Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana Read online

  The power of Ram’s name became popular in the fourteenth century after Ramanand popularized devotion to Ram especially in North India. Chanting the name of Ram became the greatest of prayers to invoke the power of God.

  Mahiravana

  Ravana then turned to his friend Mahiravana, king of Patala, the subterranean realm. He was a great devotee of Kali and a sorcerer. He would offer the Goddess human sacrifices and in exchange acquire siddha. ‘Kill Ram who killed Kumbhakarna. Kill Lakshman who killed Indrajit. I am sure their sacrifice will secure you more powers,’ Ravana told Mahiravana. The idea appealed to the great sorcerer, who had initially hesitated attacking a man who had done him no harm.

  Vibhishana meanwhile told Hanuman, ‘With Kumbhakarna and Indrajit gone, Ravana will surely turn to Mahiravana. Only you can protect Ram and Lakshman for you are also blessed with siddha.’

  Hanuman therefore extended his tail and coiled it around to create a fortress in which Ram and Lakshman were told to rest whenever they were not in battle. No one would be able to cross the ring without Hanuman’s permission.

  Mahiravana made many attempts to enter this fortress: he came disguised as Jambuvan, then Kaushalya, then Janaka. Each time Vibhishana recognized him. Finally, he took the form of Vibhishana himself, duped Hanuman and managed to enter the fortress. He cast a spell on Ram and Lakshman, and carried them off to Patala through a tunnel he bore into the ground.

  When the abduction was discovered Hanuman leapt into the tunnel and followed Mahiravana to Patala, determined to rescue the brothers.

  At the entrance of Patala, Hanuman met a fierce warrior, who was equal in strength to him. They fought for a long time and Hanuman found it impossible to overpower him. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

  ‘I am Makaradvaja, son of Hanuman,’ he said.

  ‘That is impossible. I am Hanuman and I have no wife. I have been celibate all my life.’

  Makaradvaja demanded proof that Hanuman was indeed who he claimed to be. ‘There are five lamps burning in the five different directions of Patala. If you can blow them all out simultaneously, I will believe you are indeed Hanuman.’

  Hanuman sprouted four extra heads: of a boar, an eagle, a horse and a lion. He then exhaled vigorously from all five mouths and extinguished the five lamps of Patala, convincing Makaradvaja that he was indeed who he claimed to be.

  Makaradvaja then revealed that when Hanuman was flying over the sea to Lanka a drop of his sweat fell into the waters and was consumed by Makaradvaja’s mother, a fish. Thus was he born. He had been told by sages to guard the gates of Patala, for here he would meet his father.

  Makaradvaja bowed to his father and said, ‘No one in Patala will stop you now, for I have let you pass.’

  True enough, no one in Patala stopped Hanuman. He found his way to the corner where Ram and Lakshman had been kept chained, ready to be sacrificed. They were anointed with turmeric, decked with red hibiscus flowers and fed savoury dishes. ‘You are lucky. You are going to be offered to the Goddess,’ said the residents of Patala.

  Hanuman took the form of a bee, flew close to Ram and told him how he could get out of this messy situation. When Ram was taken to the sacrificial altar and told to bend so that his head could be severed from his body, Ram said what Hanuman had told him to say, ‘I am the eldest son of the Raghu-kula, prince of Ayodhya. I have never bowed my head in my life. I would like the great sorcerer to show me how.’

  Since all wishes of the creature being sacrificed have to be fulfilled, Mahiravana went down on his knees and demonstrated how to place the neck on the sacrificial altar. As soon as he did this, Hanuman moved like lightning. He picked up the sacrificial sword and beheaded Mahiravana in one stroke.

  The sacrifice was thus completed. Pleased with the sacrifice, the Goddess blessed Hanuman and said, ‘When Ram is gone from this earth, serve as my guardian.’

  ‘But Ram will never leave the earth,’ said Hanuman. The Goddess smiled on hearing this, as did Ram.

