Lord Rama's ring

After successfully ruling Ayodhya for 11 thousand years, Lord Rama realized that it was time for him to leave this mortal world and return to Vaikuntha as he was the avatar of Lord Vishnu. He understood that the one who takes birth in this mortal world has to experience death. “Let Yama come to me. It is time for me to return to my heavenly abode, Vaikuntha,” he said. But Yama dared not enter Ayodhya. Yama, the God of death, was afraid of Hanumana who guarded the gates of Lord Rama’s palace and was clear no one would take Lord Rama away from him.

To allow Yama’s entry, it was necessary to distract Hanumana. So Lord Rama dropped his ring into a crack in the palace floor and requested Hanumana to fetch it. Hanumana reduced himself to the size of a beetle and entered the crack only to discover that it was no crack but the entrance to a tunnel that led to Nag-loka, the land of serpents. Hanumana met Vasuki, king of serpents, there and informed him of his mission.

Vasuki took Hanumana to the centre of Nag-loka where stood a mountain of rings! “There you will surely find Lord Rama’s ring,” said Vasuki. Hanumana wondered how he would do that. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. But to his delight, the first ring that he picked up was Lord Rama’s ring. To his astonishment, even the second ring he picked up was Lord Rama’s ring. In fact all the rings that made up the mountain of rings belonged to Lord Rama. “What is the meaning of this?” he wondered.

Vasuki smiled and said, “This world we live in goes through cycles of life and death. Each life cycle of the world is called a Kalpa. Each Kalpa is composed of four yugas or quarters. In the second quarter or Treta yuga, Lord Rama takes birth in Ayodhya. Then one day his ring falls from earth into the subterranean realm of serpents through a tunnel. A monkey follows it and Lord Rama up there dies. So it has been for hundreds of thousands of Kalpas. All these rings testify to that fact. The mountain keeps growing as more rings fall. There is enough space for the rings of the future Lord Rama.”

Hanumana realized that his entry into Nag-loka and his encounter with this mountain of rings was no accident. It was Lord Rama’s way of telling him that he could not stop death from coming. Lord Rama would die. The world would die. But like all things Lord Rama would be reborn each time the world is reborn. So it would be forever.

Lord Rama and the boatman - Kevat

Lord Rama started on his fourteen years of exile to the forest along with Sita and Lakshmana, to keep up his father Dasaratha’s promise to Kaikeyi. As they all three had to cross river Ganga, he met Guha, the tribal chieftain and asked him to arrange for a boatman to take them across the river Ganga. Guha had heard about the banishment of Lord Rama and came running to help Him.

One of his boatmen - Kevat was unloading people on the opposite bank and Guha said to Kevat to bring the boat and take divine personalities on other side of mother Ganga. Kevat brought the boat near Lord Rama, got down and greeted them with intense devotion. He started and ended his days with prayers to Lord Rama and throughout the day he was well known for talking about the glories of Lord.

Kevat asked Guha whether he could wash Lord’s feet before he stepped into the boat. But Guha told him to wash His feet after seating Him in the boat. But Kevat was adamant and told Guha that he would like to wash Lord’s feet before he got into the boat. Guha was a little angry at his stubbornness and was about to lose temper.

Then Kevat decided to explain his point to Lord Rama himself. Lord, the limited income I have as a boatman is just enough to make both ends meet in life and I am afraid that I cannot afford any more boats. So let me please wash the dust on your feet before you step into my boat.

Kevat continued: Lord, I have heard that the dust from your feet embraced a stone in the forest and it became a woman named Ahalya. My boat is made of several pieces of wood and if the dust of your feet fell on my boat, I am afraid the boat would turn into several women corresponding to each piece of wood. I sincerely cannot take care of any more members in my household. That is why I am requesting to wash the feet and make it dust free before you step into the boat. Please accept my request.

Lord Rama appreciated his pure and innocent faith and allowed him to wash his feet. While washing his feet, Kevat requested Lord Rama to keep his hand on his head as support while standing. As Kevat was washing Lord Rama’s feet, he was continuously looking at Sita and smiling. Sita at first did not know the reason behind Kevat’s mischievous smile. But through her mind’s eye she remembered that Kevat was a tortoise in his previous birth.

As we know that Lord Rama and Sita were incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi. Once Lord Vishnu lay asleep on the Ananta Naga (cosmic serpent), a sleep that encompasses the entire universe and that none can disturb. As he slept, a tortoise sought to touch his feet.

This is the Lord of the universe, the tortoise had heard a lot about. He wanted to go up close and seek his blessings, or at least touch his feet and taste the Charan Amrit. Just one chance to get near Lord Vishnu.

However Lakshmi who was doing Charan seva of Lord Vishnu, noticed that this tortoise was trying to touch Lord Vishnu’s feet and shooed him away. This went on for several days, months and years. Finally the tortoise said to Lakshmi that as he is not allowed to touch Lord’s feet, he will do severe penance of Lord Vishnu so that in next birth he will get a chance to touch Lord’s feet in her presence and she will not able to do anything about it. And hence Sita who was incarnation of Lakshmi was impressed by Kevat’s devotion towards Lord Rama and blessed him.

After washing Lord Rama's feet Kevat place his hands on earth and ask Lord to first step on his hand before stepping into the boat. This way he washed all his sins by having a touch of Lords feet.

Then Kevat ferried them across the river. As soon as they alighted from the boat, Sita immediately withdrew a ring from her finger and handed it over to Lord Rama, signaling to him to pass it on to Kevat.

Lord Rama: Here Brother, that is all we can pay you for your kind service. Please accept it!

Kevat: (Shaking his head). No, My Lord! I cannot possibly accept this from you.

Lord Rama: Why?

Kevat: Because people of the same profession do not charge each other for their services. A barber never takes payment, when he gives a haircut to another barber. Even a washer-man never charges a fellow washer-man.

Lord Rama: Kevat, that you are a boatman, is a fact; but how did you take me for a boatman ?

Kevat: Lord, both of us do the same work. I ferry people from this shore of the Ganges to the other. You ferry people across the ocean of Samsaara (Bhav-sagar),through the journey of life.

How can I accept payment from you? Prabhu! I don’t want anything. But please, as I have made you cross this river today, when my time comes, take me across Samsaar saagara[the ocean of material existence!]. That would be your return to me.

Kevat had ferried the Lord to and fro across the river. It was now the responsibility of the Lord to ferry the Kevat across the river of life.

The Lord was so overwhelmed at this devotional request from Kevat, that he held out his arms and embraced the boatman. Later, the expert ferryman was delivered from the cycle of birth and death just because of this little service done unto the Supreme Lord!

Lord Rama said that from today you not need to take another birth, and granted Kevat – Mukti from material world.

Lord Rama and the Peacock Feather

During the time of exile, Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana were travelling through the dense forests. Sita was once very tired due to excess heat and wanted water to resume her journey further.

Lord Rama and Lakshmana headed in different directions in search of water. Lord Rama was unable to find the water and was rather feeling helpless.

A peacock in the forest was noticing Lord Rama's efforts and offered to help him. He said that he knew the way where the small lake is and asked Lord Rama to follow him.

