The Uttara Kanda, the final chapter of the Ramayana, explores Rama’s reign, tests of love and purity, and the futures of beloved characters. Dive into the epilogue and continuation of this epic tale.
Key Events in Uttarakand
Return to Ayodhya: After the defeat of Ravana and the rescue of Sita, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana return to Ayodhya. Rama is coronated as the king, and there is a period of peace and prosperity.
Sita’s Exile: Despite the joyous return, rumors about Sita’s chastity during her captivity in Lanka begin to circulate among the citizens of Ayodhya. Rama, adhering to his dharma as a king, decides to banish Sita to ensure his people’s trust and uphold his kingdom’s moral standards. Pregnant and heartbroken, Sita is left in the hermitage of Sage Valmiki.
Birth of Luv and Kusha: In Valmiki’s ashram, Sita gives birth to twin sons, Luv and Kusha. Under Valmiki’s tutelage, the boys grow up learning the art of warfare, the scriptures, and the story of their father, which Valmiki composes as the Ramayana.
Ashwamedha Yagna: Rama conducts the Ashwamedha Yagna, a horse sacrifice ritual to assert his supremacy and bring prosperity to his kingdom. During the yagna, Lava and Kusha capture the sacrificial horse and, not knowing their lineage, confront Rama’s army. The ensuing battle reveals their identities.
Sita’s Final Agni Pariksha: To prove her purity once again, Sita calls upon Mother Earth to bear witness. She is taken back into the earth, symbolizing her return to her divine origin, leaving Rama and her sons behind.
Rama’s Ascension: Eventually, Rama concludes his earthly duties. He installs his sons, Lava and Kusha, as rulers in different parts of the kingdom. Rama then returns to his divine form, merging back into the cosmic entity of Lord Vishnu, completing his earthly incarnation.
Journey Back to Ayodhya
In the Ramayana, the triumphant return of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman to Ayodhya marks a joyous culmination of their long and arduous journey. Here’s how the epic depicts their homecoming:
News Reaches Ayodhya: Bharata, who faithfully ruled Ayodhya in Rama’s absence, receives news of Rama’s victory over Ravana and his impending return. Filled with joy, he prepares the city for a grand celebration.
A Grand Welcome: The entire city of Ayodhya transforms into a spectacle of lights, decorations, and festivities. People eagerly await Rama’s arrival, their hearts brimming with excitement.
The Pushpaka Vimana: Depending on the Ramayana version, Rama and his companions might return on a celestial flying vehicle called the Pushpaka Vimana, a gift from Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother. This magnificent mode of transport allows them to reach Ayodhya swiftly.
Emotional Reunion: As Rama enters Ayodhya, he’s met with an outpouring of love and devotion. He embraces Bharata, Shatrughna, his mothers, and the citizens who remained loyal to him. The reunion is filled with tears of joy and relief.
Coronation of Rama: After a period of joyous celebrations, a grand coronation ceremony is held. Vasishtha, the royal priest, anoints Rama as the rightful king of Ayodhya. This marks the beginning of Rama’s righteous and prosperous reign, often referred to as Rama-Rajya.
A New Era dawns: With Rama on the throne, peace and prosperity prevail throughout the kingdom. The citizens live happily and securely, exemplifying the ideals of dharma (righteousness).
The return to Ayodhya signifies not just Rama’s personal victory but also the triumph of good over evil. It’s a moment of immense joy, relief, and hope for the future. This event is celebrated in India with the festival of Diwali, symbolizing the dispelling of darkness and the return of light.
Birth of Luv Kush
During Ram’s period of rule, an intemperate washerman, while berating his wayward wife, declared that “he is not Rama who would take his wife back after she had lived at the home of another man”. This statement was reported to Rama, who understood that the accusation on Sita was baseless.
Rama yielded to public opinion and thus Sita was forced to go to the forest for a second time, even as she was pregnant where rishi Valmiki provided shelter in his ashram, located in a forest on the banks of the River Tamsa. Sita delivered twin sons named Luv and Kush.
There is also a different tale that Sita delivered one son Luv. Once, Sita was going for a bath to the nearby river (tamsa), she requested muni Valmiki to take care of her son Luv, and muni nodded his head in agreement while he was busy writing. After going some steps she realized that muni was continually absorbed in writing, so she took Luv with herself.
After some time when muni looked for the child who was supposed to be somewhere around, he could not find Luv. Muni wasn’t aware of the fact that Sita herself had taken Luv with her. Muni was worried what he would say when Sita returned and asked for her child. So he created a boy child from nearby Kush (a grass employed for making mats and roofs of kutiya’s in ancient India) and gave life to it.
When Sita came back, Muni was shocked to see that Luv was with her, so he asked Sita to take care of both children as her own children. Since Valmiki muni used Kusha to make the child, the child was given the name Kusha.
Valmiki formally began training Luv and Kush when they were around 5 years of age. He educated them in archery and they were able to release arrows at the speed of sound and brought up in ignorance of their identity. Also, he trained them about divine & celestial warfare. He made them masters in archery so that no one on this earth could defeat them in war.
Ashwamedha Yagna in Uttara Kanda
Ram carried out Ashwamedha Yagna to expand his kingdom, (The Ashwamedha Yagna was a ritual where an emperor sent out a horse along with a huge army to several nearby kingdoms, the local king could permit the horse to wander – signalling that his kingdom may be annexed, or tie up the horse – indicating that he was ready to fight the emperor’s army to prevent his kingdom from being annexed.) The horse wandered into the forest where Ram’s twin sons lived and they tied the horse, not understanding its importance.
Ram sent Hanuman to get the horse. Hanuman, seeing Luv and Kush recognised that they were the son’s of Ram. He let them capture him and tie him up. There Hanuman started meditating on the name Ram. Worried Ram sent his brothers to look for the horse. As they saw Hanuman tied up and two boys guarding him, they thought that the two boys had stolen the horse. So Rams’ brothers started attacking Luv and Kush.
Luv and Kush defeated all of them, knocking them unconscious. Ram heard about this and correctly guessed that two kids at a hermitage who can defeat an entire army could be no ordinary kids. Eventually, Ram himself came to deal with with them in battle not knowing they were his children and introduced himself and met his sons the very first time and invited them to Ayodhya to perform the Yagya.
Valmiki composed the Ramayana (having twenty four thousand verses) and taught to Luv and Kush to sing it. Later, Rama held a ceremony during Ashwamedha yagna, which the Rishi Valmiki, with Luv and Kush, attended. Luv and Kush sang the Ramayan in the presence of Rama and his vast audience. Rama summoned all his brothers and ministers to listen to the ballad. Rama himself was put to the turmoil, for the ballad sung by these youngsters narrated the legend of Sita.
When Luv and Kush recited about Sita’s exile, Ram became grievous, and Valmiki produced Sita. Ram then learned that Luv and Kush are his children. Once Sita witnessed the acceptance of her children by Ram, Sita sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhumi, to receive her and as the ground opened, she disappeared into it.
