* Life-style of Dharma-Bhakti. * Birth of Rampratapji. * Tortures of demons. * Moving to Ayodhya and then to Kashipuri to escape the tortures. * Meeting of Dharmadev with Ramanand Swami in Prayag.
Dharma’s strict following of religious code
Suvrat said:-
After his father left for home, he the best of the Brahmins stayed with his in-laws, and pleased them. He followed householder’s code of conduct regularly, according to his father’s advice. 1.
Premavati respected her husband as god and served him humbly. She acted according to his will, without ostentation. 2.
Both of them observed vow of Ekadashi on the eleventh day of every fortnight regularly by respectfully, keeping total fast. 3.
O King, they observed all the rituals told in Vedic and Smriti texts (religious code), day after day. Hence their minds were purified more and more. 4.
Even in great difficulties, Devasharma did not give up his religious practices. He always kept the company of righteous persons only. 5.
Afterwards he became well known by name ‘Dharma’. Seeing his utmost devotion to Dharma (righteousness), people used to call him by the name Dharma itself. 6.
(As he was Dharma Prajapati himself) His twelve divine wives like Shraddha and others, being always with him, invisible to others, served him with their children. 7.
Dharma regularly followed the religious code such as: during the day, he bathed three times, after which he did Sandhya-vandana three times, prayer, Homa-sacrifice in morning and evening, chanting god’s name and study (or reciting) of scriptures, giving oblations to ancestors, worship of Vishnu and giving oblations to Vishvadevas and hospitality to the guests. 8 - 9.
He studied deeply the Vedas, Puranas, philosophical texts and historical classics to strengthen his own religiosity, knowledge, detachment and devotion. 10.
Both the husband and wife, observing their own religious duties, worshipped Shri Vishnu with love and observed all the vows pertaining to Him. 11.
Thus they were firmly devoted to Vishnu and the righteous ways - the same faith and devotion, which the sages who were born on earth along with them had, due to Durvasa’s curse. 12.
Birth of Rampratapji
After some days they begot a son. He was named as Ramapratap. He was religious minded and virtuous like Sankarshan (Balarama, the elder brother of Shri Krishna). 13.
Dharma tortured by demons meets Ramanand
At the same time, those who were the demons in their past lives, took birth in their thousands, on earth. They began to torture the religious persons, devotees of god and common people, in various ways. 14.
Intoxicated as they were, they troubled the sages, ascetics and Dharmadeva in particular, knowing them to be their marked enemies. 15.
They targeted Dharmadev and his wife as their sole enemy, and did such mischief’s as both of them might suffer more and more. 16.
They took his virtues as vices, spoke ill of him, insulted him and charged him with false allegations, again and again. 17.
Moving to Ayodhya and then to Kashipuri to escape the tortures.
Being tormented by those crooked men Dharma was unhappy to stay at his own place. He went to Ayodhya and settled there with his wife and son. 18.
O King, there over he observed his daily routine like (three times) bath in river Sarayu, etc., and other occasional rituals also. There again he was harassed by them, off and on. 19.
O King, though Premavati was devoted to her husband, well-behaved and was faultless in character; those crooked fellows often troubled her. 20.
As in old days, Dharmaraj with his brothers and wife Draupadi suffered hardships due to hostility (with Kauravas), Dharma and Bhakti (Premavati) suffered by the hands of their enemies. 21.
Thereafter, to escape the affliction, he made up his mind to go to Kashi-Varanasi, the city of Shiva. There he stayed for some months. 22.
There also, some local enemy demons and also other outsiders troubled him extremely, because of his righteousness. 23.
Thus distressed and constantly harassed, courageous Dharma with his wife and son, secretly came to the holy city i.e. Prayaga. 24.
There also he followed his own religious routine and other vows customary to that place; becoming thin. 25.
Meeting of Dharmadev with Ramanand Swami in Prayag.
There he met the Vaishnava preceptor, the great sage Ramanand Muni, who had come there for pilgrimage. 26.
Wearing ascetic robe, the distinguished preceptor, skilled in imparting knowledge to his disciples was sitting surrounded by them. He was compassionately addressing a group of spiritual seekers. 27.
He was adorned with auspicious vertical saffron mark on his forehead along with saffron crescent mark, wearing twin necklace of Tulasi beads. 28.
Knowing him to be an expert in scriptural knowledge, actual experience of the supreme Brahman, having signs of a real sage, and also having yogic powers, Dharma attended upon him, respectfully. 29.
While Dharma served him, by his own wisdom, he found him to be self-absorbed, deeply devoted to Janardhana (Vishnu), competent in both practical and Vedic matters, and thus equal to Uddhava himself. 30.
Thus ends the thirteenth chapter entitled ‘Dharma’s harassment of the demons and his meeting with Ramanand Muni’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct) 13