The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  90 Tamra didn’t agree to have sons.

  91 It is unclear whether this is a reference to Dhritarashtree or Shukee, probably the former.

  92 That is, Krodhavasha didn’t have sons either.

  93 Kind of animal that is found in marshy places, similar to deer.

  94 With a tail like that of a cow, langur.

  95 Four (sometimes eight) elephants are believed to hold up the four (or eight) directions.

  96 The same as Kadruka.

  97 Throughout the translation, we have generally used serpents for nagas and snakes for sarpas. Nagas are not quite snakes. They are semi-divine, can assume human forms and live in specific regions. All these traits are uncharacteristic of snakes. The word naga is usually used as a synonym for pannaga. But a distinction is being drawn here. With that distinction, a naga is a many-hooded serpent, while a pannaga is an ordinary one.

  98 Ananta, also known as Shesha.

  99 Aruna is the sun’s charioteer.

  100 The word used is tata.

  101 The word used is gavaksha. This literally translates as the eye of a cow, but means a window. Bhakti means ceremonial and auspicious marks made on the body of an elephant.

  102 Tree with dark bark.

  103 Date palm.

  104 Jackfruit.

  105 This can mean either nutmeg or a white lotus. Nutmeg fits better here.

  106 Tree with red flowers.

  107 Tree with beautiful flowers.

  108 The champaka tree.

  109 The crew pine.

  110 The sandana tree.

  111 Kind of ashoka tree.

  112 Kind of breadfruit tree.

  113 Dhava is the axle-wood tree.

  114 Another name for the sala tree, literally like the ear of a horse. Here ashvakarna is the name of the tree. Elsewhere, ashva and karna are sometimes referred to as separate trees.

  115 Kind of tree.

  116 Name of a large tree.

  117 Tree with red blossoms.

  118 The trumpet flower.

  119 The cold season is hemanta, between autumn and winter. Winter proper is shishira. Hemanta is the months of Margashirsha (also known as Agrahayana) and Pousha. Margashirsha is roughly mid-November to mid-December, while Pousha is mid-December to mid-January. Sharat is the months of Ashvina (mid-September to mid-October) and Kartika (mid-October to mid-November).

  120 Lakshmana.

  121 This naturally suggests that at the time, the year began in November or December. At the time, the month could have ended with the day of the new moon or the day of the full moon. If it is the former, the new year probably began with the first day of shukla paksha in Pousha. If it is the latter, the new year probably began with the first day of krishna paksha in Margashirsha.

  122 This solstice means the winter solstice (say December). Uttarayana is the movement of the sun to the north of the equator, the period from the winter to the summer solstice (say June). Dakshinayana is the movement of the sun to the south of the equator, the period from the summer solstice to the winter solstice.

  123 The sacrifice in question is known as agrayana, observed either on the day of the new moon or the day of the full moon.

  124 Yama’s direction is the south.

  125 The sky is being compared to a woman’s forehead. In the morning, when the sun shines properly, the rising sun will be like the mark on a woman’s forehead. But since it is still the cold season, this hasn’t yet happened.

  126 Triyama. A yama consists of three hours. Night is called triyama because it lasts for nine hours.

  127 We have taken some liberties with the text. Otherwise, the meaning is not clear. The text uses the word samkranta, meaning ‘passed over’. This may well be a reference to makara samkranti, a harvest festival celebrated on the day after the winter solstice.

  128 The sun’s.

  129 The word used is tata.

  130 We have already commented on Kaikeyee being the medium.

  131 Dasharatha.

  132 Of refusing the kingdom.

  133 Parvati.

  134 Sita is being compared with Parvati, Rama with Shiva and Lakshmana with Nandi.

  135 Rakshasa lady.

  136 Kama, the god of love.

  137 That is, the ones who are hereafter mentioned are also brothers.

  138 Literally, excellent man. But we have retained Purushottama, as it is also one of Vishnu’s names.

  139 Non-Critical versions have shlokas where Shurpanakha assumes a beautiful form.

  140 The word used for Lakshmana is akritadara and there has been a lot of speculation about the use of this word. On the face of it, this means unmarried and is therefore a lie, lies being justified under certain circumstances. However, the word akritadara is also capable of being interpreted as someone who has not brought his wife with him, but has left her behind.

  141 This entire section is full of puns that are impossible to translate. Each statement has a double meaning. Rama has one meaning in mind, but Shurpanakha interprets it in a different sense. Rama says, he has been without a wife for a long time, Shurpanakha takes it to mean that he has never had a wife. Rama says, he desires his wife, Shurpanakha takes it to mean that he desires a wife. Rama says, he has not seen his wife for a long time, Shurpanakha takes it to mean that he is handsome. Rama says, he can never be your husband, Shurpanakha takes it to mean that he can be your husband.

  142 Lakshmana being the radiance of the sun.

  143 Lakshmana’s words are also full of innuendo, impossible to translate. Shurpanakha takes this to mean that Rama will abandon Sita and serve her. The alternative meaning is that Rama will abandon Shurpanakha and serve Sita.

  144 It is believed that the city of Nashika (Nasika) got its name from this incident.

  145 This probably means that she used her arms to cover her ears and nose.

  146 When milk is mixed with water, a swan has the reputation of being able to drink the milk, while leaving the water untouched.

  147 Malevolent beings.

  148 Demons.

  149 Meaning Sita.

  150 The word used is tata. However, we don’t know whether Khara was younger or older.

  151 Shurpanakha’s.

  152 That is, demonstrate it, instead of talking about it.

  153 The harbinger of destruction for the rakshasas.

  154 These rakshasas were descended from the sage Pulastya.

  155 Kubara, the pole for attaching the yoke.

  156 These are evil omens.

  157 Khara’s chariot.

  158 The word used is yatudhana. A yatudhana is an evil spirit or demon.

  159 Elephants in musth.

  160 Svarbhanu is another name for Rahu. An eclipse occurs when Rahu swallows the sun (or the moon).

  161 Sharika, the bird Turdus salica.

  162 The god of death.

  163 Indra’s elephant.

  164 Celestial bards.

  165 Vishnu.

  166 Because Rama is capable of taking on the rakshasas alone. Safety may not have been the only reason for sending Sita away. Sita was against the idea of killing rakshasas. Perhaps Rama did not want her to witness the destruction.

  167 Semi-divine species, companions of Kubera, similar to yakshas.

  168 Evil demons.

  169 Rama was not normally prone to anger.

  170 The pinaka is Shiva’s weapon. It is sometimes described as a bow and sometimes as a spear/trident. Daksha had not invited Shiva to the sacrifice. When Sati/Parvati immolated herself, Shiva destroyed the sacrifice.

  171 Khara.

  172 Mars.

  173 Rama.

  174 Rather inexplicably, the Critical Edition excises shlokas that specifically mention the slaying of Dushana.

  175 The structure of the sentence is such that Rama is mentioned along with the rakshasa soldiers. However, a few more were left, the ones who carried the news to Ravana. Those were ordinary rakshasas, not the main ones.

  176 Trishira.r />
  177 Trishira means three heads and Trishira possessed three heads.

  178 Namuchi was a demon killed by Indra.

  179 Which could also be an inferior lion.

  180 Rama’s armour.

  181 Agastya.

  182 Trivenu means three bamboo poles. One doesn’t know what part of the chariot this is, except that it is clearly a joint.

  183 These also answer the questions Sita had posed earlier.

  184 Specifically, a type of lizard. The text refers to this type of lizard by name. It is a red-tailed lizard, called a brahmani lizard. The belief is that if this lizard eats hail stones, it dies.

