Adhyatma Ramayanam

2.14 Bharath Agamanam
[Bharatha's Coming]

All ladies attached to the king started crying,
Again they started crying loudly,
And the sound of their cry and beating on their chests,
Was immediately heard by the great sage Vasishta,
And after consulting with ministers with anxiety,
They entered the private quarters and told,
The kings body should be put in an oil boat,
So that the body does not deteriorate.

After saying this, he called the envoys,
And told them, "You have to go today itself,
To the Kekaya kingdom and tell,
The king Yudhajith who is the uncle,
To send without wasting any time,
Shatrugna and Bharatha very immediately,
They who were sent quickly entered the Kekaya kingdom,
Saluted the king Yudhajith and told him,
"Please hear king, these are the words,
Of Sage Vasishta, Please send Shatrugna,
And Bharatha to Ayodhya without any delay,
And hearing these words of the envoy that king,
Told the boys to go and they started immediately.

There must be some danger happening,
To our father or to our elder brother,
Thought Bharatha and he also,
Thought about very many other aspects.
And he entered Ayodhya very much worried.
Ayodhya was devoid of happiness, without any sound,
Without any auspiciousness, and also was devoid of people,
And seeing that it was opposite of celebration throughout the country,
And also seeing that it lacked the shine,
And also seeing that the palace was not having Rama and Lakshmana,
And seeing there, Kaikeyi, both of them saluted her,
And that mother became happy on seeing her son,
Got up, hugged him tightly and made him sit on her lap,
And smelling his head she asked,
"Are the people of my clan safe, and please tell,
Is there any sorrow to my mother, father and other relations."

When Kaikeyi told him like this, Bharatha,
In reply to that he told immediately,
"There is worry in my mind of not seeing father,
Where does father live now, Oh mother?
I have never seen father any time,
Secretly living anywhere else?
Why are you now living alone?
In my mind there is a lot of fear and sorrow,
And to please him, Kaikeyi told him,
"What is the need for my son to be sad,
I have arranged for realization of all your desires."

"After performing Fire sacrifices like Aswamedha,
After spreading his fame all over the world,
Your father got the place where good people go"
And hearing this Bharatha fell on the floor,
Due to intense sorrow and started crying.

2.15 Bharathante Vilapam
[Bharatha's Lamentation]

"Oh father, drowning me in the sea of sorrow,
To which direction you went, oh king,
Without entrusting me and the kingdom,
In the hands of Rama, how did you part,
And go away, my father, treasure of all that is good,
To do good to us who is there for us now",
When her son was crying like this,
Kaikeyi made him stand up, wiped his tears and told,
"Come out of this, What is the result of this sorrow,
Understand that everything is ordained by God.
I have seen to it that you got a rise,
And you have got all that is to be got",
Hearing the words of mother,
Bharatha with great sorrow asked,
"Mother, did not father tell,
Anything at the time of his death?"
"Hey Rama Rama, Lad, My Sita,
Sri Rama, Lakshmana, Rama, Rama, Rama,
Hey Sita, Hey daughter of Janaka, these,
Wee repeated by your father with sorrow again and again."
And hearing this Bharatha asked his mother,
"Why is it alas? At the time of his death,
Were not Rama, Sita, Lakshmana near him?"
Hearing this Kaikeyi told,
"When the king got prepared for,
The crowning of Rama, I told him that,
You should be crowned and stopped the coronation,
And I can tell you now all these"

Once your father had given me two boons,
With one of them I asked that you should be crowned,
And by the other I wanted Rama to go to forest,
To the king at this time,
And that king who was bound to truth,
Gave the earth for you and sent Rama to live in forest,
Lady Janaki sticking on to her virtue,
Went to forest along with her husband,
And Lakshmana went to forest along with his brother.

Father thought of them and cried,
And with sorrow saying Rama, Rama,
Went to heaven, Hearing these words of mother,
Bharatha fell down on the floor because of sorrow,
And when he was greatly upset like this, Kaikeyi asked,
"Hey, what is the reason for this sorrow?
You have now got the kingdom,
Live as a great one, after leaving out these tantrums."
And when he heard these words of Kaikeyi,
He stared at his mother with great anger,
And All those witnessing these were worried,
That his mother would get burned in the fire of his anger.

"Oh sinner who killed her husband, Oh terrible woman,
Oh shameless one, Oh merciless one, Oh bad woman, Oh Rakshasi,
Alas I am the great sinner without good,
Due to being born in your womb,
Now without talking to you, I will go,
And will die falling in a fire or,
I would drink Kala koota poison or
I will take my sword and cut off my head,
And by all accounts I will die,
There is no doubt about it, Oh unchaste one,
And I would live in the horrible,
Khumbipaka hell because of this."

After shouting at his mother like that, with sorrow,
He immediately went and entered the house of Kausalya.
And when he saluted her at her feet,
The mother Kausalya hugged him.
And she who was with tears and had become thin,
Pitifully and with great sorrow told,
"My son caught in the problems of Karma,
Has been taken far away from here.
Rama, his younger brother and Sita,
Wearing the bark of a tree and with matted hair,
Have reached the forest drowning me,
In the ocean of sorrow with very great pain.
And made me as speechless, and without fear.
Hey Rama, Rama, Leader of Raghu clan,
Narayana, divine god, Lord of the earth,
Lord, though you were born as my son,
Sorrow is not leaving me at any time,
And when I think about it, I realize,
That it is but by strength of fate."

Seeing the mother who was crying like this,
Bharatha told her with sorrow as well as devotion,
"Since mother is having a very unhappy and troubled,
Mind she has to hear what I say,
My mother stopped the coronation of Rama,
But mother I have not known about it, On oath on Rama,
And mother if I have known even little about it,
Definitely I would be afflicted by the,
Sin of killing one hundred Brahmins.

Let the sin of cutting the head of,
Sage Vasishta, the son of Brahma,
And his very chaste wife Arundathi,
And killing them fall on me,
and I will have to suffer all that.
By taking several such oaths,
Bharatha was expressing his ebbing and overflowing sorrow,
And when Bharatha was crying like this the mother told,
'I know that there are no defects in you."

Saying this she hugged him very tightly,
And smelled and caressed his head,
And all those who saw that started crying loudly,
And hearing this incident the great sage Vasishta,
Along with the ministers came there with love,
And Bharatha saluted him with great sorrow,
And seeing the wail, Vasishta told,
"This sorrow is sufficient, please hear this,
Dasaratha who was the king was also old,
Valorous for truth, Man with great heroism,
And he after enjoying all manly comforts,
And pleasures of a great king,
Conducted very many fire sacrifices,
Gave as gift lot of wealth,
And has gone now to land of devas,
And has got half the seat of Devendra,
And is being saluted by Indra and other devas,
And he is there with great joy, and so,
Why are you crying and shedding tears."

The soul is pure, does not have birth or death,
It is forever, matchless, not decaying, with no two divisions
It is form of truth and spread in all worlds,
It does not have death or birth, it is the cause of the world,
But body is only a shell and purely temporary,
The cause of desire, That which opposes salvation,
That which is not pure and not at all divine,
And so if we think this in mind,
There is no time to be sad about it,
What is the use of sorrow to those subject to death.

Whether it is father or whether it is son,
When they die, very foolish people,
Beat their chest, hit and shout,
Get tired because of this and fall down fainted.
This domestic life is really worthless,
And only good company is the one that does good,
And to bring pleasant feeling to it,
The only method is living in peace which is forever.

