The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Raghava was nearby and saw the state Lakshmana was in. Because of affection towards his brother, the immensely energetic one was distressed in his heart. His eyes full of tears, he thought for a while. He became greatly angry, like the fire at the end of a yuga. Raghava thought that this was not the time to be despondent. For the sake of killing Ravana, he continued in that extremely tumultuous battle. In the great battle, Rama saw that Lakshmana had been mangled by the javelin. His body was covered with blood and he resembled a serpent in a mountain. The javelin had been hurled by the powerful Ravana. The best among the apes made efforts to pluck it out. However, they were unable to do so. The rakshasa was dexterous in the use of his hands and he afflicted and oppressed them with his floods of arrows. Having pierced Soumitri, the javelin had penetrated the ground. Rama grasped that fearful javelin in his arms and drew it out. Enraged in the battle, the powerful one broke it. While he was drawing out the javelin, the powerful Ravana showered down arrows, which penetrated the inner organs, all over his body. Not thinking about these arrows, he embraced Lakshmana.

  Raghava spoke to Hanumat and Sugriva. ‘O supreme among the apes! Remain standing around Lakshmana. This is the time for valour and I have desired this for a very long time. The evil-souled Dashagriva, evil in his intentions, must be killed. Like a chataka bird that wishes to see a cloud at the end of the summer, I have waited for this. O apes! At this time, hear the truthful pledge that I am taking. Before long, the world will be without Ravana or without Rama. I have lost my kingdom, I have dwelt in the forest, I have roamed around in Dandaka and the rakshasas have approached and have oppressed Vaidehi. I have faced great hardships and the misery has been like hell. Slaying Ravana in the battle today, I will free myself from all of these. That is the reason why I have summoned this army of the apes, killed Vali in the battle and instated Sugriva in the kingdom. That is the reason a bridge was built across the ocean and the ocean was crossed. In this battle today, the wicked one has come within the range of my vision. Now that he has come within the range of my vision, he does not deserve to remain alive. The sight of Ravana is like the sight of a poisonous snake to me. O invincible ones! O bulls among the apes! Be reassured and watch this battle between me and Ravana. Seat yourselves on the peaks of mountains. In my battle today, let the three worlds, the gandharvas, the gods, the rishis and the charanas see Rama and witness what it means to be Rama. Today, I will perform deeds that the worlds, with their mobile and immobile objects, will always talk about, as long as the earth exists.’

  Having said this, Rama controlled himself. In the battle, he struck Dashagriva with sharp arrows that were decorated in gold. Ravana showered down blazing iron arrows and clubs on Rama, the way a cloud pours down showers. Desiring to kill each other, Rama and Ravana shot arrows at each other and these arrows created a tumultuous noise. Rama and Ravana’s arrows were shattered and scattered. Their tips blazed in the sky and they then fell down on the ground. There was the great sound of Rama and Ravana slapping their palms against bowstrings. It was wonderful and all the creatures were terrified. The great-souled one348 created a net through his showers of arrows and they issued from his bow, blazing. Afflicted by these and frightened, Ravana fled from the encounter, just as the wind drives away clouds.

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  He fought this tumultuous battle with the evil-souled Ravana. Shooting torrents of arrows, he addressed Sushena in these words. ‘Because of Ravana’s force, Lakshmana has fallen down on the ground. He is writhing like a serpent. O brave one! This is causing grief in me. This brave one is wet with blood and I love him more than my own life. Behold. My mind is so distressed that I am incapable of fighting. This brother of mine took pride in fighting and he possesses auspicious qualities. If he dies,349 what happiness is there in my remaining alive? I am ashamed of my valour. The bow is falling down from my hand. My arrows are falling down. My sight is dimmed with tears. My terrible thoughts are increasing and I wish to die. I have seen my brother brought down by the evil-souled Ravana. I am overcome by great grief. I am lamenting and my senses are distracted. I have nothing to do with fighting. There is no purpose to my life and no use for Sita. I have seen my brother, Lakshmana, brought down in the battle, covered with dust. What will I do with the kingdom? What will I do with my life? I have nothing to do with this fight. In the field of battle, Lakshmana has been brought down and is lying down.’

  The brave Sushena comforted Rama and addressed him in these words. ‘O mighty-armed one! Lakshmana, the extender of prosperity, is not dead. His mouth is not distorted. His face has not turned dark and dull. It can be seen that his face is extremely radiant and clear. The palms of his hands are like lotuses and his eyes are extremely clear. O lord of the earth! These are not the signs of someone who has lost his life. O brave one! O slayer of enemies! Do not grieve in vain. He is alive. Though he is lying down on the ground, with his body loose, these signs tell us that it is as if he is sleeping. O brave one! His heart is breathing and he is trembling repeatedly.’ The one who knew about the use of words, Sushena, addressed Raghava in these words. Hanumat was near him and he then quickly addressed him in these words. ‘O amiable one! Swiftly go to the mountain that has all the herbs. O brave one! The auspicious Jambavat has spoken to you about this earlier. Bring the herb that grows on its southern peak. There is the auspicious one named vishalyakarani, which cures all wounds. There are souvarnakarani, sanjivani and sandhanakarani.350 Quickly go and bring these back. These are required to bring life back to the brave and great-souled Lakshmana.’

  Thus addressed, Hanumat went to the mountain with the herbs with the speed of thought. However, the handsome one could not identify those great herbs. The infinitely energetic son of the wind god had a thought. ‘Let me take the entire summit of the mountain and leave this place. If I go without taking vishalyakarani and waste time, there will be a sin. There may be a great calamity.’ The immensely strong Hanumat thought in this way. Hanumat quickly seized and uprooted the summit of the mountain. ‘O bull among the apes!351 I could not identify the herbs. Therefore, I have brought back the entire summit of the mountain.’ Thus addressed, Sushena, the best among the apes, praised the son of the wind god. He pulled out the herbs. The supreme among apes crushed those herbs. Sushena, the extremely radiant one, applied these to Lakshmana, through the nose. Lakshmana, the slayer of enemy heroes, had been wounded. Inhaling these, he was cured of his wounds and relieved of his pain. He quickly arose from the ground. The apes saw that Lakshmana had stood up from the ground. Extremely delighted, they praised and worshipped Sushena.

  Rama, the slayer of enemy heroes, told Lakshmana, ‘Come. Come to me.’ With tears flowing from his eyes, he embraced him, deep in his affection. Raghava embraced Soumitri and said, ‘O brave one! It is good fortune that I see you again, having returned after dying. There would have been no purpose to my remaining alive, or to Sita, or to victory. Had you died, what would have been the purpose of remaining alive?’ The great-souled Raghava told him this. With a weak and feeble voice, Lakshmana replied to him in these words. ‘O one who has truth as his valour! You have taken a pledge earlier.352 Having taken that pledge, you ought not to speak like someone who lacks spirit. O unblemished one! Virtuous ones do not take pledges that are falsified. The sign of greatness is to fulfil a pledge. O unblemished one! On my account, your army has faced a loss in hope. Fulfil your pledge now, by killing Ravana. If an enemy comes within the range of your arrows, he cannot remain alive, just as a giant elephant cannot escape from a roaring lion that has sharp teeth. I wish to quickly see the death of that evil-souled one. Before the sun has set, that task must be accomplished.’

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  Raghava heard the words that Lakshmana spoke. In front of the army, he shot terrible arrows towards Ravana. Dashagriva was astride his chariot and struck Rama with extremely terrible arrows that were like the vajra, like rain pouring down from a cloud. Rama controlled himself and used arrows that were like blazing fires, embellished wi
th gold, to pierce Dashagriva in the encounter. Rama was on the ground, while the rakshasa was mounted on a chariot. The gods, the gandharvas and the danavas said that this was a fight among unequals. With the handsome and excellent chariot of the king of the gods, he descended from heaven, in front of Kakutstha.353 The chariot was colourfully made out of gold and was decorated with hundreds of bells. It was like the rising sun and the kubara was made out of lapis lazuli. There were well-trained horses with golden harnesses and the whips were white. The horses were decorated in nets of gold that resembled the sun. There was a golden standard on a pole. Stationed on a chariot, with the goad in his hand, Matali, the charioteer of the one with one thousand eyes, joined his hands in salutation and addressed Rama in these words. ‘O Kakutstha! For your victory, the one with the one thousand eyes has sent this chariot. O great-spirited one! O prosperous one! O destroyer of enemies! He has given it to you. This is Indra’s great bow and this armour is like the fire. These arrows are like the sun and this javelin is sparkling and sharp. O brave one! Mount this chariot and slay the rakshasa Ravana, like the great Indra did to the danavas. O Rama! I will be your charioteer.’ Thus addressed, Rama greeted him and circumambulated the chariot. He mounted it and was radiant, pervading the worlds with his prosperity.

  There was an extraordinary battle between the mighty-armed Rama and the rakshasa Ravana, a duel that made the body hair stand up. Raghava was supreme in the knowledge of weapons. He destroyed the gandharvastra of the king of the rakshasas with his gandharvastra, divine weapons with his divine weapons. The roamer in the night, the lord of the rakshasas, became greatly angry and again shot the extremely terrible rakshasa weapon. Arrows embellished in gold were released from Ravana’s bow. They turned into extremely virulent serpents and approached Kakutstha. Their mouths blazed. They vomited blazing fires from their mouths. Terrible and with mouths gaping, they approached Rama. They were like Vasuki to the touch. They were blazing serpents, extremely poisonous. They covered all the directions and the sub-directions. In the battle, Rama saw that those serpents were descending. He applied the extremely terrible Garuda weapon. Gold-tufted and as resplendent as the fire, it was released from Raghava’s bow. It turned into golden eagles, the enemies of serpents, and roamed around. They destroyed all those arrows that were in the form of extremely swift serpents. The arrows used by Rama were like eagles, but could assume any form at will. When his weapon was countered, Ravana, the lord of the rakshasas, became angry. He showered down extremely terrible torrents of arrows on Rama. He afflicted Rama, the performer of unblemished deeds, with thousands of arrows and used storms of arrows to pierce Matali. Ravana brought down the seat on the chariot and the chariot’s standard. He also struck Indra’s horses with nets of arrows. On seeing Rama afflicted, the gods, the gandharvas, the danavas, the charanas, the siddhas and the supreme rishis were distressed. The Indras among the apes and Vibhishana were also pained, on seeing that the moon that was Rama being devoured by the Rahu that was Ravana. The prajapatya nakshatra Rohini is loved by the moon.354 It was as if it had been attacked by Budha,355 signifying danger to all subjects. The ocean seemed to be on fire and its waves were circled in smoke. It seemed to angrily leap up and touch the sky. The rays of the sun were dimmed and an excellent man, with the complexion of a weapon, could be seen there, holding a headless torso on his lap and touched by a comet. The nakshatra Vishakha, presided over by the divinities Indra and Agni and the nakshatra of the Kosalas, could be seen in the sky, attacked by Angaraka.356 The one with ten heads and twenty arms seized his bow and arrow. Dashagriva could be seen, resembling Mount Mainaka. Rama was restrained by the rakshasa Dashagriva and could not affix his arrows in the field of battle. He angrily knit his brows and his eyes turned red. He was filled with great rage, as if he would burn down with his eyes.

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  Seeing that the intelligent Rama was enraged, all the beings were terrified and the earth trembled. The mountains, with their lions and tigers, quaked. The trees swayed. The ocean, the lord of the rivers, was agitated. Dense clouds thundered in the sky in harsh tones. Evil portents roared and manifested themselves in all the directions. On seeing that Rama was greatly angry, there were terrible omens. All the beings were terrified and Ravana was scared. The gods astride their vimanas, the gandharvas, the giant serpents, the rishis, the danavas, the daityas and the eagles roaming around in the sky witnessed the battle, which was like that of the world getting destroyed. Using many kinds of terrible weapons, those two brave ones fought against each other. All the gods and the asuras assembled in personified forms to witness the great encounter. Delighted, they spoke the following words. The asuras present said, ‘Victory to Dashagriva.’ The gods repeatedly said, ‘Victory to Rama.’

  At that time, Ravana was filled with rage. Desiring to strike Raghava, the evil-souled one picked up a great weapon. Its essence was as hard as the vajra. It emitted a loud roar and was capable of scorching all enemies. It was as heavy as the summit of a mountain and it was extremely terrible to behold. Its sharp tip was filled with smoke and it was like the fire that engulfs at the end of a yuga. He seized this extremely terrible weapon, which even Death found difficult to approach. In its capacity to tear and shatter, it caused fear to all creatures. In his anger, Ravana seized this blazing spear. Extremely angry, the valiant one seized the spear in the middle. In the battle, he was surrounded by an army of brave rakshasas. Raising it in the battle, the one who was gigantic in size roared horribly, delighting his own soldiers. He was angry and his eyes were red. The earth, the sky, the directions and the sub-directions trembled at the terrible noise emitted by the Indra among the rakshasas. The evil-souled one emitted an extremely loud roar. All the creatures were terrified and the ocean was agitated. The extremely valiant Ravana seized that giant spear. He emitted an extremely loud roar and addressed Rama in these harsh words. ‘O Rama! This spear has an essence like that of the vajra. I have angrily raised it up. It will now take away your life, since you sought to help your brother. In front of the armies, you have slain brave rakshasas. You pride yourself in fighting. Today, I will swiftly kill you and balance affairs. O Raghava! Stay there now. I will kill you with this spear.’ Having said this, the lord of the rakshasas hurled the spear. As it descended, Raghava countered it with a storm of arrows, just as Vasava counters a fire of destruction that has arisen with a flood of water. Ravana’s giant spear was scorched by the arrows that emerged from Rama’s bow, just as insects are by a fire. However, in the sky, those arrows touched the spear and were shattered and reduced to ashes. At this, Raghava was filled with rage. Matali had brought a javelin constructed by Vasava. Extremely angry, Raghava, the descendant of the Raghu lineage, seized this. The powerful one raised it up and the javelin resounded to the sound of bells. It blazed in the sky, like a dazzling meteor at the end of a yuga. He flung this and the spear of the Indra among the rakshasas fell down. The giant spear was shattered by the javelin and fell down, robbed of its brilliance. Rama then used sharp arrows that were extremely forceful, like the vajra, to pierce his extremely swift steeds. He pierced Ravana in the chest with sharp arrows. Raghava also struck him in the forehead with three excellent arrows. The Indra among the rakshasas was mangled all over his limbs with these arrows and blood started to flow from his body. He was like a blossoming ashoka amidst other trees. His body was pierced by Rama’s arrows. The Indra among the roamers in the night was wet with blood all over his body. In the midst of that assembly, he was filled with regret. He was filled with extremely great rage.

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  Ravana prided himself on fighting. But he was angry that he had been worsted by Kakutstha in the battle. He was filled with great rage. With his eyes blazing, the valiant one angrily seized his bow. In the great battle, he angrily attacked Raghava. Like a cloud showering down from the sky, Ravana rained down hundreds of torrents of arrows on Raghava, like a pond being filled up. In the battle, Kakutstha was covered with nets of arrows released from the bow. How
ever, like an immobile large mountain, he did not tremble. Stationed in the battle, he used his arrows to counter those nets of arrows. The valiant one received them, as if they were the rays of the sun. The great-souled roamer in the night used the dexterity of his hands and angrily struck Raghava in the chest with thousands of arrows. In the battle, Lakshmana’s elder brother was covered with blood. He was seen to be like a giant and blossoming kimshuka tree in the forest. The extremely energetic Kakutstha was angry at having been struck by these arrows. As radiant as the sun that arises at the end of a yuga, he grasped arrows. Both Rama and Ravana were extremely angry. In the battle, they were unable to see each other, because it was dark with arrows.

  The brave Rama, Dasharatha’s son, was filled with rage. He laughed and addressed Ravana in these harsh words. ‘O worst among the rakshasas! When I did not know, you abducted my helpless wife from Janasthana. Therefore, you are hardly brave. In the great forest, she was without me and was miserable. You abducted her forcibly. Yet, you consider yourself to be brave. O brave one!357 You oppressed a woman, someone else’s wife, when she was without a protector. You committed the deed of a coward. Yet, you consider yourself to be brave. You broke rules. You are shameless. You possess no character. In your insolence, you invited death. Yet, you consider yourself to be brave. As the brother of the lord of treasures, you are indeed full of bravery and strength. The deed that you committed is indeed praiseworthy. It is full of fame and greatness. Your insolent act was contemptible and vile. Because of what you did, you will now reap the great fruits. O evil-minded one! You consider yourself to be brave. Despite having abducted Sita like a thief, you have no shame. Had you used your strength to oppress Sita in my presence, you would have been slain with my arrows at that very instant and seen your brother, Khara. O evil-souled one! It is good fortune that you have now come within the range of my vision. Today, I will use sharp arrows to convey you to Yama’s abode. Today, my arrows will sever your head, with those radiant earrings. It will lie down in the dust of the battle field, dragged around by predatory creatures. O Ravana! Your chest will be flung down on the ground and vultures will descend on it. They will drink the blood that flows out from the wounds that my arrows will create. My arrows will mangle you today. You will lose your life and fall down. Like Garuda against serpents, birds will drag out your entrails.’ The brave Rama, the slayer of enemies, said this. The Indra among rakshasas was near him and he showered down arrows on him. Rama desired to slay his enemy in the battle and his valour, strength, delight and strength of weapons doubled. All kinds of weapons manifested themselves before him. The immensely energetic one was delighted and the dexterity of his hands increased. He recognized these auspicious signs that manifested themselves before him. Rama struck the rakshasa Ravana yet again.