December 3,2012.Day 19. Srimad Valmiki Ramayan - The First Epic Poem Of India. (Continued)

Book I : Bala Kanda - Book Of Youthful Majesties : Chapter 1(Continued)

विष्णुना सदृशो वीर्ये सोमवत् प्रिय दर्शनः |
काल अग्नि सदृशः क्रोधे क्षमया पृथ्वी समः || १-१-१८
धनदेन समः त्यागे सत्ये धर्म इव अपरः |

18, 19a. viirye = in valour; vishNunaa sadR^ishaH = with Vishnu, comparable; somavat priya darshanaH = full-moon like, attractive, in look;krodhe = in anger; kaala agni sadR^ishaH = era [ending,] fire, matchable to; kshamayaa pR^ithvii samaH = in perseverance, earth, equals with; tyage = in benevolence; dhanadena samaH = Kubera [God of Wealth-Management,] identical to; satye = in candour; aparaH = here on earth [or, another];dharma iva = like dharma = God Probity, like.

"In valour Rama is comparable with Vishnu, and in his looks he is attractive like full-moon, he equals the earth in his perseverance, but he is matchable with era-end-fire in his wrath... and in benevolence he is identical to Kubera, God of Wealth-Management, and in his candour he is like Dharma itself, the other God Probity on earth... [1-1-18, 19a]

Here the 'valour' is to cause harm to enemy, while remaining himself unharmed... svasya a-vikaara eva parasya vikaara aapadanam Rama Tilaka. 'Though Rama is Vishnu, but by nature of his incarnation as human, he is different from Vishnu upaadhi bheda... Hence Vishnu has become another entity than Rama... Or, his valour is selfsame to Vishnu's valour because he is selfsame Vishnu...' Govindaraja. 'As there is none other in similitude, he is compared Vishnu, insofar as valour is concerned...' Maheshvara Tiirtha. Earth personally does not grieve when people tread on it, trample, dig, cut, or whatever is done to her. Likewise Rama personally gets unaffected, whatever harm is done to him, but he becomes wrathful, if that harm is committed to dharma.

Thitherto, the Bala Kanda is narrated by these narrations of sparkled in Ikshvaku dynasty 'Rama's incarnation...' highly valorous, enemy subjugator...'elimination of demoness Tataka, subdual of the vanity of Parashu Rama...' propitious 'marriage with Seetha, knows Art of Archery 'receiving missiles from Vishvamitra...' From now poet tells the Ayodhya Kanda, and a gist of this magnum opus is given here itself. This narration is known as baala raamayana - samskhepa raamyana meaning that it is aimed at youngsters as it has been told in an abridged version. In the endnote, details about this version and still abridged version, called Gayatri Ramayana, are given.

Readers may find an inordinate use of ellipses in translation of the epic. But they are 'a must.' Pt. Satya Vrat, the author of Ramayana - A Linguistic Study says: "Ellipsis is the peculiarity of the style of the older works like Ramayana... their writings, as they stood, yielded incomplete sense which has to be supplemented byadhyaadhaara, viz., supply of words, that would fit in the context... Indeed, in most cases the ellipsis could be readily understood and would suggest the word or words that would make it up...' We therefore request the readers to go by the meaning of the context, than by the order of words, for there is a saying... paaTha krame artha kramo baliiyaH... So, this adhyaadhaara, supply of words, may not be that faithful while rendering from Sanskrit to English.