Laṅkā Yuddha

The Laṅkā Yuddha is the great war between Śrī Rāma’s army of vānaras (forest-dwellers) and bhallūkas (bears) and the rākshasa forces of Rāvaṇa. It fills the whole Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, which has 131 chapters (adhyāyas). The war ends with Rāvaṇa’s death, Sītā’s Agni Parīkshā (the test by fire), and Rāma’s return to Ayodhyā as king.

The army at the sea

Hanumān came back from Laṅkā with news of where Sītā was. Śrī Rāma embraced him with the joy of a father who holds a son given back to him. Rāma honoured Hanumān’s great deed and turned his mind to the campaign. Sugrīva steadied Rāma’s resolve and said, “We have the means and the strength. Act at once.”

Rāma marched south with an army of vānaras and bhallūkas too many to count. The columns filled the forests like a river in flood. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

At the seashore Rāma saw omens that the coming war would destroy both sides. The earth trembled, rivers ran backward, clouds rained blood, and birds cried in alarm. All of this showed how fearful the war would be. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Vibhīshaṇa comes to Rāma

In Laṅkā, Rāvaṇa’s younger brother Vibhīshaṇa urged Rāvaṇa again and again to return Sītā. Indrājit and Rāvaṇa mocked him and drove him out. Vibhīshaṇa crossed the sea and came to Rāma.

Sugrīva warned Rāma not to trust a rākshasa. But Rāma said, “Even if a rākshasa comes asking for refuge, I will never turn him away. This is my eternal vow.” Rāma took Vibhīshaṇa in fully and crowned him king of Laṅkā on the spot. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 17-18)

The ocean and the Nala Setu

For three days Rāma made offerings to Sāgara, the deva of the ocean. When the ocean finally appeared, he said that Nala, the son of Viśvakarmā, had the natural power to build a bridge, because rocks and trees would float at his touch.

In five days the great bridge was finished. It was one hundred yojanas long and ten yojanas wide, and it ran from the mainland to Laṅkā. It is called the Nala Setu. Devas, siddhas, gandharvas and ṛshis gathered in the sky to see it. The whole army crossed over, and Vibhīshaṇa guarded the far end. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 19-22)

The armies take their places

Rāma drew up the vānara army in the Garuḍa-vyūha (battle formation in the shape of Garuḍa). Aṅgada and Nīla were at the front. Ṛshabha stood on the right wing and Gandhamādana on the left. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa were at the head, Jāmbavān and Sushena guarded the flanks, and Sugrīva was at the rear. The army surrounded Laṅkā at all four gates.

Before the battle, Aṅgada went as Rāma’s messenger. He gave Rāvaṇa a last chance to return Sītā and avoid the war. Rāvaṇa refused. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 24, 34)

The first battles

The first great battle began when the vānaras climbed Laṅkā’s golden walls with trees and boulders. The fighting was fierce. The rākshasas used spears, clubs and swords. The vānaras used mountain peaks and sāl trees.

Prahasta and other rākshasa generals fell one by one to the vānara heroes. Nīla killed Prahasta, Rāvaṇa’s senāpati (commander), with a blow of a palm tree to the head. Hanumān killed Dhūmrāksha and Akampana. Aṅgada killed Vajradaṃshṭra. The rākshasas pressed hardest at night, when their power was greatest. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 42-58)

Indrājit’s Nāgāstra

Indrājit, Rāvaṇa’s very gifted son, attacked at night from his sky-chariot, where no one could see him. With the Nāgāstra (the serpent weapon) he bound Rāma and Lakshmaṇa in thousands of serpents that wrapped every limb. The two brothers fell to the ground. All the vānaras were struck with grief and thought the war was lost.

Then Garuḍa, the divine eagle and lord of all serpents, appeared in a blaze of light. At his touch the serpent bonds fell away. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa rose refreshed and their wounds were healed. Garuḍa said that Rāma would win, and then left. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44-45)

Kumbhakarṇa

As the battle turned against the rākshasas, Rāvaṇa ordered his brother Kumbhakarṇa to be woken. Kumbhakarṇa was a huge warrior under a śāpa (a curse) from Brahmā to sleep six months at a time.

Kumbhakarṇa first gave Rāvaṇa wise advice. He told him that what he had done was adharma. But out of love for his brother, he got ready for war. He came out of Laṅkā like a walking mountain and swallowed vānaras by the score. He wounded Sugrīva and carried him high into the air, until he was made to let go.

Rāma cut off Kumbhakarṇa’s arms and legs with divine arrows. Then he cut off his head with the arrow given by Brahmā. Kumbhakarṇa’s huge body fell into the sea. Rāvaṇa wept without comfort. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 60-67)

Rāvaṇa’s sons and nephews fall

After Kumbhakarṇa, Rāvaṇa sent out his sons and nephews: Triśiras, Narāntaka, Devāntaka, Mahāpārśva and Atikāya.

