Ramayana of Valmiki and Kamban- sundarakanda

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6. Ravana

arrives and entreats Seetha who rebukes him

 

 

The

night had elapsed and it was early morning. Hanuman heard the vedic chants of

the brahma rakshasas. Ravana was awakened

with the sound of auspicious instruments. The moment he woke up Ravana

thought of Seetha. He entered the Asokavana. followed by hundred women with

cowries, torches and fans and also his wives. Valmiki says,

 

Sa cha kaama paraadheenaH pathiH

thaasaam mahaabalaH

 

seethaasakthamanaaH mandhaH

madhaanchitha

gathirbaBhaou

 

Ravana

of great might, the husband and master of those women, walked with slow gait with his mind possessed

of the desire for Seetha, becoming dull

witted. He became devoid of intelligence not knowing who Seetha was and had the

temerity to think of the divine mother as a woman to be attained.

 

Hanuman

saw Ravana thus approaching the entrance of Asiokavana and hid himself well

among the leaves and flowers of the branch of the tree and recognized him as the same person seen sleeping in the palace.

 

Seetha

seeing Ravana coming towards her trembled like a plantain tree in a strong wind

and concealed her body with her legs and hands. She was seen sitting on the

floor and looked like a green branch broken and fallen on the ground, and like

a lotus covered by mud.

 

Valmiki,

in the sarga in which Hanuman saw her for the first time and also in this sarga

when she was seen by Ravana , becomes eloquent in describing her by various similies

which run from sloka 6 till the end of the chapter, comprising of 17 slokas, which might have been the forerunner of Kalidasa,

reputed for his similies.

 

Ravana

strated talking to Seetha with an intention of tempting her into accepting his

love. Told her not to be afraid of him and said that for rakshasas, abducting

another man's wife is righteous deed only. He reassured her that he would not

touch her against her will. He persuaded her to change her attitude and enjoy

life by accepting him. He gave her the reason

why he was enamoured about her. It seemed to him that Brahma after creating her

never created anyone equal to her. This idea is reflected in Kalidasa in his

meghadhootha where he says, describing the yashakanya , srshtiH aadhyeva dhaathuH, she

was the first creation of a

beautiful woman., another example to show that Kalidasa must have been

influenced by Valmiki, the aadhikavi.

 

 

Ravana

justifies his feeling towards Seetha by saying that whoever will not be

attracted on seeing her beauty, not excluding even the creator himself. He

superimposes his feelings on all which reminds us of the words of Arjuna who said,

on seeing the visvaroopa of the Lord, that the whole world is trembling with

fear while it was only he who was frightened and he superimposed his own

feeling on the world.

 

Then

Ravana tried to appeal to her attachment towards her father by saying that if

she accepted him he would win the whole world and give it to Janaka. But Seetha

was no Kaikeyi whose mind was changed by Manthara by kindling her attachment to

her father by saying that if Rama became the king Janaka would defeat the king of Kekaya, her

father.

 

Then

Ravana started decrying the valour of Rama, saying that Rama was no equal to

him in might and he lost his kingdom and was living in forest and it was highly

doubtful whether he still lived. Even if he does, says Ravana , he would never

be able to get her back from Ravana like Hiranyakasipu got his wife from Indra.

Indra took away Keerthi, the wife of Hiranyakasipu, who was pregnant, while he

had gone to do thapas, to kill her foetus fearing that she may give birth to a

son who might be more terrible than his father. Narada advised Indra to let her

go, telling him that her son was going to be a great devotee. This is the

reference made by Ravana here. But Indra did not abduct Keerthi because of lust

nor Rama was Hiranyakasipu, who was Ravana himself in his previous janma.

 

Thus

Ravana tried to change the mind of Seetha by temptations and by pointing out that she could have no hope of being

retrieved by Rama. The reply of Seetha was full of scorn and at the same time an effort to make him see

that he was heading for destruction. She placed a blade of grass between her

and Ravana and started speaking.

 

The

act of putting the blade of grass in front and starting to speak, is explained by

the commentators thus.

 

Seetha

observed the protocol due to a king and putting the blade of grass in front was

like offering a seat. The blade of grass

was like the pariSesha to ward off the evil. Women of noble birth should not speak

to a man other than their husband directly and finally, to indicate that Ravana

was like a blade of grass in front of Rama to whom even a blade of grass became

a brahmasthra in attacking Kakasura, and all his riches and luxuries offered was

like a blade of grass to her.

 

 

 

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OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VISHVAKSENAYA NAMAH:

 

DEAR MADAM,

 

ADIYEN SWA YOUR SUNDARAKANDAM PART 5.

ADIYEN'S HUMBLE REQUEST IS TO SEND ME THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS ALSO

TO ENABLE TO PUBLISH IN OUR SRIVAISHNAVISM MAGAZINE AND OTHER .

PLEASE SEND THEM TO poigaiadian.

