By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Bala Kandam 3 (Padalam 10)
10. Mithilai Kakshi PadalamThe chapter on looks of MIthila
(Rama and Viswamithra enter the town of MIthila. A picturesque description of the town is then given. Sita who was playing in the “maiden mansion” , saw Rama and he also saw her. Both of them fall in love with each other .There is a lucid description of the love sickness of Sita. Rama and Viswamithra go to the sacrificial hall of king Janaka. Rama is introduced to Sadananda, the son of Ahalya and Guru of king Janaka. That night Sadananda tells Rama about the story of sage Viswamithra. That night Rama is affected by love sickness for Sita. Next day they go to the palace of Janaka. When Janaka starts enquiring about Rama, Viswamithra starts telling about him. In Valmiki Ramayana, the description of MIthila is very short . Rama and Sita do not see each other. Sadananda indeed tells the story of sage Viswamithra to Rama. The description of love sickness of Sita is very exhaustive and follows the normal tradition of older Tamil literature.)
480. That city which was well guarded was saying ,” That goddess Lakshmi,Due to the great penance I did has left her lotus flower and has come,And living within me “ waving her hand like gem studded flagsAnd it appeared to them as calling that lotus eyed one, “come quickly.”
481.All the three of them saw those gem studded flowers on the top,Of the great mansions of the town , which appeared to them as if they were with waving with joy,On the sky and telling, “Since no one once has the suitability to marry sita,AS per the invitation of the God of Dharma , Rama is coming here ,To marry Sita of matchless beauty “ and it appeared that the divine damsels were dancing in the sky.
482. They saw that sun of the day was setting and the sky was appearing like ocean of milk,And on the terraces of the mansion of the MIthila city , When the long flags there while waving touched the clouds and became wet because of that and ,They were getting dry by the cloud like smoke from Akil and were waving again.
483. Interested in drawing and dipping the painting brush in nectar ,And later getting perplexed thinking, “how to draw her pretty form?”The love God himself thought that it was impossible to draw her pretty formAnd the city which was having her resembled the lotus flower in which Goddess Lakshmi sat.And all the three of them entered such a city which had golden walls.
484. Like The dried up sea after the great sage who was a great artist with words drank it,And which is seen as one strewn with very many shining gems Like The sky with has large number of shining stars in dense formation,The avenues of the town were shining with strewn gold ornaments ,Which were thrown by ladies with crescent shaped foreheads and men,And in to these shining streets those three people walked.
485. ,Due to showering of water of rut by mountain like elephants ,Who are capable of breaking the goad runs like a black river ,And the white foam of the mouth of strapped horses,Fall in that river and make it in to a white river,And due to chariots which are running without break ,Making the mud slushy and again due further running of chariots,The slushy land becomes dusty and thus the streets ,Are not similar at any time and in such a street those three walked.
486. The lad and the lass being similar without break making deep love ,And after enjoying it together , when the tender girls are lying tired in the war of love making And the flower garlands thrown by them who speak words which are like music in the lovers tiff ,Along with bees had fallen down on the streets and were .Dripping honey in such streets and they were walking through them.
487. They heard songs being sung in baby’s lisp which was like the honey like sound of Yaazh,Also songs sung in Makara Veena which is played by caressing the strings by the hands,As well as sound of drums, which were all being heard together one after one,And saw dances where the eyes of the dancers were following the signs showed by hands,With their mind going after that by Ladies with waists , whose existence is in doubt on golden stages.
488. They also saw swings tied in arecanut trees whose bearing ,Comes and goes like the guilty people ,Which bear pearl like red fruits And were green like emerald, over which the ladies were swinging ,And due to its movement the bees which rose up with great noise,And their waist unable to bear this were crying out loud,And those ladies at that time where thinking of their lovers.
489. For building field dividers for fields to control water ,The farmers had heaped limitless gems ,gold,and pearls,The tail of musk deer , the Akil pieces which are available in forests ,As well as peacock feathers and tusks of elephants ,Which lie scattered all over the banks of river which was like Cauvery,And they also had very large number of shops.
490. They heard by their ears and enjoyed the songs accompanied by music,Raised by their ladies who with the thin fingers with sharp nails,Who tightened the knobs of Veena and also tightly hugging the strings ,And along with imprint of their hands also imprinting the mind,With a smiling face which was like serving very good and tasty food.
491. They saw well bred natural horses with halters and which were running ,Like the rotated wheel for making pots made to rotate by the potter,Round and round and like great people never allow a split to come in between their friendship and like the mind of philosophers not deviating from their aim.,And which cannot be guessed about the type it can classified to.
492. They saw The elephants with white tusks as hard as diamond,Become very angry with each other,When the arrow of love God strikes and After having love tiff like the churner of curd,When they were getting engaged in love making like Very intimate lovers who are like soul of each other ,With eyes becoming deep red and were fightingLike a mountain with another mountain.
493. They saw the rise of several moons through the windows,On the gem studded terrace of those several mansions ,With spear like eyes , with love arrows of the God of love,With hair like the blue black colour of the bee ,With bright red lips and who have removed t he problem of appearing only at night.
494. They also saw many ladies with lotus like faces ,Who were exhibiting love tiff , like one exhibits ,The effect of wine which has the fresh smell,Taken in a crystal cup and having the meaningless laugh,Due to it and also meaningless prattling,Which even if they want , they cannot hide.
495. The mind of the prostitutes who make love to the men,And take money for it and who have private parts,Resembling the hood of the black snake is like crystal,Which looks black when the black eyes of damsels fall on it,And would look red when they take them in their red hands,And they saw similar balls which were being played by those damsels.
496. They also saw the sports arena of the long spear eyed ladies,Who were wearing bangles , ear studs and several other ornaments,Wearing the costly upper cloths of Kalinga made with thin threads ,Who were decorating their pretty hair with scented garlands and make it grow,Who were keeping as wager the Makara Yaazh and were moving ,With their reds hands the coins which resembled a dog
497. Lotus flowers, black lily which are not comparable to the faces of ladies,Red lilys not comparable to their mouth ,The leaves of Climb plant vallai not comparable to their ears ,The waves not comparable to the folds of their belly and Varal fish not comparable to their calves,Blue lotus not comparable to their hair , Chengidai not comparable to their lips,Were all sad but made themselves comparable to different parts,Of the pretty body of those damsels who were taking bath in the lakes , and were seen by them.
498. ,With the five sense organs which get attracted dragging them to different directions,And going along with them and having lost their senses and wandering here and there,Having applied the mixture of scented pastes and with scars on their handMade when they tightly Embrace the breasts of ladies And the wealth and wisdom not going away from their shoulders,The many heroic men were playing with rolling dices and were seen by them.
499. They also saw many young lads who appeared to be angry ,Who were feeling the pain of having born on this earth,Who have merciful heart giving away things requested from them,Who were like love God but cannot be ever burnt by fire,Who were having red hands holding the bow ,And who had red hairs because they were able to solve the love tiffs of ladies,Due to their falling at the feet of those ladies with red painted feet.
500. They also saw gardens with ladies who speak with words like sugar syrup,With pretty parrots and make the divine ladies become shy due to their prettiness,Who had hair like that of peacock feathers ,Who were comparable to the bunch of flowers due to their tender nature ,Who defeated the swans by the beauty of their walk and made those swans follow them, And seeing that the bees of the garden were greatly shouting with happiness
501. They then saw the moat as deep as the river Ganges from which water was ebbing out ;Inside the city surrounding the golden palace of Janaka who has a very great army ,Which was like a shadow of those mansions in which Indra and other devas live ,And was showing the very pretty nature of those homes in heaven.
502. Then they stood at the place where they saw ,On the terrace of a mansion in which maids live ,Where the male swans were playing and prattling with female swansA form of a girl with the cluster of gold and the scent of flowers ,With the sweet taste of honey dripping down from bees ,And with the pleasure of a poem built with very proper words .
503. That girl who had come could only be compared to Goddess Lakshmi ,Who had the best of every part of every lady who had been createdAS told by Lord Brahma sitting on the lotus and every being on earth,And How can they or any one use any other comparison to her.
504. Seeing her , all ladies who were comparable to Goddess Parvathi,Saluted her with hands raised over their heads as she,Was blessed with good qualities like patience , andNot able to see the other shore of her beauty , the humans,Were sad that they did not get eyes that never blink,And devas whose eyes never blink were also sad,Because they felt that her beauty cannot be measured by mere two eyes.
505. After defeating the looks of a deer .With flower decorated spear and the killing sword retreating on seeing her eyes,With the Kayal fishes suitable to compare standing behind,That Sita with roving eyes was like the nectar that came out ,Even in those days when the sea was churned using a mountain.
506. Would it be possible for Lord Brahma to create ,Another girl like her , even if all devas gather together and request ,“Please create a girl who is comparable to this girl with honey like words”,And even if those devas who do not eat anything except nectar ,Go near the sea which is the home of gems and request it ,That sea can again possibly give them nectar and not a girl like her?
507. Menaka and other divine ladies who are liked by indra who rules over the divine world,Who had lustrous eyes after seeing her form, understanding that if all other beauty ,Were to join together , it would not be equal to her beauty and getting nervous,Were having a faded down face like the day time moon,But she had a face like full moon which did not differentiate between day and night.
508. Is it because the Brahmins who are innumerable observed penance ,So that their body has undergone sufferings so that this lady had decided,To come leaving her lotus to live on this earth.Or is it the God of dharma or this earth or the heavens ,Or is it the world of devas ? we are not able to know which?
509. Many friends who were , who do not have any one comparable to them,Addressing her as , Oh deer who has hands soft like the red tender leaves,Oh mother ,Oh honey , Oh difficult to get nectar and saluted her feet,Walked in front filling up the path with flowers , and she ,Was walking on those flowers which were coated with pollen.
510. Several of her friends, who were wearing golden anklets on their thin legsWearing gem studded garlands, flower garlands , wearing waist belt,And who were looking like creeping flowering plants were ,Staring at the beauty of Sita who was with them .Lighting that place like one hundred crore streaks of lightning ,And who was looking the king of all lightning.
511. Sita had eyes that will defeat The killing spear,and the god of death Which are filled with joy and that was something none can describe,And that Sita who was a fruit taking human form which was capable of melting,Huge hills . small walls , big stones , and small grass, was standing there.
512. That Sita was giving extreme joy to all those ladies who see her by their eyesWho were themselves looking like a festival to the eyes of Gents who sees them,And that Sita was like a nectar to all those ladies ,And so how will she look like to Rama, who was the lord of us all?
513. Though the ear ornaments and garlands had been thereBefore the birth of Sita in this earth and had , Moved with ladies who have cool eyes like that of rain,Because this Sita was born , they who make others pretty became more pretty.
514. When that Sita who was more prettier than any one’s concept of beauty,Was standing there, her eyes and that of Rama dragged each other,And each of their eyes wanted to steal the other and eat it,And due to this both their consciousness became one single one,And he saw her and she also saw him.
515. The sight that Sita saw with her eyes became,Two sharp spears and pierced the shoulders of that strong one,And the sight of that red eyed Rama who wore Hero’s anklets ,Went and pierced the two breasts of that girl who hurts others by her beauty..
516. Since their sights which drank each other ,Tied each other and was dragging each other’s hearts,That Rama with a strong bow and Sita with sword like eyes.Pierced each others heart and stayed there.
517. That lady with no waist(thin waist) and that Rama without any fault,Became a single soul along their two bodies ,If they who had parted with each other ,On the floating bed in the ocean of milk,Meet with each other in one place , Is there a need to talk?
518. Those eyes without an end went on seeing him And since they were not closing ,Sita who was wearing gold ornaments, Stood immobile like the lady in a picture,.Rama who was followed by thought about her,Went forward along with the sage ,Till he vanished from sight of Sita.
519. When Rama who was wearing scented garlands ,Vanished from her sight and though her mind ,Which was like an elephant in rut which made the very strong Goad straight ,But that Sita who had a crescent like forehead was stopped,By her qualities which were lady like.
520. When the thought of love came strongly ,Her mind and body became thin like her waist,And through her black long eyes , the sickness of love ,Just like a drop of curd in the milk , spread all over her body.
521. Though she was suffering from the disease of love ,Since she was not able to tell it, she was weeping,Within her mind like a dumb girl and then the God of love,Shot an arrow in to her mind , which was like ,Putting one more piece of wood in to a raging fire.
522. That Sita whose eyes went near to her ears Which were wearing a lustrous ear stud ,And which were like a spear not burnt in fire ,With her disheveled hair and loose dress ,Faded like a climbing plant put in fire.
523. That Sita who had the waist bels slipping,Who had lost her mental strength and conch bangles,Who had faded mind and wisdom as well as ,The colour of her body due to that love sickness.Was like the ocean which lost everything ,When the devas churned it by a mountain.
524. When her ornaments loosened, her shyness deserted her ,When her beauty changes and when she was hit on her breasts by arrows of love ,And was suffering like a deer hit by the arrow of the hunter,And when she standing jaded like this , her friends took that SitaWho had a colour of a peacock and was wearing ear studs , with great difficulty.
525. Those friends and took Sita , who was wearing ear globes in her ears,Whose eyes move like the Khayal fish and hand and feet which were like new leaves,To a bed of flowers over which cold snow has been sprinkled along with tincture of flowers.
526. ,When Sita was made to lie down on a bed of flowers that had just opened Faded like the lotus flowers growing densely in a lake ,Got faded by the rain of snow , which was white like silk cotton flowers,And like the fading of the moon when it was swallowed by a snake.
527. The sweat which formed in the edge of her eye brows dried immediatelyDue to her tortured breath which gave out heat like a Black smith’s klin,And her pearl like tears from her very long eyes fell on The top of her breasts like the rain falling on the mountain top .
528. , She fell like the peacock which fell ,As a result of the arrow sent by a hunter in the forest,Of a very a cruel mind which never gets disturbed ,And due to her mind which was burning due to the fire of love ,She fell like a burnt flower branch on that flower bed.
529. The flowers that were spread on that flower bed ,Appeared to her like sharp thorns and hurt her body,The sandal paste on her body which got dried due to,The heat of her the fire of love fell like fire sparks That burning fire within her also burnt the thread ,Of her ornaments and the flowers in the bed dried..
530. Her servants , the foster mothers, five type of mothers,And those who were like sister for her became very sad,Due to disease of Sita and became mentally upset ,Because they were not able to understand the nature of the illness,In spite of deep thought , brought water with many flowers,And rotated in front of her so that evil eye would be cured.
531. , Due to air of the waving of that big fan by her friends,The fire within her burnt with more vigour ,The ornaments and flower garlands started drying and scaldingAnd this made her like an idol made of gold .
532. She will tell Rama’s hair is a flower garland made of darkness,And his two shoulders are two great and big pillars orTwo mountains which are made of emerald stone ,And his eyes are red lotus flowers and he is a cloud,Which came from the sky with the bow of Indra(lightning)
533. He has entered my dense mind and also destroyed,The determination of my mind and my feminine qualities,But on his mountain like shoulders he does not ,Seem to carry a bow of sugarcane and so he is not god of love.
534. On thinking about it, he is not one belonging to the land of devas.As he is like the scented lotus and also blinks his eye,He carries a huge well made bow and wears a sacred thread,And considering his age , he looks like only a son of a king.
535.After seeing him I am not able to see in me ,My feminine nature , the shyness that was born with me ,And the wisdom of my mind and that young lad,Who walked on the path of mud , looks like a thief,Who can enter in to my mind through my eyes.
536. His black hair is like the gem Indra neela,His face is like full moon and his hands hanging up to knee,And his great shoulders did not steal my soul,But it was his smile that first attracted me.
537. Not only his broad chest which was lustrous,And g his great feet which were like lotus flowers,But also his gait which was like that of an elephant,From whose face the water of rut was ebbing out ,Entered in to my mind and got fixed there.
