Hanumān’s Oshadhi Yātrā
When Rāma and Lakshmaṇa lay bound and almost lifeless on the battlefield, Jāmbavān told Hanumān to fly to the Oshadhi Parvata (Mountain of Herbs) in the Himālaya. There Hanumān was to find four divine herbs that give back life. He lifted a whole mountain peak and carried it to Laṅkā. This is one of the most famous deeds of the war at Laṅkā. It is told in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.
Background
Indrājit first attacked with the nāgāstra (the weapon of serpents). Rāma and Lakshmaṇa were bound in serpent-arrows. Their bodies were pierced from head to foot, their breath was hardly to be felt, and their limbs could not move. The vānaras Hanumān, Aṅgada, Sugrīva, Jāmbavān, Susheṇa, Nīla, Dvivida and Mainda gathered round them in grief. Indrājit went back to Laṅkā in triumph. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46)
That first time, the divine Garuḍa came down from the sky. By his touch alone he destroyed every serpent-arrow, for he is the natural enemy and destroyer of serpents. He told Śrī Rāma, “You will know who I am in time.” Then he flew back into the sky. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 50)
Jāmbavān’s word after the second fall
Indrājit struck again, this time with the brahmāstra, after he had finished his Nikumbhilā homa (fire offering). Rāma and Lakshmaṇa lay senseless once more.
This time Jāmbavān, the old king of the bears and the wisest of the vānara and bear commanders, was himself badly wounded. He could hardly speak. Hanumān found him. Jāmbavān’s first words on seeing Hanumān were: “Is Hanumān alive?” He knew that if Hanumān still breathed, there was hope. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87)
Jāmbavān told Hanumān to fly to the Himālaya, to the Oshadhi Parvata, which lay between the peaks of Kailāsa and Ṛshabha. Four divine herbs grew there:
- Mṛtasañjīvanī, the herb that gives life back to the dead.
- Viśalyakaraṇī, the herb that takes away all weapon-wounds (viśalya means freed from thorns or arrows).
- Sauvarṇakaraṇī, the herb that gives back golden health and the first colour of the skin.
- Saṃdhānakaraṇī, the herb that joins cut limbs and brings bones together again.
These four oshadhis (herbs) together could heal even those at the edge of death. The matter was urgent. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa had to be revived before dawn, when the right moment would pass. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87)
The flight north
Hanumān leapt north from Laṅkā. He crossed the sea, the Deccan, the Vindhya mountains and the northern forests. He flew through the night at the speed of Vāyu.
As he came near the Himālaya, the holy Oshadhi Parvata showed itself. The peak glowed in the dark with the light of the herbs themselves, which shine faintly by their divine nature. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87)
When Hanumān landed and began to look for the four herbs, the herbs hid themselves. This was a māyā (illusion) made by the power Indrājit still had, to stop exactly this task. Hanumān searched the slopes, but the herbs would not show themselves to his eyes. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87)
Carrying the mountain
Time was passing, and Hanumān could not tell which herbs were the right ones. He did what was natural for him. He took the whole mountain peak in his hands, tore it up, and flew back to Laṅkā carrying it. Because he carried the Sañjīvanī mountain, he became known as Sañjīvanī-dhara, “bearer of the life-mountain.”
The glowing mountain filled the night sky as he flew south. Hanumān’s form hid the moon. The wind from his wings tore up trees and alarmed the birds and animals below. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87)
The healing
Hanumān set the mountain down beside Susheṇa. Susheṇa was a vānara and the most skilled vaidya (physician) among the vānara commanders.
The sweet smell of the herbs, carried on the night air, began to revive the fallen vānaras all over the battlefield. Susheṇa quickly knew the four herbs and made the medicines. He gave them to Rāma and Lakshmaṇa, and across the field to the fallen vānara warriors. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 88)
The wounded vānaras rose as if woken from sleep. Their wounds closed, their strength came back, and they found their weapons again. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa rose as if from a good night’s rest, with their wounds fully healed. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 88)
The mountain is returned
When the herbs had been taken, Hanumān lifted the mountain again and flew it back to the Himālaya. He set it down exactly where he had found it. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 88)
The second journey for herbs: Lakshmaṇa and the śakti
In the last part of the war, Rāvaṇa’s śakti (spear-weapon) pierced Lakshmaṇa, and he fell again. Hanumān carried the wounded Saumitri to Rāma’s side. Susheṇa was called again. He told Hanumān to fly to the same Oshadhi Parvata and bring only the Viśalyakaraṇī. Hanumān made the whole trip there and back, and Lakshmaṇa was healed before Rāvaṇa could take advantage. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 102)
What this deed shows
The Oshadhi Yātrā is one of the best known events in the life of Hanumān. When he could not find the herbs by knowing them, he did not hold back. He gave all of himself and carried the whole mountain rather than return empty-handed. The Govindarājīya commentary says that this complete giving of oneself for the work of Rāma (Rāma-kārya) is the model of uttama-bhakti (the highest devotion). Sugrīva said: “What other vānara has the power, the speed, or the devotion to try what Hanumān has done?”
The Oshadhi Parvata glows, and it hides its herbs from those who are not worthy.
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46 (background), 47–50 and 87–88
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 102 (Lakshmaṇa and the śakti)
- Govindarājīya commentary on the Rāmāyaṇa