Untold story from Ramayana - Part 3

CHAPTER  2: STORYOF RSAYASRNGA (cont'd)

When Vibondaka left, the demigods made arrangements and got him involved in so many other things so that Rsayasrnga was left by himself. Rsayasrnga went to the river to take water for the yajna, and he saw this moving ashrama. He'd never been anywhere, but he'd studied a lot of shastra, and he'd never heard of anything like this before. And whenever the description came of women, Vibondaka would never explain it. He would never read such parts. In this way he was kept brainwashed to be a brahmacari. He looked at this ashrama, "This is so nice." And then he saw some figures in there. "What kind of rishis are these? This is a different type of rishi." He became very eager. "Anyway, if they are in the area, they must visit my father's ashrama." And they did come. They just made sure that Vibondaka was not around, and then three of the great saintly people walked out of the boat. And then they came, raising their hands and calling "Rsayasrnga! Rsayasrnga!" Usually when the rishis came they called for Vibondaka. So he saw these rishis coming, and he went and addressed them. And after addressing them he was asking, "Where are you coming from? Which planet? What mantras do you chant? How come by the touch of your bodies all my hairs are standing on end? Why am I having suchromancha?" They were smiling at each other, and they said, "We are rishis from another place, it is eight yojanas from here.

It is an island, and no human beings come there. We are born with perfection. We came to see your father. We know that you are very learned, so in our moving ashrama, we want you to come and stay for a few days." Rsayasrnga said, "I would be very happy to do that, but my father is not here. I don't even brush my teeth unless my father tells me to. So how will I go away from here, and who will perform the yajna three times daily?" One lady said, "I will do it, I am expert in this line." And she sat down. Somehow Rsayasrnga fell prey for this. These were saintly people, so why shouldn't they do yajna? And they looked different, very attractive. He couldn't understand what the tejas was that was coming from that body and attracting him. He didn't know it was lust. This was never explained to him. So he left that lady there doing yajna, and they had a flower ladder from the ashrama up to the bank of the river. This ashrama was filled with saintly people, so somehow they engaged him in listening to music, and dancing and so many other things, and slowly they came to Angadesha. In Angadesha there was big reception arranged for Rsayasrnga, brahmacari incarnate. There was purna-kumbha and there was mantras and Brahmins. The Brahmins all came to know that Rsayasrnga was coming, and they came and waited there. He was worshipped like anything.

He saw more saintly people were sitting there in that country, and they were sitting with other saintly people. Then he started realizing that something was wrong in his understanding. He asked the king, "Why have you brought me here?" But as soon as he stepped off the boat, rain came. And people were all happy, they were showering akshada and touching his feet. All the people came and told him, "You must never leave our country. You must become the son-in-law of our king." He didn't know what son in-law meant. So then they had to have special classes for him to explain how to become a son-in-law. Then he understood everything and finally he blessed the king by marrying Shanti, Dasaratha's daughter. In the meantime Vibondaka had returned to his ashrama, and saw this lady sitting there offering ghee into the fire. He grabbed her by the hair and said, "Who are you? What are you doing with my fire? It's been here for six thousand years. You came and contaminated it. What are you doing?"She said, "I am not this body. I am spirit soul." Vibondaka said, "That's very nice, that you're not this body, but you are not supposed to do this." So then she said, "No no, Rsayasrnga told me to do this." So he said, "So come on tell me, where is Rsayasrnga? What did you do to him? There was one man in this world who was pure, and you spoiled him too!" And then the lady said, "What could we do, this was a nationalistic service. We are serving the nation. In the service of our nation we have done something so we will go to heavenly planet." So then Vibondaka said, "I'm going to curse that king, that Angadesha Raja! He's getting rain, but I will see that he gets nothing anymore. The lady fell at his feet and said, "At least do the curse there. Then he will know you are cursing him.

Don't do the curse from here." "All right," he said. He was so angry, but Romapada was so clever, he was arranging for many Brahmins chanting mantras, glorifying Vibondaka, showing pictures of Kashyapa Muni just to attract him. But Vibondaka came and said, "Where is the king? Bring him here!" Romapada came and begged, "Please don't curse me! Already there are enough curses! All that I have done is that I have made your son the king of this country." So then something dawned on Vibondaka. "My so has become the king of this country. Now he has become the king, he has to protect the citizens. If I curse, then the blame is on him because he couldn't protect his citizens." So then he called his son, "Rsayasrnga, come here." Rsayasrnga came, and Vibondaka said, "All right, as soon as one son is born, you must be back in the ashrama. You understand?" This was the time when Dasaratha was told, by Vasistha Muni, the story. And Vasistha said, "If you personally go, then Rsayasrnga may come." So Dasaratha started, with all his paraphernalia, his seven akshauhini-shainyas, and arrived in Angadesha. Romapada was thinking "What is this? Suddenly Dasaratha is coming with his army. He is going to fight with me or what?" So he came with a white flag. "There is no question that your army can even stay in my country. Your army is so big that they can only just stand inside my country, not much more. Why are you coming with seven akshauhini-shainyas?" Dasaratha said, "No, I am just coming to request Rsayasrnga to come and perform a yajna for me." Romapada said, "I don't know. I don't know how long the yajna will be. I'm not going to play any more tricks, because already Vibondaka has told him, `One son and you are back in the ashrama'." Dasaratha said, "I will fall at his feet. He has protected your kingdom, why will he not save my country too? Why will he not do it?" So Dasaratha went there, paid his pranams, and he cried and told Rsayasrnga, "I have no hope. I will jump in the fire of asvamedha instead of the horse, if you don't come." So then Rsayasrnga calculated, "How many days are left?" It was 28 days more before the delivery. "That's all right. In 24 days I will come and do putra-kamesti."

