The Brutal Ramayana War - TRUTHS Hidden From Us | Valmiki Ramayana With Yashodeep D | TRS
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January 31, 2025
TLDR: Yashodeep Deodhar discusses the final battle of the Ramayana and untold stories of Ravan, Shri Ram, and Sita Maa with Ranveer Allahbadia. The episode delves into Ravan's spiritual journey, significance of the reunion of Shri Ram and Sita Maa, Shri Ram's divinity, and Valmiki's Ramayana's relevance in today's world.

In the latest episode of The Ranveer Show, host Ranveer Allahbadia engages in a profound discussion with guest Yashodeep Deodhar about the chaotic and violent final battle depicted in the Valmiki Ramayana. This summary explores the significant themes, key insights, and valuable lessons derived from the conversation, all rooted in ancient Indian mythology.
Overview of the Episode
Yashodeep Deodhar takes viewers through a meticulous retelling of the final war between Sri Ram and Ravana, highlighting the complexities of characters, events, and moral dilemmas presented in Valmiki's Ramayana.
Key Topics Discussed
The Final Battle:
- Yashodeep narrates the pivotal events leading to the epic clash, emphasizing the strategic preparations made by Sri Ram's army, which was primarily composed of the Vanaras, who relied on strength and cunning rather than advanced weaponry.
- The episode reveals the important role of Hanuman in gathering intelligence, and the meticulous planning required to construct the Setu (bridge) to Lanka.
Character Analysis:
- The character of Ravana is scrutinized, challenging the romanticized notions of him as a noble figure. The podcast asserts Ravana's exploits, including the abduction of Sita and his treatment of women, revealing a far darker portrait of his character.
- Shri Ram is shown as a multifaceted figure, balancing human emotions with the expectations of a divine hero. His eventual reunion with Sita, which comes after numerous trials, becomes a key moment in understanding his character.
The Nature of Warfare:
- The conversation dives deep into the brutal realities of warfare as depicted in the Ramayana. Yashodeep highlights how the Vanaras fought with bare hands, using harsh physicality in a landscape filled with casualties and suffering.
- The discussion includes insights into the psychological aspects of battle, including leadership styles, especially contrasting the selfish motives of Ravana with Ram’s selflessness.
Symbolism and Spiritual Lessons:
- The episode serves as a reminder of the spiritual teachings embedded within the Ramayana. Combat is not merely about physical conflict but also serves to symbolize the struggle between good and evil, dharma and adharma.
- Insights on how these ancient narratives continue to hold relevance today were explored, with references to how modern individuals can reflect on values embedded in Ramayana.
The Aftermath and Reflections:
- Ranveer and Yashodeep discuss the aftermath of the battle, including the significant emotional journey back to Ayodhya and the implications of Sita's trial by fire, a critical moment reflecting societal standards and personal integrity.
- The importance of upholding values even in defeat, as represented by Ram's compassion for Ravana at the end of the battle, serves as a poignant reminder of ethical behavior in leadership.
Conclusion
This episode is captivating for anyone drawn to Indian mythology, spiritual wisdom, and the moral complexities within epic storytelling. Yashodeep Deodhar provides a refreshing perspective on these legendary events, encouraging deeper thought about the lessons that the Valmiki Ramayana imparts in today’s context.
Key Takeaways:
- The importance of strategic planning in any endeavor.
- The value of understanding and learning from historical narratives.
- A reminder of the deeper ethical dilemmas faced by leaders.
- An exploration of courage, honor, and the complexity of human behavior.
This episode will undoubtedly resonate with those interested in a raw, unfiltered version of the Ramayana, shedding light on stories often overlooked in mainstream adaptations. With its mix of historical context, spiritual insights, and engaging storytelling, listeners are left with food for thought regarding our current societal values.
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Welcome to our series Finale of Ramayand. In popular culture, people think that Ravan treated women very well. Nothing could be further from the truth. There were hundreds of women that he had abducted. He was very proud of that. We wish and told Ravan, in open court, what you're doing is wrong and then we wish and left anyone to meet Ram.
But the challenge in front of them was how to cross the ocean. He asked to construct the Setu. So this was not a floating bridge. They were going to fill up the sea with big boulders and tree trunks. By the way, this Setu is called Nal Setu, not Ram Setu. Ravan was more interested in playing dirty tricks rather than preparing for battle. He called Vidjujiva and instructed him to make a replica of Ravan's head. And then Ravan went to meet Sita. He told her cheerfully, your dear husband is dead.
It was time to charge on to the gates of Lanka.
What is the kind of weaponry that one should visualize? This is a very strange one. That one side has none of this. The Vanaras fought with their bare hands and they would punch kick throw stones, even bite, or they would pick up the weapons of the Rakshas themselves and hit them. The Vanaras kept winning again and again. Although both sides suffered heavy casualties, Ravan wanted to fall on, kumbakana. They beat drums to try and wake him up. Then they started pulling his hair.
He got up and he was famished. They had brought meat for him to eat, pig buffalo, deer, as well as big jars of blood. That was his food.
After months of longing, finally they had seen each other. Their faces lit up with joy, but then Nams expression changed and he said to her, oh lady, you should know that I did not fight the war for your sake. Now there is a doubt about your character and I can't even bear to look at you. What sort of a man would take back a woman who has spent some time in someone else's house.
This is our series finale of our four part retelling of the entire Ramayan. The series finale is all about the war between Sri Ram and Ravana, the king of the Rakshasas or the evil force that was present in the world at the time of the Ramayan. Remember that there's only one accurate Ramayan and that's the one written by the sage, Valmiki.
In today's day and age, there's only one man in India who has studied Valmiki's Ramayana with that much intensity, with that much force, and has gone that much into the depths of the Valmiki Ramayana. His name is Yashodi Bevadarsa, who's helped us create this very special four-part series.
If you've not watched the first three parts, watch them at the end of watching this particular part, because all of us loosely know the story of the Ramayan, but we do not know the details. And the details are very different from the movies, from the anime, from the comic books that you've read. That's the intention with this whole series that every single Indian gets to know the real raw unfiltered version of the Ramayan.
Make sure you check out the other three parts. But today, enjoy this very special, war-oriented episode of Valmiki's Ramayan. It begins with Yashudib Devatarsal in three, two, one. Welcome back, Yashudib Sir.
Thank you very much. Welcome to our series Finale. Thank you for this beautiful series that's going to stay on the internet for another 50 years. Thank you very much for this opportunity to take Merjival Miki's words to all of your audience.
I'm glad again in my eyes I look at this as duty towards Sanatana because every generation has its own retelling of Ramayana. For me it wasn't even Ramanan Sagar's Ramayana, it was the anime. That's how I visualize the Ramayana and I'm hoping that this podcast series is kind of a cornerstone for many people's visualization and
definitely they should eventually find your series that you created on your channel. But this has been a beautiful experience until now, like very, very educated. Thank you. So welcome back to the studio. This is the series finale. Yes.
Before I let you continue with the story, let's do a tiny recap of where we left off and then have an additional question after that. Okay. So where did we leave off? At the end of our last discussion, Hanuman had come back from Lanka. He had reached Kishkinda and told Sri Ram that he had found Sita in Lanka.
And now the task ahead is very clear. They have to go to Lanka, defeat the Rakshasas and rescue Sita. That's where we are. Okay. In my eyes, this episode is about war.
Yes, we will read the book called Yudhakan, which is called Book of War. Okay. And I also feel that for some reason with a lot of Sanathanes, this is one of the lesser known aspects of Ramayana for some reason. Everyone knows a lot of aspects of the previous stories, but we don't know the details of the war. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Many times in the later retellings,
Yes, I have not seen as graphic and detailed descriptions of the war as in the Valmiki Raman. Some of them are actually gory, very detailed. And it's a fairly large book, the Yudhakan. So today we'll be covering almost a quarter of the entire story. Perhaps because it's gory, it's not showcased in mainstream media.
Perhaps, yes. That's the beauty of podcast. So, sir, before I let you begin, I have a tiny question that the team picked up from the comments section on the first two episodes, which was that all these dialogue exchanges that happened between the characters. How has Maharishi Balmiki written it accurately? Because he wasn't present when the dialogues were happening. Of course, yes. So, what's your take on that?
This is Raman means Ramasya Ayanam, Ram's Journey. This is Ram's Biography, Ramasya Charitam.
So, like any biographer, Murshi Walmiki would have to do the hard work of speaking to all the characters, the people involved and recreate the dialogues that accurately represent the thoughts and emotions of the people at that time. So, that is the hard work. But Murshi Walmiki was also blessed in the sense that in the Ramayana itself, it is said that Brahma, Lord Brahma,
who is the creative aspect in divinity. He had blessed Walmiki that he would know exactly what had happened in each of these events. That's why we call him a Maharishi as well. Yes, he was a Maharishi. You know, I've always thought of this word Maharishi and I discussed it once with I think Rajashin and
He said that one of the biggest misconceptions about Sanatanaam is that the goal is simply enlightenment or moksh or nirvana. But according to Tantrashasa and Tantra Vidya, there's many many stages beyond the stage of enlightenment and moksh. Like you go way beyond enlightenment is in fact a qualification for the next stage of spiritual growth.
What we commonly know as enlightenment. And there's a long pathway up till God. Somewhere up there is the level of Rishi. And way beyond that is Maharishi, where you almost become eternal. And you know, 12,000 BC is supposedly when the Ramayana happened. And we're setting your 14,000 years later still talking about Maharishi Valminky. Yes, this is an extraordinary text. No doubt about it.
Yeah, there was a divine element that was flowing through him to write the details of this. Yes. Okay. Now let's move on to war.
Okay, so Hanuman had reported back and Shri Ram asks him before leaving for Lanka, he asks him all about the layout and fortifications of the city, the size and strength of the army where the different troops are located within the city as well as at the gates.
This was valuable military intelligence. See, Hanuman had observed Lanka at night when he was searching for Sita. And then again, when Ravana ordered his tail to be put on fire and he was paraded around, Sri Hanuman made careful observations about the layout of the city. And this was the military intelligence he now conveyed to Sri Ram. And then Ram gave orders for the army to proceed south.
