Besides getting Ram’s army across to Lanka, Hanuman is also credited with saving Lakshman’s life.
Indrajit strikes Lakshman
Ravana’s eldest son Indrajit was also called Meghnad because when he was born his cry sounded like thundering clouds. He grew up well versed in serpent lore known as Naga-shastra and even married a serpent princess called Sulochana. He challenged and defeated Indra himself in a duel and so came to be known as Indrajit. After a long fight, he was able to strike Lakshman with a serpent arrow. With a triumphant laugh, he withdrew while Lakshman lay dying on the battlefield. Ram watched in horror as the poison spread through his brother’s limbs. ‘I have failed in my duty as elder brother. I have failed to protect my younger brother,’ wailed Ram as he gathered Lakshman’s limp body in his arms. Watching Ram suffer so, Vibhishana said there was a way to rescue Lakshman. There was an antidote to the poison spreading through Lakshman’s limbs. It was a herb called sanjivani located in a mountain far away in the north. If given before sunrise, Lakshman could be saved. ‘I shall fetch it,’ said Hanuman and leapt northwards at lightning speed. On reaching the mountain, Hanuman realized he could not identify the herb described by Vibhishana. So he picked up the entire mountain and carried it back to the battlefield. Vibhishana scoured the mountain, found the herb, prepared the potion which Ram poured into Lakshman’s mouth. The antidote worked and Lakshman woke up as if from a deep slumber just before sunrise, eager to resume his battle with Indrajit.
According to one Ram-katha, Ravana forced Surya to rise earlier than usual in order to thwart Hanuman’s efforts to bring the magic herb before sunrise. Realizing this, Hanuman simply grabbed the sun god and trapped him under his armpit. Such was his strength.
Later Hanuman disrupts Indrajit’s ritual making it possible for Lakshman to defeat Indrajit.
Death of Indrajit
Indrajit had obtained from Brahma a boon—that he would die only at the hands of a man who had not slept for fourteen years. When he learnt that Lakshman was such a man, he became nervous. His anxiety increased when Lakshman survived despite being shot by the deadly serpent arrow. So Indrajit decided to perform an occult ritual that would render him invincible. When Vibhishana learnt of Indrajit’s plans, he directed Hanuman and the other monkeys to the secret chambers where he knew the ritual would be performed. Led by Hanuman, the monkeys disrupted the yagna. Indrajit could do nothing but watch helplessly and curse his treacherous uncle. The following day, Indrajit entered the battlefield, a little disappointed and angry and extremely nervous. He came face to face with Lakshman and a great battle ensued. Missiles were hurled and struck down by either side. At long last, Lakshman was able to release a powerful arrow that escaped being struck down; it severed Indrajit’s neck with such force that it carried the head straight into Ravana’s palace.
Hanuman’s story clearly delights everyone who reads the Ramayana. He is Ram’s knight. With him around, everyone feels safe and secure. But underneath his great adventures is a philosophy that transforms this swashbuckling monkey into a much-venerated deity.
After the defeat of Ravana, Hanuman leaves the monkeys and follows Ram to Ayodhya. There, in the land of Manavas, he displays his absolute devotion to Ram.
Hanuman’s heart
During Ram’s coronation, a pearl necklace was given to Hanuman. The people of Ayodhya saw Hanuman examining each pearl carefully and then throwing it away. ‘Don’t you know the value of a pearl, you stupid monkey,’ said the people of Ayodhya. ‘A pearl has no value,’ said Hanuman, ‘if it does not have Ram’s name or image on it. ‘By that logic, even your body has no value because it does not have Ram’s name or image on it,’ said the people. ‘Who says so?’ asked Hanuman. With his bare nails he tore open his chest. Within, on his heart, the people of Ayodhya were amazed to find the image of Ram and Sita.
Hanuman’s appeal comes from the fact that he is not the beneficiary of any of his adventures. All his life is dedicated to others—first Sugriva, then Ram. He is a celibate ascetic. This celibacy generates tapa which manifests as his strength and his intellect. His ascetic nature is reinforced by folk narratives that insist that he is an aspect of Shiva, the supreme hermit.
