Aṅgada Dautya (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa)
Aṅgada is the son of Vāli and the yuvarāja (crown prince) of Kishkindhā. In the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of the Rāmacaritamānas, Bhagavān Rāma sends him to Rāvaṇa’s sabhā (royal court) as his dūta (messenger). This is the last offer of peace before the great battle. Aṅgada gives Rāma’s message without fear, plants his foot so firmly that no rākshasa can move it, and throws Rāvaṇa’s four crowns before Rāma.
The mission
The vānara army had crossed the Setu (the bridge) and camped before Laṅkā. Bhagavān Rāma followed rājadharma (the duty of a king), which says that peaceful means should be tried before war. So he sent Aṅgada as his official messenger to Rāvaṇa’s court.
Aṅgada was the brave son of Vāli, who had been slain. He had been made yuvarāja of Kishkindhā under Sugrīva. He was chosen because he had a royal manner, steady courage and the strength of a lion.
Aṅgada went down into Laṅkā and walked straight to Rāvaṇa’s great sabhā. The ten-headed king sat there with his ministers, his generals and the whole company of the rākshasa nobles.
The message and the confrontation
Aṅgada walked into the sabhā with no trace of fear. He stood before Rāvaṇa’s court and gave Bhagavān Rāma’s last message: the time had come to give Sītā back and end the enmity.
Rāvaṇa’s son tried to lay hands on Aṅgada, and the son of Vāli dealt with him at once. The matter grew until Rāvaṇa and his court tried to overpower Aṅgada. Then the son of Vāli planted his foot on the floor of the sabhā with such great force that the ground seemed fixed to it. Rāvaṇa called on the rākshasas to move the foot. No one could shift it even a little. Not the greatest rākshasa warriors could do it, and neither could Rāvaṇa’s own sons and commanders. The whole sabhā saw that the foot could not be moved, and so saw the strength of those whom Rāma had chosen to serve him.
The four crowns
Having made his point, Aṅgada ended his mission with one more act. He took hold of Rāvaṇa’s four crowns and hurled them through the air. They fell before Rāma at his camp on the shore of Laṅkā.
Rāvaṇa was left angry and shamed, yet he could not stop the messenger from leaving.
Sources
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, Aṅgaduni Dautya section
- Rāmacaritamānas of Tulsīdāsa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa