श्रीराम उवाच ..



भगवन्यन्मया पृष्टं तत्तथैव स्थितं विभो .



अत्रोत्तरं मया लब्धं त्वत्तो नैव महेश्वर [1]



परिच्छिन्नपरीमाणे देहे भगवतस्तव .



उत्पत्तिः पञ्चभूतानां स्थितिर्वा विलयः कथम [2]



स्वस्वाधिकारसंबद्धाः कथं नाम स्थिताः सुराः .



ते सर्वे कथं देव भुवनानि चतुर्दश [3]



त्वत्तः श्रुत्वापि देवात्र संशयो मे महानभूत .



अप्रत्यायितचित्तस्य संशयं छेत्तुमर्हसि [4]

Sri Rama said:

O Swami! Till now I didn’t get clarification on my root doubt. How are all the creatures originating from your body of perceivable and limited dimensions? How are they getting survived? And again how are they getting dissolved in you? How are you present in the form of Brahma and other gods doing their respective duties and how are you in the form of these vast fourteen worlds? Kindly clarify this to me. This has already been told by you but I am not able to get clarity over this subject. Hence I have this doubt, and you alone are capable of clarifying my doubt.

श्रीभगवानुवाच ..



वटबीजेऽतिसूक्ष्मेऽपि महावटतरुर्यथा .



सर्वदास्तेऽन्यथा वृक्षः कुत आयाति तद्वद [5]



तद्वन्मम तनौ राम भूतानामागतिर्लयः .



महासैन्धवपिण्डोऽपि जले क्षिप्तो विलीयते [6]



न दृश्यते पुनः पाकात्कुत आयाति पूर्ववत .



प्रातःप्रातर्यथाऽऽलोको जायते सूर्यमण्डलात [7]



एवं मत्तो जगत्सर्वं जायतेऽस्ति विलीयते .



मय्येव सकलं राम तद्वज्जानीहि सुव्रत [8]



Sri Bhagavan said:

O Rama! In this world as like as inside the small banyan seed a giant banyan tree resides and when right time comes from that small seed’s core a huge banyan tree comes outside; in the same way, the entire creation and creatures emerge from my body. And at the end of time they again enter inside me only. The way Saindhava (salt) melts in water and becomes one with it and when water gets evaporated it regains its previous form viz. salt; similarly all these worlds take birth from me and enter back into me only.

श्रीराम उवाच ..



कथितेऽपि महाभाग दिग्जडस्य यथा दिशि .



निवर्तते भ्रमो नैव तद्वन्मम करोमि किम [9]

Sri Rama said:

O Mahanubhava! In whatever number of ways through whatever examples you tried to explain me that concept; like a confused person who fails to discern, I am not able to understand that properly. What should i do now?

श्रीभगवानुवाच ..



मयि सर्वं यथा राम जगदेतच्चराचरम .



वर्तते तद्दर्शयामि न द्रष्टुं क्षमते भवान [10]



दिव्यं चक्षुः प्रदास्यामि तुभ्यं दशरथात्मज .



तेन पश्य भयं त्यक्त्वा मत्तेजोमण्डलं ध्रुवम [11]



न चर्मचक्षुषा द्रष्टुं शक्यते मामकं महः .



नरेण वा सुरेणापि तन्ममानुग्रहं विना [12]

Sri Bhagavan said:

O Rama! This entire mobile and immobile creation dwells inside my belly. You do not have enough strength and capability to witness that scene. With these eyes of flesh neither human nor god can every be able to see my brilliant cosmic form without my grace. Therefore, O son of Dashratha! I’m giving you divine eyes (divya drishti) do not fear and properly see my divine cosmic form.

सूत उवाच ..



इत्युक्त्वा प्रददौ तस्मै दिव्यं चक्षुर्महेश्वरः .



अथादर्शयदेतस्मै वक्त्रं पातालसंनिभम [13]



विद्युत्कोटिप्रभं दीप्तमतिभीमं भयावहम .



तद्दृष्ट्वैव भयाद्रामो जानुभ्यामवनिं गतः [14]



प्रणम्य दण्डवद्भूमौ तुष्टाव च पुनः पुनः .



अथोत्थाय महावीरो यावदेव प्रपश्यति [15]



वक्त्रं पुरभिदस्तत्र अन्तर्ब्रह्माण्डकोटयः .



चटका इव लक्ष्यन्ते ज्वालामालासमाकुलाः [16]



मेरुमन्दरविन्ध्याद्या गिरयः सप्तसागराः .



दृश्यन्ते चन्द्रसूर्याद्याः पञ्च भूतानि ते सुराः [17]



अरण्यानि महानागा भुवनानि चतुर्दश .



