GirA-GrAmya-Siya-RAma-Jas-ver2.0

2 GirA GrAmya SiyA-RAma Jas (The divine glory of SitA and RAma couched in vernacular-tongue) By: Deepak Tiwari Sri RAma NavamI, 2009 e-mail: [email protected]: http://goswamitulsidas.sulekha.com/ 3 Acknowledgements: 1.Myhumbleobeisanceinthelotus-feetofhisholinessanantshri-vibhuushitbrahmaliinaSwAmiHariharAnandaSaraswati (Dharma-samrATaSwAmiKarpAtrijiMahArAja),whose booknamelyRAmAyaNa-MimAnsAhasbeenaguideand preceptor to me during the course of writing of this e-book. 2.Myhumbleobeisanceinthelotus-feetofhisholinessanantshri-samalankritSriLakshmaNa-QuilAdhIshwaraSAketvAsi SriVaishNavAcharyaSwAmiSriSitARAmasharaNaji MahArAja,whosemarvelousliteratureonSrimadVAlmiki RAmAyaNa is like divine nectar for the devotees of the Lord. 3.Gita-Press,Gorakhpura,forthetranslationsoftheshlokasof SrimadValmikiRAmAyaNaandSriRAmacharitamAnasquotedin this e-book. 4.Sri RAmAnuja mailing-list archives which provided me some very useful information relating to the content of this e-book. 5.MyfriendsandcolleaguesMr.NilanjanSamajhdar,Mr.Love Singhal,Mr.NaveenAroraandMr.TusharSharmaforproof-reading of this e-book. 6.MyfriendandcolleagueMr.LoveSinghalforprovidingthe resources for transcoding of Sanskrit/Hindi texts. 7.Lastbutnottheleast,myfriendsandcolleaguesMr.Nilanjan Samajhdar,Mr.AnujMohan,Mr.TusharSharmaandMr.Nimish AgarwalfortheirprovokingmeintoanargumentonRAmAyaNa and thus providing an inspiration for me to write this e-book 4 C O N T E N T S Introduction10 The Myth of Aryan Invasion17 Unsurpassable authority ofApaurusheya Vedas & consequently ofVedAvatAra Srimad VAlmiki RAmAyaNa24 RAma is parabrahmevidence from different shastras34 A glimpse of RAma-Charitra42 Historicity of RAma74 MaryAdA Purushhottamathe real meaning of it81 JAnaki-pati madhura-muurati95 Yeh priya sabanhin jahAn lagi prANi -RAma, the beloved of all beings101 Tehi kArana KaruNAnidhi kahe kachhukadurbAda-The Fire-ordeal episode131 Exile of Bhagwati SitA -Pranavaun pura nara-nAri bahori141 Tulasi-Dal -few talks on GoswAmi TulsidAsa175 Conclusion192 5 7| PB Rr Hl l6l BTP 4 BTP7| PB Rr Hl l6l BTP 4 BTP 6 r976 lP 7BP BU PP 6 r976 lP 7BP BU PP The position of the Sun and the Moon, the zodiacal sign into which thesunhadentered,thepositionofthesevenotherplanets,the dayoftheweekaswellasthedayofthelunarmonth,allthese turnedouttobepropitious.Andfullofdelightwasallcreation, animate and inanimate; for the birth of Sri RAma is the very source of joy!! [RCM bAla-kAnda DohA-190] PB B~|9 BHl T 7r 6r (lrPB B~|9 BHl T 7r 6r (lrBlBBlB BTP 6B4 l 7l4 6PlB(lB T 1BBTP 6B4 l 7l4 6PlB(lB T 1B All(thepeopleofAyodhyA)weresatisfiedintheirheartand invokedblessingshereandthere,saying,Mayallthesonsof Dashrathalivelong,thoseLordofTulasidAsa![RCMbAla-kAnda DohA-190] 6 ~lP( lPlB7ll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlB7ll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlBll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlBll4 TTPP| BP Bl6llP Bl6llP ~lP( 7lBTl4N| l47466lP

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That same Brahma, the very import of Vedas, who is without a parallel, has personifieditselfintwodivineformsSitA,whoisallandallbeauty personifiedandRAma,whoispersonificationofMAdhurya(virtueofdivine sweetness);thesetwo,althoughstatedtobedifferent,areinessenceone andsame.TherealidentityandtheessenceofSitAandRAmaarereplete withmysteriesandaretobeknownthroughVedasandotherVedic scriptures; I adore the Lotus-feet of this divine couple, which is forever being serviced by noble saints with devoted minds 6PBl-PB-Pl l4rll 4^H -TPl(Four darlings of Dashrath, they who play in the heart-temple of TulasidAsa) 8 6B Tl Tl6 lP B|6r P|B T7 Tl P7P6l1r l6 B(B|r6 ^l BlH l BTl Tl ^ (PT( l64lTl6 (llPlB l lTPTTP HlP-lHB|( T 4^BTHlPT ll B(l 6PBl-PB-Pl( P lHr TheeffulgenceofHisbodyresemblesabluish-blacklotus;andHiseyesrob the lotus of its beauty. With His body besmirched all over with dust, He is the most handsome to look at, putting even the great charm of cupid far behind. His little teeth are shining as though a lightening streak; every now and then He makes childish-cries and is thus engrossed in such childish plays! The four darlingsonsofKingDashrathaforeverplayintheheart-templeofthis TulsidAs. TH BlB Pl6 l TTH l6lHF lBrll 7 TH T6lP H7lTBl6 Pl6BHPB P|( TH llB TrrlT9lB P6 B|1 7lr Pll 4^BTHlPT ll B(l 6PBl-PB-Pl( P lHr He(childRAma)wouldnowpersistentlyseekforthemoonandnowbe frightenedtobeholdHisownreflection!Hewouldnowdanceclappingboth His palms, which fills the heart of His mothers with joy, and now be obstinate with resentment and takes that only for which He persists! These four darling sons of King Dashratha forever play in the heart-temple of this TulsidAs. H (6Tl 9l6 T( -TPl ^l^-9N4 U|PB Tl 9Pl PTB Hl 7BlH P|l6B PlP P|PB Tl ll PPTPU39 T7PP|P T9|PB Tl B4Bl4l lB T6PBl HlP 7l3 PPl B H|PB Tl Oh!Onthesepairofrowsofsmallpearlyteethglowingasafreshly blossomedJasmineflowerbed!Oh!Whattosayofthewayofopeningof thesetwodelicatepetalsofthecoral-redlipsofYours,resemblingabimba fruit!!OnthebeautyofthesepricelessmuktA-maNi-bedeckedresplendent necklaces,adorningYourdark-bluecomplexionedbreast,resemblingthe charmofalustrouslighteningboltinthemidstofadarkrainy-cloud!!On thesejet-blacktressesofcurlyhairsurroundingYourface!Onthecharmof Yourglossycheeksresemblingapolishedmirror,adornedbythe resplendence of Your golden ear lobes; Oh!RamalalA!thisTulsidAsasacrificeshisverylife-breathitselfoverthis sweet lisping prattle of Yours!! [KavitAwali] 9 ' 'P4l(lP4l(l- -969|P r lP 969|P r lP ! ! 6R 7 B PlBl

