The Ramayana

by Valmiki

  The monkeys heard Rāma’s lament and tears poured from their eyes.

  Vibhīṣaṇa came over and when he saw the two lifeless bodies, he stroked their faces and wept. ‘These heroes have been laid low by the rākṣasas who fight unfairly! My wicked nephew tricked and deceived them! He has brought disgrace upon his father by fighting in this unethical way!

  ‘They lie here, covered with arrows and bathed in blood, sleeping the endless sleep. I had centred my hopes for kingship on them! I am as good as dead without a kingdom and my enemy Rāvaṇa has done what he said he would do. His wishes have been fulfiled!’

  Sugrīva embraced Vibhīṣaṇa and consoled him, saying, ‘I feel sure you will become the king of Lankā! Neither Rāvaṇa nor his son shall have their wishes come true. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are not dead! As soon as they recover consciousness, they will kill Rāvaṇa and all his followers!’

  Sugrīva turned to his father-in-law, Suṣeṇa, who stood by his side and said, ‘When Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa have regained consciousness, take them back to Kiṣkindha along with the monkey army. I will kill Rāvaṇa and his family and rescue Sītā!’

  ‘During the terrible war between the gods and the asuras, the asuras defeated the gods by disappearing again and again,’ said Suṣeṇa. ‘Bṛhaspati revived the gods who were close to death and those that were unconscious with medicinal herbs and mantras. Let the monkeys go to the ocean of milk and bring those herbs here quickly!

  ‘The herbs we need grow on the mountains Candra and Droṇa which lie in the ocean where the nectar was churned. Let Hanumān, the son of the wind, go and fetch those herbs!’

  At that very moment, a huge gale arose accompanied by clouds and lightning. The waters rose, the mountains trembled and islands with their great trees tumbled into the ocean. A little later, the monkeys saw Garuḍa, the king of the birds, bright as a fire, approaching. The minute they saw him, the arrows that had become snakes and bound Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa fled.

  Garuḍa honoured the princes and touched their moon-like faces with his hands. The moment he did that, their wounds were healed and the bodies shone golden. Their energy, vigour, intelligence and memory as well as their good looks and all their virtues were doubled.

  Garuḍa raised the princes who were Indra’s equals and embraced them. ‘Because of you, we have been able to overcome this terrible thing Rāvaṇa’s son did to us,’ said Rāma. ‘You have given us back our strength! Your presence makes me as happy as if I were with my father. Who are you, mighty one, with your good looks, your celestial garlands and ornaments and clothes and sweet perfumes?’

  Garuḍa’s eyes were wide with joy as he replied, ‘I am your dear friend, Rāma, the breath outside your body! I am Garuḍa and I have come here to help you both. No one, not the gods nor the gandharvas nor any of the celestial beings could have released you from these terrible bonds wicked Indrajit created with his magical powers.

  ‘Rāma, you and your brother are fortunate indeed that I heard what had happened and came here immediately because of my affection for you! Now that you have been freed from those terrible bonds, you must be vigilant. It is in the nature of rākṣasas to fight by duplicitous means, but heroes fight honourably. That is their greatest strength. Never trust a rākṣasa on the battlefield!’ said Garuḍa as he embraced them and prepared to leave.

  When the monkeys saw that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had been revived, they shouted and yelled and whipped their tails. They beat their drums and blew their conches and laughed and danced and went back to their monkey pranks. They slapped each other’s backs and pulled up thousands of trees, ready to do battle again. They surged towards the gates of Lankā, lusting for a fight, and the din they raised made the rākṣasas anxious.

  Chapter Six

  Rāvaṇa heard the sound of the monkeys that swelled like thunder and remarked to his ministers, ‘This thunderous din sounds as if the monkeys are rejoicing. They are obviously very pleased about something, for the noise they are making is enough to agitate the ocean! But Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are supposed to be bound by Indrajit’s snake arrows. This uproar produces grave doubts in my mind!’

  He turned to his personal guards who stood around him. ‘Find out what makes the monkeys rejoice at a time when they should be in despair!’

  The guards were confused and climbed to the tops of the ramparts. They saw Sugrīva in full control of the army. Then, they saw Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa standing there, freed of their bonds, and they were filled with despair. Fear clutched at their hearts as they climbed down and went back to Rāvaṇa with crestfallen faces. They reported the bad news to him in great detail.

