March 15 - Sargas 52,53,54 and 55 of Uttara Kanda.
Sri Rama cheers up after Lakshmana reports that Devi Sita has been taken into his ashrama by Sage Valmiki.
After some philosophical discussions, Sri Rama tells two stories to Lakshmana of the inviolable primacy of a king's duties towards his citizens and his gurus.
***
After resting overnight on the bank of the Keshini/Gomati, Sumantra drives Lakshmana to Ayodhya by the next evening. The splendid city of pomp and glory welcomes a depressed Lakshmana who makes way to Sri Rama's palace.
Touching Sri Rama's feet, he narrates how he has left Devi Sita close to the ashrama of Sage Valmiki.
***
मा शुचः पुरुषव्याघ्र कालस्य गतिरीदृशी त्वद्विधा न हि शोचन्ति बुद्धिमन्तो मनस्विनः
सर्वे क्षयन्ता निचयाः पतनान्ताः समुच्छ्रयाः सय्ँयोगा विप्रयोगान्ता मरणान्तं च जीवितम्
"Oh, Lord, grieve not, oh tiger among men, this is the course of Destiny. Great leaders like you have to take it in their stride. Is all life not destined such that all wealth, gold, and symbols of prosperity in one's life are bound to perish over time? All relationships end in separation, at least at the moment of death that takes away life itself."
Lakshmana says that one should therefore not become too attached to one's wife, children, and friends, too.
शक्तस्त्वमात्मनात्मानं विनेतुं मनसा मनः लोकान्सर्वांश्च काकुत्स्थ किं पुनः शोकमात्मनः
"Oh, Sri Rama, you are capable of regulating yourself by your Self, your mind by your own mind, and indeed do regulate all the worlds. Therefore, it is not much for you to regulate the sorrow arisen in your mind."
"Sri Rama, you cannot afford to let grief overtake you as it would then invite again public disapprobation that you are so attached to your wife and have collapsed in grief over sending her away to the forest. The very reason, i.e. public disapproval, being afraid of which you have forsaken your wife will be stoked by your grieving. The noble hero that you are, Sri Rama, pull yourself together and stop grieving."
Sri Rama hears Lakshmana, and thanks him for giving him the strength and focus to get over despondency.
***
"Dear Lakshmana, it is nearly impossible to find a brother or a close one like you, who stands by me always in difficulty. You are uniquwith your wisdom and understanding. You are also so diligent in following my orders. I wish to share something now with you, oh, Lakshmana!"
"Lakshmana, for the past four days, I have been totally derelict in attending to the duties of the king towards his subjects. Please summon the citizens, priests, and ministers. And anyone who has issues that need resolution -whether they are women or children too. If a king does not attend to royal duties towards his citizens even for a day, he would plunge into the dungeon of hell with no light or air. Let me tell you a story."
***
"There was once a great king by the name Nriga. He was noble and generous. He gifted ten million cows with ornaments and paraphernalia to brahmins at the holy Pushkara tirtha.
"One milch cow with her calf that belonged to a poor brahmin got mixed up in that lot. Mistakenly, the king gifted that cow away to another brahmin. This poor brahmin was even more destitute now. Starving, he searched everywhere for years till finally he found his cow and calf hale and hearty in another brahmin's house in Kankhila. He called out, "Oh, Shabala!" and his cow left her shed and at once followed the poor brahmin who was radiant with the power of his austerities. The second brahmin who had in fact got the cow as his gift from King Nriga also ran behind. They both landed up at the royal gates seeking a resolution.
"King Nriga did not grant them any audience for several days. Both the brahmins were very angry and with their brahminical power cursed the king: "Oh king, you choose to hide yourself in your palace away from the people who have come with grievances and deserve your attention. May you become a lizard that shrinks from all other creatures. May you live like that in a hole for thousands of years!
"Only Vasudeva, born in the Yadu dynasty, who will indeed be Mahavishnu's avatara, will give you liberation. In fact, as Nara Narayana, Arjuna and Krishna will take birth just at the commencement of Kaliyuga.""
Sri Rama concludes that King Nriga is still suffering under that curse. Lakshmana is intrigued how such a terrible curse was spelt by those brahmins on a trifling misdemeanour. What did the king say in his defence?
Sri Rama continues. "King Nriga called all his citizens and ministers, and said how Sages Narada and Parvata had briefly visited him in his palace and informed him that two brahmins standing outside his gates had cast this terrible curse.
"Thereafter, Nriga crowned his son the King, cautioning him to be diligent in his duties and how such a terrible curse was cast on himself. Nriga got architects to create a subterranean world for himself with rooms for hiding from rain and cold and so on and took the form of the lizard to live underground till his emancipation."
Sri Rama concludes that a King can never be over-vigilant in his duties. Karma from past lives and all our actions will always visit upon us and shape our destiny.
***
Sri Rama sees that Lakshmana is keen on more stories. He narrates now the strange story of King Nimi of Ikshwakus, who built a wonderful city for himself called Vaijayanta.
Nimi once requested formally Sage Vasishtha their kulaguru to officiate in a big yajna. But Sage Vashishtha said he already had a prior commitment to Indra to officiate in his yajna and would therefore undertake Nimi's yajna thereafter. When Sage Vasishtha came back, he came to know that Nimi had actually completed his yajna with sage Gautama and was now asleep. Vasishtha could not control his anger and cursed Nimi: "After inviting me to officiate, you did not wait for me to conduct the yajna. Now you are offending me by sleeping when I have called. You shall die!"
Nimi was woken up and found out how Sage Vasishtha had cursed him to die. He also got angry. "Oh sage, when I am asleep, you did not wait to speak with me or understand my actions but cursed me to die! I therefore curse you in return that you also shall die!"
That's how both Nimi and Vasishtha fell down dead then and there.
(The story continues.)
***
॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
