Topics for discussion: Valmiki's style, Rama's love for Sita, Rama's neglect of Lakshmana
Volume 5 i.e. Book of Beauty or the SundarA kAnDA
Chapter 66 i.e. sarga 66
Verse 15 or SlOka 15
5-66-15
madhurA madhura AlApA
kim Aha mama bhAminI
mat vihInaa varArohA
hanuman kathayasva mE.
5-66-12
katham sA mama sushroNi
bhIru bhIruH satI tadA
bhaya AvahAnAm ghoraaNaam
madhyE tiShThati rakShasAm.
CONTEXT
Demon rAvaNa abducted SItA and kept her in lanka.
With the help of SugrIva (the king of forest-dwellers), rAma sent SugrIvA's minister to search for SItA.
hanumAn found her in lanka and came back with the happy news.
He presented to rAma a head jewel given by SItA, as a token of his visit.
Now, rAma was asking hanumAn what was SItA's message to him.
rAmA and vAlmiki used all the 15 verses in the chApter to describe rAmA's anxiety and eagerness.
Explanation by Ybrao a donkey
rAmA is often described by temple preachers as 'maryAda purushOttama, i.e. the best of men with the best etiquette and manners.
In the first verse quoted above, rAma was enquiring from hanumAn, how his SItA "varArOhiNI" (lady of good hips) was?
In the second verse quoted above, rAma was enquiring from hanumAn, how his shy and timid SItA "suSrONI" (lady of good limbs) was able to sit in the midst of fierce demons?
Even as a great king of ikshvAku dynasty and as incarnation of the supreme Godhead, rAmA should have had great composure, deportment, and emotional equilibrium. We expect these traits from him because he heard 40,000 verses yOga vASishTham (also called vaSishTha gIta) from ikshvAku guru vaSishTha, which is regarded as one of the greatest treatises of Hindu philosophy. Otherwise, what is the use of hearing to 40,000 verses? A sumati Satakam of 100 verses or bhartruhari subhAsita triSati of 300 verses would have been sufficient.
IN the first verse of this chapter, vAlmiki used the verb 'prarurOda' (wept). (rAma wept on seeing the jewel.).
In the second verse, you will find "shoka karshitaH , netraabhyaam ashru pUrNAbhyAm". He was grief-filled. His eyes were full of tears.
Temple preachers and swAmIjIs will say that rAmA's love for SItA was so great, that he had tears in his eyes. The same gentleman would not hesitate to ask Sita to go with SugrIva or vibhIshaNa or lakshmaNa or anybody she liked, because his aim in rescuing her from rAvaNa's captiviity was just to show that he was not timid and to prove his ability. The same gentleman asked lakshmaNa to abandon her in forest,
without even telling her that she was being abandoned.
Even while shedding tears, rAma did not forget SItA's limbs and hips.
2 comments:
Sir, You are doing a great job of analysing the writings of Valmiki Ramayana. A cursory look at the protagonist Rama from a purely secular and litarary point of view would reveal that he is not a hero material. He is a sorry sissy. That much we the educated people of this generation can agree upon. You do not even have to go outside the Hindu religion to come to this comparison. Legendary Karna, even tricky Krishna, are way higher than our Rama in projecting great human and divine qualities. During the engagement ceremony of my daughter, the priest gave the traditional benediction invoking the engagement of Rama, how the pearls glistened etc. Very charming indeed. I am a god fearing person. But I thought to myself, O fate! why my daughter should go through the comparison and possible abuse that Sita went through this male chauvnist pig? I think as time passes, Rama worship will go down. Andhra's are in a dark phase engulfed by greed. I always pray for their upliftment.
Please respond.
I agree with you in toto. I greatly appreciate your secular approach. About responding: your comment has opened up a new-line of thinking in my mind. I need sometime to elaborate them. I shall respond in depth shortly.
I am, at present, trying to produce a pdf version of the posts already made, to make a free book suitable for printing / download.
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