 

DASAN,

POIGAIADIAN..ADIYEN'S PRESENT ADDRESS:S. PARTHASARATHY,D-34, OAKWOOD ESTATE,AKASHNEEM MARG,D.L.F. PHASE - II,GURGAON- 122002.Ph: 0124 - 4056238.--- On Mon, 21/9/09, Saroja <sarojram18 wrote:

Saroja <sarojram18 Ramayana of Valmiki and Kamban- sundarakanda Date: Monday, 21 September, 2009, 11:11 PM

 

5. Hanuman sees Seetha

 

Hanuman climbed on the wall of the Asokavana and his mind was filled with hope that he would find Seetha there. He shot in to the Asokavana like the arrow from a bow. When he leaped from tree to tree the branches were shaken and the flowers fell on him. he looked like the spring in person. Hanuman saw the platforms and flooring made of gold, and the steps of a river inlaid with gems and the sand on the shore being corals and pearls. The river itself was falling from a mountain like a damsel slipping and coming down from the lap of her lover. The speed of the river was stopped by the low branches of the trees in some places and started again with force afterwards. This is compared by Valmiki to a woman cross with her husband and leaves him but goes back by being pacified by the

relatives.

 

Hanuman was impressed by the beauty of the place which resembled the Nandanavana of heaven and thought that Seetha would definitely come there as she was fond of sylvan surroundings. He expected that Seetha would come to that river of fresh water to do her sandhyavandhan. This denotes that in olden days even the women were following the daily vedic rituals.

 

Hanuman placed himself on the sismsupa tree in the Asokavana which facilitated him to look around the Asokavana. There were thousands of asoka trees with flowers of different hues, which must have given the name. the various flowers in Asokavana resembled the sky with multitudes of stars or the sea with numerous gems. Hanuman saw a temple like structure supported by thousands of pillars, sky-high with its steps made of corals and the platforms made of gold.

 

Then he saw Seetha with soiled garment, surrounded by rakshasis, emaciated by fasting, sighing often and looking like the crescent moon at the beginning of the bright fortnight. She was like fire concealed by smoke, like the star Rohini under the influence of Mars and like a doe surrounded by hounds. Hanuman recognized her as the same person whom they saw from the Rsyamooka mountain, being carried away by Ravana. He saw the ornaments described by Rama as worn by her hanging on the branches of the tree, which she must have taken off, not liking to decorate herself when separated from Rama. The ornaments which she threw down while being carried away were not to be found there. The yellow cloth seen on the branch of the tree was the same as the one in which the ornaments which Seetha threw down on the Rsyamooka mountain were tied up. From

all these signs Hanuman surmised that she was Seetha.

 

Seeing her equal in beauty and glory to Rama, Hanuman marveled at the fact that Rama was surviving after being separated from her. He also felt for Rama who was grieving over the separation for four reasons. From kaarunya, compassion that a woman has disappeared, from , aanrSamsya, pity that being her husband he did not protect her who is his dependent, from Soka, grief that she was his wife and from madhana, love because she was dear to him. The implied meaning is that both survived while being separated because they were never separated in reality. Each live in the other as Kamban said maaRippukku idhayam eidhinaar in Balakanda when they saw each other for the first time and also because being the incarnations of the divine couple, Lakshmi is always in the heart of Narayana

as the Azvar says, agalakillEn enRiRaiyum alarmelmangai uRai maarbha..

 

Hanuman wondered about the power of destiny which brought such sorrow even to Seetha who was protected by Rama and Lakshmana, the saviours of the whole universe. Here it should be remembered that though Rama and Seetha had no karma to bring joy or sorrow in their lives, They , having taken the human birth, enacted the life of the ordinary mortals. Rama had to live and behave like a human being in order to effect the ravanavadha and Seetha also did so for the same reason. Hanuman thought how deserving were Rama and Seetha to each other. Here Valimiki refers to Seetha as asithekshaNaa, one with dark eyes, which signifies a dark cloud, full of the rain of mercy towards devotees who surrender to the Lord. His heart is full of mercy only because the divine mother stays there.

 

Hanuman further thought that Seetha was instrumental in Rama killing ViraDha and Khara and DhooshaNa and for Sugriva to get the kingdom after the slaying of Vali by Rama. Thus she helps in the dhushtsnigraha and Sishta paripalana of the Lord. Sugriva had the good fortune of being seen by her and through that Lakshmikataaksha he got prosperity and kingship. Hanuman decided that even the kingdom of three worlds would not be equal to Seetha. This is because she was Mahalakshmi herself whose grace secures all the sowbhaagyam in the world, as Desika says in Sristhuthi,

 

Yasyaam yasyaam dhiSi viharathe dhevi dhrshtiH thvadheeyaa

 

Thasyaam yjasyaamaham ahamikaam thanvathe sampadhoughaaH

 

 

` Devi, in which ever direction your glance moves all the riches follow there competing with each other.'

 

The moon was bright at the top of the sky. Hanuman then saw the rakshasis who were surrounding Seetha.For the success of any venture one should see something auspicious before anything else. Hence Hanuman saw Seetha first and then the rakshasis. Valmiki as he did in describing the rakshasa who surrounded the palace of Ravana , here also show his sense of humour by describing the rakshasis elaborately. One had one eye only, other had no ears, while another had ear like a horn. One had eyes in her head, another had her hair like a broomstick, while another had no hair at all and still another had hair like wool. Others had suspended limbs , short and fat, crooked faces, yellow eyes etc. Others had faces like animals, some with face inside their body like Kabandha, and features in all odd places etc. Valmiki never seem

to have had enough of describing the horrible forms of rakshasis among whom Seeyha looked like a fallen star and a female elephant separated from her mate and under the grasp of a lion. Seeing her Hanuman, though extremely sad to see her plight, also felt happy that his search had ended and saluted Rama in his mind.

 

 

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