Sati Anasuya Ashrama

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.)
Sati Anasuya Ashrama, Chitrakuta
Viradh Kund-Sati Anusuya Temple-Markandeya Ashrama-Tikaria Mangawan-Bambia-Gupt Godavari near Chitrakoot Dham

Sati Anasuya Ashram

Sati Anasuya Ashrama is in Chitrakuta, Madhya Pradesh, located further upstream on the Mandakini River. It is 16 km away from the town, and set amidst thick forests where the melody of birdsong plays all day. It was where sage Atri, his wife Anasuya, and their three sons (who were three incarnations of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), lived and are said to have meditated.[1]

Valmiki describes in the Ramayana that there once was no rain in Chitrakuta for ten years. There was a severe famine and nothing was left for animals and birds to eat or drink. Sati Anasuya performed intensive austerities and got the river Mandakini down on earth. This led to the growth of greenery and forests, and eliminated the suffering of all sages and animals.[2]

The Sati Anasuya Ashrama, at present, is a very peaceful place where several streams from the hills converge and form the Mandakini River. It is said that Rama along with Sita had visited this place to meet Atri and Anasuya. It is believed that this is the location where Sati Anasuya explained to Sita the grandeur and the importance of satitva (chastity). The dense forests of Dandaka start from this place. It is said to have been ruled by Ravana, who had appointed strong rakshasas such as Khara and Viradha as its rulers. The place is supposed to have once been infected by the terror of rakshasas.[3] Anasuya (अनसूया) is an ascetic, and the wife of Sage Atri in Hinduism. She is the daughter of Devahuti and the Prajapati Kardama in Hindu texts.

Variants

Etymology

Anasuya is composed of two Sanskrit words: ana and asūya, translating to the 'one who is free from jealousy or envy'.[4]

The genealogy of Anasuya

The genealogy of Anasuya and her family is mentioned in the third book of the Bhagavata Purana. The Prajapati Kardama marries Devahuti, the daughter of the Svayambhu Manu. They are described to have ten children, a son named Kapila, and nine daughters, including Anasuya. Each daughter is married to a rishi; Anasuya is married to Atri.[5]

In the Ramayana

In the Ramayana, she lives with her husband in a small hermitage on the southern border of the Chitrakuta forest. A pious woman who leads an austere life, she is described as having miraculous powers.[6][7]

Anasuya is the sister of the sage Kapila,[8] who also served as her teacher. She is extolled as Sati Anasuya (Ascetic Anasuya) and Mata Anasuya (Mother Anasuya), the chaste wife of Sage Atri. She becomes the mother of Dattatreya, the sage-avatar of Vishnu, Chandra, a form of Brahma, and Durvasa, the irascible sage avatar of Shiva. When Sita and Rama visit her during their exile, Anasuya is very attentive to them, giving the former an unguent that would maintain her beauty forever.[9]

Counsel to Sita

In the Ramayana, during their exile in the forest, Rama and Sita visit the hermitage of the sage Atri, and the sage and his wife, Anasuya, treat their guests with honour. Atri tells Rama about the tapas shakti (power acquired from austerities) of his wife: Once, the world was bereft of rains, and the river Ganga had dried up, leading to the planet being plunged into a famine. Upon the request of the devas, Anasuya made the trees bear fruits once more, and resumed the flow of the Ganga. She also turned ten days into ten nights when they urged her to do so. Hearing about her powers, the prince grows to respect her.[10]

A similar legend exists in the Shiva Purana, where the goddess Ganga appears before Anasuya due to her devotion. The ascetic asks her to stay on the grove near her husband's hermitage, so that she could fetch him her holy water. Both Shiva and Ganga stay at the hermitage for a while, blessing the region.[11]

Anasuya teaches Sita that absolute service to one's husband is the greatest tapas that is ordained to every woman. She teaches Sita the strīdharmarahasya, translated as the secrets of the dharma of women, regarding their duties towards their husbands and in-laws.[12]] The princess regales the tale of her wedding to Rama upon the ascetic's urging.[13]The ascetic presents Sita with a very sacred garland, as well as a sublime gem before the couple's departure.[14]

