The Mythology Book

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 the

house 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 recite

The 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 of

interpreting 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