Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 95

Meaning

Rāvaṇa for his part actually heard the piteous and plaintive cry of the afflicted ogresses in every house in Laṅkā. (1)

Meaning

Sighing for a long time, and remaining engrossed in thought awhile, the aforesaid Rāvaṇa for his part got highly enraged and assumed a terrible aspect. (2)

Meaning

Nipping his lips with his teeth, his eyes crimson with wrath, the king of ogres, who looked like the fire of dissolution-incarnate, and whose sight was difficult to endure even for the ogres, commanded the ogres standing near on that spot, viz., Mahodara, Mahāpārśwa and the ogre Virūpākṣa, as follows, in words indistinct through anger, as though consuming them with his glance: (3-4)

Meaning

“Speedily instruct the troops at my command, as follows: ‘March out to the battlefield!’ ” (5)

Meaning

Hearing his aforesaid command, the said ogres, who were stricken with fear, enjoined the afore-mentioned ogres, who were quite unruffled, in accordance with the king’s order. (6)

Meaning

Saying “Amen!” and having performed a religious rite preparatory to all sacred undertakings for averting evil, all the aforesaid ogres of terrible aspect for their part sallied forth with their faces turned towards the battlefield. (7)

Meaning

Paying reverence to Rāvaṇa according to the rules of propriety, all those great car-warriors stood with joined palms wishing triumph to their master. (8)

Meaning

Laughing heartily in sneer, Rāvaṇa, who was filled with anger, then spoke as follows to the said warriors, viz., Mahodara and Mahāpārśwa and the ogre Virūpākṣa: (9)

Meaning

“With the shafts discharged from my bow and resembling the sun as seen at the end of the world-cycle, I shall dispatch Rāma (a scion of Raghu) as well as Lakṣmaṇa to the abode of Yama (the god of retribution) today. (10)

Meaning

“Through the death of my aforesaid enemies, I shall avenge the death of Khara, Kumbhakarṇa, Prahasta and Indrajit today. (11)

Meaning

“Overcast with clouds in the shape of my arrows, neither airspace nor the four quarters nor again heaven, nor even the seas will come to view. (12)

Meaning

“With a succession of plumed arrows joined with my bow I shall wipe out by turns the well-known battalions of the foremost of monkeys today. (13)

Meaning

“Mounted on my chariot, swift as the wind, I shall knock down the simian ranks with waves in the shape of arrows arisen from the ocean of my bow. (14)

Meaning

“Like an elephant I shall lay waste today ponds in the form of battalions of the monkeys shining like the filaments of a lotus with their faces resembling open lotuses. (15)

Meaning

“With their heads transfixed with arrows, the commanders of monkey troops lying on the battlefield will adorn the earth as with lotuses accompanied by stalks. (16)

Meaning

“With each one arrow discharged in the course of the combat, I shall pierce today full one hundred of monkeys fighting with trees and the most violent of their division. (17)

Meaning

“Through the destruction of my adversary today, I shall fully wipe the tears of those whose brother has actually been killed and whose son has been struck down. (18)

Meaning

“With the monkeys pierced with my shafts and lying scattered on the battlefield deprived of life, I shall carpet the earth so fully that it would be possible to discern its surface only with effort. (19)

Meaning

“Whatever crows and vultures and other carnivorous animals or birds there are, I shall sate them all with the flesh of my enemies killed by my arrows. (20)

Meaning

“Let my chariot be got ready with all speed and let my bow be brought without delay. Let the rangers of the night, who have survived, this time follow me to the battlefield.” (21)

Meaning

Hearing the foregoing speech of Rāvaṇa, Mahāpārśwa enjoined the troop-commanders standing there as follows: “Let the army be mobilized with all speed.” (22)

Meaning

When enjoined as aforesaid, the troop-commanders for their part went round Laṅkā at a swift pace, urging on the well-known ogres in every house to march to the battlefield. (23)

Meaning

Thereupon ogres of terrible aspect with hideous faces presently ran out roaring, their arms equipped with weapons of every kind, viz., swords, sharp-edged darts, pikes, maces, clubs, Halas (plough-like weapons), sharp-pointed javelins and huge Kūṭamudgaras, staffs, discuses of every kind, sharpened axes, Bhindipālas (a kind of sling for throwing stones), Śataghnīs (a stone or cylindrical piece of wood studded with iron pikes) and other excellent weapons. (24—26)