The peacock was shedding his feather one by one on the way towards the lake. Lord Rama surprised by this action asked the peacock:

"My Dear, Why are you shedding your feathers? Why are you doing this?"

The peacock said: "I won't be accompanying you while returning and hence with the trail of my feathers you will find your way easily."

The peacock became weak by the time he reached the lake as he had shed all his feathers.

Lord Rama was overwhelmed by the selflessness and devotion of the peacock which helped quenched Sita's thirst.

He promised that he would come again in the Dwapara Yuga and then, he would honour the peacocks by decorating his head with their feathers.

When he was born as Lord Krishna, he fulfilled the promise that he had made to the peacock by wearing their feathers in his crown.

When thorns prickled Lord Rama's feet

It was just after Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana started their exile, they used to wander from one forest to another barefooted. Due to this many thorns, tiny stones and dust would accumulate on their feet. Sita and Lakshmana used to remove it in timely manner. But Lord Rama would not.

Every night after Lord Rama went to sleep, Lakshmana would sit besides Lord Rama’s feet and massage them so that he could relax and sleep. Seeing the thorns and tiny stones which pierced Lord Rama’s feet, Lakshmana tries to remove them because blood was oozing out of the wounds. Lord Rama refuses Lakshmana from removing those thorns and stones from his feet. Again next day new thorns and stones would pierce into Lord Rama's feet injuring his feet severely. This kept repeating for a few days.

Not knowing what to do, Lakshamana informed Sita about this. Sita told him not to worry and that tonight she will massage Lord Rama’s feet. Sita looking at the injured feet of Lord Rama tries to remove the thorns but Lord Rama refuses her too. Sita finally asks Lord Rama the reason why he is not allowing to remove it.

To which Lord Rama says: “I don’t abandon those who touch my feet. These thorns, dust and tiny stones have touched my feet, so how can I separate them from me. The One who touches my feet, takes shelter in me and so I cannot abandon them”.

Timeless Ramayana

Tradition has it that the Goddess Sati once asked Lord Shiva what will give man hope in the Kali Yuga, the spiritually bereft final quarter of the world’s life cycle?

Lord Shiva replied that hope would come from the hearing of Lord Rama’s tale. Narada heard Lord Shiva narrate the whole story to the Goddess. He in turn passed it onto a highway robber called Ratnakar, who later in life became known as Valmiki.

Valmiki had learnt from Narada the story of Lord Rama and he took it upon himself to turn this story into a song that would inspire all of humanity. Hence Valmiki was once sitting under a tree and was singing and praising Lord Rama through his poems and songs. A pair of parrots happens to hear Valmiki’s composition.

Somewhere in the Kingdom of Mithila, young Sita was busy playing with her friends in their royal garden, when suddenly her attention was drawn towards a parrot couple perched on a nearby tree, these parrots were busy singing glory of Lord Rama, written by Valmiki.

Sita is surprised to hear Lord Rama's story and now wants to hear full story from the parrots, she manages to catch hold of this couple. She demands to know the whole thing but the female parrot denies saying they should be let off, since they are birds accustomed to live in the wild and not in captivity. Angry, Sita locked them up in a cage and the male parrot dies. The survivor female parrot cursed Sita that she too would experience separation from her husband. And that is why Sita faced separation from Lord Rama when she was abducted by Ravana and taken to Lanka. 

How could Sita hear the Ramayana when she played a role in it?

The explanation given is that the Ramayana that was narrated by Lord Shiva, then Narada, then Valmiki and finally the parrots, was the Satakoti Rama Charitra or the timeless Ramayana, which becomes reality in every Treta Yuga, the second quarter of the world’s life cycle. 

This world we live in, goes through cycles of life and death. Each life cycle of the world is called a Kalpa. Each Kalpa is composed of four Yugas or quarters. In the second quarter or Treta Yuga, Ram takes birth in Ayodhya. So it has been for hundreds of thousands of Kalpas. Like all things Lord Rama would be reborn each time the world is reborn. So it would be forever.

Lord Rama is timeless and universal and so cannot be fettered to period or place. Every Yuga he comes, every Yuga he goes. But everyone has faith that he will keep coming back.

In traditional Hindu thought, the Ramayana is an eternal story, not the creation of one poet, not restricted to one period.

Thus the Valmiki Ramayana is not the ‘original’ Ramayana. It is simply the oldest known Ramayana retold by a sage called Valmiki.

Why Lord Rama is known as Ramachandra?

When Lord Rama killed Ravana and handed over the Lanka kingdom to Vibhishana, everywhere it was joy and gaiety, Lord Rama decided to return to Ayodhya with his confident companions and friends.

When Lord Rama reached Ayodhya, it was celebration all over, after all for the residents of Ayodhya Lord Rama was not just a King but He was their LIFE and SOUL, for them each moment was like a 12 year span, they did not enjoy any luxury, sacrificing all the comfort because their Supreme father was in exile.

So when they got the news they forgot themselves, the entire Ayodhya was jubilant, not only the people but also the demigods were celebrating the moment.

At that time Sun God was about to set , when He saw the All Attractive and All Pleasing Lord Rama He was so much attracted that he just stood gazing and felt in trance and forgot that it was his setting time.

In this way a month passed away and it was day all over and people were so much enjoying the celebration that they did not feel that a month has passed, they never wanted this celebration to end, and on the other side the Moon God was nervous and impatient to have darshan of Lord Rama.

Lord Rama was just smiling at all this.

Only He knew that 30 days have passed, Sun God came to his consciousness and hurriedly left on his chariot toward west, and by the mercy of Lord that 30-day duration just turned into 24 hours duration day, and no one felt it.

Lord was about to proceed toward His palace, and up in the sky the Moon God was very sad and pale, because He missed this spellbound Lila of Lord Rama.

Lord Rama knew the desire of Moon God, so He asked what the matter was.

At this, Moon replied “My Lord what sin I have done that everyone else enjoyed your arrival except me, you are Karunasindhu, and equal to all, then why sun got opportunity to have your darshan and why not me?”.

At this Lord Rama replied,” My dear Moon, I know your wish. Don’t lament I will certainly fulfill your desire, but not this time, in my next incarnation, as Krishna, I will take birth on FULL MOON Day, and then you can satisfy your desire by enjoying my ALL Attractive and All Pleasing appearance, and also you will be glorified.”

Also, I will add your name to mine so that anyone who calls me or remembers me, they will also remember you and call your name. Hence after this incident Lord Rama came to be known as Ramachandra.

Lord Rama came in Suryavansh lineage, whereas Lord Krishna appeared in Chandravansh!!!!!!! what a mercy!

300 wives of King Dashratha

We are aware that King Dasaratha, father of Lord Rama, had three wives, Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. There are versions which state that he had 300 more wives.

It is also stated that he married them because of Parshurama’s vow to kill the Kshatriyas as a revenge for his father’s death. However there was one exception, that he will not kill a Kshatriya, who had Marriage thread on his wrist.

