Sita’s dilemma!

Indian epics have stories which will leave an indelible impression on the minds of its readers, I’m writing and posting some of them hope you’ll like these, enjoy!

I would again like to begin with salutations to lord Shri Ganesha , bless me in my endevors.

The stories are compiled randomly.

1) ”How do they wear these”?

The first incident I’d like to mention is from Ramayana when Ram, Sita and Lakshman are leaving towards forset after Ram is being banished. Queen Kaikeyi brings the garbs of ascetics which is made of kusha grass also known as ‘darbha’; The ‘darbha’ has a lot of importance in hindu culture; sages used it as a robe to wear, made mats and mattresses also

Kaikeyi brings the attire and says to the trio ”put these on”

atha ciiraaNi kaikeyii svayam aahR^itya raaghavam |
uvaaca paridhatsva iti jana oghe nirapatrapaa || 2-37-6 valmiki Ramayan

Kaikeyi shamelessly bringing ( the garb of ascetics) said to Ram ”put these on”

Both Ram and Lakshman wear these clothes then and there itself now its the turn of Sita ; Kaikeyi gives the dress of ascetics to Sita also; her (Sita’s) situation is described by Valmiki as a deer alarmed at the sight of seeing an entrapment .

tha aatma paridhaana artham siitaa kausheya vaasinii |
samiikSya ciiram samtrastaa pR^iSatii vaaguraam iva || 2-37-9

Sita is embarrased to wear them in front of many men and women present there, she’s embarrassed not because she has to wear it but she doesn’t know how to wear them! To a princess who has never worn anything but silk this is indeed new to her; with eyes full of tears she turns to Ram and asks ”how do they wear the garbs of ascetics? saying thus she errs again and again in wearing them.

katham nu ciiram badhnanti munayo vana vaasinaH |
iti hyakushalaa siitaa saamumoha muhurmuhuH || 2-37-12

Seeing her in distress and dilemma Ram immediately comes to her rescue and shows her how to wear the ascetic clothes (on her silk dress)

In these few verses so much has been done about how much Ram loved and cared for Sita also when she wears the clothes in presence of the men and women present in assembly wail peitiously saying what calamity had befallen on their beloved princess.

Food for soul-a collection of hymns 3 “Aditya Hridayam stotra “

Aditya Hridayam

Aditya hridayam is another very powerful stotra praising the Sun god and is written by Maharishi Agastya. It is first recited in yuddha Kanda of Ramayana (of Valmiki) where in Maharishi agastya teaches this powerful stotra to Shri Rama before his last battle against Ravana. It is said that Shri Rama is very much exhausted after a long battle with all the relatives of Ravana, thus causing a worry to all gods because of which Maharishi Agastya teaches Aditya hridayam to Shri Rama who on recitation is blessed by Surya Narayana and is able to destroy Ravana along with his army.

Atha dhyanam:-
Jayatu jayatu surya sapta lokaika deepam,
Kirana samita papam klesha dukhasya nasham,
Aruna nigama gamyam chadi aditya murtim,
Sakala bhuvana vandyam, bhaskaram tam namami

Recite it thus:
Victory to the Sun god,Who is a lamp to seven worlds;Who by his rays destroys sin, pain and sorrows;Who is lead to by the path of Vedas and Who is saluted by all worlds, I prostrate before Him who is responsible for dispelling darkness thus causing a day .

Stotram

Tatho yudha parishrantam samare chintaya sthitam,
Ravanam chagratho drushtwa yudhaya samupasthitam.
Daivatischa samagamya drushtu mabhya gatho ranam,
Upagamyabraveed ramam Agastyo Bhagawan rishi. 1&2

Rama rama maha baho sruNu guhyam sanathanam,
Yena sarvaanareen vatsa samare vijayishyasi. 3

Aditya hrudayam punyam, sarva satru vinasanam,
Jayavaham japen nityam akshayyam paramam shubham. 4

Sarva mangala mangalyam, sarva papa pranasanam,
Chinthasoka prasamanam, ayur vardhanamuthamam. 5

Rashmi mantam samudhyantam devasura namaskrutam,
Poojayaswa vivaswantam bhaskaram bhuvaneshwaram. 6

Sarva devatmako hyesha tejaswai rasmi bhavana,
Esha devasura ganan lokan pati gabasthibhi. 7

Esha brahma cha Vishnuscha shiva skanda prajapati,
Mahendro, dhandha kalo yama somo hyapam pati. 8

Pitro vasava sadhya hyaswinou maruto, manu,
Vayur vahni praja prana ruthu harta prabhakara. 9