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1 Reference here is to RAmanagar RAmalilA which is enacted for the duration of one month 11 Quitesimilararemyownexperiencesofchildhood,withregardstothose ninedays(navrAtras)ofRAmalilAeveryyear,spentinrelishingthe enactmentofRAmalilA;Attimesthoughitwasonlyacasualinvolvement with my friend-circle taking priority over watching the play; yet even to this day reminiscence of those moments overwhelms me with nostalgia. Untilfewyearsback,Iusedtothinkofthosechildhooddaysasmyfirst introduction with RAma, the Lord of AyodhyA; but now I realize I was wrong, fornowitseemsnottheassociationofthisbirth,butthatofeternity;as mentioned by GoswAmiji 6PBl 6|B| lPB| T7 B1 B 7lB-9lrllB [Vinay-PatrikA 193] TulsidAsa, this association of yours with RAma is not a recent one!! I consider myself as really fortunate one that I can boost of cherishing those childhoodmemoriesinmyheartwhicharemingledthoroughlywithRAma, which constitute the supreme treasure for me. This should not be taken in a sense to imply that I am a true devotee of RAma in any manner. Leave alone the talk of being a true devotee; I dont consider myself as yet even a true human being. If a poor person somehow gets a lottery of 1 billion bucks then itis not his greatness in his being a billionaire; butits purelyhis good luck alone. Similarly I consider it my supreme fortune only that I have something, evenifthesebememories,whichIcanassociatewithRAmachandra,the Lord of the Raghus! But not everyone is fortunate like me and neither has everyone realized his eternal association with RAma. People, including me, are blindly running after thefalsemirageofpettyworldlygoalswithoutrealizingthattheirlifeis simplyslippingthroughtheirhandsdaybyday,hourbyhourandeven second by second! Forthelastfewyears, inourlocality,duringRAmaliladays, thefamous televisionserial"RAmayaNa"ofSriRAmanandSagarisshown onabig screen,insteadofthattraditionalstagingofRAmalilA. There is huge audienceeveryyear despiteofthefactthatpeople havealready watched it so many times. Last year one local MLA was invited as chief guest, and although he didn't have even one percent of the understanding of RAma orRAmayanbutstillhecame justforthesakeofmaintainingpublic relations, and disturbed the people who were engrossed in watching the epic; andthenasifperforminga ritual,gaveashort speechonRAmaandhis ideals: "RAmAyan teaches us this and that...RAmAyan symbolizes the victory of good over evil......RAma was an ideal son.....an ideal brother.....RAma was MaryAdA-Purushottam"andsoon.Itseemedasifsomestudent is participating in some essay competition! All nice things which are perfectly correctbutonemostimportantthingwasmissingandthat wasdevotion and sincerity! As I was wondering thus, somehow tears welled up in my eyes seeingsuch ignoranceofafellowBhAratvAsi;thatvery BhAratbhoomi,I wondered,whichwas onceblessedbythedivinetouchoftheLotus-feetof 12 SriRAghavendra andSriMaithilly.Howcanonebesoignorantof RAmayana especially if one is a BhAratvAsi? Andthisisnotjustthetaleofthat MLAalone,ingeneralthepeople today justhaveonlyavery-verybasic ideaofthestoryofRamayana;they may be knowing that yes there was that prince, a scion of a royal family who spent 14 hard years of exile in forest, just to obey His fathers words given to Hisstep-mother,butthey neitherhave heartnor time toappreciatewhat it means. What does it really feellike when one day you are told that you are going to be a king and the very next day you are told that now you have to live in a dreaded forest for 14 long years and still cheerfully accept it without even asking why? The only reason for this indifference is that people have no attachment withRAmaandSitA,althoughtheymaybehavingadeep attachment towards their spouse, their kids, their home and what not, even towards their pets!! Mostofthegoodheartedandpiouspeoplegototemplesandworshipthe Lord and seek various worldly things from him, which is also correct to some extent, but there are very few fortunate souls who instead of seeking "FROM" Him,seekthemercifulLordHimself....manycustomersarethereforthe worldly wealth and pleasures bestowed BY RAma, but very few, of the RAma Himself! Thisisthestateofthosewhoarebelievers.Worsestill,therearemany peopletoday,who,althoughareHindujustforthenamesake,criticizeour Epicsandourdeities.Therealso,RAmayanbeingthemostpopularEpicof theHindus,themisguidedpeople,dontlooseeventheslightestof opportunity to criticize RAma and RAmayan. Also a major portion of the female section of our society does not possess a very good image of Lord RAma as a loving Husband. Most of them, although theydonotspeakitout,harbourbadfeelingsforRAma,theHusband. Whereas some of them are very vocal in their criticism of RAma, on the issue ofagni-pareekshaandtheabandonmentofBhagwatiSitA.Andthemost unfortunatethingisthattheydosowithoutevenhavingdoneathorough reading of Srimad RAmayan themselves. Mostofouryounggeneration,especiallythemoderneducated,IT-savvy professionalsoftodaysprogressive(really?)Indiaarecompletelyoblivious towards our rich scriptural heritage. They are going farther and farther away fromHinduphilosophyandscriptureswhichisnotagoodsignforour country and our culture. People have become so ignorant towards our SanAtan Dharma that they very casuallycrackjokesonourgloriousdeitieswithoutthinkingtheleast.Boys and Girls in colleges as well as in professional arena also make fun of divine characters of Srimad RAmayan and Sri MahabhArat, totally ignorant of what they are doing. And everyone swallows it without questioning or checking it. 13 In certain TV comedy shows, such bad comedyis presented to the viewers, which either maligns religious characters or is so much uncensored that one cannot watch these shows sitting with their family members. One TV reality show depicted a dancer in the attire of Bhagvati SitA dancing withanotherdancerintheattireofRAvan!!See,towhatgreatlevelswe haveelevatedourselves!!Newschannelsarealsodoingtheirbesteffortin murdering the soul of India, its cultural values, and its philosophy. So called intellectuals (read fools), these boys, moustached babies, debating theirbrainsouttotarnishourepics!Leastashamed,theyvery enthusiasticallyindulgeinsuchblasphemy!Theseirreverentboys, intellectuals and actors, simply because they can blabber few sentences and getsomefoolishTVchanneltotelecastitforthem,thinkthattheyarethe educators of the world! How true to import are the following words of GoswAmijis in this regard PB 4P HB PHl 6HT6l TlPTlP P Theyalonewhoarebabblersinthought,wordanddeedareregardedas orators in Kaliyuga (the age of Kali)!! [RCM Uttar-Kand 18] Debatesonsuchtopicsaslive-inrelationships,Gay-marriages,Ravan, theHeroorRavan,washereallyavillain?areverycommonthesedays on news channels!! ThisBhArat-bhoomiwhereoncetheVedic-hymnswerechanted,where scholars(inrealsense)ofpureintellect,keepingdistancefromtheworldly pleasures,usedtodebateoverphilosophicalmatters,thenatureofBrahm, jeeva and prakriti. Where the saintly people and also publicingeneral used to fondly listen to the oldest yet ever-fresh tale of RAma and SitA or the tale ofRadhAandKrishna,inthatveryBhArat-bhoomipeoplenowdrunkinthe passion of their youth, mesmerized and blinded by the false illusory charisma of western culture of discos, late-night club parties, pubs and bars feel shy in uttering the holy names such as RAma, SitA, Krishna, RadhA, Shiv from their mouths; discussing something about religious matters seems to be taboo in their views; Religion is just a bundle of superstitions for them!! Poisonousseedsarebeingplantedintenderunsuspectingmindsofour young generation by using a heap of bad literature written with an intent to malignourHindudeitiesandculture.Therearehundredsofsitesonthe Internet spreading this poison in the minds of modern boys and girls. These siteseitherprovidetotallyfalseinformationwithregardstoourepicsor presenttheincompletefactsinsuchamannerastopaintanuglyand degraded image of our most magnanimous SanAtan Dharma in the minds of unsuspecting public. 14 Thesearedays,whenHinduismorSanAtanDharma,themostancient religionintheworldandareligionvitallyconnectedwiththelifeofthe peopleallovertheworld,isfastdisintegratingandthreateninguswithits totaldisappearance.Itbehoovesoneandallofusthatbelongtothegreat religion, to be completely united and find ways and means to save it from the impending peril. I am not a writer at all, but still reading some of these sort of articles related toRAmayanonInternet,writteninbadtaste,andafterhavingsome arguments with some of my close friends over certain incidents of RAmayan, Iwasreallyperturbedthathowmuchhatrednow-a-daysisbeingspread speciallyamongtheyoungergeneration,whohaventthemselvesread Srimad RAmayan and thus can very easily make their opinion based on this falsepropagandaandwhomightthenthemselvesstartdenigratingour deitiesandculture.Withthisthinginmind,Ihavedaredtodomybit however small it might be. Following is the overall layout of this book Chapter-1, briefly touches upon the famous, rather infamous Aryan-invasion theory, postulated by Western philosophers/scholars. The reason for starting this e-book with this topic is to provide the reader a right perspective to view and interpret our scriptures and epics in a better way, as also to caution him not to blindly accept as final, the views of western intellectuals in regards to their judgement of our scriptures and epics. Chapter-2,explainstheconceptofApaurusheyatva(authoredbynone)in SanAtanDharma;therebyexplainingfortheultimateunsurpassable authorityofApaurusheyaVedasandconsequentlyofVedAvatAraSrimad VAlmiki RAmAyan. This chapter seeks to establish the base (i.e authority and authenticity of Srimad Valmiki RAmayan) in which the later portion of this e-book is rooted. Chapter-3,talksofRAmaasparipoorNatamparAtpar brahm,renownedand celebrated in Vedas as Veda-Purusha, Purushottam. Chapter-4, provides just a glimpse of that uncomparable personality which is renowned in the whole world as RAma. Chapter-5, takes up the topic of Historicity of Lord RAmachandra, for those people who think of Him as just a mythological figure with no real existence. Chapter-6 and 7 implores the reason as to why is Lord RAmachandra known as MaryAdA-Purushottam. In what real sense is He adorned with the title of MaryAdA-Purushottam?FirstchapterdescribesHisloka-mangalaswaroop (personalitybeneficentandauspiciousforthegeneralpublic)whichisasa protectorofDharma-setu(bridgeofrighteousness),whilethenextchapter triestodepicttheunfathomableloveandaffectionthatexistsbetweenthe divinecouple,i.e.RAmaandSitA.Thesechaptersseektoappreciatethe 15 sweet harmony and balance between two seemingly opposite pairs, which is found throughout the whole life of Lord RAmachandra and Devi SitA. Chapter-8, discusses the all-loving nature of RAmas personality; RAma, who is the most celebrated and adored personality till date in the whole history of mankind, the prince charming of AyodhyA, the darling of all beings animate or inanimate, animals, beasts and even demons! Chapter-9, takes up the much-debated fire-ordeal episode of RAmAyaNa. Chapter-10,discussesthereasonsandcircumstancesduetowhichLord RAmachandra had to part with His beloved queen SitA. FinallyChapter-11servesasTulsi-dal(Basilleaves)inthisbook;Asany offering to the Lord is considered as incomplete, unless and until Tulsi-leaves areincludedinit;similarlythisofferingofmineintheformofwordsand sentenceswouldremainincompletewithoutabrieftalkonGoswAmi TulsidAs, one of the greatest devotees of Lord RAmachandra. The only aim with which I have written this e-book is to cast away some of theverybasicdoubts,anytintofblemishes,whichthereadermightbe harbouring in his mind regarding Srimad RAmAyan. Although I am in no way a scholar of RAmayan but still to do my bit I think it is my duty to present for thebenefitofinnocentreaders(whomightbeprospectivedevotees!!) whatever little information I have, with whatever little intellect, I possess. Forthisreasonthedraftingofthisarticlemaybelittlepoorandfurther, sometimesforcorrectlyputtingmythoughtsinwords,someredundancies andrepetitionsmighthavebeenintroduced.Ihavejustpouredallthe thoughts, which came to my mind in a very vague manner. The demerits in thisarticleareduetomylimitedcapacityofexpression,pleaseexcuseme for that and ignoring the outwardly language specific aspects, kindly take the essence of it. Ialsourgethereadertopleasereadthisarticleleavingoutanypre-assumptions and false pride. Please read it with a calm and clear mind. It is notalwaysgoodtogetdrivenbyoursharpbrainsblindlysothatwemay neveracceptanygoodthings.Manytimesourunclearmindalreadyhasits premonitions due to which it always tries to indulge in bad arguing. ThereforeIrequestthesensiblereadertofirstreaditonce,justgiveita thought and then judge on his own. Ihavewrittenthise-bookengrossedinastateofdeepemotionsandfrom the very depth of my heart. Therefore I urge to the compassionate self of the reader to read it in the similar manner! 16 FinallyIrequesttheknowledgeablereadersandotherdevoteesoftheLord to kindly ignore my mistakes. To put it in words of GoswAmi TulsidAsji BlPrlrB=B P| l7l1 BlBrlrHlP-HB PB Pl1 7l HlPT Tr 6|6l Hl6l BBlrPl(6 PB l966 Pl6l The virtuous will forgive my presumption and listen to my childish babbling with interest. When a child prattles in lisping accents, the parents hear it with a mind full of delight [RCM Balkand dohA-7] lP Bl 94 lHB( l6 B( TlrBH 9lB ll RlF lB4 lP 7B l4lrBBlrB7lB The milk of even a dark cow is white and possesses a great medicinal value andisdrunkbyall.SodothewisechantandhearthegloryofSitAand Ramaeventhoughcouchedinthevulgartongue.