Rāma ordered a delicious meal for the sage and Durvāsā ate his fill of the food that was as fine and sweet as nectar. He thanked Rāma and praised him and went back to his hermitage. Rāma was very happy until he remembered Time’s words. He recalled their frightful implications and burning with grief, he hung his head and did not say a word. ‘This cannot be true!’ he thought to himself.
Lakṣmaṇa noticed that Rāma was depressed and dull, like an eclipsed moon. ‘Do not grieve for me, Rāma,’ he said gently. ‘Do as Time said, for it has been ordained. Kill me without any hesitation and fulfil your promise. The man who breaks his word goes to hell! If you love me and want to make me happy, then kill me without any second thoughts or misgivings! You must nourish dharma, Rāma!’
Rāma’s senses were in a whirl when he heard what Lakṣmaṇa said. He sent for his ministers and the family priest and told them what had happened. They were silent when they heard the story and then, Vasiṣṭha said, ‘Mighty one, I knew long ago that this calamity, this separation from Lakṣmaṇa, was going to happen! Time is all powerful. You must abandon Lakṣmaṇa and keep your word. Dharma is destroyed when a man breaks his promise. And when dharma is destroyed, you can be sure that the three worlds with all their moving and unmoving creatures, with the gods and the sages, will also perish! You are responsible for protecting the three worlds. If you kill Lakṣmaṇa today, you will have established the universe firmly!’
‘I must renounce you, Lakṣmaṇa, or else dharma will be violated!’ said Rāma when he heard Vasiṣṭha’s words which were filled with purpose and meaning. ‘Whether I kill you or abandon you or am separated from you, it will all be the same to good men!
Lakṣmaṇa’s eyes filled with tears and he left hurriedly, but he did not go to his own home. He went straight to the banks of the Sarayuˉ where he stopped the activities of his senses and ceased to exhale. When his breathing stopped, the gods, apsarases and groups of ṛṣis rained flowers from the sky. Unseen by the others, Indra lifted Lakṣmaṇa’s body and took him into heaven. Thus, Lakṣmaṇa reverted to his original state as one quarter of Viṣṇu and the gods and sages rejoiced and celebrated and honoured him.
When Lakṣmaṇa left, Rāma was filled with grief. He called together his ministers and the family priest and said to them, ‘Today, I want to anoint righteous Bharata king of Ayodhyā, He can rule the kingdom and I shall retire to the forest. Collect the materials for the consecration as quickly as you can. I want to go the way Lakṣmaṇa has gone.’
The citizens were terribly upset when they heard this and threw themselves on the ground at Rāma’s feet as if they were dead. Bharata fainted when he heard Rāma’s words and immediately, he rejected the kingdom. ‘I swear on truth and on my place in heaven that I do not want the kingdom. What use is it to me without you, Rāma? Divide the kingdom between Kuśa and Lava and consecrate them kings! Send messengers to Śatrughna at once and tell him about your imminent departure for heaven!’
Vasiṣṭha saw how upset the people were and he had heard Bharata’s words. ‘Rāma, my child, look how the citizens have thrown themselves on the ground! You must find out what they want and fulfil their wishes,’ he said.
Rāma raised the people up and asked, ‘What do you want me to do?’ and they replied, ‘We shall go with you wherever you go! That would give us the greatest happiness and would also fulfil our highest duty. We want to follow you!’ Rāma saw that the people were truly devoted to him and he agreed to their plans.
That very day, Rāma anointed Kuśa and Lava kings of Kosalā. He gave them three thousand chariots each, ten thousand horses and elephants and huge quantities of money and jewels. Once he had established them in their own separate cities, he sent messengers to Śatrughna. Śatrughna heard the news and after organizing the affairs of his kingdom he came to Rāma as quickly as he could. ‘I have crowned my sons and given them all my wealth. I have made a firm decision to follow you,’ he said to Rāma. ‘You must not oppose me on this or try and argue with me. I would prefer not to disobey your commands!’ Rāma saw how determined Śatrughna was and agreed.
Just as he had finished speaking, the monkeys who could change their shapes at will came there with the bears and the rākṣasas. All of them were sons of gods and gandharvas and they had arrived because they had heard about Rāma’s departure. They honoured him and said, ‘We have gathered here because we want to go with you! If you leave without us, you will have destroyed us as certainly as if you had struck us with the rod of death!’
