The Ramayana (84 page)

“She asked, ‘Father, to whom do you mean to give me?'

“‘To the Muni Visravas, so you will have sons as splendid as Surya Deva.'

“Kaikasi bowed to her father, and she took herself to the tapovana where Visravas was performing agnihotra. The young rakshasi did not know that it was an inauspicious time to approach the rishi. She came and stood near him with folded hands while he was absorbed in the ritual. She stood staring down at her feet, bashfully, and scratched the ground with her toe to attract his attention.

“Visravas looked up from his puja and saw a young girl standing near him, her face like the full moon. He said slowly, ‘Who are you? Whose daughter? And why have you come to my asrama?'

“‘Brahmarishi, I am Kaikasi. I have come because my father Sumali told me to. I beg you, divine the rest for yourself.'

“Visravas sank into dhyana. Then, emerging from his trance, he said, ‘I see why you have come to me. You have come to have sons by me. But you have come at the wrong muhurta. So, O woman with the gait of a she-elephant in rut, you will have savage rakshasas for sons'

“‘Brahmavadi, I beg you, let not all my sons be like that.'

“The rishi paused a moment; his face softened, and he said, ‘Young woman, your last son shall be a man of dharma, like all the rakshasas of our clan.'

“Then the muni took Kaikasi unto himself and gave her children. Kaikasi was first delivered of a dreadful infant, with ten heads in a cone, with great fangs in them. His hair was like strands of fire; his lips were coppery like his eyes. When he was born, all the fell creatures of night gathered round that asrama and they circled his mother from left to right, in a bizarre and ominous ritual.

“Eerie clouds scudded into the sky and rained down showers of blood. Flaming meteors, thousands of them, fell onto the earth, making great craters and hissing into the sea, so the waves stood up like mountains and smashed against the shore. The very earth was agitated, as if with some terrible fear, and strayed from her true orbit.

“Kaikasi's first child was born roaring fiercely from all his ten heads and his father named him Dasagriva. Soon after, Sumali's daughter had another son, and he was the biggest baby ever born. His ears were like great jars, so he was called Kumbhakarna. Next, Kaikasi gave birth to a perfectly hideous daughter, and she was Surpanaka. Last of all, a serene and handsome infant was born to the rakshasi and he was called Vibheeshana. He was hardly like a rakshasa, by his appearance or his nature, and soft flowers fell out of Devaloka to bless his birth.

“Those children grew up in the forest where Visravas lived in dhyana. From the first, Dasagriva and Kumbhakarna had restless, lustful natures, and they spent their days in satisfying their every appetite. They hunted for sport and for food, and when they were a little older, they did not hesitate to slake themselves on any woman, of any race, whose path crossed theirs in the forest. Vibheeshana was a restrained, wise youth from the first; he spent his time at study and serving his father.

“Dasagriva, also, gave some of his time to studying the Vedas and other ancient revelations. And to his own father's surprise, that wild and ferocious Rakshasa outstripped his brother Vibheeshana, easily, at learning. But while Vibheeshana lived by what he learned from the Shastras, Dasagriva did not.

“One day, Vaisravana, who is also called Kubera, the Lord of the nine treasures, arrived in his vimana to visit his father. Kaikasi called her eldest son and showed him how lustrous and fortunate his half-brother was. She said, ‘Look at his vimana, how it shines. He flies anywhere he likes in it. And he is a Lokapala: the master of all the wealth in the world. My son, I want you to be Vaisravana's equal. That is what your mother wants for you.'

“Dasagriva was thoughtful for a moment. He stared long and hard at Kubera's pushpaka vimana. He pursed his lips and said quietly, ‘I will be more powerful than Kubera. He is the Lord of but one-quarter of the earth. I will rule the three worlds'

“His mother embraced him fervidly. She kissed all his ten heads, which appeared and vanished, uncannily, around his central face. So it was that Dasagriva first decided to sit in tapasya. He went with his brothers to an asrama at sacred Gokarna and began his intense penance. And once he set his heart to it, that rakshasa's tapasya was past compare. It was his ancestor Brahma whom Dasagriva worshipped.”

 

4. Dasagriva's tapasya

Rama asked Agastya, “Tell me about Dasagriva's tapasya, Muni, and his brothers'.”

The rishi said, “Their penance lasted an age and each of the brothers had his own method.

“Kumbhakarna stood amidst four fires in searing summer, and the fifth was the blazing sun above, until the skin peeled from his body. He never flinched. During the monsoon, he knelt on the ground, often in the middle of a river, while the rain and the floods swept over him ceaselessly, and he was truly wet to his bones. In winter, too, he stood on, never stirring, in icy water. For ten thousand years, Kumbhakarna performed tapasya.

“The gentle Vibheeshana stood on one leg for five thousand years, even like dharma in the kali yuga. At the end of his penance, apsaras danced on clouds and fine showers of unearthly petals fell on the good rakshasa. Vibheeshana spent another five thousand years imbibing the Vedas, until he knew them backward. He recited them while he stood with his face and his arms raised heavenward and stared at the sun, the stars, and the moon, never blinking, never looking down. And this rakshasa experienced only delight during all his ten thousand years of tapasya, as if he were in the Lord Indra's Nandana.

“Dasagriva, the eldest, went without food for ten thousand years. And at the end of every thousand years, he offered one of his heads into one of the four fires he had lit around himself. Thus nine thousand years passed and finally the Rakshasa was about to offer his tenth head, and his life, to the flames, when Brahma appeared before him like a sea of grace, with all the Devas around him.

“‘Dasagriva' said the Pitamaha, ‘a tapasya like yours must be fruitful. Never has this earth seen such a penance. Ask me for any boon, Rakshasa, and it shall be yours.'

“Dasagriva bowed solemnly before the four-faced Creator of the universe. He said, ‘Pitamaha, the root of all life's fear is death. Make me immortal, so I shall never be afraid.'

“Brahma said, smiling, ‘Immortality is not mine to give. I am not immortal myself. Ask me for anything else, something I can give you.' Dasagriva thought for no more than a moment, then said, ‘Let me not die at the hands of any of the greater races of heaven or earth. Let no suparna, naga, yaksha, Daitya, Danava, rakshasa, Deva, gandharva, kinnara, charana, siddha, rishi, muni, or predator of the wild kill me. As for mortal men, puny humans, I have no fear of them, they are like straw.'

“Brahma said thoughtfully, knowing where this boon would take the Rakshasa, ‘So be it, then. And I grant you another boon: that your nine heads, which you offered me in the fire, shall be restored to you. And Rakshasa, you will have the power to assume any form you choose.'

“There are some who say that the Rakshasa offered his heads not to Brahma, but to Siva. Both versions are true: for different kalpas.

“Brahma now turned to the good Vibheeshana. ‘I am pleased with your tapasya, as well, Vibheeshana. What boon would you have from me?'

“Vibheeshana said, ‘Lord, my life's purpose is already fulfilled and I am a kritakritya, that I see you before me. But if you are pleased with me, grant me that my mind remains steadfast and virtuous in the midst of life's greatest trials. Grant me that the knowledge of the brahmastra dawns on me of itself. May every thought that enters my mind, during every stage of my life, be of dharma. Let me fulfill my dharma, however hard it is. For if a man has dharma, he has everything.'

“And Brahma said to him, ‘Though you are born a rakshasa, your nature is like a maharishi's. Noble Vibheeshana, I bless you that you will be a Chiranjivi. You will live as long as the earth.'

“Brahma turned to Kumbhakarna. But the Devas cried, ‘Lord, you must not grant him any boon. All the worlds already live in terror of him. You know he came to the Nandana, and devoured seven apsaras and three of Indra's servitors. There is no count of the rishis and men he has eaten, Pitamaha. Instead of a boon, cast a spell over him, that the worlds may be safe.'

“But Kumbhakarna's tapasya had been as compelling as his brothers' and Brahma had to grant him a boon. With a thought, the Creator summoned the Devi Saraswati. When she stood, shimmering, before him, he said softly to her, ‘Goddess of the word, be the speech on Kumbhakarna's tongue.'

“When she had subtly entered the giant rakshasa's mouth, Brahma turned to him and said, ‘Kumbhakarna, I am pleased with your tapasya. Ask me for any boon you want.'

“Saraswati spoke from the demon's mouth: ‘Lord, let me sleep for years and years'

“Smiling to see the startled look on the giant's face, Brahma said, ‘So be it' and vanished from there with the Devas.

*   *   *

“When Sumali heard of the boons that Dasagriva had from Brahma, he rose from the Patalas, with Maricha and Prahastha, Virupaksha and Mahodara, and a host of other rakshasas. Sumali embraced his grandson and cried, ‘Not even Vishnu can harm us any more! Vaisravana lives in Lanka, but Lanka rightfully belongs to you. Dasagriva, you shall be the Lord of all the rakshasas, and our race will be restored to glory under you.'

