Rāma Rājya (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa)

Rāma Rājya is the reign of Bhagavān Rāma over Ayodhyā. The Uttara Kāṇḍa of Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas, the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, gives one of the most loved descriptions of ideal rule in sacred literature.

When Rāma took the throne, the three worlds were freed from fear and sorrow. Dharma stood on all four legs. There was no early death, no disease, no drought, no poverty, no ignorance and no wickedness. Every citizen followed the dharma of his varṇa and āśrama, and love for one another filled the land. The kāṇḍa also describes Rāma’s daily life as king, Sītā’s loving service, the birth of Lava and Kuśa, and the part all four brothers took in his reign.

The moment the throne was taken

Rāma was king over the whole earth, circled by four oceans. When he sat on the throne and lifted the sceptre, the three worlds became free from fear, grief and affliction. Tulasīdāsa describes this moment in the well-known Avadhi verses:

Baranāśrama nija nija dharama
Nirata vēda patha lōga।
Calahim sadā pāvahim sukhahim
Nahim bhaya śōka narōga॥

Daihika daivika bhautika tāpā
Rāmarāja nahim kāhuhim vyāpā।
Saba nara karahim paraspara prītī
Calahim svadharma nirata śruti nītī॥

Cārihum carana dharmajaga māhim
Pūri rahā sapanehum aghahim nāhim।
Rāma bhagati rata saba nara nārī
Sakala parama gati kē adhikārī॥

Alpa mṛtyu nahim kavani vu pīrā
Saba sundara saba biruja śarīrā।
Nahim dariddra kou dukhī na dīnā
Nahim kou abudha na lacchan hīnā॥

The meaning: All the people, devoted to the path of the Vedas, followed the dharmas of their own varṇas and āśramas and lived well. There was no fear, no sorrow and no disease. The threefold suffering, of the body (ādhidaihika), of the higher powers (ādhidaivika) and of the material world (ādhibhautika), touched no one in Rāma’s kingdom. All people loved one another. Everyone lived devoted to his own dharma, as the Vedas teach. Dharma stood on all four legs throughout the world. Not even in a dream did pāpa (sin) arise. All men and women were devoted to Rāma-bhakti, and so were fit for the highest moksha. There was no early death, no pain and no disease. All were beautiful and all were healthy. There was no poverty, no grief and no helplessness. No one was ignorant, and no one lacked good qualities.

The natural world in Rāma Rājya

In Rāma’s time the rains came in their proper season. Rivers, lakes and reservoirs were always full. The earth was rich with crops, fruits, flowers and all healing herbs. The forests glowed green. The natural enmity between animals melted away. Hunter and hunted moved about in peace and forgot their hostility. In Rāma’s reign the Tretā Yuga made the Kṛta Yuga a mere memory, for the golden age had returned.

Rāma ruled as Sāmrāṭ (emperor) over the earth bounded by the four oceans. Yet that great king carried whole multitudes of brahmāṇḍas (universes) in each of his pores. The burden of this one kingdom was nothing to the master of countless universes.

Ayodhyā’s splendour

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa spends many lines describing the beauty of Ayodhyā under Rāma’s rule. The city seemed to match Amarāvatī, the capital of Indra, in every visible glory.

The houses of Ayodhyā had crystal-clear courtyards finished with coloured plaster. Golden pots stood on the rooftops. Pillars of precious gems rose to the sky. Windows were set with pearls. Lamp-chambers blazed with gems. Doorframes were set with the navaratnas (nine gems). Tall gopuras (gateway towers) reached toward the sky. Each home had a garden court, a pleasure pond, ever-green creepers and flowering trees, cool porches and play pavilions, all filled with the songs of birds.

The market streets were beyond imagining in their plenty. The merchants were upright and their trade was honest, and their wealth matched that of Kubera himself. Temples lined the ghāṭs of the Sarayū to the north. Beside the temples stood the huts of sādhus among flower gardens. In the mornings and evenings the ghāṭs were busy with people doing snāna (bathing), sandhyā (the twilight prayers) and pūjā.

All through the city, in courtyards, in assembly halls, on raised platforms and in temples, elders told Rāma-kathā (the story of Rāma) to the young. The singing of Rāma’s name (Rāma-nāma-saṅkīrtana) rose without end from every corner of Ayodhyā. The citizens lived in joy and purity, devoted to sādāchāra (good conduct), and filled the city with the glory of Rāma’s name.

Rāma’s daily life

Rāma rose each morning before dawn and went down to the holy waters of the Sarayū for snāna and sandhyā. He then went back to the palace to perform pūjā. After that he went to the royal court, where he sat in talk with paṇḍitas, munis and wise men. His brothers Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna served him with the greatest loving care. They followed his every movement with the respect due to Bhagavān Rāma. In the evenings the three brothers sat with Hanumān in the garden to hear the account of Rāma’s vana-vāsa (forest life) and the war of Laṅkā. They listened with śraddhā (faith) and delight.

The ṛshi Nārada came to Ayodhyā every day, had darśana of Rāma, and then went back to Brahmaloka. There he sang Rāma’s divine history to Brahmā, Indra, the other devas and the Sanakādi ṛshis. Though those great ones were absorbed in yogic samādhi and the highest knowledge, they set their meditation aside and listened to Nārada’s Rāma-kathā with pure śraddhā. They found deep satisfaction in hearing it.

Sītā’s conduct and the birth of Lava and Kuśa

Sītā, the faithful wife (sādhvī), the great queen and Jagadambā (mother of the world), looked after Bhagavān Rāma herself, day and night. She served him with her own hands in every way fitting for a devoted wife. She received her mothers-in-law with the highest respect, treating them as a loving daughter would. With her younger brothers-in-law (the devaras) she kept the right conduct of maitri (friendship), with the affection and dignity of a sister. Śrī Lakshmī, Pārvatī and Sarasvatī meditated on Jānakī without rest. She was the source and support of all divine feminine grace.

In time Sītādevī gave birth to two sons, Lava and Kuśa. They were brave in character and devoted in nature, and they looked like their father in every way. The Vedas describe their qualities and virtues in full. The other three brothers, Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna, also each had two sons, and so the household of Daśaratha’s sons came into full flower.

The cosmic meaning of Rāma Rājya

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa places the splendour of Rāma Rājya within its deepest frame. Rāma was king of the earth circled by four oceans, yet that all-powerful king carried whole brahmāṇḍas inside each pore of his body. What was the burden of one kingdom to one who bore countless universes within himself?

The glory of Rāma’s kingship is more than any tongue can sing. Thieves, gamblers and the dishonest found no ground to stand on in his kingdom. This was not because of force, but because of the very air of dharma that filled the reign. The jñānins (knowers), those who reflect on dharma, the bhaktas, the sādhus and all who walked the right path lived without fear or danger, in complete joy.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Rāma Rājya
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Avadha’s Fortune
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Rāma’s Daily Life in Ayodhyā