VedaVati is Born
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| Vedavati reborn as Seetha |
Deers, antelopes, cows and goats were nibbling at the leaves of the plants
in the cool shades. Blue mountains that seemed to touch the sky and a soft
flowing rivulet added charm to the woods. It was the middle of spring and the forest was in bloom.
Hermits in the woods led contented lives, performing Vedic rituals. Their disciples served them with devotion while learning various subjects. They tended to the cows in their spare time.
Among the group of saints sage Brihaspati was a revered saint in the
cluster of hermitages.
on that night, he and his son Kusadhwaja were restlessly pacing the
front hall of the hermitage. Anxiety writ large on their faces.
Kusadhwaja’s wife was experiencing labour pains in a secluded portion
of the ashram.
Both the father and son prayed gods that the birth of the baby should
be safe.
Just then the shrill cry of a new born baby rent the roof of the hermitage.
the cloth screen of the secluded portion was drawn to a side by a woman.
tara, wife of sage Brihaspati, carried the new born female baby in her
arms. she placed the baby in Brihaspati’s arms. “have a look at your grand
daughter to your heart’s content”she said.
sage Brihaspati stroked the new born one’s cheeks tenderly. He was
lost in thought for a while as the future of the baby unfolded before his
inward eye gradually.
Kusadhwaja took the child from his father’s hands and kissed it gently.
He was very happy to be blessed with a baby girl. “son.” Brihaspati said to
him,” my intuition tells me that your daughter is Goddess Mahalakshmi’s
incarnation. But I am worried about her future.”
“Father, how does her future shape?” Kusadhwaja asked anxiously.
Brihaspati did not answer. He left to the nearby river for his morning
ablutions as a cock cackled at a distance as a sign of day break.
The naming Ceremony
It was the twenty first day after the arrival of the baby in the ashram
and preparations were made to celebrate the naming ceremony of the baby.
The ashram was decorated beautifully. The floor and the pyol were washed
with cow dung and kept dry. the ashram girls drew beautiful rangolis
on the floor. One of the inmates of the ashram climbed a mango tree and
cut tender leaves. He made festoons of them and arranged them on the
threshold of the ashram. the windows of the ashram were also decorated
with festoons of different flowers of the season. In the centre of the hall
sage Kusadhwaja was seated on a wooden plank and his spouse sat beside
him with the baby in her lap. sage Brihaspati sat cross-legged at a distance
and looked at the baby indulgently. As the twilight gave way to broad day
light, many sages with their wives and disciples poured in. they held sage
Brihaspati and his son Kusadhwaja in great veneration. Hence they did not
want to miss the occasion.
sage Brihaspati took a look at the hermits who had come to grace the
occasion. He was convinced that all the invitees were present. He said,
“Sirs, I bow to you all who are here to bless my grand daughter on this
occasion. In your blessed presence, I name her Vedavati.”
As Brihaspati had made this announcement, Kusadhwaja wrote the
name in sanskrit in rice amid vedic chants.
As the function was over, simple but delicious meals were served
outside the ashram. A huge canopy was erected for this purpose. As the
inmates of the ashram served food, sage Brihaspati and his son Kusadhwaja
supervised, taking care that every guest ate to his heart’s content.
After the conclusion of the naming ceremony of Vedavati, all the sages
and their disciples once again blessed the baby with glorious future and
departed.
Brihaspati returned to his ashram for his evening austerities. As he
gazed at Vedavati in the cradle, the same troubled look returned to his face.
“Man is helpless against fate” he muttered under his breath.
sage Kusadhwa who returned after seeing the last guest off, did not fail
to notice the expression of sadness on his father’s face. He wanted to ask
his father the reason but he checked himself. Being a sage, he thought that
every thing would unfold itself in due course of time.
VedaVati dreams
Child Vedavati was growing into a beautiful girl. she was the centre
of affection for her grand father, father and mother. Whenever they were
free from their routine austerities, they lived as if the girl was their only
world.
though Vedavati played with girls of her age, she was always
preoccupied with thoughts about Lord Vishnu. she evinced keen
interest in listening to the stories and triumphs of Vishnu. she used to
declare sometimes that she would marry Vishnu. Her friends laughed
at this. they showed her Lord Vishnu’s portraits and statues and teased
her,”We’ve brought the bride groom. shall we go ahead with the wedding
preparations?”
“I don’t speak to anyone of you if you make fun of my lord” she feigned
to be angry and did not speak to her friends.
But her friends knew how to bring her back into good mood again.
they would recite the thousand names and appropriate adjectives of lord
Vishnu. then Vedavati would break into a song in praise of Vishnu.
When Vedavati attained marriageable age, alliances poured in from
far and wide. Many kings and demigods vied with one another to win her
hand. Kings from nether world also wanted to marry her. not to be outdone,
many a demon king tried to have her as his queen. sambhu, a demon
king was one among them. He sent his emissaries to sage Kusadhwaja’s
ashram, expressing his wish to marry Vedavati.
As sage Kusadhwaj rejected the offer, saying that Vedavati was destined
to be the spouse of Lord Vishnu, the emissaries returned without fulfilling
their king’s desire. As fate would have it, one of the emissaries was a good
artist. Impressed by the beauty of Vedavati, he drew her picture in brilliant
colours and showed it to king sambhu. the demon king, on seeing the
portrait, developed irresistible passion for Vedavati. He set out with his
retinue to sage Kusadhwaja’s ashram in the woods.
on seeing king sambhu, the sage was alarmed. He could not understand
the purpose of the king’s visit though he had rejected the demon king’s
alliance. But he soon composed himself and paid the customary respects
to the king. Then the demon king said point blank,”I want to marry your
daughter Vedavati. say ‘yes’ or face the consequences.”
“o revered king” sage Kusadhwaja replied calmly, “Vedavati is destined
to marry Lord Vishnu. No other person could be considered in HIs place.”
since gods are arch enemies of the demons, king sambhu could not
stomach the sage’s words. He left the place with his men abruptly. But
he did not return to his kingdom. He waited at a distance till the night
would fall. When the day light grew into moonless pitch dark night, the
demon king went to the sage’s ashram. He found the sage in deep sleep in
the hall. the king with hatred in his eyes, drew his sword and beheaded
the sage. the sage’s shriek of death, woke up the inmates of the ashram
including Vedavati and her grand father Brihaspati. they rushed into the
hall and stood stunned at the ghastly sight. the demon king stood beside
the slain sage, his sword smeared with warm blood. soon many hermits
of the nearby ashrams collected there. But none of them dared oppose the
demon king. they cursed him with heinous consequences silently.
sambhu wanted to abduct Vedavati, but restrained himself, being aware
of her spiritual power. He left the place uttering abuses at the hermits.
Vedavati threw herself on her father’s inert body and wailed piteously.
sage Brihaspati consoled her. “Don’t grieve my child,”he said,”it has to
happen that way.”
Vedavati gradually recovered from the bereavement after the
obsequies were over. on a sombre morning she approached Brihaspati
and said,”Grand father, I want to retire into the deep forest and meditate
on Lord Vishnu.”
“Let it be so, my child,”he said, “may the Lord bless you.” But he knew
by intuition that Vedavati would not marry Lord Vishnu in this birth.
VedaVati meditates
It was a benign forest. The cruel animals and poisonous reptiles coexisted
with harmless animals peacefully. the lions and tigers were
unaware of their killer instinct and mingled with cows and goats freely in
their search for green fodder. the thick foliage of the trees provided cool
shades in the forest even in hot summer. Vedavati sat under one such tree
and was deeply immersed in meditation on Lord Vishnu. In order to have
the vision of Vishnu, she increased her austerities. she subsisted on fallen,
dry leaves for her food and recited the Lord’s name more vigorously.
even then the Lord did not grant His vision to her. so Vedavati stopped
eating even the leaves and concentrated her mind and soul on the Lord.
When her meditation reached the extreme level she lost sense of time. she
did not know whether it was day or night. she was so established in the
consciousness of the Lord.
It was raining heavily with strong gales on that evening. Suddenly
the rain stopped and there was rumbling sound in the sky. Vedavati was
disturbed from her meditation and looked up. An aeroplane wan descending
in her direction. she was startled on seeing the huge aircraft.
Ravana, the king of Lanka was piloting the aircraft. He was an eight
footer with a muscular body. He wore a golden crown studded with
costliest diamonds and ornaments befitting a king. His ornaments clanged
and his silk robes swished as he moved. His thick, black mustache
curved down and twirled upwards adding a peculiar attraction to his
person. Many demonesses became his wives willingly as they fell for his
handsome figure. The only person who did not yield to him was Rambha,
the celestial woman. Ravana, unable to contain his desire, soiled her which
prompted her husband nalakubara to curse him that his head would break
into thousand pieces if he met with any woman without her consent.
the aircraft Ravana was piloting originally belonged to Kubera, the
god of wealth, who ruled over Alakapuri. though Kubera was Ravana’s
half brother, Ravana waged a war against him and seized the aeroplane
from him.
Ravana was returning from Kailasa the abode of Lord siva, after
obtaining many boons from him. Appeasing siva was not an easy task for
him. When siva did not grant His vision to Ravana despite his rigorous
penance, Ravana became angry and lifted the mount Kailas with his ten
heads. then siva pressed down the mountain with his toe and Ravana fell
down under its weight.
But Ravana was adamant. He wanted to have the Lord’s vision at any
cost. He slashed his abdomen, took out his entrails and stringed them into
an instrument, called Rudraveena; he played divine music on his entrails
thus and appeased the Lord. Armed with the boons, Ravana found himself
in a wild mood when he spotted Vedavati meditating under a tree. He
stopped his aeroplane at a distance and walked to her.”sweet lady” he
said,”who are you? your matchless beauty captivates me. I am Ravana, the
dreaded ruler of the three worlds. Come to my kingdom Lanka with me. I
will make you my prime queen.”
Vedavati rejected his offer with scorn. Ravana, overwhelmed with
passion could wait no longer. He caught hold of her long tresses of hair; he
wanted to stroke them and praise their beauty even more.
Vedavati was startled out of her meditation as soon as her hair came
into contact with the demon king. she cast sidelong hateful look at him.
then she made her left hand as sharp as a sword and cut off that portion of
the hair in Ravana’s hands. “ You cruel king,” she cried, “I will be born to
no woman and see your end in my next birth.” She created fire out of her
will power and was engulfed in it.
now Ravana was convinced that Vedavati was no ordinary woman. He
could not bear to see such matchless beauty being reduced to a heap of
ashes. His wild mood changed into that of sadness. He walked back to his
aeroplane heavily.
Ravana finds a baby
Many years passed by. Ravana, the ruler of Lanka had completely
forgot the episode of Vedavati. He was fully engaged in statecraft and
spent his leisure in wine and women like any other powerful king. By now
he had subjugated many rulers and nobody dared oppose him.
It was a spring evening and the royal garden was in full bloom. The
breeze was soft and the pleasant atmosphere ennobled Ravana’s spirits.
He wanted to play on the veena. He sent a maid to bring him the stringed
musical instrument. When he got the instrument, he checked the strings
and began to play Atana raga. the inherent melody of the raga increased
many folds when his fingers played on the instrument deftly. It was his
habit to close eyes while playing on the veena. He went on playing thus
for an hour or two. When he opened his eyes after completing playing the
raga to his heart’s content, he saw a golden lotus, drifting on the placid
waters of the nearby pond. The flower was shining with peculiar beauty
in the rays of the setting sun. Ravana liked the flower and wanted to gift
it to his prime queen Mandodari. He got down the steps and walked in
the knee deep water towards the golden lotus. He found to his pleasant
surprise a beautiful baby girl in the lotus. He lifted the yellow metal flower
and began to walk back to the place where he had played on the veena.
Miraculously the flower increased its weight gradually. When he reached
the steps in the water, the flower became so heavy that he could not carry
it further. When he was sweating profusely in this task, a maid ran and
informed Mandodari about it. In turn Mandodari alerted her brother-in
law Vibheeshana and the royal preceptor sukracharya.
When they arrived on the scene, Ravana had laid the metal flower on
the steps and was still sweating and gasping for breath. When he looking
at the baby girl in the flower, it looked like a dreadful demon, bent on
exterminating him. But little did he realise that the baby was Vedavati,
born to no woman as sita to become instrumental in his death.
When Sukracharya looked at the girl in the flower, his intuition warned
him that she would bring disaster to the king and Lanka. He said to
Ravana,”o king, the girl would turn out to be a curse if you bring her up
here. Already our demon race is reeling under curse after curse by gods
and sages. Hence ask Vibheeshana to drop the child in the sea and get rid
of her.”
though Ravana liked the baby for its cuteness and sharp features and
wanted to own it, he dared not oppose his guru sukracharya. so he asked
his brother Vibheeshana to do the guru’s bidding.
When Vibheeshana looked at the baby, she appeared to him as goddess
Lakshmi, seated in a lotus flower, exuding divine grace. When he lifted the
metal flower with the baby, he felt only feather weight. He dropped it in
the sea waters and bowed in humility and respect.
Janaka is blessed with a baby
King Janaka of Mithila was a brave warrior and a practicing philosopher.
Whatever he preached, he practiced. that is why he was called a Karma
Yogi. He was imparted Brahma Jnana by sage Yaajnavalkya. He was a
beloved disciple of the sage. His prime source of strength was his wife
sunayana, which means the good eyed one. though the royal couple
rolled in pleasures, they were untouched by them mentally. the couple’s
mind was permanently fixed on the Ultimate Reality, Parabrahman. On the
physical plane Janaka was sad that he was not blessed with an off spring.
the queen also longed for children. But she never gave vent to her feeling
as she knew that the king would be upset.
Janaka hoped that he might be blessed with children if he performed
the necessary yaga (sacrifice). He told his wife what he thought. The queen
readily agreed.
On a fine, auspicious morning, the couple began to plough the land
chosen for sacrifice, As they were thus levelling the ground, the plough did
not move at a point. When Janaka and sunayana tried to force the plough
forward, it hit a solid object in the earth. then they stopped ploughing and
ordered a servant to dig there.
the royal couple found a metal box a foot deep in the earth. When they
opened it, to their surprise they found a golden lotus and a beautiful girl
child in it. Janaka took the baby into his arms and gave it to the queen. the
couple looked at each other, their eyes flooding with tears of joy. They
thought that their attempt to perform a sacrifice for progeny was answered
by the Almighty this way. the royal couple named her seetha which meant
the furrow, as she was found in the furrows of the earth when ploughed.
Seetha grows into a beauty
Seetha was growing into a beautiful girl. now she was eight years old.
Her round face with chubby cheeks was her chief attraction. she was the
apple of the eye of her foster mother sunayana. Father Janaka who was
always busy with the state craft and philosophical discourses, spent his
spare time with her. the aging couple enjoyed the little one’s company
very much.
Seetha had a number of royal maids to play with. Hide and seek and
throw ball were her favourite games. one day she proposed they play
throw ball, made of just cut rose flowers. She wanted to play the game in
her chamber instead of having the fun in the garden. While playing, seetha
ran into her father’s private chamber and the maids followed her. one of
the maids threw the flower ball at Seetha who failed to catch it. The ball
fell under an oblong eight wheeled carriage on which lay an ancient bow.
Unable to extricate the ball from under the carriage, she pushed it to a
corner of the room and got the ball.
Janaka, who had entered the chamber on hearing the commotion of
the girls, was aghast at what he saw. seetha was adjusting the bow in its
proper place on the cart, which had been moved aside when she pushed
the cart. noticing the king’s serious mood, seetha and her maids slipped
away’
In normal circumstances, the bow was so heavy that it could be moved
only by hundreds of able bodies persons. so Janaka was shocked when his
little one handled it.
***
Kamalaksha, Vidyunmali and tarakaksha were the three demon
brothers called tripuras who created havoc on earth, heaven and in the
nether world. then Lord siva made Mount Meru the bow and Adisesha
(the divine serpent) the bow string and Lord Vishnu the arrow. Hence the
bow has the power of both siva and Vishnu. After killing the three demon
brothers, siva handed over the bow to the gods. After a few years, Varuna,
the god of rains gave away this bow to an ancestor of Janaka which
remained with them as an honoured heirloom.
***
Little seetha stood behind the huge carved door of the chamber and
looked at her father. she was afraid that severe punishment was in the
offing for her as she had touched the sacred bow. Janaka, who was serious
till then, regained his cool and beckoned to her. When she came to him,
he gathered her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek. “You are an
incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi herself,” he muttered. He resolved that
his daughter should be married only to that prince who could bend the
bow, string it and aim it.
now seetha attained marriageable age. though she did not remember
that she was Vedavati in her previous birth, she liked to listen to stories
of Lord Vishnu. the various incarnations of the Lord were beautifully
chiseled on the walls of the queen’s chamber. she used to gaze at those
pictures and pose like the sculptures there. she imagined herself in all
the scenes of the Lord’s incarnations. once she was gazing at a particular
series of pictures depicting the Lord Vishnu as a learned midget who
subjugated the demon king Bali and sent him to the nether world. then
one of her favourate maids entered the chamber. she said,”princess, shall
I narrate the story for your pleasure?”
“oh, Please do tell me the story” seetha replied.
“If I give you the graphic picture of the episode, what gift can I expect?”
“My precious dimond necklace”seetha said and put it on the maid’s
neck.
“thank you, princess”the maid said and went on with her narration.
she gave a brief description of the Lord’s ten incarnations and elaborated
the Lord’s dwarf incarnation among them.
seetha listened to the maid with a rapturous look on her face.
the maid went on with her narration.
“Bali, the demon emperor was the grandson of Prahlada, the beloved
devotee of Lord Vishnu. Bali usurped the throne of Indra, the lord of
heaven and subjugated Vayu, the god of wind, Varuna, the god of rain and
the like.
on the prayers of the gods, Lord Vishnu, born as a midget named
Vamana, learnt all the Vedic scriptures when He was barely eight years
old. He went to Bali, when the latter was performing a great sacrifice.
The munificent emperor was giving away whatever gifts his subjects
asked. the dwarf bachelor, that is Vamana approached the demon emperor
when the yaga (sacrifice) was in progress. Bali was impressed by Vamana
and asked him what he desired for. the emperor gave him choice to desire
enormous wealth or beautiful women or elephants or all of them.
But Vamana smiled and asked for just three feet of land. He rejected the
offer of all the other gifts offered by the emperor, saying a bachelor well-
versed in Vedic scriptures did not need earthly comforts. He insisted that
just a piece of three feet of land was more than enough for him.
“As you wish,you holy one” Bali said and decided to give the desired
gift to the bachelor. then the royal preceptor sage sukracharya intervened.
“o king” he said, “send away the midget. He is none but Lord Vishnu
himself in disguise. If you give away the three feet of land as desired by
the little bachelor, he will occupy the earth in one foot and the heaven in
another foot and place his lethal foot on your head for the third foot of
land.”
But Bali was not scared. He smiled and said, “o, revered one, when the
blessed hand of Vishnu which caresses Lakshmi’s long tresses of hair and
cheeks will be at the receiving end, mine will be the upper hand. What else
one can desire for?”
He got up and took the bowl to pour water as a mark of donation.
But, as a last minute effort, sukracharya assumed a minute form and
stood inside the nozzle, thus obstructing the flow of water from the bowl.
Vamana noticed this and smiled to himself. He took out a blade of grass
from a bundle which he had brought with him and inserted it forcefully
into the nozzle. the blade of grass pierced through sukracharya’s eye. He
cried in pain and came out of the nozzle with a bleeding eye.
As expected, Bali donated three feet of land as asked by Vamana. then
Vamana assumed gigantic form and occupied the earth and heaven with
two feet of donated land and asked Bali where he should occupy for the
third foot of land. then Bali bowed low and asked the Lord to place his
foot on his head. Lord Vishnu thus pressed Bali to the nether world. But
Vishnu blessed him with everlasting fame for his matchless gift to the
God.”
seetha was still in the same mood of ecstacy, visualizing the narration
of the maid. she became herself only when the maid shook her by her
shoulders.
8.rama aims siVa’s BoW
It was a festive occasion for the people of Mithila. It was Seetha’s
swayamvara, the bride-groom selection ceremony of the princess. every
house was white washed and the doors and windows were painted afresh.
there were festoons of freshly cut mango leaves on every house and the
people were dressed in new clothes. King Janaka invited his people to dine
in the public kitchen, specially arranged in a large square in the city. the
royal officials placed announcers to tell the public the developing news
of the swayamvara of the princess Seetha. Janaka asked his officials to
make this arrangement as the royal chamber could not accommodate all
the people.
As the appointed time was approaching, princes of various kingdoms
began pouring in to participate in the bridegroom selection event by
seetha. every prince wanted to win her hand in marriage.
Meanwhile, hundreds of able bodied soldiers pushed the carriage on
which the bow of Lord siva was mounted, into the chamber.
Janaka was seated majestically on his throne and seetha sat beside
him with a garland in her hands. She was beauty incarnate. If the goddess
of earth with lovely mountains, lakes, trees and myriad other enchanting
things was very beautiful, seetha being her daughter, was even more
beautiful than her mother. even Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and wealth
must be jealous of seetha’s beauty though seetha was her incarnation.
King Janaka rose from his throne and declared,” I will give away my
daughter seetha in marriage to any prince who could string the bow of
Lord siva. Here is the bow. Any willing prince may try it”.
seetha’s beloved maid who stood beside her, pointed to each and
every prince seated there and introduced them to her. But seetha was not
impressed by any of the princes.
then sage Viswamitra entered the chamber with Rama and Lakshmana.
on seeing them, king Janaka got down the steps of his throne and
welcomed them. “o, revered one, be seated” the king said and led them to
the seats. “Janaka”, the sage said,”meet Rama and Lakshmana, the princes
of Ayodhya”. “sons of my dear friend Dasaratha,” Janaka said, “may God
bless you with hundred years of life.” seetha looked at Rama and Rama
also looked at seetha. When their eyes had met, Rama did not think that
he would win seetha’s hand in a few minutes.
As the auspicious time was announced by the royal priest satananda,
all the princes got up one by one from their seats and tried to lift the bow
of Lord siva to aim it. But none of them could even move it fraction of
an inch.
suddenly the ground there shook. Ravana, the king of Lanka dashed
into the chamber, twitching at his thick, black mustache. “Should I lift
the bow to marry the girl?” he roared in contempt,”I am a great devotee
of Lord Siva. When he did not grant me his vision, I lifted the mountain
Kailas on which he lives. Hence, lifting his bow is a child’s play for me,”
He moved the bow but before he aimed it, it fell on his hand, crushing it.
Unable to extricate his hand from the bow, he groaned in pain.
seetha who was almost frozen with fear at his gigantic form and
thunderous voice heaved a sigh of relief when he failed to aim it.
sage Viswamitra cast a meaningful look at Rama. Rama understood it
and got up from his seat. He lifted the bow but before he strung it, it broke
into two pieces, making a deafening noise. Meanwhile Ravana who lay on
the floor till then, got up and disappeared.
seetha’s face glowed with joy and her lips broke into a half smile as
Rama lifted the bow.
Janaka’s joy knew no bounds as Rama, his dear friend Dasaratha’s son
qualified himself in the bride selection contest. He sent his ministers to
Ayodhya to invite Dasaratha for Rama’s wedding.
9. sita Weds rama
When Dasaratha arrived with his three queens Kausalya, sumitra and
Kaikeyi and other sons Bharata and satrughna, Janaka extended hearty
welcome to them and accommodated them in a palatial building. While
Janaka had a hearty talk with Dasaratha that night, his queen sunayana
introduced herself to Dasaratha’s queens and inquired of them whether
they were satisfied with the arrangements. Just then, a grand idea struck
Janaka’s mind. “Friend,”he said to Dasaratha, “I have three other daughters,
Urmila, Mandavi and Sruthakeertini. How about marrying them to your
sons Lakshmana, Bharatha and sathrughna?”
Dasaratha looked at his queens who nodded in approval. Dasaratha
said to Janaka with a smile,”friend, your wish is granted.”
the wedding of seetha and Rama was an occasion of joy to the peoples
of both Mithila and Ayodhya. Half of Ayodhya was deserted as its people
journeyed to Mithila to attend to their beloved Rama’s wedding. those
who could not undertake the journey, stayed behind but celebrated the
occasion with pomp in Ayodhya.
In Mithila, King Janaka ordered that the public kitchens which were
opened during seetha’s swayamvara be continued till the wedding was
over. He asked his officials to get clothes also distributed free of cost to
the needy on this occasion.
the spacious royal chamber which could accommodate about a
thousand guests, was grandly decorated for the occasion. In the centre of
the chamber, a wooden canopy with four pillars exquisitely carved and
decked with flowers of the season, was erected. Under the canopy, the
four couples, Rama-Seetha, Lakshmana_Urmila, Bharatha-Mandavi and
sathrughna-shrutakeertini were seated on wooden planks, which were
smeared in wet turmeric powder and vermilion.
the priest satananda led the other priests in chanting Vedic marital
hymns. Janaka, seated in a corner under the canopy, cleared his throat. He
placed seetha’s right hand into that of Rama’s and said solemnly, “seetha
is my daughter. I join her in wedlock to you. She will tread your path in
truth and justice. she will be your shadow. May gods shower their choicest
blessings on you and my daughter.”
As soon as the marriage ceremony was over, the four couples prostrated
before sage Viswamitra who blessed them with a long lineage. then the
couples approached their father Dasaratha and mothers Kausalya, sumitra
and Kaikeyi.they touched their feet and sought their blessings. When the
couples were about to bend and touch Janaka’s and sunayana’s feet, they
hugged them and blessed them with valiant progeny.
Just then, a dazzling light emanated from the entrance. All the guests
who assembled there including Janaka and Dasaratha looked towards the
direction of the light. they saw saint Parasurama with an axe in hand,
trembling with rage. “When I declared war on the Kshatriyas 21 times
and annihilated them, a few hated reptile like Kshatriyas like Janaka and
Dasaratha escaped my notice, who now think they are king cobras and
spew venom.”he said. His looks were fixed on Rama, in his marital robes.
“Are you the gallant warrior who broke Lord siva’s bow?” he asked.
“I just tried to string it. That is all”Rama replied coolly. “The breakage
of the bow was Lord siva’s will.”
“so, you are such a learned person as to know siva’s will” Parasurama
said sarcastically. He remained silent, closed his eyes and uttered a mantra
invoking Vishnu. then Vishnu’s bow adored his hand. He gave it to Rama.
“now aim this Vaishnavaite bow and tell me, Vishnu’s will also.”
When Rama aimed the bow, his hand touched that of Parasurama.
Rama’s touch passed an aura into Parasurama which made the latter realise
that Rama was none but Vishnu’s incarnation.
the marriage celebrations were over and the four couples were
provided spacious chambers with all the comforts a king could command,
to enjoy their marital bliss for a few days in the father-in-law’s house.
When the couples - Rama and Seetha, Lakshmana and Urmila, Bharatha
and Mandavi and sathrughna and sruthakeertini were thus enjoying their
first flush of romance, Janaka and Dasaratha spent their time discussing
about their preparations to retire to forest to spend the remaining short
span of their lives peacefully. “I will make Rama the king of Ayodhya in a
few years and give up all royal pleasures.” Dasaratha said.
“I will handover my kingdom to my son-in-law Rama; suppose he does
not accept, I will make the kingdom a people’s republic” Janaka said.
“our ideas meet on the same plane.” Dasaratha said, “let’s retire to the
same forest with our better halves.”
“May it be so”Janaka replied.
After a few days, Dasaratha desired to return to Ayodhya along with
his family members. When he expressed his wish with Janaka, the latter
was sad to leave his friend so soon. He said the same to Dasaratha. “I
must”said Dasaratha,”the responsibilities of the state beckon me”
When Dasaratha’s retinue completed the preparations for the journey,
the heart rending leave taking began. Dasaratha’s consorts Kausalya,
sumitra and Kaikeyi embraced Janaka’s queen and took her leave. they
said that seetha was dearest to them and the queen need not entertain
any doubt about her well being at her in-laws house. Rama said to
Janaka”Father, seetha to me is what eye lid is to the eye.” Lakshmana,
Bharatha and satrughna also bid farewell to their father-in-law. the
daughters Seetha, Urmila, Mandavi and Sruthakeertini clung to their father
Janaka and were reluctant to part. sunayana gently disengaged them from
Janaka’s embrace and said,”Children, when I moved to my father-in-law’s
house with your father, I also clung to my father and cried as you do now.
Remember that we’re women. We have to leave our parents house sooner
or later.” Dasaratha gave a bear hug to Janaka and they remained so for a
while, neither of them willing to let the other go. they parted only when
the chief of the retinue blew the conch, signalling that it was time to begin
the journey.
Five chariots were beautifully decorated for the four princes and
princesses and Dasaratha and his queens. the chariots moved slowely,
followed by caparisoned elephants in the front and white horses in the rear.
As the journey was on, Janaka suddenly dashed to the battlements of
the palace to command a distant view of his beloved daughters and his
friend Dasaratha. His pace was so swift that his queen sunayana had to run
after him. Janaka put his arm round her shoulder and pointed to the four
chariots in which their daughters were seated and that of Dasaratha and his
consorts. tears trickled down his cheeks. sunayana wiped his tears with
the hem of her saree and said,”let’s retire.”
10. the marriage Party returns
When Dasaratha reached the outskirts of Ayodhya with his queens, sons
and daughters-in-law, Rama and seetha were shifted into a howdah on a
caparisoned royal elephant. the other princes continued their journey in
their chariots. When Rama and his consort reached the royal street which
led to the palace in the fort, Lakshmana got down his chariot. Bharata,
sathrughna also did the same. Lakshmana walked with folded hands
before the elephant on which Rama and seetha were seated and Bharata
and sathrughna walked on either side of the elephant. As the arrival of
Rama was announced before hand, dancers gathered on the royal street
and followed Rama and seetha with rhythmic movements. the public
dressed in their finery, followed the procession to the entrance of the fort.
Rama dismounted the elephant and gave his hand to seetha to alight.
Urmila, Mandavi and Sruthakeertini also got down the chariots and joined
their elder sister seetha. Lakshmana, Bharata and sathrughna also joined
their elder brother Rama. Dasaratha also alighted his chariot along with
his queens. Kausalya, sumitra and Kaikeyi walked past the princes and
their wives swiftly. When they entered the central hall of the palace,
chamber maids were ready with a golden bowl of red water of lime and
turmeric. Kausalya took the bowl and sumitra and Kaikeyi placed their
right hand on the rim of the bowl. together the three walked back to the
entrance.
Kausalya wiped the princes’ eyes with the red water so that all evils
would disappear. sumitra and Kaikeyi also did the same. next the trio
performed the same ritual to the princess’ Seetha, Urmila, Mandavi and
sruthakeertini. Later the princes and the princess’ were led into the central
hall of the palace.
11. a Care Free liFe
Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and sathrughna and their consorts led
a care free life for twelve years in Ayodhya. While the princes assisted
their father Dasaratha in waging wars against the enemies of the kingdom
and in the affairs of the administration, Seetha, Urmila, Mandavi and
sruthakeertini helped their mothers-in-law in the day to day affairs of the
women’s wing of the palace.
After sunset, the princes would retire to their respective chambers to
spend their time with their wives.
On a fine spring evening, Rama and Seetha were whiling away their
time in the garden. the garden was in full bloom and they were sitting on
a mosaic bench hand in hand; as they were immersed in sweet nothings,
suddenly seetha said,”tell me about your exploits in the woods when you
accompanied Sage Viswamitra to help in his yajna (sacrifice) by fighting
evil forces. Please tell me all about them in detail.”
Rama smiled and pressed her hand affectionately.”Seetha,” he said,”I
am just instrumental in discharging what the great sage willed through
me. When Viswamitra, my brother Lakshmana and myself set out into
the forest and walked till the evening, we were accosted by a demoness.
the sage said that she was thataka by name and she ravaged the forest.
she had killed many animals and humans too for her food. When she
attacked us with boulders and trees, I was in a fix. Being a prince of war
race (kshatriya) I could not bring myself to kill a woman even though she
was a demon. Hence I defended the sage, my brother and myself through
a shield of arrows for sometime. then the sage said,”Rama, it’s growing
dark. A demon’s strength doubles during night. so, don’t hesitate. Finish
her. A woman can be killed if she were a demon.”
On my preceptor’s order, I killed Thataka with a sharp arrow.” Rama
said and observed, “of course, there is a demon in every woman.”
“Would you please make your words clear?” seetha said sharply and
moved away from him in feigned anger.
But when Rama caressed her long tresses of glistening black hair, her
anger melted like snow and she moved closer to him again.
“so my lord,” she teased him,”You killed a demoness. nothing else.”
“No, my love, I killed many more,” Rama said, “when the yajna (holy
sacrifice) was in progress, suddenly two demons Maareecha and Subhahu
tried to disrupt the yajna. they rose high into the sky and attempted to pour
pots of blood into the pit of the sacrificial fire. But I put an impenetrable
shield of arrows over the place where the yajna was in progress. Then I
shot maanavaasthra arrow which bundled Maareecha and hurled him to a
far off place near the sea. Then I killed Subahu with Aagneyastra.”
“And the yajna went on successfully.”seetha completed with a smile.
“Of course” Rama said and remained silent for a while. “In fact,” he
said,”the sage could have killed any number of demons with least effort.
But, since such a deed mars his sainthood, he entrusted me with the task.
not only that, he imparted us through incantations certain divine weapons
made from the five elements of nature which appear at our will and
disappear after killing the enemy.”
“Marvelous”seetha said looking at Rama adoringly.
“One more thing of which I myself am surprised of, happened at a
deserted hermitage” Rama said.
“Please continue,” requested seetha.
“On our way to Mithila, we three were walking in the woods. Then I
sighted an uninhabited ashram. I asked the Sage Viswamitra as to why it
was forlorn. the sage said that it was sage Gauthama’s ashram. once his
wife Ahalya, proud of her marvelous beauty yielded to the carnal desire of
Indra, the lord of the celestial gods. Indra changed himself into a cock and
cackled as a sign of day break. then saint Gauthama woke up and went to
the nearby river for his morning ablutions. Seizing the opportunity, Indra
entered the ashram to have his way with her. she was intoxicated with the
thought that her beauty was so great as to make Indra fall for her. Hence,
knowing fully well that the person who came in the saint’s guise was not
her husband but Indra, she submitted herself to him. She implored him to
go away as quickly as he can, before her husband returned. But it was too
late. Gauthama returned to the ashram and realised what had happened.
Indra with a guilty look on his face, fell on the saint’s feet. The saint,
glowing in his spiritual lusture, cursed Indra to lose his manhood for his
sin. then he looked at his wife Ahalya and said,”You should be blamed
more for the sin because you wanted Indra to fall for your beauty. That is
why you did not resist though you have spiritual power to show him the
door.”
Ahalya, her pride of beauty gone now, cupped her face in her hands and
began to cry inconsolably.
the saint said again,”Your cry will not wash your sin. You remain
insensitized in a boulder here. When Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, walks
over here and his foot touches the boulder, your sin will be expiated and
you’ll regain your original form. Then I will return from Himalayas and
take you back. Till then I will not enter the tainted ashram.”
Viswamitra stopped his narration and resumed his walk. I followed
him, with brother Lakshmana behind me. Suddenly I was about to trip
over a boulder, but I balanced myself placing my right foot on the rock.
Then the boulder was transformed into a beautiful woman. I realised that
it was Ahalya. Just then saint Gauthama returned from his self exile into
the Himalayas, through aerial flight. He said to Ahalya,”My dear wife,
now you are purified.” Ahalya and the sage walked hand in hand into the
ashram.
“We also followed the couple and accepted their hospitality for a day.”
Rama finished his narration. Seetha nestled close to him, You’re great,
my lord,”she said.
12. set to BeCome king
eleven years had passed thus happily. the four princes enjoyed life
with their consorts as if the sky was the limit of pleasure. It was the 12th
spring after the princes wedded. on a pleasant evening seetha and Rama
were sitting in the garden as usual. Rama was in a playful mood and
wanted to tease Seetha. “Seetha,”he said, “I have often heard that children
are discovered in the layers of soil in Mithila.”
“May be, my lord”Seetha replied,”I also came to know that boys are
born in Ayodhya if women drink sweet soup.”
Rama was not offended. He wanted to compliment her for her sense of
humour. But before he said something, a page appeared there as if to break
their privacy. “Lord,”he said,”king Dasaratha summons you urgently.”
Rama asked seetha to retire to her chamber and followed the page.
seetha was waiting for Rama at their chamber. the maid announced
that food was ready. But seetha preferred to wait till Rama returned. When
Rama returned, seetha’s face was lit as the sky is lit with the rise of the
moon on a full moon day.”Come, my lord”she said “let us dine.”
“no, dear” Rama said,”we have to fast tonight and sleep on grass.”
seetha did not understand what he meant.
Rama explained,”Did you know why father summoned me? Father
injured his knee joint during the usual practice of war games. the
physician said that it was time for father to give rest to his joints and
advised complete rest. so, father wanted to anoint me the king and retire to
the woods after the due ceremonies are over. now our priest sage Vasishta
will come and initiate us into necessary ceremonies.”
seetha heard what Rama had said, with rapt attention. “My lord,”she
said, “I must break this happy news to my mothers-in-law now itself. I will
return before sage came.”
“no dear,” Rama restrained her gently,”Let us not incur the sage’s
wrath by our absence when he comes here.”
“As you please my lord,”seetha said.
After Vasishta came and prescribed the austerities to be followed by
them till day break including fasting and sleeping on the grass, seetha
made the same proposal again. Rama accepted it with a little modification.
“Dear, it is already late, hence now we will go to mother Kausalya and
seek her blessings. the next morrow we will visit mothers sumitra and
Kaikeye for their blessings. Anyway, father would have already conveyed
this happy news to mothers.” “so be it, my lord” seetha said. she wanted
to ask something but checked herself. Rama noticed it and cajoled her to
feel free to ask anything she wanted to. “Lord,” she said” why should the
king select and his wife sleep on the grass on hard floor before coronation?”
“Dear Seetha,”Rama said, “it is simply symbolic. If the king forgoes
regal comforts like soft bed atleast for a day, he will be in a better position
to understand his people’s sufferings.”
suddenly seetha heard some commotion. “My lord”she said,” let’s go
to the terrace and see what the noise is about.”
they went upstairs hand in hand. they saw from the terrace people -
men and women and boys and girls clad in new clothes and jewels shouting
with joy in the royal street, “long live king Rama and queen seetha.”
“My lord”seetha said,”see, how happy are the people of Ayodhya when
they heard that you are crown prince. You must live to their expectations
by your valour and love for the people.”
“Certainly,”Rama said and smiled,”I will live up to your expectations
too.”
“My lord, this is not the time for pranks,” seetha said,”be sober, in a
few hours you will ascend the throne.”
They went down stairs and lay on the bed of grass on the floor. They
did not eat anything, though hungry. they just sipped a little ghee offered
in the sacrificial fire.
13. Coronation thWarted
the next day early in the morning seetha and Rama were awakened
by the sweet notes of Bhoopala raga from the piped instrument shehnai.
By the time Rama finished his morning ablutions, Sumantra the charioteer
and well wisher of the king Dasaratha visited Rama. “Prince Rama,”he
said,”your step mother Kaikeyi summons you urgently.”
An hour elapsed after Rama had gone with sumantra. seetha plunged
into her morning routine. After the maids dressed her in her choicest
clothes and jewels, she was about to start to her mothers-in-law chambers
to pay her respects.
Just then Rama entered the chamber. seetha welcomed him with
usual smile. But Rama did not return her smile with a gentle touch on her
shoulder. “Seetha,”he said,”I am not to be the crown prince. My brother
Bharatha will occupy my place as soon as he returns from his grand father
king Kekaya’s kingdom. Not only that, I have to live in the forest for
fourteen years.”
“My lord,”she said, “I do not understand a bit of what your noble self
says.”
Rama narrated briefly the developments which took place in the past
few hours. “Long ago,”he said,”my father gave two boons to my stepmother
Kaikeyi in gratitude as she saved his life during his battle with
sambarasura. Kaikeyi said that she would utilize the boons at a future
date. Now she wanted the king to fulfil the two boons, making Bharatha
the crown prince and banish me to the forests for fourteen years. of course
mother Kaikeyi was good natured. But her chamber maid Manthara
poisoned her mind. Father was desperate to see me anointed crown
prince. But mother would not listen and father was heart broken and fell
unconscious. It is my duty to honour father’s promise to mother.” Rama
finished his narration and looked at Seetha,”As the eldest daughter-in-law,
treat your mothers-in-law Kausalya, sumitra and Kaikeyi with respect till
I return.”
“My lord,”seetha said, “have you forgotten the Vedic oaths of marriage
which you uttered at our wedding? Under the oath of fire you said that you
would not leave me even for the fraction of a second. now how can you
bring yourself to go away breaking the oaths?
“Seetha,” Rama reasoned, “I have not forgotten the vedic oaths
of marriage. But forests are dangerous with wild beasts and poisonous
serpents. A princess brought up in luxury cannot survive in the forests.”
But seetha was adament. “My lord,” she said, “when my father gave my
hand to you in marriage, he said that I should be your shadow. I presume
that a shadow is inseparable from the object, that is you.”
now Rama understood that seetha would follow him to the forest at
any cost. so he had to agree to her proposal. “Let’s bid bye to father and
step-mother Kaikeyi” he said and walked forth. seetha followed him.
When seetha entered Kaikeyi’s chamber along with Rama, king
Dasaratha lay on the bare floor screaming incoherently. Kaikeyi sat in a
chair beside him with a stern expression on her face. the two other queens
Kausalya and sumitra also arrived there at the behest of the king. Rama’s
brothers Lakshmana and satrughna also arrived on the scene. Bharatha
did not turn up as he was away at his grand father’s (Kaikeyi father’s)
kingdom.
seetha’s heart melted when she saw her father-in-law in such abject
condition. she took his hand into hers and wept. “oh, father,”she said,”Your
son Rama will abdicate the throne in favour of Bharatha and he will live
in the forests for fourteen years as mother-in-law Kaikeyi dictated. take
courage. Fourteen years is not a long period of time. It will end soon and
we will be back to make you happy.”
But Dasaratha did not like seetha’s words. He begged Rama to
challenge Kaikkeyi and claim the kingdom for himself, being the eldest
son. But Rama looked at seetha and declared. “Father, let Bharatha rule
the kingdom of Kosala. After all he is my brother. I am happier to live in
exile for the said time and honour your commitment to mother Kaikeyi.”
Kausalya hugged seetha and cried her heart out, “seetha,” she said,”be
Rama’s better half in his mind and soul. never leave him and your brotherin-
law Lakshmana alone. Make them happy and be happy even in trying
circumstances.”
Kaikeyi who sat in the chair like a statue till then, summoned a maid
who brought tree bark clothes. Kaikeyi handed them to seetha, Rama
and Lakshmana. she urged them without shame, to leave Ayodhya at the
earliest.
14. the trio leaVe on exile
When sumantra brought the chariot to the courtyard of Kaikeyi’s
chamber, Rama helped seetha get into it. then Rama and seetha were
seated. Dasaratha, with super human effort, got up and limped to the
chariot to have last glimpse of seetha and Rama. As the chariot moved
forth and the three disappeared from sight, he almost collapsed on the
road, but Kausalya held him with care. When Kaikeyi offered a helping
hand, the king shook himself away violently. As the chariot picked up
speed, Dasaratha who leaned on Kausalya, looked at Rama, Lakshmana
and seetha for the last time and walked into her chamber.
As the chariot crossed the royal road and was through the main
thoroughfare, the people crowded on either side of the road and watched
them, tears streaming down their eyes. “of course, Bharata was good,”
they told each other, “he will not accept the crown, He was so devoted to
his brother Rama. He will take his mother Kaikeyi to task definitely.”
the chariot, carrying Rama, Lakshmana and seetha crossed Ayodhya
and entered tamasa River, with the people following them in large
numbers. By the time they reached the river bank, it was already night.
seetha and Rama went to sleep on a bed of grass while Lakshmana and
sumantra kept vigil. When the people were still fast asleep in the shades
of the trees, Rama told sumantra to take the empty chariot back for some
distance, so that the people, on seeing the prints of the wheels, would think
that Rama, Lakshmana and seetha returned to Ayodhya. sumantra carried
Rama’s orders.
Rama, Lakshmana and seetha had crossed the shallow river in the
chariot before the people woke up. All the day and night they travelled
through the small towns and villages. they crossed Vedasriti, Gomathi and
syandica rivers, where multitudes of people trooped after them. seetha’s
eyes filled with tears on seeing them. “My lord,”she said to Rama,”I am
afraid that they will follow us to the forest. Please ask them to go back.”
“Dear citizens of Kosala,” Rama said with folded hands, “Your love
to me and to Seetha knows no bounds. I know it. But let us complete our
exile into the forest peacefully. Please go back.”
the people paid their respects to seetha, Rama and Lakshmana and
turned back, cursing Kaikeyi and Dasaratha.
When seetha, Rama and Lakshmana crossed the borders of the kingdom
Kosala and reached the banks of river Ganga, Rama asked sumantra to
leave for Ayodhya and take care of the decrepit king Dasaratha and the
his three queens, epecially Kaikeyi. “I bear no grudge against her,”Rama
said,”In fact, I am glad that she gave me a chance to live in the forest,
protecting the sages from demons. I am also equally glad that my younger
brother Bharatha will reign the kingdom.”
“sumantra,” seetha said,” you are like my father in age and experience.
Convey my respects to my three mothers-in-law and my father-in-law.
Please tell them that I am very happy in the forest with Rama beside me.”
When sumantra realised that he had to leave them, his heart grew heavy.
He got into the driver’s seat and reversed the chariot towards Ayodhya.
15. rama narrates the origin oF ganga
As the chariot gradually disappeared from sight, seetha looked at the
vast expanse of the river Ganga. she liked it very much. she wanted to
know as to how it originated on earth. she asked Rama to tell her the same.
Rama smiled and began his narration.
“Sage Viswamitra told me the story of this river earlier. Now I will
tell you that captivating story. Himavanth, the king of mountains had two
daughters, Ganga and Parvati. Gods wanted Ganga to be in Heaven and
Himavanth acquiesced. thus Ganga, the river ascended Heaven and was
with Brahman, the creator till she was brought down by Bhageeratha, an
ancestor of Rama, me.
emperor sagara, the great grand father of Bhageeratha had two wives,
Kesini and sumathi. He was childless and prayed saint Bhrigu for a son.
sage Bhrigu, pleased by his prayer, said that the emperor would beget a
son to continue the progeny through one wife and sixty thousand sons
through the other.
Accordingly, Kesini delivered a sadistic son Asamanjasa and sumathi
a fissiparous embryo which was divided into sixty thousand pieces which
were cultured like today’s test tube babies. Asamanjasa derived satanic
pleasure in throwing little children into canals and rivers. When his evil
deeds reached the emperor’s ears, the king exiled him. Asamanjasa had a
son, named Ansuman, who was as gentle as a dove.
Once the emperor planned Aswamedha yaga (the horse sacrifice). Indra,
the king of gods stole the sacrificial horse and placed it at the ashrama of
sage Kapila in the nether world.
As the sacrificial horse went missing, the emperor Sagara sent his sixty
thousand sons in search of it. When they found it at the ashram of the
sage, as per the circumstantial evidence, they misunderstood that that the
sage had stolen it. the princes accused the sage of theft and demanded the
release of the horse.
Sage Kapila was disturbed from his meditation and emitted fire through
his eyes, which reduced the sixty thousand princes into heaps of ash.
When the princes had not returned even after a long time, the emperor
sent his grand son Ansuman to trace his missing paternal uncles and the
sacrificial horse. When the prince was on his search mission, Garuda, the
divine bird and vehicle of Lord Vishnu appeared before him and told him
where the horse had been. He also said that the souls of his sixty thousand
paternal uncles would be redeemed only by flowing Ganga waters on their
manes.
Ansuman went to sage Kapila’s Ashram in the nether world and
begged him to release the horse the sage, impressed by the prince’s gentle
manners, asked his disciples to let the horse go with the prince.
thus Ansuman took the horse back and presented it to his grand father
emperor Sagara, who completed the sacrifice without any let or hindrance.
Years passed by. sagara, Ansuman and his son Dileepa ruled the
kingdom to the contentment of the people and attained heaven. none
of them could bring Ganga to earth. But Bhageeratha, son of Dileepa
resolved to bring down Ganga to earth. He observed severe penance for
Lord Brahma’s mercy to release Ganga. Brahma appeared to him in
a dream and said that it would be very difficult to contain the force of
Ganga’s flow if he released her. He advised Bhageeratha to seek Lord
siva’s intervention in this regard. then Bhageeratha directed his penance
to siva for a long time. siva was appeased by his penance and arrested
the forceful flow of Ganga in his matted locks; he released a small branch
of Ganga which submerged sage Janghu’s hermitage on her course. the
sage was enrage and gulped down the river. then Bhageeratha continued
his penance about sage Jahnu. the sage felt pity at his cause and released
Ganga through his ear. thus Ganga was born again through Jahnu and was
called Jahnavi. When the sage left her at Bindusar, she divided herself into
seven branches. Among them, Hladini, Pavani and Nalini flowed towards
the east, suchakshupa, sita and sindhu towards the west and the seventh
and final branch Bhageerathi (on the name of Bhageeratha) flowed after
Bhageeratha to the nether world. Bhageeratha directed Ganga’s course
through earth and nether world to the exact spot where the ash-heaps of
his great grand fathers lay. As the pious waters of the river flowed over
the heaps, they turned into hazy forms of manes and ascended to heaven.”
sita heard the story of Ganga with rapt attention.
When Rama’s dear friend and the local tribal king Guha announced
that the canoe was ready to cross the river, sita, Rama and Lakshmana got
onto it. As the canoe reached the centre of the river, sita prayed, “o, river
goddess Ganga, ensure our safety during the fourteen years of our exile in
the woods. Then I will appease you with the sacrifices of animals and feast
to Vedic brahmins.”
As the canoe reached the western banks of the river Ganga, Rama said
to Lakshmana,”brother, hereafter we should guard sita carefully. You walk
first and I will follow you. Sita will be in our midst.”
towards evening, sita, Rama and Lakshmana reached a forest near
Vatsa kingdom. sita brought them water in banyan leaf cups. Rama and
Lakshmana offered oblations to the setting sun, while sita stood behind
them.
