Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 99

Meaning

On seeing Mahodara and Mahāpārśwa killed, nay, the notorious champion Virūpākṣa, who was endowed with extraordinary might, having already been struck down, a great rage actually seized Rāvana in the course of the great conflict. Nay, he urged on his charioteer and addressed to him the following words: so the tradition goes: (1-2)

Meaning

“Killing the two princes, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, I shall certainly get rid of the suffering caused to me on account of the ministers who have been killed and the city which has been laid siege to by the monkeys. (3)

Meaning

“In the fight, I shall cut down the tree in the shape of Rāma, which is going to yield fruit through its blossom in the form of Sītā, nay, whose principal boughs are Sugrīva, Jāmbavān, Kumuda, Nala, as well as Dwivida and Mainda, Aṅgada, Gandhamādana as also Hanumān and Suṣeṇa and all the other commanders of monkey troops.” (4-5)

Meaning

Saying so and causing all the ten directions to resound with the rattling of his chariot, that mighty and surpassing car-warrior drove rapidly and rushed towards Śrī Rāma, a scion of Rāghu. (6)

Meaning

Filled by that sound the entire globe including rivers, mountains and forests, trembled throwing the lions and other beasts as well as birds into a fright. (7)

Meaning

He manifested an exceedingly formidable and terrific, mystic missile presided over by Rāhu (a giant presiding over the planet of that name and consisting of darkness), and with it he began to consume all the monkeys, who started falling down on all sides. (8)

Meaning

Dust rose on the earth as they ran with all speed when frustrated, for they could no longer endure the missile, which had been brought into being by Brahmā, the creator, himself. (9)

Meaning

Seeing those numerous divisions of the monkeys routed in hundreds by the excellent arrows of Rāvaṇa, Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu took his stand firmly on the battlefield. (10)

Meaning

Having put the army of the monkeys to flight, that tiger among the ogres then beheld Śrī Rāma, the tamer of his enemies, who was endowed with long arms and eyes large as lotus petals standing unconquered with his younger brother, Lakṣmaṇa, like Indra accompanied by his younger brother, Upendra, Lord Viṣṇu—holding up his bow as though scraping the sky. Nay, perceiving the monkeys routed in combat and Rāvaṇa aproaching, the mighty Śrī Rāma, who was endowed with extraordinary energy and was accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa, thereupon joyfully took hold of his bow at the middle. (11—14)

Meaning

He then began to stretch the excellent bow, which was endowed with great impelling force, loud and sonorous, as though he was going to rend the globe asunder. (15)

Meaning

Nay, ogres fell to the ground in their hundreds at the well-known buzzing sound produced by the streams of Rāvana’s as well as by the twang of Śrī Rāma’s bow.(16)

Meaning

Again, coming within the range of the aforesaid two princes, Laksmana and Śrī Rāma, the notorious Rāvana resembled Rāhu (the Daitya presiding over the planet of that name, who is held by the Purāṇas to be responsible for the solar as well as the lunar eclipses standing in the vicinity of the moon and the sun). (17)

Meaning

Desiring to engage him with his own sharpened arrows in the first instance and stretching his bow, Lakṣmaṇa shot his shafts resembling tongues of fire. (18)

Meaning

Rāvaṇa, who was endowed with extraordinary energy, intercepted in the air with his own arrows the aforesaid arrows as soon as they were shot by Lakṣmaṇa, an excellent archer. (19)

Meaning

Demonstrating his lightness of hand, he split the arrows of Lakṣmaṇa one with one, three with three and ten with ten arrows. (20)

Meaning

Overpassing Lakṣmaṇa (son of Sumitrā), Rāvaṇa, who ever won battles, approached Śrī Rāma, standing like another mountain on the battlefield. (21)

Meaning

Duly approaching Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), his eyes turning crimson through anger, Rāvaṇa, the lord of ogres, discharged showers of shafts upon him. (22)

Meaning

Immediately on beholding the volleys of arrows discharged from the bow of Rāvaṇa approaching, Śrī Rāma thereupon quickly seized hold in all haste of Bhallas (a variety of arrows with a crescent-shaped head). (23)

Meaning

Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, then tore asunder with sharp-edged Bhallas those streams of flaming arrows—arrows which were very formidable and resembled venomous serpents. (24)

Meaning

Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, and Rāvaṇa rapidly covered each other with showers of sharp-pointed shafts of various kinds—Śrī Rāma covering Rāvaṇa and vice versa. (25)

