The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Chapter 7(86)

  With the sages, the kings and the apes, Rama heard that extremely wonderful song for several days. Through the song,772 he got to know that Lava and Kusha were Sita’s sons. In the midst of the courtiers, Rama spoke these words.773 ‘Go to the presence of the infinitely illustrious one774 and tell him my words. If she is pure in conduct and if the great sage imagines her to be devoid of sin, then let her establish her purity. Go and ascertain whether the sage is comfortable with this and also find out Sita’s wishes. After this, to assure me, return quickly and tell me. Tomorrow morning, for the sake of purifying herself and me, let Maithilee, Janaka’s daughter, take a pledge in the midst of the courtiers.’ Hearing Raghava’s extremely extraordinary words, the messengers quickly went to the spot where the bull among sages was residing. The messengers prostrated themselves before the great-souled one, blazing in his infinite splendour. They repeated Rama’s gentle and sweet words. Hearing what they said and ascertaining what was in Rama’s mind, the extremely energetic sage replied in these words. ‘O fortunate ones! It will be that way and Raghava will be satisfied. Sita will do that. For a woman, a husband is the divinity.’ Thus addressed by the sage, all of Rama’s greatly energetic messengers returned to Raghava, assured him, and told him all the sage’s words. On hearing the great-souled one’s words, Kakutstha was delighted. He spoke to the rishis and kings who were assembled there. ‘O illustrious ones! Come with your disciples. O kings! Come with your followers. Let all the others who desire it also come and see Sita take the pledge.’ Hearing the words of the great-souled Raghava, there were loud words of praise from all the best among rishis. The great-souled kings applauded Raghava. ‘O best among men! Other than you, no one else on earth could have said this.’ Having made up his mind about what would happen the next day, the slayer of enemies gave everyone permission to leave.

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  When night was over, the king, Raghava, went to the sacrificial ground and summoned all the immensely energetic rishis. Vasistha, Vamadeva, Jabali, Kashyapa, Vishvamitra, Dirghatapa, the great ascetic Durvasa, Agastya, Bhargava, Shakti, Vamana, Markandeya, the great ascetic Moudgalya, Bhargava Chyavana, Shatananda, who knew about dharma, the energetic Bharadvaja, Suprabha, Agni’s son, many other sages who were firm in their vows and all the kings who were tigers among men assembled. Filled with curiosity, the extremely valiant rakshasas and the immensely strong apes—all these great-souled ones also assembled. Kshatriyas, vaishyas and thousands of shudras—all of them also assembled, to see Sita take the pledge. All of them came there and were like mountains made out of stone.

  They heard the sage coming quickly, accompanied by Sita. With her face cast downwards, Sita followed the rishi at the rear. Her voice choked with tears and in her mind, she joined her hands in salutation before Rama. The beautiful one could be seen to advance, following the brahmana. Sita was behind Valmiki and loud roars of praise arose. There were sounds of uproar everywhere. On seeing her immersed in this great misery, they were overcome by grief. Some praised Rama. Others praised Sita. There were yet others who praised both of them. The bull among sages entered in the midst of that crowd of people, with Sita as his companion. Valmiki spoke to Raghava. ‘O Dasharatha’s son! This is Sita. She is excellent in her vows and follows dharma. Without having committed a crime, she was abandoned near my hermitage. O Rama! O one who is great in vows! That was because you were scared about people censuring you. You should grant your permission, so that Sita can establish your trust in her. These twins were born as Janakee’s sons. These invincible ones are your sons. I am telling you this truthfully. O descendant of the Raghava lineage! I am the tenth son of Prachetas. I do not remember having uttered a falsehood. These are your sons. I have performed austerities for many thousands of years. If Maithilee isn’t innocent, I will not reap the fruits of those. O Raghava! Had I not known Sita to be pure through my five senses and through my mind as the sixth, I would not have accepted her near that waterfall in the mountain. She is pure in conduct. She is devoid of sin. Her husband is her divinity. However, you are scared because people condemned you. She will instil confidence in you.’

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  When Valmiki said this, Raghava replied with his hands in salutation, noticing the one with the complexion of a goddess in the midst of the assembly. ‘O greatly fortunate one! O one who knows about dharma! It is indeed exactly as you have stated it. O brahmana! I have confidence in your unblemished words. In the presence of the gods, Vaidehi had instilled confidence in me earlier. O brahmana! I know that she is innocent. However, scared because of the condemnation of the people, I abandoned Sita. You should pardon me. I know the twins who have been born, Lava and Kusha, are my sons. However, I will be delighted if Maithilee establishes her purity in the midst of the world.’ Getting to know about Rama’s intention, all the supreme gods, with the grandfather at the forefront, assembled. The Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Vishvadevas, the large number of Maruts, the Ashvins, the rishis, the gandharvas, the large number of apsaras, the Sadhyas, all the gods and all the supreme rishis arrived. An auspicious, sacred and pleasant breeze started to blow, with a divine fragrance, and delighted the hearts of all the large numbers of best among the gods. Controlled, the men from all the kingdoms saw this wonderful and unthinkable event and thought that it was like during the former krita yuga.

