Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

by Devdutt Pattanaik

  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
ose from Bengal, indicating the rise of the Shakta or Goddess cult, alongside Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

  In Krittivasa’s Ramayana, Hanuman wipes clean the document containing hymns to Kali and so Ravana is unable to invoke the Goddess.

  This episode of Mandodari being treated with disrespect by Angada is found in the Adhyatma Ramayana and a few regional narrations. The idea of laying claim over the wives of the enemy, however, does not find great favour in Indian epics; in contrast Greek epics such as the Iliad are replete with instances of Trojan women being raped and turned into slaves.

  In South-East Asian versions, many rakshasa women fall in love with Hanuman. This did not find favour in the Indian subcontinent.

  That Hanuman disrupts the yagnas and rituals of Indrajit and Ravana is in line with his association with Shiva, who destroyed the yagna of Daksha.

  Stories of disruption of yagnas and pujas resulting in the failure of an enterprise draws attention to ritualism and sorcery that is practised by people. This practice was frowned upon by those who favoured bhakti, affectionate devotion, over magic.

  The Blue Lotus

  Ram said, ‘Indrajit worships Kali. Mahiravana worships Kali. Ravana worships Kali. Perhaps I should also worship Kali. But while they make offerings of fear, through human sacrifices, I shall offer her only love, through 108 lotuses.’

  These were gathered and Ram began worshipping the Goddess. He chanted her many names and with each name offered a lotus flower. To test Ram’s devotion to her, Kali caused one of the lotus flowers to disappear. And so when Ram was chanting the 108th name, he found he was one lotus short.

  Ram did not want to stop the ritual so he decided to offer one of his eyes instead, for did his mother not describe him as lotus-eyed? He picked up an arrow and was about to carve out his eye, when the Goddess appeared before him as Durga, who is as wild as Kali and as demure as Gauri, who looks like a bride but is a warrior ready to jump into battle astride a lion. ‘Stop,’ she said and blessed Ram, assuring him of victory in battle.

  Thus Ram entered the battle with the blessings of Durga who is Shakti. Ravana entered the battle chanting the name of Shiva.

  The story of Ram offering his eye to Durga is popular in Bengal. In many households, during Dussehra, 108 lamps are lit to commemorate his offering of 108 lotuses to the Goddess.

  The Goddess is worshipped for nine nights in spring. Ram is responsible for also shifting Goddess-worship to autumn. Hence the worship of Durga in autumn is called Akal Bodhon (untimely invocation).

  Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, the great Hindi poet, wrote the iconic ‘Ram ki Shakti Puja’ (the Shakti worship of Ram) based on this episode from the Bengali Ramayana.

  The episode draws attention to the personal sacrifices that must be made in order to reach one’s goal.

  Durga is a less wild form of Kali. She is less domesticated than Gauri. She stands in between, bride and warrior. Kali is more associated with the rakshasas and Durga with Ram, indicating Ram embodies civilization, not Ravana.

  Ravana Falls

  Ravana’s sons were dead. His brothers were dead. His friends were dead. His soldiers were dead, or dying. The city was filled with the maimed: those who had lost an eye, an ear, a hand, a foot. Many had been scarred both physically and mentally, the screams of monkeys keeping them awake all night. The towers were burning, the walls crumbling. The moat was filled with rotting corpses. The smell was unbearable. Children kept crying, asking for their fathers who would not return. Lanka, once a pleasure garden, had become a city of ghosts and widows. Their unhappy faces lined the streets as Ravana finally decided to face the enemy.

  ‘Just give her up,’ begged Mandodari.

  ‘No,’ said Ravana, stubborn as ever.

  His march was grand, as it always was: his chariot pulled by magnificent horses, flanked by elephants and soldiers and musicians. But the soldiers dragged their feet and the music did not inspire confidence. Still it was a splendid sight, with the rakshasa-king holding bows and arrows in his twenty arms, flags fluttering on either side, his ten heads gazing upon the enemy defiantly.

  ‘You have trained your monkeys well,’ Ravana taunted Ram, who had no chariot and rode on Hanuman’s shoulders.

  ‘They fight because they want to. Your rakshasas fight because they have no choice,’ said Ram.

  ‘Lanka will never be yours.’

  ‘This is not an invasion. This is a rescue. I don’t want Lanka, just Sita. Let her go and all will be well.’

  ‘No,’ said Ravana, raising his bow.

  As Ram and Ravana invoked Shiva for blessings, Shakti asked Shiva, ‘Who do you really support?’

  ‘Both, of course. Ram will win because he will make Ravana see. Ravana will win because he will finally open his eyes,’ said Shiva.

  Magnificent arrows were released from either side of the battlefield. Ravana used his arrows to deflect Ram’s arrows and Ram used his arrows to deflect Ravana’s arrows.

