R – Ramacandra (6-13)
The most famous king in the Surya dynasty was Lord Ramacandra, who was ideal in all respects – as a king, as a son, as a husband and as a disciple. His glorious pastimes are recounted in the Ramayana, which has been recited for generations. Srimad-Bhagavatam summarises those extraordinary narrations: the alliance with Hanuman and the monkey army, the building of a bridge to Lanka, the rescue of Sitadevi from the clutches of Ravana, and the establishment of Rama-rajya (Rama’s ideal rulership), where every citizen had their material and spiritual needs perfectly catered for.
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R – Ramacandra (6-13)
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
The most famous king in the Surya dynasty was Lord Ramacandra, who was ideal in all respects – as a king, as a son, as a husband and as a disciple. His glorious pastimes are recounted in the Ramayana, which has been recited for generations. Srimad-Bhagavatam summarises those extraordinary narrations: the alliance with Hanuman and the monkey army, the building of a bridge to Lanka, the rescue of Sitadevi from the clutches of Ravana, and the establishment of Rama-rajya (Rama’s ideal rulership), where every citizen had their material and spiritual needs perfectly catered for.
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Dynasties of Iksvaku
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Dynasties of Iksvaku
Chapter 12, 13
Sukadeva Goswami then described the dynasty of Kusa, Lord Rama’s son. He also elaborated on the dynasty of Nimi, who was another of Iksvaku’s sons.
When Nimi wanted to perform a sacrifice, he requested the presence of his spiritual master, Vasistha. Since Vasistha was engaged elsewhere, he instructed Nimi to wait for him to return. Nimi, however, considered that life was very short, so he went ahead anyway. When Vasistha discovered this, he cursed his disciple to die. Nimi then counter-cursed his spiritual master to suffer the same fate! Vasistha took birth again, but when the priests tried to revive Nimi he refused, not wanting to be materially encaged again. Instead, the sages churned Nimi’s body, and as a result, Janaka, father of Udavasu, was born.
Sukadeva Goswami then described the rest of the dynasty.
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Other Descendants
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Other Descendants
Chapter 7, 8, 9
Sukadeva Goswami listed more descendants of King Mandhata, again pausing to elaborate on certain personalities.
Trisanku : Several generations after Mandhata came Trisanku, who kidnapped a lady who was soon to be married. For this act, his father angrily cursed him to become a dog-eater ( candala ). With Visvamitra’s help, however, Trisanku received elevation to the heavenly planets. Later, the demigods forced him to fall, and he thus began his descent, though Visvamitra’s powerful intervention meant he didn’t drop all the way down.
Hariscandra : After successfully worshipping Varuna to get a son, Hariscandra, Trisanku’s son, repeatedly avoided his promise to offer the son as a sacrifice in return. Hariscandra was then attacked by disease, though his son, Rohita, resolved the whole situation by purchasing another boy and offering him for the Varuna-yajna. Hariscandra was freed from his disease and ultimately freed from the entanglement of material life.
Bahuka : In the lineage of Rohita was Bahuka, who had adopted residence in the forest and eventually died there. Though his wife wanted to enter the funeral pyre with him, the sage Aurva forbade her since she was pregnant. The co-wives of Bahuka tried to poison her, but she nevertheless had a son named Sagara (“one born with poison”).
Sagara : Under his rulership many uncivilised clans were reformed. When he attempted to perform a horse sacrifice ( asvamedha yajna ), Indra stole the horse, and Sagara’s sons went looking for it. They dug up the earth and formed a trench which became known as the Sagara ocean. When they falsely accused Kapiladeva of stealing the horse, their offensive allegations caused them to be burned to ashes.
Amsuman : This grandson of Sagara was instructed in spiritual knowledge by Lord Kapiladeva and later retrieved the horse. Sagara then performed the sacrifices with that horse. Both Amsuman and Dilipa, his son, were unsuccessful in bringing the Ganges to the Earth.
