3.48. sItA warns the ten-headed braggart

Hari Om.

Let us begin the forty eighth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.

An unsuspecting sItA treated the disguised rAvaNa with the honour due to a guest. She answered his inquiries about who she was and why she was there in the forest with the fear that the brAhmin may take offence and curse. She then asked the same question of him and although he came in the guise of a mendicant, rAvaNa took no time to reveal his real self and the intention of his coming. Listening to his purpose, sItA, although alone in the hermitage at the time without the support of rAma or lakshmaNa minced no words in lambasting rAvaNa for his temerity and lambasted him comprehensively. She pooh-poohed him and reminded him that he is an absolute nobody in comparison to rAma to aspire for her and that she was way beyond his reach even if he abducts and takes her away forcibly! The way mahaRshi describes she seems to have a foreboding of the ominous things to come. She called him a jackal as compared to the lion that rAma was. She compared him to a jackal that is greedily aspiring for a lioness that she is! Having rained her wrath on him, she withered like a plantain leaf in stormy winds. Onwards…

Having been lambasted thus by sItA in harsh words, rAvaNa frowned at sItA and said – “O beauty, listen, I am the half brother of the god of riches, kubEra, my name is rAvaNa and I am the ten-headed and powerful one who frightens the gods, demons, spirits, birds and serpents just like death frightens the people always. With my might, I defeated my half brother kubEra when a duel broke out between us and after that for fear of me, he left his prosperous abode and for fear of me, resides in the mountains of kailAsa. I captured his aerial chariot by name pushpaka which can take me to the places I desire and on that I roam the skies at will.

Unable to behold my facial frown born out of my anger, even the gods along with indra run away from me in fear. Wherever I go, the wind blows gently and even the Sun and the moon conduct themselves properly for fear of me; the trees don’t shake, rivers stand still.

My beautiful city of lanka, with its brilliant white exterior walls and golden interiors, gem studded entrances resembling amarAvatI, the city of indra is on the other side of the sea and is filled with terrifying demons. The prosperous city boasts of great numbers of elephants, horses and chariots, reverberates to the pleasing tunes of trumpets, dotted with gardens which are in full bloom and bear fruits all the time.

O princess, there when you reside along with me, even the thought of other women will not come to you. O beauty revel in both human and heavenly pleasures there with me and then you will not even think of that rAma whose time us up even for a moment. O wide-eyed one, what will you do with that sorry human rAma lives the life of an ascetic in the forest having been banished by the king daSaratha from the kingdom in order to coronate his dear son?

The lord of all demons, hurt by the arrows of the god of love and overcome by passion, has himself come to you seeking and you ought not reject him. If you do reject him, you will regret it like the legend of apsara UrvaSI who spurned king pururava and regretted later. O beauty, that human, rAma is no match for even my finger! By your great fortune you have found me, do accept me”.

Hearing this, sItA’s eyes turned red and raging with anger, and she retorted harshly and angrily in that solitary place –

“O rAvaNa, how can you think of doing something terrible after invoking your elder brother kubEra who is worshipped by all? Of course, rAvaNa, the entire clan of demons will perish led by an un-self-restrained and cruel king such as you.

अवश्यं विनशिष्यन्ति सर्वे रावण राक्षसाः।

येषां त्वं कर्कशो राजा दुर्बुद्धिरजितेन्द्रियः।।3.48.22।।

अपहृत्य शचीं भार्यां शक्यमिन्द्रस्य जीवितुम्।

न च रामस्य भार्यां मामपनीयास्ति जीवितम्।।3.48.23।।

It might be possible for you to be alive after abducting the wife SachI of thunderbolt wielding indra, but, there is absolutely no way you can be alive after abducting me, the wife of rAma, even if you have consumed the nectar of immortality”.