Saptarishi Ramayana

(The following is an adaptation of the article Saptarishi Ramayana, written by Veerapuram Sri U.
Ve. Sampath Deekshitar.)

Introduction

There have been many versions of the Ramayana in our country, based on the original Srimad
Ramayana of Sage Valmiki. One of them is known as Saptarishi Ramayana. In this work, the entire
of the Ramayana has been presented in seven verses. It is said that the seven sages Kasyapa, Atri,
Bharadvaja, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Vasishtha composed these verses. These seven
sages are the saptarishis of the present Vaivasvata Manvantara. Whether they composed one verse
each or collectively composed the seven is not known. In todays fast-moving world, if the people,
particularly youngsters, take a few minutes to recite these verses daily, it will serve the purpose of
presenting the sacred work here.

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kaasyapah

jaatah sreeraghunaayako dasarathaanmunyaasrayaattaatakaam
hatvaa rakshita kausika kratutarah kritvaapyahalyaam subham,
bhanktvaa rudrasaraasanam janakajaam paanau griheetvaa tatah
jitvaa chaadhvani bhaargavam punaragaat seetaasametah pureem. (1)

(The supreme Lord Sriman Narayana incarnated as the son of Dasaratha, with the name
Raghunayaka i.e. Lord of the dynasty of Raghu. He learnt the Vedas and sastras from Sage Vasishtha,
the preceptor of Ikshvaku dynasty; then he learnt from Sage Visvamitra the two mantras, bala and
atibala, and the esoteric usage of various weapons of warfare. On the orders of Sage Visvamitra, Sri
Rama killed the terrifying demoness Tataka. Further, to save the sacrifice of Sage Visvamitra, Sri
Rama put an end to the asura Subahu, threw his brother Maricha into the sea and enabled Sage
Visvamitra to successfully conclude his sacrifice. As instructed by the sage, Sri Rama purified Ahalya,
who was suffering the consequences of a sin. Thereafter, He went to Mithila. In the palace of King
Janaka, He broke the famous bow of Siva by effortlessly chording it and won the hand of King
Janakas daughter, Sita, in marriage. Along with this wedding, the weddings of Lakshmana and
Urmila, Bharata and Mandavi and Satrughna and Srutakeerti were also solemnised. Sri Rama was
returning to Ayodhya along with all of them, when suddenly Parasurama appeared and, in a
thundering voice, challenged Sri Rama to chord and bind the sacred bow of Lord Vishnu which was
in his (Parasuramas) possession. Sri Rama chorded this bow also easily, vanquished Parasurama and,
with an arrow, took away the merits of his penance. Then, as Sitarama and Vijayaraghava, He
entered Ayodhya in all glory.)

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atrih

daasyaa mantharayaa dayaarahitayaa durbodhitaa kaikayee
sreeraama prathamaabhisheka samaye maataapyayaachat varau,
bhartaaram bharatah prasaastu dharaneem raamo vanam gachchhataam
ityaakarnya sa chottaram na hi dadau duhkhena moorchchhaa gatah. (2)

(Queen Kaikeyi had a personal attendant named Manthara, who was totally bereft of kindness and
who gave ill advice to the queen. When King Dasaratha wanted to coronate Sri Rama as the crown
prince, Kaikeyi reminded him of the two boons he had earlier promised to grant her and demanded
that (i) he perform the coronation of Bharata and (ii) banish Sri Rama to the forest for fourteen
years. On hearing her demands, King Dasaratha fainted out of unbearable grief and did not give her
any reply. So he did not pass any verbal order, either banishing Sri Rama to the forest or agreeing to
coronate Bharata.)
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bharadvaajah

sreeraamah pitrisaasanaat vanamagaat saumitri seetaanvitah
gangaam praapya jataam nibadhya saguhah sachchitrakoote vasan,
kritvaa tatra pitrikriyaam sabharatah datvaabhayam dandake
praapyaagastyamuneesvaram taduditam dhritvaa dhanuschaakshayam. (3)

(To fulfil the promise given by his father to Kaikeyi, Sri Rama left for the forest along with Sita
Devi and Lakshmana. Reaching the banks of the holy river Ganga, Sri Rama met his friend Guha, a
tribal chieftain of that place. Binding his beautiful locks with the milky juice of the banyan tree
(vatavriksha) brought by Guha, He stayed in Chitakoota along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana. At
that time, Bharata came there and, prostrating at the Feet of Sri Rama, tearfully pleaded with Him
to return to Ayodhya and accept the crown. From Bharata, Sri Rama came to know that their father
King Dasaratha had passed away and dutifully performed the obsequies for him. To console the
grieving Bharata, Sri Rama gave His sandals to him and told him to look after the kingdom until
His return. Then Sri Rama left Chitrakoota and entered the fearsome Dandakaranya forest. There
He met many sages who were doing penance and were also being harassed by the rakshasas. Sri
Rama extended His protection to them. He paid His respects to Sage Agastya and received from
him the sacred bow and the quiver.)

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visvaamitrah

gatvaa panchavateem agastya vachanaat datvaabhayam mauninaam
chhitvaa soorpanakhaasya karnayugalam traatum samastaan muneen,
hatvaa tam cha kharam suvarnaharinam bhitvaa tathaa vaalinam
taaraa ratnam avairi raajamakarot sarvam cha sugreevasaat. (4)

(After some time, on the advice of Sage Agastya, Sri Rama, along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana,
reached Panchavati. There also, he assured the local sages of protection from the asuras.
Soorpanakha, the demoness, who came with evil intentions, was punished, her nose and ears being
chopped by Lakshmana, as ordered by Sri Rama. Instigated by the vengeful Soorpanakha, the
rakshasas Khara, Dooshana and Trisiras, along with fourteen chiefs and fourteen thousand rakshasas,
came to fight Sri Rama. He single-handedly annihilated the entire force and thus ensured complete
protection for the sages. Next, when the rakshasa Maricha came there, disguised as a golden deer, Sri
Rama followed and killed him. Meanwhile, Sita Devi was fraudulently kidnapped by the evil
Ravana. While searching for Sita Devi, Sri Rama met the eagle Jatayu, who, while attempting to
save Sita Devi, was felled by Ravana and was on the verge of death. After Jatayus death, Sri Rama
performed his last rites and sent him up to the highest Abode, Srivaikuntha. Further, searching for
Sita Devi, Sri Rama came across the wise monkey Hanuman on whose words He befriended his
leader Sugreeva. To help him, Sri Rama killed his brother Vali, who was harassing him, and
installed Sugreeva as the king of Kishkindha.)

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gautamah

dooto daasaratheh saleelamudadhim teerttvaa hanoomaan mahaan
drishtvaasokavane sthitaam janakajaam datvaangulermudrikaam,
akshaadeen asuraan nihatya mahateem lankaam cha dagdhvaa punah
sreeraamam cha sametya deva jananee drishtvaa mayetyabraveet. (5)
(The great Hanuman, who was the emissary of Dasarathi i.e. Sri Rama, crossed the southern ocean
effortlessly and saw Sita Devi, who was held captive in the Asokavana of Lanka. Hanuman presented
Her with the signet ring of Sri Rama and, in return, received the crest-jewel (chudamani) from Her.
Before returning to Sri Rama, Hanuman wanted to make Ravana aware of his (Hanumans)
presence in Lanka, meet him and give him some good advice. To bring this about, Hanuman
started destroying Asokavana. When Aksha (one of the commanders-in-chief of Ravanas army)
came to capture him, Hanuman killed him and destroyed his army. Eventually, Hanuman allowed
himself to be captured and was taken to Ravanas presence. When an angry Ravana ordered
Hanumans tail to be set on fire, Hanuman, with a burning tail, reduced Lanka into ashes.
Hanuman returned to Sri Rama, proclaiming, Saw Sita and thereby gave Sri Rama peace and joy.)

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jamadagnih

raamo baddhapayonidhih kapivaraih veerairnalaadyaavrito
lankaam praapya sakumbhakarnatanujam hatvaa rane raavanam,
tasyaam nyasya vibheeshanam punarasau seetaapatih pushpakaa-
roodhah san puramaagatah sa bharatah simhaasanastho babhau. (6)

(With the help of Nala and other monkey warriors, Sri Rama constructed a grand bridge across the
ocean, reached Lanka and fought a severe battle, in which He killed Ravana, his brother
Kumbhakarna and son Indrajit. Then Sri Rama crowned Vibheeshana as the ruler of Lanka and,
along with Sita Devi, boarded the aerial vehicle Pushpaka-vimana and reached Ayodhya. There, the
kingdom of Ayodhya was restored to Him by Bharata. Sri Rama then ascended the throne. The
coronation of Sri Rama was celebrated in a very grand manner. Thereafter, Sri Rama ruled Ayodhya
gloriously.)


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vasishthah

sreeraamo hayamedhamukhya makhamakarot samyak prajaah paalayan
kritvaa raajya mathaanujaischa suchiram bhoorisvadharmaanvitau,
putrau bhraatrisamanvitau kusalavau samsthaapya bhoomandale
soyodhyaapuravaasibhischa sarayoosnaatah prapede divam. (7)

(Sri Rama performed the Asvamedha and many other sacrifices as befitting a king; He ruled over the
people of His kingdom in a most benevolent manner; along with His brothers, He practised the
dharma befitting His status to the full. He ruled for a long time. Then He crowned Lava and Kusa,
the brothers, who were His own sons, as rulers. Having completed His mission in this world, Sri
Rama, followed by all the people of Ayodhya, entered the river Sarayu and ascended to His own
nityavibhuti.)

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phalasrutih

sreeraamasya kathaasudhaatimadhuraan slokaan imaan uttamaan
ye srinvanti pathanti cha pratidinam theghaughavidhvamsinah,
sreemantah bahuputrapautrasahitaa bhuktvaiva bhogaan chiram
bhogaanteshu samarchitaih suraganaih vishnorlabhante padam. (8)
(Those who recite or listen daily to the nectarine story of Sri Rama contained in these sweet and
lofty verses will be rid of all their sins and enjoy all auspicious things wealth, a long life with a
good family of sons and grandsons in this world. And when they leave this world and go to
heaven, they will be well respected by the celestials and ultimately reach the blissful holy region of
Lord Vishnu.)