Individual verses with meanings
Hari Om.
Let us begin the fifty ninth sarga of the bAlakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Satananda continued the narration of triSanku reaching out to viSwAmitra to perform the yajna that enables his bodily ascension to the heaven. viSwamitra was moved at the plight of king triSanku and agreed to officiate in the yajna. Onwards…
viSwAmitra heard out the king-turned-chanDala (outcast) and was moved by compassion and readily offered him refuge since he was a righteous king of the ikshvAku dynasty. He assured the king – “fear not, your wish shall be fulfilled. I will invite Rshis to take part in this yajna and conduct it. Once the yajna is performed, you shall be able to ascend to the heavens with this very form assumed by the curse of your guru”. And then with a dash of pride viSwamitra added, “since you have come to kauSika – the protector of those who seek refuge in him , the heaven is already within your reach!”.
हस्तप्राप्तमहं मन्ये स्वर्गं तव नराधिप।
यस्त्वं कौशिकमागम्य शरण्यं शरणागत:।।1.59.5।।
He then called his sons adept in rituals and said – “go and as my order bring sages who are scholars, well read, adept in practice of rituals along with their disciples. I will brook no opposition to this from anyone and if someone dares to do so, report that to me factually”. Obeying the order, viSwAmitra’s sons set out in various directions and started inviting vEdic scholars and practitioners who can officiate the rituals (Rtwiks). Accepting the invite, the Rtwiks began to arrive. His sons returned and submitted that except the sages from mahOdaya’s ASram and vasisTha’s sons, all the rest have started arriving.
They further reported that mahOdaya and vasisTha’s hundred sons were seething in anger upon learning about the purpose of the invitation. They said “how can we take part in a yajna where the chief priest is a kshatriya (viSwAmitra) and the doer is an outcast (chanDala). How are we to attain the heavens after eating the food offered by them”. With these harsh and angry words they rejected the invite.
viSwAmitra turned red-eyed in fury upon listening to this account of the exchange between his sons and those of vasisTha. He felt that they didn’t recognize his intense penance and insulted him. He pronounced terrible curses on the sages who rejected his invite. he cursed the sons of vasisTha to turn into ashes and not just that, for seven hundred births they would feed on corpses in the land of yama! And after that when they are born again, it would be as merciless dog-eaters roaming around in an ugly and unkempt manner! He then directed his ire and mahOdaya and cursed him that he be born as a hunter abhorred by all.
In the assembly of sages who had arrived from various parts, viSwAmitra uttered these terrible curses on sages who rejected his invite and having raining his wrath on them fell silent.
Here we conclude the fifty ninth 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 