Later, Lakshmana hunted a buffalow, stag and a porcupine and fried
them. they ate the fried meat and slept till morning.
Rama and Lakshmana again offered oblations to the rising sun and
began their long walk with Sita in their midst towards the confluence of
Yamuna. they reached sage Bharadwaja’s ashram towards sun set.
they prostrated before the sage and Rama introduced himself, his wife
and brother and explained the purpose of their exile. “Rama,” the sage said
kindly, “You can construct an ashram in these surroundings and complete
your exile. It is an ideal place.”
But Rama declined politely,”o great sage,” Rama said,”the hamlets are
very near to this place. People who love me come here in large numbers
and pressurise me return to Ayodhya. Hence tell me a place where we can
live in peace for fourteen years.”
the sage Bharadwaja embraced Rama and Lakshmana as if they were
his own children and explained in detail the topography to a place called
Chitrakoot, a beautiful place. He offered them ripe fruits to eat and his
disciples made beds for the three to sleep that night.
the next day morning Rama, sita and Lakshmana took leave of the
sage and proceeded towards Chitrakoot. When they reached the river
Yamuna, Lakshmana made a raft with bamboo sticks and spread thick
foliage as a cushion seat for sita to sit. Rama took hold of sita’s hand and
helped her to get onto the raft. Rama sat next to her. Lakshmana paddled
the raft. As the raft reached the middle of the river, here also sita prayed
the river goddess to make their journey safe. she promised animals and
pots of liquor as sacrifice to the goddess. They travelled thus for two days
with a night’s intermission and reached Chitrakoot.
16. Bharata Begs rama to return
At Chitrakoot they went to Valmiki’s Ashram and offered their
respects. the sage showed them a beautiful place at a distance to construct
an ashram.
Lakshmana began constructing an ashram early in the morning with
bamboo poles and dried grass and completed the construction towards
noon. Then he hunted a deer. Rama offered animal sacrifice and performed
Vedic rituals to appease the gods and warmed milk in the ashram with sita.
Sita liked Chitrakoot very much. The Mandakini river flows softly. The
blue mountains seem to touch the sky. the trees are lined up in the folds
of the mountains. Birds excel with one another in singing sweetly on the
branches. the trees of Jamun and jack fruit bend with the weight of fruits.
the celestials like Vidyadharas while away their time in the naturally
formed gardens on the high mountains. seetha grew poetic when she
described to Rama how best she liked the environ. Rama agreed with her
and said that he too liked the beauty of nature there. He said that he was
loth to leave Chitrakoot even after the exile was over. He also proposed
a short walk on the white sands of the river. After walking for sometime,
they bathed in the water. Drying themselves, they climbed a nearby hillock.
they sat on a boulder. When Lakshmana served them fried bits of meat,
Rama asked Sita to taste them first. Sita said they were very tasty. Then
Rama and Lakshmana also ate them.
While they were thus whiling away their time, suddenly a thick layer of
dust obliterated their vision to the flora and fauna of the place. They could
not see anything clearly. Rama said to Lakshmana: brother, a great king
must have come to the forest for hunting. Look who they are.
Lakshmana climbed up the top branch of a nearby tree and saw a huge
army of elephants, horses and infantry. He got down the tree and came to
Rama, “Brother, it is a large army. It must be Bharata with his soldiers who
wanted to kill us and make his kingdom safe. Let sister seetha hide herself
in the cave. Let’s both start on defensive war and kill Bharata.
Rama laughed at Lakshmana’s outbursts. He said, “brother, don’t
get emotional. Let’s wait and see. Bharata must be coming over here to
console us. I do not think Bharata visits this place with any evil intention.
Anyway, if you claim the kingdom, tell me, I will ask Bharata to donate it
to you. He will definitely honour my word.
Lakshmana bent his head in shame at Rama’s gentle rebuke.
Rama saw at a distance two white horses in front of a caparisoned
elephant used by his father Dasaratha. But strangely Dasaratha’s white flag
on the elephant was missing. He told Lakshmana the same and expressed
his unconfirmed fears that their father might have fallen ill.
shortly, the army stopped at a distance. Bharata walked forth unarmed.
Kausalya, sumitra Kaikeya, the royal preceptor Vasishta and saint Jabali
accompanied him. Rama wept like a child when he saw his brothers
Bharata and satrughna and three mothers. When Kausalya and sumitra
hugged Rama and sita and enquired their welfare, Kaikeya stood at a
distance with a guilty look on her face. Rama bowed to her also and said
that he bore no ill will against her. she also expressed the same warm
sentiment towards him and begged him to come back and be coronated the
king of Kosala in place of her son Bharata.
But Rama brushed aside her request gently and said firmly that he
would honour his commitment to his father and live in the forest for the
prescribed period. then Bharata implored, “Brother, my mother Kaikeyi is
very sorry at what she had done. she has already paid the price for her evil
deed. Father is no more. He died of shock. Please come back and claim
the throne. You will have to perform father’s obsequies as the eldest son.”
on hearing the tragic news, Rama, Lakshmana and seetha fell down
like trees that were axed and cried, “Ha, father,”
the three mothers-in-law clung to seetha and sobbed; they narrated
how life ebbed out of the king gradually.
Wiping the tears Rama ordered Lakshmana to make preparations for
the king’s obsequies.
As soon as the preparations were over, Rama, Lakshmana, seetha, the
three mothers, Vasishta and others went to river Mandakini and offered
libations to the departed soul of the king. towards noon they returned to
the ashram. then Bharata again broached the subject of Rama’s return to
Ayodhya.
But Rama declined saying, “no, Bharata, as a dutiful son of the Ikshvaku
dynasty, I must fulfill the promise I gave to father.”
now Vasishta intervened. He said, “Rama, right from Mareechi to
Ikshvaku only the eldest son claimed the throne. Even Aja and your father
Dasaratha claimed the throne being the eldest of the royal family. now
you are expected to continue that lineage.”
But Rama was firm in his commitment.
then entered saint Jabali who was a known atheist at king Dasaratha’s
court. He argued that father, mother and brother are relations only as long
as they existed. since Dasaratha is no more, the word given to him need
not be honoured.”
Rama spoke, “my word is final and I will not enter Kosala kingdom
until after fourteen years.” Bharata as a last resort ordered his men to
prepare a seat of grass and declared that he would observe fast unto death
if Rama did not go back to Ayodhya along with them. He also enlisted the
supported of the courtiers, royal officials and the people to request Rama
on his behalf.
Rama said in sonorous voice, “Dear citizens! I beg of you to let me
honour my father’s wish and complete the exile in the forest for the
prescribed time. I request you one and all to accept my brother Bharata as
king in my absence. I will definitely come back when my vow was over.”
“Let Rama complete his vow” all the citizens said in unison.
Bharata, unable to break Rama’s resolve, bowed to him. He took
Rama’s wooden sandals and declared that he would rule over the kingdom
as his deputy.
Rama, Lakshmana and seetha watched the three mothers, Bharata and
the army completely disappear from their view.
17. anasuya Blesses seetha
sita, Rama and Lakshmana were making the best of their exile in the
sylvan surroundings of the Chitrakoot, bathing in the Mandakini waters
and watching the beauty of nature. While the times were thus going
happily, Rama noticed some sort of displeasure in the saints’ faces there.
Rama approached the head of the ashrams and said: o great one, has my
brother Lakshman or my wife seetha caused any disrespect or trouble to
you? I ask you this question, because I see an uneasy feeling in the saints
here.
the hermit smiled and said: Rama, we’re very happy to have you
around here. We’re anxious because we are afraid of Khara, the demon of
Janasthana who harasses the sages in the ashrams with his hordes. so we
are moving towards the ashram of saint Athri. You can follow us.”
Many saints left Chitrakoot. only a handful of them stayed behind.
Rama remembered the place where Bharata and others visited him. He
was reluctant to leave Chitrakoot. Yet he journeyed to sage Athri’s ashram
along with his wife and brother.
sage Athri extended warm welcome to Rama. Rama introduced
himself, his wife and his brother. In turn, the sage introduced his wife
Anasuya to seetha. “seetha,” Athri said, “my wife Anasuya is a pious,
old woman. she will tell you what is becoming and what is unbecoming
of a virtuous woman. Her virtuousness gave her great powers. once when
earth was parched due to famine, she flowed river Jahnavi there and the
land was lush green again.”
Anasuya seated seetha beside herself and requested her to narrate her
swayamvara (bride selecting her groom). Seetha’s cheeks bloomed roses
as she narrated how Rama aimed Lord siva’s bow and claimed her. she
also told about the demon king Ravana’s discomfiture with the bow and
how Rama saved him.
Anasuya was greatly pleased and gifted Seetha with flowers that would
not crumple and dress that would not get dirty. she complimented seetha
for following her husband like a shadow in his trial and tribulation.
they stayed in the ashram for the night. the next day morning when
they were preparing for their onward journey saint Athri said: Rama!
you’ll encounter cannibals in your onward journey. Be careful. Let seetha
walk between yourself and Lakshmana.”
Rama bowed to saint Athri and other venerable persons there and
walked forth.
18. rama kills Viraadha
suddenly a huge monster called Viraadha appeared in front of them.
He said, “You puny ascetics. What is this woman to you? Leave her to
me and run for your life. I am Viraadha, son of Sathahrada and Jaya.
Brahma gave me a boon that I would not be killed by any weapon.” He
caught hold of seetha in his grip and began to run. Rama lost his heart and
lamented that he was helpless to protect himself, seetha and Laskhmana.
But Lakshmana exhorted him saying that he could surely kill the demon;
he reminded him that he killled tathaka and subahu earlier. Lakshmana’s
encouraging words gave a boost to Rama’s valour. He chased Viraadha
and shot numerous arrows on him while Laskhmana supported his brother
with another shower of arrows. But Viraadha would not die. He shook the
arrows stuck in his body and they fell down like tiny sticks. now he left
seetha and caught hold of Rama and Lakshmana. He seated them on his
shoulders and tried to run. “o monster, don’t kill my husband and brotherin-
law. Release them and eat me till your belly swells” cried seetha.
Meanwhile Rama and Lakshmana cut Viraadha’s shoulders. Unable to
bear the excruciating pain, he released Rama and Laskhmana; he fell on
the ground and howled. Having realised that the demon would not die
of weapons, Rama told Laskhmana, “Brother, this monster will not die
of weapons. You dig a grave. We will bury him. only then he will die of
suffocation.”
When Rama called Lakshmana by name Viraadha realised that the
attackers were none but Rama and Lakshmana of Ikshvaku race. He said,
“Rama and Lakshmana! I was Thumbura in my previous birth. For some
lapse on my part Kubera cursed me to be born a demon. But he said that I
would be redeemed when attacked by two princes of Ikshvaku race. Please
bury me in a pit. Then I will regain my original form of Gandharwa.”
Viradha, buried deep in a grave, died and assumed his orginal form
of thumbura again. He blessed them and advised them to visit sage
sarabhanga’s ashram at a short distance.
When Rama saw a golden chariot and divine beings at sarabhanga’s
ashram from a distance, he said to Lakshmana “Brother, it seems that Lord
Indra is conversing with the saint in the ashram. I will go there and have
Indra’s vision. You wait here for a while.
But seeing Rama at a distance Indra disappeared with his retinue in his
chariot.
sage sarabhanga extended warm welcome to the three and said, “Rama,
god Indra has just now visited my ashram to take me to Brahmaloka. But
I have stopped to see you, your wife Seetha and brother Laskhmana. I will
give you all my divine power which I acquired through penance.”
But Rama politely declined. “o, great one, Bless me to achieve such
powers by myself.
sarabhanga nodded and said: Rama, stay here to night and leave for
sage sutheekshana’s ashram tomorrow. He will direct you to other sages
to live happily during your exile. Then he kindled fire by pouring holy
water on the floor and entered into the fire. His gross body was burnt and a
holy apparition rose up from the fire and sailed to the skies.
Rama, seetha and Laskhmana began their onward journey and reached
sage sutheekshana’s ashram. the ashram was picturesque with over
hanging green creepers and deers and antelopes darting in the vicinity. sage
sutheekthana who was drying his bark garments, saw them and welcomed
them. After the customary salutations were over, the sage said, “I am in
know of the things which happened from your thwarted coronation to your
visit to my ashram.”
the sage stopped for a while. He wanted to say something, but held
back.
Rama noticed it. He urged the sage to go on. the sage went on, “Rama,
have you seen the hillocks there? In fact they were not hillocks. They were
heaps of bones of saints, killed by man eating demons. they do not let
us live in peace and carry on with our holy rituals. Yore your father king
Dasaratha waged great wars against the demons and saved the sages. now
it is your turn to make the ashrams from river Mandakini to Pampa demon
free.”
Laying his right hand on the bow Rama said, “I pledge on my bow
that as a warrior of Ikshvaku race, I would protect the sages.” Sage
sutheekshana was glad to hear Rama’s assurance. Like sarabhanga, he
also offered his divine powers to Rama. Rama again declined and said that
he would earn them by himself through good deeds.
19. ten years as ten days
After taking leave of sutheekshana, Rama, seetha and Lakshmana
visited other saints in their ashrams and spent time as their guests. At some
ashrams they spent a few days and at some others they lived for years,
discoursing about philosophical issues. When Rama and Lakshmana were
locked in mind boggling arguments with the saintly scholars, seetha joined
the wives at the ashrams and heard with attention as they expounded to
her good wifely virtues. thus they spent ten years of their fourteen years
of exile happily. the long years seemed to them as if they were days.
one day Rama went to sage sutheekshana again and asked about the
way to sage Agasthya in the south. sage sutheekshana explained to Rama
the long and arduous journey to Agastya’s ashram.
seetha readied the bows, quivers of arrows and swords. she handed
them to Rama and Laskhmana.
The journey began. Seetha said slowly, “My lord! I may be pardoned
for my impudence, if I dare to give you a piece of advice.”
Rama smiled and said, “seetha! You will not speak anything which is
unbecoming of you. You are the daughter of king Janaka, an embodiment
of divine wisdom. As such, his daughter will speak befitting her nature.”
seetha continued, “Lord! yourself and your brother don the tree bark
robes of saints. Yet contrary to the nature of saints you vowed to kill the
demons in the forest and thus invite enmity with them. the demons in
the forest are not our enemies. then should you wage war against them
because you promised the saints so? Isn’t it the duty of the crowned prince
to protect the saints?”
Rama answered slowly but firmly, “My dear love! whether I am a
crowned prince or not, I do belong to warrior caste by birth. Hence it is
my duty to be the saviour of the good and punisher of the evil. even if a
conflict arises between justice and my duties to my wife, I prefer justice
only. We Ikshvaku princes are justice incarnate. Don’t you know it?”
Seetha said, “Pardon me my lord. Hope I haven’t angered you.”
Rama said, “not in the least. Your are right from the view point of a
wife. But let it not come in the way of justice. Anyway Your boldness
endears you to me even more. “
Agasthya’s ashrama was far away from sutheekshana’s and seetha and
Lakshmana found the journey very tedious. Rama noticed it. He said, “I
know an interesting story about saint Agasthya. Please listen to it so that
you both may not mind the weariness of the journey.” Rama began, “once
upon a time there lived two cannibalistic demons called Vatapi and Ilvala
who harassed the saints in the forests in many ways. they liked human
flesh especially the flesh of brahmins. Their modus operandi of eating the
brahmins was - Ilvala would go to a saint’s ashram and invite him to attend
to his father’s annual death ceremony. A saint should not reject such a pious
invitation. so the brahmin saints accepted the offer. When the ceremony
was over and it was time for dinner, Ilvala would kill and cook his brother
Vatapi into a delicious pudding. the unsuspecting brahmin would eat it.
Then Ilvala would call out loudly:”Vatapi come out.”
then Vatapi would cut the entrails of the brahmin and would emerge
out killing the guest instantly. then the demon brothers would congratulate
each other and eat the brahmin’s flesh. Vatapi had a boon that his body
would reunite even if it were cut into pieces.
Once Ilvala and Vatapi mistook sage Agasthya to be an ordinary priest
and played on him the same trick.
After the dinner was over, Ilvala called out,”Vatapi come out,” But
Vatapi did not come out.
Agasthya smiled and said,”My dear host, your brother Vatapi has
already been digested in my stomach.”
Ilvala burst into a rage, “you cheat, you’ve killed my brother!” he
advanced towards Agasthya manacingly.
But Agasthya emitted fire through his eyes and Ilvala was reduced to
ashes.”
“one more story about the sage please,”said seetha.
Rama smiled and continued, “once the mountain of Vindhya in the
south became conceited. It began to increase its height dangerously, which
threatened the movement of the sun between the northern and southern
hemispheres. then the gods begged Agasthya for his intervention. then
the great sage stood before the mountain. Vindhya bowed its head low
in reverence to the sage. the sage asked Vindhya to remain in the same
posture till he returned from the south. And the sage remained in the
south for ever.” the narration was over and Rama, seetha and Laskhmana
approached the vicinity of Agasthya’s ashrama.
