Paumacariya 72

English (machine translation) 72

Language: English

72.1

Cool and fragrant water was given to the weary, overcome by thirst, / and food of many kinds to the warriors exhausted by hunger.

72.2

Warriors gripped by the pain of wounds were sprinkled with sandalwood, / and they were consoled again with many bodily comforts.

72.3

The battle between the lord of Laṅkā and the son of Saumitri [Lakṣmaṇa] raged on, / accompanied by diverse weapons, astonishing to the best of the gods.

72.4

Hosts of Gandharvas and Kinnaras, along with Apsarases, standing in the sky, / rained down showers of flowers upon them, mingled with shouts of 'Bravo!'.

72.5

Meanwhile, the daughters of the Vidyādhara Candravardhana, / eight beautiful maidens seated in a divine celestial car in the sky,

72.6

girls possessed of great modesty, were addressed by the Apsarases: / "Tell us, whose daughters are you, who have arrived here?"

72.7

They explained to them: "Our father is named Candravardhana. / At the svayaṁvara of Vaidehī, he went to Mithilā together with his daughters.

72.8

Having bestowed us upon Lakṣmaṇa, he set out for his own home. / From that time onward, he [Lakṣmaṇa] has ever dwelt in our hearts.

72.9

He has now fallen into jeopardy in this most dreadful battle, / and it is not known in any way how it will turn out; therefore we daughters—

72.10

whatever fate befalls the bearer of fortune here, the beloved of our heart, / that same fate shall surely befall all eight of us."

72.11

Hearing their voice, Lakṣmaṇa looked upward, / and was addressed by the maidens: "May you be successful in your endeavors!"

72.12

Hearing their voice, the Ten-headed One then recalled the weapon / named Siddhārtha, and hurled it toward the bearer of fortune.

72.13

Then, by means of an obstacle-removing Vināyaka weapon, the fearless [Lakṣmaṇa] / rendered its prowess futile at the front of the battle.

72.14

Whatever weapon he released, the steadfast Lakṣmaṇa severed it, / and like the sun, covered the entire circle of the directions with excellent arrows.

72.15

In the meantime, O Śreṇika, the great lore Bahurūpā, / summoned by the lord of Laṅkā, appeared there in the battle.

72.16

Then Lakṣmaṇa completely severed the head of the lord of Laṅkā; / yet no sooner was it severed than it arose again, adorned with earrings.

72.17

When one head was severed, two heads came into being; / and when those were cut off, the increase was twofold and twofold more.

72.18

And when a pair of arms was severed, there arose two pairs of arms; / when those too were severed, a twofold increase of arms came about.

72.19

The vault of heaven was covered with severed heads adorned with excellent crowns, / and likewise, in large measure, with arms decorated with armlets.

72.20

With countless thousands of arms, the lord of Rākṣasas discharged / multitudes of diverse weapons: swords, golden discs, javelins, spears, and more.

72.21

Severing with arrows that approaching host of weapons, Lakṣmaṇa too / proceeded to cover his adversary with a mass of shafts.

72.22

Nārāyaṇa swiftly severed one, two, three, / four, five, thousands, a hundred thousand heads of the enemy.

72.23

As the heads accompanied by arms fell down impetuously, / the vault of the sky and the battlefield were especially covered.

72.24

Whatever head arose along with arms on Rāvaṇa's body, / the bearer of fortune swiftly severed it completely with his arrows.

72.25

From the violent spurting of profusely flowing blood severed from Rāvaṇa's body, / the sky suddenly assumed the red hue of twilight.

72.26

With streams of sweat pouring down, letting out long sighs born of great exertion, / the enraged lord of Laṅkā, O Śreṇika, then called to mind his discus.

72.27

With a thousand spokes of beryl, adorned with strings of pearls, variegated with gems, / besmeared with sandalwood, and worshipped with fragrant flowers,

72.28

having brilliance like the autumn sun, roaring like a great cloud of dissolution— / the moment it was thought of, the discus appeared in Rāvaṇa's hand.

72.29

The hosts of Kinnaras and Kimpuruṣas, Viśvāvasu and Nārada along with the Apsarases, / abandoning the sight of the battle, withdrew far off in fear.

72.30

To the Ten-faced One with the precious discus in hand, the steadfast Lakṣmaṇa said: / "If you have any strength, strike! Do not delay us!"

72.31

No sooner had he spoken thus than [Rāvaṇa], enraged, whirling it with the speed of thought, / hurled the discus resembling the fire of dissolution, the cause of doubt in victory.

72.32

And seeing the disc coming directly toward him, thundering loudly, / Saumitri resolved to stop it with a flight of arrows.

72.33

And with his plough named Vajrāvarta, Padma strove to block it; / Sugrīva too struck [at it] with his mace, and Bhāmaṇḍala with his sword;

72.34

Vibhīṣaṇa proceeded to block it with a huge spear; / Hanumat too with a mallet, and Sugrīva's son with an axe.

72.35

The rest too resolved to fight together with hundreds of remaining weapons; / even so, all those Vānaras were unable to stop it.

72.36

Breaking through that multitude of weapons, the great disc arrived; / circumambulating gently, it rested in Lakṣmaṇa's hand.

In another birth, through the fruit of good deeds, men possess great glory, become vessels of much happiness here [in this world], / acquire prosperity through the goddess of victory in great battle, and appear with spotless splendor like the moon.

72.38

Thus ends the seventy-second canto of the Paümacariya, titled 'The Acquisition of the Disc'.

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit