Rama Lakshman Janaki in Exile no-watermark
Apart from being very brave and very good at warfare, Indrajit also possessed immense magical powers. While his arrows hit Rama and Lakshmana and caused some injuries, he used his magical powers upon the entire Vanara army. This spread a poisonous gas in the air and soon most of the Vanaras tumbled down. Even Rama and Lakshmana were not spared. Jambavantha, who was fighting at the other end quickly called Hanuman and told him “Maruthi, you cross the ocean, go to Kailsh mountain and from there fetch a rare herb called Sanjivini. We can then bring back all the Vanaras to life. But be very quick.” Even before Jambavantha finished saying this, Hanuman flew across with the speed of wind and since he could not find Sanjivini, transported the entire mountain to Lanka. Very soon, Rama, Lakshmana and the Vanaras were up on their feet, fit and fighting. Indrajit once again used his magical powers and turned a Rakshasi to look exactly like Sita. He then took this fake Sita to the battlefield and full view of Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sugriva and others, severed her head. The Vanaras were aghast. Rama turned numb with shock and Lakshmana vowed to kill Indrajit then and there. He chased Indrajit to a temple where Indrajit acquired more secret powers. Lakshmana destroyed this secret power by using a suitable weapon and also struck down Inderjit’s head. The Vanaras rejoiced at this triumph.
Rama felt very relieved that Lakshmana had come to no harm and also that it was not Sita who died at Inderjit’s hands. Inderjit’s death was the severest blow to Ravana. He had lost all his sons, his brothers and his army in the war. The whole of Lanka plunged into sorrow. Some criticized Surpanaka for provoking Ravana into kidnapping Sita. Others cursed Ravana for his misdeed “His lust for a woman has caused us so much agony” lamented the citizens for; there was death and destruction in each and every house in Lanka. Ravana climbed into his chariot and entered the battle field with a fierce determination to kill Rama. But first of all, he had to encounter Lakshmana. Ravana stopped the arrows used by Lakshmana in midair. He then turned his attention towards Rama. Severe fighting broke out between Rama and Ravana. Ravana used many powerful arrows but Rama could stop each one of them in mid-air. The arrows would become useless and fall down. But then, even Rama’s arrows were futile as they could not penetrate the armor worn by Ravana. This was an armor granted to Ravana by Brahma as a boon and ordinary arrow could not penetrate through it. With Ravana and Rama both equally powerful, the battle between them was very fierce and raged on for several days. Even the celestial gods watched them anxiously as the war did not seem to end at all. But slowly Ravana felt drained of energy and knew that his end was close at hand. Still he fought.
Finally, Rama used Brahmastra, the mightiest of all mighty weapons. It tore the armor worn by Ravana and hit him in the chest. The mighty Ravana fell down and died. The evil was vanquished. The Devas rejoiced over the death of this wicked Rakshasa. The Vanaras went back with joy. Only Vibhishana, Mandodari and Ravenna’s other queens were plunged into grief. On Rama’s advice, Vibhishana performed Ravenna’s last rites. Rama who was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu thus brought peace to the land. All the Rishis and Devas rejoiced that Rakshasas had been wiped out. Rama kept up his word and crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka. Sri Rama then sent Hanuman to fetch Sita. Sitadevi was very happy that at least the wicked Ravana had been killed. She looked forward to rejoin her beloved Rama. But he did not accept her immediately. He wanted to test whether she had remained devout to him. So, he said “I find it impossible to believe that a womanizer like Ravana had not touched a beautiful woman like you. You are impure, So, I cannot accept you back as my wife.” Rama’s cruel words filled Sita’s heart with sadness. She had given up food and water and had barely kept herself alive only to reunite with Rama. If he suspected her virtue, then life was not worth living for her. So, the distressed Sita turned towards Lakshmana and asked him to prepare a pyre for her. Rama did not object.