Part 3: Meeting of Rāma and his sons

Now in a moment powerful Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa destroyed Rāma’s army, they being hard to resist like the ocean raging at the end of the world. Wherever they roamed, excited like lions in a forest, charioteer, horseman, elephant-rider, armed, did not stay there. After making Rāma’s army first defeated, then put to flight, unhindered by anyone, they approached Rāma and Saumitri in the battle. Seeing them, Rāma and Saumitri said to each other: “Who are these handsome princes, enemies of ours? Naturally the mind is affectionate, but is hostile against its will. Why do we desire to embrace them and not to fight them?” As Rāṃa was talking so, the charioteer Lavaṇa spoke to him in his chariot and Aṅkuśa to Lakṣmaṇa cleverly and respectfully:

“By good fortune I have seen you, the conqueror of powerful Rāvaṇa unconquerable by the world—I, eager for battle with heroes for a long time. Surely your desire for battle was not satisfied even by Rāvaṇa. I will satisfy it and you shall satisfy mine.”

So addressed, Rāma and Saumitri and Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa twanged their respective bows terrifying from the sound. The charioteers Kṛtānta and King Vajrajaṅgha made Rāma’s and Anaṅgalavaṇa’s chariots approach each other. Virādha and Pṛthu, best charioteers, made the chariots of Saumitri and Aṅkuśa attack each other. The foremost charioteers whirled their chariots cleverly and the four, fighting in pairs, attacked many times. Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa fought carefully, knowing their kinship. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa fought, indifferent from ignorance.

After they had fought with many weapons, Raghūdvaha, desiring to end the battle, said to Kṛtāntavadana, “Drive the chariot against the enemy.” Kṛtānta said: “The horses have become exhausted, pierced with arrows all over by your adversary. These horses do not go fast even if beaten with whips, and your chariot is damaged, struck by the enemy’s missiles. These arms of mine are decrepit from blows of many enemies and are not able to manage the reins or whip, lord.” Padmanābha said: “Of me also the bow, Vajrāvarta, is relaxed, ineffective like one in a picture. My jewel of a club was not able to split the enemy, but now has become suitable only for threshing grain. My jewel of a plow, which many, times has been a goad for ill-behaved elephants of kings, now has become suitable for plowing the ground. What has happened to these weapons of mine, the same which, always guarded by Yakṣas, caused destruction of the enemy?”

Just as the weapons of Aparājitā’s son were useless, so also were those of Lakṣmaṇa, adversary of Madanāṅkuśa. Just then Saumitri, struck in the chest with an arrow from Aṅkuśa, like an axe, fell unconscious in the chariot. Distracted by Saumitri’s swoon, Virādha drove the chariot from the battle toward Ayodhyā. Then Lakṣmaṇa regained consciousness. Lakṣmaṇa said tauntingly: “O Virādha, why have you done this new thing, unsuitable for Rāma’s brother, son of Daśaratha? Take the chariot quickly to that same place where my enemy is. I will cut off his head with the cakra with unerring speed.”

So instructed, Virādha drove the chariot to Aṅkuśa. Saying, “Stop! Stop!” Lakṣmaṇa seized the cakra. Whirling it in the air, so it resembled a revolving sun, Saumitri, angered, hurled it with unstumbling speed at Aṅkuśa. Aṅkuśa hit it with arrows many times as it fell, and Lavaṇa also with all his heart, but it did not strike back. Falling swiftly the cakra circumambulated Aṅkuśa and returned to Lakṣmaṇa’s hand, like a bird to the nest. Again Lakṣmaṇa hurled it and it made a circumambulation in the same way and returned to his hand, like an exhausted elephant to its stable. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, depressed, thought: “Are these men the Sīrin and Śārṅgin in Bhārata, not we?”

Just then the sage Nārada came there with Siddhārtha^[1] and said to the depressed Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa: “Why this gloom in the place of joy on your part, Raghūdvahas? Is not defeat by a son for the splendor of any one’s family? Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa here, sons borne by Sītā, have come here to see you under pretext of a battle, but they are not enemies. Proof of this is that your cakra had no power. In the paśt Bharata’s cakra was useless against Bāhubali.” Nārada told the whole story, from the abandonment of Sītā up to the battle with the sons, which amazed every one. Rāma, confused by astonishment, shame, distress, and joy, fainted and recovered consciousness when he was sprinkled with sandal-water. Filled with affection for his sons, weeping, Rāma went quickly to Lavaṇa’s and Aṅkuśa’s presence with Lakṣmaṇa. When they got out of the chariot, at once Lavaṇa and Aṅkuśa fell respectfully at Padma’s and Saumitri’s feet in turn, their weapons abandoned. After embracing them, Raghūdvaha set them on his lap, kissing them on the head, and cried aloud, filled with sorrow and affection. Lakṣmaṇa took them from Rāma’s lap to his own lap, kissing them on the head, and embraced them, his eyes filled with tears. Śatrughna also, his arms stretched out from afar, embraced them falling respectfully at his lotus-feet, as if he were their father. Other kings also of both armies rejoiced together as if they had met at a wedding.

After she had seen her sons’ strength and their meeting with their father, vSītā, delighted, went to Puṇḍarīkapura by aerial car. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa were delighted at acquiring such sons and both the people of the earth and the sky rejoiced at the master’s joy. Introduced by King Bhāmaṇḍala, King Vajrajaṅgha bowed at Rāma’s and Saumitri’s feet, polite like a soldier of long standing. Rāma said to him, “You are the equal of Bhāmaṇḍala to me, you who reared my sons and brought this wife of mine.” With these words, Padmanābha got into Puṣpaka with Lakṣmaṇa and entered the city with his sons sharing his seat. Rāma went to his house, watched by the astonished citizens on the highway with their necks and heels stretched,^[2] his sons being praised by them. There Rāma with Lakṣmaṇa got out of the car with his sons and he ordered a great festival with exceeding joy.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The boys’ tutor. See above, p. 322.

[2]:

They were standing on tiptoe, looking upwards.