Kids · लङ्काकाण्ड Laṅkā Kāṇḍa · Ages 8–12
The Road Home Across the Sky
The war is over, and the golden sky-chariot Puṣpaka is in the air. Lord Rāma, Mother Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa are aboard, and so are the friends who would not be left behind: King Sugrīva, Hanumān Jī, Prince Aṅgada, old Jāmbavān, King Vibhīṣaṇa and many more. Far away in the north, Bharata is counting the very last days of fourteen years.
A long, hard road looks different when you see it from above. This is the story of that flight home: what the Lord pointed out, where the sky-chariot came down, and who was invited to climb in on the way. Sage Vālmīki and Gosvāmī Tulsīdās both tell it. They do not name all the same places or make all the same stops — so listen for whose telling is whose.
Northward, with flowers falling
Up went the Puṣpaka. In Sage Vālmīki's telling it carries the figure of a swan at its front and sweeps through the air with a great sound. In the Mānas, Lord Rāma and Mother Sītā sit together on a high and beautiful throne. The gods are so glad that they shower flowers, a cool, sweet-smelling breeze begins to blow, and the whole sky is clear and bright. Then the Lord looked all around and began to show Mother Sītā the land below. 'See Laṅkā,' he says in Sage Vālmīki's telling, 'on the top of its three-peaked mountain, shining like a peak of Mount Kailāsa.' Next he showed her the battlefield. And listen to how he spoke of it: he did not talk only about himself. He named his friends. 'Here Lakṣmaṇa overcame Indrajit. Here Hanumān Jī fought, and here Prince Aṅgada, and here Nīla, and here King Sugrīva.' Sage Vālmīki gives a long list of who did what, and Gosvāmī Tulsīdās a short one. In both, the Lord remembers his friends' deeds and says them out loud.
In both Rāmāyaṇas
The bridge, the sea and a golden mountain
The sky-chariot flew out over the water. 'There is the shore where we spent the night after we crossed,' the Lord says in Sage Vālmīki's telling. 'And there is the bridge — Nala's bridge, which was so hard to build. I had it laid across the salt sea for your sake.' He shows her the great roaring ocean, full of conches and oyster-shells, and golden Mount Maināka, which once rose out of the waves to offer Hanumān Jī a rest. He shows her the place where King Vibhīṣaṇa first came to join them. And he tells her that here, before the bridge was begun, Lord Śiva showed him his grace — so this place will be honoured in all the three worlds. Gosvāmī Tulsīdās tells it in a single couplet: 'Here I had the bridge built, and here I set up Lord Śiva, the home of all joy.' And Lord Rāma and Mother Sītā bowed to Lord Śiva.
In both Rāmāyaṇas
'May they come too?'
Soon a city came into view among lovely woods: Kiṣkindhā, King Sugrīva's home. Sage Vālmīki tells what happened next. Mother Sītā looked down at it, and shyly and lovingly she asked the Lord for something. 'I would like to reach Ayodhyā together with Queen Tārā and King Sugrīva's other queens, and with the wives of the other vānara chiefs too.' 'So be it,' said Lord Rāma, and he stopped the sky-chariot at Kiṣkindhā. 'Be quick, Sugrīva,' he said, 'so that we may soon be on our way.' King Sugrīva hurried into his palace with the news. Queen Tārā called the wives of the vānaras together: they would see Ayodhyā, and the Lord's homecoming! They put on their best ornaments, walked around the sky-chariot as a sign of respect, and climbed aboard, eager to see Mother Sītā. Then up it rose again, fuller than before.
Sage Vālmīki
The long road, seen from above
On they flew, and now the Lord was showing Mother Sītā their own long road, backwards. In Sage Vālmīki's telling he names place after place. Mount Ṛṣyamūka, where he first met King Sugrīva. Lake Pampā, covered in lotuses, where he had wept because she was lost, and where he met Śabarī. The great tree where brave Jaṭāyu fell, fighting for her. Pañcavaṭī, with the river Godāvarī and their own little hut of leaves. The hermitages of Sage Agastya and the other sages, and the one where she had met Mother Anasūyā. And Mount Citrakūṭa, where Bharata had come to beg him to return. In the Mānas, too, the Lord shows her every place in the forest where they had lived or rested, and tells her the name of each. But in that telling the sky-chariot also comes down. In the Daṇḍaka forest the Lord visits Sage Agastya and many other sages in their hermitages and receives their blessings, and at Citrakūṭa he gladdens the sages before flying on.
In both Rāmāyaṇas
The rivers, and the first sight of home
Then came the great rivers: first the Yamunā, and then the holy Gaṅgā. In the Mānas the Lord says, 'Sītā, bow to her.' He shows her Prayāga, the king of holy places, and the Triveṇī, where the rivers meet. In Sage Vālmīki's telling he points out the town where his friend Guha lives. And then, far off, there it was. 'There is Ayodhyā, my father's city,' he says in Sage Vālmīki's telling. 'You have come back after a long, long time. Bow to Ayodhyā.' At that, the vānaras and King Vibhīṣaṇa's people jumped up again and again to get a look — rows of pale palaces, wide streets, elephants and horses! In the Mānas the Lord and Mother Sītā bow to Ayodhyā together. His eyes fill with tears, and he is glad, and glad again.
In both Rāmāyaṇas
One more night, and a messenger sent ahead
Home was in sight. But the Lord did not rush in. In Sage Vālmīki's telling the sky-chariot comes down at the hermitage of Sage Bharadvāja, just as the fourteen years are complete. The Lord bows and asks, 'Is all well in Ayodhyā? Is Bharata looking after the people? Are my mothers living?' The sage smiles. 'Bharata wears his hair matted like a hermit's. He keeps your sandals before him and looks for you every moment. All is well.' Then he offers the Lord a boon, and tells him he shall go on to Ayodhyā tomorrow. What would you ask for? The Lord asked nothing for himself. 'Let every tree on the road to Ayodhyā be heavy with fruit and flowing with honey.' At once it was so, for miles around — even trees that had stopped bearing — and the vānaras feasted to their hearts' content. In the Mānas the Lord comes down at the Triveṇī, bathes there with joy and gives gifts, the vānaras beside him; then he visits Sage Bharadvāja, who honours and blesses him. And in both tellings he sends Hanumān Jī on ahead with the good news. In the Mānas Hanumān Jī goes in the form of a young student, to tell Bharata that all are well and to bring back word of him. In Sage Vālmīki's telling the Lord sends him first to Guha — 'my friend, as dear to me as my own self' — and then to Bharata. What Hanumān Jī found when he arrived is told in 'The Lamps of Ayodhyā'.
In both Rāmāyaṇas
✦ Two tellings, one story
Sage Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa (Sanskrit)
Sage Vālmīki tells this episode in his Yuddha Kāṇḍa. The Puṣpaka, which bears the figure of a swan, flies through the air with a great sound, and the Lord, looking all round, shows Mother Sītā what lies below. First Laṅkā on the summit of Mount Trikūṭa, like a peak of Kailāsa, built by Viśvakarmā; then the battlefield, where he names one by one who overcame whom — Lakṣmaṇa, Hanumān Jī, Aṅgada, King Sugrīva, Nīla and others. He shows her the shore where they camped after the crossing; the bridge built by Nala across the salt sea for her sake; the roaring ocean, full of conches and oyster-shells; golden Mount Maināka, which rose from the sea to give Hanumān Jī rest; the place where Lord Śiva showed him grace before the bridge was begun, which he says will be known as Setubandha and honoured in the three worlds; and the spot where King Vibhīṣaṇa first came to him. When Kiṣkindhā comes into view, Mother Sītā asks that Queen Tārā, King Sugrīva's other queens and the wives of the vānara chiefs come with her to Ayodhyā. The Lord agrees and halts the sky-chariot; King Sugrīva tells Queen Tārā, she gathers the wives of the vānaras, and they adorn themselves, walk around the Puṣpaka in respect and board it, wishing to see Mother Sītā. Flying on, the Lord points out Mount Ṛṣyamūka, where he met King Sugrīva; Lake Pampā, where he grieved for her and met Śabarī; the tree where Jaṭāyu fell; Pañcavaṭī, their hut of leaves and the Godāvarī; the hermitages of Sage Agastya, Sage Sutīkṣṇa and Sage Śarabhaṅga, and of Sage Atri, where she met Mother Anasūyā; Citrakūṭa, where Bharata came to him; the Yamunā, Sage Bharadvāja's hermitage and the Gaṅgā; Śṛṅgaverapura, where his friend Guha lives; the Sarayū; and Ayodhyā itself, to which he asks her to bow, while the vānaras and rākṣasas leap up again and again to see the city. The sky-chariot lands at Sage Bharadvāja's hermitage as the fourteenth year ends. The Lord asks after the city, Bharata and his mothers; the sage, smiling, says that Bharata, with matted hair and the Lord's sandals before him, awaits him every moment, and that all is well. He offers a boon and says the Lord shall go to Ayodhyā the next day. The Lord asks that the trees along the way to Ayodhyā bear fruit and flow with honey; it is so for three yojanas around, and the vānaras feast. The Lord then sends Hanumān Jī ahead, in human form, to give the news first to Guha at Śṛṅgaverapura — his friend, he says, as dear as his own self — and then to Bharata.
Gosvāmī Tulsīdās’s Rāmcaritmānas (Awadhi)
Gosvāmī Tulsīdās tells it in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, and more briefly. The sky-chariot turns north amid cries of 'Glory to the hero of Raghu's line!' The Lord sits with Mother Sītā on a high and beautiful throne, shining like a rain-cloud with lightning on a peak of Mount Meru. The gods shower flowers; a cool, soft, fragrant breeze blows; the waters of the sea, the lakes and the rivers turn clear, and the sky is bright. The Lord shows Mother Sītā the battlefield: here Lakṣmaṇa overcame Indrajit, here lie the mighty rākṣasas struck down by Hanumān Jī and Aṅgada, here Kumbhakarṇa and Rāvaṇa fell. 'Here I had the bridge built and set up Lord Śiva, the abode of joy,' he says, and he and Mother Sītā bow to Lord Śiva. Every place in the forest where he had stayed or rested he shows her, naming each one. In this telling the sky-chariot comes down on the way: in the Daṇḍaka forest the Lord goes to the hermitages of Sage Agastya and many other sages and receives their blessings, and then comes to Citrakūṭa and gladdens the sages there. Flying on, he shows her the Yamunā and then the holy Gaṅgā, asking her to bow; then Prayāga, the king of holy places, and the Triveṇī; and then Ayodhyā. The Lord and Mother Sītā bow to Ayodhyā; his eyes fill with tears and he rejoices again and again. He comes down at the Triveṇī, bathes with joy and gives gifts, together with the vānaras. He sends Hanumān Jī to Ayodhyā in the form of a young student, to tell Bharata that all are well and to return with news; then he goes to Sage Bharadvāja, who worships, praises and blesses him, bows at the sage's feet, and boards the sky-chariot once more. Gosvāmī Tulsīdās does not tell of the halt at Kiṣkindhā or of the boon of the fruit trees.
What this story teaches
Look back with thanks
From high above, the Lord did not only look at the places where things had been hard. He named who had helped there — Nala and his bridge, the mountain that offered Hanumān Jī a rest, the friend he met beside the lake. When you look back over something difficult, look for the helpers.
Make room in your joy
Mother Sītā was going home at last, and she thought of others who would love to come. One gentle question, and the sky-chariot stopped for them. When something good is happening to you, ask who else could share it.
Wish for something everyone can enjoy
Offered a boon by a great sage, the Lord asked for fruit on the trees along the road — a gift his friends could eat. The best wishes have room in them for other people.
Words to know
- Puṣpaka · the great golden sky-chariot (vimāna) that carried everyone home
- Nala's bridge · the bridge across the sea to Laṅkā, built by the vānaras under their chief Nala
- Mount Maināka · a golden mountain in the sea that rose from the waves to offer Hanumān Jī a rest on his great leap
- Kiṣkindhā · King Sugrīva's city, the home of the vānaras
- Triveṇī · the meeting-place of the holy rivers at Prayāga
- boon · a blessing-gift offered by a god or a sage — you may ask for what you wish
A true episode from the journey home, told in both Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa — Yuddha Kāṇḍa — and Rāmcaritmānas — Laṅkā Kāṇḍa. The swan at the front of the Puṣpaka, Laṅkā like a peak of Kailāsa, the long list of friends' deeds on the battlefield, the shore of the first night, Nala's bridge, the ocean full of conches, golden Mount Maināka, the place where King Vibhīṣaṇa first came, Mother Sītā's request at Kiṣkindhā and the boarding of Queen Tārā and the wives of the vānaras, Ṛṣyamūka, Pampā and Śabarī, Jaṭāyu's tree, Pañcavaṭī and the Godāvarī, the hermitage where Mother Sītā met Mother Anasūyā, Bharata's visit recalled at Citrakūṭa, Guha's town, the vānaras leaping up to see Ayodhyā, the questions put to Sage Bharadvāja and his answer about Bharata, the boon of the fruit trees and the feast, and Hanumān Jī sent first to Guha are Sage Vālmīki's. The high throne, the shower of flowers, the breeze and the clear waters, the Lord and Mother Sītā bowing to Lord Śiva, the visits to the sages in the Daṇḍaka forest and at Citrakūṭa, 'Sītā, bow to her' at the Gaṅgā, Prayāga and the Triveṇī, the Lord's tears on seeing Ayodhyā, the bath and gifts at the Triveṇī, and Hanumān Jī going as a young student are Gosvāmī Tulsīdās's. The Lord showing Mother Sītā the battlefield and the places of their story from the sky, his remembering Lord Śiva at the bridge, the Yamunā and the Gaṅgā, the bow to Ayodhyā, the visit to Sage Bharadvāja, and Hanumān Jī sent ahead to Bharata are in both tellings.