Uttara Kanda, Sarga 7

Meaning

“Just as clouds lash hills with a downpour, even so the Rākṣasa hordes, making a terrific noise, attacked with their volleys of missiles, Nārāyaṇa who stood like a hill. (1)

Meaning

The bright, though dark-complexioned Viṣṇu was surrounded by those sable-looking jewels among the Rākṣasas like a hill of antimony by the pouring clouds. (2)

Meaning

The arrows shot from the bows of the Rākṣasas, with the speed of the thunderbolt, the air and mind, entered into the body of Viṣṇu as locusts rush into paddy fields, moths into the flame, bees into a pot containing honey, crocodiles into the sea and the worlds into Viṣṇu at the time of the deluge. (3-4)

Meaning

Huge as mountains, the Rākṣasa chiefs, sitting in chariots, or riding on elephants, or on horses suffocated Viṣṇu from their chariots, elephants and horses as also the foot-soldiers standing in airspace by means of arrows, javelins, double-edged swords and iron clubs, only as breath-control exercises make Brāhmaṇas (practising them) stop their breathing (for awhile). (5-6)

Meaning

“Attacked by the Rākṣasas, as the ocean is lashed by fishes, Lord Viṣṇu, the invincible, pulled the string of His bow known as the Śārṅga and discharged arrows at the Rākṣasas. (7)

Meaning

By means of sharp arrows hard like adamant and having the speed of the mind, shot from the bow, whose string was pulled to the extreme length, Viṣṇu mangled to pieces the Rākṣasas in their hundreds and thousands. (8)

Meaning

Having dispersed the Rākṣasas by the shower of arrows, even as wind disperses the rainbearing clouds, Puruṣottama blew His mighty conch, Pāñcajanya. (9)

Meaning

That conch, the best of its kind, blown with all His might by Viṣṇu, produced a terrific noise, thereby causing agony to the three worlds, as it were. (10)

Meaning

The terrific sound produced by the best of conches frightened the Rākṣasas even as a lion roaring in a forest would frighten the elephants in rut. (11)

Meaning

Getting unnerved on hearing the noise of the conch, horses were unable to stand, elephants lost their fury and soldiers slipped from their chariots. (12)

Meaning

The beautifully-feathered arrows shot from the Śārṅga bow, with their heads hard like adamant, cleaving the bodies of the Rākṣasas entered the ground. (13)

Meaning

Being pierced in battle by the arrows shot from the hands of Nārāyaṇa, the Rākṣasas fell on the ground like mountains struck by thunderbolts. (14)

Meaning

Blood gushed out of the wounds caused on the bodies of the enemies by Viṣṇu’s discus like streams of ochre from mountains. (15)

Meaning

The noise of the best of conches, the twang of the bow Śārṅga and the war-cry of Viṣṇu (all combined) drowned the noise produced by the Rākṣasas. (16)

Meaning

By means of His arrows the said Śrī Hari cut down their unsteady necks, arrows, banners, bows, chariots, pennants and quivers. (17)

Meaning

Like the fierce rays from the sun, waves from the sea, huge serpents from a mountain and torrents from clouds, the deadly arrows shot by Nārāyaṇa from His bow, Śārṅga, flew with speed in their hundreds and thousands in all directions. (18-19)

Meaning

Like lions chased by (the fabulous animal known as) Śarabha, like elephants by a lion, like tigers by an elephant, like leopards by a tiger, like dogs by a leopard, like cats by a dog, like snakes by a cat, and like rats by a snake, even so all the Rākṣasas, chased by the mighty Viṣṇu, took to their heels while others lay stretched on the ground. (20—22)

Meaning

Having killed thousands of Rākṣasas, Madhusūdana blew His conch tremendously as Indra charges a cloud with water. (23)

Meaning

The worsted Rākṣasa forces, terrified by Nārāyaṇa’s arrows and unhinged by the sound of the conch, fled towards Laṅkā. (24)

Meaning

When the Rākṣasa forces were put to flight while being struck by Nārāyaṇa’s arrows, Sumālī blocked Nārāyaṇa on the battlefield by the shower of his arrows. (25)

Meaning

He screened Him (Nārāyaṇa) even as mist does the sun. The powerful Rākṣasas again mustered up courage. (26)

Meaning

The enraged Rākṣas, arrogant by reason of his strength, jumped forward making a huge noise as if infusing new life into the Rākṣasas. (27)

Meaning

Raising his hand with an ornament hanging about it and waving it even as an elephant would wave its trunk, the elated Rākṣasas roared like a cloud accompanied by lightning. (28)

