Dasharatha

“ In the splendid palace of the Rajah, at Oudh, lives Daśaratha, mourning in childlessness. He is one of the princes descended from the sun, and his line now threatens to become extinct. He determines to appeal to the Gods by the Asva-medha, the great sacrifice in which a horse is the victim. The rites accordingly are performed with unparalleled magnificence, and, at the close of the ceremony, the high priest declares to the king—
"Four sons, O Monarch, shall be thine,
Upholders of the royal line." ”

“ They go forth to fight. In the end, the two Ramas turn very excellent friends. Parasurama departs.
Dasaratha now declares his purpose of relinquishing the kingdom entirely to his son Rama, Lakshmana announces the arrival of Manthara, and presents a letter from Kaikeyi, the purpose of which is to urge Dasaratha's fulfilment of his promise, and grant her as the two boons, the Coronation of Bharata, and banishment of Rama. The old king faints. Rama recommending his father to Janaka, departs for the forests, accompanied by Lakshmana and Sita. ”

“ O lord of monkeys, thou dost engage even in the service of one who doth thee no good, then why shalt thou not engage in the benefit of Rāma who hath favoured thee by encompassing the destruction (of Vāli) and securing for thee thy kingdom? O lord of monkeys and bears, truly thou art gifted with prowess and strength, why dost thou not prepare thyself for satisfying Daçarathee's commands? Daçarathee himself is capable of subduing the celestials, Asuras and great serpents—he is simply awaiting the fulfilment of thy promise. ”

“ In the Mahábhárata an ascetic who is enraged with king Dhritaráshtra accepts from the king the carcases of some cattle which had died. Then he lighted a sacrificial fire and cut up the animals; and “observant of rigid vows the great Dálvya-vaka poured Dhritaráshtra’s kingdom as a libation on the fire with the aid of those pieces of meat. Upon the commencement of that fierce sacrifice, according to due rites, the kingdom of Dhritaráshtra began to waste away, even as a large forest begins to disappear when men proceed to cut it down.” ”

“ The gods, Gandharvas and Siddhas, propitiated by the offerings profusely made to them, assembled, each one for his share, [16] and Dasahratha was promised four sons. [17] While these events were transpiring, a ten-headed Rakshasa named Ravana was making himself the terror of gods and men, under the protection of a boon bestowed upon him by the Creator (Brahma) , that neither god nor demon should be able to deprive him of his life. This boon had been obtained by the Rakshasa as the reward of long and painful austerities. ”

“ How see him who is capable of bearing in battle the onslaught of the gods and the Asuras combined, sleeping in a cave on grass? It is by virtue of mighty austerities and uncommon exertions that Daçarātha has obtained this son of his crowned with every auspicious sign. He being banished, the king shall not live long; and the Earth shall certainly be widowed soon. Having bewailed aloud, by this time have the women got exhausted; and surely the king's mansion is to-day still. I do not expect that either Kauçalyā or the king or my mother is alive. If they live, it can be for this night only. ”

“ The first describes the events at the court of King Daçaratha at Ayodhyā and their consequences. Here we have a purely human and natural account of the intrigues of a queen to set her son upon the throne. There is nothing fantastic in the narrative, nor has it any mythological background. If the epic ended with the return of Rāma’s brother, Bharata, to the capital, after the old king’s death, it might pass for a historical saga. For Ikshvāku, Daçaratha, and Rāma are the names of celebrated and mighty kings, mentioned even in the Rigveda, though not there connected with one another in any way. ”

“ Rama answered in surprise, that for Dasaratha, his father and his king, he would leap into the fire, or swallow deadly poison. And when his mind was thus prepared, amidst the groans and sighs of her husband, she commanded the prince that day to leave the kingdom, and withdraw to the forest for fourteen years, there to live the life of the most pronounced ascetic, while her own son Bharata would ascend the throne and reign in his stead. ”

“ Doing the will of your lord, do you become the refuge of us all. Do not incited by evil propensities, make your husband the lord of men endued with the prowess of the celestial chief, perpetrate an unrighteous deed. That sinless one will not for certain give practical effect to the promise jestingly made by you. O worshipful one, king Daçarātha is graceful, being furnished with eyes resembling lotuses. Let him install his eldest son, Rāma generous and able, maintaining his own religion—the protector of all men—and endued with might. ”