  185 No fighting took place during the night.

  186 Garuda took amrita away from heaven.

  187 The five senses and the mind.

  188 The body was covered by arrows and there were gaps left on the body.

  189 Alternatively, the mountain named Prasravana.

  190 Rama is the one who is accomplished in the use of weapons. He stepped back two or three steps so as to strike better.

  191 Through Agastya.

  192 Literally, shvetaranya means ‘white forest’. Andhaka was a demon killed by Shiva.

  193 The demon Namuchi had a boon that he could not be killed by anything wet or dry. Therefore, Indra killed with foam from the water.

  194 This was the Pushpaka vimana. However, the text only uses the word vimana and this could simply mean a palace.

  195 Literally, ten necks or throats.

  196 The mouth is mentioned in the singular.

  197 This doesn’t mean the famous sudarshana chakra, used by Vishnu alone. Presumably, other gods used chakras that were similar to the sudarshana chakra.

  198 Bhogavati was the capital city of the nagas and Vasuki was the king of the nagas. Takshaka was a naga and Takshashila is named after him. In the Mahabharata, Takshaka’s wife was killed by Arjuna.

  199 Naravahana is Kubera’s name. Literally, the word means someone whose mount is a man.

  200 Chaitraratha is the name of Kubera’s pleasure garden, while Nandana is the name of Indra’s pleasure garden.

  201 Brahma.

  202 Because he thought so lightly of humans, Ravana forgot to mention humans in the boon he got.

  203 The personifications of those sacrifices.

  204 There is a pun, based on the derivation of the word Ravana. The word rava means to wail, so Ravana means someone who causes wailing. There is a different story about how Shiva made Ravana wail, which explains the derivation of the word Ravana. That story will be told later.

  205 The idea is that a king must apportion out time between dharma, artha and kama, and not spend all of his time on one, at the expense of the others.

  206 Kama, Manmatha or Madana, the god of love.

  207 The action was too fast.

  208 Though it is sometimes used in the sense of an instant, a muhurta is a measure of time, equal to forty-eight minutes. The encounter lasted for just over an hour.

  209 Oddly, the Critical Edition excises some shlokas. In one of these, Ravana asks about Shurpanakha’s disfigurement, which he was certain to notice. Though Shurpanakha distorted the story to suit herself, the reply doesn’t mention the disfigurement either, at least not directly. In passing, non-Critical versions also have an account about a rakshasa named Akampana informing Ravana about the incident before Shurpanakha does.

  210 Rama’s.

  211 Literally, wife according to dharma.

  212 Kinnara, also known as kimpurusha, is a semi-divine species, described as Kubera’s companions.

  213 The left foot is inauspicious.

  214 That is, a garage.

  215 The reason for Ravana going secretly and not asking someone else to convey the command to the charioteer remains a matter of speculation.

  216 Dhanada is one who bestows riches and is Kubera’s name. Ravana was Kubera’s younger brother.

  217 The ocean.

  218 Meaning one with ten faces, Ravana’s name.

  219 The chariot.

  220 Tree with dark bark.

  221 Aajas are those without birth, so they mean Brahma’s mental children; vaikhanasas are hermits; and mashas are difficult to pin down, probably meaning sages who subsist only on beans.

  222 Amrita emerged from the churning of the ocean.

  223 With such vimanas.

  224 The vimanas.

  225 Takkola, meaning the bay rum tree.

  226 These shlokas about Garuda are a bit of a digression.

  227 The story is about a giant elephant and tortoise who were fighting. While they fought, Garuda seized them both and ate them.

  228 Sages who subsist on smoke.

  229 They were performing austerities on the branch.

  230 This requires explanation. Garuda seized the elephant in one talon and the tortoise in the other talon. He then settled down on the branch to eat them, noticing the sages in the process. When the branch broke, Garuda took off. While still in flight, he ate the elephant and caught the tortoise with one talon. After the sages escaped, Garuda flung the branch away. This descended on the dominion of the nishadas and destroyed them.

