Ramayana of Valmiki and Kamban- sundarakanda

September 27, 2009

12. Hanuman and the vanaras

returns to Kishkindha

Hanuman crossed the ocean again and reached the other shore where

the vanaras were waiting for him and they were overjoyed to see him and to hear

his exploits. Hanuman told them all that has transpired and suggested that they

could vanquish Ravana with their might and bring Seetha to Rama to which Angadha was in

favour but the old Jamabavan advised them against it. He said that they were

asked to find Seetha, not to fetch her. Rama would not like Seetha to be

rescued by them but would prefer doing

it himself. Then they all started towards Kishkindha.

On the way they came to Madhuvana a prestigious park of Sugriva

well protected by Dhadhimukha , uncle of Sugriva. The monkeys wanted to

celebrate by drinking the honey and eating the fruits and hanuman gave them

full permission saying that he would take care of anyone who opposes them. They

all drank the honey and toddy from the coconut trees and ate fruits and were

merrymaking and started pulling the trees being intoxicated. when Dhadhimukha

tried to prevent them from destroying the

park and he and his men were attacked by the vanaras. He decided to inform

Sugriva who , he thought would punish them properly. Then he went to Sugriva

and told him what happened.

Sugriva, instead of being angry, felt very happy because he

surmised that the vanaras must have accomplished their task as otherwise they

would not have dared to create havoc in Madhuvana, and informed Rama and

Lakshmana accordingly. He then told Dhadhimukha to send the vanaras at once.

Dhadhimukha went and told Angadha what Sugriva said and the vanaras immediately

flew to Kishkindha.

The jubilant shouts of the vanaras as they approached Kishkindha conveyed to Sugriva and others the

good news that they have found Seetha. The vanaras on seeing Rama told him that

Seetha was found in lanka and goaded Hanuman to do tell rest. Hanuman, first

bowing down towards the direction of Seetha, narrated his tale and told

everything that transpired between him and Seetha in detail and gave the crest jewel. Rama felt like a cow

seeing his lost calf and said that he had already felt the presence of Seetha.

He told them that it was given by Indra to Janaka , which he gave to Seetha at

the time of her marriage.

Hanuman told Rama about the reference of Seetha to kakasura

vrtthaantha and said that Seetha asked why Rama had not sent such asthra with

respect to the rakshasas. She also expressed her doubt, Hanuman said, about how

could the vanaras cross the ocean and Hanuman repeated what he said to her in

reply that only mediocre one is sent as a messenger usually and never the

competent one. Hanuman also mentioned his suggestion to Seetha that he could

carry her on his back to Rama and also her answer to that, thereby implying

that she was pure at heart.

The commentators say that perhaps the Lord remembered what Hanuman

said about sending a mediocre one as a messenger and wondered whether he actually felt so and that was why

in krishnavatara He Himself went as a messenger!

Hanuman by describing the pitiable state of Seetha to Rama

conveyed her purity by the words,

evam mayaa mahaabhaaghaa

dhrshtaa janakanandhinee

ugreNa thapasaa yukthaa

thavadhbhakthyaa pururusharshabha

" Thus the daughter of Janaka was seen by me observing terrible

austerity due to the devoton to you."

In Kamban, Hanuman denotes

by his very first words that Seetha was pure. He advanced towards Rama

with his hands folded on his head, which was turned towards the direction of

Seetha, thaiyalai nOkkiya thalaiyinan, kaiyinan. And said,

Kandanen kaRpinukku aNiyai kaNgaLaal, meaning, "I saw the one who is the

ornament of chastity with my eyes." The word kaNgaLaal is explained by the commentators as referring to the eyes

of Seetha and not Hanuman, meaning that he saw her virtue through her eyes as

the eyes are the windows of the soul. Thus Hanuman proved the epithet by which Rama

described him in Aranyakanda, namely, sollin selvan, one whose wealth are

words.

Hanuman displayed his discretion in speech in relating the events

that happened in Lanka to Angadha and other vanaras as compared with his

narration to Rama. He told the vanaras in detail about his exploits regarding,

Mainaka, Surasa and Simhika and also his fight with the rakshasas in Lanka and

his conversation with Ravana and the burning of Lanka etc. but refrained from

mentioning the message of Seetha to Rama nor the reason she gave, for not agreeing to allow

him, to carry her to Rama.

But in taliking to Rama, he

did not mention his exploits at all out of humility but only told him what Seetha said in detail

because it was meant for the ears of Rama only

This kanda is appropriately called sundarakanda for various

reasons.

1.Hanuman depicts the role of an acharya who unites the jeeva with

the Lord by giving hopes and acting as the intermediary between the two.

2. Hanuman had a name Sundara which may be due to not only his

form but also his actions and speeches which were also sundara, beautiful.

3. This kanda tells about the purushakara of the divine mother

which effected the transformation of Hanuman from being the Ramadhootha into Ramabhaktha

by her grace.

