Adhyatma Ramayanam Day 25. Uttarakandham Beginning

Adhyatma Ramayanam Day 25. Uttarakandham Beginning

Audiobook Link - Adhyatma Ramayanam  61.00 m

Ramayanam Kilippaattu Day 25 രാമായണമാസം - ദിവസം  25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LMoOWNnzDY

Uttarakandham Beginning

Chapter 1

Agastya and other Sages Arrive at Sri Rama’s Court.

Sri Rama was ruling the kingdom of Ayodhya after the historic battle in Lanka where Ravana was killed with the help of the Vanara army. After the war, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita had flown back to Ayodhya in the Vimana, Pushpaka accompanied by the Vanaras, Rakshasas, and others. Rama was the emperor of the fourteen worlds, ruling over the kingdoms when sages from various places gathered and came to Ayodhya to see him.  Sages Kanva, Koushika, Dhoumya, Viswamitra, Jamadagni, Gautama, Atri, Bharadwaja, Kashyapa, and Vasishta led the group and informed the sentries at the gate of Ayodhya to inform Rama of their arrival. Rama was elated and he, along with prominent citizens of Ayodhya went to receive the sages. They exchanged pleasantries and the king treated them with a royal welcome. After they were settled in, Rama asked them: “Oh! Great sages, I hope you are all doing well, and I would like to know the purpose of your visit today.”

Sages replied: “We wanted to see how you are doing as the king, after the epic war at Lanka. What else can make us happy than to see your eminence as the emperor reigning the world with Sita Devi by your side? People all over the world celebrate your victory over Ravana as if it is a great feat. That is indeed out of their ignorance. But we know that winning over somebody is not a big deal for you who can achieve anything as the omnipotent Paramatma. Lakshmana’s victory over Indrajit was also such an incident.”

Hearing the sages talking about Ravana and his son, Rama asked: “How come you are mentioning their names now? I would like to hear the origins of these Asuras and their heroic deeds. Hearing this request, sage Agastya said: “I will narrate for your benefit, all the background stories of Ravana and his son Meghanada. I will tell you the powers they obtained by spending years in meditation, doing penance to propitiate Lord Siva and other gods. Sage Pulastha was Brahma’s son, a pious Rishi who lived in the Ashram of Trina Bindu near the mountain, Meru. He lived there performing austerities and doing penance comfortably. Young maidens used to visit the Ashram for taking bath and as a monk, he was not comfortable seeing them around. To teach them a lesson, he cursed them: “If any virgins come here in the garden, they will become pregnant at once.” From the next day onward, girls did not go there to play fearing the curse. But unfortunately, the daughter of Trina Bindu went there looking for her friends without knowing about the curse. She got pregnant instantly and she went to her father to report what happened. She was scared. The king went to the Ashram and asked the sages about the strange curse. “Who else would be able to resolve the issue created by your curse? So, it is only appropriate for you to accept my daughter in marriage and preserve our family’s prestige. The sage agreed and married her. As her pregnancy was from the words of her husband, he was named Vishravas. Sage Bharadwaja gave his daughter to Vishravas in marriage and their son is Vaishravana. 

Vaishravana did severe penance for forty-nine thousand years and Lord Brahma gave him several boons including control over the eight directions and the wealth of the world. He was also gifted a Vimana, famed as Pushpaka. After gaining all these boons, Vaishravana went to see his father, Vishravas, and seeing his son’s good fortune, he embraced him happily. Vaishravana asked his father: “Where would I find a place for me to live comfortably?” The father replied after thinking for a moment: “Vishwakarma, the celestial builder had created a wonderful city called Lanka, in the Southern Sea, on top of Trikuda Mountains. That was inhabited by Asuras for a long time. But they were killed by Lord Narayana as a punishment for abusing the Devas. There were only some Rakshasas left and they escaped to the nether worlds. You may choose to make Lanka your abode.” Hearing his father, Vaishravana went to Lanka and lived there happily.

Hearing the story of Vaishravana and Vishravas, Rama asked the sage: “I have heard that the clan of Pulastha is Asura, but Rakshasas were there even before that. Pray, tell me how they came to Lanka and how were they killed by Lord Narayana?”

The Story of Rakshasas and Yakshas.

