The Ramayana

by Valmiki

  ‘That one over there always walks the path of righteousness and upholds dharma. He is learned in the Vedas and has the use of Brahmā’s weapon. He can pierce the sky with his arrows and bring down the mountains. He is like death when he is angry and he rivals Indra in courage. He is Rāma, whose wife you took from Janasthāna. He has come to fight you, Rāvaṇa! The one who stands beside him and shines like the purest gold, broad-chested, bright-eyed and dark-haired, that is Lakṣmaṇa, Rāma’s younger brother. He is dearer to Rāma than his own life. He is learned in all the traditional texts and in the arts of war. He is impatient, invincible, strong, powerful and intelligent. He fights on Rāma’s right and he is like the breath outside his body. He will give up his life for Rāma and is determined to destroy the rākṣasas.

  ‘To Rāma’s left stands Vibhīṣaṇa whom the rākṣasas rejected. He is now under Rāma’s protection and has been consecrated king of Lankā. He will also fight against you because he is angry and resentful. And that one who stands as tall as a mountain in the middle of the monkey hordes is the king of them all, Sugrīva. He outshines all the other monkeys with his splendour, his fame, his intelligence and courage.

  ‘All the billions of monkeys under Sugrīva’s command have come here to do battle. Consider the size of this massive army that shines like a planet and do whatever is necessary to ensure that we are victorious!’

  Rāvaṇa looked out over the enormous army and its mighty leaders as they had been described by Śuka. He saw Rāma with his own brother Vibhīṣaṇa close by him, he saw the mighty Lakṣmaṇa standing to Rāma’s right and Sugrīva, the king of the monkeys. He grew angry but he felt fear touch his heart. He berated Śuka and Sāraṇa soundly after they had finished speaking. They stood before him with their heads hanging down and he shouted at them in a voice that shook with anger

  ‘It is not a good idea for advisors, who live off the patronage of a king, to say unpleasant things to him. A king can make or break them! Do you think it wise to praise the enemy who has come here to destroy your king? All the time you spent with elders and teachers has been wasted. You have learned nothing about politics! May be you learned it all and understood nothing. Which is why it is now a burden to you! I can’t believe I’ve survived this long with such fools for advisors! I can make you miserable! Have you no fear of death that you speak to me like this? Trees that have been in a forest fire may survive, but not those who have offended their king! I would kill you at once, you wretched creatures who praise my enemy, but the memory of all you have done for me in the past cools my anger! Go to hell, both of you! Do not make me angrier! Your ingratitude will be enough punishment for you since you have scorned my affections!’

  Deeply ashamed, Śuka and Sāraṇa slunk away after wishing Rāvaṇa success in battle.

  Rāvaṇa was rather concerned after hearing reports on the size and strength of the monkey army. He summoned his ministers and said, ‘Bring my advisors together! We have important business to discuss!’

  The advisors arrived quickly and after Rāvaṇa had discussed the matter with them, they were dismissed and the king returned to his own apartments. He sent for Vidyujjivha, a rākṣasa skilled in magic and sorcery and together they went to Sītā. ‘We must bewitch Sītā with magic and illusions,’ said Rāvaṇa. ‘Come with me! Create an illusion of Rāma’s head and his bows and arrows and hold them in your hand!’ The sorcerer agreed and Rāvaṇa was so pleased, he gave him a precious jewel right there.

  Rāvaṇa entered the aśoka grove and saw Sītā, pathetic and miserable, her head hanging low. She sat there with her mind fixed on her husband, still guarded by the fierce rākṣasas who followed her wherever she went.

  Gleefully, Rāvaṇa went up to her and had the cheek to address her by her first name. ‘The one you cling to, the one for whose sake you have rejected all my propositions, that husband of yours who killed Khara, he is dead! He was killed in battle! I have destroyed the root of your arrogance and pride. Your misery will force you to be my wife! Your little store of merit has been exhausted, conceited woman! Listen and I will tell you all about your husband’s gruesome death!

