The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Chapter 5(6)

  The powerful one saw that network of houses.60 They had windows that were decorated with lapis lazuli. It looked like a giant net of clouds during the monsoon, penetrated with lightning and mixed with a net of birds. There were many kinds of houses and halls. There were major ones for storing conch shells and weapons, halls for bows. He again saw pleasant and large chambers above those houses, like attics. There were many kinds of riches in those houses, extremely revered by gods and asuras. They were devoid of all kinds of taints. The ape saw the strength they had accumulated for themselves. He saw the houses of the lord of Lanka, constructed with a great deal of care and effort, as if by Maya himself.61 It possessed all the excellent qualities on earth. He then saw an excellent house that had no comparison. It rose up loftily, like a cloud. It was pleasant to see, with a beautiful form made out of gold. This belonged to the lord of the rakshasas and was similar to his own strength. It was spread out like a heaven on earth. It blazed in prosperity and was filled with many kinds of jewels. It was covered with flowers from many trees and was like the summit of a mountain, covered with pollen. It dazzled, like an excellent woman. It was like a cloud, being worshipped by the lightning. It blazed with prosperity, like a vimana in the sky meant for the performers of good deeds, being borne along by excellent swans. It was like the summit of a mountain, colourful with many minerals. It was like the firmament, coloured with planets and the moon. He saw it and it was like a colourful cloud. He saw the jewel among vimanas, coloured with many gems.62 The earth was created so that it could be full of mountain ranges. The mountains were created so that they could be full of arrays of trees. The trees were created so that they could be full of arrays of flowers. The flowers were created so that they could be full of filaments and petals. The white houses were also created and so were the lakes, full of excellent flowers. There were also lotuses with filaments and colourful and superb groves. The great ape saw a great vimana there, radiant and named Pushpaka. It was large and radiant with jewels. It was taller than the excellent houses. Birds made of lapis lazuli were in it and also birds made of silver and coral. There were colourful serpents made out of many kinds of riches. There were steeds from noble breeds, auspicious in their limbs. The wings of the birds were of coral, molten gold and flowers. Without any water, the wings were curved. The wings were as radiant as Kama63 himself. These birds, with excellent faces and excellent wings, were constructed. The goddess Lakshmi was fashioned,64 seated on a lotus, with excellent hands and with a lotus in her hand. She was worshipped by elephants with excellent trunks, holding lotuses with filaments in their trunks. The house was beautiful in this way. He wondered at its beauty, which was like that of a beautiful mountain. He again looked at it, extremely fragrant and extremely beautiful, like a mountain with beautiful caverns during the spring. The ape approached and wandered around that revered city, protected by the one with ten faces and arms.65 However, he did not see Janaka’s extremely revered daughter, vanquished by the force of the qualities her husband possessed, and became extremely miserable because of this. Therefore, the one with the cleansed soul thought in many ways. He had made up his mind to search out Janaka’s daughter. Unable to see her, his mind became extremely miserable. The great-souled one roamed around, casting his glance here and there.

  Chapter 5(7)

  In the midst of those best among houses, Hanumat, the son of the wind god, saw an extremely large and excellent residence. It was half a yojana long and one yojana wide. This was the residence of the Indra among the rakshasas and had many mansions inside it. He was searching for the whereabouts of the large-eyed Vaidehi Sita. Hanumat, the slayer of enemies, wandered around everywhere. There were elephants with four tusks and with three tusks. It was extensive, without obstructions, and was protected by rakshasas wielding weapons. This was the residence of Ravana and his rakshasi wives. It was full of princesses whom he had abducted, using his force. It was like an ocean, turbulent because of the force of the wind and filled with crocodiles, makaras, fish and serpents. The prosperity that existed with Vaishravana66 and with Indra with the tawny steeds, all that always existed in Ravana’s house, without any diminishing. Whatever prosperity existed with King Kubera, Yama or Varuna, such prosperity and more existed in the rakshasa’s house. In the midst of those mansions, there was a residence that was constructed very well. The son of the wind god saw this, filled with many chambers. It was divinely constructed, fashioned in heaven by Vishvakarma for Brahma. This was the vimana named Pushpaka and it was decorated with every jewel. After performing supreme austerities, Kubera obtained this from the grandfather. Through his energy, the lord of the rakshasas defeated Kubera and obtained it. There were images of wolves, fashioned out of silver and gold. The pillars were constructed extremely well and blazed in their prosperity. It was like Meru or Mandara, etched out in the sky. It was decorated everywhere and was full of secret chambers that were auspicious in form. Vishvakarma had fashioned it well and it blazed like the fire and the sun. The stairs were made out of gold and the altars were beautiful and excellent. There were windows and ventilators made out of gold and crystal. The best of platforms were made out of jewels like blue sapphire and emeralds. The great ape climbed on to the divine vimana, Pushpaka. Fragrances arose from the drinks, food and rice stored there. A divine and beautiful fragrance could be smelt, blown along by the wind. Like a friend speaking to an excellent friend, that fragrance seemed to tell the great spirit,67 ‘Come here’, summoning him to the spot where Ravana was. Hanumat left in that direction and saw a large and auspicious gallery, loved by Ravana’s mind, like an excellent woman who is loved. The stairs were made out of jewels, embellished with golden nets. The floor was made out of crystal and there were images made out of ivory inside. There were a large number of pillars, decorated with pearls, coral, silver, gold and gems. These were even, upright and extremely tall, ornamented all over. Using those tall pillars, like a bird, it seemed to take off and leave for the sky. It was covered with a huge carpet, marked with all the signs of the earth.68 The residence of the lord of the rakshasas was marked by the calling of crazy birds, the scent of divine fragrances and the spreading out of supreme carpets. It was thick with the smoke and incense of aloe. It was as sparkling white as a swan. Colourfully decorated with flowers, it was as greatly radiant as the celestial cow. The agreeable colour generated delight in the heart. It destroyed sorrow and seemed to generate divine prosperity. Protected by Ravana, it satisfied like a mother, using excellent objectives of the five senses to cater to the five senses. The son of the wind god thought, ‘This is perhaps heaven, the world of the gods. This is perhaps Indra’s city. This is perhaps the supreme objective.’ While thinking in this way, he saw golden lamps. He thought, ‘There is the radiance of the lamps, Ravana’s energy and the brilliance of the ornaments. It is as if in an act of gambling, a skilled gambler is being defeated by a gambler who possesses greater skills.’