538. Would it be possible for me to at least see once that lad,Who destroyed the security wall of my virginity* ,Which was born along with me and is a machine,Attached to the wall of hall of virgins where I roam,And understand about him and then die? Please tell. * prevents entry of males in to the mind
539. When Sita was telling this and many other such things to her mind,She told herself, “Here stands the valorous one whom I saw earlier.”Then she will say, “Now he has gone away” and like this,Her love sick mind was suffering due to these thoughts of passion.
540. The hot sun feeling that the fire of love which was burning,Sita who had a swan like gait was rising up and heating him also,And not able to bear it which made his long arms shiver,Ran and dipped himself in to the ocean.
541. The breeze which blew increasing her love sickness ,Made Sita, the rare maid see , the red sky at dusk and the black dark night, As the god of death with red hair and black colour,Due to that dusk which heats up the feelings of love
542. The sound of birds that was coming from the top,The sound from the sea which was like the sound of anklets,And the blood coloured sky and the darkness of the night,Which was like the black dress increased the love suffering of Sita,And it was only proper to call it the Sadhakas(great goddess devotees)
543. Along With ponds becoming dry due to fire , With scented flowers being coated by poison,The breeze was strolling like a spear and the arrows sent by God of love ,Entered deep in to the already existing wounds of love and due to that,The good wisdom as well as the feminine characteristics have been destroyed in case of Sita, And she seeing the evening time which had come to take away her soul,Was greatly scared thinking that this was the real form of god of death.
544. When Sita was greatly suffering and when she was thinking ,“Is this ocean , is it rain , Is it big blue stone , Is it the scented flower of never fading plant,Is it the scented flower of Karum kuvalai plant ? Is it the blue lotus.Is it the flower of Karu neithal plant , I do not know which of them,Would give maximum trouble to young girls and take away their life?”Then very strong Rakshasa like Black late evening came before her.”
545. ”Oh serpent who is of the colour of black colour spreading in the sky,Who has stars as its poisonous teeth , the deep breath of hot air ,And The red sky as its poisonous fang, Why are you surrounding me?Why are you inimical to me and give me sorrow? Already the god of love ,Who shoots arrows at me , without getting any tiresomeness in his hand,Never leaves the shooting of arrows? Since I have only one soul,And , there is nothing with me for you to steal if he snatches it away from me .When I am trying to save myself from that God of love .Why are you unnecessarily attacking me to take away my life?”
546. ,”Has the sorrow taken the form of darkness , matured further and,Has the great Halahala poison spread all over the world,, after emerging from sea?Has the black ocean rise out and come out? Or is it that whoever thinks of the colour ,Of the great one , they get the colour which spreads everywhere?Is it that the black colour of god of death that has been further mixed with black paste ,And applied all over the earth and the entire sky?”
547. “Oh bird My lord just made appearance before my eyes and suddenly vanished,And I did not see any one to help me to stop him, and hey without pitying on me,Thinking that I am a simple girl , he did not take any mercy on me?Was this deception taught to you by God of love who was hiding ,In the darkness of night and shooting his arrows of love on me? Or is it due to the sins committed by this simple girl in previous birth?And has that sin come in the form of darkness to haunt me?”
548. ,When at that place when she thinking about such things was greatly suffering,In the big mansion of maids , which was touching the broad sky by its height,On the platform made by the cool moon stone , thinking that,The long lamps with big flame would produce more heat and make her suffer,The friends of Sita removed all such lamps and brought the lamps,With gems and made the night in that place in to the day time.
549. When the great strong Lord Vishnu .made the Mandhara mountain in to a churner And started churning it using the snake as the rope , for the sake of the devasSeveral drops of milk as well as gems fell out and later the golden pot of nectar Which was more lustrous than the stars rose out, similar to rising of moon from black sea.
550. Long time ago , lying on a banyan leaf , acting as if he was very angry ,Lord Vishnu ate all the worlds and the sea and when the sea of the belly, Flowered from there and with bees chanting Vedas, a flower was produced ,On which sat Brahma and similarly the moon rose from the sea ,And it looked like another white lotus flower flowered from the sea.
551. When in the sky where the shining stars which looks like dots in the sky,The moon light which eats away the darkness accumulated at night, Has spread the leaf sheath of young arecanut tree kept beside the silver pot on the east,And we do not know how this will turn out to Sita who talks sweetly like a bird.
552. The lustrous evening spreading his hands , with an intention of ,Eating away the darkness of the entire world and moon light ,Which spread as soon as the cool moon arose in the sky,Like the spread of the fame of the philanthropist Chadayan*,Which has spread in the earth and sky and in all directions ,Making his own all the fields which are irrigated. *the philanthropist from THiruvennainallur
553. It was like the extremely white moon who is an architect who arose from the water of the seaSeeing that the world which was made by Lord Vishnu on the flower that arose ,From his belly button has become very old , spreading his rays which are his hands,And using the white paint of his moon light has painted it and made it new.
554. When that moon who was like the big scented lotus flower came to him as per its wish,Along with Goddess Lakshmi , and when the lotus flowers closed making the bees go away ,The red lily flowers noticing that the king who looks after the world with his scepter has gone, Started to show off themselves like the small kings who was waiting for suitable time.
555. Oh white coloured burning coal , who forms in the midst of the black growing burning coal,Which is the personification of darkness that has stolen the entire world,Having been defeated by that great one who creates the permanent illusion,By his colour , why are you being cruel to me as well as the ocean which is outside.
