The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Chapter 7(65)

  The brahmana lamented in this piteous way, filled with misery and grief. Raghava heard everything. Sorrowing and extremely tormented, he summoned his ministers, Vasishtha, Vamadeva, his brothers and the merchants. With Vasishtha, eight brahmanas entered. They told the king, who was like a king, ‘May you prosper.’ Markandeya, Moudgalya, Vamadeva, Kashyapa, Katyayana, Jabali, Goutama and Narada—all these bulls among brahmanas sat down on seats. As they deserved, the ministers and the merchants were honoured. All of them sat down, blazing in their energy. After honouring the brahmanas, Raghava told them everything.

  Hearing the king’s miserable words, in the presence of the rishis and the king, Narada replied in these auspicious words. ‘O king! Listen to the reason why this child died before his appointed time. O brave one! O descendant of the Raghu lineage! After listening, do what must be done. O Rama! Earlier, in krita yuga, only brahmanas were ascetics. O king! Someone who was not a brahmana never became an ascetic then. In that yuga, all of them openly blazed with the power of the brahman. All of them were far-sighted and no one died before his time. After that, in treta yuga, men possessed bodies.718 Kshatriyas, who had performed austerities in their earlier lives, were born.719 Because of valour and austerities, in treta yuga, these great-souled men were superior to those who had been born in the earlier yuga.720 All the brahmanas and the kshatriyas were both equal in valour.721 No particular superiority could be distinguished between the two sets. At that time, the four varnas were established everywhere. Adharma established one foot on the ground.722 Touched by adharma, brahmanas became wicked. Because of the wicked deeds, the former lifespans became limited. However, there were also people in the world who continued to follow and were devoted to the true dharma. In treta yuga, there were brahmanas and kshatriyas who tormented themselves through austerities. All the other people served them. That was the supreme dharma of vaishyas and shudras. In particular, shudras worshipped all the varnas. When dvapara yuga presented itself, a second foot of adharma descended again. At the end of the present yuga, dvapara is approaching. O bull among men! Adharma and falsehood are prospering. When dvapara approached, vaishyas started to engage in austerities. O bull among men! However, shudras did not obtain the right to perform the fierce austerities of dharma. O best among men! Those inferior in varna are tormenting themselves through great austerities. However, those born in shudra wombs will only obtain the right to perform austerities in kali yuga. O Rama! O king! In dvapara, a shudra is performing a great act of adharma. Within the limits of your kingdom, he is performing great austerities. An evil-minded shudra is performing austerities. That is the reason this child has died. O tiger among kings! If an evil-minded man performs an act of adharma within a king’s kingdom or city, there is no doubt that the king swiftly goes to hell. O tiger among men! Therefore, carefully search within your own dominion to find out where the evil-acting one is. This is the way dharma and lifespans will increase among men. O best among men! The child will also come back to life.’

  Chapter 7(66)

  It was as if Narada’s words were full of amrita. Hearing them, he obtained infinite delight and addressed Lakshmana in these words. ‘O amiable one! O Lakshmana! Go and comfort the best among brahmanas. Place the child’s dead body in a pot filled with oil. O amiable one! Use perfumes, extremely expensive oil and fragrances to ensure that the child’s body does not decay. Let the body of the child, whose deeds are unblemished, be protected. Act so that his muscles and joints do not suffer.’ Kakutstha commanded Lakshmana, the one with the auspicious signs, in this way. In his mind, the immensely illustrious one thought of Pushpaka and asked it to come. Discerning the indication, in an instant, Pushpaka, decorated with gold, arrived near Raghava. It bowed down and said, ‘O lord of men! O mighty-armed one! I am under your control. Your servant has arrived.’ Hearing the beautiful words spoken by Pushpaka, the lord of men greeted the maharshis and mounted it. He grasped his bow, his quivers and his swords, beautiful in its resplendence. He entrusted the city to the two brave ones, Soumitri and Bharata. He headed in the western direction and searched everywhere in the desert. He went to the beautiful northern direction, covered by the Himalayas. He could not find the slightest bit of misdeed there. The lord of men searched everywhere in the eastern direction. The descendant of a royal sage then went to the southern direction. He saw a great lake on the northern slope of Shaivala.723 Near that lake, an ascetic was tormenting himself through great austerities. Raghava saw the handsome one, hanging face downwards. He approached the one who was tormenting himself through these excellent austerities. Raghava spoke these words. ‘O one who is excellent in vows! You are blessed. O one who is firm in valour! You are pervasive in austerities. Whose womb have you been born in? I am asking you out of curiosity. I am Rama, Dasharatha’s son. Why do you wish to do this? Is it to obtain heaven or get a boon? Why are you tormenting yourself through these austerities? O ascetic! I wish to hear. O fortunate one! Are you a brahmana or an invincible kshatriya? Are you a vaishya or a shudra? Tell me the truth.’

