The Hindu : Rationale for Lord's advent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 08, 2003

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Rationale for Lord's advent

CHENNAI DEC.8 . The reason for the advent of the Lord in the world from time to time was to establish Dharma whenever it was on the wane but every incarnation accomplished certain unique purposes. The rationale of the manifestation of the Almighty in human form as Rama, for instance, can be seen from different angles. At the level of human beings the most perceptible basis for His descent was certainly punishment of Ravana for his misdeeds, which went to the extent of abducting Sita and keeping Her captive without heeding anyone's advice to make amends for his conduct.

In his discourse, Sri S.V.Radhakrishna Sastrigal said Lord Vishnu willed to be born as the son of Dasaratha after the celestials complained about Ravana's atrocities to Him and hence in this descent He answered their prayer also by slaying him. Another important justification for this incarnation can be gleaned from the account detailed in the Bhagavata Purana about the fall of Jaya and Vijaya from the Divine abode.

They had the good fortune of guarding the gate of the abode of the Lord in Vaikuntha and were His great devotees. But these attendants once committed the grave sin of stopping the mind-born sons of the creator, Brahma— Sanaka and his brothers— when they went past them to pay obeisance to the Lord. They tried reasoning that they were His devotees like them, who should be even-minded towards all beings, but they refused to pay heed to their pleas.

The sages then contemplated on how they had to be reformed and therefore banished them to the world vitiated by the three vicious propensities of lust, anger and greed. Jaya and Vijaya immediately repented their action by falling at the feet of the sages and pleaded that they should not forget the Lord wherever they were born. Though the Almighty could have rescinded the curse He did not as His attendants had on an earlier occasion prevented His consort, Lakshmi, from entering His abode when He was in Yogic sleep. He had not acted then but He could not keep quiet when they had slighted His devotees. But, Jaya and Vijaya were also His devotees who had by their devotion attained the blessed state in His abode and hence the Almighty mitigated the curse that they would be born thrice when by concentrating on Him in anger they would be absolved of their sin of insulting the sages and be liberated by Him. So they were born as haters of God in the world and Ravana's was one of these births.

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