The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 37
Total number of words is 4735
Total number of unique words is 1384
42.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words
62.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words
73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
“I cannot, peerless one, contain
Mine anger at this high disdain,
Galling as salt when sprinkled o’er
The rawness of a bleeding sore.
Ráma in little count I hold,
Weak man whose days are quickly told.
The caitiff with his life to-day
For all his evil deeds shall pay.
Dry, sister, dry each needless tear,
Stint thy lament and banish fear,
For Ráma and his brother go
This day to Yáma’s realm below.
My warrior’s axe shall stretch him slain,
Ere set of sun, upon the plain,
Then shall thy sated lips be red
With his warm blood in torrents shed.”
As Khara’s speech the demon heard,
With sudden joy her heart was stirred:
She fondly praised him as the boast
And glory of the giant host.
First moved to ire by taunts and stings,
Now soothed by gentle flatterings,
To Dúshaṇ, who his armies led,
The demon Khara spoke, and said:
“Friend, from the host of giants call
Full fourteen thousand, best of all,
Slaves of my will, of fearful might,
Who never turn their backs in fight:
Fiends who rejoice to slay and mar,
Dark as the clouds of autumn are:
Make ready quickly, O my friend,
My chariot and the bows I bend.
My swords, my shafts of brilliant sheen,
My divers lances long and keen.
On to the battle will I lead
These heroes of Pulastya’s seed,
And thus, O famed for warlike skill,
Ráma my wicked foeman kill.”
He spoke, and ere his speech was done,
His chariot glittering like the sun,
Yoked and announced, by Dúshan’s care,
With dappled steeds was ready there.
High as a peak from Meru rent
It burned with golden ornament:
The pole of lazulite, of gold
Were the bright wheels whereon it rolled.
With gold and moonstone blazoned o’er,
Fish, flowers, trees, rocks, the panels bore;
Auspicious birds embossed thereon,
And stars in costly emblem shone.
O’er flashing swords his banner hung,
And sweet bells, ever tinkling, swung.
That mighty host with sword and shield
And oar was ready for the field:
And Khara saw, and Dúshan cried,
“Forth to the fight, ye giants, ride.”
Then banners waved, and shield and sword
Flashed as the host obeyed its lord.
From Janasthán they sallied out
With eager speed, and din, and shout,
Armed with the mace for close attacks,
The bill, the spear, the battle-axe,
Steel quoit and club that flashed afar,
Huge bow and sword and scimitar,
The dart to pierce, the bolt to strike,
The murderous bludgeon, lance, and pike.
So forth from Janasthán, intent
On Khara’s will, the monsters went.
He saw their awful march: not far
Behind the host he drove his car.
Ware of his master’s will, to speed
The driver urged each gold-decked steed.
Then forth the warrior’s coursers sprang,
And with tumultuous murmur rang
Each distant quarter of the sky
And realms that intermediate lie.
High and more high within his breast
His pride triumphant rose,
While terrible as Death he pressed
Onward to slay his foes,
“More swiftly yet,” as on they fled,
He cried in thundering tones
Loud as a cloud that overhead
Hails down a flood of stones.
Canto XXIII. The Omens.
As forth upon its errand went
That huge ferocious armament,
An awful cloud, in dust and gloom,
With threatening thunders from its womb
Poured in sad augury a flood
Of rushing water mixt with blood.
The monarch’s steeds, though strong and fleet,
Stumbled and fell: and yet their feet
Passed o’er the bed of flowers that lay
Fresh gathered on the royal way.
No gleam of sunlight struggled through
The sombre pall of midnight hue,
Edged with a line of bloody red,
Like whirling torches overhead.
A vulture, fierce, of mighty size.
Terrific with his cruel eyes,
Perched on the staff enriched with gold,
Whence hung the flag in many a fold.
Each ravening bird, each beast of prey
Where Janasthán’s wild thickets lay,
Rose with a long discordant cry
And gathered as the host went by.
And from the south long, wild, and shrill,
Came spirit voices boding ill.
Like elephants in frantic mood,
Vast clouds terrific, sable-hued,
Hid all the sky where’er they bore
Their load of water mixt with gore.
Above, below, around were spread
Thick shades of darkness strange and dread,
Nor could the wildered glance descry
A point or quarter of the sky.
Then came o’er heaven a sanguine hue,
Though evening’s flush not yet was due,
While each ill-omened bird that flies
Assailed the king with harshest cries.
There screamed the vulture and the crane,
And the loud jackal shrieked again.
Each hideous thing that bodes aright
Disaster in the coming fight,
With gaping mouth that hissed and flamed,
The ruin of the host proclaimed.
Eclipse untimely reft away
The brightness of the Lord of Day,
And near his side was seen to glow
A mace-like comet boding woe.
Then while the sun was lost to view
A mighty wind arose and blew,
And stars like fireflies shed their light,
Nor waited for the distant night.
The lilies drooped, the brooks were dried,
The fish and birds that swam them died,
And every tree that was so fair
With flower and fruit was stripped and bare.
The wild wind ceased, yet, raised on high,
Dark clouds of dust involved the sky.
In doleful twitter long sustained
The restless Sárikás(462) complained,
And from the heavens with flash and flame
Terrific meteors roaring came.
Earth to her deep foundation shook
With rock and tree and plain and brook,
As Khara with triumphant shout,
Borne in his chariot, sallied out.
His left arm throbbed: he knew full well
That omen, and his visage fell.
Each awful sign the giant viewed,
And sudden tears his eye bedewed.
Care on his brow sat chill and black,
Yet mad with wrath he turned not back.
Upon each fearful sight that raised
The shuddering hair the chieftain gazed,
And laughing in his senseless pride
Thus to his giant legions cried:
“By sense of mightiest strength upborne,
These feeble signs I laugh to scorn.
I could bring down the stars that shine
In heaven with these keen shafts of mine.
Impelled by warlike fury I
Could cause e’en Death himself to die.
I will not seek my home again
Until my pointed shafts have slain
This Raghu’s son so fierce in pride,
And Lakshmaṇ by his brother’s side.
And she, my sister, she for whom
These sons of Raghu meet their doom,
She with delighted lips shall drain
The lifeblood of her foemen slain.
Fear not for me: I ne’er have known
Defeat, in battle overthrown.
Fear not for me, O giants; true
Are the proud words I speak to you.
The king of Gods who rules on high,
If wild Airávat bore him nigh,
Should fall before me bolt in hand:
And shall these two my wrath withstand!”
He ended and the giant host
Who heard their chief’s triumphant boast,
Rejoiced with equal pride elate,
Entangled in the noose of Fate.
Then met on high in bright array,
With eyes that longed to see the fray,
God and Gandharva, sage and saint,
With beings pure from earthly taint.
Blest for good works aforetime wrought,
Thus each to other spake his thought:
“Now joy to Bráhmans, joy to kine,
And all whom world count half divine!
May Raghu’s offspring slay in fight
Pulastya’s sons who roam by night!”
In words like these and more, the best
Of high-souled saints their hopes expressed,
Bending their eager eyes from where
Car-borne with Gods they rode in air.
Beneath them stretching far, they viewed
The giants’ death-doomed multitude.
They saw where, urged with fury, far
Before the host rolled Khara’s car,
And close beside their leader came
Twelve giant peers of might and fame.
Four other chiefs(463) before the rest
Behind their leader Dúshaṇ pressed.
Impetuous, cruel, dark, and dread,
All thirsting for the fray,
The hosts of giant warriors sped
Onward upon their way.
With eager speed they reached the spot
Where dwelt the princely two,—
Like planets in a league to blot
The sun and moon from view.
Canto XXIV. The Host In Sight.
While Khara, urged by valiant rage,
Drew near that little hermitage,
Those wondrous signs in earth and sky
Smote on each prince’s watchful eye.
When Ráma saw those signs of woe
Fraught with destruction to the foe,
With bold impatience scarce repressed
His brother chief he thus addressed:
“These fearful signs, my brother bold,
Which threaten all our foes, behold:
All laden, as they strike the view,
With ruin to the fiendish crew.
The angry clouds are gathering fast,
Their skirts with dusty gloom o’ercast,
And harsh with loud-voiced thunder, rain
Thick drops of blood upon the plain.
See, burning for the coming fight,
My shafts with wreaths of smoke are white,
And my great bow embossed with gold
Throbs eager for the master’s hold.
Each bird that through the forest flies
Sends out its melancholy cries.
All signs foretell the dangerous strife,
The jeopardy of limb and life.
Each sight, each sound gives warning clear
That foemen meet and death is near.
But courage, valiant brother! well
The throbbings of mine arm foretell
That ruin waits the hostile powers,
And triumph in the fight is ours.
I hail the welcome omen: thou
Art bright of face and clear of brow.
For Lakshmaṇ, when the eye can trace
A cloud upon the warrior’s face
Stealing the cheerful light away,
His life is doomed in battle fray.
List, brother, to that awful cry:
With shout and roar the fiends draw nigh.
With thundering beat of many a drum
The savage-hearted giants come.
The wise who value safety know
To meet, prepared, the coming blow:
In paths of prudence trained aright
They watch the stroke before it smite.
Take thou thine arrows and thy bow,
And with the Maithil lady go
For shelter to the mountain cave
Where thickest trees their branches wave.
I will not have thee, Lakshmaṇ, say
One word in answer, but obey.
By all thy honour for these feet
Of mine, dear brother, I entreat.
Thy warlike arm, I know could, smite
To death these rovers of the night;
But I this day would fight alone
Till all the fiends be overthrown.”
He spake: and Lakshmaṇ answered naught:
His arrows and his bow he brought,
And then with Sítá following hied
For shelter to the mountain side.
As Lakshmaṇ and the lady through
The forest to the cave withdrew,
“’Tis well,” cried Ráma. Then he braced
His coat of mail around his waist.
When, bright as blazing fire, upon
His mighty limbs that armour shone,
The hero stood like some great light
Uprising in the dark of night.
His dreadful shafts were by his side;
His trusty bow he bent and plied,
Prepared he stood: the bowstring rang,
Filling the welkin with the clang.
The high-souled Gods together drew
The wonder of the fight to view,
The saints made free from spot and stain,
And bright Gandharvas’ heavenly train.
Each glorious sage the assembly sought,
Each saint divine of loftiest thought,
And filled with zeal for Ráma’s sake.
Thus they whose deeds were holy spake:
“Now be it well with Bráhmans, now
Well with the worlds and every cow!
Let Ráma in the deadly fray
The fiends who walk in darkness slay,
As He who bears the discus(464) slew
The chieftains of the Asur crew.”
Then each with anxious glances viewed
His fellow and his speech renewed:
“There twice seven thousand giants stand
With impious heart and cruel hand:
Here Ráma stands, by virtue known:
How can the hero fight alone?”
Thus royal sage and Bráhman saint,
Spirit, and Virtue free from taint,
And all the Gods of heaven who rode
On golden cars, their longing showed.
Their hearts with doubt and terror rent,
They saw the giants’ armament,
And Ráma clothed in warrior might,
Forth standing in the front of fight.
Lord of the arm no toil might tire,
He stood majestic in his ire,
Matchless in form as Rudra(465) when
His wrath is fierce on Gods or men.
While Gods and saints in close array
Held converse of the coming fray,
The army of the fiends drew near
With sight and sound that counselled fear.
Long, loud and deep their war-cry pealed,
As on they rushed with flag and shield,
Each, of his proper valour proud,
Urging to fight the demon crowd.
His ponderous bow each warrior tried,
And swelled his bulk with martial pride.
’Mid shout and roar and trampling feet,
And thunder of the drums they beat,
Loud and more loud the tumult went
Throughout the forest’s vast extent,
And all the life that moved within
The woodland trembled at the din.
In eager haste all fled to find
Some tranquil spot, nor looked behind.
With every arm of war supplied,
On-rushing wildly like the tide
Of some deep sea, the giant host
Approached where Ráma kept his post.
Then he, in battle skilled and tried,
Bent his keen eye on every side,
And viewed the host of Khara face
To face before his dwelling-place.
He drew his arrows forth, and reared
And strained that bow which foemen feared,
And yielded to the vengeful sway
Of fierce desire that host to slay.
Terrific as the ruinous fire
That ends the worlds, he glowed in ire,
And his tremendous form dismayed
The Gods who roam the forest shade.
For in the furious wrath that glowed
Within his soul the hero showed
Like Śiva when his angry might
Stayed Daksha’s sacrificial rite.(466)
Like some great cloud at dawn of day
When first the sun upsprings,
And o’er the gloomy mass each ray
A golden radiance flings:
Thus showed the children of the night,
Whose mail and chariots threw,
With gleam of bows and armlets bright,
Flashes of flamy hue.
Canto XXV. The Battle.
When Khara with the hosts he led
Drew near to Ráma’s leafy shed,
He saw that queller of the foe
Stand ready with his ordered bow.
He saw, and burning at the view
His clanging bow he raised and drew,
And bade his driver urge apace
His car to meet him face to face.
Obedient to his master’s hest
His eager steeds the driver pressed
On to the spot where, none to aid,
The strong-armed chief his weapon swayed.
Soon as the children of the night
Saw Khara rushing to the fight,
His lords with loud unearthly cry
Followed their chief and gathered nigh.
As in his car the leader rode
With all his lords around, he showed
Like the red planet fiery Mars
Surrounded by the lesser stars.
Then with a horrid yell that rent
The air, the giant chieftain sent
A thousand darts in rapid shower
On Ráma matchless in his power.
The rovers of the night, impelled
By fiery rage which naught withheld,
Upon the unconquered prince, who strained
His fearful bow, their arrows rained.
With sword and club, with mace and pike,
With spear and axe to pierce and strike,
Those furious fiends on every side
The unconquerable hero plied.
The giant legions huge and strong,
Like clouds the tempest drives along,
Rushed upon Ráma with the speed
Of whirling car, and mounted steed,
And hill-like elephant, to slay
The matchless prince in battle fray.
Then upon Ráma thick and fast
The rain of mortal steel they cast,
As labouring clouds their torrents shed
Upon the mountain-monarch’s(467) head.
As near and nearer round him drew
The warriors of the giant crew,
He showed like Śiva girt by all
His spirits when night’s shadows fall.
As the great deep receives each rill
And river rushing from the hill,
He bore that flood of darts, and broke
With well-aimed shaft each murderous stroke.
By stress of arrowy storm assailed,
And wounded sore, he never failed,
Like some high mountain which defies
The red bolts flashing from the skies.
With ruddy streams each limb was dyed
From gaping wounds in breast and side,
Showing the hero like the sun
’Mid crimson clouds ere day is done.
Then, at that sight of terror, faint
Grew God, Gandharva, sage, and saint,
Trembling to see the prince oppose
His single might to myriad foes.
But waxing wroth, with force unspent,
He strained his bow to utmost bent,
And forth his arrows keen and true
In hundreds, yea in thousands flew,—
Shafts none could ward, and none endure:
Death’s fatal noose was scarce so sure.
As ’twere in playful ease he shot
His gilded shafts, and rested not.
With swiftest flight and truest aim
Upon the giant hosts they came.
Each smote, each stayed a foeman’s breath
As fatal as the coil of Death.
Each arrow through a giant tore
A passage, and besmeared with gore,
Pursued its onward way and through
The air with flamy brilliance flew.
Unnumbered were the arrows sent
From the great bow which Ráma bent,
And every shaft with iron head
The lifeblood of a giant shed.
Their pennoned bows were cleft, nor mail
Nor shield of hide could aught avail.
For Ráma’s myriad arrows tore
Through arms, and bracelets which they wore,
And severed mighty warriors’ thighs
Like trunks of elephants in size,
And cut resistless passage sheer
Through gold-decked horse and charioteer,
Slew elephant and rider, slew
The horseman and the charger too,
And infantry unnumbered sent
To dwell ’neath Yáma’s government.
Then rose on high a fearful yell
Of rovers of the night, who fell
Beneath that iron torrent, sore
Wounded by shafts that rent and tore.
So mangled by the ceaseless storm
Of shafts of every kind and form,
Such joy they found, as forests feel
When scorched by flame, from Ráma’s steel.
The mightiest still the fight maintained,
And furious upon Ráma rained
Dart, arrow, spear, with wild attacks
Of mace, and club, and battle-axe.
But the great chief, unconquered yet,
Their weapons with his arrows met,
Which severed many a giant’s head,
And all the plain with corpses spread.
With sundered bow and shattered shield
Headless they sank upon the field,
As the tall trees, that felt the blast
Of Garuḍ’s wing, to earth were cast.
The giants left unslaughtered there
Where filled with terror and despair,
And to their leader Khara fled
Faint, wounded, and discomfited.
These fiery Dúshaṇ strove to cheer,
And poised his bow to calm their fear;
Then fierce as He who rules the dead,
When wroth, on angered Ráma sped.
By Dúshaṇ cheered, the demons cast
Their dread aside and rallied fast
With Sáls, rocks, palm-trees in their hands
With nooses, maces, pikes, and brands,
Again upon the godlike man
The mighty fiends infuriate ran,
These casting rocks like hail, and these
A whelming shower of leafy trees.
Wild, wondrous fight, the eye to scare,
And raise on end each shuddering hair,
As with the fiends who loved to rove
By night heroic Ráma strove!
The giants in their fury plied
Ráma with darts on every side.
Then, by the gathering demons pressed
From north and south and east and west,
By showers of deadly darts assailed
From every quarter fiercely hailed,
Girt by the foes who swarmed around,
He raised a mighty shout whose sound
Struck terror. On the giant crew
His great Gandharva(468) arrow flew.
A thousand mortal shafts were rained
From the orbed bow the hero strained,
Till east and west and south and north
Were filled with arrows volleyed forth.
They heard the fearful shout: they saw
His mighty hand the bowstring draw,
Yet could no wounded giant’s eye
See the swift storm of arrows fly.
Still firm the warrior stood and cast
His deadly missiles thick and fast.
Dark grew the air with arrowy hail
Which hid the sun as with a veil.
Fiends wounded, falling, fallen, slain,
All in a moment, spread the plain,
And thousands scarce alive were left
Mangled, and gashed, and torn, and cleft.
Dire was the sight, the plain o’erspread
With trophies of the mangled dead.
There lay, by Ráma’s missiles rent,
Full many a priceless ornament,
With severed limb and broken gem,
Hauberk and helm and diadem.
There lay the shattered car, the steed,
The elephant of noblest breed,
The splintered spear, the shivered mace,
Chouris and screens to shade the face.
The giants saw with bitterest pain
Their warriors weltering on the plain,
Nor dared again his might oppose
Who scourged the cities of his foes.
Canto XXVI. Dúshan’s Death.
When Dúshaṇ saw his giant band
Slaughtered by Ráma’s conquering hand,
He called five thousand fiends, and gave
His orders. Bravest of the brave,
Invincible, of furious might,
Ne’er had they turned their backs in flight.
They, as their leader bade them seize
Spears, swords, and clubs, and rocks, and trees,
Poured on the dauntless prince again
A ceaseless shower of deadly rain.
The virtuous Ráma, undismayed,
Their missiles with his arrows stayed,
And weakened, ere it fell, the shock
Of that dire hail of tree and rock,
And like a bull with eyelids closed,
The pelting of the storm opposed.
Then blazed his ire: he longed to smite
To earth the rovers of the night.
The wrath that o’er his spirit came
Clothed him with splendour as of flame,
While showers of mortal darts he poured
Fierce on the giants and their lord.
Dúshaṇ, the foeman’s dusky dread,
By frenzied rage inspirited,
On Raghu’s son his missiles cast
Like Indra’s bolts which rend and blast.
But Ráma with a trenchant dart
Cleft Dúshaṇ’s ponderous bow apart.
And then the gold-decked steeds who drew
The chariot, with four shafts he slew.
One crescent dart he aimed which shred
Clean from his neck the driver’s head;
Three more with deadly skill addressed
Stood quivering in the giant’s breast.
Hurled from his car, steeds, driver slain,
The bow he trusted cleft in twain,
He seized his mace, strong, heavy, dread,
High as a mountain’s towering head.
With plates of gold adorned and bound,
Embattled Gods it crushed and ground.
Its iron spikes yet bore the stains
Of mangled foemen’s blood and brains.
Its heavy mass of jagged steel
Was like a thunderbolt to feel.
It shattered, as on foes it fell,
The city where the senses dwell.(469)
Fierce Dúshaṇ seized that ponderous mace
Like monstrous form of serpent race,
And all his savage soul aglow
With fury, rushed upon the foe.
But Raghu’s son took steady aim,
And as the rushing giant came,
Shore with two shafts the arms whereon
The demon’s glittering bracelets shone.
His arm at each huge shoulder lopped,
The mighty body reeled and dropped,
And the great mace to earth was thrown
Like Indra’s staff when storms have blown.
As some vast elephant who lies
Shorn of his tusks, and bleeding dies,
So, when his arms were rent away,
Low on the ground the giant lay.
The spirits saw the monster die,
And loudly rang their joyful cry,
“Honour to Ráma! nobly done!
Well hast thou fought, Kakutstha’s son!”
But the great three, the host who led,
Enraged to see their chieftain dead,
As though Death’s toils were round them cast,
Rushed upon Ráma fierce and fast,
Mahákapála seized, to strike
His foeman down, a ponderous pike:
Sthúláksha charged with spear to fling,
Pramáthi with his axe to swing.
When Ráma saw, with keen darts he
Received the onset of the three,
As calm as though he hailed a guest
In each, who came for shade and rest.
Mahákapála’s monstrous head
Fell with the trenchant dart he sped.
His good right hand in battle skilled
Sthúláksha’s eyes with arrows filled,
And trusting still his ready bow
He laid the fierce Pramáthi low,
Who sank as some tall tree falls down
With bough and branch and leafy crown.
Then with five thousand shafts he slew
The rest of Dúshaṇ’s giant crew:
Five thousand demons, torn and rent,
To Yáma’s gloomy realm he sent.
When Khara knew the fate of all
The giant band and Dúshaṇ’s fall,
He called the mighty chiefs who led
His army, and in fury said:
“Now Dúshaṇ and his armèd train
Lie prostrate on the battle plain.
Lead forth an army mightier still,
Ráma this wretched man, to kill.
Fight ye with darts of every shape,
Nor let him from your wrath escape.”
Thus spoke the fiend, by rage impelled,
And straight his course toward Ráma held.
With Śyenagámí and the rest
Of his twelve chiefs he onward pressed,
And every giant as he went
A storm of well-wrought arrows sent.
Then with his pointed shafts that came
With gold and diamond bright as flame,
Dead to the earth the hero threw
The remnant of the demon crew.
Those shafts with feathers bright as gold,
Like flames which wreaths of smoke enfold,
Smote down the fiends like tall trees rent
By red bolts from the firmament.
A hundred shafts he pointed well:
By their keen barbs a hundred fell:
A thousand,—and a thousand more
In battle’s front lay drenched in gore.
Of all defence and guard bereft,
With sundered bows and harness cleft.
Their bodies red with bloody stain
Fell the night-rovers on the plain,
Which, covered with the loosened hair
Of bleeding giants prostrate there,
Like some great altar showed, arrayed
For holy rites with grass o’erlaid.
The darksome wood, each glade and dell
Where the wild demons fought and fell
Was like an awful hell whose floor
Is thick with mire and flesh and gore.
Thus twice seven thousand fiends, a band
With impious heart and bloody hand,
By Raghu’s son were overthrown,
A man, on foot, and all alone.
Of all who met on that fierce day,
Khara, great chief, survived the fray,
The monster of the triple head,(470)
And Raghu’s son, the foeman’s dread.
The other demon warriors, all
Skilful and brave and strong and tall,
In front of battle, side by side,
Struck down by Lakshmaṇ’s brother died.
When Khara saw the host he led
Triumphant forth to fight
Stretched on the earth, all smitten dead,
By Ráma’s nobler might,
Upon his foe he fiercely glared,
And drove against him fast,
Like Indra when his arm is bared
His thundering bolt to cast.
Canto XXVII. The Death Of Trisirás.
But Triśirás,(471) a chieftain dread,
Marked Khara as he onward sped.
And met his car and cried, to stay
The giant from the purposed fray:
“Mine be the charge: let me attack,
And turn thee from the contest back.
Let me go forth, and thou shalt see
The strong-armed Ráma slain by me.
True are the words I speak, my lord:
I swear it as I touch my sword:
That I this Ráma’s blood will spill,
Whom every giant’s hand should kill.
This Ráma will I slay, or he
In battle fray shall conquer me.
Restrain thy spirit: check thy car,
And view the combat from afar.
Thou, joying o’er the prostrate foe,
To Janasthán again shalt go,
Or, if I fall in battle’s chance,
Against my conqueror advance.”
Thus Triśirás for death who yearned:
And Khara from the conflict turned,
“Go forth to battle,” Khara cried;
And toward his foe the giant hied.
Borne on a car of glittering hue
Which harnessed coursers fleetly drew,
Like some huge hill with triple peak
He onward rushed the prince to seek.
Still, like a big cloud, sending out
His arrowy rain with many a shout
Like the deep sullen roars that come
Discordant from a moistened drum.
But Raghu’s son, whose watchful eye
Beheld the demon rushing nigh,
From the great bow he raised and bent
A shower of shafts to meet him sent.
Wild grew the fight and wilder yet
As fiend and man in combat met,
As when in some dark wood’s retreat
An elephant and a lion meet.
The giant bent his bow, and true
To Ráma’s brow three arrows flew.
Then, raging as he felt the stroke,
These words in anger Ráma spoke:
“Heroic chief! is such the power
Of fiends who rove at midnight hour?
Soft as the touch of flowers I feel
The gentle blows thine arrows deal.
Receive in turn my shafts, and know
What arrows fly from Ráma’s bow.”
Thus as he spoke his wrath grew hot,
And twice seven deadly shafts he shot,
Which, dire as serpent’s deadly fang,
Straight to the giant’s bosom sprang.
Four arrows more,—each shaped to deal
Mine anger at this high disdain,
Galling as salt when sprinkled o’er
The rawness of a bleeding sore.
Ráma in little count I hold,
Weak man whose days are quickly told.
The caitiff with his life to-day
For all his evil deeds shall pay.
Dry, sister, dry each needless tear,
Stint thy lament and banish fear,
For Ráma and his brother go
This day to Yáma’s realm below.
My warrior’s axe shall stretch him slain,
Ere set of sun, upon the plain,
Then shall thy sated lips be red
With his warm blood in torrents shed.”
As Khara’s speech the demon heard,
With sudden joy her heart was stirred:
She fondly praised him as the boast
And glory of the giant host.
First moved to ire by taunts and stings,
Now soothed by gentle flatterings,
To Dúshaṇ, who his armies led,
The demon Khara spoke, and said:
“Friend, from the host of giants call
Full fourteen thousand, best of all,
Slaves of my will, of fearful might,
Who never turn their backs in fight:
Fiends who rejoice to slay and mar,
Dark as the clouds of autumn are:
Make ready quickly, O my friend,
My chariot and the bows I bend.
My swords, my shafts of brilliant sheen,
My divers lances long and keen.
On to the battle will I lead
These heroes of Pulastya’s seed,
And thus, O famed for warlike skill,
Ráma my wicked foeman kill.”
He spoke, and ere his speech was done,
His chariot glittering like the sun,
Yoked and announced, by Dúshan’s care,
With dappled steeds was ready there.
High as a peak from Meru rent
It burned with golden ornament:
The pole of lazulite, of gold
Were the bright wheels whereon it rolled.
With gold and moonstone blazoned o’er,
Fish, flowers, trees, rocks, the panels bore;
Auspicious birds embossed thereon,
And stars in costly emblem shone.
O’er flashing swords his banner hung,
And sweet bells, ever tinkling, swung.
That mighty host with sword and shield
And oar was ready for the field:
And Khara saw, and Dúshan cried,
“Forth to the fight, ye giants, ride.”
Then banners waved, and shield and sword
Flashed as the host obeyed its lord.
