Yuddha Kanda (Lanka Kanda): The book of the war

Rama and the monkey army reach the southern shore. Ravana's brother Vibhishana, who has urged Ravana to return Sita, joins Rama. A bridge (Ram Setu) is built across the sea by the monkeys under the engineer Nala. In the long war the heroes on both sides fall: Lakshmana is struck by Indrajit's weapon and revived by the herb Sanjivani, which Hanuman brings by lifting a whole mountain; Kumbhakarna, the giant brother of Ravana, is killed; Indrajit is killed by Lakshmana. At last Rama kills Ravana with a divine weapon. Vibhishana is crowned king of Lanka. Sita is brought before Rama, who asks her to prove her purity; she enters a fire and is unharmed, an episode which later readers and tellers have found troubling. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana return to Ayodhya in Ravana's flying chariot Pushpaka, and Rama is crowned. The lamps lit to welcome them are remembered at Diwali.

This is book 6 of the seven books (kandas) of the Ramayana. See all seven and the characters.

Read next

• Uttara Kanda: The last book
• The Ramayana in seven books

A retelling in our own words of a story that is told in many different ways across India and Asia. Tellers differ on many episodes; where it matters we say so. It is not a scholarly translation.