Aranya Kandam
Aranya Kandam is about how Rama lived in the forest and how his wife Sita was stolen by Ravana.
Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana walked through the forest and stayed at the ashram of the Sage Atri. Atri’s wife Anasuya presented Sita with beautiful clothes and jewels.
Rama asked Sage Atri to show him the way deeper into the Dandaka forest. Sage Atri showed them the way, and then Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana entered the wildest, most terrifying part of the Dandaka forest.
Rama told Lakshmana to have his bow and arrows ready as the forest was full of wild animals and Rakshasas. “I will walk in front and you must walk at the back with Sita between us,” said Rama.
They rested for a moment near a lake when a fierce Rakshasa came to attack them. The Rakshasa said, “Run away or I’ll eat you up.”
Rama used his arrows to chop off the Rakshasa’s arms, then its legs, and finally its head. After the Rakshasa was dead, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana kept walking until they reached Sage Sarabhanga’s ashram.
Many holy people came to visit Sree Rama at Sage Sarabhanga’s ashram. They told Rama that the Rakshasas of the forest were attacking the holy people when they were doing their prayers. Rama asked Sage Sutikshna to show him where Sage Agastya lived so that Rama could meet him.
Sage Agastya welcomed Rama at his ashram with great joy, and gave Rama a quiver that never runs out of arrows. Sage Agastya asked Rama to stay at a nearby ashram called Panchavati and destroy all the Rakshasas in the Dandaka forest.
On the way to Panchavati, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana met a mountain-sized eagle named Jatayu. Rama thought that Jatayu must be a Rakshasa until Jatayu told Rama that he was a close friend of Dasaratha. Jatayu said he would help Rama if he ever saw trouble.
Soon Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana reached the banks of the river Gautami. There, Lakshmana built a cottage for them to stay.
While they were living at Panchavati, a fierce Rakshasa woman named Soorpanaka saw Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana.
Soorpanaka asked Rama who he was. Rama said, “I am the son of the King of Ayodhya. My name is Rama. This is my wife Sita, and that is my brother Lakshmana.”
Soorpanaka said to Rama, “I am Soorpanaka, the sister of Ravana, the king of Lanka. I want to be your wife.”
Rama said, “No, I already have Sita for my wife. Maybe you could ask Lakshmana. He would be a better husband for you.”
So Soorpanaka went to Lakshmana and asked, “Would you like to be my husband?” But Lakshmana said, “I am just a servant of Rama. Please go back to Rama.”
Hearing this, Soorpanka became angry. She tried to grab Sita to eat her, so that Rama would have no wife. Quickly, Lakshmana used a sword to cut off Soorpanaka’s ears and nose.
Soorpanaka went running to her brother Khara, bleeding and crying, and told him to attack and kill Rama and Lakshmana.
Khara, a fierce Rakshasa, went with his army of Rakshasas to attack Rama and Lakshmana.
Rama heard the army coming and asked Lakshmana to hide Sita in a cave and protect her. “I will destroy all the Rakshasas,” said Rama.
There was a fierce battle and Rama killed Khara and all his army easily, all by himself. When Soorpanaka saw that Khara was dead, she rushed to Lanka to tell Ravana what had happened.
Ravana listened as Soorpanaka told him about the destruction of Khara and his army and how easily Rama had killed them. Soorpanaka told Ravana about the beautiful Sita, and how Lakshmana had chopped off Soorpanaka’s ears and nose.
Ravana decided to go and grab Sita for himself, thinking that such a beautiful woman should be with him and not with Rama.
Ravana went to Maricha for help. He asked Maricha to turn into a golden deer to trick Rama away from Sita. Maricha tried to tell Ravana that it was a bad idea, but Ravana said, “If you don’t do what I say, I will cut off your head with my sword right now!”
So Maricha changed himself into a golden deer and went near Rama’s ashram. Sita saw the golden deer and she asked Rama to get the deer for her. Rama asked Lakshmana to protect Sita while he went to catch the deer.
Lakshmana told Rama that the golden deer might be Rakshasa magic, but Rama said, “If it is a Rakshasa, I will kill it, or if it is a deer, I will bring it back for Sita.”
Rama ran after the golden deer with his bow and arrow ready. He shot an arrow at the golden deer and as the arrow struck, the deer changed back into Maricha.
As Maricha fell to the ground, he called in Rama’s voice, “Hey Lakshmana, help me!”
Hearing Rama’s voice in the forest, Sita got frightened. She said, “Lakshmana, go and help your brother.”
“No. Rama told me to stay here and protect you,” said Lakshmana.
Sita got really angry and said, “Oh you are terrible Lakshmana! You want Rama to die, don’t you? You were thinking you would kill Rama so that I would become your wife.”
Lakshmana felt very sad. He said, “Please don’t speak like that. I will go if that’s what you want, but I will draw a line around the ashram which you shouldn’t cross. It will keep you safe.”
Then Lakshmana drew the line, called Lakshman Rekha, and went off to find Rama, leaving Sita all alone at the ashram.
Ravana saw his chance and disguised himself as a holy man. He went to Panchavati and stood near the ashram, calling out for some food to be given to the holy man.
Sita gave some food to the holy man from near the door of the ashram, but he became angry, saying she must give the food properly by coming near him. Sita was afraid, but she crossed the Lakshman Rekha, and immediately Ravana changed back to his original form, as big as a mountain, with ten heads and twenty arms. He picked up the earth around Sita’s feet and carried her off.
Sita was scared, and screamed out in a terrified voice, “Rama, Lakshmana, come and save me!” Ravana put Sita in a flying chariot and rushed towards Lanka.
Jatayu heard Sita’s screams and tried to help by attacking Ravana and his chariot with his claws and beak. Ravana cut off Jatayu’s wings with a sword and kept going towards Lanka.
While they were flying Sita looked down and saw five monkeys on top of a mountain. She quickly tore off a bit of her saree and tied up some of her jewels in it. She threw the bundle down to the monkeys, so that if they should meet Rama they would give it to him, and Rama would know which way she had gone.
Ravana reached Lanka and put Sita in a beautiful garden outside his palace called the Ashoka garden.
Back in the forest, Rama and Lakshmana saw each other in the forest and Rama asked Lakshmana, “Why did you leave Sita?” Lakshmana told him what had happened and they rushed back to the ashram together. They couldn’t find Sita there, so they started calling her and searching through the forest for her.
While they were searching, they found Jatayu on the ground. Jatayu told them that a Rakshasa had taken Sita in a flying chariot and went in the southern direction. Jatayu died soon after, and Rama burned his body, sad about losing a good friend.
Rama and Lakshmana started looking for Sita again. Suddenly a Rakshasa called Kabandha grabbed Rama and Lakshmana. They cut off Kabandha’s hands and then burned his body. This released the rakshasa from a curse and he turned into a beautiful creature. Kabandha told Rama that he should go to the ashram of a holy woman called Sabari. “She will be able to help you,” he said, before going towards the Vishnu lokam.
Rama and Lakshmana went to Sabari’s ashram and she greeted them with great happiness, giving them fruits and flowers. Rama asked Sabari if she knew where Sita was. Sabari told them to go to Rishyamooka mountain. “The monkeys there will help you.”
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