Ramanisblog

Tag: Balakanda

  • Sitas Birth Place Punaura Dham Sitamarhi Haleshwarnath

    Sita, wife of Lord Rama, without whom the Greatness of Rama would not have been possible was born in Sitamarhi,India.

    Rama Breaks the Bow.jpg
    Rama Breaks the Bow , marries Sita.

    However there are disputes regarding this issue.

    Punaura Dham,Sita Marhi,Birth Place of Sita.gif
    Punaura Dham,Sita Marhi,Birth Place of Sita.

     

    Sitamarhi, Birth Place of Sita.jpg
    Punaura Dham, is about 5 Kms. west of Sitamarhi. Saint Pundrik’s Ashram was situated here. This place also claims the honour of being the birth place of Hindu Goddess, Sita.
    Sita's Birth Place.jpg
    About 1.5 Kms. Off he railway station and the bus stand, this is the birth place of Sita. Janaki-Kund is adjacent south of the temple.

    Though there are differnt versions about Sita’s birth, I shall be taking the version of Valmiki and Kamban in Tamil, where it is stated that Sita was born in a Field when King Janaka was ploughing the field.

    As for as Ramayana is concerned Valmikis version is accepted as authentic as it is Original and more pertinently Valmiki lived during Rama’s Reign and helped Sita deliver Her Children Lava and Kusa in his Ashram.

    Here is a Temple , dedicated to Shiva, constrcuted by Janaka, father of Sita,on the occasion of Putra Yeshti Yajna. His temple was named as Haleshwarnath temple.

    This is Haleshwarnath temple.

    This is 3 Kms. noth-west of Sitamarhi.

    Sita Marhi is also the place where Draupadi was Born.

    Sita was carried ina Palanquin from here in Sitamarhi.gif
    It is 8 Kms. north-east of Sitamarhi. It is said that after her marriage, sita was carried in a palanquin to Ayodhya by this route. An old Banyan tree is still standing here under which she is said to have rested for a while..

    Bodhayan-Sar

    This is the sacred place where Maharishi Bodhaya had written number of epics.

    Bohodayana authored the sutras for the Vedas.

    The great sanskrit Grammarian Panini was one of his disciples.

     

    How To Reach Sitamarhi.

    National Highway 77 connects the area to the Muzaffarpur district and Patna to the south. Sitamarhi has road connections to adjoining districts, of which the major examples are National Highway 77 and National Highway 104. State highways link it toMadhubani district in the east and Sheohar in the west.

    Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi railway junction to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Kanpur.

    The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport which is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) distant.

    Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Some private buses operate between Patna to Sitamarhi and Paktola Village to Patna.

    Citation.

    http://sitamarhi.bih.nic.in/documents/tourism.htm

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita#Bi

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  • Ramayana In The Rig Veda

    In terms of Time Ramayana took place after the Vedas.

     

    Lord Rama.jpg.
    Lord Rama.

     

    However there is a view that The Ramayana was during the close of the final portions of the Vedas.

     

    Krita Yuga,also called the Satya Yuga, which preceded the Treta Yuga when Ramayana took place.

     

    It was considered to be perfect Yuga where people were Righteous to the core.

     

    People had a Life span of 100,000 years.

     

    There is no Avatar as there was no necessity.

     

    But the question remains as to who were these people in this Yuga and where does Daksha fit in.

     

    Now on to the Rig Veda and the Ramayana.

     

    It will be an internal contradiction to have Ramayana quoted in the Rig Veda as Ramayana was later to Vedas.

     

    Even if we accept the view that the Ramayana happened during the closing years of the Vedas, then what about yajur Veda which was practised in the Ramayana.

     

    This can be resolved only if all the Vedas were grasped at the same time..

     

    However there is reference  to Ramayana and Rama in the Rig Veda.

     

    There is a Rama Rahasya Upanishad in the Vedas.

     

    Please read my post on this.

     

    There is also a verse in the Rig Veda on the name Rama.

     

    “14 This to Duḥśīma Pṛthavāna have I sung, to Vena, Rama, to the nobles, and the King.
    They yoked five hundred, and their love of us was famed upon their way.
    15 Besides, they showed us seven-and-seventy horses here.
    Tānva at once displayed his gift, Pārthya at once displayed his gift; and straightway Māyava showed his.” XCIII Visvedevas.

    Vena is the ancestor of Rama.

    In the absence of Dasaratha reference, some dispute the name Rama as the Rama of Ramayana.

