Valmiki's Ramayana

by Vālmīki,Sattar, Arshia

  He took Angada’s hand and sat down among the pleasant woods of Mount Mahendra. Then Hanumān addressed the brave monkeys. ‘I saw Janaka’s daughter in the aśoka grove!’ he said. ‘That blameless woman is guarded by fearsome rākṣasīs. She sits there, the poor child, with a single braid, longing for a sight of Rāma. Weak with fasting, she is emaciated and dirty.’

  The moment the monkeys heard Hanumān say the words ‘I have seen her’ which were as sweet as nectar, they were overcome with emotion. Some ululated, some roared and others roared back. They shouted and cried in their delirious joy. They raised their tails and waved them, they leapt on and off the mountain peaks and they caressed Hanumān, who was as large as an elephant.

  ‘O monkey, none can equal you in valour and purity. You have leaped over the boundless ocean and returned,’ said Angada. ‘It is our good fortune that you saw Sītā. Now Rāma can give up the grief he endures because he is separated from her!’

  The monkeys formed a circle around Hanumān, Angada and Jāmbavān, bringing rocks to sit upon. They were anxious to hear all the details about Hanumān’s leap over the ocean, about Lankā and his meeting with Sītā and Rāvaṇa. They sat facing Hanumān, their palms joined in respect. Angada sat in the centre of innumerable monkeys, as splendid as Indra in heaven and the mountain peak blazed with the glory of Hanumān and Angada.

  ‘How did you see Sītā? What happened there?’ asked Jāmbavān. ‘How does cruel Rāvaṇa treat her? Tell us everything so that we can decide what to do next. What can we reasonably expect when we return and what should we conceal?’

  Hanumān bowed his head to Sītā and started the tale of his adventures.

  ‘In front of all of you, I leapt from the mountain into the sky. I concentrated all my energies on reaching the southern shore of the ocean. As I went along, I saw a huge obstacle. It was an enormous mountain with a man standing on its peak. I was sure I had to break it and I touched it with my tail so that the peak shattered into a thousand pieces. Then the mountain called me ‘son’ and spoke to me in a sweet voice that gladdened my heart. He told me that he was Mainaka and a good friend of my father’s. He also wanted to help Rāma in his enterprise because Rāma is foremost among the righteous and equal to Indra in valour.

  ‘He let me go onwards and I travelled a great distance. Then I saw Surasā, the mother of the snakes. She stood up in the middle of the ocean and said that I had been sent to her as food, that I had to pass through her mouth. I told her Rāma’s story and that I was going as his messenger to find Sītā. But she was not convinced and so I expanded and forced her to open her mouth very wide. Then I contracted my body, became as small as a thumb, and flew through her mouth. She blessed my journey and wished me good luck with my mission and all the celestial beings praised me from the sky.

  ‘As I went farther, I felt something grab my shadow but I could see no one. I was very disturbed and when I looked down, I saw a huge rākṣasī lying in the water. She laughed and said that she was going to eat me, but I expanded in size and then ripped out her heart. She collapsed into the sea like a mountain and I heard the siddhas praising me for killing Simhikā.

  ‘I recalled the urgency of my mission and kept going until I saw the southern shore of the ocean, where the city of Lankā is located among the mountains. When the sun set, I entered the city of the rākṣasas without being seen. I spent the entire night looking for Sītā but I could not find her even in Rāvaṇa’s inner apartments. I was very depressed and was wondering what to do, when I saw a beautiful grove of trees surrounded by a golden wall.

  ‘I jumped over the wall and in the middle of the grove, I saw a śimśapa tree. Near it was a beautiful woman with eyes like lotus petals, emaciated and thin from not eating. She was surrounded by ugly and deformed rākṣasīs, eaters of flesh and blood, as a doe is surrounded by tigers. I knew she was Rāma’s virtuous wife and I stayed there, watching her.

  ‘I heard a huge commotion coming from Rāvaṇa’s mansion and it was mixed with the tinkling of girdles and anklets. Apprehensive, I hid myself in the dense tree like a bird. Mighty Rāvaṇa and his women arrived and came up to Sītā. She saw the king of the rākṣasas and was so frightened that she pressed her thighs together and covered her breasts. Rāvaṇa told her that if she did not accept him he would drink her blood in two months’ time. Sītā scolded him angrily, berating him for carrying her away while Rāma was absent. She told him that she would never accept him as her husband.