[RCMBalkanddoha-10(b)] 17 THE MYTH OF ARYAN INVASION l7 T6 PrlP|r P( 9lBl l6 T Trl Tl BlrTlBl Those who are delirious or mad, those who are possessed and those who are inebriated do not talk sense. None should give ear to the ravings of those who have drunk the wine of infatuation [RCM 1-114] [Courtesy:Thelaterpartofthissectionisquotedformthebooktitled WesternIndologists:AStudyinMotivesByPurohitBhagavanDutt(with minor additions by authors of "Review of Beef in Ancient India")] TheBritishruledIndia,astheydidotherlands,byadivide-and-conquer strategy.Theypromotedreligious,ethnicandculturaldivisionsamongtheir coloniestokeepthemundercontrol.Unfortunatelysomeofthesepolicies alsoenteredintotheintellectualrealm.Thesamesimplisticanddivisive ideasthatwereusedforinterpretingthecultureandhistoryofIndia. RegrettablymanyHindushavecometobelievetheseideas,eventhougha deeper examination reveals they have no real objective or scientific basis. One of these ideas is that India is a land of two races - the lighter- skinned Aryans and the darker-skinned Dravidians - and that the Dravidians were the originalinhabitantsofIndiawhomtheinvadingAryansconqueredand dominated.Fromthiscametheadditionalideathatmuchofwhatwecall HinduculturewasinfactDravidian,andlaterborrowedbyAryanswho, however,nevergavetheDravidianspropercreditforit.Thisideahasbeen used to turn the people of south India against the people of north India, as if the southerners were a different race. Also some western scholars dismissed RAmAyanasamerewarofNorthIndianAryanracewiththeSouthIndian Dravidian race. This idea also helped to spread hatred among some sections ofSouthIndiansforRAmAyananditsHero,RAmaandSitA.Perhapsthe saddest thing is that modern Indian politicians have also used this division to promotetheirownambitionsresultinginDravidianpartiesbeingsetupin southernstates,thoughitisharmfultotheunityofthecountry.Andnow today,longaftertheadventoftheseparties,whenithasbeendiscovered thatthiswholepropagandaofAryaninvasiontheory(andconsequentlythe idea of RAmayan being just a tale of Aryan-Dravidian war) is baseless, even 18 westerners who earlier postulated this theory are now rejecting it, still these parties are continuing their hatred game, its latest example being KarunA-anidhi, with his unsolicited remarks on Lord RAma. TheAryaninvasiontheoryhasbeenabasisandjustificationofWestern interpretationuponthecivilisationandhistoryofIndia.Althoughmany IndologistswithinIndiahavebeeninfluencedbysuchthought,thetheory hasnotmetmajorityacceptancewithinIndiaandisevencomingunder attackintheWest.EvenWesternscholarsarenowbeginningtorejectthe Aryan invasion or any outside origin for Hindu civilization. David Frawley, one SanskritscholarrecognizedbothinsideaswellasoutsideofIndiahas assessed the current situation of the Aryan invasion theory thus: "Oneofthemainideasusedtointerpret-andgenerallydevaluethe ancient history of India is the theory of the Aryan invasion. According to this account,Indiawasinvadedandconqueredbynomadiclight-skinnedIndo-EuropeantribesfromCentralAsiaaround1500-100BC,whooverthrewan earlierandmoreadvanceddark-skinnedDravidiancivilizationfromwhich theytookmostofwhatlaterbecameHinduculture...Thisidea-totally foreigntothehistoryofIndia,whetherNorthorSouth,hasbecomean almostunquestionedtruthintheinterpretationofancienthistorytoday. Today,afternearlyallthereasonsforitssupposedvalidityhavebeen refuted,evenmajorWesternscholarsareatlastbeginningtocallitinto question." (David Frawley, "The Myth of the Aryan Invasion) One main reason that the theory has been called into question is that there is noprimaryevidence.NomonumentstoanyHerosofsuchinvasionshave been excavated, no related cemeteries unearthed, no battlefields identified in relationtothetheory,noforts,inshort-nothinginthewayofphysical evidence.Thereisahostofotherincongruencies,butthisisthegeneral idea. WhatWesternscholarshavereliedupontosubstantiatethetheoryis etymology.Theytracelinguisticpatterns,encompassingtheEastandWest, and then by implication pinpoint a central geographic area, which then serves asacommonpointoforiginoftheIndo-Europeanlanguageandrace.This point, being basically the Caucasians and mountainous regions of Persia, is of course,outsideofIndia,suchthattheexistenceoftheAryanracein Northern India is attributed to an invasion, and such is the flimsy explanation they offer for the Caucasian presence in India. Ithasoftenbeenpointedoutthatfewotherprincipaltheorieshaveever beenacceptedbasedonsuchindirect,flimsyevidence.Whensomething ends up being so rigidly imposed with such little basis, a reasonable mind will lookforothermotives.Againwemayrelyonthebroadunderstandingof David Frawley: "It isimportant to examine the social andpoliticalimplicationsof the Aryan invasion idea: 19 (a)First,itservedtodivideIndiaintoanorthernAryanandsouthern Dravidian culture, which were made hostile to each other. This kept the Hindus divided and is still a source of social tension. (b)Second,itgavetheBritishanexcuseintheirconquestofIndia. They could claim to be doing only what the Aryan ancestors of the Hindus had previously done millennia ago. (c)Third,itservedtomakeVedicculturelaterthanandpossibly derivedfromMiddleEasterncultures.Withtheproximityand relationshipofthelatterwiththeBibleandChristianity,thiskept the Hindu religion as a sidelight to the development of religion and civilization to the West. (d)Fourth,itallowedthesciencesofIndiatobegivenaGreekbasis, asanyVedicbasiswaslargelydisqualifiedbytheprimitivenature oftheVedicculture.Thisdiscreditednotonlythe'Vedas'butthe genealogiesofthe'Puranas'andtheirlonglistofthekingsbefore theBuddhaorKrishnawereleftwithoutanyhistoricalbasis.The 'Mahabharata', instead of a civil war in which all the main kings of India participated as it is described, became a local skirmish among pettyprincesthatwaslaterexaggeratedbypoets.Inshort,it discreditedthemostoftheHindutraditionandalmostallits ancientliterature.Itturneditsscripturesandsagesintofantasies andexaggerations.Thisservedasocial,politicalandeconomical purposeofdomination,provingthesuperiorityofWesternculture and religion. It made the Hindus feel that their culture was not the great thing that their sages and ancestors had said it was. It made Hindusfeelashamedoftheirculture-thatitsbasiswasneither historicalnorscientific.Itmadethemfeelthatthemainlineof civilizationwasdevelopedfirstintheMiddleEastandthenin Europe and that the culture of India was peripheral and secondary to the real development of world culture. Suchaviewisnotgoodscholarshiporarcheologybutmerelycultural imperialism.TheWesternVedicscholarsdidintheintellectualspherewhat the British army did in the political realm - discredit, divide and conquer the Hindus. In short, the compelling reasons for the Aryan invasion theory were neitherliterarynorarcheologicalbutpoliticalandreligious-thatistosay, not scholarship but prejudice. Such prejudice may not have been intentional butdeep-seatedpoliticalandreligiousviewseasilycloudandblurour thinking. Itisunfortunatethatthisapproachhasnotbeenquestioned,more, particularlybyHindus.EventhoughIndianVedicscholarslikeDayananda saraswati, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Arobindo rejected it, mostHindus today passivelyacceptit.TheyallowWestern,generallyChristian,scholarsto interprettheirhistoryforthemandquitenaturallyHinduismiskeptina reduced role. Many Hindus still accept, read or even honor the translations of the'Vedas'donebysuchChristianmissionaryscholarsasMaxMuller, 20 Griffith, MonierWilliams and H. H. Wilson. Would modern Christians accept an interpretationoftheBibleorBiblicalhistorydonebyHindusaimedat convertingthemtoHinduism?UniversitiesinIndiaalsousetheWestern history books and Western Vedic translations that propound such views that denigrate their own culture and country. The modern Western academic world is sensitive to criticisms of cultural and socialbiases.Forscholarstotakeastandagainstthisbiasedinterpretation ofthe'Vedas'wouldindeedcauseareexaminationofmanyofthese historicalideasthatcannotstandobjectivescrutiny.ButifHinduscholars are silent or passively accept the misinterpretation of their own culture, it will undoubtedly continue, but they will have no one to blame but themselves. It isnotanissuetobetakenlightly,becausehowacultureisdefined historicallycreatestheperspectivefromwhichitisviewedinthemodern socialandintellectualcontext.Toleranceisnotinallowingafalseviewof one'sowncultureandreligiontobepropagatedwithoutquestion.Thatis merely self-betrayal." The readers might want to conclude, as more and more academians are, that whole of this Aryan Invasion theory is nothing but a bundle of falsehood and just a trick of British to divide and eliminate the Hindu Vedic culture. Interest of Europeans in Bharatavarsha and its ancient literature Macaulay,ahistorianandapolitician,andastaunchprotagonistofEnglish educationinIndiahadmadeclearhisapproachtospreadEnglishlanguage aswellascultureinIndia,inhishistoricalspeechintheBritishParliament (February1835),commonlyreferredtoasThe Minutes;hiswordswereto this effect: Ifeelwiththemthatitisimpossibleforus,withourlimitedmeans,to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom wegovern,-aclassofpersonsIndianinbloodandcolour,butEnglishin tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country,suchhighmoralvalues,peopleofsuchcaliber,thatIdonotthink wewouldeverconquerthiscountry,unlesswebreaktheverybackboneof thisnation,whichisherspiritualandculturalheritage,and,therefore,I proposethatwereplaceheroldandancienteducationsystem,herculture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, theywilllose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation." EvenMaxMller,himselffamousforhisadmirationforIndiahaswrittenin his autobiography: 21 "LargenumberofVedichymnsarechildishintheextreme;tedious,low, commonplace'ChipsfromaGermanWorkshop',secondedition,1866,p. 27. "Nay,they(theVedas)contain,bythesideofsimple,natural,childish thoughts, many ideas which to us sound modern, or secondary and tertiary."'India, What can it teach us, Lecture IV, p. 118, 1882 Personal letters give a true picture of the writer's inner mind. Such letters are veryhelpfulinestimatinghisrealnatureandcharacter.Fortunately,a collectioncalledthe'LifeandLettersofFrederickMaxMller'hasbeen published in two volumes. A few extracts from those letters would suffice to expose the mind of the man who is held in great esteem in the West for his Sanskrit leaning and impartial judgment. (a)In a letter of 1866 A.D. (1923 V.) he writes to his wife: 'This edition of mine and the translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extentonthefateofIndia,...itistherootoftheirreligionandto showthemwhattherootis,Ifeelsure,istheonlywayof uprooting all that has spring from it during the last three thousand years.' (Vol. 1, Ch. XV, page 346). (b)MaxMullergrewsoinsolentandaudaciousthathestartedto challengeIndiansinadirectfoolhardymanner.Itisclearfroma letter written by him to N.K. Majumdar: 'Tell me some of your chief difficultiesthatpreventyouandyourcountrymenfromopenly followingChrist,andwhenIwritetoyouIshalldomybestto explainhowIandmanywhoagreewithmehavemetthemand solved them... From my point of view, India, at least the best part ofit,isalreadyconvertedtoChristianity.Youwantnopersuasion to become a follower of Christ. Then make up your mind to work on yourself. Unite your flock - to hold them together and prevent them from straying. The bridge has been built for you by those who came beforeyou.STEPBOLDLYFORWARD,itwillbreakunderyou,and you will find many friends to welcome you on the other shore and amongthemnonemoredelightedthatyouroldfriendandfellow labourer F. Max Muller.' (Vol. II, Ch. XXXIV, pages 415-416.) Herein Max Muller claims to know 'the true historical value' of Vedic religion, butourhistoryisgoingtoexposethehollownessofthelearningand scholarship which he and his colleagues boast of possessing. Such blasphemous reviling of the most ancient and highly scientific scripture oftheworldcancomeonlyfromwordofthemouthofabigoted(notan honest) Christian, a low pagan or an impious atheist. This also reveals the evil designs of western thinkers and intellectuals. Under thegarboftranslationofIndianVedicscripturesandtheirlengthy commentaries on these scriptures, this is their only crooked hidden motive. 22 If Bharatiya culture could extract occasional praise from the pen of a bigoted manlikeMaxMuller,itwasonlyduetoitsunrivaledgreatnessand superiority. Thereforewearejustifiedindrawingtheconclusionthatallthesesocalled scholarlybookswhichareclaimedbytheirrespectiveauthorstobewritten forthequestofknowledge,werewrittenwiththesoleobjectofpromoting Christianity and ousting Hinduism. InspiteofthissomeofourIndianSanskritscholarscalltheseEuropeans scholars,unbiasedstudentsofSanskritliterature,whosesoleaimhasbeen toacquireknowledgeforitsownsake.Whereasthe truthisthattheywere just a coterie of mischievous propagandists masquerading under the garb of 'scientific' scholars McCaulaydidnotknowevenoneIndianlanguagebut hecommentedonall Easternwisdom,JamesMillnevervisitedIndiabuthewroteonIndian history.NoneoftheforeignIndologistslikeMaxMuller,Winternitzand GriffithhadanyknowledgeofVedicgrammar,astronomy,metre(chhand) etc but they all translated Vedas and assumed the status of authorities. Prof.McKenzie,ofBombayfindstheethicsofIndiadefective,illogicaland anti-social, lacking any philosophical foundation, nullified by abhorrent ideas ofasceticismandritualandaltogetherinferiortothe'higherspirituality'of Europe. RemarkslikethoseofMcKenzieontheethicsofacountryfromwhose Brahmanasthewholeworldlearntitsmoralityandrulesofconduct (Manusmriti) are nothing short of blasphemy and national insult. The irony of thesituationisthat,insteadofbeingcondemnedsuchpersonsreceive recognition and honour from our educationists and political leaders. ItisamatterofseriousmistakeonthepartofaGovernmentwhichis anxious to win the friendship and sympathy of Bharat to allow such heinous typeofliteratureasRipley'stobepublished.Andagain,itisamatterof regret that such books, whether published in India or abroad, are not taken noticeofbyourpoliticiansandhavenotbeenbannedbyourNational Government.NotonlyisourGovernmentindifferenttotheinterdictionof suchslanderousliterature,butevenourUniversitiesnotonlyprescribebut recommendforhigherstudybooksonBharatiyahistoryandculturewritten byforeignscholarswholosenoopportunityofmaligningourcivilisation openly or in a very subtle way We have sufficiently exposed the mentality of this type of Western scholars. They received enormous financial aid from their Governments and also from theBritishGovernmentinIndia,whichtheyfreelyusedinwritingarticles, pamphletsandbookspropagatingtheirreactionaryviewsinaverysubtle and disguised manner. It was their careful endeavour not to give themselves awayandtomisleadtheworldandthepeopleofBharatavarshaunderthe cloak of scholarship and impartiality. 23 Conclusion Inshort,theforegoingpagesmakeitclearthatitwasthisChristianand Judaic prejudice which: (a) ...did not allow the real dates of ancient Bharatiya history to be accepted bytheoccidentalscholars,whowerealwaysreluctanttogivetheVedasa higherantiquitythantheearliestportionoftheOldTestamentandplace them beyond 2500 B.C.55 (b) ...gave rise to the two interrelated diseases of Western Indologists; firstly thediseaseofmyth,mythicalandmythology,accordingtowhichBrahma, Indra, Vishnu, Parvat, Narada, Kashyapa,Pururavas, Vasishta and a host of otherancientsageshavebeendeclaredasmythical.Nobodyevertriedto understandtheirtruehistoricalcharacterapprehendingthatthedatesof Bharatiyahistorywouldgotoveryancientperiods;andsecondly,asa corollarytotheabove,thediseaseof'attribution'and'ascription',under which the works ofthese and other sages have been declaredto be written bysomeverylateanonymouspersonswhoaresaidtohaveascribedor attributed them to those 'mythical' sages. (c)...broughttothefore-front,themostfancifulandgroundlesstheoryof the migration of the Aryans into India, according to which the very existence ofManu,thefirstCrownedKingofBharat,Egyptetc.,Ikshvaku,Manu's gloriousson;BharataChakravarti,theglorioussonofShakuntala; Bhagiratha,whochangedthecourseoftheGanga;SriRAmachanrda,the son of Dasharatha and a number of other kings is being totally denied. (d) ...was responsible for the altogether wrong translations of Vaidika (Vedic) works, and misrepresentation of the Vaidika culture. (e) ...did not allow the acceptance of Sanskrit, as being the mother language ofatleasttheIndo-Europeangroup;asatfirstveryablypropoundedby Franz Bopp, and often mentioned by ancient Indian authors. We are not sorry for all this, for, nothing better could be expected from such biased foreign pioneers of Sanskrit studies.

With these brief remarks we earnestly pray that the light of truth may dawn on every thinking and learned man of Bharatavarsha, so that in these days of politicalandindividualfreedomhemayshakeofftheyokeofintellectual slaveryoftheWest."(Pt.BhagavanDutt.AReviewOf"BeefInAncient India", pages 17-38.) 24 UNSURPASABLE AUTHORITY OF APAURUSHEYA VEDAS AND VEDAVATAR SRIMAD VALMIKI RAMAYAN H3 ll3 H( 4 Hl ll^ H|lr6 BlB l7lrBB9B U( HB6 H lHB( 7B Ireverence,allthefourVedas,barksasitwereontheoceanofmundane existence, which never dream of weariness in singing the untarnished glory of Sri Raghuvar, the best among the Raghus! [RCM 1-14] [Courtesy:InthispassageIhavetakencertainexcerptsfromthearticle VedAapaurusheyatvawrittenbyProf.D.Prahladachar,andsomeother from Sri RAmAnuja Bhakti-mailing list archives.] Vedas are eternal and Apaurusheya (9l694 ) The wise ancients of this country considered knowledge as the most precious thinginthelifeofahumanbeing,forifthereisanythingthatcanfreea humanfromthecycleofbirthsanddeaths,andtheendlesssufferingthis entails,itisknowledge.Itispreciselyforthereasonthatknowledgehas been given the most venerable place among the most valued goals of human life, that the Vedas have, through the ages, been held in high esteem as the mostsacredliteratureofthisland.Vedasaretheeternal'Booksof Knowledge'.Asamatteroffact,theverywordVedaisderivedfromthe linguisticrootvidmeaning toknow,indicatingthatthename Vedagiven tothetextisveryappropriateasitisa[unique]meansofknowledge. Knowledge by itself is always eternal. Creation presupposes existence of prior knowledge. So knowledge was always there, and then came the creation. Butthenthequestionarises:whatguaranteeistherethatthecognition derivedfromtheVedaconstitutesknowledgeratherthandelusion?Asa matteroffact,thisistheallegationmadebytheavaidikadarshanasthat thecognitionobtainedfromtheVedasisliabletobeinerror,andhence cannot be accepted as true knowledge. 25 However, the Vedic tradition has an answer, the likes of which are unseen in anyreligiousdiscourseelsewhereintheworld,tothisquestion.The traditionalargumentisthus:SincetheVedasareapauruseyaPurusha means man, Paurusheya means composed by man and Apaurusheya means not composed by man that is without authorship (human or divine or of God himself)thetraditionclaimsthatthereisnopossibilityofdefectseitherin thewordsorthesentencesoftheVedictexts,orinthethoughtcontent intendedtobeconveyedbytheVedas.Vedasare'Apaurusheya'.This designationimpliesthatthewords,theirorder,theiraccents,the relationshipsbetweenthewordsandtheirmeaningsandtheirmutual relationships are eternal and uncreated. Vedas are also called as Shruti. Shruti is that which is heard, again implying thattheyaresomething,whichwere'revealed'.Nooneeverarrogates personaldoershipforthesedivinescriptures.ThereareRishisforvarious mantras, who were instrumental with their austerities & dedication in seeing thesemantras.ThewordRishisitselfmeans'Mantra-drashta',see-erofa mantra. Earlier when paper or even palm leaves were not discovered or were invogue,thisknowledgewaspassedontothenextgenerationbywordof mouth. The teachers revealed and the students heard them. So name 'Shruti' wasjustifiedthiswaytoo.Thereisagreattraditionwherethechanting& learningofthesemantrasisperfectedtounbelievablelimits.Thereisno possibilityoferrorofevenhalfanalphabetetc.Therearepunditswhoare taught to chant these mantras even backwards. A whole science of phonetics has been developed for this work. Since they are called "Apaurusheya" it follows that even the seers could not havecreatedthem.Iftheseers composedthem,they(thelatter)wouldbe called"Mantra-kartA(P-T6l)"whichmeans"thosewho'created'the Mantras".Butasamatteroffact,thershisarecalled"Mantra-drastA(P-I9l)", those who "saw" them. The Rshis were literally See-ers of the mantras (mantra-drashta is the dictionary definition of rshi) not the authors. WhenwesaythatColumbusdiscoveredAmerica,wedonotmeanthathe created the continent: we mean that he merely made the continent known to the world. In the same way the laws attributed to Newton, Einstein and so on werenotcreatedbythem.Ifanobjectthrownupfallstoearthitisnot because Newton said so. Scientists like Newton perceived the laws of Nature and revealed them to the world. Similarly, the seers discovered the Mantras and made a gift of them to the world. These Mantras had existed before the timeoftheirfathers,grandfathers,greatgrandfathers;buttheyhad remainedunknowntotheworld.Theseersnowmadethemknowntothe mankind.ThereforeifthenamesofcertainRishisareattachedtocertain mantras,itonlymeansthatRishiwasthefirsttoseeit.Youcaninfer nothing about a mantra from the personality, history etc. of its seer. ThisreasoningbytheadherentsoftheVedictraditionhasnotbeenleft unchallenged, as is well known. Apart from the Buddhists and the Jains who 26 proclaimedskepticismaboutthevalidityoftheVedas,eventhose,suchas theNyAya-Vaishesikaschool,whoregardedtheVedasasvalidtestimony, nonethelesssawfittoquestionthelogicalityoftheconceptof apauruseyatva. However, the apauruseyatva-vadins convincingly argued that ifanapauruseyatextwerenottobeenvisaged,itwouldbeimpossiblefor there to be conclusive decisions in the matters of dharma and adharma. For dharma and adharma are supra-sensory entities, and consequently our sense organs are of no use in knowing their characteristics. Inference based solely onsense-perceptionislikewiseofnouse,forsuchindependentinferences can be freely applied in any manner one pleases, and might even be used by somecleverpersontocallasadharmaallthatisestablishedinsocietyas dharma and vice versa. Therefore,weultimatelyhavetodependuponascripturaltexttoknowthe truedharmaandadharma.However,unlesswearecertainofthe trustworthinessoftheauthorofsuchatext,ourfaithinthemwillnotbe strongenoughtopersuadeustoacceptthemwithoutquestion.Thenthe questionobtains:howisonetoknowthattheauthorofsomescripture, believed to have lived thousands of years ago, was an Apta ()? An Apta is describedasapersonwhohasperfectknowledge(includingoffacts concerningsupra-sensoryentitiessuchasdharmaandadharma);isnota deceiver; is not given to passions or hatred; and finally, who is endowed with the great virtue of kindness towards people who suffer due to ignorance. Therefore, it argues that there is parsimony of assumption in envisaging that theVedasareapauruseya,andholdsthatthisviewisalsosupportedby internalevidences,forwefindseveralVedicstatementsthatdescribethe Vedasaseternal,suchasyAvadbrahmavisthitamtAvatIvAk.Itis therefore also held that the Vedas are the foundational authorities in respect ofsupra-sensoryentitiessuchasdharma.TheverytermsanAtanadharma usedfortheVedicreligionconnotesabeginninglessexistenceand indestructibility till eternity. Such a religion can never be based on a prophet-inspired theology. Unauthored by even God: This concept of apaurusheyatva is singularly absent in any other religion but Vedic one. Now for the time being let us assume apaurusheyatva as being authored by God as someone might take it that way. However, if we accept themauthoredbyGod,werunintoacyclicalargument.ExistenceofGod cannotbeestablishedbyanylogicalmeansbuttherevelation.However, validityoftherevelationrestsuponbeingrevealedbyGod.Therefore, insteadofone,wehavetomaketwoassumptionsthatis1)Thereexistsa God.2)Godauthoredtherevelation.Clearlyitismuchweakerfoundation than a single concept of apaurusheyatva. It is said that Apaurusheya Vedas give us an independent affirmation of our Lordssupremacy.Butwhydoweneedindependentaffirmation?Canwe not believe our Lord? 27 Answer to this is that how do we know who the Lord is? And whether He has spoken at all, what form He takes, and what His nature is? How do you know that *I* am not God and what *I* say is not scripture? ThisiswheretheVedas,apreterpersonal,unoriginatedauthority,comein.ItisfromtheVedasthatweknowthefirstprinciplethatthereisan Absolute, that there is God.From the Vedas, we know who God is, what its nature is, and what its characteristics are? Faithinsomeone'steachingscanonlygosofar.Howdoweknowthat someoneisGod?Therefore,thenecessityoftheVedasasanabsoluteand preterpersonal authority is established. Realize that even Srimad Bhagavad Gita (the words of Lord Himself) are only validbecausetheycorrespondtotheteachingsoftheVedas.IftheGita disagreedwiththeVedasinanyfundamental,irreconcilableway,weas Vaidikas would be forced to toss out the Gita itself. Theconsequencesotherwise?IfweconsiderVedAsasbeingauthoredby God? We would have to follow the teachings of anyone who is said to be an avatAra of God -- Sai Baba etc If God authored the Vedas, there would be a logical seesaw. We rely on the Vedas as our authority for God, but we rely on God as our authority for the Vedas.This is untenable. For this reason alone GoswAmiji has said: 6lP6 PlrPl H(Tl 6PBl lT4| lHl 7lr lB (6 lBl6 4| lHl(6 H446l Afteradeeppondering,thisTulasidAshascometoconclusionthatthe greatnessofVedasisuncomparable.(Somuchso)thateventheBuddha incarnationoftheLordwasdenounced(bySanAtanaVedic DharmAvalambiis) due to His criticism of the Vedas [DohAwali] Therefore,theapaurusheyatva(preterpersonal)natureoftheVedasisan absolutemustforus,andisestablishedthroughouttheVedictradition includingthewritingsofdifferentschoolsofphilosophysuchasVedAntand mImAnsa. However,justbecausetheVedasareunauthoreddoesnotmeanthatthey are independent of God. They exist as the very language of reality, rooted in God'sessence. ThisiswhytheUpanishadsspeakoftheVedasasthevery "breath" of the Supreme Bramh (Reality). The Vedas are a unique asset of our ancient civilization, whose votaries make aboldclaimofinfallibilitybasedonapauruseyatva.Itisnoteworthythat 28 thereisnootherinstanceofitskindelsewhereintheworld,evenamong ancient civilizations. The Vedas have an unbroken oral tradition of continuity forthousandsofyears,ashasbeennotedbyallseriousstudentsof philosophy.Whilethosewhodidnothavetheadvantageofseriousstudy under qualified teachers tended to downgrade them as being just the poetry of an ancient pastoral/agricultural society extolling some local events, serious studyhasrevealednuggetsofprofoundphilosophicalthought,whichare timeless, awe-inspiring, and contain remedies for lifes problems. VedasarethebasisofHinduDharma.Evenaccordingtomodernhistorians and scholars Rig Veda is the oldest book. They are the most ancient existing scripture of the world. Just as science is based on certain rules of physics and factsabouttheobjectsoftheworld,soalsotheeternalrulesoflifeand existencearerevealedintheVedas.UnlikeotherreligionsHinduDharmais notgivenoutbyanysingleperson.TheVedasaswehavetodayarea compilation of various mantras as seen by different Rishis. So the analogy of science appears to be very appropriate. Even avatara-purushas like Sri Rama & Krishna liberally refer to Vedas in their teachings. There is a great sanctity about them. VedAvatAra Srimad VAlmiki RAmayan: Having briefly given reasons for accepting the authenticity of the sruthis as a validpramANa,letustalkbrieflyaboutpaurusheyasastras,thosethatare originalpersonalcompositions.Doweaccepttheseasvalidmeansof knowledge?Sure, but only those that do not contradict the sruthis (VedA). All the smritis, epics (RAmAyan and MahabhArata), purAnas, Agama-shastra areacceptedasauthenticVedicliteratureasalloftheseaugmentand confirm what is said in the shrutis. These Granths explain the true import of the Veda. And there also what to say of Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan, which is divine Veda itself.SincetheShrutiisnothingbutapaeanofpraisetotheParama Purusha,oncetheSupremeBeingdecideduponanavatara,Vedastoo resolvedtobeborn,torecord,chronicleandadulatetheParabrahmamand itsactivitiesduringHissojournonthisearth.Thisiswhattheparaayana slokas of Srimad Ramayanam tell us as 4(40 99lB7l6(Hl~7 4( l6Bl5(lBl6

Bll( lPl4Tl~Bl 6l5lPl4T(l4! 4(94 B BH4 [Agastya-SamhitA] When the Supreme Being, known through the Vedas, was born as the son of Dashratha(RAma),(thattimeitself)theVedas(manifesteditself)through (mouthof)sageValmiki,thesonofPrachetus(LordVarun),directlyasthe RAmAyaNa. Therefore, O devi, RAmAyaNa is Veda itself, without a doubt. 29 As Sri Valmiki himself says, Ramayanam incorporates all that is of essence in theShruti,PunyamVedaischasamhitam.ThefollowingversesfromSrimad VAlmIki-RAmAyaNaagainclearlyshowthatsageVAlmIkicomposed RAmAyaNa to expound the meaning of the Vedas. THlP4l 6^Pl l794l 4Hl~Bl l6l ~BPl ((H~P4llBBl B 6P^ll4Bl Il 4(9 9llBlU6l 4(|9HrTll46l4lRlr46l Tl7lPl4TTBl6l4ll6Pr6

9lP 4^lP~4Tl l646 [VAlmIki-RAmAyaNa bAlakANDa 1.4.5-7] Theprinces,thebrothers,KushaandLava,wereknowledgeableabout Dharma and were glorious. Their voices were melodious and they lived in the hermitageof(VAlmIki).He(VAlmIki),establishedingooddeeds,observed thosetwoextremelyintelligent(princes),skilledintheVedas,andforthe sakeofexpoundingtheVedas,hecomposedandmadethemstudythe poemRamAyaNa;(containing)thesublimestoryofSItAandtheslayingof rAvaNa. Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is the primary authentic source of information for everything connected with Sri Ramas life and times. This is not only because SriValmikiistheAadikavi(thefirstamongallpoets,chronologicallyand otherwise)butalsobecauseheiscontemporaryofLordRAmachandra.This has been explicitly stated in the text itself. This story was not penned a few hundredyearsafterdisappearanceofLordRAmafromearth.MoreoverHe was blessed by Sage Narada and Lord BramhA with yogic powers to witness Sri Ramayana as it really happened (tat sarvam dharma veeryENa yathavat samprapashyati). [Please refer to chapter-10 of this e-book for more details regarding this.] ThusSrimadValmikiRamayanais,sotosay,aneyewitnessaccountofthe actions of Sri Rama and others, in public and private. Thisisthereasonforthehighpedestal(atparwithVeda),whichthework occupiesinSanAtanaHinduVedicliterature.Itiswellestablishedthat "SrimadRamayana"andSriMahabharatha"areconsideredmoreauthentic thanalltheother18PurAnas/upa-purAns,andbetweenthesetwoalso, Srimad Ramayana is considered even more authentic 4(lTB l47lBl4l6

` How to know the actual import of the Vedas? l6rlB 9lTllP Answer is: through ItihAsa and PurANas 30 34|P7 l6rlB HPAmong these, however, ItihAsa is more authority. lPl4T Prll6l l6rlB4P

Srimad RAmAyaNa and Srimad MahAbhArata are two main ItihAsas 34|B4| lPl4T 4 ~U Between these two Srimad RAmAyaNa is even more authority Also, so has been the opinion of Sri VaishNavAcharyas, as: l6rlB~UBlPl4TBTllr4lB T>l 4 4 36 [Sri Vachana-BhushaNam sutra-5, by renowned SriVaishNavAcharya Sri Pillai LokAcharya] Tl lBlP6 4 H6T|l l4P

4llOlTBl 4~|*lP|9l~lBPPP [Matsya-PurANa] Bll lPl4TlP

[P 9lT 3 U l Pl 5/21] No other scripture exists beyond RAmAyaNa! Even sage Veda-vyasa, who is partial incarnation of the Lord himself, has at manyplaces(invariouspuranas)paidHistributestoMaharshiValmikiand SrimadRAmayan.AfterhavingreadandidealizedSrimadRAmayan,He composed various puranas and epic Mahabharat, as: lPl4TPrlTl7Pl(l 4lOllTBl T6 6P B4Tl7lBlPl6rlB9lT4| Blr6lBl B4lBlPP lPl4TP6P

6(4l(HPll74(7lB| rTPl 4Prll6l~lPl6rlB9l6BP |H r4P9lT94l^ 25-28, 29] 9 lPl4T7lB Tl7Hl7BBl6BP

44 lPl4l6

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lPl4T9ll6PB|5l T64l TlllP 9lTllB Prll6P4 |H r4P9lT1-30-47, 51, 55] However, this doesnt imply that other RamAyanAs, written by other devotee poets, who have recorded for posterity their own anubhavams (experiences), are any less authentic than Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. These are also equally authentic and divine as Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. 31 Please mind that I am only talking about the authentic RamAyans, which are in-line with the Vedic philosophy, written by the great devotees of the Lord.OnlytheseRamAyanswrittenbytheseapta-purushas,endowedwiththe divinevisionandpurewisdom,aretobeconsideredasauthentic,notthe kind of those blasphemous works which contradict the Vedic philosophy and culture, written by the authors (the kinds of periyAr --a staunch criticizer of Hindureligion,KamilBulke--aChristianpriest)withmaliciousintentto besmirch the purest glory of the ever noble characters of Srimad RAmayan. ButitisreallyunfortunatethatnowadaysonlythesebogusRamAyansare being taught to graduate and higher grade students in some universities and colleges across the nation. Thenthenextquestionariseswithreagardstomanydifferencesfound amongvariousApta(authentic)RamAyans.Someofthedifferencescanbe sorted out just by proper logical reasonings, if we just consider the fact that LordRAmachandraresidedonearthfornearly13000yearsandforthis reason, only an outline of major-events of His avatar-LeelAs could have been captured in 24000 shlokas of Srimad Valmiki RAmayan, which is nothing but anextractoutoftheShatakotiRamayanam(10billion)writtenbysage Valmiki. l6Bl H6T|l l4P

9T TP|*Prl9l6T BlHBP

SriRama'shistoryhasbeendepictedinhundredcroresofslokas.Every letter of Ramayanam is considered holy. It has the power to dissolve all the sins and bestow happiness in this and other worlds. Valmiki Ramayanam (24,000 slokas), Ananda Ramayanam (12,252 slokas),AdyatmaRamayanam,MahARAmAyanetcareallpartoftheShatakoTi (H6T|l) Ramayanam written by Sri Valmiki himself. Asitisnotfeasibleforahumanbeingtobeabletoreadallofthose100 croresofRamAyans,thisnumberbeingmuchmuchgreaterthaneventhe number of days a normal mortal being can live!! Therefore for the benefit of mankind,justabriefextractofthatShatkotiRamAyanamhasbeen presented in what is known today as Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. Therefore it is quite understandable if description of some event is not found in one authentic Vedic RAmAyan while some other authentic Vedic RAmAyan narrates that incident. These kinds of differences are easily explainable. Now second category of differences is that, which corresponds to one single eventbeingdescribeddifferentlyindifferentauthenticRamAyans.Howis one to take that? This is explained based on the Kalpa-theory. Kalpa is one of the largest units of time (denotes a time cycle of crores of years), deployed in ancient Vedic tradition. 32 1 Kalpa = 4.32 billion years, a "day of Brahma" or one thousand mahayugas, measuringthedurationoftheworld(scientistsestimatetheageofthe universe at 13.7 billion years). Each kalpais divided into 14 manvantara(each lasting 306,720,000 years). TwokalpasconstituteadayandnightofBrahma.A"monthofBrahma"is supposedtocontainthirtysuchdays(includingnights),or259.2billion years.AccordingtotheMahabharata,12monthsofBrahma(=360days) constitute his year, and 100 such years the life cycle of the universe. AsLordRamchandraappearsineveryKalpa-cycleofuniverse,thereforein different Kalpas there are also minor differences in His avatar-leelAs. In this context the following shloka of Sri Ananda-RAmAyan is very important: 9B 9B T~ (l=l6l ~ll4 46ll T|lH|54 69 ( l6