  ‘Indrajit felled the brothers with his arrows, binding them so that they could move neither hand nor foot. They have snapped their bonds with the strength of elephants and can now be seen on the battlefield!’

  A wave of sadness washed over Rāvaṇa and he grew somewhat worried. He kept his eyes on the ground as he said, ‘Indrajit’s arrows were like the sun in splendour and they were a gift from the gods. They were infallible, like poisonous snakes. If my enemies were able to free themselves from these, it does not bode well for the rest of my forces.’ Hissing like an angry snake, Rāvaṇa called upon Dhūmrākṣa. ‘Go out with a huge force of fierce rākṣasas and kill Rāma and the monkeys!’

  Dhūmrākṣa lost no time in carrying out Rāvaṇa’s commands and quickly organized a band of heroic rākṣasas. The frightful rākṣasas with bells on their girdles shouted with glee as they came from all directions, armed with every kind of weapon. Laughing, Dhūmrākṣa rode out of the western gate, surrounded by the rākṣasas. A host of bad omens appeared as he went out and Dhūmrākṣa was scared. Then he saw that enormous monkey army that was as large as the ocean, commanded by Rāma.

  The monkeys were delighted to see formidable Dhūmrākṣa marching forth and, in their eagerness to fight, they sent up a huge shout. A great battle ensued between the monkeys and the rākṣasas as they attacked each other with trees and stones and spears and iron clubs. The rākṣasas attacked the monkeys with their vicious weapons, tore their limbs apart with arrows and pierced their bodies with spears. The monkeys retaliated with huge trees and rocks, tearing at the rākṣasas with their nails and teeth, smashing them with their fists and crushing them underfoot as they yelled and shouted. The ground was littered with fallen horses, chariots, elephants and dead rākṣasas as the monkeys continued to fight enthusiastically, even though they were drenched in blood from their wounds. Some had been disembowelled, others had had their chests ripped open and some lay dead on the ground.

  Hanumān saw that the monkey army was having trouble and he surged towards Dhūmrākṣa with a massive rock. Hanumān was his father’s equal in strength and speed and he hurled the rock with all his might towards the rākṣasa. Dhūmrākṣa jumped out of his chariot as it was smashed into little pieces along with its horses. Hanumān then turned his attention to the rākṣasa army and wreaked havoc among them, assaulting them with trees and rocks. The rākṣasas fell to the ground, their heads broken, their bodies bathed in blood, tormented by their wounds.

  Hanumān renewed his attack on Dhūmrākṣa, uprooting an entire mountain crest as he ran towards him. Dhūmrākṣa struck Hanumān with his spiked mace but the monkey did not even feel the blow. Hanumān threw the mountain peak at Dhūmrākṣa and it hit him on the head. Dhūmrākṣa collapsed on the ground, his body limp. When the rākṣasas who were still left alive saw that their commander had been slain, they ran back to Lankā in terror. Hanumān was tired, but glad that he had routed the enemy and received the praises of the monkeys with joy.

  Rāvaṇa was enraged when he heard about the death of Dhūmrākṣa. He called the famed general Akampana and ordered him to go out and meet the monkey forces. A huge number of truly frightening rākṣasas came to join him as Akampana, black as a cloud and with a voice like thunder, rode out in his chariot of burnished gold.

  There was another great battl
e between the rākṣasas and the monkeys who were ready to sacrifice their lives. The air was rent with battle cries and great shouts as they fought with speed and power. The warriors could not see each other or anything else because of the dust, white as washed silk, that rose and covered the battlefield. Horses, chariots, flags, banners, weapons and armour were all obscured by the dust and the fighters ran here and there, practically invisible. The rākṣasas and the monkeys attacked each other, killing friend and foe alike and the earth was drenched in blood.

  Akampana inspired the rākṣasas to great deeds, but the monkeys fought with equal valour and killed huge numbers of the enemy.

  Akampana worked himself up into a mighty rage and brandished his bow. He ordered his charioteer to drive straight into the heart of the battle and he slaughtered monkeys all around him with his sharp arrows. The monkeys could not take a stand against him and fell back.

  Hanumān saw the rout and arrived there to face Akampana. The monkeys rallied around him with great shouts of joy and stood firm against the enemy. Akampana greeted Hanumān with a rain of arrows but the mighty monkey stood there, steady as a rock, unmindful of the arrows that struck him, like a mountain in a storm. He concentrated his mind on how he was going to kill Akampana. He charged towards the rākṣasa with all his might and realizing that he was unarmed, he grabbed a mountain peak along the way, blazing like fire. But Akampana shattered the peak from a distance with his sharp arrows. Hanumān was enraged and uprooted a tree as tall as a mountain. He whirled it around over his head gleefully and renewed his charge, tearing up the earth with his feet. He killed and maimed rākṣasas as well as horses and elephants here and there and finally, the terrified rākṣasas fled.

  Akampana roared and rushed towards Hanumān, striking him with fourteen arrows. The great monkey pulled up another tree and smashed it down on Akampana’s head. The rākṣasa fell down in a heap and died. The other rākṣasas fled in terror, their hair dishevelled, sweat pouring from their bodies. The monkeys gathered around Hanumān and praised him for his prowess in battle.

  Rāvaṇa was disheartened to hear about the death of Akampana. He brooded for a while and then held discussions with his ministers. He walked around the city with its flags and banners and inspected the fortifications and defences and saw that it was well-guarded at every post. He called for Prahasta, the veteran warrior, and told him to mount an attack against the monkeys.

  Prahasta summoned his forces and within an hour, Lankā was swarming with mighty warriors brandishing their weapons. They poured oblations into the fire and honoured the brahmins as the air filled with the fragrance of ghee. Ready for battle, they joyfully took the wreaths and garlands over which mantras for their invincibility had been uttered and saluted their king before they set forth.

  Drums were beaten and music from other instruments rose into the air as Prahasta’s forces rumbled out of the city from the eastern gate, sounding like a mighty ocean. Prahasta resembled the god of death at doomsday. Evil omens appeared everywhere, clouds rained blood over Prahasta’s chariot, a vulture perched on his flagstaff and his natural splendour dimmed as his horses stumbled on level ground.

  But Prahasta, famous for his strength and prowess, continued forward and the monkeys came to meet him armed with their weapons. A huge din arose as the fighting forces met. Misguided Prahasta moved into battle against the monkey king’s army as a moth rushes to a flame, hoping to destroy it.

  The rākṣasas’ weapons glittered and shone as they advanced and the monkeys armed themselves with trees and rocks and huge boulders. Hundreds of monkeys and rākṣasas were killed in this massive encounter. Some were impaled on spears, some felled with discuses, some hacked to death with battle axes, some crushed with mighty clubs, some pierced by arrows, others cut open with swords. Rākṣasas were crushed and pulverized with trees and rocks and stones, smashed by fists and feet. They vomited blood and their teeth and eyes fell out of their heads.

  Meanwhile, Prahasta wreaked havoc among the monkeys with his arrows while the two armies, locked in deadly combat, swirled like a whirlpool and filled the air with thunderous roars. A river of blood flowed swiftly past. The broken weapons it carried looked like uprooted trees, it had liver and viscera for mud, fat for foam, entrails for floating vegetation, heads and bodies for fish and dismembered limbs for the grass on its banks.

  The great monkey Nīla watched as Prahasta slaughtered the monkeys all around him from his chariot. Nīla charged towards him and was met with a hail of arrows that pierced him all over his body. He grabbed an enormous tree and crushed Prahasta’s fine horses with a single blow. He snatched Prahasta’s bow from his hand and smashed it with a huge roar. Prahasta jumped out of his chariot and prepared to face Nīla with his club. The two mighty commanders faced each other like rutting elephants, like a lion and a tiger. They rained blows upon each other, Prahasta using his club and Nīla using rocks and boulders. Blood poured from their bodies but they continued to fight. Finally, Nīla smashed an enormous rock on Prahasta’s head which shattered into a thousand pieces. He fell to the earth like a tree axed at the root, blood streaming from his head like a cascade from a mountain.

  The rākṣasas were totally demoralized with the death of Prahasta and losing heart they could not make a stand against the monkeys any more than water can be contained by a broken dam. They returned to Lankā, plunged into an ocean of grief, while the monkeys rejoiced and praised Nīla for his deeds.

  At this point, Rāvaṇa decided that it was time for him to enter the fray. ‘I cannot ignore the fact that my general, who had even defeated Indra in battle, was killed by this army of monkeys. I myself will go into battle and wrest victory from the hands of these creatures. I shall consume Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and all these monkeys with my arrows as a forest is consumed by fire!’ He climbed into his chariot that was yoked with the finest horses and blazed like a fire with its own splendour.

  As Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas, went forth, he was honoured with the beating of drums and the blaring of conches, the shouting of battle cries and the singing of hymns. Surrounded by flesh-eating warriors with blazing eyes who were the size of mountains, he looked like Śiva surrounded by the gaṇas. The mighty one left the city quickly and beheld the army of fierce monkeys, armed with trees and rocks, roaring like the ocean at high tide.

  Vibhīṣaṇa pointed Rāvaṇa out to Rāma and Rāma, deeply impressed, said, ‘Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas, blazes with his own splendour and dazzles the eye like the sun! I can see him clearly from here, lit up by his majesty. Even the bodies of the gods and the dānavas do not shine with this kind of brilliance. All the warriors under his command are as large as mountains and are armed with shining weapons.’ Rāma stood with Lakṣmaṇa at his side, his bow at the ready, arrows chosen from his quiver.

  Sugrīva, the king of the monkeys, rushed towards Rāvaṇa, armed with an immense mountain peak. He hurled it at him with all his might but Rāvaṇa shattered it with his golden arrows. Then he picked an arrow that hissed like a serpent and shot it at Sugrīva with such force that sparks flew as it travelled through the air. It pierced Sugrīva with the force of Indra’s thunderbolt and split open his chest. Sugrīva fell to the ground with a cry of pain and lost consciousness.

  Then the other monkey leaders joined the attack against Rāvaṇa but he fended them off with a shower of golden arrows that tore at their bodies, making them collapse on the ground. Hanumān saw that Rāvaṇa’s arrows were coming so thick and fast that nothing was visible. ‘You have been granted invulnerability against gods and gandharvas, dānavas, yakṣas and rākṣasas. But you have reason to fear a monkey!’ he shouted angrily as he moved towards the rākṣasa. ‘ My left arm will drive the living breath from your body!’

  ‘Come! Strike me!’ shouted Rāvaṇa, his eyes red with rage. ‘What are you waiting for? I shall test your strength and then I shall kill you!’

  ‘Have you forgotten how I killed your son Akṣa?’ ta
unted Hanumān. Rāvaṇa dealt him such a mighty blow in the middle of his chest that the great monkey staggered and reeled. Nīla rushed in to help Hanumān but he was met with a hail of fiery arrows that burned him all over his body. Meanwhile, Hanumān had recovered his strength, but when he saw Rāvaṇa engaged in combat with Nīla, he held back, knowing that it was wrong to attack an enemy when he was fighting another. Nīla hurled trees and rocks and stones at Rāvaṇa but the rākṣasa shattered them all with his arrows while they were still in the air.

  Then Nīla contracted his body and leapt to the top of Rāvaṇa’s chariot. He hopped from the flagstaff to Rāvaṇa’s bow and onto his crown, dodging Rāvaṇa all the time. Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān watched in amazement and the other monkeys broke into shouts of laughter. Incensed, Rāvaṇa invoked the power of Agni’s weapon and used it against Nīla. Struck by the flaming weapon, Nīla fell to the ground.

  Rāvaṇa turned his chariot towards Lakṣmaṇa and bore down on him through the battle, shaking the earth around him and blazing like a fire. ‘Come and fight with me, king of the rākṣasas!’ shouted Lakṣmaṇa. ‘Why do you fight only with monkeys!’ And then began a battle of wondrous arrows with golden shafts, crescent heads and divine feathers. Lakṣmaṇa repelled everything that Rāvaṇa threw at him and finally, Rāvaṇa drew out the arrow that Brahmā had given him, which was as powerful as the doomsday fire. It struck Lakṣmaṇa in the middle of his forehead and the great warrior reeled from its impact even as he managed to split Rāvaṇa’s bow and strike him with three arrows.