by Vanamali
Brahma had promised that on the day when he woke up after six months of sleep even the gods would not be able to defeat him in battle. However, if he was aroused from sleep on any other day, he would surely be killed. In his eagerness to have his brother fight for him, Ravana forgot the warning and ordered his brother to be called.
Kumbhakarna stepped over the wall and advanced like a mountain on the move, his eyeballs rolling like chariot wheels. When he saw Vibhishana fighting in Rama’s army, he was furious and shouted at him.
“Whatever Ravana’s faults may be, he is still our brother. By fighting for his enemies you have turned against your family. Your treachery disgusts me!”
So saying he rushed at Vibhishana, who immediately took refuge behind Rama. The monkeys fled in terror on seeing his advancing form, which resembled a thundercloud.
Angada tried to rally the fleeing monkeys by telling them that he was only a war machine that had been trained to fight and that they could easily conquer him. They started to rain rocks and boulders and trees on him, but they glanced off him like feathers from a rock. The monkeys tried to jump on him and bite him, but he brushed them off like flies. In fact, he hardly noticed them and walked on, crushing those who happened to get under his enormous feet. Angada rallied all those who were turning tail and encouraged them to return and face the monster, but they were so terrified that they did not stop in their tracks. From the air Hanuman rained mountain peaks, rocks, and trees of every kind on Kumbhakarna’s head, but he intercepted them easily with his pike. Hanuman now came to the ground and struck him hard on the chest. This made the giant reel a bit, and he retaliated by striking Hanuman on the breast with his pike. Such was the force of this blow that Hanuman burst into a loud cry of anguish, much to the delight of the rakshasas and the dismay of the monkeys.
However, he quickly rallied himself, gave a mighty leap, jumped onto his shoulder, and bit off his ear, which made Kumbhakarna howl in pain.
All the other vanara leaders now surrounded Kumbhakarna and battered him, but the colossus hit them viciously right and left and all of them fell to the ground. The other monkeys were now filled with rage and jumped on him from all sides and started to bite him and tear him with their nails. They scrambled up his trunklike legs like locusts, scratching and biting. He simply lifted them from the ground and stuffed them into his mouth. Some of them escaped through his nostrils and some through his ears. Now Angada accosted him, but the monster gave him one blow with the back of his hand, which made him fall down senseless.
Then Sugriva came forward and challenged him. Kumbhakarna was enraged and hurled his pike at him. Had it hit him, he would surely have died, but Hanuman bounded forward, caught it in midair, and broke it in two, even though it weighed as much as a mountain. The monkeys rejoiced to see this sight and rushed forward. However, Kumbhakarna picked off the top of a rock and flung it at Sugriva, who became senseless. He caught hold of him in his arms, kept him under his armpit, and walked on. Hanuman wondered if he should grow to his enormous size and rescue him but thought it better to wait until Sugriva came to his senses and rescued himself or else he would feel very despondent at having been defeated by the ogre. Very soon Sugriva came out of his swoon, clawed viciously at the ogre’s massive ears, bit off his nose, and ripped his thighs with his nails. Kumbhakarna swore and dashed him on the ground. Sugriva got up painfully and loped off to Rama before the monster could catch him again. Kumbhakarna was by now famished and started to devour monkeys, rakshasas, fiends, and bears alike. Seizing huge handfuls of monkeys, bears, and ogres, he simply stuffed them all into his cavernous mouth.
Seeing the panic in the vanara army, Lakshmana came forward to try and stop this terrible destruction, but his arrows could not penetrate the stiff, curly hair that covered the mammoth’s body wherever his armor did not. Kumbhakarna brushed him aside, saying, “I will deal with you after having finished off your brother,” and strode on. Lakshmana refused to let him pass and rained arrows at him until his mace fell from his hands, but he continued to move forward like a huge road roller, crushing everything in his path. Though he was without any weapon, he played havoc among the monkeys with his fists and hands. At last he came face to face with Rama and gave a bloodcurdling roar that made all the monkeys fall down senseless.
Rama shot an arrow with bent knots, which struck Kumbhakarna on the chest and penetrated through his armor so that blood started to pour out of the wound. He was so furious that flames shot out of his mouth. Even though the wound was fatal, his hatred for Rama kept him alive, and he advanced toward Rama, bellowing with pain and rage. Lakshmana now spoke to Rama.
“This fellow is totally out of his senses now and doesn’t know if he’s killing his own people or ours. It is best if our monkeys climb on him and pester him so that he doesn’t annihilate those on the earth.”
The monkeys were delighted to get this order and jumped on him from all sides, driving him thoroughly crazy with their antics. In the meantime, Vibhishana, carrying his mace, darted in front of his elder brother. When Kumbhakarna saw him, he said, “Get out of my way before I kill you. I am so confused with lack of sleep and food as well as thousands of wounds that I no longer know who is friend and who is foe. But you, I know, are my younger brother. You are the only fortunate one among us who had the temerity to stand up to Ravana in order to vindicate your desire for truth and righteousness. You alone will be responsible for perpetuating our race. By the grace of Rama you will become sovereign over our people and uphold our traditions.”
Hearing this, Vibhishana retired to a corner of the battlefield, his eyes bathed in tears. Kumbhakarna turned round to see Rama standing in front of him and took a huge boulder and hurled it at him. Rama splintered it with five arrows and said, “Brave rakshasa ! I am Rama, son of Dasaratha. Take a good look at me, for soon your eyes will not be able to see!”
Kumbhakarna laughed and said, “I’m not one of your puny rakshasas who can be killed by you. I am Kumbhakarna, destroyer of the gods.” So saying, he wielded his mace and killed thousands of monkeys. Rama invoked the wind god and sent an arrow with a broad razor head that severed the arm carrying the mace and made it fall along with the mace with a monstrous sound, crushing many monkeys in the process. Undeterred by this, the monster tore up a tree with his other arm and lunged at Rama, who cut off that arm also with another well-aimed arrow. It fell to the ground, carrying with it many trees and crushing both monkeys and rakshasas. But still the colossus kept advancing and shouting, “No one can slay me. No one can stop me!” He kicked and stamped and killed hundreds of monkeys with his enormous feet.
Rama now cut off both his feet with two crescent-shaped arrows. He was not put off even by this and stomped forward on the stumps of his legs with enlarged mouth belching fire. Rama now filled his mouth with gold encrusted arrows so that he could not speak or close it. Finally he sawed off his gigantic head with an arrow, shaped like a razor. His diademed head, brilliant with lovely earrings, fell to the ground with a horrendous noise, bringing down with it some of the buildings on the causeway and even parts of the defensive wall.
Far off in Lanka, Ravana heard this horrifying sound and a shaft of pure terror shot through him. He could not imagine that his monstrous brother could have been killed. The mountainous head rolled down the hillside and dropped into the ocean in a whirlpool of blood, making the waves rise up in huge gory billows and killing the whales. It was nearing dawn and Rama stood silhouetted against the eastern sky. Kumbhakarna, the terror of the world, the sole hope of Ravana, lay dead in a lake of blood and fat on the gory battlefield strewn with heads and arms and dead monkeys and rakshasas.
You are the protector of sages and saints
The destroyer of demons and the darling of Rama.
SRI HANUMAN CHALISA BY TULSIDAS
Aum Sri Hanumathe Namaha!
Aum Lakshmanaprana-dataaya Namaha!
22
Lakshmana Pranadhata
Savior of Lakshmana
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br /> Tejo, dhriti, yasho, dakshyam,samarthyam,vinayo naya,
Pourusham vikramo buddhir yasminethani nityada,
Hanumansthena harena, shushubhe, vanararshabha,
Chandrashuchayagourena shwetamrena yatachala.
The dark-eyed lady [Sita] forthwith conferred that necklace on the son of the wind god.
In whom energy, firmness, renown, dexterity, competence, modesty,
Prudence, virility; prowess, and intelligence are to be found.
VALMIKI RAMAYANA, YUDDHA KANDA
The rakshasas ran back and reported the news to Ravana.
“O king!” they said. “Your brother, who vied with Yama, the god of death, in destroying people is now reduced to a headless and limbless mass with his trunk half-submerged in the ocean and the rest of the body blocking the main gate of Lanka!”
Ravana fainted when he heard about his beloved brother’s death. When he recovered he ran to the wall and saw his brother’s body and limbs blocking the gate. He sat with his head in his hands and bemoaned his loss. He couldn’t believe that a mere mortal could have killed his gargantuan brother.
“This is entirely my fault. I banished Vibhishana, who was like my conscience, and now my other brother who loved me so much lies dead.”
Ravana hung his head and wept. Hearing him wail like this, three of his younger sons came forward and cheered him up.
“O father! Why should you be overpowered by grief like this? The creator Brahma himself has bestowed on you an invincible coat of mail, an arrow and bow, and a chariot drawn by a thousand donkey-faced fiends. What need is there for you to fear? We will go to the battlefield today and slay your enemy for you.”
All his four sons were capable of flying through the air and adept in conjuring tricks. They entered the arena, vying with each other to exhibit their prowess.
Flaunting their flaming lances they dashed into the midst of the monkeys, creating havoc. Though the princes were all valiant, one by one they were crushed to death by Angada and Hanuman. Angada killed Narantaka, Hanuman smashed Devantaka, and Trisira and Lakshmana had a gruelling battle with Atikaya and eventually killed him.
The heroes who had set out so enthusiastically in the morning now lay like felled trees on the battlefield. Ravana could not bear it. He started to wonder if there was any truth in what he had heard about Rama—that he was Narayana (Vishnu) incarnate who had taken on a human birth in order to kill him. He began to feel anxious about the safety of the city and gave orders that all precautions should be taken to avoid any infiltration by the simians.
As he sat sunk in gloom with his head in his hands, his golden boy, Indrajit, son of his favorite wife, Mandodari, now came to him and tried to cheer him up. Ravana looked into Indrajit’s quiet eyes and felt a great relief.
“My beloved father!” he said, “Why should you worry when I am here to help you? Today the sun and the moon and all the gods shall witness my immeasurable powers. I will go this very minute and punish your opponents. Before the end of this day, victory will be yours!”
Ravana cheered up considerably on hearing this. He looked with loving eyes at his golden boy. His skin and hair were the color of gold and there were golden flecks in his eyes. His armor and helmet were of gold as well as his shoes and belt. He was as beautiful as his mother and Ravana was delighted to hear his promise.
“There is no one on earth who can defeat you, my son. My blessings are upon you.”
Indrajit bowed low before his father and went to his enchanted garden, where he kindled a fire, poured oblations into it, and worshipped Agni, his favorite deity. Soon enough, there rose out of the fire a golden chariot drawn by four tigers. The fiery chariot was decorated with the golden faces of demons and deer. His flag was that of a lion with sapphire eyes. Indrajit wrapped himself in his invisible coat of mail, got into his chariot of illusions, and set out immediately, followed by a mighty army riding on elephants, horses, and donkeys, bristling with weapons of every type.
Vibhishana shaded his eyes and looked at the blue sky, but even he could not see Indrajit. Through the clouds, Rama and the monkeys could hear the creaking of chariot wheels and the flash of gold weapons. They could hear flag bells ringing and tigers growling, but of the warrior there was no sign.
Indrajit began raining arrows over the vanara host who began to fall in thousands. The whole field was strewn with dead and dying monkeys. Though all the monkey leaders did their best, they were hampered by the fact that they could not see him, since he was an expert in the art of illusory warfare. How could they fight against an invisible enemy? Through the dark clouds of illusion, they could hear the sound of his chariot and the twang of his bow. Sometimes they could see the flash of his golden armor and the streak of his golden spear, but of him they could see nothing. One by one all the great vanara heroes—except for Hanuman and Jambavan—fell to Indrajit’s deadly arrows. A flaming ax flew through the sky and killed Sugriva. Thirty-three crescent-shaped arrows killed Angada and an iron hook crushed Nala’s chest. Ten diamond-shaped arrows pierced the king of bears and a barbed spear tore Vibhishana’s shoulder. Hanuman flew into the clouds. He couldn’t see his opponent, but he saw a flaming sword flying toward him like lightning. He grabbed the sword, but it changed into a young woman who cried for mercy so he let it go and it changed back into a sword and cut him down to the ground. The whole field was covered with the dead and dying.
