Chapter 7(6)
‘The gods and the rishis, the stores of austerities, were slaughtered by them. Afflicted by grief, they went and sought refuge with Maheshvara, the god of the gods. They approached Kamari,490 Tripurari,491 the one with the three eyes. The gods joined their hands in salutation. Suffering from fear, they stuttered in their words. “O illustrious one! O one who causes an impediment to enemies! Sukesha’s sons, having obtained a boon from the grandfather, face no hurdles. O lord of subjects! They are oppressing all the subjects. O one who provides a refuge! They have destroyed our refuges and our hermitages. They have driven Shakra away from heaven and are sporting in heaven, like Shakra. O god! The rakshasas are insolent because of the boon and say, ‘I am Vishnu.’ ‘I am Rudra.’ ‘I am Brahma.’ ‘I am the king of the gods.’ ‘I am Yama.’ ‘I am Varuna.’ ‘I am the moon god.’ ‘I am the sun god.’ Invincible in battle, they obstruct all those who advance in front of them. O god! That is the reason we are afflicted by fear. You should grant us freedom from fear. Assume an inauspicious form492 and slay the thorns of the gods.” Thus addressed by all the gods, Kapardi Nilalohita,493 the lord of large numbers of gods, took Sukesha’s side and said, “I will not slay them. Those asuras cannot be killed by me. However, I will counsel you about how they can be killed. O bulls among the gods! Place the following kind of effort at the forefront. Go and seek refuge with Vishnu. That lord will slay them.” At this, they praised Maheshvara, uttering sounds of victory. Afflicted by fear on account of those who roamed around in the night, they approached Vishnu. With a great deal of respect, they bowed down before the god who holds the conch shell and the chakra. Scared and suffering from Sukesha’s sons, they spoke these words. “O god! Sukesha’s three sons are like the three fires. Because of the boon they obtained, they attacked us and took away our positions. There is an impenetrable city named Lanka and it is located on the summit of Trikuta. Based there, those roamers in the night oppress all of us. O Madhusudana! Therefore, for bringing us pleasure, slay them. Their faces are like lotuses. Use your chakra to sever them and offer them to Yama. We are scared and there is no one who can dispel our fear like you. O god! Destroy our fear, the way the sun destroys mist.” Janardana, the god of the gods, was addressed by the gods in this way. The one who grants freedom from fear, the one who offers fear to the enemy, replied to the gods. “I know the rakshasa Sukesha. He is insolent because of the boon he has received from Ishana.494 I know Malyavat, the eldest among the sons. I will slay the worst among the rakshasas. They have transgressed all agreements. O gods! I will kill them in a battle. Be without anxiety.” All the gods were addressed in this way by Vishnu. They praised Janardana, the lord Vishnu. Happy, they returned to their residences.
‘Malyavat, the roamer in the night, heard about the efforts made by the gods. He addressed his two brave brothers in these words. “The immortals and the rishis assembled and went to Shankara. Desiring our deaths, they addressed the one with the three eyes in these words. ‘O god! Sukesha’s sons have become strong because they obtained a boon. At every step, they assume terrible forms and are engaged in obstructing us. O Uma’s lord! We have been overcome by those rakshasas and are incapacitated. Because of those evil-souled ones, we are scared of remaining in our own residences. O three-eyed one! Therefore, for our benefit, slay them. O supreme among those who strike! Burn those rakshasas down with your humkara.’495 The slayer of Andhaka496 heard the words spoken by the gods. He touched his head with his hand and addressed them in these words. ‘O gods! Sukesha’s sons cannot be slain by me in a battle. However, I will counsel you about how they can be killed. Janardana holds the chakra and the conch shell in his hand. He is attired in a yellow garment. He will slay them in a battle. Resort to that refuge.’ They heard what they desired from Hara and greeted Kamari. They went to Narayana’s residence and told him everything. At this, Narayana spoke to the gods, with Indra at the forefront. ‘O gods! Do not suffer from anxiety. I will slay the enemies of the gods.’ O bulls among rakshasas! The gods are afflicted by fear and Hari has pledged to kill us. Therefore, think about what is best. Narayana has caused misery by vanquishing Hiranyakashipu, Mrityu and other enemies of the gods. He desires to kill us.” Hearing Malyavat’s words, Mali and Sumali replied to their elder brother, like the two Ashvins497 speaking to Vasava. “We have studied, donated at sacrifices and protected our prosperity. We have obtained health and long lifespans. We are established in our own dharma. The ocean that is the gods cannot be agitated, but with innumerable weapons, we have immersed ourselves in that. We have always vanquished the gods in battles. Death has no fear for us. Narayana, Rudra, Shakra and Yama are always scared of standing in front of us. O lord of the rakshasas! There is no crime we have committed towards Vishnu. Vishnu’s mind is disturbed because of the crimes we have committed towards the gods. Therefore, let us arise and surround ourselves with all the soldiers. Let us kill the gods. This taint has arisen because of them.” Mali and Sumali said this to the lord Malyavat, their elder brother.
‘All the rakshasas announced the preparations. They angrily emerged to fight, like Jambha,498 Vritra and Bala. They were astride chariots, Indras among elephants and horses that were as large as mountains. Their mounts were donkeys, bulls, camels, dolphins, serpents, makaras, tortoises, fish, birds that were like Garuda, lions, tigers, boars, srimaras and chamaras.499 Proud of their valour, all the rakshasas left Lanka. To fight, the enemies of the gods left for the world of the gods. All the other residents of Lanka saw that Lanka’s destruction was imminent. All the creatures saw reason for fear and were mentally disturbed. Fearful and ominous portents manifested themselves on earth and in the sky, signifying the swift destruction of the Indras among the rakshasas. Clouds showered down bones and warm blood. The ocean crossed its shoreline and mountains moved. Thousands of bhutas were tormented and danced, laughing out aloud in voices like the thundering of clouds. Large flocks of vultures, emitting flames from their mouths, circled among the rakshasas, like the wheel of time. The rakshasas were proud of their strength and paid no attention to these great portents. Entangled in the noose of death, they did not retreat from their journey. The roamers in the night, blazing like sacrificial fires, placed Malyavat, Mali and Sumali at their forefront. Like embodied creatures seeking refuge with the Creator, all of them sought refuge with Malyavat, who was like Mount Malyavat. The army of Indras among the rakshasas roared like a large and dense cloud. Desiring victory and commanded by Mali, they went to the world of the gods. Through messengers of the gods, the lord Narayana heard about the preparations made by the rakshasas and made up his mind to fight. Wielding a chakra, a sword and excellent weapons, he advanced towards the soldiers of the enemies of the gods. Gods, siddhas, rishis, giant serpents, best among gandharvas and apsaras sung his praises. The wind generated from Suparna’s wings whirled around and shattered the weapons in that army of the king of the rakshasas. It resembled a dark and large mountain and it stared to quake. Thousands of roamers in the night surrounded Madhava and pierced him with supreme weapons that were sharp and smeared with flesh and blood. Their forms were like the fire of destruction that comes at the end of a yuga.’
Chapter 7(7)
‘The rakshasas roared like clouds and approached the mountain that was Narayana. They showered down torrents of arrows, like clouds pouring down on mountains. Vishnu was dark blue and those excellent roamers in the night were also dark blue. It seemed as if clouds were showering down on a mountain made out of dark collyrium. The arrows released from the rakshasa bows penetrated Hari, like locusts on a field, gnats on a mountain, makaras in the ocean and creatures around a pot of amrita. They were as swift as the vajra and the wind. It was as if the destruction of the worlds had arrived. Chariot riders were on chariots. Elephant riders were mounted on the tops of elephants. Horse riders used excellent horses. Others were on foot or in the sky. Those Indras among rakshasas were like mountains and used hundreds of arrows, swords and spears. Like a brahmana undertaking p
ranayama,500 Hari seemed to lose his breath. In that great battle, like a giant whale attacked by fish, he was struck all over his body by the roamers in the night. He used the Sharnga bow against the rakshasas. He stretched the bow all the way back and shot arrows that were as swift as thought, with faces like the vajra. Vishnu shattered hundreds and thousands into fragments as small as sesamum seeds. Like a rising wind drives away clouds, that shower of arrows drove them away. Purushottama then blew on his giant conch shell, Panchajanya. This king of conch shells was born from the water and Hari blew on it with all his strength. There was a terrible roar, like a cloud thundering at the end of a yuga. The sound of that king of conch shells terrified the rakshasas, like elephants in musth are scared by a lion in the forest. The horses were incapable of remaining there. The elephants lost their musth. Because of the blare of the conch shell, the warriors became weak and were dislodged from their chariots. The arrows released from Sharnga bow had faces that were like the vajra and possessed excellent tufts. They shattered the rakshasas and penetrated the ground. Other terrible rakshasas were mangled by arrows released from Narayana’s bow and fell down, like mountains struck by the vajra. They were wounded by Adhokshaja’s501 arrows. Blood began to exude from these wounds, like golden ore oozing out in mountains. The rakshasas were roaring, but this was surpassed by the blare of the king of conch shells, the sound created by Sharnga bow and Vishnu’s roaring. The arrows released from Narayana’s Sharnga were as terrible as the rays of the sun, the waves of the ocean and storms from clouds battering large mountains. Hundreds and thousands of arrows were shot swiftly. Sharabhas drive away lions.502 Lions drive away elephants. Elephants drive away tigers. Tigers drive away leopards. Leopards drive away dogs. Dogs drive away cats. Cats drive away snakes. Snakes drive away mice. Like that, in that battle, Vishnu’s powers drove the rakshasas away. Vishnu drove them away and they lay down on the ground. Madhusudana killed thousands of rakshasas. He made the conch shell roar, like the king of the gods makes clouds roar. They were devoured by Narayana’s arrows. Because of the blaring of the conch shell, they lost their senses. Routed, the army of the rakshasas fled towards Lanka. The army of the rakshasas was shattered by Narayana’s arrows and routed.
‘In the encounter, Sumali sought to counter Hari with his shower of arrows. His arms were decorated with golden ornaments and he raised them, like an elephant raising its trunk. Like a cloud tinged with lightning, the rakshasa roared in delight. His charioteer’s head blazed with earrings. While Sumali was roaring, he503 severed it and without the charioteer, the horses dragged the rakshasa around, here and there. A man without control is whirled around by his senses, which are like horses. In that way, those distracted horses dragged around Sumali, lord of the rakshasas. In the battle, Mali seized his bow and arrows and attacked. Mali’s arrows were decorated with gold. Released from his bow, they penetrated Hari the way krouncha birds enter the water. He was struck by thousands of arrows shot by Mali in the encounter. However, just as a person who has conquered his senses is not agitated, Vishnu was not disturbed. The illustrious one, the creator of all beings, twanged his bow. The wielder of the mace shot torrents of arrows in Mali’s direction. Those arrows were as radiant as lightning and like the vajra, penetrated Mali’s body. They drank his blood, like serpents drinking amrita in ancient times. Having countered Mali, Hari used his force to bring down Mali’s diadem, chariot, standard, bow and horses. Having been deprived of his chariot, Mali, supreme among those who roam around in the night, seized a club. With the club in his hand, he leapt up, like a lion springing on a mountain. He was like Indra striking a mountain with his vajra, or like Yama striking Ishana.504 In the battle, he struck Garuda on the forehead with this. Garuda was severely struck by Mali’s club. Suffering from the pain, he bore the god away from the fight. When the god was thus withdrawn because of what Mali had done, a giant clamour arose, because the rakshasas roared. The younger brother of the one with tawny horses505 heard the sound of the rakshasas roaring. Having been made to withdraw,506 he wished to kill Mali and released his chakra. It was as radiant as the solar disc and illuminated everything with its own radiance. The chakra was like the wheel of time and brought down Mali’s head. The terrible head of the Indra among the rakshasas was severed by the chakra. It fell down, covered with blood, like Rahu’s head in ancient times. The gods were extremely delighted. With all their strength, they roared like lions and uttered words of praise for the god.507 Seeing that Mali had been killed, Sumali and Malyavat were tormented by grief. With all their soldiers, they rushed towards Lanka. Having gained his composure, the great-minded Garuda returned. Enraged, he used the force of his wings to drive away the rakshasas. Narayana’s arrows were like the vajra and were released from his bow. With dishevelled hair, the roamers in the night were driven away by these, as if struck by the great Indra’s vajra. Their arrows were shattered, their weapons fell down. Their bodies were struck and mangled by the arrows. Their eyes rolled around in fear and their entrails emerged. The army seemed to have gone mad. They were like elephants afflicted by lions. With their elephants, the roamers in the night screamed loudly. It was just as they had been crushed by a lion in ancient times.508 Routed by the net of Hari’s arrows, they flung aside the nets of their own arrows. Resembling clouds of destruction, those roamers in the night fled, just as dark clouds are dispelled by the wind. Their heads were severed by blows from the chakra. Their limbs were crushed by blows from the mace. Many were sliced down by blows from the sword. The Indras among the rakshasas fell down, like mountains. Their faces were severed by the chakra. Their chests were crushed by the club. Their necks were broken by the plough.509 Their heads were shattered by the club. Some were sliced down with the sword. Others suffered because of the arrows. From the sky, the rakshasas were swiftly brought down into the waters of the ocean. Their garments were dislodged. Their necklaces and earrings were strewn around. The roamers in the night, resembling dark clouds, were seen to be continuously brought down. They were like dark mountains that were being brought down.’
The Valmiki Ramayana Page 124