2 GirA GrAmya SiyA-RAma Jas (The divine glory of SitA and RAma couched in vernacular-tongue) By: Deepak Tiwari Sri RAma NavamI, 2009 e-mail: deepak.dt@gmail.com Blog: http://goswamitulsidas.sulekha.com/ 3 Acknowledgements: 1. My humble obeisance in the lotus-feet of his holiness anantshri-vibhuushit brahmaliina SwAmi HariharAnanda Saraswati (Dharma-samrATa SwAmi KarpAtri ji MahArAja), whose book namely RAmAyaNa-MimAnsA has been a guide and preceptor to me during the course of writing of this e-book. 2. My humble obeisance in the lotus-feet of his holiness anantshri-samalankrit SriLakshmaNa-QuilAdhIshwara SAketvAsi SriVaishNavAcharya SwAmi Sri SitARAmasharaNa ji MahArAja, whose marvelous literature on Srimad VAlmiki RAmAyaNa is like divine nectar for the devotees of the Lord. 3. Gita-Press, Gorakhpura, for the translations of the shlokas of Srimad Valmiki RAmAyaNa and Sri RAmacharitamAnas quoted in this e-book. 4. Sri RAmAnuja mailing-list archives which provided me some very useful information relating to the content of this e-book. 5. My friends and colleagues Mr. Nilanjan Samajhdar, Mr. Love Singhal, Mr. Naveen Arora and Mr. Tushar Sharma for proof-reading of this e-book. 6. My friend and colleague Mr. Love Singhal for providing the resources for transcoding of Sanskrit/Hindi texts. 7. Last but not the least, my friends and colleagues Mr. Nilanjan Samajhdar, Mr. Anuj Mohan, Mr. Tushar Sharma and Mr. Nimish Agarwal for their provoking me into an argument on RAmAyaNa and thus providing an inspiration for me to write this e-book 4 C O N T E N T S Introduction 10 The Myth of Aryan Invasion 17 Unsurpassable authority of Apaurusheya Vedas & consequently of VedAvatAra Srimad VAlmiki RAmAyaNa 24 RAma is parabrahm evidence from different shastras 34 A glimpse of RAma-Charitra 42 Historicity of RAma 74 MaryAdA Purushhottama the real meaning of it 81 JAnaki-pati madhura-muurati 95 Yeh priya sabanhin jahAn lagi prANi -RAma, the beloved of all beings 101 Tehi kArana KaruNAnidhi kahe kachhuka durbAda-The Fire-ordeal episode 131 Exile of Bhagwati SitA -Pranavaun pura nara-nAri bahori 141 Tulasi-Dal -few talks on GoswAmi TulsidAsa 175 Conclusion 192 5 7| PB R( Hl l6l BTP 4 BTP 7| PB R( Hl l6l BTP 4 BTP 6 (976 lP 7BP BU PP 6 (976 lP 7BP BU PP The position of the Sun and the Moon, the zodiacal sign into which the sun had entered, the position of the seven other planets, the day of the week as well as the day of the lunar month, all these turned out to be propitious. And full of delight was all creation, animate and inanimate; for the birth of Sri RAma is the very source of joy!! [RCM bAla-kAnda DohA-190] PB B~|9 BHl T 7( 6( (l( PB B~|9 BHl T 7( 6( (l( BlB BlB BTP 6B4 l 7l4 6PlB(lB T 1B BTP 6B4 l 7l4 6PlB(lB T 1B All (the people of AyodhyA) were satisfied in their heart and invoked blessings here and there, saying, May all the sons of Dashratha live long, those Lord of TulasidAsa! [RCM bAla-kAnda DohA-190] 6 ~lP( lPlB7ll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlB7ll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlBll4 TTPP| BP ~lP( lPlBll4 TTPP| BP Bl6llP Bl6llP ~lP( 7lBTl4| l47466lP

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~lP( |~l ~lP( |~l Pl 6PBl(lB TTPP| BP Pl 6PBl(lB TTPP| BP ll ll- -RlF lB4 RlF lB4- -lP 7B lP 7B G Gi ir rA A- -G Gr ra am my ya a- -S Si iy yA AR RA Am ma a- -J Ja as s lPlllP B4BlllP 4BlllP 4(BlllP B4lllP B(lllP 4 (5( (lHl lP I adore the RAma, who delights the delight itself, who is delightful to the eyes, who delights and enchants with His speech, whose divine body is so very delightful and enchanting, who is forever and always delightful, whose everything is delightful and who is all in all delight personified; I adore, that very RAma, the beloved son of King Dasharatha 7 4 ( l4((6B4l 9( 977lT TH| -Bl-BPl6-4|l-l (~ l46l9PlBH PlB -( B-B7 BlBBllP 9l9l6-9l-9P I adore Bhagwati SitA, the divine fragrance of whose lotus-feet encaptures the minds of even great Yogis; whom, a great many divine sages forever continually serve, to eliminate their three-way sorrows of the worldly ocean and who is like a golden yellowish nectar for the hearts of noble persons; I adore that very SitA, the daughter of King Videha, who is forever youthful; Bl4BlB4~ Pl^4TH l(6P

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That same Brahma, the very import of Vedas, who is without a parallel, has personified itself in two divine formsSitA, who is all and all beauty personified and RAma, who is personification of MAdhurya (virtue of divine sweetness); these two, although stated to be different, are in essence one and same. The real identity and the essence of SitA and RAma are replete with mysteries and are to be known through Vedas and other Vedic scriptures; I adore the Lotus-feet of this divine couple, which is forever being serviced by noble saints with devoted minds 6PBl -PB-Pl l4(ll 4^H -TPl (Four darlings of Dashrath, they who play in the heart-temple of TulasidAsa) 8 6B Tl ]l6 lP B|6( P|B T7 Tl P7P6l1 ( l6 B( B|(6 ^l BlH l B Tl l ^ (PT ( l64l ]l6 (llPlB l lTPT TP HlP-lHB|( T 4^B T HlPT ll B(l 6PBl -PB-Pl( P lH( The effulgence of His body resembles a bluish-black lotus; and His eyes rob the lotus of its beauty. With His body besmirched all over with dust, He is the most handsome to look at, putting even the great charm of cupid far behind. His little teeth are shining as though a lightening streak; every now and then He makes childish-cries and is thus engrossed in such childish plays! The four darling sons of King Dashratha forever play in the heart-temple of this TulsidAs. TH BlB Pl6 l T TH l6lHF lB(ll 7 TH T6lP H7lT Bl6 Pl6 BH PB P|( TH llB T( (lT 9lB P6 B|1 7l( Pll 4^B T HlPT ll B(l 6PBl -PB-Pl( P lH( He (child RAma) would now persistently seek for the moon and now be frightened to behold His own reflection! He would now dance clapping both His palms, which fills the heart of His mothers with joy, and now be obstinate with resentment and takes that only for which He persists! These four darling sons of King Dashratha forever play in the heart-temple of this TulsidAs. H (6 Tl 9l6 T( -TPl ^l^-94 U|PB Tl 9Pl PT B Hl 7 BlH P|l6B PlP P|PB Tl ll P PT PU 39 T7P P|P T9|PB Tl B4Bl4l lB T 6PBl HlP 7l3 PPl B H|PB Tl Oh! On these pair of rows of small pearly teeth glowing as a freshly blossomed Jasmine flowerbed! Oh! What to say of the way of opening of these two delicate petals of the coral-red lips of Yours, resembling a bimba fruit!! On the beauty of these priceless muktA-maNi-bedecked resplendent necklaces, adorning Your dark-blue complexioned breast, resembling the charm of a lustrous lightening bolt in the midst of a dark rainy-cloud!! On these jet-black tresses of curly hair surrounding Your face! On the charm of Your glossy cheeks resembling a polished mirror, adorned by the resplendence of Your golden ear lobes; Oh! Rama lalA! this TulsidAsa sacrifices his very life-breath itself over this sweet lisping prattle of Yours!! [KavitAwali] 9 ' 'P4l(l P4l(l - -969|P ( lP 969|P ( lP ! ! 6R 7 B PlBl

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T(| ` 4 94 Tl 9(-(l, Pl -(4 (9 B 6l ( , 9B B BH^ T| l Tl P4l(l T|1 T(6l ( ` 4 B (l 4l~~ lB4l Tl T Bl B9P P6l ( ! 4 ((l -lB(T 7l-7B| 9 T Bl lT PP6l ( !! 5 BPlB 9l6B Tl TT , P4l(l B1 lBUl (6 , , 34-P7 lB7 P^ -l6 B B( B6 HBl (6 BP-l6 ( , BP-~l4, BP P^6P BlP ( , l44B -9l6 7(lH, lT6 BT|l P l P ( 6 10 INTRODUCTION TlPPP RB ^P BH _ 9 B(R ( l lB7 Pl6 Tl~ Tl lT9 H 9 Every virtue have been engulfed by the sins of Kaliyug; all good books have disappeared; imposters have promulgated a number of creeds which they have invented out of their own wit. [RCM Uttar-Kand 97] Childhood memories a phrase which triggers in us a mix of feelings and emotionsof unbounded fun, of bliss, of life free of all worries and above all, of a pure sense of nostalgia!! My childhood memories also are replete with similar experiences. But above all are those extraordinary experiences, over the span of nine days, of RAmalilA, the annual reenactment of the RAmAyaNa story culminating in the bright half of the month of Ashvin (around October/ November), with Vijaydashami (Dusshera). I still remember how sometimes I used to get so much absorbed while watching RAmalilA; for those moments the sharp contours of the mundane seemed to dissolve into transparency, as if I was transported to some different plane of realm altogether. RAmalilA is an activity with both external and internal dimensions. Linda Hess, a research fellow, who as a part of a research team attended the famous RAmalilA of Ramnagar, Banares regularly for two years, has described this experience in following words To be vigorously and devotedly involved in the Ram Lila for one month1 is to take an excursion out of ordinary space and time The participant not only sees the drama, but finds himself acting in it. A vast world is created before and around him. Performance after performance this world is built physically and psychologically. The devotee's days are curved around the necessity of being there. . . . The tawdry samsara (world) of ordinary life pales while the Ram LilA world becomes ever more vivid, brilliant and gripping. 1 Reference here is to RAmanagar RAmalilA which is enacted for the duration of one month 11 Quite similar are my own experiences of childhood, with regards to those nine days (navrAtras) of RAmalilA every year, spent in relishing the enactment of RAmalilA; At times though it was only a casual involvement with my friend-circle taking priority over watching the play; yet even to this day reminiscence of those moments overwhelms me with nostalgia. Until few years back, I used to think of those childhood days as my first introduction with RAma, the Lord of AyodhyA; but now I realize I was wrong, for now it seems not the association of this birth, but that of eternity; as mentioned by GoswAmiji 6PBl 6|B| lPB| Tg B1 B 7lB-9l(llB [Vinay-PatrikA 193] TulsidAsa, this association of yours with RAma is not a recent one!! I consider myself as really fortunate one that I can boost of cherishing those childhood memories in my heart which are mingled thoroughly with RAma, which constitute the supreme treasure for me. This should not be taken in a sense to imply that I am a true devotee of RAma in any manner. Leave alone the talk of being a true devotee; I dont consider myself as yet even a true human being. If a poor person somehow gets a lottery of 1 billion bucks then it is not his greatness in his being a billionaire; but its purely his good luck alone. Similarly I consider it my supreme fortune only that I have something, even if these be memories, which I can associate with RAmachandra, the Lord of the Raghus! But not everyone is fortunate like me and neither has everyone realized his eternal association with RAma. People, including me, are blindly running after the false mirage of petty worldly goals without realizing that their life is simply slipping through their hands day by day, hour by hour and even second by second! For the last few years, in our locality, during RAmalila days, the famous television serial "RAmayaNa" of Sri RAmanand Sagar is shown on a big screen, instead of that traditional staging of RAmalilA. There is huge audience every year despite of the fact that people have already watched it so many times. Last year one local MLA was invited as chief guest, and although he didn't have even one percent of the understanding of RAma or RAmayan but still he came just for the sake of maintaining public relations, and disturbed the people who were engrossed in watching the epic; and then as if performing a ritual, gave a short speech on RAma and his ideals: "RAmAyan teaches us this and that...RAmAyan symbolizes the victory of good over evil......RAma was an ideal son.....an ideal brother.....RAma was MaryAdA-Purushottam" and so on. It seemed as if some student is participating in some essay competition! All nice things which are perfectly correct but one most important thing was missing and that wasdevotion and sincerity! As I was wondering thus, somehow tears welled up in my eyes seeing such ignorance of a fellow BhAratvAsi; that very BhAratbhoomi, I wondered, which was once blessed by the divine touch of the Lotus-feet of 12 Sri RAghavendra and Sri Maithilly. How can one be so ignorant of RAmayana especially if one is a BhAratvAsi? And this is not just the tale of that MLA alone, in general the people today just have only a very-very basic idea of the story of Ramayana; they may be knowing that yes there was that prince, a scion of a royal family who spent 14 hard years of exile in forest, just to obey His fathers words given to His step-mother, but they neither have heart nor time to appreciate what it means. What does it really feel like when one day you are told that you are going to be a king and the very next day you are told that now you have to live in a dreaded forest for 14 long years and still cheerfully accept it without even asking why? The only reason for this indifference is that people have no attachment with RAma and SitA, although they may be having a deep attachment towards their spouse, their kids, their home and what not, even towards their pets!! Most of the good hearted and pious people go to temples and worship the Lord and seek various worldly things from him, which is also correct to some extent, but there are very few fortunate souls who instead of seeking "FROM" Him, seek the merciful Lord Himself.... many customers are there for the worldly wealth and pleasures bestowed BY RAma, but very few, of the RAma Himself! This is the state of those who are believers. Worse still, there are many people today, who, although are Hindu just for the namesake, criticize our Epics and our deities. There also, RAmayan being the most popular Epic of the Hindus, the misguided people, dont loose even the slightest of opportunity to criticize RAma and RAmayan. Also a major portion of the female section of our society does not possess a very good image of Lord RAma as a loving Husband. Most of them, although they do not speak it out, harbour bad feelings for RAma, the Husband. Whereas some of them are very vocal in their criticism of RAma, on the issue of agni-pareeksha and the abandonment of Bhagwati SitA. And the most unfortunate thing is that they do so without even having done a thorough reading of Srimad RAmayan themselves. Most of our young generation, especially the modern educated, IT-savvy professionals of todays progressive (really?) India are completely oblivious towards our rich scriptural heritage. They are going farther and farther away from Hindu philosophy and scriptures which is not a good sign for our country and our culture. People have become so ignorant towards our SanAtan Dharma that they very casually crack jokes on our glorious deities without thinking the least. Boys and Girls in colleges as well as in professional arena also make fun of divine characters of Srimad RAmayan and Sri MahabhArat, totally ignorant of what they are doing. And everyone swallows it without questioning or checking it. 13 In certain TV comedy shows, such bad comedy is presented to the viewers, which either maligns religious characters or is so much uncensored that one cannot watch these shows sitting with their family members. One TV reality show depicted a dancer in the attire of Bhagvati SitA dancing with another dancer in the attire of RAvan!! See, to what great levels we have elevated ourselves!! News channels are also doing their best effort in murdering the soul of India, its cultural values, and its philosophy. So called intellectuals (read fools), these boys, moustached babies, debating their brains out to tarnish our epics! Least ashamed, they very enthusiastically indulge in such blasphemy! These irreverent boys, intellectuals and actors, simply because they can blabber few sentences and get some foolish TV channel to telecast it for them, think that they are the educators of the world! How true to import are the following words of GoswAmijis in this regard PB 4P HB PHl 6 HT6l TlPTlP P They alone who are babblers in thought, word and deed are regarded as orators in Kaliyuga (the age of Kali)!! [RCM Uttar-Kand 18] Debates on such topics as live-in relationships, Gay-marriages, Ravan, the Hero or Ravan, was he really a villain? are very common these days on news channels!! This BhArat-bhoomi where once the Vedic-hymns were chanted, where scholars (in real sense) of pure intellect, keeping distance from the worldly pleasures, used to debate over philosophical matters, the nature of Brahm, jeeva and prakriti. Where the saintly people and also public in general used to fondly listen to the oldest yet ever-fresh tale of RAma and SitA or the tale of RadhA and Krishna, in that very BhArat-bhoomi people now drunk in the passion of their youth, mesmerized and blinded by the false illusory charisma of western culture of discos, late-night club parties, pubs and bars feel shy in uttering the holy names such as RAma, SitA, Krishna, RadhA, Shiv from their mouths; discussing something about religious matters seems to be taboo in their views; Religion is just a bundle of superstitions for them!! Poisonous seeds are being planted in tender unsuspecting minds of our young generation by using a heap of bad literature written with an intent to malign our Hindu deities and culture. There are hundreds of sites on the Internet spreading this poison in the minds of modern boys and girls. These sites either provide totally false information with regards to our epics or present the incomplete facts in such a manner as to paint an ugly and degraded image of our most magnanimous SanAtan Dharma in the minds of unsuspecting public. 14 These are days, when Hinduism or SanAtan Dharma, the most ancient religion in the world and a religion vitally connected with the life of the people all over the world, is fast disintegrating and threatening us with its total disappearance. It behooves one and all of us that belong to the great religion, to be completely united and find ways and means to save it from the impending peril. I am not a writer at all, but still reading some of these sort of articles related to RAmayan on Internet, written in bad taste, and after having some arguments with some of my close friends over certain incidents of RAmayan, I was really perturbed that how much hatred now-a-days is being spread specially among the younger generation, who havent themselves read Srimad RAmayan and thus can very easily make their opinion based on this false propaganda and who might then themselves start denigrating our deities and culture. With this thing in mind, I have dared to do my bit however small it might be. Following is the overall layout of this book Chapter-1, briefly touches upon the famous, rather infamous Aryan-invasion theory, postulated by Western philosophers/scholars. The reason for starting this e-book with this topic is to provide the reader a right perspective to view and interpret our scriptures and epics in a better way, as also to caution him not to blindly accept as final, the views of western intellectuals in regards to their judgement of our scriptures and epics. Chapter-2, explains the concept of Apaurusheyatva (authored by none) in SanAtan Dharma; thereby explaining for the ultimate unsurpassable authority of Apaurusheya Vedas and consequently of VedAvatAra Srimad VAlmiki RAmAyan. This chapter seeks to establish the base (i.e authority and authenticity of Srimad Valmiki RAmayan) in which the later portion of this e-book is rooted. Chapter-3, talks of RAma as paripoorNatam parAtpar brahm, renowned and celebrated in Vedas as Veda-Purusha, Purushottam. Chapter-4, provides just a glimpse of that uncomparable personality which is renowned in the whole world as RAma. Chapter-5, takes up the topic of Historicity of Lord RAmachandra, for those people who think of Him as just a mythological figure with no real existence. Chapter-6 and 7 implores the reason as to why is Lord RAmachandra known as MaryAdA-Purushottam. In what real sense is He adorned with the title of MaryAdA-Purushottam? First chapter describes His loka-mangala swaroop (personality beneficent and auspicious for the general public) which is as a protector of Dharma-setu (bridge of righteousness), while the next chapter tries to depict the unfathomable love and affection that exists between the divine couple, i.e. RAma and SitA. These chapters seek to appreciate the 15 sweet harmony and balance between two seemingly opposite pairs, which is found throughout the whole life of Lord RAmachandra and Devi SitA. Chapter-8, discusses the all-loving nature of RAmas personality; RAma, who is the most celebrated and adored personality till date in the whole history of mankind, the prince charming of AyodhyA, the darling of all beings animate or inanimate, animals, beasts and even demons! Chapter-9, takes up the much-debated fire-ordeal episode of RAmAyaNa. Chapter-10, discusses the reasons and circumstances due to which Lord RAmachandra had to part with His beloved queen SitA. Finally Chapter-11 serves as Tulsi-dal (Basil leaves) in this book; As any offering to the Lord is considered as incomplete, unless and until Tulsi-leaves are included in it; similarly this offering of mine in the form of words and sentences would remain incomplete without a brief talk on GoswAmi TulsidAs, one of the greatest devotees of Lord RAmachandra. The only aim with which I have written this e-book is to cast away some of the very basic doubts, any tint of blemishes, which the reader might be harbouring in his mind regarding Srimad RAmAyan. Although I am in no way a scholar of RAmayan but still to do my bit I think it is my duty to present for the benefit of innocent readers (who might be prospective devotees!!) whatever little information I have, with whatever little intellect, I possess. For this reason the drafting of this article may be little poor and further, sometimes for correctly putting my thoughts in words, some redundancies and repetitions might have been introduced. I have just poured all the thoughts, which came to my mind in a very vague manner. The demerits in this article are due to my limited capacity of expression, please excuse me for that and ignoring the outwardly language specific aspects, kindly take the essence of it. I also urge the reader to please read this article leaving out any pre-assumptions and false pride. Please read it with a calm and clear mind. It is not always good to get driven by our sharp brains blindly so that we may never accept any good things. Many times our unclear mind already has its premonitions due to which it always tries to indulge in bad arguing. Therefore I request the sensible reader to first read it once, just give it a thought and then judge on his own. I have written this e-book engrossed in a state of deep emotions and from the very depth of my heart. Therefore I urge to the compassionate self of the reader to read it in the similar manner! 