Tenth Avatar

by Kanchan Joshi

  Emboldened by their upper hand, the Rakshas army continued their fight into the evening.

  The next day, Lakshman watched from the hilltop as the two armies crashed into each other relentlessly.

  “I wish I could fight,” Lakshman said impatiently as he looked at his injured shoulder. “I should be down there.” He felt deeply disappointed in himself.

  Hanuman took a break from the battle and came to the hilltop to check on Lakshman and to rest. “Another awful day. We have lost thousands of soldiers. It’s heartbreaking to watch. That monster is a killing machine. We just don’t know what to do!” Hanuman wiped blood from his mace and hands. Despite the winter season, he was drenched in sweat; the high humidity did not help either. He drank some water obtained from a fresh-water lake.

  Hanuman and Lakshman observed the battlefield from the hilltop. The monster towered high above the sea of two armies. It was surrounded by dead and maimed soldiers.

  “It reminds me of those tall coconut trees on the beach…the ones that tower above the ocean,” Hanuman said to take his mind off the war and think about more peaceful times. “We uprooted a lot of them for the bridge. They look intimidating, but fall easily because they are so top-heavy.”

  Lakshman listened carefully to Hanuman—lost in thought for some time. He then got up from his resting position and got ready to go back to the battlefield.

  “What are you doing? Your shoulder is injured. You cannot lift your heavy bow—consider using a lighter one,” Hanuman suggested. Lakshman took a step toward Hanuman and hugged him. Hanuman was puzzled by this display of emotion from a man who had always been very short-tempered.

  Lakshman said excitedly, “You have given me a powerful idea. The monster is tall and heavy. It has very long legs. All the weight is concentrated at the top to protect the controls, the weapons, and the rider from enemy strikes. We cannot use big missiles due to the possibility of damage to our troops. It is difficult to fire such missiles with the high precision needed to bring down a single structure. Small missiles will not be effective as the structure is protected from heat. Its metal dissipates heat rapidly, and it has the ability to duck to avoid strikes.”

  Hanuman said, “Yes. We have to kill this machine fast. It is spreading panic amongst the troops.”

  Lakshman’s eyes brightened, and he forgot all about the pain from his javelin injury; his excitement was growing by the moment. “Although the structure is protected from heat, we will use shock waves from the missile explosion to bring the giant down. We don’t need to rely on precision. We will explode missiles simultaneously in front of the chest and near the lower knee region in the back. This double strike will push the monster in opposite directions and bring the creature down. You launch a ferocious attack on the troops accompanying the monster to create sufficient space for the missile to fly near the knee area. Once it comes crashing to the ground, we’ll finish it off.”

  Hanuman listened patiently as Lakshman spoke with tremendous enthusiasm. He looked at this new, friendlier side of Lakshman with interest.

  “Is it the effect of the pain killers or the javelin injury?” Hanuman chuckled. He got up from his seat and walked around, thinking about the proposal.

  Lakshman was waiting eagerly for some feedback and support for his idea. To burn his nervous energy, he blew air gently over his wounded arm and applied herbal extract to the lesion.

  After mulling over the plan for a while, Hanuman said cautiously, “Only you and Ram have the archery skills needed to pull this off, to hit the missile at the precise time when it is near the structure. Also, the wind direction has to be perfect for this to work. Wind seems calm today. Shall we execute tonight?”

  “Tonight? That is against the rules. We have not initiated breaking rules from our side.”

  “Yes, but the element of surprise may prove to be our only option for true success. Besides, the rules have already been broken by the enemy—that makes them void for the remainder of this battle.”

  Lakshman was even more excited by Hanuman’s line of reasoning in support of his plan.

  “All right then, let us do it! Har Har Mahadev!” Hanuman declared. Lakshman was in his element.

  “Call the missile technicians and Ram. Time to work out the mathematics—trajectories, draw weights, and arrows, grips, and all the other details to make sure everything goes per my plan. It all must be perfect!”

  That evening the fight was winding down and the sun was about to set. Hanuman shouted orders to the troops fighting the monster, “Withdraw! Everyone, now! Turn around and withdraw!” As the troops followed their order, the monster made a huge turn to return to Lanka.

