When Rama incinerates Kabandha he resurrects as a celestial being and detailing about Sugreeva he urges
Rama to befriend him. He informs Rama that Sugreeva is also in a similar condition and he needs some
one to rely upon, in order to overcome his problems, and thus Kabandha asks Rama to help Sugreeva, and
get help as requital from Sugreeva.
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When Kabandha said that way, both those brave men and lords of people, on throwing the body of Kabandha into a mountain cleft and then embedded it with firewood. On his part Lakshmana started to torch that pyre with highly sparkling torches from all over, and even that pyre too suddenly blazed with blazes from all over. That massy body of Kabandha is full with fat and while it is being cooked, it is in simile with a massy gob of ghee. But the Fire had to stew that body tardily, though that stewed meat is Fire's favourite dish, because of that body's massiveness.
In a trice that highly dynamic Kabandha zoomed up shoving off that pyre, and he is now attired in lily-white vestments and angelic garlands, and appeared like a fumeless fire. Then highly gladdened Kabandha jumped up onto sky from the pyre, and there he is irradiant with unsullied clothing, and fineries decorated on every limb. On going to firmament Kabandha is now seated in a dazzling celestial aircraft yoked with swans, which endows renown because it takes the occupants to the realms of Brahma, and sitting in that celestial aircraft he said this sentence to Rama, while his own great glimmer and glitter beamed forth in all ten quarters.
"Oh, Raghava, how you will regain Seetha, that you listen from me in its essence... oh, Rama, by which and which analyses everything will be analysed, six of such ideations are available in this world... and when a person is touched down by a spell of nemeses, he shall adore one who is equally in such spell of nemesis...
The six ideations employed by kings in kingship are 1] sandhi a covenant with adverse kings; 2] vigraha continuing hostilities; 3] yaana waging war; 4] aasana sit out for proper time; 5] dvaidhii bhaava creating factions and vicissitudes in enemy groups; 6] samaashraya taking shelter under a coequal.
"Oh, Rama, you along with Lakshmana went into a spell of nemesis, and thus you have become an underprivileged one, and that spell alone has obtained you this dire straits, in the form of abducting your wife... Oh, best among kind-hearted ones, thereby you have to certainly befriend such a soul in similar dire straits... however deeply I may think, I am not able to perceive your accomplishment if you do not befriended with such a soul...
"Oh, Rama, listen what I tell... a vanara is there by name Sugreeva, who is vengefully reneged by his brother Vali, the son of Indra... That self-respectful valiant Sugreeva is living on the Mt. Rishyamuka, a best mountain available in the lambent fringes of Pampa Lake, along with four other vanara-s. He that Sugreeva is a masterful one among vanara-s, highly mettlesome, self-resplendent, and illimitable is his self-radiance... and he is also truth-bound and culture-bound... a mastermind, master-hand and a taskmaster... He is a capable adventurer, a courageous exploiter and incomparable one in intrepidity and a brave one in incursions, and his personality will be coruscating ever and anon, for he is the son of Sun-god... but he is banished by his self-conceited brother owing to the reasons of kingdom...
"Oh, Rama, he will be your associate and an aid in searching for Seetha, and he conducts himself in your wellbeing, hence let not your heart yield to agony... Oh, tigerly Ikshvaaku, further nothing can be countermanded in this world which is indeed ineluctable, and it is impossible to countervail against Time, isn't it...
"Oh, bold one, you go straight from here to that great mighty Sugreeva, and oh, Raghava, on going from here now and promptly you fraternise with Sugreeva... and to not to bode any ill of unfriendliness among you two, you make him a friend before blazing Fire, making that Fire as an Attestor of your friendship... You shall not look down on that lord of monkeys taking him as a lowly simian, why because that Sugreeva is a valiant one, a guise changing wizard and presently he is in the need of a bolsterer, and if you render help he will be obligated to you for ever... Now you two are capable enough to effectuate the desired task of Sugreeva, isn't it... whether his own purpose is achieved through you or not, he will effectuate your task...
"Sugreeva is the son of Riksharaja, and the direct son of the Sun, but Vali trespassed against him. Wary of Vali's onslaughts Sugreeva is wandering around Pampa... Oh, Raghava, right away and candidly you make that monkey Sugreeva, a wanderer in the forest, sheltering himself on Mt. Rishyamuka, as a friend of yours taking an oath on your weapon besides the Fire-witness...
The compound aayudham sam ni dhaaya can mean in the three possible ways as said above. Any one, or three meanings can be obtained, as intensifiers.
"With his expertise that straightforward monkey Sugreeva is indeed conversant with all of the strongholds of anthropophagite demons in the world in their entirety... Oh, enemy-subjugator Rama, as far as the thousand rayed sun manifestly irradiates the world, oh, Raghava, thus far, nothing in the least is unfamiliar to him, isn't it... He makes the monkeys to purposefully rake over the expansive rivers, extensive mountains and their impassable cliffs and caves in locating your wife...
"Oh, Raghava, he expedites giant bodied monkeys in all directions to search for her, who is agonised by your parting, and he quests after the residence of Ravana for that comely lady Maithili...
"Whether that unreprovable ladylove of yours, Seetha, is located on the tops of Mt. Meru's peaks, or abiding on the planes of nadir of the earth, he that defiant one among fly-jumpers, Sugreeva, on entering there and annihilating the demons, he again bestows Seetha to you..." So Kabandha continued his advise to Rama regarding Sugreeva.
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The Suggestion of Kabandha - right or wrong
Kabandha's suggestion that 'a bewailer shall befriend another bewailer...' is apparently a meaningless suggestion, keeping mythical imports aside, for a while. Though Kabandha is unaware about Ravana and his activities, he is aware of Vali and Sugreeva, according to his present narration. He should have advised Rama to befriend Vali, who is in power and a powerful one too, instead of Sugreeva. It is not so, is the reply from the viewpoint of dharma. This Kabandha has suffered his best in taking wrong routes and just now, he resurrected after making many amends, and he is supposed to advise Rama to go on a right path and to a right personality as Vali is already established as a pursuer of wrong path. But Vali when talking to Rama at his death time says that 'I would have brought Maithili in a single day, I would have roped Ravana and brought him like an animal tide with roe around its neck...' etc. But they are all his expressions at death-time-wisdom. He did not care for Tara's advices nor bothered to talk to Rama, as to why Sugreeva is instigated upon him. This being so, when immortal wisdom has dawned on Kabandha, he cannot ask Rama to tread a wrong path to get his task done. This is what the viewpoint of Dharmaakuutam. Though untranslated verbatim the above is the gist of the following.
kaarya siddi artham samprati bhaatru maatra sahaayyasya durdasha aarambaham praaptasya raamabhadrasya dR^iShTa balena daiva balena ca upeta durdashaayaaH samaapti praaptena sugriiveNa sandhi kaarama eva samucitam iti kabandhena uktam | tat anupapannam | yato valii sugriivaat adhika balaH - sakala vaanara senaa pari vR^itaH - sva raajye supratiShTito - raama kR^ita prati upakaara nirapekSho - raavaNa nigraha catura bhuja viirya upapatteh ca | maam eva yadi puurvam tvam etad artham acodayaH | maithilim aham eka aahnaa tava ca aaniitavaan bhaveH || 1-17-49 | raakShasam ca duraatmaanaam tava bhaarya apahaariNam | kaNThe baddhvaa pradadyaam te anihatam raavaNam raNe || 3-17-50 - iti jiiva graaham gR^ihiitvaa raNe vaa tan nihatya - - etaadR^isha saamarthyam avagamane sva kaarya saadhakaH ca | ata eva vaalinam apahaaya ataadR^ishaH sugriivaH katham upadiShTa iti cet na | satya api saamardhye dR^iptavaan - raavaNa mitratvaat raajya sthitatvaat - raama kR^ita upakaara nirapekShatvaat ca raama praathito vaalii sakhyam na angiikuryaad eva | aasanna mR^itunaa vaalinaa sakhya karaNam niShphalam ca || - - - satyapi saamardhye siitaam aaniiya daasyaami iti etaadR^isha buddheH shikShaNa anantara bhavitvena sakhya asakhyaayaam asambhavaat | sva paraakrameNa vinaa anyena saadhita artha angiikaraNasya kShatriyaaNaam adharmyatvaat |
This is to say that dharma is far beyond mere politics, whether monarchical or otherwise. To uphold that dharma, one has to undergo certain painful processes, that may be you, or we, or may they be godlike or godsend Rama or Lakshmana.
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© May, 2003, Desiraju Hanumanta Rao [Revised : January 0]