Time was running out for Sita. They had to get to Lanka fast. And when he asked the army to proceed south, Ram gave detailed directions. He appointed specific people to guard the front and rear of the army, the left and right flanks.
We're talking about hampi right now, right? Yes. We are in the region of hampi at Kishkinda and we are going south towards Lanka. Okay. Right. Many times the Vanaras are shown in popular culture or in popular versions of the Raman as a disorganized bunch. You know, so if this army had to move south, they simply walked down. Well, they did walk down, but
They were very organized in this. Just like they had launched the search for Sita in a very organized manner to the four corners of the world. Even now there was a forward party under the direction of Neil, who found out the best route for the army. Neil. Yes. He was a Wannar leader. Okay. And the forward party had to determine the path that offered them enough food and water sources. Make sure that the water sources weren't poisoned by the enemy.
They had to make sure that they did not cause disturbances in the villages and agricultural fields that they passed by and so on. So there was this forward army and then a forward party and then behind that the main army. The army was so huge, millions of Vanaras. That Valmiki says it was almost like a sea that was coming south to meet the ocean. Wow. As they walked.
One night they were resting for a while and Lakshman looked up at the sky and he remarked that the stars seemed to be aligned in our favor. And then he spoke about some specific stars, constellations and their movements. And these are the kind of clues that are used again by researchers to date the events of the Ramayat. The army proceeded further. They walked day and night with very little rest. And finally they came to the southern seashore.
as they looked out to the sea, they were stunned. How are they going to cross this? Valmiki says, the sea with its foaming waves seem to be laughing and dancing. How are they going to cross? Now, I had said last time as well, the popular story of floating rocks is not mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayat. But Valmiki leaves us in suspense as to how the army will actually cross and then shifts the sea into Lanka.
In Lanka, Ravan was a little unnerved. Hanuman had caused great damage in the city. He had killed many Rakshasas when he set fire to Lanka, remember. And now he had heard that an army was marching towards Lanka. Ravan's younger brother Vibhishan was telling him to let Sita go and to avoid war. He told Ravan, why this war at all? Ravan has not done anything wrong.
It was Kerr who attacked Ram and Ram acted in self-defense. How can you blame him for that? This is the Shurpankha chapter. Yes. So it started with Shurpankha. Shurpankha asked Kerr to attack Ram, Kerr attacked and got himself killed and Ram wiped out all the Rakshas forces at Janasthan. Now interestingly, in these discussions, you know, we often go back and say, oh, the Shurpankha incident, like you just asked me.
But no one mentions Shurpanka in this incident. Between Vibhishan and Ravan, they are only talking about what Ram did to Khur and the Rakshas forces. And that is why Ravan wants to take revenge. His primary goal is not to take revenge for what happened to Shurpanka. You know, sometimes we think that that was his primary goal. And so he was in some way justified in abducting Sita. But that is totally incorrect. So, Ravan then called a meeting of all his senior most leaders to discuss this matter.
An army was coming towards them and he wanted to get their thoughts on this. I want to show you a short video to see what is the quality of discussion that is going on in the Ravan's court. Watch. Addressing a packed court, Ravan said, there is one matter I wish to discuss with all of you.
I would have done it sooner, but Kumbhakarna was not available, therefore the slight delay. I have brought Sita, Kram's wife from Dandakaranya. No other woman is as beautiful and charming as her. Oh, that gorgeous face, that slender waist, and those hips. Tanumadhyaya, Prutushroni, Sharadindunibhanana,
My last for her is driving me crazy. But, Samai in the Shahi Yam are old Humit Chate. She refuses to climb into my bed. And Ram is reportedly on his way to Lanka, with an army of wanderers. Please suggest what we should do now, so that Sita remains with me.
Upon hearing this, Ravan's younger brother, Kumbhakarana said, What you have done is not right. You should have consulted us before. But never mind. I will still support you. I will send off Ram to meet the Lord of death. And Sita will be yours forever. My brother, enjoy life. Mahaparstva then spoke up.
He did not think a woman's consent or otherwise mattered in any way. He made this shocking suggestion. A man is a fool if he finds a drink and does not drink it.
O Lord, just force yourself on Sita as a rooster forces itself on a hen, assault her again and again, devour her and enjoy her. This is shocking! How could they say such things? Yes, Ravana's ideas on how women should be treated were shared by those he had collected around himself.
Ravan liked what Mahapash was said, but replied, Let me tell you about an incident that happened a while back. I once crossed paths with the gorgeous Punjikas Thala. Afraid of me, she was trying to sneak away. But, sah prasayiya maya bhukta krta vivasana datta.
I got hold of her, stripped her, and ravished her. Afterwards, she looked like a trampled lotus, Lolita Naliniya Tha. For this, I was cursed by Lord Brahma, that if I ever violated another woman in such a manner, my head would split into a hundred pieces. And therefore, I cannot force myself on Sita.
kind of stuff you can't show on national television. That's why you never heard this aspect of the story before. Yes. You know, sometimes people think that Ravan treated women very well. In fact, his treatment was exemplary. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Mashi Walmiki has told us clearly what he thought. Even earlier, he kidnapped Sita because he had a fight with Ram. That's how it started, right? So he thought nothing on taking revenge on the man by kidnapping his wife. And at that time, you would recall he grabbed her by the hair, dragged her to the rath. Later on in Ashokwan, he was ready to punch her.
And when Hanuman was looking for Sita, he had gone to Ravan's bed chamber. We saw that there were hundreds of women that he had abducted from different lands. In fact, he was very proud of that. He had showed off to Sita that you will be the chief among them, say yes to me. And now you saw the type of comments he as well as his ministers made about Sita. Now in this assembly,
Vibhishan was the same voice and he was telling Ravan to let Sita go and avoid war. He said, for the good of the Rakshasas, for the good of Lanka, let Sita go. But Indrajit mocked him, Indrajit Ravan's son. He said, you are too scared to fight. And Ravan went on a rant against Vibhishan.
He called him names. And among them, by the way, he called him an Arya, not Arya-like. So, Ravan considered himself Arya, which is a noble person. This has nothing to do with race. Vibhishan could not take it. He told Ravan, you are my elder brother, and I should respect you like a father. But you have lost your mind.
and you are not on the path of Dharma, righteousness. I cannot be a party to this. I shall leave now, be well without me. Swastitayas tu, gami shiami, suki bhava, mayavina. And then Vibhishan left, and he went to Mitram. Now, Vibhishan also switched sides, but he was no backstabbing traitor.
Again in popular culture sometimes, Vivishan is thought of as a traitor. But see here, he told Ravan in open court that I'm leaving and Ram had not induced him to leave. And he left for a good reason. He was saying, what you're doing is wrong. I cannot be a party to this. And so I shall leave. Vivishan went to meet Ram and he sent a message that he was seeking refuge from Ram and he would like to join them.
Sugri was clearly against this. He thought it was too risky. Here was a brother of Rao and coming and saying that, you know, he wanted to join them. Perhaps this was a trick. He could try and create divisions among them. So Sugri recommended that they should not allow Vivishan to join. Anga then Jambavan also thought so.
But Hanuman was willing to give him the benefit of doubt. Also Hanuman knew something that the others didn't. When Hanuman had met Sita in Ashokwan in Lanka, Sita had told him that this younger brother of Ravana was trying to secure her release. So with this information Hanuman's advice was that they should allow him in. Ram made his decision. He said, I grant him protection. Please bring him to me.
And he also convinced Sugriev, why that was the right thing to do. Now, this incident brings out Ram's leadership qualities. See, he was open-minded about Vibhishan, even though he was Ravan's brother. And for this important question, he asked all his advisors what they thought of it. The advisors had differing opinions.
Ram then made a decision, which was a risky call. He was willing to make this risky decision, but he also explained his logic and brought along the others who were earlier speaking, who had earlier recommended otherwise. Who are the advisors? Sugri, Jambawan, Hanuman, all of them. Now, compare these leadership styles. You know, we just saw how Ram treated this question. On the other hand, Ravan,
He made the decision to abduct Sita and pick a fight with Ram without consulting anyone. That is how Ravan made his decision. And when he heard that an army was marching towards him, he called his advisors for a meeting and Vibhishan spoke up against him, he threw him out. So these were two different leadership styles. So now Vibhishan had joined them, but still the challenge in front of them was how to cross the ocean.
In fact, even earlier, at the end of Sundarkand, you would remember Hanuman had told Sita, gallantly, that before long you shall hear the roar of the Vanaras. And Sita had asked him, but how will they cross the ocean? Katham nukaludush param, tari shanti mahodadim. Hanuman did not have an answer at that time, but he had assured her. He had said, if I can do it, so can the others. Don't worry about it. Even now, Sugriev told Ram,
If somehow we can cross the ocean, once we see the city of Lanka, consider Ravante. But how to cross the ocean was now something Ram had to address. Walmiki then describes Ram's actions very poetically. I'll tell you how he has actually described it and then later what it means.
Ram folded his hands in front of the ocean and then lay down, gazing at its waters for three days and three nights. That is how Murshival Miki has described it. And then he fired off arrows at the ocean. The Lord of the sea appeared and then showed him the way to go across. What it means is that Ram stood gazing at the sea. He was observing the sea for three days and three nights.
The currents, the tides, the rise and fall of water, house sand banks and islands appeared in it. See, that part of the sea is very shallow. So as the tide recedes, there are sand banks and small islands that come out. And Ram was trying to determine the best location to construct the Sathu, the place where the distance to the other side is minimal. The tides and currents are favorable. And this is likely Ramishwaram.
Yes, most likely. In fact, from Rameshwaram, further out, there is a place called Dhanushkodi, and then from then you can see from satellite images that there are small structures along the way. See, right now what we know is Ram has identified the site selection, and then he asked Nal, the greatest construction experts among the Vanaras to construct the Setu.
The idea of the Sethu was very simple. They were going to fill up the sea with big boulders, rocks, mud and tree trunks on top. So this was a bund or an embankment, not a floating bridge.