Rāma said gently to Vibhīṣaṇa, ‘You have to rule for as long as there are citizens in Lankā! Protect your subjects honourably. I will not hear any arguments about this!’
Then Rāma turned to Hanumān. ‘You had decided to live on earth. Do not break that vow now! As long as my story prevails on earth, best of monkeys, so long shall you live and keep your promise!’
‘The rest of you can come with me as you wished!’ he said to the other bears and monkeys.
Early the next morning, mighty Rāma with the broad chest and the lotus eyes called for the family priest and said, ‘Let the sacred fires be lit. Make sure they are carried ahead of us on the highway!’ Vasiṣṭha ensured that all the prescribed rites and rituals for setting out on a great journey were performed correctly.
Rāma went forth, wearing dazzling white clothes, carrying a bunch of kuśa grass in his hand and uttering mantras to invoke Brahmā. He left his home and walked down the road shining like the sun. He did not speak to anyone or look at anything, Śrī walked on his left holding a lotus, the Earth walked on his right and his own majesty walked in front of him. His great bow and all his arrows took human form and followed him. The Vedas appeared in the form of brahmins and Saviṭr, the protector of all, and the sacred syllables were also there.
The great sages and brahmins followed Rāma because the doors of heaven had been opened wide. All the women and children, the young and the old, the servants and retainers from the inner apartments came, too. Bharata and Śatrughna went along with their retinue and attendants. The sacred fires were carried in front and the brahmins followed along with their wives and children. The ministers and their families also came and the happy and prosperous citizens of Ayodhyā followed their king, enthralled by his many virtues.
With immense delight, the people bathed and chattered and enjoyed themselves. No one was unhappy or wretched or miserable and it was a miracle that everyone was so happy. Even the people of the countryside who had only come there to watch, decided to follow Rāma to heaven. The monkeys, bears and rākṣasas, the townspeople and the country folk walked behind Rāma with calm and collected minds.
After going one and half yojanās, Rāma came to the clear, pure waters of the Sarayuˉ that lay to the west. At that moment, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, arrived, surrounded by all the gods and great sages in their wondrous vehicles. Flowers rained from the sky and a gentle breeze blew. Thousands of gandharvas and apsarases came there as Rāma approached the Sarayuˉ on foot.
‘Welcome, Viṣṇu!’ Brahmā’s voice rang out from the sky. ‘It is our good fortune that you have returned to us, Rāma! Enter your own body along with your god-like brothers!’
Rāma did as Brahmā said and entered Viṣṇu’s effulgent and splendid body with his brothers. The gods and heavenly creatures and celestial beings all worshipped him, praising him and saying that the heavens had been purified by his arrival.
Effulgent Viṣṇu then said to Brahmā, ‘We must provide for all these virtuous people who have followed me out of love. They are devoted to me and are willing to give up their lives for my sake.’
‘They can all go to the realm known as Santānika,’ said Brahmā. ‘Any creature that gives up his life thinking of you and is devoted to Rāma can live there. It is a wonderful place, second only to the realm of Brahmā. Since the monkeys and bears were born of the gods, they can revert to t
heir original forms.’
The monkeys were reunited with the gods they were born from and the bears returned to the nāgas and yakṣas who had created them. The crowd moved to Gopratāra on the banks of the Sarayu, their eyes filled with tears of joy. Creatures that entered the waters happily were freed from their earthly bodies and climbed into fabulous chariots. Even the lower orders of being that entered the waters obtained celestial bodies and shone like the gods. Moving and unmoving creatures that got wet entered heaven and when the monkeys and bears who had been born from the gods entered the river, they renounced their bodies immediately. Now that he had taken them all to heaven, Brahmā was very happy and along with the other gods he returned to the sky.
This story, along with its supplement, the Uttara, is honoured by Brahmā. It was created by Vālmīki and is known as the Rāmāyaṇa.
Glossary
Agni—god of Fire
apsaras(es)—celestial woman of Indra’s court; known for her dancing skills and beauty
arghya—water offered as a sign of respect and welcome to a guest; the word means ‘valuable’ and sometimes, rice, druva grass and flowers are also offered
Āṣāḍha—the month of June–July according to the Hindu calendar
asura(s)—enemy of the gods
aśvins—divine twins
Brahmā—part of the triumvirate of the great Hindu gods; commonly called the ‘grandfather’ of the gods
brahmarākṣasa(s)—ghost of a brahmin who was guilty of misconduct during his previous life; often a flesh eater
brahmin—priestly caste at the top of the fourfold division of Hindu society
Bṛhaspati—advisor to the gods
Caitraratha—Kubera’s gardens
caṇḍāla(s)—lowest and most despised of all mixed castes, born from a śūdra father and a brahmin mother
cāraṇa(s)—celestial singer
daitya(s)—demonic son of Diti; enemy of the gods
dānava(s)—demonic son of Danu, enemy of the gods; sometimes identified with the daityas and asuras
Dhatṛ—Vedic deity associated with ordering, arranging and upholding
gaṇa(s)—inferior deity in the service of Śiva; often depicted as ugly, deformed or frightening
gandharva/ī—attendant in Indra’s court; known for their skills as musicians and dancers as well as for their good looks
Garuḍa—king of the birds; Viṣṇu’s vehicle, deadly enemy of snakes and serpents
ghee—clarified butter used for cooking as well as ritually in sacrifices and worship
Indra—king of the gods
Kāma—desire; also the god of Love
Kārtik—month of October-November in the Hindu calendar
kinkara(s)—generally a servant or slave, but in this text, also a type of rākṣasa in the service of Rāvaṇa
kinnara(s)—semi-divine being with the body of a man and the head of a horse
Kubera—god of wealth; Rāvaṇa’s brother
kṣatriya—warrior and ruling caste; second only to the brahmins in the fourfold division of Hindu society
Lakṣmī—goddess of prosperity; Viṣṇu’s wife
mantra(s)—spell, incantation, verses used in rituals and ceremonies
Manu—progenitor of mortalsˆ
mārut(s)—winds, aerial spirit associated with Indra
mokṣa—final liberation through union with the Absolute, the ultimate goal of Hindu life
nāga(s)—semi-divine being with a human face and the hood and tail of a cobra; dwells in the underworld
Nandana—Indra’s paradise
Niṣāda—tribe of the Vindhya region
pannaga(s)—serpent
pāyasa—sweet rice in milk
piśāca(s)—vilest of all malevolent beings
Prajāpati—progenitor; one of the creators
puṣya—auspicious lunar conjunction
rākṣasa/ī—malevolent being; often thought to be divided into three classes: semi-divine and sometimes benevolent in nature, or enemies of the gods, or beings that flourish at night and haunt cremation grounds as well as disturb sacrifices
ṛkṣa(s)—bear
ṛṣi(s)—divinely inspired seer-sage
Sarasvatī—goddess of learning
Savitṛ—Vedic deity of the sun
Sāvitrī—wife of Satyavān; regarded as the epitome of wifely devotion and conjugal duty
Satyavān—mythological figure known for the fact that his wife bargained with the god of Death for his life
siddha(s)—semi-divine being who is a ‘perfected’ individual; pure and virtuous person who lives in the sky because of the merit earned in his earthly life
Śiva—part of the triumvirate of great Hindu gods
śrāddha—ceremonies performed after the funeral for the soul of the dead person
Śrī—another name for the goddess of prosperity, Lakṣmī
śūdra—serving caste at the bottom of the fourfold division of Hindu society
Sūrya—Sun god
Ucchaiḥśravas—celestial horse
uraga(s)—serpent, sometimes identified with nāga
vaiśya—merchant and cultivator class; third in the fourfold division of Hindu society
vānara/ī(s)—female monkey
Vāyu—god of the Wind; Hanumān’s father
Vidhātṛ—Vedic deity associated with giving and boons
vidyādhara/ī—magical being who can fly as well as change shape and form; generally lives in the sky
Viṣṇu—part of the triumvirate of great gods of Hinduism
Viśvakarmā—architect and builder for the gods; also their weapon maker
yakṣa/ī—benevolent semi-divine being; often the attendant of Kubera; rarely malevolent as in the case of Tāṭakā, though she is also referred to as a rākṣasī
Yama—god of Death
yojanā—unit of distance approximating about nine miles
yuga—age; aeon. There are four ages in Hinduism: kṛta, treṭa, dvāpara and kali. Dharma declines as the ages progress.
Valmiki's Ramayana Page 63