  ‘Rāma crossed the ocean and came here, intending to kill me, with an enormous army of monkeys. The army was tired after its long march and camped for the night. While they were asleep, my spies went and had a look around. Then, my magnificent army, led by Prahasta, destroyed the monkeys at night and killed Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. The rākṣasas wreaked havoc among the monkeys with their clubs, maces, spears, arrows and swords. Prahasta himself severed Rāma’s head as he slept with a single stroke of his sword. Vibhīṣaṇa tried to run away but he was caught. Lakṣmaṇa and the other monkeys fled in all directions. Sugrīva, the king of the monkeys, lies dead with his neck cut off. And Hanumān, slain by the rākṣasas, has a broken jaw.*

  ‘Monkeys have been pulverized and trampled into the earth by elephants and chariots and horses as swift as the wind. Others were killed from the back as they fled in terror from the rākṣasas who chased them, killed like lions hounded by elephants. Some of the monkeys jumped into the ocean, others tried to take refuge in the sky. Bears behaved like monkeys and climbed into trees to save themselves. Rākṣasas have killed thousands of monkeys in the forests, in the mountains and along the ocean shore. Your husband and his army were destroyed by my forces. And look, they have brought your husband’s head here, covered with dust and blood!’

  Rāvaṇa turned to the rākṣasīs and said loudly enough for Sītā to hear. ‘Bring Vidyujjivha here, the one who carried Rāma’s head off the battlefield!’

  The sorcerer came forward and bowed to Rāvaṇa, holding the phantom head. ‘Put Rāma’s head in front of Sītā!’ Rāvaṇa said to him. ‘Let this wretched woman take a good look at her husband’s last state!’ Vidyujjivha placed that well-loved, handsome head at Sītā’s feet and disappeared. Rāvaṇa picked up the shining bow that was famous in the three worlds and said to Sītā, ‘This is your precious Rāma’s bow, already strung! Prahasta took it away after he had killed that pathetic man at night!’ Rāvaṇa placed the bow next to the head and said to the princess of Videha, ‘Come! Surrender to me!’

  Sītā recognized her husband’s eyes and hair, his complexion and his features. The head even had his crest jewel. She was overcome with grief and wailed piteously, railing against Kaikeyī in her anger. ‘Ah, Kaikeyī! Your wishes have come true! The scion of the Ikṣvākus is dead! The clan has been destroyed by you with your desire to make trouble. What did noble Rāma ever do to you that you had him banished into the forest with me, wearing the rough clothes of an ascetic!’

  Trembling, Sītā fell to the ground like a young banana plant struck with an axe. She regained consciousness in a moment and sighed as she drew that lovely head close to her. ‘I am destroyed!’ she wailed. ‘Great hero, you clung to your vows and this is how your life ended. I have become a widow!

  ‘When a husband dies before his wife, it is attributed to her misconduct. But I never did anything wrong and yet, you, whose conduct is exemplary, have died before me! All those who predicted a long life for you have been proved liars! How could death have taken you by surprise? You were so wise in the ways of statecraft and you knew so many ways of avoiding danger! You have abandoned me, great hero, and now you lie hugging the earth as if she were your beloved!

  ‘Ah! this bow of yours! We used to adorn it with flowers and worship it together! Why don’t you look at me! Why don’t you speak to me? I am your wife, whom you married as a young girl, who has been your constant companion! Remember, when you married me, you promised that we would go everywhere together? Then why have you left me here and gone on to the next world? You have left me here alone with my grief! I was the only one who embraced your body. Now it will be dragged through the dust by carrion eaters!

  ‘When Lakṣmaṇa is the only one of us three that returns to Ayodhyā Kausalyā will question him closely even though she will be distraught with grief. When she hears
that your army was massacred at night by the rākṣasas and that you were killed in your sleep and that I am a prisoner of the rākṣasas, she will die of a broken heart. Kill me, Rāvaṇa! Throw me on top of Rāma’s body! Do the only good deed of your life, reunite a wife with her husband! Let my head be with his head, my body with his body! I must follow my husband for I cannot live for a minute without him!’

  Sītā mourned and wept as she gazed at her husband’s head and at his bow. As she was crying, a rākṣasa guard came up to Rāvaṇa and announced that the army commanders and ministers were waiting to see him. Rāvaṇa left the grove quickly and went to see them to discuss what could be done to counter Rāma’s army. As soon as Rāvaṇa left the grove, Rāma’s head and bow disappeared into thin air.

