The Story of Rama putting an arrow through maramara trees

The Story of Rama putting an arrow through maramara  trees

By

P.R.Ramachander

There was a king called Manibhadra and he had several sons from his wife Kavika. Seven those  sons learnt evil  magic,One day by their magic they made a  big serpent.When going over Rishya mooka  mountains  , they saw Agasthya  coming that way.They made the snake in to a circle ,buried it in earth and stood on it as Sala trees,Understanding the truth , the sage cursed them to stand there  forever  as trees.They realized  their mistake and begged  the sage  for relief from the curse.He told them when Rama puts in an arrow in all of them    , they would get freedom  freom the curse.When Rama came there  , he  recognized them and  by his thumb pressed   a stone on which the  serpent was lying , which made it straight   and Rama put an arrow through them,

     Among all Ramayanas Kamba Ramayana   describes    the story of Rama putting an arrow through the tree well and has dedicated a chapter to it.Read my translation of that chapter

.Maramara  Padalam From Kamba ramayanam

The chapter on Maramara   trees.

Translated by

Ramachander

(When requested  by Sugreeva   to show his prowess  by putting an arrow    through    one of the Mara mara  trees, Rama by his arrow  pierces    all the seven trees. The doubts in the mind of Sugreeva disappears

     In  Valmiki Ramayana  as pre request  of Sugreeva Rama throws    the skeleton of Dhundhubhi   to a distance of ten Yojanas, Sugreeva then wants hi m to pierce    one of  the seven Sala and trees   then.)

3865.Sugreeva    sweetly lead them saying “This  is   the path we have to go,

And showing them the seven Maramara trees   which by their  height,

Would make the sky shorter   and told him , “If your arrow    goes ,

And pierces   one of these trees , the apprehension in my mind would go”.

3866.When Sugreeva who did not have   any fault  in his mind told like this,

Rama   the lord of all devas  , understanding  the  thought  of Sugreeva,

Smiled   and took  with his  very powerful hands  the bow , stringed it,

And went  near those trees   which cannot be   understood  by wisdom.

3867.Those Maramara trees , even if eons change, do not change themselves ,

And even at the time  when the entire world  is destroyed, they    would not fall down,

And were looking like   the seven mountains   which lift the  earth surrounded by seas,

Have come there   together   and were  standing   in a group.

3868.Those  great  seven Maramaras  made the full moon  and the  Sun,

To  start   doing  great penance    to cross its top  ,

And the Lord Brahma   seeing these  trees would say  I have seen mountains,

As  due to their head  , He was not able   to see  its leaves

3869. Due   to going under the shade   of  those   great trees, which have spread,

On the sky   and all the directions  , the horses of  Sun God never felt tired,

And were not sad that they were   running   in the same way throughout the day  ,

And   in spite of thinking   we were  not  able to find a better reason.

3870.Those seven trees  and the stars  which have existed for a long time,

AS well as planets   which were high up in the sky   appeared on its  sides  ,

And looked shining  more  like the flowers  of these  trees   and the  white moon,

Which had great  luster   had the black area  inside it  possibly because of rubbing  with these  trees.

3871.Due   to the branches of those trees   which never die  growing luxuriantly,

They were suitable to be called as Vedas   and since they were  high  up in the sky  ,

And the swan on which   Lord Brahma who created   the universes   ride,

Which were in his land  along with the  matchless  female   swan,

Preferred to live  on one   side   of   those   trees due to their height.

3872. Due to the fact that  even if the   wind blows  , its    scented   flowers,

Its leaves   and its  fruits   and many others produced by those trees,

Did not fall any where    on the earth   but fell in the river  Akasa Ganga  ,

Of the tumultuous  big heavens  and reach the ocean with big tides .

3873.The trees having grown   above the top of the   head of Lord Vishnu,

In his form when he  measured   the entire world in two steps  Could be ,

Called as   the tall  Lord Vishnu   and they   were  more in girth   than,

The huge  Meru mountain  which is standing    in the middle  of the earth.

3874.Like  the mind of full of enmity   between   the son of  Charitable Indra,

And his younger  brother ,  each of  those   trees were  more hard than,

Any other tree  within themselves  and  their deep roots   went inside ,

The   white   hood of    Adhi  Sesha   who was lifting the earth in the  middle of clear    ocean  .

3875.Those  trees   had grown up   and measured all directions  ,

And they were   standing with damage   over the  passage  of time  ,

They were   being praised by devas  ,  and taller  and stouter  than 

The Meru mountain which is   gone round   by  the sun and moon ,

And each   of them was    equal to the  other   and  ,

There   was several Yojana  (8 miles)  distance  between them.

3876. That faultless Rama  after looking at all those Maramara   trees  ,

Got  a desire to  send his pure  long  arrow  twanged   the string of  his bow,

Making  all the beings   in the far off sky  and directions   deaf  ,

And creating a fear that they have never   felt   among the Devas.

3877 When we know that  the sound of that twang from that   string   spread   exactly  ,
in a similar way  , how can we describe   the  problems  faced by  those   who are near?

All the elephants  of the eight directions swooned  , all directions were  confused ,

And that   sound of placing the arrow  on the thing even startled the land of Brahma.

3878.Due   the extreme sound raised   by  the string of   the bow   of That Rama ,

Who destroys   sin  ,  the devas doubting  that   the end of the  world  has come,

Moved away from the places  of  their normal stay and only  the brother  ,

Who loved  him  stood near Rama   and if  we start   telling,

About   the state  of others  like Sugreeva and Hanuman , they would get bad name.

3879. When Hanuman who is truthful and others   thinking that  they want ,

To see the sending of the arrow    went near and joined Rama   and when they were,

All praising his mastery   in archery , Rama  the  great archer   who  made all beings as his slave,

Pulled the strong string of   his bow  properly, and sent    the arrow    from his bow.

3880. That arrow  pierced  all the seven Maramara   trees   and went further  into ,

The seven underworlds  and since there was no “seven”    afterwards returned,

And even then it would pierce any thing which are  having numer “seven”.

3881. The seven seas, the seven upper worlds  ,  the seven mountains  , seven sages,

The seven horses that draw Sun God , the seven maids   thinking that  this arrow,

Would aim   everything that is seven   shivered with great scare.

3882.Though they were  all scared   , since they knew   that  Rama is a soul like friend  ,

Of Dharma  they all got rid of  their fear    and at that time Sugreeva   took

 The divine feet of Rama wearing heroic anklets and resembling  

The just opened  lotus flower  on his head   and started    telling the   following.

3883.”You are the earth, you are the sky  , You are the other   five great elements  ,

You are  the Lord Brahma on lotus flower  , you are Lord Vishnu holding the   wheel,

You are  Lord Shiva resembling the red fire , you had created   this world earlier,

And you have  come in search of me  who is like a dog to provide help to me.

3884. “Oh king of kings  , the good karma that I did  in my last birth  has  helped me.

By bringing you here and now on everything is easy for me   and nothing  is  difficult,

 I would be the slave to   your devotees   who are like mothers “ said  the faultless  Sugreeva.

3885.  All other monkeys who were suffering for  a long   time due to Vali said,

“We were searching for the God of death to Vali   and now we have got him “

And they all drank sweet toddy , forgot themselves and with joyful shoulders,

Danced    and sang   and   ran here    and there    with great joy.