The Ramcharitmanas 3
Page 8
When you are not remembered or adored.
Of what account are those demons to you, Lord?
You will vanquish the enemy, and bring back Janaki.’
‘Listen, monkey, there is no benefactor equal to you,
No god, man, muni or any creature endowed with a body.
What service can I do you in return?
I cannot think of any, and my inadequate heart cannot face you.
Listen, my son, I can never repay your debt—
I see that upon reflecting in my heart.’
Again and again the protector of gods looked at the monkey,
His eyes full of tears, his body trembling with emotion.
Listening to the Lord’s words, and gazing upon
His grateful face and trembling body, Hanumant
Fell at his feet overcome with love,
Crying, ‘Save me, save me, divine Lord!’
(32)
Again and again the Lord tried to raise him up,
But Hanuman, immersed in love, did not want to rise.
The Lord’s lotus hands lay upon the monkey’s head,
And remembering that state, Gauri’s lord too, was drowned in bliss.11
Then steadying his mind, Shankar
Resumed telling this most lovely tale.
The Lord raised the monkey and clasped him to his heart,
And taking his hand, seated him by his side.
‘Tell me, monkey, how were you able to burn down
Lanka, Ravan’s own stronghold, and its magnificent fort?’
Hanuman saw that the Lord was pleased,
And spoke words utterly devoid of pride.
‘A monkey’s greatest accomplishment
Is to leap from branch to branch.
So that I crossed the ocean, burnt down the golden city,
Killed the demon host, and laid waste the ashok grove,
It was all the manifestation of your majesty, Raghurai,
And no great power of mine, master.
Nothing is unattainable, Lord,
For him whom you favour.
Through your might even a wisp of cotton wool
Can extinguish the mighty fire beneath the sea.
(33)
Lord, show me your grace and grant me
Unceasing devotion, that giver of extreme bliss.’
Hearing the monkey’s simple and artless speech,
Bhavani, the Lord, replied, ‘So be it!’
Uma, he who realizes Ram’s true nature,
Takes pleasure in nothing but his worship,
And he who takes into his heart this conversation,
Attains devotion to Raghupati’s feet.
Hearing the Lord’s words, the assembled monkeys cried,
‘Victory, victory, victory to the merciful Lord, root of all bliss!’
Then Raghupati summoned Sugriv, king of the monkeys,
And said, ‘Make ready to set forth,
What reason now for delay?
Order the monkeys at once to march.’
The gods, upon seeing this spectacle, showered flowers,
And returned, rejoicing, from the sky to their own abodes.
The lord of the monkeys quickly summoned them,
And his commanders arrived in crowds,
Of various colours, all unequalled in strength,
A vast multitude of monkeys and bears.
(34)
All bowed their heads at the Lord’s lotus feet,
And roared, those mighty bears and monkeys.
Ram beheld the whole monkey army,
Gazing kindly upon them with his lotus eyes.
Made stronger by Ram’s grace, the monkey chiefs
Became like the chief of mountains regaining its wings.12
Pleased, Ram then marched forth
Amidst good omens, beautiful and auspicious.
It was only fitting that good omens accompany the departure
Of the one whose glory embodies all blessings.
Janaki understood that her Lord had set forth,
For her left side trembled, as though telling her.
Every good omen that occurred for Janaki,
Became a bad omen for Ravan.
The army marched forth—but who can describe it?
The countless bears and monkeys bellowed,
And, with claws as their weapons, bearing boulders and trees,
They went—in the sky, on the earth, as they pleased.
The bears and monkeys roared like lions,
And the elephants of the eight quarters staggered and screamed.
The guardian elephants trumpeted, the earth trembled,
Mountains shook, and the seas grew rough and turbulent.
Gandharvas, gods, munis, Nagas and Kinnaras
All rejoiced in their hearts, knowing their troubles were over.
Countless millions of formidable warrior monkeys
Rushed on, gnashing their teeth, calling
‘Glory to Ram, the mighty and powerful Lord of Koshal!’
And singing his praises.
Unable to bear the weight of the army,
Shesh, mighty king of the serpents, staggered again and again,
And again and again steadied himself by clutching with his fangs
The hard shell of the tortoise that bears the world upon its back.
As the serpent-king’s fangs scored the tortoise’s shell, he looked as beautiful
As though he had understood the supreme beauty of Raghubir’s glorious setting-forth,
And was inscribing his eternal and sacred story
Upon the tortoise’s shell.
In this way, the abode of compassion marched on
And arrived at the ocean’s shore,
Where his bear and monkey warriors
Began devouring the abundant wild fruits that grew all about.
