Balakand - 1998
Dasaratha was the king of Kosala. The river sarayu flowed on the outskirts of the country. Ayodhya was the capital of Kosala. It was created by Manu. Dasaratha came under the scion of the Ishvakus. He was known for his wiseness, he has performed all the yagnas, and was a king loved by all.
Dasaratha has eight ministers who were all well versed in the art of advising the king in matters of importance. They were highly intelligent and were always interested in the well being of their king and his subjects. The ministers were Dhriti, Jayanta, Vijaya, Siddhartha, Arthasadaka, asoka, mantrapala and sumantra. The king has many priests to advise him on the matters pertaining to religion and religious rites and rituals. The chief of them were Vasishta and vamadeva. All the people in the kingdom were very happy and treasury of the kingdom was ever full and so was the granary.
Dasaratha was such a great king , but he was not at all happy. He had no son to make him happy. As he grew older, he was very much worried whether the line of Ishvakus will terminate after his death. At this time he thought of doing a Yaga by the name Ashwamedha. So he called for his able ministers and sent sumantra to call all the rishis and Acharyas like, Vasishta, Vamadeva Kashyapa etc. The king told them about his performing the Yaga and they also approved of his suggestion. The King told the ministers to take the advice of the rishis as to where the yaga is to be conducted. The yagnasala was to be built on the northern side of the river Sarayu.
Sumantra remembered that the famous rishi Sanatkumara had spoken about the birth of four sons to the king Dasaratha. He told the King to invite the sage Rishyashringa to preside over the yaga. Sage Rishyashringa was married to the daughter of Anga, whose name is Romapada. Dasaratha requested the king to allow his daughter and her husband (the great rishi) to come to his kingdom for the yaga. Very soon the seaon vasantha came, the rishi told the king to start the procedings of the yaga and to send the sacrificial horse for its sojourn around the Bharatvarsha. Dasaratha took the dust of the feet of sage Vasistha and prayed him to make the yaga a success. The king requested the sage Rishyashringa to perform the yaga by name of putrakama. The sage blessed him by performing the putrakama yaga as it is mentioned in the Atharva Veda.
When the Ahwamedha yaga was going on, the Devas led by Indra went to Brahmaji the creator. They complained to him about the troubles and harassment done by Ravana. They complained to Brahmaji that your boons have made him very very powerful . He has frightened all the three worlds and he has threatened to insult me in my Amravathi. Because of his boons , the sun god is afraid to glows brightly and vayu does not blow hard, even the sea is frightened of him. Because of his boons he cannot be killed by any of the devas.
Brahmaji listened to them and said , Yes, Ravana cannot be killed by any devas, or danavasor gandharvas, or yaksha, or any rakshasas. However because of his arrogance he forgot to get immunity to be killed by a man. And that his how he will be killed said , Brahmaji.
While they were talking thus, Lord Narayana came there with his shankha , chakra , he was seated on Garuda. Brahmaji requested to him to be born as a son to the king Dasaratha and also told that four sons will be born to the king. He requested Lord narayana let all the four sons be the Amsas of you. Your avatara will be of immense help to the mankind and also for us.
Lord Narayana listened to the words of Brahmaji, and said that I have decided to be born in the world of men and I will destroy Ravana and his entire clan . After killing him, I will rule the world for 11,000 yrs. To assist me in this avatara, he told the devas that they will also be born in the world of men as Monkeys as ravana had forgotten to ask for immunity of death from monkeys.
The Putrakama yaga came to an end . From the fire came a divine form. The divine form held in his hands a bowl with a silver covering. It said , I am a messenger from Brahmaji. I have been commanded to hand over this payasa to you. Give it to your queens and your wish for sons will be fulfilled. The king prostrated before the divine form and took the payasa. The yaga came to a glorious end and the king took the blessings of all the rishis and came to the inner chambers of his palace and gave half the payasa to his eldest queen, kausalya, and then gave half of what was left to Sumitra, and again half of what was left to Kaikeyi, and when some more was left he gave it to sumitra again.
The king dasaratha was very happy and the month of chaitra was approaching and the vasanta rutu was nearing. The month was Chaitra and it wasShukla paksha , it was ninth day of the new moon, all the five planets were in the auspious position, the lagna was karkata and the planet Guru was rising with the moon. The star was Punarvasu. The Lord Narayana was being born in the world of mankind as a man for the benefit of mankind. When the next star pushya appeared under the Meena Lagna a son was born to the queen kaikeyi. Sumitra gave birth to twins when the star Ashlesha was born. All the four sons of Dasaratha were the amsas of the Lord and kausalya’s son Rama was Lord Narayana himself. There was so much joy in the whole of kosala and king Dasaratha was the most happiest man . The children grew up like the moon in the shukla paksha . Right from their childhood Lakshmana was very very attached to Rama. He was always with Rama and Shatrugna was attached to Bharata.
The children grew up learning from their guru Sri Vasishta. They were well versed in the art of fighting like all the Kshatriyas and they were humble and softspoken . They were all liked by everybody and Rama was the darling of everybody. Of the four , Rama was the favourite of his father. The children were now of 16 years of age and Dasaratha was thinking in his mind about their marriage. At this time Sage Vishwamitra arrived at his palace. Dasaratha welcomed him with all shraddha and bhakti and with great humulity asked the sage about the purpose of his visit. Sage Vishvamitra told the king about the Yaga he was performing and the troubles he has to suffer from the rakshasas who could take any form any time. I cannot curse them because there is no place for anger when I am doing this yaga. Dasaratha asked what help do you need from me? I am willing to do anything to help in your yaga. When the king spoke like that, Sage Vishvamitra asked him to send rama with him . He said don"t worry about him and about his safety . He will be famed in the three worlds because of these good deeds . Dasaratha was worried now. He did not want to send rama with the sage. In his eyes rama was just a child and how can a child kill all the rakshasas? He pleaded with the sage , and even offered to go himself along with the sage and said I can fight the rakshasas . The king said my son is not even 16, and has not yet finished his education and then how can he help you? I cannot live a moment without seeing my beloved son rama. Rama is my very life and of all the four sons he is the most dearest to me. By now sage Vishvamitra patience was running out, He was very angry with the king who offered all the help and now he is going back on his words.The sage told the king that I am going back and you can live happily with all your kith and kins but you will be remembered as aking who did not keep his word and the you will be discredited by the world . The earth trembled when the sage spoke like this. Blinded as he was by his love for his son king dasaratha did not realise what he was doing. Sage Vasistha who was the kula guru then spoke to dasaratha, made him realise his mistake , he spoke about the prowess of the sage, thepowers of the sage and told him to get out of the delusion called Putrasneha. Finally the king realised his mistakes and fell at the feet of the sage and asked for forgiveness. He told the sage the Lakshmana is always with rama and they are always together. So Rama and Lakshmana went with sage Vishvamitra.
When they reached the southern bank of the river Sarayu, sage Vishvamitra told rama to take water in his palms and he taught him the mantras Bala and Prabala. They are the daughters of Brahmaji, the creator. You will never feel tired nor hunger will trouble you nor thirst will trouble you. That night they rested and next day before dawn they were woken up by sage Vishvamitra. They reached the spot where river sarayu joins river ganga. There were many Ashramas and many rishis were performing all sorts of tapas. They crossed the river ganga and the forest that they saw was very very dense but there was no sign of any habitation there. Sage Vishvamitra told them that a terrible rakshasi by the name of Tataka lives here and she has been terrorising everybody. Sage Vishvamitra told rama to kill tataka and rama obliged him by killing her and the forest was freed from tataka. Vishvamitra blessed rama and gave all the divine astras of his to him and taught him as to how to use it and told him to teach lakshmana .
