Chapter 52 - Dhumraksha fights and is slain by Hanuman

Seeing Dhumraksha of redoubtable courage set forth, all the monkeys in their martial ardour emitted loud cries and a terrific struggle ensued between those forest dwellers and the titans, who attacked each other with huge trees, spears and maces.

On all sides ferocious monkeys were massacred by titans and titans felled to the earth by monkeys employing trees. The titans struck their opponents with pointed arrows furnished with heron’s plumes, fearful to behold, which never missed their target and terrible maces, harpoons, axes, formidable bars and tridents of all kinds, which, brandished by them, mutilated those powerful monkeys, while they, exasperated, redoubled their efforts and, without flagging, continued the fight. Their limbs pierced with arrows, their bodies transfixed with spears, those foremost of the monkeys armed themselves with trees and rocks and, with terrific bounds, having proclaimed their names to the accompaniment of yells, crushed those intrepid titans.

Thereafter the battle waxed exceedingly furious between monkeys and demons and the former amidst shouts of triumph seized hold of stones of every kind and trees with countless branches and rocks in order to destroy the enemy; the titans, who fed on gore, fell in heaps, vomiting blood, their sides slashed open by the trees, whilst others were crushed by the stones and yet others tom to pieces by the monkeys’ teeth.

Their standards broken, their swords snapped, their chariots overturned, they wandered about blindly and the earth was covered with the corpses of great elephants resembling hills and horses with their riders crushed by the great rocks hurled on them by those dwellers in the woods; and the monkeys of exceeding valour rushed on the titans, flinging themselves upon them with great bounds and scratching their feces with their sharp nails.

Mutilated, their hair tom out, maddened by the smell of blood, the titans fell in great numbers; some of those fierce warriors however, in a paroxysm of fury hurled themselves on the monkeys and struck them with the palms of their hands, which resounded like the clap of thunder, and the monkeys, receiving that sharp shock, with an even greater ferocity crushed the titans with blows of their feet, teeth and trees.

Seeing his army routed, Dhumraksha, that lion among the titans, in his rage, began to create camage among those bellicose apes and some pierced with spears lost rivers of blood whilst others, struck down by the blows of the axe, fell to earth.

Here some were crushed by iron bars, others tom by harpoons or pierced by javelins, stumbled and fell, yielding up their vital breaths. Mowed down, covered with blood, put to flight, those inhabitants of the woods fell dying under the furious onslaught of the titans in the struggle. Their breasts tom open they lay on their side or, slashed with tridents, their entrails gushed forth.

Then that mighty conflict took on fearful proportions by virtue of the number of monkeys and titans who took part and the innumerable darts, stones and trees that were used. With the bowstrings as the tuneful lute, the neighing of the horses, the clapping of the hands and the trumpeting of the elephants as the melody, the whole battle resembled a symphony.

Meanwhile Dhumraksha, armed with his bow, in the forefront of battle, under a hail of missiles, dispersed the monkeys as in sport on every side, and Maruti, beholding the monkey army being exterminated and put to flight by that titan, hurled himself upon him in fury, a great rock in his hand. His eyes inflamed with anger, the equal of his sire in courage, he flung the rock on the chariot of his foe and seeing the stone fall, Dhumraksha, brandishing his mace, in his agitation leapt quickly from the car to the ground. Then that rock rolled on the earth, having shattered the chariot with its wheels, its pole, its shafts, banner and Dhumraksha’s bow.

Thereafter Hanuman, born of Maruta, leaving the car lying, slew the titans with the trunks of trees furnished with their branches, and their heads crushed, covered with blood, mangled by those trees, they fell to the earth.

Having routed the army of the enemy, Hanuman, born of Mamta, breaking off the peak of a mountain hurled himself on Dhumraksha, who, brandishing his mace, rushed on his adversary and he advanced with haste towards him shouting. Then Dhumraksha, in his rage, brought down that weapon studded with countless points on the head of the infuriated Hanuman and assailed by that violent and fearful stroke, the monkey, who was endowed with the strength of Mamta, was in no wise disturbed but struck the titan full on the skull with his rocky peak which shattered all his limbs, whereupon Dhumraksha suddenly fell to the earth like a mountain crumbling.

Beholding him slain, the night-rangers who had survived the slaughter, terrified, re-entered Lanka, harassed by the Plavamgamas.

The illustrious son of Pavana, however, having destroyed his enemies, causing rivers of blood to flow, weary of slaughter, with delight received the cordial felicitations of the monkey leaders.