Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty second sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
rAma was so disillusioned with the disappearance of sItA that he began to hallucinate and imagine her presence. He thought for a moment, she was playing a prank and pleaded with her not to do so and appear in front of him. But to no avail! Although rAma disapproved of lakshmaNa’s explanation of the circumstances that led him out of the hermitage, he took momentary solace from his advice to look for sItA in all possible places in the vast and dense forest. Accordingly, the duo scan the entire danDaka forest, every cave, every hill, every river and elsewhere. But sItA was not to be found anywhere. Despondency was engulfing rAma after returning to the hermitage having scanned all over. lakshmaNa’s encouraging words hardly had an effect on him. Onwards…
Overwhelmed by the sorrow of not seeing sItA, the beautiful lotus-like eyes of the righteous and mighty rAma shed copious tears. Smitten by the love-god, rAma hallucinated as if he was seeing sItA behind a tree even though she wasn’t there and spoke incoherently –
त्वमशोकस्य शाखाभिः पुष्पप्रियतया प्रिये।
आवृणोषि शरीरं ते मम शोकविवर्धिनी।।3.62.3।।
“O beloved sItA, you are trying to hind yourself behind the branches of the aSOka (griefless) tree and thereby are enhancing my SOka (grief). O, there you are hiding behind the plantain tree, I can see your limbs that resemble the trunk of the plantain tree. You cannot hide from me, O sItA! O gentle woman, you are frolicking in the karnikAra garden! Ah, that pains me! You are making fun of me, O sItA, but exhausted as I am, this is no time for making fun. Especially such fun is not encouraged in the hermitages. I understand your liking for fun and your conduct very well, please come back to the hermitage, it is desolate without your presence.
विशेषेणाश्रमस्थाने हासोऽयं न प्रशस्यते।
अवगच्छामि ते शीलं परिहासप्रियं प्रिये।।3.62.7।।
आगच्छ त्वं विशालाक्षि शून्योऽयमुटजस्तव।
O lakshmaNa, even though I am weeping thus, sItA is not coming here which means she must have been abducted or eaten away by the demons. These beasts with there teary eyes seem to be confirming the same to me.
Alas, my beloved, O noble woman, O beautiful one, where have you gone. That queen kaikEyI will feel fulfilled today! I left the royal chambers in the company of sItA and how can I return there without her? People will surely say I lack valor and compassion and my cowardice will be clear if I go back without her. After the period of exile, when king janaka comes to inquire my welfare how can I look him in the eye? He will be devastated with sorrow to learn that I have come back without his darling daughter sItA. Or, I shall not return to ayOdhyA without her. Even the heavens will look desolate to me without her by my side.
O lakshmaNa, I will not survive without sItA, so you may leave me behind in the forest and head to ayOdhyA. Tightly embrace bharata and tell him that rAma has permitted him to rule over the world. Offer due respects to mothers kausalyA, sumitrA and kaikEyI and protect them. Explain in detail to my mother the loss of sItA and my devastation in the forest”.
As rAma wept inconsolably thus in the forest without sItA, lakshmaNa’s face went lackluster as he felt deeply agitated and terrified beholding rAma thus.
Here we conclude the sixty second sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
