While we are learning about the great story of Rama, let us also educate about the happenings in today’s world in his famed temple in Ayodhya. We came to know that Ram Lalla or Lord Ram in child form has been installed in Ayodhya during its opening ceremony on January 22nd ,2024. In addition to Ram Lalla, the main idol of Ram Darbar has been consecrated last week on June 5,2025 at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. The consecration included the installation of eight deity idols, marking a significant spiritual milestone, following the temple inauguration a year ago. While Ram Lalla, the child form of Lord Rama, is the main idol in the sanctum sanctorum on the ground floor, the Ram Darbar represents Raja Ram, the kingly form of Lord Rama at the center of first floor. Ram Darbar features Lord Rama in his royal form, seated on a throne, alongside Mata Sita, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughna, and Hanuman.
This event can be described as a step towards Ram Rajya, celebrating the culmination of centuries of faith and struggle. The consecration of Ram Darbar introduces a regal dimension to the temple, symbolizing Rama in his royal grandeur. It allows devotees deeper engagement with the deity’s majesty, transitioning from the intimate child-form to the sovereign king. The temple attracted around 55 million or 5.5 crore pilgrims since inauguration, a record for a Ram mandir or any mandir in India. An economic report by Jefferies projected the temple could eventually attract 50 million annual visits, surpassing major pilgrimage sites such as Tirupati, Mecca, and the Vatican. It has already surpassed the established pilgrim destination Tirumala where around 35 million took darshan in the same period. As mentioned in this space last year, this consecration event reiterates Ayodhya’s transition from a contested site to a national spiritual hub, heralding a wave of cultural renaissance and awakening for India. The nation is truly transformed into one kingdom of Rama and the people are slowly championing as true devotees of Rama. Our little efforts online in learning about him must aid towards building the glorious figure in our receptacles to paint, persuade and pervade his form in outer world.
The temple is viewed by many as a beginning, a catalyst to bring about values associated with Ram Rajya: unity, fairness, and righteousness. This moment represents the emotional and cultural foundation of such an ideal — a moral compass. The little push and massive faith within crores of people, finding a way to Ram mandir is extremely heartening to see after centuries of suppression of the very noble ideals. We are nudging at the doorstep of Ram Rajya — but it is up to society, leaders, and institutions to walk inside and make this really count. The people are ready and India is ready for social, cultural and economic transformation. Let us all allow to herald a thousand-year Ram Rajya after a thousand-year suppression.
Coming back to the story, in the last post, we saw the reason uncovered by Narada behind the death of Brahmin’s son and Rama pursuing it to rectify the error in disposal of kingship. Sage Narada reveals that a Shudra’s unauthorized penance in Treta Yuga has disrupted cosmic order, causing the tragedy. Rama, honoring dharma, preserves the child’s body and sets out in the celestial Pushpaka chariot to find the cause. After surveying the western, northern, and eastern lands without finding fault, he discovers an ascetic hanging upside down by a southern lake. Rama respectfully questions the hermit’s caste and purpose, knowing the answer may restore balance and fulfill his duty as guardian of divine law. The following chapters will look at Rama’s dispensation of judgement.
In chapter 76, Shambuka is slain by Rama.
In the remote southern region, Rama encounters an ascetic performing intense penance suspended upside down. Upon inquiry, the ascetic reveals he is a Shudra named Shambuka, practicing severe austerity to attain heaven in his current body. Aware that in the Treta Yuga such penance is prohibited for Shudras under the established varna-dharma, and recognizing the act as the cause of cosmic disorder and the premature death of a Brahmin’s son, Rama fulfills his duty as king. He draws his sword and beheads Shambuka. At the very moment of his death, celestial voices erupt in praise, and flowers rain from the heavens. The Gods, led by Agni and other divine beings, hail Rama’s upholding of dharma and offer him a boon.
In deep humility, Rama requests that the Brahmin’s son be brought back to life, admitting that the child’s death was a result of his own failure in maintaining cosmic order. The Gods, pleased with Rama’s devotion to justice, grant the boon: the boy is resurrected at the very moment Shambuka is slain.
With righteousness restored, the Gods invite Rama to join them at the hermitage of the great Rishi Agastya, who is due for a special consecration ceremony after twelve years of penance submerged in water. Rama ascends the Pushpaka Vimana, his divine chariot, and follows the celestial beings to the ashram of Kumbhayoni, another name for the venerable Agastya.
Agastya welcomes Rama with warmth and reverence, acknowledging his heroic deeds and divine nature. The sage honors Rama, calling him the Blessed Lord, Narayana himself, and invites him to rest the night at his hermitage. Recognizing Rama’s act of restoring dharma and the Brahmin’s child, Agastya offers him a divine ornament, a radiant jewel crafted by the celestial architect Vishvakarma. He insists that Rama, as protector of the world and friend to sages, is most worthy of such a divine gift.
Initially, Rama declines the ornament, citing the Kshatriya duty of refusing gifts from Brahmins, as only Brahmins are traditionally permitted to accept gifts. He questions how he might rightfully accept it. Agastya responds with a profound teaching on the origin of kingship. In the Golden Age (Krita Yuga), there were no human kings. The people, seeking order, appealed to Brahma, the Creator, to appoint a ruler like Indra, the king of the gods. Brahma summoned the gods and requested that each surrender a portion of their powers. From this collective divine energy, the first human king, Kshupa, was created.
This king embodied aspects of the gods: Indra’s power to command, Varuna’s strength for health and order, and Yama’s capacity for justice. Agastya explains that kingship is itself divine, imbued with celestial authority. As Rama embodies these powers—especially that of Indra—he is entitled to receive gifts like the ornament, not for personal gain, but as the guardian of righteousness on earth.
Convinced and reassured, Rama accepts the jewel, which sparkles like the sun, and expresses gratitude. In curiosity and admiration, he then asks Agastya where such a divine ornament came from. The sage responds that he will recount its origin, leading into another sacred story from the Treta Yuga.
This episode highlights the complexity of kingship in ancient epics: the king is both warrior and protector, enforcer of law and humble seeker of wisdom from sages. Rama’s journey to restore the Brahmin’s son, his consultation with divine sages, and his reverence to Agastya all reflect his ideal status as the Maryada Purushottama—the Perfect Man who upholds the limits and laws that sustain the universe.
In chapter 77, the story of Svargin is discussed.
Rishi Agastya recounts to Rama a mysterious and wondrous incident from the Treta Yuga during a period of intense penance. He describes a vast, uninhabited wilderness spanning four hundred miles, where no birds or beasts lived. The forest, though desolate, was filled with exquisite natural beauty—abundant fruits, delicious roots, and trees of varying fragrances. In the heart of this wilderness, Agastya came upon a serene lake about four miles wide, filled with swans, Cakravakra birds, lotuses, and lilies. The lake’s crystal-clear, sweet waters were free from weeds and moss, radiating a sense of divine peace.
Near this lake, the sage discovered an ancient hermitage, abandoned and silent. He spent the night there and, upon waking at dawn, went to the lake to perform his morning rituals. There, to his astonishment, he saw a dead body floating in the water. The body was strangely pristine—plump, spotless, and radiant. Surprised and puzzled by this odd sight, Agastya stood silently, reflecting on what he was witnessing.
As he pondered, a dazzling celestial chariot suddenly appeared in the sky, drawn by swans swift as thought. A radiant young man, resembling a god, sat in the chariot, surrounded by thousands of beautiful Apsaras—celestial nymphs—adorned with shining ornaments. Some of the Apsaras were singing melodious songs, while others played musical instruments such as the mridanga (drum), vina (lute), and panava (small drum). Others danced gracefully, and some fanned the youth with ornate chanwaras (fly-whisks) that glowed like moonbeams.
The young man, lotus-eyed and glowing like Mount Meru, descended from the chariot. To Agastya’s amazement, he approached the lake and consumed the flesh of the corpse. After satisfying his hunger, he entered the water, washed his hands, and rinsed his mouth in the traditional way. He then returned to his heavenly chariot as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Intrigued and disturbed, Agastya called out to the radiant figure before he could depart. He questioned the divine-looking youth, asking who he was and why he had eaten the flesh of a corpse—an act deemed vile and unfit, especially for one of such celestial appearance. Agastya expressed disbelief that someone who seemed equal to the gods would engage in such repulsive behavior. He sensed a deeper mystery behind the act and, driven by curiosity and respect, asked the stranger to reveal the truth.
Agastya’s tone was not accusatory but friendly and inquisitive. He wished to understand what he had just witnessed and suspected that the act, although grotesque in appearance, might have a spiritual or otherworldly significance. The radiant youth, described as a Nakin—a celestial or semi-divine being—listened to the sage’s words and prepared to reveal the secret behind his unusual behavior.
Thus ends this part of the sage’s story, leading into a deeper revelation about the mysterious eater of corpses and the celestial context in which the bizarre event took place.
This concludes chapters 76 and 77 of Uttara Kanda where we had seen Shambuka is slain by Rama to restore cosmic order and revive the dead brahmin’s son. Everyone from heavens is pleased by this act and Gods invite Rama to join them at the hermitage of the great Rishi Agastya. The revered sage gifts Rama a divine jewel which Rama accepts after initial refusal. When asked by a curious Rama to know from where the ornament came, Agastya recounts a tale from Treta Yuga. He reveals details about a mysterious celestial being who eats a corpse and the context in which the event took place can be seen in subsequent chapters.
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