Rama stood among his dead friends and tried to aim his arrows at his unseen enemy, but it was to no avail. At last only Rama and Lakshmana were left standing. Indrajit’s arrows continued to rain down on them so that no space was left on their bodies that was not covered with wounds.
Rama turned to Lakshmana and told him to be careful. Hardly had he said this than Indrajit shot a poisoned-tipped arrow at Lakshmana that pierced his shoulder. Instantly his skin turned blue and he fell down senseless. Another arrow made Rama also fall unconscious. Exulting in his day’s work, Indrajit withdrew all at once to his city and filled his father’s heart with delight by his report of the day’s work. He then went to his grove of trees outside Lanka and got out of his chariot. It disappeared along with the tigers in a ball of flame. Indrajit remained under the banyan tree, closed his eyes, and went into samadhi (a super-conscious state).
With the advent of night, Vibhishana stirred. He grasped the spear in both hands and pulled it out. He was trembling with effort and pain. Slowly he drew himself up and surveyed the ground, strewn with dead monkeys. He knew that Hanuman could never be killed and scrutinized the field for him. At last he saw a blur of white. He went toward it and found Hanuman sitting up covered with sword cuts. Together they searched the field and found Jambavan, who appeared to be close to death but was still breathing. Vibhishana knelt down and gave him some water and asked him, “O King of Bears! Are you still alive?”
“I’m alive, but I can’t see. Tell me, is Hanuman alive?”
Vibhishana growled in anger and retorted, “You show no regard for Rama, only for that white monkey!”
Jambavan said, “If Hanuman lives, the army lives. If he is dead, we are all dead.”
The three of them now painfully walked through the field and came upon the inert forms of Rama and Lakshmana. All of them were totally bereft at this sight. After some time Rama slowly came to consciousness. However, Lakshmana still appeared inert and lifeless. Seeing this, Rama was filled with sorrow.
“If Lakshmana dies, I have no desire to live. It is possible that I might find another wife like Sita, but I will never find another brother like Lakshmana. I cannot return to Ayodhya without him. What will I tell his mother Sumitra? I too shall follow him to the abode of death. Life has no meaning for me without my beloved brother.”
Vibhishana told him not to despair and said that Ravana’s court physician should be brought immediately, for he had many mystic herbs and mantras at his command. Night had already fallen and without a word, Hanuman flew into Lanka and woke up the physician, who was fast asleep in h
is house. Vibhishana had already told him that even though he was a rakshasa, he was first and foremost a physician who was true to his vocation and would do his best to revive whoever went to him, whether friend or foe. Hanuman explained the matter to him.
Without giving him time to think over the matter, he carried him in his arms and deposited him in front of Vibhishana, who asked him to revive Lakshmana. He looked at him carefully and said, “The only thing that can help him is the miracle herb known as mritasanjivani. This is capable of awakening the dead. However, poison has already pervaded his entire body and unless he gets the proper treatment before sunrise, he will surely die.”
Rama and the others were delighted to hear that he knew of a remedy and asked him to apply it immediately.
He said, “I’m afraid I don’t have it. It can only be found on the peak called Dronagiri, which lies between Kailasa and Manasarovar, high in the Himalayas. This peak is covered with medicinal herbs and casts a matchless splendor on all sides. Right on top of that peak there are four flaming herbs illuminating all directions. Mritasanjivani is capable of restoring the dead to life, vishalyakarani is capable of healing all wounds inflicted by weapons, suvarnakarani restores the body to its original complexion, and the great herb called sandhani is capable of joining severed limbs and healing fractured bones. If someone among you can get these four, I can revive all those who have fallen here, but it has to be brought immediately, before the setting of the moon and the rising of the sun. Only then will I be able to revive them. Every minute is precious. If anyone is capable of getting it, then the prince and the others can be saved.”
