Sarga(Chapter):50: Visit to place of Yagna of Janaka and
introduction of Rama and Lakshmana.
(Viswamithra along withy Rama and Lalkshmana visits the
place of Yagna of the king Janaka. The sage is received hospitably. Janaka is curios to know about Rama and
Lakshmana, Viswamithra introduces them.)
From there Viswamithra along with Rama and Lakshmana
walking in the front proceeded towards the North east and reached the place of the Yagna. 50.1
Rama along with Lakshmana addressing the tiger among sages told, “The preparations
of the Yagna by the
great Janaka are remarkable.
“
50.2
“Oh great one, thousands
of Brahmins who have studied Vedas properly belonging to various
countries have assembled here . Hundreds of carts and quarters for sages are seen here ,. Oh
God like sage, let us decided to the place that we are going to stay
here.”
50.3-50.4
The great sage after listening to words of Rama chose a place for staying , near the water
front which was overtly crowded.
50.5
The king hearing about the arrival of sage Viswamithra ,
placing in front his blemish less priest Sathanaanda , went forward to welcome
him with great humility.
50.6
The very eminent officiating priests brought quickly the materials for worship and offered them to Viswamithra with prayers. 50.7
Having accepted the worship by the great soul Janaka ,
the sage enquired about the welfare of the king as well as the proper conduct
of the Yagna.
50.8
Then as per
tradition making enquiries with the
teachers and priests , Viswamithra joined together with them happily. 50.9
Then the king with folded hands requested the sage “You
may kindly take your seat along with these
great sages. “
50.10
Hearing the words of Janaka , that great sage occupied
his seat. The king along with his family priest and along with priests and
ministers also sat down.
50.11
Afterwards the king
examining all his sides and having seen that all persons are seated
according to their rank , spoke to Viswamithra.
50.12
“Today the greatness of my Yagna has been fulfilled by your god like presence and I feel that I
have already obtained the fruits of my Yagna.”
50.13
“Oh Great sage, Oh Brahmana , I am blessed because you
have come to this hall of Yagna along with these ascetics . I am indebted to
you for that.”
50.14
“Oh Brahmarishi, learned persons are telling me that only twelve more days are there to
complete this Yagna and Oh sage Viswamithra
, you are suitable to see the Devas claiming their share from this
yagna.”
50.15
The king after talking like this to the tiger among sages
, with folded hands and a cheerful face again asked him.
50.16
“Oh Viswamithra, I wish you safety. Who are these two
youths, who are as valorous as devas, who have the gait of an elephant or a
lion, appearing similar to the tiger or
bull, who have broad eyes like the lotus petal, who armed with sword and quiver
full of arrows , who have the prettiness of Aswini Kumaras, who have just
attained the youth and who seem to have
come to earth by their own free will
from the land of devas? Whose sons are
they? Have they come on foot to this
place? And for what purpose have they come here”
50.17-50.19
“Oh great saint , they resemble each other in their personality with their mesh of hair falling on their
temples and expression and movements. They are decorating
this country like moon and sun decorates the sky and Holding blessed weapons these heroes have
come. Whose sons are they”? I desire to hear about this from you. “ 50.20-50.21
Hearing the words of the great Janaka, the great sage
presented Rama and Lakshmana to him and told him that they are sons of
Dasaratha. 50.22
That great sage with great luster told
the distinguished king Janaka ,
about their visit to sidhasramam, their
meeting with Rakshasas there, their undaunted Journey to Vishala and meeting
with king of Vishala, the appearance of Ahalya, their meeting with sage
Gauthama and lastly about
their inquisitiveness to see the
great bow as their
purpose of visit to this place and stopped.
50.23-50.25
This is the end of the fiftieth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga (Chapter)51: Sathananda starts telling the story of sage Viswamithra.
(Sathananda the Guru of Janaka who is the son of Ahalya
enquires about his mother. Later he starts telling the story of Viswamithra.
After telling his lineage , he tells about how Viswamithra during a
royal hunt visits the hermitage of
Vasishta)
Having heard the words of the great
Viswamithra, Sathanaanda the eldest son of sage Gauthama, who possessed
great splendour and had done great
penances was thrilled on seeing
Rama and was greatly astonished.
51.1-51.2
Then Sathanaanda seeing the two princes who were
comfortably seated addressed the great
sage Viswamithra and said.
51.3
“Oh tiger among sages, did you show my famous mother who
was practicing great penance for a long time, to the princes.”
51.4
“Did my famous mother possessing great luster , offer
homage to Rama, who is worthy of being worshipped by all beings , with things
available in forest.?”
51.5
“Oh greatly lustrous one , was Rama told about the
injustice done by the devas to my mother?”
51.6
“Oh Viswamithra , remain safe , oh great sage , after
seeing Rama did my mother get united with my father.? “
51.7
“Oh Kushika , was Rama honoured by my father ?Did the
illustrious Rama honour my father who
was a person with great luster , when he arrived there? 51.8
“Oh son of Khusika , did the pious Rama , who
visited the hermitage , salute my
father with a peaceful mind?” 51.9
The great sage Viswamithra after hearing these words ,
replied to Sathanaanda , who was master of his words and
had a great vocabulary .
51.10
“Oh great ascetic, all that was needed to be done was
done without omitting anything and
Ahalya was united with Gauthama like Renuka
was united with her husband sage
Jamadagni.”
51.11
Hearing the words spoken by sage Viswamithra , that greatly lustrous
Sathananda spoke to Rama.
51.12
“Oh great man, Rama, you have come here following the great sage Viswamithra because of your
good fortune. I offer welcome to
you.” 51.13
“The great sage Viswamithra did penance of unimaginable extent of penance
to become equivalent to a Brahmarishi .
He possesses unmatched brilliance and know him by his great aim. “ 51.14
“Oh Rama there is no one in this world as lucky as you are being protected by Viswamithra who did great penance .”
51.15
“I will now tell you the story in
detail of that great sage Viswamithra
along with his great power.” 51.16
“Viswamithra was
the soul of Dharma, destroyer of enemies, an expert in Dharma , one who was an
expert in knowledge and ruled his
subjects for a long time only interested in their welfare.” 51.17
“ There was a king named Kusa who was the son of Lord Brahma and
Kushanabha who was strong and a follower
of Dharma was his son “
51.18
“The very famous Gadhi was the son of Kushanabha and the
great sage Viswamithra who has
exceedingly great luster was his son.”
51.19
“Viswamithra with
great luster ruled over this earth, as a
king for very many thousands of years. “51.20
“The highly lustrous Viswamithra once assembled a great
army and surrounded by an army of An Akshouhini
size went round the earth.”
51.21
“He wandered round countries , over cities, rivers ,
mountains and hermitages one by one and
he reached the hermitage of Vasishta ,
which was surrounded by trees and animals of various types and it shined as it was being served by Sidhas , Charanas, devas, asuras and
Gandharwas .It was endowed with peace , crowded by Brahmins , had large number of
Brahmarishis who were served by Deva rishis. Those sages who had attain
perfection through penance , resembled fire , were magnanimous and some of them
lived by taking only water, some others only by air , some others by consuming fallen leaves and others subsisting by eating fruits and roots.
They were self restrained, had controlled
their anger and had won over their sense organs. That hermitage was
shining by the presence of Valakhilyas( Sages born out of the thumb of Lord
Brahma, and Vaikasanas(Sages born out of nail of Brahma.”
51.22-51.27
“That very strong Viswamithra who had conquered all his
enemies saw that hermitage of Vasishta ,
which was looking like a second Brahmaloka.” 51.28
This is the end of the fifty first chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 52: Vasishta offers a feast to Viswamithra and his army.
(Vasishta hospitably receives Viswamithra. After
exchanges of the news of the welfare , Vasishta offers a feast to Viswamithra
and his army. Viswamithra accepts it with reluctance. Vasishta calls the divine cow Sabala and
requests her to arrange for a feast to Viswamithra and his army.)
“The very strong Viswamithra became
greatly loved seeing that place
which was the greatest place for chanting names of God and offered salutations.
“
52.1
“The Great Vasishta received him properly
and said “welcome to you” and ordered that a seat may be put for
him.”
52.2
“Then the great sage after being seated offered fruits and roots to the powerful Viswamithra according to
tradition.” 52.3
“That great king with Luster Viswamithra , after
accepting the hospitality from sage Vasishta , enquired about welfare of his
disciples, about the fire sacrifices which he does and about the trees in the
hermitage , and Vasishta informed him that everything was all right.”
52.4-52.5
“ The great ascetic Vasishta , the son of Brahma and the greatest among those who pray,
enquired with Viswamithra who was sitting comfortably.”
52.6
“Oh king, how is your welfare? Oh king are you ruling the
country according to the king’s Dharma and giving happiness to
your people?”
52.7
“Are your servants well provided? Are your orders obeyed? Oh destroyer of foes, are you able win over your enemies.”
52.8
“Oh tormenter of enemies, Oh blemish less one, Oh tiger
among men, hope everything is all right with your treasury , friends, sons and
grandsons? “
52.9
“The king with
great luster told with great humility to
sage Vasishta that everything was all
right ,”
52.10
“Both those followers of Dharma spent some time
happily in exchange of stories
and pleased each other.”
52.11
“Oh son of the
Raghu clan, after their conversation came to an end , the god like Vasishta
smilingly told the following to
Viswamithra.”
52.12
“Oh very powerful one, I would like to offer hospitality
in a suitable manner to you and your
very strong army .Please accept
it.”
52.13
“You may kindly accept the honours extended by me to you
, as you are a honoured guest and worthy of the homage which would be
offered with all sincerity.”
52.14
“After Vasishta
spoke , the very intelligent Viswamithra said, “The pleasing words that
you have spoken is itself a great hospitality.”
52.15
“Oh good like sage you have already offered water to wash
my feet, water for drinking as well as various fruits and roots that are
available in your hermitage. Seeing your great self is itself a great honour
and worship. Oh very intelligent sage my salutations to you. Please lok at me
with friendship in your eye.”
52.16-52.17
“When the king spoke like this , sage Vasishta again and again requested him to accept his
hospitality.”
52.18
“In reply to those entireties , the son of Gadhi said ,
“Let it be so , Oh great sage, please do what pleases you.”
52.19
“That blemish less sage Vasishta with great luster and
who was one who is great in chanting,
called the cow with variegated stripes.” 52.20
“Oh Sabala , Please listen to my following words. I have
decided to offer food in a befitting
manner to this royal saint along with
his army and so please make arrangements.”
52.21
“Oh fulfiller of wishes, for my sake quickly rain food of six different tastes as per the likes
and dislikes of each and every one. “
52.22
“Oh Sabala, let food
in the form of a collection of
juice , pastes and solid food be created
quickly and offered to them.”
This is the end of the fifty first chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)53: Sabala arranges for a great feast and Viswamithra wants Sabala for himself.
(A great feast is arranged by Sabala and Viswamithra is greatly impressed . He
feels that Sabala should belong to him.
In spite of offer of great wealth
, Vasishta refuses to part with Sabala.)
“Oh destroyer of enemies Rama, once these words were
spoken by Vasishta to Sabala, the wish fulfilling cow , it arranged to fulfill
the desires of each and every one as per
their desire.”
53.1
“Sugarcane , honey, puffed rice in good containers , invigorating
drinks, excellent syrups , and different
kings of food were made available.”
53.2
“Hot rice heaped similar to mountains, savoury foods, pulses
and rivers of milk and curds , Various type of juices , food items with
six different tastes filled in
containers and preparations made of Jaggery
were distributed in thousands.”
53.3-53.4
“Oh Rama , all the members of the army of
Viswamithra was completely
satisfied and highly pleased and the place was filled with well fed and
happy people.”
53.5
“Then the royal sage Viswamithra along with the royal
priests , lady family members were all
satisfied by the food and were pleased.”
53.6
“Having been honoured
and participated along with his
ministers, counselors and attendants,
Viswamithra was filled with delight and spoke the following words to Vasishta,” 53.7
“Oh Brahmin, you are worthy of being worshipped . I was
received with warmth and respect and feel honoured. Oh expert in speech, please
listen to my following words.” 53.8
“Please give Sabala to me and I would give you hundred
thousand cows. Oh god like sage , this Sabala is like a precious gem and the
king my collector of gems, Sabala really belongs to me and Brahmin following
Dharma, give her to me.”
53.9
“That god like sage , the soul of Dharma and eminent
among sages , after Viswamithra
addressed him like this , replied like this to the king.”
53.10
“Oh king, I will not give you Sabala even if you give
me hundred thousand cows or even hundred
crores cows or heaps of silver.”
53.11
“Oh killer of Enemies Viswamithra, it is not proper to
take away this cow from my proximity for
the relation between me and Sabala is like the relation between man of Dharma
and his fame.” 53.12
“ For our oblation to the Gods and manes , for our necessities for living ,
for maintenance of fire, for sacrificial
offering to Gods and for our fire
sacrifices, we are dependent on this cow.”
53.13
“Oh royal sage we
are dependent on this cow for our knowledge and offering in fire telling
Swaha and Vashat.”
53.14
“She is my only possession and provides satisfaction to
me at all times .Ok king these as well as for various other reasons, I cannot
give Sabala to you.” 53.15
“Viswamithra who was an expert in conversation, hearing
the words of Vasishta , spoke with excitement.
“
53.16
“I shall give you fourteen thousand elephants with gold ornaments around their neck and
body and further adorned with lots and
lots of gold.”
53.17
“I shall give you eight hundred golden chariots drawn by four horses each decorated
with tinkling bells.”
