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Dharma Katha · Season 4: The Road to Diwali · Episode 134

A man is standing on a road outside a city, holding a pair of wooden sandals on his head. He has been holding them, in one way or another, for fourteen years. They have sat on the throne of Ayodhya, in a hut in a village called Nandigrama, while he sat on the floor beside them and ruled in their name. Every decision of the kingdom has been made before them. Every report has been read to them. And now he is standing on the road, with the sandals on his head, looking at the sky.

Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 132 first.

Source note. Label: scripture. Bharata's orders to Shatrughna, the procession with the queen mothers, Bharata carrying the sandals with umbrella and fans, his worry that Hanuman was mistaken, the coming of the vanaras across the Gomati and of the Pushpaka, Bharata's worship and embrace, his words to Lakshmana, Sita, Sugriva and Vibhishana, Rama's greeting of Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi and Vasishtha, the return of the sandals and Bharata's words on the tenfold kingdom, the sending of the Pushpaka to Kubera, Bharata's speech with the images of the calf and the fruitless tree, and the cutting of Rama's matted hair, are in the Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, in popular vulgate editions around sargas one hundred and twenty-seven and one hundred and twenty-eight; numbering differs in the critical edition. The Bharat Milap of the Varanasi Ramlila is living tradition. Dialogue is close paraphrase. The reflections are my own.

Note: this episode is narrated with an AI voice and the script was written with AI assistance. Sanskrit verses are checked against published editions; corrections are welcome.

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Dharma Katha · Season 4: The Road to Diwali · Episode 133

Early morning in a cowherd's house in Gokul. The servants are busy with other work, so the mistress of the house is churning the curd herself. A tall pot. A churning stick, wrapped in a rope. She pulls one end, then the other, and the stick spins, and the butter begins to gather. Her bangles are ringing. Her earrings are swinging. Her hair is coming loose, and a few flowers fall out of it. And as she churns, she is singing, softly, about the things her little son has done. And her little son is hungry.

Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 131 first.

Source note. Label: scripture. The story of Yashoda churning, Krishna nursing, the boiling milk, the broken curd pot, the butter fed to monkeys, the chase, the rope two fingers short, Krishna allowing himself to be bound, the verse on his having no inside or outside, and the verse nemaṃ viriñco, are from the Bhagavata Purana, Skandha ten, chapter nine. The name Damodara, the association of Kartik with Damodara, the Damodarashtaka attributed to the Padma Purana, and the placing of this story on Diwali day are Vaishnava tradition. The meaning of the two fingers is a traditional teaching explanation, not in the text itself. The verse is quoted as commonly cited; a Sanskrit reader should confirm it. The reflections are my own.

Note: this episode is narrated with an AI voice and the script was written with AI assistance. Sanskrit verses are checked against published editions; corrections are welcome.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Dharma Katha · Season 4: The Road to Diwali · Episode 132

Rama is one short flight from home. He can see the city. He has been gone fourteen years. And he stops. Not because he is tired. Not because the Pushpaka cannot go on. He stops because there is a question he is afraid to ask, and he needs to know the answer before he lands. The question is this: does my brother still want me to come back?

Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 126 first.

Source note. Label: scripture. Rama's arrival at Bharadvaja's ashram when the fourteenth year was complete, on the fifth lunar day, his questions about Ayodhya, the sage's boon of fruit-bearing trees, Rama sending Hanuman to Guha and to Bharata with instructions to read Bharata's face, and Rama's words that Bharata may keep the kingdom if he wishes, Hanuman's sight of Bharata at Nandigrama, Bharata's joy and his offer of gifts, the proverb on joy coming even after a hundred years, and Hanuman's retelling of the whole story, are in the Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, in popular vulgate editions around sargas one hundred and twenty-four to one hundred and twenty-six; the critical edition numbers differ. The verse is quoted as commonly cited; a Sanskrit reader should confirm it. Some details are abridged. The reflections are my own.

Note: this episode is narrated with an AI voice and the script was written with AI assistance. Sanskrit verses are checked against published editions; corrections are welcome.