Sixteen Thousand Kanyās

In the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Bhagavān Rāma frees many kanyās (maidens) who were bound by a curse or held in suffering. First He frees four brahmin kanyās found in a cave. Then He frees sixteen thousand kanyās. The freed women sing a hymn of twelve ślokas in praise of Rāma, called the Nārī-gīta. Later, in Chapter 20, Rāma tells Sītā about the sixteen thousand wives He will have as Kṛshṇa.

The four brahmin kanyās in the cave

Chapter 11 begins with Rāma finding four brahmin kanyās trapped in a cave. They were bound by a śāpa (a curse), or by a force connected with a dundubhi, a being that had taken the form of a drum. By Rāma’s grace, and by the puṇya (merit) of seeing Him, they were freed from their bondage and the curse was lifted.

A dundubhi also appears in the Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. There Dundubhi is the buffalo-asura whose bones are connected with Vāli’s grove. In the Rājya Khaṇḍa a new dundubhi episode comes in the time of Rāmarājya, the reign of Rāma.

The sixteen thousand kanyās

The account of the sixteen thousand kanyās is in Chapter 12. These women came from different regions and families. They had been held captive, cursed or trapped in suffering. Rāma freed them all together by His divine power. He needed no violence and no fight.

The Kālindī episode

Chapter 12 also holds the Kālindī episode. Kālindī is the river Yamunā. In this episode something takes place in connection with Kālindī in the time of Rāmarājya. The river’s holy nature and her divine person are touched upon.

The Nārī-gīta

The freed women made and sang a hymn of twelve ślokas in praise of Rāma. It is called the Nārī-gīta (the song of the women). It praises Rāma as the one who frees those in bondage. It praises Him as the supreme Bhagavān Rāma, who comes into the world to release the suffering. It praises Him as the husband of Sītā-Mahālakshmī. The twelve ślokas speak of His divine qualities, His compassion, His rule over all worlds, and the joy of the women now set free.

Rāma’s words about Kṛshṇa

In Chapter 20, Rāma speaks to Sītā in private. He tells her that in the coming Dvāpara Yuga He will take the form of Kṛshṇa. He will have sixteen thousand wives and eight chief queens, and Sītā herself will be among them as Rukmiṇī.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 11 (the four brahmin kanyās in the cave)
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 12 (the sixteen thousand kanyās, the Kālindī episode, the Nārī-gīta)
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20 (Rāma’s words to Sītā about the Kṛshṇa avatāra)
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa (Dundubhi)