The words of a Rama bhakta

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!! Sri Rama Jayam !!

Leave alone Sri Rama - He has been the object of enough epics, poems and text. A

famous poet, Sri Ramabhadra DeekshitA, has made Sri Rama's bow, the 'KothandA',

the subject of lavish praise, as the following extract from his 'Sri Rama ChApa

stavam' would indicate -

 

'Yen moole Raghunandanasya jagatAm trAteti keertyankura:

dEvi cha archati JanAki sa vinayam yet gandha pushpa akshatai :

yet kOtyA krita lanchanamcha jaladhou sEtu :

jagat bhadrAyAstu jagat traya stuti padam tat Raghaveeyam dhanu:'

 

Sri Rama's renown as the protector of the worlds flows indeed from the exploits

of his famous Bow, the KothandA. Sri Sita pirAtti performs daily pooja to this

Bow, which united Her with the Lord. And the Rama Sethu, which is a purifier of

people the world over, is but a creation of the Bow-end. (Even today, pilgrims

to the Sethu draw a picture of the Kothanda in the sands and propitiate it

before taking a dip in the holy waters). Thus the RamaChApA (bow) is indeed the

object of adoration of the three worlds. The very same kavi is the author of

'Sri Rama Bana stavam',( in praise of Sri Rama's arrow.) from which the

following sloka is taken -

 

'Mareechopagya vEgam bala vijayi suta prEkshita amOgha bhAvam

parAvArAvarodha vraja vidita mahA dussahArchi prabhAvam

leela lOlooyamAna tridasa ripu sirO tOraNee drishta taikshnyam

bhakta trANa praveenam saranam asaranO Rama BAnam pranoumi'

 

The author performs saranAgati to the Rama BAna, (rather than to Sri Rama

himself) which, he says, is the only refuge of the unprotected. Sri VenkatAdvari

kavi, in his well-known 'Visva GunAdarsa Champu', inimitably describes Sri

Chakravarthi Tirumagan's felicity 'He is capable of turning even a blade of

grass into BrahmAstram (as He did in the KAkAsura vrittantam); and He could turn

into a blade of grass (as light as it is) even the hard-to-lift, extremely heavy

Siva Dhanus. A stone was turned into the beautiful AhalyA and His own footwear

assumed the role of the Emperor of AyOdhyA (vide the PadukA PattabhishEkam). The

deep and wide ocean was turned into a shallow lake across which a bridge could

be built easily. Ordinary monkeys were transformed into great warriors and the

dreaded ten-headed Ravana was killed as easily as a mosquito. All this was

achieved by Sri Rama, who posed as a mere mortal. Following is the beautiful

poem-

 

'astrAmAsa trinam priyAdruhi, triNAmAsa purArer dhanu: dArAmAsa mune :

silApi, nrivarAmAsa svayam PadukA kulyAmAsa mahArnavOpi, kapayO yOdhAm babhoovu

:

tadA poulastyO masakAm babhoova bhagavan tvam mAnushAmAsita'.

 

Sri Rama KarNAmrutam is another beautiful work, from which is reproduced the

following sloka. Though Sri Rama's swaroopam was there for all to enjoy, only

certain people knew full well the rasA of each angA of Raghunandana. For

instance, the true prowess of the Lord's shoulders is known only to the Siva

Dhanus, which was hoisted by the Prince almost playfully, while other Rajas

struggled even to lift it. The true power of the Lord's feet are known only to

Ahalya, who, by the mere touch of the purifying tiruvadi, was transformed from

barren stone into a beautiful woman. Only the intransigent Samudra Raja, whom

the arrow bulldozed into submission, knows the true powers of the Rama BanA. And

likewise, the true sweetness of the Rama NamA is known only to Siva, who not

only recites it constantly, but is also supposed to whisper it in the ears of

the dying, at Varanasi.

JAnAti Ramah tava Nama ruchim MahEsa:

JAnAti Goutama sati tava charana prabhAvam

JanAtidorbala parAkramam Eesa chapa:

JanAti amogha patu bAna gatim payOdhi :

 

' There is an almost endless repertoire of stotras, composed by well-known and

not so famous poets, which provide a varied and uplifting fare to the palate of

the Rama Bhakta, ever thirsty for more rasAnubhavam.

 

Hare Krishna

Hare Rama