February 26 - Sargas 17 and 18 of Uttara Kanda.
We read of more atrocities by Ravana, especially of his molesting Vedavati and incurring her curse. This gives rise to the birth of Devi Sita afterward.
***
Ravana roams freely and comes to the foothills of the Himalayas. There he sees a very young, godly, beautiful woman with matted locks wearing deerskin performing austerities. काममोहपरीतात्मा besotted with lust, he approaches her. With a swagger and a laugh of self-confidence, he enquires,
किमिदं वर्तसे भद्रे न हि युक्ता तवैतस्य रूपस्यैवं प्रतिक्रिया
"Why, lady, do you engage in these austerities, unbecoming of a beautiful and young woman like you!?
Abandon this, consider your beauty that ravishes men. Whose wife/woman are you? Who is blessed to enjoy you!? Tell me how you got into this tapas."
The ascetic woman courteously received Ravana and then replied,
कुशध्वजो नाम पिता ब्रह्मर्षिः बुद्धितुल्यो बृहस्पतेः
तस्याहं कुर्वतो नित्यं वेदाभ्यासं महात्मनः
सम्भुता वाङ्मयी कन्या नाम्ना वेदवती स्मृता
पितुस्तु मम जामाता विष्णुः किल सुरेश्वरः
"Oh, Rakshaseshvara! Know me to be the daughter born to the Brahmarshi Kushadhvaja, son of Lord Brahma,and endowed with spiritual wisdom at birth. My name is Vedavati and I learnt the Vedas at my father's feet early.
"Many gods, rakshasas, yakshas, and others approached my father for my hand. But my father wanted only Lord Mahavishnu, the lord of all gods, to be his son-in-law.
"In fact, the king of daityas by the name of Shambhu was angry to be spurned as my suitor by my father and murdered him one night. My mother entered the funeral pyre with my father out of extreme distress. I have now taken a vow that Lord Vishnu alone shall be my husband and hence I am performing this severe tapas to propitiate him. That is the only way I can honour my parents."
आश्रये नियमं घोरं नारायणपरीप्सया
"I have resorted to this severe penance as I desire to obtain the grace of Lord Narayana Mahavishnu."
"Also, Oh son of Paulastya, by my yogic power I know about you already. I know about your tapas and your activities thereafter in the three worlds."
Ravana now alighted from his Pushpaka Vimana and went close to Vedavati, unable to control his lustful attraction to her by the force of Manmatha's effect.
"Oh beautiful woman, only old women should do tapas like this. Your figure and beauty do not suit this. Know how attractive you are! Know that youth passes quickly! I am the supreme lord of rakshasas and rule from Lanka. Become mine, and enjoy queenhood! Whoever is that Vishnu!? In no way can he match me in my prowess, tapas, and luxurious enjoyments."
Vedavati cut him short and simply said, "Just no way!"
"Lord Mahavishnu is the supreme lord of the three worlds. The entire creation runs under his care. Only you, despite your intelligence, would choose to slight him!"
Ravana now suddenly caught Vedavati's long hair. Vedavati burst into extreme rage, and using her hand as a sharp sword, cut off that lock of hair from her body.
She was burning with uncontrollable rage as she set up a funeral pyre. She now spoke: "you despicable rakshasa! You have insulted me. Molested me. Therefore I shall end my life just now on this pyre as you witness it. I shall avenge this by taking birth again just to bring about your death. A woman is physically too frail to kill an evil man like you. I also don't to waste my spiritual energy to kill you. If at all I have followed Truth, Dharma, and asceticism, I shall be born again as a pure and noble woman spiritually, not through a womb, to a great soul, a noble person, and destroy you."
Saying this, Vedavati immolated herself instantly.
Soon, Vedavati was born as a beautiful maiden rising out of a lotus, and that golden lotus found its way to Ravana. Ravana brought the maiden to his palace, without knowing it was Vedavati, with the intention of possessing the maiden. But the moment a wise minister of his saw this woman on the lotus, he told Ravana that the woman spelt death to him and Ravana should at once cast away that lotus. Ravana, frightened, did accordingly. The lotus was cast into the sea, and soon, the lotus and Vedavati on it found a way to rise from the sacred earth in front of King Janaka, and was adopted by him as his divine child.
Sage Agastya tells Sri Rama, "Know, dear Sri Rama, that Sita is none other than Vedavati who is Goddess Lakshmi herself. This was preordained that you should marry Sita and go and kill Ravana to release her from her captivity in Lanka. You are none other than Mahavishnu!"
***
Ravana stuck to his travel plan after his misadventure with Vedavati. Now he saw a king by the name of Maruta performing a great sacrifice. In fact, all the gods were in attendance, given the glory of that king.
But the moment they saw Ravana, all the gods assumed animal forms to save themselves. Indra became a peacock, Yama a crow, Varuna a swan, and Kubera a chameleon.
Ravana challenged King Maruta to battle. King Maruta knew about Ravana and was not scared. When Ravana announced how he had trampled on Kubera, his elder brother, and won boons, the king taunted him most acerbically:
धन्यः खलु भवान् येन ज्येष्ठो भ्राता रणे जितः! कं त्वं केवलं धर्मं चरित्वा लब्धवान् वरम्!
"Oh! You seem to be a really great one to have attacked and defeated your own worthy elder brother! What good deeds of yours would have merited the boons you boast of!?"
As King Maruta got ready to fight, the rishi officiating in the Yajna told the king that it was prohibited to suspend such a yajna midway and go to engage in a violent battle. Such an act of abandoning the yajna would bring him great sin if he were to now go and fight Ravana.
King Maruta had to contain himself and go back to his yajna, ignoring Ravana. Ravana's minister Shuka was on hand. He proclaimed loudly, "So our great monarch Ravana has conquered Maruta, who has surrendered without a fight!" Ravana was most pleased to take over Maruta's kingdom and go onward with his misdeeds.
Now it was the turn of gods to resume their godly forms. They all felt relieved to have got out unhurt from Ravana's attack. So each gave boons to the bird/animal forms they had taken.
Indra blessed the peacock that his one thousand eyes would now reside in the peacock's lovely plumes. So the hitherto blue peacock got his most attractive multicoloured plumes as a boon.
Yama blessed that the crow would live long and be free from any disease, aspects which were the domains of Yama.
Varuna blessed that the swan would become spotlessly white and have magnificent wings and fly in the Himalayas. He would symbolise purity and nobility.
Kubera, the lord of wealth, blessed the chameleon that he would get a golden and silvery crust and shine like no other creature on earth.
The yajna was well celebrated and the gods went away to heaven.
***
॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