16 Finally I request the knowledgeable readers and other devotees of the Lord to kindly ignore my mistakes. To put it in words of GoswAmi TulsidAsji BlP(l( B=B P| l7l1 BlB(l( HlP-HB PB Pl1 7l HlPT T( 6|6l Hl6l BBl( Pl(6 PB l96 6 Pl6l The virtuous will forgive my presumption and listen to my childish babbling with interest. When a child prattles in lisping accents, the parents hear it with a mind full of delight [RCM Balkand dohA-7] lP Bl 94 lHB( l6 B( Tl( BH 9lB ll RlF lB4 lP 7B l4l( BBl( B7lB The milk of even a dark cow is white and possesses a great medicinal value and is drunk by all. So do the wise chant and hear the glory of SitA and Rama even though couched in the vulgar tongue. [RCM Balkand doha-10(b)] 17 THE MYTH OF ARYAN INVASION l7 T6 P(lP|( P( 9lBl l6 T T(l Tl Bl( TlBl Those who are delirious or mad, those who are possessed and those who are inebriated do not talk sense. None should give ear to the ravings of those who have drunk the wine of infatuation [RCM 1-114] [Courtesy: The later part of this section is quoted form the book titled Western Indologists: A Study in Motives By Purohit Bhagavan Dutt (with minor additions by authors of "Review of Beef in Ancient India")] The British ruled India, as they did other lands, by a divide-and-conquer strategy. They promoted religious, ethnic and cultural divisions among their colonies to keep them under control. Unfortunately some of these policies also entered into the intellectual realm. The same simplistic and divisive ideas that were used for interpreting the culture and history of India. Regrettably many Hindus have come to believe these ideas, even though a deeper examination reveals they have no real objective or scientific basis. One of these ideas is that India is a land of two races - the lighter- skinned Aryans and the darker-skinned Dravidians - and that the Dravidians were the original inhabitants of India whom the invading Aryans conquered and dominated. From this came the additional idea that much of what we call Hindu culture was in fact Dravidian, and later borrowed by Aryans who, however, never gave the Dravidians proper credit for it. This idea has been used to turn the people of south India against the people of north India, as if the southerners were a different race. Also some western scholars dismissed RAmAyan as a mere war of North Indian Aryan race with the South Indian Dravidian race. This idea also helped to spread hatred among some sections of South Indians for RAmAyan and its Hero, RAma and SitA. Perhaps the saddest thing is that modern Indian politicians have also used this division to promote their own ambitions resulting in Dravidian parties being setup in southern states, though it is harmful to the unity of the country. And now today, long after the advent of these parties, when it has been discovered that this whole propaganda of Aryan invasion theory (and consequently the idea of RAmayan being just a tale of Aryan-Dravidian war) is baseless, even 18 westerners who earlier postulated this theory are now rejecting it, still these parties are continuing their hatred game, its latest example being KarunA-anidhi, with his unsolicited remarks on Lord RAma. The Aryan invasion theory has been a basis and justification of Western interpretation upon the civilisation and history of India. Although many Indologists within India have been influenced by such thought, the theory has not met majority acceptance within India and is even coming under attack in the West. Even Western scholars are now beginning to reject the Aryan invasion or any outside origin for Hindu civilization. David Frawley, one Sanskrit scholar recognized both inside as well as outside of India has assessed the current situation of the Aryan invasion theory thus: "One of the main ideas used to interpret - and generally devalue the ancient history of India is the theory of the Aryan invasion. According to this account, India was invaded and conquered by nomadic light-skinned Indo-European tribes from Central Asia around 1500-100 BC, who overthrew an earlier and more advanced dark-skinned Dravidian civilization from which they took most of what later became Hindu culture ... This idea- totally foreign to the history of India, whether North or South, has become an almost unquestioned truth in the interpretation of ancient history today. Today, after nearly all the reasons for its supposed validity have been refuted, even major Western scholars are at last beginning to call it into question." (David Frawley, "The Myth of the Aryan Invasion) One main reason that the theory has been called into question is that there is no primary evidence. No monuments to any Heros of such invasions have been excavated, no related cemeteries unearthed, no battlefields identified in relation to the theory, no forts, in short- nothing in the way of physical evidence. There is a host of other incongruencies, but this is the general idea. What Western scholars have relied upon to substantiate the theory is etymology. They trace linguistic patterns, encompassing the East and West, and then by implication pinpoint a central geographic area, which then serves as a common point of origin of the Indo-European language and race. This point, being basically the Caucasians and mountainous regions of Persia, is of course, outside of India, such that the existence of the Aryan race in Northern India is attributed to an invasion, and such is the flimsy explanation they offer for the Caucasian presence in India. It has often been pointed out that few other principal theories have ever been accepted based on such indirect, flimsy evidence. When something ends up being so rigidly imposed with such little basis, a reasonable mind will look for other motives. Again we may rely on the broad understanding of David Frawley: "It is important to examine the social and political implications of the Aryan invasion idea: 19 (a) First, it served to divide India into a northern Aryan and southern Dravidian culture, which were made hostile to each other. This kept the Hindus divided and is still a source of social tension. (b) Second, it gave the British an excuse in their conquest of India. They could claim to be doing only what the Aryan ancestors of the Hindus had previously done millennia ago. (c) Third, it served to make Vedic culture later than and possibly derived from Middle Eastern cultures. With the proximity and relationship of the latter with the Bible and Christianity, this kept the Hindu religion as a sidelight to the development of religion and civilization to the West. (d) Fourth, it allowed the sciences of India to be given a Greek basis, as any Vedic basis was largely disqualified by the primitive nature of the Vedic culture. This discredited not only the 'Vedas' but the genealogies of the 'Puranas' and their long list of the kings before the Buddha or Krishna were left without any historical basis. The 'Mahabharata', instead of a civil war in which all the main kings of India participated as it is described, became a local skirmish among petty princes that was later exaggerated by poets. In short, it discredited the most of the Hindu tradition and almost all its ancient literature. It turned its scriptures and sages into fantasies and exaggerations. This served a social, political and economical purpose of domination, proving the superiority of Western culture and religion. It made the Hindus feel that their culture was not the great thing that their sages and ancestors had said it was. It made Hindus feel ashamed of their culture - that its basis was neither historical nor scientific. It made them feel that the main line of civilization was developed first in the Middle East and then in Europe and that the culture of India was peripheral and secondary to the real development of world culture. Such a view is not good scholarship or archeology but merely cultural imperialism. The Western Vedic scholars did in the intellectual sphere what the British army did in the political realm - discredit, divide and conquer the Hindus. In short, the compelling reasons for the Aryan invasion theory were neither literary nor archeological but political and religious - that is to say, not scholarship but prejudice. Such prejudice may not have been intentional but deep-seated political and religious views easily cloud and blur our thinking. It is unfortunate that this approach has not been questioned, more, particularly by Hindus. Even though Indian Vedic scholars like Dayananda saraswati, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Arobindo rejected it, most Hindus today passively accept it. They allow Western, generally Christian, scholars to interpret their history for them and quite naturally Hinduism is kept in a reduced role. Many Hindus still accept, read or even honor the translations of the 'Vedas' done by such Christian missionary scholars as Max Muller, 20 Griffith, MonierWilliams and H. H. Wilson. Would modern Christians accept an interpretation of the Bible or Biblical history done by Hindus aimed at converting them to Hinduism? Universities in India also use the Western history books and Western Vedic translations that propound such views that denigrate their own culture and country. The modern Western academic world is sensitive to criticisms of cultural and social biases. For scholars to take a stand against this biased interpretation of the 'Vedas' would indeed cause a reexamination of many of these historical ideas that can not stand objective scrutiny. But if Hindu scholars are silent or passively accept the misinterpretation of their own culture, it will undoubtedly continue, but they will have no one to blame but themselves. It is not an issue to be taken lightly, because how a culture is defined historically creates the perspective from which it is viewed in the modern social and intellectual context. Tolerance is not in allowing a false view of one's own culture and religion to be propagated without question. That is merely self-betrayal." The readers might want to conclude, as more and more academians are, that whole of this Aryan Invasion theory is nothing but a bundle of falsehood and just a trick of British to divide and eliminate the Hindu Vedic culture. Interest of Europeans in Bharatavarsha and its ancient literature Macaulay, a historian and a politician, and a staunch protagonist of English education in India had made clear his approach to spread English language as well as culture in India, in his historical speech in the British Parliament (February 1835), commonly referred to as The Minutes; his words were to this effect: I feel with them that it is impossible for us, with our limited means, to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, -a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation." Even Max Mller, himself famous for his admiration for India has written in his autobiography: 21 "Large number of Vedic hymns are childish in the extreme; tedious, low, commonplace 'Chips from a German Workshop', second edition, 1866, p. 27. "Nay, they (the Vedas) contain, by the side of simple, natural, childish thoughts, many ideas which to us sound modern, or secondary and tertiary." 'India, What can it teach us, Lecture IV, p. 118, 1882 Personal letters give a true picture of the writer's inner mind. Such letters are very helpful in estimating his real nature and character. Fortunately, a collection called the 'Life and Letters of Frederick Max Mller' has been published in two volumes. A few extracts from those letters would suffice to expose the mind of the man who is held in great esteem in the West for his Sanskrit leaning and impartial judgment. (a) In a letter of 1866 A.D. (1923 V.) he writes to his wife: 'This edition of mine and the translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India, ...it is the root of their religion and to show them what the root is, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has spring from it during the last three thousand years.' (Vol. 1, Ch. XV, page 346). (b) Max Muller grew so insolent and audacious that he started to challenge Indians in a direct foolhardy manner. It is clear from a letter written by him to N.K. Majumdar: 'Tell me some of your chief difficulties that prevent you and your countrymen from openly following Christ, and when I write to you I shall do my best to explain how I and many who agree with me have met them and solved them... From my point of view, India, at least the best part of it, is already converted to Christianity. You want no persuasion to become a follower of Christ. Then make up your mind to work on yourself. Unite your flock - to hold them together and prevent them from straying. The bridge has been built for you by those who came before you. STEP BOLDLY FORWARD, it will break under you, and you will find many friends to welcome you on the other shore and among them none more delighted that your old friend and fellow labourer F. Max Muller.' (Vol. II, Ch. XXXIV, pages 415-416.) Herein Max Muller claims to know 'the true historical value' of Vedic religion, but our history is going to expose the hollowness of the learning and scholarship which he and his colleagues boast of possessing. Such blasphemous reviling of the most ancient and highly scientific scripture of the world can come only from word of the mouth of a bigoted (not an honest) Christian, a low pagan or an impious atheist. This also reveals the evil designs of western thinkers and intellectuals. Under the garb of translation of Indian Vedic scriptures and their lengthy commentaries on these scriptures, this is their only crooked hidden motive. 22 If Bharatiya culture could extract occasional praise from the pen of a bigoted man like Max Muller, it was only due to its unrivaled greatness and superiority. Therefore we are justified in drawing the conclusion that all these so called scholarly books which are claimed by their respective authors to be written for the quest of knowledge, were written with the sole object of promoting Christianity and ousting Hinduism. Inspite of this some of our Indian Sanskrit scholars call these Europeans scholars, unbiased students of Sanskrit literature, whose sole aim has been to acquire knowledge for its own sake. Whereas the truth is that they were just a coterie of mischievous propagandists masquerading under the garb of 'scientific' scholars McCaulay did not know even one Indian language but he commented on all Eastern wisdom, James Mill never visited India but he wrote on Indian history. None of the foreign Indologists like Max Muller, Winternitz and Griffith had any knowledge of Vedic grammar, astronomy, metre (chhand) etc but they all translated Vedas and assumed the status of authorities. Prof. McKenzie, of Bombay finds the ethics of India defective, illogical and anti-social, lacking any philosophical foundation, nullified by abhorrent ideas of asceticism and ritual and altogether inferior to the 'higher spirituality' of Europe. Remarks like those of McKenzie on the ethics of a country from whose Brahmanas the whole world learnt its morality and rules of conduct (Manusmriti) are nothing short of blasphemy and national insult. The irony of the situation is that, instead of being condemned such persons receive recognition and honour from our educationists and political leaders. It is a matter of serious mistake on the part of a Government which is anxious to win the friendship and sympathy of Bharat to allow such heinous type of literature as Ripley's to be published. And again, it is a matter of regret that such books, whether published in India or abroad, are not taken notice of by our politicians and have not been banned by our National Government. Not only is our Government indifferent to the interdiction of such slanderous literature, but even our Universities not only prescribe but recommend for higher study books on Bharatiya history and culture written by foreign scholars who lose no opportunity of maligning our civilisation openly or in a very subtle way We have sufficiently exposed the mentality of this type of Western scholars. They received enormous financial aid from their Governments and also from the British Government in India, which they freely used in writing articles, pamphlets and books propagating their reactionary views in a very subtle and disguised manner. It was their careful endeavour not to give themselves away and to mislead the world and the people of Bharatavarsha under the cloak of scholarship and impartiality. 