Maryada Purushottama :: Article by Harish R

Maryada Purushottama

Sri Rama was an infinite treasure of all good virtues.
To honor his father’s promise he declined the throne and kingdom which everyone was forcing him to take. Entire kingdom except Kaikeyi and Manthara was in his favor and wanted him to become their king. If he really wanted, he could have exiled/jailed these two and taken over the throne.
Rama the seventh avatar of Sri Narayana need not have come to the earth, he could’ve eliminated the rakshasas just by his sheer will from Vaikunta itself! Why then did he take the trouble to come down here? Hanumantha tells us why: “मर्त्यवतरस्त्विह मर्त्य शिक्षणं”. He comes down as one of us to educate us lesser mortals how to live!

He doesn’t seek any specific caste, creed, family for his companionship. He has the vaanaras (half human half monkeys), bears like jAmbuvantha, big birds like jatAyu, shabhari an old woman, squirrels as his aides. All he sought for was selfless love and pure bhakti. While he gave sadgati and bliss to ahalya and shabari, he punished shurpanakha. Samudraraja was requested first and then threatened with the feared rama’s arrow after he delayed to respond. Since he always tread the path of dharma, law and truth, all including animals and birds stood by him. He wiped fourteen thousand demons off the face of this earth, including the dreaded rAvaNa and his kith and kin. He gave shelter to even his enemy’s brother vibhIshaNa since he was righteous. Guha who ferried Sri Rama across the river also was blessed by him.

Killing vAli from hiding is to be seen as a judge delivering a capital punishment to a criminal. Moreover, he didn’t kill him straight away and when questions by vAli gave him a chance stating that he will save him if he apologizes and rectifies. Finally vAli himself exclaims that he is lucky to be killed at Rama’s hands!

Sending Seeta away after everyone in the kingdom started speaking about her (not just one dhObhi) was mainly to rid her of the blemish in the most acceptable way. In that era, people never questioned a verdict given by rishis. Rama wanted the great sage vALmiki to convey this to the citizens. He never let her helpless in the forest, he instructs Lakshmana to leave her near vAlmiki’s ashram, which is in the forest. He doesn’t want vAlmiki to be accused again of using his royalty to bias the rishi and hence this arrangement.

He loves everybody without any prejudice. He says he would even forgive Ravana if he surrenders just before the war. He bows first to kaikeyi on returning back from the vanavas.

Finally, when it was time for him to go back, he invites everybody to go with him to his paramdhAma.

Let us put in efforts to learn from Him and His divine story in the right way. Learning about him incrementally but continuously, would result in increasing our love and devotion towards Him!

Article by Harish R