556. Oh moon who rose from the sea, by nature you are not cruel,As you are not killing any one and you were born along with,The faultless nectar and along with a damsel with a she elephant’s gait,And such being the case , it is not proper for you to burn me.
557. Because the rays of the moon which raises in the sky,Beats me on her very tender breasts , like a whip ,That female swan ,felt as if she was caught in a cruel raging fire, And went on rolling on the bed which was full of lotus flowers.
558. Due to moon light which never left and spread everywhere,Hurting her , Sita got scalded , cooked and fell down,And the lotus flowers in which she used to live were made as her bed,And due to the heat of love in her body , even those flowers got wilted.
559. That Sita who had tender breasts ,suffered with a burning body,When her friends applied large quantity of sandal paste with other cooling pastes,And when she was fanned by huge fans , her body became more hot ,Is there any medicine to cure the illness caused by love?
560. When due to the fire of love , her body was burning ,Even the beds made by flowers , pollen as well as very tender leaves,Start getting burning up , her friends who loved her more than her mother,Brought two thousand beds and went on stacking them on each other.
561. We have seen how the female swan like Sita ,Who was in the home for maids suffered on the flower beds,And now we will say as to what happened to Rama,Who has seen her body which resembled rays of lightning.
562. When all of them (Rama and others) went and saw the king Janaka,He with great joy received them by coming out ,And took them to a mansion which was touching the sky ,In that land of pleasures which was like the golden town of Indra.
563. Sage Sadananda who was the son of Ahalya ,Who has assumed her original form due to the dust,From the lotus like feet of Rama who was valorous and faultlessCame to see them and he looked as if all the great penances ,Have taken a form of good character and came walking.
564. Rama , the very charitable one received that sage with great respect ,And with great joy and saluted him. Then that sage ,Who had matchless good qualities blessed Rama ,And went and reached near sage Viswamithra.
565. That great sage who was the son of sage Gowthama,Seeing the face of Viswamithra of great penance told,“What is the great penance that has been done by this great city.”
566.Seeing the face of great Sadananda, Who was equal to the lord,With the seat of the cool lotus flower(Brahma) andWho has friendship with every one as also has done great penance,Viswamithra who is the master of all arts told like this.
567. ”Oh Great sage of very great penance , please hear,This charitable Rama has killed the Thadaga who had a voice like thunder,And protected my fire sacrifice and also lifted the curse,That had befallen on your mother one by one and,He has thus removed all the sorrows that I had.”
568. As soon as sage Viswamithra told like this,That great sage got limitless joy and told,“Oh sage of great penance , due to your grace ,Which os there on these lads now , What job is impossible,For this very valorous Rama “ and further he told.
569-570. Seeing that moon faced Charitable Rama ,Whose body was comparable to theIncomparable non fading flowers , Blue gem stone,The slushy ocean , crowds of clouds,And the Blue lotus flowers with open flowers , he told,“Oh Lord who wears the garland made of scented flowers,I shall tell you an important news, This sage Viswamithra ,Was king of a kingdom earlier , which he ruled for several years, As per the rule of law and with mercy to all beings.”
571. “When he was ruling his country as per dharma,He happened to go to the forest for hunting in to dense forests ,And reached the hermitage of Sage Vasishta of great penance Who is praised and worshipped by every one.”
572. That consort of Arundathi treated this sage Koushika ,In a very hospitable manner by looking after all his wants And requested him,Please stay here and then go.”And when Koushika agreed to that and Vasishta told him,“I would treat you all with a feast “ and then he called the cow Surabhi,And told her, “You yourself produce nectar like food and give them,”And That Surabhi as per the words of Vasishta produced ,All that was necessary and gave them all a great feast.
573. Then Vasishta addressing king Kausiga told,“Oh king share this feast with six tastes ,Along with the members of your army also .”And gave all that was produced by Surabhi to them,And after king Koushika and his army ate that feast .And then scented flower garland and sandal paste was given to all,And king Viswamithra after his tiredness vanished.After thinking it deeply told Vasishta the following.
574-576 . ”Oh sage of great penance though you did not get up from your seat,This divine cow gave faultless food to all the victorious army.And has done a very special deed and because ,All the great people who do not have any fault ,Who are masters of Veda are telling that ,“All great things in the kingdom belong to the king,,And also since this cow is not that suitable to you,You please give this great cow Surabhi to me.”And when he told like this Vasishta did not reply for some time,And later told,”Oh king who has the spear to destroy the enemies,I who am a sage who wears the tree hide as dress ,I do not have the right too give Surabhi to you.And so you yourself can take her of your own accord,And as soon as he told this, that king saluted him and said,“I would do accordingly” and got up with lot of enthusiasm,And when he tied that Cow Surabhi and was starting ,That cow got herself freed of the rope by which is tied,And asked sage Vasishta “oh sage , who has learned and,Who has nderstood all the Vedas , Did you give me to,Viswamithra who has pretty shoulders?”And then That sage who knew all arts started replying.
