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Many Hindu holds Bhagavaan Raam, as an ideal king. Everyone in our culture craves for 'Raam Raajya', the kingdom of Raam, which is the highest epitome of an Ideal Society. In our ancient Culture, a King is revered as an Ansh (part) of Vishnu. What are the attributes of Raam, as an Ideal King? Many of us have seen the picture of Shesh-shaayee Bhagavaan Shree Vishnu and Raam is the Avataar of Vishnu. If not, picture the following mentally: the Lord, with four instruments in His four hands- Shankh, Chakra, Gadaa, Padm. He is reclining leisurely, on the coil of a seven-headed Snake - Shesh Naag. The Snake is balancing a Globe, Prithvi, on its hoods, and is floating on the surface of an Ocean. Lakshmee Jee, the Goddess of Wealth, is sitting at His feet. Four headed Brahma, with books in his hands, sitting on a Lotus flower, Kamal, stemming out of the Lord’s navel. Naarad Muni, with his Veenaa; Garud, an eagle, the Lord’s transport; and Tumburu, standing in the Ocean, with folded hands, alongside of the coiled Naag, reverentially looking toward the Lord.

Representation of Four Aayudh
In Hindu mythology a King is an Avataar  (incarnation or Ansh) of Shri Vishnu, the Protector (Paalankartaa) of the Universe. The scenario described above, is the symbolic representation of an ideal King (Adarsh Raajaa). The Lord is shown having four implements, or Aayudh: Shankh (Conch), Chakra (Disc), Gadaa (Mace), Padm (Lotus Flower) in his four hands. Note the anti-clockwise sequence. First is Shankh, then Chakra, Gadaa and Padm. All in sequence. There is no disorder. An ideal king must be ever-ready with all these arms, fully equipped and well organized. These four Aayudh symbolize the four ‘R’s, four things that are required of any leader.

The Shankh represents the clarion call to Rally (army) the nation at the time of danger or invasion.
The Chakra, symbolizes the Rapidity with which the society is to be mobilized.
The Gadaa, is a symbol of Resistance. The ideal king’s armory must always be filled with a variety of Shastra and Astra, conventional, as well as unconventional weapons, like nuclear, biological etc.
The fourth ‘R’ is Padm, which represents Resources, the nation’s needs that are continuously and uninterruptedly supplied by the society, as the situation demands. The whole society, in fields and factories, in offices and institutions, in homes and out, works together to provide the necessary resources to maintain the security and prosperity of the entire nation.

Representation of Others
Lakshmee Jee is at his feet. She is His Daasee. She is serving Him, His cause. He is not serving her. He is Lakshmee-Pati, not Lakshmee Daas. Brahmaa, with the four Vedas in hands represents the Vidwaan Jan (intellectual people) in the King’s court, Pandit Sabhaa. All knowledgeable and scholarly, Brahmaa depicts the learned, giving the king sane counsel. The Shesh Naag is holding its Chhaayaa (shade) over the king. Shesh, in Sanskrit means ‘balance.’ An ideal king can rest leisurely, when he has the Chhatra of this balance over his head. With no balance in the banks to fall back upon, we would not rest easily, either. Shesh thus symbolizes the Finance or Revenue Ministry of the king. The Shesh Naag is holding the Globe, the kingdom, on his seven heads, which represent various departments. This shows that the Ministry has to function for the welfare of the entire kingdom.

Garud, the eagle, is a bird that soars thousands of meters in the sky, but has its critical eyes on the minutest details on earth. This Garud is a representation of the Planning Ministry of the ideal king. The Planning Minister knows the exact needs of the society. He requires finances for this. These are like our ‘5-Year Plans’ - First, second, third - each bigger and more ambitious than the earlier one! And the source of these finances can come only from the Revenue / Finance Ministry. In nature, in the animal kingdom, there is strong hostility between the eagle and the snake. That is aptly made use of and applied here. “I collect the revenue and you spend it beyond my means,” says the Finance Minister. “I can’t help it. I need the finances,” retorts the Planning Minister. There is constant tussle between the Planning Ministry (symbolized by the eagle Garud) and the Finance Ministry (symbolized by the serpent Shesh Naag).

Narad is standing beside Garud. All of us have heard of the pranks of Narad since childhood. He is the one who makes two people fight and runs away with their clothes! He has access to all the Tri-Lok (three worlds). Actually, in this case, Naarad represents an Institution: the Intelligence Department of the king. Spies all over the world! This system must be very efficient for an ideal King. Getting information from inside the kingdom and out, and conveying it to the King, is their job. They would make others fight amongst themselves, for the good of their own kingdom.

Then comes the Tumburu, representing Artisan. Kalaakaar class in the Society, specialists in various creative arts such as sculptors, painters, writers, musicians, etc. of innumerable vocations. They also need Raaj Aashray, patronage of the king.

And, lastly, all this is floating on the surface of the Ocean. This Ocean is not an ordinary ocean of salt water. It is the Ocean of Milk (Ksheer Saagar)! From times immemorial, throughout the world, people have described an ideal kingdom as a place where, "Doodh ki Nadiyaan bahatee hain!" (Rivers of milk flow.) Thus, milk represents prosperity of a Nation. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Germany had erected a 40 ft (12 meters) tall replica of a cow in concrete, at the entrance. ‘This is the symbol of the prosperity of our German nation’, they proclaimed to the world. And thus, this is another symbolism in Hindu mythology. Does the above narration bring any significant change in your thinking of Raam Raajya?

Note
Incidentally, the following foot-note may be pertinent here: In the late 1940s when Dr Raghuvir met the then President of Indonesia, Dr Sukarno, he asked him why the national airline of Indonesia is named ‘Garud Airways.’ Dr. Sukarno, the Muslim President of the largest Muslim Country in the world, answered, "The Transport of Vishnu is Garud. Raja is the incarnation of Vishnu. In Indonesia, instead of Raja, we have a President. And that I am. So, naturally my carrier would be Garud". Also, German Air line is 'Lufthansa' and it does carry a "flying bird" on all its aircrafts and all over, as its logo. And in German 'Luft' means 'Air' and there is no such word as "Hansa' in the German language. "Hansa" is a Sanskrit word for bird "Hans" (Swan), a transport of Saraswati. Therefore, Lufthansa means a "Flying Swan".

And our airlines in India are "Air India" and "Indian Airlines" Very pathetic, indeed! If our Armed Forces have Sanskrit names for our weapons in air, on ground and in water, can't we think of any suitable Bharatiya names for Civilian Aircrafts in Air? After all, we do have Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Chemicals, Hindustan Machine Tools, etc. And what is the picture of a feudal 'Mahaaraajaa' doing on the Airlines, in a 'Democracy'?

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