The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode we had witnessed that Hanuman had a big worry if Mother Sita would have lost her life in the fire that is ravaging the entire city of Lanka. However, his doubts are resolved when he overhears the celestial beings talking among themselves that Sita is miraculously alive although Lanka is burning every nook and corner! At this time, Hanuman decides to meet Sita once again before he leaves back to Kishkinta.

Accordingly thus, Hanuman goes back to “Ashoka Vana” to check how Sita is. He lands there and finds Sita sitting under the same tree, with all her eagerness to see Rama again! The fire did not touch Sita and she is perfectly fine! Hanuman is now fully relieved! He once again goes near Mother Sita and bows in front of her with all his respect for her. Hanuman says thus, “Oh Mother Sita! At a time when the entire city of Lanka is under fire, it is a miracle that I’m seeing you alive without any problem! I’m relieved and happy to see you again! I’m now starting back to Kishkinta to see Lord Rama and Sugriva. Oh Mother! Please bless me!”

At this point, Sita is so impressed and overwhelmed at the amount of devotion Hanuman has for her and for Rama. Her eyes show the amount of happiness and joy that she is in now! She blesses Hanuman with all her merciful and beautiful smile along with tears of joy. She replies Hanuman thus, “Oh Vaanara-sreshta! (Best amongst all the monkeys) You have done something today that nobody on earth would have been able to accomplish in his or her lifetime! You have proved to the world today that you are an epitome of shrewdness, smartness and at the same time, hard work and the ‘never-give-up’ attitude too! With such attributes, nothing can be impossible in this world to accomplish! Hence, Hanuman! Please return back safely to Kishkinta and convey my regards to Rama, Lakshmana, Sugriva and all the other Vaanaraas!”

Sita continues further, “Oh Hanuman! Please do not think that your job is accomplished once you tell about me to Rama. Your job would be fully completed only after Rama comes here, kills Ravana and takes me back from here! Hence, please go back and keep motivating Rama to come here and do the needful. All of us know that he is capable of accomplishing anything in this world! It should be upon your constant pushing and motivation that Rama should immediately come here. Oh Hanuman! Please also be very clear that I would not be alive for more than a month from today. Hence, Rama should stick to this deadline and come as early as possible.”

After saying thus, Sita waits for a few seconds to check what Hanuman is going to reply. As Hanuman understands what exactly Sita means by her words, he replies back, “Oh Mother Sita! As per your wish, Rama would definitely come very soon to Lanka and kill Ravana and take you back to Ayodhya. This is my promise to you! It is only because we did not know your whereabouts till yesterday that we weren’t able to make progress. But now that I had found you, it is not going to take much time for Lord Rama to be here! Oh Mother! Please do not cry! Please be confident! We are all with you! Hence, please wait for us to come here – just for a few more days!”

Upon hearing these emotional and caring words from Hanuman, Sita looks at him with all her mercy and motherly love. At this point, she is not in a position to give a send-off to Hanuman. As Hanuman is getting ready to fly back, she again says “Oh Hanuman! Maybe if you are tired after all this, you may stay here for a day or two more before you go back. You may take some rest amidst some trees here. Before I saw you last night, my mind was full of sorrow and extreme sadness. After I saw you, I had forgotten all of that for sometime. Now if you go back and if you are not near me, again my mind will long for you and to hear about my Rama. However, I also know that you need to go back and only then can Rama come here quickly. What do I do now?”

Seeing Sita in tears, Hanuman again consoles her, “Oh Mother! I cannot see you in this pitiful state! Please trust the words of your son Hanuman. All your struggles have come to an end by this minute! Please muster up your courage and get ready to see Lord Rama here very soon!”

Saying thus, Hanuman grows in size and gets ready to fly back! He bids farewell to Mother Sita, obtains her divine blessings and is now preparing to commence his journey back to the other end of the ocean. He goes on to climb on top of a mountain and starts his journey back!

Now Hanuman is rejoicing his success!! He is now eager to see his friends who are waiting on the other side of the ocean for his arrival! He makes a huge roar as he flies past the ocean waters! As Hanuman approaches the shore on the other side, his friends including Angadha and Jaambhavaan figured out that Hanuman is arriving victorious! All of them are eager to listen from Hanuman about the whereabouts of Mother Sita! What happens next? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out! 🙂

We had witnessed in the previous episode, one of the prominent happenings in the entire Ramayana story wherein Hanuman is on a rampage mode to destroy the entire city of Lanka. He couldn’t digest the insult that Ravana had done to him as well as Mother Sita. On the contrary to what Ravana anticipated, Hanuman quickly frees himself from the arrest and starts to burn each and every house in the city! House after house and palace after palace are being totally destroyed by Hanuman singlehandedly! Here he once again makes a strong statement to Ravana that one single Hanuman is enough to take on and destroy the entire city of Lanka!

As Hanuman burns houses and palaces, people residing in all these people suddenly wake up and unable to realize what is going on around them, run around to save their lives and their belongings. The sounds of various buildings and belongings exploding are deafening at the moment! There are innumerable casualties – Hanuman sees people falling from the roofs of buildings onto the ground! Unable to bare the heat, precious ornaments like gold, silver, etc., precious building materials like granite, etc. start melting down and giving away! Thus within minutes, the rich city of Lanka is being reduced to rubbles! Those people who were boasting about their richness and wealth were reduced to just poppers! The entire city is getting filled with hues and cries of people and the city now starts to appear like a ghost town.

As Hanuman sets Lanka on fire, he goes to the shores of the ocean to put off the flame that is burning in his tail. As he does that, he gets ready to fly back to Kishkinta. However, as Hanuman is about to take off, he suddenly remembers Mother Sita who is in the Ashoka Vana. Thinking about her, he now becomes afraid and frustrated with himself. Hanuman started thinking, “Oh my goodness! What madness have I done? Upon which idea did I blaze down the entire city of Lanka? Without remembering the fact that Sita is still in the Ashoka Vana? As far as I’ve seen, the entire city is under flames! There might be no way that Sita would have escaped! What a blunder! So far I had worked so much and tirelessly to find the whereabouts of Sita, talk with her, understand her feelings, etc. But within just a few minutes, I’ve spoiled my entire hard work! What a dumbhead am I! What all can happen if a person gives room for anger to take over! An angry person can do any wrongdoing in this world with ease – He would even kill his own parents and teachers! Today I’ve set a bad example to this world that because of anger, the entire mission can be gone for a toss!”

“Kruthhah paavam na kuryaath kah kruthhohanyaana kurvapi!

Kruthhah parushayaa vaachaa narassaadhu nadhikshipeth!!”

Getting more frustrated with himself, Hanuman thinks further, “Now how will I go and stand in front of my Lord Rama, Sugriva and Lakshmana? What will I answer them? The moment Rama hears that Sita is no more, what would he go through? Seeing Rama suffer immensely, will Lakshmana keep quiet? Both the brothers would immediately kill themselves! Upon seeing this, Sugriva and Co. would immediately kill themselves too! So because of this one Hanuman’s fury and anger, the entire Ikshvaaku Dynasty along with the Vaanaraas are going to be finished! What a shame!”

As Hanuman was thinking thus, he listens to the celestial beings talking among themselves, “Oh wow! This one Hanuman has managed to bring this Lanka under his complete control! What a miracle! What is more miraculous in this whole episode is that, despite Lanka burning down to ashes completely, Sita is alive and is completely safe without any injury!” As Hanuman listens to this, he is relieved to a great extent! He now thinks, “How come Agni Bhagawan would touch Sita? Mother Sita is an epitome of chastity and purity! If Agni Bhagawan touches her by any chance, he would rather be burnt down rather than Mother Sita! Hence, to think that it was with my power and strength that I had brought Lanka under control is wrong! It is only because of the grace of Mother Sita and Lord Rama that all this has happened!”

Thinking thus, Hanuman’s happiness and satisfaction knows no bounds. His mission has been fully accomplished! Now he decides to travel back to Kishkinta to see Sugriva and Rama. But before he commences his journey, Hanuman decides to meet Mother Sita once again and seek her blessings!

What did Sita say upon seeing Hanuman for the second time? What did Hanuman do after that? Let’s wait for the action to continue in the next episode! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed a very important event wherein Ravana decides to punish Hanuman in a different way, other than the death sentence. What does he do? He orders Hanuman’s tail to be burnt! He wants to inflict the same level of insult to Hanuman as a “tit-for-tat” for what Hanuman did to him and Lanka! Hence, Ravana is under the impression that Hanuman has succumbed to Indrajit’s “Brahmaasthra” and can be insulted to any extent. But what does Hanuman do? Let’s see on!

Little does Ravana know that Hanuman is just trying to fool everybody around by pretending to be under arrest! As Ravana humiliates Hanuman by his order of taking him around Lanka with the burning tail, Hanuman decided to teach a bigger lesson to Ravana and Co. He is now furious for what Ravana has metted out to him at the end! Now Hanuman thinks and makes a quick plan for what further has to be done before he leaves Lanka. The plan is made – The agenda is set – Hanuman now wants to inflict endless pain and sufferings to the Lankans! He wants the Lankans to reel under extreme sadness and sorrow, as a punishment for what Ravana has done to Sita! What could he do?

“Veekshamaanastatho lankaam kapih kritha manorathaha!

Vardhamaanassamuthsaahaha kaarya sesham achinthayath!!”

At this point Hanuman decides to spread the fire in his tail to the entire city of Lanka! He quickly enlarges his form once again and releases himself from all the scuffings. He quickly goes on top of a huge building, uproots one of it’s huge pillars in his hands and starts killing all the Raakshasaas around him!

Now Hanuman is back with his full form again! The drama is over! Hanuman is now switching over to each and every building in the city and starts to burn all of them in order. He starts with Brihastha (Raavana’s minister) house. As he progresses, he sets fire to all the houses of Ravana’s ministers. Then he goes on to set fire to the houses of Ravana’s army chiefs. Gradually with that, the entire city starts to be engulfed with the fire! It becomes massive! All the immense wealth and the property of the Raakshasaas start getting destroyed by the huge fire. Finally Ravana comes to Ravana’s palace and sets fire to a portion of the magnificent building too! Thus he did not spare anybody! Of course there is one person whom Hanuman spares – He is Vibhishana! Hanuman does not want to harm Vibhishana in any way because he was the only one person in Ravana’s cabinet, who stood for “Dharma”!

