bAla kANDam, sarga 3
Individual verses with meanings
Listen to the audio of recitation of this sarga
Hari: Om.
Let us begin the third sarga by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
In this sarga, vAlmIki describes how he went about composing the epic, the contents therein and how it is laid out.
Having heard the story of SrIrAma from the omniscient nArada, the sage vAlmIki sought to know the story in more detail. He sat on some kuSa grass which had its tips facing east, that is, he himself sat facing east. On partaking a little water thrice, known as Achamanam, he closed his eyes, folded his hands and lost himself in meditation, seeking to know the past events in the life of rAma. By the grace of lord brahmA, he started visualizing sItA, rAma, lakshmaNa, their brothers, king daSaratha, his kingdom, his court, his wives, their conversations, their laughter – just as he would experience it in real life!
रामलक्ष्मणसीताभी राज्ञा दशरथेन च ।
सभार्येण सराष्ट्रेण यत्प्राप्तं तत्र तत्त्वत: ।।1.3.3।।
हसितं भाषितं चैव गतिर्या यच्च चेष्टितम् ।
तत्सर्वं धर्मवीर्येण यथावत्सम्प्रपश्यति ।।1.3.4।।
He saw clearly what transpired between them, when the truthful rAma, lakshmaNa and sItA, went to the forest and dwelled there. He could clearly see in his meditation, the entire course of events in the life of rAma, to the greatest detail – just as he could visualize a gooseberry on his palm!
तत: पश्यति धर्मात्मा तत्सर्वं योगमास्थित: ।
पुरा यत्तत्र निर्वृत्तं पाणावामलकं यथा ।।1.3.6।।
{There is a very interesting usage by the sage here. We have this usage even in English these days – “Knowing something like the back of your hand”, meaning you have detailed knowledge of something. It can be correlated from this usage how clearly vAlmIki saw the history. It was a high-definition, highly detailed feast of rAma’s life that he was having.}
maharShi vAlmiki, righteous and ardent in penance, had a factual vision of the entire life of the delightful rAma and sat down to compose his life-story, blending the merits of worldly prosperity and pleasures along with virtues and dharma (righteousness) as the goal of the epic. The epic resembles an ocean filled with gems and sends the listeners to raptures.
The divine sage vAlmIki recounted and composed in great detail the story of rAma, born in the lineage of raghu, just as said to him by sage nArada. maharShi vAlmIki then provided highlights of his composition. He wrote about the auspicious and great birth of rAma, his prowess, magnanimity, popularity, pleasant demeanour, gentleness and adherence to truth.
He then wrote about bharata’s attempt to bring back rAma by visiting citrakUTa, rAma’s performance of obsequies of his departed father, refusal to return to ayOdhya and granting the sandals to bharata. This is followed by bharata installing the pAdukAs or sandals as the ruler and ruling ayOdhya as their representative, i.e. representing rAma’s rule in the hamlet of nandigrAma. The departure to panchavaTi, vanquishing virAdha, interviews with the sages sutIkshNa, Sarabhanga and agastya; sItA’s pleasant exchanges with anasUya, and the meeting with jaTAyu follow. Then he writes about dialogue with SUrpaNakha, disfiguring her, killing of khara, dUshaNa, triSira and mArica followed by abduction of sItA by rAvaNa, death of jaTAyu and rAma’s lamentation over separation from sItA as well as jaTAyu’s fate. Visiting and the liberation of kabandha by rAma, meeting Sabari and union with hanumAn follow.
maharShi describes next rAma and lakshmaNa reaching the rshyamUka mountain and meeting sugrIva, convincing him about rAma’s prowess, vanquishing vAli, the sorrow of his wife tAra and installing sugrIva as the King of kishkindha. rAma’s patient wait on the mountain during the rains and his rage at sugrIva’s negligence, sending the monkey armies in search of sItA to all sides, giving the ring to hanumAn, the monkeys and bears getting into the cave of swayamprabhA, fasting unto death and from there knowing about sItA through sampAti follows next. He then writes about crossing the ocean by hanumAn and on the way meeting mainAka, slaying simhikA and hanumAn reaching the malaya mountain in lankA, entering the city of lankA by the night, planning the search in solitude, finding the aerial car pushpaka vimAna, seeing rAvaNa while he was asleep, searching in the hall where surA or liquor is served and finally finding sItA in the aSOka vanam. Descriptions of the demonesses torturing sItA, rAvaNa himself speaking harsh words to her, and later the demoness trijaTa recounting her soothsaying dream about the victory of rAma over rAvaNa, hanumAn handing over the ring, the token of recognition to sItA, destroying the asOka vanam, devastating the demons, setting lankA on fire and returning to rAma with reassuring words and handing over the gem of sItA (cUDAmaNi) to SrIrAma follow. maharShi then provides a detailed account of rAma and the army reaching the banks of the ocean, nala building the bridge on the ocean, the army crossing the ocean on the bridge and laying siege on lankA by nightfall, association with vibhIshaNa, killing kumbhakarNa, slaying indrajit and routing rAvaNa followed by coronation of vibhIshaNa as the king of lankA. He then writes about rAma returning to ayOdhya in the pushpaka vimAnam, reunion with bharata, coronation of SrIrAma, enthralling the subjects with his righteous rule and giving up sItA. Whatever has not yet taken place in the life of rAma, the divine sage composed in the uttara kANDa.
Thus the sage composed the episodes in the life of rAma in great detail along with yet to happen events as per the clairvoyance blessed upon him by lord brahmA.
Here we conclude the 3rd sarga of the bAla kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 