  Ravana remembered Surpanakha with her bleeding nose, the mocking tail of Hanuman, the burning towers of Lanka, Vibhishana’s betrayal, Sulochana on Indrajit’s funeral pyre, the dismembered body of Kumbhakarna, the ripped mouth of Taranisen and the lamentations of Mandodari. And this made him grow angrier and angrier. Ram kept thinking of Sita, quietly awaiting him somewhere behind the walls, and he became calmer and calmer.

  Ram finally shot an arrow that severed one of Ravana’s heads from his body. To his surprise, another head replaced it. He shot another arrow that severed even this head. But once again, another head replaced it. The fallen heads laughed contemptuously.

  ‘There is a pot of the nectar of immortality hidden in his navel,’ whispered Vibhishana, ‘a gift he obtained from Brahma.’

  Ravana watched Vibhishana whisper, and roared in rage, ‘We reveal our vulnerabilities to those we love and trust. And you take advantage of this, share it with this killer, all because you want to be king!’

  ‘I am not like you,’ Vibhishana cried out, hoping his brother could hear him. But nothing was heard. The time for talking and listening was over. Ravana mouthed profanities at his brother and kept shooting arrows at Ram.

  Ram hesitated to aim the arrow at Ravana’s navel. He remembered his father telling him that during war the leader of one army should only direct his arrows at the head or heart of the leader of the other army, nowhere else. It was the right thing to do. Sensing what was going through his brother’s mind, Lakshman came between Ram and Ravana, raised his bow, and shot an arrow that struck Ravana’s navel, broke the pot of nectar and left Ravana vulnerable.

  ‘Why did you do that?’ said Ram, turning to his brother.

  ‘Because you would not, and someone had to,’ said Lakshman. ‘Now, don’t think, don’t wonder, just get done with the deed.’

  Ram decided to shoot the greatest arrow in the world, the Brahmastra, charged with the power of Brahma, to kill the grandson of Brahma, who claimed to be a brahmin but never sought the brahman.

  Chanting the right mantra, Ram mounted his bow and from Hanuman’s shoulders shot the arrow that ripped through Ravana’s heart; he fell to the ground, chanting, to everyone’s surprise, the name of Ram.

  A stunned silence followed. The vanaras could not believe that Ravana had finally been struck. The rakshasas could not believe that their great, invincible leader had actually been defeated. The sun stopped in its tracks. The clouds became still. The wind paused. Ravana had fallen. Yes, the great son of Vishrava, descendant of Pulastya and Brahma, would never rise again.

  In the Valmiki Ramayana, Indra sends his chariot and charioteer for Ram as Ravana refuses to fight a warrior who does not stand on a chariot.

  In many South-East Asian and folk retellings, it is Lakshman, not Ram, who kills Ravana.

  In Jain scriptures there is the concept of sixty-three salaka purushas or worthy beings: nine sets of heroes, twelve kings and twenty-four enlightened sages. The set of heroes always includes a violent hero (Vasudeva), a pacifist vict
im (Baladeva) and a villain (Prati-Vasudeva). The Ramayana is the story of one such set of heroes: Ram is the Baladeva, Ravana is the Prati-Vasudeva and Lakshman is the Vasudeva, which means Lakshman has to kill Ravana, not Ram.

  In the Bhil Ramayana, Lakshman kills the bee that contains the life of Ravana.

  The Puranas speak of Ravana seeking from Brahma protection from all creatures except humans, whom he did not fear. This is the loophole that Vishnu takes advantage of when he takes the form of Ram to kill Ravana.

  In Kamban’s Tamil Ramayana, Ram’s single arrow pierces Ravana’s body several times seeking the love he has for Sita or the space in his heart where he has held Sita captive.

  In the Ramayana from Laos, Phra Lam (Ram) is seen as the Buddha in his earlier life and Ravana is visualized as the demon of desire, Mara.

  The sage Agastya teaches Ram the Adityahridayam, a chant invoking the sun-god who gives courage and strength to the warrior.

  In one Telugu retelling, Ram refuses to shoot the arrow at Ravana’s navel as appropriate conduct demands that arrows be shot only at the enemy’s face. So Hanuman gets his father, Vayu, the wind-god, to change the direction of Ram’s arrow and force it on a downward trajectory towards Ravana’s navel.

  On Dussehra day, a community of Dave brahmins of the Mudgal gotra in Rajasthan performs funeral ceremonies (shradh) for Ravana. On the same day, the doors of the temple of Ravana in Kanpur are opened. The temple was built in the nineteenth century and Ravana is seen as the guardian of the Shiva and Shakti shrines.

  Ravana is the feared and revered doorkeeper and guardian of many shrines in Thailand.

  Both Ram and Ravana are devotees of Shiva. There are Shiva temples at all sites associated with Ram including Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Panchavati (Maharashtra), Kishkindha (Karnataka) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Ravana is believed to have established Shiva temples at Gokarna (Karnataka), Murudeshwar (Karnataka), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and Baidyanath (Jharkhand).