So he came, and right next to the asvamedha-yajna he created another fire from that, and he quickly started putra-kamesti. And when he was finishing with the purnahoti, the yajna-purusha came, a dark, black figure which was three miles tall. He had a huge big pot in his hand. He was holding Narayana in it, so it was no small affair. He said to Dasaratha, "Please give this sweet rice to your queens." Dasaratha was looking at the size of the pot, and he was thinking, "If I give this to my queens, then there will be no more queens." It was a huge big pot. asaratha asked Vasistha, "How is this possible? How can they eat this much sweet rice?"So then Vasistha said, "You ask Rsayasrnga, he will tell you." Rsayasrnga asked the yajna-purusha, "Why are you giving such a big pot to these human beings that they can't even hold it?" The yajna-purusha said, "The personality who is coming is so powerful, that you can't reduce him smaller than this." Then Rsayasrnga closed his eyes and said, "Ah! Bigger than the biggest, and smaller that the smallest. He is in this pot. You give it to me." So he took the pot, and it became small. By the request of Rsayasrnga the Lord reduced His aishvarya, and the pot became small. He gave it to Dasaratha and said, "All right, I have two days to get to my ashrama. In between I have to take care of the delivery." So Dasaratha took the sweet rice. He gave half of it to Kausalya. The remainder he split in two, one for Sumitra and one to Kaikeyi. After Kaikeyi drank it, there was still some left, so that was also given to Sumitra. In this way the Lord came as Lord Ramacandra in Kausalya's womb. He came as Laksmana and Satrughna in Sumitra's womb, and he came as Bharata in Kaikeyi's womb. Vasudeva came as Ramacandra, Sankarsana came as Laksmana. The Sudarshan disc came as Bharata, and the Pancajanya conchshell came as Satrughna.

Untold stories from Ramayana - Part 2

                          CHAPTER 2: STORY OF RSAYASRNGA

So then Vasistha told the story of Rsayasrnga. Srnga means "horns" or "a person possessing horns." Rsa means "deer," so Rsayasrnga means "a human possessing horns." He is a human being with deer horns who performs yajna and speaks Sanskrit. Vasistha said, "I will tell you the story of Rsayasrnga. Long ago, Kashyapa Muni produced a son while meditating on the sunlight. While he was meditating on the sunlight, suddenly he thought of a personality. When he thought of a personality, that person would come into existence. And he would come out of his mind. Kashyapa was Prajapati, "progenitor." And this person was known as Vibondaka. As soon as Vibondaka came out of Kashyapa's mind, he went to the deepest forests in Madhya Pradesh which is now very famous as Chandal Valley. 

All the dacoits are there. That is where Vibondaka went, and he performed ugra-tapasa, very severe austerities. He was only performing tapasa for self-realization, but Indra was worried. Indra has a special secretary for this department. He gives him a list of people who are performing austerities, because he is so worried that they may become the opposition and may even try to usurp his own seat. So when he heard the name Vibondaka he asked, "What kind of tapasa is he doing?" The secretary mentioned to him, "He is performing such huge austerities that if he were to ever get angry, this whole universe would be burnt to ashes. And if he ever thinks of anything, it will automatically come to him without his having to perform any sacrifice. This is the potency of his tapovalam." Indra said, "Then he is my candidate. I will have to work on him." He thought of all the damsels on his planet, and he decided, "These are no good." So then he went to Satyaloka, Brahma's planet. In Satyaloka there are damsels who are self-realized souls. They dance only for the pleasure of the deity that Brahma keeps for worship. Indra, for his political purpose, wanted to pollute these damsels. So he went to Brahma, but he couldn't spend much time there because if you are too long in Brahma's planet by the time you return your time will be over, So Indra said, "Give me the best damsel, quickly! I have to go!" So Brahma said, "All right, take this one."

There was one lady called Harsha, because she was always smiling. Harsha came with Indra, and even while flying with Harsha, Indra could understand that he was so greedy and lusty, and this woman was so saintly and serene, always meditating on the Absolute Truth. He was thinking, "What happens if I send her and they both become self- realized?" Indra wanted something wrong to happen. So he fell at the feet of Harsha, and said, "Please, protect my seat." Harsha said, "I don't think that this Vibondaka desires to enjoy anything." Because she was sitting in Satyaloka she could see Vibondaka and what type of austerity he was doing. So she said, "You are unnecessarily sending me there, and I may even get burnt by his anger. But because Brahma has told then I am coming with you. Vibondaka has no such material desires.

He won't even look at me. I don't know how I'm going to attract him and make him fall." Indra said, "I don't know what you will do, but at least get it confirmed from him that he has no desire to become Indra. Then my position is safe." So Harsha said, "All right, I will do it. Whatever is given to me as a mission I will accomplish. “So Harsha came to that valley, and Vibondaka was coming from the Ganges and going to his ashrama. So she came and sat there, and chanted mantras. There are different ways of making people fall down. Whatever is your weak spot, that can be used. Vibondaka's weak spot was mantras and meditation, so she started chanting mantras. Vibondaka was so absorbed, and then suddenly he heard this clear pronunciation of Vedic mantras, clearer than anything else he had ever heard anywhere in the three planets. He turned back and looked at her, and immediately she fell at his feet. She said, "Only for the prayer of getting tras. Vedic mantras which are chanted should not go in vain. Somebody must give a benediction, and I don't want this benediction from anyone else, not even from Brahma. I only want It from you.

If you don't accept this request, then I will perform austerities and I will leave my body. And brahma-hatya will come to you." In this way she blackmailed him. So Vibondaka said, "What is this? I am just trying to peacefully think of God. Why is this trouble coming?" So he looked at her and said, "I am Vibondaka, and I have no interest in this world. I don't know why I was even sent here, but Kashyapa produced me. I am just trying to go away from here. What is this, giving you a son? You can't get a son from anywhere else? You mention any other person, and I will command him to give you a son. If you want a son from Brahma, I will request him. If you want a son from my father Kashyapa, I will request him. Why me, in the whole creation?" So she said, "No, only you. You are the only person who should give me a son." And then he said, "No this is not possible. I am not going to do it. If you have been even been thinking about me like that, that is bad for me." And then he said, "Here is the potency from my body. You can arrange for getting a son." And he dropped some semen and left. Harsha then understood that Indra had nothing to fear, so her mission was fulfilled. But this shukla coming out of the body of Vibondaka, was there burning the whole world. She was now responsible for it, she had to direct it somewhere. She did not want to hold it and produce a son, because that was only a trick she was using. But when she looked up she saw a very transcendental deer moving around there. So immediately by her potency, she put the semen in the body of the deer, and the deer conceived a child. Since it was the conception of a rishi, it did not stay for more than a night. The next morning, the deer delivered a baby. It had a human form, but with deer horns. This was Rsayasrnga.

So this deer ran to the ashrama of Vibondaka and started crying. Vibondaka saw this and thought, "Why are these things happening to me? Some lady wants a son, and now a  deer is crying in my ashrama." So Vibondaka asked the deer, "What is wrong? Who is giving you trouble?" The deer started walking away and Vibondaka followed. The deer brought him to where Rsayasrnga was, and Vibondaka saw this shining young baby with deer horns. He thought, "Oh, this is my son. If nobody wants him, then I will take care of him." Then Vibondaka thought, "Now I know why I was sent here, for some reason. Kashyapa did not conceive me for nothing. I am supposed to conceive this son, and God knows what he is going to conceive." So Vibondaka brought him to the ashrama and gave him milk. He taught him Vedas and Upanishads and philosophy. There was no woman in that forest, which was yojanas wide. There was not even any tigresses, only tigers. So Rsayasrnga had no idea of women. He grew up, and for everything he was depending on his  father. He would ask his father, "Father, can I take this book and read?" And if his father said yes, then he would do it.

He would ask, "Father, should I brush my teeth?" And if the father said yes, he would brush his teeth. He was so dependent on his father. He would always walk everywhere holding his father's hand. In this way Rsayasrnga grew up to be the most innocent person in the creation. Lord Ramacandra had to appear, and if he was to appear then the yajna-purusha has to give the khir, and if that khir is to come, then the yajna has to be performed by someone who has never seen a woman. Lord Ramacandra's advent was not that easy. This whole story is already in Visnu Purana. In this way Rsayasrnga was growing up, never hearing of any woman. Dasaratha, when his daughter was born to Kausalya, he was thinking, "What shall I do with this daughter?" Then one day, from Angadesha, the country of Anga, Dasaratha's friend Romapada (which means "hairy feet") was hankering for a child too. He had some sons, but he had no daughter. This is the material world. He who has daughters, he is hankering for a son. And he who has sons is hankering for a daughter. And he who has no children, they are hoping for children, and those who have children are thinking "How to get rid of them," and they send them to Gurukula. So Romapada came to Dasaratha and said, "You are my very good friend, and you have no sons. You always think, `What is the use of a daughter?' And I want a daughter, so why don't you give her to me?" And Dasaratha said, "All right, you can have her." So he gave Shanti in adoption to the king of Angadesha known asRomapada. Romapada brought Shanti to his kingdom.

And whether it way the girl's misfortune or the king's misfortune, the second day was the day the rainy season was supposed to start but there was no rain. The whole rainy season went by and there was no rain. The second rainy season also went by with no rain. A big famine came about. So the king went to the astrologer and asked him, "Why is there famine in my kingdom? Is it due to this daughter? Everyone is saying it is due to her." They found out that during some yajna that had been performed by Romapada he had cheated a Brahmin. He first promised him, "I will give you this much amount of diamonds," but while he was counting the diamonds to be given as dakshina, he found one diamond which was very valuable, and he thought, "What is the Brahmin going to do with this?" So he took it out, and put a bigger diamond in its place, which was less valuable. When he gave the bag of diamonds to the Brahmin, the Brahmin touched the bag and said, "You cheated me! You removed one of these diamonds and put a bigger diamond to cheat me." It was inside the bag, and the king was thinking, "How does he know this?" The Brahmin said, "I am a Brahmin, so I know this. You are cheating, so all the Brahmins will leave this country." So he formed a big union and all the Brahmins wa lked out of the country. No more Brahmins means no more yajna, and it was Treta-yuga, so no yajna means no food.

The king was wondering what to do, so slowly from here and there he collected some Brahmins from other countries, and he brought them on immigration, so they couldn't stay long. These Brahmins were coming and going, and in this way he was running his kingdom. Now famine had come due to this curse, and the fact that all the Brahmins had left his country. So the astrologer said, "So to solve this problem, you have to bring all the Brahmins back." Romapada said, "But these Brahmins have formed a union. They won't come back." "They will come back if you bring one person here." Romapada asked, "Who is that?" "There is one rishi. He has never seen a woman. And he doesn't even know what is a woman. That person must come, and he must marry your daughter. If that rishi stays in your kingdom, then the Brahmins will not stay anywhere else. They will come here, because he is such a learned person. To see him, they will come. And after they come, they will stay." So now he had to get this Rsayasrnga, and he was thinking "How to get him?" So he asked this to his ministers, and they said, "Rsayasrnga is not an easy object, his father is Vibondaka. If Vibondaka gets angry he will burn the universe to ashes. If you try to get his son he will get angry, and then there is no necessity of yajna or rain, because the whole universe will be burnt, and you will also be burnt." "So what to do?" Romapada asked.

"You have to use some trick," his ministers replied. Then they advised him, "You must go and consult the society girls, the famous prostitutes of the country." So then Romapada made an announcement, "Special interview with the prostitutes of the country." They all came, and they were thinking it had something to do with dance or music, or something like that. But when they heard that they had to bring Rsayasrnga, then they ran away because everybody knew this person. However, one lady came up, and she said, "For the benefit of my country, I will sacrifice myself. I will try; if he comes, that's good. Then the kingdom will be happy. If he doesn't come, only a prostitute will be killed. What's the problem? I don't care, I will go." Romapada asked, "What do want in return?" "I don't want anything, let the country be happy." "What help do you need?" Romapada asked. "Your treasury, whenever I go, must open. And if I want anything from any department, they must say yes, because you must know I am sacrificing my life." So the king gave her a special green card. Anywhere she goes, anything she wants she would get. She made a boat which was four miles long and two miles wide.

On top of the boat she made an ashrama. This boat was totally covered with trees and bushes, flower gardens, lakes and deer. All kinds of things she put in there. And thousands of people were rowing the boat, but you couldn't see anything, it was all covered by bushes. There were pathways, small mountains, waterfalls, everything was created. It looked like a island, but it was moving. No-one knew what it was. They all though it was the gandharvas who have come. It was a special ashrama, no men. Only women were there. No tigers, only tigresses. It was filled up with women. They all had rudrakshas, tulasi-malas, jasmine flowers tied up in their hair, and they were all praying, doing meditation and chanting mantras. This boat was floating so nicely down the river, and somehow or other they got it into Madhya Pradesh. So as they reached Vibondaka's ashrama, Vibondaka went out to help a sage who had gotten stuck in the mouth of an elephant. He was calling, "Save me! Save me!" And no-one heard him, only Vibondaka. So he told Rsayasrnga, "You must perform the yajna three times daily. Don't worry about cleaning the ashrama, because it's too big for you. Just perform the yajna till I get back."