23 Conclusion In short, the foregoing pages make it clear that it was this Christian and Judaic prejudice which: (a) ...did not allow the real dates of ancient Bharatiya history to be accepted by the occidental scholars, who were always reluctant to give the Vedas a higher antiquity than the earliest portion of the Old Testament and place them beyond 2500 B.C.55 (b) ...gave rise to the two interrelated diseases of Western Indologists; firstly the disease of myth, mythical and mythology, according to which Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, Parvat, Narada, Kashyapa, Pururavas, Vasishta and a host of other ancient sages have been declared as mythical. Nobody ever tried to understand their true historical character apprehending that the dates of Bharatiya history would go to very ancient periods; and secondly, as a corollary to the above, the disease of 'attribution' and 'ascription', under which the works of these and other sages have been declared to be written by some very late anonymous persons who are said to have ascribed or attributed them to those 'mythical' sages. (c) ...brought to the fore-front, the most fanciful and groundless theory of the migration of the Aryans into India, according to which the very existence of Manu, the first Crowned King of Bharat, Egypt etc., Ikshvaku, Manu's glorious son; Bharata Chakravarti, the glorious son of Shakuntala; Bhagiratha, who changed the course of the Ganga; Sri RAmachanrda, the son of Dasharatha and a number of other kings is being totally denied. (d) ...was responsible for the altogether wrong translations of Vaidika (Vedic) works, and misrepresentation of the Vaidika culture. (e) ...did not allow the acceptance of Sanskrit, as being the mother language of at least the Indo-European group; as at first very ably propounded by Franz Bopp, and often mentioned by ancient Indian authors. We are not sorry for all this, for, nothing better could be expected from such biased foreign pioneers of Sanskrit studies. With these brief remarks we earnestly pray that the light of truth may dawn on every thinking and learned man of Bharatavarsha, so that in these days of political and individual freedom he may shake off the yoke of intellectual slavery of the West." (Pt. Bhagavan Dutt. A Review Of "Beef In Ancient India", pages 17-38.) 24 UNSURPASABLE AUTHORITY OF APAURUSHEYA VEDAS AND VEDAVATAR SRIMAD VALMIKI RAMAYAN H3 ll3 H( 4 Hl ll^ H|l(6 BlB l7l( B B9B U( HB6 H lHB( 7B I reverence, all the four Vedas, barks as it were on the ocean of mundane existence, which never dream of weariness in singing the untarnished glory of Sri Raghuvar, the best among the Raghus! [RCM 1-14] [Courtesy: In this passage I have taken certain excerpts from the article VedAapaurusheyatva written by Prof. D. Prahladachar, and some other from Sri RAmAnuja Bhakti-mailing list archives.] Vedas are eternal and Apaurusheya (9l694 ) The wise ancients of this country considered knowledge as the most precious thing in the life of a human being, for if there is anything that can free a human from the cycle of births and deaths, and the endless suffering this entails, it is knowledge. It is precisely for the reason that knowledge has been given the most venerable place among the most valued goals of human life, that the Vedas have, through the ages, been held in high esteem as the most sacred literature of this land. Vedas are the eternal 'Books of Knowledge'. As a matter of fact, the very word Veda is derived from the linguistic root vid meaning to know, indicating that the name Veda given to the text is very appropriate as it is a [unique] means of knowledge. Knowledge by itself is always eternal. Creation presupposes existence of prior knowledge. So knowledge was always there, and then came the creation. But then the question arises: what guarantee is there that the cognition derived from the Veda constitutes knowledge rather than delusion? As a matter of fact, this is the allegation made by the avaidika darshanasthat the cognition obtained from the Vedas is liable to be in error, and hence cannot be accepted as true knowledge. 25 However, the Vedic tradition has an answer, the likes of which are unseen in any religious discourse elsewhere in the world, to this question. The traditional argument is thus: Since the Vedas are apauruseyaPurusha means man, Paurusheya means composed by man and Apaurusheya means not composed by man that is without authorship (human or divine or of God himself)the tradition claims that there is no possibility of defects either in the words or the sentences of the Vedic texts, or in the thought content intended to be conveyed by the Vedas. Vedas are 'Apaurusheya'. This designation implies that the words, their order, their accents, the relationships between the words and their meanings and their mutual relationships are eternal and uncreated. Vedas are also called as Shruti. Shruti is that which is heard, again implying that they are something, which were 'revealed'. No one ever arrogates personal doership for these divine scriptures. There are Rishis for various mantras, who were instrumental with their austerities & dedication in seeing these mantras. The word Rishis itself means 'Mantra-drashta', see-er of a mantra. Earlier when paper or even palm leaves were not discovered or were in vogue, this knowledge was passed on to the next generation by word of mouth. The teachers revealed and the students heard them. So name 'Shruti' was justified this way too. There is a great tradition where the chanting & learning of these mantras is perfected to unbelievable limits. There is no possibility of error of even half an alphabet etc. There are pundits who are taught to chant these mantras even backwards. A whole science of phonetics has been developed for this work. Since they are called "Apaurusheya" it follows that even the seers could not have created them. If the seers composed them, they (the latter) would be called "Mantra-kartA (P-T6l )" which means "those who 'created' the Mantras". But as a matter of fact, the rshis are called "Mantra-drastA (P-I9l)", those who "saw" them. The Rshis were literally See-ers of the mantras (mantra-drashta is the dictionary definition of rshi) not the authors. When we say that Columbus discovered America, we do not mean that he created the continent: we mean that he merely made the continent known to the world. In the same way the laws attributed to Newton, Einstein and so on were not created by them. If an object thrown up falls to earth it is not because Newton said so. Scientists like Newton perceived the laws of Nature and revealed them to the world. Similarly, the seers discovered the Mantras and made a gift of them to the world. These Mantras had existed before the time of their fathers, grand fathers, great grand fathers; but they had remained unknown to the world. The seers now made them known to the mankind. Therefore if the names of certain Rishis are attached to certain mantras, it only means that Rishi was the first to see it. You can infer nothing about a mantra from the personality, history etc. of its seer. This reasoning by the adherents of the Vedic tradition has not been left unchallenged, as is well known. Apart from the Buddhists and the Jains who 26 proclaimed skepticism about the validity of the Vedas, even those, such as the NyAya-Vaishesika school, who regarded the Vedas as valid testimony, nonetheless saw fit to question the logicality of the concept of apauruseyatva. However, the apauruseyatva-vadins convincingly argued that if an apauruseya text were not to be envisaged, it would be impossible for there to be conclusive decisions in the matters of dharma and adharma. For dharma and adharma are supra-sensory entities, and consequently our sense organs are of no use in knowing their characteristics. Inference based solely on sense-perception is likewise of no use, for such independent inferences can be freely applied in any manner one pleases, and might even be used by some clever person to call as adharma all that is established in society as dharma and vice versa. Therefore, we ultimately have to depend upon a scriptural text to know the true dharma and adharma. However, unless we are certain of the trustworthiness of the author of such a text, our faith in them will not be strong enough to persuade us to accept them without question. Then the question obtains: how is one to know that the author of some scripture, believed to have lived thousands of years ago, was an Apta ()? An Apta is described as a person who has perfect knowledge (including of facts concerning supra-sensory entities such as dharma and adharma); is not a deceiver; is not given to passions or hatred; and finally, who is endowed with the great virtue of kindness towards people who suffer due to ignorance. Therefore, it argues that there is parsimony of assumption in envisaging that the Vedas are apauruseya, and holds that this view is also supported by internal evidences, for we find several Vedic statements that describe the Vedas as eternal, such as yAvad brahma visthitam tAvatI vAk. It is therefore also held that the Vedas are the foundational authorities in respect of supra-sensory entities such as dharma. The very term sanAtana dharma used for the Vedic religion connotes a beginningless existence and indestructibility till eternity. Such a religion can never be based on a prophet-inspired theology. Unauthored by even God: This concept of apaurusheyatva is singularly absent in any other religion but Vedic one. Now for the time being let us assume apaurusheyatva as being authored by God as someone might take it that way. However, if we accept them authored by God, we run into a cyclical argument. Existence of God cannot be established by any logical means but the revelation. However, validity of the revelation rests upon being revealed by God. Therefore, instead of one, we have to make two assumptions that is 1) There exists a God. 2) God authored the revelation. Clearly it is much weaker foundation than a single concept of apaurusheyatva. It is said that Apaurusheya Vedas give us an independent affirmation of our Lords supremacy. But why do we need independent affirmation? Can we not believe our Lord? 27 Answer to this is that how do we know who the Lord is? And whether He has spoken at all, what form He takes, and what His nature is? How do you know that *I* am not God and what *I* say is not scripture? This is where the Vedas, a preterpersonal, unoriginated authority, come in. It is from the Vedas that we know the first principle that there is an Absolute, that there is God. From the Vedas, we know who God is, what its nature is, and what its characteristics are? Faith in someone's teachings can only go so far. How do we know that someone is God? Therefore, the necessity of the Vedas as an absolute and preterpersonal authority is established. Realize that even Srimad Bhagavad Gita (the words of Lord Himself) are only valid because they correspond to the teachings of the Vedas. If the Gita disagreed with the Vedas in any fundamental, irreconcilable way, we as Vaidikas would be forced to toss out the Gita itself. The consequences otherwise? If we consider VedAs as being authored by God? We would have to follow the teachings of anyone who is said to be an avatAra of God -- Sai Baba etc If God authored the Vedas, there would be a logical seesaw. We rely on the Vedas as our authority for God, but we rely on God as our authority for the Vedas. This is untenable. For this reason alone GoswAmiji has said: 6lP6 Pl(Pl H( Tl 6PBl lT4| lHl 7l( lB (6 lBl6 4| lHl(6 H4 46l After a deep pondering, this TulasidAs has come to conclusion that the greatness of Vedas is uncomparable. (So much so) that even the Buddha incarnation of the Lord was denounced (by SanAtana Vedic DharmAvalambiis) due to His criticism of the Vedas [DohAwali] Therefore, the apaurusheyatva (preterpersonal) nature of the Vedas is an absolute must for us, and is established throughout the Vedic tradition including the writings of different schools of philosophy such as VedAnt and mImAnsa. However, just because the Vedas are unauthored does not mean that they are independent of God. They exist as the very language of reality, rooted in God's essence. This is why the Upanishads speak of the Vedas as the very "breath" of the Supreme Bramh (Reality). The Vedas are a unique asset of our ancient civilization, whose votaries make a bold claim of infallibility based on apauruseyatva. It is noteworthy that 28 there is no other instance of its kind elsewhere in the world, even among ancient civilizations. The Vedas have an unbroken oral tradition of continuity for thousands of years, as has been noted by all serious students of philosophy. While those who did not have the advantage of serious study under qualified teachers tended to downgrade them as being just the poetry of an ancient pastoral/agricultural society extolling some local events, serious study has revealed nuggets of profound philosophical thought, which are timeless, awe-inspiring, and contain remedies for lifes problems. Vedas are the basis of Hindu Dharma. Even according to modern historians and scholars Rig Veda is the oldest book. They are the most ancient existing scripture of the world. Just as science is based on certain rules of physics and facts about the objects of the world, so also the eternal rules of life and existence are revealed in the Vedas. Unlike other religions Hindu Dharma is not given out by any single person. The Vedas as we have today are a compilation of various mantras as seen by different Rishis. So the analogy of science appears to be very appropriate. Even avatara-purushas like Sri Rama & Krishna liberally refer to Vedas in their teachings. There is a great sanctity about them. VedAvatAra Srimad VAlmiki RAmayan: Having briefly given reasons for accepting the authenticity of the sruthis as a valid pramANa, let us talk briefly about paurusheya sastras, those that are original personal compositions. Do we accept these as valid means of knowledge? Sure, but only those that do not contradict the sruthis (VedA). All the smritis, epics (RAmAyan and MahabhArata), purAnas, Agama-shastra are accepted as authentic Vedic literature as all of these augment and confirm what is said in the shrutis. These Granths explain the true import of the Veda. And there also what to say of Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan, which is divine Veda itself. Since the Shruti is nothing but a paean of praise to the Parama Purusha, once the Supreme Being decided upon an avatara, Vedas too resolved to be born, to record, chronicle and adulate the Parabrahmam and its activities during His sojourn on this earth. This is what the paraayana slokas of Srimad Ramayanam tell us as 4(40 9 9lB 7l6 (Hl~7 4( l6Bl5(lBl6

