This ends Sundara Kanda.
Acknowledgements
This journey, with Penguin, started more than a decade ago. It is a journey of translating Sanskrit texts into English, in unabridged form. It commenced with the Bhagavad Gita in 2006, followed by the Mahabharata (2010 to 2014) and the Harivamsha (2016). It continues with the Valmiki Ramayana and will be followed by the Puranas. To the best of my knowledge, the great translator, Manmatha Nath Dutt (1855–1912), is the only other person who has accomplished the ‘double’ of unabridged translations of both the Valmiki Ramayana and the Mahabharata in English. In this journey with Penguin, special thanks to Meru Gokhale, Ambar Sahil Chatterjee and Paloma Dutta. All three have made this journey easier to traverse.
My wife, Suparna Banerjee (Debroy), has not only been patni, she has been grihini and sahadharmini too. Had she not provided an enabling and conducive environment, juggling professional commitments and carving out the time required for translating would have been impossible. य: तया सह स स्वर्गो निरयो यस्त्वया विना (2.27.16).
This translation is based on the Critical Edition brought out (between 1951 and 1975) by the Oriental Institute, now part of Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. When I started work on translating the Mahabharata in 2009, there was a thought, however hazy, of attempting the Valmiki Ramayana too. Therefore, one had to acquire the seven published volumes of the Critical Edition. Those who have tried this acquisition will testify this is no mean task. Multiple channels and multiple efforts failed. The Oriental Institute is not known for its marketing and distribution successes. The context changed in 2015, because I joined the government. By then, I had still not been able to get copies of the Critical Edition. What with joining the government, which made finding time difficult, and an inability to get the text, I remarked to my wife that destiny willed otherwise. A few months later, on a flight, I found myself seated next to Shailendra Mehta, economist, scholar, friend, and currently president, director and distinguished professor at MICA, Ahmedabad. ‘What next, after the Mahabharata?’ asked Shailendra and I described my frustration. A few weeks down the line, Shailendra Mehta walked into my office, lugging a trolley bag, with all seven volumes in them. ‘All yours,’ he said. What destiny willed was clear enough. The dedication of this three volume set to Shailendra is a paltry attempt to say thank you.
‘What next, after the Valmiki Ramayana?’ Life moves on to the Puranas, beginning with the Bhagavata Purana. At one point, the Mahabharata translation seemed like a mammoth task, stretching to infinity. With the major Puranas collectively amounting to four times the size of the Mahabharata, they are more monumental than the mammoth. But as always, if it so wills, destiny finds a way.
The Valmiki Ramayana Volume 3
THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA VOLUME 3
Translated by Bibek Debroy
PENGUIN BOOKS
Contents
Yuddha Kanda
Uttara Kanda
Footnotes
Chapter 6(1)
Chapter 6(3)
Chapter 6(4)
Chapter 6(5)
Chapter 6(6)
Chapter 6(7)
Chapter 6(8)
Chapter 6(9)
Chapter 6(10)
Chapter 6(11)
Chapter 6(12)
Chapter 6(13)
Chapter 6(14)
Chapter 6(15)
Chapter 6(17)
Chapter 6(18)
Chapter 6(19)
Chapter 6(20)
Chapter 6(21)
Chapter 6(22)
Chapter 6(23)
Chapter 6(24)
Chapter 6(25)
Chapter 6(26)
Chapter 6(28)
Chapter 6(29)
Chapter 6(30)
Chapter 6(31)
Chapter 6(32)
Chapter 6(33)
Chapter 6(35)
Chapter 6(36)
Chapter 6(37)
Chapter 6(38)
Chapter 6(39)
Chapter 6(40)
Chapter 6(41)
Chapter 6(42)
Chapter 6(43)
Chapter 6(45)
Chapter 6(46)
Chapter 6(47)
Chapter 6(48)
Chapter 6(49)
Chapter 6(51)
Chapter 6(52)
Chapter 6(53)
Chapter 6(54)
Chapter 6(55)
Chapter 6(56)
Chapter 6(57)
Chapter 6(58)
Chapter 6(59)
Chapter 6(60)
Chapter 6(61)
Chapter 6(62)
Chapter 6(63)
Chapter 6(64)
Chapter 6(65)
Chapter 6(66)
Chapter 6(67)
Chapter 6(68)
Chapter 6(69)
Chapter 6(70)
Chapter 6(71)
Chapter 6(72)
Chapter 6(73)
Chapter 6(75)
Chapter 6(77)
Chapter 6(78)
Chapter 6(79)
Chapter 6(80)
Chapter 6(81)
Chapter 6(82)
Chapter 6(83)
Chapter 6(84)
Chapter 6(85)
Chapter 6(86)
Chapter 6(87)
Chapter 6(88)
Chapter 6(89)
Chapter 6(90)
Chapter 6(92)
Chapter 6(94)
Chapter 6(95)
Chapter 6(96)
Chapter 6(97)
Chapter 6(98)
Chapter 6(99)
Chapter 6(100)
Chapter 6(101)
Chapter 6(102)
Chapter 6(103)
Chapter 6(104)
Chapter 6(105)
Chapter 6(107)
Chapter 6(108)
Chapter 6(110)
Chapter 6(111)
Chapter 6(112)
Chapter 6(113)
Chapter 6(114)
Chapter 6(115)
Chapter 6(116)
Chapter 7(1)
Chapter 7(2)
Chapter 7(3)
Chapter 7(4)
Chapter 7(5)
Chapter 7(6)
Chapter 7(7)
Chapter 7(8)
Chapter 7(9)
Chapter 7(10)
Chapter 7(11)
Chapter 7(12)
Chapter 7(13)
Chapter 7(14)
Chapter 7(15)
Chapter 7(16)
Chapter 7(17)
Chapter 7(18)
Chapter 7(20)
Chapter 7(21)
Chapter 7(22)
Chapter 7(23)
Chapter 7(24)
Chapter 7(25)
Chapter 7(26)
Chapter 7(27)
Chapter 7(28)
Chapter 7(29)
Chapter 7(30)
Chapter 7(31)
Chapter 7(32)
Chapter 7(33)
Chapter 7(34)
Chapter 7(35)
Chapter 7(36)
Chapter 7(37)
Chapter 7(38)
Chapter 7(41)
Chapter 7(43)
Chapter 7(44)
Chapter 7(45)
Chapter 7(46)
Chapter 7(47)
Chapter 7(48)
Chapter 7(49)
Chapter 7(50)
Chapter 7(52)
Chapter 7(53)
Chapter 7(54)
Chapter 7(55)
Chapter 7(56)
Chapter 7(57)
Chapter 7(58)
Chapter 7(59)
Chapter 7(60)
Chapter 7(61)
Chapter 7(62)
Chapter 7(63)
Chapter 7(65)
Chapter 7(66)
Chapter 7(67)
Chapter 7(68)
Chapter 7(70)
Chapter 7(71)
Chapter 7(72)
Chapter 7(74)
Chapter 7(75)
Chapter 7(76)
Chapter 7(77)
Chapter 7(78)
Chapter 7(79)
Chapter 7(80)
Chapter 7(81)
Chapter 7(82)
Chapter 7(83)
Chapter 7(84)
Chapter 7(85)
Chapter 7(86)
Chapter 7(89)
Chapter 7(90)
Chapter 7(91)
Chapter 7(92)
Chapter 7(93)
Chapter 7(94)
Chapter 7(95)
Chapter 7(97)
Chapter 7(98)
Chapter 7(99)
Chapter 7(100)
Acknowledgements
For Professor Shailendra Raj Mehta
CHAPTER SIX
Yuddha Kanda
Sarga (1): 16 shlokas
Sarga (2): 21 shlokas
Sarga (3): 32 shlokas
Sarga (4): 88 shlokas
Sarga (5): 22 shlokas
Sarga (6): 18 shlokas
Sarga (7): 16 shlokas
Sarga (8): 16 shlokas
Sarga (9): 22 shlokas
Sarga (10): 21 shlokas
Sarga (11): 59 shlokas
Sarga (12): 22 shlokas
Sarga (13): 23 shlokas
Sarga (14): 21 shlokas
Sarga (15): 33 shlokas
Sarga (16): 29 shlokas
Sarga (17): 40 shlokas
Sarga (18): 42 shlokas
Sarga (19): 34 shlokas
Sarga (20): 24 shlokas
Sarga (21): 35 shlokas
Sarga (22): 43 shlokas
Sarga (23): 42 shlokas
Sarga (24): 36 shlokas
Sarga (25): 28 shlokas
Sarga (26): 33 shlokas
Sarga (27): 22 shlokas
Sarga (28): 36 shlokas
Sarga (29): 18 shlokas
Sarga (30): 26 shlokas
Sarga (31): 86 shlokas
Sarga (32): 32 shlokas
Sarga (33): 46 shlokas
Sarga (34): 30 shlokas
Sarga (35): 26 shlokas
Sarga (36): 43 shlokas
Sarga (37): 21 shlokas
Sarga (38): 37 shlokas
Sarga (39): 32 shlokas
Sarga (40): 64 shlokas
Sarga (41): 35 shlokas
Sarga (42): 37 shlokas
Sarga (43): 27 shlokas
Sarga (44): 38 shlokas
Sarga (45): 42 shlokas
Sarga (46): 51 shlokas
Sarga (47): 135 shlokas
Sarga (48): 87 shlokas
Sarga (49): 37 shlokas
Sarga (50): 19 shlokas
Sarga (51): 47 shlokas
Sarga (52): 35 shlokas
Sarga (53): 50 shlokas
Sarga (54): 29 shlokas
Sarga (55): 129 shlokas
Sarga (56): 19 shlokas
Sarga (57): 90 shlokas
Sarga (58): 54 shlokas
Sarga (59): 106 shlokas
Sarga (60): 49 shlokas
Sarga (61): 68 shlokas
Sarga (62): 52 shlokas
Sarga (63): 53 shlokas
Sarga (64): 24 shlokas
Sarga (65): 21 shlokas
Sarga (66): 38 shlokas
Sarga (67): 42 shlokas
Sarga (68): 33 shlokas
Sarga (69): 26 shlokas
Sarga (70): 42 shlokas
Sarga (71): 22 shlokas
Sarga (72): 33 shlokas
Sarga (73): 34 shlokas
Sarga (74): 27 shlokas
Sarga (75): 33 shlokas
Sarga (76): 34 shlokas
Sarga (77): 38 shlokas
Sarga (78): 54 shlokas
Sarga (79): 18 shlokas
Sarga (80): 57 shlokas
Sarga (81): 35 shlokas
Sarga (82): 39 shlokas
Sarga (83): 42 shlokas
Sarga (84): 33 shlokas
Sarga (85): 29 shlokas
Sarga (86): 23 shlokas
Sarga (87): 47 shlokas
Sarga (88): 59 shlokas
Sarga (89): 34 shlokas
Sarga (90): 33 shlokas
Sarga (91): 30 shlokas
Sarga (92): 30 shlokas
Sarga (93): 27 shlokas
Sarga (94): 29 shlokas
Sarga (95): 26 shlokas
Sarga (96): 31 shlokas
Sarga (97): 33 shlokas
Sarga (98): 26 shlokas
Sarga (99): 44 shlokas
Sarga (100): 22 shlokas
Sarga (101): 43 shlokas
Sarga (102): 36 shlokas
Sarga (103): 25 shlokas
Sarga (104): 27 shlokas
Sarga (105): 28 shlokas
Sarga (106): 20 shlokas
Sarga (107): 36 shlokas
Sarga (108): 19 shlokas
Sarga (109): 27 shlokas
Sarga (110): 23 shlokas
Sarga (111): 31 shlokas
Sarga (112): 18 shlokas
Sarga (113): 43 shlokas
Sarga (114): 46 shlokas
Sarga (115): 51 shlokas
Sarga (116): 90 shlokas
Chapter 6(1)
Hanumat spoke those words in a proper way. Hearing them, Rama was filled with delight and replied in the following words. ‘O Hanumat! You have performed a great task that is extremely difficult to accomplish. There is no other person on earth who is capable of doing this, not even in his mind. I do not see anyone other than Garuda, Vayu and Hanumat who can cross the great ocean. The city of Lanka is protected extremely well by Ravana, and the gods, the danavas,1 the yakshas,2 the gandharvas,3 the serpents and the rakshasas4 find it impossible to penetrate it. Even if someone enters, how can he emerge with his own life? It is unassailable and is protected extremely well by the rakshasas. Other than someone who possesses a valour and strength that is equal to Hanumat’s, who is capable of doing this? Hanumat has performed a great act of service for Sugriva. He has exhibited a strength and valour that is worthy of him. A person who is engaged as a servant and lovingly performs an extremely difficult task for his master, is said to be superior among men. If a capable person is engaged in a royal task and does not perform it attentively, he is said to be worst among men. Hanumat has accomplished the task he was appointed to do. He has satisfied Sugriva and has not diminished his own self. Through obtaining sight of Vaidehi, I, the lineage of Raghu, and the immensely strong Lakshmana have been protected, in accordance with dharma. However, my mind is still distressed and I am suffering. He has performed a good deed for me and I am unable to perform an equally good deed in return. But let me embrace Hanumat, who is everything to me. At the present time, that is all I can do for the great-souled one. The task of searching out Sita’s trail has been accomplished in every possible way. But when I think of the ocean, my mind is distressed yet again. How can one cross to the other shore of this ocean, the great store of water? How will these attentive apes cross over to the southern shore? I have heard the account about Vaidehi. How will the apes now cross over to the other shore of the ocean?’ Apprehensive and grieving, the mighty-armed Rama, the destroyer of enemies, told Hanumat this and became immersed in thought.
Chapter 6(2)
Rama, Dasharatha’s handsome son, was filled with grief. To dispel his sorrow, Sugriva addressed him in these words. ‘O brave one! Why are you tormented, like an ordinary person? Like an ungrateful person abandons friendship, give up this torment. O Raghava! I do not see any reason for this torment now. After all, we have got to know where the enemy resides. O Raghava! You are persevering, knowledgeable about the sacred texts, wise and learned. Discard this ordinary sentiment, like a person with a cleansed soul gives up what destroys the objective. We will cross the ocean, populated by large crocodiles. We will invade Lanka and slay your enemy. If a person is distressed and without enterprise, with his soul enveloped in sorrow, all his objectives suffer and he faces a hardship. In every way, all these leaders of the apes are brave and c
apable. They are full of enterprise. For your sake, they will even enter a fire. I can discern this through their delight, and reasoning adds firm conviction to this. You must use your valour to get Sita back and slay the enemy. We will construct a bridge and see that city. O Raghava! You must act in this way towards the king of the rakshasas. You will see the city of Lanka, located on the summit of Trikuta. When you see him, you must certainly kill Ravana in the encounter. When a bridge is constructed over the ocean and all our soldiers reach Lanka, it is certain that they will be victorious. In a battle, these brave apes can assume any form at will. O king! Therefore, get rid of this confused intelligence that destroys all objectives. In this world of men, sorrow destroys all valour. If a man valiantly engages in a task, capability will follow. O immensely wise one! At this time, resort to spirit and energy. Even for brave and great-souled people like you, sorrow over something lost or destroyed renders all objectives unsuccessful. You are best among intelligent ones. You are skilled in the teachings of all the sacred texts. With advisers like me, you are certain to vanquish the enemy. O Raghava! When you wield your bow, I do not see anyone in the three worlds who can stand before you in a battle. The task that you have entrusted to the apes will not suffer. You will soon cross over the eternal ocean and see Sita. O lord of the earth! Therefore, enough of resorting to grief. Resort to anger. Kshatriyas who do not make efforts are wicked. All of them are terrified of terrible ones. Use your subtle intelligence and, together with us, think about how the terrible ocean, the lord of the rivers, can be crossed. These apes are brave in battle and can assume any form at will. They will shower down rocks and trees and destroy their enemies. Through some means, we will cross over Varuna’s abode. What is the need to speak a lot? In every possible way, you will be victorious.’
Chapter 6(3)
Sugriva’s words were full of great meaning and reasoning. Kakutstha accepted them and told Hanumat, ‘In every possible way, I am extremely competent to cross over the ocean, quickly building a bridge over the ocean, or drying it up. How many impenetrable forts exist in Lanka? Tell me that. O ape! I wish to know everything about them, as if I have seen them myself. You have comfortably seen, exactly as it exists, the size of the army, the gates, forts and arrangements, the preparations made for guarding and the residences of the rakshasas in Lanka. Tell me the truth about all this. You are accomplished in every possible way.’
The Valmiki Ramayana Page 90