  Sita was dressed in an ochre garment. Her face was cast downwards. On seeing that all of them had assembled, she joined her hands in salutation and said, ‘If I have not thought of anyone other than Raghava in my mind, then let the goddess earth open up a chasm for me.’ When Vaidehi took this pledge, something extraordinary occurred. A divine and excellent throne arose from the middle of the earth. Infinitely valiant serpents held it up on their hoods. It was divine, with a celestial form, and was ornamented with every kind of jewel. The goddess earth was seated on it and engulfed Maithilee in her arms. Welcoming and honouring her, she made her sit on that throne. Seated on that throne, without any kind of obstruction, Sita started to enter the earth and a downpour of flowers showered down from the sky. Suddenly, extremely loud words of praise arose from among the gods. ‘O Sita! You are to be praised. Such is your good conduct.’ Stationed in the sky, the gods uttered many such words. Cheerful in their hearts on seeing Sita enter, they said this. All the sages and the tigers among kings who were in the sacrificial ground were greatly surprised. So were all the mobile and immobile objects in the sky and on earth, the immensely gigantic danavas and the lords of the serpents who were in patala. Some roared in joy. Some were immersed in thought. Some glanced towards Rama. The minds of some were on Sita. For a while, on seeing Sita enter, all those assembled ones from the world were confounded.

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  When the sacrifice was over, Rama was extremely distressed. Unable to see Vaidehi, he thought that the universe was empty. He was overcome by great grief and could not find any peace in his mind. He gave loads of riches to all the kings, the bears, the apes, the rakshasas, the large crowds of people and the best among brahmanas and gave them leave to depart. The lotus-eyed Rama gave all of them leave. With Sita in his heart, he entered Ayodhya. The descendant of the Raghu lineage said, ‘After Sita, I will not take another wife.’ From one sacrifice to another sacrifice, the golden image of Janakee represented his wife. He performed vajapeya, with ten times as many qualities, and gave away a lot of gold.775 The prosperous one performed many other great sacrifices—agnishtoma, atiratra and gosava and gave away a lot of dakshina. In this way, the great-souled Raghava ruled over the kingdom for a very long period of time, carefully ensuring dharma. The bears, apes and rakshasas always obeyed Rama’s command. From one day to another day, Raghava delighted all the kings. The rain god showered down at the right time. The directions were clear and sparkled. The city and the countryside were full of large numbers of people who were happy and healthy. No one died at the wrong time. Creatures did not suffer from disease. As long as Rama ruled over the kin
gdom, there were no acts of adharma. After a long period of time had passed, surrounded by her sons and grandsons, Rama’s illustrious mother followed the dharma of time. Sumitra and the illustrious Kaikeyee followed her. Having performed many acts of dharma, they went to heaven. All of them were established in heaven, with King Dasharatha. Those immensely fortunate ones met him and obtained the fruits of performing dharma together. Especially addressed to his mothers, from time to time, Rama gave away a lot of gifts to brahmanas and ascetics. Addressed to his ancestors, he performed many extremely difficult sacrifices. Rama, with dharma in his soul, did this to enhance the prosperity of the gods and the ancestors.

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  After some time, Yudhajit, the king of Kekaya, sent his own preceptor to the great-souled Raghava. This infinitely radiant brahmana rishi, Gargya, was the son of Angiras. He came with a gift of ten thousand excellent horses, offered as a token of affection. The king also sent Rama blankets, colourful jewels, excellent garments and many ornaments. Raghava heard that maharshi Gargya had come. He was the beloved messenger, of Ashvapati, his maternal uncle.776 Kakutstha arose and with his followers, advanced one krosha to honour Gargya and accept those riches. He affectionately asked all the relevant questions about the welfare of his maternal uncle. After the immensely fortunate one had seated himself, Rama started to ask, ‘O illustrious one! What are the words spoken by my maternal uncle, as a result of which, you have come here? You are the best among those who know the use of words and you have come here, like Brihaspati himself.’ Hearing the words spoken by Rama, the brahmana rishi started to tell Raghava about the task at hand in detail and it was extraordinary. ‘O mighty-armed one! O bull among men! Your maternal uncle, Yudhajit,777 has spoken these words. If it appeals to you, listen to them affectionately. The kingdom of the gandharvas is adorned with roots and fruits. It is an extremely beautiful country and is located on both sides of the Sindhu. The gandharvas, armed with weapons and accomplished in fighting, protect it. There are three crores of the immensely strong ones and those brave ones are the sons of Shailusha. O Kakutstha! O mighty-armed one! If the idea appeals to you, control yourself, conquer those two auspicious gandharva cities and populate them. There is no one else who can be the refuge for those two extremely beautiful dominions. O mighty-armed one! I am not telling you a lie.’

