The Hindu (Kozhikode)

Why Lord chose Dasaratha

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Solution to previous puzzle

Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

Unable to withstand Ravana’s atrocities, Devas prayed and surrendere­d to God seeking relief; at the same time, Dasaratha was conducting Ashwamedha and Putra Khameshti yagam. Lord Narayana assured the devas that He would soon descend upon earth and advised them to wait in Kishkinta until such time, in the guise of monkeys. Narayana then mulled over whose son He should be born as, said Dhamal Perundevi in a discourse. While mortals pray for a good, healthy child, God had to carefully consider which dynasty, which bhoomi and who His parents should be. Witnessing Dasaratha’s Putra Khameshti yagam, Narayana’s face bloomed like a lotus.

While Dasaratha assumed that he was not blessed with any children due to accumulati­on of sins, he had, in fact, undertaken so many virtuous deeds that no ordinary child could be equivalent to the sum of his punyam; therefore God decided to be born as Rama to Dasaratha and Kausalya. He chose the sacred land of Ayodhya and the illustriou­s Ikshvaku clan and Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam as His family deity. Rama was born on sukla paksham, in the Tamil month of Chittirai, under the incomparab­le Punarvasu, the only star with no marana yogam. Punarvasu means reclaiming lost things (Rama reclaimed both his kingdom and his abducted wife Sita).

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