By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Ayodhya Kandam 1(Padalam 2)
2. Mandharai Choozchi Padalam, Chapter on Mandhara’s evil plan.
(This chapter begins by telling how the information about the crowning reaches the queen Kausalya of Dasaratha. Dasaratha as per the advice of the astrologer decides to have the coronation the next day. The entire city is decorated. Sage Vasishta goes and Rama and advices him how to rule the country. Kooni the hunchback friend of Kaikeyi poisons her mind and she decides to ask two boons from Dasaratha, No temple or worship in the temple is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana. In Valmiki Ramayana Dasaratha himself informs Kausalya of the coronation . Sage Vasishta only instructs Rama and Sita about rituals to be observed and nothing about how to rule. Honoring of Brahmins as a duty of the king is not dealt in Valmiki Ramayana in this great detail.. No ritual is conducted by Sita in Kamba Ramayana. Kooni according to Valmiki Ramayana is one among the dower sent by Kakeyi’s father. The incident of her being hit by Rama is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana. There is a hint in Valmiki Ramayana that Kekaya had taken a promise from Dasaratha, that her son would be crowned as the king. )
1399. When these things were happening in the royal council,Some four ladies who knew about it who were loving Rama,Along with open breasts due to the cloth getting untied,With untied long hair which had fallen ,Who were trying to catch hold of their fallen dresses,And with their waist breaking ran speedily to tell the news.
1400. Those four girls were dancing and were singing,Without bothering about the tune and made all those ,Who see them keep their hands over their head ,And without knowing what to tell went in front of Kausalya.
1401. Kausalya who had given birth to Rama who had the colour of the cloud,Saw those ladies who came to her with love and said, “Oh ladies with ,Mouth like the red fruit , from seeing you, I can guess that you have come here,To tell a very happy news and so please tell me that joyful news.
1402. , They said, “The emperor Dasaratha is going to keep the crown,Which has been there for ages , on the head of Rama , who is ,Your worshipful son so that all kings would salute his feet with heroic anklets,And are going to tell him , “For a long time protect this world.”
1403. Hearing that thinking that her son would get the wealth of kingship,A sea of joy was created in her mind and making is subside ,Was the fearful thought that the king would go to the forest ,And made her feel that Badamukhaagni was drying away her throat.
1404. ,In spite of that she presented to the ladies who brought the news,Invaluable pearl necklaces and heaps of wealth and ,Then along with Sumithra who was very close to her ,She reached the temple of the God who had the shining wheel.
1405. After going there she saluted the feet which was like a flower in the pond of,Lord Vishnu who was sitting with Goddess Lakshmi and the Goddess earth,And who was the soul, the wisdom and source of all the devas .
1406. That Kausalya who kept in her belly, that enchanter God Who had kept in his divine belly all the worlds ,Prayed , “please shower your grace on my son, Who by your grace was born to me.”
1407. After requesting like this , she arranged to worship,The consort of Goddess Lakshmi to be worshipped as per four Vedas.And gave as charity cows with calf to all those .Who were doing penance near the temple.
1408. Meanwhile the experts in mathematics told Dasaratha,That the most auspicious day for crowning of Rama was the next day,And as soon as he heard that Dasaratha who owned huge elephants in rut,And also was wearing heroic anklet , requested Vasishta who had done great penance ,And caused sufferings to his own body to come there and he came.
1409. Dasaratha told him, “Tomorrow is the auspicious day ,And to that Rama who has shoulders where pretty bows rubbed,Should be made to do the necessary rituals with great speed,And he has also to be taught the dharma of proper rule.”
1410. , Vasishta travelling with more speed than his great joy,Reached the door of Rama , the Lord of the Manu clan,And hearing about his arrival , the well garlanded Rama ,Came out and sweetly received him and took him inside his palace.
1411. That Holy Vasishta who was capable of doing great penance without rest,Looked at Rama who had learned lot of great books and had lot of heard-knowledge,And said, “Oh expert in war , Dasaratha who has great love towards you,Is going to give away the rule of this kingdom to you tomorrow.”
1412. After saying this , he again looked at Rama and said,“There is some thing very important that I need to tell you,Hear it with attention and follow it with sincerity,”And after this he started telling the well garlanded Rama.
1413. ”Brahmins who are expert in Vedas are greater than,The black colured Vishnu, Shiva with an eye on his forehead ,The Brahma who sits on his own lotus flower , growing out of the belly,, The five great elements as well as truth and so salute them mentally.”
