Thursday, April 17, 2008
Lord Vishnu as Rama
Lord Vishnu represents the aspect of the Supreme Reality that preserves and sustains the universe. Although there are variations in images and pictures of Lord Vishnu, He is generally symbolized by a human body with four arms. In His hands He carries a conch (shankha), a mace (gada), and discus (chakra). He wears a crown, two earrings, a garland (mala) of flowers, and a gem around the neck. He has a blue body and wears yellow clothes. The Lord is shown standing on a thousand-headed snake (named Shesha Nag), and the snake stands with its hoods open over the head of the Lord.
The four arms indicate Lord's omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms signify the lord's activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify His activity in the spiritual world. The right side of the body represents the creative activities of the mind and the intellect. The left side symbolizes the activities of the heart; that is, love, kindness, and compassion.
A conch in the upper left hand indicates that the Lord communicates with His devotees with love and understanding. When blowing His conch, He reminds his devotes to live in this world with kindness and compassion towards all living beings. A chakra in His upper right hand conveys the idea that the Lord uses this weapon to protect His devotees from evil. The mace denotes energy and a mace in the Lord's left lower hand signifies that He sustains the manifest world by the energy that He holds in Himself. His front right hand is depicted bestowing grace on His devotees.
The snake denotes the mind and the thousand heads of the snake signify innumerable desires and passions of an individual. Just as a snake destroys its victim by its venom, an uncontrolled mind destroys the world by the venom of its possessiveness. The Lord has controlled all desires, and this is symbolized by showing Him seated on the two coils of the snake. When a sincere devotee of the Lord controls his desires, the Lord fulfills the devotee's genuine desires and helps him on his path.
The blue sky in the background of the Lord suggests that He pervades the entire universe. The blue color symbolizes infinity. The blue body of the Lord signifies that He has infinite attributes. He is nameless, formless, and immeasurable. The color yellow is associated with earthly existence and the yellow clothes of the Lord signify that He incarnates Himself on this earth to uphold righteousness and destroy evil and unrighteousness.
A flower garland around the Lord's neck is a symbol of the devotee's adoration for the Lord. A gem decorating His neck signifies that the Lord fulfills all genuine desires of His devotees and provides for their needs. The crown is a symbol of the Lord's supreme power and authority. The two earrings signify the dual nature of creation, such as knowledge and ignorance, happiness and unhappiness, and pleasure and pain.
The worship of Lord Vishnu is very popular among Hindus, especially among the followers of the Vaishnava tradition (Vaishnavism). He is the second member of the Hindu Trinity, with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the other two. Lord Vishnu is also known by other names, such as Vasudeva and Narayana. The following ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are described in Hindu mythology and are popular among Hindus. These incarnations reveal the help rendered by God during various stages of human evolution. As shown below, the first two incarnations are in the animal form, the third one is half-human and half-animal, and the fourth and the subsequent ones are all in human form. These incarnations relate to human evolution from aquatic life to human life, and are consistent with the modern theory of evolution suggested by science:
Matsya (fish)---saves Sage Manu from floods and recovers the Vedas from demons.
Kurma (tortoise)---sustains the earth on his back.
Varaha (boar)---brings the earth back from the bottom of the ocean where it was dragged down by a demon, known as Hiranyaksha; Varaha kills the demon.
Narasimha (man-lion)---kills the demon King Hiranyakashipu, who was planning to kill his own son, a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Vamana (dwarf)---the first human incarnation of the Lord, kills the demon King Mahabhali, who had deprived the gods of their possessions.
Parasurama (the warrior with an axe)---saves Brahmins from the tyranny of the arrogant Kshatriyas.
Rama---kills Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Sri Krishna---the most popular incarnation; Krishna's contributions throughout his life include the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
Buddha---Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and accept his teachings, but do not directly worship him.
Kalkin (a man on a white horse)---this incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evil in the world.
The four arms indicate Lord's omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms signify the lord's activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify His activity in the spiritual world. The right side of the body represents the creative activities of the mind and the intellect. The left side symbolizes the activities of the heart; that is, love, kindness, and compassion.
A conch in the upper left hand indicates that the Lord communicates with His devotees with love and understanding. When blowing His conch, He reminds his devotes to live in this world with kindness and compassion towards all living beings. A chakra in His upper right hand conveys the idea that the Lord uses this weapon to protect His devotees from evil. The mace denotes energy and a mace in the Lord's left lower hand signifies that He sustains the manifest world by the energy that He holds in Himself. His front right hand is depicted bestowing grace on His devotees.
The snake denotes the mind and the thousand heads of the snake signify innumerable desires and passions of an individual. Just as a snake destroys its victim by its venom, an uncontrolled mind destroys the world by the venom of its possessiveness. The Lord has controlled all desires, and this is symbolized by showing Him seated on the two coils of the snake. When a sincere devotee of the Lord controls his desires, the Lord fulfills the devotee's genuine desires and helps him on his path.
The blue sky in the background of the Lord suggests that He pervades the entire universe. The blue color symbolizes infinity. The blue body of the Lord signifies that He has infinite attributes. He is nameless, formless, and immeasurable. The color yellow is associated with earthly existence and the yellow clothes of the Lord signify that He incarnates Himself on this earth to uphold righteousness and destroy evil and unrighteousness.
A flower garland around the Lord's neck is a symbol of the devotee's adoration for the Lord. A gem decorating His neck signifies that the Lord fulfills all genuine desires of His devotees and provides for their needs. The crown is a symbol of the Lord's supreme power and authority. The two earrings signify the dual nature of creation, such as knowledge and ignorance, happiness and unhappiness, and pleasure and pain.
The worship of Lord Vishnu is very popular among Hindus, especially among the followers of the Vaishnava tradition (Vaishnavism). He is the second member of the Hindu Trinity, with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the other two. Lord Vishnu is also known by other names, such as Vasudeva and Narayana. The following ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are described in Hindu mythology and are popular among Hindus. These incarnations reveal the help rendered by God during various stages of human evolution. As shown below, the first two incarnations are in the animal form, the third one is half-human and half-animal, and the fourth and the subsequent ones are all in human form. These incarnations relate to human evolution from aquatic life to human life, and are consistent with the modern theory of evolution suggested by science:
Matsya (fish)---saves Sage Manu from floods and recovers the Vedas from demons.
Kurma (tortoise)---sustains the earth on his back.
Varaha (boar)---brings the earth back from the bottom of the ocean where it was dragged down by a demon, known as Hiranyaksha; Varaha kills the demon.
Narasimha (man-lion)---kills the demon King Hiranyakashipu, who was planning to kill his own son, a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Vamana (dwarf)---the first human incarnation of the Lord, kills the demon King Mahabhali, who had deprived the gods of their possessions.
Parasurama (the warrior with an axe)---saves Brahmins from the tyranny of the arrogant Kshatriyas.
Rama---kills Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Sri Krishna---the most popular incarnation; Krishna's contributions throughout his life include the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
Buddha---Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and accept his teachings, but do not directly worship him.
Kalkin (a man on a white horse)---this incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evil in the world.
Sri Rama-Myth or Reality
SHRI RAM – A MYTH OR A REALITY
We, Indians, are the products of one of the oldest civilisations. We need to be really proud of our ancient history and cultural heritage. However, during the British Rule, we developed an inferiority complex, which adversely affected our quest to unearth facts relating to our glorious past. But our young and educated men and women, being born and brought up in independent India, are capable of unearthing the true facts and are confident enough to evaluate these objectively.
Shri Ram being most basic to Indian ‘ethos’, it is necessary to know who is Shri Ram? Was he really born? If yes, when and where? As is believed by crores of people did he really put his feet on the territory of India from North to South, reducing the sufferings of mankind and ensuring victory of good over evil? Let us have a look at historical facts -
The story of Shri Ram’s life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in ‘The Ramayan’ which was written after Shri Ram was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Maharishi Valmiki was a great astronomer as he has made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other visible stars (nakshatras). Needless to add that similar position of planets and nakshatras vis-a-vis zodiac constellations is not repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram as given in the Valmiki Ramayan in the software named ‘Planetarium Gold’ corresponding exact dates of these events according to English calendar can be known.
Sh. Pushkar Bhatnagar of Indian Revenue Service had acquired from USA the software named 'Planetarium Gold' (of Fogware Publishing) which is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from earth by the scientists and astronomers. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions vis-à-vis zodiac constellations narrated by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results, which almost determine the important dates starting from the birth of Shri Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. Sh.Pushkar Bhatnagar has given very authentic and convincing details of these dates in his book titled ‘Dating the Era of Lord Ram’ published by Rupa & Co., some extracts from which are being summarised in the succeeding paras.
