Gōswāmī Tulasīdās’ ŚRĪ RĀMA CARITA MĀNASA, Canto 4: Kiṣkindhā-Kāṇḍa

Description

This Volume no. 7 continues with the English narration of the Story of Lord Ram as described in the devotional classic known as ‘Ram Charit Manas’ written by Goswami Tulsidas, from where we had left it in volume no. 6, i.e. the end of Canto 3, Aranya Kand.
The entire Book ‘Ram Charit Manas’ is divided into 7 Cantos, named Baal Kand, Ayodhya Kand, Aranya Kand, Kishkindha Kand, Sundar Kand, Lanka Kand, and Uttar Kand.
The topics that are covered in this volume no. 7 are the following:
(1) Lord Ram and Laxman arrive at Mt. Rishymook where they meet Hanuman; on Hanuman’s advice, Lord Ram befriends Sugriv who assures the Lord that he would do his best to find and free Sita from the clutches of her captors; Sugriv tells the Lord how injustice was done to him by his elder brother Baali; the Lord helped Sugriv to vanquish his tormentor Baali and regain his honour; Baali attains emancipation and salvation; at the time of death, he puts his son Angad in the custody of Lord Ram, making the Lord his guardian.
(2) Sugriv is made the next king of Kishkindha, and Angad the crown prince; Lord Ram retires to the nearby Mt. Prabarshan to spend the next few months in quietude; description of the intrinsic charm and beauty of Mother Nature.
(3) Lord Ram sends Laxman to summon Sugriv; the Lord reminds him of his promise to help in the search of Sita; countless monkeys and bears are dispatched in groups to different corners of the earth to find where Sita was; one such group consisted of chief advisors of Sugriv such as Hanuman, Angad, Jamvant, Nal and Neel etc., who are dispatched in the south direction; Lord Ram selects Hanuman as his personal messenger and gives him his finger ring to present it to Sita as a token of identification.
(4) This group heads towards the south; they enter a cave in search of water and meet a hermitress who directs them towards the shore of the southern ocean.
(5) Faced with the roaring ocean in the front which blocked their way, the monkeys and bears lost all hopes of ever finding Sita; a vulture named Sampati, the brother of Jatau, came down from his cave atop a hill and met the distraught group; they inform him how Jatau had sacrificed his life in the service of Lord Ram; Sampati did the last rites of his brother, and briefed the group about his earlier life; then flew high in the sky to see across the ocean, and found that Sita was confined in a garden in the island of Lanka, the capital city of the demon king Ravana.
(6) The question that now arose was who amongst the monkeys and bears would be able to cross the vast expanse of the ocean to reach Lanka, meet Sita and come back with her news; all, including Angad, expressed their reservations and inability to accomplish this task successfully; finally Jamvant motivated Hanuman to be the hero of the occasion and accomplish this great feat as a service to Lord Ram, to which Hanuman cheerfully agreed; Jamvant advised Hanuman to meet Sita and bring back her news so that Lord Ram would himself lead a campaign to free her from the clutches of her captors.
With this we come to the end of Canto 4, i.e. Kishkindha Kand of the Book ‘Ram Charit Manas’.
We shall continue with the reading of this magnificent Story in the next Canto no. 5 of Ram Charit Manas, called the Sundar Kand, to read what happened next.

