Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred and eleventh sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
rAma fought valiantly overcoming exhaustion, counter-attack and some phases of defensive combat before he was reminded by his charioteer mAtali to deploy the brahmAstra. As he did so, the ten-headed was slain and all the worlds rejoiced! Celebrations touched the skies in the heavens while a huge pall of gloom descended on the womenfolk of rAvaNa. They came out in large numbers, searching for his mortal remains in the battlefield. As they found him, they flung themselves onto him and wailed miserably. They recalled his greatness, exploits as well as the lacunae that brought about his downfall. The younger brother vibhIshaNa who chose dharma and parted ways with him felt a lump in his throat as he fell. It was the turn of rAvaNa’s chief queen manDOdarI to see her deceased lord. Onwards…
Among those wailing womenfolk of rAvaNa was the hapless chief queen, manDOdarI who beheld her deceased husband. Seeing her lord slain by rAma who could pull off unimaginable exploits, she wailed pitifully and bemoaned –
“O eminent brother of vaiSravNa (kubEra), even the great purandara (indra) didn’t dare to stand in front of you when you were angry. Weren’t even the great Rshis, kings, gandharvas and chAraNas fled in fright, scared of you? O king, lording over the three worlds, endowed with matchless prosperity and valour, doesn’t it feel insulting to have lost your life in the hands of rAma, a mere human who roamed the forests? You lived in a place that couldn’t be even accessed by humans and could roam freely changing your forms at will. You were endowed with all the great astras. Therefore I cannot comprehend or believe that you fell in the battle to rAma.
However, the moment when khara accompanied thousands of demons in the janasthAna was vanquished byhim, it didn’t seem like this rAma is a mere human. The moment when hanumAn could breach into lanka that couldn’t be accessed even by the gods and when the vAnaras built the sEtU (bridge) across the ocean, I suspected in my heart that rAma was superhuman.
Perhaps it stands to reason that the all-ender lord yama came in the form of rAma and played his trick to vanquish you. Or perhaps, you were done in by the lord indra (vAsava)? But what power has he got to even look you in the eye?
Therefore, it is clear that, this rAma is the great yOgI, paramAtma (supreme), the eternal without a birth, being and end, beyond the greatest, beyond darkness, the wielder of Sankha (conch), chakra (discus), gadA (mace), the invincible, ever auspicious, eternal, sporting the gem SrIvatsa on his chest and the only certainty (in the world).
The splendorous vishNU, the lord of all the worlds, the one with truth as his valour, assumed human form and being desirous of conferring welfare on the entire humanity, accompanied by the gods who assumed vAnara forms vanquished you along with your kin.
मानुषं वपुरास्थाय विष्णुः सत्यपराक्रमः ।
सर्वैः परिवृतो देवैः वानरत्वमुपागतैः ।
सर्वलोकेश्वरः श्रीमान् लोकानां हितकाम्यया ।
सराक्षसपरीवारम् हतवांस्त्वां महाद्युतिः ॥
इन्द्रियाणि पुरा जित्वा जितं त्रिभुवनं त्वया ।
स्मरद्भिरिव तद्वैरम् इन्द्रियैरेव निर्जितः ॥
In the past you claimed lordship over the three worlds by exercising restraint on your senses. Today the senses have taken revenge on you for their subjugation and brought about your downfall. You have ignored my advice to not confront rAma and the consequence of that is here.
क्रियतामविरोधश्च राघवेणेति यन्मया ।
उच्यमानो न गृह्णासि तस्येयं व्युष्टिरागता ॥
O best among demons, all of a sudden you coveted sItA and forcibly abducted her. She excels even arundhatI (consort of sage vasisTha) and rOhiNI (consort of lord chandra). This inappropriate behaviour towards the respectable sItA is the reason for the destruction of your body, kin and prosperity. You have been burnt down by the chastity and penance of sItA whose limbs are well proportioned, who is confers prosperity on the earth, who is in fact brings prosperity to prosperity itself, who is dear to her husband. You abducted her by deceit tainting your reputation and by doing so to that hapless and pious woman who was alone in the forest at that time you did a big mistake and were burnt down by her chastity even before you could realize your goal in doing so. You could have been burnt down to ashes right at the time you touched her, but the gods indra, agni and others dared not do so as they were scared of you. Of course, the consequences of evil deeds has to be faced when the time is right.
