Paumacariya 55
English (machine translation) 55
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55.1
Now, having learned that the Vānara army had arrived nearby, / the entire city of Laṅkā was agitated like the tide of the salt sea.
55.2
Enraged, the Ten-headed One [Rāvaṇa] assembled his entire army; / in every single house the people spoke only of war.
55.3
The great war drum was beaten, along with sharp paṭaha drums and hosts of musical instruments; / at that sound the warriors armed themselves and went to their master.
55.4
Then, bowing before the lord of Laṅkā who was prepared for battle, / Vibhīṣaṇa, whose intellect was refined by the rules of policy, spoke: "Listen!
55.5
O lord, your vast prosperity here is established like that of Indra; / your fame, white as the moon, conch, and kunda flower, wanders through the whole triple world.
55.6
O master! For the sake of a woman, do not bring yourself to total ruin in a moment! / Give up the daughter of Janaka; what purpose has been accomplished by her?
55.7
And there is no fault in this; there is only virtue throughout the three worlds! / Immersed in an ocean of happiness, enjoy the great sovereignty of the Vidyādharas!"
55.8
Hearing this speech, Indrajit was enraged and spoke thus: / "What authority do you have that you utter such words?
55.9
If you are afraid of the enemies and are utterly cowardly in battle, / throw down your staff and weapon and enter quickly into the interior of your mansion!
55.10
Having slain the enemy in battle amid showers of falling weapons, / fortune is seized by a hero with his sword decisively.
55.11
Having perceived this woman to be the supreme jewel among women on earth, / why should the Ten-headed One let her go as you have spoken?"
55.12
Then he was addressed by Vibhīṣaṇa with reproachful words: / "Born as a son, you have become an enemy to the lord of Laṅkā!
55.13
A fire has indeed broken out in the house, and you feed it with fuel, / yet you consider it exceedingly beneficial, uttering such words!
55.14
Before the golden, massive ramparts of Laṅkā are swiftly shattered / by the arrows of the bearer of Lakṣmī [Lakṣmaṇa], surrender Vaidehī!
55.15
When Rāghava, wielding the bow Vajrāvarta, is angered in the midst of battle / along with the bearer of Lakṣmī, you will not be able to fight them!
55.16
Those who have gone over to his side are many heroic dwellers of monkey islands: / from the coasts of Māhendra and Malaya, from Śrīparvata and Hanuruhā,
55.17
the Kelīgilas, the Rayaṇas, the Velandharas, the Nabhatilakas, / the Sandhyārājas, and those dwelling on the island of Dadhimukha."
55.18
As Vibhīṣaṇa was speaking thus, the Ten-headed One, filled with furious wrath, / drew his sword and prepared to strike him down.
55.19
Vibhīṣaṇa too, overcome by anger, uprooted a jeweled pillar, / and knit his brow fiercely, confronting his elder brother.
55.20
Ready for combat, they were with great difficulty restrained by servants, / and taken to their respective dwellings by Indrajit and Bhānukarṇa.
55.21
Angered, the Ten-faced One said: "Let Vibhīṣaṇa depart from my city! / What is the use of that wicked one remaining here with a hostile mind?"
55.22
No sooner had he spoken thus than Vibhīṣaṇa went out from the excellent city / accompanied by thirty akṣauhiṇīs of an excellent army.
55.23
Vajrindu, Ghaṇemi, Vidyutpracaṇḍāśani, Ghora, / and other great warriors such as Kāla were the companions on Vibhīṣaṇa's side.
55.24
Accompanied by their forces and retinue, mounted on diverse kinds of vehicles and mounts, / covering the expanse of the sky, they descended upon Haṁsadvīpa.
55.25
Seeing Vibhīṣaṇa's army, trembling arose among the Vānaras, / like that of impoverished folk struck by cold winds in winter.
55.26
Padma took up the Vajrāvarta bow, and the bearer of Lakṣmī took up the Ravibhāsa; / and the other vassal chiefs of the monkey army also took weapons in hand.
55.27
Just as the Vānara army had taken up weapons and armor, / at that very moment an envoy was sent by Vibhīṣaṇa to Rāma.
55.28
Bowing to Lord Rāma, the envoy clearly related everything: / the dispute that had arisen between the brothers on account of Sītā, exactly as it had occurred.
55.29
"You are my refuge here, without a doubt," says Vibhīṣaṇa; / "O lord, bestow honor upon me by granting your command!"
55.30
Meanwhile, Padma took counsel with his ministers. / Matisāgara spoke: "First listen to my words:
55.31
Perhaps Vibhīṣaṇa has been sent by the Ten-faced One in deceit, O lord! / Or else, even turbid water becomes pure in a moment."
55.32
Then spoke Matisamudra, a minister well-versed in the śāstras and Āgamas: / "The world relates how enmity arose between the two of them.
55.33
Moreover, O lord, it is heard that Vibhīṣaṇa is skilled in the wisdom of dharma and polity; / how could one endowed with such virtues act with dishonesty toward you?
55.34
Or rather, does not enmity arise here even between sons of the same womb on account of greed? / Listen with a focused mind to this tale as it happened:
55.35
Giribhūti and Gobhūti, two young men, lived in Naimiṣa. / In that very place was King Sūradeva, and his queen was Matī.
55.36
She gave gifts to those brāhmaṇas for the sake of accumulating merit; / [she gave] concealed gold, extremely pure and abundant.
55.37
Seeing the gold, Giribhūti harbored enmity with his brother; / seized by the great demon of greed, his disposition became like that of an enemy.
55.38
There is also another tale: in Kauśāmbī, there was a merchant named Mahādhana; / Kuruvindā was his wife, and he had two sons:
55.39
Ahideva and Mahīdeva. When their father had departed to the next world, / both of them, possessing wealth, went to the opposite shore by ship.
55.40
Having obtained a single jewel in exchange for that merchandise, they returned; / each, seized by intense greed, wished to kill the other.
55.41
Having returned to their house, they surrendered that jewel to their mother; / she too wished to kill her own sons with poison.
55.42
Deprived [of peace] by it, that jewel was thrown into the waters of the Yamunā river; / found by a fisherman, it was again given into their house.
55.43
Then, having deliberated together with their mother and attained spiritual urgency, / they ground that jewel to dust, and all of them took renunciation.
55.44
Therefore, through greed, enmity clearly arises even between brothers of the same womb, / just as for Giribhūti and Gobhūti, and so also for many others."
55.45
Padma, having heard this tale related by the ministers, / then spoke to the doorkeeper: "Bring Vibhīṣaṇa swiftly."
55.46
Instructed by the doorkeeper, Vibhīṣaṇa approached the lotus lord [Padma]; / with a delighted mind he bowed, and [Padma] embraced him firmly.
55.47
When the warrior Vibhīṣaṇa joined, great joy arose among the Vānaras; / and meanwhile Bhāmaṇḍala, having mastered his spells, arrived swiftly.
55.48
The son of Janaka was warmly greeted by Padma and Lakṣmaṇa, / and by Sugrīva and the other Vānara warriors.
55.49
Having spent eight days right there on Haṃsadvīpa with their army, / Padma and the son of Sumitrā set out toward Laṅkā, fully armed.
55.50
Then twenty yojanas of that battlefield were occupied [by them], / and the limit of its extraordinarily long extent was not to be measured.
55.51
Bearing various insignia, and with various elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers, / the Vānara army was indeed seen approaching by the night-stalking [Rākṣasas].
55.52
Then [the kings] of Bhānusadṛśavarṇa, Meghanibha, Gaganavallabha, Kanaka, / Gandharvagītanagara, the heroes, and the Kalpavāsins,
55.53
the kings of Sīhapura, Śobhā, Gītapura, Mandiga, Bahunāga, / Lakṣmīpura, Kinnaragīta, and Mahāśaila,
55.54
Suranūpura, Malaya, Śrīmanta, Śrīprabha, Śrīnilaya, / Śaśināga, Ripujaya, Mārtaṇḍa, and Bhāviśāla,
55.55
Ānanda, Parikheda, Jyotiṣdaṇḍa, Jayāśā, and Ratnapura— / these lords of cities, and other noble warriors as well, arrived.
55.56
These and many others the lord of the Rākṣasas honored greatly / with armor, weapons, and the like, with affection like a father to his sons.
55.57
Four thousand akṣauhiṇīs are declared by many people: / such, O lord of Magadha, was the measure of Rāvaṇa's army.
55.58
One thousand akṣauhiṇīs of all the Vānaras together / with Bhāmaṇḍala was declared for the fourfold army.
55.59
The king of monkey-bannered [Vānaras], having prepared along with Bhāmaṇḍala, / stood there besieging [the area], accompanied by Padma and Lakṣmaṇa.
55.60
When a man's merit arises, even firm enemies become friends and bring about welfare; / but at the time of the exhaustion of merit, even pure kin become enemies, seeking one's faults.
55.61
Thus ends the fifty-fifth chapter, titled "The Method of Vibhīṣaṇa's Arrival", in the Paümacariya.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit