The Ramayana (57 page)

Ravana said, “There are also three kinds of advisers: those who look clearly at every problem in the light of the wisdom of the Shastras; those who debate, argue, and disagree among themselves, yet arrive at the same conclusion as the first; and finally, those who obstinately follow their inclinations and prejudices, and will never agree with any opinion that differs from their own, however reasonably.”

He scrutinized their faces. “My loyal friends, our spies tell me that Rama has gathered an army of vanaras and reekshas to attack our city. From what I hear of this man, he can drain the ocean with his astras and walk across its bed to our shores. Somehow, I have no doubt that he and his legion of apes will arrive in Lanka. We must defend ourselves, and I want to hear your counsel on how we can best do this. I want to hear how you think we should confront the danger that threatens us.”

They glanced at one another. Then Ravana's chief minister, Prahastha, whose son Jambumali was killed by Hanuman, stood up and cried, “Only a foolish counselor will allow his king to be anxious when the greatest army in all the world is his to command. We were unprepared for yesterday's encounter with the monkey, and doubtless he was helped by some sorcery and an evil crossing of stars in the sky. But not every day is the same, and your army is the one you led into Varuna's city under the waves, Bhogavati, and we annihilated its great nagas.

“This is the army with which you vanquished Kubera on Kailasa and became Lord of the earth. My lord, you are Ravana who brought the Asura Madhu to Lanka in chains. Mayaa himself gave his daughter Mandodari to be your wife. The denizens of the Patalas tremble at the mention of your name. They know you are the greatest master of maya that ever lived.

“Why does such doubt beset you today, who slew Varuna's sons? Or do you really think this Rama, who is a mere human, is an equal of the enemies I have named?

“Remember how easily Indrajit captured the monkey Hanuman. Indrajit by himself can obliterate the race of vanaras. Or has my lord forgotten that your son is called Indrajit because he once brought the king of the Devas to your feet, bound in the crystal coils of his astra? And only when Brahma begged you, you sent Indra back to Amravati.

“Mighty Ravana, I don't know what darkens your mind with such anxiety today. Why do you even ask for our counsel, when it is not needed? It is obvious what the fate of this Rama and his monkeys will be when they land on Lanka's shores. I say send Indrajit to face them; then we will deal with what remains.”

Another like-minded minister echoed what Prahastha said. “You conquered the Devas, the Asuras, the gandharvas, the pisachas. All the kings of Swarga, Bhumi, and Patala are your vassals. Why should Ravana pay any mind to a puny man who dares come to our shores with a ragtag army of monkeys?”

Prahastha, who was Ravana's favorite, cried again, “Send me into battle and see what I do to the upstart Rama. Send me before anyone else, and I will rid the earth forever of her burden of monkeys.”

The grief of Jambumali's death weighed on Prahastha's heart. His eyes were full of fire when he spoke, and he meant each word he said. But then, the others were not to be left behind. Every minister there cried that he could single-handedly kill Rama and his vanaras. They cried how easy their victory would be. Had their king forgotten their courage? How they had fought at his side in a hundred battles and the heroes they had killed?

Ten smiles were beginning to brighten ten demonic heads of the Emperor of evil. But suddenly, Vibheeshana stood up and waited for the king to let him speak. Ravana raised an imperious hand to silence the excited sabha. He said to his brother, “Yes, Vibheeshana?”

“Ravana, three methods are advocated for success in any undertaking: sama, dana, and bheda: conciliation, gifts, and argument. Only when these gender means fail should one use danda, force. I have heard so much about Rama that has touched my heart. He has conquered his passions, most of all, his anger. How can one oppose a man who is a master of himself? Not only that, but the Gods are on his side.

“If you truly want to understand what it is you face, think reasonably of what Hanuman achieved. He leaped across the ocean; was this an ordinary feat? Hanuman was only a messenger; surely, the one he serves is far greater than he. Think of what Hanuman did here, what he reduced Lanka to. Think calmly and without prejudice, however comforting it may be to deceive yourself.

