The extremely strong Kumbhakarna, the enemy of brahmanas and gods, was killed in the battle. The earth and all the mountains trembled. Delighted, the gods roared loudly. The devarshis,220 the maharshis, the serpents, the gods, the creatures, the birds, the guhyakas,221 the yakshas and the large number of gandharvas who were in the sky rejoiced at Rama’s valour. The several apes were delighted, their faces resembling blooming lotuses. Raghava had slain the enemy, who was terrible in valour and impossible to be assailed. The beloved one was worshipped. Kumbhakarna had crushed the soldiers of the gods. He was never exhausted and had never been defeated in great battles. Having slain him in the encounter, Bharata’s elder brother rejoiced, just as the lord of the immortals did when the great asura, Vritra, had been killed.
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The rakshasas saw that Kumbhakarna had been killed by the great-souled Raghava. They went and reported this to Ravana, Indra among the rakshasas. Hearing that the immensely strong Kumbhakarna had been killed in the battle, Ravana was tormented by grief. He lost his senses and fell down on the ground. Hearing that their paternal uncle had been killed, Devantaka and Narantaka, and Trishira and Atikaya,222 were oppressed by grief and wept. Hearing that their brother had been slain by Rama, the performer of unblemished deeds, Mahodara and Mahaparshva were filled with sorrow. Ravana, bull among the rakshasas, regained his senses with difficulty. Distressed because Kumbhakarna had been killed, he lamented. ‘Alas! O brave one! O destroyer of the insolence of enemies! O Kumbhakarna! O immensely strong one! Having tormented the soldiers of the enemy, why have you left me and departed? You were my right arm and depending on that, I was not scared of gods and asuras. With that fallen down, I can no longer exist now. How could this have happened! The brave one robbed the gods and the danavas of their insolence. He was like the fire of destruction. He has now been slain by Raghava in the battle. The strike of the vajra could never cause him any suffering. He is sleeping on the ground. How could he have been afflicted by Rama’s arrows? These large numbers of gods, stationed in the sky with the rishis, are roaring in delight on seeing you killed in the battle. Having accomplished their objective, it is certain that the apes will rejoice today. From all directions, they will clamber up the fortifications and gates of Lanka. What will I do with the kingdom? What will I do with Sita? Without Kumbhakarna, I have no attachment towards remaining alive. Raghava killed my brother today. If I do not kill him in an encounter, it is better for me to be dead. My life will be fruitless. Today, I will go to the region where my younger brother is. Without my brother, I am not interested in remaining alive, not even for an instant. Considering the injury I have caused to them in the past, the gods will laugh at me. O Kumbhakarna! With you killed, how will I triumph over Indra? The great-souled Vibhishana came to me and spoke auspicious words. Because of my ignorance, I did not accept them then. A terrible shame has come over me because of Vibhishana’s words and the death of Kumbhakarna and Prahasta. The handsome Vibhishana followed dharma and was banished by me. The wicked deed that I did has brought this sorrow on to me.’ His soul was greatly disturbed and extremely piteously, he lamented over Kumbhakarna in many kinds of ways. Knowing that Indra’s enemy had been killed, Dashanana fell down, severely afflicted.
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The evil-souled Ravana lamented in this way, tormented by grief. Hearing this, Trishira spoke these words. ‘O king! The immensely valiant one, my uncle in the middle,223 has been killed in this way. Virtuous people do not lament in the way you are doing. O lord! You are alone sufficient to take care of the three worlds. Therefore, why are you sorrowing in this fashion, like an ordinary person? You possess a spear given to you by Brahma, armour, a bow and arrows and a chariot that is yoked to one hundred donkeys, clattering like the thunder of a cloud. With your weapons, you have chastised the gods and the danavas. You possess all the weapons and are in a position to chastise Raghava. O great king! It is best that you remain. I will go out and fight. Like Garuda against the serpents, I will destroy the enemies. Just as the king of the gods did to Shambara and Vishnu did to Naraka, today, brought down by me in the battle, Rama will lie down.’ Hearing Trishira’s words, Ravana, the lord of the rakshasas, goaded by destiny, regarded this as if he had been born again. Hearing Trishira’s words, Devantaka, Narantaka and the energetic Atikaya were delighted at the prospect of fighting. Ravana’s brave sons were like Shakra in their valour. Those bulls among nairittas roared, ‘I’, ‘I’. All of them roamed around in the sky. All of them were accomplished in the use of maya. All of them had robbed the gods of their insolence. All of them were unassailable in the field of battle. All of them possessed the strength of weapons. All of them were extensive in their deeds. It had never been heard that any of them had been defeated in a battle. All those brave ones knew about the use of weapons. All of them were accomplished in fighting. All of them were superior in knowledge. All of them had obtained boons. They were the equal of the sun in radiance. Surrounded by these sons, who could crush the army of an enemy in a battle, the king was as radiant as Maghavan, surrounded by immortals who could crush the insolence of great danavas. He embraced his sons and adorned them in ornaments. He pronounced benedictions over them and sent them out to fight. Ravana also sent the two brothers, Mahodara and Mahaparshva, to protect the princes in the battle. They honoured the great-souled Ravana, who made his enemies shriek. Having circumambulated him, those gigantic ones departed.
Those immensely strong ones smeared themselves with fragrances from all the herbs. Those six supreme nairittas emerged, desiring to fight. There was an elephant named Sudarshana and it was like a dark cloud. It had been born in Airavata’s lineage. Mahodara ascended this. He had all the weapons with him and was also adorned with quivers. He was radiant astride the elephant, like the sun atop Mount Asta. Trishira, Ravana’s son, ascended an excellent chariot that was yoked to excellent horses and stocked with all the weapons. Wielding a bow, Trishira was radiant astride the chariot. He looked like a rainbow amidst the clouds, tinged with lightning and blazing meteors. With three diadems, Trishira was radiant on that excellent chariot.224 He looked like the Himalayas, Indra among mountains, with its three golden peaks. The energetic Atikaya was the son of the Indra among rakshasas. He was supreme among all archers and ascended a supreme chariot. It possessed excellent wheels and axles, was yoked well and possessed an excellent seat and pole. It blazed with quivers, arrows, seats, spears, swords and clubs. He was radiant because of his colourful and golden diadem. Because of his ornaments, he dazzled like the illumination of Meru. The extremely strong son of the king was radiant astride the chariot. He was surrounded by tigers among the nairittas, like the wielder of the vajra by the immortals. Narantaka was astride an excellent white horse that was like Uchchaishrava. It was gigantic in size and possessed the speed of thought. It had a golden harness. Grasping a spear that had the complexion of a meteor, Narantaka dazzled. Like the energetic Guha, he seized a spear, for using it against the enemy in the battle. Devantaka seized a club that was encrusted with diamonds. He resembled Vishnu’s form, when he had held up a mountain in his arms.225 The immensely energetic and valiant Mahaparshva seized a club. With the club in his hand, he was as radiant as Kubera in a battle. Surrounded by an unmatched army, those great-souled ones set out. They were like the gods leaving Amaravati, surrounded by an unmatched army. The elephants, horses and chariots rumbled like thunder. Rakshasas, the best of warriors, followed the great-souled ones. Like the rays of the sun, those great-souled princes were radiant. They blazed because of their diadems, like shining planets in the firmament. An array of white umbrellas was held aloft their heads. They resembled an autumn cloud in the sky, adorned with an array of swans. They had made up their minds to defeat the enemy or die. The brave ones departed, resolving to fight.
They roared and shouted, shooting arrows. Indomitable in battle, those great-souled ones departed, desiring victory. The earth seemed to tremble because of the slapping226 and clapping. The leonine roars of
the rakshasas seemed to penetrate the sky. Those immensely strong Indras among the rakshasas rejoiced as they emerged. They saw the army of the apes, holding aloft boulders and trees. The great-souled apes also saw the army of the nairittas. There were arrays of elephants, horses and chariots and hundreds of bells tinkled. With great weapons raised, it looked like a dark cloud. Surrounded by nairittas in every direction, it looked like a blazing fire or the sun. The apes saw that army advance, fixed in its aim. They raised giant boulders and roared repeatedly. The large number of rakshasas could not tolerate the roar emitted by the leaders of the apes. They could not tolerate this fierce and supreme delight. Therefore, those immensely strong ones roared back in more terrible tones. The leaders of the apes penetrated that terrible army of the rakshasas. They raised the summits of mountains and trees and roamed around. Some apes took to the sky, others remained on the ground. With trees and boulders as weapons, they angrily roamed around amidst the soldiers of the rakshasas. The apes, terrible in their valour, were countered with torrents of arrows. However, they produced an excellent shower of trees, mountains and boulders. In the battle, the rakshasas and the apes roared like lions. The apes used boulders to crush the yatudhanas. In the encounter, some angrily killed those who were covered with armour. Some climbed on to chariots, elephants and horses and killed those brave ones. The yatudhanas were violently attacked by the apes. They were brought down with the summits of mountains. Their eyes were gouged out with fists. Those bulls among rakshasas wavered, were brought down and roared. The apes and the rakshasas released boulders and swords. In an instant, the earth was covered with these and flooded with blood. There were piles of dead bodies of rakshasas who could crush their enemies. With their spears shattered, they had been flung down, or were being flung down, by the apes. The roamers in the night killed the apes with the dead bodies of apes. The apes also killed the rakshasas with the dead bodies of rakshasas. The rakshasas seized the boulders and killed the apes with these. The apes also seized the weapons and killed the rakshasas with these. They attacked and killed each other with rocks, spears and other weapons. In the battle, the apes and the rakshasas roared like lions. With their armour and bodyguards shattered, the rakshasas were killed by the apes. Blood began to flow there, like sap from trees. In the battle, some apes destroyed chariots with chariots, elephants with elephants and horses with horses. Using kshurapras, ardhachandras, bhallas and sharp arrows, the rakshasas fragmented the trees and the boulders of the Indras among the apes. In the encounter, the earth was strewn with shattered summits of mountains, severed trees and slain apes and rakshasas. It became impossible to traverse. There was a tumultuous clash and in the forefront of the armies, the rakshasas were brought down. The maharshis and large numbers of gods rejoiced and roared at this.
Narantaka was astride a horse that was like the wind in its speed. He seized a sharp spear and penetrated the army of the king of the apes, the way a fish enters the great ocean. With that blazing spear, the brave and great-souled enemy of Indra killed seven hundred apes in an instant. He slew the soldiers and the bulls among the apes. The vidyadharas and maharshis saw the great-souled one astride the back of the horse, roaming around amidst the army of the apes. They saw that there was a mire of flesh and blood in his path. There were bodies of apes who had fallen down, resembling mountains. Whenever the bulls among apes thought of showing their valour, Narantaka overcame and pierced them. At all ends of the battlefield, Narantaka raised his blazing spear and burnt the soldiers of the apes, the way a fire consumes a forest. By the time the residents of the forest raised trees and boulders, they were struck and brought down, like the vajra shattering mountains. The powerful Narantaka roamed around in all directions. Like the wind during the monsoon, he extensively covered all parts of the battlefield. Among all the brave ones whom the valiant one pierced, not a single one was capable of running away, remaining in one place, moving, rising up or leaving. Though he was alone, with the spear that was as energetic as the sun, he seemed to be like many. He routed the soldiers of the apes and brought them down on the ground. When the spear descended on them, it was like being crushed by the vajra. The apes were incapable of withstanding it and shrieked in loud voices. As the brave apes fell down, they assumed the forms of mountains, with their peaks shattered by the vajra. The best among the apes were reduced to the state they were in when they were brought down by the great-souled Kumbhakarna. They presented themselves before Sugriva.
Sugriva saw that, terrified by their fear of Narantaka, the army of the apes was running away, here and there. He saw the soldiers running away. He also saw Narantaka advancing, astride the back of the horse and holding the spear. Having seen him, Sugriva, lord of the apes, spoke to the brave Prince Angada, who was Shakra’s equal in valour. ‘O brave one! This rakshasa is astride a horse and is agitating the army of the apes. Go and take away his life.’ Hearing his master’s words, Angada descended. The army227 was like a mass of clouds and it was as if a cloud with rays had emerged from that army. Angada, supreme among the apes, was like a mass of rocks. He was radiant with his armlets and looked like a mountain with minerals. The immensely strong one possessed no weapons, only his nails and teeth. Approaching Narantaka, Vali’s son spoke these words. ‘Stay. What are you doing to these ordinary apes? This spear has the touch of the vajra. Hurl it towards my chest.’ Hearing Angada’s words, Narantaka became angry. He bit his lips with his teeth and sighed like a serpent. He suddenly hurled the blazing spear and pierced Angada. But striking the chest of Vali’s son, which was as firm as the vajra, it shattered and fell down on the ground. He228 saw that the spear had been shattered, as if the coils of a serpent had been severed by Garuda. Vali’s son raised his palm and struck the horse on the head. The horse’s head was shattered by the slap of the palm and it fell down on the ground. Its feet were broken and its pupils were gouged out. Though it was like a mountain, its tongue stuck out. On seeing that the horse had been killed and had fallen down, Naranataka was overcome with rage. In the battle, the immensely powerful one raised his fist and struck Vali’s son on the head. Angada’s head was smashed by the fierce fist and he oozed out blood that was extremely warm. For an instant, there was a blazing loss of consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he was astounded. Angada’s fist was like the summit of a mountain and his force was like that of the vajra. Vali’s great-souled son brought it down on Narantaka’s chest. Crushed by the fist, his chest was shattered. He seemed to be in flames. He vomited blood and blood covered his body. Narantaka fell down on the ground, as if a mountain had been shattered by the vajra and had been brought down. In the forefront of the field of battle, Narantaka, supreme among brave ones, was slain by Vali’s son. The supreme gods in the sky and the residents of the forest roared loudly. Angada performed an extremely difficult act of valour and this delighted Rama’s heart. He was himself surprised at this extremely brave and valiant act and, rejoicing, started to fight again.
The Valmiki Ramayana Page 106