By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5)
5. Thailam aatu Padalam
The chapter on floating in oil.
(The people of the entire city accompanied Rama, Lakshmana and Sita who were driven in a chariot by Sumantra. The night came and when all of those people were sleeping Rama, requested Sumantra to go back so that on waking people would think that Rama had gone back to Ayodhya. Sumantra went back to city and along with sage Vasishta informed Dasaratha about the going away of Rama to the forest. Dasaratha died immediately Sage Vasishta preserves his body in oil and send emissaries to bring back Bharata. The sixty thousand wives who wanted to die with Dasaratha waited. Meanwhile Rama went inside the forest along with Sita and Lakshmana. Next day people of Ayodhya return back the next day, The order of treatment is slightly different in Valmiki Ramayana. Dasaratha tells Kausalya about the story of his curse . Dasaratha dies in his sleep and this is noticed by his servants and Kausalya was not present at that time. In fact Kausalya and Sumithra were sleeping at the time of his death.. There is no mention of any wives dying in the pyre. The return of Sumatra is only after Rama reaches Ganga and meets Guha, leaving the people Sumantra goes towards Ayodhya but returns without leaving a mark and takes them to river Ganges )
1840. Who are the people who did not follow,Behind Rama who was sent by his father to forest?None except the king Dasaratha who had a great army ,His queens and the pictures of Ayodhya ,Which did not go because they do not have a soul.
1841. That chariot of Rama which was made of pure Gold ,Went slowly due to water spreading round it due to the tears shed by people,As well as the river of the crowds of people surrounding it,And was similar to the the fish incarnation of Lord Vishnu ,Travelling in water surrounding the seven worlds during deluge.
1842. The sun god saying , “I do not like to see Rama entering the forest”,Hastened up to go in the stony paths of the very deep forests,And with stars coming out saying , we are always there ,With light of sun disappearing , and cows returning ,With buffaloes after grazing , he reached the mountain of setting.
1843. The crowd of lotus flowers which was similar to ,The faces of ladies of Ayodhya who had lustrous forehead,Created by Lord Brahma by breaking the moon,Growing in the toddy , had lost their luster and had lost its beauty.
1844. Because it was evening , the sun whose light had gone ,Was like the good mind of the daughter of king Kekaya,Whose mind was poisoned by Kooni and had got faded,And like her mind was dark having lost its goodness.
1845. The faded sky on which the stars were spread everywhere ,Was looking like the body of Indra which is always closely filled With eyes that do not blink, due to the curse of the sage ,Who did not have any sorrow at any time.
1846-1847. Rama after speedily going two Yojana distance from Ayodhya,Reached a garden which had pleasant smell , got down from the chariot,And when he was happily staying with the knowledgeable sages there,Who were happy due to his coming , the army which followed Rama ,Surrounded him in a circle for one Yojana distance and covered the ,Garden so tightly that if one wants to throw gingely , there was no place.
1848. All those who went along with Rama , never put anything in their mouth,They did not sleep , They went on crying endlessly and they stayed ,On the banks of the river which looked gem studded , on broad expanse of sand,And on the grass lands and in all places fit for staying.
1849. On the thin cloth which was like the film formed with hot steam,Of the women with eyes like two blue lotus flowers , in the Scented Lotus flower which has freshly bloomed in the pond,Small girls with untied hair scented like musk, were sleeping.
1850. The old women who have walked long distance at the day time ,Who have breasts which beat the flowers of coconut ,Young ladies who had breasts like the buds of lotus flower ,Who had sharp black eyes , who were talking words as sweet as sugarcane On their laps being the mothers who looked after them.
1851. Young ladies with kajal applied eyes which are like split tender mangoes Were sleeping like young female elephants on the sand mountains which had flowers,And the valorous marava lads who had spears which always had flesh,Were sleeping like small eyed male elephants which protect female elephants.
1852. ,Some ladies slept in the tent made of Kurukathi sleepers , in the,Outside room which was decorated by blue gems and looked like the sky,And some others in the middle of betel nut tree forest in the depressions,And on sand mountains like a row of winged swans.
1853. In the scented forest of Champaka trees, some of them slept ,Like the vanchi creepers which had broken down with great tiredness.Some others with cloth tied over their breasts , moving like ,The Pavala creepers which grow on sand , slept with great tiresomeness.
