Bala Kanda, Sarga 17

Meaning

Lord Viṣṇu having all but assumed the role of sons to that high-souled monarch, King Daśaratha, the almighty Brahmā (the self-born) commanded all the gods as follows : (1)

Meaning

“Beget mighty part manifestations of yourselves, capable of assuming any form at will and able to assist the valiant Lord Viṣṇu, who is true to His promise and wishes well of us all. (2)

Meaning

“Through the principal Apsarās (celestial nymphs), the wombs of Gandharva women, maidens of Yakṣas (a class of demigods, ruled over by Kubera) and Nāgas (serpent-demons credited with a human face and serpent-like lower body), she-bears and Vidyādhara women, the wombs of female Kinnaras* and she-monkeys procreate sons in the form of monkeys, equal in strength to you, well-versed in conjuring tricks, gallant, swift as the wind in speed, expert in policy, gifted with intelligence, equal in prowess to Lord Viṣṇu, incapable of being killed by the enemy, conversant with various contrivances, endowed with an ethereal body, skilled in the use and withdrawal etc., of missiles and resembling the gods that feed on ambrosia. (3—6)

Meaning

“Jāmbavān, the chief of bears, has already been begotten by me. He issued forth from my mouth all of a sudden (even) as I was yawning.” (7)

Meaning

Enjoined thus by Brahmā and accepting his aforesaid command, the above-mentioned gods as instructed begot sons in the form of monkeys. (8)

Meaning

Nay, high-souled Ṛṣis, Siddhas, Vidyādharas (artists of heaven) and Nāgas and Cāraṇas (celestial bards) begot heroic sons belonging to the monkey class. (9)

Meaning

Indra, the ruler of gods, begot as his son Vālī, the ruler of monkeys, who vied with the great Indra himself. The sun-god, the foremost of those radiating heat, begot Sugrīva, the younger brother of Vālī. (10)

Meaning

The sage Bṛhaspati, the preceptor of gods, begot the mighty monkey, Tāra, unsurpassed in intelligence among all the monkey chiefs. (11)

Meaning

The glorious monkey Gandhamādana was an offspring of Kubera (the bestower of riches); while Viśwakarmā, the architect of gods, begot the mighty monkey named Nala. (12)

Meaning

The glorious and valiant Nīla, a son of the fire-god, who vied in splendour with fire, outdid all in point of glory, renown and prowess. (13)

Meaning

And the twin-gods, Aświnīkumāras, who are esteemed for their comeliness and rich in the wealth of beauty, themselves begot Mainda as well as Dwivida. (14)

Meaning

Varuṇa, the god of water, begot the monkey named Suṣeṇa; while the mighty Parjanya, the god of rain, begot Sarabha.(15)

Meaning

The glorious monkey named Hanumān is the own son of the wind-god. He is endowed with a body invulnerable as the thunderbolt and vies with Garuḍa (son of Vinatā and the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu) in speed. (16)

Meaning

He is the cleverest and strongest of all monkey chiefs. They were begotten in many thousands and were ever ready to make short work of Rāvaṇa. (17)

Meaning

They were valiant and full of prowess and possessed infinite strength. Mighty as they were, they could take any form at will, were endowed with gigantic bodies and looked like elephants and mountains. (18)

Meaning

The bears, monkeys and long-tailed monkeys (lit., those with a tail resembling that of a cow) saw the light in no time after conception, as is the case with heavenly beings. The son of each god was individually born as on all fours with the complexion, bodily structure and prowess that the latter possessed; while those born among the long-tailed monkeys were endowed with a slightly superior prowess as compared even with their respective fathers. (19-20)

Meaning

Even so, monkeys were born of she-bears and Kinnara women. Many renowned gods, great Ṛṣis and Gandharvas, Garuḍa and others (sons of Kaśyapa) and Yakṣas, the elephants guarding the quarters and Kiṁpuruṣas (a class of beings allied to the Kinnaras, who are regarded as the attendants of Kubera), Siddhas, Vidyādharas and Nāgas, full of delight, begot sons in thousands on that occasion. (21-22)

Meaning

Through the principal Apsarās and Vidyādhara women as well as through maidens of the Nāgas and the wombs of Gandharva women, the Cāraṇas too begot in the form of sons monkeys endowed with a gigantic body and roaming about in the forests and all living only on wild fruits etc. They were gifted with the power of assuming any form and acquiring any amount of strength at will and could go about wherever they liked. (23-24)

Meaning

Nay, they resembled the lion and tiger in point of haughtiness and strength. All used even rocks as their missiles and all fought with mountains as their weapon.(25)

Meaning

All had claws and teeth for their weapons and all were skilled in the use of all sorts of missiles. They could shake great mountains and cleave rooted trees. (26)

Meaning

They could agitate the sea, the lord of the rivers, with their impetuosity, rend the earth with their feet and leap across extensive oceans. (27)

Meaning

They could penetrate into the firmament and catch hold of the clouds. They could even seize elephants in rut roaming at will in the forest. (28)

Meaning

Nay, they could dash down with their yell crying birds. A crore of such high-souled monkeys, capable of assuming any form at will and able to lead herds of their kind, came to light. They turned out to be the leaders of separate herds of monkeys among their principal troops and begot other valiant monkeys who proved to be the foremost of generals. Others in their thousands resorted to the peaks of Mount Ṛkṣavān; still others sought various mountains and forests. All those monkey chiefs flocked round the two brothers, Sugrīva, son of the sun-god, and Vālī, son of Indra, too; while others stood by the side of Nala, Nīla, Hanumān and other monkey chiefs. (29—33)

Meaning

Endowed with the might of Garuḍa, they were all skilled in warfare and, while roaming about, killed all lions, tigers and big snakes and other wild animals (that confronted them). (34)

Meaning

The mighty and stout-armed Vālī, who possessed extraordinary prowess, protected with the might of his arms the aforesaid bears, monkeys and long-tailed monkeys. (35)

Meaning

This globe with all its mountains, forests and oceans was overrun by the above-mentioned heroes of diverse bodily structures and distinguished by various characteristic marks. (36)

Meaning

The earth was filled with those mighty leaders of monkey chiefs, who looked like a mass of clouds or like mountain-peaks and were endowed with a fearful body and aspect and had been born only to assist Śrī Rāma. (37)