Untold stories from Ramayan-part 9

CHAPTER 7 THE GREAT MONKEY ARMY

When the monkeys were looking for Sita, they were going to commit suicide on account of their not being able to find her. Angada was putting the kusa grass, and he said, "I'm going to die. I can't find Sita." The other monkeys said, "No, no, there is a nice secure place where we can go to live." Hanuman chastised them. "This is illusion," he said. Hanuman got so upset, and he was chastising Angada and the rest of the monkeys. "What are you trying to do? Do you want to end your life in a prestigious way, or do you want to go for some `security'?" They were on a mission for Ramacandra. They had to find Sita and then come back with that information. Thirty thousand monkeys went on that mission. That was only in the south. In the north there were eighty thousand monkeys. And because east and west were not so important, there was only ten thousand in those places. The greatest corporals and generals of Sugriva were ordained to go, and they were told not to come back until they found Sita. Unfortunately all the other groups came back. The north, the east and the west. But the southern party was still going. Hanuman, Jambavan, Angada and Nila were the greatest leaders of that group. We have discussed Hanuman's appearance already. Now we will discuss Jambavan. Jambavan is the oldest created being in the universe, apart from Brahma. When Brahma was thinking of making the creation and he had the vision of the Lord, the Lord shook hands with him and gave him the information of Bhagavatam, aham evasya evagre. "I am before everything and after everything." Brahma was contemplating to create, and he was thinking, "How great is this creation, and how am I going to do it?" In the meantime, the Garbhodakasayi Visnu was laying down on the snake, and from both of his ears, two drops of sweat came out. One  drop became Madhu, a great demon, and the other became Kaitava, another great demon. Madhu and Kaitava came and met, and shook hands. They looked back and said, "We must finish this." This is a demon. You take shelter of something, and then when you are done with it you destroy it. This Rakshasa mentality of Madhu and Kaitava created a bad atmosphere and Brahma started sweating. The sweat came from hisfour faces. Lord Visnu got up and looked at Madhu and Kaitava and said, "O great personalities Madhu and Kaitava, please give me a benediction." They said, "This is easy! He is surrendering to us. Do you know who we are?" they addressed him. "Oh, you are the great Madhu and Kaitava, supremely powerful persons." They said, "What benediction do you want, Visnu?" Visnu said, "You give me a benediction that I can fight with you." "Oh, you want a fight?" they said. "That is what we are expecting too. Now it is more prestigious for us, because it is our benediction. Yes you can fight with us, but one thing. If ever you think that you want to kill us, you can only kill us in a place where there is no earth, no water, no air, no fire, no ether, no mind, no intelligence and no false ego. You can kill us in that spot." That means that they cannot be killed anywhere in the universe, that was what they were thinking. They didn't know anything beyond the universe, because they were demons.

Then Visnu started fighting with them, and it went on for a long time. While the fight was going on, Brahma was sweating again because of the whole evil atmosphere created by Madhu and Kaitava. This time with the sweat came a small entity, and it was there on his cheek. It was moving around there. Brahma said, "What is this?" and he looked at it. It started growing, so he threw it on the floor. It grew more, and it was a bear. No species were present at that time. "What is this?" Brahma said. Black bear with so much hair on the body, and it grew and grew and became so strong. It spoke in Sanskrit. He spoke to Brahma, "You have created me, so where shall I go?" Brahma said, "I created something without my knowledge. You go to Jambunada." That was one piece of land in the water of dissolution, Jambunada-ksetra. So immediately he entered Jambunada, and he sat down there and was looking around. What he saw was Madhu and Kaitava fighting. He was clapping his hands and whistling, and he called out, "Wonderful! Hit him on the head!" He was the audience. Visnu was going up into the sky and picking them up and throwing them. They were so strong, coming from the ear of Visnu, so they were giving a good fight. Garbhodakasayi Visnu was laying down on Sesa naga for a long time, so he wanted to have some pastime. He wanted to have some entertainment, so he created somebody and started fighting. He took Madhu and Kaitava on his lap, and then with his hand he crushed them. They were finished, because there was no earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence or false ego. His was a transcendental body. Jambavan jumped up and down and said, "Wonderful, wonderful fight! Can I see more?"

Visnu said, "You wait for the creation to start. Then there will be so many fights." So creation started, and the Manvantaras came one by one. There was a great dissolution, and Satyavrata was on the boat, and a golden fish came, a huge big fish with a horn. With Vasuki, the snake, they tied the fish's horn yo that boat. The sapta-rishis were there and Jambavan was sitting there looking. "Aah, what a nice fish," he said, and he circumambulated the fish. The fish was circumambulating the whole universe. In this way Jambavan had a good engagement at that time. Jambavan will not die, he is a ciranjiva. He was getting old, but he was quite strong. Then Kurma-avatar came, and Jambavan witnessed that also. He also was there when Varaha-avatar slapped Hiranyaksa. Hiranyaksa was slapped and he went up circling around, and while he was circling around his eyes came out of his sockets, and Jambavan was playing with them. "What a wonderful fight!" That was finished, and he saw Nrsimhadeva also. And then Vamanadeva appeared. When Vamanadeva grew into a huge big figure lifting his leg and piercing the universe from the top, Jambavan, in six moments, circled this great form of Trivikrama eighteen times. That was the speed of Jambavan. He was in ecstasy, "Oh! What a beautiful form!" He was going around and around, eighteen times in six moments. When he was coming back down he was in so much ecstasy, and he scratched Mount Meru with his toe-nails. Meru got upset. Meru came in person and said, "Hey, you dirty bear! What are you doing to me? You are touching me with your foot. Even the sapta-rishis don't do this, they float over me. They don't set foot on me. You are doing this, so you become old. Because you are young and so fast, you have offended me. You become old and weak." He cursed him. So Jambavan became very old. Meru told him, "Although you are old, when the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra come, you will do a lot of service for him."