This Kangan, yellow band of Thread was used to be worn for one year from the date of marriage. Convinced that he could not beat Parashurama, Dasaratha married one woman a year to escape the wrath of Parashurama.

In this way King Dashratha managed to escape from the wrath of Parshurama, until he gave up the vow and went to Himalayas for meditation.

Rishi Shringi performs yagna for King Dashratha

Once there was a rishi named Vibhandak Rishi. According to legend, he was seduced by the celestial damsel named Urvasi by order of Indra, the King of Gods, who feared the yogic powers gained out of penance by the rishi could prove fatal to the very existence of heavenly world. The rishi was seduced and out of his relationship with the damsel Urvashi was born Rishyasringa.

However, immediately after the news that she was pregnant, she kept her foetus inside a deer that was standing nearby. As Urvashi’s mission to distract Rishi Vibhandak was completed, she left her lover and made her way to heaven. The deer in sometime gave birth to a human child but after birth he had horns on his head. Rishi Vibhandak immediately came to know that it was his son. Also, the child saw only his father’s face at the time of birth as his mother left, this made him special. As he was born with horns, he was named Rishi Shringi.

The incident left the father with extreme hatred towards women folk, and he raised the boy in a forest, isolated from society. He never saw any girls or women and was not told of their existence. The tradition states that he was endowed with magical and miraculous powers.

At the time that the boy becomes a young man, the kingdom of Anga suffers from drought and famine. The King, Romapada, is told that this can only be alleviated by a brahmin with the powers that come from observance of perfect chastity. The only such person is Rishyasringi. He has to be brought to the city and be persuaded to carry out the necessary ceremonies. Despite his fear of the power and anger of the boy's father, the king sends young women to introduce the boy into normal society. This was successfully done by Vaishali and Rishyasringi now uses his powers, the kingdom receives bountiful rains and Rishyasringi marries Shanta. Much of the story is taken up by accounts of the feelings of the young man as he becomes aware of women for the first time.

Also, in Ramayana when King Dashratha desires to perform a putra kamesthi yagna, to beget a son, Sage Vashista suggests that this Yagna can only be done by a rishi who had not seen face of his mother at the time of his birth. As Rishi Shringi had only seen his father's face at the time of birth, hence Rishi Shringi was called to perform the yagna for King Dashratha. And Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna were born after the successful completion of yagna.

How Lanka came into existence?

While most people in India see Ravana as the great villain in the epic Ramayana, few know him as a great scholar and ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He was also known as Dashanan or the person with ten heads. His ten heads symbolized him possessing a thorough knowledge of the four Vedas and the six Upanishads, which made him extremely scholarly. He could also play the veena, a traditional stringed instrument, beautifully.

Here’s a story on how Ravana came to be the owner of Swarna-Lanka, his fabled capital. According to one mythology, once Parvati, Lord Shiva's consort, got tired of the ascetic’s life and living in the cold Himalayas. So, she requested Lord Shiva to build a home for them, where the couple would live a proper life. Now, Lord Shiva was an ascetic, completely detached from worldly possessions. Living the life of a householder was a complete alien concept for him. But, being a loving husband, he agreed to Parvati’s request.

Subsequently, Lord Shiva appointed Ravana and directed him to build a golden palace, known as Swarna-Lanka. Ravana then approached his half-brother Kubera, the wealthiest man of those times, for the gold to construct the palace. After Kubera donated the yellow metal, Ravana hired the architect of Gods, Vishwakarma to construct the golden palace for Lord Shiva. After a while, Vishwakarma completed the construction of an exquisite and unrivalled golden palace.

Lord Shiva decided to organize a ‘Griha Pravesh Puja’, as per tradition. Ravana was asked to perform the role of a priest since he was the most erudite scholar around.

When it came to settling his ‘Dakshina’ or remuneration, Ravana startled everyone by asking for the golden palace as his fees. Perhaps, it was Shiva’s will that was at work (he never really wanted to live in a palace). So, Lord Shiva gave away Swarna-Lanka to Ravana and returned to Mount Kailash, his abode in the Himalayas. Lord Shiva’s ardent follower, Nandi, was incensed by Ravana’s attitude and cursed him that his beloved palace would be destroyed by a mere monkey.

A few years later, Hanumana, the monkey god, reached Swarna-Lanka in the quest for goddess Sita. Ravana – by then inebriated by power and wealth – insulted Hanumana and ordered that his tail be put on fire. Hanumana escaped and promptly incinerated Ravana’s golden palace into ashes. This is how Ravana lost his golden palace.

Why did Lord Rama kill Vali from behind a tree?

Vali when he is hit by Lord Rama’s arrow, which is capable of rending the earth, falls in pain and he looks around and sees Lord Rama coming there with a smile on His face. In a fit of rage amidst his agony, he says, “I thought you are a virtuous person. How could you have done such a vicious act? I think it is because of your association with this vicious person Sugriva that you have also become spoiled.” 

Lord Rama smiles, and He says, “O Vali, it seems that with the deterioration of the body even the intelligence gets deteriorated. You are accusing me of immorality without understanding the intricacies of dharma.” Lord Rama further says that I am the servant of Bharata who is currently the ruler of the world. Lord Rama’s consciousness can be seen here. He is not saying I am God. He is saying I am the servant of His own younger brother who is the king and I am serving on his behalf. So He says as a member as a servant of the king and the member of the royal Kshatriya class, it is my duty to protect the virtuous and to punish the unrighteous or the vicious. You, O monkey, have for no reason what so ever grievously wronged your faithful younger brother Sugriva. Although there was no fault of his, you attacked him, you insulted him, you exiled him and you threatened to take his very life. Not only that you even took up his own wife as your wife. 

Also if somebody comes to kill, somebody comes to abduct one’s wife to exploit and abuse her, somebody comes to steal away one’s property, and somebody tries to destroy one’s property with arson, in all these cases, the aggressor can be killed, not just by anyone but by the Kshatriyas. By those who are meant to be upholders of law and they incur no sin for killing such aggressors. In the Vedic scriptures, it is described that person coming as an aggressor with the malevolent intention, he deserves to be killed and there is no sin in killing such a person by whatever means. And hence it makes you an aggressor. Those who are meant to be upholders of law and they incur no sin for killing such aggressors. So Lord Rama says that because you for no good reason wronged your brother so viciously, it is my duty to kill you and to give justice to your brother. And that is why I have killed you. This is the first and foremost reason.

The second reason was Vali had earlier performed tapasya and got blessings from the gods. He wanted immortality but he could not get immortality from any of the gods; because only Lord Vishnu, by the performance of pure devotional service, can give us immortality. So he had asked for immortality in an indirect way by saying that whenever I have to fight with anyone let half of that person’s powers come to me. If Vali has power of hundred units, and even some enemy has power of hundred units, equal to him. Then what would happen with Vali’s benediction? That he would have hundred and fifty units power and his opponent would have fifty units. Even his opponent had thousand units of power, if half of his power would come to Vali then his opponent could have left five hundred and could have five hundred plus hundred- six hundred. So Vali has by this tricky benediction ensured his victory always. Lord Rama is the supreme Lord, and He could still have killed Vali anyway, but he honored the benedictions of the devtas. Like that Lord Rama in order to honor the benediction of the devtas, arranged to have Vali killed in a way in which he was not facing Him.

