Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred fifth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
After offering oblations to their departed father at the river mandAkinI, the brothers assemble at the hermitage of rAma and grieve the loss of the king and their father. The tumultuous cries reverberated on the hills of the chitrakUTa and the keen citizens of the ayOdhyA who had parked at a good distance surmised that the brothers are together and headed in the direction of the sound! They beheld rAma! The mothers and the preceptors also walked their way along the mandAkinI and aggrieved at the difficulties and discomfort experienced by rAma who deserved nothing but comfort. They met rAma, sItA and lakshmaNa and caressed them showering their love. Their special love was marked for sItA. Then rAma fell at the feet of vasisTha and the preceptors, rAma, lakshmaNa, bharata, Satrughna, ministers, soldiers and the citizens all assembled that evening. Onwards…
The lionlike brothers surrounded by their well wishers and friends spent that night in lamentations. The next morning all of them went to the river mandAkinI, completed their daily worship and returned to rAma in the hermitage. They all sat around rAma and were silent in expectation. Among them, bharata began to address rAma –
“This large kingdom was given to me just to appease my mother. I am giving it back to you and you may please rule over it unopposed. Just like a bridge cannot withstand the mighty surge of waters, this large kingdom cannot be handled by anyone other than yourself. O lord of the earth (rAma), just like a donkey cannot keep pace with a horse and birds cannot keep pace with the eagle, I have no ability to fill your shoes. Worthy is his life on whom others depend for sustenance while those who depend on others lead a miserable life.
O great-armed one, here is a befitting example that applies to you – a person planted a tree and tended it making it so big that dwarfs cannot climb it. And then the gigantic tree doesn’t bear flowers or fruits. Imagine the disappointment in the person who planted it to see it so! [beautiful reference to king and father daSaratha here through this simile]
यथा तु रोपितो वृक्षः पुरुषेण विवर्धितः।
ह्रस्वकेण दुरारोहो रूढस्कन्धो महाद्रुमः।।2.105.8।।
स यदा पुष्पितो भूत्वा फलानि न विदर्शयेत्।
स तां नानुभवेत्प्रीतिं यस्य हेतोः प्ररोपितः।।2.105.9।।
एषोपमा महाबाहो तमर्थं वेत्तु मर्हसि।
यदि त्वमस्मान्वृषभो भर्ता भृत्यान्न शाधि हि।।2.105.10।।
If you don’t assume the lordship, we your servants shall be dejected. O rAma, let the illustrious citizens rejoice in beholding you as the king and ruling over like the resplendent Sun. As you journey to ayOdhyA to assume the lordship, following you in that procession, let the elephants trumpet, let the damsels rejoice”.
The assembled citizens immediately applauded this proposal with words “sAdhu sAdhu” (very well, very well). Seeing the illustrious lamenting pitiably, rAma said to him –
“A man is not the lord of himself and cannot do things as he pleases. It is destiny that makes pulls him this way or that. All wealth decays in the end, all high positions fall, all unions end in separation and life ends in death. Just like there is no other fear about a ripened fruit other than it falling down, there is no fear about life other than death!
यथा फलानां पक्वानां नान्यत्र पतनाद्भयम्।
एवं नरस्य जातस्य नान्यत्र मरणाद्भयम्।।2.105.17।।
Just like even the sturdiest of houses collapse eventually, man’s life also ends. A night that has passed doesn’t return just like the waters of yamunA that have flowed into the ocean do not return. With every passing night and day, the lifespan of a man decreases just like the waters in the waterbodies evaporate in the summer. One’s lifespan decays continuously irrespective of whether one is at rest or on the move and hence one should think of his own rather than worrying about others. Death is a constant companion of man and even if he travels long, he ultimately returns to death. As man ages, wrinkles form on his body, hair turns grey and he has no control over them what to speak of the decay brought forth by aging and death. They rejoice at the sunrise and sunset, at the change of seasons and the onset of new seasons, not being aware that their lifespan is decaying constantly.
नन्दन्त्युदित आदित्ये नन्दन्त्यस्तमितेऽहनि।
आत्मनो नावबुध्यन्ते मनुष्या जीवितक्षयम्।।2.105.24।।
हृष्यन्त्यृतुमुखं दृष्ट्वा नवं नवमिहागतम्।
ऋतूनां परिवर्तेन प्राणिनां प्राणसङ्क्षयः।।2.105.25।।
Just like two pieces of logs come together in an ocean driven by the waves and again are separated by the waves, spouse, children, relations and wealth come together momentarily but their separation is inevitable.
यथा काष्ठं च काष्ठं च समेयातां महार्णवे।
समेत्य च व्यपेयातां कालमासाद्य कञ्चन।।2.105.26।।
एवं भार्याश्चपुत्राश्च ज्ञातयश्च धनानि च।
समेत्य व्यवधावन्ति ध्रुवो ह्येषां विनाभवः।।2.105.27।।
No being on earth can control the way it lives, and hence there is no point grieving over the deceased. A traveler follows the path of other experienced travelers and similarly we follow the path followed by our forefathers without violations. The waters that flow down do not return and so the life that is spent doesn’t return and hence it is said that so long as life persists, one should perform righteous deeds.
Our father, lord of the earth, ascended to the heavens on account of his yajna, charity, righteousness, virtuous deeds, benevolent rule and after having lived a long and fruitful life well honoured by his peers and subjects. He has left behind the worn out body and having assumed a divine attribute he moves about in the higher worlds called brahmalOka. You and me ought not to grieve over the passing of this noble and pious king. Such grief on account of the deceased ought to be shed by the wisemen irrespective of the circumstances.
Therefore, O bharata, grieve not, compose yourself and go and establish yourself in the great city of ayOdhyA as instructed by the self restrained king. I shall also follow his orders diligently and live in the forests. We both cannot transgress this command of our righteous father.
O bharata, those who are desirous of attaining higher worlds in after life must be righteous, compassionate and obedient to the orders of elders. Therefore, let us both be true to the orders of the righteous father and do as ordered”.
Thus rAma, in order to obey the command of his father explained to the younger brother bharata in various ways and assumed quietude for a moment.
Here we conclude the one hundred fifth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Previous: 2.104. Peek into mothers’ heart
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 