(35)
Meanwhile, in Lanka, the demons lived in apprehension,
Ever since the monkey had burnt down their city and left.
Each in their own home, they all worried,
‘There is no deliverance for the demon tribe.
The might of whose messenger defies description,
Can there be any good in his coming himself to our city?’
When she heard from her informers what the townsfolk were saying,
Mandodari grew extremely distraught.
Alone with him, she fell at her husband’s feet with folded hands,
And implored him in words steeped in prudence,
‘Beloved, abandon enmity to Hari—
Know my words to be for your well-being and hold them in your heart.
Remembering the doings of whose messenger,
The wives of night-wandering demons miscarry—
Summon your ministers, my husband, and send back
His wife, if you want your own welfare.
To blight the lotuses that is your lineage,
Sita comes like a winter’s night.
Listen, my lord, unless you give up Sita,
Neither Shambhu nor Brahma can help you.
Ram’s arrows are like serpents,
And the demon host, like frogs.
So give up your obstinacy and resolve the situation,
Before they swallow us all.’
(36)
When he heard her words, the foolish Ravan,
Renowned in the world for his arrogance, laughed.
‘A woman is truly fearful by nature and timid,
Afraid even when all fares well, and weak-hearted too!
Should the monkey army come,
Our poor demons will sustain themselves by eating them.
Even the guardians of the eight quarters tremble in fear of me—
That you, my wife, should be afraid—that is quite absurd!’
So saying, he laughed and embraced her,
And left for his council-chamber, full of conceit.
But Mandodari was deeply troubled in he
r heart,
‘Now fate has turned against my lord.’
As he sat down in the council-chamber, he received the news
That the whole enemy army had arrived on the opposite shore of the sea.
He asked his ministers, ‘Tell me what you think is best to be done.’
They laughed and replied, ‘What’s to be said?
You vanquished gods and demons without effort—
Of what account then are men and monkeys?’
When these three—a minister, a physician and a guru—
Speak sweet words from fear or hope of reward,
Dominion, dharma and health,
All three are rapidly destroyed.
(37)
Such was the help that Ravan received—
Only praise and flattery to his face.
Perceiving his opportunity, Vibhishan came,
And bowed his head at his brother’s feet.
Bowing his head again, he took his own seat,
And receiving permission, spoke these words:
‘Since, gracious lord, you ask my advice,
I give it, dear brother, to my ability and for your good.
He who desires his own welfare,
And seeks fame, wisdom, felicity and joys of many kinds,
Turns away from the face of another man’s wife
As from the waxing moon on its fourth day, lord.
Though he be lord of the fourteen spheres,
One who turns against creation will not endure.
Even if a man is an ocean of virtue, and accomplished in every way,
No one speaks well of him if he shows even the slightest greed.
Lust, anger, arrogance and greed,
Lord, are all roads that lead to hell.
Abandon them all, and worship
Raghubir, whom the saints revere.
(38)
Dear brother, Ram is no mere mortal king,
But the sovereign of the universe, the death of death itself.
He is brahm, the Supreme Absolute, the unchanging, unborn God,
All-pervading, invincible, without beginning or end.
For the good of the earth, Brahmans, cows and gods,
The ocean of mercy has assumed the body of a man.
Listen, brother, he delights his devotees, destroys the wicked,
And is the protector of the Vedas and dharma.
Abandon enmity and bow your head to him,
For Raghunath destroys the sorrows of those who seek refuge in him.
My king, give Vaidehi back to the Lord,
And worship him—Ram, who loves without motive.
The Lord will not abandon one seeking shelter,
Though he be guilty of the sin of enmity against the world.
He whose name destroys the anguish of the triple fires,
That same Lord has become manifest—understand this in your heart, Ravan.
Again and again I fall at your feet
And implore you, Dashashish,
Abandon arrogance, delusion and pride,
And worship the king of Koshal.
(39A)
Our grandfather, sage Pulastya,
Sent this same message through a pupil,
And I have at once repeated it to you, my lord,
Deeming this to be the right moment, sire.’
(39B)
One wise minister, called Malyavant,
Was extremely pleased to hear Vibhishan’s words.
‘Son, your younger brother is the very ornament of prudent counsel,
So take what Vibhishan says to heart.’
‘My enemy is superior, say these two fools!
Is there no one here to remove them?’
At this, Malyavant returned home,
But Vibhishan spoke again with folded hands.
‘Lord, wisdom and folly reside in everyone’s heart—
So say the Vedas and Puranas.
Where there is wisdom, there is prosperity too,
But where there is folly, there is calamity in the end.
Perverse folly has taken up residence in your heart,
So you take good as bad, and your foes as friends,
And are so excessively fond of this Sita
Who is the night of ultimate destruction for the demon clan!
Dear brother, I clasp your feet and beg you,
For the love you bear me—
Return Sita to Ram,
So that no harm comes to you.’
(40)
In words supported by the authority of the wise, the Puranas and the Vedas,
Vibhishan gave him prudent counsel,
But upon hearing them, Dashanan leapt up in fury, crying,
‘Villain, your death approaches!
You have always lived, wretch, under my patronage,
But now, fool, you prefer to take my enemy’s side!
Tell me, you scoundrel, who in this world
Have I not conquered with the might of my arms?
You live in my city but love some ascetics—
So go to them, idiot, talk to them about prudence!’
So saying, he kicked his younger brother,
Who clasped his feet again and again.
Uma, this is the greatness of saints,
That they return good for evil.
‘You may strike me, for you are like my father,
But it is in worshipping Ram, my lord, that your well-being lies.’
Taking his counsellors with him, Vibhishan left, flying through the air,
Proclaiming aloud to them all,
‘Ram is true to his resolve and the master of all,
While your assembly is in the grip of doom.
I now go to take refuge with Raghubir—
Lay no blame upon me!’
(41)
The moment Vibhishan left with these words,
The doom of the rest of them became assured.
Disrespect to a good man, Bhavani, immediately
Destroys all well-being.
The moment he abandoned Vibhishan,
The unfortunate Ravan lost all his glory.
But Vibhishan went rejoicing to Raghunayak,
With many hopes and expectations in his mind.
‘On reaching there I will see the lotus feet,
Rosy, soft, which give bliss to the devotee,
The feet whose touch saved the rishi’s wife,
And which made holy the Dandak forest,
The feet which Janak’s daughter holds in her heart,
Which ran to capture the false kurang deer,
The feet which are the lotuses upon the lake of Har’s heart—
What good fortune that I will behold them!
The feet, whose wooden sandals
Bharat holds in his heart—
Those feet I will now see,
With these my eyes, today!’
(42)
In this manner, lovingly reflecting,
He quickly reached this shore of the ocean.
The monkeys, seeing Vibhishan approach,
Took him to be a special messenger of the enemy.
They stopped him and went to their king,
And told him the situation.
Said Sugriv, ‘Listen, Raghurai,
Dashanan’s brother has come to see you.’
Said the Lord, ‘Friend, what do you think?’
The king of the monkeys replied, ‘Listen, king of men,
The deceitful magic of these night-wanderers cannot be understood.
Why should this shape-shifting demon come here?
It seems the villain has come to learn our secrets—
So I think it best we take him prisoner and bind him.’
‘Friend, you have reasoned prudently and well,
But my vow is to dispel fear from the minds of those who come to me for refuge.’
Hanuman rejoiced to hear these words from the Lord,
The God who loves as his children al
l those who seek his protection.
‘The men who abandon those seeking refuge,
Suspecting their own harm,
Are vile and sinful,
And even to look upon them is harmful.
(43)
Though he be guilty of killing ten million Brahmans,
I will not abandon one who turns to me for shelter,
For the instant a soul comes before me,
Its sins of countless lives are destroyed.
A sinner’s natural disposition is such
That to worship me never pleases him.
If Vibhishan were truly evil-hearted,
Would he have come into my presence?
Only one who is pure of heart can find me,
For I do not like hypocrisy, deceit and duplicity.
The ten-headed one may have sent him to find out our secrets,
But even so, king of the monkeys, we have nothing to fear or lose—
All the demons, dear friend, that this world contains,
Lakshman can destroy in the blink of an eye.
And if he has come out of fear to seek shelter with me,
I will protect him as I would my own life.
In either case, bring him here.’
So said the abode of compassion with a smile.
‘Victory to the merciful Lord,’ said the monkey,
And set off with Angad and Hanuman.
(44)
The monkeys respectfully escorted him
To Raghupati, the all-compassionate.
Vibhishan saw from a distance the two brothers,
The givers of the gift of bliss to all eyes.
Then, looking again at Ram, that abode of beauty,
He stood stock still, gazing unblinkingly
At his long arms, and red-lotus eyes,
His dark-hued body that destroys the fear of the suppliant,
His lion shoulders, magnificent broad chest,
And his face that captivates the heart of Madan himself.
His eyes full of tears, his body trembling with love,
Vibhishan steadied his heart, then softly said,
‘Lord, I am Dashanan’s brother.
I have been born in the demon-lineage, protector of the gods,
And my body, imbued with ignorance and vice, loves evil as naturally
As an owl loves the night.
I have heard with my own ears of your glorious fame
As the destroyer of the fear of rebirth, Lord, and so I have come to you.