As Hanuman was going from building to building with the fire, Agni Bhagawan and Vaayu Bhagawan (Lords of Fire and Wind) see this as a great opportunity and joined hands to start destroying Ravana’s Lanka! As the wind speed increases, the fire spreads to almost all places of Lanka city! As Hanuman is looking on with great fury, people are crying, running here and there to save their family, property and of course themselves!

This is a mammoth disaster that knows no size! Trijadha’s dream has come true! Lankini’s words have come true! Lanka’s doomsday has arrived! Every nook and corner of the city is filled with cries of people running here and there! There are now huge casualties! The damage is unexplainable and extensive! Innumerable people lose their lives! There is heavy loss to property – What was once a city of luxuries and richness is being reduced to just rubbles! This is the extent of Hanuman’s fury.

As Hanuman takes an aerial view of the burning Lanka city, he goes to the shore and immerses his burning tail into the ocean waters to put it off! His fury comes down as time passes by. Simultaneously, the extent of damage inflicted to Lanka becomes unimaginable beyond words!

As Hanuman is deciding the next course of action, something very important strikes his mind. In fact, it is a huge worry! As the worry strikes Hanuman’s mind, he begins to shake with fear and frustration! What is that fear? Why is Hanuman feeling so all of a sudden? What was running in Hanuman’s mind? Does it get solved? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out!

In the previous episode we had witnessed that as Hanuman’s valuable advice comes to an end, Ravana’s ego is completely hurt. Instead of sparing a thought over what Hanuman had explained to him, Ravana orders Hanuman to be killed! It is at this time, Vibhishana intervenes and educates Ravana on an important ‘Raaja-Dharma’ – A righteous king should never put a messenger to death, although he is a wicked person. In due course, we also learnt a very important leadership lesson that a leader should never give himself/herself away while taking crucial decisions. There should be no space for emotions while taking decisions. Ravana was a bad example at that! It is Vibhishana who stops Ravana from proceeding further with the death sentence for Hanuman.

As Vibhishana explains in a beautiful way with the right words at the right place, Ravana re-thinks his strategy. He now thinks what to do! After a few moments of pondering he replies, “Oh Vibhishana! Whatever you have just said is totally correct! I agree to your suggestion. We have to give this fellow a different punishment – But at the same time it should be an insult and defamation to him!”

Now Ravana continues and spells out the punishment:

“Kapeenaam kila laangoolam ishtam bhavati bhooshanam!

Tatasya dveepvyathaam sheegram thena dadhyena gacchathu!!”

Thus Ravana spells out, “Normally monkeys take a lot of pride with their long tails (Laangoolam), isn’t it? Let us burn his tail with fire! This would be the apt punishment that would also serve as an insult to what he has done to us! Drag this fellow along with his burning tail and take him everywhere in Lanka! Let all our people see him and make fun of his burning tail!”

“Kaamam khalu name shakthaa nivarthasyaabhi raakshasaaha!

Yathu barthni kruthaarthaaya charantham bharthu shaasanaath!!

Vaidehi shoka sampthathvaa udaasanamupaagatham!

Mangalaabhi mukhee tasya saathasaaseen mahaa kapehe!!

Upathasthe vishaalaaksheem prayathaa havya vaahanam!”

Thus the Raakshasaas are happy with Ravana’s decision of burning Hanuman’s tail. Hence all of them come close to Hanuman and tie all the old sacks and clothes around his tail. Once the tying is done, they dip Hanuman’s tail in a bucket full of oil. As Hanuman’s tail is soaked with oil, one of them lights the fire to it. Thus, Hanuman’s tail starts to burn! It is burning with a bright light and with lot of fumes! As Hanuman sees his tail burning, he gets frustrated. His anger begins to increase. He is now clearly insulted by Ravana and Co. He tries to beat away all those Raakshasaas who were trying to torture him more and more.

However, Hanuman made up his mind at one stage and decides to be a bit more patient. The plan is made – He now thinks “Wow! So far I’ve seen Lanka only during the nighttime! Now I’m getting an opportunity to visit Lanka during the day. If these Raakshasaas have to hide Sita in some other place, it would be easy for me to trace her down, if I keenly observe the city during the daytime! So let these Raakshasaas do whatever they want! Nothing can harm me! I shall take it as an incentive and carefully observe the nooks and corners of Lanka one more time!”

As the Raakshasaas drag Hanuman here and there, some of them run to Sita and conveyed the news that Ravana has managed to catch Hanuman and his tail is put to fire! Immediately Sita gets stunned by Ravana’s wicked act and decides to pray to Agni Bhagawan (Lord of Fire). She prays, “Oh Agni Bhagawan! If it is true that I’m a ‘Pathi-vrath’ and I have my mind under complete control, and if it is true that Hanuman is a sincere messenger and a devotee of this Sita and Rama, please do not harm Hanuman with your heat! Please protect him!”