Maharishi Valmiki has recorded in Bal Kaand Sarga 18 and Shloka 8 & 9 (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram was born on 9th tithi of Chaitra month during day time when the position of different planets vis-à-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars) was as under:-
i) Sun in Aries ii) Saturn in Libra
iii) Jupiter in Cancer iv) Venus in Pisces
v) Mars in Capricorn vi) Lunar month of Chaitra
vii) Ninth day after no moon viii) Lagna as Cancer (cancer was rising in the east)
ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pollux star)
This data, was fed into the 'Planetarium Gold' software, the results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars vis-à-vis zodiac constellations on the 10th of January noon time in the year 5114 BC if viewed from latitude/ longitude of Ayodhya (250N 810E). Thus Shri Ram was born on 10th January in 5114 BC (i.e. 7117 years back) and as per Indian calendar it was the 9th day of Shukla Paksha in ‘Chaitra’ month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over India till date. The relevant sky view generated by Planetarium Software is enclosed.
Date of exile of Shri Ram - In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned in Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies/or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Zodiac sign of king Dashratha was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing on the 5th of January 5089 BC and it was on this day that Shri Ram had to leave Ayodhya for living in the forests for 14 years. Thus he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089) and there are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram was 25 years old when he left Ayodhya for his 14 years of exile.
Solar Eclipse during war with Khardushan - Valmiki Ramayan refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in later half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s living in forests. Valmiki has also mentioned that it was Amavasya day and planet Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the computer software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on 7th Oct., 5077 BC (Amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati (200N 730E). On that date planetary configuration was the same as has been described by Valmiki i.e. Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn.
Other important dates - Only six of the twelve constellations remain above the horizon at the same time. Valmiki Ramayan contains graphic and poetic details of eight constellations during Hanuman’s return journey from Sri Lanka to Sunaabh Hill in the middle of the sea which apparently took about four and a half hours from 6:30 AM to 11 AM. All these details of planets and Nakshtras with reference to eight constellations described in Sarga 57(1,2,3) of chapter 5 tally exactly with the sky view generated by the software for the morning of 14th Sept. 5076 BC. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters of Valmiki Ramayan, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to be 4th December 5076 BC and Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on 2nd January, 5075 BC and that day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya when he was 39 years old (5114 – 5075).
A colleague Dr. Ram Avtar who had researched on places visited by Shri Ram during 14 years of exile, and sequentially moved to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayan, starting from Ayodhya, he went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana relating to the life of Shri Ram & Sita. These include - Tamsa Tal (Mandah), Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri Ashram, Markandaya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Parnakuti (on banks of Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik, Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwaram temple.
In Valmiki Ramayana, it is mentioned that Shri Ram’s army constructed a bridge over the sea between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka. After crossing this bridge Shri Ram’s army had defeated Ravana, the Demon King. Recently NASA had put pictures on internet of a man-made bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in Palk Strait between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka(pictures enclosed). In fact, Valmiki Ramayan only refers to “Neel” as an expert(shilpkaar) in construction of bridges like Vishvakarma and he got the stones, rocks, trees brought by Vanar Sena adjusted on the route where sea had the least depth and the other Vanras were holding long ropes for holding the material together. (6/ 22/ 46 & 60 to 73)
Recently Sri Lankan Govt. had expressed desire to develop ‘Sita Vatika’ as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans believe that this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (that was year 5076 BC).
Ancestors of Shri Ram
Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram belonged to Surya Vansh and he was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. The names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed in ‘Ayodhya Ka Itihas’ written about eighty years back by Rai Bahadur Sita Ram. Professor Subhash Kak of Lousiana University(USA), in his book “The Astronomical Code of the Rgveda” has also listed 63 ancestors of Shri Ram who ruled over Ayodhya. The ancestors of Shri Ram have been traced out as under: –
Shri Ram, S/o King Dashratha, S/o King Aja, S/o King Raghu, S/o. Dirghabahu, S/o King Dilipa-II, S/o. King Visvasaha and so on ------ (all listed) ----- King Sagar (40th Ruler) --------- Satyavadi Harish Chandra (32nd King)--------------
Professor Subhash Kak has also traced out 29 descendants of Shri Ram starting with his son Kusa f/o Atithi, f/o Nisadha, f/o Nala................ (all listed)........ 95th Ruler of Ayodhya being Brhatksaya.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Bengal to Gujarat, everywhere people believe in the reality of Shri Ram’s existence, particularly in the tribal areas of Himachal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North East. Most of the festivals celebrated in these tribal areas revolve around the events in the life of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.
The events and places related to the life of Shri Ram and Sita are true cultural and social heritage of every Indian irrespective of caste and creed and therefore it is common heritage. After all, Shri Ram belonged to the period when Prophet Mohammed or Jesus Christ were not born and Muslim or Christian faiths were unknown to the world. India was also known as Bharat (means-land of knowledge) and Aryavrata (where Arians live).
During Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. In fact Maharishi Valmiki is stated to be of Shudra class (Scheduled Caste) still Sita lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya and Shri Ram’s children Luv & Kush grew in his ashram as his disciples. We need to feel proud of the fact that Maharishi Valmiki was perhaps the first great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the test of times. Even the latest computer softwares have corroborated his astronomical calculations, which proves that he did not commit any error. Shabari is stated to be belonging to Bheel tribe and the army of Shri Ram, which succeeded in defeating Ravana was also formed by various tribals from Central and South India. The facts, events and all other details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage of all the Indians including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims and Christians etc.
Prophet Mohammad was born 1400 years ago?, Jesus Christ was born 2000 years back, Gautam Budhha was born 2600 years back whereas Ram was born 7000 years back. Hence, discovering the details relating to Shri Ram’s life would be lot more difficult as destruction caused by floods, earthquakes and invasions etc. would be far greater. But should that stop our quest for learning more and more about our cultural heritage?
As Indians, let us all take pride in the fact that Indian civilisation is the most ancient civilisation surviving on planet earth and it is certainly more than 10,000 years old. Therefore, let us reject the story of Aryan invasion in India in 1500 B.C. as motivated implantation. In fact Max Mueller, who was the creator of this theory had himself rejected this theory. Let us admit that during British Rule, we were educated in the schools based on Macaulay school of thinking which believed that everything Indian was inferior and that entire ‘Indian literature was not worth even one book rack in England’. If there were similarities in certain features of Indian people and people from Central Europe, then automatic inference drawn was that the Aryans coming from Europe invaded India and settled here. No one dared of thinking in any other way. Therefore, there is urgency for the historians and all other intellectuals to stop reducing Indian history to myth. There is need to gather, dig out, search, unearth and analyse all the evidences, which would throw more light on ancient Indian civilisation and culture.
There is need for the print and the electronic media to take note of these facts and create atmosphere which would motivate our young and educated youth to carry out research and unearth true facts about ancient Indian civilisation and wisdom and would also encourage them to put across the results of their research before the people fearlessly and with a sense of pride!
We, Indians, are the products of one of the oldest civilisations. We need to be really proud of our ancient history and cultural heritage. However, during the British Rule, we developed an inferiority complex, which adversely affected our quest to unearth facts relating to our glorious past. But our young and educated men and women, being born and brought up in independent India, are capable of unearthing the true facts and are confident enough to evaluate these objectively.
Shri Ram being most basic to Indian ‘ethos’, it is necessary to know who is Shri Ram? Was he really born? If yes, when and where? As is believed by crores of people did he really put his feet on the territory of India from North to South, reducing the sufferings of mankind and ensuring victory of good over evil? Let us have a look at historical facts -
The story of Shri Ram’s life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in ‘The Ramayan’ which was written after Shri Ram was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Maharishi Valmiki was a great astronomer as he has made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other visible stars (nakshatras). Needless to add that similar position of planets and nakshatras vis-a-vis zodiac constellations is not repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram as given in the Valmiki Ramayan in the software named ‘Planetarium Gold’ corresponding exact dates of these events according to English calendar can be known.
Sh. Pushkar Bhatnagar of Indian Revenue Service had acquired from USA the software named 'Planetarium Gold' (of Fogware Publishing) which is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from earth by the scientists and astronomers. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions vis-à-vis zodiac constellations narrated by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results, which almost determine the important dates starting from the birth of Shri Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. Sh.Pushkar Bhatnagar has given very authentic and convincing details of these dates in his book titled ‘Dating the Era of Lord Ram’ published by Rupa & Co., some extracts from which are being summarised in the succeeding paras.
Maharishi Valmiki has recorded in Bal Kaand Sarga 18 and Shloka 8 & 9 (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram was born on 9th tithi of Chaitra month during day time when the position of different planets vis-à-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars) was as under:-
i) Sun in Aries ii) Saturn in Libra
iii) Jupiter in Cancer iv) Venus in Pisces
v) Mars in Capricorn vi) Lunar month of Chaitra
vii) Ninth day after no moon viii) Lagna as Cancer (cancer was rising in the east)
ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pollux star)
This data, was fed into the 'Planetarium Gold' software, the results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars vis-à-vis zodiac constellations on the 10th of January noon time in the year 5114 BC if viewed from latitude/ longitude of Ayodhya (250N 810E). Thus Shri Ram was born on 10th January in 5114 BC (i.e. 7117 years back) and as per Indian calendar it was the 9th day of Shukla Paksha in ‘Chaitra’ month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over India till date. The relevant sky view generated by Planetarium Software is enclosed.
Date of exile of Shri Ram - In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned in Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies/or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Zodiac sign of king Dashratha was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing on the 5th of January 5089 BC and it was on this day that Shri Ram had to leave Ayodhya for living in the forests for 14 years. Thus he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089) and there are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram was 25 years old when he left Ayodhya for his 14 years of exile.
Solar Eclipse during war with Khardushan - Valmiki Ramayan refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in later half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s living in forests. Valmiki has also mentioned that it was Amavasya day and planet Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the computer software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on 7th Oct., 5077 BC (Amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati (200N 730E). On that date planetary configuration was the same as has been described by Valmiki i.e. Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn.
Other important dates - Only six of the twelve constellations remain above the horizon at the same time. Valmiki Ramayan contains graphic and poetic details of eight constellations during Hanuman’s return journey from Sri Lanka to Sunaabh Hill in the middle of the sea which apparently took about four and a half hours from 6:30 AM to 11 AM. All these details of planets and Nakshtras with reference to eight constellations described in Sarga 57(1,2,3) of chapter 5 tally exactly with the sky view generated by the software for the morning of 14th Sept. 5076 BC. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters of Valmiki Ramayan, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to be 4th December 5076 BC and Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on 2nd January, 5075 BC and that day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya when he was 39 years old (5114 – 5075).
A colleague Dr. Ram Avtar who had researched on places visited by Shri Ram during 14 years of exile, and sequentially moved to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayan, starting from Ayodhya, he went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana relating to the life of Shri Ram & Sita. These include - Tamsa Tal (Mandah), Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri Ashram, Markandaya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Parnakuti (on banks of Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik, Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwaram temple.
In Valmiki Ramayana, it is mentioned that Shri Ram’s army constructed a bridge over the sea between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka. After crossing this bridge Shri Ram’s army had defeated Ravana, the Demon King. Recently NASA had put pictures on internet of a man-made bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in Palk Strait between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka(pictures enclosed). In fact, Valmiki Ramayan only refers to “Neel” as an expert(shilpkaar) in construction of bridges like Vishvakarma and he got the stones, rocks, trees brought by Vanar Sena adjusted on the route where sea had the least depth and the other Vanras were holding long ropes for holding the material together. (6/ 22/ 46 & 60 to 73)
Recently Sri Lankan Govt. had expressed desire to develop ‘Sita Vatika’ as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans believe that this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (that was year 5076 BC).
Ancestors of Shri Ram
Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram belonged to Surya Vansh and he was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. The names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed in ‘Ayodhya Ka Itihas’ written about eighty years back by Rai Bahadur Sita Ram. Professor Subhash Kak of Lousiana University(USA), in his book “The Astronomical Code of the Rgveda” has also listed 63 ancestors of Shri Ram who ruled over Ayodhya. The ancestors of Shri Ram have been traced out as under: –
Shri Ram, S/o King Dashratha, S/o King Aja, S/o King Raghu, S/o. Dirghabahu, S/o King Dilipa-II, S/o. King Visvasaha and so on ------ (all listed) ----- King Sagar (40th Ruler) --------- Satyavadi Harish Chandra (32nd King)--------------
Professor Subhash Kak has also traced out 29 descendants of Shri Ram starting with his son Kusa f/o Atithi, f/o Nisadha, f/o Nala................ (all listed)........ 95th Ruler of Ayodhya being Brhatksaya.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Bengal to Gujarat, everywhere people believe in the reality of Shri Ram’s existence, particularly in the tribal areas of Himachal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North East. Most of the festivals celebrated in these tribal areas revolve around the events in the life of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.
The events and places related to the life of Shri Ram and Sita are true cultural and social heritage of every Indian irrespective of caste and creed and therefore it is common heritage. After all, Shri Ram belonged to the period when Prophet Mohammed or Jesus Christ were not born and Muslim or Christian faiths were unknown to the world. India was also known as Bharat (means-land of knowledge) and Aryavrata (where Arians live).
During Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. In fact Maharishi Valmiki is stated to be of Shudra class (Scheduled Caste) still Sita lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya and Shri Ram’s children Luv & Kush grew in his ashram as his disciples. We need to feel proud of the fact that Maharishi Valmiki was perhaps the first great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the test of times. Even the latest computer softwares have corroborated his astronomical calculations, which proves that he did not commit any error. Shabari is stated to be belonging to Bheel tribe and the army of Shri Ram, which succeeded in defeating Ravana was also formed by various tribals from Central and South India. The facts, events and all other details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage of all the Indians including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims and Christians etc.
