Hari Om.
Let us begin the ninty fifth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
As the troops and citizens led by bharata reach the chitrakUTa mountain and are within the reach of rAma’s ASram, the prince asked the troops to halt and camp there. The soldiers confirmed the presence of habitation in the forest by spotting the smoke arising from there. Encouraged by that sign which validated the directions provided by sage bharadwAja, bharata along with his confidantes set out into the forest to search for rAma.
In the meanwhile, it’s been a memorable stay in the lap of nature for sItA, rAma and lakshmaNa. Reveling in the best of nature’s beauty, pleasing to the soul, rAma hardly feels the pain of exile. Along with the beautiful nature, the company of sItA and lakshmaNa make it a paradise. he takes sItA out to show around and tells her that he doesn’t miss ayOdhyA at all! Onwards…
The duo, sItA and rAma, got down from the mountain of chitrakUTa and rAma took sItA to the lovely and sacred river mandAkinI. He showed her the vegetation on the banks of the river, the flocks of birds that descend there, the variety of lotuses in full bloom. It was a delightful sight for the charming daughter of king vidEha. The sight of the river, vegetation, blooms, birds was so picturesque that it resembled the lake nalinI in the gardens of kubEra. In the expanse of sparkling waters, at places the water was a tad turbid indicating that a flock of deer just quenched their thirst! Elsewhere the sages that perform penance in the forests offered their ablutions to the sun god with upraised arms. The tall trees on the mountain were swaying delightfully to the wind shedding leaves and flowers and it appeared as if the mountain was dancing! The banks of the river of crystal clear waters had sand dunes and crowded with the seekers in certain places.
Large amounts of flowers have fallen on the river and floated around. And on those floating heaps of flowers, the chakravAka or the brahminy duck sat and sang melodiously! Thus rAma is showing sItA the delightful sight of the river mandAkini and said further –
“O sItA, the experince of beholding the lovely river mandakinI in your presence surely trumps being in ayOdhyA!
दर्शनं चित्रकूटस्य मन्दाकिन्याश्च शोभने।
अधिकं पुरवासाच्च मन्ये तव च दर्शनात्।।2.95.12।।
O sItA, come let us take a dip in this holy river frequented by the realized ones and replete with white and red lotuses. Consider this to be the river sarayu, the mountain chitrakUTa to be ayOdhyA, the fauna here the denizens of ayOdhyA. Being here, bathing thrice in the river and offering ablutions timely, in your comforting and loving company and that of the righteous lakshmaNa, partaking the roots, fruits and honey, I am experiencing great pleasure, so much so that I yearn for neither ayOdhyA nor the kingdom! Who shall not be relieved of his fatigue by beholding this charming river in which the elephants, deer, monkeys and lions quench their thirst and large heaps of flowers shed by the trees in full bloom are scattered everywhere”.
Thus the scion of the raghu dynasty rAma showed around and described to sItA at length, the ravishing and gorgeous river mandAkinI along with its bewitching flora and fauna, a sight that was extremely pleasing to the eyes.
Here we conclude the ninty fifth 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: 2.95. rAma doesn’t miss ayOdhyA!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 