Paumacariya 69
English (machine translation) 69
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69.1
Then eighteen thousand young women bowed at his feet,
and with tears streaming from their eyes, they said: "Lord, listen!
69.2
"While you exist as the lord of the earth and master of all Vidyādharas, O master,
we have been wronged and humiliated today by the sons of Sugrīva!"
69.3
Hearing their words, the enraged lord of Laṅkā spoke thereupon:
"He who acts in this manner is bound indeed by the nooses of death!
69.4
"Abandon the start of your anger, do not be sorrowful in your minds now;
without doubt, I shall render Sugrīva lifeless in battle!
69.5
"All those other wicked sky-goers, headed by Bhāmaṇḍala,
I shall certainly kill; what heed should be paid to foot-soldiers?"
69.6
Having thus comforted the women, he came out of the Jina temple,
and, with all his duties completed, he entered the bath-house.
69.7
Thereupon, upon a bathing-seat made of lapis lazuli, he, dark as a cloud, shone
like the lord of Jinas, Muni Suvrata, at his consecration on the Paṇḍuka rock.
69.8
[With water] from jars filled with water, made of pure jewels and gold,
and others made of very costly gems resembling the rays of the moon;
69.9
and thereupon musical instruments sounding like the roaring of clouds were sounded,
abounding in deep drums, horns, mṛdaṅgas, tālīmas, and excellent conches.
69.10
With fragrant unguents, and with various powders of diverse colors and perfumes,
the lord of Dānavas was bathed by young women whose faces were like the moon.
69.11
With water pleasant and cool to the body and of excellent fragrant scent,
having attended to his locks of hair, the lord of Laṅkā bathed according to the proper rites.
69.12
His body adorned with ornaments—necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and a crown—
he entered the Śāntibhavana, where worship was made with diverse flowers.
69.13
Then, having performed the worship and circumambulated thrice in reverence,
the steadfast hero gracefully entered the dining pavilion.
69.14
He sat down upon the seat provided, and the other warriors also [sat] in their places,
upon golden seats spread with cushions, fine bolsters, and cane.
69.15
The ritual of the water-jug was performed, and food of many varieties was brought;
the lord of Laṅkā ate together with all his warriors.
69.16
Accompanied by one hundred and eight kinds of sweets, sixty-four varieties of condiments,
and sixteen types of boiled rice, he ate the excellent meal according to the rule.
69.17
When the dining ritual was finished, walking gracefully, surrounded by his warriors,
he went to the pleasure-ground and tested the Vidyā.
69.18
By means of the Vidyā, the lord of Rākṣasas assumed various forms;
striking the earth with his hands, he caused terror among his enemies.
69.19
At that moment his own warriors made obeisance to the Ten-headed One and said:
"Leaving aside you, who else is able to strike down Rāma?"
69.20
As soon as this was said, his body adorned with all ornaments,
he entered the Pramadavana joyful like Indra entering Nandana.
69.21
Seeing the vast army of the lord of Laṅkā, the daughter of Janaka
thought with a troubled heart: "Even the king of the gods cannot conquer this."
69.22
Then the lord of Laṅkā spoke to Sītā, whose mind was thus anxious:
"O beautiful woman, you were carried off by me, a sinner, by deceit while lamenting.
69.23
"A vow was taken by me, slender-waisted lady, at the feet of Anantavīrya:
'Another's wife who is unwilling shall never be enjoyed by me.'
69.24
"Remembering that vow, large-eyed lady, you were not enjoyed by me;
now, having cast aside your reliance [on Rāma], I shall make love to you, O lovely one!
69.25
"Mounted on the Puṣpaka aerial car, gaze upon the whole earth with its forests;
by my favor enjoy the highest bliss, O moon-faced lady!"
69.26
Hearing this, Sītā, with a choked throat, spoke to the Ten-faced One:
"Listen to my words, if you bear any love for me:
69.27
"Even under the influence of intense anger, Padma, Bhāmaṇḍala, and Saumitri—
these are not to be killed, O lord of Laṅkā, when they rush forward in battle!
69.28
"I live only so long as I do not hear of the death
of these lions among men, which brings grief and is dreadful to the ears."
69.29
Having spoken thus, she fell to the ground and fainted;
and Rāvaṇa saw her state resembling death.
69.30
In a moment his heart softened, and he began to reflect:
"Bound by the fruition of karma, oh, how mighty is this love!
69.31
"Fie, fie! A blameworthy deed has been done by me, a sinner,
by which this couple, foremost in mutual affection, has been separated.
69.32
"My own noble lineage, white as the moon and the white lotus, has been stained
for the sake of another's wife, by my mind turned away from dharma.
69.33
"Fie, fie! Oh, an unworthy deed! For the woman of those lion-like heroes,
having abducted her from the forest, was brought here by me, blinded by passion.
69.34
"A wide street to destruction, a hard bolt to heaven, a ground of misfortune,
crooked at heart like a river, a woman ought to be avoided.
69.35
"She who on the first days touched my limbs as if with nectar,
her mind fixed on another, has now become a source of affliction.
69.36
"Even if she should desire me now, having cast off her sincere devotion [to Rāma],
even so, no satisfaction arises for my mind, which is deeply pained by dishonor.
69.37
"Vibhīṣaṇa, my brother, was endowed with wisdom, and was ever well-disposed to me;
when he offered counsel back then, my mind did not welcome it with affection.
69.38
"Great warriors have been captured, and other excellent heroes have been slain,
and Rāma has been dishonored; what sort of pleasure can I now have?
69.39
"If out of pity I surrender the daughter of king Janaka to Rāma,
people with suspicious minds will consider me powerless.
69.40
"Having conquered Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa in battle here, who have the lion and the garuḍa on their banners,
I shall afterwards hand over Sītā to them with supreme magnificence.
69.41
"In this way there will be no loss of my heroism, and my spotless fame
will spread through the whole world; therefore I resolve upon battle."
69.42
Having spoken thus, the Ten-faced One of great majesty departed for his own palace;
and then he remembered the humiliation caused by his enemies.
69.43
Then, enraged in that instant, he said: "Seizing Sugrīva and Aṅgada,
I shall cut both of them in half right here with Candrahāsa!"
69.44
Seizing Bhāmaṇḍala too, bound tightly with sturdy iron chains, / pounded with strikes of a mace, today I shall cast him into the sky.
69.45
Having bound the mighty warrior in a wooden pillory, I will tear him apart with a saw; / sparing Lakṣmaṇa and Rāma, I shall slay the rest of the warriors.
69.46
While he resolved this in his heart, in the island of Laṅkā, / O King of Magadha, diverse portents portending calamity arose.
69.47
A ring around the sun, resembling a weapon and of a harsh colour, appeared in the sky; / the full moon of the night disappeared on all sides, as if through fear.
69.48
An earthquake occurred, and fearful meteors fell there; / meteors the colour of blood blazed forth in the eastern quarter.
69.49
A she-jackal with an open mouth howled dreadfully in the northern direction; / the great horses, their necks trembling, neighed harshly and discordantly.
69.50
Elephants trumpeted dreadfully, striking the earth with their trunks; / the images of the deities also shed tears from their eyes.
69.51
Crows too, gazing at the sun, cawed harshly; / huge trees snapped, and mountain peaks collapsed.
69.52
Even the vast lakes suddenly dried up completely; / and a rain of blood fell from the sky with a cracking sound.
69.53
These and many other dreadful portents arose, / which proclaimed the death of the lord of the land, without any doubt.
69.54
Bereft of auspicious stellar power, while the planets were moving crookedly, / though restrained at that time, how did that proud one enter the front of the battle?
69.55
Unafraid of his own assembly, firm, wholly given to the heroic sentiment alone, / though he knew the scriptures, he did not perceive right action from wrong action.
69.56
The ruler of Laṅkā then—I will tell you the cause / which indeed was within his heart; O Śreṇika, hear it free from dispute:
69.57
“Having conquered the enemy's army and liberated all my sons and kinsmen, / I shall not enter Laṅkā [before that]; afterwards I will accomplish this work.
69.58
Uprooting all the foot-walkers throughout the whole of Bharata-land, / I will establish many Vidyādharas endowed with strength, power, and brilliance.
69.59
Wherefore in this lineage, worshipped by gods and demons, supreme Jinas, Cakravartins, and Rāmas, / Nārāyaṇas of fierce might, great-souled and renowned like you, are born.”
69.60
Thus ends the sixty-ninth chapter of the Paümacariya, entitled 'Rāvaṇa's Deliberation'.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit