Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 107

Meaning

Then ensued on that occasion a fierce and prolonged duel between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa, which struck terror in all the worlds.(1)

Meaning

At that time the army of ogres as well as the huge army of the monkeys stood motionless with their weapons held fast in their hands. (2)

Meaning

Distracted in heart to behold the two warriors, a human being and an ogre, both full of might, engaged in a desperate duel, all for their part experienced great wonderment. (3)

Meaning

Their arms, which were ready with weapons and impatient for action, the warriors on both sides stood amazed in mind to witness the encounter and did not attack one another. (4)

Meaning

The army of the ogres, who were looking on Rāvaṇa, as well as of the monkeys, who were gazing on Śrī Rāma with astonished eyes, appeared as though they were paintings. (5)

Meaning

Indeed, having made up their minds to carry the contest through and firm in their indignation, the aforesaid Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, and Rāvaṇa for their part fought fearlessly, as it were, on witnessing the omens on the field of battle. (6)

Meaning

Śrī Rāma (a scion of Kakutstha), who was convinced that he was going to win in combat and Rāvaṇa, who firmly believed that he would die, exhibited their entire prowess in the struggle on that occasion. (7)

Meaning

Putting arrows to his bow, the valiant Rāvaṇa (the ten-headed monster), thereupon discharged them in his wrath at the standard fixed on the chariot of Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu). (8)

Meaning

Failing to reach the aforesaid ensign on the chariot of Indra (a destroyer of citadels) and glancing off the staff supporting the banner, those arrows fell on the earth’s surface. (9)

Meaning

Stretching his bow in great fury, the valiant, Śrī Rāma too duly proceeded with his mind to return blow for blow. (10)

Meaning

He shot a whetted shaft, irresistible as a great snake and splendid with its own glory, aiming it at the banner of Rāvaṇa. (11)

Meaning

The glorious Śrī Rāma let fly the arrow aiming it at the standard of Rāvaṇa. Tearing asunder the ensign of Rāvaṇa (the ten-headed monster), that arrow entered the earth. (12)

Meaning

Torn down, the flag of Rāvaṇa’s chariot fell to the ground. The notorious Rāvaṇa, who was endowed with extraordinary might, was inflamed with fury on perceiving the destruction of his standard and stood blazing, as it were, with indignation. Fallen a prey to anger, he discharged a hail of arrows; so the tradition goes. (13—14)

Meaning

Nay, with his flaming arrows, Rāvaṇa pierced the horses of the chariot of Śrī Rāma. The aforesaid heavenly steeds, however, neither staggered nor reeled, but remained composed at heart as they would feel when struck with lotus stalks. Infuriated to perceive the nonchalance of those horses on that occasion, Rāvaṇa they say, discharged a further shower of shafts as also maces as well as iron clubs, discuses and mallets, mountain peaks and trees as well as pikes and axes. He, however, let fall this rain of weapons as a creation of magic. Unwearied at heart as well as in effort, he discharged more arrows in thousands on that occasion. (15—18)

Meaning

Leaving alone the chariot of Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), that tumultuous, alarming, fearful and great shower of numerous weapons, which was attended with a terrible echo, descended on the simian army on all sides on the battlefield. Nay, Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed monster, shot arrows with a mind which had given up all hope of survival, and wholly covered the space. Seeing the notorious Rāvaṇa putting forth great effort in the struggle, the celebrated Śrī Rāma (a scion of Kakutstha) thereupon put whetted shafts to his bow as though laughing and then shot them in hundreds and thousands. (19—22)

Meaning

Seeing those arrows, Rāvaṇa completely covered the sky with his own. Due to that dazzling shower of shafts discharged by the two contending warriors at that time, the shining space looked like a second heaven raised with a network of arrows. No arrow (discharged by them) failed to reach the mark; there was not one which failed to pierce its target and not one which was discharged in vain. (23-24)

Meaning

Colliding with one another, the arrows of Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa, who were shooting them on the battlefield, as aforesaid, fell to the ground. Discharging arrows to their right and left, the two warriors fought vehemently without interruption and covered the sky with their formidable arrows so as not to leave even breathing space between them, as it were. (25-26)

Meaning

Exchanging blow for blow, the two warriors struck each other on that occasion, Śrī Rāma hitting the steeds of Rāvaṇa and the latter those of Śrī Rāma. (27)

Meaning

Extremely enraged, the two warriors for their part thus carried on a keen contest. For an hour or so, there raged a fierce struggle which caused one’s hair to stand on end. (28)

Meaning

All created beings present there for their part gazed with an astonished mind on the said Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa, fighting as aforesaid on the battlefield. (29)