This was Jambavan. And Jambavan was called by Sugriva, who said to him, "Jambavan, you are the oldest. There is nothing that you don't know. There is no demigod that you don't know. There is no avatar that you haven't seen. There is no ocean that you don't know. You know everything in this creation. So you must help Angada, the son of Bali. Find out where Sita is." Jambavan agreed, and he told Angada, "Don't worry. I cannot fly like before, but I know every place. I can be your guide in this area of south India. Somehow we will find Mother Sita." Then there was Nila. Nila was also a Brahma-putra, a mental son of Brahma, and he was an engineer, a chemist and a scientist. He was also a bear, a bear scientist. So this scientist could float stones, reduce and increase the density of stone, he was such a physicist and chemist that he could take different things, mix them up and create diverse effects of colour, smell, and various feelings. He could change feelings by chemical combination. He could take something and mix with something else, and you would feel miserable. By another combination he could make you feel happy. He could make you feel angry and even change someone's mind by chemicals, without that person having to take it, unlike the drugs of today. He constructed a kingdom in Kishkinda which was so strong. It was complete stone, no cement or concrete. Just stone on top of stone. It was constructed so each stone was holding another, and it was a huge big palace, very strong. This is Nila. Hanuman, Jambavan, Nila and Angada set forward with thirty thousand vanaras. They looked everywhere, but couldn't find anything. Then they came to the Vindhya mountains. By the time they had crossed the forest, which had no leaves (big trees are there, but they are only branches because one rishi's son cursed the forest, "You will become barren"). So many trees are there but there are no leaves. No leaves means no flowers, and no flowers means no fruit, so all the monkeys were hungry. Already they had been about three weeks with no water and no food. They didn't know what to do. They saw a black cave in front of the Vindhya mountains. Hanuman said to Angada, "We are great warriors, so we must have some thrill. Let us enter this cave." All the monkeys said, "No, no, we are not going inside this cave. Already there is no water, no food, and if you go inside this cave there will be no light. And if you go deeper there will be no air, and we will all die."

So Hanuman said, "Whoever wants to go, raise their hand." So Jambavan, Angada, Nila and of course Hanuman, and a few other monkeys, they all raised their hands. Hanuman said, "All right, hold my tail." So Angada was holding his tail, and Nila was holding Angada's tail. Jambavan was in the middle, because he was old and they didn't want to lose him, and there were other monkeys and all of them started walking into this cave. The only symptoms that they saw was some birds coming from inside, and their wings were wet. Hanuman said, "Look, their wings are wet. That means some water is there. And if the birds are coming from inside the cave that means some people must be living there. It must be a nice place, so everyone should come." He was preaching like this, and the monkeys were one by one joining. A few were standing there and wondering what to do. They thought, "Hanuman, Jambavan and everyone else are all going, and we are standing here. There is no water here, and they are the only protection for us. If they are gone, what will we do?" So they also decided to go. All the monkeys joined, they all went into the cave. Every five minutes Jambavan was shouting the names of all the different monkeys, just to check that everyone was there, because it was so dark, you couldn't see anything. And after crossing eighty miles in complete darkness, finally there was a glimmer of light coming. Hanuman shouted, "Rama! Rama! Rama! There is light here. Maybe there are some people and we can get some food. We are hungry monkeys." So they all went towards the light and discovered a beautiful city inside the cave. And so many mansions were there. These mansions were all made with gold and rubies and diamonds, they couldn't believe their eyes. There was lakes and lotus flowers, nice creepers and fruits. Angada said, "Don't believe this. It may be the work of some demon, that as soon as we go in he will swallow us. Don't touch anything. Keep leaping." They were leaping from one place to another, and then they leaped into a mansion. Without making any sound they were inside and looking around. They found one woman who was dressed in tiger skin, with matted locks of hair. She had a trident in her hand. "What is this?" they said. "She looks like a babaji, and she is in this wonderful palace." Hanuman went in front, and he folded his hands. Hanuman is very good in talking. He gave a smile. He said, "Please tell us who you are. You look like a very spiritually advanced person." Flattery. "I hope you are not a demoness. But you don't look like one, you look very pious. So you must tell us who you are." She said, "First you tell me who you are. How did you get inside this place? This is a mystic place, and human beings, gandharvas, vanaras, can never come here. Only celestials can come here." Jambavan was mumbling, "Yes, yes, they are all celestials. They only look like monkeys."Angada asked him, "What did you say?" "No, no," Jambavan replied. "I am just telling something old." Jambavan had been in Rama-lila before, and every time they had gone in search of Sita, and every time they had gone into this cave also. Every time he saw something like that, he would say, because he has seen it so many times. They were seeing it for the first time, because demigods keep  changing, but Jambavan is the same Jambavan. Hanuman said, "We are all servants of Lord Ramacandra, the son ofDasaratha." Then she said, "This Ramacandra, I don't think he's the son of an earthly king, because otherwise how just by chanting his name could you cross that dark cave. It is not possible for anyone to do that. This must be an incarnation of Visnu." Jambavan said, "She also knows so much.

I know that he is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and I also know who will find Sita." Some monkeys said, "What did you say?" Jambavan said, "Don't listen to me. I'm just an old bear, and old people always mumble like this." Hanuman and this lady got into a good conversation. Hanuman pleased her, and she told her identity. She was a friend of Hema, and Hema was the daughter of Mount Meru. This Hema was once being kept captive in that city by one great demon called Mayasura. He was a great magician. Indra came, and he sent his vajra, and he finished this demon Maya. He took charge of Hema, and she became Indra's wife. Hema was alone in that huge big magical city, so Indra requested Meru to send his daughter so they could have some association. Hema had gone out somewhere, so that is why this lady was there. She was an ascetic, and she believed in worship of impersonal Brahman, and mukti. She was there with tiger skin and trident. This was the story. Hanuman said, "We are very hungry, and we are monkeys. Please give us something to eat." "No problem," she said. "You just go into this garden and you can eat plenty of fruits, fill your stomachs." So the whole army went into this beautiful garden of Mayasura, and they ate stomachs full. They came to drink water, and after drinking water she supplied them with wine which they also took. They took a little wine. The wine back then was just a drink, not an intoxicant. In this way they enjoyed nicely, and they asked her, "You please tell us how we can now get out of the cave."She said, "Get out of this cave? No, you can never get out of this cave."They said, "What? You've fed us nicely, you've given us so much nice drink, and now you're going to keep us in prison?" Hanuman took his club and said, "You want to see this?" She said, "Wait a minute, you just ate in my house. You can't fight with me. I said, `You can't get out of the cave'. I never said that you won't go out of the cave. All of you, close your eyes." They all closed their eyes. And then she said, "Now open your eyes." And when they opened their eyes they were not there. In front of them was a huge big ocean, Mahodadhi.... to be continued

[In the last part, Hanuman and the monkey army had just left the cave of Mayasura and were transported to the ocean, Mahodadhi.]