शुभकृच्छुभमाप्नोति पापकृत् पापमश्नुते ।
विभीषणः सुखं प्राप्तःत्वं प्राप्तः पापमीदृशम् ॥
Good actions beget good consequences and bad actions beget bad ones. Hence vibhIshaNa reaped good and you were condemned to this state.
You were so smitten by passion that even though you had so many women who were more beautiful in their forms than her, you refused to recognise it. Neither her lineage, nor her beauty nor her disposition is superior to mine but you refused to see it smitten by passion.
There is always a reason for the death of every being on the earth and in your case the reason is sItA whom you even abducted from far to bring your end. I have roamed the earth in your company, flying in opulent aerial chariots, adorning the clothes and floral garlands that were unique to those places in kailAsa, mandara mEru, chaitraratha and all other gardens of the gods. I have enjoyed being with you on these jaunts visiting different places flying in such unparalleled luxury. Alas, with your death, all that fleeting wealth has disappeared and I have become a commoner who has plunged in an ocean of grief. Now sItA will roam the earth without misery along with rAma.
O king, your glowing face with delicate eye brows, glowing skin, raised nose with its glow, glory and brilliance equalling the moon, lotus and the sun respectively, your glittering ear rings, bearing the glorious crown, your flirting eyes when you were deeply drunk, your charmingly smiling words – the same face has turned pale today, O lord, with its vitality drained off by the arrow of rAma and it lies in the battlefield smeared with the dust raised by the wheels of the chariot.
Alas, priding myself heavily on my husband being the lord of the demons, my son being a tormentor of indra and both my protectors were capable of taking on any enemy, and famed for their conquests, I never quite imagined that I will embrace widowhood in life. O king of demons, how did this threat from humans fructify for such a duo?
Your body which is shining dark in complexion like a sapphire, decked with armlets, gems, pearls, garlands and waist band which glorified it was charming in jaunts, fierce on the battlefield and in the brilliance of the ornaments it seemed like a dark cloud with lightnings. That body is today pierced by many arrows, difficult to touch and impossible to embrace. The many arrows that are stuck on your body make it look like a porcupine with its thorns. The arrows have pierced into your muscles, have hit your vitals, torn apart the sinews and nerves and your body makes for a bloody picture and is thrown down on the battlefield like a mountain peak struck down by the thunderbolt of indra.
Alas, this seems like a dream that you have been struck down by rAma! You were supposed to be the death for death itself and yet you ended up in succumbing to death!
You enjoyed the luxuries in the three worlds and sent them to great panic, you won over the guardian deities, you moved the mountain of lord Siva, you crushed the arrogant by virtue of your might and valour. You tormented the worlds and created panic by your roars among beings, you spoke proudly in presence of the enemies, you were the protector of the hardworking warriors who fought for you. You won over thousands of yakshas and dAnavas, you cultivated the demons named nivAtakavachas and befriended them.
नैकयज्ञविलोप्तारम् त्रातारं स्वजनस्य च ।
धर्मव्यवस्थाभेत्तारम् मायास्रष्टारमाहवे ॥
You were the destroyer of many a yajna and a protector of your people. You ruined the practice of dharma and created many (magical) spells in the battle. You are the abductor of the women of dEvas and asuras and gave them lot of grief while leading your people. You were the protector this island lanka by your great exploits. You were a great rathi, a warrior capable of leading a very large contingent of army and conferred great sensual joy on us womenfolk. My husband who is so versatile and capable, to see him knocked down thus by rAma and still be alive with this body, I must be a rock.