Prophet Mohammad was born 1400 years ago?, Jesus Christ was born 2000 years back, Gautam Budhha was born 2600 years back whereas Ram was born 7000 years back. Hence, discovering the details relating to Shri Ram’s life would be lot more difficult as destruction caused by floods, earthquakes and invasions etc. would be far greater. But should that stop our quest for learning more and more about our cultural heritage?
As Indians, let us all take pride in the fact that Indian civilisation is the most ancient civilisation surviving on planet earth and it is certainly more than 10,000 years old. Therefore, let us reject the story of Aryan invasion in India in 1500 B.C. as motivated implantation. In fact Max Mueller, who was the creator of this theory had himself rejected this theory. Let us admit that during British Rule, we were educated in the schools based on Macaulay school of thinking which believed that everything Indian was inferior and that entire ‘Indian literature was not worth even one book rack in England’. If there were similarities in certain features of Indian people and people from Central Europe, then automatic inference drawn was that the Aryans coming from Europe invaded India and settled here. No one dared of thinking in any other way. Therefore, there is urgency for the historians and all other intellectuals to stop reducing Indian history to myth. There is need to gather, dig out, search, unearth and analyse all the evidences, which would throw more light on ancient Indian civilisation and culture.
There is need for the print and the electronic media to take note of these facts and create atmosphere which would motivate our young and educated youth to carry out research and unearth true facts about ancient Indian civilisation and wisdom and would also encourage them to put across the results of their research before the people fearlessly and with a sense of pride!
Aarti of Lord Rama
Aarti of Lord Rama
Shri Ram Aarti Shri Ramachandra kripalu bhaju man, haran bhav bhai darunam.
Nav kanj lochan, kanj mukh, kar kanj pad kanjarunam
Kandarp aganit amit chhavi,Navvnil jiraj sundaram,
pat pit manahun tadit ruchi,Suchi naumi Janakasutavaram.
Bhuj din bandu dinesh danav, dusht dalan nikandanam,
Raghunand anand kand Kaushal, chandra Dashrath nandanam.
Sir krit kundaltilak charu, udar ang vibhushanam,
Ajanubhuj san-chap dhar,sangramajit kharadushanam.
iti badit Tulasidas Shankar,shesh muni man ranjanam,
Mam hridai kanj nivas kar, kamadi khal dal bhanjanam.
Manujahi racheu milahi so bar sahaj sundarsanvaro,
Karuna nidhan sujan silu sanehu janat ravaro.
Ehi bhanti Gauri asis suni, Siya sahit hiya harshin ali,
TuIsi bhavanihin puji-puni mudit man mandir chali.
Jani Gauri anukal,Siya hiya harshu na jai kahi,
Manjul mangal mul, bam ang pharkan lage.
Shri Ram Aarti Shri Ramachandra kripalu bhaju man, haran bhav bhai darunam.
Nav kanj lochan, kanj mukh, kar kanj pad kanjarunam
Kandarp aganit amit chhavi,Navvnil jiraj sundaram,
pat pit manahun tadit ruchi,Suchi naumi Janakasutavaram.
Bhuj din bandu dinesh danav, dusht dalan nikandanam,
Raghunand anand kand Kaushal, chandra Dashrath nandanam.
Sir krit kundaltilak charu, udar ang vibhushanam,
Ajanubhuj san-chap dhar,sangramajit kharadushanam.
iti badit Tulasidas Shankar,shesh muni man ranjanam,
Mam hridai kanj nivas kar, kamadi khal dal bhanjanam.
Manujahi racheu milahi so bar sahaj sundarsanvaro,
Karuna nidhan sujan silu sanehu janat ravaro.
Ehi bhanti Gauri asis suni, Siya sahit hiya harshin ali,
TuIsi bhavanihin puji-puni mudit man mandir chali.
Jani Gauri anukal,Siya hiya harshu na jai kahi,
Manjul mangal mul, bam ang pharkan lage.
Ramayana - Rama's Story
Ram is the 7th incarnation of Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayana epic. The Ramayan is the very soul of India. It is a complete guide to God-realization, the path to which lies in righteousness. The ideals of man are beautifully portrayed in it. Everyone should emulate those ideals and grow into ideal human beings and ideal citizens.
Ram took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana (Ravan). Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Shiva and Brahma, who had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas or demons. One of the gods had to take on a human form in order to be able to defeat Ravana.
Ram was born as the first son of Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya. Ram’s mother was Kausilya. Ram had three brothers : Bharata (Bharat) born from the second wife Kaikeyi, and Lakshmana (Lakshman) and Shatrughna born from the third wife Sumitra.
