1.
Lord Rama is the hero of Ramayana. As per the rules of Sanskrit
literature, a hero should appear in significant parts of the
epic. Lord Rama appears in all parts of Ramayana. He appears in Balakand,
Ayodhyakand, Aranyakand, Kishkindhakand but not
in Sundarkand! As per this rule
Lord Rama did not appear in Sundarkand (except few slokas in the last 4 sargas
out of entire 68 sargas of Sundarkand) Even
though Lord Rama did not much appear in Sundarkand, it is in this Sundarkand that Sri
Hanuman beautifully sings the glory
of Lord Rama. That is why it
is called Sundarkand.
2.
If you read Ramayana with full attention you will notice that Lord Rama
is continuously thinking of mother Sita in Kishkindhakand.
Mother Sita was a great housewife, a very devoted wife who followed her
husband to the forest, inspite of knowing that there will be nothing but trouble
in the forest. Lord Rama never lived away from her; naturally his loving
heart could not bear the separation, so he was continuously thinking of Sita.
Lord
Rama’s love towards his wife is evident till Kishkindhakand.
It becomes more evident in Kishindhakand when he starts feeling the
separation of Sita. However, it is
only in Sundarkand we come to know how much Sita loved Rama.
She was portrayed as a silent and most faithful follower of Lord Rama,
but in Sundarkand her true feelings towards Lord Rama was outspoken.
Sita’s love towards Lord Rama is most beautiful.
The most beautiful woman in the universe (mother Lakshmi) was expressing
her love towards the most beautiful Lord of the Universe (Lord Vishnu).
This feeling of love was
witnessed by two forces. Ravana,
the personification of evil, who was opposed to the Lord, and
Hanuman, the personification
of good, who was surrendered to the Lord.
This
cosmic drama was taking place in a beautiful garden called Asoka (devoid of
sorrow). This concept is beautiful.
When the evil (Ravana) was standing in front of the devotee
(Sita) and luring her, threatening her to surrender to the evil, the
devotee was bold enough to declare her unconditional love towards Lord!
The devotee’s surrendering feeling was silently witnessed by the
ciranjeevi (ever living being) Hanuman.
Hanumanji
is watching us, very closely, staying somewhere up in the tree which is called
sorrow-free (asoka)! He is watching
us declaring our unwillingness to
surrender to evil, our ever willingness to be close to Lord.
This
concept is beautiful. That is why it is named Sundarkand.
3.
Sita’s husband lost his kingdom; he had no money; he could not offer
her a proper place to live; he was living
in the forest. The person who was obsessed with her was a king, living in
great
But
still, unlike modern day woman who runs after money, name, fame and wealth, the
woman {of India} – Sitadevi openly declared that no matter how ever wealthy
Ravana was, she would not even look at him!
This
is the true spirit of the Indian woman, who follows the sanatana sampradaya.
A woman loves her husband, not because of his name, fame and wealth, but
because of her unconditional love towards him.
Also it is the spirit of the Indian man, who does not leave such a loving
wife to her fate! Rather, he fights
till the end to protect his wife. This
is Ramayana.
The
chapter where such a loving couple’s feelings are portrayed beautifully is
aptly named as Sundarkand by Valmiki.
4.
This chapter also depicts the eagerness of Ravana to meet the Lord in the
fight! Ravana abducted Sita but he
didn’t hide her anywhere in the dungeons or under the roof.
He rather kept her inside the Asokavana.
Sita was visible to all Yakshas, Kinneras, kimpurashas and gandharvas who
had the ability to fly in the air. Sita
was visible to them! Ravana seemed
to have wantonly kept Sita there, so that Rama would come to know about her
whereabouts. The sooner the
war with Rama the better chance was there to attain liberation for Ravana. This thinking of Ravana is beautiful. That is why it is called Sundarkand.
5.
Hanuman pleaded with Sita saying “I will take you to Lord Rama,
please come along with me”; but
Sita rejected his offer inspite of knowing she was in eternal peril in the
presence of Ravana. This chapter
depicts the greatness of Sita, that is why it is called Sundarkand.
6.
Even though she was eating the food provided by Ravana, her intellect was
siding with Mother Sita! The demons
like Trijata and Sarama pitied the state of Sita and tried to protect her.
A chapter where the soft-heartedness of demons is shown is called
Sundarkand.
7.
Sita is the lower self (jivatma), Lord Rama is the higher Self (paramatma).
In order to make their union possible, Hanuman in the form of Guru moved
in the entire body called Lanka – that is why this chapter is called
Sundarkand.
8.
“sundarasca sundareeca sundarou tayOradhikRUtasya pravruttah kaandaH
sundarakandaH”. Lord Rama
is Sundara (one of the names from Vishnusahasranama), Mother Sita is Sundari (baala
tripura sundari) and Hanumanji is Sundar (sundara Hanuman).
The chapter where Sundara Rama sent Sundara Hanuman in search of Sundari
Sita is called “Sundarakand”.
9.
Brahma is said to have three attributes--- Satyam, sivam and sundaram.
Satyam (truth) stands indivisible through all times (trikala abadhita). That
which perpetually bestows prosperity is Sivam.
That which makes us hold gratitude in our hearts towards the indivisible
truth is Sundaram. Lord Rama is Satyam, Sita is Sivam – Hanuman’s search
is sundaram. That is why it is called Sundarkand. Also the three qualities of Parabrahman are portrayed
beautifully in this chapter. That
is why it is called Sundarkand.
10.
Lord Rama, by killing Tataka during Balakanda, displayed the power of his physique.
Following his father’s command, he
walked away into the forest leaving the kingdom behind.
By this action, Lord Rama in Ayodhyakanda demonstrated
his obedience
Hanuman
expressed all the above
qualities inherent in Lord Rama
throughout Ramayana, in this chapter alone!
That is why this chapter is called Sundarkand.
11.
Beautiful poetry, many hidden meanings are written in this chapter.
That is why this is Sundarkand,
12.
The story which ran for 13 years came
to an end in a single night! By telling Sita how much Lord Rama cared for
her, Hanuman was able to make her feel happy.
This chapter is known for its power of casting away great misery from the
lives of faithful devotees. That is
why this is called Sundarkand.