Slokam 6

King Dasharatha is overcome by sorrow,  declines in health and finally passes away.  Bharatha returns from his maternal uncle’s place only to learn that his mother Kaikeyi,  had wrought disaster by sending Sri Rama to the forest.  He absolutely rejects her wish to ascend the throne.  In shock, and sorrow he reaches Sri Rama with help from Guha.  He conveys the news of Dasharatha’s demise to Sri Rama,  and tells Him clearly that he will not become king, but wait for Sri Rama to return to Ayodhya and ascend the throne.  Bharatha tells Him that till that happens He is going to borrow Sri Rama’s paduka (sandals) and place it on the throne in a symbolic gesture of who is the real king of Ayodhya.

Bharatha is overcome with sorrow at the condition of Sri Rama,  Sita and Lakshmana.  All the three mothers are also with Bharatha to visit Sri Rama, Sita Devi and Sri Lakshmana.

Sri Rama performs the prescribed rites for His father.  Sri Rama assigns the kingdom and His Sandals (as requested by Bharatha) to Sri Rama.

Sri Rama with much persuasion manages to convince His family that they are  perfectly happy and that there is no need for any support.  All the family then leave with anguish. 

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana visit Sage Atri and Anasuya in their hermitage. Atri's hut is described to be in Chitrakuta,^[4] near a lake with divine music and songs, the water loaded with flowers, green water leaves, with many "cranes, fisherbirds, floating tortoises, swans, frogs and pink geese".^[3]

Life

Atri is one of the seven great Rishi or Saptarshi along with Marichi, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vashistha.^[1] According to the legends of the Vedic era, sage Atri was married to Anasuya Devi. They had three sons, Dattatreya, Durvasas and Chandra.^[5] As per divine account, he is the last among the seven saptharishis and is believed to have originated from the tongue. The wife of Atri was Anasuya, who is considered one of the seven female pativratas. When instructed by divine voice to do penance, Atri readily agreed and did severe penance. Pleased by his devotion and prayers, the Hindu trinity, namely, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva appeared before him and offered him boons. He sought all the three to be born to him. Another version of the legend states that Anasuya, by the powers of her chastity, rescued the three gods and in return, they were born as children to her. Brahma was born to her as Chandra, Vishnu as Dattatreya and Shiva in some part as Durvasa. The mention about Atri is found in various scriptures, with the notable being in Rig Veda. He is also associated with various ages, the notable being in Treta Yuga during Ramayana, when he and Anasuya advised Rama and his wife Sita. The pair is also attributed to bringing river Ganga down to earth, the mention of which is found in Shiva Purana.^[6]

Mahavishnu and the Brahma Rudras appear in front of Saint Atri

Seer of Rig Veda

He is the seer of the fifth Mandala (Book 5) of the Rigveda. Atri had many sons and disciples who have also contributed in the compilation of the Rig Veda and other Vedic texts. Mandala 5 comprises 87 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra, but also to the Visvedevas ("all the gods'), the Maruts, the twin-deity Mitra-Varuna and the Asvins.^[7] Two hymns each are dedicated to Ushas (the dawn) and to Savitr. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the Atri clan composers, called the Atreyas.^[4] These hymns of Rigveda was composed in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent, most likely between c. 3500–3000 BCE.

The Atri hymns of the Rigveda are significant for their melodic structure as well as for featuring spiritual ideas in the form of riddles. These hymns include lexical, syntactic, morphological and verb play utilizing the flexibility of the Sanskrit language.^[8] The hymn 5.44 of the Rigveda in Atri Mandala is considered by scholars such as Geldner to be the most difficult riddle hymn in all of the Rigveda.^[9] The verses are also known for their elegant presentation of natural phenomenon through metaphors, such as poetically presenting dawn as a cheerful woman in hymn 5.80.^[8]

While the fifth mandala is attributed to Atri and his associates, sage Atri is mentioned or credited with numerous other verses of the Rigveda in other Mandalas, such as 10.137.4.^[10]

After paying salutations to the great sage,  and after Sita Devi receives blessings of Anasuya,  the three of them depart to the thick Dandaka forest.  They go into the Dandaka forest at the behest of Sage Atri,  since it had become infested with demons that were disrupting the Rishis,  and the sages requested Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana to destroy them. Without hesitation the trio proceeds into the Dandaka forest.

There he meets with Sage Sarabhanga

Śarabhanga (Sanskrit शरभन्ग) is a sage and anchorite mentioned in Book III (Aranya Kanda) of Ramayana. He is visited by Rama during the latter's journey through the Dandaka forest. Prior to Rama's visit, Lord Indra appears at his hermitage in order to take the sage to the heavenly Brahmaloka.^[1] Śarabhanga's last wish was to see Rama before leaving the mortal world. After seeing Rama and performing the necessary rites, the holy man carries out self-immolation by throwing his old body to the funeral pyre, and a youthful ethereal form rises towards the heavens. Before starting the rites, he asks Rama to watch him doing that.^[2]

Extract from https://www.hinduscriptures.com/gurus/rishi-men/rishi-sarabhanga/37713/

Sarabhanga is an ancient sage, and he lived during the Treta Yuga, and the details about him are mentioned in Ramayana. He lived in the Dandaka forest, at a hermitage, and he lead a holy life by performing meditation on the almighty, and used to eat only simple food like greens, vegetables and fruits.

During the time of exile period of Lord Rama, Rama visited Rishi Sarabhanga at the Dandaka forest, at his ashram, along with Lakshmana and Mata Sita. The great sage Sarabhanga welcomed them, and he offered fruits as food items, and made them to take rest for some time at his ashram. He asked about the wellness of Rama, and after getting the permission of Lord Rama, he fell down in the funeral pyre, and due to the grace of Lord Rama, the great sage Sarabhanga didn’t get burned, but arouse from the fire as a young man with a charming appearance, and after he offered prayers to Lord Rama, he went to the abode of Lord Indra, the Swarka Loka.

TEACHINGS OF SARABHANGA

1.      Realize the god from your soul.

2.      Control your mind by doing meditation.

3.      Always eat simple food.

4.      Don’t cause harm to the living beings in the earth.

5.      Regular prayers alone would make you to reach the spiritual path.

6.      Keep chanting the names of the almighty in order to attain enlightenment.

7.      Surrender yourself into the feet of the god.

8.      Respect your parents, and take care of them carefully.

9.      Do good karmic deeds, and follow the path of Dharma in order to attain salvation.

10.    Don’t worry about the death god Yama, and keep chanting the names of the god, in order to get a fearless and a painless death.

“OM”

Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana also destroy the demon Virata. 

The powers of Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana,  to destroy the demons,  respect and abide by the sages and the elders. 

May we ever bow down to be under the umbrella of protection of the Paramathma.