The Final Battle

The horns sounded from outside the castle and Ravana yelled for his generals. His generals - Ravana's kinsmen and advisors hoping to command the inevitable melee - gathered around and made their case to Ravana. Without hesitation he approved of their plans and his demon army began their attack.

Hours passed by and Ravana sat on his throne, eager to hear from his men about the inevitable victory over Rama. The thought of Sita finally accepting him also weighed on his mind. His thoughts were interrupted when a messenger ran into the room.

"Lord Ravana -"

Ravana stood and greeted the messenger. "Bring his carcass as soon as possible. And gather Sita and the other women -"

The messenger coughed nervously. "My Lord, Rama's armies have not faltered."

The messenger no sooner finished speaking than he found himself face down on the ground. Ravana's fury was quick. He spoke to the fallen messenger in a quiet tone. "You are telling me they have advanced and will take the keep?"

"No, my Lord," the demon began as he coughed up blood on the gray stone floor. "H-he withheld the first and second attacks, and proclaimed that he will hold his position and wait...wait for y-you to meet him."

Ravana laughed in spite of himself. "A noble-minded fool. Rama's pride will be his undoing." Ravana looked down at the demon. "His sense of humor has spared your life, peon." With Ravana's blessing the messenger rushed out of the throne room. Ravana gathered his black sword and made his way - alone - to the field of battle.

Ravana walked casually amidst the masses. Demons, humans and monkeys littered the field - the majority dead, the rest dying. Ravana paid no attention to any screams for mercy nor the cries of grief. The dead among both armies were merely sacrifices for his glorious victory over Vishnu's avatar.

Rama himself - a pitiful excuse for a god-blessed avatar - stood with a small sword in his hand. Ravana wasted no words and drew his ancient sword - it was still encrusted with a black substance from his earlier days. The dried blood was symbolic of the sacrifices that Ravana had to take in order to accomplish his many goals. Rama spoke some words to his followers and they all took steps back, effectively opening up the field for the two demi-gods to fight one another in combat.

Ravana soldiered on with his sword, his gaze never separating from Rama's. Rama simply stood. "The fool," Ravana thought to himself. "He stands for his people and will die in that position."

Ravana's eyes sharpened as Rama leapt in an instant and, without displaying much effort sliced off Ravana's head. A mighty cheer rose from Rama's army but was quieted almost instantly as a new head replaced Ravana's fallen one.

Ravana continued his advance. "It stings only slightly." And then the two sparred, Ravana toying with the human. The human was desperately trying to find and exploit a weakness to overcome his near invincible foe. Ravana smirked as they fought for what seemed like hours.

Ravana had the upper hand. Rama proved to be an adequate foe as the two continued their fight. Despite all his supposed ability and strength, Rama was unable to weaken Ravana in any way.

"Rama," a familiar voice cried out, "you cannot simply best Ravana in combat. His stomach is the weakness!"

Ravana's eyes darted around the field to find the source of Rama's support. It only took a moment for Ravana to find Vibishana, his brother, cresting the hill and making his way through the lingering army of Rama. Ravana remembered his last exchange with Vibishana - his own brother had attempted to defy his decree. Vibishana had betrayed him, it seemed. Rage boiled within and Ravana kicked at the earth below and prepared to throw his sword at Vibishana. A low, guttural growl crept out of Ravana's throat as he turned his eyes on the traitor and ignored Rama on the ground. Vibishana stood, cool and collected.


Ravana missed a step. He caught his breath and prepared to continue his rampage against his brother. But Vibishana had a strange look about him - and a single tear from his face dropped to the ground. Ravana's throat tightened and his legs grew heavy. It wasn't until he reached Vibishana that Ravana realized a golden arrow protruded from his own belly. Ravana collapsed into his brother's arms. The cheers and roar of Rama's army drowned out the sound of the remaining demon soldiers laying down their arms.

Rama, followed by Hanuman, reached Vibishana and wordlessly lifted the fallen Ravana. The three carried the body into his throne room and lay him upon his throne. Vibishana stepped back, never taking his eyes off of his brother. He knelt in front of his deceased brother and begged the gods for mercy. A shining light fell upon the throne, and Ravana's body disappeared. Vibishana took a seat on the throne, stone-faced. "We must repay for what my brother has done."

Rama and Hanuman, joined by their other allies, thanked Vibishana and parted ways. Their deeds done, the heroes of the day were to reunite with their loved ones and rebuild the kingdoms that had been tainted in the struggle caused by Ravana.

Introduction
Ravana, the Corrupt
Devotee of Shiva
The Captive
The Final Battle
Back to the Coverpage

Author's Note: I built this story up to be solely a confrontation between Ravana and Rama. The original story has so much more going on the background that it would have been wasted to squeeze into just one storybook. Instead, the climactic battle between the two major characters is simplified and altered in ways that make it - in my vision - a fitting conclusion to the story following Ravana thus far.

Hubris is the central theme in this story - like pride, deception and anger were in previous ones. It's clear to Ravana that he has the upper hand in this battle - despite the way his soldiers may have handled anything previously. Unfortunately for him, though, his brother has a change of heart (and we see the beginning of this in the previous story). It really is the last straw that turns Ravana's rage loose - an act of betrayal from a god - or at least a demon who thinks himself a god - is unforgivable.

I tried not to include all the other characters - most of my stories revolve around two specific characters. I needed to include Vibishana to end the battle - but even with that somewhat minor role, the story still revolves solely around Rama and Ravana. I really am interested in the light I painted Rama in. He's the good guy and we all know it - but from this perspective, he doesn't seem nearly as righteous as he should be.

As an aside, I adapted some dialogue from Braveheart into this story - specifically, the part where the messenger states Rama shall wait for Ravana instead of shedding more blood.


Image Information: Ravana's Death, Exotic India Art
Bibliography Information: Buck, W. (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Narayan, R.K. (1972). The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. London: Penguin Classics.
OU Home | Disclaimer | Copyright | Equal Opportunity | OU Web Policy