Although the idea was very simple, the scale of this project was staggering. Think about it, you are standing at the seashore and somewhere far beyond the horizon, there is an island and your plan is to fill up the sea and walk across. And then under the direction of Ram, hundreds of thousands of anheras sprang up into action.
They went to the forest, cut boulders, tree trunks, brought it all back to the shore and started filling up the sea. Once again, they were very methodical. They used different types of devices, young tree. Also, different teams were assigned to do different tasks. Some worked on getting all the material, other on tying up things, others on making measurements and so on.
And slowly, the satu started taking shape. On the first day, they covered a distance of 14 yojanas. And then they picked up speed, and over the next four days, covered 20, 21, 22, and 23 yojanas. And thus, they covered the entire 100 yojanas of the satu. Remember, this was the distance that Hanuma had to go across as well in our last session. Is anything said about the time it took?
Five days. Wow. Yes. In fact, this is very, uh, Valmiki is very specifically told about how much they covered in on each day. It was a giant, uh, say to extremely well constructed, Vishalaha, Sukritaha. In fact, the scale was astonishing beyond conception at Bhutam, at Chintam.
And on this, Saitu, millions of Wanaras started walking across. By the way, this Saitu, interestingly, in the Raman is called Nal Saitu, not Ram Saitu, so named after the chief engineer. They walked across and without any challenge from the Rakshasas, they reached close to the city of Lanka. Note, this is already a strategic mistake by Raman.
he could have attacked this army as they were landing on Lanka. That would have been a weaker point for them. But he allowed them to finish the Setu Kama Cross and come almost up to the city of Lanka. And the reason he did that was he was not expecting this at all.
See, Ravan was always very confident that no army could cross the ocean. In fact, even now he said, what Ram has done is unprecedented. I still can't believe it. Making a seto across the ocean. He realized that he had clearly underestimated the enemy. So he asked some of his spies to go into the enemy camp and find out more about them. How many are they? Who are the leaders? What are they telling Ram? And so on.
The spies, when they came back, they reported to Ravan. And now here, Marshiv Almiki takes a detour. See, we've taken a few of these detours earlier. You would recall, when Sugri was sending the parties to search for Sita, we looked at a detour about a world atlas, geography, at another time about botany.
or the kachit discussion right in the beginning in Chitrakur between Bharat and Ram which was a detour on governance, the oldest text on governance. And now this detour is on mathematical terms. So this is an interesting point to put this detour. Ravana has asked, how many are they?
And the spies are giving that answer. How large is the enemy? I'll show you some of the actual verses here. So the first verse, Shatam Shatasah's Rana, Kottimahur Manishinaha, Shatam Kottisah's Rana, Shanku, Ityabidhiyate. One hundred of one hundred thousand is called one crore.
So, 100 lakh is one crore. He is defining 10 raise to the power 7. And then further, he says 100,000 crores is one shanku, which is 10 raise to the power 12. Or in today's terms, trillion. 1, 0, 0, 0, 12 zeros is one shanku. And then over the next few slokers, he is describing 100,000 shankus makeup,
Maha Shanku, 100,000 Maha Shankus is equal to one Vrindha and it goes on. Maha Vrindha, Padma, Maha Padma, Karva, Maha Karva, Samudra, Ogha and Maha Ogha. Maha Ogha has 10 raised to the power 60 zeros. Wow. Why do we need math like this? Exactly. Now that's an interesting question.
The fact that Marshivalmiki has defined these terms means the mathematicians of that time required these terms, whether it's for astronomical calculations or construction. Some sort of precision. And the scale of calculations. Also, clearly this is an exaggeration.
If you look at the totals, so by the way, the spies after they finish all these definitions, they say the Wannarami is many, many Mahaogas, more than 10 raised to the vast 60.
This is clearly an exaggeration because if you look at the total surface area of the earth and you assume that, let's say 1 1 earth needs even 1 square foot, then so many 1 earths cannot fit on the earth. Not only the earth, they cannot fit even if you pack them on all the planets of the solar system or even a trillion earths are not enough. So clearly this is an exaggeration.
Now, so Marshivalmiki, as far as the size goes, the answer is it was a huge army, right? And he has used this to define these mathematical terms. So this huge army was at Ravan's doorstep. But he was more interested in playing dirty tricks and intrigue rather than preparing for battle. He came up with a plan to deceive Sita and get her to submit to him.
He called the Rakshas Vidya Jiva and instructed him to make a lifelike replica of Ram's head. Vidya Jiva was an expert in this and he made a very realistic model and then Ravan went to meet Sita. He told her cheerfully, your dear husband is dead. You fool. You kept refusing me because you thought that Ram will come and save you. But how will he come now?
Let me tell you how it all happened. Ram was coming here together with some Vanaras, and they had camped on the other side of the ocean. And my forces, under the leadership of Prasth, went there at night. And while Ram was sleeping, Prasth soared, sliced through his neck, without any problem. I have got his blood-soaked head for you to seek. Then he turned to the Rakshasis, and said, Go and get Vidya Jiva. He was the one who got the head from the battlefield.
with your jiver came on cue and he threw the head at Sita's feet. Sita screamed. She thought this was Ram's head. She sang to the ground, cried bitterly. Sita was completely crushed. But even then, Ravana could not get what he wanted, her consent. That was out of the question. Just then, a messenger came and told Ravana, Aryaputra,
There is a matter that the ministers want to discuss with you. Please come to the court urgently and Ravan went away. Sita was still trembling. One of the rakshasis that had been put to guard her had become friendly with her.
And she told Sita, don't worry about it. This is all a trick. Ram is well. In fact, the army has crossed over to this side. There is going to be a war soon. In fact, you can hear the preparations for the war. Don't worry. You shall soon be with Ram. In Ravan's court, there were people who were making last-ditch efforts to try and save, try and avoid war.
Ravan's own mother told him to let Sita go. Ravan's maternal grandfather said, make peace with Ram. It is not wise to fight him. But Ravan was clear. Dvida bhajjayamapi nanameyantu kasjajit. I may get cut into two pieces.
But I will never bend. Meanwhile, in the Wannar camp, Ram was making preparations for the attack. He assigned specific people to attack the different gates of the city the next day. He also told everyone not to take off their Wannar attire because this was going to be a battle at close quarters. So the Wannar attire will tell who is on which side.
which probably also means that the Rakshas army looked like you normally win wings. Yes, yes. Okay. Later that night, as Rama looked up at the skyline of Lanka, he thought that one person makes a mistake and so many have to suffer. He knew that this would be a terrible war. Both sides would suffer heavy casualties and he decided to make one last attempt at peace.
So in the morning, he sent Angad to speak to Ravana. Angad went to Ravana's court. Ravana was sitting on his magnificent throne. Angad introduced himself. He said, I am Wali's son and Ram's messenger. My name is Angad.
You may have heard about me. Honestly, when it comes to Angad, it's a character that's fascinated me a lot ever since I saw the animated Ramayan because that, again, for the child in me, that's my reference point. They've shown him very beautifully in that film. You don't hear too much about Angad when someone is skimming through the story of the Ramayan.
But certain retellings highlight him a lot. So there is this one interaction that he has with Ravan that I will usually remember where he showcases acrobatics and something around his tail. I can't remember the exact story. Yes, in fact, in popular retellings, this is where it comes.
So, in other retellings, not in the Valmiki Raman, it is said that Angad grew his tail to a great length. He coiled it and then sat on top of it, so that he was at an equal height to Raman. Now, in the Valmiki Raman, that is not described. But I just told you how he spoke to Raman, even though he is a young boy, maybe a teenager. And he said, you know, to this great king of the Rakshasas, he spoke to him as an equal.
Now, many times the story of Ramayand is depicted in sculptures or paintings, right? How do you show confidence in stone? So this is a beautiful way, the coil tail and raising himself at a height, a beautiful way to depict that Angad spoke to him with confidence. So many of the other retellings, you know, they are
they are true to the spirit of the Valmiki Raman, even though they may be telling the story differently. Just now we had also heard the story of how the Setu was constructed. Now the later retellings where they talk about the Vanara's writing, Ram's name on the rocks and because of which the rocks were floating.
Again, it conveys the sentiment that the Vanaras were inspired by Ram in every step. So, once we understand the Valmiki Raman, we can actually understand and appreciate the other versions as well, even though they are telling the story in a different way. And then he gave Ram's message to Ravan. You while Rakshas, for too long, people have suffered because of you, but no more.
It was so brave of you to kidnap Sita while I was away. Well now is the time to show your bravery once again. But this time on the battlefield, come out and fight with me. But before you come, make sure you have done the preparations for your last rites. For I will surely kill you and everyone who supports you. This was Ram's message delivered by Anghad. Ravana was crazed with anger.
And he ordered, kill this Warner. Once again note, Ravan paid no heed to the code among kings that an ambassador or envoy should not be killed. But he gave the orders to kill, four raksasas came and grabbed Angad. And that's when Angad threw them off swiftly and they went tumbling and he jumped on to a balcony.
And there he kicked and broke the balcony, destroyed the roof and then jumping from one rooftop to the next, he went out of the city. Ravan had rejected the last peace offer. So now it was time to charge on to the gates of Lanka. Ravan gave the orders and remember, Lanka had a boundary wall and outside the wall there was a moat.
But this was hardly a challenge for the Vanaras. They had just filled up the sea. So filling up the moat was fairly simple. Once again, they filled it up with rocks and mud and logs of wood and charged on the gates. The gates came crashing down. They broke the boundary wall as well at some points. And then Ravan gave the order to counterattack.
This is the beginning of the battle? This is the beginning of the battle. Yes. There's the very common story about Ravan being a Shiva Bhakta and praying to Shiva for his powers, etc, etc. Is anything said about Ravan's spiritual journey or his tantra-based journey at all in the Varmakhi Rama?
