Knowledge Bank

When is Angarki Chaturthy 2024 ?

June 25, 2024.

Meaning of the shloka, Ma Nishada of Ramayana

Inspired by Brahma to write the story of Sri Rama, Maharshi Valmiki went to the banks of the Tamasa river with his disciple Bharadwaj for bathing and midday rituals. There, they saw a pair of Krauncha birds wandering happily. At that time, the male Krauncha bird was killed by a hunter. Seeing the blood-soaked dead bird on the ground, the female Krauncha cried out in grief. Hearing her sorrowful cry, the compassionate heart of the sage was deeply moved. That same sorrow turned into a verse filled with pathos and emerged from Maharshi Valmiki's lips for the welfare of the world - Ma nishada pratishtham tvam agamah shashvatih samah. Yat krauncha mithunad ekam avadhih kamamohitam. The apparent meaning of the verse is a curse to the hunter—'O hunter, you will not find peace or fame for eternal years, because you have killed one of the Krauncha pair, which was in passion.' But the actual meaning is—'O Lakshmipati Ram, you have killed the world-destroyer Ravana, one of the Ravana-Mandodari pair, and thus, you will be revered for eternity.'