One day Saint Vishwamitra visited Ayodhya and asked Dashratha to send Ram and Lakshmana with him because the Yakshini (demon) Tarka - with her two sons Mareech and Subahu - were terrifying him and the other saints at his ashram. They were not letting them worship and meditate. Ram went with Lakshmana and Vishwamitra to kill Tarka. On the way to Saint Vishwamitra’s ashram there was a dense forest. When they entered the forest Tarka came to kill them but Ram killed her and her son Subahu with a weapon given to him by Vishwamitra. Ram also shot an arrow at Mareech and threw him 100 yojan far away.
Later Ram went with Saint Vishwamitr to Mithila where the wise King Janak ruled. King Janak had organized a svayamvaraa (an acient custom wherein the bride chose her husband of her own accord from amongst a number of suitors). It was announced that whosoever will bend the bow of Lord Shiva will marry King Janak’s daughter Sita. Sita was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. But none of the suitors was able to lift Lord Shiva’s bow, except Ram. Ram lifted the bow with his one hand and bended it so hard that it even broke.So Ram got married to Sita, and his brothers got happily married to Sita’s sisters.
After returning and living happily in Ayodhya the old King Dashrath decided that it was time to give his kingdom to his beloved son Ram. There Kaikeyi, the third and youngest wife of the King, claimed the throne for her son Bharat. A long time before the young Queen had saved the King’s life and he had promised to fulfill her two wishes. Manthara, the crooked and evil-minded maid-servant of Kaikeyi influenced the queen to claim her wishes now in favor of her son and to request Dashrath to banish Ram from the kingdom for fourteen years, and to install Bharat on the throne instead. The King was shocked, his heart was broken, but he knew that truth is the highest Dharm, and that he had to fulfill his promise to his wife. So Ram went to exile happily, knowing that to obey and serve his father was the highest duty of a son.
After Ram left to the forest, Dashrath died from the pangs of separation from his beloved son Ram. Bharat went to the forest to meet his brother Ram and to request him to come back to Ayodhya. When Ram refused to return, in honor of the promise to his father, Bharat took Ram’s “khadau” (wooden sandals) and placed them symbolically on Ayodhya’s throne. Until his brother returned from the exile Bharat served the kingdom as a true and honest caretaker of Ram.
Once Surpnakha, the sister of Ravana, passed by the place where Ram was living. She saw Ram and became impressed by his beauty. She transformed herself into a beautiful lady and went to Ram and asked him to marry her. When Ram refused and told her he is already married to Sita, she became angry. Coming back to her original form she ran towards Sita to kill her. When Lakshman saw that he cut her nose and one ear. Surpnakha then send her brother Khardushan with fourteen thousand rakshasas to avenge her. But all were killed by Ram.
Surpnakha now sought vengeance through her older brother Ravana, but only got his interest by pointing out that the beautiful Sita would be a fitting wife for him.
Ravana lured Ram and Lakshman away from Sita by sending an enchanted deer of extreme beauty and then took Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. On the way, Jatayu, a vulture bird and old friend of Ram’s father Dashrath, fought Ravan but was fatally wounded. He lived only long enough to tell Ram what had happened upon his return.
In Lanka, Ravana tried to threathen Sita into marrying him, but was rejected again and again. Meanwhile, Ram made an alliance with the monkey King Sugreeva, who had been exiled from his kingdom by his brother Bali. Ram helped Sugreeva to regain his kingdom and in return Sugreeva raised an army of monkeys and bears, led by Hanuman. When they reached the sea, Hanuman flew across. On the way he had many adventures.
In Lanka, Hanuman promised Sita that help would come soon. When he was then captured by the rakshasas, Ravana ordered them to set fire to Hanuman’s tail, wrapping it with oily rags. But Hanuman increased the length of his tail so much that there seemed no end to it. He escaped and used his burning tail to set fire to all of Lanka.
Meanwhile, Ram’s army had build a huge bridge between Lanka and the mainland. They crossed the ocean and attacked Ravana’s army. During the battle, Lakshmana was heavily wounded, but he was cured by a magic herb which Hanuman flew all the way to the Himalayas to obtain. Not finding the herb at first, Hanuman brought the entire mountain just to be sure.
Finally, all rakshasa generals were killed and the battle become a single combat between Ravana and Ram. Finally, Ram killed Ravana with a special weapon given to him by saint Agastya.
This was a moment of great rejoicing. Ram and Sita were finally crowned King and Queen of Ayodhya.
Ram took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana (Ravan). Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Shiva and Brahma, who had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas or demons. One of the gods had to take on a human form in order to be able to defeat Ravana.
