Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty sixth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
In searching for sItA, rAma, as his good nature befits him, requests every single tree to reveal the whereabouts of sItA. He asks the river gOdAvarI and the beasts. While no one responds, a particular flock of deer try to convey to him that she was flown off in the southern direction. He was too upset to figure it out, but the attentive lakshmaNa did. He immediately told rAma that they ought to walk south west in their quest. As they walked some distance, the scene clearly revealed that there was a battle that took place there and the debris of a chariot, carcasses of the asses yoked to the chariot, body of the dead charioteer, broken bow were spotted and also the foot marks of a graceful lady, purportedly sItA which were followed by large foot marks, purportedly that of a demon. They surmised that sItA was evidently chased. The splattering of blood drops was scary! rAma flew into a rage and vowed to end the creation as they knew it, if the gods didn’t hand back sItA intact. This was lakshmaNa’s moment to console rAma and reason that he ought not hurt the whole creation for the fault of one. Further, lakshmaNa added, “let’s try together to find her and if we are not successful, you can go ahead and annihilate! It momentarily halted rAma’s charge! Onwards…
As rAma being deluded wept inconsolably like an orphan, briefly lost his senses and was extremely miserable in sorrow, lakshmaNa began to press his feet to comfort him and gently said – “O rAma, king daSaratha secured you by his intense penance and great deeds paralleling the efforts made by the gods to secure the immortal nectar. As we heard from bharata, the king was so fond and attached to your virtues that he could not bear the separation from you and attained the heavens.
यदि दुःखमिदं प्राप्तं काकुत्स्थ न सहिष्यसे।
प्राकृतश्चाल्पसत्त्वश्च इतरः कस्सहिष्यति।।3.66.5।।
[Therefore,] if this sorrow that we have obtained cannot be borne by you which other ordinary man can bear it? If you want to annihilate the worlds out of your sorrow, where will the ordinary fold find refuge in?
It is indeed the way of the world – to not spare even the greats and gods from difficulties – the great yayAti, son of king nahusha, shared the heavens with indra but accursed suffered misfortune; vasisTha, the preceptor of our father lost a hundred sons in one stroke; even this mother earth who is firm suffers quakes once in a while; the two eyes of the world – sun and moon – on whom every dharma of this world is based – suffer eclipses once in a while. No one, not even the gods who assume a body can transgress the destiny.
O best among men, O rAma, even the gods like indra are governed by the laws of justice and so you ought not wail like a mere mortal thus even if sItA has been abducted or is no more. People like you, established in the truth, even in the face of worst calamities and adversities do not sulk and grieve. Gather your wisdom and decide factually. That is what wise people do – know right and wrong by the application of wisdom. great results cannot be expected from the fickle minded who do not weigh pros and cons of a situation and act.
O rAma, this is exactly how you have instructed and advised me many times in the past; who indeed can coach about this; you are like the guru of the gods – bRhaspati. Even the gods cannot fathom your wisdom, I am merely trying to awaken the intellect that has gone into stupor due to sorrow. O best among the ikshvAkus, relying on your valor and the arsenal of both human and divine weapons target and slay the enemy. Destroying everything will serve no point, first identify exactly who the perpetrator is and take him out.
Here we conclude the sixty sixth 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 
