Valmiki's Ramayana

by Vālmīki,Sattar, Arshia

  Drums were beaten and music from other instruments rose into the air as Prahasta’s forces rumbled out of the city from the eastern gate, sounding like a mighty ocean. Prahasta resembled the god of death at doomsday. Evil omens appeared everywhere, clouds rained blood over Prahasta’s chariot, a vulture perched on his flagstaff and his natural splendour dimmed as his horses stumbled on level ground.

  But Prahasta, famous for his strength and prowess, continued forward and the monkeys came to meet him armed with their weapons. A huge din arose as the fighting forces met. Misguided Prahasta moved into battle against the monkey king’s army as a moth rushes to a flame, hoping to destroy it.

  The rākṣasas’ weapons glittered and shone as they advanced and the monkeys armed themselves with trees and rocks and huge boulders. Hundreds of monkeys and rākṣasas were killed in this massive encounter. Some were impaled on spears, some felled with discuses, some hacked to death with battle axes, some crushed with mighty clubs, some pierced by arrows, others cut open with swords. Rākṣasas were crushed and pulverized with trees and rocks and stones, smashed by fists and feet. They vomited blood and their teeth and eyes fell out of their heads.

  Meanwhile, Prahasta wreaked havoc among the monkeys with his arrows while the two armies, locked in deadly combat, swirled like a whirlpool and filled the air with thunderous roars. A river of blood flowed swiftly past. The broken weapons it carried looked like uprooted trees, it had liver and viscera for mud, fat for foam, entrails for floating vegetation, heads and bodies for fish and dismembered limbs for the grass on its banks.

  The great monkey Nīla watched as Prahasta slaughtered the monkeys all around him from his chariot. Nīla charged towards him and was met with a hail of arrows that pierced him all over his body. He grabbed an enormous tree and crushed Prahasta’s fine horses with a single blow. He snatched Prahasta’s bow from his hand and smashed it with a huge roar. Prahasta jumped out of his chariot and prepared to face Nīla with his club. The two mighty commanders faced each other like rutting elephants, like a lion and a tiger. They rained blows upon each other, Prahasta using his club and Nīla using rocks and boulders. Blood poured from their bodies but they continued to fight. Finally, Nīla smashed an enormous rock on Prahasta’s head which shattered into a thousand pieces. He fell to the earth like a tree axed at the root, blood streaming from his head like a cascade from a mountain.

  The rākṣasas were totally demoralized with the death of Prahasta and, losing heart, they could not make a stand against the monkeys any more than water can be contained by a broken dam. They returned to Lankā, plunged into an ocean of grief, while the monkeys rejoiced and praised Nīla for his deeds.

  At this point, Rāvaṇa decided that it was time for him to enter the fray. ‘I cannot ignore the fact that my general, who had even defeated Indra in battle, was killed by this army of monkeys. I myself will go into battle and wrest victory from the hands of these creatures. I shall consume Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and all these monkeys with my arrows as a forest is consumed by fire!’ He climbed into his chariot that was yoked with the finest horses and blazed like a fire with its own splendour.

  As Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas, went forth, he was honoured with the beating of drums and the blaring of conches, the shouting of battle cries and the singing of hymns. Surrounded by flesh-eating warriors with blazing eyes who were the size of mountains, he looked like Śiva surrounded by the gaṇas. The mighty one left the city quickly and beheld the army of fierce monkeys, armed with trees and rocks, roaring like the ocean at high tide.

  Vibhīṣaṇa pointed Rāvaṇa out to Rāma, and Rāma, deeply impressed, said, ‘Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas, blazes with his own splendour and dazzles the eye like the sun! I can see him clearly from here, lit up by his majesty. Even the bodies of the gods and the dānavas do not shine with this kind of brilliance. All the warriors under his command are as large as mountains and are armed with shining weapons.’ Rāma stood with Lakṣmaṇa at his side, his bow at the ready, arrows chosen from his quiver.

  Sugrīva, the king of the monkeys, rushed towards Rāvaṇa, armed with an immense mountain peak. He hurled it at him with all his might but Rāvaṇa shattered it with his golden arrows. Then he picked an arrow that hissed like a serpent and shot it at Sugrīva with such force that sparks flew as it travelled through the air. It pierced Sugrīva with the force of Indra’s thunderbolt and split open his chest. Sugrīva fell to the ground with a cry of pain and lost consciousness.

  Then the other monkey leaders joined the attack against Rāvaṇa, but he fended them off with a shower of golden arrows that tore at their bodies, making them collapse on the ground. Hanumān saw that Rāvaṇa’s arrows were coming so thick and fast that nothing was visible. ‘You have been granted invulnerability against gods and gandharvas, dānavas, yakṣas and rākṣasas. But you have reason to fear a monkey!’ he shouted angrily as he moved towards the rākṣasa. ‘My left arm will drive the living breath from your body!’

  ‘Come! Strike me!’ shouted Rāvaṇa, his eyes red with rage. ‘What are you waiting for? I shall test your strength and then I shall kill you!’

  ‘Have you forgotten how I killed your son Akṣa?’ taunted Hanumān, Rāvaṇa dealt him such a mighty blow in the middle of his chest that the great monkey staggered and reeled. Nīla rushed in to help Hanumān, but he was met with a hail of fiery arrows that burned him all over his body. Meanwhile, Hanumān had recovered his strength, but when he saw Rāvaṇa engaged in combat with Nīla, he held back, knowing that it was wrong to attack an enemy when he was fighting another. Nīla hurled trees and rocks and stones at Rāvaṇa, but the rākṣasa shattered them all with his arrows while they were still in the air.

  Then Nīla contracted his body and leapt to the top of Rāvaṇa’s chariot. He hopped from the flagstaff to Rāvaṇa’s bow and onto his crown, dodging Rāvaṇa all the time. Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān watched in amazement, and the other monkeys broke into shouts of laughter. Incensed, Rāvaṇa invoked the power of Agni’s weapon and used it against Nīla. Struck by the flaming weapon, Nīla fell to the ground.

  Rāvaṇa turned his chariot towards Lakṣmaṇa and bore down on him through the battle, shaking the earth around him and blazing like a fire. ‘Come and fight with me, king of the rākṣasas!’ shouted Lakṣmaṇa. ‘Why do you fight only with monkeys?’ And then began a battle of wondrous arrows with golden shafts, crescent heads and divine feathers. Lakṣmaṇa repelled everything that Rāvaṇa threw at him, and, finally, Rāvaṇa drew out the arrow that Brahmā had given him, which was as powerful as the doomsday fire. It struck Lakṣmaṇa in the middle of his forehead, and the great warrior reeled from its impact even as he managed to split Rāvaṇa’s bow and strike him with three arrows.

  Rāvaṇa recovered his strength and hurled a spear at Lakṣmaṇa that was as bright as a smokeless fire and struck terror into the hearts of all the monkeys. It hit Lakṣmaṇa in the middle of his broad chest and felled him. Just then, Hanumān jumped into the fray and punched Rāvaṇa in the chest with his great fist. Rāvaṇa fell to his knees and vomited, blood pouring out of his eyes and ears. He reeled and fell into a faint and even when he regained consciousness, he was unsteady on his feet. All the monkeys rejoiced when they saw Rāvaṇa laid low in battle.

  Hanumān lifted Lakṣmaṇa from where he lay and carried him to Rāma. Seeing that Lakṣmaṇa was invincible, the spear left him and returned to its place in Rāvaṇa’s chariot. Lakṣmaṇa’s wound healed and he recovered completely.

  Meanwhile, Rāvaṇa had also recovered and he harried the monkey army with his arrows. Rāma decided to go after him and Hanumān came to him and said, ‘Climb onto my back and attack the rākṣasa!’ Rāvaṇa charged towards them and struck Hanumān with his sharp arrows. Rāma was enraged and assailed Rāvaṇa with his arrows that destroyed his chariot with its fluttering banners. He struck Rāvaṇa in the middle of the che
st with an arrow that hit him with the force of Indra’s thunderbolt. The king of the rākṣasas staggered as his bow fell from his hands. Rāma chose a crescent-shaped arrow and shattered Rāvaṇa’s golden crown.

  Rāvaṇa was now like a serpent bereft of poison, like the sun dimmed, as he stood there, his crown in pieces, his majesty crushed. ‘You have done many terrible things. You have deprived me of the valiant warriors you killed. But I know you are exhausted so I will not kill you now!’ said Rāma.