1414. ”Oh son , Is there any method to find out,The number of Brahmins getting angry , number ,Who join with our mind and shower their grace ,And the number of devas who became sad and those ,Who became great without any effort. , due to that,”
1415. ,”And so Rama , because Brahmins are like that , You ,Salute the holy feet of such Brahmins who have moved ,Away from cruel deeds , praise and pray them , tell sweet words ,To them and also do the jobs as ordered by them.”
1416. “When they order , the fate would also help you,To become great and also to get destroyed,And there is nothing greater than praising ,Those devas of the world .”
1417. Even the holy trinity who get great strength by possessing the,The rolling wheel, the trident and the Goddess Saraswathi who never gets confused,If they leave out holy dharma , purity of the mind and merciful behavior,They would find that nothing good is happening to them.
1418. ”Oh son of justice , You do not posses the qualities like ,Deception which can lead you to your destruction but ,Please think about how one attains such criminal habits.
1419. When you do not have enmity with any one ,You do not fight with any one, your fame would be stable ,Your army would not reduce and it would be stable, ,And if it is so would any one want to fight with you?
1420. ”Oh son, Controlling the five sense organs which lead ,To their controlled pleasures , if one daily examines ,The income to the government , we would be strong enough ,To scare our enemies and that is the ideal rule and that rule,Is like a penance , one does standing on the tip of the sword.”
1421. ”Even if one is Shiva with his consort of Uma or Lord Vishnu riding high on Garuda Or Lord Brahma having eight eyes that does not blink or to the king with great shoulders ,The ruling of the country according to advice of Minister is masculine thing to do.
1422. T o those sages who have become ones with only bone and skin,And the devas who do not have that also , the control of Their great enemy,Which is their sense organs do not have a better wealth than,Love , which has nothing before or after in all the three worlds.
1423. In this world of all beings , The kings are like bodies,To all those souls and to them , if they do not cross the limits of Dharma,And Truth, at any time without any doubt whatsoever ,What is the need of doing Yagnas and Yagas?
1424. If a king talks sweetly , has charitable habits ,is a thinker,Who puts in effort to do work , is pure , is great, gets victories ,Who never moves away from the tenets of justice even a little .Then would that king face destruction at any time?
1425. By removing all those which do not support good character,And maintaining his sense of justice like the hand of balance used to weigh gold,Any great king who rules the world , and he would not need an eye,Except the time when they are hearing the advice of good ministers.
1426. ,If a king acts as per the advice of sages who are thinkers ,And are deeply interested in what they do without any change ,Due to the great love and reverence they have to them,Then their love and honour towards him is a great weapon to him.
1427. If the passion raised by the ladies who wear pretty waist belt ,Who are termed as the comets on this earth, are not there in a king,He will never face destruction nor will he go to hell.
1428. Vasishta who was an expert on religious philosophy,After teaching these and other rules of Dharma and justice,To Rama who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who swallowed all the three worlds,Along with him reached the temple of the God with thousand crowns.
1429. After worshipping the God who sleeps on his snake bed,He made Rama bathe in the auspicious waters made by chanting of four Vedas there ,And after completing all rituals prescribed by wise people .He spread white Durba grass on the floor and made Rama sit on it.
1430. When Rama was sitting on Durba seat and happily doing the rituals,Vasishta who wears the three stringed sacred thread on his chest ,Quickly went back and told about it all to the emperor , who ordered,That the proclamation to decorate the town be made by beating the drum,.
1431. The One who proclaims went round the city and beat the drum and told,“Rama would be crowned as the consort of the mother earth,And so let this city be decorated.” And this also made the devas happy .
1432. Though the words that that Rama the lad , who had the fame ,Of the poems singing about him would wear the pretty crown,Were one which made the ears sweet , to all those people of the city,It was like the offering given in sacrifices as well as nectar.
1433. They made great sound , became happy and danced and sang,Some developed sweat , some increased in weight due to joy,To many the hairs stood erect , and they praised king Dasaratha,And gave great wealth to all who told this good news.
1434. Those loving citizens of the city beautified it,Which was already pretty like improving the luster,Of the Sun who has packed together rays ,And like polishing the Kausthuba gem,On the wide chest of the God who lies down.
1435. ,Several rows of flags coloured as white, black red as well as other colours.Appeared in the city and it was looking like that all the birds have entered the city,To witness the great coronation Ceremony of Rama who wears flower garlands with honey.
1436. There banana stems resembling the thighs of the ladies were erected,And like the neck of those ladies , the city became crowded with betel nut trees,And like the white colour of their smile , here and there garlands of pearl hung,And golden pots filled with water resembling their breasts were arranged.
