Bhagavatapurana 9.10

English (machine translation) 9.10

Language: English

9.10.1

Śrī Śuka said: / From Khaṭvāṅga came Dīrghabāhu, and from him Raghu of wide renown. / From him came the great king Aja, and from him was born Daśaratha.

9.10.2

Besought by the gods, this very Lord Hari, composed of Brahman directly, / entered into sonship by an expansion of His portion fourfold, / bearing the names Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, and Śatrughna.

9.10.3

His deeds, O King, have been repeatedly heard by you, / thoroughly described by seers who see the truth, [the deeds] of Sītā's husband:

He who, having abandoned the kingdom for his father's sake, wandered from forest to forest with lotus feet / tenderer than the touch of his beloved's hand, his road-weariness soothed by the monkey-king and his younger brother;

9.10.4

He who, having bound the bridge across the sea which trembled at the play of His brows raised in wrath at the separation from His beloved caused by the disfigurement of Śūrpaṇakhā, was a forest fire to the wicked—may that Lord of Kosala protect us!

9.10.4.p1

[…]

9.10.5

By whom at Viśvāmitra's sacrifice Mārīca and other night-roaming fiends, / the foremost of the Rakṣases, were slain right before the eyes of Lakṣmaṇa;

9.10.5.p1

Who, in the assembly of the world's heroes, in the hall of Sītā's bridegroom-choice, took up the formidable bow of Śiva brought by three hundred men,

9.10.6

and, taking it as easily as a young elephant [takes] a stalk of sugarcane, / strung it, drew it, and broke it in the middle, O King;

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[…]

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having won [her who was] equal to Him in virtues, conduct, age, and bodily beauty, / named Sītā, the Goddess of Fortune who attained the honor of His breast,

9.10.6.p3

having won [her who was] equal to Him in virtues, conduct, age, and bodily beauty, / named Sītā, the Goddess of Fortune who attained the honor of His breast,

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on the road as He traveled, He subdued the deep-rooted pride of the lord of the Bhṛgus, / who had thrice cleared the earth of the seed of kings;

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[…]

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Who, together with His wife, received upon His head the command of His father, / who was bound by the noose of truth and under the sway of a woman,

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Who, together with His wife, received upon His head the command of His father, / who was bound by the noose of truth and under the sway of a woman,

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and giving up kingdom, wealth, dear ones, friends, and home, / went to the forest like one free of attachment casting off his vital breaths;

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[…]

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He disfigured the form of the Rakṣasa's sister, whose mind was impure, / and her principal kinsmen Khara, Triśiras, and Dūṣaṇa,

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He disfigured the form of the Rakṣasa's sister, whose mind was impure, / and her principal kinsmen Khara, Triśiras, and Dūṣaṇa,

9.10.9

and He slew fourteen thousand [demons], and wandering with His bow in hand, / invincible, He endured hardship;

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[…]

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Seeing that [deer] created by the ten-necked Rāvaṇa, whose lust had been kindled by hearing descriptions of Sītā, / O King,

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Seeing that [deer] created by the ten-necked Rāvaṇa, whose lust had been kindled by hearing descriptions of Sītā, / O King,

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He, drawn far away from the hermitage by the wonderful deer-form, / quickly struck down Mārīca with an arrow, as the terrible Śiva [struck] Dakṣa;

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[…]

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When the daughter of the king of Videha was carried away in the forest / out of sight, like [a lamb] by a wolf, by the vilest of Rakṣases,

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When the daughter of the king of Videha was carried away in the forest / out of sight, like [a lamb] by a wolf, by the vilest of Rakṣases,

9.10.11

He wandered in the forest with His brother, bereaved of His beloved like a helpless mortal, / thereby demonstrating the fate of those who are attached to women;

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[…]

9.10.11.p2

Having cremated Kabandha whose funeral rites had been prevented by his deeds, and made friendship with the monkeys, / and having learned through them of the destination of His beloved,

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Having cremated Kabandha whose funeral rites had been prevented by his deeds, and made friendship with the monkeys, / and having learned through them of the destination of His beloved,

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and then, when Vālin was slain, He, the mortal whose feet are worshipped by Brahmā and Śiva, / went with armies of the monkey-lords to the seashore;

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[…]

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At the fall of whose glance, rolling in the agitation of wrath, / the alligators and sea monsters were thrown into panic, and its roar was swallowed in fear;

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At the fall of whose glance, rolling in the agitation of wrath, / the alligators and sea monsters were thrown into panic, and its roar was swallowed in fear;

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the Ocean, having assumed embodied form and bearing an offering upon his head, / approached His lotus feet and spoke this:

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[…]

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“We of dull intellect do not know You, O Infinite One, / the changeless Primeval Person, the sovereign Lord of the universes,

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“We of dull intellect do not know You, O Infinite One, / the changeless Primeval Person, the sovereign Lord of the universes,

9.10.14

from whose purity arise the hosts of gods, from passion the lords of beings, / and from wrath the masters of spirits—You are that Lord of the qualities.

9.10.14.p1

[…]

9.10.14.p2

Proceed at will! Slay the polluted filth of Viśravas, / Rāvaṇa who makes the three worlds weep, and recover Your wife, O hero!

9.10.14.p3

Proceed at will! Slay the polluted filth of Viśravas, / Rāvaṇa who makes the three worlds weep, and recover Your wife, O hero!

9.10.15

Build a bridge here for the spread of Your glory, / approaching which world-conquering kings will sing it!”

9.10.15.p1

[…]

9.10.15.p2

Having built a bridge across the ocean with various mountain peaks / whose trees were shaken by the hands of the monkey kings,

9.10.15.p3

Having built a bridge across the ocean with various mountain peaks / whose trees were shaken by the hands of the monkey kings,

9.10.16

the Lord of the Raghus, with armies led by Sugrīva, Nīla, and Hanumān, / entered Laṅkā—already burned beforehand—under the guidance of Vibhīṣaṇa.

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[…]

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Laṅkā, whose pleasure grounds, storehouses, / splendid gates, city towers, assembly halls, balconies, and pigeon-cotes were blocked by the monkey forces,

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Laṅkā, whose pleasure grounds, storehouses, / splendid gates, city towers, assembly halls, balconies, and pigeon-cotes were blocked by the monkey forces,

9.10.17

and whose public platforms, flags, golden pots, / and crossroads were shattered, was agitated like a lake by herds of elephants.

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[…]

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Seeing that, the lord of Rakṣases [marshaled] Nikumbha, Kumbha, / Dhūmrākṣa, Durmukha, Surāntaka, Narāntaka, and the rest,

9.10.17.p3

Seeing that, the lord of the rākṣasas sent forth Nikumbha, Kumbha, Dhūmrākṣa, Durmukha, Surāntaka, Narāntaka, and the others,

9.10.18

his son [Indrajit], Prahasta, Atikāya, Vikampana, and others, all his followers, and then Kumbhakarṇa.

9.10.18.p2

Against that army of rākṣasas, impassable with swords, tridents, bows, / barbed darts, spears, javelins, arrows, clubs, and scimitars,

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against that army of rākṣasas, impassable with swords, tridents, bows, / barbed darts, spears, javelins, arrows, clubs, and scimitars,

9.10.19

he marched, accompanied by Sugrīva, Lakṣmaṇa, the son of the wind-god [Hanumān], Gandhamādana, / Nīla, Aṅgada, the bear [Jāmbavān], Panasa, and the rest.

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All those commanders of the lord of the Raghus attacked and fought duel-by-duel with the divisions / of elephant-riders, infantry, charioteers, and horse-warriors;

9.10.19.p3

all those commanders of the lord of the Raghus attacked and fought duel-by-duel with the divisions / of elephant-riders, infantry, charioteers, and horse-warriors;

9.10.20

Aṅgada and the others slew with trees, mountains, clubs, and arrows / Rāvaṇa’s generals, whose good fortune was destroyed by the violation of Sītā.

9.10.20.p2

Seeing the destruction of his own army, the enraged lord of the rākṣasas / mounted his aerial vehicle and rushed against Rāma;

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seeing the destruction of his own army, the enraged lord of the rākṣasas / mounted his aerial vehicle and rushed against Rāma;

9.10.21

shining in the celestial chariot brought by Mātali, / he struck him with sharp crescent-tipped arrows.

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Rāma said to him: “O filth of man-eaters, because like a dog / our beloved wife was carried off by you in our absence,

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Rāma said to him: “O filth of man-eaters, because like a dog / our beloved wife was carried off by you in our absence,

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today, like Time itself, with irresistible valor, I dispense / the fruit to the shameless perpetrator of this detestable deed.”

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Reproaching him thus, he released an arrow fitted to his bow; / like a thunderbolt, it pierced his heart.

9.10.22.p3

Reproaching him thus, he released an arrow fitted to his bow; / like a thunderbolt, it pierced his heart.

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Vomiting blood from his ten mouths, he fell from his chariot, / while the people cried ‘Alas, alas!’, just like an exhausted person of meritorious deeds [falling from heaven].

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Then, issuing forth from Laṅkā by thousands, / the rākṣasa women ran forward along with Mandodarī, weeping aloud.

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Embracing their respective kinsmen afflicted by Lakṣmaṇa’s arrows, / beating themselves with their own hands, the wretched women wept in piercing voices:

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“Alas, we are undone, O lord, O Rāvaṇa who made the world weep! / To whom shall Laṅkā go for refuge, deprived of you and tormented by enemies?

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Indeed, O illustrious one, fallen under the sway of lust, you did not know / the fiery majesty and power of Sītā, by which you have been brought to this state.

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This Laṅkā and we have been widowed, O delight of the family! / Your body has been made food for vultures, and your soul destined for hell.”

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Śrī Śuka said: / Approved by the lord of Kosala, Vibhīṣaṇa performed for his kinsmen / whatever funeral rites for the next world were prescribed by the rules of the ancestral sacrifice.

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Then the Lord saw, in the hermitage of the Aśoka grove, / her who was emaciated by the disease of separation from him, seated at the root of a śiṃśapā tree.

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Beholding his dearest wife wretched, her lotus face blooming / with the joy of seeing him, Rāma was moved with compassion.

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Having seated her and mounted the chariot with his two brothers, together with Hanumān, / the Lord, having granted to Vibhīṣaṇa the sovereignty over the hosts of rākṣasas,

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as well as Laṅkā and a lifespan lasting until the end of the kalpa, his vow completed, departed for his city, / being showered along the way with exquisite flowers offered by the world-guardians,

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his deeds joyfully sung by Brahmā and the other gods. / Hearing that his brother was subsisting on barley cooked in cow's urine and wearing garments of bark,

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the exceedingly compassionate one grieved for him, matted-haired and sleeping on bare ground. / Having heard that he had arrived, Bharata, along with the citizens, ministers, and domestic priests,

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placing the wooden sandals upon his head, set out from his camp at Nandigrāma / to meet his elder brother Rāma, amidst sounds of songs and musical instruments,

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and the repeated chanting of the Veda by knowers of the Veda reciting aloud, / with chariots adorned with gold-trimmed banners and multicolored golden flags,

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with noble horses in gold trappings, warriors clad in golden armor, / guilds of merchants, chief courtesans, servants, and foot soldiers,

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taking royal insignia and various articles of merchandise. / He fell at his feet out of love, his heart and eyes moist [with tears],

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having placed the sandals before him, with folded hands and tear-filled eyes. / Embracing him for a long time with both arms, bathing him with waters born of his eyes,

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Rāma, along with Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, bowed himself before the brāhmaṇas who were most worthy of honor, / and was saluted in return by the subjects.

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Waving their upper garments upon seeing their lord arrived after a long time, / the people of northern Kosala, scattering garlands, danced with joy.

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Bharata carried the two sandals; Vibhīṣaṇa along with Sugrīva carried two exquisite chowrie-fans; / the son of the wind-god carried the white umbrella;

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Śatrughna carried the bow and quivers; Sītā held the water pot filled with holy water; / Aṅgada carried the sword, and the king of the bears [Jāmbavān] bore the golden shield, O king.

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Seated in the Puṣpaka aerial chariot, praised by women and extolled by bards, / the Lord shone, O king, like the moon arisen amidst the planets.

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Welcomed by his brother, he then entered the celebratory city. / Entering the royal palace, worshipped [by all], he greeted in turn the wives of the elders, his own mother,

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the elders, friends, and younger brothers; / Vaidehī [Sītā] and Lakṣmaṇa also approached them in the proper manner.

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Placing their sons on their laps, like bodies to which their vital breaths had returned, / the mothers bathed them with torrents of tears and gave up their sorrows.

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Having untied his matted hair according to ritual rule, the family priest, together with the family elders, / consecrated him with waters of the four oceans and other sacred waters, just as Indra [was consecrated].

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Having thus taken the bath of head-cleansing, finely clad, garlanded, and adorned, / he shone alongside his well-adorned, beautifully dressed brothers and his wife.

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Bowed down to and propitiated by his brother, he took the throne. / Rāma protected like a father the subjects who were devoted to their own dharma / and endowed with the virtues of the social orders and stages of life, and they regarded him as their father.

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Bhagavatapurana 9.10

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