  Dismissed with these words, Rāvaṇa hurried back to Lankā, his pride in tatters, his horses and charioteer slain, his crown in pieces. Rāma saw to it that Lakṣmaṇa and the wounded monkeys were attended to before the next battle. The gods and the ṛṣis, the asuras and the uragas and all the creatures from all the directions rejoiced that the enemy of the three worlds had been humbled.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Rāvaṇa returned to Lankā and sat on his golden throne, his eyes cast down. ‘All my austerities and penance have been in vain,’ he said, ‘for I, Indra’s equal, have been defeated in battle by a mere mortal! Brahmā’s warning that I would have to live in fear of mortals has come back to haunt me. What he says must come true! I asked for immunity from gods, gandharvas, yakṣas, rakṣasas and pannagas but I did not ask for the same protection against mortals.

  ‘Make sure the rākṣasas who guard the towers and gates are fully alert. And go and wake Kumbhakarṇa who sleeps under Brahmā’s curse. He can humble the pride of the gods and dānavas!’ said Rāvaṇa as he realized the significance of his own defeat and Prahasta’s. He sent a huge force to wake the giant Kumbhakarṇa. ‘That rākṣasa sleeps for six, seven, eight and nine months at a time,’ he said. ‘Wake him immediately! He is the mightiest of the rākṣasas and he will kill the monkeys and the princes in no time at all! Kumbhakarṇa is addicted to the vulgar pleasure of sleep but once he is awake, I, who have suffered this terrible indignity, will have nothing to worry about. What use is he to me, even if he is Indra’s equal, if he cannot help me in this time of trouble?’

  The rākṣasas obeyed Rāvaṇa’s command and went with great trepidation to Kumbhakarna’s home. They took flowers and incense and huge quantities of food with them and entered the door of his home which itself was one yojanā wide. The house was filled with fragrances of all kinds but the wind from Kumbhakarṇa’s breathing was so strong, it was difficult for the rākṣasas to stand. They managed to enter his house with a great deal of trouble. His room was paved with gold and the rākṣasas gazed in wonder at that creature who was terrifying even in his sleep.

  Kumbhakarṇa lay sprawled, as large as a fallen mountain, and the rākṣasas began their efforts to wake him. His hair stood straight up and his hissing breath came out in huge blasts. His open mouth was like hell itself and even his nostrils were terrifying. The rākṣasas prepared a huge pile of meat, tall as a second Mount Meru, that consisted of boar and deer and buffalo in order to tempt Kumbhakarṇa. They placed pots of blood and enticing liquors before him and they anointed him with priceless unguents and covered him with rare, fragrant flowers. They lit perfumed incense and they sang his praises. They blew moon-white conches as loud as they could and shouted and raised a terrible din.

  Then they lost patience and yelled and screamed and shook him and pounded on his body. When they found that even that had no effect, they beat him with trees and rocks and clubs and maces and with their fists and feet. Even though the rākṣasas were strong and powerful, they could barely stand under the onslaught of Kumbhakarṇa’s breath.

  Some of them resorted to stronger measures. With whips and goads, they drove horses and camels and elephants and asses over his body. They played drums and conches as loudly as they could and beat the giant with whips. Their noise filled the city of Lankā but they could not wake Kumbhakarṇa. He continued to sleep under a powerful curse and the rākṣasas began to get angry. They yelled and shouted and pulled his hair and bit his ears but Kumbhakarṇa did not even stir in his death-like sleep. They armed themselves with hammers and clubs and beat him on his chest and head. Finally, they drove one thousand elephants over his body and Kumbhakarṇa twitched, for, at last, he had felt something.

  The rākṣasas had pounded him with trees and rocks and the giant had ignored them. But now that he was awake, he was hungry. He yawned widely, flinging up his arms that were as long and strong as snakes and as powerful as mountains. His yawning mouth was as deep as hell and as red as the sun rising over Mount Meru. He exhaled with a huge sigh that was like the wind blowing off a mountain and his flashing eyes looked like planets in a malignant configuration.

  Kumbhakarṇa gorged himself on the meats and foods and liquors until he was completely sated. When the rākṣasas saw that he was finally satisfied, they gathered around him with bowed heads and joined palms. Surprised at being awakened, Kumbhakarṇa looked around at them all and said, ‘Why have you woken me up? Is everything all right with the king? Is he in danger? There must be some trouble for you to have woken me with such urgency. I will kill whoever it is that threatens the king, even if it is Indra or Agni! My brother would never have had me woken up for something trivial! Tell me, why have I been awakened?’

  Yūpākṣa, one of Rāvaṇa’s ministers, said, ‘We are not in danger from the gods, the dānavas or the daityas. This time, it is a mortal that threatens us. Lankā has been surrounded by monkeys that are the size of mountains and it is Rāma, who grieves for Sītā, who frightens us. A lone monkey set fire to the entire city. He also killed prince Akṣa along with his army and his elephants. And even Rāvaṇa, the thorn in the side of the gods, was granted his life by Rāma, who shines like the sun! Rāma has done what the gods, the dānavas and the daityas could not do to our king! He let him go after nearly taking his life.’

  Kumbhakarṇa’s eyes widened in amazement when he heard this. ‘I will go right now and kill all the monkeys and Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa!’ he said to Yūpākṣa. ‘Then I will go and see Rāvaṇa. Let the rākṣasas feast on monkey flesh while I drink the blood of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa!’

  Mahodara, a veteran warrior, joined his palms and said, ‘Listen to what Rāvaṇa has to say first. Weigh the pros and cons of the situation and then go out and be victorious in battle.’ The rākṣasas, having persuaded Kumbhakarṇa to agree, ran ahead to Rāvaṇa’s palace and said, ‘Your brother has woken up! Should he go straight into battle or do you want to see him first?’

  ‘Send him to me so that I can receive him with honour!’ said Rāvaṇa with delight.

  Kumbhakarṇa rose from his bed when he heard that his brother wanted to see him. He gargled and took a bath and adorned himself and asked for something to drink. The rākṣasas brought him all kinds of fine liquors and Kumbhakarṇa drank a thousand pots of wine. Pleased with himself and a little tipsy, Kumbhakarṇa set off, looking like the doomsday fire. The earth shook under his feet as he walked to his brother’s palace.

  When the monkeys saw Kumbhakarṇa, some of them ran to Rāma for protection, others fell down in a daze, some sank to the ground and others ran away in terror. Tall as a mountain peak with a crown that seemed to touch the sky, Kumbhakarṇa blazed with splendour and his body seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

  Kumbhakarṇa touched his brother’s feet. Rāvaṇa rose, embraced the giant and seated him on a magnificent throne. Kumbhakarṇa’s eyes blazed as he said, ‘Why did you have me woken up, king? Tell me who it is you fear and he shall be a corpse today!’

  Rāvaṇa saw his brother’s eyes rolling and knew that he was in a mighty rage. ‘It has been a long time since you fell asleep,’ said Rāvaṇa. ‘Fortunately for you, you know nothing of the troubles Rāma has created. Along with Sugrīva, Daśaratha’s son is destroying us! The monkeys built a bridge and crossed over the ocean to Lankā with no trouble at all. Now they run amok in its woods and forests. I do not see any monkeys being killed, but they have killed the best of
rākṣasas in battle.

  ‘My resources are dwindling. You must come to the aid of Lankā which is the refuge of old people and children. Mighty one, for the sake of the love we share as brothers, help me! I have confidence in you. I have never begged anyone like this before!’

  Kumbhakarṇa embraced his brother and after bowing to him, he prepared to go out into battle. Rāvaṇa invoked blessings upon his head as he left. Drums boomed and conches blared as Kumbhakarṇa went forth followed by fully armed warriors on horses and elephants and in chariots. Intoxicated with alcohol and the smell of blood, the mighty Kumbhakarṇa strode out, armed with a spear. He was showered with flowers and a canopy was held over his head.

  An immense band of foot soldiers, fierce rākṣasas with baleful eyes and prodigious strength, followed him into battle. Their huge bodies were as dark as mountains of collyrium and they made a great din as they marched along with their weapons raised. Mighty Kumbhakarṇa seemed to have taken a newer and more immense body which was so terrifying that it caused the monkeys’ hair to stand on end. He was six hundred bow-lengths tall and one hundred bow-lengths wide, his eyes were like cartwheels and he glowed like a mountain.

  Kumbhakarṇa ignored the evil omens which appeared as he left the city. He crossed the ramparts and gazed at the army of monkeys that was as huge as a bank of clouds. And when the monkeys saw that giant who was the size of a mountain, they scattered like clouds in the wind. Kumbhakarṇa laughed aloud when he saw the monkeys running in all directions and caused many monkeys to fall down in a swoon.

  Angada and the other monkey leaders tried to stop the fleeing monkeys. ‘Have you forgotten your powers and your noble lineage? How can you run away in fright like common cowards?’ they shouted. ‘Come back, friends! How can you care only for your own lives? This thing that terrifies you is not real. It is an illusion created by the rākṣasas and we can destroy it with our strength!’