And then the Lord says further that you know you are a monkey and as a hunter can kill an animal without necessarily confronting it, a hunter can kill an animal while hiding behind in a tree, while being concealed in the bushes, so the Kshatriyas codes allows one to do that. That’s why I have killed you and I have done nothing wrong. And then Lord Rama goes further and says, “O Vali, if you still feel that I have wronged you than I can give you back your life right now.”

So when Vali hears all the answers that Lord Rama is giving and he hears His powerful and sweet voice, he becomes purified. Ultimately Vali is not evil; Vali is not a demon like Ravana. He is a powerful person and his power to some extent went to his head and he seriously misunderstood Sugriva’s intentions. So the arrogance which has come because of his power now was removed by the arrow that burned through his body, through his heart. So actually Lord Rama’s arrow and Lord Rama’s words purified him and they brought forth his natural devotion.

And Vali at that time said, “My dear Lord, lives I’ll get many, but a death like this when will I get again. To die in your presence is the greatest fortune and it is a perfection of life. I seek only that I can behold your face and die in your presence.” And Vali being completely purified, he gave his own necklace which was given to him as a source of his power and as long as he was wearing that necklace he could not die. That’s how he was able to stay alive even after being pierced by Lord Rama’s arrow to talk with him for so long. He took that necklace and he gave it not to his own son but he gave it to Sugriva. Now, it’s natural for him to give it to his son. And nobody could have blamed him because that would have made his son invincible. But actually Vali himself was so convinced and transformed by Lord Rama’s answer that he realized that I have wronged Sugriva and to seek forgiveness to Sugriva, he gave him his own necklace. And before giving that necklace he told Angada, his son; don’t bear any animosity against Sugriva or Rama because they have not killed me. It is my own bad deeds that have caused my death. Please serve Sugriva as you have served me and please serve Lord Rama as The Supreme Lord.

Sita performs Shraadh ceremony of King Dashratha

During exile Lord Rama, Lakshmana and mother Sita went to Gaya Dham to perform shraadh during Pitru Paksha.

There Lord Rama and Lakshmana went towards the city to collect the necessary material for the shraadh prescribed by Brahman, but when Lord Rama and Lakshmana got late in returning Brahmin requested mother Sita that the wicked time of Pind Daan was running out.

Knowing this, mother Sita got confused. Then mother Sita realized the importance of time and decided that she herself would give Pind Daan to her father-in-law king Dasratha.

Considering The Banyan Tree, crow, Tulsi, Brahman and cow present there along with the Falgu River, she performed the Pind Daan of the late King Dasratha with all rituals.

After this as soon as she prayed with folded hands King Dasratha accepted the Pind donation of mother Sita.
Mother Sita was elated that Dasaratha had accepted her worship but she also knew that Lord Rama would not accept this because Pind Daan cannot be done without a son.

After a while, Lord Rama and Lakshmana brought the material and asked about Pind Daan. Then Mother Sita said that because of the passage of time, I myself donated Pind Daan. Lord Rama could not believe how Pind Daan could be completed and accepted without a son and without material.

Then Sita said that the river Falgu, Tulsi, crow, cow, banyan tree and Brahmins present there can testify to the Shraadh rituals performed by her.

When Lord Rama asked whether all these things were true or not, then Falgu river, cow, crow, Tulsi and Brahmin, seeing Lord Rama's anger, lied that Mother Sita did not donate any Pind Daan. Only the banyan tree told the truth that Mother Sita, keeping everyone as a witness, duly donated the body of King Dasharatha. 

When the five witnesses lied, Mother Sita got angry and cursed them for life.

• She cursed the river Falgu that it will remain a river in name only; there will be no water in it. For this reason, the Falgu River is still dry in Gaya.
• Cursed the cow that even though the cow is worshipped, only its rear part will be worshipped. Even today in Hinduism, only the rear part of the cow is worshipped.
• Cursed the brahmin that he would never be satisfied and no matter how much he got, his poverty would remain forever. That is why brahmins are never satisfied even after donating Dakshina.
• Cursed Tulsi that she would never grow in the soil. It is true to date that Tulsi does not grow in Gaya soil.
• And the crow was always cursed to eat after fighting. Therefore, even today the crow does not eat food alone.

The effect of these curses given by Sita can be seen in these five even today, where the curse of five was found, while speaking the truth, Sita blessed the Banyan/ Vat tree that it would get long life and would provide shade to others. And the virtuous woman will remember this tree and wish for her husband's long life. 

Lord Rama invites Ravana for yagna

It was afternoon and Lord Rama’s army had already landed in Sri Lanka, in enemy’s land. They were preparing for final showdown while camping on the sea shore.

Ravana had kidnapped Lord Rama’s consort Sita few months back, and Ravana refused to return her despite Lord Rama’s several requests for truce.

Ravana was confident that he can defeat Lord Rama’s army which included warriors like Hanumana, Sugriva and his own Brother Lakshmana. Even Ravana’s younger brother Vibhishana had joined Lord Rama with few of his followers.

Lord Rama wanted to do a yajna, a ritual in front of a sacred fire. We all do yajna on auspicious occasions, to say thanks to gods, to take blessings.

Lord Rama also wanted to thank Lord Shiva, the supreme God for safely crossing the sea and to take blessings for forthcoming war. Fire of a yajna is considered to be a messenger to gods.

Whatever offerings are made to gods in yajna, it is assumed that fire will carry those to gods. And we all know that the mantras, the sacred verses need to be chanted, rituals need to be done in right way during yajna and for that we invite learned brahmans.

But there was a problem; there were no learned brahmin in Lord Rama’s army. Except Ravana, there’s no able Brahmin residing in Lanka also who has complete knowledge of yajna. Even Vibhishna, Ravana’s brother who is by caste a brahmin but he does not know all the nitty gritty of this kind of yajna.

There’s no other option in Lanka except Ravana. Vibhishna and Rama went into a huddle, trying to find a solution.

Ravana as a brahmin in yajna, a yajana meant for Rama’s victory – it was a wild thought!

Two enemies, who had never met before, facing each other – Lord Rama whose wife was taken away Ravana in disguise of a sage and Ravana, who always seethed in anger whenever he saw his sister whose ears and nose were severed by Lord Rama’s brother Lakshmana.

After a long deliberation, Lord Rama’s devotion to Shiva won over his animosity with Ravana. He was ready to face him before the war. But then they thought about Ravana .

They knew that probability was low. Ravana was an enemy, they had come to Lanka to defeat him, and this yajna was also being done for Rama’s victory.

But they also knew that Ravana was as devoted to Shiva as Lord Rama, and it would be difficult to say no to a yajna dedicated to Lord Shiva – they thought of taking a chance.

They decided to invite Ravana . And Vibhishna agreed to act as a messenger to convince his brother.

Invitation to Ravana:

“My lord, Vibhishana is here with some message”

“Hmm, bring him in”, Ravana said.

