Sulocanā Sahagamana (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa)

Sulocanā is the wife of Meghānāda (Indrajit), the son of Rāvaṇa, and the daughter of Vāsuki, the Nāgarāja (king of the nāgas). In the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas she is a patīvratā, a wife wholly devoted to her husband, of great jñāna (wisdom) and sattva (purity). When Lakshmaṇa slays Meghānāda at Nikumbhilā, his severed arm falls in her courtyard. She tests it, learns the truth, visits Rāvaṇa, Maṇḍodarī and Bhagavān Rāma, and then follows her husband in sahagamana (entering the funeral fire with him).

The fallen arm

Lakshmaṇa slew Meghānāda with his mahāstra (great weapon) at Nikumbhilā, and the warrior’s body fell on the battlefield. One of his arms was cut off by the blow. It flew through the air and fell in the courtyard of Meghānāda’s own home in Laṅkā.

Sulocanā was in the house when the arm fell. She came out and looked at it. It looked like her husband’s arm, but she could not believe what it meant. She said:

“My husband was a vīra-dhīra, a vara-bala-sampanna, an ajeya. Who in all three worlds could defeat him? And the condition of his vara (boon) was that only someone who had gone twelve years without sleep, food, or a woman’s presence could overcome him. I cannot believe it.”

She had a sakhī (woman friend) bring a leaf and place it between the severed fingers. If this was truly her husband’s arm, and if she herself was truly a satī (a faithful wife), let the arm itself write the truth.

The arm writes the truth

Before the women of the household, the severed arm moved the leaf across the ground and wrote:

“O Sulocanā! Rāma and Lakshmaṇa are avatāra purushas. Even Ādiśesha does not have the power to describe their greatness. My head is with Śrī Rāma. This arm was sent to you so that the truth might reach you. This is real.”

The writing confirmed what Sulocanā feared. Her husband, the great Indrajit, conqueror of Indra and master of the invisible chariot, had fallen in battle.

Sulocanā’s grief and Maṇḍodarī’s counsel

Sulocanā wept in deep anguish. Her husband was her whole world. The household tried to console her but could not. She took the severed arm, gave away all her household wealth as dāna (charity), and set out first for Rāvaṇa.

Rāvaṇa tried to comfort her with pride and empty boasting: “Do not worry, daughter-in-law. I am Rāvaṇa, the rākshaseśvara. I will defeat those nara-vānara insects in an instant.” Sulocanā’s wisdom was too sharp to be comforted by false pride. She saw that it was pointless to argue with one still drunk with ego, and she left.

She went next to Maṇḍodarī. The mother-in-law looked at her daughter-in-law, young, bereaved and already a widow, and could not hold back her own grief. After they had wept together, Maṇḍodarī composed herself and spoke with great wisdom:

“My child. Your father-in-law is drunk with pride and cannot receive good advice. Rāvaṇa’s fall is certain. The words that Nārada spoke long ago are proving true today. No one can escape the fruit of karma. You are wise and steady, so do not grieve beyond measure. Go to Rāma’s camp. He is Janakī-pati, the embodiment of compassion. Take your husband’s head from him and complete the sacred duty you owe your husband.”

Sulocanā approaches Rāma

Sulocanā took her mother-in-law’s blessing and left Laṅkā in a golden palanquin. The vānaras saw the palanquin come out of Laṅkā. They thought happily that Rāvaṇa had perhaps come to his senses and was sending Sītā. When the palanquin stopped and Sulocanā stepped down, Vibhīshaṇa, who knew her well, told Rāma who she was and what had happened.

Sulocanā came before Bhagavān Rāma and bowed flat at his feet in daṇḍavat-namaskāra. She saw the divine form of Śrī Rāma for the first time. Through that darśana (sight of the holy), her sōcana eyes became sulocana eyes, truly beautiful-seeing eyes.

Rāma spoke to her with great tenderness: “Suguṇavatī Sulocanā! I have heard of your noble character. I will give life back to your husband. May you both live long and rule Laṅkā happily.”

The vānaras were astonished. Would Meghānāda, once revived, not go back to war against the devas? Would Rāma’s promise to Vibhīshaṇa not be affected? These questions ran through their minds.

Sulocanā’s noble refusal

Before anyone could act on Rāma’s offer, Sulocanā spoke:

“O Jagatpati! Your compassionate grace has fallen on me, and my life is blessed by it. My husband was the greatest of warriors. He gave his most precious treasure, his prāṇa (life breath), as a gift into the worthy hands of Lakshmaṇamūrti on the battlefield. What was once given as a gift cannot be taken back as a vara. It would not be right for me to receive it back as a prize.

“Deva! I now wish to say farewell to this worldly life. Just as great yogīs reach your presence through samādhi, I wish to follow my husband through sahagamana and reach your presence. This is the best moment I will ever receive for bhavadīya-prāpti. Please give me permission.”

The vānaras fell silent. Rāma heard this extraordinary speech of purity, wisdom and devotion and said “tathāstu”, so be it.

Sahagamana

Sugrīva brought Meghānāda’s head from the battlefield and gave it to Sulocanā. She took the head of her husband, pressed it to her heart and wept bitterly. She cried out: “Hā nāthā! Nā jīvanamūrtī!” She wiped his face with the border of her upper garment and held him in her arms.

She then came before Rāma and Vibhīshaṇa, bowed and said farewell. Vibhīshaṇa and the vānaras walked with her to the edge of the camp.

On the shore, the people of Laṅkā had gathered where the river meets the sea and were waiting for her. Rāvaṇa, Maṇḍodarī and the rākshasa community were among them. The funeral pyre had been raised with sandalwood and fragrant herbs, arranged like a staircase to svarga (heaven). Sulocanā received the blessings of her parents-in-law and her sakhīs. She placed her husband’s severed head in her lap and sat on the pyre. With the name of Bhagavān Rāma on her lips, she entered the fire. The flames took her at once.

The worlds had gathered to watch: suras, asuras, munis and siddhas. They saw this highest act of patīvratā-dharma (the duty of a faithful wife) with reverence and awe.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, Sulocanā section.