On the way the sage narrated tales of his own grandfather King Kushanabha, of Gadhi, the sage’s father, of his sister Kaushiki (flowing as the Kosi river in Bihar), the history of the river Ganga, the story of Sagara, former king of Ayodhya and how his 60,000 sons were burnt to ashes, three generations of kings performing austerities to bring the Ganga down, ending with the efforts of Bhageeratha, the story of the churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras, how Lord Shiva drank the poison, how goddess Lakshmi came out of the ocean, the birth of Lord Dhanvantari-the physician of the gods-and the victory of the devas.ĭiti, wife of Kashyapa, the mother of asuras, undertook austerities to get a son who would conquer Indra. The content trio travelled to Mithila to see the bow-sacrifice of King Janaka. Happy with the assistance rendered by the young princes, the rishi taught them the secrets of many missiles-how to deploy them and call them back too. Rama and Lakshmana made short work of Tataka, Mareecha and Subahu, who had been troubling Vishwamitra from conducting austerities for the welfare of the world. Ram had even asked Lamana to learn statecraft and spirituality from Ravana.By Gita Jnana | Brahmacharini Sharanya Chaitanya In death, Ram honoured his enemy as another human. Despite diplomatic approaches, Ravana had not relented and hence the war. The war was for the rescue of Sita - the wife of Rama - whom Ravana had abducted. With Ravana's death at his hands imminent, Ram had no animosity left for him. Ram is said to have been impressed and caressed her back - giving her the stripes. She added her two ounces of effort to the mammoth bridge. In fact, a squirrel is said to scurry to the construction with whatever amount of dust she could muster on her back. Shri Ram's bridge across the sea was built by monkeys and very little human effort. Ram Setu showed even the smallest animal matters She stepped across the line and was abducted by the able Ravana.Ĥ. Sita felt compassion for the old man seeking alms. Here Ravana, dressed as an old sage arrived and beckoned Sita to step across and give him charity. Sita was told to not overstep that line for whatever the cause.
Laxman left but drew a Laxman Rekha - an electrification kind of line beyond which no one can go to her. Sita cried and asked him to go save her husband. Sita and Laxman heard that but Laxman was not ready to move. The Golden deer was actually the demon Marich - uncle of Ravana - who as per the plan, screamed in Rama's voice "Save me Laxmana". But soon Marich and Ravana played another card. He warned him to not leave Sita alone even for a moment, come what may. When Rama went after Maricha the Golden deer, he clearly instructed Laxman to watch over the wellbeing of Sita.
Follow instructions, don't alter plans arbitrarily
The lesson here is to not run after sudden allurements, to value what you have instead of leaping into the unknown.ģ. Lord Ram went after it and disaster struck soon after. Sita was completely charmed by the golden deer and asked Lord Ram to catch it for her to befriend. When Lankan king Ravana arrived with his uncle Marich whom he asked to pose as a golden deer, that changed everything. In exile, Ram, Sita, and Laxman were living a peaceful existence, in harmony with nature.
This kind of bonding and positive attachment between members of the family can finally make all things come full circle. Father's honour became a question of his own honour. He kept his father's promise which he could have easily side-stepped. But Lord Ram did not behave bitterly towards anyone, including the step-mother. Yet an otherwise loving step-mother Kaikeyi was unnecessarily instigated into obstructing the path to Ram's ascendance. Prince Ram was all set to be anointed the King soon, being the eldest of the four sons of the King of Ayodhya. If one were to observe closely, the Ramayan gives us a number of lessons in ethics Reading stories from the great epic written by sage Valmiki about the principled prince (and later King) of Ayodhya to children at an impressionable age will give them the perspective and direction in life. Almost every person of the Ayodhya royals ie the family of Maharaj Dashrath is steeped in principles. Lord Rama is not the only one whose actions leave an indelible mark on our minds.
Ramayan as an epic is an eternal source of guidance to mankind about how to live life in a manner such that it benefits society and commits no acts that one lives to regret later.