Bridge Means BridGroom
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
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multiple
Lord Rama is said to have incarnated multiple times one earth in multiple treta-yugas of past maha-yugas.
Vayu Purana mentions the following :
Tretayuge chaturvinshe ravanastapasah kshayat
Ramam Dasharathim prapya saganah kshayamiyavan
Which means that Ravana met Rama, the son of Dasaratha in a battle field during treta yuga of 24th mahayuga.
Rama did not kill Ravana, just to get back his wife. Ravana was dictating terms at trade and wealth of all kingdoms on earth.
But he could not be killed easily due to his worship of Lord Siva.
So, after multiple attempts in multiple Ramayanas, the sages decided to seperate Seetha from Rama and place her in Ravana’s kingdom.
- Seetha’s weeping for one year in ravana’s place would weaken his protective layer.
- Next step was Hanuman killing some part of army and destroying Lanka’s Vaasthu by burning key places.
- Final step was done by Rama, crossing over the sea on bridge with 200 million Vanaras and killing Ravana.
Kaarmukam
Vibishana fears that this bridge built to attack Ravana’s army, might be misused by others in future to attack his kingdom. So, he wants Rama to destroy it.
Rama fires a missile named Kaarmukam and breaks the bridge into 3 pieces by striking it at 2 different points, the middle piece being 10 yojana length.
Padma Puran
Bali
After winning the war at lankA and fulfilling his objectives there, Rama is returning back to ayodhya along with his entourage by using the pushpaka vimana offered by vibhishana.
Before departing, rAma has given him instructions about conducting the lanka empire and some interesting orders to recover and restore a certain murtis of vaishnavi and of vamana which were commissioned earlier by Emperor Bali.
Padma Puran
ajagavaM
Patala Khanda also explains about Sethu being built on ocean and how Vanaras crossed over it to reach Lanka, but the method here is different.
The 116th chapter of this section is known as purAkalpIya-rAmAyaNa-kathanaM and contains Jambavanta’s narration of the Ramayana’s events.
There is strikingly unique description of the enterprise of crossing the sea by the vanara sena :
“Now, I am going to relate (to you) the efforts (made) towards crossing the sea. Then Rama said, I would worship Lord Sankara and appeal to him about our predicament, and then we shall do as guided by him. Saying this, he started praying to mahadeva. (There is a beautiful hymn at 222 sloka containing several names of maheshwara, which Rama uttered to invoke him). Mahadeva then appeared to Rama with all his attributes.
Rama saluted mahadeva with joined palms and prayed to him again in the daNDavata posture.
Parameswara then addressed Rama promising him the desired boons. Rama replied to mahAdeva: ‘O sambhu, only give us the means to cross this sea so that we may reach lankA’.
Hearing this, Sambhu (Siva) then answered: ‘This is my bow ajagavaM. It immediately takes any shape as desired (by its wielder). Take this and climbing through it you can overcome the sea and reach lankA’.
Then intent upon this course, Rama invoked that ajagavaM, and when the bow appeared, Rama worshipped it. Siva then handed it over to Rama, and he threw the bow across the ocean.
Rama, lakshmana and the entire sena of as numerous vanaras as six-parArdha fulfilled their objective (of crossing the ocean) by climbing that bow.
Seeing those vanaras approaching the shore though the bow, and alarmed by the force of the vanaras, a Rakshasa coast-guard by the name of Atikaaya immediately approached Ravana”.
Padma Puran