  All of a sudden, Hanuman yelled at the top of his lungs, “Har Har Mahadev!” and ran towards the Rakshas soldiers who stood guarding the monster. Hanuman’s soldiers followed him and hundreds of Rakshas soldiers were killed in no time.

  Out of nowhere, Ram and Lakshman appeared on either side of the monster. Ram shot an arrow that signaled the heat missile. With precise calculations of trajectory and timing, he shot a fire arrow that exploded the missile the moment it was close enough to the giant metal creature.

  The Vanara troops yelled, “Jai Shree Ram!”

  Simultaneously, Lakshman accomplished the same task from the opposite side of the monster. The ‘one-two punch’ strategy was a success! The monster lost its balance and stumbled.

  Hanuman charged in. “Attack the legs with boulders and maces!”

  King Sugriv shouted, “I will maintain the outside perimeter around the monster and prevent any help from coming in.”

  As the monster tried to balance, it made a few erratic movements and crushed some of the soldiers under its incredible weight. Ram shot another arrow signaling one more missile to be fired. He made sure that this missile exploded near the chest area. With the massive shock wave that emanated from the detonated missile, the monster finally came crashing to the ground.

  Hanuman took a giant leap, twenty feet in the air, and brought his heavy mace down with considerable strength on the steel head. The creature’s head had softened due to the blunt force; it’s shape now deformed. Ravan’s giant brother had become stuck inside his metallic tomb and could not remove his head from the mechanical device. He was trapped.

  Hanuman threw giant boulders at the deformed structure, until he had crushed it completely. Blood, broken skulls, and squashed brains splattered out of the monstrous structure.

  “Victory to the Vanara!” shouted the ape-men.

  “Destroy it! We must ensure that it cannot be reused,” ordered Hanuman.

  At his palace, Ravan was shaken to the core by the death of his brother.

  “Oh! These blasted monkeys and those two loser brothers!” Ravan screamed. “They deserve no mercy. They need to be slaughtered like the animals they are!”

  One of Ravan’s ministers stepped forward. He clenched his throat and hesitated, but decided to speak anyway. He said sheepishly, “Clearly we made a mistake. The enemy is not a rag-tag team of forest-dwellers. These are seasoned warriors, led by astute commanders. We should negotiate peace.”

  Deep down, Ravan knew his minister was finally giving him sound guidance, but speaking of peace this late in the fight meant accepting defeat and humiliation.

  “Behead this minister right now! I don’t like cowardly and unsolicited opinions,” Ravan shrieked. He got up from his throne and announced decisively, “Tomorrow, my son, who has never seen defeat in a battle, will avenge the death of my brother.”

  Even the gods could not defeat Ravan’s powerful son, and he had assumed the title of Indrajit, the God Conqueror! Ravan’s son had a reputation for being more cruel and deceptive than Ravan himself.

  Indrajit launched a spectacular attack on the Vanara army. He killed thousands more with his astra weapons, which were capable of hitting multiple targets simultaneously.

  Indrajit had a strong steel helmet and an impenetrable chest plate. He carried cloth rags drenched in
various chemicals, different types of arrows, two bows, javelins, and swords in his huge chariot drawn by twelve horses. He carried pieces of equipment for conjuring images and fake forms as well. The instruments produced energy that could assemble matter particles into desired shapes, even multiple copies of the same shapes. He also carried several lifelike replicas of the severed heads of Ram, Lakshman, and Sita. The replicas were made from human skulls coated with animal tissue and skin to look very real.

  He caressed his thick, horseshoe mustache and roared, “Come to your death, you filthy animals! The cruel demise that awaits you will make your mothers repent birthing you. Where are the two brothers? I cannot wait to burn them and serve their meat to Ram’s wife before I kill her. Pour blood on these animals! Ram and Lakshman are beheaded!”

  His soldiers aided in spreading the rumor by shouting, “Ram and Lakshman are beheaded. Victory to the Rakshas!” The soldiers then poured the blood and flesh of the Vanara killed in the war over the heads of the ape army that stood below their towers. They also threw the fake severed heads of Ram and Lakshman into the gathering of troops below.

