Rāmāyaṇa in the Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa tells the whole Rāmāyaṇa in seven chapters, chapters 5 to 11. Agni-deva, who is Bhagavān Vishṇu himself, tells it as it came from Nārada to Vālmīki. The Agni Purāṇa says that this account gives both bhukti (worldly enjoyment) and mukti (liberation) to all who read or hear it.

The account runs from Rāma’s birth in the Ikshvāku line through his exile, the abduction of Sītā, the friendship with Sugrīva, Hanumān’s crossing of the ocean, the great war in Laṅkā and the fall of Rāvaṇa. It ends with Rāma’s reign in Ayodhyā and the events of the Uttarakāṇḍa.

The Ikshvāku line and Rāma’s birth

Agni-deva begins with the line from which Rāma came. From the navel-lotus (nābhi-kamala) of Bhagavān Vishṇu was born Brahmā. Brahmā’s son was Marīci. Marīci’s son was Kaśyapa. Kaśyapa’s son was Sūrya, the sun. Sūrya’s son was Vaivasvata Manu. Manu’s son was Ikshvāku, who began the Solar dynasty. In Ikshvāku’s line was born Kakutstha. Kakutstha’s son was Raghu, Raghu’s son was Aja, and Aja’s son was Daśaratha.

Bhagavān Mahāvishṇu wished to destroy Rāvaṇa and the other rākshasas who troubled the three worlds. So he chose to come down in four forms as the sons of King Daśaratha. With the help of Ṛśyaśṛṅga, Daśaratha held a yajña (fire ritual) and received pāyasa (sacred food). He gave the pāyasa to his three queens. Kauśalyā received the largest part, Kaikeyī the next part, and Sumitrā the rest.

From Kauśalyā was born Rāma, who was Bhagavān Vishṇu himself. From Kaikeyī was born Bharata. From Sumitrā were born the twins Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna. The four sons were as glorious as their father.

Viśvāmitra’s request: Tāṭakā and the yajña

The ṛshi Viśvāmitra came to Daśaratha. He asked that Rāma go with him to guard his yajña from the rākshasas who were spoiling it. Daśaratha did not want to part with his eldest son, but he agreed. Rāma went with Viśvāmitra, and Lakshmaṇa went with them.

Rāma first killed Tāṭakā, a rākshasī of great destructive power. As a reward, Viśvāmitra gave Rāma a full set of divine weapons and astras. Then Rāma used the Mānavāstra. It struck Mārīca, who fell unconscious and was thrown far away. Rāma then killed the strong rākshasa Subāhu with his army, and the spoiling of the yajña ended. The rite was finished in peace.

Rāma and Lakshmaṇa then went with Viśvāmitra and the other ṛshis to Janaka’s city. They went to see the king’s yajña and the great bow of Śiva (Śiva-dhanusha).

Sītā’s svayaṃvara and the bow of Śiva

Śatānanda told Rāma about the greatness of Viśvāmitra. At Janaka’s yajña the king received Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, and honoured him together with all the ṛshis. Then Rāma strung the mighty bow of Śiva without the least trouble and broke it. The sound of its cracking shook the sky.

Janaka had made a vow. His daughter would go only to a hero whose strength was the price of her hand (vīrya-śulka). He had taken as his daughter Sītā, who was not born from a womb but from the earth (ayonijā). Now he gave Sītā to Rāma, glad that his vow was fulfilled.

The marriages and Paraśurāma’s challenge

Daśaratha and the elders of the family came, and the marriages were held. Rāma married Sītā. Lakshmaṇa married Ūrmilā, Janaka’s second daughter. Janaka’s younger brother Kuśadhvaja had daughters too. Māṇḍavī married Bharata, and Śrutakīrti married Śatrughna. Janaka honoured them all with a great ceremony.

On the way back to Ayodhyā the party met Paraśurāma. He came in angry pride, carrying his own divine bow, and challenged the one who had broken the bow of Śiva. Rāma stayed calm and accepted the challenge, and he defeated Paraśurāma. The party then reached Ayodhyā. Bharata had gone with Śatrughna to the house of his mother’s brother Yudhājit.

Mantharā’s plan and Kaikeyī’s two vara

While Bharata was at his uncle’s city, Rāma served his father and the family with great devotion. Daśaratha saw that the people had already accepted Rāma as king in their hearts. He said: “Tomorrow at dawn I shall give you the yuvarājya (the place of crown prince). Tonight, with Sītā beside you, keep the required vrata (vow).” The eight ministers, Vasishṭha and seven others, agreed with this.

Kaikeyī’s friend Mantharā, the hunchback, saw the city being decorated for Rāma’s crowning and was filled with ill will. She also had a private grudge. Rāma had once had her dragged by the feet as punishment for some fault, and she kept that hatred. She went to Kaikeyī and said: “Rāma’s crowning means death for you, for me and for your son Bharata. There is no doubt about this.”

Mantharā reminded Kaikeyī of an earlier war between the devas and the asuras. In that war Kaikeyī had protected Daśaratha by her skill and saved his life when all seemed lost. For this Daśaratha had given her two vara (boons). Mantharā urged her to use them now. By the first, Rāma would be sent to the forest for fourteen years. By the second, Bharata would be crowned yuvarāja.

Kaikeyī followed Mantharā’s advice. She went into the kopa-gṛha (the room of anger) and lay on the floor as if overcome. Daśaratha came to her with loving words. She made him swear by Rāma himself. Then she asked for the two vara: Rāma’s exile for fourteen years and Bharata’s crowning at once. She said she would drink poison if he refused.

Daśaratha was tied by the rope of satya (truth). He fell to the ground as if struck by lightning. He called Kaikeyī a wife like the night of destruction (kālarātri), who had ruined everyone. Yet he was bound by his word.

Rāma’s exile and the death of Daśaratha

Daśaratha was grieved and helpless. He called Rāma and said: “Kaikeyī has deceived me. Put me in prison and take the kingdom. Or go and live in the forest. Kaikeyī’s son Bharata will be king.”

Rāma heard his father’s words. He bowed low before Daśaratha and before Kaikeyī, and he comforted Kauśalyā. Then he, with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa, gave gifts to brāhmaṇas, to the poor and to the helpless. They mounted the chariot with Sumantra and left the city, while the mothers and the citizens wept.

The first night they stayed on the bank of the river Tamasā. Rāma left the weeping citizens there and went on. Daśaratha, deep in grief, went in tears to Kauśalyā’s rooms.

On the sixth night after Rāma left, Daśaratha remembered a terrible pāpa (sin) of his youth. As a young man at the Sarayū he had shot an arrow by sound alone (śabda-vedha). He had killed a boy named Yajñadatta who was filling a pot in the water. The boy’s blind parents had cursed him with a śāpa: “As we die in grief for our son, so you will die in grief for your son.” Daśaratha told Kauśalyā: “This is how death will come to me.” He cried “Hā Rāma!” and went to svarga (heaven).

The ministers and the ācāryas (teachers) quickly called Bharata back from his uncle’s house. Bharata saw the city sunk in grief and learned what had happened. He wept deeply and blamed Kaikeyī for what she had done. He honoured Kauśalyā and performed the funeral rites for his father on the bank of the Sarayū.

Bharata’s refusal and the rule of the pādukā

The elders, Vasishṭha among them, urged Bharata to accept the kingdom. Bharata flatly refused: “I shall go and bring Rāma back. Only the mighty Rāma has been accepted by all as king.”

He went to Śṛṅgabera and then to Prayāga. There he took the hospitality of Bharadvāja and bowed before the ṛshi. At last he reached Rāma’s dwelling in the forest. He told Rāma: “Our father has gone to svarga. You must return and rule Ayodhyā. I will go to the forest in your place.”

Rāma heard that his father had passed away and made the tarpaṇa offering. Then he said to Bharata: “Take my pādukās (sandals) with you. I am bound by dharma and satya. I wear bark clothes and matted hair (jaṭā). I cannot come to rule.” Rāma spoke firmly. Bharata took the sandals and went back.

Bharata would not live in Ayodhyā itself. He lived at Nandigrāma. He placed Rāma’s pādukās on the throne and worshipped them. He ruled the kingdom in Rāma’s name, and he himself dressed as an ascetic.

