Sri Raghavendra Swamy Virachita SRI #RAMACHARITRYA #MANJARI (ಶ್ರೀ #ರಾಘವೆಂದ್ರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ಮಂಜರಿ”)

Sri Raghavendra Swamy Virachita

SRI #RAMACHARITRYA #MANJARI

(ಶ್ರೀ #ರಾಘವೆಂದ್ರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ಮಂಜರಿ”)          

Killing of Lavanasura/ಲವಣಾಸುರನ ಸಂಹಾರ

Once, Srirama was having an interactive session with his brothers. A few Rishis came there and sought to meet Srirama. The Doorkeepers told Srirama that a few Rishis were eager to meet him. Srirama ordered that they be brought in with great respect and honor. Those Rishis had come under the leadership of Sage Chyavana, a descendant of Sage Bhrugu’s dynasty. They submitted to Srirama Kalashas, fruits and flowers, roots and other items they had brought from the forest area where they were living. Srirama offered gold seats and worshipped as per the prescribed pattern and requested them to order whatever they expected him to do.  

Like a man gets relieved of all physical and mental pain and agony after consuming the Elixir, the Rishis were relieved of all their worries after hearing the Elixir-like words of Srirama and happily shared their woes with Srirama:

“Great King, being omniscient, there is nothing in this universe that is unknown to you. However, at your behest, we wish to let you know the serious problems we are currently facing in our daily life. In a place known as Madhuvana, an asura named “Lavana”, who is the son of notorious demon Madhu, is living. He has been eating several Munis, their wives and children. By doing penance and impressing upon Lord Rudra, he has secured a spear from Lord Rudra. He has been troubling all the beings in the region with this spear. None of the deities is capable of subduing this demon because of the power of that spear given by Lord Rudra. We went in search of someone who could rescue us from this demon’s trouble. We went round the three Lokas but could not find a person daring enough to tackle this demon. We had come to our wit’s end. Fortunately, we came to know that you have just killed Ravana and his family and friends. We could immediately comprehend that you are an incarnation of Lord Hari and that you alone can rescue us from this enigmatic situation. Please save us, oh Lord.”

Srirama smiled for a moment and looked at his brothers to assess as to which of his brothers could end the life of Lavana. Lakshmana stood up from his seat and said: “I will kill that demon, my Lord.” Meanwhile, Bharata and Shatrughna got from their respective seats and offered to kill the demon. Shatrughna told Srirama:

“My Lord, my elder brother Lakshmana has served you in every way for fourteen years by accompanying you in to the forest. Bharata spent these fourteen years by sleeping on the floor and governing the kingdom in the name of your footwear. In a way, he wanted to impress upon you with that penance. Thus, both Lakshmana and Bharata had the opportunities to serve you during those fourteen years and I was a silent spectator. As I have been deprived of any opportunity so far to serve you, I request you to assign this duty to me. With your blessings, I am confident of accomplishing this task.”

“Besides, my father has named as Shatrughna, which means ‘one who destroys enemies’. If I fail to kill at least one enemy in my life time, my name loses significance. Therefore, please order me to kill Lavanasura and thereby make me worthy of my name.”

Please with this appeal, Srirama told:

“Brother Shantrughna, go and kill that Lavanasura. Later, you take charge of the kingdom of Lavanasura. I will perform the coronation for you as the prospective king of the kingdom of Lavanasura.”

Shatrughna replied: “Oh Lord, I am the youngest of all of you and I cannot become the king of any region. I would like to continue as your servant and I have no desire to rule any country ahead of my three elder brothers.”

Srirama disagreed and got the coronation of Shatrughna performed by Vasishtha and other prominent Rishis and Guru. Later, Srirama handed over an arrow to Shatrughna and said:

“My dear brother, I had carved this arrow when I was resting in my original form in cosmic Milky Ocean. I killed Lavana’s father Madhu and his brother Kaitabha with this arrow. This arrow the most powerful weapon and it can never fail to end the life of any target you set. After killing all the enemies, this arrow is empowered to return to your quiver. This arrow will certainly kill Lanasura.”

Srirama sent four thousand horses, two thousand chariots, one hundred elephants and several soldiers with Shatrughna for assistance. Srirama hugged his brother Shatrughna and filled his body with divine power.

Shatrughna saluted Srirama, Lakshma and Bharata, asked his army to go ahead and followed it, along with the Rishis. On the way, Shatrughna visited the hermitage of Sri Valmeeki and introduced himself as Ramadasa or servant of Srirama. Sri Valmeeki honored Shatrughna and started telling him the history of his hermitage.

The history of the hermitage of Sri Valmeeki will be narrated in the next episode.        

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