Bll( lPl4Tl~Bl 6l5lPl4T (l4 ! 4( 94 B BH4 [Agastya-SamhitA] When the Supreme Being, known through the Vedas, was born as the son of Dashratha (RAma), (that time itself) the Vedas (manifested itself) through (mouth of) sage Valmiki, the son of Prachetus (Lord Varun), directly as the RAmAyaNa. Therefore, O devi, RAmAyaNa is Veda itself, without a doubt. 29 As Sri Valmiki himself says, Ramayanam incorporates all that is of essence in the Shruti, Punyam Vedaischa samhitam. The following verses from Srimad VAlmIki-RAmAyaNa again clearly show that sage VAlmIki composed RAmAyaNa to expound the meaning of the Vedas. THlP4l 6 ^Pl l794l 4Hl~Bl l6l ~BPl ((H ~P4llBBl B 6 P^ll4Bl Il 4(9 9llBlU6l 4(|9H(Tll4 6l4lRl(46l Tl7 lPl4T T Bl6l4ll6 P(6

9lP 4^lP~4 Tl l646 [VAlmIki-RAmAyaNa bAlakANDa 1.4.5-7] The princes, the brothers, Kusha and Lava, were knowledgeable about Dharma and were glorious. Their voices were melodious and they lived in the hermitage of (VAlmIki). He (VAlmIki), established in good deeds, observed those two extremely intelligent (princes), skilled in the Vedas, and for the sake of expounding the Vedas, he composed and made them study the poem RamAyaNa; (containing) the sublime story of SItA and the slaying of rAvaNa. Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is the primary authentic source of information for everything connected with Sri Ramas life and times. This is not only because Sri Valmiki is the Aadi kavi (the first among all poets, chronologically and otherwise) but also because he is contemporary of Lord RAmachandra. This has been explicitly stated in the text itself. This story was not penned a few hundred years after disappearance of Lord RAma from earth. Moreover He was blessed by Sage Narada and Lord BramhA with yogic powers to witness Sri Ramayana as it really happened (tat sarvam dharma veeryENa yathavat samprapashyati). [Please refer to chapter-10 of this e-book for more details regarding this.] Thus Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is, so to say, an eyewitness account of the actions of Sri Rama and others, in public and private. This is the reason for the high pedestal (at par with Veda), which the work occupies in SanAtana Hindu Vedic literature. It is well established that "Srimad Ramayana" and Sri Mahabharatha" are considered more authentic than all the other 18 PurAnas/upa-purAns, and between these two also, Srimad Ramayana is considered even more authentic 4(l TB l47lBl4l6

