Having seen the impact of the first impression of the first meeting of Lord Rama and Anjaneya described in the Kishkintha Kandam of Ramayana, we move to the next kandam of Ramayana, namely Sundra Kandam, to see other meetings. Sundra Kandam describes Anjaneya's visit from Mount Mahendra to Lanka Island and back to tell Rama that Sita had been seen in her purity.
The very first sloka of Sundra Kandam tells us what to expect in this kandam and has been well described in the commentary—Govindarajeeyam. It is said a Guru (Anjaneya) wan off the AgGnana, taking the path shown by purvaachairyaas (Saranas) to rescue the jeevathma (Sita) from the clutches of aviveka (Ravana).
Having undergone the turmoil of not seeing Sita anywhere in Lanka, Anjaneya Swami prays to his lord Shri Rama and enters Asokavana. In the Asokavana, hiding on the top of a well-grown Simsubha tree near a lotus pond with Ramanama in his mind, Anjaneya decides to wait for Janaki, who has a moonlike face, to come to the lotus pond for her prayers.
Adi kavi Valmiki describes the beauty of the Asokavana vividly through the eyes of Anjaneya Swami. He sees a structure of a temple with thousand pillars as big as Mount Kailasa, with all brightness, and best of all, it is 'vimala' (rid of any impurity). Then he sees a lady who resembles the beam of a waxing moon, which is rid of any impurity (suklapakshathaw chandraraka-mivamalam). Anjaneya Swami concludes after careful thought that this should be the one who is ever residing in the thoughts of Shri Rama, though separated from him.
Anjaneya Swami thereafter witnesses the threat given by Ravana and the acts of rakshasis on his instruction. He is also a witness to the narration of the dream by Trijata, who narrated Ravana's approaching end, Rama's coming to Lanka and rescuing his wife Sita, Sita's attempt to give up her life, and on sensing the good omens, her second thought on giving up life. He ponders the ways he could pacify Sita and tell her the purpose of his visit to Lanka and news about Shri Rama. He finally decides to recite the story of Shri Rama and recites in a sweet tone the truly delightful words (Mathuram-aviththam-vakyam).
Mindfully occupied with Shri Rama's thought, Sita looks in the direction from where the mathura vakyam was coming and finds the Vayusutha, who resembles that of a rising sun. Look at the simile used here; one sees a waxing moon and the other a rising sun, probably since both are bridged by Ramanama in their minds. The first impression about the other we get can be clear if meeting of mind is there and the vision with which we look is pure. If the vision is clear and the thinking is clear, we tend to estimate the other truly, and our evaluation is bound to be accurate, true, and pure.
Sita gets into confusion about whether what she is hearing is true or an illusion, as she was uttering Ramanama all the time. But concludes it can't be an illusion since the monkey is talking with a clear vision. This meeting brings in the end of all the sorrows Sita was undergoing.
Contrast to this meeting was the meeting of Ravana with Anjaneya, who was brought to his courtroom. Valmiki has devoted an entire sarga to describe Ravana's qualities through the eyes of Anjaneya. "ThejasA thsya mohitaha" is the description; that is to say, even Anjaneya was stunned, but Anjaneya was quick to add that if only his adharma was less, he could have equalled Indra.
Contrarily, Ravana, on the first sight of Anjaneya the thejasvi, doubts whether it is that Nandi Bhagavan himself who had come directly here in the form of a vanara. He, after hearing the message of Lord Sugreeva and Lord Rama through Anjaneya the Ramadoota, orders the killing of the emissary. Vibhishana intervenes and advises Ravana that the emissary cannot be killed and should be spared as a rajadharma. Heeding to the advice of his brother Vibhishana, he looks at Anjaneya and wonders whether he is seeing a param-brimha or paranjothi of Lord Vishnu. He concludes that it is paranjothi of Lord Vishnu (vishnava-thejas). This thought angers him and orders that the tail of Anjaneya be set on fire, since the most loved of any monkey is its tail.
Anjaneya sees thejas and Ravana in one another; the thejas seen in Anjaneya are compared with vishnava-thejas even. But what followed this is quite contrast in both. While Anjaneya, who had pure vision, took pity on Ravana for his acts of adharma and advised him to take the right path, Ravana, who was riding on his pride, envied Anjaneya and could not bear any injury to his pride and ordered Anjaneya's killing first and then to set fire to his tail as a concession to the ambassador.
This clearly shows that unless a meeting of mind is there and the vision with which we look is pure, the impression about the other we get cannot be true. If the vision is clear and the thinking is clear, we tend to estimate the other truly, and our evaluation is bound to be accurate, true, and pure.
|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||
|| Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ||
Ed [Prior to May 2001]