Jai Sriman Narayana !!
Anjaneya approached Sita, offered
his salutations with folded hands and enquired whether she is from the clan of
celestial Gandharvas or deities or from the family of eleven Rudras,
Maruthganas, Ashtavasukkal or Rohini, or Arundhathi. Anjaneya reverentially stated that her divine
physical features reveal her origin from the family of an Emperor. Anjaneya cordially enquires whether she is
the wife of Rama abducted by the demon King Ravana from Janasthanam. Instantly Sita regained all her energies after
listening to the name of her dearest husband.
Sita mellifluously started to speak ‘I am the daughter- in- law of King
Dasaratha, one of the righteous Kings on Earth.
I am the daughter of honorable King Janaka of Kingdom Mithila * and I am
the wife of Rama. I had spent 12 beautiful years of married life
with my dearest husband in the palace amidst all the luxuries and
happiness. It was on 13th
year Rama was chosen for coronation ceremony as heir to the throne of Ikshvau
Dynasty by King Dasaratha and the preceptors.
But, Queen Kaikeyi, step mother of Rama was opposed the very idea and
ordered Rama to leave to forest for fourteen years from the Kingdom of Ayodhya,
If the above said rules were not followed she threatened to end her life. King Dasaratha was traumatized at the harsh
words of Kaikeyi, remembered the boon given to her in the battlefield. At last, the blameless King Dasaratha had to agree
with the mean desires of Kaikeyi. The
virtuous Rama wholeheartedly accepted the command of his father and mother
Kaikeyi, left behind all the luxuries and the Kingdom of Ayodhya. The very moment I was decided to follow my
dearest husband, soon Lakshman was also enthusiastically followed us. While we were on an expedition in the Dandakavanam
the evil-minded Ravana abducted me and imprisoned in Ashoka Vatika. He had
given two months time to live, in order to change my attitude towards him and
surrender for his selfish desires or embrace death”.
Anjaneya replied to her “Oh !
Divine lady Sita, Daughter of King Janaka of Vidheha I am the messanger of Lord
Rama, virtuous son of King Dasaratha who has profound knowledge in Veda and
Astra Sastra enquired about your welfare.
Lakshmana, the youngest brother of Rama, who is also equally brilliant
like Rama is taking good care of his brother and conveyed his salutations to
you. Both are besieged with the grief of
separation from you”. In a moment, Sita was
over thrilled with extreme joy after listening Rama’s welfare through Anjaneya. Sita earnestly stepped forward to Anjaneya to
hear more about her husband and Anjaneya also moved close to her in order to
pacify her. But Sita mistook Anjaneya
thinking of that it must be another ploy of Ravana in disguise. Once again she was caught up with extreme
distress expressed her wishes to Anjaneya to narrate the qualities of
Rama.
Anjaneya sincerely narrates the
persona of Rama “Rama has the brilliance of Lord Surya and pleasing like Lord
Chandra as well, He is equivalent to Lord Kubera, Lord of wealth and Supreme
Godhead, He has possessed the valor of Lord Vishnu, He is like Bruhaspathi
speaks only truth with his mellifluous voice, He has stunning charisma like
Lord Manmatha, He has absolute control over senses and anger, He is the savior
of blameless and destroyer of enemies.
Ravana will have the appropriate share of his anger for abducting you
from the hermitage. I am the messenger
of Rama; he is equally tormented at the separation from you. The charming Lakshman, son of Soumitri send
salutations and enquired your welfare.
The monkey King Sugriva, who had the companionship with Rama enquired
about your welfare. You are surviving
amongst the brutal demons with the your fortune, I assure you in a few days Rama, Lakshman
along with the Monkey King Sugriva and crores of mighty Vanaras will be in
Lanka. I am Anjaneya, I have crossed the
vast ocean of 100 Yojana to reach Lanka. ” After saying so, Anjaneya requests
Sita not to be suspicious about his identity.
After listening to Anjaneya, Sita
shot an intelligent question ‘How did you get to know Rama? How do you know Lakshman? How the union
between monkeys and humans did take place? What are the characteristics of Rama and
Lakshmana? Explain their physical features and appearance so that I can be free
from fear”. Anjaneya sincerely explains
the features of Rama “Rama has eyes that has resemblance to lotus, His
captivating charisma attracts all the living beings, His grace and cleverness
are inborn. He has the brilliance of
Lord Surya, His endurance is equivalent to Earth, and He has the intelligence
of Sage Bruhaspathi and fame of Lord Indra.
He is the blameless, savior to good and destroyer of enemies. He is the protector of Four Varnas such as
Brahmana, Kshakthriya, Vaishya and Shudras.
He honors Brahmin and priestly classes.
He has profound knowledge in Veda and Vendanga ( Shiksha, Chandass, Vyakarana,
Niruktha, Jyothisha, Kalpa) He also had attained great knowledge in
Dhanurveda/archery. He has broad
shoulders and strong arms, He has conch shaped neck and shining skin, he has
melodious voice and each and every features of him are matchless.” Thus, Anjaneya brilliantly narrates every
physical features of Rama to Sita. Anjanea describes the qualities of Lakshmana
who has close resemblance to his elder brother Rama, equally virtuous like Rama. Anjaneya explains the braveness of Rama and
Lakshmana as tigers while their search for Sita, they met with the monkey King Sugriva at Rishyamukha. The encounter between Sugriva was turned out
fruitful by the thriving participation
of Anjaneya as middle man; Sugriva was
equally grieving at the separation from his wife Ruma. They both had an agreement, Rama promised to
Sugriva to get back his Kingdom from Vali, consequently Rama had a fierce
battle with Vali and Vali was killed in the battle, eventually the coronation
of Sugriva as King of Kishkindha was took place. As promised earlier Sugriva’s promise to
locate Sita, several mighty Vanaras were appointed in search of her in all
directions. Anjaneya continued “Rama is miserable without you; he is finding
no happiness at the enthralling beauty of forest, mountains, rivers etc... Rama along with Lakshmana and the army of Vanaras
will be here any moment to protect you. Sugriva has sent mighty Vanaras to ten
directions in search of you. There is
Angada, son of Vali also joined in this mission. We have lost track at Mount Vindhyachala and
number of days has passed with utter grief and decided to commit suicide. At that moment, Sampathi, son of Aruna and
the elder brother of Jatayu informed us about your existence after a meticulous
observation over the vast ocean. We all
of us were nervous to cross the mighty ocean; finally I took up the challenge
and crossed 100 Yojanas to reach here. I
am the son of Lord Vayu and messanger of Rama and a member of army of Vanaras
of Monkey King Sugriva. Rama is well
taken care by Lakshmana, I am here for the welfare of Rama at the command of
King Sugriva”. Anjaneya described the
happenings explicitly, Sita was overjoyed and well contented at the speech of
Anjaneya. Thus, Anjaneya earnestly
prayed to Sita about his willingness to carry out her further orders.
Anjaneya graciously handed a ring
to Sita which has the name of Rama imprinted on it. Anjaneya pacifies her that it was the order
of Rama to cheer her from the grief and also a means to prove his identity as the
messenger of Rama their by gain her confidence. Seeing the ring of Rama, her beautiful eyes
were widened with extreme delight and it has the close resemblance of Lord
Chandra. As usual Sita timidly embraced
the ring with lots of love and praised Anjaneya’s braveness and intelligence,
she wholeheartedly appreciated him as an unconquerable Vanara. She admired Anjaneya’s valor to cross the 100
Yojana of the vast ocean and anxiously shot with several questions about Rama’s
state of mental health as well as physical health, his activities and his
associates etc... She sincerely enquired Anjaneya about Rama’s strategies to
relieve her from the imprisonment. She
raised loving enquiries about Kousalya, Sumitra and Bharatha. Anjaneya
with folded hands above his head and reverentially started to speak “Rama is
unaware of your whereabouts. Rama will
be here with multitudes of mighty Vanaras to release you from the clutches of
Ravana. City of Lanka will perish very
soon. Rama is besieged at the separation
from you, he is not consuming meal or drinks, and he is completely wrapped up
in your thought. He is not realizing the
pricking of wild flies, insects or reptiles. He has lost all the happiness, not realizing
his existence at all, he has nothing to think about other than you and he is
completely absorbed in utter grief of separation from you. He has no sleep thinking of you and whenever
he happens to see the most beautiful things, he cries for you calling out your
names. The noble prince of Ayodhya lamenting
over the miserable incident happened at Dandakarnya, he speaks and thinks only
about you only. ” Sita turned out miserable after listening to the
uncontrollable grief of Rama. A part of
her brought solace to hear that Rama was fully immersed with her thought, at
the same time the anguish of Rama made her depressed. Sita
sorrowfully informs that Ravana had given two months period to live and it was
already 10 months were over in the prison and Vibheeshana, younger brother of
Ravana was the only one had sympathy towards her, it was Nala and the eldest
daughter of Vibheeshana often approaches Sita with some kind of soothing words. She profusely speaks about the valor and
virtues of Rama. Anjaneya pacifies her
that Rama and Lakshman will be in Lanka in any time with the mighty Vanaras, seeing
her pitiable state due to the separation from her husband Anjaneya offers to
have a seat on his shoulder so that he can safely carry her to Prasravana
Mount, where Rama resides. He heroically
speaks about his mightiness to carry Ravana with his Kingdom of Lanka on his
shoulder. Anjaneya encourages Sita to
get her on his shoulder and promises to drop her safely at the place where Rama
lives. Sita was extremely happy to
listen to Anjaneya’s matchless dedication towards Rama, but his talks were
considered as mere apishness. Sit thought that for a small sized ape how it
would be possible to cross the vast ocean carrying her on his shoulder? Anjaneya felt it was a great insult to him,
in order to prove his vigor he assumed a huge form like the size of Mandara
Mountain surrounded by the blazing fire before Sita. Sita surprisingly looked at the ferocious
form of Anjaneya with long sharp nails and blazing eyes. Sita affirms the mightiness of Anjaneya and
appreciate his courage to cross the vast ocean once again. She generously reveals her inability to
travel with Anjaneya according to his pace; she expressed her fear of falling
from the heights into deep sea and eventually the attack from the wild animals,
If Ravana’s army of mighty demons came to know about this, they would
definitely cause impediments to their journey, so it would be difficult for
Anjaneya to protect her and fight against the demons simultaneously. Whatever may be the consequences it would do
no good to Rama and Anjaneyas efforts will be futile. Sita tries to convince Anjaneya that all are
keenly looking forward the moment of triumph.
If anything happens to Sita that would be the end of Rama & Lakshmana,
Sugriva and the entire clan of Ikshvaku and Vanaras. Sita
gracefully make him understand that she never had touched any men other than
Rama, further she advised him that it would be improper for a chaste woman like
her. Sita advised him that only Rama
could release her from Lanka after killing Ravana and that would be the
prestigious moment for all, none of the celestials, Gandharvas, demons or
serpents are capable to fight against Rama.
Sita suggested Anjaneya to bring Rama and Lakshmana with all those
mighty Vanaras to battle against Ravana.
Anjaneya was in merriment after
witnessing the chastity of Sita, he abundantly praised her thoughts and the
difficulties he had in crossing the ocean of 100 Yojanas. Anjaneya reveals that it was his eagerness to
assist Rama made him to think whatever possible ways to relieve him from the
distress and his devotion and affection towards Sita forced him to suggest the
idea of crossing the vast ocean with Sita.