When there is birth, there is definitely death,
And it is also definite that birth will come to those who die,
We have to understand that it is a state,
Which cannot be prevented by any one,
And also that everything occurs due to our Karma,
And the learned man who knows this principle,
Will not have sorrow at the time of parting with,
Things like Son, friends, property and wife,
And always being with them is not pleasure giving.

Seeing that billions of universes have been lost,
And many have been again created by Brahma,
And understanding that this has occurred innumerable times,
In the human life that is like a bubble which bursts,
What desire would greatly wise people keep?
What is the relation between body and the soul,
And when we think about its illusory existence,
To those who realize this, where is sorrow?

Like the drop of water attached to the shaking leaf,
This life will fall and is purely temporary,
And by the activities in the previous life, again,
The soul would enter a suitable body,
The soul throws away the dirty tattered clothes,
And wears new cloths with great luster,
And like that the dead bodies are left,
And new bodies with full of luster are had,
And please understand that this karmic difference,
Is due to the speed at which the wheel of time rotates.

Please tell me what is the reason for this sorrow,
Please hear from me the opinion of learned people,
There is no birth or death to soul,
And when you think about it, soul does not have six stages of life,
And it is a form of perennial joy, and is steady,
It is the form of truth, god of all and perennial,
It is the witness to intelligence, soul of all and without beginning,
It does not have divisions, it is one, divine, the top most and peaceful,
Thinking and thinking about these things,
You have make your mind steady, forsake sorrows,
And start the usual allotted duties.
And by this there would not be any worry.

2.16 Samsakara Karmam
[After Death Rites]

Hearing the advice of the Guru, that son of a king,
After deciding to do the after death rites as per law,
Along with friends, servants, mothers, and brother,
That lad Bharatha who was well prepared,
Removed the body of the father from the oil boat,
And respectfully bathed it and decorated all parts of the body,
With divine cloths ornaments and unguents,
And with the fire used by his father for sacrifices,
And with the help of an expert in fire sacrifice,
And along with his Guru performed the rites.
On the twelfth day he offered Gingili and water,
And later offered with devotion the sacred rice balls,
And gave offerings of money, cows, villages, jewels silk cloth,
Ornaments, unguents, betel nuts and betel leaf,
To experts in Vedas and to other Brahmins along with his brother,
And both of them saluted on the floor,
And words of blessings from Vedas were chanted,
And all of them became pure.

That human hero Bharatha,
Thinking and thinking in his mind,
Of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita,
Who have reached the forest,
Lived along with his younger brother,
That day along with other friends.

To that assembly, sage Vasista came with,
Many great sages and that sage,
Who is equal to Brahma in stature,
Occupied the golden seat, with respect.
And when Bharatha along with Shatrugna,
Came there, they along with ministers,
Citizens joyfully conversed with each other.
That son of Lord Brahma addressing,
Bharatha who was saluting him told.

By using words suitable to place and time,
I as your teacher am telling you,
Your father Dasaratha is a truthful man,
And he has given the earth to you,
Which was given as one of the two boons,
Given to Kaikeyi who asked it for the goodness
Of her son and I would carry out your coronation,
With love, along with suitable Manthras,
With the cooperation of the ministers.
Since the kingdom will become one without a king,
Oh Lad, you cannot say no to this,
And also you have to obey the wish of your father,
And that would also not be a crime to any one,
And by the grace of the guru,
All the good things accumulate to all men.

To Vasishta who told like this,
Bharatha saluting him told,
"What is the use of the kingdom to me?
My elder brother would become the king,
And all of are talking knowing all this,
I am going tomorrow morning,
To bring back the lotus eyed one."
Me, yourself, your wife Arundathi,
Various citizens, ministers,
Elephant, chariot, horses and walking soldiers,
Brother, Brahmins, sages, regional kings,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Shudras,
And all mothers except Kaikeyi,
Should go there and we should stay,
That till Rama comes back here,
We would only sleep on the floor,
And only eat fruits and roots,
And coat ourselves with ashes,
Wear bark of wood as cloth and
Dress ourselves like a savants,
And keep a matted hair,
And live there mixed with pain,
And when people heard this,
They told that it was great great.

2.17 Bharathande Vana Yathra
[Bharatha's Forest Journey]

When the good people were praising him,
"It is a great wonder that this thought came to you,
Are you not the most good one among the good ones",
The sun arose in the east and Bharatha,
Started the journey with Shatrugna,
And because of the orders of Sumanthra,
The army also started to see Lord Rama,
With joy filling completely their mind,
The wives of kings like Kausalya,
Started walking to see the lotus eyed one,
The master of penance Vasishta and his wife,
Along with a crowd of sages also started.
The dust that came out of the happy earth,
Filled and occupied the entire sky,
And that crowd whose mind was occupied by Rama,
Never felt the toil of walking that way.

After reaching Srungivarakhyapura,
That great army stood at the banks of Ganges,
Guha then hearing that the son of Kaikeyi,
Has come along with a great army,
With a suspicious mind called,
And told his servants,
"Along with bow, arrow and other weapons,
Tie all our boats and be ready, and I would,
Go there and come back soon."
He thought that if he goes and salutes them,
He would be able to understand their thoughts,
And if they are all against Sri Rama,
They should certainly not be allowed to proceed,
But if they are good, they should be helped to cross,
Without any problems to them on their way,"
Thinking like that Guha went there,
And saluted at their feet.
After offering to them with various types of presents
He stood there in front of him with joy.
Seeing him Dressed in bark, black in colour, wearing twisted hair,
Always keeping on repeating the name of Rama,
Bold, young, comparable to Rama, great hero,
Brother of Sri Rama along with his brother,
With a body like the love god,
Guha fell on the floor and said, "I am Guha",
And again saluted him and then Bharatha,
Made him stand up and tightly embraced,
That devotee and great friend of Rama,
And enquired about his welfare,
And further told Guha,
You are the head gem of good people,
Did not Rama with the colour of rich black cloud,
Embrace you, Oh great one".

You should remember that this,
Will not be possible for anyone else except Lakshmi,
And my friend there is no doubt at all,
That you are one of those blessed in this earth,
Where did you lovingly see,
Rama along with his brother and Janaki?
What did he say to you?
And What did you reply with joy,
Where did the lord of Raghu clan get down,
Along with Sita, You please show me those places."
Hearing all this Guha with a completely happy mind,
Decided that the devotee Bharatha was great,
And thinking like this he walked further.

After Guha went to the place,
Where Sri Rama slept with Sita, he told,
"Please see the great bed of dhurbha where
Sita slept along with that black coloured one."

Seeing that with tears falling like a river,
With a shaking throat and with a shaking voice told,
"Hey tender one, Hey pretty one, Hey Janaki,
You who used to sleep in the great palace,
On a golden cot, with soft white spreads over the bed,
How did you sleep along with Rama with pleasure,
On the very harsh bed of dhruba grass,
Which was spread on the mud,
Where you sad Sita, the wife of my elder brother?

Thinking that this happened due to my fault,
I want to give up my soul,
But this is because I was born in the womb,
Of the sinner Kaikeyi, I have berated myself,
Again and again As I am a great sinner,
And my birth would only be fully compensated,
If as a younger brother I am able to always assist and take care of,
My elder brother who has pure heart and luck,
Because he went to the forest with great interest.

If I become the slave of the slave of the slave of Rama,
With very great devotion to him and daily,
Serve him always then I would get the result of this human birth.
Please tell me as to where the son of Kausalya lives,
And then I will go there speedily and bring him back."
Hearing this Guha told, "Since you have,
Such a great devotion to that husband of the auspicious goddess,
You are the greatest among the blessed people,
And then please hear what you wanted to know, oh intelligent one,
"Your brother along with Sita and his brother,
Are happily staying near Chithrakoota Mountain,
Which is near, if you cross the ganges."
Hearing these words of Guha, Bharatha told,
"My dear friend, we will go there now,
And let me be blessed to be able,
To cross the river speedily."

Hearing the words of Bharatha with respect,
He went to make arrangements to enable,
Them to cross the river and along with,
All his servants but with nervousness,
He brought and spread there five hundred boats,
Which had big pipes, which were broad,
And completely filled the entire shore.
Taking hold of a very big oar, and selecting,
A very big boat he himself helped,
Shatrugna, Bharatha, the great sage Vasishta,
Kausalya the mother of Rama,
The Crooked Kaikeyi, the good woman Sumithra,
The wives of kings and others to get in to the boat,
After saluting them, and slowly rowed,
So that there was no fear and helped them to cross the river,
At that time he saluted the Ganges and before him the great army also crossed.
Reaching quickly the hermitage of sage Bharadwaja,
Which was filled with mutually friendly tigers and cows,
Bharatha became extremely happy and,
Stopped his great army at a far off place,
And he accompanied by his younger brother,
Entered very happily the hermitage,
And later after standing there for some time,
And seeing the shining sage of great penance,
Who had a mind without worries and was equal to Brahma,
He along with his brother saluted him falling on the floor,
With great devotion and understanding that they,
Are the sons of Dasaratha, that great sage,
Worshipped them with great love.

Laughingly he enquired about their welfare,
And seeing them dressed in bark and with matted hair,
He told them with merriment,
"What is this problem? This dress is not suitable to you,
Who rules the kingdom and is worshipped by many people,
Why are you wearing this sages attire of bark and matted hair?
What is the reason for you to come to this forest,
Accompanied by a very large and great army?

Hearing the words of Bhardwaja, Bharatha,
Told as follows to the great sage,
"Oh great sage, In this world nothing,
Happens which is not in your knowledge,
And in spite of that I will inform you the truth,
So that you would bless me to get rid of this sorrow.
Oh great sage, On the oath on Rama's lotus like feet,
I did not know anything about,
The reason for the stoppage of coronation of Rama,
The reason for his coming to the forest,
Is the speedy poison injected by,
My mother who is the daughter of Kekaya."

Whether I am pure or impure now,
Oh treasure of mercy, On oath on his,
Lotus like feet, I am telling you,
I do not see any use of any pleasures,
When I can become the servant of Sri Rama,
And daily pray the pair of that lotus like feet
Except for that I do not have any other desires,
I would like to fall at the feet of Rama,
Submit all the wealth as well as kingdom,
And conduct the coronation of Rama,
Along with Vasishta and other citizens,
And serve my great honourable brother."
Hearing these words of Bharatha,
The sage Hugged that Bharatha with an auspicious soul,
Kissed him on his head and told with joy,
"What more is there son, by my divine,
Sight I have come to know of all the matters.
Do not have sorrow in your mind and hear me."
"Your devotion to the consort of Lakshmi,
Is more than that of Lakshmana,
And the future has to be decided by Rama,
And now I will show my hospitality,
To you along with the army without any doubt.
You can take your food and sleep,
And you have to see Rama early in the morning,
As it is the proper time to salute him."
Let everything be as you have told,
And I do not have anything against it,
Said Bharatha and the great sage,
Washed his feet and did Aachamana,
With singly pointed mind did,
Meditation on the wish giving cow
As well as fire sacrifice, and,
Immediately the forest became,
Equivalent to the place of devas,
All the trees became devas,
And all the climbers became deva maidens,
What a wonderful thing is the,
Greatness of the working of the mind.

The rice, eatables and drinks were very tasty,
And there were several types of side dishes,
The dining halls, the barracks of the army,
And homes for the kings were very pretty,
And everything was made either by gold or silver,
And even Adhisesha would find it difficult to describe.

As per the laws of the religion,
With consent of all at first,
Vasishta was worshipped,
And later Bharatha his brother,
And the army took food as much as they want,
And satisfied well slept in
The ashram which was like the city of Indra.

They got up in the dawn, and after,
Completing the rituals saluted Bhardwaja,
And after taking leave from him,
The princes started from there,
Reached the Chithrakoota Mountains,
Made the army stay little far away,
And Guha who is a friend, Sumanthra,
Sathrugna and Bharatha himself,
With anxiousness to see Rama,
Slowly enquired in different hermitages,
With the sages and not able to find out
They asked bowing and saluting,
"Where does the lord of Raghu clan stay,
Along with Lakshmana and the princess?"

To the very good lad Bharatha,
Those great sages gave an answer,
"In a place which is in the northern side of Ganges,
Very near to the Chithra koota Mountain,
In a great hermitage that great man is living,"
And hearing that Bharatha went with lot of curiosity,
And when he reached there what he saw,
Was a scene of the greatly wonderful,
Hermitage of Sri Ramachandra.

Filled with flowers, fruits, leaves, climbers, small flowers,
That extremely pretty forest place was having,
Trees of Mango, Banana, silk cotton, Jack fruit,
Hog plum, Arjun, Salt cedar, white jade,
Coconut, areca nut, butterfly tree,
Castor, Champa, asoka, palm tree,
Blossoms of jasmine, important climbers.
Black cumin, egg tree, sal tree,
Many types of bees, sounds of pretty birds,
Lions, elephants, snakes, monkey, deer
And other hoards of animals,
And That place was pretty and seeing it,
With the bark dresses which were hanging on trees,
Bharatha saluted that hermitage of Rama.

That Bharatha who was very lucky, saw,
In the dust of the path the imprint,
Of the lotus like feet of Sita and Rama,
Which was pure, divine and new,
And was decorated by flowers of lotus,
Being imprinted with lines of goad flags diamond and fish
And which was greatly auspicious,
And became very happy, fell and rolled on them,
Saluted and cried and put the dust,
Collected from there on his head.

"I am blessed today, Blessed I am today,
Because a chance has come to me to see,
The imprint of the lotus like feet of Rama,
Due to the good that I did previously,
For this is that which was constantly,
Searched by devas, Brahma and Shiva,
Vedas and also by the sage Narada."

Thinking like this and with a mind drowned,
In the juice of joy and extreme love,
And with eyes shedding tears of joy,
He slowly and slowly went in front,
Of that God and he could see them.

Seeing The pretty Rramachandra who is divine joy,
Who is saluted by Indra and groups of devas,
Who is having a place in the mind of Lakshmi,
Who was born as younger brother of Indra,
Who has eyes resembling the blue lotus,
Who is back like the Dhoorva grass and is pretty,
Who is his elder brother, Who has blue eyes like the leaves of lotus,
Who is Rama with matted hair and dressed in bark of a tree,
Whose lotus like face has the pleased look of the moon,
Who shines like ten thousand rising red coloured suns,
Who spends time with Sita who is like lightning,
Who has a splendorous light, but worries in his mind,
Who has the incomparable Sri Vathsa on his chest,
Who is the home of Lakshmi, Who is Achyutha spread all over the world,
Whose lotus like feet are served by Lakshmana,
Who is primeval and whose form is the model of Lakshmana,
Who is served by Lord Shiva, Who rides on the king of birds,
Who is the destroyer of Rakshasas, who is an expert in saving,
Who is the one who sleeps on Adhisesha,
Who has several universes in his belly,
Who is full of mercy and son of Dasaratha,
And who enjoys stay in the forest and steals one's mind,
With emotions of sorrow, love and devotion,
He fell at his feet and saluted him.

Rama with happiness raised him,
And Shatrugna up, and for curing their nervousness,
Embraced them with his long hands,
And both of them took long breaths,
And the brothers shed tears out of their long eyes,
For a very, very long time,
And again took both of them on his lap,
And once again hugged both of them,
And at that time Lakshmana who was good,
Saluted the feet of Bharatha,
And Shatrugna with great reverence,
Saluted the feet of Lakshmana.
All others, Like the cows which are greatly thirsty and hungry,
Rishis swiftly on Seeing a big lake nearby, they,
Went before him and saw the form of Rama.

Seeing his mother who was crying,
Rama fell down and saluted her feet,
And Kausalya with very great longing,
Bathed her son in the rain of her tears,
Hugged him tightly, smelled his head,
And due to great joy her breasts produced milk.
He then saluted all other mothers with respect,
Lakshmana also saluted like him,
And Sita who was like Goddess Lakshmi,
Was tightly hugged by Kausalya and others,
And wiped away her tears of sorrow.
Seeing his teacher who had come there,
Rama saluted him with great devotion,
And saluting him told him,
"It is definite that I am greatly lucky,
Is my father doing well, has he,
Got more sorrow due to parting with me again?
What did he tell to inform me,
What did he tell to inform Lakshmana?"
And hearing these words of Rama, Vasishta told,
"Greatest among the wise, hear from me the news of your father.
After parting with you, berating himself.
The king became more and more sad,
And cried, Rama, Rama, Sita, Oh lad,
Rama, Lakshmana and wailed,
And understand that he has reached the heaven,
And there he is happily living with pleasures of heaven."

Hearing the words of Guru which bored in to his ears,
Sri Rama fell down on the ground,
And immediately started wailing at the top of his voice,
To Lakshmana, the ladies who were his mothers,
Who also started crying with an open mouth,
"Hey father, by the action of fate, where,
Did your great self go leaving me here,
Alas, alas, I am dead, From now I am an orphan,
Where is the chance now of your fondling and caressing me?
I would leave this body and die immediately,
As I do not have wish to live anymore."
Sita as well as Lakshmana also cried,
Like that and fell on the ground.

At that time hearing the words of Vasishta,
Their inner sorrow came down a bit,
And they got in to Ganges and took bath,
And performed the oblation of water in a proper manner
And offered balls of honey mixed with fruits and oilcake,
Remembering that it has been ruled by the words of Vedas
That we have to offer that food to the manes that we usually eat
And with sorrow after offering these balls, they again took bath,
Performed the purification ceremony, again took bath,
Went to the hermitage and all people did not take food that day,
And when next day morning when the Sun god came out,
They took bath in Ganges did salutation to the dawn,
And went back and lived in the hermitage.

2.18 Bharatha Raghava Samvadham
[Bharatha and Raghava Discussion]

Then at that time Bharatha went and,
Saluted Rama and started saying,
"Hey Rama, Rama, Lord, Rama, great hero,
Please hear carefully to what I say,
I have with me materials for the coronation,
As I have brought them, so now without any delay,
The coronation has to be performed,
Rule over the country which is your father's properly,
You are the eldest brother, because for the,
Kshatriya's the great dharma is to rule over people,
Perform several Aswamedhas and spread,
Your fame all over the world,
Produce sons and after entrusting,
The king to the son, then only you have to go to forest,
And now it is improper for you to go to forest at this time,
Oh Lord with wonderful valour, agree with me,
Oh treasure of mercy do not think about the,
Wrong doing of mother at this time."

He had told this by keeping the lotus feet,
Of his brother on his head,
He also saluted him falling on the ground,
And seeing that lad Bharatha there,
Sri Rama went near him made him stand,
And caressed him with joy and told.

"Lad please hear what I have to say,
Whatever you have said was heard by me as such,
Father had asked me with love,
To go the forest for fourteen years,
And father gave you the country,
Because of mother's views,
When we see properly these are,
The orders of our father and,
We have to obey them,
He who disobeys father,
And leads a bad life in this world,
He is dead even when he is alive,
And after death he would go to hell without any doubt,
So you depart and look after the country and,
And I will live in this dandaka forest.

Hearing Rama's words Bharatha told,
"Our father who is a lover has a foolish mind,
He is controlled by women, He is mad, Old man,
Due to his being a king he has Rajasa qualities,
And so oh greatly intelligent one,
His words are not acceptable,
So without hesitation live as a king.

Hearing those words of Bharatha, Sri Rama,
Again smiled and replied to him,
"Our father who was the king was not controlled by ladies,
He was not passionate nor was a foolish soul, hear,
You should not find fault with anything,
Done by father, for good people
Have greatest fear for breaking an oath,
And about telling a lie and going to hell."
"Then I would live in the forest,
And you look after the kingdom without sorrow "
Hearing these words from his younger brother,
Raghava told again, "Earlier our honourable father,
Has told that the kingdom is for you and forest to me,
And if we change what he wished,
Definitely we would be going against his oath."
"Then I would come along with you,
And be your assistant like Lakshmana,
And if you do not allow me to come to forest,
I will take my life and go to the forest."
Saying this he started permanent fast,
So that he can give up his soul,
Spread Dhurbha grass and stood,
Facing the east in the hot sun.
Seeing that he is adamant, Rama,
Made a sign by his eyes to sage Vasishta,
To advise him, and Vasishta went to son of Kaikeyi,
And told, "Do not be foolish and hear what I say,
Which is a very great secret, oh son of the king,
Sri Rama is the divine Narayana,
And due to the request of Lord Brahma,
He was born to the son of a king of Ayodhya,
In the clan of the Sun, for killing Ravana,
And to look after the welfare of devas."

Sita is the Goddess Yoga Maya,
And Lakshmana is the chief of the snakes Anantha,
Understand the father and mother of the world,
Are Rama and Sita respectively.
Rama has started to the forest for,
Killing Ravana for the sake of devas,
The words of Mandhara and the adamancy,
Of the mind of Kaikeyi are created by devas.

"Please give up your great desire,
For the return of God Rama,
You who are the causal man should immediately,
Without any hesitation go to your capital,
Along with ministers, mothers, people,
And with the endless army immediately,
And reaching Ayodhya, you should live there.
Your elder brother along with his younger brother,
And the Goddess would come back after fourteen years,
After killing Ravana and his sons.

After hearing this advice from his Guru,
With a great sense of surprise growing in his mind,
Went along with great devotion in front Of Rama,
And after saluting his elder brother told,
"Give me your slippers, for doing service,
Oh Lord of lords, till the day you come back,
I would be praying you always, my God".

After hearing these words of Bharatha,
Rama gave his slippers which were,
Embracing his golden feet to Bharatha,
The younger brother saluted and received it,
Which was covered with costly gems and,
Keeping it on his head, with devotion,
Went round Rama and saluted him,
Got up and told him with a tottering voice,
"The first day after this period is completed,
Suppose you do not come, I would,
On the next day in the dawn make a big fire,
And die after jumping in to it."

