Hari Om.
Let us begin the fifty fourth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
That was the first evening of the exile. sItA, rAma and lakshmaNa spent it under a banyan tree after crossing the sacred river ganga. As the trio sat down, rAma’s mind inevitably went to ayOdhyA, thinking about the disrespect that his mother might earn from the conceited kaikEyI. His human side of observing the weakness of king daSaratha surfaces! He becomes somewhat melancholic at the thought of kausalyA and asks lakshmaNa to at once go to ayOdhyA and take care of mother kausalyA and that he would proceed to the forest along with sItA. Brother lakshmaNa understands the pain of rAma and hears him out patiently. His was just the shoulder that rAma needed at that difficult time. The committed lakshmaNa told rAma that both he and sItA cannot survive without him just like the fish cannot survive without water! rAma didn’t insist further. He was distressed about his mother and then composed himself gradually. That night was spent under the banyan tree. Onwards…
Having spent that auspicious night under the tree, when the sun rose next morning, the trio set out in the sojourn. The illustrious trio entered the forest and kept walking in the direction of prayAga, where the confluence of river ganga and yamuna exists. They walked past enchanting trees and lovely landscapes not seen earlier. Walking carefully through the forest watching a variety of flora, at the end of the day they approached prayAga and sighted smoke billowing out of a sacrificial altar at a distance signifying the presence of ascetics there. rAma said as much to lakshmaNa and added further –
“Listen to this sound of two streams of water colliding, surely we have reached the point where the rivers ganga and yamunA meet. Look around and see the logs of woods lying which have been cut by the forest dwellers. And look here at the variety of the trees in this region, there is the ASrama of sage bharadwAja”.
The bow wielders comfortably walked towards the hermitage of sage bharadwAja and reached there by he evening. The birds and beasts on the way of rAma were frightened beholding the advent of rAma in that direction. On reaching the hermitage of sage bharadwAja, they beheld the sage of intense single minded penance, one who had attained the divine vision by virtue of his penance, the great sage was worshipping the fire by conducting yajna. The trio paid respects to him. Thereafter, rAma introduced himself and the other two – “O great sage, I am rAma, the son of king daSaratha, lod of ayOdhyA. By the order of my father, king daSaratha, I have entered the forest to lead an ascetic life subsisting on fruits and roots. He is lakshmaNa, a man of resolve who opted to follow me. And here is the spotless and auspicious daughter of janaka, vaidEhi, my consort. She also followed me to the forest. We all shall follow nothing but dharma during our stay in the forest”.
Sage bharadwAja heard the sef introduction of rAma, welcomed them and honored them. As per tradition, he fetched a cow and with milk drawn from it, welcomed the guests with due protocol. After welcoming them, the sage of intense penance offered a variety of eatables and drinks obtained from the forest produce. He also offered them a place to stay. After the due honors extended to the special guests, the sage sat surrounded by his disciples and the animals and birds in his hermitage. rAma also assumed a seat in front of him.
The sage was glad to see rAma come to him after a long time and was pained to learn about the unreasonable exile imposed on rAma. He told him that the sacred place on the banks of the confluence of the two rivers was a fitting place for him to stay and offered that they could stay at his hermitage. However, rAma was not quite interested in staying there as the citizens from the surrounding villages would frequent that place due to the possibility of easy access to him and vaidEhi. And that would upset the routine of the hermitage. He further prayed to sage bharadwAja to suggest a solitary place where his consort sItA would be comfortable and enjoy herself. The sage understood the import of the words of rAma and said -“
O rAma, about twenty miles from here you will find the mountain of chitrakUTa. It is a sacred place inhabited by several sages who have performed penance for hundreds of years. Some of them became so emaciated with the penance that they have assumed the form of their skeleton! Several of them attained the heavens. Monkeys and bears happily dwell in that place. The glorious mountain chitrakUTa resembling the great gandhamAdana mountain offers a pleasant sight from every direction. The mountain is so sacred that as long as someone has his sight on the mountain, he cannot even think of committing a sin and will be inspired to perform auspicious deeds.
यावता चित्रकूटस्य नरशृङ्गान्यवेक्षते।
कल्याणानि समाधत्ते न पापे कुरुते मनः।।2.54.30।।
O rAma, in my opinion that place would offer you solitude during the stay in the forest. Or, of course, you are welcome to happily stay here with me for the entire period of your exile”.
The holy and hospitable sage extended all due courtesies to the special guests and narrated auspicious and interesting tales as the night set in. The trio used to royal comforts spent the night in the lovely hermitage of sage bharadwAja.
As the dawn broke in the hermitage, rAma went to the sage and took leave of him. The sage warmly sent them off describing the sylvan surroundings of chitrakUTa blessed with great flora and fauna offering a variety of fruits, roots and honey. The hole hill range is home to mighty elephants, serpents, peacocks and replete with a wide variety of trees.
The sage was pretty sure that as rAma moves around there in the company of sItA beholding the lovely rivers, streams, waterfalls and valleys, they would surely be delighted. The sage suggested that they can bild their own hermitage in those surroundings where the elephants and deer moved about freely and cuckoos and cooed gloriously.
Here we conclude the fifty fourth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 2.55. Entering the forests
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 