“My lord, I’ve come with an invitation from Rama”, Vibhishana uttered in a very sheepish voice.

“Carry on”

“As you are aware Rama has crossed the sea and has entered in Lanka”

“Yeah I know it well”

“Before start of the war, he wants to establish a Shivaling tomorrow and wishes to pray for his win “

“Well, that is a great thought, how I can help him?”

Everyone in the royal hall was getting curious with every passing moment. It was a strange response to an equally strange request.

“My brother, we have a problem. We are not able to find a better Brahmin than you in Lanka who will know all the rituals”

 “So you want me to act as a Priest for this yajna?”

There was a commotion in the hall. Whether Ravana will help his enemy in performing a yajna that may result in his own defeat.

 “Yes my lord, who can be a better Brahmin than you and your devotion for Lord Shiva is also well known”

“No need to flatter me. For Lord Shiva, I can cross all limits and I know my duty as a brahmin. Go and tell your new lord, that I will be there”

As soon as Vibhishna left, there was uproar in the council.

How the king can be so stupid, helping an adversary in a ceremony that may change his fate for the worst.

What if this was a conspiracy to catch Ravana when he visits the enemy’s camp!

Ravana was calm but adamant:

“I will go alone and will perform the Pooja, come what may. To serve Lord Shiva and to perform my duties as a Brahmin, I’m ready face any danger and why to even think of any danger when you’re doing your duty”, he said.

Something unusual was happening. Everyone in Lord Rama’s camp was in a kind of rush, in awe–calling those out who were still in their tents.

No-one was ready to believe what they saw. They thought war was over before it began. People thought Ravana had accepted the defeat. They could see Ravana in their camp! Or it was some imposter, disguising Ravana and that too in simple clothes.

Without his crown, without ornaments, without his emperor-dress! Life was not easy, nor was it happy, but Ravana never expected life to be so easy or forever happy.

You need to compromise your ego and your sentiments sometimes if you really believe in certain principles.

Vibhishana realized at this moment that this story of Lord Rama & Ravana has to remain untold, hidden otherwise it would reflect bad on his character when history would be read.

And Ravana had not come alone. He had Sita with him as a company!

This was like the time when you feel no-one is breathing, the hour of disbelief, a time when many fears are born and even a ray of hope looks like a mirage. Everything got transfixed, only the light moved.

For long the two enemies looked at one another, Ravana shuddering slightly, and Lord Rama with a strange smile upon his face!

“Welcome priest, the biggest devotee of Shiva, the mightiest brahmin of this yuga. We all feel honored by your presence.” saying this Lord Rama touched Ravana’s feet.

The expression of wonder on his face was adorable. Lakshmana stood still, not knowing what to say or do, shaking, taken aback. Hanumana, Sugriva could not believe their eyes.

Everyone was left guessing –who was surrendering to whom! There was silence – so freaking loud silence!

“My brother, I had only asked for you! Why mother Sita is with you?” a bewildered Vibhishana asked.

Ravana just ignored the one who had ditched him in his hour of need-Vibhishana.

To him, he represented nothing more than an illustration of ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.

“Rama, I hope you know that no yajna is complete without a wife. Let her get ready and till then let me see if something is missing in the preparations ", Ravana addressed Lord Rama.

“I can’t thank you enough, you’re the most learned Brahmin on this planet, no-one can argue with you on dharma and its rituals” Lord Rama could not say more.

Yajna was completed, Sita and Rama touched Ravana’s feet.

“Vijayi Bhava, victory to you”, said Ravana and started walking back towards his palace.

“Why don’t we catch him and keep Mother Sita with us? God Shiva has blessed us with a favorable opportunity” whispered Vibhishna in Rama’s ears.

Rama looked at Vibhishana, always amused at the vulnerabilities of lesser souls.

"Ravana kept his dharma (duty) as a brahmin & I need to keep my dharma of a Kshatriya. My dharma is to fight & if Gods are on my side, I will win, and Sita would be back with me” and with these words this he said good-bye to Sita.

Lord Rama and Vibhishana

When Vibhishana came to take shelter of Lord Rama, the Lord asked Sugreeva what his opinion was.

Sugreeva said he is spying for Ravana, so we must tie him up.

But when Vibhishana came into Lord Rama’s room, the Lord gave him a big hug!

Sugreeva was upset and said that you asked my advice, but you did not follow it!

Lord Rama said I followed it………you said to tie him up but instead of tying him with ropes, I tied him in my arms……. because the one who is tied up in my embrace will never leave me!

Lord Rama and Golden Sitas

After the battle with Ravana, Lord Rama was taunted by one of his subjects who claimed that personal relationships were more important to him than his kingdom. To prove the subject wrong, he asked Lakshmana to leave Sita in the forest.

As a King he has to perform many Yajnas, and it was impossible to do so without his wife. Sage Vasistha, his spiritual master and teacher told him that without a wife he cannot perform any Yajnas, so either he should bring back Sita or he should remarry. But Lord Rama flatly refused as he is a Maryada Purushottam, he cannot marry another woman.

Then he asked Sage Vasistha for an alternative, at which the Sage told him that if he can get a statue of Sita made out of pure gold then that statue can be treated as his better half and in this way the Yajnas can be performed. Like this he performed many Yajnas, and every time he made a statue of Sita out of Gold.

When Lord Rama thought that now the time has come for him to wind up his lila from this earth and go back to his abode, at that time all these golden statues of Sita approached Lord Rama and told him:

How can you leave us and go alone? Who will take care of us as we all are your wives, and as an ideal husband you have to take us along with you.

At this Lord Rama felt very awkward, he said:

How can I take you all as my wives? I have my Sita, and in this life, I cannot take more than one wife.

But I promise you all, that in my next incarnation, I will gladly accept you all as my wives, when I will return as Lord Krishna, and then you will all become my favourite gopis.

In this way, the Lord pacified those golden statues, and he left for His abode, and when he came again as Lord Krishna, he fulfilled their desires.

Lord Rama's act of Gratitude

After defeating Ravana and his Rakshas army in the war, Lord Rama performed cremation of Rakshas army soldiers and paid respect to which Laxmana said:

'Being a Kshatriya, getting emotional in time of war does not suit you Brother'.

To this Lord Rama said:

'When they were alive, they were enemies' soldiers but after death there are no enemies, all life from mosquitoes to Human, are given by almighty God and the Universe. We should respect each and every being in that aspect'.

Lord Rama continued and said: 'As a Kshatriya I will fight evil, but as a human I will cry for the death and destruction done for that reason'.

To this Laxman said - 'Brother, What a beautiful thought'.

When stones floated

Lord Shri Ram was going to Lanka to bring back Sita. He had to cross the sea to reach Lanka. The monkey army was engaged in constructing a bridge over the sea. The monkeys were trying to build a bridge by placing stones on water. But as soon as the stones were kept in the water, they sank because the stones were very heavy. This happened for some time. No one could understand how to build a bridge out of these stones. 

