Hindu Mythology

"I have no skill in any craft, even in words."

"Valmiki (14th - 15th century B.C.), the author of the epic Ramayana, bears comparison with Homer."

"Rama rules as King in Ayodhya. He is born in the Solar race and a descendant of the Sun; he is brave and gentle and firm in fight. By Rama's command his adorable Queen Sita is being brought here into the forest on a chariot, and though she suspects nothing yet, here she will be left abandoned. Unless you comfort her she will drown herself in Ganga and kill as well her unborn sons by Rama."

"Valmiki, Vyasa and Kalidasa are the Indian equivalents of Homer, Dante and Shakespeare. The story of Rama, the ideal son and ruler, Sita, the ideal wife, Bharata and Lakshmana, the ideal brothers and Hanuman, the ideal devotee, has been so beautifully stated in the epic poem of Ramayana that even in the remotest village of India, even the most illiterate man, woman or child is familiar with the characters and situations in the story. The credit for this goes to the poetic and dramatic genius of Valmiki."

"What did she do wrong?"

"Who is Rama?""

"Hail, arch-ascetic, pious, good, and kind! Hail, Saint Válmíki, lord of every lore! Hail, holy Hermit, calm and pure of mind! Hail, First of Bards, Válmíki, hail once more!"

"Though the subsequent poets like Tulsidas and Kamban have restated the story in their own style, their inspiration has been Valmiki. No poem in the world is superior to the Ramayana of Valmiki, **Aurobindo"

"Where breathes the man can listen to the strain That flows in music from Válmíki's tongue, Nor feel his feet the path of bliss attain When Ráma's glory by the saint is sung!"

"It’s too cold. Away from the worlds, where a little pleasure costs a lot of pain. Don’t make trouble."

"Just name me one honest man and I'll move."

"The stream Rámáyan leaves its sacred fount The whole wide world from sin and stain to free. The Prince of Hermits is the parent mount, The lordly Ráma is the darling sea."

"In all this world, I pray thee, who Is virtuous, heroic, true? Firm in his vows, of grateful mind, To every creature good and kind? Alone most fair to all men’s eyes? Devoid of envy, firm, and sage, Whose tranquil soul ne'er yields to rage? Whom, when his warrior wrath is high, Do Gods embattled fear and fly? Whose noble might and gentle skill The triple world can guard from ill? Who is the best of princes, he Who loves his people’s good to see."

"Rama! Come out of there!."

"Nothing. She is innocent and blameless. She has lived as Rama’s queen ten thousand years; before that Rama saved her from great danger by wondrous and incredible deeds. And now behold one of the terrors of kingship, that Rama let her go because his people talk against her. Get up, save her life with you and your companions; and make in measured words the song of Rama, and teach it to Rama’s two sons."

"Glory to him whose fame is ever bright! Glory to him, Prachetas' holy son! Whose pure lips quaff with ever new delight The nectar-sea of deeds by Ráma done."

"Ratnakar, the bandit, became the poet Valmiki. Once when he tried to rob a sage, of his meagre belongings, he was told that no one else but he would suffer the consequences of his misdeeds. Repentant and reformed, he asked the sage for the way out of sin. He was told to recite Mara, mar (reverse of Rama). The bandit sat in penance and recited the mantra and forgot the world. An anthill enveloped him. When he was dug out, he was a realised soul and called Valmiki (one who came out of Valmike - Sanskrit for anthill). The urge to write Ramayana was triggered by Valmiki's sensitive reaction to the wailing of a bird, whose mate was killed by a hunter. The ideal society portrayed so realistically in the Ramayana by Valmiki made Gandhiji name the Utopia he envisaged for India: Rama Rajya!"

"The Ramayana contains the stories of the northeastern kingdoms. But here the legends were rewritten by one man, the poet Valmiki, who played a role analogous to that of Homer."

"He [Válmíki] was the son of Varuna, the regent of the waters, one of whose names is Prachetas. According to the Adhyátmá Rámáyana, the sage, although a Bráhman by birth, associated with foresters and robbers. Attacking on one occasion the seven Rishis, they expostulated with him successfully, and taught him the mantra of Ráma reversed, or Mará, Mará, in the inaudible repetition of which he remained immovable for thousands of years, so that when the sages returned to the same spot they found him still there, converted into a valmik or ant-hill, by the nests of the termites, whence his name of Válmíki."

"Sanskrit: मां निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः। यत्क्रौंचमिथुनादेकम् अवधीः काममोहितम्॥"

"Be not afraid. This is poetry that is coming out of your mouth. Write the life of Rama in poetic language for the benefit of the world. And that is how the poem first began. The first verse sprang out of pity, from the mouth of the first poet. And it was after that he [Valmiki] wrote the beautiful Ramayana, the “Life of Rama”."

"Roman transliteration: mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam"

"He [Válmíki] is said to have lived a solitary life in the woods: he is called both a muni and a rishi. The former word properly signifies an anchorite or hermit; the latter has reference chiefly to wisdom. The two words are frequently used promiscuously, and may both be rendered by the Latin cates in its earliest meaning of seer: Válmíki was both poet and seer, as he is said to have sung the exploits of Ráma by the aid of divining insight rather than of knowledge naturally acquired."

