adhyathmaramayana- Balakanda- Defeat of Parasurama

[Guest guest]

Chapter7- The defeat of Parasurama

 

When the wedding party started to wards Ayodhya, there were evil omens

and Dasaratha was worried but Vasishta tolsd him that there aregood omens too

and hence though the evil omens indicate some trouble the good omns signify

relief. Then there was astrong dust storm and there appeared a luminous

sight brighter then the Sun and then

they saw the form of Parasurama with a formidable bp ow and axe as his weapons.

 

Dasaratha was petrified and forgot even to show respect and honour due to

him and fell at his feet to show mercy on his sons.But Prasurama ignored him

and spoke to Rama thus:

"You are roaming around taking my name ( Parasurama was named Rama and he

was called Parasurama because he was wielding the axe-parasu a shis weapon)

posing as a hero breaking an old and

dilapidated bow. If you string this bow of Vishnu I will consider you as a true

descendent of Ragu race and worthy of a fight with me. Otherwise I will kill

all of you."

 

Hearing this Rama took the bow from him and strung it and fixing an

arrow asked Parasurama whether the

target of the arrow should be his feet or his attainment of meritorious worlds.

Then Parasurama was stunned and suddenly remembered his past and started to

praise Rama. He remembered the time when he did thapas and Lord Vishnu appeared

in front of him and gave him His power to enable him to destroy the kshathriya

race to avenge the murder of his father by Karthaveerya and to give the earth

thus conquered to Kasyapa. Then the Lord said that He would incarnate as the

son of Dasratha and will assume back the power from Parsurama.

 

Parasurama praised Rama thus:

 

adhya me saphalam janma pratheetho asi mama prabho

brahmaadhibhiH alabhyasthvam prakrtheH paarago gathaH

 

Today my birth has become fruitful as you, who is not attainable even by

Brahma and others and who is beyond prakrthi, have come within my eyesight.

 

thvayi janmaadhi shadbhaava

na santhi ajnaana sambhavaaH

nirvikaaro asi poorNasthvam

gamanaadhi viviarjithaH

 

You do not have the six changes such as birth etc. which are the result

of ignorance, as You are changeless and complete whole, and have no movement

and other activities.

 

The six changes are to the body and not the soul and experienced by those

who identify themselves with the body due to avidhya as though the changes

belong to them. The changea are asthi, bhaathi, jaayathe, pariNamathe,

ksheeyathe, naSyathi. That is. existence as an entity, manifestation, birth,

growth, decay and death.

 

yaThaa jale phenajaalam Dhoomo vahnou thaThaa thvayi

thvaDhaadhaaraa thvathvishayaa maaya kaaryam srjathyaho

 

Just as the foam in water and smoke in fire, the maya which is supported by You project this

world which is the form of maya on you.

 

The foam in the water is not

different from water and the smoke has no separate existence from the fire. Similarly

the world is nothing but the Lord and has no separate existence from Him.

 

yaavanmaayaavrthaalokaaH thaavath thvaam na vijaanathe

avichaarithasidDhaisha avidhyaa vidhyaaviroDhinee

 

As long as the people are covered wth maya they do not know you. The

nescience, avidhya is opposed to knowledge.

 

avidhyaakrtha dhehaadhisanghaathe prathibimbithaa

chicChakthirjeevaloke asminjeeva ithyabhiDheeyathe

 

The pure consciouness, reflected in the body, mind and intellect, which

are the creation of avidhya, is understood as the individual self .

 

yaavath dheha manaH praana budDhyaadhishu abhimaanavaan

thaavath karthrthva bhokrthrthva sukhadhuhkhaadhibhaak bhaveth

 

As long as one has the identification with body, mind and intellect, one

has the sense of actor and enjoyer and

experiences joy and sorrow.

 

aathmanaH samsrthirnaasthi budDheH jnaanam na jaathu ithi

avivekaath dhvayam yunkthvaa samsaree ithi pravarthathe

 

Not having the discrimination that there is no transmigration ever for the self, one experiencs the duality and

gets into samsara.