Meaning

At the king’s command four troop-commanders then led to the battlefield more than a lakh of chariots and three lakhs of elephants. (27)

Meaning

Nay, six crores of horses and the same number of mules and camels and innumerable foot-soldiers marched to the battlefield at the king’s command. (28)

Meaning

Having duly rallied the king’s army stationed in the city, the troop-commanders too marched to the battlefield. In the meantime the king’s charioteer placed on the battlefield his well-known chariot equipped with the foremost of celestial missiles, adorned with various jewels, filled with weapons of every kind, furnished with rows of small bells, encrusted with precious stones of various kinds, beautified with bejewelled pillars and covered with thousands of round gold pinnacles. (29—31)

Meaning

All the ogres were struck with great wonder to behold the chariot. Springing up from his seat on seeing the swift-going formidable chariot, which resembled a blazing fire and shone like crores of suns, was controlled by a charioteer, had eight horses yoked to it and was effulgent with its own splendour, Rāvaṇa, the king of ogres, forthwith ascended it on that occasion. (32-33)

Meaning

Surrounded by numerous ogres, Rāvaṇa thus precipitately set out from Laṅkā rending the earth as it were by the abundance of his might. (34)

Meaning

Then there burst forth on all sides a loud flourish of trumpets accompanied by the roll of clay tomtoms and tabors, the blast of conches and the clamour of ogres. (35)

Meaning

“There comes the ruler of ogres, the abductor of Sītā, the destroyer of Brāhmaṇas, the thorn in the sides of gods, notorious for his bad conduct and accompanied by his canopy and pair of whisks to try his strength with Rāma, the foremost of the Raghus!” Such was the clamour heard on all sides. (36)

Meaning

The earth violently shook at that loud din. The monkeys precipitately fled in panic on hearing that noise. (37)

Meaning

Surrounded by his ministers, the mighty-armed Rāvaṇa for his part, who was endowed with extraordinary energy, turned up on the battlefield for the avowed purpose of victory. (38)

Meaning

Duly permitted by Rāvaṇa, Mahāpārśwa and Mahodara as also Virūpākṣa, who was difficult to overpower, then mounted their chariots. (39)

Meaning

Roaring exultantly as though rending the earth and raising a formidable uproar, they set out eager for victory. (40)

Meaning

Surrounded by battalions consisting of hordes of ogres, the energetic monarch, who vied with Yama, playing the role of Death at the time of universal Dissolution, set out for the combat with his bow uplifted. (41)

Meaning

In his chariot, drawn by exceedingly swift horses, that great car-warrior then made his exit through the northern gate where the celebrated Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa were. (42)

Meaning

At that moment the sun lost its brilliance and the four quarters were enveloped in gloom. Nay, the birds emitted fearful notes and the earth too violently shook. (43)

Meaning

Again, the cloud rained blood and the horses of Rāvaṇa stumbled. A vulture perched on the top of his ensign, while she-jackals shrieked sinister howls. (44)

Meaning

His eye twitched and his left arm quivered. His face grew pale and his voice turned a bit hoarse. (45)

Meaning

Again, even as the ten-headed ogre, Rāvaṇa, set forth for an encounter the following evil phenomena presaging his death appeared on the battlefield. (46)

Meaning

A meteor fell from the sky with a crash resembling a peal of thunder. United with crows, vultures emitted sinister cries. (47)

Meaning

Not minding these fearful portents unmistakably present before him, impelled as he was by Death, Rāvaṇa rushed madly to his doom. (48)

Meaning

At the sound of the chariots of those gigantic ogres, the simian army too stood ready facing them for an encounter. (49)

Meaning

A tumultuous contest actually ensued between the monkeys and the ogres, who challenged each his adversary, enraged as they were and eager for victory. (50)

Meaning

Provoked to anger, Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed monster, thereupon played great havoc among the simian ranks with his arrows decked with gold. (51)

Meaning

Some monkeys had their heads cut off by Rāvaṇa; others had their hearts pierced and still others were deprived of their ears. (52)

Meaning

Some were struck down lifeless, others were split in the flanks; some more had their skulls smashed and still others were deprived of their eyes. (53)

Meaning

Wheresoever the ten-headed monster drove in his chariot on the battlefield, his eyes rolling in fury, the celebrated commanders of monkey troops stationed in that quarter could no withstand the mad fury of his arrows.(54)