Chapter Seven: Literature of the Rasika Tradition

—through numerous scriptural citations intended to prove that Rama is the source of descent and all remaining avatāras are his manifestations: “All these are portions and portions of portions of the Supreme Person, but Rama is Bhagavan himself.” Bhagavan is the play of a single ray of the self-existent Lord.

Just as Sri Rama alone is the source among all avatāras, the gentle and supremely purifying Sarayu is the causal source among the noblest rivers.¹ Bhagavan Rama, source of every avatāra, expands from two arms into four. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Jambavan tells Krishna: “Just as Sri Narayana is a portion of our master Rama, so must you be a portion of Sri Narayana, the refuge of the whole universe.”

The fourth ullāsa gives a detailed description of the auspicious marks upon the feet of Bhagavan Rama and Sri Jānaki, as well as the greatness of Rama’s form. The fifth shows that, like the Bhāgavata, the Rāmāyaṇa is an authoritative work expressed in the language of samādhi and radiant with the light received in samādhi. The sixth establishes that Rama is the chosen Lord of Shukadeva and others. The seventh reconciles apparently contradictory statements concerning Rama worship.

The eighth establishes the eternal union of Rama and Sita. The ninth establishes Rama, crown jewel of Rasikas, dancing and engaging in rāsa-vilāsa with many heroines.² At points such as these Madhuracharya deploys his learning and imagination with tremendous force, and appears to make every Rāmāyaṇa character voice what lies in his own mind. He exercises a special command over words and is fully capable of turning them in a new direction through the power of his learning. From the single word snuṣā, “daughter-in-law,” in a verse from the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, he argues—