1437. The early sun entered the city through the decorative hangings,Of the doors of the city and a distinct ptrettiness came to light ,And those decorative hangings in the form of sharks were made to touch the moon,And gave out very great brilliance and gave a very fresh look.
1438. Those faultless pillars made of red gems which were covered with white cloth,Resembled the white ash coated Shiva having the blue coloured Uma by his side,And the pillars made of white pearls were looking like morning sun hid by snow.
1439. The streets of the city with the luster like full moon created by gem garlands And the rows of gem stones thickly erected gave out light like early sun,And crowd of blue gems creating light darkness ,And the day very well coincided to the day fixed by experts on astrology.
1440. The Groups of chariots with decorations like dancing horses ,Resembled the planes which have descended from heaven to earth,And the huge elephants in rut with shining face mask .Was like the rising mountain which can be compared,To the sun roaming in those streets.
1441. In the city blessed with wealth , on the huge walls built by crystal stones,Red gems were climbing and shining and due to that, the red sky ,Which appears in the evening because it removes darkness , neither grows nor reduces.
1442. in those streets with buildings there was rain of flower,Rain of water , rain of fresh scented powders ,Silver rain due to falling of pearls and the golden rain,Due the dashing together of golden gems ,And it looked like there was a huge rain there.
1443. ,Like the heroes who have tied their heroic anklets with a rope,The Elephants in rut which can be compared to clouds,Were tied with she elephants who were like the ladies of the city ,Who were wearing hanging waist belts and had chariot like hips,Walked along with the garland with bells tied on them.
1444. In the city the rising wealth , beauty and joy ,Were not reducing and without knowing it earlier ,When the devas came to see the coronation ,They thought they have not come to Ayodhya and were confused.
1445. Due to the very great sound that was being made to decorate the city,And make it like the golden town of devas , like the horrors done by Ravana,Was born again in earth to destroy him , Kooni ,a hunchback lady ,Who had a cruel mind that is not approachable came out and saw it.
1446. That Kooni who came out like that , with her mind shaking ,With great anger and mind that was giving her pain ,With eyes giving out fire sparks , with voice which was stuttering ,Started creating a matchless sorrow to all the three worlds.
1447. She recollecting the mud ball which hit her , being sent by Rama,In his very young days in her mind , with a mouth with folded lower lips,Reached the palace of Kaikeyi who had a red mouth like Kovvai fruit.
1448. She reached Kaikeyi who was like coral garland lying on the waves of ocean of milk,And was like a lotus flower generated the best of the gems of the four seas,And whose eyes were showering grace who was sleeping on a very soft bed.
1449. Like the bad planets moving from one place to another to cause problems,She neared Kaikeyi who was the daughter of Kekaya and touched her feet ,Which was like a fully open lotus flower due to penance And on which she was wearing a golden anklets.
1450. As soon as Kooni rubbed her feet , that lady who had a godly virtue,Woke up and though sleepiness has not left her long eyes ,And being egged by the horrible fate which will bring her bad name,She started to talk to her in conversation.
1451. Kooni said, “Like the moon shining with light which produces coolness,Every thing does not change even when the cruel snake Rahu is nearing it,Even while a great sorrow is coming to give you lots of trouble,You do not seem to be sorrowing but sleeping happily.”
1452-1453. When that Kooni who was like great poison told like this ,Kaikeyi who had a spear like eyes said “ My sons who hold the bow,To kill their enemies are doing well and in their jobs,They never waver from path of Dharma and so What bad ,Trouble can come to me now? And it is told that ,Those who give birth to sons with good characters ,Which are praised by others , would leave out,Sorrow ,that cannot be removed and attain salvation.And when I have given birth to Rama who is like Vedas ,To all the worlds which do not mix together , What problem can come to me.”
1454. When Kaikeyi who had very deep love towards Rama told like this,That Kooni , who was like the sin surrounding her started talking and told ,“Your welfare has been destroyed,, your wealth has suffered ,Your step wife Kausalya due to her intelligence has got wealth and welfare.”
1455. When Kooni told those words , she who wears selected ornaments,Said, “Since my husband is the king of kings and since my son Bharata,Is a very famous one , What other greater thing is going to be achieved by her?”
1456. ”With masculine men making fun of him , bringing stain to his masculinity ,Rama bent his great bow to kill a lady who was known as Thadaga ,And his coronation would be carried out tomorrow and this is what Kausalya got.”
1457. And when these words were told to her , the mind of Kaikeyi,Was exactly like the mind of Kausalya and she could not see the difference,For , the father of Rama had entered in to her mind and was living there.
1458. ,Due to love rising up and making sound of happiness like sea in her mind, That pure one with a faultless face shined like moon and due,To it further rising up and cross all the boundaries , she gave ,A garland made of Rathnas which was like the chief of all flames.
1459. The cruel Kooni shouted in a loud voice , chided ,Stared with her small eyes so that fire came out of it,Berated her , Took deep hot breaths , disfigured herself ,Cried and using the golden chain to dig a hole on the floor.
1460. That kooni who gave rise to pain saw Kaikeyi with anger ,And said, “you are ignorant , your mind is not all right,You suffer sorrow along with child born to you ,I cannot tolerate you to be servant to the servants,Of your step wife for a very long time.”
1461. , “When the Sita with red mouth and the black prince ,Are seating in a high seat with great joy , if the time comes,When Bharata without any thing has to sit on the floor You will think about the reason for your happiness,As well as the good that you are likely to get for being happy?”
1462. ,”Kausalya has not forgotten the good that has come to her ,And Rama has attained the kingship which is wealth among wealth,Because Bharata was born to you he has not died and for,What purpose has he to live? Though he is born , he is as good as not born.”
1463. , If the entire world is going to be truly ruled by Rama ,And Lakshmana and they also are going protect this country,For limitless years it is better for Bharata along ,With his brother to go away and do great penance.
1464. The well decorated Bharata who has the elephant in rut,With prettiness which attracts the lady of earth , should rule the earth,And should be kept in the row of great kings,But since he was not born to that, it is better he dies.
1465. ,”That king Dasaratha who wears heroic anklets made of gold Since Bharata has not been lucky ,was sent by him ,Through the mountain path with teak trees to ,The Kekaya country which is very far off.I came to know the reason for that only today.”
1466. ,Again Mandhara(kooni) started telling in a classified manner,“Oh my son, Oh Bharata , by giving the country to Rama ,By going away from justice , using the water of the world,Dasaratha has become a cruel man and your mother ,Also has become cruel , In between them what can you do?”
1467 .”Oh Kaikeyi , you who were born in a royal family ,Who was brought up in a royal family , got married in to a royal family,Are falling in the ocean of sorrow , where to find the shore is difficult,Even if I tell you are not obeying , do you understand it.” said she.
1468. ”Bharatha has knowledge ,, youth , inestimable strength ,Greatness is war with bow and limitless very good qualities ,And if he does not become the king , all these ,Would go waste like the nectar which falls on grass.”
1469. When the cruel words were told by Kooni , making her mouth bitter Fell on her , Kaikeyi felt as if ghee has been poured,On already raging fire and that pretty daughter of king of Kekaya, With great anger making her eyes red stared at Kooni and started speaking.
1470. ”Oh cruel one , great people, like the lustrous great sun, Will not swerve from the path of truth even if they loose things like their soulThese kings who belongs to the Manu clan who follow the clan ,Descendent rules like the peacock. Why did you tal ill of them by base intentions.”
1471. ”Oh lady with an ignorant mind , you are not one who does good to me,And you are also not one who does good to my son Bharata,And if we examine as per Dharma, you are not one who does good to yourself,And due to being lead by Karma , you are telling what is in your mind.”
1472. ”Giving bith to children loosing them and getting another one All lead to fame but if we lose our fame , lose our sense of justice,Lose the nature of following good path , lose the penance that we are doing ,Lose the valour without doing mistakes or change the rules of our clan ,We lose our fame completely.”
1473. ”Oh ignorant one , go away from my front , I have pardoned you,Without punishing you by your toungue which is silly , If this is known to people outside you would be considered ,As having done treason to justice and rules of behavior, so keep quiet.”
1474. That Kooni , in spite of hearing these words , like any effort of curing poison,Is not effective in curing it and causes sorrow said , “Oh lady who is like a pretty creeper,Who is in my protection , unless I am able to do good to you , I will not move out,”And fell at the feet of Kaikeyi and further talked.
1475. “If we see the practice that the eldest son inherits the kingdom,Is not Rama with a colour of the blue sea , younger than Dasaratha who rules the earth?And if Dasaratha agrees to give the crown to Rama who is younger,How can we stop Bharata from inheriting this kingdom which gives progress?”
1476. Even in case the sages who are full of Dharma and who have done,Very great penance , after receiving difficult to get wealth , their thought changes,And though Kausalya does not torture you with intention of killing you,By their mind they would cause you great sorrow so that you would die by yourself.
1477. For Kausalya who has very broad imagination, if her son is going to rule Thinking of the land he gets is not sufficient , she would try to own the entire world,And you and your son who has great love to you , will own only what she gives you.
1478. To those followed by sorrow and poverty who are forced to come to beg in your house,Would you give wealth after begging from her? Or would you stand there ashamed?Or would you commit suicide thinking that this bad fate has come to you?Or would you say no to the beggars ? How are you going to live?
1479. Oh intelligent one , Are you worried as to what is to be done?In the future after some days , your father , your brother ,The relations of yours or those who are there in your clan,Thinking of destroying their poverty and loss in status , if they come here ,Would they be able to see your wealth or the wealth of your step wife ?
1480. ”Oh ignorant one , fearing your husband who has great love towards you,Janaka the father of Sita with mouth as red as the red fruit ,Has not waged a war and destroyed your father and he is now uncle of Rama,Is there any future left to your father , Who are in this world who have as much bad name as you?
1481. ,Also your father Kekaya have other great enemies and when they attack him,If the king Of Kosala does not go and help him , how will your father get victory?Please tell that way, You have firmly decided that your relations would fall in the sea if Sorrow.
1482. You have completely spoiled the chances and destroyed your pet son Bharata.If Dasaratha who owns the earth dressed by the ocean with rising tides ,Gives the kingship to Rama then later it would go only to his children,Or his very close brother Lakshmana . Would it ever come back to Bharata?
1483. When the cruel Kooni told like this , due to illusion created by devas,Who wanted the boon that they had received should come true ,And also due to great penance done by great Brahmins The mind of Kaikeyi changed to the path that was indicated by Kooni.
1484. Due to the sins of Rakshasas and the great penance by other people,Which stood in her mind like a good deer , she left off her good mercy.And due to that all these worlds belongs to Rama even today ,And his epic great fame keeps on spreading everywhere .
1485. That Kaikeyi whose mind has changed like that saw with love,That Kooni who was full of Karma said,”You are having love towards me.You are being good to my son Bharata also .Please tell me how,That Bharata would posses that very pretty crown.”
1486. When Kaikeyi who had eyes like the half cut tender mango , told like this,Kooni said, “My friend is an able lady and she who is my help is a great lady”And Saluted the feet of Kaikeyi “if you are going to obey my words and make the mind of Dasaratha,Depressed then I will tell you how to make all these fourteen worlds come to your only son Bharata .”
1487. She who was hunchbacked in the mind also said, “Oh lady with a cool gem-like smile,After great thought I am telling you something. When the Sambarasura who was wearing, The garland of victory was defeated, and Dasaratha won as if that battle was an easy sport,He gave you two boons and now you demand that from him and get it.”
1488. ”Using one of those boons make, your son get the kingship,And using the other make , Rama wander in the great forest,For fourteen years after he goes away from Ayodhya ,If you do this , the entire rich world would obey,Your son Bharata and this is the trick I suggest.”
1489-1490. When Kooni told like this , the very pleased Kaikeyi .Hugged her like her own soul and after presenting her,With great wealth and garlands with costly gems praised her by telling,“You have given this world surrounded by the tumultuous sea,To my son Bharata and so you have become mother of a king.You have told a good trick . If Bharata is not crowned by gem studded crown,And if Rama is not driven out to the dense forest ,I would take away my soul before king Dasaratha,And go away from this world . You can go now.”
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About Kavichakravarthy Kamban
Historians place him in the 9th century CE, But surely Kamban belongs to the third great wave of Tamizh literature that started with the Sangam period (dated before the Common Era), followed by the widespread impact of Bhakti literature of the Alwars (vaishnavite saints) & Nayanamars (shaivaite saints). Kamban Authored Ramanaya in Tamil…Known as Kamba Ramayanam..
Kambar has been the milestone for the Tamil scholars that none had reached. He was also known as “Kamba Naatazhvar” at his time. Many Tamil authors from the modern world have written the books on the poet Kamban.
FAQs
Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180–1250) was a medieval Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram, popularly known as Kambaramayanam, the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana.
Valmiki Ramayana and Kamba Ramayanam are two versions of Ramayana written in the Sanskrit and Tamil languages respectively. … Kamba Ramayanam is originally called as Ramavataram. Although Valmiki Ramayana is the original version of the story of Rama, Kamba Ramayana is believed to be based on the work by Valmiki.
The Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki’s Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya.
The book is divided into six chapters, called Kandam in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 123 sections called Padalam (படலம்) in Tamil. These 123 sections contain approximately 12,000 verses of the epic.