 

 

jadasya chithsamaayogaath chitthvam bhooyaath chitheH thaThaa

jadasangaath jadathvam hi jalaagnyoH melanam thaThaa

 

The insentient experiences sentience due to the union with sentience and

the sentient soul exoeriences the insentience due to the union with the

insentient just as the unon of fire and water.

 

The world is a jada, insentient and the individual self is sentient. Here

jada includes all that which is not self, including the body, mind and

intellect. The self which is pure and actionless appears to be involved in

samsara through the identification with the jada. Similarly, the jada, like

body is seen a sthough it is the self, which has sentience.

 

yaavath thvathpaadha

bhakthaanaam sangasoukhyam na vindhathi

thaavath

samsaaradhukhoughaan na nivartheth naraH sadhaa

 

As long as a man doe snot get the association of your devotees he is not

able to stop the flood of grief due to samsara,

 

thathsangalabDhayaa

bhakthyaa yadhaathvaam samupaasathe

thadhaa maayaa sanaiH yaathi

thaanavam prathipadhyathe

 

The maya creating joy and sorrow due to transmigration slowly disappears

when one worships you with the devotion obtained through the association with

your devotees.

 

thathaH

thvathjnaanasampannaH sadhguruH thena labhyathe

vaakyajnaanam gurorlabDhvaa thvathprasaadhaath vimuchyathe

 

Then he gets a sadguru who is endowed with the knoweldge of you and

acquiring the verbal knowledge from the guru and he is released from the

samsara due to your grace

 

 

thasmaath thvath

bhakthiheenaanaam kalpakotiSathairapi

na mukthiSankaa

vijnaanaSankaa naiva sukham thaThaa

 

Therefore to those who have no devotion towards you there is no slightest

possibilty of attaining salvation, or acquiring knowledge and never happiness

for them.

 

athaH thvathpaadhayugale

bhakthirme janmajanmani

syaath thavthbhakthimathaam

sangaH avidhyaa yaabhyaam viNaSyathi

 

Therefore may I have devotion to your feet for all lives to come, and

association with ypu devotees by which the ignorance is destroyed.

 

loke thvathbhakthi nirathaaH

thvath DharmaamrthavarshiNaH

punanthi lokam akhilam kimpunaH svakulodhbhavaan

 

Those who have steadfast devotion to you and shower the nectar of the

knowledge of you, purify the whole world, and there is no need to mention their

own clan ( which is purified by them)

 

namosthu jagathaam naaTha

namasthe bhakthibhaavana

namaH karuNikaanantha

raamachandhranamosthu the

 

Salutations to thee oh Lord of the universe and the one who creates

devotion in the minds of people, salutations to you who has infinite mercy, oh

Ramachandra.

 

dheva yadhyath krtham puNyam

mayaalokajigeeshayaa

thathsarvam thava

baaNaayabhooyaath raama namosthuthe

 

Rama, I bow down to you and I offer whatever merit I have earned in order to

conquer the earth to your arrow.

 

Thus saying Parasurama offered all his merit earned through austerities

to Rama and Rama, pleased with him told him that he would get whatever boon he

wanted. Then Parasurama asked only for communion wih the devotees of Rama and

devotion for Him always.Also Parasurama asked that whoever reads this hymn , even if he is bereft of

devotion, should cultivate bhakthi and love for the Lord and should be blessed

with the remembrance of the Lord at the time of his death. Saying this,

Parasurama went round Rama and went to Mahendraparvata with the permission of

Rama.

 

Rama returned to Ayodhya and lived there happily wit Seetha. In the

meanwhile Yudhajith the brother of Kakeyi came and took Bharatha andsathrugna

to Kekaya and left with the princes.

 

Siva concluded the Balakanda asaying to Parvathi that Rama, who is

praised by all devas and a treasure house of virtues, lived in Ayodhya with

Seetha providing joy to all. Even though he was beyond the power of Maya he

acted asthough he was under the control of maya like ordinary mortal.