Chapter 101 - Ravana flees from Rama

His weapon having been destroyed, Ravana, the King of the Titans, whose fury was redoubled, in his wrath instantly produced another; and he loosed the fearful Rudra Weapon, forged by Maya, on Raghava. Thereafter, from his bow, innumerable spears, maces, flaming bars hard as diamond, mallets, hammers, chains and spiked clubs, like unto fiery thunderbolts, issued forth like the tempests at the dissolution of the worlds.

Then the glorious Raghava, most skilled in the knowledge of excellent shafts, that warrior of great renown, broke that weapon with the aid of the marvellous Gandharva Dart, and when it was shattered by the magnanimous Raghava, Ravana, his eyes red with fury, loosed his Solar Weapon whereupon huge and brilliant discs issued from the bow of the skilful Dashagriva of redoubtable courage, which, falling, lit up the sky on every side and the four quarters were consumed by the fall of those flaming missiles that resembled the sun, moon and stars.

With a mass of arrows Raghava destroyed those discs and darts loosed by Ravana in the fore-front of the battle and, seeing his weapon broken, Ravana, the Lord of the Titans with ten arrows struck Rama in his vital parts. Struck by ten shafts that Ravana had discharged from his great bow, the exceedingly energetic Raghava did not flinch and, in his turn, that victorious prince, in the height of anger, pierced Ravana in all his limbs with the aid of innumerable darts.

At that instant, the younger brother of Raghava, the valiant Lakshmana, slayer of hostile warriors, armed himself with seven arrows and, with those exceedingly swift shafts, that illustrious prince severed Ravana’s standard in many places, which bore the image of a man’s head. With a single arrow, the fortunate Lakshmana of immense vigour, cut off the head adorned with brilliant earrings of the titan who drove the chariot, and with five sharp arrows severed the bow resembling the trunk of an elephant that belonged to the King of the Titans.

Thereafter Bibishana, bounding forward, with his mace slew Ravana’s beautiful horses that were as tall as hills and resembled a dark cloud in hue, whereupon Dashagriva, leaping quickly from his car, the steeds of which having been slain, was filled with exceeding wrath against his brother and that powerful and spirited monarch loosed a flaming spear on Bibishana like unto a thunderbolt, but ere it reached its target, Lakshmana severed it with three arrows, whereupon a great cheer arose amongst the monkeys in that formidable struggle, and that spear, wreathed in gold, fell down shattered in three fragments like unto a great meteor falling from the sky amidst a shower of flaming sparks.

Then the titan, that mighty Ravana of wicked soul, armed himself with another superior and tested spear which Death himself would have found hard to resist and which was of immense size and shone with its own effulgence. Brandished with violence by the mighty Ravana of perverse soul it gave out a lurid gleam so that it appeared like forked lightning.

Meanwhile the valiant Lakshmana, perceiving that Bibishana stood in peril of his life, placed himself quickly in front of him and that hero, stretching his bow, with a rain of darts riddled Ravana, who stood waiting to discharge the weapon he held in his hand. Under the shower of arrows with which the courageous Saumitri overwhelmed him, thus frustrating his design, the titan no longer thought of striking him in return. Seeing that he had preserved his brother’s life, Ravana, who was standing before him, addressed him thus:—

“O You whose strength renders you arrogant, since you have preserved this titan, my spear shall fall on you; having pierced thine heart, this bloodstained weapon that mine arm, equal to an iron bar, will hurl at you will rob you of your life’s breath and return to my hand.”

Thus did Ravana, speak and in a paroxysm of rage, levelling that pick adorned with eight extremely loud bells, created magically by Maya, that was infallible, the slayer of its foes, the splendour of which flamed up as it were, hurled it at Lakshmana with a mighty shout. Loosed with terrible violence and a sound of thunder, that spear fell with force on Lakshmana in the forefront of the battle.

Then Raghava sought to mitigate the power of that weapon and said:—

“May good fortune attend Lakshmana! May this mortal impact be rendered void!”

Released by the enraged titan on that indomitable hero, the spear which resembled a venomous snake, falling with extreme violence, penetrated his great chest and so brilliant was it that it appeared like the tongue of the King of the Serpents. Loosed with force by Ravana, that spear penetrated deep into the body of Lakshmana who, with his heart pierced, fell on the earth.

Beholding Lakshmana in that condition, near to whom he stood, the extremely powerful Raghava, full of solicitude for his brother, felt his heart stricken, but after an instant’s reflection, his eyes welling with tears, enraged as is Pavaka at the dissolution of the world, he thought—‘This is not the time for lamentation’ and thereafter he entered once more into the fearful conflict, resolved to make a supreme attempt to slay Ravana.

His eyes fixed on his brother, Rama saw how he had been pierced with a spear in the great fight and was covered with blood, resembling a mountain with its reptiles. And the most vigorous of monkeys sought to draw out that weapon loosed by the mighty Ravana, overwhelmed though they were by a hail of shafts discharged by the King of the Titans; the spear, however, having passed through Saumitri’s body had penetrated into the earth. Then Rama, with his powerful hands seized hold of that spear and, in his wrath, snapped it, throwing the fragments to a great distance and, as he drew it out, Ravana penetrated his every limb with his shafts that pierced to his very marrow. Ignoring these darts, Rama embraced Lakshmana and said to Hanuman and that mighty Monkey Sugriva:—

“You foremost of the monkeys, gather round Lakshmana! O King of the Monkeys, the time has come for me to manifest my prowess! For long I have sought this occasion I May the wicked Dashagriva of infamous exploits perish! My longing resembles that of the Chatak bird on beholding the clouds at the end of summer. Ere long, I swear to you either Ravana or Rama will cease to exist in the world I You shall be witness thereof! The loss of the kingdom, my sojourn in the forest and my wanderings in the woods of Dandaka, the insult offered to Vaidehi, my encounter with the titans, the great and terrible misfortune that has visited me, this torment resembling hell will be wiped out this day when I slay Ravana on the battlefield! He on whose account I took the army of monkeys in my train, having installed Sugriva, when I had slain Bali in the open field, and on whose account I crossed the ocean, having thrown a bridge over it, that wretch to-day has come within my range of vision and shall therefore cease to live. Appearing before me, Ravana cannot survive any more than one who comes into the presence of a serpent whose glance is poisonous or a snake falling under Vainateya’s gaze. Be tranquil witnesses of my combat with Ravana, O Invincible Ones, Foremost of the Monkeys; seat yourselves on the brow of the mountain. To-day in this duel, the Three Worlds with the Gandharvas, the Siddhas and Caranas will recognize Rama’s attributes! I shall accomplish a feat that the world with all beings who move or do not move, as also the Gods, will recount as long as the earth exists!”

Speaking thus Rama began to discharge his penetrating shafts embellished with gold at Dashagriva. From his side, Ravana, like a cloud from which the rain falls, showered down arrows and clubs with violence on Rama. And a mighty uproar arose when, in order to slay each other, those marvellous arrows were loosed by Rama and Ravana. Severed and scattered, the shafts with flaming points discharged by Rama and Ravana fell from the sky on the earth, and the twanging of their bows, causing great terror amongst all beings, was astonishing to hear. Then that amazing hail of missiles, that the mighty hero let fly in continuous streams from his burning bow, overwhelmed Ravana who, terrified, took to flight like a great cloud driven before the tempest.