Ram’s advent in Dandkaranya was a much longed-for event for the hermits who stayed there. Sages such as Sharbhnag and Sutikshan had declined even the invitation of Lord Indra himself who had descended on earth with his celestial retinue to escort them personally to the swarg-lok. They refused to leave their earthly bodies until they had basked in Ram’s company, even for a short while. And why not. Ram,after all,was Lord Vishnu, born a man.
For those of the hermits who still had not rid themselves of the coils of the mundane world, Ram was the king visiting them in person. He had killed the fearsome Rakshas Viradh. Yet, there remained many more Viradhs roaming undeterred in Dandakaranya and elsewhere. Merciless killers, they had attained superhuman powers and could change their shape at will to dupe their victims. Hermits, in sharp contrast, lived in the secluded places like Dandkaranya, having renounced the world for their redemption. Devoid of any means to protect themselves, they were preyed on by the demoniac rakshasas. The adept among them might have killed such man-eaters with their spiritual powers, but they did not want to waste their attainments on any negativity.
The mass of sages showed Ram the half-eaten bodies and skeletons of rishi-munis which lay around the banks of the Lake Pampa and the Mandakini river (both in the present day Koppal district near Hampi, Karnataka). Ram might have refused Bharat’s request to take over the reins of the Kaushala, but everyone regarded him as the king of the realm. The sages made to him a fervent plea:
“Shri Ram! The king who is engaged in the task of protecting his subjects and with diligence defends the life of all the people as if they were more precious than his own offspring, (that king) earns a lasting fame…
“Therefore, we have come to you for protection against the rakshasas. Shri Ram, you are kind to all those who seek refuge in you; so, defend us who are being killed by the night-wandering (rakshasas)”
Balmiki Ramayan, Aranya Kand, Canto 6(xii and xix)
Ram gave the assembled rishi-munis his solemn word that he would defend them from the terrorising rakshasas. His spouse, Sita, however, had her qualms. Ram’s pledge involved violence and Sita abhorred violence even if it was done for a good cause. Putting behind her recent nightmare when Viradh wanted to kill both her husband and brother-in-law to take her for himself, Sita implored Ram thus –
“In this world there are just three vices arising out of ‘kama’. Telling lies is a great vice, and still worse are two more vices – adultery and cruelty to those who are not hostile to us. Of these, you never had the vice of telling lies, nor will you ever have (that one)…
“O Mighty Armed! Those who have mastered their faculties, they always adhere fully to truth and dharma. O Great Man of Auspicious Countenance! I am fully aware of your mastery over the senses.
“But because of delusion or illusion people indulge in the third dreadful vice, which is to commit violence to the life of others (even) without bearing animosity towards them. That vice is present in you as well.
“O Brave One! You have taken a vow to kill the rakshasas in a war in defence of the rishis dwelling in Dandkaranya…
“For that very purpose, armed with your bow and arrows, you have set out with your brother to the renowned forest of Dandkaranya.
“And seeing you going out for this severe task, my mind is turbulent with anxiety. Mindful of your resolve to fulfil your promise, I am always thinking how it should turn felicitous to you.”
-ibid, Canto 11(iii-iv; viii-xii)
Assuring Sita that he was aware of her concerns, Ram said that as a ruler it was his first and foremost duty to ensure the safety of each and every one of his subjects. For hermits in particular he had a special responsibility since they had voluntarily severed all ties with the world. It behoved him therefore to personally go to them and assure them of their safety, and if necessary, fight for their well-being.
Having resolved the matter with Sita, Ram took leave of Muni Sutikshan, and the three travellers set out on their long and arduous trek in Dandkaranya with the objective of meeting every single hermit in that forest.Rishi Balmiki describes in Canto 11 of Aranya Kand how Ram always walked ahead, with Sita behind him and Lakshman following both of them with his bow and arrows in readiness to ward off any attack.
In this manner they traversed several mountain peaks and forests, waded through rivers, went over hills and dales. On their way they came across the Panchapsara Teerth, the abode of Rishi Maandkarni – a man of spirituality who had been won over by the ever-jealous Indra not by violence but by the soft touch of sensuality. The rishi had appalled Indra with his tapasya to such an extent that the king of devas not only put at his service five of his prettiest celestial damsels to detract from his penitence but also built him a luxurious underwater mansion to drown himself in the pleasures of flesh rather than follow the dry life of a hermit.
Ram, Lakshman and Sita stayed at the ashrams of rishi-munis variously from four months to a whole year. Thus,spending ten years in their wanderings, they returned to Muni Sutikshan’s ashram. They had been there for some period, when Ram courteously told Muni Sutikshan one day that he wanted to meet Maharishi Agastya and sought directions to the abode of one of the greatest rishis of his time.
Muni Sutikshan said he was himself going to tell him to meet Maharishi Agastya. “Shri Ram!” He said, “I will give you here and now the whereabouts of the ashram where Maha-muniAgastya lives. Son! Go four yojans southwards of this ashram. There you will see a vast and beautiful ashram of Agastya’s brother.
“Shri Ram! Stay there for a night’s rest. In the morning, walk southwards from the edge of that forest area. That way, at a yojan’s distance, you will reach Agastya Muni’s ashram surrounded by very many trees in a pleasant section of the forest.”
Ibid, Canto 11(xxxvii and xl)
Following the directions given by Muni Sutikshan, Ram, Lakshman and Sita arrived at the ashram of Agastya – the maharishi, who in the interest of the general public, had made the South safe from deadly rakshasas.
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