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The ultimate succour

CHENNAI: The central message of the Ramayana is the principle of surrender (Saranagati) that promises unconditional protection to all those who seek the Lord with unshakable faith. The Lord’s feet as the ultimate succour has been the subject of eulogy through countless generations of the human race when mankind has been fortunate to be blessed by His boundless grace. In a lecture, Damal Sri Ramakrishnan and Srimati Perundevi pointed out that divine incarnations are the descent of God to earth to help mankind strive for salvation and for establishing dharma against the onslaught of adharma.

Lord Rama’s incarnation was a response to the wishes of the sages and rishis who sought protection of their sacrificial rites from the harassment of the demons, and of the celestials who saw an imminent threat in Ravana’s growing power. Though the Lord appeared in a human form, there were many devout people who did not fail to recognise His identity. For instance, the sages Vishwamitra and Vasishta knew Lord Rama to be the Absolute Truth while Dasaratha saw Him as his beloved son.

When Lord Rama met Hanuman, He knew that the quest for Sita would materialise through him who was an embodiment of intelligence, strength, fame, courage, fearlessness, and health, in addition to being a great scholar and a devout Rama Bhakta. Hanuman could handle the difficult role of a messenger not only to Sita who would be in a state of despair but also to Ravana who could intimidate with his might.

Lord Rama disclosed to Hanuman many personal details he had shared with Sita to be used as identity marks by him to inspire faith and hope in her, when he would encounter her. He also gave him the signet ring that was a precious intimate link between the divine couple.

In the Narayaneeyam, Narayana Bhattadri captures many salient features of the epic in the most succinct manner (20 stanzas). The poet’s fancy regards Lord Rama’s reaction to the Maricha episode when Sita was abducted from the hermitage as one of relief rather than sorrow, because Ravana was untainted and the Lord could not go to war with him when he was not guilty of any fault against the Lord.

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