The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Seeing that Hanumat was headed towards the spot where Raghava was, Indrajit went to Nikumbhila,301 to offer oblations into the fire. Following the prescribed rites, the rakshasa lit the fire in the sacrificial ground. On devouring the oblations of blood, the fire blazed up. The flames were seen to be dense, satisfied by the offerings of blood. Like the sun in the evening, fierce flames arose. Indrajit knew about the rites. To ensure the prosperity of the rakshasas, he followed the rites and offered oblations. The rakshasas knew about what should be done, and what should not be done, at sacrifices. They watched and stood around in large numbers.

  Chapter 6(70)

  Hearing the great sound of the battle between the rakshasas and the residents of the forest, Raghava spoke to Jambavat. ‘O amiable one! There is no doubt that Hanumat has performed an extremely difficult deed. The terrible and extremely loud sound of fighting can be heard. Therefore, surround yourself with your own army. Go and help him. Go and quickly help the best among the apes while he is fighting.’ The king of the bears agreed and surrounded himself with his own army. He approached the western gate, where the ape Hanumat was. As he was advancing, the lord of the bears saw Hanumat along the path. He was surrounded by apes who had fought and were now sighing. Along the path, Hanumat saw that ready army of bears. It was terrible and was like a dark cloud. He met it and made it return.

  With that army of the apes, the immensely illustrious one swiftly went to Rama’s presence. Miserable, he spoke these words. ‘We were fighting in the battle and saw Indrajit, Ravana’s son, kill the weeping Sita. O slayer of enemies! On seeing this, I was distressed and my senses were in a whirl. Therefore, I have come to you, to tell you about what has occurred.’ Hearing his words, Raghava became senseless with grief. He fell down on the ground, like a tree severed at the roots. Raghava was like a god and he fell down on the ground. On seeing this, all the excellent apes leapt up and approached from all directions. They sprinkled him with water that was fragrant with the scent of lotuses and lilies, just as one sprinkles an intolerable and consuming fire that has suddenly arisen.

  Extremely miserable, Lakshmana engulfed the ailing Rama in his arms and spoke words that were full of meaning. ‘O noble one! You have remained established on an auspicious path. You have conquered your senses. But dharma is futile. It cannot save you from adversities. Dharma is not like mobile and immobile objects that can be seen. Therefore, it is my view that it does not exist. Immobile objects are evident and mobile objects are also like that. Artha is not like that. Otherwise, someone like you would not have faced this catastrophe. Had adharma led to consequences, Ravana would have gone to hell. Nor would someone like you, devoted to dharma, have confronted this adversity. There is no hardship for him and you have faced this hardship. The fruits of adharma have become those of dharma and the fruits of dharma have become those of adharma. If people are not attached to adharma and unite themselves with dharma, if they follow dharma, they should obtain the fruits of dharma. For those in whom dharma is established, artha must be enhanced. But those who follow dharma are suffering. Therefore, both of them302 must be futile. O Raghava! Those who are wicked in their deeds must be killed because of their adharma. Who will slay the one who has killed dharma because of his deeds? Perhaps someone follows the recommended rituals and is killed, or kills someone else instead. Perhaps this is ascribed to destiny and the person is not affected by the wicked deed. O afflicter of enemies! How does one counter destiny? How can one be attached to what is not manifest? How is one capable of attaining supreme dharma? O foremost among those who are virtuous! If there is virtue, why are you suffering from this vice? Why has someone like you faced this calamity? Perhaps those who are weak in strength and suffer from lack of virility follow dharma. It is my view that it303 is weak in strength and robbed of honour. It should not be served. If dharma is for the strong, its qualities should manifest themselves in valour. Abandon dharma and follow the principle that dharma exists where there is strength. O scorcher of enemies! If dharma is indeed based on speaking the truth, why did our cruel father bind you down to a falsehood?304 O scorcher of enemies! Had dharma or adharma existed, Shatakratu, the wielder of the vajra, would not have killed a sage and performed a sacrifice thereafter.305 O Raghava! Those who resort to adharma can destroy dharma. O Kakutstha! In everything, a man does as he wishes. O father!306 O Raghava! It is my view that dharma lies in this.307 When you were deprived of the kingdom, that was the time when dharma was severed at the roots. Here and there, artha must be accumulated and made to prosper. All the rites flow from this, like rivers from mountains. A man who is deprived of artha is limited in energy. All his rites are destroyed, like a small stream during the summer. A person used to happiness may desire happiness and abandon artha. However, he then indulges in evil acts and sins result. A person with artha has friends. A person with artha has relatives. A person with artha is a true man in this world. A person with artha is learned. A person with artha is brave. A person with artha is intelligent. A person with artha is immensely fortunate. A person with artha possesses great qualities. I have told you about the great taints that come about through the abandoning of artha. O brave one! By making up your mind to abandon the kingdom, that is what you have done. A person who possesses artha is encircled by dharma, kama and artha. A person without riches cannot desire artha. He is incapable of searching out artha. O lord of men! Everything flows from artha—delight, desire, pride, dharma, anger, tranquility and self-control. If a person follows dharma in this world, but his artha is destroyed, as in you, all those are missing in him, like planets on a bad day. O brave one! Established in the words of your senior, you proceeded on an exile. Your wife, more loved than your own life, was abducted by a rakshasa. O brave one! Thus, today, Indrajit has brought about this great misery on you. O Raghava! Arise. I will dispel it with my deeds. O unblemished one! I will arise for the sake of your beloved. I am enraged at witnessing the death of Janaka’s daughter. I will use my terrible arrows to bring down Lanka, with its horses, elephants, chariots and the Indras among the rakshasas.’

