Ramayanaparam- 29

This is the Raamyanaparam for the last day of Karkitakam or aati month. We will go through the last scene of Raamaavathara. Raavana vadham is over, the purpose of Raamaavatharam is fulfilled and Brahma is impatient to see Lord Raama renounce the mortal body and come back to swadhaamam. But how can he remind Raama? Finally he decided to send Yama Dharmaraaja to earth to remind him.

 

Yama assumed the form of a sage and appeared in Ayodhya. He said he wanted to have a private conversation with Lord Raama. Also he said he was very particular that nobody should interrupt the conversation between them. If anybody did that, death should be the punishment. Raama agreed and told Lakshmana to guard the entrance of the suite and warned him that nobody should interrupt the conversation and death was the punishment for breaking His rule.

 

Lakshmana guarded the entrance and after a while, Durvaasus Maharshi came there and said he wanted to see Raama then. Knowing the nature of Durvaasus,  Lakshmana was stressed about making him understand Raama's rule. He tried to tell him that he was in a serious conversation with another sage and nobody could interrupt that. But Durvaasus got angry and told him that he would curse the whole Soorya vamsha if his wish of meeting Raama was not fulfilled. Poor Lakshmana! He was in a big dilemma. Lakshmana thought:

 

I am again in a very big dilemma. What a fate! But I think this is a better predicament than the one before, where I had to leave the pregnant and innocent Sitadevi alone in the middle of the thick forest! The worst thing that can happen in this case is my death by Raama's hands. Definitely I will save soorya vamsham from the curse of Durvaasus by embracing the punishement of death.

 

He went inside and told Lord that He had to interrupt the ocnversation to tell  Durvaasus Maharshi's arrival. Raama was very upset and sad and did not know how to execute such a punishment to Lakshmana who was dearer to Him than even Sitadevi. Vasishta finally told that renouncing him in his mind and removing him physically from the country is equivalent to the death punishment.

 

So Lakshmana was banished from the country as well as from the mind of Lord Raama! How can we not cry for Lakshmana? Lakshmana meditated and his mortal body was burnt in the yogaagni and his chaitanyam came back and merged with Aadisheshan or Ananthan in Vaikundham and waited for Raama's chaitanyam to come back to join Sheshashaayin (Mahavishnu)!

 

Now here is an addendum to this closure:

 

When it was time for Krishnaavathara, Vishnu Bhagavan told serpent Anantha that they had to again go to earth to kill adharmies (evil people like Kamsa) and establish dharmam. He told Anantha that he should help Him in his mission. Then Anantha told Lord: "Lord, I have one humble request to you. Neither misunderstand  nor deny my request. Lord! with all respect, I beg you not to make me your younger brother this time. I had to go through unbearable sorrow in my life as your younger brother. Even though I was assisting you in your Dharmic actions, some of the duties I had to perform as a younger brother were extremely unpleasant. So please let me help you in any other role than your younger brother."  Vishnu Bhagavan, kindness personified, smiled and replied: "You will be my elder brother Balaraama and I promise I will obey you, support you and be with you till we depart earth after fulfilling my purpose of avathaaram".

 

Anantha was relieved and his nightmare of the life of a younger brother slowly vanished from his mind. Glory to Vishnu Bhagavan's apaara kaarunyam!