Hari Aum.
Om Sri Ramayah Namah.
In recent posts, we studied the reasons for the manifestation of the Rama avatar of Narayana and the manner in which this took place. Let us now continue further and examine some of the childhood Lilas of Sri Rama.
Sage Valmiki writes that King Dasharatha and his Queens provided their four sons every possible love and care. Their sons, in turn, were extremely loving and obedient towards their parents.
The boys were educated in a wide variety of subjects, both material and spiritual, by various teachers and this was overseen by the family Guru, the great sage Vasistha.
Their parents were very pleased to see that they demonstrated exceptional excellence in their studies and were obedient to their elders and teachers.
Being born in the warrior clan (or kshatriyas in Sanskrit), whose duty is to protect the good and defend the land from evil, there was a special emphasis on all aspects of warfare ranging from the skill in archery and other weapons, to managing the various components of an army (such as the soldiers, horses, elephants, chariots and so on). They were also taught in great detail about all matters related to running a country (including the principles of statecraft, management of wealth, principles of justice and so on).
King Dasharatha and his Queens were particularly glad to observe that the brothers were extremely loving and loyal towards each other. They ate, slept, played and studied together and were rarely a moment apart.
Although there was great love between all four of them, there was a special bond between Rama and Lakshmana, and between Bharata and Shatrughna. Wherever Rama went, Lakshmana would follow, like a faithful shadow, ever intent upon serving Him.
Thus, King Dasharatha was very happy as he observed his children grow up into excellent young people. He praised the Divine for granting him such a wonderful blessing. Although the King loved each one of his sons very dearly, he felt a particularly intense love for Sri Rama.
Sri Rama was the embodiment of dharma, or righteousness. His father noted that He seemed to manifest every good quality to the maximum degree. He seemed ever intent upon serving both family and country. His father thus felt great satisfaction and happiness observing Him.
As time passed, the King reflected that, since his sons had now nearly completed their education, it was time to give some consideration to the next stage of their lives, namely that of marriage! He decided to discuss this matter with his Guru, relatives, council of ministers and courtiers. One day, while speaking with them regarding this matter, a messenger appeared in the courtroom before him.
The messenger informed the King that the highly illustrious sage Vishvamitra had arrived at the palace gates and desired an audience with him.
As it was a rare blessing to be visited upon by such a great sage, King Dasharatha arose at once from his throne and hastened to the gates to welcome him. He reverentially bowed before the sage and then greeted him warmly. He declared that he felt greatly blessed by sage's visit.
Dasharatha ensured that his noble guest was received with all the honour due to him. Then, (assuming that the sage had visited him for a reason), he declared that he would be delighted to serve him in whatever way possible and fulfil the purpose for the visit. The King praised sage Vishvamitra in many ways saying that his ascetism and excellences were widely known and that he and his entire family were greatly blessed by his vision.
The sage was very pleased by this appropriately respectful reception by the King. He was particularly gratified to hear him state that he was ready to grant him whatever he wished for. Praising the King in turn for his many excellences as a leader, he proceeded to explain the reason for his visit.
Vishvamitra then told King Dasharatha that he had come seeking Rama. He needed the help of Rama to destroy some demonic beings who were troubling him and other sages in the forest. They were unable to perform their spiritual practices (particularly the sacred fire ceremonies) due to the malevolent acts of these wicked beings (who were in the habit of throwing impure substances onto the fire thus rendering it unfit for use).
Declaring that nobody but Rama could defeat the demonic beings, the sage requested the King to permit him to borrow Him for ten days to accomplish this task (unlike Dasharatha, Vishvamitra knew of course that Rama was an avatar of Narayana).
King Dasharatha, upon hearing these words of the sage, underwent a complete transformation! His hitherto cheerful and exuberant countenance was replaced by an ashen and cheerless one. He was filled with an intense and unknown fear, and this caused him to feel extremely dizzy and unwell. He actually lost consciousness briefly and upon regaining this, was filled again with a terrible sense of dread.
Seeing the sage before him awaiting his reply, the King summoned all his strength and spoke the following words (somewhat incoherently due to his anxiety!):
"I cannot part with my son, Rama", he said. "He is barely sixteen years of age and not capable of fighting demons! Instead, I myself, accompanied by a sizeable section of my army, shall accompany you to the forest and accomplish your task".
"My son is yet a child, He is not yet experienced in warfare. He does not currently have the knowledge of weapons required to deal with demons who are known for their use of deception and special powers in battle. I therefore do not feel my son can be of any help to you and you should not take Him away".
"If you insist on taking Him, I will also accompany you with a large army. Please tell me about these demonic beings who are to be vanquished. What are their names and origin? What powers do they have and by what methods can they be defeated? I must know all of this to be able to assist you along with my son Rama."