Hearing that Sri Rama wiped his tears,
And told Bharatha with great love,
"Let it be like that, there is no difference on that,
I would definitely come back on that day."
Telling this he bid farewell to Bharatha,
And the blessed Bharatha saluted him,
And then went round him, and again saluted him,
And slowly Bharatha started to leave.
The mothers and the great ministers,
Brother. teacher and the great army,
Kept God Rama deep in their mind,
And took him away with them.
Guha, the king of Srungivera,
Also told his good wishes.

Guha went in front of them to show the way,
And behind him the big army marched,
And Kaikeyi taking the permission of her son,
Leaving out her sorrow, walked along with her son,.
After crossing Ganges with the permission of Guha,
The boys along with the army with its four divisions,
Went and entered the city of Ayodhya,
And there they went on daily thinking about Sri Rama,
With devotion and a very holy thoughts, the citizens,
Lived all together with daily pleasures.
Bharatha dressing himself in the garbs of a sage,
With sorrow along with Shatrugna did penance,
And went to Nandi Grama with love,
And thus joy came to all the people of the world.
They kept the slippers of Rama on the throne,
Imagined it as the holy feet of Rama,
And worshipped it with sandal and flowers,
And nearby they stood serving it.

Being served by various sages,
That human hero and pretty Raghava,
Along with Sita and younger brother,
For some time lived on the Chithrakoota Mountain,
For Some days with joy in the mind,
And later Raghava had a thought in his mind,
"From Ayodhya groups of our friends,
Would come here often, if we live here,
And so it is necessary for us to go with joy,
To the Dandaka forest and,
This has to be done very urgently."
Thinking like this along with the daughter of earth,
And the extremely good natured Lakshmana,
Sri Rama leaving the Chithrakoota Mountain,
Started walking further in the forest."

2.19 Athri Ashrama Pravesam
[Athri Hermitage Entry]

Entering the hermitage of Athri, Rama,
Saluted the sage with great devotion and told him,
"I am Rama, I am blessed, oh great sage,
In being able to see your holy feet."
The great sage knowing that he was,
The real Vishnu, the divine Narayana,
And the one who can grant salvation,
Worshipped the lotus eyed one,
Along his brother as well as wife,
And offering him water,
To wash his feet as well as to drink,

That sage told to the sons of the king,
"Hear that my pretty wife is there,
And she is very old, greatest,
Among the women sages, follower of Dharma,
An expert in penance and she lives,
Inside this hermitage, Oh daughter of king Janaka,
Please go and see her."
After hearing this with the permission of Rama,
Sita went and saluted the feet of Anasooya."

"Daughter, come near me, Oh daughter of Janaka,
Please remember that company,
Of good people in the greatest luck in our life."
Then she caught hold of her and embraced her
And that wife of the sage easily understood her character,
And gave her a silk cloth made by Viswakarma,
Which was prettiest in the world,
Ear studs and ornaments for the forehead,
For dressing herself properly.

"It is great that observing the Dharma of a wife,
You came along with him over here,
The shine would never diminish in your case,
Go along with your peaceful husband,
And later go along with him to the palace,
And live happily for a very long time",
After blessing her like this, with love,
She told Sita to go near her husband.
After making all the three eat well,
That great sage Athri with great joy,
Told Rama, 'I know that you are God Narayana,
It is definite that Your great illusion would attract,
All the residents of the three worlds."
Hearing these words from the great sage,
Rama lived there for a night.
And that God told the goddess as follows,
Said the parrot at that time.

Ithyadhyatma Ramayane Uma Maheswara Samvadhe,
Ayodhya Kandam Samaptham.

Thus ends the chapter on Ayodhya in the discussion
Between Shiva and Parvathi,
Which occurs in Adyathma Ramayana.

3. Aranya Kandam
[Forest Chapter]

Synopsis:
[Aranya Kanda is the story of Ramayana, when Rama, Sita and Lakshmana enter the deep forest. It starts with the salvation of Virada Rakshasa, Sara Bhanga saint, meeting with sages to find out problems, going to hermitage of Sutheeshna who is a disciple of Agasthya, visiting hermitage of Agasthya and taking from him, the Kodanda bow left by Indra, the great prayer of Agasthya, going and settling down in Panchavati where he meets Jatayu, clearing the philosophical doubts of Lakshmana (Rama Gita), meeting and teasing Soorpanaka the sister of Ravana, cutting off her nose, ears and breasts by Lakshmana when she tries to harm Sita, Killing of Khara, Dhooshana and Trisiras and their army of 14000 people in one and half hour, Soorpanaka's complaint to Ravana suggesting him to kidnap Sita, his visit to Maricha, Rama telling the real Sita to hide in fire and replace herself with a Maya Sita, Rama running to catch the golden deer, the false alarm given by Maricha, the kidnapping of Sita, Fight of Jatayu with Rama, Jatayu's defeat, Rama doing funeral rites to Jatayu and granting him salvation. The prayer of Jatayu, Rama's giving salvation to Khabanda, Khabanda's great prayer, Rama's meeting with Sabari who gives him hints as to how to proceed further.]

Oh girl, oh parrot which is at the top,
Who is with good character, who has,
Attractive character, without hesitation please tell,
However much we hear the sports of the great God,
Who resembles the blue rich cloud, who is pure, who is without stains,
Who has eyes like the petal of blue lotus, who is Narayana,
Who is served by Lord Shiva, who does not have defects, Who is forever and divine,
Who takes forms according to time and place, who is personification of mercy,
Who is an expert in looking after and who is the divine soul,
It will never be sufficient, especially the story of Rama,
Which is the summary path to salvation, which is the essence,
Which is very learned and which is known to you well,
And so please tell it without saying it,
And hearing that, that great bird told.

One who has an eye on forehead, Lord Shiva, Lord of all beings,
The god who wears the cool crescent moon, the divine among divines,
Told to the daughter of the Mountain,
Oh lady hear, Oh Parvathi who loves her devotees,
The divine soul called Rama, the form of joy,
The one who enjoys his own soul, one who cannot be split,
Who has several forms, Who does not have any stain,
Who is always pretty after living happily for a day,
In the hermitage of Athri along with the sage.

3.1 Maharanya Pravesam
[Great Forest Entry]

After getting up at the dawn and performing daily rituals,
And after saluting the sage, they started their great journey,
"Oh son of the mind of Brahma, Please bless us to go to
Dandakaranya forest which is pretty without any troubles,
Oh great among learned men, Oh treasure of mercy, Oh treasure of penance
Please show us the proper road to reach there,
Send with us some of your disciples."

Hearing these words of Rama that great sage,
Became very happy and immediately told,
"You please show the proper path to all,
Now who is ever there to show you the right path,
But to you who is imitating this world,
Let there not be problem, my disciples will show you the way,
And he told his disciples, you please walk first,"
And that sage also followed them to a great distance,
And then Rama turned back and told the saint,
"Where is your honoured self-coming?
And for us, your disciples are there to show the way,
Hearing that, that saint blessed them, and slowly and slowly,
Went and reached his hermitage and sat there,

After that they walked for some more little distance,
And in front of them they saw the great Ganges river,
And at that time Rama asked those disciples,
"What are the methods available to cross this river",
And hearing this they told, "What is the problem, king,
Understand that we have very good boats,
And speedily we will make you cross the river,
And so do not worry, we do have,
The knowledge to row the boat and cross the river",
And without any hesitation they helped them to cross the river,
And Sri Rama became pleased and told those sagely lads,
"You can go back" and they went back,
Saluted the feet of the sage and informed him of news of Rama.

