Śarabhaṅga
Śarabhaṅga
Śarabhaṅga was a great maharshi who lived in the Daṇḍakāraṇya forest in the Tretā Yuga. He had stored up great tapas (austerity) and was ready to rise to Brahmaloka. But he chose to wait for the darśana (sight) of Bhagavān Rāma. When Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa came to his āśrama, he received them with joy and then entered the fire.
The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa and the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa both tell of him in the Araṇya Kāṇḍa. Each account is given below. The Agni Purāṇa also names him among the ṛshis to whom Rāma bowed on his way to the Daṇḍakāraṇya.
Who he was
Śarabhaṅga was among the great tapasvins (ascetics) of the Daṇḍakāraṇya. This is the vast forest of the south, where many āśramas stood, and where rākshasas preyed on the ṛshis. In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, he is a ṛshi of the Gautama gotra (family line). He had gathered great tapas over many years. His āśrama was the first major place Rāma reached after he freed Virādha.
The account in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
Indra at the āśrama
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa came to the edge of Śarabhaṅga’s āśrama. They saw a wonder. Indra himself sat in a divine chariot, surrounded by divine beings. He had come to take the ṛshi to Brahmaloka. The chariot shone with divine light. But when Indra saw Rāma coming, he withdrew. He did not wish to be seen by Rāma at that moment.
Indra had come to take Śarabhaṅga to Brahmaloka as the reward for his tapas. By his austerities, Śarabhaṅga had gathered enough puṇya (merit) to rise to the highest realms. But he had said that he would not leave until he had seen Rāma. He had waited for this darśana as the last blessing of his life on earth. Indra came, and then withdrew when Rāma arrived.
The fire and the ascent
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa entered his āśrama, and Śarabhaṅga received them with great joy. He honoured them with offerings and a greeting. Then he did his last act. He lit a great fire, spoke sacred mantras, and entered the flames (agni-praveśa).
The fire burned his old body. From the fire came a changed being. Śarabhaṅga appeared as a radiant young man, shining with the glow of his tapas. In this divine form he rose up towards Brahmaloka, the realm of Brahmā. This was the goal that his tapas had earned.
The account in the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa
Waiting
Śarabhaṅga had reached the height of his sādhana (spiritual practice). He was ready to leave his body and rise to Brahmaloka in his subtle form. But he knew beforehand that Bhagavān Rāmacandra, the Supreme in human form, would pass through the forest. He decided that he could not leave without the darśana of Jagadīśvara (the master of the world). So he waited.
Meeting Rāma
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa came to Śarabhaṅga’s āśrama as they crossed the forest after their visit to Atri Maharshi. The old ṛshi was overcome. He saw the divine Mohana-mūrti (the enchanting form) of Rāmacandra, with his lotus face, the bow in his hand, and Sītā and Lakshmaṇa beside him. His eyes became still in absorption. He folded his hands and spoke a stotra (hymn of praise) of great beauty.
“Like a haṃsa moving on the Mānasa lake of Maheśa’s mind, O Rāma of Sāketa! I had set out for Brahmaloka but could not go without seeing you. You came out of your compassion for this helpless one, this sādhanā-rahita (one without spiritual practice), this dīna (poor in spirit). By seeing you, O Bhaktavatsala (lover of your devotees), my pāpas (sins) and tāpas (sufferings) have perished, and my mind and body have found śānti (peace). O Jagannātha! Give me leave to put aside this body that must perish and merge into you.”
Then he piled up a pyre, stood on it, and made his last prayer.
“O Bhagavān Rāma! All my japa, tapas and yajñas I give up to you. O Rāma of the blue-cloud colour! May you, with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa, live in my heart for ever in your saguṇa rūpa (your form with qualities).”
His end
Śarabhaṅga burned himself in yogāgni (the fire of yoga) while Rāma looked on. He did not merge into Brahman. He went to Vaikuṇṭha, the divine home of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The ṛshis who were present praised his bhakti (devotion) in many ways.
Bhagavān Śiva told this episode to Pārvatī. He said that even a sādhu who is fully ready for the highest moksha (liberation) will delay his going for the sake of the darśana of Bhagavān Rāma. Such is the irresistible beauty of Rāma’s divine form.
In the Agni Purāṇa
The Agni Purāṇa, in Agni Deva’s telling of the Rāmāyaṇa to Vasishṭha Maharshi, names Śarabhaṅga among the ṛshis whom Rāma met in the forest. Rāma bowed to Vasishṭha and to his mothers and sent them back, left Citrakūṭa and set out for the Daṇḍakāraṇya. On the way he saw Atri Mahāmuni and his wife Anasūyā and bowed to them, and after them Śarabhaṅga, Sutīkshṇa, Agastya‘s brother and Agastya, by whose grace he received a bow and a sword.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 7
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapter 5
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 7