सती अनसूया आश्रम

सती अनुसूया आश्रम चित्रकूट

सती अनुसूया आश्रम चित्रकूट के प्रसिद्ध पर्यटक आकर्षण रामघाट से लगभग 18 किमी दूर स्थित है। यह इस क्षेत्र के सबसे पवित्र स्थानों में से एक है और इसे "चित्रकूट चार धाम" का एक हिस्सा माना जाता है। इस स्थान का नाम इस तथ्य से पड़ा है कि यह महर्षि अत्रि और उनकी पत्नी महासती अनसूया का आश्रम था। उन्हें अपने भक्त, शुद्ध और पवित्र चरित्र के कारण हिंदू धर्म के पवित्र ग्रंथों में महासतियों में से एक माना जाता है।

उनके नाम के पीछे भी एक दिलचस्प कहानी है। ऐसा माना जाता है कि दस साल तक बारिश न होने के कारण यह क्षेत्र सूखाग्रस्त था। तब, अनसूया ने कठोर तपस्या की और आखिरकार मंदाकिनी नदी को धरती पर लाने में सफल रहीं। अपने सर्वोच्च बलिदान और तपस्या के दौरान अपार कष्ट सहने के कारण उन्हें सती कहा गया। वास्तव में, अपने पति और अपने कर्तव्यों के प्रति उनका समर्पण और प्रेम इतना महान था कि देवी सीता ने भी भगवान राम के साथ अपने वनवास के दौरान उनका आशीर्वाद मांगा था। उन्होंने विनम्रता, भक्ति और अन्य सभी गुणों की शिक्षा भी ली जो एक पवित्र, कुलीन और समर्पित महिला में होनी चाहिए।

आश्रम खुद ही चारों तरफ से घनी वनस्पतियों और पहाड़ियों से घिरा हुआ है। यह इसे शांति और स्थिरता प्रदान करने में एक बड़ी भूमिका निभाता है, आध्यात्मिक आभा का तो कहना ही क्या, जिसके लिए यह प्रसिद्ध है। महासती अनसूया को उनके पति महर्षि अत्रि और उनके पुत्र दत्तात्रेय के साथ समर्पित एक विशाल मंदिर है। तीन महान आत्माओं की मूर्तियों के अलावा, सती के जीवन से चित्रण हैं जो इसे एक सौंदर्य अपील देते हैं। इसके अलावा, भगवान कृष्ण की एक मूर्ति भी है जिसमें वे रथ पर सवार हैं और उनके पीछे अर्जुन बैठे हैं। महिलाओं को अक्सर मंदिर की परिक्रमा करते और सभी समय की सबसे शुद्ध आत्मा - महासती अनसूया को अपना सम्मान देते हुए देखा जा सकता है।

अनसूया प्रजापति कर्दम और देवहूति की 9 कन्याओं में से एक तथा अत्रि मुनि की पत्नी थीं। उनकी पति-भक्ति अर्थात् सतीत्व का तेज इतना अधिक था के उसके कारण आकाशमार्ग से जाते देवों को उसके प्रताप का अनुभव होता था। इसी कारण उन्हें 'सती अनसूया' भी कहा जाता है।

अनसूया ने श्रीराम, सीता और लक्ष्मण का अपने आश्रम में स्वागत किया था। उन्होंने सीता को उपदेश दिया था और उन्हें अखंड सौंदर्य की एक ओषधि भी दी थी। सतियों में उनकी गणना सबसे पहले होती है। कालिदास के 'शाकुंतलम्' में अनसूया नाम की शकुंतला की एक सखी भी कही गई है।

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ Ramayana, Ayodhya Kanda – Sarga 117 shloka 9, 10.
  3. ↑ Ramayana, Ayodhya Kanda – Sarga 116 shloka 11, 12.
  4. ↑ Sati Anasuya".
  5. ↑ Purnendu Narayana Sinha (1950). A Study of the Bhagavata Purana: Or, Esoteric Hinduism. Library of Alexandria. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-1-4655-2506-2.
  6. ↑ https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/sati-anasuya
  7. ↑ Williams, George M. (27 March 2008). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. OUP USA. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2.
  8. ↑ Shastri, J. L.; Tagare, Ganesh Vasudeo (1 January 2004). The Bhagavata-Purana Part 1: Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology Volume 7. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 25. ISBN 978-81-208-3874-1.
  9. ↑ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 66.
  10. ↑ Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas. Sarup & Sons. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-7625-226-3.
  11. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (27 October 2018). "The greatness of Atrīśvara [Chapter 4]". www.wisdomlib.org. R
  12. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (15 June 2012). "Anasuya, Anasūyā, Anasūya: 15 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org.
  13. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (22 September 2020). "Princess Sita receives gif ts of love from the sage's wife [Chapter 118]". www.wisdomlib.org.
  14. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Anasūyā". www.wisdomlib.org
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