  Hearing these words, Raghava was pleased with the maharshi and with his maternal uncle. He looked towards Bharata and spoke words of agreement. Delighted, Raghava joined his hands in salutation before the brahmana and said, ‘O brahmana rishi! These two princes will conquer that country. Bharata has two brave sons, Taksha and Pushkala. They will attentively follow dharma and protect my maternal uncle well. Placing Bharata at the forefront, these two princes and their forces and followers will slay the sons of the gandharva and populate those two cities. The one who is extremely devoted to dharma778 will instate his two sons in those two excellent cities and again return to my presence.’ Having told the brahmana rishi this, he commanded Bharata, his forces and his followers, and consecrated those two princes. At the time of an agreeable nakshatra, they placed the son of Angiras at the forefront. With the soldiers and the two princes, Bharata departed. As they left the city, the soldiers seemed to be led by Shakra. They were invincible to the gods and the asuras and followed Raghava779 at some distance. Creatures that fed on flesh and extremely large rakshasas also followed Bharata, thirsty for blood. There were many extremely terrible creatures at the front, those that subsisted on flesh. Thousands of them wished to eat the flesh of the sons of the gandharva. Many thousands of lions, tigers, jackals and birds that roamed in the sky preceded the army at the front. Not suffering from any disease, the army spent one and a half months along the route. They then reached Kekaya, full of happy and healthy people.

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  The lord of Kekaya heard that Bharata had come as the commander. With Gargya, Yudhajit was filled with great delight. With a large crowd of people, Yudhajit emerged. He swiftly advanced against the gandharvas, who were like the gods in their forms. Light in their valour, Bharata and Yudhajit met. With their forces and foot soldiers, they reached the city of the gandharvas. Hearing that Bharata had arrived, the immensely brave gandharvas assembled, desiring to fight. They roared in every direction. A tumultuous battle that made the body hair stand up commenced. It was extremely terrible and continued for seven nights, but neither side could defeat the other. There was an extremely terrible weapon made out of black iron and it was named Samvarta. Enraged, Bharata, Rama’s younger brother, invoked it against the gandharvas. Shattered by Samvarta, they were bound in the nooses of death. In an instant, three crores of great-souled ones were struck. The residents of heaven could not remember a strike which was this terrible. In an instant, those great-souled ones were reduced to this state. Bharata, Kaikeyee’s son, slew those brave ones and populated two excellent and prosperous cities there. Taksha became the king of Takshashila and Pushkara780 of Pushkaravata. These were two beautiful cities in the land of Gandhara, in the dominion of the gandharvas. They were full of heaps of jewels and adorned with groves. They were extensive in their qualities and sought to rival each other. Both of these were the best among beautiful places and unblemished in their conduct. There were well-laid-out shops and filled with gardens and vehicles. Both these beautiful and excellent cities were large and splendid. There were lofty, beautiful and excellent houses, similar to each other in complexion. There were large temples and these made the beautiful cities even more beautiful. Bharata, Raghava’s younger brother, resided there for five years. Then Kaikeyee’s mighty-armed son returned to Ayodhya again. Bharata greeted the great-souled Raghava, who was like another Dharma, just as Vasava greets the prosperous Brahma. He told him the excellent account about the gandharvas being killed and the populating of that country. Hearing this, Raghava was delighted.

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  Hearing this, with his brothers, Raghava was delighted. Raghava addressed his brother in these extraordinary words. ‘O Soumitri! These two sons of yours, Angada and Chandraketu, are accomplished in dharma. They are firm in wielding bows and deserve kingdoms. I will consecrate them in virtuous and beautiful kingdoms that are appropriate, without any obstructions. Let these two archers find pleasure there. They should not suffer from any other king there. Nor should the hermitages there be destroyed. O amiable one! Search for such a country, so that we do not commit a crime.’ Thus addressed by Rama, Bharata replied, ‘There is the land of Karapatha. It is beautiful and without any disease. Instate the great-souled Angada in that city. Instate Chandraketu in beautiful Chandrakanta, which is also without disease.’ Raghava accepted the words that Bharata had spoken. He brought that country under his subjugation and instated Angada there. The beautiful city of Angadiya was populated by Angada. It was beautiful and was protected by Rama, who was unblemished in his deeds. Chandraketu populated the Malla kingdom781 with wrestlers. It was divine, like a city in heaven and became famous by the name of Chandrakanta. Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana were filled with great delight. They consecrated the princes and the two of them left with their forces and followers. Angada occupied the territory towards the west and Chandraketu towards the north. Soumitri followed Angada and Bharata followed Chandraketu, to help them along the flanks. Lakshmana resided in Angadiya for one year. When his invincible son was instated, he returned again to Ayodhya. Bharata resided there for more than a year. He then returned to Ayodhya, near Rama’s feet. Both of them, Soumitri and Bharata, served at Rama’s feet. Both of them were exceedingly devoted to dharma. Though time passed, because of their affection, they did not discern it. In this way, they spent ten thousand years, attentively pursuing dharma and always engaged in tasks meant for the citizens. Fulfilled in their minds, they spent this time, established along the path of supreme dharma and surrounded by prosperity. The three of them were prosperous and blazed in their energy. They were like three fires at virtuous sacrifices, when oblations had been offered into the fir
e.