Lakṣmaṇa described to Rāma the glory of the aśvamedha and narrated the story of Indra vanquishing Vṛtrāsura. Upon performing the aśvamedha to Bhagavān Viṣṇu, Indra got rid of his fear of brahmahatyā doṣa, which he had acquired upon killing the rākṣasa. Brahmahatyā then took residence in four different places – first, as froth in rivers; second, as latex in trees; third, as menstrual blood in youthful women; and fourth, in those who kill the brāhmaṇas.
Rāma was pleased to hear Lakṣmaṇa’s narration. He then recollected the story of Ila, the king of Bāhli. He said, “In the past, Ila, the son of Kardama-prajāpati, once went hunting in a beautiful forest. He slaughtered tens of thousands of animals and was still not satisfied. He wandered into the place where Skanda was born. There, Hara, was enjoying his private moments with Umā. He had transformed himself into a lady in order to cause delight to his wife near a mountain waterfall. The place was such that every male in the vicinity would automatically turn into a female. At that very moment, King Ila entered the region and spontaneously turned into a woman and so did his troops. He realised that this was the work of Maheśvara and begged for the divine couple’s pardon. He requested them to allow him to be a man for a month and a woman for another month. Devī Umā said, ‘So be it! When you are a man, you will not remember your having been a woman, and when, in the following month, you become a woman, you will not remember ever having been a man!’
“Thus, Ilā roamed about as the most beautiful woman surrounded by her companions who were previously men. Once, when she was roaming around a charming mountain grove, she came across Soma’s son Budha, who, at once, fell in love with her. Budha, upon learning of the background of Ilā and her companions, turned everyone except Ilā into kiṃpuruṣas. Budha and Ilā romantically indulged in each other’s company. After a month, King Ila woke up from their bed and found Budha performing tapas in the lake. He got to know that his companions had been killed by a massive hailstorm. He handed over his kingdom to his son Śaśabindu and continued to live with Budha. He would become a lovely woman every alternate month and indulge in pleasure with Budha. In the ninth month, Ilā gave birth to a son, Purūravas. In a month’s time, she transformed into King Ila. Now, Budha, who wanted to save Ila from the trouble of constantly changing gender, performed aśvamedha to Hara and won his heart. Hara then granted Ila permanent masculinity. King Ila then founded the city of Pratiṣṭhāna and after his time, Purūravas became its king. The kingdom of Bāhli continued to be ruled by Śaśabindu.”
After narrating this story and hailing the importance of aśvamedha, Rāma got all the preparations for the yajña made. A large yajña-bhūmi was created on the banks of the river Gomatī in the Naimiṣāraṇya. After getting all the materials for the yajña ready, Rāma released a horse of the kṛṣṇasāra breed, one which possessed all auspicious signs. Kings from many kingdoms came to Naimiṣāraṇya to see Rāma. With the help of his brothers, Rāma extended kind hospitality to the kings. The only voices that were heard said, “Offer, give in large quantities; continue to give until all seekers are satisfied!”
As the preeminent yajña was happening, Vālmīki arrived there with his disciples. He got a few huts quickly built for himself and his disciples in the vicinity of the yajña-bhūmi; delighted, he asked two of his disciples, Kuśa and Lava, to sing the poem, the Rāmāyaṇa in the encampments of the seers, the dwellings of the brāhmaṇas and the kings as well as the royal highways. He said, “You must especially sing right before the ṛtviks in front of Rāma’s dwelling and you may pause only to eat fruits from time to time. And if Rāma invites you to perform amidst the seers, then, you must sing twenty sargas each day, many of which are of different lengths. You must not harbour greed or expect money for your performance. What purpose does money serve to people like us who dwell in the āśrama? If Rāma asks whose sons you both are, merely say that you are the disciples of Vālmīki. You may play on these string instruments as I had demonstrated in the past. You must sing the poem from the beginning, ensuring that you display no disrespect for the king, for the king is the parent of all beings.” The two boys were delighted to receive the instruction from Vālmīki and spent the night comfortably.
The following morning, the two boys rendered the Rāmāyaṇa around the encampments and highways. Rāma grew curious about the boys, and invited them to perform before him in the breaks amidst the various rituals; he assembled great seers, kings, scholars, and townsfolk as the audience. The people assembled there were delighted, and it seemed as if they were drinking through their eyes the charm of the two boys and the king; people in the audience could be heard telling each other, “The boys look like Rāma and look like mutual reflections of each other. If they were not wearing matted locks and bark garments, we would not have been able to tell the difference between them and Rāma.”
The two boys sang melodiously. They started with the story of meeting Nārada and sang twenty sargas from there. After having heard them sing that day, Rāma who was extremely delighted, instructed Bharata that he must reward the lads with eighteen thousand gold coins; but then, when it was offered to them, the twin lads refused to accept any money saying that gold was of no use to forest dwellers like them. When the boys were saying so, Rāma, out of immense curiosity asked them, “How long is the kāvya? And who is its author? And on what events is its story based?” The two young munis replied, “The author is the revered sage Vālmīki and your life’s story is the theme of the poem! It is based on your entire life, O king, including the good and the bad.”
Rāma and his brothers along with the sages, kings, and the vānaras heard the supremely delightful rendition for many days. Amidst their signing, he got to know that the two young boys were the sons of Sītā. He said these words in the assembly, “Go forth into the presence of the revered seer and say the following as my words, ‘If Sītā is of pure character or has expiated her pāpa, let her, with the permission of the great sage, demonstrate her chastity here. Having determined the will of the muni and out of her own willingness, Sītā may come here and provide proof of her innocence. Tomorrow, to bring me back my repute, let Sītā undergo a test here, in the assembly!”
To be continued...
[The critically constituted text and the critical edition published by the Oriental Institute, Vadodara is the primary source. In addition, the Kannada rendering of the epic by Mahāmahopādhyāya Sri. N. Ranganatha Sharma and the English translation by Sri. N. Raghunathan have been referred.]