Rama, Sita and the son of Sumithra,
Entered the great horrible forest,
Which was filled with the sound of Cricket,
And various animals like lion, tiger, porcupine,
Which did not have sun light and was,
Served by the horrible Rakshasa people,
And seeing this Sri Rama told.

Hey Lakshmana, always see well on all four sides,
For the bad Rakshasas are very fond of food.
You have to also keep the bow ready to shoot,
And have in your hand one good arrow ready to use.
First you have to walk, followed by Sita,
And behind both of you I will walk to protect you both,
Which is similar to the great illusion walking in between,
The soul of the body and the great divine soul.
Sita should walk in between both of us,
And if this is done there is no reason to fear.

After telling this and following the suggestion,
When the greatest man walked armed with a bow,
After passing about three miles,
On their front they could see a lotus pond,
Which had water plants, lily, red flowering plant,
And shining with Opened blue lotus flowers,
And they drank water there and for taking rest,
They sat below the shade of a big tree.

3.2 Viradha Vadham
[Viradha's Killing]

At that time they saw coming towards them,
A very tall great being with horrifying sound,
It was uprooting trees and had a mouth,
Which was like a horrifying and shining cave,
Had a very terrible looking red eyes,
With a trident kept loosely on its left shoulder,
And it was eating the raw meat of wild,
Beings such as the very big,
Panthers, lions, bison, wild pigs, elephants,
And men which were crying and jumping,
And that being was wailing and shouting.

Sri Rama got up, along with the arrow and bow,
And told Lakshmana the following,
Did you see, a horrifying Rakshasa,
Is walking towards us swiftly.
Be prepared along with arrow placed on the bow,
Stand firm with a firm mind, Oh lad,
Oh Wife, Oh lass, Oh Sita, do not be afraid,
I would mange it in some manner.

After telling this he stood there without moving,
And that great Rakshasa came near to him,
That cruel one shouted as if the eight directions,
Will break and like the sound of thunder,
And his vision showered burning embers,
And with great anger he told as if the world will break,
"Alas you both are standing in this dense forest,
Which has large number of wild animals,
Without any fear along with arrow, bow and quiver,
And wearing matted hair, you have put the guise of sages,
And along with you, there is a very pretty lady,
And so oh children you have got lot of inner strength.

"Please tell me how you are travelling,
Without a trace of fear in this very wild forest."
Hearing the words of Rakshasa immediately,
The lord of the Ikkshuvaku clan told am after a smile,
"My name is Rama, she is my wife and,
This fair eyed one is called Sita Devi,
He is Lakshmana and he is my brother,
We have entered the forest as per the wish of my father,
We have come here to punish the Rakshasas,
And save the three worlds from them."

Hearing the words Rama he exulted and shouted,
And opening his mouth and uprooting a Sala tree and holding it,
That Rakshasa told with great anger to Rama,
"Have you not heard the powerful Viradha,
I understood that you are but a fool,
As you are only one in the three worlds who is not knowing me.
All the sages have left this place,
To a far off place, due to their fear of me.
If you are having any desire to live,
Leave this gem of a lady and your weapons here,
And run away from here, otherwise,
I would satiate my ebbing hunger by eating you",
When after telling this, he was seen,
As moving near to Mythili (Sita) and then Raghava,
Cut off his hands by the sword that Rakshasa became angry and
With an open mouth when he approached near, Rama cut of his legs,
Using the arrows and again when with great anger,
He neared him, he cut off his head.

His blood spread on the ground and,
With happiness of the mind, Sita caressed Rama,
And the Apsara maidens started dancing,
And devas started playing the Dundhubhi drums loudly,
And at that time a blessed form was seen to rise,
From the inside of Virada and was seen in the sky.

Wearing golden ornaments, with luster of the Sun,
With pretty body, with clean silk cloths, he saluted,
Raghava, one who destroys sorrows of those who pray,
One who is merciful, one who has the face like moon,
One who destroys cycle of death and birth, one who destroys fear,
The consort of Lakshmi, one who is black like the petals of blue lotus,
Whose feet is worshipped Indra and the hordes of devas,
One who is pretty, young, lives in mind of good people,
Ramachandra, one who is pretty every second in the world,
And also saluted by falling on the ground and with,
Great happiness of the mind started praying him.

Hey Sri Rama, Hey Rama, I am a Vidhyadhra,
Hey merciful one, Lord of Lakshmi, Lord of the earth,
By the curse of the great sage Durvasa,
I became a proud Rakshasa,
And by the greatness of your honourable self,
I became detached and also got salvation, oh my lord.

My mind should think with devotion,
Your pair of feet with great devotion,
By my voice I should be able to sing your names,
By my hands I should be able to offer flowers at your feet,
By my ears I should be able to hear your stories,
By my eyes I should be able to see statues of Rama,
By my head I should be able to bow and salute you,
And I should become a servant to your true devotees.

"Salutations to god, salutations to the form of wisdom,
Salutations to Rama, salutations and salutations to him whom souls like,
Salutations to Rama, salutations to god who is ever pretty to Sita,
Salutations to Rama, salutations to god who always bewitches the world,
Please bless me to go back to the world of devas,
Oh God of gods, I will request for one more thing,
Let not your great goddess of illusion push me in to ignorance,
Oh lotus eyed one, I always salute you."
Being requested like this that God Rama,
Said let it be like that and gave him boons,
"I cannot be seen by one who is detached,
And when you get devotion, you will get detachment."
That Vidhyadhara took leave from Rama,
Went to the deva loka for fulfilling his wishes,
And to the man who tells this story and prays,
Sins would be removed and he can get salvation.

3.3 Sarabhanga Mandhira Pravesam
[Sarabhanga Auspicious Home Entry]

Then Rama, Lakshmana and Sita,
Entered in to the auspicious home of Sarabhanga.
Seeing the real, real god in flesh and bones,
That great sage worshipped him with great devotion,
And offered him roots and ripened fruits,
And with great happiness Sarabhanga told.
I have been waiting for several number of days,
With a desire to see you along with Sita.
With straight thoughts by doing long penance,
I have earned lot of blessings and I am giving,
All those to you, who is born as a man,
And due to this I have merited to get salvation,
For several years now I have been waiting,
To give all the blessings that I have earned to you,
And decided not to die before that takes place,
And today becoming detached I am attaining salvation.

That king of Yoga, Sarabhanga who is a saint,
Bowed before the feet of Rama, the God of yoga,
"I have been always and endlessly thinking,
About the lord of the universe who is,
Living within all moving and non-moving beings,
Who is Rama, black like the leaves of durva plant,
Who is lotus eyed, who wears tree's bark,
And has a matted hair like a crown and holds a bow,
Served by Lakshmana and who is with his wife Janaki,
Who is delightfully pretty and a gem of mercy.

Removing his sorrow, in the presence of,
Sita and Rama he burnt his body,
And that great sage reached the place of Brahma,
The entire sky was filled by aero planes,
And all the devas rained flowers over there,
And Indra saluted his lotus like feet,
And seeing the saintly form of Sita and Lakshmana,
The son of Kausalya became happy,
And spending some time over there,
The Indra and other devas went away.

