Suman K Sharma
‘Vishnuh’ is one among the Lord’s thousand names recounted in the Vishnu Sahasranaamaa. “He is completely independent while everything else depends on him.” Then why would He choose to be King Dashrath’s son, Ram?
Balmiki’s account
Going by Rishi Balmiki account, Lord Vishnu’s advent on earth was directly related to rid the world of the supercilious Ravan and his legion of rakshasas. Old king Dashrath performed a yagya for having a son to succeed him. Devas who were present at the auspicious occasion availed of the opportunity to ask Lord Brahma to do something about Ravan. This chief of rakshasas, thanks to Lord Brahma’s boon had subjugated not only the devas but all powers of the universe. Yet, there was a catch. Ravan in his arrogance considered man a creature too insignificant to bother about. So, while seeking the Creator’s boon, he had prayed that no power except man should slay him. And granting his request, Lord Brahma pronounced ‘Tasmat s manushad vadhyo…’ (therefore, he will be killed only by a man). Devas then begged Lord Vishnu to take the form of a man. Acceding to their prayer, Lord Vishnu decided to make King Dashrath His father – ‘Pitram rochyamas tadaa Dashratham nripam’. He pronounced that He would inhabit the earth for eleven thousand years to nurture and protect it from unruly elements.
Balmiki Ramayan, Balkand, Canto 15 (v-xxxi)

Ram Navami Special

Tulsidas’ versions
Sant Tulsidas gives not one but several reasons that led to Lord Vishnu’s avatar as Ram. The tale relating to Narad Muni is particularly engaging. Tulsidas envisions a swayamvara scene that cannot fail to tickle even a sombre reader. Princess Vishwamohini (literally, Charmer of the Universe) saunters like a female flamingo into the ceremonial pandal along with her ladies-in-waiting. She wanders around with the jayamala in her lotus-like hands, eyeing all the rajas present there. Incongruously among the hopefuls is Narad Muni, swollen with the pride of his acquired looks. But the princess ignores him studiously. The sage gets agitated and springs up every other moment to catch her eye. Sitting by his side are two attendants of Lord Shiva, Jay and Vijay. They sneer at his unbecoming ardour. Eventually, Vishwamohini garlands Lord Vishnu, who is also there in the guise of a raja. Vishnu takes her away as Narad Muni and the royals look on despondently. Tulsidas remarks rather sharply about Narad:
Muni ati bikal mohn mati naathi/Mani giri gayee chhooti janu gaanthi
Tab Hari gan bole musukayee/Nij mukh mukur bilokahu jaayee

The Muni had lost his senses because of the delusion. Much distressed was he, as if a precious jewel had fallen away from his purse. Then the sneering attendants of Lord Shiva said to him, “Go, have a look at your face!”
– Ramcharitmanas, Balkand, 134(iii)

To his chagrin, the sage discovers that he has got but a monkey’s face!
The back story goes something like this. Having conquered lust by virtue of his sheer willpower, Narad Muni became inordinately proud of himself. A celestial being that he was, there was no one on the earth with whom he could share his pride. So, he went straight to Shiv to tell him of his triumph over Kamdev. The Lord listened to the guileless sage with not a little concern over his boastful manner. He advised him solicitously not to narrate the incident to Lord Vishnu. But why would Narad heed such a cold piece of advice! He sped to Vishnu with the speed of thought. The Supreme Lord gave Narad rather a cold hearing, only to decide that something had to be done to rid the sage of his vanity. The Lord’s Maya created a make-believe scenario in which Narad found himself being consulted for Princess Vishwamohini’s wedding prospects. The encounter with the princess proved momentous for him. He forgot his avowed continence and wanted to marry the charmer somehow or the other. But first, he needed to have the looks. With that in mind, he approached Lord Vishnu to grant him a face that would sweep the nubile princess off her feet. The Lord told him He would do what was the best for His bhakt. That was how, blessed for the occasion with a monkey’s face, Narad went off to marry the alluring princess.
The comic episode led to cosmic consequences. Narad was not the one to take it lying down, even from the Lord of the Universe. “You are absolutely self-willed. There is nobody to hold you in check, that is why you do what comes to your mind!” he screamed at the Lord (ibid, 136(i)), placing a curse on Him. Bhagwan Vishnu would have to be born a man to suffer the pangs of the loss of a cherished woman as he, Narada, had been made to suffer. Jay and Vijay too were not spared for their temerity of laughing at the sage. They were to become mighty rakshasas to meet their end at the hands of Vishnu’s incarnations. Reborn as Hiranyakshya and Hiranyakashipu, the two were killed by the avatars, Varaha and Narsimha. They were born again as Ravan and Kumbhkarna. This time around Ram killed them in the Lanka battle. Lord Vishnu had honoured even an angry outburst of his prime bhakt.
Tulsidas cites a few more reasons for God to have born as Ram. Pleased with the long austerities of the couple, Rishi Kashyap and Aditi, Lord Vishnu bestowed on them the boon that in their next birth, He would be born as their son. Verily, the husband and wife were born again as Dashrath and Kaushalya as Ram’s parents. The Lord gave a similar blessing to the couple Manu and Shatrupa. Then there was the mighty king, Bhanu Pratap. A sworn enemy of him, by machinations, incited the Brahmin community to curse him with total destruction. He was to be reborn as a rakshas. Ravan, according to this account, was a reincarnation of Raja Bhanu Pratap. There is also the tale of the mighty Jallandhar and his devoted wife whose absolute devotion to the Daitya gave him the power to spread terror among the devas. Lord Vishnu resolved the matter the only way He could. The outcome was that Vishnu had to take birth as Ram in the House of Raghus. Jallandhar too was reborn as Ravan. (ibid, 121-152).
Tulsidas assiduously recollects the auspicious moment when the Lord appeared in this mortal world as the eldest son of Kaushalya and Dashrath:
Naumi tithi madhu maas Punita/Sukal pachchh abhijit Haripreeta
Madhyadivas ati seet n ghaama/Paavan kaal lok bishraama
It was the nineth day of the holy month of Chaitra (corresponding to March-April). Astrologically, the auspicious muhoort was ‘Abhijit’, which is dear to the Lord. The time was midday, neither too cold, nor too sunny, and the sacred hour was the one to bring calm to all the worlds.
-Ramcharitmanas, Balkand, 190 (i)

Markedly, the digit ‘nine’ has a special significance. Going only by mathematics, multiply ‘9’ with any number and the digits in the resulting figure will always add up to 9.

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