Bhagiratha : Dilipa’s son underwent severe austerities to invite Ganga to the earth. When Gangadevi appeared, he humbly submitted his request. She agreed, but had some reservations. Bhagiratha mitigated them by convincing Siva to bear the force of her descent, and by arranging that pure devotees who enter the Ganga would remove all the stored sins of materialistic bathers. Later, the sons of Sagara, whose bodies had been burnt up, were elevated by being sprinkled with Ganges water.
Saudasa : In Bhagiratha’s line was Saudasa, who once killed a man-eater. Seeking revenge, the man-eater’s brother became the cook at Saudasa’s palace and served meat to Vasistha, the spiritual master of the King. Vasistha thus cursed Saudasa to become a man-eater, and in that life he indeed killed a brahmana who was about to impregnate his wife. Saudasa was thus cursed to die if he ever engaged in the sexual act. After being released from the Raksasa curse, he still couldn’t impregnate his wife, Madayanti, and thus allowed Vasistha Muni to give her a child.
Khatvanga : Further in the lineage came the great King Khatvanga. When he pleased the demigods by assisting them to defeat the demons, they offered him a benediction. He wisely enquired how long he would live for, and when he discovered he was on the brink of death, he fixed his mind on the Lord and attained perfection.
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Purusottama
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Purusottama
“We should not accept any rascal as God or an incarnation of God, for God displays special features in His various activities. Therefore, the Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gita ( 4.9 ): “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” The activities of the Lord are not common; they are all transcendentally wonderful and not able to be performed by any other living being. The symptoms of the Lord’s activities are all mentioned in the sastras, and after one understands them one can accept the Lord as He is.” ( SB 9.10.15 )
To prove His Supreme identity, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His six-armed form known as the Sadbhuja-rupa on multiple occasions. The form displays the two arms of Rama (holding the bow and arrow), the two arms of Krishna (holding the flute) and the two arms of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (holding the staff and waterpot). The Supreme Person (Purusottama) thus assumes different identities, each with a specific purpose and mood.
Krishna is known as Lila-Purusottama – the form of the Lord who attracts the world by displaying profoundly sweet and intimate pastimes with His devotees. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is known as Prema-Purusottama - the form of the Lord who embodies and freely distributes the wonderful gift of pure love of Godhead to the entire world. Ramacandra is known as Maryada-Purusottama – the form of the Lord who establishes the ideal example for the world to follow. He was the ideal person, the ideal husband, the ideal ruler and the ideal follower of Vedic culture and etiquette in all respects.
In Canto Eleven, Narada Muni recites an exquisite verse which depicts the Sadbhuja-rupa. When translated in different ways, the Sanskrit text simultaneously describes Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:
tyaktva su-dustyaja-surepsita-rajya-laksmim
dharmistha arya-vacasa yad agad aranyam
maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam anvadhavad
vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam
( SB 11.5.34 )
Lord Krishna – “O Maha Purusa, you gave up the opulence of Mathura which is desired even by demigods. To obey the loving order of Vasudeva and Devaki, You went to the forest village of Vrindavana. Due to the inconceivable love of Srimati Radharani, You become easily controlled by Her just like ‘a toy animal.’ You run here and there in Vrindavana, protecting the cows, playing with your friends and engaging in countless intrigues of love with Srimati Radharani and the gopis, tightly under the control of their love.”
Lord Chaitanya – “O Maha Purusa, I worship Your lotus feet. You accepted sannyasa and gave up the association of the goddess of fortune and all her opulence, which is most difficult to renounce and is hankered after by even the great demigods. Being the most faithful follower of the path of religion, You thus left for the forest in obedience to a brahmana’s curse. Out of sheer mercifulness You chased after the fallen conditioned souls, who are always in pursuit of the false enjoyment of illusion, and at the same time engaged in searching out Your own desired object, Lord Syamasundara.”
Lord Ramacandra – “O Maha Purusa, you gave up the Kingdom of Ayodhya, which was very opulent, difficult to renounce and hankered after by even great demigods. By the order of Maharaja Dasaratha, who was just like Your guru, You gave up everything and went to the forest. There You exhibited Your great affection for mother Sita and chased after the golden deer, which was especially desired by Srimati Sitadevi.”