Hanumana was also watching all this. Hanumana could not stop himself. He bowed to Lord Lord Rama and wrote ‘Shri Ram’ on a stone and placed it in the water. On writing the name of Lord Rama, the stone started to float. On seeing this monkey army started to hail “Jai Shri Ram” and a wave of joy ran through the depressed army and construction of the bridge begun.

Lord Rama was standing by the side and observing all this. He thought even he should help the army in building the bridge, and hence he started throwing stone in the water. But to his surprise the stones which he threw did not float and sank in the ocean.

Hanumana was observing this and asked Lord Rama what was he doing, and Lord Rama said that why stones thrown by him are not floating?

Hanumana quickly explains his understanding of the matter: "Anything you hold is saved; anything you abandon is lost. When You throw the stone, you are rejecting the stone. So, once you reject, how can they float, they will only sink?”

This teaches us the important lesson that ‘The Lord’s name is greater than God Himself!’

Sita kills Sahastra Ravana

After killing Dashanana Ravan (the ten headed Ravana), Lord Rama returns to Ayodhya. Upon installing Lord Rama, on the throne of Ayodhya, the present subjects and Rishis start extolling his valour in verses. However, Sita was continuously seeing Lord Rama and smiling.

Lord Rama upon asking her the reason, she suddenly said, “Killing of Dasanana (ten-headed) Ravana was no great feat.” This led to the entire court looking at her stunner and stutter shocked.

“What could you mean by this, Sita?” asked Lakshmana.

Sita said: 'You see, Rama killed the Dasanana Ravana, but during my childhood days, I had served a Brahmin, who was in Mithila during the four months of Monsoon, known as Chaturmas. He told me about Kaikasi's two sons, both were named Ravana. One had 10 faces, other had 1000 faces. You've killed 10 faced Ravana but 1000 faced Ravana, who lives in Pushkar Dweep, is much more powerful than his brother. And he is the real Ravana.'

Dasanana Ravana is nothing compared to the ferocity of the Sahastra Ravana. Defeating Devas & others is like a child's play for him. If you can kill him, the Earth will be relieved of a major burden.

Hearing his wife regale the rapt court with the story of the real Ravana, he immediately beckoned Lakshmana and said that we must go and defeat Sahastra Ravana. If what Sita says is true, then he is worse than his brother.

So, Rama and Lakshmana mobilized his army of vanaras, humans and rakshasas to go and kill Sahastra Ravana in Pushkar.

Sahastra Ravana had heard about Lord Rama defeating his younger brother, but had not wanted to get involved; so, he was extremely surprised when Lord Rama arrived with an army, challenging him to battle. Sahastra Ravana was not a man to be intimidated, so he quickly gathered his own asuras and rakshasas to fight.

After days of battle, the vanaras seemed to be winning, so Sahastra Ravana himself stepped into the battle. The elder Ravana was also a devotee of Shiva, and even more accomplished, so with a single flick of his hand, he deployed Rama’s army, back where they came from -humans to Ayodhya, vanaras to Kishkindha, and rakshashas back to Lanka.

Lord Rama drew his Brahmastra, the one that he slew Dasanana Ravana with, to attack Sahastra Ravana, but the elder Ravana just flicked his mighty weapon away. Rama could not understand what had transpired, and in that confusion, was knocked unconscious by the thousand-headed Ravana.

Unable to bear the defeat of Lord Rama, Sita became fierce and angry. Lakshmana and the vanaras were even more shocked when instead of screaming for the safety of her husband, Sita started laughing out loud. And she started getting louder and louder. Standing before the gobsmacked army, was Goddess Bhadrakali, the most disfigured and fierce aspect of Shakti, the Supreme Devi.

Sita as Bhadrakali started slashing the heads of Sahastra Ravana, one-by-one until he was dead. From her, erupted the brutal Matrikas, who started playing blood-sports with the heads. Soon, the entire army was dead, with Bhadrakali still yearning for blood. She started prowling for her next kill and destroyed all who came in her way.

Fearing the end of the cosmos, the devas came down to try and appease her, but she said, with my husband lying unconscious on the battlefield, how can I calm down? I do not care if the entire universe falls apart.

Finally, Brahma came down to revive Lord Rama. Lord Rama, who had just woken up, recoiled from Bhadrakali until Brahma explained to him that his Sita had channelled the Supreme Shakti, to be able to save him from Sahastra Ravana.

In fact, Bhadrakali, herself, provides Lord Rama, with the necessary vision to see her divine form. Brahma tells him,

'Sita in her fierce form is dancing after killing Sahastravadan Ravana. Without her, you are unable to do anything. She is beyond Nirguna, Saguna,Sat, Asat.'

While explaining her form, Sita herself says,

'I am the Supreme Shakti, whom even Maheshwar depends on. I cannot be destroyed. Seekers of Divine path, worships me.'

Then, after Rama praised the Supreme Devi by reciting Kali Sahastranaam.

Sita reverts back into her human form, and the two make their way back to Ayodhya.

Sage Valmiki gave more importance to Lord Rama as Purush. Whereas in Adbhut Ramayana, he praised Sita as Prakriti.

If Purush & Prakriti are needed for Creation, then they are very much required for preservation of the Creation too.

Rama-Sita, as Purush-Prakriti, does the same here by destroying Asuras, Adharma from Earth.

How did Sugreeva test Lord Rama strength?

Before killing Vali as promised by Lord Rama, Sugreeva wanted to test Lord Rama as he was in doubt about his strenght. Sugreeva said that Vali is strongest among the strong. He cannot be confronted even by the Devas. And therefore, Sugreeva tells Lord Rama a story of how strong Vali was.

Once a very powerful asura named Dundubhi in the form of huge buffalo attacked Kishkindha and challenged Vali for a duel at night. Provoked and overwhelmed with anger, Vali caught hold of the buffalo by its horn and whirling around and round threw him on the ground. Then placing one foot on the asura’s body Vali twisted its head with his hands and severed it from the body. In order to test the weight of that head, he threw it to a distance, and it fell on the ground about a yojana away near the Ashrama of sage Matanga. Being enraged at this, the sage cursed Vali, declaring that if he ever approached the mountain Rishyamukha where the sage’s ashram was situated, Vali’s head would be shattered to pieces. From that time Vali never goes to that mountain.  Knowing this secret I have taken refuge in this mountain and staying here without fear of Vali.

Then Sugreeva shows Lord Rama the head of Dundubhi lying like a mountain and says that if, Lord Rama can hurl it, it would be a proof that he is stronger enough to kill Vali. Lord Rama looked at the head and kicked to a distance of ten yojanas with his toe.

Appreciating Lord Rama for his strength, Sugreeva then tells Lord Rama that here are seven palm trees. Vali used to shake each of this until all its leaves fell down. If you can pass an arrow through all these trees, then I can believe that Vali’s death at your hand is like an accomplished fact.

Lord Rama agreed to stand this test also. Possessed of unlimited power, he strung his bow, and shot an arrow which not only passed through all the seven trees but penetrated even through the mountain and the earth and returned to Lord Rama’s quiver. After this Sugreeva was confident of Vali’s defeat by hands of Lord Rama.

Ravana's spy - Suka

Ravana had sent a rakshasa named Suka with a message to Sugreeva. Suka said, "Ravana the King of rakshasas tells you, who are like a brother to him, 'You, who were born in an illustrious lineage and are the king of all monkeys, are like a brother to me. I have done no harm to you. That I have abducted the wife of the prince of Ayodhya is of no consequence to you. You return with your monkey army to Kishkindha. Lanka cannot be approached even by celestials, much less by weak men and monkeys."

At once on hearing the words of rakshasa, jumped up, caught hold of him, and were about to strike him with their hard fists. The rakshasa Suka on being thus fisted by monkeys, said to Lord Rama that as a messenger I should not be killed. Please order the monkeys not to do so. Hearing his request, Lord Rama ordered the monkeys not to attack him and told Sugreeva to just imprison Suka.

After the bridge was constructed successfully, Lord Rama, Lakshmana and all monkeys were anxious to have a view of Lanka from the mountain named Suvela. Lord Rama and Lakshmana ascended to the top of the mountain on the shoulders of Hanumana and Angada. Standing on that mountain Lord Rama had a view of that extensive city. Now after taking a view of Lanka, Lord Rama ordered Sugreeva to release Suka who was held in their custody.

After being released, Suka went directly to Lanka and told Ravana that Lord Rama was not a mere man. He is that Original Being Narayana, the Supreme Spirit and Sita is His Power of Knowledge. This Whole universe of moving and stationary beings originated from Them and so They are the Fathe and Mother of the whole Universe. And Suka further said to Ravana to abandon all attachements and adore Lord Rama with pure devotion.

Hearing these noble words of Suka, Ravana highly incensed and with red eyes looked at Suka as if he were going to burn him up. Ravana said: " You evil minded fool, how dare you talk to me as if you were my teacher and who are you to advise me? I should have killed you her and now but remembering your past services I forebear from doing so. Just get lost from my sight and do not come again." Taking this as order, Suka with trembling body went to his home to lead a retired life.

Suka's previous life

Suka in previous life was a pious Brahmana. As a hermit he was staying in the forest performing religious duties. For the advancement of the Devas and destruction of asuras, Suka was continuously performing many sacrifices. Knowing that Suka was in the favour of Devas, the rakshasas contracted enmity towards him. Among them was a famous rakshasa known as Vajradamshtra who was waiting to harm Suka. 

At that time Sage Agastya happened to go to the hermitage of Suka. After duly honouring and worshipping him, Suka invited him to is mid day meal. Sage Agastya thereupon went to take his bath as a preliminary to taking food. The rakshasa Vajradamshtra found that this was the opportune moment for him to achieve his purpose. Assuming the form of sage Agastya, he appeared before Suka as if he were Agastya come back to communicate something. In the disguise of Agastya he said to Suka if you are feeding me then you must also provide me with some meat as since a very long time i have not eaten meat. Suka agreed to this and made elaborate arrangements for the feast. When the real sage Agastya  returned and sat for meal, the rakshasa assuming the form of Suka's wife appeared on the spot after having rendered the real wife unconscious by his magical power. He came with plenty of meat and after serving disappeared from that place immediately. 

Sage Agastya was now provoked to great anger to see the prohibited meat served to him and cursed Suka to become a rakshasa substituting on human flesh. Suka said it was only you who have told me sometime before to include meat in your meal and i have done accordingly. 

Hearing Suka's words Sage Agastya reflected for a moment and came to know about the mischief made by the rakshasa. He thereupon calmed down and said to Suka that without knowledge of this I have pronounced the curse, still my words cannot go in vain. You will be turned into rakshasa and for sometime you will stay as a servant to Ravana. when along with the army of monkeys, Lord Rama comes to Lanka for the destruction of Ravana, then being sent as a spy by Ravana, you will have occasion to see Lord Rama. You will then be freed from the effect of the curse. Then after imparting the knowledge of spiritual Truth to Ravana, you will get liberation and attain to the Supreme Status.

When Sage Agastya had finished speaking, Suka was immediately transformed into a rakshasa and went to take service under Ravana. Now as a spy, he happened to see Lord Rama and afterwards imparted knowledge of the Truth to Ravana. Immediately after that he regained his place as a Brahmana living in the community of hermits.

Ravana Is Born

Vishrava was a brahmin who loved knowledge and the gods, but his wife, Kaikasi, was a rakshasi, a shape-shifting creature who loved gold and blood. Their first child, a son, was dreadful to behold, having ten heads and ten pairs of arms.

Vishrava gave his son the name Dashagriva, which means Ten-Necks. Later he would be called Ravana, He-Who-Roars. The sky rained blood at Dashagriva’s birth. Jackals howled, and other vicious beasts ran in ill-omened circles around the rakshasi mother and her child. Vishrava and Kaikasi later had three more children: two boys, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana, and a girl, Shurpanakha.

How was Ravana named by Lord Shiva

Dashagriva was riding near Mount Kailasha when an invisible force stopped his chariot. Before him he saw Nandi, Shiva’s bull.

“Turn back, Dashagriva!” Nandi shouted. “This is Shiva’s home.”

“No one can stop me!” replied Dashagriva.

To demonstrate his power, Dashagriva extended his twenty giant arms and lifted up the mountain.

Shiva saw this and laughed, and then he pressed down on the mountain with his big toe, trapping Dashagriva underneath.

Dashagriva screamed, and the mighty roar impressed Shiva.

“What a fine voice!” Shiva declared. “I will free you from the mountain, and henceforth you will be called Ravana, He-Who-Roars.”

Vaishravana Becomes Kubera

Ravana’s father, Vishrava, was a brahmin; his father was Pulastya, mind-born son of Brahma. Vishrava had another wife, and with her, another son: Vaishravana.

Vaishravana practiced austerities for a thousand years, living on water, then air, then nothing.

Brahma offered him a boon. “Make me a guardian of the world!” Vaishravana said.

Brahma nodded. “Indra guards the east, Varuna the west, Yama the south; you will guard the north. You will be Kubera, lord of yakshas, protector of wealth!”

Kubera lived in Lanka, the golden city. The rakshasas had lived there long ago, but the devas had driven them away.

Ravana Encounters Vedavati 

As Ravana wandered the woods, he saw a beautiful woman practicing austerities at a fire-altar, clothed in a deer-skin, her hair twisted in jatas.

“Lovely lady,” he said, “you should be wearing silks and jewels, not this ascetic garb. Be my wife!”

“I am Vedavati,” she replied, “and I am dedicated to the god Vishnu; I will marry no other.”

Ravana grabbed her hair, but Vedavati magically cut herself free.

“With my dying words I curse you, Ravana!” she said, throwing herself into the flames. “I will be born again for your destruction.”

Vedavati would later be reborn as Sita.

Ravana Battles Rama’s Ancestor

Ravana defeated the kings of the earth, one after another. He then marched on Ayodhya, where Anaranya was king. King Anaranya led his army into battle, but Ravana incinerated them in a blast of fire, leaving only Anaranya alive. Anaranya fought on, firing hundreds of arrows at Ravana, but Ravana’s armour repelled them all.