From Janasthán they sallied out
With eager speed, and din, and shout,
Armed with the mace for close attacks,
The bill, the spear, the battle-axe,
Steel quoit and club that flashed afar,
Huge bow and sword and scimitar,
The dart to pierce, the bolt to strike,
The murderous bludgeon, lance, and pike.
So forth from Janasthán, intent
On Khara’s will, the monsters went.
He saw their awful march: not far
Behind the host he drove his car.
Ware of his master’s will, to speed
The driver urged each gold-decked steed.
Then forth the warrior’s coursers sprang,
And with tumultuous murmur rang
Each distant quarter of the sky
And realms that intermediate lie.
High and more high within his breast
His pride triumphant rose,
While terrible as Death he pressed
Onward to slay his foes,
“More swiftly yet,” as on they fled,
He cried in thundering tones
Loud as a cloud that overhead
Hails down a flood of stones.
Canto XXIII. The Omens.
As forth upon its errand went
That huge ferocious armament,
An awful cloud, in dust and gloom,
With threatening thunders from its womb
Poured in sad augury a flood
Of rushing water mixt with blood.
The monarch’s steeds, though strong and fleet,
Stumbled and fell: and yet their feet
Passed o’er the bed of flowers that lay
Fresh gathered on the royal way.
No gleam of sunlight struggled through
The sombre pall of midnight hue,
Edged with a line of bloody red,
Like whirling torches overhead.
A vulture, fierce, of mighty size.
Terrific with his cruel eyes,
Perched on the staff enriched with gold,
Whence hung the flag in many a fold.
Each ravening bird, each beast of prey
Where Janasthán’s wild thickets lay,
Rose with a long discordant cry
And gathered as the host went by.
And from the south long, wild, and shrill,
Came spirit voices boding ill.
Like elephants in frantic mood,
Vast clouds terrific, sable-hued,
Hid all the sky where’er they bore
Their load of water mixt with gore.
Above, below, around were spread
Thick shades of darkness strange and dread,
Nor could the wildered glance descry
A point or quarter of the sky.
Then came o’er heaven a sanguine hue,
Though evening’s flush not yet was due,
While each ill-omened bird that flies
Assailed the king with harshest cries.
There screamed the vulture and the crane,
And the loud jackal shrieked again.
Each hideous thing that bodes aright
Disaster in the coming fight,
With gaping mouth that hissed and flamed,
The ruin of the host proclaimed.
Eclipse untimely reft away
The brightness of the Lord of Day,
And near his side was seen to glow
A mace-like comet boding woe.
Then while the sun was lost to view
A mighty wind arose and blew,
And stars like fireflies shed their light,
Nor waited for the distant night.
The lilies drooped, the brooks were dried,
The fish and birds that swam them died,
And every tree that was so fair
With flower and fruit was stripped and bare.
The wild wind ceased, yet, raised on high,
Dark clouds of dust involved the sky.
In doleful twitter long sustained
The restless Sárikás(462) complained,
And from the heavens with flash and flame
Terrific meteors roaring came.
Earth to her deep foundation shook
With rock and tree and plain and brook,
As Khara with triumphant shout,
Borne in his chariot, sallied out.
His left arm throbbed: he knew full well
That omen, and his visage fell.
Each awful sign the giant viewed,
And sudden tears his eye bedewed.
Care on his brow sat chill and black,
Yet mad with wrath he turned not back.
Upon each fearful sight that raised
The shuddering hair the chieftain gazed,
And laughing in his senseless pride
Thus to his giant legions cried:
“By sense of mightiest strength upborne,
These feeble signs I laugh to scorn.
I could bring down the stars that shine
In heaven with these keen shafts of mine.
Impelled by warlike fury I
Could cause e’en Death himself to die.
I will not seek my home again
Until my pointed shafts have slain
This Raghu’s son so fierce in pride,
And Lakshmaṇ by his brother’s side.
And she, my sister, she for whom
These sons of Raghu meet their doom,
She with delighted lips shall drain
The lifeblood of her foemen slain.
Fear not for me: I ne’er have known
Defeat, in battle overthrown.
Fear not for me, O giants; true
Are the proud words I speak to you.
The king of Gods who rules on high,
If wild Airávat bore him nigh,
Should fall before me bolt in hand:
And shall these two my wrath withstand!”
He ended and the giant host
Who heard their chief’s triumphant boast,
Rejoiced with equal pride elate,
Entangled in the noose of Fate.
Then met on high in bright array,
With eyes that longed to see the fray,
God and Gandharva, sage and saint,
With beings pure from earthly taint.
Blest for good works aforetime wrought,
Thus each to other spake his thought:
“Now joy to Bráhmans, joy to kine,
And all whom world count half divine!
May Raghu’s offspring slay in fight
Pulastya’s sons who roam by night!”
In words like these and more, the best
Of high-souled saints their hopes expressed,
Bending their eager eyes from where
Car-borne with Gods they rode in air.
Beneath them stretching far, they viewed
The giants’ death-doomed multitude.
They saw where, urged with fury, far
Before the host rolled Khara’s car,
And close beside their leader came
Twelve giant peers of might and fame.
Four other chiefs(463) before the rest
Behind their leader Dúshaṇ pressed.
Impetuous, cruel, dark, and dread,
All thirsting for the fray,
The hosts of giant warriors sped
Onward upon their way.
With eager speed they reached the spot
Where dwelt the princely two,—
Like planets in a league to blot
The sun and moon from view.
Canto XXIV. The Host In Sight.
While Khara, urged by valiant rage,
Drew near that little hermitage,
Those wondrous signs in earth and sky
Smote on each prince’s watchful eye.
When Ráma saw those signs of woe
Fraught with destruction to the foe,
With bold impatience scarce repressed
His brother chief he thus addressed:
“These fearful signs, my brother bold,
Which threaten all our foes, behold:
All laden, as they strike the view,
With ruin to the fiendish crew.
The angry clouds are gathering fast,
Their skirts with dusty gloom o’ercast,
And harsh with loud-voiced thunder, rain
Thick drops of blood upon the plain.
See, burning for the coming fight,
My shafts with wreaths of smoke are white,
And my great bow embossed with gold
Throbs eager for the master’s hold.
Each bird that through the forest flies
Sends out its melancholy cries.
All signs foretell the dangerous strife,
The jeopardy of limb and life.
Each sight, each sound gives warning clear
That foemen meet and death is near.
But courage, valiant brother! well
The throbbings of mine arm foretell
That ruin waits the hostile powers,
And triumph in the fight is ours.
I hail the welcome omen: thou
Art bright of face and clear of brow.
For Lakshmaṇ, when the eye can trace
A cloud upon the warrior’s face
Stealing the cheerful light away,
His life is doomed in battle fray.
List, brother, to that awful cry:
With shout and roar the fiends draw nigh.
With thundering beat of many a drum
The savage-hearted giants come.
The wise who value safety know
To meet, prepared, the coming blow:
In paths of prudence trained aright
They watch the stroke before it smite.
Take thou thine arrows and thy bow,
And with the Maithil lady go
For shelter to the mountain cave
Where thickest trees their branches wave.