  He saw thousands of beautiful women, attired in many kinds of garments. With garments and garlands of many shades, they were seated on many kinds of seats. Midnight was over. They had fallen prey to drinking and sleep. After having sported, in the second half of the night, they were sleeping even more deeply. As they slept, their inner ornaments were radiant, but silent. It was like a great grove full of lilies, where the swans and the bees were quiet. The son of the wind god saw that their eyes were closed and their teeth were covered by their lips. He saw the faces of those excellent women, covered with the fragrance of lotuses. The faces were like lotuses that had bloomed during the day, but now that it was night and day was over, the petals of the lotuses had closed. It seemed as if crazy bees were incessantly hovering around those faces, which were like lotuses, as if seeking out blooming lotuses. The handsome and great ape reasoned it out in this way. He thought, ‘In qualities, these faces are the equal of lotuses that bloom in the water.’ With the radiance of those women, that pavilion was like the clear sky during the autumn, decorated by st
ars. The lord of the rakshasas was surrounded by those radiant ones and was like the handsome lord of the stars, surrounded by the stars. The ape thought, ‘When their merit is exhausted, stars are dislodged from the sky. All these assembled ones are like that.’ From the radiance of the women, there was an auspicious complexion in the palace. They clearly seemed to be like large stars with auspicious rays. Their excellent garlands and garments were scattered around and their heavy breasts were revealed. After drinking and exertions, sleep had taken away their senses. For some, the marks on the foreheads were smudged. For some, the anklets had fallen off. For some other supreme women, the necklaces had been placed to one side. Some wore necklaces made of pearls. For some, the garments were displaced. Like young female horses, for some, the noose of the girdle had been loosened. There were some with excellent earrings, but their garlands were torn. They were like creepers in a great forest, crushed by an Indra among elephants. Some women slept like swans and between their breasts, there were prominent necklaces, with a hue like that of the moon’s beams. Others had necklaces made of lapis lazuli and these looked like kadamba birds. The golden threads of others looked like chakravakas. Their radiant hips were like the banks of a river, decorated by flocks of swans, karandavas and chakravakas. They slept like the banks of an illustrious river, full of crocodiles, with the large nets of gold like radiant lotuses. On some, the auspicious marks left by the ornaments were themselves like ornaments on their delicate limbs and on their nipples. The inhalation of breath by some disturbed the ends of the garments of others and they repeatedly breathed on each other’s faces. There were many kinds of dazzling and golden ornaments around the necks of those wives, and radiant in form, they rose up like flags. As if with rays that are auspicious, the earrings of some moved around, because of the breath that was gently exhaled by those excellent women. The breath was pleasant and fragrant because of the scent of liquor made from molasses.69 The breath from their faces seemed to serve Ravana. Some of Ravana’s women repeatedly inhaled the fragrance from the mouths of their co-wives, mistakenly taking those to be Ravana’s face. The minds of those supreme women were excessively attached to Ravana. They were not completely independent, and therefore, acted agreeably towards their co-wives. Some were ornamented and slept using their own arms as pillows. Those beautiful women were decorated with garments and bracelets. Some slept on the bosom of another, some in the arms of another. Some slept in the lap of another, some on the thighs of another. They embraced the thighs, flanks, waists and backs of others. Others were intoxicated and overcome by affection, clung to each other. Some slender-waisted ones were delighted at being able to touch the limb of another. The women slept with their arms entwined with each other. It was as if a garland of women had been fashioned out of each other’s arms. It was as radiant as a garland, with crazy bees hovering around it. Clinging to each other, they were like a garland made out of flowers adhering to each other, or like a blossoming creeper during a spring month, tended to by the breeze. As their shoulders clung to each other, they were like a grove, frequented by bees. Ravana’s women were like a grove. Even if one tried, the ornaments, limbs, garments and garlands of those women couldn’t clearly be distinguished from those of others. With many kinds of complexions, Ravana’s women slept happily. When one looks without blinking, they were like blazing golden lamps. Those women were the daughters of royal sages, daityas and gandharvas, forced to surrender to the rakshasa’s desire. There was no woman who had not been abducted, obtained through the qualities of valour. There was no one who had desired another man, or had indulged in intercourse with another. The only exception was the supreme lady, Janaka’s daughter. There was no one who was not of noble birth. There was no one who was ugly. There was no one who was unaccomplished. There was no one who did not know how to serve. None of his wives was weak in spirit. There was no one who was not desired and loved. The lord of the apes thought, ‘Just as the rakshasa king’s wives are with their husband, it would have been good had Raghava’s noble-born wife by dharma been with her husband.’ Greatly distressed, he again thought, ‘It is certain that Sita is superior to them in qualities. Though the lord of Lanka is great-souled, he has performed an extremely ignoble act.’

  Chapter 5(8)

