1.23 Caring sage, curious princes

sarga 23, bAlakAnDam

Hari Om.

Let us begin the twenty third sarga of the bAlakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.

In this sarga maharshi describes about the journey of rAma and lakshmaNa along with viSwAmitra.

The night lapsed into a fresh dawn. viSwAmitra and the two princes were sleeping on a bed of leaves. The sage woke up and gently wakes rAma up with a verse that has been etched ever since in the human psyche.

[It is also the verse that is used in the suprabhAtam of Sri. venkaTEswara swAmi. ]

viSwAmitra says…

कौसल्या सुप्रजा राम पूर्वा सन्ध्या प्रवर्तते।

उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम्।।1.23.2।।

O beloved son of kausalya, rAma, the dawn is upon us. Wake up, O best among men, it is time to perform divine duties at this hour. Woken up by the highly soothing and generous words of the sage, the princes woke up, took their bath in sarayu and offered water in oblation (arghyam) to the Sun god and performed japam – recitation of divine name. The mighty and valorous princes having performed their morning rituals, fresh with energy, greeted the sage and indicated their readiness to start the journey. The three resumed their journey along the banks of sarayu and reached the confluence of the rivers ganga and sarayu.There on the banks of the holy confluence, they saw a hermitage where they found Rshis performing severe penance for thousands of years. Delighted to see that, rAma asked the sage “whose ASram have we arrived at, O divine sage, I’m indeed very curious to know”. Delighted, sage viSwAmitra, narrated –

The god of love, known variously as kAmadEva or kandarpa lived here. Once he along with the swift winds called maruts disturbed lord Siva when he was performing penance along with his newly wed consort pArvati. Siva wouldn’t brook this indulgence on the part of kAma dEva and instantly reduced him into ashes, thus disembodying him! kAmadEva shed his body in the anga dESa and is ever since known as ananga, a disembodied being (one without a body)! This ASrama belongs to kAmadEva and all these Rshis here are his disciples. They are sinless and virtuous. rAma, O embodiment of auspiciousness, let us rest in this ASram tonight and resume our journey tomorrow morning.

The three of them entered the hermitage and the far-sighted Rshis by virtue of their penance recognized them all. They offered due hospitality to the three of them by welcoming them and offering water to wash their hands and feet. After that the inmates of the ASram took them inside and entertained them that evening by regaling them with various tales. All of them performed the evening rituals. rAma and lakshmaNa were delighted by many enchanting tales narrated by the best among sages, the righteous viSwAmitra.