About the Author

Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia left home when he was approximately 29 years of age due to an inner call of his heart that told him to devote his life in the service of his beloved Lord God, Sri Ram. Worldly attractions did not enchant him at all. So, he didn’t marry, and after his father’s death he came and settled permanently in Ayodhya, the holy town in India associated with Lord Ram.
Presently he works as an honorary manager of a world famous Kanak Bhavan Temple at Ayodhya, and spends his time writing in English so that the world can access the wonderful nectar of metaphysical, spiritual and devotional philosophy that is contained in Indian scriptures for which they are so renowned.
His English Books published separately by a reputed publisher of India, the details of whom can be had by contacting the author on his email given below, include: (i) The series on ‘108 Upanishads’ in five volumes having eighteen parts, (ii) Veda Vyas’ ‘Adhyatma Ramayan’ in two parts, (iii) ‘Devi Puran Ramayan’, (iv) Valmiki’s ‘Adbhut Ramayan’, and (v) ‘Biography of Lord Ram’ based on Tulsidas’ books.
Genre of Writing: Spiritualism, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Religious, Devotional and Theological.
The author’s Books are available for order online both in ‘e-book’ format and ‘paper-back book’ format at www.pothi.com.
(A) List of Books that are currently available as mentioned above :-
(A-1) (1) The Chariot of God: Dharma Rath; (2) OM and Naad; (3) YOGA—Its Practice and Philosophy according to the Upanishads; (4) Ram Geeta; (5) The Revelation of Creation—as envisioned in the Upanishads; (6) The Pentagon of Creation: As Expounded in the Upanishads; (7) The Triumvirate of Creation; (8) Maya: The Whirlpool of Delusions in Creation; (9) Surdas-Ram Charitawali; (10-a) The legend of Lord Shiva: Book 1 ‘Lord Shiva’s marriage with Parvati’; (10-b) Book 2 ‘Lord Shiva’s Sacred Hymns’; (10-c) Book 3 ‘Shiva’s different names & their significance, Shiva Puran, Upanishads’; (11) the Mahavakyas of the Upanishads; (13) Lord Ram’s marriage with Sita (based on Tulsidas’ books “Ram Charit Manas”, “Janki Mangal”, “Ram Lala Nahachu” & “Geetawali”, and sage Veda Vyas’ book “Adhyatma Ramayan”; (14) “Anthology of Sacred Hymns, Stotras & Mantras of Lord Ram”; (15) “Vairagya Shatkam” of king-sage Bhartrihari; (16) An Anthology of the Sanyas Upanishads-Parts 1 and 2; (17) “Kaag-Bhusund Ramayan” or the “Aadi Ramayan” based on Tulsidas’ Ram Charit Manas; (18) The Legendary Glory of Hanuman; (19) “Narad Bhakti Sutra”—Aphorisms for Devotion for God and the Principles of Love for the Lord; (20) “Shandilya Bhakti Sutra”—Aphorisms for Devotion for God and the Principles of Love for the Lord according to the illustrious sage Shandilya; (21) “Bhakti Sutra Mala”—A Garland of Spiritual Wisdom in the form of an Anthology of Aphorisms pertaining to Bhakti or devotion, love and affection for Lord God; (22) Glory of Lord Ram’s Holy Name, Sacred Mantras, Stotras & Hymns; (23) Saints and Non-Saints: Their Distinguishing Characters and Qualities; (24) A True Guru (Qualities, Importance and Need of a True Teacher, Preceptor, Guide and Advisor); (25) “Sundar Kand” of Ram Charit Manas; (26) The Story of Ravana and the Epic War of Lanka—Told in Slow Motion (based on, and will have the full relevant Text of, Ram Charit Manas, Adhyatma Ramayan, Anand Ramayan, Geetawali Ramayan, and Kavitawali Ramayan); (27) The Great Ancient Sages, Seers, Saints and Enlightened Kings of India; (28) The Metaphor of the Hansa in the Upanishads: The symbolism of a Grand Swan used to explain the wisdom of spiritual and metaphysical principles by the Upanishads.
(A-2) Goswami Tulsidas Series: (1) ‘Dohawali’; (2) ‘Parvati Mangal’; (3) ‘Kavitawali’; (4) ‘Janki Mangal’; (5) ‘Ram Lala Nahachu’; (6) ‘Geetawali Ramayan’; (7) ‘Vairagya Sandipani’; (8) ‘Vinai Patrika’; (9) ‘Barvai Ramayan’.
(A-3) A full-blown English rendering of Tulsidas’ epic ‘Ram Charit Manas’, otherwise also known as the “Ramayana” according to Goswami Tulsidas. My English version of this Book is comprehensive and an elaborate one, as it runs into many thousands of pages that endeavour to explain each single verse of the Book ‘Ram Charit Manas’ in fine detail from different perspectives, with the aid of explanatory notes and references.
(A-4) Detailed English renderings, with explanatory notes and commentaries of the 108 Upanishads classified according to the Vedic tradition = 6 volumes; 18 parts. [Vol. 1=Rig Veda Upanishads; Vol. 2= Sam Veda Upanishads; Vol. 3= Shukla Yajur Veda Upanishads; Vol. 4= Krishna Yajur Veda Upanishads; Vol. 5= Atharva Veda Upanishads; Vol. 6= Vedanta Concepts explained with specific references to the relevant Upanishads.
(A-5) (i) English rendering of Adbhut Ramayan by sage Valmiki.
(ii) English rendering of Adhyatma Ramayan by sage Veda Vyas.
(iii) English rendering of Devi Puran’s Ramayan by sage Veda Vyas.
(iv) A Divine Biography of Lord Ram & Glory of Lord’s Holy Name.
(B-1) Further, Books listed under A-3, A-4 and A-5 are available in Printed Book format from a reputed Indian Publisher as follows:
Name and contact of Publisher of above Printed Books listed under (B-2):
Chaukhamba Publishing House, Delhi. [Sri Neeraj Gupta.]
Postal Address: 4697/2, Street no. 21-A, (HDFC Bank wali Gali),
Ansari Road, Darayaganj, Delhi—110002.
Phone: Mobile (Neeraj Gupta)—+919811133683
Office: 011-23286537; 011-32996391
Email: chaukhambapublishinghouse@gmail.com
chaukhamba_neerj@yahoo.com
(B-2) The following Books of Goswami Tulsidas listed under A-2—viz. Vinay Patrika, Geetawali Ramayan, Kavitawali Ramayan, Dohawali, Parvati Mangal, Janki Mangal, Vairagya Sandipani, Barvai Ramayan, Ram Lala Nahachu, along with certain other Books (e.g. Upanishads Dedicated to Lord Ram, Shandilya Bhakti Sutra, Narad Bhakti Sutra etc.) are being published by the following Indian Publisher:
Pratibha Prakashan, prop. Sri Radheyshyam Shukla, Delhi.
Address: 7259/23, Ajindra Market, Prem Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Delhi 110007
Mobile: +91-93508 84227;
Landline phone: +91-114708 4852.
Email: pratibhabooks1@gmail.com
Contact details of Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia—
Postal address:-36-A, Rajghat Colony, Parikrama Marg, P.O.—Ayodhya, Pin—224123, Distt. Ayodhya (Faizabad), U.P. India.
Phone:—(India) +919451290400; +919935613060.
Website: < www.tulsidas-ram-books.weebly.com >
Email of Author: (i) < ajaichhawchharia@gmail.com >
(ii) < ajaikumarbooks@gmail.com >
Archive.org: < https://archive.org/details/@ajai_kumar_chhawchharia >
Facebook ID < www.facebook.com/ajaikumarchhawchharia8 >
Linkedin: < www.linkedin.com/AjaiKumarChhawchharia >
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/991710.Ajai_Kumar_Chhawchharia

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