     

    There is an interesting  note found in the Bala Kanda of Ramayana.

     

    Valmiki wrote that he wrote the Ramayana to expound The Vedas.

     

    “kushiilavau tu dharmaGYau raajaputrau yashasvinau |
    bhraatarau svarasampannau dadarsha aashramavaasinau ||
    sa tu medhaavinau dR^ishhTvaa vedeShu pariniShThitau |
    vedopabR^ihmaNaarthaaya taavagraahayata prabhuh ||
    kaavyaM raamaayaNaM kR^itsnaM siitaayaashcharitaM mahat.h|
    paulastya vadhamityeva chakaara charitavrataH||

    (vAlmIki-rAmAyaNa–bAlakANDa 1.4.5-7)

    The princes, the brothers, Kusha and Lava, were knowledgeable about Dharma and were glorious. Their voices were melodious and they lived in the hermitage of (vAlmIki). He (vAlmIki), established in good deeds, observed those two extremely intelligent (princes), skilled in the Vedas, and for the sake of expounding the Vedas, he composed and made them study the poem sampUrNa-rAmAyaNa (the entire rAmAyaNa) (containing) the great story of sItA and the slaying of rAvaNa.

    These verses from the vAlmIki-rAmAyaNa clearly show that the sage vAlmIki composed the rAmAyaNa to expound the meaning of the Vedas.

    Since rAmAyaNa is based on the Vedas, there must be mantras in the Vedas that correspond to the immortal story of rAma. It is with this objective that nIlakaNTha, the great commentator on the mahAbhArata, has presented, with his own wonderful commentary, the mantra-rAmAyaNa. The mantra-rAmAyaNa is a compilation of Riks from the R^ig Veda that narrate the story of rAma or the rAmAyaNa.”…

     

    For this reason, vAlmIki bases the twenty-four thousand verses of the rAmAyaNa on the twenty-four akshhara’s (syllables) of the gAyatrI mantra (of the Vedas).

    nIlakaNTha quotes from the agastya-saMhitA to further support the fact that the rAmAyaNa story is drawn from the Vedas:

    vedavedaye pare puMsi jAte dasharathAtmaje |
    vedaH prAchetasAdAsIt.h sAxAdrAmAyaNAtmanA |
    tasmAdrAmAyaNaM devi veda eva na saMshayaH ||…

     

    http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/articles/rig_vedic_ramayana/rig_vedic_ramayana-1.htm

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  • Rama Breaks Shiva Dhanus Pranava OM Reverberates

    Lord Ram, as ordained by his father Dasaratha, at the behest of Janaka, Father of Seetha, takes the Shiva Dhanus playfully in his hands, which as a child

    Seehta  too lifted playfully when she was a child, strings it and it breaks.

     

    Rama breaks Shiva Dhanus, Ravi Verma painting.Image.jpg.
    Rama breaks Shiva Dhanus, Ravi Verma painting. image from wiki.

     

     

    What is the size, measurement of this Shiva Dhanus?

     

    “A bow has a definite height and it is a measure of length, from the ages even up to the age Kautilya, who gave many accounts for weights and measures, in his ‘Artha Shaastra’ a Penguin re-publication.

     

    Four aratni-s cubits are one dhanu, a bow-length, where one aratni is 18 inches, thus a bow-length is 6 feet and above, taking the standard size of archer as a six-footer and a little above.

     

    The bow’s height is the height of the archer plus one measure of his head’s height, as the upper end has to tower the archer’s head.

     

    That being so, this bow belongs to Shiva and its height must be placed more than the human measure of 6 feet, and then it must be some 8 to 10 feet.

     

    And ‘Rama is no crane-legged boy, as his physique is sad to be of ‘medium’ size, and then how a boy of, say of 4, 41/2 feet, could catch the upper end of 8-10 feet bow to bend it…’ is the objection.

     

    An archer has to stand the bow on ground, clutch its lower end under big toe, and with one hand, he has to bend it, while with the other he catches the bowstring to string the other end.

     

    He is not supposed to handle it like a holdall or a briefcase. For this objection it is said in a way that the poet is using the adjectivemahaatmaa to Rama, ‘ an unfathomable one with an equally unfathomable soul… inasmuch as his duty is concerned…’ The minute he touched the bow, it became a spongy stick and it listened to him and bent as he wished.

     

    Other way round, Rama is an ambidextrous archer and furthered is his skill by his possession of some divine missiles as given by Vishvamitra.

     

    Hence, his dexterity is now multiplied and he can handle any divine or human bow ‘effortlessly.”

