Droṇādri and Bharata
The Droṇādri episode is told in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa. Lakshmaṇa falls in battle. Hanumān flies to bring the Sañjīvanī herbs, cannot tell which plants they are, and lifts the whole Droṇādri mountain. On his way back he passes over Ayodhyā, where Bharata brings him down with an arrow. The two devotees of Bhagavān Rāma meet, and Hanumān goes on to Laṅkā. Lakshmaṇa is revived, and so is the whole army of vānaras and bears.
Lakshmaṇa struck and Susheṇa’s advice
In the great battle, Meghānāda (Indrajit) struck Lakshmaṇa with the dreadful Vīraghātinī Śakti, a weapon given to him by Brahmā. Lakshmaṇa fell unconscious on the field. Śrī Rāma grieved over his fallen brother and spoke an Avadhi verse of deep sorrow:
Sakahu na dukhita dekhi mohi kāvū
You could not bear to see me grieving even for a moment.
The vānaras stood by in helpless sorrow.
The physician Susheṇa was brought from Laṅkā with great speed. He examined Lakshmaṇa and named four Sañjīvanī herbs that grow only on the Droṇādri mountain. Hanumān was sent at once.
Hanumān uproots Droṇādri
Hanumān flew at full speed to the great Droṇādri, the mountain that held the herbs of universal healing power. But the herbs have a divine knowing of their own, and they hid themselves from Hanumān’s sight.
Hanumān, son of Vāyu, did not go back empty-handed. He dug his hands into the roots of the mountain, used all his boundless strength, and pulled up the whole Droṇādri, with its trees and rivers. He lifted it into the sky above his head. Carrying this great weight, he turned north toward the shore of Laṅkā.
Over Ayodhyā: Bharata’s arrow
The way back took Hanumān over the holy city of Ayodhyā in the dead of night. Since Bhagavān Rāma had gone to the forest, Bharata had been living at the edge of Ayodhyā in strict tapas (austerity). He slept on the ground and ate only roots and fruit. He wore bark cloth and matted hair. He kept Rāma’s pādukās (sandals) on the throne. He held his vow unbroken for all fourteen years of the exile.
That night Bharata was awake at his vigil. He saw a huge dark shape moving across the sky above Ayodhyā, with a strange wind around it. Bharata was always watchful for any danger to the kingdom or to Rāma’s cause. He fitted an arrow to his bow and brought the shape down with one śara (arrow).
Hanumān fell from the sky. As he landed, he cried out in the pain of one cut off from his task: “Hā Rāmā!”
Bharata stood still. That cry, the name of Rāma spoken in pain, went through him to the soul. He ran to the fallen figure and found Hanumān, the great devotee he had never met. Bharata was full of remorse. In his ignorance he had struck down one who served Rāma. He wept, held Hanumān in his arms and laid him in his own lap.
The meeting of two devotees
Bharata served Rāma by staying, and Hanumān served Rāma by going. They met in the darkness. Bharata, overcome, asked Hanumān about Rāma’s welfare, his life in the forest, the war and Lakshmaṇa’s condition. Hanumān recovered, told him everything, and wondered at Bharata’s boundless love for Rāma.
Bharata made a vow. If Hanumān did not return with news of Rāma’s victory within a set time, he would end his life. The text as it stands gives no time. Hanumān was deeply moved. He comforted Bharata and told him that Rāma would surely win.
Bharata then met Hanumān warmly together with Śatrughna, the three queens (Kausalyā, Kaikeyī and Sumitrā), and the great Vasishṭha Maharshi. Vasishṭha saw Hanumān and felt in him the divine presence of Rāma’s mission. He marvelled at the glory of Sītā and Rāma. Hanumān received the blessings of them all. Then he lifted the Droṇādri again and set off at great speed for the shore of Laṅkā.
Lakshmaṇa and the army revived
Hanumān came back and set the Droṇādri down before Susheṇa. The physician found the four herbs and applied them to Lakshmaṇa. The son of Sumitrā drew a deep breath, opened his eyes and rose, whole again and shining with teja (radiance), as if waking from a dreamless sleep. Bhagavān Rāma embraced his brother with great joy.
The wonder went further. The radiance of the divine herbs on the Droṇādri spread over the whole battlefield. Every vānara and bear who had fallen in the war, every hero struck down in Rāma’s service, was revived and rose from the ground. The army that had been thinned was whole again and ready for battle.
Sources
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, the section Āñjaneyuḍu Sañjīvini Tīsukoni Ayodhyā Mārgamuna Vaccuṭa