Birth of Hanuman
Once Vishnu took the form of Mohini, an enchantress. So beautiful was Mohini that even Shiva, the ascetic, was enchanted by her. Unable to control his senses, Shiva shed semen that was collected by Vayu, the wind god. He poured it into the ear of Anjana, the wife of Kesari, a monkey. This made Anjana pregnant and she gave birth to Hanuman.
Not only is Hanuman a powerful monkey who burnt Lanka, he is also a poet, a grammarian and a scholar. Despite all these qualities he is content sitting at Ram’s feet as his servant. It is said that Hanuman is present every time the Ramayana is narrated. That is why even today, during the narration of the Ramayana, an empty seat is kept in his honour.
In art, monkeys are a symbol of the mind, since both are innately restless and curious. When a problem appears to the mind as an insurmountable mountain, the monkey-like mind can, through devotion and discipline, transform into Hanuman and fly with the mountain-like problem in hand.
7
Ravana’s Enemy
He who does not desire the wife or wealth of others
He who is not jealous of others’ fame or prosperity
He who always is interested in doing good to others
I seek the protection
Of that lotus-eyed boon of the Raghu clan
—From the prayer of Jatayu in Adhyatma Ramayana
Descent of man
With ten heads and twenty arms, riding a flying chariot, Ravana makes an impressive opponent. He is the lord of the Rakshasas, ruler of the golden city of Lanka, located on the island of Trikuta in the middle of the southern sea.
While his mother was Kaikesi, a Rakshasa woman, his father was a Brahman. Not any ordinary Brahman—a Rishi named Vishrava, son of Pulastya, who was one of the seven primal sages, just like Vasishtha, created by Brahma himself to be the guardian of Vedic lore.
In the varna hierarchy, Ravana, a Brahman, holds a higher rank than Ram, who is a Kshatriya. That is why it is said that after killing Ravana, Ram went to Rishikesh and performed a penance to rid himself of Brahma-hatya-paap, the crime of killing a learned soul. The story goes that before Ravana died, Ram even accepted him as a teacher.
Ravana, the teacher
As a mortally wounded Ravana lay on the ground moaning and groaning, Ram told Lakshman to go to him and gather as much knowledge as he could for Ravana, though a Rakshasa, was also a Rishi’s son, and a great scholar. Lakshman went to Ravana and standing next to his head said, ‘Ravana! Struck by Ram’s arrow you will surely die. But before you go, share your knowledge so that it will outlive you.’ Ravana did not reply, he simply turned his face away. Lakshman went to his brother and informed him that Ravana was not being cooperative. ‘Where did you stand while addressing him?’ asked Ram. ‘Near his head. Why?’ asked Lakshman. ‘If you want him to teach you, the least you can do is behave like a student.’ So Ram walked up to Ravana and sat near his feet. ‘Noble king of the Rakshasas, for the crime you committed against me you have been punished. I have no ill feelings towards you at this moment. Only great regard for your wisdom. I, seated at your feet as a student, humbly request you to share your knowledge with me.’ Ravana smiled and looked at Lakshman who lowered his eyes in shame. ‘Ram, you are truly a worthy opponent and the noblest being on earth, able to detach yourself from your emotions. I salute you. I have little time before I die. But I shall teach you what I consider the most important lesson of my life. Remember, it is the nature of the ignorant mind to be drawn towards things that will cause harm and to avoid things that are good. We must remember that what tempts us will in all probability be the cause of our downfall. What we shy away from, what we procrastinate about, probably is what will help us evolve.’ So saying, Ravana breathed his last. And Ram bowed his head to his teacher.
Ravana is revered as a gre
at devotee of Shiva. He designed a lute in honour of Shiva called the Rudra-veena using one of his heads as the gourd, his arm as the beam, his nerves as the strings. He composed a hymn for Shiva called the Rudra-stotra. Shiva considered him to be the greatest of his devotees and offered him many boons. But the boons asked by Ravana reveal his personality. The following story forms the theme of a Kuchipudi dance recital.
Mandodari
Shiva once asked Ravana what he wanted. Ravana replied, ‘I want to marry your wife.’ Shiva, the guileless ascetic, gave his assent. Shiva’s consort, Shakti, did not blame her husband—she realized Ravana had taken advantage of his innocence. She had to remedy the situation herself. So she took a frog and turned her into a nymph. Ravana saw the nymph and assumed that she had to be Parvati. Which other damsel would live on the icy slopes of Mount Kailas with Shiva, he thought. Ravana took the damsel to Lanka and made her his queen. She was called Mandodari after manduka, the frog.