Finally they reached the place where the yaga was to take place . Many rishis had gathered there . Rama and lakshmana paid obeisance to all of them. The rishis told them that the yaga will last for 6 days and sage Vishvamitra will observe vow of silence and they told them to guard the place very very carefully. The yaga proceeded with out any troubles for the first five days. But on the sixth day all of the sudden there was a lot of common . R and L knew that these are the works of the rakshasas. Rama took up the astra by the name manavastra and aimed it at the rakshasa by the name Marichi. The astra struck marichi and threw him about hundred yojanas in to the sea but it did not kill him . Rama then took up the other astra by the name Agneyastra and it killed subahu and the other rakshasas.
After the yaga was over, Rama asked the sage as to what they should do now ? Sage Vishvamitra told rama and lak , we will go from here to the kingom of Janaka , Mithila. The famed bow of Mahadeva is in Mithila and till date nobdy has been able to lift it. They reached the kingdom of Mithila and the king on knowing about the arrival of sage Vishvamitra welcomed him with all honour and respect. He also asked about the purpose of his visiit.
The sage introduced the two princes to the king and told the king that they both are great archers and they are impatient to see the bow of Mahadeva and asked the king to make arrangement to bring the bow.
King Janaka narrated as to how the bow came to be with him , and he also spoke about his daughter Sita, who was found as a beautiful child from the mother earth, when he was preparing the earth for doing a yaga. That is why she is named Sita, and whoever is able to lift the bow, Sita will be their bride.
Janaka made arrangements to bring the bow, and rama with the blessing of sage Vishvamitra lifted the bow as though it were just a sport. Rama held the bow straight with his left hand and he bent the bow with his right hand . The earth trembled at the noise, and many people fell doen unconscious. King janaka was very very happy that Sita will be rama’s bride and she will be the bride of the house of Ishvakus. He made arrangements and send messengers to Kosala about the impending marriage of Rama and Sita. Dasaratha was very very happy and they all left for Mithila. King janaka told king Dasaratha, please accept my 2nd daughter for your son Lakshmana. At this time Sage Vishvamitra spoke to the king Janaka, about his brother’s daughters and asked the king to get the two daughters to be given in marriage to Bharata and Shatrugna.
When the star is in Uttara Phalguni let the marriage be performed. ...Read more!
Ramayana Overview - 1998
Ramaayana is one of the two itihaasa [historical account] scriptures of Sanathana Hindu Dharma. It contains the story of Lord Raama the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the tretaa yuga - referred to as the silver age among the four ages in a Mahaayuga. Ramayana along with Mahaabharaatha is the most popular amongst the Hindus all around the world today and in fact is even considered by many as a fifth veda.
The original Ramaayana was authored by Rishi Valmiki in Sanskrit. However, it has been written in most of the Indian languages, a few of them being Sant Tulsidas’ Ram Charitramanas in avadhi and Kambar’s Kambaraamayanam in Tamil. The Interesting thing about Ramaayana is that it unfolded after it was written. The incidents that were to happen around the seventh avataar of Lord Vishnu were revealed to sage Valmiki before they even took place. Once Sage Valmiki watched two Krauncha birds sitting on a tree. Suddenly one of the Krauncha bird fell down after being hit by a hunter’s arrow. Seeing this incident, Valmiki was so overcome with pain and compassion for the bird on one hand and on the other, he was very angry with the hunter that he cursed him that he will not attain bliss for eternity. It is said that the oyster breeds the pearl in a moment of irritation. This incident spurred Rishi Valmiki to compose this Adi Kavya. There is also a belief amongst certain circles that Lord Vishnu played out the role of Lord Raama as dictated in the Raamayana.
The entire Raamayana is like a game of chess. The scene set is kind of a battlefield where the forces of right and wrong are waging war. Rama represents righteousness and Ravana represents unrighteousness. Some might ask, Is it not the same theme as in Mahabhaaratha? However there are some interesting differences between Lord Raama and Lord Krishna - the avataars of Lord Vishnu. Raama was born as a prince and died as a king but lived as an ascetic. Krishna, on the other hand was born in a prison, and died to a wound caused by a hunter’s arrow but lived as a king all his life. In the form of Raama, Lord Vishnu plays a role of an ideal human being whereas as Krishna, He reveals that He is God incarnate.
