32 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra, accepted an ācārya and performed sacrifices with the best paraphernalia. Thus he worshiped himself, by himself.
Rāmacandra gave the east to the hotā priest, the south to the brahmā priest, the west to the adhvaryu priest, and the north to the udgātā priest, the reciter of the Sāma Veda.
Thereafter, thinking that because brāhmaṇas with no material desires should possess the whole earth, Rāmacandra delivered the remaining land between the east, west, north and south to the ācārya.
He thought that the land between the directions, the remaining land, should given to the brāhmaṇas, since the whole earth should go to the brāhmaṇas because they are without desire.
After thus giving everything in charity to the brāhmaṇas, Rāmacandra retained only his personal garments and ornaments, and similarly the Queen, mother Sītā, was left with only her nose ring and nothing else.
Rāma gave away all ornaments and clothing except what he was wearing, whereas Sītā gave away even the ornaments she was wearing. Only her nose ornament and bracelet remained.
All the brāhmaṇas were very pleased with Rāmacandra, who was greatly affectionate to the brāhmaṇas and worthy of praise. Thus, with melted hearts they returned all the property received from him and spoke as follows.
O Lord! Master of the entire universe! What have you not given to us? Since you have entered the core of our hearts and dissipated the darkness of our ignorance by your effulgence, what is the use of the earth to us?
What did you not give? You gave everything. Since you have entered our hearts, what is the use of the earth to us?
We offer our respects to you, Rāma, the most famous among the famous, who favor the brāhmaṇas, who possess eternal intelligence, and who offer your lotus feet to the non-violent devotees.
Nyasta-daṇòārpitāḍghraye means unto the Lord whose feet are offered to the devotees who have given up violence.
Once while Lord Rāmacandra was walking at night incognito, hiding himself by a disguise, to learn the opinion of the people, he heard a man speaking about his wife, Sītādevī.
Speaking to his unchaste wife, the man said: You have gone to another man's house, and therefore you are unchaste and polluted. I shall not maintain you any more. A henpecked husband like Lord Rāma may accept a wife like Sītā, who went to another man's house, but I shall not accept you again.
Fearing ignorant men who gossip and are difficult to control, Rāmacandra abandoned Sītā, who then went to the hermitage of Vālmīki.
Asaṁvisaḥ means ignorant persons. Prācetasaḥ is Vālmīki.
When the time came, the pregnant Sītā gave birth to twin sons, later celebrated as Lava and Kuśa. The ritualistic ceremonies for their birth were performed by Vālmīki.
Antarvatnī means pregnant.
O King! Lakṣmaṇa had two sons, named Aḍgada and Citraketu, and Bharata also had two sons, named Takṣa and Puṣkala.
tadīyaṁ dhanam ānīya sarvaṁ rājñe nyavedayat śatrughnaś ca madhoḥ putraṁ lavaṇaṁ nāma rākṣasam hatvā madhuvane cakre mathurāṁ nāma vai purīm
Śatrughna had two sons, named Subāhu and Śrutasena. When Lord Bharata went to conquer all directions, he had to kill millions of Gandharvas. Taking all their wealth, he offered it to Rāmacandra. Śatrughna killed a Rākṣasa named Lavaṇa, who was the son of Madhu Rākṣasa. Thus he established in the great forest known as Madhuvana the town known as Mathurā.
Being forsaken by her husband, Sītā entrusted her two sons to the care of Vālmīki. Then, meditating upon the lotus feet of Rāmacandra, she entered into the earth.
Unable to bear the pain of separation from her husband she entered a hole in the earth.
After hearing the news of mother Sītā's entering the earth, the Supreme Lord Rāma, though capable of checking his grief by intelligence, on remembering her good qualities, he could not do so, though he was the Lord.
Though Rāma was the Supreme Lord, he could not check his grief, since his nature is to be controlled by prema.
Such attraction between man and woman is a cause of saṁsāra even for Brahmā and others in this life and the next. What to speak of the common people who are attached to their houses?
Others, attached to lust, remember women and sink in saṁsāra. Irregular sandhi in strī-puṁ-prasaḍga is poetic license. This attachment exists even for Brahmā and others, producing saṁsāra (trāsam) in this world and the next (sarvatra) since it is material and arises from lust. Trāsam-āvahaḥ should also be in the genitive case. This is indicated by the word etādṛk: it appears to be the case of Rāma and Sītā also. There is an appearance of material association in their relationship but it is not factual, since their relationship is spiritual and arises from prema. Therefore this statement applies to the devatās but not to the Lord.
After mother Sītā entered the earth, Rāmacandra observed complete celibacy and performed an uninterrupted sacrifice for thirteen thousand years.
Then Rāma along with the inhabitants of Ayodhyā, performed his disappearance pastime.
Rāmacandra, whose lotus feet were sometimes pierced by thorns when he lived in Daṇòakāraṇya, placed those lotus feet in the hearts of those who thought of him. Then he entered his own abode.
He places his feet pierced by the thorns in the hearts of devotees not situated in Ayodhyā. Let them faint, being pierced by thousands of thorns in their hearts. Thus it seems Rāma did not have compassion for them. This is an example of vyāja-stuti: criticism meant as praise. He attained his own spiritual abode, beyond the material ream, where there is his own light not that of māya.
Rāmacandra's reputation for having killed Rāvaṇa with showers of arrows at the request of the devatās and for having built a bridge over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory of Rāma, whose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes and who has no equal or superior. He had no need to take help from the monkeys to gain victory over Rāvaṇa.