Meaning

Śrī Hari cut off the head, adorned with dazzling earrings, of the charioteer of the roaring Sumālī. The horses of the Rākṣasa then ran wildly. (29)

Meaning

Like the unsteady man who is tossed this side and that by his fickle sense-organs, which may be likened to horses, Sumālī, the lord of the Rākṣasas, was drawn this side and that by those horses running helter-skelter. (30)

Meaning

“When Sumālī’s chariot was being drawn into confusion by his horses, the alert Mālī, holding the bow and an arrow in his hands, rushed towards the mount of Viṣṇu, the mighty-armed, who was darting towards him on the battlefield. Mālī’s arrows, decked with gold and shot from his bow, reaching Viṣṇu, entered His body as birds enter into the Krauñca hill. Pierced by thousands of arrows, shot by Mālī, Viṣṇu did not feel ruffled on the battlefield even as a self-controlled man is not perturbed by mental agonies. Then, hearing the twang of Mālī’s bow-string, the Lord, the Creator of beings, who was armed with a mace and a sword, shot volleys of arrows at Mālī. Those arrows, bright as a diamond and shining like lightning, reaching Mālī’s body, drank his blood as though the Nāgas (huge serpents) would be drinking nectar. “Having put Mālī to flight, Śrī Hari (the Bearer of a conch, a discus and a club), flung to the ground Mālī’s crest, his banner, his bow and his horses. Having lost his chariot, and seizing hold of his club, Mālī, the best of Rākṣasas, with the weapon in his hand, leapt like a lion from a mountain peak. With his club he hit Garuḍa (the king of ealges) on the forehead even as Yama hit Śiva and Indra would strike a mountain with his thunderbolt. Hit hard by the said Mālī with his club, Garuḍa, unable to stand the acute pain, made the Lord turn His back on the battle. A great clamour rose from the Rākṣasas, who roared when Lord Hari was, in fact, made to turn His back on the battlefield alongwith Garuḍa by Mālī. “Highly incensed to hear the noise of the roaring Rākṣasas, Lord Hari, the younger brother of Indra, even sitting obliguely on Garuḍa’s back, as His face was turned away from the battle, threw His discus at Mālī with a view to kill him. (31—42)

Meaning

Resembling the wheel of time and lustrous like the orb of the sun, that discus, illuminating as it did the skies by its own blaze, brought Mālī’s head to the ground. (43)

Meaning

That fierce-looking head of the Rākṣasa-chief, cut off by the discus, fell on the ground emitting blood, like Rāhu’s head of yore. (44)

Meaning

Then a clamour like the roar of a lion, saying ‘Well done, O Lord!’ was raised with all their might by the gods, who were transported with joy. (45).

Meaning

Seeing Mālī dead, Sumālī and Mālyavān, stricken with grief fled to Laṅkā with the remnant of the forces. (46)

Meaning

Having recovered, the enraged Garuḍa returned and dispersed as before the Rākṣasas by the blast (arising from the flapping) of his wings. (47)

Meaning

The Rākṣasas quickly fell into the sea-water from the skies; some had their lotus-like faces cut by the discus, some had their breasts pulverized by the club, some had their necks rent by the ploughshare, some had their heads broken by the pestle, some were cut by the sword, and others were injured by arrows. (48-49)

Meaning

By means of sharp arrows shot from his bow like so many strokes of lightning, Nārāyaṇa tore the Rākṣasas with their hair dishevelled and tossed about, even a lightning-bearing huge cloud would disperse mountains with strokes of lightning. (50)

Meaning

With their parasols broken, their weapons slipping from their hands, their plain costumes rendered threadbare by arrows, their entrails ripped open and their eyes restless through fear, that army stood completely distracted. (51)

Meaning

The cries as well as the stampede of the Rākṣasas utterly routed by Lord Viṣṇu (who appeared as a man-lion of yore) with those of their elephants followed all at once like those of elephants chased by a lion. (52)

Meaning

Being checked by the volleys of arrows shot by Śrī Hari, and shooting their own arrows, in large numbers, those clouds in the form of Rākṣasa, sped like sombre clouds propelled by the wind. (53)

Meaning

With their heads cut off by the strokes of the discus, their limbs pounded by blows of the club, and cut into two by the strokes of the sword, the Rākṣasa chieftains fell like mountains struck by the thunderbolt. (54)

Meaning

With the Rākṣasas, resembling black clouds, being thrown to the ground with their pendent necklaces and earrings of gold, the earth looked fully covered as though with blue mountains dashed to the ground. (55)