Return to Ayodhyā

After Vibhīshaṇa’s coronation and the waking of the vānara host by Indra’s rain of amṛta, Bhagavān Rāma got ready to go back to Ayodhyā on the Pushpaka Vimāna. This is told in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of Tulsīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas.

Vibhīshaṇa brought Kubera’s divine Pushpaka, full of treasure, and Rāma had the treasure showered on the vānara host. The vānaras said goodbye in tears. Sugrīva, Jāmbavān, Aṅgada, Nala, Nīla and Hanumān could not bring themselves to leave, and Rāma invited them all to Ayodhyā. The Pushpaka rose and flew north. On the way Rāma showed Sītā the battle sites and holy places. They landed at Prayāga, where Hanumān was sent ahead to Ayodhyā. Guha, the king of the Nishādas, ran to meet Rāma, and Rāma held him as a brother.

Vibhīshaṇa’s request and Rāma’s heart for Bharata

After Śiva had gone back to Kailāsa, Vibhīshaṇa stood before Rāma, humble as ever. He bowed at Rāma’s lotus feet and spoke gentle, loving words:

“O Śārṅga-Kodaṇḍadhara! Raghuvīra! You destroyed Rāvaṇa and all his kinsmen and you protected this helpless servant. Your fame fills the three worlds. Please bless this servant’s home with your touch, rest a while and honour me. O Prabhu Rāma! All my kingdom, my treasury and everything I own is yours. Treat it as your own and share it among the vānaras. I also ask your leave to go with you to Sāketa.”

Rāma was deeply moved by Vibhīshaṇa’s generous and selfless devotion. He answered warmly: “Brother! What you say is true. All this wealth is indeed mine. But at this moment my mind is wholly with Bharata. When I think of Kaikeyī’s son, living in bark cloth, thin from tapas, and always remembering me, this moment feels to me like a kalpa. Go quickly and bring the Pushpaka Vimāna. Rule this kingdom for a kalpa, and keep my smṛti (remembrance) always. After that you will reach my sānnidya (nearness).”

The Pushpaka takes flight

Vibhīshaṇa hurried to Laṅkā and came back with Kubera’s Pushpaka Vimāna. It was full to overflowing with gold, gems, jewels and priceless silk clothes. Rāma looked at the heap of treasure with a slight smile and told Vibhīshaṇa to shower all of it from above on the vānara camp.

The rain of jewels and fine cloth fell over the vānara crowd. The vānaras jumped for joy and wrapped themselves in silks in all kinds of silly and happy ways. They bit the diamonds and rubies, thinking they were fruit. The stones were too hard, so they threw them away in comic disappointment. Rāma and his companions watched their play and laughed with delight.

Rāma then honoured each vānara and bear with fitting gifts, and spoke to the whole host from the heart: “O best of forest-dwellers! The service you have done has no equal. With your help I could kill Rāvaṇa and make Vibhīshaṇa king. What you have done will never be forgotten. Go now to your homes, move freely without fear, and always keep my smṛti with you.”

The vānaras could not bring themselves to leave. Many turned for home with tears in their eyes. But Sugrīva, Jāmbavān, Aṅgada, Nala, Nīla, Hanumān and the chief commanders stood still. Their hearts would not part from Bhagavān Rāma. Rāma saw their pure love and was moved. He warmly invited them all: “Friends, come with me. Board the vimāna and travel to Ayodhyā.”

So Sītā, Rāma and Lakshmaṇa boarded the Pushpaka, and Vibhīshaṇa, Sugrīva and all the dear commanders came with them. The vimāna rose from the shore of Laṅkā and turned north. The devas showered flowers from the sky. Cool winds blew, and the Gaṅgā and the ocean shone with new clearness. All directions glowed with auspicious light.

Rāma shows Sītā the holy places

As the Pushpaka flew north, Rāma gently pointed out to Sītā the places that could be seen below:

• the battlefield of Laṅkā, where the rākshasas lay in their thousands
• the place where Meghānāda had fallen at Lakshmaṇa’s hand
• the shore where Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa had been struck down
• the wide, churning ocean
• the great setu (bridge)
• the holy place where the Rāmaliṅgeśvara had been set up
• the vast Daṇḍakāraṇya
• the āśramas of the munivaras (best of munis) scattered through the forest

Each place brought back a memory: of the years in the forest, of devotion, of war and of divine grace.

The āśramas of Atri and Agastya

On the way north, the Pushpaka came down at the āśramas of Atri Maharshi and Agastya Maharshi. Rāma and his party stepped down from the vimāna to receive darśana and blessings from these great ṛshis. They sat with the lords of the munis, received their āśīrvādas (blessings) with devotion, and then rose into the air again to go on.

Sītā salutes the Gaṅgā and Yamunā

As the Pushpaka passed over the meeting of the holy rivers, Sītā saw the Gaṅgā and Yamunā far below. She bowed to them with deep śraddhā (faith) and bhakti, honouring the holy rivers as living presences of the divine. The Pushpaka went on to Prayāga, the king of tīrthas, the triveni saṅgama (triple meeting) of the Gaṅgā, the Yamunā and the unseen Sarasvatī, and began to come down there.

At Prayāga, Hanumān is sent ahead

The Pushpaka flew for a moment over Ayodhyā itself, which gave Rāma and his companions a sight of the dear city. Then it turned back and landed on the shore at the Triveni. All of them bathed in the holy waters of the meeting of the rivers and rested.

Rāma then called Hanumān close and said: “Mārutī! Go ahead of us to Ayodhyā and tell Bharata and the others that we have returned safely.” Hanumān left at once, swift as the wind.

Bharadvāja’s āśrama

Sītā and Rāma boarded the Pushpaka again and flew to the āśrama of Bharadvāja Maharshi. The lord of munis welcomed them with every honour, gave them full ātithya (hospitality) and his āśīrvādas, and they left content and blessed.

Gaṅgā blesses Sītā

From Bharadvāja’s āśrama, Rāma and Sītā went to the bank of the Bhāgīrathī. There Sītā honoured Gaṅgā Bhavānī with deep devotion. She offered flowers with folded hands and bowed to the holy river. The Gaṅgā appeared in front of Vaidehī and blessed her:

Saubhāgyavatī bhava

“Be the ever-auspicious wife for ever.”

Guha the Nishādapati

The glad news of Rāma’s return spread. Guha, the Nishādapati, the king of the boatmen who had served Rāma at the start of the vana-vāsa (forest life), came running with all his kinsmen to meet Bhagavān Rāma. He threw himself at Rāma’s lotus feet, overcome with devotion. Rāma took Guha’s hands and lifted him up. He held him to his heart with great warmth and asked after his welfare with love.

Guha, his eyes full of tears of love, said: “O Sākētapati! We have been given the chance to serve your holy lotus feet, and together with our kinsmen we have gained every blessing and every happiness. O Jagannātha! A hundred hundred salutations to you.”

Rāma was moved by the Nishādapati’s steady devotion and humble love. He embraced Guha again and again, holding him to his heart as a brother and loving him as he loved Bharata.

The phalaśruti

The Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyana ends with a phalaśruti verse (a verse that names the fruit of hearing), in Avadhi:

Samara vijaya Raghuvīra ke
carita je sunahi sujāna।
Vijaya vivēka vibhūti nita
tinh hi dēhi Bhagavān॥

“Those wise people who hear with faith and devotion the account of Raghuvīra’s samara-vijaya (victory in battle), to them Bhagavān Rāma always gives vijaya (victory), vivēka (discernment) and vibhūti (prosperity and auspiciousness).”

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyana (Tulsīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, the section on the journey back (Tiru Gu Prayāṇamu)