Sundarakandam deals with the heroic exploits of Hanuman in one day and night,during which he crossed over to Lanka,discovered Sita,inflicted crushing defeat on Rakhasa forces,set fire to Lanka and returned to the southern shore of the Indian contiinent to convey the news of Sita's discovery to Rama at Kiskhindha. Devotee-scholars of India who equate the whole of the Ramayana with the Veda,consider the Sunderakandam as it's Upanishad,the essential portion.It's study is considered equal to the study of the whole Ramayan.Pious Hindus atach great psychic potency to this text,and use it for ceremonial recitation for the attainment of various worldly blessings also.
The Sundara Kanda Mahatmya was convayed to Parvati by Shiva.
Parvathy asked:
Oh, God of all beings, I would very much love to know from you, the greatness of Sundara Kanda in detail.
Sri Parameshwara replied:
I would summarize the greatness of Sundara Kanda for you, because to tell in detail, only the great Lord Ramachandra is capable. Similar to the fact that God Rama is the greatest among Devas, similar to the fact that Kalpaga tree is greatest among trees, similar to the fact that the Kousthubha gem is greatest among gems, in Ramayana, Sundara Kanda is the greatest chapter. By reading or listening to Sundara Kanda with devotion, all the wishes are fulfilled, all dangers will vanish, all diseases will be cured and all types of wealth will grow. Especially it is the greatest panacea for those who suffer from great diseases. Even diseases like tuberculosis, Leprosy and epilepsy, which cannot be cured by even divine medicines, would be cured completely by reading Sundara Kanda 68 times by the grace of Lord Ramachandra. Please hear its greatness, which I am telling you with attention.
Please hear, the following ancient story, which tells about the greatness of Sundara Kanda.
There was a great city called Kanchipuram in the earth and once upon a time it was ruled by Chola dynasty. Among those kings, there was a great king called Vamsankara who lived with his wife Manorama, He gave very many charities and performed fire sacrifices. He was devoted to the great temple of the city, which included the great Temple of Kamakshy and Ekamranatha and the temple of Varadaraja and ruled the state with efficiency. Unfortunately he was not blessed by any children.
Once coming out of the temple of Kamakshy he saw a great sage entering the temple. He worshipped the sage and when enquired, introduced himself. The sage asked him, in what way he would be able to help him and the king requested him to bless him to become a father. The sage told the king, that "In your previous birth you were a saintly Brahmin who lived in Rameswaram and worshipped in the temple daily.As a result you are born as the king of this country, Unfortunately in your previous birth, you did not allow your daughter to join her husband and become a mother due to some family conflict. This is the reason why you are not able to become a father." He then requested the king and the queen to observe strict penance, give gold and silver as charities to Brahmins, and worship Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva daily. The king and the queen followed his advice and as a result a good son was born to them. They named him Balachandra and the prince grew up as an extremely learned and able man.
When he became old, the king decided to give his kingdom to his son and make him his successor and retire to the forest. Unfortunately the terrible disease of Tuberculosis afflicted Balachandra. In spite of treatment by the foremost expert doctors of the world and daily prayers the prince was not cured. When the king and queen were terribly worried and knew not what to do, the sage who had earlier blessed them with the child came again to that city. The king and the Queen fell at his feet and requested him to cure the disease of the prince. The sage told, " In his previous birth, your son stole the materials kept ready for the worship of Rama and enjoyed life and that is why he is cursed with this disease. But later realizing his sin, he daily read Ramayana and worshipped Rama and that is why he has been born to you. I would tell you, how to get rid of the effects of that sin. " The king thanked him and wanted to know in detail as to what should be done. The sage replied, " Construct a decorated Yaga sala and in its middle construct a square platform. Spread a white silk cloth in that stage. On that cloth, spread six measures of Paddy and on that half the quantity of raw rice. On that keep a golden vessel made of one pound of silver full of pearls. Cover that vessel with a silk cloth. On that keep a gold plate in which the Sri Rama Yantra is drawn. Over that keep the golden statue of Sri Rama accompanied by Sita and Hanuman. Worship this statue using Rama Sahasranamavali. Then read the entire Sundara Kanda. This worship and reading should start in the early morning and end at noon. A non fading ghee lamp also should be kept burning for 68 days and the above procedure should be repeated 68 times. On each day, Payasam should be prepared and offered to God Rama. Though this is the best, completing the repetition 68 times can also be done in four months. It is best for the individual himself to read the Sundara Kanda, and it is of medium effect if it is got read by single Brahmin, and worse if it is got read by many Brahmins. After completing the above, The Yudha Kanda should be completely read either by 5 or 6 days. All the 73 days, in the evening a great scholar should retell the stories of Sundara Kanda. This would cure even diseases which Aswini Devas (Doctors of Gods) cannot cure. This also could help you win a war or even help you in getting occult powers, if your son does this, his disease would definitely get cured." That sage then disappeared. The king performed the above worship and the prince himself read the Sundara Kanda daily and was fully cured of the disease. Hey Devi, just by reading Sundara Kanda 68 times the prince was cured of a terrible disease. There are also many others who got rid of their illness by reading Sundara Kanda. So even if one is poor or not physically able, he should observe the Vritha of Sundara Kanda and get benefited. There are also other methods of reading Sundara Kanda.
Sundarakandam - Tamil - PDF can be downloaded from this link.
s
