208 THE RAMAYANA
leading Rama farther into the forest.
Lakshmana heard Rama’s voice
calling out for help; he drew a
protective circle around Sita and left
her to follow the voice. Now that
Sita was alone, a hermit appeared
asking for food. Wanting to uphold
her people’s generosity, Sita stepped
outside of the circle. The hermit
shed his disguise, revealing himself
as the demon, Ravana, with 10 heads
and 20 arms. He threw Sita over his
shoulder, and summoned his flying
chariot. The old vulture Jatayu,
who had been keeping watch over
the three exiles, tried to block the
chariot, but Ravana chopped off
one of its wings.
Ravana’s chariot flew across the
seas to the island of Lanka, where
the demon was king. Piece by
piece, Sita dropped her jewelry from
the chariot, leaving a trail behind
her. When they landed, Sita refused
to live in Ravana’s palace, so he left
her in a garden of ashoka trees.
Determined to woo her, he sang to
her, told her stories, and showered
her with compliments, sweet-
smelling flowers, and fine jewels—
but Sita remained faithful to Rama,who was traveling with Lakshmana
in search of Sita. When they passed
through the land of the apes, they
met the monkey hero Hanuman.
The monkeys showed them the
fallen jewelry, which formed a trail
that led toward Lanka. The only
missing piece, Rama realized, was
his wife’s hairpin.Rescue and war
Hanuman assumed a gargantuan
form and leapt across the sea to
Lanka. He crisscrossed the island
looking everywhere for Sita, but
was unable to find her until he saw
a beautiful, solitary woman in a
garden, wearing a single hairpin.
Hanuman approached Sita,
reassuring her of his good
character and divine lineage,
and gave her Rama’s signet ring
as proof he came from Rama.
Hanuman told Sita to jump onto
his back so he could safely deliver
her back across the sea, but sheThe vulture Jatayu lies wounded
amidst the wreckage of Ravana’s cart,
after trying to stop him from abducting
Sita, in this 18th-century manuscript
illustration made in the Kangra style.He [Rama] may
be poor, he may
have been turned
out of his kingdom,
but my husband
must retain
my respect.
The Ramayanaclaim his rightful throne. But
Rama was steadfast in his duty
to carry out his father’s orders,
and so Bharata reluctantly ruled
in his half-brother’s absence,
keeping Rama’s golden sandals
on the throne, ready for his return.Sita’s abduction
Thirteen years later, in the forest by
the sparkling Godavari River, the
demoness Shurpanakha appeared
and fell in love with the beautiful
Rama. Failing to seduce him, she
then pursued Lakshmana. Spurned
again, Shurpanakha became
incensed and flew toward Sita in
a rage. The brothers caught the
demoness and cut off her nose
and ears. The following day, when
Shurpanakha’s brothers came to
avenge her, Rama and Lakshmana
showered them with arrows. Little
did they know that Shurpanaka
had another brother, Ravana, who
would also seek revenge.
One day, Sita spotted a golden
deer by their forest settlement and
became bewitched by it. Rama,
intent on pleasing his wife, tried to
capture it for her. The deer fled,US_204-209_Avatars_of_Vishnu.indd 208 21/12/2017 12:06
ASIA 209
refused, insisting that only
her husband should liberate her.
Hanuman asked her for a token
he could show Rama to help
comfort him, so she gave
him her hairpin, which she had
kept as a symbol of her status as
a married woman.
Hanuman then created chaos
in Lanka, killing many of Ravana’s
warriors before allowing himself
to be caught and delivered to the
demon. Now face-to-face with
Ravana, he urged him to let Sita
go, but Ravana set his tail on fire.
Hanuman escaped and used his
blazing tail to set the citadel aflame.
Over the next five days, his army of
monkeys built a long bridge to
Lanka, made of stones inscribed
with Rama’s name. A bloody war
ensued between the armies of
Ravana and Rama, ending with
Rama’s slaying of the demon and
reuniting at last with his beloved
Sita. On Ravana’s death, his noble
brother Vibhishana was crowned
the new king of Lanka.Rama tests Sita
Now together again, Rama asked
Sita to perform a test of fire to prove
her chastity after living at thehouse of another man. Sita plunged
into the flames and Agni, Lord
of Fire, returned her unscathed,
proving her innocence. Now back in
Ayodhya after 14 long years in exile,
Rama was at last crowned king.
In a final book of the Ramayana,
likely added later, Sita’s chastity
was questioned further. Following
town gossip, Rama banished his
beloved to the forest. She was
watched over by the sage Valmiki,
who was, at the time, composing
the Ramayana. Sita gave birth to
twin boys, who learned to reciteThe hero Rama and 10-headed
Ravana take aim at each other on a
late-18th-century ceremonial hanging
that is a fine example of kalamkari
textile painting from south India.A living text
The Ramayana is one of the
world’s longest epic poems and
in Hindu tradition is considered
the first example of poetry.
Attributed to the revered poet
Valmiki, the core material
is dated to ca. 500 bce, but
the story is thought not to
have been fixed in its current
form until a millennium later.
The Ramayana’s story is
known throughout the Indian
subcontinent to Hindus, Jains,
and Buddhists. Muslim scholars
and poets have a long history ofinterpreting the text and of
painting its various scenes as
miniatures. During the 16th
century, the Mughal emperor
Akbar had the poem translated
into Persian and painted on the
walls at his court.
Locations featured in the
Ramayana are still revered as
religious and pilgrimage sites,
and the story continues to be
told in various media—from
poetry, drama, song, and dance
to puppet shows, films, cartoons,
and comics. A television version
in the 1980s was watched by
more than 100 million viewers.the sage’s poem. When the story
was performed for Rama, he was
overwhelmed with grief. Valmiki
brought Sita to him, but she called
upon the earth mother, who had
once given birth to her, to free her
from this unjust world. With this,
the earth opened, and Sita
vanished into the ground forever. ■US_204-209_Avatars_of_Vishnu.indd 209 05/12/17 4:15 pm