Paumacariya 71
English (machine translation) 71
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71.1
Then that lord of the Rākṣasas, having taken leave of his wives in turn, / bearing intense anger, went forth from his own city.
71.2
He beheld a chariot named Indra, created by the Bahurūpiṇī lore, / filled with various weapons and yoked with a thousand elephants.
71.3
Those intoxicated lordly elephants, resembling Airāvata, having four tusks, / their bodies painted with red ochre, had bells chiming melodiously.
71.4
Then he mounted that great chariot, adorned with banners and splendour, / his limbs embellished with ornaments, like Indra endowed with majesty.
71.5
When he had mounted the chariot, a parasol like the disc of the moon was raised aloft, / and a pair of fly-whisks, white as cow's milk or a pearl necklace, was waved.
71.6
The principal musical instruments were sounded—drums, paṭahas, conches, kāhalas, mṛdaṅgas, tilamās, and deep paṇavas— / with a roar like the great clouds of doomsday.
71.7
together with ten thousand sky-going warriors of his own rank, / of prowess equal to gods, itching for battle.
71.8
Meanwhile Padma asked the champions headed by Suṣeṇa: / "Ho, ho! Tell me, what great lord of mountains is this seen [before us]?
71.9
Dark as a swarm of bees or a Tamāla tree, with a multitude of various peaks of Jambūnada gold, / displaying flashes of trembling lightning, it looks like a mass of clouds."
71.10
Then Jambūvat said: "O Master! Through the lore Bahurūpiṇī, / a huge mountain has been created; it appears to be a trick."
71.11
Hearing Jambūvat's words, Lakṣmaṇa then said: / "Bring my great chariot with the Garuḍa banner, do not delay!"
71.12
Then there great kettle-drums were struck together with numerous musical instruments; / at that sound, the best of monkeys quickly made ready [for battle].
71.13
With swords, spears, discuses, javelins, and various weapons and shields in hand, / the Vānara warriors, prepared for battle, were held back by their beloveds.
71.14
Then, having pacified their beloved women with very sweet words, / the monkey leaders, with armor and weapons at the ready, gathered around Padma.
71.15
Rāma mounted his chariot yoked with lions, quivers tied on, / and Lakṣmaṇa likewise mounted his chariot adorned with a Garuḍa.
71.16
Bhāmaṇḍala and other great armored champions, / mounting chariots, elephants, and horses, became intent on battle.
71.17
Thus, accompanied by the Vānara army, fully armored, Padma and the son of Sumitrā, / mounted on their mounts, O Śreṇika, set forth to fight.
71.18
As they went, omens sounded very sweetly and auspiciously, / indicating with certainty the enemy's defeat and their own joy.
71.19
Then the enraged Rāvaṇa, seeing the hostile army advancing, / accompanied by his entire force, drove his chariot facing toward it.
71.20
Hosts of Gandharvas and Kinnaras, and Apsarases standing in the courtyard of the sky, / shed a rain of flowers over the champions in both armies.
71.21
With great shields, bucklers, armor, and swords protecting their bodies, / the first foot-soldiers entered the battlefield with restless glances.
71.22
Mounted on horses and elephants, and some warriors on excellent chariots, / with various weapons grasped in hand, were resolute, filled with joy and fervor.
71.23
Hundreds of arrows, non-arrows, spears, darts, iron-bound clubs, rocks, boulders, and maces, / aimed by the best warriors, fell as they were hurled into the sky.
71.24
Some warriors with quick hands fought in the battle with swords, / while others gave blows with maces against capable warriors.
71.25
Grappling one another with furious pride, others battered by dagger-blows, / gave up their lives and their bodies together on the ground of the earth.
71.26
Fallen on the earth, corpses were devoured by flocks of crows, jackals, and vultures; / trunks dragged along, resembling the mud of flesh and blood.
71.27
Elephant fought with elephant, charioteer with charioteer; / a warrior mounted on a horse struck down one riding a horse.
71.28
Swords, spears, discuses, and javelins clashed against one another with blows of weapons; / then at that instant a battle arose that was difficult for warriors to bear.
71.29
Maddened elephants ran uncontrolled, horses wandered abandoned by their riders, / excellent chariots were shattered, and flags on golden poles were severed.
71.30
Everywhere was the 'clash, clash, clash' sound of striking swords, / and the crackling noise of arrows falling on the limbs of elephants.
71.31
Heads adorned with sparkling jeweled earrings and crest-jewels tumbled down; / headless trunks danced, their limbs smeared with blood and fat.
71.32
One struck another, intoxicated with the strength of their arms; / warrior dragged warrior and slew him, elephant slew elephant.
71.33
With the warriors of both armies leaping and falling in battle, / the expanse of the sky was obscured, as if by clouds in the rainy season.
71.34
In such a battle, when champions such as Muka and Sāraṇa were slain, / the army of the Vānara warriors was broken by the Rākṣasas.
71.35
Then, through the mighty force of Śrīśaila, turning back and resisting, / the monkey warriors headed by Kumuda broke the army of the Rākṣasas.
71.36
Muṇḍa, Kumbha, Nikumbha, and the valiant Jambumālī, / Makaradhvaja, Mūra, and champions headed by Aśaninighāta—
71.37
these chiefs of the Rākṣasas, striving to rouse the enthusiasm of their own army, / set to work engaging in battle with the Vānara warriors.
71.38
Endowed with the strength of their excellent arms, fearsome, of crooked limbs, well-armored, / and of fierce valor, these best of monkeys rose up.
71.39
A most dreadful battle ensued between the Rākṣasas and the monkey-bannered ones, / seizing each other hand-to-hand, a thick hail of falling weapons.
71.40
Meanwhile Hanumat, mounted upon a chariot yoked with excellent elephants, / stirred up the Rākṣasa army just like a rutting elephant in a lotus lake.
71.41
By him alone, O Śreṇika, that hero, the great army of night-wanderers / was struck with mace-blows and completely seized by fear and trembling.
71.42
Seeing that army confused and helpless with fear, Maya became enraged; / he rushed against Hanumat, releasing hundreds of weapons.
71.43
Śrīśaila also quickly shot arrows drawn to the ear, / and the wonderful golden chariot belonging to Maya was broken to pieces.
71.44
Mounting another chariot, King Maya began to fight; / that one too was shattered by Śrīśaila with sharp, crested arrows.
71.45
Seeing Maya deprived of his chariot, the Ten-necked One by means of the lore Bahurūpī / quickly created a chariot and handed it over to his father-in-law.
71.46
Maya, having mounted that excellent chariot there, with hundreds of arrows / made Hanumat chariotless in an instant, burning with rage.
71.47
Seeing Hanumat chariotless, the son of Janaka rushed forward; / his excellent chariot too was broken by Maya with superior arrows.
71.48
The lord of Vānaras himself rose up against him, blazing with anger; / he too was deprived of his chariot by Maya and fell to the ground.
71.49
Then Vibhīṣaṇa began to fight with Maya; / his armor and umbrella were severed, his body pierced by arrows.
71.50
Seeing Vibhīṣaṇa with blood flowing from his body, he of lotus-radiance / mounted his lion-chariot and covered Maya with a shower of arrows.
71.51
Seeing Maya struck by the mass of Rāma's arrows, helpless and agitated with fear, / the lord of Rākṣasas himself advanced, blazing with wrath.
71.52
He was seen by Lakṣmaṇa, who said: "O wicked one! Face me! / Halt, halt, you evil thief, until I destroy your life!"
71.53
Then he said to Lakṣmaṇa: "Have you not heard before of Rāvaṇa, / the lord of the entire earth, the most excellent warrior in the world?
71.54
Even now release Sītā, or consider in your own heart: / does a victory-bell tied to the body of a donkey look beautiful?"
71.55
"I, who have won fame among gods and asuras, whose prowess is manifest in the three worlds— / I feel utmost shame to fight with a mortal earth-dweller!"
71.56
"Or else fight, if you are weary of the grove of your own life; / then stand facing me, and endure my blow!"
71.57
Then the abode of fortune [Lakṣmaṇa] said: "I know all your might; / today I shall swiftly put an end to this mighty roaring of yours."
71.58
Having spoken thus, enraged, grasping his bow, with a mass of arrows / he proceeded to cover [him], like a high cloud in the rainy season.
71.59
With arrows resembling the staff of Yama, in the path of the sky, / the bearer of fortune [Lakṣmaṇa], whose zeal was joined with strength, warded off the arrows of the Ten-headed One.
71.60
When the son of Ratnaśravas had his weapons countered by Daśaratha's son, / then the enraged lord of Dānavas discharged the Vāruṇa weapon.
71.61
Lakṣmaṇa destroyed that in an instant with the Wind weapon. / The lord of Laṅkā discharged the dread Fire weapon.
71.62
As that [Fire weapon] blazed with thousands of flames, / the abode of fortune swiftly extinguished it with torrential arrows from the Vāruṇa weapon.
71.63
Then a most dread Rākṣasa weapon was released by Rāvaṇa against him; / Daśaratha's son swiftly destroyed it with a Dharma weapon.
71.64
O Śreṇika! When the great Aindra weapon was released by the bearer of fortune, / it was diverted in all directions by the lord of Rākṣasas with a counter-Aindra weapon.
71.65
Then, when the circle of quarters was instantly darkened by Rāvaṇa with the Darkness weapon, / Saumitri made it clear again with the Sun weapon.
71.66
When the Serpent weapon, blazing with rays of serpent-gems, was hurled by Rāvaṇa, / Lakṣmaṇa drove it far away with the Garuḍa weapon.
71.67
Lakṣmaṇa discharged the Vināyaka weapon against the lord of Rākṣasas in the battle; / the noble lord of Trikūṭa repelled it with a great weapon.
71.68
When the Vināyaka weapon was shattered, the bearer of fortune covered the lord of Trikūṭa along with his army with arrows; / and he too [covered Lakṣmaṇa] with a rain of arrows.
71.69
Heroes of battle, their pride aroused, fought with minds bent on slaying each other; / the dreadful men did not reckon weapons, nor the wind, nor the spotless sun.
71.70
Thus ends the seventy-first chapter, named 'The Battle of Lakṣmaṇa and Rāvaṇa', in the Paümacariya.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit