Chapter 7(59)
When night commenced, Shatrughna asked the brahmana Chyavana, the descendant of the Bhrigu lineage, about Lavana’s strengths and weaknesses. ‘O brahmana! Using the strength of the trident, whom has he brought down earlier? Who are the ones who came to have a duel with the one who possesses the excellent trident?’
Hearing the words spoken by the great-souled Shatrughna, the immensely energetic Chyavana replied to the descendant of the Raghu lineage. ‘O bull among men! It708 has performed innumerable deeds. There was the conduct of the powerful one from the Ikshvaku lineage.709 Hear about it. Earlier, in Ayodhya, there was a powerful king who was Yuvanashva’s son. The valiant one was famous in the three worlds as Mandhata. That lord of the earth brought the entire earth under his rule. The king then made efforts to conquer the world of the gods. Indra and the great-souled gods suffered from terrible fear, because Mandhata was making efforts, wishing to conquer the world of the gods. The king took a pledge, “I will take away half of Shakra’s throne and half of his kingdom. I will bind down large numbers of gods.” The chastiser of Paka got to know about his wicked intention. He addressed Yuvanashva’s son in these comforting words. “O bull among men! You have still not been able to become the king of the human world. Without bringing the earth under your subjugation, you desire the kingdom of the gods. O brave one! After having brought the entire earth under your subjugation, use your servants, forces and mounts to obtain the kingdom of the gods.” Thus addressed by Indra, Mandhata replied in these words. “O Shakra! Where on earth is my rule countered?” The one with the one thousand eyes said, “There is the rakshasa named Lavana. O unblemished one! He is Madhu’s son and in Madhuvana, he does not follow your commands.” The one with the one thousand eyes spoke these disagreeable and terrible words. Hearing these, the king was unable to say anything in reply. Ashamed, he lowered his face. The lord of men was ashamed. With a lowered face, he did not say anything. Taking his leave of the one with one thousand eyes, he again returned to this prosperous world.
‘His heart was filled with intolerance. With his servants, forces and mounts, the unblemished one arrived to bring Madhu’s son under his subjugation. The bull among men desired to fight against Lavana. He sent a messenger to Lavana. He went to Madhu’s son and spoke many disagreeable words. Consequently, the rakshasa ate up the messenger. When the messenger did not return for a long time, the king was filled with rage. From every direction, he afflicted the rakshasa with a shower of arrows. Lavana laughed and seized the trident in his hand. To slay the king and his followers, he hurled that excellent weapon. Blazing, the trident reduced the king, his servants, his forces and his mounts to ashes and returned to Lavana’s hand. Thus, the extremely great king was slain with his forces and mounts. O brave one! The strength of that excellent trident is immeasurable. There is no doubt that you will kill Lavana tomorrow morning, as long as he has not taken up his weapon. If you are swift, your victory is certain.’
Chapter 7(60)
The great-souled Shatrughna desired the auspicious victory. While they were talking and conversing, the night passed quickly. The morning sparkled. Goaded by hunger and searching for food, at that time, the brave rakshasa emerged from his city. Meanwhile, the brave Shatrughna crossed the river Yamuna. With a bow in his hand, he stood at the gate of Madhupura.710 The rakshasa was cruel in his deeds. When half the day was over, he returned with a large burden of many thousands of creatures he had killed. He saw Shatrughna stationed at the gate, holding a weapon. The rakshasa asked him, ‘Why are you acting in this way? O worst among men! In my rage, I have eaten thousands who have wielded weapons like this. Do you wish for your death? O worst of men! Today, I have not collected my complete quota of food. O evil-minded one! How have you managed to enter my mouth on your own?’ Having said this, he laughed repeatedly. Shatrughna was full of valour. Filled with anger, tears started to fall from his eyes. The great-souled Shatrughna was filled with anger towards him. Rays of energy began to emerge from all over his body. Extremely enraged, Shatrughna spoke to the roamer in the night. ‘O one who is evil in intelligence! I wish to fight against you. There will be a duel with you. I am Dasharatha’s son and the intelligent Rama’s brother. My name is Shatrughna. I am the slayer of enemies.711 I have come here wishing to kill you. Therefore, I wish to fight against you. Grant me a duel. You are the enemy of all creatures. You will not escape from me with your life.’ Thus addressed, the rakshasa laughed and replied to the best of men, ‘O evil-minded one! It is good fortune that you have come here. The rakshasa named Ravana was my brother through my mother’s side.712 O worst among men! On account of a woman, he was slain by the evil-minded Rama. Earlier, I have pardoned and ignored that destruction of Ravana’s lineage. However, in particular, you are standing in front of me now. I have not only defeated all these creatures. You, and these worst among men, are like grass to me. O evil-minded one! You desire to fight. I will grant you a fight. I will give you what you want. Let me prepare my weapon.’ Shatrughna told him, ‘Clinging on to your life, where will you go? A person who has cleansed his soul does not let go of an enemy who has arrived, even if he happens to be weak. If a person is weak in intelligence and lets an enemy go, that foolish-minded one is killed, like a coward.’
Chapter 7(61)
He heard what the great-souled Shatrughna had spoken. Filled with fierce anger, he said, ‘Wait. Wait.’ He wrung one hand with another hand and gnashed his teeth. Lavana challenged the tiger of the Raghu lineage. Shatrughna, the slayer of the enemies of the gods, addressed Lavana, who was terrible in his valour, in these words. ‘When you defeated the others, Shatrughna had not yet been born. Today, struck by arrows, you will go to Yama’s abode. Just as the gods witnessed Ravana being killed in the battle, the rishis, the brahmanas and the learned ones will see a wicked one like you killed by me today. O roamer in the night! You will fall down today, burnt by my arrows. The city and the countryside will obtain peace. Today, an arrow that is like the vajra will be shot from my hand and will penetrate your heart, like the rays of the sun entering a lotus.’ Thus addressed, Lavana became senseless with rage and hurled a giant tree at Shatrughna’s chest. The brave one shattered this into one hundred fragments. The rakshasa saw that his attempt had been rendered futile. The powerful one again seized many trees and hurled them towards Shatrughna. As the large number of trees descended, the energetic Shatrughna used three and four arrows with drooping tufts to sever each of these. Shatrughna shot a shower of arrows towards the rakshasa’s chest. However, the rakshasa was full of valour and was not distressed. Lavana laughed and playfully uprooted a tree. He struck him on the head with this and with his limbs affected, he lost his senses. When the brave one fell down, great sounds of lamentation arose among the rishis, the large number of gods, the gandharvas and the apsaras.
Shatrughna had fallen down on the ground. Thinking that he had been killed, the rakshasa ignored him. He found the opportunity to enter his own residence. However, on seeing that he had fallen down on the ground, he did not seize his trident. Taking him to be dead, he raised up that burden of food. Honoured by the rishis, at the gate of the rakshasa’s house, he regained his senses in an instant and again seized his weapons. He grasped the divine, invincible and excellent arrow. It was terrible, blazing in energy, and filled the ten directions. It resembled the vajra. It was like the vajra in force. It was like Meru and Mandara in its powers. It was covered everywhere with drooping tufts and was invincible in battle. The revered arrow was smeared all over with sandalwood paste. Its feathers were beautiful. It was extremely terrible to Indras among danavas, Indras among mountains and asuras. It scorched like the fire of destruction that manifests itself at the end of a yuga. On seeing it, all the creatures were filled with terror. The gods, the asuras, the gandharvas, large numbers of apsaras and the entire universe were troubled. They presented themselves before the grandfather. They spoke to the god, the lord of the gods, the one who grants boons, the great grandfather. ‘O
god! Has the destruction of the worlds arrived? Is this the end of the yuga? O great grandfather! We have not seen anything like this before, or heard of it. O lord! The gods are filled with fear and confusion. It is the destruction of the worlds.’ Hearing their words, Brahma, the grandfather of the worlds, told them that there was no reason to fear. There was nothing for the gods to be scared about. ‘Shatrughna has picked up this arrow to kill Lavana. O supreme among the gods! All of you have been confounded by its energy. O children! This arrow is full of energy and you are scared because of that. Earlier, this belonged to the eternal god who is the creator of the worlds.713 The great-souled one created this great arrow to slay the two daityas, Madhu and Kaitabha. Only Vishnu knows about this arrow, which is filled with energy. Earlier, it was the embodied form of the great-souled Vishnu himself. Go and behold how Rama’s great-souled and brave younger brother uses it to slay Lavana, best among rakshasas.’ They heard the pleasant words of the god of the gods. They went to the spot where Shatrughna and Lavana were fighting.
The divine arrow was held in Shatrughna’s hand. All the creatures saw it, like the fire that arises at the time of the destruction of a yuga. The descendant of the Raghu lineage saw that the sky was covered with gods. He repeatedly roared like a lion and again glanced towards Lavana. The great-souled Shatrughna challenged him and filled with rage, Lavana presented himself for the encounter. The best among archers stretched his bow all the way back up to his ears and shot that large arrow towards Lavana’s broad chest. Swiftly penetrating his chest, it entered rasatala. Having gone to rasatala, the celestial arrow was worshipped by the gods. It then quickly returned to the descendant of the Ikshvaku lineage. Lavana, the roamer in the night, was shattered by Shatrughna’s arrow. He suddenly fell down on the ground, like a mountain struck by the vajra. When the rakshasa Lavana was killed, while all the creatures looked on, that divine and giant trident returned again to Rudra. With a single arrow, the brave one of the Raghu lineage brought down and killed the terror of the three worlds. With his bow and arrow raised, he was as dazzling as the one with the one thousand rays, when it dispels darkness.
Chapter 7(62)
When Lavana was killed, the gods, with Indra and Agni at the forefront, spoke these extremely sweet words to Shatrughna, the scorcher of enemies. ‘O child! It is good fortune that you have been victorious. It is good fortune that the rakshasa Lavana has been killed. O tiger among men! O Raghava! Ask for a boon. O mighty-armed one! All of us have assembled here to confer a boon on you, desiring that you should be victorious. The sight of us cannot be futile.’ Hearing the words spoken by the gods, the brave one raised his hands in salutation above his head. Controlling himself, the mighty-armed Shatrughna replied, ‘This Madhupura714 is beautiful. It is splendid and has been constructed by the gods. It is my desired boon that it should be quickly populated.’ Pleased in their minds, the gods agreed to what Raghava had said. ‘There is no doubt that this beautiful city will be full of Shurasenas.’715 Having said this, the great-souled ones went to heaven. The immensely energetic Shatrughna summoned his soldiers. Hearing Shatrughna’s command, the soldiers arrived quickly. Instructed by Shatrughna, they started to construct residences. In twelve years, an auspicious city that was like heaven was constructed. Without any fear, the Shurasenas started to reside in this dominion. The fields were full of crops and Vasava rained at the right time. The brave men were without disease and it was protected by Shatrughna’s arms. Located on the banks of the Yamuna, it was ornamented and was in the shape of a half moon. It was adorned with the best of houses. It was adorned with quadrangles and shops. Earlier, the place had been rendered empty by Lavana. It was now beautiful, filled with those brave ones and prosperous with many kinds of merchandise. Shatrughna, Bharata’s brother, did everything to make it wealthy and prosperous. Greatly delighted, he looked at it and was filled with supreme joy. After having resided in that beautiful and auspicious city for twelve years, his mind turned towards the idea of seeing Rama’s feet again.
Chapter 7(63)
After twelve years had passed, followed by a few servants, forces and followers, Shatrughna went to Ayodhya, protected by Rama. He asked the ministers, the foremost commanders and the priest to return. He proceeded on an excellent chariot, yoked to radiant steeds. As he proceeded, the descendant of the Raghu lineage resided in seven or eight places. Anxious to see Raghava, he quickly proceeded to Ayodhya. The handsome descendant of the Ikshvaku lineage entered the beautiful city. The mighty-armed one entered the place where the immensely radiant Rama was. He greeted the great-souled one, who seemed to blaze in his energy. Joining his hands in salutation, he spoke to Rama, for whom, truth was his valour. ‘O great king! I have done everything, just as you had asked me to do. I have killed the wicked Lavana and I have populated that city. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! Separated from you, twelve years have passed. O king! Separated from you, I am not interested in residing there any more. O Kakutstha! O one who is infinite in valour! Show me your favours. Without you, my residence there is like that of a calf without its mother.’ When Shatrughna said this, he embraced him and said, ‘O brave one! Do not grieve in this way. A kshatriya should not act in this fashion. O Raghava! Kings do not suffer when they have to live somewhere else. O Raghava! The dharma of kshatriyas is to protect the subjects. O brave one! From time to time, come to Ayodhya to see me. O best among men! Having come here, return to your own city again. There is no doubt that I love you greatly, more than my own life. However, the protection of the kingdom is a task that must certainly be undertaken. O Kakutstha! Therefore, reside here with me for five nights. After that, with your servants, forces and mounts, go to Madhura.’716 Rama’s words were full of dharma and agreeable to the mind. Though Shatrughna was distressed at these words, he uttered words of agreement. As commanded by Raghava, Kakutstha717 resided there for five nights. After that, the great archer made arrangements to depart. He took his leave from the great-souled Rama, for whom, truth was his valour, and also from Bharata and Lakshmana. He ascended his great chariot. The great-souled Lakshmana and Bharata followed him for some distance. Thereafter, Shatrughna quickly went to the city.
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After Shatrughna had left, Raghava happily sported with his brothers. Following dharma, he protected the kingdom. After some days, an aged brahmana from the countryside came to the king’s gate, holding the dead body of a male child. He lamented in many kinds of words and the syllables were filled with affection. He said, ‘Alas, son! Your rites have not been performed. What wicked deed did I commit in an earlier life? I have had to see you, my only son, face death. You are a child and have not attained youth. You are only five years old. O son! Causing me grief, you have faced death before your appointed time. O son! Grieving over you, there is no doubt that I, and your mother, will also die within a few days. I do not remember having spoken anything false. Nor do I remember having caused injury. What is the evil act I have committed? Today, my son, yet a child, has been conveyed to Vaivasvata’s eternal abode, without having performed the rites for his father. In Rama’s dominion, this has not been seen, or heard of, earlier. It is terrible to behold. Someone is dying before his appointed time. There is no doubt that Rama has committed some wicked deed. O king! Bring this child, who has come under the subjugation of death, back to life. O king! With your brothers, you will enjoy a long lifespan. O extremely strong one! Till now, we have happily slept in your kingdom. This dominion of the great-souled Ikshvakus is without a protector now. The child has had to go because we have now obtained Rama as a protector and a king. If the subjects are not protected in the proper way, the taint devolves on the king. Because of the evil deeds of a king, people die before their time. Alternatively, people in your city and the countryside are performing inappropriate tasks and you are not protecting them. That is the reason this fear has resulted before its time. It is extremely evident and certain that this has happened because of the king’s transgression in the city or in the countrysi
de. That is the reason this child has died.’ Tormented by sorrow on account of his son, he repeatedly censured and reprimanded the king with many kinds of words.
The Valmiki Ramayana Page 136