“Those fourteen thousand Rakshasas of frightening deeds were eliminated by that one man, a foot-soldier, who was Rama.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 26.35)

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चतुर्दश सहस्राणि रक्षसां भीमकर्मणाम्
हतान्येकेन रामेण मानुषेण पदातिना

caturdaśa sahasrāṇi rakṣasāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām
hatānyekena rāmeṇa mānuṣeṇa padātinā

“Don’t you think the message of the bhagavata, the science of self-realization in the presentation of devotion to the Supreme Lord, would be better served with stories? I am not talking about fictional tales. Just describe aspects from history. A beginning, a middle, and an end. A premise and a conclusion. A plot that has its own twists, turns, and moments of doubt.

“I will admit that there is some lingering confirmation-bias based on my own experiences. I distinctly remember one time picking up Bhagavad-gita As It Is during my childhood. I had a vague idea what the book was about, but there was this small hope that perhaps the content matched the cover image.

“I was looking for adventure. Military conflict. A winner and a loser. Descriptions of a beautiful story, to correspond with the beauty of the painting of Krishna and Arjuna. I remember my great disappointment as I turned from page to page, in desperate search for a narrative. Instead, all I got was philosophy. I will admit that there were some wonderful color plates included. The one that really provoked thoughts depicted the changing body. I remember thinking about how people get shorter when they grow older. That seemed weird to me and still does.

“Anyway, I am familiar with the derogatory comments from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada towards those who prefer stories over philosophy. He says that books like Mahabharata were written for the less intelligent. Those who could not understand Vedanta. Perhaps such people have no interest in discussing the difference between matter and spirit, the influence of time, the shifts to the material nature, high and low with respect to fruitive activity, and the juxtaposition with the person overseeing everything.

“I am here to tell you that I am indeed interested in those stories. You can call me less intelligent. You can make fun of me. You can ridicule me for my interest, but that is how my enthusiasm grew. I need things to relate to. Books in the biography category do well in the stores and libraries precisely because there is a market for such material. People like hearing about how others go through life. Isn’t there value in that? Wouldn’t you say that is one way to accept shabda-pramana, which is evidence of truth from hearing?”

If viewed as a benefactor in this regard, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is anything but a miser. If the so-called less intelligent want to hear stories, they can dedicate an entire lifetime to hearing from Mahabharata alone. That work is so long that the cheaters, the speculators, and those openly against God can’t believe that the work exists. They refuse to acknowledge that a single source is responsible for detailing everything, having committed the Sanskrit shlokas to memory. They speculate that some conglomerate must have manufactured everything through imagination, during a time where there were scant resources to hold printed words, let alone preserve them in perfect binding in a well-guarded library.

There are the many Puranas which present similar versions of the same historical tales. The Puranas sometimes describe events yet to take place. It is said that Maharishi Valmiki knew about the events of the life of Shri Rama before they occurred. Narada Muni offers a blessing in the beginning of that subsequent literary work, promising that the person who hears and recites the Ramayana will get to enjoy with their family in heaven in the afterlife.

एतदाख्यानमायुष्यं पठन्रामायणं नर:
सपुत्रपौत्रस्सगण: प्रेत्य स्वर्गे महीयते

etadākhyānamāyuṣyaṃ paṭhanrāmāyaṇaṃ nara:
saputrapautrassagaṇa: pretya svarge mahīyate

“The man who reads and recites this narration of the Ramayana will be blessed with a long duration of life and after death will be welcomed and respectfully received in the heavenly region, along with sons, grandsons, and relatives.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kand, 1.99)

There is another angle of vision to consider. One that accepts both sides simultaneously. Taking a single verse from the Ramayana, we can find both a narrative and a teaching. There is intentional placement of certain words in order to facilitate thought, contemplation, and philosophical discussion.

This shloka describes how Shri Rama, an avatara of Vishnu, defended against fourteen thousand attacking ogres. The ogres, who were of the Rakshasa species, attacked at the same time. This was not a tag-team match. They did not alternate or sub-out combatants. They wanted to show overwhelming force against a person they considered to be an enemy.

Rama defended against ogres who were of frightening deeds. The Rakshasas were bhima-karma, while Rama was a foot-soldier. There was no reason to expect an outcome other than total and complete annihilation for the man against the demons. It was a single man, ekena, against fourteen thousand, chaturdaśa sahasrāṇi. Not four. Not ten. Not fourteen. Fourteen multiplied by one thousand.

In whatever way we can, we should become conscious of God. This is our best chance, in this human birth. We can learn the philosophy through our interest in stories. We can relive historical incidents through our study of Sanskrit words and how they are carefully arranged, by the expert poet who tries their best to present the concept of true and genuine amrita, in the form of words, for the upliftment of mankind, applying to generation after generation.

In Closing:

Real amrita to find,
Nectar for the mind.

And to consciousness connected,
In words of shloka directed.

With biographical tale to contain,
Also philosophy to explain.

Like Rama over Rakshasas won,
Fourteen-thousand against one.

Categories: fourteen thousand, questions

Tags: dailyprompt, life, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana, vedanta