"Rishi Valmiki taught us that in order to make progress in society, you have to take along Shabari with you; if you want your society to progress, you have to ensure that even vanars stand by you. If you want to move ahead, you have to embrace Kevat. ...We have come together at this place to express our commitment to follow his message.... Rishi Valmiki laid central focus on awakening the power of truth in order to destroy evil. He did not desire or envisage the slaying of demonic forces merely through the force of war. He has presented a whole vision of a well-organised society in order to defeat asuri (demonic) powers. Prabhu Ramchandra was competent to handle his adversary [Ravan] by himself. But Rishi Valmiki inspired him to mobilise and carry along the power of the entire range of vanjeevan (forest life) including vanars (monkeys), to ignite divine energy in them for the purpose of destroying subversive forces in society that appear in the form of asuras (demons). This social mobilisation of the good included not just Ravan’s own brother and son, but his whole family. Rishi Valmiki has taught us to live by energising and bringing together positive energies of society in order to destroy asuri shakti. He taught us that in order to make progress in society, you have to take along Shabari with you; if you want your society to progress, you have to ensure that even vanars stand by you. If you want to move ahead, you have to embrace Kevat . Rishi Valmiki gave all these messages. We have come together at this place to express our commitment to follow his message."

"I have no companions here."

"As the dove fell down on the ground, the female dove went on whirling round and round the dead body of its companion in grief. In a moment the poet became miserable, and looking round, he saw the hunter. "Thou art a wretch," he cried, without the smallest mercy!, "I have never spoken in this sort of way before.""

"English translation: You will find no rest for the long years of Eternity For you killed a bird in love and unsuspecting"

"Praise to Válmíki, bird of charming song, Who mounts on Poety's sublimest spray, And sweetly sings with accent clear and strong Ráma, aye Ráma, in his deathless lay."

"Did you see Shiva running this way? He was just in front of me. But then he somehow suddenly disappeared Where did he go?"

"My Lord, you look tired. Take a little rest before you start chasing Shiva again. Sit her in the cool shade. I shall fan you. Then you will feel better."

"Bhasmasura looked at Mohini. She was so beautiful that he fell in love with her immediately."

"In a second Vishnu changed his form. He became Mohini, the most beautiful of woman."

"My Lord, you must now allow me to test the power you have given me."

"So Shiva ran for his life. Bhasmasura ran after Shiva. Shiva ran over hills and mountains, crossed rivers and passed through thick jungles. But Bhasmasura was close behind him, with his right hand raised ready to touch Shiva and reduce him to ashes. Shiva needed help....Shiva prayed to Lord Vishnu to save his life. Vishnu appeared before him."

"You just hide here for some time. I shall deal with Bhasmasura."

"You have my blessings. You would surely like to receive something from me as a gift. It is yours for the asking."

"Then, my Lord, let me have the power that I ask for. By that power, anybody whose head I touch with my right hand should be reduced to ashes."

"I hereby grant you that power. Anybody whose head you touch with your right hand will die and be reduced to ashes."

"O Lord I only want your blessings. There is no other purpose behind my devotion to you."

"Bhasmasura was a wicked and greedy person. He wanted to be a powerful king. But he was neither strong nor brave. He knew he could not wage wars or defeat other kings. Bhasmasura, therefore, wished to obtain some magic powers. He decided to worship Lord Shiva and ask for such powers. Bhasmasura went to a dense jungle. There, he selected a quiet place under a huge tree and settled down to worship Shiva. His prayer lasted a long time. At last, Lord Shiva appeared before Bhasmasura."

"Bhasmasura laughed. He was happy with the magic power he had received from Shiva."

"I am greatly pleased with you. What can I do for you?"

"Vishnu takes the form of Mohini and appears before the Devas and the Asuras. She is so beautiful that everyone is overwhelmed with desire. It is said that Shiva, having consumed Halahal, was about to retreat to his mountains abode when he sees Mohini. From that union of Shiva and Mohini is born Hari-Hara Suta, the son of Vishnu and Shiva, a child who possesses the ascetic qualities of Shiva , hence refuses to marry, as well as the warrior qualities of Vishnu, hence is ever willing to defend the society. In Tamil Nadu this warrior is called Aiyanar."

"At first glance, this story of how Mohini tricks the Asuras and gives the Amrita to the Devas seems like a trickster story. The demons are duped by a damsel. Since the Asuras are villains, one is told, they deserve being cheated so. But this is a simplistic and incorrect understanding of the tale. One must remember that the Devas and Asuras are half brothers, children of Brahma who, like Vishnu, is a form of God."

"Devas are afraid losing what they have. Asuras are afraid of not having what Devas possess. Mohini chooses to give Amrita [nectar] only to the distracted Devas not because they are more worthy but to show how even taking away the fear of death of losing what they have does not take away fear of losing material things."

"Shiva needs to open his eyes to material reality. He needs to be seduced And so, Vishnu takes the form of an enchantress. He becomes Mohini and dances before Shiva. Shiva is compelled to open his eyes and look at Mohini. He recognises Mohini is Vishnu. She is spiritual reality cloaked in material reality. She is Vishnu playing with Prakriti and Maya. She is Vishnu in full control of time and space and subjective realities. Immersed in Brahman, she is inviting spiritual reality to enter her playground, rangabhoomi, and join the game of material reality, theleela."

"A fundamental theme in Indian metaphysics is the existence of two realities: material reality and spiritual reality. Material reality is tangible reality that can be perceived through the senses. An Apsara enchants to distract humanity from spiritual reality and entrap all in material reality. Mohini enchants ..."

"Material reality is represented using female form while spiritual reality is represented using male form. Mohini is female in form but male in essence, unlike Apsaras who are totally female. Both enchant, but their intentions are different."

"The conflict within material reality, presided over by Vishnu, also manifests as the conflict between the Nagas and Garuda, the serpents and the king of the hawks."

"In the tangible world, Vishnu is both Mohan, the deluder, as well as Mohini, the enchantress."