Bṛndā Śāpa and Rāvaṇa’s Birth

The Bṛndā śāpa is an important episode told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. It explains why Jaya and Vijaya, the two gatekeepers of Bhagavān Vishṇu, were born as Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa in the Tretā yuga. Bṛndā was the devoted wife of the asura Jalandhara. Her pātivratya (faithfulness to her husband) was like a wall of protection around him. Bhagavān Vishṇu broke this pātivratya by deception so that Bhagavān Śiva could kill Jalandhara. Bṛndā’s śāpa (curse) then set going the chain of events that led to the Rāmāyaṇa.

Jalandhara and Bṛndā

Jalandhara was a very powerful asura. His strength came wholly from the unbroken pātivratya of his wife Bṛndā. As long as Bṛndā stayed perfectly faithful, nothing in the world could kill Jalandhara, not even Bhagavān Śiva. The devas could not defeat Jalandhara in battle, so they went to Bhagavān Vishṇu for help. Bhagavān Vishṇu made a plan. He would come to Bṛndā in the form of her husband Jalandhara. By breaking her pātivratya he would take away Jalandhara’s shield, and Bhagavān Śiva could then kill him.

The deception and the śāpa

Bhagavān Vishṇu took the form of Jalandhara and went to Bṛndā. Bṛndā believed the figure before her was her husband and behaved as a wife would. At that very moment Bhagavān Śiva was able to kill Jalandhara. When Bṛndā learned the truth, that this was Bhagavān Vishṇu in disguise and not her husband, she was filled with righteous anger at the breaking of her marriage vow.

Bṛndā spoke a fierce śāpa against Bhagavān Vishṇu: “Just as you have caused separation between husband and wife through deception, so too shall your wife be separated from you, and rākshasas born through your own gatekeepers shall be the instrument of that separation.”

Then, by the power of her puṇya (merit), she gave herself to the fire (agni-praveśa). The Tulasī plant (sacred basil) rose up where she burned. This is why Tulasī is always dear to Bhagavān Vishṇu and is offered in his pūjā.

Jaya and Vijaya become Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa

Because of Bṛndā’s śāpa, Jaya and Vijaya, the two devoted gatekeepers of Bhagavān Vishṇu at Vaikuṇṭha, had to be born as rākshasas in the human world. They were born as Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa, the great sons of Viśravas and Kaikasī, in the Tretā yuga.

So the very beings who had guarded Bhagavān Vishṇu’s home became the enemies through whom Bhagavān Vishṇu, as Rāma, would feel the pain of parting from Sītā. This fulfilled Bṛndā’s śāpa. At the same time, Bhagavān Vishṇu gave these two the freedom of moksha (liberation) through death at his own hands.

Tulasī and Vishṇu pūjā

Tulasī is the changed form of Bṛndā. This is why Tulasī cannot be separated from the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Sāra Khaṇḍa, sarga 4