  ‘Rāvaṇa blazed with a sudden rage, like a fire is fed with wood. He rolled his eyes and made as if to hit her with his fist but the lovely Mandodarī, his wife, stepped forward from among the women and distracted her lustful husband. He was led away to his own apartments. When he left, the ugly rākṣasīs began to torment Sītā, taunting her with their cruel words. But she was unmoved and finally, they were discouraged and fell asleep.

  ‘Sītā began to cry piteously and I had to think of some way to talk to her. I began to praise the clan of the Ikṣvākus and she asked me who I was, who had sent me and how I had got there. I told her about Rāma’s alliance with my master, Sugrīva, the king of the monkeys, and that I was Rāma’s messenger. I gave her the signet ring Rāma had sent for her. I asked her what she wanted me to do and she replied that she wanted Rāma to take her away after he had destroyed Rāvaṇa. She told me to tell Rāma about her condition so that he would come to Lankā as soon as he could, for she had only two months to live.

  ‘I grew angry when I saw how miserable she was and I realized what else I had to do. Eager to fight the rākṣasas, I made my body as large as a mountain and set about destroying the grove. The deformed rākṣasis woke up and saw the chaos in the grove and the agitation of the birds and animals. They were terrified when they saw me and ran off to report to Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa sent the mighty kinkara warriors after me, armed with spears and maces and clubs. I killed fifty thousand of them with an iron bar. The ones that survived went to tell Rāvaṇa that his army had been decimated and I decided to attack the palace temple.

  ‘There, too, I killed hundreds of rākṣasas and shattered the building that was the jewel of Lankā. I killed Jambumālī, the son of Prahasta, and his forces with my club. And I slew the seven sons of Rāvaṇa s ministers as well as five of his mighty generals. Then Rāvaṇa sent his son Akṣa, a skilled warrior, to face me. I grabbed him by his feet when he leapt into the air. I whirled him around and flung him to the ground. Rāvaṇa was enraged and sent Indrajit, his invincible son, to do battle with me. He launched a huge attack and felled me with Brahmā’s weapon. Then the rākṣasas bound me with ropes and led me to Rāvaṇa.

  ‘Wicked Rāvaṇa asked me why I had come there and why I had killed the rākṣasas. I told him I had done everything for Sītā and that I was the son of the Wind. I also declared that I was a monkey, one of Sugrīva’s ministers and a messenger from Rāma. I told Rāvaṇa that Sugrīva sent him greetings and that he had made an alliance with Rāma for ‘Sītā’s rescue. I said Sugrīva asked that Sītā be returned to Rāma, otherwise his army of monkeys would arrive and destroy Lankā.

  ‘Rāvaṇa stared at me with his red eyes as if he would burn me up, and ordered that I should be killed. Then his brother, the wise Vibhīṣaṇa, pleaded with the king that I should be spared because killing a messenger was not the right thing to do. Rāvaṇa ordered that my tail be set on fire and the rākṣasas wrapped my tail up with strips of cotton and bark. They set it alight and pounded me with their fists. But I felt no pain and decided to set fire to the city. The rākṣasas bound me and dragged me, covered with flames, through the city, announcing what I had done.

  ‘I contracted my large body and slipped through the ropes that bound me and returned to my natural form. I picked up an iron bar and killed the rākṣasas and then leapt to the top of the city gates in a single mighty bound. I set fire to the city with its massive gates and highways with my burning tail and
everyone there mistook that conflagration for the doomsday fire. I was suddenly filled with doubt that I had burned Sītā along with Lankā but I heard the cātaṇas reassuring me that Sītā was safe. I went to see Sītā, again and again she sent me away.

  ‘I have told you everything exactly as it happened. Now let us do what remains to be done!’ concluded Hanumān.

  ‘Rāma and Sugrīva’s mission will be accomplished because of Sītā’s powers and my leap over the ocean,’ he continued. ‘Sītā’s ascetic power is so great that she can uphold the worlds or burn them in her anger. The only reason Rāvaṇa was not destroyed when he touched her was because of the merit from his austerities. Even a burning flame cannot do what Sītā can when she is roused to anger!