In the sacred epic of Raamayana, many profound secrets and truths are hidden. Lord Raama, however, did not impart these secrets to anyone at anytime. Just as a ripened fruit falls to the ground, so also people with ripened hearts alone will realise the truth. Whatever stage we are in, let us try to listen carefully and contemplate upon the various khandaas which are being summarised so that we would understand the greatness of this epic.
Raamayana stresses on bhakthi- yoga - the yoga of devotional love. Lord Raama represents the ideal man, Sitaadevi, the ideal woman and Hanumanji is the epitome of a bhaktha. In fact some people refer to Raama as Rama, meaning a woman. Raamayana also means that it is a story of Sitadevi.
Raamayana represents the best of relationship among humans whether it is between father and son or between husband and wife or between brothers or between a disciple and his master. Even the raakhshasas followed a strict code of conduct in their relationships. The story of Lord Raama is not that of a single towering personality . All other characters in Raamayana whether it is Sitadevi or Lakshmana or Bharata, shine in their own greatness. All of them are so closely interwoven in Lord Raama’s life that it is difficult to think of anyone without the other. In fact it is Lord Raama who is always the first to appreciate the unique and noble qualities in other’s character.
Where in lay the secret of this unique greatness in Raama’s personality? He is called Maryadha Purushottama- the great one who never deviated from the norms of Dharma. In the eyes of a Hindu, the touchstone of human excellence is Dharma. Devotion to Dharma came first in Raama’s life. It was his supreme commitment to putra-dharma that made Raama smilingly depart to the forest for fourteen years. Again He did not budge from the path of Dharma when he was made the future emperor of Bharat. Don’t we recite in Vishnu Sahasranama that Raama is Dharma himself :
Ramo Viramo Viraj, Marg Neyo Neyonayah
Veera Shakthimathan Shresta, Dharmo Dharmavidhutamma
Lord Raama was ready to forsake everything else to uphold his kingly duties - Rajdharma and take care of his countrymen. In fact he once told Sitadevi that he would not hesitate to sacrifice even her if the welfare of the people of Ayodhya required it.
Sneham dayaam cha soukhyam cha, yadi vaa jaanakimapi
Aaraadhanaaya lokasya, munchate naasti me vyatha.
However, the most crucial test came when Lakshmana violated the orders of Lord Raama and admitted Durvasa’s presence with a view to averting the destruction of Ayodhya by Durvasa’s curse. Raama stuck to the Law of the land and awarded death sentence to Lakshmana- one whom he loved dearer than his own life. Such was Lord Raama’s intense adoration and love for the motherland and this is revealed in the following legendary couplet
Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargaadapi Garreyasi
This means that the mother and motherland are greater to me than the heavens themselves.
Sri Raama’s role as one of the first and foremost national unifiers of Bharat is also unique and extraordinary. He embraced Guha, the boatman and also enjoyed the fruit offered with devotion by Shabari, a tribal lady without any hesitation. Lord Raama has become so much identified with all the good, great and virile qualities of a human being that expressions such as "Us me Ram nahi Hai" have become common usage.
What have we to learn from Raamayana ?
The world today is in dire need of the message of the Raamayana. Jealousy, Hatred, disobedience, selfishness - all these evils has had bad influence on the society. Raama preached to the world the basic truth that the world is one family besides teaching the duties one should perform in everyday life in a society and towards a family. This triple stream of duties is the message of Raamayana. We need to perform our duty in the best possible manner like Lord Raama did.
Raama dwells in the heart of everyone. He is the indwelling spirit. When we sing " Atmaraama" week after week, this is exactly what we mean. Ayodhya, where Raama resides, symbolises our heart. Only if we keep our heart pure and firm, there will be room for Raama to stay forever. Among the many avataars of the Lord, the avataar of Lord Raama is also unique in the sense that the word "Raama" is not only a name but also a mantra in itself. Has not the Phalasruti we say in Vishnu Sahasranamam - Sri Raama Raama Ramethi….. been equated to reciting the entire sahasranamam ?
Lord Raama taught us how to remain unruffled in the presence of difficulties or joys, in pain or pleasure. A good man by his good conduct achieves greatness. These are the qualities, which everyone should cultivate. In fact the comparison of Sri Raama’s fortitude and strength to the Himalayas and the grace of his personality to the ocean- Samudra iva Gambheerye, dhairye Cha Himavaan iva portrays how his personality has been blended with the entire country.
When a Hindu’s acting in this world comes to an end, he is bid Raam Naam Satya Hai. Before we are bid such a farewell, let us atleast put into practice the teachings of Lord Raama. Vishnu Sahasranamam gives an assurance by saying Priyakrut Pritivardhana meaning when we stay in his path namely Dharma and Satya, he not only bestows all the desires but also takes the responsibility of keeping the devotee steadfast in his love and devotion towards him. Again the last reference to Sri Raama in the Vishnu Sahasranama is the word "Kshitisham" "Kshitisham" means a king. The Sahasranamam confirms Lord Ramaa to be our king and urges everyone to take the guidance of Ramaayana.
SRI RAMA JAYAM ...Read more!
Satsangh Bhajan Tunes
Satsangh Bhajan Mala from 1996/1997 is linked below. The bhajan mala text is available in the following formats:
Some of the bhajans from bhajan mala are linked below in alphabetical order, as MP3 files well as Real Audio files . The audio clips are by Meena Aithala and Guruji. They are for the purpose of conveying the tunes for the bhajans.
Aayanaa kesavaa mahdava MP3 - Real Audio
Aganitha guna gana MP3 - Real Audio
Amba Parameshvari MP3 - Real Audio
Ananda Sagara Muralidhara MP3 - Real Audio
Anantarupa Anantanama MP3 - Real Audio
Anjaneya veera hanumantha MP3 - Real Audio
Anjaneya raghuveera ramadhuta MP3 - Real Audio
AtmArAma Ana.ndaramaNa MP3 - Real Audio
Bhola Natha Umapathe MP3 - Real Audio
Deva Deva Deva Krishna MP3 - Real Audio
Devi bhavani MP3 - Real Audio
Devi Bhavani Jagatajanani MP3 - Real Audio
Eenanadana gajaanana MP3 - Real Audio
Eka dantam Vinayakam MP3 - Real Audio
Gajanana OM Gajavadana MP3 - Real Audio
Gajanana OM Gajavadana MP3 - Real Audio
Gananatham Gananatham MP3 - Real Audio
Ganesha Sharanam MP3 - Real Audio
Garuda Vahana Narayana MP3 - Real Audio
Gauri nandana Gajanana MP3 - Real Audio
Gopala Giridhara Bala MP3 - Real Audio
Govinda Madhava Gopala Keshava MP3 - Real Audio
Govinda Madhava Gopala Keshava MP3
Guruvayurpura Shri Hari Krishna MP3 - Real Audio
Hare Rama Hare Rama MP3 - Real Audio
He Madhava he Madhusudana MP3 - Real Audio
He Murali Madhava MP3 - Real Audio
Jagadashraya Shri Raghurama MP3 - Real Audio
Jai Ganaraya Shri Ganaraya MP3 - Real Audio
Jaya Govinda Jaya Anantha MP3 - Real Audio
Jaya Jaya Bhavani Maa MP3 - Real Audio
Jaya Jaya Devi Daya Lahari MP3 - Real Audio
Jaya Jaya Raghu Nandana MP3 - Real Audio
Jaya Lambodara pahi mam MP3 - Real Audio
Kala Rupini Kadambari MP3 - Real Audio
Kali kali maha kalikapalini MP3 - Real Audio
Kali Kali Mahakali Kapalini MP3 - Real Audio
Kalyana Krishna Kamaniya Krishna MP3 - Real Audio
