by Tulsidas
The Lord then approached Kumbhakaran,
And seeing him, his heart was filled with dismay.
‘If this rogue were to eat every day
All creation will be laid waste!’ thought Brahma.
So he urged Sharada to addle his wits,
And he asked to sleep for six full months.
He then approached Vibhishan and said,
‘Son, ask for a boon.’
And he asked for unblemished devotion
At the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.
(177)
Granting them their boons, Brahma departed,
And rejoicing, the three brothers returned home.
The demon Mai had a daughter named Mandodari,
A great beauty and an ornament to womankind.
Mai brought her and gave her to Ravan,
Knowing that one day he would be lord of the demons.
Ravan rejoiced at finding such a good wife.
He then had his two brothers married.
The three-peaked mountain, Trikuṭ, stood in the middle of an ocean,
Upon it was a huge and impregnable fort built by Brahma.
The Danav Mai repaired that fort.
In it stood innumerable golden palaces studded with precious stones.
Like Bhogavati, where live the serpent clans,
Like Amaravati, where resides Sakr,
More splendid and more merry than those cities was this fort,
Famed throughout the world as Lanka.
Its moat was the deep ocean,
Which surrounded it on all four sides;
Its massive ramparts were of gold, inlaid with jewels,
Of workmanship that defies description.
(178A)
In any cycle of creation, whichever mighty warrior
Is ordained by Hari to become the king of the demons,
He, of glorious majesty and incomparable strength,
Resides there with his army.
(178B)
Once, great demon warriors had lived there,
But they were all killed by the gods in war.
Now, by Sakr’s command, it was occupied
By ten million guards of Kuber, king of the Yakshas.
Ten-headed Ravan came to know of this,
And, gathering his army, he surrounded the fort.
Seeing the fierce warrior and his vast army,
The Yakshas fled for their lives.
The ten-faced one then inspected the whole city—
His worries fell away and he was greatly pleased.
Considering the city to be both beautiful and naturally difficult of access,
Ravan made it his capital.
He assigned houses in the city to his men according to their rank,
And made all the demons happy.
Then one day he launched an attack against Kuber,
And came away with the flying chariot Pushpak as his trophy.
Then he went to Mount Kailash,
And, in play, lifted it up,
As though measuring the strength of his arms,
And came away, greatly pleased.
(179)
His pleasures, his wealth, the number of his sons, his army and his allies,
His victories, his glory, his strength, his intellect, his fame,
All increased each day,
In the same way that greed increases with every gain.
As his brother, he had the mighty Kumbhakaran,
Whose equal in war had never been born in the world.
He would drink and then sleep for six months,
But his waking would fill the three worlds with terror.
If he were to eat every day,
The whole world would quickly be laid waste,
And he was so steadfast in war that it is beyond description.
There were innumerable such mighty warriors in Ravan’s city.
Meghnad, with his voice like thunder, was his eldest son,
Foremost amongst the warriors of this world,
Whom no one dared confront in battle,
And because of whom the city of the gods was in constant terror and turmoil.
There were also Kumukh the Ugly, Akampan the Steadfast, Kulisarad with teeth of adamant,
Dhumketu the Comet, Atikaya the Enormous,
And other such mighty warriors with him,
Each one capable of conquering the world alone.
(180)
All were able to assume any form at will, were skilled in every kind of deception,
And cared neither for dharma nor compassion even in their dreams.
Once, the ten-headed one sat in assembly,
Gazing upon his innumerable kin,
His sons, grandsons, servants and relatives gathered there,
Tribes, clans and castes of demons beyond count.
Haughty Ravan looked at his army,
And spoke in fierce tones words filled with wrath and arrogance,
‘Hear me, all you companies of night-wanderers,
The gods are our enemies.
They do not fight face to face,
But seeing a strong and mighty foe, they run away.
There is one way to kill them—
Listen to me as I explain it to you.
The feasting of Brahmans, the performance of sacrifices, the pouring of libations into the sacred fire, and ceremonies to honour the dead—
Go and stop them all.
Weak with hunger, bereft of strength,
The gods of their own accord will come to me.
Then I can kill them or let them go,
After subjecting them completely to my will.’
(181)
He then summoned Meghnad
And, urging him to greater courage and enmity towards the gods, instructed him,
‘Those gods who are in battle steadfast and strong,
And with self-respect enough to fight—
Those gods vanquish in battle and bring them here as your captives.’
The son rose, taking his father’s commands upon his shoulders.
In this manner, issuing orders to all,
Ravan too went forth, mace in hand.
The earth shook as the ten-headed one stepped forth.