  ‘But now, that good woman sits miserably under a tree in Rāvaṇa’s grove. Surrounded by cruel rākṣasīs, she is emaciated and tormented by grief, lustreless as the moon hidden by clouds. She is devoted to her marital vows and stands firm in her dharma. She is not in the least interested in arrogant Rāvaṇa. She thinks of nothing but Rāma all the time, with her whole heart.’

  Angada took permission from the elders and addressed the monkeys. ‘Now that this matter has been reported to you all, it seems proper that the princes be reunited with Sītā. I can reach Lankā and kill Rāvaṇa with my own strength. How much easier, then, it would be when I am accompanied by heroic warriors like yourselves who are skilled in the use of weapons and are eager to fight!

  ‘I will kill Rāvaṇa and his sons and his servants in battle! I will slay the rākṣasas and counter the infallible weapons the gods gave Indrajit! I will create a rain of rocks and stones which could destroy even the gods in battle, to say nothing of these rākṣasas!

  ‘If the sea were to overflow or the mountains tremble, Jāmbavān would not be perturbed at all. A rākṣasa army in battle holds no fear for him! Hanumān alone massacred the vanguard of the rākṣasa army. Panasa and Nīla can make Mount Mandara quake with the power of their feet, how will the rākṣasas face them? Dvivida and Mainda are capable of attacking the gods and the asuras, the yakṣas and the gandharvas and the nāgas. They are born from the aśvins and Brahmā gave them boons. They used their strength to drink the nectar of the gods and they can destroy Lankā with its horses and elephants and chariots in their anger.

  ‘I do not think it is right for us to return to Rāma without Sītā, now that we have seen her. It is not worthy of us, famed for our courage, that we should report that we saw Sītā and did not bring her back with us. Hanumān has already killed a number of heroic rākṣasas. There is nothing left for us to do except rescue Sītā. Let us take her and return!’

  ‘What you have said is true,’ said Jāmbavāṇ ‘But we must do what will ensure Rāma success!’ Hanumān agreed and all the monkeys went to the top of Mount Mahendra and leapt off.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  The monkeys seemed to cover the sky with their huge bodies which were the size of mountains. They were delighted with the success of their mission and eager to see Rāma again and give him the good news. The golden monkeys flew through the sky and arrived at a beautiful little grove called Madhuvana. It was under Sugrīva’s protection and was closed to all creatures. Dadhimukha, Sugrīva’s uncle, took care of it.

  When the monkeys got there, they were delirious with joy and began to behave wild and crazy. They begged Dadhimukha for some honey and he gave them permission to eat the honey they found. The monkeys were thrilled and they danced and sang and ran all over the place. They leapt and fell and babbled and giggled. Some of them leaned against each other for support, some leapt from tree to tree, others threw themselves to the ground from high mountains. In their excitement, they jumped from the ground to the tops of trees, they sang and laughed and yelled and shouted to each other and made a huge commotion. There was not a single one of them who was sober and they seemed utterly insatiable.

  Dadhimukha watched as the grove was destroyed, its trees stripped of their leaves and flowers. He grew angry and tried to restrain the drunken monkeys, but, puffed up with pride, they were rude to him. Dadhimukha became even more determined to protect the grove and did whatever he could. He quarreled with some of the monkeys and tried to conciliate others. He yelled at some and slapped others. But the drunken monkeys could not be restrained. They knew their strength and hit back at Dadhimukha and dragged him around, not realizing their mistake. They attacked him with their nails and teeth and punched him and kicked him and in their intoxication, they laid waste the grove.

  ‘Collect the honey calmly!’ said Hanumān and Angada gave them permission to drink the honey they had collected. The monkeys honoured Angada and rushed into the grove like a river in spate. Delighted that they had found Sītā, they violently attacked the guards. They pounced on them and beat them up. They grabbed potfuls of honey, knocked over other pots, tossed away honeycombs and feasted to their hearts’ content. They tore branches off trees and finally, exhausted, they spread leaves under the trees and lay down. Utterly insane and drunk with honey, they threw things at each other and stumbled around. Some whistled and others sang happily, some of them fell asleep.

  The guards who had been repelled by the monkeys ran to Dadhimukha and complained that they had been kicked and beaten. ‘The grove has been destroyed because of the power of Hanumān’s boons. Those monkeys crushed us under their feet and nearly killed us!’ they cried. Dadhimukha was angry but he rallied the guards and said, ‘Come! We shall go to the grove and attack the monkeys who have eaten the honey. We will fend them off!’

