- A discourse by His Holiness Vidyadeesha Teertha
- Compiled by : Vidwan Sri Sagri Raghavendra Upadhyaya
- Translation: Pushkara Parthakudi
The prominent facts of the seven kāṇḍas’ of rāmāyaṇa can be examined and inferred from the name pūtātmā contained in the Viṣṇusahasranāma.
Pristine soul (pūtaścāsau ātmā ca)
- Lord to those who are pure (pūtānāṁ ātmā svāmī)
- Assumes form inside the pious (pūtān āpnōti prāpnōtīti)
- Pervades the righteous for their wellbeing (pūtānāṁ ānukūlyāya āpnōtīti)
- Destroys for the protection of the virtuous (pūtānāṁ ānukūlyāya attīti)
- Purifies the individual souls’ (ātmānaḥ pūtāḥ yasmāt saḥ)
With the backdrop of the connotations of these six interpretations, let us delve upon the predominant incidents from the rāmāyaṇa beginning with the bālakāṇḍā.
bālakāṇḍā:
Rucheeka bestowed his wife Satyavati with a boon, as a result of which, Vishwamitra attained the stature of a Brahman and became purified. Therefore, Lord Rama along with Lakshmana chose to be his disciples. (Pūtaṁ vipratvaprāptyā pavitraṁ viśvāmitraṁ āpnōti śiṣyatayā prāpnōtīti pūtātmā)
He enabled Ahalya who attained purification through penance, reunite with her husband Gautama. (Pūtāṁ tapasā pavitrāṁ ahalyāṁ āpayati patnitvēna gautamēna prāpayatīti pūtātmā)
He accepted Seeta who was pure and an embodiment of Lakshmidevi herself, as his consort. (Pūtāṁ sītāṁ āpnōti patnitayā prāpnōtīti pūtātmā)
ayōdhyākāṇḍa:
ತ್ರಿದಶಮುನಿಕೃತೇಽರಣ್ಯಮೇವಾಽಽವಿವೇಶ. In this quote, Shri Madhvacharya states that in order to fulfill the promise that Dasharatha made to Kaikeyi, Lord Rama went on exile with the primary intent of bestowing His grace upon the sages and demigods who inhabited the forests, by annihilating the demons. (Pūtēbhyaḥ pavitrēbhyaḥ munidēvēbhyaḥ tān anukūlayituṁ āpnōti araṇyam iti pūtātmā)
Lord Rama who departed to the forest, assumed form inside the pious Guha, at the banks of Ganga in Shringaverapura. (pūtaṁ guhaṁ āpnōtīti pūtātmā)
In order to persuade Lord Rama to return to Ayodhya, from dwelling in the forest, many devotees of Lord Rama, led by Bharata, the younger sibling of Lord Rama, had been to the forest. However, Lord Rama blessed Bharata by giving away his padukas and thereby, Bharata still adorned Lord Rama as his emperor and obtained sanctification. (Pūtē pādukē āpayati prāpayatīti pūtātmā- antarṇītaṇic)
Lord Rama graced Bharata who attained purification by abstaining from food (prāyōpavēśa). (Pūtasya prāyōpavēśēna pavitrasya bharatasya ātmā svāmī)
araṇyakāṇḍa
At the forest, Lord Rama visited the hermitage of Sharabhanga rishi, who in the presence of the Lord, gave up his body by entering into the fire thus becoming purified. The Lord offered him refuge in His realm. (Pūtaṁ pavitraṁ śarabhaṅgaṁ āpayati svalōkaṁ prāpayatīti pūtātmā)
Lord Rama accepted the pure fruits offered to Him with utmost devotion by Shabari who resided at the hermitage of Matanga rishi. (Pūtaṁ śabarīsamarpitaṁ pavitraṁ phalaṁ ādattē iti pūtātmā)
Lord Rama slayed the demons Khara, Dushana, etc., for the convenience of the pious sages. (Pūtēbhyaḥ r̥ṣibhyaḥ tān anukūlayituṁ atti kharadūṣaṇaprabhr̥tīn sanharatīti pūtātmā)
kiṣkindhākāṇḍa:
Lord Rama is the exceptional Lord to the pious Anjaneya. (Pūtasya hanūmataḥ ātmā viśēṣataḥ svāmī)
Lord Rama enabled Vaali who attained purification through repentance for his misdeeds, to return to his original form of Indra. (Pūtaṁ paścāttāpēna pavitraṁ vālinaṁ āpayati mūlarūpaṁ prāpayatīti pūtātmā)
Lord Rama bestowed purification upon Anjaneya and the other monkeys who sang hymns that glorified Him at Mahendraparvata. (Ān̄janēyādibhyaḥ pūtaṁ pūtatvaṁ āpayatīti pūtātmā)
sundarakāṇḍa:
Lord Rama is the Master to the pious Anjaneya who always reminiscences upon Him. (Pūtasya rāmasmaraṇēna pavitrasya ān̄janēyasya ātmā svāmī)
Lord Rama bestowed Anjaneya with saayujya moksha which he experienced later, for having achieved piosity through the exceptional service he rendered during the search for Seeta. (Pūtaḥ ān̄janēyaḥ svakr̥tasēvāphalatayā uttaratra sāyujyaṁ yathā atti tathā karōtīti sāyujyaṁ āpayatīti yāvat pūtātmā)
yud’dhakāṇḍa:
Vibheeshana who was virtuous on accord of his devotion was inducted by Lord Rama into His squad. (Pūtaṁ rāmabhaktyā pavitraṁ vibhīṣaṇaṁ ādattē svapakṣaṁ prati svīkarōtīti pūtātmā)
Being holy and bereft of any personal hatred, Lord Rama annihilates Ravana and the likes for their evil acts. (Dvēṣādihīnatayā pūtaḥ san atti tattaddauṣṭyaprayuktaṁ rāvaṇādi sanharatīti ātmā pūtātmā)
Lord Rama enabled the pious Jaya-Vijaya who dwelled in Ravana-Kumbhakarna respectively, to gradually return to their original form. (Pūtau jayavijayau āpayati svamūlarūpamiti pūtātmā)
uttarakāṇḍa:
In line with the philosophical dictum, Lord Rama accepted Seetadevi after she emerged from the trial by fire (agniparīkṣe). (Darśanabhāṣānusārēṇa agniparīkṣayā pūtāṁ pavitrāṁ sītāṁ ādattē svīkarōtīti pūtātmā)
By ruling the citizens who had become virtuous through their devotion towards Him with prudence, Lord Rama became their exalted Master. (Pūtāḥ rāmabhaktyā pavitrāḥ prajāḥ tāsāṁ ātmā svāmī)
Lord Rama bestowed salvation upon the subjects who became purified by their holy contemplation and spiritual practices, in accordance with their eligibility. (Pūtān ādhyātmikasādhanānuṣṭhānēna pavitrān āpayati tattadyōgyaṁ sthānaṁ prāpayatīti pūtātmā)
- Ramayana Image courtesy : https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/12458787095/in/photostream/
