Individual verses with meanings
Hari Om.
Let us begin the seventy seventh sarga of the bAlakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
As the wedding party was returning from mithila, paraSurAma apprehended rAma and challenged him to string the bow of vishNu which rAma did with such elan that paraSurAma was struck with amazement. rAma refused to take his life and asked him to choose between going motionless or losing the exalted merits which he acquired through penance. paraSurAma chose the later and after paying his due respect to rAma retreated to the mount mahEndra to perform penance. Onwards…
After the conquest, daSaratha rAma in a peaceful frame of mind gave away the bow to the mighty god varuNa. rAma then paid his respects to the Rshis led by vasisTha and addressed his anxious father and reassured him that paraSurAma has left and that requested the king to order the battalion to resume the journey to ayOdhya. King daSaratha heaved a sigh of relief and in utter delight hugged rAma and scented his head (by way of his blessing). He indeed felt it was a rebirth for his as well as his son!
Commanded by king daSaratha, the battalion hastened to ayOdhya at a brisk pace and reached the city. There the city was tastefully decorated with arches and flags, water was sprinkled on the high ways and flowers were strewn all the way along, trumpets resounded all over. The king and the newly weds approached the beautifully decked up royal palace groups where groups of citizens welcomes them with auspicious and melodious music. Welcomed thus by loving citizens and learned brAhmins the king with his sons entered the royal palace which had an imposing look like the himalayan mountains.
The royal residence was replete with every desirable object of enjoyment and the queens duly welcomed their daughters-in-law – the highly fortunate sIta, Urmila, mAnDavi and SRutakIrti. The brides, thus welcomed lovingly, adorned beautiful silks and immediately went to worship the family deity of the ikshvAkus. After paying respects to all elders and giving wealth, grain and cows away in chairty to deserving brAhmins, the brides entered their palaces that looked verily like the edifice of kubEra, the god of wealth. They joined their husbands and enjoyed marital bliss.
The four sons of daSaratha were highly capable men possessing wealth, valorous, adept in use of weapons, served their parents well, spent time happily with friends and conducted themselves with great dignity.
Some time passed thus in happy pursuits. One day king daSaratha addressed his son bharata and told him that bharata’s maternal uncle yudhAjit had requested (in mithila) to take his nephew home for sometime. The king had okayed it and said bharata should oblige and accompany him. bharata agreed, said good byes to all, paid respects to the gurus, hugged rAma and lakshmaNa and left for kEkaya along with Satrughna.
rAma and lakshmaNa continued to served their godly father. On the commands of the king, rAma engaged himself in administrative matters and brought comfort and welfare to the citizens. Unfailingly rAma attended to every need of his father, mothers and gurus at the appropriate time. The king. brAhmins and other citizens were thrilled no end at the way rAma conducted himself. For the beings in the kingdom, rAma, whose power was truthfulness and spotless conduct was verily like the lord brahma in enabling their lives.
[Thus rAma gave equal importance to everyone – parents, brothers, wife, subjects – hence he is the ideal for humans]
rAma’s heart was given to sIta with whom he traveled and reveled through the seasons. While sIta was dear to rAma since she was chosen as his wife by his father, she endeared herself to him several folds by virtue of her conduct and character. For siTa, rAma was even dearer. Their love for each other was so intense and hearty that their thoughts resonated and they could communicate thoughts which arose in each other’s heart without expressing explicitly.
तस्याश्च भर्ता द्विगुणं हृदये परिवर्तते।
अन्तर्जातमपि व्यक्तमाख्याति हृदयं हृदा।।1.77.30।।
sIta was unparalleled in her divine beauty and was verily the form of goddess lakshmi. This daughter of janaka from mthila was very dear to rAma.
The charming son of the sagely daSaratha, rAma united together with the excellent daughter of king janaka shone forth like lord vishNu and his consort goddess lakshmi.
Here we conclude the seventy seventh sarga of the bAla kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
Here we conclude the bAlakAnDam and offer it humbly at the lotus feet of bhagawAn SrI sItaRamachandra.
jAi SrIrAma.
Next: ayOdhya kAnDam – dharma canto
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 