Lava Kuśa Aśvamedha Battles

In the Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, the twin sons of Sītā, Lava and Kuśa, capture the aśvamedha horse of Bhagavān Rāma. They defeat every champion sent against them: Śatrughna, Lakshmaṇa, Bharata and then all the vānara and rākshasa heroes, including Sugrīva, Hanumān and Jāmbavān. Vālmīki Maharshi then tells Rāma that these boys are his own sons. A shower of amṛta (nectar) from the devas raises all the fallen heroes, and all three worlds celebrate the meeting of father and sons.

The horse enters Vālmīki’s forest

The aśvamedha horse went on its dik-vijaya (round of conquest) through many kingdoms. At last it came to the forest near Vālmīki Maharshi’s āśrama. Lava and Kuśa had been raised there as muni-kumāras (young muni boys). They were playing in the woods when they saw the fine horse.

The boys read the challenge letter tied to the horse’s forehead. It said the horse belonged to the unbeaten king of Ayodhyā. Anyone with enough power should bind it and face the guarding forces in battle, and all others should join as allies. Lava and Kuśa were bright as young suns and had been trained in all weapons and arts of war by Vālmīki himself. They looked at each other and, without a pause, chose to capture the horse. They bound it and held their ground against the guarding forces, and quickly drove them back with their arrows.

Śatrughna’s defeat

The news reached Rāma in Ayodhyā that two forest boys had captured the yajña horse. Rāma was both puzzled and quietly pleased. Hearing of young warriors who astonished his soldiers gave him a feeling of recognition he could not yet name. He gave the order that tāpasas (ascetics) should not be killed or badly hurt, because to fight them was adharma.

Śatrughna came to the battlefield with an army and asked the boys to stand aside. Lava and Kuśa answered with the calm boldness of warriors who feel no need to prove themselves with words. Battle began. Śatrughna’s forces and his sons, Subāhu and Yūpaketu, fought the two boys but were beaten again and again. Lava and Kuśa used the Mohanāstra, a fearsome weapon given to them by Vālmīki. It left Śatrughna unconscious on the field.

Lakshmaṇa’s defeat

Rāma heard that Śatrughna and his forces had been overcome, and he was astonished. He called Lakshmaṇa and sent him to the battlefield. Again he stressed that the boys were forest ascetics and must not be killed. Lakshmaṇa came and looked at the two young warriors with caution and also a strange pull of feeling.

He spoke to them: “You are forest boys. Why this show of war? We are of the solar line, protectors of devas and brāhmaṇas. We do not wish to fight with ascetics.” Lava and Kuśa answered with sharp irony: “Your brother of the solar line lies there unconscious. Go and see to him first.” Lakshmaṇa was stung and took up his bow.

The fight between Lakshmaṇa and the boys was fierce. Lava and Kuśa rained arrows that covered the sky. Lakshmaṇa struck Kuśa down with a blow of his mace. Lava then leapt on Lakshmaṇa and they wrestled, trading heavy blows, and Lakshmaṇa was secretly amazed at the boy’s strength. In the end Lakshmaṇa felled Lava with a single arrow. But Kuśa got up again and called up the Mohanāstra, a weapon so strong that even the Trimūrti cannot escape its binding. Kuśa loosed it at Saumitri, and Lakshmaṇa fell unconscious to the ground. The Ayodhyā army fled in panic.

Bharata and all the heroes defeated

Rāma heard that Lakshmaṇa had fallen and was deeply troubled. Bharata heard it too and wept: “Annayya (elder brother), this suffering has come on us because we gave up Sītā.” Rāma sent Bharata with the whole joined force of vānaras, rākshasas and the armies of Ayodhyā. The leaders were Bharata, Sugrīva, Vibhīshaṇa, Jāmbavān, Hanumān and Aṅgada.

This great force came to the battlefield. Its commanders tried again and again to reason with the boys and asked them to put down their bows. Lava and Kuśa were not moved. The fighting that followed was extraordinary. Tens of thousands of veteran warriors, including the heroes of the war of Laṅkā, fought against two muni-kumāras. The boys’ arrows darkened the sky. Lava’s arrow knocked Sugrīva a yojana (about eight miles) through the air. Kuśa and Jāmbavān wrestled, and Kuśa bound Jāmbavān’s hands and feet. Even Hanumān and Aṅgada were captured and bound. Lava’s arrows struck Bharata himself and he fell.

The whole joined force of Rāma’s champions, every hero who had fought at Laṅkā, lay beaten or unconscious on the field.

Rāma arrives

The soldiers who were left fled to Ayodhyā and reported in three short words: “The brothers and all the forces have fallen.” Rāma rose from the yajña pavilion, left the makhashālā (the sacrificial hall) and marched to the battlefield with his own force.

The battlefield was a scene of ruin: broken chariots, fallen elephants, scattered banners and the bodies of his dear brothers and heroes lying unconscious on the ground. Rāma called out their names one by one: “O Sugrīva! O Vibhīshaṇa! O Hanumān! O Jāmbavanta! O Śatrughna!” At the sound of his voice they all stirred and rose, like men waking from sleep. His voice revived them.

Rāma then went forward to the place where Lava and Kuśa stood guard over the bound horse. He saw the two boys for the first time.

Rāma meets Lava and Kuśa

At the sight of the two boys, joy, wonder and a tenderness he could not explain all moved in Rāma’s heart at once. He asked them gently: “What are your names? Where do you come from? Who are your parents? Your strength is worthy of praise. But without knowing your lineage, how can I fight you?”

The boys answered with calm boldness: “Our mother’s name is Jānakī. We do not know who our father is. The Maharshi raised us. Our names are Lava and Kuśa.” Then, with a touch of irony, they said: “O King, have you come here to fight or to ask questions? Is this how warriors behave on the battlefield?”

Rāma smiled quietly, looked at the boys and decided inwardly that they must not be harmed. He stepped aside and signalled his forces to test the boys’ strength. In his heart he already knew that something extraordinary was at work.

Another round of fighting followed, but Rāma’s heart was no longer in defeating the boys. Rāma himself fell unconscious for a time, because the Mohanāstra reaches even the Trimūrti. Kuśa, flushed with victory, came near. He then saw Rāma’s divine radiance, felt ashamed and drew back.

Vālmīki arrives and tells the truth

Vālmīki Maharshi came to the battlefield. He had followed at a distance. He saw the scene: Rāma, his brothers, all the heroes and the two boys. He understood that the moment had come, and his heart filled with joy and compassion together.

He went to Rāma’s chariot, bent over him and called: “O Koshaleśa, your sons are here! They have come to see you and wish to bow at your feet. Rāma, rise and see them!” At Vālmīki’s call Rāma rose at once with a smile. His unconsciousness had been only līlā (divine play). He came down from the chariot and joined his palms before the Maharshi.

Vālmīki then told Rāma the whole account. He told of the day Sītā was left in the forest, her coming to his āśrama, the birth of the twins with the Sun as witness, the raising and schooling of the boys and their training in all the arts. Then he declared: “Rāma, these boys are your sons, as the Sun himself is witness.”

The reunion

Rāma’s heart overflowed. He drew his sons to him and embraced them warmly. He held them close and breathed in the scent of their heads. He was filled with vātsalya (a father’s love). The devas, watching from the sky, were moved to shower amṛta on the battlefield. The amṛta fell on all who lay unconscious or wounded: Bharata, Lakshmaṇa, Śatrughna, Sugrīva, Hanumān, Jāmbavān, Aṅgada and all the warriors. They all rose in full health, as if waking from sleep.

Meanwhile the boys had taken the spoils of their victories to their mother Sītā at the āśrama, as a proud gift. The spoils were the weapons, crowns, rings and seals of Rāma’s brothers and allies. Sītā saw Rāma’s signet ring and the weapons of her dear ones and was horrified. She wept, thought Rāma had been slain, and prepared for sahagamana (self-immolation). At that critical moment Vālmīki came and comforted her. He told her that Bhagavān Rāma is the Avatāramūrti, whose līlā cannot be bound. He brought Sītā back and led her with the boys to the assembled court.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa, Chapter 9 (Kuśa Lavulu Guṟṟamunu Paṭṭukonuṭa)
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa, Chapter 10 (Lakshmaṇa Bharatādulu Kuśa Lavulachē Parābhūtulaguṭa)
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa, Chapter 11 (Taṇḍrī Tanayula Samāgamamu)