Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana Read online

  Hanuman realized Sita was sharing a very intimate personal detail with him. It indicated how much Sita trusted him, and how much she yearned for Ram to rescue her.

  Then Hanuman had an idea. ‘Why don’t you climb on my back? I will carry you back safely to him.’

  ‘Did he ask you to carry me back?’

  ‘No. I don’t think he knows I am capable of this. It will be a surprise, a pleasant surprise.’

  ‘Let my husband liberate me. His honour is at stake.’

  Valmiki uses Hanuman’s search for Sita through the streets of Lanka as a clever device to give the audience a voyeuristic journey through the houses of the rakshasas. They appear human at times and demonic at others, at times barbaric and at times domestic. They are sensual on the one hand and fearsome on the other.

  Valmiki’s description of Ravana in bed with many women is highly erotic. The women are shown in various stages of longing and satiation. Their clothes are a mess. Many have left their husbands to enjoy the pleasure that only Ravana can give them. Many women kiss each other to savour the aftertaste of Ravana in each other’s mouths. It is an unabashed orgy, indicative of Ravana’s virility. That Hanuman turns away from the sight reinforces Hanuman’s hermit nature.

  In Krittivasa’s Ramayana, Hanuman finds a house where a man is chanting Ram’s name. He learns he is Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother.

  In Marathi, the term Lanke-chi-Parvati means a woman in a rich household who wears no jewels. To be adorned is the sign of being happy. An unadorned woman indicates an unhappy household. Sita wears no jewels even though she is sitting in the city of gold, indicating the unhappy state of her mind and thus helping Hanuman identify her.

  The chudamani or the crest jewel, sometimes described as a tiara, was an elaborate head jewel for women in ancient India, usually pinned to the bun or placed in the parting of the hair. It is still worn by women of the northern hill tribes of India.

  According to folklore, the crow has only one eye as Ram pierced its other eye as punishment for troubling his wife.

  Destroying the Garden

  It was finally time to leave. The rakshasa guards and attendants were slowly getting up. ‘Before I leave,’ said Hanuman to Sita, ‘I must eat something. I have not eaten for days and the journey back is long.’

  ‘If this was my kitchen, I would have fed you the choicest of delicacies,’ Sita said. ‘But all I have to offer you is the fruit of these trees. These trees are my sisters, born of the earth. Eat their fruit, drink their nectar, and enjoy their fragrances until you are refreshed enough to make your journey back to my Ram.’

  So Hanuman jumped up the tree and leapt from branch to branch, swinging and jumping, tearing leaves, ripping out flowers, eating the flesh of fruits and dropping the seeds on the ground, creating a commotion that made all the guards of the garden look up at him. He threw the skins of bananas at them, and the shells of coconuts and the pits of mangoes. Angry, the guards tried to catch him. But he was too fast for them.

  They hurled sticks at him, threw rocks at him and spread out nets to catch him, but Hanuman proved too smart for them and dodged these easily, hiding behind trunks of trees, slipping down and swinging up vines with ease.

  The beautiful royal pleasure garden of Lanka was a mess. Branches were broken, and trees had been stripped of leaves. Sita realized Hanuman was not just hungry for food, he was hungry for a fight, itching to annoy those who held her captive. She could not help but smile at the comedy of the situation.

  The commotion in the garden disturbed Ravana’s sleep and he roared in anger. Soldiers were sent to catch the audacious monkey. But even their axes, spears and clubs failed to come anywhere near Hanuman.

  Finally, Ravana’s son Akshaya came into the garden bearing a mighty bow. Hanuman realized his importance observing how all the rakshasas deferred to him. Akshaya shot an arrow at him; Hanuman caught it in his hand and hurled it back. It ripped through Akshaya’s heart, killing him instantly.

  The guards were stunned. A silence descended on the garden. This was no mischievous monkey. This was an act of war.

  The decision to meet Ravana, tell him about Ram’s mission and terrify his people is Hanuman’s alone, indicating an independent spirit. He does not wait for orders.

  In many folk retellings, Ram does not appreciate the havoc caused by Hanuman in Lanka. It is not clarified if it is the act that is not appreciated or the fact that it was done without permission.

  In the Ranganatha Ramayana, Sita offers Hanuman an armlet so that he could buy fruits from the markets of Lanka but Hanuman says he does not eat fruits plucked by others.

  For the first time Ravana faces defeat in his own city. He loses a son. The son, Akshaya, is no villain; he becomes a martyr, who dies protecting his father’s property. The narrative starts getting complex as the lines between heroes and villains are blurred.

  The Burning of Lanka

  ‘Bring this monkey to me, Indrajit,’ roared Ravana, holding the lifeless body of his son in his arms. Ravana’s eldest son, Indrajit, immediately entered the garden blowing a conch shell, the sound of which revealed his strength and his rage.

  Hanuman saw the confusion and fear on the faces of the rakshasas who accompanied Indrajit. All security that Lanka offered its residents had for the first time been breached. Now it was time to surrender, Hanuman realized.

  Hanuman let Indrajit’s arrow stun him. He let Indrajit bind him with a noose. He let Indrajit drag him to Ravana’s pillared court by his tail. The rakshasa-king sat sprawled on his throne, Akshaya’s body in his arms, surrounded by rakshasas who were growling and clamouring for Hanuman’s blood.

  Hanuman jumped up and sat right in front of Ravana, staring him in the eye. No one dared look at Ravana so. ‘Don’t you rakshasas know the rules of hospitality?’ asked Hanuman. ‘Get me a seat. Quick!’ The rakshasas did not know how to respond to this. They had never seen a monkey talk. They had never seen anyone talk so in front of Ravana. ‘Is this the way to treat a guest?’ Hanuman’s mocking tone did not escape Ravana. ‘Very well, then I shall make a seat for myself.’

  Hanuman extended his tail and coiled it to create a tower. He then sat on it. Ravana had to strain his neck up to look at him. He was not amused. ‘Who are you? Who sent you? You are no ordinary vanara; you speak Sanskrit but don’t look like a brahmin,’ said Ravana.

  ‘Speaking Sanskrit does not make anyone a brahmin. Expanding the mind does. I thought you with all your legendary knowledge of the Vedas would know that. Clearly, Ram knows more than you.’ At the mention of Ram’s name, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Ravana realized the monkey was here in Lanka on a mission, not by accident. ‘Yes, I have been sent by the Ram whose wife you abducted like a thief. Unbecoming of one who calls himself brahmin, unbecoming of someone who calls himself king. Return her to her husband. Respect dharma.’

  ‘A monkey teaches me dharma,’ Ravana scoffed. On cue, his brothers laughed.

  ‘Brother, don’t you see this is no ordinary monkey and Ram whose wife you abducted is no ordinary man? Let Sita go. Even if you don’t think there is anything morally wrong in keeping her here against her will, at least let her go for the sake of the city’s security,’ cried a rakshasa.

  ‘What kind of a brother are you, Vibhishana? What kind of a rakshasa are you, Vibhishana? Frightened of a monkey! Wanting to make peace with Ram who mutilated our sister! This man goes hunting leaving his wife all alone. He is not worthy of Sita. Get out of Lanka if you prefer Ram. Those who are not with me are against me!’ shouted Ravana.

  Hanuman looked at the lone voice of reason in Lanka. Vibhishana! So unlike the other frightened sons and warriors who dared not speak against Ravana. ‘You,’ said Ravana turning to Hanuman, ‘I shall roast and eat for dinner tonight. And since you are so proud of your tail, we shall begin by burning your tail.’

  On Ravana’s orders, the rakshasas tried to grab hold of the end of Hanuman’s tail. But Hanuman kept elongating his tail,