The Epic Story of Lord Ram's Marriage with Sita

804 Pages·2016·3.53 MB·English

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Book Part-1 (1st of 2 Parts)

The Epic Story of Lord Ram’s Marriage with Sita:

{Narrated entirely in English from Goswami Tulsidas’ revered devotional classic
“Ram Charit Manas”, and his other 3 books, viz. “Janki Mangal”, “Ram Lala
Nachu” & “Geetawali’, as well as sage Veda Vyas’ rendering of the story in
“Adhyatma Ramayan”.}

(Original Text, Roman Transliteration & English Exposition with Elaborate Notes)

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Presented By:--

Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia
Ayodhya (Faizabad, U.P.)

Full address of Author—36-A, Rajghat Colony, Parikrama Marg,
P.O.—Ayodhya, Pin—224123
Distt.—Faizabad, U.P. India.
Mobile: [phone]

Website: < www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com >
Email of Author: (i) < [email protected] >
(ii) < [email protected] >
Facebook ID < www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 >
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchharia
Google+: www.google.com#AjaiKumarChhawchharia
Twitter: www.twitter.com@AjaiChhawcharia
Goodreads URL/Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/991710.Ajai_Kumar_Chhawchharia

© By Author—All rights reserved by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means without permission of the author-Ajai Kumar
Chhawchharia.

**
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NOTE: This Book is also available at:--
(1) www.amazon.com in its Kindle version.
(2) www.createspace.com in a Print edition.
Language: English.

CONTENTS

Book Part-1

Preface—Page: 4

Dedication—Page: 7

Introduction—Page: 8

Ram Charit Manas—Page: 12—804

1. Arrival of sage Vishwamitra at Ayodhya; taking Lord Ram and Laxman with him to
the forest; protection of the fire sacrifice & slaying of demons:--
From Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 206—to Chaupai line no. 6 that
precedes Doha no. 210.

2. Liberation of Ahilya; Arrival at Janakpur & meeting king Janak; Lodging in Janakpur
as Janak’s “State Guests”:--
From Chaupai line no. 7 that precedes Doha no. 210—to Doha no. 217.

3. Lord Ram & Laxman visit the city of Janakpur; the enthralled citizens:--
From Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 218—to Chaupai line no. 6 that
precedes Doha no. 225.

4. Meeting between Lord Ram and Sita in the royal garden; the enchanted Ram:--
From Chaupai line no. 7 that precedes Doha no. 225—to Chaupai line no. 8 that
precedes Doha no. 239.

5. The Bow-breaking Ceremony & Sita putting the victory garland on Lord Ram;
Celebrations in Janakpur:--
From Chaupai line no. 9 that precedes Doha no. 239—to Doha no. 265.

6. Revolt by the defeated kings:--
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From Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 266—to Chaupai line no. 1 that
precedes Doha no. 268.

7. Sage Parashuram’s angry intervention and ultimate surrender:--
From Chaupai line no. 2 that precedes Doha no. 268—to Chaupai line no. 7 that
precedes Doha no. 285.

8. Messenger sent to Ayodhya & celebrations in Ayodhya; Arrival of the marriage party
at Janakpur; Celebrations in Janakpur:--
From Chaupai line no. 8 that precedes Doha no. 285—to Doha no. 312.

9. The Marriage Ceremony of the four Brothers: Lord Ram, Bharat, Laxman &
Shatrughan; The Marriage Feast and general Festivities in Janakpur:--
From Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 313—to Chaupai line no. 6 that
precedes Doha no. 343.

10. The departure of the grooms’ party from Janakpur, and its arrival at Ayodhya;
celebrations in the city; departure of the guests:--
From Chaupai line no. 7 that precedes Doha no. 343—to Sortha/Doha no. 361.

