Ramavijaya - 6

I, therefore, tell you to go to Patal and kill all the Bramahras, so that the nectar may not be sprinkled over the blood of the Mahiravanas killed by Rama." As soon as Maruti knew the secret, he immediately went to Patal and killed the Brahmras except their chief whose life was spared, because he promised, the monkey that he would be useful to him on some occasion. Having killed the Bramahras, Maruti returned to Rama and told him to let off arrows at the Mahiravanas. The prince accordingly did it and killed all the Mahiravanas.

Immediately after this success Maruti remembered the promise given by him to Chandraseni and said to him self,  I do not know what I should do now. If I tell Rama to marry Chandraseni, he will never do so, because he has sworn that he will be faithful to his wife, Sita. If I fail to fulfil the promise given by me to her, she will curse me to death." Maruti however made bold and told Rama all about the promise given by him to Chandraseni. " I will not at all violate my oath." replied Rama, " If you like, I can come to the place of Chandraseni and bless her.  Yes," continued Maruti, " you can do so." Thence Maruti first came alone to Chandraseni and said to her, " Rama will come tonight. Keep your *manchaka ready for him, but I tell you one thing that if the manchaka is broken by the weight of Rama, he will never marry you and will go directly home. I therefore, tell you to order a strong manchaka to be made." Chandraseni got a strong and beautiful manchaka ready for Rama and sat there expecting the prince. Maruti sent the chief of the Bramahra without her knowledge to hollow the bed-stead in such a manner that as soon as Rama sat on it, it would be broken to pieces. The Bramahra skilfully hollowed the whole of the manchaka with his sting and went away. In the evening Maruti, accompanied by Rama, came to Chandraseni, who received him and made him sit on the manchaka; but no sooner did Rama sit on it than it was broken to pieces. Whereupon Rama immediately got up and began to walk towards his place, accompanied by Maruti, when Chandraseni indignantly exclaimed, " Ah, monkey I Thou art a great scoundreL This is thy dodge. I will now curse thee to death." Maruti was alarmed, when Rama went and pacified her, saying that he would marry her during his another incarnation and that she would be called Satyabhama. After all the demons were killed, Rama gave Mahikavati to Makardwaja and returned to Suvela with Maruti and the other monkeys.

On the return of Rama to Suvela Ravan said to his courtiers, There is no use of my living in this world without my beloved son, lndrajit. I must now either kill Rama or kill myself." So saying he commenced to let off arrows at Rama which the latter cut off. But the prince was struck with one arrow, when Vibhishan let off arrows at the demonking, who boiled with rage, discharged at his brother a weapon called Bramahshakti. Lakshman immediately cut it off, when Ravana discharged another powerful weapon at the prince but Maruti caught hold of it before it struck him. To the great surprise of all the weapon became a female in the hands of Maruti and said to him, " Well, Maruti, you say that you are a Brahmachari and how do you touch a female? You will be sinful, if you do not let me go Maruti was greatly astonished at the female in his hands; and as soon as she uttered the word, sin he placed her on the ground, when she immediately became a weapon and, rushing upon Lakshman, struck his head and chest ; and consequently he fell down lifeless. Rama and all the monkeys were alarmed, and much lamented for him. Ravana, elated with the success, returned to Lanka with exultation. Rama and the monkeys were in confusion, and did not know what to do. All were discouraged, and thought of leaving Suvela. Shortly after, Ravana again came to fight, when Rama, boiled with rage, let off arrows at him and the other demons and killed many of them. The demon-king, being unable to overcome him, trembled from head to foot. He became mad and the picture of Rama presented itself before him wherever he went. Having been frightened, he immediately returned to Lanka and told his wife, Mandodari, about it, when she said, " My love, my dearest, even now restore Sita to Rama and be his friend." " No, no," Ravana indignantly replied, " that can never be done. I will either kill myself or kill Rama." Immediately after Mandodari had returned to her palace, he ordered the demons to dig an excavation in the ground. The excavation was accordingly dug; and in that excavation he performed a penance to get a divya ratha from the god of fire and sat there in deep meditation. Rama grieved for his brother, and all the monkeys were alarmed. In the meantime, their physician, Susena, felt the pulse of Lakshman and said, " Lakshman has still life in him and he will be no more, as soon as the sun rises in the morning. If the plant of nectar is brought here from Dronagiri in the course of the night, Lakshman can be restored to life. Is there any warrior who can go forty millions of yojans from this place and get the plant here in the course of the night ?" As soon as the physician put the question, Maruti said, "I will just go and bring Drona giri here in three hours." So saying he took his leave of Rama and jumped from Suvela. He came to a hill called Madaranchela which was close to Dronagiri. Maruti was very thirsty ; and to refresh himself he went to the abode of an old Brahman and requested him for a cup of water. This Brahman, who had a number of disciples with him, blessed Maruti and said, " I am very glad to see you here. Kindly spend this night with us here and go in the morning." "I can not wait here for a minute,replied Maruti. "I must do my business as soon as possible. When the Brahman found that Maruti did not comply with his wishes, he showed him a river. Maruti went there and stooped to take water, when a vivasi as big as a mountain came out to devour the monkey, who at once seized her by her legs and instantly killed her. When she was killed, a beautiful devangana came out of her belly and threw herself at the feet of Maruti. She said, " I

was very beautiful; and, being proud of my beauty, I laughed at a sage, who got indignant and cursed me, saying that I would be a vivasi. I implored him to look upon me with mercy and make the curse a little milder, when he said that I would be released from the curse by your hands. I also inform you that the Brahman, who lives in that abode, is a demon called Kalnemi. He has been here for many days with his companions, who are also demons. Ravana has sent this demon to detain you here, and when you refused to comply with his wishes, he told you to go to that river in order that I might devour you." No sooner did the

devangana inform Maruti of this than he came back to the abode of the Brahman, when the latter said to the monkey, " You ought to give me some presents, as I have pointed out the river to you." " I shall be very

glad to give you presents," replied Maruti. The demon stared at the monkey, when the latter gave him blows as precious presents from him. The demon immediately assumed his original form which was five yojans in length and breadth, and combated with Maruti but the latter instantly killed him; and his companions fled to Lanka to inform Ravana of it. Maruti then went to Dronagiri and implored him to accompany him to Suvela, when the mountain said, " Thou art a troublesome creature. Go away. Thou, fool. I will never come with thee." Maruti got enraged and having lifted up the mountain with his tail, set out for Suvela. But on the road Bharat, the third brother of Rama, who was living at Nandigram with the Rishi, Vashista, having looked at the bright and glittering mountain and, having thought that it was some thing to entrap Rama and Lakshman, let off an arrow at it, which passed through the mountain and pierced an arm of Maruti. The monkey, having been wounded, immediately came down with the mountain, repeating, all the time, the name of Rama. Bharat heard the repetition of the name of Rama and asked him who he was, when the monkey informed him of what had happened to Lakshman and said, " What should I do now I How can I go to Suvela before the sunrise. If I do not reach Suvela with this mountain in the course of the night, Lakshman will be no more" You need not be afraid," replied Bharat. " I shall send you and the mountain to Suvela, in a minute, though it is at a distance of thousands of yojans from this place. Just sit on the top of my arrow, which will carry you and the mountain there in a minute " Maruti was surprised at the valour and power of Bharat, and continued, " You need not take so much trouble. I can do it myself." So saying he took his leave of the prince and jumped from Nandigram with the mountain and came to Suvela. The physician immediately came and, taking out the juice of the plant of nectar, applied it to Lakshman and brought him to life. In like manner he applied the juice to all the monkeys killed by Ravana and restored them to life. This having been done, Maruti took the mountain and placed it where it formerly stood. Ravana however despatched one hundred demons to snatch Dronagiri from the hands of Maruti but the latter, holding the mountain in his one hand, killed them all with his other hand. Rama, Lakshman, and the monkeys again prepared themselves to fight with Ravana but the demon-king did not come out of Lanka for some time. In the meantime Vibhishan came and said to Rama, Ravana is performing a penance like that which was done by Indrajit and half of the divyaratha has come out of fire. Unless you send some monkey-warriors there and destroy the havan made by him, you will not be able to overcome him." No sooner did Vibhishan inform Rama of this than the latter despatched Marnti, Isfala, Ma, Sugriva, and other monkeys to Lanka. They all went and searched the place where the demon -king was performing the penance ; but they could not find out the place. But, in the mean-time, Sharma, wife of Vibhishan, showed the place to them. Whereupon they went to the mouth of the excavation and, having removed the stone which was placed upon it, rushed into it, when Ravana was in deep meditation. The monkeys, having destroyed the havan and the ratha, tried their utmost to arouse him from his meditation but they failed to do so. They struck him with their weapons, they threw rock -and trees upon him, they gave blows to him but all was in vain. At last Sngriva caught hold of Mandodari and brought her in the excavation. She was frightened, and violently cried. Her yell aroused the demon-king from meditation; and as soon as he saw his wife there, and having found that the havan was destroyed by the monkeys, he was greatly enraged and beat them all dawn. The monkeys immediately returned to Suvela leaving Ravana and his wife in the excavation. The demon-king said to Mandodari " My dearest, do not grieve for what has happened to you. Pain and pleasure are made for us mortal beings and we must experience them according to their turns. Now I am going to fight with Rama. I will either kill myself or kill Rama. If I return to you, it is all right; and if I be killed, these are the last words I address to you. So saying the demon-king took the remaining demons with him and commenced operations, when all the monkeys threw at him innumerable mountains, rocks, and trees but Ravana cut them off in no time and beat them all down. Finding that Ravana could not be overcome by the monkeys, Rama immediately attacked him, when the demon-king let off a serpent-weapon, which produced innumerable- serpents and stung the monkeys. Rama let off a Garuda- weapon, which produced garudas and killed all the serpents. Rama let off a rain-weapon, which produced the rain and flowed the demons, when Ravana let off a wind- weapon, which produced the wind and dispersed the rain. Rama let off a mountain-weapon, which produced mountains and stopped the wind. Ravana let off a diamond- weapon, which produced diamonds and broke all the mountains. Ravana let off innumerable arrows at Rama at one and the same time but the latter cut them off with one arrow. Ravana then let off a very powerful arrow, which struck Rama and passed through his left foot, when all the monkeys got enraged and began to throw- arrows, rocks, and trees at Ravana but the latter bravely broke them with his weapons. Ravana fought from his chariot and Rama from the ground. Finding that the prince was in a bad position, Indra, the chief of the gods in heaven, sent his chariot for him, which he mounted and began to fight with his enemy. They both were very powerful and fought with each other for seven days and seven nights without cessation. Rama then let off four arrows and killed the horses of Ravana. The demon-king then immediately put other horses to his chariot, when Rama let off an arrow of the size of the half moon, which

Ravana cut off with the like arrow. Whereupon Rama let off a sharp weapon, which struck the chest of the demon-king and cut off his ten heads but, to the surprise of all, the heads again fixed themselves to him. Rama again cut them off but they again fixed themselves to Ravana. Rama having failed to separate the heads from Ravana, all the monkeys were alarmed, when the charioteer, Matuli, said to Rama, " Ravana has got a phial full of nectar in his breast. Just let off an arrow at his breast and break the phial, so that the heads will not fix themselves to the demon-king over and over again. Hearing this from Matuli Rama discharged a powerful weapon called Agasti Data and broke the phial in his breast; and immediately after, he cut off his ten heads and killed him on the spot. Vibhishan lamented for his brother the demon-king, when Rama consoled and pacified him. Mandodari and his other wives came and violently cried for their husband. Vibhishan consoled them and sent them to their palaces. The funeral ceremony of

Ravana was then performed by his brother ; and soon after, Rama installed him in the throne of Lanka. All the demons acknowledged him as their king and paid homage to him. All the gods and kings imprisoned by Ravana, were released from the prison there. Rama visited them all and heartily embraced them.

