Quick question : Why did Rama ask Sita to go through Agnipariksha.
Doesnt that show lack of trust and lack of confidence on part of Rama. Arent these two emotions too 'human' to suite Rama
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Quick question : Why did Rama ask Sita to go through Agnipariksha.
Doesnt that show lack of trust and lack of confidence on part of Rama. Arent these two emotions too 'human' to suite Rama
Sandeep
HariKrishnan Sir is writing a detailed article in chennaionline about agnipareeksha.He had given the link somewhere in previous pages.You can follow that.
Rama is human.If he has not been human, he would have never been able to kill Ravana.Ravana was protected by a boon from Brahma that Devas,Gods,rakshashas should not kill him.He considered humans too puny.So, Vishnu took avatar as a human being to use this loophole and finish off the demon Ravana.
Sorry I came in too late :(
Slowly reading through the earlier post. Should reach with you guys soon.
No No I don'tthink so, viggop anNe, Ravana was Shiva Bahktha , it was Maheshwar who granted the boon, that Ravana was an amarn, and as Ravana's mind was full of ego and greed, he 4got to mention humans in whild he was requesting a boon from Maha IswarQuote:
Originally Posted by viggop
There is place in Sri Lanka, eastern Sri Lanka,wher it has 7 fountain like wells, which was according to vedic scriptures were made by Ravana by splitting the earth with his mighty sword, i think it is called 'Ravana Neerootru' .
Can some one, esp lankan friends clarify these?
Raghu
Ravana got the boon from Brahma,not Shiva. He became devoitee of Shiva later.He was so arrogant that he once asked "Who is Shankara".
will tell u the story.He went to Himalayas,fought with his half-brother Kubera,abrogated the flying chariot and was returning from Himalayas.He has about to crossover Mt.Kailash.Nandi came and stopped him and asked him to around Kailash instead of above it as Lord Shiva and Parvathi were playing with each other.The arrogant Ravana cried out to Nandi - "Who is Shankara" and refused to circumbulate Kailash.He asked Nandi to ask Shiva to come to a fight with him.It was only now that Ravana shook the entire Himalayas to show his power to Lord Shiva.
Parvathi got frightened and hug Shiva saying "My Lord, the mountain is shaking". Only, then, SHiva put his toe down and this arrogant fellow could do nothing.He was in this state for so many years lifting up himalayas under weight of Shiva's toe.Then, under advice of vibishana and maricha, he prays to Lord SHiva to relieve him of the pain ask starts singing hosanas to Shiva.Only, after that the Lord lets him go with his arrogance quelled.Ravana means "one who wailed loudly" in Sanskrit.He got this name only during this incident because he wailed loudly and cried because he could not bear Shiva's toe.Only after this, Shiva granted him a boon of long life and granted some weapons to Ravana.He then proudly boasted his name was "ravana" to everyone after this incodent with Shiva.
So, the first boon was granted to him by Brahma only.
The above story, i read from Harikrishnan sir's chennaionline series.
It must be of interest to know that Valmiki does NOT portray Ravana as a Shiva bhakta. Not a single line exists in the epic to that effect, excepting for the incident of Ravana's lifting of Mount Kailash and getting stuck underneath, when he sings His praise and obtains the boon of protection from various beings, excepting humans and monkeys, and Shiva's sword, Chandrahasa.
As for Kamban, there is only one verse in the entire epic - when Ravana leaves for the last war - which says that he performed Shiva Puja.
On the contrary, there are a number of verses in Kamban, where Ravana speaks lightly of - even scoffs and mocks at - Shiva. I would be happy if someone can come up with textual evidence to the effect that Ravana was a Shiva bhakta.
Ravana was granted longevity and NOT 'amarathvam' or 'chiranjeevithvam.' If one goes to the Uttara Kanda, one can see Ravana performing penance to Brahma, asking for 'amarathvam' and Brahma denying it to him. On the other hand, Vibishana gets it unasked.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raghu
Longevity is of course too long a period of time. When Rama shot his final arrow on Ravana, Kamban says it wiped that longevity clean, making all the boons void.
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'mukkOdi vAz nAL' is a life time of 3,00,00,000 years. But nonetheless limited to that. 'amarathvam' is different. There are only seven 'chiranjeevis' or persons blessed with 'chiranjeevithvam.'
(1) Aswatthama, (2) Maha Bali, (3) Vyasa, (4) Hanuman, (5) Vibishana, (6) Kripacharya, (7) Parasurama.
I thought that Markendeyan was also a chiranjeevi.
Also, there is supposed to be a sanskrit slokam on Lord Shiva which is supposed to be very powerful.It was created by Ravana.In the north, i think there is a lake near Manasarovar lake known as Ravan's lake.The people there believe that you'll die if you drink water from it as Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva there!
You are right. On seeing your response, I verified the Abithana Chintamani. It gives two different lists of seven 'chiranjeevis.' Against the definition of the head word 'chiranjeevi,' this encylopaedia of Tamil literature gives the names of the persons that I have quoted above.Quote:
Originally Posted by viggop
However, there is an appendix by name, 'thogai'. This appendix gives details of a group/set which goes by a certain number. That is to say, what are the two eclipses, the three sastras, the three fires, the four upAyas, the five Dhevas, five Dhoopas, etc. There, while defining the Seven Chiranjeevis, the following names are found:
(1) Aswatthama, (2) Maha Bali, (3) Vyasa, (4) Hanuamn, (5) Vibishana, (6) Markandeya, and (7) Parasurama. The name of Kripacharya is absent here.
I do not remember having seen the name of Kripacharya as a Chiranjeevi in Mahabharata. What I quoted above was from memory of an earlier reference to Abitana Chintamani, some time ago. However, my reading of Kisari Mohan Ganguli's translation of Vyasa Bharata is a continuing effort. I may come across a reference to Kripacharya as a Chiranjeevi. If this is found, I will give a reference.
There are two different things. One is based on oral tradition and Sthala Puranas. The other is going strictly by what the Text (of the original author and vazi-nUl-aasiriyar/s) says.Quote:
Also, there is supposed to be a sanskrit slokam on Lord Shiva which is supposed to be very powerful.It was created by Ravana.In the north, i think there is a lake near Manasarovar lake known as Ravan's lake.The people there believe that you'll die if you drink water from it as Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva there!
The stories of Rama's worship of Shiva/Shivalinga, at places like Rameshwaram, Kumbakonam etc. are all based on oral tradition and Sthala Puranas, which do have a mark of their own in their respective places. But, these cannot go to assay any particular character. The stories of Ravana's Shiva Bhakti belong to this category. One may say that Ravana was a Shiva Bhakta, according to oral tradition or Sthala Puranas. But this cannot be considered as part of the way in which the character has been constructed by the poets. A serious study cannot admit this, without evidence from the Text.
The one quoted by you falls under this category too. There is no reference anywhere in the epic, either in Valmiki or Kamban to this effect.
This is not to deny the belief/faith in oral tradition. My observations are limited to the main core of the Text and not beyond.