Sage Agastya said: “After Vishwakarma, son of Lord Brahma had built the magnificent city, a few inhabitants were also created. The created beings asked Brahma, where to find food and water for them to survive. Then the creator agreed to protect them with all that is needed for their survival. He named the inhabitants, Rakshasas, and Yakshas. In the Rakshasas, two brothers, Heti and Praheti were born. Heti married the sister of Kala, the god of death. Praheti continued to be a Brahmachari. Heti had a son, Vidyul Keshan. He married a damsel, Salakatamkata, the daughter of Sandhya. They roamed in the forests fulfilling their lust and got a son, whom they abandoned. But the child started crying and Lord Siva and Parvati heard it. They saw this bright child from the Vimana and descended near him. Parvati felt the motherly love and suckled him. Siva was also pleased with him and blessed the child. In that forest, a palace rose suddenly, and the child became a young man. Parvati named him Sukesa and blessed him to live happily with progeny.  Sukesa prostrated the divine couple and lived in the palace for a long time. King of Gandharvas, was pleased with Sukesa’s prowess, gave him his daughter Tanuja, in marriage. Their sons, Malyavan, Sumali, and Mali were great warriors. They decided to perform a severe penance and stood meditating on Lord Brahma, near the Meru Mountain, without food for a long time. Brahma was pleased with them and appeared before them. He gave all the boons they asked for and they became very arrogant of their abilities. They lived there joyfully, abusing everyone in the world.

They went to Vishwakarma and requested him to build a city for them to stay. Vishwakarma said: “I had built a city with wonderful buildings on top of the Trikuda hill in the Southern Sea as requested by Indra. It is Lanka, a big city full of palaces, gardens, and lakes. You will be safe there.” They went to Lanka and stayed there and got married to Gandharva ladies. Malyavan and his wife Sundari had seven sons and one daughter. Sumali and his wife Ketumati had ten sons and four daughters. Mali and his wife Vasudha had four sons. They were a formidable force, and they reigned the three worlds disrupting everything noble and pious. Devas, monks, sages, celestials, serpents, and others lived in fear and hid in forest caves. After suffering for a long time, they decided to meet with Lord Siva and complain about the atrocities they were suffering from the Rakshasas. Lord Siva said: “I cannot kill them, as Sukesa is like a son to me. But you can approach Lord Narayana who is reclining on the Anantha Serpent, in the milky ocean. He will find a solution.  He will kill the wicked and protect dharma.” 

They went to see Lord Narayana and extolled his virtues in a hymn. “Salutations to Narayana! Mukunda, Janardhana! Vasudeva! Govinda!” When Vishnu heard the singing of Devas, he woke up from his Yoga and enquired the purpose of their visit. “Are you here just to please me or are you here because something is bothering you? I will help you whatever the issue is.” They told the story of Sukesa. “Sukesa is dear to Lord Siva, and he had three sons, Malyavan, Sumali, and Mali, who are Rakshasas. They propitiated Brahma and got boons and that became a big problem for the three worlds. Siva is reluctant to do anything against them as Sukesa is like a son to Siva and Parvati. Rudra told us that only you would be able to help us by killing the Rakshasas. We do not know where to go other than seek refuge at your feet.”

Hearing their problem, Vishnu agreed to kill the Rakshasas. “If they commit any atrocities on anyone, please send me a messenger, I will go there right away and deal with them.” Malyavan heard about the promise Lord Vishnu had given to the Devas and warned his brothers. “We must be careful and start living seriously abandoning our childlike behavior. I heard that the Devas told Lord Siva all our faults, but he refused to punish us due to his affection for our father. But he asked them to see Lord Vishnu and he agreed to help them and protect the three worlds. Now the Devas think they are invincible. In the past also, the Lord had killed our forefathers as requested by Devas and our fate will be the same too.” 

The brothers were ready to go for a battle with the Devas. “Let us get ready to fight and destroy Deva’s arrogance.  Let us invite the Rakshasa people from the nether worlds and increase our strength.” They came in large numbers with elephants, horses, chariots, and all kinds of weapons. The omens were not very good for them, but the Asuras decided to fight anyway. They went to the gate of Indra’s city fully prepared to attack. Indra sent a messenger to Lord Vishnu and immediately the Lord flew in sitting on his vehicle Garuda, ready with his weapons. Lord Vishnu fought with the Rakshasas, and it is difficult to explain the details of such a mighty battle, justifiably.