  A rākṣasī named Saramā, who had been placed in charge of guarding Sītā, loved her as a friend for she was compassionate and loyal. She saw that Sītā had been completely deceived by the illusory head and that she was utterly miserable and hopeless. Because she loved Sītā, she comforted her. ‘Do not be upset by what Rāvaṇa just said! I hid myself because I am so fond of you and I overcame my fear of Rāvaṇa and heard everything he said to you. I would give up my life for you!

  ‘I know why the king of the rākṣasas left here in such a hurry! It is not possible to kill someone as alert and vigilant as Rāma in his sleep. In fact, I feel sure that he cannot be killed at all! Nor is it possible to kill the monkey warriors who use trees and rocks as weapons. Rāma protects them as Indra protects the gods. I am sure mighty Rāma has not been killed! You Were bewitched into thinking he was dead by the powers of the sorcerer who abuses his intelligence by dabbling in magic. He is the enemy of all creatures.

  ‘Your troubles are over! Prosperity and happiness are coming your way. Listen to the good news I bring! It will make you very happy! Rāma has crossed the ocean and is camped on the southern shore. I have seen him and Lakṣmaṇa with my own eyes! He has come supported by the entire monkey army. Rāvaṇa despatched rākṣasas who came back with the news of Rāma’s arrival and, that is why he has gone in to consult his ministers!’

  As Saramā was speaking, they heard battle drums and all the commotion of the army preparing for battle. ‘Those drums that roll like thunder are the call to arms, my sweet lady!’ said Saramā. ‘Rutting elephants are being decorated, horses are being yoked to chariots and foot soldiers are spoiling for a fight. The highways are filling up with warriors of all kinds. It is as lovely a sight as the ocean swelling at high tide! Look at the lights that glint off the armour and weapons of the warriors and the trappings of the animals and chariots, like sparks from a forest fire in summer! Listen to the bells tinkling and the horses neighing and the chariots rumbling! These are the sounds of the rākṣasa troops preparing for war!

  ‘Your sorrows are ended. Good fortune awaits you and danger for the rākṣasas is imminent! Your husband is unimaginably strong and he has controlled his temper. He is bound to kill Rāvaṇa and rescue you! I see you seated in his lap with all your wishes fulfiled after he has killed his enemy. When you are reunited and he embraces you, you will shed tears of joy on that broad chest. It won’t be long before Rāma unbinds your hair from this single braid that reaches your hips. Soon, you shall rejoice in his presence as the earth, rich with crops, rejoices in abundant rain!’

  Saramā’s words brought happiness to Sītā who had been parched with grief like the dry earth. Saramā wanted to make her friend happy and she knew how to do that, so she said with a smile, ‘I can easily go to Rāma and come back without being seen. I can find out how he is and give him your good wishes. Neither the wind nor the king of the birds can keep pace as I fly through the sky!’

  ‘I know you would do anything for me,’ said Sītā, her voice sweet and pleasant with no trace of grief. ‘If you really want to help me, then I would like to know what Rāma is planning. Wicked Rāvaṇa keeps me confused with his magic, as if I had drunk alcohol. He threatens and intimidates me and keeps me guarded by fierce and cruel rākṣasīs. I am constantly fearful and suspicious and my mind is never at ease. I fear him even though I am in the aśoka grove. If you can find out Rāvaṇa’s plans and his intentions and report them to me, you will have done me a great favour!’

  Saramā wiped Sītā’s tear-stained face with a gentle hand and said sweetly, ‘If this is what you want, I shall leave immediately and find out about the enemy’s plans!’ Saramā went to where Rāvaṇa was in council with his ministers and listened to their conversations. She heard all their plans and came quickly back to the aśoka grove.

  Sītā embraced her and made her sit down. ‘Sit here comfortably and tell me all about vile Rāvaṇa’s plans!’ she said and Sarama reported all she had heard. ‘Rāvaṇa’s mother and his oldest advisor Aviddha have told him several times that he should give you up but Rāvaṇa is determined not to do so,’ began Saramā. ‘That wicked creature and his advisors have decided that you will not be returned until he has been killed in battle. Rāma will kill them all with his countless arrows. Then he will rescue you and take you back to Ayodhyā, dark-eyed lady!’

  At that very moment there was a huge sound that seemed to shake the earth and the entire rākṣasa army trembled. The rākṣasas were thoroughly disheartened, knowing that their king’s transgressions had left them little hope.