  The guards followed Dadhimukha back to the grove quickly, armed with trees and rocks. The drunken monkeys, led by Hanumān, charged towards the guards, eager for a fight. Angada attacked noble Dadhimukha with a tree. In his intoxication, he did not realize that Dadhimukha was his relative and threw him to the ground. Dadhimukha’s arms were crushed and he was covered with blood. He lost consciousness for a moment and when he recovered his senses, he withdrew to a quiet place and said to his assistants, ‘Let them be! We shall go to where Sugrīva, our master, sits with Rāma! I will tell the king all about Angada’s appalling behaviour and he will punish these monkeys. This grove belongs to Sugrīva and his ancestors and he loves it very much. It is closed even to the gods. Sugrīva is sure to punish these greedy monkeys and their friends. When these wicked creatures who have ignored the king’s orders have been killed, our rage will have borne fruit!’

  Dadhimukha leapt into the air with the guards, and he reached Sugrīva’s home in the forest in the twinkling of an eye. He saw Rāma and Sugrīva and stepped down from the sky onto the firm earth. Looking miserable, he honoured Sugrīva by placing his forehead at the monkey’s feet.

  ‘Stand up, stand up!’ cried Sugrīva in agitation. ‘Why have you fallen at my feet? Have no fear and tell me truthfully what the matter is!’

  ‘The grove which has been closed to all except you, Vālī and your father has been destroyed by monkeys, great king!’ said Dadhimukha. ‘The guards tried to stop them but they pushed them away. Even now they eat and drink the honey there without a care in the world!’ Dadhimukha told them what the monkeys had done and how they had behaved.

  ‘Who is this forest guard, this monkey who stands before you? Why is he so unhappy and what has he just told you?’ asked Lakṣmaṇa.

  ‘Noble Dadhimukha says that a troop of monkeys led by Angada has consumed a large amount of honey,’ replied Sugrīva. ‘They would never have done such a thing if they had failed in their mission! Since the grove has been destroyed, I am sure they have met with success!

  ‘I am also positive that it was Hanumān who saw Sītā. He is the only one capable of doing that! He is intelligent and strong and resolute. With Jāmbavān as the leader of the expedition and Angada as the commander of the troops and Hanumān as its moving spirit, this group of monkeys had to be successful!

  ‘The monkeys must have arriv
ed at the grove after searching the southern region. They attacked the guards and beat them up and then they violated the grove. Dadhimukha has come here to tell me this. Ah, Lakṣmaṇa! Understand what has really happened. The monkeys have seen Sītā and so they are celebrating by drinking honey! Otherwise, they would never have laid waste that divine grove which was given to us as a boon!’

  Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa rejoiced when they heard the good news from Sugrīva. ‘I am delighted that the successful monkeys have destroyed the grove,’ said Sugrīva to Dadhimukha. ‘They are forgiven for their behaviour. I cannot wait to see the monkeys led by Hanumān. Now that they have succeeded in their task, the princes and I want to hear all about the efforts that were made to find Sītā!’

  Dadhimukha bowed to Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sugrīva and leapt into the sky. He returned to the grove and saw that the monkeys were no longer drunk. But they were still excited and they were urinating honeyed water all over the place. Dadhimukha went up to Angada and with his palms joined, he said sweetly, ‘Don’t be angry with these guards who attacked you under my instructions. Crown prince, you are the master of this grove! Forgive us for the mistake we committed in our ignorance! Your father was the king of all the monkeys before. You and Sugrīva are no different from him.

  ‘I went and reported everything to Sugrīva, your uncle. He told me to bring all the monkeys there as soon as possible. He was thrilled that you had arrived here and is not at all angry about the destruction of the grove. “Send them here quickly!” he said to me.’

  ‘I am sure Rāma has heard all this, too,’ said the eloquent Angada. ‘We should not stay here much longer since we have been successful in our mission. You have drunk honey to your hearts’ content and you have rested. There is nothing left to do except return to Sugrīva. But I will do whatever you think best. Even though I am the crown prince, I am not capable of commanding you all. You are the ones who made the mission a success and it would be improper for me to tell you what to do!’