53.18
“Oh sage of great penance , I shall give
you eleven thousand mighty horses of good breed originating from good
countries”
53.19
“I shall give you one crore of youthful cows with distinctly separated colours , please give me
Sabala.”
53.20
“Oh Brahmin , I shall you as much gold or gem stones as you desire
and all that and more, please give me Sabala.”
53.21
“After the godly and valorous Viswamithra spoke like
this, Vasishta replied, “Oh ing I will not give Sabala to you.”
53.22
“She is my jewels, she is my wealth, She is everything to
me and she is my life.” 53.23
“Oh king she is needed for me for yagnas to be conducted in month
beginnings and during the full moon and
also for various of my activities.”
53.24
“Oh king this is the foundation of all my activities and so there is no use of telling further
useless words for I shall never give this cow which fulfills all desires to
you.”
53.25
This is the end of the fifty third chapter Of Balakanda
of the holy Ramayana composed by
Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 54: Sabala being taken away by Viswamithra
, destroys his army.
(Viswamithra tries to drag away Sabala . The sad cow
appeals to Vasishta and with his
permission creates army after army and destroys the entire army of Viswamithra)
“Oh Rama, when Vasishta did not give him
the wish giving cow , Viswamithtra started pulling her.”
54.1
“Oh Rama, when Sabala was being dragged away by the great
king , she became sad, wept and started
thinking.”
54.2
“I am being carried away in this pitiable manner by the
servants of the king and am greatly distressed. Have I been abandoned by the great Vasishta?”
54.3
“What harm have I done to the great sage who has a pure soul so that he forsakes me ,
who am innocent, likable and follower of
Dharma.” 54.4
“Oh Rama, the killer of enemies, thinking like this ,
sighing often she shook and got
free from the hundred of servants of Viswamithra and
with a sped of wind rushed towards the
feet of sage Vasishta.”
54.5
“That weeping and very sad Sabala , stood in front of
Vasishta and roared like a thunder and a
drum.”
54.6
“Oh son of a Brahmin, Oh God like sage, have I been give
up by you? May I know for what reason , the attendants of the king are dragging
me away from your presence.”
54.7
“Addressed like this that Brahmin sage told her who was like his sister with a heart full of
sorrow.” 54.8
“Oh Sabala , I am not forsaking you .No harm has been done to you .That powerful one is taking
you by force from me.”
54.9
“My power is not equal to his as on today, he being a
king, a great warrior as well the lord of this earth.” 54.10
“His power is mighty
as he has one Akshouhini of
soldiers , with several horses yoked to
the chariot and is surrounded by elephants and banners.”
54.11
“Hearing the words of Vasishta , With humility, she who was an expert in usage of words replied
to the Brahma rishi with
matchless power .”
54.12
“Oh Brahmin, it is believed that the strength of a
Kshatriya is not countable before a Brahmin of great strength , for his strength is God given and greater.”
54.13
“Your strength is matchless and the great warrior Viswamithra’s strength is not greater than yours and it can never reach your strength . “
54.14
“Oh greatly fortunate
one, since I posses your brahminic power, give me orders and I would destroy the
pride of this wicked minded one.”
54.15
“Oh Rama when told like this that one with great fame
told, “create an army capable of tormenting
this powerful enemy.”
54.16
“Oh Rama, Having heard his order that wish giving cow ,
she created an army ,. A sound “Humbha”
from her brought in to existence
hundreds of paplavas , who destroyed the
entire army of Viswamithra I, when he was helplessly looking.”
54.17-54.18
“Then that enraged king Viswamithra seeing his army
became very angry , and with eyes widened by anger got in to his chariot , with
various weapons destroyed the Paplavas.” 54.19
“When hundreds of
paplavas were troubled by Viswamithra, once again with her anger
she created Yavanasas well as Sakas.”
54.20
“The Yavanas with sakas
, possessing the great splendour
and great valour and resembling
the filaments of Gold crowded that place “
54.21
“Armed with long swords and lances and dressed in gold coloured cloth and shining like a flame of fire, they
destroyed the entire army of Viswamithra.”
54.22
Then Viswamithra who had great luster released several
arrows and those weapons scattered
Yavanas, Sakas And Paplavas.”
54.23
This is the end of the fifty fourth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)55: defeat of Viswamithra , his penance and
coming for with Vasishta.
(When Viswamithra’s army and hundred sons are killed, he
goes for a penance. At the end of penance Lord Shiva gives him all arrows
known to all sections of the world. With this knowledge he wages a war
against Vasishta.)
“Thereafter
Vasishta seeing that Viswamithra’s arrows have benumbed the army created by Sabala ,
told her, “Create additional forces.”
55.1
“From her sound Humbha, Khambhojas as powerful as sun were born, from her udder well armed Paplavas were
born, from her womb Yavanas were born, from her Anus Sakas were born and from her root hair
Mlechas were born.” 55.2-55.3
“Oh son of Raghu clan, they destroyed the army of Viswamithra
consisting of infantry, horses, elephants and chariots.”
55.4
“Having seen that their army being destroyed by Vasishta,
the hundred sons of Viswamithra became
very angry and armed with various types
of weapons and rushed towards the adorable
Vasishta , the greatest among those who chant Vedas and he burnt all of them with
a sound of “hum”. “
55.5-55.6
“Then those one hundred
sons of Viswamithra along with
their horses, chariots and foot soldiers
were burnt in to ashes by tat great
Vasishta.”
55.7
“That famous Viswamithra seeing that his sons as well as
army was destroyed became plunged in sorrow and as well as started
thinking.”
55.8
“Like an ocean without waves, and a snake without
fangs and Sun under eclipse , he had become
devoid of power.”
55.9
“With his sons and army destroyed he became like a bird
without wings , his pride vanished and
his pride was shattered and he
became laden with thought.”
55.10
“In accordance of the tradition of Kashtriyas , he
appointed one of his sons to rule the earth
and reached the forest.”
55.11
“That mighty ascetic reached the slopes of Himalaya
mountains inhabited by Kinnaras and serpents
and entered in to penance.”
55.12
“After passage of
time the great Maheswara , the lord of all devathas , with bull on his
standard presented himself before the
mighty Viswamithra to grant boons.”
55.13
“Oh king why are
you doing this penance? Tell me what you want to inform me. I am the giver of
boons, please tell me about that boon
that you desire.”
55.14
“When the God spoke like this Viswamithra of great
penance after saluting Maheswara spoke.”
55.15
“Oh stainless one, Oh Mahadeva , if you are pleased give
me the secrets of the science of archery(Dhanur Veda) , with its branches, sub
division and philosophy.”
55.16
“Oh Stainless one , let all those weapons that are known to devas, asuras, great
sages, Gandharwas, Yakshas and Rakshasas
be present like a flash in my
mind. “ 55.17
“Oh lord, By your grace , please fulfill my desire , the lord of devas said ,”So be
it”, and having spoken went back.” 55.18
“That royal sage
endowed with great strength and
became more haughty and his insolence greatly increased.” 55.19
“With his ebbing energy
similar to the ocean on full moon and new moon , his only thought was
the slaying of the great ascetic Vasishta.”
55.20
“Thereafter that
king went towards the hermitage and released the weapons and with their energy that entire forest for
penance was burnt down by their power
.”
55.21
“Having seen those powerful weapons released by
Viswamithra, hundreds of saints living there fled in all directions.”
55.22
“Disciples of Vasishta and animals and birds living there
, being scared ran in all directions in their thousands.”
55.23
“The hermitage of
that great sage became deserted in an instant
and became like a barren field blessed with silence.”
55.24
“Though Vasishta was saying repeatedly “I will destroy this son of Gadhi like a
mist”, all of them fled.”
55.25
“After saying this that
foremost expert in Chanting Vedas , Told
these words of great anger to Viswamithra,”
55.26
“Oh fool, this
great hermitage has been developed by effort
of many years and for what reason
did you destroy it and for that reason you are wicked and would not live long.” 55.27
“Saying this, speedily
in great anger he lifted his
staff , which shined like the fire and
another staff of the God of death .”
55.28
This is the end of the fifty fifth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)56: The defeat of Viswamithra by Vasishta.
(Viswamithra wages a great war and uses all great weapons
known to him. The staff of Vasishta makes all of them useless and Viswamithra is defeated.)
“When addressed like this by Vasishta , the very strong
Viswamithra after lifting the Agneya Asthra(The arrow of fire) said, “stay,
stay.”
56.1
“The God like Vasishta
took the staff of Brahma , which looked like the staff of death , lifted
it in great anger and told.”
56.2
“Oh friend of Kshatriyas, I am standing here. Show me if
you have strength. Oh son of Gadhi , if you are proud of the strength of your weapons, now itself I
will destroy it.”
56.3
“Oh shame of
Kshatriyas , where does the power of Kshatriya stand before the power of a
Brahmin? Now please see my divine strength
as a Brahmin” 56.4
“That fierce arrow of fire discharged by son of Gadhi, was put out , like fire put out by water by
Vasishta’s staff of Brahma.”
56.5
“That son of Gadhi
then sent arrows called of
Varuna(rain), Roudhra(anger) , Iyndhra(indra) , Pasupatha(Lord Shiva) and Aishika. “
56.6
“Oh son of Raghu clan, then Viswamithra employed arrows
called Mohana(bewicher) , Gandharawa,
Swapana(inducer of sleep) Jrumbana(shaker) , Madana (love god) , SAnthapana (causing
burn), vilapana (Causing wailing) , Sishana(That which tires you out) ,
Dharana(that which splits) , Sudurjayam(difficult to defeat) , Vajra astha9 The
diamond arrow, Brahma asthra(arrow of Brahma), Kala pasa(The rope of death),
Varuna Pasa(The rope of rain god) , Painaka arrow, Dayitha arrow,Suskadra(Dry
and wet), The twin of thunderbolt, Danda asthra(That which punishes),
Paisacha(devil), Krauncha asthra, Dharma Chakra, (wheel of justice) , Kala
Chakra (The wheel of death), Vishnu Chakra(the wheel of Vishnu), Vayavya(Weapon
of wind), Mathana (Churning weapon) , Haya sira(horse’s head) , Kankala (
skeleton) ,
Musala (pestle) , the twin shakthis, weapon of
Vidhyadharas, Mahasthra(the great arrow)
against the great sage. All those became greatly awful ”
56.7-56.12
“Vasishta the son of Brahma swallowed all these weapons by his staff.
When all those weapons were made peaceful, the son of Gadhi sent the
Brahmastra.” 56.13
“Seeing that Asthra(arrow) was employed, the devas lead
by the fire God, divine sages , great serpents,
and Gandharwas
were greatly agitated and all
the three worlds were distressed.” 56.14-56.15
“Oh Rama Vasishta , the son of Brahma , possessing his
power using the Brahma staff made even that Brahmasthra peaceful.”
56.16
“While taming that Brahmastra , the form of the great
Vasishta was fierce and
terrible causing all the three worlds to faint. “
56.17
“From every pore of hair
of the body of that great
Vasishta , flames of fire and smoke arose and looked as if rays of light were
coming out from every point of his body.”
56.18
“The shining staff of Brahma which was in the hand of Vasishta , shined
like another smokeless staff of the God
of death.”
56.19
“Then all the hoards of sages praised Vasishta, the best
among sages “Oh Brahmin, your energy is great. Hold that energy by your own
energy.”
56.20
“Oh Brahmin, you have controlled Viswamithra by your great penance. Oh Great
sage , calm down so that all the three
worlds gets out of their distress.”
56.21
“Thus spoken that great ascetic with immense splendour
became peaceful and the humiliated
Viswamithra , took a deep breath and
spoke these words.”
56.22
“The power of Kshatriyas is useless. The shining power of
Brahmanas is the real power . The staff
of Brahma has destroyed all my weapons.”
56.23
“Because of this incident
which I have seen and with a
clear mind as well as sense organs , I
shasll
This is the end of the fifty sixth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 57: Penance of Viswamithra and the desire
of Trishanku
(Viswamithra does further penance. Lord Brahma recognizes
him as a royal sage ,. At that Trisanku the king of Ayodhya wants to go to
heaven along with his body. Vasishta , his guru says that he cannot help him.
Then he approaches the sons of Vasishta
, who become very angry.)
“Oh Rama , with a very sad heart and with a
mind greatly upset , making tortured breaths of anger again and again,
Viswamithra thought of his enmity with Vasishta and along with his chief queen,
went to the southern side and eating
only fruits and roots performed a great
penance.” 57.1-57.2
“There they had
sons dedicated to truth and Dharma called Havishpanda, Madhushyandha , Dritha
nethra and Maharadha.”
57.3
“After the passage of full one thousand years, Lord
Brahma, the grand father of the world, appeared before Viswamithra who did
great penance and told him in a sweet voice, “You have won the world of royal
sages by your great penance.” 57.4-57.5
“Due to your great many penances done, you have become a
royal sage” , saying this Lord Brahma , the supreme ruler of the worlds with
great luster went back to heaven along
with other devas accompanying him.”
57.6
“Hearing that Viswamithra felt disgraced and fell in to great sorrow and with rancor told.” 57.7
“Though I have
done great penance , the devas and sages are only recognizing me as a royal
sage and so there is no use of my
penance.”
57.8
“Oh son of Kakustha clan, deciding like this, that great
sage again started doing great penance .”
57.9
“At this time there was king called Trishanku of the
Kakustha dynasty who was a great votary of truth and a king who controlled his sense
organs.”
57.10
“Oh Rama, he got an idea of doing a Yagna by which attain along with his body the divine place of the devas and he then
called Vasishta and informed him about
his thought .”