No, those things are emphasized much more in the later retellings. In the Valmiki Raman, Ravana is a great warrior, no doubt. And even as far as preparations go, there is no Puja that he does at the beginning. He prepares his arms and gets ready for battle. By the way, in this first instance, he does not come out himself, so he will come out in some time. But there's no mention of him going about any spiritual practice.
not in the Valmiki Raman from Balakan to the Yudh Dukan. And right in the beginning, I think we had once spoken about the Yudh Dukan. Remember that the Yudh Dukan was not written by Valmiki. So whenever I'm saying that something is or is not a part of the Valmiki Raman, I'm talking about Balakan to Yudh Dukan. Gotcha. These are all additional anecdotes. Yes. Okay. Now let's move on.
So, Ravan gave the order to counterattack. And the Rakshasas came with their horses, chariots, elephants. They had all the Estras and Chastras, bows and arrows, spears. See, the Wanaras had nothing. They were fighting with the Raksh tree trunks, their bare hands. And the Rakshasami was extremely well equipped.
And they were able to push back the Vanaras a little bit. So most of the battle happened outside the city gates. Although they had broken through the gates on the first day itself. The battleground was outside the city. Again, tiny interjection. For you, you believe after studying the Valmiki Raman that this was the island of Sri Lanka.
Yes, right? Yes. My question to you is that part of India where Rameshwaram is, right? You see that little strip of land that joins the island of Sri Lanka. So, within Sri Lanka, is there a particular geographical location that you think was the location of this battle? See, based on the descriptions of the Valmiki Raman, you cannot accurately pinpoint where exactly on the island it took place.
But it's possibly near that strip of land that we see on geographical maps. No, the strip of land connected it to the larger island of Lanka. But we don't know exactly. Yeah. As far as the descriptions of the Valmiki Ramayungs. Have you been to Sri Lanka? Yes. Yes. You have. Yes. I think we spoke once in our first episode, right? Yes.
What did you feel there? Like all the descriptions of the main locations, Ayodhya, Panchavati, Kishkinda and Lanka. There is a feeling, so you asked me what I felt. In all these locations,
There is a special feeling that these locations have been witnessed to watch the Ram Lakshman Sita and Hanuman did. So it's a special feeling. Gotcha. Okay. I will let you carry on with the story. Now the war is at close combats. See, the Rakshasas have lost another strategic advantage. First of all, they were on an island. They could have attacked the army as it was landing. Secondly,
They had arms that they could fire from a distance, bows and arrows, spears. They could have attacked the army while it was still outside the boundary wall. But now it was a hand to man combat. And this played to the Vanara's advantage.
And on this first day, the Vanaras kept winning again and again. Although both sides suffered heavy casualties, the Rakshasas were losing more numbers. They were losing their leaders. But then the tide turned because of someone who fought in a very different way. And this was Ravan's son, Indrajit. Valmiki says he made himself invisible.
In other words, he fought in a way that it was extremely difficult to figure out where he was firing from. Stealth. Stealth, he would fire from behind the enemy lines, not right at the front lines. Also, he would fire things that would explode in the air and then release arrows so you don't know where he is firing from. And he killed hundreds of Vanaras. He caused great destruction in the Vanar army.
And then he targeted Raman Lakshman. Soon they were bleeding heavily. His arrows were laced with poison. So they couldn't even react. And then Raman Lakshman collapsed on the ground. Unconscious. And Indrajit incorrectly thought that his job was done. And he went back into the city. He went and reported to Ravan that he had killed Raman Lakshman.
Ravan got up, hugged his son and thought that the war was over. On the very first day, outside, the Vanaras made a protective circle around Raman Lakshman. They were only unconscious, not dead. Ram regained consciousness after some time, but he was grievously injured.
Sugriv asked Sushayana, who was the medical expert among the Vanaras, whether they should take back Raman Lakshman to Kishkinda to recover. But Sushayana said that they had to quickly administer two herbs, Sanjeevani and Vishali Akarini, to Raman Lakshman. Now, where to get these herbs? Until now, the traditional story of heard is that it was just Lakshman Bhawan who collapsed. That is coming later. Yes, that happens again. Suppose I'm hearing this story.
So right now, Ram and Lakshman both need Sanji Vani and Vishal Yacarni. They're discussing where to get it from. And at that time, a Garud appears. Garud's were also forest dwellers who dressed up like eagles. So we have seen forest dwellers who dressed up like monkeys or bears or vultures. This one dressed up like an eagle. He came and he took out the arrows from Ram and Lakshman's bodies, nurse their wounds and they recovered. And Ram asked him, who are you?
And all he said was, I'm your friend, Oka Kutzta. These Rakshasas don't fight fair. Be careful. So, you see, people not associated with the war also, like this Garud, were rooting for Amm. And they, the Garud himself said, I heard that you were in trouble, so I came to help you.
We saw this earlier as well. King Guha, in Shungavarpur, he was ready to lay down his life for harm, even though he had not asked for it. Or Jatayu who gave up his life trying to protect Sita. So, all of these communities and people's had immense, the Iqvakus had immense goodwill among them and they were all rooting for harm success.
Poetically, so I believe Garud is also Vishnu Bhagawan's one. Right? Yes. He's the, the animal associated with Lord Vishnu. Yes. Whose avatar is Shiram? So when Raman Lakshman recovered, there was a roar among the Vanaras and Raman heard that roar in his court. See, he was prematurely celebrating that he had won the war, but when he heard the roar, he realized that something was wrong and when he found out,
He ordered his army to attack once again. The Vanaras were winning. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Vanaras were winning. And then Ravant came out for the first time into the battlefield. By the way, when he came out, interestingly, Vibhishan pointed him out to Ram. And it's interesting that Vibhishan said there in that distance, the towering person under the white Chatura canopy.
Who's radiant like the sun? That is Ravan. We spoke about Ravan's ten heads, whether it was a throne or actually he had ten heads. Now think about it. If he really had ten heads, one in the middle five on one side, four on the other, how would Vibhishan have pointed him out? There, that person with the ten heads, that is Ravan. That's not what Vibhishan said. Ravan laid into the Vandras. He was causing great destruction, but Ravan went and engaged with him.
And Ram struck an arrow in Ravan's chest, which hit him like a thunderbolt, and he dropped his bow. Ram's next arrow took off Ravan's crown. And then Ravan went back into the city. He retreated. See, Ravan was a great warrior, but he knew his own limitations. He was not invincible.
Even earlier, he did not attack Ram head on in Panchavati. He took him away, deceiving him and then abducted Sita. And even now, he realized that he needed to retreat to fight another day. When we're thinking about this battle,
What is the kind of weaponry that one should visualize? Because it's usually bows and arrows and swords. Yes. He's put into it briefly. Yes. Sounds very similar to the mama with weaponry of like arrows that kind of are like missiles, poisonous arrows, et cetera. So what do you visualize when it comes to weaponry? It is all that you said, but in addition, this is a very strange war that one side has none of this.
all the weaponry is on one side only. The Vanaras fought with their bare hands and they would punch, kick, throw stones, even bite or they would pick up the weapons of the Rakshasas themselves and hit them. In fact, I want to show you some clips from the battle scene itself for you to visualize this.
Ravana was furious when he learned what had happened. He then sent off Vadradaśta to lead the next charge. Vadradaśta led his forces out of the southern gate. Here the Vānaraṁi was under the charge of the young Angad. Once again, it was a dreadful fight. Soon the battleground was littered with severed heads, limbs and torsos.
Bhuchaparnishirash chin naha, tin nakai ash jabhootali. Crows and vultures gathered for the feast. Angad started working his way towards Vatsrada Anstra, who was causing many casualties among the Vanaras. The raksa saw him coming and struck him with a volley of arrows. Angad's body was drenched in blood, but he kept going closer.
And then, Angad threw a large rock at Vajradaunstra's chariot and wrecked it. This forced the Rakshas to fight Angad in hand-to-hand dual. Just like Hanuman, Angad had forced his adversary off his chariot, engaging their enemies at close quarters paid to the Vayana's advantage. Angad and Vajradaunstra punched and hit each other viciously.
Both were soon exhausted and started vomiting blood. Prudhiruddhkarinau tautu praharir janita shramau. Angad picked up a tree trunk and the Rakshas grabbed a sword. They struck each other until both were so tired that they fell to their knees.
and then, Angkad tapped his last bit of energy. He pounced on Vajruddha and grabbed his sword in a flash and cut off his head. The Rakshas troops lost courage upon seeing their fallen general and ran back to Lanka. Ravan then ordered a kampan to lead the next Rakshas assault. A kampan also targeted the Vana troops near the western gate.
While Miki says, the warring forces kicked up a cloud of dust that covered the entire battlefield. One could not see much. But after some time, the dust settled because the ground had become soaked with blood. And then a terrible picture emerged. The battlefield was covered with dead bodies.
Shari Rachavasankirna Babhu Vachavasundara. After break away from the story just a little bit. Couple of things to say. Sure. First thing I want to say is, wow, love the battle parts. And this is the kind of stuff again that's not spoken about in lore. I didn't even know this Angad story. And, you know, this was a relentless war. Day and night. It was not like the Mahabharata from Deep Break till sunset.
I've always wondered this about the Ramayan battle. In fact, when we started this series, this was the episode I was looking forward to the most because it's the one that's the most shrouded in mystery because we've not been shown it in commercial media. That's the first thing I want to say. The second thing I want to say is when I'm viewing your work, there's a part of me that views it as a content creator, as an editor and the kind of music you've used, the kind of
words you've chosen to use, like what I sense, and I'm not just saying this because you're sitting in front of me, this is a very objective opinion. I genuinely feel that Maharishi Valmiki's energy is flowing through you to make this happen. The only compliment for you here is, honestly, I feel you've been humble enough through the storytelling process to allow that high energy to flow through you.
like so many people are trying to do this exact job that you've done. But I think you had the right mindset to do the story in a very true to the art form way. Thank you very much. I'm truly humbled to hear this. My entire effort has been
to make sure I'm conveying what Maharshi Walmiki wants to say and not my interpretation or you know there should be as little of me and people should find out what is it that is actually said in the Walmiki Raman. It's been a very humbling experience for me also to sit in front of you because at my age 31 with this kind of glamour around me one of the challenges has been to
You know, tread carefully along this path and not become arrogant and all that. But when I meet people like you who are doing this kind of work in such a humble way, plus you've had a flourishing business career, all that. You're still this guy.