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Book Part-2

Preface: Page: 807

Section-1: Janki Mangal—Page: 809

Section-2: Ram Lala Nachu—Page: 912

Section-3: Geetawali—Page: 929

Section-4: Adhyatma Ramayan—Page: 1114

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Book Part-1 (1st of 2 Parts)

The Epic Story of Lord Ram’s Marriage with Sita

{Narrated entirely in English from Goswami Tulsidas’ revered devotional classic
“Ram Charit Manas”, and his other 3 books, viz. “Janki Mangal”, “Ram Lala
Nachu” & “Geetawali’, as well as sage Veda Vyas’ rendering of the story in
“Adhyatma Ramayan”.}

(Original Text, Roman Transliteration & English Exposition with Elaborate Notes)

PREFACE

In this book we shall read the eclectic story of the marriage of Lord Ram with Sita. This
marriage was a formalisation, from the perspective of the gross visible world, of the
union or coming together of two stupendous invisible forces of creation, viz. Brahm, the
all-powerful Supreme Being represented by Lord Ram, and his cosmic dynamism known
as Shakti represented by Sita.
This union was needed to neutralize and weed out evil forces, represented by the
cruel demon race, from the surface of the earth so that the rest of the living world could
live in peace.
Lord Ram was an incarnation on earth as a human being of Lord Vishnu who is
the macrocosmic form of the Supreme Being known in the Upanishads as Brahm. Sita is
a manifestation of goddess Laxmi, the divine consort of Vishnu and the patron goddess of
material prosperity and wealth that Vishnu needs to take care of this visible world
dependent upon material things for its sustenance.
For the purpose of our narration we shall read exhaustively from two excellent
sources who have expertly described this story. One is the famous saint-poet Goswami
Tulsidas, and the other is the renowned saga Veda Vyas.
Tulsidas has elaborately narrated this eclectic story in the following books—(a)
Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand (Chapter 1), from its Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes
Doha no. 206—till Doha no. 361 at the end of this Canto; (b) Geetawali, in its Baal Kand,
from verse no. 1/47—till verse no. 1/110; (c) Janki Mangal; and (d) Ram Lala Nahachu.
The full English version of these last three books has been uploaded by this humble
author for free download on his website mentioned at the end of this preface.
The other excellent source we shall read is Veda Vyas’ classical narration known
as Adhyatma Ramayan in which the story of Lord Ram’s marriage is narrated in Baal
Kand (Chapter 1), from Canto no. 4—to Canto no. 7.
In order to make the present book exhaustive and a comprehensive text in English
that tells the divine story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita in its entirety, all the above
books have been included in our narration. The full original texts in Hindi and Sanskrit
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are quoted, followed by a detailed exposition and related commentary in English. Special
treatment is accorded to Tulsidas’ “Ram Charit Manas”—which forms Part-1 of this 2-
part book—because, in due course of time, it shall be included in an elaborate English
exposition on this great and unparalled magnum opus of Tulsidas on which I am working
at present. In fact, “Ram Charit Manas” is one classic in Hindi that is revered and given
the same respect as the ancient Purans and other holy scriptures.

This Book titled “The Story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita” is divided into 2
Parts: Part-1 has the story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita as narrated in Goswami
Tulsidas’ epic classic famed by the name of “Ram Charit Manas”, and Part-2 has this
magnificent story as it is narrated in the rest of the books of Tulsidas, viz. “Janki
Mangal”, “Ram Lala Nahachu” and “Geetawali”, as well as in the story of the Ramayan
narrated by the legendary sage Veda Vyas in his great classic known as “Adhyatma
Ramayan”.

Now, let’s have a brief overview of the contents of this Book titled “The Story of Lord
Ram’s marriage with Sita”. It is divided into 2 Parts as follows:

It is divided into 2 Parts: Part-1 has the story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita as
narrated in Goswami Tulsidas’ epic classic famed by the name of “Ram Charit Manas”,
and Part-2 has this magnificent story as it is narrated in the rest of the books of Tulsidas,
viz. “Janki Mangal”, “Ram Lala Nahachu” and “Geetawali”, as well as in the story of the
Ramayan narrated by the legendary sage Veda Vyas in his great spiritual classic known
as “Adhyatma Ramayan”.

