Divine Activities of Lord Rama - Part 1
janma karma ca me divyam evaṃ yo vetti tattvataḥ |
tyaktvā dehaṃ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna ||BG 4.9||
He who thus knows in truth My divine birth and actions
does not get rebirth after leaving the body; he will come to Me, O Arjuna.
Let us see some of the wondrous events from Srimad Ramayana
Valor in allowing defeated Ravana to retire and come the next day
at tAdruSa agasam arim raghuveera veekshya
visramyatAm iti mumOcitha mughdham ajou |
kO ayam guNa: kataraKOTi gata: kiyAn vaa
kasya stutE: padam ahO baha kasya bhUmi: ||
Oh Raghuveeraa! How can we eulogize Your karunya gunam demonstrated through the gesture of advising the mahaa aparaadhi, Ravana to retire from the battle field for the day and return the next day after resting, when he had lost his chariot, bow and pride during the first day's battle with You? This generosity towards the most undeserving Ravana defies classification under the category of all noble qualities.
Why doesn't Rama kill Ravana at the first opportunity that he gets?
- If Rama had killed Ravana in their first meeting, he could not have killed other raakshasas. The battle would have been over as soon as Ravana was killed.
- While battling, they reached at a point where Ravana was without any weapon, chariot or support. And this is where Rama decided to follow the path of righteousness (dharma) and not use any weapon against him at that stage, because they were in an "unequal and unfair" states.
- The best heroes have a keen sense of honor, the rest are mere bullies who will get away with what they can.
Overpowering Devas while allowing their boons to stay effective !
yO vikramENa manujatva vibhUshaNEna
dEvam varam varuNarAjam aja ! vyajEshThA: |
krutvOpadAm daSaratham vidhi-rudra mukhyai:
dEvai: stuthas ca, sa kilEndrajitA jitOasi ||
Oh Lord without any births! You are refuge for all lokas. You are used to give refuge and not seek refuge. Yet, you followed the counsel of a great Vibhishana and rested on dharbha grass for three nights on the sea shore seeking the permission from the Samdura Rajan. When he did not respond, You were ready to dry up the Oceans for the indifference shown by him. The frightened Samudra Rajan showed up in fear and sought Your pardon. You forgave him and deflected Your arrow at a group of sinners in an island. All of these acts are understandable proofs of Your Supremacy.
We can not however understand you being bound by the arrows aimed at You by Indrajit. This is indeed a great mystery. One can only guess that this was abhinayam on your part. Perhaps, You wanted to give Your servant and friend, Garuda an opportunity to perform a Kaimkarya.
Mysterious Power of Lakshmana
yEtEna vai suviditO abhavat indhra SatrO:
maaystra bandhana nibandhanajO vimOha: |
yat lakshmaNa: tvat anujO ripu Sakti mugdha:
SatrO: guru: hanumatastu laghutvam Aapa ||
Oh Raamabhadraa! When your dear brother Lakshmana got hit by Ravana's weapon and swooned, Ravana tried to lift the fallen Lakshmana and found that latter was too heavy for him to lift and take him away to his palace. Then came Hanuman and lifted Lakshmana like lifting a feather and took him to the army physician, Sushena. It is an wonder that the same object appearing in different ways at the same time (heavy for Ravana and light for Hanuman) can only be attributed to an athimaanusha vyaapaaram. In a similar vein, the great ones understand how you were bound by the naaga weapon sent by Indrajit and got released later.
Satya Sankalpa
abdhim na tEritha jigEtha na rAkshasEndram
naivAsya jaj~nitha yadA ca balAbalam tvam |
nissamSaya: sapadi tasya padEabhyashinca:
tasya anujam katham idam hi vibhIshaNam ca ||
How can we understand Your atimAnusha activity of crowning Vibhishana as the Emperor of Lanka on the sea shore even before
1. You had built a bridge to cross over to Lanka
2. You had not defeated Ravana in battle
3. You were not even aware of the strength of Ravana and his army?
It is mysterious to understand your statement and vow:
"Raajanam tvaam karishyaami satyamethath srunothu mE".
You were firm in Your declaration about VibhishaNa’s PattAbhishEkam