Transcribed from lectures given by His Grace Atma-tattva dasa during Gaura-purnima in Sridham Mayapura

Untold Stories from Ramayan- part 13

CHAPTER 9: HANUMAN'S ADVENTURES IN SRI LANKA 

All these stories were going through Hanuman's mind as he stood there before Shri Lanka, how Ravana got cursed in many places, and how he is so foolish.  Hanuman actually felt very compassionate, and he was thinking, "If I see Ravana, by any method, I will give him good advice.  I will tell him that he is very intelligent, and that maybe he could use his intelligence.  Just give back Sita, and everything will be alright."  Hanuman went into the city, and it was just before midnight.  The moon was present, and he could smell wine all over the city.  Practically 99.9% of the population was drunk.  Everyone was in the enjoying mode, and in Shri Lanka there was plenty of enjoyment to be had.  These demons went all over the world, and brought women from all over the world.  Ravana had more than 12,000 wives. 

All of them liked him, although he was a demon.  He had a brownish colour, but the form of his body was next to the beauty of Upendra (the brother of Indra, not the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu).  He had a very broad chest and a beautiful face.  Sometimes he is depicted as very ugly, but actually he was not ugly.  When he got angry or lusty, he could produce such ugly forms, but Ravana's true form looks very beautiful.  Vishnu Purana, Valmiki and all the narrators describe as a person of great granduer.  When Hanuman and Sugriva, or anyone for that matter saw him for the first time, they would think, "This cannot be Ravana, because his body is so beautifully designed.  This man must be full of good qualities.  He cannot be a demon.  We must have made a mistake."  He was so beautiful. 

He had this hole in his chest which was from the tusk of Airavata.  He had other holes in his body from Sampati, but he covered these with his silk cloth.  He had a beautiful hairstyle.  His speech of course was so excellent that he could speak and make day look like night.  These are the glories of Ravana.  Amongst his queens were nagas, and there were princesses from Satyaloka, Siddhaloka, Caranaloka, Gandharvikas, every species of life was present in his palace as queens.  They all liked him and respected him.  Ravana's country was so good.  There was plenty of fruit and food, and they had dharma which was followed.  Ravana was ruling wonderfully, and no-one had any fear in Shri Lanka.  They had no fear even from Indra, Candra or Agni, because Ravana was so respected.  So Hanuman was going from room to room.  "Is Sita here?  Is Sita there?"  In every room he found about ten beds and so many queens sleeping.  Hanuman was a naisthika brahmacari, and he was thinking, "Oh God, I have to do this.  All these queens of Ravana are sleeping here, and most of them are drunk."  It is not good for a brahmacari to see a woman while she is sleeping, and Hanuman had to do this.  At first he thought, "Should I do this?"  And then he concluded, "I am serving Rama, and if I don't look at all of them, Sita may be somewhere in between, and I will miss her."  So he made up his mind, "I'm not going to be attracted.  How will I not be attracted?  I won't stop chanting Rama's name."  So he was chanting, "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama," and he was looking everywhere.  When Hanuman saw so many queens, their make-up and dress, their beds and their silk, he was completely shocked.  "What kind of place is this?  It is like a heavenly planet."  They had false eyelashes, they had shaven their eyebrows, and they had coloured in 12 tones from the eyelash up to the eyebrows.

 Hanuman actually saw this.  He got scared by looking at them.  He said, "If they are so beautiful, why do they have to put false eyelashes on?"  Hanuman saw all this, and he was very happy.  "This man, whatever he has done, is enjoying his senses very nicely.  At least he is good at that."  And then he came and saw in the middle of a room a wonderful bed made of coral and diamonds, and on top of it was white silk covering the bed.  There was a brown figure lying there with big shoulders and wonderful bodily beauty, and he was snoring.  Hanuman said, "So beautiful, but he is snoring and his mouth is wide open.  He must be very ignorant person."  Although Ravana has so much knowledge, still there is ignorance."  Then Hanuman looked around and saw that there was a white umbrella on the side of the bed.  That means he is the king.  So Hanuman looked at him, and then he walked backwards to get a better look.  And then closer and closer.  He looked from all angles.  "Oh!  What a great fighter."  Then he saw the hole, and he said, "I have heard about this hole.  This man would have fought with Airavata."  Hanuman was getting fired up, and he thought, "I would like to fight with him.  But if I wake him up everything will be spoiled."  And then he looked around on the other side, and he saw a very beautiful woman laying down on the bed.  The smell of wine was coming from her mouth.  Hanuman had never seen Sita.  He inspected the woman and said, "Oh!  A heavenly body.  This person must be Sita.  No, how can it be Sita?  She is the chaste wife of Ramacandra.  Here she is brought by the demon, and she is dressing herself nicely with silk and ornaments, and she's laying there with wine on her breath.  I am a monkey, but I do have some discrimination.  How can this be Sita?  Sita would be lean and skinny and crying with demonesses around her.  That is Sita, not this.  This is not Sita."  Then he looked everywhere but he couldn't find Sita.  So he came out of the palace, and he was thinking, "What should I do?  I was preaching to Angada, `Don't give up your body.  And don't try for some security.'  But now it looks like I will have to do that, jump in the ocean and die.  How can I go back and tell them, `Yes, I went across the ocean, I saw Ravana, but no Sita'.  What will they do to me?  If I go to Sugriva he will kill me.  Even Angada himself may kill me.  And If I see Ramacandra's dissatisfied face I will die myself.  What is the use of my existence?  Let me die."

 And then he was walking and crossing the gardens and coming to the ocean.  He thought, "Let me check once more."  He looked at the garden.  It was Ashoka-vana, Ashoka trees.  Very thick garden.  He thought, "Sita must be in this forest.  Why?  Because Ravana would have kept her in a nice garden, but she will be thinking of these Ashoka trees.  In Pancavati where Ravana lifted Sita from, there were Ashoka trees.  I remember Ramacandra telling me that he was going to the Ashoka trees and crying, "Oh Ashoka trees, please tell me where is my wife?"  So she must be remembering that when she sees these Ashoka trees.  She must have walked in here.  At least she must have been through here at some stage.  Let me ask the Ashoka trees, they may tell me"  In this way, Hanuman, with some little glimmer of hope came into the Ashoka forest.  There was a very tall tree which he climbed up, and when he got to the top he looked down.  To his surprise, under the same tree was Mother Sita. 

She was sitting there with Vibhisana's daughter, Trijata.  Trijata was consoling her.  "I had dreams that Ravana was smearing oil all over his body and drinking oil with his two hands, and he was sitting on a chariot driven by monkeys.  This chariot was being driven through the southern side.  This means he will die.  I also saw that Shri Lanka was burning, and a monkey was flying over.  I also saw that Ramacandra was sitting in the coronation ceremony with you.  So don't lose faith.  Don't give up your body.  One day or other Ramacandra will come here."  Hanuman was listening to all this and he was so happy.  Then Ravana came and gave so much preaching to Mother Sita.  "You must marry me!"  She refused and he said to the demonesses, "You kill her if she won't listen to your advice."  The demonesses were preaching to her, and then when she wouldn't listen they decided, "We will kill her."  Exactly at that point, Hanuman jumped. 

As soon as they saw this monkey jumping, they all fled this way and that.  Sita looked at him and she said, "Ravana, you can take any form, but I'm not going to be attracted.  Why did you think that if you took a monkey form I would be attracted?"  Hanuman said, "Wait wait, I am not Ravana!  I am the servant of Rama, and I have come here to serve you."  So she said, "I don't believe it.  If you are from Rama, then how did you cross the ocean?"  Hanuman said, "Oh, that is very interesting.  I grew big."  "You grew big?  How can monkeys grow big?"  Hanuman said, "I will show you," and then he grew, and he touched the skies.  Sita got so scared, she said, "Maybe this is another demon."  While he was growing he was chanting, "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama," and she thought, "Ravana would not chant so many Rama-namas.  It is not possible.  He can't be a demon."  Then Hanuman reduced this form, and said, "Here I have the sakshi, the evidence that I am coming from Ramacandra.  This is his ring."  Hanuman talked with Mother Sita and she gave him the hair ornament.  Hanuman took it, and after taking it he said, "I am a monkey.  I cannot just come like a saintly person and go, I want to do some naughtiness here in this forest.  You won't be affected, don't worry.  Some nonsense must be there.  You just watch."  So he put the cudamani hair ornament somewhere safe, and then he started uprooting the Ashoka trees, throwing them here and there.  There was a rock waterfall, and he destroyed it, and the water flooded all over the place.  He took the creepers and threw them this way and that. 

Then he took the demonesses and put them in his mouth, biting them and spitting them out.  He was shouting and slapping his shoulders.  He was yelling, "I am the servant of Rama!  Who will stop me?  I will destroy Shri Lanka!  I will swallow Ravana!  Anyone who is as powerful as me should come for a fight!  Challenge!  Challenge!"  And then he jumped up on the entrance of Ashoka-vana, and he was eating fruits and spitting everywhere.  The minister for Ravana in charge of the Ashoka forest came in front of Hanuman.  It had been a long time since he had landed in Shri Lanka, gotten in the gate, checked everyone, seen and spoken to Sita, but he had not passed water the whole time.  It had been six or seven hours.  When the minister came and opened his mouth yelling, "What are you doing?" he got Hanuman's blessing.  The minister said, "Hey!  Hey!  Stop!"  Hanuman said, "I am a monkey, what do you expect?"  The minister felt very bad, and he went into the forest and asked the demonesses, "What are you doing?  A monkey is doing so much harm."  They said, "What are you doing?  The monkey is doing so much harm, but why are you telling us?"  "Yes, what am I doing?" the minister said, and then he went to Ravana.  He said, "A monkey has passed urine in my mouth."  Ravana said, "You came to report this?"  And he gave him a slap.  "What kind of a caretaker are you?  You come and tell me that a monkey passed water in your mouth."  The minister said, "What was I supposed to do?  I was speaking to him."   Ravana said, "Don't you know that you never open your mouth when monkeys are around?"  The minister said, "Well you have  to do something, he has destroyed the whole Ashoka forest."  Ravana said, "What?  One single monkey?"  Vibhisana closed his eyes and he was thinking, "Hm, monkey.  Monkey.  Monkey smashing Ashoka forest.  I remember this."  Then he left the palace, and went to his place and he was sitting and thinking.  "Monkey, Ashoka forest.  Monkey, Ashoka forest. 

I heard it somewhere."  And he was trying to figure it out.  It took him two days to understand it.  He understood it.  Ravana said, "You call Prahasta's son Jambumali.  He is the first card."  This Jambumali is in a big lake of wine.  He is sleeping there, and whenever he wakes up he drinks a little bit.  And then again he sleeps, and he wakes up and drinks more.  He can't wait to go fill up the cup and drink, it takes too much time.  So he is in a lake of wine, and he is kept like that so that whenever war comes he can be used.  Jambumali was woken up.  They had some anti-liquor medicine, so they gave him that and he woke up.  He asked, "Why are you calling me?  You want to change the lake or put me in another one?"  They said, "No, a fight!"  Jambumali said, "Fight?  Aargh!  Yes, I am going!"  He came to Ravana and said, "With whom should I fight?  With Indra, with Agni?"  Ravana said, "No no, with a monkey."  "I'm going back," Jambumali said.  "No no, it's not an ordinary monkey.  It's a very great monkey.  He has finished our Ashoka-vana, so we must finish him.  Take 80,000 soldiers and go."  So 80,000 demon soldiers and Jambumali walked up.  He was a very young demon, Jambumali.  Hanuman was still sitting on top of the arch, and he was saying, "I am the servant of Rama.  Who is there to fight with me?  I can swallow Ravana.  Come on, challenge!  Challenge!"  Jambumali said, "Hey monkey, you are talking too much!  Do you understand that Ravana's son has tied Indra to a flagpost here?  Do you know that the nine planets are serving in the kitchen cutting subji?  What do you know?  You don't know the power of Ravana. 

You don't know the power of my father Prahasta.  He has eaten mountains and digested them."  So then Hanuman said, "All past.  What about now?  This has happened, that has happened.  But now you look, I can also tell you that the whole Ashoka-vana has been destroyed.  That has happened, and now something else is going to happen.  Don't waste time."  Jambumali said, "What?  You think you can fight with me?"  Hanuman said, "Why are you talking?" and he began to pick up rocks and throw them at him.  The rocks were coming so fast and furious, and he couldn't fight them.  Then he got on the chariot and started shooting arrows.  Hanuman said, "Oh, these demons are very cultured.  He is sitting on the chariot doing acaman, chanting mantras and firing astras."  All these astras were coming, and Hanuman was holding them, breaking them and giving them back.  No astra can affect Hanuman, that is a benediction.  Jambumali saw this and said, "Now I will have to do some magic," and he started growing, and he became so big.  Hanuman was only up to his ankle.  That is what Jambumali was thinking.  He was thinking, "That big?  All right, I will grow more." 

