Story Of Rama In Tibet

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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THE STORY OF RAMA IN TIBET
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ASIAN VARIATIONS IN RAMAYANA offers. In this story the son of Mahadeva is said to have the face of a monkey. Perhaps this detail has been added in order to explain his curse, according to which Dasagriva's kingdom will be destroyed by a monkey, Finally, Dašagriva's heads are retumed by Mahadeva who also grants him the siddhi of immortality provin ded his horse-head is not cut ofl. Daśagriva boasts of his power, and that he can only be overcome by somebody of incomparable strength.
In the past, Dasaratha had been wounded by the weapons of the asuras in the battle between the gods and the asuras. After his retum to Ayodhyā he was cured by his younger wife Kekeya. He grants her a wish. Later, when he wants to enthrone Rāmana, Kekeya asks him to make her son Bharata king and to send Ramana to the forest for twelve years. The king tells Rämana to depart for the forest with Sita. Ramana is not able to disobey the order of his father. The author adds that this shows the loftiness of his spirit (dlayas ya mahattvam). He refers also to the story of Manicüda. The verse he quotes is in the third pallava, verse 95, of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalata
sa virakunjaraharih fakto 'py arividarane!
janaksayabhayodvignah kārunyar samacintayar// The author now quotes Kavyādarśa II. 299 and explains the greatness of wealth (vibhuter mahat/vam).
disobey the order of the king, Ravana uses magic to take her away, together with a plot of land, to the country of the demons, The King is unable to capture the deer and realises that it is an optical illusion. He returns and discovers that Sita has been carried away by Ravana. He goes in search for her and comes upon a river of warm water produced by the drops of sweat of the two monkeys Bable and Sugriva, who are fighting for the kingdom. Ramana promises his help to Sugrivu, but on the first day of the fight he is distracted by the spectacle, and the second day he is unable to distinguish between the two monkeys. On the third day a mirror is attached to Sugrīva's forehead and the king kills Bable with an arrow, Sugrīva promises to do for Rama whatever he wishes and Rima tells him that Sita has been taken away by a demon. Sugriva tells Rāma that his minister Hanumantha is very clever. They go to Hanumantha, who is said to be the son of Mahadeva with the monkey face. He is very tall and has three eyes. When Hanumantha is asked if he knows a means of bringing Sitā back, he reflects a moment and then makes one big jump to the palace of his uncle, the god Vayu. From there he arrives with one jumb in Langa. He sees Sita who is imprisoned in an orchard. He goes to Sitā and tells her that he is sent by Rämana. She does not trust him, but Hanumantha shows her Rāmana's ring. She gives him a message for the king, telling him that she is unable to escape and that if he has the necessary strength, he must come and fetch her. Hanumantha retums with one jump to Rāmana, who assembles an army of monkeys. He arrives at the seashore and asks Vālmiki what kinds of creatures live in the ocean. Valmiki tells him about the three kinds of scamonsters, Timi, etc. The monkeys make a bridge over the ocean and arrive us the palace of the demon king, Thic walls of his paliw are made out of jewels and are brilliant like mirrors. Hanumantha is surrounded by hundreds of reflections of Dasagriva and is unable to distinguish between the real Daśagriva and the reflections, Finally, by means of his miraculous powers he is able to know which is the real Daśagriva and points him out to Ramana who cuts off his horse-head and thus kills him. He also kills millions of demons. The author adds that it is said that in order to redeem himself of the sin of killing, Rāmaņa vill appear in the Kali age on earth in the form of the Buddha, an incarnation of Vişnu.
A beautiful girl was once bom in the land of the demons but bad signs indicated that, if she remained there, she would destroy the city of Lanka. She was put in a copper box, confided to the waters, found by peasants, and offered to Ramana as his wife. Rol-red-ma, or Slā enjoys herself with the king. Once when Lincy are in tic forest, the king of the demons discovers that she is. the most beautiful woman in Jambudvipa. His sister, S-byed-ma, transforms herself into a deer in order to lure the king away. The king surrounds Sitã with a wall of light and tells her not to pass beyond it: 'If you do, you will die. The king pursues the deer to the seashore. The author adds that the time has now arrived for the fulfilment of the curses uttered by the goddess and the one with the monkey face. Rävana does not know that Sita is the girl thrown in the waters. He appears before Sita in the guise of a brahman and tries to abduct her. As Sita is unwilling to