God chose you to say this story for our generation. There's a lot of learnings, even subliminally, beyond just the story. So thank you so much for saying that. Thanks for coming to the studio. And we inaugurated this studio with you and my mother. So I'm glad. Yes, the first episode we did. Yeah. Yeah. Please go on now, pardon this short pangent. Not at all. So we saw that the Vanaras were winning.
even though they had no arms. In fact, they were doing this repeatedly. They would force the raksas of their chariot by breaking it, force them into a hand-to-hand duel, and then finish them off. Ravan realized he had to do something different. Even he had stepped out, but retreated. And as he considered his options, he realized that there was one person he wanted to call on, and that was Kumbhakarana, his brother. If only he could wake him up,
See, Kumba Karana suffered from a medical condition, an endocrinological disorder, because of which he would sleep for many days at a time. And when he woke up, he was very hungry. And right now he was sleeping. So, Ravan's challenge was to wake him up. He sent some people to do this job. And Vamik is description of how they woke him up is very interesting.
So they went into his subterranean palace and as they went in, Kumbakarna was sleeping and his breath as he exhaled almost blew them away. So he is described here as a giant. They called out his name. They beat drums to try and wake him up, blasted conscious, but none of it worked. Then they started pulling his hair. They hit him with maces. Even that did not wake him up.
Finally, the description is, they got thousands of elephants to run up and down his body to finally wake him up. Clearly, this is an exaggeration. He stretched himself, yawned, got up, and he was famished. They had brought mounds of meat for him to eat, a pig, buffalo, deer,
This is mentioned? Yes, yes. Big buffalo and deer meat. Yes. And not just that. He also had a lot of wine to go with that as well as big jars of blood. That was his food and refreshed. He went to meet Ravan. Ravan told him what was going on in the battlefield and Kumbhakarna laughed and he said, we had warned you earlier, but you didn't listen to us.
Now you are suffering the results of your own actions. So there was some goodness in Kumbhakaran. Yes, interestingly and Kumbhakaran also gave him a lecture on why it's important to have a good balance between righteousness, wealth creation and enjoying pleasures. But Raman told him, don't give me a lecture like a teacher. I need your help right now. Kumbhakaran has said, don't worry. I'll take care of this for you.
Earlier as well, remember in the court, when in the showdown with Vibhishan, Kumbakarna had also been there. And even then, he did not agree with what Ravan had done, but he said, even then I will support you. Now, Kumbakarna stepped out into battle. Once again, Walmiki talks of him as a giant. And how big? His eyes were the size of chariot wheels.
And his height was equal to 600 bows placed next to each other. Once again, it is clearly an exaggeration. 600 bows, you know, 5 feet for one, if you calculate, it's about 3,000 feet or more. That's a kilometer. You know, some people wonder why we shouldn't take everything that is written in the Valmi-Kirama and exactly as it is.
Well, clearly these are exaggerations. A person who is kilometer tall is not possible. Even if someone were very tall, how would he fit into Ravan's palace, how would Ravan talk to him and so on. Anyway, Kumbakarna stepped into the battlefield and he started killing the Vanaras by the hundreds. His weapons of choice were not bows and arrows. He used clubs, maces, things he could hit with, even his fist.
And because he was so large, Walmiki says, with just one hit of his club, he would kill 100 Vanaras. Or he would scoop them up with his hand, 10 and 20 at a time and eat them. In short, Kumbakarna was causing great damage among the Vanaras, great casualties. And she term stepped up to fight with him. He fired off the Yavyastra and cut off his right hand.
Kumbakarna flew into a wild rage. He took a tree and started charging towards Ram, with his left hand he crapped a tree. But Ram fired another arrow and cut off his left hand too. And then Ram fired arrows at his legs to immobilize him. And then with one final arrow, Ram cut off his head. The giant's lifeless body crashed to the ground and that was the end of Kumbakarna.
When Ravan heard about this, he was heartbroken. He said, with my brother gone, I don't want to live. This kingdom has no meaning for me. What will I do with Sita? He was crying bitterly.
Indrajit could not see his father like this and he stepped out into battle. Indrajit remember is now the only person among the Rakshas leaders who has scored a win in this battle. On the first day he had injured Ram and Lakshman thought his job was done and had come back into the city. Indrajit came out once again.
Before I let you continue, this is another tiny question. Because we spoke with Vibhishan, Kumbhakaran and Ravan. Three brothers. Is anything said about their parents? Ravan's father was Vishrava Muni and his mother was Kaikasi. His mother was a Rakshasi. His father was not a Rakshasi. In fact, interestingly, Ravan's
father was a Brahman, a Muni, but he himself was a Kratria, a ruler. We saw this earlier as well, right? Vishwamitra was the son of a ruler. He used to be a king, but he became a Brahmarshi. Do you think that the other two brothers have also descended from the same pair of parents? Yes. I think so. Okay. Gotcha. Before I let you move forward, bit of a war-oriented question.
Because in my eyes, yes, I knew all the Indrajit stories, but I always viewed Kumbhgaran as the second most powerful warrior from the side of the Rakshasas. Would you say that it's actually Indrajit?
No, these are the three top warriors, Ravan himself, Indrajit and Kumbhakarna. Okay. Yes. And what's said about Indrajit is that he's stealth oriented and has very advanced weaponry. Yes. Kumbhakarna had immense physical power and Indrajit had all the smart weapons. Got it. Technically the most sound. Yes.
just little tiny historical context. If you study all medieval battles of human history, like from the last 1000 years, and I'm pretty sure even before that, the side that wins is always the one that's technically more advanced. And that's the actual edge that one has in warfare. And I've had lots of soldiers on the show. They've also confirmed this theory that it's always the side with the cannons, the side with the guns, the side with the drones that ends up winning.
So this is a huge advantage that the Rakshas has had. And they let it down. They let it go the advantage because they could fire from a distance and they didn't engage the Vanaras early enough. And now this was a hand-to-hand combat or a person-to-person combat. And here the Vanaras were winning. Okay. Now let it go on. Yes.
So, Kumbakarna was dead and Ravan was heartbroken. Indrajit Kunt see him like this. He came out to fight. And once again, he started killing Vanaras by the hundreds. They didn't even know where he was firing from. Some of the weapons that he fired would explode in the air and then they would release sharp darts onto the Vanaras
Walmiki says some of the Vandra's tried to look up to see where the attack was coming from and they were struck in their eyes. Indrajit then turned his attention to Raman Lakshman. He used the Brahmasra and then showered so many arrows on them that they fell down unconscious. And already a lot of the other Vandra leaders were down, Sugriv Angad.
once again Indrajit thought that his job was done and he went back into the city. Vibhishan and Hanuman were the only senior leaders who were relatively unheard in all this. Everyone else was terribly injured and they were going around tending to the injured soldiers. When Vibhishan came across Jambawan, Jambawan had lost a lot of blood. With great difficulty, he told Vibhishan to quickly call Hanuman and when Hanuman came,
Vivishan told him to get the Sanjivani herb. So this is a fairly popular scene when Hanuman gets the herb to save the army. Let's watch this in a short video. Hanuman came up to him. Jambawan said, the fate of our army is in your hands now.
You must quickly get four medicinal herbs, Sanjivani, Vishalya Karani, Subharana Karani and Sandhani. Go to the Himalayas, Himavantam Gantumarhasi. Between Mount Kailash and Mount Rishab, you will see another peak shining brightly. Many herbs grow on this mountain. There you will find the ones we need.
Oh, greatest of one errors. Now go. Only you can do this. So this is the famous story of Hanuman flying to the Himalayas and bringing back a mountain. Did that really happen? Let us first see how Walmiki has described it. And then we will consider whether the descriptions can be taken literally or not.
Valmiki says, Hanuman grew his body to an enormous size. Even the mountain he was standing on got pressed into the earth. And then he took a giant leap into the sky and went off towards the Himalayas. He sipped past mountains, lakes, rivers and cities. And soon he reached the mountain where the herbs were growing.
but he could not find the ones he was looking for. The plants realized that someone was looking for them and made themselves invisible. And so Hanuman picked up the entire mountain peak with the trees and even the animals and brought it all back to Lanka.
Ram, Lakshmana and the injured Vanaras were administered the medicines. Soon, they all recovered. Hanuman then quickly went and put the mountain back in its place in the Himalayas. Thamoshadhi Shailam, Nina Ayabhaigad, Himavantam. Did Hanuman do this using any yogic parts?
Walmiki has not mentioned anything about Hanuman using yogic powers or sit these. And also consider this. The distance from Lanka to the Himalayas is about 2500 kilometers. Hanuman is said to have covered this distance four times for two up and down trips in just a few hours. His flying speed would have to be many hundreds of kilometers per hour.
Even if Hanuman had some means of making the journey himself, the mountain would not remain intact at such speeds. Trees get uprooted in hurricanes at much lower wind speeds. By the time Hanuman could have brought the mountain to Lanka, not a single tree would have survived. Most likely, these plants were native to the Himalayan region, but the medicines were also available nearby.
But remember, on the first night of the war, the Karud had also brought some such herbs. And when Sugriv had assembled his army, we had heard that the Vayana troops from the Himalayas had brought some medicinal herbs with them. The idea of getting a mountain of herbs could be a way of saying that Hanuman got a very large quantity of these medicines.
Well, the medicines had done the job. Ram Lakshman and the other injured soldiers were feeling much better. And then Sugri ordered a counter attack. See, like I said before, this was a relentless war, non-stop. This was late at night. They had just recovered. But Sugri told the Vanaras to charge into the city and set the buildings on fire.
Earlier as well, we had seen how in the Sundarkand, Hanuman had set fire to some buildings in Lanka. At that time, the objective was different. He wanted to strike fear in the hearts of the enemy. And so he had put the fire at the residences of the senior most ruckous leaders.
But this time Sugree's objective was to reduce Ravan's ability to fight the war. And so they targeted the storehouses which kept all the tools of war. Ama, body Ama, bows and arrows, bows strings and so on.
