Power of the Ramayana

October 21, 2012 09:43 pm | Updated 09:43 pm IST - CHENNAI

It is said that reading the Ramayana brings auspiciousness to those who read it. This is seen in the case of the characters in the Ramayana. Every time any of them is in trouble and recounts the story of Rama, the troubles vanish, V.S. Karunakarachariar said.

Take the case of the monkeys which go in the southern direction in search of Sita. They come to a cave, where, with permission from the lady in charge, they eat of the plenty that is available there. They are then escorted by her out of the cave. However, the monkeys have come out of the cave just as the winter sets in. That means that the time limit set for them by Sugriva is over. Sugriva had warned them that if they did not return in the stipulated time, death awaited them.

Angada then suggests that the monkeys not go back at all, but make their lives in the place to which they have now come. But there is the question of how they will find food. Angada suggests that they go back into the cave. But Hanuman asks pertinently whether the arrows of Lakshmana will not reach them inside the cave. So Angada decides to fast to death, and the other monkeys decide to follow suit.

But even as he fasts, Angada thinks about the cause for their plight. Why did this have to happen to them? If Kaikeyi had not been granted any boon by Dasaratha, they would not be in such a situation, laments Angada. If Jatayu had not been killed, then Sita would have been saved, and then the monkeys would not have had to look for Her. At least if Jatayu had died after giving all details to Rama, the Lord would have gone after Ravana at once, without sending monkeys in four directions to look for Her.

Thus, even as the monkeys bemoan their fate, Angada details the events in Rama’s and Sita’s lives. So in a nutshell Angada narrates the Ramayana. As Rama’s story is told in bits and pieces by Angada,

Sampaati, brother of Jatayu, who overhears Angada, gives the monkeys details of where Sita is. Thus, the monkeys get the information they want, thanks to the story of Rama being narrated, albeit in parts. Thus, the Ramayana, if read, narrated or heard, saves us from danger, and this is evident in the case of the monkeys.

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