` How to know the actual import of the Vedas? l6(lB 9lTllP Answer is: through ItihAsa and PurANas 30 34|P7 l6(lB HP Among these, however, ItihAsa is more authority. lPl4T P(ll6l l6(lB34P

Srimad RAmAyaNa and Srimad MahAbhArata are two main ItihAsas 34|B4| lPl4T 4 ~U Between these two Srimad RAmAyaNa is even more authority Also, so has been the opinion of Sri VaishNavAcharyas, as: l6(lB~UB lPl4TB Tll( 4lB T>l 4 4 36 [Sri Vachana-BhushaNam sutra-5, by renowned SriVaishNavAcharya Sri Pillai LokAcharya] Tl lBlP6 4 H6T|l l4P

4llOlTBl 4~|* lP|9l~lBPPP [Matsya-PurANa] Bll lPl4TlP

[P 9lT 3 U l Pl 5/21] No other scripture exists beyond RAmAyaNa! Even sage Veda-vyasa, who is partial incarnation of the Lord himself, has at many places (in various puranas) paid His tributes to Maharshi Valmiki and Srimad RAmayan. After having read and idealized Srimad RAmayan, He composed various puranas and epic Mahabharat, as: lPl4TP(lTl7Pl(l 4lOllTBl T6 6P B4Tl7lBlPl6(lB9lT4| Bl(6lBl B4lBl PP lPl4T P6P

6(4l(HPll7 4(7lB| ( TPl 4 P(ll6l~lPl6(lB 9l6BP |H (4P9lT 94l^ 25-28, 29] 9 lPl4T 7lB Tl7Hl7 BBl6BP

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lPl4T 9ll6 P B|5l T6 4l TlllP 9lTllB P(ll6P4 |H (4P9lT 1-30-47, 51, 55] However, this doesnt imply that other RamAyanAs, written by other devotee poets, who have recorded for posterity their own anubhavams (experiences), are any less authentic than Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. These are also equally authentic and divine as Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. 31 Please mind that I am only talking about the authentic RamAyans, which are in-line with the Vedic philosophy, written by the great devotees of the Lord. Only these RamAyans written by these apta-purushas, endowed with the divine vision and pure wisdom, are to be considered as authentic, not the kind of those blasphemous works which contradict the Vedic philosophy and culture, written by the authors (the kinds of periyAr --a staunch criticizer of Hindu religion, Kamil Bulke --a Christian priest) with malicious intent to besmirch the purest glory of the ever noble characters of Srimad RAmayan. But it is really unfortunate that nowadays only these bogus RamAyans are being taught to graduate and higher grade students in some universities and colleges across the nation. Then the next question arises with reagards to many differences found among various Apta (authentic) RamAyans. Some of the differences can be sorted out just by proper logical reasonings, if we just consider the fact that Lord RAmachandra resided on earth for nearly 13000 years and for this reason, only an outline of major-events of His avatar-LeelAs could have been captured in 24000 shlokas of Srimad Valmiki RAmayan, which is nothing but an extract out of the Shatakoti Ramayanam (10 billion) written by sage Valmiki. l6 Bl H6T|l l4P

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Sri Rama's history has been depicted in hundred crores of slokas. Every letter of Ramayanam is considered holy. It has the power to dissolve all the sins and bestow happiness in this and other worlds. Valmiki Ramayanam (24,000 slokas), Ananda Ramayanam (12,252 slokas), Adyatma Ramayanam, MahARAmAyan etc are all part of the ShatakoTi (H6T|l) Ramayanam written by Sri Valmiki himself. As it is not feasible for a human being to be able to read all of those 100 crores of RamAyans, this number being much much greater than even the number of days a normal mortal being can live!! Therefore for the benefit of mankind, just a brief extract of that Shatkoti RamAyanam has been presented in what is known today as Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan. Therefore it is quite understandable if description of some event is not found in one authentic Vedic RAmAyan while some other authentic Vedic RAmAyan narrates that incident. These kinds of differences are easily explainable. Now second category of differences is that, which corresponds to one single event being described differently in different authentic RamAyans. How is one to take that? This is explained based on the Kalpa-theory. Kalpa is one of the largest units of time (denotes a time cycle of crores of years), deployed in ancient Vedic tradition. 32 1 Kalpa = 4.32 billion years, a "day of Brahma" or one thousand mahayugas, measuring the duration of the world (scientists estimate the age of the universe at 13.7 billion years). Each kalpa is divided into 14 manvantara (each lasting 306,720,000 years). Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma. A "month of Brahma" is supposed to contain thirty such days (including nights), or 259.2 billion years. According to the Mahabharata, 12 months of Brahma (=360 days) constitute his year, and 100 such years the life cycle of the universe. As Lord Ramchandra appears in every Kalpa-cycle of universe, therefore in different Kalpas there are also minor differences in His avatar-leelAs. In this context the following shloka of Sri Ananda-RAmAyan is very important: 9B 9B T~ (l=l6l ~ll4 46ll T|lH|54 69 ( l6