The Rakshasas were caught by surprise because they were thinking that the enemy soldiers are lying injured and the leaders are dead. The Wannar troops stormed into the city, set the buildings on fire. They were chaos in the street. Men and women running around, even elephants and horses. And then just as quickly as they had come, the Wannar troops came back, retreated to their positions outside the city. Ravan heard about this, he was livid.
And he once again turned to Indrajit and said do something, kill those two brothers Ram and Lakshman. Indrajit came out once again.
This time when he came out, he put something on fire, which created a lot of smoke. So the entire battlefield was covered by a thick fog. And through this fog, he started firing off his arrows. And he was changing his location all the time. So nobody could see where he would fire from. And he was killing hundreds of Vanaras like this. And then suddenly he retreated back into the city.
And he came out of another gate, this time the western gate of the city. And he had with him on the chariot someone that looked like Sita, a lady that looked like Sita. And after he came out, he grabbed that lady by the hair and started hitting her. She cried, Ram! Ram! Hanuman saw this from a distance. And he screamed at him, stop that! But Indrajit said,
You may think that killing a woman is not correct, but for me, whatever harms the enemy must be done. And he took his sword and struck the woman who collapsed to the floor of the chariot. Indrajit shouted out, look, I have killed Sita. And then he went into the city. Hanuman rushed to report this to Ram.
Vavishan was also there and he said, this is a trick. I know Ravan very well. I know Indrajit too. They are trying to keep us preoccupied, throw us off our ground. What could it be? And suddenly Vavishan realized what it was. He said, Indrajit must have gone to the shrine of Nikumbila to do a fire ritual.
And if he finishes the ritual, he will become invincible. We must stop him. So Lakshman, Vibhishan, Hanuman and some troops rush to the shrine of Nicumbila and they get there just in time. For Indrajit comes out without completing what he had started. And now for the first time, Indrajit is out in the open. And Lakshman engages him in a direct battle.
Both were extremely skilled warriors. They had all the Astras and Shastras. They neutralized a lot of the Astras that the other fired in mid-air. But still, many of the arrows found their mark and both were previously injured. Walmiki says blood was flowing down their bodies like waterfalls.
At one point, Indrajit lost his chariot here. What is interesting, Valmiki says that he took control of the rains himself and alternated between guiding the horses and firing off bows. So he would guide the horses, leave the rains, fire a narrow and go back to guiding the horses. So he was a very skilled warrior, but ultimately he was forced off his chariot as well.
And then Lakshman loaded the Aindraastra. Aindraastra means Indra's astra onto his bow. He pulled the bowstring all the way to his ears, aimed the arrow at Indrajit's neck and released it. And in a flash, it was all over. Indrajit was no more. Interestingly, Indrajit means he who had defeated Indra, Lord Indra.
He was killed by Indrazastra, Aindrastra. When Ravan heard that his son was no more, he fainted. And when he regained consciousness, he was beside himself with grief. He cried bitterly. And Ravan was not the only one who was grieving. By now, Valmiki says that every family in Lanka had lost someone, brothers, sons, husbands,
And Walmiki devotes an entire chapter, Sargar, to the lament of the Rakshasis. They are crying and lamenting the lost ones. It's interesting who they blame for all this and who they do not blame. Surprisingly, they have nothing to say about Ram. But the two people that they are blaming are Shurpanka and Ravana. The Rakshasis themselves are saying, what was Shurpanka thinking when she lusted for Ram?
Clearly she was wrong. And as for Ravan, they said, he is evil minded and arrogant. If only he had listened to Vibhishan. Now there was no one left turned to. Ravan knew he had to come out to fight. He was down. He had clearly lost many of the battles in this, but he was not done yet.
He would throw himself and whatever he had into one final battle. He asked the Rakshasas to round up everyone. House to house, Gruhe, Gruhe, who could fight. And then, Ravan came out for one final battle. Ravan first caused great destruction among the Vana troops and then Ravan engaged Ravan. Once again, like Indrajit and Lakshman, both were very capable, both
neutralised or brought down diastras in mid-air, but also both were struck, were injured. At one point in time, Ravan also struck Lakshman with a spear. And it is here that Hanuman once again got the Sanjivani herb only for Lakshman. So, the Sanjivani herb is required three times.
On the first day when Ramen Lakshmana was injured, they talked about Sanjivani but then the Garud came. Then the second time we saw in the video when most of the leaders and many troops were injured. That's when Hanuman got the Sanjivani and now. During this time, Ramen had gone back because he had lost his horses. So he went back to get a fresh chariot.
And when Ravan came back into the battlefield, Ravan and Ravan engaged once again, both fought for a long time, for hours. And once again, suddenly, Ravan's chariot here turned the chariot back into the city. Ravan lashed out at him. He said, you fool, why did you do that? The chariot here said, my Lord, the horses are tired and so are you. I think we should take some rest.
While Ram was waiting for Ravan to come back, he thought of Agastyumuni. The great Muni had taught him the Adi Chiridaya stotra, a prayer that helps harness one's energy in battle. And Ram stood facing the sun, recited the prayer, and did Acha Man, the ceremonial sipping of water three times.
Is the prayer mentioned in the... Yes. Yes. It's like a mantra packed into the realm. Into the narration. Okay. Got it. Alright. Let's watch the video. Yeah. Ravan returned to the battle scene for the third time. Once more. A ferocious battle ensued between these two great warriors. This was Jariot warfare at its best. Sumahad Vayratham Yudtham.
At times, Ram and Ravan charged towards each other. At other times, they tactically retreated, only to attack from a different angle. And they attacked each other relentlessly. It seemed like the sky was entirely covered by arrows flying across. No one had seen a battle like this ever before.
Rakshasam Ravanam Japi, Vahneranam Jaragavam, Pashyatam Vismitakshanam, Sainyam Jitramivabhavamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamam
Ram wondered why the weapons that had worked so well against Khur, Dushan and Kabanda were unable to finish off Ravan. Walmiki says poetically that when Ram cut off Ravan's head with a sharp arrow, a new head appeared in its place and this happened a hundred times. Ram realized that he had to try something different.
and then he picked up a special weapon that Agastya Muni had given him. Thesaro, made by Lord Brahma himself, was more like a missile launched from a bow. Valmiki has described it as follows. It was huge in size and weight, but also hollow in the middle. Shari Ram Akashamayam,
A fire burned inside, and it emitted smoke as it went hissing through the air. It landed on its target like a thunderbolt. It could blast right through doors and walls, man and beast. Ram loaded the crate weapon on his bow as per the proper Vedic procedures. He pulled the bowstring all the way back and fired it off at Raman.
The arrow hit Ravana on the chest and went right through him. The king of Rakshasas was dead even before he hit the ground.
That is how it happened.
The Brahmastra? The Brahmastra comes many times in the Raman. Even earlier in the Sundarkand, Indrajit had used the Brahmastra to ensnare Hanuman. Then Indrajit had used the Brahmastra later on as well on Ram and Lakshman. So the Brahmastra is not only one astra. There are different types of Brahmastra mentioned here. Wow.
What is said about his death because there was a line where you went that life left him before he hit the ground. Yeah. That's the last mention of him and his body and his soul. Yes. So he was dead in an instant. There is a popular story in some retellings about Ravan lying on his deathbed and Lakshman going to meet him before he dies. That is not mentioned in the Valmiki Raman. Does Ramji have a dialogue about Ravan at all to anyone?
Yes, so right after this, once Ravan is dead, Mandodari and the other wives come out. I'll tell you what happens because he mentions something to Vivishan which is important about Ravan. So the ladies come out and they are weeping next to Ravan's body. See, one side has won the battle, the war. How do we typically imagine the winning side will treat the losing side?
especially the women throughout history. And now look at Ram's exemplary behavior. He tells Vibhishan, please console the women and do the last rites for Ravan. So, the right treatment for the fallen soldier as well as consoling the women. Exemplary behavior. Even Vibhishan was not ready for this. He was conflicted. On one hand,
He had lost his brother, and he was sad. At the same time, he was not ready to forgive Ravana for what he had done. But Ram tells Vibhishan that animosity should not last after death.
And he tells Vibhishan to your question now, what does he tell about Ravana? He said Ravana was a great warrior. He deserves respect from you and me. He died fighting in the battlefield like a true Kshatriya. So please go ahead and do his last rites. And then Vibhishan cremated Ravana's body, Jalanjali.
And then Ram told Lakshman to coordinate Vibhishan as the next king of Lanka. And then he told Vibhishan to go and call Sita. See, Sita was inside the city in the Ashokwan, remember, and Ram could not enter any city during the period of his exile, Manvas. So he asked Vibhishan to call her, but he also said, make sure she has taken her bath and put on her jewelry.
That was a strange request and Sita thought so too. She said, I want to meet Ram. The bath can wait. A snath Vadresh to meet Chami. But Vivishan advised that they should follow what Ram had said. And so Sita got ready and Vivishan brought Sita to the battlefield in a palki, Palanquin, and then told Ram, Sita is here.
Ram was thoughtful. He looked down for a moment and then told Vibhishan, please ask Sita to get off the palki and walk up to me. Again, Vibhishan couldn't understand why Ram was asking for this, but he went and told Sita to come towards Ram. At that time, the Vanaras and Rakshasas had begun to gather. It was some sort of a spectacle and
Vibhish and soldiers were pushing them back. Ram told the soldiers not to push them back. Let them stay. And so when Sita got off the palki, she was embarrassed, like Jaya. Everyone was looking at her. She walked towards Ram. And then when she looked up, their eyes met. After months of longing, finally, they had seen each other. And Maharishi Walmiki says, their faces lit up with joy.
but then Ram's expression changed. And he said to her, oh lady, may you be well. You should know that I did not fight the war for your sake. By kidnapping you, Ravan had insulted me and I had to take revenge. I fought this war for the glory of the ikshwaku dynasty.
But now, there is a doubt about your character. Prabhupada Chari Trasandeha. And I can't even bear to look at you. Surely, Ravana would have been attracted to someone as beautiful as you. And what sort of a man would take back a woman who has spent some time in someone else's house? You are free to go and live with whoever you wish to.
you can live with Lakshman, Bharat Shatrukhna, or even Sugriv or Vibhishan. It means nothing to me. Sita could not believe what she was hearing. In fact, we have spoken over four sessions, many hours. This is completely out of character, based on what we have heard about Sita.
If we are reading the Ramayana and when we come to this part, you may flip the pages back and forth to see whether you are reading things correctly. This is so odd. We have seen how Ram was pained by Sita's loss. Again and again, we heard him say, I cannot live for a moment without Sita. Yam, Vinayana, Notsahi, Muhurtama, P.G. Vitam.
My life is meaningless without Sita. We heard this at Panchavati when she was kidnapped afterwards in Pampa. Ram talked about his longing for Sita. And Ram had also said, if I can be with Sita, I will not wish for anything else in the world, not even Ayodhya.
Sita cried. She could not understand why Ram was saying this. And she said, what you say is totally unfair, inappropriate. How come you are thinking like an ordinary person? I did not come here by choice. Ravan forcibly brought me. Now, what is my fault in all this?
And if that's what you felt, you should have told me so earlier, I would have killed myself when Hanuman came to meet me. And then, all this effort would have been saved. You put your life at risk unnecessarily. So many of your friends' lives at risk so many people got killed, it was unnecessary. And if after all these years, if you still do not understand me,
Then I might as well be dead, she looked to Lakshman and said, Lakshman, I cannot live with this baseless controversy about my character. Please light a fire and I will walk into it. Note, many months back, Sita had said some harsh and unfair words to Lakshman in Panchoti before she got abducted.
And now Ram had said harsh and unfair words to Sita, and Sita was looking for help towards Lakshman. Lakshman could also not understand why Ram was doing this. He knew how Ram felt about Sita, and how could he say such things. He looked at Ram angrily, and then Maharishi Walmiki says,
Rama made a gesture to Lakshman, and then Lakshman understood what was in his mind. Aka Rasuchitam, a gesture, and Lakshman lit a fire. So Rama had indicated to him, I know what I'm doing. Just go along. It was all an act, those harsh words. Lakshman lit the fire. Sita walked up to it, and she said,
If I am not at fault in any way, if my character is spotless, may the fire protect me." And she started going towards the fire. There was a roar among the crowds. At this point, Marshival Miki says, Sita jumped into the fire. The day was Rishi's Gandharvas, Indra, Brahma, all came there. Agni Dev brought Sita out of the fire.
And then they all spoke to Ram and said, Sita is not at fault in any way. Ravan forcibly brought her, never again say such hurtful things to her. We have to understand that through the voices of the Devas and Rishis, Valmiki is telling us what the crowd spoke up just as Sita was about to jump into the fire.
And when they said, Sita is not at fault in any way, Ram said, I understand Sita very well. I know her very well. And I can never leave her. It is just not possible. We are inseparable. Like the sun is inseparable from the sun's rays. You cannot have one without the other.
Sita was not at fault, but Ram knew that people would question and gossip about her and he wanted to make sure that they recognized her as the queen and that they had no question about her. Ram's hurtful words to Sita that we heard were all an act. And this was a carefully crafted situation. If you saw right from the beginning, why did Sita have to put on her jewelry?
because Ram wanted to make sure that when she made her first appearance, people saw her as they soon to be queen and not as a destitute woman. Why did he tell the guards not to push back the crowds so that they could hear the hurtful words that he said? And then Sita had to walk up to him and he said those hurtful words when the people spoke up and said, Sita has done nothing wrong. Sita is not to be blamed.
And this is exactly the outcome that Sri Ram wanted. And with that, Sri Ram and Sita were united once again. This previous chapter is very important for modern day context. And I was toying with the idea of even bringing this up or not, but I feel every faith in the world has its critics, which often come from other faiths. And of course, every faith in the world also has its set of secular people.
who just, you know, are more good energy towards other faiths. When it comes to Sanandam, the critics of Sanandam, sometimes from other faiths, and very, very often from our own faith.
end up criticizing the Ramayan because of this part without talking about what you spoke about post sitamas or out bust. Yeah. And if you read things in isolation, of course, you will get a completely different meaning. Yeah. This is what my friend Manish calls loosely informed, highly opinionated.
when people criticize the Ramayan in this manner. But instead, hear the whole story. And also, this is kind of the danger with taking the Valmiki Ramayan and creating your own spin on it. And here I'm criticizing all the individuals who added their own spin on it over the last 14,000 years. Was there a need? See, there is a place for retellings. And some of the retellings are
Even the authors are saying that this is just a literary work. And I think as long as the retellings are consistent with the spirit of Valmiki Raman, we can enjoy them all. Like I said about the coiled tale, why not a beautiful depiction? We can enjoy that. But where if you start reading character traits that are simply not there, like Raman being very nice to women, we just saw today that is absolutely far from the truth. That is not a retelling, that is a twisting.
Yeah, I think it's almost become a bit of a Sanatani flex to show off certain kind of elements of spin-off stories that here did you know that in some stories, Ravan is Sita's dad, like I've heard things like this, it's been said on the show as well. That's so far from the Valmiki Raman. Yes, and that is why the importance of the Valmiki Raman, because that is the reference text. See, there are so many versions and people are confused. What exactly happened?
And for that question, the reference text is the Valmiki Raman. You know, more than a million people are going to watch these episodes collectively, what we've recorded. This is such an important retelling of the original text for the internet age. Can I interject with one more question before we move forward? Yes. First of all, is the story complete? Is there some stuff left?
A little bit now they will go back to Ayodhya, but go ahead with your question. The question I have is this element of Sri Ram being God or human. This is another question that came up a lot in the comment section. And I think this is in reference to the previous episode where we spoke about Hanumanji's reality, where you often visualize him as a God, which he is, which is why we recite the Hanuman jalis as well.
But then, mentions of the Vayneras tell us that they took off their monkey-like masks and monkey-like tails. So these were obviously human beings which were putting on some kind of attire. And Hanumanji was a very evolved version of a Vayner. Yes. Was a higher being, for sure. Now, common understanding in Sanatana is that Ramji is an avatar of Vishnu.
What can we bring in Vishnu Bhagawan into this part of the story and this part of this conversation as well? What's happening here? So your question was, is he human or divine? Yes. And the answer is both. First of all, right in the beginning, in the first discussion that we had in this series,
First chapter of the Balakand itself, we had looked at the kinds of traits that Maharshi Valmiki was looking for. Remember, Kohn was Mensaam Pratam Loke, Munavan Kastaviriavan, and so on. And there, he had used the word Nara.
So he was looking for a person, a human, who had these qualities and then he wrote the story of Ram. Afterwards also he has used the word Nar to talk about Sri Ram. So Sri Ram in the Vālmiki Ram mind is human. We also saw that he goes through all the human emotions. Happiness, love, anger, hopelessness, sorrow, all of it. Also many of the
magical aspects that we find in other retellings are not there in the Valmiki Raman. So Shri Ram was human. At the same time, Mashi Valmiki has also said that the four sons of Vishnu had taken birth as the four sons of Dasrat. And at other points also he refers to Shri Ram as Vishnu being in human form. So both.
So, proceeding with the story, we are almost at the end, Ravan is no more, Rama and Sita are together, the war is over and so are the 14 years of exile. So, it is now time to go home. Vibhishan gets the Pushpak Vaman ready, all of them climb into the Vaman and the Vaman takes off Ayodhya. Along the way,
When they are passing over Kishkinda, Sita suggests that they could pick up Tara and the other ladies. So they bring down the women, pick up the additional passengers and then off on their way again. When they come close to Ayodhya, Ram, Lakshmana and Sita bow down in reverence to the city. But then instead of arriving straight at Ayodhya, Ram gets the women to turn back
and land at Bharadwajmuni's ashram. Remember, during that one was also they had come south to Shrungavairpur crossed over the Ganga and then got gone to Bharadwajmuni's ashram. After exchanging some pleasantries, Shira masks Bharadwajmuni, how are things in Ayodhya? Bharadwajmuni knows why he's asking that.
And he says, my disciples go there often, and I can tell you that Bharat is ruling very well. And he's waiting for you to come back. You had asked me earlier, what happens after the 14 years? So Kaikei had asked that Ram should be sent off into Andvas and Bharat should be made the king. You've Raj earlier and then the king. What happens after 14 years?
At that time, remember in Chitrakoot, Bharat had said that if you don't come back on the very day the 14 years are over, I will kill myself. I'm only ruling in your name.
But Ram wanted to find out what Bharat was thinking now after all these years about it before arriving. And he also wanted to know how Bharat was ruling. So he had found that Bharat was ruling very well. So he told Hanuman to go up to Bharat before they arrived to tell him what all had happened. And then he said, observe Bharat very carefully, his body language and his expressions.
And if you feel something is amiss, then let me know before I meet Bharat." The empire held no attraction for Amm. So he was not eagerly looking forward to becoming the king. His primary concern always was Prajapalan, welfare of the people. And he had found through Bharat Vajmuni that Bharat was ruling well.
And so he wanted to find out that if Bharat wanted to continue. See, after 14 years in power, maybe he thought differently. If Bharat wanted to continue, Ram was very happy to let him do so. So Hanuman went to meet Bharat, told him what had happened. Bharat was stunned to hear all this. He did not know about Sita's abduction and the war with the Rakshasas or any of it.
And he was delighted to know that Ram was coming back to Ayodhya. He hugged Hanuman and said, Chirasya Purunaha, Kalume Manoratha. Finally, my wish has been fulfilled.
The next day, the Vaman arrived in Nandigram. By the way, Bharat was ruling as a caretaker, as he had said, from Nandigram which was just outside Ayodhya. So he had said he would not enjoy any of the luxuries of royal life while Ram was in exile. And so he was at Nandigram and that's where the Vaman came. It was an emotional homecoming for Ram, Lakshmana and Sita. Bharat told Ram,
Now that you are back, take over the empire. I have ruled in your name. In your absence, the treasury, food stocks and the army are 10 times what they were. So he had grown the economy 10 times in 14 years. He had ruled very well. Even then Bharat said, but no one can rule this vast empire like you. I am escapable of walking in your shoes.
as a donkey, escapable of walking like a horse. Guttinkara, Iwashrosya. The very words he had said 14 years back. All these years in power had not changed but one bit.
