JOURENY OF RAM
YASHWANT KOTHARI
86,LAXMI NAGAR OUT SIDE BRAHMPURI
JAIPUR-302002
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VALMIKI’S RAM (Journey of Ram )
(A NOVEL BASED ON VALMIKI RAMAYAN)
"मां निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः।
यत्क्रौंचमिथुनादेकम् अवधीः काममोहितम्" II
"mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ I
yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam" II
"You will find no rest for the long years of Eternity
For you killed a bird in love and unsuspecting" .
COURTSY Valmiki ramayan
RAM
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‘Hay! site!
Hay site .. e.. e..!!
He seeete s s s!!!
Ram cried . He cried again. Trees, birds, leaves, animals all cried.
Site !where have you gone ?
Lov and Kush were reciting Ram‘s character in a beautiful musical style.
Ram was almost unconscious in the absence of his beloved Sita.
H e started weeping and asked the universe, trees, all directions to gods, Goddesses and everybody , but without reply. He became nervous, depressed, sad and clue less, he could not decide what to do and what not.
Sita has entered in the lap of mother earth, from where she had originated.
Slowly Ram controlled him- self, but still his eyes were full of tears. Ram saw around him. It was a sad seen everywhere, he could think nothing.
I am in deep grief and sorrow, since I have lost my beloved wife S ita before my own eyes. First I lost Sita in Lanka , from there I brought her back-again after defeating Rawan. I will brought her back from mother earth also
Site !
Oh! site..ee ..ee!! !
Come back, come back .
I am incomplete with- out you Site !
Ram said to mother earth-
Oh! Mother earth please return my beloved Sita ,other- wise I will show you my power and anger. You know that.
You are my real mother –in –law as Sita came on earth from your -self , when raja J anak tillage you ; or give some space into your lap for me also.
I will live with Sita only.
Such was the divine love of Ram for Sita.
Ram’s family guru vashishtha told-
Ram please do not go to deep sorrow, deep grief, You will get her in next birth , she is yours and will remain yours for seven births.
You have just listened the poetry recited by Lov and Kush. This is a divine poetry, it described your character in full details. Great and first poet of the universe Valmiki has done full justice with your life, story ,history and character .
Ram started thinking of those days in Mithila i.e.janak puri where he saw Sita for the first time in the city palace garden. Later on when he broke the bow of lord Shiva and won her in the swayamver. He also remembered the episode of Ahlya- wife of a teacher in the university, where Ahlya was kidnapped, raped, and her husband Gotaum left her; it was Ram who rescued her. Ram remembered the kidnapping of Sita by Rawan and how he fought and got her back .
Ram again became sad, Guru vashishth said-Sita is innocent, holly, pure and will remain same for- ever, Ram you continue your remaining part of life, Sita will come to you in the next birth .
Ram again became sad in the memory of Sita .
Vashishth again said –Ram you are the lord , you are the God. We all have just listened the Ramayan recited by your sons; it is divine and wonderful. Your character has been widely described in this great poetry, it will be known has world’s first and for most poetry and Valmiki will be known as adi kavi i.e. first poet on this earth.Ram remained silent with grate- fullness. Ram was requested to listen the remaining part of uttar ramayan i.e. post-ramayan
Ram requested kavi Valmiki to make arrangement of recitation of later ramayan next morning at his parn kutir (room made of leaves) where he was residing in the deep forest.
Ram tried to sleep but he could not, he was remembering Sita whole night. He passed the night in eyes, during night Ram also remembered his elder sister Shanta whom his father gave her in the hands of a rishi.
Why women have to suffer again and again he whispered.
He woke up before dawn with heavy eyes and pain.
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OVER TO AYODHYA
Salute to all!
Pranam to earth!
Pranam to sky!
Pranam to sun!
Pranam to moon!
Pranam to rivers!
Pranam to agni!
Pranam to universe!
Pranam to all directions!
Praman to lord Shiv!
Pranam to Ganesh!
Pranam to adi kavi!
I recite, my God listens!
I read my God hears!
I speak my God acknowledges!
I chant my God appears!
I write my God reads!
May my God become happy!
