Last time, we saw the birth of Ravana and his brothers, now we will see how curses and prophecies begin to shape their fates and prepare the way for Lord Rama’s arrival. A few days after his return to Lanka he went to catch Vali, who carried him away in his arms to his house and tied him up to the cradle in which his son, Angada, was fast asleep. Vishrava came and requested Vali to set him free. Vali granted his request and, applying soot to all the faces of Ravana, allowed him to go to Lanka.

One day he asked Bramhadev to inform him by whose hands he would die, when the god told him that he would die by the hands of Rama, a son of Dasharatha and grandson of Ajapal. Ravana got very indignant and said that he would kill Dasharatha and his wife by any means.

Soon after, Ajapal made preparations for celebrating the marriage of his son with Kausalya, when Narada told him to watch his son and daughter-in-law, because Ravana would kill them under any circumstances. Whereupon Ajapal took Dasharatha and Kausalya on board a ship in the sea far off and was about to tell his priest to perform their marriage, when Ravana attacked the ship at night with a large army of demons and broke her in the sea. All perished except Dasharatha and Kausalya.

Ravana put Kausalya into a box and handed it over to a fish, which carried it to a desolate island and deposited it there for safety. Dasharatha struggled much with the waves of the sea but at last he got into a broken vessel, which was carried by the waves to the island, where the box was deposited by the fish. Dasharatha landed on the sea-shore; and seeing the box there he seated himself upon it for rest. Having got refreshed, he opened the box out of curiosity but, to his great surprise, he found Kausalya in it.

Narada came there in the meantime and, having performed their marriage, blessed them, saying that the god, Rama, would be born to them.

In Lanka Ravana asked the god, Bramhadev, about his prediction. He said to the god, “Where is Dasharatha? You know, he has already perished in the sea.” Bramhadev replied, “Long since Dasharatha has been married to Kausalya; and you will see that Rama will be shortly born to them.”

Ravana said, “Well then, get them here.” Bramhadev replied, “If I get them here, what will you give me?” Ravana said, “I promise to give you whatever you will ask from me.” Bramhadev then went and brought the box from the island and, having opened it, he showed the bride and bridegroom to the demon. As soon as he saw them, he got exceedingly enraged and was about to cut off their heads, when Bramhadev stepped forward and said to him, “You promised me that you would give me whatever I would ask from you. I, therefore, ask you not to kill Dasharatha and Kausalya.”

Ravana replied, “You may ask me for any other thing but I cannot spare the lives of those wretched beings.” Bramhadev said, “I do not want any other thing from you but I want you to spare their lives.” Ravana could not break his promise and accordingly spared their lives. Bramhadev then brought them to Ayodya, and placed Dasharatha on the throne of the country.

One day while Ravana was going by his viman [flying chariot], he observed on the road a beautiful woman, who was the wife of a god, and sought to outrage her modesty. She complained to Bramhadev against the conduct of the demon, when the god cursed him and said that if he would outrage the modesty of any woman, he would be cut into one hundred pieces. For fear of the curse he let her go and began to devour the Brahmans and cows that came in his way.

The earth trembled and went in the form of a cow to Bramhadev with all the gods and Rishis and applied to him for protection, when a voice said, “I will be born in the family of Dasharatha and called Rama; and killing Ravana and all other demons, I will make all the gods and good people happy. For the purpose of helping me the Shesha [serpent on which Vishnu rests] will be my second brother, who will be named Lakshuman; the shankha [conch] which is in my hand, will be my third brother, who will be called Bharata; and the sudarshan [discus, weapon of Vishnu], my weapon, will be my fourth brother, who will be named Shatrughana; and ye, all the gods, will be monkeys. Siva will be Maruti [Hanuman]; Bramhadev, Janbuvant; Dhanavantari, Sushen; Brahaspati, Angada; the sun, Sugriva; Agni, Nala; and Yama, Rashabha.”

Listening to the voice of Vishnu all the gods and Rishis were glad and returned to their respective places. Thus the curse was spoken, the prophecy revealed, and soon the world would turn to Ayodhya where a king longed for sons. Until next time, Jai Shree Ram!

|| OM SAI SHRI SAI JAI JAI SAI || 

|| SHRI SATCHIDANANDA SADGURU SAINATH MAHARAJ KI JAI ||

Note: This narration is based on Ramavijaya: The Mythological History of Rama (Bombay, 1891, Dubhashi & Co.), a public domain text shared here for free reading.