     

    The action of Sri Ramachandra was so swift that Kamban in Tamil Kambaramayanam describes it best,

     

    ‘எடுத்தது கண்டார் ;இற்றது கேட்டார் .”

     

    “people saw the Lifting of the Bow, then heard the sound of it breaking’

     

    What was the sound like?

     

    Valmiki describes it thus in Bala Kanda Sarga 67.

     

    “Further, that dextrous one has stringed that bow with bowstring and started to stretch it up to his ear to examine its tautness, but that glorious one who is foremost among men, Rama, broke that bow medially…

     

    Then there bechanced an explosive explosion when the bow is broken, like the explosiveness of down plunging thunder, and the earth is tremulously tremulous, as it happens when a mountain is exploding.”

     

     

    ”

    Bewildered by that raucous caused by the breakage of bow, all the people swooned, except for that eminent-saint Vishvamitra, king Janaka, and those two Raghava-s, namely Rama and Lakshmana. While the people are being reaccustomed after their undergoing the shock, at that moment that sententious king Janaka, whose discomfiture has completely departed by now has said this to the eminent-saint Vishvamitra with a reverent palm-fold.

    “Oh, godly sage, the gallantry of Dasharatha’s Rama is evidently seen… and the whys of this boy and wherefores of his stringing that massive bow are unimaginable to me! More so, humans lifting it! How so? This is an unhoped-for incident for me, besides, breaking it! This a is highly wondrous experience for me… My daughter Seetha on getting Dasharatha’s Rama as her husband, she will bring celebrity to the lineage of Janaka-s..”

     

    There is an interesting explanation about the sound the Shiva Dhanus created while breaking.

     

    ”

    We can write more words for the above sound as, ‘Dhaam, Dhiim, Phut, and DiSkuu…’ etc., as long as thesaurus permit. But all that will be nonsensical.

    An ear-splitting sound has come but it is “OM” the auspicious sonus prima grata, produced once upon a time by Shiva’s drum, in order to emanate words through maheshvara suutraaNi, which were unintelligible even for the sages like Sanaka, Sananda, Sanat Kumaara et al., and which were deciphered by Nandi, the Holy Bull vehicle of Shiva, to those sages.

    Here it is Shiva’s bow and name of Shiva and all letters that attaches to Him are sha.m, sha.nkara, sha.mbhava, are peace-making letters, as codified in ˜um nama× þambhave ca mayo bhave ca nama× þaðkar˜ya ca mayaskar˜ya ca nama× þiv˜ya ca þivatar˜ya ca | – rudram – soma s¨kta – yajur ( Sri Rudram)

    Hence the real sound of Om is audible and it is ear-splitting for ordinary audience, since ordinary people cannot possibly face realities, and it is a regularly audible sound for the other four who have not swooned.

    By the way, it will be impossible for us to listen the chanting of Veda-s, even in these days, in any Vedic school for at least half an hour, as our ears are untuned to their ghana paaTha or jaTa or other sorts of chanting.

    We feel stranded in some audio studio with fully loaded sound FX.

    And the pacemaker Rama lifted the bow of the peacemaker Shiva, where the bow itself is “Om”.

    The legendary Indian bow is composed of three parts, unlike Robin Hood’s single-piece bow.

    The lower bowing part, upper bowing part combined by a grip handle, and the bowstring.

    The three pieces are comparable to the three letters syllabified “Om” – a u ma, where a is upper bowing piece of bow,u, the lower end, and ma, the bowstring.

    The painters usually paint this bow-breaking scene, where Rama will be still handling the upper end in his hand, while the lower part will be falling, and the bowstring will be still dangling onto the upper end.

    The upper part of bow is a and this a is Vishnu akaara artho viSNuH, and the dangling bowstring is ma Goddess Lakshmi, loka maataa maa ramaa mangala devataa, dangling on the Supreme Person through thick and thin, and the detached-un-detached lower end is u, Lakshmana, or any other adherer.

    A lengthy account of this trilogy is provided in Aranya Kanda, Ch. 11, first verse.

    And the pacemaker Rama is marrying the world with peace, by stringing the bowstring of peacemaker’s bow, and it is not a mere marriage of some prince charming, with a charmy princess.

    Thus, this sound is the initial impact, impetus, brunt, or whatever, for universal peace, and that way this marriage attains a legendary significance in peace process, though by force”

    Citation.

    Bala Kanda of Valmiki Ramayan

     

     

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  • Sita Rama Kalyana Rama and Lakshmana Broke the Bow

    Normally we understand that Lord Rama broke the Shiva dhanus in the Swayamvar of Sita in Mithila, in the Valmiki Ramayana.

     

    Yet in the Bala Kanda Valimiki describes and reports compliments both to Ram and Lakshmana for having broken the Shiva Dhanus(Shiva’s Bow).

     

     

    Lord Rama breaks the Bow marries Sita.Image.Jpg.
    Lord Rama breaks the Bow marries Sita. Image Credit.http://srimadhvyasa.files.wordpress.com/

     

    Though Rama alone broke the bow of Shiva, both Rama and Lakshmana are said to have done it.

     

    This is a common unified laudation used for both of them, in view of their insuperable brotherhood, and such a sort of commingling both, for one person’s action, can be heard often. For e.g., when Lakshmana misshapes Shuurpanakha, Rama is said to have done, and even both are said to have done that act.

     

     

    uvaaca vacanam shreSTho narashreSTham mudaa anvitam |
    svaagatam te narashreSThaH diSTyaa praapto asi raaghava || 1-69-9
    putrayoH ubhayoH priitim lapsyase viirya nirjitaam |

     

     

    And the best one among men, king Janaka, gleefully said this commendable sentence to Dasharatha, the best legatee of Raghu, “oh, king, a hearty welcome to you. Oh, legatee of Ragu, your arrival to my city is just by my providence… you will now get delectation on seeing your sons who won accolades just by their valorousness in the act of raising and breaking Shiva’s bow… [1-69-9, 10a]

     

    This is How Rama Broke the Shiva Dhanus to marry Sita.

     

    baaDham iti eva tam raajaa muniH ca samabhaaSata |
    liilayaa sa dhanur madhye jagraaha vacanaat muneH || 1-67-15

    15. raajaa muniH ca= king, saint, also; baaDham= All right!; iti eva= thus, only; tam sam abhaaSata= to him – to Rama, equally [in chorus,] said; saH muneH vacanaat= he Rama, upon the word, of sage; dhanuH madhye liilayaa jagraaha= bow, at its middle [grasping at middle handgrip of bow,] playfully, grabbed.

    “All Right!” said the saint and king to Rama in chorus, and Rama upon the word of the sage grasping it at the middle handgrip playfully grabbed the bow. [1-67-15]

    pashyataam nR^i sahasraaNaam bahuunaam raghuna.ndanaH |
    aaropayat sa dharmaatmaa sa liilam iva tat dhanuH || 1-67-16

    16. dharmaatmaa saH raghu nandanaH= virtue souled one [right-minded,] he, that Raghu’s, legatee – Rama; bahuunaam nR^i sahasraaNaam pashyataam= many, people, thousands of, while witnessing; tat dhanuH= that, bow; sa liilam iva= with, friskiness [friskily, effortlessly] as though; aaropayat= stringed the bow to take aim.

    While many thousands of men are witnessing that right-minded Rama the legatee of Raghu stringed the bow effortlessly. [1-67-16]

    tat babha.nja dhanur madhye narashreSTho mahaayashaaH || 1-67-17

    17. viiryavaan= dextrous one; maurviim aaropayitvaa ca= bowstring, having stringed, further; puurayaamaasa= started to stretch the bowstring [up to his ear to see its tautness]; then; mahaayashaaH narashreSThaH= glorious one, the one best among men; tat dhanuH madhye babhanja= that, bow, medially, he broke.

    Further, that dextrous one has stringed that bow with bowstring and started to stretch it up to his ear to examine its tautness, but that glorious one who is foremost among men, Rama, broke that bow medially. [1-67-17]

    tasya shabdo mahaan aasiit nir.hghaata sama niHsvanaH |
    bhuumi ka.mpaH ca sumahaan parvatasya iva diiryataH || 1-67-18

    18. tasya shabdaH= its [breakage’s,] sound [explosion]; nir ghaata= down, plunging [thunder]; sama= equal to; niH svanaH= out, bursting [explosiveness]; mahaan aasiit= great [explosive,] is there [bechanced]; parvatasya diiryataH iva= of mountain, exploding, like [as it happens]; su mahaan= very, great [tremulously]; bhuumi kampaH ca= earth, tremulous, also – has happened.

    Then there bechanced an explosive explosion when the bow is broken, like the explosiveness of down plunging thunder, and the earth is tremulously tremulous, as it happens when a mountain is exploding. [1-67-18]

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