Bharadvāja Ātithyam
Ātithyam means the welcome and care given to a guest. Bharadvāja Maharshi had his āśrama at Prayāga, where the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā meet. It was the first great ṛshi’s āśrama that Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa visited after crossing the Gaṅgā in their exile. Bharadvāja received them with all the honour due to royal guests and told them where to make their home in the forest, at Citrakūṭa. Later, when Bharata came to Prayāga at the head of a great procession, Bharadvāja fed his whole army through the power of his tapas for one divine night. This is an important episode of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.
Rāma arrives at Prayāga
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa crossed the Gaṅgā at Śṛṅgaverapura and said farewell to Sumantra. They entered the land of the Vatsas and made their way to Prayāga, the great tīrtha at the meeting of the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā. On the riverbank at that meeting place stood the āśrama of Bharadvāja Maharshi.
Bharadvāja was a ṛshi of great learning and long standing. He was famous in the Vedic tradition and was the teacher of many. When Rāma came, gave his name and told of their exile, Bharadvāja welcomed them fully. He gave them water for the feet, arghya (a welcome offering of water), and forest food and fruit fit for guests. He said how glad he was that Rāma had come to his āśrama, and he spoke of the beauty and peace of Prayāga (Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 54).
The way to Citrakūṭa
Rāma asked Bharadvāja to name a good place where the three of them could make a home for the fourteen years of exile. Bharadvāja spoke of Citrakūṭa. It is a mountain forest south of Prayāga, about thirty krośa away, and the Mandākinī river flows through it.
He praised its beauty. The mountain was full of flowering trees and falling waters. Many kinds of birds crowded it. Ṛshis and ascetics lived there. It was rich in fruits and roots, and lovely in every season. The Mandākinī was a clear and pleasant river, good for ritual bathing.
Bharadvāja told Rāma that Citrakūṭa would give everything needed for a righteous life in the forest, and that its beauty would ease the hardship of exile. He had seen many great ṛshis live there happily (Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 54).
Bharata’s army and the divine hospitality
Later Bharata came to Prayāga at the head of a great procession in search of Rāma. It had ministers, queens, ṛshis and soldiers, with horses, elephants and chariots in the thousands. Bharadvāja welcomed him too. Bharata asked where Rāma had gone, and Bharadvāja told him the way to Citrakūṭa.
Then Bharadvāja did something more wonderful. He gave the whole army, thousands of people and animals, a night of hospitality beyond the human world, through the power of his tapas. By his yogic power he called on divine beings and divine gifts. Overnight the whole camp was changed. The soldiers were housed in celestial palaces. They were given the finest food and drink, served by celestial beings, and entertained with divine music and dance. It was a night of plenty beyond anything in the mortal world. By morning everyone was rested and ready to go on. This great deed showed the reach of Bharadvāja’s tapas-śakti (power of austerity) (Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, the chapters on Bharata’s journey, with no chapter numbers given).
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 54 to 55, and the chapters on Bharata’s journey to Prayāga (no numbers given)