l6

|B( -lPl4T 94-Tl77] DuetodescendofLordRAmachandraagainandagainindifferentKalpas, therearecroresofHisincarnations.Amongthesemanydifferent incarnationstherearealsoslightdifferencesatsomeplacesinHisavatar-leelA [AnandaRAmAyan Poorva-kAnd 7/29] ThereforeindifferentKalpasvarioussageshavesungthestoryofRAma differently. In present Kaliyuga also, devotees such as GoswAmi TulsidAs, Sri TyAgarAja,MaharshiKambaandmanyothers,endowedwiththedivine visionhavenarratedthepastimesofLordRAmachandraexactlyasit happened in various different Kalpas. As per GoswAmiji also: TP9 TP9 l6 46r l6 l6 BlBl lHl^ Tr BlBl l l6 lP 46ll lPl4B B6 T|l 9ll TP9 (rl l6 Brl9 l l6 BTPBlB l4 Tl B BB4 B 3 Bl BlB Tl Bl( l6 PlBl LordRAmachandradescendsonthisearthineveryKalpaandenacts charming sports in diverse ways. [SriRAma-charita-mAnas] SriRAma has descended on this earth in diverse ways in different Kalpas and the RAmAyan, though consisting of a thousand million verses, is yet infinite.[SriRAma-charita-mAnas bAlkAnd-32/3] Great sages have diversely sung the chanrming stories of SriHari, relating as they do to different Kalpas or cycles. Bearing this in mind the reader should notentertainanydountandshouldhearthisnarrativereverentlyandwith devotion. [SriRAma-charita-mAnas bAlkAnd-32/4] 33 ThereforealloftheseRamAyansconformingtoSanAtanaVedicdharmaare tobeconsideredasequallyauthenticasSrimadValmikiRAmayan.Having saidthat,stillIhavebasedmyarticlemainlyonSrimadValmikiRAmayan. The reason being that even though sincere devotees appreciate the glory of SriRAmacharitmAnas,butthismightnotbethecasewithcasualreaders (who are beginners and have little or no faith), so its better to communicate with them on a practical plane. And if even such casual readers read Srimad Valmiki RAmayan just once, rest assured that then they can never again be fooledintobelievingRAmAyanasjustamyth,animaginarypoemofsome poet(likeHarrypotter).TheywouldbetotallyassuredthatLord Ramchandra,BhagwatiSitADevi,Lakshman,Bharata,Sharughnaand HanumAnarenotmereimaginarycharactersofsomefairytale,butindeed they all had once walked in person on this very BhArat-bhoomi!! 34 RAma is Parabrahman evidence from different ShAstra-s 969 lB4 TlB lBl^ 9l4 Bl TP -PlB PP ~llP B| Tlr lB4 Bl4 Pl HewhoisuniversallyrenownedasthePurushha(saguNamanifested bramha), the fount of light (from where effulgence or bramha-jyoti emanates), manifest in all forms and is the Lord of life as well as of matter, that jewel of RaghusismyMaster,sosayingShivabowedhisheadtoSriRama.[RCM bAla-kand dohA-116] [TranslationoffirstshlokafromthefamouscommentaryonSrimadValmiki RAmayan, namely RAmAyan-ShiromaNi by Acharya Shiv SahAya] On the evidence of the Shrutis, the Purusha is described as the highest. The Shrutis say: "Thesense-objectsarehigherthanthesensesandthemindishigherthan theobjectsbuttheintellectishigherthanthemind,andthegreatsoulis higherthantheintellect.TheUnmanifestedishigherthanMahatand,the Purusaishigherthanthemanifested.ThereisnothinghigherthanPurusa. He is the culmination. He is the highest goal" (KathaU. 1. 3. 10). Maharshi Valmiki's expression: '^Pl~l B~~ lP| (lHl4l( 9l69ll6: H B7lr l4lTP

' IfRama,thesonofDasaratha,isrighteous,truetohispromiseand uncomparableinPaurushthen(saysLakshmana),Omyarrow!Killthe son of Ravana [VAlmIki-rAmAyaNa-YudhakANDa] reveals that the term Purusha culminates only in RaghunAtha. ThewordavyaktaintheShrutireferstoVisnuandothersandimplies RaghunathaastheprincipalBrahmanendowedwithformandvoidof formlessness(SaakaraandNiraakara).TheVisvakosarecordstheword ayvaktainthesenseofSankara,Visnu,MahatandtheSupremeSelfand alsoisexpressiveofindistinctsubstantivematter.Thus,thewords Sabdabrahman and Parabrahman, i.e. the Brahman expressed by words and unnamed by words, are both my forms" uttered by Sri RAma who has put up 35 inSankarshaNa.ThewordsofLakshmana,whichisHisvowinbattlefield, favors the context. 6 94 '96lHTPl: 9B: T94l4P

' 9B|Bl 65HTPl:l49lB~ 4l4Bl4rll ~4Bl 94~TB7l6: 6H= 94l4l4: lBlUPl94lBBB| lPl~7 l6 ThereferenceinSrimadBhAgavat,"ThesearethepartsofthePurusha (Parabrahma)andtheLordhimselfisKrishna"revealsthatthesearethe constituentsofPurusha.ThePurushottamRaghunathahimselfisVisnuwho only soars always in VrndAavana. Thus, this meaning relates to the context. Inbrief,thesonofNanda,i.eLordKrishnaismostproximatetoRamain respect of all the other incarnations. Here, the particle tu speaks eva. (SriKrsna oriented Vaishnav sects (such as Gaudiya, Vallabha and NimbArka) claim that this verse, i.e 'T 94l4P

' in Bhagavata, propounds SriKrsna astheoriginalpersonalityofGodhead,i.eAvataariswaroop.Butsuch interpretationisnotonlyfoolingtheunknowledeablereadersbypresenting thisShlokaoutofcontext,butalsocontradictorytoseveralothershAstra-pramANas as we shall see later. [see chapter-8 for more details] Evenifonegoeswithjustaplaintranslationasseeninthelightofthe "context"inwhichSagesUtautteredthis verse,onewouldunderstandthat here Krishna incarnation is being compared with Rshis, demigods, Manus and prajApatisetcwhicharealsosaidtobeminuscleincarnationsoftheLord which are infinite in numbers. JustabovethisShlokainquestion,SageSutamentionsthatthenumberof incarnationsofLordHariareinnumerablelikethousandsofrivuletsflowing fromariverandgoesontosaythatRishIs,devAs(demigods),Manusand prajApatis are all amass (planery portions) of Lord Hari (1.3.26-27). HerefocusisontheinnumerableavatArAs,whicharelikerivuletsfroma riverandenlistedrishis,manusetc,whoallarebasicallyamsAvatArAs.So, obviously, SUta wants to reiterate that they are only amsAvatArAs (ie. They arenotsameasPurusha)andaredifferentfromHissvayamavatAras described previously. So in this context he continues: Although these minuscule incarnations are only amsha (portion) of Purusha, butLordSriKrishnaissvayambhagwAn,i.enotlikethesegreat personalities such as sages, Manus, prajApatis etc. This is just the outward meaning of it, but if we dwell into it deeper, then it wouldbeclearthattheactualimportofthisShlokaisasgivenbythe respectedArchrya,i.eAllotherminusculeincarnationsarenothingbutthe planery portions of Purusha, which is RAma only; 36 ButLordKrishnaisnotamereportion,HeisRAmahimself;Heismost proximatetoRamainrespectofalltheotherincarnations.Alsotheword BhagwAnitselfimpliesRAmaonly,asitisclearfromSrimadValmiki RAmayan. One more interesting point relating to it is that Sri Shukadeva ji (the famous Narrator of Srimad Bhagavat MahaPurAna), is also in the Acharya-lineage of Sri RAmanand Sampraday, as given below 1.ParAtpartam Sarveshvareshvar Srimad RAmachandra 2.Bhagwati SitA 3.Lord HanumAn 4.Lord BrahmA 5.Bramharshi Vasishthha 6.Sage PArAshara 7.Sage Veda VyAsa 8.Shukadevji Thus he is a RamOpAsaka (devotee of RAma). One strongest and irrefutable evidenceofitisthatinthewholenarrationofSrimadBhAgavad,Sri Shukadev performed SharanAgati to the Lotus-feet of Raghupati only, as: 4lPPB9B(H4H|5^Bll9 l4P 94| l(lE9JP

6BlT9lP4B9lPlTl79 -9l(lF7 9l6HT90[Srimad BhAgavata 9-11-21] LordRamachandra'sspotlessnameandfame,whichvanquishallsinful reactions,arecelebratedinalldirections,liketheornamentalclothofthe victoriouselephantthatconquersalldirections.GreatMaharshislike MArkaNdeya Rshi still sing and glorify His characteristics in the assemblies of greatemperorslikeMahArAjaYudhishthhiratothisdate.Similarly,allthe saintlykingsandallthedemigods,includingLordSivaandLordBrahma, worshiptheLord'slotus-feetbybowingdownwiththeirhelmets.Iperform sharaNAgati(takerefuge)untothoseLotus-feetofRaghupati(Lordofthe Raghu dynasty). SeehereSriShukadevaishimselfinthefirst-person,sayingthatI (Shukadeva)performsharaNAgatitotheLotus-feetofRaghupati.Nowhere elseinSrimadBhagavataSriShukadevahasperfomedsharaNAgatitoany other form of the Lord; which is the last stage of Bhakti, i.e total surrender, in first person; yes many times He narrates that the serpant king KaliyANAga andGopikAsperformedsharaNAgatitothelotus-feetofSriKrsna,butitis theonlyplacewhereHehashimselfbecomeasharaNAgatofRaghunAtha, theLordoftheRaghus!!AsperVaishnavdoctrinesSharaNAgatiisthelast stage of Bhakti and the most significant one.) Various Veda-mantras such as 37 "94l B4ll (4lBl94|7l6llr7P4: T|H: ~l |l69l46 :" [Atharva-veda 10-2-31] "Ayodhyaisthecityofgods,thereinresidesthegoldensheathi.e.RAma", state the supremacy of His dwelling-place (AyodhyA) also. TheGitAsays,'3P:969:9Pl~~(l86 :',"Thesupremepersonisthe other who is called the Supreme Self i.e. Paramatman". Here, Vasudeva Krsna employs the word anya instead of aham (indicative of RAma as the other person). Thus, His statement correlates the context. In another context: '6|5lP|T4(l6:969|P:', "I am popularly known as Purushottama in the Veda and the world alike". RAma's identification with the son of Nanda (KrsNa) is imposed. Or, the word Purushottama, expressive of Rama, may be taken in the sense of "the controller of the gods" in first citation, whereas in the other, in that of "thecontrollerofindividualsouls".Thus,thecontroversy(withregardto Gita's context) ceases. Besides, the meaning of the word Purushottama that occurs elsewhere without reference to Rama may be understood as, lPl(4|9P969|PH=l 969: 9P969| lP 94 3P| 4ll(l6 "Other refernce to word Pusushhottam apart from Rama is only used to mean Purushhaby whom Parama-Purushha RAma alone excels". The various references suggest that RAma is adorable by the Brahman Tl lBlP6 4 H6T|l l4P

