The Ramayana

by Valmiki

  ‘Once there was a king named Daśaratha,’ said Hanumān sweetly to Sītā. ‘He had chariots and elephants and horses. He was famous, righteous and had gathered great merit. He delighted in non-violence. He was compassionate and truthful. He was the scion of the Ikṣvākus and he increased their prosperity. Lord of the earth, that bull among kings was famous all over the world. He was joyous and was a giver of joy.

  ‘His eldest son, whose face was like the full moon, was his most beloved. His name was Rāma. He was wise and the best of all archers. He was the protector of his kingdom, his peoples, all beings and dharma. Heroic Rāma went to live in the forest with his wife and brother to honour the word of his righteous father. While he was in the forest, he was drawn away in a chase and Sītā was carried off by Rāvaṇa in revenge for Rāma’s killing of Khara and Dūṣaṇa in Janasthāna.

  ‘I heard all about Sītā’s beauty and glory from Rāma. Now I am sure I have found her,’ said Hanumān and fell silent.

  Sītā was astonished when she heard this, and her hair dishevelled, she looked up into the tree and saw Hanumān, the son of the Wind, bright as the rising sun, hiding among the branches.

  ‘This must be a dream!’ she cried in agitation and fainted. Slowly, she regained consciousness. She thought, ‘This must be a nightmare! The traditional texts state that to dream of a monkey is a bad omen. I hope Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are well and that everything in my father’s kingdom is all right!

  ‘This cannot be a dream since my sorrows will not allow me to sleep!’ she continued. ‘There can be no peace for me while I am separated from moon-faced Rāma! Today, I have been thinking of him with all my heart. That is why I am seeing and hearing things! I am sure this is an illusion, but then I tell myself that this creature who speaks to me is perfectly visible!’

  Hanumān joined his palms in reverence and said, ‘You stand leaning against this tree, wearing soiled and dirty clothes. Who are you, lady with the lotus eyes? Why do tears stream from your eyes like water from a broken pot? God, asura, nāga, gandharva, rākṣasa, yakṣa, or kinnara, which one are you? You seem to be divine! Or are you Rohiṇī, the brightest of the stars, endowed with all the virtues, fallen from the sky without the moon? Are you Arundhatī who angered her husband in her confusion?

  ‘Slim-waisted lady, do you mourn the loss of a father, a husband or a brother? You have the appearance of royalty. I think you must be the consort of a king! I ask you, were you abducted from Janasthāna by Rāvaṇa? If you were, then you must be Sītā! Tell me, please!’

  Sītā was pleased with Hanumān’s praise of Rāma and she said, ‘I am the daughter of Janaka, the great king of the Videhas. I am Sītā, the wife of Rāma! For twelve full years I lived in Rāma’s palace, enjoying all the pleasures known to humans and satisfying my every desire. Then, in the thirteenth year, the king and his ministers decided to consecrate Rāma heir and when everything was ready for the ceremony, the lady Kaikeyī spoke to her husband, “I will not eat or drink the food that is brought to me every day. If Rāma is consecrated heir, I will end my life! Best of kings, remember the boons you gave and send Rāma into the forest!”

  ‘The honourable king recalled his boons but he was bewildered by Kaikeyī’s cruel and hateful words. Weeping, the king who stood so firm on the path of righteousness, asked his illustrious elder son for the kingdom. Effulgent Rāma held his father’s word dearer than the consecration and accepted his instructions completely, in thought and deed. Rāma would never give or receive anything unworthy, even to save his life! With great sincerity, Rāma took off his priceless clothes and renounced the kingdom. He entrusted me to his mother’s care, but I, too, put on the simple clothes of an ascetic and stood beside him. I would not care to live even in heaven without him! Then, Lakṣmaṇa, the joy of his friends, also put on simple clothes so that he could follow his older brother. Firm in our vows, determined to honour the promise of our lord, we entered the dense and impenetrable forest. While we were living in the Daṇḍaka forest, I, the wife of mighty Rāma, was abducted by the vile rākṣasa Rāvaṇa. He has given me two months to live. After that, I will kill myself!’

  ‘I have come to you as a messenger from Rāma!’ said Hanumān. ‘Rāma, best among the learned and best of all warriors, the son of Daśaratha, is well and he asks about your welfare. Mighty Lakṣmaṇa, the companion of your beloved and grieving husband, bows his head to you!’

  Sītā’s entire body quivered with joy when she heard that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa were both well. An extraordinary pleasure suffused Sītā and the monkey and they began to talk to each other in good faith. But when Hanumān came closer to the emaciated woman who was racked by grief, Sītā drew back in fear. ‘Oh no! This has to be Rāvaṇa in another form! He mocks me with his sweet words!’ She let go of the branch she was holding and fell to the ground.

  Hanumān stepped closer and bowed to her but Sītā was so frightened that she could not even look at him. She sighed and said in her sweet voice, ‘If you are Rāvaṇa, master of the magic arts, and if you have taken on another form, all you do is increase my distress. That is not very nice of you! You are the same Rāvaṇa who took me from Janasthāna in the form of a mendicant! Oh cruel rākṣasa! You can take any form you choose. I am thin and weak from fasting. How can you torment me like this?

  ‘If you really are Rāma’s messenger, I call blessings upon you! Tell me the story of Rāma, it will make me very happy! Recite Rāma’s virtues to me, monkey, and carry away my soul as the river current overwhelms its banks!

  ‘I was abducted so long ago that I now see a monkey messenger from Rāma in pleasant dream! If only I could see Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa again, even if it is in a dream, I would not be so depressed. Even these dreams make me happy!

  ‘But this cannot be a dream! Seeing a monkey in a dream cannot lead to happiness and I am definitely happy! Am I deluded? Can this be the result of indigestion? A hallucination sprung from my insanity? I am not mad and delusions are definitely a sign of madness. I know myself and I know that this is a real monkey!’

  Sītā sorted through these thoughts in her mind. Because she knew that rākṣasas could change their shapes, she suspected Hanumān of being Rāvaṇa. She decided that he was, indeed, the rākṣasa and stopped talking to him.

  Hanumān was wise and understood the source of her anxiety. He placed her mind at ease with appropriate words.

  ‘Bright as the sun, loved by all like the moon, king of all creatures, equal to the god of wealth, handsome, prosperous and as fortunate as the god of love, never angry without reason, the best charioteer on earth, that is Rāma, whose mighty arms protect the entire world! Rāvaṇa took the form of a deer and lured Rāma away and then he abducted you from that lonely place. He will face the consequences of this! Before long, heroic Rāma will kill Rāvaṇa in battle with his arrows that blaze like fire when he releases them in his anger! He sent me as a messenger to you. That is why I am here!

  ‘Rāma grieves desperately in his separation from you and he asks about your welfare. Mighty Lakṣmaṇa greets you and sends you good wishes! There is a monkey named Sugrīva who is Rāma’s friend and ally. He is the king of the monkeys and he, too, sends you greetings and good wishes. Rāma thinks of you all the time and so do Lakṣmaṇa and Sugrīva.

  ‘Even though you have been captured by the rākṣasas, at least you are still alive! It won’t be long before you see Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and Sugrīva surrounded by the monkey hordes! I am mighty Hanumān, Sugrīva’s minister. I leapt over the ocean and entered Lankā! I have come to see you relying on my own strength. I shall place my foot on vile Rāvaṇa’s head! I am not who you think I am, Sītā! Give up your doubts and trust me!’

  ‘Where did you meet Rāma? How do you know Lakṣmaṇa? Why did these men make an alliance with the monkeys!’ asked Sītā eagerly. ‘Describe Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa to me so that my grief will be bearable! Tell me, what does Rāma look like? And Lakṣmaṇa?’

  Encouraged
by Sītā, Hanumān launched into an accurate description of Rāma. ‘I am glad you have recognized me for who I am,’ he said. ‘Listen while I tell you about Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.

  ‘Lotus-eyed Rāma delights the minds of all creatures with his good looks and his innate virtues. Bright as the morning sun, he is as steadfast as the earth, equal to Bṛhaspati in wisdom and to Indra in valour. He protects the people of the world in the same way as he protects his own family. He upholds dharma. He nurtures it and establishes its limits in the world while he maintains the four-fold division of society. He knows when to help good men, he is learned in all the necessary rituals and skilled in the arts of administration. He is respectful to brahmins as well as humble, courteous and kind. He is a fine archer and is well-versed in the sacred texts.

  ‘Broad-shouldered and mighty-armed, he has a strong neck and a powerful chest. With his shining face, he is well known to all. His skin glows, his limbs are well-proportioned and his voice is as resonant as a drum. His lips are full, his jaw is firm and his fingers and hands are well-shaped. He is devoted to truth and gathers good men around him. He knows what is appropriate for time and place and he speaks sweetly to everyone.

  ‘His brother, invincible Lakṣmaṇa, was born to his second mother Sumitrā and he resembles Rāma in his looks, his virtues and his loving nature.

  ‘As they were wandering in the forest in search of you, they came upon the king of the monkeys who had been dethroned by his brother. Handsome Sugrīva had taken refuge on the Ṛṣyamūk mountain from fear of his brother and we served him there. The two princes arrived, dressed like ascetics and armed with bows. The monkey king saw them and ran to the top of the mountain in fear and confusion. Once he was safe, he sent me to them.

  ‘I bowed before those magnificent men, rich in looks and auspicious marks, and they were pleased when I had told them all about Sugrīva. I carried them on my back to Sugrīva and mutual confidence and pleasure was established between them. Rāma reassured Sugrīva who had been displaced by his brother and Lakṣmaṇa then told him all about the grief Rāma bore because of your abduction. Sugrīva’s face dimmed as he listened to the story.

  ‘Lovely lady, when you were being carried off by the rākṣasa, you dropped your jewels on the ground. The monkey leaders brought them to Rāma but they could not tell him where you were. I gave Rāma the jewels that I myself had picked up, the ones that fell with a tinkling sound. Rāma was very distressed when he saw them. He placed them on his lap and looked at them again and again, weeping as he did so. He fell to the ground in his grief and I had to raise him up with many sweet words. When Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had gazed at the jewels for a long time, they gave them back to Sugrīva.

  ‘Rāma is terribly depressed at being separated from you. He burns in a perpetual fire of grief, like a mountain that houses a volcano, He cannot sleep and he is deeply tormented. He finds neither peace nor joy in the beautiful woods and lakes and flowing rivers because you are not by his side. But soon he shall come to rescue you. He will kill Rāvaṇa and all his family and followers!

  ‘Rāma and Sugrīva made a pact to destroy Vālī and to search for you. Rāma killed Vālī in combat with his strength and made Sugrīva the king of all the monkeys and bears. This was how their alliance was formed. I am their messenger!

  ‘Once Sugrīva regained his kingdom, he summoned all the great monkeys and bears for your sake. He sent them out in the ten directions and they set out all over the earth. Angada, Vālī’s heroic son, was sent out with three quarters of the monkey army. We spent many days lost in the mountains and we were very depressed. As the stipulated period for the search drew to an end, we were thoroughly disheartened and we decided to kill ourselves because we feared the king of the monkeys. We had searched everywhere in the impenetrable forests and in the lakes and rivers of the mountains, but we had found no trace of you.

  ‘Angada had given up all hope and sat there, lamenting your loss, the death of his father and of Jatāyu, and the fact that we had decided to fast to death. The king of the vultures, Sampāti, overheard the part about the death of his brother Jaṭāyu and said angrily, “Who killed my brother and where does he live? Tell me, great monkeys!” Angada told him how Jaṭāyu was killed by the rākṣasa in Janasthāna for your sake. Sampāti was overcome by grief and told us that you were now in Rāvaṇa’s palace.

  ‘We were delighted with Sampāti’s information and were now eager to see you. But the monkey army grew despondent again when they saw the ocean. I set aside my fear and leapt over the one hundred yojanās. At night, I entered Lankā which was teeming with rākṣasas. I saw Rāvaṇa and now I have seen you, overcome by your grief.

  ‘Virtuous lady, I have now told you everything exactly as it happened. Speak to me, for I am Rāma’s messenger! I am here because of you, to accomplish Rāma’s goal. Know that I am Sugrīva’s minister and the son of the Wind! I can change form at will and I can go where I please. I have travelled the southern regions in search of you! Fortunately, I can now dispel the monkeys’ grief with news of you. My leap over the ocean has not been in vain and I shall be famous for having seen you. And soon, mighty Rāma will join you here after he has killed Rāvaṇa and his family and all his kin!

  ‘Sītā, I was born to the wife of Kesari the monkey, created by the wind god. I am known in the worlds as Hanumān and I am famous in my own right. I have said all this to you to inspire your trust!’

  Sītā, even though she still grieved, was reassured by all that Hanumān had said to prove that he was a genuine messenger from Rāma. Tears of joy fell from her eyes fringed with dark lashes. Her face grew radiant like the moon released by Rahu and she believed that Hanumān truly was a monkey.

  ‘I really am Rāma’s messenger,’ continued Hanumān. ‘Look at this priceless ring with Rāma’s name etched on it! Comfort yourself, for you do not deserve to suffer!’

  Sītā took her husband’s ring and felt as happy as if she had been reunited with her husband. She was rather embarrassed by the pleasure she displayed when she saw the ring and she said, ‘Best of monkeys, you are brave, wise and very capable. This rākṣasa fortress can be assaulted by you alone! You made the mighty ocean, one hundred yojanās wide and teeming with sea monsters, seem like a puddle in the hoof print of a cow by leaping over it with your amazing strength! You cannot be a real monkey! You are neither frightened nor bewildered by Rāvaṇa!

  ‘You must be worthy of my company if you have been sent here by Rāma. Invincible Rāma would never have sent you to me without testing your capacities. I am glad that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are both well. But if Rāma is well, why does he not consume the entire earth, girded by oceans, with his anger, like the doomsday fire? Those two mighty princes can even subdue the gods! Is there no end to my sufferings?

  ‘I hope Rāma, the best of men, continues with his great deeds, that he is not suffering or grieving. I hope he carries on with his duties and that he is making alliances and pacts. I hope he seeks the favour of the gods and that he receives the just fruits of his efforts as well as good fortune. O monkey! I hope Rāma has not lost affection for me through this separation and I hope that he releases me from this misery!’

  ‘Rāma does not know that you are here,’ said Hanumān with his palms joined and his head bowed. ‘He will be here in an instant as soon as I give him the news. Accompanied by a huge army of monkeys and bears, Rāma will churn up the ocean with a storm of arrows and destroy Lankā with all its rākṣasas! He will kill anyone that stands in his way, be it the gods, the asuras or even death itself.

  ‘Rāma is plunged into an ocean of sorrow at this separation from you. He knows no peace, like an elephant attacked by a lion. He neither eats meat nor drinks honey. He consumes the produce of the forest only once a day. He is so absorbed in thoughts of you that he does not even brush away the mosquitoes and gnats and crawling insects that settle on his body! Distraught with grief, he broods all day long and thinks of nothing but you. He cannot sleep, bu
t even if he dozes off, he starts awake and calls out your name. Whenever he sees a fruit or a flower or anything beautiful, he sighs and says, “Ah! my beloved!” Rāma is utterly tormented and calls your name all the time. The mighty prince holds to his vows and is making every effort to get you back!’

  ‘Ah, monkey! Your words are like nectar and poison at the same time—Rāma is determined to rescue me and he is overcome with grief! Death drags mortals away with his noose, be they at the height of their success or in the depths of their suffering. Fate is inexorable. Look how Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and I are bewildered and confused by our sorrows!

  ‘When will Rāma reach the far shore of the ocean, like a weary boat that has been shipwrecked reaches land? When will my husband destroy Lankā and the rākṣasas and see me? Tell him to hurry, for I shall not survive the year! Ten months have passed and the two that are left have been stipulated by Rāvaṇa as the time left for me to live. Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s brother, pleaded that I be restored to Rāma but Rāvaṇa decided against that. He does not want to return me, but death follows him as he goes into battle, impelled by his own destiny.

  ‘My heart is pure and I have been virtuous. I only hope I can be reunited with my husband soon! Rāma has many great qualities, energy, courage, loyalty, valour and graciousness. Which foe would not tremble before a man who has killed fourteen thousand rākṣasas in Janasthāna? His grief must be unimaginable. I know his feelings the way Saci knows Indra’s. Rāma is like the sun, his arrows like the sun’s rays. He will dry up this ocean of rākṣasas with them!’

  ‘Rāma will come here with his army of monkeys and bears as soon as he hears my news!’ said Hanumān reassuringly. ‘But I could free you from the rākṣasas and from this misery right now. Climb onto my back and I shall carry you across the ocean. I have the strength to carry away Lankā and Rāvaṇa! I can take you to Rāma in Prasravaṇa today, as the fire brings the oblation to the king of the gods. Today itself, you can see Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Rāma sits and waits for you, like Indra seated on the head of the king of elephants.