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  Lakshmana, devoted to his brother, comforted Rama. Instructing the divisions to remain in their places, Vibhishana arrived at the spot. He was surrounded by his four brave advisers, who were wielding many kinds of weapons. They looked like masses of dark collyrium, like a herd of elephants. He approached the great-souled Raghava, who was immersed in his grief. He also saw the apes, with tears streaming from their eyes. He saw the great-souled Raghava, the delight of the Ikshvaku lineage. He was senseless and was lying down on Lakshmana’s lap. Vibhishana saw Rama, ashamed and tormented by grief. Distressed in his soul and suffering internally, he asked, ‘What is this?’ Lakshmana glanced at Vibhishana’s face and at Sugriva and the apes. His voice choking with tears, he spoke these words. ‘Raghava has heard that Indrajit has killed Sita. O amiable one! Having heard Hanumat’s words, he has lost his senses.’ As Soumitri was speaking, Vibhishana stopped him. Rama was senseless, but he addressed him in words that were full of meaning. ‘O Indra among men! In an afflicted state, Hanumat told you that. But I think that what he said is like the ocean drying up. I know the intention of the evil-souled Ravana. O mighty-armed one! He will never kill Sita. Desiring his welfare, I beseeched him several times that he should give up Vaidehi. But he never heeded those words. It is impossible to see her through sama, bheda, dana, not to speak of fighting. How could it be possible through any other means?308 That rakshasa departed after confounding the apes. He is offering oblations in the sanctuary named Nikumbhila. On returning, he will offer oblations and Ravana’s son will become unassailable in battle, even to the gods, with Vasava. That is indeed the reason why he has used maya and caused confusion. O father!309 He did not desire an obstruction caused through the valour of the apes. Before it is completed, we should go there, with our soldiers. O tiger among men! Cast aside this futile torment that has come over you. On seeing you afflicted by sorrow, all the forces are suffering
. Be assured. Steady your heart and remain here. Resort to your spirit. Send Lakshmana with the soldiers who will be summoned. Once he abandons his task,310 this tiger among men will slay him with his sharp arrows. His arrows are sharp and fierce, with a speed like that in the wings of birds. The arrows of this amiable one are like birds and will drink his blood. O mighty-armed one! Instruct Lakshmana for the destruction of the rakshasa, like the wielder of the vajra using his vajra. He possesses the auspicious signs. O best among men! There is no time to waste. One must now do whatever is necessary to slay the enemy. Therefore, tell him that he should kill the enemy. Release him, like the great Indra crushing the city of the asuras. If he finishes his sacrifice, the Indra among rakshasas will be invisible to gods and asuras. If he fights after completing his sacrifice, there will be a great danger to even the gods.’

