Hanuman - Ravana Samvadam (Kamba Ramayanam)

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> !! Sri Rama Jayam !!

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> Goshpadi Kritavarisham Mashakikrita Rakshasam

> Ramayana Mahamaalarathnam

> Vandeham Anilatmajam

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> Compiled By - Harikrishnan (www.harimozhi.com)

> ----

>

> We address him as the supreme devotee of Lord. He is the very form of might,

courage, self-control, wisdom, master of communication skills, brilliant

singer, a Siddha, a motivator, a born leader, excel in war skills, strong & soft

as wind, embodiment of humility & modesty, a perfectionist in grammar & the list

goes infinite like this .... You name any attribute & the very example is Sriman

Maruti - Anjaneya - Hanuman - Pavanasuta.

>

> To Hanuman, it was not enough to convey the message of Rama to Sita and taking

back her message to Rama. It was a usual postman> '> s job. Of course, this

postman needed a little more skill, as the envelope contained only the receiver>

'> s name with no address written !

>

> He realised that he was not a messenger alone. These rakshasas should realise

the prowess, power and potentialities of their enemy. They should realise the

fact that they are not facing mere weaklings. Most important of all, he should

meet Ravana and make him feel the supremacy of Rama or at least shake the core

of his being - however little it might be. If it could not be done, it would at

least make him understand that the intelligence network of Vanaras was so

efficient as to find out the place in which Janaki was hidden, though it was

virtually the other corner of the globe.

>

> Meeting Ravana was not that easy. Would the emperor of the three worlds give

appointment to a mere monkey? Then, he should become a troublemaker and attract

attention. He should destroy this grove first; kill whatever rakshasa was

available close by; cause extensive damage to the palatial buildings. That would

make the security force to come in search of him. If he destroys the security

force even, it would compel the administration to send someone superior.

Ultimately, he would be taken to Ravana and he can then drive his point home.

>

> You will remember that this was the same Hanuman who restrained himself from

pouncing on Ravana and stopped his impulse to kill him. That is Hanuman. The

ability to distinguish between what unassigned jobs could be and should be taken

up and what should not be done. The clarity of purpose, willingness to accept

responsibility voluntarily, dedication, sharp intellect - what not?

>

> When Jambavan reminded Hanuman of his abilities - to break the spell of the

curse he had - he mentions thus.

>

> adangavum valleer kaalam adhu andrel - You are capable of self-restraint if

the time is not propitious.

> amar vandhal, madangal munindhal anna valaththeer - if war ensues, you would

fight with the strength of an angered lion. Here comes the jewel of an

observation. thodangiyadhu ondro? (Is it that a task that you undertake is) well

begun alone? muttrum mudikkum thozil allal - (you would) complete the task (with

all essential sub and super tasks connected and relevant to it - that is the

implication of the word muttrum) idangeda vel vaai ooru kidaithaal idayadheer -

you will not stop or demur when difficulties and drawbacks encounter you. (from

Kamba Ramayanam)

>

> He then stamped and stomped the grove and destroyed the artifacts that it had.

(The grove was tastefully enriched with artificial hillocks and waterfalls

even.) He swayed his massive arms and slayed the rakshasa guards. He jumped over

the trees, broke their branches, pulled out the creepers; plucked the massive

trees from their very roots, as if they were mere twigs and attacked just any

rakshasa who appeared before him.

>

> And, his plan started working.>

> The news of a monkey destroying the grove and killing the guards there reached

Ravana. Though he could not believe that a monkey could ever kill the mighty

rakshasas, he had to concede and send a detachment. It was destroyed. Another

and another and yet another were put to the same end. Soon fear spread over the

island. It was the intention of Hanuman, for he adopted horrifying ways in

killing his pursuers. When abnormal ways are adopted to kill someone, we know

that it attracts more attention than the normal ways. Death is certain either

someone is stabbed or human-bombed. We are witnesses to the fact that the latter

way attracts quick attention and spreads waves of panic faster.

>

> Gruesome ways of killing -

>

> Hanuman seems to know this fact. The killing of Sambumali was one such case.

Hanuman jumped on the chariot of Sambumali, wrenched his bow from his hand, and

bent it to such an extent that the bowstring formed a loop. He then eased the

loop over Sambumali> '> s head until it went down around his neck. Hanuman then

released the bow. When it sprang back, the bowstring became the deadliest of

noose and severed his head. The head flew in the air before it fell to the

ground.

>

> Ravana could not believe it. He then sent his five most valiant commanders.

When they were also dispatched, he was puzzled. His pride did not permit him to

manoeuvre detachments larger than that. He had finally to accept the fact and

sent Aksha Kumara, his handsome son. Hanuman destroyed the army that came with

him and killed him. And in what manner ! ....Just imagine... He held Aksha

Kumara> '> s head by one hand and feet by the other, put him supine on the

ground and rolled him over and over again on the earth - like one moves the

pestle over the traditional flat grinding stone, AMMI. Blood drenched the earth.

Chunks of flesh and puddles of blood and the worn out skeleton of Aksha Kumara

remained lying unattended. Nobody dared to go near the corpse shredded down to

pieces to collect them, remove them and to perform the obsequies.

>

> It took Indrajit to capture Hanuman. He had to use the Brahmastra, the most

powerful of all warheads of those days to stop him. The mightiest killer just

was enough to make him fall unconscious for a while. He was dragged through the

streets of Lanka to be produced before Ravana.

>

> When he was thus dragged through the streets, Hanuman was planning is

strategy. He was planning his dialogue with Ravana. He was thus far successful

in causing terror everywhere in the island though the rakshasas were momentarily

rejoicing their power over him, who was bound by the most powerful of weapons,

that too was supposed to last only for a short while. His task now was to strike

terror in the mind of Ravana or at least shock him. To hit him on the soft spot

of his stout ego. To warn him that he is facing a very powerful foe. To remind

him of the defeat that he tasted at the hands of Vali. And to tell him that his

victor was vanquished by Sri Ramachandra - the Supreme.

> Hanuman was once again impelled to start a fight with Ravana when he was

produced before him in his Court. We see him restraining himself for the third

time here. > '> This fellow cannot overpower me nor can I overpower him easily.

Moreover, it may take months for the battle to end. Mythili has set a target

period of one month from now. It is not on the part of wisdom to start a combat

now. He could be killed by Rama. Nobody else can do so. (vellalam iramanAl

pirarum velvarO?)> '>

>

> A leader should know when to hit and when to lie low. He should not be guided

by impulse. His decisions should be backed by strong reasons and not sudden

whims that happen to appeal for the moment. Hanuman> '> s self-control should be

compared with Sugriva> '> s character. He could not contain himself when he saw

Ravana for the first time and flew across to his rampart where he was standing,

watching the Vanara army that had just reached Lanka and gathered on the Suvela

Mountain. He wrestled with Ravana for a long time, making Rama feel desperate

from a distance. >

>

> When he returned to Rama with the crowns of Ravana, Rama could not tolerate

it. Though he tones down his anger, his unhappiness shows through. He calls the

act of Sugriva as irresponsibility. > '> For what could I do if something had

happened to you? You are the leader of the army. Even if I gain a victory over

the Rakshasa, how do you expect me to be happy without you? For, what is winning

Sita back, after all, when I don> '> t have you by my side?> '> It was

Vibishana> '> s intervention that saved the situation from turning an utter

embarrassment for Sugriva.

>

> Well, coming back to Ravana Durbar. > '> I am the emissary of the great archer

with lotus petal like eyes,> '> was how Hanuman introduced himself. The

self-appointment is established beyond doubt ! He then goes on to describe Rama

and portray him as the reincarnation of Narayana, in nine verses. On the tenth

verse he, as if incidentally, slips an information.

>

> '> I am a slave of Sri Rama. We, a team of Vanaras, under the leadership of

Angada, son of Vali, set out in search of Sita.> '> The mention of Vali> '> s

name recalled the ghosts of the past to Ravana> '> s mind. The one thought that

he would like to forget was the defeat that he tasted at the hands of - to be

more appropriate at the tail of - Vali.

>

> Ravana, in his earlier days was too proud of himself and was challenging every

known warrior of superior might to a single combat. He wanted to engage Vali in

a fight. Vali had the habit of performing his morning prayers, after bathing in

the oceans and in isolation. When Ravana went to challenge Vali, the latter was

in meditation, with closed eyes. Ravana stealthily took a position behind Vali.

Vali though in meditation could sense what was happening and tied Ravana down

with his tail. When he rose up in the sky, Ravana was hanging from his tail. He

then jumped into oceans many, making Ravana to lie under water for long, long

times. When he returned home, he hung Ravana from the ceiling over the cradle of

Angada, as if he were a toy. > '> I have brought a ten-headed insect for you

boy> '> was how Vali insulted Ravana.

>

> Imagine the kind of feelings that would have passed through the heart of our

unparalleled egotist. But, it is only the beginning. As we know the very name

'Vali' made Ravana shudder. Just two verses earlier, his eyes were spewing fire.

Now they mellow. An uneasy smile appears on his countenance. > '> Ah...I see>

....> are you a messenger sent by Vali> '> s son? How is Vali? Is he well?> '>

Hanuman enjoyed this uneasiness. He slips more information in pieces and pokes

at the shaken ego of Ravana.

>

> anjalai arakka Fear not O demon. Paar vittu andharam adaindhan. He left this

world and reached the heaven. venjina Vali meeLaan. He will never return. vaalum

poi ozindhandre! Nor will his tail. Don> '> t worry sire. Vali is dead and gone.

He will not come back and his tail was also dispatched with him. It won> '> t

return either.

>

> Hanuman told Ravana that the most powerful Vali was killed by a single arrow

shot from the bow of Sri Rama, thus giving him the message that Rama was not to

be underestimated. But that information helped to pacify Ravana> '> s troubled

heart. Vali is dead. He was able to see only up to that and no more. His

passion, folly and ego were too thick to be penetrated. He could not see the

fact that if Rama killed Vali, who had overpowered him, it would not be

difficult for Rama to put him to such an end.

>

> Ravana> '> s reaction

>

> '> Ah I see. Your king is so meek as to worship the one that killed his elder

brother. Your team leader Angada is brave enough to serve a person that slew his

father. What a glorious way to follow! It seems you serve him because you are

all afraid of him. Don> '> t be afraid of me. I won> '> t kill you. You may

convey to me what you are supposed to.> '>

>

> Putting up a brave face when the heart is confused. Few moments before, this

same Ravana was fretting and fuming. Ravana was a person who could not tolerate

the slightest > protest. Here, he had lost a sizeable portion of his army and

even his own son, Aksha Kumara in an attempt to capture this monkey. He could

not contain his grief, anguish and anger. He was very particular to kill this

monkey in revenge. Look at the words that he utters now. He reassures Hanuman -

who is supposed to be afraid of Rama and serves him because of the fear he has

for a person who killed his leader - that he won> '> t kill him as he was an

emissary.

>

> He so magnanimously adds. > '> You came with the message of someone. But you

caused untold damage by destroying my land and engaging in a battle with my army

needlessly. Now that you are caught, you must be afraid. Don> '> t be afraid. I

won> '> t kill you, as you are a messenger.> '>

>

> That must have been the bravest of speeches! Imagine this Ravana. He was so

angry moments ago. And he had valid reasons too. Loss of a handsome son in the

most gruesome way would anger anyone. The proportion of anger in the case of a

person like Ravana, with such power over the worlds, need not be emphasised. Now

he tries to reassure the monkey that killed his army and his own son.

>

> The folly does not stop with that.

> Nothing kills passion faster...

>

>

> '> I am saying these words by the order of Sugriva,> '> said Hanuman. > '>

You have violated Dharma. You are blindly rushing towards your death. The

effects of penance you undertook - by conquering the baser desires of the senses

five - are on the wane by what you have done now. The glory that you earned by

your victories over the three worlds has diminished already by your misdeeds. A

portion of whatever remained was wiped by me today. You are going to see your

glory, your power and the strength of your boons moving away from you if you

persist in what you are doing.> '>

>

> '> What you have done is not worthy of a person, who has mastered the Vedas.

The learned, the wise would never think of treading the path of destruction,

like what you do. You have taken another man> '> s wife stealthily, by force and

against her wish. Nothing can stop your destruction Ravana! Even if you have

thousands of strong arms that can devastate the worlds, even if you are endowed

with thousands of heads, that is not going to stop your end. They would just

turn to ashes, just as a small flame of a lamp turning bales and bales of cloth

to ashes. (kadung kanal ut podhi seerai jnuuru avai sEmam seluthumO> '> ) Return

Sita and live long, sparing your kith and kin of gory death.> '>

>

> Nothing of the long peroration of Hanuman appealed to Ravana. All his twenty

ears turned a deaf ear! He listened to only one sentence, however. That Hanuman

says so by the order of Sugriva. He laughed like thunder. > '> A puny monkey

existing on fruits and roots has advised me! And another monkey dared to enter

my country and is standing before me!> '> His anger surfaced again.

>

> That> '> s the trouble with all thick heads. They can never see what is really

wrong with them. Just look at this Ravana. He performed great penance to gain

power. He waged gory wars to reach this position. He established himself as the

greatest in all the three worlds. He had the Devas, and even the elements, to

serve him. He had the richest wealth in the universe that even Hanuman, at the

time of his search for Sita, acknowledges as the result of unrelenting effort

and his penance. He had the most beautiful damsels to serve on him. But to what

avail? He could not see what was wrong with him! He could not realise that it

was against all virtues to covet another man> '> s wife and retain her against

her wish. He could not see the warnings written on the wall. He was deaf to all

the good-intentioned advice. The greatest of maladies is not wrongdoing alone.

But the inability to realise what one is doing is wrong.

>

> Valluvar says:

>

> oodhi uNarndhum pirarku uraithum thaan uNarAp

> pEdhayaril pEdhayar ill. (Kuaral 834)>

>

> There is a man that is learned and subtle and a teacher of others, and yet

continues to be the slave of his passions himself; there is no greater fool than

he. (Tr. by Sri VVS Aiyar).

>

> Does it not remind one of what Ben Elton, the British comedian, said? > " >

Nothing kills passion faster than an exploding harpoon in the guts> " > . That

was true in the case of Ravana. His lust for Sita did not die until Indrajit,

his eldest son was killed and until he lost almost all of his army in the

pursuit of a vain and vexatious desire.

>

> Just two words are sufficient to infuriate Ravana and to make him lose his

head. > '> Return Sita> '> . We see this happen whenever these words are

uttered, whether by Malyavan, the grandfather of Ravana, Vibishana, Kumbakarna

or Indrajit himself. It may be surprising. Even Kumbakarna advised him against

the retention of Sita. Indrajit realised this much later, just a day before his

death. Nothing changed Ravana> '> s heart, excepting the death of Indrajit. That

desire for Sita died with the death of Indrajit.

>

> You may recall the embarrassed state in which Ravana was when he heard the

name of Vali and how he mellowed. The information that Vali was dead rejuvenated

his spirits. His ego was thick enough to obscure him from the other information

that it was Rama who killed Vali. He ordered the killing of Hanuman. > '> He

should be left alive,> '> reasoned Vibishana, > '> at least to go back to those

humans and inform them of what happened here. If you put him to death, you are

losing the opportunity of letting them informed of our might.> '>

>

> Hanuman's words are the essence of Vedas & the best philosophies existing on

earth ....

> It's Siva himself (as Hanuman) who tried to persuade Ravana of his

unauspicious intentions & acts.

>

> This episode of Ramayana stands as a jewel in the entire length & breadth of

the epic.

>

> ----------------------

> Hare Krishna

> Hare Rama

> ----------------------

>

>