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A Jain take on Lakshman's death

He decides to take advantage of this moment to attack Ayodhya. He leads a great army from the southern kingdom of Lanka to the northern kingdom of Ayodhya. He does so to defeat Ram who had killed both his grandfather, Ravan and father, Indrajit

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Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt PattanaikIn the Jain Ramayana, Ram is considered to be a baladev. He is non-violent. Lakshman, on the other hand, is considered a vasudev. It is Lakshman who kills Ravan using a magic wheel, while Ram maintains the Jain ideal of non-violence.

Many years later, Lakshman dies. When he dies, Ram is unable to accept his death. He carries Lakshman's corpse in his arms and wanders in his palace. Very much like Shiva, wandering the earth, after Sati's death, holding her charred remains. The Jain manuscripts, such as the Padma Purana, describe how Ram tries to bathe Lakshman's corpse. He tries to clothe him, feed him and entertain him with music to wake him. He refuses to accept his death.

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