1854. , Young ladies , who were not able to see the face and enjoy ,The mercy of their husbands who were of good character and great penance ,Like the very sad dancing peacocks who were so tired as if their soul is going,Slept with their babies scratching the tip of their breasts.
1855. Some who were like cool snow covering the mountain of kumkum,Slept with the dust of sand spreading on their pure breasts,Some with greatly faded faces slept on their pretty hands,As if they thought the place was filled with lotus flowers.
1856. ,When all of them were sleeping like this Rama called ,Sumantra who has not slept and said, “There is a job,For you who are complexly faultless and full of goodness,That remains to be done in the future , Please hear about that.”
1857. ”It is impossible for us to ask these people ,Who have great love to us to return back and it is not,Good to go from here to the forest without sending them ,.So oh my father like Sumanthra , if you can now make the chariot,Look as if it has gone back they would think that I have gone back,And would themselves go back , This is a request that I make to you.”
1858” .When Rama of great honesty told like this,The charioteer told,”if I leave you here , my soul will depart from me today itself,And I would go to Ayodhya without soul to see there also dead bodies and since,My mind does not like that , I who am pitiable but would be better than,The cruel mother Kaikeyi and the cruel fate.”
1859”. Would I go and tell there that I left here the great Rama ,Followed by goddess like Sita and Lakshmana in the forest with flowers,And Would I be able to tell that I have returned bringing Rama with me ?What should I the steel hearted man go and tell there?”
1860. “Would I who am a very long standing friend go and tell that,Along with Sita who wears cloth over her breasts and who would not be ,Able to walk on even that the flower used for making garlands along with ,The two strong sons were left by me in the forest to go by walk,And I returned back without any problem driving the chariot.”
1861. Though I am with very strong senses , a stone like mind and an ignorant cheat,Would I be able to tell Dasaratha whose broken mind has destroyed his body,The great words which has been told by you , who is extremely wise or,Would it be told by the messenger of God of death.
1862. ”Oh Rama ,to the Dasaratha who is being kept alive by consoling him,By telling that all the people in four directions and the people of the city ,Would bring your son ,would I be able to tell these cruel words ,Of God of death and would I be responsible to kill him.”
1863. ”Would I be able tell him that, the lion among men ,To whom you became the father with great difficulty ,By doing Yagnas on fire has gone to the forest ,And If I am the last one who would be able to see my king , Possibly queen Kaikeyi is a good lady compared to me.”
1864. After telling Rama that these are his views,He became like a serpent hearing the thunder Struggled and became worn out , caught hold ,Of the feet of Rama and again and again,Kept on repeating several words and rolled on earth,
1865. Rama who had controlled his five senses , who can be approached ,Only with the pure wisdom which is beyond the mind ,Lifted that Sumantra with his big hands , wiped away his tears,Made him sit separately and told the following words.
1866. ”oh Sumantra who has a great mind which realizes that ,If one is born , pleasure and pain are something which follows from it,Thinking that it would lead to sorrow or thinking that , the people ,Of this world would find fault with you . how can we forget Dharma.
1867. ” The great dharma would give fame to the one who follows it,And would be with you even after death , would grant you the upper worlds,And if sweet events happen to us due to that adopt Dharma and if,Bad events happen to us, is it proper for us to forsake Dharma?”
1868. “ Heroism is not the strength that you have to face ,The great and lustrous weapons come and hit your chest ,But it is being told as those who do not leave dharma ,Even if he dies are completely loses all the wealth he has.”
1869. ”Oh Sumantra who has the spear that cuts body and drinks the blood,Suppose I return back now considering the sorrows that I need face in the forest,My clan which is ancient and which had kings whose fame had touched the sky,Would be told as one which erred from Dharma due to me.”
1870. , If people say that”That Dasaratha who has great truth which isbeyond person’s capability has sent his great son to the forest “Then it would be great penance to the king and it would be a great penance to me ,If I obey it word by word and completely. So do not take pity on me.”
1871. ”You please go there , first meet sage Vasishta,Inform him my salutations and along with him reach my father,And tell him my mind’s intentions”, said Rama.
1872. You also tell my younger brother Bharata , To rule according to law and do beneficial things ,To greatly pure Brahmins and the devas who live in heaven.And also tell him to get rid of the sorrow of loneliness ,By coming away from there and tell this in a soft way.
1873. Tell him also not to bother about the great sorrow created by Kaikeyi ,Even to a micro extent in his mind and show the same affection and care,That he has to me on the king Dasaratha also.
1874. After you go there along with sage Vasishta of great penance ,Reach the palace and meet Dasaratha the greatest among males ,And console him with sweet words and inform him,That I wanted a boon from him that “I need this boon from you. Please show the same,Love that you show to me towards my brother Bharata also.”
1875. Further tell that “ after fourteen years I would return,And salute his holy feet , and in this I would not fail”To the king , who has the valorous elephant with the face mask,And make his mind clear by the words of the sage who never gets tired.”
1876 .That Rama who is invisible and not reachable even to the devas .And who had reached the forest as per the need of his incarnation ,Further said, Inform my three mothers of my salutations ,And request them later to console the king and stay near him.
1877. Considering that the duty of the servant is to obey the order of master,And deciding that going back to Ayodhya is the proper thing ,That Sumantra who could drive the great chariot properly ,And thinking that “this is a sorrow which has come due to fate “And he looked at her who was the cause of joy in life.
1878. That Sita said, “after informing my salutations to the king,As well as my mother in laws , request my sisters, Who would be thinking about me to look after My parrot as well as my golden flower.”
1879. That expert charioteer after hearing those words of Sita,Becoming very sad thinking about the sorrows that Sita has to face,And thought “If bad things which cannot be prevented comes,It would be better to leave this life and that it is not easy to do,And when Rama prevented him he sobbed and cried greatly.
1880. That Sumantra who had impartial love towards them,Slightly consoling himself and told Rama, “Grant me leave to go”,And after saluting that heroic Rama asked the younger Lakshmana,“What should I tell in the palace “ , he told him as follows.
1881. ”After announcing in the king’s council That this wealth of Kosala,Country is to be ruled by my lord Rama and due to the oath,He had given to the Kaikeyi with scented hair ,That Dasaratha took away the kingship from Rama .Does he deserve to be called as a king even now.”
1882. ”That truthful king who made his son go to the forest,And made him eat the raw fruits of tree and who,Himself partakes in great feasts in the palace,Is taking care of his body and does not have ,The strength himself to the forest,”
1883. Tell the king Bharata who rules along with lustrous sword,“I am not born with him who is ruling the earth,And I am also not an elder brother to my brother Sathrugna ,And also tell them, that even now I continue to remain strong.
1884. Then Rama looked at his younger brother and said,“Sir , do not tell the words that are not good “ andThe expert on driving the chariot with a struggling mind,Saluted them falling on the earth and started to return back.
1885. Then he got ready the chariot and attached ,The horses to it in the proper fashion,And due to his expertise in chariot , drove it,In such a way that none who were sleeping were disturbed.
1886. With his great character , the virtue of Sita and his brother,The lord went to do faultless mercy , wisdom and truth ,With only his bow to protect him in the mid of night.
1887. While that darkness which was pitch black being friendly ,To those Rakshasas who help the cruel deceptive deeds,Wanting to help their bad deeds due to its friendship with them,Was wanting to obstruct Rama and others , there appeared,In the sky the moon which looked like a hand held lamp.
1888. Dharma who was compelling those two with thunder like bow ,Who were both supporting and keeping it alive and who were,Interested in destroying the cruel sin of killing others ,Thinking of the good things that they are going to do ,Came to see them with joy and the face of that Dharma,Shined in the sky like the matchless white moon.
1889. Seeing the poverty of Rama who was going through,The forest path surrounded by very tall bamboo plants,The lily flowers (changazhneer) cried and folded themselves,And the AAmbal flowers which open at night which were,In look similar to head of rat snakes had fallen down,And this being so, how can the other tender flowers open at that night.
1890. To Rama who was similar to a black mountain , to Lakshmana ,Who was like a gold shield that was covering and protecting Rama,And to the tender feet of that lady with eye brows like the bow,The path that they have to proceed was like one spread with white cotton,Due the moon spreading its early rays , every where.
1891. The small feet of Sita, with very narrow waist and very large breasts,And very wealthy luxurious black hair are as tender as the water bubble,And because she was following Rama , it is not possible for us to know,That there is something greater than the very strong love she had to Rama.
1892. Before sun rose on the east behind the rising mountain,Rama the consort of Goddess Lakshmi travelled,To a distance of two Yojanas towards the south ,And we would now tell about the deeds of Sumantra ,Who went with a wounded mind and stream like tears On a chariot drawn by swift horses speedily.
