure as the hearts of holy men,
It had four heart-enchanting ghats,
And drinking at it here and there were animals of various kinds,
Like a crowd of beggars at the home of a generous man.
Under its cover of dense lotus leaves
The water could not be quickly found,
Just as, concealed by maya,
The nirgun brahm cannot be seen.
(39A)
The fish were all uniformly happy
In its exceedingly deep waters
Like the days of the pious,
That pass in tranquillity.
(39B)
Lotuses of many colours opened their petals
While swarms of bees sweetly hummed.
Geese and water-hens called
As though, seeing the Lord, they were praising him.
The flocks of storks, chakravaks,xxxii and other birds
Could only be seen and not described.
The cries of these beautiful birds were very pleasing
And seemed to be calling out to travellers passing by.
Close by the lake, munis had built their hermitages,
And all around were beautiful forest trees.
Champak, bakul, kadamb, tamal
Patal, panas, palash, mango—
The many kinds of trees had put forth new leaves and flowers,
Upon which swarms of bees buzzed and hummed,
While a pleasing breeze blew,
Naturally cool, soft and fragrant.
‘Kuhoo, kuhoo’ the kokils sang—
Hearing their sweet cries even a muni’s meditation would break.
The trees, heavy with fruit
Bowed down low to the ground,
Like generous men who humbly bow
Upon receiving a large fortune.
(40)
When Ram saw this very beautiful lake,
He bathed in it with great joy,
And then, with his younger brother,
Sat down in the pleasing shade of a noble tree.
And after singing his praises, returned to their own abodes.
The compassionate one rested there in supreme delight
And narrated pleasant tales to his younger brother.
When he saw the divine Lord suffering the pain of separation from his beloved,
Narad grew deeply concerned in his heart.
‘He submitted to my curse, and now because of it,
Ram is bearing the weight of so many sorrows.
I must go and look upon such a Lord,
For this chance may never come again.’
Thinking this, Narad, vina in hand,
Went where the Lord sat at ease.
Singing of Ram’s holy acts in a sweet voice,
He lovingly praised him in many ways.
As he reverently prostrated himself, Ram raised him up
And clasped him to his heart again and again.
Asking about his welfare, he seated him by his side,
And Lakshman washed his feet with reverence.
After supplicating him in many ways,
And perceiving that the Lord was pleased in his heart,
Narad folded his lotus hands
And spoke these words:
(41)
‘Listen, Raghunayak, you who are by nature generous,
You are the giver of delightful boons, both otherwise unattainable and attainable.
Grant me this one boon that I ask, master—
Though you already know what it is, for you know the inner secrets of all hearts.’
‘Muni, you know my disposition,
When do I ever conceal anything from my devotees?
What object do I love so much,
That you, noble muni, may not ask it of me?
There is nothing of mine I would not give a devotee,
Never abandon this confidence in me even by mistake.’
Then Narad, rejoicing, said,
‘This is the boon I presume to ask—
Though the names of the divine Lord are many,
And though the Vedas declare that each is greater than the other,
May “Ram” be greater than all the other names, Lord,
The hunter that destroys the flock of birds that is sin.
Devotion to you is a full-moon night—
May the name of Ram be that full moon
And the other names the stars