The Oracle of Rama's Command

...he sat down to write. At that time, he had no ink. Dissolving catechu original: "katha" - a vegetable extract used as a dye and in betel leaf preparations, Goswami ji Referring to Tulsidas, the famous 16th-century poet-saint wrote this text with a reed pen in six hours and gave it to Gangaram ji.

The next day, the astrologer Gangaram ji went to the King. After consulting the omens from the text, he announced—"The Prince is safe and sound."

The Prince was indeed safe. A tiger had killed one of his companions, but until the Prince returned, the King kept Gangaram locked in the dungeon. When the Prince returned home, the King released the astrologer Gangaram from prison, asked for forgiveness, and gave him a vast amount of wealth. Gangaram ji brought all that wealth and placed it at the feet of Goswami ji. What use did Goswami ji have for wealth? However, seeing Gangaram's great insistence, and for his satisfaction, Goswami ji took ten thousand rupees from it and had ten temples of Lord Hanuman built. In those temples, there are idols of Hanuman facing south Dakshinabhimukh: South-facing idols of Hanuman are considered particularly powerful for protection and removing obstacles.

This text is completed in seven cantos original: "sargas". In each canto, there are seven septets original: "saptaks" - groups of seven, and in each septet, there are seven couplets original: "dohas". The story of the Ramcharitmanas The epic poem of Rama's life is described in it, but the order is different. The story of the Bal-Kand The Book of Childhood is in the first and fourth cantos. The second canto contains the Ayodhya-Kand and some of the Aranya-Kand. The third canto contains the Aranya-Kand and Kishkindha-Kand. The fifth canto contains the Sundar-Kand and Lanka-Kand, and the sixth canto contains the story of the Coronation and some other tales. The seventh canto contains miscellaneous couplets and the method for reading omens.

Method for Consulting Omens

In the seventh septet of the seventh canto of this very book, Goswami Tulsidas ji himself has given the method for finding the answer to a question. That method is as follows—

On an auspicious day, in the evening, one should "invite" the book. That is, placing the book on a good seat in the evening, one should pray—"Tomorrow I shall wish to know some necessary matter from you. Please favor me and be kind enough to indicate the true result."

Take one hundred and eight lotus seeds as the measure for three handfuls.

Discard groups of seven and keep the remainder separate.

The first remainder is the Canto, the second is the Septet.

The third is known as the Couplet; thus should the omen be considered.

The next morning, after performing daily rituals like bathing and prayers, one should first worship the book with flowers, sandalwood, incense, and lamps. Then, with faith and devotion, after first remembering the Guru, Lord Ganesha, Shiva-Parvati, Sri Sita-Ram, Lakshman, and Hanuman, ask the question you wish to ask. Take 108 dried lotus seeds original: "kamalgatte" in your cupped hands and place them before the book. Then, from those, pick up three handfuls of lotus seeds one by one and keep them in separate piles. Count the lotus seeds of the first handful and divide that number by seven. Whatever remains after division, consider that the number of the Canto original: "sarga" of the book. If nothing remains, then the seventh Canto of the book...