  The blaring of conch shells and the beating of drums announced the arrival of Rāma, destroyer of enemy cities. Rāvaṇa heard the sound and fell to thinking. Then he said to his ministers, ‘I have heard all you have to say about Rāma crossing the ocean, his courage and the strength of his army. But I also know that all of you are invincible in battle.’

  ‘A king who is learned in statecraft can rule for years and keep his enemies at bay,’ said Mālyavān, who was Rāvaṇa’s grandfather and was old and wise. ‘He declares war or peace according to the circumstances and through that, he increases his own power. A king should wage war only against those who are weaker. He should make alliances with his equals and with those that are superior to him. An enemy should never be underestimated. Rāvaṇa, I think we should make peace with Rāma. Sītā has become an obsession with you! Give her back! You should not oppose someone who has the gods and the celestial beings praying for his victory.

  ‘Brahmā created only two ways of life, dharma for the gods and adharma for asuras and rākṣasas. When dharma vanquishes adharma, it is the krtayuga and when adharma triumphs, it is the kaliyuga. When you conquered the world, you allowed adharma to flourish and this made our enemies stronger. The adharma you nurtured now works against us and strengthens the gods. The smoke from the ṛṣis’ sacrifices covers all the directions and dissipates the power of the rākṣasas. In all the sacred areas, good and pious men have been keeping firm vows and practising austerities; that has brought bad times upon the rākṣasas.

  ‘I have seen terrifying portents of doom that signify the destruction of the rākṣasas. Fierce clouds rumble harshly, striking fear into the hearts of the people as they rain blood all over Lankā. Tears fall from the eyes of our horses and elephants. Our battle banners are faded and dusty, they do not shine like they used to. Jackals, vultures and beasts of prey howl hideously. They are coming into Lankā and gathering in large numbers. Women are dreaming about evil spirits who laugh and grimace and bare their white teeth. The spirits call out to the women and toss their household goods around. Dogs are eating the offerings meant for the gods. Cows give birth to asses, mongooses are producing rats. Cats mate with tigers, dogs with pigs, kinnaras with rākṣasas. White birds with red legs wander around the city foretelling the death of the rākṣasas.

  ‘I am sure Viṣṇu has taken the form of a mortal and arrived here as Rāma. There simply cannot be a human being like him! Make an alliance with Rāma, Rāvaṇa!’ The distinguished Mālyavān fell silent and watched Rāvaṇa as he thought the matter over.

  But Rāvaṇa was impelled by his own fate and ignored Mālyavān’s sound advice. He frowne
d, his face distorted with anger. His eyes blazed as he said, ‘You may be well-meaning, but your advice favours the enemy. You have spoken harshly and against my interests. And you expect me to listen to you? How can you think so highly of Rāma’s powers? He is a mere mortal, alone and unaided, backed only by forest animals! His father has renounced him and he lives in the forest!

  ‘And how can you think so little of me? I am the king of the rākṣasas! Even the gods fear me. I am stronger than Rāma in every way! Sītā is like Śrī without her lotus and I was the one who carried her off from the forest. You expect me to give her back because I am frightened? Watch! In a few days I will have killed Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and Sugrīva and all the monkeys.

  ‘How can Rāvaṇa be afraid when no one, not even the gods, dare face me in battle? I may break, but I will never bend! This may be a flaw in my character, but it is who I am. So what if Rāma built a bridge across the ocean? Why should that frighten me? Now that Rāma has crossed over with the monkeys, I swear to you, he shall not return alive!’

  Mālyavān saw that Rāvaṇa was angry and in a foul mood and so he did not press the matter further. He invoked the blessings of the gods for Rāvaṇa’s victory, as was proper, and taking permission, returned to his own apartments.

  Rāvaṇa went back to his consultations with his ministers about the strategy to fortify Lankā. Prahasta was placed at the eastern gate and Mahāpārśva and Mahodara were sent to the southern gate. Rāvaṇa sent his son, Indrajit the sorcerer, to the western gate with a huge armed contingent. Śuka and Sāraṇa were sent to the northern gate and Rāvaṇa told them that he himself would join them there. The mighty Virūpākṣa was placed at the centre of the city with an enormous force of fierce rākṣasas. Now that he had made these arrangements, the king of the rākṣasas deluded himself into believing that he had ensured his safety. He accepted his ministers good wishes for victory and after dismissing them, he returned to his opulent apartments.