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Sampath Rengarajan • January 18, 1996 


Another rationalization
> would be to view the episode as one where some of Sita's prArabdha-karmas
> were being worked out. In that case, Rama has no choice but to be cruel,
> in order for the karma to take effect.

I am afraid this statement is not valid in the context that all the avathaarams
takes place
as per the God's own will including that of PIRATTI's who is an eternal part of
HIM for "EVER".
The rightful analysis should start as this, I suppose.

	If the lord wanted he would have saved his dwarapaalakaas (guards) on
the first place from getting cursed by sage durvaasaa. HE let it happen so that
they were offered two choices for salvation, of which they choose the hard but
shorter way (here again it is Sriman Naaraayanaa in thier mind acted  for
"ever" when they accepted this course and so I donot find problem concluding
that HE made them opt for this choice through HIS presence in their mind and
paved way for the Sri Raama avathaaram) . Such being the premises, entire Sri
Raama avathaaram has to be taken as a lesson purely designed by the LORD
HIMSELF and the theory of "KARMA" is not present in the case of either the LORD
or the PIRAATI. Folks may ask "is not vaali vadam" repaid by Sri Krishna
Avathaarm. No. Vaali vatham is a also a pure design of the lord and the act of
Sri Krishna being struck by an arrow was expalined to the HUNTER who thought
that he was a sinner for having commited such an act, the LORD advised that the
hunter was made to be reborn by the wish of him at the time of his death in
Raamaavatharam that he was (he) wanting to prove a chance as a warrior again,
to strike back. It is purely by the "GRACE" of the LORD that vaali's wish was
fulfilled during SriKrishnaa avathaaram by the LORD and one must "assume" his
role as a revisit of vaali, not withstanding the role of Karma. IF the Lord had
wanted HE would have killed , HIranyaakshan, Hiranyakashibu, Raavana and
Kumbakarnaa , sihshu baalan et al. from being in Sri Vaikundam. HE made them
request that they be killed at his hands during their 3 incarnations as demons.
The Lord  also would have "returned" from these avathaarams in any "way". If as
SriKrishna, the LORD has allowed Vaali's wish get fulfilled in an earlier stage
, and continue to accomplish all the missions of SRi Krishna avthaaram later
after this episode,  will it confirm that HE is immortal and not bound by
KARMA, then would one accpet that it is not Karma ? Simply becuase he "timed"
this event to come at the end of the avathaaram to oblige Vaali's wish, doesnot
mean that HE is mortal and acted upon by karma. HE is above KARMA. He simply
chose to return after this episode to Sri vaikundam that made the clever
analysts to derive  a hypothesis connecting SRi Rama's vaali vatham with Karma
theory.

> On the whole, the working of dharma in the Valmiki Ramayana is very rigid.
> There is no room in Valmiki's poem for the "avanum nokkinaan, avaLum
> nokkinaaL" romance of Kamban. There also do not seem to be any instances
> of the working of karuNA in Valmiki. The concept of right duty dictates
> the relationship between husband and wife also. Except for Rama's anguish
> at losing Sita, there are not many depictions of tenderness between them.
>

In a poetical sense this may be a valid statement. But Sri Vaalmiki's raamyan
is a simple
truth and equated to "Sri manthram"  (just like the vedaas and the "4000" )
especially the sundara kaandam. None of the other purrnams except the sri
bagwath geetha in srimath baagawam,  can be equated to this authority; And so
is the name of the LORD himself in this avathaaram, "Sri Raama Jayam".

> Vidyasankar
>-- End of excerpt from vidya@cco.caltech.edu

Sri Oppiliappan Sri boomi dEvi naachiyaar ThiruvadikaLE saraNam