4llOlTBl 4~|*lP|9l~lBPPP [Matsya-PurANa] ValmikicomposedtheexcellentthemeofthestoryofRAma.Thetheme comprisingonethousandmillionverseswaspreparedandexplainedby Brahman to Narada, who later on narrated it to Valmiki". Anotherreferencesays"Shiva,LakshmanaandVayu, whoareagreeableto beincarnatedasShankarAchArya,RAmAnujAchAryaandMadhvAchArya, respectively have taken the refuge of RaghunAtha alone, since the Acharya-s aretheelementsofRaghunAtha.TheShrutistates:"TheSupremeSoul endowed with non-duality is the brilliance of His form". The following Agastya-samhita reference is also in favor of the content: 38 'B49lP46llTlP46ll P: lP9l(BU|l 9l6 l46' "RaghuttamaRAma,thebestamongtheRaghusisthesourceofalldivine incarnations. The Moonlight of the nails of His feet is praised as Parabrahman by the scriptures". (Agastya-SamhitA) Thecommentatorquotes,fromvarioustexts,thereferencesrevealingthe same content. 1.Brhatsamhita: '6llT6P|Tl4l^rrll: B~6B7PlBl(7lB rlBB~7BT6B44l l4: H|PlB:4*| P~ BT: Tlll9 6l BllB r B~ : TP : ~lBB r4PrlllB~Pl|U 4: TH44lPBl B4| Bll4T| ^P7 : ~lT9| rP^T