I will not have thee, Lakshmaṇ, say
One word in answer, but obey.
By all thy honour for these feet
Of mine, dear brother, I entreat.
Thy warlike arm, I know could, smite
To death these rovers of the night;
But I this day would fight alone
Till all the fiends be overthrown.”
He spake: and Lakshmaṇ answered naught:
His arrows and his bow he brought,
And then with Sítá following hied
For shelter to the mountain side.
As Lakshmaṇ and the lady through
The forest to the cave withdrew,
“’Tis well,” cried Ráma. Then he braced
His coat of mail around his waist.
When, bright as blazing fire, upon
His mighty limbs that armour shone,
The hero stood like some great light
Uprising in the dark of night.
His dreadful shafts were by his side;
His trusty bow he bent and plied,
Prepared he stood: the bowstring rang,
Filling the welkin with the clang.
The high-souled Gods together drew
The wonder of the fight to view,
The saints made free from spot and stain,
And bright Gandharvas’ heavenly train.
Each glorious sage the assembly sought,
Each saint divine of loftiest thought,
And filled with zeal for Ráma’s sake.
Thus they whose deeds were holy spake:
“Now be it well with Bráhmans, now
Well with the worlds and every cow!
Let Ráma in the deadly fray
The fiends who walk in darkness slay,
As He who bears the discus(464) slew
The chieftains of the Asur crew.”
Then each with anxious glances viewed
His fellow and his speech renewed:
“There twice seven thousand giants stand
With impious heart and cruel hand:
Here Ráma stands, by virtue known:
How can the hero fight alone?”
Thus royal sage and Bráhman saint,
Spirit, and Virtue free from taint,
And all the Gods of heaven who rode
On golden cars, their longing showed.
Their hearts with doubt and terror rent,
They saw the giants’ armament,
And Ráma clothed in warrior might,
Forth standing in the front of fight.
Lord of the arm no toil might tire,
He stood majestic in his ire,
Matchless in form as Rudra(465) when
His wrath is fierce on Gods or men.
While Gods and saints in close array
Held converse of the coming fray,
The army of the fiends drew near
With sight and sound that counselled fear.
Long, loud and deep their war-cry pealed,
As on they rushed with flag and shield,
Each, of his proper valour proud,
Urging to fight the demon crowd.
His ponderous bow each warrior tried,
And swelled his bulk with martial pride.
’Mid shout and roar and trampling feet,
And thunder of the drums they beat,
Loud and more loud the tumult went
Throughout the forest’s vast extent,
And all the life that moved within
The woodland trembled at the din.
In eager haste all fled to find
Some tranquil spot, nor looked behind.
With every arm of war supplied,
On-rushing wildly like the tide
Of some deep sea, the giant host
Approached where Ráma kept his post.
Then he, in battle skilled and tried,
Bent his keen eye on every side,
And viewed the host of Khara face
To face before his dwelling-place.
He drew his arrows forth, and reared
And strained that bow which foemen feared,
And yielded to the vengeful sway
Of fierce desire that host to slay.
Terrific as the ruinous fire
That ends the worlds, he glowed in ire,
And his tremendous form dismayed
The Gods who roam the forest shade.
For in the furious wrath that glowed
Within his soul the hero showed
Like Śiva when his angry might
Stayed Daksha’s sacrificial rite.(466)
Like some great cloud at dawn of day
When first the sun upsprings,
And o’er the gloomy mass each ray
A golden radiance flings:
Thus showed the children of the night,
Whose mail and chariots threw,
With gleam of bows and armlets bright,
Flashes of flamy hue.
Canto XXV. The Battle.
When Khara with the hosts he led
Drew near to Ráma’s leafy shed,
He saw that queller of the foe
Stand ready with his ordered bow.
He saw, and burning at the view
His clanging bow he raised and drew,
And bade his driver urge apace
His car to meet him face to face.
Obedient to his master’s hest
His eager steeds the driver pressed
On to the spot where, none to aid,
The strong-armed chief his weapon swayed.
Soon as the children of the night
Saw Khara rushing to the fight,
His lords with loud unearthly cry
Followed their chief and gathered nigh.
As in his car the leader rode
With all his lords around, he showed
Like the red planet fiery Mars
Surrounded by the lesser stars.
Then with a horrid yell that rent
The air, the giant chieftain sent
A thousand darts in rapid shower
On Ráma matchless in his power.
The rovers of the night, impelled
By fiery rage which naught withheld,
Upon the unconquered prince, who strained
His fearful bow, their arrows rained.
With sword and club, with mace and pike,
With spear and axe to pierce and strike,
Those furious fiends on every side
The unconquerable hero plied.
The giant legions huge and strong,
Like clouds the tempest drives along,
Rushed upon Ráma with the speed
Of whirling car, and mounted steed,
And hill-like elephant, to slay
The matchless prince in battle fray.
Then upon Ráma thick and fast
The rain of mortal steel they cast,
As labouring clouds their torrents shed
Upon the mountain-monarch’s(467) head.
As near and nearer round him drew
The warriors of the giant crew,
He showed like Śiva girt by all
His spirits when night’s shadows fall.
As the great deep receives each rill
And river rushing from the hill,
He bore that flood of darts, and broke
With well-aimed shaft each murderous stroke.
By stress of arrowy storm assailed,
And wounded sore, he never failed,
Like some high mountain which defies
The red bolts flashing from the skies.
With ruddy streams each limb was dyed
From gaping wounds in breast and side,
Showing the hero like the sun
’Mid crimson clouds ere day is done.
Then, at that sight of terror, faint
Grew God, Gandharva, sage, and saint,
Trembling to see the prince oppose
His single might to myriad foes.
But waxing wroth, with force unspent,
He strained his bow to utmost bent,
And forth his arrows keen and true
In hundreds, yea in thousands flew,—
Shafts none could ward, and none endure:
Death’s fatal noose was scarce so sure.
As ’twere in playful ease he shot
His gilded shafts, and rested not.
With swiftest flight and truest aim
Upon the giant hosts they came.
Each smote, each stayed a foeman’s breath
As fatal as the coil of Death.
Each arrow through a giant tore
A passage, and besmeared with gore,
Pursued its onward way and through
The air with flamy brilliance flew.
Unnumbered were the arrows sent
From the great bow which Ráma bent,
And every shaft with iron head
The lifeblood of a giant shed.
Their pennoned bows were cleft, nor mail
Nor shield of hide could aught avail.
For Ráma’s myriad arrows tore
Through arms, and bracelets which they wore,
And severed mighty warriors’ thighs
Like trunks of elephants in size,
And cut resistless passage sheer
Through gold-decked horse and charioteer,
Slew elephant and rider, slew
The horseman and the charger too,
And infantry unnumbered sent
To dwell ’neath Yáma’s government.
Then rose on high a fearful yell
Of rovers of the night, who fell
Beneath that iron torrent, sore
Wounded by shafts that rent and tore.
So mangled by the ceaseless storm
Of shafts of every kind and form,
Such joy they found, as forests feel
When scorched by flame, from Ráma’s steel.
The mightiest still the fight maintained,
And furious upon Ráma rained
Dart, arrow, spear, with wild attacks
Of mace, and club, and battle-axe.
But the great chief, unconquered yet,
Their weapons with his arrows met,
Which severed many a giant’s head,
And all the plain with corpses spread.
With sundered bow and shattered shield
Headless they sank upon the field,
As the tall trees, that felt the blast
Of Garuḍ’s wing, to earth were cast.
The giants left unslaughtered there
Where filled with terror and despair,
And to their leader Khara fled
Faint, wounded, and discomfited.
These fiery Dúshaṇ strove to cheer,
And poised his bow to calm their fear;
Then fierce as He who rules the dead,
When wroth, on angered Ráma sped.
By Dúshaṇ cheered, the demons cast
Their dread aside and rallied fast
With Sáls, rocks, palm-trees in their hands
With nooses, maces, pikes, and brands,
Again upon the godlike man
The mighty fiends infuriate ran,
These casting rocks like hail, and these
A whelming shower of leafy trees.
Wild, wondrous fight, the eye to scare,
And raise on end each shuddering hair,
As with the fiends who loved to rove
By night heroic Ráma strove!
The giants in their fury plied
Ráma with darts on every side.
Then, by the gathering demons pressed
From north and south and east and west,
By showers of deadly darts assailed
From every quarter fiercely hailed,
Girt by the foes who swarmed around,
He raised a mighty shout whose sound
Struck terror. On the giant crew
His great Gandharva(468) arrow flew.
A thousand mortal shafts were rained
From the orbed bow the hero strained,
Till east and west and south and north
Were filled with arrows volleyed forth.
They heard the fearful shout: they saw
His mighty hand the bowstring draw,
Yet could no wounded giant’s eye
See the swift storm of arrows fly.
Still firm the warrior stood and cast
His deadly missiles thick and fast.
Dark grew the air with arrowy hail
Which hid the sun as with a veil.
Fiends wounded, falling, fallen, slain,
All in a moment, spread the plain,
And thousands scarce alive were left
Mangled, and gashed, and torn, and cleft.
Dire was the sight, the plain o’erspread
With trophies of the mangled dead.
There lay, by Ráma’s missiles rent,
Full many a priceless ornament,
With severed limb and broken gem,
Hauberk and helm and diadem.
There lay the shattered car, the steed,
The elephant of noblest breed,
The splintered spear, the shivered mace,
Chouris and screens to shade the face.
The giants saw with bitterest pain
Their warriors weltering on the plain,
Nor dared again his might oppose
Who scourged the cities of his foes.
Canto XXVI. Dúshan’s Death.
When Dúshaṇ saw his giant band
Slaughtered by Ráma’s conquering hand,
He called five thousand fiends, and gave
His orders. Bravest of the brave,
Invincible, of furious might,
Ne’er had they turned their backs in flight.
They, as their leader bade them seize
Spears, swords, and clubs, and rocks, and trees,
Poured on the dauntless prince again
A ceaseless shower of deadly rain.
The virtuous Ráma, undismayed,
Their missiles with his arrows stayed,
And weakened, ere it fell, the shock
Of that dire hail of tree and rock,
And like a bull with eyelids closed,
The pelting of the storm opposed.
Then blazed his ire: he longed to smite
To earth the rovers of the night.
The wrath that o’er his spirit came
Clothed him with splendour as of flame,
While showers of mortal darts he poured
Fierce on the giants and their lord.
Dúshaṇ, the foeman’s dusky dread,
By frenzied rage inspirited,
On Raghu’s son his missiles cast
Like Indra’s bolts which rend and blast.
But Ráma with a trenchant dart
Cleft Dúshaṇ’s ponderous bow apart.
And then the gold-decked steeds who drew
The chariot, with four shafts he slew.
One crescent dart he aimed which shred
Clean from his neck the driver’s head;
Three more with deadly skill addressed
Stood quivering in the giant’s breast.
Hurled from his car, steeds, driver slain,
The bow he trusted cleft in twain,
He seized his mace, strong, heavy, dread,
High as a mountain’s towering head.
With plates of gold adorned and bound,
Embattled Gods it crushed and ground.
Its iron spikes yet bore the stains
Of mangled foemen’s blood and brains.
Its heavy mass of jagged steel
Was like a thunderbolt to feel.
It shattered, as on foes it fell,
The city where the senses dwell.(469)
Fierce Dúshaṇ seized that ponderous mace
Like monstrous form of serpent race,
And all his savage soul aglow
With fury, rushed upon the foe.
But Raghu’s son took steady aim,
And as the rushing giant came,
Shore with two shafts the arms whereon
The demon’s glittering bracelets shone.
His arm at each huge shoulder lopped,
The mighty body reeled and dropped,
And the great mace to earth was thrown
Like Indra’s staff when storms have blown.
As some vast elephant who lies
Shorn of his tusks, and bleeding dies,
So, when his arms were rent away,
Low on the ground the giant lay.
The spirits saw the monster die,
And loudly rang their joyful cry,
“Honour to Ráma! nobly done!
Well hast thou fought, Kakutstha’s son!”
But the great three, the host who led,
Enraged to see their chieftain dead,
As though Death’s toils were round them cast,
Rushed upon Ráma fierce and fast,
Mahákapála seized, to strike
His foeman down, a ponderous pike:
Sthúláksha charged with spear to fling,
Pramáthi with his axe to swing.
When Ráma saw, with keen darts he
Received the onset of the three,
As calm as though he hailed a guest
In each, who came for shade and rest.
Mahákapála’s monstrous head
Fell with the trenchant dart he sped.
His good right hand in battle skilled
Sthúláksha’s eyes with arrows filled,
And trusting still his ready bow
He laid the fierce Pramáthi low,
Who sank as some tall tree falls down
With bough and branch and leafy crown.
Then with five thousand shafts he slew
The rest of Dúshaṇ’s giant crew:
Five thousand demons, torn and rent,
To Yáma’s gloomy realm he sent.
When Khara knew the fate of all
The giant band and Dúshaṇ’s fall,
He called the mighty chiefs who led
His army, and in fury said:
“Now Dúshaṇ and his armèd train
Lie prostrate on the battle plain.
Lead forth an army mightier still,
Ráma this wretched man, to kill.
Fight ye with darts of every shape,
Nor let him from your wrath escape.”
Thus spoke the fiend, by rage impelled,
And straight his course toward Ráma held.
With Śyenagámí and the rest
Of his twelve chiefs he onward pressed,
And every giant as he went
A storm of well-wrought arrows sent.
Then with his pointed shafts that came
With gold and diamond bright as flame,
Dead to the earth the hero threw
The remnant of the demon crew.
Those shafts with feathers bright as gold,
Like flames which wreaths of smoke enfold,
Smote down the fiends like tall trees rent
By red bolts from the firmament.
A hundred shafts he pointed well:
By their keen barbs a hundred fell:
A thousand,—and a thousand more
In battle’s front lay drenched in gore.
Of all defence and guard bereft,
With sundered bows and harness cleft.
Their bodies red with bloody stain
Fell the night-rovers on the plain,
Which, covered with the loosened hair
Of bleeding giants prostrate there,
Like some great altar showed, arrayed
For holy rites with grass o’erlaid.
The darksome wood, each glade and dell
Where the wild demons fought and fell
Was like an awful hell whose floor
Is thick with mire and flesh and gore.
Thus twice seven thousand fiends, a band
With impious heart and bloody hand,
By Raghu’s son were overthrown,
A man, on foot, and all alone.
Of all who met on that fierce day,
Khara, great chief, survived the fray,
The monster of the triple head,(470)
And Raghu’s son, the foeman’s dread.
The other demon warriors, all
Skilful and brave and strong and tall,
In front of battle, side by side,
Struck down by Lakshmaṇ’s brother died.
When Khara saw the host he led
Triumphant forth to fight
Stretched on the earth, all smitten dead,
By Ráma’s nobler might,
Upon his foe he fiercely glared,
And drove against him fast,
Like Indra when his arm is bared
His thundering bolt to cast.
Canto XXVII. The Death Of Trisirás.
But Triśirás,(471) a chieftain dread,
Marked Khara as he onward sped.
And met his car and cried, to stay
The giant from the purposed fray:
“Mine be the charge: let me attack,
And turn thee from the contest back.
Let me go forth, and thou shalt see
The strong-armed Ráma slain by me.
True are the words I speak, my lord:
I swear it as I touch my sword:
That I this Ráma’s blood will spill,
Whom every giant’s hand should kill.
This Ráma will I slay, or he
In battle fray shall conquer me.
Restrain thy spirit: check thy car,
And view the combat from afar.
Thou, joying o’er the prostrate foe,
To Janasthán again shalt go,
Or, if I fall in battle’s chance,
Against my conqueror advance.”
Thus Triśirás for death who yearned:
And Khara from the conflict turned,
“Go forth to battle,” Khara cried;
And toward his foe the giant hied.
Borne on a car of glittering hue
Which harnessed coursers fleetly drew,
Like some huge hill with triple peak
He onward rushed the prince to seek.
Still, like a big cloud, sending out
His arrowy rain with many a shout
Like the deep sullen roars that come
Discordant from a moistened drum.
But Raghu’s son, whose watchful eye
Beheld the demon rushing nigh,
From the great bow he raised and bent
A shower of shafts to meet him sent.
Wild grew the fight and wilder yet
As fiend and man in combat met,
As when in some dark wood’s retreat
An elephant and a lion meet.
The giant bent his bow, and true
To Ráma’s brow three arrows flew.
Then, raging as he felt the stroke,
These words in anger Ráma spoke:
“Heroic chief! is such the power
Of fiends who rove at midnight hour?
Soft as the touch of flowers I feel
The gentle blows thine arrows deal.
Receive in turn my shafts, and know
What arrows fly from Ráma’s bow.”
Thus as he spoke his wrath grew hot,
And twice seven deadly shafts he shot,
Which, dire as serpent’s deadly fang,
Straight to the giant’s bosom sprang.
Four arrows more,—each shaped to deal
You have read 1 text from English literature.
Next - The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 38
- Parts
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 01Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3904Total number of unique words is 121938.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words55.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 02Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4666Total number of unique words is 153844.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 03Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4715Total number of unique words is 140448.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words69.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 04Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4762Total number of unique words is 140345.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 05Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4754Total number of unique words is 141747.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 06Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4752Total number of unique words is 140344.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 07Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4711Total number of unique words is 143946.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 08Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4724Total number of unique words is 142244.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 09Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4640Total number of unique words is 146543.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 10Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4760Total number of unique words is 136048.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 11Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4703Total number of unique words is 138543.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 12Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4772Total number of unique words is 146146.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 13Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4724Total number of unique words is 146946.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 14Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4899Total number of unique words is 146345.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 15Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4820Total number of unique words is 149143.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 16Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4877Total number of unique words is 146246.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 17Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4853Total number of unique words is 138047.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 18Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4929Total number of unique words is 137346.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 19Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4856Total number of unique words is 142146.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 20Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4846Total number of unique words is 137847.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 21Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4874Total number of unique words is 140647.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 22Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4811Total number of unique words is 134848.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 23Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4761Total number of unique words is 137948.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 24Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4936Total number of unique words is 148746.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 25Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4772Total number of unique words is 154145.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 26Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4808Total number of unique words is 144347.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 27Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4679Total number of unique words is 149844.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 28Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4761Total number of unique words is 143846.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 29Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4703Total number of unique words is 155941.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words60.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words70.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 30Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4867Total number of unique words is 142247.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words69.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 31Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4810Total number of unique words is 143246.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 32Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4709Total number of unique words is 137046.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 33Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4770Total number of unique words is 145745.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 34Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4780Total number of unique words is 138745.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 35Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4681Total number of unique words is 142843.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words71.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 36Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4759Total number of unique words is 153043.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 37Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4735Total number of unique words is 138442.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 38Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4759Total number of unique words is 145444.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 39Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4807Total number of unique words is 150444.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 40Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4878Total number of unique words is 143246.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 41Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4896Total number of unique words is 150045.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 42Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4900Total number of unique words is 147346.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 43Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4986Total number of unique words is 136346.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 44Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4868Total number of unique words is 139145.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 45Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4819Total number of unique words is 137646.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 46Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4755Total number of unique words is 141343.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 47Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4799Total number of unique words is 142745.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 48Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4940Total number of unique words is 135747.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 49Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4843Total number of unique words is 142445.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 50Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4911Total number of unique words is 142844.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 51Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4847Total number of unique words is 149446.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 52Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4791Total number of unique words is 155341.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 53Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4737Total number of unique words is 146243.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 54Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4644Total number of unique words is 140441.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words60.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words70.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 55Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4784Total number of unique words is 144944.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 56Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4792Total number of unique words is 145245.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 57Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4729Total number of unique words is 154340.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words61.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 58Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4881Total number of unique words is 150144.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 59Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4847Total number of unique words is 142144.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 60Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4776Total number of unique words is 153343.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 61Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4730Total number of unique words is 155343.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 62Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4760Total number of unique words is 140045.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 63Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4700Total number of unique words is 148341.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words61.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 64Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4757Total number of unique words is 145845.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 65Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4747Total number of unique words is 141945.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 66Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4718Total number of unique words is 134841.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 67Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4776Total number of unique words is 135645.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 68Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4778Total number of unique words is 142942.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 69Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4743Total number of unique words is 143642.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 70Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4794Total number of unique words is 137746.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 71Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4664Total number of unique words is 147243.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words71.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 72Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4581Total number of unique words is 211015.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words20.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words23.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 73Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4900Total number of unique words is 153840.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words58.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words67.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 74Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4757Total number of unique words is 155444.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 75Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4477Total number of unique words is 181933.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words48.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words54.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 76Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4533Total number of unique words is 160037.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words54.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words61.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 77Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3914Total number of unique words is 141735.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words52.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words60.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 78Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 1809Total number of unique words is 113520.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words26.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words28.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 79Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4159Total number of unique words is 155634.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words49.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words56.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 80Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4149Total number of unique words is 148835.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words58.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 81Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4021Total number of unique words is 153936.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words59.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 82Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4137Total number of unique words is 153935.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 83Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4145Total number of unique words is 143835.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 84Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4154Total number of unique words is 143936.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words55.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words62.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 85Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 2172Total number of unique words is 75838.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words50.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words