577. “I did not give you but this king with victorious umbrella ,Has caught you and taking you of his own accord.” Replied the sage ,That cow who got very angry told “I would myself destroy,The army of the king who have drums that make sound like thunder, please see it.”And immediately all the hair of her body shook greatly
578. Then Babbara , Yavana , Chinese , Jonakas* and other Mlecha soldiers,Appeared from her body along with various weapons ,And completely made in to pieces the entire strong army of King Koushika,And then the sons of Koushika who are by nature Short tempered started attacking her. *Muslims are called Jonakas in Kerala even today
579. Those very angry sons of Koushika assuming that their army,Was not killed by Mlechas or the cow Surabhi but thinking that,It was by the deception of the divine saint who knew all Vedas,Telling the valorous words, “Now itself we will cut his head off”,And went near Vasishta who stared at them by his eyes,Which produced fire and all the sons of Viswamithra died.
580. Then Viswamithra seeing that all his hundred sons have been killed,Rose like a fire on which ghee has been poured , came in his chariot with a long flag,Bent his bow extremely and started shooting his arrows continuously at Vasishta.And he in turn kept his staff of Brahma in front of himself and told ,Now receive all those arrows sent by Viswamithra.
581. Then Viswamithra sent at him the arrows of different gods which he had learnt,But the staff of Vasishta swallowed all of them and was shining undefeated,And Koushika saluted Lord Shiva who had the mountain Meru as his bow,And as soon as he prayed him Lord Shiva came , gave him an arrow and vanished
582. Viswamithra then sent that weapon and all those in the world of devas ,Thinking that he would burn all the worlds, were scared and hid themselves,But Vasishta who saw that weapon which neared him burning like fire,Produced very hot fire from his body and made that weapon not effective,And thus the weapon of Shiva which cannot be destroyed became ineffective.
583. That king who saw the weapon of Shiva becoming ineffective ,Understood that thinking strength and certain victory are ,Definitely for the sages who have learnt the Vedas and not for others,And further understanding that strength that leads to one to rule the world,Is nothing comparable before strength of a sage , he decided,To do penance and went to the east side owned by Devendra.
584. Noticing that the leader of kings Koushika was thinking in his mind,About the victory attained by the great Vasishta of very great penance,And was doing penance to attain that type of power,The king of devas got scared and sent Thilothama ,The deer like lady among the divine maidens to spoil his penance.
585. The king seeing the beauty of Thilothama was hit ,By the arrows of God of love , lost his purity of thought,And for several days got drowned in the sea of passion with her ,And later understood the books of arts written by great writers, And started hating that passion like poison and started laughing.
586. Understanding that his penance was spoiled by the cheating,By the king who ruled over the world of devas , Viswamithra became very angry ,He cursed Thilothama, “ You would be born in the world as a human lady”,And due to his lotus eyes becoming red due to his anger of the mind ,He left that place and reached the southern side ruled by Yama ,Who was the strongest among those who ruled directions.
587. After he reached the southern side and was carrying out his penance ,Trisanku who was the strong king of Ayodhya approached his Guru Vasishta,And requested him to help him to go to heaven along with human body,And Vasishta told him .”I do not know the method of sending any one,To the heavens with the human body” and refused his request.
588. Then Trisanku told him, “sir if it is not possible for you ,I would approach some one else whom I like in this great world,And get the fire sacrifice done and get my desire fulfilled through him.”At this Vasishta got very angry with him ,” Oh powerful king who has great anger,You have removed the teacher of your forefathers and ,Are saying that you would like to choose Guru of your own.Because of this you become a Pulaya(untouchable).”
589. ”Oh lad , when Vasishta the son of Lord Brahma cursed him like this,Lost his regal royal form which used to make even sun god jealous ,Losing his pretty face which was like a fully opened lotus flower,And assumed a form that all the people of earth hated, then and there.”
590. All the ornaments as well as the crown that he wore became black,And was similar to iron ,The cloths that he wore as well as his sacred thread ,Became made of animal hide and he lost all his beauty and became black,And when he went back like this to his city , he found that,Every one was abusing him and so he reached the forest.
591. After spending a few days in the forest , one day,This king reached the hermitage where king Koushika was doing penance,And when Koushika asked him, “who are you who is looking like a Chandala?Why have you come here”, Then Trisanku saluted him ,And told him all the news as it happened.
592. When Koushika heard this , saying with a laugh “only that much?”,He further told, “I would carry out a great fire sacrifice for you,And send you to heaven with this human body” and then when he invited,Several sages of great penance , they all assembled there and at that time,Sons of sage Vasishta told, “we have not heard of a king,Performing a fire sacrifice for the sake of a Chandala .”
593. Then all the sages said that they also would not agree to this act,And Koushika became enraged and cursed the sons of Vasishta,“You would become hunters who do debased work.” , and,Immediately they all became hunters and went to different forests,And Koushika started the fire sacrifice and invited the devas,And while offering food in the fire told to them,“All of you who do not take food come and participate.”
594. The devas told , “ this king , for the sake of this Chandala .,After completing the fire sacrifice is calling us to come speedily,What a great act” and thus jeered and laughed at Viswamithra,But that Koushika steadfastly seeing that king,Who had an army of elephants with rope tied in their neck, told,“you go to heaven and I am telling it based on the power of my penance, And Trisanku went up to the heaven like an air plane.
595. When that king went in to the heavens , the devas got very angry and after asking him“How is it proper that you who is a Chandala is coming to heaven with your body?And so go back.” and then they pushed him back to earth ,And when he was falling down with head down,AS he did not have any support, he shouted ,“Oh Koushika , you are my only protection and I surrender to you.”And hearing that Koushika loudly told, “Stop where you are” and laughed like thunder.
