Greatness Of Epic

Greatness of the epic By Sri Damodara Dikshitar

Courtesy The Hindu

Since the Supreme Being is not to be known by rational or intellectual reasoning, faith and disbelief in spiritual matters becomes a matter of individual choice. But it is also believed that faith inheres in one who is a recipient of God’s grace and when one is enriched with experience of God, he becomes a true devotee. In Ramayana, the Supreme Being is to be known through the Vedas, and that the abstract nature of the Vedas dissuades many from attempting to learn it. Fortunately when the Supreme Being incarnated as Lord Rama, the Vedas also manifested as the Ramayana, enabling even the common man to gain spiritual insight. The Ramayana is described as a river with its source in the mountain of Valmiki, which reaches the ocean of Rama and is equal to Ganga in conferring sanctity.
The Sundara Kanda is unique for its revelation of different facets of devotion. Both Sita and Hanuman are seen as great devotees of the Lord who get an opportunity to exchange personal eulogies/descriptions of Lord Rama. Hanuman is as excellent a listener as he is a speaker. Before and after establishing his identity to Sita, Hanuman displays tremendous caution in the way he approaches her lest he fails to win her confidence. After handing over the ring of Lord Rama, he considers it a great privilege to listen to Lord Rama’s greatness from Sita who knows Lord Rama in the most intimate manner. Sita too, for her part, listened with rapt attention when Hanuman described Lord Rama.
The love of divine couple shines in its purest form in separation as Sita is happy to realise that Lord Rama constantly thinks of her; but she is also pained by the thought that Lord Rama does not eat or sleep, unable to bear the separation. She discloses to Hanuman very personal and intimate information about the Kakasura episode and gives Hanuman her Choodamani to be given to Lord Rama. Sita praises Hanuman for his successful entry to Lanka after crossing the mighty ocean. He reassures Sita’s doubts and promises that very soon Lord Rama would ensure that she is no longer a captive.