Cover Story

The Sundara Kanda - Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath

CHAPTER II
(Hanuman’s Journey across the Ocean)

1. Thence Hanumana went to Lanka which was most beautiful to behold, and having at night assumed a small body wandered here and there.

2 – 3. For the purpose of searching Sita he entered the royal house-hold. There having searched through all places Hanumana did not see Janaki. Then recollecting what Lanka had told him he speedily went to the beautiful Asoka Vanika.

4. It was full of trees like the tree of the gods. It had tanks with steps made of gems. It was full of various kinds of birds and was surrounded with palaces of gold.

5 – 6. It was surrounded with trees which were bent with the load of fruit. There the son of the wind searching for Janaki under every tree, saw a temple touching as if it were the sky and containing a hundred columns made of gems. Seeing it he became much astonished.

7. Passing it and having gone a short distance he saw a shinshapa tree densely covered with foliage.

8 – 10. It had never seen the sun and was resounding with the warblings of birds of golden hue.

At its foot surrounded by Rakshasa women, Hanumana saw the daughter of Janaka like unto a goddess on earth. Her hair was tied in one knot indicative of separation from her husband. She was emaciated and wore dirty clothes. She slept on the earth and was grieving and uttering Rama, Rama. She was without a protector and had become lean by fasts.

11. Seeing her from amongst the branches of the tree, that elephant amongst monkeys said. "I have achieved my object. Having seen the daughter of Janaka, I alone have done the work of Rama the supreme self". Then there arose a noise outside the inner apartment of the place.

12 – 14. "What is this," thought the son of the wind as he was hiding amongst the branches of the tree. Then seeing Ravana with his ten faces and twenty arms like unto a mountain of black antimony coming up surrounded by women, he became astonished and hid himself amidst the leaves.

15 – 17. "How could my death be soon caused by Raghava, Rama does not come up, even for the sake of Sita. What is the cause of this." Thus always meditating upon Rama in his heart, that night after mid-night Ravana, the king of the Rakshasas, saw in a dream a monkey coming up to Lanka by the command of Rama and assuming his desired shape of a diminutive size seeing Sita from amidst the clusters of trees.

18. Seeing this strange dream he pondered as to whether it could be true. Thus thinking, he said I shall do this.

19. I shall pierce Janaki who is already sunk in sorrow with my wordy shalts. Seeing that let the monkey tell Rama of it.

20 – 21. Thinking thus he forthwith went to Sita. Hearing the sounds of bells and anklets, Sita of slender body having given her heart to Rama with tears in her eyes and downcast face terrified, drew her body in itself. (lit. hid herself in herself.)

22. Seeing Sita thus, Ravana said "O thou of fair eyebrows, why art thou hiding thy body in thy body uselessly on seeing me.

23. "Rama is living amongst the denizens of the forest with his brother. Sometimes he is seen by some people, sometimes he is not seen.

24. "I sent many people to search for him. But though they looked around everywhere they could not see him.

Note: There is no mention neither of Ravana’s dream nor of his sending men to search for Rama in the Valmiki.

25. "What shalt thou do with Rama who has no desire for thee, even though thou always cherishest him and even though he is always with thee.

Note: What is implied here is that Sita as the Maya of the Lord is always with him and yet he does not care for her and is unattached to her. The energy of the lord is not distinct from the lord himself. Therefore, he is always with her. As a matter of fact, this energy is nothing but illusion. Therefore, he is beyond her and unattached to her.

26. "Rama bears no affection for thee in his heart. Though thou givest him all pleasures of the senses and though thou dost all actions of the mind, happy as well as otherwise, and though he enjoys them, Raghava does not know that he is the enjoyer. He is, therefore, an ungrateful wretch devoid of all qualities.

Note: This again is the Vedantic idea of Brahman being neither actor nor enjoyer of this play of worldly life due to Maya.

27 – 28. "Sunk in distress and sorrow thou wast, O good woman, brought by me. Even now he does not come. He has no love for thee how shall he come. Without strength, without the sense of mineness, he is a fool thinking himself to be a wise man.

29. "With such a vile being what shalt thou, O good lady, do. Do thou be take thyself to me, the best of the Asuras who am greatly attached to thee.

30. "Thou shalt be the ruler of the women of the gods, the gandharvas, the nagas, yakshas and kinnaras, if thou acceptest me".

31 Hearing this speech of Ravana, Sita greatly enraged hung down her head and placing a piece of straw between herself and him said to Ravana.

32 – 34. "Afraid of Raghava thou assumedst the disguise of a mendicant; during the absence of the Raghavas (Rama and Lakshmana) and like a bitch carrying off sacrificial clarified butter thou, O wretch, carriedest me off. The fruit of that thou shalt reap are long.

"When thy body will be torn to pieces by the arrows of Rama, then shalt thou know if Rama is a human being or not and then shalt thou go to the abode of Yama."

34 – 35. "Having dried up the ocean by his arrows or bridged it, Rama together with Lakshmana shall come to kill thee in battle and thou shalt, O vile Rakshasa, undoubtedly see him.

36 – 37. "Having killed thee together with thy sons and army he shall carry me back to his town." Hearing this harsh speech of Sita, the lord of the Rakshasas got enraged and lifting up his sword with eyes red with anger rushed to kill Sita, the daughter of Janaka.

38. Then Mandodari having warded off her husband, said to him Leave off this woman who is humbled, emaciated and distressed:

39. "Many women from amongst the gods, gandharvas and nagas with eyes rolling with the intoxication of youth are seeking thee."