Ravana then struck Anaranya on the head, knocking him to the ground. As he lay dying, Anaranya cursed the rakshasa king. “An avenger will arise from Ayodhya!”

Thus, Anaranya’s son Khatvanga had a son, Dilipa. His son was Raghu whose son Aja had a son: Dasharatha.

The Story of Vali and Sugriva

Vali and Sugriva were brothers. Here is one story of their birth: Beautiful apsaras sang and danced in the court of Indra, God of rain and storms. The charioteer of Surya, the sun-God, was Aruna.

He longed to see the apsaras, so he disguised himself as a woman: Aruni.

Indra was surprised to see a face in the crowd he didn’t recognize. “She is beautiful,” Indra thought to himself. “I desire her.” So, Indra seduced Aruni in that female form, and she gave birth to a child: Vali.

The Sun God, Surya did likewise; and their child was Sugriva.

Dundhubi Challenges Vali and Why Vali was cursed

As Vali was older than Sugriva, he was king of Kishkindha. 

The bull-asura Dundhubi came to Kishkindha and challenged Vali. “I wanted to fight Ocean,” Dundhubi said, “but Ocean said Mountain was stronger. I wanted to fight Mountain, but Mountain said you were stronger. I want to fight you, Vali!”

But Dundhubi didn’t know that Vali had an amulet given to him by his father, Indra, that deprived Vali’s opponents of half their strength. The stronger the opponent, the stronger Vali became. 

Vali grabbed Dundhubi’s horns, easily smashed him to the ground, and threw his mangled corpse into the air.

When Vali threw Dundhubi’s corpse into the air, it flew over the ashram of the rishi Matanga on Rishyamukha Hill. Drops of Dundhubi’s blood rained down upon the ashram, and this made Matanga angry. 

When he saw Dundhubi’s corpse lying on the ground, he shouted out a curse. “Whoever threw this corpse will die if he ever sets foot on Rishyamukha Hill. His head will explode in a thousand pieces!” 

So, when Sugriva later had to flee from Vali, he hid on Rishyamukha Hill.

Why did Sugriva have to flee his brother Vali?

It was because of Dundhubi’s son, Mayavi. After Vali defeated the buffalo-asura Dundubhi, Dundubhi’s son, Mayavi, decided to avenge his father.

“I will kill you, Vali!” Mayavi roared as he came crashing through the forest. Vali and Mayavi fought one another there in the forest, and then Mayavi fled into a cave.

Before following Mayavi into the cave, Vali commanded his brother Sugriva to keep watch. “If I fail and Mayavi emerges from the cave, you must kill him.”

Sugriva waited. And waited. No one emerged from the cave. Thinking Vali was dead, Sugriva sealed up the cave and declared himself king. But Vali was not dead.

Deep inside the cave, Vali fought with Mayavi until he killed the asura and then fell into a deep sleep.

When Vali awoke, he made his way to the cave entrance, only to discover a huge boulder blocking his path.

“Sugriva!” he shouted. “What have you done?” Roaring with anger, Vali smashed the boulder and rushed to the palace, where he found Sugriva on the throne. Vali tried to kill Sugriva, and Sugriva fled to the only place of safety he could think of: Matanga’s ashram on Rishyamukha Hill where Vali dared not go. 

Hanuman joined Sugriva in his exile.

How Almighty Kabir Dev/Sage Munindra Met Hanumana

Hanumana flew across to Lanka and met Sita and showed her Lord Rama’s ring in which his name was imbibed. Sita, in turn, gave her wedding bracelet to prove to Lord Rama that Hanumana had met her.

On the way back, after crossing the ocean Hanumana took rest on a hill where he took a bath, so he kept the bracelet given by Sita on a rock. A monkey took that bracelet and put it in the pot kept outside the hut of sage Munindra.

In fact, it was the divine spectacle of Almighty Kabir who was playing the role of sage Munindra at that time. Hanumana wanted back the bracelet of Sita. He explained to Munindra Ji about Sita’s abduction and how he got her whereabouts to give to Lord Rama. Then sage Munindra asked ‘Which number Ramchandra are you talking about?’ Hanuman got astonished hearing this and thought that the sage is probably not in his senses or is under the effect of cannabis.

Sage Munindra told him there had been many Rama’s, and in the future also they will keep taking birth and dying. Hanuman Ji did not like sage Munindra’s words but did not argue and remained quiet. Hanuman said a monkey has put Sita’s bracelet in the pot since there are many identical bracelets in the pot, I am unable to identify which one should be taken out. 

Supreme God Kabir Ji in the sage form said, “O darling of Wind-God! You may pick up any one bracelet; there is no difference. Whatever number of bracelets are there in this pot, that many times exile to the son of Dashrath, Shri Rama, abduction of Sita and her search by Hanumana have taken place.’ Hanuman Ji was surprised to know that there had been several Lord Rama, Sita Ji, and Hanumana and further there will be more. Sage Muninder Ji said, “I have blessed this pot that whatever object goes in it becomes cloned.” On saying this, the sage put a clay bowl into the pot; another identical clay bowl was formed. Sage Muninder said, “O Hanuman! Take one bracelet. You will not have any problem.” Hanuman Ji did not have any option left. Taking one bracelet out of the pot, he flew away.  

When Lord Rama received Sita’s bracelet, he decided to bring her back from Ravana’s captivity and decided to build a bridge with the help of his ‘Vanar Sena’ (army of monkeys) and all others. There were two brothers in the army called ‘Nal-Neel’ who were devotees of Sage Munindra. The sage had cured their illness and had blessed them that if they put any object with their hands in water, it will not drown instead it will float on water like stones, bronze utensils, etc. But ‘Nal-Neel’ became arrogant and did not remember their guru due to which they lost their power.

Lord Rama stood for three days in knee-deep water and prayed to God of Ocean to give his army a way to land towards Lanka but the ocean did not budge. Annoyed Rama ordered his younger brother Laxmana, ‘“Take out my Agni arrow. A person who can only understand the language of beatings cannot be counselled by words.” Immediately, the ocean acquiring the form of a Brahmin stood in front of Shri Ram with folded hands and said, “Lord! A whole world is settled inside me. Please do not incur sin. Do something so that your work also gets done and no harm is caused to anyone.” 

The ocean in Brahmin form told about ‘Nal-Neel’s’ power. But ‘Nal-Neel’ could not make stones float on water as they had lost their power. Then they remembered their guru Ji, sage Munindra who appeared on ‘setuband’ and on his way marked a line with his stick all around the mountain and told, I have marked a line all around the mountain ahead. I have made the stones inside that line lighter than wood. They will not drown.” Hanuman Ji was a devotee of Rama. He wrote ‘Ram-Ram’ on those stones, and picked them up. When he put them on water, they did not drown. Nal and Neel were architects i.e., adept master masons. Because of this, ‘Nal and Neel’ carved the stones and fitted them into each other with the blessing of their guru sage Munindra. Lord Rama along with his army then marched towards Lanka and the battle of Ramayan happened where Ravana was killed.

This is how the bridge was built on the ocean which still exists and is called ‘Ram Setu’ bridge