Chapter 2 

The battle was fierce, and scores of Rakshasas were dead, and they went to the nether worlds. Vishnu blew his Conch and that sound itself was frightening and the earth seems to have trembled. Several headless bodies were seen on the battlefield. When Sumali saw his army was receding, he was outraged. He started showering arrows at the Lord and Mali joined his brother. When Mali hit Garuda, the Lord did not hesitate and cut his head off. When Vishnu started killing all the Rakshasas, even the ones without any weapons, Malyavan tried to reason with him. “Is it fair to fight with unarmed soldiers? Are you not afraid of getting a black mark on your name and fame? That can lead you to hell and you claim to be the protector of the dharma!” So, saying he hurled a spear towards the Lord’s chest. As soon as it hit him, he pulled it out and returned it. He was hit badly, but still, he fought back. He hit the Lord and Garuda with his fist. Garuda was also actively involved in the war. Sumali ran away along with the Rakshasas who were left on the battlefield. Malyavan joined his brother and reached Lanka. Whoever left on the battlefield could not survive there and so they went to the nether worlds. You recently killed Ravana.”

Sumali wanted to know what was happening in the world, and he came to earth from the nether world along with his daughter Kaikasi. Vaishravana was a celebrated fellow then due to his penance. Sumali saw him coming from Lanka on his Vimana, on the way to see his father, Vishravas. When he saw him, Sumali told his daughter: “My dear, it would be great if you also had a son like this who would serve his parents. But I fail to see how to make that happen because of the rivalry between Devas and Asuras. Your relatives cannot marry you and the Devas will not accept you as they do not trust us. If you try, you can beget a son from Sage Pulastha. Serve him well, you will get a son who will be famous in the three worlds.”

Birth of Ravana, Kumbha Karna, Surppanakha & Vibhishana.

Kaikasi decided to approach the Sage and beget sons from him. As the sage was doing his oblation of the evening twilight, she approached him and mentally requested for the gift of progeny. The sage expressed his concerns and said: “This is not an auspicious time and heeding to your request for children will result in mishaps in the society.”

Kaikasi was relentless: “If a great sage like you beget wretched sons, that will not suit your name and fame.” Hearing this Sage Pulastha replied: “Oh! Beautiful! Do not worry. You will get a son, well-liked by Lord Vishnu. He will be considerate to others and will live for long, making name for himself and his clan.” Kaikasi was excited and she left to her abode. In time, she became pregnant, and the child she delivered had a strange form. Her Rakshasa son had ten heads and twenty hands; and his body was like a mountain, blue. He was named Dasamukha. Her next son was also a mighty Rakshasa, equally strong as the first one; named Kumbhakarna. The third child was a Rakshasa girl, Surppanakha. The fourth one was a son, a pious and noble character, although born into the Rakshasa clan. His name was Vibhishana, and he was devoted to Lord Narayana from his childhood days. Kaikasi lived happily in the Shleshmodaka forest along with her children. One day she saw in the sky a Vimana in which Vaishravana, in his finest garbs, going to pay his respects to his father, Pulastha. She told Ravana: “Look, your elder brother is going in his Vimana in style. You are also the son of the Sage, but to what avail?”

Hearing his mother, Ravana consoled her: “One day I will become more famous and prominent than him. One needs to do severe penance in achieving anything.” He went to the banks of river Gokarna along with his brothers and started performing severe Tapas, to propitiate Lord Brahma. Dasamukha undertook penance like no other. He meditated standing at the center of five fires in summer and winter, he immersed his body in cold water. He did not care if there was rain. Kumbhakarna stood staring at Sun during his Tapas. Vibhishana, the pious among the three, meditated on Brahman, the Paramatma. Despite the severe penance for ten thousand years, Lord Brahma did not appear before them. Ravana decided to make his Tapas more severe. He cut one of his heads himself and submitted in the fire.  Then he did the penance for a thousand years. Still no sign of Lord Brahma. Then he did the same with his second head. Another thousand years passed. Still, the Lord was not pleased. He ended up submitting nine heads, performing severe austerities for nine thousand years. After the long Tapas of nineteen thousand years, Ravana was about to cut his tenth head with his sword, Lord Brahma could not ignore him. “Enough of your sacrifice and penance. Tell me what you want. I will give you the boons you want.” Ravana was happy and he expressed his wants. “I must not face death by anyone from the Deva, Gandharva, Asura, or Serpent species, except humans.” Ravana knew humans will never be a match for his power. Lord Brahma was about to be blessed with the level of invincibility he wanted when the Devas came and intervened. “Be careful, Lord, these are dangerous fellows. Please do not give everything they ask for”. 

Brahma requested Vani, the Goddess in charge of words and letters, to control what Kumbhakarna was going to ask for. “Please reside on the tip of his tongue and create confusion to his words of wants.” Vani Devi went and occupied his tongue. Lord Brahma asked what he wanted as a boon. From his tongue came out the words: “Bless me with ‘Nidrathvam’ meaning craving to sleep, although in his mind he meant to say ‘Indrathvam’ meaning the position of Indra, the king of Devas. Brahma said: “So be it” and thus Kumbhakarna became addicted to sleeping. When Brahma approached Vibhishana, his wants were very pious, true to his attitude. He prostrated the Lord and uttered in a devotion-filled voice: “I am already blessed as you have given me your vision to behold. My only prayer to you is to bless me with devotion all the time. May I do not deviate from dharma in all my endeavors! May I not be attracted to sinful thoughts and deeds!” Brahma blessed him to lead a long and devotional life without sorrow.  After Brahma departed the brothers, they went back to their homes and enjoyed life with their families. Kumbhakarna slept a lot. Hearing the news about the boons they obtained, Sumali also joined them and Kaikasi was elated.

Vaishravana Moves out of Lanka.

One day Prahasta narrated the story of Diti and Aditi.  “They were both married to Sage Kashyapa. Aditi had Aditeyas (Devas) and Diti had Daityas (Asuras) as their children. Children of both mothers wanted to rule over the three worlds and that resulted in a rivalry between the two groups. They fought each other and finally Lord Vishnu came to Deva’s help and Asuras ran away to the world of Nagas. Lanka, the magnificent city as great as the city of the Devas, was my abode a long time back. Malyavan, Sumali, and Mali lived there in their childhood days.  My father gave Lanka to Vaishravana, your brother. Did you not know this?”

Dasamukha replied: “You go and tell Vaishravana that Lanka belongs to Asuras. He better hand over the city to us. Give this message and bring me their reply.” Prahasta went to Vaishravana with the message. He went to Vaishravana. “Your brother Ravana has sent me to you with a message: “Lanka belongs to Asura kings, and you have been ruling over it for a long time. Now it is time for them to take over the reign.” Hearing Prahasta’s words, Vaishravana, the Lord of wealth replied: “This place was abandoned by Rakshasas and so, after a while, my father gifted it to me and asked me to take care of it. I am happy to share the city with Dasamukha and we siblings can live together happily. Ask him to come here, I am eager to meet my brother in person.” Prahasta took the message back to Ravana. Vaishravana went to see his father and told him about Ravana’s message and sought his opinion and advice. 

Vishravas advised Kubera: “Ravana is wicked and not trustworthy. You give the city to Dasamukha and come here. Bring your wealth, wife, and children here and live happily serving Lord Shankara. You can build a palace near Kailas and live a life of devotion to Lord Siva.” He followed his father’s advice and moved from Lanka, settling in Alakapuri, with his wealth and family. Dasamukha came to know about it and with the help of their relatives, he became the king of Lanka. Ravana along with his grandfather, mother, and brothers, went to Lanka and established a kingdom. He built a special chamber for Kumbhakarna to sleep in. Looking at his brother’s addiction to sleep, Ravana was worried. He decided to meet with Lord Brahma and told him about his brother’s addiction. “I am upset that my capable brother is obsessed with sleeping. I cannot have a good conversation with him.” Lord Brahma consoled him. “Ok, He will sleep for six months and then wake up for a day before going back to sleep.” 

Ravana continued ruling Lanka and spread havoc arrogantly in the three worlds. One day Ravana was hunting in the forest for wild animals when he came across Mayan, along with his daughter. ‘Who are you and why are you roaming in the forest?” He asked Mayan. “I am Mayan, and she is my daughter, Mandodari. My wife is Hema, and she lives in the city of Gods, Amaralaya. I am looking for a suitable groom for my daughter. Who are you? Tell me all about yourself.”

Ravana answered: I am Dasamukha, the king of Lanka, son of Sage Pulastha. Give me your daughter in marriage and that will make everybody happy.” Mayan agreed considering the lineage of the groom and thinking that he would have the noble qualities of his father. He did not know the true nature of the son-in-law and gave him ample dowry and a special weapon. Kumbhakarna married the granddaughter of Virochana. Vibhishana married Sarama, daughter of Shailusha. Vidvijihva married Surppanakha.  Mandodari delivered a baby boy who roared like a cloud as soon he came out. He was named Meghanada. Ravana reigned the three worlds using fear as his weapon. He attacked Devas regularly. Vaishravana heard about his brother’s atrocities and decided to advise him reluctantly as he was part of his family. “I better speak with him and advice,” He sent a messenger to talk with Ravana. The messenger met with Vibhishana first, and then they both went to See Ravana. They expressed their respects to the king and passed on the message: “Oh! Compassionate one, a great warrior known around the world, please heed to these words. You have done severe penance to achieve what you have now. But know that all those achievements will deteriorate when you immerse in worldly pleasures. Who will get punished for all the atrocities committed? Thinking that wealth and body are permanent is a foolish notion we have. When you abuse noble people with your arrogant attitude, you will face the consequences for sure. People are spreading bad comments about you comparing with me. – “that Dasamukha is not right. Is he the younger brother of Vaishravana?” people ask. I cannot even imagine the atrocities you are doing to noble people. Devas started talking about how to stop Dasamukha from doing these again. I live here establishing a strong bond with Lord Siva. Hope you will also behave properly doing activities following dharma.”

Hearing this, Ravana was outraged. He clenched his teeth and twisted his arms. He yelled at the messenger in a sarcastic voice: “Yes, my elder brother is a great one who is the custodian of world’s wealth, and I am the wretched fellow! He is boasting his closeness to the Devas, and his position as the chief of Yakshas and Kinnaras. He is proud of his lineage and various status in the world. If he is so noble, he could excuse his brother’s indiscretions! He is thinking too high about himself and talking ill of others! Why is he hiding inside the fort?” Saying thus he used his sword and cut off the messenger’s head. Since he killed a messenger, he must face his invariable fate due to another messenger, for sure. 

Ravana decided to win over his elder brother first and then the Devas. He started preparing for a war with a large army of warriors. He gifted generously to his guru and others and propitiated their clan’s deity. He jumped up on a chariot and drove in the Northern direction. Maricha, Shuka, Sarana, Veera, Mahodara, and Mahaparswa led the war processions and reached Alakapuri, the abode of Kubera. His messengers saw them and informed Vaishravana. His Yakshas fought with Ravana’s Rakshasas. When these two started fighting, the three worlds trembled. When Yaksha had an upper hand in the battle, Ravana jumped in and attacked them with his mace. Then a Yaksha warrior fought with Maricha. He fell to the ground but got up soon and hit the Yaksha in retaliation. He ran towards Alakapuri for cover. Ravana followed him and Bhaskara Bhanu hit him with a post at the city gate. He replied with a hard hit and Bhaskara Bhanu fell. The Manichara, a Yaksha chieftain came with four thousand men and Mahodara killed all. Prahasta killed thousand of Yakshas.  Maricha killed two thousand. But the Yaksha was able to kill Dhumraksha. Seeing that Dasamukha came forward and Mahayaksha hurled a spear at him. Ravana jumped at Manichara with his mace and his crown went sideways. 

Then Vaishravana got into the war field holding his weapon and told Ravana. “In the past also, many have achieved boons based on their penance, but they are all dead now. So do not be arrogant just because you have done so many Tapas.  Good and bad karma will follow you. All the benefits of your tapas will be over within this life period. Know that the body and wealth come and go. Without this knowledge, people give too much importance to their food, sleep, wealth, etc., and act out without thinking about the consequences of bad karma. Those who abuse animals without any compassion will fall into the worst type of hell and die painfully. When I talk to a fool like you about dharma, other people will think that I must be a bigger fool to do so. As you continue to disturb others, you will face terrible consequences, for sure.” He started showing his valor on the battlefield and the Asuras ran around. He went to Ravana and hit him hard, once. Ravana was not perturbed, and he fought back at an equal level. The Yaksha (Kubera) used Agneyastra which was stopped by Ravana using Varunastra. Then Ravana resorted to magical warfare and that made Kubera fall unconscious. Sages Padma and others picked him up and took him to Nandana forest and treated him. When he woke up, Ravana had taken control of the Pushpaka Vimana.