And these were the Xwaku's. We had seen earlier 34 generations, they had been ruling for 34 generations and still not a trace of any lust for power. Remember the great debate at Chitrakoot, where Ram and Bharat had argued that the other is the rightful successor. Ram agreed to take over the responsibility of the empire.
coronation was held the next day. Before the coronation, Ram was brought from Nandigram to Ayodhya in a grand procession. There were musicians and dancers. Ayodhya erupted in joy. The streets and buildings were decorated with flags and flowers. And then Marshivasishta placed the crown of the Iksvakus on Sri Ram's head.
Ram gave away gifts to the scholars and the needy. He honored Vibhishan, Hanuman, Sugriev and others. And Sita gave a very special gift, a necklace to a very special person, Hanuman. After the coronation, Sugriev went back to Kishkinda. Vibhishan went back to Lanka.
and thus began the glorious reign of King Ram. Marshivalmiki says, everyone was happy and all was well in the land. Sarvam muditameva sith. People lived long and healthy lives. They lived in harmony with each other and with nature.
And Ram was extremely popular. People could not get enough of talking about him. Ram did this. Ram did that. Ramu, Ramu, Ram, Iti. Prajanam, Abhavant Kathar. And thus, Ram ruled for many, many years. Eivamaita, Puravrtham, Akkhanam, Badramasthua. This is the story. This is how it all happened.
May you all be well. And with those words, the sixth book of the Valmiki Ramayana comes to an end. Yudh the kandam, sampuram. And this is also the end of the Valmiki Ramayana. Jai Shira. Jai Shira. Hmm. Fun. Feeling like a big box has been ticked. From my own artistic journey, I don't know how you're feeling.
Definitely, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to tell this story of Sri Ram, the Charitra of Sri Ram, sharing it with all of you. Thanks for your life's work, that's what I'll say. But before we close off, I want to make one final remark. You had said just now that this is the oldest epic, the Adi Kavya, written all of these thousands of years back and we are still talking about it.
In fact, in the Ramayana itself, Marshivalmiki has this shlok, Yavats-thas-sinti-gira-yaha. Sarita-shtama-heetale, tawad-ramayana-kata-lokeshu-pracharish-shati. Until the mountains and rivers exist on this earth, Ramayana, the story of Ram will always be told. Now, think about it.
How could Marshiv Balmiki, all of these thousands of years back, be so confident that what he was composing will be told for all times to come? How could he be so confident? And the answer is relevance. The Balmiki Ramayana is relevant for everyone and for all times. In the first session, you had asked the question, I think it was your first question.
Why did Marshiv Almiki write it? And we had looked at the first few verses. Who in the world lives today? Who has all the qualities of an outstanding person? Who is a great role model?
And then in the next few verses, he had listed out these qualities, who has the strength of character, who is thoughtful, caring, generous, grateful, truthful, a doer, scholar. He has attained control over his anger, but won't remain silent in the face of wrongdoing. And then Merci Walmiki wrote the story of Ram, because Ram had all of those qualities. Now note, these qualities are universal human values.
who can argue that being grateful, thoughtful caring is not good. And so Sri Ram exemplifies these universal human values. See, Ram's ideal is not limited by any philosophy or doctrine. There are no religious do's and don'ts in this book. And that is why the Ramayana is relevant for everyone and for all times, relevant for you and me today.
See, you are doing some exciting and bold initiatives in your podcast about the global expansion and so on. Also, in your personal life, you shared some interesting developments. For you and for me, can we think of the Ramayana in our lives? That is the question. Can we think beyond ourselves and our self-interest?
Can we choose to do the right thing even when the costs are high? Can we support others in the time of need? And surely there will be times when we feel hopeless and overwhelmed. Can we think of what Sri Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman did? And know that we have to keep going. Never give up.
And when we have done everything that we can do, can we accept whatever life throws at us without anger, without irritation, just the way Shri Ram accepted on the day of his exile. That is the relevance of the Ramayana. This conversation is important because hopefully
We can not only connect our audience with Marshival Miki's words, but also show them how it can be useful in their day-to-day lives.
It's petrol for the subconscious mind. That's how I look at the Ramayana. Fuels, your journey through life. And it's always done that for every Indian who's familiar with the story. This whole series was created honestly primarily for a global audience to expose them to the story of the Ramayana. And there's a lot of people of Indian origin all over the world who wish to hear the story in English and who wish to know the true version of the story.
So, this is why it's a big artistic tick mark for me. It's been a goal of mine since my career began. And you were the right person, you know, that Hanumanji saint and that Maharishi Balmiki saint. Thank you. And you said it is for the global audience. Of course, it should be like we said, it is universal.
as I'm moving into my 30s, I'm 31 now, I'll turn 32 this year. One of the big life lessons I'm understanding is that there's variables in life and there's constants in life. And we often only address the positive constants, which are your family members. You know, maybe love as an emotion, maybe growth is a constant, but there's another very big constant that you're not
told about when you're growing up and often you learn it through the course of life. And that constant is the fact of unpredictability. It's not a variable. I've understood that life is deeply unpredictable. That's just the nature of being a human being.
And this is exactly why you need that short of models, ethics, guidelines which you get from the Ramayan. Yes. I think that's what you're going towards as well. That this is a bit of a GPS for life in some ways. Definitely, when we keep an ideal in front of us, we become more like that. Remember, we had
spoken about this in our very first discussion before we started the fourth part series. Why should we read this again and again? Because over time, the right actions become our default actions. As we move towards this ending note, what I've realized about you is that you've had a very successful business career before you began this journey of starting the Ramayana. And
You've told me off camera about all the adventures you've had through your business career. There were some very intense, difficult periods as well. But you just kind of swiftly move past those periods so that you can be here in this room and share the story of the Ramayana with the world, the original true Maharishi Balmikki Ramayana. Yes, I certainly feel blessed and privileged that I'm able to do the work that I'm doing for the last six years.
Yeah. What I will end this podcast with is a truth that I've realized while sitting in front of you. You're easily the most humble person that we've had in the seat. And I'm not told you this until now, but I genuinely feel that. Like I've spoken to all sorts of people, never met anyone as humble as you, which is why, you know, I think Sri Ram shows you himself. So. Thank you. Thank you for being in this room. Thank you.
That was the series finale ladies and gentlemen. Of course, if you've not checked out the first three episodes, do go check them out. We'll link them down below as well.
It's been a spiritual purpose within the realms of my professional life to create this exact series at some point. And 10 years into YouTubing, we've finally been able to do an accurate retelling of Valmiki's Ramayana for the 2025 podcast listening audience.
Doing the series was almost therapeutic for me in so many ways. Got a glimpse of what Bharat used to be 14,000 years ago because this is the real history of India that were not taught in schools. This particular series
has been created with very, very pure intention by both Yeshodipsa and myself, which is why I hope that it reaches every single Indian and we get to know the Ramayan in much more detail than we knew before the series existed. We intend on creating a series related to the Mahabharat in the future as well. But please enjoy this one for now, rewatch it if you must. And if you want an even more detailed version of
This kind of a retelling, do visit Yashodipso's YouTube channel. It's called 21 Notes, where he's given very, very, very detailed episodes related to Valmiki's Ramayana, the only true and honest retelling of our epic. Thank you for listening in. Lots of love. Jai Shira.
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The Quran & The Jinn - Muslim Scholar Explains Islamic Occult | Imran Hussein | TRS

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Check out my Mind Performance app: Level SuperMind Link:- https://install.lvl.fit/zltzty13po49p27t9ef5o Share your guest suggestions here Link - https://forms.gle/aoMHY9EE3Cg3Tqdx9 Join the Level Community Here: https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunity Check out BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Designing For Clicks Course - https://bbsh.co.in/bb-yt-vid-dfc Follow BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Social Media Handles: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeerBicepsSkillHouse Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beerbiceps_skillhouse Website : https://beerbicepsskillhouse.in For any other queries EMAIL: support@beerbicepsskillhouse.com In case of any payment-related issues, kindly write to support@tagmango.com Follow Imran Hussein's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imranhussein87?igsh=OGJoYW9nZ2RhYWlz 🎧 Listen To #TheRanveerShow On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZcvVBPQ2ToLXEWVbaw59P In this 480th episode of The Ranveer Show, we explore the mystical and hidden dimensions of Islam with scholar Imran Hussein. This deep conversation unravels the mystery of Jinn, their connection to humans, and their role in Islamic teachings. Imran Hussein shares insights on Shaytan, occult practices, paranormal occurrences, and the significance of The Holy Quran in understanding these unseen forces. We also discuss the intersection of Islamic mysticism, Sufism, and the occult, shedding light on spiritual experiences, dreams, and divine guidance. This thought-provoking conversation blends spirituality, philosophy, and the supernatural, offering a fresh perspective on the unseen world. Whether you believe in the occult or are simply curious about Islamic mysticism, this episode will leave you questioning the reality we live in. #Islam #horror
February 05, 2025
REAL Lord Hanuman's Story: Valmiki Ramayana Part 3 | Yashodeep Deodhar | TRS

The Ranveer Show
In this episode of The Ranveer Show, guest Yashodeep Deodhar discusses the life and legacy of Hanuman Ji through ancient texts and spiritual wisdom. They explore Hanuman's roles in the Ramayana and shed light on lesser-known details of Sita Maa's abduction.
January 28, 2025
Shiva Tantra Saadhu On TRS - Bhairava, Kashmiri Shaivism & Naga Saadhus | TRS

The Ranveer Show
In this podcast, Yuvraj Srivastav discusses ancient spiritual practices such as Tantra, Trika philosophy, and Naam Jaap, shares his experiences with powerful energies like Kaal Bhairava, and explains the spiritual significance of places like Gangotri. Topics also include encounters with negative energies, sensing Hanuman Ji, and Nagas.
January 26, 2025

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