Part-1 has an elaborate analytical exposition in English of Ram Charit Manas, which in
the course of its narration tells us the eclectic story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita in
great detail, highlighting many of its aspects that miss the eye, and which require a lot of
analysis and reading between-the-lines to discover. It’s a great reading experience, and a
journey of learning and exploration.
It chronicles the events in great and fascinating detail from the very beginning, i.e.
from the time sage Vishwamitra arrived in the court of king Dasrath of Ayodhya seeking
Lord Ram to be sent with him to his hermitage—till the end of the story when the
marriage party returned back home to Ayodhya with all the four grooms (i.e. Lord Ram
and his three brothers Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughan) and their beautiful brides, the
celebrations in the city and the atmosphere of euphoria and revelry that lasted for many
long days thereafter, and finally, the departure of the guests in due course of time.

Part 2: This is divided into 4 Sections as follows:-
Section 1 has the entire text of the story from Tulsidas’ classic narration of the
event in his book titled “Janki Mangal”.
Section 2 similarly consists of the entire text from Tulsidas’ short book called
“Ram Lala Nahachu”. It pertains to a specific ritual known as “Nahachu” in which the
groom’s hairs and nails are trimmed just before the actual marriage ceremony.
Section 3 is a wonderful and elaborate narration of the story from “Geetawali”, an
exquisite ‘Book of Songs’ in which Tulsidas has written the story of the ‘Ramayan’ (the
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story of the life and times of Lord Ram) using the pattern of writing of verses that are set
to different ‘Ragas’ (notes, tunes and modes) of Indian classical music so much so that
the story of Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita acquires a magical charm and a special aura
of divinity around it as it can now be sung melodiously to the various tunes of Indian
classical music with a liberal dose of devotional quotient infused in it.
Section 4 presents to the reader a different take on this story from “Adhyatma
Ramayan”, an ancient classical composition in Sanskrit by the legendary sage Veda
Vyas. It deals with this story with a different perspective and tells the reader many facts
not dealt with by Tulsidas.

Taken all in all, it’s an exceptionally charming story that captivates the mind and the
imagination of the reader, and holds him or her in its thrall. It’s a wonderful and rare
collection of eclectic classical texts that will give the reader an opportunity to enjoy this
story from different perspectives.

This book of ours is an elaborate analytical exposition in English on all these five great
classics that are cited in it, and in the course of its narration tells us the eclectic story of
Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita in great detail, highlighting many of its aspects that miss
the eye, and which require a lot of analysis and reading between-the-lines to discover. It’s
a great reading experience, and a journey of learning and exploration.

Great deal of effort has been taken by me, to the best of my ability, to explain the original
texts of these classical books in simple English, along with elaborate notes and references
so that the reader can understand the story better and delve deeper into the subtle and not-
so-apparent meaning of the texts. I am sure that this Book would be enjoyed by the
readers who will find them entertaining as well as informing.

Whatever I wrote was a divine inspiration, and honestly I say in all sooth that I have no
right to claim any sort of praise or honour for writing them, for the real ‘author’ of these
books was Lord Ram himself, and I believe it in the core of my heart without any show
of pretention of modesty, with me being merely a pen moving to fulfill the Lord’s wishes
and mission! Say, what claim for fame and honour and praise can a ‘pen’ have for any
piece of writing, for all the credit surely goes to the ‘writer’. Still, since in this physical
world such subtle and sublime feelings and thoughts and understandings are difficult to
comprehend and accept in practical terms, I must make it plain that as I am a humble and
ordinary man with no scholarship or expertise of any sort, there are fair chances that
many errors of omission, commission and oversight may have crept in these books
inadvertently inspite of my diligence and efforts, and for them I pray that me esteemed
reader would overlook them and excuse me for my errors and shortcomings.

Remember: ‘Sweet Nectar’ will always taste as sweet and heavenly, and it is as
rejuvenating and reinvigorating as it can ever be irrespective of the cup in which it is
served and the person serving it.

I offer this book to my dearest and most beloved Lord Ram as a token of my humblest of
service to him. It is not only to enable the world to read the Lord’s divine story that I
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endeavour to write in English, but it is also to thank the Lord that he enabled me to write
about him in this language. Be it noted that I am writing this book as a means to purify
my own self and my writing, spending my time in rememberance of the Lord that fills my
mind and heart with joy and a sense of fulfillment, and as an expression of my love and
affection and gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord who has done so much for me and
taken care of my well-being like a doting father who goes out of his way to protect and
take care of his dearest son.

Finally, I must thank Sri Somil Bharti of Vrindavan who has done a commendable work
of doing for me the Roman Transliteration of the original Text which is in the language
known as “Avadhi”, a local dialect which is a variation of Hindi as it is spoken in the
region of Ayodhya where Lord Ram was born.

Amen!

Prepared and presented by:
Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia.
Full address of Author—36-A, Rajghat Colony, Parikrama Marg,
P.O.—Ayodhya, Pin—224123
Distt.—Faizabad, U.P. India.
Mobile: [phone]

Website: < www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com >
Email of Author: (i) < [email protected] >
(ii) < [email protected] >
Facebook ID < www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 >
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchharia
Google+: www.google.com#AjaiKumarChhawchharia
Twitter: www.Twitter.com@AjaiChhawcharia
Goodreads URL/Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/991710.Ajai_Kumar_Chhawchharia

Date—15th April, 2016.
Place: Ayodhya.

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DEDICATION

To My Most Beloved Lord Ram

No creature is perfect; it’s foolhardy to claim so. The best of paintings cannot replace the
original; the best of words cannot express the original emotions and sentiments. Even the
Lord was not satisfied by one flower or one butterfly—he went on endlessly evolving and
designing newer forms. So, I have done my best, I have poured out my being in these
books. Honestly, I am totally incompetent—it was the Lord who had done the actual
writing and had moved my fingers as if they were merely an instrument in his divine
hands. But nonetheless, it’s a tribute to the Lord’s glory that he does not take the credit
himself, but bestows it to them whom he loves as his very own. And to be ‘his very own’
is indeed an unmatched honour. However, I still beg forgiveness for all omissions,
commissions and transgressions on my part that I may have inadvertently made. It’s the
Lord’s glories that I sing, rejoice in, write on and think of to the best of my ability. I hope
my readers will also absorb the divine fragrance effusing from the flowers representing
the Lord’s books, enjoy the ambrosia pouring out of them and marvel at the Lord’s
stupendous glories.

I submit this effort at the Lord’s holy feet, and finding no words to express my profound
gratitude to him, I just wish to remain quiet, and let my silence do the speaking and
praying on my behalf.

Finally, I pay my greatest obeisance to Hanuman, the enlightened devotee of Lord Ram,
whom I regard as my Guru (a spiritual guide), without whose blessings this effort would
not have borne fruit.

Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia
Author

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9

Book Part-1 (1st of 2 Parts)

The Epic Story of Lord Ram’s Marriage with Sita

{Narrated entirely in English from Goswami Tulsidas’ revered devotional classic
“Ram Charit Manas”, and his other 3 books, viz. “Janki Mangal”, “Ram Lala
Nachu” & “Geetawali’, as well as sage Veda Vyas’ rendering of the story in
“Adhyatma Ramayan”.}

(Original Text, Roman Transliteration & English Exposition with Elaborate Notes)

INTRODUCTION

A brief background and outline of the story

The Background—The cruel demons were tormenting all the creatures on this earth.
They had even conquered the gods in the heaven. To get rid of their tyranny, sages and
Mother Earth approached Lord Vishnu, the cosmic form of the supreme Lord, to give
them succour and protection. Vishnu assured them he will come down to earth as a
human being and kill their tormentors, the demons.

