Hari Om.
Let us begin the second sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
As the trio entered the danDaka forests from the sylvan chitrakUTa mountains, there in the treacherous terrain they beheld a number of hermitages from which sacred fires emerged, sacred chants rented the air and were the abodes of ascetics true to their vows. The forest dwellers were wonderstruck to behold the glorious form of rAma and couldn’t blink once! The sages welcomed the trio with due tradition and ceremony. After showering hospitality on them, the sages seek protection from the demons through rAma. They tell him that whether in the kingdom or the forest, he really is the king and therefore the responsibility of the protection of the subjects rested on him. Onwards…
After receiving the hospitality from the sages, they rested there that night and the next morning at dawn, they entered deeper into the forests. The forests were replete with wild beasts such as tigers and bears, at places the foliage was crushed, water bodies were hard to spot and the forest reverberated with the chirping of the birds and insects.
As rAma went ahead with sItA, they saw a man-eater demon of mountainous proportions roaming freely. He had deep eyes, large mouth, big belly and was dreadful in appearance. Dressed in tiger skin drenched with blood he terrified all beings like the god of death. He wielded a large spear which pierced through three lions, four tigers, ten deer, two wolves and a large head of an elephant together with its wet flesh and tusks! Sighting the trio, he ran towards them like death with a mighty roar, the earth under his feet shook due to his impact, he grabbed sItA at once and said – “O duo in bark clothes and matted hair, your life is cut-short, wielders of bows and swords, why should ascetics like you live with a woman, you have indeed brought disgrace to ascetics through your sinful conduct! I am virAdha and I roam around freely in the forest feasting on the flesh of ascetics. This lady shall be my wife. And as for you I shall fight you and thereafter drink your blood”.
As the demon virAdha with an ugly form roared thus, sItA was devastated and terrified, she trembled like the plantain tree would in a storm. Watching her in that state, rAma’s throat parched and he lamented to lakshmaNa – “O gentle one, look, my wife of great conduct, the daughter of king janaka, the one who deserves nothing but comfort, is caught up in the demon virAdha’s lap. It seems like kaikEyI’s schemes have bore fruition too soon. She wouldn’t be happy just with the kingdom, alas, she has sent me away to the forest in spite of being loved by everyone. Today her desire will be fulfilled. There is nothing more difficult for me than vaidEhi being touched by another, it is more painful than the loss of kingdom or even our father’s death”.
As rAma lamented thus, lakshmaNa was seething with anger and sighed heavily like a serpent and said –
“O rAma, for the orphaned beings, you are the like the lord indra. When I, your servant am here, why do you sulk.
अनाथ इव भूतानां नाथस्त्वं वासवोपमः।
मया प्रेष्येण काकुत्स्थ किमर्थं परितप्यसे।।3.2.23।।
I shall slay this demon with my arrows right now and the earth shall be drenched and quenched by his blood. Like the thunderbolt of indra unleashed on the mountains, I shall unleash my pent up anger on bharata on to this demon and torment him. As my mighty arms unleash speeding arrows on to the chest of this ugly ogre, his life shall depart from his body and spinning with the impact of my arrows, his dead body shall hit the ground”.
म भुजबलवेगवेगितः पततु शरोऽस्य महान्महोरसि।
व्यपनयतु तनोश्च जीवितं पततु ततस्समहीं विघूर्णितः।।3.2.26।।
Here we conclude the the second sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 3.3. Into the forest with the ogre!
Previous: 3.1. rAma reigns in the danDaka forests
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