  Hanumat looked around and saw excellent couches that were like divine ones, decorated with crystal and jewels. In one spot, he saw a white umbrella that was like the lord of the stars, decorated with garlands at the top. In every direction, there were whisks made of hair in their hands.70 There were many kinds of fragrances and the scent of excellent incense. It71 was covered with an excellent spread and the best of sheep hide was spread over it. In every direction, it was embellished with ropes that were made out of garlands. On that, he72 was like a cloud, with blazing and excellent earrings. The mighty-armed one’s eyes were red and his garments were made out of gold. His limbs were smeared with fragrant red sandalwood paste. He was like a cloud in the sky, with the qualities of lightning and as red as the evening. He wore divine jewellery and he was extremely handsome, capable of assuming any form at will. He was asleep and was like Mandara, with its trees and creepers. Having sported in the night, he was adorned in supreme ornaments. He was loved by the rakshasa maidens and brought happiness to the rakshasas. The great ape saw him lying down there, after a bout of drinking. The brave lord of the rakshasas was asleep on a radiant couch. Ravana was sighing like a serpent. The supreme among apes approached him, and then, anxious and scared, retreated. He ascended and resorted to another platform and from there, the great ape looked at the tiger among rakshasas, who was asleep. Lying down on that excellent couch, the Indra among the rakshasas was resplendent. He was like a giant waterfall, with a fragrant elephant inside it. The great-souled one saw that the Indra among rakshasas had spread out his arms, with golden armlets on them. They looked like Indra’s standard. There were wounds from the tips of the tusks, created when Airavat had attacked him. His thick shoulders bore marks of being struck with the vajra and Vishnu’s chakra. The shoulders were appropriate for such a strong one, thick and developed well. It was seen that the nails, thumbs, fingers and palms bore excellent marks. The arms were round, like the trunks of elephants. They were round, like clubs, with well-formed joints. As he slept on that sparkling couch, they were spread around, like five-headed serpents. The upper part of his body was smeared with sandalwood paste that was extremely cool and extremely fragrant, with a hue like that of a hare’s blood.73 He was the one who made yakshas, serpents, gandharvas, gods and danavas scream. Excellent women had massaged him and smeared those excellent unguents on him. The ape saw him lying there on that couch, with his arms spread out. He was like a giant and angry serpent, asleep inside Mandara. The full arms of the lord of the rakshasas were as radiant as a mountain, or like Mandara with its peaks. As the lion among the rakshasas lay down and exhaled, the excellent fragrance of mangoes, punnagas and supreme bakula emerged from his large mouth and filled that house. However, the scent of liquor dominated all this, mixed with juices from sweet rice. He had taken off his golden and radiant crown, dazzling with many kinds of pearls and jewels. Because of the earrings, his face blazed. He was ornamented by a necklace smeared with red sandalwood paste. It dazzled on his thick, broad and large chest. He was attired in a white silk garment and his eyes were like wounds.74 An extremely expensive and yellow garment was tied well around him.75 He was like a pile of black beans and sighed like a serpent. He was like an elephant sleeping in the great waters of the Ganga. He was illuminated from the four directions with four golden and blazing lamps. Thereby, all his limbs were like clouds tinged with lightning.

  In the house of the lord of the rakshasas, at his feet, the extremely great-souled one saw his wives and his beloved wife. Their faces were like the moon and they were ornamented with the best of earrings. The leader of the apes saw that they were adorned with garlands and ornaments that did not fade. They wore excellent ornaments and were accomplished in dancing and the playing of musical
instruments. The ape saw them sleeping, on the arms and lap of the Indra among the rakshasas. The tips of the ears of those women were embedded with diamonds. He saw their earrings and armlets, made out of molten gold. Their faces were like the moon and the delicate earrings sparkled. The mansion was resplendent, like the sky with a large number of stars. The women of that Indra among the rakshasas were exhausted and tired from drinking and exertions.76 As soon as they found a chance, those slender-waisted ones fell asleep. One could be seen to be asleep, embracing her veena. She was like a lotus floating away on a great river and clutching to a boat. Like an affectionate mother attached to her infant child, another black-eyed and beautiful one slept embracing a drum. Another lovely one who was beautiful in all her limbs and possessed beautiful breasts embraced a war drum, as if she had got back her lover after a long time. Another lotus-eyed one slept while embracing a flute, as if a beautiful lady was embracing her lover and had been overcome by sleep. Another one possessed soft, thick and beautiful golden breasts. With intoxicated eyes, she slept while embracing a drum.77 There was another unblemished one, with a flat stomach. Exhausted from lust, she slept while clutching a cymbal next to her arms and sides. Another embraced a small drum, as if she was attached to that small drum. The beautiful one slept, as if embracing her young child. Another lotus-eyed woman, intoxicated by desire, slept while clutching on to a drum with her arms, as if in the throes of passion. Another radiant and beautiful lady fell down in her sleep, while clutching a pot. She looked like a sparkling and speckled garland made out of flowers during the spring. Another clutched her own breasts, which were like golden pots, with her hands. Vanquished by the power of sleep, that weak one slept while embracing herself. There was another one with eyes like lotus petals, with a face that was like the full moon. The one with the beautiful hips was senseless with desire and slept while embracing another one. Those supreme women embraced different kinds of unknown musical instruments. While they slept, they crushed them with their breasts, like women full of desire embrace men full of desire.