Once upon a time there was a king in Jambu dwip, Bharat Ayoddhya the name was Dashrath ,he was born in Ikshvaku heritage, his ancestors were of very high repute –raja Raghu, bharat, aj, were known for their bravery, reputation and love towards public . In the same dynasty Ram was born .King dashrath has three ranis(wives ), but no children. King Dashrath performed a yagya known as putreshti yagya , on the completion of the yagya the three wives were given khir to eat , after that the ranis gave birth to four raj kumars. Koshalya the eldest rani ;patrani gave birth to Ram, younger to her S umitra gave birth to Laxman and shatrugn, where youngest rani kekeyi gave birth to Bharat.King as well as as well as the kingdom were very happy. The birth day celebrations continued for a very long time.
Slowly the kids became elder, Dashrath used to watch their froliksome and child like behavior and used to be happy. Ram was eldest son, so he was more lovely to his father , he used to be in his laps again and again ,his every movement was a matter of joy for all the residents of the palace. Ram usually took meal with his father, and other brothers.
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Tamsa is the river flowing near A yodhya , this river was near Ganga ,the banks of river were clear, without any kind of pollution,no mud, no dead animals, no ugly things. Valmiki asked his pupil to hand over the cloths for bathing .He said to his pupil-
See the purity of water of Tamsa river it is as clear as the heart of a saint, sadhu or sanyasi or a holy man.
I will take a bath here. After bath Valmiki worshiped the almighty God for his kindness. He then started visiting the dense forest on the banks of river Tamsa ,suddenly he saw a pair of cronch-(crane) bird, enjoying the love.the birds were singing,sweet voice, when they were busy in love ,a hunter named Nishad came and hunted the male bird. The male crane fell down and was profusely bleeding. Looking to her partners condition the female bird cried, the bird came in deep sorrow and grief .Valmiki heard the pity, compassion voice of the female bird, he became kind towards the pair of birds. H e said in harsh words-
it is wrong, Nishad should not have hunted these birds busy in love making.
-Nishad you will never get peace in your life; you have brutally murdered the pair without any cause.
But Valmiki became upset after saying bad words (curse) to Nishad. He remembered his early days when he was a dacoit he used to loot the public .one day a brahmin said to him –you are doing a wrong thing go and ask your family members will they be responsible for your wrong doings, Valmiki’s family members refused .Valmiki came back to sadhu, sadhu than said-
worship Ram to become a holy man ,but unfortunately he pronounced mar ..mar …mar in place of Ram for a long time white ants covered him wholly during the time of worship, so he was called Valmiki rishi later on he became bramrishi due to his knowledge and tapsya i.e worship of God.
so he said to his pupil my words are final , these will be taken as a first poem as it contains eight alphabets, his pupil Bhardwaj agreed, later on both came to ashram with a heavy heart .he was announced as a separated poet with an agony of one’s broken heart.(viyogi hoga pahla kavi )
Valmiki could not divert his attention from the incidence of crane birds , he was perturbed due to the sudden demise of the bird -the male bird . He then started to think deeply and remembered Ram katha i.e. journey of Ram for his mental peace .His pupils cramed the first poem-shloka and recited it in the whole gurukul, (university) thus Ramayan i. e. the journey of Ram came into existence .It is the journey of every person from out- side to inner self .Ram katha is being recited for thousands of years and will be recited for thousands of years to come.From brahma to Shiv to Narad tokakbhushundi to common men.
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Ram, Laxman, Bharat and Shatrugn were playing in the city palace of Ayoddhya , King Dashrath , was watching them with a loving concern along with his three wives and hundreds of other women who were his raksitas and palace servants. The rajkumars were playing hide and seek game. Ram caught Bharat, it was Bharat’s turn now and so on, youngest of them came to Dashrath and said –Ram dada is not doing justice, but father ignored him took him in his lap and kissed him ,ranis became happy by seeing this scene.
After some time they went for meal king and all kids took meals with ranis, the other women of raniwas serve the food, food was satvic, full of nutritive value, and drinks were also served.
Ayodhya is the capitol of koshal state of jambu- dwip, Bharat of surya legacy(SURYA-VASHI ) of ikshwaku dynasty .Ayodhya is situated on the bank of Saryu river, the city is quite big in length and width central spine road is very big, broad and wide, on both sides of road are heavy trees, shrubs, the main road is cleaned every day, flowers are showered ,water is sprinkled to keep the dust away, the city is closed by a city wall big gates, doors, and small windows .city has big buildings, with flying dwajas (flags). The public of Ayodhya was religious, all caste peoples live together without any discrimination Brahmins used to recite vedic richas, magadh s busy with describing dynasty and legacy. A large number of drama parties were busy in presentations. The city is surounded by deep forests, deep and wide moats were safeguarding the city. citizens were law binding, busy in their routine works, used to pay taxes at times, business men, labors, craftsmen ,artists, writers, poets and prostitutes, all were happy.
Beautiful and best women were there to entertain the masses. A large number of gardens and temples were present in the city. People worship lord Shiv. Peoples of Ayodhya were honest, truth speaking, and generous .Vedic poems were recited regularly. King’s staff and other government officers used to pay regards to public; there were no problems, no un justice, no cruelties with poor and lower caste peoples, towards women, their interests were safe guarded by the king and his persons. The army of Ayodhya was very strong. Powerful elephants, horses, warriors, rath, fire arms were in the military of Dashrath ,the forces were quite capable to safe guard the state. The neighboring states were friendly with the king. The kings ruled the state as its child and always take care of the peoples. There were eight ministers in the cabinet, the ministers always think of the benefit of the country. They were full of pure thoughts, all the decisions taken democratically .Names of ministers are-dhrashti,jayant,vijay,surashtra,rashtravardhan,akop,dharmpal,and sumantra .Vasishtha, and vamdev were kings raj purohit, in addition to them Suyagy,Jabali,Kashyap, gautam,Markendey ,Katyayan were other Brahmins to help kulguru Vashisht.There was a long tradition of knowledge-sharing among the faculty members, Ayodhya was a big centre of learning, knowledge was imparted to all without caste, creed and gender. Brahspati and shkracharya were big names in the field of higher education.
Thus we see that A yodhya is very rich in art, culture, litreture , education, military and administration etc.
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Great king Dashrath was all alone in his personal palace. He is tall handsome, he has a big head , his face full of glory but age –factor have become visible, he has a few white –grey hairs on his head, he was sitting on a big royal chair , he was in deep thoughts.
He remembered the days of his young age, when he fought wars ,he was never defeated and won many kingdoms of Aryavratt ,his koshal state included the whole Bharat,an undivided Bharat .Once he was fighting a war , his younger wife kaikeyi was also with him, she herself was a good fighter, suddenly king was surrounded by many enemy army persons .Dashrath was wounded kaikeyi brought her back from the war field and saved the life of the king . Dashrath was happy and gave two boons to Kaikeyi, these two boons were yet to be used by the most beautiful,young, and intelligent rani of the king. The king also remembered the curse of an old man i.e. father of Shravan kumar .this was an incidence when he went to forest for hunting. ,it was night he was on the bank of a river suddenly he heard a voice , he thought it of a forest animal., to save himself, he used a sound-arrow, unfortunately the arrow killed a young boy Shravan kumar who was on his pilgrimage journey with his parents . Shravan kumar died at the spot. His parents cried and wept Dashrath tried to console them , but the old couple said- as we are dying in the grief and sorrow of our son, similarly one day you will also die in the memory of your beloved son.
Dashrath also remembered his ancestors like raja Raghu, king Aj –his father, brave Bharat, after whose name country is known as Bharat , Bhagirath who brought Ganga to the earth to send the sixty thousand sons of his great grand- father king Sagar to heaven .He was remembering his for-fathers , dynasty and the great legacy of Surya vansh and ikswaku vansh .He remembered the great war between gods(sur) and asurs.It was really a great war in between the two communities, before this the surs and asurs did churning of the great sea, from where they got amrit and vish;poison was taken by lord Shiv to save the universe where other ratns. were distributed in the two parties. It was a horrible incidence Dashrath thought, he also remembered the first Manu who created this world.The kingdom is governed by the democratic laws established by Manu, this is known as Manu smrati .King also remembered his eldest daughter Santa who was married to rishi shrangy.It was a sad incidence of the lives of queen Koshalya and Dashrath .