57.11-57.12
“ That great sage
Vasishta said that he would not be able
to do it and disappointed by Vasishta , the king went to the southern
direction, and met the sons of sage Vasishta.” 57.13
“He went to the place where sons of Vasishta were doing
penance and Trisanku there met those one hundred of the shining sages .”
57.14-57.15
“On seeing the sons of his Guru , he saluted them
sequentially as per their age , but with a down cast face and with
folded hands he spoke to those
great souls.”
57.16
“As a shelter seeker , I have come to surrender to you, who are those helping the needy . Be
safe. Sage Vasishta has refused my
request.”
57.17
“I want to do a great Yagna and I want your consent for that and I am saluting all of you who are my teachers sons and requesting you to bless
me.”
57.18
“I am saluting you who are Brahmins steeped in
penance and requesting you to get the Yagna performed by me , so that I
can go the land of devas with my
body.”
57.19-57.20
“Since sage Vasishta
has refused the proposal , I do
not have any other option except
approaching you who are the sons of my Guru.”
57.21
“For the clan members of Ikshuvaku , you priests are the only recourse and therefore next to Vasishta , you are my
only gods.”
57.22
This is the end of the fifty seventh chapter Of Balakanda
of the holy Ramayana composed by
Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 58: The cursed Trishanku approaches
Viswamithra to help him
(When the sons of Vasishta also refuse Trishanku pesters
them and later they Curse that Trishanku
should become a Chandala. In that form he approaches sage Viswamithra and
requests for his help.)
“Oh Rama those hundred sons of the sage hearing the words
of king Trishanku got enraged and told
the king like this,.” 58.1
“Oh bad brained one, after the refusal of your teacher
who is the votary of truth , how dare you approach another branch of the of the same tree of wisdom.”
58.2
“For all the members of the clan of Ikshuvaku, their
priest is the only recourse and it is
highly improper to doubt the words of that priest who is the votary of
truth.”
58.3
“When the god like sage Vasishta has told that it is not
possible, please tell us how we would be capable of doing it? “ 58.4
“You are childish , oh king, go back to your city and the
god like king sage Vasishta is only capable
of performing any Yagna for any king in the three worlds.”
58.5
“Having heard their faltering words laden with great
anger , the king again told them the following words.’ 58.6
Oh sages rich in penance , though you are the sons of my God like Guru, I would find
out some other method of achieving my aim, You be safe.”
58.7
“Those sons of the sage hearing these words which
had horrible implication, became greatly
angry and cursed him to become a Chandala.” 58.8
“Saying like those sages returned to their hermitages ,
and when the night got over, the king became a Chandala,” 58.9
“With a blue body , wearing blue cloths , with a
hateful shaggy hair, and wore garlands
from cremation ground and wore iron ornaments
instead of gold ornaments.” 58.10
“Oh Rama Seeing him in the form of a Chandala all his
ministers left him, as also his citizens
and followers and ran away in a crowd.” 58.11
“Oh son of Kakustha clan, that highly adamant king burnt within himself for
a day and night and later approached the great sage Viswamithra,” 58.12
“Oh Rama, that sage Viswamithra seeing the king rendered useless and having the form of a Chandala, became
sympathetic to him.”
58.13
“Due to great mercy , that great follower of Dharma who had great luster told told that king who
had this horrible looking form , “Safety to you.” 58.14
“Oh very strong son of king, Oh mighty king of Ayodhya, for what purpose have
you come here , You have become a Chandala due to a curse.” 58.15
“That king who has become a Chandala , hearing those
words , told with folded hands to that
lord of words who knew how to use them.” 58.16
“I have been
spurned by my Guru as well as his sons and my desire remains unfulfilled.” 58.17
“Oh gentle one, I wanted to go to heaven along with this
body and though I have performed hundred
rituals I am not able to fulfill my
desire.”
58.18
“Oh gentle one, I have never been a liar and now on will not speak any lie due to my
this predicament and I am taking this
pledge based on the Dharma of
Kshatriyas.”
58.19
“I have conducted many types of Yagnas and was ruling
over my subjects with Dharma and many
great elders have been very happy with my conduct.”
58.20
“Oh saint , completely following Dharma , I developed
this desire but my Gurus are not happy with my aim and threw me out.”
58.21
“I believe that God is the only divine one and my manly
effort is meaningless , and that God helps us to surmount all problems and that God is my only aim.”
58.22
“I desire your grace on this soul in great anguish and I
think that I deserve help from you
to succeed in this effort stopped by the gods.”
58.23
“I will not approach anyone else , I will not seek
protection from anyone else and I merit
your help in this which has been caused
by God and human beings, “
58.24
This is the end of the fifty eighth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 59: Viswamithra invites sons of Viswamithra to the
Yagna to send Trishanku to heaven.
(Viswamithra arranges for a great Yagna to send Trishanku to heaven along with
his physical body. He invites all sages
including sons of Viswamithra. Not only
they refuse to come but make fun of Viswamithra. Viswamithra burns them to ash
and curses that for hundred births , they will live by eating corpses.)
“Hearing the proper words from the king , the son Of
Kushika developed mercy on him, told the following sweet words to him who has
become a Chandala.”
59.1
“Welcome to you oh son of Ikshuvaku clan, I know about your good deeds. Do not fear as I am your protection. Oh great king.”
59.2
“For conducting this blessed deed, I shall invite all
sages and then you can conduct the Yagna
in a proper manner.”
59.3
“You would be living further with this form due to the curse of the Guru and you would be going to heaven
with this form only.”
59.4
“Oh king heaven now
is within the reach of your hands as you have surrendered to Kaushika ,
who fulfills wishes of those who surrender
to him.”
59.5
“After saying this that saint asked his sons who were great followers of
Dharma to make all arrangements for the ritual. “ 59.6
“He then summoned all his disciples and told them, “As per my order invite all
great sages who have learnt the Vedas along with their disciples , friends and also those who are famous for conducting
the Yagna,”
59.7
“If any invitee
speaks back excited by my words , which is not proper and not considerate , please report all that
words to me.”
59.8
“Hearing his words , his disciples went in all directions
inviting peoples and many votaries of Brahman from all countries started arriving.” 59.9
“All his disciples after return met with the resplendent
sage and reported all the words spoken
by the votaries of Brahma whom they had invited.” 59.10
“On hearing your words, many of the Brahmins have come
and many more coming except Mahodaya, the son of Vasishta.”
59.11
“All the one hundred sons of sage Vasishta spoke
explosively angry words and oh great sage, please hear all those words.”
59.12
“A Kshatriya is performing a Yagna of a Chandala , how will a ritual assembly participate and
how will Gods and Sages receive the offering.”
59.13
“Ruled over by
Viswamithra , if they take the food of
the Chandala, how can great Brahmins
go to heaven?”
59.14
“Oh tiger like sage , such insulting words, with eyes
turning red with anger were spoken by
all the sons of Vasishta including
Mahodaya.”
59.15
“After hearing these words from his disciples that great
sage , with eyes turning red with anger told the following words.”
59.16
“Those who berate me , who is not one who should be found
fault and who is one who does great
penance , are bad souls and without
doubt they will all be turned to ash.” 59.17
“Now they will be dragged by the rope of God of death and
for the coming seven hundred births, they would be born as persons who eat corpses.” 59.18
“They will take birth in a ruthless tribe called Mushtikas
, would be disfigured and deformed and wander all over the world eating the
flesh of a dog.”
59.19
“Mahodhaya with a bad soul has found fault with me who is blemish less
and let me born as a night wanderer who is berated by all the world.”
59.20
“And he would suffer the very bad fate for a long time as a barbaric murderer due to my anger.” 59.21
“Viswamithra who
has done great penance after saying
these words then stayed amidst
those great sages with great
splendour , who have arrived.” 59.22
This is the end of the fifty ninth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 60: Creating a new heaven for Trishanku
by Viswamithra,
(After the Yagna when the devas did not come to receive
their share, Viswamithra by his power of
penance sends Trishanku to heaven but he is pushed back by the devas.
Seeing him falling head downwards , Viswamithra creates a new heaven to accommodate Trishanku. The disturbed devas
agree to make it in to a star constellation which will live forever.)
“The most brilliant Viswamithra having destroyed the
power of penance of Mahodhaya and other sons of Vasishta , said in the midst of
sages.” 60.1
“This person born in the clan of Ikshuvaku whose name is Trishanku , is a famous follower of Dharma
and this person has sought refuge in me wanting to conquer the land of devas along with this physical
body.”
60.2
“You should perform the sacrifice , along with me ,in
such a way that this king attains heaven along with his physical body.”
60.3
“All those sages who were endowed with Dharma after hearing the words of Viswamithra in
harmony, said.”
60.4
“This sage born in the clan of Kushika is a very angry one and his words , without
doubt, should be fulfilled properly , for if that sage who is like fire gets
angry , he will curse us.” 60.5-60.6
“For that reason let the Yagna be performed , so that the descendent of Ikshuvaku clan ,
would go to heaven with his physical body , through the spiritual power of sage
Viswamithra . Let the Yagna be commenced.”
60.7
“Having spoken like this those great sages , they started
performing their respective roles under the chief priest who was sage
Viswamithra,” 60.8
“The officiating priests who were experts in Manthras ,
in accordance of the manthra and the prescribed Kalpa, according to the rules
and traditions performed the tasks according to their seniority.” 60.9
“After a long time
that great sage Viswamithra
requested the devathas to
received their share of the offering.”
60.10
“The Gods who were invited by him
did not come to receive their share of the offerings and the great sage
Viswamithra seized by great anger , lifted the ladle used to offer the sacrifice
and spoke to these words to
Trishanku.”
60.11-60.12
“Oh king , see the power of my penance which is self earned,
I will lead you with your body to heaven using my power , Oh king , you go to the difficult to achieve heaven with your physical body.” 60.13
“Oh king , even if little of the power of penance that I
have earned is remaining , by its power you may go to heaven with your physical
body.” 60.14
“Oh son of
Kakustha clan, When these proper words were spoken by the sage, the king along with his physical
body went towards heaven in presence of
the sages present there.” 60.15
“After seeing Trishanku who was going to heaven , Devendra(One who killed Paka) along with
many other devas spoke these words.”
60.16
“Oh Trishanku, you are not fit to live in heaven, and so
go back. Oh fool , who was cursed by his
own Guru , fall to the earth with head downwards.”
60.17
“After hearing the words of that
great Indra, addressing the penance rich Viswamithra wailing again and again “Protect me, Protect me”, fell
down.”
60.18
“Viswamithra after listening to the wails of
sorrow of Trishanku, flew in to
great rage and shouted “Stay,
stay.”
60.19
“That mighty sage in the middle of great sages with great luster , looked like another Lord
Brahma standing in the southern
constellation of great bear(Saptha rishi)
grew very much angry and started creating another constellation of
stars. “ 60.20-60.21
“After creating that constellation of stars in great
wrath said that Indra was having a blurred vision, and so he will create another world with Indra or without Indra and even devathas and started commencing such
a creation.”
60-22-60.23
“Thereafter the greatly bewildered hosts of sages along with devas and
asuras addressed the sage in a
conciliatory tone and said.”
60.24
“Oh Great one , oh great sage , that king cursed by his
Guru is not worthy of going to the heaven with his physical body.”
60.25
“That greatest among sages Viswamithra having heard the words of sages and
devas replied them in these great
words.”
60.26
“You be safe. Having promised Trisanku that he will
ascend to the heaven with his physical body, I do not want to make my words a
lie.”
60.27
“Let this heaven , which I have created , exist for ever , where Trisanku will live with his physical
form. Let these stars created by me, survive as long as all the
worlds exist. Oh devas it is only proper that you consent to this.” 60.28-60.29
“Told like this
all those devas answered to the great sage,” Let it be so, Oh greatest
among sages, be safe. Let those stars
which are many be outside the path of
the Vaiswanara(zodiac )and be among the
stars.Let TRishanku shine for ever from there but with his downwards.” 60.30-60.31
“These stars will follow this illustrious one who has
gained his objective and would be as if he has attained heaven. “ 60.32
“When all devas
spoke like this in praise of him, that
Viswamithra who is the soul of Dharma told the devas, “Let it be
so.”
60.33
“Oh best among men,
then after the conclusion of the
Yagna, those magnanimous devas and the great sages whose only wealth is their penance, went their way.”
60.34
This is the end of the sixtieth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 61: Further penance of Viswamithra and
story of Sunasepha .
(Viswamithra
does penance in Pushkara . The sacrificial animal of King Ambarisha is stolen
and his priests suggest that he can give a human being in sacrifice instead of
the horse. Kng approaches sage
Richaka and buys from him his middle
son Sunasepha.)
“Oh Tiger among men,
after that, the great sage
Viswamithra after bidding farewell to
all those sages who were on their way, spoke to the dwellers of forest like
this.”
61.1
“In the southern side a great obstruction has taken
place and so we will go to another place to do our
penances.”
61.2
“Oh great ones , on the western region there is a vast
space known as Pushkara . That forest is suitable for doing our penance. Let us
all go there and carry out further penances without being disturbed.”
61.3
“That exceeding powerful great sage reached Pushkara and living on fruits and roots that are grown
there started performing matchless intense penance.”
61.4
“At that time Ambarisha, the well known king of
Ayodhya commenced to perform a Yagna.” 61.5
“The sacrificial animal of the performer at that time was
stolen by Indra and when it could not be
seen , the priest addressed the king and
told.” 61.6
“Oh king the animal has been stolen away due to wrong
policies followed by you and a king who fails to protect the sacrificial animal
perishes.”