  Their gruesome tactics were creating a lot of confusion and fear within the Vanara ranks. Worry and doubt began to spread among the troops.

  “Is Ram killed?” the apes cried out. Just the thought of such horrid acts broke their hearts.

  “Drench these monkeys and set them on fire!” Indrajit ordered. “I don’t care if my men burn too.”

  Indrajit’s soldiers poured chemicals onto the Vanara army, creating an explosive gas that settled as a cloud over the troops. He set fire to one of his arrows and sent it flying into the gas, igniting all within and around the cloud. Indrajit had taken the war to a new, menacing low, and he was only getting started.

  “Spread the gas that paralyses and slaughter them the moment it takes effect,” he ordered. “You will spare no one—not even those that claim surrender. Eat them alive, feast on their beating hearts and livers, if you are hungry!”

  At this point, some of the Vanara troops had lost their will to live. They had never even heard of such horrific tactics. There was nothing they could have done to prepare themselves for this kind of brutality. They began fleeing the battlefield, away from the carnage, and running for their lives.

  “Huh! These cowards are running! Use the same tactics at all other gates in the city. Herd these animals in one direction. Once I have them right where I want them, I will launch my radiation device and fry them alive!” Indrajit ordered his captain. “Ask the royal family to take cover in underground caves to protect themselves from the radiation.”

  In the ape camp, Lakshman thundered, “The demons are getting desperate. They are using increasingly inhuman tactics and breaking all rules of warfare. Order me, brother Ram, to take the fight to the enemy!”

  Ram said, “Do it brother, but be careful. Indrajit is sleazy. We have killed a lot of morally corrupt demons, but he can degrade to any extent.” Ram added in a cautious tone, “Be mindful of his tactics. Deploy all weapons necessary to contain the threat.”

  Lakshman signaled the special forces to accompany him. Hanuman commanded the remaining troops. Fresh and well-rested soldiers had replaced the fleeing troops.

  The fires set by Ravan’s son were raging and burning everything in sight.

  As soon as Lakshman reached the battlefield, he declared, “Deploy a missile to the northwest portion of the enemy army—that will create a low-pressure zone near the demon army, and the wind will blow, taking the flames with it.”

  The wind started blowing, just as predicted, toward the low-pressure zone, and the raging flames tormenting the apes changed direction; now burning the demons.

  Indrajit’s voice dripped with contempt, “Look who is here… one of the brothers who is desperate to die! You seem to be the younger one. Let me send you straight to hell.” Indrajit welcomed Lakshman with a torrent of arrows, hundreds of them flying at high speed.

  Lakshman showed great skill and quickly exploded a small missile precisely in the path of arrows, rendering them ineffective. Without giving his enemy a chance to launch another attack, Lakshman showered a slew of his own arrows at him.

  Indrajit responded by splitting the incoming arrows with another onslaught of his own, skillfully moving his chariot and using a huge metal shield, along with a mace and other weapons to defend. The brawl between the two highly skilled warriors went on for a few hours—both fought tirelessly.

  After some time, Lakshman said to his captain, “I sense that Indrajit is displaying some fatigue. Corner him!” The captain nodded his head, and the troops started to flank Indrajit’s chariot from all sides. Lakshman took a deep breath. His helper quickly restocked his belt quiver.

  Lakshman’s captain announced, “Your path is clear.”

  Lakshman grabbed five arrows at a time in his shooting hand and launched a ferocious attack on Indrajit while speeding towards him on foot—simultaneously avoiding incoming arrows. All his arrows were precisely targeted at his enemy’s chest.

  Indrajit’s chariot had been slowed by some dead horses, and the charioteer had been badly injured. However, Indrajit was still able to shoot arrows back at Lakshman with great speed.

  Lakshman was hit in his bow-wielding arm, but did not let the pain from the impact affect his precision. He changed his angle of attack by shooting with both hands and constantly moving. In no time, Lakshman was only ten feet away from Indrajit.

  Indrajit looked around and realized he was getting flanked from all sides. He shouted to his charioteer, “This mad ascetic is closing in!”

  The charioteer smiled wryly and said, “He is walking right into the trap!” The next moment, Indrajit met Lakshman’s eyes calmly, as if he was ready for anything that could happen next.

  Lakshman was very close to the chariot now. He noticed that Indrajit’s armor was showing chinks due to his sustained attack. Lakshman could feel the rapid breathing and neighing of horses as he touched them. Blood was dripping from their foreheads. He tried to steady his own breathing after the rapid approach.

  Seeing the fearsome Lakshman up close, the smirk vanished from the charioteer’s face. He was awe-struck by the huge bow and the speed and precision of Lakshman’s shooting ability. He stared blankly, waiting to be killed.

  Lakshman ignored him and shot three arrows at Indrajit, standing next to his chariot.

  However, before the arrows could reach him, Indrajit turned into five conjured forms of himself—complete with chariots and horses.

  Have I been shooting at an image all this time? Lakshman thought. He was shocked and perplexed.

  Lakshman’s captain was bewildered too. He pointed his sword at five images, encircling them. “What is happening here?”

  Arrows were coming at them from all five chariots, but only one stream of arrows was real. They did not know which ones they truly needed to defend themselves against. They were taking hits one after another.

  “Let us end this trickery.” The quick-thinking Lakshman shot an arrow, signaling a missile from the sky. His crew immediately recognized the signal. Within a few moments, a missile exploded high above them. It seeded the clouds and started to rain.

  “The conjured forms are beginning to disappear,” the captain said with relief.

  However, just before the fake forms disappeared completely, Indrajit threw a javelin, immediately following it up with an arrow that contained a small radiation device, and a second venomous arrow—all aimed directly at Lakshman.

  “Time for you to die, son of a whore!” Indrajit yelled.

  Lakshman roared back, “Not so fast! Let me first send you to your uncle. In hell!” Lakshman dodged the javelin, but the two arrows hit him in the arm and chest. He collapsed to the ground and instantly lost consciousness.

  Lakshman’s captain ordered, “Retreat!” With great skill, he immediately threw a protective barrier of soldiers around Lakshman and evacuated him from the battlefield. Lakshman was taken to the
other side of the hill, toward the ocean.

  Ram was gravely worried about his brother. He ran his fingers gently over the wounds and flinched when there was no reaction from Lakshman. He looked at the wounds his brother had sustained fighting for him; some were raw, some partially healed. Ram gently stroked Lakshman’s hair.

  “I have never seen Ram so disturbed,” one ape said.

  “Lakshman has been hit by a radiation device and toxic venom,” the Vaidya, medic, said. “He needs antidotes immediately.”

  Ram asked worriedly, “How bad is it?”

  The medic paused, weighing his words carefully. “He needs antidote within a few hours, or he cannot be saved. I am sorry.”

  Although Hanuman was anxious, he asked hopefully, “So, there is an antidote for this double strike of radiation and venom? What is it? Where can we get it?”

  The medic replied, “There is an herb found in the Himalayas, thousands of miles away. Thankfully the Vanara army has brought these herbs from the Himalayas in anticipation of its need. The herb is ineffective in sunlight. Fortunately, Lakshman was hit in the evening. We have time. The herb is also very short-lived, so you need to transport the whole rock here. Then, I will pluck it fresh and use it for treatment.”

  King Sugriv said, “How do you suggest we transport a huge rock over this stony, bumpy bridge in such a short time?”

  Hanuman instantly came up with a plan and said, “We will use the flying machine. I will remove the unnecessary parts of the machine to make room for the rock. As a backup, we will also make the bridge smooth with deposits of sand in between the stones and modify a chariot to fit the rock so that we can transport it that way if need be.”

  Sugriv responded cheerfully, “Hanuman your intellect is lighting fast, just as your movements in combat. You came up with not one, but two plans. Use all the troops you need and start working on your plans right away. I will assist in whatever way I can to make sure you are successful.”

  Hanuman acknowledged the kind words from his king and turned to Ram, who was lost in his thoughts. The brave prince of Ayodhya has so many wounds on his body… perhaps more on his mind. Hanuman thought, His wife’s, and now even his brother’s, life is hanging by a thread. I have to make this work for Ram.