Svayaṃprabhā and the Cave (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa)

Svayaṃprabhā is a tapasvinī (a woman who practises tapas) who lives inside a hidden cave in the south. In the Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, the vānara search party led by Aṅgada and Hanumān comes to her cave, tormented by thirst. She gives them food and water, tells them the history of the cave, and tells them what Hema had foretold about Śrī Rāma and the vānaras. She sends them in an instant to the ocean shore. Then she goes to see Bhagavān Rāma herself.

The search party in distress

After Sugrīva gave his command, the southern search party set out from Kishkindhā. It was led by Aṅgada and Hanumān, with Jāmbavān, Nīla and thousands of vānara warriors. They passed through thick forests, mountains and empty wilderness. They struck down every rākshasa they met on the way, and called to one another with cries of “Jayaḥ Śrī Rāmacandra!” as they pressed on.

One day, tired and dry with thirst after a long march through a region without water, the party came to the edge of a great mountain. Hanumān climbed to the peak to look in all four directions for water. He saw a vast cave at the foot of the mountain. Birds and wild animals were going into it and coming out, which was a sure sign that there was water inside. He gathered his companions and led them into the cave.

The world within the cave

Inside the cave the vānaras found a world unlike any they had seen. Beautiful lakes full of lotuses shone with clear water. In the middle of the lakes stood a splendid mansion, bright and calm. In the mansion, sitting in deep meditation, was a woman of great radiance.

The vānaras came near with respect and bowed. They told her who they were and why they had come: they were Sugrīva’s search party, looking for Sītā on Śrī Rāma’s behalf. The tapasvinī was pleased with them and welcomed them warmly. She served them fruits and water until their thirst and hunger were fully satisfied.

Svayaṃprabhā’s account

The vānaras were refreshed and sat before her. Svayaṃprabhā told them the history of the cave.

“O vānaras,” she said, “my name is Svayaṃprabhā. I am the daughter of a divine gandharva. This place was won by a woman named Hema, the daughter of Viśvakarmā, of matchless beauty. Through her tapas she pleased Mahādeva. She pleased Bhagavān Maheśvara and received this wonderful place as a vara (boon). Hema was dear to me, and I was dear to her.

“When Hema went up to Brahmaloka, she came to me before she left and said: ‘Svayaṃprabhā, stay here and perform your tapas. In the Tretā Yuga, the Rāmāvatāra will take place. One day vānaras who are searching for Sītā will come to this place. Learn from them where Rāma is. Then go to wherever Bhagavān Rāma is and receive his darśana. By this you will reach mukti.’ After saying these words, she left.

“So, dear ones, I shall go this very moment to receive Rāma’s darśana. You will surely find Bhūputrī Sītā. Now close your eyes. When you open them, you will find yourselves on the shore of the great ocean.”

The instant journey

The vānaras closed their eyes as she had told them. When they opened them again, they were standing on the wide shore of the sea, and the vast ocean lay before them to the horizon. The cave, the lotus ponds and the mansion had all disappeared. In a single moment, by the power of Svayaṃprabhā’s tapas, they had been carried from inside the cave to the edge of the ocean.

Svayaṃprabhā’s darśana of Śrī Rāma

Svayaṃprabhā kept her word. She went at once to where Bhagavān Rāma was staying, on the Pravarashaṇa mountain. She fell at his holy feet and praised him with hymns of devotion. Bhagavān Rāma was moved by her bhakti (devotion) and gave her the highest gift, the vara of nityānapāyinī bhakti: eternal, unbroken, unshaken devotion that would never leave her in any birth or any condition.

She received this vara and Bhagavān Rāma’s command. She then left for Badarikāśrama, the high Himālaya place of lasting tapas, to continue her life of devotion in that supreme tīrtha (holy place).

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas), Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa.