Aranya Kanda, Sarga 20

Meaning

Having reached the hermitage of Rāghava, the dreadful Śūrpaṇakhā then pointed out to the ogres the two brothers with Sītā. (1)

Meaning

They saw the exceptionally mighty Śrī Rāma seated with Sītā in his hut thatched with leaves and waited upon by Lakṣmaṇa. (2)

Meaning

Seeing her as well as those ogres come, the glorious Rāma, a scion of Raghu, said to his brother, Lakṣmaṇa of resplendent lustre: (3)

Meaning

“Remain, O son of Sumitrā, by the side of Sītā for a while. I shall make short work of these ogres, who have come here to back the ogress”. (4)

Meaning

Hearing these words of Rāma, the knower of his own Self, and bowing his head to the utterance of Rāghava, Lakṣmaṇa said ‘Amen !’ (5)

Meaning

The pious-minded Rāghava too strung his mighty bow ornamented with gold and said to those ogres : (6)

Meaning

“We two brothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, sons of Daśaratha, have entered with Sītā the forest of Daṇḍaka, which is difficult to pass through. (7)

Meaning

“Why do you seek to injure us, who subsist on fruits and roots, are self-disciplined, practise austerities and continence and are living in the Daṇḍaka forest? (8)

Meaning

“Armed with a bow, I for my part have duly come here at the behest of sages to kill in a major conflict you, whose mind is given to sin and who have offended against the sages. (9)

Meaning

“Halt where you stand, if you love war and you should not run away. If, however, you love your life, go back, O night-stalkers !” (10)

Meaning

Highly enraged and delighted (at the same time) to hear the aforesaid challenge of Śrī Rāma, those fourteen dreadful ogres, the slayers of Brāhmaṇas, who were armed with lances and had bloodshot eyes, spoke harshly as follows to Rāma, who had naturally deep red eyes, who always spoke sweet words and whose prowess had been seen by them : (11-12)

Meaning

“Having provoked the anger of our extremely high-souled master, Khara, you will surely give up your ghost in no time, when struck by us on the battlefield. (13)

Meaning

“Indeed what power have you to stand single-handed in front of us, who are so many, in the van of a fight, much less to give fight in a battle? (14)

Meaning

“Under the pressure of these iron clubs, darts and Paṭṭiśas (a kind of sharp-edged sword) hurled by our arms, you will give up the ghost, your valour too as well as the bow pressed in your hands.” (15)

Meaning

Saying so, those fourteen ogres ran in their zeal towards Rāma alone, their weapons, including swords, uplifted. (16)

Meaning

They threw those darts at Rāghava, who was difficult to conquer. Kākutstha cut down all those fourteen darts with as many arrows decked with gold. Possessed of tremendous energy and highly enraged, Śrī Rāma after that took out fourteen pointless arrows sharpened on a stone and shining brightly as the sun and, stretching his bow, discharged the arrows aiming them at the ogres as the target, as Indra would hurl thunderbolts. Having pierced the chests of the ogres and being soaked in blood, they then dashed against the ground like serpents rushing out of an ant-hill. With their hearts rent by them, and bathed in blood, the ogres fell down on the ground, maimed and dead, like uprooted trees. Blinded with rage to see them fallen on the ground and approaching Khara, that ogress, for her part, the blood on her person having now somewhat dried up, once again fell agonized like a climber with resin sticking to it. (17—23)

Meaning

Palefaced and stricken with grief, she raised a great alarm in the presence of her brother and shed tears accompanied with sobs. On seeing the ogres killed in battle, Śūrpaṇakhā for her part darted once more from that place and the said sister of Khara reported to him the wholesale destruction of all those ogres and everything connected with it. (24-25)