Kamalanayana Prabhu Kamalapathi MP3 - Real Audio
Keshava Madhava Madhusudana MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Krishna Govinda Madhav MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Krishna Jaya Gopi Rama MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Krishna Manamohana MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Krishna Mukunda Janardana MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Krishna Yaduvara Krishna MP3 - Real Audio
Krishna Rama Govinda Narayana MP3 - Real Audio
Krishnam Vande Nanda Kumaram MP3 - Real Audio
Krishnam Vande Nanda Kumaram MP3 - Real Audio
Maa He Maa MP3 - Real Audio
Madhura Madhura MP3 - Real Audio
Madhurapuri Nilaye MP3 - Real Audio
Madhusudana Hare Madhava MP3 - Real Audio
Madhusudhana he Muralidhara MP3 - Real Audio
Maha Ganapate palayamam MP3 - Real Audio
Manamohana Krishna Kunja Vihari MP3 - Real Audio
Manamohana Krishna Kunja Vihari MP3 - Real Audio
Manasa Bhajare Guru MP3 - Real Audio
Mangala charana Gajanana MP3 - Real Audio
Murali Manohara MP3 - Real Audio
Muralidhara Murahara Natavara MP3 - Real Audio
Namo Bhutha Natha MP3 - Real Audio
Nandeeswara he natarajaa MP3 - Real Audio
Nandishvara He Nataraja MP3 - Real Audio
Narayan kesava madhava MP3 - Real Audio
Narayana hari narayanaa MP3 - Real Audio
Narayana Veda Parayana MP3 - Real Audio
Pahi Ganesha Gajanana MP3 - Real Audio
Panduranga Panduranga MP3 - Real Audio
Parvatinandana Gajanana MP3 - Real Audio
Prathama vandana Gauri nandana MP3 - Real Audio
Purandara rangaa MP3 - Real Audio
Purandhar vitthale hari MP3 - Real Audio
Purndara vitthle narayana MP3 - Real Audio
Raama Krishna MP3 - Real Audio
Raama Naama Rasa MP3 - Real Audio
Radhe Radhe Radhe Radhe MP3 - Real Audio
Radheshyam Radheshyam MP3 - Real Audio
Radhika Manohara Madan MP3 - Real Audio
Rama Real Audio
Rama pujari paropakari MP3 - Real Audio
Rama Rama Dasharata MP3 - Real Audio
Ramachandra Raghuveera MP3 - Real Audio
Ramachandra Prabhu MP3 - Real Audio
Shambho Mahadeva MP3 - Real Audio
Shankara MP3 - Real Audio
Shankara Sambashiva MP3 - Real Audio
Sharade visharade kalanidhe MP3 - Real Audio
Sharade visharade kalanidhe MP3 - Real Audio
Sharade Visharade Kalanidhe Dayanidhe MP3 - Real Audio
Shiva Haraye MP3 - Real Audio
Shivaya Parameshvaraya MP3 - Real Audio
Shree Laxmi Ramana Narayana MP3 - Real Audio
Shrikari Kripakari Xemankari MP3 - Real Audio
Shrinivasa Govinda MP3 - Real Audio
Shrinivasa Venkatesha MP3 - Real Audio
Sitaaraama MP3 - Real Audio
Sundaramukha Shri Gajanana MP3 - Real Audio
Tripura Sundari Maa MP3 - Real Audio
Vaijayantidhara Vanamaladhara MP3 - Real Audio
Vanamali Radha Ramana MP3 - Real Audio
Veda Vinayaka Sharanam MP3 - Real Audio
Veera maruti ghambheera MP3
Veera parakram veeradhiveera MP3 - Real Audio
Venan gajanana MP3
Vighna Vinayaka Vedasvarupa MP3 - Real Audio
Vighneswaraa vinayakaa MP3 - Real Audio
Vinayaka Ganadhipa MP3 - Real Audio
Vittahla ranga ranga MP3 - Real Audio
ViTThala Real Audio
Xirabdhi Shayana Narayana MP3 - Real Audio
Yadu nandana Gopala MP3 - Real Audio
Yadunandana Gopala MP3 - Real Audio
...Read more!