  231 Ravana.

  232 The word used is tata.

  233 The word used is tata.

  234 The word used is tata.

  235 The word used is prabha, referring to the sun’s radiance. However, there is another related meaning too. Prabha is the sun’s wife.

  236 We have earlier remarked that this reference to Dasharatha as the king of Kosala is odd.

  237 Boon obtained from Brahma.

  238 A tirtha is a sacred place of pilgrimage with water where one can have a bath. The word chaitya has several meanings—sacrificial shed, temple, altar, sanctuary and a tree that grows along the road.

  239 Garuda.

  240 Rama’s arrow chased Maricha to the shores of the ocean and retreated.

  241 Respectively, gem and chariot.

  242 The slaughter of Khara, Dushana, Trishira and the other rakshasas.

  243 Alive.

  244 Respectively identified with the five elements—fire, wind, earth, space and water.

  245 Shachi was the daughter of the asura Puloma. Indra killed Puloma and took Shachi away.

  246 Coincidence doesn’t capture the nuance. The word used is kakataliya, kaka means a crow and tala means a palm tree. An injured fox sought refuge under a palm tree. A crow came and sat down on the tree, dislodging a ripe palm fruit, which fell on the fox’s head, increasing its misery. The fox sitting there, the crow sitting there and the palm fruit falling occur at the same point in time. But one is not responsible for the other. To attribute causation to one is fallacious. This analogy is used extensively in the nyaya school of philosophy (darshana).

  247 Rather than suffer death at your hands.

  248 The word used is tata.

  249 Ravana.

  250 The sense seems to be the following. Maricha is under Ravana’s protection. Despite this, he has spoken about Rama killing him. That is rash and obstinate.

  251 You are no longer the Maricha you used to be.

  252 The rainbow.

  253 Which is not real.

  254 Chamara is a yak. Srimara is a kind of small deer. In general it also means an animal that frequents marshy places and has been identified as nilgai.

  255 Kinara is a kind of deer, not to be confused with kinnaras.

  256 Probably meaning Shatrughna.

  257 The Milky Way.

  258 Shukra possessed the power that if he thought of anything, it was added to his store of treasures. Similarly, everything in the forest is something that kings can aspire to and accumulate.

  259 These are the names of different kinds of deer prized for their skin. Kadali has white stripes on the neck, priyaki has thick brown and black hair and aviki is sheep. Praveni may be a different species of deer, but may also be a composite expression standing for the hide of the buck and the doe.

  260 The
one in the sky is the constellation of Orion, with mrigashira as the head.

  261 Vatapi’s story has already been mentioned. It is the belief that when a mare is about to give birth, the offspring is born after tearing apart the mare’s womb, thereby killing it.

  262 Vatapi.

  263 Under the assumption that the deer is not captured.

  264 Rama’s bow was special. It had three arches, instead of the standard two.

  265 Rama.

  266 About the maya of a rakshasa.

  267 City of the gandharvas is an expression used for something that is illusory and not real.

  268 The touching with the foot requires an explanation. This refers to a wedding custom, where the couple touch each other’s feet.

  269 Signifying that this was half-hearted.

  270 Parivrajaka.

  271 The nakshatra Chitra.

  272 Lakshmi.

  273 Hri is the personified form of modesty, Kirti of deeds and Bhuti of one who bestows fortune. Rati is Manmatha’s wife. ‘Acts on her own’ delinks her from being associated with a male divinity.

  274 The word used is shakhamriga. While this is a monkey, it literally means an arboreal animal.

  275 The word used is atithi. Atithi doesn’t mean any guest, it means a guest who has arrived unannounced, a-tithi, without occasion.

  276 That is, after marriage, they spent one year in Ayodhya. Since Rama was sixteen at the time of marriage, he was seventeen when he was exiled.

  277 Across different versions of the Ramayana and even across different versions of the Valmiki Ramayana, this inconsistency in Rama’s age is impossible to reconcile. The Critical Edition excises a shloka where Sita says she was eighteen at the time.