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                       Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra 
Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                     The Long March-2
 

When one is in one's teens, one has absolutely no worry in the world. The brow 
is unlined with care and the heart free as a bird. There is a song on the lips 
and a spirit of adventure prompts one to take on even the most difficult of 
tasks as a challenge. This was the state of Sri Rama, during the first 
pAdayAtra He undertook, from Ayodhya to Mithila, via SiddhAshramam. To the 
young Prince, the arduous journey through the jungle was but a picnic, 
affording an opportunity to get away from the constraints of royal life. And 
the tedium of travel on foot was considerably lightened by Visvamitra's tales, 
of which he had an apparently unending repertoire.

 

Circumstances were totally different, when Chakravartthi Tirumagan set out on 
His second expedition. It was a sentence imposed upon Him by a scheming 
stepmother, its cruelty enhanced manifold by its having been inflicted on the 
eve of His coronation as the Crown Prince of Ayodhya.

One day He was all set to don the mantle of Emperor-in-waiting, and the very 
next day found Him on His way to the inhospitable jungle, for a sojourn of not 
one or two, but fourteen long years.  He also had with Him during this second 
pAdayAtrA, His young and beautiful wife to take care of and protect against the 
lurking dangers of the forest.

 

The journey, however, begins comfortably enough, with the royal charioteer 
Sumantra taking the trio in the decorated chariot, up to ShringibErapuram, 
where Sri Rama meets His close friend, the hunter Guha. When the time comes for 
crossing the Ganga, Sri Rama bids farewell to Sumantra, asking the latter to 
return to Ayodhya to look after the Chakravartthi, telling the charioteer that 
thenceforth, they would travel by foot-

"Ratham vihAya padbhyAm tu gamishyAmO mahAvanam".

 

And here begins the second and most arduous journey for Sri Raghava, on foot, 
during which He has to confront not only wild animals but innumerable 
rAkshasAs, and, finally, the vilest and most terrible of all of them, viz., 
Ravana.

 

While setting foot on GuhA's boat for crossing the Ganga, it is interesting to 
note that the usually obedient Lakshmana does not carry out His brother's 
orders. Sri Rama tells His brother to set foot on the boat first, to steady it 
against the waves of the Ganga and to give a hand to Sita to climb onto the 
boat. However, for some strange reason, Lakshmana does the diametrically 
opposite thing, making Sri Sita enter the boat first and then following 
himself--

 

"ArOha tvam nara vyAghra stitthAm nAvam imAm shanai:

 SeetAm cha ArOpaya anvaksham parigrihya manasvinIm

 Sa bhrAtu: shAsanam shrutvA sarvam apratikoolayan

ArOpya MaithilIm poorvam ArurOha AtmavAn tathA"

 

Perhaps Lakshmana thought it a better and more practical idea to have Sri 
Janaki climb on to the boat first, while steadying it himself from the land. 
Whatever be the reason, this was a rare instance of Sri Lakshmana exercising 
his discretion, in the face of clear instructions to the contrary from his 
brother. We have to contrast this with Sri Lakshmana's reply, when told by Sri 
Rama to find a place for building a cottage. He beseeches Sri Rama to choose 
the place Himself, as he (Lakshmana) is but a slave, born to do the bidding of 
the Master, without assuming an iota of independence-

"ParavAn asmi Kakutsttha!" 

 

Immediately after disembarking from the boat provided by Guha and reaching the 
southern banks of the Ganga, Sri Rama lays down the order of progression, which 
they were to maintain during their journey during the jungles-

 

"agaratO gaccha SoumitrE! Seeta tvam anugacchatu

prishtatOham gamishyAmi tvAm cha Seetam cha pAlayan"

 

"You lead the way, Lakshmana, and let Sita follow you. I shall bring up the 
rear, protecting you both" says Sri Rama.

 

However, we note too that this order of progress was not always maintained and 
was changed according to circumstances, as would be clear from the famous sloka 
quoted Swami Desikan to explain the ashtAkshara mantram-

 

"agrata: prayayou Rama: Seeta madhyE sumadhyamA

prishthatO tu dhanushpANi; Lakshmano anujagAma ha"

 

Sri Rama went first, checking the terrain for any danger and clearing the path 
of thorns and pebbles that would hurt the delicate soles of Sri Mythily, who 
followed. And Sri Lakshmana was the last in the order, with his bow and arrow 
at the ready to face any challenge. 

 

Our heart really bleeds for the trio-the ParamAtmA and the Divine Consort 
Herself, entitled by rights to all the comforts of the land, living a life of 
unimaginable bliss and ease at Sri Vaikuntam, walking barefoot on the jungle 
trails filled with the roughest of stones, prickly bushes and trees with spiky 
branches, walking hundreds of miles, just to keep the Lord's word to the 
celestials for Ravana vadham. We can at best share the grief of Dasaratha, who 
enquires of Sumantra, upon his return to Ayodhya, as to how the delicate 
Princes of Ayodhya and the Princess of Mithila, used only to the best of 
palatial comforts, accustomed themselves to travel on foot through the hard 
jungle-

 

"SukumAryA tapasvinyA Sumatra! saha Seetaya

 RAjaputrou katham pAdai: avaruhya rathAt gatou?"

 

 

Till Sri Rama, Sri Sita and Lakshmana reach Chitrakootam, there are no 
problems. Then arrives Bharata on the scene, with his impassioned entreaty to 
Rama to return to Ayodhya and to accept the crown of KOsala kingdom, which Rama 
declines, setting store by the word He had given to His father and Kaikeyi, 
that He would stay in the jungle for 14 years.

 

We now come to a question that must surely have been asked by many before.

 

Unable to persuade Sri Rama to return, Bharata refers to Sri Rama's

Sandals, requests his brother to step on them and receives them with all 
honour. The description of the PAdukAs here is beautiful. Sri Valmiki says that 
they were decorated with gold and shone verily like the Sun and the Moon-

 

"TejasA Aditya sankAsam pratipat Chandra darsanam

adhirOha Arya! PAdAbhyAm pAdukE hEma bhooshitE"

 

Sri Rama duly steps on the PadukAs and gives them to Bharata.

 

The question now arises as to whether these sandals were the ones being worn by 
Sri Rama, or a pair specially brought by Bharata with him.

 

If we say that it was the pair He was wearing that was given by Sri Rama to 
Bharata, we are confronted by the doubt as to whether Chakravartthi Tirumagan 
would continue to wear an ostentatiously decorated ("hEma bhooshitE") pair of 
slippers, having abandoned all vestiges of princely appearance. Sri Rama goes 
to the extent of applying the milk of the banyan tree to His hair, to make it 
matted, in tune with the life of penance and austerity He was to lead for 
fourteen years. And all He wears are clothes made of tree skin and deer bark, 
which Kaikeyi thoughtfully hands to Him just before His departure from Ayodhya. 
 This being so, would He wear a pair of sandals which were totally out of tune 
with His austere appearance?

 

The other alternative appears equally unlikely, for, why should Bharata bring 
with him a pair of golden slippers of Sri Rama's size? The younger brother must 
have come with all hope of making Sri Rama return and accept the crown of 
Ayodhya and would definitely not have anticipated that he would have to be 
contented with the Rama PAdukAs. There is thus no reason for Bharata to carry a 
pair of golden sandals around.

 

For want of a better answer, if we were to assume that Sri Rama gave away to 
Bharata the pAdukAs He was currently wearing, then we would have to accept that 
the rest of Sri Rama's travels through the inhospitable jungles were 
accomplished barefoot, which adds to the Prince's travails.

 

Leaving the puzzle for the moment, we find that after Bharata returns to 
Ayodhya, the trio led by Sri Rama proceeds in due course to Panchavati, where 
they intend to spend the rest of their extradition in peace and penance. And 
they enjoyed their stay extremely, with nature bedecking itself with the most 
glorious of flora and fauna, showing off all its beauty for the Lord and His 
Consort-'ramamANA vanE traya:"

 

Since it would take ages and pages for us to accompany Sri Rama through the 
fourteen years of His jungle sojourn, suffice it to say that the long march, 
which was extremely pleasant as long as Sri Mythily was present, turns into a 
desperate one for the brothers Rama, after Her abduction. They run hither and 
thither, trying to locate VaidEhi. Sri Valmiki laments that the Princes 
travelled over hill and dale, dense forest and large plains-

 

"chankramantou vanAn dEsAn shailAt shailam vanAt vanam".

