Aranya Kanda, Sarga 18

Meaning

To the aforesaid Śūrpaṇakhā, bound by the cords of love, Śrī Rāma then spoke with a smile in sweet words as follows according to his own liking : (1)

Meaning

“O lady, I am already married. Here is my beloved wife. For ladies like you the presence of a co-wife is most painful. (2)

Meaning

“Of course, here is my younger brother, Lakṣmaṇa by name, of good conduct, lovely to look at, glorious and brave and has not got a wife with him. (3)

Meaning

“He is possessed of unique qualities, young and pleasing of aspect, and will prove to be a husband worthy of this comely form of yours if he seeks to obtain a wife. (4)

Meaning

“Accept this brother of mine as your husband, O large eyed and charming lady, without a rival even as sunlight woos Mount Meru.” (5)

Meaning

Leaving Rāma, when spoken to in these words by Śrī Rāma, the aforesaid ogress, infatuated as she was through love, suddenly spoke to Lakṣmaṇa as follows : (6)

Meaning

“Possessing as I do an excellent complexion, I shall be a wife worthy of this comely form of yours. You will happily wander through the entire range of the Daṇḍaka forest with me.” (7)

Meaning

Spoken to in these words by the ogress, Lakṣmaṇa, the son of Sumitrā, who was an adept in expression, smilingly made the following just reply to Śūrpaṇakhā : (8)

Meaning

“How do you seek to turn a maid-servant by becoming a wife to me, a slave, possessing as you do the hue of a red lotus? I am only dependent on my worthy brother. (9)

Meaning

“Become you, O large-eyed lady, a happy younger wife of spotless complexion of my elder brother, who is fully endowed with all riches, and be accomplished of purpose thereby. (10)

Meaning

“Giving up for good this deformed, vile, hideous and aged wife with a sunken belly, he will accept you alone. (11)

Meaning

“Abandoning this excellent form of yours, what wise man indeed would fasten his love on human ladies, O charming lady with an excellent complexion?” (12)

Meaning

Spoken to in these words by Lakṣmaṇa, that hideous woman with a prominent belly, who was too naive to catch the jest, took his words to be true. (13)

Meaning

Infatuated through love, she spoke once more to Rāma, the tormentor of his foes, who was hard to overpower, and was sitting in the hut thatched with leaves in the company of Sītā: (14)

Meaning

“Clinging to this old, deformed, vile, hideous and aged wife with a sunken belly, you do not make much of me. (15)

Meaning

“Today I shall devour this human lady even while you are looking on. Having been rid of a rival, I shall roam with you at ease.” (16)

Meaning

Saying so, the woman, whose eyes shone like live embers, highly enraged as she was, rushed upon the fawn-eyed Sītā, even as a large meteor would descend on the constellation known by the name of Rohiṇī. (17)

Meaning

Checking by his very menacing sound the woman, who was rushing towards Sītā like the noose of Death, Śrī Rāma, who was possessed of extraordinary might, now angrily said to Lakṣmaṇa : (18)

Meaning

“You should in no case jest, O son of Sumitrā, with cruel and unworthy people. See the princess of Videha surviving with great difficulty (having narrowly escaped being devoured by the ogress), O gentle brother ! (19)

Meaning

“You ought to mutilate, O tiger among men, this ugly, vile, highly wanton and big-bellied woman.” (20)

Meaning

Drawing his sword, when spoken to in these words, the angry Lakṣmaṇa, who was possessed of great might, lopped off her ears and nose while Śrī Rāma looked on. (21)

Meaning

With her ears and nose severed, that fierce Śūrpaṇakhā for her part ran away into the forest, as she had come, yelling dissonantly. (22)

Meaning

Bathed in blood, that ugly and extraordinarily fierce ogress roared in various ways like a cloud in the monsoon. (23)

Meaning

Dropping profusely blood on the way, raising her arms and roaring in various ways, that woman of fierce looks entered the heart of the great forest. (24)

Meaning

Then, approaching her notorious brother, Khara of terrific energy, who lived in Janasthāna, surrounded by a multitude of ogres, that mutilated woman then dropped down on the ground like a bolt from the blue. (25)

Meaning

Overcome with a swoon through fear and drenched in blood, that sister of Khara then told him everything about Rāghava having arrived in the forest with his wife and Lakṣmaṇa and of her own mutilation. (26)