Stories less told - Rsayasrnga

Rshyasrnga

Rshyasrnga was the son of a sage called Vibandaka. While the birth of Rshyasrnga itself is very interesting, we will dwell more with his life than his birth.

Rshyasrnga was entirely brought up by his father Vibandaka. He had the body of a human but with deer horns. He grew up in a forest. The forest in which he grew did not have any female animals. So, he absolutely had no idea of a woman at all. His father was a single parent as his mother was a damsel in the heaven. He learnt the Vedas and Upanishads to perfection and was a bramhachari to the core – pure and unpolluted by desire. His father took utmost care not to mention ladies to his son so that he will be able to maintain his purity and have an uncontaminated mind. Women, Wine, Welath are the three forces that make a man lusty and wicked. Wine and wealth were out of question for a Brahmin boy. So, he made sure that Rshyasrnga did have the knowledge of a lady at all. 

All of us know that Dasharatha had only four sons but little do we know that he had a daughter too. Her name was Shanti. Dasharatha longed for a son. His friend Romapada was ruling Angadesha and wanted to have a daughter. He requested Dasharatha and shanti was given to Romapada as a gift. Unfortunately, when the girl Shanti stepped on Angadesha, it stopped raining and people were suffering. When Romapada went to the astrologers and was told that he had cheated a Brahmin once and hence the land of devoid of brahmanaas. Since it was the treta yuga, and there were no Brahmins to perform yagna, it stopped raining and people were suffering. The only solution was to bring Rshyasrnga to his land. If that sage, who is purity personified came to Angadesha and married his daughter Shanti, all other Brahmins would follow him in quest of knowledge and rain would again pour. 

Bringing Rshyasrnga was not an easy one as his father was always on guard. The king called out to people who were willing to go and bring Rshyasrnga. But none wanted to become the target of Vibhandaka’s curse. There was one female prostitute who was willing to sacrifice for the country. She went into the forest along with many other ladies They wore rudrakshaas, dressed up beautifully like rishis and entered the forest. Vibandaka was drawn by the devas for some help and when he was away from the ashram, the ladies entered it and tried to befriend Rshyasrnga. They introduced themselves as rishis and tried to take part in the yagna conducted by the young sage. The young Rshyasrnga was attracted to these pretty ladies. He was awed by their beauty and structure. He did not know that lust and kaama had entered him. He wondered who they were as his father had never mentioned about them while teaching the vedas and Upanishads. They decided to spend some time there and Rshyasrnga was happy in their company. Slowly, they drew him and requested him to come to angadesha and marry the king’s daughter. He did not even know what a marriage was. He went with them and was given a detailed account of marriage, its rituals and its importance. He agreed to marry Shanti and it was solemnised. 

When Vibhandaka came back, he was enraged and felt deceived. He went to angadesha and went on to cruse the king and his kingdom. The king romapada said,”please do not curse the kingdom, if you do so, your son will be held responsible for this as he is the king now” Vibhadaka had no choice but laid the condition that Rshayasrnga would return after the birth of a son.

Meanwhile, Dasharatha who wanted to conduct a putrakamesti yaga, was advised by Vasishta to invite Rshyasrnga to conduct it. When the para brahma itself is going to take the form of Rama, it is only justified that a sage like rsayasrnga conduct the yagna.

As per the request of dasharatha, Rshyasrnga came to ayodhya and conducted the putra kamesti yaga. And out of the yaga came a yagna purusha. He had a pot full of sweet rice which was distributed to the queens – Kausalya, keikeyi and sumitra. And we all know the Rama was born to Kausalya.

It could be informative to you that adisehsa was born as lakshmana, the sudrashana chakra as bharatha and the panchajanyam (vishnu’s conch) came as shatrugna. In Ramayana each character is a deva in the heaven. All wanted to participate in the lord’s leela and each one was born as some character in the Ramayana. 

We all know the story of Rama. An incarnate of dharma and justice. Reading or listening to ramayanam everyday gives us the bhakti, gnanam and vairagyam that ultimately leads us to moksha. For those who read or listen to the ramayanam will be protected for generations to come. This is the promise of Ramayanam

RAM RAM