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A bird inspired Hanuman to look for Ma Sita
By Arvind Sharma
This story pertains to the period in the Ramayana, after the abduction of Sita when Rama and Lakshmana go out in search of Sita and encounter Hanuman.
Rama promises to help Hanuman’s master regain his lost kingdom and wife, and Hanuman promises to help them find Sita. Once Rama succeeds in fulfilling his part of the bargain, Hanuman sets out to find Sita in the south of India. By now the needle of suspicion was pointing strongly in the direction of Ravana. When Ravana abducted Sita and was carrying her off in his aerial car, he was spotted by an old vulture who, recognising Ravana’s evil intent, challenged him to a fight. The vulture, unable to deter Ravana, lay fatally wounded on the ground when Rama and Lakshmana arrived on the scene. Before they performed his final rites, the dying vulture disclosed to the two that a demon had carried her away in a southerly direction.
Hanuman’s first search for Sita ends in failure.
The Sanskrit epic depicts him in a crestfallen mood on the island, reflecting on what to do next. Hanuman, disheartened by failure, is now standing on the shore of the ocean and reasons that perhaps it is best for him to commit suicide. He thinks as follows: if I go back without locating Sita and tell Rama that I have not succeeded in finding her, he will die from the shock. If he dies, Lakshmana will die from the shock of Rama’s death. With Rama and Lakshmana dead, his own master, Sugriva, will die from the shock of their deaths. And if all of them die in this way then I will die from the shock of the death of my master. So perhaps it is best to abbreviate the whole process and commit suicide right now.
While he was contemplating suicide, his attention was diverted by the activity of a small bird, which seemed to dive from the sky, collect the water of the ocean in her beak, and fly away. The frequent repetition of this act by the little bird aroused his curiosity and he asked the bird what it was up to. The bird replied: “My nest has fallen into the ocean and I am trying to dry up the ocean to recover it.” Hanuman was taken aback by the resolve of the little bird, and asked, full of surprise, how she hoped to empty the ocean to recover her nest (in the face of the obvious mismatch between her and the ocean).
Thereupon the bird replied:
Days and nights are long;
My beak is strong as iron.
Indefatigability is the root of success.
Why will the ocean not dry up?
Hanuman was astounded by the determination of the little bird and thought to himself: if this little bird can display such courage and determination then surely I should not give up on my goal and at least make one more attempt to find Ma Sita.
Hanuman did, indeed, succeed in his mission the second time. The little verse uttered by the little bird in the epic which so inspired Hanuman has become a famous saying and its message – “Give up giving up” – has perhaps inspired many more, just as it inspired Hanuman. (The author is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University).
Source: Times of India
This post is for sharing knowledge only, no intention to violate any copy rights
By Arvind Sharma
This story pertains to the period in the Ramayana, after the abduction of Sita when Rama and Lakshmana go out in search of Sita and encounter Hanuman.
Rama promises to help Hanuman’s master regain his lost kingdom and wife, and Hanuman promises to help them find Sita. Once Rama succeeds in fulfilling his part of the bargain, Hanuman sets out to find Sita in the south of India. By now the needle of suspicion was pointing strongly in the direction of Ravana. When Ravana abducted Sita and was carrying her off in his aerial car, he was spotted by an old vulture who, recognising Ravana’s evil intent, challenged him to a fight. The vulture, unable to deter Ravana, lay fatally wounded on the ground when Rama and Lakshmana arrived on the scene. Before they performed his final rites, the dying vulture disclosed to the two that a demon had carried her away in a southerly direction.
Hanuman’s first search for Sita ends in failure.
The Sanskrit epic depicts him in a crestfallen mood on the island, reflecting on what to do next. Hanuman, disheartened by failure, is now standing on the shore of the ocean and reasons that perhaps it is best for him to commit suicide. He thinks as follows: if I go back without locating Sita and tell Rama that I have not succeeded in finding her, he will die from the shock. If he dies, Lakshmana will die from the shock of Rama’s death. With Rama and Lakshmana dead, his own master, Sugriva, will die from the shock of their deaths. And if all of them die in this way then I will die from the shock of the death of my master. So perhaps it is best to abbreviate the whole process and commit suicide right now.
While he was contemplating suicide, his attention was diverted by the activity of a small bird, which seemed to dive from the sky, collect the water of the ocean in her beak, and fly away. The frequent repetition of this act by the little bird aroused his curiosity and he asked the bird what it was up to. The bird replied: “My nest has fallen into the ocean and I am trying to dry up the ocean to recover it.” Hanuman was taken aback by the resolve of the little bird, and asked, full of surprise, how she hoped to empty the ocean to recover her nest (in the face of the obvious mismatch between her and the ocean).
Thereupon the bird replied:
Days and nights are long;
My beak is strong as iron.
Indefatigability is the root of success.
Why will the ocean not dry up?
Hanuman was astounded by the determination of the little bird and thought to himself: if this little bird can display such courage and determination then surely I should not give up on my goal and at least make one more attempt to find Ma Sita.
Hanuman did, indeed, succeed in his mission the second time. The little verse uttered by the little bird in the epic which so inspired Hanuman has become a famous saying and its message – “Give up giving up” – has perhaps inspired many more, just as it inspired Hanuman. (The author is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University).
Source: Times of India
This post is for sharing knowledge only, no intention to violate any copy rights