It was king S urya who came to earth and to this Aryavratt country where he married a girl of Ikshwaku kabila and the dynasty came into existence. The journey of life is end- less.
Remembering these incidences king became sad and up- set. He asked-
Is there anybody?
A lady servant came in with her eyes down, hands bonded, ready for any kind of orders .The king ordered –send Sumant in.
After a few moments Sumant his chief of cabinet as well as his principal advisor came in. King asked him about the education of the sons, how are they doing in the gurukul of raj guru vashishth he enquired
Sumant told-all the rajkumars are doing well in education as well as in extra- curricular activities; they are being trained in dhanurvidya, politics, history and vedic –aryan culture ; however Ram is better, soon we will organize a competition of them in the city palace where they will perform.
Yes, it will be nice to see kid’s performance, please make necessary arrangements for this event, inform Vashishth for the same said he king.
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The biggest sports ground of Ayodhya palace,it had four big gates one for king and queens, other for the sport personals third for public and the forth for emergency purpose. Facing east a big wooden royal chair or the king, left to him a chair for guru Vashishth right side chair for koshalya chief queen, followed by other queens and members of raj sabha, right to king a big but not royal chair for Sumant chief of cabinet.
It was a royal function, all persons were on their seats, a large number of residents of A yodhya were also present to witness the event of their beloved raj kumars.A spoke person announced-
Please keep quiet ,ragukul shiromani, maharaj Dashrath is just coming in the sabha , all persons stood up in the honour of the king.King came silently, he was a bit old, but his face was glowing, his arms long and powerful, his chest quite wide, shoulders strong he has swords on his waist, a big crown on his head was looking nice he was nicely dressed up probably by maharani koshalya herself for this special occasion .King set on the royal chair All persons took their respective seats .After a few moments Sumant stood up and said- -
With your permission king I announce - today is a big day in the history of Ayodhya ;the four rajkumars of Ayodhya are coming to capitol after completion of their formal education and war practice. They will show here what they have learned in the gurukul of maharshi vashishth.Now kulguru will address you.
Vashishth stood up,with your kind permission king, I the vice chancellor and kulguru of Ikshwaku dynasty well come all of you
Fellow citizens!
I my- self as well as my colleagues have imparted the best education to Ayodhya –kumars, they are now ready for the service of the mankind. We have taught those politics, diplomacy, economics, the glorious history and legacy of great Surva vansh. I my -self has taught them the science of war, horse riding, sword-fighting, bow and arrow science; these boys have become expert in these weapons as well as in the knowledge ;at the same time we have taken at most care of their physical developments. I have also imparted them special knowledge of various chakras used during the war. We have given them some special divine weapons and lethal arms, they are well equipped with these arms and can face any kind of army or enemy; however Ram is excellent.
Now the kumars will enter the stadium one by one and will show their talent, with this I request the king to open the competition .King obliged the audience by hosting a flag.
And here comes the youngest kumar on the red horse, he is followed by Bharat on a black horse, and then came Laxman on a dark horse finally Ram took the entry on a pure white horse, public shouted in pleasure, enthusiasm and curiosity they were very happy. All the mothers, king ,Sumant and other ministers started clapping for these raj kumars. Among joy and noise Vashishth said-
Now the kumars will show their efficiency and strength and above all what they have learned. First of all the youngest kumar showed his vigor and strength, his horse was playing like a toy in his expert hands, then he showed the art of sword .He showed the bow –arrow technique by shooting a passing by bird, all the spectators clapped .
Bharat played widely in the ground, he showed his vigor and strength with modern weapons .Laxman was wonderful in the dhanurvidya. Finally Ram entered, the crowd, members of his family and his teacher Vashishtha watched his performance with great enthusiasm .His performance was different and astonishing. King , his mother kosaya and other mothers all were very happy.The king felt supremely delighted with his highly blessed sons and their wisdom, they were modest glorious, all knowing and far sighted, father Dashrath felt rejoice ,the kumars were also happy and were attached to their vedic studies , and were devoted to their parents they showed the science of archery.
