Ramakatha Rasavahini - Part 1

[Guest guest]

Style'"> Nevertheless, the Maharaja was apparently overcome by some

mysterious anxiety; his face was losing effulgence. The lapse of a few years

did not improve matters. Despair wrote its deep lines firmer on his brow. One

day, he revealed the cause of his gloom to his queen, Sudakshina: "Darling! We

have no children, and sadness is overpowering me as a consequence. I am even

more affected when I realise that this Ikshvaku dynasty will terminate with me.

Some sin which I committed must have brought about this calamity. I am unable to

decide the process by which I can counter this malign destiny. I am eager to

learn from our family preceptor, the sage Vasishta, the means by which I can

win the Grace of God and make amends for the sin. I am very

much agitated by grief. What do you suggest as the best means to win Grace?"

Sudakshina did not take time even to think out the answer. "Lord! This

same fear had entered my mind too, and caused me much grief. I had not given

expression to it. I smothered it in the mind for I cannot, I know, reveal my

fears, without being prompted by you, my Lord. I am ever willing and eager to

support and follow implicitly what appeals to you as the best means of

overcoming our sorrow. Why should there be any delay? Let us hasten to consult

revered Vasishta", she said. Dileepa ordered the chariot to be brought for the

pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Preceptor. He directed that no escort or

courtier need accompany him that day. In fact, he drove the vehicle himself and

reached the simple cottage of his Gurudev. At the sound of the

chariot, the hermits on the out-skirts of the Asram went into the cottage and

made known to their Master the arrival of the Ruler of the Empire. Vasishta

showered his blessing on him as soon as he saw him near the door and lovingly

inquired about his health and the welfare of his subjects and his kith and kin.

Sudakshina fell at the feet of the sage's consort, the famed

Arundhathi, embodiment of all the virtues which adorn the noblest of women.

Arundhathi lifted her into her arms and fondly embraced her prodding her with

questions about her welfare. She led her into the inner part of the hermitage.

As befitted the

monarch of the realm, Dileepa acquired from Vasishta whether the Yajnas and

Yagas the ascetics had to perform as part of the cultural tradition were being

carried out without any handicap, whether the anchorites were experiencing any

difficulty in acquiring food and carrying on their studies and spiritual

practices, and whether their sylvan campuses were terrorised by wild beasts. He

was yearning, he said, to make their studies and spiritual excercises progress

well without any distraction due to adverse environment or counter-influences.

When the king and queen entered the cottage and sat in their

places, with the assembled sages and seekers, Vasishta suggested to the latter

to move into their own hermitages, and asked the king the reason for his coming

to his place accompanied by the queen and none else. The king communicated to

his preceptor the nature and depth of his grief, and prayed for the only remedy

that could remove it, namely, his Grace. Listening to that prayer,

Vasishta was lost in deep meditation. Perfect silence prevailed. The king too

sat in the lotus posture on the bare floor and merged his mind in God; the

queen attuned her mind with the Divine. At last, Vasistha opened

his eyes and said, "King! The will of God can be thwarted by no man, whatever

his might or authority. I have no power to override the decree of the Divine. I

cannot manifest enough Grace to confer, through my blessings, the son you

desire. You have drawn on yourself a curse. On one occasion, when you were

approaching the Capital, during your journey home, the Divine Cow, Kamadhenu,

was reclining in the cool shade of the Divine Tree, the Kalpatharu! Your eye

fell on her, but caught up in the tangle of worldly pleasures, you ignored her

and passed on, in pride, to the palace. Kamadhenu was pained at the

neglect, she was hurt that you had failed to honour her; she felt that your

people will start dishonouring the cow, since the king himself had failed in

his duty. When rulers, who do not revere the Vedas or adore Brahmins who learn

and practise the Vedas or neglect the cow which sustains man, continue to rule

without restraint, she argued, there will be no Dharma in the land.

"Kamadhenu cursed you that day that you should have no son to succeed to your

throne; she declared, however, that when you take the advice of the Guru and

start in humility and reverence to serve the cow and worship her in

gratitude, the curse will be rendered infructuous and you will be rewarded with

a son and heir. "Therefore, worship the cow from this moment, with

your queen, as laid down in the sacred texts and you are certain to have a son.

The hour is near when cows start returning home from the pasture. My treasure,

the divine cow, Nandini, is fast approaching the hermitage. Go, serve her with

devotion and steady faith. Give her food and drink at appropriate hours. Wash

the cow and take her out to the pastures and see that no harm comes to her

while she grazes." (Chapter 2 To Be Continued..) SaiRam.