61.7
“Oh best among men, for this we have to do an act of
redemption. If the animal is not available speedily bring a man, who can be
sacrificed instead of the beast.” 61.8
“oh great man, that great intellectual king , having
heard the words of the priest , started searching for a man with a compensation
of one thousand cows.”
61.9
“Oh Child who is the delight of the clan of Raghu, that
king after searching over many countries, cities, villages , forests and sacred
hermitages reached the
Bhruguthunga mountains where he saw the
sage Richika seated along with his wives and sons.”
61.10-61.11
“That greatly resplendent king bowed before the Brahmin sage who was shining
because of his great penance , enquired about his and his families welfare told him.
“
61.12
“Oh sage Richaka ,
who is the lucky descendent of the
Bhrugu clan, if you sell your son for
being used as a sacrificial animal , for
the cost of hundred thousand cows my purpose
would be fulfilled.” 61.13
“I roamed and searched in all countries for the sake of completing the Yagna but could not get a lad , for being used as a sacrificial animal and
so it would be proper for you to give one of your sons for this price.” 61.14
‘When the extremely brilliant sage Richaka heard these words , he told, “Oh great man, under no circumstances I would
sell my eldest son.”
61.15
“Having heard the words of Richaka to the great king , the mother who also was
an expert in penance
Addressed Ambarisha, the
foremost among men told.”
61.16
“The venerable descendent of the Bhrugu clan , sage
Richaka says he cannot give the eldest son and I also cannot give the youngest
son Sunaka to you as he is my pet
son.” 61.17-61.18
“Oh best among men, normally the eldest son is very dear
to their father and the youngest is the pet of the mother and So I will protect the youngest.”
61.19
“Hearing the very proper replies from the sage and his
wife , their middle son Sunasepha himself spoke on his own.” 61.20
“Oh king, my father says eldest son cannot be sold and my
mother says that the youngest son cannot
be sold and so I consider that I am to be sold and so you can take me
away.”
61.21
“Oh son of the Raghu clan, the king after purchasing him
by giving hundred thousand cows and
receives Sunasepha and was extremely
pleased.” 61.22
“The greatly lustrous
and very famous royal sage Ambarisha mounted his chariot with
Sunasepha and instantly went away.” 61.23
This is the end of the sixty first chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 62: Sunasepha is saved by Viswamithra and penance continues
(In Pushkara when
Sunasepha sees Viswamithra he requests him
to save him.Viswamithra’s son refuse to help him. Viswamithra curses
them and later teaches a Manthra which
saves life of Sunasepha . Viswamithra continues his penance.)
“Oh best among men, Oh son of Raghu clan, that very famous
king carrying Sunasepha by noon reached Pushkara and took
rest there.
62.1
“When after reaching
sacred Pushkara that king was
taking rest , the very famous Sunasepha, was greatly aggrieved , saw his maternal uncle Viswamithra
performing sacrifices in the company of other sages. “ 62.2
“With the very wan
face and greatly worn out by thirst and
the fatigue , he fell on the sages lap and told these words.”
62.3
“Oh gentle one , oh great sage , to me neither mother nor
father exist nor have I clan relations or other relations, It is only proper by
tenets of Dharma, that you a gentleman
should protect me.” 62.4
“Oh great sage , you give protection to all as you are the promoter of welfare of
others,. May the king fulfill his purpose
and let me become imperishable by performing matchless penances
and go to heaven.”
62.5-62.6
“Oh soul of Dharma, as I am an orphan and as you are my
lord, protect me , like a father who
protects his son.”
62.7
“That mighty sage Viswamithra , hearing all those
different words, consoled him, addressed his sons and told.”
62.8
“The parents who want to get auspiciousness , for their
well being in other worlds beget sons
at the proper time .”
62.9
“Oh sons of sage, the young boy has requested protection
from me and oh sons offer him protection
so that he retains his soul.”
62.10
“All of you have done good deeds and are engaged in observation of Dharma and so become the sacrificial animal for the
king and give satisfaction to the Fire
God.” 62.11
“Then Sunasepha will have a protector , the Yagna would
continue without hindrance , the devas would be gratified and my words also
would become the truth.”
62.12
“Oh best among men, hearing the words of the sage,
Maduchanda and his other sons , with great self esteem and playfulness
told.”
62.13
“Oh Lord , abandoning
ones sons and rescuing the sons of other people is like eating the flesh of a dog, which is a
prohibited act.”
62.14
“Hearing these words from them , the great sage , flew in
to great anger and with reddened eyes
commenced to speak.”
62.15
“Not only you have gone against my words but also broken
Dharma. These words are bad , makes my hairs stand erect and needs to be
censured. “
62.16
“You would all live in this earth for another thousand
years eating the flesh of a dog , like the sons of Vasishta,”
62.17
“That great sage having doomed the life of his sons by a
curse spoke to Sunasepha who was filled with sorrow, so that his pain
will be relieved.”
62.18
“Once you reach the Vaishnava sacrificial spot, they will
anoint you with red sandal paste , dress you in red cloths and tie you
to the sacrificial post with sacrificial ropes. When you reach there
pray the fire God using this prayer.”
62.19
“Oh son of a sage , in the sacrifice of Ambarisha chant
these two Manthras and you will definitely achieve success.”
62.20
“Sunasepha , with
a concentrated learnt those verses well, and approached Ambarisha a lion
among kings and told him.”
62.21
“Oh lion among kings , you are endowed with great strength . We shall both go to the
sacrificial assembly without any delay
and Oh Indra among kings, let perform the sacrificial rituals on
me.”
62.22
“With great joy and enthusiasm, the king heard the words
of the son of the sage, and the king started speedily to reach the place of
fire sacrifice.”
62.23
“The king with the consent of the assembly, formed sacred knots of Kusa grass, dressed him
in red and having thus made him a sacrificial animal tied him to the
sacrificial post.” 62.24
“That son of the sage having been tied like this ,
properly praised the two devathas Indra and Upendra.”
62.25
“Then Indra who was gratified by that praise by those
secret verses, blessed Sunasepha to have
long life.” 62.26
“Oh great man, Oh Rama, That king was able to complete
the Yagna properly by the grace of the thousand eyed one and obtained rewards much , much higher than
what he expected.” 62.27
“Oh best among men, the soul of Dharma, sage
Viswamithra continued his penance at
that sacred spot for another one thousand years.” 62.28
This is the end of the Sixty second chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 63: Further penance of Viswamithra and his relation with Menaka
(Viswamithra further does penance . He sees Menaka and lives with her for some.
Realizes his error, does further penance
and Brahma recognizes him as a great sage, Indra wants to stop further penance of Viswamithra by sending Rambha.)
“After one thousand years of penance, the great sage took
ritual bath ,all the devas with an aim
to give him the fruits of the penance approached him.”
63.1
“The great lustrous Lord Brahma spoke the following sweet words,” With self
earned sacred deeds you have become a sage .May be you safe.”
63.2
“After the lord of
the gods spoke like this to him, he went
back to heaven . The greatly lustrous Viswamithra continued to do his
great penance .”
63.3
“Oh great man, after a lapse of lot of time, the
prettiest Apsara called Menaka came to
bathe in Pushkara.”
63.4
“The highly lustrous son of Kushika , saw Menaka in the
tank and she looked like a streak of lightning in the clouded sky and she was incomparably pretty.”
63.5
“Sage Viswamithra after seeing her under the influence of
God of love spoke the following words to
her.” Oh Apasara , a hearty welcome to you to my hermitage . I am completely
under the influence of God of love and
so bless me. Be safe.”
63.6
“Oh Rama, after these words were spoken to her who was of
exalted breeding , she started living with him in the hermitage and ten years
were passed happily.” 63.7-63.8
“When time passed by , that great sage Viswamithra became
greatly sorrowful and also felt greatly ashamed.”
63.9
“Oh son of Raghu clan, when the sage was feeling a sense of indignation arose in his mind and
he thought, “All this has been done by the devas so that I am deprived of doing great
penance.” 63.10
“Being possessed by lust and delusion the entire night as
well as day of ten years have passed by
and a great roadblock has fallen on me.”
63.11
“Oh Rama, that great sage Viswamithra , the son of Khusika, became distressed and started repenting and was frequently sighing. The Apsara Menaka who was greatly frightened and stood trembling with folded palms and seeing this the sage with sweet words asked her to leave
and went towards the mountains.” 63.12-63.13
“The very famous Viswamithra took to life of abstinence and chastity , with a view to win over his senses on the banks of the Kaushiki river and performed highly rigid penance.” 63.14
“Oh Rama when he was performing strict penance over one
thousand years in the northern part of
the country, fear arose in the mind of devathas.” 63.15
“ They invited all the sages and all the devas and decided that it would only be proper to
give Viswamithra the title of Maharshi(great sage)”.
63.16
“The grandfather of all the worlds, Lord Brahma hearing
the words of the Devas , spoke using sweet words to the sage Viswamithra.”
63.17
“Oh son, Oh great sage, I have been greatly pleased by
your intense penances and Oh son of
Khusika,
Recognizing your eminence among the eminent sages , I hereby
give you the title of Maharshi (great sage). Welcome to you. “
63.18
“Afterwards , the great sage Viswamithra , having heard
the words of Lord Brahma was neither
pleased or sorry.”
63.19
“After bowing and saluting the grandfather of all the worlds , That
great sage Viswamithra spoke the
following words.”
63.20
“I have obtained the title Maharshi due to my matchless
and auspicious deeds. And it implies that I have conquered all my senses.”
63.21
“Then Lord Brahma addressed him and told, “Oh best among
sages, you have definitely conquered all your senses .Please shine still more.”
Saying this Lord Brahma went away.” 63.22
“When all the devas and sages have departed , with arms
raised upwards and without any support
and subsisting only on air further performed great penance.”
63.23
“That sage whose wealth was penance, performed further
penance for another one thousand
years in the summer surrounded by five fires and in the summer under the open sky and in the winter by immersing himself in
water day and night .”
63.24
“When the great saint Viswamithra was performing
penances, Indra and the devas felt a great tremor. “
63.25
“Indra along with the maruths spoke the following words which were good for him to the apsaras called Rambha and which was against the welfare of the son
of Kushika,.” 63.26
This is the end of the Sixty third chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 64: Rambha tries to entice Viswamithra and he cursed her.
(Rambha reluctantly tries to entice Viswamithra. He
curses her. Indra runs away. Viswamithra continues penance
without food.)
“Oh Rambha you have
to a great help to the devas ,by
enticing the son of Kushika by simulating his lust and pension.”
64.1
“Oh Rama, when the clever Indra has spoken thus , that
bashfully saluted him with folded
hands, replied to the lord of
devas.”
64.2
“Oh Lord of devas , the great sage Viswamithra is a
frightful person and there is no
doubt that he
will with great anger curse me
and sop it is proper that you do not ask this service from me.” 64.3
“Oh Rama, that
Indra seeing Rambha standing there
trembling with folded hands and hearing what she said, told.”
64.4
“Oh Rambha , do not get scared and carry out my order. IN
the spring season when trees are in full bloom , I will assume the form of a
Cuckoo and along with God of love by my
side , stay there.”
64.5-64.6
“Oh Rambha,
assuming a form of variety and
having a very shining form, break the penance of that great ascetic.”
64.7
“She after listening to the words of Indra , assumed a matchless form of beauty, , with a
pretty smile , she tried to attract Viswamithra.”
64.8
“Hearing the very musical sound of Cuckoo , Viswamithra
looked at her with great joy.”
64.9
“Hearing the
matchless song of the cuckoo and seeing before him the very pretty
Rambha , a doubt arose in the mind of the sage.” 64.10
“The great sage who was the son of Kushika , having understood , it as a
work of Indra , got extremely angry and
cursed Rambha.”
64.11
“Oh horrible Rambha , you were trying to seduce me , who was trying conquer desire and passion and because you
will become a stone in earth, for ten thousand years.”
64.12
“Oh Rambha a Brahmin endowed with great penance and
with great luster would will liberate you from the curse brought about my great
anger.”
64.13
“That exceedingly
lustrous great sage Viswamithra
who was unable to control his great
anger , having spoke thus , felt
greatly depressed.”
64.14
“Due to his great curse Rambha became a rock and having
listen to the words of the great sage, Indra fled from there along with
the God of love.”
64.15
“Oh Rama, that highly powerful Viswamithra
, being stolen of the effect of his great penance due to his anger
, lost his peace of mind due to his inability
to control the senses.” 64.16
“Having lost the strength got out of his penance , he
thought in his mind that he will never get angry and I shall also not speak.”
64.17
“Further I will not breath even in one hundred years and after controlling my senses , I will dry up my body.”
64.18
“Until I am able to get Brahmin hood , I will stop my
breath and will not any food for innumerable number of years and I am sure
that while performing these strict penances , my body will not become greatly weaker.”: 64.19
“Oh Rama, that great sage carried out such unparalleled
austerities for another one thousand
years and vowed to lead a life of self denial for thousands of years.”
64.20
This is the end of the Sixty fourth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 65: Brahma and devas recognize Viswamithra
as Brahmarishi.
( After another great penance , which Indra tries to
break, Viswamithra is recognized by
Brahma and devas as a Brahmarishi.
Sathananda ends the story and king
Janaka honours him.)
“Oh Rama, then abandoning , the northern place on the
Himalaya mountain, Viswamithra , reached the eastern portion and commenced
doing great penance.”
65.1
“Oh Rama, he then observed silence for one thousand years
and practiced , unprecedented very difficult penance.”
65.2
“Oh Rama, At the end of the thousand years , that great
sage was like a piece of wood, and in
spite of various difficulties he faced, anger did not enter his mind and with great determination , he practiced
great penances.”
65.3
“Oh great one of the Raghu clan, and that great
penance completed one thousand
years and at that time when he started
eating cooked rice, Indra came in the guise of a Brahmin and begged for that rice.”
65.4-65.5
“That god like Viswamithra blessed with great penance ,
who was firmly observing the penance of silence , gave all the rice he was
about to consume to that Brahmin and he
consumed everything without leaving any reminder and the great sage without
uttering anything , continued his penance suspending his breath .” 65.6-65.7
“When he was observing the penance without breathing
a smoke came out of his head , by which
all world was agitated , thinking that it is fire.”
65.8
“Then the devas along with Gandharwas, Pannagas,
Uragas(Serpents) and Rakshasas, greatly scared by the shining energy of his
penance , became dimmed in luster and
had a mind full of worry, and addressed the grandfather in this
way.”
65.9
“Oh great one , we have tried to lure Viswamithra by
various methods and this only increases
his anger and he is doing still harsher penance.”
65.10
“Also in spite of minute examination , no sin is seen in
him. If he is not given what he desires by his mind, he would destroy all the
three worlds by his penance.” 65.11-65.12
“There is fearsome thoughts everywhere and it is dark
everywhere. Also seas, mountains and rivers are agitated.” 65.13
“Oh lord Brahma, the earth is trembling , the wind is
blowing fiercely , the people are becoming atheists and we are not clear as to
what is to be done.”
65.14
“Al the three worlds
are with agitated minds and looks
faded by the luster of the great sage and even Sun appears to be less bright.”
65.15
“Oh God, before that mighty sage , full of great
luster and resembling fire , makes up
his mind to destroy all the three worlds , That great sage should be
appeased.”
65.16
“The three worlds are on
deadly fire like the deluge and before he burns down the land of devas ,
his desire , even if it is to rule the land of devas , may be satisfied.”
65.17
“Then all the devas lead by the grandfather leading them went and spoke these sweet
words to the great sage
Viswamithra.”
65.18
“Welcome , Oh Brahmarishi , we are greatly pleased by
your penance and Oh son of Kushika by your severe penance you have attained
Brahmin hood.”
65.19
“Oh Brahmin, I along with the Maruths am granting you long life. Be safe and healthy. May be you be prosperous. Oh
Gentle one , you may now go with happiness.”
65.20
“That great sage Viswamithra hearing the words of
Grandfather and other devas was mightily pleased and spoke the following words
after bowing to them.”
65.21
“If I have
acquired Brahmin hood and long life , the sounds of “Om” and “Vashat” as
well as Vedas would accept me.(I will be entitled to perform Vedic Yagna.) 65.22
“Oh devas , let
Vasishta the eminent son of Brahma, knowledgeable in Vedas as well as
archery and also a worthy Brahmin address me as “Brahmarishi” .If this great
desire of mine is granted, Oh devas, you may go.”
65.23
“After that , requested
by the devas sage Vasishta who
was great chanter of Vedas made
friendship with him, by calling him,” Oh Brahmarishi.”
65.24
“There is no doubt whatsoever that you are a Brahmarishi as have
achieved perfection in penance.”
And after that all the devas went back to their places.”
65.25
“That soul of Dharma Viswamithra having got the great
position of a Brahmin, worshipped
Vasishta who was great in chanting Vedas.”
65.26
“He having achieved his aim, wandered all over the world
fixing his attention on penance. And Oh Rama , this is how this great
one attained Brahmin hood.”
65.27
“Oh Rama this great sage is the personification of
penance , he is daily interested in practicing Dharma and aims at getting valorous penance .”
65.28
After speaking thus the great Brahmin Sathananda became silent. Janaka with folded hands , in the presence of Rama
and Lakshmana spoke the following words to Viswamithra.” 65.29-65.30
“Oh great sage , oh follower of Dharma , I consider
myself blessed as you have come to grace my Yagna along with these
sons of Kakustha clan . I consider myself as blessed.” 65.31
“Oh great sage I consider myself purified by your
presence and I am sure by your visit
, I would get many benefits.”
65.32
“Oh greatly lustrous sage, your fame as Brahmin and the great penances you did has been heard
in detail by me and the great Rama.”
65.33
“Your unmatched penances have been heard by the members of this assembly who have
gathered here to perform the sacrifice. Oh son of Kushika your power is not measurable and so are your great qualities.”
65.34
“Oh lord , hearing about your wondrous deeds never makes us fully content. OH Great sage
the sin is about to set and it is time for evening ablations.”
65.35
“Oh saint of great luster, I feel that I should consider myself as blessed if I can welcome
you again, tomorrow at dawn after the ablations Kindly give me permission to
leave.”
65.36
After being spoken thus , that great sage became greatly
pleased , having been praised by the best among men, Janaka and left immediately.
65.37
That Videha who was the king of Mithila after having
spoken thus to the sage , went round him along with his priests and
relatives. 65.38
Viswamithra , the soul of Dharma accompanied by Rama and
Lakshmana , after being honoured by other great sages, left for his
quarters. 65.39
This is the end of the Sixty fifth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga (Chapter) 66: The story Of Sita as well
as Shiva’s bow.
(The next day
when Viswamithra requests Janaka to show
the bow of shiva to Rama and
Lakshmana , he tells the story of the bow and how it came in to his
family. He then tells about how he found
Sita when he was ploughing the field.
He further tells that Sita would be
given in marriage to the man of great prowess and the kings quarreled with him
when they did not get her. He defeated all of them and drove out. He further said
that if Rama lifts the bow, he would give his daughter Sita in
marriage to him.)
The next day after performing his morning ablations at
the dawn, that king invited the great
sage as well as the sons of Raghu
clan.
66.1
After worshipping
according to the scriptures
Viswamithra that follower of Dharma
, addressed the great one as well as the sons of Raghu clan as
follows. 66.2
“Oh God like sage, I offer you a great welcome. Oh
faultless one, what can I do to please you. Please command me.”
66.3
After Janaka , the great follower of Dharma spoke like
this, the expert in speech and words Viswamithra addressing the valorous one told. 66.4
“The world famous Rama and Lakshmana of the royal
lineage are eager to see that great bow
in your possession.”
66.5
“Safety unto you. Show this great bow to these two
princes according to their wish. Having seen it they will return.” 66.6
The great king having been told like this by the great sage Viswamithra “Please hear how this
great bow came to be deposited here.”
66.7
“Oh god like person, there was a king called Devaratha ,
sixth in succession to the great Nimi. He was a very famous king and this great
bow was given to him by Lord Shiva.”
66.8
“Formerly before the destruction of the sacrifice of
Daksha , Rudra of great valour , lifted this bow and addressed the devas and playfully spoke these words to
them.”
66.9
“Oh devas waiting to get their share from the sacrifice ,
you have failed to provide my share to me and so I shall cut off your worthy
hands and limbs.” 66.10
“Oh great sage , then those devas with a dejected mind ,
propitiated the lord of devas and then
Rudra was greatly pleased.” 66.11
“That greatly pleased lord gave this bow to the great
devas and oh Lord , then that gem
of the weapon was deposited by the devas with my ancestor.”
66.12
“Afterwards once , when I was ploughing the sacrificial
land and was trying to purify it, the
plough lifted the well known Sita from
that sacrificial ground.”
66.13
“She who was not born from a womb but has risen from the
earth grew as my daughter . I decided
that this maiden would be offered only to one who gives valour as a fee to
me.”
66.14
“That one who has arisen from the earth is growing up as
my daughter and many kings have arrived and sought her in marriage.”
66.15
“That maiden is being sought by all the kings in this
world and I told them I will not give her who is my daughter except for a fee
of great valour.” 66.16
“Oh great sage after that all those kings met and have
come to Mithila with a wish to test
their prowess.”
66.17
“That bow has been brought and placed before them who
were interested in testing their prowess
but none of them , have been able
to even lift the bow.”
66.18
“Oh great sage, after recognizing that the valour of all
those kings who have come to test their
prowess is negligible , I rejected all
of them.”
66.19
“All those great kings, whose prowess was doubted by me ,
flew in to great rage and have surrounded my town of Mithila.”
66.20
“Those great kings thinking that I have insulted them , became enraged and are
tormenting my town of Mithila.”
66.21
“Oh great sage , after the passage of one year , the
availability of everything got diminished , and I became extremely worried
about the situation.” 66.22
“And then I
pleased by my penance several devas and those devas gave me an army with four divisions.”
66.23
“Then those powerless wicked kings , who were themselves
doubtful of their prowess were defeated
and fled in all directions along with their ministers.” 66.24
“Oh great sage who observes great penances , I shall show Rama and Lakshmana that
highly lustrous bow.”
66.25
“Oh Sage , If Rama is able to lift that great bow, I will
give that son of Dasaratha, my daughter who was not born from a womb.”
66.26
This is the end of the Sixty sixth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter): 67 The breaking of bow by Rama and offer
of marriage of Sita
(The bow is brought before Rama. He takes it and while he
tries to string it , the bow breaks. Janaka offers his daughter
Sita in marriage to Rama. He sends messengers to inform king Dasaratha)
The great sage Viswamithra heard the words of king
Janaka and told the king , “Let the bow
be shown to Rama” 67.1
Then that king Janaka ordered his ministers “Let the bow
be brought here decorated by sandal paste and flowers.”
67.2
As per the orders of Janaka those ministers went in to
the city brought the bow and kept it before
them and departed .
67.3
Fifty hundred
stalwarts of great strength were required to draw the eight wheeled cart
with very great difficulty,
67.4
The ministers of the king who brought the bow which was kept in an
iron box told the following words to
Janaka who had divine luster.
67.5
“Oh king of Mithila
, here is the great bow worshipped by all kings , which you desire to
show to Rama.”
67.6
The king, after hearing their words with folded hands addressed the great
Viswamithra and Rama as well as Lakshmana.
67.7
“Oh Brahmin, in olden days the kings of the dynasty of
Nimi as well as other kings who possessed great prowess, were incapable of
stringing this great bow. And this is
the bow that was worshipped by all of them.” 67.8
“The groups of devas, Gandharwas, Yakshas, Kinnaras ,
asuras as well as Rakshasas, the Kinnaras and great serpents were also not able to wield it.”
67.9
“How can then mere
men be able to , stretch, string, fix an arrow
and pull the string after
lifting and weighing it?” 67.10
“Oh great sage, this great bow has been brought here, Oh
great one ,please show it to the princes.”
67.11
That soul of Dharma Viswamithra after hearing the words
of spoke to Rama,”Oh Rama, Oh lad ,
please see the bow.”
67.12
After hearing the words of Brahmarishi, Rama went near
the box in which the bow was kept and then opened it and
after seeing the bow, spoke.
67.13
“Oh Brahmin, I shall touch this great bow with my hand and try to take it in
my hand and string it “67.14
The king and the sage addressing Rama said, “So be it”
and following the words of the sage took hold of the bow by its middle
easily.
67.15
That son of The Raghu clan, being seen by thousand kings stringed the bow and drew it as if it was a play.”
67.16
When the great
one who was very famous and the best
among men, stringed the bow and pulled and twanged it that bow broke in its middle.
67.17
That sound was great and equaled the sound of a thunder
and the earth trembled like it will do when the mountain is split.
67.18
Except for Viswamithra, the king and sons of Raghava clan, all other men
fell fainted on hearing that great
noise.
67.19
After comforting those people the king who was the master of language ,
without any apprehension, addressed the great sage with folded hands and
said.
67.20
“Great sage, Rama the son of Dasaratha is without any
doubt is having great prowess and has completed this marvelous and unimaginable task.”
67.21
“If my daughter gets him as her husband the clan
of Janaka would become very
famous .” 67.22
“Oh son of Kushika , I had taken an oath regarding her being given as a fee for
prowess and this has now become true. Sita is more valuable to me than my soul
and is going to be given to Rama.”
67.23
“Oh Brahmin , with your permission, immediately my
ministers would go speedily in chariots
to Ayodhya. May you be safe , son of Khusika.”
67.24
“That king Dasaratha
with reverential words would be brought to my city after informing that my daughter is being
given to Rama as a fee to his prowess .”
67.25
“Let the king be informed about the safety of sons of
Kakustha under the protection of the sage
and very dear king should be brought hear with haste.”
67.26
After Kaushika said “So be it”, that king who was the
follower of Dharma consulted his ministers
and sent his counselors to Ayodhya
to communicate the information to king Dasaratha and bring him here.”
67.28-67.29
This is the end of
the Sixty seventh chapter Of Balakanda
of the holy Ramayana composed by
Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 68:
The messengers of Janaka reach Ayodhya
and Dasaratha starts to Mithila.
( The messengers
reach Ayodhya and inform
Dasaratha about the marriage proposal. Dasaratha becomes happy and makes
arrangement to start with his ministers
and priests)
Commanded by king Janaka those messengers travelled for three days , rested for the night and entered the city of Ayodhya with their tired
horses.
68.1
Having reached the palace of the king they talked to the door keepers and told,
“Tell the king Dasaratha immediately
that messengers of king Janaka have come.”
68.2
After hearing this from them, the door keepers informed about the coming of
the messengers and then obeying the
orders of the king, the messengers were
made to enter the palace and saw the
aged king Dasaratha who resembled the
devas.
68.3
All those messengers freed from any apprehension, with
folded hands addressed the king in
reverential tones and sweetly told
him.
