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2024-03-29, 11:33 AM |
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Chapter
11: Lord
Râmacandra Rules the
World
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'The
Supreme
Lord
Râmacandra,
the
heart
and
soul
of
all
the
demigods,
accepted an âcârya and performed sacrifices with
the greatest opulence. Thus He [factually] was worshiping Himself by Himself [see also 4.31: 14]. (2) The hotâ priest [the one
offering oblations] He gave the entire east, the brahmâ
priest [supervising the proceedings] received the southern side from
His Lordship, the adhvaryu priest [who chants the Yajur mantras
preparing
the
sacrifice]
got
the
entire
west
and
the
northern
side
went
to
the udgâtâ priest [singing the Sâma Veda
hymns]. (3) Departing from the
notion that the brahmins who are free from material desires deserve the
complete of the earth, He gave the teacher of example, the âcârya,
the
rest
of
whatever
land
there
was
in
between
the
regions. (4)
What this way remained for Himself were His personal
ornaments and garments, while for the queen, the daughter of the king
of Videha, only her nose ring remained. (5)
But when the brahmins saw how
much He
cared for them as their Lord, their
hearts
melted,
so
that
they, most pleased with Him, honored Him with prayers. They returned
everything they had received from Him and said: (6)
'What did You not give us oh Supreme Lord, oh Master of the universe?
With You entering the core of our hearts You dissipate, with Your
effulgence, the darkness of our ignorance. (7) Our obeisances unto You
Râmacandra oh Lord of the transcendentalists, oh best of all
persons of fame whose lotus feet are worshiped by those who are free
from violence, oh You whose intelligence is never clouded by anxiety.'
(8) Curious about the public opinion Râma one night walked unnoticed in disguise and heard someone speak who was referring to His
wife [Sîtâ]. (9) 'I
cannot
maintain
you
any
longer
because
you
are
an impure, unchaste woman going
to another
man's house. And I will not,
like someone henpecked, accept
you again as Râma did with Sîtâ!' (10) Apprehensive
of
folk
who say anything that comes to mind, who do not
know where to stop and have a poor fund of knowledge, she
[Sîtâ] was abandoned by her husband. Thereupon she went to the hermitage
of Prâcetasa [Vâlmîki Muni]. (11) She being pregnant [when she left Râma], delivered there after some time a
twin, two boys who from the sage who performed the birth rituals
received the names Kus'a and Lava ['from the grass' and 'what is cut
off']. (12) Also Lakshmana had two sons: Angada
and Citraketu [named after 6.14-17]. Bharata, oh great ruler, had two sons who were named
Taksha and Pushkala. (13-14) Subâhu and S'rutasena were fathered by
S'atrughna. Bharata
who
brought
all
directions
under
His
control
in
His conquest had to kill millions of Gandharvas [or
obstinate rebels] and
offered
all
their
riches
to
the
king [Râma]. The Râkshasa listening to the
name of Lavana, a
son of Madhu, was killed by S'atrughna in the great forest of Madhuvana
where He
established the great town known as Mathurâ. (15)
Sîtâ, who being
sent away by her husband kept meditating on
Râma's feet, entrusted her sons to the sage and entered
the earth. (16) When Râma, the
Supreme Lord, heard
about this He, remembering her qualities in the different
circumstances, could not check His grief, however much He tried to ban
it in meditation. (17)
Such
an attraction between husband and wife constitutes a universal source
of anxiety. When this is even true for the great controllers, then what
about the common man who is fixed upon a household
existence? (18) After she went to heaven the Lord
observed strict celibacy and
performed a ceremony, an Agnihotra
[fire] sacrifice, that was
continued
for thirteen thousand years without
interruption. (19) Râma [concluding His earthly stay]
placed His lotus feet that were pierced by the thorns of the
Dandakâranya forest [the forest of His exile] in the
hearts of those who remembered Him and then entered the [beyond of the]
Light of the Soul
[of the âtma-jyoti, His heavenly abode Vaikunthha].
(20) The Lord of
the Raghu dynasty [Râma] who assumed a [spiritual] body for the
purpose of His
pastimes, had, with no one being greater or equal to Him, [personally]
no
need for all this honor of the prayers of the godly ones, the killing
of
the Râkshasas, building a bridge over the ocean and His bow and
arrows, nor was He in need of the monkeys to assist Him in defeating
the enemy [compare B.G. 3:
20-26]. (21)
Let me surrender myself to
Him, that
Master of the Raghu dynasty whose
spotless
fame to the present day is
celebrated in royal assemblies and by the sages in all directions as good as the cloth that covers the elephant of victory, to Him whose lotus feet, which vanquish all
sin, are worshiped by the helmets of earthly kings and the gods of
heaven. (22) He to
whom the people of Kosala were looking up and who they wanted to touch,
was by them all, whether they ate and
slept with Him or respected Him as a servant, followed to the place for
which He left and where all [bhakti-]yoga practitioners go [see also B.G. 4:
9]. (23) Anyone who
hears about the activities of Lord Râma and is filled with
compassion towards others oh
King, will be liberated from the clutches of karma.'
(24) The king
asked: 'How did He, the Supreme Lord, Râma, relate to His
brothers who were His personal expansions and how did they and also His
people, His subjects, behave towards Him, their Controller?'
(25) The son
of
Vyâsadeva said: 'After accepting the throne He, the Lord
of the universe, ordered His younger brothers to conquer the world [*] while He Himself gave audience to His
people looking after the capital with other assistants. (26) The
streets were sprinkled
with perfumed water and the musth of the elephants. It was the highest and greatest
delight to see Him, their
Master and Ruler, personally present. (27) The
palaces, the palace gates, the
assembly houses, the platforms and the temples and such, were adorned
with golden water pots and flags. (28) [When
He appeared] one turned it into
a festival with reception gates,
tapestries, garlands, betel nut, flowers and
fruits, banana trees, colorful flags and mirrors. (29) Wherever
He
passed
the
locals
carrying
their
articles
of
worship
approached
Him to receive His
blessings and said: 'Oh my Lord, please maintain this land that You have recovered like You did
before [in the form of Lord Varâha].' (30) The
men and women in the city
thereafter, desirous to see their king, the Lord with the lotus eyes, returning after such a long time,
left their homes to get on the rooftops of the greater mansions, satisfy their hungry eyes and shower Him with
flowers. (31-34) He
thereafter entered His family home that by His ancestors had been
turned
into an unfathomable treasury filled with the most costly goods. The
doorposts were of coral, the pillars lining up on
the polished marakata [emerald]
floors were of vaidûrya stone and there were dazzling marble
walls. All
sorts of flowers and flags could be seen as also draperies, pearls and
the most valuable effulgent gems. With
all
the
desirable beauty that
increased
everyone's joy and with the many
bunches of flowers, fragrant incense and lamps, the men and
women there whose physical beauty competed with their jewelry, appeared like demigods.
(35) The
Supreme
Lord Râma [lit.: 'joy'],
the most excellent one delighting in devotion, to His full satisfaction personally enjoyed [His life] there with His
dearest wife Sîtâ. (36) He
with the people meditating on His lotus feet, for many years enjoyed all the pleasures of life on their proper
time without running into trouble
with the dharma.'
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