Ramayana – Angad – {Ep.209} – Stories From India – Podcast

Today’s story is from the Ramayana, it’s Deja Vu for Ravana and his Lankan courtiers when another Vanar shows up uninvited at court.

Welcome to “Stories From India”. This is a podcast that will take you on a journey through the rich mythology, folklore and history of the Indian subcontinent. I am Narada Muni, the celestial storyteller and the original “time lord”. With my ability to travel through space and time, I can bring you fascinating stories from the past, the present, and the future. From the epic tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayana to the folktales of the Panchatantra to stories of Akbar-Birbal and Tenali Raman, I have a story for every occasion.

The purpose of the stories is neither to pass judgment nor to indoctrinate. My goal is only to share these stories with people who may not have heard them before and to make them more entertaining for those who have.

Today’s Story

In this episode, we’re back to the Ramayana.

The Ramayana is one of two major epics in Indian mythology, the other is the Mahabharata which we have also covered on this show. The Ramayana begins with Ram, the Crown Prince of Ayodhya. Despite being the crown prince of Ayodhya he did not become King. Not immediately. His stepmother Kaikeyi pressured Ram’s father into sending the crown prince into exile for 14 years. Ram went, but not alone. Sita, his wife and Laxman, his brother, went along too. 

Ram was an avatar of Vishnu. If you really have not heard any of the previous stories on the show and don’t know who Vishnu is, let me give you a quick introduction to the holy trinity of Indian mythology. Vishnu is the preserver of the Universe, creating a kind of balance between Brahma the Creator and Shiva the Destroyer. Shameless plug here, but Brahma is also my dad. And I’m president of the Vishnu fan club, and I regularly meet each of  them – so you can rest assured this show is as authentic as it gets.

Ram, Laxman and Sita spent many years surviving in a forest. They faced one challenge after another. There was always a demon or a demoness looking to make a meal out of them or kidnap and enslave them. The trio managed to fight off all such challenges. Until Ravana abducted Sita. Ravana was the ruler of Lanka and the ultimate boss character to be defeated. If you want a modern world analogy, take Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter Universe. Imagine Voldemort with 10 heads, so he’d be 10 times as evil. And blessed with all kinds of superpowers so defeating him seemed nearly impossible.

Following some clues here and there, Ram and Laxman searched for Sita. They got help from the Vaanars – a kingdom of monkeys led by their King, Sugriva. Most of the actual help came from Hanuman who was Sugriva’s adviser and right hand Vanar. Hanuman looked for Sita, and found her across an ocean in Ravana’s kingdom of Lanka. Sita refused to fly back with Hanuman. She insisted that Ram himself should make the trip to Lanka, defeat Ravana and take her back, in full honor. 

Hanuman took her message back to Ram, but first he burned most of Lanka down.

After he returned to the Vanar base camp, and shared the news, the Ayodhya brothers and all the Vanars made it to Lanka. It wasn’t easy, because they had to first build a bridge across the ocean. And along the way, they had help, in the form of intelligence. Vibhishana, one of Ravana’s brothers, switched sides. He was one of the few people who felt his brother was in the wrong. We’ll continue the story here.

Ram’s war council had set up camp. Ram, Laxman, Sugreeva, and Hanuman were in it of course. And so was Jambavan the bear. Sachiva, the secretary, whose name literally means secretary, started with the agenda. “First up – the very important task of food and supplies. So far, we found no food. We considered ordering food through Amazon delivery. But even though we’re all prime mates, at best we only get a two day delivery.

Meanwhile I heard it through the ape-vine that one of the Vanars had somehow managed to find a big bag of banana chips.”

“Give the Vanar a medal!” Sugriva said “what’s his name anyway? Chipmunk?”

“Umm no,” Sachiva said “but I like Chipmunk”

“Something I don’t get,” Jambavan said. “Why do all you Vanars love anything with bananas?”

Sugriva was ready. “Because they have a peel. Get it? “Appeal” as in they are attractive or interesting! And a peel as in the outer covering of a banana”

“It’s less funny if you have to explain it” grumbled the bear.

“Second item on the agenda – they had two new members – Angad and Vibhishana. Sachiva further explained that Narada had already mentioned who Vibhishana was, in the recap just now, but it was important to point out who Angad was. It’s possible some listeners missed Episode 125 where Angad had also appeared. But just for the record, Angad was Vali’s son. Vali, in case listeners needed a further refresh, was Sugriva’s brother. He was the original King of the Vanars, and he had some superpowers of his own. Those superpowers had even helped Vali defeat Ravana. And of course, he had repeatedly fended off Sugriva’s attempts to dethrone him. Until the day Sugriva had Ram on his side. Ram’s arrow brought an end to Vali. All this was very relevant, of course because defeating Vali had been the price the Ayodhya brothers had to pay, in order to secure Vanar help in this attack. Angad was the son of that same Vali. But it’s not like he held a grudge or anything. Because Angad had known his father was in the wrong. 

