Ravana Sita Painting
Ravana Sita Painting

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki”

Eighteenth (18th) Chapter

Arrival of Ravana

(Here the description of the passionate Ravana who woke up and came to Asoka forest along with his wives to see Sita , is given. Ravana is described as valorous but spoiled by his passion and his women are described as virtuous, good and devoted to him)

When he was examining with care the forest, which was in full flower and also searching for the daughter of Videha, the night was about to come to an end and the dawn was in making.

In the end of night, he heard the recitation of Vedas by the Brahma rakshasas who were well versed in all the six parts of Vedas and who had done great fire sacrifices. 2

(Brahma Rakshasas are highly learned Brahmins who due to the wayward life they lead and sins they committed are not able to attain Pithru Loka after their death. It is believed that they are very learned and have occult powers)

At that time, the very strong and great Hero, the ten headed one (Ravana) was woken up with the good luck, by singing songs which were sweet to hear and also verses praising him. 3

That famous king of Rakshasas having woken up at the correct time wearing displaced clothes and garlands thought of the daughter of Videha.  4

That egoist Rakshasa because the God of love affected him was not able to keep his passion to Sita under control. 5

He , carrying with him his unparalleled fame ,wearing all ornaments entered Asoka forest., which was having hangings made of gold in which gems were inlaid, which had fallen fully ripe fruits, which was dense with trees, which was giving happiness to the mind and eyes ,  which was having statues of deer , which was full of different varieties of trees, which was having several wonderful birds full of zest, which was filled with lotus ponds and which was shining with various types of flowers and saw it round.  6-9

That Ravana was followed by a very big group of ladies similar to Indra being followed by deva and Gandharva maidens. 10

Some of those ladies were carrying in their hand white threaded fan, some had golden lamps hanging on a chain and some had round ornamental discs. 11

(The Chamara, the white threaded fan had a handle and was used to fan kings)

Some with water in golden vessels preceded him and some with back turned swords and carpets followed him. 12

At that time, one intelligent lady took a gem studded pot with water in her right hand and walked with him. 13

(When great personages walked, someone walked before him and sprinkled water on his path, so that, the road is not dusty.)

Another walked behind him with an umbrella, which was having a golden handle, which was white, like a swan and which was shining like a full moon. 14

See also  Bahvricha Upanishad

With eyes made red by the lack of sleep and wine, those great wives of Ravana followed their heroic husband like the streaks of lightning following the clouds. 15

Those darling wives of Ravana who were wearing mixed up garlands and bangles, who were having a disheveled looks, whose hair has been unloosened, whose face was full of droplets of sweat, whose body was made wet by sweat, whose hair was adorned by flowers, who were tottering because of loss of sleep and due to effects of wine, who were having pretty faces, who were having eyes causing passion and who were great ladies followed the Rakshasa king because of  their respect and passion towards him.  16-18

This very strong Ravana who was the husband of those ladies had come under the control of passion became a bad individual and because he had lost his heart to Sita and was following a path of utter selfishness. 19

Hanuman the son of Wind god heard the jingling sound of the anklets and waist belts of those great ladies. 20

Hanuman saw Ravana who was capable of very great deeds, who had unimaginable strength and masculinity, who shined on all the four directions by the light of many lamps held in the front which were fed by perfumed oils, who was full of passion, egoism and bad conduct, who was having long red eyes, who was a personification of the god of love without his rope and who was wearing well washed white clothes with a colour of foam of milk hanging from his shoulders but pushed to one side, entered the garden. 21-24

Hiding in the branch with profuse leaves and hidden by leaves and flowers, Hanuman started examining Ravana with care. 25

When the chief of monkeys was examining Ravana thus he saw the youthful pretty great wives of Ravana. 26

That famous king surrounded by that bevy of beauties entered the garden of the harem, which was full of animals and birds. 27

That Hanuman saw the very strong king of Rakshasa who was the son of sage Vishravas, who was holding his two ears upright like spears, who was well ornamented, who was visibly drunk by passion, and who was surrounded by his ladies like the stars surrounding the moon. 28-29

(Malyavan, the maternal grandfather of Ravana, wanted the Rakshasa clan to win over Devas. He induced his daughter Kaikasi to attract Sage Vishravas, who was the son of

Pulasthya and father of the God of wealth, Kubera. She became the mother of four children as a result. The eldest was Ravana)

That monkey chief who was endowed with great power saw Ravana  who was glittering by the rays of his power. 30

That greatly resplendent monkey chief who was the Son of God of wind decided without any doubt that” This individual was earlier seen by me in the center of the city, in a great palace asleep and so this must be the great hero Ravana and he jumped and ran away 31

(The awesome look of Ravana induced fear even in a great hero like Hanuman. The poet wants us to compare the weak and tender Sita in such a circumstance.)

That monkey chief was greatly resplendent but being disturbed by the great power of Ravana, he further withdrew deep into hiding. 32

That Ravana with a great desire to see Sita who had jet-black hair, jet black eyes, passionately attractive wide waist and very dense breasts neared her. 33

Thus ends the Eighteenth chapter of Sundara Kanda which is in the Ramayana which is the first epic written by Valmiki.

