The Book of RAM Read online

  It is Sita’s chastity that protects her from fire. When Hanuman burns Lanka, it is Sita’s chastity that protects the orchard in which she is imprisoned. Ravana may have tried to violate her body but despite all his efforts he is unable to violate her heart or her soul. Lanka with all its riches is unable to corrupt Sita. She may be dragged to Lanka by her body but she refuses to abandon Ayodhya in her heart. Through her, the Ramayana reminds us that even a victim can be a winner if he or she refuses to surrender to the circumstance. People can conquer the land, people can conquer the body, but they can never conquer the mind. Thus, in the Ramayana, the field has a mind of its own. It is not a passive thing at the mercy of man or the elements. It has the power to be faithful to the farmer. That is what makes Sita an embodiment of the supremely cultivable land.

  5

  Lakshman’s Brother

  I repeatedly salute that Ramachandra

  Who has a very playful body

  Who is heroic in the battlefield

  Who is the greatest hero in the universe

  Who is the garland to the clan of Raghu

  Who has a majestic voice

  And who wins all arguments

  I repeatedly salute that Ramachandra

  Who appears frightening to the wicked person

  Who appears submissive to the good person

  Who is near to those who sing about him

  Who shines greatly in his clan

  Who is the song of the stars in the sky

  And who is much beyond words

  —From Ramachandra Shatakam that salutes Ram in hundred Sanskrit verses

  Loyalty or righteousness

  Traditionally Indians are advised only to read the Ramayana, not the Mahabharata, inside the house because the Ramayana is the story of brothers doing everything in their power to keep the household united while the Mahabharata is the tale of a household divided over property. The Ramayana has three sets of brothers: those of Ram, those of Ravana and that of Sugriva.

  Ram’s brothers are devoted to him. It is said that soon after his birth, Lakshman kept crying until he was placed next to Ram. Since that day he was always beside Ram, accompanying him to protect Vishwamitra’s yagna and following him into exile in the forest. Such was his devotion that he refused to take his wife along with him to the forest. He even refused to sleep for fourteen years so that he could serve his brother day and night. The following story is popular in the Ram-kavyas of Andhra Pradesh.

  Urmila’s sleep

  Lakshman’s wife wanted to follow her husband to the forest as Sita had followed Ram but he begged her to stay back. On the first night in the forest, Lakshman kept watch while Ram and Sita went to sleep. That is when Nidra, the goddess of sleep, approached him. He begged the goddess to leave him alone for fourteen years so that he could guard his brother and sister-in-law night and day. The goddess, impressed by his act of filial devotion, agreed. But the law of nature demanded that someone bear the burden of Lakshman’s share of sleep. ‘Go to my wife, Urmila, and inform her of the situation,’ said Lakshman. Nidra went to Urmila. Urmila bowed her head and replied, ‘Give me my husband’s share of sleep for fourteen years so that he can stay awake all that time without any fatigue.’ So it came to pass that Urmila slept for fourteen years, night and day while her husband stayed awake in the service of Ram and Sita.

  Ram’s other brother, Bharata, is equally devoted to him. He refuses to take advantage of his brother’s misfortune. Instead he submits himself to the same suffering his brother has been subjected to.

  Bharata’s resolve

  Bharata refused to take a kingdom obtained so deceitfully by his mother. He decided to go to the forest and bring his brother back. In the forest, from atop a tree, Lakshman saw Bharata followed by a vast army of men and women approaching Chitrakut, a hill where Ram and Sita had taken refuge. ‘He plans to kill you,’ said Lakshman. ‘Let me kill him first.’ Ram stopped his hot-headed brother from taking any rash steps. He was convinced that Bharata meant him no harm. And sure enough, when Bharata met Ram they hugged tearfully. Ram learnt of his father’s death and was shattered. ‘Come back. His kingdom needs you,’ said Bharata. But Ram refused. His father’s order that he stay as a hermit in the forest for fourteen years had to be fulfilled. Bharata then said, ‘He did not order me to be king. The crown was simply secured for me by my mother’s complicity. I reject it. Only Ram shall be king of Ayodhya. Until you return, I shall administer the kingdom as your regent. And during that time I shall not enjoy the comforts of royal life. I shall live as a hermit outside the city and suffer as you do. Let this be a lesson to my mother.’ Bharata took Ram’s sandals and carried them to Ayodhya and placed them on the throne. These would be the symbols of the king-in-exile.

  By contrast, Ravana becomes king of Lanka by driving away his half-brother, Kuber, king of the Yakshas. The following story comes from Uttarkand, the final chapter of Valmiki’s Ramayana.

  Lord of Lanka

  The sage Vishrava had two wives. From the first, he became the father of Kuber, who went on to become king of the Yakshas. From the second, Kaikesi, he became the father of Ravana, who went on to become king of the Rakshasas. Kuber built the golden city of Lanka on the island of Trikuta located in the middle of the southern sea. Jealous of his brother’s prosperity, Ravana attacked the city of Lanka, drove his brother north and made himself king of Lanka.

  The same behaviour is displayed by Sugriva’s elder brother, Vali. The following story is based on the sixteenth-century Malayalam retelling of the Ramayana by Ezhuthachan.

  Vali’s quarrel

  Riskha, king of Kishkindha, had asked his sons, Vali and Sugriva, to share the kingdom after him. Vali and his wife, Tara, lived happily with Sugriva and his wife, Ruma, for many years. Then one day a Rakshasa called Mayavi challenged Vali, who was renowned all over the world for his strength, to a duel. Vali overpowered Mayavi easily but then the demon gave Vali the slip and ran into a cave. ‘I will follow him inside and kill him,’ said Vali to Sugriva, ‘But you stay here and guard the entrance of this cave and do not let him leave under any circumstances. If blood gushes out, remember it is I who have been killed but if milk gushes out remember it is not I but Mayavi who has been killed for milk not blood runs through Mayavi’s veins.’ Sugriva waited for a full year outside the cave but neither his brother nor the demon emerged from it. Inside the cave it was all dark and all he could hear were the sounds of fighting, the shouts of a demon and snarls of a monkey. At the end of the year there was silence. Blood started gushing out of the cave. Sugriva immediately assumed that Vali had been killed not realizing that before dying, Mayavi had cast a magic spell that made his blood appear red, not white. Sugriva called out to his brother but heard nothing. Sugriva was sure that Mayavi had killed his brother. Not wanting his brother’s murderer to escape he rolled a huge boulder and blocked the entrance to the cave. Unfortunately, after the duel, Vali was too exhausted to shout and tell his brother of his victory. When he found the entrance of the cave blocked by a huge boulder, he suspected that Sugriva had done so with the intention of killing him. He kicked the boulder aside and returned to Kishkindha where his suspicions turned to certainty when he found that his brother had already assumed kingship of Kishkindha. ‘Traitor,’ shouted Vali and rushed towards his brother determined to kill him. Sugriva immediately realized there had been a misunderstanding. He tried to explain but Vali was in no mood to listen. Vali convinced himself that Sugriva always had his eye on being the sole ruler of Kishkindha and had plotted to kill him. He chased Sugriva all through the forest, intent on killing him. And he would surely have succeeded had Sugriva not taken refuge on the hill called Rishyamukha. This was one place in Kishkindha that Vali feared to enter. For it was home to Matanga, a sage who had cursed Vali that if he ever stepped on the hill he would die instantly.

  When Ram and Sugriva are introduced by Hanuman, Sugriva shows Ram jewels that he and his monkeys had found on the forest floor. Ram recognizes them