68.4
“Oh great king , Janaka the king of Mithila who
conducted a yagna by fire, using
sweet words laden with affection
enquires your welfare with
stability , along with your
teachers and priests”. 68.5-68.6
“The king of Mithila
after getting to know your permanent welfare , wants to
tell you the following message
with the permission of sage
Viswamithra.”
68.7
“It is known to everybody that I decided to give my
daughter in marriage in exchange of a
prowess of a person and many powerless
disappointed kings were made to retreat.”
68.8
“Oh king , this daughter Sita of mine has been won your
valorous son Rama who had come along
accidentally lead by sage
Viswamithra.”
68.9
“Oh great king , the great Rama had broken in the middle
, that divine bow of limitless glory in
a big assembly of people.”
68.10
“To fulfill my vow
to compensate her to the one who has great prowess , I have to give Sita
in marriage to Rama and for that reason
it is proper for you to give your consent to fulfill my desire.” 68.11
“Oh great king, speedily come here along with your
teachers and priests .Safety to you. It is proper for you reunite yourself with Rama and
Lakshmana.”
68.12
“Oh Indra among kings, it is proper for you to cause
pleasure to me, and for you also to
joyfully meet your two sons.”
68.13
“Janaka , the king of Videha , according to the
permission of Sathananda and approval of
Viswamithra , have conveyed these sweet words.” After speaking thus the
messengers out of respect and fear for the king stopped. 68.14-68.15
After hearing the words of the messengers, the king
became greatly happy and told like this
to Vasishta, Vamadeva and others.
68.16
“Rama who increases greatly the joy of Kausalya , is
living in the country of Videha , protected by the son of Kushika.”
68.17
“Since Rama has proved his prowess , king Janaka is desiring
to give his daughter in marriage
to him.”
68.18
“If you look with favour the behaviour of the great Janaka, we will immediately go to
Mithila , without wasting any more
time.” 68.19
All ministers and
great sages approved the idea and the
very happy king said, “We will start our
journey tomorrow.” 68.20
“The ministers of king Janaka endowed with all virtues
were treated with great hospitality and
were pleased and spent the night there.
68.21
This is the end of the Sixty eighth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)69: Dasaratha arrives in Mithila
(Dasaratha starts the next day along with his ministers,
Guru and priests, They are very hospitably received by Janaka ,Dasaratha is happy to see his sons.)
King Dasaratha spent that night in company of his guru,
priests and relations and when night got over spoke to Sumanthra.
69.1
“Today itself may the chief of treasury may go well
prepared in advance with great quantity
of wealth including several type of gems .”
69.2
“I command that the four divisions of army from the four quarters may depart along as also let
excellent chariots and palanquins march out.”
69.3
“Let the Brahmins
Vasishta, Vamadeva , Jabali, Kashyapa, , the long lived Markandeya and sage
Kathyayana depart in advance. Let my
chariot be kept ready so that there
would not be time delay as the messengers of king Janaka are hastening me
up.”
69.4-69.5
As per the orders of the king, the four divisions of army
departed and the king and the sages followed behind.
69.6
After covering the path in a span of four days, they arrived in the country of
Videhas and hearing about it, King
Janaka made arrangements for worship and hospitality for them.
69.7
Afterwards the
king Janaka who was immensely pleased having approached the aged Dasaratha was extremely happy.
69.8
Then Janaka the great man spoke with joy to Dasaratha the great man, “Oh king, welcome to you. It is great fortune to us
that you have come .You will experience the love of both your sons who have won
over us by their prowess.”
69.9
“Luckily the god
like sage Vasishta has also arrived surrounded by great Brahmins. They
resemble the Indra surrounded by the
devas.”
69.10
“I am lucky that there were no problems and I am lucky to
have an alliance with the clan of Raghu, which is well known for its
valour and is greatly
distinguished.” 69.11
“Oh emperor of men, It is proper for you to conduct
the marriage tomorrow after the end of the Yagna with the consent of the sages, Oh best among
men.”
69.12
The king who was in the middle of the sages after hearing
these words from Janaka and the king who had great control over his words and was an expert in using them replied to Janaka. 69.13
“Oh king , I have heard in olden times that the gift should be received as per the words
of the giver and so follower of Dharma, I will do according to your
words.”
69.14
Hearing the words from the famous follower of Dharma who was an votary
of truth , the king of Videha was
greatly filled with admiration. 69.15
Afterwards all the sages
spent the night in great joy in each other’s company. 69.16
King Dasaratha was
very happy to see both his
sons and spent the time well being
honoured by Janaka.
69.17
That Janaka with great luster who was a great
philosopher after performing the acts
relating to the Yagna, spent the night in the sacrificial hall along with his daughters.
69.18
This is the end of the Sixty ninth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 70: Vasishta tells about clan of Rama
(Kusadwaja who is the younger brother of Janaka is
summoned and given and sage Vasishta
tells in detail about the clan of Rama.)
After that in the morning , after performing the rituals
of the Yagna , Janaka , an expert in speech told the
chief priest Sathananda as follows.
70.1
My younger brother Kusadwaja , a great follower of
Dharma, who is famous and brilliant is ruling the auspicious city of
Sankhasya , which is like the
Pushpaka Vimana and on the banks of
river Ikshumathi with the water of the rivers as its boundary.
70.2-70.3
“I would like to see him who is greatly lustrous as the
protector of this Yagna along with me as I would enjoy it.”
70.4
After informing this to Sathananda , he gave orders to
some competent attendants who had come there.
70.5
As per the commands of the they rushed to bring the tiger
among men Kusadwaja similar to obeying
the orders of Indra to bring Lord Vishnu.
70.6
After having reached the city of Sankhasya , they saw Kusadwaja
and informed him what had happened in Mithila and the intention of the
king.
70.7
That greatly strong king Kusadwaja , having learnt of the
events from those great attendants, set out as per the wishes of king
Janaka.
70.8
There he saw the great Janaka who liked Dharma and having saluted Sathananda and the great king Janaka,
occupied a divine seat which was
suitable to a king near the king. 70.9
Those two valorous brothers possessing great splendour , sent Sudhama ,
the wisest of the ministers to Dasaratha 70.10
“Oh great minister
, speedily go to the invincible Ikshuvaku king Dasaratha who has great
luster and bring him with his sons and
ministers.”
70.11
After he went to the tent
, he saw the great king of the Raghu
clan , bowed his head and spoke after saluting him.
70.12
“Oh valorous king of Ayodhya , Janaka the king of Mithila
desires to see you along with your Guru and priests .”
70.13
Then the king having heard these words along with his great
ministers , reach along with great sages
and relations, the place where
Janaka was waiting.
70.14
The king , an expert in speech who was
with his ministers, gurus as well
as relations spoke these words addressed
to the great king of Videha,
70.15
“It is well known
oh king , that god like sage
Vasishta who is like a god to the clan of Ikshuvakus would be our spokesman for all
occasions.”
70.16
“This Virtuous sage Vasishta with the permission of sage
Viswamithra and all other sages will tell
you the particulars of our race in proper order.”
70.17
After having spoken like this amidst great people that
king became silent and
sage Vasishta who was an expert in speech and who was god like along
with several other sages , spoke as follows to king Janaka.
70.18-70.19
“From the power
which did not have a clear form was born the ever living and
ever stable Lord Brahma and from
him Marichi was born and from him , Kashyapa
was born.” 70.20
“Kashyapa had a son called Vivaswan (sun God) , Manu who was called Prajapathi was the son Of
Vivaswan and his son was Ikshuvaku.”
70.21
“That Ikshuvaku during early times ruled over
Ayodhya and he had a vey lustrous and
famous son called Kukshi.”
70.22
“Kukshi’s son was Vikukshi and to him was born highly lustrous and valorous Bana.” 70,23
“The valorous Ananarnya with great luster and fame was
the son of Bana , Prathu was born to him and to him was born Trishanku.”
70.24
“The famous Dundhumara
also known as Yuvanaswa was the
son of Trishanku and he had a son called Mandhatha .” 70.25
“Susandhi was the son of Mandhatha and to him two sons Dhruvasandhi and Presanajith were born.”
70.26
“Dhruvasandhi had a famous son called Bharatha and from him was born the greatly lustrous
Asitha.”
70.27
“For Asitha the kings Haihayas, Sasabindhus and
Talanghas and their race became enemies.” 70.28
“The weak Asitha
was defeated by them in a war and was exiled out of his kingdom and he
along with his ministers travelled towards Himalaya mountains and lived in a place called
Bhruguprasravana.”
70.29
“It is heard that he had two queens who became pregnant
at the same time and one queen gave poison mixed with food to the other queen so that the embryo would be destroyed.” 70.30
“In that very pretty mountain a rishi named Bhrugu who
was also called Chyavana liked very much
to live.” 70.31
“One of those two wives called Kalindhi who had lotus like eyes desiri8ng for a son, saluted Chyavana
Who was very much
similar to devas.”
70.32
“When that Kalindhi approached that sage and saluted that
Brahmin desiring for a son, he spoke to
her about the birth of a son to her.”
70.33
“Oh prosperous one , in your womb a very powerful , virtuous , highly
lustrous and glorious son is growing . In
a short time that glorious son carrying the poison administered to you would be
born to you. So Oh lotus eyed one, do not be sad.”
70.34-70.35
“That princess who eldest queen and was a chaste and
virtuous wife , who was sad due to the loss of her husband , gave birth to a son
due to the blessing of sage Chyavana.”
70.36
“Since poison was given to his mother by her co wife with a view to destroy him , he was born
along with the poison and was called Sagara.”
70.37
“Asamanja was born to sagara and from him amshuman was born and to him was
born Dilipa and his son was Bhagiratha.”
70.38
“Kakushta was the son of Bhagiratha and his son was Raghu
.The powerful Pravrudha was his son .He became Kanmashapada as the e=water of
curse fell on his feet and his son was Samkhana.” 70.39
“Sudarshana was born to Sankhana and to him Agnivarna who
had the colour of fire was born. His son was Sigharaha and his son was
Maru.Prasusruka was born to Maru and his son was Ambareesha.,
70.40-70.41
“Amabareesha’s son was king Nahusha and Yayathi was the son of Nahusha and
his son was Naabhaga.”
70.42
“Nabhagha’s son was Aja and his son is Dasaratha and his
sons are Rama and Lakshmana .”
70.43
“Oh great king
Rama and Lakshmana , were born of
a pure heritage from the beginning, are supremely virtuous , votaries of
truth and belong to the clan of Ikshuvaku
kings., I choose both your daughters as brides for them as both your worthy daughters are accomplished
and virtuous . It is only proper for you to give them in marriage to Rama and Lakshmana.”
70.44-70.45
This is the end of the Seventieth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)71: Janaka tells about his clan.
(Janaka tells about his clan starting from Nimi. He also
introduces his brother Kusadwaja. The marriage of Rama with Sita and Urmila
Janaka’s younger daughter with Lakshmana is proposed and accepted.)
Hearing what was spoken by Vasishta , king Janaka replied
with folded hands “”You be safe. It is only proper that you listen to our genealogy.”
71.1
“Oh great sage , it is very important to listen to the genealogy
completely and it is appropriate for one born in a great clan to tell
about it .Please listen.”
71.2
“There was a king called Nimi who was famous in all the
three worlds by his own acts. He was a great follower of Dharma and greatly endowed with strength.”
71.3
“He had a son called Mithi who constructed this town of
Mithila , He was the first Janaka and his son was Udhavasu.” 71.4
“To the virtuous Udavasu was born a son called
Nandhivardhana. And sukethu was the son of Nandhivardhana.” 71.5
“Top the virtuous Sukethu the very strong Devaratha was
born. He was a royal sage and to him was born
a son calleds Brihadartha.”
71.6
“The Son of
Brihadratha was the valorous and
famous Mahaveera.He had a courageous and truthful son called Sudruthi.” 71.7
“The soul of Dharma Drishtakethu who was a great follower of Dharma was born to Sudruthi and to that royal sage
a son named Haryaswa was born.”
71.8
“Maru was the son
of Haryaswa and Prathindhaka was the son of Maru. The son of Prathinthaka was king Keerthiratha who was a follower of Dharma.”
71.9
“Devameedha was the son of Keerthiratha . Vibhudha was
the son of Devameedha and his son was Maheedraka.”
71.10
“The mighty king Keerthiratha was the son of Maheedraka and that royal sage’s son was Maharoma.”
71.11
“Maharoma’s son was the virtuous Swarnaroma and his son
was the royal sage Hrusvaroma.” 71.12
“For that great follower of Dharma was born two sons . I am the eldest and
Krusdwaja is the second son.”
71.13
“My son Hrusvaroma after crowning me, who is the eldest
son as the king , placed the burden of
bringing up Kusadwaja and went to the forest.”
71.14
“After my aged father
attained heaven, I am looking after my brother Kusadwaja , who resembles the
devas in an affectionate manner and am
ruling the kingdom as per the tenets of Dharma.” 71.15
“Then after passage of sometime a powerful king Sudhanwa set out from town of Sankhasya with
a view to besiege Mithila.”
71.16
“He sent a message to me to hand over to him the matchless bow of Lord shiva and lotus eyed maid Sita .”
71.17
“Oh Brahmarishi, by
my not giving these, a big war
broke out between him and me and in that
encounter, Sudhanwa was killed by me.”
71.18
“Oh great sage, after killing that king Sudhanwa , I
crowned my heroic brother Kusadwaja as the king of Sankhasya.”
