The Book of RAM Read online

  Viradha

  While in the forest, a hideous demon called Viradha who had killed many animals carried Sita away. Ram and Lakshman confronted this demon and tried to kill him with their many weapons but none seemed to work on him. Viradha dropped Sita and picked Ram and Lakshman up as if they were children and carried them deep into the forest intent on eating them. The two brothers broke his arms. Realizing he could not be killed by weapons, they dug a pit and buried him alive. From the pit arose a Gandharva who identified himself as Tumburu cursed by Kuber, lord of the Yakshas, to become a Rakshasa until he was liberated by Ram.

  Ram meets many animals in the forest who under his influence start behaving differently. Their actions are no longer motivated by the desire to survive. They perform selfless deeds, acts of generosity even at the cost of their own life.

  Jatayu

  Sita screamed for help as Ravana’s flying chariot made its way through the sky. Hearing this, the vulture Jatayu rushed to her rescue and blocked Ravana’s path. A great fight followed. Ravana finally raised his sword and chopped Jatayu’s wings. Jatayu tumbled down and could only watch helplessly as the chariot of the Rakshasa-king made its way south.

  Ram treats Jatayu with great dignity. He addresses him as father and cremates him as he would have cremated his own father had he had the chance. Thus, under Ram’s influence even a vulture, a creature that feeds on the dead, transforms into a creature willing to die for others.

  Another Rakshasa is so happy to be killed by Ram that he transforms into a helpful Gandharva who advises Ram to makes allies with the monkeys of Kishkindha in his search for Sita.

  Kabandha

  As Ram and Lakshman moved south in search of Sita, they were caught by a demon that had no head or neck or legs. Just two extremely long arms and a torso. On the torso were one eye and a vast mouth lined with sharp teeth. This was Kabandha, who was once a Gandharva. But he had challenged Indra to a duel and Indra had struck him so hard with his thunderbolt that his head and his legs got squashed into his torso. Ram and Lakshman raised their bows and shot several arrows at the demon forcing him to release them. A mortally wounded Kabandha begged the brothers to set him on fire. As soon as the brothers did that, Kabandha emerged from the flames, his Gandharva form restored. As he rose towards the heavens, he advised Ram to take the help of the monkey Sugriva who lived in the forest of Kishkindha near lake Pampa next to the hill known as Rishyamukha. Sugriva had a good knowledge of geography and would know where Ravana’s kingdom stood.

  The kingdom of Kishkindha stands between Ayodhya and Lanka, between the land where the law of civilization is respected and the land where it is disregarded. The Vanaras thus stand between Manavas and Rakshasas.

  In the beginning, the monkeys are aligned to the way of the jungle, like Ravana. Their leader Vali is described as mightier than Ravana. Once, Vali had caught Ravana by his tail and dragged him through Kishkindha like a dog on a leash. Like a creature aligned to the law of the jungle, Sugriva initially respects Ram only because Ram demonstrates that he is stronger than Ravana.

  Display of Ram’s strength

  Sugriva showed Ram the carcass of a giant buffalo called Dundhubi that had been killed by Vali. After killing it, Vali had kicked it so hard that it had landed upon Rishyamukha hill. As it hit the ground, drops of its blood fell on a Rishi called Matanga who was meditating there. Furious, the sage had cursed Vali never to step upon mount Rishyamukha. ‘If you can kick this carcass as far as Vali did, I will believe that you are as strong as Vali,’ said Sugriva. So Ram kicked the carcass and to the astonishment of all the monkeys, it went up into the air and fell far away right in front of where Vali held court. Sugriva then said that Vali could uproot seven palm trees with one hand. If Ram could do the same, he would be sure that Ram was as strong as Vali. Ram pulled out an arrow and shot it with such force that it penetrated through all seven trees. These two acts of strength and skill convinced Sugriva that Ram would indeed make a worthy ally.

  After killing Vali, Ram demands that the monkeys change their ways and subscribe to the code of civilization and help the weak. In dharma, one is expected to do things selflessly and out of generosity. When the monkeys help Ram to find Sita, they are doing it partly out of a sense of obligation and partly out of selflessness. Sugriva is keeping his word to Ram. And this display of integrity is a sign that dharma has percolated into the monkey kingdom.

  At the same time there is another monkey called Hanuman who, unlike Sugriva, is not bound by any obligation to serve Ram. He does so nevertheless. Hanuman is driven by devotion. He is selflessness personified. Hanuman even abandons the natural instincts of sex and violence—he becomes celibate and uses force only in the service of Ram. Hanuman thus represents the acme of transformation from beast to god. It is Hanuman who makes the perilous journey to Lanka and finds Sita.

  Hanuman discovers that Ravana never forces himself upon Sita. Subplots of the Ramayana inform us that the demon-king is prevented from doing so either because of a curse or because Sita defends herself using the power of chastity. But at a more psychological level, a man like Ravana who loves to dominate those around him, would derive greater pleasure in making Sita come to him voluntarily in fear or in desire. Making a chaste wife abandon her faithful husband of her own free will would be for Ravana his ultimate triumph.

  Ravana would like both Sita and Ram to become Rakshasas; Sita by submitting to her passions and Ram by submitting to his rage and insecurity. To his great annoyance, neither abandon dharma. Despite all charms and threats, Sita remains the faithful wife. And her husband turns out to be a gentle, dignified and upright warrior.

  Ravana can let Sita go and avert war, but despite advice from his brothers, his wives, his mother and father, he clings to her like a child refusing to part with his toy. It is both a matter of attachment and pride, a refusal to compromise for the sake of peace.

  Without any qualms, he sacrifices the lives of his sons and his brothers, lets them all die, lets Lanka burn, but refuses to submit. This stubborn refusal to let Sita go and willingness to destroy others for his self-indulgence, is an indicator of his ego.

  After all his relatives and soldiers have been killed, Ravana finally steps into the battlefield. This is no brave and proud king. This is an insecure man, all of whose attempts at self-preservation have failed.

  In some tellings, Ram rides into battle on Hanuman’s shoulders while in others Indra himself sends down his chariot for Ram. In some tellings, after a fierce battle, Ram releases a mighty weapon that strikes Ravana on his chest and kills him. In others, Vibhishana turns traitor and informs Ram of the secret of Ravana’s apparent invincibility. In some Ram-kathas, clearly inspired by folk tales, Ravana’s life is hidden in a wasp locked in a chest that Hanuman and Lakshman finally find after many adventures. The following retelling from the Telugu Ranganatha Ramayana shows how Ram refuses to take advantage of the secret information about Ravana’s strength given to him by Vibhishana on grounds that it violates the code of dharma.

  Ravana’s navel

  Ravana finally entered the battlefield. The monkeys and demons withdrew as Ram and Ravana came face to face. The gods gathered in the sky and the serpents arose under the earth to see this great battle. Both Ram and Ravana raised their bows. The fight was fierce. Ravana shot hundreds of arrows towards Ram. Ram shattered them with his own arrows before they even came near him. Ravana too destroyed arrows released by Ram. Ram’s arrows did manage to cut one of Ravana’s heads. But to his astonishment, the head replaced itself. ‘Why is it so?’ asked Ram. ‘Because,’ whispered Vibhishana, ‘he has hidden a pot of amrit, the nectar of immortality, in his navel. Shoot him in the navel.’ ‘To shoot below an enemy’s neck would be inappropriate,’ said Ram, quoting the rules of war. He shot yet another arrow towards Ravana’s chest. Hanuman then invoked his father, Vayu, the wind god, who caused a blast of breeze to suddenly appear on the battlefield and force Ram’s arrow to change direction towards Ravana’s navel.