Ramayana_VOLUME V with index

Ramayana: A Divine Drama – Vol. V
Mandodari laments the death of Ravana:
Hearing that Ravana had died, his queen Mandodari 51 collapsed
on the floor. When she recovered, she hastened with her maids to
the corpse of Ravana and wailed aloud.
Mandodari ......wondered what had given him the fatal blow.
How could he, who had mastered the Four Vedas and Six
Vedangas, and who was severely strict in observances of various
rites for the propitiation of the Gods could meet with
ignominious end Being shrewd and loving woman, she realised
soon the cause of her husband’s downfall. (SSS Vol.7 p.291)
His Queen, Mandodari lamented over her husband’s defeat and
death, at the hands of a mere man leading a host of monkeys!
She had learnt from the Sastras that death caused by drowning or
by the fall from a tree or through monkeys, converts ghosts that
wander in the realms of darkness. So, she wondered why such a
fate overtook the great Scholar, the pious devotee that Ravana
was. Then she remembered that the spark of lust that he
harboured in his heart had burnt all that Scholarship and all that
51
Truth, I lost my sons too. Do not repeat my mistake.” This was the
warning given by Ravana just prior to his death. Noble Souls are very
powerful because they have completely grasped the basic truth. Ravana
was mighty. He was one of great penance. He had acquired multiple
capabilities — physical, mental, and even spiritual. But ultimately, of
what use were all these various achievements No use at all. Becoming a
slave to attachment and hatred, he had, in the end, to suffer and perish.
There was not a trace of Love in him. If, on the other hand, one instils
Love in one’s heart, one can emerge victorious even under the most
adverse circumstances. (SSB 2000 p.81/82)
See Chapter, Mandodari - MANDODARI’S LAMENTATION
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