by Tulsidas
Rejoicing, clasped Ram’s lotus feet.
(35A)
Perceiving that it was evening, Dashkandhar
Returned sadly to his palace.
Mandodari again reasoned
With Ravan and said,
(35B)
‘Think, dear husband, and give up this foolishness,
War with Raghupati does not become you.
Ram’s younger brother drew a little line—4
You could not cross even that, such is your valour.
Beloved, can you conquer him in battle
Whose messenger performed such a feat?
Leaping across the ocean in sport, that monkey
Like a fearless lion entered your Lanka,
Killed your guards, laid waste your orchard,
Slew your son Aksh even as you watched,
And setting fire to the whole city, reduced it to ashes.
Where was your pride of power then?
Now husband, desist from idle boasts,
And think a little on what I have said.
Husband, do not take Raghupati to be an ordinary king,
But know him to be the master of all creation, moving and unmoving, and of unequalled might.
Marich, too, knew the power of his arrows,
But you did not listen even to him.
In Janak’s assembly had gathered countless kings—
You too were there, with your enormous and unmatched strength.
There, he broke Shiv’s bow and married Janaki—
Why did you not vanquish him in battle then?
Indra’s son also felt a little of his might—
Ram caught him but let him live, only putting out his eye.
You also saw Supnakha’s condition,
Yet your heart remains unabashed.
He who slew Viradh, and Khar and Dushan,
Killed Kabandh in sport,
And dispatched Baali with a single shaft—
Recognize him, Dashkandh!
(36)
He who bridged the ocean in play,
And crossed over with his army to Suvela,
That same merciful Lord, the banner of the solar line,
Out of consideration for you, sent an envoy,
Who trampled upon your might in the midst of your assembly,
Like a lion in the midst of a herd of elephants.
His servants are Angad and Hanuman,
Both distinguished heroes, unequalled in battle—
And yet, my beloved, you persist in speaking of him as a man.
In vain do you bear the burden of arrogance, ego and pride.
Ah dear husband, you have chosen strife with Ram—
You are in the clutches of your own doom, and wisdom cannot awaken in your mind.
Fate does not strike anyone with a stick,
But merely robs one of piety, strength, wisdom and good sense.
He whose doom draws near, my lord,
Becomes lost and confused, just as you are now.
Two of your sons have been killed, your city burnt—
Even now, beloved, make an end of this.
Worship Raghunath, the ocean of mercy,
And so win untarnished fame, my lord.’
(37)
Ravan heard out his wife’s speech as sharp as an arrow,
And left for his assembly as soon as it was dawn.
He took his seat upon his throne, puffed up with pride,
All his fears and terror forgotten.
Here, on Suvela, Ram summoned Angad,
Who came and bowed his head at his lotus feet.
But the kind and compassionate Kharari seated him by his side
With great courtesy, and smiling said,
‘Son of Baali, I am full of curiosity,
So answer truthfully, dear son, to what I ask you.
Ravan is the glory of the Rakshasa race,
And the unparalleled might of his arms is renowned throughout the world.
Yet you threw me four of his crowns.
Tell me, son, how did you get hold of them?’
‘Listen, omniscient one, you who bestow bliss upon the suppliant,
They were not crowns, but the four prerogatives of a sovereign—
Conciliation, concession, coercion and dissension,
Which abide in the heart of a king. So declare the Vedas, sire.
These are the four noble pedestals upon which stand righteousness and duty—
Knowing this in their hearts, they came, master, of their own accord to you.
Devoid of piety, hostile to the Lord’s feet,
And in the clutches of his own doom is the ten-headed one.
And so those royal prerogatives abandoned him
And came to you, O Koshal’s king.’
(38A)
Hearing his very clever reply,
The gracious Ram began to laugh.
Baali’s son then related to him
All the news from the fort.
(38B)
When Ram had heard his report about the enemy,
He called all his ministers to draw near.
‘Lanka has four great gates—
Think by what means we may breach them.’
Then Sugriv, king of the monkeys, Jamvant, king of the bears, and Vibhishan
Invoked the jewel of the solar line in their hearts,
And after consulting each other decided upon a firm plan.
They divided the monkey army into four companies,
And appointed suitable commanders for each.
Then, summoning all the commanders,
And praising the Lord’s might, gave them their orders,
Upon hearing which, the monkeys rushed forward, roaring like lions.
Rejoicing, they bowed their heads at Ram’s feet,
And then, armed with mountain peaks, the heroes rushed forth.
With thunderous shouts of ‘Victory to Raghubir, Koshal’s king!’
The bears and monkeys taunted the enemy.
Though they knew that Lanka was the most formidable of forts,
The monkeys proceeded undaunted, secure in the strength of their Lord.