1893. Within two hours he reached Ayodhya protected by walls,And saluted the holy feet of the primeval sage(Vasishta) and He heard about all that happened , became sad in his mind ,And knowing all that was to come said”Alas the king is dead.”
1894. He along with Sumanthra went in to the golden palace of that king sobbing,“Fearing the words of the people Dasaratha was not willing to stop Rama ,And Rama who is firm on Dharma , did not hear my advice to him,Not to go the forest and so who are there who have won over fate.”
1895. , Lead by their innate desire, the ministers thought that,Rama has come back in the chariot and went round Dasaratha,Who was like the moon surrounded by the cloud ,But not able to see Rama with a cloud like body ,And seing the state of Sumantra with tears,That never could change and became greatly dejected.
1896. When all of them told that, “the chariot has arrived “,Dasaratha thinking that the blessed one has come back,Got up from his swoon and opened his eyes,Which were like the faultless lotus flower,And seeing the sage with great penance ,Asked him, “Has my hero come back?”
1897. Vasishta not in a position to say “no” , with great sorrow,Remained silent and his face itself told Dasaratha ,That , “Rama has not come back “, he became exhausted,And the sage saying , “ I do not have ability,To see this great sorrow “ and went away from there.
1898. Dasaratha then looking at charioteer asked him,Whether Rama is inside the palace or far away ,And that expert charioteer told him that,“Rama along with his brother and the gold of Mithila,Had gone in side the forest where tall bamboo plants and they are there”And immediately Dasaratha lost his soul and died.
1899. Indra and other Gods like him came in a moon like ,Airplane lifted him in that and becoming very joyous said,“Our father of Rama has come” and took him to the world,Which was above the world of God who sits on lotus from belly ,And made him reach the world, from which no body comes back.
1900. Kausalya who was like a very great peacock understanding,That there is no palpitation or breath , examining and,Understanding that Dasaratha is no more with great sorrow,Like a worm without bones which was exposed to heat of summer fell down.
1901. That lady who did great penance to give birth to Lord Vishnu,Who created Brahma from his belly button, after loosing her husband,Sobbed and suffered like devas who lost the nectar , the serpent who lost the gem,And started wailing like a female Andril bird which lost its mate .
1902. ’That Dasaratha who cannot be opposed by any one and who has lost,His only protection , has left us all alas” said she and like the fish,Which got upset due to no rain and no water in the soil ,And started falling due to body becoming unstable.
1903. ”Sons would send their parents to the blessed other world ,And not only that they would protect them when they are alive , is it not?And so how can evil occur to those who have given birth to children?But our son instead of coming here and saying “do not be scared”And protect our lives, has he not killed his father?” saying this she started shivering.
1904. ” That very strong Dasaratha , without illness which causes death,And not having lustrous weapons on him had died due to his sons whom he loved.And he thus resembled snakes with dots on the banana plant ,And also the bamboo plant “ saying this she fell down fainted.
1904. That Kausalya who was struggling on the chest of the king like ,Lightning streaks over the cloud said, “Oh Kaikeyi with very long pretty well made hair,By your intelligence you could get the earth and got a boon that cannot be changed,And have you not now itself stopped the counseling?”
1905. Like a she elephant tying a royal elephant by her legs ,The sick Kausalya looking at Dasaratha told, “Oh king who attained,Victory over Sambara who cannot be easily defeated in early days ,You won the war and devas lived with joy due to you and now you are their guest.”
1906. Kausalya who gave birth to Rama whose wealth of fame was ,Enjoyed by the devas asked, “Have you gone to enjoy the fruits of Yagna done earlier”Or have you gone to experience your advices which were matchless and held tightly by you,Or have you gone to enjoy the fruits never defeated life , led by you as per manu’s edict.”
1907. When the chief queen of the great king of earth was crying and prattling,Her step wife Sumithra who was also her friend cried and became enfeebled,And when that palace was tottering like the rotating earth at deluge,All other largely ignorant wives of Dasaratha came like a crowd of peacocks and wailed.
1908. In this world which had salt pan fields surrounded by the oceans,Those queens whom the deva maidens and other virtuous ladies ,Thought as most virtuous and who had flawless moon like faces ,Stood in the palace near the stable mountain like a crowd of peacocks ,
1909. Those queens who were holding and not leaving the body of Dasaratha Who had parted from his son and who had lost his life due to the abhorrent words of Kaikeyi , And who always stood only by the truth were looking like those,Were waiting to travel in the ship which had crossed the ocean of birth,And had just returned and by which the fish called Avidhya which makes one mad travels.
1912. When all the sixty thousand queens had firmly decided ,to die ,With Dasaratha in his funeral pyre and with the faultless ,Queens Kausalya and Sumithra becoming worried and faded,And when Sumantra riding on his gem studded lustrous chariot ,Went and informed Vasishta he looked at the acts of fate ,By his mind and eyes and started sobbing.
1913. That Vasishta who came here thought that the king had died,Due to giving the boon and parting with his son and further ,Thinking only about it became greatly depressed and became like a sailor,Of a broken ship in ocean full of waves who had lost his capain.
1914. Vasishta further thought that, “Since there is no one present,Who can perform the death rituals and also thinking that anything,Which comes is bound to come and taking in to consideration,Normal rules of the world and deciding that these could be performed,Only after Bharata who is son of the cruel lady who had lost her mind,Comes to Ayodhya took the body away from the ocean of women,And arranged it to be preserved in an ocean of oil.
1915. After telling the sixty thousand queens that, “ When the rituals,Of death are being performed by him , you can also climb the pyre.”And sending them away and after making those faultless queens ,To stay in the palace , Giving the royal order sent emissaries .With a request” bring back with you Bharata who wears the cool garland.”
1916. After those emissaries left for the lustrous town of the king of Kekaya,The very wise Vasishta asked the Commander Sumantra “Perform actions,That are needed” and to perform his Dharma, reached his hermitage ,And we will now tell what happened to people who went with Rama.
1917. The sun that gives sun light to us , knowing the son of his clan,Had died and his sons are far away from him , possibly,Thinking that till they come I would look after the kingdom,With the sea fishes bellowing like a big drum,With devas praying him , with people on earth offering morning ablations,With his sword with pure luster shining by his side ,Came riding on his chariot of sun’s rays.
1918. Those citizens who sorrowed like no one has done beforeWho had forgotten themselves , thinking that Rama was still there,Got up and went to the place Rama was there and not able to see ,The cloud coloured Rama who had a lotus like eyes full of grace ,Fainted and closed their eyes thinking of killing themselves ,And fell on the earth and started rolling there.
1919. They would get up wanting to run in all eight directions,Get up, fall down , fall in the ocean of sorrow , ail,“He has left us and gone away and what he did is cruel”,And further say, “After all the wide Dandaka forest is in this world ,And so it is not proper for us to loose our balance and it is not a crime.Let us follow the tracks let by his chariot and reach him.”
1920. All of them searched for the tracks and found it to be turning ,Towards their great city and getting their soul back said,“All of you please do not be afraid for Rama has reached back to Ayodhya,And they shouted with joy as if the sea and thunder have joined together.”
1921. All those people of the city who were there thinking that ,The Rama who defeated the god of love who belonged ,To the matchless spring , has returned back to the city,And this acted like great medicine for bite of very poisonous,Snake . releasing the great poison from his curved teeth,And they were like people whose soul has left them ,Who had taken great nectar as medicine to cure death,And found that the soul had entered in to them again.
1932. As the path progresses not seeing any other mark than of the wheels of the chariot,And not seeing any other marks , with more and more greater ebbing joy,Like the sea , in the period when creation started after deluge , which crossed,The entire limits of the earth and existed within its own limits , They returned back and reached great city of Ayodhya surrounded by walls.
1933. The people after they entered the city heard that their king,Had attained the golden land and were mind broken and shed their souls ,WE would not be in a position to describe their sorrow and they also knew,That Rama had gone to the forest and if there is a limit of time,When the rest of the soul had to go out , would it be when they heard that?
1934. Without being able to help the king and not also able to help,Rama who went to the forest , they suffered like those closed in,The inescapable prison of misery and when sage Vasishta ,Who was with them told that he stayed there fearing ,The coming of unthinkable bad name and he removed their ,Extreme sorrow by various words of consolations.
1935. As per the order of the sage Vasishta fearing the VadavagniWhich existed in between the seas , like the deep sea ,Which never crosses its banks when those sorrowing people ,Continued to live in that city , we will now start telling About the Rama with a strong bow who went to the forest,Due to penance of devas as per the order of the very generous Dasaratha.
Download PDF (Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5)
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5) – Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5)
Download PDF: Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5) in English PDF
Read More :
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 5)
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 6)
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 7)
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 8)
Kamba Ramayanam: Ayodhya Kandam 3 (Padalam 9)
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.