Dashrath personally felt that Ram is quite suitable for the crown of the state, where as Koslya was thinking of his marriage, king whose mind was to piety deliberated members of raj sabha and relatives and started the topic of marriage of his four sons . kosalya and other queens became very happy. They will get daughter-in-laws and will be promoted to the status of mother –in –laws .King Dashrath asked his cabinet members to search suitable match for all his sons. He also thought on making Ram as his successor, meanwhile the door security person came in and infofmed the arrival of great rishi viswamitra. O ver joyed King asked vashishth to make necessary arrangements for sage Viswamitra and his pupils. The king offerd him water for washing .great sage inquired about the wellbeing of king and others, he also asked about the well being of general public and council of ministers ,kingdom, treasury, friends and all other things. They all came to the court, with a delighted mind and happiness all took their seats. After a brief silence king said-I welcome you great sage of this country , you are the honour of our times , your gurukul must be running well, you and your pupils must be busy with worships, yagya, and vedic recitations .
O sage! tell me your object of coming, I will be honored to hear it, please also let me how can I accomplish your wish, as you deserve every service from me, my government and my public, it is my good luck that you have given this opportunity to me, my birth stands fulfilled. Let me know what can I do for you, for your gurukul and above all to the man -kind, it will be a matter of pleasure for me and my kingdom to serve you. Please tell me what to do?
Viswamitra became delighted by hearing the polite words of the king. The great sage Viswamitra than said-dear king what you have said is worthy to you only, no other king has the capacity, you are abided by your own words, your rajguru Vashishth is here to keep the promise.
Oh! King now listen me carefully. There are two big notorious raksasas wandering in the areas and disturb all work, the names are –marich and subahu ,they posses great power and are highly trained. They drop blood and flesh pieces in our worship. My secret vow remained incomplete due to the regular interruption. I and my fellow workers have to left the ashram , we need protection and security which is our prime duty. These raksasas are backed and supported by Rawan. They need to be killed so that we can carry on worship peace fully. Now king I request you to send your heroic son Ram with me for the said purpose for by virtue of his power, vigour, strength and glory duly safe guarded by me, he alone will be able to destroy the enemy,further I will shower on him many boons with the help of these boons your eldest son will attain fame in the whole universe, you should have no doubt about it ,king believe me. this is the destiny, no other person can kill these two ogres. Only Ram can do this job, these two wicked raksasas who are proud y and needed to be killed for the benefit of the men kind, oh king send Ram with me, there is no other option to you as you have promised me to fulfill my wish , and more over it is the need of the hour.
For a while king Dashrath was stunned by the proposal of the rishi, than he said
Oh! great sage ,Ram is very young, he is only 16year old, if you wish I may come to fight with marich and subahu, I will kill them very easily or take my army of one akasauhini strong, whose mainter and controller is my- self. for the said purpose but leave my lotus eyed Ram. My army can do an thing I will safe guard your sacrifice so please do not take away Ram, he is a child untrained he has no idea about the war ,he has no knowledge of missiles and other weapons used by the raksasas,he is not a good match for ogres. Without Ram I can- not survive even for a small period. Dashrath was highly perturbed by Viswamitra was demand, continued who are these rakasas, who is behind them, who is protecting them, tell me sage I will kill them all at once. Viswamitra again said-oh! Great king you know Rawan he behind all these forces, he has acquired the land, people , business and marich and subahu are working for him , he is a big nucense to the whole society ,Rawan belongs to the dynasty of rishi Pulastya ,he has been granted a boon of immortality by lord Brahma, further he can be killed by a human only, he is brother of Kuber , Rawan himself do not interfere in worships, but marich and subahu are posted for the purpose.
Dashrath was still not willing to send Ram with Viswamitra .
Now viswamitra became angry he look like a fire well fed with oblations and sprinkled over with fat in the course of a sacrifice. Risi became highly annoyed, his mind became violent, he said-
Dashrath you have promised me to my request now you are want to go back to your promise ,, it is not fare, nor it is the tradition of your dynasty , this is like breach of words, further it not worthy of the scions of your forefather Raghu. I will go back without taking Ram but remember king it will falsify and the world will remember you as a person who has kept his relation- ship above the public interest, further Ram will not get many warfare missiles ,and other wisdom which will pay him in due course of time for fighting against Rawan and other asurs, raksasas, the whole Bharat will suffer.
Looking to the anger of Viswamitra and alarming situation great and wise rishi;kulguru of ikshwaku -dynasty Vashishth came to the rescue of the king he said-maharaja you great son of a great king, you have achieved a lot in your life, you have done excellent works in public interest, you are the highest person, you are full of firmness you observe excellent vows, if you fail to redeem the promise made by you to Viswamitra it will bring bad name to you and your fore fathers, I request you send Ram with sage Viswamitra.,he is a piety incarnate he is foremost of those endowed with prowess, he is a great teacher, war expert he will teach Ram many things he is a big repository of asceticism. I salute the wisdom of sage Viswamitra as he has acquired this after hard work, he will do justice with your son, he will teach him what we could not.
Oh! king though you can kill the raksasas your- self but for the benefit of Ram and for the benefit of the humanity allow Ram to go with Viswamitra .he will learn a lot there, hearing all king Dashrath slowly made up his mind to send Ram with risi Viswamitra, he consulted Kosalya also, after making his mind fully he asked the court-man to inform Ram to come in the rajsabha(court).
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Ram and Laxman with Viswamitra
Ram was worshiping lord Shiv and shakti in his personal palace, where Laxman was also present, actually Laxman was like his shadow; where ever Ram there is Laxman. Ram completed his worship took some more time for meditation and yoga .After that he took some break- fast with Laxman . Laxman said-bhaiya, should we go for hunting ,many days have passed we have not gone to forest for hunting, before Ram could reply a servant came in and said-king is in his court and want to see you; Ram at once started, Laxman also accompanied him.
Ram is a tall handsome boy with a pleasant personality, his face was glorious, his eyes like a lotus, his hairs well combed wearing royal dress, but without any kind of war weapons, he look very calm, silent and innocent he entered the king’ court slowly but with full confidence, where as Laxman entered in the court with a bit hurry and enthusiasm. First of all Ram touched the feet of his father , his mother, his kulguru (family-teacher) ,than to Viswamitra than to all others present. He smelled his head with love and affection, so did the queen. Vashishth and Viswamitra blessed him. Laxman did the same. After he had been blessed by mother Kosalya and by the family priest , by vedic richas king handed over Ram to Viswamitra with a delighted mind.
Ram and Laxman started their journey with great sage Viswamitra ,a delightful breeze started blowing, people of Ayodhya were very happy to see the movement of Ram and Laxman with Viswamitra to -wards forest to kill the raksasas .They showered flower petals on them, the whole road was full of petals. They moved on.Viswamitra walked in the van, Ram adorned with side locks and armed with a bow , next to him was Laxman equipped with quivers, bow in his hands, the ten directions were illuminated. Ram and Laxman along with sage Viswamitra reached the southern bank of great river Saryu ,the sage asked Ram and Laxman to sip a little water from the river there after the rishi gave them the great mantra of bala (power)and atibala(absolute power) , by virtue of these mantra you will never fall ill you will remain young, your loveliness will remain as such, none on earth will equal you in prowess of arms, you are jewel among men on this universe you will not feel hunger and thrust. Ram sipped the holy water of Saryu river and chanted the bala an atibala mantras as directed by the sage, the night came all took rest but Laxman remained awake for the security.
Ram and Laxman were on the bank of the river doing worships to Surya , daily exercises , yoga and practice of war fare. Vashvamitra came and gave certain directions to them regarding how to fight with the rakshsas , asurs and how to make a war with them , he also explained to his pupils how to win the war ,how to frame a war complex circle . He also gave them some special arms and told them about nuclear war , how to check the nuclear war.
He also told them regarding various types of powers the rakshasa have and how to cope with these powers. Sage told them the importance of peace also but warned them the way in which war is won by the rakshshas.०००००००
TO BE CONTD .
