Week 5 Storytelling: Ravana's Curse

My dear readers, we have come back with the story of Sita and how she was rudely brought to Lanka under the personal agenda of the demon king, Ravana.  In previous tales, I had introduced Vayu (the wind god who is also Hanuman's father) and have told you about his significance in Sita's survival in Lanka by bringing her food and information until this point in time.

In the beginning, when Ravana first brought her, Vayu put it upon himself to bring Sita whatever she needed behind the seething eyes of her Rakshasis guards.  Vayu is a god, and pretty invincible, but he was also old in age, and needed some help in caring for Rama's bride.  After bringing Sita some dinner one night, he sent a message to the Lord Brahma asking for some assistance.  Vayu's prayers had been heard and Indra was summoned to visit Sita in Ravana's garden.  Indra brought Sleep with him, who cast a deep slumber over the kingdom of Lanka.  Indra thanked Vayu for all he had done, and relayed Sita would not need anymore food subsistence.  He asked Vayu to continue to provide Sita with information about Rama, when needed, and to let her know whether any message from Ravana consisted of the truth.  Although this was relief for him, Vayu still stayed close the maiden until her husband's return.

Indra entered Sita's entrapment in the garden and told her not to fret.  He gave her some blessed food and water, stating that it would keep her satisfied for a years time.  He also reassured her that Ravana would not try to make any advances on her, for he was cursed long ago.  Sita being curious asked what the parameters of the curse were so that she would be able to properly protect herself if and when Ravana would visit her.

Indra began the story of Ravana's curse:

After Ravana's heaven and earthly campaign to conquer was over,  the Demon King decided to settle down to rule in Lanka.  He loved his wife Mandodari very much, but he quickly became greedy and soon set out on a journey to obtain beauty.  Any female creature he found appealing, he took, and progressed on his way killing anyone who objected.  Ravana had the great skill of persuasion, and it was easy for him to manipulate many into becoming another wife.  He was coming near the end of his expedition when he decided that all he needed now was to make an Apasarasa his wife, and his "collection" would be complete.  Ravana set course to mount Kailasa, and waited until someone crossed the path leading down to the nearby village.  It wasn't long until the beautiful Rambha came down from heaven to visit her husband Nalakubra.  Ravana approached her, asked where she was going, and beckoned her to sit next to him in the grass to converse.  Rambha tried to reason with Ravana, "Aren't you the new ruler of heaven, everyone knows so?  If that is true you are my King, elder, and guardian technically."

(An image of Rambha: Source)

 Ravana replied, "You are right, I am the rule of heaven and all!  Because of this, I demand that you learn to love me this very instance."  Rambha knew she wasn't going to be able to steer Ravana desires, and began to weep loudly.  Unbeknownst to the duo, Nalakubra's home was near the path and he had overheard their conversation.  Nalakubra was wise enough not to directly approach Ravana, for he knew he would be eliminated where he stood, and instead climbed to the top of the mountain, which was directly above where the pair was located.  Rambha's husband gathered his wit, and as soon as he witnessed Ravana begin to advance towards his wife he let out a curse heard in all directions. He bellowed, "Ravana you have no sanctity, and from this moment you are cursed to never be able to take from a woman what she is not willing to give you! If you even try, then your ten heads will burst off your shoulders!" Ravana, frightened by Nalakubra's words, left the scene and made his way back to Lanka thinking to himself that he had already obtained enough beauty to keep him entertained.

Sita interjected Indra's story at this point, " If Ravana was not allowed to approach a woman who would not have him, what about the "wives" that he had already taken."  Indra answered, "These women took pity on Ravana at this time, and felt protected by the curse, so they decided to come to Lanka anyway and live the lavish life Ravana had promised.  But do not fret, Sita, your husband will come for you soon after the rainy season. Continue to depend on Vayu to relay the truth of any news that is brought to you about his progress."

Now that their conversation was over, and Sita felt more inspired than ever in seeing Rama again, Indra and Sleep left Lanka.

Author's Note:
For my readers who have not visited my page before, the beginning of my story correlates with stories I had written in Week 2 and Week 3.  I started reading Buck's version of the Ramayana before Narayan's came in the mail, so I had already written Week 4's story a long time ago, and was too lazy to change it and continuing with my Vayu character.  This week I brought him back, and will decide after completing next week's reading, whether or not he will continue to make an appearance.  When I had first read Indra's story of Rambha and Ravana's encounter, I thought it was interesting enough to rewrite it.  As I'm sure most of you were, I was a more than a little mortified that Ravana had raped his nephew's wife (which I discovered after a little Wiki search on Nalakubra).  So in my remake, I have Nalakubra come to Rambha's rescue, all the while still holding true to Ravana's curse and why he cannot just do what he wants with Sita.  If I made the story confusing in the beginning of this retelling, and you felt as if the intro was irrelevant, please let me know!  I am always up for some constructive criticism.

Bibliography:
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.