Pushpaka Vimāna Yātrā

After the war at Laṅkā, Śrī Rāma boarded the Pushpaka Vimāna, the aerial vehicle of Kubera, which Rāvaṇa had taken to Laṅkā and which Vibhīshaṇa now placed at Śrī Rāma’s service. Sītā, Lakshmaṇa, Sugrīva, Vibhīshaṇa and the whole army of vānaras and bhallūkas went with him. They flew north. On the way Śrī Rāma pointed out to Sītā the places of the war and the sacred places they passed. They stopped at Kishkindhā and at the āśrama of Bharadvāja, and came at last to Nandigrāma, where Bharata was waiting.

Leaving Laṅkā

On the morning after the gathering of the devas, Vibhīshaṇa came to Śrī Rāma and offered baths, clothes and ornaments from the inner treasury of Laṅkā. Śrī Rāma accepted them for his companions. He refused any grand preparation for himself. He said: “My heart rushes to see my brother Bharata. He stands in tāpasa-vṛtti (the way of life of an ascetic) at Nandigrāma. He has sworn that if I do not return when fourteen years are over, he will enter agni (fire). Let us leave without delay.”

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 124)

Vibhīshaṇa offered to take Śrī Rāma to Ayodhyā in one day by the Pushpaka Vimāna. The vehicle was brought. It was Kubera’s Pushpaka, which Rāvaṇa had taken in battle and which was now given back to its true master through Vibhīshaṇa’s offering. It shone with golden images and platforms set with vaidūrya (cat’s-eye gems). It had moonlit walkways, white flags and golden lotus pillars. Its windows had lattices set with pearls, which chimed sweetly with small bells. It was shaped like the peak of Meru and was made by Viśvakarmā himself.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 124)

The vānaras ask to come

Śrī Rāma said farewell to Sugrīva and Vibhīshaṇa and told them to go back to their own kingdoms. The great vānara commanders refused. They said: “We wish to come with you to Ayodhyā. We will cause no trouble to the townspeople and villagers as we wander through forests and cities. We will see your paṭṭābhisheka (royal anointing) and bow before Mother Kauśalyā. Then we will take leave and quickly return to our homes.”

Śrī Rāma was deeply moved. He said: “Nothing in this world is dearer to me than the recovery of Sītā, than seeing Bharata after the vana-vāsa (forest exile), and than all of you coming with me to Ayodhyā. This is the dearest of all.” He welcomed them onto the Pushpaka.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 125)

Sugrīva with his whole vānara army, and Vibhīshaṇa with his ministers, all boarded the great vimāna. At Śrī Rāma’s will the Pushpaka rose from Laṅkā like a cloud lifted by the wind.

Śrī Rāma shows Sītā the places below

The vimāna flew north over the sea and over Bhārata. Śrī Rāma drew close beside him Sītā, the pativratā (devoted wife), who had lived long months in dust and captivity. He began to point out the places of the great events of the war, as if telling her a history that she had seen only from far away in the Aśoka grove.

“O Vaidehī! See this Trikūṭa mountain like the peak of Kailāsa. On top of it stands Laṅkā, built by Viśvakarmā. See this great battlefield, still red and muddy with blood. Here the vānara heroes and the rākshasa warriors fell. Here lies the dust of Rāvaṇa, who won vara from Brahmā and became a torment to the worlds. Here the great Kumbhakarṇa fell to my arrows. Here Prahastha was killed by Nīla. Here Dhūmrāksha fell to Hanumān. Here the great vānara Susheṇa killed Vidyunmālī. Lakshmaṇa killed Indrajit on this ground. Here Vikāṭāsura was brought down by Aṅgada. Here too fell Virūpāksha, Mahāpārśva, Mahodara, Akampana and many rākshasa warriors. Here Maṇḍodarī, the chief queen of Rāvaṇa, wept with thousands of his other wives over her fallen husband.”

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 126)

Then he turned her gaze to the Setubandha.

“O Sundarī! Look at that shore. We rested there after crossing the great ocean. See this Setu that spans the wide waters. It was built at my command under the care of the vānara Nala. O Vaidehī! Look at this boundless ocean with its swelling waves, the home of conches and pearls. See there the Maināka mountain, called Hiraṇyanābha. It rose from the ocean floor to give Hanumān rest on his crossing to Laṅkā. This place on the northern shore of the sea, where the army camped and where the Setu begins, is called Setubandha. It is a mahā-puṇya kshetra (a field of great merit). The pāpa of all who behold it is destroyed. Here Parameśvara himself showed his grace to me.”

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 126)

The Kūrma Purāṇa and the Padma Purāṇa say that Śrī Rāma had set up a Śiva-liṅga here before the crossing. Parameśvara appeared with Pārvatī Devī and gave a vara: the pāpa of all who bathe here and see the liṅga shall be destroyed, and the greatness of the liṅga shall last as long as the earth, the trees and the Setu stand.

The vimāna kept flying north over the sea, over the forests and rivers of the Deccan, and over the northern ranges. Śrī Rāma went on describing to Sītā each sacred place and each important spot of the long journey of the Rāmāyaṇa. He named the place where Sugrīva was met, Lake Pampā, Ṛshyamūka mountain, Janasthāna where Rāvaṇa had carried Sītā away, and the āśrama of Śabarī. He told her all this with great love, drawing her into the places of the sorrow and struggle that came before their reunion.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 126)

The stop at Kishkindhā

The Pushpaka Vimāna came down over Kishkindhā. Śrī Rāma said to Sugrīva: “Bring to your side, O Sugrīva, all the noble vānara women, Tārā and the others, so that they too may go with us to Ayodhyā.” The vānara women were brought aboard: Tārā, the wife of Vālī; Rūmā, the wife of Sugrīva; and the other chief vānara ladies.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 127)

Bharadvāja’s āśrama

As they came near Ayodhyā, the Pushpaka came down at the āśrama of the great ṛshi Bharadvāja. Śrī Rāma stepped down, bowed to the maharshi, paid his respects and received his blessing.

By the power of his tapas, Bharadvāja had followed the whole course of the war from his āśrama. He spoke of his great joy at the outcome and blessed Śrī Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa. Śrī Rāma then asked after Bharata, whether he was well and how he was bearing the long wait. Bharadvāja told him that Bharata was keeping his vow in full tāpasa-vṛtti at Nandigrāma, counting the days until Śrī Rāma’s return.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 127)

Hanumān is sent ahead to Bharata

Before the vimāna reached Nandigrāma, Śrī Rāma sent Hanumān ahead on foot, in the form of a man. His task was to prepare Bharata for his elder brother’s coming, to let the preparations for the paṭṭābhisheka begin, and to tell all of Ayodhyā.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 128)

Arrival at Nandigrāma

The Pushpaka came down at Nandigrāma, outside Ayodhyā, where Bharata had kept his vow. Bharata welcomed his elder brother with joy beyond words, and with tears.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 129 and 130)

After Śrī Rāma stepped down, the Pushpaka Vimāna was released from service. It flew away by itself to return to Kubera, its rightful owner.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 130)

The Pushpaka Vimāna

The Pushpaka Vimāna was made by Viśvakarmā and belonged to Kubera. Rāvaṇa took it. After the victory of dharma it was brought back and given to its owner.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 124 to 130
• Kūrma Purāṇa (the Śiva-liṅga at Setubandha)
• Padma Purāṇa (the Śiva-liṅga at Setubandha)