Sutīkshṇa
Sutīkshṇa · su-tīkshṇa, “the very sharp one”
Sutīkshṇa was a brāhmaṇa ṛshi, a disciple of Agastya Muni, and a devoted worshipper of Bhagavān Rāma. The Skanda Purāṇa shows him doing steady tapas (austerity) at Rāmatīrtha in the Setu-kshetra. There he composed the Sūtīkshṇa-Rāma-stotra and gained great powers. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa shows him in Daṇḍakāraṇya, overcome with love as Bhagavān Rāma comes to his āśrama. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells how he received Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa and spoke with Rāma about tapas and dharma. The Agni Purāṇa names him among the ṛshis to whom Rāma bowed on his way to the Daṇḍakāraṇya.
Who he was
The Skanda Purāṇa calls Sutīkshṇa a brāhmaṇa ṛshi of a controlled mind (munimanonigraha). He was a disciple of Agastya Muni and a one-pointed meditator on the feet of Bhagavān Rāmacandra. He came to Rāmatīrtha in the Setu-kshetra as a student and stayed there in constant spiritual practice.
Tapas at Rāmatīrtha
At Rāmatīrtha, Sutīkshṇa kept a hard daily discipline.
- He bathed every day in the holy water of Rāmatīrtha.
- He lived only on bhikshāhāra (food gained by begging).
- He ate in a regulated way (niyatāhāra).
- He fully conquered anger.
- He conquered all the senses.
- He chanted the shaḍakshara (six-syllable) Rāma mantra 5,000 times every day, with full care and focus.
- He held Bhagavān Rāma in his heart in steady dhyāna (meditation), and honoured Sītā and Rāma with devotion.
He kept this up for a long time. His devotion to Bhagavān Rāma became pure and firm.
The Sūtīkshṇa-Rāma-stotra
During his tapas at Rāmatīrtha, Sutīkshṇa composed a stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Rāma and offered it every day. The Skanda Purāṇa gives it in this meaning.
O master of Jānakī! Namaskāra to you. O beloved of Hanūmān! Namaskāra to you. O one appointed to guard Kauśika’s yajña! Namaskāra to you. O son of Kausalyā, dear to Viśvāmitra! Namaskāra to you. O breaker of Śiva’s bow, honoured by the devas! Namaskāra to you. O slayer of Mārīca, best of kings, slayer of Tāṭakā! Namaskāra to you. O enemy of Kabandha, son of Daśaratha, Vishṇu! Namaskāra to you. O conqueror of Jāmadagnya, slayer of Khara! Namaskāra to you. O master of Sugrīva, slayer of Vālin! Namaskāra to you. O remover of Vibhīshaṇa’s fear, destroyer of all mala (impurity)! Namaskāra to you. O one who took away Ahalyā’s sorrow, elder brother of Bharata! Namaskāra to you. O one who humbled the pride of the ocean, builder of the setu (bridge), tāraka-brahman (the Brahman who carries across), elder brother of Lakshmaṇa! Namaskāra to you. O slayer of rākshasas, crusher of Rāvaṇa! Namaskāra to you. O bearer of the Kodaṇḍa bow, giver of all protection! Namaskāra to you.
Powers gained
Through his unbroken practice at Rāmatīrtha, Sutīkshṇa gained great powers.
- Advaita-vijñāna (non-dual wisdom) arose in him without study.
- Full knowledge of the Vedas and all subjects came to him without hearing.
- Parakāya-praveśa, the power to enter another’s body.
- Ākāśa-gamana, the power to travel through the sky.
- Mastery of all arts and sciences.
- Knowledge of all śāstras without a guru.
- Free travel to all worlds.
- The power to see and know all past events.
- Conversation with devas.
- Understanding of the speech of all creatures, down to ants and insects.
- The power to travel to all fourteen worlds at will.
- All the siddhis (powers) of yoga.
The Purāṇa says these gifts were the direct fruit of Sutīkshṇa’s tapas at Rāmatīrtha. It proclaims the great power of this tīrtha (holy place).
