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| THE VANARA ARMY BUILDING THE BRIDGE TO LANKA |
Now Rama and Lakshmana together with the big army of monkeys
proceeded to invade Lanka. Reaching the seashore Rama first worshipped Lord Shiva and prayed for
the success of his mission. He then requested the ocean to devise some way so
that he with his vast army could cross over the sea and invade Lanka. The
ocean appeared before Rama and replied, "Lord Rama, every element has certain
nature of its own and it cannot be altered. I cannot dry the waterbed to help
you. The only way to cross me is by building a bridge. Among the army personnel
of yours there is one ape named Nal.
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| HANUMAN BRINGING THE SANJEEVANI |
He is the son of the god of construction,
Vishwakarma and Nal has a blessing that whatever he would throw in the water
would not sink but float."
At the command of Nal, rocks were brought and he threw them into the sea. A
long bridge was thus built connecting Lanka with the shore on Rama's side. The sea
was crossed and Rama together with his army reached the outskirts of Lanka.
Fierce fighting ensued. Many of the mighty generals of Ravana and a great number
of his soldiers were killed in the battles. Then came forward Kumbhkarna, the
younger brother of Ravana. A giant in body and a lion in valor, he fought bravely
against Rama and his allies. He started devouring the monkeys. However the agile
monkeys, when the giant put them in his mouth, came out of his ears and nostrils.
Rama with the help of his bow and arrows first cut off his arms, then his legs.
Still he waddled round and continued the fight. Eventually Rama gave him a fatal
wound in the neck.
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| THE FIERCE BATTLE WITH RAVANA |
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| RAVANA MEETING HIS END |
Then came Indrajit, the son of Ravana. In this battle Rama's brother,
Lakshmana
was severely wounded and became unconscious.The physician prescribed an herb
that could save the life of Lakshmana. But it grew far away in one of the mountain
ranges of the Himalayas and someone had to fetch it before the daybreak.
The agile Hanuman came forward and moved towards that mountain with the speed
of wind. When he brought the herb, the life of Lakshmana
was saved in time. In
the dramatic fight later, Indrajit was also defeated and killed.
Now Ravana himself entered the field of battle. After fierce
fighting that lasted many days, Ravana was slain and victory ensued. Sita was thus rescued from the
clutches of Ravana.
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