4. Last but not least, it tells the greatness of the power of the

paathivrathya of Seetha, due to which the whole Ramayana came to be called seethaayaH charitham mahath by Valmiki

himself and also in Tamil we have the expression siRai irundhabvaL Ettram,

meaning, the glory of her who was imprisoned.

In this kanda, Rama glanced at Hanuman with pleasure when he told

Rama that Seetha had been found but in the beginning of yuddhakanda Rama

embraced Hanuman, which honour even the sages of Dhandakaranya wished but could not experience.

September 28, 2009

Unfortunately, I missed the previous issues of `this illustrious writer on this subject prior to this issue. Can I be the fotrtunate benefactor to reciv3e them!

Kodi namaskaram

ganovasan fr dALLAS

Saroja <sarojram18 Sent: Thursday, 24 September, 2009 8:38:13 PM Ramayana of Valmiki and Kamban- sundarakanda

8.. Seetha"s despair and the dream of Thrijata.

After Ravana left the rakshasis started advising Seetha to forget Rama and accept Ravana as her husband, praising Ravana and denouncing Rama as a mere human being and one without kingdom and riches as compared with Ravana who was the master of all the worlds. Seetha replied that she was to Rama like Arundhathi to Vasishta, Rohini to Chandhra, Lopaamudhra to Agasthya, Sukanya to Syavana, Savitri to Sathyavaan, Nala to Dhamayanthi and others like them. The rakshasis became angry and started threatening her that they would eat her if she did not listen to them. Seetha told them that they could do as they wish but she would never agree to their proposals. Thus saying Seetha wept and went and stood under the sismsupa tree on which Hanuman was hidden among the branches. She lamented that it was true that no one could die before their time and

hence she was still alive after being separated from Rama. Expecting that the rakshasis were going to eat her as they threatened, she thought that she was going to be destroyed like a ship in the mid-ocean, without support tossed by a strong wind. She wondered what evil deed had she done to deserve that fate and felt helpless as she could not even take off her life without the permission of her husband because she was a part and parcel of him.

She told the rakshasis to cut her to pieces or eat her but she would never touch Ravana even with her left foot. She wondered why was it that Rama, who killed Khara and Dhooshana and their army single handed and killed Viradha, did not come and rescue her till then. She thought that perhaps Rama did not know her being in Lanka or else he would have destroyed the rakshasa and Ravana by then.

Then Seetha said within a short time Rama and Lakshnman would come and destroy Lanka along with rakshasaa and in every house there will be crying even as she was crying then. This was not a curse from Seetha but she was only predicting what was going to happen.

Seetha thought that she would be killed and eaten by the rakshasas since Rama did not seem to come and perhaps he had forgotten or forsaken her and had become a real sage renouncing all attachments. She even thought in a weak moment that the rakshasas might have killed Rama and Lakshmana by employing some kind of deception. These are the feelings Valmiki attributed to her acting as a human being .She went to the verge of despair says Valmiki and was thinking seriously of putting an end to her life.

At that time Thrijata , the daughter of Vibheehsana who was sleeping got up by the clamour of the rakshasis threatening Seetha and said to them that they could eat themselves but would never be able to harm Seetha. She told them that she had a dream in which she saw Rama wearing a garland of white flowers and a garment of white silk. And was coming with Lakshmana on a palanquin made of ivory born by thousand swans and flying in the sky. Seetha was seen, on the top of a white mountain surrounded by the sea, similarly clad and Rama getting down ascended a white elephant and came to her. Seetha got on the elephant and sat on the lap of Rama. She got up from his lap and touched the sun and the moon with her hands. Then Rama went away towards north with Lakshmana and

Seetha.

According to svapnasastra, climbing on bull, elephant, top of a house, peak of a mountain and trees are supposed to bring good fortune and grasping the moon and the sun by hands will result in winning a kingdom.

Thrijata said that she also saw Ravana with shaved head and smeared with oil, wearing red garment and drunk, falling down from the pudshpaka vimana and going towards south on a chariot drawn by donkeys. Kumbakarna and others were also seen going towards the south , the direction of Yama, god of death and Vibheeshana adorned with white umbrella and white garments was seen going in the sky with four ministers. She also saw a monkey a messenger of Rama burning Lanka.

Hence she cautioned the rakshasis from tormenting Seetha as Rama would not tolerate it. As the dream signified the victory of Rama and union of Seetha with him and the destruction of Ravanaa along with the rakshasas she told the ralshasis to beg forgiveness of Seetha if they wanted to survive. She also said that there were good omens that Seetha was going to be happy soon.

But thinking on the short time limit set by Ravana, Seetha became disheartened and thought of committing suicide by hanging from the branch of the simsupa tree by her long hair and grasping her hair looked up at the branch above. At that , moment she became aware of some good omens which indicated that the end of her sufferings was near. Her left eye and left shoulder throbbed, and her left thigh throbbing as though Rama was in front. A bird entering into its nest was chirping again and again as though consoling Seetha and welcoming Rama. Seetha was encouraged by all this and became expectant of some good news which she was about to hear.

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