Uttar Kaanda
213 - Guru's appeal to Lord siva for forgiving the wrong; mollification of the curse; continuation of Kakabhusundi's narrative
Chaupais
Description
Whatever form I assumed, whether of an irrational being, god or man, I continued to adore Sri Rama even in that form. Yet one thing ever stung my conscience: my Guru's mild and amiable disposition I could never forget. The last body I got was that of a Brahmana, which the Vedas and Puranas declare as difficult even for the gods to attain. Even in that incarnation whenever I joined the other boys for play, I would enact all the pastimes of Sri Rama (the Lord of the Raghus) alone. As I grew up my father gave me lessons (in secular subjects). I tried to understand things, listened to the lessons and reflected on them; yet they failed to attract my mind. All worldly cravings left my soul; I was solely absorbed in the thought of Sri Rama's feet. Tell me, O lord of the feathered creation: is there anyone so wretched as to give up a cow of plenty and tend a she-ass? Overwhelmed with love I had no charm left for anything and my father was tried of coaching me. When both my father and mother died, I withdrew to the forest in order to worship the Protector of His servants. In the forest wherever I met any great sage I visited his hermitage and bowed my head to him. I would ask them to recount Sri Rama'svirtues and listened with delight to what they told me. O lord of the winged creatures ! In this way I went about listening to the recital of Sri Hari's praises. By Sambhu's grace my movements were unchecked everywhere. The three types of ardent seeking (viz., those for progeny, wealth and fame) left me and one solitary longing grew to inordinate proportions in my heart. "I shall deem the object of my birth accomplished only when I behold Sri Rama's lotus-feet," I said to myself. Every sage I interrogated observed, "God represents the totality of created beings." But the view which holds God as impersonal did not find favour with me and the love I bore in my heart for the embodied Brahma grew from more to more.