  When Hanuman placed Ram and Lakshman on his shoulders and prepared to leave Patala, Chandrasena, Mahiravana’s wife, blocked his path. Hanuman kicked her aside.

  Chandrasena was pregnant with Mahiravana’s child. The unborn child, Ahiravana, was so furious at his mother being treated like this that he emerged out of his mother’s womb, a full-grown warrior, and challenged Hanuman to a duel.

  Hanuman trampled Ahiravana underfoot, leapt out of Patala and returned to earth.

  The story of Ram’s abduction and Hanuman’s journey to the subterranean regions comes from the Sanskrit Adbhut Ramayana. It has fantasy elements that make it more entertainment than sacred story.

  Ram had admonished Hanuman for taking the decision to burn Lanka. After that Hanuman decided never to be proactive and only to obey Ram. To make Hanuman change his ways, and become proactive once again, the gods devised the whole adventure to Patala where Hanuman had to take decisions on his own, as Ram was not around.

  According to the Hanuman Chalisa, the hymn of forty verses in praise of Hanuman, composed by Tulsidas in the sixteenth century in Avadhi, Hanuman has eight siddha powers: the power to expand, the power to shrink, the power to change shape, the power to overpower, the power to become extremely heavy, the power to become extremely light, the power to travel anywhere and the power to grant any wish.

  The idea of Hanuman having children is awkward as Hanuman is renowned for his chastity.

  Across India one has temples of Patal-Hanuman (the Hanuman who went to the netherworld), Dakshin-mukhi Hanuman (the Hanuman who faces south, the direction of death) and Pancha-mukhi or Dasa-mukhi Hanuman (the Hanuman with five or ten heads). In this form, he is not Ramdas (servant of Ram); he is the very autonomous Mahavir or Mahabali (the great hero).

  The image of Hanuman sprouting heads of a lion, a horse, an eagle and a boar is popular amongst Madhwa sampradaya in Karnataka. It transforms Hanuman from servant of God to God himself as this form is visually similar to Krishna’s cosmic form found in the Mahabharata.

  In some stories, Mahiravana is addressed as Ahiravana; in others Mahiravana is the father of Ahiravana.

  In the Krittivasa Ramayana, Ahiravana, the newly-born child of Mahiravana, is a full-grown warrior. He is covered with afterbirth and naked; still he fights his father’s killer.

  In the Gujarati Giridhar Ramayana, Mahiravana’s wife, Chandrasena, turns against her husband on the promise that Ram will be her husband. Ram refuses to marry her but promises her that when he takes birth as Krishna, she will be reborn as Satyabhama and will be his wife.

  In art, Hanuman is sometimes shown trampling a woman, variously identified as Surpanakha, Chandrasena, or Panvati, a malefic astrological influence that can be overcome by the grace of Hanuman. This rather misogynistic side of Hanuman is not very popular amongst devotees.

  With the Goddess being the ishta-devata, or chief deity, of Indrajit and Mahiravana, the Shakti cult of the Goddess makes its presence felt in the Ramayana.

  Ravana’s Wives

  On rising to earth, Hanuman learned that Ravana was invoking Kali: he had heard of Mahiravana’s defeat and was filled with dread. If Ravana succeeded, he would become invincible in battle.

  Hanuman immediately rushed into Lanka along with Angada and found this was indeed true. He created a racket, and kicked away the utensils and the baskets of fruits and flowers being offered to the Goddess. He shouted and screamed, hoping to distract Ravana; but Ravana was lost in meditation and refused to stop his ritual.

  Finally, Angada grabbed Mandodari’s clothes and started to yank them off, and she screamed, ‘What is this, Ravana? Will you let a monkey treat me, your wife, like this?’

  Ravana could not ignore her piteous cries. He stopped his ritual and came to her rescue. Angada immediately let Mandodari go and returned to the battlefield with Hanuman, their mission successful.

  In different versions, Ravana either invokes Shiva or Kali. These narrations gain prominence in regional Ramayana s , especially th