Bala Kanda, Sarga 23

Meaning

The night having all but culminated in dawn, the great sage Viśwāmitra spoke as follows to Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa (the two scions of Kakutstha), lying on a bed of dry leaves mixed with straw : (1)

Meaning

“Kausalyā is blessed with a worthy son in you, O Rāma ! The morning twilight has set in. Therefore, get up, O tiger among men ! Contemplation on the Deity and the daily routine of duties making for the purification of the body have to be gone through.” (2)

Meaning

Hearing the exceedingly gentle admonition of the celebrated sage, Viśwāmitra, the two heroes, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, the foremost among men, performed their ablutions and, having offered oblations of water to the sun-god, muttered the most sacred text, the Gāyatrī*, other than which there is no holier text. (3)

Meaning

Having concluded their morning devotions (viz., the Sandhyā prayers, Brahma-Yajña or recitation of portions of the Vedas and other sacred texts as an offering to Ṛṣis, forming part of the five major Yajñas, fetching pieces of wood for being offered to the sacred fire, and so on) and saluting Viśwāmitra, rich in asceticism, the two exceptionally valiant princes, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, felt extremely delighted and stood before the latter, ready to proceed further. (4)

Meaning

While moving onward from that spot where they had broken their journey overnight, the two very mighty princes sighted the divine river Gaṅgā, which (flows through heaven, earth and the subterranean regions and thus) takes a threefold course near its well-known and blessed confluence with the Sarayū. (5)

Meaning

There they further beheld the holy site of the hermitages of Ṛṣis of purified mind, that had been practising the highest form of asceticism for the past many thousand years. (6)

Meaning

Supremely delighted to behold that sacred abode of hermits, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, the two scions of Raghu, addressed the following prayer to the celebrated Viśwāmitra of noble mind : (7)

Meaning

“Whose holy hermitage is this? What personage, we ask you, dwells in it? We both desire to hear this; for great is our curiosity in this behalf, O venerable Sir !” (8)

Meaning

Hearing the aforesaid submission of the two brothers, Viśwāmitra, the foremost of hermits, heartily laughed and said, “Hear, O Rāma, of him whose former residence this is. (9)

Meaning

“Kandarpa (the god of love), who is also spoken of by the wise as Kāma (Cupid), was endowed with a living form in the past. On one occasion the foolish fellow was bold enough to assail with shafts of love Lord Śiva, the suzerain Lord of gods—who had been performing austerities in this very hermitage and remained uninterruptedly absorbed in deep meditation—while He was after having married going out alongwith the entire host of the forty-nine wind-gods in order to meet Goddess Pārvatī, and Love was thereupon snubbed with a roar in the form of the sound ‘hum’ by the high-souled Lord. (10-11)

Meaning

“He was further reproached by Lord Rudra (the god of destruction) with His third eye, O scion of Raghu, and lo ! all the limbs of the evil-minded fellow dropped off from his body. (12)

Meaning

“It was on that occasion that the limbs of the haughty fellow, consumed through the wrath of Lord Śiva, the suzerain Lord of gods, disappeared and it was in this way that Kāma was rendered bodiless. (13)

Meaning

“Thenceforward he came to be widely known by the name of Anaṅga (bodiless), O scion of Raghu, and the tract of land where that glorious being shed his embodied state became known as the Aṅga territory: so the tradition goes. (14)

Meaning

“This holy hermitage belongs to Him and these sages (practising austerities here at present) have been His disciples in the past. As such they are devoted to piety and no sin exists in them, O Rāma ! (15)

Meaning

“Let us halt for this night in this hermitage, hemmed in by the two holy streams, O Rāma of handsome looks; tomorrow we shall cross the Gaṅgā. (16)

Meaning

“Let us all enter the holy hermitage when we are purified by bath etc. Our sojourn here will be most welcome and we shall happily spend the night here after we have bathed, muttered our prayers and poured oblations into the sacred fire; O jewel among men !” While they were talking together (as aforesaid) there (outside the hermitage), the sages dwelling in the hermitage, felt supremely delighted to discover their presence with their eyes that had attained a long range (clairvoyance) through askesis, and experienced a thrill of joy. Having offered to Viśwāmitra water to wash his hands and feet with and extending their hospitality to him, they subsequently offered hospitality to Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, too. Having received attentions in return from Viśwāmitra as well as from Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, they regaled them with anecdotes, etc. (17—20)

Meaning

At dusk when day and night meet, the aforesaid Ṛṣis (including Viśwāmitra and his pupils, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa) muttered the Gāyatrī-Mantra according to their ability* with a calm and collected mind. Taken by the sages of holy vows dwelling in that hermitage with them, Viśwāmitra and his two pupils stayed most comfortably on that site of the hermitage, associated with the name of Kāma; while Viśwāmitra (a scion of Kuśa), the foremost of ascetics, whose mind is given to piety, entertained the two charming princes with delightful stories. (21-22)