Chapter 19: Description of sage-like Sita Devi

Searching inside the Asoka forest (Chapter 14)

Fourteenth Chapter Searching inside the Asoka forest (Graphic description of the Asoka forest as seen by Hanuman is given. Seeing the forest Hanuman decides that Sita should definitely visit there because she likes the forest and also needs to do her morning ablations) The very powerful Hanuman after thinking for some more time and after…

See also  Bullying by the Rakshasis (Chapter 24)
Keep reading

Crashing of hopes of Hanuman (Chapter 13)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Thirteenth (13th) Chapter Crashing of hopes of Hanuman (The worries of the very disappointed Hanuman are described graphically. At the end he sees a glimmer of hope when he sees the Asoka forest) After jumping from the Vimana on to the wall he was restless like…

Keep reading

Seeing of good omens (Chapter 29)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Twenty-ninth (29th) Chapter  Seeing of good omens  (Good omens occurred to Sita who was consoled by those omens and gained more confidence) Good omens approached her who is faultless; who does forever good, who was mentally perturbed and who because of lack of happiness was terribly…

Keep reading

Sundara Kandam-An introduction

AN INTRODUCTION TO SUNDER KAND. Sundara Kandam: An introduction INTRODUCTION TO SUNDARA KANDA P.R.Ramachander Sundara Kandam is the fifth section of Ramayana (the story of Lord Rama) written by Sage Valmiki and comprises 2885 verses spread in 68 chapters. Sundara, as we all know in the literary sense means ‘beautiful’ and ‘Kandam’, means ‘section’. The…

Keep reading

Seeking clarifications of the message of Sita (Chapter 66)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty-sixth Chapter Seeking clarifications of the message of Sita ( Rama is upset to know about Sita and asks Hanuman to tell in detail what has been told by her. The pearl brooch brings to him memories of her, his father and father in law.) Rama…

Keep reading

Informing the message of Sita (Chapter 67)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty-seventh Chapter Informing the message of Sita. (Hanuman again details the pitiable state of affairs of Sita. He also indicates the several doubts arising in her mind due to her not seeing any action from the part of Rama and Lakshmana.) Having been told by Rama…

Keep reading

Further news about the consolation of Sita (Chapter 68)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty-eighth Chapter Further news about consolation of Sita (Hanuman further relates about the doubts in Sita’s mind and how he gave a pep talk and encouraged her.) Hey lion among men, I who was in a haste to return , because of the love and nearness…

Keep reading

Hurting of the security staff of the forest (Chapter 62)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty second Chapter Hurting of the security staff of the forest (The guard of the garden, Dadhimuka who was the uncle of Sugreeva tried his best to stop the destruction of the honey forest. Angadha became very angry and hit him. Then Dadhimukha reached the presence…

Keep reading

Thinking about future action (Chapter 59)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty-ninth Chapter Thinking about the future action (Hanuman then narrates the problems of Sita in Lanka in a graphical manner. He tells the other monkeys that as a virtuous woman she herself could kill Ravana but is not doing so, because it would bring bad fame…

Keep reading

Telling the happenings of Lanka

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty-eighth Chapte Telling the happenings of Lanka (In this chapter Hanuman informs his monkey friends all that happened after he took off and till he returned. This chapter is the summary of all the previous 57 chapters of Sundara Kanda.) anuman and other very strong…

See also  The dream of Trijata (Chapter 27)
Keep reading

Destruction of Honey forest (Chapter 61)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty -first Chapter Destruction of Honey forest (The monkeys start their return journey and reached the honey forest of Sugreeva. Being given permission to drink the honey, they destroy the forest , insult and hurt Dadhimuka who was the uncle of Sugreeva and in charge of…

Keep reading

Words of Angadha (Chapter 60)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixtieth Chapter Words of Angadha (Angadha who is the crown prince and leader of the team tells his opinion as to what needs to be done. He feels that they should wage a war, destroy the Rakshasas  and take Sita along with them. The wise Jambhavan…

Keep reading

Informing about the destruction of the honey forest (Chapter 63)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty -third Chapter Informing about destruction of the honey forest (Dadhimuka along with his other security staff is not able to succeed and are ill treated by Angadha and other monkeys. So he reaches Sugreeva’s presence and complaints to him about the behavior of the monkeys.…

Keep reading

Return of Hanuman and other monkeys (Chapter 64)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sixty- fourth Chapter Return of Hanuman and other monkeys (Hanuman and other monkeys return back to Kishkinda and inform the good news of having found Sita and her being virtuous.) Thus told by Sugreeva, at that time the well pleased Dadhimuka saluted Raghava, Lakshmana and Sugreeva.…

Keep reading

Reaching the northern shore of the sea (Chapter 57)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty- seventh Chapter Reaching the northern shore of the sea, (Hanuman crossed the ocean and was received by the monkeys with happiness. He informed them that he has seen Sita. He also told them about the pitiable but virtuous condition she was in.) Hanuman like a…

Keep reading

Fear of the monkey (Chapter 55)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty- fifth Chapter Fear of the monkey (After seeing the entire city burning, suddenly Hanuman feels that Sita also might have been destroyed. He curses himself for causing such an eventuality because of his anger .Rethinking about the several immortal happenings and overhearing Charanas who told…

Keep reading

The crossing of the sea from Lanka (Chapter 56)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty- sixth Chapter Crossing of sea from Lanka (Hanuman took leave of Janaki and climbed to the top of Lamba Mountain, preparing himself to cross the ocean. He assumed his very big form and rose from the mountain to the north) Hanuman saluted Janaki who was…

Keep reading

Avoiding of death of an emissary (Chapter 52)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Fifty second Chapter Avoiding of death of an emissary (Vibishana with soft words of logic and justice advises Ravana that Hanuman should not be killed but can be punished in other ways) Vibishana thought it is wrong to sentence an emissary who has brought the message…

Keep reading

Sunderkand: Setting fire to the tail of Hanuman (Chapter 53)

This article is part of “Sundara Kandam of Sage Valmiki” Sunderkand: Fifty-third Chapter Setting fire to the tail of Hanuman (Ravana convinced by the advice of Vibhishana orders that Hanuman’s tail be burnt and he be dragged around the city. Hanuman thinks that this is a good opportunity to see round the city during the daytime…

Keep reading

Browse Temples in India

Recent Posts

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *