All language subtitles for Valmiki Ramayana Explained - Part 4 _ Ultimate War - Ravana Defeated _ Weapons, War Strategies _ TRS

Welcome to our series finale of
Ramayana.

By the way, this Setu is called Nal
Setu, not Ram Setu.

Ravan was more interested in playing
dirty tricks rather than preparing for

battle. He called Vidyujjiva and
instructed him to make a replica of

And then Ravan went to meet Sita. He
told her cheerfully, your dear husband

dead. It was time to charge on to the
gates of Lanka.

What is the kind of weaponry that one
should visualize?

This is a very strange war that one side
has none of this. The Vanaras fought

with their bare hands and they would
punch, kick, throw stones, even bite. Or

they would pick up the weapons of the
Rakshasas themselves and hit them. The

Vanaras kept winning again and again.
Although both sides suffered heavy

casualties, Ravan wanted to call on
Kumbhakarna. They beat drums to try and

him up. Then they started pulling his
hair.

He got up and he was famished. They had
brought meat for him to eat, pig,

buffalo, deer. Pig, buffalo and deer. As
well as big jars of blood. That was his

food.

After months of longing, finally they
had seen each other. Their faces lit up

with joy. But then Ram's expression
changed and he said to her, Oh lady, you

should know that I did not fight the war
for your sake. Now there is a doubt

about your character and I can't even
bear to look at you. What sort of a man

would take back a woman who has spent
some time in someone else's house?

This is our series finale of our four
-part retelling of the entire Ramayana.

The series finale is all about the war
between Shri Ram and Ravan,

the king of the Rakshasas or the evil
force that was present in the world at

time of the Ramayana. Remember that
there's only one accurate Ramayana and

that's the one written by the sage
Valmiki.

In today's day and age, there's only one
man in India who has studied Valmiki's

Ramayana with that much intensity, with
that much force, and has gone that much

into the depths of the Valmiki Ramayana.
His name is Yashodhi Devdaso, who

helped us create this very special four
-part series.

If you've not watched the first three
parts, watch them at the end of watching

this particular part.

Because all of us loosely know the story
of the Ramayana, but we do not know the

details. And the details are very
different from the movies, from the

from the comic books that you've read.

That's the intention with this whole
series, that every single Indian gets to

know the real, raw, unfiltered version
of the Ramayana. Make sure you check out

the other three parts. But today, enjoy
this very special, war -oriented episode

of Valmiki's Ramayana.

Begins with Yashodeep Deodarsal in 3, 2,
1.

Welcome back, Yashodeep sir.

Thank you very much.

Welcome to our series finale.

Thank you for this beautiful series
that's going to stay on the internet for

another 50 years.

Thank you very much for this opportunity
to take Maharshi Valmiki's words to all

of your audience.

I'm glad.

Again, in my eyes, I look at this as
duty towards Sanatana Dharma because

generation has its own retelling of
Ramayana. For me, it wasn't even

Sagar's Ramayana. It was the anime.

That's how I visualized the Ramayan. And
I'm hoping that this podcast series is

kind of a cornerstone for many people's
visualization. And definitely they

should eventually find your series that
you created on your channel. But this

has been a beautiful experience until
now. Like very, very educative. Thank

So welcome back to the studio.

This is the series finale.

Yes. Before I let you continue with the
story.

Let's do a tiny recap of where we left
off and then have an additional question

after that.

Okay. So where did we leave off?

At the end of our last discussion,
Hanuman had come back from Lanka. He had

reached Kishkindha and told Shri Ram
that he had found Sita in Lanka.

And now the task ahead is very clear.
They have to go to Lanka, defeat the

Rakshasas and rescue Sita. That's where
we are.

Okay. In my eyes, this...

Episode is about war.

Yes, we will read the book called
Yudhkanth, which is called Book of War.

And I also feel that for some reason
with a lot of Sanatanis, this is one of

lesser known aspects of Ramayana for
some reason. Everyone knows a lot of

aspects of the previous stories, but we
don't know the details of the war.

Do you agree? Do you disagree?

Many times in the later retellings, Yes,
I have not seen as graphic and

detailed descriptions of the war as in
the Valmiki Raman.

Some of them are actually gory, very
detailed.

And it's a fairly large book, the
Yudhakan.

So today we'll be covering almost a
quarter of the entire story.

Perhaps because it's gory, it's not
showcased in mainstream media.

Perhaps, yes.

That's the beauty of podcast.

So, sir, before I let you begin, I have
a tiny question that the team picked up

from the comment section on the first
two episodes, which was that all these

dialogue exchanges that happen between
the characters.

How has Maharishi Valmiki written it
accurately?

He wasn't present when the dialogues
were happening.

Of course. Yes. So what's your take on
that?

Well, this is Rama and means Rama say
Ayanam.

Ram's journey. This is Ram's biography,
Ramasya Charitam.

So like any biographer, Maharshi Valmiki
would have to do the hard work of

speaking to all the characters, the
people involved and recreate the

that accurately represent the thoughts
and emotions of the people at that time.

So that is the hard work. But Maharshi
Valmiki was also blessed in the sense

that in the Ramayana itself, it is said
that Brahma, Lord Brahma, who

is the creative aspect in divinity, he
had blessed Valmiki that he would know

exactly what had happened in each of
these events.

That's why we call him a Maharishi as
well.

Yes, he was a Maharishi.

You know, I've always thought of this
word Maharishi and I discussed it once

with, I think, Rajarshi Nandi.

He said that one of the biggest
misconceptions about Sanatana Dharma is

goal is simply enlightenment or moksha
or nirvana.

But according to Tantra Shastra and
Tantra Vidya, there's many, many stages

beyond the stage of enlightenment and
moksha. Like you go way beyond.

Enlightenment is in fact a qualification
for the next stage of spiritual growth.

What we commonly know as enlightenment.
And there's a long pathway up till God.

Somewhere up there is the level of Rishi
and way beyond that is Maharishi, where

you almost become eternal.

And, you know, 12 ,000 BC is supposedly
when the Ramayana happened. And we're

sitting here 14 ,000 years later still
talking about Maharishi Valmiki.

Yes, this is an extraordinary text. No
doubt about it.

Yeah, there was a divine element that
was flowing through him to write the

details of this.

Yes. Okay, now let's move on to war.

Okay, so Hanuman had reported back and
Shriram asks him before leaving for

Lanka, he asks him all about the layout
and fortifications of the city, the size

and strength of the army, where the
different troops are located within the

as well as at the gates.

This was valuable military intelligence.

See, Hanuman had observed Lanka.

At night, when he was searching for
Sita.

And then again, when Ravan ordered his
tail to be put on fire and he was

around, Sri Hanuman made careful
observations about the layout of the

this was the military intelligence he
now conveyed to Sri Ram.

And then Ram gave orders for the army to
proceed south.

Time was running out for Sita. They had
to get to Lanka fast.

And when he asked the army to proceed
south, Ram gave detailed directions. He

appointed specific people to guard the
front and rear of the army, the left and

right flank.

We're talking about Hampi right now,
right? Yes. We are in the region of

at Kishkindha and we are going south
towards Lanka.

Okay. Many times the Vanaras are shown
in popular culture or in popular

of the Ramayana.

as a disorganized bunch. So if this army
had to move south, they simply walked

down. Well, they did walk down, but they
were very organized in this. Just like

they had launched the search for Sita in
a very organized manner to the four

corners of the world.

Even now, there was a forward party
under the direction of Neel who found

the best route for the army.

Neel? Yes.

He was a Vanar leader. And the forward
party had to determine The path that

offered them enough food and water
sources.

Make sure that the water sources weren't
poisoned by the enemy.

They had to make sure that they did not
cause disturbances in the villages and

agricultural fields that they passed by
and so on.

So there was this forward army and then
a forward party and then behind that the

main army.

The army was so huge, millions of
Vanaras, that Valmiki says, It was

like a sea that was coming south to meet
the ocean.

Wow. As they walked, one night they were
resting for a while and Lakshman looked

up at the sky and he remarked that the
stars seem to be aligned in our favor.

And then he spoke about some specific
stars, constellations and their

And these are the kind of clues that are
used again by researchers to date the

events of the Ramayana.

The army proceeded further. They walked
day and night with very little rest.

And finally, they came to the southern
seashore.

As they looked out to the sea, they were
stunned.

How were they going to cross this?

Valmiki says, the sea with its foaming
waves seemed to be laughing and dancing.

How were they going to cross?

Now, I had said last time as well, the
popular story of floating rocks is not

mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana.

But Valmiki leaves us in suspense as to
how the army will actually cross and

then shifts the scene to Lanka.

In Lanka, Ravan was a little unnerved.

Hanuman had caused great damage in the
city. He had killed many Rakshasas when

he set fire to Lanka, remember.

And now he had heard that an army was
marching towards Lanka.

Ravan's younger brother Vibhishan was
telling him to let Sita go.

and to avoid war.

He told Ravan, why this war at all?

Ram has not done anything wrong.

It was Kher who attacked Ram and Ram
acted in self -defense.

How can you blame him for that?

This is the Shurpanakha chapter.

Yes. So it started with Shurpanakha.

Shurpanakha asked Kher to attack Ram.

Kher attacked and got himself killed and
Ram wiped out all the Raksha's forces

at Janasthan.

Now, interestingly, in these
discussions, you know, we often go back

oh, the Shurpan Kha incident, like you
just asked me.

But no one mentions Shurpan Kha in this
incident.

Between Vibhishan and Ravan, they are
only talking about what Ram did to Khar

and the Rakshas forces.

And that is why Ravan wants to take
revenge.

He does not, his primary goal is not to
take revenge for what happened to shoot

Pankaj. You know, sometimes we think
that that was his primary goal. And so

was in some way justified in abducting
Sita. But that is totally incorrect.

So Ravan then called a meeting of all
his senior most leaders to discuss this

matter.

An army was coming towards them and he
wanted to get their thoughts on this.

I want to show you a short video to see
what is the Quality of discussion that

is going on in Ravan's court.

Addressing a packed court, Ravan said,
There is one matter I wish to discuss

with all of you.

I would have done it sooner, but
Kumbhakarna was not available, therefore

slight delay.

I have brought Sita, Ram's wife, from
Dandakaranya.

No other woman is as beautiful and
charming as her.

Oh, that gorgeous face, that slender
waist and those hips.

My lust for her is driving me crazy.

She refuses to climb into my bed.

And Ram is reportedly on his way to
Lanka with an army of Vanaras.

Please suggest what we should do now so
that Sita remains with me.

Upon hearing this, Ravan's younger
brother Kumbhakarna said, What you have

is not right.

You should have consulted us before.

But never mind.

I will still support you.

I will send off Ram to meet the Lord of
Death.

And Sita will be yours forever.

My brother, enjoy life.

Mahaparshwa then spoke up.

He did not think a woman's consent or
otherwise mattered in any way.

He made this shocking suggestion.

A man is a fool.

if he finds a drink and does not drink
it.

O

Lord,

just force yourself on Sita as a rooster
forces itself on a hen.

Assault her again and again.

Devour her and enjoy her.

This is shocking.

How could they say such things?

Yes, Ravan's ideas on how women should
be treated were shared by those he had

collected around himself.

Ravan liked what Mahaparshwa said, but
replied, Let me tell you about an

incident that happened a while back.

I once crossed paths with the gorgeous
Punjikasthala.

Afraid of me, she was trying to sneak
away.

But, I

caught hold of her, stripped her

and ravished her.

Afterward, she looked like a trampled
lotus.

For this, I was cursed by Lord Brahma.

That if I ever violated another woman in
such a manner, my head would split into

a hundred pieces.

And therefore, I cannot post myself on
Sita.

Kind of stuff you can't show on national
television.

That's why you've never heard this
aspect of the story before.

Yes.

You know, sometimes people think that
Ravan treated women very

well. In fact, his treatment was
exemplary.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Maharshi Valmiki has told us clearly
what he thought.

Even earlier, he kidnapped Sita because
he had a fight with Ram.

That's how it started, right?

So he thought nothing on taking revenge
on the man by kidnapping his wife.

And at that time, you would recall he
grabbed her by the hair, dragged her to

the rat.

Later on in Ashok one, he was ready to
punch her.

And when Hanuman was looking for Sita,
he had gone to Ravan's bedchamber. We

that there were hundreds of women that
he had abducted from different lands. In

fact, he was very proud of that.

He had showed off to Sita that you will
be the chief among them. Say yes to me.

And now you saw the type of comments he
as well as his ministers made about

Sita. Now in this assembly, Vibhishan
was the sane voice and he was telling

Ravan to let Sita go and avoid war.

He said, for the good of the Rakshasas,
for the good of Lanka, let Sita go.

But Indrajit mocked him, Indrajit,
Ravan's son.

He said, you are too scared to fight.

And Ravan went on a rant against
Vibhishan.

He called him names.

And among them, by the way, he called
him an Arya, not Arya -like.

So Ravan considered himself Arya, which
is a noble person.

This has nothing to do with race.

Vibhishan could not take it.

He told Ravan, you are my elder brother
and I should respect you like a father.

But you have lost your mind and you are
not on the path of dharma,

righteousness.

I cannot be a party to this.

I shall leave now.

Be well without me.

And then Vibhishan left.

And he went to meet Ram.

Now Vibhishan also switched sides.

But he was no backstabbing traitor.

Again in popular culture sometimes
Vibhishan is thought of as a traitor.

But see here he told Ravan in open court
that I am leaving.

And Ram had not induced him to leave.

And he left for a good reason. He was
saying what you are doing is wrong. I

cannot be a party to this and so I shall
leave.

Vibhishan went to meet Ram and he sent a
message that he was seeking refuge from

Ram and he would like to join them.

Sugreev was clearly against this. He
thought it was too risky. Here was a

brother of Ravan coming and saying that
he wanted to join them.

Perhaps this was a trick. He could try
and create divisions among them. So

Sugreev recommended that they should not
allow Vibhishan to join.

Angad and Jambavan also thought so.

But Hanuman was willing to give him the
benefit of doubt.

Also, Hanuman knew something that the
others didn't.

When Hanuman had met Sita in Ashokwan,
in Lanka, Sita had told him that this

younger brother of Ravan was trying to
secure her release.

So with this information, Hanuman's
advice was that they should allow him

Ram made his decision.

He said, I grant him protection.

Please bring him to me.

And he also convinced Sugriv why that
was the right thing to do.

Now, this incident brings out Ram's
leadership qualities.

See, he was open -minded about
Vibhishan, even though he was Ravan's

And for this important question, he
asked all his advisors what they thought

it.

The advisors had differing opinions.

Ram then made a decision, which was a
risky call.

He was willing to make this risky
decision, but he also explained his

brought along the others who were
earlier speaking, who had earlier

otherwise. Who were the advisors?

Sugriv, Jambavan, Hanuman, all of them.

Now, compare these leadership styles.

You know, we just saw how Ram treated
this question. On the other hand, Ravan,

he made the decision to abduct Sita and
pick a fight with Ram without consulting

anyone. That is how...

Ravan made his decision. And when he
heard that an army was marching towards

him, he called his advisors for a
meeting and Vibhishan spoke up against

threw him out.

So these were two different leadership
styles.

So now Vibhishan had joined them.

But still the challenge in front of them
was how to cross the ocean.

In fact, even earlier, at the end of
Sundarkand, you would remember Hanuman

told Sita.

gallantly, that before long you shall
hear the roar of the Vanaras.

And Sita had asked him, but how will
they cross the ocean?

Hanuman did not have an answer at that
time. But he had assured her. He had

said, if I can do it, so can the others.
Don't worry about it.

Even now, Sugriv told Ram, if somehow we
can cross the ocean, once we see the

city of Lanka, consider Ravan dead.

But how to cross the ocean was now
something Ram had to address.

Valmiki then describes Ram's actions
very poetically.

I'll tell you how he has actually
described it and then later what it

Ram folded his hands in front of the
ocean and then lay down gazing at its

waters for three days and three nights.

That is how Maharishi Valmiki has
described it.

And then he fired off arrows at the
ocean.

The lord of the sea appeared and then
showed him the way to go across.

What it means is that Ram stood gazing
at the sea. He was observing the sea for

three days and three nights.

The currents, the tides, the rise and
fall of water, how sandbanks and islands

appeared in it.

See, that part of the sea is very
shallow.

So as the tide recedes, there are
sandbanks and small islands that come

And Ram was trying to determine the best
location to construct the Setu.

The place where the distance to the
other side is minimal.

The tides and currents are favorable.

And this is likely Rameshwaram? Yes,
most likely.

In fact, from Rameshwaram, further out,
there is a place called Dhanushkodi. And

then from then...

You can see from satellite images that
there are small structures along the

See, right now what we know is Ram has
identified the site selection.

And then he asked Nall, the greatest
construction experts among the Vanaras,

to construct the Setu.

The idea of the Setu was very simple.

They were going to fill up the sea with
big boulders, rocks, mud,

and tree trunks on top.

So this was a bund or an embankment, not
a floating bridge.

Although the idea was very simple, the
scale of this project was staggering.

Think about it. You're standing at the
seashore and somewhere far beyond the

horizon, there is an island and your
plan is to fill up the sea and walk

And then under the direction of Ram,
hundreds of thousands of Vanaras sprang

into action.

They went to the forest, cut boulders,
tree trunks, brought it all back to the

shore and started filling up the sea.
Once again, they were very methodical.

They used different types of devices,
yantraihi.

Also, different teams were assigned to
do different tasks.

Some worked on getting all the material,
others on tying up things, others on

making measurements and so on.

And slowly, the Setu started taking
shape.

On the first day, they covered a
distance of 14 Yojanas.

And then they picked up speed and over
the next four days, covered 20, 21, 22

and 23 Yojanas.

And thus, they covered the entire 100
Yojanas of the Setu.

Remember, this was the distance that
Hanuman had to go across as well in our

last session. Is anything said about the
time it took?

Five days.

Wow. Yes.

In fact, this is very, Valmiki is very
specifically told about how much they

covered on each day.

It was a giant Setu, extremely well
constructed.

In fact, the scale was astonishing,
beyond conception.

And on this, Setu, millions of Vanaras
started walking across.

By the way, this Setu, interestingly, in
the Ramayan is called Nal Setu, not Ram

Setu. So named after the chief engineer.

They walked across and without any
challenge from the Rakshasas, they

close to the city of Lanka.

Note, this is already a strategic
mistake by Ravan.

He could have attacked this army as they
were landing on Lanka. That would have

been a weaker point for them.

But he allowed them to finish the Setu,
come across and come almost up to the

city of Lanka.

And the reason he did that was he was
not expecting this at all.

See, Ravan was always very confident
that no army could cross the ocean. In

fact, even now he said, what Ram has
done is unprecedented.

I still can't believe it.

Making a Setu across the ocean.

He realized that he had clearly
underestimated the enemy.

So he asked some of his spies to go into
the enemy camp and find out more about

them. How many are they? Who are the
leaders? What are they telling Ram? And

on. The spies, when they came back, they
reported to Ravan.

And now here, Maharshi Valmiki takes a
detour. See, we've taken a few of these

detours earlier.

You would recall when Sugriv was sending
the parties to search for Sita.

We looked at a detour about a world
atlas, geography, at another time about

botany or the kachit discussion right in
the beginning in Chitrakoot between

Bharat and Ram, which was a detour on
governance, the oldest text on

And now this detour is on mathematical
terms.

So this is an interesting point to put
this detour.

Ravan has asked, how many are they?

And the spies are giving that answer.

How large is the enemy?

I'll show you some of the actual verses
here.

So the first verse.

100 of 100 ,000 is called 1 crore.

So 100 lakh is 1 crore. He's defining 10
raised to the power 7.

And then further he says.

100 ,000 crores is one shanku, which is
10 raised to the power 12, or in today's

terms, trillion.

1, 0, 0, 0, 12 zeros is one shanku.

And then over the next few slokas, he is
describing 100 ,000 shankus make

up maha shanku. 100 ,000 maha shankus is
equal to one vrinda.

And it goes on.

Maha Vrinda, Padma, Maha Padma, Kharva,
Maha Kharva, Samudra, Ogha and Maha

Ogha.

A Maha Ogha has 10 raised to the power
60 zeros.

Wow. Why do we need math like this?
Exactly.

Now that's an interesting question.

The fact that Murphy Valmiki has defined
these terms means the mathematicians of

that time required these terms. Whether
it's for astronomical calculations or

construction.

Some sort of precision.

And the scale of calculations.

Also, clearly this is an exaggeration.

If you look at the total, so by the way,
the spies after they finish all these

definitions, they say the Vanara army is
many, many Maha Oghas, right? More than

10 raised to the power 60.

This is clearly an exaggeration because
if you look at the total surface area of

the earth, And you assume that, let's
say, one Vanara needs even one square

foot.

Then so many Vanaras cannot fit on the
earth. Not only the earth, they cannot

fit even if you pack them on all the
planets of the solar system. Or even a

trillion earths are not enough. So
clearly this is an exaggeration.

Now, so Maharshi Valmiki, as far as the
size goes, the answer is it was a huge

army. And he has used this to define
these mathematical terms.

So this huge army was at Ravan's
doorstep.

But he was more interested in playing
dirty tricks and intrigue

rather than preparing for battle.

He came up with a plan to deceive Sita
and get her to submit to him.

He called the Rakshas Vidyujjiva and
instructed him to make a lifelike

of Ram's head.

Vidyut Jiva was an expert in this and he
made a very realistic model.

And then Ravan went to meet Sita.

He told her cheerfully, Your dear
husband is dead.

You fool.

You kept refusing me because you thought
that Ram will come and save you.

But how will he come now?

Let me tell you how it all happened.

Ram was coming here together with some
Vanaras and they had camped on the other

side of the ocean.

And my forces under the leadership of
Prahat went there at night.

And while Ram was sleeping, Prahat's
sword sliced through his neck without

problem.

I have got his blood -soaked head for
you to see.

Then he turned to the Rakshasis and
said, Go and get Vidyut Jiva. He was the

who got the head from the battlefield.

Vidyut Jiva came on cue and he threw the
head at Sita's feet.

Sita screamed.

She thought this was Ram's head.

She sank to the ground, cried bitterly.

Sita was completely crushed.

But even then, Ravan could not get what
he wanted, her consent. That was out of

the question.

Just then, a messenger came and told
Ravan, Aryaputra, there is a matter that

the ministers want to discuss with you.

Please come to the court urgently.

And Ravan went away.

Sita was still trembling. One of the
Rakshasis that had been put to guard her

had become friendly with her.

And she told Sita, don't worry about it.

This is all a trick.

Ram is well. In fact, the army has
crossed over to this side.

There is going to be a war soon. In
fact, you can hear the preparations for

war.

Don't worry. You shall soon be with Ram.

In Ravan's court, there were people who
were making last -ditch efforts to try

and save, try and avert war.

Ravan's own mother told him to let Sita
go.

Ravan's maternal grandfather said, make
peace with Ram.

It is not wise to fight him.

But Ravan was clear.

I may get cut into two pieces, but I
will never bend.

Meanwhile, in the Vanar camp, Ram was
making preparations for the attack.

He assigned specific people to attack
the different gates of the city the next

day. He also told everyone not to take
off their Vanar attire because this was

going to be a battle at close quarters.

So the Vanar attire will tell who is on
which side.

Which probably also means that the
Raksha's army looked like normal human

beings. Yes, yes.

Okay. Later that night, as Ram looked up
at the skyline of Lanka,

he thought that one person makes a
mistake and so many have to suffer. He

that this would be a terrible war.

Both sides would suffer heavy
casualties.

And he decided to make one last attempt
at peace.

So in the morning, he sent Angad to
speak to Ravan.

Angad went to Ravan's court.

Ravan was sitting on his magnificent
throne.

Angad introduced himself.

He said, I am Wali's son and Ram's
messenger.

My name is Angad.

You may have heard about me.

Honestly, when it comes to Angad, it's a
character that fascinated me a lot.

ever since I saw the animated Ramayana
because that, again, for the child in

that's my reference point.

They've shown him very beautifully in
that film.

You don't hear too much about Angad when
someone is skimming through the story

of the Ramayana, but certain retellings
highlight him a lot. So there is this

one interaction that he has with Ravan
that I loosely remember where he

showcases acrobatics and something
around his tail. I can't remember the

story. Yes, in fact, in popular
retellings, this is where it comes.

So in other retellings, not in the
Valmiki Ramayana, it is said that Angad

his tail to a great length.

He coiled it and then sat on top of it
so that he was at an equal height to

Ravan.

Now, in the Valmiki Ramayana, that is
not described. But I just told you how

spoke to Ravan, even though he is a
young boy, maybe a teenager.

And he said, You know, to this great
king of the Rakshasas, he spoke to him

an equal.

Now, many times the story of Ramayana is
depicted in sculptures or paintings,

right? How do you show confidence in
stone?

So this is a beautiful way.

The coiled tail and raising himself at a
height, a beautiful way to depict that

Angad spoke to him with confidence.

So many of the other retellings, you
know, they are...

they are true to the spirit of the
Valmiki Ramayana, even though they may

telling the story differently.

Just now we had also heard the story of
how the Setu was constructed.

Now the later retellings where they talk
about the Vanaras writing Ram's name on

rock and because of which the rocks were
floating.

Again, it conveys the sentiment that the
Vanaras were inspired by Ram in every

step. So once we understand the Valmiki
Ramayana, we can actually understand

Understand and appreciate the other
versions as well. Even though they are

telling the story in a different way.

And then he gave Ram's message to Ravan.

You vile rakshas.

For too long people have suffered
because of you.

But no more.

It was so brave of you to kidnap Sita
while I was away.

Well now is the time to show your
bravery once again.

But this time on the battlefield.

Come out and fight with me.

But before you come, make sure you have
done the preparations for your last

rites.

For I will surely kill you and everyone
who supports you.

This was Ram's message delivered by
Angad.

Ravan was crazed with anger.

And he ordered, kill this vanar.

Once again note, Ravan paid no heed to
the code among kings that an ambassador

or envoy should not be killed.

But he gave the orders to kill.

Four Rakshasas came and grabbed Angad.

And that's when Angad threw them off
swiftly and they went tumbling.

And he jumped onto a balcony.

And there he kicked and broke the
balcony, destroyed the roof.

And then jumping from one rooftop to the
next, he went out of the city.

Ravan had rejected the last peace offer.

So now it was time.

to charge on to the gates of Lanka.

Ram gave the orders.

And remember, Lanka had a boundary wall
and outside the wall there was a moat.

But this was hardly a challenge for the
Vanaras. They had just filled up the

sea. So filling up the moat was fairly
simple. Once again, they filled it up

with rocks and mud and logs of wood and
charged on the gates.

The gates came crashing down. They broke
the boundary wall as well at some

point. And then Ravan gave the order to
counter -attack.

This is the beginning of the battle?
This is the beginning of the battle.

There's the very common story about
Ravan being a Shiva Bhakt and praying to

Shiva for his powers, etc.

Is anything said about Ravan's spiritual
journey or his tantra -based journey at

all in the Valmiki Ramayana?

No, those things are emphasized much
more in the later retellings.

In the Valmiki Ramayan, Ravan is a great
warrior, no doubt.

And even as far as preparations go,
there is no puja that he does at the

beginning. He prepares his arms and gets
ready for battle. By the way, in this

first instance, he does not come out
himself. So he will come out in some

But there is no mention of him going
about any spiritual practice.

Not in the Valmiki Ramayan, from Balakan
to the Yudhakan.

Right in the beginning, I think we had
once spoken about the Uttarakhand.

Remember that the Uttarakhand was not
written by Valmiki.

So whenever I'm saying that something is
or is not a part of the Valmiki

Ramayana, I'm talking about Balakand to
Yuddakand. Gotcha. These are all

additional anecdotes. Yes. Okay.

Now let's move on.

So Ravan gave the order to
counterattack.

And the Rakshasas came with their
horses, chariots, elephants.

They had all the yastras and shastras,
bows and arrows, spears. See, the

had nothing. They were fighting with
rocks, tree trunks, their bare hands.

And the Rakshasami was extremely well
equipped.

And they were able to push back the
Vanaras a little bit. So most of the

happened outside the city gates.

Although they had broken through the
gates on the first day itself, the

battleground was outside the city.

Again, tiny interjection.

You believe after studying the Valmiki
Ramayana that this was the island of Sri

Lanka. Yes.

Right? Yes.

My question to you is that part of India
where Rameshwaram is, right? You see

that little strip of land that joins the
island of Sri Lanka.

So within Sri Lanka, is there a
particular geographical location that

was the location of this battle?

See, based on the descriptions of the
Valmiki Ramayana, you cannot accurately

pinpoint where exactly on the island it
took place.

But it's possibly near that strip of
land that we see on geographical maps.

No, the strip of land connected it to
the larger island of Lanka.

But we don't know exactly where. As far
as the descriptions of the Valmiki

Ramayana goes. Have you been to Sri
Lanka yourself?

Yes, yes. You have? Yes. I think we
spoke about this in our first episode,

right? Yes.

What did you feel there?

No, like all the...

descriptions of the main locations,
Ayodhya, Panchavati, Kishkindha and

Lanka, right? There is a feeling.

So you asked me what I felt, right? In
all these locations, there is a special

feeling that these locations have been
witness to what Shri Ram,

Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman did. So it's
a special feeling.

Gotcha. Okay, I will let you carry on
with the story.

Now the war is at close combat.

See, the Rakshasas have lost another
strategic advantage.

First of all, they were on an island.
They could have attacked the army as it

was landing.

Secondly, they had arms that they could
fire from a distance, bows and arrows,

spears.

They could have attacked the army while
it was still outside the boundary wall.

But now it was a man -to -man combat.

And this played to the Vanaras'
advantage.

And on this first day, the Vanaras kept
winning again and again. Although both

sides suffered heavy casualties, the
Rakshasas were losing more numbers, they

were losing their leaders. But then the
tide turned because of someone who

fought in a very different way. And this
was Ravan's son Indrajit.

Valmiki says he made himself invisible,
adrishya.

In other words, he fought in a way that
it was extremely difficult to figure out

where he was firing from.

Stealth. Stealth. He would fire from
behind the enemy lines, not right at the

front lines.

Also, he would fire things that would
explode in the air and then release

arrows. So you don't know where he is
firing from.

And he killed hundreds of Vanaras. He
caused great destruction in the Vanar

army.

And then he targeted Ram and Lakshman.
Soon they were bleeding heavily.

His arrows were laced with poison. So
they couldn't even react.

And then Ram and Lakshman collapsed on
the ground.

Unconscious.

And Indrajit incorrectly thought that
his job was done.

And he went back into the city.

He went and reported to Ravan that he
had killed Ram and Lakshman.

Ravan got up, hugged his son.

and thought that the war was over on the
very first day.

Outside, the Vanaras made a protective
circle around Ram and Lakshman.

They were only unconscious, not dead.

Ram regained consciousness after some
time, but he was grievously injured.

Sugriv asked Sushena, who was the
medical expert among the Vanaras,

should take back Ram and Lakshman to
Kishkindha to recover. But Sushena said

that they had to quickly administer two
herbs.

Sanjeevani and Vishalya Karani to Ram
and Lakshman.

Now, where to get these herbs?

Wow. Until now, the traditional story
I've heard is that it was just Lakshman

Bhagwan who collapsed.

That is coming later.

Okay, wow. Yes, that happens again. This
is the first time I'm hearing this

story. So right now, Ram and Lakshman
both need Sanjeevani and Vishalya

They're discussing where to get it from.
And at that time, a Garuda appears.

Garud were also forest dwellers who
dressed up like eagles.

So we have seen forest dwellers who
dressed up like monkeys or bears or

vultures. This one dressed up like an
eagle. He came and he took out the

from Ram and Lakshman's bodies, nursed
their wounds and they recovered.

And Ram asked him, who are you?

And all he said was, I am your friend, O
Kakutth.

These Rakshasas don't fight fair.

Be careful.

So, you see, people not associated with
the war also, like this Garud, were

rooting for Ram.

And the Garud himself said, I heard that
you were in trouble, so I came to help

you.

We saw this earlier as well. King Guha
in Sringaverpur, he was ready to lay

his life for Ram, even though he had not
asked for it. Or Jatayu, who gave up

his life trying to protect Sita.

So, all of these communities and
peoples, had immense, the Ikshwakus had

goodwill among them and they were all
rooting for Ram's success.

Poetically, so I believe Garud is also
Vishnu Bhagwan's one, right? That is the

animal associated with Lord Vishnu,
whose avatar is Shri Ram.

So when Ram and Lakshman recovered,
there was a roar among the Vanaras and

heard that roar in his court.

See, he was prematurely celebrating.

that he had won the war. But when he
heard the roar, he realized that

was wrong. And when he found out, he
ordered his army to attack once again.

Vanaras were winning.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties,
but the Vanaras were winning.

And then Ravan came out for the first
time into the battlefield.

By the way, when he came out,
interestingly, Vibhishan pointed him out

And it's interesting that Vibhishan said
there, in that distance, the towering

person under the white kshatra, canopy,
who's radiant like the sun, that is

Ravan.

We spoke about Ravan's ten heads,
whether it was a throne or actually he

heads. Now think about it. If he really
had ten heads, one in the middle, five

on one side, four on the other, how
would Vibhishan have pointed him out?

There, that person with the ten heads,
that is Ravan. That's not what Vibhishan

said. Ravan laid into the Vanaras. He
was causing great destruction.

But Ram went and engaged with him.

And Ram struck an arrow in Ravan's
chest, which hit him like a thunderbolt,

he dropped his bow.

Ram's next arrow took off Ravan's crown.

And then Ravan went back into the city.

He retreated.

See, Ravan was a great warrior, but he
knew his own limitations. He was not

invincible.

Even earlier, he did not attack Ram head
on in Panchavati. He took him away,

deceiving him and then abducted Sita.
And even now, he realized that he needed

to retreat to fight another day.

When we're thinking about this battle,
what is the kind of weaponry that one

should visualize?

Because it's usually bows and arrows and
swords.

We spoke about Indrajit briefly.

Sounds very similar to the Mahabharata
weaponry of like arrows that kind of are

like missiles, poisonous arrows, etc.

So what do you visualize when it comes
to weaponry?

It is all that you said.

But in addition, this is a very strange
war.

That one side has none of this.

All the weaponry is on one side only.

The Vanaras...

fought with their bare hands and they
would punch, kick,

throw stones, even bite or they would
pick up the weapons of the Rakshasas

themselves and hit them.

In fact, I want to show you some clips
from the battle scene itself for you to

visualize this.

Ravan was furious when he learned what
had happened.

He then sent off Vajradhanashtra.

to lead the next charge.

Vajradhanashtra led his forces out of
the southern gate.

Here the Vanarami was under the charge
of the young Angad.

Once again, it was a dreadful fight.

Soon the battleground was littered with
severed heads, limbs and torsos.

Crows and vultures gathered for the
feast.

Angad started working his way towards
Vajradhanashtra, who was causing many

casualties among the Vanaras.

The Rakshas saw him coming and struck
him with a volley of arrows.

Angad's body was drenched in blood, but
he kept going closer.

And then...

Angad threw a large rock at
Vajradhanashtra's chariot and wrecked

This forced the Rakshas to fight Angad
in a hand -to -hand duel.

Just like Hanuman, Angad had forced his
adversary off his chariot.

Engaging their enemies at close quarters
paid to the Vanaras' advantage.

Angad and Vajradhanashtra punched and
hit each other viciously.

Both were soon exhausted and started
vomiting blood.

Angad picked up a tree trunk and the
rakshas grabbed a sword.

They struck each other until both were
so tired that they fell to their knees.

And then Angad tapped his last bit of
energy.

He pounced on Vajradhanashtra, grabbed
his sword in a flash and cut off his

head.

The Rakshas troops lost courage upon
seeing their fallen general and ran back

Lanka.

Ravan then ordered Akampan to lead the
next Rakshas assault.

Akampan also targeted the Vanar troops
near the western gate.

Valmiki said,

The warring forces kicked up a cloud of
dust that covered the entire

battlefield.

One could not see much.

But after some time, the dust settled
because the ground had become soaked

with blood.

And then a terrible picture emerged.

The battlefield was covered with dead
bodies.

I have to break away from the story just
a little bit.

Couple of things. Sure. First thing I
want to say is, wow.

Love the battle parts.

And this is the kind of stuff, again,
that's not spoken about in lore.

I didn't even know this Angad story.

And, you know, this was a relentless
war. Day and night. It was not like the

Mahabharata from daybreak till sunset.

Yeah, I've always wondered this about
the Ramayan battle. In fact, when we

started this series, this is the episode
I was looking forward to the most

because it's the one that's the most
crowded in mystery because we've not

shown it in commercial media.

That's the first thing I want to say.

The second thing I want to say is when
I'm viewing your work, there's a part of

me that views it as a content creator,
as an editor and the kind of music

used, the kind of...

words you've chosen to use like what I
sense and I'm not just saying this

because you're sitting in front of me
this is a very objective opinion I

genuinely feel that Maharishi Valmiki's
energy is flowing through you to make

this happen the only compliment for you
here is honestly I feel you've been

humble enough through the storytelling
process to allow that higher energy to

flow through you like So many people are
trying to do this exact job that you've

done. But I think you had the right
mindset to do the story in a very true

the art form way. Thank you very much.
I'm truly humbled to hear this.

My entire effort has been to make sure
I'm conveying what Maharshi Valmiki

to say and not my interpretation or, you
know, there should be as little of me.

And people find out what is it that is
actually said in the Valmiki Ramayana.

It's been a very humbling experience for
me also to sit in front of you because

at my age, 31, with this kind of glamour
around me, one of the challenges has

been to, you know, tread carefully along
this path and not become arrogant and

all that. But when I meet people like
you who are doing this kind of work in

such a humble way, plus you had a
flourishing business career, all that,

still this guy.

God chose you to say this story for our
generation.

There's a lot of learning, even
subliminally, beyond just the story.

so much for saying that. Thanks for
coming to the studio. And we inaugurated

studio with you and my mother. So I'm
glad. Yes, the first episode we did.

Please go on now. Pardon this short
tangent.

Not at all.

So we saw that the Vanaras were winning.

even though they had no arms. In fact,
they were doing this repeatedly. They

would force the Rakshasas off their
chariot by breaking it, force them into

hand -to -hand duel and then finish them
off.

Ravan realized he had to do something
different. Even he had stepped out but

retreated. And as he considered his
options, he realized that there was one

person he wanted to call on and that was
Kumbhakarna, his brother.

If only he could wake him up.

See, Kumbhakarna suffered from a medical
condition, an endocrinological

disorder, because of which he would
sleep for many days at a time.

And when he woke up, he was very hungry.
And right now he was sleeping.

So Ravan's challenge was to wake him up.

He sent some people to do this job.

And Valmiki's description of how they
woke him up is very interesting.

So they went into a subterranean palace.

And as they went in, Kumbhakarna was
sleeping.

And his breath, as he exhaled, almost
blew them away.

So he is described here as a giant.

They called out his name. They beat
drums to try and wake him up. Blasted

conches. But none of it worked.

Then they started pulling his hair.

They hit him with maces.

Even that did not wake him up.

Finally, the description is they got
thousands of elephants to run up and

his body to finally wake him up.
Clearly, this is an exaggeration.

He stretched himself, yawned, got up and
he was famished.

They had brought

mounds of meat for him to eat.

Pig, buffalo, deer.

Did he mention?

Yes. Pig, buffalo and deer meat.

Yes.

And not just that, he also had a lot of
wine to go with that as well as big jars

of blood.

That was his food. And refreshed, he
went to meet Ravan.

Ravan told him what was going on in the
battlefield.

And Kumbhakarna laughed.

And he said, we had warned you earlier,
but you didn't listen to us.

Now you are suffering the results of
your own actions.

So there was some goodness in
Kumbhakarna.

Yes, interestingly. And Kumbhakarna also
gave him a lecture on why it's

important to have a good balance between
righteousness, wealth creation and

enjoying pleasures.

But Ravan told him, don't give me a
lecture like a teacher. I need your help

right now.

Kumbhakarna said, don't worry, I'll take
care of this for you.

Earlier as well, remember in the court,
when in the showdown with Vibhishan,

Kumbhakarna had also been there.

And even then, he did not agree with
what Ravan had done. But he said, even

I will support you.

Now Kumbhakarna stepped out into battle.

Once again, Valmiki talks of him as a
giant.

And how big?

eyes were the size of chariot wheels and
his height was equal to 600 bows

placed next to each other. Once again,
it is clearly an exaggeration. 600 bows,

you know, five feet for one. If you
calculate, it's about 3000 feet or more.

That's a kilometer.

Some people wonder why we shouldn't take
everything that is written in the

Valmiki Ramayana exactly as it is.

Well, Clearly, these are exaggerations.
A person who is a kilometer tall is not

possible. Even if someone were very
tall, how would he fit into Ravan's

How would Ravan talk to him and so on?

Anyway, Kumbhakarna stepped into the
battlefield and he started killing the

Vanaras by the hundreds.

His weapons of choice were not bows and
arrows. He used clubs, maces, things he

could hit with, even his fist.

And because he was so large, Valmiki
says, with just one hit of his club, he

would kill a hundred Vanaras.

Or he would scoop them up with his hand,
10 and 20 at a time and eat them.

In short, Kumbhakarna was causing great
damage among the Vanaras, great

casualties.

And Shri Ram stepped up to fight with
him.

He fired off the Y of Yastra and cut off
his right hand.

Kumbhakarna flew into a wild rage.

He took a tree and started charging
towards Ram. With his left hand, he

a tree.

But Ram fired another arrow and cut off
his left hand too.

And then Ram fired arrows at his legs to
immobilize him.

And then with one final arrow, Ram cut
off his head.

The giant's lifeless body crashed to the
ground. And that was the end of

Kumbhakarna.

When Ravan heard about this, he was
heartbroken.

He said, with my brother gone, I don't
want to live.

This kingdom has no meaning for me. What
will I do with Sita?

He was crying bitterly.

Indrajit could not see his father like
this and he stepped out into battle.

Indrajit, remember, is now the only
person among the Rakshas leaders who has

scored a win in this battle. On the
first day, he had injured Ram and

thought his job was done and had come
back into the city.

Indrajit came out once again.

Before I let you continue, another tiny
question.

Because we spoke about Vibhishan,
Kumbhakaran and Ravan, three brothers.

Is anything said about their parents?

Ravan's father was Vishrawamuni and his
mother was Kaikasi.

His mother was a Raksasi.

His father was not a Raksas.

In fact, interestingly, Ravan's father
was a Brahmin, a Muni, but he himself

a Kshatriya, a ruler. We saw this
earlier as well, right?

Vishwamitra was the son of a ruler.

He used to be a king, but he became a
Brahmarshi.

Do you think that the other two brothers
have also descended from the same pair

of parents?

Yes.

I think so. Okay, gotcha.

Before I let you move forward, bit of a
war -oriented question.

Because in my eyes, yes, I knew all the
Indrajit stories, but I always viewed

Kumbhakarna as the second most powerful
warrior from the side of the Rakshasas.

Would you say that it's actually
Indrajit?

No, these are the three top warriors.

Ravan himself, Indrajit and Kumbhakarna.
Okay.

And what's sad about Indrajit is that
he's stealth oriented and has very

advanced weaponry. Yes. Kumbhakarna had
immense physical power and Indrajit had

all the smart weapons.

Got it. Technically the most sound. Yes.

Just a little tiny historical context.
If you study all medieval battles of

human history, like from the last 1000
years, and I'm pretty sure even before

that, the side that wins is always the
one that's technically more advanced.

And that's the actual edge that one has
in warfare.

And I've had lots of soldiers on the
show.

They've also confirmed this theory. That
it's always the side with the cannons,

the side with the guns, the side with
the drones that ends up winning.

So this is a huge advantage that the
Rakshasas had.

And they let it down.

They let it go, the advantage. Because
they could fire from a distance and they

didn't engage the Vanaras early enough.

And now this was a hand -to -hand combat
or person -to -person combat.

And here the Vanaras were winning.

Now I'll let you go on.

So Kumbhakarna was dead and Ravan was
heartbroken. Indrajit couldn't see him

like this. He came out to fight.

And once again, he started killing
Vanaras by the hundreds.

They didn't even know where he was
firing from.

Some of the weapons that he fired would
explode in the air.

And then they would release sharp darts
onto the Vanaras.

Valmiki says some of the Vanaras tried
to look up to see where the attack was

coming from. And they were struck in
their eyes.

Indrajit then turned his attention to
Ram and Lakshman.

He used the Brahmastra and then showered
so many arrows on them that

they fell down unconscious.

And already a lot of the other Vanar
leaders

were down, Sugriv, Angad.

Once again, Indrajit thought that his
job was done and he went back into the

city.

Vibhishan and Hanuman were the only
senior leaders who were relatively

all this. Everyone else was terribly
injured and they were going around

to the injured soldiers.

When Vibhishan came across Jambavan,
Jambavan had lost a lot of blood.

With great difficulty, he told Vivishan
to quickly call Hanuman.

And when Hanuman came, Vivishan told him
to get the Sanjeevani herb.

So this is a fairly popular scene when
Hanuman gets the herb to save

the army.

Let's watch this in a short video.

Hanuman came up to him.

Jambavan said, the fate of our army is
in your hands now.

You must quickly get four medicinal
herbs.

Sanjeevani, Vishalyakarni, Suvarnakarni
and Sandhani.

Go to the Himalayas.

Himavantam Gantumarhasi.

Between Mount Kailash and Mount Rishabh,
you will see another peak shining

brightly.

Many herbs grow on this mountain.

There you will find the ones we need.

O greatest of varnaras, Now go.

Only you can do this.

So this is the famous story of Hanuman
flying to the Himalayas and bringing

a mountain.

Did that really happen?

Let us first see how Valmiki has
described it.

And then we will consider whether the
descriptions can be taken literally or

not.

Valmiki says,

Hanuman grew his body to an enormous
size.

Even the mountain he was standing on got
pressed into the earth.

And then he took a giant leap into the
sky and went off towards the Himalayas.

He slipped past mountains, lakes, rivers
and cities.

And soon he reached the mountain where
the herbs were growing.

But he could not find the ones he was
looking for.

The plants realized that someone was
looking for them and made themselves

invisible.

And so

Hanuman picked up the entire mountain
peak with the trees and even the animals

and brought it all back to Lanka.

Lakshman and the injured Vanaras were
administered the medicine.

Soon they all recovered.

Hanuman then quickly went and put the
mountain back in its place in the

Himalayas.

Did Hanuman do this using any yogic
powers?

Valmiki has not mentioned anything about
Hanuman using yogic powers or siddhis.

And also consider this, the distance
from Lanka to the Himalayas is about

kilometers.

Hanuman is said to have covered this
distance four times for two up and down

trips in just a few hours.

His flying speed would have to be many
hundreds of kilometers per hour.

Even if Hanuman had some means of making
the journey himself, the mountain would

not remain intact at such speeds.

Trees get uprooted in hurricanes at much
lower wind speeds.

By the time Hanuman could have brought
the mountain to Lanka, not a single tree

would have survived.

Most likely, these plants were native to
the Himalayan region, but the medicines

were also available nearby.

Remember, On the first night of the war,
the Garud had also brought some such

herbs.

And when Sugriv had assembled his army,
we had heard that the Vanar troops from

the Himalayas had brought some medicinal
herbs with them.

The idea of getting a mountain of herbs
could be a way of saying that Hanuman

got a very large quantity of these
medicines.

Well, the medicines had done the job.

Ram, Lakshman and the other injured
soldiers were feeling much better.

And then Sugriv ordered a counter
-attack.

See, like I said before, this was a
relentless war, non -stop.

This was late at night. They had just
recovered.

But Sugriv told the Vanaras to charge
into the city and set the buildings on

fire.

Earlier as well, we had seen how in the
Sundarkand, Hanuman had set fire to some

buildings in Lanka.

At that time, the objective was
different.

He wanted to strike fear in the hearts
of the enemy.

And so he had put the fire at the
residences of the senior most

rakshasas leaders.

But this time, Sugriva's objective was
to reduce Ravan's ability to fight the

war. And so they targeted the
storehouses which kept all the tools of

Armour, body armour.

Bows and arrows, bow strings and so on.

The Rakshasas were caught by surprise
because they were thinking that the

soldiers are lying injured and the
leaders are dead.

The Vanar troops stormed into the city,
set the buildings on fire.

There was chaos in the street.

Men and women running around, even
elephants and horses.

And then just as quickly as they had
come, the Vanar troops came back,

to their positions outside the city.
When Ravan heard about this, he was

And he once again turned to Indrajit and
said, do something.

Kill those two brothers, Ram and
Lakshman.

Indrajit came out once again.

This time when he came out, he put
something on fire which created a lot of

smoke. So the entire battlefield was
covered by a thick fog.

And through this fog, he started firing
off his arrows.

And he was changing his location all the
time. So nobody could see where he

would fire from.

And he was killing hundreds of Vanaras
like this.

And then suddenly he retreated back into
the city.

And he came out of another gate, this
time the western gate of the city.

And he had with him on the chariot
someone that looked like Sita, a lady

looked like Sita.

And after he came out,

He grabbed that lady by the hair and
started hitting her.

She cried, Ram!

Ram!

Hanuman saw this from a distance and he
screamed at him, Stop that!

But Indrajit said, You may think that
killing a woman is not correct, but for

me, whatever harms the enemy must be
done.

And he took his sword and struck the
woman who collapsed to the floor of the

chariot.

Indrajit shouted out, look, I have
killed Sita.

And then he went into the city.

Hanuman rushed to report this to Ram.

Vibhishan was also there.

And he said, this is a trick.

I know Ravan very well.

I know Indrajit too.

They are trying to keep us preoccupied,
throw us off our ground.

What could it be?

And suddenly Vibhishan realized what it
was.

He said Indrajit must have gone to the
shrine of Nikumbila to do a fire ritual.

And if he finishes the ritual, he will
become invincible.

We must stop him.

So Lakshman, Vibhishan, Hanuman and some
troops rushed to the shrine of

Nikumbila and they get there just in
time.

For Indrajit comes out.

without completing what he had started.

And now for the first time, Indrajit is
out in the open.

And Lakshman engages him in a direct
battle.

Both were extremely skilled warriors.

They had all the astras and shastras.

They neutralized a lot of the astras
that the other fired in mid -air.

But still, many of the arrows found
their mark and both were grievously

Valmiki says blood was flowing down
their bodies like waterfalls.

At one point, Indrajit lost his
charioteer.

What is interesting, Valmiki says that
he took control of the reins himself and

alternated between guiding the horses
and firing off bows. So he would guide

horses, leave the reins, fire an arrow
and go back to guiding the horses.

So he was a very skilled warrior, but
ultimately he was forced off his chariot

as well.

And then Lakshman loaded the Aindrastra,
Aindrastra means Indrajastra, onto his

bow.

He pulled the bowstring all the way to
his ears, aimed the arrow at Indrajit's

neck and released it.

And in a flash, it was all over.

Indrajit was no more.

Interestingly,

Indrajit means he who had defeated
Indra, Lord Indra.

He was killed by Indrajastra, Indrastra.
When Ravan heard that his son was no

more, he fainted.

And when he regained consciousness, he
was beside himself with grief. He cried

bitterly.

And Ravan was not the only one who was
grieving. By now, Valmiki says that

family, In Lanka had lost someone.

Brothers, sons, husbands.

And Valmiki devotes an entire chapter,
Sarga, to the lament of the Rakshasis.

They are crying and lamenting the lost
ones.

It's interesting who they blame for all
this and who they do not blame.

Surprisingly, they have nothing to say
about Ram.

But the two people that they are blaming
are Shurpanakha and Ravan.

The Rakshatis themselves are saying what
was Shurpan Khat thinking when she

lusted for Ram.

Clearly she was wrong.

And as for Ravan, they said he is evil
minded and arrogant.

If only he had listened to Vibhishan.

Now there was no one left to turn to.

Ravan knew he had to come out to fight.

He was down. He had clearly lost many of
the battles in this.

But he was not done yet.

He would throw himself and whatever he
had into one final battle. He asked the

Rakshasas to round up everyone house to
house, who could fight.

And then Ravan came out for one final
battle.

Ravan first caused great destruction
among the Vana troops and then Ram

Ravan.

Once again, like Indrajit and Lakshman,
both were very capable, both

neutralized or brought down the astras
in mid -air, but also both were struck,

were injured.

At one point in time, Ravan also struck
Lakshman with a spear.

And it is here that Hanuman once again
got the Sanjeevani herb only for

Lakshman. Right? So the Sanjeevani herb
is required three times.

On the first day when Ravan and Lakshman
were injured, they talked about

Sanjeevani, but then the Garud came.
Then the second time we saw in the

When most of the leaders and many troops
were injured, that's when Hanuman got

the Sanjeevani and now.

During this time, Ravan had gone back
because he had lost his horses. So he

back to get a fresh chariot.

And when Ravan came back into the
battlefield,

Ram and Ravan engaged once again.

Both fought for a long time, for hours.

And once again, suddenly Ravan's
charioteer turned.

The chariot back into the city.

Ravan lashed out at him. He said, you
fool, why did you do that?

The charioteer said, my lord, the horses
are tired and so are you.

I think we should take some rest.

While Ram was waiting for Ravan to come
back, he thought of Agastya Muni.

The great Muni had taught him the Aditya
Hridaya Stotra.

A prayer that helps harness one's energy
in battle.

And Ram stood facing the sun, recited
the prayer, and did achaman, the

ceremonial sipping of water, three
times.

Is the prayer mentioned in the... Yes.

It's like a mantra packed into... Into
the narration.

Okay. Got it. All right. Let's watch the
video.

Ravan returned to the battle scene for
the third time.

Once more.

A ferocious battle ensued between these
two great warriors.

This was chariot warfare at its best.

At times, Ram and Ravan charged towards
each other.

At other times, they tactically
retreated only to attack from a

And they attacked each other
relentlessly.

It seemed like the sky was entirely
covered by arrows flying across.

No one had seen a battle like this ever
before.

The raksha soldiers just stared at
Ravana.

The vanaras at Rama.

They stood frozen.

like characters in a painting.

The battle raged on and on.

Ram wondered why the weapons that had
worked so well against Khar, Dushan and

Kaband were unable to finish off Ravan.

Swalmiki says poetically that when Ram
cut off Ravan's head with a sharp arrow,

a new head appeared in its place.

And this happened a hundred times.

Ram realized that he had to try
something different.

And then he picked up a special weapon
that Agastya Muni had given him.

This arrow, made by Lord Brahma himself,
was more like a missile launched from a

bow.

Valmiki has described it as follows.

It was huge in size and weight, but also
hollow in the middle.

A fire burned inside and it emitted
smoke as it went hissing through the

It landed on its target like a
thunderbolt.

It could blast right through doors and
walls, man and beast.

Ram loaded the great weapon on his bow
as per the proper Vedic procedures.

He pulled the bowstring all the way back
and fired it off at Ravan.

The arrow hit Ravan on the chest.

and went right through him.

Even as Ravan's bow and arrow slipped
from his hand, his life breath also

slipped out of him.

The king of Rakshasas was dead even
before he hit the ground.

That is how it happened.

Brahmastra? The Brahmastra comes many
times in the Ramayana. Even earlier in

Sundarkand, Indrajit had used the
Brahmastra to ensnare Hanuman.

Then Indrajit had used the Brahmastra
later on as well.

Ram and Lakshman. So the Brahmastra is
not only one astra. There are different

types of Brahmastra mentioned here.

Wow.

What is said about his death? Because
there was a line where you went that

left him before he hit the ground. Yeah.
That's the last mention of him and his

body and his soul.

Yes. So he was dead in an instant.

There is a popular story in some
retellings about Ravan lying on his

and Lakshman going to meet him before he
dies. That is not mentioned in the

Valmiki Ramayan. Does Ramji have a
dialogue about Ravan at all to anyone?

Yes. So right after this, once Ravan is
dead, Mandodari and the other wives

come out. I'll tell you what happens
because he mentioned something to

which is important about Ravan.

So the ladies come out and they are
weeping next to Ravan's body.

See, one side has won the battle, the
war.

How do we typically imagine the winning
side will treat the losing side?

Especially the women, you know,
throughout history.

And now look at Ram's exemplary
behavior.

He tells Vibhishan, please console the
women and do the last rites for Ravan.

So, the right treatment for the fallen
soldier as well as consoling the women.

Exemplary behavior.

Even Vibhishan was not ready for this.

He was conflicted. On one hand, he had
lost his brother and he was sad. At the

same time, he was not ready to forgive
Ravan for what he had done.

But Ram tells Vibhishan that animosity
should not last after death.

And he tells Vibhishan to your question
now, what does he tell about Ravan? He

said, Ravan was a great warrior.

He deserves respect from you and me.

He died fighting in the battlefield like
a true Kshatriya.

So please go ahead and do his last
rites.

And then Vibhishan cremated Ravan's
body, did Jalanjali.

And then, Ram told Lakshman to coronate
Vibhishan as the next king of Lanka.

And then he told Vibhishan to go and
call Sita.

See, Sita was inside the city in the
Ashok one, remember.

And Ram could not enter any city during
the period of his exile, one was.

So he asked Vibhishan to call her.

But he also said, make sure she has
taken her bath and put on her jewellery.

That was a strange request and Sita
thought so too.

She said, I want to meet Ram. The bath
can wait.

But Vibhishan advised that they should
follow what Ram had said. And so Sita

ready and Vibhishan brought Sita to the
battlefield in a palanquin and then told

Ram, Sita is here.

Ram was thoughtful.

He looked down for a moment and then
told Vibhishan, please ask Sita to get

the Palkhi and walk up to me.

Again, Vibhishan couldn't understand why
Ram was asking for this, but he went

and told Sita to come towards Ram.

At that time, the Vanaras and Rakshasas
had begun to gather.

It was some sort of a spectacle and
Vibhishan's soldiers were pushing them

Ram told the soldiers not to put them
back. Let them stay.

And so when Sita got off the Palkhi, she
was embarrassed.

Lajjaya. Everyone was looking at her.

She walked towards Ram.

And then when she looked up, their eyes
met.

After months of longing, finally they
had seen each other.

And Maharshi Valmiki says, their faces
lit up with joy.

But then Ram's expression changed and he
said to her,

Oh lady, may you be well.

You should know that I did not fight the
war for your sake.

By kidnapping you, Ravan had insulted me
and I had to take revenge.

I fought this war for the glory of the
Ikshwaku dynasty.

But now there is a doubt about your
character.

And I can't even bear to look at you.

Surely Ravan would have been attracted
to someone as beautiful as you.

And what sort of a man would take back a
woman who has spent some time in

someone else's house?

You are free to go and live with whoever
you wish to.

You can live with Lakshman, Bharat,
Shatrughna or even Sugriv.

or Vibhishan.

It means nothing to me.

Sita could not believe what she was
hearing.

In fact, we have spoken over four
sessions, many hours.

This is completely out of character,
right, based on what we have heard about

Sri Ram.

If we are reading the Ramayana, when we
come to this part, you may flip the

pages back and forth to see whether you
are reading things correctly.

This is so odd.

We have seen how Ram was pained by
Sita's loss.

Again and again, we heard him say, I
cannot live for a moment without Sita.

My life is meaningless without Sita. We
heard this

at Panchavati when she was kidnapped.
Afterwards in Pampa, Ram talked

about his longing for Sita.

And Ram had also said, if I can be with
Sita, I will not wish for anything else

in the world.

Not even Ayodhya.

Sita cried.

She could not understand why Ram was
saying this.

And she said, what you say is totally
unfair, inappropriate.

How come you are thinking like an
ordinary person?

I did not come here by choice.

Ravan forcibly brought me.

Now what is my fault in all this?

And if that's what you felt, you should
have told me so earlier.

I would have killed myself when Hanuman
came to meet me.

And then all this effort would have been
saved.

You put your life at risk unnecessarily.
So many of your friends' lives at risk.

So many people got killed. It was
unnecessary.

And if after all these years, If you
still do not understand me, then I might

well be dead. She looked to Lakshman and
said, Lakshman, I cannot live with this

baseless controversy about my character.

Please light a fire and I will walk into
it.

Note, many months back, Sita had said
some harsh and unfair words to Lakshman

Panchavati before she got abducted.

And now Ram had said, harsh and unfair
words to Sita and Sita was looking for

help towards Lakshman. Lakshman could
also not understand why Ram was doing

this.

He knew how Ram felt about Sita and how
could he say such things.

He looked at Ram angrily and then
Maharshi Valmiki says,

Ram made a

gesture to Lakshman and then Lakshman
understood.

what was in his mind.

Aakara Suchitam, a gesture.

And Lakshman lit a fire.

So Ram had indicated to him, I know what
I am doing.

Just go along. It was all an act.

Those harsh words.

Lakshman lit the fire.

Sita walked up to it.

And she said, If I am not at fault in
any way, if my character is spotless,

may the fire protect me.

And she started going towards the fire.

There was a roar among the crowds.

At this point, Maharshi Valmiki says,
Sita jumped into the fire.

The Devas, Rishis, Gandharvas, Indra,
Brahma all came there.

Agnidev brought Sita out of the fire.

And then they all spoke to Ram and said,
Sita is not at fault in any way.

Ravan forcibly brought her, never again
say such hurtful things to her.

We have to understand that through the
voices of the Devas and Rishis, Valmiki

is telling us what the crowd spoke of,
just as Sita was about to jump into the

fire.

And when they said, Sita is not at fault
in any way, Ram said, I understand Sita

very well. I know her very well.

And I can never leave her.

It is just not possible.

We are inseparable like the sun is
inseparable from the sun's rays.

You cannot have one without the other.

Sita was not at fault.

But Ram knew that people would question
and gossip about her.

And he wanted to make sure that they
recognized her as the queen and that

had no question about her.

Ram's hurtful words to Sita that we
heard were all an act.

And this was a carefully crafted
situation. If you saw right from the

why did Sita have to put on her jewelry?

Because Ram wanted to make sure that
when she made her first appearance,

saw her as their soon to be queen.

and not as a destitute woman.

Why did he tell the guards not to push
back the crowds so that they could hear

the hurtful words that he said?

And then Sita had to walk up to him and
he said those hurtful words when the

people spoke up and said, Sita has done
nothing wrong.

Sita is not to be blamed.

And this is exactly the outcome that
Shri Ram wanted.

And with that, Shri Ram and Sita were
united once again.

this previous chapter is very important
for modern day context and I was toying

with the idea of even bringing this up
or not but I feel every faith in the

world has its critics which often come
from other faiths and of course every

faith in the world also has its set of
secular people who just you know are

good energy towards other faiths when it
comes to Sanatana Dharma the critics of

Sanatana Dharma sometimes from other
faiths And very, very often from our own

faith. End up criticizing the Ramayana
because of this part without talking

about what you spoke about post Sita
Maaz.

Outburst. Yeah, outburst. And if you
read things in isolation, of course, you

will get a completely different meaning.

Yeah, this is what my friend Manish
calls loosely informed, highly

When people criticize the Ramayana in
this manner.

But instead, hear the whole story.

And also, this is kind of the danger
with taking the Valmiki Ramayan and

creating your own spin on it.

And here I'm criticizing all the
individuals who added their own spin on

the last 14 ,000 years.

Was there a need? See, there is a place
for retellings.

And some of the retellings are...

Even the authors are saying that this is
just a literary work.

And I think as long as the retellings
are consistent with the spirit of

Ravan, we can enjoy them all. Like I
said about the coiled tail.

Why not? A beautiful depiction.

We can enjoy that.

But where if you start reading character
traits that are simply not there, like

Ravan being very nice to women, we just
saw today that is absolutely far from

the truth. That is not a retelling. That
is a twisting.

Yeah, I think it's almost become a bit
of a Sanatani flex to show off

certain kind of elements of spin -off
stories that, hey, did you know that in

some stories Ravana is Sita's dad? Like
I've heard things like this. It's been

said on the show as well.

So that's so far from the Valmiki
Ramayana. Yes, and that is why the

of the Valmiki Ramayana because that is
the reference text. See, there are so

many versions and people are confused
what exactly happened.

For that question, the reference text is
the Valmiki Ramayana.

You know, more than a million people are
going to watch these episodes

collectively, what we've recorded.

This is such an important retelling of
the original text for the internet age.

Can I interject with one more question
before we move forward?

First of all, is the story complete? Is
there some stuff left?

A little bit. Now they will go back to
Ayodhya.

But go ahead with your question. The
question I have is this element of

being God or human.

This is another question that came up a
lot in the comment section.

And I think this is in reference to the
previous episode where we spoke about

Hanumanji's reality.

Where you often visualize him as a God,
which he is. Which is why we recite the

Hanuman Chalisa as well.

But then...

Mentions of the Vanaras tell us that
they took off their monkey -like masks

monkey -like tails.

So these are obviously human beings
which are putting on some kind of

And Hanumanji was a very evolved version
of a Vanar. Yes. Was a higher being,

for sure.

Now, common understanding in Sanatanis
is that Ramji is an avatar of Vishnu.

Can we bring in Vishnu Bhagwan into...

This part of the story and this part of
this conversation as well.

What's happening here?

So your question was, is he human or
divine? Yes.

And the answer is both.

First of all, right in the beginning, in
the first discussion that we had in

this series, first chapter of the
Balakand itself, we had looked at the

of traits that Maharshi Valmiki was
looking for. Remember, and so

on. And there he had used the word Nara.

Nara means human. So he was looking for
a person, a human who had these

qualities and then he wrote the story of
Ram.

Afterwards also he has used the word
Nara to talk about Sri Ram. So Sri Ram

the Valmiki Ram mind is human.

We also saw that he goes through all the
human emotions.

Happiness, love, anger, hopelessness,
sorrow, all of it.

Also, many of the magical aspects that
we find in other retellings are not

in the Valmiki Ramayana. So, Sri Ram was
human.

At the same time, Maharshi Valmiki has
also said that the four sons of Vishnu

had taken birth as the four sons of
Dashrath.

And at other points also, he refers to
Sri Ram as Vishnu being in human form.

So both.

Gotcha. Okay.

So proceeding with the story, we are
almost at the end. Ravan is no more.

Ram and Sita are together.

The war is over and so are the 14 years
of exile.

So it's now time to go home.

Vibhishan gets the Pushpak Viman ready.

All of them.

climb into the Viman and the Viman takes
off for Ayodhya.

Along the way, when they are passing
over Kishkindha, Sita suggests that they

could pick up Tara and the other ladies.

So they bring down the Viman, pick up
the additional passengers and then off

their way again.

When they come close to Ayodhya, Ram,
Lakshman and Sita bow down in reverence

to the city.

But then instead of Arriving straight at
Ayodhya, Ram gets the Viman

to turn back and land at Bharadwaj
Muni's ashram.

Remember, during their vanvas also, they
had come south to Sringavirpur, crossed

over the Ganga and then got gone to
Bharadwaj Muni's ashram.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Shri
Ram asks Bharadwaj Muni, how are things

in Ayodhya?

Bharadwaj Muni knows.

Why he is asking that?

And he says, my disciples go there often
and I can tell you that Bharat is

ruling very well.

And he is waiting for you to come back.

You had asked me earlier, what happens
after the 14 years? So Kaikeyi had asked

that Ram should be sent off into Anvas
and Bharat should be made the king,

Yuvraj, earlier and then the king. What
happens after 14 years?

At that time, Remember in Chitrakoot,
Bharat had said that if you don't come

back on the very day the 14 years are
over, I will kill myself. I'm only

in your name.

But Ram wanted to find out what Bharat
was thinking now after all these years

about it before arriving. And he also
wanted to know how Bharat was ruling. So

he had found that Bharat was ruling very
well.

So he told Hanuman to go up to Bharat
before they arrived to tell him what all

had happened.

And then he said, observe Bharat very
carefully, his body language and his

expressions.

And if you feel something is amiss, then
let me know before I meet Bharat.

The empire held no attraction for Ram.
So he was not eagerly looking forward to

becoming the king.

His primary concern always was
Prajapalan, welfare of the people.

And he had found through Bharadwaj Muni
that Bharat was ruling well.

And so he wanted to find out that if
Bharat wanted to continue, see after 14

years in power, maybe he thought
differently. If Bharat wanted to

was very happy to let him do so.

So Hanuman went to meet Bharat, told him
what had happened.

Bharat was stunned to hear all this. He
did not know about Sita's abduction and

the war with the Rakshasas or any of it.

And he was delighted to know that Ram
was coming back to Ayodhya.

He hugged Hanuman and said, Finally,

my wish has been fulfilled.

The next day, the Viman arrived in
Nandigram.

By the way, Bharat was ruling as a
caretaker, as he had said, from

which was just outside Ayodhya.

So he had said he would not enjoy any of
the luxuries of royal life while Ram

was in exile.

And so he was at Nandigram and that's
where the Viman came.

It was an emotional homecoming for Ram,
Lakshmana and Sita.

Bharat told Ram, now that you are back,
take over the empire.

I have ruled in your name.

In your absence, the treasury, food
stock and the army are 10 times what

were. So he had grown the economy 10
times in 14 years. He had ruled very

Even then Bharat said, but no one can
rule this vast empire like you.

I am as capable of walking in your shoes
as a donkey is capable of walking like

a horse.

Gatinkara.

The very words he had said 14 years
back.

All these years in power had not changed
Bharat one bit.

And these were the Ikshwakus.

We had seen earlier 34 generations. They
had been ruling for 34 generations and

still not a trace of any lust for power.
Remember the great debate at Chitrakoot

where Ram and Bharat had argued that the
other is the rightful successor.

Ram agreed to take over the
responsibility of the empire.

The coronation was held the next day.
Before the coronation, Ram was brought

from Nandigram to Ayodhya in a grand
procession.

There were musicians and dancers.

Ayodhya erupted in joy.

The streets and buildings were decorated
with flags and flowers.

And then, Maharshi Vasishta placed the
crown of the Ikshvakus on Sri Ram's

Ram gave away gifts to the scholars and
the needy. He honored Vibhishan,

Hanuman, Sugriv and others.

And Sita gave a very special gift, a
necklace to a very special person,

After the coronation, Sugriv went back
to Kishkindha.

Vibhishan went back to Lanka.

And thus began the glorious reign of
King Ram.

Maharshi Valmiki says, everyone was
happy and all was well in the land.

People lived long and healthy lives.

They lived in harmony with each other
and with nature.

And Ram was extremely popular.

People could not get enough of talking
about him. Ram did this, Ram did that.

And thus Ram ruled for many,

many years.

This is the story.

This is how it all happened.

May you all be well.

And with those words, the sixth book of
the Valmiki Ramayana comes to an end.

And this is also the end of the Valmiki
Ramayana.

Jai Sri Ram. Jai Sri Ram.

Hmm.

Fun.

Feeling like a big box has been ticked.
From my own artistic journey, I don't

know how you're feeling.

Definitely. Thank you so much for giving
me this opportunity to tell.

This story of Shri Ram, the charitra of
Shri Ram, sharing it with all of you.

Thanks for your life work. That's what
I'll say. But before we close off, I

to make one final remark.

You had said just now that this is the
oldest epic, the Adhika we have written

all of these thousands of years back and
we are still talking about it.

In fact, in the Ramayana itself,
Maharshi Valmiki has this.

Until the mountains and rivers exist on
this earth, Ramayan, the story of Ram,

will always be told.

Now, think about it.

How could Maharshi Valmiki, all of these
thousands of years back, be so

confident that what he was composing,
will be told for all times to come.

How could he be so confident?

And the answer is relevance.

The Valmiki Ramayana is relevant for
everyone and for all times.

In the first session, you had asked the
question, I think it was your first

question, why did Maharshi Valmiki write
it?

And we had looked at the first few
verses.

Who in the world lives today? Who has
all the qualities of an outstanding

person? Who is a great role model?

And then in the next few verses, he had
listed out these qualities. Who has the

strength of character?

Who is thoughtful, caring, generous,
grateful, truthful, a doer, scholar?

He has attained control over his anger.

But, won't remain silent in the face of
wrongdoing.

And then Maharshi Valmiki wrote the
story of Ram.

Because Ram had all of those qualities.

Now note, these qualities are universal
human values.

Who can argue that being grateful,
thoughtful, caring is not good?

And so Sri Ram exemplifies these
universal human values.

See, Ram's ideal is not limited by any
philosophy or doctrine.

There are no religious do's and don'ts
in this book.

And that is why the Ramayana is relevant
for everyone and for all times,

relevant for you and me today.

See, you are doing some exciting and
bold initiatives in your podcast about

the global expansion and so on.

Also in your personal life, you shared
some interesting developments.

For you and for me, can we think of the
Ramayana in

our life? That is the question.

Can we think beyond ourselves and our
self -interest?

Can we choose to do the right thing even
when the costs are high?

Can we support others in their time of
need?

And surely there will be times when we
feel hopeless.

And overwhelmed.

Can we think of what. Sri Ram, Lakshman,
Sita and Hanuman did.

And know.

That we have to keep going.

Never give up.

And when. We have done everything that
we can do. Can we accept whatever life

throws at us.

Without anger. Without irritation.

Just the way Sri Ram accepted.

On the day of his exile.

That is the relevance.

Of the Ramayana.

This conversation is important because
hopefully we can not only connect our

audience with Maharshi Valmiki's words,
but also show them how it can be

useful in their day -to -day lives.

It's petrol for the subconscious mind.

That's how I look at the Ramayana.

Fuels your journey through life. And
it's always done that for every Indian

who's familiar with the story.

This whole series was created.

Honestly, primarily for a global
audience to expose them to the story of

Ramayana. And there's a lot of people of
Indian origin all over the world who

wish to hear the story in English and
who wish to know the true version of the

story. So this is why it's a big
artistic tick mark for me. It's been a

mine since my career began. And you were
the right person, you know, that

Hanumanji sent and that Maharishi
Valmiki sent. Thank you.

You said it is for the global audience.
Of course, it should be. Like we said,

it is universal.

As I'm moving into my 30s, I'm 31 now.
I'll turn 32 this year.

One of the big life lessons I'm
understanding is that there's variables

and there's constants in life.

And we often only address the positive
constants, which are your family

You know, maybe love as an emotion.

Maybe growth is a constant.

But there's another very big constant
that you're not told about when you're

growing up. And often you learn it
through the course of life.

And that constant is the factor of
unpredictability.

It's not a variable.

I've understood that life is deeply
unpredictable.

That's just the nature of being a human
being.

And this is exactly why you need that
sort of morals, ethics.

which you get from the Ramayana.

I think that's what you're going towards
as well. That this is a bit of a GPS

for life in some ways.

Definitely when we keep an ideal in
front of us, we become more like that.

Remember we had spoken about this in our
very first discussion before we started

the four part series. Why should we read
this again and again?

Because over time, the right actions
become our default actions.

As we move towards this ending note,
what I've realized about you is that

you've had a very successful business
career before you began this journey of

studying the Ramayana.

And you've told me off camera about all
the adventures you had through your

business career. There were some very
intense, difficult periods as well.

But you just kind of swiftly move past
those periods.

So that you can be here in this room and
share the story of the Ramayana with

the world. The original true Maharishi
Valmiki Ramayana.

Yes, I certainly feel blessed and
privileged that I'm able to do the work

I'm doing for the last six years.

What I will end this podcast with is a
truth that I've realized while sitting

front of you. You're easily the most
humble person that we've had in the

And I've not told you this until now.

But I genuinely feel that. Like I've
spoken to all sorts of people, never met

anyone as humble as you, which is why,
you know, I think Shriram chose you

himself. So thank you. Thank you for
being in this room. Thank you.

That was the series finale, ladies and
gentlemen. Of course, if you've not

checked out the first three episodes, do
go check them out. We'll link them down

below as well.

It's been a spiritual purpose.

within the realms of my professional
life to create this exact series at some

point. And 10 years into YouTubing,
we've finally been able to do an

retelling of Valmiki's Ramayan for the
2025 podcast listening audience.

Doing the series was almost therapeutic
for me in so many ways.

Got a glimpse of what Bharat used to be
14 ,000 years ago because this is the

real history of India that were not
taught in schools.

um this particular series has been
created with very very pure intention by

both yashodeep sir and myself which is
why i hope that it reaches every single

indian and we get to know the ramayana
in much more detail than we knew before

the series existed we intend on creating
a series related to the mahabharata in

the future as well but please enjoy this
one for now re -watch it if you must

and if you want an even more detailed
version of this kind of a retelling, do

visit Yasodip Sir's YouTube channel.
It's called 21 Notes, where he's given

very, very, very detailed episodes
related to Valmiki's Ramayana, the only

and honest retelling of our epic.

Thank you for listening and lots of
love. Jai Shri Ram.