The moment Sita prays, Agni Bhagawan immediately answers her prayers – He reduces the level of heat that Hanuman is experiencing! Rather, Hanuman feels ice cold at the place where the fire is burning the tail! At this point, Hanuman is surprised. He thinks, “Oh wow! What a miracle! My tail is burning, but I’m unable to feel even a trace of heat in my tail. It is as if my tail is covered with ice cubes everywhere! It is so chill! However, I’m sure this is how my Lord Rama protects me everytime! He is my God and I surrender to his lotus feet!”

Hanuman thinks further, “So far according to my objectives of my mission, I’ve searched and found Sita, spoken with her, handed over the ring of Rama, obtained her messages, spoke to Ravana and understood his stance. What else needs to be done? How can I make these Raakshasaas more frustrated and unhappy?”

What is Hanuman going to do next, with his burning tail? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed that Hanuman is giving some extremely important advice to Ravana. He requests Ravana to re-consider his stance on Sita and asks him to return her back to Rama. In the due course, he also warns Ravana about the invincible powers of Rama and Lakshmana. Along with Sugriva and the other Vaanaras, Hanuman also demonstrates the immense strength of all of them put together.

After hearing all this from Hanuman, is Ravana going to relent? No! The contrary happens! Ravana’s ego is heavily hurt by Hanuman’s talk! He thinks no end of himself! He discards the fact that Rama’s invincible powers cannot be taken lightly! His overconfidence and ego takes center-stage at this point, as Ravana decides to punish Hanuman. What can he do? The best possible punishment for whatever Hanuman has inflicted on Lanka is to put him to death! And Ravana does exactly that! He immediately orders Hanuman’s death without even thinking for a moment!

It is at this crucial moment that Vibhishana – Ravana’s brother intervenes!! He stands up from his seat and requests Ravana to calm down a little bit. Vibhishana is an expert in talking and putting forward his points in a beautiful way. He says, “Oh Lanskeshwara! Please be a little bit patient. According to the ‘Raaja-Dharma’, it is wrong to kill a messenger! I’m sure that you know in and out of the ‘Raaja-Dharma’. If learned people like you give way for anger, then what is the use of learning all our scriptures? Hence, oh brother! Let us wait a little bit and then assign a suitable punishment for this fellow!”

Upon hearing this from Vibhishana, Ravana asks back in great anger: “Oh Vibhishana! I know you are an intelligent person, but you are also talking things that don’t make sense! What is wrong in killing a person who has inflicted so much of damage and death of innumerable people in our Lanka? Moreover, he has killed my own son Akshakumara! Hence, we should definitely kill this treacherous monkey!”

As Ravana is venting out in frustration, Vibhishana tries to calm him down. He says, “Oh Ravana! I agree to what you are saying! I totally understand your emotions and feelings! However, all said and done, this monkey is a messenger. Please realize that the ‘Raaja-Dharma’ is beyond emotions. A leader should not give room for emotions while taking important and crucial decisions! Hence, please calm down!”

Vibhishana continues further: “Oh Ravana! You are right that this messenger has not just been a messenger but has killed innumerable people. But there is no place in the ‘Raaja-Dharma’ that a messenger has to be killed! Instead, there are other ways of punishing a wicked messenger – You can beat him and inflict heavy injuries to his body, or, you can inflict some permanent marks of insult on his body, or, you can adopt any other mode of punishment except killing! Moreover, think about this too: Our real enemy is not this messenger. Our real enemy is the person who has sent this messenger. The real enemy in Rama and Lakshmana are unable to come to Lanka and fight with you, owing to the geographical inconvenience. If we let this monkey go, he would somehow bring those two enemies to Lanka. Once they reach the shores of Lanka, you can fight and win over them! This would be a wiser thing to do, isn’t it? So, instead of killing this monkey, send him back with an insulting injury, along with a small portion of our mighty army to Rama and Lakshmana and threaten them! Let us see how they react to that! Oh Ravana! You are the greatest king in this world. Nobody can ever dare to come and stand in front of you during a war. Rama and Lakshmana are afraid of your great powers and this is the reason they’ve sent a messenger to provoke you! Hence please be careful and do not fall into this trap! As I had mentioned before, please give this messenger a different punishment, rather than killing him! I request you to consider this suggestion!”

Vibhishana’s excellent speech makes Ravana to have a second thought! Now what is he going to do? Is he still going to persist with his decision of killing Hanuman? Or, is he going to change is stance? Based on Ravana’s decision, we are going to witness how important is “Communication” for a leader. The action continues in the next episode! 🙂

Dear Esteemed Readers,

As we are nearing the end of 2017, I wish to thank each and every one of you for your support in motivating and encouraging me to start, write and continue writing “The Indian Dharma”.

A staggering 9,000 views from almost 70 countries – This is where “The Indian Dharma” stands today! Thank you to all of you for taking a little bit of your valuable time in reading through and expressing your comments!

With the blessings of Mother Sita and Lord Rama, we’ve successfully witnessed the Vaalmiki Ramayana in minute detail, giving importance to various lessons for our Daily life, Leadership and Management. We’ve witnessed the Baala Kaanda, Ayodhya Kaanda, Aaranya Kaanda, Kishkinta Kaanda and currently are witnessing the ever-beautiful Sundara Kaanda in detail.

Marching into 2018, we shall be completing this “mega-project” on the Ramayana within a couple of months time from now. Subsequently after that, we are going to start an “even more mega project” on a very interesting subject – I shall talk about it very soon to all of you!

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As usual once again, I request your support, love and affection in carrying this legacy forward as we leap into 2018! Let us join hands to make this year of 2018 a year of “Change towards Dharma”!!! Let us spread our rich Indian Culture and Values to the rest of the world! 

Lokah Samasthaah Sthukino Bhavantu!!!

In the previous episode we had witnessed that Hanuman is now at Ravana’s courtroom, amidst all his ministers and Ravana himself sitting at the top in his throne. Now the investigation begins and Hanuman begins to talk in the courtroom in front of Ravana. He never had the fear that he was alone without anybody to support him! He also knows that Ravana is going to get angry upon hearing what he is going to say! Even then, Hanuman starts to talk! As he begins the conversation, he makes some fun of Ravana’s incapability of defeating Vaali and how Vaali had tortured Ravana with his immense powers. Subsequently Hanuman stuns Ravana in his next statement that Rama had recently killed Vaali effortlessly with just a single arrow!

This shook Ravana for a moment, but his ego and his over-confidence blind him! He couldn’t anticipate the great danger and ill consequences that are waiting ahead of him! Hanuman thus continues to talk further: “Oh Ravana! My intention is is not to insult you by invoking Vaali’s name, but just to warn you of the dire consequences that you’re going to face for the sin of abducting Mother Sita! I would like to warn you at this point that Rama is not an ordinary human being as you think! Please realize that there is no living being in this world or even in the other worlds above, who could fight over Rama and win him! It is this invincible Rama’s wife that you’ve abducted and kept in your Lanka! Please realize your folly. Even now it is not too late. Please hand over Sita to Rama and re-unite both of them! This act of yours would save you and all the Raakshasaas from Rama’s fury!”

Hanuman continues further, “Oh Ravana! You’ve got a boon from Lord Brahma that you cannot be killed by the Devas or Asuras or Dhaanavas, etc. But please think of this – Sugriva is neither a Deva or an Asura or a Dhaanava or anything. He is just an ordinary monkey. How are you going to protect yourself from him? Forget Sugriva! I’m also a normal monkey and if I decide, I can singlehandedly destroy the whole of Lanka and a thousand Ravanas’ like you! But that is not my intention – Rama has pledged in front of all of us that he would be the person who would kill those who abducted Sita! I’m Rama’s messenger and I’m anticipating the next course of action from my leader! So Ravana! Please stop this blunder. Please hand over Sita to Rama immediately!”

“Vaina theya samaah kechith tathra anilopamaaha!

Asangathayaha sheegraah hari veeraah mahaabalaaha!!

Aham thu hanuman naama maaruthasya aurathassuthaha!”

Through the above slokas, Hanuman once again reiterates the fact that he is just one amongst a million monkeys who are either more capable than him or having equal capabilities of him! Hanuman adds: “If I am able to cross the ocean that is 100 yojanas of distance, sit here and talk fearlessly with you along with inflicting this much of damage to your Lanka, then imagine what would happen if a million Vaanaras who are more powerful than me, come here?”

“Neyam jarayithum shakyaah shaasurair amarairapi!

Visha samsrustyamarthyartham bhukthamannavibhougasaa!!

Maanusho raaghavo raajan sugreevascha hareeshwaraha!

Tasmaath praana parithraanam kathan raajan karishyasi!!”

Thus from the above slokas, Hanuman explains the significance and the power of Rama to Ravana. He says, “Ravana! You are thinking that Rama is just a normal human being, but he is not! He is the incarnation of Sriman Naarayana or Vishnu! Please realize that! He has the power of creating, destroying and re-creating this whole world! You are trying to fight with such a person and win over, which is never going to happen! Please do not destroy yourself and also the thousands of people around you!”

Hanuman continues, “Oh Ravana! You are thinking that this Sita is a beautiful woman and your desires are towards her! But realize that Sita is a ‘Kaalaraathri’ (Fateful temptation) that is going to ruin your entire life! Please realize that Sita has come here to destroy you and your kingdom completely!”

“Sathyam raakshasa raajendra shrunushva vachanam mama!

Raama daasasya dhootasya vaanarasya visheshasaha!!”

After all this, Hanuman finally says, “Hey Raakshasa Raajendra! Please listen and pay heed to my words! You would not get people in this world who would preach you good things and correct/mend your ways in the right direction. You would get loads of people who would talk nicely to you, but bring you down easily! But here I am, explaining the good and the bad to you clearly. You may think that I’m just a monkey, or a ’Raama-Daasa’ or a ‘Raama-Dhootha’ (Messenger of Rama), or whatever you wish to! But, please listen to my words and do the needful!”

Saying thus, Hanuman concludes his speech! After listening to all this, what was Ravana’s reaction? Did he oblige and pay heed to Hanuman’s important and meaningful words? What was Ravana’s next course of action? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed that the Raakshasaas drag Hanuman inside Ravana’s court and all through their way, they thrash and humiliate Hanuman. However as we’ve seen, Hanuman has his plans charted out very clearly. He’s upto a mission now and his only focus at this point is to see Ravana and speak with him. Subsequently as Hanuman sees Ravana, he is completely awestruck and taken aback by the charisma that Ravana possesses! He didn’t expect Ravana to be such a powerful and an invincible king! However, all of Ravana’s powers are going to be neutralized and is going to be killed because of his “Adharma” towards Sita. Thinking this, Hanuman feels bad and takes pity on Ravana for a moment. He admires Ravana’s beauty and also the magnificient ambience of his courtroom!

As Hanuman is engrossed with all these, Ravana too looks closely at Hanuman. He thinks who has sent down this monkey to Lanka in revenge. After a few minutes Ravana orders his minister Brihasta to enquire into the matter. As per the order, Brihasta asks Hanuman, “Oh monkey! Tell us who you are! Are you here as a spy of Indra or Nandi Deva (Lord Shiva’s vehicle) or Yamadharma Raaja (God of Death) or whom? Why did you come to Lanka? Why did you intend to enter inside the king’s ladies-garden? What were you doing there? Why did you kill so many people after that? Tell us the truth or else you would be hanged to death!”

As Brihasta asks these series of questions, Hanuman doesn’t pay heed to him and starts directly addressing Ravana! He says,

“Abraveen naasmi shakrasya yamasya varunasyacha!”

Hanuman now says, “Oh Mighty Ravana! I’m a monkey and this is my original form. I’m not sent by anybody like Indra or Nandi Deva. I just wanted to visit your beautiful Lanka and enjoy the scenic beauty. On my way, your Raakshasa army attacked me. I attacked them back in self-defence and that’s it! However, Lankeshwara! I’ve come here as a minister of the Vaanara King Sugriva. I’m here to tell you and make you aware of a few things. Please listen carefully!”

“Vanam raakshasa raajasya darshanaarthe vinaasitham!

Rakshanaarthancha dehasya prathyuddhaa mayaarane!!”

Hanuman continues further: “Oh Ravana! It was me who destroyed your beautiful Ashoka Vana. But there is an important reason behind it. I wanted to meet you somehow! I didn’t know a quick possibility to make that happen. Hence I resorted to destroying it. There is a reason why I wanted to see you. Now let me tell you something important!”

“Aham sugreeva sandeshaath ihapraapthasthavaanthake!

Raakshasesha hareeshthathvaam braathaa kushalamabhraveeth!!”

Hanuman continues, “Your brother Sugriva has sent across a news to you through me!” Upon hearing this from Hanuman, Ravana is surprised! He thinks, “How come Sugriva has become my brother all of a sudden? Has he become the king of the Vaanaras? Vaali is the king isn’t it?” As Ravana thinks, Hanuman continues further, “Oh Ravana! You know someone by name Vaali, isn’t it?” As Ravana hears this from Hanuman, he almost jumps off from his seat! It is to be noted that Ravana has immense fear for Vaali, since he was humiliated and thrown away by the mighty ex Vaanara king!

Thus, upon hearing Vaali’s name, Ravana is stunned! This is another important art while talking – While presenting an idea in front of someone, it is important to present the main point of the idea first and in a crisp manner so that the attention of the other person is captured straightaway! We should not keep talking unwanted and irrelevant stories while presenting a matter.

As Hanuman talks about Vaali and Sugriva, he also talks about Rama and Lakshmana and how did they come to Sugriva to make friendship with him. He also narrates the episode of the fight between Vaali and Sugriva and how Rama helped Sugriva by killing Vaali! Subsequently Hanuman also describes his journey to Lanka and his mission to search Sita. Finally he says that he has found Sita in Ravana’s Ashoka Vana and he has come to Ravana’s palace to let him know all what had happened!

Listening to all this, Ravana thought for a moment: “Oh wow! So many things have happened! But I never asked this monkey to narrate all this to me! Why is this monkey blabbering all this here now?” As Ravana thinks thus, Hanuman answers his thoughts immediately with his next sentence:”Oh Ravana! I’m here as a messenger of Rama and it is my duty to let you know what Rama and Sugriva wanted to convey to you! I wanted to give you some valuable advice and I request you to listen to me!”

As Hanuman begins his advice to Ravana, he again takes the context of Vaali and his death in Rama’s hands! He wants to irritate and make fun of Ravana amongst all others seated in the courtroom! 🙂 He says, “Oh Ravana! I’m sure that you must have heard about Vaali and his invincible powers! Let me recall your past a little bit! As you were going on a rampage over each and every kingdom, you had come to take on Vaali too! No king on this earth was able to win over you! As someone had mentioned to you that you should win over Vaali to rein supreme control over everybody else, you came to fight with Vaali! As you came to Kishkinta, Vaali was busy with his evening prayers and asked you to wait for a few minutes. However, as impatient as you are, you called him for the fight immediately! Thus unable to bare your impatience, Vaali used his power to crush you like an insect, placed you in between his shoulders and then continued his prayers! After finishing his prayers, he released you from his clutches and asked you to begin the fight! By now you had realized Vaali’s powers and thus shook hands with him and left that place without fighting him!” 🙂

Ravana listens to all this and asks Hanuman, “Fine! So why are you telling all these past happenings in public now? It was something that happened without anybody knowing! :)”

Hanuman continues, “Oh Ravana! Do you know what happened to this Vaali? It was this same Vaali whom Rama killed effortlessly with just a single arrow! It is this news that I wanted to convey to you and that is why I’m here in front of you now!”

This stuns Ravana even more! Ravana couldn’t believe his ears that Vaali is no more! Moreover, he wasn’t able to digest the fact that Rama was the person who had killed Vaali! What happened next? Did Ravana relent his stance on Sita upon hearing this “Shocker” from Hanuman? The action continues in the next episode!

In the previous episode we had witnessed a very important event wherein Indrajith successfully employs the Brahmaasthra and captures Hanuman alive! As Hanuman falls on the ground he becomes unconscious for a few minutes as Indrajith rejoices his victory! However, after that stipulated time period Hanuman regains his consciousness fully and realizes that he is succumbed by the Brahmaasthra. Hanuman now thinks, “Oh! Now I’m under the influence of this great and divine Brahmaasthra and I do not have any power at this moment to overcome this. However, this Brahmaasthra would not affect me in any way! I would be freed from it very soon. Now it is the time to respect Lord Brahma who is the creator! I shall stay within my limits and obey the orders of Lord Brahma!”

At this point, Hanuman quickly recollects the boon that Lord Brahma had granted him during his childhood days: “This Brahmaasthra has the power to restrict my invincible powers for a certain period of time. However, this would not cause any harm to me in any way! After this stipulated time period, I shall be able to free myself from it quite easily!” As Hanuman is thinking thus, all the Raakshasaas come near him and start tying him around with ropes and other equipments. Hanuman is now under arrest! However at this point, the Raakshasaas did not realize one important thing – The moment Hanuman is being tied with some other material (while the Brahmaasthra is still active) he got released from the clutches of the Brahmaasthra! Now Hanuman is again free and can attack the Raakshasaas and Indrajith any time! However, Hanuman decides to remain tied. He now has other plans – Now it might serve as an opportunity to meet Ravana! By that way he can get a chance to talk with Ravana and understand his position on the issue of Sita. Thinking thus, Hanuman remains silent to all the tortures that the Raakshasaas are giving him!

As Indrajith was seeing this, he almost freaked out in fear! “Oh my goodness! As these people are tying this monkey, it has got released from the Brahmaasthra! All my efforts have gone to vain! Now this monkey can suddenly rise up and attack all of us again! But now, the Brahmaasthra cannot be employed for a second time! Now what do I do? How would I tackle this monkey if it attacks again? This monkey is pretending as if it has succumbed! I cannot understand the meaning behind this drama! I just hope that he doesn’t attack again!”

After Hanuman is fully tied and arrested, he is now taken along the streets of Lanka and the Raakshasaas are now rejoicing their victory over Hanuman. But little do they know that Hanuman has a different plan in his mind! Now the Raaksasaa Army drags Hanuman into Ravana’s magnificient palace and into Ravana’s courtroom!

As Hanuman is being dragged, all those who are witnessing this are astonished and in immense anger at the same time. They were surprised to note that this one monkey has managed to invade Lanka and take on the invincible Ravana’s army singlehandedly! On the other side they are angry as Hanuman has killed many of their family members and others in the army! Witnessing all this, Hanuman moves into the courtroom of Ravana. He sees all the minsters of Ravana seated in two rows and finally sees Ravana sitting in his impeccable throne!

The moment Hanuman sets his eyes on Ravana, he is totally taken aback in awe! He now thinks “Oh my goodness! When I was born on this earth, I’ve even went near the sun to capture it. However, I’ve never seen this kind of a person in my life so far who is shining with the same intensity as the sun! What a charisma is this Ravana possessing! I never expected this! I’m unable to see Ravana face to face! What an amazing appearance! What an amazing personality! Even though Ravana has all these innumerable good qualities of a leader, he has still gone with his desires and has done unwanted things in life!”

“Aho roopam aho dhairyam aho sathvam aho dyuthihi!

Aho raakshasa raajasya sarva lakshana yukthathaa!!

Yath adharmo na balavaansyaadhayam raakshaseshvaraha!

Syaadhayam sura lokasya sashakrasyaabhi rakshithaa!!”

Here again, Vaalmiki Maharishi beautifully brings out some key qualities of an excellent leader – Appearance (Roopam), Impeccable Character (Sathvam) and Charisma (Dyuthihi). It can again be seen here that the modern day leadership concepts were in place even during the Ramayana times! Now from the above sloka, Vaalmiki Maharishi conveys a very important point – “If this Ravana had been good at heart, he would be capable of ruling the entire world by now! But somehow, he has inflicted so much of insults and ‘Adharma’ in this world that everybody hates him and hence is going to be destroyed eventually!”

