Ravana thinks of Rama as a lowly human. But it is Rama who kills Ravana. But after killing Ravana, he asks Sita to enter the fire to prove her conjugal fidelity. While Sita is readying herself to enter the fire, Rama is filled with thoughts and melancholy which come out as tears in his eyes. At that instance, Kubera, Yama, Indra, Varuna, Shiva, and Brahma appear on the skies over Lanka and approach Rama. On seeing them he offers them his salutations with folded hands as if he is a mere mortal.
They question him thus, for ignoring Sita like a common man.
“Among the Vasus , you are the Vasu, named Ritadhama the first creator of all the three worlds and the lord of creatures. You are the eighth Rudra among Rudras and the fifth among the Sadhyas. The twin Aswinis are your ears. The sun and the moon constitute your eyes. You are seen at the beginning and at the end of creation. Yet, you ignore Seetha, just like a common man.”
But Rama is still adamant. He says that he thinks of himself as a human being, by the name of Rama and son of Dasaratha. The Gods are perplexed. Who would not be? Here are the gods themselves saying that Rama is none other than the Supreme Being and yet he chooses to think otherwise.
Then Brahma the creator speaks.
“You are the Lord Narayana himself the glorious god, who wields the discus. You are the Divine Boar with a single tusk, the conqueror of your past and future enemies. You are Brahma, the imperishable, the Truth abiding in the middle as well as at the end of the universe. You are the supreme righteousness of people. You are the four-armed. You are the wielder of a bow called Sarnga, the lord of the senses, the supreme soul of the universe, the wielder of a sword named Nandaka, the all-pervader and the bestower of happiness to the earth. You are the origin and the dissolution of all, Upendra the Divine Dwarf and (the younger brother of Indra) as also the destroyer Madhu, the demon.”
Brahma then continues to eulogize about who Rama really is, about how Rama acts as the Sesha, a large serpent in water which holds the three worlds from earth’s bottom, and how Brahma is his heart and Saraswati is his tongue. Brahma concludes by saying that since Rama’s mission of killing Ravana has completed, he should return to his Supreme Abode without further delays.
At last, Rama seems to realize who he really is, but chooses to stay behind on earth to rule his people till his time comes. He wants to fulfill all his duties as a son to Dasaratha by getting consecrated to the throne of Ayodhya to serve his people. By this last act, he re-emphasizes that he is more human than god.
There is an interesting version as to why the Supreme Being took this incarnation to kill Ravana. After all, he could have easily finished the job from his seat in Vaikuntha where he is Narayana.
mythological squirrel 