Anyway, back to the present now. Laxman addressed Sugriva and pointed out that his nephew had been on their side since the beginning, why induct him to the council now? What was special about today?

The Vanar king calmly replied that it was because he was going to prominently feature in today’s episode. So the extra attention, the backstory, and the introduction were completely justified.

Angad entered the tent and swore…. an oath to always act in the best interest of the Vanars. One for all, and all for one and all that sort of stuff.

Vibhishana was next.

You could tell that the decision to induct Vibhishana wasn’t unanimous. Jambavan the bear said that this was a bit of a grisly situation, it was practically panda-monium here! Was Vibhishana sure he could bear the responsibilities of being on this war council? After all this war council had to be the polar opposite of the one he had left behind. 

It’s a sign of the respect the council had for Jambavan that no one groaned at his bear puns.

Laxman didn’t say anything but his expression said it all. He didn’t seem to trust Vibhishana yet.

It was Ram who spoke up and addressed both the direct question, as well as the vibes from Laxman. Vibhishana had proved he was up to it. While the Vaanars were setting up camp here, Vibhishana had spied out the area, and planned a better spot for them to be by sunrise tomorrow morning. Mount Suvela.

Vibhishana added that it was the perfect base for some Gorilla warfare. Sugriva clapped enthusiastically. Vibhishana had just proved his dad jokes were worthy of this council. 

Vibhishana bowed gracefully. He then explained why Suvela was the perfect place, strategically speaking. It had a great view of the Lankan capital. That was the spot for them to confront Ravana. They could survey the whole Lankan army from up there.

When Sugriva asked how he knew about the place, Vibhishana admitted that he had often gone hiking there. To make their work easier, he had some copies of hiking maps with him as well. He recommended the blue trail. It was the quickest way to the top of Mount Suvela. Normally it might be considered challenging, but since 99% of them were monkeys, they should not have any trouble – he was pretty confident about that.

Everyone studied the maps carefully and agreed – for surveillance there was no better place than Suvela.

And the next morning, at sunrise, the Vanar army was on top, and no one had any regrets. The top of Suvela had exactly the right view. From where they stood, it directly faced Ravana’s balcony. Where the King of Lanka seemed to be doing Yoga. It was early morning, and that was the perfect time to get his body in shape – why not? Though I have to tell you that many of his asanas were very much modified because of the simple fact that he had 10 heads where normal asanas are defined for a single head. And because all of his ten heads were so vain, he wore his 10-headed crown.

As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, Ravana suddenly became aware of chatter. Chatter as in the sound that monkeys made. A whole lot of monkeys He thought his Department of Environmental Destruction and Environment Destruction Agency had both assured him that they had carried out a very thorough monkey extermination program. That was after Hanuman’s visit. That’s when it hit him. Oh no. He realized that this must be the Vanar army. He looked over the railings and his heart stopped. Well not exactly. But the Vanar army was much larger than he had expected. Still, he wasn’t worried. Monkeys would not be able to harm him, thanks to his superpowers. On the other hand, the two humans in that group might be a problem.

On the other side of the valley, Sugreeva looked at the distance. It was maybe half a mile or so, but he could make it. No problem for him. Though his less gifted vanars may need something like a hot air baboon. Oops. He meant hot air balloon.

He was still thinking that when the King of the Monkeys leapt out of Mount Suvela. He jumped right across that massive gap and landed on Ravana’s balcony.

“Duuuuudeee! Nice jump!” Ravana’s head number 7 said full of surprise. The other heads quickly shushed him. You aren’t supposed to say nice things about your enemy. And justifiably so, because Sugriva grabbed Ravana’s crown and threw it aside. The two of them got into a fist fight. No prizes for guessing who came out on top, given I just told you about Ravana’s superpowers. Best I can say about Sugriva was that he managed to leap off of Ravana’s balcony and reached his friends back on Suvela.

Ram scolded Sugriva for being a bit rash here. They had come here, with this massive Vanar army. Did he really think that they could just have defeated Ravana like that? It was not that easy. But on the flip side, it had been a nice touch, taking away Ravana’s crown like that, and coming back intact with his own crown still on his head. Nice morale boost for everyone.

The next few hours were spent in some strategic planning. They decided that they must surround the city gates and block off all 4 gates to the city.

Laxman pointed out what he thought was a fundamental flaw in the plan. “What’s the use of surrounding this city? Look, all these asuras can fly, can’t they? How is it a siege if they can leave the city by just flying away and getting behind our lines?”

It seems like a fair point, but Vibhishana assured Laxman that Asuras would not desert their city. It was just hardwired into their brains that they must stand their ground.

Jambavan whispered in an aside to Laxman. “Don’t worry. If he’s wrong, I’ll bear witness!”

“Fat lot of good that will do. If he’s wrong, they might stuff you, call you teddy and sell you as a toy for children.”

But they need not have worried. Vibhishana was right. Not a single Asura flew out of the city. Angada observed as he stood on Ravana’s palace roof and studied his plans for the tenth time. He had been given very specific orders and he was quite confident he was up to the job. Ram was sending him as his negotiator. The rest of the war council had been shocked by that decision.

Laxman was most vocal. “You’re still trying to be decent here? He abducted your wife! You don’t have to do it by the book!” 

The book he referred to was the famous guidebook. “Ethics on the Battlefield Do’s and Don’ts for the Modern King”. It was quite the rage, and every Kingdom had a few copies. But like many other things, sadly, all copies of this book have perished – so if you haven’t heard of it before, I’m not really surprised.

Laxman was sure that Ravana for sure wasn’t referring to his copy of the book. “What’s more – you’re putting Angad in danger.”

But Angad spoke up at that point, that it was getting on and he’d better get started on his mission.

So that’s how Angad landed on the roof of Ravana’s palace. Scaling the wall wasn’t really a problem. There were a couple of guards who thought they’d arrest him. But all it took was a little uppercut and a right hook. Just light taps really, but it was Game Over right there. But it would put those two out of action for a while. Lying in a hospital bed, and being fed through a tube, they might rethink their allegiance to Ravana.

He looked down now from the skylight. Ravana was on his throne, and it seemed the court was full. He didn’t smash the Skylight going in. He was on a peace mission after all. So he dropped down the side into an open window and in one leap landed right in the center of the court, facing Ravana.

There was a gasp. Everyone in court remembered what happened the last time a Vanar had been here. Some of the courtiers grabbed the nearest fire extinguishers. It was a panic reaction really. Hanuman’s visit had that kind of a lasting effect. 

Angad said “Relax, guys. I’m not here to start a fire. I’m here on a diplomatic mission – to see if we can make a deal.”

Ravana would have ordered Angad seized, but there was time enough for that. Let the monkey say what he had in mind. Besides, the monkey looked familiar. And then Ravana remembered why.

“Hey I recognize you! You are Angad, aren’t you. I recognize you from your graduation photo that Vali showed me. A chimp of the old block, eh?”

Angad said nothing.

Ravana asked “How is your dad?”

Angad shrugged. “He isn’t. Listen Ravana. I’m about to offer you the deal of a lifetime. It might be the smartest deal you ever make. Give us Sita back, put Vibhishana on the throne, and you can retire. No one else in Lanka has to get hurt. We’ll go on our merry way back where we came from. And you asked how my dad is. I’ll tell you how he is. He isn’t. And if you want to know what happened to him – I’ll tell you in one word. Ram. You know Vali was impossible to defeat. He defeated you before you guys became friends. And one arrow from Ram is all it took. You might want to take the deal real close.”

Ravana laughed in contempt. “Do you seriously expect me to, monkey?”

“No, the truth is I don’t want you to take the deal. I’d have been pretty disappointed if you did. I must confess, I had a few additional very humiliating clauses prepared for you in case you actually took that deal. You made it easy for me. This way, we can wipe the floor with you. You can watch bit by bit how we dismantle your Kingdom. I know you’ve punched a few guys around here and there. But nothing, I repeat, nothing comes close to what you’re up against now. You don’t need to be going up against Ram or Laxman or Hanuman. I’d pick the weakest Vanar, and within an hour he’d have rubbed your 10 noses on the floor begging for forgiveness. And your army? Your army is no match for ours”

Ravana was getting extremely annoyed with this monkey. “You think?” he scoffed.

“I do. You should try it sometime. It’ll be good exercise for some of those empty heads of yours”

All of Ravana’s 10 heads were turning red and purple.

“Now, monkey, I’m going to count to 3 and….”