Anjaneya requested for something
as a sign of remembrances to give to Rama, so that Rama could easily
recognize. Sita narrates in tears about
the incident of a crow which dared to tear off her chest while the couple was
having pleasing time together in the rich natural beauty of their hermitage. The crow was kept on pecking her chest for
meat and Sita was making all efforts to wave off the crow without causing any
disturbance to her husband who was asleep on her lap. Shortly,
she went to rest on her husband’s lap and got up; once again the crow returned
with all its vengeance and started attacking her. At this moment, Rama got off from the sleep
and found her in tears and wet with blood all over. The crow, son of Lord Indra was seen by
Rama, he took a sacred grass/Kusha grass and applied it as Astra (weapon made of
chanting Manthra) a powerful Brahmastra against the crow. It scurried to various directions for
protection, finally sought help at the feet of Rama. The most compassionate Rama was kind towards
the crow seeing its helplessness, though it deserves punishment for its
dreadful deed, the purpose of Brahmastra a powerful weapon should not go waste,
hence Rama shot the arrow on the right eye of the crow and saved its life. The crow paid obeisance to Rama and returned
to its abode. Once again Sita recollected
the braveness of Rama with tears all over, cursed her fate for being left alone
and abandoned by her beloved husband and Lakshmana. Anjaneya pacifies her that Rama &
Lakshmana are also equally tormented with the grief in her absence, assures her
that the time of grief are over, Rama will be soon in Lanka and the City of
Lanka will be into ashes and she will be
majestically accompanied by Rama to Ayodhya after killing the demon
Ravana. Sita conveyed her salutations to Rama,
Lakshmana, Sugriva and the elderly Vanaras.
She highly praised Lakshmana’s reverence, devotion, dedication towards
herself and Rama and always treated them as parents. Sita pronounce her life period for another
one month and handed to Anjaneya a bright jewel used to embellish her beautiful
hair (Choodamani) as a mark of remembrance for Rama. Anjaneya reverentially received the jewel and
hanged it on his little finger, offered salutations and circumambulated Sita,
he mentally paid obeisance to Rama and prepared to leave.
Sita enlightens Anjaneya about
the jewel/Choodamani that would definitely bring memories of her mother,
herself and King Dasaratha. Sita
appreciates Anjaneya and states that she has the confidence about him in
performing the task successfully.
Anajeya proudly speaks about the valor of Rama that none of the deities
Lord Indra, Lord Varuna, Lord Yama, or Lord Surya has the capacity to defeat
him in the battle. Anjaneya comforts her
that Rama with all the mighty Vanaras will turn Lanka into ashes and the
success will be with Rama. Seeing
Anjaneya all prepared to leave, Sita urges him to stay and relax for a
day. She revealed her incredulity about
the capacity of Rama & Lakshman to cross the vast ocean, but Anjaneya
eradicated that suspicious thought instantly with his abundance of devotion to
Rama and Lakshman, he pacifies her that he will cross the vast ocean carrying
the two mighty warriors on his shoulder.
Anjaneya repeatedly heightened
her spirits saying that Rama will be in Lanka anytime with crores of powerful
Vanaras at the command of Sugriva to release her and assures her that some of
the Vanaras are equivalent to his strength and in fact some of them are more
capable than him. Anjaneya advices Sita that the stay with the
terrible demons will not be too long, requested her to remain calm until he
meets Rama. Sita suggests Anjaneya to
describe the story of crow before Rama.
She describes the incident taken place while their expedition through
the woodlands seeing her empty forehead Rama embellished it with the saffron
colored powder from the rock. Sita in tears continued to explain the
happiest moments she had with Rama and pronounced her inability to survive more
than a month. Anjaneya reassured her
with all those encouraging words and set out to leave.
Anjaneya was all prepared for the
implementation of his next strategy; the demons were arrogant in their power
and wealth, in that case it was not advisable to show any kind of compassion or
intellectual talk with them, so he decided to execute his prowess on them. His mind filled with the inquisitiveness
about the army strength of Ravana and their method of execution of Army men and
functioning of the strategies etc.. He
decided to destroy the stunning entertainment places and pleasure gardens of
Ravana it has the resemblance of Nandana of Lord Indra. So that it will draw the attention of the
warriors of Ravana, they would appear with all those fierce weapons to attack
him. He fiercely pulled out the trees
and in a little time the beautiful garden gave out the appearance of a mass of
junk. Gradually he moved towards the
most important entertainment places in the palace and repeated the obliteration,
at one point the demons were started to flee for their lives. This caused a huge havoc amongst the dwellers
in these places and some of the female demons rushed to Sita enquiring about
Anjaneya. They threatened her to tell
the truth about Anjaneya and his whereabouts, Sita innocently replied to them about her
inability to know the cunningness of demons.
Some of the demons hurried to Ravana and informed about a terrific
Vanara ruined the entire gardens and entertainment galleries immediately after
having conversation with Sita. Ravana
was in a range ordered 80000 Kinkaras to capture Anjaneya. All those Kinkaras with the weird and ugly
appearances holding malicious weapons approached Anjaneya who was standing in
his mighty form with boisterous scream.
Some of the Kinkaras were wedged under his huge body like a mountain;
some of them were severely injured and some of them were flee for their
life. Anjaneya in a deafening voice proclaimed
‘Long Live Mighty Rama and Powerful Lakshman !! Long Live Sugriva protected by
Rama !! I am Anjaneya, the son of Lord Vayu and the messenger of Rama, King of
Kosala Kingdom!! The Kinkaras were
scattered all over the place with fear after listening to the clamorous voice
of Anjaneya, shortly he plucked out a huge iron bar from the gate way and
whipped them off. Some of the Kinkaras
ran off from the sight and duly informed their King. Ravana was blazing with anger ordered
Jambumali, son of Prahastha and a mighty warrior from the army of Ravana to
attack the Vanara. Jambumali had a
fierce battle with Anjaneya, Jambumali could not withstand the power of
Anjaneya and he was killed. Shortly, seven sons of Prahastha were deputed
to fight against Anjaneya, they too had the fate of Jambumali, and all of the
seven warriors were killed with his sharp nails and huge body. The City of Lanka echoed with the horrifying
sounds, the pathways were turned out a trash of dead bodies and streams of
blood. Anjaneya calmly took seat near
the doorway impatiently waiting for more warriors to come. Ravana executed 5 chief army generals
Virupaksha, Yupaksha, Durdhara, Prakhasa and Bhasakarna to fight against
Anjaneya. Ravana ordered his mighty army
generals that the Vanara must be an evil spirit, definitely not an ordinary
monkey as seen and advised them to utilize the unsurpassed war tactics against
him. Ravana suspects Anjaneya must be a Yaksha
impelled by Lord Indra. The five
generals of Army of Ravana met Anjaneya, who was standing high with his colossal
physique on the doorways like a rising son, instantly; the five army generals
started pouring ferocious weapon against Anjaneya. Each one of them, Durdhara, Virupaksh,
Yupaksha, Prakhasa and Bhasakarna were brutally killed in the vicious battle,
once again Anjaneya settled near the doorway.
Ravana assigned Akshakumara, the immense task of fighting against Anjaneya. Aksha with number of mighty warriors dashed
to the war field in his chariot embellished with gold driven by 8 excellent
horses which has the pace of his mind.
Aksha was grandly clad in armor made of gold was shining like Aditya
approached Anjaneya with huge number of army men accompanied in various chariot
driven by elephants and horses. Anjaneya
assumed his gigantic form resemblance to Mount Mandara; Aksha discharged
numerous sharp arrows like hail storm, the rain of arrows showered on Anjaneya
was tactfully prevented by him. The
ferocious battle between the two were continued, all the functions of nature
was stopped due to the reverberation from the war field. Anjaneya was highly impressed at the
appearance and war tactics of Aksha, innumerable talents, prowess, enthusiasm
and valor made Anjaneya reluctant to kill him.
At one point, Anjaneya had to make a choice to kill Aksha and win the
battle. Finally, Askha was hurled on the
ground with a great force and died instantly.
Anjaneya eagerly settled on the door ways waiting for his opponent.
Jai Sriman Narayana !!
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