The Lord's identity

: During Rama Avatar, the Lord played the role of a man and kept His divine identity (Paratva) well under wraps. Those who had occasion to interact with Him saw a crown-prince, a warrior skilled in archery, or a dutiful son to the royal parents and showered love and affection on Him on these counts.

But there were realised souls such as sage Vishwamitra who knew Lord Rama as the Supreme Brahman incarnate and counted themselves fortunate to pay direct obeisance to the Absolute Truth, said Kalyanapuram Sri R. Aravamudhachariar in a lecture. Sage Vishwamitra asserts that not only he but the other sages in Dasaratha's court knew the true identity of Rama and hence His infinite capabilities.

The sage had requested Dasaratha to send Rama to protect the Vedic ritual he wanted to perform from the demons who were constantly disrupting it. Dasaratha, bound by parental love, did not recognise this truth and felt protective towards the young Rama who is now expected to fight the demons.

Ultimately, sage Vasishta's counsel prevails and Dasaratha sends Rama and Lakshmana along with Vishwamitra.

The famous verse Kousalya Supraja Rama, attributed to Vishwamitra in this context, is an address to Rama to arise and perform the daily duties; but interpreters see in this verse a personal plea of the sage who does not want to miss the rare opportunity to offer his daily offerings (argya) directly to the Supreme Brahman in front of him.

When Rama confronted the demon Tataka and was doubtful about killing a woman, the sage explained that the situation, being extraordinary (Visesha), fell within the demands of Vishesa Dharma and not the day-to-day/regular (Samanya) Dharma. The two brothers kept up a round-the-clock vigil during the performance of the yaga to keep away the demons.

Subhahu was killed and Maricha escaped. During the sojourn with the princes, the sage narrated many stories to them, taught the sacred mantras Bala and Atibala and also led Him to Mithila to win the hand of Sita.