Rama vs. Ravana : The Battle of Good vs. Evil

Ravana. Web Source: Ravana

“Are there any questions so far?” said Vishnu.

The children were silent, so Vishnu continued on to his next story.

“I think the third story is going to be one that the boys will enjoy the most because I will tell you how I, as Rama, defeated the ten-headed demon Ravana! But don’t worry girls, I am saving the last story for you all, which is a love story.”

“The story starts off when I find out that Ravana had kidnapped my wife, Sita. I was outraged! I went to Ravana’s palace along with my brother and friends. My army was made up of bears and monkeys that came with me because they all wanted Ravana dead too! As soon we crossed the bridge, we saw Ravana already in his chariot ready for battle!” 

Shakti, a seven-year old girl, suddenly raised her hand. 

“Mr. Vishnu, what is a chariot?” 

Vishnu replies, “A chariot is like a carriage that can take you anywhere you need to go. Ravana's carriage was a special type of carriage because it required no horses. It could fly by itself! Not only did Ravana have one, but I did too! Mine was much cooler though of course!

Vishnu continued with the story.

“Ravana was a big guy! He had ten heads and twenty arms! I knew it would be difficult to bring him down! Ravana stood waiting for me to make the first move.” 

“Well, well, well, look who it is! It is the mighty Rama coming to claim his wife,” said Ravana.

“Ravana! Don’t play with me! Where is Sita?!”

“She is mine now! You will have to get through me to get to her!”

Rama killing Ravana. Web Source : Rama

“Just then, Ravana swung his sword at me and barely missed my shoulder! The battle had officially started! Back and forth, the two of us shot arrows and missiles at each other. I took my sword and sliced one of Ravana’s arms off. It was no use though, because every time I cut off one of his heads or arms, it would just grow back! It seemed impossible to kill this powerful demon! The two of us fought until the sun disappeared and the moon came out. The two armies decided to stop the battle because they could not see anything anymore. We would continue the rest of the battle the next day. That night, Vibhishana, one of my new friends, suggested an idea. Vibhishana was Ravana’s brother! He didn’t like the way his brother was acting so he left Ravana and came to join my army! Vibhishana told me that Ravana had a weak spot that would surely kill him. The weak spot was his navel! He said if I shot an arrow into Ravana’s belly button, he would die!

The next day came around. Both armies met back up on the field. Remembering what Vibhishana had said to me, I shot a long arrow right into Ravana’s naval! Ravana fell down in pain and was screaming for help! And that was the end of the almighty Ravana. Then, I went into Ravana’s palace to find my Princess Sita. She was sitting patiently, waiting for me to come get her. We hugged each other and left the palace. I thanked all my friends for helping me because without them, I would not have been able to defeat the beastly Ravana.”

After Vishnu finished the story, the boys and girls started to cheer and congratulate Vishnu on his victory!

Author’s Note : The story of the battle between Rama and Ravana was a little bit different from the Ramayana because the arrow that Rama shot was not into Ravana’s navel but instead his heart. I left a lot of details out such as Rama destroying Ravana’s chariot and telling about how Vibhishana befriended Rama’s army. Vibhishana actually did not want to join his army but to help Rama so that they could kill his brother, Ravana. There was also a part in the story where Rama destroyed Ravana’s chariot and instead of Ravana falling off of it, he flew into the air and attacked Rama’s army. I left this part out because I thought it might have gotten confusing to keep up with who, in Rama's army, was attacked. I made the reason simple to why Rama wanted to kill Ravana. He just wanted to get his wife back but Ravana would not give Sita back unless Rama fought for her. I used the same story from a website, which I have linked to below. In the story I told, Vibhishana was the main reason why Rama was able to defeat Ravana. If he had never told Rama about hitting Ravana in the belly button, then Rama might not have been able to kill the demon. All the stories that I have picked have had Vishnu take action when something bad is happening. In the first story, he helped avoid a flood. The second story had him saving an innocent life. And then, in this story, he defeated a demon!

Link to story used : Rama vs. Ravana

Link to Coverpage...

Bibliography
International Forum For NeoVedantins
The Story of Rama 23
Battle Between Rama and Ravana