One should taste the astonishing sweetness in his human pastimes, not his display of power. Ātta-līlā-tanoḥ means Rāma has an eternal form for his pastimes. Ātta means completely obtained. Killing Rāvaṇa is not to be praised since Rāma has power (dhāmnaḥ) with no equal or superior. What is the use of monkeys helping him? Everything becomes suitable because Rāma possesses sweetness in his human pastimes.
In the assembly of kings, even today, the sages glorify Rāmas spotless fame, which destroys all sin and which spreads in all directions. I surrender to Rāma, whose lotus feet are served by the crowns of the devatās and earthly kings.
This verse describes the excellence of Rāma for a surrendering person. Sages like Mārkaṇòeya glorify his spotless fame in the assembly of kings like Yudhiṣṭhira even today. Paṭṭa means reaching. Thus his fame reaches in all directions. His feet are served by the crowns of the devatās and earthly kings (vasupāla). Another version has juṣṭam and raghupateḥ.
The inhabitants of Kosala, who touched, saw, sat together with Rāma in friendship, and followed after Rāma, went to Vaikuṇṭha where the devotees go.
Saṁviṣṭaḥ means sitting or lying together out of friendship. The inhabitants of Kosala attained Vaikuṇṭha, where the bhakti-yogīs go.
O King! Anyone who hears with the ears the narrations concerning the characteristics of Rāmacandra's pastimes will be freed from envy and be liberated from the bondage of karma.
Āmṛśaṁsya-paraḥ means without cruelty, without envy.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: How did the Lord conduct himself, and how did he behave in relationship with his brothers, who were expansions of his own self? And how did his brothers and the inhabitants of Ayodhyā treat him?
How did he act with his own brothers? How did he act? How did his brothers and the citizens act towards him? There are three questions.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said Rāmacandra, lord of the three worlds, ordered his younger brothers to go out and conquer the entire world, while he personally remained in the capital to give audience to all the citizens and supervise the city with his other assistants.
He ordered his brothers to conquer the world. His brothers gave up his personal association and followed his order. That was their conduct towards him. Rāma out of affection to his brothers gave them dominion over those lands. That was his conduct towards them. His conduct towards his relatives and the citizens was letting them see him directly and glancing on them with mercy. He supervised the city. That was his own conduct.
When the citizens saw the Lord personally on the streets of Ayodhyā which were sprinkled with perfumed water and juice from rutting elephants, they thought that the land had become perfect.
This describes the city that Rāma inspected. Sutarām mattām iva means everything is perfect. Va indicates a conjecture. Another version has vāsitagām iva: the land was flourishing like a cow in heat.
The place was decorated with golden pots and flags placed in the palaces, the palace gates, the assembly houses, the platforms for meeting places, the temples and all such places.
The city was decorated with excellent cloth and with betel nut trees and banana trees with fruits, and it had gates covered with cloth, mirrors and garlands.
Wherever Rāmacandra visited, the people approached him with paraphernalia of worship and gave the Lord blessings. "O Lord! As you rescued the earth from the bottom of the sea in your incarnation as a boar, may you now maintain it."
This verse describes the conduct of the citizens to Rāma. In the form of Varāha, previously you delivered the earth.
Not having seen the Lord for a long time, the citizens, both men and women, eager to see him, left their homes and got up on the roofs of the palaces. Being incompletely satiated with seeing the face of the lotus-eyed Rāmacandra, they showered flowers upon him.
vidrumodumbara-dvārair vaidūrya-stambha-paḍktibhiḥ sthalair mārakataiḥ svacchair bhrājat-sphaṭika-bhittibhiḥ
citra-sragbhiḥ paṭṭikābhir
vāso-maṇi-gaṇāṁśukaiḥ
muktā-phalaiś cid-ullāsaiḥ
kānta-kāmopapattibhiḥ
dhūpa-dīpaiḥ surabhibhir
maṇòitaṁ puṣpa-maṇòanaiḥ
strī-pumbhiḥ sura-saḍkāśair
juṣṭaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇaiḥ
Thereafter, Lord Rāmacandra entered the palace used by his forefathers, furnished with various treasures and furniture, with coral thresholds, rows of cats eye columns, walls of emerald and clear, sparkling crystal, colorful garlands, flags, bright with the rays emanating from gems and cloth, with pearls, lamps and fragrant incense, and celestial men and women decorated with flowers, whose bodies glorified their ornaments, all of which fulfilled ones desires, since they were spiritual.
How did Rāma conduct himself? The answer is now repeated, but described in detail. The palace had doors with thresholds made of coral. All the phrases are connected with the word decorated in verse 34. It was bright with the rays from the cloth and jewels. All the objects fulfilled all ones desires since they were spiritual (cit-ullāsaiḥ). Cit-ullāsaiḥ modifies all objects in the list.
Rāmacandra, the Supreme Lord, chief of self-controlled, resided in that palace with his dear, pleasing wife Sītā.
Without transgressing the religious principles, Rāmacandra, whose lotus feet are worshiped by devotees in meditation, enjoyed desired objects as long as he wanted.
Nṛṇām means by men.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eleventh Chapter of the Ninth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
The Eleventh Chapter describes the sacrifices performed by Rāma, his rejection of Sītā, her entrance into the earth, and sending his brothers to conquer the directions.
He worshipped himself by himself means that he worshipped himself by sacrifices which were not different from him, since he is the process and the result of sacrifice.