Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
As king daSaratha’s mortal remains lied in the state in an oil bath awaiting the final rites by one of his sons, the council of ministers along with the preceptors had an emergency meeting to thwart the crisis facing ayOdhyA. They express varied opinions but all them underscore the importance of a king to the state. The 2.67. Longing for the leader clearly details the various types of problems that will manifest in the society in the absence of a king (rule of law). The sarga is an excellent manual to identify the lack of an effective ruler in a state by looking at the happenings. The universality and timelessness of this message is indeed a testament to the understanding of human psyche and rule of law that existed in this land since a very long time. Sage vasisTha, the chief preceptor and the knower of all the intricacies listens to the submissions of the council and decides. Onwards…
Having heard the submissions of the council to act in this hour crisis that stared at ayOdhyA, sage vasisTha instructed thus – “The kingdom has been given to bharatha who along with Satrughna is happily biding his time in the maternal grandfather’s house. Let emissaries leave at once riding swift horses and fetch him. There is nothing much to discuss in this case other than to fetch the two princes bharata and Satrughna”.
The council agreed to this proposal unanimously and upon that sage vasisTha called up the messengers – sidhhArta, jayanta, vijaya, nandana and aSOka and instructed them the further course to be followed by them. –
“Listen to me about your duty, go to the royal palace where bharata is dwelling in that kingdom of kEkaya and convey these words as my order. Without showing any sign of grief, convey the best wishes of the council to him and tell him that he is needed in ayOdhya immediately. But do not tell him anything about the demise of the king or exile of rAma or the crisis that has arisen in the clan of raghus.
मा चास्मै प्रोषितं रामं मा चास्मै पितरं मृतम्।
भवन्त श्शंसिषुर्गत्वा राघवाणामिमं क्षयम्।।2.68.8।।
Please carry appropriate gifts in forms of silks, jewels and ornaments for the king and prince bharata and leave at once to kEkaya”.
As instructed the emissaries made arrangements for the travel and with the permission of sage vasisTha left at once to kEkaya mounting on swift horses. They traveled westwards for some distance and having reached the western side of the aparatala mountain they turned north and moved along the river mAlini which slowed between the mountains aparatala and pralamba. They crossed the river ganga at hastinApura and then traveled westward swiftly with a goal of accomplishing their mission, through the land of kurujAngala and reached pAnchAla beholding beautiful rivers and lakes on the way. From there, they crossed the lake by name SaradanDa which is a sanctuary of the birds of various kinds. Traveling further they saw a tree of mystic powers by name satyOpayAchana, circumambulated it and paid obeisance and reached the city of kulinga. Traveling further they crossed places called abhikAla and teJobhibhavana and from there crossed over the river ikshumati which was a favourite place of the forefathers of king daSaratha. There in that sacred river they drank water with their palms and paying their respects to vEdic scholars on the banks, they traveled through the bAhlika country and reached the mountain sudAma. There on the mountain they beheld the foot prints of vishNu and crossed over vipASA and SAlmali beholding on the way rivers, lakes, ponds, wells and pools and also a variety of wild beasts such as lions, tigers, elephants and deer.
Tirelessly they traveled through in order to fulfil the command of the master keeping the urgency of the matter in their mind. Soon they reached the best of cities girivraja along with their tired horses. Without demurring in their duty and commitment to the master and for upholding the honor of the clan of raghus, travelling swiftly, the emissaries by night reached the city of the king of kEkaya.
Here we conclude the sixty first 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: 2.69. Bad omens besiege bharata
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 