Rāmāyaṇa of a Former Kalpa
During the Aśvamedha yajña at Ayodhyā, Bhagavān Rāma asked Śambhu (Śiva) whether a Rāmāyaṇa had taken place in a former kalpa (a long age of the world). Śambhu then told him an ancient account of the Rāma story. This account follows the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.
In this account Daśaratha has four queens. The sons are born from a fiery image that rises from the Āhavanīya fire. Brahmā himself names them. Sītā is born from a yajña, Rāma crosses the ocean with the Ajagava bow, and Vibhīshaṇa shows the secret of Laṅkā’s gate. The account ends with Vālin praising Rāma as Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Daśaratha conquers King Sādhya
Daśaratha went out on a campaign and conquered a king named Sādhya. As Daśaratha prepared to kill him, Sādhya’s young son Bhūshaṇa bowed down before Daśaratha and begged for his father’s life.
The sight of the boy struck Daśaratha deeply. The boy’s form and bearing were very like those of Daśaratha’s own beloved son who had died. The grief of that memory woke compassion in him, and he spared Sādhya.
Sādhya was grateful. He taught Daśaratha the observance of Ekādaśī and the right way to worship Bhagavān Vishṇu. He explained the puṇya (merit) of the Ekādaśī vrata (vow) and the way of Vaishṇava bhakti (loving devotion). Daśaratha received these teachings with respect. A conquered king had given dharma to his conqueror, and the events that follow grew from this meeting.
The four queens and the birth of the sons
In this account Daśaratha has four wives. Kauśalyā is the senior queen. The others are Sumitrā, Surūpā and Suveśā.
The sons were not born from pāyasam (sweet milk-rice) given at the end of a putrakāmeshṭi yajña (a yajña for the birth of sons). Instead, a fiery image rose from the Āhavanīya fire during the yajña. The four sons took birth through this luminous form from the sacred fire.
Brahmā himself came down and performed the birth saṃskāras (rites of passage) for the four princes. By his own authority he named the sons one after another: Rāma, Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna.
Mārīca as a brāhmaṇa guest
Mārīca, the rākshasa who later took the form of the golden deer, appears in this account as a brāhmaṇa guest at Daśaratha’s palace.
Sītā born from the yajña of Videha
Here Sītā was born from the yajña performed by King Videha of Vidarbha. She was a fire-born daughter, born from the yajña fire.
Bhagavān Śiva himself gave the Ajagava bow to King Videha for Sītā’s svayaṃvara (the ceremony at which a bride chooses her husband). When Rāma came to the svayaṃvara, he strung the Ajagava bow and so won Sītā in marriage.
Suveśā’s demand and Rāma’s exile
Suveśā, one of Daśaratha’s four wives, demanded that Rāma be sent into exile. Daśaratha was bound by his word and could not refuse her. The father grieved, Rāma accepted exile calmly as dharma, and he set out for the forest.
Crossing the ocean with the Ajagava bow
To reach Laṅkā, Rāma did not build a setu (bridge). In this account he crossed the ocean in another way. He threw the Ajagava bow, the bow of Śiva that he had strung at Sītā’s svayaṃvara, into the water. The bow’s entry into the ocean opened the way for Rāma to cross. The bow of Śiva, which had done its work at the svayaṃvara, became the key to the last campaign against Rāvaṇa.
Vibhīshaṇa shows the secret of Laṅkā’s gate
When Rāma’s forces reached Laṅkā, Vibhīshaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s righteous brother, who had taken refuge with Rāma, gave the knowledge that decided the war. He told Rāma the secret of Laṅkā’s gate. Inside the gate there was a piece of wood bent at five places. This was the weak point through which Laṅkā could be overcome. With this knowledge of the hidden weakness, Rāma’s forces could break into the city.
Tārā’s argument and Vālin’s praise
In the account of Vālin’s death, Tārā, Vālin’s devoted wife, argued strongly with Rāma about killing her husband from hiding. She asked whether it was right or wrong to kill Vālin in the way that was chosen. In her grief she set before Rāma the weight of that act.
Vālin himself gave the deepest answer. As he lay dying from Rāma’s arrow, he looked at Rāma with clear recognition and praised him as Bhagavān Vishṇu. Vālin saw that the one who had killed him was Bhagavān Vishṇu himself, and that to die by Rāma’s arrow was grace. His praise of Rāma as Vishṇu turned his death from a defeat into moksha (liberation).
In this ancient account too, Rāma is Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 116