Aṅgada killed Narāntaka with one blow of his fist that brought down Narāntaka’s horse. Devāntaka fell to Hanumān. Atikāya had a vara (a boon) from Brahmā that no ordinary weapon could touch him. Lakshmaṇa killed him only when Vāyu, the deva of the wind, whispered to him, “Use the Brahmāstra.” (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 69-71)

Indrājit’s Brahmāstra

Indrājit came back a second time, again unseen on his sky-chariot. This time he used the Brahmāstra, which he had received directly from Brahmā. Sixty-seven crore vānaras fell in that one attack. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa themselves lay bound and unconscious.

Jāmbavān was barely alive under a pile of arrows. He told Hanumān, “As long as you live, we live. Go.” (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 73)

Hanumān and the Oshadhi Parvata

Jāmbavān told Hanumān to fly to the Himālaya and bring four divine herbs from the Oshadhi Parvata, between Vṛshabha Giri and Kailāsa. The four herbs were Mṛta-Sañjīvanī, Viśalyakaraṇī, Sandhānakaraṇī and Sāvarṇyakaraṇī.

Hanumān flew north at great speed. When he arrived, the herbs hid themselves. In righteous anger Hanumān pulled up the whole mountain peak and carried it back to Laṅkā. The fragrance of the herbs alone brought back Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and all the fallen vānaras. Every wound healed, and every warrior rose as if from sleep. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 74)

The burning of Laṅkā

At Sugrīva’s command the vānaras crossed the walls with torches and set Laṅkā on fire. Palaces, mansions, gardens and storehouses burned, and the golden towers fell. Only Vibhīshaṇa’s house was left untouched, by divine arrangement. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 75)

The Māyā Sītā

Indrājit got ready for his third campaign. He knew he could not yet finish the Nikumbhilā homa (fire offering), so he made a terrible plan. By māyā (magic) he made an image of Sītā, set her on his chariot, and in full sight of Hanumān and the vānaras he drew his sword and cut her in two.

Hanumān was crushed and ran to Rāma with the news. Rāma fell to the ground. Even Lakshmaṇa’s words of dharma could not at once bring him round. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 81-83)

Indrājit’s death at Nikumbhilā

Trijatā, the wise rākshasī who guarded Sītā, told Hanumān that the one who was killed was only an illusion and that Sītā was alive. Vibhīshaṇa explained that Indrājit had gone to the grove of Nikumbhilā to finish his abhichāra homa (a rite for harming enemies). If he finished it, Indrājit would be unbeatable in this war.

Lakshmaṇa, with Hanumān and Vibhīshaṇa, marched to Nikumbhilā at night and broke up the homa. Then came the most terrible duel of the whole war. Lakshmaṇa and Indrājit fought for a long time with divine weapons. In the end Lakshmaṇa used the Brahmāstra and cut off Indrājit’s head.

Vibhīshaṇa and all the vānaras wept for joy. When Rāma heard, he embraced Lakshmaṇa and said, “You have done what even I could not.” (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 86-91)

Rāvaṇa’s last campaigns

With Indrājit dead, Rāvaṇa was shattered. In a rage of grief he rushed to the Aśoka Vana to kill Sītā. His minister Supārśva held him back and reminded him that killing a woman would destroy all his puṇya (merit). Rāvaṇa turned back.

Then Rāvaṇa himself led campaign after campaign into battle. Once his skilled charioteer drew the chariot away when Rāma’s arrows were overwhelming. Rāvaṇa rebuked him in fury, and then calmed down when the charioteer explained.

At one point Rāvaṇa used his greatest weapon, the Śakti given to him by Brahmā, and struck Lakshmaṇa senseless. Rāma wept and held Lakshmaṇa. Then he rose in terrible anger and said, “All my vows, all my dharma, if Lakshmaṇa is dead, none of it matters.” He overpowered Rāvaṇa so completely that Rāvaṇa’s chariot was driven off the field. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 93-101)

The Āditya Hṛdayam

Rāma stood before Rāvaṇa for the final fight. Then the ṛshi Agastya came down from the world of the devas and taught Rāma the Āditya Hṛdayam, the most sacred stotra (hymn of praise) to Sūrya. He said, “This destroys all enemies. Repeat it three times and you will kill Rāvaṇa.”

Rāma offered pūjā to Sūrya and turned to face Rāvaṇa. Indra sent his own divine chariot, with the charioteer Mātali, to carry Rāma into the last battle. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 102-103)

The death of Rāvaṇa

The last duel between Rāma and Rāvaṇa was as vast as the worlds. Rāvaṇa shot every astra (divine weapon) he had, and Rāma met each with a stronger one. Rāma cut off Rāvaṇa’s heads one by one, but each head grew back.

Then the ṛshi Agastya appeared and said, “The secret of Rāvaṇa’s life is in his navel, held there by divine amṛta. Use the Brahmāstra that I gave you long ago.”

Rāma took up the Brahmāstra. Its shaft was made of Brahmā’s fire, its tip was wind and fire together, and its feathers were Meru and Mandara. He aimed it at Rāvaṇa’s chest and let it go. It split Rāvaṇa’s chest and came back to Rāma’s quiver. Rāvaṇa fell. The earth shook, and the devas rained flowers. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 111)

The last rites

Vibhīshaṇa was full of grief, in spite of everything. He said he could not perform his brother’s last rites. Rāma comforted him: “Rāvaṇa was brave and great. His death in battle is glorious. Honour him as a warrior. Enmity ends at death.”

Vibhīshaṇa then performed the antima saṃskāra (the last rite) with full honours. Rāvaṇa’s wives, led by Maṇḍodarī, cried out on the battlefield. They mourned the ruin that his infatuation had brought. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 112-114)

The crowning of Vibhīshaṇa

Lakshmaṇa carried sacred water and set Vibhīshaṇa on the throne of Laṅkā. The righteous rākshasa king wept with thanks. Rāma then sent Hanumān to the Aśoka Vana to give Sītā the news. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 115)

The Agni Parīkshā

Sītā was brought before Rāma on a palanquin and stepped down. Rāma spoke harshly: “I fought this war not for your sake but for my honour. A woman who has lived in another man’s house cannot be accepted.”

Sītā answered with calm that did not break: “The heart is one’s own. My body was held captive, not my ātmā (soul).” She asked Lakshmaṇa to build a fire. She prayed to Agni with folded hands and walked into the flames.

Agni himself rose from the fire carrying Sītā, shining and unhurt, and said, “She is without pāpa (sin). Not even a thought of any other man has ever touched her mind.” Brahmā and all the devas said the same.

Rāma took Sītā back with tears of joy. He explained that he had always known her purity, but the world needed to see the proof. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 118-121)

Brahmā’s praise and Daśaratha’s blessing

After the Agni Parīkshā, Brahmā praised Rāma: “You are Nārāyaṇa himself. You are the Purusha with endless arms. You are the heart of Śiva. You are the first Veda. You came down to earth to remove the burden of Rāvaṇa.”

Rāma replied with humility, “I know myself only as the son of Daśaratha, a human king.”

Then Daśaratha appeared from svarga (heaven), shining like the sun. He blessed Rāma and Lakshmaṇa with deep feeling, and in that moment fourteen years of grief were let go. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 120-122)

The vānaras are brought back to life

Rāma asked Indra, “These vānaras gave their lives for me. Please bring them back.” Indra sent a divine rain that fell on the body of every fallen warrior. The dead vānaras rose one by one. Their wounds were healed and their weapons restored, as if they had only woken from sleep. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 123)

The return in the Pushpaka Vimāna

Rāma climbed into the Pushpaka Vimāna, the sky-chariot that had once belonged to Kubera, then to Rāvaṇa, and now came willingly to Rāma. Sītā, Lakshmaṇa, Sugrīva, Vibhīshaṇa, Hanumān and all the vānara chiefs went with him. The Pushpaka rose into the sky.

As they flew north, Rāma showed Sītā every sacred place below: the Setu, Kishkindhā, Ṛshyamūka, Daṇḍakāraṇya, the āśramas of the ṛshis, the Godāvarī and Pañchavaṭī. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 125-126)

Homecoming and coronation

Hanumān was sent ahead to tell Bharata. Bharata had been living as an ascetic at Nandigrāma while he waited for Rāma. When he heard the news he nearly fainted with joy. He embraced Hanumān, honoured him as one who had done him a great kindness, and began preparations at once.

When Rāma arrived, the four brothers met again in joy beyond words. Then, at a good moment chosen by the great ṛshis, on the banks of the Sarayū, with the Maharshis, the devas and the people of Ayodhyā looking on, Śrī Rāma was crowned king of Kośala.

His reign was the Rāmarājya. In that age no one suffered, no one died before their time, rain fell in its season, and dharma stood firm on all four feet. (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 129-131)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1-131: Chapter 4, Chapter 23, Chapters 17-18, Chapters 19-22, Chapters 24 and 34, Chapters 42-58, Chapters 44-45, Chapters 60-67, Chapters 69-71, Chapter 73, Chapter 74, Chapter 75, Chapters 81-83, Chapters 86-91, Chapters 93-101, Chapters 102-103, Chapter 111, Chapters 112-114, Chapter 115, Chapters 118-121, Chapters 120-122, Chapter 123, Chapters 125-126, Chapters 129-131