Ashtottaram 92

 

92) OṀ EKAPATNĪ VRATA BHŪMYAINAMAH:

      OṀ (AUM) -E'KA-PAT-NII- VRA-TA-- 

                                         BHOO- MYAI- NA-- MA- HA

 

        (Ekapatni: means- One wife, life partner; Vraṫam: means- oath, religious vows)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'One wife', 'one word', and 'one arrow'-these words bring only 'Lord Sri Rama' to our mind. In the world where there is no chastity to speak off, people get divorced left and right, man and woman living together for years  before getting married (which we see in the western world), we are blessed to be born in the land where Sri Rama walked around, who is the embodiment of dharma and chastity. The word 'vrata' ('religious vow') is one of the most widely used words in the Hindu religious and ritualistic literature. Derived from the verbal root vṛn (to choose), it indicates a set of rules and discipline with which one voluntarily binds oneself over a particular period of time, during which period he undertakes the performance of certain rituals in order to propitiate the deity and secure from it what he wants. This whole process, however, should be undertaken with a sankalpa or religious resolve, on an auspicious day and time, fixed as per the dictates of the Hindu religious almanācs. All this applies to humans, and however, Lord Sri Rama practiced this vrata for the sake of dharma and to stand as an example to humans. He set an example in dharma, satyam and ekapatnī-vratam to his people.

 

The question always remain, what is so special about Sri Rama when His brothers- Lakshmaṇa, Bharata, and Śatrughna also practiced ekapatnī-vratam? In case of Sri Rama, it was unique in the sense that His wife Sita was abducted by Demon King Rāvaṇa, Śū-rphaṇakha (Rāvaṇa's sister) came to Sri Rama with lust, but He rejected her, and last but not least-being a king, Sri Rama can marry any number of women He wanted to. But He practiced ekapatnī-vratam and became the embodiment of dharma and showed His par excellence. He was the embodiment of all sixty -four virtues, even though it is humanly impossible to have all the sixteen virtues. Yet, He was humble, affectionate and easily approachable. He rejoiced like a father in the happiness of His subjects and felt grieved at their sorrows and sufferings. Above all, He was deeply devoted to satyam (truth). He spoke nothing but truth and, once word was given, He would keep it at all costs. He was the protector of satyam and dharma, He would exercise His adamantine will and show that no sacrifice was too great to preserve these principles.

 

Another question frequently raised is about the gods and goddesses we worship, that thay have more than one wife? For those who read and understand the spiritual meaning of the purāṇās, and iṫihāsās, it is very clear that the female consorts are nothing but the aspects of the Bhagavan (Parabrahman)!

 

In the entire world, it is not a norm to observe the ekapatnī-vratam, but as Hindus and descendents of Sri Rama, it is a norm rather than a exception to observe the ekapatnī-vratam in Bharatavarsha, with a caution of note that, we cannot say the whole nation is, but the majority of the Hindus! Our marriage ceremony has a tremendous meaning in every mantra and ritual, with so much sanctity and sacredness and purity. Our dharma śāstrās ingrain and emphasize the morality in our marriages.

 

Hence, our land is 'Ekapatnī-vraṫa Bhūmi'.