3.4 Muni Mandala Samagamam
[Sage Group Meeting]

Those groups of sages who lived in,
Dandakaranya hearing the arrival of Rama,
Who is born in the clan of the sun god,
Who is the lord of the universe,
And the lotus eyed one, came to see him.
Rama, Lakshmana and sita saluted them,
Falling on the floor and,
Those sages blessed all of them,
And they were drowned in great happiness and told.

We already know about the principle behind you,
You who normally lie down on the bed of the king of snakes,
And you were born in the clan of the Sun god,
Due to the request of Lord Brahma,
For reducing the burden of goddess earth,
And Lakshmana is Adhi Sesha, Sita is Goddess Lakshmi,
Bharatha and Shatrugna are the wheel and the conch,
And we also know about the coronation and its problems,
For removing our sorrow very quickly,
You along with Sita and Lakshmana should visit,
To see the hermitages of the various sages in the forest,
And we request you to come along with us,
Because seeing it, you will have mercy in your mind.

With those great sages who told like this,
They went and saw hermitages of various saints,
And at that time they saw hill like heaps of,
Skulls, bones and seeing that Rama asked,
"Why are men's heads and collection of bones,
Here? What is the reason for that?

Hearing those words told the sages,
"Please hear us Rama, It is due to the Rakshasas,
Mercilessly killing and eating the good saints,
This state has taken place and it has spread all over, lord.
And hearing this news that best among men,
Who has a mind filled with mercy told like this,
"I will kill the most cruel Rakshasa people,
Completely and then all the sages,
Can do what they like and live here doing penance,
And also happily carry out the fire sacrifices."

The real hero thus took an oath,
And stayed in hermitages of various sages
Being worshipped by them daily,
Along with Sita the daughter of earth,
And along with his brother with,
Great happiness arising out of the company,
And thus thirteen years were over.

3.5 Sutheeshna Ashrama Pravesam
[Sutheeshna Hermitage Entry]

The very famous hermitage of Sutheeshna which is very pretty,
Which is filled with important sages and their disciples,
Which is filled with all that is good, which is matchless,
Where happiness wonderfully rises in all seasons,
Where all type of trees as well as plants are filled up,
And which contains all sort of god animals, birds and snakes.

Hearing that Rama along with his brother and Sita Devi,
Has come the great sage who is the disciple,
Of Agasthya who was born out of a pot and who pleased him,
And who is an expert in doing penance using name of "Rama",
Went with all arrangements and took Rama along with him,
And worshipped him with water for washing his feet and for drinking,
And with devotion, eyes filled with tears and a tottering voice,
Told Rama who was one who loves his devotees,
"Due to the instruction of my teacher,
I always chant your name without break,
When I am falling in the "blind well" of son, wife, wealth and house,
And getting tied there and getting sunk there, your honoured self,
Should get me out of there by the use of,
Your graceful affectionate and merciful look on a devotee,
And Oh treasure of mercy, you should save me.
As this body a mixture created of urine, flesh, fat,
As far as I know is extremely dirty and debasing,
And please help me to cut off the affection for it,
And live within me always.

Though you are the only one who lives,
Within all the beings of this world,
To those people who like to chant your name
Your consort the goddess of illusion will not tie them,
But those people who are not interested in chanting your name,
Are tied by illusion by your goddess of illusion,
As you are one who is interested in rewarding the service to you,
And Oh God, you are like the wish giving tree, salutations.

For doing destruction, creation and upkeep of this universe,
Using the characters of the illusion who attracts the world,
You who has the form of divine wisdom,
Take the forms of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu,
And exist in those forms for people bound by illusion.
Like the sun who appears in very many different forms,
In this world in the very many water bodies,
How can I understand your correct form and pray you, Oh treasure of mercy.

Due to the strength of the penance that I did,
Your lotus like feet which does not have a second, came before me,
Though you are pure and have the form of divine wisdom,
You shower your grace on those good souls who chant your name.
Though your form is beyond the ambit of action,
And is spread everywhere and is the divine Brahman,
Due to your own illusion and your divine play,
It has appeared before me in the form of a man,
Prettier than billions of the forms of god of love,
And attractive, having an eye filled with mercy,
Wearing a insurmountable bow and arrow,
Sweet to think about, wearing a dress of the hide of a deer,
Along with Sita, with lotus like feet worshipped by Lakshmana,
With body of the blue colour of the rich cloud,
Pretty, greatly peaceful, endowed with endless qualities,
Pretty every moment, pretty to the soul, full of nectar like joy,
And I request you to live in my mind always,
I should be chanting your names with mature devotion,
And I do not need any other boon, salutations.

To the sage who saluted and praised him,
Along with a smile Sri Rama told,
"Oh sage I am able to see in you,
A clean mind which meditates on me daily,
To those devotees who always surrender to me,
And meditate on my name without any wants,
And are satisfied within themselves,
I can be easily seen by them by mere thought."

The prayer composed by you is liked by me and
Specially those lucky good men who read it,
Would be blessed with devotion and would get divine knowledge,
There is no doubt whatsoever to it.
Oh great sage, You because of your service to me,
Would attain my presence after death,
I have a wish to meet your teacher sage Agasthya,
For seeing and saluting him, what can I do for it,
I have a great desire to live there for some time,
And so I have decided to go there next.

Hearing these words of Rama, Sutheeshna told,
Let you be joyful, for getting that thought,
Tomorrow I will come along with you and show you the way,
Please live here without any problems,
I have not been able to see my guru for quite some time,
We will go there with joy and properly see him."
Like that they happily they spent the night,
Got up early morning, did salutations to the dawn,
And speedily and along with the friendly sage,
Sita and Lakshmana, walking slowly,
Rama reached near the hermitage of Agasthya in the afternoon.
Then the disciple of Agasthya treated them with hospitality,
And they took food in the forest there and,
They all sat there pleasantly talking with each other.

3.6 Agasthya Sandarsanam
[Agasthya's Meeting]

When the Sun rose up after, offering water in prayer,
They walking slowly and slowly in the forest path,
And reached a forest blessed with all types, Of fruits, flowers,
Trees, climbers and which had different types of animals,
Made extremely pretty by the sound of various birds,
And full of animals which were not born as enemies of each other,
Filled with the chanting of Vedas by young people,
Who were happy and rich and were the sons of sages,
Filled with great sages who belong to the clan of Brahma sages,
Filled with homes which were living happily together,
And crowded with innumerable and endless great scholars.

More and more it is seen the great men knowing Brahman used to tell,
That even the land of Brahma is not equal to it.
Seeing all these wonders one by one,
They reached a comfortable place just outside the hermitage.
After taking rest for some time Rama,
Told the very famous Sutheeshna as follows,
"Sir, you please now go and tell sage Agasthya,
That I have come here along with Sita and Lakshmana,
And we are at the entrance of the forest, near the hermitage."
Hearing what was said by Rama, the sage Sutheesna,
Saying that it is my great luck and went happily,
To the house of his great teacher with joy,
Saluted the great teacher Agasthya,
Who was a great sage, whose penance was the devotion of Rama,
Who was interested in explaining the meaning of the word, "Rama" to his disciples,
And that great sage with great humility and great devotion.
Saluted sage Agasthya by falling on the floor.

