Adhyathma ramayana- Balakanda chapter3

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Balakanda –chapter3-

Sreeramajananam

 

Dasaratha was desolate that he

did not have any issue and asked his guru Vasishta about the possible way to

remedy the situation whereupon Vasishta

told him to do Puthrakameshti yaga and when he did so the god of fire emerged

from the yagakunta and gave him a vessel of payasam and told him to give it to

his wives. Dasaratha gave it to Kaousalya and Kaikeyi dividing that equally and

both of them gave half of their share to Sumithra who came there and wished for

it.

 

Then the three queens became

expectant mothers. Kousalya gave birth to a divine child in the month of

Chaithra, on the ninth day of the bright fortnight under the sign of cancer,

when the star punarvasu was supreme. The Sun was in the sign of Ram, and five

planets were on the ascendant, Mars in Capricorn, Saturn in Libra, Jupiter in

Cancer and Venus in Pisces.

 

The Lord Naryana Himself was born

as the son of Kousalya and the divine instruments sounded in heaven and the

devas showered flowers from above at the time of His birth.The Lord appeared to

Kousalya devi with a form dark blue like the blue lotus, wearing Pithambaram, ,

makara kundalam and His eyes full of mercy on His smiling face and with four

arms wearing shankha chakra, gadhaa and lotus, in short in His real form and

not as a child. Kousalya seeing Him thus was filled with wonder and spoke to

Him thus with her eyes streaming with tears of joy.

 

dheva dheva namasthe asthu

Sankhachakragadhaadhara

paramaathmaa achyutho ananthaH poornasthvam purushotthamaH (Bala.3.20)

 

"Oh Lord I bow down to you, who

is wearing conch and chakra and gadha , who is the Supreme self, infallible,

eternal, one whole and the supreme Purusha.

 

vadanthi agocharam vaachaam buddhyaadheenaam atheendhriyam

thvaam vedhavaadhinaH

satthaamaathram jnaanaikavigraham (Bala.3.21)

 

Those who have the knowledge of

Vedas say that you are beyond the cognition of words, intellect and sense

organs.

 

thvameva maayayaa viSvam

srjasi avasi hyamsi cha

satthvaadhiguNasamyukthaH

thurya eva amalah sadhaa (Bala.3.22)

 

You create the world, by the

power of your maya, protect it and annihilate it by assuming the three gunas

but you are pure and contaminated by the gunas."

 

Then Kousalya went on saying that

the Lord is not doing anything, which those deluded by ignorance do not

understand, but only those with pure mind do. That the one in whom all the worlds reside has come to

reside in her womb is a delusion. As He is bound by devotion she was able to

see Him in His real form. Then she prayed that the divine form should remain in

her mind always.

 

 

dheva thvadhroopam ethath me

sadhaa thishTathu maanase

aavrNothu na maam maayaa thava viSvavimohinee

(Bala.3.28)

 

"May your form remain in my mind

always, Oh Lord, May your maya which deludes the whole world not surround me.

 

upasamhara viSvaathman adho

roopam aloukikam

dharSayasva mahaanandha

baalabhaavam sukomalam (Bala.3.29)

 

Oh Lord of the Universe, hide

this form of yours which is super human and appear as an ordinary child so that I can have the pleasure of fondling

you, and enjoy you by talking embracing etc. which will give me extreme joy."

 

The Lord agreed saying that she

and Dasaratha were His devotee in her

previous birth and did penance and hence He had come as their son in that birth

and He had taken the incarnation at the request of the devas to destroy Ravana.

As a result of her penance in her previous birth she had the opportunity to see

His divine form. The Lord ended by saying that whoever reads this conversation

and whoever hears it will attain the Lord and he will remember the Lord at the

time of his death. The next moment the Lord became an ordinary infant and

started crying.

 

Dasaratha was overjoyed on seeing his son who looked like blue

sapphire. His joy increased even more when Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharatha and

Sumithra had twins , Lakshman and Sathrughna. Dasarath gave away cows, lands

and wealth to Brahmins and with the permission of Vasishta celebrated the birth

of the princes according to vedic rites. The son of Kousalya was given the name

Rama by Vasishta because he was going to

give joy to all , from rustic to the sages. The son of Kaikeyi was named

Bharatha as he was going to bear a great burden, first of the ill fame due to

the action of his mother and later that

of the kingdom for fourteen years, which was a unwelcome burden for him. The sons

pf Suithra were named Lakshmana and Sathrughna.

 

The children grew up giving

happiness to their parents , who enjoyed their actions and Rama with jewel on

his crown gace immense joy to Dasaratha and Kousalya. Thus the princes reached

boyhood when the sacred thread ceremony and were sent to gurukula for learning

Vedas and sastras. They too became well versed in all sastras and in the skills

befitting for the princes.

 

Thus the Supreme Lord who is

immutable and eternal took human form and did everything like an ordinary

mortal. But in reality He did not do anything.

 

evam paraathmaa manujaavathaaraH mahushyalokaan

anusrthya sarvam

chakre avikaaree pariNaamaheenaHvichaaryamaaNe na

karothi kimchith (Bala-3.66)