Guha
Guha was the king of the Nishādas, the forest people who lived in the forests and along the riverbank near Śṛṅgaverapura on the Gaṅgā. He was an old and devoted friend of Bhagavān Rāma.
When Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa came to Śṛṅgaverapura in the early days of their exile, Guha’s welcome to Rāma became one of the most moving acts of friendship in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. He offered his whole kingdom. He stayed awake all night on guard. He arranged the crossing of the Gaṅgā. Later he told Bharata everything about Rāma’s passage.
Meeting Rāma at Śṛṅgaverapura
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa reached Śṛṅgaverapura on the bank of the Gaṅgā in the royal chariot driven by Sumantra. Guha came to receive them with great respect. He brought the best fruits, foods and gifts his kingdom had. His heart was full of pain and love. He had known Rāma as the prince of Ayodhyā, and now Rāma came as an exile in the forest, in simple clothes, with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa beside him.
Guha offered to place his whole kingdom at Rāma’s service, with his army, his forests and all he had, so that Rāma might live in comfort and honour at Śṛṅgaverapura. He urged Rāma to stay and take his welcome. Rāma received Guha’s love with warmth and thanks, but he refused all the rich gifts. He had vowed to live as a forest ascetic and could not accept such comforts. He took only fodder for the horses. He, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa ate only forest food, fruit and roots. Guha could not persuade Rāma to take more, and he was honoured to serve in whatever way Rāma allowed. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 50–51)
The sleepless night of guarding
That night Rāma and Sītā slept under the great iṅgudī tree on the riverbank. Guha stayed awake the whole night with Lakshmaṇa and Sumantra. The three of them, the Nishāda king, the prince and the minister, kept watch together through the dark of the forest, each filled with grief and love.
Lakshmaṇa spoke a long lament to Guha. He gave voice to the pain he had carried in silence before Rāma. He spoke of his anger at the wrong done to Rāma, and of his grief for Kauśalyā. He said that Daśaratha, unable to bear parting from Rāma, would not live long. He feared what Ayodhyā would become without Rāma. Guha listened and shared the sorrow, and so bore witness to Lakshmaṇa’s grief. This watch through the night, with the Nishāda king and the two companions guarding the sleeping Rāma and Sītā, is one of the most tender scenes of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 51)
Arranging the crossing of the Gaṅgā
At dawn Rāma prepared to cross the Gaṅgā and say farewell to Sumantra. Guha arranged a boat for the crossing. Before they boarded, Rāma and Lakshmaṇa matted their hair with the milky sap of the banyan tree. This formed the jaṭā (matted locks) that marked their full entry into the life of forest ascetics.
Guha’s boat carried them across the great river. In mid-river Sītā prayed to the Gaṅgā with folded hands. She vowed to offer pūjā and ten thousand cows when she returned to Ayodhyā with Rāma, his exile ended in victory.
This crossing was the great turning point of the exile. From this bank Rāma was in the forest, beyond the reach of Ayodhyā. Guha watched them go and bore his grief quietly. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 52)
Guiding Bharata
Bharata came to Śṛṅgaverapura searching for Rāma. Guha was his main source of news about Rāma’s passage. He told Bharata in full detail how Rāma had come, how he had refused all welcome, how they had sat awake through the night, and how at dawn Rāma and Lakshmaṇa had formed the jaṭā and crossed the Gaṅgā by boat.
Bharata saw that the place where Rāma had slept was still marked on the ground, and he was overcome with grief. Guha’s account helped Bharata follow his brother’s path. It also helped him understand the spirit in which Rāma had taken the exile, with complete calm and no bitterness. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Bharata chapters)
In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa
The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa also tells of Guha’s chief part at Śṛṅgaverapura and his part as guide to Bharata, in agreement with the Vālmīki account. In the Tulasī telling the stress falls on Guha’s inner devotion. His love for Bhagavān Rāma was so deep that his whole being was lost in service to him.
When Bharata came to Śṛṅgaverapura, Guha gave a full account of the crossing of the Gaṅgā. This included the remarkable story of Kevaṭa the boatman. Kevaṭa refused to carry Rāma until he had washed his feet. His act of taking hold of the feet (pādāvalambana) was honoured by a rain of divine flowers from the devas. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa)
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 50–53
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Kāṇḍa, Chapter 5