वैखानसा वालखियाः सम्प्रक्षाला मरीचिपाः।
अश्मकुट्टाश्च बहवः पत्राहाराश्च धार्मिकाः॥
दन्तोलूखलिनश्चैव तथैवोन्मज्जकाः परे।
गात्रशय्या अशय्याश्च तथैवाभ्रावकाशकाः॥
मुनयः सलिलाहारा वायुभक्षास्तथा परे।
आकाशनिलयाश्चैव तथा स्थण्डिलशायिनः॥
व्रतोपवासिनो दान्तास्तथार्द्रपटवाससः।
सजपाश्च तपोनित्यास्तथा पञ्चतपोऽन्विताः॥
सर्वे ब्राह्म्या श्रिया जुष्टा दृढयोगाः समाहिताः।
शरभङ्गाश्रमे राममभिजग्मुश्च तापसाः॥
vaikhānasā vālakhilyāḥ samprakṣālā marīcipāḥ
aśmakuṭṭāś ca bahavaḥ patrāhārāś ca dhārmikāḥ
dantolūkhalinaś caiva tathaivonmajjakāḥ pare
gātra-śayyā aśayyāś ca tathaivābhrāvakāśakāḥ
munayaḥ salilāhārā vāyu-bhakṣās tathāpare
ākāśa-nilayāś caiva tathā sthaṇḍila-śāyinaḥ
vratopavāsino dāntās tathārdra-paṭa-vāsasaḥ
sajapāś ca tapo-nityās tathā pañca-tapo-’nvitāḥ
sarve brāhmyā śriyā juṣṭā dṛḍha-yogāḥ samāhitāḥ
śarabhaṅgāśrame rāmam abhijagmuś ca tāpasāḥ
vaikhānasāḥ = following the sage Vikhanasa; vālakhilyāḥ = who gave up rice that they had stored upon receiving rice afresh; samprakṣālāḥ = those who didn’t store anything for the next day; marīcipāḥ = those who subsisted on the rays of the sun, moon and other shining heavenly bodies; aśmakuṭṭāḥ ca = those who ate unripe and unpolished rice; bahavaḥ = many; patra-āhārāḥ ca = those who subsisted on leaves alone; dhārmikāḥ = dhārmika; danta-ulūkhalinaḥ ca eva = those who unhusked grains from the fields using their teeth; tathā eva unmajjakāḥ = those who performed austerities while being submerged in water; pare gātra-śayyāḥ = those who used tiger skin and so on as their bedding; aśayyāḥ ca = those who did not possess beddings; tathā eva abhra-avakāśakāḥ = those who lived directly under the sky; munayaḥ = sages; salila-āhārāḥ = those who subsisted only on water; vāyu-bhakṣāḥ = those who subsisted only on air; tathā apare ākāśa-nilayāḥ ca eva = those who resided in the sky by holding their breath; tathā sthaṇḍila-śāyinaḥ = those who slept on the ground covered with grass; vrata-upavāsinaḥ = those who absorbed themselves in vows and fasts; dāntāḥ tathā = those whose senses were under control; ārdra-paṭa-vāsasaḥ = those who wore wet clothes; sajapāḥ ca = those who constantly chanted japa; tapaḥ-nityāḥ = those who constantly performed the austerity of studying Vedic scriptures; tathā = and; pañca-tapaḥ-anvitāḥ = those who sat amidst five fires in summer; sarve = all; brāhmyā = with spiritual; śriyā = luster; juṣṭāḥ = were endowed; dṛḍha-yogāḥ = they were mature in aṣṭāṅga-yoga; samāhitāḥ = and their minds were fully focused on [their practice of] yoga; śarabhaṅga-āśrame = in Śarabhaṅga’s āśrama; rāmam = Rāma; abhijagmuḥ ca = approached; tāpasāḥ = the ascetics.
Following the sage Vikhanasa, many dhārmika sages who gave up rice that they had stored upon receiving rice afresh, those who didn’t store anything for the next day, those who subsisted on the rays of the sun, moon and other shining heavenly bodies, those who ate unripe and unpolished rice, those who subsisted on leaves alone, those who unhusked grains from the fields using their teeth, those who performed austerities while being submerged in water, those who used tiger skin and so on as their bedding, those who did not possess beddings, those who lived directly under the sky, those who subsisted only on water, those who subsisted only on air, those who resided in the sky by holding their breath, those who slept on the ground covered with grass, those who absorbed themselves in vows and fasts, those whose senses were under control, those who wore wet clothes, those who constantly chanted japa, those who constantly performed the austerity of studying Vedic scriptures, and those who sat amidst five fires in summer approached Rāma in Śarabhaṅga’s āśrama.1 All the ascetics were endowed with spiritual luster. They were mature in aṣṭāṅga-yoga, and their minds were fully focused on [their practice of] yoga.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: tapo-nityāḥ “svādhyāyam adhīte tapa eva tat tapyate tapo hi svādhyāyaḥ” ity ukta-sadā-svādhyāya-pārāyaṇa-rūpa-tapo-niṣṭhāḥ. Rāmāyaṇa-bhāva-dīpa: vikhanasā proktaṁ sūtram adhīyante vaikhānasā iti. Technical note: vālakhilyās tu nave ’nne labdhe pūrva-sañcita-tyāginaḥ. pratyahaṁ jīvana-sādhanaṁ sampādya sarvaṁ tad viniyujya vartante ye te vā samprakṣālāḥ; aśvastanikā ity arthaḥ. aśmakuṭṭāḥ apakva-kuṭṭitānna-bhakṣakāḥ. unmajjakāḥ kaṇṭhadaghne jale sthitvā tapaḥ kurvantaḥ. gātra-śayyāḥ gātrāvayavāni vyāghra-carmādīni śayyā yeṣāṁ te. aśayyāḥ āstaraṇa-rahita-sthitimantaḥ. ākāśa nilayāḥ ākāśa eva vāyu-dhāraṇa-balena ye nilīyante te tathā.
These sages were endowed with spiritual luster due to their spiritual practices to realize the Supreme Brahman [Nārāyaṇa]. The description of their distinct practices is to show that they were worthy of being seen. That they approached Lord Rāma indicates that they surrendered unto Him.
GLOSS. [The glossator reads dṛḍha-yoga-samāhitāḥ in the place of dṛḍha-yogāḥ samāhitāḥ indicating that] these sages were equal to their dear ones and ill-wishers. They were equipoised in intelligence [towards all] as stated thus:
suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu
sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate
“A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind.” (Bhagavad-gītā 6.9)
NOTE. Lord Kṛṣṇa has described those with equal vision thus:
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” (Bhagavad-gītā 5.18)
Another important principle to note here is that the sages who approached Lord Śrī Rāma were absorbed in austerities. In this regard, two points need to be noted:
(1) These austerities were mixed with devotional service unto Lord Rāma, because if one gives up devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engages in mere austerities, such austerities are useless:
āmnāyābhyasanāny araṇya-ruditaṁ veda-vratāny anv-ahaṁ
medaś-cheda-phalāni pūrta-vidhayaḥ sarvaṁ hutaṁ bhasmani
tīrthānām avagāhanāni ca gaja-snānaṁ vinā yat-pada-
dvandvāmbhoruha-saṁsmṛtiṁ vijayate devaḥ sa nārāyaṇaḥ
“All glories to Lord Nārāyaṇa! Without remembrance of His lotus feet, recitation of scripture is merely crying in the wilderness, regular observance of severe vows enjoined in the Vedas is no more than a way to lose weight, execution of prescribed pious duties is like pouring oblations onto ashes, and bathing at various holy sites is no better than an elephant’s bath.” (Mukunda-mālā-stotra 21)
nārādhito yadi harir yena puṁsādhamena ca
kiṁ tasya tapasā vyarthaṁ niṣphalaṁ tat-pariśramaḥ
vratāny eva hi dānāni tapāṁsy anaśanāni ca
vedopayuktā yajñāś ca karmāṇi ca śubhāni ca
na niṣpunāty abhaktaṁ ca surā-kumbham ivāpagā
“If Lord Hari is not worshipped by a low-class man, what is the use of his austerity? The labor involved in such austerity simply goes in vain. Vows, charity, austerities, fasting, sacrifices carried out according to the Vedas, and pious activities do not purify one who is not a devotee [of Lord Hari], just as a pot containing liquor cannot be purified even if washed in the waters of a river.” (Nārada-pañcarātra 1.2.27-28)
(2) Devotional service to the Supreme Lord necessarily involves engaging in austerity.
This is noted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to Lord Brahmā in the following manner:
pratyādiṣṭaṁ mayā tatra tvayi karma-vimohite
tapo me hṛdayaṁ sākṣād ātmāhaṁ tapaso ’nagha
“O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.23)
Śrīla Prabhupāda has remarked on this important Bhāgavatam verse as follows:
The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.
One cannot enjoy material illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead. One who has no information of the transcendental bliss in the association of the Lord foolishly desires to enjoy this temporary material happiness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only. One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. The Lord favors such a foolish devotee by snatching all that he may possess in the material world. If such a foolish devotee of the Lord tries to recoup his position, then the merciful Lord again snatches away all that he may have possessed. By such repeated failures in material prosperity he becomes very unpopular with his family members and friends. In the material world the family members and friends honor persons who are very successful in accumulating wealth by any means. The foolish devotee of the Lord is thus put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.
One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only a person who is completely free from all reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.
The very first injunction of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Upadeśāmṛta is that we should curb the urges of our speech, mind, anger, tongue, belly and genitals through the process of devotional service. There is no question of bona fide devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu if it is accompanied by liberal sensuality.