“ Vasishta, the king’s spiritual adviser, who had unbounded confidence in Vishwamitra’s power to protect the prince from all harm, strongly advised compliance with the ascetic’s request, and Dasahratha was prevailed upon to allow Rama and Lakshmana to leave Ayodhya with Vishwamitra.
The incidents of the journey reveal a very primitive state of society. The princes and their guide were all of them on foot, apparently quite unattended by servants and unprovided with even the most ordinary necessaries of life. ”

“ They are entirely unlike the gods whom mankind had been accustomed to worship under various names before his advent. He names these divine qualifications Vohu Manah, 'Good Mind,' Asha, 'Righteousness,' Khshathra, 'Divine Kingdom,' Armaiti, 'Devotion,' Haurvatat, 'Perfection,' and Ameretat, 'Immortality.' They form Ahura Mazda's being. That is, Vohu Manah is Ahura Mazda's Good Mind or Good Thought, Asha is his Righteousness and so are others his different virtues. This idealistic phase that Zarathushtra puts before man does not long retain its character. ”

“ The second book is more generally read than any other part of the poem, and is the most admired by Hindu critics. The description of king Dasarath's death and the different leavetakings are quoted as models of the pathetic, and in a public recital there is scarcely one in the andience who will not be moved to tears. The sentiments that the poet depiets, and the figures that he employs to illustrate them, appeal with irresistible force to the Hindu imagination ”

“ Aja's son was the virtuous king Daçarātha. His eldest son art thou celebrated under the name of Rāma. Do thou receive thy own kingdom and look after the world. Among the Ikshwākus, the first born becomes the sovereign. The first born existing, an inferior son cannot be installed in the kingdom. It therefore doth not today behove thee to depart from the ever existing morality of the descendants of Raghu. Do thou rule this earth filled with gems, and furnished with high fame, do thou like unto a father govern her containing many kingdoms. ”

“ Blessed are those children who have such a father enshrined in their memory. It is no wonder that a family in which a mother has once been worshipped as a goddess had a scion like Dwarkanath, so respectful to his mother in spite of the flame of persecution she kindled. It was for this excellent trait in his character, that during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, when the Christians in Agra — European and Indian — were foully massacred, Dwarkanath was screened from the fury of the fanatics by the Hindu residents of the city. ”

“ Do thou, O Brahmana, relate why the sons of Dasaratha—the brothers Rama and Lakshmana—went to the forest with famous princess of Mithila.'
"Markandeya said, 'The pious king Dasaratha, ever mindful of the old and assiduous in religious ceremonies, was greatly pleased when these sons were born. And his sons gradually grew up in might and they became conversant with the Vedas together with all their mysteries, and with the science of arms. And when after having gone through the Brahmacharya vows the princes were married, king Dasaratha became happy and highly pleased. ”

“ When the twelve years are over they collect armies of sympathizers, and on the Sacred Plain of the Kurus (the Holy Land of India) the great war is fought out. The good prevails, Duryodhana is slain, and Yudhisthira recovers his kingdom. This story is told so graphically that the "Mahâbhârata" still has the charm that comes from plot and action, as well as that of poetic beauty.
A concluding passage of this great poem says: "The reading of this 'Mahâbhârata' destroys all sin and produces virtue, so much so that the pronunciation of a single shloka is sufficient to wipe away much guilt. ”

“ Whilst yet a mere stripling, Rama was appealed to by the sage Vishwamitra to destroy certain demons who interrupted the religious rites of the hermits.
The boy was only sixteen years of age, and Dasahratha, naturally solicitous for his safety, declined to let him go to fight the dreadful brood of demons, who had an evil reputation for cruelty and ferocity; but the mighty ascetic waxed so wrath at this refusal of his request, that “the entire earth began to tremble and the gods even were inspired with awe.” ”

“ And those best of men, ever engaged in the study of the Vedas, were accomplished in the art of archery—and always intent upon ministering unto their father.
And once upon a time, when the virtuous king Daçarātha, surrounded by his priests and friends, was reflecting about the nuptials of his sons, unto that high-souled one engaged in thought in the midst of his counsellors came the mighty ascetic Viswamitra. And desirous of seeing the king, he said unto the warders,—"Do ye speedily announce that I, Gadhi's son, sprung in the Kuçika line, have come!" ”

“ Nareda then appears and tells Daksha to prepare for the consequences of his folly. Virabhadra, Siva's attendant, then enters and plays some antics. Shaking the earth with his tread, and filling space with his extended arms, he rolls his eyes in wrath. Some of the gods he casts on the ground and tramples on them; he knocks out the teeth of some with his fists, plucks out the beards of some, and cuts off the ears, arms, and noses of others; he smites some, and he tosses others into the sacrificial fire. He decapitates the cause of his master's indignation, the haughty Daksha. ”

“ The city expects thee wearing a single woven braid. O king's son, enjoying costly regal pleasures, do thou sport in Ayodhyā, like Sakra in the celestial regions. Daçarātha is none unto thee, and thou too art none unto Daçarātha: He is quite other than thy sire; and thou hast no connection with him. Therefore, do thou act as I tell thee. A father is merely an instrumental cause (touching the generation of his child) . A father's semen coming in contact with a mother's blood, at the time befitting conception, a person is brought into being. The king hath gone the way he should. ”

“ And as it coursed on, Bharata's younger brother resisted it with arrows resembling a sacrificial flame. Yet the dart pierced into the broad arm186 of Daçaratha's son. And smit with the dart, that hero of the Raghu race, although possessed of strength, was aglow. And the king at once with his arms seized that one, who had been deprived of his senses. But he that could with his arms wield Himavān or Mandara or Meru or the triple world itself along with the immortals, could not (for all his strength) lift up Bharata's younger brother. ”

“ Thou hast come like the fatal night for the destruction of this race. Not understanding it, my father embraced live coal. O thou that hast thy gaze fixed on sin, it is through thee that my sovereign has come by death; and that, O stainer of the line, this race has by thy infatuation been deprived of its happiness. Having got thee, my illustrious sire intent upon truth, king Daçarātha, afflicted by extreme sorrow, has departed this life. Why hath the king, my father, ever loving virtue, been deprived of life? Why hath Rāma been banished ”

“ Zarathushtra fervently prays for the participation in these blessings. [262] Those who offer willing obedience unto the teachings of the prophet will attain unto Haurvatat and Ameretat. [263] He who befriends Ahura Mazda with his thoughts and words and deeds wins them for himself. [264] Man comes by them in Ahura Mazda's Kingdom through his good thoughts, words, and deeds, and his life of righteousness and devotion. [265] It is the wicked who defraud mankind of happy life and immortality by means of evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds. ”

“ Dhrita-ráshtra has himself one hundred sons, named Kauravas, from an ancestor Kuru; but, acting as the faithful. guardian of his nephews, he chooses the eldest of the five Pándavas as heir to the family kingdom. His own sons resent the act; hence the quarrel of the hundred Kauravas with the five Pándavas which forms the central story of Mahábhárata.
The period to which this story refers is not later than 1200 B.C.; but the composition of the Mahábhárata bears internal marks of later date than that of the Rámáyana. ”

“ The lovely and much-coveted prize was Rama’s of course. Arrangements for the wedding were carried out in grand style. Dasahratha and his two other sons were invited to Mithila and brides were found, in the family of Janaka, for all the four brothers. Upon a daïs covered with a canopy, and decked with flowers, the happy brides and bridegrooms were placed, attended by the king and the priests of the two families. ”

“ As the violence of a river wears away its banks. my grief occasioned through my own agency is destroying me, who am helpless and insensible. O mighty-armed Rāghava! O thou remover of my troubles! O thou that dost delight in thy father! thou art my stay, O my son, that hast gone away. O Kauçalyā, I do not see. O wretched Sumitrā! O cruel one, thou enemy of mine, thou Kaikeyi, who hast befouled thy line!" Having thus lamented in presence of Rāma's mother and Sumitrā, king Daçaratha breathed his last. ”