Life in Daṇḍakāraṇya: Agastya and the divine weapons

Rāma left Citrakūṭa. He bowed to Vasishṭha and to his mothers and sent them home. He went through the forest of Daṇḍakāraṇya. On the way he met and honoured the ṛshi Atri and his wife Anasūyā, then Śarabhaṅga, Sutīkshṇa, Agastya’s brother, and at last the great Agastya himself.

By the grace of Agastya, Rāma received a fine bow (dhanusha) and a sword (khaḍga). Then he came to Daṇḍakāraṇya and settled with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa on the bank of the Godāvarī at Pañcavaṭī.

Śūrpaṇakhā’s shame and the fall of Khara and Dūshaṇa

At Janasthāna the terrible rākshasī Śūrpaṇakhā came to their āśrama, wanting to eat them. She saw Rāma’s handsome form and was filled with desire. She said to him: “Who are you? Where do you come from? Become my husband. I want you. I will eat these other two.” Then she rushed at Sītā and Lakshmaṇa.

At Rāma’s command, Lakshmaṇa cut off her nose and ears. Bleeding badly, Śūrpaṇakhā ran to her brother Khara and cried: “I am cut up and nearly dead! But Rāma’s wife Sītā and his brother Lakshmaṇa are there. Let me drink their warm blood, and then I shall live.”

Khara promised to take revenge. He marched out with fourteen thousand rākshasa warriors, with Dūshaṇa and Triśiras beside him. In the battle Rāma alone destroyed all fourteen thousand rākshasas with his arrows. He sent Triśiras to the realm of Yama and killed Dūshaṇa. Khara’s whole four-part army of elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers was destroyed.

Śūrpaṇakhā went to Laṅkā and threw herself down before Rāvaṇa in rage. She said: “You are no king and no protector! Go and take Sītā, the wife of the Rāma who destroyed your army, and make her your wife. Only when I drink the blood of Rāma and Lakshmaṇa shall I live. Otherwise I will not.”

The abduction of Sītā and Jaṭāyu’s fight

Rāvaṇa called Mārīca. He ordered him to take the form of a golden deer with beautiful marks and to draw Rāma and Lakshmaṇa away from Sītā, so that Rāvaṇa could carry her off. Mārīca thought to himself: “Rāma, the bearer of the bow, is death itself. Whether I die at Rāvaṇa’s hands or at Rāma’s, death cannot be avoided. If I must die, let it be at Rāma’s hands and not at Rāvaṇa’s.” He accepted his fate. He took the form of the golden deer and leaped about in front of Sītā again and again.

Sītā urged Rāma to chase the deer, and he did. He struck it with an arrow. As it died, it cried out in Mārīca’s voice: “Hā Sītā! Hā Lakshmaṇa!” Sītā was alarmed and urged Lakshmaṇa to go and help Rāma. Lakshmaṇa went, unwillingly.

Then Rāvaṇa came. He killed the great vulture Jaṭāyu, who had fought bravely to protect Sītā. He took Sītā onto his lap and carried her through the sky to Laṅkā. There he kept her in the Aśokavana and told his rākshasī women to guard her. He ordered her: “Become my chief wife.” Sītā refused.

Rāma came back and found that Sītā was not at the āśrama. He cried out in anguish. He found the dying Jaṭāyu, who told him: “Rāvaṇa has taken Sītā.” Rāma performed the last rites for Jaṭāyu. Then he killed the rākshasa Kabandha. Kabandha was freed from his śāpa and told Rāma: “Go to Sugrīva.”

The friendship with Sugrīva and the fall of Vāli

Rāma reached Lake Pampā and mourned there. He went to the ascetic woman Śabarī, who received him with great devotion. Then Hanumān came and led Rāma to Sugrīva. Rāma and Sugrīva became friends and allies.

To show his strength, Rāma shot one arrow that pierced seven sāla trees at once. He also threw the huge dry bones of Dundubhi a distance of ten yojanas.

Then Rāma killed Sugrīva’s brother and enemy Vāli in battle. When Vāli fell, Rāma gave Sugrīva the kingdom of Kishkindhā, the vānarī Rumā, and Tārā as his queen. Sugrīva promised: “O Rāma, I shall make sure that you find Sītā.”

Rāma spent the four months of the rains on the Mālyavat mountain. Sugrīva was lost in the pleasures of Kishkindhā and did not come. Lakshmaṇa went to him with a firm message: “Remember your promise to Rāma. Vāli’s road is not yet closed.” Sugrīva was sorry. He came to Rāma and arranged the great search. He sent armies of vānaras in all four directions, with the order to find Sītā within one month or die.

The parties to the north, east and west came back with nothing. Hanumān took Rāma’s ring (aṅgulīyaka) and led the party that went south. A month passed without success, and the vānaras sat down sadly on the Vindhya mountain.

There the great bird Sampāti, Jaṭāyu’s elder brother, heard Jaṭāyu’s name spoken and came forward. He said: “Jaṭāyu is my brother. Once we flew together toward the sun. I shielded him from the heat and fell to earth, and my wings were burned away. But by hearing Rāma’s story, my wings have grown back. I see Jānakī at this very moment. She is in the Aśokavana of Laṅkā, which stands on the Trikūṭa mountain, in the middle of the salt ocean that is one hundred yojanas wide. Go and tell Rāma and Sugrīva.”

Hanumān crosses the ocean

Hanumān and Aṅgada heard Sampāti’s words and looked at the vast ocean. They wondered who among them could cross it. Then Hanumān rose to his full divine size. For the good of the vānaras and to fulfil Rāma’s task, he leaped across one hundred yojanas of ocean.

The Mainaka mountain rose from the surface of the ocean and offered Hanumān a place to rest. He saw the fearsome Siṃhikā and killed her. He reached Laṅkā and looked over the city. He searched the palaces of Rāvaṇa, the great halls of Kumbha, Kumbhakarṇa, Vibhīshaṇa and Indrajit, and the drinking halls and pleasure gardens. He could not find Sītā anywhere.

Hanumān was anxious. He went to the Aśokavana and climbed a Śiṃśapā tree. Looking down, he saw Sītā. She was surrounded and guarded by rākshasī women, and her body was thin with grief. Rāvaṇa himself stood before her, saying: “Become my wife.” The rākshasī women pressed her to agree. Sītā refused.

Sītā is found in Laṅkā

When Rāvaṇa left, Hanumān spoke softly from the tree and told her who he was. He said: “There was a king named Daśaratha. His righteous sons Rāma and Lakshmaṇa went to the forest. Rāma’s wife, you, Sītā, was taken by force by Rāvaṇa. Rāma, the friend of Sugrīva, is looking for you and has sent me. Take this ring that Rāma sends as a sign.”

Sītā looked up, saw the vānara in the tree and took the ring. She asked Hanumān: “If Rāma is alive, why does he not come and take me?” Hanumān comforted her: “Sītā-devī, Rāma did not know where you were. Now that he knows, he will come with a great army. He will destroy Rāvaṇa and all his forces and take you with him. Do not grieve, O Sītā-devī. Give me some sign to carry back.”

Sītā then gave Hanumān a jewel (maṇi). She told him the story of the crow and its injured eye. She said: “O destroyer of grief, now go back.”

Hanumān took the jewel. He offered to carry Sītā on his back to Rāma at once. Sītā answered firmly: “Let Rāma himself come and take me.”

Hanumān burns Laṅkā

Hanumān then made a plan to draw Rāvaṇa’s attention. He killed the garden keepers with his claws and teeth. He destroyed the whole Aśokavana and killed the kinkara warriors. He killed the seven sons of the ministers, and he killed even Rāvaṇa’s son Akshakumāra.

Indrajit bound him with the Nāgapāśa and brought him before Rāvaṇa. The rākshasa king asked, “Who are you?” Hanumān answered: “I am Rāma’s messenger (dūta). Give Sītā to Rāma. If you do not, you and all the rākshasas of Laṅkā will be struck down by Rāma’s arrows and will die. There is no doubt.”

Rāvaṇa moved to kill Hanumān, but Vibhīshaṇa held him back. Rāvaṇa had Hanumān’s tail set on fire instead. Hanumān, with his burning tail, swept through Laṅkā and set the city and the rākshasas ablaze. He went back to Sītā and bowed to her. Then he leaped back across the ocean. He brought the happy news to Aṅgada and the others: “I have seen Sītā!” Together they went into Madhuvana and made merry there.

They then came to Rāma and reported: “We have found Sītā.” Rāma was overjoyed and asked Hanumān to tell him all that he had seen. Hanumān gave him the jewel. Rāma held it to him and wept with love. He said: “Seeing this jewel is like seeing Sītā herself. Take me to her quickly. I cannot live without her.”

The bridge and the march on Laṅkā

Rāma, Sugrīva and all the vānaras reached the southern shore. Rāma sent Aṅgada first as his messenger to Rāvaṇa, with the words: “Free Sītā at once or die.” Rāvaṇa was surrounded by his rākshasas, who were eager for war, and he tried to have Aṅgada killed. Aṅgada escaped and reported: “Daśagrīva wants only war.”

Vibhīshaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s righteous brother, had earnestly advised Rāvaṇa to give Sītā back. Rāvaṇa insulted him and drove him away. Vibhīshaṇa came to Rāma alone and gave himself up to him. Rāma accepted him as a friend and at once crowned him king of Laṅkā.

Rāma then prayed to the ocean and asked for a way across. The deva of the ocean held it back, and Rāma threatened to pierce the ocean with his arrows. The deva of the ocean appeared and said: “I was made deep by you in an earlier age. Let the builder Nala build a bridge over me.”

Nala, the son of Viśvakarman, built the great bridge (setu) with trees and rocks. Rāma and the whole vānara army crossed the ocean. They stood on the Suvela mountain and looked at Laṅkā.

The great battle and the warriors who fell

The battle between the vānaras and the rākshasas was vast and terrible. The rākshasas attacked with arrows, spears (śaktis) and maces. The vānaras fought with claws, teeth and boulders. Rāvaṇa’s four-part army of elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers was destroyed step by step.

Hanumān killed the enemy Dhūmrāksha with a mountain peak. Nīla killed Akampana and Prahasta. Indrajit bound Rāma and Lakshmaṇa with serpent ropes (nāgapāśa). Then the great Garuḍa came down, and by his mere darśana (sight) he freed them from the ropes. Rāma went on to ruin the rākshasa army with his arrows. He struck Rāvaṇa until his body was torn and bleeding, and drove him back.

Rāvaṇa was wounded and shamed. He went down to the underworld and woke Kumbhakarṇa from his long sleep. Kumbhakarṇa drank one thousand jars of wine and ate the flesh of buffaloes and other creatures. Then he said to Rāvaṇa: “You have done a pāpa by taking Sītā. But you are my elder brother, so I will go and kill Rāma and his vānaras.”

Kumbhakarṇa rushed into battle and crushed vānaras by the thousand. He caught Sugrīva, and Sugrīva bit off Kumbhakarṇa’s ears and nose. The wounded giant went on eating vānaras. Rāma cut off Kumbhakarṇa’s arms and legs with his arrows, and at last cut off his head.

Kumbha, Nikumbha, Makarāksha, Mahodara, Mahāpārśva, Matta, Unmatta, Praghaṇa, Dhānukarṇa, Virūpāksha, Devāntaka, Narāntaka, Triśiras and Atikāya were the rākshasa chiefs who fell at the hands of Rāma, Lakshmaṇa, the vānaras and Vibhīshaṇa.

Indrajit used the powers of war that were beyond the ordinary. He bound Rāma and Lakshmaṇa with serpent arrows (nāgabāṇas). Hanumān brought the herb Viśalyā from the Himālaya and healed Rāma and Lakshmaṇa. Then Lakshmaṇa killed Indrajit while he was performing the nikumbhilā homa (fire offering).

Rāvaṇa heard that his son was dead and shook with grief. In his rage he moved to kill Sītā, but his minister Avindha stopped him.

Indra sent his divine charioteer Mātali to Rāma with Indra’s own celestial chariot, and Rāma mounted it. The duel between Rāma and Rāvaṇa had no equal. Rāvaṇa struck the vānaras. Hanumān and the vānara commanders struck Rāvaṇa. Rāma rained weapons on Rāvaṇa. He smashed his flag, broke his chariot, killed his horses and his charioteer, and cut off his bow, his arms and his heads. But they grew back again and again. Then Rāma called up the Brahmāstra and pierced Rāvaṇa’s heart. Rāvaṇa crashed to the ground. All the rākshasas who were left were destroyed.

Rāma’s crowning

At Rāma’s command, Vibhīshaṇa comforted the grieving rākshasī women. Rāma sent Hanumān to the Aśokavana to bring Sītā. Sītā was made pure by entering fire (agni-praveśa), and Rāma accepted her.

Brahmā, Indra and all the devas appeared and praised Rāma. They said: “You who have destroyed the rākshasas are Bhagavān Vishṇu himself.” Daśaratha also appeared from svarga to bless his son. At Rāma’s request, Indra poured amṛta over the fallen vānara warriors and brought them back to life.

Rāma and Sītā boarded the Pushpaka vimāna and flew back to Ayodhyā. As they passed, Rāma showed Sītā the forests, the rivers and the great bridge. They came down at Nandigrāma. Bharata, dressed as an ascetic and ruling with Rāma’s pādukās, bowed to the ground before Rāma. Together they all entered Ayodhyā.

Rāma bowed before Vasishṭha and all the ṛshis. Then he bowed to Kauśalyā, Kaikeyī and Sumitrā. He received the royal consecration. He performed aśvamedha yajñas and through them worshipped Vāsudeva, who was himself. He gave great dānas (gifts). He ruled his people as if they were his own children. He held back the wicked with firmness. Through all of Rāma’s reign every person followed his own dharma, and not one person died before his appointed time.

Rāvaṇa’s family: the Uttarakāṇḍa

After Rāma’s crowning, the great ṛshis Agastya and others came to Ayodhyā and praised him: “You killed Indrajit and so saved all the worlds. You are supremely blessed.” Then they told the story of Rāvaṇa’s line.

Brahmā’s son was Pulastya. Pulastya’s son was Viśravas. Viśravas had two wives. His first wife Pushpodbhavā gave birth to Kubera, the master of wealth. His second wife Kaikasī gave birth to Rāvaṇa, who had twenty arms and ten heads. Through the vara of Brahmā, Rāvaṇa defeated all the devas. Kaikasī also bore Kumbhakarṇa, who slept a deep sleep, and Vibhīshaṇa, the righteous one. Their sister was Śūrpaṇakhā.

Rāvaṇa’s son was Meghanāda. In power he was greater even than Rāvaṇa. He defeated Indra himself, and so he won the name Indrajit. The ṛshis said to Rāma: “For the good of all the devas and all beings, you had Lakshmaṇa kill him.”

At Rāma’s command, Śatrughna killed the rākshasa Lavaṇa and brought peace to the land of Madhurā. Bharata, also at Rāma’s command, killed the fierce Gandharva Śailūsha and his three crore sons on the bank of the Sindhu. He then set Bharata’s own sons, Taksha and Pushkara, as rulers of those lands and went back to serve Rāma.

Sītā is sent away: Kuśa and Lava

Because of lokāpavāda, the blame of the people, Rāma sent Sītā away. Sītā gave birth to Kuśa and Lava in the āśrama of Vālmīki. Later Rāma heard the twin sons singing the Rāmāyaṇa, and he knew them as his sons. He made them rulers of his kingdom.

The final ascent

Rāma held in dhyāna (meditation) the thought: “That Paramātmā, I myself am He.” He guarded the worlds with his bow for ten thousand years. He performed many yajñas, and the devas praised him. At last, with his citizens and his brothers, he went up to svarga. Sītā’s son Kuśa received the kingdom.

Agni-deva ended with these words: “Vālmīki heard this from Nārada and composed the Rāmāyaṇa in full. Whoever hears this reaches svarga.”

Sources

• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 5 (Rāma’s birth, Viśvāmitra, the bow of Śiva, the marriages, Paraśurāma)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 6 (Mantharā, Kaikeyī’s vara, Daśaratha’s death, Bharata and the pādukās)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 7 (Daṇḍakāraṇya, Śūrpaṇakhā, Khara and Dūshaṇa, the abduction of Sītā)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 8 (Sugrīva and Vāli, the search, Sampāti)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 9 (Hanumān’s crossing, Sītā found, Laṅkā burned)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 10 (the bridge, the war, Rāvaṇa’s fall, Rāma’s crowning)
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 11 (Rāvaṇa’s line, Kuśa and Lava, Rāma’s ascent)