Yūpaketu and Madanasundarī

This is one of the best-known episodes of the Vivāha Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. Yūpaketu is the younger twin son of Śatrughna and Śrutakīrti. Madanasundarī is the daughter of Kambukantha, the Draviḍa king of Śivakāñcīpura. Yūpaketu took her from her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband) against the will of the kings who had gathered there. This is called a rākshasa-vivāha, a marriage won by valour.

In this episode Nārada Muni sets events moving, Yūpaketu uses the Mohanāstra and the Vāyavyāstra, and he fights Kambukantha alone. In the end all sides are at peace, when Bhagavān Rāma himself comes to Kāñcī to see the wedding.

The kings’ boycott

Kambukantha, the Draviḍa king of Śivakāñcīpura, announced a svayaṃvara for his daughter Madanasundarī. The kings of the seven dvīpas (the great lands of the world) were still hurt in their pride. At the svayaṃvaras of Campikā and Sumatī they had all been passed over in favour of Kuśa and Lava. Together they sent letters to Kambukantha. They would come to his svayaṃvara only if Rāma’s sons were not invited. The letter from all the kings said the same: “If Rāma and his sons are left out, all the kings of Jambūdvīpa will attend.”

Kambukantha had the same complaint. He had been among those turned down at Sumatī’s svayaṃvara. So he invited only the other kings, and left Rāma’s sons out on purpose. All the kings of the seven dvīpas gathered at Kāñcīpura for the svayaṃvara. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

Nārada and Madanasundarī

Nārada Muni was travelling through the sky. He saw the great assembly at Kāñcīpura and came down. Madanasundarī, a princess of rare beauty, was on the palace terrace and saw him land. She and her companions welcomed him with respect, did pūjā to him, and asked about his journey.

Nārada answered with gentle irony. He said he had been about to go to Ayodhyā, to visit Rāma’s sons and take their hospitality. But he had heard of a svayaṃvara here and thought Rāma’s family would be present. Then he learned that the kings and Kambukantha had kept Rāma out on purpose. Nārada said he was sorry for Madanasundarī: “How unfortunate you are! You cannot become the daughter-in-law of Rāma, the master of the seven islands!” He began to turn away.

Madanasundarī was struck with grief. Her eyes were full of tears and her lips trembled. She bowed down before Nārada and prayed again and again: “O great muni! Right now I take Rāma’s son as my refuge. Please help me.”

Nārada was moved by her sincerity and devotion. He comforted her: “Do not grieve. Rise. You will become Rāma’s daughter-in-law. I will make it happen.” Then he left. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

Yūpaketu hears the news

Yūpaketu was still young, but he was already a warrior of great strength. He had gone on a private outing in his chariot to the forests near Ayodhyā, with a small escort. He came to the bank of the river Tamasā. He bathed there and was doing his sandhyā rites when Nārada appeared on the path.

Yūpaketu welcomed Nārada with great respect, did pūjā to him, and asked about his journey. Nārada told him everything. He told of Kambukantha’s svayaṃvara, of how the kings had shut out Rāma’s sons, and of Madanasundarī’s tearful prayer for Rāma’s grace. Yūpaketu listened and his anger rose. He answered with the confidence of a warrior born in the Ikshvāku line:

“O muni! All the kings who have held hatred toward Rāma have brought misfortune on themselves. I will go to Kāñcīpura and test the strength of all the kings, with Kambukantha first among them. When I win that battle, I will bring Madanasundarī home to Ayodhyā.”

He bowed to Nārada and set out at once toward the south with his small escort. He reached Kāñcīpura on the fifth day. Nārada was delighted and went to Ayodhyā to visit Rāma and wait for the outcome. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

The Mohanāstra in the svayaṃvara hall

At Kāñcīpura the svayaṃvara was under way. Madanasundarī came into the hall in a palanquin. An elder woman attendant (dādi) was starting to present the kings to her one by one. Madanasundarī moved through the hall with grief in her heart. Nārada’s words about Rāma’s sons rang in her mind.

At that moment Yūpaketu rode quickly into the hall and let go the Mohanāstra without any pause. This divine weapon of stupefaction filled the hall. All the kings and the palanquin-bearers fell unconscious at once. The palanquin was set down as the bearers fell.

Yūpaketu drove his chariot up to the palanquin and took Madanasundarī’s hands in his. He told her his name and family. He was Yūpaketu, son of Śatrughna and grandson of Daśaratha, and Śatrughna was the youngest brother of Bhagavān Rāma. Madanasundarī saw in this young warrior the answer to her prayer. She took the ratna-māla (jewelled garland) from her own hands and put it round Yūpaketu’s neck. In that moment the mano-vivāha (the marriage of the heart) was complete. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

The battle outside Kāñcī

Yūpaketu took Madanasundarī on his chariot and drove out of the city gate to the north. He stopped outside the city and waited. Madanasundarī urged him to go straight to Ayodhyā and avoid the battle: “There are so many kings and so many armies, and you are alone with a small force. Let us go to Ayodhyā first and fight from there with Rāma’s army.” But Yūpaketu gently calmed her, and he drew back the Mohanāstra.

The moment the Mohanāstra was lifted, the kings in the hall woke up. They learned that Yūpaketu had taken Madanasundarī. They remembered their old grievance against Rāma’s sons. They mounted their chariots, took up their armies, and poured out of the city gates in tens of millions to fight.

Yūpaketu met them at the north gate of the city. He used the Vāyavyāstra, which sent the kings, their armies and their vehicles flying in all ten directions.

Then Kambukantha himself came forward with his whole army and the beating of drums. He was enraged at the taking of his daughter, and he carried both his old grudge and this new wrong. He struck Yūpaketu with seven arrows.

Yūpaketu was not shaken. He broke Kambukantha’s seven arrows in the air. Then he answered with nine arrows of his own. He broke Kambukantha’s bow, killed his charioteer, broke the flagstaff, shattered his armour and crown, and killed his horses.

Kambukantha got down on foot with a gadā (mace). Yūpaketu cut the gadā into a thousand pieces with his arrows. Kambukantha then charged on foot and hit Yūpaketu’s chest with his fist, with the force of a mountain. It was a tremendous blow. Yūpaketu was not moved. He seized Kambukantha and tied him to the flagpole of his own chariot. Then he drew his sword to cut off Kambukantha’s head. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

Madanasundarī pleads for her father

Madanasundarī saw Yūpaketu about to kill her father, and she trembled. She came to Yūpaketu and bowed down, tears streaming, and begged him:

“O master! Why are you about to kill my father Kambukantha? At the very first morsel, you are about to do this painful deed before the joy has even begun. I beg you, please hear my words and spare him.”

Yūpaketu paused and smiled. He put away his sword and told his charioteer to drive north toward Ayodhyā. Kambukantha was left behind, alive, beaten and humbled. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

Śatrughna comes, and the arrow signal

Rāma had noticed that Yūpaketu was missing from Ayodhyā. That evening, over dinner, Nārada told Rāma the whole story. Rāma felt both relief and worry. He sent Śatrughna with the full four-division army, and with Kuśa and the other princes, to support Yūpaketu.

Śatrughna’s army was marching toward Kāñcī. Yūpaketu, heading north, shot his nāmāṅkita-bāṇa (an arrow marked with his own name) toward the army coming his way. The arrow flew a full yojana and fell at Śatrughna’s feet. Śatrughna knew at once that it was his son’s arrow, and he knew that his son was approaching from the south. He shot his own nāmāṅkita-bāṇa in return. It flew over the prince’s head, rather than hitting him, and landed gently at Yūpaketu’s feet. A father’s care showed in the path of the arrow.

Yūpaketu heard the drums of his father’s army. He sounded his own drums with joy and rode swiftly, with Madanasundarī, to stand at his father’s side.

Father and son met. Kambukantha came forward, stood at Śatrughna’s feet, and asked for peace. Śatrughna had a generous heart and accepted his surrender. He entered Kāñcīpura and sent messengers to Rāma to ask for his formal approval of the wedding. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 8.

Rāma’s visit and the wedding at Kāñcī

Rāma himself came to Śivakāñcīpura with Sītā and the full royal company. It was a very auspicious event for the city. Kambukantha received Rāma with all the honours due to Bhagavān Rāma himself. Yūpaketu was brought into Kāñcī on a royal elephant, to the sound of maṅgala (auspicious) instruments, while the women of the city showered flowers from their rooftops.

At an auspicious muhūrta (a fixed good time), the wedding of Yūpaketu and Madanasundarī was held in full, with the usual Vedic rites. After the wedding Kambukantha honoured Rāma with gifts. Rāma, Sītā, Śatrughna, the princes, Yūpaketu and Madanasundarī all went back to Ayodhyā in triumph.

In Ayodhyā, Rāma had the newly married pair do the Lakshmī-pūjā, and he gave gifts to everyone gathered. In this way the marriage of Yūpaketu and Madanasundarī came to a happy end. It was the last of the great weddings of Rāma-rājya told in the Vivāha Khaṇḍa. This is in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 8–9.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 8–9