Beyond
The Puṣpaka
The Puṣpaka has no site on any map: it is a flying vimāna, not a place. It belongs with the cities and palaces because Hanumān finds it in Rāvaṇa's palace, and Vālmīki describes it adorned with gold and gems. It was made for Brahmā, obtained by Kubera and taken by Rāvaṇa. After the war Vibhīṣaṇa offers it to Rāma, and it carries him home towards Ayodhyā.
Sundara Kāṇḍa sargas 7–9; Yuddha Kāṇḍa sarga 123Vālmīki (primary text)In the text
Why it matters
The Puṣpaka passes from Brahmā to Kubera, from Kubera to Rāvaṇa by conquest, and from Vibhīṣaṇa to Rāma, who sends it back to Kubera. Hanumān first boards it as a spy in Rāvaṇa's palace; Rāma later rides it home.
Its last flight also retraces the story. Rāma names the places below one by one for Sītā, from Laṅkā on Trikūṭa to the setu, Kiṣkindhā, Pañcavaṭī, Citrakūṭa and at last Ayodhyā (Yuddha Kāṇḍa sarga 123).
What Vālmīki describes
Hanumān sees the Puṣpaka in Rāvaṇa's house, adorned with gold and gems and moving by thought (Sundara Kāṇḍa sargas 7–8). He boards it during his search, and observes its history: Viśvakarmā made it in heaven for Brahmā, Kubera obtained it by austerity, and Rāvaṇa took it by defeating Kubera (Sundara Kāṇḍa sarga 9).
The chariot in which Rāvaṇa carries Sītā off is a different one. Vālmīki describes a golden chariot of illusion drawn by donkeys and does not call it the Puṣpaka (Araṇya Kāṇḍa sarga 49). After the war Vibhīṣaṇa offers Rāma Kubera's vimāna, taken by Rāvaṇa. It is kāmaga, going wherever its rider wishes, and shines like the sun (Yuddha Kāṇḍa sarga 121).
Key moments
- Hanumān boards the Puṣpaka during his search of Rāvaṇa's palace (Sundara 9).
- In the Aśoka grove the old rākṣasī Trijaṭā dreams of Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā flying north on the Puṣpaka (Sundara 27).
- Vibhīṣaṇa offers it to carry Rāma to Ayodhyā (Yuddha 121).
- In flight Rāma points out to Sītā the battlefield where Rāvaṇa fell, and the setu that Nala built across the sea (Yuddha 123).
- At Nandigrāma, before entering Ayodhyā, Rāma sends the Puṣpaka back to serve Kubera, and it flies north (Yuddha 127).
Primary text: Śrīmad Vālmīkīya Rāmāyaṇa, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Later traditions and living-tradition associations are labelled as such. Return to the Rāmāyaṇa World.