Comparing Rama To The Sun

“O monkey, with a brilliant network of arrows the brave Rama, who is like the sun, will dry up the water that is the Rakshasa enemy.” (Sita Devi, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 37.16)

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śara jāla aṃśumān śūraḥ kape rāma divā karaḥ |
śatru rakṣomayam toyam upaśoṣam nayiṣyati ||

The kids were looking forward to playing outside. They had their gear ready. Homework was done. The winter just completed, so now there was no excuse. Every day, if possible, the father would take them out to the fields to kick around a ball or just run from here to there.

The problem is that it rained overnight. There is water everywhere. No way to tread through puddles on the grass. Mud would fly everywhere. Instead of considering the situation hopeless, there is a thought to go later on in the day. The conditions will change.

Everyone knows this instinctively, but why?The cause is the influence of the sun. Puddles are on the ground, but they won’t stay there. As soon as the sun comes out the water will dry up. Direct sunlight isn’t even a requirement. With a cloudy sky the process will just take a little longer. The rays of the sun are still coming through; they are just blocked a little more. If you put a shade on a lamp, that doesn’t cause the room to go entirely dark.

If a person is more curious, they can investigate further. Observation and experiment. These are the foundation of science. Not consensus. Not blue ribbon panels. Not forecasts relying entirely on computer models. Real experiments with predictable and repeatable results. In this case there is further study of the sun, its properties, and its influence on other objects of matter. Nevertheless, the result is always the same: the sun will dry up the water.

As that outcome is assured, so is the future of the Rakshasas in Lanka. They are described as shatru, or enemy, by Sita Devi in the above referenced verse from the Ramayana. The Rakshasa spirit is the enemy to goodness, to kind and gentle behavior, to believing in a higher power. The Rakshasas in Lanka were specifically enemies to the priestly class around the world. The man-eating ogres would do just that, kill and then eat human flesh.

Sita’s husband is compared to the sun many times. There is the automatic connection through family. Shri Rama appears in the line of kings that begins with the sun-god, Vivasvan. That family is thus known as the solar dynasty.

Rama is also splendorous like the sun. He will dry up the Rakshasa enemy using a brilliant network of arrows. Sita’s husband did not require guns. The arrows released from His bow were already more powerful than nuclear weapons. This can occur through the science of sound. Words put together in a certain way and repeated under the guidance of authority can give tremendous power to something inanimate like an arrow.

Of course Shri Rama is already the sun and more. He is the origin of the universe, so it would make sense that in the seemingly human form His fighting prowess would not be ordinary. The sun-like Rama would be brave against the enemy. The rays would shine down, and the target would have no way to escape. The puddles on the ground have little protection. The end result is assured. This is simply the way of nature

In a similar manner, the evil that men do eventually comes to an end. The deserved punishment arrives, and it is ghastly in nature. The Rakshasas could try their best to cancel fate, but the conclusion was already built into the real-life script.

In Closing:

Living off torture and hate,

And hope of cancelling fate.

That punishment not to receive,

Only the foolish to believe.

Arrows in a network flying,

Hopeless despite best trying.

Shri Rama, the solar dynasty’s sun,

Like drying puddles of Lanka fun.