40. Then Ravana the ten-necked said to the Rakshasa women of terrific appearance. "Do you contrive to make Sita submit herself to me with love using threats as well as flattery at times.

41. "If within two months Sita submits herself to me, then she shall enjoy all the kingly pleasures with me.

42. "If in two months she does not agree to share my bed, then let her be killed and served up for my morning meal."

43. Having said so, Ravana went inside his palace surrounded by all his women. The Rakshasi women then came up to Janaki and terrified her with threats.

44. One of them said:- "Thy youth has been wasted. Having approached Ravana it shall become fruitful."

45. Another said in anger, "What is the use of waiting even now, O Janaki, let her body be cut to pieces and divided."

46. Another one lifting up a sword ran up to kill Janaki, another opened wide her terrific mouth and terrified her.

47. Thus those Rakshasas women of terrific appearance terrified her. Having warded them off, an old Rakshasa woman, Trijata said:

48. "O vile Rakshasa women hear what I say, it will be good for you.

49 – 50. "Don’t terrify Janaki who is weeping but bow unto her. Even now in my dream I saw Rama of eyes like the lotus having together with Lakshmana come mounted upon the white Airavata elephant, and having burnt the whole of the town of Lanka and killed Ravana in battle, taking Janaki in his lap and sitting on the top of the hill.

51 – 52. "I saw Ravana sunk in a pond of cowdung with his body besmeared with oil and naked, wearing a necklet made of the skulls of his own sons and grandsons. On the other hand, Vibhishana with a cheerful heart goes to Rama and serves his feet reverently.

53 – 54. "Rama having soon killed Ravana together with all his family shall, after giving the kingdom to Vibhishana, take the beautiful Sita in his arms and go to his own city. There is no doubt in this."

55. Hearing these words of Trijata, those Rakshasi women became terrified and silently sat there and went to sleep.

56. Thus threatened by the Rakshasa women, Sita got very terrified and greatly distressed and sunk in sorrow, did not see any protector.

57. With eyes full of tears she said: "Tomorrow these Rakshasi women will eat me up, there is no doubt in this. By what means shall my death be brought about even now".

58. Thus sunk in grief she wept loudly and for a long time. Seizing hold of the branch of a tree she determined to die, not knowing any other means of death.

Note: In the Valmiki Ramayana the first impressions made by Sita upon Hanumana as well as her tale of misery and her rejection of the advances of Ravana are described as follows:- (We abstract these from the Sundara Kanda.)

Determined to see Sita and search every portion of Lanka till he had found her, Hanumana goes to the Asoka Vana where in a temple adorned with a thousand columns like a second Kailasa itself, he sees a woman in dirty clothes, surrounded by Rakshasa women, emaciated by fasts, sighing repeatedly. She appeared like digit of the new moon on the first day of its appearance or a flame of fire covered with smoke. Not seeing any one else except dire Rakshasa women round her, she sank in the ocean of grief, like a doe strayed from her herd, her face bathed in tears, Sita appeared to Hanuman to be illuminating all the four quarters of the earth by the light of her beauty and goodness. Thought he, "the beloved of all the world, this lady is here like an ascetic with a vow. Overpowered with grief like a flame of fire covered with smoke she does not shine, and yet by her conjugal devotion she is shining like a siddhi, yoga defeated by obstacles, like one’s intellect sullied by evil thoughts or good name covered by the censure of the foolish like this lady is here. For her sake if Rama goes round the whole earth it would not be much. Were the sovereignty of the worlds on one side and the daughter of Janaka on the other, the sovereignty of the world would be nothing as compared with Sita. Strange it is that Rama is capable of sustaining life without her. On seeing her, who deserves to be happy sunk in this distress, my heart is filled with grief." In the meantime Ravana comes up with the women of his household and tells Sita to submit to him which she indignantly refuses saying. "Thou canst not make me do what I ought not to do. Coming from a noble family and having been given in marriage to a distinguished family thou canst not allure me like a sinner wishing a siddhi in yoga. Are there no good men here or if there are, thou does not listen to them, that thy heart is thus bent upon evil." Ravana leaves instructions to terrify her into submitting to his advances. But she as boldly tells her tormentors ‘that although poor and bereft of sovereignty, my husband is my master. I am always attached to him like Suvarchala to Surya, Sachi to Indra, Arundhati to Vashishtha, Lopamudra to Agastya, Savitri to Satyavana and Damyanti to Nala." When threatened with death by the Rakshasa women she courts death but seeing no manner of bringing about says:-

"True it is no one can die before his or her time. Fie on humanity, fie on submission to another that one cannot die even though one wishes for it. Fie on me, a vile wretch, I am living here without that virtuous soul Rama even for a moment. I shall not touch the Rakshasa (Ravana) with my left foot, what to say of submitting to him. Let them tear me to pieces, cut me or throw me into the fire, I shall not go to Ravana, what is the use of saying much." Then after indulging in various misgivings as to whether Rama was alive or dead or wandering in the forest or like a man of wisdom being indifferent to worldly objects was indifferent to her, she concludes: "I long to quit this body and yet death does not come to me. Oh how blessed are those great souls, those munis who are devoted to truth, who have subjugated their senses, who have none that is dear to them, none that is inimical to them, to whom the pleasurable does not yield pleasure nor the painful pain. I bow unto them. I shall quit life by poison or by a sharp weapon, but alas! There is no giver of poison or of a sword in the house of the Rakshasa." Thus taking hold of her long hair she wishes to make a rope of it to hang herself by the branch of a tree, when prognostics, indicative of good, prevent her from doing so. There is no more touching scene than this in the Ramayana.

<< Back