प्रतिब्रह्माण्डमेवं तद्दृष्ट्वा दशरथात्मजः [18]



सुरासुराणां संग्रामस्तत्र पूर्वापरानपि .



विष्णोर्दशावतारांश्च तत्तत्कर्माण्यपि द्विजाः [19]



पराभवांश्च देवानां पुरदाहं महेशितुः .



उत्पद्यमानानुत्पन्नान्सर्वानपि विनश्यतः [20]



दृष्ट्वा रामो भयाविष्टः प्रणनाम पुनः पुनः .



उत्पन्नतत्त्वज्ञआनोऽपि बभूव रघुनन्दनः [21]



अथोपनिषदां सारैरर्थैस्तुष्टाव शंकरम [22]

Suta said:

In this way spoke lord Shiva and blessed Rama with divine eyes. Thereafter lord Shiva showed Rama by opened his mouth which was as wide as Patala loka. Blazing with billions of lightening strikes seeing such a dreadful scene Sri Rama trembling with fear collapsed on the ground on his knees. He prostrated on the ground and numerous times he prayed to Lord Shiva. Then that mighty armed hero Rama gaining some strength again looked at the cosmic form of the Eswara the destroyer of the three cities. He sighted billions of universes as like as the groundnuts being roasted in blazing fires. He saw inside the mouth Meru, Mandara Vindhya etc. giant mountains, seven great oceans, Sun, moon and planets, five elements, all deities, all dense forests. He also witnessed the mighty serpent Adi-Sesha, fourteen worlds, in every universe he witnessed Devasura Sangrama (battles of gods and demons), their cause and effects. He also witnessed Lord Vishnu’s ten primary incarnations and their roles, duties and work. He witnessed God’s valor, the event of destruction of the three cities by Shiva. He saw all the creatures who are yet to be born, which were born in past and which were being born. He further saw the destruction of all these creation. Seeing that horrifying scene, Sri Rama despite being a wise man, trembled with fear and saluted Lord Shiva again and again. Then Rama sang the essence of all Upanishads as a hymn in praise of Lord Shiva.

श्रीराम उवाच ..



देव प्रपन्नार्तिहर प्रसीद

प्रसीद विश्वेश्वर विश्ववन्द्य .



प्रसीद गङ्गाधर चन्द्रमौले

मां त्राहि संसारभयादनाथम [23]



त्वत्तो हि जातं जगदेतदीश

त्वय्येव भूतानि वसन्ति नित्यम .



त्वय्येव शंभो विलयं प्रयान्ति

भूमौ यथा वृक्षलतादयोऽपि [24]



ब्रह्मेन्द्र रुद्राश्च मरुद्गणाश्च

गन्धर्वयक्षाऽसुरसिद्धसङ्घाः .



गङ्गादि नद्यो वरुणालयाश्च

वसन्ति शूलिंस्तव वक्त्रयंत्रे [25]



त्वन्मायया कल्पितमिन्दुमौले

त्वय्येव दृश्यत्वमुपैति विश्वम .



भ्रान्त्या जनः पश्यति सर्वमेत –

च्छुक्तौ यथा रौप्यमहिं च रज्जौ [26]



O supreme God! O lord who takes away the sufferings when pleased (Prasannartihara)! O lord of the universe (Vishweshwara)! O one who is worshiped by the world (Vishwavandhya)! O lord who holds goddess Ganga on the head (Gangadhara)! O wearer of crescent moon (Chandramouli)! kindly be pleased with me. I’m like an orphan now, please protect me from the fear of Samsaara. O Eswara! As like as trees take birth and die on earth; in the same way these entire universes took birth from you, reside in you and hey Shiva! they get dissolved in you alone! O holder of Trident (trishuladhari)! Brahma, Indra, and groups of Maruts, gandhervas, Yakshas, Demons, Siddhas; Ganga and other mighty river groups; seven great oceans; all reside inside your face. O wearer of crescent moon! This entire universe is created by your Maya (illusion). it became visible also inside you only, but out of ignorance humans are getting illusioned by not realizing these facts.

तेजोभिरापूर्य जगत्समस्तं

प्रकाशमानः कुरुषे प्रकाशम .



विना प्रकाशं तव देवदेव

न दृश्यते विश्वमिदं क्षणेन [27]



अल्पाश्रयो नैव बृहन्तमर्थं

धत्तेऽणुरेको न हि विन्ध्यशैलम .



त्वद्वक्त्रमात्रे जगदेतदस्ति

त्वन्माययैवेति विनिश्चिनोमि [28]



रज्जौ भुजङ्गो भयदो यथैव

न जायते नास्ति न चैति नाशम .



त्वन्मायया केवलमात्ररूपं

तथैव विश्वं त्वयि नीलकण्ठ [29]



विचार्यमाणे तव यच्छरीर –

माधारभावं जगतामुपैति .



तदप्ययश्यं मदविद्ययैव

पूर्णश्चिदानदमयो यतस्त्वम [30]



पूजेष्टपूर्तादिवरक्रियाणां

भोक्तुः फलं यच्छसि विश्वमेव .



मृषैतदेवं वचनं पुरारे

त्वत्तोऽस्ति भिन्नं न च किञ्चिदेव [31]

It’s you alone under whose brilliant light shines these all worlds. O ancient supreme lord (Devadideva)!, O great lord (Mahadeva)! In absence of your light even for a split second these universes wouldn’t be visible! A small particle can’t support a huge object, however inside your mouth i see that entire creation is supported. All this is your own Maya. O blue necked one(Neelakantha)!, as like as snake reside in ant hill, similarly in you who are only Atmaswaroopa, all the universes takes birth under your supreme power of illusion. With an indepth analysis If i say that your body is the foundation of this entire cosmos, then it would be my ignorance only. You are the indweller of everyone. you are of the form of consciousness and bliss. O destroyer of three cities (Tripurari)! What is usually heard like you bestow good results to those who please you through great tasks; but this also has become totally false now since there is nothing that is not you (or different from you) O lord!

अज्ञआनमूढा मुनयो वदन्ति

पूजोपचारादिबहिःक्रियाभिः .



तोषं गिरीशो भजतीति मिथ्या

कुतस्त्वमूर्तस्य तु भोगलिप्सा [32]



किञ्चिद्दलं वा चुलकोदकं वा

यस्त्वं महेश प्रतिगृह्य दत्से .



त्रैलोक्यलक्ष्मीमपि यज्जनेभ्यः

सर्वं त्वविद्याकृतमेव मन्ये [33]



व्याप्नोषि सर्वा विदिशो दिशश्च

त्वं विश्वमेकः पुरुषः पुराणः .



नष्टेऽपि तस्मिंस्तव नास्ति हानि –

र्घटे विनष्टे नभसो यथैव [34]



यथैकमाकाशगमर्कबिम्बं

क्षुद्रेषु पात्रेषु जलान्वितेषु .



भजत्यनेकप्रतिबिम्बभावं

तथा त्वमन्तःकरणेषु देव [35]



संसर्जने वाऽप्यवने विनाशे

विश्वस्य किञ्चित्तव नास्ति कार्यम .



अनादिभिः प्राणभृतामदृष्टै –

स्तथापि तत्स्वप्नवदातनोषि [36]

Ignorant Saints preach that you become pleased with worship, Upachara, and gifts kind of various offerings because of their poor intellect. You, who doesn’t have a form (amoorti), what’s the use of comforts (sukha) and enjoyments (bhoga) to you? The one who offers you little Bilva leaves with water you become extremely pleased with that person and shower the property of the kingdom of three worlds on him. But still i doubt this belief also as a belief out of ignorance only! You are the primordial being (Purana Purusha) who alone remains pervading in all directions and entire world. Even when they get destroyed, you remain indestructible pervading like the ether. As like as the one single sun looks multiple when seen in the reflection in multiple pots, in the same way you are the only one who exists but you appear as many to the eyes. There is not special benefit for you in doing creation, sustenance and dissolution of these universes. Due to the accumulated bodies (karanadeham) based on the karmas you make them they originate, stay and dissolve in you and you expand them like a play in dream.



N.B: here Rama states a very Vedantic fact indeed. But it doesn’t mean whatever the sages say is totally incorrect and absurd. After seeing the cosmic form of the Brahman, Rama got filled with Vedantic knowledge hence that statement got issued out of his mouth. But in reality Rama and the sages both are correct. There are two orders of reality viz. Absolute order of reality (AOR) and Relative order of reality (ROR). ROR is the Vyavaharika reality but AOR is the final truth. Since the entire creation is just unreal, and the Brahman(Shiva) actually doesn’t need anything as offering because there is nothing that he is not. So, in this absolute order of reality when we speak it is true that making any offerings to Shiva is stupidity. But we still live in this universe created by Maya. hence we all live in relative order of reality. Only after gaining realization one gains the insight of AOR. therefore, god is not stone hearted to not accept anything offered with love. If being a devotee with full love and affection we offer Bilva leaves or in fact anything, Shiva would definitely get pleased. Bhakta Kannappa who was a hunter, he out of pure devotion and love for shiva thinking that Shiva might be hungry, in order to fill Shiva’s stomach he offered meat of swine and Shiva gladly consumed that. Here AOR doesn’t apply. Here it is a Tatwam which has to be understood in the light of ROR. Here Shiva doesn’t measure how much of Brahmagyana that person has. Shiva rates him based on the extent of love he possesses for the lord. There are various paths to reach Shiva, out of them Bhakti and Jnana are two important ones. Bhakti dwells in ROR and Jnana runs in AOR. But finally both lead to Shiva. Hence what sages said is not out of ignorance but they spoke in ROR sense. What Rama realized is completely a fact in AOR sense, hence Rama is also correct in his place. Therefore the conclusion is that both Rama and Sages are correct in their respective point of views, and the readers may choose any path Bhakti or Jnana based on their inclination.

स्थूलस्य सूक्ष्मस्य जडस्य भोगो

देहस्य शंभो न चिदं विनास्ति .



अतस्त्वदारोपणमातनोति

श्रुतिः पुरारे सुखदुःखयोः सदा [37]



नमः सच्चिदाम्भोधिहंसाय तुभ्यं

नमः कालकालाय कालात्मकाय .



नमस्ते समस्ताघसंहारकर्त्रे

नमस्ते मृषाचित्तवृत्त्यैकभोक्त्रे [38]

O lord who destroyed the three cities! There is not even the slightest difference between you and the gross (sthoola), Subtle(sookshma) and Causal(Karana) bodies of Jiva, that’s the reason why Vedas proclaim that the cause of all happiness and sorrow is you alone. O lord of the lords! O great lord! I offer my salutations to you who are a swan in the ocean called Satchidananda. My salutations to you O Neelakantha, to you O Kalatmaka, to you O destroyer of sins, in the export-import business of the three bodies which are untrue in reality you remain as the enjoyer of fruits of the karmas (as Jiva), thereby my salutations to you who is such!

सूत उवाच ..



एवं प्रणम्य विश्वेशं पुरतः प्राञ्जलिः स्थितः .



विस्मितः परमेशानं जगाद रघुनन्दनः [39]

Suta Said:

In this manner with folded hands and bowed head Rama spoke addressing Eswara the cosmic being in this way:

श्रीराम उवाच ..



उपसंहर विश्वात्मन्विश्वरूपमिदं तव .



प्रतीतं जगदैकात्म्यं शंभो भवदनुग्रहात [40]



O all pervading god Mahadeva! Kindly wind up your cosmic form. I have witnessed the oneness of the entire universe (with you) by your grace.

श्रीभगवानुवाच ..



पश्य राम महाबाहो मत्तो नान्योऽस्ति कश्चन [41]

Sri Bhagavan said:

O Ramachandra! See my cosmic form carefully! Mind you! There is none who exists other than me.

सूत उवाच ..



उत्युक्त्वैवोपसंजह्रे स्वदेहे देवतादिकान .



Suta said:

After instructing Rama in this way, lord Shiva withdrew his cosmic form.

मीलिताक्षः पुनर्हर्षाद्यावद्रामः प्रपश्यति [42]



तावदेव गिरेः शृङ्गे व्याघ्रचर्मोपरि स्थितम .



ददर्श पञ्चवदनं नीलकण्ठं त्रिलोचनम [43]



व्याघ्रचर्माम्बरधरं भूतिभूषितविग्रहम .



फणिकङ्कणभूषाढ्यं नागयज्ञओपवीतिनम [44]



व्याघ्रचर्मोत्तरीयं च विद्युत्पिङ्गजटाधरम .



एकाकिनं चन्द्रमौलिं वरेण्यमभयप्रदम [45]



चतुर्भुजं खण्डपरशुं मृगहस्तं जगत्पतिम .



अथाज्ञअया पुरस्तस्य प्रणम्योपविवेश सः [46]



अथाह रामं देवेशो यद्यत्प्रष्टुमभीच्छसि .



तत्सर्वं पृच्छ राम त्वं मत्तो नान्योऽस्ति ते गुरुः [47]

After that Sri Ramachandra became extremely satisfied and within the split second of his eyes closing and opening the eyes, he beheld in front of him sitting in Vyaghrasana (tiger kind of yogic sitting posture) on the hill, the three eyed, five faced blue necked lord Shiva who wore tiger skin as garments, who had ash smeared on all over his body who had matted hair, who had a crescent moon, whose one hand was in blessing posture, who had many hands which held axe, deer etc., who is the one leader of the entire world. Such a Mahadeva was seen by rama once again. Then Rama saluted him once again and with permission from Shiva he sat in front of him.

Sri Bhagawan said: O SriRama! Whatever other topics you have queries and want to get clarified from me, you may enquire. There is no better Guru than me to clarify your doubts O Rama!