Ram was born as the first son of Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya. Ram’s mother was Kausilya. Ram had three brothers : Bharata (Bharat) born from the second wife Kaikeyi, and Lakshmana (Lakshman) and Shatrughna born from the third wife Sumitra.
One day Saint Vishwamitra visited Ayodhya and asked Dashratha to send Ram and Lakshmana with him because the Yakshini (demon) Tarka - with her two sons Mareech and Subahu - were terrifying him and the other saints at his ashram. They were not letting them worship and meditate. Ram went with Lakshmana and Vishwamitra to kill Tarka. On the way to Saint Vishwamitra’s ashram there was a dense forest. When they entered the forest Tarka came to kill them but Ram killed her and her son Subahu with a weapon given to him by Vishwamitra. Ram also shot an arrow at Mareech and threw him 100 yojan far away.
Later Ram went with Saint Vishwamitr to Mithila where the wise King Janak ruled. King Janak had organized a svayamvaraa (an acient custom wherein the bride chose her husband of her own accord from amongst a number of suitors). It was announced that whosoever will bend the bow of Lord Shiva will marry King Janak’s daughter Sita. Sita was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. But none of the suitors was able to lift Lord Shiva’s bow, except Ram. Ram lifted the bow with his one hand and bended it so hard that it even broke.So Ram got married to Sita, and his brothers got happily married to Sita’s sisters.
After returning and living happily in Ayodhya the old King Dashrath decided that it was time to give his kingdom to his beloved son Ram. There Kaikeyi, the third and youngest wife of the King, claimed the throne for her son Bharat. A long time before the young Queen had saved the King’s life and he had promised to fulfill her two wishes. Manthara, the crooked and evil-minded maid-servant of Kaikeyi influenced the queen to claim her wishes now in favor of her son and to request Dashrath to banish Ram from the kingdom for fourteen years, and to install Bharat on the throne instead. The King was shocked, his heart was broken, but he knew that truth is the highest Dharm, and that he had to fulfill his promise to his wife. So Ram went to exile happily, knowing that to obey and serve his father was the highest duty of a son.
After Ram left to the forest, Dashrath died from the pangs of separation from his beloved son Ram. Bharat went to the forest to meet his brother Ram and to request him to come back to Ayodhya. When Ram refused to return, in honor of the promise to his father, Bharat took Ram’s “khadau” (wooden sandals) and placed them symbolically on Ayodhya’s throne. Until his brother returned from the exile Bharat served the kingdom as a true and honest caretaker of Ram.
Once Surpnakha, the sister of Ravana, passed by the place where Ram was living. She saw Ram and became impressed by his beauty. She transformed herself into a beautiful lady and went to Ram and asked him to marry her. When Ram refused and told her he is already married to Sita, she became angry. Coming back to her original form she ran towards Sita to kill her. When Lakshman saw that he cut her nose and one ear. Surpnakha then send her brother Khardushan with fourteen thousand rakshasas to avenge her. But all were killed by Ram.
Surpnakha now sought vengeance through her older brother Ravana, but only got his interest by pointing out that the beautiful Sita would be a fitting wife for him.
Ravana lured Ram and Lakshman away from Sita by sending an enchanted deer of extreme beauty and then took Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. On the way, Jatayu, a vulture bird and old friend of Ram’s father Dashrath, fought Ravan but was fatally wounded. He lived only long enough to tell Ram what had happened upon his return.
In Lanka, Ravana tried to threathen Sita into marrying him, but was rejected again and again. Meanwhile, Ram made an alliance with the monkey King Sugreeva, who had been exiled from his kingdom by his brother Bali. Ram helped Sugreeva to regain his kingdom and in return Sugreeva raised an army of monkeys and bears, led by Hanuman. When they reached the sea, Hanuman flew across. On the way he had many adventures.
In Lanka, Hanuman promised Sita that help would come soon. When he was then captured by the rakshasas, Ravana ordered them to set fire to Hanuman’s tail, wrapping it with oily rags. But Hanuman increased the length of his tail so much that there seemed no end to it. He escaped and used his burning tail to set fire to all of Lanka.
Meanwhile, Ram’s army had build a huge bridge between Lanka and the mainland. They crossed the ocean and attacked Ravana’s army. During the battle, Lakshmana was heavily wounded, but he was cured by a magic herb which Hanuman flew all the way to the Himalayas to obtain. Not finding the herb at first, Hanuman brought the entire mountain just to be sure.
Finally, all rakshasa generals were killed and the battle become a single combat between Ravana and Ram. Finally, Ram killed Ravana with a special weapon given to him by saint Agastya.
This was a moment of great rejoicing. Ram and Sita were finally crowned King and Queen of Ayodhya.
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