Oh sea of mercy, Rama the son of Dasaratha,
Along with his brother and his wife,
Have already come and are standing outside,
For saluting your lotus like feet with devotion."
Though he already knew about it in his mind,
That Sage born out of the pot without telling that told,
"Happiness to the lord of Raghu clan, speedily bring,
Rama who is in my heart, who is the God who likes his devotees,
Whom I have been waiting for a long time to see,
Whom I have been always praying, meditating on his form,
And chanting Rama, Rama which is the Rama chant,
And who is pretty, black like a cloud and having pretty eyes."

Telling this the sage got up very quickly,
And that expert in Vedas with a mind,
Full of devotion along with great sages,
And along with a collection of disciples,
Went there and after seeing face of Ramachandra told,
"Let you be joyful, permanently and always,
This is indeed an unplanned meet between us,
This great guest whom I like, has come,
Accidentally due to the acme of my luck,
It is not that this time is fruitful,
But my penance also is fruitful, Oh lord of the universe."

After seeing Agasthya, Rama himself,
His younger brother and Sita along with nervousness,
Saluted him with devotion and when they saluted him on the floor,
Sage Agasthya quickly took them and made them to stand,
And also hugged Rama tightly along with great joy,
And touched Lakshmana who is the incarnation,
Of Adhisessha the great snake and shed tears of joy,
And that great sage who was having a very wet eyes,
Caught Rama with one hand along with very great joy,
The lotus like hand of Rama and lead him inside the hermitage,
And once they went inside, that sage with a joyful soul,
Offered water to wash his feet and also drinking water,
As well offered him Madhuparka* worshipped him,
And to the lord who was seated comfortably,
He offered food collected from the forest,
And that blessed sage told Rama in private.
* A mixture of curd, ghee, honey etc.

3.7 Agasthya Sthuti
[Agasthya Prayer]

I have been waiting here to see you for a long time,
You addressing the Devas and Lord Brahma,
In the banks of the ocean of milk told,
"I would reduce the burden of the earth,
By killing the horrible Ravana" and
Oh Lord who sits on lotus, god of all, treasure of mercy,
On that same day itself I came and started living here,
For seeing the body of joy personified,
Along with sages as well as a hoard of my disciples,
And daily I will meditate on your lotus feet and stay here.

Before the creation of the world, you were alone and joyful,
You are the cause of the world and free from choices,
And because your illusion was serving you,
You made her your strength called the great illusion of nature,
And she covered you, who had no characteristics,
And makes you appear with different characteristics,
And without hesitation the philosophers tell about you,
That you are the divine entity that cannot be explained by Upanishads.

That Goddess of illusion is called the root of nature,
And those above illusion call her "domestic life",
And learned people call her non- knowledge,
And thus the goddess is called by several names,
And that from the illusion which has been churned by you,
It is told was born the great philosophy.

Due to your saying, from the great philosophy,
Arose again what is called egoism,
And this great philosophy, egoism and domestic world,
Are described by those who know Vedas well as three,
Viz pious, regal and base, characters
And understand that these three things, have become subject to a study.

From the base quality came sound, touch, form, taste and smell,
And from them the five boothas ether, wind, fire, water and earth came,
From the regal quality were born the sense organs,
And from the pious quality came the mind and the gods which were shining,
And from all these came the body which is the connecting link,
And from that collection of forms which are spread everywhere,
Came out the Godly form (virat Purusha), this is what I hear.

It is that Virat Purusha who became,
The crowded moving and not moving worlds,
And devas, men and asuras and very many,
Immobile beings came fully from them,
It is depending on your illusory nature,
That Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came,
And for creation Brahma born out of the belly,
Depended fully on the regal qualities,
And Lord Vishnu did the job of upkeep using pious qualities,
And Lord Shiva using the base qualities destroyed.

The three division of activities came from the brain,
And daily they were divided as wakefulness, dream and sleep,
And you the divine spirit was the witness to these all,
And are you not Oh lord enclosed in yourself, one who is forever,
And one who takes various forms,
When you decided to undertake creation,
Then with joy you accepted the services of illusion,
And due to that you appeared as if you had several characters,
And your great illusion did come in two different forms.

Due to the difference between knowledge and illusion,
The knowledge came, say those who are not attached,
And the only difference is that those people who live as the slaves of illusion,
Are termed as those who are busy with acts for an aim,
And those who understand the words of philosophy,
And have devotion to your feet are termed as knowledgeable,
And those under the control of illusion continue as perennial family men,
And this is being permanently told by philosophers.

Those people who are interested only in gaining knowledge,
Are termed as those who are free forever, say the philosophers,
And to those devotees who are practicing meditation of your name,
The clean gain of knowledge would automatically happen,
And to other fools the knowledge will never come
Even if they are born hundred thousand times,
So those who are blessed with devotion to you,
Are not those who get salvation alone,
And to all those who do not have the nectar of your devotion,
Even in their dreams they will not get salvation.

Oh Rama, Oh lord of Raghu clan, Oh lord who has only wisdom,
Oh Ramana, Oh Rama who is the soul, oh ocean of nectar of mercy,
Why should I keep on telling like this,
Oh king, if we think there is very little to tell as the meaning,
The learned people who have mastered Vedas,
Are telling that the company of good people is the cause of salvation,
And the good people are those who have a balanced mind,
And they teach the science of soul to the devotees,
They are without jealousy and desire,
They are your devotees and are the people who have killed all desires,
They look at things that they like and do not like in the same way,
They are those who have come out of attachments,
They are those who perform actions without attachment,
They have a contended mind and would be only interested in Brahman,
They are the ones who are interested only in good things,
And daily for doing Yoga they practice Ahimsa and truth and
Also practice absolute control of their senses,
They also know how to control passion and anger and control sense organs,
And when you get company of good people who are like this,
Your mind would get interested in hearing the stories of God,
And by hearing stories about you, their devotion will increase,
And when their devotion increases, they will know scientific thought,
And by knowledge of scientific thought and divine knowledge, they will get salvation,
And all that is to be known should be learned from a Guru,
And Oh Rama, oh treasure of mercy, because of this, I should always have,
Great devotion to you as well as love towards you.

My mind should always be completely filled,
With devotion to your lotus like feet and on your devotees,
Today my birth has assumed a good meaning,
Today the fire sacrifices done by me assumed a good meaning,
Today all the penance that I did assumed good meaning,
Today my eyes have assumed a good meaning,
Along with Sita, please always live in my mind,
Oh consort of Sita, Oh lord of universe, Oh son of Dasaratha.

"While I am walking, While I am sitting or lying down,
In a place, while I am eating and not only that,
When I am engaged in various activities,
Your form should always come in mind, Oh ocean of mercy",
After praying like this with great devotion, sage Agasthya,
Gave Rama the bow which has been deposited by Indra with him,
As well as arrows and quivers as well as sword,
And after drowning in joy again told.

"Ok king without further delay the clan of Rakshasas,
Who have become a great burden to earth,
Should be completely destroyed by you,
Because you who are the real Lord Vishnu along with your illusion,
Have taken birth as a man to kill the Rakshasas
About five miles from here, there is a sacred place called Panchavati,
Which is in the banks of river Gowthami,
You please build a good heritage there,
And live the rest of your period there with Sita,
And living there you have to quickly,
Complete all the jobs of devas"
Saying this the sage bid farewell to Rama,

Hearing the good words of Agasthya, which was,
A concise meaningful prayer, and was blessed,
With philosophical thoughts, the honourable Rama,
Kept the bow, arrow and quiver there,
And saluted the lotus like feet of Agasthya,
And he was sent on his journey along with,
The son of Sumithra as well as the adorable Sita.