71.19
“Oh great sage, this is my younger brother and I am the
elder one. Oh great sage , I am immensely pleased to offer the two maidens Sita to Rama and Urmila to Lakshmana .May you be
safe.” 71.20
“As a reward for the prowess , I am offering my daughter
Sita who is similar to the daughter of devas and also my second daughter Urmila.
I am proclaiming this thrice so that
there is no doubt about it.”
71.21
“I am giving these two brides who are greatly loved by me
as brides to the sons of Raghu clan. Oh king please make Rama and
Lakshmana give away a gift of cows
.Let it be performed for satisfying the manes, Safety to you. Afterwards the
marriage may be performed.” 71.22-71.23
“Oh valorous one, Oh Lord , today the star is Makha and third day from today the star is Uthara Phalguni(Uthram) .Oh king
, perform the marriage . For ensuring happiness OF Rama and Lakshmana, let Dhana(charity of various forms may be
given.”
71.24
This is the end of the Seventy first chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga (Chapter) 72:Offer of daughters of Kusadwaja in
marriage To Bharatha and Sathrugna.
(Mandavi and
Sruthakeerthi daughters of Kusdawaja is
offered as brides to Bharatha and Sathrugna.
The offer is accepted and the
marriage is fixed for next day. Dasaratha does the preliminary rituals for the
marriage.)
The great sage Viswamithra along
with Vasishta after hearing these words
of king Janaka , told Janaka.
72.1
“OH great king, the glory of the clan of Ikshuvaku as well as that of Vaideha is immeasurable and beyond mere thought and there is no one equal to kings of these
clans.”
72.2
“Oh king, Urmila with Lakshmana and Sita with Rama are a perfect match. There is perfect match
in their forms and their marriage is
accordance with Dharma.”
72.3
“Oh great man, What I intend to tell may please be heard.
This Kushadwaja who is the brother of the king is the great follower of Dharma.”
72.4
“Oh king, Oh best among men, we are seeking his
two daughters matchless in beauty and
virtue as brides to grooms.” 72.5
“Oh king, the lads Bharatha and Shatrugna are great and
magnanimous and for both of them, we choose them as brides.”
72.6
“These two sons of Dasaratha are handsome and
youthful and are like kings who are
protectors of the world and the devas. “
72.7
“Oh king, let the
bond be strengthened between the clan of Ikshuvaku and your clan of pious deeds with great and clear vision.”
72.8
Then having heard
the wishes of Viswamithra and Vasishta , Janaka with folded palms
addressed those sages and told.
72.9
“Our clans are
indebted to you oh great sages , for your commanding us, yourselves for this relation between our
clans .”
72.10
“And let it happen as suggested by you , you be safe. Let
the daughters of Kusadwaja would
becomes the wives of Bharatha and Shatrugna and serve them.”
72.11
“On the same
day let the hands of our four daughters
be held by the four very strong
princes.” 72.12
“The prajapathi called Bhaga appreciates the holding
of the marriage on the day , when there is Utharaphalguni star(Uthram)
.”
72.13
The king Janaka after telling these pleasing words ,
stood up with folded hands and told the
two great saints. 72.14
“Both of you have done supreme dharma for me. Oh eminent
sages , I am your disciple and so please occupy these great thrones.”
72.15
“My city is like Ayodhya for king Dasaratha and there is no doubt about, you can govern
it as you please.”
72.16
When the king Janaka
talked in this manner, the son of
Raghu clan King Dasaratha became very happy
and replied to king Janaka. 72.17
“You brothers who are the kings of Mithila have countless good qualities. Sages and
groups of kings have been worshipped by you.”
72.18
“Be peaceful, may you obtain safety , I shall go to my
residence and perform all rituals
concerning ancestors “ he spoke like this.
72.19
Then that very famous king Dasaratha took leave and Janaka also went away after those two
sages.
72.20
After going to his residence king Dasaratha did the
Sradha(ceremony addressed to ancestors)
as per the scriptures and got up
in the morning and did the very great charity
of giving cows..
72.21
That king gave
thousands of cows to Brahmins and these
charities were meant for the sake of
each of his sons.
72.22
That great man Dasaratha who was affectionate towards his
sons , distributed hundred thousand
cows, with their horns covered in gold , with abundant yield of milk, accompanied by their
calves as well as bronze vessel for
milking and also many valuables to the Brahmins , in the name of his sons.
72.23-72.24
The king who had given the cows in charity as well as
observed penance for the sake of his sons , looked like Lord Brahma surrounded by the guardians of the
world.
72.25
This is the end of the Seventy second chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)73: The celebration of the marriage
(The uncle of Bharatha arrives in Mithila. The four marriages are conducted by giving
the bride to the grooms and by their going round the fire.)
On the day when the king gave away the cows in charity ,
that day the valorous Yudhajit(uncle of
Bharatha) arrived. 73.1
He was the son of the king of Kekaya and uncle of Bharatha , after seeing and
enquiring about the welfare to Dasaratha , he told the king
Dasaratha. 73.2
“My father , the king of Kekaya enquired about your welfare and all the
people whose welfare you would ask are all OK.” 73.3
“Oh joy of Raghu clan, Oh Indra of all kings, My father ,
the king of Kekaya wished me to see the lady
of our family and so I went to Ayodhya.” 73.4
“Oh king, hearing that you have arrived in Mithila along
with your sons for their marriage, I came speedily here to see the son of my sister.” 73.5
Then Dasaratha accorded him great hospitality
and also extended proper honours
to him.” 73.6
Thereafter spending that night with his illustrious sons
, king Dasaratha who knew his duties ,
woke up at dawn , completed his morning rituals , reached the sacrificial place
, being preceded by sages.
73.7-73.8
At the auspicious time , Rama along with his brothers , all of them completely adorned
by various ornaments , after having performed the rituals preceding the
marriage , with Vasishta and other great sages
walking ahead of him , reached his father’s presence.
73.9-73.10
The God like Vasishta approached the king Janaka and spoke the
following words, ”Oh king, oh great man, King Dasaratha has performed
all rites preparatory to the marriage along with his sons and is waiting for
the one who would give them the brides.”
73.11
“All other rituals of marriage take place only when , the
giver and receiver meet together and so fulfill your duty by performing an
auspicious marriage .”
73.12
After the great Vasishta who was exceedingly generous
told like this , king Janaka , who had great luster and one who follows the tenets of Dharma
strictly replied using the following
words. 73.13
“Did any guard prevent you? To whose command are you
waiting for? Why this hesitation to enter your own house? For this kingdom is
like your kingdom.”
73.14
“Oh great sage, my daughters who have performed all the
rites preceding the marriage and shining like the flame of a fire ., have
already arrived at the foot of the
altar.”
73.15
“I am keeping myself ready and am awaiting you. WE would
proceed further without any problems and
why should be there further delay?
“
73.16
Having heard the words spoken by Janaka, Dasaratha made his sons as well as very many sages
enter the marriage arena. 73.17
Afterwards , Janaka , the king of Videha spoke these words to sage Vasishta, “Oh Lord
, who observes Dharma, Oh sage , Along with other sages, be pleased to perform
the marriage ceremonies of Rama, so that
the whole world is happy.”
73.18-73.19
The god like sage Vasishta addressed Janaka and said,
“Let it be so.” And along with sage
Viswamithra and virtuous Sathananda ,
reached the centre of the marriage
arena and constructed an altar
according to the scriptures. He
decorated the altar with fragrant flowers , golden pots with holes , earthen ware pots filled with water and sprouts , pots for
holding incense . conch shaped vessels, sacrificial bowls and ladles , water
pots for offering Arghya , vessels containing puffed rice and the well prepared sacred rice .” 73.20-73.23
Then the very lustrous god like sage Vasishta , according
to tradition placed equal quantity of Durba grass around the altar , recited
manthras according to scriptures and
started fire on the altar by placing fire on it and started giving
ablations..
73.24
Then King Janaka having brought Sita adorned with all
types of ornaments , in the presence of fire , placed her facing Rama and spoke To Rama who was the one who increased joy of Kausalya.”
73.25-73.26
“This girl Sita who is my daughter would be travelling with you in your journey to observe Dharma .Please
accept her hand and hold it with yours.
May there be safety for both of you.” 73.27
“This greatly lucky
and Virtuous Sita would always follow you like your shadow”, saying like
this . along with chanting of Manthras he
released sanctified water in to
hands of Rama . 73.28
Then all the devas and sages said , “Great, great” and the divine drums were played and there
was a rain of flowers.
73.29
Then the king Janaka having given Sita to Rama along with
the sanctified waters , shed
tears of joy, and said.
73.30
“Oh Lakshmana , please come .Urmila is ready to be given
to you. Please accept her hand and hold it with your hand. Let there be no
delay in doing it.”
73.31
After speaking like to this to Lakshmana Janaka addressed Bharatha and said, “Oh son
of Raghu clan, please hold the hand of Mandavi.”
73.32
That soul of Dharma king Janaka then addressed Shatrugna and also spoke to him,
“Oh great hero, please hold
Sruthakeerthi’s hand in yours.”
73.33
“Oh sons of Kakustha dynasty , all of you posses good
conduct , have a gentle disposition and
are faithful to your vows. Without any delay
start living with your wives. “
73.34
After hearing the words of Janaka , after taking the consent of
Vasishta, those four took the hands of their wives in their hand.” 73.35
Those good and great sons of Raghu clan accompanied by their wives , in obedience
with sage Vasishta, went round the sacred fire in the altar and entered in to matrimony.
73.36
When the sons of Kakustha clan were holding the tender and soft hands of their wives, with immense splendour
there was a rain of flowers from the sky. 73.37
Accompanied by the playing of the divine drum was the sound of playing of various musical
instruments. The gang of Apasaras danced
and the Gandharwas sang , when
the important sons of Raghu clan were getting married and it felt
wonderful.
73.38-73.39
With the tunes of wind instruments were making the sweet
music those lustrous brothers went round the fire three times and got
married. 73.40
Thereafter the sons of Raghu clan along with their wives
, went towards their residences
accompanied by the king, hosts of sages
and relations.
73.41
This is the end of the Seventy third chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)74: The
departure to Ayodhya and meeting with
Parasurama
( Viswamithra took leave and went to the forests to do penance. Dasaratha, his sons and the new
brides along with sages and the army started towards Ayodhya, Janaka came with them and gave several presents to his daughters and bid them farewell. On
the way , they saw lot of disturbance. Then Parasurama , the son of Jamadagni
appeared before them and started talking to Rama,)
After the night was spent the great sage Viswamithra ,
after blessing the sons of the Raghu clan, took leave of those two kings and
went towards the northern
mountains.
74.1
After the departure of Viswamithra , the king Dasaratha
who causes happiness in people took
leave of Janaka , the king
of Mithila and speedily started going towards Ayodhya. 74.2
While they were going, King Janaka followed them to a
certain distance and king of Videha gave
very many presents to his daughters.
74.3
The king of Mithila gave them several crores of cows ,
several excellent carpets , crores of silk dresses , elephants, horses , chariots
and infantry and also well
decorated excellent female and male servants , possessing divine
beauty.
74.4-74.5
That greatly pleased one also gave them matchless
dowry in the form of golden ornaments
with luster, decorated by pearls and
corals.
74.6
The king of Mithila
after having given them plenty of wealth
and after taking leave of King
Dasaratha went back to his home.
74.7
The king of Ayodhya also left along with his great sons and the sages who were going in the
front and his followers and servants
following him.
74.8
That tiger among men along with his sons and sages , here
and there noticed that the birds were making sounds of fear.
74.9
All the animals of the place went to their right in the clockwise
fashion and having seen this the tiger
among men approached sage Vasishta and
asked.
74.10
“Why are The frightened birds as well as the suffering deer going round us
?I am in great fear and my heart is trembling and I am in depressed spirits.
“
74.11
The sage Vasishta heard these words of king Dasaratha and
said, “ I shall listen to these noises and then tell you.”
74.12
“The sounds released by the birds indicate an event of
divine nature and the dreadful sound
made by the animals indicates that they are restoring peace and so do not get
worried.”
74.13
When they were talking with each other , the earth
started shaking and a great wind started
blowing making many pretty trees fell on
the ground.
74.14
Darkness enveloped the sun and all directions did not
shine and the entire army was covered
with ashes and looked as if they had fainted.
74.15
But sage Vasishta, other saints, Dasaratha and his sons
retained their consciousness and
all others lost their consciousness.
74.16
In that fearful darkness , the army looked as if it was covered by ashes and king
Dasaratha saw that descendent of sage Brugu,
looking dreadful with his matted hair and crown, who was inaccessible like
the Kailasa mountains , who had killed several king of kings , who was
difficult to endure due to his shine like
the fire at the time of deluge,
whose power was burning ordinary men and making him difficult to see , who was
carrying an axe on his shoulder , who
was carrying a bow similar to series of
lightning and also an arrow and who
looked like Lord Shiva who had come to
destroy Tripura.
74.17-74.20
Seeing him who was fearful in appearance with a looks of flaming fire that was raging
, Vasishta and others who were experts in chanting Manthras and oblations in fire assembled in one place and whispered
among themselves,
74.21
“Enraged by the slaughter of his father , was he not
intent upon exterminating the race of Kshatriyas? Earlier by slaughtering the Kshatriyas , he got himself freed from anger and sorrow. Is he again desirous of killing of
Kshatriyas? “
74.22-74.23
After the saints have talked among themselves , they
offered water to wash his feet to the son of Bhargava with fearsome appearance and started to speak to him in soft and
sweet words, “Rama, Rama.