Massing like clouds in every direction, they surrounded Lanka on all four sides,
With a roar like that of war drums.
‘Victory to Ram, victory to Lakshman,
Glory to the monkey king, Sugriv!’
Thus like lions they roared,
Those mighty monkeys and bears.
(39)
Confusion and turmoil broke out in Lanka.
Hearing the uproar, Ravan in his great arrogance said,
‘Look how bold these monkeys are!’
And laughing, summoned his demon host.
‘These monkeys have come here, impelled by Death.
All my demons were hungry,’—
So saying, the wretch laughed loudly—
‘And God has sent food to their doorsteps!
Brave warriors all, set forth in every direction,
Seize those bears and monkeys, and devour them all!’
Uma, this arrogance of Ravan’s
Was like the tittibh bird’s, which sleeps with its legs in the air and thinks that they support the sky.
Receiving their orders, the demons set forth,
Armed with slings and sturdy spears,
Cudgels, clubs and fierce battle-axes,
Lances, swords, bludgeons and boulders.
Like stupid carrion-eating birds that see
A pile of red rubies and swoop down upon it,
The agony of broken beaks not having occurred to them—
So did these foolish man-eaters rush forth.
With bows and arrows and weapons of every description,
Millions upon millions of Rakshasa warriors,
Valiant, strong, resolute in battle,
Climbed up on to the walls and battlements of Lanka.
(40)
They looked upon those walls and
battlements
Like dark clouds hanging on Sumeru’s summit.
War drums sounded,
And, hearing their beat, the hearts of the warriors were stirred to battle.
Countless trumpets and bugles brayed,
And, at their sound, the hearts of cowards cracked.
The demons saw the monkey host,
The valiant bear and monkey heroes, each of enormous size.
They rushed on, considering the uneven valleys and steep mountain passes of no account,
Tearing down boulders and clearing a path for themselves.
Millions of warriors gnashed their teeth,
Snarling, threatening, roaring,
There calling upon Ravan, and here upon Ram.
Amidst cries of ‘Victory, victory!’ the battle began.
The demons rained down boulders as huge as mountain peaks,
The monkeys leapt up and caught them, and hurled them back again.
Seizing the massive rocks and boulders,
The monkeys and bears hurled them back at the fort.
Jumping upon the demons, they grabbed them by the leg and dashed them to the ground,
Then, running off, they challenged and taunted them again.
Exceedingly nimble, youthful and strong, they climbed,
Bounding and leaping, to the top of the fort,
And entering palaces and mansions,
They sang Ram’s praises everywhere.
Then, each one seizing a demon,
The monkeys ran back,
And dropped to the ground from the walls of the fort,
Crushing the demons beneath them.
(41)
Made strong by Ram’s great power, the monkey troops
Crushed the horde of demon warriors.
Swarming up the fort once again, the monkeys shouted,
‘Victory to Raghubir, as glorious as the sun!’
The demon host fled before them,
Like dark clouds before a strong wind.
Loud lamentation filled the city,
And children, the sick and women wailed and wept.
All came together in cursing Ravan,
Who, as king, had invited ruin.
When he heard of his own army’s retreat,
Lanka’s king angrily sent back his warriors into battle.
‘If I hear of anyone running away from the battle,
I will kill him myself with my dreadful sword!
You consumed all my bounty, enjoyed every luxury,
And now on the field of battle, your lives have become so dear to you!’
On hearing his wrathful words, the warriors all grew afraid.
Chastened, they worked themselves up into battle fury and set forth again.
‘To die in battle with his face to the foe is a hero’s glory!’ they thought,
And then gave up their greed to live.
Armed with many kinds of weapons, the valiant warriors
Closed with the enemy, challenging their foes again and again.
Striking them with clubs and tridents, they
Maddened the monkeys and bears.
(42)
Overcome by terror, the monkeys began to flee,
Even though, Uma, they were victorious in the end.
Said one, ‘Where are Angad and Hanuman?
Where Nal and Nil, and the mighty Dwivid?’
When Hanuman heard that his army was in disarray,
The mighty hero was at the western gate.
There, Meghnad led the defence—
The gate so far had not been breached, and Hanuman was in great difficulty.
The heart of the Wind’s son filled with rage,
And, with a terrible roar, that warrior, invincible as death,
Sprang up upon Lanka’s fort,
And seizing an enormous rock, rushed at Meghnad,
Shattered his chariot, slew his charioteer,
And kicked him in the chest.
Another charioteer, seeing Meghnad in distress,
Threw him into his own chariot, and quickly brought him home.
When Angad heard that the Wind god’s son
Had gone into the fort alone,
Then he too, Baali’s son, so daring and intrepid in war,
Leapt up onto the walls of the fort, as easily as though in play.
(43)
The two monkeys swelled with battle-fury,
And invoked Ram’s majesty in their hearts.
Then, springing to the top of Ravan’s palace,
They loudly proclaimed the glory of Koshal’s king.
They wrecked the palace with its domes and spires,
And seeing this, the king of the demons grew afraid.
The women all beat their breasts and wailed,
‘Now two of these fierce and all-destroying monkeys have come!’
Angad and Hanuman terrified them with their monkey antics,
And proclaimed to them the glory of Ramchandra.
Then, each taking a golden pillar in his hands,
They said to each other, ‘Let us now start the destruction.’
Roaring, they rushed into the midst of the enemy army,
And began to thrash and pound them, laying them low with their great strength of arm,
With here a kick and there a blow, and crying,
‘You do not worship Ram, so here’s the reward for that!’
They crushed the demons, one against another,
And snapped off their heads and hurled them away
So that they fell at Ravan’s feet,
And smashed like pots of curds.
(44)
All of the great commanders they encountered,
They seized by their feet and threw them to the Lord.
Vibhishan told him their names,
And Ram gave even them a place in his abode.
Those vile man-eaters and devourers of the twice-born
Thus attained the state for which ascetics yearn.
Uma, Ram is soft-hearted and a mine of compassion—
He thought, ‘These demons remembered me, albeit in enmity.’
And knowing this, he bestowed upon them the supreme state.
Tell me, Bhavani, who is as merciful as this?
Hearing of such a Lord, those men who do not cast off delusion and worship him,
Are dull-witted and exceedingly unfortunate.
‘Angad and Hanuman have entered
The fort,’ cried the lord of Avadh,
‘And Lanka, with the two monkeys,
Is like the sea being churned by two Mount Mandars.’
After crushing the enemy army,
And seeing that the day was ending,
The two leapt down effortlessly
And returned into the presence of their Lord.
(45)
They bowed their heads at the lotus feet of the Lord,
And Raghupati was delighted to see the noble heroes again.
Ram looked with his grace upon them both,
So that their fatigue disappeared, and they were completely refreshed.
Perceiving that Angad and Hanuman had left the fort,
The other bear and monkey warriors also returned.
But the demons, gaining strength from the evening twilight,
Rushed to attack, crying, ‘Victory to the ten-headed one!’
Seeing the demon army, the monkeys turned again,
And with gnashing teeth, warriors closed with each other everywhere—
Two mighty armies, their heroes challenging the enemy again and again,
Fighting their foes, and refusing to admit defeat.
The demons were all supremely valiant and black of hue,
The monkeys were of enormous size and of different colours.
Both armies were strong and powerful, their heroes equally matched—
They fought furiously, and showed off their prowess as warriors.
It was as though dense monsoon clouds
and gathered autumn clouds
Battled each other, driven by the wind.
When the army commanders, Akampan and Atikaya,
Saw their legions wavering, they resorted to illusion,
So that in an instant, it became utterly dark,
And blood, stones and ashes began to rain down.
Seeing the dense darkness all around,
The monkey army grew alarmed.
They could not see each other,
And made a great outcry.
(46)
Raghunayak understood the mystery,
And summoning Angad and Hanuman,
Explained to them what was happening.
Hearing this, the two great monkeys rushed back in fury.
Then the merciful one laughed and strung his bow,
And at once let loose a fiery arrow.
Light blazed forth, no darkness remained anywhere,
As when enlightenment dawns and doubts disappear.
The bears and monkeys now had light,
And forgetting their fatigue and fear, rushed forth rejoicing.
Hanuman and Angad thundered aloud on the battlefield,
And hearing their furious roar, the demons fled.
The bears and monkeys seized the fleeing demon warriors,
And dashed them to the ground, performing spectacular feats of valour,
Or grabbing them by their feet, hurled them into the sea
Where crocodiles, serpents and fish snatched them up and ate them.
Some were killed, some wounded,
And some fled back to the fort.
The bears and monkeys roared in jubilation
At routing the mighty enemy host.
(47)
Seeing that it was now night, the four monkey divisions
Returned to the lord of Koshal.
Ram looked upon them all with his mercy,
And instantly the monkeys became free of fatigue.
In Lanka, Dashanan summoned his ministers,
And told them all of the valiant warriors who had been killed.
‘The monkeys have wiped out half of our army.
So tell me quickly, what should we do?’
Malyavant, a very aged Rakshasa,
Who was Ravan’s mother’s father, and an important minister,
Spoke words that were prudent and pure.
‘Listen, dear son, to a little of my advice.
From the moment that you stole Sita away and brought her here,