Thinking thus, Hanuman is completely carried away by Ravana’s charismatic qualities! Now the enquiry process begins. Ravana is keen on knowing who is this monkey sitting in front of him and why has he come here and fought with his army! Ravana wonders who is that enemy who has sent this huge monkey to Lanka! What happened during the enquiry process? What did Hanuman talk during this session? Did Ravana listen to Hanuman’s words? Lets’ wait and witness during the next episode!

In the previous episode we had witnessed how Hamuman faces Ravana’s son Akshakumaara and outsmarts him. Everybody whom Ravana sends to fight Hanuman are being outsmarted and killed! How does Ravana handle this treacherous enemy now? What does he do? He immediately turns towards one of his eldest sons, Indrajith (Meghanaadha). Indrajith is that one person whom even the Devas and celestial beings shiver during a war encounter! Ravana knows Indrajith’s invincible powers and summons him to his courtroom.

Tathasthu rakshodhipathir mahaathmaa hanumathaakshe nihathe kumaare!

Manassamaadhaaya deva kalpam samaadhithe indrajitham sa rosham!!

As Indrajith arrives, Ravana begins to explain the situation to him – “Oh my dear son Indrajith! You are one among the very few in the world who knows the secret of the ‘Brahmaasthra’ (A unique and one of the most powerful missiles of those times)! You know how and when to use it. The enemy that has come to Lanka currently seems so invincible that you would be the only person to tame him. Prior to you, I had sent Jambumaali, five important army chiefs, innumerable members of our army and finally your dear brother Akshakumaara. All of them have died upon fighting just that one monkey! I really wonder how on earth is this possible! However, I’ve never had the amount of confidence on all of them that I have on you! You are extremely talented and capable of planning and executing ideas and strategies during war. Hence, my dear Indrajith! Please get ready to fight this monkey!”

Ravana continues to advise Indrajith thus, “Oh Indrajith! You’ve to deal with this monkey very carefully. Listen to me very keenly – Please don’t think that you can tackle him with a huge army! He would destroy any big army within seconds! Please do not think that you can tackle him with some ordinary arrows flying from your bow! He would escape in between them and fool you! Don’t think that you can attack him with your physical strength when he comes closer to you! With my understanding of his physical strength, he might assault you within minutes! Hence, I feel that the only way to make him succumb is with the help of powerful “Asthras” (missiles) that are divine! One such is Brahmaasthra! As you go towards him, try and focus your mind completely in chanting the ‘manthra’ of the Brahmaasthra! Please come back with victory!”

As Indrajith listens this from his father, he gets ready to fight Hanuman! He is motivated by Ravana’s words and worships his father before he leaves. He is fully confident of victory over Hanuman. As Indrajith storms his way to the Ashoka Vana campus, Hanuman realizes that a tough enemy is coming through. Hence, Hanuman too prepares himself to face the Indrajith challenge! As Indrajith comes closer to Hauman, he initially wonders as to how does one monkey is fearlessly roaming around in Lanka city and killing all these Raakshasas effortlessly! As Indrajith is thinking thus, he devises a strategy to counter Hanuman’s brilliance. As “Step 1”, he commences the fight with a few heavily pointed and sharp arrows towards Hanuman’s forehead. As Hanuman sees them coming, he quickly evades through them and increases his size and strength with happiness!

Now Hanuman is very happy that atlast he has got an excellent enemy to handle! He looks at Indrajith and devises counter-strategies to try and take him on! As Indrajith follows up with his pointed arrows, Hanuman decides to show his strength by leaping across in the air! He now flies in between whatever Indrajith has to throw upon him! Now, Indrajith tries and fires arrows non-stop towards Hanuman in ultra-quick speed! Hanuman, as quick as he is, evades through all the arrows with ease! He flies in between each of the arrow and makes Indrajith look like a fool!

Thus at one stage, Hanuman renders all the powers of Indrajith useless! Now, Indrajith is clueless as to how to tackle Hanuman, who is advancing forward with ease every minute! Indrajith thinks within himself, “Oh my goodness! What a miracle is this! What is going on here? All of my arrows are precise and fall almost on this fellow, but somehow he is managing to escape from all of them! Not even one arrow is hitting him as I had desired! How can this be?” Wondering thus, Indrajith now devises his “Plan B” – “There is no other way to tackle this monkey. Only the Brahmasthra can! It is not possible for me to kill him. All I can do is to tie him up and render him ineffective first!”

Thinking thus, Indrajith chants the manthra of the “Brahmaasthra” and fires it at Hanuman. The moment Hanuman encounters the “Brahmaasthra”, he gets tied to it and subsequently falls on the ground unconscious! At last, Indrajith succeeds in rendering Hanuman ineffective! Hanuman is now on the ground motionless! He succumbs to the Brahmaasthra!!!

What happens next? Did Hanuman manage to overcome the effect of the Brahmaasthra? How does he do that? What was the next course of action from Hanuman’s side? What did Indrajith do next? Let’s wait to find out in the next episode!