Ramcharitmanas: Bala Kanda, Prakarana 21
Ćaupai 209.1-4
सोपान-प्रवेश: ‘भक्ति का जन्म’ और ‘नाम-रूप’ में ब्रह्म की सहज सुलभता। बाललीला के माध्यम से जीव का चित्त कठोर तर्क-चतुराई छोड़कर प्रेम-सरलता (बालभाव) में उतरता है; यही मुक्तिसोपान का प्रथम स्थिर पायदान है—जहाँ निर्गुण-अगोचर प्रभु सगुण-शिशु बनकर साधक की दृष्टि को रस, विस्मय और शरणागति में शिक्षित करते हैं।
अरुन नयन उर बाहु बिसाला।नील जलज तनु स्याम तमाला।।
कटि पट पीत कसें बर भाथा।रुचिर चाप सायक दुहुँ हाथा।।
स्याम गौर सुंदर दोउ भाई।बिस्बामित्र महानिधि पाई।।
प्रभु ब्रह्मन्यदेव मै जाना।मोहि निति पिता तजेहु भगवाना।।
चले जात मुनि दीन्हि दिखाई।सुनि ताड़का क्रोध करि धाई।।
एकहिं बान प्रान हरि लीन्हा।दीन जानि तेहि निज पद दीन्हा।।
तब रिषि निज नाथहि जियँ चीन्ही।बिद्यानिधि कहुँ बिद्या दीन्ही।।
जाते लाग न छुधा पिपासा।अतुलित बल तनु तेज प्रकासा।।
aruna nayana ura bāhu bisālā |nīla jalaja tanu syāma tamālā ||
kaṭi paṭa pīta kaseṁ bara bhāthā |rucira cāpa sāyaka duhũ hāthā ||
syāma gaura sundara dou bhāī |bisbāmitra mahānidhi pāī ||
prabhu brahmanyadeva mai jānā |mohi niti pitā tajehu bhagavānā ||
cale jāta muni dīnhi dikhāī |suni tāṛakā krodha kari dhāī ||
ekahiṁ bāna prāna hari līnhā |dīna jāni tehi nija pada dīnhā ||
taba riṣi nija nāthahi jiyã cīnhī |bidyānidhi kahũ bidyā dīnhī ||
jāte lāga na chudhā pipāsā |atulita bala tanu teja prakāsā ||
Jego oczy były czerwonawe, jego pierś i ramiona szerokie; jego ciało było ciemnoniebieskie jak lotos, ciemne jak drzewo tamala. Żółta szata była przepasana w pasie, z przypiętym pięknym kołczanem, a w obu dłoniach wdzięczny łuk i strzały. Dwaj bracia, jeden ciemny, drugi jasny, byli piękni; w nich Vishvamitra znalazł wielki skarb. Mędrzec pomyślał: «Wiem, że Pan jest boskim obrońcą braminów. Błogosławiony, dla mnie opuściłeś swego ojca.» Gdy szli dalej, mędrzec wskazał Tadakę, a usłyszawszy go, ona ruszyła naprzód w gniewie. Jedną strzałą Rama odebrał jej życie; widząc ją pokorną, dał jej miejsce u swych własnych stóp. Wtedy mędrzec poznał swego Pana w sercu i dał wiedzę skarbnicy wszelkiej wiedzy. Dzięki temu nie dotknął ich głód ani pragnienie, a blask ich ciał jaśniał niewspółmierną siłą.
Speaker
Tulsidas (narrator); lines 3-4 give Vishvamitra's inner thought
Listener
Parvati
Dasya and Adbhuta, with Vira and Karuna undertones
The scene
The prasanga
Vishvamitra leads the two princes on the forest road. He shows them Tadaka, Rama kills her with one arrow and grants her his own feet, and the sage then gives the brothers the knowledge that spares them hunger and thirst.
The teaching
- Themes
- श्रीराम का रूप-सौंदर्य, गुरु-आज्ञा और सेवा, ब्रह्मण्यदेव प्रभु की रक्षा, ताड़का-उद्धार और करुणा, विद्यानिधि को विद्या-दान, भक्ति और भगवत्-पहचान
For right living (Ramrajya ethics)
The verse shows the protector's dharma. The king's son removes a menace to the sages at the guru's word, leaves his father's side at the guru's call, and still gives a fallen enemy compassion and a refuge, seeing her as dina (humble). Obedience to the guru, the protection of the vulnerable and mercy after justice mark this ideal of rule.
Nirguna and saguna
Rama is Bhagavan and the source of all knowledge (bidyanidhi), yet he appears with reddish eyes, a yellow cloth, a quiver and a bow. The formless fullness thus takes a visible body of dark blue beauty. The line 'bidyanidhi kahu bidya dinhi' shows the unlimited taking a limited role for the sake of the devotee.
The verse first paints the dark-blue beauty of Rama, with reddish eyes, broad chest and arms, yellow cloth, quiver and bow, and sets his dark form beside his fair brother. Vishvamitra feels he has found a great treasure and thinks of Rama as the protector of Brahmins who has left his father for his sake. When the sage points out Tadaka, she rushes in anger and Rama takes her life with a single arrow. Seeing her humble, he grants her a place at his own feet. The sage, who has recognized his Lord in his heart, still gives knowledge to the treasury of all knowledge, so that hunger and thirst do not touch the brothers and their bodies shine with incomparable strength.
Chaupai (16 matras per line, eight lines, each line made of two half-lines of 8 matras with a rhythmic pause between them)
नील जलज तनु' and 'स्याम तमाला' compare the dark body to a blue lotus and a tamala tree.", "Rupaka (metaphor): 'महानिधि' makes the two princes a great treasure, and 'बिद्यानिधि' makes Rama a treasury of knowledge.", "Virodhabhasa (apparent contradiction): 'बिद्यानिधि कहुँ बिद्या दीन्ही' has knowledge given to the storehouse of knowledge.", "Anuprasa (alliteration): repeated 'न; ल' and 'त' sounds in 'अरुन नयन; नील जलज तनु' and 'अतुलित बल तनु तेज'.", 'Vibhavana-like effect (extraordinary result): one arrow ends Tadaka, and the added knowledge removes hunger and thirst (एकहिं बान प्रान हरि लीन्हा, जाते लाग न छुधा पिपासा).
The verse leans to Vishishtadvaita as Tulsidas reads it. The Lord has a real, describable form, and the sage recognizes him as nath and bhagavan. Even the 'treasury of knowledge' accepts a teacher's gift in a lila of obedience, so the soul's relation to God remains one of service and grace.
Raga Desh, whose tender and noble mood suits the beauty of the dark-blue form, the heroic act and the grace shown to Tadaka.
अरुन | नयन | उर | बाहु | बिसाला | नील | जलज | तनु | स्याम | तमाला ||
कटि | पट | पीत | कसें | बर | भाथा | रुचिर | चाप | सायक | दुहुँ | हाथा ||
स्याम | गौर | सुंदर | दोउ | भाई | बिस्बामित्र | महा-निधि | पाई ||
प्रभु | ब्रह्मन्य-देव | मै | जाना | मोहि | निति | पिता | तजेहु | भगवाना ||
चले | जात | मुनि | दीन्हि | दिखाई | सुनि | ताड़का | क्रोध | करि | धाई ||
एकहिं | बान | प्रान | हरि | लीन्हा | दीन | जानि | तेहि | निज | पद | दीन्हा ||
तब | रिषि | निज | नाथहि | जियँ | चीन्ही | बिद्या-निधि | कहुँ | बिद्या | दीन्ही ||
जाते | लाग | न | छुधा | पिपासा | अतुलित | बल | तनु | तेज | प्रकासा ||
- जलज
- कमल, जो जल में उत्पन्न होता हैOrigin: Sanskrit
- भाथा
- तरकश, बाण रखने की थैलीOrigin: Awadhi
- छुधा
- भूखOrigin: Sanskrit
- पिपासा
- प्यासOrigin: Sanskrit
- चीन्ही
- पहचान लीOrigin: Awadhi
- How does the use of Sanskritized Awadhi here elevate the 'Loka' (folk) to the 'Shastra' (scriptural)?
- The verse sets scriptural Sanskrit-derived words such as 'जलज', 'ब्रह्मन्यदेव', 'बिद्यानिधि', 'महानिधि', 'भगवाना' and 'अतुलित' beside plain village words such as 'भाथा', 'धाई', 'छुधा' and 'चीन्ही'. A hunter's quiver and a demoness's angry rush are thus told in the same measure as a statement of divine identity. 'Brahmanyadeva' is a Puranic title, yet here it sits in a sage's simple inner thought, 'मै जाना'. The folk image of the 'tamala' tree carries the classical aesthetics of the dark-blue Lord. In this way ordinary speech receives the dignity of scripture without losing its warmth.
- What is the specific 'Siddhanta' (doctrine) Tulsidas establishes regarding the Name (Nama) vs Form (Rupa)?
- This verse does not argue about the Name directly. It is largely a verse of Rupa, drawing the Lord's form from the 'reddish eyes' and 'broad arms' to the yellow cloth, quiver and bow. The titles 'प्रभु', 'भगवाना', 'नाथ' and 'बिद्यानिधि' act as names that the sage fits to what he sees, and he recognizes the Lord 'जियँ' (in the heart) after seeing the form. The doctrine implied is that the Form is real and effective, since the single arrow and the gift of the 'निज पद' to Tadaka come from the embodied Lord. The Name and the Form are therefore not set against each other. The names point to the person whose visible form acts in grace.
- How does this verse reflect the poet's 'Kavi-Manas' (the lake of the poet's mind) metaphor?
- The mind of the poet is like a lake in which images rise and settle clearly, and here the opening image is 'नील जलज तनु', a blue lotus, the very flower of a lake. The picture is built step by step as in a lake's stairway: eyes, chest and arms, then the cloth and quiver, then the two brothers. The narrative moves on to Tadaka, the sage's recognition and the gift of knowledge. The statement 'बिद्यानिधि कहुँ बिद्या दीन्ही' suggests the deep, still water of the mind that takes in what is poured into it, as the Lord takes the sage's gift. Because the verse is calm in tone, the heroic and the tender act are set down in clear water.
FAQs
राम के नेत्र अरुण हैं, छाती और भुजाएँ विशाल हैं और शरीर नील कमल तथा तमाल वृक्ष के समान श्याम है। कमर में पीला वस्त्र और कसा हुआ सुंदर तरकश है, और दोनों हाथों में सुंदर धनुष-बाण हैं। साथ में गौर भाई लक्ष्मण हैं, इसलिए दोनों भाई श्याम और गौर रूप में सुशोभित हैं।
मुनि विश्वामित्र के दिखाने पर क्रोध से दौड़ती ताड़का को राम ने एक ही बाण से मार दिया। उसे दीन जानकर उन्होंने अपना चरण-स्थान दिया। संदेश यह है कि दुष्ट का दंड भी प्रभु की करुणा के साथ होता है।
मुनि ने जियँ में अपने नाथ को पहचान लिया, फिर भी लीला का मर्यादित व्यवहार निभाते हुए विद्या के भंडार राम को विद्या दी। इससे गुरु और शिष्य की मर्यादा बनी रही। उस विद्या से भाइयों को भूख-प्यास नहीं लगी और शरीर में अतुलित बल तथा तेज प्रकट हुआ।
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