Six seasons passed after Putresti had been performed. During the period of the seasons the asterism Punarvasu belonging to the deity Aditi arrived. On the ninth day of the twelfth month of Caitra, Kausalya gave birth to Rama. ‘Caitr’: The word is derived by adding the suffix an to the name of lunar mansion, in denoting the night in which the Moon is in the asterism Citra (P 4 .2 .3, 4 .1 .83). Further, the word Caitra is obtained by adding the suffix an to the name Caitr” in the sense of ‘the month in which the Moon is full in the asterism Citra’ (P 4 .2 .21). The word aditidaivatya is derived by the suffix nya added to aditidevata (P 4 .1 .85) in the sense ‘this is its deity’ (P 4 .2 .24).
It was the moment of the Sun’s entrance into the zodiac sign. The planets Ravi or the Sun, Mangala or Mars, guru or Jupiter, Sukra or Venus, and Sani or Saturn were in the highest office of the zodiac signs, viz. Mesa or Aries, Makara or Capricorn, Karka or Cancer, Mina or Pisces, and Tula or Libra respectively. Further, Brhaspati or Jupiter, the lord of speech, with Indu or Moon was in a rising position. Varahamihira states: “The planets Divakara and others, when stationed in the zodiac signs of Aja, Vrsabha, Mrgangana, Kulira, Jhasa, and Vanij, are considered the most auspicious”.
Rama was the controller of all worlds, governing through Brahma, Visnu, and Mahesvara. Hence, all beings and gods living in the universe worshipped him. He bore divine body marks, stated as good omens in the Science of Palmistry. He brought glory to the family of Dasaratha, the descendant of Iksvaku lineage. He was delightful, i.e. benevolent to all. The statement contains the figure of speech parisamkhya. The figure of speech kavyarthapatti is also employed here.
Rama made the four-armed Visnu, controller of the universe. Thereby, he was the promoter of Visnu. The explanation is in consonance with the Shruti: “He is the cause of the Sun who is the fountainhead of light”. To sum up, he was capable of accomplishing everything, which had never happened before.
Rama is described as mahabhaga.The commentator provides various meanings of the epithet: 1. The larger portion of the payasa caused his manifestation. 2. He was the source of supreme fortune. 3. He radiated amazing radiance visible to all beings. 4. The great gods like Brahman acquired refulgence from him. 5. He sent forth the supreme light to his devotees. 6. He had the bright mountain, by name Mani for his amusement. 7. Brahman and others worshipped him.
1. Visnor arddham:Bhusana interprets it as ‘The half portion of payasa advanced by Visnu caused Rama’s manifestation’. The meaning is derived by ‘implication’or lakshana. In fact, Rama, the Lord of the lords incarnated himself playfully at the request of Brahma and others. Merely his will causes the creation of the universe. Had he been the consequence of any cause, he would have been non-eternal.
2. Bhatta pleads, ‘Rama being devoid of conch, wheel, and club was a little inferior to Visnu’. The statement is not, at all, convincing, since the word ‘Visnu’ is not expressive of Visnu without conch, wheel, etc. (That is, the word is invariably applied to Visnu wielding them.)
3. Pathaka says: Rama was constituted of the half of syllable Om, (the mystic monosyllabic word), which is expressive of Pranava, the embodiment of Visnu. This shows the identification between the word and its meaning. The ‘Shruti’ also asserts ‘One should know that Pranava is God, i.e. Visnu who resides in the minds of all’. Further, the Smrti declares ‘I am one syllable’. The Atharvana Shruti asserts: ‘Saumitri, the illuminator of all, came into being from the syllable ‘a’. The brilliant Satrughna originated from ‘u’’.
The wise Bharata sprang from ‘m’ while Rama who was constituted of Sat, Cit, and Ananda, manifested from ardha-matra, i.e. half-short syllable of long ‘a’. (Here Om is taken as consisting of the syllables a, u, and m.) In our view, the argument is not satisfactory on two grounds. First, the purport as a whole is brought out by lakshana or implication. The meaning explicitly expressed is preferable to the one denoted indirectly. Secondly, the word Om as a whole is expressive of God. Hence, half a syllable of ‘a’, the component of the word is not competent to denote Rama who is avayavin, the whole or the complete. Thus lakshana is inadequate to yield the intended meaning. Simultaneously, on the same ground, our proposition refutes Tilaka’s view, viz. ‘Rama with two arms forms half the portion of four-armed Visnu’.