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  Afflicted by grief, Raghava heard these words. He was unable to clearly comprehend what the rakshasa had said. Rama, the victor of enemy cities, then resorted to his fortitude. He spoke to Vibhishana, who was seated near the apes. ‘O lord of the nairittas! O Vibhishana! I wish to again hear the words that you have spoken. Tell me what you want.’ Hearing Raghava’s words, Vibhishana, eloquent in the use of words, carefully repeated the words again. ‘O mighty-armed one! As you had instructed, I arranged the forces in different divisions. O brave one! I followed your words and progressively stationed them. In every direction, the entire army was apportioned out. The leaders and the others were properly laid out in separate parts. O immensely illustrious one! Listen to something else that I have to report. Because you are needlessly tormented, our hearts are also tormented. O king! Abandon this grief and the false torment that has come upon you. Abandon the worries that only enhance the delight of the enemy. O brave one! Be cheerful and exert yourself if you wish to obtain Sita and slay the roamers in the night. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! I am speaking to you. Listen to my beneficial words. It is best that Soumitri should surround himself with a large army and go there. He should reach Nikumbhila and kill Ravana’s son in a battle, using arrows that are like venomous serpents, released from the circle of his bow. The great archer, the victor in assemblies, will kill Ravana’s son with his arrows. Because of his austerities, that brave one has obtained a boon from Svayambhu. He has obtained the Brahmashira weapon and horses that can go wherever they want. “O Indra’s enemy! If an enemy strikes you before you have reached Nikumbhila and before you have offered oblations into the fire, the person who strikes you will be the cause of your death.”311 O king! This is what the intelligent one ordained as a means of his death. O Rama! For the sake of killing Indrajit, command a large army. When he has been killed, know that Ravana and the large number of his well-wishers will also have been killed.’

  Hearing Vibhishana’s words, Rama spoke these words. ‘O one who has truth as his valour! I know about his terrible maya. He is wise and knows about the use of brahmastra. He is immensely strong and great in his use of maya. In a battle, he can render the gods, together with Varuna, unconscious. On his chariot, the immensely illustrious one roams around in the firmament, invisible. O brave one! One cannot discern his movement, like the sun when it is enveloped in clouds.’ Knowing about the valour and maya of the evil-souled enemy, Raghava addressed Lakshmana, who was accomplished in his deeds, in the following words. ‘Surround yourself with the entire army of the Indra among the apes. O Lakshmana! Be with the leaders of the herds, with Hanumat at the forefront. Surround yourself with the soldiers of Jambavat, the lord of the bears. The son of the rakshasa possesses the strength of maya. Kill him. This great-souled roamer in the night knows about his maya. With his advisers, he will follow you at the rear.’

  Hearing Raghava’s words, Lakshmana, terrible in his valour, seized his excellent bow, accompanied by Vibhishana. He bound his armour, wielding a sword. He held arrows and a golden bow. Touching Rama’s feet, Soumitri cheerfully said, ‘Today, arrows will be released from my bow and piercing Ravana’s son, will descend into Lanka, the way swans enter a pond. Today, my arrows will be released from the string of this great bow and pierce his terrible body, devastating him.’ He spoke these words before his radiant elder brother. Having worshipped at his senior’s feet, he circumambulated him. He then left for the Nikumbhila sanctuary, protected by Ravana’s son. Having heard the benedictions from his brother, Lakshmana, the powerful prince, quickly left, together with Vibhishana. Hanumat was surrounded by many thousands of apes and with Vibhishana’s advisers, followed Lakshmana. He312 left with speed, surrounded by a large army of soldiers of the apes. Along the path, he saw that the army of the king of the bears was also stationed. Soumitri, the delight of his friends, travelled a long distance. From a distance, he saw the army of the Indra among the rakshasas, arrayed in the form of a vyuha. The scorcher of enemies reached, with the bow in his hand. Following Brahma’s dictum, the descendant of the Raghu lineage was ready to defeat the one who invoked maya. The army of the enemy possessed many kinds of sparkling and radiant weapons. It was thick with standards and dense with large chariots. It was immeasurable in force and caused fear. It was like darkness, but he penetrated it.