Rama demonstrated how to live according to dharma : right action or sacred duty according to one’s occupation and social situation. Indeed, His entire life was a demonstration of selflessness, nobility of spirit and being prepared to sacrifice one’s own comfort for a higher cause.
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Banishing Sita
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Purusottama
Banishing Sita
Perhaps the most bewildering of Rama’s acts was to banish Sita after rescuing her from the grips of Ravana. If Lord Rama’s descent was to set the ideal example, how do we justify such a (seemingly) harsh, cruel and immoral act? Sitadevi was pure, chaste, untouched and completely innocent, and to exile her because of nonsensical rumours seems unforgivable. In order to understand this, we have to look at the practical reality, the principle involved and the deeper purpose of the Lord. [ 28 ]
Practical – Sitadevi wasn’t cruelly exiled with no means of survival, but rather given a suitable living situation where she would be fully protected. She was carefully placed under the care of Valmiki Rishi and female hermits within the kingdom of Ayodhya. But why was she banished from the palace?
Principle – while navigating life we are often confronted with a conflict of principles. It’s an art to expertly respond and resolve such dilemmas. As an ideal husband, Ramacandra had a duty to care for His chaste wife. As a king, Ramacandra had the responsibility of being spotless and free from any suspicion or character flaw. He expertly balanced both principles by ensuring Sita’s protection, and simultaneously exhibiting the detachment required of a king, thus setting the shining example for all future leaders. But why did the innocent Sita have to suffer?
Purpose – the profound purpose and inner meaning behind this episode is to facilitate and intensify the exchange of spiritual emotions between the Lord and His consort. Love is intensified in separation. We find this in the pastimes of Krishna, in the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya and here in the pastimes of Lord Rama. What externally looks like a hard-hearted act, is actually a trigger for invoking a deep, sweet internal yearning. The entire incident also highlights the incredible love of Sita, which was unfailing in all circumstances. Despite being rejected by her beloved, her faithfulness remained as strong as ever – love tested is love triumphant.
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Being Exemplary
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Purusottama
Being Exemplary
Lord Rama’s life is detailed in the ancient Sanskrit epic, Ramayana. The history contains 24,000 verses, and fully describes the activities of Lord Rama and the lessons relevant for our lives today. The story is told in response to sage Valmiki’s question to Narada Muni: “Who is an ideal man?” Narada’s answer, a brief description of the life and qualities of Lord Rama, forms the basis for Valmiki’s much longer epic.
This beautiful teaching of being ideal and exemplary is central to the development of spirituality. When Srila Prabhupada was once asked, “How do you recognise a Vaisnava?” his answer was simple but profound: “A Vaisnava is a perfect gentleman.” Just as the Srimad-Bhagavatam is known as amala-purana , the spotless book, the true follower is known as amala-bhakta , the spotless devotee. One famous propagandist used to say that you can cheat some people for all time and you can cheat all people for some time, but you can’t cheat all people for all time. If one is lacking in integrity and character, sooner or later it will be exposed.
In the material world, people are remembered for what they do – their ground-breaking achievements, their high-ranking positions of responsibility and their impactful influence on the world. In spiritual circles, however, people are remembered for who they are . In some cases, the most outstanding spiritualists made a visible mark on the world and were famed for it, but in many cases they were quiet, simple, humble souls who went about their daily life with a deep sense of devotion, sensitivity and saintliness, their consciousness merged in transcendence. They were unassuming, and quite often went unnoticed.
The value system in spiritual circles is entirely different: it’s character over capability. The spotless and exemplary character of saintly personalities is an unending source of instruction and inspiration. They are never found to be duplicitous or superficial, but ever-preaching the highest ideals of human life and simultaneously walking the talk. A recent survey showed that over 70% of first- time attendants to a spiritual movement never return. Why? Primarily because they observe a huge gap between the ideals of the philosophy and the behaviour of its adherents. Thus, we may consider that being exemplary in conduct is a core aspect of any aspiring spiritualist’s life, and indeed a very special contribution to the world. Being exemplary is a service which is universal (everyone can do it), powerful (everyone will appreciate it), perpetual (can never be taken away by anyone) and flexible (can be done in any time, place or circumstance).
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Ramacandra’s Pastimes
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Ramacandra’s Pastimes
Chapter 10
Sukadeva Goswami’s description of Iksvaku’s dynasty eventually reached Dasaratha, the father of Lord Rama. The great sage then narrated all the key events in Lord Rama’s life.
On the request of Visvamitra, Rama assisted in killing many demons even though He was still relatively young. Later, He won the hand of Sita in Mithila, doing what no other warrior could do. During the return journey, Ramacandra defeated the mighty Parasurama, who had annihilated the ksatriya race. Back in Ayodhya, everything was very auspicious, until the news arrived that Dasaratha had been asked to banish Rama from the kingdom. To honour his father, Rama readily agreed and left all opulence behind to accept a life of hardship in the forest.
While wandering in exile, Rama, Sita and Laksman encountered a variety of situations. When Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, approached Rama with lusty desires, Laksman cut her nose off. This led to the killing of Khara and Dusana who had launched an attack in retaliation. Later, the tragic kidnapping of Sita took place, and the bravery of Jatayu was witnessed as he attempted to intercept the mighty Ravana, though he lost his life in the process.
To rescue his beloved consort, Rama established an alliance with the monkeys, who expertly tracked her down. In an epic scene, Rama and the monkey army built a bridge to Lanka and laid siege on the demons who had kidnapped the goddess of fortune. After a raging battle, Ravana was defeated and killed, and Sita was rescued from the Asoka grove. Rama installed the devoted Vibhisana as King of Lanka, while He himself returned to Ayodhya accompanied by His dearest associates.
Bharata, who had been ruling in His absence, heartily welcomed Rama, who was finally reunited with his mothers, family members and loyal subjects. Rama was duly coronated as the King, and His reign was celebrated as the ideal exhibition of royal rule ( rama-rajya ).
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Ramacandra’s Reign
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Ramacandra’s Reign
Chapter 11
Ramacandra conducted His affairs with the highest principles, and thus there was incredible opulence and abundant prosperity in the kingdom. He would give personal time to the citizens and ensure all governmental affairs were concluded smoothly. Ramacandra would send spies around the capital and wander incognito Himself to gauge the impression the citizens had of Him. He wanted this feedback in order to maintain the love and trust of His subjects.
One night, He heard a man criticising Him for accepting Sitadevi back after she had been in another man’s house. Fearing the concerns and doubts that people may have about his character, He decided to leave His pregnant wife. Everyone was shocked and distraught! Sitadevi took shelter of Valmiki’s asrama , where she gave birth to Lava and Kusa. When Sitadevi eventually left the world, the aggrieved Rama performed austerities for 13,000 years. The Supreme Lord then wound up His pastimes and left the world.
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Saubhari Muni
R – Ramacandra (6-13)
Saubhari Muni
Chapter 6
Sukadeva Goswami described the descendants of Ambarish and then detailed the descendants of Iksvaku (another of Vaivasvata Manu’s sons) up to Mandhata, whose unique birth and powerful rulership was described. Mandhata’s fifty daughters were all married to Saubhari Muni, and Sukadeva Goswami thus narrated the sage’s history.
Once, while meditating in the waters of the Yamuna, Saubhari witnessed two fishes copulating. He became so sexually agitated that he desired to marry one of Mandhata’s daughters. He rejuvenated his body, after which all fifty daughters selected him as their husband. By dint of yogic power, the former ascetic provided all household opulence for his wives, had 100 children with each one and thus expanded his family network. He later reflected on how ephemeral sense gratification is, and how he had become entangled in a very mundane existence. Having reawakened his spiritual intelligence, he retired from family life ( vanaprastha ), practised austerities and subsequently attained perfection.
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— S.B. Keshava Swami, Book Bhagavata