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ANANDA RAMAYANAM - IV

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Kalyani Krishnamachari • April 30, 1997 


                          Sri RAmajayam

                       Stories from SRI VALMIKI's ANANDA RAMAYANAM - Continued

This is the fourth posting in Ananda RAmAyaNam series:

4.  Story from SAra KAndam - Chapters Four & Ten:

4.1  RAma's worship of Siva:

[This posting is to find out if SrI VaishNava AchAryas have ever acknowledged
that SrI RAma worshiped Siva deities.  It seems Sri TulasI DAs talks 
about SrI RAma's worship of Siva. Does anyone know if RAma's worship of Siva 
is mentioned in any other work? To my knowledge, the original VAlmIki RAmAyaNam 
does not talk about RAma worshiping Siva.]

Ananda RAmAyaNam gives at least 2 instances where RAma worships Siva.  

1) Chapter Four describes SrI RAma's daily activities; it is said that 
RAma did agnihOtram and worshiped the sphatika lingam every day offering 
vilvam and flowers.

2) Chapter 10 talks about RAma's worship again: Before building the bridge 
(sEtu) on the ocean, RAma did pooja for Lord VignEswara (GaNapati); with 
NaLan's help, He established 9 stones for Navagrahams and prayed to 
Navagrahams.  

[ In our last trip to India, we visited this place called Nava PAshANam (?) 
where RAma is said to have prayed to the navagrahams. Is this place
thus an accepted Sri VaishNava pilgrimage spot?]  

Sri RAma then wished to establish a Sivalingam and asked HanumAn to get a 
Sivalingam from Lord Siva from KAsi (Benares).  HanumAn did not arrive
with the lingam before the auspicious time; so, RAma made a 
lingam out of sand and performed Siva worship.  Later, the lingam brought
by HanumAn was also established close by. [The lingam established by Sri RAma
is called RAmanAthalingam and the lingam established by HanumAn is called
ViswanAtha lingam in RAmEswaram?]


More to come,

>From Kalyani Krishnamachari