Musings on "sita's agni-pravEsam" #10

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Dear Sri.S.H.Krishnan & other members who are following this thread,

 

It was in unequivocal terms that Rama made known to

Sita, and to the world at large, that he would'nt in the least hesitate to

go the farthest, go to the most painful length of any sacrifice, howsoever

great or sacred, in order to stand by a solemn word of honour given by Him

to the faithful ones of "Dandakaranya" who had entrusted their

destiny unto Him.

 

"apyaham jivitam jahyAm vA seethE salakshNAm I

na tu pratig~nyAm samsrutya brAhmanEBhyO vishEshata-ha II"

 

(III.10.19 of Valmiki Ramayanam)

 

This is a grandiloquent pronouncement made by Sri.Rama... a profound one

and heavily commented upon over the ages by legions of Ramayana scholars of

different doctrinal hue and predilection. It will bear a little scrutiny in

the limited context of our ongoing discussion on "sita's agni-pravEsam"

too.

 

Sri.Rama's pronouncement is extremely significant on several scores:

 

(1) It reveals the Lord's absolute resolve to the go the very last mile ...

yard or inch... in ensuring that His Will be done ("bhagavath-pratig~nyA").

 

(2) It reveals that His Will be done at any cost .... He makes it

abundantly clear to Sita that in the course of their respective

"avatAra-kAla" on earth, if circumstances conspire to bring about His

having to sacrificing Her.... if that were the only way to keep His resolve

of protecting the faithful.... so be it...there would'nt be a moment's

hesitation on His part in proceeding to do so.

 

Now, from the hindsight offered us by the latter incident of "Sita's

agni-pravEsam", may we not reasonably conclude that in making the haziest

of suggestions of "Her sacrifice" here, Sri.Rama was, in truth, hinting not

at a hypothetical but an actual possibility?

 

Is it not implicitly but patently clear in this statement here of Rama that

if circumstances ever transpired calling for Her "sacrifice", He would

expect Sita to readily and willingly offer Herself for such an

eventuality ------ if for nothing else but to demonstrate to the world at

large..... that the Lord's Will ....inexorably and inevitably .... be done!

 

And since we know that Sita was His own inseparable and beloved

"saha-dharma-chAriNI", would Sri.Rama have been grossly mistaken in such

expectation? No.

 

(3) The most interesting phrase in this celebrated Valmiki-verse used by

Sri.Rama is, however "brAhmanEBhyO vishEshata-ha ...".

 

In using this singularly significant expression, Sri.Rama was laying

particular emphasis on His being beholden to "brahmins".... We must take it

to mean that Sri.Rama regarded His bounden duty to protect faithful

"brahmins" very, very, very seriously indeed! So great was His resolve to

protect the interests of those "brahmins" who abided faith in Him, and Him

alone, that Sri.Rama did not consider it a great cost to expend Lakshmana

or Sita in the process.

 

The interesting question to ask here at this point is, who are these

Brahmins Lord Rama is referring to?

 

The most obvious answer, and the most literal one too in the dramatic

context of the "aranya-kAndam", is that the great "rshi-s", sages and seers

of the Dandaka forests who had sought His protection (against "rAkshasA"

raids) in the course of performing their "yagnyam-s", ritualistic

sacrifices..... they are verily the "brahmins" Sri.Rama was referring to.

 

The unusual, but more profound answer is that it was not "brahmins"

per se as personal entitities that the Lord was referring to, but more

importantly, it was "the brahminic Way, the brahminic Ideal and the

brahminic endeavour in life" which was being specifically called to

attention.

 

In making His magnificent pronouncement in Valmiki's III.10.19 Sri.Rama was

thus solemnly declaring that He would not hesitate for even an instant to

go out on all limbs to protect the "brahminic Ideal" at any cost..... even

at the cost of sacrificing Lakshmana or Sita. (In saying so, what a

breathtaking contrast Sri.Rama is, indeed, I might be permitted to say in

passing, what a wonderful contrast the Lord was to some of our present-day

politicians in TamilNadu who go around saying the inverse with smug

self-righteousness

that "it is not brahmins we are against, but Brahminism", as if in saying

so it betokens their secular, modern, progressive and cosmopolitan values!)

 

But "what is this brahminic Way?", we may ask ourselves.

"What is the brahminic Ideal, the brahminic endeavour of life" which Lord

Rama swore to protect at the cost of even Sita?".

 

The answer is simple and direct :

 

The Way of the Vedas.... the "path of eternal truth".... is indeed the

"brahminic Ideal" in pursuit of which men of wisdom perennially endeavour

to live. It is for the protection of that Ideal, that noblest of all

endeavour in life, it is for that indeed the Lord pronounced to Sita and

bid Her too thereby

to prepare for the test of "agni-pravEsam":

 

"apyaham jivitam jahyAm vA seethE salakshNAm I

na tu pratig~nyAm samsrutya brAhmanEBhyO vishEshata-ha II"

 

(III.10.19 of Valmiki Ramayanam)

*********** ************** ****************

 

Now, how do we proceed to relate the above pronouncement of Lord Rama, how

do we relate its underlying Vedic agenda to the event of Sita's ordeal

through the"agni-pravEsam" ? First we must spend time and effort in

examining a little further the scenes leading to the "agni-pravEsam".

 

Next post.

 

adiyEn dAsAnu-dAsan,

sudarshan