Chapter Ten
The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra
TEXT 2
tasyāpi bhagavān eṣa
sākṣād brahmamayo hariḥ
aṁśāṁśena caturdhāgāt
putratvaṁ prārthitaḥ suraiḥ
rāma-lakṣmaṇa-bharata-
śatrughnā iti saṁjñayā
SYNONYMS
tasya—of him, Mahārāja Daśaratha; api—also; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eṣaḥ—all of them; sākṣāt—directly; brahma-mayaḥ—the Supreme Parabrahman, the Absolute Truth; hariḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; aṁśa-aṁśena—by an expansion of a plenary portion; caturdhā—by fourfold expansions; agāt—accepted; putratvam—sonhood; prārthitaḥ—being prayed for; suraiḥ—by the demigods; rāma—Lord Rāmacandra; lakṣmaṇa—Lord Lakṣmaṇa; bharata—Lord Bharata; śatrughnāḥ—and Lord Śatrughna; iti—thus; saṁjñayā—by different names.
TRANSLATION
Being prayed for by the demigods, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth Himself, directly appeared with His expansion and expansions of the expansion. Their holy names were Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna. These celebrated incarnations thus appeared in four forms as the sons of Mahārāja Daśaratha.
PURPORT
Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna, are all viṣṇu-tattva, not jīva-tattva. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands into many, many forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam [Bs 5.33]. Although they are one and the same, viṣṇu-tattva has many forms and incarnations. As confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.39), rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan. The Lord is situated in many forms, such as Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna, and these forms may exist in any part of His creation. All these forms exist permanently, eternally, as individual Personalities of Godhead, and they resemble many candles, all equally powerful. Lord Rāmacandra, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna, who, being viṣṇu-tattva, are all equally powerful, became the sons of Mahārāja Daśaratha in response to prayers by the demigods.
TEXT 3
tasyānucaritaṁ rājann
ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ
śrutaṁ hi varṇitaṁ bhūri
tvayā sītā-pater muhuḥ
SYNONYMS
tasya—of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers; anucaritam—transcendental activities; rājan—O King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit); ṛṣibhiḥ—by great sages or saintly persons; tattva-darśibhiḥ—by persons who know the Absolute Truth; śrutam—have all been heard; hi—indeed; varṇitam—as they have been so nicely described; bhūri—many; tvayā—by you; sītā-pateḥ—of Lord Rāmacandra, the husband of mother Sītā; muhuḥ—more than often.
TRANSLATION
O King Parīkṣit, the transcendental activities of Lord Rāmacandra have been described by great saintly persons who have seen the truth. Because you have heard again and again about Lord Rāmacandra, the husband of mother Sītā, I shall describe these activities only in brief. Please listen.
PURPORT
Modern Rākṣasas, posing as educationally advanced merely because they have doctorates, have tried to prove that Lord Rāmacandra is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead but an ordinary person. But those who are learned and spiritually advanced will never accept such notions; they will accept the descriptions of Lord Rāmacandra and His activities only as presented by tattva-darśīs, those who know the Absolute Truth. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) the Supreme Personality of Godhead advises:
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Unless one is tattva-darśī, in complete knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one cannot describe the activities of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore although there are many so-called Rāmāyaṇas, or histories of Lord Rāmacandra’s activities, some of them are not actually authoritative. Sometimes Lord Rāmacandra’s activities are described in terms of one’s own imaginations, speculations or material sentiments. But the characteristics of Lord Rāmacandra should not be handled as something imaginary. While describing the history of Lord Rāmacandra, Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Mahārāja Parīkṣit, “You have already heard about the activities of Lord Rāmacandra.” Apparently, therefore, five thousand years ago there were many Rāmāyaṇas, or histories of Lord Rāmacandra’s activities, and there are many still. But we must select only those books written by tattva-darśīs (jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ), not the books of so-called scholars who claim knowledge only on the basis of a doctorate. This is a warning by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ. Although the Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki is a huge literature, the same activities are summarized here by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in a few verses.
Comments