Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred and eighteenth sarga teenth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.Even the heavens were shocked at what just transpired in lanka. As sItA entered the pyre, the crowds assembled there were devastated and shed tears while rAma remained unfazed externally. And then the gods rushed to lanka in their aerial chariots and addressed rAma. They tried to remind him in unison that he is the primordial purusha who assumed this human form and hence he ought not treat sItA like an ordinary woman. The human cast which lord vishNU took upon himself along with his consort lakshmI as sItA was still very much there and so he introduced himself as rAma, the son of daSaratha and wondered at what the gods were saying about him. Then the self-born lord brahma extolled him as the ultimate godhead and reminded him of his sojourn on the earth for the purpose of vanquishing rAvaNa which was possible only if he took a human form. The eulogy of rAma by lord brahma is so potent that reciting it would rescue anyone from ignominy – that is the phalaSruti that mahaRshI vAlmIki proclaimed at the end of that. Now that gods the gods spoke… Onwards…
As the grandsire spoke those auspicious words, the lord agni emerged from the fire cutting through the pyre with sItA seated on his lap. He assumed a human-like form and spontaneously came out along with sItA who shone like the just-risen sun, bejewelled in a spectacular manner with glittering golden ornaments, dressed in red, sporting dark and curly hair, wearing an unsullied garland and was in a very happy frame of mind. The lord vibhAvasu (agni) submitted vaidEhI to rAma and being the eternal witness of everything that goas on in the world said to him –
तरुणादित्यसङ्काशाम् तप्तकाञ्चनभूषणाम् ।
रक्ताम्बरधरां बालाम् नीलकुञ्चितमूर्धजाम् ।
अक्लिष्टमाल्याभरणाम् तथारूपामनिन्दिताम् ।
ददौ रामाय वैदेहीम् अङ्के कृत्वा विभावसुः ॥
“O rAma, here is sItA and no trace of blemish exists in her. O rAma, you take so much pride in your conduct and this lady of great conduct has not transgressed it either in thought, word or deed. She was abducted from the secluded forest when she was alone without you, was helpless and hapless by the haughty demon rAvaNa. She was kept in captivity in the vigil of ogresses of very crooked forms in the inner chambers and even being so she had her thoughts only in you and considered you as her only refuge. Despite being lured and threatened by them in various ways to covet rAvaNa, clinging to you deep in her soul, she didn’t budge to that demon’s wishes.
O rAghava, I command you to accept sItA without any further questions – her thoughts are pure, she is blemish-less”.
विशुद्धभावां निष्पापाम् पतिगृह्णीष्व राघव ।
न किञ्चिदभिधातव्या अहमाज्ञापयामि ते ॥
Hearing these words, the supremely articulate rAma was delighted and for a moment tears of joy welled up in the eyes of the embodiment of dharma. The illustrious, resplendent, valorous and ultimate stickler of dharma, rAma then addressed the best among the gods, agni and said –
“Of course, the worlds needed to know that sItA was without blemish. If I had taken her back without this test, since she lived for long in the inner chambers of rAvaNa. The learned would despise me and say that rAma, the son of daSaratha was carried away by lust in accepting her back without scrutiny. She is auspicious and the world needs to know that.
I am fully aware that maithilI, the daughter of the king janaka has no place for anyone other than me in her heart, she is devoted to me and dwells in my heart.
अनन्यहृदयां भक्ताम् मच्चित्तपरिवर्तिनीम् ।
अहमप्यवगच्छामि मैथिलीं जनकात्मजाम् ॥
It is only to let the three worlds also know that truth I acted with indifference even if she was entering the fire. rAvaNa could not transgress this wide-eyed woman who was protected by her own chastity like a sea cannot cross its limits. That wicked demon could not have transgressed her even in her thoughts as she is unapproachable like a blazing flame.
न हि शक्तः स दुष्टात्मा मनसाऽपि हि मैथिलीम् ।
प्रधर्षयितुमप्राप्याम् दीप्तामग्निशिखामिव ॥
She couldn’t care much for all the prosperity of rAvaNa as she is to me what the sunlight is to the sun (and being so she is the very abode of prosperity).
नेयमर्हति चैश्वर्यम् रावणान्तःपुरे शुभा ।
अनन्या हि मया सीता भास्करेण प्रभा यथा ॥
विशुद्धा त्रिषु लोकेषु मैथिली जनकात्मजा ।
न विहातुं मया शक्या कीर्तिरात्मवता यथा ॥
maithilI, the daughter of janaka is the purest in the three worlds. She cannot be given up by me any more than a man of self-esteem can give up his esteem. Of course it is my duty to abide by the welfare counsel and righteous commands of all of you who are acclaimed by the world and are looked upon with great affection”.
अवश्यं तु मया कार्यम् सर्वेषां वो वचः शुभम् ।
स्निग्धानां लोकमान्यानाम् एवं च वदतां हितम् ॥
इत्येवमुक्त्वा विजयी महाबलः प्रशस्यमानः स्वकृतेन कर्मणा ।
समेत्य रामः प्रियया महायशाः सुखं सुखार्होऽनुबभूव राघवः ॥
Having spoken these words, the mighty conqueror, who was praised by all for his extraordinary accomplishments, the celebrated rAma, who deserved all the happiness reunited with his beloved and experienced great bliss.
Here we conclude the one hundred and eighteenth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 6.119. daSaratha finds peace
Previous: 6.117. Gods rush to remind rAma!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