74.24
That valiant son of Jamadagni after accepting the worship
offered by the saints , started speaking
to Rama , the son of Dasaratha.”
74.25
This is the end of the Seventy fourth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter)75: The story of Parasurama and the Vishnu
bow
(Sage Parasurama tells about how Viswakarma made two bows and how gave one to Vishnu and another to
Shiva. The Vishnu bow was given to his
grand father who gave it to his father , who gave it to him. At this Dasaratha
was scared but Parasurma completed the
story of the bows and Challenged Rama to string it and send an arrow usingit.)
“Oh Rama, Oh sons of Dasaratha, Oh Rama , I have been hearing about your great
prowess and I have also heard about your
breaking of the Shiva’s bow.”
75.1
That breaking
the bow is wonderful and beyond our
thought . Hearing about that I have come with another divine bow.”
75.2
“This great bow of dreadful appearance was obtained by
sage Jamadagni and complete the test of
your prowess by sending an arrow with that
bow.” 75.3
“After seeing your
prowess , while you are stretching the
bow , I shall engage you in a duel for appreciating your valour.”
75.4
After the king Dasaratha heard those words , he with
dejected face full of sorrow , spoke the following.
75.5
“You are a very famous Brahmana who has become quiet by your anger against Kshatriyas and it would
be proper if you give protection
to my sons who are only boys.”
75.6
“You are born in the clan of Bhrugu, shining due to his study of Vedas and observance of penance .You have already
left off use of weapons by taking a vow in the name of Indra.” 75.7
“You being one
intent on Dharma , have conferred this entire earth to Kashyapa , you have
retired to the forest and are living on Mahendra mountain.”
75.8
“Oh great sage , you have come for my complete
destruction today for if you kill Rama , none of us will survive.”
75.9
When Dasaratha was
talking like this to the famous son of Jamadagni , disregarding those words, he
was only addressing Rama.
75.10
“These two great divine bows are famous all over the
world for they are both stout and
powerful and were made by Viswakarma himself
at the same time.”
75.11
“Oh Great human being, Oh son of Kakustha clan, the one
which was broken by you was given to devas by the three eyed Lord Shiva who was
the destroyer of the three cities.”
75.12
“The second unassailable bow was given was given by
the chief of devas to Lord Vishnu .Oh Rama, Oh son born in the Kakustha
clan, this highly radiant bow of Lord
Vishnu is as strong as the other bow of
Rudra.”
75.13
“Then all the devas
at that time asked Lord Brahma to find out about the comparative
strength and weaknesses of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.”
75.14
“The grandfather who was foremost among all those who
speak , after he came to know about the intension of devas, instigated the
quarrel between both the Gods.”
75.15
“A great war took place
between Shiva and Vishnu , each desirous of a victory over other ,
making one’s hairs to stand erect.”
75.16
“Then by the sound of “hum” the dreadful power of Shiva’s
bow was compromised and the three eyed
one was made motionless.”
75.17
“All the Devas along with sages and Charanas who had assembled there requested with both of them
and As both of them were great devas
they both were pacified.”
75.18
“Since the Shiva’s bow was made benumbed by the bow of Vishnu, the devas and sages
thought that Vishnu’s bow was superior.”
75.19
“The famous Shiva who got angry with this , placed the
bow along with arrow with the Royal sage Devaratha in the country Videha.”
75.20
“Oh Rama, that Vishnu capable of conquering hostile cities gave his bow
with trust to Richaka belonging
to the race of Bhrigus.”
75.21
“That Richaka who had great luster gave it to his son , the famous Jamadagni , who was one with matchless
valour.” 75.22
“:Endowed with
great power of penance , my father renounced use of all weapons and king
Karthaveeryarjuna killed him in a vulgar manner.”
75.23
“Having heard of the killing of my father which was
incomparable and ruthless , out of great anger I went on killing Kshatriyas who
were being born again and again as they were born and reborn. Having won the
entire earth , at the end of a fire sacrifices, I gave it to sage Kashyapa who
was doing meritorious acts . There after I am living on the Mahendra
mountains due to the power of great penance .” 75.24-75.25
“Oh very strong Rama with great valour, having heard
about your great prowess which lead to the breaking of the bow of Shiva, I am
come here for the same purpose.”
75.26
“Oh Rama, treating with respect the Dharma of Kshatriyas, take hold of this eminent and excellent bow
belonging to Vishnu , which was inherited
by me from my father and forefathers.” 75.27
“Oh son of Kakustha clan, this great bow is
capable of conquering cities as well as enemies. F it is possible by you ,
place an arrow on it , then I will engage you in fight.” 75.28
This is the end of the Seventy fifth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter )76: destruction of pride of Parasurama
(Rama easily strings the bow, keeps an arrow in it and
requests Parasurama to say whether the arrow should be used to destroy his feet
or should it be used to destroy the result of his accumulated penances.
Parasurama realizes that Rama is Vishnu
himself and chooses the latter as he has
to leave all countries he has given to sage Kashyapa. After destroying all
penance by the arrow, Parasurama salutes Rama and goes to his abode in Mahendra
mountains.)
The son of Dasaratha after hearing the words of the son of Jamadagni , avoiding further
conversation due to respect to his father
told.
76.1
“Oh Bhrugu’s son, I have listened to the great acts done
by you. I am greatly appreciating the
acts done by you to repay your debts to your father.”
76.2
“Oh Bhargava , You have
insulted me as I am without
valour and incompetent to perform the duties of a Kshatriya .”
76.3
Rama of the speedy valour , having thus spoken angrily ,
grasped the bow and arrow from the hands of the son of Bhrugu clan.”
76.4
After bending , the , pulling the string and keeping the
arrow on it , The angry Rama asked the
son of Jamadagni.
76.5
“You are Brahmin
fit to be worshipped and you are
worthy of homage through
Viswamithra to me, and so , I do not
have the power to release it to take your life.”
76.6
“Oh Rama I have
decided to either destroy the movement by your feet or the power that
you earned by penance which is
incomparable in this world and please
tell me your choice.”
76.7
“This celestial arrow of Vishnu would conquer cities or
destroy the pride and strength of a person and will not go in vain.”
76.8
To see Rama holding that blessed weapon , the devas and
assembly of sages lead by Lord Brahma as
well as Gandharwas, Yakshas, Apasaras
and Kinnaras, as well as Yakshas , Rakshasas and Nagas assembled in the sky.
76.9-76.10
When Rama
stretched the divine bow , the
world became benumbed and Rama the son
of Jamadagni , lost all his power and
gazed at Rama.
76.11
Having lost all
his prowess and power and having been
made motionless , the son of Jamadagni spoke to Rama with eyes like petals of a
lotus flower.
76.12
“Earlier when I gave this earth earned me to Kashyapa, he
told me , “You should not live in my country.”
76.13
“Oh Rama, since I have gifted the earth to Kashyapa , I
assured him that I will not live here and following the words of Guru I am not
living here during night time.”
76.14
“Oh valorous Rama, for that reason , you should not
destroy the power of my movement and I shall go with the speed of mind to the
great mountain Mahendra.”
76.15
“Oh Rama strike
with that divine arrow the unmatched worlds of penance that I have conquered.
Let there not be a delay in it.”
76.16
“As soon as you stretched this bow , I understood that
you are the imperishable slayer of Madhu
and the lord of all devas. Please be safe.”
76.17
“All these crowds of devas who have assembled here know
about your incomparable deeds and in
combat you are unassailable .”
76.18
“Oh son of Kakustha dynasty, because I have been defeated by you , who are the
lord of the three worlds , I should not feel ashamed.”
76.19
“Oh Rama , who does proper penance , it is only proper
for you to release this incomparable
arrow at me and after its release, I
would go to the Mahendra mountain.”
76.20
When Rama the son of famous Jamadagni spoke thus , Rama
the son of Dasaratha released that excellent
arrow.
76.21
After seeing to it that the worlds of great penance
earned by Parasurama were destroyed, That Parasurama speedily went to the excellent
Mahendra mountain. 76.22
Then all directions and
semi directions were cleared of darkness
and the devas and sages praised Rama for wielding that bow . 76.23
Lord Parasurama, the son of Jamadagni , praised Rama , went round him and went to his abode.
76.24
This is the end of the Seventy sixth chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
Sarga(Chapter) 77: Arrival back to Ayodhya.
(After departure
of Parasurama, all of them
continue the journey and arrive back in Ayodhya. They are received with joy by people of Ayodhya.
When Parasurama had gone,
Rama the son of Dasaratha who had
a peaceful mind , gave the
unmatched Bow and arrow to God Varuna.
77.1
Then Rama saluted Vasishta and other important
saints and seeing his very scared father
, That son of Raghu clan told him.
77.2
“Rama the son of Jamadagni has gone . Please give order
to the four divisions of the army to march towards Ayodhya as its supreme commander. “
77.3
“Oh king, direct the army that is under your control,
they like orders like a Chataka bird
waits for water.”
77.4
Hearing the words of Rama that Parasurama has departed ,
Dasaratha was filled with joy , hugged his son and having done that, smelt his
forehead and felt as if his son has taken a rebirth. 77.5-77.6
He ordered his army to go speedily and when reached the city, it was decorated
by banners and flags , resounding with playing of Trumpets . Delightfully
looking forward to the king’s entry. The
royal highways were sprinkled with water, with flowers strewn on them and
auspicious musical instruments were being played. The city was filled with people who were waiting the king to enter.” 77.7-77.8
That great and
very famous king followed by his elegant sons entered the city where the citizens including Brahmins who
have come from a long distance had
gathered to welcome him and then he entered his home like the Himalaya mountain.
77.9
The king in house was honoured by his relations
and Kausalya , Sumithra and Kaikeyi with the slender waist were busy in welcoming the brides along with
the women of the royal house. 77.10-77.11
Thereafter the wives of the king welcomed the highly
fortunate Sita, the very famous Urmila,
and the daughters of Kusadwaja
in to their house.
77.12
All of them holding auspicious substances and shining in their silk dresses ,
immediately went and worshipped Gods in
temple .
77.13
Then all those daughters of kings paid homage to all those worthy of being paid homage and went to their
individual houses which were like the house of Khubera. Then they gave cows and
grains and satisfied great Brahmins
and en joyed happily the company of their husbands . 77.14-77.15
Those great sons with no one comparable to them in the
earth in their valour , competent in use of arrows, and along with their wives served their father and obeyed his commands. “ 77.16
After passage of
some time , Dasaratha the delight of Raghu clan
, addressed Bharatha , the son of
Kaikeyi and told.
77.17
“Oh son, the heroic Yudhajit who is the son of King of
Kekaya and your maternal uncle has come to take you to their home.”
77.18
‘Oh knower of Dharma , he has made the same request in
Mithila , when we were with great
sages and it is only proper to make him
happy , by going with him. “ 77.19
Having heard the
words of Dasaratha, Bharatha , the son of Kaikeyi , paid salutations to
Dasaratha and Rama and embraced Lakshmana
and together with Shatrugna
started for the journey.” 77.20-77.21
That valorous great man bid farewell from Dasaratha, Rama who did jobs without any
fatigue , and mothers , and departed
with Shatrugna.
77.22
After the departure
of Bharatha , the very strong
Rama and Lakshmana worshipped and served
their god like father.
77.23
Obeying the
orders of their father they
looked after the welfare and well being
of their citizens .
77.24
They looked after their mothers and requirement of their
mothers in a very disciplined
manner and supervised the welfare of
their gurus and their needs at
appropriate intervals. “ 77.25
Dasaratha started liking them very much for their good
conduct and character and they were
liked by the Brahmins and other citizens of the country.
77.26
Rama who was truthful
and greatly valorous , possessed
many virtues and was very famous and for
the people of the kingdom he was like Lord Brahma to the living beings.
77.27
The sensitive Rama always fixed his mind on Sita, his
heart being dedicated to her and several
seasons went by.
77.28
Sita being chosen by his father became a darling to him
and is affection towards her increased further due to her prettiness and great
virtue.
77.29
For her, her
husband acted doubly because they were communicating their thoughts revolving
in their heart as well those born there.
77.30
In beauty she was
equal to Gods who had assumed human form and she was also a personification of
Goddess Lakshmi in wealth. Sita became
especially dear to Rama because she was born in MIthila and the daughter of
Janaka .
77.31
That Rama being the son of the Royal sage and being
pretty every moment , united with the daughter of excellent king Janaka
and shined like Indra, the king of devas
and possessed joy like Lord Vishnu who was with Goddess Lakshmi. 77.32
This is the end of the Seventy seventh chapter
Of Balakanda of the holy
Ramayana composed by Valmiki as the first epic.
End of Bala Kanda
of Ramayana
“Since the Shiva’s bow was made benumbed by the bow of Vishnu, the devas and sages thought that Vishnu’s bow was superior.” 75.19
ReplyDeleteSir,
This translation is not correct. The original in Sanskrit says "adhikaM menire viShNuM devAH sa RShigaNAs tadA" meaning,
"from then on the gods along with the assemblages of sages deemed Vishnu to be the paramount".
People may very well believe that Vishnu and Shiva are equal. But we do not have the license to put that into Valmiki's mouth.
m giving you another translation of the same verse done by a team of experts, "The bow of Siva having been made inert by the prowess of Visnu, hosts of sages and devatas considered Visnu as superior. "
ReplyDeleteHats Off to You Sir!! Its a stupendous effort and its simply superlative. I thank you for this priceless gem, especially for Palakkad Iyers like me who are in a profession that keeps them far away from our roots and thus losing it.
ReplyDeleteI salute you for this gift!
Lt Col V Balaji