Shiva embodies the principle of vairagya, absolute detachment. Yet, Ravana, his greatest devotee, is fully attached to worldly things. He wants what others have. He even wants what Shiva has. He displays not an ounce of humility. In his pride, he believes he is more powerful than Shiva himself. The following story forms the theme of many temple wall carvings such as those in Ellora and Elephanta.
Moving Kailas
Ravana felt the journey from Lanka, in the south, to Shiva’s abode, Mount Kailas, in the north, was too long and tedious. So he decided to uproot Kailas and carry it closer to Lanka. Shiva found the whole enterprise very amusing. But as the mountain rose and Kailas shook, Shiva’s terrified children, Ganesh and Kartik, began to cry. Shiva’s wife, Parvati, begged him to stop Ravana. Shiva realized that what Ravana was doing was wrong. So he pressed his big toe gently on the mountain creating such force that Ravana buckled under the pressure and the entire Mount Kailas came crashing down on him.
Ravana uses his immense power to assert his authority over land. He drives his brother Kuber away from Lanka and usurps his throne. Ravana also uses his power to force himself upon women. Some women, wives of other men, come to him voluntarily leaving their husbands behind, drawn by his beauty and charm and power. Other women are simply forced to be part of his harem. When Hanuman enters Lanka he finds Ravana in bed with many beautiful women, all of them are smitten by his virile power. But there were women who refused to submit to Ravana. One was Vedavati.
Vedavati
When Ravana tried to molest a hermit woman called Vedavati she leapt into the fire declaring her intention to be the cause of Ravana’s death in her next life.
In the fifteenth-century Anand Ramayana, the woman who rejects Ravana is Padmaksha, an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi herself. Sita is said to be one of these wronged women reborn. Sita exists solely to be the cause of Ravana’s destruction. She is Ram’s wife but the object of Ravana’s lust. She is bound to Ram by rules but Ravana craves her in passion. All human beings can behave either as Ram or Ravana, obeying or disregarding the rules, because Ram and Ravana represent two ends of the human spectrum.
Ram stands for dharma, Ravana stands for adharma. Ram stands for intellect, Ravana stands for instinct. Ram stands for the soul, Ravana stands for the ego. Ram stands for love, Ravana for power. Ram is the best of the Manavas, Ravana is the worst of the Rakshasas. Ram is therefore God while Ravana is a demon. Confrontation between them is inevitable.
When Ravana learns of Ram from his sister, he becomes insecure. Ram is everything he is not. Ram does not submit to passion. Even in the forest, where there are no rules, he is disciplined enough to be faithful to his wife. Surpanakha knows that the self-indulgent Ravana will not fight Ram only to avenge her humiliation. That would be expecting too much of him. So she stirs lust in him, thereby making the abduction of Sita as much about satisfying his passions as it is about avenging Surpanakha.
Since Ravana subscribes to the law of the jungle where all is fair, he does not shy away from using cunning to get his hands on Sita. It is only within civilization where dharma holds sway that trickery and cunning are frowned upon. In the forest, animals use cunning in the quest for survival. Ravana, however, uses cunning for his own pleasure.
Maricha
Ravana decided to abduct Sita. ‘Do not fight the brothers,’ warned Maricha. ‘I have encountered them long ago while they were defending Vishwamitra’s yagna. They possess powerful weapons. Use cunning.’ So Ravana came up with a plan that would force Ram to leave Sita unguarded in the forest. He ordered Maricha to take the form of a golden deer and make himself visible to Sita. Sure enough, on seeing the golden deer, Sita told Ram, ‘Fetch me that strange deer, dead or alive. Dead, I shall make clothes with its hide. Alive, I shall keep it as a pet.’ To please Sita, Ram picked up his bow and chased the deer. The deer, sometimes appearing, sometimes disappearing, managed to lure Ram deep into the woods. When Ram finally struck him with an arrow, Maricha screamed mimicking Ram’s voice, ‘Help, Lakshman! Help!’
At first, Lakshman refuses to leave his sister-in-law. But Sita provokes him with an unthinkable thought. In order to force her will on Lakshman, Sita suggests a vile possibility that can only take place when dharma breaks down. Thus in insecurity and anxiety, Sita abandons dharma and that proves to be her undoing. Before leaving, Lakshman tries to salvage the situation by doing something that annoys Ravana greatly.
Lakshman Rekha
When Sita heard Ram’s cry for help, she expected Lakshman to rush to his brother’s rescue. Instead Lakshman stood there bow in hand. ‘Something is amiss. I don’t believe Ram is in trouble. Anyway, he asked me to stay here and protect you. That is what I shall do.’ Sita was furious at Lakshman’s behaviour. ‘Go,’ she said, ‘your brother needs you.’ But Lakshman refuses to budge. Anxious for her husband, irritated by her brother-in-law’s obstinacy, Sita said, ‘Maybe you want something to happen to your brother. Then you can have your way with me.’ Lakshman was horrified at such a suggestion. ‘Then prove me wrong. Go help your brother,’ Sita ordered. Lakshman immediately rushed in the direction the voice had come from. Before leaving he traced a line around the grass hut and said, ‘Stay within these lines and you will be safe, for within is Ram’s kingdom where you are Ram’s wife and outside is the forest where such rules of dharma do not apply.’
Lakshman’s line or Lakshman Rekha is the line of chastity. Outside the line, is the jungle, inside its boundaries, civilization. Outside, the law of the jungle applies and inside, dharma rules. Outside, Sita is a woman for the taking but inside she is Ram’s wife, protected by the laws of marriage.
Ravana knows that if he crosses the line and forces himself upon Sita, it will be rape. But if he lures her outside, his abduction will not be governed by ethics and morals that govern human society. So he comes up with a plan that will force Sita to willingly cross Lakshman’s line.
Abduction of Sita
As soon as Sita was alone, Ravana came to the grass hut disguised as an ascetic and asked Sita to serve him food. Sita invited the ascetic to come into her house and eat there. ‘I cannot enter a house of a woman when she is alone. It is highly inappropriate. Come out and serve me,’ said Ravana. So Sita collected whatever food she had inside the hut and stretched out her hand to serve the ascetic, taking care not to cross the line traced by Lakshman. ‘Why do you stretch your arm so? This is highly inappropriate. Come forward and serve your guest appropriately,’ demanded Ravana. Sita did not know what to do. She remembered her brother-in-law’s words that she was safe only within the line. ‘Why do you hesitate to feed me? What kind of a woman are you? Do you not know that to treat a guest so is adharma? You should be cursed for this. No, your entire household, your husband and his entire family, should be cursed for this.’ Alarmed, Sita stepped out of the grass hut and offered the food to the ascetic only to realize he was no ascetic. He was a Rakshasa. Ravana caught hold of Sita and dragged her to his flying chariot and made his way to Lanka.
Ravana cleverly puts Sita in
a dilemma. As the wife of a Kshatriya warrior, she is obliged by dharma to take care of guests. She cannot do so if she stays within the line. In fact if she insists on staying within, she risks a curse on her husband’s family. So, for the sake of dharma, she is forced to step out. Once out, she becomes a victim of jungle law. She is no longer Ram’s wife. She is but a female creature that the most aggressive or the most cunning male can claim. Ravana does precisely that. By jungle law that states might is right, he has done nothing wrong.
Luckily Ram discovers the trail left behind by Sita. He learns she has been taken south.
That Lanka is located to the south is significant. This is not the geographical south as is conventionally believed. It is the metaphorical south. In Vastu-shastra or the occult science of space, the south is the direction of Yama or the god of decay and death making north the direction of growth and immortality. In the north is the Pole Star, symbol of stability and steadfastness. In the south everything is unstable and insecure. Ram moves from the north to the south to conquer the decay in human values embodied in Ravana. He will go into the forest and replace the law of the jungle with the code of civilization.
In his journey south, even before Sita’s abduction, Ram keeps killing Rakshasas who actually turn out to be Gandharvas cursed to be demons, suggesting that the ‘killings’ are actually metaphors of transformation. Ram kills the followers of adharma so that they are reborn as the followers of dharma.