  Chapter 6(73)

  In that situation, Ravana’s younger brother313 addressed Lakshmana in meaningful words that would ensure his success and cause injury to the enemy. ‘O Lakshmana! Make efforts to break this large army. When it is shattered, the son of the Indra among the rakshasas will become visible. Shower down excellent arrows that are like Indra’s vajra on the enemy. Quickly attack, before he accomplishes the sacrifice. O brave one! Slay the evil-souled one. Ravana’s son is cruel in his deeds and causes fear to all the worlds.’

  Hearing Vibhishana’s words, Lakshmana, the possessor of the auspicious signs, showered down arrows in the direction of the son of the Indra among the rakshasas. Bears and apes, fighting with trees and excellent boulders, collectively attacked that army. Desiring to kill the soldiers of the apes, the rakshasas countered and attacked with sharp arrows, swords, spears and javelins. There was a tumultuous engagement between the apes and the rakshasas. A large sound was heard everywhere around Lanka. Enveloped with many kinds of weapons, sharp arrows, trees and raised summits of mountains, the sky looked terrible. In the encounter, the rakshasas, with malformed faces, hurled down weapons and created an extremely great fear among the apes. In a similar way, all the apes used trees and the summits of mountains to strike and kill the bulls among the rakshasas in the encounter. The foremost among the bears and the apes were gigantic in size and extremely strong. The rakshasas were slaughtered by them and a great fear was instilled in them.

  Hearing that his own army was distressed and afflicted by the enemy, the invincible one314 arose, without completing the sacrifice. With rage generated in him, Ravana’s son emerged from amidst the trees and the darkness. The rakshasa mounted the chariot that had already been yoked and kept ready. He was like a mass of black collyrium and his bow and arrows were terrible. He was cruel and his mouth and eyes were red. He was like Death, the destroyer. On seeing him astride the chariot, the army of rakshasas, terrible in their force, returned, to fight with Lakshmana. Hanumat was like a mountain and extremely unassailable. At that time, the slayer of enemies seized a gigantic tree. He burnt down the soldiers of the rakshasas, like the fire of destruction. In the battle, the ape rendered many unconscious with that tree. The rakshasas saw that the spirited son of the wind god was destroying them. Thousands of them obstructed Hanumat. They wielded sharp spears and had javelins and swords in their hands. There were swords. Those with spears in their hands fought with spears. Those with javelins in their hands fought with javelins. There were maces, clubs and spikes that were auspicious to behold. There were hundreds of shataghnis and bludgeons that were made out of iron. The rakshasas used terrible battleaxes and bhindipalas. The force of the fists was like that of the vajra. The palms were like the vajra. From every direction, they advanced and attacked the one who was like a mountain, while
he angrily created great carnage among them.

  Indrajit saw that the best among the apes was like a mountain. The son of the wind god, the slayer of enemies, was killing the enemy. He told the charioteer, ‘Take me to the spot where the ape is. If he is ignored, he will cause destruction to the rakshasas.’ Thus addressed, the charioteer went to the spot where Maruti was. On the chariot, he bore along the extremely invincible Indrajit. Approaching, the rakshasa showered down arrows, swords, javelins, cutlasses and battleaxes on the ape’s head. Maruti received all those terrible weapons. Overcome by great rage, he spoke these words. ‘O evil-minded son of Ravana! If you are brave, fight. If you approach the son of the wind god, you will not return with your life. O evil-minded one! In this battle, if you wish to have a duel with me, fight with your arms and withstand me. You will then be supreme among the rakshasas.’ In a desire to slay Hanumat, Ravana’s son raised his bow and arrow. Vibhishana told Lakshmana, ‘This is Ravana’s son and he has vanquished Vasava. He is now stationed on his chariot and desires to kill Hanumat. Your arrows are unmatched and are capable of shattering the enemy. O Soumitri! They are terrible and can bring an end to life. Slay Ravana’s son with these.’ The great-souled Vibhishana, who caused fright to the enemy, said this. He saw that the invincible one, resembling a mountain and terrible in his strength, was mounted on his chariot.