Sundara Kanda, Sarga 47

Meaning

Hearing of his five generals killed with their followers and vehicles destroyed by Hanumān, Rāvaṇa, the king, for his part looked intently and inquisitively on Prince Akṣa, who stood face to face with him and was violent in combat and inclined to fighting. (1)

Meaning

Spurred on by his mere glance, the glorious prince, who was armed with a marvellous bow inlaid with gold, leapt up forthwith in the royal assembly like a flame fed with ghee by the foremost of Brāhmaṇas in a fire-sanctuary. (2)

Meaning

Mounting a chariot, effulgent as the rising sun and overlaid with a protective armour of highly refined gold, that eminent and powerful jewel among the ogres immediately marched against that mighty Hanumān. (3)

Meaning

Mounted on that chariot—which shone like the sun, nay, which had been acquired through accumulated practice of austerities, had been rendered picturesque by a protective armour of highly refined gold and was decorated with small flags, which could be distinguished by a bejewelled ensign, to which eight excellent horses, swift as mind, were firmly yoked, and was unassailable by gods and demons alike, which could move without any solid support and as such coursed through the air, flashing like lightning, was well fitted out and equipped with quivers, which looked charming with eight swords fastened to it (in the four quarters and the four intermediate points), in which javelins and lances had been placed in orderly array and which shone brightly with all war equipments strung together with a golden cord brilliant as the rays of the sun and the moon—Prince Akṣa, who vied with gods in prowess, presently sallied forth from that place. (4—6)

Meaning

Nay, filling the firmament as well as the earth including its mountains with the neighing of horses and elephants and the rattling of large chariots, Akṣa, alongwith the collected forces approached the powerful Hanumān stationed on the archway. (7)

Meaning

Hanumān, who stood ready for the annihilation of ogres like the destructive fire raging at the time of universal dissolution, was astonished to see the prince, who was a mere boy before him, arrived to give battle to him. Hanumān was struck with wonder to know that he was son of the great Rāvaṇa, the said Akṣa, whose eyes shone like that of a lion, and gazed on him with eyes full of pride. (8)

Meaning

Reflecting on the speed of that gigantic Hanumān as well as on his prowess with regard to his enemies as also on his own strength, that son of Rāvaṇa, who was endowed with extraordinary might, began to swell in glory like the sun at the end of the world cycle. (9)

Meaning

Enraged to observe his valour, he took his stand firmly with a concentrated mind and provoked Hanumān, who was difficult to check in combat, to an encounter by piercing him with three whetted shafts. (10)

Meaning

Observing Hanumān full of pride inasmuch as he had conquered fatigue, was capable of vanquishing his enemies and whose zeal for fighting had grown (as a result of his repeated triumphs over his enemies), and firmly holding his bow, Prince Akṣa, arrow in hand, gazed on him. (11)

Meaning

Adorned with an ornament for the breast, a pair of armlets and charming earrings, all made of gold, Akṣa of fiery spirit met Hanumān at close quarters and an encounter took place between them, which was without a parallel and struck awe even in gods and demons. (12)

Meaning

Witnessing the mighty contest between the valiant Hanumān and the prince, the earth shrieked in agony under their heavy footfalls, the sun did not shine brightly, the wind ceased to blow, the mountain (Trikūṭa on which the city of Laṅkā stood) shook, the firmament rang and the sea too was convulsed. (13)

Meaning

That hero, who correctly knew how to fix his gaze on the target, to fit a shaft to the bow and to discharge it, forthwith dug into the monkey’s head three winged shafts with lovely heads and golden feathers, which resembled venomous serpents. (14)

Meaning

Discharging blood from his wounds caused by those shafts simultaneously dug into his head by Akṣa, and bathed in it and thereby looking like the newly risen sun, his eyes rolling rapidly through indignation, Hanumān shone brightly like the sun, surrounded by a circle of rays, having the arrows transfixed into his forehead for its rays. (15)

Meaning

Hanumān, the foremost of ministers of the suzerain lord of monkeys, now rejoiced and grew in size on perceiving that offspring of Rāvaṇa with his marvellous weapons and picturesque bow raised upward on the field of battle, inclined as he was to fighting. (16)

Meaning

Infuriated and full of strength and virility, Hanumān, who resembled the sun appearing on a peak of Mount Mandāra, began at that moment to burn Prince Akṣa alongwith his forces and vehicles by the rays of fire emanating from his eyes. (17)

Meaning

Bearing a rainbow in the shape of a bow and pouring a shower of arrows on the field of battle, the cloud in the form of the ogre Akṣa began to discharge arrows rapidly on a mountain in the shape of Hanumān, a leader of monkeys, even as a cloud would pour a shower on the foremost of mountains. (18)

Meaning

“Observing on the field of battle the aforesaid Prince Akṣa, whose prowess was formidable in combat, nay, whose energy, strength, prowess and force of arrows had considerably grown, Hanumān thereupon shouted in sheer joy, his roar resembling a clap of thunder. (19)

Meaning

Proud of his valour on the field of battle as a result of ignorance (characteristic of children), and with blood-shot eyes, his fury having grown beyond measure, Akṣa approached Hanumān, who had no rival in combat, even as an elephant would approach a big well covered with grass. (20)

Meaning

Struck with arrows shot with violence by Akṣa, Hanumān forthwith shouted with great vigour in a voice resembling thunder, rending the air, as it were, and assuming a terrible aspect by stretching out his arms and thighs. (21)

Meaning

Mounted on a chariot, the mighty and glorious Akṣa, the most distinguished of ogres and the most eminent of chariot-warriors, closely followed Hanumān even as the latter sprang up in the sky, covering him with shafts, even as a cloud would cover a mountain with showers of hailstones. (22)

Meaning

Darting like the wind between the arrows and thereby escaping those arrows of Akṣa, the heroic Hanumān, who was swift as thought and exhibited terrific prowess on the field of battle, began to range the airspace. (23)

Meaning

The said offspring of the wind-god, Hanumān, regarded with an eye full of esteem Akṣa—who, having seized his bow, was covering the sky with various excellent arrows, keen as he was for an encounter—and became thoughtful. (24)

Meaning

Roaring, when pierced in the breast with shafts by the high-minded Akṣa, the foremost of princes, the mighty-armed Hanumān, who knew how to act under particular circumstances, reflected on the following lines on the prowess of Akṣa on the field of battle. (25)

Meaning

“Endowed with extraordinary might and possessing the splendour of the rising sun, this boy is accomplishing great deeds unlike a boy ! Nor do I feel inclined to kill on this occasion this youth, who is distinguished in his acts of warfare. (26)

Meaning

“This prince is high-souled and also eminent in valour; nay, he is circumspect and extremely enduring in combat and is adored even by hermits including Nāgas and Yakṣas due to exaltation of his deeds and virtues. (27)

Meaning

“Standing in the van as the leader, reassured as he is by prowess and strength of will, he looks me straight in the eyes. Surely the valour of this warrior, who is quick of action, would shake the mind even of gods and demons. (28)

Meaning

“If disregarded, he would undoubtedly get the better of me; for his prowess grows in combat. Putting an end to him, therefore, now finds favour with me. A spreading fire is not worth neglecting.” (29)

Meaning

Pondering thus the tremendous speed of the enemy and determining the course of his own action, the powerful Hanumān for his part, who was endowed with extraordinary might, made up his mind to kill him without delay and increased his momentum for that purpose. (30)

Meaning

Coursing through the airspace, that valiant Hanumān, sprung from the loins of the wind-god, killed with the blows of his palm Akṣa’s well-known eight big horses, trained in turning quickly to the right and left and capable of enduring the burden of the chariot. (31)

Meaning

Overpowered by Hanumān, the counsellor of Sugrīva (the suzerain lord of monkeys), nay, struck by him with his palm, that well-known huge chariot of Akṣa, which had its interior broken, its pole overturned and horses already killed, thereupon fell to the earth from the sky. (32)

Meaning

Bounding into the air with his bow and sword, having abandoned that chariot, that great chariot-warrior, Akṣa, now looked like a Ṛṣi (the seer of a Vedic Mantra), possessing tremendous power, ascending to the realm of gods on quitting his body through practice of yoga. (33)

Meaning

Meeting the prince, ranging through the heavens, frequented by Garuḍa, the king of birds, the wind-god and the Siddhas, Hanumān, who was endowed with the speed and prowess of the wind-god, caught him firmly by the legs one after the other. (34)

Meaning

Catching hold of him even as Garuḍa, the king of birds, would seize a huge serpent, and spinning him round thousands of times, Hanumān, a jewel among monkeys, whose prowess equalled that of his father, the wind-god, dashed him violently to the battle-ground. (35)

Meaning

Killed by Hanumān, son of the wind-god, that ogre fell to the ground, dripping with blood, his arms, thighs, waist and chest fractured, bones and eyes crushed, joints dislocated and sinews shattered. (36)

Meaning

Having dashed him to the earth’s surface, the huge monkey, Hanumān, struck terror into Rāvaṇa, the suzerain lord of ogres. Nay, on the prince having been killed, Hanumān was gazed upon by eminent Ṛṣis ranging the stellar sphere, who had gathered together in a body to witness the combat alongwith genii, accompanied by Yakṣas and Nāgas, as also by gods including lndra, their ruler, who were greatly astonished at the feat. (37)

Meaning

Having dispatched Prince Akṣa, who vied with Jayanta, Indra’s son, and was distinguished by bloodshot eyes on the field of battle, the hero, Hanumān, sought the same archway, biding time for a further opportunity to destroy ogres even like the Time-Spirit bent on the destruction of created beings.(38)