“Dasagriva said, ‘Kubera is my older brother. We should not speak of him like this.'

“But his dreadful eyes shone with very different thoughts. Reading his heart clearly, Prahastha said, ‘Among kings, there is no brotherly love. Listen to what I have to tell you, Dasagriva.

“‘The Devis Diti and Aditi are sisters, and they are both Kashyapa Prajapati's wives. Aditi bore the great muni the Devas of day and light, the Lords of the worlds, and Diti bore him the Daityas of night and darkness. Indeed, the Daityas were Kashyapa's first-born sons, and once all this earth, full of mountains, seas, rivers, and forests, belonged to the sons of Diti. They were the masters of the world.

“‘It was Vishnu who helped the Devas usurp the power of the Asuras and rakshasas. That was long ago, in another yuga. But now you are the first of our kind who has a boon like the one Brahma has given you: that you shall be invincible to all the immortal races of heaven and earth. Yours, Dasagriva, must be an unrivaled destiny in the history of our people. You must not forsake that destiny, but seize it with both hands'

“Dasagriva did not think long before he said simply, ‘I shall.'

“The same day, with a legion of rakshasas who had pledged allegiance to him, Dasagriva arrived on Lanka, and Mount Trikuta. From there he sent Prahastha as his messenger to Kubera, Lokapala, master of wealth. Prahastha brought a courteous message to Vaisravana from Dasagriva:

“‘Lord of treasures, O my half-brother, this city of Lanka belongs of old to the rakshasas of my clan. Malyavan, Mali, and Sumali ruled Lanka. I am Sumali's grandson. I beg you, leave our city now, for I, Dasagriva, mean to be a king of our people here.'

“Prahastha brought his new sovereign's message to Kubera's court. Kubera welcomed the messenger with every courtesy, and when he had listened to the rakshasa's message he sent a reply through him:

“‘Dasagriva, this Lanka was given to me by my father, and I have peopled her with my nairritas, whom I brought here with generous gifts of gold and homes. You are my brother, and you are welcome to come to live in Lanka and to share its bounty with me.'

“While Prahastha took this message back to Dasagriva, Vaisravana flew to his father Visravas in his pushpaka vimana. He said, ‘Father, Dasagriva sent me a message through Prahastha, asking me to leave Lanka, because he means to be a king in our city and a king of the rakshasas of the world. I replied asking him to live with me in Lanka, to share the wealth of Lanka with me. But I am not sure how he will receive my offer.'

“Visravas's heart misgave him. He said, frowning, ‘Ah, he is an evil child, your half-brother, both by his birth and now by the boons he has from Brahma. He will never agree to share Lanka with you. My advice to you is, leave Lanka and go to Kailasa with your people. The Mandakini flows beside Kailasa. Golden lotuses that shine like the sun float upon her waters: lotuses as blue as Vishnu's eyelids and those as white as moonbeams. Devas, apsaras, gandharvas, nagas, and kinnaras come to sing and dance and make love beside the Mandakini. I fear that with his boon, Dasagriva is so powerful that you must not make an enemy of him. Yes, my son, I am certain the best course is for you to leave Lanka with your nairritas and make yourself a home near Kailasa.'

“And so Kubera did. He founded the secret city of Alaka to the north of the Himalaya, and its marvelous pleasure garden, the Chaitra, which rivaled Indra's Nandana in Amravati. And with the Lord Siva's blessing, he was happy there.

“Meanwhile, Prahastha heard that Vaisravana had abandoned Lanka, and he came excitedly to Dasagriva, shouting, ‘He has left Lanka! Vaisravana has left Lanka for you to rule!'

“Dasagriva embraced him and roared, ‘You, my friend, shall be my chief minister in our city!' And indeed, Dasagriva and Prahastha have been as close as brothers ever since.

“So the enemy of the Devas, Dasagriva, entered the magnificent city of his mother's people. He was crowned king of Lanka, king of all the rakshasas, and his people flocked to him from across the earth and swarmed up to him from the deepest Patalas to the city of their fortune, to their invincible sovereign of night,” said Agastya Muni.

 

5. Dasagriva marries

Agastya continued: “When Dasagriva had been crowned king of the rakshasas, he decided it was now time to give his sister Surpanaka away in marriage. He gave her to a Danava chieftain, a great mayavi: Kalaka's son Vidhujjiva.