O king of demons, you deserve to be sleeping on expensive couches, how is it that you are lying on this dusty field? The day indrajit was slain by lakshmaNa in the battle, I was devastated. But if you were alive, I would still have not felt so miserable. With you gone today, I will rot until eternity grieving your loss. O king, this journey of life looks long and unnegotiable and so I don’t want to be alive without you, please take me as well with you. Why do you want to leave behind this grieving and miserable woman and go forth alone. I am wailing so much and why don’t you speak back to me? Hope you are not angry with me for having walked out of the palace by myself and come to you thus. Look at your beloved wives, they all have stepped out and are rolling on the earth grieving for you. Why don’t you chide them for this immodesty? Alas, they are all, your playmates, wailing inconsolably. Why don’t you console them? Don’t you care for them?
O king, many a woman of high lineage who were chaste, devoted to their husbands, served them and followed dharma have been widowed by you. Out of their devastating misery they have cursed you and your fall is the consequence of those curses. They say the tears of a chaste woman devoted to her husband should never fall on the ground, lest they can bring in great devastation. That has been proven right about you.
यास्त्वया विधवा राजन् कृता नैकाः कुलस्त्रियः ।
पतिव्रता धर्मपरा गुरुशुश्रूषणे रताः ।
ताभिः शोकाभितप्ताभिः शप्तः परवशं गतः ।
त्वया विप्रकृताभिर्यत् तदा शप्तं तदागतम् ॥
O king, you had reigned supreme over all the worlds and yet why did you who considered yourself a great warrior did the condemnable act of stealing a woman? It is a sign of utter cowardice that you abducted the consort of rAma from the hermitage by assuming a deceitful form. Not once did you display cowardice in a battle as far as I can remember. Unfortunately the cowardice you displayed in this instance showed that your time was up.
अतीतानागतार्थज्ञो वर्तमानविचक्षणः ।
मैथिलीमाहृतां दृष्ट्वा ध्यात्वा निश्वस्य चायतम् ।
सत्यवाक् स महाभागो देवरो मे यदब्रवीत् ।
सोऽयं राक्षसमुख्यानाम् विनाशः पर्युपस्थितः ।
कामक्रोधसमुत्थेन व्यसनेन प्रसङ्गिना ॥
My brother-in-law vibhIshaNa who has a fine knowledge of the past and a sense of the future as well as great diligence in dealing with the present sighed deeply upon seeing the abduction of maithilI done by you. He spoke the truth when he said, this obsession of yours with lust, desire and anger was about to herald the destruction of the demon clan and uproot us leading to a calamity. You are mighty and famous and hence should not be grieved upon, however being a woman, I give in to helplessness over reasoning.
न हि त्वं शोचितव्यो मे प्रख्यातबलपौरुषः ।
स्त्रीस्वभावात्तु मे बुद्धिः कारुण्ये परिवर्तते ॥
Of course you have gone taking along with you the merits and demerits that you have earned. I grieve for myself who has been rendered alone without you. Alas, you didn’t pay heed to the wise counsel given by your younger brother vibhIshaNa who spoke so reasonably and comprehensively keeping your welfare in mind. But you didn’t do what he said or what kumbhakarNa, mAricha, my father advised you since your valour had gone to your head. Hence you reaped this.
O one with complexion of dark clouds dressed in fine yellow and decked with armlets, why are lying on the ground in a pool of blood having throw around your limbs? O grandson of daksha who never retreated from battles, why are you not even looking at me? Wake up, why are you sleeping like that when the rays of the sun have entered lanka without fear today. This golden parigha of yours that is brilliant like the sun which was much celebrated like the thunderbolt (vajra) of lord indra and which struck enemies unerringly on the battlefield and scattered them lies tattered today hit by many arrows.
Alas, why are you embracing the battlefield like she is your darling and not even speaking to me as if you dislike me? Fie on my heart which didn’t shatter in a thousand pieces upon learning about your fall in the battlefield”!