6l P^l9 : ~l4lB(4|59: 96B Tl4^l PrEl4^4| Tl(4: T|lH: ~llP 9| lB(HBPUl lB~l(l49( ' ~l(llB HrB lr6l4BllB B7=~ 4 BBBH=: BB4l6 l4l4^|*l H|T~l7Bl^46ll6 PllB4llB9: ~lT9H=| lTllB4llB9 l6 B l4|^: "RAghavashineswithSitAonthedivinethroneinworldofSAketa (AyodhyA) where BrahmA, Shiva and Vishnu constantly worship him. He is surrounded by many divine fish incarnations, monkeys and also byplentitudeoftheNarasimhasorNarasimhaincarnations,tortoise incarnations, and sons of Sri Nanda, i.e Sri Krishna, Haya, Gala, and Hari.TheyallareeagertoreceivetheordersofRAma.Keshava, Vamanatheforemostpersons,Narayana,Yudhisthira,SriKrisna, Haladhrik BalaRAma and VAsudeva, the enemy of the demon Madhu aswellasvariouskindsofMahendrasandmillionsofGoddess Durgas,eagerforadvice,remainalwaysinfrontofSriRAmanear Hisfeet".Here,theepithetNanda-nandanasignifiesthatformof LordKrishna,whodelightsNandaanddwellsinMathurA,whileSri Krisna refers to the one who resides in DwArika. 2.Sundaritantra-vacana:"Theappearanceofthegodendowedwith various forms like Narayana is His best embodied or conceptual glory, whiletheeternalSupremeSelfisHisincorporealglorythatshines permanently". 3.Varahasamhita: "Even Narayana with conch, wheel, discus and club is the plenary portion of RAma". 4.Pancharatra:"Theblississaidoftwokinds,viz.conceptualand transcendental.TheconceptualormanifestedParamatmaninthe human form is the location or reservoir of the transcendental bliss". 39 5.Sundaritantra:"ThegreatShivawenttotheworldofRAma,whichis beyondthereachofsensualorgans.ReachingtherethegreatSiva foundRAghava,thesupremesoulpossessedofeternalbody.Hewas thelordofallkindsofpowerandwasseatedalongwithme.This entire universe activated by the prowess of eternal Raghava, with two arms". 6.Ananda-samhita: "It is said that the figure of the god with eight arms is visible, that with four arms is subtle. And that one with two arms is the supreme. Therefore, one should worship the god endowed with the assemblage of three forms. 7.ShANdilya-samhita:"Ramahasfourarms.Hewieldsthebowandis constitutedoftheeternalblissever.HeresidesintheGoloka,'the world of cows'. He has pervaded the universe". 8.Ramopanishhad:"TheasceticsrejoiceintheConsciousSoul,the blissfulforever.ItisknownasthesupremeSoulidentifiedwiththe word RAma". 9.Hanumad Upanisad: "RAma alone is the Supreme Self. Rama alone is thegreatausterity(tapas).Ramaaloneisthehighestprinciple.Sri Rama is the Brahman that guards". 10.Sandilyasakha: "The world enjoys itself because of Him, i.e. RAma. He is full of bliss and is unending or everlasting. 11.Hanumat-samhita: "I worship all times the God RAma, who iseternal andconstitutesorembodiesSat'Existence',Cit'Consciousness'and Ananda 'Bliss'. He is an expert in the rAsa leela, the dance practiced by cowherds, Krisna and gopis. His parts are Brahman, Visnu and Mahesa who are the sustainers of the world. 12.Shruti:'9lTl B4ll (4lBl94|7l 6llr7P4: T|H: ~l P|T| |l69l46 : 4| 4 6lT| 4(P 6Bl46l 9 6 l 4 : Tll67l(T:'l6 6 ll4HlUl~6lTP7 Some other Shruti (Veda mantra-bhAga) expounds the supremacy of Hisshrineevenas:"AyodhyAthecityofgodshaseightcirclesand ninegates.Thereinresidesthegoldensheath.Itistheworldof heaven. The bright light (or the constellation) has covered it. It is full ofnectar.Brahmangrantshimthelife,fameandoffspring,to whoever knows the city of Brahman. 13.AranyaintheTaittiriyasakha:"Thebrahmacharyaisthat(which)one callsaranyayana'leadingtotheforest'becausearaandnyaaretwo 40 seas in the world of Brahman, in the third world from here. There is a lake, the waters of which contribute food and enthusiasm.There is the fig tree that drips soma. There is stronghold of Brahman that is unvanquishable and golden palace of the sovereign. Therefore, forthosewhofindboththeseseasaraandnya,thereistheworld attainablethroughbrahmacharya.SuchworldofBrahmanismeant only for them. They enjoy freedom in all worlds". This proves that He, that is, RAma is the Lord of the lords. ThepurportoftheShrutiyadaranyayanam,etc.isasfollows.TheVedas expound that what leads to the forest (a life of solitude in the forest) is the brahmacharya. Only those people who attain through the brahmacharya, the twoseasaraandnyabynameintheworldofBrahmanbymeditation, approachtheBrahmalokarenownedintheShrutitexts.Theyonlysoarat theirwillinallworlds.ForlayingasidetheworldHiranyagarbha,theShruti itself proclaims that the Brahmaloka exists in the heaven, the third from the Bhuloka'theterrestrialworld',whichisoutsideoftheprakrtimandala'the circle of the nature'. In the world enlightened by Brahman, there are two well-known seas called araandnya.Thereisalakefullofmanda'essence'or'drinkablefluid' consisting of food distinct from formal food (aira). There isthe fig tree with tremblingleaves,fromwhichthenectar(soma)flows.Thereisthecity, Aparajitathatis,unvanquishable;ofwhichAyodhyaisanothername,of RAma, the everlasting illuminator of the truth and the knowledge. In that city is the golden shrine fully renowned by its Lords SitA and RAmachandra. The word prabhubhyam is an ekasesadvandva, i.e. compound denotative of male and female. The expression in Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan B4ll94~4lPlP | l~4H ~l 4(Vl Tl~lTll6Pl Pl ( 46( 46lBl 6lBl6BP 6 TTl(4l 4B4l4l 9 [VAlmIki-rAmAyaNa-2-44-15, 16] Oh,Kausalya!Ramaistheilluminatorofeventhesun,causeofAgni,the Lord of the Lord, the Shrii (Lakshmi) of Shrii (Lakshmi), the foremost glory of even the glory, the forbearance of forbearance, the controller of even those who overpower all, i.e Gods and the foremost being of all the beings. Indeed, what handicaps are there for him in the forest or in AyodhyA? "suryasyapi"inthecanto44oftheAyodhyakandameans'Ramaisthe illuminator of the Sun illuminating all'. OntheevidenceoftheShruti,theforemostamongall"Allthatisbrightis but the shadow of his brightness"; it is well known that the Supreme Soul is theilluminatoroftheSun.ThenwhatistheBrahman?TheBrahmanisthe 41 Supreme Soul that is the fire of the fire, i.e. the illuminator of Agni who is the foremost of all and is known Brahman. Accordingly (RAma) is the controller of even three lords Brahman and others whooverpowerall.Onthestrengthofscripturalreference"agnirnamasau" 'Agniiscalledthebrahman',sinceheistheforemostofall.Thus, MadhvAchArya has explained it. Sri GovindAchArya, too, has accepted this dogma or doctrine and hence has explainedthattheLord(RAma)isthegovernorofthosewhogovernall.In brief, Visnu and others only are the controllers of all. (Rama, however, is the controllerofVisnuandothers.)Again,thereferencesuryasyapibhavet suryah means that 'he is the cause of the Sun who is the cause of the light'. (Thequestionthatarrises)ItwellknownthatAgniisthecauseofthe Sun. How is it so? It is so because 'He is the fire of the fire i.e. the cause of Agni'. The question is, it is popularly known that the Supreme Soul is the cause of all.Howisitso?Itisso,'Ramaisthecontrollerofeventhosewho overpower all' (prabhoh prabhuh). Thus, other references "He is the splendor of the splendor", etc propagate Him as the only supreme cause of all. Theauthorofcommentary(ofSrimadRAmAyan)titledBhushaNa, interpretsthereferencesinquestion,as"RAmaistheSunoftheSunthat illuminateswholeuniverseandisthefireofthefirethatburnsall".This interpretationisnotproperbecauseitisknowntoallthatattributesof illuminationandconflagrationarecommontoboththeSunandthefire. Preference to any of the two properties leads to the futility of the statement. Nor is the statement 'RAma is the illuminator and burner of even the Sun and thefireeach'logical,asitcarriesthedemeritofpatat-prakarsha.(The blemishpatat-prakarshatakesplacewherepreferenceofsuperioritysinks, either prosaically or illogically.) In the light of the discussion, the expression Visnuna sadrsah is explained as'VisnuissimilartoRama,theall-pervadingone'.Andthereference Vishnorardhamisrenderedas'thepromoterofVisnu'.(Thisistheidea, which is conveyed by the commentator in Nyaya terminology). 42 A GLIMPSE OF RAMA-CHARITRA B Bl3 T BB3 B (U3Tlr UB 9l6 BP PU3 Nowhere have I heard of, much less seen, such a disposition (as of RAma); to whomshallIcomparetheLordoftheRaghus,OGaruda!Chiefofthebirds! [RCM Uttar-kand 123-2] As it is evident from our wordly knowledge also that for inculcating love and feelingofbelongingnesstowardssomethingonemustknowthequalitiesof it. It is only when one appreciates the nature of some person; ins and outs of hisoverallpersonality,thatonecandeveloptruefaithandloveforthat person.Withoutknowledgeaboutaperson,thereisnofaithinhim;and without unshakable faith in him, there is no question of love and attachment with him. As GoswAmiji has said 7lBlHBB r| 96l6l lHB96ll6 r| Blr l6l WithoutSriRamasgraceitisnotpossibletoknowtheLordsgreatness; without knowing His greatness faith is out of the question; and without faith there can be no love either. [RCM Uttar-kand 88-4] lHBlH~lB l6 Blr6lr lHB54lrB lPlP T9l lHBB9B 7l4 B Pr lH~lP WithoutfaiththerecanbenoDevotionandRAmanevermeltsexcept throughDevotion;andwithoutRamasgracethehumansoulcannever attain peace even in dreams [RCM Uttar-Kand DohA-90] ThereforeinordertorealizeoureternalrelationshipwithRAma,tohave divineloveanddevotiontowardstheLotusfeetofAnanta-kalyANa-guNa-gaNa-nilayaRajendra-nandanamaharaja-kumArasaundarya-sushmAgAra SrimadJanakiramaNaprabhu,wemustfirstofallknowaboutHisinfinte divine virtues and qualities, His compassionate sheel-svabhav. And what else couldbeabettersourceofknowledgeaboutRAmathantheVedAvatAr Srimad VAlmiki RamayaNa itself? 43 As Bhagwati SitA says to HanumAn, when he for the very firsttimegot the divine vision of Sri JanakAtmajA: TlBlP T4 l4 PP 4lB lrlB PBlF B(lTP4l 4 [VAlmiki RAmAyaNa 5-34-19] RecountthevirtuesofmybelovedRama,Ogentlemonkey!Evenasthe current of a river wears away its bank, in the same way you would be luring mymindbyrecountingtheauspiciousGuNasofmyRAma.(Youwouldbe delighting my mind and heart by narrating the virtues of my RAma) ThereforefordoingthepleasingactforthatVideha-tanayA,daughterof Janaka,princessJAnaki,hereisaverybriefaccountofLordRAmchandras kalyANa-guNas as described at several places in Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan Allthefourprinces,RAma,Lakshman,Bharat,Shatrughna,whowere veritable jewels among men, were equally dear to MahArAja Dasharatha like four arms sprung from ones own person (5). Of them, however, the highly glorious RAma was a great source of joy for His fatherandwasmorerichlyendowedwithexcellences(thanothers)as BrahmA is among created beings (6). For,thatRAma,theeternalVisnu(MahaVishnu,hereRAmahasbeen addressed as sanAtan VishNu implying Rama is the eternal VishNu, i.e Vishnu of even Vishnu) Himself was born on mortal plane as entreated by the gods, seeking destruction of the haughty RAvana (7). Queen KaushalyA shone with that son, possessed of infinite glory, as Aditi did with (her son) Indra, best among the celestials (8). Ram was possessed of divine charm and beautiful in form, a hero of valor and without envy. He was incomparable on earth as a son and was a replica of Dashratha in point of virtues (9). B lB~Hl~l~l P T94 6l963PlB|5l9 969B|l6906[VAlmiki RAmAyaNa 2-1-10] Ramawasevertranquilofmindandspokesoftlywithoutbeing accosted. He did not react to the harsh words spoken by others. (10) TlT9Tl T T6B TB 6l6 B ~9TllTlH6Pl~44l [VAlmiki RAmAyaNa 2-1-11] 44 RAmafeltgratifiedevenwithasinglegoodthingdonetohimby whateverway,anddidnottaketoheartevenahundredbadthings done to him, thinking that whatever the other person did is someway or the other my fault alone; there would be some shortcoming in my own behaviour that the other person has to resort to such offense. Herethetranslationof~44lisusuallydoneasRAmadoesnt rememberanynumberofbadthingsdonetoHimbecauseofHismastery overHisself;butthatisnottheactualimportaccordingtome,actual import meant by this epithet is because RAma is AtmA or indweller of the soul of everybeing; so if someone does something bad to Him, RAma thinks thathedidthatbecauseHedidnotgivegoodintellecttothatperson- AtmavattayA;"dadAmibhuddhi-yogam"(gItA10.10)andthatifHehad given him good mental disposition, he would have acted in the right manner. He never thinks about any one's fault. He just thinks, I gave him that kind ofanintellect;Ididnotgivehimagoodmentalattitude.Thatiswhyhe committed this blunder. May be, I have not directed him right in my role as his AtmA/soul, that is why he is behaving thus. (11) Rama ever used to converse with pious men senior to him in point of moral worth,enlightenmentorageorwithgood-naturedpeople,evenattimesof respite from his practicing archery (12). Rama was a wise man. He used to speak sweetly. He was the first man toinitiatea talkwithothers.Hisspeechwascompassionate. He was valorous. But He was not arrogant of His mighty valour. (13) RAma did not speak untruth. He was learned and all knowing. He used to be receptiveandworshipfultotheelders.PeopleusedtoloveHimandHe used to love the people (14). RAmawasfullofcompassion.Hehadconqueredangerandwasa votaryoftheBrahmanas.Hehadmercytowardsthemeekand miserable.Heknewwhatisright,alwaysexercisedself-controland practiced purity (both internal and external) (15) WithHismindintentonwhatwasworthyofHisrace Hemade muchofHis duty as a Kshatriya and with great fondness regarded heaven as the eminent reward following from it (16) RAma never took delight in an act, which was not conducive to blessedness, hadnorelishforprofanetalks.LikesageBrhaspati(lit.,amasterof eloquence),Headvancedargumentsandcounter-argumentsinsupportof His contention (17). Ramawasayoungmanwithoutanydisease.Hewasagoodspeaker.He possessedarobustbody.Heknewtherightplaceandtime(foraction)He couldgrasptheessenceandworthofeveryindividual.Hewasthe only gentleman born on earth (18). 45 Endowedwithsuperbqualities,theaforesaidvirtuousprinceRamaactually grew to be the favourite of the people by virtue of his manifold excellences. RAma was like their very life moving outside (19). RAmahadmasteredallsciencesandconcludedallsacredvows,hadduly studiedallthefourVedasincludingthebrancesofknowledgeauxiliaryto themandprovedsuperioreventohisfather(EmperorDashrath,aunique bowman himself) in archery as well as in the use of missiles propelled by the force of mystic spells (20). Rama, having born in a good clan, was gentle minded. He was not feeble. He spoketruth.Hewasstraightforward.Asourceofallblessings,beneficent, ever undepresed, truthful of speech and guileless, He had been instructed all round by the elderlyBrahmanas possessing insightinto the moralprinciples and secular interests (21). He knew the truth about the principles of righteousness, material enjoyment and prosperity, was possessed of a keen memory and perspicacious. He had acquiredproficiencyinthedischargeofhisseculardutiesandwaswell-versedinVedicritestoo.Hehadaspontaneouswisdom.Hehadskillsin arranging customs useful to society prevalent at that time.(22). RAma was modest and humble; He did not let His feelings appear outwardly. He kept His thoughts to Himself. He helped others and attracted good many followers; His wrath and pleasure both were unfailing and were not wasteful. He knew when to give and when not to give.(23) Rama had a firm devotion and steadfast mind, did not gather unworthy men about Him nor did He utter foul words. He was free from sloth and ever alert; He recognized the faults of His own people as well as those of others (24) He was well versed in sacred lore and recognized the services of others; He couldreadmensmindandwascleverinmetingoutpunishmentand bestowing favours according to the principles of equity (25). He understood the differences among men. He could judiciously discriminate whom to protect and whom to punish. He identified good men and protected them. He knew the people worthy of reprimand. He was conversant with the methodsoftappingthesourcesofincome(withoutoppressingthepeople) andalsoknewtheartofexpendingmoneyaslaiddownintheShastras (work on political ecoonmy) (26). HehadacquiredproficiencyintheShAstras(thevariousdepartmentsof knowledge) as well as in works (such as dramas) written in a mixed tongue (viz.,SanskritamixedwithaPrAkrtadialect)andenjoyedthepleasuresof sensekeepinginviolatetheprinciplesofrighteousnessandmaintainingthe soundness of His finances; nay, He never remained inactive (27) RAmawasaconnoisseurofarts (suchasvocalandinstrumentalmusic, drawing etc.) intended to entertain oneself and knew how to allocate funds to 46 variousitemsofexpenditure.Hewasanexpertinridingonandtaming elephants and horses (28) RAmawastheforemostofthoseknowingthescienceofarcheryandwas esteemedintheworldevenbyAtirathas(thosewhofightanumberof Maharathasalone).Henotonlyknewhowtomakeaninroad(intoan enemysstronghold)butalsohowtotaketheoffensiveandwasskilledin disposing the army in a particular battle-array (29). EvenenragedgodsanddemonscouldnotoverpowerRamainabattle;He hadnojealousy.Heconqueredanger.Hehadnoarrogance,wasnever elated and gave way to jealousy (30). HehadnothumiliatedanylivingbeingasalsoHecouldnotbedisregarded withimpunity by created beings; He wasnot subject to the control of time. Endowed with the foregoing noblest virtues, Sri Rama, son of Emperor, was esteemed not only by the people of Ayodhya but in all the three worlds (viz., heaven,earthandtheintermediateregion).HewasacompeerofMother EarthinforbearanceandothervirtuesandviedwithsageBrhaspatiin wisdom and with Indra in valor (31-32). (Nay) like the sun-god resplendent with his rays, RAma shone brightly by the virtue of His excellences; He was loved by all the people and was a spring of joy and delight to His father (33). Godess Earth herself wished Rama, the aforesaid prince to be her Lord, who was endowed with such a lofty character, was possessed of valor that could not be subdued and who vied with the guardians of the sphere in might and splendour (34) Rama had many other virtues beyond hitherto stated virtues not to be seen in others. His virtues cannot be counted and they are the best in the world Seeinghissonadornedwiththesemanifoldincomparablevirtues,Emperor Dashrath, the chastiser of his enemies, for his part reflected thus: (35) The thought forthwith entered the mind of the aged and long-lived emperor: HowshouldRamabecrownedkingduringmyverylifetime?Howcanthis delightful event take place? (36) When shall I actually behold my beloved son installedin the office of Prince Regent? This alone is the supreme desire revolving in my heart (37) Commiserating all created beings, He truly seeks the advancement of all the people. Like a rainy cloud He is dearer to the world than myself (38) HeiscompeerofYamaandIndrainvalor,vieswithBrhaspatiinintellect, resembles a mountain in firmness and excels me in qualities (39). 47 Seeingatthisripeagemysonholdingswayoverthisentireglobe,letme ascend to heaven in due course (40) ReflectingthusandperceivingRAmaendowedwiththeaforesaidmanifold excellences,difficulttofindinotherkings,aswellaswithallother innumerableexcellencesuncommonintheworld;deliberatingwithhis ministers, emperor Dashrath decided to install Him as Prince Regent (41-42). The emperor summoned to his capital the prominent citizens of various cities as also the rulers of different parts of the country on the globe (46). Thusaddressingthewholeassembly,EmperorDashrathannouncedhis desiretoinstallRamaasthePrinceRegentofAyodhyaandsoughttheir viewpoint in regards with this proposal in these words: I shall endow this earth with this good fortune immediately and, placing the burden of administration on my son, shall indeed become care-free (14) Ifthisstepofminehasaworthyendinviewandisperfectlywell-advised, give your consent to me or tell me how I should proceed otherwise? (15) Although such is my pleasure, let any other salutary course be contemplated (if this does not find favor with you). The view-point of the dispassionate is, however,differentandisofmuchgreatervalue,beinganoutcomeof contention (of two conflicting views). (16) Fullofdelightthekingsapplaudedtheemperorwhilehewasspeakingas aforesaid, even as peacocks cheer a big rainy cloud, crying for joy (17) Thereuponburstforthafondacclamation,prompted with joyandraisedby the concourse of men, resounding and shaking the earth as it were (18). FullyperceivingtheintentionofDashrath,whoknewtheprinciplesof righteousnessaswellasthesecularinterestsofhispeople,nay,sitting togetherinconclavewiththecitizensandthepeopleofotherterritoriesfor deliberation, and arriving at a decision with their mind, all the Brah