Aranya Kanda, Sarga 49

Meaning

Hearing the rebuke of Sītā, and violently striking his hand against the other hand in anger, the mighty Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed monster, revealed his gigantic form. (1)

Meaning

A master of expression, he once more addressed the following words to Sītā, the princess of Mithilā : “I believe my valour and prowess have not been heard of by you, insane as you are. (2)

Meaning

“Standing in the air, I can actually lift up the earth with my hands, drink up the ocean on all sides and, stationed on a field of battle, can kill even Death. (3)

Meaning

“With my sharp arrows I can torment the sun and cleave the surface of the earth. Look at me, who can take any form at will, O lady ! intoxicated with passion and pride of beauty !” (4)

Meaning

By the time he had spoken thus the eyes of the angry Rāvaṇa with dark corners turned red and began to burn as fire. (5)

Meaning

Abandoning his benign aspect at once, the said Rāvaṇa, a younger (half-) brother of Kubera (son of Sage Viśravā), resumed his own native fierce form, resembling that of Death. (6)

Meaning

With blood-red eyes the glorious ogre, who was decked with ornaments of refined gold and seized with great anger, looked like a dark cloud. (7)

Meaning

Shaking off the aforesaid disguise of a wandering ascetic, the ranger of the night assumed a colossal form with ten heads and twenty arms. (8)

Meaning

Rāvaṇa, the suzerain lord of ogres, resumed his native form and gazing on Sītā, the princess of Mithilā, a veritable jewel among women, stood clad in a red robe. (9)

Meaning

The said Rāvaṇa spoke as follows to that princess of Mithilā, who with her dark ends of hair was duly dressed and adorned with jewels and shone like the radiance of the sun : (10)

Meaning

“If you desire a husband well-known throughout the three worlds (heaven, earth and the intermediate region), betake yourself to me, O lady with charming limbs ! I am a husband worthy of you. (11)

Meaning

“Serve me for a long time ! I am a husband worthy of praise for you. I shall certainly never do anything unpalatable to you, O good lady ! (12)

Meaning

“Let your affection for a human being be given up and let it be placed on me. Due to what virtues do you feel attached to the silly Rāma, who has been banished from his kingdom, nay, who has failed to achieve his object and whose days are numbered, O deluded woman accounting yourself wise, and who, having given up the throne of Ayodhyā as well as his kith and kin at the instance of a woman, is dwelling in this forest frequented by beasts of prey?” Having spoken as aforesaid to Sītā, the princess of Mithilā, who spoke kindly to all and deserved kind words from all, and approaching her, the ogre, Rāvaṇa, who was extremely vile of disposition and was infatuated with passion, caught hold of Sītā (who was like a mother to him) as Budha (the deity presiding over the planet Mercury and son of the moon-god) would seize Rohiṇī (the principal consort of the moon-god and the deity presiding over a constellation of that name). (13—16)

Meaning

With his left hand he caught hold of the lotus-eyed Sītā by her locks, while with his right hand he clasped her by her thighs. (17)

Meaning

Stricken with fear to see him looking like a mountain-peak in stature and resembling Death himself, endowed as he was with sharp teeth and mighty arms, the sylvan deities ran away. (18)

Meaning

And there appeared close by at that very moment the well-known, enchanted, huge celestial car of Rāvaṇa, which was drawn by mules, made a jarring sound, and was made of gold. (19)

Meaning

Then, overawing Sītā, the princess of the Videha territory, with harsh words, and taking her in his arms, Rāvaṇa, who uttered a loud roar, forthwith placed her in the car. (20)

Meaning

Stricken with agony when seized by Rāvaṇa, the illustrious and well-known Sītā cried at the top of her voice ‘O Rāma’, addressing Śrī Rāma, who had penetrated deep into the forest. (21)

Meaning

Taking Sītā, who had no desire to meet Rāvaṇa and who was wriggling like a consort of the king of Nāgas, the aforesaid Rāvaṇa, who was stricken with passion, presently rose to the skies in his aerial car. (22)

Meaning

While being borne away through the air by Rāvaṇa, the ruler of ogres, she then began to wail loudly as follows like one mad and injured, her mind distracted through grief : (23)

Meaning

“O mighty-armed Lakṣmaṇa, O delighter of the mind of your elder brother, Śrī Rāma, you do not perceive me being carried away by an ogre, who is able to assume any form at will. (24)

Meaning

(Addressing Śrī Rāma) “even though you have fully renounced your happiness and whatever is solicited by all, nay, staked your very life, for the sake of virtue, O scion of Raghu, you are not able to see me being borne away unrighteously. (25)

Meaning

“Undoubtedly you are the tamer of the unruly, O scorcher of your enemies ! How, then, do you not punish Rāvaṇa, who is so sinful, (26)

Meaning

(Turning to Rāvaṇa, she continued :) “Of course, the fruit of the evil deed of an insolent man is not perceived immediately. Time as well plays a part in the fructification of an act, as it does in the ripening of foodgrains. (27)

Meaning

“Your understanding having been vitiated by an adverse fate, you have perpetrated this outrageous act. As such suffer terrible misfortune, which is sure to bring your life to an end, at the hands of Śrī Rāma. (28)

Meaning

“Alas, Kaikeyī with her kith and kin has her desire fulfilled in that I, the lawful consort of an illustrious hero, who is covetous of virtue alone, am being borne away by a desperado. (29)

Meaning

“Nay, I pray to the Karṇikāra trees in blossom in Janasthāna in the following words: ‘Kindly tell Śrī Rāma promptly that Rāvaṇa is taking away Sītā.’ (30)

Meaning

“I salute the river Godāvarī made noisy by swans and cranes and pray to her as follows: ‘Please tell Śrī Rāma (when he comes to you) at once that Rāvaṇa is carrying away Sītā.’ (31)

Meaning

“Nay I offer salutations to all those deities who dwell in this forest full of various trees, and pray to them : ‘(Kindly) speak to my husband of my having been borne away.’ (32)

Meaning

I seek the protection of all the animals of different species, the herds of deer and the flocks of birds, which actually dwell in this forest, and pray : “Kindly tell my husband of his beloved spouse, more valuable to him than his very life, being borne away, and add the following : Your Sītā has been carried away by Rāvaṇa, helpless as she was. (33-34)

Meaning

“Taking recourse to his prowess on coming to know of my presence even in the other world, the mighty-armed prince, possessed as he is of great strength, will recover me even though carried away by Yama (son of the sun-god).” (35)

Meaning

Uttering loud laments as aforesaid, sore distressed as she was, the large-eyed Sītā presently caught sight of the vulture, Jaṭāyu, perched on a tree. (36)

Meaning

Perceiving him, Sītā of comely limbs, who had given way to fear, fallen as she was into the clutches of Rāvaṇa, cried loudly in a voice choked with agony : (37)

Meaning

“Look at me being ruthlessly borne away, like a woman bereft of her protector, by this Rāvaṇa, king of ogres, of sinful deeds, O noble Jaṭāyu ! (38)

Meaning

“This cruel prowler of the night is incapable of being stopped by you, mighty and proud of his victory, armed with weapons and evil-minded too as he is. (39)

Meaning

“In any case, O Jaṭāyu, my abduction as well as all that is worth relating in that connection must be correctly reported by you to Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa in full.” (40)