“I beg you, do not underestimate this enemy; most of all, because he has done nothing to offend you. What he did to Khara and the rakshasas of Janasthana was not his fault. It was Khara who attacked Rama. And you know how cruel our cousin was. Someday, retribution had to come for his years of savagery to the rishis of the jungle.

“Dear lord, I know you will not like hearing what I have to say next. My words will not be music to your ears, as Prahastha's are. But you are my brother, and as I love you, I must speak the truth. Ravana, think of what you have done to Rama; for just a moment, reflect on the anguish you have caused him. You have taken his wife from him and brought her here as your prisoner. This is no ordinary sin, but the father of sins: the one that breeds all the others, which follow inexorably in its wake. Think, my brother, that if you had not committed this sin, no Hanuman would have crossed the sea to Lanka and gutted it.

“The Gods still love you for your tapasya, and they have warned you. It is not too late. Heed the omens; give Sita back to Rama and beg his pardon, before you and all our people are destroyed. Rama walks the path of dharma. He is that most dangerous of all enemies: the perfect man! The sin you have committed against him is like deadly poison to yourself. Not merely your life, your soul is in peril. Relent, Ravana. I speak as your brother and from my love for you. Listen to what I say, before it is too late.

“I speak for your people, who already murmur among themselves that their king should return to the ways of peace. They are afraid Rama's astras will end all this magnificence that is Lanka, and their lives with it. Give Sita back before Rama comes to take her. That is the way of dharma.”

Twenty eyes on ten grim faces gazed unwinkingly at Vibheeshana. Not a muscle moved on any face to betray the feelings of the Evil One. Without a word, Ravana waved his hand to indicate that the council was dismissed. His ministers bowed low to their king and left the sabha without turning their backs on him. Ravana sat alone on his throne. He sat staring out at the sea from his windows, and tears like drops of fire rolled down his dark face.

*   *   *

The next day, Vibheeshana came early to Ravana's private chambers in another wing of the palace, which also had not been burned by Hanuman's fire. Outside, the first rays of the sun touched the sea awake to another morning. Vibheeshana prostrated himself at his brother's feet. Ravana spoke no word, only stared at him out of tired, sleepless eyes.

Vibheeshana summoned his courage and said, “Evil omens have gathered over Lanka. They were first seen, here and there, on the day Sita entered our city. But today they are everywhere, out in the open like some plague. In the quarter of worship, the fires of sacrifice billow with black smoke that reeks of excrement. The flames splutter with thousands of sparks and die out, repeatedly, so they have to be kindled every half-hour. The havis of offering crawls with ants and worms.

“Our animals are all listless and restive. The cows yield no milk and the elephants refuse to touch their feed. The horses cry in the royal stables and whinny in fear as if they saw specters of doom. You must have heard the crows keep up their raucous cawing through the night. They roost on your squadron of vimanas. Our guards killed hundreds of the birds; but more flew down out of the darkness.

“If you look into the sky, you will see vultures and kites wheeling in it. They cry down shrilly, as if Lanka were already littered with corpses for them to feast on. Jackals and hyenas roam the city streets, by night and day, and never stop howling. The omens speak plainly, Ravana: that we will not be able to withstand Rama's wrath.

“Spare your city its life, O King, and your people their lives. Let us all live in peace. Relent, my lord, before the vanara army lands on Lanka's shores and the sky flames with Rama's astras.”

He paused, his face flushed in his anxiety to convince his brother. Tears standing in his kind eyes, Vibheeshana took Ravana's hand imploringly.

But Ravana drew his hand away and said, “Listen to me, Vibheeshana, I will never let her go. She is more precious to me than all the world, and she was born to be my queen. Let Rama come not with an army of monkeys but with the host of heaven, and I will not give Sita up to him. Your counsel is the way of cowardice. How can a king like me heed such advice?”

Vibheeshana opened his mouth to speak again. But Ravana stood up tall over him and waved his brother away from his presence.

