Angada
Encyclopedia
Angada in the Indian Ramayana
epic, is a vanara
who helped Rama
find his wife Sita
and fight her abductor, Ravana
. He was the son of Bali and Tara
and the nephew of Sugriva
. Angada and Tara are instrumental in reconciling Rama
and his brother, Lakshmana
, with Sugriva
after Sugriva
fails to fulfill his promise to help Rama find and rescue his wife. Together they are able to convince Sugriva to honor his pledge to Rama instead of spending his time carousing and drinking. Sugriva then arranges for Hanuman
to help Rama
and organises the monkey army that will battle Ravana's demonic host.
In his efforts to seek a peaceful solution, Rama
sent several messengers to Ravana
; Angada was one of them. Angada explained to Ravana
that Rama had sent him as messenger to seek the release of Sita
and that Ravana ought to heed this last appeal so that war could be averted. Angada tried every means to convince Ravana, but the ruler was dogged and firm to face a battle instead of returning Sita to Rama peacefully.
At Ravana's court, after Angada explained the divinity of lord Rama and the message he carried, Ravana paid no heed to it. Angada then planted his foot firmly on the ground and challenged anybody in the courtroom to uproot his foot. If anybody were to accept the challenge and was successful, Rama would concede defeat and return without Sita. All the rakshasa
commanders of Ravana's army and even his son Indrajit
tried to lift Angada's leg but none succeeded. Feeling humiliated by this failure, an infuriated Ravana slowly walked towards Angada's planted foot and just as he was about to hold Angada's leg to attempt the challenge, Angada moved away and Ravana fell down. Angada explained that the challenge was for Ravana's commanders and not for Ravana. He told that Ravana was prepared to fall on his feet but instead he should choose to fall on the lord Rama's feet, for those are the ones that remove fear of cycle of life and death. He then picked up Ravana's crown which fell down on the ground and threw it out of the palace. Ravana ordered his men to kill Angada but then Angada took a jump and flew back to the place where the army was congregating.
When the vanaras saw the flying crowns approaching, they got frightened. But Rama knew that it was the crown of Ravana. Hanuman caught the flying crown in the air and placed it at Rama's feet.
In the war that followed, he killed Ravana's son Narantaka.
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
epic, is a vanara
Vanara
Vānara popularly refers to a group of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. They possessed supernatural powers and could change their shapes...
who helped Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
find his wife Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and fight her abductor, Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
. He was the son of Bali and Tara
Tara (ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Tara is the Queen of Kishkindha and wife of the monkey King Vali. After being widowed, she becomes the Queen of Sugriva, Vali's brother. Tara's intelligence, presence of mind, courage, and devotion to her husband is praised...
and the nephew of Sugriva
Sugriva
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
. Angada and Tara are instrumental in reconciling Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and his brother, Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
, with Sugriva
Sugriva
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
after Sugriva
Sugriva
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
fails to fulfill his promise to help Rama find and rescue his wife. Together they are able to convince Sugriva to honor his pledge to Rama instead of spending his time carousing and drinking. Sugriva then arranges for Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
to help Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and organises the monkey army that will battle Ravana's demonic host.
In his efforts to seek a peaceful solution, Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
sent several messengers to Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
; Angada was one of them. Angada explained to Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
that Rama had sent him as messenger to seek the release of Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and that Ravana ought to heed this last appeal so that war could be averted. Angada tried every means to convince Ravana, but the ruler was dogged and firm to face a battle instead of returning Sita to Rama peacefully.
At Ravana's court, after Angada explained the divinity of lord Rama and the message he carried, Ravana paid no heed to it. Angada then planted his foot firmly on the ground and challenged anybody in the courtroom to uproot his foot. If anybody were to accept the challenge and was successful, Rama would concede defeat and return without Sita. All the rakshasa
Rakshasa
A Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
commanders of Ravana's army and even his son Indrajit
Indrajit
Indrajit or Meghanatha , a warrior mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana, was the son of the Lankan king Ravana. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra '....
tried to lift Angada's leg but none succeeded. Feeling humiliated by this failure, an infuriated Ravana slowly walked towards Angada's planted foot and just as he was about to hold Angada's leg to attempt the challenge, Angada moved away and Ravana fell down. Angada explained that the challenge was for Ravana's commanders and not for Ravana. He told that Ravana was prepared to fall on his feet but instead he should choose to fall on the lord Rama's feet, for those are the ones that remove fear of cycle of life and death. He then picked up Ravana's crown which fell down on the ground and threw it out of the palace. Ravana ordered his men to kill Angada but then Angada took a jump and flew back to the place where the army was congregating.
When the vanaras saw the flying crowns approaching, they got frightened. But Rama knew that it was the crown of Ravana. Hanuman caught the flying crown in the air and placed it at Rama's feet.
In the war that followed, he killed Ravana's son Narantaka.
External links
- http://mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/angada.htm