Rama sent word through a disciple of the saint about their arrival. sage
Agasthya came out with his disciples and accorded them warm welcome.
“Rama,”the sage said, I have been awaiting your arrival. Please come in.”
the three spent a day there and before they left the ashram the next
morning, Agasthya gave Rama a diamong studded bow and a quiver of
inexhaustible arrows and a sword. “Rama”he said, “these weapons were
made by Viswakarma, the divine creator. Lord Vishnu slew demons with
this bow and sword and handed it over to Indra to preserved it. But Indra
gave them to me. Be as great as Indra and slay the demons with these
weapons.”
Rama accepted the weapons with gratitude and said, “o revered one,
Please indicate a good place where we can complete the remaining four
years of our exile.”
“Rama, you can live in our ashram”the sage said, “demons will not
disturb you as long as I live here.”
Rama rejected the invitation and said,”Sir, I have a promise to fulfill. I
have to free the Dandaka forest of the demons.”
Agasthya nodded and replied,”there is a beautiful place called
Panchavati abutting river Godavari at a distance. You three can live there
peacefully.”
Rama took leave of the sage and the three resumed their journey.
on way, they saw a huge bird perched on the branch of a tree. Rama
mistook the bird to be a demon and asked it in an angry tone who it was.
But the bird replied in a friendly tone, “Prince Rama, My name is
Jatayu. I am your father’s close friend. Know me as the brother of Sampati
and son of Aruna, the god of dawn and charioteer of the sun. I will be
flying in the vicinity and protect Seetha when your good self and your
brother Lakshmana go for hunting.”
Rama thanked Jatayu and resumed his journey.
20. PanChaVati
Rama, Seetha and Lakshmana reached Panchavati after a while. It
was the season of spring and the creepers entwined to large trees were in
full bloom. The ponds were beautiful with lotus flowers. The peacocks
wandered here and there on the grassy land. Caves and mountains lent
peculiar charm to the place. Yonder flows river Godavari.
Rama chose an ideal place for their abode. He said to Lakshmana,
“Brother, build an ashram here for us to live.”
Lakshmana nodded. He cut bamboo poles and gathered dried grass. He
dug earth and mixed it into a hard paste with water. towards noon he raised
mud walls and arranged the bamboo poles on them in squares. He spread
dried grass over them and towards evening he completed construction of
the ashram.
Then he brought water from river Godavari and plucked flowers from
the nearby plants. He offered libations to the divine builder Viswakarma
and other gods; then he invited Rama and seetha to step into their new
ashram.
Rama was wonder-struck at Lakshmana’s workmanship. He praised his
brother profusely and declared he was very fortunate to be blessed with a
brother like him.
the wheel of time turned a full circle. the spring, summer and rainy
seasons were over yielding place to winter. Rama, seetha and Lakshmana
used to get up early in the morning and go to the river Godavari for bath.
on one such morning Lakshmana grew poetic and sentimental. He said to
Rama, “Brother, see how layers of snow envelops the green earth. It is so
cold that I am afraid to get into the water of Godavari and bathe. Udders
of the cows well up with warm milk and the children are happy to drink it.
The paddy and the wheat grown high in the fields seem to dance in rhythm
to the wind. The birds go in flight in search of food as it is already dawn.
the elephant which put its trunk in the waters to drink, withdrew as it the
cold was biting.”
Rama laughed:” Lakshmana, now I see a good poet in you.”
Lakshmana took the compliment but did not reply.
Rama continued, “As you are shivering here in the biting cold, Bharata
must be experiencing the same winter while he bathes in the river sarayu.”
When Rama spoke about Bharata lovingly, Lakshmana remembered
Kaikeyi. He blurted, “of course Bharata is great but how come that he was
born to such a wicked woman as Kaikeyi?”
But Rama admonished him gently,”Brother, praise Bharata as much as
you can. But let’s not say a harsh word about mother Kaikeyi. the will of
God made her act so.”
Conversing thus with one another, they bathed in river Godavari and
returned to their ashram. In the luke warm sun, Rama and Lakshmana
were narrating their happy, childhood days at Ayodhya, while seetha gave
them an attentive ear.
21. surPanakha entiCes
spoiling the beautiful atmosphere, a woman of middle age, with
protruding paunch, leering eyes, matted, copper coloured hair appeared
there. The moment she saw Rama she fell for his handsome figure. She
asked him who he was.
Rama introduced himself, his wife and his brother and told her the
purpose of their exile in the forest. then he asked,”o most beautiful
woman, who are you? What brings you to this part of the forest where cruel
animals roam.” though she was repulsive to look at, Rama addressed her
as the most beautiful one, out of humour.
But the woman, unable to grasp that Rama teased her, was pleased
about the compliment. She told about herself majestically. “ I am
surpanakha, sister of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibheeshana, who were
sons of Viswavas. Khara and Dushana who protect Janasthana, near here
are also my brothers. I can assume any form I like. I can turn myself into
a beautiful woman in a trice.” she changed herself into a pretty girl who
made even seetha envious of her.
Surpanakha said, “I have fallen in love with you the moment I saw you.
Let us marry. Don’t hesitate about the woman whom you call your wife. I
will eat her up in a trice.”
But Rama, in a mood of teasing her even more, said,”My dear beauty
incarnate, there is my younger brother who is more handsome than I am.
Moreover he is a single soul. Ask him to marry you. He will definitely
marry you.”
still unable to understand that Rama was playing mischief, she went
to Lakshmana and expressed her desire to be united with him. Lakshmana
also wanted to act his bit in the same vein. so he said, “o gracious lady,
I am a servant of Rama. If you marry me you will be reduced to the level
of a servant’s wife. so go back to Rama and tell him of your deep love to
him. He will consent to marry you because his wife seetha is the ugliest
woman.”
Surpanakha again went to Rama and told him decisively,”Now I will
eat up this ugly woman so that you can marry me without any hassle.” she
changed herself into a huge demoness and tried to grasp seetha by her
neck. But Rama intervened in time and called out to Lakshmana to drive
soorpanakha away.
Lakshmana in one long stride reached surpanakha. He took out the
dagger from his waist and maimed her nose and ears.”Get lost, you
demoness,” he said and pushed her away.
seetha who watched the entire episode with concern, was angry with
Rama and Laskhmana. she said to Rama,”You should have told her that
you would not marry her. then she would have gone away. But youself
and Lakshmana played pranks on her and maimed her. Now, I am afraid
that she will bring her kinsmen to retaliate. Of course, I have faith in your
valour. But will the impending blood-shed and many more dreadful things
which may happen, be necessary?”
Rama drew her close. “Don’t worry my love” he said,”events will
pattern themselves according to God’s dictates.”
22. surPanakha retaliates
no sooner had Rama spoken to seetha than he heard the sounds of
the hooves and neighs of horses and saw a thick layer of dust which
enveloped Panchavati. soon Rama saw fourteen demon warriors ready to
close in on him. Among them was surpanakha mounted on a horse, still
bleeding at her nose. Rama asked Laskhmana to take care of himself and
seetha while he fought the demons. He donned his armour and twanged
his stringed bow, the sound of which reverberated in the surroundings.
suranakha indicated Rama and Lakshmana and told them that they
were the culprits.
Rama said, “I am Rama. I am living in exile with my wife Seetha and
brother Lakshmana. We had to teach surpanakha a lesson as she disturbed
our peace. Please go away. Or else I have to teach a lesson to all of you to
enable the sages in the dandaka forest to carry on their spiritual activities
in peace.”
the demon warriors laughed and replied, “We are fourteen but
you are just a single ascetic with a bow. Moreover, we are long experienced
in many battles. Tell us your last wish. We will fulfill it and finish you
off.”
But Rama did not reply. He stepped back a little and shot fourteen
arrows simultaneously which broke their spears. Before they raised their
swords from their scabbards, Rama sent another volley of arrows which
killed the fourteen warriors immediately.
seetha and Lakshmana were all praise for Rama when the demons were
killed and Surpanakha fled. But the happiness was short lived. Within an
hour surpanakha appeared on the scene again, this time with her brothers
Khara and Dushana with a large army. on seeing them Rama thought that
this was going to be a decisive battle. He ordered Lakshmana and seetha
to take shelter in a cave at a distance. He again wore his coat of mail,
readied his sword in the sheath and dangled the bow on his left shoulder.
He thought that it was futile to warn Khara and Dushana. He sensed
their war mood and readied himself for the battle. shooting arrows in a
volley, he turned full circle. Hence many warriors of the army fell being
hit by powerful arrows from all directions. The battle field was strewn
with decapitated heads, severed limbs and pieces of bows and swords. the
surviving few soldiers hid behind Khara, the commander-in-chief of the
army. As most of his soldiers were killed, Dushana charged towards Rama.
then Rama shot Gandharwa asthra which made the area totally dark. He
broke Khara’s bow, killed his charioteer and destroyed the chariot; he shot
arrows in a flash which killed Dushana.
As Dushana was killed, twelve of his trusted warriors - shyenagama,
Pruthugreeva, Vihangama, Durjaya, Karaveeraksha, Parusha, Kalakarmuka,
Homamali, Mahamali, sarpasya, Rudhirasena, Yajna sathru charged
towards Rama but Rama killed them all. then Khara was prepared for a
duel with Rama. But his general trishirasa prevented him and vowed that
he would kill Rama or he would die a valiant’s death at Rama’s hand. He
fought Rama like a tiger would deal with an enraged lion. trishirasa shot
three arrows which bled Rama at his forehead. then Rama was enraged
and shot a powerful arrow which decapitated trishirasa’s head.
then Khara came face to face with Rama. Rama said to him:” Khara,
you have gathered so much sin by killing many harmless saints. now you
will have to reap the fruits of your sins.” Rama shot Indradatta asthra
which instantly killed Khara.
the entire battle lasted an hour. When the clanging sounds of the
weapons and war cries were heard no more, seetha and Lakshmana came
out of the cave. seetha clung to Rama. Rama stripped his armour and
seetha was alarmed at the wounds on his chest and belly through which
blood still oozed. Lakshmana brought some medicinal leaves and seetha
made a paste of the leaves and applied it on the wounds which gave
soothing effect to Rama.
23. the golden stag
On a fine sunny morning Seetha was gathering flowers near the
ashram. Suddenly she sighted a beautiful stag with golden hues. Its horns
seemed studded with diamonds. Its long body bore the brilliant colours
of the rainbow. While it yawned its tongue seemed like a flash in clouds.
seetha bewitched by the stag’s matchless beauty, called out to Rama and
Lakshmana. When they both came out of the ashram, seetha indicated the
stag and begged them to get it for her. Rama was also captivated by the
stag. But Lakshmana was cautious. He said, “Brother, it’s not an ordinary
stag. It must be a demon, most probably Mareecha in disguise. He is
notorious for such deceits. He was known to assume an animal’s form and
entirce kings deep into the forest who came for hunting. then he assumed
his original demonic form and devoured them.
“But Lakshmana,”Rama reasoned,”if the stag were a demon, I will
punish him as sage Agasthya did Vatapi. It is the duty of a king who
protects dharma. If he were a harmless stag, I will catch it and present it to
Seetha. Meanwhile you stand guard on Seetha. Don’t leave her till I return
with the stag. Go and get my bow and quiver of arrows.”
Lakshmana handed over the bow silently. Yet he had his misgivings.
Rama walked after the stag in long strides to catch it. But the stag
eluded him. now Rama began to run after it through bushes. soon he was
out of sight of seetha and Lakshmana.
At the ashram seetha was anxious for Rama’s speedy return with the
stag. Lakshmana, though outwardly looked composed, prayed for Rama’s
safety.
Within a few minutes seetha and Lakshmana heard Rama cry,”Ah,
seetha, Ah, Lakshmana”
seetha was alarmed at the cries. “Lakshmana,”go at once and rescue
your brother. He must be in great danger.”
But Lakshmana did not stir.”Sister” he said, “don’t worry. It was not
Rama’s cry. It was just an imitation by the stag-demon to mislead us.”
But seetha was not convinced. she began to cry and begged Laskhmana
to go and save Rama’s life who might be in great danger.
Lakshmana assured her that even gods could not defeat Rama in battles.
then how could demons even challenge Rama?”
Seetha stopped crying and looked at her brother-in-law glaringly. “If
you don’t go to Rama’s rescue immediately, I presume that you have an
evil design on me. Know that I prefer death to yield to your desire. In the
guise of serving Rama you were actually waiting for an opportunity like
this.”
Lakshmana plugged his ears with his fore fingers as he was unable to
hear her accusation. “Sister”he said,”let this be the first and last time I
disobey Rama’s order.” He uttered a vedic mantra and drew a line around
the ashram with his arrow. “Don’t cross the line under any circumstances”he
said again and moved in the direction in which Rama went.
Ravana, in the guise of a mendicant ascetic, was waiting exactly for this
opportunity. As Lakshmana moved away in search of Rama, he stepped in.
He approached the ashram and cried aloud,”Alms please,”
seetha, standing on the pyol of the ashram answered,”o revered one,
my husband and my brother-in-law went to bring food. they will be back
shortly. Meanwhile accept these fruits”
Ravana nodded and walked forth, but held back by the blazing fire
emanating from the line drawn by Lakshmana. so he stood well outside
the line and took a good look of her. He said,”o most beautiful one, who
are you? I’ve not seen such a beautiful woman as you on earth, heaven and
the nether world.”
seetha was taken aback at the manner in which the ascetic addressed
her, because an ascetic generally calls young women as mother. “May be
the ascetic was a poet or an artist before he took to holy path.”she reasoned
to herself. Yet she calmly introduced herself and the purpose of Rama’s
exile into the forest. As per Lakshmana’s dictates she stood well within the
line and offered the fruits to the ascetic.
But the ascetic that is Ravana demanded that seetha cross the line and
put the fruits in his bag, tied to his waist. seetha hesitated for a while and
then crossed the line. then Ravana in the guise of an ascetic till then,
showed his real form. He put her on his shoulder like a bag and moved
to his aerial car, parked behind the trees. Pinning her down firmly in the
car, he introduced himself as Ravana, king of Lanka, whom even the gods
including Indra could not vanquish.
When seetha called out for Rama and Lakshmana, Ravana said, “don’t
be a fool. Maricha must have killed Rama by now. Lakshmana, single
handed dare not challenge me. even if Rama is alive, he is no match for
me in battle. Go with me to Lanka and enjoy all the splendour which I
possess. You will be my prime queen”
“You villain,”seetha said, “you are neither a man nor a warrior. that
is why you steal and carry away the wife of a warrior when he was not at
home. only if you stay for a while at our ashram, Rama will come and see
your end.” thus wailing over her plight, seetha called for help from gods
of the forest . she begged the birds and beasts also to save her.
24. Jatayu Falls
Jatayu, who was having a nap on the branch of a tree heard the cry
and raised his head to see who it was. It didn’t take him long to recognise
Seetha and Ravana. He flapped his wide wings and flew into the skies. He
accosted Ravana.”Ravana” he said, I am Jatayu, the king of birds. You’re
an illustrious king and great grand son of Brahma, the creator. As such you
should not stoop so low as to abduct Rama, the warrior’s wife. Please let
he go. otherwise you will have to taste my prowess.”
But Ravana dismissed him and tried to drive his arial car forward.
then Jatayu attacked Ravana with his talons and beak. He tore away large
chunks of flesh from his body.
Ravana realised that in unarmed combat, he was no match to Jatayu.
Then in a flash he raised his sword from its sheath and cut Jatayu’s wings
and talons.
Jatayu, fell on the ground like an uprooted tree in a cyclone
Ravana with seetha as his captive in the arial car, crossed many
kingdoms, forests and oceans and finally arrived in Lanka, his kingdom.
there he stationed her in a palatial building and left to attend to the state
craft for sometime. When Ravana returned to the building, he thought that
seetha would have changed her mind by then. But to his surprise, she
was still crying. Like a lamb in the company of tigers, she was trembling
all over her body. the woman servants were trying their best to make
seetha love the king. then Ravana summoned the aircraft which he seized
from his half brother Kubera after vanquishing him. He forced seetha
again into the aircraft and made an aerial round with her. He showed her
the wonderful objects and riches which he got after defeating the kings
of the three worlds. He showed her beautful gardens interspersed with
diamond studded buildings. the fountains which emitted colourful waters
were of special attraction in the gardens. Ravana thought that seetha was
captivated by what he showed. But she was not. Her crying did not abate.
Ravana said,”seetha it’s time you forgot Rama and began loving me.” He
bowed before her and continued,” my army is in large numbers. I have
countless beautiful wives who will serve you, the moment you consent
to marry me. You may think that Rama will come to your rescue. But
it’s impossible. no person except me can cross the vast southern ocean.
Anyway, Maricha might have killed him. I am an invincible warrior; yet
I bow my head before you. Please love me, marry me. Among the eight
forms of marriage, marriage by force is accepted by tradition. Hence don’t
hesitate to marry me. Please love me”he said once again and bowed his
head before her.
But seetha was not moved by his importunations.. she put a blade of
grass between herself and Ravana. she said,”Rama and only Rama is my
husband, not only in this birth, but in the births to come. It is certain that
Rama and his brother Lakshmana will invade your Lanka and destroy you.
only if Rama twanged his bow, the galaxies would come down to earth
and bow before him. only if he shot an arrow, it has the power to dry the
ocean. the army which you boast of, will be of no use because Rama will
destroy it to the last soldier with a single arrow. Rama will definitely see
your end. Don’t dream that I would yield to you. Even if you threaten to
cut my body into pieces my resolve will not break.”
When seetha stopped speaking and turned her face away in disdain,
Ravana said, “Seetha, I give you twelve months time to change your mind
and love me. If you are adamant still, you will be sent to the royal kitchen,
where you will be cooked and served as breakfast to me.” then he turned
to the demonesses. “sing my glory to her and try to change her mind.”
then they led seetha to the Asoka garden.
25. raVana threatens seetha again
ten months passed out of the twelve months time which Ravana had
set to seetha to give her consent to become his queen. He hoped that
seetha would yield to him eventually. that sombre night was worn out and
gave way to twilight, Ravana woke up to the vedic recitations of Brahma
Rakshasas. He finished his morning ablutions and walked to the Asoka
garden with his retinue.
seetha trembled all over her body as she saw the demon king. then
Ravana said,”Seetha, fear not, love me and marry me. It wont take me a
trice to marry you by force. But I expect you to love me. Don’t be obstinate.
If you become my prime queen, the entire Lanka with all its wealth will
be yours.”
“Know my prowess. If I enter the battle field with sword and bow
in my hand, the entire area will be littered with the bodies of the dead
warriors, dismembered horses and broken chariots. the entire war zone
floods with streams of blood. Even demigods are not a match to my valour.
stop thinking of Rama and begin to love me. My entire kingdom is at your
feet.”
seetha was silent for a while. Ravana mistook her silence for acceptance
of his proposal. But he was wrong. seetha thought that Ravana might
change his mind and hand her over to Rama if she offered him counsel.
She began with that faint ray of hope, “I heard that you were an ideal king.
Hence you have to protect other men’s wives as you do your own wives.
So it does not behove of you to steal Rama’s wife. If a virtuous king falls
in love with somebody else’s wife, his own wife does the same. then the
his subjects and people go astray, following the path of their king. so, send
me back to Rama with all the royal honours befitting a princess.”
But Ravana was adamant as lust enveloped him. “seetha’, he said,
“enough of your pseudo moralising. You’re left with two more months to
yield to me. otherwise be prepared to become my breakfast.”
Dhyanamali, one of Ravana’s wives put her hand round his shoulder
and said,”my lord, seetha is a woman of low birth. she is not destined
to become your wife and enjoy your wealth, which you seized after
conquering the three worlds. Love me with all your heart and be loved by
me.”
Ravana once again warned seetha and turned back.
Ravana’s maids Durmukhi, ekakshi, simhamukhi, Hastakarni and
others tried their best in vain to make seetha love Ravana. Durmukhi
said,” Ravana is a direct descendent of Brahma, the creator Himself. If he
casts an angry look, the wind will stop blowing and summer will turn into
winter out of fear. He is so powerful. You must be fortunate that he loved
you. Love Ravana or die.” When the demonesses were thus threatening
Seetha, Trijata, Ravana’s niece said, “It’s time for lunch. you all go. I’ll
stand guard over her till all of you come back.”
After all the demonesses had gone for lunch, Trijata confided in
Seetha. “Seetha,” she said. “I have four dreams. In one of my dreams,
Rama and Lakshmana rode a white elephant in the sky with you.You were
comfortably seated on Rama’s lap.
But contrary to this, Ravana, naked and smeared with foul smelling oil
rode a donkey. Uttering foul words, he fell down and was dragged away by
a woman. My dreams foretell of Rama’s victory and your rescue.” seetha
was happy at trijata’s dreams.
26. hanuman sights seetha
seetha fell into thoughts. she suddenly remembered that ten months
had already elapsed out of the twelve months time Ravana gave her to
yield. she was afraid that Ravana would send her to the royal kitchen to
be cooked and served as dinner to him after the expiry of the time. she
thought of Rama and Lakshmana. “It was foolish of me to have suspected
Lakshmana’s brotherly love to me and spoken harsh words to him. Had
I not sent him in search of my lord Rama, Ravana would not have dared
abduct me. What would Rama do after his exile is over? Does he take
another woman and be happy? Or would he try to find me? Alas, even if
he found me, it would be impossible for him to cross the vast ocean, kill
Ravana and rescue me.” she wanted to kill herself. But she was sorry she
did not have a dagger on her person to end her life. then she thought of
her long tresses of hair.
“I will strangulate myself with my hair” she thought. But, when she
was about to tie her neck with the strands of her hair, suddenly she heard
from the foliage of the tree, “Ram, Ram.” Just then her left eye and left
shoulder trembled as in good omen. she looked up and saw a monkey
perched on a branch. At first Seetha was afraid that the monkey was a
demon in disguise sent by Ravana. Yet she correlated the good omen with
the vision of the monkey. she said, “Are you a real monkey or a demon
in the shape of an ape?”
the monkey that was Hanuman, climbed down the tree and stood at a
respectful distance to her. He did not answer her question. He wanted to
make doubly sure that she was none but seetha. so he said, “Mother, who
are you? Are you Rohini the consort of the moon-god who descended on
earth in a love-tiff? or, are you Arundhati, wife of sage Vasishta who left
him in anger? the radiance of your body tells that you are not a common
woman. even if you were not a celestial woman, you must be a princess
in distress.”
Seetha answered her eyes flooding with tears, “I am the daughter-in
law of king Dasaratha of Kosala, and the beloved daughter of Janaka of
Videha. I am Rama’s wife. My name is Seetha. I lived with my husband
Rama for twelve years happily. on a fateful day my step mother-in-law
Kaikeyi wanted her son Bharata be crowned king instead of Rama. not
only that! she also insisted that my husband should leave the kingdom and
live in exile in the forest for fourteen years. When Rama readied himself to
leave for forest, I followed him. Then my brother-in-law Lakshmana also
followed us. While we thus lived in the Dandaka forest, the demon king
Ravana abducted me. now tell me, who are you? What is your business
here?”
“I am Hunuman, the minister of Sugriva, younger brother of Vali the
great warrior. Rama and Lakshmana in their exile reached Rishyamuka
mountain. There I effected friendship between Rama and my king Sugriva.
Rama promised to kill Vali for his misdeeds and make sugriva king of
Kishkindha. In return Sugriva promised to restore you to Rama. At the
behest of your lord Rama, my king sugriva sent hundreds of monkeys and
bears to the four corners of the world in search of you. Mother, if you still
doubt that I am a demon in disguise, here is Rama’s signet ring.” Hanuman
gave the ring to her, which she pressed to her eyes thrice in devotion and
love.
seetha was happy at what Hanuman had said. But she was doubtful
whether Rama could cross the ocean and encounter the huge army of
Ravana.
Hanuman read her thoughts. He said, “there are hundreds of thousands
of monkeys and bears stronger than I am. They will assist Rama and
Lakshmana in their battle against Ravana. Or you can sit on my back. I
will safely take you back to Rama at Rishyamuka.”
seetha, despite her sad mood, laughed and said,”You’re a tiny monkey.
How is it possible for you to carry me on your back?”
“Mother, see my macro form” he said and increased his body to the size
of a huge mountain. “I can change my size and appearance at will. Are you
convinced now?”
“Well my dear son”seetha said, “if you carry me on your back, the
demons will be after you. When you are engaged in fighting them, I may
slip from your back and fall into the ocean. then your noble purpose will
be futile. then Rama will go mad out of shock. Hence ask Rama and
Lakshmana to go over here with the army of your monkeys and bears, kill
Ravana and rescue me. Please caution Rama that only two more months
are left for him to kill Ravana and save me. otherwise Ravana would kill
me for not yielding to him.”
“Yes mother,” Hanuman said, “I will be back with Rama and Lakshmana
within time to kill Ravana and rescue you. Meanwhile promise me not to
do any untoward thing that may end your life.”
“No son,”Seetha said in a glad tone, “I will not do such a stupid thing
again. “I will live in Rama’s thoughts until I see him.”
“Well mother,”Hanuman said, “I will meet Ravana and counsel him to
restore you to Rama. If he does not heed to my counseling, he will meet
his end at Rama’s hand. Meet you again, mother.”
the next day Hanuman met seetha again. “Mother,” he said, “Being a
monkey, I could not have access to Ravana. Hence to meet him by attracting
his attention, I destroyed part of this Asoka garden. When watch demons
resisted me I killed most of them. When the news reached Ravana, he sent
Jambumali, whom I killed. Then Ravana sent his minister’s sons. I put an
end to all of them. Again Ravana sent Virupaksha, Yupaksha, Durdhara,
Praghana and other commanders who were experienced in many battles
with the gods.
When I slew all of them, Ravana sent his sons Aksha and Indrajit one
by one. I killed Aksha. But I was willfully bound by the Brahmasastra shot
at me by Indrajit because I have a boon from Brahma that the asthra would
bind me for four fifths of an hour only. I thought that I could meet Ravana
this way, and I achieved my purpose. My counsel to Ravana became futile.
Instead, he ordered my tail to be set on fire. But the burning tail did not
cause me any pain because the fire god is a friend of my father the god
of wind. When my tail was aflame, I burned the palatial buildings of the
wicked ministers and commanders of Ravana. now it is time for me to
leave and bring back Rama and Lakshmana and our army.” Hanuman
stopped for a while and continued, “Mother, give me something as proof
of my meeting with you.”
seetha thought for a while. “son,”she said, “Here is my chudamani
(forehead ornament) which my mother gifted me at my wedding and which
my father-in-law Dasaratha adorned on my forehead. Also there are two
intimate things that happened between us. When we were in Chitrakoot,
one day we wandered till it was noon and were tired. I sat under a tree and
Rama rested his head on my lap and slept. then a crow demon pecked at
my breast time and again and it did not leave me though I hurled pebbles at
it. When the drops of blood from the bruise trickled down on Rama’s face,
it did not take him long to learn the that the crow was a demon. He was
very angry. He turned a blade of grass into Brahmasthra and shot it at the
crow. The crow flew to high heavens and beseeched Brahma and Siva to
save it. they pleaded their inability and advised it to seek Rama’s pardon.
since Brahmasthra should not go waste, the crow offered its right eye to
the asthra and saved its life.”
“on another occasion we had a long walk. Perspiration washed away
the vermillion dot on my forehead. then Rama drew me close to him and
smeared the red mineral in place of the vermillion dot.
“I think that Rama must have remembered these two incidents clearly.
Ask him to invade Lanka at the earliest and save me. Any delay on Rama’s
part will make me a delicious dish for Ravana’s breakfast.”
Hanuman made a deep bow to Seetha and took leave of her. He flew
high towards the sea.
27. sounds oF War drums make
seetha haPPy
It was nearly one and half months since Hanuman visited Seetha in
Lanka. seetha counted the days since her abduction and thought she was
left with barely two weeks to yield to Ravana or die being killed and
cooked by the demons. Being a woman of tender heart, she had half a mind
to doubt whether Rama and Lakshmana could cross the sea and come over
Lanka to rescue her. At the same time she reposed faith in Hanuman’s
words which assured her that Ravana’s death was certain at Rama’s hands.
Meanwhile, the demonesses were coercing her to yield to Ravana.
“seetha,”they said in unison,”accept Ravana as your lord and be his prime
queen or be prepared to become his food.”
suddenly the sounds of war drums were heard. the demonesses said
Rama, Lakshmana and their army of monkeys and bears were killed by
Ravana and the demon king and his army were celebrating the grand
event. Hence the sounds of the war drums.
Just as a coincident, Ravana arrived on the scene. He declared that he
had already killed Rama and now it was upto seetha whether to submit
to him or go to the royal kitchen to become his breakfast. He clapped
his hands and cried “Vidwatjihwa, bring Rama’s decapitated head and
his bow.” Vidwatjihwa reached there with Rama’s head still oozing blood
and his bow. on witnessing the gory scene, seetha swooned. When she
recovered her senses, she begged Ravana to kill her immediately. Before
Ravana could make a reply, a messenger came and said that his ministers
wanted his audience immediately. When Ravana left with his retinue, the
head of Rama and the bow also disappeared. As it was noon by now, all the
demonesses but trijata and sarama went for lunch. sarama, a good demon
whispered “seetha, the severed head of Rama and his bow were a magic
spell by Vidwatjihwa. that is why they disappeared as soon as he left with
Ravana. Believe me, Rama and Lakshmana are invincible. they will soon
come over here victorious and save you.”
seetha was happy now. the sounds of war drums were sweet to her
ears.
trijata was the only comfort for seetha since her abduction by Ravana.
trijata used to break the war news when the other demonesses went for
lunch. seetha was glad to hear from her that most of the kith and kin
of Ravana and a large part of his army were destroyed by Rama and
Lakshmana. trijata also said that now Ravana’s sole strength depended
on his only surviving son Indrajith, the invincible. In a day or two Rama
or Lakshmana was bound to kill him. then Ravana would eventually face
Rama and get killed and be done with for his wicked deeds. Ravana’s
brother Vibheeshana, who is also my father, is fighting the demons along
with Rama and Lakshmana.
When Trijata finished with her narration, Ravana came there and
said,”Trijata, my son Indrajith killed Rama and Lakshmana with his
invicible Brahmasthra. Both of them lay dead on the battle field. Take
seetha there in the aircraft to have a last glimpse of her slain husband.
then she will have no choice but to accept me. seetha was stunned
and broke into tears again. trijata said in a false cruel tone,”seetha,
get into the aircraft.” When seetha refused, trijata pushed her in and
commandeered the aircraft to the battle field. As the aircraft hovered
above, seetha shuddered to see heaps of severed heads and trunks which
lay on the ground. entrails and other dismembered organs were strewn
all over the place. Streams of blood flowed and some demon, monkey and
bear warriors were groaning and breathing their last. At a far off place in
the battle field, Rama and Lakshmana lay on the ground. On seeing them
Seetha broke into a loud cry. “Have I lived all these months only to see my
husband and my brother-in-law dead? the astrologers were wrong when
they said that I would be crowned queen of Ayodhya and later I would
become mother of two warrior sons. Ravana should have killed me earlier
and made me his meal so that I would have been spared of seeing my
Rama dead.”
While seetha was thus crying bitterely, trijata whispered to her,
“seetha, no widow can get into this celestial aircraft, which means that
Rama was not dead. Have a close look, Rama and Lakshmana were not
dead. they were just unconscious. that is why the light of life has not
left their faces. soon they will recover their senses and wage the ultimate
battle with Indrajit and Ravana.” Trijata’s words were a great solace to
seetha. Her spirits were cheered again.
The next day Trijata brought to Seetha the news of Indrajit’s death. She
said that Indrajit was killed in a fierce battle with Lakshmana.
Another day passed and there was no news of the progress of the battle.
But as if a bolt from the blue, Hanuman appeared before seetha.”Mother”
he said, “the war is over. Rama killed Ravana. now it is my business to kill
all these demonesses who have persecuted you all these months.”
seetha said,”no my son. they have just done their duty at the behest of
their king. now that their king is no more, they are quite harmless. now
they are not my enemies but friends.”
the demonesses wept out of joy as seetha saved their lives. they
touched her feet in reverence.
28. seetha Fire ProoVed
Hanuman said,”Mother, I have obtained Vibheeshana, the new king’s
permission to take you to Rama in a palanquin. the ladies here will bathe
you and dress you”
the demonesses who were a changed lot now, got seetha bathed in
scented water and dressed her in the choicest fineries.
Getting into the palanquin Seetha said, “Hanuman, I just do not know
how to reward you for all the troubles you have taken to rescue me.”
“Mother” Hanuman said, “everything is Rama’s grace. Your blessing
is a true reward to me.”
As the Monkey, bear and demon warriors and the citizens jostled to
have a glimpse of seetha, Rama heard the commotion from a distance and
understood the situation. He bade Hanuman to tell seetha to walk on the
ground to meet him.
When seetha saw Rama seated on a boulder, her bosom welled up
with various emotions. she remembered shyly when she garlanded him
at the bridegroom selection ceremony after he aimed the bow of siva
successfully. then she recalled into her memory the sweet times she had
with him in the woods before her abduction.
But Rama seemed quite unconcerned with her emotions. “seetha,”he
said,”don’t dream that I would accept you as my queen again. No prince
worth the name of his dynasty would accept back his wife who spent an
year with another man.
As a good prince of the warrior race, I avenged your abduction by
slaying Ravana. I have done this not for you, but to uphold the glory of my
dynasty. now my duty to rescue an abducted woman is over. You can go to
any place you like. or you can live in Lanka the remaining years of your
life. You are free to decide.”