 

The brothers thus traverse the whole of Bharata Varsha and, after the ocean is 
bridged, cross over to Lanka, on the shoulders of Sri Hanuman. This is perhaps 
the only brief break in their Long March on foot, which continues till the 
sacking of Lanka, the slaying of Ravana and the liberation of Sri Janaki.

 

And only when they return from Lanka, their mighty mission accomplished, that 
they ascend the Pushpaka VimAnam for the return journey to Ayodhya.

 

It is a measure of the incontrovertible truth in the Epic that the entire 
pedestrian route traversed by Sri Rama during His second Long March, has 
survived till date and all the landmarks He crossed live still to tell us great 
tales of the Lord and His visit. 

 

ShringibErapuram, the place where Rama met Guha and began His padayAtrA, is now 
known as "ShingOr". TamasA river, where Sri Rama gave the slip to the pursuing 
citizens of Ayodhya, is now known as Tons. Before reaching the Ganga, Sri Rama 
appears to have crossed three more rivers, the current names of which are 
indicated within brackets-

VEdashruti (BisUi), GOmati and SyandikA (SAi). Sage BharadvAjA's Ashramam was 
located at PrayAg, the modern-day Allahabad, amidst the confluence of the Ganga 
and Yamuna. The beautiful Chitrakoota hill is still available for the devout to 
perform circumambulation-during Sri Rama navami, thousands of devotees still 
perform "giri pradakshiNam" here. After leaving Chitrakootam, Sri Rama appears 
to have travelled along the Yamuna for some distance, before crossing the 
river. Leaving Chitrakootam, the trio take a southern route over the PannA 
plateau, to reach the Sharabhanga Ashramam at the confluence of the MandAkinI 
and Sharabhanga rivers and reach PanchavatI (near Nashik) in due course. 

 

After the traumatic abduction of Sri Sita, the brothers Rama cross the Godavari 
river and reach KishkintA (the present-day Hampi in the Bellary District of 
Karnataka) after a long journey. With the aid of Sugreeva's monkey army and 
after the location of Sri Sita at Lanka by Hanuman, the brothers, leading the 
vAnara sEnA, travel south along the eastern parts of the SahyAdri range, 
through the present Chitradurga district of Karnataka and cross the Cauvery 
river near its origins in the hills of Mercara. Continuing their southward 
journey, the Princes must have crossed the present Coimbatore district, reached 
the Palghat Pass and travelled further along the Western Ghats, eventually 
reaching the seas at the southern tip of India, from where they cross the ocean 
by the bridge built across the waters by the expert architect Nala. 

 

If we add up all the distances, Sri Rama and Lakshmana must have travelled no 
less than an incredible 2000 miles on foot, across the length and breadth of 
our BhArata Varsha, crossing all its principal rivers, climbing up and down 
almost all the renowned mountain ranges but for the Himalayas. They must have 
touched hundreds of villages during their long walk, as proof of which several 
rural temples have Sthala PurANAs connected with Sri Rama's visit to that 
particular place. We still find many towns, villages and districts named after 
Rama or Sita-Ramnagar, Sitapur, Ramghat, Ramtek, Ramgarh, Rampur, Sitamarhi, 
Sitanagaram, Ramagundam, Rameshwaram, DhanushkOti, Darbhasayanam (where Sri 
Rama is reported to have sought Samudra Raja's cooperation for bridging the 
ocean), Ramanathapuram etc. 

 

If a census were to be taken in India of villages and towns bearing Sri Rama's 
name, we would come up with several hundreds, nay thousands. All this only goes 
to show that by undertaking the long march, Sri Rama must have left His 
footprints on a vast stretch of land, which have remained unerased (to coin a 
word) by the ravages of time. He left imprints not only on the land, but also 
in the minds of its populace, with His name and exploits remaining evergreen in 
their thoughts, handed down as valuable heirloom from generation to generation. 
If the Prince of Ayodhya's hallowed tirunAmam is a household name today and has 
been so for countless millennia, it is due partly to the Long March undertaken 
by Him, touching people's lives like a fragrant breeze with a healing touch, a 
touch which rid them of the crippling disease of Samsara and afforded them the 
infinite bliss of liberation.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmInrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama"

dasan, sadagopan

 

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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