Hari Om.
Let us begin the thirty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Upon the return of rAvaNa to lanka, tanks to the sound advice of mAricha which was accepted, SUrpaNakha reached her ten-headed elder brother. The mighty demon rAvaNa was all powerful and had also kept the guardian deities of the eight quarters under his beck and call. They were just too scared to displease him and bid their time! He staged many a battle against the gods and held them captive. mahaRshi vAlmIki says there were marks of the hurts caused by the discuss of vishNU (a powerful weapon wielded by many gods) and the tusks of the elephant airAvata, indra’s vehicle on his body which showed that he fought the best of them and was victorious. He wore those marks as badges of honour! The disfigured ogress accosted him and taking liberty with her brother even if he was with the council of ministers. she launched a tirade of attack on him accusing him to lackadaisical, pompous and unfit to be a king! She schools him about how the statecraft should for an effective and respected king. The taunts woke him up and he now paid attention to what she had to say. Onwards…
rAvaNa was livid at the harsh words that SUrpaNakha spoke in the midst of the ministers and said –
कश्च रामः कथंवीर्यः किंरूपः किंपराक्रमः।
किमर्थं दण्डकारण्यं प्रविष्टस्सुदुरासदम्।।3.34.2।।
“Who is rAma, what type of prowess does he have, how does he look and what is his valour like? Why did he enter the impregnable danDaka forests. What weapon did he use to vanquish demons like khara, dUshaNa and triSirA”?
Asked thus, an angry SUrpaNakha began a matter-of-fact narration of rAma.
दीर्घबाहुर्विशालाक्ष श्चीरकृष्णाजिनाम्बरः।
कन्दर्पसमरूपश्च रामो दशरथात्मजः।।3.34.5।।
“rAma, the son of king daSaratha has long arms, wide eyes, his lovely form rivals that of the god kandarpa (the god of love). Wielding a bow like that of lord indra, he unleashes arrows at an unimaginable speed with his gold band-studded arms and those arrows go after their targets and get them like poisonous snakes. I didn’t quite see when and how he took the arrows, when he set them to the bow and when he launched them, all I know is the rain of arrows that destroyed the demons just like the hailstorms rained by indra destroys the crops. Thus, in a matter of one and a half muhurta (72minutes, 1 muhurta = 48 minutes), being on foot, rAma alone destroyed fourteen thousand demons including khara, dUShaNa and triSirA by employing terrifying and sharp arrows. And thereby he has given complete protection to the sages of the danDaka forest. The great man hesitated to kill a woman and thus spared me. His resplendent younger brother, loyal and devoted to him is equal to him in all attributes and goes by the name lakshmaNa. He is impatient, invincible, victorious, courageous, intelligent and mighty and is the right hand of rAma and his very life.
भ्राता चास्य महातेजा गुणतस्तुल्यविक्रमः।
अनुरक्तश्च भक्तश्च लक्ष्मणो नाम वीर्यवान्।।3.34.12।।
अमर्षी दुर्जयो जेता विक्रान्तो बुद्धिमान्बली।
रामस्य दक्षिणो बाहुर्नित्यं प्राणो बहिश्चरः।।3.34.13।।
rAma’s dear wife is a wide-eyed woman with moon-like countenance, ever engaged in his well-being. She has a beautiful form, with flowing hair, well shaped limbs, excellent nose and lovely face. She is verily like the goddess of prosperity of the forest and presides over as one.
नैव देवी न गन्धर्वी न यक्षी न च किन्नरी।
नैवंरूपा मया नारी दृष्टपूर्वा महीतले।।3.34.17।।
Such a beautiful being have I not witnessed among the goddesses or gandharvIs or yakshIs or kinnarIs or among humans on the earth. The one accepted by sItA as her husband and happily embraced by her indeed will luckier than indra.
That woman of a good conduct and praiseworthy form with peerless beauty would be a good match for you as a wife and you would be a good husband for her. I tried to bring that lovely woman of shapely limbs and breasts for you to be your wife and while I tried, lakshmaNa cut off my nose and easrs and disfigured me. The moment you cast your eyes on her today, you will be smitten by her bewitching beauty and will be infatuated and the arrows of kandarpa are sure to besiege you.
If you are desirous of having her as your wife, I would say you should right now set your right foot in the right direction. O lord of demons, you ought to vanquish that hermit rAma and avenge the destruction of the clan of demons. You should right now head to kill rAma and lakshmaNa with sharp arrows and usurp sItA, make her your wife and enjoy life with her.
WIf my words appeal to you, do fulfil them. Analyze your strength before you abduct sItA by force. Also be aware of the fact that khara, dUshNa and the scores of demons fell to the unerring arrows of rAma and now decide your course of action here.
Here we conclude the the thirty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 3.35. The view from above as rAvaNa flies to mAricha
Previous: 3.33. The ogress schools the ten heads!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