Hearing these words, the sage replied as follows:
"The source of the difficulty is a demonic being called Ravana. He has performed ascetic practices and thus obtained great power. He oppresses living creatures all over the cosmos and cannot be defeated by the demi-gods or any other celestial being. Human beings alone may be able to defeat him. He has sent two of his clan, the mighty demons Maricha and Subahu, to trouble us ascetics in the forest. It is these two demons who need to be vanquished!"
Now, King Dasharatha was a highly experienced and courageous warrior whose help the demi-gods had sought on many an occasion to battle the demons. He was not a man to shy away from battle but even he trembled upon hearing these words of the sage. He was well-aware of Ravana's reputation, of his cruelty, savagery and tremendous powers. He felt that any attempt to defeat Ravana's fellow demons could potentially be an invitation to battle the demon-king himself!
Therefore, in a trembling voice, he said:
"O sage, I am no match for Ravana and neither is my son Rama. I do not have the ability to counter that extremely powerful and wicked demon. And, my beloved son, Rama, is dearer to me than my own life. He is the apple of my eye and my most precious child. Under no circumstances, shall I ever consent to send my beloved boy to be slaughtered by that monster! As you have said yourself, Ravana cannot be defeated by any demi-god, demon or other celestial being. What then can we mere human beings be expected to do!"
"If you insist, I can come myself with my army and try my best to defeat the demons who are troubling the sages in the forest. But I will never permit my darling Rama to go anywhere near those vile demons, filled with great cruelty and delusive powers (Maya)! I absolutely refuse to give you my son for this dreadful purpose!"
Like King Dasharatha, sage Vishvamitra's countenance also now underwent a complete transformation. The benign, kindly, smiling sage was gone and in his place, appeared an incarnation of divine wrath (Valmiki says he resembled an enormous blazing sacred fire)!
Vishvamitra, highly incensed by the words of the King, now addressed him in a thunderous voice:
"O King!", he said. "Do you presume to go back on the promise that you just made to me! You had said that you would fulfill my wish but now refuse to do so! Your ignoble conduct, breaking your own word, will bring ruin upon your noble family."
"Having broken the code of dharma (truthfulness), you may remain here enjoying the company of your relations. I shall depart now without Rama!"
The entire Earth quaked due to the great anger of Vishvamitra and the demi-gods were gripped with fear.
At this critical moment, the Guru of Dasharatha, sage Vasistha, who was equal in every way to Vishvamitra in asceticism and power, intervened. He began by admonishing the King and reminding him of the vital importance of adhering to dharma (righteousness). He warned the King that all his spiritual practices and noble deeds would come to naught if he refused to be true and keep his word to the sage.
Then to pacify the mind of the King who appeared highly agitated, he spoke the following soothing words:
"O King!" he said, "Fear not, for Rama shall come to no harm. Sage Vishvamitra is unparalleled in his knowledge of asceticism as well as weaponry (as he was a rare instance of a powerful king who had become a sage). He knows the secret of many divine weapons that are harnessed through the use of mantras; these have been taught to him by none other than Lord Shiva Himself!"
"Although perfectly capable of handling these demons in the forests on his own, he has come here only to bless your family and Rama. Let Rama go with him! He will learn much from Vishvamitra. He will acquire much power and knowledge of divine weapons that will serve him well in the future. You may rest assured that no harm will come to your son Rama as He will be protected at all times by sage Vishvamitra!"
Upon hearing these reassuring words from his Guru, King Dasharatha felt much better. The terrible fear that had gripped him departed and he felt joyful again.
Without any further delay, he proceeded to summon his son Rama to the courtroom. Rama then arrived accompanied by Lakshmana who was always with Him.
"My dearest son!" said Dasharatha, embracing Rama closely. "I desire You to go now with sage Vishvamitra to the forests to serve him for some time. You must be ever obedient and follow his every command!"
Rama, ever dutiful, immediately bowed before His father and agreed to act in accordance with his wishes. He was then blessed by His parents, the family Guru, Vasistha, and placed under the tutelage of Vishvamitra.
Sage Vishvamitra, accompanied by Rama and Lakshmana, now left the palace. The sage walked ahead, while Rama walked respectfully behind him. And, Lakshmana, in turn, walked respectfully behind Him!
At the sight of the two Princes walking behind the sage, armed with their weapons, and embarking upon their first battle against the demons, the demi-gods in the heavens rejoiced greatly!
They played celestial music, beat divine drums and showered countless flowers upon the Earth to celebrate this auspicious event. A cool and pleasant breeze began to blow and the whole of Nature became exceedingly calm and peaceful.
This concludes the description of the childhood and early youth of the sons of Dasharatha, and the commencement of the work of the Rama avatar!
To be continued......
Om Sri Rama, Jaya Rama, Jaya Jaya Rama.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
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