Hari Om.
Let us begin the fifty first sarga of the sundara kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Scores of demons who were sent by rAvaNa to either kill or capture hanumAn met the same fate of being disintegrated in his hands! This included the young and prized son of rAvaNa, aksha. As the battle reached his very family, rAvaNa had a faint inkling of what he was up against and sent his trump card, the unassailable indrajit. While Indrajit couldn’t hit hanumAn, the vAnara could equally not trouble indrajit as they engaged in a duel. Finally, Indrajit understood the matter and pulled out the brahmAstra, the unbeatable astra. However, hanumAn who was immune even against that bowed to it in reverence to lord brahma and was captured. He was immediately tied up with ropes and barks which led to the loosening of the astra. But hanumAn let it be without offering any resistance as he wanted to meet the ten headed demon and give him one last chance at redemption. He shrugged off the insults and torture that the demons heaped on him, keeping the larger good of his mission. The demon king and hanumAn came face to face. Both exclaimed at each other’s splendor! The demon king, thinking it was below dignity to talk to the offender directly let his minister ask the questions. The captive hanumAn chose to address rAvaNa directly. Onwards…
The best among the vAnaras, firm hanumAn took a good look at the gigantic giant of ten heads and spoke slowly and meaningfully –
“I have come unto your abode commissioned by sugrIva carrying his message. O king of the demons, your brotherly sugrIva inquires about your welfare. Listen to his brotherly message, laden with dharma and beneficence appropriate in this world and the other. There lived king by name daSaratha, as famous as indra and well endowed with chariots, elephants, horses and prosperity. His eldest son, the illustrious rAma, a stickler of the dharmic path, set off to the forest as per his diktat along with his brother lakshmaNa and wife vaidEhI. His supremely chaste and devoted wife sItA, the daughter of the great king janaka, was lost while he was in the forest. Searching for her all over the forest along with his brother, the prince reached the mount RshyamUka and met with sugrIva.
Then sugrIva promised to conduct the quest to find the whereabouts of sItA and rAma promised to secure the vAnara kingdom for sugrIva. You know well about vAlI, the redoubtable vAnara. He was killed with just one arrow by rAma and sugrIva was crowned as the king of the bears and the vAnaras.
त्वया विज्ञातपूर्वश्च वाली वानरपुङ्गवः।
रामेण निहतस्सङ्ख्ये शरेणैकेन वानरः।।5.51.11।।
The very truthful sugrIva is busy in planning the quest of sItA and has dispatched millions of vAnaras all over who are scanning every inch of the nether world, earth and the skies to find sItA. Among those vANaras, some are mighty like the garuDa while yet others are swift and forceful like the wind god. I am hanumAn, the son of the wind god and I leapt across the ocean of a hundred yOjanas in my quest of sItA, desirous of seeing her. While moving around in your abode, I have seen sItA! O learned sire, you are aware of dharma and propriety and have carried out great penance. Hence you ought not hold as captives the wives of others. Wise people such as yourselves among the various acts opposed to dharma, avoid this adharma which will strike at your very base.
Who among the gods and demons fancy their chance standing in the path of the arrows unleashed by lakshmaNa triggered by the anger of rAma?
कश्च लक्ष्मणमुक्तानां रामकोपानुवर्तिनाम्।
शराणामग्रतः स्थातुं शक्तो देवासुरेष्वपि।।5.51.19।।
O king, indeed there exists no one in the three worlds who has got comfort by messing with rAghava.
न चापि त्रिषु लोकेषु राजन्विद्येत कश्चन।
राघवस्य व्यलीकं यः कृत्वा सुखमवाप्नुयात्।।5.51.20।।
तत् त्रिकालहितं वाक्यं धर्म्यमर्थानुबन्धि च।
मन्यस्व नरदेवाय जानकी प्रतिदीयताम्।।5.51.21।।
Listen to this good counsel full of dharma and beneficence which holds in the past, present and the future. Consider returning vaidEhI to the lord of men, rAma. The lady sItA has been spotted by me here with great difficulty and now rAma will deal with what is to be done next. The grieving sItA has been seen by me. Holding her as captive you are unaware that you actually holding a five-hooded serpent. She cannot be held by even gods or demons just like the sacrificial fire cannot digest poisoned offering. You have acquired great dharmic merit with a great difficulty performing great penance and you should not fritter it away thus.
Bu your penance you have earned invincibility against gods and demons but that is your biggest undoing. sugrIva is neither a god, nor a demi god, nor a demon, nor a yaksha nor a serpent. O king, rAghava is human. How will you safeguard your life from both of them?
The one who practices terrible adharma cannot expect to receive the benefits of dharma. Without doubt, you have been receiving the good consequences of dharma until now but very soon this adharma will also catch up with you.
Grasp the annihilation of your forces in the janasthAna, grasp the vanquishment of vAlI, understand the friendship of rAma and sugrIva and understand what is good for you! I alone can very well destroy lanka with all its attendant forces but I do not have the go ahead from rAma to do that. In front of the vAnaras and bears, rAma has vowed to uproot the enemy who has abducted sItA.
Even indra cannot live in peace if he displeases rAma, then what to speak of people like you. The sItA who you think you have captured, know her to be your death and the destroyer of lanka. On your shoulders you are carrying a noose in the form of sItA. Enough of that, think of your welfare. Behold this city of sky scapers burnt down to ashes by the splendor of sItA and the anger of rAma. Don’t inflict death upon your friends, ministers, kin, brothers, children and well-wishers and cause the destruction of your wives, comforts and of lanka.
O king of demons, listen to the words of this emissary, the servitor of rAma, especially that of this vAnara!
सर्वान् लोकान् सुसंहृत्य सभूतान् सचराचरान्।।5.51.39।।
पुनरेव तथा स्रष्टुं शक्तो रामो महायशाः।
Having annihilated the three worlds with all the attendant beings, rAma is capable of creating them all as such! Among the gods, demons, kings, yakshas, vidyAdharas, gandharvAs, sidhhas, kinnaras, avians, suffice to say no one exists or existed or will exist who can take on rAma equal in might to vishNu. Having slighted the lord of all the worlds, the lion among the kings, rAma, your life is hard to be secured. None of the gods or their likes can face rAma in the battle. Even the four faced, self-born lord brahma, three eyed rudra who hastened the end of the tripurasura, the leader of the gods indra are capable of protecting the one who is to be killed by rAma”.
The ten headed one flew into a rage having heard the unpleasant words spoken in great poise and dignity by the vAnara and with his eyes turning red, ordered the killing of the vAnara.
Here we conclude the fifty first sarga of the sundara kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 5.52. Flatter to counsel and it works!
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