In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa
In the Araṇya Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Sutīkshṇa is one of the most moving pictures of bhakti (devotion). He lived as a devoted ascetic in the Daṇḍakāraṇya region. The text names him as a disciple of Agastya Maharshi.
News came that Bhagavān Rāmacandra was coming through the forest to his āśrama. Sutīkshṇa was overpowered by devotion, beyond all ordinary feeling. He forgot his body, his āśrama and everything around him. He cried out:
My Prabhu Rāma is coming, my Prabhu Rāma has shown grace, my āśrama has been made holy, I am blessed today. My cloud-coloured, lotus-eyed Rāma, who loves his devotees (bhaktavatsala), will appear before me with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa!
He danced along the forest paths, sang the names of Rāma and leapt for joy. He was lost in the wait for darśana (sight of Bhagavān Rāma). He did not know that Rāma had already come. Moved by this pure bhakti, Rāmacandra first showed his divine form (svarūpa) to Sutīkshṇa within his heart, before coming in person. At this inner vision (sākshātkāra) the ṛshi fainted and fell to the ground.
When he opened his eyes, Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa stood before him. He bowed down and washed Rāma’s feet with his tears. He then offered a stotra. In it he calls Rāma the fire (kṛśānu) for the forest of moha (delusion), the sun (bhānu) for the lotuses that are the sādhus (holy people), and the lion (mṛgarāja) for the elephants that are the rākshasas. He begged Bhagavān Rāma to live in the forest of his mind. His request to Rāma was simple:
O Jagadpati, master of the world, grant this servant nishkāma bhakti, devotion without desire.
Rāma embraced Sutīkshṇa with love and said:
Yatī! Receive unbroken devotion (akhaṇḍa bhakti) and rejoice.
Sutīkshṇa then asked to go with Rāma to the āśrama of Agastya, since he had been long without guru-darśana (sight of his teacher). Rāma agreed. The four of them travelled together in good talk (sat-kathā) until they reached Agastya’s hermitage.
In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
In the Araṇya Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sutīkshṇa is a well known tapasvin (ascetic) of the Daṇḍakāraṇya forest. After Śarabhāṅga rose to Brahmaloka, Rāma and his companions went on through Daṇḍakāraṇya and came to the āśrama of Sutīkshṇa. He welcomed them with great joy and respect. His life of tapas in the deep forest was turned towards the presence of dharma, and Rāma’s coming was a supreme moment for him. He gave them the hospitality that suits a forest āśrama and spoke with Rāma at length.
Their talk was about tapas, duty and a life of dharma in the forest. Sutīkshṇa, an experienced tapasvin, shared what he knew of the hardships and rewards of forest life. Rāma was now living in the forest himself. He asked the ṛshi’s advice on how a kshatriya (warrior) should balance his duties in the āraṇya (forest).
Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa spent time at Sutīkshṇa’s āśrama and then went on with their journey through the forest. After this stay they were on their way toward Agastya.
In the Agni Purāṇa
The Agni Purāṇa, in Agni Deva’s telling of the Rāmāyaṇa to Vasishṭha Maharshi, names Sutīkshṇa 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
The Sītā Kavaca from Agastya
The Manohara Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa (Chapter 14) adds an event in Sutīkshṇa’s life with his guru Agastya. Agastya taught Sutīkshṇa the Sītā Kavaca, a protective armour of prayer built on the divine names and nature of Sītā. He also taught the Sītā Ashṭottara-śata-nāma, the 108 names of Sītā. The Sītā Kavaca calls Sītā bhūmiputrī (daughter of the earth), raised by Janaka and given to Padmāksha (Rāma). It also calls her an apsaras from the kshīra-sāgara (ocean of milk).
So Sutīkshṇa also received from his guru a teaching of Sītā-upāsanā (devotion to Sītā). It gave him knowledge of Sītā’s nature and of the protective power of her 108 names.
Sources
- Skanda Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Setu Māhātmya, Chapter 18
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 14
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 7–8
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 7