“My lord,”seetha said,”you speak not like a noble prince but like a
common man in the street. Don’t you know that I always live in your
consciousness? Don’t you know that I never think about any other person
but you and you only. If Ravana caught hold of me by my hair and leg
and abducted me, it was not my fault. Even then I lived in your thoughts
calling you by your name to save me.
Knowing all this you conduct yourself in a shameful way. Your view
of me is jaundiced. So you cannot see my purity which is purer than fire
itself.” Having thus laid her heart bare before him, she broke into tears.
she controlled herself after a while and turned to Lakshmana,”brother,
fetch faggots and kindle fire.”
Rama did not say ‘no’ to seetha’s request. Lakshmana, Vibheeshana,
Hanuman and other important persons who were assembled there looked
at Rama in dismay. Rama looked away.
Lakshmana fetched faggots and kindled the fire.
Seetha circumambulated Rama and addressed Agni, the god of fire. “O
god of fire,”she said,”if I were pure and did not eye any other man, this fire
will not engulf me.” Saying so she jumped into the fire. But then, a wonder
of wonders happend. The lambent tongues of flame were transformed into
celestial figures. Lord Siva, Lord Brahma and the gods of eight directions
assembled in the flames of fire. Agni lifted Seetha who was intact in the
fire and placed her before Rama. “Rama,” Agni said, “Seetha is as pure as
I am. Please accept her.”
“Agni,”Rama said,” it is not that I do not know Seetha’s purity. But I
have pretended to be cruel to her to uphold her purity to the world.”
Lord siva spoke,”Rama, you are an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, You
were born as Rama to slay Ravana and uphold justice. seetha is none but
Lakshmi, your consort when you were Vishnu.”
“Lord Siva,” Rama said, “You said that I was Vishnu. But all I know is
that I am son of Dasaratha and of Ikshwaku race.”
then again siva and Brahma reminded Rama of his incarnation to put
an end to injustice.
Indra thanked Rama for slaying the demons and their king Ravana and
offered him any boon of his choice.
Rama asked Indra to make all the slain monkey and bear warriors live
again. Indra granted the boon.
When Rama said that it was time for him to leave for Ayodhya along
with his wife and brother, Vibheeshana got readied the Pushpaka Vimana,
which is a magic aircraft that can accommodate any number of people.
29. to ayodhya
Rama took seetha’s hand into his and emplaned her carefully. next
Lakshmana got into the aircraft. Rama took leave of Vibheeshana and
sugreeva and was about to sit in the aircraft. then Vibheeshana, sugreeva
and Hanuman expressed their wish to attend Rama’s coronation in
Ayodhya. Rama agreed and invited them into the aircraft along with the
monkey and bear warriors.
As the aircraft rose high into the skies Rama drew seetha close to him
and showed her the entire Lanka expanded on the trikutagiri mountain.
Rama said,”Seetha, this is the battle field. Here I have slain Ravana. Near
here I put an end to Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s younger brother. At a little
distant place Lakshmana killed Indrajit, son of Ravana. It is there where
Hanuma killed Akampana and Dhoomraksha. there lie the corpses of
Atikaya, Mahakaya, Kumbha, nikumbha and other demon warriors. now
we are crossing the ocean. It is where a causeway was built under the
leadership of Neela. This is Kishkindha. It is where I befriended Hanuma
and sugriva and killed Vali.”
seetha said,”my lord, let us invite tara and other wives of the monkey
and bear warriors to Ayodhya.”
then the aircraft was stopped at Kishkindha with sugreeva’s permission
and all the women folk there got into the plane.
When the aircraft was crossing Chitrakoot, Rama bade it stop at saint
Bharadwaja’s ashram.
Rama and seetha prostrated before the sage and inquired about the
welfare of Bharata and of the people of Kosala under his rule.
the sage replied, “Rama, your brother leads a saintly life in an ashram
at nandigram village near Ayodhya. He conducts the statecraft from there.
He is looking forward to your arrival.” the sage requested Rama, seetha
and Lakshmana to be his guests for the night to which Rama agreed.
Rama asked the sage to grant a boon to make all the trees on way to
Ayodhya bear sweet fruits. When the sage granted the boon, the monkey
and bear warriors began to satisfy their appetite with the fruits.
Rama turned to Hanuman and said, “Hanuman, fly post haste to
sringaberipur and inform Guha, my friend about our welfare and then
go to nandigram and brief Bharata what all had happend during my
exile into the forest including seetha’s abduction, Ravana’s slaying and
Vibheeshana’s coronation. tell him we all will be there shortly.”
Hanuman met Guha and then Bharata. By the time Hanuman had
finished with his briefing, the Pushpak aircraft landed there. As Rama,
Lakshmana and seetha got down the plane, Bharata touched their feet in
reverence. He embraced sugreeva, Vibheeshana, Jambavath and Hanuma
and said,” you four are also our brothers from now on.”
sumantra brought a dazzling chariot and Rama and seetha got into
it. Bharata personally drove the chariot to Ayodhya. the women folk of
the monkey and bear warriors followed the chariot while the brahmins
chanted vedis hymns all along the way. sugreeva, Vibheeshana, Hanuman
and Jambavanth followed.
As the chariot reached the precincts of the royal fort, Kausalya, sumitra
and Kaikeyi received them warmly. Rama, Lakshmana and seetha bowed
to them.
With seetha on the right side, Rama’s coronation was performed
pompously.
30. seetha ConCeiVes
seetha and Rama lived happily for twelve years. one day Rama caught
seetha in the act of eating a raw tamarind fruit, which women in the
initial stage of their pregnancy eat for its sour taste. Rama looked at her
questioningly. seetha did not meet his eyes. she rested her head on his
chest and whispered,” my lord, your heir to Kosala kingdom is set come
into world in nine months.”
Rama’s happiness knew no bounds. He went to the chambers of his
mothers Kausalya, sumitra and Kaikeyi along with seetha and broke the
happy news. they embraced her and wished her well.
now seetha was running the sixth month of her pregnancy. A royal
message was dispatched to seetha’s parents king Janaka and queen
sunayana inviting them to Ayodhya to take the princess to her parents
home for delivery. to double the happiness they were informed that
Urmila, Mandavi and Srutakeertini, wives of Lakshmana, Bharata and
satrughna also conceived.
King Janaka arrived at Ayodhya along with his queen and retinue on an
auspicious day. Preparations were in full swing in the royal palace to send
the princesses to their parents’ home for delivery.
A family meeting was arranged in an inner chamber of the palace.
Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and satrughna and their wives and Kausalya,
sumitra and Kaikeyi were seated comfortably. King Janaka and his queen
were allotted special seats.
Kausalya broached the subject. she said to Janaka,”Brother, we are
reluctant to send our daughters-in-law to their parents’ home for delivery.
We cant bear their separation from us. Yet we are bound to send them. It
is the tradition.”
Rama said to Janaka,”Father, it is your decision that weighs. Do as you
think right.”
When Urmila, Mandavi and Srutakeertini were ready to leave for their
paternal home, seetha was not much willing to leave Rama for her parents’
home. she whispered to her father that she could not leave Rama for long.
Janaka agreed. “son,”he said to Rama,”Let seetha have her delivery
here. I will take the other three daughters with me.”
seetha and Rama were both happy at king Janaka’s decision.
Days were passing and day by day seetha was putting on weight and it
added a peculiar beauty to her. Queen mother Kausalya became very fond
of her, often reprimanding her not to move fast and not to lift even small
vessels as her pregnancy was advancing.
one day when Rama returned after attending the state’s business,
seetha personally served him delicious meal. After the meal was over
Rama reclined on the bed. Seetha said,”My lord, I have a wish to have my
delivery in any ashram in the woods. I liked the woods so much during
our exile.”
Rama was silent for a while. then he spoke, “seetha, enough of the
woods. Don’t remind me the days of our exile.” But he was quick to see
the hurt look on seetha’s face. so he said that he would think over her
wish. Seetha was happy because she was confident that Rama would not
reject her request.
31. seetha’s desire seemed FulFilled
seetha’s desire to have the delivery of her child in an ashram in the
woods, seemed fulfilled. On a fateful morning Lakshmana visited Seetha
in her chamber,”sister”he said, “Rama has accepted your request to spend
the remaining months of your pregnancy in the woods and have delivery
of the child in an ashram. Get ready in an hour.”
“But Lakshmana...”Seetha hesitated. “Shouldn’t I meet Rama and bid
him bye? Or at least shouldn’t I inform my mother-in-law Kausalya that I
am leaving?”
“sister seetha, Rama is busy in the business of state. Hence he asked
me to hasten you to the woods. the auspicious time for the journey is
running out. so kindly get ready at the earliest.”
When the chariot was pulled up at the portico of seetha’s chambers,
she got into it. she was dressed in tree bark garments as she did during her
exile. she felt that it was the proper dress for her long stay in an ashram. Her
right eye and right shoulder trembled as a sign of ill omen as she was about
to get into the chariot. she was shaken for a while. then she dismissed
the signs as her nervous weakness and seated herself comfortably in the
vehicle.
When Lakshmana personally drove the chariot, it crossed Ayodhya and
the far off hamlets and reached the woods. seetha was fully engrossed in
the thoughts of spending her time with the wives of the saints when she
would reach there. The flora and fauna of the woods brought back her
memories of her earlier exile. Lakshmana was as silent as a stone during
the long drive. He stopped the chariot when it reached the heart of the
woods. “sister,”he said, “please get down.”
seetha was surprised as there was no ashram in the vicinity. “Lakshmana
I don’t see any saint or ashram here. Why did you stop here. Perhaps the
horses are tired. Is it so?”
“No, sister”Lakshmana said, “this is your destination. It’s Rama’s
order.”
“Lakshmana,”Seetha said,”I do not understand a bit of what you say.
You are supposed to leave me in the care of a reputed saint. Aren’t you?”
“Sister,”I do not know how to break the shocking news to you. Yet I
have to. A drunken washerman swore at his wife that he was not Rama to
take back his wife who had lived at another man’s house for a long time.
As a spy told this unpalatable thing to Rama during his routine briefings,
Rama decided to leave you in the forest for he thought that he would not
be fit to rule the kingdom with such infamy.”
Lakshmana could not control his tears. Crying like a child he continued,
“Rama the ideal husband did not doubt your chastity. But Rama the duty
bound king overcame him. then he begged us - myself, Bharata and
satrughna to take reigns of the kingdom. He wanted to live with you
again in the woods peacefully. But - since the state is too heavy for us, we
brothers refused to his request. so he has to leave you in preference to the
state.”
When Lakshmana finished with his narration, Seetha fell down as a tree
axed at the root. she cried bitterly till the earth under her face became wet
with her tears. With sobs she said, “Am I not half of the body and soul of
Rama? If so, he should have told me the real reason for sending me to the
woods. I would have proudly obeyed his command. But he did not take
me into confidence. That is my poor lot. Now I do not see any purpose in
living hereafter. I will end my life.” She tried to rope the creepers of a plant
and was about to strangulate herself.
“sister,” Lakshmana cried and restrained her. “Mind you that the scion
of Ikshvaku dynasty is growing in your womb.”
“O God! I have no freedom even to die. “Seetha cried and swooned.
Lakshmana left the woods before seetha regained her consciousness.
When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother, the earth goddess, with
trident in hand. Her eyes were spitting fire.”My dear child,”she said, “who
is Rama to subject you to so many hardships. When Rama was exiled, you
voluntarily accepted exile for fourteen years. You fire-prooved yourself
at his bidding. But what for? Again you are exiled in a shameful way for
no fault of yours. I can’t spare him any more. Now I let loose the five
elements to wreak havoc on Ayodhya.”
no sooner the earth goddess uttered the spell than there were thunder
claps and heavy down pour. strong winds uprooted the trees. there was
destruction everywhere.
seetha imagined that a pillar in Rama’s chamber crashed due to earth
quake and hit him on his forehead. she immediately prayed her mother
that her lord Rama should not be harmed by the fury of nature.
The earth goddess withdrew her spell and the five elements of nature
became calm again. she invited seetha to live with her in the nether world.
But Seetha rejected the offer politely. “Mother”, she said, “I have certain
duties enjoined on me by the institution of marriage. Let me deliver the heir
of Ikshvaku dynasty and hand him over to my lord Rama. After fulfilling
my responsibility I will reach you and be with you for ever.”
“so be it” the earth goddess said and dissolved into the earth.
seetha cried for a while and swooned again. she opened her eyes when
an aged saint with long gray beard sprinkled cold water on her face.
“Seetha, “I am Valmiki who have written Ramayana. I have learnt
about your misfortune through clairvoyance. Please accompany me to my
ashram. You will be called Loka Pavani and your real identity will be kept
a secret till an opportune moment comes to reveal who you are.”
Seetha got up with great difficulty and followed the Saint.
Valmiki bid his disciple sadananda to build a hut for seetha near his
ashram.
When the bamboo hut was ready, Valmiki asked sarada and Marudwati,
inmates of his ashram to look after Lokapavani (Seetha)’s needs.
32. laVa and kusa Were Born
three months rolled by. on the night of sravana Pournima when the
stars were most auspicious, seetha gave birth to twins. on the 21st day
of the birth of the twins, sage Valmiki named them Lava and Kusa. Lava
was dark complexioned like Rama and Kusa derived his mother’s fair
complexion.
Four years passed on. Little Lava and Kusa were growing up happily
in the woods. Dressed in tree bark loin clothes and in an upper garment
fastened across the shoulder, it was play time for them from morning till
late evening. they indulged in various kinds of games with fellow children
in the cluster of ashrams. the deers and antelopes also formed part of
their games. When Lava and Kusa were five years old, letter initiation
ceremony was conducted on an auspicious day. Sage Valmiki officiated
the function. though he could not provide Lava and Kusa and their mother
Lokapavani with royal comforts, he took every care to make them happy
within his limits.
Sage Valmiki performed the thread wearing ceremony (Upanayanam)
when Lava and Kusa were eight years old and began teaching them Vedas
and other useful subjects. Bearing in mind that the children belonged to
warrior (kshatriya) race, he decided to teach them strategic asthras. “Grand
father,”said Lava and Kusa simultaneously,”what are asthras?”
Valmiki answered, “children, asthras are special and powerful weapons
which appear at divine incantations and disappear after achieving their
purpose. Brahmasthra, nagasthra and the others are to be used on the rare
of rarest occasions when ordinary weapons would not do. they derive
their power from the five elements of nature” Valmiki whispered the
incantations of the asthras into the ears of Lava and Kusa. the sage also
made the children masters in the ordinary warfare of sword, bow, spear
and mace. He also taught them the art of singing the story of Rama and
seetha in a musical manner. When they line acquired mastery in singing the
musical Ramayana, the sage organised a Ramayana concert at his ashram
premises. the saints, their wives and children wept at the emotional appeal
of the music of Ramayana. After the concert was over, Valmiki said to
seetha,”Lokapavani, let us send Lava and Kusa to Ayodhya. Let king
Rama enjoy the blessed story on him.”
seetha never countered anything which Valmiki said because he looked
after her like a father.
33. ayodhya CaPtiVated
Lava and Kusa left the woods for Ayodhya under the care of a disciple
of Valmiki. they sang the story of Ramayana at a temple hall in the city
square. the audience comprised people of all walks of life from the rich
to the pooor. the style of singing appealed to everyone. A woman of the
royal household also attended. she returned to queen Kausalya after the
programme was over and said, “Mother, two children aged about ten sang
the story of Ramayana in a most beautiful way. I liked it very much.”
Kausalya was startled at the sentence, ‘aged about ten’. she thought
that if Rama had not left seetha, a young prince of that age would be
prancing and playing in the palace. she had an urge to have a look at the
children. so she sent for them.
the concert was arranged in Kausalya’s chamber. the song began with
the birth of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and sathrughna and continued
through Rama’s slaying of thataki and subahu, Rama’s exile and ended
with the killing of Ravana. When Lava and Kusa described vividly seetha
jumping into the fire and thus prooving her chastity Kausalya, Sumitra
and Kaikeyi could not control their tears. Rama, who came to Kausalya’s
chamber on hearing the song of his exploits, was subjected to the same
emotion. After the song was over, Rama offered rich gifts to Lava and
Kusa including most precious stones. But they politely refused and said,
“o king, such rich gifts will not go nice with saintly children as we are.
Moreover, we have clear orders from our mother not to accept gifts. Yet,
if you are satisfied with our singing of Ramayana, we request a boon from
you”
“What is it children?”said Rama, “however difficult may be your
request it will be met with immediately.”
“o king and queen mother Kausalya” Lava and Kusa said “we want to
have a glimpse of seetha the divine mother.”
Rama was stunned at their request. so was Kausalya. Rama left the
chamber abruptly.
Lava and Kusa were surprised. they did not know why their request
offended the king. they said to Kausalya,”Queen mother, have we said
anything that has offended his majesty.”
As in reply to their question, Kausalya broke into sobs. “Rama banished
her to the forests as a foul mouthed washerman said that he was not like
Rama to take back his wife who had lived in another man’s house for an
year, Her whereabouts were not known till date.”
now Lava and Kusa were shocked. Being children, they were unable to
contain their emotion. they began to cry. they said contemptuously amid
sobs, “We haven’t imagined that Rama could be so cruel as to leave his
wife in the woods. Is this the king whose story we have sung so gloriously.
We are ashamed. Upon our honour we swear that we will not sing the story
of Ramayana again.” they dashed out of Kausalya’s chamber, out into
street that led to the market from the cluster of royal buildings. As they
were seething with rage, Valmiki’s disciple who accompanied them, did
not dare ask them what the matter was.
34. the Children uPset their mother
When Lava and Kusa reached Valmiki’s ashrama, seetha hugged her
children. “did your trip go on well? What did Rama say on your singing of
his story? Did he receive you cordially? How did he look like? A little bit
older, I suppose. How was queen mother Kausalya?”
Lava and Kusa released themselves from their mother’s embrace
roughly, “sorry mother” they said, “we were misguided by you and grand
father Valmiki that Rama was a noble king. But you did not tell us that
he was so cruel as to leave his pregnant wife in the woods just because a
washerman prattled something bad about her. We will never again sing the
story of such a bad king.”
seetha lost her cool. “shut up you blighted children. Rama will never
commit a wrong. You are too young to know the intricacies of justice and
truth.” she went into her room in the ashram and shut the door with a loud
noise. Then she huddled herself on the floor and began to cry. Lava and
Kusa saw through the window their mother crying. they were at a loss
to understand why their mother worshipped Rama. they knew that she
was upset as they insulted Rama. they wanted to make her happy again.
they took their stringed musical instruments and sang the story of Rama
in melodious voices. As their singing was over, seetha opened the door
with a broad smile on her face.
35. seetha douBts rama’s Fidelity
Royal officials from Ayodhya visited Sage Valmiki’s Ashram. Seetha,
watering the plants nearby hastily left the place lest they should recognise
her. The chief official bowed to the Sage and said,”King Rama has
proposed to perform Aswamedha yaga (horse sacrifice). He invites your
nobleself and your disciples to attend the yaga.”
“Certainly” the sage replied. When Rama himself is performing an
yaga, how can we ignore it. We will definitely attend the yaga before its
completion. Convey my blessings to Rama and his brothers.”
seetha, standing behind the back wall of the ashram heard the message
of the royal official. She was seized with complex emotions. She knew
that no man can perform a religious sacrifice without the wife beside him.
then how can Rama perform the yaga without a wife? she was angry
with Rama. she was also angry with herself. she cursed herself for her
misfortune. she visited nearby ashrams and inquired of the saints there
whether one could perform a sacrifice without one’s wife. The saints
replied that bachelors, widowers and men not living together with wife
were not eligible to perform a yaga.
seetha returned to her ashram and cried and swooned. she imagined
Rama taking another wife and performing the yaga.
Valmiki, meditating in his ashram guessed what was going in seetha’s
mind in her ashram next to his. He entered her ashram and sat cross-legged
beside her. exercising his divine magical power, he made seetha’s soul
leave her body and visit Rama’s chamber. she was surprised to see a
golden replica of herself there. she was happy to learn that Rama would
perform the yaga with golden statue of herself (Seetha) beside him. She
approached the statue and applied the vermilion in a crescent moon shape
a little below the vermilion dot on the forehead of the statue. then she hid
herself behind a screen as Rama entered the room. He saw the crescent
shaped vermilion on the statue’s forehead and exclaimed,”Who applied
the vermilion to my seetha’s statue? on our return from exile into the
forest, I applied vermilion on Seetha’s forehead in a crescent moon shape.
Only Seetha and myself know it. It must be Seetha’s doing. But where is
she?”he cried and sat at the feet of the statue. seetha was deeply moved at
Rama’s affection to her. she caressed his forehead lovingly. He wanted to
catch her hand but he couldn’t as she had no solid body and she was just
her soul only.
Back at Valmiki’s ashram seetha’s soul entered her solid body and
merged with it. After a while she woke up and saw sage Valmiki beside
her. “seetha,” he said like a father, “hope you are now convinced of Rama’s
fidelity to you.”
seetha buried her face in his lap and cried like a child. “o revered one,”
she said, “I have committed a great sin by doubting Rama’s fidelity to me.
Is there any worship to expiate my sin, tell me?”
“no child,”sage Valmiki replied,”you haven’t committed any sin. Your
boundless love for Rama made you doubt his love for you. that’s all.”
“No Sage,” she said, my mind is troubled. I need peace of mind.
Prescribe any ritual which may give me peace.”
“If you worship Lalitadevi (Parvati) with hundred petalled sun flowers,
all the troubles in your mind will disappear. But you shouldn’t stop the
worship in the middle under any circumstances. If you stop, the worse will
happen.” the sage said and turned to Lava “The flowers are very difficult
to obtain. Only you can gather those rare flowers.”
Kusa who arrived there said,”Cant I assist brother Lava?”
“No”the sage said, “I am leaving for Saint Bharadwaja’s ashram. Hence
your duty is to defend the ashrams here from the attacks of demons and
cruel animals.”
36. kusa enCounters sathrughna
sage Valmiki left for Bharadwaja’s ashram and seetha began her
worship of Lalitadevi. Lava was busy gathering the hundred petalled sun
flowers. He had to encounter many difficulties to get the flowers. He had
to cross forests and mountains. He had to fight ferocious animals and
monsters on his way. Thus he managed to bring the flowers successfully
every day.
on the other hand Kusa kept day and night vigil against cruel animals
and demons in the surroundings. one day when he was on his mission, he
sighted a beautifully decorated horse in the vicinity. He went to the horse
and read the letters on the gold plate tied to its forehead. THIS IS THE
ASWAMEDHA SACRIFICIAL HORSE OF THE KING OF KOSALA.
WHOEVER ENCOUNTERS THE HORSE, HE/SHE SHOULD BOW
TO ITAND ACCEPTTHE SUZERAINTYOF THE KING OF KOSALA.
WHO DARED TIE IT, SHOULD FIGHT THE KING’S ARMY.
Kusa tied the horse to a nearby tree with the help of his playmates. “I
have least respect to king Rama, who got his pregnant wife left in the
forest. Come what may. I will show my mettle.” Kusa thought.
A small detachment of the army which guarded the horse challenged
Kusa. Kusa drove them away with normal arrows. one of the victims ran
to sathrughna who was camping in his royal tent a little distance away, and
told him what had happened.
sathrughna took his weapons and followed the soldiers. He was
surprised on seeing Kusa. When the soldier told him that their small
army was defeated by a single person, he imagined a muscular, mighty
warrior fighting his army. But here is the tender boy Kusa of ten years old.
sathrughna asked the boy to surrender the horse and move away. He did
not want to fight the boy. As in a reply to Sathrughna’s ultimatum, Kusa
shot an arrow which hit sathrughna’s crown and rolled it on the earth. now
sathrughna realised that his opponent was not an ordinary saint boy. He
soon understood that normal arrows would not defeat the boy. Hence he
shot asthra after asthra at Kusa and but Kusa offered him tough resistance
with equally powerful asthras. But, unfortunately a sharp asthra hit Kusa
on the head and made him faint. sathrughna lifted him and placed him on
his chariot. He directed his chariot towards Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, the playmates who were with Kusa when the battle took
place, were frightened when Kusa fell. they ran back to the ashram and
told seetha what had happened. Lava had just then arrived there after
gathering the flowers. He assured his mother that he would defeat the
enemy and bring back his brother Kusa safely before sunset.
Lava ran through short cuts and soon reached the path, the way through
which sathrughna’s chariot and the small army was going to Ayodhya.
When sathrughna’s chariot stopped, Lava introduced himself and asked
him to release his brother Kusa and the horse. sathrughna argued that he
did not mean any harm to the boy. He was taking the boy to the king to
recommend a suitable reward for his valour.
But Lava was insistent on his demand. “Release my brother and the
horse or be prepared for a battle.
sathrughna twanged his bow as a sign of readying himself for battle.
Both of them fought with normal weapons for a while. soon both of them
realised that ordinary warfare would not do. then they resorted to exchange
asthras. A powerful asthra from Lava threw sathrughna off his balance.
He fell from the chariot and became unconscious. Lava released his
brother Kusa and the horse. they walked back to their ashram. A mounted
soldier who escaped Lava’s arrows, managed to reach Ayodhya and told
Lakshmana that sathrughna and the other soldiers were unconscious under
the magic spell of an ashtra shot by a saint boy.
37. lakshmana meets the same Fate
since Rama was fully engrossed in performing the Aswamedha yaga,
Lakshmana did not want to disturb him. Hence he started in his invincible
chariot with powerful weapons. As soon as he reached the forest, he saw
the horse tied to a tree and Lava and Kusa ready for battle again. earlier,
Lava and kusa made a brief appearance before their mother and returned to
the scene of the battle. they knew that word of sathrughna’s defeat would
reach Ayodhya and another fresh battle was inevitable.
“You saint boys”Lakshmana said,”You are too young for a battle against
me. Release the horse, release my brother sathrughna and the army from
the magic spell of asthra.”
“Go back or fight witht us,” Lava and Kusa said.
“I am Lakshmana who have killed many strong demons including the
formidable warrior Indrajit son of Ravana. Battling against me is not a
child’s play. Mind it.”
“Lakshmana, your bravery lies in leaving a pregnant woman in the
woods, not in defeating your enemies, we suppose.”
the sarcasm was too severe for Lakshmana to stomach. “Children,” he
said, “you will repay for your loose tongue soon.”
“If your bravery really lies in defeating your enemies, you will not
waste your time with meaningless words.” Lava and Kusa said.
“Children, it wont take me a minute to make you kiss the ground, But
I do not want to kill children, women and old people. Hence I hesitate to
fight”
“Lakshmana, a beautiful excuse to cover your cowardice.” Lava and
Kusa laughed and twanged their bows.
now Lakshmana realised that battle was unavoidable. He twanged his
bow too.
soon the battle ended in Lava and Kusa’s favour. A powerful asthra
made Lakshmana and his army but for a horse rider, unconscious.
As the word reached Rama who was half way through the yaga, he had
no other go but to prepare himself for battle to safeguard the glory of the
Ikshwaku warrior race.
38. the Father meets his sons
As Rama descended on the scene of battle, Lava and Kusa wondered
at the handsome and graceful figure of Rama, bow in hand and Hanuman
beside him. Battle against this great man should be our ultimate aim.”
Lava and Kusa thought. they shot two arrows at Rama’s feet in respect.
“Who are you saint boys?”Rama asked.
“You yourself have said that we are saint boys. then why do you ask us
the same question again? Anyway we introduce ourselves for your sake.
We are disciples of sage Valmiki.”
“Children, I have been informed that two young boys tied our sacrificial
horse and defeated my brothers Lakshmana and sathrughna. Do you know
their whereabouts?”
“Why king? if we reveal their identity, can you fight them?”
“First I request them to come to their senses and do my bidding. If they
don’t, I fight them.”
“then listen, it is we who have defeated Lakshmana and sathrughna
when they tried to release the horse.”
“Dear children, now I remember that you were the boys who sang
Ramayana at Ayodhya. Hence it was unbecoming on your part to have
fought my brothers. Please release them and visit Ayodhya to sing
Ramayana again.”
“no king,”Lava and Kusa said. “We will neither release your brothers
nor sing Ramayana again. How can you expect us to sing the glory of a
king who had got his pregnant wife left in the woods mercilessly.”
Rama sighed. “sons,,”he said, “being very young, you do not know the
intricacies of truth and justice.’
“o king, why do you call us sons, as if you were our father.”
“Yes, I am your father, because, I am like a father to the people of my
kingdom.”
“no king, we are not your citizens. We are free people of the woods.”
“Chidren, I am not angry with you even if you insult me. Who are your
parents? they must be very fortunate to have been blessed with children
like you.”
“o king, even if you are interested in learning about our pedigree, we
are in no mood to reveal. our mother is Lokapavani. that is all”
“Children, I request you for the last time, release my brothers and the
horse. I feel some sort of filial love to you. Hence I do not want to aim my
arrows at you.”
Lava and Kusa laughed and retorted,” It is the coward who says he
loves the enemy. We repeat our words. Either fight or go back.”
Hanuman who was silent all the while, burst into anger as he could
not bear the insults heaped on Rama. “You young lumpen elements.”he
shouted at them. Who do you think that Rama is. He is the greatest warrior
in the nether world, on earth and in heaven. He is the warrior who killed
thataki, Maricha, subahu, Kumbhakarna and Ravana the ten headed
demon king. Fall at his feet and seek his mercy. otherwise you will be
reduced to ashes by his arrows.”
“Enough of your monkey prattle”Lava and Kusa said. “It will be great
to fight against such a person as Rama, not against a monkey, that is you.”
Hanuman felt insulted and began to increase his body in mountainous
proportions to intimidate Lava and Kusa.
Lava and Kusa hit upon a plan to whisk Hanuman away from the
scene of battle. they whispered to their playmates, gathered there to chant
Rama’s name and lead him to the locality of ashrams.
Accordingly the other saint boys chanted Rama’s name and led
Hanuman to the area of ashrams. Pleased with the chant of Rama’s name,
Hanuman became his normal figure again.
Here the battle started and Rama was shooting rather reluctantly all
his asthras, learnt from sage Vasishta and later from sage Viswamitra, at
Lava and Kusa. every time that Rama shot an asthra, he prayed god that it
should miss its target and save Lava and Kusa.
In a short while Lava and Kusa rendered all Rama’s asthras powerless
through their powerful asthras and posed a threat to the valour of the line
of Ikshwaku kings.
now Rama decided to shoot his Rama-arrow, the weapon ultimate
which killed demon warriors like Kumbhakarna and Ravana, at Lava and
Kusa. He began to invoke the asthra with a long divine incantation.
Meanwhile seetha was uttering the mantras invoking the blessings of
Lalitadevi at her ashram. Hanuman recognised the voice as that of seetha
and dashed into the inner room of the ashram.
He rubbed his eyes to ascertain that he was not day dreaming. Making
sure that the woman he saw was really seetha, he fell at her feet and
cried,”Mother seetha and Lokapavani are the same, and Lava and Kusa
are Rama’s sons”
the women who assembled there to partake in the worship, were
greatly surprised to know the pleasant truth.
suddenly there were tremors as if there were earth quake. seetha and
the other women in the ashram almost lost their balance.
Hanuman said, “mother, this is not a natural earth quake. the most
powerful asthras which Rama and Lava, Kusa are exchanging in a fierce
battle, have caused the earth to vibrate. You must hasten to stop the battle
before something unpredictable happens.”
But the other women objected to this. “Lokapavani,” they said, “Have
you forgotten what sage Valmiki had said? You shouldn’t be disturbed in
the middle of the worship.”
Seetha brushed aside their objections. “Come what may”she said.”I
must stop the battle between the father and his sons.”
When Hanuman ran, seetha followed him. on reaching the spot, she
cried,”Lava and Kusa, drop your bows. Rama is none but your father.”
Hearing seetha’s voice, Rama was shocked and stood immobilised for
a while.
“Children,”seetha cried,”how dare you are to wage a battle against
your own father.”
Lava and Kusa hugged their mother. “Pardon us mother, we haven’t
meant any harm to Rama. We have just made his asthra powerless. that
is all.”
sage Valmiki just then arrived on the scene.”seetha, don’t be alarmed.
Rama was seized with a fit of surprise and happiness on seeing you and
learning Lava and Kusa were his sons. He will be normal in a while.” He
called into Rama’s ear softly “Rama,”
Rama was startled and recovered his senses.
Lava and Kusa, not to lag behind in the happy tidings, withdrew the
spell of their asthras and Lakshmana and sathrughna and the detachment
of the army woke up as if from sleep. they were very happy to see seetha.
seetha handed over Lava and Kusa to Rama, who hugged them to his
bosom.
Rama’s voice was chocked with emotion. He could only murmur,
“Seetha, my Seetha.” “My lord,” Seetha said, I have finished with my life
as your beloved wife and mother of two warrior sons. now my role is over.
Grant me leave.” Lakshmana and sathrughna said,” no sister, you must
come to Ayodhya again. see your sons coronated as princes of Kosala.”
“No brothers”Seetha said,”I am free from every bondage. Now I leave
the world as pure as fire. I promised my mother to go with her when my
role as wife and mother are over. they are over now. “ she turned to sage
Valmiki and said,”o reverred one, you are my second father in my troubles
and tribulations, I thank you for this.” She looked down at the ground and
said, “Mother, now I am ready to come unto you. Please claim me to be
your own.”
All of a sudden the sunny weather turned into a cloudy one. there were
thunder bolts and down pour. then with a deafening roar, the earth caved
in and out of the cavity, a golden throne was ejected, with the goddess of
earth seated on it, with trident in her hand. seetha sat on her lap and took
leave of Rama, Lakshmana, sathrughna and sage Valmiki with folded
hands. then she raised her hand in benediction to Lava and Kusa. the
golden throne gradually sank below the earth and the cavity closed again.
From earth came she, into earth she went.
***
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