He closed his eyes and grew more.  Then he thought, "Now I have grown so much, Hanuman will be this big."  And then he opened his eyes.  He saw some big round thing in front of him.  He looked at it, and he thought, "What is this?  It is not Hanuman's face.  There is no mouth and no teeth.  It's just a big round thing."  He looked to the other side, and it was just another round thing.  "What is this one?" he thought.  He was looking, and he was so confused.  Then he heard a sound from way way above, "They're my knees Jambumali!"  He looked up, and Hanuman was way up there.  Jambumali thought, "My God, what a growth!  This is the topmost I can do, and I am only up to his knees."  So then Jambumali looked back, because he didn't want to discourage the soldiers.  Hanuman said, "What are you looking at?  I finished them all."  He had finished the 80,000 soldiers already.  There was a beautiful parliament hall called Caitya, belonging to Ravana.  This hall had very huge marble and diamond pillars.  Ravana took one of the pillars, and he just put it on top of the army.  They were nicely organized so that simply by a little work Hanuman could finish them all.  This happened while Jambumali was growing.  Jambumali was alone.  His chariot had been smashed and his horses killed.  Jambumali was standing there alone.  Hanuman said, "What are you going to do?  If you want to take shelter of my feet, they are way down there.  You will have to look for them."  So Jambumali was very insulted, and he said, "No!  This is maya!  You come before me in your original form!"  Hanuman said, "What are you doing then?  That is also maya.  You come in your original form."  So he came down, and then Hanuman came down also.  Hanuman said, "All right Jambumali, there are three minutes for you.  There is one nice mantra I will teach you.  If you chant this mantra while dying you will attain the Supreme Lord.  There is only two syllables in it.  Ra-ma.  Chant."  Jambumali said, "What?  I didn't come here to learn mantras.  I am here to fight with you.  I want to finish you." 

Hanuman said, "You cannot do that, so you might as well do this.  You cannot finish me, so why don't you do something within your means.  Just chant Rama, and then go back home."  Jambumali screamed, "Aaarghh!" and jumped on Hanuman.  Hanuman put his index finger in his navel and lifted him up, and then he circled and threw him.  All his liver and everything came out of his mouth, and then he died.  When the news came that Jambumali was finished, immediately Ravana's son Indrajit got up and said, "This must be a demigod, so he must be fought nicely."  So Indrajit came.  With Indrajit there were some scenes, and then Indrajit said, "I am going to use Brahmastra on you."  So he threw the Brahma rope.  Hanuman thought, "I have done enough harm now, so I must see Ravana.  If I get bound by this rope, I can see Ravana."  He looked at the rope and thought, "I will respect Brahma."  Then the rope came and tied him.  Indrajit was pulling the rope, and he pulled Hanuman to the court of Ravana.  As they entered there, Ravana said, "Hey, you mischievous monkey!  Who are you?"  Hanuman said, "I am a servant of Rama, and a messenger.  You please give me a seat."  Ravana scoffed, "A seat for a monkey?  You can climb up in the tree if you want."  Hanuman said, "No, that is not proper.  I have come here to talk politics, and I have come here to give you a message.  You must give me a seat."  Ravana said, "In my assembly, I don't give a seat to animals."  Hanuman said, "You mean that to get a seat in your assembly I have to be less than an animal?"  Ravana said, "Hey, you are talking too much."  By that time Hanuman had extended his tail and made a big big seat.  It was above Ravana's head, and he jumped up and sat on that.  Then he said, "So Ravana, I think this is a good seat for me." 

So then Ravana was looking up.  Then they had a discussion, and Hanuman gave a very good piece of advice.  "You please give up Sita.  I saw your palace.  You have so many beautiful queens.  Why do you want to take Sita?  I can tell you, Sita is not that beautiful."  Hanuman was using some sama dhana bheda danda.  He said, "Sita is not that beautiful.  Vandudari is a much more beautiful dancer.  Surely you must satisfied with that.  You can have so many others.  I will myself procure women for you if you want.  Just give up this Sita, for your own benefit."  Ravana said, "No, I won't listen to this.  I will keep Sita, and not only that, I will finish you."  Hanuman said, "Finish me?  How can you finish me?"  And Ravana said, "You are tied up."  Hanuman said, "I am not tied up, I am just holding myself.  And then he lifted his hands and Brahma's rope broke.  Indrajit's jaw dropped.  "What is this?  This monkey has broken Brahma's rope."  So then Hanuman said, "If you want you can use ordinary rope and tie me.  Only if I want to be tied can you tie me.  Now I allow you, tie me.  Let me see what sort of punishment you will give me."  So then they tied him with ropes, and great demons were pushing him on both sides with tridents.  He made no objection.  Ravana said, "Put fire to his tail."  So they set his tail on fire, and Hanuman said, "Wonderful, you gave me an idea.  I was just wondering what to do.  I wanted to do so many things, but I didn't want to do it myself, because Ramacandra will say, `Why did you do it?'  Now I have no problem.

 They put fire, and I was just jumping around and things happened to catch on fire.  I didn't want to burn Lanka.  Why should I? I am just a messenger.  A messenger cannot attack the opponent.  But what can I do?  They put fire on my tail, and I am a monkey so when I jump the tail goes this way and that way."  So in this way Hanuman was jumping from roof to roof, window to window, and everywhere he put fire.  Even in Ashoka-vana he put fire.  Everything was burning.  Hanuman was jumping up and down.  "Aah, wonderful!  Wonderful!"  And then suddenly he thought, "Maybe Mother Sita is also burnt!  What have I done?  Oh no!"  So he went into the Ashoka forest and he was looking, and he saw Mother Sita sitting in the Ashoka forest under a tree.  No harm was there.  So then he told her, "Why should you wait?  Just climb on my shoulder.  You know I crossed the ocean here, so I can also cross the ocean back.  You sit on me, and I will take you.  Before I fly from here, I will kill Ravana."  So Sita said, "No!  What are you doing?  You already told me that Ramacandra promised He will kill Ravana and take me back.  If you do this, my husband's promise will go in vain.  Ramacandra has one word, one wife and one arrow.  He uses only one arrow, he has only one wife, and if he says a word, he keeps it.  So don't do this, you are not supposed to do it.  Even if you are supposed to do it, I'm not going to sit on your shoulder.  On the way you may see some fruit that you like, and you will shake the tree and I will fall into the ocean.  I don't trust you completely.  So you enjoy yourself, and go back and tell my Lord that I am waiting.  And if he doesn't come in this many days, then I will leave my body." 

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