Meaning

Furiously attacking and injuring each other on the battlefield, nay, intent on destroying each other, the aforesaid excellent chariots of the two warriors for their part assumed a terrible aspect. The two charioteers too went on displaying multifarious movements of their chariots born of their driving skill, such as moving in a circle, moving straight and darting forward and receding forthwith. The two warriors had recourse to impetuosity of movement in their forward and backward motion, Śrī Rāma wounding Rāvaṇa and vice versa. Those excellent chariots of the two warriors, who were discharging streams of arrows, ranged the battle-ground like two clouds pouring showers. Having displayed movements of many kinds, on the field of battle, the two chariots once more stood facing each other. The shafts of the two chariots even as they stood at that moment met one with the other; the muzzles of the horses of the one closed with those of the horses of the other and the pennons too of the one closed with those of the other. With four sharp arrows discharged from his bow Śrī Rāma thereupon drove back the four spirited horses of Rāvaṇa. Fallen a prey to anger, on the retreating of his horses, that ten-headed monster let fly his whetted shafts against Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu). Though grievously wounded by the mighty Rāvaṇa (the ten-headed monster), the said scion of Raghu neither felt agitated nor disquieted. The ten-headed monster then directed arrows which emitted a sound like a stroke of lightning at the charioteer of Indra (who carries the thunderbolt in his hand). Fallen on the body of Mātali, the arrows for their part, which were shot with great impetuosity, did not cause the least confusion or torment to him on the battlefield. Angered by that assault on Mātali, Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), who for his part did not feel provoked by the assault on himself, made his adversary averse to fighting by directing a stream of his arrows against him. The valiant scion of Raghu discharged twenty, thirty, sixty and hundreds and thousnds of arrows on the enemy’s chariot. Provoked to anger, while seated in his chariot, the king of ogres, Rāvaṇa too thereupon tormented Śrī Rāma with a shower of maces and mallets in return. Then there ensued once more a tumultuous struggle, which caused one’s hair to stand on end. (30—44)

Meaning

Nay, all the seven seas were thrown into agitation by the sound of maces, mallets and iron bludgeons and the gusts raised by the plumes adorning the flying arrows.(45)

Meaning

All the devils as well as the snakes inhabiting in their thousands the nethermost subterranean region situated underneath the agitated seas felt disquieted. (46)

Meaning

The entire globe shook with its mountains, forests and jungles. Nay, the sun (the source of light) lost its brilliance and the wind too ceased to blow. (47)

Meaning

Thereupon all the gods—including the Gandharvas (celestial musicians), as well as the Kinnaras (another class of demigods credited with a human figure and the head of a horse or with a horse’s body and the head of a man) and huge serpents—as also Siddhas (a class of demigods endowed with mystic powers from their very birth) and great Ṛṣis (the seers of Vedic Mantras) fell a prey to anxiety. (48)

Meaning

“May all be well with the cows and the Brāhmaṇas. May all the worlds endure forever. May Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, conquer Rāvaṇa, the king of ogres, in combat!” (49)

Meaning

Saying so, the gods including the hosts of Ṛṣis (the seers of Vedic Mantras), present on the occasion, witnessed the fierce struggle between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa, which caused one’s hair to stand on end. (50)

Meaning

Watching that matchless struggle and observing that even as the sky is its own compeer and that the sea is its own analogue, the struggle between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa can be likened only to the struggle between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa, the hosts of Gandharvas (celestial musicians) and Apsarās (heavenly nymphs) looked on that combat between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa. (51-52)

Meaning

Putting to his bow an arrow, which resembled a venomous serpent (in its fierceness) in wrath the mighty-armed Śrī Rāma, who enhanced the glory of the Raghus (his forbears), cut off the glorious head2 of Rāvaṇa, which was graced with flaming earrings. The aforesaid head was seen fallen on the ground by the denizens of all the three worlds on that occasion. (53-54)

Meaning

Another head, exactly similar to the former, cropped up on the shoulders of Rāvaṇa. That second head too of Rāvaṇa was struck off on the battlefield in no time by the nimble-handed Śrī Rāma, who was quick in action, with his arrows. The aforesaid head rose into view once more the moment it was severed; but that too was severed by the thunderbolt-like shafts of Śrī Rāma. In the same way a hundred of heads, equally brilliant, was successfully struck off by Śrī Rāma, yet no certainty about his death could be arrived at. Though equipped with numerous arrows and well-versed in the use of all kinds of mystic missiles, the valiant Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), the enhancer of Kausalyā’s joy, thereupon became thoughtful. (He said to himself:) “I wonder what is the reason why these well-known shafts—which have all been tried and found infallible by me on the battlefield, nay, by the help of which the ogre, Mārīca, for his part was made shortwork of by me as also Khara alongwith Dūṣaṇa, nay, the ogre Virādha too was disposed of in a hole in the ground in the Krauñca wood, and Kabandha in the Daṇḍaka forest, by which again were the seven sal trees at Kiṣkindhā and mountains too were transfixed as also Vālī (the lord of monkeys) and (last of all) the sea was thrown into agitation—have proved of little efficacy against Rāvaṇa.” (55—61)

Meaning

Though absorbed in thought as aforesaid, yet not at all careless on the battlefield, Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, rained showers of arrows on the breast of Rāvaṇa. (62)

Meaning

Provoked to anger the king of ogres, Rāvaṇa, too, who was seated in his chariot, tormented Śrī Rāma in return with a shower of maces and mallets on the battlefield. (63)

Meaning

Then followed a great and tumultuous fight, which caused one’s hair to stand on end, in the air as well as on the earth and again on the top of the Trikūṭa mountain. (64)

Meaning

While the gods, the devils and the Yakṣas as also the fiends, the Nāgas (serpent-demons or semi-divine beings credited with the face of a man and the tail of a serpent, and said to inhabit the nethermost subterranean region, Pātāla) and the ogres looked on that major conflict that continued for entire days and nights. (65)

Meaning

The contest between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa ceased neither by night nor by day, not even for an hour or a moment. (66)

Meaning

Not perceiving the victory of Śrī Rāma in the duel between the aforesaid two, the son of Daśaratha and the king of ogres, that high-souled charioteer of Indra (the foremost of gods) quickly spoke as follows to Śrī Rāma, while he was still engaged in fighting. (67)