The thunder of his coming caused the wives of the gods to miscarry,
And hearing Ravan’s wrath-filled approach,
The gods sought shelter in the caves of Mount Meru.
The lovely realms of the guardians of the ten quarters of the world,
The ten-headed one found deserted.
Again and again he would roar like a lion,
Challenging the gods and hurling abuse at them.
Intoxicated with the lust of battle, he roamed the earth
Searching for an opponent equal to himself, but did not find one anywhere.
The gods of the sun, moon, wind, seas and rivers, the treasures of the earth,
Fire, death and dharma—all those entrusted with running the world,
Kinnaras, Siddhas, men, gods and Nagas,
He determinedly pursued them all.
Every embodied being in Brahma’s creation,
Every man and woman, all submitted to the ten-faced one.
Terror-stricken, they obeyed all his commands,
And daily came and fell humbly at his feet.
Through the strength of his arms, he brought the whole world under his sway,
Leaving no one free or independent.
This king of kings, Ravan,
Ruled according to his own will.
(182A)
The daughters of gods, Yakshas, Gandharvas
Men, Kinnaras and Nagas
Innumerable beautiful and accomplished women—
He won through the might of his arms and took in marriage.
(182B)
Whatever commands he gave to Indrajitlxiv
Were all accomplished almost before he spoke.
Now listen to the deeds of
those warriors
To whom he had issued instructions earlier.
Terrifying to behold and sinners all,
The demon hordes were the bane of the gods.
The Asur armies caused havoc,
Assuming countless forms through their powers of deception.
Whatever means served to uproot and destroy dharma,
They would engage in them all, in defiance of the Vedas.
Wherever they found cows or the twice-born,
That village, town or city they set on fire.
Now virtuous acts were no longer performed,
No one respected gods, Brahmans and gurus anywhere,
Nor was there devotion to Hari, the performance of sacrifices, austerity, or wisdom,
And the Vedas and the Puranas could not be heard even in dream.
The chanting of mantras, meditation, detachment, penance, or offerings to the gods—
If talk of these ever came to ten-headed Ravan’s ears,
He would, himself, rise and rush to attack, making sure that they ceased completely,
And killing all he could lay his hands on.
Such foul and depraved behaviour pervaded the universe
That dharma was no longer heard of—
Those who dared recite the Vedas or the Puranas,
Were intimidated and terrorized and banished from the land.
The dreadful atrocities committed by these demons of the night,
Were beyond description.
Is there any limit to the sins
Of those who love violence so much?
(183)
Criminals, thieves and gamblers rose in number,
As did greedy, lecherous and lustful men who covet the wealth and wives of other men—
No longer respectful of mother or father or the gods,
They made the good and holy serve them.
Know all those who behave in this way, Bhavani,
To be night-wandering demons.
Seeing this excessive aversion to dharma,
The Earth grew afraid and uneasy:
‘Mountains, rivers and seas do not weigh as heavily upon me
As does a single evildoer who harms and injures others.’
She saw all dharma reversed,
But terrified of Ravan, she could not speak.
After much consideration, she assumed the form of a cow,
And went where the gods and munis were hiding.
Weeping, she related her woes to them,
But none of them could help her.
Gods, munis, Gandharvas, gathering together,
All went to Viranchi’s abode;
With them, in her assumed body of a cow, was poor Earth,
Grievously distressed, distracted with fear and sorrow.
The Creator understood the situation and thought to himself,
‘It is beyond my power to do anything here,
He whom you serve, that Immortal Lord,
Will help both you and me.’
Then Viranchi said, ‘Be patient, Earth, you who bear all,
And meditate upon Hari’s feet.
The Lord understands the anguish of his devotees
And will end this terrible suffering.’
(184)
The gods all sat and pondered,
‘Where shall we find the Lord so that we may put our plea before him?’
One said they should go to Vaikunth,
Another said that the Lord resides upon the Ocean of Milk.
The Lord always manifests himself in accordance
With the devotion and love in one’s heart.
In that gathering, Girija, I, too, was present,
And finding an appropriate moment, I said,
‘Hari pervades all places at all times equally,
And I know that he becomes manifest through love.
Tell me any place or time, any quarter of the universe,
Where the Lord is not present.
He pervades all beings, inanimate and animate, yet is separate and detached.
He is revealed by love as fire is revealed by friction.’
My words appealed to everyone,
And ‘Excellent! Well said!’ declared Brahma in praise.
Hearing me, Brahma rejoiced,
His body trembling with delight as tears of joy flowed from his eyes.
Then he of the steadfast mind composed himself
And, folding his hands, began to sing a song of praise.