  Chapter 7(67)

  Rama, the performer of unblemished deeds, spoke these words. Hearing them, with his face hanging downwards, he replied in these words. ‘I have been born in the womb of a shudra and have resorted to these fierce austerities. O Rama! O immensely illustrious one! I wish to go to heaven in my own physical body. O king! I do not utter a falsehood. I wish to conquer the world of the gods. O Kakutstha! Know me to be a shudra. My name is Shambuka.’ Hearing the shudra’s words, Raghava unsheathed his sparkling sword, extremely beautiful in its radiance, from its scabbard and severed his head. In that instant, the child came back to life. The lotus-eyed Rama went to Agastya’s hermitage. Delighted and happy, he bowed down in humility and greeted the great-souled one, who seemed to be blazing in his energy. After having obtained supreme hospitality, the lord of men sat down. The immensely energetic and great sage, Kumbhayoni,724 spoke to him. ‘O best among men! O Raghava! Welcome. It is good fortune that you have come here. O Rama! I respect you a lot. You possess many excellent qualities. O king! You are a guest and should be honoured. You are always in my heart. The gods have said that you have arrived, after killing the shudra. Because you have acted in accordance with dharma, the brahmana’s son has come back to life. O Raghava! Spend the night here with me. When it is morning, you can use Pushpaka to return to your own city. O amiable one! This ornament was constructed by Vishvakarma. It is divine and celestial in form. It blazes in its own energy. O Kakutstha! O Raghava! Do something that will bring me pleasure and accept it. Great fruits are obtained if one gives away what has been given to one’s own self earlier. O bull among men! Therefore, I am following the rituals and giving it to you. Accept it.’ The great-souled Rama accepted it from the sage. The colourful and celestial ornament blazed like the sun. Rama accepted that excellent ornament. He then asked, ‘O brahmana! This divine ornament is extremely wonderful. It has an excellent form. Where did it come from? O illustrious one! How did you get it? Who brought it to you? O brahmana! O immensely illustrious one! I am asking you out of curiosity. There are many kinds of supreme and wonderful treasures with you.’ When Kakutstha said this, the sage replied in these words. ‘O Rama! Hear about what happened in the treta yuga that has just passed.’

  Chapter 7(68)

  ‘Earlier, in treta yuga, there was an extremely large forest. It extended for one hundred yojanas in every direction. It was devoid of animals and birds. There were no men in the forest. O amiable one! Wishing to perform excellent austerities, I went to that forest. I was incapable of discerning the expanse of that forest. There were roots and many kinds of trees with pleasant fruits to eat. In the midst of the forest, there was a lake that was one yojana wide. It was full of lotuses and waterlilies and covered everywhere with lichen. The excellent water was pleasant and extremely tasty. There was no mud. It was not agitated and it was full of beautiful birds. Near that lake, there was a large and extraordinary hermitage. It was
ancient and extremely sacred. However, there were no ascetics there. O bull among men! I resided there for a summer night. When it was morning, I arose and approached the lake. I saw a dead body there. It was well-nourished and without any decay. O king! It was near that store of waters, full of great beauty. O Raghava! O lord! I remained there for a while, thinking. Who was this on the shore of the lake and why? In a short while, I saw a divine and extraordinary sight. An extremely large vimana arrived, yoked to swans and possessing the speed of thought. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! There was an extremely divine being on that vimana. O brave one! A thousand apsaras, adorned in divine ornaments, were worshipping him. There were others who were singing beautiful songs and playing on musical instruments. O Rama! While I looked on, he descended from the vimana. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! The divine being started to eat the dead body. As he wished, he devoured many bits of that flesh and was satiated. After this, the divine being descended into the lake. O bull among men! As is proper, the divine being touched the water.725 He then started to mount that supreme and excellent vimana. I saw the one, who resembled a god, ascend. O bull among men! I addressed him in these words. “You resemble a god. Who are you? Why did you eat this condemned food? O amiable one! Why did you eat it? You should tell me the reason. You are radiant and are like a revered god. Such inclinations are extraordinary. O amiable one! This food is condemned. I wish to hear the truth about this.”’