One more point needs to be noted in this context. The word ‘Visnu’ is not exclusively expressive of four-armed Visnu, as it is applicable to Bhuman, Daksa, Yajna, etc., who are manifest with eight arms. Presuming that it implies eight-armed gods, it may not be applicable to two-armed Rama born from sharing a large portion of the porridge. Consequently the expression ‘visnor ardham’ meaning ‘Rama is half the portion of Visnu' cannot yield the meaning intended by Rshyasrnga. To sum up, the word ‘arddha’ explicitly means ‘the promoter’. The fact stands proved on etymological contextual grounds.
Endowed with boundless lustre, Rama, the son of Dasaratha and Kausalya appeared. Kauslya shone with her son like Aditi with her son Indra, the eminent god with a thunderbolt. Here Rama, the Supreme Self, the illuminator of the gods, is compared to Indra to ease our understanding of his invisible form.
Kaikeyi begot Bharata. He was satya-parakrama. The epithet produces various meanings: 1. He equalled Satya, i.e. Rama in valour. 2. He acquired valour from Rama. 3. Rama himself was his valour. 4. His valour was true, not false.
He was the essence of Visnu in person, the lord of Vaikuntha, consisting of four parts. Hence, he had all of Visnu’s qualities. If the possessive ending visnoh is taken like ‘Rahu’s head’, the expression in question means Bharata was the fourfold Visnu in person. The Pancaratra makes it clear: ‘The lord of Vaikuntha was Bharata, the lord of the milk-ocean was Lakshmana, and the lord of Bhuman was Satrughna’. Thus, Visnu appeared in varied forms of his brothers so as to worship him. Further, while commenting upon the verse (7 .50 .13) of the Uttarakanda, we would explain why Dasaratha prohibited the charioteer Sumantra from communicating to Bharata, Bhrigu’s curse upon Rama.
Sumitra, then, gave birth to Lakshmana and Satrughna. Adept at wielding all sorts of weapons, they (all the brothers) were obedient to Rama, the promoter of Narayana. They belonged to the lords of the milk-ocean and to Bhuman who rode on Garuda. This indicates that Satrughna was fond of Bharata at Rama’s behest.
The gracious Bharata arose on the day when the Moon was in conjunction with asterism Pusya at the Son's entrance into zodiac sign called Mina or Pisces. Sumitra begot her eternal sons Lakshmana and Satrughna at the midday when the Moon was in asterism Aslesa, when the Sun moved in the zodiac sign, by name, Karka or Cancer.
Birth stars of Rama and his brothers 1.18.8-16
Six seasons passed after Putresti had been performed. During the period of the seasons the asterism Punarvasu belonging to the deity Aditi arrived. On the ninth day of the twelfth month of Caitra, Kausalya gave birth to Rama. ‘Caitr’: The word is derived by adding the suffix an to the name of lunar mansion, in denoting the night in which the Moon is in the asterism Citra (P 4 .2 .3, 4 .1 .83). Further, the word Caitra is obtained by adding the suffix an to the name Caitr” in the sense of ‘the month in which the Moon is full in the asterism Citra’ (P 4 .2 .21). The word aditidaivatya is derived by the suffix nya added to aditidevata (P 4 .1 .85) in the sense ‘this is its deity’ (P 4 .2 .24).
It was the moment of the Sun’s entrance into the zodiac sign. The planets Ravi or the Sun, Mangala or Mars, guru or Jupiter, Sukra or Venus, and Sani or Saturn were in the highest office of the zodiac signs, viz. Mesa or Aries, Makara or Capricorn, Karka or Cancer, Mina or Pisces, and Tula or Libra respectively. Further, Brhaspati or Jupiter, the lord of speech, with Indu or Moon was in a rising position. Varahamihira states: “The planets Divakara and others, when stationed in the zodiac signs of Aja, Vrsabha, Mrgangana, Kulira, Jhasa, and Vanij, are considered the most auspicious”.
Rama was the controller of all worlds, governing through Brahma, Visnu, and Mahesvara. Hence, all beings and gods living in the universe worshipped him. He bore divine body marks, stated as good omens in the Science of Palmistry. He brought glory to the family of Dasaratha, the descendant of Iksvaku lineage. He was delightful, i.e. benevolent to all. The statement contains the figure of speech parisamkhya. The figure of speech kavyarthapatti is also employed here.
Rama made the four-armed Visnu, controller of the universe. Thereby, he was the promoter of Visnu. The explanation is in consonance with the Shruti: “He is the cause of the Sun who is the fountainhead of light”. To sum up, he was capable of accomplishing everything, which had never happened before.
Rama is described as mahabhaga.The commentator provides various meanings of the epithet: 1. The larger portion of the payasa caused his manifestation. 2. He was the source of supreme fortune. 3. He radiated amazing radiance visible to all beings. 4. The great gods like Brahman acquired refulgence from him. 5. He sent forth the supreme light to his devotees. 6. He had the bright mountain, by name Mani for his amusement. 7. Brahman and others worshipped him.
1. Visnor arddham:Bhusana interprets it as ‘The half portion of payasa advanced by Visnu caused Rama’s manifestation’. The meaning is derived by ‘implication’or lakshana. In fact, Rama, the Lord of the lords incarnated himself playfully at the request of Brahma and others. Merely his will causes the creation of the universe. Had he been the consequence of any cause, he would have been non-eternal.
2. Bhatta pleads, ‘Rama being devoid of conch, wheel, and club was a little inferior to Visnu’. The statement is not, at all, convincing, since the word ‘Visnu’ is not expressive of Visnu without conch, wheel, etc. (That is, the word is invariably applied to Visnu wielding them.)
3. Pathaka says: Rama was constituted of the half of syllable Om, (the mystic monosyllabic word), which is expressive of Pranava, the embodiment of Visnu. This shows the identification between the word and its meaning. The ‘Shruti’ also asserts ‘One should know that Pranava is God, i.e. Visnu who resides in the minds of all’. Further, the Smrti declares ‘I am one syllable’. The Atharvana Shruti asserts: ‘Saumitri, the illuminator of all, came into being from the syllable ‘a’. The brilliant Satrughna originated from ‘u’’.
The wise Bharata sprang from ‘m’ while Rama who was constituted of Sat, Cit, and Ananda, manifested from ardha-matra, i.e. half-short syllable of long ‘a’. (Here Om is taken as consisting of the syllables a, u, and m.) In our view, the argument is not satisfactory on two grounds. First, the purport as a whole is brought out by lakshana or implication. The meaning explicitly expressed is preferable to the one denoted indirectly. Secondly, the word Om as a whole is expressive of God. Hence, half a syllable of ‘a’, the component of the word is not competent to denote Rama who is avayavin, the whole or the complete. Thus lakshana is inadequate to yield the intended meaning. Simultaneously, on the same ground, our proposition refutes Tilaka’s view, viz. ‘Rama with two arms forms half the portion of four-armed Visnu’.
One more point needs to be noted in this context. The word ‘Visnu’ is not exclusively expressive of four-armed Visnu, as it is applicable to Bhuman, Daksa, Yajna, etc., who are manifest with eight arms. Presuming that it implies eight-armed gods, it may not be applicable to two-armed Rama born from sharing a large portion of the porridge. Consequently the expression ‘visnor ardham’ meaning ‘Rama is half the portion of Visnu' cannot yield the meaning intended by Rshyasrnga. To sum up, the word ‘arddha’ explicitly means ‘the promoter’. The fact stands proved on etymological contextual grounds.
Endowed with boundless lustre, Rama, the son of Dasaratha and Kausalya appeared. Kauslya shone with her son like Aditi with her son Indra, the eminent god with a thunderbolt. Here Rama, the Supreme Self, the illuminator of the gods, is compared to Indra to ease our understanding of his invisible form.
Kaikeyi begot Bharata. He was satya-parakrama. The epithet produces various meanings: 1. He equalled Satya, i.e. Rama in valour. 2. He acquired valour from Rama. 3. Rama himself was his valour. 4. His valour was true, not false.
He was the essence of Visnu in person, the lord of Vaikuntha, consisting of four parts. Hence, he had all of Visnu’s qualities. If the possessive ending visnoh is taken like ‘Rahu’s head’, the expression in question means Bharata was the fourfold Visnu in person. The Pancaratra makes it clear: ‘The lord of Vaikuntha was Bharata, the lord of the milk-ocean was Lakshmana, and the lord of Bhuman was Satrughna’. Thus, Visnu appeared in varied forms of his brothers so as to worship him. Further, while commenting upon the verse (7 .50 .13) of the Uttarakanda, we would explain why Dasaratha prohibited the charioteer Sumantra from communicating to Bharata, Bhrigu’s curse upon Rama.
Sumitra, then, gave birth to Lakshmana and Satrughna. Adept at wielding all sorts of weapons, they (all the brothers) were obedient to Rama, the promoter of Narayana. They belonged to the lords of the milk-ocean and to Bhuman who rode on Garuda. This indicates that Satrughna was fond of Bharata at Rama’s behest.
The gracious Bharata arose on the day when the Moon was in conjunction with asterism Pusya at the Son's entrance into zodiac sign called Mina or Pisces. Sumitra begot her eternal sons Lakshmana and Satrughna at the midday when the Moon was in asterism Aslesa, when the Sun moved in the zodiac sign, by name, Karka or Cancer.