Aditya savita surya khaga poosha gabastiman,
Suvarna sadrusa bhanu , hiranya reta divakara. 10

Haridaswa sahasrarchi sapta saptir mareechiman,
Timironmadhana shambhu twashtwa marthanda amsuman. 11

Hiranya garbha shisira tapano bhaskaro ravi,
Agni garbha adite putra sanka shisira nasana. 12

Vyomanadha sthamobhedi rig yajur sama paraga,
Ghana vrushtirapam mithro vindhya veedhi plavangama. 13

Aathapee mandali mrutyu pingala sarva tapana,
Kavir viswo maha tejaa rakta sarvodbhava. 14

Nakshtra gruha taranam adhipo , viswa bhaavana,
Tejasam api tejaswi dwadasathman namostute. 15

Nama poorvaya giraye, paschimayadraye nama,
Jyothirgananam pathaye dhinadhipathaye nama. 16

Jayaya jaya bhadraya haryaswaya namo nama,
Namo nama sahasramso adithyaya namo nama. 17

Nama ugraya veeraya sarangaya namo nama,
Nama padma prabhodaya , marthandaya namo nama. 18

Brahmesanachuthesaya suryaditya varchase,
Bhaswate sarva bhakshaya roudraya vapushe nama 19

Tamognaya himagnaya satrugnaya amitatmane,
Krutagnagnaya devaya jyothisham pathaye nama. 20

Tapta chamikarabhaya vahnaye viswa karmane,
Namastomabhinignaya ruchaye loka sakshine. 21

Naasa yatyesha vai bhootam tadeva srujati prabha,
Payatyesha tapatyesha varshatyesha gabastibhi. 22

Yesha supteshu jagarti bhuteshu parinishthita,
Yesha evagnihotram cha phalam chaivagnihotrinam. 23

Vedascha kradavaschaiva krathoonam phalameva cha,
Yani krutyani lokeshu sarva yesha ravi prabhu. 24

Yena mapatsu kruchreshu kantareshu bhayeshu cha,
Keertayan Purusha kaschin aavaseedhati raghava. 25

Poojaswaikegro deva devam jagat patim,
Ethat trigunitam japtwa yudeshu vijayishyasi. 26

Asmin kshane maha baaho ravanam twam vadhishyasi,
Evamuktwaa agastyo jagam yada gatam. 27

Edat srutwa maha theja nashta shoka abhavat tada,
Dharayamasa supreeto raghava prayathatmavaan. 28

Aditya prekshya japtwa tu param harsha mavaptavan,
Trirachamya suchir bhootwa dhanuradhaaya veeryavaan. 29

Ravanam preshya hrushtatma yudhaya samupagamat,
Sarva yatnena mahata vadhe tasya druto bhavat. 30

Adharavira vadha nireekshya ramam,
Mudhithamana paramam prahrushyamana,
Nisicharapati samkshyam vidhitwa,
Sura gana Madhya gatho vachasthwareti. 31

Suyam sundara loka natham amrutam vedanta saram shivam,
Gnanam brahma mayam suresha mamalam lokaika chitam swayam.

Bhano bhaskara marthanda, chanda rasmai, divakara,
Ayur arogyam aishwaryam vidhyam dehi namostute.

Anyatha sharanam nasti twameva sharanam mama,
Tasmat karunya bhavena raksha raksha maha prabho.

Iti srimad Valmiki Ramayane Yuddha Kande,
Saptottara shathatama sargatmakam,
Aditya hrudaya stotram samaptam.

Translated as:

The great God like sage Agastya,Who has come along with other Gods to see the war,Seeing the tired and thought filled Rama Approached him, who is ready for the war and said: 1& 2

O dear Rama, be pleased to hear,That which is secret and perennial,By reciting which ,o son,
You would be victorious in war.3

This is the prayer called “the heart of the sun”.Which is holy , destroys all enemies thereby leading to victory by reciting which daily,Leads you to perennial state of good. 4

This prayer great ,gives all that is good,Destroys all sins ,Acts as an antidote for sorrow and thought,And also leads to very long life. 5

Offer prayers to the Great Sun God,Who is the owner of rays,Who rises up from below,Who is worshipped by devas and asuras,And who is worshipped by every one of the universe. 6

He has within him all the devas,He is the brightest among the bright,He runs the whole world by his rays,And protects all the worlds of Devas and Asuras,By his great Rays. 7

He is Brhama, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda,He is the progenitor of human race,He is the king of devas,He is Kubera, the lord of all riches.He is Kala, the God of death,And He is the moon also He is Varuna. 8

He is the manes, He is the Gods called Vasus,He is the godcalled sandhya,He is the Aswini devathas, the doctors of Gods,He is the maruths who are responsible for breeze,He is the wind God, He is the fire God,He is the soul of all beings,He is the creator of seasons,And he is the giver of light. 9

He is the son of Aditi,He is the creator of the world,He makes us do things,He travels on the sky,
He feeds the world by rain 10
He is the one with rays,He is the colour of Gold,He is always shining,He is responsible for creation,And he is the maker of the day.11

He has green horses,He has thousands of rays,He rides on seven horses,He dispels darkness,
He gives a pleasant life,He kills all life,He gives rebirth to those killed,He removes darkness,
And is resplendent in glory.12

He who keeps the golden source,He who cools down minds of devotees,He who bestows heat,
He who is the source of light,He who is praised by every one,He who has fire within himself,
He who is the son of aditi He who travels in the sky with pleasure, And he who melts all that is icy/cold.13

He who is the lord of the sky,He who dispels darkness,He who is a master of Rig, Yajur and Sama veda,He who is the cause of heavy rains,He who is the friend of water,And he who travels over the Vindhyas swiftly.14

He who gives heat,He who is of the global shape,He who is of the form of death,He who is of the colour of gold,He who heats everything,He who is in expert in knowledge,He who manages the universe,He who is of great brilliance,He who is dear to every one,And he who manages every event.15

Salutations to him who is the Lord of stars, planets and zodiac,To him who looks after the universe,To him who gives light to all that shines, And To him who has twelve forms.16

Salutations to him who rises from the mounts of east,Salutations to him who sets on mounts of west,Salutations to the lord of objects that shine,And the Lord of the day.17

Salutations to him who is the cause of victories,Salutations to him who has green horses,
Salutations and salutations to him who has thousand rays,
Salutations and salutations to the son of Aditi. 17

Salutations and salutations,To him who is fearful to the sinners,To him who is the hero,
And to him who travels swiftly.Salutations to him who opens the lotus,And salutations and salutations,To him who gives life.18

Salutations to Him,Who is God to Brahma, Achyuta and Shiva,Who is the giver of light,
Who is the son of Aditi Who is ever shining,Who eats everything,And to him who has a fearsome body,19

Salutations to him,Who destroys darkness,,destroys, snow,Who destroys his enemies,
Who has an immeasurable body,Who destroys those who are not grateful,And to him who is the Lord of those who shine. 20

Salutations to Him,Who is of the colour of molten gold,Who is of the form of fire,Who has created the world,Who destroys ignorance,Who is the subject of all that is loved,And to him who is the witness of the world.21

This our lord help beings to grow,And also destroys them.He with his awesome rays,Looks after every being,Gives intense heat to them,And also causes rains to shower 22

This our Lord is awake,When all the world is asleep,Without anyone being aware,And he is the fire sacrifice,And also the one who performs fire sacrifice.23

All the Vedas,All the yagas,Result of all yagas.And all the actions,That happen in this world,
Are this Lord Surya himself. 24

O Raghava,Any one who sings the praise of the Sun,In time of danger,In time of suffering,In wild forests.And in times of fear,Is able to cross the problem for sure. 25

Please worship Him.Who is God of Gods,And who is the lord of the universe,With single minded devotion.If you chant this thrice,You would win in the war. 26

“Oh hero of heroes,You would kill Ravana within a second,”Saying this the sage Agasthya,
Went back his way.27

Hearing this, the resplendent one,Became devoid of sorrow,And with utmost devotion,
Wore this prayer within himself.

Cleansing himself,By doing Aachamana thrice,And facing the Sun God,Lifting his bow The great hero Rama became very happy

Came he facing Ravana,For starting the war again, With all preparations great,With an intention of killing him.

Immediately then Lord Sun,Who is the king of the skies,Arose from the middle of the bevy of Gods,With mind full of happiness,And asked Rama to kill Ravana forthwith.

____________________

I bow and salute always before the great Sun God,Who is ever shining,Who is the Lord of the universe,Who is forever living,Who is the essence of Veda,Who is forever peaceful,Who is store house of knowledge,Who is God personified,Who is the king of gods,Who is purity personified,
And who has the mind of all the world under his control.

Oh God of gods,Who is source of light,Who makes the day,Who removes darkness,
Who has fearful rays,And who is the creator of the morn,Please give me long life,Health, wealth, knowledge. I salute you.

I don’t have anybody to seek refuge,Except thee , Oh great God,So please have mercy upon me,
And protect me again and again.

Thus ends the great prayer called Aditya Hridayam,Which occurs in the 107th chapter of the yuddha kanda,In Ramayana composed by Sage Valmiki.

RamayaNa- one epic may versions,many interpretations

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