Why Squirrel has 3 Stripes?
Rama wanted to cross the bridge to Lanka in order to save Sita from Ravana's clutches. He sat down to pray to the sea god. The sea god, Samudra, arose from the depths of the sea and told Rama to build a bridge across the sea.
All the monkeys got busy building the bridge by placing boulders. A tiny squirrel was watching everything from his burrow. He decided to help Rama. He began picking sand and scattered twigs and scurried back and forth from the shore to the sea. Little by little the squirrel had gathered an entire heap.
Rama noticed the dedication of this tiny creature. Picking it up on his palm, he warmly stroked the animal with his three fingers. Since then, it is believed that squirrels have three lines on their body.
How did Lord Ram Die?
After ruling Ayodhya for many years. Rama became tired and wanted to go to heaven. Vishnu realised this and asked Yamraj to go and bring Rama. Yamraj disguised himself as a sage and went to Ayodhya. He met Laxmana at the entrance to Rama's chamber and ordered him not to allow anyone inside while he talked to Rama. On meeting Rama, Yamraj told him that he had come to take Rama to heaven. Meanwhile, Sage Durvasa came to the palace and ordered Laxmana to allow him to meet Rama, but Laxmana refused. Emerged at this, Durvasa cursed Laxmana to leave the earth and go to heaven. But when, Durvasa saw Rama with Yamaraj, he realised his mistake. Meanwhille, Laxmana had been cursed to die, and so he went and jumped in the river. Rama was grief-stricken by his brother's death. Rama's loyal brother, Laxmana had been cursed by Sage Durvasa and had gone to heaven. Rama could not bear this loss. He decided to go to heaven himself. He wanted to crown Bharata as the king of Ayodhya, but both Bharata and Shatrughna felt that they were not the rightful successors to the throne.
Rama wanted to know what the people of Ayodhya wanted. The people of Ayodhya loved Rama and announced that they would also accompany Rama to heaven. Rama had to agree to their wish. He bid a tearful farewell to his faithful devotee Hanuman, and blessed him. Then, he went to the banks of the Saryu River and walked into the water. The people of Ayodhya, who had been accompanying Rama all the while, followed their king and went to heaven.
Shurpanakha’s other 2 Brothers VS Lord Ram
Bruished, Shurpanakha rushed to her brothers Khara and Dushana. She narrated the incident and asked them to take revenge. Khara and Dushana were demon kings. Seeing Shurpanakha's plight, they became very angry. Meanwhile, Rama sensing some trouble, asked Laxmana to escort Sita to a secure place. He got ready with his bow and arrow. Khara and Dushana arrived with strong army of elephants, horse drawn chariots, and soldiers. The battle began. The enemies charged from all directions and Rama hit back with his powerful arrows . He destroyed the entire army. Finally, with one final shot he knocked down Khara, Dushana , and their friend Trisara . Meanwhile , one demon called Akampana, who survived the attack , rushed to Lanka to inform Ravana.
Luv and Kush
After the battle with Ravana, following Rama's instructions, Laxmana left Sita on the banks of the river Ganga. The pupils of sage Valmiki saw Sita crying and told their guru. Sage Valmiki realised that the woman was actually Sita and brought her to his ashram. From then on, Sita lived at the ashram of sage Valmiki under his care. A few months later, she gave birth to twins. All the people at the ashram were happy because they had all grown very fond of Sita. Sage Valmiki names the two boys. Luv and Kush. The twins stayed at the ashram and Sage Valmiki educated them.
Sage Valmiki knew that the boys would grow up and be as strong, wise, and intelligent as their father, Rama. He taught them archery and soon Luv and Kush became good warriors.
The Just King
Vikram pulled Betal down from the tamarind tree and started walking. Betal began a story. Once there was a prince who had two friends, Bansi and Gopi. Bansi was a soldier so he was appointed as the prince's guard. The three once happened to pass a forest. Suddenly a tiger attacked the prince, and Bansi saved his life. After some time, a leopard attacked the prince. This time, Gopi saved him because Bansi was walking ahead. When they returned, the prince told his father what happened. The king rewarded Gopi but not Bansi. Betal asked Vikram "Did the king act justly?" Vikram replied , "The king was just in his actions. He did not reward Bansi because saving the prince was his duty. In fact, he neglected his duty the second time. But Gopi deserve the reward for he did something that was not his duty to perform." Betal said, "You are right . But you spoke, so here I go."