But Angad interrupted. “Don’t try it, that might be too high a number for you”

“Guards, arrest him!” Ravan exclaimed.

“You monkey, get down on your knees” shouted a large guard as he approached with 3 of his companions.

Angad looked at them calmly. “Make me.”

Before they got too close Angad lashed out and jabbed at the guard he collapsed instantly and tripped two of his buddies. The last one hesitated. Angad didn’t. Hit them hard, hit them often. That was Angad’s motto. But in this case, the last guard didn’t need much of an incentive to run away. 

His job done, Angad addressed Ravana. “See you on the battlefield you piece of garbage”.

He jumped up and smashed through the skylight. Other guards tried to chase him, but Angad was already back on Suvela within minutes.

So that was it. We’ll pause it here this time, and the next time we come back to the Ramayana we’ll see some action on the battlefield!

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

Check out the links in the show notes for other Ramayana episodes. Those are also linked on the site.

Valmiki was the author of the Ramayana. We covered his origin story in Episode 6 – Fish Highwayman

The Ramayana kicks off in Episode 7 – Kingdom by Horse. Episode 15 – Rishi vs Rishi: Un-civil war! and Episode 16 – Six….teen Flags are about Rama and Laxman’s encounter with Vishwamitra

A flashback to Dasharath’s past is in Episode 24 – Promises made, hearts broken

Ram, Laxman, and Sita begin their exile in Episode 30 – Banished! and continue it in Episode 41 – Forest Life and Episode 64 – The First Kidnapping of Sita

They encounter Shoorpanakha in Episode 78 – Ramayana – An Indecent Proposal

We have also covered episodes that aren’t part of the main storyline but feature some central Ramayana characters:

Hanuman’s origin story is in Episode 25 – Up, Up, and Away!

Episode 55 – Saturnine is about an encounter between Shani and Ravana.

Episode 81 – Ramayana – Wolverine Claws is the origin story of Ravana and Shoorpanakha.

And Episode 92 – Ramayana – Shanta is the story of Ram and Laxman’s sister – Shanta.

We met Jayant – Indra’s son in Episode 182 and Kakbhushundi in Episode 185.

Episode 101 – Ramayana – A Wild Stag Chase explained how Ravana engineered a diversion so he could abduct Sita. In Episode 112 Ram and Laxman got their first hint of what had happened to Sita and also were told that Sugriva could help them

In Episode 118, Ram and Laxman learned more about Sugriva and Vali’s rivalry before finally meeting Hanuman and ensuring Sugriva’s victory in Episode 125 – Ramayana – Sugriva and Vali. Hanuman met Sampati in Episode 132 and then crossed the ocean in Episode 142 and infiltrated Lanka in Episode 156. Vali was also the character of the Week in Episode 21. Hanuman burned Lanka in Episode 168. In Episode 190 was about gathering military intelligence. And in Episode 199 Ram, Laxmana and the Vaanars find a way across the Ocean.

Jambavan was character of the week in Episode 2. Jatayu and Sampaati’s story is mentioned in the Character of the Week section of Episode 11.

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’re dipping back into History. It’s the story of a real person from 16 century India. She was the longest ruling queen in all of Indian history, and she was known to her enemies as the “Pepper Queen”.

Feedback

Thank you all for the comments on Social Media and on Spotify’s Q&A! I can’t directly reply to the questions there, but I’ll address them here on this show.

Rishan – you and a few others are getting your wish – because we’re going back to the Ramayana next week.

Vamsi, Daivik and Vaishnavi – thank you for the feedback, I’m glad you liked the last episode.

I love all your suggestions so I’ve added them to my list. 

Vaishnavi – I’ll soon do an episode on Shambhala, but I might do the story about Barbarik and Krishna first – that was a really interesting conversation that I witnessed personally. And I’ll add the Pururavas and Urvashi story to my backlog too.

Vamsi – I’ll be doing an episode on Sister Nivedita soon. And Davik – I’ll do one on Shiva as well.

Samay – the story of the golden mongoose doesn’t really have any closure. The mongoose wandered on and continues to wander on to this day – unable to find an equivalently noble sacrifice. So if you find a very very very old mongoose that’s half golden and half silver haired, and it asks you if you know of any sacrifices lately, you may want to help it along.

If you have any other comments or suggestions or if there are particular stories you’d like to hear, please do let me know by leaving a comment or a review on the site sfipodcast.com, or tweet @sfipodcast, or reply to the questions on Spotify Q&A. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

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A big thank you to each of you for your continued support and your feedback.

The music is from Purple Planet.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!