Hari Om.
Let us begin the thirty eighth sarga of the sundara kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Unable to bear the grief of sItA who was pining for rAma to the extent that she was ready to give up her life since she was not able to be with him, hanumAn offered sItA a ride on his back to where rAma was on the praSravana mountain. While he offered so, he was still in a small frame which he had assumed to avoid being noticed by the demons and carry out the quest for sItA. That strategy was successful. However sItA, firm that rAma should get the glory of trouncing rAvaNa and winning her back flatly declined hanumAn’s offer to escape from lanka. She said that would bring ignominy to rAma. And then she revealed the real reason, that she would touch no other man than rAma on her own. She was helpless when rAvaNa abducted her forcibly. She stood for a great principle even while facing untold hostility and being tormented. hanumAn was touched! Onwards…
The best of the vAnaras was delighted to learn the reasoning of sItA for refusing a ride on his back to rAma. The articulate hanumAn then said to sItA –
“O lady of auspicious looks, what you have spoken befits the modesty of a virtuous woman. Being a woman, I understand you are not willing to cross over the hundred yOjana long ocean riding on my back. But the second reason that you have articulated as per which you wouldn’t touch another man other than rAma can only be spoken by the consort of that great rAma. Who else can speak such words, O embodiment of modesty?
द्वितीयं कारणं यच्च ब्रवीषि विनयान्विते।
रामादन्यस्य नार्हामि संस्पर्शमिति जानकि ।।5.38.4।।
एतत्ते सदृशं देवि पत्न्यास्तस्य महात्मनः।
का ह्यन्या त्वामृते देवि ब्रूयाद्वचनमीदृशम्।।5.38.5।।
kAkutstha (rAma) shall hear everything about you including what you did and spoke in my presence. O dEvi, there are many reasons for proposing to fly you back to rAma, the foremost of which is the eagerness to please rAma and the love for him filled in my mind. The other reason for the proposal is how difficult it is to get into lanka. And of course, the belief in my own abilities also prompted me to say that.
इच्छामि त्वां समानेतुमद्यैव रघुबन्धुना।
गुरुस्नेहेन भक्त्या च नान्यथैतदुदाहृतम्।।5.38.9।।
I wanted to unite you right today with your dear rAma and hence out of my love and devotion for him, I offered to fly you back and not with any other intention. If however, O blemishless one, you don’t prefer to go back with me, please give me a mark of your identification seeing which rAma will feel reassured”.
The princess with a divine splendour, hearing these words of hanumAn was choked with tears and fighting those, slowly spoke these words to him –
“Please narrate this to my dear husband as a great mark of identification.
O rAma, once we were in the foothills of the chitrakUTa, not too far from the mandakinI river. The place was flocked by the ascetics and had abundance of roots, fruits with fragrant flowers all around. There you came and rested on my lap after getting yourself wet in the waters. Then a crow, who was used to eating the offerings tried to attack me and peck my flesh. I tried to ward it off with mud clod. That crow would persist. I was tired and tormented by it and had tears in my eyes with my cloth slipping and I was adjusting my waistband. You smiled at my discomfort and wiped off my tears. Placated by you and since I was tired, I slept off in your lap. Then after a while, you slept in my lap while I kept awake. The crow came back and kept pecking at my bosom. When it did so, drops of blood fell on the illustrious rAma and he woke up from his sleep. He hissed like a poisonous serpent. Enquiringly he asked who is it O lady of shapely limbs that is flirting with the five hooded serpent? As he looked around, he spotted the crow with bloodstained claws facing me. Seeing rAma thus, the crow who was the son of indra, took to the skies with the speed of the wind. The mighty armed rAma was livid at the crow and picking a straw of darbha grass from his mat, he recited the mantra and invoked brahmAstra into it and hurled the blazing weapon at the crow. The blazing brahmAstra chased the crow in the skies. Running from pillar to post, the crow went and sought shelter at various places and was refused shelter by his own father indra, sages and others and finally came to rAma after moving about the three worlds. He fell at the feet and sought refuge from rAma himself beseeching for his life even though he deserved nothing but death. rAma said, the brahmAstra cannot be rendered ineffective without sacrificing something and then the crow offered its right eye and having sacrificed that he retained his life. The crow paid his respects to rAma and daSaratha and retreated to its home.
O rAma, for my sake you hurled brahmAstra at the crow then why are you sparing him who has abducted me? O best of men, please be enthusiastic about showering grace on me who despite you having you as her lord seems to be an orphan.
मत्कृते काकमात्रे तु ब्रह्मास्त्रं समुदीरितम्।
कस्माद्यो मां हरेत्त्वत्तः क्षमसे तं महीपते।।5.38.39।।
आनृशंस्यं परो धर्मस्तवत्त्त ऐव मया श्रुतः।
जानामि त्वां महावीर्यं महोत्साहं महाबलम्।।5.38.41।।
I have heard from you that compassion is the supreme virtue. I know that you are supremely valorous, enterprising, mighty and unshakeable like the deep seas. You are the lord of the earth stretching all the way until the ocean like lord indra himself.
With such might and repertoire of weapons at your disposal, O rAghava why are you not unleashing them on the demons? Neither the nAgas, nor gandharvas, nor demons nor the maruts can stand the force of rAma on the battlefield. If the valorous rAma is anxious about me, why does he not vanquish the demons with his sharp arrows? Or why does lakshmaNa taking his brother’s permission apprehend the demons and rescue me? The brothers fierce like tigers comparable to the wind and fire and who are said to be invincible even by the gods, why are they indifferent towards me? Without doubt there is some demerit in me because of which the duo even if capable are not coming to protect me”.
यदि तौ पुरुषव्याघ्रौ वाय्वग्निसमतेजसौ।
सुराणामपि दुर्धर्षौ किमर्थं मामुपेक्षतः।।5.38.47।।
Listening to the heart rending lament of vaidEhI, hanumAn said –
O dEvi, I swear by truth, rAma is not indifferent to your misery and lakshmaNa grieves in the grief of rAma. This is not the time to grieve. You have been found by me with great effort and O blemish-less lady and your sorrows end right at this moment.
कथञ्चिद्भवती दृष्टा न कालः परिदेवितुम्।
इमं मुहूर्तं दुःखानां द्रक्ष्यस्यन्तमनिन्दिते।।5.38.51।।
Both princes, mighty and eager to behold you shall burn lanka to ashes very soon. rAghava shall very soon destroy rAvaNa along with his kin and soon take you to ayOdhyA very soon. O dEvi, please tell me what should conveyed to rAghava, lakshmaNa, the illustrious sugrIva and the vAnaras. The godly princess sItA asked thus by hanumAn was in tears and said –
“I bow down with my head to the lord of the worlds whom the great-hearted kausalyA bore. Please convey my inquiries of welfare to him.
कौसल्या लोकभर्तारं सुषुवे यं मनस्विनी।
तं ममार्थे सुखं पृच्छ शिरसा चाभिवादय।।5.38.56।।
The illustrious son of sumitrA gave up his parents, comforts, women who attend on him, luxuries of the royal life on the vast earth not obtained by everyone and followed rAma to follow an ascetic life. That dharmAtma having given up his good life follows kAkutstha in the forest and takes care of him rAma! That mighty one with lionlike might who is a heart of gold and pleasant to behold treats rAma like his father and me like his mother.
सिंहस्कन्धो महाबाहुर्मनस्वी प्रियदर्शिनः।
पितृवद्वर्तते रामे मातृवन्मां समाचरन्।।5.38.60।।
That valiant lakshmaNa didn’t know that I was being abducted then. He is diligent, serves elders a man of actions and few words. That prince is the best and very much like my father-in-law.
ह्रियमाणां तदा वीरो न तु मां वेद लक्ष्मणः।
वृद्धोपसेवी लक्ष्मीवान् शक्तो न बहुभाषिता।।5.38.61।।
राजपुत्रः प्रियः श्रेष्ठः सदृशः श्वशुरस्य मे।
That brother of rAma, lakshmaNa is dearer to him than even I am. Whichever work is assigned to him, he carries out with great responsibility. He ensures rAghava doesn’t miss his father daSaratha! Please convey my inquiries of welfare to him. That lakshmaNa is ever soft in heart, pure, capable and is the beloved of rAma.
यथा हि वानरश्रेष्ठ दुःखक्षयकरो भवेत्।
त्वमस्मिन्कार्यनिर्योगे प्रमाणं हरिसत्तम।।5.38.65।।
राघवस्त्वत्समारम्भान्मयि यत्नपरो भवेत्।
Ensure that by your efforts the sorrow is destroyed and rAghava gets into action for my sake. You are fit to be carrying out this task O great vAnara. Tell this to the valorous rAma again and again – truthfully I tell you, I will hold on to my life just for one more month. You must rescue me from the captivity of the wicked rAvaNa after undoing him”.
Saying so, sItA then took a jewel worn on her crest from her cloth and gave it to hanumAn to pass it on to rAma. Receiving the best of the jewels from her hand, hanumAn wore it on his finger as it didn’t fit on his arm and circumambulated her respectfully and stood by her side very gently!!
प्रतिगृह्य ततो वीरो मणिरत्नमनुत्तमम्।
अङ्गुल्या योजयामास न ह्यस्य प्राभवद्भुजः।।5.38.70।।
हर्षेण महता युक्तः सीतादर्शनजेन सः।
हृदयेन गतो रामं शरीरेण तु विष्ठितः।।5.38.72।।
hanumAn was swept with great delight on beholding sItA and his heart had already reached rAma although his body was here! Receiving the crest jewel from the daughter of janaka, the very deserving hanumAn was relieved like a mountain spared of the winds and contemplated his return to rAma.
Here we conclude the thirty eighth sarga of the sundara kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 5.39. Humble and earnest assurance
Previous: 5.37. Principled stand even in the face of adversity
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 