Shedding copious tears, grieving miserably, taken by affection for her husband, the lady lost her senses and in exhaustion fell on the chest of rAvaNa. She resembled the lightning of a cloud that had gone red against the setting sun. Her cowives lifted her from there and made her sit nearby as she kept sobbing wetting her bosom with her tears. They tried to console her by saying
“O lady, are you not familiar with the fleeting nature of the world? The fortunes of the kings are fickle and the tide keeps turning”.
In the meantime, rAma instructed vibhIshaNa to perform the last rites of his brother and send the womenfolk back into the inner chambers. Reflecting on the order of rAma with a sense of dharma and subjecting it to intellectual scrutiny, the modest vibhIshaNa said –
“I think I am not fit to perform the last rites of this rAvana who gave up the vow of dharma, was cruel, crooked, fraudulent, coveted and usurped others’ wives. In the form of my brother, he was my enemy and hence he doesn’t deserve to be worshipped by me although he should be being an elder. The men in the world may well call me crooked but when they know about his misdeeds and vices they will say I was right”.
Hearing this reasoning, the supreme among the sticklers to dharma, the very affectionate and articulate rAma said to the equally articulate vibhIshaNa –
“Your duty is also dear to me and I have won due to your contributions. So I have to give you proper advice. This king of demons may well be endowed with adharma and falsehood but he was illustrious, mighty and always valorous in the battles. It is said he had never lost to even the gods including indra. He was magnanimous, powerful and made tormented the world with his roar.
Our goal has been achieved and the enmity ceases with death. Perform his last rites as he is to me what he is to you. The ten-headed deserves to receive his last rites in your hands and that will confer fame on you”.
Taking the instructions of rAma, vibhIshaNa hastened to lanka and planned the last rites of rAvaNa. He fetched the fire from the fire altar of rAvaNa, arranged for sandalwood and other types of wood, various scented products, gems, pearls, palanquins, priests and returned accompanied by the families and especially his maternal grandfather mAlyavAn (who rebuked rAvaNa in 6.035).
The mortal remains of rAvaNa were placed in a golden palanquin wrapped in silks. The priests invoked hymns as well as eulogies of rAvaNa with teary eyes. The golden palanquin that had tasteful decoration of flags and sculptures. vibhIshaNa and others lifted the palanquin and started moving in the southern direction. They setup wood there and readied the fire which glowed with leaping flames. The womenfolk walked behind the palanquin wailing and sobbing, running to keep pace with the men. They laid rAvaNa on the ground and arranged pyre with sandalwood and sprinkled various fragrances on it.
The last rites of the king were conducted exactly as laid down in the vEdas. They performed a ritual called pitRmEdha. An altar was made in the southeastern direction and fire was kept in an appropriate place. They placed the puffed rice, paddy, ghee and curds, ladles in their appropriate places as directed by the mahaRshis in the scriptures. A sacrificial animal was taken around the body of rAvaNa and was sacrificed. Its marrow was placed on the face of the king. They decorated rAvaNa’s remains with fragrant garlands and as stipulated, vibhIshaNa lit the pyre after all of them went round the body scattering puffed rice. Having lit the pyre, vibhIshaNa took bath and with wet clothes on performed ablutions with darbha grass and black til mixed in water. He prostrated before the pyre.
He then consoled the wailing womenfolk in a variety of ways and guided them out of there into the city. After they all went back to the inner chambers, vibhIshaNa returned to rAma and stood with all humility. Then rAma, along with his army, sugrIva and lakshmaNa rejoiced having vanquished the enemy just like indra did when he vanquished vRtra. Relieving himself of the bow, arrow and the armour given by indra, his anger quelled by the felling of the enemy, rAma assumed gentleness.
Here we conclude the one hundred and eleventh sarga of the yuddha kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 6.112. rAma crowns vibhIshaNa
Previous: 6.110. Wives reflect on rAvaNa
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 