Suṣeṇa the Vānara Vaidya

Suṣeṇa was the vaidya (physician) of the vānara army. He was one of the senior vānara commanders who went with Sugrīva’s army to Laṅkā. He knew how to use the divine oṣadhi (healing herbs) that Hanumān brought from the Oṣadhi Parvata. He told Hanumān which herbs to seek, prepared the medicines on the battlefield, and gave the healing that revived Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and hundreds of wounded vānara warriors.

Who he was

Suṣeṇa held a special post in the army. He was its chief healer and medical authority. He was skilled in oṣadhi-vidyā, the knowledge of healing with divine and natural herbs, a science held in the highest regard in the tradition. The Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa speaks of him in Chapter 87.

The first healing

Indrājit struck Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with the brahmāstra (the weapon of Brahmā), and they lay senseless on the battlefield. Jāmbavān sent Hanumān to the Oṣadhi Parvata. Hanumān could not tell which herbs were needed, so he brought the whole mountain.

As Hanumān set the mountain down in the night, the scent of the herbs alone began to revive the fallen vānaras across the field. Suṣeṇa then acted with expert care. He quickly named the four herbs of the Oṣadhi Parvata:

• Mṛtasañjīvanī
• Viśalyakaraṇī
• Sauvarṇakaraṇī
• Saṃdhānakaraṇī

He prepared the medicines and gave them first to Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, and then to the wounded vānara warriors across the field. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa records that the vānaras rose as if waking from sleep. Their wounds closed, their strength returned and they found their weapons again. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa rose as if from a deep night’s rest, with their wounds fully healed (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 88).

The second healing

Near the end of the war, Rāvaṇa’s śakti weapon pierced the broad chest of Lakṣmaṇa, called Saumitri, and he fell again. Suṣeṇa was called once more. This time he told Hanumān to bring the Viśalyakaraṇī herb only. Hanumān went to the Oṣadhi Parvata and came back. Suṣeṇa gave Lakṣmaṇa the herb, and Lakṣmaṇa was healed before Rāvaṇa could press his advantage (Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 102).

His part in the Laṅkā war

In the war of Laṅkā, Hanumān brought the mountain and Suṣeṇa knew which herbs to use and how to give them. Through the two of them, the life of Śrī Rāma’s avatāra and the course of the war were kept safe.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 87–88, 102