Adi Kavi Valmiki Writing the Ramayan
soi sukritee, suchi saancho jaahi ram ! tum reejhe |
ganikaa, geedh, badhik haripur gaye, laai kaasi prayaag kab seejhe ||1||
kabhun na dagyo nigam-magten pag, nrig jag jaani jite dukh paaye |
gajdhaaun kaun dichhit, jaake sumirat laai sunaabh baahan taji dhaaye ||2||
sur-muni-bipra bihaaya badhe kul, gokul, janam gopgrih leenho |
baayon diyo bibhav kurupatiko, bhojan jaai bidur-ghar keenho ||3||
maanat bhalahi bhalo bhagatniten, kachhuk reeti paarthhi janaaee |
tulsee sahaj saneh raam bas, aur sabaai jalkee chiknaaee ||4||
Shri Ram & Lakshman Washing the Wounds of Jatayu
O Ram ji! Whoever you are pleased with is a pure and truly virtuous soul.When did the dancing girl(*Pingla), vulture (*Jatayu) and hunter (*Valmiki), who went to Vaikunth, the supreme abode, do austere penance in Prayag (a pilgrimage place at the confluence of Ganges and Jamuna in Allahabad)and died by burning in the fire of dry dung?||1||
King Nriga Attains Salvation
Raja *Nriga had never deflected from the path of scriptual teachings but the world knows how many sorrows he had to bear (born as a chameleon he rotted for thousands of years, caged in a well!) And in which way was the elephant spiritually instructed,that you instantly abandoned Garuda, your vehicle, and came running with the sudarshan chakra when he thought of you just once? ||2||
Lord Krishna, the Glorious Son of Nanda
Rejecting the superior communities of gods, munis and brahmans, you took birth in the house of a gopa (cowherd, Nand ji) in Gokul. Spurning the grand majesty of Raja Duryodhana, chief of the Kurus, you went to poor Vidur's house and ate ( a most simple meal comprising of some greens )||3||
Lord Krishna Reveals the Nature of Time & Duty to Arjuna
The Divine really enjoys the company of his devoted and loving bhaktas. You had somewhat revealed the nature of this dedicated loving bhakti or religious devotion to Arjuna.
Shri Ram Can Be Won Over by Sincere Love
O Tulsidas!Shri Ram is enchanted by simply spontaneous and sincere love; all the other means are such that they represent the smoothness of water! (on splashing water the body seems greasy for some time but on drying, it becomes exactly as rough as it was before. In the same manner when our desires are fulfilled by other resources we do get momentary joy, but the happiness is erased as soon as another wish crops up)||4||
Pingala: In ancient times, in Videha-Nagari of King Janaka, there lived a lady named Pingala. After experiencing miseries in her profession, she gave up worldly desires and began to think, "Lord Krishna is very dear to my heart, but I have not tried to please Him. Regarding these persons who will die one day – what happiness have they given to me? No happiness at all. They enjoyed my body, I became theirs, and I lost everything. Somehow, by the mercy of Krishna, I have now renounced them, and this renunciation will take me to Krishna."
Pingala then closed the door of her house, lied down to sleep and slept very well. And afterwards she became a great devotee.
Jatayu: In the Ramayana, Jatayu is the son of Aruna and nephew of Garuda. A demi-god who has the form of a vulture, he was an old friend of Dasharatha. He tries to rescue Sita from Ravana on his way to Lanka. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana but was old. As Rama and Lakshmana chance upon the stricken and dying Jatayu in their search for Sita, he informs them of the fight and the southern direction which Ravana had taken.
While Jatayu was wounded Lord Rama arrived and decided that Jatayu get moksha. Lord Rama hit an arrow in the ground so as to summon the seven sacred rivers. Six rivers' waters ayrrived, one river water failing to obey Lord Rama. Since Lord Rama was himself an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, He forced the Gaya teertha to arrive at the spot. Finally Jatayu was given the waters of seven rivers and He attained moksha.
Valmiki: Some say that Valimiki was a highway robber named Ratnakar who used to rob people after killing them. Once, the robber tried to rob sage Narada who asked him if his family would share the sin he was incurring due to the robbery.The robber asked his family, but none agreed to bear the burden of sin. Dejected, the robber finally understood the truth of life and Narada taught him how to worship God. The robber meditated for many years, so much so that Ant-hills grew around his body.
Sage Narada was adored by Lord Krishna, and employed different ways to bring people nearer to God. He convinced dacoit Ratnakar to chant "Mara, Mara" - the reverse of "Rama, Rama" - helping him evolve enough to get transformed into sage Valmiki.
King Nriga: gave a cow as charity to a brahman. Unfortunately this cow returned to the king's herd, and so he gave it as charity to another brahman. A quarrel started, which resulted in Nriga being cursed to take the form of a lizard and live in a well. But due to his piety Krishna personally delivered him from this condition and thus Nriga was elevated to the heavenly planet.
Gajendra : was the king of elephants. One hot day, he went to the lake with his family to cool off in its fresh waters. But from within the lake a crocodile attacked and would not let go of him. When the family saw ‘death’ coming close to Gajendra, they abandoned him. Gajendra prayed to Lord Vishnu who came to the aid of Gajendra, who offered a lotus to the god. Vishnu attacked the crocodile and saved His Loved One.