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|B( -lPl4T 94 -Tl77] Due to descend of Lord RAmachandra again and again in different Kalpas, there are crores of His incarnations. Among these many different incarnations there are also slight differences at some places in His avatar-leelA [AnandaRAmAyan Poorva-kAnd 7/29] Therefore in different Kalpas various sages have sung the story of RAma differently. In present Kaliyuga also, devotees such as GoswAmi TulsidAs, Sri TyAgarAja, Maharshi Kamba and many others, endowed with the divine vision have narrated the pastimes of Lord RAmachandra exactly as it happened in various different Kalpas. As per GoswAmiji also: TP9 TP9 l6 46( l6 l6 BlBl lHl^ T( BlBl l l6 lP 46ll lPl4B B6 T|l 9ll TP9 ( (l l6 B(l9 l l6 BT PBlB l4 Tl B BB4 B 3 Bl BlB Tl Bl( l6 PlBl Lord RAmachandra descends on this earth in every Kalpa and enacts charming sports in diverse ways. [SriRAma-charita-mAnas] SriRAma has descended on this earth in diverse ways in different Kalpas and the RAmAyan, though consisting of a thousand million verses, is yet infinite. [SriRAma-charita-mAnas bAlkAnd-32/3] Great sages have diversely sung the chanrming stories of SriHari, relating as they do to different Kalpas or cycles. Bearing this in mind the reader should not entertain any dount and should hear this narrative reverently and with devotion. [SriRAma-charita-mAnas bAlkAnd-32/4] 33 Therefore all of these RamAyans conforming to SanAtana Vedic dharma are to be considered as equally authentic as Srimad Valmiki RAmayan. Having said that, still I have based my article mainly on Srimad Valmiki RAmayan. The reason being that even though sincere devotees appreciate the glory of Sri RAmacharitmAnas, but this might not be the case with casual readers (who are beginners and have little or no faith), so its better to communicate with them on a practical plane. And if even such casual readers read Srimad Valmiki RAmayan just once, rest assured that then they can never again be fooled into believing RAmAyan as just a myth, an imaginary poem of some poet (like Harry potter). They would be totally assured that Lord Ramchandra, Bhagwati SitA Devi, Lakshman, Bharata, Sharughna and HanumAn are not mere imaginary characters of some fairy tale, but indeed they all had once walked in person on this very BhArat-bhoomi!! 34 RAma is Parabrahman evidence from different ShAstra-s 969 lB4 TlB lBl^ 9l4 Bl TP -PlB PP ~llP B| Tl( lB4 Bl4 Pl He who is universally renowned as the Purushha (saguNa manifested bramha), the fount of light (from where effulgence or bramha-jyoti emanates), manifest in all forms and is the Lord of life as well as of matter, that jewel of Raghus is my Master, so saying Shiva bowed his head to Sri Rama. [RCM bAla-kand dohA-116] [Translation of first shloka from the famous commentary on Srimad Valmiki RAmayan, namely RAmAyan-ShiromaNi by Acharya Shiv SahAya] On the evidence of the Shrutis, the Purusha is described as the highest. The Shrutis say: "The sense-objects are higher than the senses and the mind is higher than the objects but the intellect is higher than the mind, and the great soul is higher than the intellect. The Unmanifested is higher than Mahat and, the Purusa is higher than the manifested. There is nothing higher than Purusa. He is the culmination. He is the highest goal" (KathaU. 1. 3. 10). Maharshi Valmiki's expression: '^Pl~l B~~ lP| (lHl4l( 9l69 ll63q: H B 7l( l4lTP

' If Rama, the son of Dasaratha, is righteous, true to his promise and uncomparable in Paurush then (says Lakshmana), O my arrow! Kill the son of Ravana [VAlmIki-rAmAyaNa-YudhakANDa] reveals that the term Purusha culminates only in RaghunAtha. The word avyakta in the Shruti refers to Visnu and others and implies Raghunatha as the principal Brahman endowed with form and void of formlessness (Saakara and Niraakara). The Visvakosa records the word ayvakta in the sense of Sankara, Visnu, Mahat and the Supreme Self and also is expressive of indistinct substantive matter. Thus, the words Sabdabrahman and Parabrahman, i.e. the Brahman expressed by words and unnamed by words, are both my forms" uttered by Sri RAma who has put up 35 in SankarshaNa. The words of Lakshmana, which is His vow in battlefield, favors the context. 6 94 '96 lHTPl : 9B : T9 4l4P

' 9B| Bl 65HTPl : l49lB~ 4l4Bl4(l l ~4 Bl 94~T B\l6: 6H5 94l 4 l4: lBlUPl94l BBB| lPl~\ l6 The reference in Srimad BhAgavat, "These are the parts of the Purusha (Parabrahma) and the Lord himself is Krishna" reveals that these are the constituents of Purusha. The Purushottam Raghunatha himself is Visnu who only soars always in VrndAavana. Thus, this meaning relates to the context. In brief, the son of Nanda, i.e Lord Krishna is most proximate to Rama in respect of all the other incarnations. Here, the particle tu speaks eva. (SriKrsna oriented Vaishnav sects (such as Gaudiya, Vallabha and NimbArka) claim that this verse, i.e 'T 9 4l4P

' in Bhagavata, propounds SriKrsna as the original personality of Godhead, i.e Avataari swaroop. But such interpretation is not only fooling the unknowledeable readers by presenting this Shloka out of context, but also contradictory to several other shAstra-pramANas as we shall see later. [see chapter-8 for more details] Even if one goes with just a plain translation as seen in the light of the "context" in which Sage sUta uttered this verse, one would understand that here Krishna incarnation is being compared with Rshis, demigods, Manus and prajApatis etc which are also said to be minuscle incarnations of the Lord which are infinite in numbers. Just above this Shloka in question, Sage Suta mentions that the number of incarnations of Lord Hari are innumerable like thousands of rivulets flowing from a river and goes on to say that RishIs, devAs (demigods), Manus and prajApatis are all amass (planery portions) of Lord Hari (1.3.26-27). Here focus is on the innumerable avatArAs, which are like rivulets from a river and enlisted rishis, manus etc, who all are basically amsAvatArAs. So, obviously, SUta wants to reiterate that they are only amsAvatArAs (ie. They are not same as Purusha) and are different from His svayam avatAras described previously. So in this context he continues: Although these minuscule incarnations are only amsha (portion) of Purusha, but Lord Sri Krishna is svayam bhagwAn, i.e not like these great personalities such as sages, Manus, prajApatis etc. This is just the outward meaning of it, but if we dwell into it deeper, then it would be clear that the actual import of this Shloka is as given by the respected Archrya, i.e All other minuscule incarnations are nothing but the planery portions of Purusha, which is RAma only; 36 But Lord Krishna is not a mere portion, He is RAma himself; He is most proximate to Rama in respect of all the other incarnations. Also the word BhagwAn itself implies RAma only, as it is clear from Srimad Valmiki RAmayan. One more interesting point relating to it is that Sri Shukadeva ji (the famous Narrator of Srimad Bhagavat MahaPurAna), is also in the Acharya-lineage of Sri RAmanand Sampraday, as given below 1. ParAtpartam Sarveshvareshvar Srimad RAmachandra 2. Bhagwati SitA 3. Lord HanumAn 4. Lord BrahmA 5. Bramharshi Vasishthha 6. Sage PArAshara 7. Sage Veda VyAsa 8. Shukadevji Thus he is a RamOpAsaka (devotee of RAma). One strongest and irrefutable evidence of it is that in the whole narration of Srimad BhAgavad, Sri Shukadev performed SharanAgati to the Lotus-feet of Raghupati only, as: 4lPP B9B(H 4H|5^Bll9 l4P 94| l(lE9JP

6 BlT9lP4B9lPlTl79 -9l(lF7 9l6 HT 90 [Srimad BhAgavata 9-11-21] Lord Ramachandra's spotless name and fame, which vanquish all sinful reactions, are celebrated in all directions, like the ornamental cloth of the victorious elephant that conquers all directions. Great Maharshis like MArkaNdeya Rshi still sing and glorify His characteristics in the assemblies of great emperors like MahArAja Yudhishthhira to this date. Similarly, all the saintly kings and all the demigods, including Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, worship the Lord's lotus-feet by bowing down with their helmets. I perform sharaNAgati (take refuge) unto those Lotus-feet of Raghupati (Lord of the Raghu dynasty). See here Sri Shukadeva is himself in the first-person, saying that I (Shukadeva) perform sharaNAgati to the Lotus-feet of Raghupati. Nowhere else in Srimad Bhagavata Sri Shukadeva has perfomed sharaNAgati to any other form of the Lord; which is the last stage of Bhakti, i.e total surrender, in first person; yes many times He narrates that the serpant king KaliyANAga and GopikAs performed sharaNAgati to the lotus-feet of Sri Krsna, but it is the only place where He has himself become a sharaNAgat of RaghunAtha, the Lord of the Raghus!! As per Vaishnav doctrines SharaNAgati is the last stage of Bhakti and the most significant one.) Various Veda-mantras such as 37 "94l B43ll (4lBl 94|7l 6l l(7P4: T|H: ~l |l69l46 :" [Atharva-veda 10-2-31] "Ayodhya is the city of gods, therein resides the golden sheath i.e. RAma", state the supremacy of His dwelling-place (AyodhyA) also. The GitA says, '3P: 969 : 9Pl~~(l6 :', " The supreme person is the other who is called the Supreme Self i.e. Paramatman". Here, Vasudeva Krsna employs the word anya instead of aham (indicative of RAma as the other person). Thus, His statement correlates the context. In another context: '6|5l P|T 4( l6: 969|P :', "I am popularly known as Purushottama in the Veda and the world alike". RAma's identification with the son of Nanda (KrsNa) is imposed. Or, the word Purushottama, expressive of Rama, may be taken in the sense of "the controller of the gods" in first citation, whereas in the other, in that of "the controller of individual souls". Thus, the controversy (with regard to Gita's context) ceases. Besides, the meaning of the word Purushottama that occurs elsewhere without reference to Rama may be understood as, lPl(4|9P969|PH5l 969 : 9P969| lP 94 3P| 4ll(l6 "Other refernce to word Pusushhottam apart from Rama is only used to mean Purushhaby whom Parama-Purushha RAma alone excels". The various references suggest that RAma is adorable by the Brahman Tl lBlP6 4 H6T|l l4P

4llOlTBl 4~|* lP|9l~lBPPP [Matsya-PurANa] Valmiki composed the excellent theme of the story of RAma. The theme comprising one thousand million verses was prepared and explained by Brahman to Narada, who later on narrated it to Valmiki". Another reference says "Shiva, Lakshmana and Vayu, who are agreeable to be incarnated as ShankarAchArya, RAmAnujAchArya and MadhvAchArya, respectively have taken the refuge of RaghunAtha alone, since the Acharya-s are the elements of RaghunAtha. The Shruti states: "The Supreme Soul endowed with non-duality is the brilliance of His form". The following Agastya-samhita reference is also in favor of the content: 38 'B49lP46llTlP46ll P : lP9l(BU|l 9l6 l46 ' "Raghuttama RAma, the best among the Raghus is the source of all divine incarnations. The Moonlight of the nails of His feet is praised as Parabrahman by the scriptures". (Agastya-SamhitA) The commentator quotes, from various texts, the references revealing the same content. 1. Brhatsamhita: '6llT6P|T l4l^((ll: B~6 B7PlB l(7 lB (lBB ~ 7BT6B44l l4: H|PlB: 4*| P~ BT : Tlll9 6l BllB ( B~ : TP : ~lBB (4P(lllB~Pl|U 4: TH44lPBl B4| Bll4T| ^P7 : ~lT9| (P^T

6l P^l9 : ~l4lB(4| 59: 96 B Tl4^l P(El4^4| ]l(4 : T|lH: ~llP 9| lB(HBPUl lB~l(l4 9( ' ~l(llB H(5 B l(6l4BllB B\=~ 4 BBBH5: B B4l6 l4l4^|*l H|T~l7Bl3^46ll6 PllB4llB9 : ~lT9H5| 3lTllB4llB9 l6 B l4|^: "RAghava shines with SitA on the divine throne in world of SAketa (AyodhyA) where BrahmA, Shiva and Vishnu constantly worship him. He is surrounded by many divine fish incarnations, monkeys and also by plentitude of the Narasimhas or Narasimha incarnations, tortoise incarnations, and sons of Sri Nanda, i.e Sri Krishna, Haya, Gala, and Hari. They all are eager to receive the orders of RAma. Keshava, Vamana the foremost persons, Narayana, Yudhisthira, Sri Krisna, Haladhrik BalaRAma and VAsudeva, the enemy of the demon Madhu as well as various kinds of Mahendras and millions of Goddess Durgas, eager for advice, remain always in front of Sri RAma near His feet". Here, the epithet Nanda-nandana signifies that form of Lord Krishna, who delights Nanda and dwells in MathurA, while Sri Krisna refers to the one who resides in DwArika. 2. Sundaritantra-vacana: "The appearance of the god endowed with various forms like Narayana is His best embodied or conceptual glory, while the eternal Supreme Self is His incorporeal glory that shines permanently". 3. Varahasamhita: "Even Narayana with conch, wheel, discus and club is the plenary portion of RAma". 4. Pancharatra: "The bliss is said of two kinds, viz. conceptual and transcendental. The conceptual or manifested Paramatman in the human form is the location or reservoir of the transcendental bliss". 39 5. Sundaritantra: "The great Shiva went to the world of RAma, which is beyond the reach of sensual organs. Reaching there the great Siva found RAghava, the supreme soul possessed of eternal body. He was the lord of all kinds of power and was seated along with me. This entire universe activated by the prowess of eternal Raghava, with two arms". 6. Ananda-samhita: "It is said that the figure of the god with eight arms is visible, that with four arms is subtle. And that one with two arms is the supreme. Therefore, one should worship the god endowed with the assemblage of three forms. 7. ShANdilya-samhita: "Rama has four arms. He wields the bow and is constituted of the eternal bliss ever. He resides in the Goloka, 'the world of cows'. He has pervaded the universe". 8. Ramopanishhad: "The ascetics rejoice in the Conscious Soul, the blissful forever. It is known as the supreme Soul identified with the word RAma". 9. Hanumad Upanisad: "RAma alone is the Supreme Self. Rama alone is the great austerity (tapas). Rama alone is the highest principle. Sri Rama is the Brahman that guards". 10.Sandilyasakha: "The world enjoys itself because of Him, i.e. RAma. He is full of bliss and is unending or everlasting. 11.Hanumat-samhita: "I worship all times the God RAma, who is eternal and constitutes or embodies Sat 'Existence', Cit 'Consciousness' and Ananda 'Bliss'. He is an expert in the rAsa leela, the dance practiced by cowherds, Krisna and gopis. His parts are Brahman, Visnu and Mahesa who are the sustainers of the world. 12.Shruti: '9lTl B43ll (4lBl 94|7l 6l l(7P4: T|H: ~l P|T| |l69l46 : 4| 4 6l T| 4( P 6Bl46l 9 6 l 4 : Tll6 7l (]:' l6 6 ll4HlUl~6lTP7 Some other Shruti (Veda mantra-bhAga) expounds the supremacy of His shrine even as: "AyodhyA the city of gods has eight circles and nine gates. Therein resides the golden sheath. It is the world of heaven. The bright light (or the constellation) has covered it. It is full of nectar. Brahman grants him the life, fame and offspring, to whoever knows the city of Brahman. 13.Aranya in the Taittiriyasakha: "The brahmacharya is that (which) one calls aranyayana 'leading to the forest' because ara and nya are two 40 seas in the world of Brahman, in the third world from here. There is a lake, the waters of which contribute food and enthusiasm. There is the fig tree that drips soma. There is stronghold of Brahman that is unvanquishable and golden palace of the sovereign. Therefore, for those who find both these seas ara and nya, there is the world attainable through brahmacharya. Such world of Brahman is meant only for them. They enjoy freedom in all worlds". This proves that He, that is, RAma is the Lord of the lords. The purport of the Shruti yad aranyayanam, etc. is as follows. The Vedas expound that what leads to the forest (a life of solitude in the forest) is the brahmacharya. Only those people who attain through the brahmacharya, the two seas ara and nya by name in the world of Brahman by meditation, approach the Brahmaloka renowned in the Shruti texts. They only soar at their will in all worlds. For laying aside the world Hiranyagarbha, the Shruti itself proclaims that the Brahmaloka exists in the heaven, the third from the Bhuloka 'the terrestrial world', which is outside of the prakrtimandala 'the circle of the nature'. In the world enlightened by Brahman, there are two well-known seas called ara and nya. There is a lake full of manda 'essence' or 'drinkable fluid' consisting of food distinct from formal food (aira). There is the fig tree with trembling leaves, from which the nectar (soma) flows. There is the city, Aparajita that is, unvanquishable; of which Ayodhya is another name, of RAma, the everlasting illuminator of the truth and the knowledge. In that city is the golden shrine fully renowned by its Lords SitA and RAmachandra. The word prabhubhyam is an ekasesadvandva, i.e. compound denotative of male and female. The expression in Srimad Valmiki RAmAyan B4ll9 4~4lPlP | l~4H ~l 4(Vl Tl~l Tll6 Pl Pl ( 46 ( 46lBl 6lBl 6BP 6 TTl (4l 4B 4l4l 9 [VAlmIki-rAmAyaNa-2-44-15, 16] Oh, Kausalya! Rama is the illuminator of even the sun, cause of Agni, the Lord of the Lord, the Shrii (Lakshmi) of Shrii (Lakshmi), the foremost glory of even the glory, the forbearance of forbearance, the controller of even those who overpower all, i.e Gods and the foremost being of all the beings. Indeed, what handicaps are there for him in the forest or in AyodhyA? "suryasy api" in the canto 44 of the Ayodhyakanda means 'Rama is the illuminator of the Sun illuminating all'. On the evidence of the Shruti, the foremost among all "All that is bright is but the shadow of his brightness"; it is well known that the Supreme Soul is the illuminator of the Sun. Then what is the Brahman? The Brahman is the 41 Supreme Soul that is the fire of the fire, i.e. the illuminator of Agni who is the foremost of all and is known Brahman. Accordingly (RAma) is the controller of even three lords Brahman and others who overpower all. On the strength of scriptural reference "agnir namasau" 'Agni is called the brahman', since he is the foremost of all. Thus, MadhvAchArya has explained it. Sri GovindAchArya, too, has accepted this dogma or doctrine and hence has explained that the Lord (RAma) is the governor of those who govern all. In brief, Visnu and others only are the controllers of all. (Rama, however, is the controller of Visnu and others.) Again, the reference suryasy api bhavet suryah means that 'he is the cause of the Sun who is the cause of the light'. (The question that arrises) It well known that Agni is the cause of the Sun. How is it so? It is so because 'He is the fire of the fire i.e. the cause of Agni'. The question is, it is popularly known that the Supreme Soul is the cause of all. How is it so? It is so, 'Rama is the controller of even those who overpower all' (prabhoh prabhuh). Thus, other references "He is the splendor of the splendor", etc propagate Him as the only supreme cause of all. The author of commentary (of Srimad RAmAyan) titled BhushaNa, interprets the references in question, as "RAma is the Sun of the Sun that illuminates whole universe and is the fire of the fire