 

4. The rakshasas' council

Later that morning, under his royal white parasol, Ravana rode in his chariot to the sabha of the people. It was approaching noon, when the conches sounded to assemble the city's rakshasas. They gathered in the streets to watch their king pass. Ravana had always been a munificent sovereign to them, and they loved him fiercely. They shouted his name and
“Jaya!”
as he rode through their midst, with a small guard to precede him and an armed force behind to lend majesty to his progress. When he saw the havoc Hanuman had wreaked, Ravana's eyes smarted with tears. But the rakshasas of Lanka were dauntless; they had already begun rebuilding their city from its ashes.

The people's sabha stood under a dip in the hillside, and the vanara's inferno had not touched it; Hanuman had not noticed the edifice in its seclusion, around a bend in the king's highway that led into the city. The representatives of the rakshasas of Lanka had already gathered in the capacious sabha, which Viswakarman had also made for Ravana. Inside were a thousand of the wisest leaders of their people. Rarely indeed did their king call such a council; and after what the monkey had done to Lanka, every seat in the sabha was taken.

With long strides, Ravana walked through his people and ascended the jeweled throne set on a raised dais, amidst other ornate seats for his generals and ministers. Prahastha sat on Ravana's right, and Vibheeshana and the others around their king, each in his own lofty place. Ravana among his nobles was like Indra among his Vasus.

When the applause for him had died down, Ravana said quietly, “I have called you here because a crisis looms over Lanka.”

Outside, the crowd surged around the sabha like another sea. They were not the only ones agog at the council Ravana had called; the Devas peered anxiously down at it.

Ravana went on, “Rakshasas, you have never failed me. I need your advice and I know you will lend me your wisdom. I did not call this sabha earlier because I wanted my brother Kumbhakarna to be with us. He is here today.”

The immense Kumbhakarna half-rose in his throne beside Ravana's to acknowledge the lusty cheering for him. It was rare for him to be in their midst. The giant slept all year round and woke for but a day between two six-month slumbers.

Ravana continued, “I want to tell you about her whose name is on every tongue in Lanka. I want to speak about Sita.”

Silence fell. Calmly he gazed around the people's sabha, daring them to challenge him. Then he began again, in his reverberant voice: “I brought her here from the Dandaka vana because I have never seen another woman like her. I need not tell you that the Dandaka vana is an ancient home of our people. I need not tell you what happened to Khara's army there. But let me say this: if, at first, I went to the jungle to gain revenge on her husband, the moment I saw Sita all that changed. I fell in love with her and wanted to make her my queen. For so she is fit to be.”

He paused, trying to gauge the mood of his people. But they sat gravely below him, meaning to hear him out in silence. Only Kumbhakarna shifted in his throne.

Ravana said, “But she spurns me. Though I have become like her slave in love, Sita spurns me. She thinks only of her Rama, and will not even look into my face, let alone give herself to me. This has never happened to me before and I do not know what to make of it. But I confess, my friends, that I am helpless to stop loving her. I cannot live without her.”

Still, there was silence, above which Kumbhakarna's sonorous breathing was clear.

Ravana said, “I gave Sita one year to accept my love, a year to come willingly to me. Just two months of that year now remain, and she is still obstinate. But I have not called you here to tell you about my misfortune in love. The fact is, even as I speak to you, Sita's prince has gathered an army of vanaras across the sea. He means to invade us.

“I do not know how Dasaratha's sons and their apes intend to cross the sea; but they do. As we all know, not five days ago a lone monkey somehow leaped the waves and came among us with havoc. It is true that then we were unprepared. But the fact remains that he did burn Lanka.

“I have called you here because together we are more likely to think of a solution to this crisis. Advise me, rakshasas; what shall I do? I want to kill the Kosala brothers and keep Sita for myself. I want to do this as quickly as I can, and I need your counsel to this end. I think we have known each other too long, and fought too often at each other's sides, for me to describe my valor to you. Equally, I need no one to tell me of your prowess. Consider carefully, all of you, ministers and warriors, and tell me what I should do.”

Only a brief silence followed. Then the mountainous Kumbhakarna's rumbling voice filled the sabha testily. “You should have consulted us before you abducted Sita. No king who obeys the law of dharma will ever have cause to regret what he does. One who sets too much store by his own valor, and acts rashly, without thought for consequences, will rue what he does one day.