Meaning

Pushing back each other with the onrush of their arrows and remaining undefeated, the two warriors described circles of various kinds round each other from left to right. (26)

Meaning

All beings were seized with terror even as the two redoubtable heroes, who resembled the god of retribution and the god of death, respectively, simultaneously struck with violence shooting arrows at each other. (27)

Meaning

The sky was overcast at that time with arrows of various kinds even as it is covered during the monsoon with clouds crowded with flashes of lightning. (28)

Meaning

The vault of heaven was studded with eye-holes, as it were, by showers of shafts of extraordinary velocity, which were extremely sharp-pointed, were adorned with plumes of vultures and were discharged with great impetuosity. (29)

Meaning

Like two huge clouds risen into view at a time when the sun had set and even when it rose, the two warriors enveloped the sky with great darkness with their arrows. (30)

Meaning

Like the duel that took place in the hoary past between the demon Vṛtra and Indra, an unapproachable and unimaginable major conflict ensued between the two warriors, who sought the destruction of each other. (31)

Meaning

Indeed, both were armed with excellent bows, both were skilled in fighting, both were the foremost of those adept in the use of missiles and both moved unhampered on the battlefield. (32)

Meaning

Indeed, whichever course they both took in their manoeuvrings streams of shafts were set in motion like waves in two oceans, whipped up by the wind. (33)

Meaning

Then Rāvaṇa for his part, who made people cry wherever he went and whose hands were constantly engaged in discharging arrows, dug into the brow of Śrī Rāma a succession of steel arrows, which adorned it like a chaplet. (34)

Meaning

Śrī Rāma bore that chaplet, discharged from the terrible bow of Rāvaṇa and shining like the petals of a blue lotus, on his head and did not experience any pain. (35)

Meaning

Then, seizing hold of more arrows, nay, reciting sacred formulas and thereby invoking the mystic missile sought for and making use of the missile presided over by Rudra (the god of destruction), and stretching his bow, the valiant Śrī Rāma, who was endowed with extraordinary energy, and was seized with anger, let fly those arrows in uninterrupted succession against the king of ogres. (36-37)

Meaning

Fallen on the impenetrable armour of Rāvaṇa, the ruler of ogres, which looked like a large cloud, the aforesaid arrows did not cause any pain to him at the time. (38)

Meaning

Śrī Rāma, who was an adept in the use of all mystic missiles, fortwith pierced that suzerain lord of ogres, seated in his chariot, once more in the forehead with an excellent missile. (39)

Meaning

Having pierced the excellent arrows of Rāvaṇa, the arrows of Śrī Rāma, generated by the missile, penetrated like five-headed hissing serpents into the earth, when repelled by Rāvaṇa (40)

Meaning

Rendering the missile of Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, void, the aforesaid Rāvaṇa, who was filled with wrath, manifested an exceedingly dreadful missile, presided over by demoniac forces. (41)

Meaning

He discharged arrows having the heads of lions and tigers, those of buzzards and red geese, even of vultures and falcons, as well as those of jackals and wolves, also shafts having the heads of terrible lions with their mouths wide open and even resembling serpents, also those having the heads of donkeys and others having the heads of boars, dogs and cocks, alligators and venomous snakes. (42—44)

Meaning

Hissing like a serpent provoked to anger, Rāvaṇa, who was endowed with extraordinary energy, let go against Śrī Rāma by his conjuring tricks these and other whetted arrows. (45)

Meaning

Overwhelmed by that missile presided over by demoniac forces, that prince of the Raghus, who was endowed with extraordinary animation and resembled the god of fire in brilliance, employed the missile presided over by the god of fire. (46)

Meaning

He produced through it arrows of every description, some with heads bright as fire, others with heads shining like the sun, the moon, the crescent, a comet and a huge meteor respectively, others shining like planets and lunar mansions and some resembling flashes of lightning. Pierced by the missile employed by Śrī Rāma, a scion of Raghu, those formidable arrows of Rāvaṇa melted away in the air; yet, before they did so, they killed the monkeys in thousands. Rejoiced to see that missile, presided over by demoniac forces, rendered void by Śrī Rāma of unwearied action, and encompassing Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), all the monkeys, who were capable of changing their form at will, thereupon raised a clamour facing Sugrīva. (47—50)

Meaning

The high-souled Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu), son of Daśaratha, was then filled with joy on having forcibly rendered void that well-known missile which had flown from the arms of Rāvaṇa; while the valiant monkey chiefs, full of joy, shouted at the top of their voice. (51)