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  ‘O Rama! He heard the words I had spoken, uttered with auspicious syllables. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! The divine being joined his hands in salutation and replied. “O brahmana! Listen to my account, as it occurred. It is full of both joy and misery. O brahmana! You have asked me about it. This is impossible for me to cross. In earlier times, my immensely illustrious father was the king of Vidarbha. He was valiant and was famous in the three worlds as Sudeva. O brahmana! He had two sons, born from two different wives. I was known as Shveta and my younger brother was Suratha. When my father went to heaven, the citizens consecrated me. Controlling myself, I followed dharma and ruled over the kingdom. O one good in vows! In this way, one thousand years passed. O brahmana! I ruled over the kingdom and following dharma, protected the subjects. O supreme among brahmanas! Through some means, I got to know about my lifespan. Taking the dharma of time to heart, I went to the forest. That forest was impenetrable and was devoid of animals and birds. I entered it near this auspicious lake and started to perform austerities. I instated my brother, Suratha, as the king over the kingdom. Having approached this lake, I performed austerities for a long time. O great sage! I performed austerities for three thousand years. After having performed these extremely difficult austerities, I obtained Brahma’s excellent world. O supreme among brahmanas! While I was in heaven, I was overcome by hunger and thirst. O extremely generous one! They obstructed me and my senses were afflicted. I went to the grandfather, the best in the three worlds, and spoke to him. ‘O illustrious one! In Brahma’s worlds, there should not be any hunger or thirst. Since I have come under the subjugation of hunger and thirst, what deed have I committed? O god! O grandfather! Tell me. What should be my food?’ The grandfather told me, ‘O Sudeva’s son! Your food is your own succulent flesh. You will always eat that. While you were performing those excellent austerities, you nourished your own body. O Shveta! O immensely intelligent one! Without sowing, nothing is reaped. You did not give the slightest bit to creatures who resided in the forest. O child! Therefore, despite being in heaven, you are suffering from hunger and thirst. You nourished your own excellent body through food. You will devour it, as if it is the juice of amrita. That is what will satiate you. O Shveta! When the extremely great and invincible rishi, Agastya, arrives in that forest, you will be freed from this hardship. O amiable one! O mighty-armed one! He is capable of saving large numbers of gods, not to speak of someone like you who has succumbed to hunger and thirst.’ I heard the decision of the illustrious one, the god of the gods. O supreme among brahmanas! I thus eat this condemned food, my own body. O brahmana! I have been eating it and many years have passed. O brahmana rishi! It does not decay and I obtain excellent satisfaction. This is how my hardship came about. You should free me from this hardship. Who can save me, other than the brahmana Kumbhayoni? O supreme among brahmanas! O brahmana rishi! You should show me your favours. In return for saving me, accept this ornament.” I heard the words of the divine being, full of grief. In return for saving him, I accepted that excellent ornament. I accepted that auspicious ornament. Immediately, the former human body of the royal sage was destroyed. When the body was destroyed, the royal sage was greatly delighted. Content and delighted, the king went to heaven again. O Kakutstha! He was like Shakra. Because of what I did, he gave me this extraordinary and divine ornament.’

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  Raghava heard Agastya’s extraordinary words. Showing him respect and astounded, he again started to ask. ‘O illustrious one! This forest, where Shveta, the king of Vidarbha, tormented himself through austerities, is terrible. There are no animals and birds. Why is that the case? There are no creatures in the forest that he entered to undertake austerities in. It is desolate and there are no humans here. How did this happen? I wish to hear the truth about this.’

  Rama’s words were full of curiosity. The immensely energetic one heard these words and started to speak. ‘O Rama! In earlier times, in krita yuga, the lord Manu held the rod of chastisement. He had a great son, Ikshvaku, who was the extender of the lineage. He instated this eldest son, invincible on earth, in the kingdom and said, “Be the originator of royal lineages on earth.” O Raghava! The son promised his father that he would do this. Extremely delighted, Manu again said, “O extremely generous one! I am greatly pleased with you. There is no doubt that you will be the originator. Protect the subjects using the rod. However, do not use the rod of chastisement without valid reason. If the rod is brought down on men when they commit crimes, that punishment is sanctioned and conveys the king to heaven. O mighty-armed one! O son! Therefore, be careful in using the rod. A person who acts in this way obtains supreme dharma in this world.” Manu instructed his attentive son about many other things. Happy, he then proceeded to heaven, to Brahma’s supreme world. When he went to heaven, the infinitely radiant Ikshvaku was filled with a serious thought. “How will I have sons?” Manu’s son performed many kinds of rituals. The one with dharma in his soul then had one hundred sons who were like the sons of the gods. O son!726 O descendant of the Raghu lineage! The youngest among them was foolish and unaccomplished in learning. He did not serve his seniors. His father gave this one, who was limited in energy, the name of Danda. He knew the rod of chastisement would descend on his body.727 O Raghava! He saw a terrible taint in his son. O scorcher of enemies! He gave him the kingdom that was between the mountains Vindhya and Shaivala. Danda became the king of the beautiful region between the slopes of the two mountains. O Rama! He constructed an unmatched and excellent city there. O lord! He named this city Madhumanta. As his priest, he brought Ushanas, who was excellent in his vows. In this way, the king made him the priest of the kingdom, which was full of delighted people. It was like a kingdom of the gods in heaven.’

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  The maharshi who was born from the pot told Rama this. He then started to speak subsequent words to him. ‘O Kakutstha! In this way, Danda, evil in his soul, ruled over that kingdom, which was bereft of thorns, for an innumerable number of years. On one occasion, in the beautiful month of Chaitra,728 he went to Bhargava’s729 beautiful hermitage. Bhargava’s daughter was unmatched on earth in her beauty. Danda saw the excellent one roaming around in the region of the forest. On seeing her, the one who was extremely evil in his intelligence, was afflicted by the arrows of Ananga.730 Extremely eager, he approached the maiden and addressed her in these words. “O one with the beautiful hips! Where have you come from? O beautiful one! Whose daughter are you? O one with the excellent waist! I am asking you because I am sufferi
ng on account of Ananga.” He was confused and crazy with desire. When he said this, Bhargava’s daughter beseeched the king and replied in these words. “Know me to be the eldest daughter of Bhargava, the lord who is unblemished in his deeds. O Indra among kings! My name is Araja and I live in this hermitage. O Indra among kings! My father is your preceptor. You are the great-souled one’s disciple. If the great ascetic is extremely angry, he will impose a hardship on you. O best among king! If this is your intention, you should follow the virtuous path indicated by dharma, and seek my hand from my immensely radiant father. Otherwise, you will have to reap terrible fruits. If my father is angry, he can burn down the three worlds.” Danda was suffering from the arrows of desire and was addressed by Araja in this way. Crazy with desire, he joined his hands in salutation above his head and replied, “O one with the beautiful hips! Show me your favours. You should not waste time in this way. O one with the beautiful face! Because of you, my life is being shattered. To get you, I am ready to be killed and ready to perform an extremely terrible and vile act. O timid one! I am devoted to you. Serve me. I am completely distracted by my attachment towards you.” Having said this, the strongest of the strong seized the maiden with both of his hands. Though she writhed, he started to have intercourse with her, as he desired. Danda perpetrated this extremely horrible and extremely terrible and injurious act. He then quickly left for his excellent city of Madhumanta. Not far from the hermitage, Araja started to weep. Greatly terrified, she waited for her father, who was like a god.’