Rama then asked Maruti and Vibhishan to bring Sita from the Asoka forest. Whereupon they immediately went to the forest and informed her of what had happened to Ravana and said to her, " We are desired by Rama to bring you to Suvela. Please, therefore, prepare yourself to accompany us." Sita having prepared herself to accompany them, Vibhishan seated her in a *sibika and brought her to Suvela. She went to embrace Rama affectionately, when the latter said to her, " Do not come near me. I have set you at liberty in order that the people may not call me cruel. You have been for so many years in Lanka, and I do not know what you have done during that time. I can not now admit you into my house; you can go wherever you like. I have no objection to it whatsoever.

Hearing these words from Rama Sita was over-whelmed with grief, and replied, " I am unfortunate. For nothing you have taken trouble for me. For nothing you have given trouble to all the monkeys. If you do not like to admit me into your house, take your sword and cut off my head. I have led a pious and moral life, and I shall presently satisfy you about it.Having addressed these words to Rama, she requested all the monkeys to arrange a pile of wood and set fire to it, All the monkeys accordingly arranged a pile and set fire to it. Sita went near it and loudly exclaimed in the presence of all the monkeys and demons, " All know that I was carried off and detained by Ravana. I say that I led a pious and moral life during the time I was in the kingdom of the demon. There is the fire ready to receive me. I shall now throw myself into it; and if what I say is false, I shall be burnt in it. And if what I say is true, I shall come out of the fire unhurt. So saying Sita threw herself into the fire and disappeared for about three hours. Rama, Lakshman, and all the monkeys grieved for her and stood near the pile bewildered. But, in the meantime, the god of fire brought her out of it, well decorated with ornaments, and gave her in charge of Rama, who heartily embraced her.

Shortly after, Rama set out for Ayodya in a beautiful viman.* Sugriva, Vibhishan, all the monkeys, and demons were seated in it. On the road Rama visited the Rishis and his other friends, who had supported him in the forest, and directly came to Nandigram, where he alighted from the viman and saw his brother, Bharat, who heartily embraced him with tears of joy. Rama then sent the viman back and stayed in the forest of Nandigram, with Sugriva, Vibhishan, all the monkeys and demons.In the meantime, Shatrughna and Sumant came to the forest with all their army and saw Rama, Lakshman, and Sita. Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kayakayi also came there and affectionately embraced their sons. Kayakayi remembered her past conduct towards Rama and repented of what she had done to ruin him. They all then seated themselves in chariots and came to Ayodya with the acclamation of joy.

On the return of Rama from Suvela all the kings on earth including his father-in-law, Janaka, saw him. All the people of Ayodya were exceedingly glad to see Rama, Lakshman, and Sita. Rama entertained all the kings, Rishis, demons, and monkeys for some days. Sita affectionately embraced her sister and her all relations. Soon after, Rama was installed by the Rishi, Vashista, on the throne of Ayodya, when all the kings paid tribute to him.

Immediately after the ceremony of installation was over, Rama gave presents to Sugriva, Vibhishan and all other kings. But Maruti did not accept any of the presents, as the other monkeys did. The monkeys asked Maruti why he refused the presents from Rama. Why do I want the presents from Rama ?; replied Maruti. " Rama is always in my heart.Whereupon the monkeys continued, If what you say is true, show us Rama in your heart. As soon as the monkeys uttered these words, Maruti ripped his heart and showed Rama to them from within. The monkeys were greatly surprised, and threw themselves at the feet of Maruti. When Rama was on the throne, Kayakayi peeped at him through a window and said, " My son is unfortunate. Look at Rama, how he is happy. I tried my utmost to get the throne for him but he did not listen to me. And at last he has become a slave of his brother, Rama." Vashista overheard what she had said and replied, " I told you many things but you would never mind me. It was owing to your own folly and jealousy that Rama was sent to the forest, and it was you who killed your husband, Dasharatha. I now still advise you to be a good woman and trust, you will love Rama and Lakshman as your sons, Bharat and Shatrughna."

Soon after, Rama, Sugriva, Vibhishan, and all other kings returned to their respective armies. Only Maruti always remained with Rama. Rama reigned in Ayodya for eleven thousand years and all his subjects were happy under his reign and led a very pious life.