Rāmānanda

Rāmānanda · rāma-ānanda, “the one whose bliss is Rāma”

Rāmānanda is the ācārya of Kāśī of whom the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells, in the account of the devas’ descent into the Kali age. It tells that Bhagavān Sūrya took avatāra from the aṃśa of Mitradeva as the son of the brāhmaṇa Mitraśarman and Citriṇī, in Kānyakubja, in the house of the brāhmaṇa Devala, and that he became famous in Kāśī as Rāmānanda. From childhood he was a jñānī, given to the japa of the Rāma nāma and absorbed in Rāma bhakti. He left his father and mother for the refuge of the yati Rāghavānanda, and at that moment Bhagavān Śrī Rāma, Sītāpati, came to dwell in his heart.

The text calls him the mighty Hari-bhakta, the Vaishṇava, and Haripriya, dear to Hari. Those who took him as guru were themselves born of the aṃśas of devas: Trilocana, Nāmadeva, Raṅkaṇa, Kabīra, Naraśrī, Pīpā, Nānaka and Raidāsa. When the mleccha-yantras were set up in the seven purīs, he went to Ayodhyā with his disciples, reversed the yantra and made all there Vaishṇavas, and later sants and poets stood in his mata.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 7, 15–18, 21–23

His birth

Sūta tells the ṛshis what Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, told Indra and the devas at Prayāga: the māhātmya of Bhagavān Sūrya, month by month. The account of Vaiśākha is the account of Rāmānanda’s parents.

In the city of Māyāvatī, which is Haridvāra, lived a brāhmaṇa named Mitraśarman. He loved poetry and was devoted to learning. At the great festival at Haridvāra, when Bṛhaspati entered Kumbha rāśi, many kings came, and countless men and women. There came also Citriṇī, the twelve-year-old daughter of Kāmasena, a king of the south. She saw Mitraśarman, and love for him arose in her heart. She went home and began to worship Bhagavān Bhāskara daily, with faith, to win him.

In the month of Vaiśākha Mitraśarman bathed in the Gaṅgā, stood in the middle of the water, meditated on Bhagavān Sūrya and recited the Āditya Hṛdaya Stotra every day. After one month Bhagavān Sūrya was pleased and gave him a vara that his wish would be fulfilled. Citriṇī too received from Bhagavān Bhāskara the husband of her heart’s wish. Bhagavān Sūrya said to King Kāmasena in a dream: “Give your daughter in marriage to Mitraśarman”, and the king did so.

After their marriage the two kept a vrata of Bhagavān Sūrya daily. They drew a Sūrya yantra on a copper vessel and worshipped it every day with red flowers. They lived to about a hundred years, free of illness, and after death they attained sāmīpya (nearness) with Bhagavān Sūrya.

As their son, in Kānyakubja, in the house of the brāhmaṇa Devala, Bhagavān Sūrya took avatāra, and he became famous in Kāśī under the name Rāmānanda. So the mighty Hari-bhakta Rāmānanda appeared from the aṃśa of Mitradeva, who is Sūryadeva.

From childhood he was a jñānī, given to the japa of the Rāma nāma and absorbed in Rāma bhakti. Leaving his father and mother, he came to the refuge of the yati Rāghavānanda. At that moment Bhagavān Śrī Rāma, Sītāpati, suddenly came to dwell in his heart.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 7

His śishyas

The Bhavishya Purāṇa tells of the śishyas of Rāmānanda among those born on earth by the aṃśas of the Vasus and other devas, after each deva heard his own māhātmya from Bṛhaspati. Sūta tells these births to Śaunaka.

  • Trilocana, the son of the vaiśya Dharadatta at Mathurā, an aṃśa of the first Vasu, Kubera. He joyfully spent all his wealth at tīrthas, came to Kāśī, bowed to Rāmānanda and became his śishya. At his guru’s command he went home, devoted to Rāma bhakti and to the service of sādhus, and Bhagavān Rāma lived in his house for thirteen months as a servant.
  • Nāmadeva, born of the tejas of the second Vasu, Varuṇa, in Dehalī in the house of Dharmabhakta. He was devoted to Sāṅkhya Yoga. Seeing the whole brahmāṇḍa as full of Vishṇu, he came to Kāśī to Rāmānanda, dear to Hari, took śishyatva and lived there.
  • Raṅkaṇa, of whom more is told below.
  • Kabīra, an aṃśa of Vāyu, whom a childless weaver named Alika brought up. At the age of seven he took Rāmānanda as guru and became wholly given to the dhyāna of Bhagavān Śrī Rāma.
  • Naraśrī, the supreme Vaishṇava, an aṃśa of Dhruva, the fifth Vasu, born in the Gujarāta region as the bhakta Nāthī. He came to Kāśīpurī and became a disciple of Rāmānanda.
  • Pīpā, an aṃśa of Soma, the sixth Vasu, son of King Sudeva in the south. He ruled as his father had ruled, became a disciple of Rāmānanda and came to Dvārakā.
  • Nānaka, an aṃśa of the seventh Vasu Pratyūsha, son of Mārgapāla in the Pāñcāla country. He came to Rāmānanda and became his disciple.
  • Raidāsa, an aṃśa of Piṅgalāpati, one of the Aśvinīkumāras, son of Mānadāsa. He went to Kāśīpurī and defeated Kabīra in debate, then was himself defeated by Śaṅkarācārya, and then came to Rāmānanda and accepted discipleship.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 15–18

Raṅkaṇa and Yaṅkaṇā

Sūta tells a muni that Bhagavān Pāvaka, the Vasu, on hearing the words of Bṛhaspati, produced his own aṃśa from his own mouth. That aṃśa was born in a vaiśya family in the city of Kāñcanapura and became famous as Raṅkaṇa, the son of Lakshmīdatta. His wife was the pativratā Yaṅkaṇā.

The two spent all their wealth in works of dharma. They sold wood, did pūjā with the money they earned, and lived on the prasāda. The guru of this Mahātmā Raṅkaṇa was Rāmānanda.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 16

The yantra at Ayodhyā

The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells that Kali prayed to Bali, and that Bali sent the daitya Maya to help the mlecchapati Sukandara. Maya taught the mlecchas the Rekhāgaṇita of twenty-one chapters with jyotir-gaṇita, and they had yantras made in all seven purīs. By the power of those yantras the people there took up mleccha conduct, and all the Āryas cried out in grief. Hearing that cry, the Vaishṇavas, sevakas of Kṛshṇacaitanya, took the divine mantra of the guru and went separately to the purīs to make the mlecchas powerless.

Rāmānanda went to Ayodhyā with his disciples. He reversed the mleccha-yantra and made all there Vaishṇavas. Those who followed him bore on the forehead a śrī-mark like a triśūla, white and red, on the neck a tulasī garland, and on the tongue the name of Rāma. The mlecchas who became Vaishṇavas through his power were called Saṃyogī Vaishṇavas, as were those under Nimbāditya at Kāśī. The remaining Āryas stayed in Ayodhyā as chief (Mukhya) Vaishṇavas. So Maya and the other daityas were made fruitless and went back to Bali.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 21

Those of his mata

In the account of the twenty disciples of Mukunda and their rebirths, Sūta tells Śaunaka of those who stood in the line of Śrī Rāmānanda, the disciple of Rāghavānanda:

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 22–23

Sources

  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 7, 15–18, 21–23