596-597. Then Koushika told , “I will again create another set devas as well as heaven,Let the sun , moon and all other planets as well as stars that I create Be always shining and rise in the south and set in the north “After ordering like this when he started the creation ,Along with moving and not moving beings , Indra with the scented Kalpaka tree,Lord Brahma with four faces , Lord Shiva with blackened neck,Along with all other devas as well as sages and told him,“Please pardon. The dharma which upholds one is very great .Let this king Trisanku merge with the stars and be there permanently.”
598. ”Oh king of great penance you would become the five stars in the south,And tell about your greatness to the world as the royal saint,”And after the devas left that honest saint speedily travelled from there,And reached the western side which is the side of the God of the seaAnd again he was doing great penance there,
599. A king called Ambareeksha Who had an army with great swords,Who used to talk pleasant to hear sweet words and who was ,Like the soul to all the beings on this entire earthAnd who was one who is dear to all , for the sake of buying a man,To conduct a fire sacrifice in which a man is offered in the fire,Was wandering in search all over the forests with gold filled chariots.
600-601. He approached a saint called Richaka who had done great penance ,In the garden in which he lived and asked him to sell one of his three sons to him,Richaka’s wife told that youngest son was hers only and cannot be sold,And Richaka told the eldest son was his and so cannot be sold,And when they knew that their middle son Sunachepa was willing ,And laughed at the fact that his parents were willing to sell him,And seeing Ambareeksha told, “please give sufficient money to my father ,So that his poverty is completely destroyed” and later he saluted his father ,And riding on the non stoppable chariot of the king when he was going,The sun who has rays which give great luster reached the middle of the sky.
602. Ambareeksha got down from the chariot there for performing rituals of noon,And that Good Sunachepa also got down for the same purpose and there he saw ,The sage Koushika of the pure mind who had got rid of bad qualities like jealousyAnd with great sorrow he saluted the lotus like feet of sage.
603. That saint with great characters seeing that lad who saluted him with the fear of death,Asked him , “ Why are you so depressed? Please tell me ” and he who had surrendered to the sage told,“Oh saint who knows inner meaning of books of Dharma , my mother and father after receivingGreat wealth, gave me away to king Ambareeksha” and then he related everything.
604-605. Hearing how the mother along with her husband , sold him,That great sage told him, “ Leave out this great fear for,I will protect you “and saying like this he told his sons,“One of you go instead of him to be sacrificed” and since they refused,That sage got so angry , with eyes becoming so red that even,The rising Sun god felt ashamed , With each of his pores of hair ,Breathing the Badava fire , that Koushika cursed his sons,“Oh merciless minded ones , you all become savage hunters,And roam about in forests and suffer great sorrow.”
606. After cursing the four of his sons who did not die,Earlier due to the anger of sage Vasishta , he told.,That nephew like lad standing before him ,“Stop getting depressed and becoming sad.Please receive two mantras from me just now ,”And then he taught him those mantras and started telling him.
607. ”Oh lad who wears a soft garland with honey*,You go with the king and when he ties you to the pillar of sacrifice,Chant these mantras and as soon as you tell it ,Devas, Brahma , Shiva who rides on a bull would come,To take their share from the sacrifice and it would come to an end,But no harm would come to your life” and hearing that ,That lad praised him and then went along with the king. * The sacrificial animal would be garlanded before sacrifice.
608. When that lad chanted the mantras as per the directions of the Vedic sage ,In the place of fire sacrifice , the gods riding on Garuda , swan and the bull,Surrounded by all devas riding on their steeds came to that fire sacrifice,And protected that Yaga done as per Vedas as well as life of that lad.The sage Koushika after finishing the penance in west went towards north.
609. That sage reaching the north , keeping his lotus like hand on his nose ,And made Ida and PIngala rise through his heart by meditating on Pranava(Om),And went on doing penance for very many years and then due to,The root fire raising up and breaking his skull and spread , Making the entire world covered by darkness and the world was dejected.
610. When Lord Shiva who burnt the three cities , tore open the elephant,And when he adjusted his body and used the hide top cover it ,Like good characters similar to the clouds that spread everywhere ,The smoke from that root fire from the sage covered the earth.
611. That darkness which was every where joined together ,And spread all over the world, which made the rays of sun hidden,And because of it the eyes of all gods who protect all directions ,As also the eyes of the eight elephants that carry the earth got jaded.
612. When the clouds which are the cause of life spread ,The entire earth with smoke and went inside every thing,The moving and not moving beings of the world get scared,And due to the very harsh and hot sun’s rays the Devas started shivering.
613. The God who lives on lotus , Lord Vishnu who rides on Garuda ,Lord Shiva who rides on a bull , Indra and all other devas.Came separately from very many different places ,And met that great sage whose wealth was penance.
614. The God who wears the moon , The god of great light,Who wore green thulasi and Brahma who lives on lotus flower .Seeing that sage told, “Oh great sage , There is no one else,Other than you who have seen the other shore of Vedas.”
615. That Brahmin who heard these words , bent his head,Folded his two lotus like hands , “Today I have received,The fruit of penance that every one desires”And became very happy and all the devas ,Who came there went back to their places.
616. ”This is all what happened and there is no one like this Koushika ,Who has attained greatness through his penance and you have got,The grace of this sage who is greatly just and a great follower of Dharma,And so no task whatsoever is impossible to both of you,”So said the sage Sadananda who has limitless goodness.
617. Like this when the son of sage Gowthama told them,The victorious heroes heard all these with great wonder ,And became happy and fell at the feet of that sage with great penance ,And that sage blessed both of them and went back to his place.
618. After the sage and his younger brother as per their custom, Reached the place of sleep which was sweet for them,Rama who resembled a fruit of darkness , along ,With the night, the moon and the loneliness,Became one with the thoughts of that girl.
619. ”Is there a possibility of lightning ,Getting separated from the clouds ,And taking the form of a girl ? If so,I do not know any other case except this ,For I am seeing her within my eye as well as mind .”
620. ”Since the girl has eyes like the ocean of milk,Where the black Vishnu sleeps on that water on,Adhisesha who never gets tired of giving ,Is living on the lotus of my heart,Has she become the Goddess Lakshmi.”
621. Though she may not have mercy on me ,As if to cure the love sickness in me ,Due to the love that I developed to her,She had swallowed me by her eyeAnd in this world which is not clear ,Where moving and non moving things live,Have all become the golden form of that girl.
622. “Though her golden pot like breats ,,Over which many ornaments waveDid not have a chance to press firmly against my chest,Would it be possible for me at some time or other ,To again see her full moon like face ,Which has moon light like smile and ,Has lips which are like deep red fruits?
623. The lady god of death whom I always think about,Has a pretty coloured waist belt , tied over chariot base ,Like hips and she has two long sword like eyes ,Two very stout breasts , a pleasant smile filled mouth,And are all these required for her to kill me?”
624. ” If that God of love bending his bow of sugarcane ,
Hits me with a rain of flower decked arrows , so that,I would always be thinking about the girl,Then what is the point of my having strength and health.”
625. ” The moon light which is spreading like water likeThe overflow of the deep milk of ocean which ebbs out,Is trying to destroy my soul which is there because of the thought of that girl,And I wonder whether there is a white coloured poison also.”
626. Would my mind ever go in a path which is not a good path,And so the girl who has a syrup like talk and a golden form,Is indeed a maid(virgin?) , and for this there is no doubt whatsoever.
627. Like the lustrous ceremonial umbrella of the king of night falling,And like the Chutti* ornament hanging from the youthful,Hair parting which is blemish less has fallen down,The moon which was shining went inside the western sea, *Hanging from hair parting on forehead
628. When the moon who is their God left , the directions,Who were his darlings on whom he had applied white paste,Of sandal and as if due to sorrow of parting , they all rubbed it out ,As soon as the moon set , the white moon light went out.
629. When Rama who was wearing a scented garland , which due to love sickness,Was getting worn out , The Sun made his wives of lotus flowers,Show their faces which rose up and he rose as if he is the red fire ,Which comes out of the eye of the forehead of the god of the ,Dark sunrise mountain who was wearing elephant hide .
630. Using the dust raising from the Udayagiri mountains ,Due to the fast and strong hoof strikes of the green horses,Which were made wet by the water and flower offerings ,Offered by the hands of Brahmins , the Sun appeared ,Like the red thilak he put on the elephant controlling the east side ,And his young rays went on to all the peaks of that stable mountain,And all those peaks of the mountain appeared red.
631. Before parting with their darlings , the lord tells His wife about the day when he would come back ,From fighting war in the battle field or after earning of wealth .And when that lord who wears scented garlands which are constantly followed by bees,Who is their lord who is like their soul , comes at the appointed time ,Riding on a pretty gem studded chariot , then the faces of the darlings,Which had lost its luster regains the shine and they get free of tiredness ,And like those virtuous wives , the lotus flowers opened up ,Seeing their Lord the Sun God coming on his chariot at the appointed time .And due to this all the lotus ponds were full of shining fully opened flowers.
632. Along With Kinnaras singing innumerable Vedic songs , with world praising ,With devas , sages, priests and Brahmins saluting him with folded hands ,And with the drums where wax is applied raising huge sound ,The red rays of the very lustrous Sun was dancing on the stage of the great sky ,Opened up golden matted hair of the God who has eye of fire on his forehead ,
633. That Rama of the colour of the cloud , not holding the killer wheel in the very old ocean of milk,But holding on his strong arms , the powerful bent bow and not sleeping in the bed of thousand heads Where each head was holding light of gem , due to his being away from his Sita,Is sleeping on the sea of sorrow and the Sun riding on a lustrous chariot ,Is slowly caressing his feet so that he would wake up and see the end of the sea of night.
634. When the night passed off as if one long eon had gone by ,Rama woke up like a decorated elephant and after completing,The old prescribed rituals , after saluting the sage who had the form of the Vedas,Along with his dear brother , wearing scented flower garland ,And his gem studded crown and the necklace of his great clan,Reached the very big sacrificial hall of king Janaka.
635. That crowned king Janaka after completing the fire sacrifice as per Vedas,With drums blaring forth in all directions like thunder , like Indra ,Reached his palace which was so high that it was touching the moon,And there in the hall of gems received his guests , offering them seats ,And sat along with the sage of great penance . Rama wearing ,The fresh garland of betel leaves and holding the bow which by its nature bends,And with his brother by his side , the king Janaka occupied his position in the hall.
636. After drinking the beauty of the lads of high birth , who were sitting near him,Janaka saluted the sage with great penance by falling at his feet, he asked,
“oh sage , please tell me who these lads are ? and sage said,” These guests ,Are the sons of the very honourable Dasaratha and they have come to see your Yaga.And since that is over they would like to see the bow of Shiva also.”And then he started telling about the fame and greatness of those lads.
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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.