The Story—Thus, Vishnu manifested himself as Lord Ram by taking birth as a son of
king Dasrath of Ayodhya. Dasrath had earlier done severe Tapa (penance and austerity)
in his previous birth as king Manu. In that birth, Manu’s wife was Satarupa who became
Kaushalya in the present life. The couple had wanted Vishnu as their son. So, Lord
Vishnu fulfilled their desire by becoming their son known as Lord Ram.
Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu’s eternal divine consort, goddess Laxmi, revealed
herself as Sita, and therefore it had to be arranged that Vishnu and Laxmi could come
together as human couples also in the form of Ram and Sita. While Ram was the son of
Dasrath of Ayodhya, Sita became the daughter of Janak, the king of Janakpur.
This story ‘Janki Mangal’ describes the divine union of Lord Vishnu as Ram, and
goddess Laxmi as Sita as husband and wife in their human forms.
Since the almighty Lord Vishnu had taken a human form, certain obligations had
to be met in order to comply with the laws of Nature and creation that deal with life in
this mortal world, because the creator of cosmic laws cannot violate the same laws that he
himself had created for his own creation if he wanted to maintain order in this creation
and expected others to adhere to the laws of Nature and creation. It would be ridiculous
and incongruous to expect the Lord to violate his own laws.
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So it was maneuvered by divine mandate that a sage named Vishwamitra would
take Ram to protect his fire sacrifice from being defiled by demons, and once this is
accomplished an invitation would come to the sage to attend the marriage ceremony of
Sita at Janakpur. Naturally, the sage took Lord Ram and his younger brother Laxman
along as a sight-seeing tour of a new country just like modern-day boys are taken on a
holiday outing by their school teachers.
The three—the sage along with Ram and Laxman—were warmly welcomed by
king Janak. The king was absolutely swept off his feat when he saw the two handsome
princes, and his heart told him that Ram was the fittest candidate as a groom for his
daughter Sita. But there was a hitch. It was that the king had already made a stern vow
that anyone who would lift the bow of Lord Shiva that had been kept with him from some
ancient time would marry Sita. This vow became the fish-bone in his throat.
Janak had invited all famous kings and princes of the time to attend this bow
ceremony and try their hand at lifting it so that Sita could be married to them. Actually,
Janak had wanted a valorous and strong young prince with a powerful personality to be
his son-in-law, and this was the test that he devised for the purpose—because it was not a
joke to play fools with Lord Shiva’s bow.
Meanwhile, Lord Ram and Laxman took the permission of sage Vishwamitra and
went on a sight-seeing round of the city of Janakpur. The entire city erupted in joy and
was enthralled at the magnificently charming sight of the two brothers meandering
majestically through the streets of Janakpur. The citizens, young and old, longed to see
Ram as the royal groom, and all of them with exception prayed to Lord Shiva to fulfill
their wishes. While on this sight-seeing tour, Ram and Laxman also happened to enter the
royal gardens where Sita had incidentally come to pray to goddess Parvati, the divine
consort of Shiva himself. When she saw the Lord she was completely bewitched and
decided in her heart that she will marry Ram. But again the stern vow of her father and
the horrible ignominy that would come to the immaculate reputation of the family known
for righteousness, probity and decorum by being bold enough to openly declare her love
for Ram made her extremely depressed and worried. She however prayed to goddess
Parvati to make things happen in such a way that she would be married to Ram alone.
Now we see two prayers were working in favour of the marriage of Lord Ram
with Sita—one was the prayer of the citizens, and the other was of Sita. Come to think of
it, even Janak might have prayed silently to Shiva to maneuver things subtly and politely
in such a way that Sita could be married to Ram and his honour could still be maintained.
Not only the king but his queen, the mother of Sita, too prayed to Parvati to make this
happen.
When the D-day arrived, a huge crowd gathered at the venue of the bow
ceremony. All eyes were focused on Lord Ram who sat along with his brother Laxman
and sage Vishwamitra on a special throne king Janak had arranged for the sage. When
Sita appeared on the stage, some wise kings decided that Ram was a fit candidate for her,
and so abstained from attempting to lift the bow. But of course there were others who
became greedy and passionate when they saw a beautiful princess whose beauty was
unmatched in this world. The sober kings tried to dissuade them from being foolish and
greedy, but as expected they wouldn’t listen. In fact, instead of waiting for their turn
patiently, they jostled with each other as they feared that the man in front would lift the