(185)
Praise be to the Lord of the gods, who gladdens his devotees,
The supreme God, protector of those who seek his shelter;
Praise be to him, benefactor of cows and Brahmans, enemy of the Asurs,
Beloved husband of Lakshmi, the daughter of the ocean;
Protector of the gods and of the earth,
Whose deeds are marvellous, whose mysteries are known to none,
He, who is by nature compassionate, and merciful to the humble—
May he show us his favour.
Praise be to the indestructible, immortal Lord,
Present everywhere, residing in every heart, bliss supreme,
All-pervading, imperceptible, whose deeds are most pure and holy—
Mukund,lxv the giver of liberation, who is free of maya!
For whom long those who are free from longing,
Whom the multitude of munis, renouncing love, fervently love,
And sing night and day of his glories—
Praise be to him, existence, consciousness and bliss combined!
He who devised Creation and brought into existence unaided
The threefold universe of gods, men and demons,
May he, destroyer of suffering and sin, take care of us,
Who know not devotion or worship.
He who destroys the fear of this existence, delights the minds of munis,
And removes the multitudinous agonies of this world—
With our hearts, words and deeds, and giving up on the cleverness upon which we so pride ourselves,
We come, the whole company of gods together, to seek his protection.
He whom Sharada, the Vedas, Shesh and all the rishis
Cannot comprehend,
To whom, proclaim the Vedas, are beloved the humble and needy—
May the Supreme Lord be moved to pity towards us.
He who is Mount Mandar in the ocean of worldly existence,
Who is in every way beautiful, a temple of virtue and the accumulation of bliss—
The munis, the Siddhas, and all the gods, distraught with fear,
Prostrate themselves at the Lord’s lotus feet.
Knowing the gods and the Earth to be afraid,
And hearing their words full of love,
A voice, deep and profound, came from the sky,
And dispelled their grief and doubt.
(186)
‘Do not be afraid, O sages, Siddhas and mighty gods.
For the love I bear you, I will take on human form
Along with every element of my being, and I will descend as a man
In the noble and illustrious dynasty of the sun.63
Kashyap and Aditi performed great penance,
And I have already given them a boon—
In the form of Dasharath and Kaushalya
They have appeared in the city of Ayodhya as the rulers of the kingdom of Koshal.
It is in their house that I will descend
In the form of four brothers, ornaments all, of Raghu’s line.
Making Narad’s words come true,
I will appear upon earth together with my supreme energy,lxvi
And relieve the earth’s entire burden.
So be free of fear, all you company of gods!’
Having heard this divine voice from the sky with their own ears,
The gods immediately turned back, their hearts cheered and reassured.
Then Brahma comforted Earth—
She b
ecame free of fear, and faith and hope returned to her heart.
Viranchi returned to his own abode
After giving the gods these instructions:
‘Assume, each one of you, the body of a monkey, and go to earth
To serve at Hari’s feet.’
(187)
All the gods returned to their respective abodes,
Their minds at rest, along with Earth.
The gods received with joy
The orders that Brahma had given, and carried them out without delay.
Descending to earth, they took on the bodies of forest-wandering beings
And received incomparable strength and splendour.
With mountains, trees and claws as their weapons, all these valiant warriors
Steadfastly watched for Hari’s coming.
They filled the earth in every direction—upon every mountain and in every forest
They settled, each gathering his own brave and valiant army.
All these good and beautiful deeds I have narrated,
But now listen to what I had left unfinished.
In the city of Avadh there reigned a jewel of Raghu’s line—
The king was renowned in the Vedas, and his name was Dasharath.
A firm upholder of dharma, a storehouse of virtue, wise and learned,
His heart and mind were filled with devotion to bow-bearing Vishnu, Sarangpani.64
Kaushalya and his other beloved queens
Were all of pure and pious deportment,
Obedient to their husband, and unwavering in their love
And humble devotion to Hari’s lotus feet.
(188)
One day, in the king’s heart
Arose sadness and regret. ‘I don’t have a son,’ he thought.
The king hastened at once to his guru’s house
And fell at his feet in humble entreaty.
He related all his joys and sorrows to his guru.
Vasishtha consoled him with many words, and said,
‘Take courage, for you will have four sons
Who will be renowned in the three worlds and will remove the fears of the faithful.’
Then Vasishtha summoned Rishi Shringi
To perform the auspicious fire-sacrifice to obtain sons.
The muni made the oblations to the sacred fire with devotion,
And Agnilxvii appeared holding in his hands a pot containing an offering of rice and milk.
‘Whatever Vasishtha had thought of in his heart—